EVOLVing Interests

Truth be told, Evolv was always a brand I liked in climbing. My first shoes were the Defy’s. My first chalk bad would have been Evolv, if the store had any in. Pretty much, it was either Prana or it was Evolv. I like their style. I even have them adorned on my camera bag.

I began to drift away though. I have a very powerful nose and Evolv has a history of being incredibly smelly. I couldn’t keep them in the house. Or the car. Or in the neighboring yards. They were finally laid to rest after a mishap where desperation placed them in the laundry.

Check me out thuggin on this v1! That's the face of concentration.

After destroying my Defy’s, I went for another pair my friend Kyle recommended, the La Sportiva Solutions. Great shoe… not for me. The Miura’s from the same company did the trick. After that, I stuck with La Sportiva and picked up some Python’s. Super Downsized. Too much in fact. But I loved them. Sadly, they fell prey to sloppy footwork and now need to be resoled.

Sorry for the history lesson. I like to over-share. When the python’s bit it, I was debating getting another, larger pair, or trying something new… Enter the Shaman. I see them everywhere. Apparently they’re made from magic carpets and stitched together from the hair off a Unicorn’s mane. They grant special powers like herculean strength, ninja like reflexes and other such bad assery. And each pair was personally blessed by Chris Sharma himself. At least, that’s what the rumors say.

But seriously, these shoes are supposed to reinvent the wheel according to people who own them. The concept of downsizing like a Geisha is no more with these bad boys (which look like Goku from Dragon Ball Z. Total plus, as he’s a personal childhood hero of mine.).

I tried on a couple pairs that were approximately my size before taking the plunge. They all felt awesome. Like I could dominate the world as long as my feet got inside the shoes. Plain and simple. I ended up going a bit smaller… but I knew these were it. One shoe to rule them all (one for each foot.).

These were going to make me an Evolv fan boy again. Not as sensitive as the Pythons were. And not a huge loss, all things considered. I do like that the platform was such that I could pop onto the tips of my toes with no pain, making all the ballerinas jealous. And they fit like a glove. The three straps really let me custom fit the shoe to my foot. One exception being the heel. But I’ve yet to find a shoe that properly hugs my funky feet to 100% satisfaction (Python’s had the best heel, just saying.)

Sadly, I’ll be waiting to try these beautiful ladies out (yes, my shoes gender swapped.) on the wall as my left hand is still bummed up from my fall. :( But soon! Until then, I’ll Plie the night away. And I’ll enjoy my shiny new t-shirts. And the chalk bag… well, that’s replacing the one my athlete’s mangled.

Here’s to hoping recovery continues to go quickly so I can let you know if these shoes help Toto and I get out of Kansas… or back to Kansas? Nevermind.

Goodnight,

James

Wait. I lied. I’m grabbing some local climbers to do some photo test shots here in the next little bit of future. Stay tuned for that. :)

October 2011 update

I reached my goal 3 days late. I walked into the gym intending to just work on 5’s. Use the day as a sort of recovery day. I ended up working on a tricky V5 and wasted a lot of energy. After that I focused on repeating some old 5’s that I’d either flashed or onsighted.

I really struggled. Be it a lack of sleep, or proper diet. Possibly even just needing to recover some more… but I couldn’t work anything. I gave up on the “training” and started screwing around.

Finally after a long playful session, I hopped onto a V7 that I had tried 2 or 3 times before. This particular 7 got my attention with it’s large dynamic lunge, a dyno that goes the full length of my wingspan straight up. My first and only attempt was extremely half assed. Not sloppy. Just… lazy. But when my hand connected with the slope-y pinch, I had this brief moment of effortless ease. Redundant? Don’t care. That’s how it felt.

My feet cut from the wall and my hand was the only thing keeping me on. I made a loud grunty scream and cranked down until the swinging stopped. I moved up the rest of the route and heard some cheers. I also hear a girl (who’s a better climber than me) say “That’s not how I’d do it.” Don’t care. It worked and it was awesome.

After some rest, I attempted my V7. I really feel like it’s mental now. I’ve failed so much despite having the beta and I want it so bad, I can’t just relax and do it. I’ll come back to it eventually.

So, what now? I’ve reached my goal. I’m sick, working a lot and not getting nearly enough sleep… so where do I go from here?

Normally I’d continue as I have, entering a training cycle that gradually increases workload while I approach my next goal deadline (Short term goal was a V8 by January.). However, I think it’s time to change strategies.

As the grades get harder, the holds get smaller in size and fewer in number. And this is revealing some huge weaknesses in my technique. Specifically, my footwork. I’m also terrible at crimps. So I really want to make a short term goal of improving my foot work and crimping.

Ok… now to answer the “what’s next” question. For the next 6 weeks, my plan is to warm up on the gym’s traverse wall, switching between matching feet and stepping through. It’s the matching that gets me (Kyle makes fun of me because I’m climbing v6’s and v7’s but didn’t know the term “matching” can be used for your hands AND feet.).

As for crimps, I’m looking for those annoyingly crimpy routes a grade or two lower than my max. I work the problem as far as I can. Once I fall, I back up and hold onto the hold a little longer than normal. Focus on really slowing down the transition between moves until I’m pumped out. Or my fingers get so sweaty I can’t hold on. So far… not much improvement. At least, no miracles yet.

I want 2 good weeks of easy before I really hit the ground running. It also works out because I’m breaking in some new shoes, The La sportiva Pythons. Originally, I wanted the Solutions, but I didn’t like their fit.

The pythons are a leather slipper that I’ve downsized an extra 1.5 EU sizes (38). I’ve had 3 days in them. They’ve stretched and I’m getting that form fit. However, I’d be ok with a few more days of stretching.

Do I like them? Yes. Very much. By far the most aggressive shoe I’ve used. Once the nerves die in my toes, I’ll be able to use them to their full potential. Until then, I’ll just enjoy the extra sticky rubber and the incredible improvement in footwork… I know I said above that there was no miracle, but it’s more of improvement out of necessity. Poor footwork is too painful.

(girl at the gym: "Those look disproportionately small... even for you.")

My old Miura’s will probably become my sport shoes/trainers while my python’s become my performance shoes.

In this picture you can see that the blood is rushing back into my feet. this was when i tried on the 37.5's... which also dislocated a metatarsil in my right foot.

I’m going to cut this one off here because I want to rant about Route setting. Specifally NOT posting grades. But I’ll do a new blog as it may be a long one and this one has some length to it as is. :)