The International Federation of Sport Climbing began its first-ever World Climbing Camp yesterday at The Boulders Climbing Gym in Central Saanich, BC. The camp will play host to a number of professional sport climbers, including Sean McColl and Adam Ondra over the weekend.



Campers arriving at the Boulders. Photo courtesy of Christian J. Stewart ©



Domen Skofic (left) and local Dan Beland. Photo courtesy of Christian J. Stewart ©

Day one began with an introduction of the professional athletes and world-class route setters to the 97 participants in the event. The participants were then broken into groups and paired with one athlete that would be their team leader for the weekend. For over an hour, participants could ask each professional climber questions regarding their training and preparation for world cups in an intimate setting.



Sean McColl making his speech. Photo courtesy of Christian J. Stewart ©



Adam Ondra and his group of competitions. Photo courtesy of Christian J. Stewart ©

After the intimate meet and greet, Participants were allowed to choose from a variety of clinics including On-sighting with Adam Ondra and Maja Vidar, Strong Starts in Speed Climbing with Libor Hroza, Warm-up, Preview, and Positivity with Sean McColl and Domen Skovic, Inside the Mind of a route-setter with Adam Prustelnik, and The Benefits of Rivalry with Mina Markovic.

The day ended with a discussion of the mock competition, beginning Saturday afternoon.



Getting Ready at the Boulders. Photo courtesy of Christian J. Stewart ©

For those who are interested, here is a (very) rough edit of the intros at the camp.

Stay tuned for more updates from Squamish Climbing Magazine! Special thanks to Christian J. Stewart for letting us use his photos. Please check his site here.

