{"id":5985,"date":"2024-12-30T00:36:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-29T23:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/?post_type=relatos&p=5985"},"modified":"2025-12-16T00:41:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T23:41:27","slug":"athlete-recap","status":"publish","type":"relatos","link":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/relatos\/athlete-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Athlete Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Tenaya athlete team had a stellar year. In between training, the team climbed in the Olympics, established hard boulders, bolted and sent difficult sport climbs, explored intense deep water solo routes, and climbed across the world. We want to take a moment to highlight some of the achievements of the phenomenal roster of the Tenaya Team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winter<\/strong>
The winter temps provided a start for bouldering. With Jimmy Webb starting off the season an impressive first ascent climbing La Guerra<\/em> (8B+) in Yosemite. The prow of the riverside boulder proved to be incredibly technically challenging. \u201cThe beta we sussed out was to literally crawl out the prow by clamping your knees together on both sides. Safe to say I couldn\u2019t breathe the entire time,\u201d Webb says in his Instagram post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, Drew Ruana used the temps to work on his latest project. With over 100 V14 and harder boulder problems done, Ruana spent much of his season working on Megatron<\/em> (V17) in El Dorado Canyon State Park in Colorado. He made impressive links, closing in on the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Drew Ruana climbing in the Buttermilks with Chris Sharma<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ainhize Belar had a strong start to the year with an ascent of Coma Sant Pere<\/em> (8c+) in Margalef. She had been working through a finger injury. \u201cIt was not the main objective of the trip, but I saw that my finger allowed me to climb and although the discomfort is still there, I was able to redpoint this Margalef route,\u201d Belar says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early in the year, Ana Belen Argudo visited Oliana for the first and tried the 50m Joe Blau<\/em> (8c+). Instead of going to the death on the route every time, she worked it in sections after climbing a day at Margalef. One day when Finestra at Margalef was too windy, she headed to Oliana and tried her resistance project. She climbed calmy through all the sections until the last bolt. \u201cThere I felt nervous, but I was confident and able to toughen up until I reached the chains,\u201d Argudo says in her Instagram post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tanguy Merard putting the power he\u2019s gained from hard bouldering to work on routes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tanguy Merard also had a solid start to the season with hard sport sends in St Leger including L\u2019enfumette<\/em> (8c+) and Cadafist<\/em> (9a\/a+).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The early sends of the year helped push the athletes into their spring seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spring<\/strong>
The spring season saw athletes travelling across the world to establish first ascents, work on projects, and to change their climbing styles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angie-Scarth Johnson and Felipe Carmargo headed to Bariloche, Argentina. They both climbed\u00a0Reacci\u00f3n Indirecta<\/em>\u00a0(8c) in Vallen Encanta. Carmargo then made the second ascent of\u00a0Marcanazo<\/em>\u00a0(9a) and the first ascent of\u00a0Tupa Tupa<\/em>, a route he describes as \u201ca short and powerful 8c+ on pockets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Angie Scarth-Johnson climbing in Margalef<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Scarth-Johnson went on to bolt new routes in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. \u201cBolted her in the blistering sun at the start of the trip,\u201d Scarth-Johnson said of equipping Boss Jellyfish<\/em>. \u201cSo worth it. I feel like I always feel so happy sitting on that rope, slowly unraveling a line. It\u2019s when I feel most connected with myself as a climber. It feels like art because it is art.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ana Belen-Argudo continued climbing at different crags, changing her routine. She stopped at the Santa Linya Cave where between sessions at other areas she climbed\u00a0Novena Puerta<\/em>\u00a0(8c+) and\u00a0Open Your Mind<\/em>\u00a0(8c+). She also headed to Rodellar where she climbed\u00a0Black Leg<\/em>\u00a0(8c) and\u00a0El Hijo Libre<\/em>\u00a0(8c). The variety of climbing and crags helped her have an exceptional year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharma spent much of the early season working on two of his hardest projects:\u00a0Le Blond\u00a0<\/em>(proj.) in Oliana and\u00a0Perfecto Mundo\u00a0<\/em>(9b+) in Margalef. He pushed through making solid progress on the routes for 4 months. \u201cThe daily grind on something so hard for me can be mentally really challenging and one thing that was really cool to explore was working to celebrate the small progressions (no matter how small they might be),\u201d Sharma says on his Instagram post. \u201cI\u2019m very happy to have built a strong base in this climb and I plan use that to keep the focus for the coming seasons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Jimmy Webb made a trip to Ticino where he chased tiny weather windows. In the first week he was there, right before 10 days of rain, he repeated\u00a0Eye in the Sky<\/em>\u00a0(8C) in a cluster of boulders above Bavona. \u201cComfy rock, fun moves, powerful yet technical,\u201d Webb says of the climb. \u201cHands down one of the best out there!\u201d The next day with weather coming in, he climbed\u00a0Solar Plexus\u00a0<\/em>(8c), finishing off two days of good scaling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also on that trip, Webb pulled on his harness and sent Vallemangia <\/em>(8b+), a route that he found last season. \u201cIt\u2019s well known at this point that the potential for new boulders in Bavona is endless but not many people realize that there\u2019s an equal amount of potential for incredible new routes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summer<\/strong>
The Olympics marked the summer season with climbing entering its second year in the games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Megos spent a significant portion of the spring preparing for the competition. \u201cThe past couple of months I barely touched rock and mostly went indoor training to prepare for the upcoming comp season,\u201d he said of his plans as he prepared for Olympic qualifiers. At the Climbing Works International Federation in Sheffield, Megos earned bronze. The momentum helped him compete in Shanghai\u2019s qualifiers and then moved on to earn his ticket to Paris in Budapest. \u201cIt felt so good and it was such a relief after a lot of ups and downs the past few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alex Megos competing in Innsbruck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Megos performed well at the Olympics, placing 13th, and after he felt like he needed a break. He went to Flatanger, Norway where he climbed well, barely resting after his intense competition season. \u201cI guess I\u2019m not the guy for big vacations,\u201d he says on his Instagram post. Megos took a new approach to climbing in Norway, opting to use kneepads for the first time. Learning a new skill set in knee-barring allowed him to send Change<\/em> (9b), Little Badder<\/em> (9a), Move <\/em>(9b), and Illusionist<\/em> (9a).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While climbers competed in the Olympics and kneebarred through the Flatanger Cave, Jimmy Webb headed to the Colorado alpine where he repeated\u00a0Ego Death<\/em>\u00a0(8C). \u201cPossibly best hard block in the Colorado alpine? I think so!\u201d Webb says of the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, Ainhize Belar took a summer trip to Ceuse C\u00e9\u00fcse where she climbed\u00a0Hard Limits<\/em>\u00a0(8c),\u00a0Monnaie de Singe<\/em>\u00a0(8a+),\u00a0Dolce Vita<\/em>\u00a0(8a+), and\u00a0Ratman\u00a0<\/em>(8a+). The variety of climbing there helped her when she headed back to La Leze. where she onsighted\u00a0Txirrin Txirran<\/em>\u00a08b+. \u201cThe truth is that I never thought I could make such a high grade onsight but it seems that little by little we are improving in this modality,\u201d said Belar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ainhize Belar climbing in Siurana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The hard onsight helped her with her hardest redpoint. She sent I\u00f1i Ameriketan<\/em> (9a+) at Cueva De Baltzola. \u201cWithout a doubt, a process that has helped me learn many things,\u201d Belar says of her ascent. Shortly after she also sent Celedon <\/em>(9a) in Cueva de Baltzola.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tanguy Merard did some strong work on the boulders in the summer where he climbed in Rocklands, sending Book Club<\/em> (8B+) Saturn Return<\/em> (8B) and Power of One<\/em> (8B). The power he gained from the trip allowed him to climb even harder climbing Nova <\/em>(8C) in the Czech Republic. \u201cFirst 8C boulder for me, really happy to push myself in bouldering these last few month,\u201d Merard said of the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fall<\/strong>
The fall season saw Tenaya athletes putting in the work on their various projects, often prepping them for future ascents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Felipe Carmargo preparing for his projects.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Felipe Carmargo\u2019s big goals for the year were to try Grand Illusion <\/em>(V16) in Salt Lake City and Full Journey<\/em> (9b) in Margalef. He felt strong on both objectives but conditions didn\u2019t align. Still he learned from the process. \u201cClimbing teaches me once again to have patience,\u201d he says on his Instagram, \u201ctrust, and dedication to the things I love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Megos headed to the Red River Gorge where he onsighted\u00a0Zootopia<\/em>\u00a0(5.14a\/b). He also worked hard on his project there though he didn\u2019t quite send it. \u201cI made progress and I learned a lot though,\u201d Megos says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chris Sharma deep water soloing in Mallorca<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Chris Sharma also spent the fall projecting. Chris Sharma started heading to Mallorca in June to explore more of the deep water soloing there. He\u2019d already established a new 8c route in January and repeated Pol Roca\u2019s Animalistic<\/em> (8c). Then in June, he started to work a new, hard-line which proved exciting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had the full spectrum of experiences; super complex recon, massive waves, backslapping falls and multiple weather windows opening and closing and getting super close to actually sending,\u201d Sharma says on Instagram about his project. Sharma stayed psyched on deep water soloing, climbing hard above the Mediterranean on his project until December. On the 19th, he put together his project, sending\u00a0Vision Quest<\/em>\u00a0(9a). \u201cI had to dig deep and work my ass off for this one,\u201d he said of spending 30+ days over 6 months on the route. \u201cNo doubt the late December freshness added to the intensity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5987,"template":"","class_list":["post-5985","relatos","type-relatos","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relatos\/5985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relatos"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/relatos"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relatos\/5985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}