Top30 Climbing Walls: Climbing Walls producer..... all around the world

Austrian climbing walls encore

Thu, 2 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Yet another climbing installation in Austria - now at altitude in G�tzis. G�tzis is a town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg with a population of around 10 500. The town is well known for its annual hypo-combined events meeting, the so-called Hypo-Meeting, where some of the world's leading decathletes and heptathletes gather. Climbing has not surprisingly been a popular activity in this region and finally the locals have their own indoor wall at the G�tzis Hauptschule (secondary school) where the also the students will be able to pursue the sport. Climbing walls in schools in Austria is more the norm than the exception.

The new climbing wall has a height of 5,40 meters and a width of 10,30 and has been constructed with the use of our 3D Real Rock panels. A peculiarity is the integrated basketball hoop, which opens for some out of the ordinary combinations...maybe?
Additionally our man in charge in Austria has created an ingenious safety system to prevent unauthorized climbing. Rules are rules - also in Austria. All in all there is something like 75 m2 of climbing surface on which at least 280 holds (even many iholds) have been meticulously screwed on resulting in sensible and fun climbing routes.

IFSC Climbing World Cup in Korea

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Spanish domination in Korea as Patxi and Ram�n take first and second in ChunCheon. Great weekend for the Spanish male climbers in the ChunCheon Songam sports town. The climbing competition is part of the first-ever World Leisure Games, which are held from August 28 to September 5 around the theme "Improving the quality of life through leisure experiences" in ChunCheon City.
World champion Patxi Usobiaga won the men's category a few moves ahead of ex-world champion Ram�n Juli�n (Top30 Team) after both had topped the qualification routes. Ram�n had by far the best result in the ½ -final but could not hold on to his lead in the final and had to yield way for his teammate and rival.
A fine day also for Korea with 2 in the men´s final and favourite Jain Kim winning the women's final in unstoppable style. She was the only climber with a clean sheet thru qualifications and semi-final and beat Ciavaldini in the final proper with a huge margin. Angela Eiter (Top30 Team) finished eloquently in third and Maja Vidmar (Top30 Team) persuasively finishing as number 8.

The classification in the men's category is a tight affair. Now Usobiaga leads the pack with 223 points. Breathing down his neck is Ram�n with 214. Czech ace Adam Ondra is third with 192 points.
In the overall standings in the women's category Jain Kim is in the lead with 200 points followed by Angela Eiter with 171 while Ciavaldini has collected 157.
The World Cup will continue on September 24th in Puurs, Belgium. In between there is the biennial European Championship, which this year takes place in well-known Imst in Tyrol...55 km west of Innsbruck.

General Result - Men lead
1. Patxi Usobiaga Lakunza (ESP)
2. Ram�n Julian Puigblanque (ESP)
3. Sachi Amma (JPN)
4. Adam Ondra (CZE)
5. David Lama (AUT)
6. Jakob Schubert (AUT
7. Sangwon Son (KOR)
8. Hyunbin Min (KOR)
9. Romain Desgranges (FRA)

General Result - Women lead
1. Jain Kim (KOR)
2. Caroline Ciavaldini (FRA)
3. Angela Eiter (AUT)
4. Natalija Gros (SLO)
5. Yana Chereshneva (RUS)
6. Muriel Sarkany (BLE)
7. Mina Markovic (SLO)
8. Maja Vidmar (SLO)

Comps 2010: IFSC World Cup in China

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

No immediate Spanish success in a world cup competition with marginal participation. Czech Republic's Adam Ondra and South Korean Kim Jain on Saturday won the men's and women's lead titles at the IFSC Climbing World Cup 2010 held in west China's Qinghai province. Eight athletes participated in men's lead final, but no one managed to top the route. Austrian Jakob Schubert finished second while the relatively unknown quantity Gauthier Supper from France took a fine bronze.
Ram�n Juli�n, who was one of the favourites, narrowly slipped out of the final and only Usobiaga was left to defend the Spanish colours but could "only" manage a 7th place.
At the end of the day Ram�n (Top30 Team) finished as number 9 while Victor Esteller came 15th.
The lead final was also a difficult one for the girls as most of them fell down before reaching halfway up the route. Kim Jain won the event in what became an all-asian affair. Japan's Yuka Kobayashi and her teammate Akiyo Noguchi Akiyo were second and third respectively.
Angela Eiter (Top30 Team) was best European with her fine 4th place in a 10-women strong final. Maja Vidmar was 12th.
Next weekend the show moves to Korea.
Final results, men
1. Adam Ondra (CZE)
2. Jakob Schubert (AUT)
3. Gauthier Supper (FRA)
4. David Lama (AUT)
5. Sachi Amma (JPN)
6. Sangwon Son (KOR)
7. Patxi Usobiaga (ESP)
8. Mikhail Chernikov (RUS)
-----
9. Ram�n Juli�n (ESP)
15. Victor Esteller (ESP)

Final results, women
1. Kim Jain (KOR)
2. Yuka Kobayashi (JPN)
3. Akiyo Noguchi (JPN)
4. Angela Eiter (AUT)
5. Caroline Ciavaldini (FRA)
5. Natalija Gros (SLO)
7. Mina Markovic (SLO)
8. Alexandra Eyer (SUI)
9. H�l�ne Janicot (FRA)
10. Muriel Sarkany (BLE)
-----
12. Maja Vidmar (SLO)

IFSC: Competitions 2011

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

The IFSC has published the official dates for the 2011 competition season - Top30 heavily involved. The IFSC (International Federation of Sport Climbing) has now announced what is most likely to be the official venues and dates on the competition calendar for next year. The long list is not yet confirmed 100 % but what is certain is that Top30 will be a familiar name for the season to come. It is the Events and Athletes Commissions that suggests to the IFSC Executive Board who again puts the affirmative "stamp" on provisional calendar for 2011, that will be finalized on September 15th, 2010.
From the look of it, the Spanish federation and Top30 will together arrange a boulder world cup in Barcelona in June while the lead climbers will compete in the Mar Bella sports pavilion in November. This particular event will represent the final of the 2011-season, which has traditionally been held in Kranj. Top30 is already working on the design of the new wall, which is created solely for this occasion.

Amman 2011... a solid option.

The involvement of Top30 next year is not limited to the two tests on Spanish soil as we are linking up with the Jordanian Federation of Sport Climbing (JFSC) to arrange a lead (difficulty) competition in Amman at the end of October...with the technical support of the Spanish federation (FEDME). The venue is :Climbat Amman and the date appears on the provisional calendar and hopefully it will be a definite choice when the top brass go for the final approval. With Amman picked Top30 would ultimately be the single company at top international level to be involved in the organization of 3 different competitions within one season. It would confirm our status as a key player in the world of (climbing) competitions.

Bludenz enjoys indoor climbing

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Top30 has crossed borders to install a neat artificial wall in the Austrian city of Bludenz. Bludenz is a city in the state of beautiful Vorarlberg in Austria, close to Switzerland. The town, surrounded by mountains, is at the meeting point of five different valleys.
The population is around 14 000 and the town is probably best known for the chocolate factory Suchard.
Climbing is in this area a major activity and Top30 was hired to build an indoor climbing wall in a school. The installation was created combining Quiros panels, 3D Real Rock panels and Top panels; in short the complete range of Top30 panels. The width of the wall is 11,75 meters while the height is a modest 5,40 m. Thus there has been created an extension by mounting panels to the ceiling; 2 x 4 meters resulting in a couple more challenging rooflines. 360 holds have been used to set routes of various difficulty and the man behind it all is of course Wolfgang Vogl, since many years the manager of Top30 Austria.

Closing of wall system

One of the requirements from the customer was that there had to be installed some kind of safety system to prevent unwanted and unauthorized climbing as activity on the wall is restricted to when instructors are present. For this Top30 designed an aesthetic closing and opening system using wood panels. When activated, the panels make climbing virtually impossible and freak accidents are avoided. This type of system, in various versions are becoming more and more common.

More business for Top30

Mon, 9 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Growing business even in dire times: San Andr�s de Rabanedo (Le�n) will in September inaugurate a new climbing wall installed by Top30. San Andr�s de Rabanedo is a municipality located in the province of Le�n, Castile and Le�n. According to the 2007 census the city has a population of 33,056 inhabitants. The municipality was actually one of the first customers Top30 had when we installed an outdoor wall there more than 15 years ago. The installation was quite recently dismantled in a process to refurbish the park in which it was erected. Now with a new sports hall (Pabell�n Polideportivo Camino de Santiago) on the premises, local authorities decided again to contact Top30 with the objective of having a new and modern climbing facility installed in the fancy sports complex. When given the mission, we decided obviously to propose a new generation installation combining functionality and aesthetics. Our designers came up with a solution based on our Top Wave panels, an innovative panel system exclusive to Top30 in Spain.
The new climbing wall consists of a combination of climbing surfaces that will offer a multitude of possibilities to create climbing routes on most levels. Additionally there is a sector destined solely for beginners, which at the top has a platform from where one can e.g. train abseiling techniques and other basic rope drills. The installation can be divided in primarily to sections; the main section has a width of 6 meters and a height of 9 meters and incorporates the most demanding climbing lines. The secondary section has a width of 2,3 meters and is designed first and foremost for beginners, courses etc.
To make routes, we have supplied more than 500 holds, a large percentage from our iholds collection.
The company Tes�n Servicios Integrales, which is a company, specialized in the management of sports facilities; organization of activities and events will manage and maintain the wall.

Boulder in Sanlucar la Mayor

Fri, 6 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Bouldering seems still to be the thing down south. Sanl�car la Mayor is a municipality in the province of Seville, southern Spain, approximately 20 kilometers from the city of Seville itself. It is where Top30 has installed a small boulder to the outside of a private house. Isn't that the wet dream of every climber; to have a private climbing wall to train on?
This specific boulder (thou probably must fun for kids and beginners) is installed using the latest generation Quiros panels, which are vacuum moulded fibreglass panels. They come with an extended warranty issued by Top30 who carries the ISO9001 certificate and also guarantees that all our produce is made in compliance with the European norm (for artificial climbing structures) UNE EN 12572, which now also covers boulder walls.
The tiny installation is 3 meters high and has a width of 4,5 meters and designed with 2 sections; one vertical and one slightly overhanging. Furthermore it is, or will be, equipped with 60 climbing holds, a large portion from our i-holds selection.

International competitions roundup

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

The boulder world cup finishes with overall victories for Adam Ondra and Akiyo Noguchi. In the Brian��n open international Ram�n Juli�n finishes third. It is full speed ahead for the climbing competition season as we tick off dates on the calendar in rapid succession. The last event of the IFSC Boulder World Cup was arranged in Munich this last weekend with Czech wonder kid Adam Ondra the overall winner in the men's category. Thus he ended the myth of the need for specialization. Everyone involved in the game consider it very, very difficult to excel in both bouldering and lead and above all surpass all and win both the world cups. Adam Ondra won his first world cup title in Difficulty in 2009 and now the boulder cup. It remains now to be seen if he can repeat the feat in this year's competition at the sharp end of the rope.
Second place overall went to Kilian Fischhuber from Austria. He has undoubtedly been the best boulderer over the last few years but could not retain his title. The bronze went to Japanese Tsukuru Hori. In the Munich event itself Russians Dmitry Sharafutdinov and Victor Kozlov followed Ondra on the podium.
In the women's category Akiyo Naguchi from Japan toppled Austrian Anna St�hr while Belgium's Chlo� Grafitaux finished the circuit with a fine third place. It was Naguchi´s second consecutive title but a close call as St�hr seemed well on her way to a win after superb climbing in the semis in Munich but the situation was reverted in the finals where Akiyo won for one attempt less. Russian Anna Galliamova was third.

Overall classification IFSC Boulder World Cup 2010

Men´s category
1. Adam Ondra (CZE) - 515 pts.
2. Kilian Fischuber (AUT) - 450 pts.
3. Tsukuru Hori (JPN) - 346 pts.

Women´s category
1. Akiyo Noguchi (JPN) - 455 pts.
2. Anna St�hr (AUT) - 448 pts.
3. Chlo� Grafitaux - 426 pts.

Brian�on Open International (Serre Chevalier)

The (21st) international event at Brian��n now takes over from the traditional Serre Chevalier Masters; a classic competition of great prestige, which always held a reserved date on the calendar of international competitions. The competition will in 2011 run as a world cup test and this year's (comp) will count for the final rankings.
Lately Swiss veteran Cedric Lachat has showed great form and proved that it was not just a glimpse of his former self by winning ahead of Frenchman Manuel Romain. In third followed Ram�m Juli�n whos has been so far the prominent lead climber with wins in both Chamonix and Arco. He has secured wins in both 2007 and 2008 but could not quite maintain his momentum this weekend. But promises to come well prepared for the upcoming world cup events.
It was a good day in France for the female members of the Top30 Team with Austrian Angela Eiter back on the winning track after a whole year without top spots. Switzerland's Alexandra Eyer managed an excellent second while "our" Maja Vidmar (Slovenia & Top30 Team) finished in third.

Final classification

Men´s category
1. Cedric Lachat (SUI)
2. Manuel Romain (FRA)
3. Ram�n Juli�n (ESP)

Women´s category
1. Angela Eiter (AUT)
2. Alexandra Eyer (SUI)
3. Maja Vidmar (SLO)

An Austrian climbing wall

Wed, 4 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Top30 installs an exclusive climbing wall for the Omicron company. Omicron Electronics is an international company serving the electrical power industry with innovative testing and diagnostic solutions. Combining innovation, leading edge technology, and creative software solutions, Omicrons sales have world leader status for this niche market today. Just as Top30 has within the relatively small climbing wall market. The company is based in Klaus (Vorarlberg) not far from Bregenz but has also offices in North America, Europe, South and East Asia and the Middle East, together with a worldwide network of distributors and representatives in 130 countries.
At some point Omicron decided to add climbing possibilities to the range of leisure activities offered its employees, which sounds like a sound philosophy and investment.
We bet there are many climbing aficionados as part of the staff as the region is a paradise for climbing, fell walking and mountain sports in general.
Anyway, the wall itself is almost 6 meters high and has a climbable surface of 35 m2 and is entirely made using our 3D Real Rock panels. 250 climbing holds have been used to create routes/problems.
The installation is unfortunately not open to the general public but hopefully it'll serve as a (good) example and that other companies will follow suit. Top30 was selected for the job after a rigorous process where in the quality norm ISO9001 and the fulfilment of the European norm UNE EN 12572 were mandatory elements and an absolute condition.

New climbing wall in Soria

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0200

San Esteban de Gormaz includes climbing as part of the sports activities offered its inhabitants...kids and adults. San Esteban de Gormaz is a municipality in the province of Soria in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon and located halfway between Madrid and Bilbao. Its population is approximately 3,500. The village (or town) lies between the bank of River Duero and a small hill, 70 km east of the capital of the province (Soria). The Arab Gormaz Castle is located nearby and so is a brand new climbing wall, delivered by Top30. The climbing wall is installed inside the municipal sports hall and is a result of an initiative from the mountain and climbing associations in the region. The artificial climbing installation is produced using our Top Wave panels; an innovative solution (exclusive in Spain) providing multifunctional solutions using friction coated plywood panels. The shapes, angels and inclinations we can create with this product are a world apart from the traditional box type solutions. The relatively small wall will definitely satisfy the initial needs but we predict an extension, which there is plenty of room for.
The wall is equipped with approximately 150 climbing holds and already in use by the children who participate in the summer camps organized in and around the region.

Open Asturias boulder championship 2010

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Results from the Open Boulder Villa de Gij�n and Asturias boulder championship 2010. The Open Villa de Gij�n and Asturias boulder championship went under way this weekend in perfect conditions on the seafront close to the city.
The trial was organized by the FEMPA (Mountaineering and Climbing Federation of the Principality of Asturias) sponsored by the City Council of Gij�n and with the collaboration of Top30 as well as some commercial brands.
92 climbers registered in the various categories and came from Murcia, Madrid, Le�n, Cantabria and Asturias.
It was as mentioned a splendid day with pleasant temperature coming off the Cantabrian Sea. The high level of the climbers and the high quality of the boulder problems created by Francisco Blanco, Gelu Castro, Rafa Costa and Conrado made the event into a climbing fiesta the large audience applauded.
Most likely and hopefully this competition will be repeated and become a summer classic.
Here are the results:
Classification, men senior
1. IGNACIO SANCHEZ F. MURCIANA
2. JAVIER MENG F. CANTABRA
3. CELESTINO BLANCO F. CANTABRA
4. ISAAC MONTES F. ASTURIANA

Asturias boulder championship 2010
1. ISAAC MONTES
2. JAIRO PANDIELLA
3. CARLOS GONZALEZ

Classification, women senior
1. MARIA RIVAYA F. ASTURIANA
2. ALBA LUMBRERAS F. C�NTABRA
3. �RICA GONZ�LEZ F. LEONESA

Asturias boulder championship 2010
1. MARIA RIVAYA
2. NOELIA D�AZ
3. VIRGINIA SELGAS

"Old boys"
1. FERM�N CAMINO F. ASTURIANA

"Old girls"
1. ELDA SELA F. ASTURIANA

Boys U20
1. RAM�N CUEVAS F. CANTABRA
2. ALEJANDRO PUENTE F. CANTABRA
3. ADRIAN MART�N F. ASTURIANA

Girls U20
1. BERTA PASCUAL NO F.

Boys U16
1. CARLOS GARC�A F. ASTURIANA

Girls U16
1. M�NICA DEL POZO NO F

Picture Gallery

Villa de Gij�n open boulder competition

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0200

La Federaci�n de Deportes de Monta�a, Escalada y Senderismo del Principado de Asturias keeps developing activities for the climbers in Asturias.Tomorrow the event takes place at the Poniente beach near Gijon. The event starts at 10 o´clock on Saturday morning with the semi-finals. There is a little friendly twist to the competition as the climbers are all allowed to view and work the problems together created by the route setters. The best climbers will then be selected and will meet again in the afternoon for the finals....on the shore of the Bay of Biscay but protected from the sea breeze. The climbing walls have of course been installed by Top30 and are the same that were used for the Spanish championship. The competition doubles as an Open and as the Asturias championship and there are prizes in both categories. Besides being an open competition for everyone wanting to compete whether from Asturias or not, ranking points are awarded, points, which will be decisive when climbers from the principality are selected for national tests.
To enroll costs zero for members of the federation (FEMPA) and € 6,00 for non-associates. The fee covers a one-day insurance. Registration can be done on site tomorrow from 09:00 and till semi finish or via the FEMPA website.
Gijon hasn't seen a major climbing event since 1997 so let's cross our fingers and hope that weather gods play on our team and that we are blessed with a sunny day. And that lots of people turn out both to compete and cheer.

Categories

Boys and girls: U-16.
Boys and girls: U-18.
Men and women: senior
Men and women: Old boys/girls (over 40)

Ram�n Juli�n - a living Arco legend

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Ram�n wins the legendary Arco Rock Master for the fifth time.Ram�n Juli�n is an outstanding member of the Top30 Team and showed why by winning yet again this prestigious invitational. In the qualification he was one out of four climbers managing to top out the 2 routes and in the semi-final, the list was reduced to two - Ram�n being one of them, Ondra the other. In the final the Catalan showed proof of excellent form and was again the climber getting the upper hand. No one could match Ram�n. He triumphed ahead of Jakob Schubert from Austria and Czech ace Adam Ondra. Patxi Usobiaga finished in 7th place, which for most climbers would be satisfactory but not for the world champion. But considering that Patxi is recovering from surgery to his shoulder, it is a commendable performance. Usobiaga will be a formidable challenger as the season continues and Patxi progresses.

The climbing icon Chris Sharma did one of his few starts in this type of event. And when he does, he catches everyone's attention. He has a tendency to outshone most and remains in the limelight - not necessarily of his own desire. Anyway, the American, without any serious preparations, finished in 16th place tied with climbers of such class and repute as Jorg Verhoeven and Norwegian Magnus Midtb�.

Jain Kim is the superstar

In the female category Korean Jain Kim triumphed in front of Austrian surprise Katharina Posch. In third we find Angela Eiter (Top30 Team) who demonstrated with her fine performance that she is back where she belongs; on the podium in international competitions. We have a soft spot for Belgian veteran Muriel Sarkany who put up a fight and finished 9th while Maja Vidmar (Top30 Team) ended the day with a somewhat disappointing 12th place.

Swiss C�dric Lachat won the men´s bouldering contest ahead of the extremely strong Russian Rustam Gelmanov. Third place went to Tsukuru Hori from Japan. Lachat is really back in great shape and incredibly enough participated in both the lead category and bouldering. Anna St�hr from Austria ruled in the women´s final but only after a head-to-head fight with Ukranian Olga Shalagina and Japanese Akiyo Noguchi.
In the battle for first place in the lead duels Ondra beat Sean McColl from Canada, who won silver, while in the duel for bronze, Jakob Schubert from Austria beat Frenchman Romain Desgranges. In the women´s category Katharina Posch won gold by beating the Korean Jain Kim, while Alexandra Eyer from Switzerland beat Aliz�e Dufraisse in the battle for third place.

The world championship 2011

For many and mainly the organization of the Arco Master, this year's competition was a test and the prologue of what is to come; the IFSC World Championship 2011, which will take place in July next year. After being celebrated in China in 2009, the biannual championship returns to Europe where it was also arranged in 2007 (Avil�s, Spain).
If Ram�n upholds his exceptional form and phenomenal statistics shown in Arco over the last few years, he is a strong contender for what could be his second title as champion of the world. We'll get the answer in less than 12 months.

Galer�a de imagenes

Disfruta con algunas de las imagenes m�s interesantes de Arco 2010.

World Cup 2010: Chamonix

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Ram�n Juli�n and Charlotte Durif win the first test of the 2010 World Cup campaign.It has been quite some time since the French national hymn was heard in Chamonix, the cradle of mountaineering but Charlotte Durif changed that by winning the traditional event in the French Alps. And if that was not enough, 16 years old H�lene Janicot followed in second in what was her first final. In third we find our own Maja Vidmar (Top30 Team) from Slovenia. The Spanish ladies had no immediate success with Helena Alem�n in 37th place and Irat� Anda in 52nd. It was Irat�´s return to the international scene after a long absence. She is on the long way back to the previous good form, which brought her so many fine results.
In the male category Ram�n Juli�n and Patxi Usobiaga continued what Iniesta & Co started. Little Ram�n (Top30 Team) showed again his greatness and got off to the best possible start in his quest for the only title he is missing; the overall world cup title. Usobiagas performance is also very impressive taking into consideration that he had to undergo surgery to his shoulder at the end of last season. In third place came Jorg Verhoeven who seems to be back on track and will be looking for his second title.
Three more members of the Spanish team also participated in Chamonix. Youngster Eric L�pez finished in 32nd place, Marco Jubes in 35th and Victor Esteller in 41st.
One of the favourites in Chamonix and overall is Adam Ondra but this time around he dropped out of the final and had to be "content" with a 9th place.

One of the route setters in Chamonix was Patxi Arocena (Top30 Team) who besides being the chief route setter for the Spanish competitions receives a number of commissions for international competitions. Although just having completed tests in Bilbao and Corunna, he could not refuse to participate in one of the most important events on the IFSC calendar.

The next world cup event takes us all the way to China and Xining on August 21st.

Results, men´s final

1. Ram�n Juli�n (ESP)
2. Patxi Usobiaga (ESP)
3. Jorg Verhoeven (NED)
4. Sachi Amma (JPN)
5. Samuel Romain (FRA)
6. Gauthier Supper (FRA)
7. Romain Desgrandes (FRA)
8. Jakob Schubert (AUT)
9. Adam Ondra (CZE)

Results, women´s final

1. Charlotte Durif (FRA)
2. H�lene Janicot (FRA)
3. Maja Vidmar (SLO)
4. Alexandra Eyer (SUI)
5. Angela Eiter (AUT)
6. Momoka Oda (JPN)
7. Olga Shalagina (UKR)
8. Aliz�e Dufraise (FRA)
9. Sara Avoscan (ITA)

Boulder comp and festival fun in Arrigorriaga

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Now comes the first edition of the Jaialdia boulder competition in Arrigoriaga, Top30 will install the boulder wall.

Arrigorriaga is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque County, northern Spain.
The competition is scheduled for Saturday July 17th and the format is planned to be a bit more chilled and not so tight as the usual high level tests. Jaialdia aims towards being a competition with "character and soul" and with prizes for all the participants in two categories; seniors and under 19.
The organizers will create 30 different problems that means it is going to be a long and great day of climbing and fun. The actual boulders will be installed by Top30 in the Plaza Juan XXIII located in the middle of the town. The climbing structures will undoubtedly become a central part of the weekend's ongoing celebrations, which also consists of live music, photo exhibitions, sales booths.....and there will also be a (bouldering) dyno-contest.

If you register in advance, the price is € 3, while registration for participation on the day of the competition is € 6.

Sweden`s number one climbing wall?

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Top30 is in the process of installing what must be one of the largest climbing walls in Scandinavia.The climbing community in Gothenburg has always been large and lively but as opposed to e.g. Oslo and Stockholm have lagged behind in regards of big and updated climbing facilities Now that is about to change as Top30 constructs an impressive installation in a pretty unique building belonging to the University of Gothenburg....close to the university campus. The building has the shape of half a sphere. The building was until recently used as a physics laboratory. On the outside the semi-globe is covered with copper giving it a unique expression.
The project is promoted by the company Fysiken and has been driven forward by a few climbing fanatics - amongst them Ricardo Morales, the actual midwife of this initiative and also the one who will run it in the future.
All in all we are building 1100 m2 of climbing surface with walls 17 meters high.
In the middle there will be a boulder "island" with a diameter of 13 m and a height of 4 meters. The installation will hold no less than 4500 climbing holds - something that has forced Top30 to resort to other manufacturers to be able to guarantee the needed variety. On the walls of the new climbing facility you will also get the chance to test the range of Top30 macro formations, Trix and Volumes that surely will add "colour" to the installation.
The new climbing centre will be finished in August and opened to the public in the same month. You can, as we speak, sign up for membership. Log into the website for more details. And if you are just passing by Gothenburg, be sure you don't.

Sheffield Steel

Fri, 9 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Graftiaux and Ondra chiefs in Sheffield.This past weekend (3rd and 4th July 2010) saw the sixth round of the Bouldering World Cup take place in Sheffield, England. The event drew in excess of an amazing 20, 000 spectators.
In the female category Chlo� Graftiaux from Belgium got back to the form she had at Vail, after a disappointing effort at Eindhoven. She placed 1st in the women's finals after just edging 2nd place Alex Johnson from the United States, in 3rd place was Japan's Akiyo Noguchi. The competition was a tight one with all of the women on the podium managing to top out the final boulders and only one try separating Graftiaux from Johnson. The results from Sheffield were enough to change the overall rankings a bit with Chlo� Graftiaux getting up into 1st place. Anna St�hr whom had been placing well in previous rounds fell down the overall rankings a bit when she finished 9th.
Amongst the men Adam Ondra was on form, topping out all of the final problems along with Switzerland's Cedric Lachat who came in at a respectable 2nd place. In 3rd place was Mykhaylo Shalagin from the Ukraine. In similar style to the women's competition, Kilian Fischhuber the leader of the overall rankings placed a dismal 10th, but still managed to retain his number 1 spot on the overall rankings, but now Ondra has seen himself edge closer with only a 7 point difference in rankings to the leading Fischhuber.

Source: www.rockclimbing.com

Results, women:
1. Chlo� Graftiaux (Belgium)
2. Alex Johnson (United States)
3. Akiyo Noguchi (Japan)
4. Natalija Gros (Slovenia)
5. Juliane Wurm (Germany)
6. Yulia Abramchuk (Russia)
7. Jenny Lavarda (Italy)
8. Cecile Avezou (France)

Results, men:
1. Adam Ondra (Czech Republic)
2. C�dric Lachat (Switzerland)
3. Mykhaylo Shalagin (Ukraine)
4. Guillaume Glairon Mondet (France)
5. Rustam Gelmanov (Russia)
6. Tsukuru Hori (Japan)
7. Sean McColl (Canada)
8. Klemen Becan (Slovenia)
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10. Marco Jubes (Spain)