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More Plice

Date: 15th November 2010


I’m really psyched to keep receiving photos of the Plywood Ice “Plice” that people are building around the world, really cool! I recently wrote an article for Climbing (out soon I think) about training for steep ice climbing; the gist of it the article is that climbing a lot of ice would be the best training, followed by some sort of wall (plice), followed by replicating the movements (which we can all do on the playground or with any brick wall out there) followed by weight room training. Periodization (focusing on when to peak, rest, refresh, build and so on), like any sport, is important to prevent burnout and injury, but most performance gains for ice climbing come from skill and muscle recruitment, not pure strength.

Anyhow, here are two more pictures, psyched for everyone getting it on! The season has started here in Alberta; I haven’t been out ’cause I broke my finger, but I have been training on my own plice with a wrist loop, all good!
Photo Credits: Hagen and Taylor

Posted in: Blog


Comments

  1. Anonymous   November 16, 2010 5:50 pm

    Hi Will,

    This is probably not the best place to put this, but I want you to see the latest on the David Lama/Red Bull/Cerro Torre fiasco.

    Rolo chopped some of the film crews bolts and has posted on Supertopo what he found. From everything I know Rolo is a very honest and truth seeking guy. check out what he writes:
    http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1319502&tn=0

  2. Will Gadd   November 16, 2010 6:08 pm

    Anon, I got an email from Rolo this morning about this, thanks. What a cluster.

  3. Terry Erickson   November 18, 2010 11:41 pm

    Will,
    I've been trying to figure out how to find your email address, or contact you through your blog, but haven't been able to.

    Since you are the 1st athlete that pops into my mind when I see anything RedBull, I thought I'd put this here – please delete if you want.

    I emailed RedBull a few days ago when Rolando Garibotti posted his latest findings about David Lama's guides bolting indiscriminately on the Compressor route on Cerro Torre. You are mentioned in the post (that I see someone has linked to already here – the Supertopo link).

    RedBull seems to think that all has been handled fine. I'm going to post the response below that everyone emailing RB in the US is receiving. Could you please let RedBull know that their reputation is suffering from their lack of ownership? Many people care about treating mountain environments respectfully and RedBull could help support this, rather than go on the defensive and try to spin out more disinformation. I have a lot of respect for the way you conduct yourself, Will and hope that you can talk with some people at RedBull to make sure the bolts Rolando chopped won't be power drilled back in next season.

    Best regards,
    Terry

    PS. here's RedBull's response they are sending to anyone writing them:

    Hi Terry,

    Thanks for sending us your concern.

    Due to bad weather, the production had to be stopped and is currently on hold whilst waiting for the next Patagonian summer.
    Red Bull takes the protection of nature and security of human lives very seriously, and has a long history in producing high quality productions in extreme circumstances and exposed areas. The entire shoulder and wall has been cleaned of not only our, but also older material which was found. Only one haul bag and 30 bolts remain, set only aside the main climbing route necessary for the production crew due to falling ice on the original track. The whole endeavor and every step was planned and executed in close accordance with the local administration of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. After completion of the project these parts will also be entirely removed.

    If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to give us a call at 1(877)673-9444.

    Thanks and regards,

    Emily
    Red Bull
    http://www.redbullusa.com

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