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The 3rd Annual Bloc Party at Planet Granite’s San Francisco location was a raving success. Fun climbing and a positive vibe made it THE place to be last Friday night.
Both levels of bouldering were jam packed with climbers of all abilities, which means there were a few people who had to take their harnesses off as they tried out the 40 new problems. With their smiling faces bobbing to music mixed by DJ Brent, everybody was happy to help others with beta, a spot , and loud encouragement for a struggling competitor. The positive, inviting atmosphere seduced even the noncompetitive person to throw his/her hat into the ring in an attempt to win great prizes from our sponsors.
Competitors turned spectators after handing in their scorecards, enjoying pizza and beer as the remaining climbers scrambled to increase their final tally. An impromptu finals-like match, involving local hard-men & professional climbers alike, ensued. The show left many spectators with gaping lips as they watched the likes of Carlo Traversi & Kevin Jorgeson glide through many of the hardest problems.
As the hard working staff tallied up the scores, the competitors watched the “DOLLARS-FOR-DYNOS” competition, where $1 bought you three dyno attempts, and a chance to win more raffle tickets. Donations went to support the victims of the San Bruno Gas Explosion with Planet Granite offering a company match of funds raised that evening. Over $1100 was raised in the impromptu event.
Though many prizes were awarded, first choices went to the top competitors in each division. The winners were Oriol Rodei and Barbara Alperin for the Recreational division in the Men’s and the Women’s respectively. Leo Chen and Courtney Miyamoto took the men’s and women’s Advanced division. Carlo Traversi and Natasha Barnes took home the honors from the Open division.
The next Bloc Party dates are October 15th at Planet Granite Belmont and November 19th at Planet Granite Sunnyvale. New this year is a Series Final on Nov. 19th which will be an onsight format. Scores are cumulative throughout the series, so those who didn’t end up on the leaderboard last week still have a chance at our Series Final. The top scoring competitors from all three Bloc Parties will qualify. That means if you need to up your climbing “game” then you may be interested in trying out our 101 or Power and Endurance classes.
A big thank you to all the competitors and spectators. And of course, none of it would be possible without the awesome support from our sponsors and the talented team of Planet Granite route setters. Thank you ALL.
Photos by: Ivan Cua & Al Liu
Competition Sponsors:
Evolv
Sports Basement
La Sportiva
Rock and Ice
Metolius
REI
Black Diamond
Red Chili
Wild Country
DMM
Prana
VAS
SuperTopo
Pizzeria Avellino
