Planet Granite

Meet PG Sunnyvale’s Asst Manager Nick!

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May 102013

Nick feasting on the Ahwanee Ledge, Leaning Tower, Yosemite

Nick Gerrard is a man of many talents and skills. He is one of the strongest climbers that I know and hands down the best off-the-couch climber I’ve ever seen. No joke. He’ll flash V9s after not having climbed in 3 weeks. In his time as a climber, he has competed against the likes of Mike Abell and Carlo Traversi, deep water soloed in Mallorca for 3 weeks, where he lived on the beaches and hung out with a cave-dwelling man named Cesar (who made him espresso in the mornings and called him brother). He does jiu-jitsu too. He’s done trad climbs in the Sierras. The Sheepherder [boulder problem] in the Buttermilks is one of his favorite problems ever. He climbs smart and is strategic in his approach. As a matter of fact, the genius and analytical side carries over to other areas of his life. Nick attended UC Santa Cruz where he received a degree in Molecular Biology. In addition, he’s the ultimate competitor when it comes to Halo and is a total nerd when it comes to Magic cards. Little known fact, Nick has even talked about quitting climbing and becoming a professional magic card player – but we’re glad he hasn’t done that yet!

Tell us a little bit about your new role.

I’m the assistant manager here at Planet Granite Sunnyvale. It’s pretty crazy to think of my history with the gym. I’ve gone through it all; climbing on the team, working event staff, setting routes, working the desk, teaching classes, coaching the team.

Sunnyvale also welcomes gym manager Eliot Carlson to the crew. You both seem to compliment each other really well. Has he taught you how to really crack climb yet?

Eliot and I have so far only bouldered together, but he knows who to give a call to when he’s looking for a rope gun. I have heard he has some skills (parental caution: link contains bad language). But in all seriousness, I’m looking forward to learning some tips.

We know you have been climbing for a while, but what’s the back-story?

An old friend of mine was on the Planet Granite youth team back in 2000. He talked me into climbing in a Cranberry Crank event, which was one of Planet Granite’s annual competitions. I crushed the novice category and was hooked ever since.

So, it’s known you’re a big Magic Card player. Care to explain that?

I’ve got Planet Granite Sunnyvale to thank for that. There is actually a pretty big Magic community here among not only the staff, but members as well. The first time I actually played was inside a tent in the Red Rocks campground.

Nick deep water soloing in Mallorca, Spain

What does your week usually look like during the typical climbing season and do you train?

As far as the climbing goes, I try and climb three days a week for about two or three hours a day. Some days I boulder, some days I’m clipping draws, but I usually never have a plan. I always say I’m going to start training, but I never do. I might hit up the campus board or hang board for a session every now and then, but months will go by before I’ll ever pay them another visit.

What has been your most memorable climbing trip? Have you made any international trips?

All trips are memorable. It’s hard to choose one. I spent a month in Spain last summer deep water soloing, but I have had just as much fun spending the day up in Castle Rock jumping from boulder to boulder. As long as I’m with good company, a climbing day is a day well spent regardless of how hard I send or what rock I’m pulling on.

Crushing in the ‘Milks

How do balance working at a gym full time and climbing?

Balancing work and climbing is pretty easy. Climbing, in the gym at least, is great way to break up my day. It’s balancing everything else that can be a challenge.

What are some things climbing has taught you?

Climbing has taught me so much. Not only from the sport itself, but all the other experiences and relationships I’ve made within the community. The one thing I’ve learned that I value the most is the need to be happy over anything else. Climbing is a great way to separate myself from the needs and wants of society and to just enjoy life.

You have really mentored a fair amount of climbers, myself included. What do you think of as your role in that?

It’s crazy. Leaving the climbing team as a coach was the hardest part about taking on the assistant manager role, with teaching other classes being a close second. I’ve been lucky to have had the chance to learn what I have about the sport and it has definitely been a highlight to pay it forward.

Cruising Fly Boy, Buttermilks, Bishop CA

Before taking on this new role, you were pretty much the most popular climbing coach. Although you try to sub for people when you can, do you miss coaching?

Coaching is awesome. It’s the kids that really make it so enjoyable. I definitely miss it. I’ve been trying to make it a habit to say hi and yell out beta whenever I know they’re training.

Are there any trips on the horizon?

No plans as of now except for the occasional valley trips, at least once the snow melts. Squamish would be pretty sweet to return to this summer. Hopefully next year I’ll travel overseas again but that’s too far to tell. The Grampians would be pretty awesome to visit.

You’re pretty good at smack talking, right?

I don’t smack talk. I motivate.

Zach and Nick on top of the Bolt Ladder Pitch, Leaning Tower , Yosemite

Thanks to Zach Shull for this interview! When not crushing on rock inside or out, Zach can be found pursuing the perfect wave, going for a casual trail run at the crack of dawn or long boarding down some insanely steep hill.

Newton Natural Running TUNE-UP Clinics

Fitness, Sunnyvale Comments Off

May 082013

Newton Natural Running “tune-up” clinics will be offered in May! These clinics focus will be on natural running techniques, injury prevention, and hill running. Melissa is a Newton Certified Trainer and offered Natural Running Clinics earlier last month at PG Sunnyvale!

NNR Clinic I: Includes natural running technique and an individualized session for 5-7 minutes to critique your form, and basic hill running technique.

NNR Clinic II: Includes natural running technique and an individualized session for 5-7 minutes to critique your form, and basic hill running, plus STEEP hill technique.

Cost: $65.00 for each clinic for new participants, and video gait analysis is available for additional $20.00.
($25.00 discount price for ALL participants that have already attended at least one NNR clinic prior to the tune up clinics. Both clinics are $50.00 each and includes video gait analysis)
Checks only; can be dropped off at PG Sunnyvale. Please make checks out to Melissa Vrbanac.
Reserver your spot by emailing: Melissa at melissavrbanac@yahoo.com

Date/Time:

Saturday, May 18th 12:00-1:30pm -
Stevens Creek Trail (paved trail)
Meeting at: Edith Landels Elementary School parking lot 115 W. Dana Street Mountain View, CA 94041

Saturday, May 25th 12:00-1:30pm -
“The Dish” at Stanford
Meeting at: Stanford Ave & Junipero Serra Blvd entrance to park Palo Alto, CA 94305

What to Wear:

Wear comfortable running attire and your running shoes and/or Vibrams. Also, Melissa highly suggest that you wear sunscreen and a wear a hat if possible. Lastly, please bring a water bottle with you. She will have ice water on site to either fill up or re-fill your bottles so we can cut down on plastic bottles.

If you are interested in taking advantage of one or both of the clinics, please contact Melissa (melissavrbanac@yahoo.com) to reserve your spot by Friday, May 17th!

Castle Rock – the Future Great Park & How Climbers Fit In – a presentation by the Sempervirens Fund

Community, PG Gives Back, Sunnyvale 1 Response »

Apr 182013

Join us Earth Day, Monday April 22nd for lively presentation and Q&A with Sempervirens Fund Executive Director Reed Holderman.
PG Sunnyvale – 4/22 at 8pm

Since being founded in 1900, the Sempervirens Fund is California’s oldest land trust and the only organization exclusively devoted to permanently protecting the coastal redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As many may remember, 70 California State Parks, including Castle Rock State Park, were threatened to to be closed due to budget cuts last year. We hosted a live auction fundraiser and with our $10,000 match, raised over $20,700 to help keep Castle Rock open. With these funds, Sempervirens was able to pledge $250,000, the amount needed to keep Castle Rock open one more year. Just this month, the State signed a deal to keep Castle Rock open through 2014, and hopefully until 2016, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

This is part of a bigger plan that Sempervirens envisions for a future Great Park, one that spans from San Mateo counties to Santa Cruz counties. Castle Rock is part of this Great Park.

“Our interest is getting people into the redwoods, getting rock climbers into this area,” Holderman said. “It’s in our best interests that, one, people get out in the property, and two, they have a good experience.”

Join Holderman this Monday as he presents the history of and plan for Castle Rock State Park, including the role that climbers play. Q&A to follow – bring your questions!

The Merced River Plan and Why YOU Should Care

Belmont, Community, PG Gives Back, San Francisco, Sunnyvale Comments Off

Apr 102013

The Access Fund (AF) has just released a position paper on the newest draft of the Merced River Plan (MRP). The paper briefly mentions some of the major actions that the plan proposes, and highlights four specific areas that the Access Fund is urging the Yosemite Planners and National Park Service (NPS) to consider more in-depth. A link to the paper can be found here.

Comments are needed no later than April 30th, and you can comment via this webform HERE. We support the Access Fund’s position and urge you to comment. The Access Fund has just released an easy letter writing tool to help you submit your feedback found HERE.

Merced River Plan - photo borrowed from nps.org

Photo borrowed from nps.gov

While the plan does not affect Yosemite climbing directly, it does have potential, indirect ramifications down the line. In order to understand the possible long-term effects it is important to understand a little about what the Merced River Plan is and why the Access Fund is involved.

Essentially, portions of the Merced River are declared by Congress to be a National Wild and Scenic River, such as the part running through Yosemite Valley. This means the National Park Service has certain obligations to maintain and protect many of the natural qualities of the river, and they have attempted to implement a couple different plans over the years. Jumping ahead to today, the NPS is now on attempt number 3 to push through a plan that would put in place the adequate enhancements and protections to preserve the Merced’s natural awe and luster as well as do some much needed maintenance while they’re at it. So how does any of this affect us as climbers?

As climbers, we take trips to Yosemite to hike, to sightsee, and of course, to climb. In truth, anything that affects Yosemite will affect visitors, including climbers, and the variety of ways we use the beautiful valley. As the Access Fund’s paper points out, there are a few plans that DO deal directly with climbing in the Valley that will be coming down the pipeline. This is why we need to pay attention.

With all these plans, there are a number of parties who will be affected and all have their own vested interests. We, as climbers, are one of those parties but even we do not have common ground. Among us, there are pushes for more extreme measures (e.g. doing away with parking proposals, campsites near crags, etc). Well-intentioned as they may be, there may be possible downsides for pushing too far in the direction of our own interests. The unfortunate reality is that we’re dealing in the realm of politics.

The unspoken fear is that if we can’t help the NPS finally push a proposal through, Congress may pass a law over-riding the Park’s current plan that would likely increase commercialization and have negative impacts on the interests of climbers. The other possible problem with pulling too hard toward a more utopian plan is that climbers have been slowly making positive relationships with Yosemite Rangers and have a lot of momentum to lose in the following plans if we, fairly or unfairly, are made to look like mindless rabble-rousers.

All this aside, there is room for positive change within the latest MRP. The Access Fund has put out an open call to climbers to contact them with opinions, questions, concerns, and ideas pertaining to the upcoming draft. Look over the Access Fund points here and comment here. At the risk of oversimplifying I see climbers as having three options: push for a more climber-centric plan now and risk losing valuable traction on upcoming plans that will directly effect us; work to have climber interests met in the current draft; or do nothing. If the latter finds you bivied under a street light outside of the new El Capitan gift shop – tough luck.

Sincere thanks to the Access Fund and Jason Keith for supplying us with mounds of information and taking the time to answer our multitudinous questions.

PG Member takes donated shoes to new gym in Nairobi, Kenya

Community, PG Gives Back, San Francisco, Trip Report 6 Responses »

Apr 032013

Traffic in Nairobi is horrible. Truly.

45 minutes into my (ridiculously expensive) cab ride I was regretting my decision to check out East Africa’s new (and only) climbing gym.

Needless to say I was NOT in a good mood when I arrived at Diamond Plaza last month.

Looking up at the shopping mall (yes shopping mall!) in front of me I felt even less inspired.

What a weird place to have a climbing gym. I slowly grumbled my way up the SIX flights of stairs.

The moment I walked into Climb BlueSky all that anxiety melted away as I stared incredulously at what was, indeed, a ‘normal’ climbing gym. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this blew me away. The fact that a climbing gym even exists in Nairobi is nothing short of a miracle quite frankly. I mean, who is going to invest in a facility for a sport that is virtually unknown to all but a few adrenaline junky expats housed in East Africa’s most vibrant economy?

Two guys from Texas. That’s who.

Andrew Conway and Stephen Powell have been best friends since their parents had them in diapers.

Upon graduating college both moved to Nairobi to work with BlueSky Adventures, an experiential learning organization that does ropes courses and summer camps. It was there they pitched a climbing gym to their new bosses. Two years, more than $250,000 dollars and multiple hand drawn sketches later they opened Climb BlueSky in November 2012.

These guys designed every single part of this gym. From the textured paint they put on the 3/4 inch plywood walls to the amphitheater room that hosts kids parties. There are currently about 25 roped routes on a 25 foot wall and 15 bouldering routes in a cave they built with a framework of metal square tubing and angle iron. Stephen ad Andrew are also the setters. None of the routes are graded per say, which makes roping up kind of fun to be honest. You never know what you are getting on.

The energy in the place is amazing. About 50% of all climbers there on a given night are new to the sport. That means the PSYCH is sky high. Seriously. You hear guys egging each other on in Swahili.

Small Indian kids wide-eyed as they fall off the wall.

Huge Masaii men grunting their way up routes. Loudly.

It is hilarious and loads of fun. And everyone is super psyched. Did I mention that?

Andrew explains the diversity.

“The climbing culture in East Africa is a unique one to say the least. The culture here is a mix of old school style and techniques from Europe. Everyone is keen on taking new people out and we enjoy getting new addicts to the sport!”

Climbers in East Africa are also extremely resourceful and creative. It’s virtually impossible to find gear. Stephen and Andrew have to wait months for shipments of things like chalk, shoes and holds to come in. Even seemingly simple things like disinfectant to clean shoes is impossible to find. And with so many new climbers the demand for gear is high. That’s part of the reason for my visit. Planet Granite San Francisco graciously offered to donate some of their used climbing shoes to the Climb Blue Sky Team!

I’m headed back in May – hoping to take the guys more shoes, climbing holds and anything else they may need to further their mission of spreading the climbing psych. Andrew and Stephen have big dreams for the gym but first and foremost they have to prove there is a market. Most gear companies and retailers have thus far refused to offer them pro-deals or support. Until then, it’s up to us, the wider global climbing community, to make sure they have what they need. So if you have anything you want to donate that is in good condition, let us know.

Kenya, by the way, has some great outdoor climbing. There is of course Mt. Kenya for the alpine climbing enthusiasts. For crack fiends such as myself there is a beautiful region called Hells Gate. And for some weekend cragging there is Lukenya. A 45-minute drive from Nairobi along Mombasa Road, this crag affords sweeping views of the landscape replete with giraffes on the horizon. I roped up for some sport climbing with the guys there one Saturday. Lets just say this rock does some damage to your pads.

PG SF member, Cris Valerio was in Nairobi on a mobile banking project as an Innovator in Residence at IDEO.org. She is a crack addict and aspires to be as strong as PGSF Assistant Manager Mick, grow sausage fingers like PG Sunnyvale Manager Eliot, monkey climb like PG Belmont Manager Jeremy, yard on gear as well as PG Retail Manager Carolyn and be half as cool as PGSF Manager Jeff’s wife.

Friction Series SF – a photostory by Jassa Campbell and Brian Hedrick

Comps, Events, San Francisco 1 Response »

Mar 282013

Friction Series SF was two weeks ago and while we’re still reeling from the excitement, we are looking forward to Sunnyvale’s finale! Since launching the Friction Series back in 2009 and creating the first Bay Area Onsight Final in 2010 – this comp has grown to be a ton of fun and excitement! Local strong men and women get to duke it out high on ropes and compete for cold hard cash while we cheer them on! Even better, these routes stay up so you can test your strengths against some of the best climbers in our community.

As if you need more motivation to attend, we thought we’d recap San Francisco’s comp with some great photos by our own Brian Hedrick (aka CUZ) and guest photographer Jassa Campbell. Get psyched!!! And we’ll see YOU on Friday, April 19th at PG Sunnyvale. SCORES are posted here. Plus keep in mind the top 3 men and women will be invited to compete for cash the Series Final in Sunnyvale! Think you’re in the running - double check your standings! And check out all of our photos from the event HERE on our Facebook Page.