MBC2014 RESULTS AND WRAP UP

It takes a community to put on an event like the Montana Bouldering Championships.  This past Saturday we watched the Billings climbing community come together and celebrate climbing. We'd like to thank everyone that attended, volunteered, or sponsored us to who help us raise nearly $3000 for the Steepteam non-profit fund.  Your involvement allows us to keep costs at a minimum for participating families while also enabling us to continue programs like need-based scholarships, travel stipends for those who qualify for out of town competitions, and additional training for coaches and guides. We thank you from the sincere bottom of our heart.

Steepteam Board: Joel Anderson, Jim Barron, Thad McGrail

Steepworld Staff: Jim Rott, Katie Jacobsen, Kim Lemke, Nicole Reynolds

Routesetters: Dillon Key, AJ Eliston, Mike Fallon, Joel Svec, Matt Schrowe, Joel Anderson

Photographer: Dave Shumway.  See some of his great MBC photos here.

Food Cordinators:  Kristen Loper, Karen Cabell

Corporate Sponsors:

Ortho Montana:  The Sports Medicine Center at Ortho Montana specializes in taking care of the injured athlete, from professional to the avid amateur.

CTA Architects:  At CTA, we pride ourselves on High Performance design solutions. It is the product of uniting talent, passion and expertise with the company’s mission; developing integrated teams of top notch architects, designers, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, project managers and visionaries working together in creating a pinnacle of both form and function.

Sanderson Stewart:  Civil Engineers located in Billings and Bozeman that specialize in land development, water resource design, land surveying, and master planning.  They plan and design enduring communities.

Steepworld Climbing Gym: Our excellent host facility.  Come climb with us.

Gear Sponsors:

Adidas Outdoor:  Outdoor shoes and apparel, soon to be available at Steepworld

Mad Rock: Climbing Shoes, crash pads, and carabiners

Petzl: Technical climbing gear for all disciplines

CAMP: Technical adventure equipment. 

Rosco Outdoor: High performance outdoor clothing made in Rosco, Montana.

Mammut: Swiss precision outdoor clothing and gear.

La Sportiva: Fine Italian climbing shoes and apparel.

Cody Ice Festival: This weekend!  Feb 14th-16th.

RESULTS

MBC2014: Pre-Register Here

You can follow this link to sign up and prepay for the 2014 Montana Bouldering Championships.  Please add the name of the climber in the comment box.  Registration will also be available day of at the gym. 

Category

Open $40.00 USD Amateur $30.00 USD Master $30.00 USD Youth $30.00 USD

MBC2014: A Brief Chat with DJAJ - Aaron Hjelt

Aaron going steep in France while on a Touch the Sky climbing trip.

With one week to go till MBC2014 I had a chance to find out more about Bozeman Climbing Team coach and Touch the Sky director Aaron Hjelt.  He's been coaching for nearly 15 years, puts on great competitions at Spire Climbing Gym, and likes to get on the turntables every now and then.  Oh, and the "H" is silent in "Hjelt" for those wondering.

Joel: Touch the Sky and the Bozeman Climbing Team have set the standard for youth climbing programs in Montana. (check out their new website HERE!) Honestly, Steepteam's success has been built upon your success.

AJ: -Thank you. We are flattered.

Joel: How long have you been with the program?

AJ: I started coaching in the fall of 1999. The BCT then was a program of the Bozeman Climbing Center, Bozeman's first commercial gym. Founded by Tom Wells, it was a great bouldering facility and produced some amazing talent.

Joel: That's right! and now those old Bozeman Climbing Center walls now make up most of Steepworld.  You've got the BCT and Touch the Sky, what are the goals of each program?

AJ: Touch The Sky's mission is: "to get youth outside though climbing." The outside bit refers to out-of-doors, but also getting out of our comfort zones, thinking outside of the box, and out of our regular social and developmental circles of trust. Touch The Sky's master plan for this, is to offer climbing from a first-time experience all the way through a world-class experience. The BCT is the athletic component to how we meet these goals. Sport climbing is an incredible way to get "outside." It's really a first-world form of Fight or Flight. It induces stress and challenges us to dig deep in training, preparation, and competition.

Joel: So, how are the two combined?

AJ: The BCT is a stand-alone program. The Team trains at Spire Climbing Center. Members are strongly encouraged to participate in TTS's trips, camps, and outings, but are not required. Some kids just don't like climbing on rock; we aren't going to force something that just isn't enjoyable. Gym climbing and competition are perfectly legitimate, specifically when it comes to accomplishing our mission. We don't force the old-school ideal that a climber has to take on all disciplines. We are providing a foundation for climbing…it can go a lot of directions from there.

Joel: I keep finding your alumni out in the wild, sending routes left and right with stealthy precision. What's your secret to giving kids the passion for climbing?

AJ: The secret is the climbing. It's already there. We just give the kids the tools to keep enjoying it. We teach them to try hard, have fun, be creative, and to take care of themselves. If a climber can keep these four things as priorities, he or she can continue to have a lifetime of satisfying climbing experiences.

Joel: What are your most proud accomplishments of the organization?

AJ: To see our program alumni foster as young adults is huge. For whatever reasons, we've attracted some pretty smart (and sometimes sassy) kids over the years. As they make the transition to adult hood, it's quite the trip. I look at it as being a privilege to see this take place.

Joel: How many kids participate in your program each year?

AJ: The BCT is averaging around 25 September-June members. This past summer season, we had 216 participants.

Joel: I hear you guys do a lot to get underprivileged kids out climbing, how do you guys go about that?

AJ: Mostly we are trying act as a third party to provide custom outings for other youth-service organizations. This works best for us because they already have the infrastructure in place to find kids for their programs. But here is the thing about becoming a climber: it can't be taught in one day. There needs to be consistency in order to develop retention. This isn't cheap. We are trying to find kids who are really psyched on having climbing be "their thing," and doing whatever it takes to keep them involved and inspired. 

Aaron attending the Butte Bouldering Bash with the BCT.

Joel: You guys go on some pretty sweet trips, any fond memories or crazy stories?

AJ: Way too many to list here. I don't even know where to begin. They've all been the highlight of my life, that's for sure.

Joel: Word is, you guys get pretty serious about skee-ball, right?

AJ: Bozeman has some skee-ball sharks. I don't have the suppleness in my wrists anymore. And since Lo-Lo (Loren Rausch) moved to Red Lodge, we are kind of hurting, to tell you the truth.

Joel: Who's the best?

AJ: Erik Christensen is our sage. He's a shaman. He can talk the ball into the center hole.

Joel: Any strategy tips, besides ball talking?

AJ: Pool all of your tickets to get a really sweet prize. Don't eat the chicken.

Joel: Chuck-E-Cheese cool with this?

AJ: I don't think his mob boss lets him have a choice in the matter.

Joel: Many people don't know that you DJ for all the USA Climbing national competitions, how did you come about doing that?

AJ: I thought it would be worth it for them to hire an "insider" to help with this element of their events, especially since DJAJ is a one-stop-shop for event AV (sound, lighting, DJing, MCing). This is how I proposed it, and the rest is…well, it's been a lot of very long weekends.

Joel:  After watching all that competitive climbing what's the most impressive climbing competition performance you've witnessed?

AJ: Finals at youth ABS last year were pretty awesome. In every category there were standout moments. The route setting was really entertaining, from a spectator perspective.

Joel: Yeah, those were fun to watch, but it's so stressful as a coach that it's hard to enjoy it all.  Say, if someone was getting hitched, should they call you for a Wedding DJ?

AJ: Yes. I don't like to play for friends because I can't charge them as much, and if something goes wrong, DJAJ ruined the wedding. It's pretty stressful since the DJ is the last component of the whole event. There's a lot riding on my ability to rock the party, and to be agreeable to everyone involved.

Joel: Can I hire you to play Bon Jovi and the Chicken Dance?

AJ: You can put a price on almost anything.

Joel: Ain't that the truth. Anything else you'd like to add or share with the climbers of Montana?

AJ: Montana is not Kentucky, i.e., "Montucky." I'm borrowing this sentiment from Brandon Smith, one of our assistant coaches who is teaching in Korea for the year. He was born and raised in MT. That's all I got.