got 'em

After 24 hours of rock climbing, I'm back and fully recovered. As expected, this year's event was completely out of order. 240 competitors stormed the Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in Jasper, AR and climbed a staggering 11,937 routes.

Eleven thousand,

nine hundred,

thirty seven routes.

Wow.

23 of those individuals joined the Century Club this year by sending a minimum of 100 routes during the 24 hour competition. Shout outs to Alex Honnold who smashed Tommy Caldwell's score, Daniel Schuerch who locked down 160 routes, and Dane Iwata and Marc Chagnon, first time competitors who each climbed 101 pitches. A huge step up from last year- definitely impressed, definitely inspired!

Photo by John Budde

I think the truly amazing thing about this event is that it allows competitors to set new personal goals every year, and there seems to be a definite evolution- from simply wanting to finish, to aiming for big numbers, to exclusively climbing on gear, to gunning for the top 10. The list of possible challenges and their combinations is endless. It's crazy! 24HHH has a versatility that a traditional climbing competition just doesn't have. I suppose the primary goal would be to place top 3, but it's nice to throw out the conventional competitive playbook as it were, and to, instead, construct your own personal goal(s). I often joke that no one actually wins this event (I mean, really- you're essentially suffering for 24 hours), but the reality is that this is the only event where there can be 240 winners. A bit after-school special, I know, but it's refreshing to see such camaraderie, and such genuine congratulatory exchanges between competitors. It's mind blowing how supportive this community is.

The only way I can think to describe the 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell is that it's like going to war. I apologize if this analogy seems crass or in bad taste, but you're sharing an incredibly unique experience with strangers who quickly become allies and friends. You help carry each other, you're invested in everyone's performance, and you want everyone to make goal- to make it to Sunday morning. And, once it's over, you share a connection, a bond, that no one else can relate to. It's a difficult energy to articulate, but perhaps you'll have to sign up next year to find out!

Photo by Gina Wilmott

Even though we hadn't talked about the competition much (or at all, really), my partner John and I had a clear objective for this year's two-four. We both wanted to climb 100 routes over the course of 24 hours. When we broke it down to the numbers (i.e. how many routes we needed to average per hour, how much time we could spend on a each route to stay on target, etc.), the task seemed daunting- impossible, really. But, the challenge of making the seemingly impossible seem effortless is what draws me to climbing, and I certainly wasn't going to let doubt dictate the outcome of this event.

Now, I'm not much for planning; so scoping out routes beforehand, keeping track of our progress, and watching the clock seemed like too much work for me. Instead, we came to the conclusion that the best strategy was to keep it simple.

We decided to wing it.

Admittedly, the sustainability of the "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" campaign did come into question early on, but it was the only plan we had, so we rolled with it. We also made it a point to not keep track of our progress- we simply updated our scorecard when time permitted. I didn't want us to feel dejected if we were behind, or to relax our pace if we were ahead. I think it's important to never let doubt or hubris dictate the outcome- you have to stay hungry, regardless of how things are transpiring, if you want to succeed. That being said, we hadn't looked at our progress until the halfway point. When we turned in our scorecards at the check-in, we were stoked to see that we were on track. At 10 p.m. we had bagged 50 routes each! Yeah-yuh!

Photo by Scott Fitzgerald

Fueled by the good news and the good vibes that electrified the North 40, we punched the clock. A brief rain shower in the middle of the night gave us a bit of a scare. We were, of course, worried that if the rain continued (or worse, intensified), our chances of making goal would be jeopardized. Fortunately, the rain moved out and when all was said and done, John and I had exceeded our goal (albeit by a small margin). We each climbed 106 routes- 212 total over the course of 24 hours, and we also managed to eke our way into the top 10. Got 'em!

Can't Knock This Hustle

It was a big year for the two four event- I can't thank Andy, his team, the HCR Staff, the volunteers, the sponsors, and, of course, Barry and Amy enough for putting on such an amazing event year, after year. It truly is one of the best climbing events in the country- if not the best. If visiting the Horseshoe Canyon Ranch is part of your Fall season, please make sure to follow the new guidelines. Do your part by picking up trash and paying for your camping/day-use fees. Barry, Amy, Jason, and the crew are nice enough to let us climb on the property, we should reciprocate by respecting their rules!

Thanks for reading, we'll see everyone next year! I can't wait!

Video by Andy Chasteen