Tuesday, February 22, 2011

You MUST watch this!!



Phillip did such a freaking awesome job editing this video. This is what we do!! So many amazing tricks and combos. It was such a pleasure to meet ALL of you and I cant wait for what's to come! Rock on!

Monday, February 21, 2011

My Favorite Photos by Patrick Riffel from ISPO 2011

Me in Competition
 
Tim in the fashion show!

Elli in the fashion show

Me making it to the semi-finals (I love the facial expressions)

Mike getting some big air!

Florian

Me, helping Lisa to learn a new trick

This is hysterical....the top 3 in the comp!

Fashion show-ers ;-)

Mike and I after he beat me in comp

Florian on a butt bounce

Andy....with quite the look of fear on his face!

Elli in her new hat :)

Annnd....another great one of Andy.

Nick getting some air on a butt bounce

Saturday, February 12, 2011

ISPO 2011

Germany!!! What a cool place. I just got back a few days ago from the ISPO Trade Show in Munich. Mike, Me, Andy, and Frankie were flown over from the US for the event and to compete in the competition. This was my first time competing in a big comp, and it was against all guys except for Elli! We both did super well  and I think it was a big step for women in slacklining :) Elli came in fourth place!! And, I made it to the semi-finals. Below is a video of me competing against Mike in the semi-finals (yes, my boyfriend Mike). We start competing at 7:08 (first is Andy Lewis vs. Frankie Najera).



I had such an amazing time. It was my first time in a country that speaks a foreign language, and also my first time on the mainland of Europe (I have been to England, but that's different). It was so neat to see how different the culture is! EVERYTHING was different. The chairs, the tables, the signs, the food.....I was constantly in awe. I am so glad that I got to go, and now I just want to go back and explore! Now I understand why so many people backpack around Europe. I never really understood before why Europe was so popular, but it's just so diverse! I can't wait to travel there again.

Here are some choice pictures from the event!

Tippy toes ;-)

Making it to the Semi-finals!

Me competing against Mikey :)

Party!!

Me crowd surfing!

Winners! 1st - Andy 2nd- Momo 3rd- Mike

Elli in competition!
 
Atomic butt bounce

Saturday, January 29, 2011

TIME TO RELAX

I'm here in Moab until Feb. 4th doing nothing but what I want to do! I've been on the go for God knows how long now and it's nice to have a little break. So far I've been highlining 3 days, climbing 1, and resting 2. Tomorrow, I'm headed to Indian Creek to climb with my roommate Trish and hopefully Brent and Canyon as well! I've never been to the Creek and I've only heard amazing things about it. I'm pretty new at Trad climbing, so I will probably be mostly top-roping, but that's okay! I've gotta perfect the art of crack climbing before I can master leading, right?

Anyway! Once the 4th oh so quickly arrives, Mike and I are flying to Germany for the ISPO Trade Show in Munich. We're being flown over for the Slackline Competition mainly, but also to meet everyone and get to know the slackline community around the world!

I've heard that there will be no girls competition, which is a bummer. But, we've been welcomed to compete with the men (Elli and I, the only two women who want to compete). I am in NO way expecting to make it that far, but I hope to do well and pull off all my tricks! Mike says the most exciting part about being at the ISPO is mingling with everyone and learning new tricks and combos! I'm excited for the experience, especially because I've never been to the mainland of Europe. This will be my first experience in a country that speaks a foreign language (besides Canada, but most of them speak English as well as French).

Micki Sending!
So, back to highlining. The past few days we had our friends Hayden, Brad, and Micki visiting us here in Moab. We rigged 4 highlines total and had a blast out there rigging and walking. Micki and I rigged a 22 footer together, and having never sent a highline before, walked it like a champ!!! It was so awesome to see. Brad got out on it to tape it, and he also got out there for a few attempts but wasn't able to overcome what we call "the fear". Next time, Brad!!! Hayden, Myself, Mike, and Ryan all sent the 120 footer that we rigged which was very exposed in a breathtaking yet terrifying way. I'm super impressed by everybody and was very proud of myself as well.

I did the best I ever have on a line of that length, meaning that I wasn't scared, and my mind wasnt cluttered with random stupid things like it normally is. I was competely focused, relaxed, confident, and precise with every movement. It felt amazing and I can't wait to get back out there again!! What I want to rig next is a 150-160 footer that I failed at in November. I hate using the word failed, but I just couldn't get myself into that zone, the necessary zone you need to be in to send a line that scares you. But, I'm ready now!!!