Welcome to Behind The Wall, a weekly newsletter published every Saturday.
Each week, I highlight the favourite things I’ve watched, read and listened to from the world of indoor and competition climbing. I also track where you can buy competition tickets during the World Cup season.
The Shanghai Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) event is in full swing as I write this. You can watch replays and results on the Olympic website. Athletes will compete again in Budapest, where they will hopefully earn their Olympic ticket if they have enough points.
This week saw a whole bunch of Magnus Midtbø videos released, including collaborations with Emil Abrahamsson and Toby Roberts. We also got to read some interviews with Luka Potocar and Brooke Raboutou on the Olympics website published in the run-up to the OQS. There is also an extra-long episode of That’s Not Real Climbing with former IFSC photographer Eddie Fowke, which is well worth the 2 hours and 47 minutes of listening time!
I know there is lots of great content that I don’t know about. Let me know at behindthewall@inside-climbing.com, and I’ll give you a shout-out if I feature it.
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Watch
Magnus Midtbø returns to try Tokyo’s best-rated climbing gym. Throwback to how gym climbs used to be at the (now) highest-rated climbing gym in Japan.
Emil Abrahamsson has a session at the hardest gym in the world with Magnus Midtbø. More strong Scandinavian climbers getting shut down at the hardest gym in the world, B-pump Ogikubo.
Toby Roberts goes bouldering with Magnus Midtbø in London. Watch Magnus and Toby flash nearly all the hardest boulders at Parthian London and how Toby deals with the problem of being able to flash everything in any gym.
Watch 3 French national champions play on some modern coordination boulders, featuring Mejdi Schalck, Kito Martini & Paul Jenft. The video is in French, but English subtitles are available.
Climbing Trials and Triumphs - Svana’s Summer Grind on Episode 2 of The Outsider. Follow Svana Bjarnason through a summer of World Cups in 2023 towards a fateful Olympic qualifier.
Jesse Grupper’s Prep for Paris with Tension Climbing. Follow along with a training session with Jesse Grupper as he prepares for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Read
Interview with Slovenia World Cup winner Luka Potocar on supporting his girlfriend Lučka Rakovec's recovery from cancer, the effect Janja Garnbret has had on climbing in Slovenia and his passion for Liverpool Football club.
Interview with Tokyo 202 Olympian Brooke Raboutou on what she learned from Tokyo 2020, her family support and her love of outdoor rock climbing.
Listen
Learn about how Kyra Condie dealt with being diagnosed with scoliosis at age 13 on the Circle Up Podcast. Learn how she coped with surgery and how having a spinal fusion has affected her climbing since.
Eddie Fowke, Ex-IFSC Photographer, talks on That’s Not Real Climbing Podcast. Hear tales from Eddie’s times on the circuit, including the Baku World Cup in Azerbaijan, and how Eddie thinks the IFSC could improve the sport.
International Climbing Competition Tickets
The competition season has started, so here is the rundown of where you can find World Cup and OQS tickets.
- Budapest Olympic Qualifier: You will not need a ticket to enter the Ludovika Campus, where the Budapest OQS event is being held, according to the Olympics OQS FAQ (at the bottom of the page).
- best-ratedInnsbruck (Austria) Boulder, Lead and Paraclimbing World Cups June 24 – 30. World Cup Pass Tickets sold out within a few hours. Single-day tickets will be available on May 1. You will only need tickets for the Boulder finals and Lead semi-finals and finals. Some tickets are still available.
- Chamonix (France) Lead and Speed World Cup July 12 – 14. The event will be free to attend.
- Briançon (France) Lead and Speed World Cup July 16 – 19. The event will be free to attend.
- European Championship in Villars August 23 – September 1. Tickets are yet to be announced.
- Koper (Slovenia) September 6 – 7. Tickets are yet to be announced.
- Prague (Czechia) World Cup September 20 – 22. VIP tickets are sold out, and seated tickets are almost sold out, but standing tickets are still available
- Seoul World Cup October 2 – 6. Tickets are yet to be announced.
That’s a Wrap
I hope you enjoyed this edition of Behind the Wall. Let me know what you think at behindthewall@insideclimbing.com or DM me on Instagram.
See you next week!
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