La Sportiva Climbing Party: reports from Parma and Brescia

Parma - 3 aprile

The second La Sportiva Climbing Party recently took place at the Pareti Sport Centre in Parma and was a great success. The venue was packed with climbers and there was plenty to do: trying on boots from the latest La Sportiva climbing range (Miura-Velcro and Solution); watching the unedited video of the Rome Bouldering Film Festival on the video screens all round the gym; taking part in the open-air bouldering competition, from big to beginners (70 athletes were busy working on 25 blocks); and finally, a lively closing party to wine and dine the night away with good, loud music. All events were thoroughly enjoyed.  The competition title of overall winner in the male category went to the superbig Michele Caminati, who recently won the first round of Coppa Italia for bouldering, while joint victory in the female category went to Glenda Pelosi and Laura Giunti  who managed to solve 18 of the 25 problems.

Brescia - 5 aprile

We arrived at the Roc Palace climbing fortress around 2.30pm on a beautiful spring day.  We were initially concerned that such lovely weather would dissuade participants from climbing indoors, especially as the outdoor blocks were awaiting climbers after the long winter rest.  However our doubts were soon put to rest:  waiting for us inside were hundreds of climbers, all enrolled for the bouldering contest and keen to start climbing.  The gym had been dressed to the nines for the occasion.
Stefano Guarneri, manager of the indoor climbing structure, welcomed us as if we were old friends and announced our arrival over the louder speakers:  the party was about to begin.  The event kicked off with two free sessions lasting about two hours each, where climbers had to gain as many points as possible on the problems traced by the official router tracer Enrico Baistrocchi.  Some climbers chose to try the blocks using the new  Miura VS boots available as test material, while others preferred to use their old “original”  Miura boots.  Everyone was wearing the official climbing party t-shirt and it was great to see so many people at the event.  The final session to declare the winners started at around 8.30pm following the buffet organised by La Sportiva. There was plenty of time to enjoy the cocktail food, first courses and beer before the final climbing rounds. During the break, Pietro Dal Prà revealed the secrets behind the construction of a great climbing shoe and climbers were keen to try on a pair of the new Miura Vs and Solution boots  Throughout the evening a variety of music kept the party going. 

At the end of the day’s climbing Christian Brenna and Lucas Preti presented the prizes to the ultimate winners, plus freebies for everyone in the final draw: gadgets; t-shirts; accessories and a weekend in Val di Fiemme for two people offered by  La Sportiva in collaboration with the Val di Fiemme tourist association. The event then gave way to more music and drinks and the partying continued well into the night.

This was a great day to be remembered, so thank you everyone for making it so special, even if spring was already on the threshold.

Luca Mich

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