I was blown away watching the climbing world championships here in Chamonix last night (Coupe du monde d’escalade). I’ve never seen competitive climbing before and it’s a seriously watchable sport. Last night was the speed climbing finals. Basically two climbers go head to head on a massive, specially built artificial wall. Both climbers start with one foot on a timer pad and race up the wall to hit the timer button at the top. Then they swap sides and climb again. The best aggregate score goes through.

When I arrived the women were just finishing their quarter final stage. They were incredible. The wall was huge, overhanging. I think maybe if I practiced on it for a week or so, I might be able to get up the climb they were on using a top rope. It would probably take me about 10 minutes. These girls are the best in the world and they were up and back down in under 30 seconds.

Then the men came on and I saw something truly extraordinary. The purest display of athleticism I’ve ever seen. Manuel Escobar from Venezuela finished the climb in about 12 seconds. Words don’t do it justice, not even pictures.

Here’s my usual flickr slideshow of photos, but to really get an idea of the athleticism involved you need to watch the videos below. There’s a big difference between men and women in this sport, so once you’ve watched the incredible ManuelEscobar, click the ‘Woman’ button to see the woman on the same climb.

Video of Coupe du Monde d’escalade (Climbing Word Cup)
Speed Climbing Finals July 11th 2007, Chamonix

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