Allison Vest Becomes First Canadian Woman to Climb V14
Canada's Allison Vest has earned the first female ascent of Show Your Scars, a challenging V14 in Ogden, Utah.
Yesterday evening, Canada’s Allison Vest reported her ascent of Show Your Scars in Ogden, Utah. The challenging first female ascent is historic for Canadian Climbing, but holds significance beyond the climber-project relationship. He ascent is arguably exemplative of a longer process Vest has worked on in these last months. It is also a great start to a season focused on rock.
A few months ago, Vest decided to take a step back from competition climbing. In an Instagram post, she said the following:
Climbing has been my competitive outlet for almost my whole life but it has also been pretty hard on me mentally. I’m not good at separating outcomes from my self worth which causes my confidence to dwindle.
Something that has helped me become more confident is following my motivation, which lately, has been outdoors. I’ve been idling along for many competitive seasons now, finding about the same results domestically and internationally regardless of how much better and stronger I get. That leaves me to believe that it’s my mind that’s lagging behind.
Although there were not that many comps last year, I was in the same fighting mindset all year long training with Kyra Condie for the Olympics and getting prepared for whatever event came next for me. Well, my brain is tired of feeling defeated and of nitpicking every single thing I do in the gym out of fear that I am not enough and won’t be enough at the next event. So, I’ve decided I need a year to remember why I do what I do, how far I’ve come, and to prove to myself what I’m capable of; for myself.
All of these things have lead me to the decision to not do Bouldering Nationals this year and to let go of trying to stay on the Canadian National Team for the time being. Finding a balance has never been a strong suit of mine, so I’m excited to flip the script and go all in on rock.
Partially, I’m happier now than I think I’ve ever been which has shown me how miserable I was in the past few years of competitions. I hope this gives my brain the clarity and break it’s been begging for, for years.
This break from competition has already benefited her outdoor climbing with this ascent of Show Your Scars. Not only does it come early in the year, but it represents a historic shift in Canadian bouldering. This Peter Lowe first ascent was originally established in 2017 and has seen some traffic since. Vest spent over 10 sessions worked her way through feeling of doubt in the pursuit of this ascent. She became the first Canadian woman to climb V14 with her ascent of this climb.
Vest related the experience as unbelievable.
This boulder tested every single mental tactic I had and forced me to learn some new ones. I can’t believe, 10+ sessions and a landslide of doubt later, that I’m standing on top, after dreaming of being there for weeks.Â
Although Vest was critical of her competition season in the previous year, her strength metrics have continued to progress in her time spent training in Salt Lake City. To that effect, last year Vest had her strongest rock season yet, climbing her first 5.14 and numerous V13 climbs. As the first Canadian woman to climb V13 as well, Vest has pushed Canadian climbing forward on at least two occasions. It will be exciting to see what comes next for the progressing athlete.
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