CRMS climbers cruise through Eagle meet

Reprinted from the Aspen Times – December 9, 2021

Area climbers returned from the Thanksgiving break on Saturday, with Colorado Rocky Mountain School easily winning the third Western Slope regional qualifier of the season, held in Eagle.

CRMS won the girls’ high school division with six top-10 finishers. Eagle Valley’s Reese Manley won, but right behind her were CRMS’s Willa Schendler in second and Scarlett Kerr in third. Roaring Fork’s Zella Benson, who trains with the Basalt High School team, was fifth.

“I really liked this comp. I loved competing, and I have never been to this gym before, which makes it more challenging,” Benson said. “There was one climb that would have been really awesome to get, but I couldn’t quite finish it. The climbing style was crimpy, and that’s a style that I just haven’t worked on much recently, but overall it was really fun.”

The CRMS contingent also included Angelika Minoli ’22 (sixth), Makaya Mackie ’24 (seventh), Morgan Karow ’22 (eighth), and Lily Jones ’23 (10th). Basalt’s top finisher was Grace Harrington in 15th.

“This comp didn’t go as well for scoring, but it was still fun, for sure,” Harrington said. “I kept trying to get that Route 15, so I felt proud of my effort, at least, but a little disappointed I couldn’t top out. … I feel like I did well with many of the crimp routes at the beginning, but for me, the bigger moves are more difficult.”

Behind CRMS, the Montrose girls were second, Basalt was third and Gunnison was fourth.

CRMS also rolled to the team win on the boys’ side, followed in second by Ridgway. Gunnison was third, Vail Mountain was fourth, Roaring Fork was fifth and Coal Ridge was sixth. With only two climbers, Basalt did not record a score.

CRMS’s Devin Bush ’25 won the boys’ competition, while his teammate, Jackson Turner ’22, was second. Ridgway’s Chente Anderson was third, CRMS’s Max Seitel ’24 was fourth and CRMS’s Makai Yllanes ’23 came in tenth.

Many thanks to current parent Mike Brinson for taking photos of the CRMS climbers at the comp. They can be seen on Flickr.