2012 Bouldering Cup Competition to be held at the Rock Empire Climbing Arena in Jablonec nad Nisou

All climbers are invited to compete in the 2012 Bouldering Cup Competition to be held at the Rock Empire Climbing Arena in Jablonec nad Nisou. There are two dates to compete. Each day will offer a qualifiying round solving typical boulder challenges, and then a final round where the top eight men and six women will compete on five boulder routes. The exact rules will be explained on the first race day, which is February 18, 2012. The second race is March 24, 2012. Rock Empire Climbing Team Members Ondra Beneš and Editka Vopatová will create the routes. There will be prizes for winners on both days, and the overall prize is 2.000,- CZK.

ISPO Munich January 29 – February 1, 2012

Rock Empire invites you to join us at the most important trade show in the field of sports and sports fashion – ISPO Winter 2012 in Munich, Germany. For the fifth consecutive year, our booth will showcase our new products and complete 2012 collection. We look forward to meeting with our distributors and discussing the exciting year ahead. We can found in Hall B5, Stand 435. For more information about the fair, please visit http://www.ispo.com/. Hope to see you there!

Rock Empire Climbing Team Member Marek Holeček´s Experience in Nanga Parbat 2011

Rock Empire Climbing Team Member Marek Holeček had the opportunity to climb in Nanga Parbat in 2011. He recounts his experiences in an article here (http://marekholecek.cz/) entitled “An Interview with Allah about the Wild Choice Expedition,” written in Czech. He also posts a 12 minute video of his trip here http://www.rockempire.cz/post/marek-holecek-video-z-expedice-wild-choice-nanga-parbat-2011-243/ . He managed to get as high as 7000 m up the mountain, but did not manage to summit it due to bad weather and a sick climbing partner.

Rock Empire congratulates him on his efforts and looks forward to his next adventure.
 

Winter News from Rock Empire Team Member Iva Vejmolová

Hi folks,
Now, during the time when there are no big races and the rocks are not climbable unless you head to where it is warm (I am not one of those hardy types who climb until their drinks freeze in their thermoses), you might wonder why I am writing when there is nothing to write about! I thought some of you might enjoy reading about how I started climbing. If so, sit back, put up your feet, have some popcorn (or gingerbread), and get ready to enjoy my story.

Rock Empire´s 1st Rock Session Rocked!

The 2nd weekend in November found our Rock Empire team at the climbing arena in Jablonec nad Nisou presenting our new line of harnesses and other merchandise for 2012. The Rock Session introduced Greek gods and a goddess: Titan, Arkas, and Calista – our new 2012 harnesses. The Rock Session visitors were the first to try the new harnesses and comment on their new and improved features.

Clean climbing in Macedonia

In the past two years a part of the Macedonian climbing community http://www.alpinizam.org/eng/intro1.html is working on a development of new clean climbing crags – using only cams, nuts and slings for belaying. These crags are situated in a vast area near the town of Prilep (about 130km south of Skopje) and now there are at least 4 smaller areas (rocks that are 30-150m high) where there are many new routes with different technical difficulties but also many more possibilities for new lines. The main goal of this project (apart from having lots of fun climbing) is to raise awareness of the impact that climbers can have on the environment, on the sport itself and the future generations of climbers by unnecessary bolting of these granite rocks. 

Rock Climbing Team Member Ondra Beneš visits Yosemite National Park

Ondra Beneš sent in this update from his recent travels:
Everyone knows it. The valley full of granite – Yosemite Valley. For a long time, I wanted to visit the valley. After climbing with Richard „Riči“ Nyeki from Slovakia, I knew a trip with him would be unforgettable. In late September, we were able to make it happen. We arrived in Yosemite on September 20th with the main goal of free climbing El Capitan, the granite monolith well known throughout the world. During our first days of acclimatization, we wandered around the valley and did short day climbs. The weather forecast looked good, and there was no reason to delay, so we immediately embarked on our main goal.

International Sports Fair Sportlife 2011, Brno - Exhibition Centre, 10 - 13 November 2011 (Thur-Sun)

International Sports Fair Sportlife is among the most important sports trade shows of its kind in Central Europe, and Rock Empire will be represented at the HUDY Sport exhibit (in Hall A1). For our new equipment in the 2012 season, you can visit the HUDY stand where training vendors will be happy and willing to help you try them. Come, have fun and get inspiration at the Brno Exhibition Centre ... the Sportlife trade show presents a wide-range of sports equipment for professionals as well as for hobby athletes.
Last year, the trade show hosted a record number of exhibits as well as a record number of visitors.

Rock Empire Supports Poetry Slam Benefit

As part of the Czech national campaign against poverty, a Poetry Slam took place on October 8th in Děčín. The evening benefitted the Hope Zambia Civic Association, which is local organization that, in its 5th year, supports the studies of 190 orphans in the area of Monza in Zambia. During the evening, 5 contestants performed and presented, in very original ways, their poems focused on hope, poverty and life in Africa. They competed for valuable prizes donated by Rock Empire, Hudy Sport, Grešík and Pusinka Sweet Shop.