I competed against PRO climbers in UK's biggest comp

This is intimidating. So it's the first comp that I've competed in since Japan. And I actually suspect this to have a higher level. There are a lot of strong people in the UK. And I've heard that there are national team climbers at this event as well. People who compete in the World Cup. I think I have to be on top of my game for even to just make finals. I mean making finals is going to be super, super difficult though. But that is going to be my goal. But yeah, 500 people competing in this event. I told myself before this though that I was gonna try not to get nervous. Pretend like it's just a normal training session. But I can feel my heart beating a little bit. Rungne just released a whole bunch of new products like the new Harness Pants Wide Leg. These are my new favorite climbing pants. And this, this is something special. Let me introduce you to MagLock. It looks like chalk, but it's not actually chalk. If you just apply it once, it will keep your hands dry through the whole session. It's expensive, I know. It's also very, very expensive to make. So it's probably not something you want to use every session. But to send your project or for a competition, this is going to make your hands extra sticky. And last but not least, what you've seen me wear in my last video, the Belay Down Jacket. This is the most comfortable and warm jacket I've ever owned. You can now win this jacket as well as a lot of other products and discount codes up to 20% off by clicking the link below. The best way to support this channel is by wearing Rungne. So the thing I'm most nervous of is that there are only 10 attempts. Louis! How are you doing? Hi, nice jumper. Yeah, thanks. Likewise. Oh, we're going to hug, that's nice. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too, man. Yeah, likewise. I'm the same height as you. How are you doing? Are you excited? Pretty good. Yeah, I'm excited. I'm a little bit nervous though about the... I'm going to do this. Now I look like a proper YouTuber when I do this stuff. I'm a little bit nervous about the 10 attempts. I was hoping that would just be like unlimited because I need a lot of time to get going. Same here. Yeah, I would like it if it was lots of hard climbs, doesn't matter if we flash them or not, just a million tries, just get as many as you can. That'd be perfect, but that's not what we're doing. No, so I guess I need to warm up properly. And the timer has already started. Yeah, I haven't even had coffee yet. I'm going to go have coffee. Go and have coffee, yeah. But maybe we join for a problem or two. Yeah, that'd be great. All right. See you soon. So the rules for the comp were easy. There were 25 problems that you had to complete in three hours. You got 11 points for a flash and you would lose two points for each attempt after that, which I kind of hated because in competitions, it takes me a while to get going. Some of these problems looked super easy while others looked almost impossible. So my strategy was to start at the easiest ones and then work my way up. And when I looked around, I did not feel very confident. There were a lot of strong guys at this comp. Oh, and out of the 500 climbers competing, only six people would make it through to finals. And whenever you see this number pop up in the corner of the screen, that shows my current ranking. I'm just going to start trying some of the easier ones. This seems like the easiest problem though. If I don't do this, I'm just going to take off my shoes and walk away and I'm not going to compete. How was it? Good? Hardest one, yeah. You have to remember to start right though. I haven't competed in a while, so you have to remember to start two hands, two feet. Okay, first one done. 24 to go. I think it's going to get a little bit harder than this. I think I'm going to try the blue next. Oh, Louis is on it too. How was that? Easy? That's fine. Yeah, you'll be okay on this one. I'm still warming up. It's a warm up. Yeah, no, I feel like some of these are... That looks hard. I got the zone first go and that's okay. Oh, wow. I messed up the finish. You said five minutes ago that you were going to warm up and then you went straight on this. I like dynos. You're worse than me. Okay, now it seems like we're starting. This is actually something. I have to try a little bit harder. Like this? Okay, I think I'm running out of easy prompts now. It says here 66 points, position 28. And we have two hours and 10 minutes left. I think I got to start trying something harder now soon. Oh, God. Yeah, it must be one of the harder ones. That looks hard. It's hard to get into it. Is this one of the hardest ones? I think, yeah. Heel, oh, wow. And it's too far to keep the toe hook in, I guess, too. I think so, yeah. Maybe it would be good to just try it once. Just to get like, I don't know, just to pull on something, you know? As it's so different now in a competition. Like normally I would be so relaxed, but I feel so tense compared to how I normally climb. But usually it just takes a few attempts to get that like tenseness out. That's why I want to try something hard, just to like kind of hopefully loosen up a bit. Okay, don't think that's the beta though. Oh, jeez, come on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on. Oh, my God. Oh, jeez. But that, yeah, that heel hook looked good, though. Oh, jeez, that last part is hard, yeah. I'm not sure if I'm going to try that again. That is, yeah, hard. Yeah, I haven't tried any of those. This is the first hard one I've tried. Yeah, I know. But I just wanted to like pull on something, you know? The last part is just so hard. So I think I'm going to, I'm just going to watch Louis try it now. And then I'm going to go and try something else. This is, I think, honestly, maybe like in 70 plus, eight A. It's also, it's a shame, you know, when you fall on the last move like that, you do so many moves for nothing, you know? Okay, I'm going to go and try something else. Yeah, I might come back to this. Yeah, I feel like those attempts really helped me because before then I felt pretty shaky, but now I feel more like in the zone. So I think it's about getting those like first, like hard attempts out of the way. I think ideally I would do it on another roller, but I got a zone on the second attempt. I guess that's something at least, because I don't think many people are going to top that. Or if they do, I'm really surprised because that is freaking hard. But one guy has already done it. But there are some World Cup climbers here, so it doesn't surprise me. So now I'm in 24th position. This is very different than the queue system in Japan, like where people were standing in line so politely with their sheet or their paper. Like here, it's just free for all. So this is one of the hardest ones, I think. It looks, the holes look tiny. Freaking hard, this one. Oh my God. Wow, that move is hard. I'm going to try to do a clock. I'm going to try something completely different. The thing is, there's no point of trying the same thing that I've already tried, because I know that that doesn't work. Oh, I know this is too hard. I'm not going to waste more attempts on this. Wow, that is hard for the fingers. Still feel like crimp. That was hard. I mean, I expected the level to be high, but I think it's even higher than I expected, to be honest. Toby, who is the Olympic champion, he competed here last year and didn't even win. That's how hard it is. It's cool, though, that everyone shows up at these comps. You know, at a lot of local comps, there's like only the best people don't show, but it seems like this is an event that people go to. So I'm in 20th place right now. Far from the top six who make finals. Hopefully I can get beta from this guy now. Oh, the last move looks hard. So right now I'm in 14th place and one hour and 44 minutes left. Still have to get a lot more points, though, if I want to actually make finals. But that's something I never thought I would. Like, that would be crazy to be top six. The second hardest, which one is the hardest? The black one. Oh, the black one is the hardest. OK. Oh, that is strange. That's such a bad foothold. Want to try? There's also five grand if you win in pounds. That's more than $5,000 more. That's a lot of money for first place. Not that I'm thinking about that, Oh, jeez. That's nasty. OK, that's hard. It's a hard slab. I might try this real quick, though. Keep the easy ones out of the way. Good job, Louis. I just saw you on the last move. I got a good beta from a friend, although he told me what he did and then I set up for this like miles away. Have you tried it already? No, I haven't. Oh, exciting. Yeah. Do you mind if I watch? Yeah, yeah, of course. That's a cool bowler. That's a really fun bowler. Yeah, I'm really happy with that flash. That was really good. That was an important flash, I think. No. Oh, come on. Oh, that was annoying. You lose so many points when you don't flash, though. That was... Sucks that I spent another go on that, though. Yeah, I'm in eighth position now. I went down because they'd waited so long. Now I'm in sixth spot. Sixth place right now. That's... So if no one else did anything more, I would probably be in. I think that was an important flash. It's looking good, but I think a lot of the best climbers haven't tried the easiest ones. So right now I'm in third. But I think the scorecard is lying a bit. Is that how you do it? Dynamic? Or do you go slow? Okay. Yeah. And there's nothing on that, right? On the metal bit? Or maybe a little gas top. I've seen people get it once they've got the floor. Yeah. Oh. It's hard to do that statically. Nice. Easy, nice. Wow. That's f***ing hard. Okay, I'm gonna go somewhere else. I think I need to get this one. I have no chance on the hardest slabs. Zero chance. I don't understand how they do it so easily. But this one I feel like I have a chance at. And I've seen they use a new beta now with a heel hook for the last move. So I think I could get this. But I already spent two attempts on it, so... Thanks, man. It's a lot easier without heel hook though. Okay, so it looks like I'm currently in eighth position. It's the last two of the slab problems. I need to get at least one of them, I think. Maybe even two. Both of them. And there's 20 minutes left, so... Don't have a lot of time. Thanks. Okay, now try the other slab. I don't understand how that's f***ing possible. I'm so bad at slabs. That's the number one thing I'm realizing now, that I gotta get better at slab climbing. This is so hard, man. I don't understand how you do the first move. I've got the zone, but I'm wincing the screw hole. And I'm just trying to work out the top now. Okay. Come on, man. How... How did... How did you not do that first attempt? I've spent like four or five attempts on this. I have no chance. Was it? Okay. Is it like you don't even get points for it then, or? I think I get two points. I can tell you what I did. Yeah, sure. I mean, I've tried it a few times and I've tried it like you've tried it. I really didn't want to do it with that, but it is easier. Turn as you're standing up. Okay, I just can't put pressure... Every time I put pressure on that, I just pop. I just stepped there and then like fell into the zone leap. Yeah, but you have your left foot here, right? Yeah, left foot there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what I find so hard. Okay, now that's the way to do it. Okay, I'll try it real quick here. Is it 30 seconds? Oh my god. No. No way. You go, go. There's 10 seconds left. Get on it. All right, time is up. All right, I'm gonna go and check how I did. So I'm in eighth position right now. It's six people make it through to finals. So it's not gonna happen. But I mean, I felt really strong the whole way. It's just, especially the slabs. I just, I'm really bad at slabs. I think if I want to do more competitions, I need to practice the slab climbing. But I'm still really happy though. Like eighth position out of 500 people is pretty good, I would say. So I'm not disappointed at all. It's just, it would have been really nice to make finals. But maybe next time. All right, so we just, we didn't make finals. But you beat me though. You're in seventh place. I'm in eighth place. Today was a good day for me. It was a good day, yeah. Good battle. Yeah, good battle. But we're gonna test the finals. But we've gotten to sneak behind the curtains. There's a big crowd of people on the other side. They really want to see us climb up. I don't know, the clock will be up. I'm sorry, everybody. Yeah, they look freaking hard. We haven't done anything. I'm sweating bullets already. Okay, let's go. I think we've got to jump for the bucket. I think jump for the bucket and then go like that. I think get on top. That's the top, yeah. So I think get on top. Oh yeah. Then run into the corner and do that. That last part is going to be hard though. Yeah, it is. Mate, we'll try. Yeah, man, let's go. Oh! Come on. Oh my god, I'm scared for my life. All right, that was close. That was almost... Man, I thought you were going to do it. I thought so too. Oh, damn. Oh, it's scary though. Yeah, it looks really scary. Will you spot me as well? I will try to, yeah. It's not that bad, honestly. You made that look easy. Oh, wait, let me try that again. Come on, man. Yeah, nice. Come on. All right, watch out over here. I didn't want it at all. Oh my god. No. It's so scary though. Should we keep going? Next one. Okay. Louis, what do you think on this? Jump like that and then do this and that in the same move? Come on, Louis. Oh. Oh my god. It's grippy. It's a long way. Yeah. Yeah, it's super... Yeah, go on. No. It's hard to get the swing, yeah. I feel like I'm turning. Why don't you try a different idea? I don't think it's going to work. Come on. Nice. Come on, man. I think that might be the best... It might work. I think you have to be stronger than... Oh, if only one of us could do some kind of like one-arm muscle-up or something. Yeah. Oh. Oh, man. Maybe it doesn't lead anywhere. Come on. Ah, come on. Oh, that was so brave. You all right? Yeah, I'm good. Yeah, I think it's going to go like that. I don't think I'm going to do it that way though. Let me try the proper lache again. Oh, I feel lightheaded. Come on, man. Yeah, nice. Come on. Come on, Louis. Come on. Nice. Come on, get it, man. No! Good effort though. That was insane. Should we try it again? No. You try it again. I can't believe that you stuck that sideways. Come on. Yeah. That's it, man. Come on. Let's go. Come on, man. No! Oh, man. That's a stupid board. I don't want to do it anyway. No, it's a stupid climb. But it's a fun... You shouldn't sit... The route setters are right here. Stupid climb. We hate... Magnus says it's the worst thing he's ever done. I like it. That's not what he said a second ago. All right, should we try this one next? Oh, my God. My back feels like it's like... Come on, let's go. Wait, how old are you, Louis? How old? Yeah. I'm 32. Oh, I'm about to turn 33. You're three years younger than me. I'm 36. Okay, well, why don't you win this one again? You get the high score. Well, I don't keep that. I don't take advantage. Whatever. Oh, the age high score. Yeah, yeah. Ignore me. I'm being stupid. Let's do this boulder. Yeah, man. So good. Come on. Yeah. Oh, no. I think you have to go one further. Maybe even two further. Come on, man. I'm a... Do you just campus that? No, I had my feet on. Oh, you did? Okay, I'll try again. I'm exhausted now. I'm really tired. We've tried like three boulders in 10 minutes, I think. Show me what you did. I can try. Just do the move. Yeah, man. Come on. Nice. Yeah, yeah, nice one. That was awesome. Come on, man. Need more power. I'm going to try once to cross, I think. Try it, man. Yeah. Oh, no. Yeah, just flip that over. Oh, yeah? I think it works. Might work, yeah. Okay, I'll give it a try. Yeah, it does feel like it would work. Yeah. But it feels worse with your right than your left. So I'm not sure. Give you one more go, and then I'll move on. All right, come on, though. Come on. You made that look so easy. Yeah, I'm done on this. You want to try the last one? You're like me. You have chalk all over your head. Thank you. Looks like you've been eating chalk. All right, I'm ready. That's nice. Yeah, man. Yeah. Come on. Still got it. That looked good. I'm always wondering if you just jump for the top, though. Really? How did you get your second foot to it? It's a weird first move, yeah. All right, hang on. Nice one. Come on, man. Come on, Louis. Yeah, nice. You got it. Yeah, nice. Come on, now you just jump. Just jump, man. It's bad. It's bad, yeah. Yeah, it's bad. It's a bad hold. That's why I'm wondering if the top is good, maybe it's better to just move. Yeah, man, maybe. That wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Which one do you think is the hardest so far? I think the yellow. Yeah, the yellow, yeah. Like after those two crimps. I don't even get that far, so yeah, that one might be. I'm really curious to see if anyone's going to send that. Yeah, man, I think they will. How do you do that so easily? Let's go. Come on. Oh, yeah. So good, man. Wow. Let's do that, then. Yeah, it's not too bad. Yeah, just go a bit further. A little further to the right. Okay. That's pretty good. And not match the zone. No. All right. All right, come on, Louis. Come on, man, you got it. Yeah, nice. Good job. It's not that bad, right? No, that's okay, you're right. You just jump far enough. Yeah, yeah. No, watching you do it helps a lot. Should we say hi to the crowd? Yeah, okay, we're going to peek through. Hello. That's good. That was fun. Now that Louis and I had tried the final bowlers, it was time for the finalists to enter the stage. I felt pretty confident with my one top and three zones that I would do okay compared to the finalists, but I was very wrong. I was completely blown away by these guys. The first and second guy flashed all the bowlers, and I thought that was going to be impossible. It was slightly humbling, but also very inspiring at the same time. For being the first time back competing against professional climbers, I mean, honestly, I was pretty happy with how I did. I know that I could have done better, but I was like this close to making finals. So I just want to congratulate the winners in both male and female category. I mean, I didn't talk much about the females, but they absolutely crushed it. Super inspiring to watch. I also want to thank Harrow Wall for hosting such an amazing event, and Louis for helping me out on the wall, and you guys for watching this video. Thank you guys so much. Comment below if you want to see me do more competition stuff, and I will see you next time.