Gripped has 2...

If you get a chance run out and grab the latest copy of Gripped Magazine (April\May 2010). I have 2 photos published in this issue! Chapters, Indigo, MEC all should have this issue out today or tomorrow.

Gus Alexandropoulos wrote up a really nice article about Sport Climbing in Ontario. The article also introduces a new climbing crag "The Swamp" to the masses! Should be a fun summer sending some new routes there!

My First photo is on the second page of the Ontario Sport climbing article, page 22/23. It's a 1 1/2 page photo of my good friend Aaron Brouwers at the climbing crag Old Baldy on a route called Christina's World 5.12d. Aaron and I had spend a few days climbing at Old Baldy last summer were I was able to send a few 5.12 projects and tick some new 12's. Aaron had worked on Christina's World 1 or 2 days when I was with him and he was getting really close to sending. I ended up driving the 2 hours up to Old Blady after work to get sunset photo's of Aaron on the route. He ended up sending the route earlier in the day but took some victory laps on it so I could get some photos! Thanks Aaron! It paid off, now you mug is in the mags!

Click on the image below to see it large...


The other photo is near the back of the issue in a photography specific section called "Northern Exposures" I was really excited to find out it was a full 2 page photo! I took this in March on 2008 in Buttermilks, Bishop, California! We were just wrapping up our session and I noticed the guy in the photo was going to do the V0 super highball Problem on the Grampa Peabody boulder. I ran a grabbed a few different angles of him climbing...


Check out a few others from Old Baldy and Bishop here

Stay tuned for my first cover photo coming soon!

Cheers, I'm going climbing!

Final Olympic Post

Wow, wow, wow! What a day...

Yesterday was a day I'll never forget. It was a day people are going to talk about for generations. People will ask were did you watch the game? Where were you when Canada changed? I was unbelievably fortunate to be at the game, live in person. Screaming at the top of my lungs; Go Canada Go! and the occasional "Luuuuuu!" for Luongo Canada's Goalie!

The game started out great, the crowd was amazing and Team Canada had the weight of the country on their shoulders. The pressure these guys were under was probably equal to 4 Stanley Cup Finals put together. Canadian hockey fans don't expect less than gold when any of our national hockey teams play. We love our hockey and to win Olympic Gold in hockey matching the women's hockey would be the only thing Canada would be happy with.

The game was intense and Canada got off to a great start with a 2-0 lead by the middle of the second period. I'm sure the country was pretty excited at this point to have a 2 goal lead. Unfortunately the US team would get their first with about 8 minutes left in the second period. Confidence was still high and Canada was in a great spot with the lead going into the third. Canada seemed to be on their heels in the third with the US team putting lots of pressure on Luongo. With 2 minutes left the crowd was getting more excited at our chance at gold everyone was going crazy! Team USA pulled their goalie to have an extra guy on the ice and Canada had a hard time defending against it they ended putting one in with 24 f-ing seconds left! The crowd was distraught, only about 5% of the crowd was up cheering. I think everyone said or thought "OH MY GOD, WE CAN'T LOSE THIS!" Everyone was in disbelief.

Of course we know how this ends... Our Canadian hero Crosby put it in to WIN! The crowd went insane, like nothing I've ever experienced. Everyone was hugging and high five-ing and screaming! We did it! We won at home against the US and it couldn't have felt any better. It was a storybook ending, as much as we hated having to go into OT the story just got better. Crosby who didn't do much in the previous 2 games or this one, put it in for the win. That boy has been launched into super stardom, even more than he already was.

It was an experience I will never forget and I will tell my future kids about. Just sitting here thinking about it again gives me goose bumps and I'm getting choked up about it recalling the experience. I don't think there was any other moment in Canadian history that had the country cheering and screaming all at the same time like this did!

As if the day wasn't amazing enough we left the arena among the cheering crowds and headed next door to the closing ceremonies. When we got to our seat and each person had a kit that contained a blue poncho, flashing LED light, Russian light-up snow globe, giant coloured card, and a closing ceremony program. We went through a crash course on when we needed what and when we were going to be singing. A little comedy skit at the beginning of the show brought the last arm up which failed to show during the opening ceremonies. And the rest of the show was Canada making fun of itself. It was a great show to see in person and just another great moment to be apart of.

At dinner after the closing ceremonies I was talking to a gentleman from Minnesota. He told me he has been to 10 Olympic games, that's right 10! He works for big Olympics corporate sponsors and sets them up and get's them organized for there Olympic visits. So needless to say he's not only been to 10 Olympic games he's been heavily in all of them. He said "at no other Olympics has the host country shown so much pride in their country!" He was at the Gold medal hockey game as an American cheering on his team. But he said there was a piece of him that wanted to Canada to win. He knew what this meant to Canada and how proud we would be of this moment. He said "that Hockey game was the single most amazing event I have ever seen at any Olympics I've been to!" It was pretty amazing and I can't even fathom what could top that for Canada...

We've had just an amazing 4 days. Every event we seen that Canada was participating in we won Gold, which is just mind blowing! Canada won a record 14 gold medals and we watched 5 of them. Now that's a pretty good showing and dam good luck for us. A lot of people are saying Canada has changed, we are wearing our pride on our sleeves now, not just in our hearts! I know every Canadian has always been proud to be Canadian, but something has changed... We brought out the good in this country and made it great! We are not just West Coasters or East Coasters, French or English speaking or any other language, we are Canadians! We have come together and cheered on our athletes, we are so proud of all of them and what they achieved. Not just the ones who made the podiums, all of them. They wore our flag and competed for us on the biggest stage, they are Canadian and that's why we are so proud of them!

Total Medal Count we seen:

Gold - Women's Hockey
Gold & Bronze - Short Track Speed Skating men's 500m
Gold - Short Track Speed Skating Men's 5000m relay
Gold - Men's Snowboarding GS
Gold - Men's Hockey!

Thanks for reading!

Opening Face-Off

Go Canada!

Our View

Canada Wins Gold!

Canadian Hero... :-)

Flag Parade!

Closing Ceremonies...

These guys were crazy... So many just came piling out...

Canadiana...

The Athletes...

Just before the Flame went out...

It was a wet Gold!

Just a quick post about yesterday...
We went to Snowboarding Giant Slalom for Men. We had 3 Canadians in the top 16 after the qualifying round. The most for any country at this point in the competition, so a good chance to make it to the podium. The conditions were brutal and you could barely see the finish line. The fog moved in and out as well at the rain and sleet. Canada ended up winning gold! So the smaller than expected crowd went crazy! We had all stuck it out in the bad weather and it paid off. Just Awesome! 3 days of events and I've seen 4 gold and 1 bronze for Canada!

We are just about to head downstairs to catch a bus to the Men's Gold Medal Hockey game. I just know it's going to be insane! This will be one of those gamesthat I'll tell my future kids about when they get older... If Canada wins today this will probably be the most important hockey game in Canadian hockey history... I'm sitting in my hotel room on the 10th floor with the TV on and I can still hear people on the streets cheering and getting excited. So that means it time to go! This is a thrill of a lifetime and I wish you were with me to see it. And I do mean "you", I'm talking to every single Canadian!

Go Canada Go!

It was a Golden Day!

What a day! My brother and I had a great breakfast at a Aboriginal Art Gallery in Vancouver, then a presentation from someone from VANOC (Vancouver Organizing Committee) about Sustainability in the Olympics. Then a nice surprise, we received a pair of tickets to the USA vs. Finland semi-finals. So we left shortly after and headed to the game. At the game there was a large amount of American fans and few Fins... Most Canadians were cheering for the US with hopes that we could get a US vs. Canada final if Canada wins the game against Slovakia. The game started with a bang with a few mistakes from the Fins allowed the US jump to a punishing start 6-0 in the first period. Finland was definitely deflated after a few goals in the first period as well as the entire second period. The crowd died down since the outcome of the game was obvious at this point. Once the Fins started playing better, they scored a goal and the crowd was thrilled that the Fins could save a little embarrassment, but with no other action 6-1 was final score.

After a quick bit to eat we headed to our planned event; Short Track Speed Skating! I've done a little bit of short track so I had a even greater respect for these athletes, as I was thrilled to see the best in the world zipping around the rink! Some popular skaters were the Hamlin brothers from Canada and American Apollo Anton Ohno. 3 events: Men's 500m, Ladies 1000m and Men's 5000m relay! With quarter finals and semi's for the 500m and 1000m, and finals for all.


It was very exciting and the crowds were going insane! Charles Hamlin ended up winning Gold and Francois-Louis Tremblay taking Bronze in the 500m race. It was just amazing!

After all that excitement our Canadian ladies didn't fair so well by missing the podium. Next was the 5000m men's relay. Two teams were in the Men's B Final so it was less hectic than the A final to come. Great Britain and Germany battled with GB having a great finish to win the race. This was a great primer for the final which had five teams on the ice. Four players per team so that meant 20 skaters going around doing relays. It was 45 laps and the pace kept getting faster ever lap. By the time we got down to the 12th lap out of 45 the crowd was insane and Canada was leading!! The excitement in the arena was like nothing I've ever seen before. I'm getting goose bumps just recalling the finish. Charles Hamlin had a close call coming out of one of the corners around lap five but held on. With the crowd getting louder and louder every lap and the race pace getting faster and faster Canada finished first - taking GOLD! It was such an amazing moment, something that I will remember for the rest of my life! Everyone was high five-ing and yelling as loud as they could, it was just an unreal experience and I'm so proud I had the chance to be there!

The Medal ceremonies were great getting to yell Oh Canada twice was just awesome! Canada finished the night with 2 Gold and 1 Bronze! Oh and Canada's Men's hockey team won so they advance to the Gold medal finals! So Amazing! Hopefully the guys can repeat the ladies performance against the US! We'll have to see if the Gold Medal Hockey will be just as amazing as the short track relay, I can't wait! Snowboarding tomorrow up at Cypress!


Some celebrity citings: Vince Vaughn, Stephan Harper, Brett Butt (Corner Gas tv show..), Shawnee Davis (US long tack speed skater).

Sea of Red & Gold!

Our first day full day in Vancouver was fantastic. Started out with a trip back from North Van were we stayed at my handsome cousin's (So he says...) apartment. Thanks Barry! Then a stop at our hotel then the Olympic cauldron.

After a quick lunch we headed to the Arena for the Women's Gold Medal Final! After the metal detectors and some cheering outside the arena we headed in. The arena quickly filled and the crowd was amped to see Canada win Gold! Seeing them win was amazing! And to top it off was every Canadian in the crowd singing Oh Canada! Check out some of the pics below for the some Canadian Celeb sightings...

After dinner we headed down to Robson square to catch Joannie Rochette's skate with a big crowd at the CTV booth on the street. Of course, when she won 3rd the crowd went nuts!

One more trip to the Cauldron at night and then its time to hit the sack. I'm exhausted! Some short track speed skating finals tomorrow! Can't wait!

Bringing Home Gold!

I'm sitting in Pearson International Airport in Toronto on my way to Vancouver for the Olympics! My hands are shaking with excitement about going.

I've always dreamed about going to an Olympics, but to finally get the chance to go in Canada is beyond what I've ever dreamed about! On Boxing Day this past Christmas, I found out I had a chance to attend the winter games when my brother asked me to go with him. Since February 12th I've been glued to the TV taking in the whole experience watching as much as I could. Sitting on the edge of my seat every time Canada has a chance at a medal. Learning about the athletes stories and becoming invested in their chance at Gold!

We have tickets to 1 or 2 events each day which include Gold Medal Tickets to Men's Hockey! & Closing Ceremonies! A lot is riding on tonight's game against Russia not only for Team Canada but for my Olympic Experience... :-) Seeing Canada play for Gold on Canadian soil is beyond belief!

I will be posting photos and updates about my experience all weekend to share with my friends and family. One regret about this trip is that I can't share it with the women of my dreams, my wife Cassandra. I will do my best to document it with photos and video to share with her and everyone else.

To close out my first post, my goal with this Blog is not only to share this Olympic weekend with everyone but when I return I plan to post updates about my website: www.dennisbarnes.com and any photographic adventures I'm having or been on. Thanks for taking the time to read this and hopefully I'll be posting a lot about Canada Bringing Home Gold!

Cheers,
Dennis