by Chris
Ha, ha – no blog from me in a long time…
Being not that good
in bouldering I had - guess what - some trouble in that boulder. But I know for myself, that I
only need to be patient to find my personal beta. With my fat fingers and relatively
short arms I often create new beta – good for me, but not useful for others.
There is one good hold that you get right hand with all the 'official betas'. I
take it left hand. At least I can say, that I believe in individuality.
St. Lèger
Letting flow
The winter got a bit too wet. But still I had a nice sending spree of some beautiful 8a+ to name St. Linya Dreams, a good training combi at Muggeberg close to Basel and Melodie pour un ami ardechois on a short christmas trip to St. Lèger. The latter is excellent and consists of three parts with different climbing styles. Physical, technical and committing.
Not to forget the
fabulous Jakodur 2015, a route bolted
by the incomparable Julo Zambetti at Jacoterie, one of the superbeautiful
little limestone cliffs in the hidden valleys of the Jura around Moutier and Delémont.
Unexpected...
After sending Les épinards aux violettes on a short trip again to St. Lèger - is there any other crag? - and as a preparation for the big easter trip, my whole climbing came to an abrupt halt with a severe flu that hold a long time. Positive or negative – a sickness means time out and watch what has happened. Again time to identify some of these terrible enery absorbers in life - as so often in work when there is more to do than you should for your health. A challenge to deal with. No whining - one must solve the problem. Solution is the key. Don't wait. Only myself can change it!
Ha, ha – no blog from me in a long time…
Too lazy,
too busy – so many weak excuses.
So what I
have to do now is a short round up of what happened in the last 10 month. Ouff!
From time to time it can't get any better. For years I ran from one cliff to the next, just to
bang my head against their walls. I often wondered why it felt so hard. Frustration first - but a very precious experience at least. And suddenly everything clicks
together. Pure joy and a memory for the rest of your life.Here is what has happened:
Gimmelwald
Last fall I spend some time in Gimmelwald to test out the wonderful Truemmelbach 8b+, in my opinion one of the nicest climbs ever in its grade.
Last fall I spend some time in Gimmelwald to test out the wonderful Truemmelbach 8b+, in my opinion one of the nicest climbs ever in its grade.
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| Portrait of Truemmelbach/Gimmelwald... look at the amazing features! |
It consists of a weird boulder problem in the beginning and after a
half-comfortable knee-bar-rest you have to fire the afterburner for the resistant
upper part. There you face an interestingly slippery open pinch and some shaky and hard
drop-knees. You can almost hear the meniscus aching.
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Ambiance of Gimmelwald
|
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| The beautiful hike to the cliff |
The
second last or even last move has spit me off about seven times. It felt close,
but two days not being able to link the boulder brought me back to earth… and
then I sent, when I should not. Usually there is an unwritten rule, that
climbing in Gimmelwald two days in a row is a no go. But exactly this I did –
to find myself on the tophold on the first try of the second day. It was a result
from a mix of dedication and luck. Boum, lucky man I am!
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| Pioneering and bolting - always a part of the game. This is an new open project in Gimmel around 8c+/9a... |
St. Lèger
One month
later I headed down to South France only to find myself again in the beautiful
valley of the river Toulorenc with its great cliffs on both sides – St. Lèger
is one of my all-time favorites, although it's powerful style reveals
relatively quick my limits. Somehow I had good vibes and sent the enormous
roof of Collection Automne Hiver 8b/b+
in an epic battle.
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| 'Collection Automne Hiver' leads in a direct line and straight through the left big hole |
The first and very physical part at 8b was so strenuous that
- after I linked it for the first time - I feared to continue in the technical moves of the second part at 8a. There is
a very good rest – still not a no hand – so I prayed almost 40 minutes for a
good end. It paid off and I managed the awkward moves on little edges. It was
really overwhelming to clip the chains.
Great moments! I am so grateful to see and feel those. It's still an exciting experience to be in a process and keep it together. When everything fits and it clicks...
Letting flow
The winter got a bit too wet. But still I had a nice sending spree of some beautiful 8a+ to name St. Linya Dreams, a good training combi at Muggeberg close to Basel and Melodie pour un ami ardechois on a short christmas trip to St. Lèger. The latter is excellent and consists of three parts with different climbing styles. Physical, technical and committing.
 |
| Jacoterie in the late autumn mist |
 |
| Julo tries 'Jacodur 2015' 8a+ at Jacoterie |
Unexpected...
After sending Les épinards aux violettes on a short trip again to St. Lèger - is there any other crag? - and as a preparation for the big easter trip, my whole climbing came to an abrupt halt with a severe flu that hold a long time. Positive or negative – a sickness means time out and watch what has happened. Again time to identify some of these terrible enery absorbers in life - as so often in work when there is more to do than you should for your health. A challenge to deal with. No whining - one must solve the problem. Solution is the key. Don't wait. Only myself can change it!
After a
slow recovery I travelled around a bit, having short visits of new areas to get some inspiration for future projects. Really annoying was the terrible weather and the seeping cliffs everywhere.
This forced me to practice more indoor bouldering than I usually wish to do. My motivation was a bit low. But in the end this was my luck for an incredible week that
came in August.
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