WHAT THE F***ISCH

some time ago i asked myself what it woud take to climb into that position as seen in the pic below, getting behind the crux... after going down there allready some 30+times i allready started to think that the "fisch" actually coud be just this little bit too hard, especially in the warm conditions when i am suddenly not able to climb past the 4start-moves anymore. BUT  i GOT to the LIP, and even further...

finally i climbed past that point... pic by angela wagner

i tried it with nightsessions, but it did not cool down enough. so despite beeing NOT a morning climber at all (and the logistics, 2hrs drive from home etc.) i tried it in THE EARLY MORNING. at 8am at "the fisch" i found cold rock and a nice BREEZE - YEPPA!!!

the recently found "micro beta" (PRECISE bodyposition) on the start worked great. nothing went wrong on the intermediate part (for once). arriving at the "einfisch-start" i had no cold fingers and then for the VERY FIRST TIME i was hanging at the LIP with both hands. not too tired. i just had to bring my feet out and do the nasty mantel. in slowmotion i took out my foot, but the swing was too much, the beta bit too shaky and in slowmotion i lost contact with both feet and went down to the pads....

the move i went down... unfortunatley a bit too much swing. pic by angela wagner

i knew the beta i used was bit strange and shaky, but it worked (from the standing for example) and i have not found a better beta when checking it out back in time. i immediatly started to check for better beta and eventually i FOUND better beta (CRAZY after sooooo many days...).

that the new beta worked quite well i found out after a 4hrs break as i started on the SDS (too tired for the lay-down) and went down going for the rock-over at the mantel. i just had one finger (instead of 3) on the rescue-hold... i coud have really killed myself on that moment. on the first go with this NEW beta i just woud have climbed it...

on the very next go (but this time from the SDS). the new beta worked well and i climbed up to the mantle. what a pitty i did get the (good) hold left hand with just one finger. i was not able to readjust and went down trying to rockover...! pic by angela wagner

so no easter-gift for me at the fisch. but thats (kind of annoying) totally normal for me. i can not JUST climb someting hard. it always has to be an EPIC. and i dont talk from "... ahhh i had to try this for three days and then i fell on the last move...". epic needs a bit more effort, months of getting deep into the microcosmos of moving... : like when i went down on "one summer in paradise" (magic wood, it still was a project that time) on the 6a-finish due a sliding hook. or as i exploded on the "dagger" (cresciano) on the 3a-exit (CRAZY!!!). or going down with the finish-hold of "ikarus" (susten) in my fingers. and some more...

ITS ENOUGH EPIC. ITS TIME TO GET THAT F***ISCH DONE!!!

just another restday

... had to make use of the rests of the powsnow before the heat came in. and it was nice to have a break from hard-core-fishing as well ;) at the end it was not a real restday at all (5hrs-non-stop-hiking-riding). but it was GREAT FUN - have a look at the pics to get an impression - SWIZZY ROCKS!!!

ride n1: allways great to have the "first line" ;)



ride n2: from the sunny top down the slope to the right, another first line and way steeper then it seems on the pic



project on the way: the wall in the shade... grrr ;)



ready for ride n3!




ride n3; AGAIN this crazy couloir - its just to good to NOT go4it ;)

looking back on the final ride - with a BIG smile - WHAT A DAY!!!

NIGHT-*FISCH*ING

-06:15 start of a crazy day/night

-15:00 home from work checking the weather; 24C in chiro...BAD....taking 2hrs of sleepp.

-20:30 chironico, still 17C!!!

arriving in chironico, beautiful view, but still WARM...

-22:30 start to wurmup in the "centrale-area". it was nice and quiet and a lot of deer around, they did not move too quickly and were somehow courious what the hell i was doing there at that time on THEIR ground...


- 24:00 START with NIGHT-FISCHing. it felt still WARM, but i was super psyched and went on to go for the low-down-start.

- 03:00 AM sitting there at the "fisch" on my pads and not getting the first 4moves together anymore i was somehow pissed. just one week ago things still went super well.  thinking back to ONE WEEK AGO, (when IT WAS 10C LESS)  and spinning some "numbers" i came to the conclusion that this session last week had to be one of my strongest climbing sessions ever:

- 5times (may that was a bit much)  for advanced warmup and betarefining the "einfisch" to the lip (7C+/8A)

- once the low-down-start till i went down with a foot slipping at the start of the second-part (~8B)

- once the "low-down"-start over the "killer-crimp-beta" falling (again) on the last  hard move (~8B+)

- once the standing-start (4moves in) WITH topping out (~8B)

- another 5 times "einfisch" to the lip (7C+/8A)

- twice "delusion of grandeur" to the end of the sloperband (~8A/+)


- 03:24 back at the car, still 11C... i was close, but it was just too WARM, the rock was not able to cool down enough for me.... - BUMMER. but i was there and tried to use my chance before the real heat arrived. i gave my BEST even if it was not enough this time. 

-04:30 falling asleep

- this weekend its getting up to 28C in the ticino. absolutley CRAZY and NOT even near to normal for the season at all. i will have to wait and hope the temps will go back AGAIN before summer definitely hits!!!

murphy was right - but i am NOT jerry moffat

last friday nothing slipped, nothing went wrong - so murphy was right! the only problem were the 18C (still at 7pm) - and i coud not wait longer to go for a real night session. i climbed to the last move again, but i had to figure out i am NOT jerry moffat and FRICTION still does (greatly) matter to me... (learn in this former post (at the end of it) what jerry had to say about friction)

the position right after the crux - what does it take to get over it ONCE?! pic (klick to make it bigger) by angela wagner

i remember some 4weeks ago we had one day with a max of 17C (friday it was a max of 23C) and i suddenly was not able to climb the startmoves of the fish-anymore and i had great problems to even climb the "einfisch/keinfisch"-ending isolated. NOW i was still able to climb all the sequences, nice progression. but i wanted to LINK the sections and the 20C was not the help i was looking for. i had to "overpower" every move so hard that i exploded going for that last move (the lip i have with my left hand on the pic above).

funny that when the conditiones were perfect and the moves felt very "ok" EVERY time something went wrong. AND now, when the conditiones were f**ked, nothing went wrong... this "fisch" is turning into a REAL EPIC...

the position right after going down at the crux - what does it take... pic (klick to make it bigger) by angela wagner

but i am SO CLOSE - I WILL NOT GIVE IN, i am at least as stubborn as this granit-fisch or even more ;) the weatherforecast for next week is nice, but its gonna be way too warm (24C). this means nightsessions or EARLY morning attacks - the tricky thing will be to avoid the humidity in the mornings/evenings and at the same time make use of the colder temps... watch the charts below to get an idea:



the temps at piotta (source), close to chironico (ad plus 3-4C for chironico)




humidity at piotta (source), close to chironico



hopefully murphy is RIGHT!!!

murphy's law: what can go wrong, will go wrong. SO TRUE!!!

it looks like the carrot is back:

three weeks ago i climbed for the first time into the last hard move from the lay-down-start. since then i feel physically ready to send but i keep falling at the very same last move and/or literally on every other move cause everytime goes "something" wrong, even with 3 or 4 restdays and feeling super strong:


-my fingers are icecold and i dryfire off...

-t was too dry and i just slipped off all the holds

-my heel and/or toe slipped off on various moves and pretty random

-i lost/slipped from the biggest jug and the easiest move

-my "leg-jam" slipped with the last hold in my fingers


may thats the price i have to pay for my terrible crazy and complicated beta i use. on EVERY single move a heel- and/or toehook is involved - and some are pretty unsecure..


the funny thing is that this "shit" happens normally when i am fresh and feeling strong. then on my second go, allready tired from the first one nothing goes wrong and i fight into the last move. but then i am just too tired an i explode. so i am still waiting that murphy has shown all of his eventualities. cause if everything that can happen will happen, then THE first go of the day when NOTHING goes wrong MUST come... otherwise i will have profen murphy wrong ;)

entering the crux of the "fisch". from the "einfisch-start" its getting a wurmup, from the "standing-start" of the full line it works ok. from the lay-down its getting closer and closer. i once was allready up on the lip then i slipped off... WTF???!!! pic by angela wagner

at least last week i was able to topout the "standing-start" of the fisch (four moves in on the first jug) for the first time. its a nice and regular "enduro-training" after falling at the last move from the low-start...