what a day...

I WAS THERE!!! after the send of "no mystery (low) " i took two restdays and felt great when i was back at the fisch-project! but somehow i overgripped and i failed again and again on the 3rd and hardest move, pulling my body to high and loosing my heel. angela then convinced me to stop and try again the day after.

the move i went down and down and down and down....

the next day started nice with angela climbing strong and with her friend nastya beeing super psyched and climbing nonstop on her first day outdoorclimbing ever.

angela aiming for a non-hold and sending!

berti (check out his sound!!!) joined in as well and it was great to see and climb with him again after we have not seen each other for nearly a year. it was just great to see everybody with a smile on their face while "jumping" from boulder to boulder...

bärti normally smiling all day... ;) pic from another trip. pic by angelawagner.ch

arriving at the "fisch" later in the afternoon i met nicolas and later dai and ikkuko joined in as well. all day long it was a lot of positive vibes in the air and i was super relaxed. i was 99% sure i would not have had a chance to come through the super hart startsequence as on a "second day" i normally can climb 6B not more... but as i was bit tired, my body was lower, therefore i had pressure on my heel and the heel stayed. thats what i like (and hate) so much about the "fisch"-project. its just NOT all about power ;)

left hand on the good crimp - thats it i thought - but my right feet was some 2cm too low for the foothold i NEED to rock over...

i had a hell of a fight and made it to the mantel - went dynamic for the mantelmove - and I WAS THERE!!! BUT i missed a "blind" foothold by about 2cm... and went down on the slap-move out right... the last move before your rock over into a no hand...

und tschüss....

but unlike 3weeks ago when my hand slipped on the mantel-move i did not got mad at all - i am already over that point - and as it was just a great day with good friends - i just kept smiling...

to finish that great day we then went down for PIZZA to giornico. dai and ikuko showed us the footage of dai's low-down send of STOTWO... and its INSANE!!! its one of the most amazing bouldering-things i have ever seen. and when you know how bad that holds are you can't believe what dai's is doing there - its just against any physics... WAY TOO STRONG and nice that guy... ;))

watching dai's footage of his ascent of "storyoftwoworlds (low)" - on of the most CRAZY things i have ever seen!!! 

FREE your mind and SEND

but first i had to clear my mind.... i felt bit tired from all the work and the super hard pushing on the "fisch"... so how lucky am i to have that perfect little playground 30min from home!!! 

no pushing on your limits - just gliding effortless through white gold... (ok bit of hiking, but that was great as well) - half a day and 15'000feet of First-Tracks in kneedeep powpow.... BIIIIIG SMILE!!!

and then the next day my body felt pretty worked but i was keen on gripping on some gneiss, went down to ticino and SENT. well not the "fisch" (yet). but if you can't do the "hard" stuff you have to do some "easy" stuff from time to time... ;)

"FA" after break of "no mystery" (low).
(click to watch it BIG). pic ⓒ angelawagner.ch

so i went down to chironico and did the FA of "no mystery (low)" after the broken crux hold. i am very happy to have done such a nice little boulder. it was a nice process from not knowing if it still would be possible after the break, to understand the crux-move, to do the upper-start and finally, after some 8visits to send the full line.

the start is close to the ground but i like the moves that bring you perfectly to the BIG, powerful and delicate cruxmove, followed by a perfect top section. the moves are so flowing, i just can't get enough of them -  its really one of my favourites down there!!!

pic ⓒ angelawagner.ch

as for the grade i have no real clue. if you are strong and lucky you can do that move in flash-mode. if you are not lucky you can try it for weeks, catching every time the rail but not beeing able to control the swing (like me). despite it's MY style i went down over days on that move and because i was totally stretched out i had to be super precise. if you are taller it must be easy, if you are shorter SUPER hard... so its may around 8B/B+ for me? but last week my girlfriend "killed" me in the gym and as she climbs more in the 7A/B area then in the 8B's it can't be an 8the grade?! conclusion: it should be in between 7A+ and 8B+ - take what you like and have fun ;)

i did try the exit over "schule des lebens" as well. but it was just too warm for the razor crimps - looks like that has to wait for next winter - i will be back!

BIG cresciano-news from DAI KOYAMADA!!!

check out dai's blog: http://koyamada.dai.hiho.jp/


in fall super high temps stopped him (so he had to play on some easy stuff... ;) - but he came back once more and now dai got it together and did the FA of the lowest (and most natural/logical) start to storyoftwoworlds. so no more discussions about where to start anymore (edit: watch here the vid where you can see dave's original start and dais low-start) - pure power and inspiration - no compromise - so incredibly strong! SUPER psyched for him!!! WAY TO GOOOOOO!!!

dai on a try in the story... pic by ikuko serata

...

punting, cursing and sending

while i needed 1.5hrs to put the moves of the low-start together (why not do it 1st try and safe some power???!!!) and then slipped off from a hold one move before the mantel...

i never slipped off that hold before... - do i need to get paranoid? is it a curse...? yep i think its a curse and i will call "mike" to help me to get over that... ;)

visiting powerhouse nicolas delaleu (swizzy expat living, researching, bouldering and photographing in norway) seems not to need any help as he was doing WAY better and sent "einfisch/keinfisch 8A+/B" - WAY TO GO!!!

mindgames

3full days of rest, sunny, warmer, windy... and one day before i had a great day with my girlfriend out there in the sunny ticino... it was the perfect day for the SEND!!!

beautiful day!!!

but somehow already the 6B warmups felt kind of strange (and hard... ?) but that happens sometimes and i pushed any thoughts about this away. on my warmup-go on the "einfisch" i slipped from a foothold... (never happend for the last 6visits...). but that can happen and i pushed it away as well...

angela made this 6B - sloopy moves look easy - i had to struggle quite a bit...

on my first go on the "fisch", everything went perfect till i slipped (under full pressure) of the intermediate hold right when i wanted to bump for the big slot... i tried then again, and again, and again.... but everytime something slipped, went wrong and i was just not able to link this first 4moves together. but at least i was close...

but i was exactly at the point i did not wanted to come again: climbing to the very last move one day and then not even be able to do the first 3moves on the next visit... mindgames start... but that happend before... but it kicks my ass every time again.. ;)

got my ass kicked at the brutal starting-moves...

analysing this "failure" (or searching for "excuses") i just found one possible reason: already on friday and saturday i nearly was unable to get up in the morning as i was just SUPER tired. during the day climbing in chironico if felt ok, but somehow never found that "extra-snap-tension" whatever you call it...  it looks like i just have killed my system on wednesday. after beeing sick my system may was still "week" and while climbing into the last move of the "fisch", (and then from the sds again)i must have pushed it too far and just wrecked and destroyed myself. the following day was a 16hrs work-day - also not the best in terms of "recovery"...

so i am looking forward to recover fully as my cold seems to be finally over. and then i have to calm  down myself; there are at least 8weeks in front of me to finish up the "fisch". all i need is ONE (perfect) day and i am pretty keen to catch that one!!!

to give you an idea of the moves that give me so much "pain"(... not because they are painful, but because they feel so f***ing hard to me...) here the start-sequence which consists of the  4 hardest moves i have ever done in a row... it feels like a "hard" 4move 8B for me. but as i am an old and fat boulder-pussy, its may just a "sooooft,real,new-school-cool-blabla" 8A ... ;)

starting both hands on the rail (lousy pinch)  

bumping to the first crimp left hand. 

(hard to get it perfect what makes the following moves even harder...)

the crimp you bump to with your left hand

going for the small indermediate... its STEEP and the bit hook at the right is BAD (despite looking great)

the small indermediate...

and with a LOT of bodytension: bumping into the big, but slopy slot - HARD to stay on the wall/roof and not loosing the heel and/or holds!!!

then a hard transition-move to bring your feet out and match hands. 

hard to not loose the poor left hand crimp (pic 3). 

and now better keep it together cause there is waiting a second 8B to be climbed... ;)

EPIC DAY

... yep: "DRAMA" takes the lead again... i still don't know if i should laugh, or get crazy about it... well as i can't change it, i better laugh at it ;) i still was not over my cold, weather looked better (warmer/dryer) at thursday but i had my "off-day" on wednesday - so on my way to ticino i was.

train was gone...

it all started when my train was 5minutes late due to waiting for another train and thanks to that i did not catch MY connecting train to ticino which was the reason i missed the bus up to chironico. 

still humidity in the air from the snow/rainfall a day ago. aiming on my 60min up hill hike to the "fisch"...

what resulted in a 60min hike uphill with a LOT of gear... and extended my travel time to the "fisch" to 6hrs ONE-WAY!!!

finally up there at the project i warmed up quickly - sat down on the low-start and gave it a go.

to rock felt cold and humid, pretty greasy - but to my surprise (still don't know why) i was able to pull through the (for me) so brutal hard starting-sequence...

then i arrived at the mantel. 

new HIGHPOINT from the low-start!!! 

COLD fingers, GREASY holds... BUT so CLOSE - i gave ALL i had...

and i was up there on the hold with my left hand - but in the same moment i GREASED of with my righ hand... (watch the pic below!)

what ended with a nice a-bomb from myself

NO - there is no free anything for me when trying to climb HARD projects. i CAN NOT "just" climb them. DRAMA MUST BE!!! looks like i have to be able do them 3times a day, one handed, blindfolded, allez-retour, while raining and with a 20kg backpack - otherwise its just a NO GO?!

another try... cause: getting stronger, 3times a day, onehanded, with the backpack... 

you know the story ;)

time to leave....

GOING HOME? 

well there was waiting a last SURPRISE - LANDSLIDE!!! no trains home anymore... &*%ç+"???!!!

BIIIIIG thanx to my lovely girlfriend who drove 2h down to ticino to "rescue" me, as 14h of work waited the next morning for me... END of an EPIC DAY...

still feeling shitty + rainy all day = climbing even stronger again....???

my cold was (is) killing me, but as there was nice weather forecasted for ticino (still warm and nice) i HAD to go down to make use of these good conditions.. thanx to the cold my head felt like exploding but with some "drugs" in my system i could handle that - thanx to my local pharmacy ;) so off i was to chironico. as i arrived in ticino raindrops started to fall - so much to the swizzy weather-forecast...

"nice"-weather looks different...

but hey, don't let yourself stop from the elements, i just had to protect the mantel from the rain...(don't even think about the 6M slabby, wet topout...)  and went down to the start to climb that rig!

motivation is everything ;)

despite the obviously lousy conditions (100%humidity) i went for the low-down-start - pulled on - and BIG surprise - got it together, but just was not perfect in the jug-slot. i tried to readjust in the transition to the second part - and went down - bummer. for the next  40min i tried again but was unable to put it together once more. i just slipped off the holds on every possible move. but thats normal, i can do that startsequence once a day if i am lucky - not more... for sure the hardest 4moves i have ever done.

lost my pinky right-hand on the slot and

...went down on the match/transition; not happy for a second... 

 i think you don't need a translation here ;)

then i rested for 20min and went for the sit-down-start. this time i got the slot better, fighted my way up to the the final mantel again. 

and went down again on the mantel.... *bummer*....that mantel def. feels hard coming from all the way down, did not expect it to feel that hard. but its not just a hard move, its also very strange move with your heel over your heed. may i should got to font for some training ;)

to finish the day i had another training-go from the standingstart in the roof. i made it again up to the mantel. my resistance seems to adapt nicely. and given the conditions that day was GREAT progress. i climbed well despite poorest friction and arriving at the mantel i did not felt tired as last time. now i am sitting at home and after a day of working the cold hit back again (logically: drugs are NOT the answer *lol*) and put me into bed. but psyche is HIGH and i can't wait for THE day when i AND the conditions do feel great.... - must feel like a hike in the park then ;)