again and again - and a little SEND to brake to routine...

going down on the last moves on "insanity"; too warm, too cold, too wet, too dry, too humid

falling from the move to the top.... next day it should finally go!!!!

back after two rest days... ready to send: perfect temps, perfectly rested, but the mantel soaking wet; cleaning the top for two hours from the moss that soaked the boulder for days - then too tired to make it through the bottom part...

then suddenly not beeing able to climb through the first moves anymore..... what else ;)

and then you can get to the lip and you can rest for minutes (not too good of a rest when you are cold and tired) and desperately try to get any sensation back into your fingers - fail to do so - and go down....

 i brushed it up some years ago, got close to send, got injured and now finally sent ;) at least i managed to send "big-cat"-standstart. Super powerful, great moves, subtle mantle at the end - full package - one of the best of the grade in ticino for sure!!! a bit a shame it's pretty morpho... but then so much more fun to climb if you are not (super) tall.... around 8A for the TALL, 8A+ for the intermediate (me), 8B for the shorties...  - and if i would try the low-start of big-cat for once not just after falling of the end of "insanity" - i think i could have a good go on the full line as well ;)

night sessions - go the extra mile - last moves again...

over 10days chironico looked more or less like that - every square-milimeter of rock was WET (never seen something like this for so long in ticino) - one day we waited all day long for the rock to dry but it didn't.... so at 7pm we went north....

8PM, through the gotthardo to sustenpass; road closed... does not matter, take the walk.... thanks nico for joining in... was a great session... as always... ;)

30th of november, 0:30AM, 2'000m above sea level, SUSTENPASS, 0C, wind.... climbing up to the last move of "highlander-project" - once more. felt strong as never before - but just got this little bit too cold.... crazy... looks like it does not matter if its 15C or 0C.... just freeze off from the last two moves...

back at the car....  was a nice night out at the boulders..... ;)

few days later; chironico finally dry again... second last move on "insanity of grandeur"....

great progress on "big cat"-stand.... but going down at the mantel... too tired after 4hrs of going a muerte at "insanity"....

and well what do you do on a evening at home, 4degrees, rainy....; go stand-up-paddle... thanks for the night-paddle-out anna... what a great experience...  ;)

trick yourself - and why just do nothing is best to climb 9a

great article from dave macleod!!! when you want to achieve something in life - willpower is very crucial - especially when you try to balance a job, a high climbing level and social/family life:

http://onlineclimbingcoach.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/changing-architecture.html



on a side note: just about the "cycle/walk" to work: may thats not really "the" thing to do when you want to peak (just) in sport climbing/bouldering (when you are already pretty ok with your weight anyway). how many of the top-climbers-boulderers are cardio-freaks??? lot's of biking for example will give you bigger muscles on your legs which are just for no use in hard climbing. more muscles in your legs is more weight. and this muscles in your leg you really don't need when you pull on a small crimp in a roof. and then recent studies show that many people who do cardio use this as an "excuse to eat more" - and so they eat more and more unhealthy stuff then others (non cardio's) and consequently they are heavier as well.

so the bottom line for climbing will be: avoid anything that makes you gain muscles because thats just more weight and that will take your ass down to the ground. just hang around on the couch all day long (=no muscle gain there), facebook, twitter and instagram will keep your mind busy and just eat green salad with no sauce (or just eat nothing at all). but don't forget to go climbing... you still need that!!! and your 9a route project will never feel easier... ;)

no shortcuts - don't cheat yourself

instead of a glorious send of the super classic "insanity of grandeur, 8C" (we don't take "webby-grades" too serious, do we? he's supernatural... ;) - i am back at the start again... : after falling on the second last move to the lip on "insanity" and powering through the super hard start sequence up the four times a day i knew something was "wrong" - i never ever was able to "cruise" this start sequence so many times before in a session. did i got that much stronger? well that would be nice. but honestly i don't think so (even if i feel stronger, but not THAT much stronger).

close-up from the intermediate-"hold" from which i do have to move my feet:

 before the breake it was super bad,

as it broke it got quite "juggy", making it possible to suddenly control this heinous start sequence

and changing the character of the two existing boulders way too much.

so i glued the broken part back - it's pretty heinous again... ;)

late last spring i broke a part of this not so good intermediate hold - making it better. i did not think that it was much of a difference but kept the broken part at home. obviously i was wrong and it was quite a big difference. i nearly could cross now on what was just a really bad intermediate before. so i glued the broken part back - AND got hammered. it took me another two sessions to just get through this three start moves again... and it feels as desperate and insecure as it felt before the break! then it took me another two sessions to get back one move below my highpoint. three weeks "lost" and i may will not send this season anymore. but it felt like "cheating" and "wrong" to keep climbing with the bigger hold as i knew how hard it was before. hopefully i did not loose too much time. i finally feel like the "resistance"-power is coming back again and i don't get suddenly tired anymore. it's nice to feel strong again ;)

now that rain should stop next week and if i am lucky (for once) i get a few more decent (not too cold) days and will be able to finish up "insanity" before winter hits - if i don't i don't mind too much as it's just such a brilliant piece of climbing. but then there is this "big cat" waiting on the left as well... :)

where i went down some days ago: three more moves and this nasty mantle.
epic in full swing again.... ;)

back on track...

it was COLD up there at sustenpass - but so beautiful with snow and the road closed

nothing better then great people, great climbing and great food... :) on may way back... crazy solo session up at sustenpass. 80min hike, 3C and 60+km/h wind (flying pads).... perfect friction... but bit too cold... froze off the last move of highlander again - and then got even some good links in "fetter hase project"....

went down on the match.... after freezing off two times after the 8B part... i made it to the second last move (before the mantel) of "insanity" on my third try of the day... why not on my first try?! thanx for that great (night) session prisca and nico!!!

making good progress on "big cat" (standstart) -
 if you are tall you miss all this crazy "midget-moves" on the "mellow terrain".... what a shame ;)

2more moves on insanity... and making good progress on the "easy" (8B? for my size) super cool standstart of "big cat". so i am on that point again on going down on the last move of everything...  would be nice to finish off something before winter will def. close the season. so when this shitty weather (record rainfall in ticino the second week in a row...) would for once turn nice again i may even could send something this season - looks like mid next week the rain will finally stop... going insane or be sane is the question... ;)

had a great day with my friend jesse (check out his blog). we had a great climbing day and a great dinner at "defanti" in lavorgo (chironico) :)

giving in is not an option - no matter what... ;)

better days to come

i got quite some feedback about my latest blog post. thanx everybody! people were wondering what the hell was going on with me. well nothing too special. you know that life can really su*k. but mostly it's about your life, cause everybody else seems to have a hell of a good time. thats what you get when you follow your "friends" on facebook, or 8X.nu (no i am not on fb nor on 8X.ohno). on fb (climbing) life is just so easy, all boulders are soft, everybody is super strong, everything is second go and 6A+ at max... , there are 2day epics (sic)... but yes there are also other (climbing)people out there which don't have 24/7 the greatest fun, struggle to balance work,climbing,life - and (climbing)life can really su*k sometimes... and as it is in real life there are better days to come - that's it, that's al.

bad timing, bad decisions, bad everything...

once again.... totally crazy... i felt strong and was able to climb solid into the last move for about 10times during rain/fog with wet holds at the start of the month (like in april). with two weeks of holidays (what means enough sleep and recovery) and better weather in the forecast i was sure this four weeks in october should be more then enough to complete my nemesis-project up there at sustenpass. i was sure all i needed was some dry days.

but i should have had known better... somehow it only got worser and worser...... a distracted mind because of personal/familiy-troubles, bad skin, bad luck and too warm weather (up to 20degrees) made me feel like shit during the last three weeks. 

every day up there i felt like i was just fighting against sliding off the holds. while i was training in the gym i felt super strong and fit... but as soon as i was up there... i was too late at the crag... too early... not rested enough... rested too long... it once was my speciality to be at the right place at the right moment... somehow, at the moment it looks like i "lost" this.... and i constantly felt like being at the wrong place at wrong moment... not just in climbing - and then the snow arrived...

perfection - a must see!!!

the riding skills, the camera work, the music - perfection!!!

crazy swizzy weather

CRAZY - perfect weather again.... for the next 14days... if there just would not be this 80cm of SNOW -*ç%&£é:!;/&(ç*"+??!!!   ... well i will "wait"... train my ass off and may i get another chance... may not... we will see... time to get stronger anyway... ;)

...

why it would be nice to be a pro (sometimes)

a day off from work.... a bit rainy... climbing? yes!!! friction? no!!! going for it anyway - and going down on the last move of the highlander again....






























weather the day before while working.... - no comment....

i just climbed the "highlander"

but i did not top out... i did let go... crazy??? nope!!!

at the end of the day - after falling off the last move (again) and another good try - i wanted to check out the "new bypass" beta for the lower crux and the hardest section of the boulder (where also the hardest moves for ikarus/deadalus wait) - and just climbed it to end of the hard part - where i did let go. well WHY did i let go after the hard part?! after 10years i finally made it there... so WHY let go? because THIS was not "THE" highlander-project i was trying over all the years.

the "new bypass" beta climbs around the hardest move of the boulder. a move that still gives me a lot of trouble. some days i just can't do it on link. a move that is pretty weird and strange. a move that involves a hold that is wet a lot of times. so it would be very nice to avoid this move. this "new" beta does avoid this move and i did try this "new" beta already years ago. but the bottom was so close it was impossible to climb this section without dabbing. during the years there was quite a bit of erosion at the boulder, and also "human" erosion... a lot of climbing was going on and over time stones and vegetation have/ have been moved and now this "new" beta is quite ok to climb and seems totally natural to do so if you don't know how the place looked before.

the hardest move that suddenly could be by-passed low left thanx to "erosion"...

i know that some climbers did come very close and did put quite some effort into climbing ikarus/deadalus this summer. and they were using this "new bypass" beta. i really don't want to "shut down" a climb on nobody. i was thinking a lot about it but the ikarus/deadalus boulders had been done and repeated before this "new bypass" beta was possible. it's like a new hold as "appeared" and it definitely changes the line and the character of the boulder. and it also changes the character of the "highlander-project". for sure you could say you could climb it on the "original" variation and on the "new" variation. but for a visiting climber it will look totally stupid to climb to crux with a defined very strange and hard move when there is a smooth way around this move.

good thing about "erosion" is that it can be corrected. i (re)built the bottom back to where it once was. the "new bypass" beta should no longer be possible, but there is other beta (then the heinous undercling move) for sure. please respect this pile of dirt (sic). and now lets hope for a decent fall - and some send days... :)

it's on when it's on - great start into the highlander season

back on it again and after 10+ years (call me crazy i don't mind) i still like to climb these moves - and i got very close on the full line (once again).

15C, holds were partly wet/humid - but WIND made it feel pretty sticky - and i felt fit and fresh. so i just wanted to test my fitness and went for it - and fell off the last hard move of the "highlander"....

thats the last hard move - which i failed to link (once again)

well i may have fallen off that move 60+ times over the last 5years... so no big deal, can happen up to three times a day. BUT - WOW: that has never happened on a "first day back" - what a (re)start into my highlander-project. it looks like it was a good decision to get fit by (re)climbing more hard classics in avers and sustenpass then i used to and mix it up with some gym-training. six weeks ago after my "extended" summer-break i was barely able to climb a 7A+. Now i am back climbing 8B+ again and (despite a shoulder, a finger, a knee and some hamstrings not at 100%) feeling strong and fresh - what a difference to july where i felt just tired and worn out in the heat after a long season - what a great feeling to climb in crisp pre fall conditions again :)

on my second try of the day i was super close to make it through that heinous "traumland-undercling-move" again. i fell off at the last bit of the move... waited for one minute, chalked up, did one move into the start of reve de faire and climbed it up to the last move again... so fitness IS back AND the weather forecast finally looks like the LONG awaited stable high-pressure weather could settle in next week.

no more rain???!!! that would help for sure!!!!

i could not ask for more. well ok, there is one thing... i may would like to climb just one move further this season.... just ONE MOVE... you know... its not that that many moves after having done 17hard ones in a row.

so if weather plays along i have now 4-6weeks for ONE MORE MOVE... JUST THAT ONE MORE MOVE...  (ok, this 7A/B ending will still be hard... but believe me, i will be bit motivated for that part if i finally will make it there)

and yes, to just not forget it: there is still no free lunch for me up there... because if my foot would not have had slipped off in the middle of the crux.. *a09q7'q08w!£à£YXCéàV$!?"*ç%V* - but well that would have had been too easy after all this years (10+ years)... wouldn't it... ;)

on my way back... different tactics to be applied

my summer-break got extended from the planed 3weeks to close to 6weeks due to a nasty and scary foot-infection i got on my last days in indo (don't go surfing with scratches on your foot!!!). thanks good the antibiotics worked well and the infection got punched back.

nasty foot-infection...

due to that longer rest it took me way longer to get some climbing fitness and skin back. it's every year the same, but its still amazing how much fitness i can loose and then how suddenly it comes back. nevertheless i am a bit concerned about the schedule to get ready for the "highlander-project" again. it looks pretty tight now as it will take me another three weeks to get to full power and in october winter can already hit and i will be very likely to freeze off the final moves as so many times before.

but this time i decided to apply different tactics then the last years. i will not put all my climbing days in that one project anymore. even if it this is hard when you go down repeatedly on the very last move and you really think you will send it the next day. i rather will try some other things, get really strong and just send when the conditions are good/perfect then battling with wet holds all the time. it's just not worth it (anymore). this clearly helps to keep the motivation high and to not train your mind to fail every time...

sustenpass never fails to deliver. i reclimbed the perfect "my axis" with a new and beautiful beta and also "kill your idols".
here you can see my friend ronny going for the hard first move (really hard move if you start with your left hand low (and dangerous for your knee - watch out!!!), easier with the left hand on a undercling higher up (and way less dangerous for the knee))

the last two years i also experienced and learned that despite up to three rest days my body was not able to fully recover from the specific moves anymore. i felt WAY stronger after a week or two off the project. this was also what helped me this spring for the "gepresster base". despite feeling fit and strong in fall i just got weaker and weaker and was not able to send. in spring i arrived fresh and strong from the ticino-season, went back on the project and quickly sent (and felt stronger then ever...)

managed to cruise "reve de faire" (original start) on my first go back on it... felt fresh and strong... despite having climbed "my axis" and "kill your idols" just some 30min before... way to go ;) pic by angelawagner.ch

so after close to four weeks back on rock and training in the gym it finally looks like skin and power are getting better by the day. i still feel far from really fit and on some training-boulders i used to climb with added weight in spring i barely am able to do the single moves. but in the last two weeks i managed to push my level from 7B to 8B again. progress always feels nice :)

keeping my fingers crossed for a good (dry) fall....

progression ;)

last year on a small day in balangan

 two more weeks of surfing (and one year later) on a small day in ululwatu - pulling into the barrel at "racetracks" ;)

balangan last year again...

small day at ulu's this year - getting speed down on "racetracks" - at low tide you can see all that nice colored fish over the corrals... ;)

but it would take me at least 10more years of daily surfing to get where i would like to be one day...  -that has to wait - back to climbing now... ;)

enough is enough

after slipping off the crux-holds for 10days - i needed a break...

i wish everybody a nice summer, wherever you will find it ;)

i hate that kind of "summer"

on a recent post i was "wining" about sickness and loosing 3weeks of perfect fitness and conditions... well i had my reasons....

crazy thing is that sebastian cotting climbed "le reve de faire, 8B" in weather like that (see pic) with seeping wet holds... BIGEST respect for (motivation and skills) holding on and not let it go.... inspiring to say at least - i tried as well, but the boulder spit me off twice in the middle of the (wet) crux holds... f*çç%(*"5!£à+"*ç&................

back in the game

after this shitty cold i finally feel good again.... managed to go down twice in a day on the last two moves of the "highlander"-project - "cold" fingers again.... and came close to enter the second crux of the low start to "gepresster hase"... but weather does not look good anymore at all.... one more dry day... but thats all you need - isn't it ;)