surprise surprise

well it really seems there are no candies or carrots stored for me up there...

the weather forecast was great for sunday at sustenpass. sunny and perfect temps. even bit of wind. the snow from earlier in the week had melted. i even waited an extra day to give the seeping crux-holds more time to dry. i had two rest days. i did sleep enough and well. i did eat enough and well. my skin was really good. i did feel strong and everything was ready for the send. considering the great progress over the last few weeks i really had high hopes for that day.

the surprise i got arriving at sustenpass was not what i did hope for: clouds rolled in super fast and after 15minutes this was how it looked like:

and five minutes later like that:

so much to the swizzy-weather-forecast!!! instead of in the sun - sustenpass was in the middle of clouds, no wind, you could feel the water drops in your face; 100% humidity - may bee great for fishing or play chess (indoor) but not so perfect for bouldering. i really start to ask myself what else i have to take to get this moves up there together. and as i did write in an earlier blogpost. i am already wondering what will go wrong next time?! any suggestions???

i first thought to go down to a lower area (schoellenen) or to (sunny) ticino. but i did hope the clouds may would settle lower... and so i stayed. needles to say they did not.

what to do? everybody else went home or to the restaurant. there was just no way to climb anymore. even the pads got plain wet by just lying underneath the boulders. just nico and me were still climbing. and well i just went for it!

i greased around - kept fighting - got bit cold fingers - tried to "shake" the cold out (ridiculous!!!)  - somehow got up to that last hard move - got up my left foot on that foothold for the very first time EVER - took the swing - but at the very last moment the swing did send me down to the pads... NEW HIGHPOINT - bit too cold fingers.... i don't want to think about just 60% humidity instead of 100%....  - later i failed very close on the traumland-undercling-move again. did rest for 3min. climbed it from two moves in. rested 3min. climbed it from two moves in again. THIS IS GETTING TOTALLY RIDICULOUS!!!

HIGHPOINT: got that left foothold for the first time ever... now just grab that hold up left...
but the swing you get when releasing the right foot put me down at the very last moment...

escape to the south

very good try on "big cat, 8B+"... if just that heel would had stayed...

one of the amazing things in swizzy is the variety of the weather. when its bad in the north, sometimes all you need is a 40min drive through the gotthardo-tunel to the south. normally one rest day is not enough for me to fully recover (also for the skin). but conditions seemed really good in the south. so off i was for an after-work-night-session in chironico.

same day... 40min drive... amazing to say at least

it still was a bit warm, but there was bit of nice fön-wind as well and it cooled down quickly. so pretty good conditions all in all. to my upmost surprise i reclimbed all the sequences of "big cat" on my first attempt. even this nasty and tricky start-toe-hook went as smooth as never before. conditions still seem to matter for me ;)

as i was cruising through the start-moves i first wanted to continue but then recognized i still had my "warm-up"-shoes on and with these i had no chance on the heel-hook moves further up (i would just loose them when pulling on the heels). too bad because i normally don't have many good tries on that start. (beginner-) mistake. idiot.

i went down, changed shoes and set off from the start again. i was curious to see how far it would take me. everything went very smooth, i did the hard stand-start moves and i felt strong. but in the transition from the hard moves to the "mellow terrain" (quote from jimmy webb) my heel slipped. BUMMER. and one hour later (the wind had stopped) i slipped from the crimp in the same position. close on everything. sending nothing. business as usual. i feel like i am due for a bit of luck. then everything seems possible these days. if not. i will be back. for sure!!!

feeling strong as never before... and then winter hit

(... once again) i numbed out on the last two holds (of the hard part)... BUMMMMMER!!!

GOOD THING however is that i never ever felt so strong and light and i never managed to climb so solid up into this last two moves. Unlike a week ago i was not tired at all but when i numb out on this two small holds i just can't climb any further. i nearly had enough feeling on my tips left though. really close this time it was!

after coming close another 4times on making the heinous undercling-move on link and then immediately climbing twice through all the hard part (15moves) of the project my friend nico was like: i never ever seen anybody climbing a boulder so well and looking so strong and making this big overlapping sequences but NOT climbing it. HAHA. sometimes i really start to think this thing is coursed ;)

BAD THING though was the view of the webcam this morning. this will need some days to melt even more days to dry the (from the inside seeping) holds!!! ARGHHHHHHH

top to flop - frustrating mind games start again

well then it was different - but in a not so pleasant way.... last weekend with perfect conditions i was so close on my highlander-project... just to get shot down three days later on the lower crux (once again)... this lower crux (original start-beta from traumland) is pretty nasty... a very strange and really hard move... there are a few very strong climbers that do not even get this single move done in isolation... on the highlander you have to do it after climbing an already tiring 8A....

somehow i did not feel as strong as on the last weekend... no idea why... (maybe did do too much on the weekend after my near send). but the humid holds in the lower crux def. did not help at all. frustrating somehow... but not for the first time during the last six years of going down on the last hard move... and part of the game... sometimes you really have to earn it!!!

watch these two little vids to get an idea of a good and a bad day up there at sustenpass:

NEAR PERFECT DAY

(three days later) BAD DAY

back on track after summer breake

....but a finger injury prevents me from training as much and hard as i would like to... but looks like i am getting back in shape nevertheless....

...last saturday on the highlander project: going down (for 6years and counting) on that %ç/*()*%+*ç%? LAST HARD move... will this evening be different???