scoring big on one multi-year project

and failing greatly on another...

back in spring in the middle of a "live-exam" in an accounting-class on the way to my teacher-diploma. that was one part of this BIG project that that i finished last week ;)

close to 10 years after finishing university with a master in business&economics i was back at university at the end of summer of last year to finally finish up my teacher-diploma as well. it was intense and rough sometimes trying to balance a 100+%-job, push my climbing AND finish up the studies. somehow i managed the task... but i would have loved to have more time for climbing and just "living"...  and not being permanently running from one task to another... - but it was worth all the effort and after finishing the 140pages-thesis during summer, last week i had my final exams and i passed all of them with success. always great to see when all the hard work pays off in the end. really happy about that!!!

numbing out once more while going for that last move....

after that week with my final two exams (and work going on parallel as usual) i was pretty wrecked. the week had been super intense. but as there was good and warm weather forecasted on the weekend i was off to sustenpass. warming up i felt so tired i did not really wanted to go for a try on the highlander at all. i was just happy to be lying on my crashpad and enjoying the sun. but as it was so nice conditions and the boulder really dry i just went on for a try...

at the end of the day i surprised myself of climbing three more times into the last two moves... numbing out once... just hitting the second last hold with 3 instead of 4 fingers... failing greatly once again but still with a smile on my face with one BIG project less and my mind way more FREE then it used to be for the last couple months... no i can go 100% for that highlander...  if there would not be that finger-injury... work.... weather... but then; there is always "something" isn't it... ?!

setting up for the last move with just 3fingers on the right-hand-crimp does not work for me... going down once more....

playing around in the comfort zone

saturday-night-fever on "rejigkavik low, 8B". close to the ground but great moves. great addition from local strong man ronny birchler - was far away from being able to climb the original beta!!! 

in between punting on the hard stuff its fun to just run around and tick some cool boulders in your comfort-zone. you don't have to think or worry too much about rest days, skin, conditions, shape, failure... you send fast... you feel strong... this is fun as for sure - but then... you never get to really learn and understand the moves... all the subtle micro-beta's that make the impossible suddenly possible... as you can just power through the moves. and you will never know where your limit really is - but then it has not to be limit every day, has it... ;)

in between burns on my project i managed to climb some nice (old and new) susten-classics, brilliant climbing for sure!!!

"bardarbunga, 8A+" (rejkiavik left exit, around 8A+ for the tall, way harder for the smaller) and "rejikavik low, 8B" are super cool compression-climbs. did have a nice late-night-session with nico down there after going down on the last move of the "highlander-project" in the afternoon early in the season... fitness-level was already improved for sure... ;)

bardarbunga climbs left - great moves!

and also "marakesch variante, 8A" (low on the lip, such a rad move)" and "marakesch, 8A" (so close to flash, stupid mistake at the end) have been super cool problems.

marakesch, 8A - super classic, super fun moves

working class moments

weather on the weekend

 weather on monday

at least you could climb... somehow... drying up boulders... greasing around...

one more best day ever...

...and once again it was not enough. it really starts to feel desperate!!! made my way 4times!!! up to the last two moves and just numbed out (despite just short breaks)... i really gave all i had; but no way to make it... watch here my 4th try of the day... 4th time up there on the last move...

at least fitness is not the real issue anymore... haha... but that does not help at all. as nice as it is to feel super fit, i kind of give a "%&*"%" -  i WANT TO CLIMB this boulder. i am slowly asking myself what else i have to do to climb this project. obviously my "out-of-blood-finger-tips" is a way bigger issue then fitness here for me. looks like i have to get even stronger and fitter to be able to climb it in real summer-temps... somehow ridiculous!!!

and now winter hit and forecast looks not like it will get any good conditions soon again, very (unusual) unstable and very cold weather... and then real winter is waiting on the door for the high-alpine as well.... may this already was the last good day of the season...???!!! 

i def. need temperatures above 0C during the night.. otherwise the stone is just too cold and i will numb out on the last moves again and again....

best day ever...

...but was it "best" enough?

below a video-still from the 3rd try of the day on the highlander-project: the last hard move (after its just a physical 6move 7B to the top): my left hand on its way to the rescue-hold and i am basically there - 5cm and i just need to close the grip... so its done.. isn't it?!

scroll down for the answer... (if you followed this blog for a while you may already know...haha)

looks like the rest days of last week really paid off!!! first try i made it with ease through the underling-move of traumland. while i was doing the move i was asking myself what the hell the problem has been last wee??? it just felt EASY today!!! (the move i was not able to do once last week due to fatigue from too much work and not enough sleep). i did not get too cold and climbed solid into the last move - BUT then i managed to hit the righthand-crimp with just three fingers. i was not able to adjust. went for the last move. but with three fingers i have no chance to do it...

went for a second try after some rest just as the clouds rolled in again. i got cold fingers but climbed again with ease through the hard undercling-move of traumland. again i could not believe how solid i felt on the move. what was so different today? its very rare for me to make it through that move after going down on the last move a try before. normally i am just too tired. unfortunately i got very cold finger tips. so i tried to "shake out". it did not really work too good but i kept climbing. did not hit the crimp on the last crux perfect but way better. managed to kill the swing. was setting up for the last move but then my tank was just empty. no way to do the move. but another nice try.

so there i was. climbing twice again into the last move in a day. never managed to do that with the new beta (learnt from fred nicole last spring that they originally did not use any of the "traumland-finish-holds" for hand or feet as "reve de faire" was thought to be a more direct and different line then traumland. that makes sense in a way. otherwise you can also climb into that finish from the very right... which is an existing boulder for its own).

after that much climbing (two times an 8B+) i normally can go home as i am just too tired to do even a 7A afterwards. but then i finally got warm fingertips and i still felt good and i never ever climbed so solid through the first crux. so after just a short 10min rest i just jumped on it again. going for a third try. i was so surprised to make it (solid) again through the first crux - i nearly did let go. but i kept climbing. everything went perfectly. hit the crimp in the second crux perfectly. killed the swing. did set up for the last move. tank was not empty. fingers not too cold. went for that hold out left. hit that crimp...

... but unfortunately i just did hit the crimp on top but not behind where it is good. maybe 1cm too short... as close as you can get but no way to hold the upcoming swing like that... and down i was once more. three times up to the last move in a day. BEST DAY EVER. BUT NOT "BEST" ENOUGH. once more no presents were served - not even a little one. i touched the rescue hold but was going too short to really catch it. i really ask myself what else i have to do to finally stick that move? climbing it 5times back and forth? one-armed? upside down? its getting ridiculous!!! but if i hit that right-hand-crimp on the last move in the right spot...

to spice things up: weather forecast looks not too good at all. we have a very untypical weahter-system in swizzy for this time of the year. in the south its still very warm, in the north way too cold and the fog sits way higher then it normally does. and it looks like its getting COLD and SNOWY next week... what really does not help at all in terms of my every day problem with frozen tips...

why i hate climbing on my limit sometimes

...finally a few days of holidays. perfectly rested. perfect shape. perfect weather and conditions in ticino for bouldering... (bit warm during the day, but quite nice in the evening)

.... perfect weather and conditions for surfing in france

...really cool weather for mountain biking

WHAT DO YOU DO? 

- SITTING AT HOME (and work) and WAIT -

because you can't train, you can't climb, you can't bike, you can't surf, you can't go on holidays, you can't eat, you can't climb... cause you would not be fit the next day(s) for your project). so you end up waiting FOR BETTER WEATHER at your PROJECT in the NORTH of SWIZZY.

climbing at your limit really makes you weak as well. you rest so much for the best weather and to be actually in the best shape (and save your skin)... with unpredictable swizzy-weather you end up just resting and not climbing anymore...

feeling like carl the coyote

what ever i do, (or not) - something goes wrong every time...

wonderful weather... i thought i would wait till my project got some shade - BIG mistake....

 ... after taking 5 days of rest (felt tired, bad weather) - i felt super fresh and strong. weather was super nice. sunny and warm. i napped a bit in the warm sun and slowly warmed up - waiting for the highlander getting in the shade - it was just too warm in the sun.

conditions were perfect, not too cold not too warm, dry holds, bits of wind... then exactly at the moment when i sat down to put my climbing-shoes on for a try on the highlander - clouds rolled over the pass and really bad: the wind stopped completely - from one second to another. i waited a few minutes. nothing. not the slightest breeze. the air felt suddenly pretty damp.

never mind i thought. as i am stronger then ever i may can climb it in not perfect conditions as well. NOT. i did set off and made it with ease through the traumland-start-crux (where i failed so miserably the week before in perfect conditions) but then started to grease around like i never experienced it before this season, not even in the middle of the clouds the other week. i literally slipped off every hold in the upper crux, grabbed them again and kept fighting - just to fall down on the last move once again.

fighting to stay on the holds to set up for the last move - BUT i was just slipping off...

i rested and set off again. i managed to climb two more times trough the traumland-crux (first time ever this season i made it more then once in a day through it) just to grease off the holds in the upper crux...

watching my finger-tips in pure disbelief... WHAT was THAT - WHERE did this grease come from so suddenly?!

... i just don't get it anymore: last week with perfect conditions i felt tired and did not make it even once through the lower crux. then i feel super fit, make it once to the last move and two more times through the lower crux to just grease off the holds... MAY THERE BE ONE DAY WHEN FITNESS AND CONDITIONS FIT TOGETHER???!!! can't be THAT hard - can it?!

glorious punting

... well perfect conditions, the fog just stayed low enough... two days of rest... so this should had been THE DAY and a GLORIOUS SEND seemed inevitably...

BUT i punted like a REAL punter... (what else???!!!) not even made it once through the first crux... climbed the 8A-intro 8times with ease... but somehow i got not enough tension in my body for this heinous undercling move...

so what went wrong? first it seems the highpoint-burn last weekend had drained my body more then i thought and second the two "rest days" have not been filled with relaxing instagram and facebook activity... i had to work from 8am-10pm and 8am-6pm... and felt really exhausted.

and then i know this "can't-make-the-first-crux-secenario" too well from previous years. always when i get in real good enduro-shape i loose some kind of max-power. this year i wanted to work against that and planed to do some hang board sessions to keep strong. but my (on and off) finger-injury on the right hand that prevents me from pulling on the undercling-crux-hold like i would like also prevents me from doing hang board sessions.
and then i recognized that the specific muscles for this strange undercling-move get tired when i try them too often. i usually have to take a break for a week or two from that move and then it works normally quite solid again. but when you are 0.5 moves away from your 11year project, you feel fit as never before... and winter slowly is knocking on the door... you can't just "walk away"...  can you???!!!