almost... i stuck that last hard move on "big-cat" - setting up for it i still felt strong - despite messing around on the first part for already 3hrs (slipping off every heel and toe-move... sometimes i really feel too stupid for climbing)
...but my left heel decided to slip just a split second before i got the rescue-pinch lefthand... bummer!!!!!!
good thing is i finally feel fresh and strong again... bad thing is that the weather decided to jump from great to very bad... and as i am not chris webb parsons (watch at minute 50) i will not top this slab out in the wetness...
but when its bad in the south.... it should be better in the north.... so i opted for a little hike... which turned out to last for 2.5hrs...
winter is rushing in in the north of swizzy with LOADS of snow and cold temps in the mountains. so sustenpass is off. highlander has to wait for another 4months.... in the ticino the two months of pure sun and no rain have come to an end as well. "big cat" is soaking wet (have fun topping that out... haha) and generally spoken the conditions are not the best if you want to climb in the higher areas of leventina, verzasca or bavona... (but cresciano should be quite ok). so it would be a good idea to get some rest (for the injured finger(s)) and start "training" later... especially if the conditions are like that: (turn up the volume)
...most would rest or train on such an afternoon/evening... it would be way more efficient for sure... but i want to climb... not to be "efficient"... and actually it was a GREAT evening all by myself (and some deers) - all the sequences done in "ninja-skills"... my "impossible" dream-line becomes suddenly possible... still feels nails... but loving THIS PROCESS ;)
after one week of being sick i was back in ticino to test my fitness on BIG-CAT in chironico - it did not start too well, but after punting for 2hrs on the start-sequence (one of the most low-percentage and unpredictable moves i ever tried) i did give it a burn from the second move in - and surprised myself to climb through all the hard moves with ease - 3weeks ago i cruised through the start but struggled with the upper part... this boulder freaks me out since early spring... so powerful and so subtle at the same time... loving it and hating it at the same time... ;)
so maybe,..... with a bit of luck.... ...... but then i am so used to to get so close on anything but still not send... it could very well take me another two years... and then there is this sick possible sds from the right... hahaha... really time to get rid of my finger-injury.... need to get in some training in order to get stronger....
... but needless to say that its not enough to "just not let go... " - say the highlander still found a way to get rid off me... somehow a real shame cause despite furious winds; for the first time i still could feel the holds AND i was NOT tired at all... i already started to think that i really could make it.... after falling for 6years (and counting) on that last move... - will be back in 6months...
first time full contact on the last hold (of the hard part).... - but was not able to hold the swing.... - you can't fail closer... - and now winter is coming....
... everything set up for the big showdown with the highlander - one more chance - and then i will have to wait for at least another six months. lets DO THIS!!!
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....
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.
...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....
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...
...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...
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?!
... 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???!!!
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...
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!!!
(... 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
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:
....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???
