one year after

one year ago i climbed my dream-boulder - today i am "just" wandering around in ticino. but its nice to be in ticino again, walking around with no pain, touching rock... - my leg is getting better and better, my power is coming back... just some more weeks of patience... can't wait to start crushing again... so motivated... so much to do... :)

the PERFECT LINE, what a PROUD BOULDER - nice one nalle!!! ("ninja-skills, 8B+")

5months after surgery - bouldering again!!!

having fun close to the ground at "gaswerk" in zürich. still restricted in the moves, no fancy stuff, indoor's only - but GREAT FUN :)

NEW movie site from dai koyamada (with hd-download-option)

over the time quite some people asked me if i got info's about movies/dvd's from dai koyamada (and his swizzy/europe-journeys). but his movies have been just available as dvd and mostly just available in asia. now there is a new website online with an implemented download-option for dai's climbing (bouldering) movies:
"dai's video diaries vol. 3" (the swizzy journeys) is the first movie to be there, more will follow. check it out if you are interested:

http://www.daikoyamadaclimbingmovies.com/

Dai’s Video Diaries Vol. 3: “The Swizzy Journeys” is about the travels before Dai Koyamada was able to climb one of the hardest boulders in the world; “The Story Of Two Worlds (Low), 8C+” at Cresciano. Follow Dai Koyamada on his journey trough the finest and hardest granite boulders Switzerland has to offer: From the second ascent of “In Search of Time Lost, 8C” at Magic Wood to the first ascent of “Dark Matter, 8B+/C” at the same area to the first ascent and never seen footage of “Deadalus Direct, 8B+/C”, and “Paradise Lost 8B+” at the beautiful high alpine area of Sustenpass. Witness a rare ascent of “From Shallow Waters To Riverbed, 8B+” at Magic Wood and Dai’s amazing climbing style while repeating the hardest problems in Cresciano and Chironico. Even if it looks sometimes like Dai is just flying trough a problem, you will also see that he has to dig deep and that there is a lot of effort and passion behind a seemingly effortless send!

but be aware that "dai' video diaries vol.3" is quite an "old skool"-movie: no bass wummering sounds, no gangster-kids, no yoga, no blablabla - just one hour of pure and hard climbing - i like ;)

「dai's video diaries vol.3 

219days to go - great week of FIRSTS :)

its still a LONG way to go till i will be able/aloud to push hard again. everything has to be in control, no dynamic, fast moves... but its always nice and good for motivation to have this little and bigger milestones. and this weekend i got past TWO of the bigger ones :)

after five months: having FUN climbing again @gaswerk

i had my first little jog and at the "gaswerk" in zürich i had my FIRST CLIMBING session since 5months!!! i pushed my limit from 2a to a 6a "toprope-flash" ;) still some room to climb 8C again... but hey, i am CLIMBING again and that is just great!!!

233 days to go; training - and after training

TRAINING

the problem with "normal" weight-machines is that you never have the same resistance over the whole exercise, so the exercise is somehow "ineffective". you can also not precisely control the amount of power used, what can be dangerous in terms of reinjury when you pull too hard. so there is this computer-controlled high-tech-machine that regulates the resistance so you need all the time the same power to pull/push. it also releases the resistance when i apply too much power... nice safety-mechanism! funny stuff this machine! how about such things to train with for climbing related muscles???

 AND AFTER TRAINING... ;)

240 days (8m) to go - keeping the motivation high...

i can't believe i made it 4months (plus two more weeks before surgery) without climbing. but with 100% workload, up to 5times physio-therapy/week and some nice parties going on - time is running down fast. as i have a clear vision of what will be in 8months from now (highlander - yessss) and a lovely girlfriend who takes care of me - i am even able to enjoy the different lifestyle (the physio and party-part) at the moment... ;) 

sitting is still an issue and last week i had stretched my hamstrings too hard and suffered for some days... but i am still getting a little bit better every day. 2weeks and i will be on my first little jog again, 8weeks and i will be on my first 4a-top-rope again. can't wait for that, but i have to hold myself back as my tendons still need time to properly heal onto the bone.

i am sure many of you will already have seen the movies below. otherwise i highly recommend to watch them. i was just blown away when i had seen the first two "scarred for life" episodes from nathan bancroft from achromatic.tv and i just can't stop watching them. the music fits so well, the (filming and) editing is just outstanding. the two episodes show pure dedication, from the climbers and from the filmmaker. in my eyes they are amongst the very few climbing flicks that really catch and transport the process and they really got not just the climbing, the got "IT"!!!*

*but be cautious, may you don't want to watch them as they can make you want to go bouldering NOW!!! "arrrghhh" - i want to go bouldering - NOW!!! ;)

HELP for FONTAINEBLEAU

more and more interests are playing into the usage of the area of the magic woods of fontainebleau. so its important to be (stay) in organisation s who have direct access to where policies are made how these area will be regulated in the future!

so please help font; tell all your friends and subscribe this petition

the secret is unlocked!!! how to get down to 6.6% bodyfat in 3months?

well, just sit around for three months, EAT and DRINK.. and PARTY...;)

physiotherapy just really kicked in, and for a general overview my body just got scanned. i told them i was basically sitting at home for the last three months... they ended up doing the scanning twice as they did not believe the results ;) at 181cm and 73kg,  the result was 6.6% (4.8kg) bodyfat - thats considered pretty low for a workout called "just hanging in a couch for months..." ;)

 to give you the details of my last 3months workout, i posted some pics below... ;)

after i got my results from the scan i was pretty hungry. so i was looking for some tasty and healthy food... look what i found... ;) 

275days to go - 12weeks post surgery - back on a climbing-wall ;)

my hamstrings are still sore, sometimes more, sometimes less, mostly it's not "pain" just a strange feeling that you "feel" your muscles from the attachment at the but to the knee..., sitting on hard surfaces is not possible (yet), i am not yet aloud to start with jogging and i am still very restricted in what my hamstrings are ok to do. but things still improve (and will improve) every day a little bit.

i am very glad and thankful that i have such a great physio-team!!! they really start to push me and they try absolutely everything to get my muscles work and bring me back on rock again... ;)

one of the fancy machines i am training with ;) its a anti-gravity-tread-mill - it blows air into the ballon, lifts you up and you do not have that much impact on the injured part of your leg anymore. i am learning to run again on this one - alien-technology.. ;)

i am still months away from real bouldering, but its funny how much fun and satisfaction every little improvement can give you after just lying down on a couch for two months, like first time sitting normally again when going out to a movie, first time walking a bit faster then a 110year old, not feeling tired after 20min of walking AND first time on a bouldering-wall again - even without any foot-moves - just standing on a 15cm ledge and grabbing some jugs.... - that was a huge push for motivation ;) its great that i am aloud to start with some kind of very basic system-training on a system-climing-wall (just some very basic two-foot-moves)! i started with some really hard core-workout as well... things start to get WAY better and it feels great to feel the body again!!!

i know i(t) look stupid - but climbing at 8am is NOT my game...;)  but its great they have this little wall in the physio-gym so we can check (real time) for the kind of moves that are ok and what is still too much for my hamstrings.

288days to go - looking back on my best and my worst climbing year ever...

february: short 2weeks escape from the cold an snowy swizzy to....

THE perfect climbing spot in winter: hueco!

having a great time with great people; alex pumping "8A+ butter" without kneepad

LOT of rad climbing and a personal highlight with a flash of "power of landjaeger 8A"
(i usually never flash anything... ;)

last day flapper on the send-go for a martini...; may i had just "too many martinis" ;)

march: back home in swizzy got in really decent shape and was able to climb some nice lines; like this one!!!

then i spent weeks on falling on the very last move of the "fisch-project"

still having a great time with nice people; dai showing footage of his FA ascent of "tsotw low" - pure PASSION!!!

end of april; finally i got MY day; after 3years i was able to do the FA of "der mit dem fels tanz, 8C". a personal epic about transforming the impossible into reality. my hardest and best boulder EVER ;)

before it was getting too warm, i was getting so close on what in fall became "insanity of grandeur, 8C" - but getting close is not getting it done... - what a LINE!!!

at the end of the season 3pads of mine (stashed in chironico) were stolen - BUMMER!!!
there is still a 600$ reward!!!

may: i wanted to check for the "highlander-project" at susten. but the area was still in DEEP snow...

so we went to magic wood for some good food and bouldering ;)

where i managed to kill my finger while getting close on "from shallow waters to riverbed, 8B+"

in july my finger was slowly getting better and i was on to a very "special" trip to the infamous rocklands, sa

back home i was on two short but nice trips to where the best beer comes from: "frankenjura" ;)

and managed to fail once again so very close on one of the best compression-boulders ever : "riot act, 8B+"

late october finally brought sending-temps to sustenpass where i managed to do a super nice FA of "kein schneehäschen 8B/+"

and then after 8years of trying back and forth the "highlander-project" at sustenpass i finally had that one try where i climbed into the crux with power left and no frozen fingers - going for the last moves i KNEW i would climb it - well my hamstrings had other plans....

instead of toping out into glory i went down to the pads with a complete avulsion of my hamstrings, after surgery i spent the last 8weeks of the year lying around in bed an walking on crutches.

it was a crazy year - the best and worst can be so close - but 2013 started great, i am able to walk again and i will be back on (easy) rock in summer - good perspectives are everything ;)

316days to go - 7weeks post surgery - long path of pt started

had an appointment with my surgeon: healing goes fine. finally i will be able to ditch crutches and WALK again... GREAT feeling!!!

i have been doing a lot of e-stimualtion to avoid too much atrophy and to not loose all my muscle coordination - still quite a quad for a "boulder-chicken"... ;)

but as physiotherapy can really start now, i can do many more things and finally i am cleared to hit the bike. so i went on to get what you need for the bike... ;)

ok, first just a stationary bike... ;) despite everything goes fine, it still needs a lot of time for healing... till jogging some 8more weeks, till toprope-climbing at least another 4months, bouldering mimimum 6 more months (my doc tends more to 9more months...). so i am not sure if it will work out with my "365days-back-plan..." but i will play around on some tools to not loose too much... it's the the first time ever for me on a "training-board"...

we can't drill it up, so i have to find another solution to put that up....

in between you need some original fuel... "franken-beer" is the best ... ;)

working on some x-mas presents with angie....

and our "new x-mas-tree"... ;) merry x-mas to everybody and see you next year!!!