zondag 13 april 2014

Old project down, new project added...

The day started with a disappointment: due to time constraints we didn't go to Ettringen as planned... But Erik and I did find the time to drive to the Teutoburger Wald and climb there. Now that we can circumvent the strict no-chalk policy with a can of 'Friction+', we can try the hard routes there without worrying about getting finger injuries snapping of slippery holds. We walked straight to sector Schinder, which offers the hardest climbing of the area. Last year I tried the direct start to 'Alien' (making it 7c) and fell of the crux moves at least 20 times without climbing it. Although I knew I could do the powerful dynamic move, I got mentally blocked on it and failed to commit over and over again. Today - about eight months later - I made quick work of it though. It's good to feel powerful!

A screenshot from a video of me in Alien, after executing the crux move (yes, there is a chalkbag on my harness, but it's closed and I did not use any chalk. I carried it up to have a brush for cleaning the holds)
In the meantime Erik started unlocking the sequence of 'Banane ohne Rampe', a logical eliminate of Banane leaving out a big block for the feet, forcing you to climb a much harder line about one meter higher up. According to the first ascentionists Peter and Jan Martin the grade is about 7c+. Erik made good progress while I checked out a crazy combination of Alien and Banane (which involves a very hard slightly down-climbing traverse right after the crux of Alien) and discovered it was a bit harder than I expected. When I noticed that I could do the impossible looking top moves of Banane ohne Rampe relatively easily, I joined Erik on his quest to climb the route. Taking turns, Erik started making serious redpoint attempts while I got completely shut down by a move on small edges before the supposed crux. Lacking the mutant finger strength of Erik, I needed many attempts to find a solution that worked for me: a tricky deadpoint to a crimper. It took all energy that I had left. Eriks dedication paid off though and on an impressive attempt forcing him to dig deep he climbed Banane Ohne Rampe, his hardest ascent in 8 years. Inspiring for sure and very motivating!

A screenshot from a video of Erik looking strong on Banane Ohne Rampe.

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