The 7c ceiling

I've been held down by the 7c ceiling for quite a while now. My bouldering level suggests I should be able to climb harder routes and when I climb at 7c level I feel it's not the limit. But somehow it just doesn't happen. Two years ago I climbed my first 7c with 'Apocalypse', a short, bouldery roof climb in Berdorf. It was completely unexpected and just two days after climbing my first 7b. Now I think that Apocalypse is rather 7b+, which partly explains why I wasn't able to climb my next 7c for more than a year. Over ambitiously I tried to climbed 'Cima Ovest' 7c+ over two weekends in Berdorf, but logically failed to deliver. When I topped out three more 7c's last year, I tried something harder again: 'Traité de Deversification' 8a in Grotte du Brotsch. For 5 days I threw myself against it and came very close to an ascent, but ultimately I had to go home without success.

When I kicked off the present rope season a good month ago, I briefly tried 'Strontium 90' 7c+ in Ith. The friction of the sloper in the top crux turned out to be extremely conditions dependent, so I climbed (the eventually much more beautiful) 'Opium fürs Volk' instead. Closer to home in Teuto I quickly dispatched the direct start to 'Alien', yet another 7c. Last year I failed to climb it repeatedly, surprised by how much harder the two move crux felt after a slightly harder start without a resting position. Seeing Erik make quick progress in 'Banane ohne Rampe', I started trying it too. I expected it to be extremely hard as it gets 8a+ in the topo guide, but quickly discovered it was within my reach. It was given 7c+ by the first ascentionists (Peter and Jan Martin from Enschede) and provides just the challenge I need at this stage. I came back once on a brief evening session with Erik and fell twice on the last hard move. Last weekend I received a very last minute invitation from Matt to climb just two hours in the morning. After repeatedly falling of the last hard move again, I started arriving there progressively stronger and less fatigued. And then I stuck the move! Feeling a rush of anxiety, I grabbed the rope to clip the quickdraw between my knees only to find out that I somehow moved my leg between the rope and the draw. Confused, I let go and briefly considered skipping the clip altogether. Realising I'd risk a fatal fall to the ground then, I tried clipping again, this time awkwardly reaching underneath my leg and tangling the rope around it. Trying to get my leg out again, my feet cut loose. I still held on and readjusted my feet, but I felt all the strength flowing away. When I tried to reposition my hand to prepare for the final (easy) move, I finally fell...

Again I failed to break the 7c plateau. I know now that I am capable of doing it. It will happen soon. I'll get back on Banane ohne Rampe whenever I can and next week Koen and I will return to Grotte du Brotsch for two days and I will try Traité de Deversification once more. I'm scared to fail again and excited to get another chance to try it. It is a mental game and I love it. It simply isn't fun when it's easy!

So stay tuned for an update. Soon I might climb 7c+ or even 8a. In the meantime enjoy this video of my doing a chalkless (!) ascent of Alien direkt, 'just' another 7c: