Ups and downs

I promised to write again when there's something to write about. There is - or rather has been - already a week ago. Within a day after the last rain and quite literaly in the first rays of sunlight I went back to Teuto on Thursday evening. Belayed by Matt I managed to climb 'Banane ohne Rampe' (7c+), after almost four weeks of waiting to get back on it. It was very satisfying and like often on a hard readpoint it didn't feel very hard anymore when I climbed it. It's easy to forget how often I've fallen off and discredit the accomplishment... I shouldn't though, this is my second route higher than 7c and another confirmation I've breached that ceiling!

I didn't film my ascent of Banane ohne Rampe (it was quite dark), but here's a screenshot of a video I made while working it on the previous session. The picture shows the onset of the final hard move.

Last weekend the weather forecasts were incredibly good for the Twente/NRW region and Matt and I ventured to Ith for another day of rock climbing. Matt convinced me to visit the Bisperoder Klippen, which offers lots of easy climbing and a few interesting butresses with a selection of high quality harder routes. It's a quiet area, probably because of the long approach walk: about an hour. We were told about a shorter (but tricky to find) way though and decided to give that a shot. It ended up taking us over 80 minutes of wandering, but on the way back we were much more efficient. Let's consider it an investment in future visits. And there will be a future visit: as it turned out, the weather in Ith wasn't quite as good as it was nearer to home. After a failed onsight attempt on the first serious route - 'Zingulum' 9- (7b+) - it started raining quite heavily. It didn't stop for the rest of the day and although it's overhanging, the route got very damp. I'd like to blame the conditions for not sending Zingulum, but in all honesty I felt weak the entire day. I may not have done it in good conditions either... On top of that it turned out that there is an easier sequence than the one we used. I'll go back later to give it a shot! I guess I can't expect to peak on every day outside...

But right now, I'll have to wait. My students have finished their final exams and I'm busy correcting their work for the next two weeks. I'd be surprised if there's much time left for climbing. 

Meanwhile in the Netherlands

My two week holiday started great with climbing my first 8a route literally on the first day. Back home I celebrated in my mind of course, but the desire to get back to my Teuto project or try new hard routes grew. The remainder of the holiday turned out to be a disappointment with respect to climbing: the weather is terrible now and will only get worse in the week to come. On the few days with good weather my usual climbing partners were occupied, injured or in Spain, so last Saturday I went bouldering in Avalonia instead.  I hadn't been there for two months and I could make a quick ascent of my seventh 7B+ (and probably the most fingery one, deadhang training seems to be paying off at last). Nevertheless it couldn't give me the satisfaction I seek: when in route climbing mode I find it hard to switch back to bouldering. Or maybe I've just climbed in Ruhrtal too often and simply need a change of scenery. Problem is: most interesting bouldering destinations are quite a bit further from home... 

But in the next week massive amounts of rain will spoil all opportunities anyway. Back to training then! I'll abide my time and wait for the stars to align for the next ascent. In the meantime I'll prepare my body for the upcoming challenges pulling plastic in my attic or Cube bouldergym. I'll write again when there's something to write about. For now I have this small video of two boulders I climbed in Avalonia last weekend:

8a

Three and a half year ago, on September 23, 2010, I climbed my first 7a route in a small climbing area in Spain. Only four days earlier I struggled to climb my second 6c and in an optimistic blur I decided just to give it a shot. And it paid off, I climbed my first route in the 7th grade. It always seemed the realm of super hard climbing, only accessible through hard training, requiring near mutant physical abilities. And then all of the sudden I realized that a 7a was just a very hard 6c. Nothing magical about it. When I got back home, I set myself the goal to climb 8a and I started training. Last weekend, after many training sessions, a shift of emphasis towards bouldering, a broken ankle and lots and lots of failed attempts to conquer new terrain, I climbed that first 8a. Everything is possible!

Last weekend seemed to be the only time frame Koen and I could find in which we both had time to climb. So we ignored the dodgy weather forecasts and drove to Northern France. We both had unfinished business on the red sandstone cliffs of the Vosges Park. Last August I failed to climb 'Traité de Déversification' during a five day trip to Grotte du Brotsch and Koen spent six days across the past year to attempt 'La Taille et la Gamelle' in Kronthal. Two men, two 8a projects and two days to climb them. And a dog. Little London came along on her first camping trip to lighten up the mood and make us forget the redpoint pressure.

Long story short we were incredibly lucky with the weather and we both climbed our projects. I topped mine on Saturday at 16:30 after six failed attempts on the last hard move, Koen his on Sunday morning after working it a bit on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Already on my first attempt I felt that I was much stronger than last year and that climbing the route was possible now. It took some more tries and I even started doubting success again, but in the afternoon it happened. We drove to Kronthal to switch to Koens project. Although being tired from trying mine, he came very close. We both knew he could do it. Despite bad weather forecasts, it was dry and even sunny on Sunday and after a good night's sleep Koen made quick work of his project as well. We were over the moon. All our hard work and all our failures finally paid off in the same weekend. Below is the video I made of our ascents:

So what's next? The immediate urge to climb an 8a is tempered now, although I would like to climb more of them in the time to come. But first I'd like to climb more routes in the upper half of the 7th grade. Finishing Banane Ohne Rampe in Teuto would be a good start. I might even do some bouldering again, I'd be happy to. But who knows, I will run into that perfect next 8a project sooner or later. I simply don't know when I'll find myself on it, but one thing is certain: I'm not done yet and I will try to push the limit further again.