Archiv des Autors: ninacap

Yesterday I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. It was one of those days where you rather stay at home then go to the crag. I was feeling upset. I was unable to focus and be gentle with myself. Conditions were so bad, warm and humid as always. For the first time since I arrived in Smith Rocks I climbed like shit. l slipped a lot and got my ass kicked on every single route I tried.

One of the reasons why I choose to spend such a big part of my life outside rock climbing is because there is no bad day at the cliff. Yesterday I didn’t climb as good as I wanted, but all my friends did which was great! They gave it their all, climbed well and focused and some sent their projects.

Since my first day here I feel very good. I’m calm and precise in my climbing and I trust my feet. I feel comfortable with the people surrounding me and I simply appreciate the smart climbing community of Smith Rock and Bend. I haven’t felt this way in a while, especially in sport climbing.

I love Smith Rocks because it reminds me of multipitch climbing. Every single line is so demanding and simply beautiful. To me, it doesn’t matter if I’m climbing a 5.12, 13 or 14, I have to be 100% focused. You need to trust in yourself, your partner and you have to give your best in every single route.

The first ten days I felt like a kid playing in a new playground. I climbed all the eye catching lines, lots of cracks and outstanding aretes like Spank the Monkey on the Monkey Face. Then the time came to try To Bolt or Not to Be.

The first time I climbed the line, it took me two hours to clip the anchor. I wasn’t able to do all the moves, it felt way too hard. Local people told me that To Bolt is one of the most condition dependent routes anywhere. Despite the bad conditions, I tried it two more times. Result, I was unable to hold on to the razor sharp holds. Especially at bolt nine there is a place where I was simply unable to do two moves. I felt to weak to climb the route, but I was blown away by the complexity of the movements, the 200 footholds to remember and of it’s simple beauty. I felt super lucky by the fact that I had the chance to climb on this historical route at least once in my life.

Later on the trip I had some interesting discussions about the different ways of approaching a route. The system teaches us that a good climber should climb hard routes in as few tries possible. Personally I grew up in the mountains, so the more time I spent outside in the mountains climbing in a route, the happier I was. Making our way up to the summit was the main goal, by climbing, aiding, holing or whatever. And if we were to weak, we had to rappel down, logic.

So for me when I go climbing, I start at the bottom and I try to make my way up to the top. Stick clipping up a route or Top roping is not an option. I love the process, the suffering, dealing with my fear and the unknown. I love to discover a route on my own and I also like to give up sometimes and try another day. I don’t want to blame people who top rope because they’re really afraid to fall. I also do not blame people for clipping the first bolt because they don’t want to break their ankle. But I can’t understand why people stick clip or top rope to save time and energy. Why do we want to take so many shortcuts and reduce the experience to a simple climb? Just to make another cross on our tick list and move on to another line to make a quick ascent? I doubt these ascents are the ones that will stay in our memories for forever. Where is the sense of adventure and excitement that makes us feel alive?

Then there was this one day… this day where it was super windy and dry, like it has never been since we arrived. I gave myself one more chance on To Bolt, just to see if conditions had for real a big impact on this route. To be honest, I simply crushed that thing. I danced my way up to famous bolt nine and there I tried to make something but I failed because I simply had no plan for this section. Second try I crushed again and fell off at the same place I did the try before. I did a mini-mini error which cost me my send. Back on the ground I almost cried, not because of the holes in fingertips, but because I was so happy. My friend Charlotte, which was there from the beginning, was stoked. We both had a big smile on our faces and I felt her big compassion. Send or not, this route is definitely worth trying.

Well, at the end all I wanted to say is that topping out a route is a difficult thing when it’s at your very limit. In my opinion, sending is only a little piece of the full experience of climbing. To me, the more this process is combined with adventure, the more I feel a permanent excitement. And living for adventure is always my priority and something we will remember your whole life, even for a 40m piece of rock.

Photos: Jason Bagby

I am not quite sure what bit me when I did this route, but it must have been something magical.

Sometimes your guts make you try things. That is the case for Divine.

I spent some time in the mountains in July, a pretty ridge, a nice summit like the Chardonnet, I went for some climbing at the Trident and the Grand Capucin, I sent Avé César in the Petit Clocher du Portalet, and in general I build up some decent legs.

Well, I felt ready and and so did my partner Benoit, who I could trust with my life.

With a three day window in the weather but some storms coming behind, we might have started a bit optimistic or even culotés. Yet from start to end, it all rolled out nicely. Luck was on ours side.

On the first day, we grab the last gondola in Torino, crossing under the Grand Capucin in silence, to then reach the Bivouac de la Fourche. We are alone, with a mindblowing view : The Grand Pilier d’Angle before our eyes. This 900 meter face is majestic, intimidating, and really makes you want to climb in it.

The mood between Benoit and I is joyful. Divine Providence has been making rounds around his mind for years. The wait is over.

We melt some snow and eat some LYO food, while adventure feelings camed up.

We are out and sleeping right away and waking up at 4am is the awaited start. We eat and drink some tea. Time to go !

In two little rappels, we find ourselves on the Glacier de la Brenva which leads us to the Col Moore. The full moon lights out steps but the day is quick to follow.

Another five rappels to land on the most dangerous part of the route : crossing under the large seracs. They were large and beautiful ! A quick hello but then we pick up the pace to cut the chance of them breaking on us.

From afar, we have carefully observed the line and we know exactly from which point we want to start the assault of the wall.

Crossing the rimaye at 7 in the morning is always going to be a tad sketchy. You see the gap under your feet, you pray that the snow bridge will hold, and you go ! After a short committed climb with crampons and through small snow field, we are now finally at the bottom of the first pitch.

The 400 meter base of Divine Providence, up to the bivy were a nightmare for the previous parties because of lousy rock quality. Benoit and I have chosen the FFME alternative, a route opened in 1992. Harder of a climb than the orginical, this option offers better rock. At first a bit scared by this first section, I found myself at ease once in it.

We start ascending in 5c to 6b pitches . Large packs on our backs, yes, but the rock is solid, I even quite enjoyed it to be honest. I could picture myself with my bulky bag, following nice crack lines, setting up relays where suitable. We were still very watchful since there is still some decent amount of rock just asking to snap, but for people climbing in the Chartreuse, it was nothing unheard of.

At 4pm we get onto a little ledge. Bivy at last. And it is not just a bivy, it is the dream Bivouac. You are 500 meters above the ground, perched among some of the most beautiful peaks in Europe ! We are elated ! What a joy to be there, living fully and relieved that all had gone well so far.

We slept as well as two pleople in one sleeping bag can and woke up with a magnificent sunrise, very eager to start the real climbing. On the menu, 10 picthes from 6b to 7b on impeccable granit.

I can summarize the next eight hours in one word :dazzling…

I have rarely since such beautiful cracks on concrete-solid rock, so easy to protect. I had a ball. We hauled out bags so that we could both be climbing freely and enjoy every last bit of it.

Benoit who is not quite able to onsight all the pitches still enjoys the climb as fully as me.

3 o’cock and we get to the top of the rock face and switch into another 250 meters of mixed climb awaiting. Et wow ! That certainly shook us up ! We expected a nice ridge line, stretched rope but no way. There is in fact some more really shacky rock scramble with ice. Benoit took the lead there. My partner is a solid mountaineer and he did show me what he is capable of in this section. He even saved my bacon when I start sliding off with a large boulder. Massive adrenaline shot at both ends of the rope. I quickly gathered myself to continue on.

At 7pm, we finally got to the Arrête de Peuterey. It’s a perfect snow ridge with a thousand meters of air on each side. We get off rope and made an easy last stretch thanks to the tracks of climbers who had exited the l’intégrale de Peuterey earlier.

I was drained, yet savouring each step, always finding good support for my pick. My heart was pounding but out of joy and excitment.

At 9pm we congratulated each on top of the Mont Blanc. What a moment to remember.

We had reached the famous summit by it’s hardest route and it did not look all that impossible now.

Benoit and I make a perfect rope team : the free climber with the mountaineer, two approaches to moving and a wide range of experiences to adapt to the many challenges that mountains have to offer.

I am really happy to have dared throwing myself in a classic mountaineering route. I am proud to have kept smiling through and to be the first female to complete the ascent. I feel blessed to have shared it with Benoit. I feel alive, although exhausted.

Une grande voie comme “Titanic” se fait sur un coup de tête. Il ne faut pas trop y réfléchir en avance, on y va parce qu’on a eu une grande envie le soir avant, c’est tout!

Depuis que j’habite sur Grenoble, plein de gens m’ont conseillé d’aller grimper dans cette voie, la plus haute de Chartreuse. Pour mon copain Benoit, elle fait partie d’une de ses grands rêves et en plus c’est une voie de Mussato. Quoi de plus pour être motivé!

Réveil à six heures du matin, on est vendredi le 24 juin, une des journées des plus chaudes de l’année. Surement pas les conditions idéales car la paroi passe à l’ombre vers 15 heures. Mais bon, quand on est motivé on fait abstraction de tout.

La marche d’approche nous a déjà bien séchée mais ce n’étais rien comparé à ce qui nous attendait après. Je suis partie dans la première longuer…mon dieu, comme je me suis fait rouster dans ce 7a+! Une longueur qui déroute complètement et un rocher bien péteux. Bref, j’ai été tendue comme un string dès le début.

Le même jeux dans les 3 longueurs suivantes. Dans la plus facile et plus péteux, un 6c,  j’ai arraché une grosse prise et je me suis retrouvée dans la corde. Avec Benoit, on a subi le soleil rasant mais on a avancé quand même. Pour être honnête, je me suis dit après les six premiers longueurs que j’allais jamais monter la corde à haut. Cotations serrés, grimpe exigeantes et rocher moyen….aie, aie, aie.

Benoit s’est régalé comme un dingue en second, à part les petits traversées…Pour moi qui étais en tête c’était un autre jeux. J’étais vraiment crispé sur ce rocher pas très solide de Chartreuse et je me suis battue dans des 7a’s comme dans un 8a. Mais vous savez quoi, j’ai kiffé! Plus on montais, plus j’ai familiarisé avec ce style et j’ai commencé à me sentir complètement à l’aise. Vers 14 heures on est arrivé au pied du premier 7b et à ce moment là, la paroi passait à l’ombre.

J’ai continué à me battre, j’étais à fond et super concentré à chaque longueur. Toutes sauf une, sont passées à vue. J’ai prit une petite chute dans le 7c car la fissure du départ dans le crux a été bien mouillé. J’étais un peu dégouté, mais ma fois, c’est la nature. Je me sentais tellement dans mon élément et j’ai adoré de partir complètement à vue dans cette aventure de 450 mètres avec des longueurs bien soutenue. Tout ça avec mon chérie qui étais aux anges et qui a aussi donné le meilleur de lui même. Bonheur. Vivre le moment présent. A deux.

On a pas eu le temps de faire les deux derniers 6b’s car la nuit a commencé gentiment à tomber et comme on a bien fait. On s’est retrouvé aux pied de la voie à 22:00. 12 heures de grimpe, à 24:00 on était dans un Kebab à Crolles, à mourir de soif et de faim. Heureux, éclaté et les pieds en feu.

Un immense merci une fois de plus au grand maitre Philippe Mussato pour l’ouverture de cette voie. Quel idée!!!!;-)

Merci Benoit d’avoir vécu une si belle aventure avec moi. Vive d’autres, vive la vie!

Since a couple of months I’m on a stable way of recovering of what happened end of February to me.

It’s crazy to feel how things changed. First and most important of all, I feel in shape again. II can’t say that I feel balanced, but my muscles are doing great, especially my heart. What’s still confusing is to see how much time it takes to the organs to reach their normal function again. But me and my body, we’re working on it!;-)

Second, I feel sooooo connected to climbing. I think that’s since years I haven’t been so psyched for that sport. I like the simplicity and complexity of it, being focused while trying a route, becoming one with the mouvements, feeling the connection with your partner and the people around you.

I climb 8b+ again which is (sorry for this expression) a fucking good feeling! But I’m mostly climbing multipich routes since a while. Since my big healthy problems I’m looking more than ever to the connection with my partner. And in long routes that feeling is stronger then anywhere else to me. While living this sport I’m looking for the strong connection between nature, partner and myself.

The expedition to Greenland I had planed this summer failed, but that’s ok. I was disappointed mostly because this connection between all the team members was obviously there. But instead I did plenty of fantastic multipitch routes in one of my favorite place of the world, the gorges of Verdon.

I did easy onces and also hard onces. I climbed whatever felt and looked good, I was in the flow. I felt how important climbing is to me and what I’m searching by doing it. Grades became so useless to me, the only thing I’m looking for is the challenge, braking throw my own limits, pushing again and…..LAUGHING! Hell, climbing is soooo much fun!

I’m able to climb again and to push hard, I can run, I can spend the entire day outsides and feeling good after.

Those things has been a big part of my daily life for so long until the day when I became really sick by the end of February.

To be honest, the last three months hasn’t been easy at all but it turned out to become the most richest experience in my life so far.

Imagine, I’ve been an active person my hole life long and my identifie has been created mostly due to my climbing achievements, my big will, my talent to push hard and to my big confident in life.

By the end of February, my life has been directed by this strange thing that entered in my body. I survived, but since then I had to deal with a fragile body, which was completly new to me. I learned a lot, but I went through a lot of non-funny things and I lost my big joy of life and a lot of positiv energy.

Then the day arrived when I accepted all of this and since I feel mostly good. I also realized that this dark sides of my character are part of mine and I learned to be fine with that. It’s funny to see how much the mindset can add to your well being and how sweet life can be with a positive approach.

There are still some tuff lessons I have to go through. It’s really hard to find the connection with my body again. Sometimes I move and afterwards I have this strange feeling and I dont’ know if it’s because I pushed to hard or because my body isn’t used to this anymore. I was really smooth with my body during all this time. I had completely to put away the athlete aspect which I’ve never done before in my life. I took some weight which was necessary to my body to recover as this fast, but this is also new to me and super strange.

At the moment I don’t have a high climbing level, at all. Yesterday it was the first time where I was able to fight really hard again. It was in a 8a+ route. You know, once you had a solid 8b+/8c level in your life, it’s not easy for the head to be motivated to fight really hard in a lower level. I imagine that this happens to all of us. But hey, I tried really hard and I pushed my personal limits. It was such a wonderful feeling. I felt so happy to do this again, fighting hard and then clipping the chain with this huge smile on my face.

It’s important to me to have this connection with my body and to feel this high energy, but’s its not all anymore.

Due to the experience I made this last months, I was able to see and to feel how I am, without this Nina-machina athlete aspect. I found out what’s important to me in life, what else makes me happy than moving and doing sports and what life has to offer.

I’m lucky to feel mostly good again and I’m really confident in life. It takes me wherever it has to, even if it’s tuff sometimes.

Love life…

For more infos and registration:

http://chamonix.arcteryxacademy.com

Well, where to start. I guess some of you are wondering what I’m doing and where I am right now.

I went through a crazy and hard time the last two week’s. I got a serious infection which costed me almost my life.

While my last trip to Turkey, a bacterium got his way into my body. Back home, I wasn’t considered at all about my infection. I was fully occupied to organise my trip back there for bolting this new line I saw. I did some bad and high falls while bouldering in a gym and then I started to become serious pain in my back.

I was suffering like never before in my life. In reality, the pain was not due to my fall, it was because the germ went his way into my blood and from there directly to my heart. I had some water in my lung, my liver was pumped with blood and then both of my kidneys started to be infected by the bacterium.

I went really bad, I reached the point of the delirium. I cried like I never cried before in my life because I was suffering so much. And still, I thought that I had a simple back injury like a lot of climbers after a bad fall.

During a week I had huge shivering attacks, high temperature and this growing pain in my back. Finally I made a blood test and after seeing the results, I had immediately to go to the hospital emergency.

At the time I arrived there, my kidneys were close to give up their functions.

During my stay at the hospital I went through a lot of examens for the heart, brain and all kind of infection tests. I was under antibiotics and a lot of morphine.

A week after I was able to quit hospital with the uncertain idea what kind of germ went into my body. The doctors at the CHU in Grenoble are excellent and they made all their possible, but they still have no idea how this all came together and what kind of germ it was.

The most important is that my heart is in a good healthy again and that I react positiv about the antibiotics. All my organs will recover and the infection is going lower and lower.

Now I need time. My body needs to rest, my mind needs a break. My life has always been crazy, but this event has been a little to much to me.

It’s kinda funny, because while climbing, I’m always conscious that life can stop from one moment to another due to a technical error or to an accident. I do accept to die in that way one day. But I was never thinking about a malady. And I will defenetly not die in that way, I’m probably to proud for that…

This was the strangest experience I ever made in live. My life changed from one week to another. And once more, life gifted me. Lucky bastard I am…

Photo: Sam Challéat