Archiv der Kategorie: SPORTCLIMBING

Already for the fourth time this year, I’ve been on my favourite climbing place, the goerges of Verdon.

After a summer of hard mutipitchclimbing on vertical style, I was really psyched to do some sportclimbing on overhanging walls. A perfect place for doing that, is on the huge cave on ‘rive gauche’ where I also climbed ‘la Ramirole’ and ‘Ultime démence’ two years ago.

The style was exactely what I was searching for: Huge tufas, steep and overhanging lines, kneebars…well, Cédric and me, we quickly realised that our muscles were defently not more used for this kind of climbing. The first two days we were hanging on these roofs like fat couws and it was like a comedy show to see us climbing!;-)

Well, after a good day of rest, we finally did some routes with help of our hand made knee protections (before that, it was too paintfull to make some kneebars…) I did an 8b+ le Feu au cult and Cédric another 8c.

The gorges of Verdon is such a fantastic place. There you can find all kind of climbing, the ambiance es just unique and the smell of the ‘Provence’ makes me dreaming every time when I’m there….

Me and Cédric, we were climbing about two week’s in the beautiful cliff of Oliana. It was our first travel with our home made ‘climb-mobile’. This was a great feeling! (After some brake down’s on the border..)

The time to go climbing outside was perfect because during the day it was really warm (perfect for sunbathing) and in the afternoon when the rock was in the shassow, it was really freezy and a good frictions! After three month of cold we were also so happy to be outside and to feel the sun, rock and fresh air…

So first I gave a belay to Cédric in ‘el gran blau’, an incredible 50 meter long 8b+/8c. He felt on-sight on the really top and so I was motivaded to try this route as well.

This route took’s me a lot of trys because I lost all my endurance during the winter, so on the top my forderarms were always explosed!

Cédric sent the route on his third try and after on-sighting ‘humilides pa casa’, the famous tufa 8b+ ans ‘Full equip’, he choosed his project of the trip: Papichulo, 9a+

Climbing in Oliana was really tiring, because you are spending a lot of time in this long routes and it’s really hard to manage the physical effort. But Cédric and me, we are really psyched for rest days as well, specialy near the sea!

We loved the fresh seafood and I’m shure that it was the best thing for our sore muscles!

Full of energy every day, I was changing my project and I tried ‘Full equip’, a really soft 8c. After one work out, I climbed the route on my second go. A big fight, it was great!
After this sent, my mind was so free and after two days of rest I finally sent ‘el gran blau’ on my worm-up. Just after that, I was so psyched to climb more hard routes and so I attacked my project from this trip ‘Fish eye’, a wonderful 8c.

After two times of working out and also two restdays, I climbed this incredible line on my fith go. It was a perfect go, I felt really good and I was just happy to climb, that’s all!

Infect from my good vibes, Cédric sent ‘Papichulo’ just after and I could say that it was a perfect day!;-)

I think that I was a lot more happy for the send of Cédric because he was working hard for one week long on this route and he did a huge fight in it! I was confused because I climbed Fish eye so quickly, that I was looking for something harder where I have to fight like a tiger as well!
After a good celebration of our performances ( with too much wine…) I was choosing a new project: ‘Mind control’ 8c+.

This long route was just perfect for me and after one good work, I already gave my go’s. On my third go I wasn’t far away to send and I knew that after two or three restdays, I would be able to send.

After two week’s of hard climbing, we were getting so tired and mainly Cédric has had his dose of ‘pushing you body’ and the only thing that he wanted to do was to go home for caveclimbing. For me as well, I missed Grenoble and in case of a couple of restdays and a probably send of ‘Mind control’ , we drove back home to go climbing under the earth!;-)

I will give you now the secret to be successfull in your climbing life:

After a huge supper full of seafood and two days of rest, yesterday, Cédric and me, we felt full of energy.

During the day it was really hot, so we headed out to the cliff about four in the afternoon with our camping friends Eva and Dufnis Lopez. We have a lot of fun with this climbing couple, it’s cool to share our climbing days and experiences with them.

Two days ago I did a good work in ‘Fish eye’, an 8c incredible beautiful! So I felt ready to climb it. On my first try my hook was slipping on the crux and I had to change my methodes a little bit.

Cédric did his best try in ‘Papi Chulo’. Hes climbing was just perfect, but on the top of the wall, he wasn’t able to recover and he felt with his elbows as high as his ears, such a pitty! After this attemps, he was completly out of energy and he needed his typical Cédric nap…

At eight, I did my third try and I felt really tired from this steep climbing. But this was a good reason to make a perfect ascent, because when you are tired, you don’t have to right to make mistakes.
And yes, I did it!;-) All the physical part in the bottom of the route I had to climb really quickly because I was out of power. But in the higher part I felt like in my element. Vertical, technical, little crimpy hold, this is my style.

To be able to climb this great 8c in only five trys was just incredible, I’m really content!;-)

Well, as we know, Cédric is a real competitior. And when his little girl friend is able to climb really good on hard routes, he will do it as well! So he was searching all his energy he still had in his body and he did a perfect ascent of ‘Papi chulo’, 9a+. He did one of his biggest fights of his life and I was not far away to make a collaps when I was giving him a belay, the suspense about his ascent was just terrible to support!;-)

Just one statement at the end: I will give all my excuses for my bad expression, ‘bienvenudos espagna’. It wasn’t my intention to give my personal advise for one route in Oliana and to resume that every route in Spain is soft.
With ‘Fish eye’ I did a real 8c and I would never say something else. So sorry for my honest statement for ‘Full equip’ ( down greading sucks, I know) and for my false expression…