climbandlive

Top 5...

2012-02-04T02:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, making lists is fun...at times!
So here´s my Top 5 boulders and routes...doesn´t include projects...
Boulders:
Seven Spanish Angels, Bishop/Buttermilks
Circus Trick Right, Big Bend
Army of Darkness, Big Bend
The King, Yosemite
Essential Peabody, Bishop/Buttermilks

Routes:
Murati, Gorges du Tarn
Action Discrete, Gorges du Tarn
L´heure d´ete, Gorges du Tarn
Sennerin, Dietrichshorn
Supernase, Frankenjura

So in case you can get out there and try them...do so!

Some vids...low key stuff...

2012-01-22T01:00:00.000-08:00

http://vimeo.com/33956543

http://vimeo.com/35217141

2011

2011-12-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

A riotous year comes to an end, filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows...from a miserable relationship break up with Anna, the depths of graduation despair to some of the best climbing and travelling in my life...things culminated in my USA bouldering adventure and yesterday my graduation papers finally arrived...it feels so good to have them in my hands...THE FREAKING CHAPTER ENDS! ON TO THE NEXT ONE! Hopefully the new year will bring a new girl, more travelling, great classes and fun teaching the language I love! Above all I just (just is such an inapproriate word here actually) wish for health for all those I love and myself since in the end, that´s the most important thing.
I´ll be staying at my fam´s over Christmas and then make the move back to Bavaria...Here are some of the most meaningful photos of the year...

"Nor all those who wander are lost"...

2011-12-19T22:46:00.000-08:00

Bouldering scales...

2011-12-10T10:17:00.001-08:00

I´ve been fortunate enough to climb in a lot of areas and some of them, namely the American ones use the V-scale...I´ve been using Matt Wilder´s and Wills Young´s guidebooks as my main reference of transfering V into Font grades since they both have a good grasp on things...whoever thinks that V4 translates into 6B as some misguided ones do as for instance in the case of Circus Trick at Big Bend simply should go to Europe where the Font scale originates and find out for themselves...
The V-scale operates under the premise that the crux of a V0 problem is equal to the crux of a 6b sport route!

VB-Fb3/4
V0-Fb4
V1-Fb4-5
V2-Fb5-6
V3-Fb6A-6B
V4-Fb6B-6C
V5-Fb6C-7A
V6-Fb7A+
V7-Fb7B
V8-Fb7B+
V9-Fb7C
V10-Fb7C+
V11-Fb8A
V12-Fb8A+
V13-Fb8B
V14-Fb8B+
V15-Fb8C
V16-Fb8C+

It should be noted that in all European areas grades V0-V2 practically don´t exist. A problem like Melchamuas at the Zillertal for instance (currently at V3/6A in the guidebook) would be V0 max. in any US area...FAionists seem to have skipped these grades since obviously the grade is not that glamorous. It´s wrong however since actually some VB and V0 problems I´ve climbed in the US are CONSIDERABLY harder than for instance renowened Zillertal classics such as Schmetterlingsplatte, which checks in at 6B...grades in Europe seem to fit from V5//7A up imho. Just my two cents.

Go figure...in the end it doesn´t matter that much, however some things need to be put into perspective at times.

Out for some bouldering!

Travelling...

2011-11-28T14:59:00.000-08:00

Sitting on a train oh well you fucking bitch stop that squeaky laughter it annoys the crap outta me oh damn it is there a guy living in that tent why don´t they have a proper wellfare system in here the ghost of Tom Joad on and on Amtrak´s coffee sucks and that dude is a mofo anyway Anna I wish you were with me and I wish I wasn´t wishing but that´s all past now and I guess that´s the way life is gotta find a new princess deer can I please get some interesting wildlife I´m psyched to see Em and Beez and boulder in Boulder sounds crazy fun to me watch your money and your budget aww fuck it get a bagel damn...

off...doze off drop off nod off fall asleep wake again closer every minute takes me places and there i am so many pups and such craziness on that train fucking in dressing rooms seriously that guy was big and his girl as well how did they make it work curiosity is a strange thing...

so many pups and the smallest dessert ever cute isn´t it beer and em and taylor and more dogs and a cat cats are soothing little bitches cindy cat wakes me up and purrs like crazy bouldering boulder canyon what a fucking nightmare guy and all the nice folks saving me how great was that hunch go by hunch always trust your heart it´s true more climbing and lost again thai food with em more awesome folks and more roads onwards and forward to desert beauty, dead mice and oilrig geomagicians...

moab so rad and sandbagged as hell oh woah will I do something in here I will I do I love it get beer and hike it in fucking gnarly offroading and hell it´s not my car so watch out getting used to it amys vegan chili and cereals I can live on that coffee more coffee and hot moab girls I want tattoed girls not afraid to get dirty and still hot in Germany but then damn it I don´t know, never actually have she was checking you out so badly Austin said and I didn´t realize...

more bouldering sweet highballing breathtaking Colorado river beauty and Lily falling on her beautiful kiddy face outta sheer enthusiasm oh well little girls crying how sad is that on out to home and crazy fucking base jumpers on the way out getting duffied and pizzaed beaver creeked and then outta again and then frat house sleeping coffee out so many memories and I don´t know why I can´t write about those but it´s strange like butterflies they are memorized but too beautiful to describe actually then again they change you and that´s what matters right?

California...the first weeks...

2011-11-18T13:09:00.000-08:00

So I´ve been in here, that is San Francisco, the Bay Area, El Cerrito, to be increasingly precise for a three weeks now and they have been rad! The season is different, I decided not to solely make this a bouldering trip but also a generally relaxing experience, so I tried to have an equal measure of bouldering at local crags, training at Bridges and going on a lot of hikes...I have so far twice hiked the coastal trail from Ocean Beach to Embarcadero which checks in at a good 14 miles, have reconnected with my sea lion friends, have been to the Bay Area Aquarium and Ocean Beach for the waves, the sound of the great Pacific Ocean...I´m having a great time! On the bouldering front I´ve been slowly uping my game recently...one day trip to Castle Rock with my good friend Austin got me some humbling experiences on slopey top outs and Tree Route, an amazing V4...hopefully I can get another Castle trip done...locally I´ve been focusing on Mortar Rock and Stoneface Park and I should be able to get all my projects there done before the end of my trip! Highlight of the trip so far beyond doubt was my reconaissance trip to the Valley and Camp 4 the past two days...I just love the Valley...it´s the most amazing place I´ve been as concerns the whole package and going there with no crowds around was even better than being there in August/September 2009...again I´m highly indebted to Austin who made the trip possible! Boulderingwise my goals were pretty clear, Chocolate Bunny at the Le Conte Memorial and another V6...Chocolate Bunny was an epic...I linked it like 10 times to the last pinch punch move...only to always slip off...when I sat down after like 25 tries I told myself this was gonna be the last go, breathed in and sent...with Austin videoing it...Yay for I-phones! The next day I got myself a video of the prolly best highball I´ve done so far, Ahwahnee Arete and then dispatched my second V6...2nd. go...in CAMP 4! I would have never expected doing a Camp 4 V6 second go...So rad! But for some reason, my early morning hike yesterday morning still beat all bouldering and taught me an important lesson...it´s just climbing and that´s just a game...in the end, we´re in this world for a finite moment of time...so open your eyes, see the beauty and realize how amazingly priviledged we are...as I did yesterday morning casually strolling from the Valley Visitor Centre back to Camp 4, with the sun kissing the Valley awake.
Here are some pics of the trip so far...

New Boulders...

2011-10-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

With my trip to the US comin´up, I have changed my focus again and sort of put away with my harness, rope and draws for the moment. It´s important to do that at times to keep motivated and besides, there are no routes I´m psyched on trying right now, at least not in the vicinity of my home. With no car and people not too motivated to drive places, bouldering has always been my resort to reboost my enthusiasm. Since I´ve put up 90% of all Hochgern problems there is little to repeat, so I´ve been busy exploring and brushing things to get some good FAs done before jumping the plane next Tuesday.
I´ve been really amazed by the potential our little local bouldering recluse has lately. Me and Rambo have been roaming the Big Rocks for a couple of days now, feeding on each other´s enthusiasm and energy, something that I highly appreciate! With Rambo there´s no competition since he´s just stronger but on some things I can thug my way through and still do things before him, so that keeps it balanced and fun! Overall we have established about 20 new problems so far from V0-V6/7, have decided to really sandbag things just because we think it´s fun and there´s more to come! Yesterday was a special day since we started to finally clean the most obvious boulder right next to the forest road. I had never bothered to clean it since I gad deemed it too featured but then...turns out it held 12 rad problems from V0-V6!
Here´s some pics!

Bouldering...

2011-10-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

Since my upcoming US trip is mostly going to be a bouldering trip, I´ve been slowly shifting to bouldering again...Yesterday was my first day of climbing after a cold related break and Felbertal was the place to be! I just love this place...
Something I also really love is highballing...and with Bishop coming up, it was time for some mental prep climbing...
I don´t have a lot of photos but I have two Daniel took of me on an amazing V1/RX arete!

A due rest...

2011-10-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

There´s a time of the year I usually start feeling like a sleepy bear, that is, I feel an urge to rest, sleep a lot and rest a little more...usually that time comes around the beginning of October and to continue the bear analogy, it´s in 99% of all cases triggered by the first snowfall of the season...September is a busy moment for climbers all over the world and pushing yourself constantly kinda burns you out...I was feeling all burnt last Tuesday out after almost linking my crimpy anti style project Cosmic Casino (5.12c) 5 times only falling at the last move, then continued to push by working, studying for my psychology exams and more working on Thursday...

Thursday afternoon was supposed to be a final window of opportunity before the season´s first snow system would move in and end our lovely Indian summer, so I dragged myself up to the project and fortunately did it after putting in the draws...which allowed me to focus on my desired FA project which got done about 20 minutes later...

This evening I was tired...so I have decided to roll with the punch and, thanks system, that´s not too hard. I´ll do my exams on Monday respectively Tuesday, finally finish being a student and then it´s gonna be all on again for the US!
And how could you be not psyched on this...

Gorges du Tarn

2011-09-25T23:53:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons for going to Gorges du Tarn again and again is the sheer quantity of amazing climbs in my favorite style, that is overhanging pocket pulling! This year things were a little different since due to a bolt failure incident in fall last year, my favorite sectors, Güllich and L´oasif, were largely debolted and closed but two amazing routes, one per each sector remained climbable and I was happy to get them both: Action Discrete is beyond doubt one of the best routes I´ve climbed and L´heure d´ete, an amazing new one tackling the steepest section of the L´oasif roof became my second holiday project after putting down Action Discrete...and to my amazement, it clicked first go after a hangdogging session the day before. Sweet! Despite these two, I kinda focused on climbing a lot as well and managed to get some really cool ones rather fast: overall I can climb a lot harder than I did this trip! I had to invest 6 tries into Action and 1 redpoint attempt into L´heure, so what would be possible if I pulled my ace, namely my stubborness, and invested like 30 tries? I wonder! We´ll see what this fall will bring, especially with my US trip coming up (even though that is planned as a mostly bouldering trip)! In the meantime, I can´t wait to hop on some unfinished business back home!
I´m extremetly grateful for the amazing photos Mr. Johannes Loidl took of me in Action and L´heure...at the same time, I´d like to thank Mr. Ralf Braun for belaying me on both sends and during the Action and L´heure hangdogging sessions...I HIGHLY APPRECIATED your patience and awareness! With my partner in projecting Shorty lost for the time being (not forever, I HOPE) it´s really hard to find people as motivated and driven as I am or at least willing to endure my ammount of psyche as soon as I´ve entered project mode. So again, THANKS!
Here are some photos...

Travelling...

2011-09-08T12:21:00.000-07:00

I love travelling...from time to time I just need to see something fresh and different, need to speak a different language...the rest of the year is going to be AMAZING: tomorrow I´m leaving for a two weeks trip to Gorges du Tarn in Southern France and about half an hour ago, I booked my ticket for my California/Utah trip in November/December...I´m so psyched! San Fran, Pier 39, sea lions, Bridges, bouldering, Endless Bummer sessions with Wes, Moab, arches, gooble gobble bitches, Big Bend bouldering, Circus Trick, Beez, highline crazyness, speaking American, the foggy mornings, my projects back at Mortar, Grizzly and Stoneface, all the new people I´ll meet, shooting pool with Tracy, hanging out with Damian, getting to know Miss Mia...SO MUCH is gonna happen and I´m all excited and enthusiastic about it!

Photo of the day...

2011-08-27T23:22:00.000-07:00

I really love this shot! Taken during our last Frankenjura trip; Tuca and I snuggling and belly rubbing at Andeltodrom/Frankenjura...

Climbing, Access Issues and Conservation

2011-08-20T22:06:00.001-07:00

While climbing is getting more and more popular, at the same time, and yes, there is a causal relation, the problems either catalyzed or at least fuelled by climbers and their behavior are increasing as well. Recently I have been told about access troubles in Gorges du Tarn and will be most probably affected since I´m heading there in about three weeks. There is the ever ongoing clash between climbers and farmers, the increasing problem of littered parking lots, fireplaces show up in meadows and it all bears witness to the impact human beings leave when indulging in spending their leisure time in nature.
Let´s be frank foremost, there is no such thing as "leaving no trace", at least in a strict sense of the word. A footprint in Siberian snow can be visible for years, an example that might be a tad exaggerative but in the end is relevant inasmuch as it showcases that whenever we step into an untouched place, we render it. Travelling in America, I was struck by how well managed access issues are by the access fund. In Europe, things are unfortunately a bit different.
Five consequtive trips to Frankenjura this year have all brought home the following: people in general don´t give a damn, sleep everywhere since that is the cheapest option, don´t give something back to the local community but rather live on crackers, tuna outta the can and home bought beer while at the same time using facilities provided. Add that the majority of climbers is a notoriously lazy bunch and you have parking issues, trespassing problems and soon a vicious circle of ego and identity politics at play.
So what does it boil down to? A consumerist attitude. Recently I had to take part in a multi pitch workshop and in the evening, a lively discussion began as to how bolts should be spaced outside with the suggestion coming up that some sort of board should be installed, taking care of business, that is, making sure that bolts are placed according to rules comparable to the ones applied when planning a climbing gym. Excuse me, no! If you can´t deal with things, stay inside. Nature is not a leisure time facility, it´s foremost nature. Instead of demanding more and more (how´s about Latte Macciatos sold at popular crags instead of bringing your thermos) it´s high time to more aggressively promote the idea of leaving as little a trace as possible. And yes, that means getting a foot into the door at times. People need to be told off! If all the gym kids and wannabes, rambling on about going "a muerte" outdoors just because they´ve seen some climbing flick are not brought to sense, then we´ll all face closed or at least horribly littered crags. Interested in that? Go figure...
All we need is simple common sense applied. That is of course better said than done, take a look at the general state of the planet and again, go figure, but we have to start at some point soon.
Out!

The unknown dangers in life...

2011-08-06T10:50:00.000-07:00

Well, dangers in life come in disguise at times...two days ago, it was time for another Frankenjura trip...we started, same as with the previous trips, leaving home in the rain...arriving at the place, we first of all got breakfast and chocolate milk, that is, I got myself some and laid the basis for the peril to come...note to self: never drink chocolate milk with Rambo being present!
He told a joke, I almost choked...on chocolate milk! I sputtered it all over my pants, coughed like hell for a while and had difficulties with breathing for the rest of the day...if I hadn´t been at my doc´s place for a cardio check up the day before, I would have worried but since I had been told everything is fine, I blamed being out of breath and generally miserably dizzy on the large ammount of chocolate milk supposedly somewhere in my bronchial tubes, that is, a place where chocolate milk doesn´t usually belong.
In terms of climbing we went to a sweet 45° overhanging power pocket pulling crag (kind of a top option if you´re halfway out of business...) and tried hard to get the whole crag done in one day...turns out that didn´t work! I got them all done except for two though and was really psyched to put one down in particular since that one felt completely down to the wire...
In the evening however I was paying the price for straining myself despite of not being able to breathe properly...I HAVE NEVER FELT SO EXHAUSTED! I went to bed shivering and generally feeling miserable!
After a horrible night of headaches and cold sweat I woke up around 5am in the morning and wrote climbing off completely...then for some reason I tried to breathe in deeply and instantly started coughing up chocolate milk...I guess I was sounding halfway between a sick animal and a party drunk teenager for the next 10 minutes but after that things were all cleared up, I slept like a log for two hours, had a big breakfast and felt very much alive, stuffed with rolls, loads of coffee, breakfast eggs and all the good stuff that makes what the British call a continental breakfast. As if a British breakfast could be considered a breakfast at all...HAH!
Had a rad second day, climbed some classics, got epically lost even though we had GPS navigation (turns out it won´t lead you anywhere if you´re too dumb to set it properly) and then ran into the worse half of the day, that is a Swabian group of competition climbers at Weißenstein! Let´s say that I generally despise competition climbers for their arrogance, their disrespect towards nature which is merely considered an outdoor training facility and their way of behaving at the crag in general. Of course this doesn´t mean that all comp climbers are jerks but the majority of the ones I´ve run into have been, the more youths involved, the higher the percentage of douchebags...Since youths always show up with a family clan of seriously psychic parents and other fan club members who instead of climbing themselves excell at putting pressure on a poor kid that adds some spice as well. Given these particular folks were Swabian, add the fact that I dislike their dialect, here we go! Fortunately some Spanish climbers were there as well; these guys were totally nice and laid back as usual and their beagle pup Nur was as disobedient as a pup can, which balanced everything out again!
Some photos are to come up as soon as Mr. Photo Johannes Loidl has managed to give them to me...
Can´t wait for next weekend...guess what, I´m Frankejura bound...
Out, take care and don´t choke on chocolate milk...it´s not fun (maybe it is for others but certainly not for you...)
Peace!

Life is beautiful...

2011-07-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

Perfection...simplicity...solitude...purity...moments in time...of of those was captured without my knowledge last Saturday at a secret crag somewhere in the Bavarian Alps...thanks Daniel for the photo!

A little Zillertal chronicle...

2011-07-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

I just got back from an epic day of Zillertal craggin...here´s a little chronicle

11.00 am: arrival in Ginzling, after a short discussion where to go, Mascht and Dad depart direction Bergstation...it´s soloing/doing easy routes with Vroni for me and Rambo...
12.00 : packing up, heading direction Bachhexe roof...hangdogging No Name (5.12a/b) and dispatching it second go, Rambo screws up first go on account of tooth ache...
12.30 pm: hangdogging Bachhexe to remember the sequence, Rambo´s tooth ache is throbbing...
1.00 pm: Rambo sends No Name and almost cries from pain afterwards, one go in Bachhexe, fucking pump! Vroni working her tan and building a dam...
1.30 pm: cleaning No Name, Rambo is in pain and can´t do it...
1.55 pm: asking for painkillers at the Karlsteg Inn...after a cup of coffee, we receive two "these are bad ass, don´t drink something alcoholic or you´re done" tablets...
2.00 pm: driving back to Ginzling, walking up to the Guava Yelly roof...
2.22 pm: realization that Guava Yelly won´t be possible with one pad...flashing the two neighboring problems about V3...time for a snack...Rambo´s medication is not taking effect...
2.45 pm: starting the hike up to Bergstation...
3.00 pm: first tier, neither Mascht or Dad present, beginning of hike direction tier two...
3.12 pm: second tier, badass routes, no time to test them though, calls have confirmed that Mascht and Dad are at the upper, final and rightmost tier...
3.13 pm: start of hike towards tier 3, bushwhacking time...
3.15 pm: killing a tick, take that bastard!
3.24 pm: arrival at the third and final tier, Mascht is done after working his 5.14ish project, Rambo´s toothache is getting better, the meds seem to take effect...
3.34 pm: decision to go down and get on the way home, it´s starting to drizzle...
3.56 pm: arrival at the car, after waiting at the one way tunnel for 16 mins, direction home...
4.24 pm: the meds are doing a great job, Rambo is back and playing pranks on Mascht who wants to sleep, Mascht increasingly pissed...
5.23 pm: Rambo tells memorable story of how he once almost choked an ostrich after being pecked by it...for your info: the ostrich survived the attack...
6.00 pm: arrival in Schleching...
6.12 pm: arrival at home, a very generous and modest Mascht asks for only 5 bucks of gas money...

What a day...

Frankenjura, here I come...

2011-07-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

I´m off to the paradise of pockets, overhanging limestone and gymnastic climbing tomorrow in the early morning...that´s good. I´ve been getting quite some quality cragging as of late, with a Zillertal trip last Sunday during which I managed my first 7b onsight on Granite. Cool one!

So far there haven´t been any pics and I don´t know if there will be any this coming weekend...

I´ll however continue to climb as much as possible and as hard as possible since it´s all preperation for the ultimate goal, that is Bar Bitturique...as for my goals this weekend, doing "Saftfeld" would be nice and actually keep me from making this one, due to it´s heartbreaker crux at the end, my personal FRFM...

We´ll see...

Out!

Frankenjura...and home!

2011-06-21T02:35:00.000-07:00

I´m sitting in my parent´s living room, watching Meriadoc trying very hard to be sound asleep while I´m listening to the rain pouring outside...since I got back from a pretty amazing Frankenjura weekend yesterday in the early morning though, I can´t complain.

The forecast was looking not exactly promising when we left on Saturday morning but since I´ve always been able to get some dry climbing, I had decided to talk the others into going and after some mild persuasion succeeded. We drove up in the rain, as usual it had stopped raining when we arrived and driving up the beautiful Püttlach Valley, the crags on both roadsides revealed dry faces and not a single wet streak. Case closed, it´s on! As I would more or less consider myself a local, I took to guiding the others, showed them one of my favorite little recluses where both hard and well protected easy routes can be found and set to work on a project I had briefly tried in 2009. Putting in the draws, it nearly felt impossible and I was soon to write it off practically, since I´v been focusing on endurance routes for the past months, well, a 10 move 7c might had been a tad too much of cross training. Turns out it wasn´t! I dug really deep, got really savage and pulled it on my third go! I was psyched! Tom did it as well after almost flashing it...we then headed to Marientaler Wand, I hopped on Saftfeld, which spat me off on the last hard move four consecutive times and then climbed Sioux, Wounded Knee and Schlaffsack just for fun. Off to our appartment, shower, roasted chicken and fries, shandy...good night!

Sunday brought some rain, some sun, Hans fired his project, I got shit pumped on Saftfeld and felt somewhat tired...so we headed to Schlossbergwand in order to find some easier routes for Vroni. I had a lot of chocolate, got my second wind and managed to dispatch Invading Celts and Dala, two steep burly roofy quality climbs. The latter came as a surprise, as usual it was a little greasy and when my feet cut on my third go...I kinda wrote it off...but: I got them on again, shook out and cruised to the top! Sweet! I won´t go there again though, the crowds at the place make it a drag! Since we had about three hours left and Tom couldn´t remember whether he had been to Planetarium or not, we headed there...turns out I was the only one with psyche still outweighing hunger, so I hopped on a beauty I had climbed in 2005 and my good friend Hans set his camera to work! So far I have received the two given photos, thanks! Both photographs are copyrighted by Johannes Loidl.

I screwed up...maybe that´s a chance!

2011-05-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

So, as posted I screwed up! That means, long story short, that I won´t be able to make it into the job until February. On the one hand that is definately a bummer, since I was planning to get a dog, a car, be freer to move and go places where I want to go but, so be it. I have managed to survive on climbing classes the past years and actually lived an amazing life, so the story may as well continue. I had written of my US trip (something I LONG for) due to job formalities but since these have more or less be postponed (euphemism here) I´m actually focusing on November/December! That leaves me with the opportunity to make as much money as possible, temps in the Valley will be better, Bishop might be climbable, Moab will not be boiling...so many possibilities! I´m seriously psyched on my options!

The reason why I long for this trip so much is pretty simple my love for travelling. I want to go and see as much as possible, experience as much as possible and also just speak English. Well, that´s what I realized yesterday when I ran into a biking couple from Tennessee on their 18th cycling trip through Europe...talking to Sam on this horribly croweded train brought my first serious English conversation in MONTHS and I just liked it very much! For some strange reason, I actually prefer English over German...can´t explain it, it´s a gut feeling but hey, these matter a lot.

Yesterday´s exam in Didactics of German proved to be a test for my ambition and persistence after the big mental blow received last week. Punch taken, still in the fight and winning! I got through the exam pretty smoothly, shrugged off the idiotic comments made by some of my fellow students about Prof. Kiefer being "the worst case scenario in Didactics" and just went in for a relaxed chat. Turns out we both got along well, that is, I came close to an A, as I was told later. They agreed on B+ in the end and I can´t disagree, I made a couple of slight mistakes and personally don´t think that A would have been deserved, so there´s concord on my part. I´m done. That´s it. Studies of German Literature and Linguistics hereby FINISHED!

Now there´s English to come. I don´t worry about them, except maybe for Grammar on Friday this week. I still have a TON to prepare and as soon as I´m finished writing this, I´ll head to the grocery store, get breakfast, make some coffee and get started...all other English exams will be a piece of cake since they´re only about my fields of interest and so I´ll do a little bit of celebrating on Saturday...hopefully I´ll also feel unshackled and finish a project or two...I´m in shape right now but in the end, even though I pride myself of good nerves when it comes to being examined, can´t deny this all gets to me. Not in the way of making me all shaky and completely beat up but in a sense of not feeling free.

Out to go shopping!

2011-05-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

After setting 25 boulders on Friday, I actually managed to get some rock climbing done on Saturday...today was spent setting again...that leaves me with a ton to study tomorrow morning, but I gotta make some money...

Out to go back to "The International"...AWESOME MOVIE!

2011-05-18T02:40:00.000-07:00

Yap, that´s about how I looked last night when I found out that for some reason my calendar was wrong...my psychology exam was scheduled for yesterday, not the 23rd! I don´t know what made me put the 23rd. in, I SERIOUSLY DON`T, but alas, it can´t be mended, that´s what I was told this morning.
Damn...long story short, I wasn´t there...that´s a fail obviously! That means that I´ll have to redo the whole pedagogics/psychology exam in fall, meaning that my nice B grade in pedagogics is worth as much as shit...it also means:
-no US trip this summer! (exams will be in August/September)
-no job start in September...I´ll have to survive on giving climbing classes!

What can I do? Well, all that´s left to me is reason it out, accept it and do well in the remaining English and German exams...gotta show `em what I´m worth. Turn the anger into focus and strenght. What don´t kill you will make you more strong...along those lines...

This is a sad post since it definately puts an end to US summer plans...but hey, I´ll do these exams and then come and visit later the year. Temps will be better, I can stay in the Valley longer and maybe it´s all good the way it is...

Out!

First round done...

2011-05-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

I´m very happy to have completed my first week of oral exams with three straight B´s...2,0 three times! Considering that my fields of interest are still coming up (or as it was the case with textual linguistics, had to balance out my C-grade in historical linguistics) this is pretty sweet! I´ve been getting some climbing as well and considering that I went to Arco, climbed a lot, biked a lot, hiked a lot (aka lived!) instead of just morphing into a total book worm this actually came as a surprise at times...but hey, that´s my approach! In my opinion, exams are knowledge, admitted, but also to a large extend about the right state of mind. Since I´ve learned over the years that I can take in A LOT of information in a very short time, I trust that approach. To make it work though, my mind needs to be calm, ready and focused. In that sense, to some going bouldering a day before an exam might seem verging on the brink of academic suicide, to me it´s preperation. It´s actually pretty rad if you can prep that way...

Textual linguistics/historical linguistics kicked the week off with a good exam about texts as communicative acts, pragmatics, semantics and pretty much what I´m interested in. To my surprise, I got a mail asking for my historical linguistics literature list the morning of the exam...which was the moment I found out I had to at first deliver such a thing and then know pretty much about it as well. Well, let´s say that I made coffee, realized that I had about 4 hours left and started reading! Well, fortunately I was able to get away with semantic change from Medieval German to Present German (luckily my professor´s field of study, so she agreed) and since I´ve always been treading the border of linguistics, communication studies in general and the semantics/pragmatics interface, I knew something...I only had to refresh my memory. Turns out it worked.

Since I won´t ever run into my Medieval German Literature professor again, I´m safe to say that I wasn´t expecting too much after the girl examined before me totally crashed, left the room almost crying and told me that guy was a bastard. I do wholeheartedly agree! I have met a couple of seriously ego inflated narcists way too pleased with themselves but this one topped it all. Not only was the exam lacking a clear structure, he also chose to quote Goethe and others at random just to show how smart he was (at no time related to anything halfway exam relevant), cracked some pretty stupid jokes and was mightly pleased with himself, to a point that made it close to creepy. Anyway, to my surprise, I got another straight B! I guess I owe this to my Salinger thesis, when I was asked if there are prologue like structures in modern literature, I came up with the theory that Salinger´s "The catcher in the rye" actually starts like one...It does. I checked it. He was PLEASED! So was I leaving the room...

To round it of, yesterday`s pedagogics was fun. I liked the topic, the examiner and the whole thing. Went climbing afterwards...added two more sweet projects to my list and climbed well, especially considering that I had had a crappy night with almost no sleep...I hate it when a system moves in, it ruins my sleep!

Out for more exam prep and then some bouldering/climbing! YAY!

2011-05-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

I SERIOIUSLY DIG the facial expressions of owls...speaking of which, hopefully I won´t look like the one above in my pedagogics oral exam tomorrow...
So far my exams have been pretty well (two straight B´s, to be exact in the oral ones, no written grades yet) which is rad, considering that doing a FA before the rain comes can at times interfere with exam prep. but hey, you gotta live it up!

So let´s get this one done and hope for an IMPROVING forecast...

Out!

Arco recap!

2011-04-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

I got back from a weeklong trip to Arco this VERY early morning due to some highway blockages and slowed down traffic. Reports have been of an international search for a murderer from France and Austria´s police did a thorough job of taking their part in it.
Arco was rad overall. There´s always setbacks and downsides, I didn´t get to project as much as I wanted to and thus didn´t send anything really hard but overall: successful trip! We found two new crags without all the negative side effects of Arco being Europe`s sport climbing capital, those being polished routes and an abundance of jerks, idiots and douchebags turning your day at the crag into a testrun of your personal stoicism and persistance.
As a matter of personal taste, I prefer steeper routes with bigger holds and bigger moves! A trip to Arco means a possibility to lay my hands on something I can´t get at home, namely tufas. With a mixed group of climbers it turned out to be tricky, about as tricky as I expected to get as much of steep enduro cragging as possible but as soon as Rob, Sabs, Daniel and Hans had arrived, things took a positive turn. Both new crags we visited turned out to be RAD! Since I wanna go and ride my bike, here´s Arco in stream of consciousness, followed by pics!

Cappucinos, Aperol, tufas and pump, Marco Gelato, idiots with helmets, "the cold is coming from the inside", Ristorante Al Fiume, severed pants, I WANT SKIN, big whippers, russian choirs, "can we get a cleaned appartment?", it´s a MALAMUTE HUSKY!, rest day hiking with my dad, fighting marmots, Italian chicks dig make up way too much, low budget and no shopping, 5.10s Hornet is crap, 5.10s Quantum rules, I need a knee pad, where did sabre tooth tigers go?, onsighting is something I seem to be able to only do on holidays, I need a climbing girl friend!

Rope climbing is on...

2011-04-15T04:31:00.000-07:00

Well, my sinusitis is gone and so is a project that has been on my mind for some time. It still had 6 draws of mine in it, so doing it before embarking on my Arco trip next week was good. I made first steps back to climbing last Thursday and it went surprisingly well. On Saturday the crag was buzzing with people, I was feeling well and after first warm up go I fired it on my second attempt of the day. It felt surprisingly easy and maybe I have found a way of focusing before climbing into crux sequences! No photos yet, but they will be taken! We had a lot of fun at the crag, that´s what matters.

The day after we went to the Zillertal. That´s always good, I would love to go there more often but since I don´t have a car, all I can contribute is persuasion and gas money. I fell in love! Bachhexe is doable! I nearly send Los Lochos second go later that day (which was a good thing, since I dug deep and pulled the first roof part that had felt close to not doable when I hangdogged it) but fell after the dyno with the finishing jug in my hand. The major thing however is that I got on something hard and it clicked right away!

Tomorrow there´ll be a second round and hopefully I can get some photos...

Roots Bloody Roots

2011-04-03T01:10:00.001-07:00

Yesterdays bouldering session was a blast, even though I was battleing an oncoming sinusitis. We got rid of the boulder under the one remaining project at the Sidewinder boulder which is finally workable...good team effort. Daffing that one aside was hard work!
I also repeated Roots Bloody Roots twice for lowdown and photos and Rob go the second ascent. We agree that it probably will settle at soft V7...but we´ll see. We´re both tall and the smaller guys had no dice on the shoulder move...

Out to cure my sinusitis!

Earthquakes and climbing...

2011-03-31T22:45:00.001-07:00

These days, it seems as if writing about anything supposedly as trivial as climbing rocks is rendered cynical (at least as long as it´s seen as what matters and spins a personal universe), the wake of Japan´s recent earthquake (wait, there was an earthquake in the first place) and its aftermath of nuclear disaster should trouble everybody. Especially the latter should also give rise to a lot of questions, both relatively practical (do we want to rely on nuclear power) and rather abstract and philosophical (what do we live for, is emphathy really felt or rather a substitute for primary concern about oneself´s well being and health).
Living in Germany, I´m as far away from the whole disaster as I can be. Still, even though I´m in a safe spot right now, that doesn´t mean I´m not affected. I have friends in America that will be reached by any radiation sooner than I will. My thoughts are with them. Probably the ammount they´ll get won´t do much harm. I hope and we´ll see. It´s no longer a question we as humankind can address, we can (actually the brave workers can) only mend the consequences and desperately try to minimize (the word in itself is a euphemism in here) the impact. Action is gone and has been replaced by reaction. If action is entirely gone and reaction all that remains, do we live though?

Personally I don´t think so. And there climbing comes in. Or slacklining. Or playing the guitar. While it seems strange, selfish and ignorant to me that I worry about my project being wet from the rain, these days I don´t just do it because I am in project mode. I also do it because I cherish every moment at the crag and at the boulders these days because it allows me to live in the moment, have a time of not being at least subconsciously worried.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to have such a day in near perfection. In the early morning I went to Aschau with a friend of mine and checked out some new boulders...I did a couple of easy FAs in the V0 to V3 range and found, cleaned and to my surprise did a heinous deadpoint V7. After that I decided I wasn´t tired, hiked up to the Big Rocks after having my early afternoon coffee and fired of the FA of the project I had been cleaning the past two weeks.

"I say we're growing every day
Getting stronger in every way
I'll take you to a place where we shall find our
Roots bloody roots
Roots bloody roots
Roots bloody roots
Roots bloody roots
Rain bring me the strength to get to another day
And all I want to see
Set us free
Why can't you see?
Can't you feel this is real?
I pray we don't need to change our ways to be saved
That all we wanna be"

I called the problem Roots Bloody Roots. Both on account of that I like the song and the lyrics and that it actually took me to my roots. It´s freaking high, I had only one pad and if I had fallen I would have been seriously hurt. I dug deep and did it. Lived in this moment. Topped it out and realized that despite all that´s going on in this world, climbing is my way to live it, with all its beauty and grace, despair and sorrow.

If you climb, climb! If you slackline, slackline. If you´re fortunate enough to be able to do what you want and what makes you happy, do it but at times reflect and be gracious. Don´t take things for granted...or to close with Max Cavelara...

"I pray we don´t need to change our ways to be saved"

Zellerwand

2011-03-26T23:33:00.000-07:00

Just a little update: yesterday brought some nice cragging! Just check above photo of Daniel warming up in the sun and you´ll know! I´m getting in shape (finally) and managed to dispatch some unfinished business I hadn´t tried since coming close last August with Mer belaying me...oh American rock climbing girls...but back to the point: Mad Muff was rebolted by Hub so that the line now climbs the slightly overhanging slab instead of the arete...Hub told me that people used to chicken out into the neighboring warm up dihedral, so he chose to rebolt. The outcome was Mad Muff and that´s a pretty tricky and crimpy/pinchy thing with the crux far up on a small tufa pinch...yes, there is a tufa at Zellerwand...from that tufa it´s a long move to a good pocket, the point where you may start celebrating if you´re sure you´re not gonna blow the mantle at the top...I didn´t!

My mind seems positive again and I seem to have found some balance between send psyche and send pressure.

Out!

Written Finals are Over!

2011-03-14T02:30:00.000-07:00

Finally last Thursday, my written finals came to their end with English linguistics...After spending the night in a funny smelling, left aside that, clean hotel/pension in downtown Munich due to railway union strikes I was feeling as low as I could and generally not psyched for any more written exams at all...fortunately psyche came back after some coffee and a nice topic, on which I fared really well (that´s what it felt like, at least). I have to admit, if No. 5 hadn´t been in the examination papers, I might as well have quit that exam right away...of course I wouldn´t have in the end but it would have been some tedious and desperate figuring out hoping for a pass grade if textual linguistics hadn´t been in...but hey, gotta be lucky at times!

In general I have been quite lucky in all my written finals and I´m grateful for that, since I wasn´t made to pay for my rather relaxed lifestyle in the past two years (which I of course greatly enjoyed...) Considering that I started the whole period of finals very blue after my recent relationship break up this turned out better than I had and could have anticipated...

I`m free now! The past weekend brought two days of craggin and things have finally taken a turn into the right direction...I FINALLY sent Super Grass (5.12c/d), a bouldery little bastard of a route I should have done last fall but didn´t as I still haven´t learned to stop putting send pressure on myself as soon as I realize that a climb is within reach...it´s what keeps me from doing a lot of climbs A LOT faster and it will be interesting to see if I can come to a more relaxed state of mind now that the education chapter in my life is largely over...
Yesterday we changed style and went to Zellerwand, where there has been a MAJOR bolting frenzy going on now that the headwall has been tapped! So far there have been about 8 or 9 new routes bolted and they are all pretty sick, enduro things...overhanging and pumpy! The feeling of relief continued and I got really close on another 5.12c, something I wasn´t expecting to happen so fast...it seems as if I´m shifting into gear!

Photos and vids will come soon...Hans shot some footage of the burn prior to my send go of Super Grass and I guess there will be some photos as well soon, especially since I´ll check out some newly discovered boulders tomorrow!

Spring is coming. It´s gonna be an amazing summer, since I saw a yellow butterfly on Saturday morning. It was the first one I saw, so that seals that deal! I´m a firm believer in an old Swedish saying, going as follows: if the first butterfly you see in spring is yellow, it´s gonna be an extraordinary and rad summer...if it´s white...well, be prepared for an average summer...

Out!

Highest of Highs, Lowest of Lows...

2011-02-25T01:49:00.000-08:00

Well, the past weeks since my last post have for sure been a whirlwind...Anna and I ended our relationship, something I am slowly coming over in terms of accepting it, even though I personally still think and will continue to do so that we would have been able to bridge the gaps and build upon our shared interests but...in the end, relationships can only last if both partners are convinced that there´s a basis. What am I to do, you can´t force realization upon someone else, which leaves you with accepting as the only possible option. I really regret this and will for some time, but then, life goes on and so does love, hopefully! It was however good to have things settled fast and in time for my exams, since it took a couple of blue days to get my head round to preparing again after our break up conversation.

So far, the exams have been going amazingly well, pedagogics of schooling went pretty damn smooth and German literature was a piece of cake...I wish this would go for German linguistics as well, but hey, you can´t have everything. Overall, things have been good and I´m grateful for that.

I have been quite psyched on skiing the past days, with all my German written finals done and English to come next week, I took some time off, quit preparing for a couple of days and went skiing...good decision! I had a BLAST! Hopefully the forecast holds its promises and some snow is on its way...can´t wait for Tuesday, just got shots at the doc this morning and thus am out of the game until Monday!

Next week will bring my first English finals and then, in due aftermath, hopefully some Frankenjura cragging!

On a sidenote, I was just struck with how small problems such as exams or grades in exams are on a global scale. It is good and actually at times needed to be reminded of this, the Middle East´s recent revolutions and upheavals, culminating in Lybia´s current apocalypse should be a reminder that even though we all face problems each day, we´re still blessed compared to others. Even though my complains about delayed trains and bad weather might seem justified at first glance, it`s, again, at times a lesson in obtaining a proper perspective to not only superficially bear in mind but to actually reflect on how fortunate we are compared to the ones slain, imprisoned, humiliated and tortured in other parts of the world.

Out!

Recent realizations...

2011-02-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we went cragging...not the smartest idea considering it was about -8° celsius and generally foggy and damp but we had high hopes, fueled by a forecast that had sunny somewhere in it. It turned out Zellerwand was not that sunny, in other words foggy as some Conan Doylian marsh, so we decided to make the move to Klobenstein...we hiked up in about a solid foot of snow, got wet, made a fire (man day, yay!, it´s my fire! cave men reminiscence all over) and then actually climbed...that was a day...I for my part climbed two routes...and felt pretty damn done after...the cold is however finally gone and it´s onwards and upwards from this point!

Other important things recently (re-)realized:

-cats are selfish and in the end ruthless bastards! I hereby vow to remain, forever, a dog person!
-gym climbing sucks (except for Bridges!) but is the way to stay in shape...
-food plays an important part when it comes to peoples´ mood!
-I want some good outdoor bouldering with my lil bro asap!

Out!

2011-01-25T02:44:00.000-08:00

Well, besides Heidi, the cross-eyed opossum, not much has happened since that last post that can actually be summarized as entirely positive! Right after my last post, my girl got ill...like I-got-the-flu-ill and we didn´t see each other for a week. Stupid thing, especially with the weather being nice and all. I however got to go to Berchtesgaden for some bouldering which was mainly fun because of the crew involved and not so much due to amazing problems...we got to climb. Case closed. It´s not worth the distance. Sent a V 4, worked a V 7ish travese and a V 9ish roof and found out that after a winter of padded gym bouldering I have to get my head round to falling on pads again...

As soon as my girl had recovered, we saw each other once, contemplated a Zillertal bouldering trip for about 2 hours until Anna all of a sudden panicked thinking of some tests at school comin´ up. Trip canceled, girlfriend departs direction home, desk and books...I departed direction Zellerwand for some sunny cragging! The day turned out to be my last day of climbing for a bit since the following Wednesday, after getting finally enrolled for all of my exams, oral and written, the flu obviously thought it was time to deal a blow of divine justice to me (who had always thought it witty to remark "Oink, Oink" on friends´ fb statuses complaining about being down with pig influnenza).

Saw my doc yesterday! He says I´m about to be cured...that´s what I feel like to, it´s nice to have my feelings and professional judgement conforming with each other...

Winter has returned in full effect with about a foot of snow dump since yesterday morning and the weekened will either bring skiing, climbing or both.

2011, here we go!

2011-01-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

Not much has happened on the blogging front as of late...I´m busy wrapping up my studies, climb and train as much as possible so that I´ll be in shape on time for my Cali trip in July and, yes, there is finally a girl;) Yes, I´m no longer single! Anna is a sweet person, full of energy and a little bit of a tease which makes her, um, well, amazing! She hikes, climbs and snowboards! I´m very happy!
Sounds as if I´m living the good life right now...which is true...I do! Now there´s a catch with nearly everything in this world, in my case that´s obviously the enormous ammount of reading I´ll have to cope with. I should have read more, actually a lot more up to Christmas but somehow I need a deadline being threateningly close to shift into high gear. Well, we´ll see...the deadline definately is threateningly close now...
Something I have recently been super psyched about is the fact that my bro redid our old woody back at home...more moves, more pump, more power! It seems as if my woody clean up and decoration job did provide a much needed motivation boost! I took some old posters of him crushing and decorated the walls with them to remind him of his past glory...it seems as if it did the trick.
I spent Christmas at home, ate tons of amazing food, didn´t put on much, skied with my dad who then came to visit and had a lot of fun!
2010 ended promising and actually turned out a wholly positive year. Hopefully 2011 will continue along those lines...hopefully a warm system is gonna move through on Saturday, making some outdoor climbing possible...we got Anna new climbing shoes and those need a proper real rock break in session!
Take care,
Peace

Gorges du Tarn 2010

2010-09-14T04:27:00.001-07:00

Birthday Poem

2010-08-26T01:41:00.000-07:00

Vow to
rise above ignorance
actually think
think thrice before casting the first stone
rather try not to at all
make that effort
accept what you cannot change
but try to change everything else
for the better
cause contention with the status quo
just mysthifies the errors of our ways
speak up
even when you think it will go unheard
someone might be listening
and be relieved
not to be wandering alone
don´t get the impression
that life´s a chore
cause the essence of that grows your life
stale
and stale it is not
as you might know
as you might realize
if you open your eyes
to see
unbiased

It´s been a long time...

2010-08-20T00:35:00.000-07:00

Well, sometimes things in life are making it hard to catch up with...I have thesis work to do, have enrolled for my finals, have been getting in shape lately and met tons of amazing people in the past months...it´s a shame that the person I like most is leaving in about two weeks but that´s how life is...Nothing to do about it...Mer, I´ll come and visit you next year, and damn, shit will be going down!
Why is it that American rock climbing girls are just totally badass (not afraid to take huge whippers, not afraid to lead, not bitchy about thunderstorms surprising you at the crag, not whining all the time about bolts being spaced...list goes on!) whilst that speciwoman is so hard to come by in here? If somebody feels like answering, hit me up! So after getting to know Mer I took her places (her au-pair family should have done that instead of treating her like a personal servant but that´s another story) and I hope I managed to show her a little bit of Europe! Arco, Zillertal, Franconia, Schleierwasserfall...the list of places we went reads like a sponsored climber´s travel map! About damn right! Gotta live it up!
Anyway, in the end I would rather take her on more trips, show her more places and spend more time with her...but I guess you get the point...there´s nothing I can do.

It´s been a while...

2010-05-29T01:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it´s been some time since my last post! I´ve been busy working on my thesis and since I took a turn into a more cultural science direction, my professor felt the need to call me off. Well, that´s how it goes. I have since started to reread my material keeping linguistics a little bit more in mind and things should be on the right track by now, considering that I have a whole week off next week. The weather is shit nasty right now and the forecast not exactly promising, so I should start writing the whole thing by the end of next week at the latest!

Last weekend I spent with my family and got things done! It was a tremendously fun weekened! After an epic train ride I arrived home!
I spent my time climbing and freeriding! On Saturday I took my brother`s big mountain freeride bike for a ride and developed an addiction. I biked everyday, the whole thing peaking with my first visit to the northshore trails and ramps the guys built somewhere in the woods. Without knowing I just speed after my lil bro and all of a sudden I was facing a 5 feet drop! No time to get scared, going at 30 miles per hour! Managed the first two jumps and crashed at the third (confidence or ignorance had disappeared by that!) Didn´t do anything serious to my body though! Psyched!
Rode back with my lil bro and had a pretty awesome time!
The day after we went bouldering at the same spot that I had been to two days prior. Glees is slowly turning into one of my favorites! We had a rad day bouldering and went home all satisfied and a little shook up...the latter because I felt tempted to try a serious highball and took two pretty gnarly falls!

Today we´ll try to get the better of the weather and climb outside, even if last night was a constant downpour of rain! We´ll see!

Rope climbing season is on!

2010-05-13T01:57:00.001-07:00

New Proj...

2010-04-18T11:29:00.001-07:00

My new sweet compression project...very happy to have found something hard close to my home...

Some thoughts regarding coaching!

2010-03-28T23:54:00.000-07:00

Just read on 8a. nu that an 8 year old kid from New York has done V10 (and did a V11 last year). Now I´m an active part of introducing kids to climbing myself, being a coach for teen teams. As long as kids tend to be of average talent, there are no problems. Just let them play on some easy boulder problems, have them experience the thrill of going for their first lead climb on some steep 5c/5.9, routes that are set in gyms everywhere for that exact purpose and everything is fine.
There is an abundance of positive effects climbing has on a kid´s body. There is core tension excercise as well as cognitive training, there is psychological challenge and mental training in the process of tackling seemingly impossible obstacles.
As soon as the kids are stronger, however, things get trickier however. From my point of view, as a coach you´re responsible for what happens in your training...and it´s aftermath. Climbing gyms have made it possible to reach a level of skill that was and couldn´t be reached (at least that fast) some ten years ago. With training facilities rapidly improving and changing, questions have come up that were not to be addressed ten years ago to the same extend. Kids´ bodies are much more suited for climbing that adults´. Their motoric skills are generally better and they will learn faster.
The point making it difficult however is their still developing skeletal apparatus. The most important point are kids´ joints. Their fingers and the whole skeletal apparatus are still growing, that is moving and morphing. Something still moving and thus still flexible inevitably lacks the stability of the finished "product" and is therefore more vulnerable.
As a coach, I not only have to consider how to prevent immediate injuries like sprains or concussions/distorsions, but I also have to weigh talented kids´ ambitions to get better and their physical limitations. It does not make sense to keep them from everything. There is no physical excercise without strain. The key is to keep the strain manageable. There are some basic rules you must adhere in my opinion. No crimping, no campusing (at least no campus board), increase difficulty by angle rather than hold size...the most important thing however is to teach kids to listen to their bodies. I firmly believe that injuries don´t come out of nothing. There will be signs like slight pains. Kids need to be told to communicate that to their coach. Training can only be managed and monitored by feedback.
Coming back to this little Ashima kid from New York...does sending V10 at that age have be harmful. Not necessarily. It depends on her style of climbing, on her physical disposition, on her genetic disposition.
What I am skeptical to is publishing news like this. This will make ambitioned kids train harder and with less regard to their bodies feedback. It will also make ambitioned parents (beware of those!) disregard their kids well being. I often see parents training their kids in complete ignorance, something that often involves psychological pressure talk. I believe that as soon as kids are forced to climb something is wrong. Sponsors and media attention take away a kid´s freedom of choice.
This shouldn´t be.

Back home...

2010-03-09T05:14:00.001-08:00

I spent the weekend at "home" in Rhineland Palatine, visiting my family and being there for my dad´s birthday. It was fun! My bros girlfriend Maria from Denmark moved into our house a couple of days ago do get her master´s degree in nuclear medicine in Germany (and to be with my bro) and I gotta say I´m really happy for my brother. Maria is a sweet person and I have seldom seen my brother happier than in the past two years...good for him! I was really psyched to see my dog after his big surgery and was relieved to see him happy and in shape again. Lot´s of walking! In order to remind everybody that it still is winter, the snow came back (1 foot of snow) over night from Friday to Saturday...that meant snow shoveling. I love snow shoveling. I always used to do it when I still lived at the place and it was fun and a bit of reminiscing as well to do it again. Hobos was of course super stoked on the weather, being a mini sized polar bear, he really likes snow!
My dad`s birthday started with me getting rolls the ecologically correct way (that is walking to the village, gosh, I love walking in crisp, clean air) and proceeded with a most amazing dinner cheffed up by my brother. Didn´t like the entree too much but the main dish and the dessert were extraordinary!
I didn´t climb much. Snow and a very low psyche on gym climbing made me take Hobos for a lot of walks which I would have done anyway but prevented any other extraordinary achievements. So I gained quite some weight...
On a side note, I also came to a decision regarding my plans for this year...Ticino over Easter, Gorges du Tarn in the beginning of September and then US...the exact Gorges du Tarn date is a little dependent on the road closure date of Tioga Pass (don´t wanna drive Sonora again) but that´s the plan. Sounds like a jolly good time (and well deserved) after finishing my thesis and psychology exams!
Here are some shots!

2010-03-02T22:25:00.000-08:00

Hobos is healthy! Yay!

Sharma lecture aftermath

2010-02-20T01:48:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess among other things the main reason why you attend a professional climber´s slideshow is that you want to be inspired in some way. Maybe you want to get back in the game and just need a push, maybe you want to refocus, maybe you just want to see nice pictures and maybe, even though that seems a little bit stalker to me, you just want to be in the same room with the person. Due to the fact that I´m straight, the final option is out of commission in my case, at least as long as the slideshow is done by Chris Sharma (who didn´t bring his girlfriend). That leaves inspiration.

Well, I have to say that I´m very psyched on route climbing again after last night. I have also come to terms with 2008, a year I considered largely wasted in terms of climbing.

I was, and there´s not going to be any sugarcoating in this case, just plain overweight in 2008. Not on a general basis but as a climber. But I just wasn´t as psyched on climbing then as I am now. I had put up tons of problems in 2007 and felt drained. I just wanted some chocolate cake! I needed some time to refocus and actually learned a lot more about myself as a climber and about climbing itself that year. Sometimes, failure will teach you better lessons than a win might have, regardless of its size. I finally got my coaching license, refocused and came back psyched for 2009. 2009 brought the Valley, Bishop and the US. Psyche back on, more than ever before. I have grown as a person. For the first time in my life, I think that I have a clear picture of what I want to do this year...not only in terms of climbing.

Psyche is high on routes after last night. I still predominately boulder and train very little endurance. Bouldering always has been playful for me. Route climbing is training. Still, train I will. Route climb I will. It´s not that I´m actually starting to train according to a plan. I don´t want my climbing to be training. If climbing a lot correlates with training, well, that´s the way it is and I like that.
My focus this year is going to be route climbing. Gorges du Tarn, here I come! I have a project and after listening to Sharma talking about bolting I really want to bolt this year! I have been focusing on first ascents of boulder problems for some time...the process of doing first ascents is beyond doubt the most rad thing about climbing. Especially Chris´s Spain pictures got me really psyched on finding some rock and bolt it! There is an abundance of gritty, no-good-to-climb-on rock around, there needs to be some rock that deserves to be cleaned and bolted. Steinplatte is high on my list. A couple of years ago, me and Shorty bolted a pretty visionary line and then forgot about it. I´ll return as soon as the snow has melted!

The show bringing these realizations to the surface obviously made it a success! I guess that some people in the audience were a little disappointed, Chris Sharma is a shy guy and way behind the pros of self marketing like Alex Huber in terms of slide show management and plot scheming. You can almost sense that he still feels a little
awkward speaking in front of a 400 people crowd eying him with admiring eyes. But that´s just what he is. He´s a human being after all. If you listened carefully to what he had to say, there was so much to learn or to agree with.

Queued up like the rest of the bunch. Had my beanie signed. There´s just things you´re supposed to do, if you attend the world´s best climbers slide show...

Out to cure my sinusitis. Weather forecast for tomorrow doesn´t look as good as it looked yesterday any more, still there is hope.

Take care everybody!

Family visit and skiing!

2010-02-19T03:34:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, my family, that is, a part of, came to see me and join me in some rad skiing. Loads of fun! My dad and my bro Shorty camped out at my flat for a couple of days and the action was on. We went to Fieberbrunn

www.schneedorado.at

for the first day, just to find out there was a Big Mountain contest going on. Sweet watching the pros do their thing!
We finally found a way into the couloirs, meaning that we have entered a whole new level in Fieberbrunn Big Mountain riding! So many powdery possibilities!
I can still ski! After almost two years of not skiing due to that heinous knee injury I contracted last year, things were pretty dope! I don´t have any stamina and my thighs are on fire after skiing for some 200 metres without taking a break (especially in powder, I last longer on track;) but it was some sick fun! Pics are to come, as soon as I´ve been mailed them.
Sunday wasn´t as good but still very nice. I just like Fieberbrunn a lot better than Steinplatte.
Totally done, Shorty and me headed to the gym to get some climbing on Monday. He crushes! Can´t wait for this spring, there´s gonna be some Frankenjura cragging and that´s gonna be amazing!
Sharma slideshow tonight! I´m very psyched to be able to see this lecture and I have been looking forward to it for days. Chris Sharma is the most influential and visionary sport climber right now (in my understanding) and I´m hoping that tonight is gonna be inspirational. My sinusitis is a lot better today, with enough hydration and some hot lime juice, things might get better right on time for the weekend.
Inspired by my friend Em, who is going to hike the Appalachian Trail this spring/summer I have also been thinking about crossing the Alps hiking the past days. It´s something my dad has been dreaming of for quite some time, so I might break this proposal to him and see how he takes it...

Out!

No US and possibilities...

2010-02-12T09:05:00.001-08:00

There will be no US trip...that is, I postponed the trip. The reason is pretty obvious, still it shall remain a matter not made public. Decency is forbidding this, at least following my standards. In the end I asked my good friend Emily for advice and took it. Even though I was incredibly psyched to see her (she is an amazing and inspiring person, if only there were more like her) and her dog Belle, which I love as much as my own dog, it just didn´t make sense.
She will go on a hike of the Appalachian Trail and after checking out some pics, I gotta say, damn, that´s gonna be an amazing hike! Psyched for you Em!

I was also looking forward to seeing Damian and Jeffie (as much as I was looking forward to seeing Em) but things were not meant to be. Right now I have postponed the stay until Sept/Oct, that´s after my exams are over (partly), so this will be some reward for all the chores I´ll have to go through. I guess it will also be something that will cheer me up when I´m fed up with reading through developmental psychology books! I´m planning a roadtrip! Favorite kind of holiday, San Fran to Yosemite to Bishop to RMNP/Mt Evans to Boulder/Co and Amtrak back to San Fran...sounds good, heh?

Not going to the US, I´m already busy planning where to go this spring. Right now, things are looking Ticino, the Swiss/Italian boulder mecca of riverbed bouldering, sun and slopey problems on bomber granite...if the Lowell brothers, Dave Graham and Co go there on a regular basis, things can´t be bad:)

This weekend is gonna bring skiing! First time skiing after nearly two years of break, last year I couldn´t ski at all due to a knee injury inflicted during belaying...tomorrow morning I´ll find out if I can still ski...

Pics to come...

US zoom in...

2010-01-19T05:15:00.000-08:00

I`m making lots and lots of money right now! Thanks to the ongoing sportclimbing boom in Germany (something I have very mixed feelings to) I get to do loads of courses, which of course means that I´ll get a massive paycheck at the end of January! That being, I´ll buy my ticket at the beginning of February...second Cali trip March/April! Can´t believe how psyched I am! There is gonna be loads of fun! I´m gonna see Jeffie, Damian, Emily, Belle and all the great people that made my first stay such a fun time. I can only hope that they will come to Germany sometime, so that I can show them my areas, my place and give back some hospitality. Emily is gonna go on a slackline trip in July/August, something that I really look forward to!
I gotta admit, I´m already plotting and pondering places to show her during her time in Germany. Fortunately I´ll have wheels by then, so I can drive places! That so boosts my possibilities! Northern Italy, Lago di Garda, Verona...all´s within reach...tufa climbing, pasta...ME GUSTA!

Tonight bouldering with Stephan, Phil, Rob, Mascht...damn! Why are there NO/ZERO/NADA/ZIP cute climber girls in Germany??? I´m confused...

The more things change...

2010-01-04T03:50:00.000-08:00

Well, right now I´m just tired, bored and uninspired. My last post, very upbeat and positive. Well, things took a nasty turn over Christmas. Someone broke his foot during a lead climbing class I was giving on the 26th and 27th! That was a blow. I know that this can happen all the time, I know. It has never happened to me before though, so dealing with this has kept my mind whirling around the past days. Since stress is no good for your immune system, I´m also still battleing that heinous cold/full blown sinusitis that I contracted about three weeks ago. This of course meant: no sking with my dad, no climbing since Dec. the 20th and also no bouldering with my bros right now. All I can do is sit around in our living room, gulp down mega ammounts of water and hope for my medication to seriously kick in.

The lead climbing class accident fortunately went pretty smoothly in its aftermath, so far there hasn´t been a fight with insurance companies, maybe because both S. and his wife E. are incredibly nice and cool about the whole accident and didn´t put a single bit of blame on me... but who know´s what is to come. I have always been a rather worried person, so my tendency is to fear for the worse, which is stupid, I know, but I wish some of my Buddhist calmness would stay in moments when it´s actually needed.

Being at home is fun, admitted, but all I wish for right now is this freaking cold to pass, I so need to climb again. It´s the only thing that takes my mind of whatever is troubling me, so not being able to focus all my frustration on some boulders and therefore channeling the energy into something positive is freaking me out.

Off to the vet with the dog and the cat...rabis shot´s are due...

Out...hopefully my next post will be positive again!

Pictures of 2009

2009-12-24T09:24:00.000-08:00

Well, it´s hard. There are sooo many...but I´ll try...2009´s finest and most meaningful to me...

Restrospective: 2009

2009-12-24T08:53:00.000-08:00

Well, seems like another year is coming closer to its end. I have to say that it has turned to be an amazing year on the whole, especially the second half of the year with my Intercultural Proj. stay in San Francisco was just rad. I remember sitting in front of my laptop about 355 days ago, super annoyed because a Zillertal trip had just been cancelled and I had been looking forward to it. I remember writing that this was hopefully not the direction things were intending to take and for a while, it seemed as if they wanted to. My original plan of visiting San Francisco at the end of February came to an abrupt end when I found out that I wouldn´t get a work permit and would have to finance the whole trip on my own. I fell ill with my seasonal cold that persistently stayed for over 4 weeks and when I finally managed to get outside again, climbing for some reason wouldn´t click as much as I would have liked it to be.

Some day in early April, I managed to send a boulder problem at Saalachtal, which really felt good...and at the same time didn´t. My elbow was in pain. I had developed a severe tendonitis as a result of intensive campus boarding over the past months and had foolishly ignored the pains. Not to speak of the fact that I never streched. I guess I was meant to be taught a lesson by my body, had to quit climbing again and underwent some serious treatment involving dicolfenac injections, electro magnetic therapy and pysiotherapeutic streching excerices. After a seemingly endless time, I was able to climb again and the elbow started to give me less and less pain. I was fortunate enough to be able to play truant at university and went to Frankenjura, still the best place to climb in Germany, with my friend Verena. We had a fun time, despite slight irritations about my climbing holiday expectancies being different for her´s and I also got to climb with my brother for some time, which was really cool. It was a much needed break, considering that university wasn´t fun at all, my English didactics teacher seriously had no social skills whatsovever (we all hated her guts) and the rest wasn´t too much fun either.

I was just counting down the days for my rescheduled US visit, went through the weekly routine relatively uninspired and wrapped things up handing in my paper for didactics, being annoyed with Rosenheim´s Open Bouldering Comp (tons of kids cheated their way past my teen teamers and weren´t punished at all, on the contrary, the ripped the goodies) and the miserable weather than still had me waiting for my first day of outdoor swimming by the middle of July.

Well, the rest was a tale of sound and fury! Hopped on a plane, met the nicest people I have ever met...Damian and Jeffie...it´s amazing how life goes. You have had just another avarage year, meeting uninspiring people, going through the daily chores of paying the bills and trying to keep your account halfway balanced...and then you step out of the plane...Thanks is such an inadequate word!

My time in San Francisco really felt like a much deserved holiday. I travelled and climbed, my elbow stopped hurting completely, I slowly got back in shape, saw bears and sea lions, a Great White Shark, went diving and hiked the beautiful Sierra. I met Emily, Brian and Belle, Austin, Wes, Betty, Chris, Ben, Annie, Jeffie´s amazing parents and all of a sudden I knew this was gonna be a good rest of the year.

When I left and came home, I found everything had changed for the better! My lil bro was and is psyched on bouldering and climbing again and has eyed another 5.14b project...so much for that!My relationship with my landlord that was shit nasty especially the beginning of the year has changed much for the better, people are beginning to climb the boulders I put up next to my village and finally, something is happening.

I can´t wait for what next year brings. I don´t know. But, quoting one of my favorite quotes,

" whatever tomorrow brings, I´ll be there, with open arms and open eyes".

BRCM have a guide!

2009-12-22T11:05:00.000-08:00

The Big Rock Candy Mountains have a guide! My buddy Johannes took on the challenge and produced a topo, completely with pics, description and everything. That´s pretty awesome, especially since more people seem to be psyched to repeat stuff up there. Now that I also boulder on a regular basis at the local gym and can do some promotion, prolly more people will go there. Maybe cleaning all the boulders wasn´t futile after all.

A BCRM video is coming up. As soon as conditions improve (both outdoor and my cold), I´ll start climbing the problems again for the camera. I wanna have something like a video guide to the area...

I´ll try and find out how I can have the topo as downloadable content, as soon as possible it will be posted here.

I am officially debriefed and now able to analyze my US days in an enlighted manner...

2009-12-16T13:37:00.000-08:00

Today I went to Munich to take part in the Intercultural Project Debriefing Workshop (that´s four capitalized words, making it sound important!) which turned out to be a complete and thorough waste of time. We sat down in groups, that is a North America group, an Oz group and a Brit group and discussed our remarkable findings aka the realization that alcohol is harder to get pretty much anywhere else than in Germany. So much for pseudo sophistication and university intelligence...

Next I ran into some argument with our British counselor when I was foolish enough to remark that I had met quite a number of tools when I was in London. I am a shortsighted guy that has a lot to learn in terms of intercultural competence and must never ever try and judge people to fast. Excuse me, I am entiteled to an opinion...and the Brits I met were a nuisance. They are, actually. Running into Spanish climbers is fun...slightly dangerous because they always offer you weed which I´m not a fan of but fun nevertheless...but Brits? Scots are different, those are fun, they have amazing whiskey but Londoners? Let´s agree to disagree Mrs. Woodman!

After that IPDW proved an epic fail (shouts Austin!) I hastened to the station to catch my train back home. Tried to get some nutella crepe on the run and couldn´t get it! Only brats and gluhwine! Damn you, Munich Christmas Market!

Tomorrow will hopefully be better! To make things worse, my commuter`s pass had expired a couple of days ago, so the whole trip cost me 20 Euros for train rides...

20 Euros can also buy you:

-2 pizzas (premium quality + one drink per pizza)

-5 deluxe caramel shot lattes (large)

-12 yummy apple danishs

-4 movies at the local cinema if you only go on tuesdays

-about two kilos of chocolate (good quality!)

-one fifth of a pair of 5.10 Dragons

The list goes on!

Out!

Finally pics...

2009-11-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

Back again...

2009-11-22T10:49:00.000-08:00

After some time of cold related break, I´m back to climbing. I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow a car this morning, so I decided I´ld give bouldering at Berchtesgaden a try. I was impressed coming there, good landings, nice and sunny, warmed up, everything perfect and then...

Fucker! I was falling of some arete problem not sticking a dead point move and that got him in high gear. He turned out to be a 8A+ bouldering bastard pretty soon, strong (gotta admit that) but socially helplessly inapt as he started to lecture me on how to climb the problem.

First of all, I like to figure my problems out by myself. Beta is acceped when it comes from friends or generally nice people (of which I met tons in the US!) but he belonged to neither of those catergories. Shut it! Another example of localism gone bad. I did the problem. Did some training on the other problems but didn´t send anything else.

What could have been an amazing day turned out to be like a day at the gym...not psyched!

I´ll be back to Bishop in March...can´t wait.

Pics in a couple minutes

Psyche at an all time high!!!

2009-09-26T22:15:00.000-07:00

I´M SO PSYCHED! My shark watching adventure at the Farallons will be tomorrow in the morning, hopefully there will be tons of sharks around! I paid 875 dollars for that, so there better be SOME!

I spent my last dollars on my pasta ingredients today, I´m gonna chef up some pasta for Brian, Emiliy, Jeffie and Damian...and Belle, if she is allowed to have some as well:)

I so don´t wanna leave. San Francisco is the most beautiful city in the world. Bridges Rock Gym is THE GYM! I wish there would be so many nice people around in Rosenheim...Hopefully I´ll see sharks tomorrow, go out bouldering with Austin and the crew on Monday and make these final days a blast...

I´ll arrive in Munich without a cent in my pocket. All my savings are gone. It was a fun ride...and DAMN was is worth it...

Out. Won`t be able to sleep. Great White Sharks, I´m calling you. Be at the Farallons tomorrow. We have a meeting. I wanna look into your big black eyes and realize a little more how beautiful the world is.

Out.

Back to SanFran II

2009-09-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

I`m back in San Fran again, just to let you know...pics of the second trip to Bishop and the Valley will soon be updated.

In the meantime I`ll enjoy the remaining weeks in San Fran, even though I can slowly count down the days, I`ld love to stay longer...

Valley Update

2009-09-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

So here`s a short update on what I did since my last post. A lot of amazing things...of course I have gone back to working on my projects and I`m looking good...I think...I got to do some nice easier stuff as well, but most of the time I`m just working the stuff I left unfinished on my first trip. Today was different though, went to Candyland today with Brian and Sandra and finally got to session The Diamond...I quickly managed to do the moves and linked it to the upper sloper crux that neither Brian or me were having balls enough to seriously try...kinda scary landing! Really good problem though, I got some nice pics!

Restdaywise, I finally hitchhiked to Mariposa Grove and got to see some really BIG Sequoias...those trees are so big, I was just staring at the Grizzly Giant, the second largest living thing on this planet for 30 minutes...IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL and TALL and AWESOME and...

It`s a funny and sad thing that some dumb ass Japanese fucker, seeing a picture of the trees in the Gift Shop actually turned to his equally dumbfuck girlfriend and said..

"I seriously thought they were bigger, they are not that big, let`s get outta here"

How does that saying go? The eyes can only see what the soul can comprehend? Something like that?
Now that guy isn`t even capable of...I don`t know what...single celled animals probably have more brains...

I`m also the last man standing at my swimming spot, now that the nights are getting cold, the river cools down probably a degree per day, so all the douchebags have chickened out...good, there is silence, so I can finally take a nap on my pad after swimming.

There won`t be posts until Monday, cause the library closes over the weekend...

Out, take care!

Back in the Valley...

2009-09-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

I`m back in the Valley...wasn`t he planning to spend like two weeks in Bishop, a lot of you might ask? I was...but I just couldn`t.
Let`s begin: Bishop is beyond doubt one of the most amazing spots in the world, both in terms of climbing and scenery. I got there after an epic eight hour drive since Tioga Pass was closed due to the fires around and pitched my tent in total darkness. I loved the place when I woke up the next morning. The climbing is phenomenal! I just got on everything that looked cool and doable with one pad. I relatively quickly realized though, that I wouldn`t be able to try any classic without having more pads...Bishop is so fucking highball...

So why did I leave? Bishop is also one of the most lonely places I have ever been. I didn`t get to talk to people...and the solitude was getting me. I thought it might just be a fit, but the second day turned out to be like the first and then I decided to leave...I don`t mind travelling alone as long as there are people around that I can share moments with...in Bishop however, there were only cactuses, boulders and the ever present high plains wind. Not to forget the blazing sun. I wanna come back. But Bishop is a place where you need people around. So I left.

The drive was horrible! I started at around 7 pm and got to Merced at 4 am in the morning, hoping to get a refund on the car. Shortly before Sonora Pass, I hit a deer. It came out of nothing. There were actually two of them. I jammed my foot on the brake (I had already hit a grouse earlier that evening, all those that know about the swallow in France will know how I felt about that...) and managed to slow down substantially before I hit the deer, still the impact shoved it to the shoulder of the road where it did a summersault, jumped up and ran for it. I pulled into the parking lot of the Inn I had had pizza at two nights ago completely shaking. Had black coffee. Had more black coffee. Tried to find out if I could call the forest service and have somebody look for the poor deer. They don`t do it in America. There are mountain lions. Their kittens are hungry. It`s like that. I hope the deer is fine. I was slow enough not to have the airbag triggered. Maybe the deer just was as lucky as I was, not getting hurt at all. I hope. Poor creature. I hope the only thing that was harmed was the car, which had a dented hood!

I didn`t drive faster than 40 miles after that. I was shit scared of hitting another animal.
Made it to Merced. Didn`t get a refund. Actually did but lost it seconds later. The car`s damage had to be paid. I didn`t go with addtional insurance, since it would have been 25 bucks each day extra. Shortsighted me...

The whole trip cost me like 800 bucks...thats the most expensive climbing trip I have ever been on. Well, I`m in the Valley now. Jumped into the River of Mercy and washed away the shakes of last night. Nice people all over the place. I`m happy and psyched. I`ll live on cereals and bananas, Amy`s chilli and have a cocoa per day as my well being bonus. I`ll climb! I`ll live and enjoy my time. I love the Valley.

Out...

Off to Bishop...

2009-08-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

Since I`ll depart to Bishop in the early morning, just a very brief post that will go out to all my friends and familiy back home...I´m having a ball! Can´t wait to see Bishop. Spent the week monkeying around in Lake Tahoe with Austin and Ben and went to Mickeys Beach yesterday...Loads of fun.

On a sidenote, I have downgraded almost every problem in the BRCM/Balkon areas...I think the grades fit now...coming back from the Valley I realized that Europe just has shit easy ratings...

Out to pack, more posts to come since you can get internet access in Bishop,

Chris

Back in San Fran...

2009-08-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

I got back to San Francisco yesterday on the train after getting totally rained out the night before. But: since Libby and the guys at Yosemite Search and Rescue are so incredibly nice, I`ll return to finish my projects that I left unfinished.

Yosemite was a unique and amazing experience. I met a lot of nice people and I have seen one of the most beautiful places on this planet. I spent my days climbing and hiking, swimming in the beautiful Merced river. I haven`t felt as good as I did in the Valley for years, the climbing, the nature...it has it all.

In terms of climbing, it was really hot. All the time. I didn`t get to send my hard projects, I just slipped all the time and since I had only one pad (I bought one on my first day), there could have been better protection. Still I climbed a lot. I don`t climb on granite that much and I gotta say that it teaches you so much. It teaches you precise footwork. It makes you evolve. My most memorable ascents probably are the Ahwahnee Arete, a super nice and scary highball arete with a top out on micro holds in 9 metres hight...I have never been scareder and still have never felt as alive for a long time. In a way, life destills to its very essence, there is no past and no future, there is just you, the wind and the rock, you`re moving and everything is just so very present and in the moment. There is no doubt, there are only choices. After spending two days at the Ahwahnee boulders, I found my playground at the Cathedral Boulders and met Alan, who gave me beta and reconmendations, thanks man, hope to meet you again. I did So Good on my third day of trying it, topped it out in total trance after taking a few scary falls from the top. It was a moment in time. There is nothing that will take it from me. That`s what I live for.

Those two were beyond doubt the highlights. More are to come, since I`ll return to stay with the SAR team again. I`ll have fun, drink a couple of King Cobras and climb the shit out of my tips.
Swim in the river again.

What else was metionable? I saw tons of wildlife, the highlights being BEYOND DOUBT BEARS!!! I SAW BEARS...a yearling out of the El Cap shuttle which was a stroke of luck since the driver picked me up waving my hands by the side of the road even though there was no regular stop in the place. And then I had to wait and suffer from all the bear ruckus in Camp 4 every night. Bears came to Camp 4 every night in search of food. But I never saw one!!! I had to wait until I did Half Dome on Saturday. Right next to the trail on a meadow they were...Mama Bear and two cubs...I saw them for minutes!!! I WAS SO PSYCHED!

Huge amounts of thanks go to:

Jonesy/Itai/ Sorry your name is Pakistani so I can`t remember... for the American breakfast with pancakes and fried bacon...and the company...

Sam... for being a cool hiking buddy on the way down from Half Dome...

Libby and the whole SAR team... for being so welcoming and great and outspoken and amazing...

Alan... for the whole Cathedral beta and the talks...

my buddy at housekeeping camp... for the talks and the free showers...

Nick and Tessa... for picking up my hitchhiking ass at Crane Flat and for bringing back my camera which I forgot in their car

Karen... who did the Tuolumne tour and did an amazing job and all the bus drivers in general for being great and amazing and funny and damn badass folks

the docs and nurses at the Medical Clinic in my one situation of need...

and all the unamed people I met or whose names I forgot who talked with me, shared moments with me and made my time an amazing one.

MAY THE SUN SHINE ON ALL OF YOU!

Just as an amusement, here come my favorite quotes...

"So where you from, buddy?" "Germany" "Where the fuck is that?" "In Europe..." "Oh, I see..."
"Am I dumb or what???"
"Damn, there is fish in this river. I hate fish, they`re gross! Why do there have to be fish in this river?"
"KC (King Cobra), that stuff is savage..."
"Did you hike all the way in flip flops??? That`s ballsy, dude!!!"
"Get away bear!!! Get outta here!!! Go!!! Run, bear, run!!! Get outta here!!!"
"And to the left, we have the Yosemite Wet Streak aka Yosemite Falls in August..."

Pics will be uploaded soon...

THANKS TO MY FOLKS FOR THE CARD (I wish there had been money in it as well though...no, just kiddin`)...

See ya all in a couple of weeks...having a ball, restday today, went to Mortar Rock yesterday, tips finished, Nat`s Traverse is close, music is good, life`s good, Mortar tomorrow, Bishop to come...the journey continues...

Outta!

Chris

Two days to go...

2009-08-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

I have two days left in San Fran before I`ll depart to Yosemite Valley on Monday morning. Posts will be rare or stop completely for the two weeks I`m in the valley, depending on whether I can find a cheap internet cafe or not. This week has been really cool so far, the kids camp was more fun than I anticipated (and I already anticipated a lot) and I managed to get my second day of Bay Area bouldering at Indian Rock...sweet place, I could flash a lot of classics and that was cool. I feel myself zooming in on my shape right on time, yesterday I came really close to getting the second ascent of that horribly sandbagged V 8 problem! Which felt really cool! In general I feeling strong right now!

This Sunday I`ll try and head out to Mortar Rock to build up calluses, like Chris Bloch suggested, so that I`ll be in shape for some sharp crimps...

Today I`ll just chill out and take it easy, I worked out for hours yesterday and so that`s a good idea, I think...

Out!

First Pics...

2009-08-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

Here we go...he comes the first collection of pics...featured is my second trip to Pier 39 and Golden Gate recreational area...

The Sea and Golden Gate

2009-08-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

Went to the beach again yesterday...before that I bought a cam and then I was all set!
Pictures will soon be uploaded. Had a great day at Pier 39 watching the sea lions again. Walked all the way to Golden Gate Bridge then...pretty damn distance...I also walked back...I was damn tired when I came back and was really hungry...I had the healthier version of fast food first (Subway) and then went to a Pier 39 place and got fried calamaris and fries...that windchill was really getting me!
Started the kids camp today, Lucas is chunky and nice, Rachel is snappy and nice as well and Lindsey is nice too, so this week is gonna be fun, even though it means that I can`t go to Castle Rock on Wednesday with Chris...which sucks...Can`t have everything!

Out!

Castle Rock Posse

2009-08-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

It was my first time of outside climbing yesterday and it was FUCKING AWESOME! I woke up super early in the morning and headed out to Castle Rock with Chris Bloch, Austine and Wes...kick ass crew and a kick ass area even if I didn`t send anything of importance. My skin was finished from two days of intensive training at the gym but I managed to get on a lotta classics that I`ll try and finish next week...Lost Keys Traverse, The Tree Problem, The Hueco Problem...so much to do up there, hopefully they won`t close it by September like that ranger bastard indicated...I`ld be super psyched to try Eco Terrorist at the end of my holiday once I`m in shape...

One giant douche bag we laughed about so badly (what a TOOL!!!), one nice guy from Massachussets (I`m probably fucking the spelling up...), tons of mosquitoes and a cool kid sending the Tree Problem later we headed out to KFC...THE CHICKEN FRENZY WAS ON, BITCHES...

I`m not gonna do it again...after that we went to Austine`s place for a change, his parents got this really cool restaurant and we had beer, salad and fried calamares...nice!!!
Went to the movies after that...fell asleep only twice during the movie...Moon`s a pretty depressive but very good movie...

Resume: nice day, kick ass crew and a whole lotta fun...psyched for Castle Rock next week!!!
Just helped Emily with a birthday party...now it`s off to Golden Gate recreational area to get some sea breeze in...here we go...hopefully I`m not gonna get lost again like I did looking for that Fellini coffee place on Thursday...

Big up to the home crew...Mom, Dad, my bros, Verena, all my kid training group kids, Jenny, Maria, the whole Bauer family, the whole Rosenheim and High East crew...

Signing out...

San Fran/Bridges

2009-07-30T14:23:00.001-07:00

I have officially arrived...there`s gonna be pics pretty soon, once I`ve bought a cam. So far, all that I can say is that people are super generous and kind and welcoming and...Damian and Jeffie have turned out to be amazing, so has everybody I`ve met so far.

Bridges is one hell of a place to get in shape and I`ve never seen a better bouldering gym, except for the B2 in Basel that`s like on a par.

I can`t wait to get outside and if Californians continues to be so outstandingly nice, Bishop and Yosemite are gonna be a blast. It took a while to get into this country and some really annoying questions were to be answered (why would you care where I made the money to finance my trip, I haven`t been trafficking drugs...) but it was definitely worth it...

Out for today,
Chris

Wrapping things up...

2009-07-26T01:24:00.000-07:00

Sitting amidst the piles of dirty laundry, clean laundry, other stuff to pack and the fact that I gotta finish my English didactics paper, I`m taking a short time to post this.

Tuesday morning it`s time for take off, the next post will be from San Fran! SO SUPER PSYCHED!

Hopefully my finger will be mended by Tuesday, so that I can start climbing right away...

Out and off to California!

Pissed!

2009-07-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

Checking the rankings in Rosenheim today, I had to realize that a lot of weak bastards had cheated their way up in the ranking! A few of them are kids I trained! None of the kids from my groups but I have replaced almost every other coach at least once so I know about peoples` level!

The whole system is one giant piece of bullshit and if people had been honest, my kids would have made the finals! One girl made it to the finals and couldn`t even stick the starting hold-that`s pathetic! It`s all the more pathetic that she keeps her place in the ranking.

I`m tired of the whole bunch, fortunately I´m gonna be out next Tuesday...

Penguin deserts boyfriend!

2009-07-19T01:29:00.000-07:00

Funny post on an overcast day: a supposedly gay (think he`s rather bisexual) penguin has deserted his partner and moved in with a widowed female penguin. Big deal, all gay rights groups are up in arms! How could the bastard! How could that hag lure him into deserting his boyfriend!

I´m laughing!

My kids ruled in the comp, despite the boulders being a load of crap in many cases. My kids run laps on 6bs and struggled on boulders some fat suckers could flash just because they were taller. Still, they managed more boulders than I thought. So I´m happy.

I left when they asked me to do the dirty work. Went home in the rain. I´d rather get soaked than be taken for a fool. If you split up the nice jobs between you guys, do so with the rest! The rest of the comp? The usual mix of retards, nice ones and ones I hoped to see but weren`t there. Had one civilized consversation and patted Nicola`s emo-dog Sanna. A nice guy drove me to the station when I was soaked standing in front of the supermarket in Stephanskirchen, trying to hitch a ride. No bus in Rosenheim on Saturdays, at least after noon.

Jumped into my hot tub and managed to not catch a cold. Psyched! Today I´m gonna write the first part of the English didactics paper I owe to that bastardly bitch that teaches me. I hate her guts!

Signing out.

It`s rainin`man...

2009-07-17T22:18:00.000-07:00

Looks like this summer is back in shape! After a brief period of sunshine, the rain came back last night and is full on right now! If you could see me, you could also see me grinning sadistically...when I came to Rosenheim yesterday in order to set boulders for the comp, I found out that all boulders had already been set. Looking at them, I realized that a lot of them was just rubbish! They have made us coaches talk our kids into participating in the comp and now they have set boulders with loads of dynos and reachy moves. I´ve been setting routes and boulders for five years now and I´m pissed of! We´ll see what happens today. I bet the construction they set up yesterday to shield the boulders outside from the rain was torn to pieces by the gusts of wind that raged yesterday evening before the thunderstorms came...

With the rain full on, the comp is gonna be a blast! 200 people will be cramped into the spot...thanks that I´m not participating!

I hope that tomorrow will be better, so that I can get some bouldering done. After the Felbertal crimping massacre, my right middle finger slightly reminded me that I´m a finger pocket and pinch person but now things are fine again...

Signing out to watch the rain pour...

Felbertal Bouldering

2009-07-12T09:18:00.001-07:00

My dad just told me that I gotta hurry...so I gotta post this drinking coffee...Felbertal today. Best bouldering spot I´ve been to...super psyched...climbed THE line!

When I came to the place last Sunday with my dad, this was the line that got me psyched in an instant. When I got there today, my main goal was to climb this amazing wall with big moves on crimps!

I warmed up and got on it. My beta for the sit proved to be good -hooking as usual- and soon I was able to try and link the thing. The topout proved to be super scary and I gotta say that I was immensely relived after sending. I fell two times after sticking the start crux and my skin was already disappearing, so I had only left a couple of tries. So I took a break, the sun came out and I did it. It felt great, I almost slipped again on the last hard move and barely managed to stick the hold. Topped out without much elegance...felt on top! A King Line!

Props to Daniel for the amazing pics.

Slacking...

2009-07-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

I know that I`ve been slacking...

The past weeks and months have been a whirl...finally my elbow is fine again and I´ve been able to get in shape again, thanks to some Frankenjura days of which two were spent with my prefered climbing partner Shorty...

I´ll add a couple of photos...that will do better justice than words...next weekend I´ll be headed to the best bouldering spot I´ve ever seen, so be psyched for pics....

A week to forget...

2009-05-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

Sitting on my laptop and hacking away at the keyboard, the week feels fucked up. To begin with positive things, the Diclofenac injections and the whole lotta Diclofenac that enters my body orally seem to get the better of the inflamation in my elbow. Pains on a retreat! That much is positive. The rest isn`t. The wheather seriously sucked the whole week, the kid training groups were not really inspiring either, the whole country is absolutely freaking out about pig influenza and finally, my landlord has taken up his bastardly habit of locking the washing room again-which means that I have to ask all the time.

The whole flu issue is kinda interesting, though. With the economic crisis going on, it was about damn time something popped up that will scare the shit out of everybody and keep people halfway quiet. If you´re worried about getting pig influenza, you`re less likely to start social upheaval. I guess...In the end, I`m now waiting for my laundry, don`t have a clean towel left but fortunately some clean underwear, so I think I can go to sleep like a civilized person.

I hope the next week will be better. Hopefully my arm will be cured and I´ll be able to climb again. I seriously cannot take being without climbing for more than a week. I get into a mood that I don`t like. Kinda edgy and bitchy...

Dropping out. Gotta clean this flat. Would like to listen to Metallica full on. Can´t do it on account of the stupid old thing living the floor under me. She`ld raise hell.

Enough emo epicing. Big up and be a man. Resolutions for the coming week:

Don`t shave and appear to my boring English didactics lesson on Thursday looking completely savage!

Onsight a couple of 7a+ routes to get my arms going. Have a blast on my proj. and link the crux boulder passage. Get wasted with Verena after that. She´ll have to drive me home!

Find a sick wall to bolt.

If all those come true, at least next week will be a blast again.

Out!

Injured!

2009-04-27T22:20:00.000-07:00

Damn it. The past week has been a major bummer. I have seriously learned something that I always pretended to know: never climb with pain. Ever since I campused a lot previous to my flu in February I have been dealing with slight pains in my left elbow. Now it`s time to fully cure that inflamation. Of course it takes longer now than if I had given it time to cure after the first pains.

After being thoroughly frustrated at the gym Tuesday last week...sorry to Verena for bitching around like a fucking bastard...I went to my Doc on Wednesday and my golfer`s elbow has been in intensive treatment since. The kids in my training group of course realized the needle marks from the Diclofenac injections and asked me if I had become a drug addict. With the weather being perfect and me being in desperate need to climb after 4 weeks of flu related break, the whole thing feels fucked up!

The weekend subsequently was queer too. I hiked to the Hochgern on Saturday which was great after some emo epicing on Friday evening. Sunday I spent looking for a wall to bolt, which resulted in the most dangerous thing I have done in my life. I order to get to the wall I wanted to check out I foolishly decided to climb a steep bank/wall with shit rock, a couple of tree roots to hold to and a lot of slippery dirt. I also underestimated the height of that thing. Resting in the middle and catching my breath I realized that I was soloing a chossy wall with no option to downclimb and a 100% chance of dying if I slipped. The whole thing is kinda like in the middle of nowwhere...that`s the deal when you`re roaming to find something new...and if I had fallen and still be able to cry for help, nobody would have heard my cries.

I made it. No fall. Desperate trust in a couple of tree roots, some solid looking rock and a final high step on a dubious foothold gained me the trunk of a young and very green tree at the top of the wall. Lot´s of leaves on that tree. It was in the bloom of life. Therefore, I felt immensely relieved grabbing it. Damn it. I´ll never ever climb that wall again. The biggest chosspile I ever did. Not to mention the wall I checked out. Looked nice from the distance from where I spotted it but with a closer look...

In the end, I got lost on the Schnappen. I found a path and followed it. It was probably an ancient hunter`s path, always close to the steep flanks of the Schnappen. When I found a halfway good looking gully that was looking like the most natural way to the valley, I scrambled down, almost fell and slipped when I crossed the slippery grass flank to get to the gully and then kinda liked Sam-Frodoed my way to the valley. Schnappen seriously is a place where you can get in a hell of a mess. I wish I had had a rope.

The new week has continued to start like shit. I woke up super early. Gulped down the coffee. Got things packed for university. Rushed out to get my bus...and then felt something wet on my ass. The orange juice in my backpack was leaking. I sprinted up to my flat, rescued my laptop from my flooded backpack and swore a lot. There goes my grammar course. I´ll have to apologize.

Hoping the week will get better. The weather forecast is crap, though. Some fools managed to set pig influenza virus free in a swiss train. The container the virus was kept in blew! Everybody is freaking! There`s gonna be a pandemie! I seriously wonder...there are so many things that get me freaked out and this totally leaves me cold hearted...

On a final note, Bayern Munich sacked coach Jürgen Klinsman yesterday. Big Mistake! Good for me still, since the result of their games gravely affects my landlord`s mood. He hated Klinsman`s guts and blamed him for the bad results, almost exclusively so to speak. His mood is gonna be better now, so I might be able to borrow a car once my elbow is cured. The future is what we think of it to be. Climbing undoubtly helps me think positive, I will have to learn to keep my Zen Mind in moments of stress. There is no practice unless you have had practice under strain. There is no real calm unless you have kept it safe under attack from outside.

It´s been a while

2009-04-13T05:56:00.000-07:00

It´s been a while since I last wrote something. The past weeks have been really annoying, since my brother`s visit I have been down with the flu.

Now that the flu is finally gone, I will shortly resume a winter of superlatives. We had tons of snow and I didn`t ski once due to a knee injury. Fucked up luck on the big scale.

To the present: I am finally able to climb again. Since the spring has finally set in -the sun is finally shining- me and Verena took advantage of that and went to Kochel, an area famous for stiff grades and being very...mhmm, different. You either like it or hate it. I like it. We spent the day at the Celtic wall and it was perfect, the grades are sandbags -which I like- and the climbing is really my style...big moves, athletic. You have to be strong if you wanna send anything in Kochel.

The day after that, that is the day before Easter Sunday, I went to the Zellerwand where I warmed up sending the beautiful Workoholic onsight -35 metres of perfection, at least if we`re talking Zellerwand terms- and then turned to La Princessa Negra. I cleaned the whole project again and throughly, put some chalk on the holds and had a go after getting properly warmed up on Saubär (the lower part up to the crux, Saubär completely will be my proj. after sending the princess). I can say that it is a really amazing and good line, despite the shittalking from a lot of envious bastards. Wait until you see my next strike, bitches! You´re gonna drop your jaws.

The crux had me making Sharma sounds pretty soon. I stuck the move before the crux move, which leaves me with two moves unsolved. After those two there is a moderate shake out with medium holds and crap footholds. The key to success will be to use it the day I link the crux.

Hopefully more to come soon. The season has finally started. The summer has come.

See a chance in adversity...

2009-02-03T00:08:00.000-08:00

I`m not going to the US! The reason is as simple and as annoying as it can get: I don`t get a work permit. Since the Bridges Rock Gym guys offered me a super amazingly well paid job, checking in at 1600 Dollars a month, the job would have had to be open to application for Americans at least 100 days before. Which of course it wasn`t. I can say that I was pissed at first.

There is however no point in wasting my days being angry and frustrated. The Bridges guys were really amazing and offered me to come in August and that`s super nice and cool. People are willing to let me stay at their place. Thanks to all them for the amazing ammount of support I have received already, I can`t wait to meet those people in person. May the sun shine on the opening of your gym. Greatness lies in the heart.

In every disappointment lies a chance. I`m not frustrated right now, I´m super pysched! The good weather came over night and I will test my strenght soon on La Princessa Negra, my super hard and great and nice and...and...:) project. It will beyond doubt be one of the most amazing and great lines I´ve ever done once I have sent it. I can also say without being to daring that it will be the hardest thing I´ve done sofar.

I´m going out now to do some running. After that I´ll head to Munich, where I´ll spent the evening bouldering in the High East. Verena is getting stronger again and being super critical with herself as always not realizing that she is already able of sending 7c/5.12d if only she manages to find a proj. suiting her style. I guess I have to do some ego pushing:)

I`m feeling done...

2009-01-29T13:26:00.000-08:00

I`m feeling done. Flat. Spanked.

I have been setting routes for the past three days and even though I have set a few of the best I ever set, I realized today that I need a break. After setting a moderate 7b today I tried the route and got super pumped...my forearms hurt like hell!

I just need to chill out...

I seriously wanna get outta this place for some time.

Too many days to Frisco...

A Moment in Time

2009-01-21T02:33:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama`s inaugural speech is already past. Throughout the past years, throughout the times I have been interested in politics and common interests rather than just my own little world, ever since I have realized that simple minded egoism is the manifesto of stupidity, I have never heard a better speech.

I listened to Martin Luther King`s "I Have A Dream" speech a couple of days ago. It`s a speech students of English and American culture listen to for various reasons. As a student, I had to listen to it years ago already. There is however a quality in it that keeps drawing me back to it, that keeps me, even though I have never felt segregation or even slightly suffered any disadvantages in my life except those self inflicted draws my heart to it. In it shines a hope and inspiring belief in the world and every single man`s and woman`s possibilities if only stupidity and cynism can be overcome.

Barack Obama`s speech he held as 44th president of the US is one that`s carven out of the same wood. It was full of determination, of power and intelligence. There are a few amazing speeches in the history of mankind and listening to them makes you shiver in a way. In some cases, the shivering just means that you acknowledge the quality of the speech but in the same way realize the demonic mind behind it, as it`s the case with Goebbels`s speech of 1944 in which he proclaimed total war. In other cases, the shivering means something much more positive: emotional connection on account of agreement. This is the case with Barack Obama`s speech.

I have listened to it a couple of times now and somehow I wish I could have been there. Somehow I wish to have been a member of those witnessing that moment. I have a feeling deep inside that it might be a historic moment. Even though it was just another 20 minutes that passed physically speaking exactly as fast or slow as those I spent waiting for my train yesterday, the feel historic. They have a quality I can only paraphrase, in a hundred years from now on, children might get taught that in a time of global crisis a man made a historic speech, setting out an agenda for what terms itself the free world.

Barack Obama is a young man, compared to many politicians. Yet is it a stereotype to think that wisdom comes with age, the abilitiy to see things clearly is not dependent on age. After eight lost years under the Bush presidency, after Guantanamo, water boarding, Abu Ghoreib and the Kyoto accord disaster, after eight years in which is was pretty easy to have faith in your political leaders as long as you considered the poor Americans and the fool they suffered from, the US finally have a president with charisma and intelligence again.

A message has been sent. If the world hears it and responds in an according way, it could be that 20 minutes make it a better place.

2009 goes on...

2009-01-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

Even though it started like crap, 2009 didn`t turn out to be so bad after all. I´m finally feeling in shape again and things look pretty good climbing wise.

I´m super psyched now for my Intercultural Proj. which is gonna be an absolute blast of a time. For those of you who want to check where I´m gonna work, check

http://www.bridgesrockgym.com/

all that I can say is that those guys are really amazing and kind and super welcoming and...

I`ve spent the past weeks doing a lot of work basically, in order to avoid being broke in the US which would be a serious bummer and would put me in the embarrasing position of somebody having to call for help in Germany, kinda "please fill my bank account"-wise. So I`ve been busy setting routes in Munich and Rosenheim and given more top-rope courses that I would normally like. Fortunatly I have been able to get an amazing replacement coach for my Wednesday climbing group. Stony is a really cool and fun person and climbs really well, we went bouldering last week and three hours passed like a whirlwind. The kids like him and he`ll also be able to handle the wilder ones of the bunch, so I don`t have to worry about the kids, which is a good thing. I really like a few of them and it would have been a pity if they had felt pushed to quit climbing just because my replacement would have been some jerk rambling on about bouldering being not climbing but something you do if you`re afraid of heights.

The weather forecast for the weekend sound pretty good, so I hope that me and Verena will be able to head to Kochel for some outdoor action.

Just because I´m thinking of it: if you want a good laugh, check youtube for Jeff Dunham! Bubba J. and Achmed the dead Terrorist are my personal favorites...

Take care!

Happy New Year!?!

2008-12-31T23:23:00.000-08:00

The year 2009 has arrived. I didn`t party last night on account of the fact that my parents wanted to go to the Zillertal and I was hoping to get some bouldering done, I was that psyched to go there that I didn`t party with my best friends. Only to get the big New Year surprise that my parents don`t feel like going because of the inch of snow that has fallen in the past hour! I would go on my own but my dad drives me nuts about the car being insured only for him and my mom, which is why he won`t let me have it...

Here goes my year 2009 beginning. I spent yesterday checking my guidebook for cool lines that I would be psyched to try and now I´m clinging to the gym-as if I didn`t go there often enough!

I can only stress that the whole thing is a SERIOUS bummer! I hope that the rest of the year turns out to be better and more fun than this morning, I´m seriously pissed and I need someone to take it out on.

Back home and BRCM TOPO

2008-12-28T11:32:00.000-08:00

I`m back home...finally so to speak. I like N. but in the end, it`s down here that feels home.
Yesterday and today I spent training with Verena, ropeclimbing yesterday and bouldering today, I´m getting in shape again and it feels cool! I`m psyched to head to La Princessa Negra and find out what I can do about the crux sequence that felt so hard a month ago.

I also met three really nice people from Cologne in Rosenheim today and we talked about bouldering spots...I have therefore uped the BRCM Topo again.

Have fun guys and take care. Here are a few tipps for BRCM newbies:

Green Machine...der Klassiker!

Freiheit des Seins...sonnig und genial!

Schokokeksplatte...harter Leistenzug und dann auf den Block raus!

Man of Constant Sorrow...brutaler Start und dann richtig hoch...

Hands full of Fire...hoch...

Odyssee, Hands..., Schokokeksp., Zazen, The B. M., Poor Twisted Me, Sharming toppen raus auf den Block!

Alle Boulder werden (leider) noch selten wiederholt. Deshalb Bürsten dabei haben.

Niederschelderhütte

2008-12-24T08:34:00.000-08:00

After a heinous journey that I owe to German Railway (FUCK YOU!) I made it to N.
The past two days I have spent chilling out...
and bouldering of course...
After I climbed on Sunday morning in Munich, I felt really good and strong as well, which is a good sign and means that my cold has finally passed completely.
So I headed to my beloved woody and started to train as soon as I got home. I must again state that it`s a wonderful place to get in shape and being small, it is however as good as the boulder area in Rosenheim.

I also said hello to our dog and our cat. In the evening I rode to Dortmund with my bro to pick up his girlfriend -Dortmund immediately made it on my Top 10 List concerning towns I despise.

I`really hope that this Christmas Eve will turn out to be cool, that my relatives don`t bore the shit out of me and that there will be no drama.

I would like to say that I want all my friends to know that I wish them a Merry Xmas, I hope you enjoy your presents and my thoughts are with you. I`m really looking forward to being at home again in two days, even though N. is not bad, it stopped being my home some time ago. Home is where my heart is...

There will be a post tomorrow featuring pics from my woody and my pets.

Back in the game...

2008-12-19T07:13:00.000-08:00

Yap, I´m back after the cold. Yesterday I did a couple of campus board goes and it felt really cool, I felt strong and that`s nice after two weeks of total break.
I spent the whole day at the gym yesterday, giving courses and watching people try the boulders I set in the tunnel.
THE big achievement of yesterday however was -and props go to Mr. Andy "Cookie" Schmieder, chef at the gym and a really nice guy- the surprise dessert I got to taste and eat. I was sitting at the bar, chatting with Simon, when Andy presented us with Mousse au Chocolat and something I don`t know the name for, nevertheless it tasted ABSOLUTELY AMAZING and therefore, thx Cookie:)
Tomorrow will be spent training in the gym again. With the rain pouring like hell, there ain`t much to do else...
Big up to Chris Sharma for sending Golpe d`Estado and being the driving force in sportclimbing. Others climb routes, Sharma climbs THE LINES...

Animal Impersonations...

2008-12-14T03:42:00.000-08:00

I feel like a bear! Seriously...since I caught a bad cold the beginning of this week, I been waiting for the weekend. Time to chill out and sleep...which is what I intend to do most time of this Sunday. I hope to be fit by the end of the week to come, in order to enjoy climbing again! Until then, I´ll listen to The Offspring and sleep:)
Peace out and big up!

Pics of the Week-reminiscing...

2008-11-28T01:47:00.000-08:00

The beautiful Gorges du Tarn...with the cold outside it`s time to remember the blessed weeks of sunshine...2 perfect weeks with one amazing human being (Verena) and a funny guy who also officially owns the copyright for all of the above...Mr. Markus Jung

Happy Times...chilling out after 8 straight hours of climbing

2008-11-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

Big Wallhella

2008-11-16T10:47:00.000-08:00

I`m spanked! Big Wallhalla was a blast, even if we only made it to 4th position. It was the hardest thing I`ve ever done. I have never pushed myself to the limit as much as I did yesterday. I´m on the way of becoming an endurance climber-on the way, not there yet! To climb 26 35 meter routes in those 8 hours felt gutwrenching! But it was a really cool experience, the routes though exclusively vertical and fingery were really cool-seems like I´m better on crimps than I thought, even though I will always prefer a good pocket/sloper/tufa over small crimpers...
I guess Verena was a little disappointed at first, she needs new climbing shoes badly and we would have won at least a pair if we had made the top three but there was no chance to make it...I mean, strictly speaking, there was. We would have needed three more routes to score 3rd and if there hadn`t been such a queueing up for the routes in the end, we would have made it. But regrets are useless...the vibe was good, the music throughout very chilled and except for a couple of jerks that you always get there was a cool bunch of climbers around. We hung out after the comp and had a few drinks and a pizza and spent the time talking and doing the usual after comp party things:)
After that we went to Verena`s place to take another sip...I´ll never take Butterscotch again...it`s too damn sweet!

I made it home by hitching a ride at around 2 am in the morning...coolest ride ever! Those people seriuosly saved my health-the next bus would have arrived two hours later and considering that I was both tired and a little intoxicated I would have probably fallen asleep...which is not the thing to do in Chiemgau November nights.

A few photos will be posted as soon as they are available...

New Projects???

2008-11-07T11:22:00.000-08:00

After a somewhat epic journey that involved calling Mr. Markus Stadler a couple of times I finally found my way to the Burgauer Wand again. Hiking through the misty November air was really good and refreshing, fall is an astonishing season here in the Chiemgau. I roamed around scoping for the possible projects Jan Mersch had hinted at and found the main sector completely bolted-and not too attractive too. Kinda blocky...Jan had told me that a lot of the future lines would be found at the crag to the left and there I found a pretty cool little cave that will probably yield a couple of bouldery roof routes with possible 30m+ extensions possible, though spoiled by a no hand rest after the roof`s lip. The rock seems amazing. Still I´m in doubt whether to bolt these lines when Shorty visits me in December, the approach being long and tiring...I`m not talking about king lines here in the end. I will thus continue to look for better projects. At least I`ll keep those in the back of my head...

With the Walhalla comp drawing nearer the weekend will be spent training in the gym. A week after, a comp of basically the same format will be held in Rosenheim and I´m intended to score this one, too. Hopefully Verena will get in shape in time again after that terrible bitch of a flu. If not I´ll have to compensate- after all it`s a team competition. I`m in the best shape I`ve been for a long time and with a week left I´m determined to improve a little...

I`m currently listening to Papa Roach. Unfortunately I cannot turn the shit up, the old §$%&? living in the flat under me would complain in an instant. I despised her from the beginning, here we go...

I have also received a few very kind e-mails from the US gyms I asked for an intercultural project position. Hopefully this will work out, I´ld love to do something climbing based in the US.

Change I do believe in

2008-11-05T01:46:00.000-08:00

He has done it. Or, strictly speaking, the US citizens have done it. Barack Obama will become the next president of the US. Although this blog is normally climbing oriented and based, this is something extraordinary and amazing, considering the ammount of what he had to overcome, especially during the past weeks when the political race in the US took up a pace that we in Europe can hardly comprehend. There were lies, especially Mrs. Palin, arguably well suited for casting stones at others, was constantly singing the song of Obama being well befriended with a terrorist.

What I think is that in a time where the world needs consensus concerning the most important issues like global warming, the fight against terrorism, poverty and Aids, a man is needed that brings a difference. We need a change in policy. Even if politically one eyed, one cannot deny the fact that the US still is and will continue to be for the next years the most important and driving force in Western politics. The US sets trends, politically, culturally and economically. Europe, though wanting to be a political player on its own, still needs the US. The US however, also need Europe, considering the mess they are in in Afghanistan or Iraq. The world needs each other, there will be no solution to the global problems of the 21st. century without dialoque and respect.

Barack Obama will hopefully be the man bringing the difference. He is young and fresh, he is new and other than flip flopping John Kerry, a man whose words you can believe in. He will not work wonders, he is not a wizard making all the issues mentioned above disappear with a wink of his wand but he can be trusted in bringing what is most needed in American politics after eight years of Bush`s government: Change. I do not believe in miracles.

But I do believe in the next four years of American policy. I will travel to America from February to April. I`m looking forward to coming to a country that in the right time has made the right descision.

Good luck to you, Barack Obama. The world is neither good or bad -it`s what we make it. The next four years (and hopefully the next eight) you`ll do a lot of the shaping...I think you`ll do a good job.

La Princessa Negra

2008-10-26T08:02:00.001-07:00

Today was the day! I finally started working on my Zellerwandproject, La Princessa Negra. The moves are great and even though there is some work to be done like brushing and cleaning the whole thing thoroughly...I was able to do all the moves but two which are really hard but overall a feeling of hope and happiness prevails...

Hitchhiking and High East

2008-10-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

The day started like shit! Thinking I had a couple of minutes left I foolishly choose to buy a drink at the local market...damn fool I was! All the moms were on a shopping spree and there I was, stuck in the queue, time running out. I was already suspecting I would miss my bus but when I saw it disappear after some old ?%6& had finally cleared the way I yelled a loud "fuck!". This however meant that I had to hitchhike and did so with a wonderful person that drove me to the station even if it was completely the wrong direction for her-amazing and nice...may the sun shine on you!

With enough time on my hand to get university finished for this week by copying an essay I`m supposed to analyze I could make it to Munich East in time to meet with Verena. The next hours were spent training on the sick and amazing new routes Dave has bolted (as close to rock as it can get! thx man!) and even though my fucking tendovaginitis still gave me some trouble I managed to get some done! Big Wallhalla will be a blast and the more I think about it, the more psyched I get.

Coming home was done hitchhiking again. I love those giving me rides!

The gym

2008-10-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

Training, Training, Training

Since the weather sucks badly, it`s all to the gym. With a couple of days left to the Walhalla comp that I`ll take part in (first comp after years...) there is time to get my endurance going. Since I absolutely wanna score during this comp and think there is a possibility to do so, we`ll see where it goes. Hopefully I`ll manage to get out on Sunday but that`s not sure right now, the weather being what it is...if I get out, a few photos will be posted and hopefully there will be a couple of things to report...

Here we go..

2008-10-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

Here we go...even if I´m German, there are a few reasons why this blog is gonna be in English: I love speaking English (the same goes for writing it) and there might be a few people interested who aren´t speaking German...that`s it.

This is about my adventures, the daily things you come across when you live the lifestyle I´ve chosen: a climber`s lifestyle. This is about the enchantements you can only find if you let go of the known and accept change as an opportunity for something new and possibly exciting. It`s all about making life worthwhile.

In the end, it boils down to this: "For me now, I feel that climbing is a part of who I am. It’s my way of life. It’s my way of expressing myself. My way of being in the world."

Take care out there...