it´s snowing outside
and this man awaits
the machine to dispense more liquid fuel
to be mated with milk and sugar
for a moment of clarity and simplicity
I chose to be, to be
different long ago so why not
stick with it a notch longer
at my age, waiting doesn´t seem so hard
anymore, it never was, we just don´t
realize all new and prepped for
an ultimate show
that never comes
instead, we fail to see
the falling snow as a marvel
as something we can take
as a present
i chose to be and bring
a little difference to my place
what is my place
the place called home
down there within
those who don´t care never will
i pity you
Freitag, 22. Januar 2016
Mittwoch, 10. Juni 2015
Ceüse...the best sport climbing in the world?
Well...let´s have a short answer...Yes! Overall, the package of scenery, rock quality, route quality and vibe is unbeatable! I spent an amazing week in Ceüse during the first week of my Whitsun Break this year and have fallen in love - actually, I miss about everything about it. The hike in, the spaced bolts, the feeling of being scared and shit pumped, not to mention flute - baguette in the morning, the coffee we had on the porch before hiking in each morning, our landlord´s sheepish spaniel, the shandy in the evening, the drives into Gap...
I´ve been to a few places and I´ve seldom picked a place I didn´t like, actually never have. I love Gorges du Tarn for the pockets, the easy access, the river ambiance and the general holiday feeling it puts me in. I at times can bring myself to like Arco, even though that´s off season Arco only. It was a nice contrast to make my way into down town Arco on the drive back from Ceüse, only to run into loads of Germans, climber soccer moms, Maloja knights and E9 hardmovers who climb 5.10 and brag about it. I cherish the ice cream, cappuccinos and pizza but not the crowds.
I love all the American areas I´ve been to. Bishop´s the Ceüse of bouldering. It feels about as rough and rugged in terms of scenery but amazes on an equal level.
We never return the same from places we´ve been to - if we´ve picked the right ones. Ceüse, la belle, a bientot!
Voila, des photos d´une semaine en bleu!
Samstag, 13. September 2014
Having fun...
Okay, I scored a rad job at a school half a mile from my house! I´ll teach 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th graders! Very happy!
And...climbing´s going well as well. After working my way through the classics at Schleierwasserfall, I just had no really cool 5.12ds and 5.13as to work anymore! At least not this summer - the wettest we´ve had for years! Being unable to avoid it any longer, I kinda had to hop on Have fun on top, an Alex Huber 5.13b which breaks down into a pretty solid V8ish boulder from the first to the third bolt, followed by solid 5.12d climbing to the top! I had a hard time with conditions and the notoriously seepy start pocket but found some pretty good drop knees and slowly pieced the whole thing together. Tuesday this week I managed to stick the crux move to the key hole pocket first go and blew the go not fully warmed up! I pumped out of the next one and kinda gave up but you never know...conditions improved, I hit every hold exactly right on my third go of the day and found myself at the shake out after the fourth bolt! I didn´t blow it this time!
Stay tuned for some pics! Holiday project done! Now it´s time for more - I got a rad job, a rad apartment and am more psyched than ever!
Take care out there,
Peace!
And...climbing´s going well as well. After working my way through the classics at Schleierwasserfall, I just had no really cool 5.12ds and 5.13as to work anymore! At least not this summer - the wettest we´ve had for years! Being unable to avoid it any longer, I kinda had to hop on Have fun on top, an Alex Huber 5.13b which breaks down into a pretty solid V8ish boulder from the first to the third bolt, followed by solid 5.12d climbing to the top! I had a hard time with conditions and the notoriously seepy start pocket but found some pretty good drop knees and slowly pieced the whole thing together. Tuesday this week I managed to stick the crux move to the key hole pocket first go and blew the go not fully warmed up! I pumped out of the next one and kinda gave up but you never know...conditions improved, I hit every hold exactly right on my third go of the day and found myself at the shake out after the fourth bolt! I didn´t blow it this time!
Stay tuned for some pics! Holiday project done! Now it´s time for more - I got a rad job, a rad apartment and am more psyched than ever!
Take care out there,
Peace!
Mittwoch, 27. August 2014
Quite a fun year so far...
Okay, it´s been quite some time since my last post. I was too busy, didn´t feel like it as well and this doesn´t make for good posts, so I´d rather not post anything at all. The past weeks have been sort of like the icing on the cake of a good year so far, which I´ll briefly sum up:
Working as a high school teacher was pretty rad, the kids response was overwhelming and I made some new experiences which beyond doubt have made me a better teacher than I was before.
I was fortunate enough to travel quite a bit, twice to France even, and had a good share of climbing, sun, fun and drama at times.
I was invited by my class from Franken, had a pretty rad barbecue with them and, simply put, have never felt as honored as a teacher than I did the moment they invited me. All my work and all effort made pays off in moments like that. I love my job - and these kids will always be there, they´ll always be the first class I taught for a straight year and they´re the benchmark all other are measured against, even if that may be unfair since some come 24 in a million.
Climbing wise I was able to walk away with a few good and sometimes hard first ascents and some good repeats. Some of the things I did this year most definitely make my personal top five list. The past weeks I´ve been mostly climbing at the Schleierwasserfall which is for sure one of my personal happy places!
I´ve recently been able to score a good job close to my place, which means that I´ll be able to keep my awesome apartment, I´ll be able to afford a US trip - long overdue! - and other things that make life worth living. Money can´t buy you happiness but it buys the gas you need to go places and that´s where the happiness comes in...
I´m currently sitting at home, I´ve had a fun birthday, my little nephew is really cool, the pup freaks out every time he sees me...Life´s good.
Here´s the obligatory photo dump! Out!
Working as a high school teacher was pretty rad, the kids response was overwhelming and I made some new experiences which beyond doubt have made me a better teacher than I was before.
I was fortunate enough to travel quite a bit, twice to France even, and had a good share of climbing, sun, fun and drama at times.
I was invited by my class from Franken, had a pretty rad barbecue with them and, simply put, have never felt as honored as a teacher than I did the moment they invited me. All my work and all effort made pays off in moments like that. I love my job - and these kids will always be there, they´ll always be the first class I taught for a straight year and they´re the benchmark all other are measured against, even if that may be unfair since some come 24 in a million.
Climbing wise I was able to walk away with a few good and sometimes hard first ascents and some good repeats. Some of the things I did this year most definitely make my personal top five list. The past weeks I´ve been mostly climbing at the Schleierwasserfall which is for sure one of my personal happy places!
I´ve recently been able to score a good job close to my place, which means that I´ll be able to keep my awesome apartment, I´ll be able to afford a US trip - long overdue! - and other things that make life worth living. Money can´t buy you happiness but it buys the gas you need to go places and that´s where the happiness comes in...
I´m currently sitting at home, I´ve had a fun birthday, my little nephew is really cool, the pup freaks out every time he sees me...Life´s good.
Here´s the obligatory photo dump! Out!
Sonntag, 23. März 2014
The roads less traveled taken...
I´m sitting on a
bus. I have been for the past five hours and there´s one more to go.The world outside
is a blur of white mixed with occasional lights and the driver´s putting the
pedal to the metal, making the world outside blur even more. Oh, he´s listening to Miley Cyrus non stop. I´m somewhere north of
the polar circle. On my way to a wedding which I have, as a matter of fact, missed.
Plans go wrong in life. It happens all the time. Sometime today, things went
wrong. Put me where I am now and in the position I am in. Let´s call it an
odyssey. Or let´s call it a paradox. I´ve traveled thrice the distance in less
than half the time. A plan devised to mend a plan gone awry went awry around
noon today. Actually it did a lot sooner.
Yesterday, I boarded a plane. Flew to Oslo. Had an okay flight slightly made exciting by the fact that our pilot fucked up the landing. I´ve had my share of landings and that was a hard one. I spent the night at Oslo airport, huddled up on a Starbucks couch, anxiously awaiting 5.30 am. Fueled up on coffee, boarded another flight to Tromso, had more coffee and waited for a change.
It´s 12.35 and I´m walking up to the check in of my last flight. I´ve been on the road for close to 20 hours now and I´m starting to feel tired of it. I take out my ID, smile a confident smile and seconds later get told that I´m not on the passenger list. That I actually was on the passenger list for February the 1st. Which was exactly one month ago. Which of course is a major fuck up. I walk back into the lobby and try to get a rental car. There´s no rental car available, not a single one actually. I resort to making a lot of phone calls, none of which immediately mends the situation. Then I get told there´s a bus going to Alta from Tromso sometime around 4 pm. It´ll take six hours. I´ll miss the wedding and be there 6 hours late. At best. If worst comes to worst, I´ll have a few more airport nights. Whatever!
There is a bus going to Alta. The ticket is 570 crowns and I have about 200! Which is a major problem. I haven´t been paid yet, I´m still awaiting my first full time job paycheck in the new job. I call my bro for help – after all I´ll be missing his wedding – and ask for a quick cash transaction. They´ll try. Which leaves me with the task of finding out where exactly the Alta bus departs and when it does.
It´s 2 pm. I´m walking into the Tromso tourist office.Introducing Ronda. Ronda is my – that is our – tourist info desk personal. Ronda is also helplessly friendly and absolutely inapt at communicating that there´re soon more than 10 people queuing up at her desk. Ronda is counseling a Japanese husband and his incredibly dumbfuck wife. Who cannot decide whether to go snowshoeing or not. They´ve never attempted, so they don´t know what it feels like. They don´t know anything. I wish they had stayed where they came from. 30 minutes later, Ronda is still talking to our Jap couple. The Londoners before me are slightly annoyed. Me and the Italian couple behind me are openly discussing whether to kill Mr. Jap or not. Another 15 minutes later, Mr. Jap decides that he´ll pay for cross country skiing, snow shoeing and a guided husky ride. The Londoners say that they´ll be quicker and more decisive. I hope they will be. At 3.15 pm, after more than 1.3 hours of counseling, Mr. Jap and his incredibly stupid wife try to leave the tourist office. I´m blocking their way and refuse to move. I´m hoping he´ll say something upon which I in return could maybe say something terribly offensive but he won´t. He squeezes his way out. The Londoners turn out to be what you expect Londoners to be. Another 15 minutes later, I promise the Italian couple that my question will be a matter of seconds. Which it is, only because I´m cutting Ronda short though. I´m refusing to sign up for any refund based activities. Ronda is disappointed and I´m close to asking for a gun shop.
Ten minutes later, I´m a rich man. The cash transaction has worked. I put 500 crowns into my pocket, make some calls hopefully fit to save a wedding on the brink of disaster and then buy my ticket. After that, I have 10 minutes left, which I seize to buy some raisin bread. I´ll miss the wedding dinner. This man needs some calories.
I´m sitting on a bus. I have been for the past five hours and there´s one more to go.The world outside is a blur of white mixed with occasional lights and the driver´s putting the pedal to the metal, making the world outside blur even more. Somewhere north of the polar circle. On my way to a wedding I have as a matter of fact missed. Plans go wrong in life. It happens all the time. Sometime today, things went wrong. Put me where I am now and in the position I am in. Let´s call it an odyssey. Or let´s call it a paradox. I´ve traveled thrice the distance in less than half the time. What the hell. I need a beer. I´ll hopefully be able to jump into the hot tub. Maybe something of the wedding dinner will have been put away for me. This one´s finished. It has taken about half an hour. The world outside is still a blur of white and the bus driver´s still listening to Miley Cyrus. This is a ride I won´t forget. That´s kinda cool. I have a nephew. It´ll make for a fun story to tell him one day.
Yesterday, I boarded a plane. Flew to Oslo. Had an okay flight slightly made exciting by the fact that our pilot fucked up the landing. I´ve had my share of landings and that was a hard one. I spent the night at Oslo airport, huddled up on a Starbucks couch, anxiously awaiting 5.30 am. Fueled up on coffee, boarded another flight to Tromso, had more coffee and waited for a change.
It´s 12.35 and I´m walking up to the check in of my last flight. I´ve been on the road for close to 20 hours now and I´m starting to feel tired of it. I take out my ID, smile a confident smile and seconds later get told that I´m not on the passenger list. That I actually was on the passenger list for February the 1st. Which was exactly one month ago. Which of course is a major fuck up. I walk back into the lobby and try to get a rental car. There´s no rental car available, not a single one actually. I resort to making a lot of phone calls, none of which immediately mends the situation. Then I get told there´s a bus going to Alta from Tromso sometime around 4 pm. It´ll take six hours. I´ll miss the wedding and be there 6 hours late. At best. If worst comes to worst, I´ll have a few more airport nights. Whatever!
There is a bus going to Alta. The ticket is 570 crowns and I have about 200! Which is a major problem. I haven´t been paid yet, I´m still awaiting my first full time job paycheck in the new job. I call my bro for help – after all I´ll be missing his wedding – and ask for a quick cash transaction. They´ll try. Which leaves me with the task of finding out where exactly the Alta bus departs and when it does.
It´s 2 pm. I´m walking into the Tromso tourist office.Introducing Ronda. Ronda is my – that is our – tourist info desk personal. Ronda is also helplessly friendly and absolutely inapt at communicating that there´re soon more than 10 people queuing up at her desk. Ronda is counseling a Japanese husband and his incredibly dumbfuck wife. Who cannot decide whether to go snowshoeing or not. They´ve never attempted, so they don´t know what it feels like. They don´t know anything. I wish they had stayed where they came from. 30 minutes later, Ronda is still talking to our Jap couple. The Londoners before me are slightly annoyed. Me and the Italian couple behind me are openly discussing whether to kill Mr. Jap or not. Another 15 minutes later, Mr. Jap decides that he´ll pay for cross country skiing, snow shoeing and a guided husky ride. The Londoners say that they´ll be quicker and more decisive. I hope they will be. At 3.15 pm, after more than 1.3 hours of counseling, Mr. Jap and his incredibly stupid wife try to leave the tourist office. I´m blocking their way and refuse to move. I´m hoping he´ll say something upon which I in return could maybe say something terribly offensive but he won´t. He squeezes his way out. The Londoners turn out to be what you expect Londoners to be. Another 15 minutes later, I promise the Italian couple that my question will be a matter of seconds. Which it is, only because I´m cutting Ronda short though. I´m refusing to sign up for any refund based activities. Ronda is disappointed and I´m close to asking for a gun shop.
Ten minutes later, I´m a rich man. The cash transaction has worked. I put 500 crowns into my pocket, make some calls hopefully fit to save a wedding on the brink of disaster and then buy my ticket. After that, I have 10 minutes left, which I seize to buy some raisin bread. I´ll miss the wedding dinner. This man needs some calories.
I´m sitting on a bus. I have been for the past five hours and there´s one more to go.The world outside is a blur of white mixed with occasional lights and the driver´s putting the pedal to the metal, making the world outside blur even more. Somewhere north of the polar circle. On my way to a wedding I have as a matter of fact missed. Plans go wrong in life. It happens all the time. Sometime today, things went wrong. Put me where I am now and in the position I am in. Let´s call it an odyssey. Or let´s call it a paradox. I´ve traveled thrice the distance in less than half the time. What the hell. I need a beer. I´ll hopefully be able to jump into the hot tub. Maybe something of the wedding dinner will have been put away for me. This one´s finished. It has taken about half an hour. The world outside is still a blur of white and the bus driver´s still listening to Miley Cyrus. This is a ride I won´t forget. That´s kinda cool. I have a nephew. It´ll make for a fun story to tell him one day.
Freitag, 21. Februar 2014
Walking the mean streets...
“ But down these mean streets a man must
go, who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid.”
It´s over and done. Last Friday, I was handed my graduation papers. End
of a chapter. I´m a grammar school teacher now – and a good one at that.
I won´t say too much about it, recurring to my favorite Chandler quote,
all that I will say is that the streets were mean, that I walked them the way I
was intending to walk them – the way I was also supposed to walk them living up
to the true essence of the quote which is not necessarily the way I was meant
to walk them by the institutions and assessing boards – and that I´m glad it´s
over.
If the streets are mean, it´s easy
to adapt – it takes a man not to fall for that easy option. I vowed to be that
man. Didn´t become mean, didn´t become tarnished and didn´t become afraid. I
walked the streets without making a bow – and paid my price. There´s a price
tag on everything and I chose to pay the price tagged on resilience. We´ll see
where it takes me but I´m not worried. Why am I not worried? Because I firmly
believe in above quote, holding true what it postulates. The results I got have
always been overwhelming. I keep them on my wall. And somewhere else.
Here´s to those who made the streets less hard, less mean and gave back to me.
I hope and actually know that I was able to contribute something. Which is
cool. I won´t give names. But I can say that especially the classes I taught in
Franconia will forever remain special people to me.
I have a new car. I don´t have a girl friend anymore. I have a full time job. I
climbed a really cool route a few weeks ago. Right now I´m curing my sinusitis.
I had some amazing thai curry the day before yesterday. I´ll be flying to
Norway next weekend. Life´s full of positive things, mixed with a few
negatives.
Life´s good.
Mittwoch, 22. Januar 2014
Ulysses...
New girlfriend all´s good Arco cappuccinos a fun time love´s sweet and so rad to have freezing my fingers of making out and more we won´t have here oh sweet let´s climb something if we can´t afford shit blow all you have no matter what let´s go back and fall out left alone to wonder sadness and worry will I get a job I will get a job that´s rad feeling relieved and sad money´s a constant worry these days prices skyrocket fuck that fuck you and everybody annoying me all plans and no clues old dog and more new tricks I need something positive there it is I get the job I´m feeling sick I try my best I succeed one project less and such a rad one life´s a journey we´ll see what´s next after the next bend laughter and jokes and more cappuccinos and pull ups and one hundred forty five that night and what the hell I should be working by now but coffee I need coffee I have some of the raddest friends saving me each day and I love you all out there the few and the brave all I can say is never give up been to places blacker than the abyss all you can shove in my direction makes me stronger each day so let´s see bring it on more of that I need to grit my teeth to feel
alive!
Out!
alive!
Out!
Donnerstag, 31. Oktober 2013
The proj...
Yap, it´s pretty rad! I´ve been trying "Damengambit" at the Schleierwasserfall for three days now and it´s starting to feel doable! It´ll for sure be a matter of a few more days to build up the necessary power endurance but I think I have a chance of actually doing it!
Thanks to Bene Pirchmoser, who snapped the pic! Bright colors anyone? I wasn´t expecting pics being taken…
Out!
Samstag, 26. Oktober 2013
Fall update!
Okay, the past weeks have been quite a whirlwind! I had to leave my position in Hollfeld and have since gone back to being a teacher in Munich - zooming in for my final round of exams to come in December. I survived the first round of exams with psychology and pedagogics pretty well, scoring A in psychology and something else in pedagogics, making for a total grade of B - I can live with that. I´ve also gone back to commuting and well, it´s strenuous but I wouldn´t live in Munich, so it´s worth it. I need to be able to hike and climb and big city life would drive me nuts!
On the climbing front, I managed to climb one of my fall objectives last weekend! Considering that Deuterium is quite crimpy and pretty vertical except for a first section, for which I fortunately found some pinch beta, I´m pretty damn happy about that. I can´t deny that climbing yet another 5.13b / 8a graded route got me psyched just for the number reason as well. It wasn´t the primary reason, I wanted to find out if I could climb something that would give me a hard time but I also admittedly wanted to find out if I can climb that grade in a style that´s not my favorite!
Turns out I can!
Yesterday I went to the Zillertal with my new girlfriend - we haven´t made it official but to me, kissing has always been a sign of a relationship starting, so I´m pretty positive on that - and had a wonderful day, despite fucking up my knee same as I did in the valley back in 2009. Same as in 2009, I´ll stick to Libby Sauter`s advice: "Ibuprofen that shit!"
Here´s to you Libs! I´ve been doing it tonight and it has improved!
Let´s see what´ll be up next!
Out!
On the climbing front, I managed to climb one of my fall objectives last weekend! Considering that Deuterium is quite crimpy and pretty vertical except for a first section, for which I fortunately found some pinch beta, I´m pretty damn happy about that. I can´t deny that climbing yet another 5.13b / 8a graded route got me psyched just for the number reason as well. It wasn´t the primary reason, I wanted to find out if I could climb something that would give me a hard time but I also admittedly wanted to find out if I can climb that grade in a style that´s not my favorite!
Turns out I can!
Yesterday I went to the Zillertal with my new girlfriend - we haven´t made it official but to me, kissing has always been a sign of a relationship starting, so I´m pretty positive on that - and had a wonderful day, despite fucking up my knee same as I did in the valley back in 2009. Same as in 2009, I´ll stick to Libby Sauter`s advice: "Ibuprofen that shit!"
Here´s to you Libs! I´ve been doing it tonight and it has improved!
Let´s see what´ll be up next!
Out!
Sonntag, 15. September 2013
Old dog, new tricks...a retrospective!
Climbing at the Freiwand yesterday - despite pouring rain the upper tier remains dry for at least three days - I couldn´t help but smile looking at "Old dog, new tricks". The route and basically the complete lower tier were soaked and I wonder, actually doubt if they will dry up this season again.
When I bolted the line last year, I was immediately amazed by two things: how much the line fit my style of climbing and how much the project soon started to mean to me. Ripping of the only jug that was to be found on the climb`s upper part came as a devastation since it meant I´d surely not be able to climb the project relatively quick. It also meant something else however: it meant that I got really motivated, decided to train harder, focus more and return next season for a second round of attempts. What I had envisioned as a pretty fun, steep route I might be able to put down in two days had changed into something hard, into something that forced me to rethink what I wanted to achieve and how much I wanted to invest.
The rest is pretty much history. On my first day this year, I found out I could link all the moves - and sent the whole thing on August 18th, on a hot and humid day that wasn´t exactly made to send a hard route - or maybe it was? It for sure was the last day I´ve seen the line completely dry and actually the only time there wasn´t a single wet hold on the climb out of five days of effort I put into the rig this and last year. Maybe conditions suggesting I didn´t have a chance were what I needed to stay relaxed and to not put too much pressure on myself. I just gave it a go - and ended up clipping the chains. I gave myself a birthday present before my actual birthday on August 26th.
I also ended up seizing the moment that had to be seized. That´s what I´m most happy about. I had one chance - and used it. Usually I´m pretty good at screwing things up when it all comes down to seizing a moment or not but this time I was lucky. I´ve been lucky a few times since. Maybe I´ve finally found out how to make the most out of what talents I have...stubbornness, psyche...and a little bit of talent and vision thrown in for good measure.
Drip on, my baby! I can finally see the rain pour and not worry. Oh well, I guess I´m a very happy man. Consider yourself privileged if those are your personal worries. But why not soak up some happiness if it comes your way...
Peace, Chris
When I bolted the line last year, I was immediately amazed by two things: how much the line fit my style of climbing and how much the project soon started to mean to me. Ripping of the only jug that was to be found on the climb`s upper part came as a devastation since it meant I´d surely not be able to climb the project relatively quick. It also meant something else however: it meant that I got really motivated, decided to train harder, focus more and return next season for a second round of attempts. What I had envisioned as a pretty fun, steep route I might be able to put down in two days had changed into something hard, into something that forced me to rethink what I wanted to achieve and how much I wanted to invest.
The rest is pretty much history. On my first day this year, I found out I could link all the moves - and sent the whole thing on August 18th, on a hot and humid day that wasn´t exactly made to send a hard route - or maybe it was? It for sure was the last day I´ve seen the line completely dry and actually the only time there wasn´t a single wet hold on the climb out of five days of effort I put into the rig this and last year. Maybe conditions suggesting I didn´t have a chance were what I needed to stay relaxed and to not put too much pressure on myself. I just gave it a go - and ended up clipping the chains. I gave myself a birthday present before my actual birthday on August 26th.
I also ended up seizing the moment that had to be seized. That´s what I´m most happy about. I had one chance - and used it. Usually I´m pretty good at screwing things up when it all comes down to seizing a moment or not but this time I was lucky. I´ve been lucky a few times since. Maybe I´ve finally found out how to make the most out of what talents I have...stubbornness, psyche...and a little bit of talent and vision thrown in for good measure.
Drip on, my baby! I can finally see the rain pour and not worry. Oh well, I guess I´m a very happy man. Consider yourself privileged if those are your personal worries. But why not soak up some happiness if it comes your way...
Peace, Chris
Samstag, 7. September 2013
Old dog, new tricks - Photo update!
My good friend and excellent photographer Daniel Bähring took pics of me on my baby, my recently faed former project "Old dog, new tricks".
I´d like to thank all involved parties, Johannes Loidl for the belay today, Daniel Bähring for the pics and of course Thomas Rupprecht for all the patient belays during my workout sessions and during the send itself!
I´d like to thank all involved parties, Johannes Loidl for the belay today, Daniel Bähring for the pics and of course Thomas Rupprecht for all the patient belays during my workout sessions and during the send itself!
Montag, 19. August 2013
Old dog...new tricks!
Okay...writing this one feels pretty damn good! Yesterday was a day quite anxiously awaited after talking to Julian Meyer the days before - he had told me that Bergen was completely dry, meaning that my project - not one of the many but the big one, yes that one! - would probably be dry as well!
The project no longer is a project. It´s a route called "Old dog, new tricks". I sent the damn thing!
I bolted the line last year and got close to sending it - ripping of a crucial hold on my second day of efforts. Since I was scheduled to go to the Frankenjura for a year, I refused to quit, sucked it up and started working on the new and substantially harder upper crux - no dice! I didn´t even have a chance. I red tagged the project, vowed to return and did so about four weeks ago. I found out I could link all the moves from the fourth bolt on with one hang, actually climb the whole thing with one hang, so I was confident that I might pull the whole thing off sometime this year...if I ever managed to find it dry again! The project´s only downside: it gets wet easily...and takes very long to dry and be climbable again!
Yesterday, things were drier than ever! I wasn´t even sure of whether to attempt the project or not, considering it was quite warm and humid - not the conditions you want to have for wide pinches and slopers in a close to 40° overhang! But then I decided to hop on, put in the first three draws and shaking out before heading into the first hard section decided to make it a send go!
It all feel into place perfectly! I hit every move absolutely right, all heel hooks and tricks worked out perfectly and I clipped the chains! It´s the hardest thing I´ve climbed and calling solid 8a or 5.13b/c on it seems like a good guess! The fact that it´s a first ascent is the icing on the cake!
The line climbs out of a little cave! It´s the steepest and to me the most intriguing line of the area - and it offers amazing climbing on wide pinches and slopers, which are some of my favorite holds! As a little pun on me zooming in on my 31st birthday on August 26th this year, I decided to name the climb "Old dog, new tricks". This one taught me a lot about climbing and reminded me to keep up my level of psyche and determination at times when things were a little bit rougher on the edges. The next months will be tedious and full of exams, chores and at times frustration. I don´t mind. Been there, done that. So far, I´ve always come up with a new trick!
I´ll return to the rig as soon as possible for a little photo shooting session! Some pics will be posted as soon as I have them!
The project no longer is a project. It´s a route called "Old dog, new tricks". I sent the damn thing!
I bolted the line last year and got close to sending it - ripping of a crucial hold on my second day of efforts. Since I was scheduled to go to the Frankenjura for a year, I refused to quit, sucked it up and started working on the new and substantially harder upper crux - no dice! I didn´t even have a chance. I red tagged the project, vowed to return and did so about four weeks ago. I found out I could link all the moves from the fourth bolt on with one hang, actually climb the whole thing with one hang, so I was confident that I might pull the whole thing off sometime this year...if I ever managed to find it dry again! The project´s only downside: it gets wet easily...and takes very long to dry and be climbable again!
Yesterday, things were drier than ever! I wasn´t even sure of whether to attempt the project or not, considering it was quite warm and humid - not the conditions you want to have for wide pinches and slopers in a close to 40° overhang! But then I decided to hop on, put in the first three draws and shaking out before heading into the first hard section decided to make it a send go!
It all feel into place perfectly! I hit every move absolutely right, all heel hooks and tricks worked out perfectly and I clipped the chains! It´s the hardest thing I´ve climbed and calling solid 8a or 5.13b/c on it seems like a good guess! The fact that it´s a first ascent is the icing on the cake!
The line climbs out of a little cave! It´s the steepest and to me the most intriguing line of the area - and it offers amazing climbing on wide pinches and slopers, which are some of my favorite holds! As a little pun on me zooming in on my 31st birthday on August 26th this year, I decided to name the climb "Old dog, new tricks". This one taught me a lot about climbing and reminded me to keep up my level of psyche and determination at times when things were a little bit rougher on the edges. The next months will be tedious and full of exams, chores and at times frustration. I don´t mind. Been there, done that. So far, I´ve always come up with a new trick!
I´ll return to the rig as soon as possible for a little photo shooting session! Some pics will be posted as soon as I have them!
Dienstag, 30. Juli 2013
Photos of the day...
Okay...I´ve finally been mailed some photos. Last year we were shooting pics for a new guide book. After a whole day of climbing I was made to change my shirt and climb this one, which is a pretty classic enduro pitch! I was feeling pretty damn shot - psyched I don´t look half as tired as I actually was...
Donnerstag, 25. Juli 2013
My personal best 2012/2013 - a subjective Frankenjura selection.
Okay, first of all, I´m not that qualified. I´ve seen a few, spending a year up here working as a teacher but anyway, if someone feels tempted to actually try them - I enjoyed them! Of course I´ve climbed more, those twenty however make the top list. They´re not ordered by difficulty and not ranked, just a very general list. I do think however that my descriptions actually are quite accurate.
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Dumbo / Klinge / 7b : Starting with a fun campus section, this one gets you a little pumped before a first crux on small holds - things get slabby here - leads you to a good shake out. Recompose and climb the final headwall, which is gnarly since you´ll have to pull some small holds. I call that a classic. Oh, the rock quality is amazing and the protection bomber.
Chicken Modul / Klinge / 7b+ : After a serious campus entry, a vertical section on amazing pockets leads to a good shake out. Use it, screwing up the overhanging but easy top part would suck. Actually, the top´s not that easy since you don´t have a lot for your feet. Except a heel hook. Which I´m good at.
Abseitsfalle / Püttlacher Wand / 6c : Obviously uber classic and it deserves to be. Vertical, techy and fingery...and run out! It´s not dangerous but falling before the second bolt has been clipped is not an option. Which is why many people leave it pre - clipped. Which I don´t condone, it´s an easy walk up to that clip (6a max!) and if you´re trying a classic, do it the classic way - or leave it! As soon as the second bolt has been clipped, you´re home free!
Jumanji / Andeltodrom / 7b+ : Short but surprisingly pumpy - and a new school classic. Why? Good pocket moves, steep, good protection and a frustrating crux up high. It´s a tad sharpish but that´s all that can be said against it! You can even out in your draws from the neighboring 6c warm up. The only downside is that you maybe will need to queue up - yap, new school classic!
Knupper Ged.-Weg / Rote Wand / 6b : Old school classic and hard as fuck! It´s just big holds but quite a number of those in a row. You can safely assume you can climb 6b if you can do this one. Almost 30 meters long and quite overhung, this one reminded me of classic enduro routes in France! It´s run out in the beginning - easy section here, you can use the first two bolts of the neighboring 6a to have some extra protection - but well protected on the upper part aka the business section. Full value!
Jonathan / Bandstein / 7a+ : Three stars in the book and I´m writing a description? Well, it makes sense!
The guide doesn´t tell you the following: the first crux comes between the second and the third bolt and if you feel like onsighting this, bring a good belayer. After that it´s pretty much just pumping on okay holds before you get to the ledge after more than 3/4 of the route. Oh well, crux coming up! You can quite easily clip the last bolt but making it past that and to the final chains clip turns out to be quite cruxy after more than 30 metres of pulling.
Beavis & Butthead / Diebesloch / 7b+ : Ultra steep, ultra powerful and more or less pumpy. Oh well, and notoriously wet. If it´s dry, it´s amazing. Too bad it isn´t dry too often!
Kalypso / Loreley / 6c+ : A slightly more obscure crag - with amazing routes! All are pretty run out, pretty much not chalked up and offer an interesting mix of crimpers and pockets. This one´s the best of all of them - imho! I didn´t even try the crag´s 7c+, it was wet and locked like a good opportunity to deck on a ledge, which I´m scared of.
Strohdach / Weissenstein / 7b+ : Uber classic. Polished. Not well protected on the first 6 meters - that´s when you get to clip the first bolt. Bring a strong head or a pad. Or leave the first bolt pre - clipped as I did. From that point onwards, it´s simply put big moves on good holds. Oh well, John Bachar got the FA. Here´s to you, Johnny Rock! RIP!
Rocky´s Home Zone / Lichtenfelser Dach / 7c : Okay, I might be biased. Roofs just rule my world! This one is fun - if it´s dry! Apparently, it seldom is! A three bolt intro leads to a fun and very tension oriented roof boulder on slopey holds. Heelhooks might help - they actually do! Again, I might be biased, since I was the only guy heel hooking on that thing out of three people trying it that day! I was the only one to send though, so I guess I was right! HAH! The top needs some resistance, the last pinch drop knee is a potential heartbreaker...
Saus und Braus / Klinge / 6b+ : Well, another Klinge one...for a reason! This one´s pretty classic since it starts with a fun campus problem, gets you pumped, offers some monos in the middle part and presents you with a mean shut down crux right at the top - I like that pattern! The route´s two neighbors, Bärway to Heaven and Basic Instinct could be on the list as well. Oh Klinge goodness!
Muskelprotz / Stadelhofener Dunkelkammer / 7c : Okay, it´s a traverse. But: it has a route grade and climbs like one, so it makes the list! Steep, good holds, burly moves, pumpy! I like!
Strahlentod / Hintere Stadelhofener Wände / 6b : As good as it gets. Classic! An easy intro, followed by a hard traverse section with the route´s crux hold, a two finger pocket. Pull it and climb to glory! 6bs don´t get better than this!
Käptn ` Nemo / 7a / Jules Verne Wand : Used to be the easy warm up on the wall...quite a good one at that. About 15 meters of 6c climbing take you to a good shake out, from where on you have to climb an overhanging head wall. Clip the chains, look down and be amazed. That´s called a line! Oh, rock and protection are superb.
Woodcocks in Time / Hintere Stadelhofener Wände / 6b+ : Okay, you can deck. Okay, you could find easier 6cs, quite a few actually! So why climb it? Because it´s classic and damn good. It´s not over until you´ve clipped the chains. Routes never are! But this one remains straight in your face. I climbed it slightly wet...this might have contributed, but I had to pull for this one! And damn, it was worth it!
Back to the beginning / Altes Schloß / 7a : This one´s for boulderers...a hard traverse section from the first to the second bolt, from that point on it´s a cruise to the top. That´s what I thought. Turns out I was wrong. I´ve never shook out so much on a 7a! It was the last route of the day but hey...IT FELT HARD!
International Bolt Conspiracy / Rote Wand / 6c : Full Value. Easy intro to a hard vertical section to an amazingly overhung headwall! Long, sustained and what a line! If you want to put in your draws for a flash go, you need to do Knupper Ged.-Weg. Which can be found in the list as well. Yap, two amazing ones right next to each other. That´s called a quality crag!
Blutspur / Diebesloch / 6c+ : Wanna get pumped? Wanna climb a roof? Wanna be fooled by all the comments on climbing.de? Well, it´s not over after the first bolt. It´s about to get hard! I might have missed a few tricks since I onsighted it but that didn´t feel too easy!
Westwand / Rotenstein / 6c : Yap, techy, vertical and fingery can be cool! What does it need to have? Old school protection on bomber glue ins, a few monos and a fun shoulder crux move! Oh, let´s not forget the easy mantle!
Wishing on a Star / Terrarium / 7b : Well, hard as fuck! Maybe because I´m keeping the proposed grade despite it being nonsense but anyway. Pockets in a 45° overhanging shield. Sharp ones. My beta sucks, I have two goes until that damn right hand pocket slices my finger. Oh well...AMAZING!
______________________________________________________________________________
Dumbo / Klinge / 7b : Starting with a fun campus section, this one gets you a little pumped before a first crux on small holds - things get slabby here - leads you to a good shake out. Recompose and climb the final headwall, which is gnarly since you´ll have to pull some small holds. I call that a classic. Oh, the rock quality is amazing and the protection bomber.
Chicken Modul / Klinge / 7b+ : After a serious campus entry, a vertical section on amazing pockets leads to a good shake out. Use it, screwing up the overhanging but easy top part would suck. Actually, the top´s not that easy since you don´t have a lot for your feet. Except a heel hook. Which I´m good at.
Abseitsfalle / Püttlacher Wand / 6c : Obviously uber classic and it deserves to be. Vertical, techy and fingery...and run out! It´s not dangerous but falling before the second bolt has been clipped is not an option. Which is why many people leave it pre - clipped. Which I don´t condone, it´s an easy walk up to that clip (6a max!) and if you´re trying a classic, do it the classic way - or leave it! As soon as the second bolt has been clipped, you´re home free!
Jumanji / Andeltodrom / 7b+ : Short but surprisingly pumpy - and a new school classic. Why? Good pocket moves, steep, good protection and a frustrating crux up high. It´s a tad sharpish but that´s all that can be said against it! You can even out in your draws from the neighboring 6c warm up. The only downside is that you maybe will need to queue up - yap, new school classic!
Knupper Ged.-Weg / Rote Wand / 6b : Old school classic and hard as fuck! It´s just big holds but quite a number of those in a row. You can safely assume you can climb 6b if you can do this one. Almost 30 meters long and quite overhung, this one reminded me of classic enduro routes in France! It´s run out in the beginning - easy section here, you can use the first two bolts of the neighboring 6a to have some extra protection - but well protected on the upper part aka the business section. Full value!
Jonathan / Bandstein / 7a+ : Three stars in the book and I´m writing a description? Well, it makes sense!
The guide doesn´t tell you the following: the first crux comes between the second and the third bolt and if you feel like onsighting this, bring a good belayer. After that it´s pretty much just pumping on okay holds before you get to the ledge after more than 3/4 of the route. Oh well, crux coming up! You can quite easily clip the last bolt but making it past that and to the final chains clip turns out to be quite cruxy after more than 30 metres of pulling.
Beavis & Butthead / Diebesloch / 7b+ : Ultra steep, ultra powerful and more or less pumpy. Oh well, and notoriously wet. If it´s dry, it´s amazing. Too bad it isn´t dry too often!
Kalypso / Loreley / 6c+ : A slightly more obscure crag - with amazing routes! All are pretty run out, pretty much not chalked up and offer an interesting mix of crimpers and pockets. This one´s the best of all of them - imho! I didn´t even try the crag´s 7c+, it was wet and locked like a good opportunity to deck on a ledge, which I´m scared of.
Strohdach / Weissenstein / 7b+ : Uber classic. Polished. Not well protected on the first 6 meters - that´s when you get to clip the first bolt. Bring a strong head or a pad. Or leave the first bolt pre - clipped as I did. From that point onwards, it´s simply put big moves on good holds. Oh well, John Bachar got the FA. Here´s to you, Johnny Rock! RIP!
Rocky´s Home Zone / Lichtenfelser Dach / 7c : Okay, I might be biased. Roofs just rule my world! This one is fun - if it´s dry! Apparently, it seldom is! A three bolt intro leads to a fun and very tension oriented roof boulder on slopey holds. Heelhooks might help - they actually do! Again, I might be biased, since I was the only guy heel hooking on that thing out of three people trying it that day! I was the only one to send though, so I guess I was right! HAH! The top needs some resistance, the last pinch drop knee is a potential heartbreaker...
Saus und Braus / Klinge / 6b+ : Well, another Klinge one...for a reason! This one´s pretty classic since it starts with a fun campus problem, gets you pumped, offers some monos in the middle part and presents you with a mean shut down crux right at the top - I like that pattern! The route´s two neighbors, Bärway to Heaven and Basic Instinct could be on the list as well. Oh Klinge goodness!
Muskelprotz / Stadelhofener Dunkelkammer / 7c : Okay, it´s a traverse. But: it has a route grade and climbs like one, so it makes the list! Steep, good holds, burly moves, pumpy! I like!
Strahlentod / Hintere Stadelhofener Wände / 6b : As good as it gets. Classic! An easy intro, followed by a hard traverse section with the route´s crux hold, a two finger pocket. Pull it and climb to glory! 6bs don´t get better than this!
Käptn ` Nemo / 7a / Jules Verne Wand : Used to be the easy warm up on the wall...quite a good one at that. About 15 meters of 6c climbing take you to a good shake out, from where on you have to climb an overhanging head wall. Clip the chains, look down and be amazed. That´s called a line! Oh, rock and protection are superb.
Woodcocks in Time / Hintere Stadelhofener Wände / 6b+ : Okay, you can deck. Okay, you could find easier 6cs, quite a few actually! So why climb it? Because it´s classic and damn good. It´s not over until you´ve clipped the chains. Routes never are! But this one remains straight in your face. I climbed it slightly wet...this might have contributed, but I had to pull for this one! And damn, it was worth it!
Back to the beginning / Altes Schloß / 7a : This one´s for boulderers...a hard traverse section from the first to the second bolt, from that point on it´s a cruise to the top. That´s what I thought. Turns out I was wrong. I´ve never shook out so much on a 7a! It was the last route of the day but hey...IT FELT HARD!
International Bolt Conspiracy / Rote Wand / 6c : Full Value. Easy intro to a hard vertical section to an amazingly overhung headwall! Long, sustained and what a line! If you want to put in your draws for a flash go, you need to do Knupper Ged.-Weg. Which can be found in the list as well. Yap, two amazing ones right next to each other. That´s called a quality crag!
Blutspur / Diebesloch / 6c+ : Wanna get pumped? Wanna climb a roof? Wanna be fooled by all the comments on climbing.de? Well, it´s not over after the first bolt. It´s about to get hard! I might have missed a few tricks since I onsighted it but that didn´t feel too easy!
Westwand / Rotenstein / 6c : Yap, techy, vertical and fingery can be cool! What does it need to have? Old school protection on bomber glue ins, a few monos and a fun shoulder crux move! Oh, let´s not forget the easy mantle!
Wishing on a Star / Terrarium / 7b : Well, hard as fuck! Maybe because I´m keeping the proposed grade despite it being nonsense but anyway. Pockets in a 45° overhanging shield. Sharp ones. My beta sucks, I have two goes until that damn right hand pocket slices my finger. Oh well...AMAZING!
Samstag, 20. Juli 2013
Projects...
Well, I´ve always been a project climber. Today, I took the opportunity to work on two of them, one, the one in the picture I bolted last year, the other one about two weeks ago. I knew that the one shown above was hard but kinda hoped the other one wouldn´t be and more of a sendable-in-a-day thing. Turns out I was wrong. It climbs amazingly, both actually do, one being really overhung, pinchy and slopey - the one in the pic, the other aka the new one essentially boiling down to a really crimpy traverse section. Challenge accepted. I reached a new high point on the overhanging one today, so it was a good day. I´m hoping for some cooler weather...
We´ll see what happens tomorrow. I´m Zillertal bound, projects there as well...time to finish some off!
Donnerstag, 18. Juli 2013
Wrapping things up...
Well, that was a fun year. It wasn´t all fun, life never is, but on a general basis, I couldn´t have asked for a better year in Hollfeld. Simply put, I really grew to like the classes I taught, even though at times they probably struggled with my style, that puts an emphasis on enabling kids to ask the right questions rather than displaying answers on the quick. I don´t think that we can provide all the answers - what we need to do in school is enable teenagers to ask the right questions and come up with ways to answer them on their own, supervised, coached, monitored, whatever. I don´t believe that handing out check lists is the right thing. I don´t believe that grading everything is the right way. I think that we carefully and measured by common sense have to help young people realize that they indeed know something - and if not, they should feel welcome to ask.
Enough of that. I can spew all these things out in my thesis. For now it should be sufficient to say that all my classes rocked, we got along well - I think so - and that some pupils improved in a major way. Not just skill wise but also personality wise. That´s all I can ask for.
In terms of climbing I didn´t get to climb as many projects as I wanted to. That´s life. My preferred rope partner broke her foot and my other rope partner blew his shoulder. I climbed a ton of boulders though, sent a bunch of ultra classic Frankenjura lines and thus won´t leave with a bad feeling at all. I didn´t get any pics, didn´t see lots of visits by my friends - talking about going somewhere seems all the rage these days - but had fun anyway.
I guess that´s what matters in the end.
Some of my most memorable boulder achievements can be seen in the following short clips...
http://vimeo.com/58125772
http://vimeo.com/54098868
http://vimeo.com/53609734
Signing out.
Peace!
Enough of that. I can spew all these things out in my thesis. For now it should be sufficient to say that all my classes rocked, we got along well - I think so - and that some pupils improved in a major way. Not just skill wise but also personality wise. That´s all I can ask for.
In terms of climbing I didn´t get to climb as many projects as I wanted to. That´s life. My preferred rope partner broke her foot and my other rope partner blew his shoulder. I climbed a ton of boulders though, sent a bunch of ultra classic Frankenjura lines and thus won´t leave with a bad feeling at all. I didn´t get any pics, didn´t see lots of visits by my friends - talking about going somewhere seems all the rage these days - but had fun anyway.
I guess that´s what matters in the end.
Some of my most memorable boulder achievements can be seen in the following short clips...
http://vimeo.com/58125772
http://vimeo.com/54098868
http://vimeo.com/53609734
Signing out.
Peace!
Donnerstag, 4. April 2013
Frankenjura Pics...
Okay...so I have been mailed some of the pics that were taken last weekend and here there´re some. I managed to pull of a second go ascent of an ultra classic, steep pocket pulling fest faed by John Bachar in 1982. Psyched. I woulnd´t have bet on myself after I almost froze my fingers off hangdogging it, so I threw a round of cappuccinos later that day! Officially psyched! After a tedious day of prepping for my upcoming exam next Thursday, I´m allowing myself a break! Counting down the days... Out!
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