Petzl in China

Finally the climbing community comes up with a good video, motivational example, and ...good music!!!!



Good to see the familiar faces together, our Spanish local trio Dani, Chris, and Daila, the less local but sometimes enjoying Montserrat (and onsighting my projects) Said, and the others, such as the ever-nice role models I used to look up to for many years, Lynn and the Petit family.

Nice work, for once I'm proud to call myself a climber too :)

Masriudoms, or Ode to Overhangs

And off we went South, all the way South.  Not much else to do on the day that all the gods decided to pour their rage in droplets aimed against the Catalan countryside.  What else, Masriudoms, the cave.  Still there, as I remembered it, just greener, and warmer.  No friends on the outskirts, all new crowd.  This time I lead up - painfully, from bolt to bolt, but I put up the line, remembering the scarry top-rope of ATP I did here long time ago, in different company, with different expectations, and a different vision of life.

Marcel in the stormy skies of the first pitch of ATP

Things change.  Others don´t.  I still can´t climb overhangs - but now I can fight my way up them.  I slowly get better though - I can contemplate overhanging 7cs that used to scare the soul out of my body.  I still have a deathly fear of leading them, I still can hardly face the fall - but I try.  Long, powerful moves, relaxing, flowing up.  It is fun and terrifying at the same time.  How much could it cost?  A lot.  Although I am still not doing that many pull-ups, I am slowly improving - and it´s an incredible feeling that makes me a little bit more inspired, a little bit more motivated for that extra effort, for that extra round of endurance, of campus, of pull-ups. 

Myself struggling with the second pitch of ATP, 7c

While slowly going about consolidating my 8a powers on vertical terrain, this year's other objective remains to send an overhanging 7c.  Rodellar or ATP would do just fine.  Small baby steps.  Let´s work, let´s train the core, let´s dyno, let´s climb.  Not there yet, but one day I will!

For you, mi ilusion