Climbing in Wyoming

An interesting video about climbing in Wyoming, Todd Skinner, and some positive community developments from climbing (for once).

Rodellar times

Ola Taistra on Cosi Fan Tutte 8c+ from Jason on Vimeo.

Fred Beckey in the Dolomites

I almost met Beckey in 2005, when road-tripping in Red Rocks. He never showed up for that week-end, and instead I listened to some more stories about him during our long nights in the desert, eyeing the lights of Las Vegas somewhere far away out there. He was already old then.  He is older today.

I wonder how many years he has been climbing and how many partners/generations he has seen go by? With my 10 years of climbing anniversary this year, I start noticing all these youngsters, wide-eyed, impressed, and impressive, discovering the beauty of the sport. Time flies, passions remain. To you, Beckey!

Fantastic flying books

Petzl Argentina Rock Trip Movie

After the more controversial China trip, Petzl team goes to Argentina, with another good movie.

Petzl RocTrip Argentina 2012 [EN] The official movie from Petzl-sport on Vimeo.

Searching for Sugarman

I have been watching recently several documentaries - first about Jiro and his love and mastery of suchis in Tokyo metro station during the many decades since the WWII, and yesterday about Rodriguez and his career in music that was not.  Both inspiring in different ways, both very good movies.

Rodriguez had a quick debut in the US in Detroit, did not make it, and as many other artists after being kicked off their label, went into public oblivion.  The interesting part of his story started to happen in South Africa of all places, where, unknown to him, he became an icon of Rock-n-Roll and rebellion against the Apartheid.  Legends about him killing himself on stage started to circulate there, as nothing was known about him.  Only 40 years later did fans come into contact with Rodriguez after looking for him for over 10 years.  All the while, he was alive and working in construction in the dilapidated Detroit downtown.  Rodriguez thus could perform - again - to 20, 000 fans, after having led a very different life during intermittent 40 years.



Would be interesting to hear if Rodriguez might have more new music left in him...

Beth Rodden and Climbing

Beth Rodden and climbing...




Yes, injuries can break you - or make you stronger.  Learning more about your own body without destroying it in the process, searching for limits, but finding balance.  Live and learn.  Up and free.

Bongo Bar Video

New video of an old adventure just came out:



By an ironic twist of fate today Dave, Helena, and myself are injured and very far away from that moment when our lives crossed for one summer trip up North, a moment in climbing career for one, a short moment of seconding Dave for the others.  Good memories, already slowly fading into the past.

I hope both of us will be back on to those big walls we used to enjoy so much, in one way or another.

Au Revoir, Edlinger

Rest in peace, Patrick and your dream.

Picos de Europa

My first visit to Spain, 5 years ago, was actually on a climbing trip with the objective being to visit Mallos de Riglos and Picos de Europa, two very coveted objectives by long-route climbers, to the crowd of which I used to belong.  Although I managed to get as far as Riglos, Picos had to wait, and wait some more.

Maybe now the time has finally come to see the famous Naranjo by myself, and in nothing else than a Swedish company.  And not any company for that, it will be my pleasure to climb with Jonas Paulsson, the director of Crackoholic movie on Bohuslan climbing around Gothenburg, Joakim Söderström that I have seen on many a memorable fotos, such as this one by the other Jonas, and that has inspired my climbing on Gullknausen in Norway last year, and my friend Jonas Wiklund.

Let the adventure begin!

Encordades, the video

Only recently someone told me that "oh, you will stop climbing, just wait and see, all girls are not that serious about it, they all stop climbing".  Funny, machismo still going on today.  Well done, the protagonists of the Encordades documentary, reminding ourselves - and our male counterparts, that girls can do it well, very well indeed.

Up Nanga Parbat

Wishing all the best of luck, good weather, and endurance to Cathy O'Dowd and her Nanga Parbat expedition, attempting to climb the Mazeno Ridge.  Expedition blog and news here, let's hope all come back safely.

Desert life

One spring, long time ago, I came to the desert, and it felt home.  Directly, immediately, without any introductions, any flattery, or deception.  Brutally and honestly, it was there, it was it.  Rock, canyons, walls, towers.  I started climbing because I saw people hanging on the walls of Zion.  It was not only about walking and looking.  You could participate, you could hang.  On the wall.  Enlightened, then and there, on Angels' Landing.

If not Montserrat, Utah is another place I could happily call home.  Moab, - although I saw it just in passing, there for a few hours, - but it left its trace of paradise, if there ever was to be one for a climber, - and Steph is its queen.

  

If one day I leave Spain, I'd like to go back to the desert, that desert, the red rock, the orange air, the painful sun.  Those painfully blooming cacti.  And snow covering the Fisher Towers.  Discovering arches, big and small ones, pioneers once again, the story told all over again.  And none else bothering you, maybe that is freedom.  Maybe that is utopia.  But kudos to you, Steph, go girl!

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 :)

A climb for a dream

When there is nothing to report on the personal climbing front except for injuries, recovery, and finally coming back to try the project all over again, there are always other people climbing and inspiring enough.  Thank you for being there and reminding us mortals to dream all over again.

Here is the Australian Monique Forestier, as shot by her as gifted husband-photographer trying his hand at the video production, Simon Carter:

Escalade au feminin

During these cold winter times, when the new Ondra movie is just out, it has been interesting for me to watch the old feature on Isabelle Patissier, a French climber, one of the first women to climb 8a, and then 8b, who became famous during her competition in WorldCups, especially when being a rival of the not less famous Lynn Hill.

Interesting old times, when French brought climbing and aesthetics as close together as they would ever come to date, reminding one of Patrick Edlinger and pink lycra, but - au feminin.  Without further due, here is Isabelle, a little surreal, climbing bambou...and other media:



Not bad for a movie already 20 years old...More update on Isabelle's life for Spanish readers here and French ones here...

Two videos, two lives...

There are the stars, and there are other climbers, so many other climbers.  And there are those "putos amos", the ones who inspire, who make us dream, who make us close our eyes and think again, imagine the impossible, believe in the unbelievable.  Or not think, but relax, jump up, forget the fear, do the move, just try it for the hack of it. Experiment with the unbearable lightness of being, with the gravity or ingravity, with moments, with time, with life: maybe anything is possible?  Maybe we just simply can?..

One of them, Novato, I do not have the pleasure to know personally, but I have seen him several times in Rodellar, have noticed his smile, his kind eyes.  And have felt at home.  Despite the hard moves, the intimidating overhangs and tufas, Novato made the place seem human, possible, kind.  Thank you for being there, for making us come home sometimes, for inspiring us all.


Novato en Botanics - Rodellar 2010 from Christian Checa on Vimeo.

I have had the pleasure to climb with Txema several times, and it has always been that, pure pleasure of spending moments of this life, so precious sometimes, so interesting and useful.  Seeing Txema climb makes one remember the origins of sport climbing here in Spain, and realize that style, rhythm, and flow matter as much as competence and pure power.

Two videos, two lives, two climbers. Let us all climb and get inspired, many years more.

Gore-Tex Videos from our Experience Tour

Packing the bags, we are watching the rain pour over our colorful Mountain Equipment jackets.  This is our last day in Norway, and as a dessert here are a couple of videos by Paul Diffley, from Hot Aches Production, immortalizing this short but memorable experience:

Dave going for a morning run:

Dave climbing a little after the morning run:



Helena taking the classic Tunga jump:

and Helena again, climbing in the beautiful Ersfjord:

Gullknausen, the Northern Jewel

The island of Kvaloya was formed, the guidebook says, as part of Greenland, before it actually parted from Norway some 100 million years ago on a sail West.  The island is incredible in its abundance of high-quality granite, tilted in all possible directions, and most of the time providing a stunning view to the neighbouring fjords below.  It is both beautiful and remote, hanging on the edge among the rocky and harsh world as we know it, the still arctic waters, the never-ending skyline, and out-of-space light that colonises it in summer, as opposed to all-day night that settles comfortably throughout the winter.

Nothing represents Kvaloya in all its full-blown colours and mind-blowing airy, watery, and rocky atmosphere as the Gullknausen.  Discovered accidentally by Svein Smelvaer from aboard a fishing boat called "Fidel",  the name given to the first 8a bolted on the main wall, it is a white-orangy 70-meter wonder hanging off the rims of the fjord, that any climber would go to some length to get a belay on.  It has been my immense pleasure to have a video shot by our talented cameraman Paul Diffley of my attempts, and final midnight redpoint of Golden Shower, an awesome line up the main wall, bathed in afternoon, and then night, sun, while the other members of the Gore-Tex team were busy with other projects: Helena and Donald multipitching on Flikkflak, and Dave working the yet unclimbed extension of "Fidel", supposedly a bouldery problem around 8b+:

Sports Climbing at Gullknausen, Norway from Hot Aches Productions on Vimeo.

Thanks Paul!  Below are more pictures of this incredible crag, one of the more stunning locations I have sport climbed in:

Donald climbing Flikkflak, as the guidebook says: "best 6b+ around (in Norway, Europe, and even on...)

 Incredible sunset over the unending ocean (picture by Paul Diffley)

Myself during the second attempt at Golden Shower (picture by Paul Diffley)

View from the ledge with the evening sun

Cathy on Climbing

Another look on the climbing life from Cathy, in a way similar to what Eva Lopez kept talking about this w/end in Panxa del Bou - at some point you have to answer that why question for yourself.