Freezy Font

Arctic temperatures in northwest Europe, most of the Dutch had ice skating fever but I had only one destination in mind...Font! My last visit to Font was more than a year ago so and that was too long go for me so we went for the weekend (3 day weekend). With temperatures between -5C and -12C I knew that it was going to be cold, but the friction was well worth the suffering.

On the top of the to do list stood Satan I Helvete (8b), a 5 star Graham test piece. But unfortunately the Satan block is one of the coldest places in Font, which meant that I was chanceless in holding those edges (damn those painful fingers). We escaped to Rocher du Boulingy where I wanted try Amok (8a), I hoped that it was a little more bearable there because Amok is facing the sun. Well it was pretty nice in the sun, too nice to be honest. Within a half an hour the key sloper of Amok (which is in the sun all day) was getting too greasy, a climber always has his excuse ready...the weather. After the failed attempts in Amok we went to Gecko (8a+), it was getting cold again but I felt good enough to give it some good shots. I never tried Gecko before but wanted to do so for a long time, what a perfect line! I couldn't send the problem but made some good progress in it, next time (and that will be soon) I am definitely going back to the Geck.

The next day Curvier Rempart was on the planning. As a 'warm up' I did some nice problems in Apremont Envers (Clandestino 7b and Welcome to Tijuana 7c) and I tried L'apparemment (8a), in which I had no chance. All warmed up I wanted to do Gourmandise raccourci (8a+), an untypically Font boulder trough a roof. It reminded me off the Swiss boulder style and because of that suits me well, within an hour I did all the moves. But doing the separate moves and sending the problem are two totally different things . The boulder starts on two underclings in the roof, from there you do two throws with the right hand (the right hand is over the lip than), followed by two undercling catches (in the roof) with the left hand before I can get my heel over the lip. If the heel is over the lip I can get all the body weight on it and the boulder is in the pocket for me, but it was hard to keep my feet in the roof. That day I had some good go's and almost got that heel over the lip a few times, close but not in the bag yet. The next day I wanted to finish Gourmandise raccourci, I was sore and my biceps where painful from the previous session (and the cold weather) but I was motivated. The first hours I couldn't link more than two moves, that was pretty demotivating. My mate Tim Reuser (http://timreuser.blogspot.com/) did way better that day, the previous day he struggled hard with the crux move (the right hand throw over the lip) but today he looked promising in the problem. Thanks to Tim I got motivated again and wanted to give it all I had left, it is nice to project together. Tim did the problem rather fast (his first 8a+ boulder! well done mate) and after some close tries I did it as well, my first 8a+ in Font. I was skinless but happy with the send, maybe next time the lower start (Gourmandise, 8b)? With a bit of luck (no rain?) I'll go back next weekend and from 5 till 9 march I'll have a training stage with the Dutch team in Font (oww yeah, it is on!).
Gourmandise raccourci, 8a+ photo by Mathieu Ceron

Gourmandise raccourci, 8a+ photo by Mathieu Ceron

Gourmandise raccourci, 8a+ photo by Mathieu Ceron

Crush in Cres

Christmas is the perfect moment to escape the Netherlands and search for a nice boulder area, good bouldering conditions and a lack of family dinner...We rented a house in Claro, which is only 10 minutes away from Cresciano, for a week. I only had been in Cresciano for a few hours before so there where more than enough problems to try for me, the only problem was that I wanted to do them all. On the one hand I wanted to project the Dagger (8b+) and la Proue (8b) but on the other hand I wanted to send a lot of boulders in the 7c/8a range. For me those two things are hard to combine, I did try la Proue and the Dagger briefly but I soon concluded that I needed (at least) a few days to a week to climb one of them. In an area which so many problems that I hadn't done yet I simply didn't want to devote the whole week to a single problem (with the risk of failure in the back of my mind). So I focused this week on sending multiple good problems that I could do in (approximately) a day. Cresciano is home to some very good and classic problems; Reve the Mario, la Boule, la Pelle, Junge Book, Dreamtime, Frank's wild years (which I had done last year), Kirk Windstein and some more.

Last year I briefly worked in la Pelle (8a) and had a god night session in Reve the Mario (8a), I had some unfinished business with these two problems. I sended la Pelle (the left variation) on the first day and I think it is an hard and technical boulder but a really nice one. The second day I did la Boule (8a), again a great classic! La Boule has a weird and technical start to an edgy and powerful finish, when I finally worked out the sequence for the beginning I had no problems anymore with the rest; long moves on positive edges suits me really good. The day after we had a forced rest day, the only day of rain. I won't complain about it because we had such a great week, besides this one day we had a blue sky every day! The next day it was on again and I wanted to finish Jungle Book sit start(8a/8a+), the day before the rest day I had worked on it for about an hour but I didn't fount the right (foot) beta for the beginning. The boulder can be divided in two parts, the first part is a bit more technical with an arête and the second part is powerful, big moves in overhanging terrain. I really like this boulder, it looks good and climbs even better. Thanks to some locals who gave me better beta for the first part I could send this one as well. Jungle book sit is graded 8a/8a+, for me it felt harder than all the other 8a's I did in Cresciano but I think the style of this boulder suits me the most. That is why I think that Jungle Book sit is (an easy) 8a+, but it could be hard 8a as well. Enough said about grades, back to the boulders themselves. I still had to finish Reve the Mario, the best looking boulder in its grade. Reve is the first 8a of Ticino (FA Fred Nicole, who else), the whole boulder is only three moves; two slabs on the arête and an jump to the top. This sounds easy but all the moves are so insecure (and the arête is sharp as hell), it is hard to feel the progression because every slab on the arête has to be perfect, missing the spot and the attempt is lost (for me) which costs a lot of skin. Luckily I kept my coolness (which means taking enough rests between attempts) and Reve the Mario was in the bag. During the photo shoot after the send (I had to have some pictures of this perfect boulder) my skin became so thin that some fingertips started to bleed, next day restday! The last one and a half day Dreamtime stand (8a+) was all I wanted to do, what a perfect piece of rock is that! It starts with a dyno (one of the starting hold has broken and the dyno is a lot harder than a few years ago) followed by seven semi hard moves. In a few hours I could do all the moves after the dyno but that dyno was still too hard. On the last day I wanted to give it all I had left, a few times I was close sticking the dyno but my skin was getting to thin and my power was drained from all the attempts, but no grief I had an very good week. Next time I go to Cresciano Dreamtime is on the top of the to do list, followed by the Dagger. But that is probably next year, first some trips to Fontaineblau are being planned.

Reve the Mario, picture by Gerrit Snoek


Reve the Mario, picture by Gerrit Snoek


Junge Book sitstart, picture by Gerrit Snoek

The English boys

Tomorrow I Will Be Gone from Outcrop Films on Vimeo.

Starring: Mikey Page: HELD!

Ik wil ook naar Rocklands.

Averstal and the end of the Trip

Begin July Sophia and I drove to Magic Wood (Averstal), the last destination of our 6 months road trip (see previous blogs). It was a weird feeling to know that the trip was coming to an end, it felt like the five previous months had been gone so fast. But we still had three weeks to spend and that is longer than most peoples holidays, so no complaining.

Switzerland will never be my favorite country (Spain is the best). The whole country is just crazy expensive and the (village)people are stiff, but if you can look besides that Swiss is the place to be for hardcore granite bouldering in an amazing Alpine setting. This last month my goal was to do my first 8b boulder, I felt fit and mentally strong (I already accomplished my tripgoal; an 8c route). The first few days I walked around in the forest to find my project (it was rainy anyway so no climbing ), there where tree 8b’s I wanted to try: Steppenwolf, One summer in paradise and the Riverbed. Steppenwolf was on the top of my list (I wanted to try this problem last time I was in Magic but it was wet) but in the end it was wet the whole month, it is probably the slowest drying boulder in Swiss. One summer in paradise was the ‘backup plan’, in my opinion it doesn’t look as good as Steppenwolf but still a 5 star boulder. I thought it should suit me because edges in an overhang is my specialty, but after three days of working I still couldn’t do the last move (a strange kind of mantle), this one stays on the ‘to do list’ for a next trip.

At that time I was still hopeful that Steppenwolf would dry and I hadn’t really checked Riverbed, for some reason the boulder didn’t completely attract me. But after another night with heavy rainfall we went to the Wood with little hope to boulder. Almost everything was wet but Riverbed was completely dry, ‘fuck it’ I thought and I gave it a workout try. What a world class problem, this one was going to be my first 8b! On the first day I did all the single moves but one or two, that was really motivating. Riverbed felt like I had a change and five months of route climbing where a perfect ‘training’ for such a long boulder. The second workout day I did all the single moves and I could even do some links (I climbed the boulder in three parts), now I knew I could do it after a rest day. Unfortunately Mr weather didn’t play along, and because of more rain and shitty conditions the send had to wait. I tried it a few times but most of the holds where kind a soapy (moist and chalk), fortunately I did made some progress (I did the problem in two overlapping parts). A few days later conditions became more promising and sending time was about to come. On the day of the send it was cloudy but dray and more important the whole boulder was dry, during my warm up it started do drizzle, ‘SHIT’ I knew I had only one try. On the lip of the roof it didn’t went perfect (http://vimeo.com/27205826) and I feared the worst but the crux section went relatively easy and Victory was mine! Probably one of the most happy moments in climbing for me.

Besides Riverbed I did two 8a’s (Scheesturm and Free for all), a 7c+ (Du cote de Seshuan) and four 7c’s (Enterprise in space, Schneebrett, Jack the Chipper and Fight club). Enterprise in space and Jack the Chipper are my first and second 7c flashes but because Enterprise in space isn’t a ‘real’ boulder (a campus of Enterprise 7a) Jack the Chipper is my first 7c flash. My send of Fight club has been filmed by Ivan Lisica and Sandra Lisica (team Moon) http://vimeo.com/29553057.

That is all tree months ago. Coming back to the Netherlands was dual, nice to see all my friends but bitter to leave the rocks. We had to find a new house, get new jobs and getting used to plastic again. It all worked out, we have a new house, new jobs and I rejoined the Dutch boulder team and picked up my study sociology. My next trip is planned, with Christmas a week to Cresciano. The climbing lifestyle never stops!







All fotos: Riverbed 8b, Magic Wood. Made by Sophia Bitlloch

Gelato, Pizza and Granite

Begin June we left Spain. The previous 4 months we had a brilliant time climbing everywhere we wanted, it is just unfair how much rock the Spaniards have (especially compared to flat Holland). I left Spain with a mixed feeling because I love Spain but it was time for something new and I was motivated for Zillertal. But Zillertal had to wait because the weather forecast said rain for 10 days in a row (that’s something else than Spanish weather), so we stopped on the way at Albenga. Just a side note: if you look for the climbing area Albenga it is not near the city (it is in Castelbianco). We didn’t knew that and searched for some (frustrating) hours but we found it.

We stayed for almost two weeks in Albenga and I saw most of the climbing areas, there is not one big sector but it is more like the Frankenjura (but way smaller); a lot of small sectors. For me the best grades to climb there are between 6b and 8a but I have to warn potential visitors, a lot of the (especially the harder routes) are chipped so it sometimes feels like climbing in the gym. For this reason I didn’t really liked Albenga for its routes but the pizza and gelato made up for a lot. Besides for me it was good to have a rest after climbing for 4 months on a row so I enjoyed the Italian lifestyle . Special thanks to Ferruchio our Italian host (and retired chef cook), if you go to Albenga stay at Agriturismo di Ferruchio (Teccio, Castelbianco), this man makes the best quiches.

When the weather in Austria cleared up (a little bit) we left for Zillertal. I was motivated as hell and with recharged battery’s after Albenga. The one route I just had to do was Total Brutal 8b+, I saw a video of this route back in 2006 and knew I had to do this one once I had the change. From the beginning of the trip I knew I was going to send this route. I already climbed the route in my mind a lot of times; edges, heelhooks and dynamic moves, that route is made for me! Yes I said made because most edges are made with sika (which I didn’t knew at first), but it isn’t chopped (or glued) as at Albenga, the route almost climbes as a natural granite route. But when we arrived at Zillertal it turned out that the biggest difficulty of climbing Total Brutal wasn’t Total Brutal itself. The route is positioned direct besides a small road and that road was blocked due to road works. This meant that the only times to try Total Brutal where after 7 AM and on Sundays (the work schedule was lacking behind so they worked even on Saturday). Besides these most inconvenient climbing times it rained a lot in Austria (we climbers are always grumbling about the weather), thank God granite dries fast. So trying Total Brutal became a mission on its own and at the beginning that really bothered me but a lot of the other routes in Zillertal where wet anyway so I went for it. I climbed the route the first Sunday after 3 evening sessions of working (1 try a session). Despite that it’s manmade I would still say that it is one of the coolest routes that I ever climbed and I am happy to have done this classic. Besides Total Brutal I did some 8a’s in Zillertal of which I onsighted Still waters run deep, my second 8a os (but the first one is downgraded so maybe my first 8a os). Normally I don’t try to onsight a lot of routes, I just don’t like it as much as projecting (maybe because I suck in onsight climbing) so this one was one to remember for me.

In Siurana and Rodellar we met a Belgian-German (Nina Suntag and Micha Vanhoudt, http://www.climb2climb.be/blogs/micha-vanhoudt) couple who live in Vienna now, they invited us to come visit them when we were done with climbing in Zillertal. Apparently there is some good climbing around Vienna (the locals from Tirol never even heard of climbing near Vienna) so we took the invitation and drove to Vienna. I wanted to see what the climbing in the Vienna area had to offer and my girlfriend wanted to explore the city a bit, Nina and Micha live in the center of Vienna so it was easy to combine those two needs. Vienna is a beautiful city with all its old (famous) buildings and I have to recommend the zoo (the oldest in Europe) and the bars at Donaukanal where you feel like being on the beach for any prospective visitor. Besides hanging out like the normal tourist we climbed at Adlitzgraben, Niemandsland and Thalhofergrat. The climbing is mostly technical on slight overhanging walls which is very different from the climbing in Spain and Zillertal I was used to the last months (and which has never been my strong point). I wasn’t fully motivated this week and I didn’t really care to send any route but I did try a few of Micha’s projects (mostly routes he already did) in this areas. I have to say the grading is stiff but the routes are good and especially the areas of Adlitzgraben and Niemandsland looks like (semi) world class areas to me (I don’t know if it is worth flying to Vienna for its climbing alone but if you live a few hours driving away it is well worth it). I didn’t knew why I was so out of focus, maybe I was just a bit done with rope climbing for the moment. So Micha took us to a ‘secret’ boulder area one day (the locals call it NÖ, referring to Nieder Österreich which is the province the area is located in), a labyrinth full of (semi-loose) granite blocks. That day I got my focus back and although the conditions weren’t the best I wanted to do one thing only: send those boulders! I ripped all the skin of my fingers but I was a happy camper at the end of the day. Two days later, I needed a rest day, we got back and I did my second 8a+ ever (http://vimeo.com/26227524). Thanks to those two days I was super motivated again and we decided to go bouldering the last month of the trip (happy me). From Vienna we drove to Magic Wood in Switzerland; the place to be for hardcore summer bouldering. I have been in Magic Wood once before and there was so much to try and to finish! Let’s do it!


Albenga, 'casa Ferruchio' bottom right

Alpine rain...

Total Brutal 8b+

Victory at the roadblock

Mogadishu 8a+

The Riverbed, Magic Wood

The Riverbed 8b, Magic Wood from Michiel on Vimeo.

Mogadishu & Deutsche Grammatik

Mogadishu 8a+ & Deutsche Grammatik. NÖ, Austria from Michiel on Vimeo.

Rodellar has been GOOD to me!!

After the last blogpost I wrote that Rodellar was the next stop. But before we went to Rodellar we made a one day stop at Santa Linya, I had some unfinished business to do there. I wanted to finish El Koala 8b, last year I had to back off because of a finger injury (pulling hard on a shallow mono) and this year it was wet or moist all the time. The conditions this day where far from great, it was hot and very humid but I had only one day to send the route so, A Muerte! After a few tries I climbed the bottom half which is the crux and was facing the second half (about 7b). The stupid thing was that I didn’t work out the moves of this part because I did a route with the similar end years ago and thought it where only jugs. I don’t think that I have ever before got so pumped in my life (thank god it where only jugs to the top), I almost fell off every move and had the feeling that I had to puke when I clipped the chain. Not my hardest climb (easy 8b, some call it 8a+ but I don’t think El Koala has anything to do with 8a+) but I will remember the intense fight for a long time. I wanted to climb Irac Attack 8a+ as well but you could take a shower under the dripping tufas , next time…

The next day we drove to Rodellar, Catalunya was getting way to hot! I had good memories of Rodellar from 3 years ago: good weather, nice people, good campsite, beautiful nature and my first 8b+. The whole area hadn’t changed a bit (which is a good thing) and is still the most beautiful climbing area I have ever been (nature wise). We would be a month in Rodellar and that means enough time for a project. Rodellar is famous for its long and overhanging routes but I am still more a boulder than a route climber (endurance?) so I picked out the shorter lines. From the beginning of the trip I wanted to try Welcome to Tijuana 8c (my tripgoal is climbing my first 8c) so I got into it on one of the first days. The workout session went pretty good but I didn’t got really syked for it for some reason, so my quickdraws have been in the route for about 3 weeks but I only got back on it once to get my clips back. At the same time I was trying Manus 8b in the Ali Baba cave, the routes in the Ali Baba cave are short and incredible overhanging (up to 90 degree roof climbing). Manus was going good but I found it pretty hard for 8b (and sharp), the next day I found out why; one important hold (the one I found really sharp) was broken off and nobody did the route anymore according some locals. They advised me to try Manus-City No 8b+ which is the right hand finish of Manus, I didn’t found the ‘new’ section of this route harder than Manus (but after the break Manus was harder than 8b) and made quick work of the route. Manus-City No is very much my style; it is a boulder that you climb with a rope on a 45 degree overhang. The crux section is on crimps and I found an tricky (but for me perfect) heelhook which helped a lot. The next route I got recommended was Con Jonas te Estamaras which is 8b+ in one guide and 8b/+ in the other. I think this route is length dependent and with my length I found it easy, the route felt as a soft 8b for me. Unfortunaly a week after my ascent one of the key holds broke, I think I am the last one who did the route in its original state.

With those two in the pocket I wanted to go for the 8c. A few lines to the left of Manus-City No is the route El Quiebraley 8c (and the easier finish Traverse del Quiebraley 8b+), this route goes straight through the roof (90 degrees). Roof climbing is not my strongest point in my own opinion because my lack of core strength (having a good core strength is hard for tall people) and my lack of endurance (I always get pumped pretty fast in a roof). To get fit in this roof I wanted to climb the 8b+ variant first, the beginning (which includes most of the roof climbing) of both routes is the same. Traverse del Quiebraley took me longer than I first thought it would be, for me it was an endurance problem, the roof tired me out so fast. When I did the Traverse I knew that the direct finish was in reach (I had already done all the moves). The direct finish ads 7 hard moves after you do (almost) all the hard climbing of the 8b+ variant. I wanted to climb Quiebraley so badly that we stayed some days extra in Rodellar, on Sunday 5 june in my 4th try of the day I sended El Quiebraley, my first 8c !
It wasn’t easy fysically and mentally: special thanks to Blastoestimulina (best skin recovery crème ever!), Micha Vanthoudt (it was nice to project the route together, even if he did it before me ) and to my girlfriend Sophia Bitlloch who sometimes believed more in me than I did myself (by the way she climbed here first 7a in Rodellar: Tu eres la Primera, WOUW!)

A good way to close 4 months of climbing in Spain, I had a blast!
Austria here we come First stop there is Zillertal


Manus-City No, photo by Bjorn Iisager


El Quiebraley, photo by Lee Sungjae


Tu eres la Primera, photo by Joost Hess

Traverse del Quiebraley 8b+, Rodellar

Traverse del Quiebraley 8b+, Rodellar from Michiel on Vimeo.

Update 2

Een teken van leven, een korte update:
5 weken Siurana (en heel veel bezoek, dat was gezellig) zijn we weer naar Sant Lorenc de Montgai (ja daar waar El Chris woont) gegaan om de ‘oude’ projecten af te ronden. Siurana was leuk maar het begon vooral lastig, slecht weer en het klimmen ging me aan het begin niet al te best af. Ik wilde graag Mr Checki en Migranya Profunda doen maar die zijn beide niet gelukt (Mr Checki was close, maar door alleen al te kijken naar Migranya Profunda verzuurde ik). Wel heb ik Bestiola en Kurfil gedaan, de eerste 2 8b’s van de trip. Bestiola is (semi) lang en erg makkelijk voor de graad, Kurfil is keihard maar ook erg kort. In Siurana heb ik wel besloten dat ik lange routes helemaal niet leuk vind, laat mij maar lekker een beetje boulderen aan een touw.
Sophia heeft haar eerste en ook meteen tweede 6c geklommen in Siurana (D’estarnquis en Mayling)! Het klimmen van een 6c was haar tripdoel maar dat is nu verzet naar 7a.

Terug in St Lorenc stond er maar 1 ding centraal voor mij: het klimmen van Guilty.
Vandaag was het SENDING DAY in St Lorenc. Sophia klom haar 3de 6c en ik mijn 3de 8b+ (1ste van de trip). 2 dagen geleden kwam ik nog net een beetje tekort (en viel ik na de crux) maar vandaag ging het relatief gemakkelijk.

Nu genieten en over een paar dagen richting Rodellar.

Guilty 8b+, St Lorenc de Montgai


Guilty 8b+, St Lorenc de Montgai


Sophia boven Sant Lorenc

Update 1

Zo…na drie weken uitstellen heb ik de motivatie gevonden om een update te schrijven uit Spanje. Begin februari hebben Sophia en ik ons huis en werk opgezegd en zijn we naar Spanje gereden om een half jaar klimmen “quit your job, go climbing”! Het plan is om 4 maanden in Spanje rond te touren en daarna 2 maanden naar Oostenrijk te gaan. De eerste bestemming was (net als 2 jaar geleden samen met Tim) de Costa Blanca. Gaz Parry en zijn vriendin Kate Mills runnen daar een kleine camping/B&B in de buurt van Gandia (http://epic-adventures.eu/). Omdat onze tent te groot was kregen we voor de zelfde prijs een kamer (met bed!), dat was zo flex dat we een maand zijn blijven hangen.

De locatie en het weer (zon, zon, zon) waren helemaal goed alleen het klimmen ging wat minder goed in het begin. Na ongeveer anderhalf jaar alleen boulderen vond ik het erg lastig om te switchen, de duur was erg slecht en zoals altijd vond ik het weer mentaal lastig om ‘a muerte’ te gaan boven m’n setje. Daar kwam ook nog bij dat ik nog steeds last had van mijn linker ringvinger en rechter middelvinger, daar liep ik al een paar maanden mee in Nederland zonder echt toe te (willen) geven dat het een blessure was. De vorm was dus niet al te best maar dat is geen reden om niet te genieten van de trip en de enige manier om die vorm te verbeteren is door te klimmen.

In die eerste maand hebben we geklommen in Gandia, El Bovedon, Bellus, Los Pinos, Murla, Alcalali, Pego, Pena Roja, Sella en Echo Valley. Ik wilde eigenlijk vooral veel in El Bovedon klimmen (een grot in de buurt van Gandia) maar wat een dosis duur heb je daar voor nodig zeg! Dat was (en is) nog niet aan mij besteed, misschien een volgende trip. Daarom heb ik vooral veel in Murla en Los Pinos geklommen dat is kort en hard, bijna boulderen dus. De routes in Los Pinos zijn redelijk makkelijk voor de graad ik had vrij snel 3 8a’s gedaan waarvan 1 bijna onsight (the Destroyer, Jog Jog en Jog Pat). In Murla zijn alle routes keihard ik heb een 8a en een 8a+ geklommen (la Chaqueta Hidraulica en de naamloze route 15), deze twee kostte veel meer tijd en moeite. In Murla was ik ook een tijdje bezig met een andere naamloze 8a+ (al vind ik dit eerder 8b) maar deze heb ik na een paar dagen (en veel frustratie) moeten laten zitten, je kan niet altijd winnen. Sophia ging wel erg lekker in de Costa Blanca en heeft een 6a, zes 6a+en en een 6b (haar 3de 6b) geklommen.

Begin maart zijn we van verhuisd naar Catalunya. We staan nu gratis op een stuk land van Gaz en Kate vlakbij St. Lorenc de Montgai & Camarassa. Er is geen water maar het uitzicht (en de € 0,- per nacht) maken alles goed. Het klimmen gaat steeds beter en de vingers doen elke dag iets minder pijn (vol crimpen gaat best wel weer goed). In Alos de Balaguer heb ik L’orde de Fenix (8a+) geklommen en in St. Lorenc de Montgai Elektrokusta (8a), El Legionario (8a+) en Vor di Re (7c+ os). Nu ben ik bezig met Guilty een 8b+ in St Lorenc. De route loopt helemaal door een dak en is ongeveer 15 meter lang, eerst 7 makkelijke passen dan 8 keiharde passen aan kleine randjes en dan ongeveer 16 passen ‘uitklimmen’ door het dak. Alle passen gaan goed maar het is moeilijk om de cruxboulder in 1x te maken, de randjes in de crux zijn ook erg scherp voor de wijsvingers daarom kan ik niet elke dag pogingen doen in deze route. Daarom ben ik ook bezig met Irak Attack in Santa Linya (8a+), een goede route om fit te worden, ongeveer 20 passen zonder rust (power endurance). Eerst dacht ik dat ik totaal kansloos zou zijn maar gisteren had ik een goede poging en nu denk ik dat het wel goed komt (al blijft het een erg harde 8a+). Sophia is bezig met Presidiari een 6c in Sant Lorenc, eergisteren heeft ze alle passen gedaan en het lijkt er op dat het haar gaat lukken (het klimmen van 6c was haar doel voor deze trip!). We hebben tot ongeveer 17 maart om onze projecten te klimmen, daarna gaan we naar Siurana.

A MUERTE,
Michiel


De niet gelukte 8a+ in Murla


Die kwamen we ook tegen en hij kijkt nog steeds lelijk.

No Mystery

No Mystery 8a Chironico from Michiel on Vimeo.

Conquistadors

Conquistadors 8a+ Chironico from Michiel on Vimeo.

Serre Moi Fort

Serre Moi Fort 8a Chironico from Michiel on Vimeo.

Trip 2011

De grove planning:
Februari. Costa Blanca
Maart. Catalynia
April. Catalynia
Mei. Rodellar
Mei. Baskenland
Juni. Baskenland & Oostenrijk
Juli. Oostenrijk

KOM MAAR OP!

Michiel

Voor de alpinisten...

Als back-up

Een foto zegt meer dan 1000 woorden

Rotterdam Rulez!

Gewoon boulderen Zondag 7 november

Gisteren samen met Tim, Rens en Grubber boulders geschroefd. Er zijn nu in ieder geval genoeg 7de graads boulders. Jammer dat ik in Bleau zit volgend weekend :p

Michiel

Wij zeggen DAVID!!!

Hij gaat WINNEN!

DE PUTA MADRE!!!

Ik zeg maar 1 ding "Wanneer komt deze shit dan in Nederland?"
Misschien het RedBull Psicobloc event in Rotterdam (Clif diving kon er ook)...

Magic Wood the movie

Hier is ie dan, het filmpje van de trip naar Magic Wood.

Magic Wood from Michiel on Vimeo.

Magic Wood

In het dure Zwitserland weet Michiel in de afgelopen 2 weken behoorlijk wat randjes vast te houden. De stijl ligt hem alleen de prijzen wat minder. In 4 dagen tijd weet Michiel met Massive Attack zijn eerste 8a+ te boulderen . (incl. rustdag). Daarbij nog 2x8a, 3x7c+, 3x7c, 1x7b en 2x7a+. Oftewel 12 boulders!

Gerrit de guru weet helaas net zijn projectjes niet af te maken. Dit mede door het slechte weer en het eerder terug dan gepland plan. Hier onder het lijstje van Michiel:

*Massive Attack 8A,8A+,8B

*Unendliche Geschichte 2 7A,7C+,8A,8A+

Octopussy 7A,8A,8A+

No Liberty 7B+,7C,7C+,8A

Nothing Changes 7C+,8A,8A+

Piranha 7C,7C+

Foo Fighter 7B,7B+,7C,7C+

Son of a Gun 7B,7B+,7C,7C+

Supernova 7B+,7C,7C+,8A

Buckstone Dyno 7B,7B+
Valentines Day 7A,7A+,7B
Red Roses 7A,7A+,7B,7B+

Bundy in de Halve Finale World Cup

The underdog

Een al met al haastige heenweg waarbij de rode stoplichten in de meerderheid waren en lampjes begonnen te branden in het dashboard. Dit alles resulteert in een einduitslag waar je alleen maar van mag dromen als je het mij vraagt..

Michiel op de WC

Even wat plaatjes, voor het nageslacht.

Lekker en Koud

Coen en ik waren met de hemelvaart lekker een lang weekend in Berdorf. Toen plannen A-E in de Alpen op niks uitliepen door het slechte weer, was dit een perfect alternatief. Waar het de eerste dagen nog koud en vochtig was, waren de laatste dagen erg lekker, net als de biertjes, en het eten, en het klimmen...

3 DAYS LEFT..

Nog maar 3 dagen tegaan en mijn tot nu toe geweldige trip zit er weer op. Aan al het goede komt snel een eind vooral als je het erg naar je zin hebt. Toch zijn er al weer goede dingen in het vooruitzicht, graag zou ik in Augustus nog wat weken richting de Franken gaan.

Momenteel regent het vandaag en is de rots kletsnat.Werd vroeg wakker en ben met de amerikanen mee richting Lleida gereden.Hun zijn nu hun band aan het vewisselen van de huurauto terwijl ik een beetje op internet zit.

Gister heb ik een goede dag gehad, Stefan en ik zijn gaan klimmen bij Balco de l´Ermita boven waar we kamperen. Het had hard geregend de avond ervoor maar door veel wind was het droog en konden we dus toch klimmen. Het is me gelukt om een 7b+ en een 7c te doen in mijn second go. Hier ben ik erg blij mee, momenteel gaat het uitwerken steeds beter waardoor ik minder pogingen nodig heb en meer op 1 dag kan klimmen. Zoals ik al zei regent het vandaag en hopelijk kan ik morgen en overmorgen (mijn laatste 2 klimdagen) nog wat 7´s erbij klimmen. Volgens mij moet ik er nog 2 of 3 en dan heb ik deze trip 40 7de graadsroutes geklommen in 50 dagen(incl rustdagen ).
Het plan is nog wat te feesten dit weekend omdat Stefan en ik snel zullen vertrekken en zondag is er dus Paella party. Verder hoop ik iedereen weer snel te zien XX

Bleau

Terug van 10 dagen Bleau, het was helemaal relax. Een trip verslag volgt (misschien) nog. Deze trip veel gedaan en nog meer gezien wat ik wil doen. Voor (mogelijke) projecten en veel motivatie, check de filmpjes van deze dude op vimeo.

Hieronder alvast een korte foto impressie:



La Coccinelle een 8a traverse in Buthiers.




L'Œil de la Sybille een 7c+ dakje in Cul du Chien




Oxbow 8a, maar ik vond het een makkelijke 7c+


Sophia vond Oxbow ook niet zo moeilijk :p





Sophia in haar eerste 5a in Rocher Canon, een kwartier later doet ze ook haar eerste 5b :) De boom blijft een project :p


Ik wil alweer terug naar Bleau!!!!