Once Grindelwald wrapped up, there was one week until the next World Cup in Innsbruck. Seb, Cedar and I headed north to Zurich where we were given an opportunity which shouldn’t go past: to train with the Swiss team and their head coach, Urs. My vow for the coming trainings was simply to jump, jump and jump again. My dedication to this promise was held 60% the first day which is really good by my standards. Our second training session was with Urs and his team so we followed their program which thankfully included enough jumps for my liking. Normally I climb a lot by myself which I know isn’t …
Canadian climber
A little story about spring
She stood on the green grass about to approach a forest which loomed with spiders, ticks and little critters that had teeth sharper than her kitchen knife. Looking deeper, the light appeared to disappear into the shadows of a thick green foliage. On her back she carried a crash pad; a piece of equipment used for the type of climbing she preferred, bouldering. It used to be part of her everyday attire but it had lain dormant on the shelf of her workplace; thrown on top of the highest shelf in a large room housed with hundreds of odd multicolored plastic holds of various sizes and shapes. It …
A taste of Slovenia
Out of all the european WC's, Slovenia was the comp I was most looking forward to. I have met different climbers from there throughout the years and because they were so cool, I just assumed their country was as well. I spouse it's never wise to assume things but the small Eastern European country didn't disappoint. The streets were littered with tasteful graffiti. The cleanliness wasn't up to par with that of the sterility of Germany which was rather refreshing. There wasn't one bus ride where someone didn't talk to us. Obviously because of the cuteness that stood next to me but all the …
Millau
Eye opener. Slap in the face. But i am not stupid. i knew what i was in for. But, somehow along the way, i forgot. It didn't take me long to realize that BlocAge hadn't prepared me for this comp. The problems there were nothing like those at blocAge... The holds there were nothing like those at BlocAge... The slopers, the gigantic pinches, the monster size holds and the particular type of setting... But i knew this. Yet i didn't take what seemed then like a gigantic leap to change my situation. I can fairly say that my lack of transportation really limited my choices. There was …
A little bit about climbing…
When I finished writing my last post I realized I had said very little about climbing. Maybe this is a good thing as i find talking about climbing and especially, what one has done in terms of climbing generally not that interesting. Surely there is a way of speaking about climbing which can take in all of the aspects besides that of simple achievements. And so, I try to speak about climbing... Before the death of my van I can say, yes, I did get to go outside when weather permitted which unfortunately wasn't too often since it was the wettest and coldest winter since the 1960's. I was …