Vertical-Life
Miquel Riera - The psicobloc "boss"
MIQUEL RIERA - The psicobloc "boss"
By Ignacio Sandoval Burón.
It makes quite a lot of years that Miquel sporadically appears in the press, either in a Spanish magazine doing like "the favouring Eros" between Dani Andrada and Ruth Planells, like the Balearic climbing leader, like the informal writer in some Spanish publications or in the ultra famous biographic video of his very good friend, Chris Sharma.
Not bad but, in fact, the thing by which he's more recognized is by being one of the first people to have practiced and exported the deep water soloing (psicobloc in Spanish) in the world, more exactly when he counted 15 years-old back in 1978. Thus, maybe the first one...?! Apart from the data, I hope you enjoy this interview with this superfriendly, supertalkative and superfunny guy.
Miquel Riera himself. (c) Ignacio Sandoval Burón. Bouldering 'El Rimadero', 8B+ in S'Estret. (c)Damiano Levati/ Red Bull Photofiles Miquel Riera on Meca , 7b/10 in Porto Pí.
Please, give us some tips for practizing psicobloc
You better locate the exits from the sea before you start climbing on the cliffs because some exit rocks are really pricking. Don't climb the cliffs alone during the Winter time. Be carefull with the jellyfishes and with jumping from the top of the cliffs. Place removable ladders where it's difficult to get out of the water, instead of leaving permanent ropes or ladders. Be patient the first times because it can be scary; after falling some few times you get used to it.
Top-10 of the psicoblocs in Mallorca for you
1- Es Pontás, 9b/20? (Cala Santanyí)
2- Twist, 8b/15 (Cala Ferrera)
3- The Weatherman, 8a+ (Cala Sa Nau)
4- Two smooking Barrrels, 8a (Cova del Diable)
5- Balam, 7c+/15 (Cala LLombards)
6- Kill Bill 2, 7c/20 (Cala Varques)
7- Meca, 7b/10 (Porto Pí)
8- Dark princess of Transilvania, 7a+/15 (Porto Colom)
9- Pop, 7a/15 (Cala Serena)
10- Tanassa, 6c/15 (Cova de Ses Puntes)
Tricks to save money in an eventual visit to the Mallorca island for deep water soloing
This place is getting more and more loaded of hippies, but although you are neither allowed to camp at any beach nor at the top of the cliffs, you could bivouac at your own risk if you don't light any fire and you don't throw the garbage to the sea besides of packing all your stuff in the morning. There are some public showers at Porto Cristo, Port de Sóller and Cala Ferrera beaches.
There are quite a lot of people practising psicobloc in Mallorca lately. Has it produced any problem or accident?
People are abandoning fixed ropes or ladders everywhere. Some of them have even bolted some easy down climbs. This, apart from not being ethic, provokes accidents as it facilitates the access to people who don't have the level to climb there. It's not a theory, we've seen it in the Canyoneering where everything is just really bolted, everybody gets in the game and then, the rescue teams can't cope with it.
This last Summer, a Russian girl and a Polish boy, injured their vertebra really bad "when jumping into the water, not by climbing in Cala Varques. This is just the beginning.
Better experience practizing psicobloc or just climbing.
There are so many that I would not be able to choose. But, what I always like best is to explore, to open new psicobloc routes, new boulders, to discover new cliffs. I've had so much fun with Chris looking for cliffs, touring all the coast walking, downclimbing, jumping to the sea, testing, or going all the way at the sea level with a body board looking for appealing lines. ¡DAMN IT! ¡What a good life!
Please, list the climbing disciplines by your preference
It depends on the place. If you make me choose among bouldering in Fontainebleau, Psicobloc in Mallorca or sport climbing in Catalonia, I wouldn't know what to pick. But, if the place is Mallorca, it is common sense, psicobloc-boulder-sport climbing. That's why the best climbers in the world coming here do not even hold a rope here.
I wouldn't include alpinism in the list, cause even if some climbers do it as well, I don't think alpinism has much to do with climbing in a gym, with a competition, with the psicobloc or with climbing a boulder problem. I would make another list where there would be the alpinism, trad climbing, the big wall, the himalayism and the dry tooling. If you want to call this last the "climbing list" and the first the "gimnastics list", I don't care.
You are almost a "prodigy" in the vertical terrain ¿Is it the same in the horizontal? ;-)
That's not true. As a climber, I'm not any kind of prodigy but quite mediocre. I'm just a mediatic prodigy, cause the coincidence made I was born in a place and in a date where everything was still to be done and I was the pioneer. But, one thing is to be the first and another is to be the number one. And, in the horizontal I'm even worse, but I'm willing to learn, I'm still very young.
¿Who of the people you've seen practising psicobloc, got bigger bollocks?
¿you mean apart from me? ha, ha, everybody "get the bollocks" after some days, it's a question of patience.
¿Have you pulled with more girls since you appeared in Sharma's video?
Pulled? Maybe some troubles. The problem is that it creates envy and jealousy and it's because everybody doesn't fit in an hour of filmation and only appear the most beautiful ones, ha,ha,ha
Please evaluate the Red Bull Psicobloc event. ¿What do you think about it and what does it put up to the discipline?
The psicobloc in the news bulletins, friends and pro-climbers meeting, massive psicobloquers party I don't know what to say about it. I felt like Hugh Hefner in his mansion when he was still able to have a hard-on. It contributes with the popularity of the non-specialized public, which haven't had it before, and a bigger recognition among the climbers. I am very, very grateful to the Pou brothers and to Red Bull for throwing themselves that way into the psicobloc.
Finally, you know that Chris Sharma is the most mediatic climber on Earth. From your perspective of friend, what do you think it makes him so special to the eyes of the entire world?
What a question! Chris is a 10 as a person, but what it makes him so special to the eyes of the world is the good climber he is. He's tremendously good. If he only sent 8c, nobody would know him although he'd be the same person. He's one of the coolest guys I have the luck to know, but he's mediatic because he's really good climbing, logically.
Is there any other climber or person who inspires you?
Of course, what's more, I'm very mythmaniac, thus the list would be endless. Besides, I'd have to add a pile of names which nobody knows, who I've climbed with and inspire me. Thus, I better don't answer.
A colour: brrrrrrown
A meal: it's ok for me! Open your mouth! *
An odour: wet land
A film: Fight club, (Bratt Pitt is so hot...)
A vehicle: Either my Berecco motorbike (electric) or the Red Bull's acuatic Yamaha.
A woman: Carmen de Mairena **
A route: Shabada, 8a+ in Fraguels
A Boulder: You probably don't know it: El Rimadero, an 8b+ in sEstret
A psicobloc: Es Pontás; although I can't do the 10% of the movements
A dream: A psicobloc competition in a swimming pool. I promised Josebín (Joseba Saiz) that if he's able to arrange it, I will perform a strip tease for him.
A cloth: A chalk bag, (very big), it's a good loincloth and that is enough for climbing.
A partner: The ideal thing is that your partners have your same level; thus... Nacho Vidal, Rocco Sifredi, Ron Jeremy or Julio Fernández.***
A place to live: Mallorca or California.
TRANSLATOR'S NOTES:
* my question "a meal" ("una comida" in spanish) has a double meaning. The second would be translated like: A blow job?... That's why he answered like that... ha,ha,ha.
** A public Spanish transexual freak.
***All the three firsts are porn actors and the last one is a Spanish climber.