Adam Ondra

I can't believe it – was, if my memory is right, the first words I said after clipping the anchor of this route. It is definitely the most rewarding feeling I have ever had after sending the route. I can't stop smiling, even now, typing these words. Despite tough process of working the route, this can't be any sweeter. Not only because it is 9b+, a number which looks so strange typed on the screen.

 The route can be divided into two pitches – 9a+/b (20m), nohand-rest and 9a (25m). The first pitch is bouldery – first twelve meters can be described as 8b route into 8B+ (some of the most crazy moves I have ever done) into 7B+. Above this, there is a bad kneebar, where I pull the rope down and the belayer starts belaying again. The rest of the first pitch is pretty easy. At the chains, there is a nohands rest, where you stand on good footholds in the vertical wall leaning with your head on the roof above (I did not find rest in summer).

 The second pitch has long power-endurance sequence of about 6 meters just above the first anchor, long moves, compression style and heelhooks including hard crimping as well. From here on, it is not more than 8b+, but tiring and neverending pumpfest, which offers numerous jugs to rest, but one is not able to recover there any more...

 It is the route I've put the most effort into. It took me three weeks of trying in summer, two weeks in autumn. But I must say that sometimes it was lot about waiting for the conditions to arrive, sometimes I went up the route only to find out it is too damp and especially in autumn, when the temperature was excellent, but two holds were seeping in the upper part as it had been raining for three weeks straight prior to arrival. Just the day of the send they finally got almost dry.  I could do the single moves despite wetness, but it would be extremely difficult on the link. I have never got that high before sending it, but during the send I realized that I would definitely fall off if got in the previous conditions.

 Regarding to grade, it has been a long dilemma. After sending the first pitch for a first time (after about 5 or 6 days), I thought that the first is merely 9a+ and the second pitch felt close as I could recover at the first chains pretty well. The ascent felt in grasp, but more I tried it, the more I realized how hard the first pitch is on itself and how pumpy the second pitch is. The more I tried, the more idea of 9b+ was buzzing in my head. The final decision was made two days before my ascent. My self-confidence was low down, the ascent milion miles way and I was playing with the idea that chances of doing this trip are dashed. As I though about it, it felt so much harder than any 9b's I have done so far, I put so much time into it, additionally it fits my style quite well, I told myself that it was going to be too hard for a 9b...

 I realize right now how extremely lucky I was to find a line that turned out to be exactly on my limit. No waste of bolts only to find something impossible, just long hours of looking at the endless sea of Flatanger granite and good decision. I must say, in the end I did not choose the first line that struck my eyes at first glance, the most impressive one. This one is still in my mind, I'll probably give a look at it next year. But Change turned out to be exactly as I anticipated. Challenging with good movements, various styles of climbing. The only thing that spoils the route is the nohand-rest and the fact that it doesn't go to the top of the cave, or at least to the lip. I had an idea of trying a line to the top in one push, but in the end I found out that it is impossible due to rope drag and climbing with two ropes and having one rope already hanging in the wall is just too artificial. And climbing another pitch only to go to the top – that would be nice for the feeling, but a lot of work and no one would ever really climb, even though it could be world class 8c, as it is too complicated to jug up there. I really focused on finding a good spot to set the anchor, not in the middle of blank wall on bad crimp, but good ledge on the top of the obvious square-shaped feature.

 The recent times and the route itself definitely changed myself a lot. I live totally different life as I am not going to school anymore. The trying of it was ever changing process. In the meantime, I learnt a lot, but I suppose that once I will start something new, I will make the same mistakes. The fight with your mind is the one you can win only temporarily. But one thing the route did not change – my desire for opening new routes. First ascents turned out to be as enjoyable and satisfying I had thought.

By Morten Gulliksen

To what degree should randomness be allowed in competitions?

In the girls World Cup boulder semi final I noted especially the frustration of Alex Puccio when she was not able to hold on to the slopers in the beginning of a problem. Was she too weak? Well not exactly, she is strong as hell! So what was it then? It looked like the friction had disappeared.

Bouldering is much about strength and with muscles comes body heat and sweating. If the slopers are close to the critical slip angle, that means the angle where harder pulling cannot make it stick more, the competition is no longer about the strongest or best boulderer. It's about sweating least, and at that special ambient temperature. Sweating is not especially trainable and should preferably not contribute to success in competitions, or influence grades outdoor.

Because athletes react different to heat it is important to make indoor boulder problems as temperature independent as possible. Good problems are set in ways that give the same ranking of the competitor’s independent upon the temperature.

When runners add spikes to their shoes the goal is to eliminate randomness and let the runner use as much force as possible without sliding. Chalk used in gymnastics and climbing is used for the same reason - to reduce the negative effect sweat has on friction.

By adding slopy slopers and reachy moves, a problem setter have great influence on the competition results. He can easily exclude very strong climbers from qualifying. Sometimes it is necessary to emphasize not only that high athletic performance should be the most important component for winning an indoor competition, but also for giving a high grade outdoor. If the technique is god, lots of hard training should pay off.

Godoffe's proposed 7A+ boulder in the men’s semi was topped by just 3 of the participants. There must have been a trick they did not see. By adding randomness to the sport, the lucky get happy but the rest become demotivated. Why train hard if you must roll a dice before you start?

By the way, to say a boulder is 7A+ gives no meaning without specifying the athlete’s height. The grade can differ a lot even if it is not reachy. The laws of physics tell us that a shorter climber on average should be stronger relative his own weight than a taller. How much equals their height ratio. Route and problem setters compensate this by adding reachy moves that are harder for the shorter. But it's a fine line. In the men’s WC route final today, Ramon Julian unfortunately suffered from this as he was not able to pass a reachy move, even after several attempts. A probable first place suddenly became a fourth.

A short list of things to be careful with in climbing competitions:

- Very slopy slopers

- Long reaches to slopers that becomes progressive better

- Long reaches when feet’s come of critical foot holds

- Hard moves on very thin crimps (favor the small)

- Long catches to small pockets (random factor)

- Slippy foot holds (random factor)

- Easy moves on very slopy pinches (sweat).

Things to include for challenging athletic performance

- Body tension positions

- Hard pulls and under clings

- Catches from no foothold positions

- Hard moves on positive pinches

- Challenge all the muscles and disciplines.

Climb Coach and Core Training are two training Apps that recently have been realeased. I thought it was a good idea to ask the funders to give us some insight and also give some thoughts in regards to "lifestyle" climbers who do not train.

Steve McClure - Climb Coach
Not many top climbers have a training coach. In part this is due to there not being that many training coaches! Often the top climbers ARE the training coaches! This is because, certainly in the past, knowledge of training has been gained through experience and trial and error. More recently sports science has helped push knowledge forward, and training advice has become more wide spread. There are also ‘past’ experts who have a lot of knowledge who are keen to bring younger climbers up. I would think that in the near future there will be more coaches around.

The second issue is cost. Many top climbers don’t have much money, in fact there is probably more money to come from junior climbers parents.

As for not following a structured training plan, I’ll speak for myself and many British climbers. In general, climbing is still viewed as a lifestyle choice, and ultimately it is about having fun. British climbers tend to have a very varied sport and like to excel at everything. That may be sport, trad, bouldering, DWS, even winter climbing. It is impossible to be your best at everything and so a compromise is reached. We tend to be ‘out climbing’ when we can rather than training, with the style varying on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis. Often we get psyched for a given style and that takes priority, but even then there is the temptation to do something different.

I guess the rewards of being specific are not great enough. For the general climber variation is much more fun, and for the professional, a varied performance is viewed highly, even if numbers are not at the very top.

However, there is no doubt that structure in training would help a lot. Most British climbers will train at some point, usually during the winter as the weather is poor (like our summer). The majority of climbers do not use this period wisely with the training time being simply ‘going climbing indoors’ and varying as much as the summer outdoor climbing. If we all actually ‘trained’ when we were training then I’m sure we’d go up a notch.

youngsters are both motivated & encouraged to train in the same way as adults to reach ever escalating grades. But with this comes a serious risk of injury - a teenager's growing body is not the same as an adult and can pick up serious long-lasting injuries especially during specific periods of growth. I have seen far too many young talented climbers become injured and give up climbing or have to take long breaks and never quite get back into the swing of climbing again - Adam Dewhurst an ex-EYS winner is just one example. Another incredibly talented but currently injured climber is Kitty Wallace who also won an EYS in Bulgaria in October 2010. I helped to train her to this win (but of course cannot take any credit for her hard work over years) I then left for a year long trip round Central & South America to arrive home to find she had been scheduled weighted lock-offs by another trainer (who shall stay nameless) - causing significant long term damage to growth plates in her elbow. She literally started climbing slabs again for the first time last week . . .

All this says to me is there are a range of strength and power based exercises that should not be trained by teenagers as it can easily cause long-term damage. I / ClimbCoach would always advise pre-teens and teens to look to either the IFSC's or their own climbing governing body's guidelines for training - which usually stipulate not partaking in certain maximum strength, power, weight based exercises or campus boarding until at least the age of 18. ClimbCoach would also advise the same with all of the Max Strength & Power based workouts in the app. It is also important to point out that the disclaimer each user of ClimbCoach must agree to on download stipulates that users must be over the age of 18 or being trained by a guardian over the age of 18 who takes full safety responsibility for training a minor in an appropriate way as advised by either the IFSC or their governing body.
To end though,  all I would say is that climbing is a life-long sport which brings so many incredible experiences with it. It's difficult advice for teenagers to take on board who are so keen to improve but all I would do is advise teenager climbers and boulderers to be patient with training and play the long game of improvement. An injury early in your teens can take away a life full of incredible experiences and adventures. 

Chrisian Core - Core Training
I did it because I'm trying to leave something "good/helpful" to the climbing world before to stop competing, before "disappearing". If the App is appreciated, slowly, I'll add in future a lot of informations more, (for free), like new training programs, feeding, informations, etc…, everything I know and it can helping people, because it's really important now the future climbers begin from our trainings, experiences and sometimes mistakes. That's why this's very important. Only by it there will be a real training climbing world's progression i think.  
I never did it thinking to earn moneys, (I hope to get back the money I spent to realize it…)

About training advices:  Just 3 important rules
1. If you are ready/intentioned to train (for every level) it's important to try to do it well, following a right way. Sometimes it's a mistake to train in the gyms "just climbing" (I'm talking about training and not enjoying climbing with friends) but that's better to follow a program with specifics works and objectives.

2. To create in the mind important goals, believing in their own ambitions/objectives, like a good position in a competition, a hard route or boulder we really want to do. This reference keeps always high the motivation, that's indispensable.  

3. Regardless of the level that one has, believing in the training for a while, keep training hard for months, sometimes years. The constancy makes the difference, believing in what you do and you make.

--- Maybe you could start with writing something about how you train at the moment?
At the moment I'm training in different gyms and many different boulders on the rocks too for Paris World Championship.  The style in competition now is very different, more technical, with few holds and many volumes, and sometimes in every problem is strange and difficult to understand the moves in few minutes. (This aspect of corse it's a part of the competition too).
---
Do you have any more projects and what is your ambition for 2012?
In the moment we're working to realize the new Varazze's guide, complete, so I'm working all the new most beautiful project we still have here. I'm surprised because after 12 years climbing in this place I've still new boulders to try, it's important for me because it keeps high my motivation.

1.How do you think that there are so many top athletes that do not have a trainer and that do not follow a training program?

Climbing is a discipline that not imposes "strict limits" for fortune, that's the nice, you can improve even simply by climbing. The body is a strange "machine", we saw children doing incredible performance and "old" doing routes that before even they could not. This show is like climbing a set of complex components, leaving the physical and mental ability to succeed at everybody.

Besides a lot of people in gyms climb simply for the pleasure of doing so with friends trying boulders/routes setted by others, and this "game" unwittingly leads to a physical/body improvement. From there, there are people more likely to progress more physically than others.
It's obvious though that if them use a training program with clear goals to progress becomes easier, more targeted, they can avoid mistakes and sometimes injury.
It always depends on what each of us wants to get from their workouts.

------

Do you think that all of them would improve if they also structured their training?

Sure, everyone can continue to improve more with its own specific training adapted to their characteristics. At any level, just want it.
The training to be successful must become part of our life, not a "task" that each day we have to do, it must has to be part of us, tiring it is true, but motivating, driven by continuing desire to see us stronger, discovering how far we can get. We feel alive, so we train.

I had the pleasure to coach a lot of friends over time, most of them were informed about the individual exercises to do, but did not know how to put them together, creating a program, an order to follow. 
That's why in my App "The Core Training" besides to put a lot of useful exercises to do on the climbing wall, finger board, campus board, etc, I also add a lot of training programs organized by levels, for boulders and routes, to give everyone a program to follow.

The workout is a set of details to put in a specific order, and it is therefore important to know much information as possible. I think these two Apps: "Climb Coach" and "The Core Training", together give an excellent opportunity, because they offer different and useful opinions to all climbers they need, to learn more and to improve with facility and awareness.

Climb Coach and Core Training are two training Apps that recently have been realeased. I thought it was a good idea to ask the funders to give us some insight and also give some thoughts in regards to injuries and "lifestyle" climbers who do not normally "train".

Steve McClure - Climb Coach
Not many top climbers have a training coach. In part this is due to there not being that many training coaches! Often the top climbers ARE the training coaches! This is because, certainly in the past, knowledge of training has been gained through experience and trial and error. More recently sports science has helped push knowledge forward, and training advice has become more wide spread. There are also ‘past’ experts who have a lot of knowledge who are keen to bring younger climbers up. I would think that in the near future there will be more coaches around. The second issue is cost. Many top climbers don’t have much money, in fact there is probably more money to come from junior climbers parents.

As for not following a structured training plan, I’ll speak for myself and many British climbers. In general, climbing is still viewed as a lifestyle choice, and ultimately it is about having fun. British climbers tend to have a very varied sport and like to excel at everything. That may be sport, trad, bouldering, DWS, even winter climbing. It is impossible to be your best at everything and so a compromise is reached. We tend to be ‘out climbing’ when we can rather than training, with the style varying on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis. Often we get psyched for a given style and that takes priority, but even then there is the temptation to do something different. I guess the rewards of being specific are not great enough.

For the general climber variation is much more fun, and for the professional, a varied performance is viewed highly, even if numbers are not at the very top. However, there is no doubt that structure in training would help a lot. Most British climbers will train at some point, usually during the winter as the weather is poor (like our summer). The majority of climbers do not use this period wisely with the training time being simply ‘going climbing indoors’ and varying as much as the summer outdoor climbing.

If we all actually ‘trained’ when we were training then I’m sure we’d go up a notch. youngsters are both motivated & encouraged to train in the same way as adults to reach ever escalating grades. But with this comes a serious risk of injury - a teenager's growing body is not the same as an adult and can pick up serious long-lasting injuries especially during specific periods of growth.

I have seen far too many young talented climbers become injured and give up climbing or have to take long breaks and never quite get back into the swing of climbing again - Adam Dewhurst an ex-EYS winner is just one example. Another incredibly talented but currently injured climber is Kitty Wallace who also won an EYS in Bulgaria in October 2010. I helped to train her to this win (but of course cannot take any credit for her hard work over years) I then left for a year long trip round Central & South America to arrive home to find she had been scheduled weighted lock-offs by another trainer (who shall stay nameless) - causing significant long term damage to growth plates in her elbow. She literally started climbing slabs again for the first time last week . . . All this says to me is there are a range of strength and power based exercises that should not be trained by teenagers as it can easily cause long-term damage.

I / ClimbCoach would always advise pre-teens and teens to look to either the IFSC's or their own climbing governing body's guidelines for training - which usually stipulate not partaking in certain maximum strength, power, weight based exercises or campus boarding until at least the age of 18. ClimbCoach would also advise the same with all of the Max Strength & Power based workouts in the app. It is also important to point out that the disclaimer each user of ClimbCoach must agree to on download stipulates that users must be over the age of 18 or being trained by a guardian over the age of 18 who takes full safety responsibility for training a minor in an appropriate way as advised by either the IFSC or their governing body.

To end though, all I would say is that climbing is a life-long sport which brings so many incredible experiences with it. It's difficult advice for teenagers to take on board who are so keen to improve but all I would do is advise teenager climbers and boulderers to be patient with training and play the long game of improvement. An injury early in your teens can take away a life full of incredible experiences and adventures.


Christian Core - Core Training
I did it because I'm trying to leave something "good/helpful" to the climbing world before to stop competing, before "disappearing". If the App is appreciated, slowly, I'll add in future a lot of informations more, (for free), like new training programs, feeding, informations, etc…, everything I know and it can helping people, because it's really important now the future climbers begin from our trainings, experiences and sometimes mistakes. That's why this's very important. Only by it there will be a real training climbing world's progression i think. I never did it thinking to earn moneys, (I hope to get back the money I spent to realize it…)

About training advices: Just 3 important rules
1. If you are ready/intentioned to train (for every level) it's important to try to do it well, following a right way. Sometimes it's a mistake to train in the gyms "just climbing" (I'm talking about training and not enjoying climbing with friends) but that's better to follow a program with specifics works and objectives.
2. To create in the mind important goals, believing in their own ambitions/objectives, like a good position in a competition, a hard route or boulder we really want to do. This reference keeps always high the motivation, that's indispensable.
3. Regardless of the level that one has, believing in the training for a while, keep training hard for months, sometimes years. The constancy makes the difference, believing in what you do and you make.

Why do you think that there are so many top athletes that do not have a trainer and that do not follow a training program?
Climbing is a discipline that not imposes "strict limits" for fortune, which is nice, you can improve just by climbing. The body is a strange "machine", we saw children doing incredible performance and "old" doing routes that before even they could not do. This show us that climbing is a set of complex components, leaving the physical and mental ability to succeed for everyone.

Besides a lot of people in gyms climb simply for the pleasure of doing so with friends trying boulders/routes setted by others, and this "game" unwittingly leads to a physical/body improvement. From there, there are people more likely to progress more physically than others. It's obvious though that if they would use a training program with clear goals, progress becomes easier, more targeted and they can avoid mistakes and sometimes injury. It always depends on what each of us wants to get from their workouts.

Do you think everyone could improve through structured training?
Sure, everyone can continue to improve more with its own specific training adapted to their characteristics. The training to be successful must become part of our life, not a "task" that each day we have to do. It has to be part of us, motivation driven by a desire to get stronger, discovering how far we can get. We feel alive, so we train.

I have had the pleasure to coach a lot of friends over time. Most of them did already know many individual exercises but they did not know how to put them together in order to create a program, an order to follow. That's why in my App, "The Core Training", besides to put a lot of useful exercises to do on the climbing wall, finger board, campus board etc, I have also added a lot of training programs organized by levels, for boulders and routes, to give everyone a program to follow. The workout is a set of details to put in a specific order and it is therefore important to have as much information as possible.

Alex Honnold has recently made several solo and speed ascents up on El Cap that already is part of the climbing history. Beside these scary challenges, he is also a world class boulderer and sportclimber and this is what will be his focus for the remaining of 2012. But just the other day he could not resist doing The Naked Edge, 6c in Eldorado Canyoning solo. 

(c) Sender Films - Reel Rock Tour

Which has been the best moments in life the last months? What is it that really turn you on?
Each of my big climbs in the last month have felt very satisfying for different reasons. The triple with Tommy and the Nose with Hans were both reminders of how great it feels to climb well with a good friend.

The solo triple was more about finding satisfaction in accomplishing something that pushed my personal limits. And then, soloing the West Face of El Cap was strictly about pure climbing in a spectacular setting. I topped out El Cap at 7:30am on a clear blue sky morning and hiked out for several hours through a beautiful forest. They each highlighted a different aspect of the climbing experience. 

What has been good and bad with all the media cirkus around you? 
One of the good things about all of the climbing media is that all of the people who I work with are personal friends. It makes it all just feel like a day of hanging out at the crag with your friends. Working with some of the more mainstream journalists can get tiring because it's hard trying to explain climbing over and over. But overall it is not so bad, but I'm certainly spending more time with it than I ever used to.

What are your next plans and projects for 2012? Are you finished with the scary things for a while now?
I think I'm probably done with scary things for the rest of the year, but you never really know. I'm planning on going to Rocklands in August and then on a North Face expedition at the end of the year. I'm attempting to shift my focus to hard free climbing rather than big link-ups and solos.

I'm not sure what sport/bouldering ambitions I have. I'm just trying to improve my climbing a bit. Still trying to find a purpose for it all.

What would you say to a potential son or daughter who are at your position?
It sounds really cliche, but I would tell them the same thing that my mom has told me: follow your dreams, but be careful. I don't really know what more to add, just do what you love to do but be careful. 

Do you ever do any specific training or do you just climb?
Generally I only rock climb, but I occasionally do opposition and core
exercises. However, I'm hoping to train in the gym for the next month to see if I can improve my finger strength. It never hurts to try something new.

What are your thoughts on grade inflation? In your scorecard you can
see many personal grade suggestions? (Alex was one of the first guys to give personal grades of Kalymnos classics some years ago.)
I don't really worry too much about it, I just grade things however they feel to me. I leave it to more qualified climbers to determine what deserves a certain grade.

What kind of life do you hope to be living in ten years?
I hope to be doing virtually he same thing but maybe with a family or slightly more stability. I live this life because I love it; I doubt that will change in the next decade.

By James Pearson

Carline Ciavaldini, James Pearson and Yuji Hirayama

Daniel Woods on the top crux of Tinipi, 9a+

Yuji resting before the crux on Pogulian Do Koduduo, 9a

In 2003 Yuji Hirayama first visited Mount Kinabalu after seeing a tiny photo of the wildly overhanging Oyayubi peak.  Inspired by that single picture, Yuji would discover a landscape like nothing else on earth, a playground for free-climbing, with the hardest high-altitude routes just waiting to be discovered.

Over the years to come Yuji would visit Kinabalu several times, bolting his dream line on Oyayubi and establishing other sport and traditional climbs on the nearby peaks and spires.  Despite his best efforts, the project on Oyayubi remained unclimbed, yet regardless of the often bad weather and difficult living conditions, Yuji had fallen in love and vowed to return someday to finish what he had dreamt of for so long.

On the 12^th of June 2012 Yuji began the journey back towards the summit, this time accompanied by Caroline Ciavaldini, James Pearson, and Daniel Woods.  Inspired by Yuji’s stories and vision, the young team was hoping to discover and create their own dream lines, as well as help Yuji in finally realizing his.

The team spent 18 days living close to the summit in one of the mountains many huts, each day making the 1 hour hike towards the summit plateau to climb, bolt, and explore.  With so much virgin rock forming such wild and varied formations, the final selection of routes could not be more different, representing the individual styles and strengths of their creators.  Blessed with unusually stable weather, the team was able to climb every day, resulting in the opening over 20 new routes up to Fr9a+. 

Highlights include:

Caroline Ciavaldini – Apuri Manan Fr8b and Alanga 120m 3 pitch Fr8b

Yuji Hirayama - Pogulian Do Koduduo Fr9a and Metis 120m 5 pitch E6 6b / 5.12r

James Pearson – Excalibur Fr8c+ and a flash of Alanga 120m 3 pitch Fr8b

Daniel Woods – Tinipi Fr9a+ and Enter The Void Fr8c

 “Part of me wondered what the hell I was doing here.  I got scared, tired, wet, but I came out happy and proud to have been part of this.” Caroline Ciavaldini

“It was so hard to link all the way to the summit but I just did it.  I didn’t have any words to say it, but dream line had just become true!” Yuji Hirayama

“Kinabalu has been my best ever expedition, uniquely combining excellent climbing with a stunning location.  I can’t wait to return…” James Pearson

“It’s like climbing on the moon – so many amazing features and formations.  Just don’t forget your sunscreen!” Daniel  Woods

In addition to the hard routes, the team also spent time equipping the many perfect easier features to leave a selection of walls, arêtes and cracks that would be 3* routes anywhere in the world.  Sunset Café, a route up the front face of the East Donkey Ear being especially good, and according to one member, must surely be a contender for the best 5.10 in the world.

Due to its location and surroundings, climbing on Mt Kinabalu takes a little planning and organization, but thanks to the help of local Adventure Tourism Operators things are now a lot simpler than they previously would have been.  From Kota Kinabalu, the capital city of the Sabah region, your operator will drive you two hours to Kinabalu park HQ where you will register your presence on the mountain with the authorities.  Once all the paperwork is finished you will be provided with a name tag and a mountain guide, and start your journey up the ¾ height huts where you will spend your first night. 

Here is where things become a little more complicated, as regular tourists usually spend only one night on the mountain before reaching the summit and descending the following day.  In order to stay for longer periods, you will need to choose an operator like Mountain Torq who have their own accommodation and understand the special needs of climbers.  For more information about Climbing on Mt Kinabalu, contact Mountain Torq in Kota Kinabalu. 

FA of an 8c+

Petr Pavlíèek who made the movie - The Wizard´s Apprentice

3 minutes in morning news in Swedish Television

Ondra at Granitgrottan - First impressions don't last, by Alvaro Susena

Adam Ondra rocks. He and a movie crew are on a six weeks long road trip up north, destination Flatanger and Lofoten, with a few stops along the way. On Tuesday they arrived to Gothenburg and made their first stop at one of the finest crags the Swedish west coast city has to offer, Hylteberg. He had turned on the "easy" mode and climbed just a few routes onsight, nothing hard enough to be mentioned, but was happy with the pit stop.
– This is a nice spot with a lot of variation. The climbing on granite is different, you have to think a lot, it's harder to onsight here, Adam says.


At Hylteberg, Adam and the crew met up with 8a founder Jens Larssen and they continued the trip to the promise land of traditional climbing Bohuslän, but to the sport climbing area of Granitgrottan, where Jens Larssen has bolted a number of projects. One of them aiming for the title of Swedish' hardest route. But, the Scandinavian spring has been rainy and due to the amount of precipitation the previous week, the projected 9a route had some wet key holds.
– Honestly, I was not impressed by the open cave of Granitgrottan at the first look, Adam commented, and the fact that the 9a project was unclimbable made it worse. When Jens pointed out the 8c+ project it didn't look so good but I wanted to give it a try anyway.


But first impressions didn't last. Right after the first go, Adam had changed his mind.
– The route starts with a very easy section, then you get to the roof and there's a boulder section of highest quality. Would it be on the ground it's around 8A+. If this boulder had been located in Ticino, there would always have been a long queue for it, Adam says.
– There's so many shapes of holds and features, you really have to figure out the best way to get them. It's a big difference, when you climb on lime stone, if you have the power you make the move. Here, you must get into right position. It makes it really hard to onsight.


As a matter of fact, the hardest registered onsight ascent in Sweden is 8a, despite of that a lot of climbers with the capacity to onsight harder abroad has tried to do that. Climbing on granite is complicated, but that just motivated Adam even more. He did the first ascent of the 8c+ on his third attempt, name of the route still to come. He's second attempt was a very good one, but Adam felt some rope drag while passing the lip of the roof and called it off.
– I got my leg somehow tangled into the rope and I wanted a clean ascent, he said putting the ethics high as usual.
On his third attempt, Adam just did some amazing heel-hooks and hard bouldering moves going smooth over the crux, while a team from Swedish broadcast station TV4 was recording for their news show.


After a one hour break, he wanted to put the record straight and tried to onsight a project assumed to be around 8b+. It was a good try but granite routes are in fact hard to read. He sent the route on the second go and Adam realize it's a 8c route, name still to come.
– I'm a little bit disappointed that the 9a project was wet, but it was an amazing day. Adapting to a new climbing style and having fun with good friends.


Adam looks forward for the coming season. He aims for the world championship in Paris and after that he will spend some time working on a few projects he has. Just 19 years old (he has being in the game for so long that it's easy to forget he's still very young) Adam finished school and he's now taking one year off before he moves on to university and economic studies.
– For the first time I have the freedom to focused completely on climbing. Now, when I come home from training, I can stretch a little and cool down, instead of doing home work. I think this will make a great difference in my climbing, Adam says.
– I will train for a month before the comps in Paris and I hope I'll get in good shape and keep it for the autumn season. When the temperatures drop I feel good, it is like my body wakes up and I can perform my best.


We at 8a.nu look really forward to the first season that Adam would dedicated completely to climbing.

Petter Restorp intervju

Petter Restorp har varit Sveriges bästa tradklättrare under flera år och med 

 Berätta lite om varför ni flyttade till Bohuslän och öppnade Klättertorpet?
2. Hur många nyturer har du satt upp i Bohuslän och vilka är de bästa?
3. Har du några nya linjer och klippor på G?
För två och ett halvt år sedan lämnade vi Göteborg och flyttade in i ett litet torp mitt mellan Häller och Galgeberget. Vi ville bo mitt bland de klipporna vi älskar och samtidigt visste vi båda två att det skulle passa oss bättre att bo på landet. Förutom klättringen så finns det även annat här som lockade. Hanna var på Grönland när jag passade på att slå till på huset, men ingen av oss har ångrat oss en enda sekund hittills.

Klättertorpet drog vi igång för ganska precis två år sedan. Vi såg att någonting saknades klätterbohuslän och fick en vision av hur en klättercamping skulle se ut. Nära klippporna, nära havet, fin plats och med rätt stämning. Vi har ännu inte haft någon riktig öppningsfest, men känner att vi är på god väg att kunna ha det snart. Nu närmast planerar vi för ett nytt husbygge till campingen med fräshare kök, kamin och en liten bouldervägg. Vi har ju även kommit igång ordentligt med klätterkurser också. Vi har allt från grundkurser till räddnings- och aidkurser, och har dessutom försökt få till lite nya infallsvinklar som storväggskurser och teknikkurser i sprickklättring.



Jag har satt upp ca 10-20 nyturer i Bohuslän. Inte så många med tanke på att jag har klättrat rätt mycket här de senaste 10 åren, men det är dom absolut vackraste linjerna som har lockat mig och vissa har jag ägnat rätt mycket tid. De tre finaste är Crackoholic på Ulorna, Kärlek på Buråsen och Sista Bossen på Hallinden.

Det finns massa ogådda linjer kvar att klättra. Just nu har jag speciellt två leder som jag skulle vilja få till. Den ena är en överhängande spricka med sjukt svåra jam. Flarade å grunda. Den andra börjar med ett fem meter crimpigt crux och slutar i en 25 meter jämnt trixig spricka. Båda lederna har minst 5 stjärnor.

Varför tror du att det kommer upp så få nya ungdomar som stöter hårt och ofta ovanför säkringar? Hur kommer tradscenen se ut om tio år i Bohuslän?

Varje år är det fler klättrare som besöker Bohuslän. Många klättrar lite lättare leder och några stöter på lite hårdare, men fler klättrar svårare leder nu än för några år sedan.

Jag tror att det är ganska få av alla klättrare i Sverige som klättrar mycket ute. Jag har tidigare bott i Göteborg och Stockholm och oftast när jag själv var ute och klättrade på dessa klippor så tycker jag att jag träffade ungefär samma människor. Det var aldrig någon trängsel på klippan. Gymmen var dock fulla. Varför det är så vet jag inte riktigt, men jag antar att folk har bättre saker för sig än att spendera all sin lediga tid åt sin sport. Det är ändå rätt få som har ett riktigt driv och av egen kraft jobbar för att få klättra så mycket och ofta som möjligt.

Bohuslän är också geografiskt avskärmat från ställen med hög koncentration av duktiga unga klättrare. För att komma hit måste man resa en dryg timme med bil från Göteborg och mycket längre från andra stora städer. Körkort och bil är en fördel. Inte heller så tacksamt att projektera en led som ligger många timmar hemmifrån om man vill få ett snabbt tick.

Jag har alltid tyckt om att klättra hårt, men för det mesta klättrar jag mest för att jag tycker att det är skoj, och inte för att "klara" en led. Jag tror att andra skulle må bra av att tona ner prestationen lite och ta sig en funderare på varför dom klättrar. Jag blir glad av och inspireras av att möta klättrare som bryr sig mer om klättringen än graderna.

Om 10 år kommer fler att klättra i Bohuslän. Några kommer att klättra hårt och standarden kommer att tryckas upp ytterligare, men dom flesta kommer att klättra runt på alla de fina klipporna och lederna som finns idag.

#3 in the World Champion 2012

Juliane Wurm interview  by Tiffany Henslay
Pictures by Ignacio Sandoval Buron


At 10 Juliane's family took their daughter to a gym near their home in Germany. Since 2004, Juliane has placed in the top five in 15 world cups, five of those her most recent. Now 21, Juliane is crushing the competition, and she's pushing harder than ever.

Does your family climb?
My little brother (15 years old) also climbs.

Preffered climbing clothing?
Mammut.

What would you bring with you to eat on a long day of climbing?
Baguette with cream cheese, avocado…and chocolate!!!

Sounds mouth-watering! What are your hobbies or other interests?
Skiing, long boarding, and shopping. ;)

Haha. Who do you climb with usually?
Usually, I climb with my brother Alex or with my boyfriend Jonas. But actually in the gym where I train, there are always lots of strong people to train with.

Where and how do you train?
I either train in a gym in Wuppertal, or at my home boulder, in the attic.

Attic? Cool! What motivates you to train so hard and compete in cups?
I like to travel and to get to see so many different places. It's really cool to meet all the people coming from all over the world sharing the same passion. And of course I like the competition. If you train hard for a few comps and it pays off, it can be a satisfying feeling.

What are some frustrations? How to do you move past them?
It can definitely be frustrating to live in Dortmund. We have no rocks, but we do have mostly bad weather.

I move past them by watching good climbing films, and traveling to different climbing/bouldering spots as often as possible.

What are your current projects in climbing?
My all-time project is to climb outside more often. ;)

What are you scared of most when climbing?
Luckily, I'm usually not scared while I'm climbing.

What is your favorite climbing area?
Fontainebleau!!! Such a cool rock and an amazing surrounding with comfy gites [French for rented rooms]. Maybe it is also a good place to live one day...?

One day! What will you do in 5 years? 30 years?
In five years: studying and climbing a lot outside.
in 30 years: living in a nice place where the sun is shining all day long, in a huuuuge house with lots of windows, being busy as a doctor, but having lots of time for climbing and my family… good dreaming...:D

Richie Patterson from Wild Country has answered some questions in relation to E-grades and crash pads.

(c) Rockfax

About the UK system
The UK system is very subtle and does confuse some people but the UK has also adopted - we use French grades for sports routes, and Font grades for bouldering, it's just for our trad routes we feel that the original system still works really well. A simple explanation is that there's one number for the protection/overall feel of the route (the objective danger) which is the E grade, and one grade for the hardest move, the numeric grade - and by reading these numbers you can know a lot about the route, so some examples of how to read the grade would be in the examples below.
The most common grade combination would be the route in bold - but there could be variations either side of this and although the E grade doesn't change, how it combines with the number grade lets you know what the route may entail:

E2 5a (F6a) US5.9RX - Reasonable climbing, with no hard moves, but probably very poor protection and maybe poor rock. Maybe on Gogarth or a maybe a short, friable sandstone route. The standard of climbing is lower than the possible danger.
E2 5C (F6b) - US 5.10b - Some technical climbing but mainly good protection. The technical standard of the climbing is very much 'in-line' with the objective danger.
E2 6B (F6c+) - US 5.10d? Very hard move but very good protection - probably a short route a one move wonder, - a bouldery short route with very good gear and one move much harder that the rest. The technical standard of the climbing is much higher than the danger involved.

Obviously this takes an amount of experience to understand but then so do other systems - and our grading system is a way of trying to understand the route more - and maybe a good way of transalting this would be to compare with sports climbing. So you can have for example a grade of 7c on two routes but the routes can be totally different - and until you have the crucial information (the route length) you cannot know what type of climb it will be. So for example if you see a route which is 7c and 8m you will know how it is compared to a route of 7c and 40m -  you know which will have harder moves, which will be pumpier etc etc

What about E-grades and Crash pads?
Obviously the routes are a little bit easier because of the use of pads and this is a difficult thing to quantify - for certain if Michele Caminati, see video, had fallen off 10 years ago from that point without pads he probably world have been very badly hurt. However, in the UK the grade for most 'routes' have been kept the same because to alter all the grades is not something which is easy to do - and this is why there are now many routes with both traditional E grades and 'highball' Font grades. People in general are happy with the UK system staying the same with pads and although James Pearson for example tried to make a distinction between pad and non pad ascents (and got many people upset who didn't understand what he was trying to do) this idea did not catch on.
And in fact my personal opinion is that there is a slow move to (if not downgrade) to recognise the ability of pads to save you in the grades of some routes and i think in a few years some of the grades will alter because of this. I think this will also happen with new routes as people choose to report stuff which is now 'safe' with pads as highball Font grades and not E grades.
Also when when you know the UK grading system the original grade still makes sense - for example on this route the fact it is E8 and not E9 tells you the hard climbing is lower down and not higher up the arete, and that even before pads, using 'spotters' (people to catch you) it may have been possible to fall.