Christian Core doing Gioia, 8C (+) also pretty much a traverse.

Ethan Pringle on The Wheel of life in Grampians which initially was graded 8C+ and later 8B+ or 9a have been suggested.

The first 8C's were suggested more than 10 years ago but even with the great progress the only 8C+ boulder is your suggested upgrade of Gioia, if we exclude boulder routes and traverses etc. Why is there a lack of 8C+?

I mean it is obvious fact that grades have changed during the last 10 years on the very top of the bouldering game. What could be considered as a benchmark 8C 10 years ago, is rather an 8B+ today. What is the reason? 
 
Is it because that first ascenders in those days proposed a grade of 8C for problems, which seemed just a tiny bit harder than 8B+ they had done before and there wasn´t a sufficient gap between 8B+ and 8C? Hard to say, but important is to see the situation as it is now. 8C is pretty damn hard thing, according to present standards. Some problems sent 10 years ago got downgraded, and there is not so much mess any more.

Interestingly enough, there are some problems that even got upgraded - like Monkey Wedding from Fred Nicole in Rocklands, initially grade 8B+ in 2002, now it is considered as standard 8C. This proves that grades in bouldering are insanely subjective, as some Fred's boulders from the same era got harshly downgraded (Amandla - from 8C/C+ to soft 8B+). We can only do our best to make it as objective as possible, yo claim in  
a genuine way how hard we found the problems compared to others.

And that is what I did when I put up the FA of Terranova and made the second ascent of Gioia. They both seemed way harder (not only tiny bit) than any other 8C's I had done before, though I had not done lot of them. I decided
to go for 8C+ despite bearing in mind that 8C is damn hard thing nowadays.  
Because of this movement of 8C standard upwards, we haven't seen more  
8C+ been established recently, as there simply might not be harder  
problems than the 8C standard of nowadays.


Maybe one reason for the lacking of 8C+' is simple that the best climbers do not spend month working down projects like they did some 10 years ago? There are just so much to repeat before you start doing new FA's. I mean, as we have seen flashes of 8B+ and many fast 8C's we can estimate that the level has gone up.

Another reason might be that it is just so painful to do 5 - 10 moves 8C+ going straight up as the holds will be so small. Maybe it is just not so pleasent to do 8C+ or 9A boulders?

Yeah, it might be true that people aren't willing to project a boulder
problem for too long. But there were relatively fast ascents of 8C's already 10 years ago.

The hardest problems are surely way more friction-dependent than extreme  
routes, but even 8C has to be climbed in good conditions and one has  
neither power nor skin to give it more than a couple of tries a day.  
Surely, the hardest problems will always be question of friction and  
perfect skin, but already 8B+ or 8C's are very friction-dependent and  
painful, but as you don't have it on border your limits, you can do it  
despite not ideal temps or skin. In the 8C+ or 9A, It might be just  
really frustrating to try a problem for many days and not being able to  
do the moves, the worse to keep the spirit high as it hasn't been  
climbed yet and you are trying to find the best solution.

Paul Robinson is one of the most tallented boulderers who has repeated many of the hardest ones as well as establishing new cutting edge ones. His latest project was Welcome to the Hood which was not a normal 8C FA but instead a movie where we follow him bouldering in Font and Swizz together with Woods, Gullsten and Jörg.

How did you start doing climbing movies and how long time have you been working with Welcome to the the Hood? 
      I started filming a long time ago when iI was really young. I gave itup though for a couple of years but after finishing university, I felt like there was something missing in my life. Climbing all the time was awesome but I felt liked I needed to add something artistic to my life since I was not in school painting all the time anymore. I picked up a camera again and got really psyched doing a lot of photography and videography. After making the schengen files last year, I wanted to make another and this winter was my chance with Welcome to the hood.  We filmed the movie in November and December and then the editing began. Alex and I were not finished editing the film until a few weeks ago! I am really psyched to be done the project and looking forward for the next one!


Tell us something about your next film - Chasing Winter?
      The filming for the next film is going to begin in South Africa this Summer! We have a really great cast coming down with us and I think that this summer is going to be a huge one in the development of areas outside of Rocklands in South Africa! The goal is to get some amazing footage, get much more into the lives of the climbers and the cultures that they climb in. South Africa has a really rich culture and the goal is to really pull this out in the film, to show people what it is really like to live there and climb there for a season!


How do you see the boulder scene in 10 years?
        I see it growing a lot. I think that bouldering has been growing like crazy of the past few years and will continue to grow just like it is now. It is really cool to see it growing at the pace that it is but we also have to make sure to teach those getting into climbing the ethics that are necessary to keep our climbing areas clean and open for future generations. 
        
Any plans for also do some climbing with a rope? 
        For now i think that i am going to just stick with bouldering.  I have found my niche in bouldering and really am psyched to continue pushing my limits with in the sport!

When and How did you first realize that you were talented?
        When I first moved to Colorado, I began training with some stronger people and my climbing ability went up a lot! I think that moving out there was a huge step for me.  I began to do much harder boulders and quickly at that. It was a really good feeling and gave me a lot of confidence to continue pushing myself really hard.

How have you been training and how has that changed over the years  
and what is your plan to get even stronger?
        I just started training the other day actually! It has been 2 years since I have really climbed inside.  I really want to be in the best shape of my life for my trip to africa this summer so I plan to train really hard for the next 2 months! I am looking forward to training! I have gained a lot of finger strength and technique over the past few years of climbing outside and now I hope to add some more power with climbing inside to get to the next level in my ability!

What are your thoughts about grading, personal grading, slash  
grades and inflated grades? 
        Well I try to give my best estimate on a grade when I repeat a boulder or put up a first ascent. Sometimes it is tough when you are out trying something by yourself and stuck trying one beta. Sometimes you do something and it is a lot harder than the actual beta that someone will figure out in the future.  But alas, you just have to give your honest opinion and see what the future holds for the boulder/route. Slash grades are fine. Sometimes a boulder is not a full  
grade and needs to be in between two. Inflated grades are pretty common these days and I think that it is really sad to see when people
inflate grades to gain popularity, etc.

Bouldering ethics; onsight? touching holds prior to a flash? Dabbing? Double pad starts etc. 
        Onisght- walk up to a climb no beta, and just send it. I think that touching a hold before flashing is fine.  Bringing a ladder out to a boulder is a little bit of a stretch but if you can reach it from the ground or a pad stack I see no harm in touching the holds before giving a flash try. But once you pull off of the ground that is your flash go. No trying stand starts and then claiming a flash of the low start.  Dabbing is whenever you touch anything that is not the rock  
while climbing.  Dabbing can be a heart break (me on tsotw before i  
did it) but you have to do it clean so that afterwards you are 100  
percent proud of your ascent and have no thoughts about it. I guess  
with starts it all depends on the boulder and how the first  
ascentionist did it. I try to make sure that when I do a repetition I  
try my best to start the same way that the first ascentionist did.


What are your experience from injuries and do you think it is a  
risk pushing to hard being a child? 
        After breaking my ankle in switzerland in 2008, I definitely took a  
big step back and realized how important climbing is in my life.    
Since then I feel i have been much more consciences of the way I climb  
and the boulders that I will try because an injury like that was truly  
detrimental and I do not want to have something like that happen  
again!  I think that it is a tough place to be in as a child who is  
training and trying to become the best.  When I was a kid there was  
far less competition and it was more about fun.  When I was young I  
climbed for fun and made it more of a hobby than a job.  Think kids  
need to realize that climbing is fun and that getting better should be  
an enjoyable process not a painful one that puts you into tears.

When will we see the first 9A? 
        Good question!  I think that we could possibly see it in the next 5  
years!  The idea is definitely perceivable these days it is just going  
to take someone actually finding something of this difficulty and  
putting in the time necessary to send it!  I can think of one climb  
that may be around this hard!

The beginning of MAGIC WOOD by Bernd Zangerl

At the beginning Thomas "Steini“ Steinbrugger wasn`t even sure if this place, he recently found in a small valley was good for bouldering. Lots of moos, thick woods, hard to get throught, even hard to enter the place......this must have been somewhen in 1999.

„When we just find just 1o good lines,  that would be so great !! „

We drove to averstal, searched a spot, where we could cross the river and entered a magic place. A thick forest with lots of boulders.

It was true.....just a few pieces of rock, the steep ones where we couldn`t  see the holds- have been kind of clean. The rest of the boulders was „green“ and it was very hard to hike around and how can we bring crashpads in here? But the quantity of boulders was immense. We took our brushes and started cleaning some boulders around the now known „sofa surfer“ sektor...and a bit further down at „Camelthrophy“. The first bsuh was done within an afternoon. „ a steel brush every day, keeps the doctor away“ ;-)

It was not a problem to find 10 great lines and we both knew:

There is lots of potential in this little wood and every visit we found some new lines. Some boulders, like steppenwolf, electro boogie, goldfish.... we even found years later by pure accident..or getting lost in in the MAGIC WOODJ

It ended up like this: we worked during the day, drove to averstal late afternoon and cleaned boulders till it was getting dark.  Then we turned on the our gas laterns and climbed till midnight. Next day, same game. We needed  lots of  ladders, ropes and brushes and „tons“ of chalk and &  Steini made the first proper access for us: a steel cable where we could enter the magic place without getting wet.

The news about the new boulder possibility spread out in the little community of those days and our friends Bruno Rüdisser, Jack Müller, Phillip, Thomas Hensch, Pascal Buesser, Marco Goldi,..... joined us in the wood and worked hard every possible minute. Everybody was motivated to find his own line, and having a good time in the wood. It was just a small group of great people who spend their whole free time in magic wood.....

Thomas Steinbrugger, my mentor in bouldering, was always searching and looking for boulders. I think we hiked around in most of the swiss valleys, crossed all mountain passes and whenever we spottet a boulder our of the car: we stopped and checked the line. Thats what we did on our restdays: hiking, hiking and searching.....and we still do we have so many little places hidden in the valley or on the mountains.........

Maria Davies Sandbu has had an extreme progress since 2009 when she did her first 7A and were among the last in three European Youth Cups. Last summer she did three 8A's and in the last Lead WC she was #17. Two weeks ago she did her first 8c, Fish Eye in Oliana and she is #2 in the 8a Combined world ranking game after Sasha Digiulian. She is as quick doing interviews, seconds after the follow up questions were sent, through Facebook, you can see the icon that the answer is on it's way.

Fish Eye, 8c in Oliana. (c) Henning Wang

Fish Eye, 8c in Oliana. (c) Henning Wang

Ruta del sol, 8b in Santa Linya. (c) Henning Wang

Bouldering in Rocklands

#17 at Imst World Cup

Please give a short presentation on How you started climbing?, How can you explain your fast progress? And what is your ambition for 2012?
I first tried climbing when I was 13 years old, but it was not until I was 15 that I started to climb more regularly and do specific training for climbing. The first competition I participated in was the Norwegian championship in 2007. I took 1st place in the junior female category. This really motivated me to continue to train and commit to climbing.
 
Still it was not until 2010 that I really noticed a big improvement in my climbing. Before that my focus had been on just having fun and to enjoy climbing, but now I really wanted to reach a new level. I wanted to do well in the international competitions and climb hard routes and boulders outside. My training became more serious and structured.

That year (2010) I had a great season. I climbed my first 8a and 8a+ routes, did my first 8A boulder and I placed 8th in the junior World Championship. Before that I had barely climbed a 7c+ route, 7A boulder and I was usually in the bottom half of the competition results. After this season I have continued to have a gradual improvement and I am psyched to continue training and push my limits in 2012!

When I train I do both bouldering/ power training and endurance training. Switching my focus between bouldering/power and endurance I usually become in a better shape in both bouldering and climbing. When I train power I do hard boulderproblems, usually at my limit and harder. I usually climb with guys who are a lot stronger than me, so this forces me to try hard boulders that I often cannot do. But I still try to push myself on these boulders even if I can only do half of the moves.

During a bouldersession I often try a couple of hard boulders and a couple of boulders that I can make. I usually also do some strength training after bouldering (pullups, lockofs, double-dynos etc.) I also do some core and weight training in a gym. If my focus at the moment is bouldering I do some sessions on a campusboard.

When I train endurance I usually do circuits. We don't have a good climbing wall in my hometown so all my endurance training is done in a bouldering gym. I do both long circuits (about 70 moves) and short circuits (30-40 moves). I also do intervals on the wall where I just climb on the bouldering wall for 5 - 10 minutes, then have a break and do 5 - 10 more minutes and so on.

I usually end my endurance session when I cannot climb the same hard moves as in the beginning of the session any longer. I always try to push myself as hard as I can and never give up! Someone once told me that it is when you feel as though you are about to fall of the wall, and you are still able to push your self a last couple of moves you really achieve something with your training. Therefore I try to do this every time I train and really commit in every try.

This summer I am going to Rocklands (again), so this spring I will be doing a lot of boulder and power training. I also want to be able to climb different styles and varied boulders so I am going to train on my weaknesses and hopefully become a more complete climber.

After the summer I will compete in the World Championships in Paris and also do some World Cups. I also want to climb more rope, so hopefully I will get a chance to travel in Europe and do some rope climbing during the fall. I also want to try some of the new routes in Flatanger, which is close to my hometown. The cave is amazing and there are lots of hard and challenging projects to find there!


You are from Trondheim, midways up in Norway where it is cold, dark, rainy and there is no proper climbing gym. How is it possible to make fast progress based on such poor conditions?
As long as you challenge yourself  in new ways and continues to have fun I think constant progress is possible. I think the best endurance training are done while bouldering so it is not a big problem that we do not have a big indoor wall. Dimitry Sharafutdino is world champion even if his training wall is very small. I think the most important thing is motivation and to train hard and even.

Who has been your trainer?
My boyfriend Martin Mobråten is the one who has had most influence on my climbing. Since last year Stian Christoffersson is my national coach and he helps with training planning etc.

What are your strongest point?
I think crimping. I am pretty strong in my fingers and have a good static strength. My weakest point are dynamic moves in between sloopers.

Climbing Harness Know How by Nick Sotos

Introduction

Choosing a good climbing gear is extremely important. The significance of having the right climbing harness can turn out to be fairly obvious when you are on a rock or ice face. If you give a consideration to the components of a harness and to the kind of climbing you are up to, it will guide you to a type of harness that is best matched for your adventure.

Common parts of a climbing harness

• Waist-belt: It is also known as swami-belt. The key factor when it come to a waist belt, is to provide comfort along with protection. About fifteen years back this just intended to be “more of padding”. These days the intention is to split the load, so that the weight goes not only to waist-belt, but to leg loops as well.

• Buckles: These are usually made of aluminum. Almost all the new harnesses currently have auto locking clasps. The substitute is the classic manual double-back buckle. When it come to leg loops, consider that some harnesses avoid buckles due to the minimize of weight.

• Leg loops: These are the loops that are located in the leg region and they are padded for comfort. They can be adjusted in order to permit the change of clothes while someone remains tied in. This can be achieved with the use of buckles; automatic or manual double–back. Of course this feature adds weight to the harness, and for a lot of climbers adjustable leg loops are a needless extra.

• Gear loops: These are primarily made of plastic or webbing loops positioned around the waist-belt, and intended for placing your climbing gear. Usually harnesses will have around of four gear loops, in order to carry all of your needed climbing equipment.

• Belay loop: Along with the Tie in loops, the Belay loop is the basic loop upon the climbing harness. While belaying a climbing partner you will connect your carabiner and belay device to this important loop. Some models have a security marker summed up in the belay loop. If you start to notice this red marker emerging, it means your harness is damaged and must be substituted.

• Tie in loops: These two loops are the ones that are connected to the belay loop. They are a very basic part of your harness, because they are the loops where you are going to attach your rope. Their main benefit is that they decreases the resistance and increases the redundancy of your system. With this method, both the waist-belt and leg loops are separately attached to the rope, hence the load spreads more efficiently.

Common types of climbing harnesses

Sport harnesses: It is a type of harness designed for quick - ultra light climbing, whether inside the sports center or on outside sport routes. It is enhanced with dual gear loops, and slim belay loop that reduces the weight. Another feature is the negligible leg adjustability. Most of such harnesses have no buckles on the leg loops, in order to reduce the total weight of the harness and generate a smooth look.

Traditional harnesses: Trad climbing typically needs additional gear than sport climbing, so a traditional harness takes full advantage of space while being comparatively light and at ease. They have adjustable leg loops with buckles, automatic or double–back, and they are powered with four or more gear loops, intended to grasp lots of gear. One of the prime advantages is that they have thick and durable stuffing in waist-belt and leg loops, that soothes you when spending an extended time tied in. They also have added lumbar stuffing which assists to stabilize the lower back and waist.

Winter harnesses: When compared to traditional harnesses they have many similarities; however these are intended to manage with winter circumstances, so they are completely adjustable to fit winter clothing. Winter harnesses characteristic features include adjustable leg loops and waist-belt with the use of buckles. The gear loops also are designed to carry gear needed when ice climbing, like ice axes and ice screws.

Alpine harnesses: These harnesses present all–season flexibility. They are equipped with adaptable leg loops and waist-belt for simple on and off, with automatic or manual double–back buckles. They have four or more gear loops that are specially intended to hold a quantity of gear. Many of these harnesses don't have a belay loop, in order to reduce the total weight. In these harnesses the belaying of your climbing partner will be made from the waist-belt and the leg loops.

Conclusion

In Rock Climbing, it is significant to identify the diverse gear and tools that we require. Furthermore, we should gain knowledge of the functions of our gear, along with how and when should be utilized.When it comes to climbing harness, we shouldn't be stingy. A nice trick I use, is to search for coupons and coupon codes like Rock Creek Coupon Outdoorplay Coupon and Rocky Mountain Trail Coupon in order to save money from my on-line purchases. Hence I ain't going to compromise on safety and comfort, while not give a fortune to get my outdoor gear.

Interview with Mr MARCO SCOLARIS (IFSC President)
By Esteban Diez Fernández & Ignacio Sandoval Burón

Mr Marco Scolaris - The IFSC President

The Logo

The IFSC building in Torino (Italy)

- What is the importance and attention the IFSC gives to the different sport climbing disciplines including the competitions?

IFSC is giving equal importance to all the three disciplines.

Lead, Speed and Boulder are different expressions of the versatility of this sport.

- We at 8a.nu think that there’s more and more people practicing climbing each day. Do the IFSC have any specific data on the number of climbers around the globe? What is the country/ies with a bigger amount of climbers per total population? What country has seen the bigger increase in number of climbers?

Sport climbing has long been most popular in Continental Europe but has grown significantly in the past five years across the globe. We estimate that more than 15,000,000 people practice sport climbing around the world. Germany France USA Italy China UK Austria Spain are certainly the strongest countries. Asia, in particular the countries of China, Japan and Korea have grown into a major force in the climbing world. North America has seen steady growth especially with the proliferation of climbing facilities and events in the United States. We have also seen strong interest in Middle East and Africa and some island nations, in particular in Oceania and the Caribbean where we are mentoring and nurturing National Federations and international events.

More statistics are under definition and we expect great surprises!

- Apart from the International competitions, the IFSC image is quite diffuse in general… Could you explain us what are your roles and activities?

IFSC main objective is to grow, manage and promote the sport across all five continents

Executive Board

There are ten (10) board members who represent Europe, Americas, and Asia. An Athlete Representative is a member of the Executive Board, with right to vote. All Executive Board members are either active members of a National federation of former climbers in their own right. 

Sport department

The Sport Department is responsible for issues, from sport development to calendar setting. It is composed of IFSC Executive Board representatives, Continental representatives, Athletes commission representatives, Technical Commissions members and directors under the operational direction of the Sport manager. The Athletes Commission is active with the Sport Department Planning and Initiatives. The Athletes are represented in all Commissions within the IFSC.             

Paraclimbing Commission

This Commission launched this amazing branch of our sport that now allows us to have in the same place and in the same days the Paraclimbing World Championship with the Climbing World Championship (see Arco 2011 and Paris 2012)

Commissions

Event Commission; Officials commission; Rules Commission; Medical Commission; Team Manager Commission

IFSC Office

The IFSC office is based in Torino, Italy and supports the IFSC President, EB members, and the Sport Department

- More specifically, could you explain us what do you do with, for instance, all the money you got from the International competitions fees, etc.?

Unfortunately money is never enough…The income generated by fees and similar are used to run the IFSC mission, that is to say ensure worldwide development of climbing. As you may know development is always about choosing which are the priorities and make sure it brings results in order to not waste our resources. Priorities include all activities that make competitions happen and the IFSC get where we are now (From covering the costs of the IFSC office and staff salaries, to training and sending IFSC officials to the events), but also coordinating anti-doping policies and out of competition tests, and of course developing marketing & media programs.

- In a recent interview with Patxi Usobiaga, he said that the future of the climbing competitions is the Olympic Games. Are you with him in this statement? What are the possibilities climbing has to enter the Olympic dream? What are the climbing strengths if compared with the rest of the sports preselected? And its weak spots?

Participating in the Olympics is every Athlete’s dream. Having the opportunity to compete at such a high level is something challenging and rewarding for each athlete.

Without question it would be great for the next generation of climbers to be able to showcase our sport at the 2020 Olympics and beyond.

We think sport Climbing is the very good example of a sport representing the Olympic Values. Sport Climbing is definitely a massive physical and mental demand. It requires incredible preparation to perform at the elite levels. And yet at the same time it can be fun, social and interactive. It is accessible; safe; competitive. It is a sport for all and everyone, attractive for youth and doping free; it respects the environment; it is low cost and it has a fair and transparent judging system. Therefore we see it as an enhancement to the Olympic Values, and adding some unique characteristics to the existing Olympic Sport Program.

Climbing is unique, one of the basic human motor skill. And it is a strong social tool at all levels. What more?

- We guess there are many things to be improved before attaining the Olympic sport condition. What does the IFSC think the next parts need to improve to help in that objective execution?

• The country federations

• The competitions organizers

• The climbers

• The media

• The IFSC

We are looking to improve our sport in every possible way. In order to stimulate and guide the grow of our sport we are engaging with our Athletes, our National Federations, our Sponsors, our Business Partners and our Media supporters. The aim is to develop a Program Management Plan that encompasses the following elements:  sport; athletes; media and broadcast; marketing and communications; product development; educate, encourage and excite Program; internal stakeholders.

We are making a particular attention in improving our events and athletes experience.  We already reviewed the Competition Calendar for 2012 on the basis of having events in a balanced way of experienced and well received cities and some new exciting locations. We are also making great effort to develop our exposure thru the various media and social networking platforms to communicate the sport to its fans and to the youth of the world.

- What club and/or country is a good example in promoting climbing? Why?

 There are many around the world, and we try to help those who are meeting difficulties. Everybody is able to recognize regions where the sport is booming, with the concourse of all the stakeholders, and others where progress is slower.

- Does the IFSC grant any climber? Is there any role an active climber can play in the IFSC?

Most of the people inside the IFSC are active climbers and go climbing the most often they can. Because of this, referring to the Athletes, the IFSC welcomes their support beyond their competition years, from open discussion on events to the Athletes Commission that is present at every level of the organization. But we also try to make them more and more involved, a good example is Jerome Meyer, one of the best ever bouldering champions, who is now the IFSC Sport Manager.

- What is your politics towards climbers who don’t take part in competitions but help somehow to the evolution and promotion of our sport (Andrada, Sharma, etc.)?

It is the same family and we are always amazed to watch climbers wherever and whenever they practice their sport.

- Shouldn’t the IFSC be more involved in preserving bouldering and sport climbing crags, especially those with access issues? Have you weighed up the figure of something similar to the Access Fund integrated in the IFSC structure?

 As a consequence of the above, we’d like to do more for all the community, also out of the competition area. But we cannot focus on too many goals and also in some countries the local NF leaders are reluctant to do so, but someday it will happen.

- Concerning the insurances, when are we, sport climbers and boulderers, going to enjoy an insurance which fits us without any other additions having more to do with mountaineering, alpinism or skiing?

In many countries insurers are able to make a distinction between mountaineering and sport climbing. However, most depends on how climbers and their entourage present what they are doing: if they let their activity to be considered “extreme”, then it’ll be difficult to be considered differently.

- The first Psicobloc/deep water soloing event celebrated more than one year ago in Bilbao turned really successful. Is there any initiative to include one of these types of comps in the World Cup or to create an individual circuit?

We are always attentive to this kind of initiatives, especially when participants are our champions. We are studying special events to be included or in support of the World Cup.

- What is the IFSC assessment after the lead World Cup in Jordan where we could watch qualifications made in a 10 meters vertical wall and barely a dozen international climbers?

Not being there could have given a distorted sense of this event and of the infrastructure. However, it is necessary that we all understand and support the need to promote the sport in different regions of the world. Our euro centrism should sometimes accept that the sport has just begun in some areas and cannot have the same standards as elsewhere. It was the same in Europe years ago, but this is easy to forget. The feedback we had from Amman from local people was great: new comers into our community, we should be happy of that!

First of all how you become a trainer?

I started climbing and studying Sports Science nearly at the same time, 20 years ago, and soon begun experimenting, on myself and others. According to experts, now I enjoy the optimal learning environment: study and observe to gather knowledge, apply it to others, and finally convey it.

What are you best general training advices?

You may expect some fantastic insight... but instead I'll put forward some tools for you to reach your own eureka moment:

1- Focus on improvement. Don't take training as a mean but as a worthwhile end. Enjoy it and learn from your mistakes. That will keep you motivated.

2- Persistence is key for performance. The ultimate trick is being commited to your goals, and devote lots of time and effort to accomplish them.

3- Avoid shortcuts and individualize your training load. Use the easiest method that gives you some gain, and don't leapfrog steps. Beginners have enough with 60% loads to improve, while elite climbers are not so lucky and need to go beyond 80%. Some will get results hanging from a 24-mm edge for 10 seconds, others will need 8 seconds on 14 mm and even add extra weight. Following what worked for others or doing what this or that mutant does... leads only to injury and frustration.

4- Practice your self-analysis and self-knowledge: your climbs, your training, and yourself (weaknesses, mistakes, feelings, improvements...). A training log can help.

Back in 2004 I carried out my first research project. From my research I found that training dead hangs with added weight on an 18-mm edge (3 to 5 sets x 10'' :3') for 4 weeks, and then proceeding to train for another 4 weeks on the smallest possible edge without added weight, led to the following changes: there was a remarkable improvement in maximum finger strength (as indicated by the maximum added weight held while hanging from a 15-mm edge); a noticeableincrease in the maximum time hanging from an 11-mm edge (finger endurance); finally, the participants were able to hold their body weight off a smaller edge than before.

After that study, I and the climbers I have been training (Luis Alfonso Félix, Nacho Sánchez, Eric López, Andrea Cartas, Pablo Barbero, Dani Moreno…), have used this method along with others that I later developed.

Leaving aside individual factors, and given that I found that training finger maximum strength had a positive effect onfinger strength endurance, my training schedule consists of using the above methods in a first stage, and then performing a strength endurance phase, doing intermittent dead hangs of 5 to 10 seconds in duration with an incomplete rest of 30 to 3 seconds.

The key aspect of this methodology, though, is that each person must adjust and control their training load. Just as some people when doing 8-rep sets of biceps curl will choose the 10 kg dumbbell, and some other the 40 kg one, we will choose each day, or even each set, the edge size or the amount of added weight (depending on the method used) that will allow us to hang for the stated time.

In order to accomplish that, we need a fingerboard that provides us with different and progressive edge depths.

That is why, together with DafnisFernández and Joan Machado I've developed, for JM Climbing Surfaces, Progression™ and Transgression™; two fingerboards that include different and progressive edge depths, so that climbers of a lower or medium, or a higher level in the case of the latter, will be able to train in an effective way their finger strength and strength endurance. To achievethat goal, each board comes with a training guide based on the conclusions of my studies and my broadexperience from training climbers for more than 10 years.

2011 was a great climbing year! After the competition bouldering season I was rockclimbing more often than any year before. I've been to Rocklands for 5 weeks where i did my first proper 8a+ (Black shadow) and then I flew to the USA on the 5th of October and I'm still here. After leadclimbing in the Red River Gorge and multipitching in Yosemite, which was amazing, Jorg and I went to Bishop and now Hueco, where I could climb a lot of problems within the 8a/8a+ region. Soon we will be going to Joe's Valley and Indian Creek, then everything is about competitions again for the naxt half year. The highlight will be at the worldchampionships in Paris, where I'm really excited to compete.

Also I want to say something about a topic I came upon in Hueco while climbinging together with Alex Puccio and Shauna Coxey. People tend to downgrade problems, which are frequently done by women or are 'easier' for women, but one can ask as well: Why downgrade problems, which are easier for women (or better said: if you are shorter), when problems which are harder for women or if you are short are not upgraded???
To me it seems reasonable to grade problems for a regular size climber - i.e. most guys. Otherwise there would be a lot of V20's based on little girl ranges - but V11 for 'norma'l range...

I've done the worldcups since about 7 years I think, gradually becoming stronger until I finally won the lead cup in 2008, also the year my injury started.
Three years after (i.e. very recently) everything is healed again, and i can finally train and climb as much as I wish, without restrictions. Now I noticed it's really hard to get back to the 'top' again, since everyone just continued to get stronger, and I kind of got stuck at the same level. The top level might not have changed so much the last years, but the subtop has gotten so much bigger and stronger!
My motivation of course is at its best, so I will be glad to compete in 2012, probably in both disciplines. We will have to regain a lot of training as soon as we come back from our half year USA trip though. Rockclimbing unfortunately makes you weak on the long run, so again we have a big deficit on comp strength. It was so worth it though!

On the topic og FA's: I'm always drawn towards new terrain, whether in alpine, sports or bouldering. I've also grown an unhealthy love for loose rock, which is to be found everywhere, and most people like to avoid it.
This started of with the rock quality not being so high around Innsbruck, evolved strongly with David and my FA on Mt Brento - the worst rock imaginable - and recently showed off in some little FA's in Hueco :)

BOREAL KINTARO'S

The first impression when taking the Boreal Kintaros out of the box was their brand new rubber (Zenith) superb grip. When pressing both tips of the soles together and holding both shoes in one hand, we witnessed how they literally stuck together.

This model is intended for slight overhangs where edging is needed. It has quite an asymmetric and downturned profile, which eases the bodyweight to be transferred onto the toes. It also has a kind of insert/fold just underneath the first/internal toes offering an extra support. Overall it’s noticeable a greater comfort than the average climbing shoes.

Edging is eased with an anti-deformation midsole together with a super sticky 5 mm sole. Whilst both offer a really nice edging and durability, the downside is that sensitivity is reduced a little. We started feeling more sensibility and confidence with these shoes on small edges when 2 of the 5 millimetres of the sole were worn out.

After a month of use deformation has been just reasonable. Thus, it wouldn’t be a good idea to purchase them quite small. It seems that their sponsored athletes use the same size or half a size smaller than the size used with the same brand’s street/approach shoes.

The adjustability is awesome thanks to a well-designed glove-like heel together with two Velcro closures covering a big part of the foot. Notice that the upper one is wider. Besides, the rear half of the sole and the heel are stripped so as to make heel hooks easier.

We have to say that the heel band is a little bit too low for those with a sensitive heel or having a heel spur.

In short, we recommend Boreal Kintaro’s for those of you looking for a super sticky rubber to be used on slightly overhanging walls where edging is needed, as well as for those whom comfort is a must.

People looking for extreme sensitivity needed for really overhanging walls might benefit more from other softer models in the Boreal range.

Soul Sacrifice, 8b in Gorges du Loup. © Anna Gatta

Gerhard Richter interview, by Anna Gatta

What is your age?
53. And it’s getting worse every year!

When did you start climbing and what inspired you to start?
I started climbing when I was 21. When I was a teenager. I read all the great books from Desmaison, Messner, Livanos and I was really fascinated by mountaineering. I did some nice Alpine routes, but progressively, I switched to pure rock climbing as I wanted to push further my climbing skills.      

Which were the hardest routes you din in 2011?
Dernier jour de democatie, 8b and Je est un autre, 8b.