9 July 2017

Crutches but progress to 8B+ by Thomas Blaabjerg

Thomas Blaabjerg has done his first 8B+, The Never Ending Story in Magic Wood four years after he had a bad accident which still forces him to use crutches during the approach. When it comes to landing on the crash pad he cannot land directly on his just feet, instead he has to fall down on his back. (c) Camilla Hylleberg - In 2013, I had an accident climbing on the auto-belay in my local gym, that resulted in an eight meter long free fall leaving me with a broken wrist, two crushed heels and, according to the doctors, some bad prospects for the future. Today, 4 years later, I still have to do a lot of rehabilitation; I still have trouble with walking, everyday activities and many things in climbing. However, if I’m careful, it’s still possible for me to climb hard, especially on rock, where it is easier for me to compensate for the lack of movement and strength in my feet. In climbing, there are a lot of things, which is almost impossible for me now, but there are still lots of things that I can do, so I’m very happy with that! I tried the line on and off over 4-5 days, but it was only the last 2 days where I gave it actual send burns from the bottom. In the crux (the connection of part one and two) it all comes down to a hard right heel hook, which I found very difficult. Therefore I spent the first sessions trying to connect this part. When I did that, around 3 moves before the red point crux, I knew I was able to do the full line.
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