OUR MOST RECENT FEATURE VIDEO
Where we at?
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We're in the US!
The trip is over as of January 14th 2019. We are know based in Salt Lake City, UT. Josh is the Head Coach and Head setter for the Climbing US Team. Cha is fully dedicated to Cold House Media. We found a nice little house which is gonna be our cocoon. |
BRIEF JOURNAL
Our Latest Sends / Fails / Epics
Our Latest Sends / Fails / Epics
January 31st 2019 - Settling in
(written by Cha)
The last few weeks have been in full swing! We spent our last few days doing a lot of "last". Last Airbnb, last rental car, last climbing day (pretty succesful in Gozen Iwa sport climbing where we did "Le regime du Docteur Meiji" 8a, "Gya-Gya" 8a and "Doppler Effect", 8b) , last shopping, last meal (sushis of course), last night and finally, last flight.
We flew straight to Salt Lake City in the US, and rented a Airbnb and a car while we were looking for a place to call "home" for the next 2 years at least. Apartments, Home, too small, too loud, too crappy, too pricey, too big, too much carpet (yes, that's a thing!)... we saw a lot of places, and after 3 days of non-stop visits, our eyes stopped on a nice little house in a quiet neighborhood, close to cool zone of restaurant and shops... all approved by our local friends so it seems like we picked a good one. Now we moved all our belongings in it (aka the 8 bags we have been travelling with for the last year and half) and started to fill in the house with few furnitures!
We are already excited to explore the areas around SLC (seems like there are A LOT of places!) between the days of work. And we have a lot of projects related to A World Less Traveled, seems like it will keep us busy for many Months or Years! YAY!
(written by Cha)
The last few weeks have been in full swing! We spent our last few days doing a lot of "last". Last Airbnb, last rental car, last climbing day (pretty succesful in Gozen Iwa sport climbing where we did "Le regime du Docteur Meiji" 8a, "Gya-Gya" 8a and "Doppler Effect", 8b) , last shopping, last meal (sushis of course), last night and finally, last flight.
We flew straight to Salt Lake City in the US, and rented a Airbnb and a car while we were looking for a place to call "home" for the next 2 years at least. Apartments, Home, too small, too loud, too crappy, too pricey, too big, too much carpet (yes, that's a thing!)... we saw a lot of places, and after 3 days of non-stop visits, our eyes stopped on a nice little house in a quiet neighborhood, close to cool zone of restaurant and shops... all approved by our local friends so it seems like we picked a good one. Now we moved all our belongings in it (aka the 8 bags we have been travelling with for the last year and half) and started to fill in the house with few furnitures!
We are already excited to explore the areas around SLC (seems like there are A LOT of places!) between the days of work. And we have a lot of projects related to A World Less Traveled, seems like it will keep us busy for many Months or Years! YAY!
January 8th - Cold rocks and BIG NEWS below
(written by Cha)
We drove towards Ogawayama, 3h-ish west of Tokyo, in order to go climbing. First, we had to figure out where to stay.... and that was a challenge! There are few lodges close to the area, but they are all closed during the winter. They are few hotels, but they were very expensive! Our only option was Airbnb but it was 2h away from the rocks!! So we rolled the dice and drove closer to the rocks and found that pin in Google Maps that looked like a hotel, and lucky for us it was! It was a nice Ryokan-style hotel, with an insane kitchen and chef (in a good way), warm japanese-style bath, and tatami room with futon, and... a climbing wall!. We spent 4 nights there, welcomed by the owner Suzuki, his wife (and the chef) Emma, and their kids Thomas and Anna (we suspect it's their "English names" because they are all fully japanese). The highlight of this place is without doubt the food. Every morning and every evening, Emma would present us a beautiful plate with samples of different delicacies she would have home made in the ours before. On our first night, she spent 1 hour preparing soba noodles from scratch, while opera music was playing, and we knew we would have epic food there. We did!
Let's talk climbing now... well, it was freezing temps! Literally! Out of our 5 days there, only one day the temps went above 0°C and it made it very challenging. We alternated bouldering and sport climbing and didn't come out with many successes. Who knew 7b+ sport slabs would be impossible when you can't feel your fingers and feet? Anyway, we had very good time trying to feel our extremities, and it was even cooler when Koh (the owner of Pongo gym in Shanghaï who also was in Japan at this moment) joined us for our last day. Actually, we owe him a lot as he arranged crashpads for us from a friend and gave us guidebook beta (it's very hard to find informations that are readable for us!).
Now we are back in Tokyo... until we finish the AWLT trip in a week. WHAT ?!!! Yes. In a week from now, Josh and I will fly to the US to settle down in Salt Lake City, where Josh got the awesome title of USA Team Head Coach/Setter at the new training center in SLC. As you can imagine, there is a lot going on in our heads (at least in mine) regarding the end of this awesome trip and moving in somewhere new. But right now, we are both very happy to have a home, comfort and not travel with 10 bags everywhere. It's a good time for it and we know there are certainly many more trips opportunities coming up!
(written by Cha)
We drove towards Ogawayama, 3h-ish west of Tokyo, in order to go climbing. First, we had to figure out where to stay.... and that was a challenge! There are few lodges close to the area, but they are all closed during the winter. They are few hotels, but they were very expensive! Our only option was Airbnb but it was 2h away from the rocks!! So we rolled the dice and drove closer to the rocks and found that pin in Google Maps that looked like a hotel, and lucky for us it was! It was a nice Ryokan-style hotel, with an insane kitchen and chef (in a good way), warm japanese-style bath, and tatami room with futon, and... a climbing wall!. We spent 4 nights there, welcomed by the owner Suzuki, his wife (and the chef) Emma, and their kids Thomas and Anna (we suspect it's their "English names" because they are all fully japanese). The highlight of this place is without doubt the food. Every morning and every evening, Emma would present us a beautiful plate with samples of different delicacies she would have home made in the ours before. On our first night, she spent 1 hour preparing soba noodles from scratch, while opera music was playing, and we knew we would have epic food there. We did!
Let's talk climbing now... well, it was freezing temps! Literally! Out of our 5 days there, only one day the temps went above 0°C and it made it very challenging. We alternated bouldering and sport climbing and didn't come out with many successes. Who knew 7b+ sport slabs would be impossible when you can't feel your fingers and feet? Anyway, we had very good time trying to feel our extremities, and it was even cooler when Koh (the owner of Pongo gym in Shanghaï who also was in Japan at this moment) joined us for our last day. Actually, we owe him a lot as he arranged crashpads for us from a friend and gave us guidebook beta (it's very hard to find informations that are readable for us!).
Now we are back in Tokyo... until we finish the AWLT trip in a week. WHAT ?!!! Yes. In a week from now, Josh and I will fly to the US to settle down in Salt Lake City, where Josh got the awesome title of USA Team Head Coach/Setter at the new training center in SLC. As you can imagine, there is a lot going on in our heads (at least in mine) regarding the end of this awesome trip and moving in somewhere new. But right now, we are both very happy to have a home, comfort and not travel with 10 bags everywhere. It's a good time for it and we know there are certainly many more trips opportunities coming up!
January 2nd - Holidays in Tokyo and Kyoto
(written by Cha)
We just spent two beautiful weeks to end 2018 and 2019. My brother, his lady Emilie and their 1.5 years orld daughter (my wonderful niece) arrived the same day as us in Tokyo. We spent few days in Tokyo, then at the base of Mt Fuji and finally in Kyoto. The planning was sightseeing (temples, buddha, parks, ...) widllife encountering (MONKEYS!!!) and eating (sushis, ramen, yakitori, etc. etc.!), and Japan has it all! We couldn't stay away from climbing, so Josh and I did a few training sessions in every places, from BPump in Tokyo, Cairn in Mt Fuji and finally -maybe our favorite so far- Crux in Kyoto!
We are now back in Tokyo. My family unfortunately leaves back to France tomorrow, and it was awesome to spend time together across the World. Our friend Adam from Jackson also arrived yesterday for last minute visit, and the three of us will drive west to go do some rockclimbing in Ogawayama!
(written by Cha)
We just spent two beautiful weeks to end 2018 and 2019. My brother, his lady Emilie and their 1.5 years orld daughter (my wonderful niece) arrived the same day as us in Tokyo. We spent few days in Tokyo, then at the base of Mt Fuji and finally in Kyoto. The planning was sightseeing (temples, buddha, parks, ...) widllife encountering (MONKEYS!!!) and eating (sushis, ramen, yakitori, etc. etc.!), and Japan has it all! We couldn't stay away from climbing, so Josh and I did a few training sessions in every places, from BPump in Tokyo, Cairn in Mt Fuji and finally -maybe our favorite so far- Crux in Kyoto!
We are now back in Tokyo. My family unfortunately leaves back to France tomorrow, and it was awesome to spend time together across the World. Our friend Adam from Jackson also arrived yesterday for last minute visit, and the three of us will drive west to go do some rockclimbing in Ogawayama!
D-Town Yangshuo
December 20th - Just arrived in Japan!
(written by Josh)
So we just finished up our last few days in China and they were awesome! Climbing and Hanging with Greg and Tara a lot and filming a few routes for vlogs and feature film. We also hit Demo a few more times because...we had to. We filmed a few lines with the help of some other climbers at the cliff (thanks Simon!) and guess what...we saw the sun for the first time in 2-weeks! Yep. Sun is great. Before we flew here to Japan we stopped over in Shanghai for 36-hours to my favorite gym in China - PONGO! It's a small sized bouldering gym with a intimate vibe and well set routes! I was there 2-years ago when they had just opened up. The owner Koh, his wife and their staff are very kind and generous people that love climbing. We set some "challenge boulders" and then showed some movies and slides from our trip and ended with Hot-Pot with about 10 climbers and Koh from the gym! A perfect ending to our China tour, I'm excited to head back to both Yangshuo and Pongo next year!
December 13th - Two-weeks in Yangshuo
(written by Josh)
So we've been here for 2-weeks so far, things have been pretty cray-cray mostly due to the weather! We haven't seen the great ball of fire for 10+ days now! It's a good thing for sure because a lot of the cliffs are south facing. But the weather has been cloudy, rainy and very cold to climb in! When we arrived, we thought that the heat and humidity would be out greatest battle... but no. It's been the 3-deg temps and rain that has kept us on our (numb) toes. Since Charlotte's last post we've been mostly at the famous "White Mountain" because of the clouds (south facing cliff). We've met a lot of great people here including our room mates and climbers from around the globe and even the US peeps Tara and Greg! A couple from the States we've connected with and have been climbing together for a week now! It's refreshing to hang, try hard together, drink beer together and share stories about climbing and filming. We've been busy from projecting some harder things to ticking off some others that have all been high quality moves and stone. Rock. What a wild thing.
Here's our (5.13a/7c+ and up) tick-list so far;
White Mountain
Blue Magic - 5.13d/8b Josh
Axeman - 5.13b/8a Cha & Josh (second go each)
China Climb - 5.14a/8b+ Cha & Josh (back-to-back and second try each!)
Little Bastard - 5.13b/8a Josh (2nd go)
Korea Number 1 - 5.13b/8a Cha and Josh (Flash by Cha!)
Gin and Tonic - 5.13b/8a Cha and Josh (Flash by Josh)
Smile Forever - 5.13b/8a Cha (2nd go)
Leipi Shan
Thunder Extension 5.14a/8b+ - Josh (2nd go)
No Guarantee 5.13b/8a - Cha (Flash)
Single Life 5.13b/8a - Cha and Josh (5th go or something crazy like that...weird route)
Lightning 5.13d/8b - Cha and Josh (Back-to-back sends again!)
Riverside
Fat Monkey 5.13a/7c+ - Josh (Flash)
Flight of the Bumble Bee 5.13c/8a+ - Josh (second go)
Celebration Ale 5.13c/8a+ - Cha (second go)
Also, we love Demo Pizza Bar here in Yangshuo! Best I.P.A's we've had in a long, long time!! We have 5 more days left here. One rest day/shopping with Greg and Tara and the rest of the time - see where the motivation is. We have some projects at White Mountain (as most people do) but we're not sure if we want to sit under those and see what happens or go explore some new areas we've been told to go and check out...hmmm.
We'll let ya know what we do!
Cheers!
(written by Josh)
So we just finished up our last few days in China and they were awesome! Climbing and Hanging with Greg and Tara a lot and filming a few routes for vlogs and feature film. We also hit Demo a few more times because...we had to. We filmed a few lines with the help of some other climbers at the cliff (thanks Simon!) and guess what...we saw the sun for the first time in 2-weeks! Yep. Sun is great. Before we flew here to Japan we stopped over in Shanghai for 36-hours to my favorite gym in China - PONGO! It's a small sized bouldering gym with a intimate vibe and well set routes! I was there 2-years ago when they had just opened up. The owner Koh, his wife and their staff are very kind and generous people that love climbing. We set some "challenge boulders" and then showed some movies and slides from our trip and ended with Hot-Pot with about 10 climbers and Koh from the gym! A perfect ending to our China tour, I'm excited to head back to both Yangshuo and Pongo next year!
December 13th - Two-weeks in Yangshuo
(written by Josh)
So we've been here for 2-weeks so far, things have been pretty cray-cray mostly due to the weather! We haven't seen the great ball of fire for 10+ days now! It's a good thing for sure because a lot of the cliffs are south facing. But the weather has been cloudy, rainy and very cold to climb in! When we arrived, we thought that the heat and humidity would be out greatest battle... but no. It's been the 3-deg temps and rain that has kept us on our (numb) toes. Since Charlotte's last post we've been mostly at the famous "White Mountain" because of the clouds (south facing cliff). We've met a lot of great people here including our room mates and climbers from around the globe and even the US peeps Tara and Greg! A couple from the States we've connected with and have been climbing together for a week now! It's refreshing to hang, try hard together, drink beer together and share stories about climbing and filming. We've been busy from projecting some harder things to ticking off some others that have all been high quality moves and stone. Rock. What a wild thing.
Here's our (5.13a/7c+ and up) tick-list so far;
White Mountain
Blue Magic - 5.13d/8b Josh
Axeman - 5.13b/8a Cha & Josh (second go each)
China Climb - 5.14a/8b+ Cha & Josh (back-to-back and second try each!)
Little Bastard - 5.13b/8a Josh (2nd go)
Korea Number 1 - 5.13b/8a Cha and Josh (Flash by Cha!)
Gin and Tonic - 5.13b/8a Cha and Josh (Flash by Josh)
Smile Forever - 5.13b/8a Cha (2nd go)
Leipi Shan
Thunder Extension 5.14a/8b+ - Josh (2nd go)
No Guarantee 5.13b/8a - Cha (Flash)
Single Life 5.13b/8a - Cha and Josh (5th go or something crazy like that...weird route)
Lightning 5.13d/8b - Cha and Josh (Back-to-back sends again!)
Riverside
Fat Monkey 5.13a/7c+ - Josh (Flash)
Flight of the Bumble Bee 5.13c/8a+ - Josh (second go)
Celebration Ale 5.13c/8a+ - Cha (second go)
Also, we love Demo Pizza Bar here in Yangshuo! Best I.P.A's we've had in a long, long time!! We have 5 more days left here. One rest day/shopping with Greg and Tara and the rest of the time - see where the motivation is. We have some projects at White Mountain (as most people do) but we're not sure if we want to sit under those and see what happens or go explore some new areas we've been told to go and check out...hmmm.
We'll let ya know what we do!
Cheers!
Charlotte sending "China Climb" 5.14a/8b+ at White Mountain
December 3rd - First week in Yangshuo
(written by Cha)
Yangshuo is far from what we expected. We like to not search too much how a place looks like before going to to keep the surpise, and we were surprised indeed! It a nice little town, very happening with lots of restaurants, shops and a lot of local tourists. It is quite refreshing after so much time spent in the remote mountains of Nepal (which were awesome too!). We met up with my friend Ola that I met in Getu in 2010 (maybe 2011?) and who has an apartment here in Yangshuo. We slept on the couch for few nights waiting for a room to get free, and now we are settled in and I'd have to say it feels amazing to have the comfort of a "home".
We rested the day after we arrived, because we were both very tired from the travel and exhausted post trek and mostly quick sick. Wasn't much better the day after, but figured we would go to the cliff and fight through it! It was a good idea because we get to see more of the surrounding, and the region is so pretty with a lot of wilderness and all the hills/buttes/lumps so specific to here!
We've been on the rhythm "2 days on, 1 day off" and it's good to be back into climbing! First days were hard, but we feel a good improvement already. Also good news, my wrist is not too bad really. Definitively feels weak and painful in some moves, but most of the time it's totally fine.
We have climbed in 3 sectors, Leipi Shan, Riverside and White Mountain. The two first sectors are pretty small but has a bunch of potential projects for us. Then White Mountain in enormous! A very cool cliff band nicely organized from easy to hard from right to left, over about 50 routes!
We have our draws on a few projects, and we already ticked 3 8a "Axeman", "Korea n°1" and "Single life" which were all quite different with always a bouldery section. It took us a little time to get over the "polished" aspect of the holds (I honestly haven't totally), but that makes sense with the popularity of the place, and also the type of Limestone (not super textured) here. I'd say our real struggle has been the weather so far, it being very humid and quite hot these last days. But the good news is that the temps will drop drastically in the next few days, and we are very psyched for that!!!
(written by Cha)
Yangshuo is far from what we expected. We like to not search too much how a place looks like before going to to keep the surpise, and we were surprised indeed! It a nice little town, very happening with lots of restaurants, shops and a lot of local tourists. It is quite refreshing after so much time spent in the remote mountains of Nepal (which were awesome too!). We met up with my friend Ola that I met in Getu in 2010 (maybe 2011?) and who has an apartment here in Yangshuo. We slept on the couch for few nights waiting for a room to get free, and now we are settled in and I'd have to say it feels amazing to have the comfort of a "home".
We rested the day after we arrived, because we were both very tired from the travel and exhausted post trek and mostly quick sick. Wasn't much better the day after, but figured we would go to the cliff and fight through it! It was a good idea because we get to see more of the surrounding, and the region is so pretty with a lot of wilderness and all the hills/buttes/lumps so specific to here!
We've been on the rhythm "2 days on, 1 day off" and it's good to be back into climbing! First days were hard, but we feel a good improvement already. Also good news, my wrist is not too bad really. Definitively feels weak and painful in some moves, but most of the time it's totally fine.
We have climbed in 3 sectors, Leipi Shan, Riverside and White Mountain. The two first sectors are pretty small but has a bunch of potential projects for us. Then White Mountain in enormous! A very cool cliff band nicely organized from easy to hard from right to left, over about 50 routes!
We have our draws on a few projects, and we already ticked 3 8a "Axeman", "Korea n°1" and "Single life" which were all quite different with always a bouldery section. It took us a little time to get over the "polished" aspect of the holds (I honestly haven't totally), but that makes sense with the popularity of the place, and also the type of Limestone (not super textured) here. I'd say our real struggle has been the weather so far, it being very humid and quite hot these last days. But the good news is that the temps will drop drastically in the next few days, and we are very psyched for that!!!
November 26th - From Nepal to China
(written by Cha)
We left you off in Kathmandu where we were catching up on work, waiting for my bro to arrive so we can start our trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC). He arrived, and the morning after we all took a cab to the domestic airport, where we took a tiny plane (after some delay) for the craziest flight we've all experienced. It started alright, even if a bit shaky and very loud (although they gave us little cotton balls for the loudness). Then we realized we were on the wrong side of the plane (right side) while the majestic mountain range was on the left side. As we got closer to hills and went above some passes, we experienced quite some impressive turbulences for a plane of this size. Best for the end, the airport of Lukla (2600m) got in sight, and it was the craziest (once again) runway we've seen : perched on a hill, very short and as a slope in a way that you go upwards when you land, and downwards when you take off. We were so releaved when the plane finally stopped that everybody (aka 15 people?!) in the plane clapped when the engine went off...
(written by Cha)
We left you off in Kathmandu where we were catching up on work, waiting for my bro to arrive so we can start our trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC). He arrived, and the morning after we all took a cab to the domestic airport, where we took a tiny plane (after some delay) for the craziest flight we've all experienced. It started alright, even if a bit shaky and very loud (although they gave us little cotton balls for the loudness). Then we realized we were on the wrong side of the plane (right side) while the majestic mountain range was on the left side. As we got closer to hills and went above some passes, we experienced quite some impressive turbulences for a plane of this size. Best for the end, the airport of Lukla (2600m) got in sight, and it was the craziest (once again) runway we've seen : perched on a hill, very short and as a slope in a way that you go upwards when you land, and downwards when you take off. We were so releaved when the plane finally stopped that everybody (aka 15 people?!) in the plane clapped when the engine went off...
We met up with Pasang and Luckme, two local climbers and mountaineers, to have a quick lunch and the last infos, and then we kicked off for our 2 weeks trek all the way to EBC and Kala Pathar, 5545m! Here is our day to day trip :
- Day one: hike 3h30, night in Monjo at 2800m.
- Day two: hike 3h30 ,night in Namche Bazaar at 3400m.
- Day one: hike 3h30, night in Monjo at 2800m.
- Day two: hike 3h30 ,night in Namche Bazaar at 3400m.
- Day three: Rest day (already?! yeah, we followed our friends advices to get used to the altitude nicely) in Namche. We actually went bouldering in Zarok (not me because I still got my wrist injury, which forced me to wear a brace and do a tape in my thumb for a week or more) where there was a few boulders developed, and also two crash pads that a friend of Josh had had make in Kathmandu and left at teh Sunshine lodge above Namche 8 years ago! The pads were in awesome state even if we think they've been used as matresses ;) Anyway, they were super handy, and it was great to carry them around in the middle of developed boulders. The potential being big there, the guys couldn't resist but clean and climb few new boulders.
- Day four: hike 3h, night in Phortse, 4000m.
- Day five: hike 3h30, night in Dingboche, 4400m. It marked our 4th day in the fog... quite cold and not the best to look at the landscape!
- Day six: rest day.... again! Not that we felt like we needed it, but we followed the instructions of our friends. Nothing to climb this time... but we still found one boulder!
- Day five: hike 3h30, night in Dingboche, 4400m. It marked our 4th day in the fog... quite cold and not the best to look at the landscape!
- Day six: rest day.... again! Not that we felt like we needed it, but we followed the instructions of our friends. Nothing to climb this time... but we still found one boulder!
- Day seven: hike 3h30, night in Lobuche, 5000m. We stayed at the 8000 Inn, which is an Italian research center, and it was very refreshing to see some "european style" in the place. And as they had tons of solar panels for the research center, we were able to take a hot shower, which was luxury after a week without!
- Day eight: Big day! Hike to Gorak Shep (5100m), drop our bags, quick lunch, hike an hour to the so-called "EBC" (5300m), which was actually not the true Basecamp (ypu understand why when you see all the "tourists" hikers) but more of a landmark with the same name, located on the same Khumbu Glacier as the real EBC. Then we hiked up back to Gorak Shep and took a right to the steep hill of Kala Pathar, which brought us in 1h30 up to the summit at 5545m, just in time for the sunset across the valley and an amazing reward before the dark : the highly colorful sunset on Nupse, Lhotse and Everest, where the Top of the World was the only last pick hit by the pick sun light before everything turned dark. It was magical, and we celebrated down in Gorak Shep with some Comté cheese that my bro brought for us from France. It was awesome!
- Day nine: There, we got impatient with the hiking, kinda bored to "only" hike up to 3h30 everyday... so we did a big push and walk 9h (with a lunch break in Pangboche) down to Namche Bazaar, goign from 5100m to 3440m through 34km!
- Day ten: we were psyched to be this close to Lukla and more civilization (aka Kathlandu after a 30min flight) but things were not that simple! Josh hikes much more faster than my bro and I, so he took our passport and head to Lukla at his pace to change our tickets (originally planned for 4 days later) because the office was only open during a certain amount of time in the afternoon. We actually all made it time, and all sad down at our "favorite café" in Lukla, the Illy Bakery, that does decent bakeries and great capuccinos! We met up with Dhurba (who was in Manang with us) and Vinayak (who helped us with everything here in Nepal) and stayed at the same hotel, and shared beers while thinking of our next meal in Kathmandu that wouldn't involve Momo's nor Dal Bhat.
- Day eleven: Well, guess what?! things didn't go as planned. The weather was pretty bad all day, kinda cloud in the valley and where the planes come from... and when that happens, no plane fly! So we were stuck in Lukla for the all day, hanging in Illy with lots of other people, many of them being sick, couching and blowing their noses... and we all got sick more or less fast!
- Day twelve: same than day eleven!!!
- Day ten: we were psyched to be this close to Lukla and more civilization (aka Kathlandu after a 30min flight) but things were not that simple! Josh hikes much more faster than my bro and I, so he took our passport and head to Lukla at his pace to change our tickets (originally planned for 4 days later) because the office was only open during a certain amount of time in the afternoon. We actually all made it time, and all sad down at our "favorite café" in Lukla, the Illy Bakery, that does decent bakeries and great capuccinos! We met up with Dhurba (who was in Manang with us) and Vinayak (who helped us with everything here in Nepal) and stayed at the same hotel, and shared beers while thinking of our next meal in Kathmandu that wouldn't involve Momo's nor Dal Bhat.
- Day eleven: Well, guess what?! things didn't go as planned. The weather was pretty bad all day, kinda cloud in the valley and where the planes come from... and when that happens, no plane fly! So we were stuck in Lukla for the all day, hanging in Illy with lots of other people, many of them being sick, couching and blowing their noses... and we all got sick more or less fast!
- Day twelve: same than day eleven!!!
- Day thirteen: well, we got impatient and also in a rush because our international flights were two days later, and after weighting the pros of cons of few options, we decided to cancel our flights and, after a loooot of waiting, book an helicopter flight (our first one!!!) with Pasang and Luckme to Phaplu, and then took a jeep for a 8h30 ride through rural Nepal... which was very special to see. We made it to Kathmandu exhausted at 9pm, which was just in time to go to our favorite address, Vino Bistro, to eat cheese, charcuterie and drink wine. So rewarding!
We spent the next day climbing a bit a the Astrek gym, shopping for souvenirs and eating more "westernized" food.
For our last full day, we had to say bye to my bro who went back to France, and we set some boulders in Astrek with new holds that my sponsor "Volx Climbing Holds" passed us, and then we had a cool night climbing with everybody on them, doing a slideshow and showing one of our movie. It was a cool night to hang out with everybody we met and hanged out with for our 5 weeks here, before we left the morning after, saying goodbye to our wonderful host Prem at the Kumari Inn and taking our flight out of Nepal, heading to our next destination: China!
We had a layover in Chengdu for the night, but the day after (after another flight delay and 2h of taxi) we arrived in our next climbing/bolting destination: Yangshuo! First impressions in the next post, and a big Thank You to everybody that helped us and hanged out with us in Nepal!
For our last full day, we had to say bye to my bro who went back to France, and we set some boulders in Astrek with new holds that my sponsor "Volx Climbing Holds" passed us, and then we had a cool night climbing with everybody on them, doing a slideshow and showing one of our movie. It was a cool night to hang out with everybody we met and hanged out with for our 5 weeks here, before we left the morning after, saying goodbye to our wonderful host Prem at the Kumari Inn and taking our flight out of Nepal, heading to our next destination: China!
We had a layover in Chengdu for the night, but the day after (after another flight delay and 2h of taxi) we arrived in our next climbing/bolting destination: Yangshuo! First impressions in the next post, and a big Thank You to everybody that helped us and hanged out with us in Nepal!
November 7th - We ran out of bolts!
(written by Josh)
No internet. No cell service. No car to move us around. And after the first two day of being in the valley of which we were to bolt in....we found a lot of bad rock.
After our 2-day "Jeep" ride along the car path (not to be mistaken with a road) we ended up at the "Farmhouse" (Picture below on the right). It stood out from all other village dwellings and buildings - this lodge was a taken right from the Alps and it landed in the middle of...nowhere Nepal. We were greeted by "Raj" the owner of this beautiful lodge and also the owner of the the apple farm that surrounded the lodge. "67,000 apple trees and growing" said Rag "It's been a family business for years and we are the largest apple orchard in Nepal".
(written by Josh)
No internet. No cell service. No car to move us around. And after the first two day of being in the valley of which we were to bolt in....we found a lot of bad rock.
After our 2-day "Jeep" ride along the car path (not to be mistaken with a road) we ended up at the "Farmhouse" (Picture below on the right). It stood out from all other village dwellings and buildings - this lodge was a taken right from the Alps and it landed in the middle of...nowhere Nepal. We were greeted by "Raj" the owner of this beautiful lodge and also the owner of the the apple farm that surrounded the lodge. "67,000 apple trees and growing" said Rag "It's been a family business for years and we are the largest apple orchard in Nepal".
Our Jeep ride for 7-hours along one hell of something they call a road!
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Our home for 2-weeks at the "Farmhouse" / Apple Farm!
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The plan for our 14-day stay in the valley was to find one of the following options to develop; 1) A multipitch wall that we could bolt, clean and climb in 12-days time, 2) An epic feature that stands out and screams "Dudes, climb me" and 3) A cool, tall cliff that has many options for lines, grades and easy access for others. Well, 2-days of hiking and a lot of altitude and kilometers gained we found option THREE mixed with a little version of option ONE.
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On the right is what we hiked (rough estimate from my iPhone Health app) and it matched up with my GPS. We hiked over 50 kilometers looking and finding cliffs to climb!
With elevation gains of 7,800 feet total recorded. We lost weight. |
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Without going into a lot of detail about the bolting and routes you can find our route Topos we created for us and the locals here in Nepal to use to find the lines we bolted! Click Here or above on the page "OUR TOPOS"! Also, we have 2-vlogs out about the trip! Check them out here!
Below are a few of the images from our time in the Annapurna Valley. For now, we are working our eyeballs dead on our laptops; editing vlogs, Brazil destination film, blogs, USA Climbing emails, IFSC emails, sponsors and eating some yummy food in town! We leave in a few days with Charlottes brother Thomas to trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC)! Trekking Tourists we will be!
Thanks for checking in!
Below are a few of the images from our time in the Annapurna Valley. For now, we are working our eyeballs dead on our laptops; editing vlogs, Brazil destination film, blogs, USA Climbing emails, IFSC emails, sponsors and eating some yummy food in town! We leave in a few days with Charlottes brother Thomas to trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC)! Trekking Tourists we will be!
Thanks for checking in!
October 19th - First days in Nepal
(written by Josh)
We arrived and stuck around Katmandu for a few days while the entire country celebrated their version of Christmas Dashain. Basically, 75% of residents from the capital city of Katmandu left to their respective homes/villages elsewhere in Nepal. So the city was a ghost town (but still somehow busy)! Our plans when we arrived were to hit the road running (in proper Cha and Josh style) and head directly to Pisang where we will stay 20 days. BUT the everyone that would run this sort of transportation - left the city. So we waited for another day, explored the city and shops that were open and even had time to get our Permits for entering the Annapurna Region! YES! You basically need a permit for anything and everything here (politics). As of today, October 22nd, we are in-route to Pisang, yesterday we took a small taxi from Katmandu 5-hours. Along the way, we experienced the worst driving we've ever seen. No lane laws or passing laws or anything! Its a free-for-all in every way imaginable. Oncoming traffic in our lane makes us move! It was nuts! Anyway, today we head out (like right now actually) got to cut this short! We'll check in once we make it to Pisang!!!!!!
(written by Josh)
We arrived and stuck around Katmandu for a few days while the entire country celebrated their version of Christmas Dashain. Basically, 75% of residents from the capital city of Katmandu left to their respective homes/villages elsewhere in Nepal. So the city was a ghost town (but still somehow busy)! Our plans when we arrived were to hit the road running (in proper Cha and Josh style) and head directly to Pisang where we will stay 20 days. BUT the everyone that would run this sort of transportation - left the city. So we waited for another day, explored the city and shops that were open and even had time to get our Permits for entering the Annapurna Region! YES! You basically need a permit for anything and everything here (politics). As of today, October 22nd, we are in-route to Pisang, yesterday we took a small taxi from Katmandu 5-hours. Along the way, we experienced the worst driving we've ever seen. No lane laws or passing laws or anything! Its a free-for-all in every way imaginable. Oncoming traffic in our lane makes us move! It was nuts! Anyway, today we head out (like right now actually) got to cut this short! We'll check in once we make it to Pisang!!!!!!
October 12th - Little break
(written by Cha)
As you can see, we haven't posted in a while. The trip is far from over, but we are taking a little break for a few other awesome opportunities.
Beginning of September, Josh was in Innsbruck, Austria, at the World Championship with the USA Climbing Team who he is the coach/ manager for. It was an intense 10 days with competitions everyday and many athletes engaged. During this, I was home in Burgundy, spending time with my family.
We had a week to kill until our next duties, so we spent time in Fontainebleau, climbing and catching up on work. We also hanged out with few friends and even spent a day with Matt from Epic TV, it was fun!
Josh's family came for the first time in Europe, so we all went through Burgundy and Montpellier, and then I let them continue their journey to Italy.
On my side, I jumped on a plane for Buenos Aires, where I've now been for almost 10 days at the Youth Olympic Games. I am here as a Athlete Role Model representative for Sport Climbing. It's been amazing being here, seeing how big the Olympic Organization is, and simply being part of this amazing experience.
I leave in few days to meet up with Josh in France, pack our bags and continue our trip.
Next destination : we start our Asian tour with Nepal!
(written by Cha)
As you can see, we haven't posted in a while. The trip is far from over, but we are taking a little break for a few other awesome opportunities.
Beginning of September, Josh was in Innsbruck, Austria, at the World Championship with the USA Climbing Team who he is the coach/ manager for. It was an intense 10 days with competitions everyday and many athletes engaged. During this, I was home in Burgundy, spending time with my family.
We had a week to kill until our next duties, so we spent time in Fontainebleau, climbing and catching up on work. We also hanged out with few friends and even spent a day with Matt from Epic TV, it was fun!
Josh's family came for the first time in Europe, so we all went through Burgundy and Montpellier, and then I let them continue their journey to Italy.
On my side, I jumped on a plane for Buenos Aires, where I've now been for almost 10 days at the Youth Olympic Games. I am here as a Athlete Role Model representative for Sport Climbing. It's been amazing being here, seeing how big the Olympic Organization is, and simply being part of this amazing experience.
I leave in few days to meet up with Josh in France, pack our bags and continue our trip.
Next destination : we start our Asian tour with Nepal!
September 3rd - Back on Grid
(written by Josh)
Hey everyone!
Wow. The world without internet and electricity is awesome, refreshing and well different. Madagascar was a beautiful stop with so much to offer and learn about. We did as much as we could with the time we had; 18-pitch climbs, sleeping in porta ledges, developing beautiful boulders, meeting and making new friends, getting fat and tan on the west coast beaches and learning so much about the place that people refer to as "like the movie" but, it's not at all.
Currently, I as sit here in the Cape Town airport for the 3rd time flying out of here in the last 1.5-months Charlotte is flying to France and I fly to Innsbruck. We need to catch up on our blogging so here are some bullet-point topics from the last few weeks;
Cheers!
Josh and Cha
(written by Josh)
Hey everyone!
Wow. The world without internet and electricity is awesome, refreshing and well different. Madagascar was a beautiful stop with so much to offer and learn about. We did as much as we could with the time we had; 18-pitch climbs, sleeping in porta ledges, developing beautiful boulders, meeting and making new friends, getting fat and tan on the west coast beaches and learning so much about the place that people refer to as "like the movie" but, it's not at all.
Currently, I as sit here in the Cape Town airport for the 3rd time flying out of here in the last 1.5-months Charlotte is flying to France and I fly to Innsbruck. We need to catch up on our blogging so here are some bullet-point topics from the last few weeks;
- We'll be back in Madagascar for sure, we sampled a lot of the easier classic big walls and just got started on some harder lines and realized - we need waaaay more time. So, next time well attack a specific route and also continue the development of bouldering because we both loved it. Yep. Even Cha so you know its good.
- As I said, we went to the beach for a few days after leaving Tsaranoro Valley because of the off season heat and we wanted to check out more of Madagascar before we left. The beach. Well, it was perfect. Massage, Whale watching in a canoue (yes, as scary as you might think being in the middle of the ocean with whales 15x's the size of your boat), fresh seafood, Pina Coladas, and just simple chill time like real tourists.
- We flew to Johannesburg, rented a car and visited the famous Kruger National Park for 2-days! What is it? It's a massive 20,000 sq. kilometers self-driving wildlife park filled with the big 5 - Traditionally, the “Big 5” were the five most dangerous animals to hunt on foot in Africa: the buffalo, elephant, rhino, lion, and leopard. We saw only 3; the buffalo, elepant and leopard. It was truly a place you can't explain or show through photos - you just have to go. (We saw some crazy shit!)
- Once we drove around Kruger for 17hrs looking for more animals - our climber inside of us reached out and screamed "LETS CLIMB GUYS!" So we listed and drive 2hr south to....Waterval Boven. Now keep in mind - we havn't climbed in almost 2-weeks and we've been in a car (not allowed to get out) for more that 17 hrs. So we arrived and quickly dug out our climbing gear and ran (out of breath) to the closest cliff and got pumped! We spent 3-days in a row just trying to pull our asses up some beautiful sandstone cliffs. We stayed at "Tranquilitas Adventure Farm" and campground and it was walking distance to the cliffs! The "God No" wall was our favorite and we'll both have to return in better shape to climb some of the harder, beautiful lines. But, we managed to send a 5.13 a day! (Our goal was an 8a or harder a day but our 3rd day we climbed 7c+ and couldn't muster more - (We both flashed it though!)
- Day 1: We started at the "God No" wall and Warmed up on "Freak On" 24/7a/5.11d. We enjoyed the style and didn't get crushed sooo - good start! Then, we jumped right on "Tokolosie" 30/8a/13b and found that it packed a punch without much rest in between 10 hard(ish) moves. We ended up sending each on our 2nd go! Okay. We can still rock climb!
- Day 2: Same zone, Cha warmed up on "Freak On" again and I went bolt-to-bolt on the neighboring line "Death by Chocolate" (aka Who needs lucky cows). 31/8a+/13c. I found it crimpy! But i really enjoyed all of the sequences and holds and gave it a send go - but punted at the end. I rested while Charlotte quickly sent "Jack of all Trades" 30/8a/13b she cruised it and it's not easy for the short! After that, I gave my line one more go and clipped the chains! It was a fight but I do love a good fight on the sharp end...only when I win. J/K J/K. Not really....who likes to loose? Okay.
- Day 3: We changed cliffs to the "Superbowl" and we warmed up on a very juggy and long 24/7a/11d called "Ride Bushman" and then without waiting any longer I had to get on (and ended up on-sighting) the very famous and beautiful line "Snapdragon" 29/7c+/13a. Lucky for me it was little tricky boulder problems with big rests between! Charlotte also flashed this line for her last route of the day! We gave some goes on a nice 31 near-by but it being our 3rd day on - didn't have gas in the tank to tick this one. Charlotte climbed "Lotter's Desire" 27/7b+/12c and it was her favorite route in Boven!
Cheers!
Josh and Cha
August 14th - Off Grid
(written by Cha)
Well, more and quicker than we expected, we have been off grid for the last few weeks. We are in Madagascar, here is a little bullet point of what we did.
(written by Cha)
Well, more and quicker than we expected, we have been off grid for the last few weeks. We are in Madagascar, here is a little bullet point of what we did.
- After Josh came back to Capetown from Europe, we took an early flight to Antananarivo via Johannesburg. First bad surprise : we had to pay a lot for the 5 extra bags (yes, we are currently travelling with 7 checking bags, some of them being crashpads). Second bad surprise : we had to pick up the bags and recheck (so pay again) in our very short layover in Johannesburg. Everything would actually been pretty smooth if we received all the bags, but one was missing and we had to do all the claiming process. Luckily people were understanding and efficient so we didn't miss our next flight.
- We landed in Antananarivo, paid the entrance visa and went to pick up our 6 bags (one having been missloaded in the first flight) but only 5 of them arrived. Two flights, two bags missloaded.... that's not a good ratio! We did all the claiming process (much longer this time, even more complicated as we were going in a remote place). Funny enough (not really), the two bags missing were my bag with all my personal stuff (clothes, etc.) and the bag containing most of our climbing gear. Then we got picked up by drivers organized by the Agency Madamax. We hoped on a big van and drove 5h down to Antsaribé where we spent a night. The day after, we hit the road at 6:30am for a "8 to 10h drive" to our final destination... Well, 12h, by night, we made it to the Tsaranoro Valley, checked in in the Tsararoa Camp and didn't really have an idea of were we were and what things look like around...
- ...but when we woke up and open the curtain of our little dirt bungalow, we were facing a magical view : the giant walls of the Tsaranoro, right there in front of us. We walked 2 minutes through the Camp to get breakfast and discovered the camp and all it's pretty touches: orange houses made of dirt, natural passes bordered by rocks, mosaics, cool hanging out zone with restaurant, bar, slackline, long chair. We also found out that bathroom are very important here and they all are a real piece of art, usual with no roof and a giant window.... all this with always a beautiful view on the valley.
- On our first day, kinda crushed from our 17h drive down here (+ two extra days of traveling for Josh) we walked around and found some very promising boulders along a river. The two days after, we went back with crashpads and brushes, and cleaned and climbed some beautiful lines. At the end of the third day, while I started borrowing Josh's clothes... the bags arrived (think that they both had to made there way to Madagascar, get picked up by the agency who I give the authorization to pick up my bags, and then drive the 17h like us), so yes, we were psyched to see them !!! YAY !!!
- ... but it was to good to be perfect : my trolley was destroyed everywhere, internal frames broken, handle broken, and most importantly on side was all ripped off, wide open, my belongings just begging to fall out. After a quick check of my stuff, I noticed only one flipflop missing, few useless papers and an envelop with cash. I was shared between relieved to have my bag and upset because it got destroyed and some money lost. But at the end it's material and nothing compromising our adventures.
- We were so excited to have all the gear that we went on a multipitch the day after! It was called "Le Crabe aux pinces d'or', 7b+ max, 10 pitches. Who knows if it was the heat, the fatigue after bouldering, the long hike in the sun, or just the route itself, but after 4 pitches, we couldn't handle the pain caused by the textured holds (cristals just going deep in the skin) and the feet getting smoked on the slab. . We pushed it to the 5th pitch, but then decided to just bail. We had a terrible time, and it was not a decent idea to keep pushing the uncomfort any longer.
- We took a rest day, and as every other rest day here, it was very peaceful and calm. We don't have electricity here, nor internet for anything else than (some) email and social media. So just nature, books (they happen to have a huge library at the camp), and playing cards.
- To make us feel better about our multipitch experience, we aimed at a more classic and easy route : Pectorine, 7 pitches on the Lemur Wall. Besides the terrible steep 1h45 hike in the midday sun, and the overall heat, the route was awesome, gorgeous, not so harsh for skin and we had a good time! The day after, we finished ourselves up with some bouldering, but it was particularly hot and hard to handle the heat.
- Next one on the list : the ultra classic "Out of Africa", 7a max, 14 pitches on the Tsaranoro. Once again we hiked in the sun, but luckily a breeze made it a bit nicer. We dealt with the sun and simo climbed pitches 1+2+3 and then 4+5. Then we climbed all the way up and made it to the summit at the last lights, after 6h15 of climbing non stop. Our feet were on fire (yes we will say that a lot here), and the 3h hike down didn't make it any better.
- After yet another rest day of doing nothing, we stepped our game up and decided to try "Soava Dia", a route freshly bolted last June by the Team of the FFME Roc aventure program. Its main particularities : 19pitches, 7c+ max, bivvy after the 9th pitch on a comfy ledge. Falling asleep looking at the stars we set up the alarm at 4:30am to start climbing at the first light. Light came later than expected and we were climbing by 6:30. The sun was already pretty strong, and at 8:30, after 3 pitches that morning, we decided to go back down to the bivvy and wait... which we did until 12:30 and then went back on the wall, boiling for 2 hours in the sun before the shade came. We made our way up, not without a big fall from me because I broke a big flake, while clipping! We reached the top with only one disapointment : not having sent the 7c+, which follows an awesome, yet very hard a technical prow, that I flashed but the last move which consisted on a straight up dyno. After repacking and sharing a GU shot (our food was low), we made our way down, picking up the bag left at the bivvy right on the last lights, and finishing the rappels by dark with the frontal.
- Here we are now, taking a break from our little remote bubble. We are in a town called Ambalavao where we are spending a night, stuffing our faces in front of the computers. But tomorrow, we head back down to the valley.
July 27th - 3 weeks later
(written by Cha)
Well, a lot happened in the last few weeks obviously. We were still in the Rocklands, climbing, working on our medias and having quite some fun with our big crew. For about two weeks, the bouldering life went on pretty smooth, moving between different sectors, and focusing on our own projects. The good news is that most of us sent our main projects : for Josh "The Vice" 8B and "Black Shadow" 8a+. For me "Royksopp" and "Dirty Epic" both 8A. We overall checked a lot of sectors : most of the pass, most of dePakhuys, 8 day rain, The Coop, Sassies,
And slowly our crew got smaller... Jess left, then Josh (he had to go to Europe to coach at 2 WorldCups), then all the others : Danny, Jon and Anna. A week ago, I then ended up all alone, but I got a a good plan. I changed house (because Kleinfontein was not available any more) and got a bit further down the road at "Neels". A lovely couple who just started to rent a part of their hosted me, and I have very good time! The house was remote, quiet, cute and had everything needed.
Earlier the trip I got contacted by Margaux, who introduced me to Dreamhigher, an association from Capetown who allows kids from social center to climb and get out of their everyday life. For the first time they had organized a trip up to the Rocklands, and I was happy to join them over the last weekend. It was fun and I'd have to say I was inspired all weekend long. They also wanted to check out the famous boulder "The Rhino", which actually inspired the Dreamhigher logo. So we went on Sunday which I was very happy about, because we haven't even got to it during the trip. So here it is : my last climb in the Rocklands was The Rhino, with 15 pads and about as many spotters as the kids from Rocklands development who joined us for that day.
Now I'm in Capetown, doing my little city life, sightseeing a bit, training at the gym and working behind the computer. Josh comes back on Sunday night, and we take a very early flight for Madagascar on Monday morning !
Highlight : I wanted to pointed out a very awesome surprise we got to experience on our rest day : The Dunes ! On the way to have diner (again) in Lambert's bay, we stopped at what looked like dunes from far away. We follow some signs and parked as far as we could at a house. The owner told us the Dunes were 30ish minutes hike away, but luckily her husband offered to drive us there : and here we were, Anna, Danny, Josh and I, on the back of a 4WD! The ride was a lot of fun, and the time we went over a hill and faced the dunes was incredible! As far as we can see, hills and lines of sand. It was gorgeous and we couldn't resist running around and rolling down sandy slopes. It was a very unexpected experience and it was well worth it.
(written by Cha)
Well, a lot happened in the last few weeks obviously. We were still in the Rocklands, climbing, working on our medias and having quite some fun with our big crew. For about two weeks, the bouldering life went on pretty smooth, moving between different sectors, and focusing on our own projects. The good news is that most of us sent our main projects : for Josh "The Vice" 8B and "Black Shadow" 8a+. For me "Royksopp" and "Dirty Epic" both 8A. We overall checked a lot of sectors : most of the pass, most of dePakhuys, 8 day rain, The Coop, Sassies,
And slowly our crew got smaller... Jess left, then Josh (he had to go to Europe to coach at 2 WorldCups), then all the others : Danny, Jon and Anna. A week ago, I then ended up all alone, but I got a a good plan. I changed house (because Kleinfontein was not available any more) and got a bit further down the road at "Neels". A lovely couple who just started to rent a part of their hosted me, and I have very good time! The house was remote, quiet, cute and had everything needed.
Earlier the trip I got contacted by Margaux, who introduced me to Dreamhigher, an association from Capetown who allows kids from social center to climb and get out of their everyday life. For the first time they had organized a trip up to the Rocklands, and I was happy to join them over the last weekend. It was fun and I'd have to say I was inspired all weekend long. They also wanted to check out the famous boulder "The Rhino", which actually inspired the Dreamhigher logo. So we went on Sunday which I was very happy about, because we haven't even got to it during the trip. So here it is : my last climb in the Rocklands was The Rhino, with 15 pads and about as many spotters as the kids from Rocklands development who joined us for that day.
Now I'm in Capetown, doing my little city life, sightseeing a bit, training at the gym and working behind the computer. Josh comes back on Sunday night, and we take a very early flight for Madagascar on Monday morning !
Highlight : I wanted to pointed out a very awesome surprise we got to experience on our rest day : The Dunes ! On the way to have diner (again) in Lambert's bay, we stopped at what looked like dunes from far away. We follow some signs and parked as far as we could at a house. The owner told us the Dunes were 30ish minutes hike away, but luckily her husband offered to drive us there : and here we were, Anna, Danny, Josh and I, on the back of a 4WD! The ride was a lot of fun, and the time we went over a hill and faced the dunes was incredible! As far as we can see, hills and lines of sand. It was gorgeous and we couldn't resist running around and rolling down sandy slopes. It was a very unexpected experience and it was well worth it.
Our crew. With Jess Talley behind the camera
July 5th - Climbing with the crew
(written by Cha)
On the 1st we changed lodging and moved to a a bigger house, "Kleinfontein", that we are sharing with Jon, Jess, Anna and Danny. It's not as cosy as our previous cabin, but it's much nicer because it's a real house where there is everything and lots of space. So far it's been awesome with our "flatmates", they are easy to live with and fun! The high pint is the "braai" outside, with is a barbecue IN the rocks. We've been sharing very good meals made of yummy meat, gigantic salads (thank's Anna and Jess!) and good local wine. Good life here!
Climbing wise, we had to wait another day of rain. The day after it rained until midday, so we still threw our pads in the car around 3pm and drove to the Sassies parking lot. We started the 15min hike and it started raining! So we speeded up and sheltered under a roof in the middle of the sector. Once the drops stopped, we walked around only to witness how wet everything was. But the sun popped out and dried some of the faces pretty fast and the guys wanted to climb so fast that they rapped down the giant face of "Splash of Red" to finish drying it of later. 2h and 2 misty episodes later, Josh, Jon and Danny had climbed the beautiful line and we were all amazed by the beautiful orange evening light and the colors that came with it.
The day after, it was freezing cold but the sky was all blue, not one cloud! We went to the Roadside sector were we met up with the Frenchies (and unfortunately 30 other people!). We warm up on awesome routes like Sunset traverse and Creaking Heights... and that's pretty much all we sent that day! It was insanely cold in the shade and it was hard to feel any holds, our skin being very thick after 3 full days of rest. But we tried a bunch of routes and are excited to go back to them : Out of Balance, Caroline, Green Mamba and Air Star.
Yesterday we checked out a new sector : the Realm. It was sold to us as a 30min drive and 15 hike... It was accurate for the drive, but more like 30min for the hike! Yikes! When we arrived, there was a group of Austrians and Swizz so we walked around to find boulders to warm up on. One thing is strange about this sector : there are not so many boulders and they are very spread out, but there is hundreds of potential! So we found a nice little plaza and climbed around in every piece of rock we could see. It was fun. Then we moved to our goal of the day : Eye of Sauron, 7C+. The other group was there, so we ended up being 20 people here for the same boulder! To not overcrowd we finished our warm up on easier, yet awesome, boulders around. Then we all tried and sent Eye of Sauron, in more or less tries and epics : Danny fell about 5 times with the top jug (slopper) in his hand, before he finally sticked it after a big rest and with better temps. In the middle of our tries the other group left, which was nice because it got less crowded even if we regretted the giant landing of pads they had installed below the tall boulder. Only Anna didn't send it, not so psyched about the final dynamic move with her feet 4meters high. I understand it's not necessarily what you want on your second day bouldering! Josh and Jon put up two new boulders to the left of it : "Brown eye" 7C and "Black eye" 7C.
As I'm writing now, we are on a rest day even if we kinda wanted to climb again, but we have to catch up on work. Highlight of the day : later this afternoon we go Lambert's bay, which is a town on the coast 1h away from here and we will have a nice diner in a seafood restaurant tonight !
(written by Cha)
On the 1st we changed lodging and moved to a a bigger house, "Kleinfontein", that we are sharing with Jon, Jess, Anna and Danny. It's not as cosy as our previous cabin, but it's much nicer because it's a real house where there is everything and lots of space. So far it's been awesome with our "flatmates", they are easy to live with and fun! The high pint is the "braai" outside, with is a barbecue IN the rocks. We've been sharing very good meals made of yummy meat, gigantic salads (thank's Anna and Jess!) and good local wine. Good life here!
Climbing wise, we had to wait another day of rain. The day after it rained until midday, so we still threw our pads in the car around 3pm and drove to the Sassies parking lot. We started the 15min hike and it started raining! So we speeded up and sheltered under a roof in the middle of the sector. Once the drops stopped, we walked around only to witness how wet everything was. But the sun popped out and dried some of the faces pretty fast and the guys wanted to climb so fast that they rapped down the giant face of "Splash of Red" to finish drying it of later. 2h and 2 misty episodes later, Josh, Jon and Danny had climbed the beautiful line and we were all amazed by the beautiful orange evening light and the colors that came with it.
The day after, it was freezing cold but the sky was all blue, not one cloud! We went to the Roadside sector were we met up with the Frenchies (and unfortunately 30 other people!). We warm up on awesome routes like Sunset traverse and Creaking Heights... and that's pretty much all we sent that day! It was insanely cold in the shade and it was hard to feel any holds, our skin being very thick after 3 full days of rest. But we tried a bunch of routes and are excited to go back to them : Out of Balance, Caroline, Green Mamba and Air Star.
Yesterday we checked out a new sector : the Realm. It was sold to us as a 30min drive and 15 hike... It was accurate for the drive, but more like 30min for the hike! Yikes! When we arrived, there was a group of Austrians and Swizz so we walked around to find boulders to warm up on. One thing is strange about this sector : there are not so many boulders and they are very spread out, but there is hundreds of potential! So we found a nice little plaza and climbed around in every piece of rock we could see. It was fun. Then we moved to our goal of the day : Eye of Sauron, 7C+. The other group was there, so we ended up being 20 people here for the same boulder! To not overcrowd we finished our warm up on easier, yet awesome, boulders around. Then we all tried and sent Eye of Sauron, in more or less tries and epics : Danny fell about 5 times with the top jug (slopper) in his hand, before he finally sticked it after a big rest and with better temps. In the middle of our tries the other group left, which was nice because it got less crowded even if we regretted the giant landing of pads they had installed below the tall boulder. Only Anna didn't send it, not so psyched about the final dynamic move with her feet 4meters high. I understand it's not necessarily what you want on your second day bouldering! Josh and Jon put up two new boulders to the left of it : "Brown eye" 7C and "Black eye" 7C.
As I'm writing now, we are on a rest day even if we kinda wanted to climb again, but we have to catch up on work. Highlight of the day : later this afternoon we go Lambert's bay, which is a town on the coast 1h away from here and we will have a nice diner in a seafood restaurant tonight !
June 30th - Checking out lots of zones
(written by Cha)
So much climbing around, it's so hard to not disperse ourselves! But we are loving it and we actually checked out a lot of sectors, which is not so bad to get used to the style and rock, while checking out potential projects. We went to Roadcrew, Roadside, Danger zone, Book club, Campground, Tea garden, Dihedral boulders... aaand I think that's it!
My good friends from France Marine, Clem and Jo arrived at the beginning of the week, and they are our neighbours, which is very nice because they have a bigger house and we can all hang and have diner in front of the fire together. Evenings and nights are pretty chilly. Marine and Clem have been here few times already so they are our guides for few sectors, which is nice! Here is a list of the boulders we climbed :
- Witness the Sickness, 8A flash, J - A dream line for Josh who was so determined to climb it and go for the flash. To be honest he made it look casual !
- Nutsa, 8A, J.
- Gliding through waves like dolphins, 8A, J - for the anecdote, the three key holds on the right arete got in the sun when we started to try the boulder, so I tried to block the sun with my body as much as I could, while Josh was trying the boulder. It worked!
- Microklein, 8A (+?), J - Given as 8A+, but it might be more around 8A.
- Tis is Afrika, 7C+, C.
- Hole in One, 7C+, J - classic big dyno, that he did barefeet!
- Pinotage sit, 7C+, J.
- When the day breaks sit, 7C+ flash, J.
- Kings of convenience, 7C+, J.
- Jaws, 7C, J/C.
- Pinotage, 7B+, J.
- Ulan Bator, 7B+, J.
- Boogieland drive by, 7B flash, J.
- Roadside slab, 7B flash, C.
- Broadside arete, 7B, C.
- When the day breaks, 7B, C.
- Like a squirrel, 7A+, J.
- Salty Egg, 7A flash, J/C.
- Esoterrorist, 7A, C.
- Beer belly bandit, 7A, C.
- Maties, 7A, C.
- Fakir of Ipi, 7A flash, C, J.
- Great space, 6C+, J/C.
- Not not ninot, 6C+ flash, C.
- Sex Etiquette, 6C, J/C.
- The roof is on fire, 6C flash, J/C.
- Demi Lune, 6C flash, J/C.
- Give me a break, 6C flash, C.
- Pull my finger, 6B+ fash, C.
- Animals on wheels, 6B+ flash, C.
It seems that we will have two rest days, kinda needed for the skin, but mostly because there is a lot of rain in the forecast. Rest days equals work days for us, as we have quite a bunch of projects to work on. Because we don't have electricity in the cabin, we will hang at a cafe or restaurant. We could pick the "Hen House" or "Traveller's rest" as they are the to "places to go" when it rains in the Rocklands, but I think we want to escape the climbers ambiance and get a little more quiet. So we gonna head in town, aka Clanwilliam, and find the best place to hang at, even if we have to try them all! Good timing, we need to do a little grocery and it's the place to do this. Fortunately, Clanwilliam is just over a pass before the Rocklands, so it's only a 20km drive from our lodging.
Oh and tomorrow midday we move to our new house! Our friend Jon actually booked it for all of us about a year ago (yes!), but Josh and I couldn't move in it any sooner. We are pretty excited because it's gonna be more like a real house with electricity and everything, a nice upgrade from the cabin we are currently sleepin in!
(written by Cha)
So much climbing around, it's so hard to not disperse ourselves! But we are loving it and we actually checked out a lot of sectors, which is not so bad to get used to the style and rock, while checking out potential projects. We went to Roadcrew, Roadside, Danger zone, Book club, Campground, Tea garden, Dihedral boulders... aaand I think that's it!
My good friends from France Marine, Clem and Jo arrived at the beginning of the week, and they are our neighbours, which is very nice because they have a bigger house and we can all hang and have diner in front of the fire together. Evenings and nights are pretty chilly. Marine and Clem have been here few times already so they are our guides for few sectors, which is nice! Here is a list of the boulders we climbed :
- Witness the Sickness, 8A flash, J - A dream line for Josh who was so determined to climb it and go for the flash. To be honest he made it look casual !
- Nutsa, 8A, J.
- Gliding through waves like dolphins, 8A, J - for the anecdote, the three key holds on the right arete got in the sun when we started to try the boulder, so I tried to block the sun with my body as much as I could, while Josh was trying the boulder. It worked!
- Microklein, 8A (+?), J - Given as 8A+, but it might be more around 8A.
- Tis is Afrika, 7C+, C.
- Hole in One, 7C+, J - classic big dyno, that he did barefeet!
- Pinotage sit, 7C+, J.
- When the day breaks sit, 7C+ flash, J.
- Kings of convenience, 7C+, J.
- Jaws, 7C, J/C.
- Pinotage, 7B+, J.
- Ulan Bator, 7B+, J.
- Boogieland drive by, 7B flash, J.
- Roadside slab, 7B flash, C.
- Broadside arete, 7B, C.
- When the day breaks, 7B, C.
- Like a squirrel, 7A+, J.
- Salty Egg, 7A flash, J/C.
- Esoterrorist, 7A, C.
- Beer belly bandit, 7A, C.
- Maties, 7A, C.
- Fakir of Ipi, 7A flash, C, J.
- Great space, 6C+, J/C.
- Not not ninot, 6C+ flash, C.
- Sex Etiquette, 6C, J/C.
- The roof is on fire, 6C flash, J/C.
- Demi Lune, 6C flash, J/C.
- Give me a break, 6C flash, C.
- Pull my finger, 6B+ fash, C.
- Animals on wheels, 6B+ flash, C.
It seems that we will have two rest days, kinda needed for the skin, but mostly because there is a lot of rain in the forecast. Rest days equals work days for us, as we have quite a bunch of projects to work on. Because we don't have electricity in the cabin, we will hang at a cafe or restaurant. We could pick the "Hen House" or "Traveller's rest" as they are the to "places to go" when it rains in the Rocklands, but I think we want to escape the climbers ambiance and get a little more quiet. So we gonna head in town, aka Clanwilliam, and find the best place to hang at, even if we have to try them all! Good timing, we need to do a little grocery and it's the place to do this. Fortunately, Clanwilliam is just over a pass before the Rocklands, so it's only a 20km drive from our lodging.
Oh and tomorrow midday we move to our new house! Our friend Jon actually booked it for all of us about a year ago (yes!), but Josh and I couldn't move in it any sooner. We are pretty excited because it's gonna be more like a real house with electricity and everything, a nice upgrade from the cabin we are currently sleepin in!
June 24th - ROCKLANDS DUDES!
(written by Josh)
Well it's been a while since I wrapped my head around our project (A World Less Traveled). After Peru I felt like a whirlwind of constant moving and chatting. Not so much climbing but enough to keep me "warm" and motivated for the current location - South Africa, Western Cape - known to climber all around the world as Rock Lands!
It started out great when I left Boston for a red-eye flight to my Paris connection then for South Africa. Charlotte was coming from Lyon, FRA to Paris to meet each other on the same flight to SA. My flight was delayed for 25 min in boston causing 4 days of backlash. I ran to the plane in PAris to meet Charlotte already in our seats (first time for that) and i had a bad feeling my bags; 1 duffel, 1 big haul bag and 1 crashpad was going to miss this one.
After a 12hr flight in the same timezone, we awaited our bags. And, mine were missing as presumed. Long story short - I had 3 days without my bags, so I climbed with my toes. No climbing shoes for the first time in the rocklands!? Yes. But it went well anyway. Learning the feelings of how feet work outside of shoes is rather enjoyable and I would encourage all climbers to spend a day climbing, without shoes.
Day 1: Plateau Boulders - we warmed up, did some lines of to 7b+ and then hiked out to pay for our climbing permit for the month.
Day 2: Back to Plateau to climb the famous "Hole in One" 7c+/V10 and it looked doable without climbing shoes. So after a few attemps of learning toe-springing I latched the wonderful "hole" and sent my hardest no-shoe-bloc. Charlotte sent some nice lines that day too in the Field of Joy area.
Fish Friday at out place! We enjoyed a nice meal prepared by our hosts of Die Poort cabins. A quiet place with the buildings built into the rocks. The owners (a very kind couple) invited us to dinner with 2 other guests from Holland. We all spent hours drining red wine, eating fish and enjoying the conversations ranging all over the spectrum.
Day 3: We woke up feeling like a bottle of red wine and debated a rest day. But it was COLD and windy, sunny too. WE decided to get a late(er) start and hit the "Sassies" around 1pm. We warmed up on some very nice boulders in an area that was consolidated where you can hear everyone, climbing everything. Music sounded from one area, then grunts and screams from another, we dipped into a cave that sounded quiet but found 16 people huddled under ONE V8... we left.
We found the perfect and tall "Pinotage". A must-climb world known classic 7b+/V8. Tall and smooth. Just enough holds to send a human to the top. I pulled on and soon realized that my finger were not warm at all. First crimps since we arrived meaning first crimps in 10-days! Whew! Then I sent the classic and the sit start (7c+) that I looked at not for the points but for the finger strength and fitness. Charlotte found that the aggressive heel hook bothered her knee but she could clearly do the bloc. Next time we go for sure. We messed around on other blocs and left for a night of cribbage and laughing in our cabin.
(written by Josh)
Well it's been a while since I wrapped my head around our project (A World Less Traveled). After Peru I felt like a whirlwind of constant moving and chatting. Not so much climbing but enough to keep me "warm" and motivated for the current location - South Africa, Western Cape - known to climber all around the world as Rock Lands!
It started out great when I left Boston for a red-eye flight to my Paris connection then for South Africa. Charlotte was coming from Lyon, FRA to Paris to meet each other on the same flight to SA. My flight was delayed for 25 min in boston causing 4 days of backlash. I ran to the plane in PAris to meet Charlotte already in our seats (first time for that) and i had a bad feeling my bags; 1 duffel, 1 big haul bag and 1 crashpad was going to miss this one.
After a 12hr flight in the same timezone, we awaited our bags. And, mine were missing as presumed. Long story short - I had 3 days without my bags, so I climbed with my toes. No climbing shoes for the first time in the rocklands!? Yes. But it went well anyway. Learning the feelings of how feet work outside of shoes is rather enjoyable and I would encourage all climbers to spend a day climbing, without shoes.
Day 1: Plateau Boulders - we warmed up, did some lines of to 7b+ and then hiked out to pay for our climbing permit for the month.
Day 2: Back to Plateau to climb the famous "Hole in One" 7c+/V10 and it looked doable without climbing shoes. So after a few attemps of learning toe-springing I latched the wonderful "hole" and sent my hardest no-shoe-bloc. Charlotte sent some nice lines that day too in the Field of Joy area.
Fish Friday at out place! We enjoyed a nice meal prepared by our hosts of Die Poort cabins. A quiet place with the buildings built into the rocks. The owners (a very kind couple) invited us to dinner with 2 other guests from Holland. We all spent hours drining red wine, eating fish and enjoying the conversations ranging all over the spectrum.
Day 3: We woke up feeling like a bottle of red wine and debated a rest day. But it was COLD and windy, sunny too. WE decided to get a late(er) start and hit the "Sassies" around 1pm. We warmed up on some very nice boulders in an area that was consolidated where you can hear everyone, climbing everything. Music sounded from one area, then grunts and screams from another, we dipped into a cave that sounded quiet but found 16 people huddled under ONE V8... we left.
We found the perfect and tall "Pinotage". A must-climb world known classic 7b+/V8. Tall and smooth. Just enough holds to send a human to the top. I pulled on and soon realized that my finger were not warm at all. First crimps since we arrived meaning first crimps in 10-days! Whew! Then I sent the classic and the sit start (7c+) that I looked at not for the points but for the finger strength and fitness. Charlotte found that the aggressive heel hook bothered her knee but she could clearly do the bloc. Next time we go for sure. We messed around on other blocs and left for a night of cribbage and laughing in our cabin.
June 18th - On the road again
(written by Cha)
This is it, we are all packed again! Josh was in Boston and jump on a plane tonight for Paris. I take a plane tomorrow morning from Lyon and we meet up with Josh in Paris... good planning uh ?!
Plan is : 12h flight to Capetown where we arrive at 9:30pm, pick up the rental car and spend the night there, pick up gear in the morning at the outdoor store, drive 3h up to our lodging outside of Clanwilliam... and climb the day after!!! That's the plan, we will see if everything goes smooth!
(written by Cha)
This is it, we are all packed again! Josh was in Boston and jump on a plane tonight for Paris. I take a plane tomorrow morning from Lyon and we meet up with Josh in Paris... good planning uh ?!
Plan is : 12h flight to Capetown where we arrive at 9:30pm, pick up the rental car and spend the night there, pick up gear in the morning at the outdoor store, drive 3h up to our lodging outside of Clanwilliam... and climb the day after!!! That's the plan, we will see if everything goes smooth!
June 14th - Good news
(written by Cha)
We bought our tickets for South Africa! We will meet up on June 19th (counting days now!) and will be in Rocklands for about a month! Josh already has his "dream list" of boulders to try, but I don't at all! Maybe I should start looking into it, or just be inspired when we get there. If you have any suggestions, hit me up on Facebook :)
Oh aaaand, I picked up my new passport and received my new driving license! These are two great news, I can travel with a free spirit now.
(written by Cha)
We bought our tickets for South Africa! We will meet up on June 19th (counting days now!) and will be in Rocklands for about a month! Josh already has his "dream list" of boulders to try, but I don't at all! Maybe I should start looking into it, or just be inspired when we get there. If you have any suggestions, hit me up on Facebook :)
Oh aaaand, I picked up my new passport and received my new driving license! These are two great news, I can travel with a free spirit now.
June 11th - Still here
(written by Cha)
Hi everybody, we are still here and still active! After a week in Japan to manage the US Team at the bouldering World Cup (and eating lots of ramen and sushi!), Josh moved to Colorado for the next World Cup. He had 40 athletes to take care of in Vail and got rewarded with 3 US athletes in Finals, including 2 podiums, including a win for the girls!!!
On my side I've been chilling in my home region with my family. Last week I also took time to visit my sponsors Volx Climbing Holds, EB Climbing and Luxov. I also caught up with my friends Camille and Aurélie, who had a lot of my stuffs from Brazil and Peru ;) I finished the week with few climbing days next to our family house in the pre-Alps. I felt terrible the first two days (which was disappointing because I thought I would be on fire after so much time and try hard in Peru) but after a rest day I was a different person, send 1st go of the day a 8b called "Par voie naturelle" and checked out the extension which brings it up to 8c... It was fun, with dynos on stalactites and lots of kneebar rests, so I gave it an extra go and sent it! It was so much fun and a good surprise! It's a good reminder that motivation and fun does a lot, and I guess Peru fitness paid off well !!! Next week we are still apart, and still busy!
(written by Cha)
Hi everybody, we are still here and still active! After a week in Japan to manage the US Team at the bouldering World Cup (and eating lots of ramen and sushi!), Josh moved to Colorado for the next World Cup. He had 40 athletes to take care of in Vail and got rewarded with 3 US athletes in Finals, including 2 podiums, including a win for the girls!!!
On my side I've been chilling in my home region with my family. Last week I also took time to visit my sponsors Volx Climbing Holds, EB Climbing and Luxov. I also caught up with my friends Camille and Aurélie, who had a lot of my stuffs from Brazil and Peru ;) I finished the week with few climbing days next to our family house in the pre-Alps. I felt terrible the first two days (which was disappointing because I thought I would be on fire after so much time and try hard in Peru) but after a rest day I was a different person, send 1st go of the day a 8b called "Par voie naturelle" and checked out the extension which brings it up to 8c... It was fun, with dynos on stalactites and lots of kneebar rests, so I gave it an extra go and sent it! It was so much fun and a good surprise! It's a good reminder that motivation and fun does a lot, and I guess Peru fitness paid off well !!! Next week we are still apart, and still busy!
May 25th - Last chance for bouldering
(written by Cha)
This is it, last climbing day in Pitumarca. We went bouldering, to make the day short and easy. I was pretty tired so I decided to just hang out, enjoy this beautiful area that looks just like a giant sunny garden. Josh had one goal in mind : send the campus project. He came back up with a rope (because it's a highball) and found an exit that would go more straight and so less sketchy on the fall. While he was cleaning, I walked around and found a perfect slab around the corner, 7m high, pure and smooth. When Josh freed the rope to try the moves of his boulder, I sneaked the rope and cleaned form the top. The result looks pretty funny, like a perfect road (or a badly shaved leg, as some would say). I climbed it and it was awesome! Easy, crimpy, tall, a sweet end to my trip!
Josh on his side, after warmup, tried the boulder. Luckily we had some extra pads and spotters (thanks homies!) and guess what,? He sent it first go that day! Here is his description :
"Bad starting crimps at head height - toe hook to start. Then hard first move to full pad rail and cut feet - hold swing and then campus the next 3 moves on perfect edges - why? because wall is smooth and steep and it’s fun. Grab incut crimp and jump big to pinch at the lip! (My gawd it’s a fun move). Then compression on wide blocs to a 7 meter tall arete top out. Not a bad LAST day here in Peru!" . We had a nice last night in Pitumarca and invited our homies that were in town for a last meal.. we ended up all coming home late so we had pasta and banana bread !
After spending the all morning at the house to pack and clean up, we hit the road, happy to find civilization, but sad to leave. We experienced the crazyness of driving in Cusco, checked in in our hotel and got rid of the rental car. We were downtown, so it made it enjoyable to go out for food and do a last shopping (actually Josh bought a new suitcase because his was quite ripped off!).
Now we are heading out for our last diner, meeting up with Coco, Diana and Ayllu at Chollo, a cool pizza/beer place we went last time.
And tomorrow, we leave. Josh goes to Japan to coach at the next Worldcup, and I go to France to visit my family. Finger crossed my "laissez passer" (travel paper I got at the Embassy) won't cause to much problem.
This is it. It's a strange feeling. We are very excited to move on to other things and other places, but we are truly sad to be leaving Peru. It's a special place where we feel good and have tons of projects, either bolting, climbing or bouldering. Well, one thing is sure : We come back next year!
Thank's to all the people we met and helped and climbed with! We are excited to see you again!
(written by Cha)
This is it, last climbing day in Pitumarca. We went bouldering, to make the day short and easy. I was pretty tired so I decided to just hang out, enjoy this beautiful area that looks just like a giant sunny garden. Josh had one goal in mind : send the campus project. He came back up with a rope (because it's a highball) and found an exit that would go more straight and so less sketchy on the fall. While he was cleaning, I walked around and found a perfect slab around the corner, 7m high, pure and smooth. When Josh freed the rope to try the moves of his boulder, I sneaked the rope and cleaned form the top. The result looks pretty funny, like a perfect road (or a badly shaved leg, as some would say). I climbed it and it was awesome! Easy, crimpy, tall, a sweet end to my trip!
Josh on his side, after warmup, tried the boulder. Luckily we had some extra pads and spotters (thanks homies!) and guess what,? He sent it first go that day! Here is his description :
"Bad starting crimps at head height - toe hook to start. Then hard first move to full pad rail and cut feet - hold swing and then campus the next 3 moves on perfect edges - why? because wall is smooth and steep and it’s fun. Grab incut crimp and jump big to pinch at the lip! (My gawd it’s a fun move). Then compression on wide blocs to a 7 meter tall arete top out. Not a bad LAST day here in Peru!" . We had a nice last night in Pitumarca and invited our homies that were in town for a last meal.. we ended up all coming home late so we had pasta and banana bread !
After spending the all morning at the house to pack and clean up, we hit the road, happy to find civilization, but sad to leave. We experienced the crazyness of driving in Cusco, checked in in our hotel and got rid of the rental car. We were downtown, so it made it enjoyable to go out for food and do a last shopping (actually Josh bought a new suitcase because his was quite ripped off!).
Now we are heading out for our last diner, meeting up with Coco, Diana and Ayllu at Chollo, a cool pizza/beer place we went last time.
And tomorrow, we leave. Josh goes to Japan to coach at the next Worldcup, and I go to France to visit my family. Finger crossed my "laissez passer" (travel paper I got at the Embassy) won't cause to much problem.
This is it. It's a strange feeling. We are very excited to move on to other things and other places, but we are truly sad to be leaving Peru. It's a special place where we feel good and have tons of projects, either bolting, climbing or bouldering. Well, one thing is sure : We come back next year!
Thank's to all the people we met and helped and climbed with! We are excited to see you again!
May 23rd - The Shady Wall, Windy Wall and Sheep Prow come to an end.
(written by Josh)
We are happy and sad to be completely done with bolting, cleaning and sport climbing. Mentally, it's been a lot of effort and time and physically, we've just gone all in on everything. WE DON'T REGRET ANYTHING. WE LOVED IT. But 5 weeks here is enough for now, we plan to return next year for maybe the same amount of time - maybe longer.
Below we created some route maps / mini guides that will help anyone find these lines, names and grades. We have 3 project left behind - one on the Windy Wall that Cha bolted - seems gnar in the second roof and ran out of time anyway. We never tried this line. The other 2 are on the Sheep Prow - "Reach for the Sheep" a line I bolted and worked a few weeks back. It felt hard and sustained with an okay rest (shitty feet, good hands) mid way between a V8 boulder and V10/11 boulder. I tried this during out last day up there and everything felt great but the ending problem. I was either tired, a sissy plus - it was warm and the holds felt different. But whatever about temps - I still felt like shit. The last remaining project is possibly the most iconic one - "Power Drop" the first line Cha bolted. It's on the prow, hanging over the valley (we've posted and talked about this one a lot!). Cha finally linked some harder sections, did some moves she couldn't do before but still there was a section not completed.
We hiked out 2 days ago, happy and sad, accomplished and defeated - a good mix i'd say. We stopped at a point during our hike out where we could see the 3 walls we bolted and lived at for the last 5 weeks and felt nostalgic. It was a cold hike out, a slight breeze and dusk was turning darker - we looked at each other, smiled and hiked home to a bottle of red vino.
Tomorrow is the 24th - meaning 2 days left here in Peru! We will boulder until blood pours out of our hands and then on the 25th drive back into Cusco, do some laundry (again), eat some yummy food (again) and fly out on the 26th.
Thanks for checking in and sticking with us throughout Peru!
More coming soon!
(written by Josh)
We are happy and sad to be completely done with bolting, cleaning and sport climbing. Mentally, it's been a lot of effort and time and physically, we've just gone all in on everything. WE DON'T REGRET ANYTHING. WE LOVED IT. But 5 weeks here is enough for now, we plan to return next year for maybe the same amount of time - maybe longer.
Below we created some route maps / mini guides that will help anyone find these lines, names and grades. We have 3 project left behind - one on the Windy Wall that Cha bolted - seems gnar in the second roof and ran out of time anyway. We never tried this line. The other 2 are on the Sheep Prow - "Reach for the Sheep" a line I bolted and worked a few weeks back. It felt hard and sustained with an okay rest (shitty feet, good hands) mid way between a V8 boulder and V10/11 boulder. I tried this during out last day up there and everything felt great but the ending problem. I was either tired, a sissy plus - it was warm and the holds felt different. But whatever about temps - I still felt like shit. The last remaining project is possibly the most iconic one - "Power Drop" the first line Cha bolted. It's on the prow, hanging over the valley (we've posted and talked about this one a lot!). Cha finally linked some harder sections, did some moves she couldn't do before but still there was a section not completed.
We hiked out 2 days ago, happy and sad, accomplished and defeated - a good mix i'd say. We stopped at a point during our hike out where we could see the 3 walls we bolted and lived at for the last 5 weeks and felt nostalgic. It was a cold hike out, a slight breeze and dusk was turning darker - we looked at each other, smiled and hiked home to a bottle of red vino.
Tomorrow is the 24th - meaning 2 days left here in Peru! We will boulder until blood pours out of our hands and then on the 25th drive back into Cusco, do some laundry (again), eat some yummy food (again) and fly out on the 26th.
Thanks for checking in and sticking with us throughout Peru!
More coming soon!
May 17th - Bouldering complete
(Written by Cha)
When we started our "Cusco retreat", we told ourselves we would go back to the bouldering spot after some rest, to be fresh! So we did, with a three day delay! We went back to the "Rodriguo's cave" where Josh cleaned and tried the line last time. We went soon enough so the cave would be in the shadow most part of the day. Josh and I both worked on it for an hour or so, finding and precising our beta, helping each other to find what works for each other. Then Josh sent the seat start, that goes through a lot of cool moves and cool holds in a 60° ish overhang, to finish in a slopey lip that tops out. He proposed V11. There is a nice stand up version that starts 2 moves before the lip, that I sent and we think V7.
Then we head down to the main trail where a lot of our friends (7 peoples, more than we ever hanged out with here in Peru!) were playing on boulders so we joined them for lunch and to play too. Then we went next to "Deja vu", to the right of which there was a cool vertical wall that we cleaned last time but didn't climb. We all tried it, got twisty to mantle a ledge and got scared to jump to the lip of the boulder, wayyy up there! Josh won the game and was the only one to send the line!
Part of the crew left, and with those who stayed we went to a little cave further down the road. Ayllu had most of the moves dialed in and I went to try the moves as well.. I did everything quick, besides the top out that I had to clean a bit and figure out. The I went for the send... and sent. Josh sent it also, making the second part look super easy but struggle with the beginning because he had to find a different beta than mine, where I match a small slot but his (big) fingers didn't fit inside. He ended up finding a hard pinch (his favorite hold) to be able to do the move. For the grade, we think V9. For all the names of the above, we are still brainstorming!
This morning we woke up with the idea of going up to our Shaddy wall and blue wall, but after looking at the calendar, things we want to do before we leave, we decided to go back to the bouldering sectors, to climb new boulders and film the V11 Josh sent yesterday. I cleaned a line I spotted, just over the river, actually perfect because there is a rock just big enough to put the crash-pads below. Josh build a little bridge so I can cross to that rock. I cleaned and climbed to lines, fantastic and scary, one cool V3 and one V4, a bit sketchy because if you fall you are for sure in the water... while the other one you can get lucky! Then we ran around with 2 pads and our climbing shoes and climbed few lines that Josh had cleaned. Plenty of boulders in this area, the concentration of good quality boulder is very nice, from V0 to Vproject! It was our last day bouldering, at least that's the plan, but we left a lot of projects and untouched boulders, which are all a good reason to come back in the future!
(Written by Cha)
When we started our "Cusco retreat", we told ourselves we would go back to the bouldering spot after some rest, to be fresh! So we did, with a three day delay! We went back to the "Rodriguo's cave" where Josh cleaned and tried the line last time. We went soon enough so the cave would be in the shadow most part of the day. Josh and I both worked on it for an hour or so, finding and precising our beta, helping each other to find what works for each other. Then Josh sent the seat start, that goes through a lot of cool moves and cool holds in a 60° ish overhang, to finish in a slopey lip that tops out. He proposed V11. There is a nice stand up version that starts 2 moves before the lip, that I sent and we think V7.
Then we head down to the main trail where a lot of our friends (7 peoples, more than we ever hanged out with here in Peru!) were playing on boulders so we joined them for lunch and to play too. Then we went next to "Deja vu", to the right of which there was a cool vertical wall that we cleaned last time but didn't climb. We all tried it, got twisty to mantle a ledge and got scared to jump to the lip of the boulder, wayyy up there! Josh won the game and was the only one to send the line!
Part of the crew left, and with those who stayed we went to a little cave further down the road. Ayllu had most of the moves dialed in and I went to try the moves as well.. I did everything quick, besides the top out that I had to clean a bit and figure out. The I went for the send... and sent. Josh sent it also, making the second part look super easy but struggle with the beginning because he had to find a different beta than mine, where I match a small slot but his (big) fingers didn't fit inside. He ended up finding a hard pinch (his favorite hold) to be able to do the move. For the grade, we think V9. For all the names of the above, we are still brainstorming!
This morning we woke up with the idea of going up to our Shaddy wall and blue wall, but after looking at the calendar, things we want to do before we leave, we decided to go back to the bouldering sectors, to climb new boulders and film the V11 Josh sent yesterday. I cleaned a line I spotted, just over the river, actually perfect because there is a rock just big enough to put the crash-pads below. Josh build a little bridge so I can cross to that rock. I cleaned and climbed to lines, fantastic and scary, one cool V3 and one V4, a bit sketchy because if you fall you are for sure in the water... while the other one you can get lucky! Then we ran around with 2 pads and our climbing shoes and climbed few lines that Josh had cleaned. Plenty of boulders in this area, the concentration of good quality boulder is very nice, from V0 to Vproject! It was our last day bouldering, at least that's the plan, but we left a lot of projects and untouched boulders, which are all a good reason to come back in the future!
May 15th - Problem solved...for now!
(Written by Cha)
Meeting at the embassy went smooth and easy. Then we had to go at the Migration that they approve I arrived in Peru legally. That part was fine, but very long and tricky because english speakers were hard to find. Anyway we left Lima early afternoon with a "Laissez-Passer", a paper that pretty much says "let her pass through" and now I'm able to go back to France. I'll have to do a passport when I go back to France, and hopefully the procedure will be fast enough so we can keep on going the trip fast.
What an adventure! It sucked but it was in the same time interesting to live, another kind of experience to learn.
Now we are back in Pitumarca after arriving in Cusco, getting our rental car that slept in the airport parking lot for 24h and driving 2h to Pitu.
(Written by Cha)
Meeting at the embassy went smooth and easy. Then we had to go at the Migration that they approve I arrived in Peru legally. That part was fine, but very long and tricky because english speakers were hard to find. Anyway we left Lima early afternoon with a "Laissez-Passer", a paper that pretty much says "let her pass through" and now I'm able to go back to France. I'll have to do a passport when I go back to France, and hopefully the procedure will be fast enough so we can keep on going the trip fast.
What an adventure! It sucked but it was in the same time interesting to live, another kind of experience to learn.
Now we are back in Pitumarca after arriving in Cusco, getting our rental car that slept in the airport parking lot for 24h and driving 2h to Pitu.
May 14th - Travel trouble : day 3/3
(Written by Josh)
7am I went to the airport to (finally) pick up our rental car (from the weird rental car company) and cha went to the police station and French Consulate. We met back up at the hotel and Cha told me "I have to go to Lima to fix the problem". Lima is a 12hr drive or 1hr flight for $70usd. We decided to go with the flight, park the car back at the airport, take a small backpack and fly to the French Embassy in Lima. We arrived at the gate of the Embassy by 2pm to find they closed at 12. Okay - one night in Lima here we go! Charlotte and I are currently sitting in a cool cafe in Lima, wearing the only clothes we have, working and drinking smoothies and coffee - laughing about our "Vacation in Cusco"...
Tomorrow we go to the Embassy and hopefully return to Cusco, to drive to Pitumarca to go BOULDERING. Finger crossed.
(Written by Josh)
7am I went to the airport to (finally) pick up our rental car (from the weird rental car company) and cha went to the police station and French Consulate. We met back up at the hotel and Cha told me "I have to go to Lima to fix the problem". Lima is a 12hr drive or 1hr flight for $70usd. We decided to go with the flight, park the car back at the airport, take a small backpack and fly to the French Embassy in Lima. We arrived at the gate of the Embassy by 2pm to find they closed at 12. Okay - one night in Lima here we go! Charlotte and I are currently sitting in a cool cafe in Lima, wearing the only clothes we have, working and drinking smoothies and coffee - laughing about our "Vacation in Cusco"...
Tomorrow we go to the Embassy and hopefully return to Cusco, to drive to Pitumarca to go BOULDERING. Finger crossed.
May 13th - Travel trouble : day 2/3
(Written by Josh)
We moved hotels again (they couldn't fit us for the additional night) so we moved across the street to another cool zone. Then, we found the best burger in Cusco at Jack's Cafe. Damn that was a good one! After that, we shopped again. Wondering from street corner to shop. It was great to walk around and taste food, wine and buy cool shit!
Then the unthinkable happened...
We were on our way to a very nice restaurant (last night in Cusco) and decided to swing by our fav. clothing store and buy a jacket (a not dirty puffy or rain jacket). As Cha was trying some things on, she handed over her puffy and purse. 5 min later I handed them back to her and neither of us noticed that her purse had dropped on the floor. We went to check out and waited in line for 3 min and that's when Cha noticed her purse was missing... We ran franticly around the store looking for the bag but no where to be found. I ran outside to see if I could see someone with it, she ran to the manager to tell them someone might have stolen her purse. The security folks fired up the security camera playback and we searched and watched a man and a woman find the purse, hide it under their jacket, and walk out the front door. The worst part - Charlotte's Passport was inside along with her French I.D., Credit cards, medical cards, our room key and favorite chapstick...(too soon? - Not funny). We ran out the door once we had photos of the ass holes who stole the bag, looking for them in the streets and searching for the police to report the incident. Cha went to the Police station to file a report as I walked around looking for the two losers...but nowhere to be found. I knew I wouldn't find them, but I couldn't sit still and let it go.
A few hours later we met up at the restaurant, tired, pissed but looking for the solutions and trying to be positive. We figured the passport was the biggest issue and started searching how to resolve.
(Written by Josh)
We moved hotels again (they couldn't fit us for the additional night) so we moved across the street to another cool zone. Then, we found the best burger in Cusco at Jack's Cafe. Damn that was a good one! After that, we shopped again. Wondering from street corner to shop. It was great to walk around and taste food, wine and buy cool shit!
Then the unthinkable happened...
We were on our way to a very nice restaurant (last night in Cusco) and decided to swing by our fav. clothing store and buy a jacket (a not dirty puffy or rain jacket). As Cha was trying some things on, she handed over her puffy and purse. 5 min later I handed them back to her and neither of us noticed that her purse had dropped on the floor. We went to check out and waited in line for 3 min and that's when Cha noticed her purse was missing... We ran franticly around the store looking for the bag but no where to be found. I ran outside to see if I could see someone with it, she ran to the manager to tell them someone might have stolen her purse. The security folks fired up the security camera playback and we searched and watched a man and a woman find the purse, hide it under their jacket, and walk out the front door. The worst part - Charlotte's Passport was inside along with her French I.D., Credit cards, medical cards, our room key and favorite chapstick...(too soon? - Not funny). We ran out the door once we had photos of the ass holes who stole the bag, looking for them in the streets and searching for the police to report the incident. Cha went to the Police station to file a report as I walked around looking for the two losers...but nowhere to be found. I knew I wouldn't find them, but I couldn't sit still and let it go.
A few hours later we met up at the restaurant, tired, pissed but looking for the solutions and trying to be positive. We figured the passport was the biggest issue and started searching how to resolve.
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May 12th - Travel trouble : day 1/3
(Written by Josh)
We woke up the next morning to a nice breakfast on the terrace overlooking Cusco. "ahhh's" and "Mmms" as we sipped coffee and tea. We planned our day - Shopping and Eating. We took a hot shower before we ventured off for the day - that was gold! We walked around, shopped for gifts and clothes and then changed hotels. We found out that the rental car agency we booked through ran out of cars and we had to rebook but for Monday and we planned on driving back on Sunday. So we said, one more day in Cusco wont be so bad...
We had a nice lunch around the corner and then, went shopping - as you can see - we stayed on task. We found ourselves in the hotel watching movies (WIFI!) by 6pm and sleeping by 10pm.
(Written by Josh)
We woke up the next morning to a nice breakfast on the terrace overlooking Cusco. "ahhh's" and "Mmms" as we sipped coffee and tea. We planned our day - Shopping and Eating. We took a hot shower before we ventured off for the day - that was gold! We walked around, shopped for gifts and clothes and then changed hotels. We found out that the rental car agency we booked through ran out of cars and we had to rebook but for Monday and we planned on driving back on Sunday. So we said, one more day in Cusco wont be so bad...
We had a nice lunch around the corner and then, went shopping - as you can see - we stayed on task. We found ourselves in the hotel watching movies (WIFI!) by 6pm and sleeping by 10pm.
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May 11th. Bolting and Vacation
(Written by Josh)
We planned to go bouldering but couldn't arrange a ride (we've been relying on the generous Coco for rides, thanks!) so we decided one more day bolting and cleaning, then bouldering. Cha started bolting a line 20 meters to the right of the one I started the previous day. I was excited but not excited to clean this (dirty ass) route. I spent 3-hours swinging in my harness and brushing...brushing...brushing. During that very boring time, I thought "we should take a vacation from Pitumarca". I lowered down, legs numb and teeth filled with dirt - I smiled at Cha and said "let's take a bus to Cusco tonight for the weekend" and without skipping a beat she replied "Lets GO".
4 hours later - we booked a rental car and hotel, packed dirty laundry, washed the dishes, took a 15-min taxi - to a 2hr bus ride - took another taxi and walked into our hotel room! Wasi Rumi was the name, cozy and clean and right in the Historic center of Cusco. Upon check-in we walked 5 min to meet up with Rodrigo and Ayllu at a pizza and beer restaurant! Damn that was the best meal we had in a while! NIGHT NIGHT
We came here for the follow;
(Written by Josh)
We planned to go bouldering but couldn't arrange a ride (we've been relying on the generous Coco for rides, thanks!) so we decided one more day bolting and cleaning, then bouldering. Cha started bolting a line 20 meters to the right of the one I started the previous day. I was excited but not excited to clean this (dirty ass) route. I spent 3-hours swinging in my harness and brushing...brushing...brushing. During that very boring time, I thought "we should take a vacation from Pitumarca". I lowered down, legs numb and teeth filled with dirt - I smiled at Cha and said "let's take a bus to Cusco tonight for the weekend" and without skipping a beat she replied "Lets GO".
4 hours later - we booked a rental car and hotel, packed dirty laundry, washed the dishes, took a 15-min taxi - to a 2hr bus ride - took another taxi and walked into our hotel room! Wasi Rumi was the name, cozy and clean and right in the Historic center of Cusco. Upon check-in we walked 5 min to meet up with Rodrigo and Ayllu at a pizza and beer restaurant! Damn that was the best meal we had in a while! NIGHT NIGHT
We came here for the follow;
- Hot Water for showers (we haven't taken a hot shower in Peru...meaning not many showers...)
- Civilization
- A change of routine and scenery (I have not driven a different road or seen anything new in 3.5 weeks)
- A quite night sleep (i.e. no freeking dogs barking for hours)
- Pizza and good IPA's
- Shopping
- Pizza and good Wine
- and renting a car...
May 10th. Shady Wall Completed!
(written by Josh)
On the 9th, I had completed the final project on the Shady Wall (My mama's a llama) and Cha came oh so close! We headed back up on the 10th for her to completed the Shady Wall herself and tick a beautiful line as well. Her first go looked strong, smooth and soon enough was in the crux sequence (hard for me and very hard if your a little shorter than me). She had placed her fingers in the wrong sequence and couldn't readjust with enough energy to make the deadpoint with full arm-span move. She fell, reworked some beta and lowered. I was excited to start bolting the cliff above the Shady Wall so I threw a rope over and started bolting a line while Cha rested in the sun. Wild line it will be!
On Chas next go - she crushed "My mama's a Llama" 8b+ / 5.14 for the second ascent and completing all the routes on that wall for herself.
(written by Josh)
On the 9th, I had completed the final project on the Shady Wall (My mama's a llama) and Cha came oh so close! We headed back up on the 10th for her to completed the Shady Wall herself and tick a beautiful line as well. Her first go looked strong, smooth and soon enough was in the crux sequence (hard for me and very hard if your a little shorter than me). She had placed her fingers in the wrong sequence and couldn't readjust with enough energy to make the deadpoint with full arm-span move. She fell, reworked some beta and lowered. I was excited to start bolting the cliff above the Shady Wall so I threw a rope over and started bolting a line while Cha rested in the sun. Wild line it will be!
On Chas next go - she crushed "My mama's a Llama" 8b+ / 5.14 for the second ascent and completing all the routes on that wall for herself.
May 9th. Exploring, Climbing, Bolting
(Written by Cha)
Our time here has been incredible. We have been bolting and climbing, establishing new lines like :
- Frozen, 7c+/13a, bolted by Cha and sent by both of us
- Ms Potato Head, 8a/13b, bolted by Josh and sent by both of us, an awesome direct start to "Mr Potato head", which involves a very cool dynamic move to link it.
- My mama's a llama, 8b+/14a, bolted by Josh and sent by him yesterday!
This last line is fantastic! It starts easy on tuffas up to a first bouldery crux at the 5th draw. Then follows an awesome traverse, mostly on tuffa jugs, all the way to a no hand rest. It's about 8a+ up to there, and it leads to a main crux, with big moves, pockets, a rose move and a recycle! A very interesting sequence around V10. On my side, I finally did all the moves yesterday (the big moves to start the upper crux are very challenging for me... I'm not "so" small, but it's a good thing that I'm not 1cm shorter otherwise it would be just impossible) so it's very promising!
Few days ago, we went bouldering! Josh was psyched obviously and I was impressed by the little sector we found. We cleaned 5 blocs, climbed on 2 on them and sent one, that we called "Deja vu", 7A/V5, because it looks just like "White Castle" that Josh established in Serbia at the beginning of our trip! We will come back for this sector and more boulders, but we have to aim in the morning because it's in the sun in the afternoon and it's pretty hot!
2 days ago, on a rest day, we wanted to check out a cliff band that we see from our house... we failed but we found a almost cooler valley with fantastic walls. And we had a fun adventure removing a huge rock in the middle of the road, with a car jack on some rock stacks!
(Written by Cha)
Our time here has been incredible. We have been bolting and climbing, establishing new lines like :
- Frozen, 7c+/13a, bolted by Cha and sent by both of us
- Ms Potato Head, 8a/13b, bolted by Josh and sent by both of us, an awesome direct start to "Mr Potato head", which involves a very cool dynamic move to link it.
- My mama's a llama, 8b+/14a, bolted by Josh and sent by him yesterday!
This last line is fantastic! It starts easy on tuffas up to a first bouldery crux at the 5th draw. Then follows an awesome traverse, mostly on tuffa jugs, all the way to a no hand rest. It's about 8a+ up to there, and it leads to a main crux, with big moves, pockets, a rose move and a recycle! A very interesting sequence around V10. On my side, I finally did all the moves yesterday (the big moves to start the upper crux are very challenging for me... I'm not "so" small, but it's a good thing that I'm not 1cm shorter otherwise it would be just impossible) so it's very promising!
Few days ago, we went bouldering! Josh was psyched obviously and I was impressed by the little sector we found. We cleaned 5 blocs, climbed on 2 on them and sent one, that we called "Deja vu", 7A/V5, because it looks just like "White Castle" that Josh established in Serbia at the beginning of our trip! We will come back for this sector and more boulders, but we have to aim in the morning because it's in the sun in the afternoon and it's pretty hot!
2 days ago, on a rest day, we wanted to check out a cliff band that we see from our house... we failed but we found a almost cooler valley with fantastic walls. And we had a fun adventure removing a huge rock in the middle of the road, with a car jack on some rock stacks!
May 1st. Rest Day / Sick Day
(written by Josh)
We climbed yesterday! Even better, on our new lines we bolted at the "Shady Cliff".
The new lines;
- Mr. Potato Head / 7b/5.12b (pictured here)
A juggy flake start to a sloppy ledge traverse, then a mini boulder problem on underclings. A short-ish line but super cool and enjoyable.
- Lili / 7b+/5.12c
Charlotte bolted a beautiful long line, a hard beginning leads to a stalactite mid way up the wall. 25 meters long and super fun.
We also worked on another line I bolted - fun traversing through amazing tufas, small rest, then a hard v9 boulder problem on wild slots and pockets! We each tried it once, cleaning a lot, adding a bolt, etc. We think it's about 8b+/5.14 soon enough well know.
And last night when we were hiking out, I started to feel the same sickness I felt when we were at Machu Picchu... I couldn't really eat or even wanted to. I went to bed wondering when I would wake up and throw up. This morning rolled around and I felt a little better but still nauseous. I'm still in bed and it's 6:10pm now, I've eaten once slice of toast and been drinking loads of tea, water and gatorade. I want to be better for tomorrows climbing - - - we go back to the prow! Right now, I think i'll go make a fire and wait for Charlotte to get home from running errands with Coco and Diana.
(written by Josh)
We climbed yesterday! Even better, on our new lines we bolted at the "Shady Cliff".
The new lines;
- Mr. Potato Head / 7b/5.12b (pictured here)
A juggy flake start to a sloppy ledge traverse, then a mini boulder problem on underclings. A short-ish line but super cool and enjoyable.
- Lili / 7b+/5.12c
Charlotte bolted a beautiful long line, a hard beginning leads to a stalactite mid way up the wall. 25 meters long and super fun.
We also worked on another line I bolted - fun traversing through amazing tufas, small rest, then a hard v9 boulder problem on wild slots and pockets! We each tried it once, cleaning a lot, adding a bolt, etc. We think it's about 8b+/5.14 soon enough well know.
And last night when we were hiking out, I started to feel the same sickness I felt when we were at Machu Picchu... I couldn't really eat or even wanted to. I went to bed wondering when I would wake up and throw up. This morning rolled around and I felt a little better but still nauseous. I'm still in bed and it's 6:10pm now, I've eaten once slice of toast and been drinking loads of tea, water and gatorade. I want to be better for tomorrows climbing - - - we go back to the prow! Right now, I think i'll go make a fire and wait for Charlotte to get home from running errands with Coco and Diana.
April 29th. More and more bolting!
(written by Josh)
Three lines one the Sheepy Hollow Prow and already 3 more on another mega cliff close by. It's overhanging, tufas, 25 - 30 meters long and so far the lines aren't too hard. I bolted a short line that goes up a flake and then traverses left along a big ledge with a 30 deg overhang. Dubbing it Mr. Potato Head because as I was cleaning the top half I removed some bushes and there were some potatos growing in it! Cha's route looks rad with big moves between good holds and maybe the longest route the cliff will produce. The third route is rad too! 5.9 tufa heaven for the first 4 bolts then some bouldery cruxes clocking in somewhere in the 8a range. WE ARE SIKED!
Today, we head back up there to clean and bolt more - and even climb because we haven't climbed in 7-days!
(written by Josh)
Three lines one the Sheepy Hollow Prow and already 3 more on another mega cliff close by. It's overhanging, tufas, 25 - 30 meters long and so far the lines aren't too hard. I bolted a short line that goes up a flake and then traverses left along a big ledge with a 30 deg overhang. Dubbing it Mr. Potato Head because as I was cleaning the top half I removed some bushes and there were some potatos growing in it! Cha's route looks rad with big moves between good holds and maybe the longest route the cliff will produce. The third route is rad too! 5.9 tufa heaven for the first 4 bolts then some bouldery cruxes clocking in somewhere in the 8a range. WE ARE SIKED!
Today, we head back up there to clean and bolt more - and even climb because we haven't climbed in 7-days!
April 25th. Bolting at 14'000 / 4300m
(written by Josh)
We finally started bolting and it's kind of a unique feature to start on. We climbed for 2-days on the developed lines and they were rad (as Charlotte mentioned in the previous post) but we had to get closer to all these other cliffs and potential lines we could see in every direction. We spent an entire day hiking each side of the valley, up 500 meters and back down on one side, then up 400 meters and back down on the other. Kids in a candy shop, christmas morning, however you want to put it, we were stoked! Finally, we picked out our first few lines to bolt and we couldn't be more happy with them. Two days of bolting and cleaning the "Sheeps Prow" and we are about ready to start climbing. We had to bolt a Via Ferrata to access the bottom because it might be the most exposed line in the valley and a challenging one to approach. We rest today, but tomorrow finish a bit more cleaning and then start climbing the lines! SO SIKED! Check back in soon!
(written by Josh)
We finally started bolting and it's kind of a unique feature to start on. We climbed for 2-days on the developed lines and they were rad (as Charlotte mentioned in the previous post) but we had to get closer to all these other cliffs and potential lines we could see in every direction. We spent an entire day hiking each side of the valley, up 500 meters and back down on one side, then up 400 meters and back down on the other. Kids in a candy shop, christmas morning, however you want to put it, we were stoked! Finally, we picked out our first few lines to bolt and we couldn't be more happy with them. Two days of bolting and cleaning the "Sheeps Prow" and we are about ready to start climbing. We had to bolt a Via Ferrata to access the bottom because it might be the most exposed line in the valley and a challenging one to approach. We rest today, but tomorrow finish a bit more cleaning and then start climbing the lines! SO SIKED! Check back in soon!
The Sheep Prow. Sheep Face. Sheepy Hollow. Tough Sheep. Sheep Tower. Sheeping Beauty.
April 23rd. Hello Pitumarca
(Written by Cha)
4 days ago we arrived with Diana and Coco in Pitumarca by night, a small village 2h from Cusco. In the morning, we woke up to a beautiful light and a very charming surroundings. A coffee later and driving 7km on a dirt road, we arrived to what we came for : sport climbing cliffs... a lot of them, much more than we thought and of a much better quality than we expected. In the first two days we checked out two sectors :
"Page 2" where we climbed the perfect slabs called" Chilla Rumi" 6a+ and "Anai" 6c.
"Gran Desplome", a beautiful overhanging wall with stalactites where we climbed "Coco-drilo", a super cool tuffa rail 7a+, and "Mas Duro que mi polla" an interesting 8a(+) who caused us some intense pump!
We were delighted to get numb fingers ! Yes, we were cold, climbed with beanies and long sleeves, and we loved it! It feels so good after being in the heat since we pretty much started the trip!
Yesterday, we did a hiking day, to check out a bit of the potential of the valley. Well... it's huge, there is an enormous amount of beautiful walls and good quality rock! We were gonna stay 2 weeks here... but we decided to stay 5 weeks! We are "cancelling" our trip to Alaska, which we had doubt on anyway because it would have only been 2.5 weeks and the locals said the snow would have been too high still. So we save Alaska for the future.
We are absolutely psyched to spend 5 weeks in one same spot, climbing and bolting to help developing this incredible area.
(Written by Cha)
4 days ago we arrived with Diana and Coco in Pitumarca by night, a small village 2h from Cusco. In the morning, we woke up to a beautiful light and a very charming surroundings. A coffee later and driving 7km on a dirt road, we arrived to what we came for : sport climbing cliffs... a lot of them, much more than we thought and of a much better quality than we expected. In the first two days we checked out two sectors :
"Page 2" where we climbed the perfect slabs called" Chilla Rumi" 6a+ and "Anai" 6c.
"Gran Desplome", a beautiful overhanging wall with stalactites where we climbed "Coco-drilo", a super cool tuffa rail 7a+, and "Mas Duro que mi polla" an interesting 8a(+) who caused us some intense pump!
We were delighted to get numb fingers ! Yes, we were cold, climbed with beanies and long sleeves, and we loved it! It feels so good after being in the heat since we pretty much started the trip!
Yesterday, we did a hiking day, to check out a bit of the potential of the valley. Well... it's huge, there is an enormous amount of beautiful walls and good quality rock! We were gonna stay 2 weeks here... but we decided to stay 5 weeks! We are "cancelling" our trip to Alaska, which we had doubt on anyway because it would have only been 2.5 weeks and the locals said the snow would have been too high still. So we save Alaska for the future.
We are absolutely psyched to spend 5 weeks in one same spot, climbing and bolting to help developing this incredible area.
April 19th. We are still here!
(Written by Cha)
The last two weeks has been unusual and did not involve a lot of climbing!
Josh has been in Switzerland where we coached the US team t the World Cup in Meiringen, and organized a training camp in the week before that.
I have been in Cusco where I was welcomed by locals Coco and Diana who are two very sweet persons. I checked out Cusco and climb at 7a Escuala de Escalada, the only gym in Cusco. My friend Aurélie from France joined me and we headed to Arequipa with a night bus to climb the Misti, a 5825m Volcano. I'll tell you more about this adventure in a further blog. Then we took some well deserved rest and went on the Titicaca lake where we discovered 3 surprising islands : Uros, Amantani and Taquile. I'll also tell you more in a further blog. 2 days ago Josh met us back in Cusco and we rented a car to head to MACHU PICCHU! It has somehow always been a dream of mine to go there, and it was well worth it, even if it was quite a mission to get there (because we went the "cheap way"). Once again, wait for our Peruvian blog to read about it... Or check out our next vlog : Vlog 51 !
Now, let's go climb !
(Written by Cha)
The last two weeks has been unusual and did not involve a lot of climbing!
Josh has been in Switzerland where we coached the US team t the World Cup in Meiringen, and organized a training camp in the week before that.
I have been in Cusco where I was welcomed by locals Coco and Diana who are two very sweet persons. I checked out Cusco and climb at 7a Escuala de Escalada, the only gym in Cusco. My friend Aurélie from France joined me and we headed to Arequipa with a night bus to climb the Misti, a 5825m Volcano. I'll tell you more about this adventure in a further blog. Then we took some well deserved rest and went on the Titicaca lake where we discovered 3 surprising islands : Uros, Amantani and Taquile. I'll also tell you more in a further blog. 2 days ago Josh met us back in Cusco and we rented a car to head to MACHU PICCHU! It has somehow always been a dream of mine to go there, and it was well worth it, even if it was quite a mission to get there (because we went the "cheap way"). Once again, wait for our Peruvian blog to read about it... Or check out our next vlog : Vlog 51 !
Now, let's go climb !
April 7th. Ciao Brazil
(Written by Cha)
This is it, time to pack out and leave Brazil. Once again we did a lot, which brings me mixed feelings :
+ Brazilian climbers are awesome! We got welcomed like friends everywhere we went and got toured around to every sectors of Serra do Cipo and Cocalzinho.
+ Locals are psyched to learn and discover through our eyes, and we got to do 3 clinics and 2 slideshows in Evoluçao in Rio, UP Escalade in Belo Horizonte and UBT Escalada in Brasilia.
+ There are a lot of rocks in Brazil! We saw only a few and heard of 10 times more. A reason to come back ?!
- 8 days in one spot is not enough. We knew it when planning the trip, and that's why we decided to go 1 month per destination... here our envy to explore led us to check out few places but I guess we can't see everything anyway... so let's make better choices.
- For a reason or another, I didn't find a climbing flow at all here in Brazil and I leave a bit frustrated. I guess it's part of the sport to have ups and downs, and I'll make sure to leave this down behind me.
- We can't stand climbing in the heat anymore! We've been in it for 7 months... We miss cold fingers, beanies and puffy! But that should be fixed starting in our next destination : PERU !!!
A huge thank's to the locals in Cocalzinho (Gabriel, Lorena, Yuri, Marcell, Carol, Fernanda and all the others) for all the great times spent together.
Now our path are going appart for 9 days : Josh is going to Switzerland to coach the USA Team in the first World Cup of the season. And on my side I'm going to Cuzco where I'll meet up with a local named Coco. I'll spend two days there, and then my friend Aurélie comes from France and we will do some cool hiking !
(Written by Cha)
This is it, time to pack out and leave Brazil. Once again we did a lot, which brings me mixed feelings :
+ Brazilian climbers are awesome! We got welcomed like friends everywhere we went and got toured around to every sectors of Serra do Cipo and Cocalzinho.
+ Locals are psyched to learn and discover through our eyes, and we got to do 3 clinics and 2 slideshows in Evoluçao in Rio, UP Escalade in Belo Horizonte and UBT Escalada in Brasilia.
+ There are a lot of rocks in Brazil! We saw only a few and heard of 10 times more. A reason to come back ?!
- 8 days in one spot is not enough. We knew it when planning the trip, and that's why we decided to go 1 month per destination... here our envy to explore led us to check out few places but I guess we can't see everything anyway... so let's make better choices.
- For a reason or another, I didn't find a climbing flow at all here in Brazil and I leave a bit frustrated. I guess it's part of the sport to have ups and downs, and I'll make sure to leave this down behind me.
- We can't stand climbing in the heat anymore! We've been in it for 7 months... We miss cold fingers, beanies and puffy! But that should be fixed starting in our next destination : PERU !!!
A huge thank's to the locals in Cocalzinho (Gabriel, Lorena, Yuri, Marcell, Carol, Fernanda and all the others) for all the great times spent together.
Now our path are going appart for 9 days : Josh is going to Switzerland to coach the USA Team in the first World Cup of the season. And on my side I'm going to Cuzco where I'll meet up with a local named Coco. I'll spend two days there, and then my friend Aurélie comes from France and we will do some cool hiking !
April 4th. Feelin' the Groove
(written by Josh)
We are nearing the end of our Brazilian tour... Cocalzinho has been cool (actually very hot in temperature) but we've been enjoying the town, food and locals a lot. The bouldering is spread all around and we've had our fair share of finding blocs, getting lost, sending and not being able to do single moves. The new areas we visited are called "Moco" and "Cinematografico". Both sectors are close to one another and we both climbed some classics like Jah Problem V6, Jah Protege V9 and I climbed the link-up Jah Works V11. Charlotte did a sick jump move that was hard at first then she crushed it. One night our friend Yuri and his wife Carol showed us a cool bloc called "mother fuc*er" and we sent a nice V6 and then I sent a V10 called "Mofo". Cha was close on this one too. We both need a bit more time to reach out 'level' of bouldering. Some of these problems require strength that we don't have but could if we bouldered a bit more. That's how this travel goes though. We can't train (and frankly don't want to) so we have to accept the "base level" of each discipline we face. It's hard to accept sometimes when you know you could do better, but the trade off is going to so many places and climbing so many styles. We don't mind this at all! In fact we love it!
(written by Josh)
We are nearing the end of our Brazilian tour... Cocalzinho has been cool (actually very hot in temperature) but we've been enjoying the town, food and locals a lot. The bouldering is spread all around and we've had our fair share of finding blocs, getting lost, sending and not being able to do single moves. The new areas we visited are called "Moco" and "Cinematografico". Both sectors are close to one another and we both climbed some classics like Jah Problem V6, Jah Protege V9 and I climbed the link-up Jah Works V11. Charlotte did a sick jump move that was hard at first then she crushed it. One night our friend Yuri and his wife Carol showed us a cool bloc called "mother fuc*er" and we sent a nice V6 and then I sent a V10 called "Mofo". Cha was close on this one too. We both need a bit more time to reach out 'level' of bouldering. Some of these problems require strength that we don't have but could if we bouldered a bit more. That's how this travel goes though. We can't train (and frankly don't want to) so we have to accept the "base level" of each discipline we face. It's hard to accept sometimes when you know you could do better, but the trade off is going to so many places and climbing so many styles. We don't mind this at all! In fact we love it!
April 1st. Happy Easter!
(Written by Cha)
We can't believe April is already here! It just feels like February and March just flew by. Anyway! We are in Cocalzinho. It's a bouldering spot located about 2h30 to the west of Brasilia, the Capital of Brasil. We arrived few days ago and will be here for another 6 days. We arrived in the little town of Pirenopolis where we will be staying at the Casmatta hostel.
On our first day we drove to the boulders, getting quite lost on the 30min dirt road drive. Indeed, there is no guidebook for the area, and we had no pin to find the sectors. We met up with Lorena and Grabriel, two locals we were in contact with, and they showed us around a first sector called "Casa do cobra", aka. "Snake house". We didn't see any snake but we saw A LOT of climbers. Indeed it's the weekend, more likely a holiday weekend so it was packed. We played around on a few routes up to V9. Here, it's hot, so the plan is to arrive before dark and climb with headlamps by night.
The second day, we met up with Lorena and Grabriel again, as well and a bunch of other people, and headed to a sector called 29. It was more open than the day before and the boulders looked all really nice. We warmed up and worked on two V12 in the area. Josh got a quick ascent of a V10, which I don't really know the name of and couldn't power through on of the moves. Then we moved up to the sector Saci, very close to the road, where Josh did another V1O by the light of the headlamps. The rock is beautiful, and we will have to get used to the crimps and the sharp rock.
Today we wanted to warm-up in Saci and filmed the 2nd V10 Josh sent, but as soon as we were getting ready to turn the cameras on when a huge storm came by. We sat under a rock for 20ish min, hoping for the rain to stop, and the holds to dry and it never happened! So we just bailed and went back home, getting some work done and calling it a "rest day". Let's see what tomorrow has to show and finger crossed for the weather to get better
(Written by Cha)
We can't believe April is already here! It just feels like February and March just flew by. Anyway! We are in Cocalzinho. It's a bouldering spot located about 2h30 to the west of Brasilia, the Capital of Brasil. We arrived few days ago and will be here for another 6 days. We arrived in the little town of Pirenopolis where we will be staying at the Casmatta hostel.
On our first day we drove to the boulders, getting quite lost on the 30min dirt road drive. Indeed, there is no guidebook for the area, and we had no pin to find the sectors. We met up with Lorena and Grabriel, two locals we were in contact with, and they showed us around a first sector called "Casa do cobra", aka. "Snake house". We didn't see any snake but we saw A LOT of climbers. Indeed it's the weekend, more likely a holiday weekend so it was packed. We played around on a few routes up to V9. Here, it's hot, so the plan is to arrive before dark and climb with headlamps by night.
The second day, we met up with Lorena and Grabriel again, as well and a bunch of other people, and headed to a sector called 29. It was more open than the day before and the boulders looked all really nice. We warmed up and worked on two V12 in the area. Josh got a quick ascent of a V10, which I don't really know the name of and couldn't power through on of the moves. Then we moved up to the sector Saci, very close to the road, where Josh did another V1O by the light of the headlamps. The rock is beautiful, and we will have to get used to the crimps and the sharp rock.
Today we wanted to warm-up in Saci and filmed the 2nd V10 Josh sent, but as soon as we were getting ready to turn the cameras on when a huge storm came by. We sat under a rock for 20ish min, hoping for the rain to stop, and the holds to dry and it never happened! So we just bailed and went back home, getting some work done and calling it a "rest day". Let's see what tomorrow has to show and finger crossed for the weather to get better
March 29. Bye Cipo
(Written by Cha)
Our time in Serra di Cipo is over. 8 or 9 days here was too short... just any climbing destination right ? You struggle the first 2 days, then you slowly get used to the style, get to know the locals good and get a little everyday routine in the place you live in. We definitively left bummed because we really like it here. Life is easy, and it seems that the climber found a good lifestyle there : most of them moved to the little town to open restaurant, food truck or pousada (hostel) so that they have time and proximity to go climbing often.
On our few last days, we didn't really slow down! After a rest day (of computer work) we went back to the Lamurias / Sala de Justica area, and we sent few nice routes around :
- Shitake 8a, J
- Tic Tac 8a+, C (finally! it feels good!)
- Linha da vida 8a+, J (tricky one for Josh because of the power endurance it requires, but he did it awesome!)
Then, last day was filming day ! We started in Vale de Papagaio and filmed two routes thanks to the help of Andrezza and Carlos. Later it was so hot that we just went back home and went for a plunge in the pool and a siesta. In the evening, we hiked back to Sala de Justica where I climbed and Josh filmed (thank's the Drone) a gorgeous 7b+ called Sinos de aldebaran. This route actually became the N°1 of my favorite routes in Serra do Cipo!
Last night we did a coaching at the UP escalada gym in Belo Horizonte and we worked with a small, yet interested group of climbers! Thank's Flavio (the owner) for making it possible and hosting us after the event!
To conclude on Serra do Cipo, we will say a huge thank's to Wagner, a local climber, developper, and guidebook maker. We hanged out with him everyday and he has become a true friend day after day!
Oh also, we forgot to mention: we adopted a dog. Well not really adopted, but they are a lot of straigh dogs around Serra do Cipo, and one was hanging at Mandalla and she was a bit crazy so we called her "Taz". She is also excited to see us, she steals Josh's shoes and socks (no kidding, we would find them in random places when we went for breakie every morning). We ended buying some bacon at the store so we can feed her and she loved it. It was heartbreaking to leave her when we left Serra do Cipo, but we know that because she is so cute she will get attention and care by the next clients going to the pousada!
(Written by Cha)
Our time in Serra di Cipo is over. 8 or 9 days here was too short... just any climbing destination right ? You struggle the first 2 days, then you slowly get used to the style, get to know the locals good and get a little everyday routine in the place you live in. We definitively left bummed because we really like it here. Life is easy, and it seems that the climber found a good lifestyle there : most of them moved to the little town to open restaurant, food truck or pousada (hostel) so that they have time and proximity to go climbing often.
On our few last days, we didn't really slow down! After a rest day (of computer work) we went back to the Lamurias / Sala de Justica area, and we sent few nice routes around :
- Shitake 8a, J
- Tic Tac 8a+, C (finally! it feels good!)
- Linha da vida 8a+, J (tricky one for Josh because of the power endurance it requires, but he did it awesome!)
Then, last day was filming day ! We started in Vale de Papagaio and filmed two routes thanks to the help of Andrezza and Carlos. Later it was so hot that we just went back home and went for a plunge in the pool and a siesta. In the evening, we hiked back to Sala de Justica where I climbed and Josh filmed (thank's the Drone) a gorgeous 7b+ called Sinos de aldebaran. This route actually became the N°1 of my favorite routes in Serra do Cipo!
Last night we did a coaching at the UP escalada gym in Belo Horizonte and we worked with a small, yet interested group of climbers! Thank's Flavio (the owner) for making it possible and hosting us after the event!
To conclude on Serra do Cipo, we will say a huge thank's to Wagner, a local climber, developper, and guidebook maker. We hanged out with him everyday and he has become a true friend day after day!
Oh also, we forgot to mention: we adopted a dog. Well not really adopted, but they are a lot of straigh dogs around Serra do Cipo, and one was hanging at Mandalla and she was a bit crazy so we called her "Taz". She is also excited to see us, she steals Josh's shoes and socks (no kidding, we would find them in random places when we went for breakie every morning). We ended buying some bacon at the store so we can feed her and she loved it. It was heartbreaking to leave her when we left Serra do Cipo, but we know that because she is so cute she will get attention and care by the next clients going to the pousada!
March 25th. Josh's is killing it!
(Written by Cha)
2 days of climbing went by and now it is a rest day again (aka. computer work day!)!
Two days ago we started at the Vale de Papagaio sector where I sent the 7c+ "Amor Inconditional" that Josh did last time. It's a very beautiful route, and is actually our favorite route of the all cliff so far! We worked the moves of "Gigall-in", an 8b next to it. Josh found his beta (dyno from bad crimp to okay crimp) pretty fast while I couldn't figure out mine, the dyno being to big for me. The sun came so we changed sectors to head back to Lamurias where we went the first day. Here Josh worked a 8b+ that attracted his eyes : "Captain Hook". It starts by a V10 on intense moves leading to a dyno, and finishes with 30 meters of endurance til the anchor. All the moves worked besides the dyno, but it was very close so promising. On my side I tried the 8a+ "Lina da vida", in Sala de Justica,. I could not take off nor do the bouldery few first moves on slimy feet. Another crux towards the tops, which involves two big moves on pure crimps, caused me problem. I hate to say this, but it's hard to find my flow here because all the "hard" routes I've tried so far involve a big move on crimps or a very bouldery section. Damn I miss Greece and its tuffas, allowing me to express myself and unfold my style. But! I'll kept trying routes, hoping to find one or two that fits me!
Yesterday, we started at Gigall-in that we tried yesterday, and Josh sent it for warm-up!!! It is actually the first repetition of this route and he confirms 8b! That was a nice start of the day.... I tried it again but couldn't find my way, so we just changed sectors (involving a lot of hiking down and up) back to Lamurias again. I tried a project to the right of Captain Hook, which was told to us as around 8a+. Once again, a big move (actually not so hard for "tall people") made me try some very hard moves around, which I couldn't link. Later on the bolter told us that it was much harder than a 8a+ project for short people (him being short and he couldn't solved it neither). Oh well! After a quick lunch and digestion, Josh went on Captain Hook and he passed the bottom crux after only few tries, and then sent the route after smartly taking his time on the long end of the route! 8b and 8b+ in the same day, what a successful day for Josh, that's exciting !
On my end, I think I found a route I can climb! It's a 8a+, which is actually the same end as "Captain Hook" but the beginning is different. To finish of the day, I also tried another route, which is a start variation of Lina da Vida in Sala de Justica, making the beginning is much better that way, but now I have to solve the top crux!
(Written by Cha)
2 days of climbing went by and now it is a rest day again (aka. computer work day!)!
Two days ago we started at the Vale de Papagaio sector where I sent the 7c+ "Amor Inconditional" that Josh did last time. It's a very beautiful route, and is actually our favorite route of the all cliff so far! We worked the moves of "Gigall-in", an 8b next to it. Josh found his beta (dyno from bad crimp to okay crimp) pretty fast while I couldn't figure out mine, the dyno being to big for me. The sun came so we changed sectors to head back to Lamurias where we went the first day. Here Josh worked a 8b+ that attracted his eyes : "Captain Hook". It starts by a V10 on intense moves leading to a dyno, and finishes with 30 meters of endurance til the anchor. All the moves worked besides the dyno, but it was very close so promising. On my side I tried the 8a+ "Lina da vida", in Sala de Justica,. I could not take off nor do the bouldery few first moves on slimy feet. Another crux towards the tops, which involves two big moves on pure crimps, caused me problem. I hate to say this, but it's hard to find my flow here because all the "hard" routes I've tried so far involve a big move on crimps or a very bouldery section. Damn I miss Greece and its tuffas, allowing me to express myself and unfold my style. But! I'll kept trying routes, hoping to find one or two that fits me!
Yesterday, we started at Gigall-in that we tried yesterday, and Josh sent it for warm-up!!! It is actually the first repetition of this route and he confirms 8b! That was a nice start of the day.... I tried it again but couldn't find my way, so we just changed sectors (involving a lot of hiking down and up) back to Lamurias again. I tried a project to the right of Captain Hook, which was told to us as around 8a+. Once again, a big move (actually not so hard for "tall people") made me try some very hard moves around, which I couldn't link. Later on the bolter told us that it was much harder than a 8a+ project for short people (him being short and he couldn't solved it neither). Oh well! After a quick lunch and digestion, Josh went on Captain Hook and he passed the bottom crux after only few tries, and then sent the route after smartly taking his time on the long end of the route! 8b and 8b+ in the same day, what a successful day for Josh, that's exciting !
On my end, I think I found a route I can climb! It's a 8a+, which is actually the same end as "Captain Hook" but the beginning is different. To finish of the day, I also tried another route, which is a start variation of Lina da Vida in Sala de Justica, making the beginning is much better that way, but now I have to solve the top crux!
March 22nd. Climbing again!
(Written by Cha)
Oops, sorry guys, we haven't kept you updated much. The truth is we kinda lost our "rhythm" and did a lot of sightseeing and other things while in Rio with my friend Camille. To put in a nutshell, we checked out the Corcovado (the Christ), the Tijuca National Park, all the little things downtown, danced in a crazy fair, did a clinic and slideshow at the Evoluçao gym and climbed the Sugar Loaf! It was a busy week in Rio and we are happy to escape the craziness of the city.
Three days ago we flew to Belo Horizonte and drove 1h30 over a lot of speed bumps to reach the little town of Serra do Cipo. Here we are staying at the Mandalla Pousada (an Hostel) which is very quiet and in the wilderness, and is only 20min hike away (no car needed!) to the cliff. We are here for a long week, and will be sport climbing and maybe do a cool multipitch 2h away from here. We met Wagner, a super local, developer and writter of the guidebook. He toured us around on our first two days here, showing us the sectors and advising routes!
We checked out the sectors Lamurias, Sala de Justica, PCC and Vale do Papagaio, and we climbed:
- Lamurias de um viciado, 6c+, C (flash) and J (flash)
- Especialidade, 7b, J (flash)
- Morphina, 7c, J (flash) and C
- Herois de resistancia, 8a, C (flash)
- Amor Incondicional, 7c+, J
- Pablo Escobar, 7b, C (flash)
- Pede pra sair, 8a, J
We sampled a lot of different routes, and we needed these first two days to get used to the style : very crimpy, usually bouldery with big moves (Josh's happiness) or very endurancy (Cha's happiness).
Today we are resting and we needed it. We kinda suffered on our first 2 days from the heat (dreaming of cold places right now), from the mosquitoes and from being back into full climbing mode. Good timing, it's been raining all day, which allows us to catch up on work, which we have a lot of delay from. Since we left Tasmania 7 weeks ago, we have been diluting our focus into other projects (ABS Nationals, Hueco Rock Rodeo, Magazine articles,...) and we haven't really been able to put time in our destination films. Now we are back at it, excited to edit some beautiful images! For now, fingers crossed for the rain to stop and the rock to dry, so we can climb tomorrow!
(Written by Cha)
Oops, sorry guys, we haven't kept you updated much. The truth is we kinda lost our "rhythm" and did a lot of sightseeing and other things while in Rio with my friend Camille. To put in a nutshell, we checked out the Corcovado (the Christ), the Tijuca National Park, all the little things downtown, danced in a crazy fair, did a clinic and slideshow at the Evoluçao gym and climbed the Sugar Loaf! It was a busy week in Rio and we are happy to escape the craziness of the city.
Three days ago we flew to Belo Horizonte and drove 1h30 over a lot of speed bumps to reach the little town of Serra do Cipo. Here we are staying at the Mandalla Pousada (an Hostel) which is very quiet and in the wilderness, and is only 20min hike away (no car needed!) to the cliff. We are here for a long week, and will be sport climbing and maybe do a cool multipitch 2h away from here. We met Wagner, a super local, developer and writter of the guidebook. He toured us around on our first two days here, showing us the sectors and advising routes!
We checked out the sectors Lamurias, Sala de Justica, PCC and Vale do Papagaio, and we climbed:
- Lamurias de um viciado, 6c+, C (flash) and J (flash)
- Especialidade, 7b, J (flash)
- Morphina, 7c, J (flash) and C
- Herois de resistancia, 8a, C (flash)
- Amor Incondicional, 7c+, J
- Pablo Escobar, 7b, C (flash)
- Pede pra sair, 8a, J
We sampled a lot of different routes, and we needed these first two days to get used to the style : very crimpy, usually bouldery with big moves (Josh's happiness) or very endurancy (Cha's happiness).
Today we are resting and we needed it. We kinda suffered on our first 2 days from the heat (dreaming of cold places right now), from the mosquitoes and from being back into full climbing mode. Good timing, it's been raining all day, which allows us to catch up on work, which we have a lot of delay from. Since we left Tasmania 7 weeks ago, we have been diluting our focus into other projects (ABS Nationals, Hueco Rock Rodeo, Magazine articles,...) and we haven't really been able to put time in our destination films. Now we are back at it, excited to edit some beautiful images! For now, fingers crossed for the rain to stop and the rock to dry, so we can climb tomorrow!
March 11th. Touristing in Brazil
(Written by Cha)
I haven't climbed since I left PR already 9 days ago. I've been enjoying the Brazilian tourist life with my friend Camille. We started with few days in Sao Paulo, where Luciano and Natalia from Blogdescalada.com host us and toured us around. It's a huge city, with 12 million people. There is some cool neighborhoods and quite a big variety of food, which was nice. We saw our friend Beatriz who was in Engineer school with us and who we haven't seen for 5 years!
Then we went to Iguazu and checked out the famous falls from the Brasilian side and the Argentinian side. A good system of bus made it very easy. The falls were huge! After that we went to a bird park, where we saw a lot of exotic birds and butterflies, even some birds we never saw, with funky faces!
Now we are finishing our stay in Recife. We were gonna go in Isla Grande, between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, but we learned there is a big Yellow Fever breakout, and Camille didn't get the vaccin, so we cancelled. She still got a vaccin here (for free!), just in case we want to go later! So Recife! It's a lot in the North, beach in the city and old historic neighborhood. Tuesday we meet up with Josh in Rio de Janeiro where we will all spend few days.
Oh yeah, Josh in PR still, cleaning new problems with the locals and... and... AND... taking down projects !!!! He finally sent his 3 years project : Big Mama! He will share his feelings soon, when the excitement/relief post send is over ;)
(Written by Cha)
I haven't climbed since I left PR already 9 days ago. I've been enjoying the Brazilian tourist life with my friend Camille. We started with few days in Sao Paulo, where Luciano and Natalia from Blogdescalada.com host us and toured us around. It's a huge city, with 12 million people. There is some cool neighborhoods and quite a big variety of food, which was nice. We saw our friend Beatriz who was in Engineer school with us and who we haven't seen for 5 years!
Then we went to Iguazu and checked out the famous falls from the Brasilian side and the Argentinian side. A good system of bus made it very easy. The falls were huge! After that we went to a bird park, where we saw a lot of exotic birds and butterflies, even some birds we never saw, with funky faces!
Now we are finishing our stay in Recife. We were gonna go in Isla Grande, between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, but we learned there is a big Yellow Fever breakout, and Camille didn't get the vaccin, so we cancelled. She still got a vaccin here (for free!), just in case we want to go later! So Recife! It's a lot in the North, beach in the city and old historic neighborhood. Tuesday we meet up with Josh in Rio de Janeiro where we will all spend few days.
Oh yeah, Josh in PR still, cleaning new problems with the locals and... and... AND... taking down projects !!!! He finally sent his 3 years project : Big Mama! He will share his feelings soon, when the excitement/relief post send is over ;)
March 2nd. I'm leaving
(Written by Cha)
I'm leaving Puerto Rico. Whaaat? already ? damn it once again past so quick, but I'm happy I got to complete my main project : sending the tower. Yesterday, we went bouldering with Josh, in a nice cracky boulder that I saw last year but didn't get the chance to climb. We both did the sit start this time, which should at V7/V8, and we don't remember the name, we gotta ask the locals! In the evening, Josh gave few goes on Big Mama, felt good and did the beginning moves fast, but it was too sketchy with only 3 pads and one spotter (me :/), so he didn't try too hard.
This morning we went back to Piedra Blanca to film the new line on the arete, and we baked in the sun. It got so hot in the last few days, but luckily the shady sides of the tower are always a bit windy which is a blessing to climb! Then we worked and chilled at our house and hit the road to bring me to the airport.
Here I am, on my way to Brazil where I'll meet up with my friend Camille for some non climbing girl time, while Josh is staying in Puerto Rico to hang with the locals, sightsee with his parents and send some projects. We will meet up in Rio de Janeiro in 10 days or so!
(Written by Cha)
I'm leaving Puerto Rico. Whaaat? already ? damn it once again past so quick, but I'm happy I got to complete my main project : sending the tower. Yesterday, we went bouldering with Josh, in a nice cracky boulder that I saw last year but didn't get the chance to climb. We both did the sit start this time, which should at V7/V8, and we don't remember the name, we gotta ask the locals! In the evening, Josh gave few goes on Big Mama, felt good and did the beginning moves fast, but it was too sketchy with only 3 pads and one spotter (me :/), so he didn't try too hard.
This morning we went back to Piedra Blanca to film the new line on the arete, and we baked in the sun. It got so hot in the last few days, but luckily the shady sides of the tower are always a bit windy which is a blessing to climb! Then we worked and chilled at our house and hit the road to bring me to the airport.
Here I am, on my way to Brazil where I'll meet up with my friend Camille for some non climbing girl time, while Josh is staying in Puerto Rico to hang with the locals, sightsee with his parents and send some projects. We will meet up in Rio de Janeiro in 10 days or so!
February 28th. Chilling, filming, sightseeing and slide showing
(Written by Cha)
Josh's parents arrived on the island (yay!) yesterday very early so we took it easy in the morning with a first swim in the Caribbean sea down our street. Damn that was enjoyable! Then we went on a lunch along the coast past Manaubo, and spent the afternoon filming at the tower. Being only the 2 of us made it complicated to film, but we made it happen thanks to Josh's dad and a tree (I'll pass the details)!
Today we took a rest day, the first one since we arrived, and we head to Old San Juan where we spend the afternoon wandering in the fort and in the colorful streets. In the evening, Bryant and the local homies had organized a slide show in a bar downtown, and it was awesome to see pretty the entire community of climbers from Puerto Rico. It was not a lot and it was nice to recognize few faces and met new people. Josh and I did a slideshow to present our A World Less Traveled project, with some photos and videos from the previous destinations, and it was awesome to share the passion and inspiration.
(Written by Cha)
Josh's parents arrived on the island (yay!) yesterday very early so we took it easy in the morning with a first swim in the Caribbean sea down our street. Damn that was enjoyable! Then we went on a lunch along the coast past Manaubo, and spent the afternoon filming at the tower. Being only the 2 of us made it complicated to film, but we made it happen thanks to Josh's dad and a tree (I'll pass the details)!
Today we took a rest day, the first one since we arrived, and we head to Old San Juan where we spend the afternoon wandering in the fort and in the colorful streets. In the evening, Bryant and the local homies had organized a slide show in a bar downtown, and it was awesome to see pretty the entire community of climbers from Puerto Rico. It was not a lot and it was nice to recognize few faces and met new people. Josh and I did a slideshow to present our A World Less Traveled project, with some photos and videos from the previous destinations, and it was awesome to share the passion and inspiration.
February 26th. Surprise send
(Written by Cha)
So I picked up Josh pretty early on the 22nd, we went home for a nap, and then head to the tower, because I was very excited to have a belayer after few days belaying myself! The day was great, chilly (less than 25°C) in the shade and we both felt good and psyched to climb. So good that Josh sent our slab project, and I followed just after! That was a surprise because everything went very smooth! Yahooo, we finally sent the tower! Although the line on the left of it, the King Line, happens to be way to hard, like we couldn't do any moves on the last 3 bolts. So we decided to place an anchor on the 3rd to last bolt, making it 8a+ (ish?) to there, 9a (ish?) to the top.
We were so excited to have ticked off a project, that we bolted a line we had in mind since the last year the arete to the left of the main face. That day, lots of teh locals came and a lot of cleaning/ trail making happened around the tower.
3rd on, back to the tower with all teh crew, which was psyched to bolt new lines on the short side of the tower. On our side, we climbed and did a send train on our new line, which should be around 8a. So much motivation in the Piedra Blanca happened in the last few days, the number of routes went from 4 to 9, and the number of "sent" routes went from 1 to 6, just like that!
Today (yeah, no rest day there) the goal was to head to Big Mama, Josh's project for the 3rd season. First we had to make the trail, which was not existing after the hurricane and the jungle regrowth. After few hours macheting, the locals joined and we got more efficient on trail making with more hands, more machetes and a electric saw! Big Mama was ready to be climbed, but still in the sun, so we went around the corner when we had noticed a neat boulder. After a lot of tries from all of us, Josh unlocked the beginning mantle crux and made his way through the top, scary slab. "Granite Face", V10 is born, adding a new line to the never ending collection of Yabucoa!
(Written by Cha)
So I picked up Josh pretty early on the 22nd, we went home for a nap, and then head to the tower, because I was very excited to have a belayer after few days belaying myself! The day was great, chilly (less than 25°C) in the shade and we both felt good and psyched to climb. So good that Josh sent our slab project, and I followed just after! That was a surprise because everything went very smooth! Yahooo, we finally sent the tower! Although the line on the left of it, the King Line, happens to be way to hard, like we couldn't do any moves on the last 3 bolts. So we decided to place an anchor on the 3rd to last bolt, making it 8a+ (ish?) to there, 9a (ish?) to the top.
We were so excited to have ticked off a project, that we bolted a line we had in mind since the last year the arete to the left of the main face. That day, lots of teh locals came and a lot of cleaning/ trail making happened around the tower.
3rd on, back to the tower with all teh crew, which was psyched to bolt new lines on the short side of the tower. On our side, we climbed and did a send train on our new line, which should be around 8a. So much motivation in the Piedra Blanca happened in the last few days, the number of routes went from 4 to 9, and the number of "sent" routes went from 1 to 6, just like that!
Today (yeah, no rest day there) the goal was to head to Big Mama, Josh's project for the 3rd season. First we had to make the trail, which was not existing after the hurricane and the jungle regrowth. After few hours macheting, the locals joined and we got more efficient on trail making with more hands, more machetes and a electric saw! Big Mama was ready to be climbed, but still in the sun, so we went around the corner when we had noticed a neat boulder. After a lot of tries from all of us, Josh unlocked the beginning mantle crux and made his way through the top, scary slab. "Granite Face", V10 is born, adding a new line to the never ending collection of Yabucoa!
February 21st. Things changed
(Written by Cha)
I was here a bit more than a year ago, and the general landscape changed a lot... What happened ? A destructive storm called "Maria". She took a lot on her way : trees, houses, electricity... While San Juan didn't show too many effects of the storm, the region around Yabucoa is hurt. Electricity is gone in most parts (we have a generator at the house we rent). The roads are not in got shape. Skeletons of building lay here and there. But people are here and alive, they seem peaceful but they are working everyday to come back to a "normal life".
On a better note, the Piedra Blanca did not fall. The trees around the tower are all gone though, which gives it a fresh new look. On my first day here I climbed up on the back of the tower and installed the static rope on both lines around the main arete. I went down both to clean a bit, but the lines did not need too much cleaning, which was nice! I went up on the slab to remember my beta, and try to find a solution where I was missing last year. I found it ! It's crazy and awesome, but it works. Now I have to link everything with no falls, which should be highly determined by the feet pain that will grow through the ascent!
Today, I was excited to go on the "king line", which is the slightly overhanging arete. Unfortunately, rain came 10min after I arrived, so I ran to the car. 30min later the rain stopped, and because it is very hot and windy here, I knew everything would dry in 5 mins... I climbed 2 quickdraws and the rain came back... Rain and I played few rounds of that game, but at the end Rain won, I gave up and went back home.
Josh arrives tomorrow (at 5am, thank's!) and we are thrilled to go back to the tower together. I'm curious what he will think about the changes here...
(Written by Cha)
I was here a bit more than a year ago, and the general landscape changed a lot... What happened ? A destructive storm called "Maria". She took a lot on her way : trees, houses, electricity... While San Juan didn't show too many effects of the storm, the region around Yabucoa is hurt. Electricity is gone in most parts (we have a generator at the house we rent). The roads are not in got shape. Skeletons of building lay here and there. But people are here and alive, they seem peaceful but they are working everyday to come back to a "normal life".
On a better note, the Piedra Blanca did not fall. The trees around the tower are all gone though, which gives it a fresh new look. On my first day here I climbed up on the back of the tower and installed the static rope on both lines around the main arete. I went down both to clean a bit, but the lines did not need too much cleaning, which was nice! I went up on the slab to remember my beta, and try to find a solution where I was missing last year. I found it ! It's crazy and awesome, but it works. Now I have to link everything with no falls, which should be highly determined by the feet pain that will grow through the ascent!
Today, I was excited to go on the "king line", which is the slightly overhanging arete. Unfortunately, rain came 10min after I arrived, so I ran to the car. 30min later the rain stopped, and because it is very hot and windy here, I knew everything would dry in 5 mins... I climbed 2 quickdraws and the rain came back... Rain and I played few rounds of that game, but at the end Rain won, I gave up and went back home.
Josh arrives tomorrow (at 5am, thank's!) and we are thrilled to go back to the tower together. I'm curious what he will think about the changes here...
February 19th. Fom Hueco to Puerto Rico
(Written by Cha)
The Hueco Rock Rodeo was great! We got a few sends before the event : Cha on "Big Nose Milley" V9 and Josh on "Dark Age" V11. And then we spent 3 full days shooting for the event, and it was an awesome team work! We are very happy with the images, and even if it was kinda weird not to be climbing, yet we had a great time!
I arrived in Puerto Rico today where I met up with our friends Bryant and Valeria. Josh did a short detour to NYC to visit his bro newly installed in the big city. We meet up on the 21st, and until then I'll be on top on the tower Piedra Blanca that we bolted last winter in Yabucoa! Let's climb these unfinished businesses!
(Written by Cha)
The Hueco Rock Rodeo was great! We got a few sends before the event : Cha on "Big Nose Milley" V9 and Josh on "Dark Age" V11. And then we spent 3 full days shooting for the event, and it was an awesome team work! We are very happy with the images, and even if it was kinda weird not to be climbing, yet we had a great time!
I arrived in Puerto Rico today where I met up with our friends Bryant and Valeria. Josh did a short detour to NYC to visit his bro newly installed in the big city. We meet up on the 21st, and until then I'll be on top on the tower Piedra Blanca that we bolted last winter in Yabucoa! Let's climb these unfinished businesses!
February 12th. Reunion
(Written by Cha)
We are reunited ! Not only it's the two of us, but we are also with our good friend Vinny. Cold House Media is back together, in Hueco like in the good old days (we stopped here during our LOST trip in 2013)! We've got the gig to film the Hueco Rock Rodeo, so we are gonna climb for few days and then film during the event.
(Written by Cha)
We are reunited ! Not only it's the two of us, but we are also with our good friend Vinny. Cold House Media is back together, in Hueco like in the good old days (we stopped here during our LOST trip in 2013)! We've got the gig to film the Hueco Rock Rodeo, so we are gonna climb for few days and then film during the event.
February 6th. Little break
(Written by Cha)
We are apart... don't worry, it's not for long! We both left Tasmania on the 1st, Cha Westward and Josh Eastward. Cha is back in France, visiting her family, while Josh is in the USA to set for ABS Youth Nationals in Salt Lake City all week. We meet up next Monday in Hueco!
(Written by Cha)
We are apart... don't worry, it's not for long! We both left Tasmania on the 1st, Cha Westward and Josh Eastward. Cha is back in France, visiting her family, while Josh is in the USA to set for ABS Youth Nationals in Salt Lake City all week. We meet up next Monday in Hueco!
January 30th. A last one just in time
(Written by Cha)
We had one more "goal" sector that we really wanted to go to : Mount Brown. It's located on the Tasman peninsula just as all the other rad spots. The main face on Mt Brown has a few multipitch routes, and we picked "Talk is Cheap", 9 pitches. The originality is that we first had to rappel down all the way, arriving couple meters above the sea, and then climbed up. It was awesome! The rock was of a very very good quality with some neat features! We also enjoyed the hike, which was "only" 1 hour and not too steep.
We did good by doing all our "hits" first, because on the next days, we got 4 days of very rude weather : 2 sunny days with temps between 35 and 40°C, and 2 days of rain. So we didn't stay outdoor much, worked a lot at home, went to teh Rock it gym in Hobart and checked out the Mona Museum. It's an enormous underground building with crazy art in it. We spent 2h walking around and loosing our directions!
(Written by Cha)
We had one more "goal" sector that we really wanted to go to : Mount Brown. It's located on the Tasman peninsula just as all the other rad spots. The main face on Mt Brown has a few multipitch routes, and we picked "Talk is Cheap", 9 pitches. The originality is that we first had to rappel down all the way, arriving couple meters above the sea, and then climbed up. It was awesome! The rock was of a very very good quality with some neat features! We also enjoyed the hike, which was "only" 1 hour and not too steep.
We did good by doing all our "hits" first, because on the next days, we got 4 days of very rude weather : 2 sunny days with temps between 35 and 40°C, and 2 days of rain. So we didn't stay outdoor much, worked a lot at home, went to teh Rock it gym in Hobart and checked out the Mona Museum. It's an enormous underground building with crazy art in it. We spent 2h walking around and loosing our directions!
January 25th. Ah Tasmania!
(Written by Cha)
Wow, more than a week that we haven't update our journal. For our excuse, Tasmania is full of adventures and adventures planning, so that's what we have been doing! Here is a little recap of our last week :
(Written by Cha)
Wow, more than a week that we haven't update our journal. For our excuse, Tasmania is full of adventures and adventures planning, so that's what we have been doing! Here is a little recap of our last week :
- 18th : We checked out the Organ Pipes in the afternoon, and it was our first "pillars" encounter! What crazy features! We climb "Slap Dancer", a solo standing pillar route, and then got a little epic while hiking out at night (we didn't take the right trail down, ended above a little cliff band, so had to simo-rappel with the rope around a big bloc).
- 19th : we did the first podcast of the trip ! It was awesome to chat from Hanny, the owner of "Find your feet", a shop and company in Hobart. Then we swang by the so called shop to pick up some trad gear from DMM . While heading back home, based in Carlton (30min east of Hobart) we had lunch at the Barilla Bay Oyster restaurant and it was delicious, just a big platter of oyster, hot and cold and with different topings. Yummy!
- 20th : Totem Pole, hell yeah ! It was our big "goal" of the trip, so we didn't waist time to go for it! After the exhausting hike, 1h30 up and down big hills, we reached the ledge where few people were hanging already, some for the Totem, some for the Candlestick. We waited a little that a party finished the Totem Pole, and then we went for it. I went for teh rappel and the pendulum at the bottom which was pretty intimadating hanging few meters above the water. I did it 3rd go! Then Josh joined me and climbed the first pitch. I led the second pitch, which was miwed but luckily easy and fast for us as we used gear left by Alex, the previous climber. I couldn't resist but do the last 5 meters to go to the tip top of the pole! Then we tyrolean back (thank's again to Alex gear) and that was it, just like that we had climbed the Totem Pole!
- 21st : pretty wrecked from the previous day, we took it easy in the morning, but still wanted to climb at some point. Every place has a long hike here (1h30 or more) so we just sucked it up and went for the Moai. The hike was nicer cause more flat and at the end of it we rapped down to the sea level, where we could walk on a rock feature to the so-called Moai : an awesome self-standing pillar, few meters away from the water. We climbed the two main routes on it (one being mixed) and had a blast standing on top of tis crazy feature, the waves clapping below us.
- 22nd : no more hiking! we still wanted to climb (because we haven't tried hard for a while, so we went to "Rock it", the only gym in Hobart. It was neat and we had a good session, finalized by a yummy diner on the port.
- 23rd : it was very hot, so we didn't want to bake climbing outside. Instead we went to the gym again, and had a nice session again! We met up with Rick the owner, Roxy his daughter, and Josh the head setter. They invited us for diner which was really nice to chat about Tasmanian climbing and the World Cup world, Roxy doing few stages each year.
- 24th: Woke up at 4:30am, left the house at 5am and met up with Simon Bishoff at the Cape Raoul Trailhead car park. Simon is a local photographer, and after following each other on Instagram, we reached out to him to know if we could do something together! Here we are, heading to Cape Raoul! What a day! Cape Raoul is probably the craziest feature we will see in Tassie, at least I don't know it could get any more crazy! It's a bunch of pillars stacked together, forming a dinosaure spine dropping in the ocean. More than 1h30 hike on an enjoyable trail, and then 8 hours down and up of scrambling/ rappelling/ trad climbing all the way to Pole Dancer, a gorgeous bolted line at the end of the all feature.
- 25th: yes, today is a rest day!
January 17th. Bye NZ, Hi again OZ and good to meet you Tassie
(Written by Cha)
Our last days in NZ where chill and sweet, hanging out with Derek, Erin and Coen, doing rad training sessions on the homewall and discovering a bit more of Christchurch and teh surroundings. We left NZ very early this morning, landed in Melbourne around 8am where we picked up a car and drove to Steve's where we picked up and dropped off some things so we don't travel with everything all the time. Then we head to Northside Brunswick and had a nice training session, catching up with our friend Reuben, manager of the gym. We head to the airport for our next flight for Tasmania !!! We landed at 5pm, hoped in our 3rd rental car of the day (funny fact uh ?!) and drove to Carlton where we were greatly welcomed by Julie, our Airbnb host. Yes, after 40 days camping out 47 days in NZ, we wanted the comfort back, actually necessarily needed for all our computer work. So here we are, in Tasmania, the first "first time" destination for both of us, and we are very very excited about all the adventures that the island will bring us!
(Written by Cha)
Our last days in NZ where chill and sweet, hanging out with Derek, Erin and Coen, doing rad training sessions on the homewall and discovering a bit more of Christchurch and teh surroundings. We left NZ very early this morning, landed in Melbourne around 8am where we picked up a car and drove to Steve's where we picked up and dropped off some things so we don't travel with everything all the time. Then we head to Northside Brunswick and had a nice training session, catching up with our friend Reuben, manager of the gym. We head to the airport for our next flight for Tasmania !!! We landed at 5pm, hoped in our 3rd rental car of the day (funny fact uh ?!) and drove to Carlton where we were greatly welcomed by Julie, our Airbnb host. Yes, after 40 days camping out 47 days in NZ, we wanted the comfort back, actually necessarily needed for all our computer work. So here we are, in Tasmania, the first "first time" destination for both of us, and we are very very excited about all the adventures that the island will bring us!
January 14th. Rain vs. Sun
(Written by Cha)
After the hike, we made our way back to Castle Hill, through the West Coast, where we spent a night in Fox Glacier. It was raining non stop, when we got to Springfield we booked a room at the Springfiel Motel and Lodge for our last few nights here. It was a very good idea as it kept raining for the next three days, so we just lived inside, catching up with some computer work. The day the rain stopped, we went up to Flock Hill to try few climbs that we had in mind. It was so hot and after so much "climbing in the heat", we figured we would have better time going in town (Christchurch) and get some good training at the gym. So here we are! Kindly hosted by Derek and Erin, and their kid Coen. Great place to hang and train, as there is an infamous home wall here, perfect to get some "trying hard" and strength back. We leave New Zealand on Wenesday (17th) morning, and we were really sad to leave awesome Flock Hill earlier, but sometimes hard decisions lead to better decisions!
(Written by Cha)
After the hike, we made our way back to Castle Hill, through the West Coast, where we spent a night in Fox Glacier. It was raining non stop, when we got to Springfield we booked a room at the Springfiel Motel and Lodge for our last few nights here. It was a very good idea as it kept raining for the next three days, so we just lived inside, catching up with some computer work. The day the rain stopped, we went up to Flock Hill to try few climbs that we had in mind. It was so hot and after so much "climbing in the heat", we figured we would have better time going in town (Christchurch) and get some good training at the gym. So here we are! Kindly hosted by Derek and Erin, and their kid Coen. Great place to hang and train, as there is an infamous home wall here, perfect to get some "trying hard" and strength back. We leave New Zealand on Wenesday (17th) morning, and we were really sad to leave awesome Flock Hill earlier, but sometimes hard decisions lead to better decisions!
January 9th. We summited Mt Aspiring
(Written by Cha)
Yes, it's been a long time since our last updates, but things went really fast. We drove down to Queenstown to chill for few days but realized our weather window opened sooner than planned, so we just spent one day in Queenstown and then went to Wanaka for the last shopping, hike planning and boots renting.
The hike up and down Mt Aspiring took 4 days. It was too epic and beautiful to describe it here, so we will write a proper blog about it. But to summarize :
- Thursday 4th, we left the Raspberry flat car park loaded with our big bags. We hike 5 hours to Scott's bivvy. It was very hot so it was not the best hike conditions, but not so bad. We slept in this rudimentary bivvy and set the alarm for 5h30.
- Friday 5th, after a pretty good night of sleep (despite the millions sandflies), we started to hike up the slabs above the bivvy, thinking (cause that was the plan) we were heading to Bevan Col. Unfortunately, we got in a thick fog pretty quick and it didn't lot left us all day long. After about 3h of hiking, we touch our first snow and put the crampons. But soon we felt lost, which we did for about 4-5h, the pea soup and the rain not helping. Few seconds clearing came every 30min so we could get information around us, which made us realize where we were, very close to the Breakaway, a "door" to the Bonar Glacier. We followed that way and arrived in the glacier, still in a thick fog, and so we took the compass out to head to the direction of the Colin Todd Hut, that we could guess thank's to a map. We had to cross bigger and bigger crevasses, making us meander for a couple hours in the glacier. Luckily with some clearings and some sun at the end of the day, we could spot the red hut in the distance, a wonderful landmark after those hours being lost. We reached the hut around 8pm. It was a 13h day. It shoudl have been a 6h day...
- Saturday 6th, alarm clock at 3am to head to the summit. However, some very very strong wind outside made us stay in bed, as well as the other guides, clients and hikers in the hut. We all had a slow morning, comtemplating the summit through the window, while listening to the wind whipping on the hut. At some point in the early afternoon, a group of 3 guys -Sam, George and Brad (sorry if not the right name)- decided to go for the summit and we decided to follow them. Even if they were way too fast for us, it was awesome to follow them in the distance, having an idea where to meander. The route, the North West Ridge, was awesome, following a rocky ridge/arete all the way to the top, where a snow/ice cap was covering the summit. It took us a bit less that 3h25 to reach the summit in total, which is quite fast judging by the info we got. We hiked down in the sunset, which was perfect and very special, and reached the hut just when it got dark, so we didn't even have to hike with teh headlamps. We entered the hut around 9.30pm, everybody was asleep but our 3 friends who already came back from their summit and had some water boiled for us. Josh and I ate diner quietly, enjoying the peaceful moment while looking at the summit disappearing in the dark night by the window.
- Sunday 7th, alarm at 7am to head back down to the valley and the carpark. We left around 9 and crossed the glacier to reach Bevan Col. It was super sunny, so we were in tank tops while walking in the snow, which was much more enjoyable than on our way in, in the fog. We hiked all the way down with our new "homie" that we met in the hut, which made the 9h (yes, 9 hours !!!) of hiking back to the car more enjoyable.
I find it always a bit hard to "reconnect" after some mountaineering. Life up in the mountain - emotions, epics, beauty, physical effort, cold, sweat, encounter, being remote, hut life - is very special.
We are now back in Springfield (aka Castle Hill) after camping one night in Wanaka and stopping for a night in Fox Glacier on the drive back. Our bodies (outch the legs!) are rested and refueled, and our minds are ready to plunge back into our everyday duties and rockclimbing actions!
(Written by Cha)
Yes, it's been a long time since our last updates, but things went really fast. We drove down to Queenstown to chill for few days but realized our weather window opened sooner than planned, so we just spent one day in Queenstown and then went to Wanaka for the last shopping, hike planning and boots renting.
The hike up and down Mt Aspiring took 4 days. It was too epic and beautiful to describe it here, so we will write a proper blog about it. But to summarize :
- Thursday 4th, we left the Raspberry flat car park loaded with our big bags. We hike 5 hours to Scott's bivvy. It was very hot so it was not the best hike conditions, but not so bad. We slept in this rudimentary bivvy and set the alarm for 5h30.
- Friday 5th, after a pretty good night of sleep (despite the millions sandflies), we started to hike up the slabs above the bivvy, thinking (cause that was the plan) we were heading to Bevan Col. Unfortunately, we got in a thick fog pretty quick and it didn't lot left us all day long. After about 3h of hiking, we touch our first snow and put the crampons. But soon we felt lost, which we did for about 4-5h, the pea soup and the rain not helping. Few seconds clearing came every 30min so we could get information around us, which made us realize where we were, very close to the Breakaway, a "door" to the Bonar Glacier. We followed that way and arrived in the glacier, still in a thick fog, and so we took the compass out to head to the direction of the Colin Todd Hut, that we could guess thank's to a map. We had to cross bigger and bigger crevasses, making us meander for a couple hours in the glacier. Luckily with some clearings and some sun at the end of the day, we could spot the red hut in the distance, a wonderful landmark after those hours being lost. We reached the hut around 8pm. It was a 13h day. It shoudl have been a 6h day...
- Saturday 6th, alarm clock at 3am to head to the summit. However, some very very strong wind outside made us stay in bed, as well as the other guides, clients and hikers in the hut. We all had a slow morning, comtemplating the summit through the window, while listening to the wind whipping on the hut. At some point in the early afternoon, a group of 3 guys -Sam, George and Brad (sorry if not the right name)- decided to go for the summit and we decided to follow them. Even if they were way too fast for us, it was awesome to follow them in the distance, having an idea where to meander. The route, the North West Ridge, was awesome, following a rocky ridge/arete all the way to the top, where a snow/ice cap was covering the summit. It took us a bit less that 3h25 to reach the summit in total, which is quite fast judging by the info we got. We hiked down in the sunset, which was perfect and very special, and reached the hut just when it got dark, so we didn't even have to hike with teh headlamps. We entered the hut around 9.30pm, everybody was asleep but our 3 friends who already came back from their summit and had some water boiled for us. Josh and I ate diner quietly, enjoying the peaceful moment while looking at the summit disappearing in the dark night by the window.
- Sunday 7th, alarm at 7am to head back down to the valley and the carpark. We left around 9 and crossed the glacier to reach Bevan Col. It was super sunny, so we were in tank tops while walking in the snow, which was much more enjoyable than on our way in, in the fog. We hiked all the way down with our new "homie" that we met in the hut, which made the 9h (yes, 9 hours !!!) of hiking back to the car more enjoyable.
I find it always a bit hard to "reconnect" after some mountaineering. Life up in the mountain - emotions, epics, beauty, physical effort, cold, sweat, encounter, being remote, hut life - is very special.
We are now back in Springfield (aka Castle Hill) after camping one night in Wanaka and stopping for a night in Fox Glacier on the drive back. Our bodies (outch the legs!) are rested and refueled, and our minds are ready to plunge back into our everyday duties and rockclimbing actions!
January 1st. Welcome in 2018
(Written by Cha)
Yep, this happened, we are in 2018, and we were the first ones to celebrate actually! We spent a lovely afternoon and night with some of my extended family / friends in Christchurch, barbecue (yes!), playing cards and ping pong! Oh and we spent the night in a real bed (2nd bed in NZ), which felt pretty awesome! Guess what? we started the day with a plan change : we are heading back down to Queenstown/Wanaka because we will finally have a weather window for summiting the Mt Aspiring at the end of the week! We are excited about this different adventure!
(Written by Cha)
Yep, this happened, we are in 2018, and we were the first ones to celebrate actually! We spent a lovely afternoon and night with some of my extended family / friends in Christchurch, barbecue (yes!), playing cards and ping pong! Oh and we spent the night in a real bed (2nd bed in NZ), which felt pretty awesome! Guess what? we started the day with a plan change : we are heading back down to Queenstown/Wanaka because we will finally have a weather window for summiting the Mt Aspiring at the end of the week! We are excited about this different adventure!
December 30th. Flock day 3
(Written by Cha)
Yesterday rest was very productive : we finished the Serbian Destination Film, vlog 35, booked our plane+car+lodging for Tasmania and bought our ticket to leave the Oceanian continent (back to visit our parents), and we healed our sore body, but not so much I think. We hiked to Flock once more, and realy suffered the 45min approach in the sun. We were lucky enough to find some shady wall, but we could already feel the difference with the previous days. We still climbed around and found some respective projects. We also did a bit a filming for the Destination film, with the nice light at the end of the day. With both little pains in our bodies, and weather getting hot and humid the day after, it was our last day in Flock Hill for 2017. But happy to be back in 2018 with some ropes (to work on the high top outs) and hopefully nicer temps.
(Written by Cha)
Yesterday rest was very productive : we finished the Serbian Destination Film, vlog 35, booked our plane+car+lodging for Tasmania and bought our ticket to leave the Oceanian continent (back to visit our parents), and we healed our sore body, but not so much I think. We hiked to Flock once more, and realy suffered the 45min approach in the sun. We were lucky enough to find some shady wall, but we could already feel the difference with the previous days. We still climbed around and found some respective projects. We also did a bit a filming for the Destination film, with the nice light at the end of the day. With both little pains in our bodies, and weather getting hot and humid the day after, it was our last day in Flock Hill for 2017. But happy to be back in 2018 with some ropes (to work on the high top outs) and hopefully nicer temps.
December 28th. Flock day 2
(Written by Cha)
Today, Alec that we met yesterday proposed to be our guide for the day, which was pretty awesome, because it is so easy to get lost or just not find your way here. We started on the far right of the sector, and once again got awesome recommendations fro our local guide, and we got to climb :
- Interstellar overdrive, V10, J - a must do while here!
- Jet stream, V9, J
- Captain Nemo, V8, C
- Velociraptor, V8, J (flash)
- Classic, V6, C
- The flutes, V4, C
- Split Apple Dyno, V4, C and J
Alter these two pretty intense days, full of climbing and trying, we felt very sore and happy for a rest day tomorrow. Ended up the day with a bad fall from Josh, missing the pad and falling butt first on a rock. Hopefully it's just gonna be a big bruise tomorrow. Overall we had two very great days and were super lucky with the weather, it was sunny with a little overcast and the temperature was around 15°C, perfect for good friction and good climbing!
(Written by Cha)
Today, Alec that we met yesterday proposed to be our guide for the day, which was pretty awesome, because it is so easy to get lost or just not find your way here. We started on the far right of the sector, and once again got awesome recommendations fro our local guide, and we got to climb :
- Interstellar overdrive, V10, J - a must do while here!
- Jet stream, V9, J
- Captain Nemo, V8, C
- Velociraptor, V8, J (flash)
- Classic, V6, C
- The flutes, V4, C
- Split Apple Dyno, V4, C and J
Alter these two pretty intense days, full of climbing and trying, we felt very sore and happy for a rest day tomorrow. Ended up the day with a bad fall from Josh, missing the pad and falling butt first on a rock. Hopefully it's just gonna be a big bruise tomorrow. Overall we had two very great days and were super lucky with the weather, it was sunny with a little overcast and the temperature was around 15°C, perfect for good friction and good climbing!
December 27th. Flock friends
(Written by Cha)
Here we go, 10h30, meeting with Derek at the parking lot. Derek (Thatcher) is THE dude in NZ. He probably has developped and climbed half (if not more) of all the routes and boulders in NZ. We were lucky enough to be in contact with him from connexion of connexion, and it's been the best e-guide and beta giver we could asked for in the country. Finally we got to meet him today and all day long he shared with us a lot of awesome stories while wandering (climbing) through the boulders. We loved the person, very generous, excited about climbing beta and creativity! We had a very nice day with him, Erin and Christina, and finished the day with a younger strong crew of locals Matt, Alec and Lucas. As far as we remembered, we climbed that day :
- General Mayhem, V10 flash, J
- Obelisk, V9, J
- Monster Society of Evil, V9, C and J
- Captain sassy pants, V8, J
- Disconnect extra, V8, C and J
- Green Hornet, V9, C and J (favorite one!)
(Written by Cha)
Here we go, 10h30, meeting with Derek at the parking lot. Derek (Thatcher) is THE dude in NZ. He probably has developped and climbed half (if not more) of all the routes and boulders in NZ. We were lucky enough to be in contact with him from connexion of connexion, and it's been the best e-guide and beta giver we could asked for in the country. Finally we got to meet him today and all day long he shared with us a lot of awesome stories while wandering (climbing) through the boulders. We loved the person, very generous, excited about climbing beta and creativity! We had a very nice day with him, Erin and Christina, and finished the day with a younger strong crew of locals Matt, Alec and Lucas. As far as we remembered, we climbed that day :
- General Mayhem, V10 flash, J
- Obelisk, V9, J
- Monster Society of Evil, V9, C and J
- Captain sassy pants, V8, J
- Disconnect extra, V8, C and J
- Green Hornet, V9, C and J (favorite one!)
December 26th. False joy
(Written by Cha)
One of our main hit in NZ : Flock Hill!! It's a bouldering sector around Castle Hill, which is know to be the best out there, although it's closed in November up until the 25th of December for lambing, so we had to wait. We aimed at being there 1st hour on the 26th, but it was pouring rain all day. Rain day = work day at least!
Other funny thing, we didn't do groceries in Mt Cook, and figured maybe few random stores would be open on the 25th (none were) but were okay to wait and just do groceries on the 26th... until we discovered that this is "Boxing day", a public Holiday, so everything was closed ! Oh well, at least we empty the food box!
(Written by Cha)
One of our main hit in NZ : Flock Hill!! It's a bouldering sector around Castle Hill, which is know to be the best out there, although it's closed in November up until the 25th of December for lambing, so we had to wait. We aimed at being there 1st hour on the 26th, but it was pouring rain all day. Rain day = work day at least!
Other funny thing, we didn't do groceries in Mt Cook, and figured maybe few random stores would be open on the 25th (none were) but were okay to wait and just do groceries on the 26th... until we discovered that this is "Boxing day", a public Holiday, so everything was closed ! Oh well, at least we empty the food box!
December 24th. Christmas Eve and the Green Monstah
(written by Joshy)
We hiked directly to the Green Monster bloc to get to work on cleaning and landing building. The locals have played around on some of the moves but from what we were told, nothing had been sent/completed yet. We worked for an hour or more; moving rocks and cleaning holds. Two boulders, the green monster bloc was huge, sitting proud along the river diverging the water around it and another lower bloc with a steep roof with nice edges in the guts. We climbed a new warm we called The Greench (V2) along an arete next to the river, then to the left of that a low but high quality rock V7 we called Water Line. Then the big beast awaited, shady and ready to battle us. The first move was hard no matter how you sliced it; My beta, grab a small incut crimp in the roof and jump to a perfect smiley face rounded edge or b) Cha's beta with a knee scum, undercling and dynamic stab to the same smiley faced hold. Then from there one more hard move and done - another FA in the bag and one hell of a primo line it was! We called it "The Green Monstah" V9 keeping the original name but with a Boston twist (Fenway park anyone?)
You can see most of this little adventure in vlog 35 on our Imagery Page
It was time for Christmas eve celebration at the Mt. Cook Lodge and whew - - It was awesome. Lamb backstops, sirloin steak, bottle of red and carrot cake for dinner. Then, we tossed some darts around listening to old school reggae and 80's pop on the jukebox. We couldn't have asked for a better day, a day in the mountains is always a good day - then add meat and carrot cake and you got a hard to beat day. Tomorrow (Christmas Day) we are off to Flock Hill (back to Castle Hill) because it Flock season yo!!!!!!! SIKED! STOKED! GROOVED! AMPED! THRILLED! HAPPY!
Merry Christmas!
Josh and Cha
(written by Joshy)
We hiked directly to the Green Monster bloc to get to work on cleaning and landing building. The locals have played around on some of the moves but from what we were told, nothing had been sent/completed yet. We worked for an hour or more; moving rocks and cleaning holds. Two boulders, the green monster bloc was huge, sitting proud along the river diverging the water around it and another lower bloc with a steep roof with nice edges in the guts. We climbed a new warm we called The Greench (V2) along an arete next to the river, then to the left of that a low but high quality rock V7 we called Water Line. Then the big beast awaited, shady and ready to battle us. The first move was hard no matter how you sliced it; My beta, grab a small incut crimp in the roof and jump to a perfect smiley face rounded edge or b) Cha's beta with a knee scum, undercling and dynamic stab to the same smiley faced hold. Then from there one more hard move and done - another FA in the bag and one hell of a primo line it was! We called it "The Green Monstah" V9 keeping the original name but with a Boston twist (Fenway park anyone?)
You can see most of this little adventure in vlog 35 on our Imagery Page
It was time for Christmas eve celebration at the Mt. Cook Lodge and whew - - It was awesome. Lamb backstops, sirloin steak, bottle of red and carrot cake for dinner. Then, we tossed some darts around listening to old school reggae and 80's pop on the jukebox. We couldn't have asked for a better day, a day in the mountains is always a good day - then add meat and carrot cake and you got a hard to beat day. Tomorrow (Christmas Day) we are off to Flock Hill (back to Castle Hill) because it Flock season yo!!!!!!! SIKED! STOKED! GROOVED! AMPED! THRILLED! HAPPY!
Merry Christmas!
Josh and Cha
December 23rd. Hooker Lake Bouldering
(written by Joshy)
We hit the trail directly after coffee and eggs (and after spilling boiling water all over Cha and I), weaving our way through the mess of RV's and tents we discovered the trail head just 50 meters from our car. We hustled along the double wide track past other walkers those pro-hikers (you know who Im talking about) as the trail curved along the valley floor. We crossed a few suspension bridges along our way, very high, and long - best bridge i've walked on a trail for sure. We soon found ourselves at the Dude Incredible boulder where we heard the potential was great and the already established lines were too. We didn't expect it to be along a turn in the trail making it a spectating boulder for the 500+ people that walked by us that holiday weekend. We climbed a few warmups and scrambled around then hit the famous Dude Incredible stand with a very big move off of a right hand gaston to a flat ledge - for sure hard if on the shorter end. I found it tricky the first few attempts but then understood it was able to do the stand (V7) and low start (V8). The locals told us about a hard traverse sit-start coming in from the right on edges and into the stand. We worked the moves and came up with the best solutions - I climbed into the dyno and fell, rested in the warm sun and cool breeze and then sent on my next go. Our first, first ascent in NZ clocking in around V10. Charlotte crushed most of the moves but the big move off the gaston was a tough one for her. We bobbled around (Kiwi lingo) on a boulder sitting along the glacier Hooker Lake and then checked out the other 'must seen bloc' The Green Monster and decided it was for tomorrow! As we hiked out after a 11hr day in the valley, we couldn't have been more excited for some food and sleep. We returned to our car, but our tent seemed to be gone... apparently the campground was windy and sent our tent rolling across the parking lot. We were happy to have found it (rather than someone stealing it) and pounded steaks in the ground this time around.
(written by Joshy)
We hit the trail directly after coffee and eggs (and after spilling boiling water all over Cha and I), weaving our way through the mess of RV's and tents we discovered the trail head just 50 meters from our car. We hustled along the double wide track past other walkers those pro-hikers (you know who Im talking about) as the trail curved along the valley floor. We crossed a few suspension bridges along our way, very high, and long - best bridge i've walked on a trail for sure. We soon found ourselves at the Dude Incredible boulder where we heard the potential was great and the already established lines were too. We didn't expect it to be along a turn in the trail making it a spectating boulder for the 500+ people that walked by us that holiday weekend. We climbed a few warmups and scrambled around then hit the famous Dude Incredible stand with a very big move off of a right hand gaston to a flat ledge - for sure hard if on the shorter end. I found it tricky the first few attempts but then understood it was able to do the stand (V7) and low start (V8). The locals told us about a hard traverse sit-start coming in from the right on edges and into the stand. We worked the moves and came up with the best solutions - I climbed into the dyno and fell, rested in the warm sun and cool breeze and then sent on my next go. Our first, first ascent in NZ clocking in around V10. Charlotte crushed most of the moves but the big move off the gaston was a tough one for her. We bobbled around (Kiwi lingo) on a boulder sitting along the glacier Hooker Lake and then checked out the other 'must seen bloc' The Green Monster and decided it was for tomorrow! As we hiked out after a 11hr day in the valley, we couldn't have been more excited for some food and sleep. We returned to our car, but our tent seemed to be gone... apparently the campground was windy and sent our tent rolling across the parking lot. We were happy to have found it (rather than someone stealing it) and pounded steaks in the ground this time around.
December 22nd (Night). Mt. Cook for Christmas
(written by Joshy)
We arrived at the MT. Cook village with an overlook of the valleys and mountaintops including the prominent peak of Mr Cook himself. We set up camp, drank a cold one and played some rounds of cribbage. The sun dropped and the clear dark sky popped and so we dropped the cards (good thing, cha was beating me) and watched the stars. Sounds cliché and corny but we did it anyway. Excited for our first morning in the mountains.
(written by Joshy)
We arrived at the MT. Cook village with an overlook of the valleys and mountaintops including the prominent peak of Mr Cook himself. We set up camp, drank a cold one and played some rounds of cribbage. The sun dropped and the clear dark sky popped and so we dropped the cards (good thing, cha was beating me) and watched the stars. Sounds cliché and corny but we did it anyway. Excited for our first morning in the mountains.
December 22nd (Day). Plan change
(written by Cha)
When we left the Darrans, our plan was to be on the 26th in Flockhill for the opening of the season, and so spend Christmas in Christchurch, with a nice restaurant for Christmas eve and the luxury of a night in an hotel. So we had few days to make our way all the way to Christchurch, by the East Coast. On the first night, it rained unexpectidely and our sleeping gear got all wet, so we decided to stop and rent a cabin in a campground for the night. Luckily enough, we ended up in Moeraki were we had a WONDERFUL diner at Fleurs place, a cute restaurant on the port. After this evening and night, we drove a bit more North to work at a cafe and when we were done, we both agreed on 3 things : 1. last night was amazing and it's gonna be hard to beat it for Xmas; 2. we enjoy the seaside a lot, but we figured 3 more days of it would be a bit boring (ah these climbers!); 3. after so much time in the wilderness, we didn't see ourselves spend time in the city. So just like that, we decided to head west to Mount Cook village, from which we can access some boulders developped there. Once again thank's to our great connexion in NZ, Derek, we got all the info needed and here we are, spending few days in the mountains, including our Xmas eve and day! Leaving in a car and being nomad has definitively proven its advantages already. Off towards Mt. Cook!
(written by Cha)
When we left the Darrans, our plan was to be on the 26th in Flockhill for the opening of the season, and so spend Christmas in Christchurch, with a nice restaurant for Christmas eve and the luxury of a night in an hotel. So we had few days to make our way all the way to Christchurch, by the East Coast. On the first night, it rained unexpectidely and our sleeping gear got all wet, so we decided to stop and rent a cabin in a campground for the night. Luckily enough, we ended up in Moeraki were we had a WONDERFUL diner at Fleurs place, a cute restaurant on the port. After this evening and night, we drove a bit more North to work at a cafe and when we were done, we both agreed on 3 things : 1. last night was amazing and it's gonna be hard to beat it for Xmas; 2. we enjoy the seaside a lot, but we figured 3 more days of it would be a bit boring (ah these climbers!); 3. after so much time in the wilderness, we didn't see ourselves spend time in the city. So just like that, we decided to head west to Mount Cook village, from which we can access some boulders developped there. Once again thank's to our great connexion in NZ, Derek, we got all the info needed and here we are, spending few days in the mountains, including our Xmas eve and day! Leaving in a car and being nomad has definitively proven its advantages already. Off towards Mt. Cook!
December 20th. Away in the Fjords
(written by Cha)
What a week (or 8 days, 9 days? I don't even know anymore) we just spent in Milford Sound. Usually famous for the touristy tours in the fjords, Milford Sound is also great for sport climbing! We spent our time in the Milford Sound lodge where we slept in the car but had access to facilties (kitchen, showers, electricity, couches...) in a lodge close by. A nice part of it is that we were totally away from any phone or internet connexion so we were able to stay away from our phones for a long time, which actually felt nice !
Between rain and humidity (we can easily say it rained 70% of the time) and other touristy things (yes, we went on a ferry -breaky included- to the Tasman sea) we mostly climbed in Little Babylon, where we had very good temps around 15°C. This sector is accessible by a 30min hike on a very (very) steep hill side, but it was all covered by trees so we were actually grabing roots and walking over dead trunks the all time, like if we where climbing in a giant tree! The cliff was awesome, with plenty of routes to climb, all protected by the rain, on a beautiful granite rock. Here is our tick-list within 5 days of climbing (yes we had a great time) :
Rua Tahi, 7a - C, J
Bish Bosh Bash, 7a+ - C, J / 7c+ - J
International Turkey Patrol, 7b - C, J
Solitude, 7b - C, J
Jugular, 7b - C, J
Moses, 7c - C
Hercules, 8a - C, J (this one felt more like 8a+)
No country for old men, 8a - C, J
Tantalus, 8a - C, J (double flash)
Xerxes, 8a+ - J
Cyrus the great, 8a+ - C, J
The giving tree, 8b - C
Colossus, 8c - C, J
Yes, we both sent a lot of routes and the highlight was totally our last send of Colossus, a powerful, bouldery and tricky 8c! It was awesome to figure it out together, find our own beta (we have a very different one for the crux) and fight through the process of climbing 20m to fall on the crux at the last clip. But perseverance and micro beta change made it happen. Most exciting part : This is Josh's first 8c !!! woooohoooo!
The Darrans welcomed us, blessed us with beautiful landscapes and waterfalls, and rewarded us with an awesome time climbing and sending hard.
(written by Cha)
What a week (or 8 days, 9 days? I don't even know anymore) we just spent in Milford Sound. Usually famous for the touristy tours in the fjords, Milford Sound is also great for sport climbing! We spent our time in the Milford Sound lodge where we slept in the car but had access to facilties (kitchen, showers, electricity, couches...) in a lodge close by. A nice part of it is that we were totally away from any phone or internet connexion so we were able to stay away from our phones for a long time, which actually felt nice !
Between rain and humidity (we can easily say it rained 70% of the time) and other touristy things (yes, we went on a ferry -breaky included- to the Tasman sea) we mostly climbed in Little Babylon, where we had very good temps around 15°C. This sector is accessible by a 30min hike on a very (very) steep hill side, but it was all covered by trees so we were actually grabing roots and walking over dead trunks the all time, like if we where climbing in a giant tree! The cliff was awesome, with plenty of routes to climb, all protected by the rain, on a beautiful granite rock. Here is our tick-list within 5 days of climbing (yes we had a great time) :
Rua Tahi, 7a - C, J
Bish Bosh Bash, 7a+ - C, J / 7c+ - J
International Turkey Patrol, 7b - C, J
Solitude, 7b - C, J
Jugular, 7b - C, J
Moses, 7c - C
Hercules, 8a - C, J (this one felt more like 8a+)
No country for old men, 8a - C, J
Tantalus, 8a - C, J (double flash)
Xerxes, 8a+ - J
Cyrus the great, 8a+ - C, J
The giving tree, 8b - C
Colossus, 8c - C, J
Yes, we both sent a lot of routes and the highlight was totally our last send of Colossus, a powerful, bouldery and tricky 8c! It was awesome to figure it out together, find our own beta (we have a very different one for the crux) and fight through the process of climbing 20m to fall on the crux at the last clip. But perseverance and micro beta change made it happen. Most exciting part : This is Josh's first 8c !!! woooohoooo!
The Darrans welcomed us, blessed us with beautiful landscapes and waterfalls, and rewarded us with an awesome time climbing and sending hard.
December 7th. New Zealand !!!
(Written by Cha)
We made it! Arrived super early on Monday, did some shopping for camping and drove straight to Castle Hill! 2nd time for me, so I didn't get the surprise, but first time for Josh and he was pretty mind blowned! Super awesome landscapes (which I didn't remember much) and obviously those cool grey rounded boulders on the greens grassy hills! So cool! We camped and climbed there two days, chasing the day heat and enjoy the evening chill. Today we left for a mini roadtrip down south, going through the West Coast. We enjoyed a Fish and Chips (we had to) in the cool beach town Hokitika and then drove to the mountain where we did a little hike to watch the Fox Glacier. We will spend a night the little village here and then drive south to Wanaka, maybe further south if the weather is not nice.
(Written by Cha)
We made it! Arrived super early on Monday, did some shopping for camping and drove straight to Castle Hill! 2nd time for me, so I didn't get the surprise, but first time for Josh and he was pretty mind blowned! Super awesome landscapes (which I didn't remember much) and obviously those cool grey rounded boulders on the greens grassy hills! So cool! We camped and climbed there two days, chasing the day heat and enjoy the evening chill. Today we left for a mini roadtrip down south, going through the West Coast. We enjoyed a Fish and Chips (we had to) in the cool beach town Hokitika and then drove to the mountain where we did a little hike to watch the Fox Glacier. We will spend a night the little village here and then drive south to Wanaka, maybe further south if the weather is not nice.
December 4th. Last days in Aussie
(Written by Cha)
Very nice last few days in Australia, which we spend in Melbourne. We got to hang a lot with our Australian Family, helped setting for the "Flash it!" comp in Northside boulders, coached the local young crushers and toured around town a little bit.
Thank's so much to Steve for all the help (seriously, that was a huge amount of good beta!) and all the family for the wonderful times together! Also thank's to Reuben and the Northside crew, was fun to hang out!
(Written by Cha)
Very nice last few days in Australia, which we spend in Melbourne. We got to hang a lot with our Australian Family, helped setting for the "Flash it!" comp in Northside boulders, coached the local young crushers and toured around town a little bit.
Thank's so much to Steve for all the help (seriously, that was a huge amount of good beta!) and all the family for the wonderful times together! Also thank's to Reuben and the Northside crew, was fun to hang out!
November 29th. Bye Gramps
(Written by Cha)
That happened, we left the Grampians yesterday. It was a tough goodbye, but much needed and not so sad because we know we HAVE to come back! We will be back.
Now we are on the coast, we arrived yesterday in Portland, enjoyed a beautiful sunset from Cape Nelson and then camped a bit further east. We woke up early this morning to some awesome birds singing and drove to the beach where we had a wonderful sunrise breakfast. Life is good :) We are heading towards Melbourne tonight, so on the way we will do few tourists stops for the 12 Apostles, some white Kangaroos and Koalas, and of course, swimming in the Tasman Sea!
(Written by Cha)
That happened, we left the Grampians yesterday. It was a tough goodbye, but much needed and not so sad because we know we HAVE to come back! We will be back.
Now we are on the coast, we arrived yesterday in Portland, enjoyed a beautiful sunset from Cape Nelson and then camped a bit further east. We woke up early this morning to some awesome birds singing and drove to the beach where we had a wonderful sunrise breakfast. Life is good :) We are heading towards Melbourne tonight, so on the way we will do few tourists stops for the 12 Apostles, some white Kangaroos and Koalas, and of course, swimming in the Tasman Sea!
November 27th. One last climb
(Written by Cha)
We leave the Grampians tomorrow, and luckily for us, tonight is a bit chilly (meaning 15-20°C). Josh was definitively bummed to not have climbed much (we counted, it was barely 10 days at the beginning of the trip...) and felt really unsatisfied, so despite the injury, he wanted to give one more session to the Grampians. We went to Kindergarten, which was the 1st sector we went when we arrived here. We arrived around 6pm, but it was very hot still. Although later, teh wind blew very strong, bringing a nice breeze in the wall, drying it from humidity and cooling it from the heat. We tried "So you think you can dance", a V11/8A, a gorgeous wavy boulder that we tried on our first day, and made some very good links on it. I couldn't do some moves (missing some reach and some finger strength) so I gave up, but Josh, all taped up on his right side was looking good, imperturbable. When the wall got in the shade, we went for a send... and sent it smoothly, perfectly. I think we can call that a happy ending :)
(Written by Cha)
We leave the Grampians tomorrow, and luckily for us, tonight is a bit chilly (meaning 15-20°C). Josh was definitively bummed to not have climbed much (we counted, it was barely 10 days at the beginning of the trip...) and felt really unsatisfied, so despite the injury, he wanted to give one more session to the Grampians. We went to Kindergarten, which was the 1st sector we went when we arrived here. We arrived around 6pm, but it was very hot still. Although later, teh wind blew very strong, bringing a nice breeze in the wall, drying it from humidity and cooling it from the heat. We tried "So you think you can dance", a V11/8A, a gorgeous wavy boulder that we tried on our first day, and made some very good links on it. I couldn't do some moves (missing some reach and some finger strength) so I gave up, but Josh, all taped up on his right side was looking good, imperturbable. When the wall got in the shade, we went for a send... and sent it smoothly, perfectly. I think we can call that a happy ending :)
November 25th. Eureka!
(Written by Cha)
Sinec we arrived, I've had that big wish to go to the Eureka wall and climb Archimedes' Principle, a long trad 25/7b, and get a picture on it, because it looked absolutely stunning (at least the pictures in the guidebook did!). So today, I finally convinced Josh to go there, and after some f*cked up roads and very very very sweaty hike, we made it to the Eureka Wall, and we were absolutely enchanted by the beauty of this hidden gem! After looking at the route and reading the guidebook, we didn't know if we had the good trad gear, and especially enough of it. As my experience in trad is pretty low, I didn't want to go for it, which I think was a safe idea. Luckily, two dudes were rappeling from teh anchors when we arrived, and we were able to put our rope in top-rope up there. So, as weird as it sounds, I sent the route top rope, placing the gear on my way (climbing and unclimbing because it would be too runned out) and it took me about 1h30 to reach the anchor, 40m high! Then I came down and left the gear in place, and went for a quick lead send, with a big storm rolling around the corner. I happy thrilled I got to climb this amazing route and even more I got my epic shot with it ahah!
(Written by Cha)
Sinec we arrived, I've had that big wish to go to the Eureka wall and climb Archimedes' Principle, a long trad 25/7b, and get a picture on it, because it looked absolutely stunning (at least the pictures in the guidebook did!). So today, I finally convinced Josh to go there, and after some f*cked up roads and very very very sweaty hike, we made it to the Eureka Wall, and we were absolutely enchanted by the beauty of this hidden gem! After looking at the route and reading the guidebook, we didn't know if we had the good trad gear, and especially enough of it. As my experience in trad is pretty low, I didn't want to go for it, which I think was a safe idea. Luckily, two dudes were rappeling from teh anchors when we arrived, and we were able to put our rope in top-rope up there. So, as weird as it sounds, I sent the route top rope, placing the gear on my way (climbing and unclimbing because it would be too runned out) and it took me about 1h30 to reach the anchor, 40m high! Then I came down and left the gear in place, and went for a quick lead send, with a big storm rolling around the corner. I happy thrilled I got to climb this amazing route and even more I got my epic shot with it ahah!
November 24th. We want to climb !!
(Written by Cha)
Alright, you know it: damn it's hot ! We are sweating by doing nothing in front of our computer. But somehow, we want to climb !!!! So later today we decided to go do some easy trad route and we picked the sector "Wall of fools", about 5min from the parking lot so we don't loose 2L of water sweating during the hike ;) We climbed some nice routes, remembered how to place gear (or runned out) and did a pretty cool bolted line that goes behind an arch, in a very narrow chimney! Super fun!
(Written by Cha)
Alright, you know it: damn it's hot ! We are sweating by doing nothing in front of our computer. But somehow, we want to climb !!!! So later today we decided to go do some easy trad route and we picked the sector "Wall of fools", about 5min from the parking lot so we don't loose 2L of water sweating during the hike ;) We climbed some nice routes, remembered how to place gear (or runned out) and did a pretty cool bolted line that goes behind an arch, in a very narrow chimney! Super fun!
November 23rd. Chasing classics : Serpentine
(Written by Cha)
Despite the conditions, I really wanted to check out some ultra-mega-awesome-gorgeous classics before we leave, so this few last days gave me a good opportunity to do so.
First one on the list was obviously Serpentine, a gorgeous and iconic 29/8a mixed route in the middle of Taipan Wall. Josh and I ascended our way up static rope to an anchor about 30m high, where the 42m pitch starts. I took of and did the few first moves on the roof, but was totally blind on the next holds, so Josh took me on the first bolt, so I could see where to go after the roof. He lowered me to the anchor, and I started again, passing the roof and passing slowly every difficulty all the way to chain (last bolt if I may say) for a almost-onsight send of this awesome route. Luckily for me, the gear was all in place, thank's to a "Lincoln" that was projecting the route, and that made the experience a lot nicer for me :) . Somehow, just like "Eye of the Tiger" I was impressed by the route and the powerful meaning of it, really thinking I'd have to project it and come back for it another day. Climbing it "1st go" (mostly onsight in my heart, because it matters for me) added so much more to the experience... this is a badass route and I'm psyched I got to climb in the middle of the Taipan Wall !
(Written by Cha)
Despite the conditions, I really wanted to check out some ultra-mega-awesome-gorgeous classics before we leave, so this few last days gave me a good opportunity to do so.
First one on the list was obviously Serpentine, a gorgeous and iconic 29/8a mixed route in the middle of Taipan Wall. Josh and I ascended our way up static rope to an anchor about 30m high, where the 42m pitch starts. I took of and did the few first moves on the roof, but was totally blind on the next holds, so Josh took me on the first bolt, so I could see where to go after the roof. He lowered me to the anchor, and I started again, passing the roof and passing slowly every difficulty all the way to chain (last bolt if I may say) for a almost-onsight send of this awesome route. Luckily for me, the gear was all in place, thank's to a "Lincoln" that was projecting the route, and that made the experience a lot nicer for me :) . Somehow, just like "Eye of the Tiger" I was impressed by the route and the powerful meaning of it, really thinking I'd have to project it and come back for it another day. Climbing it "1st go" (mostly onsight in my heart, because it matters for me) added so much more to the experience... this is a badass route and I'm psyched I got to climb in the middle of the Taipan Wall !
November 21st. Big decision
(Written by Cha)
Today we went to Muline again, because I wanted to try some hard routes to the right of the sector. After few hours struggling in the heat, incapable of holding sloppers and cutting my finger tips on sharp sandstone crimps, we decided we couldn't keep doing that any longer so we took a big decision : we will leave Australia asap! We have a cool setting rig planned for the 30th in Melbourne, so we will just leave after this, instead of mid -December. We are bummed. We knew it was gonna be hot here, because everybody told us so, but we somehow thought we would be able to deal with it, climbing in the shade and doing early/late sessions. But sandstone doesn't work that way. Anyway, with Josh injury and the heat, we will leave with a lot of undone projects, so we are already planning to come back, in full winter here so we can enjoy some sticky sandstone and cold fingers :) July 2019 ?!
(Written by Cha)
Today we went to Muline again, because I wanted to try some hard routes to the right of the sector. After few hours struggling in the heat, incapable of holding sloppers and cutting my finger tips on sharp sandstone crimps, we decided we couldn't keep doing that any longer so we took a big decision : we will leave Australia asap! We have a cool setting rig planned for the 30th in Melbourne, so we will just leave after this, instead of mid -December. We are bummed. We knew it was gonna be hot here, because everybody told us so, but we somehow thought we would be able to deal with it, climbing in the shade and doing early/late sessions. But sandstone doesn't work that way. Anyway, with Josh injury and the heat, we will leave with a lot of undone projects, so we are already planning to come back, in full winter here so we can enjoy some sticky sandstone and cold fingers :) July 2019 ?!
November 20th. Bad news
(Written by Cha)
Last Monday, Josh felt an intense pain in his right oblique at the end of the day when he send Flying Duck in Muline. After few days with no improvement, he made an appointment with a PT in Horsham, which was today. The PT was a climber so it was nice because he understood the pain and the movements and diagnosticed Josh with a torn oblique, which means no climbing for a little bit (a week? few weeks?)... which is a bummer in such a cool place. We knew injuries would happen during the trip, but we didn't think it would come so early :( So now we have a good recovery/ healing mission plan and our fingers crossed so it doesn't last too long.
(Written by Cha)
Last Monday, Josh felt an intense pain in his right oblique at the end of the day when he send Flying Duck in Muline. After few days with no improvement, he made an appointment with a PT in Horsham, which was today. The PT was a climber so it was nice because he understood the pain and the movements and diagnosticed Josh with a torn oblique, which means no climbing for a little bit (a week? few weeks?)... which is a bummer in such a cool place. We knew injuries would happen during the trip, but we didn't think it would come so early :( So now we have a good recovery/ healing mission plan and our fingers crossed so it doesn't last too long.
November 19th. Wonderful time with our Australian family
(Written by Cha)
On Saturday morning we drove to Southern Grampians to meet up with Steve, Kate, Suzy and Tommy; our Australian Family.
We met them at the Bundaleer sector, a nice sport/trad climbing spot, in the shade for the second part of the day. Kate and I went on a little mission together up the Minch, a very easy chimey trad climb. I led it, as I wanted to reminisce gear placement. The route was ultra fun, and apparently I placed all my gears pretty well, at least that's what Kate told me. Few details could have been improved, just like my confidence about my gear placement. Then I climbed with Steve an awesome route called "Manic Depressive" 24/7a+ which follows a steep arete but climbs on slab with very good pockets. Finally, after Steve send his project "Touchstone picture" 28/7c+ on his 1st go of the day, he left the quickdraw for me, so I gave it a go. Took me few tries to pass the bottom crimpy crux and then I made it to the anchor. What a cool line ! It goes through incredible features that looks just like a hangboards, and finishes on a technical diedre.
We then all went for the wild camping and enjoyed a nice diner (pesto pasta and veggies, yummy!) with nice wine from Kate's dad winery. While the kids when to sleep in the family van, the 4 of us stayed outside, talking about our experiences around the world...and then an intense rain shower came over and kinda washed us away! So after an extra talking for a little in the van, Josh and I went it the back of our car, our bed for the night.
We woke up the morning with good coffee and awesome toast from the family homemade bread (mmmh that bread... best bread ever?!). The day continued with a nice hike to go to the Bleachers, a bouldering sector close to Halls Gap, where we climbed a few hours on everything that looked climbable and dry. Mid day we all went back to the car and drove to get Icecream in Halls Gap, before we had to say goodbye to the family heading back to Melbourne. It was a very nice weekend all together and some great moments to remember.
(Written by Cha)
On Saturday morning we drove to Southern Grampians to meet up with Steve, Kate, Suzy and Tommy; our Australian Family.
We met them at the Bundaleer sector, a nice sport/trad climbing spot, in the shade for the second part of the day. Kate and I went on a little mission together up the Minch, a very easy chimey trad climb. I led it, as I wanted to reminisce gear placement. The route was ultra fun, and apparently I placed all my gears pretty well, at least that's what Kate told me. Few details could have been improved, just like my confidence about my gear placement. Then I climbed with Steve an awesome route called "Manic Depressive" 24/7a+ which follows a steep arete but climbs on slab with very good pockets. Finally, after Steve send his project "Touchstone picture" 28/7c+ on his 1st go of the day, he left the quickdraw for me, so I gave it a go. Took me few tries to pass the bottom crimpy crux and then I made it to the anchor. What a cool line ! It goes through incredible features that looks just like a hangboards, and finishes on a technical diedre.
We then all went for the wild camping and enjoyed a nice diner (pesto pasta and veggies, yummy!) with nice wine from Kate's dad winery. While the kids when to sleep in the family van, the 4 of us stayed outside, talking about our experiences around the world...and then an intense rain shower came over and kinda washed us away! So after an extra talking for a little in the van, Josh and I went it the back of our car, our bed for the night.
We woke up the morning with good coffee and awesome toast from the family homemade bread (mmmh that bread... best bread ever?!). The day continued with a nice hike to go to the Bleachers, a bouldering sector close to Halls Gap, where we climbed a few hours on everything that looked climbable and dry. Mid day we all went back to the car and drove to get Icecream in Halls Gap, before we had to say goodbye to the family heading back to Melbourne. It was a very nice weekend all together and some great moments to remember.
November 17th. The Taipan Wall
(Written by Cha)
After two weeks lurking at it around the corner, we finally made the move to the Taipan Wall! Such a beauty and intimidating wall! It was a bit misty (yeah, we are kinda having a humidity wave here), so we started with the short but cool routes in Spurt, the sector just to the right of Taipan. Unfortunately, Josh felt pretty injured on his waist right side after few moves only. He has been in pain in this spot for a few days now, so he decided to wait for a PT appointment on Monday. So I got to climb a lot, which I did with "Dial-a-Lama" 24/7a+, "Menstruals as anything direct" 25/7b and "Tyranny" 29/8a. I felt pretty short on those routes as I had to do some big lock-offs and dynos, but it was very fun until a certain point when it became upsetting. As I had the idea on the back of my head to try "Groove Train" 33/8c, I gave a go to the first part of it :"Groovy" 29/8a. I'd have to say it was pretty sketchy... the bolts where far, and if I felt any time between the ground and the 3rd bolt (probably 20m high), I would probably have broken both my leg. I'm usually feeling pretty bold in some "engaged" situation in route climbing, but in this route I totally lost it... Maybe climbing in 90% humidity and full sun didn't help the comfort, so I would totally have tried that route again, if only I could reach the upper crux (a piece of cake if your span is tall enough, impossible if it's not). To finish the day, I really really enjoyed climbing the route "The invisible fist" 26/7b+.
Climbing on the Taipan Wall was definitively an intense experience, both by the engagement of the routes (which I honestly don't understand the point of... if you bolt, why not make it fully safe?!) and the unique features/holds/movements that it proposes. I'll for sure come back, at least for "Serpentine", probably for other projects too.
(Written by Cha)
After two weeks lurking at it around the corner, we finally made the move to the Taipan Wall! Such a beauty and intimidating wall! It was a bit misty (yeah, we are kinda having a humidity wave here), so we started with the short but cool routes in Spurt, the sector just to the right of Taipan. Unfortunately, Josh felt pretty injured on his waist right side after few moves only. He has been in pain in this spot for a few days now, so he decided to wait for a PT appointment on Monday. So I got to climb a lot, which I did with "Dial-a-Lama" 24/7a+, "Menstruals as anything direct" 25/7b and "Tyranny" 29/8a. I felt pretty short on those routes as I had to do some big lock-offs and dynos, but it was very fun until a certain point when it became upsetting. As I had the idea on the back of my head to try "Groove Train" 33/8c, I gave a go to the first part of it :"Groovy" 29/8a. I'd have to say it was pretty sketchy... the bolts where far, and if I felt any time between the ground and the 3rd bolt (probably 20m high), I would probably have broken both my leg. I'm usually feeling pretty bold in some "engaged" situation in route climbing, but in this route I totally lost it... Maybe climbing in 90% humidity and full sun didn't help the comfort, so I would totally have tried that route again, if only I could reach the upper crux (a piece of cake if your span is tall enough, impossible if it's not). To finish the day, I really really enjoyed climbing the route "The invisible fist" 26/7b+.
Climbing on the Taipan Wall was definitively an intense experience, both by the engagement of the routes (which I honestly don't understand the point of... if you bolt, why not make it fully safe?!) and the unique features/holds/movements that it proposes. I'll for sure come back, at least for "Serpentine", probably for other projects too.
November 16th. Rest needed for many reasons
(Written by Cha)
We had two rest days in a row! For two reasons : 1.our body needed it, 2.it's been raining the all time. Today we attempted some climbing in Northern Grampians, aimed for Citadel but turned around, climbed for 2h in Kindergarten but it was very "manky" (as they say here) and then went for a walk (with crashpads ;) ) to the Project Wall to have a look at this incredible feature. We kinda got rained out so we decided to finish the day like this, both bummed about the wet conditions and still happy to have been able to do some moves around.
(Written by Cha)
We had two rest days in a row! For two reasons : 1.our body needed it, 2.it's been raining the all time. Today we attempted some climbing in Northern Grampians, aimed for Citadel but turned around, climbed for 2h in Kindergarten but it was very "manky" (as they say here) and then went for a walk (with crashpads ;) ) to the Project Wall to have a look at this incredible feature. We kinda got rained out so we decided to finish the day like this, both bummed about the wet conditions and still happy to have been able to do some moves around.
November 13th. Eye of the Tiger
(Written by Cha)
These few days are suppose to be the hottest in a while, so after some good recommendations of our friend Steve, we decided to head back to the Southern Grampians and sport climb at the Muline sector. The hike felt really long and absolutely disgustingly (if the word exists) hot. The trail was not super well maintained so we had to kinda scroll through teh Jungle, and I also twisted my anckle after 10 minutes, so the hike felt even longer! But when we got to the cliff, it was totally worth it : it was shady and absolutely amazing looking.
After some minutes of silence to admire the famous "Eyes of the Tiger" and all the amazing rock around, I couldn't help but turn on the famous Rocky song "The eye of the Tiger" and opened the guidebook, getting all psyched to climb. 5 minutes later I had my harness on and we warmed up on the classic warm up " Krankandangle" 24/7a+. Then, both excited and intimidated, I started climbing on the "Eye of the Tiger" 29/8a, pretty sure I would be dominated by this monster. But while I passed the steepest part with a nice physical twisty beta, I felt like I was not allowed to fall after that. The end was definitively very challenging and it probably took me a while to reach the chains. But damn, this is probably my proudest and most emotional onsight! Josh followed the send train with an awesome flash of the route, including a creative big move to a handle in the middle of the route. Let me tell you, we were psyched.
After a little lunch, I tried "Path of Yin" 30/8a+, but I couldn't solve the reachy beginning, so I just moved left to try "The flying Duck" 32/8b+, which starts in "Krankandangle", crosses "Path of Yin", do a dozen of neat moves on its own, and then has the same finish as "Eye of the Tiger". Surpringly, we both solved the moves very fast, and we knew we could do it pretty fast. But for some reasons, we did our tries in the hottest part of the day, and just struggled our way through the route, falling at the big crux move. Somehow, we just kept trying in those conditions, with the same outcome over and over! Finally, around 7, the temperatures got so much nicer, probably 10°C less hot with a nice little breeze. So even if we were tired from our previous tries, we went back in the route and finally sticked the big move, making our way to the anchor. It was a nice reward to send this 8b+, and overall a good day, with another nice lesson learned : on the hot days, work some projs when it's the hottest, but do not ruin yourself doing some real tries, just wait for the last 2h of the day when it's getting much nicer out.
(Written by Cha)
These few days are suppose to be the hottest in a while, so after some good recommendations of our friend Steve, we decided to head back to the Southern Grampians and sport climb at the Muline sector. The hike felt really long and absolutely disgustingly (if the word exists) hot. The trail was not super well maintained so we had to kinda scroll through teh Jungle, and I also twisted my anckle after 10 minutes, so the hike felt even longer! But when we got to the cliff, it was totally worth it : it was shady and absolutely amazing looking.
After some minutes of silence to admire the famous "Eyes of the Tiger" and all the amazing rock around, I couldn't help but turn on the famous Rocky song "The eye of the Tiger" and opened the guidebook, getting all psyched to climb. 5 minutes later I had my harness on and we warmed up on the classic warm up " Krankandangle" 24/7a+. Then, both excited and intimidated, I started climbing on the "Eye of the Tiger" 29/8a, pretty sure I would be dominated by this monster. But while I passed the steepest part with a nice physical twisty beta, I felt like I was not allowed to fall after that. The end was definitively very challenging and it probably took me a while to reach the chains. But damn, this is probably my proudest and most emotional onsight! Josh followed the send train with an awesome flash of the route, including a creative big move to a handle in the middle of the route. Let me tell you, we were psyched.
After a little lunch, I tried "Path of Yin" 30/8a+, but I couldn't solve the reachy beginning, so I just moved left to try "The flying Duck" 32/8b+, which starts in "Krankandangle", crosses "Path of Yin", do a dozen of neat moves on its own, and then has the same finish as "Eye of the Tiger". Surpringly, we both solved the moves very fast, and we knew we could do it pretty fast. But for some reasons, we did our tries in the hottest part of the day, and just struggled our way through the route, falling at the big crux move. Somehow, we just kept trying in those conditions, with the same outcome over and over! Finally, around 7, the temperatures got so much nicer, probably 10°C less hot with a nice little breeze. So even if we were tired from our previous tries, we went back in the route and finally sticked the big move, making our way to the anchor. It was a nice reward to send this 8b+, and overall a good day, with another nice lesson learned : on the hot days, work some projs when it's the hottest, but do not ruin yourself doing some real tries, just wait for the last 2h of the day when it's getting much nicer out.
November 12th. Wine tasting
(Written by Cha)
And here is another restday. We didn't want to just stay home and work, so we head south to Stawell and had lunch at Waacks bakery, where we had some of their award-winning pies and desserts. Then we spent about an hour in a giant antique/second hand store wandering (digesting) our way through the alleys.
The Grampians are famous for climbing (at least in the climbing world) but most likely for the wine production too. So we ended up the day by visiting two wineries : Best's and Seppelt. We tasted and bought some really nice wines in both, with a highlight for the Shiraz and the sweet white wines.
(Written by Cha)
And here is another restday. We didn't want to just stay home and work, so we head south to Stawell and had lunch at Waacks bakery, where we had some of their award-winning pies and desserts. Then we spent about an hour in a giant antique/second hand store wandering (digesting) our way through the alleys.
The Grampians are famous for climbing (at least in the climbing world) but most likely for the wine production too. So we ended up the day by visiting two wineries : Best's and Seppelt. We tasted and bought some really nice wines in both, with a highlight for the Shiraz and the sweet white wines.
November 11th. Did we say how hot it is ?
(Written by Cha)
Kinda questionning ourselves on "Why the hell did we come here in the summer?", we hiked up to the Hollow Moutain Cave (HMC) to climb in the shade. There we worked on "Cave man" V9, which asked us few tries for the send. We had a very diffrent beta fo rthe beginning, Josh doing a big move out right to a gaston slot, and me having to do a little loop lower to reach this gaston, adding 4 moves to the boulder. We then played in "Sleepy Hollow" V12, the "second pitch" of the Wheel of Life. We figured out all the moves (the crux section required some good brainstorming). And then we did a try from the beginning to see how it feels. We both reached the crux section and fell there, and we were both satisfied to at least get there. We escaped the heat early afternoon to go home, jump in the pool (yes, there is a pool here) and it was freezing !
Around 7pm, we went back on the road for a night session and we head to the Campground sector, because it requires no hike at all! We tried to climb there for about 1h30, but we couldn't really solve nor enjoy the routes, so we just head back home for another evening working at home.
(Written by Cha)
Kinda questionning ourselves on "Why the hell did we come here in the summer?", we hiked up to the Hollow Moutain Cave (HMC) to climb in the shade. There we worked on "Cave man" V9, which asked us few tries for the send. We had a very diffrent beta fo rthe beginning, Josh doing a big move out right to a gaston slot, and me having to do a little loop lower to reach this gaston, adding 4 moves to the boulder. We then played in "Sleepy Hollow" V12, the "second pitch" of the Wheel of Life. We figured out all the moves (the crux section required some good brainstorming). And then we did a try from the beginning to see how it feels. We both reached the crux section and fell there, and we were both satisfied to at least get there. We escaped the heat early afternoon to go home, jump in the pool (yes, there is a pool here) and it was freezing !
Around 7pm, we went back on the road for a night session and we head to the Campground sector, because it requires no hike at all! We tried to climb there for about 1h30, but we couldn't really solve nor enjoy the routes, so we just head back home for another evening working at home.
November 10th. First drive to Southern Grampians
(Written by Cha)
With the heat and our projects not so doable, we decided to check out the Southern Grampians. To go done their, we made the mistake to stay away from the highways and found ourself for two hours (including a gas stop in Halls Gap) on windy or dirt roads and crossing floaded creeks. We checked out the Cave of Man hands, an incredible little cave with crazy features. We played around in the moderates, loving the compression of "The pummelling" V4. We both got a flash of "Cold hands, cold heart" V8, and then Josh kept going with sending "Manhandled" V8 and impressively (at least that's how I felt about it) flashing the powerful V10 "The sound of one man hand slapping".
On the way back, we drove through the highway, which reduces the driving time 50min... go to know for the next visits!
(Written by Cha)
With the heat and our projects not so doable, we decided to check out the Southern Grampians. To go done their, we made the mistake to stay away from the highways and found ourself for two hours (including a gas stop in Halls Gap) on windy or dirt roads and crossing floaded creeks. We checked out the Cave of Man hands, an incredible little cave with crazy features. We played around in the moderates, loving the compression of "The pummelling" V4. We both got a flash of "Cold hands, cold heart" V8, and then Josh kept going with sending "Manhandled" V8 and impressively (at least that's how I felt about it) flashing the powerful V10 "The sound of one man hand slapping".
On the way back, we drove through the highway, which reduces the driving time 50min... go to know for the next visits!
November 9th. Hot temperatures are coming
(Written by Cha)
Well, we were warned, it's the summer here and in the summer, it's hot, and yes, it has arrived here. So yesterday we went up in the Citadel to try the projects, but the temps really did not make them sendable. Josh put his hands on Lost For Life and he came out with a nice flash of the stand start, V9. Then we went down to Trackside to find some shade and we threw the pads below "Butcher choice" V10. I worked the moves to find my beta to avood some big moves, but finally I just went big and dynamic, not my style, and sent it on my 2nd go. Josh got to grab a nice flash sent, with the trickiest part for him being at the end of the traverse, reaching the undercling crack. As often, we finished the day with a nice grill at the cabin.
Today we just chilled at home, worked on videos, did some laundries, updated websites... we actually did not leave home all day!
(Written by Cha)
Well, we were warned, it's the summer here and in the summer, it's hot, and yes, it has arrived here. So yesterday we went up in the Citadel to try the projects, but the temps really did not make them sendable. Josh put his hands on Lost For Life and he came out with a nice flash of the stand start, V9. Then we went down to Trackside to find some shade and we threw the pads below "Butcher choice" V10. I worked the moves to find my beta to avood some big moves, but finally I just went big and dynamic, not my style, and sent it on my 2nd go. Josh got to grab a nice flash sent, with the trickiest part for him being at the end of the traverse, reaching the undercling crack. As often, we finished the day with a nice grill at the cabin.
Today we just chilled at home, worked on videos, did some laundries, updated websites... we actually did not leave home all day!
November 7th. A date with Ammagamma
(Written by Josh)
It's been our zen word since we left for our trip, mostly for me because it's the name of a boulder problem on my dream list. I think most climbers have a "dream list" whether it's just in their head or written down somewhere arbitrary, we all have goals and dreams. Ammagamma is one of those for me since we booked our flights. Walking up to the boulder (this is going to sound weird) I was nervous; like the blind date feeling of "what if they are annoying, or smelly, or their headshots online were photoshopped?" I walked around the corner - palms sweating - to find it near perfect. She didn't smell bad, she looked fine, she even had a shimmer of sun on the topout for me. I quickly warmed up and started to session on my blind date...my dream boulder. I worked through all the moves, the intricate toe-hooks, the subtle finger positioning in the good/bad pockets and figured out the topout. The entire boulder revolves around a big dynamic right hand jump to a flat, rounded edge. I was very far from sticking on my first try, then after the subtle foot and momentum beta, pretty much stuck it and fell trying to put my feet back on. STOKED!
We left the boulder after I was a bit tired and it starrted to get warm and went to a nice pumpy 8A/V11 called "When we were Kings" for Cha. I would have tried it, but wanted to save some skin and muscles for tomorrows date with Amma.
Once we were Kings is a boulder made for Charlotte, steep (nearly a roof) with pockets, and power-endurance focused with a few mini cruxes. She tried it once, fell, worked through the moves quickly, rested, then smashed it! It looked like a pumpy 7a+ route when she did it.
Home early due to every other boulder facing the afternoon sun, grilled some meat and played cribbage. Perfect day (again).
(Written by Josh)
It's been our zen word since we left for our trip, mostly for me because it's the name of a boulder problem on my dream list. I think most climbers have a "dream list" whether it's just in their head or written down somewhere arbitrary, we all have goals and dreams. Ammagamma is one of those for me since we booked our flights. Walking up to the boulder (this is going to sound weird) I was nervous; like the blind date feeling of "what if they are annoying, or smelly, or their headshots online were photoshopped?" I walked around the corner - palms sweating - to find it near perfect. She didn't smell bad, she looked fine, she even had a shimmer of sun on the topout for me. I quickly warmed up and started to session on my blind date...my dream boulder. I worked through all the moves, the intricate toe-hooks, the subtle finger positioning in the good/bad pockets and figured out the topout. The entire boulder revolves around a big dynamic right hand jump to a flat, rounded edge. I was very far from sticking on my first try, then after the subtle foot and momentum beta, pretty much stuck it and fell trying to put my feet back on. STOKED!
We left the boulder after I was a bit tired and it starrted to get warm and went to a nice pumpy 8A/V11 called "When we were Kings" for Cha. I would have tried it, but wanted to save some skin and muscles for tomorrows date with Amma.
Once we were Kings is a boulder made for Charlotte, steep (nearly a roof) with pockets, and power-endurance focused with a few mini cruxes. She tried it once, fell, worked through the moves quickly, rested, then smashed it! It looked like a pumpy 7a+ route when she did it.
Home early due to every other boulder facing the afternoon sun, grilled some meat and played cribbage. Perfect day (again).
November 6th. Rest Day / Work Day
(Written by Josh)
A well needed rest for the skin and muscles was held on this day of Nov. 6th. We chilled just as hard as we climbed the days leading up to now. But, a rest day usually means catching up on all the videos, photos, emails, updated, writing and planning. All fun stuff but not as fun as running around bouldering until you can't breath anymore.
(Written by Josh)
A well needed rest for the skin and muscles was held on this day of Nov. 6th. We chilled just as hard as we climbed the days leading up to now. But, a rest day usually means catching up on all the videos, photos, emails, updated, writing and planning. All fun stuff but not as fun as running around bouldering until you can't breath anymore.
November 5th. Bouldering !!
(Written by Charlotte)
We just climbed 3 days non stop, sampling as much as we can of this climbers paradise place! The Grampians are crazy cool, the rocks are amazing and endless and the landscape is just exotic enough for us! We already love the place! We spent our first day in the Kindergarten sector, where we climbed few moderates:
- A horse is a horse V4,
- Flash Gordon V7,
- The Nevin rule V7,
- Caffeinator V8,
- Josh also climbed Spanking the Monkeybar V8.
On the second day, we to the sector Andersens where we met up with Steve and his wife Kate, as well as their two cute kids Suzy and Tommy. Once again we climbed around to check out the moderates up to V6. We finished the day up in the hill, where we checked out the famous Hollow Moutain Cave.... just WOW! This is definitively a unique bouldering sector. We played in there a little bit, and Josh got some good sends with :
- Rave heart V8,
- Dead can't dance V11 !!!
To watch the sunset, we went a few hundred meters higher at Loopeys and climbed :
- Fashion V4,
- Bitch slap V7.
Finally, before a first rest day, we wanted to climb a bit more and get some volume in, so on our 3rd day we went back to Andersens and climbed :
- Master bates V5,
- Rise of the machines V7,
- Rodeo girl V7,
- Mr Knox V7,
- Mr Fox V7,
- Pumped Action V9 (only Cha tried it and flashed it... you know by the name why Josh didn't want to try it !),
- Etch-a-sketch V10, flashed by Josh and sent 2nd go for Cha!
We are definitively exhausted after these 3 first productive days, and we are now very psyched for a rest day and some hard projects trying after this!
(Written by Charlotte)
We just climbed 3 days non stop, sampling as much as we can of this climbers paradise place! The Grampians are crazy cool, the rocks are amazing and endless and the landscape is just exotic enough for us! We already love the place! We spent our first day in the Kindergarten sector, where we climbed few moderates:
- A horse is a horse V4,
- Flash Gordon V7,
- The Nevin rule V7,
- Caffeinator V8,
- Josh also climbed Spanking the Monkeybar V8.
On the second day, we to the sector Andersens where we met up with Steve and his wife Kate, as well as their two cute kids Suzy and Tommy. Once again we climbed around to check out the moderates up to V6. We finished the day up in the hill, where we checked out the famous Hollow Moutain Cave.... just WOW! This is definitively a unique bouldering sector. We played in there a little bit, and Josh got some good sends with :
- Rave heart V8,
- Dead can't dance V11 !!!
To watch the sunset, we went a few hundred meters higher at Loopeys and climbed :
- Fashion V4,
- Bitch slap V7.
Finally, before a first rest day, we wanted to climb a bit more and get some volume in, so on our 3rd day we went back to Andersens and climbed :
- Master bates V5,
- Rise of the machines V7,
- Rodeo girl V7,
- Mr Knox V7,
- Mr Fox V7,
- Pumped Action V9 (only Cha tried it and flashed it... you know by the name why Josh didn't want to try it !),
- Etch-a-sketch V10, flashed by Josh and sent 2nd go for Cha!
We are definitively exhausted after these 3 first productive days, and we are now very psyched for a rest day and some hard projects trying after this!
November 2nd. Entry to Australia
We made it ! Our entrance to Melbourne was super smooth, we got all our bags, went easy through immigration and even got a free SUV upgrade at the rental car agency!
We drove straight to Northside Bouldering Gym in Northcote where we met the owner Reuben (which we have been in contact with) and our friend Steve. Steve welcomed us with a cool "welcome package" : crash pads, guidebook and fresh bread !
We were super excited to head to the Grampians, so got onthe road, ready for the 3h30 driving. Cha took the wheels, getting used to driving on the left, and watching Josh sleep the all way. We were so tired from the all travel! We stopped for groceries in Ararat, and then checked in at the Mount Zero Log Cabins, where we met the owner Angela and she gave us a tour of our wonderful house. We will stay here for our all stay, meaning 6 weeks, and we are very happy to have chosen a place so peaceful and comfortable!
We made it ! Our entrance to Melbourne was super smooth, we got all our bags, went easy through immigration and even got a free SUV upgrade at the rental car agency!
We drove straight to Northside Bouldering Gym in Northcote where we met the owner Reuben (which we have been in contact with) and our friend Steve. Steve welcomed us with a cool "welcome package" : crash pads, guidebook and fresh bread !
We were super excited to head to the Grampians, so got onthe road, ready for the 3h30 driving. Cha took the wheels, getting used to driving on the left, and watching Josh sleep the all way. We were so tired from the all travel! We stopped for groceries in Ararat, and then checked in at the Mount Zero Log Cabins, where we met the owner Angela and she gave us a tour of our wonderful house. We will stay here for our all stay, meaning 6 weeks, and we are very happy to have chosen a place so peaceful and comfortable!
November 1st. A lot happened
Yes, a lot happened in tyhe last few days! We left Serbia on Monday, flew to Athens where we had a nice session at EOS Acharnon with the kids and Milena (yes, she was visiting the city with her parents, so we got to see them one last time) and then spent the night at Anastasio's. There we had a wonderful diner made by his lady Matina, got to cuddle teh cat Ruffles and packed our bags until 2am. Wake up early the next morning to head to the airport. There we checked in with Scoot Airline, which we were a bit worried about, but it was cheap! Only expensive things where the bags fees, so we made a big bag that we sent through the postal service to Charlotte's dad in France.
The flight in Scoot went awesome, it was halloween so they made little surprises for us in the plane! We flew all the way to Singapore, where we had a 18h layover, so instead of seating in the airport, we went through immigration and met up with Shihui, a local climber. With other friends of hers, we had a nice tour in the city, from good food court, dowtown sightseeing and also two climbing gyms which host us for few hours : Central and Gorillas. Being with the locals (damn the climbing world in so small !) to discover and enjoy the city was definitively the best way !
Now, off to the airport again to board for Melbourne, Australia!
Yes, a lot happened in tyhe last few days! We left Serbia on Monday, flew to Athens where we had a nice session at EOS Acharnon with the kids and Milena (yes, she was visiting the city with her parents, so we got to see them one last time) and then spent the night at Anastasio's. There we had a wonderful diner made by his lady Matina, got to cuddle teh cat Ruffles and packed our bags until 2am. Wake up early the next morning to head to the airport. There we checked in with Scoot Airline, which we were a bit worried about, but it was cheap! Only expensive things where the bags fees, so we made a big bag that we sent through the postal service to Charlotte's dad in France.
The flight in Scoot went awesome, it was halloween so they made little surprises for us in the plane! We flew all the way to Singapore, where we had a 18h layover, so instead of seating in the airport, we went through immigration and met up with Shihui, a local climber. With other friends of hers, we had a nice tour in the city, from good food court, dowtown sightseeing and also two climbing gyms which host us for few hours : Central and Gorillas. Being with the locals (damn the climbing world in so small !) to discover and enjoy the city was definitively the best way !
Now, off to the airport again to board for Melbourne, Australia!
October 29th. Nice last days
Today was our last day climbing in Serbia. Earlier this week, we packed away the drills, and went to Jelasnica and Sicevo to do some filming and then spent the last two days in the cave, trying our projects. A lot of friends came over and it was truely awesome to see so much motivation in our cave!
We also had 2 wonderful diners this weekend : one big barbecue at Nesa and Gaga, the sweetest of all; and then a yummy diner with the Gejo family, talking a lot and listening to fascinating stories from Stasa's dad.
Now our bags are packed, and we start our 4 days travel to go to AUSTRALIA !!!!
Today was our last day climbing in Serbia. Earlier this week, we packed away the drills, and went to Jelasnica and Sicevo to do some filming and then spent the last two days in the cave, trying our projects. A lot of friends came over and it was truely awesome to see so much motivation in our cave!
We also had 2 wonderful diners this weekend : one big barbecue at Nesa and Gaga, the sweetest of all; and then a yummy diner with the Gejo family, talking a lot and listening to fascinating stories from Stasa's dad.
Now our bags are packed, and we start our 4 days travel to go to AUSTRALIA !!!!
October 24th - Rain and low motivation
We woke up Monday morning and heard the rain falling on the roof above us, so we decided to take it slow and went back to sleep. We did this a few times and ended up really waking up at 11h30! Our body felt extra sore, which would make sense after 6th days on, including the setting weekend. As the rain was still pouring, we just decided to take a rest day, our day being already half way killed anyway! So we stayed in our little home and worked all afternoon.
On Tuesday morning, same observation with the rain but we decided to still get up and head to the cave. The tyrolean and the approach were a bit harder through the drops, but no drama, and it was all dry under the cave! It was pretty chilly, humid and dark out, so maybe that is why we both had a very low motivation and bad mood, kinda climbing, kinda bolting. 2h before dark, Josh gave a great go on "The contortionist" (probably 8b+ ?) , which is the route on the left of the cave. Charlotte started bolting a route just to the left of "First route of fight club" and it is easy to bolt, easy to clean, and will probably be a nice intermediate aroudn 7b/c.
We ended up the day with a good note at Burka, the restaurant in Jelanisca, where we had a farewell diner with our american friends Kristina and Tyler, who leave the day after to travel all around south Europe and Thailand.
We woke up Monday morning and heard the rain falling on the roof above us, so we decided to take it slow and went back to sleep. We did this a few times and ended up really waking up at 11h30! Our body felt extra sore, which would make sense after 6th days on, including the setting weekend. As the rain was still pouring, we just decided to take a rest day, our day being already half way killed anyway! So we stayed in our little home and worked all afternoon.
On Tuesday morning, same observation with the rain but we decided to still get up and head to the cave. The tyrolean and the approach were a bit harder through the drops, but no drama, and it was all dry under the cave! It was pretty chilly, humid and dark out, so maybe that is why we both had a very low motivation and bad mood, kinda climbing, kinda bolting. 2h before dark, Josh gave a great go on "The contortionist" (probably 8b+ ?) , which is the route on the left of the cave. Charlotte started bolting a route just to the left of "First route of fight club" and it is easy to bolt, easy to clean, and will probably be a nice intermediate aroudn 7b/c.
We ended up the day with a good note at Burka, the restaurant in Jelanisca, where we had a farewell diner with our american friends Kristina and Tyler, who leave the day after to travel all around south Europe and Thailand.
October 22nd - Serbian bouldering nationals
On Friday night we drove to Belgrade and met up with our serbian family who we missed a lot.
On Saturday, we fully set the Serbian bouldering nationals, because the federation kindly asked us if we could do this, and we were psyched! So we spent 12 hours setting and forerunning 8 Finals boulders and 16 qualifiers... Pretty busy and we were wrecked at the end, but it was really cool and we had some great help!
On Sunday, it was the comp day, so we watched a little of the qualifiers and then had 1h15 to strip everything and mount Finals! Once again, we had some great help so it was good. We did a few tweaks in women finals, and then watched the all finals. Everything went super great and the boulders went really well!
It was a very cool experience to work together on this: Josh was used to set for these events, but Cha not at all!
On Friday night we drove to Belgrade and met up with our serbian family who we missed a lot.
On Saturday, we fully set the Serbian bouldering nationals, because the federation kindly asked us if we could do this, and we were psyched! So we spent 12 hours setting and forerunning 8 Finals boulders and 16 qualifiers... Pretty busy and we were wrecked at the end, but it was really cool and we had some great help!
On Sunday, it was the comp day, so we watched a little of the qualifiers and then had 1h15 to strip everything and mount Finals! Once again, we had some great help so it was good. We did a few tweaks in women finals, and then watched the all finals. Everything went super great and the boulders went really well!
It was a very cool experience to work together on this: Josh was used to set for these events, but Cha not at all!
October 19th - More bolting and friends at the cliff
Not much but more bolting because we received 45 bolts ! So we finished the route on the right of the cave, and bolted a new line on the left of the cave. We gave few tries in this new line, it should be around 8b+ minimum. It's neat : it starts on a mono tuffa, good rest, bouldery crux, big rest, and then overhanging/roofy diedre very cool to climb (at least Cha loves it, Josh not really ;) )
ANd we had some visitors at the cave : we gave a little tour to Kristina, Tyler and Jelena for two days in a row! We were psyched they loved it and wanted to come back the day after!
Not much but more bolting because we received 45 bolts ! So we finished the route on the right of the cave, and bolted a new line on the left of the cave. We gave few tries in this new line, it should be around 8b+ minimum. It's neat : it starts on a mono tuffa, good rest, bouldery crux, big rest, and then overhanging/roofy diedre very cool to climb (at least Cha loves it, Josh not really ;) )
ANd we had some visitors at the cave : we gave a little tour to Kristina, Tyler and Jelena for two days in a row! We were psyched they loved it and wanted to come back the day after!
October 16th - Finally a rest day !
After the "food festival" diner, Josh went back to the cave on Saturday. We used the last few bolts we have left (5) for teh route on the right. We reached the roof and both put some bolts on it... Let us tell you, it's quite another challenge to bolt that way! A lot of core work, tough over the head shoulder work and kinda scary bolt tightening.
On Sunday it was our first day not in the cave since we arrived in Nis! We went to Krusevac where we teached a little class at the gym and talked about our climbing history. Once again, the event was concluded with some beer, salads and a lot of meat! No complains.
Finally today we had a rest day, and to be honest we really needed it! We hanged at "home", worked on the videos (beautiful Greece destination video is on making) and went in downtown Nis for a late lunch and some grocery shopping. Tomorrow some more bolts should arrive !!!
After the "food festival" diner, Josh went back to the cave on Saturday. We used the last few bolts we have left (5) for teh route on the right. We reached the roof and both put some bolts on it... Let us tell you, it's quite another challenge to bolt that way! A lot of core work, tough over the head shoulder work and kinda scary bolt tightening.
On Sunday it was our first day not in the cave since we arrived in Nis! We went to Krusevac where we teached a little class at the gym and talked about our climbing history. Once again, the event was concluded with some beer, salads and a lot of meat! No complains.
Finally today we had a rest day, and to be honest we really needed it! We hanged at "home", worked on the videos (beautiful Greece destination video is on making) and went in downtown Nis for a late lunch and some grocery shopping. Tomorrow some more bolts should arrive !!!
October 13th - New sector
We installed a cable tyrolean, first time for us, and it was cool to think about the all process, buy the gears, finding the best spot and option, buying more gear, and finally crash testing it (successful test!). Then we worked on the trail with few more people who came : Djuk, Veljko, Daniel, Igor, Teca : nice switchbacks got created and make the steep hill hike much easier now!
And we started bolting !!! First day we had only 8 bolts so we couldn't finish a route, but then 15 more bolts arrived so we finiched the first route, cleaned it and climbed it. It's a nice 20m 7a-ish that we will probably call "First rule of fight club"... Finally Josh ended up the day by starting bolting another route, more to the right of the cave! We had to hike down at night, which made it quite funny on the tyrolean!
To celebrate this good day, we all had a nice diner with good salads, pita bread, dips and A LOT of meat !!
We installed a cable tyrolean, first time for us, and it was cool to think about the all process, buy the gears, finding the best spot and option, buying more gear, and finally crash testing it (successful test!). Then we worked on the trail with few more people who came : Djuk, Veljko, Daniel, Igor, Teca : nice switchbacks got created and make the steep hill hike much easier now!
And we started bolting !!! First day we had only 8 bolts so we couldn't finish a route, but then 15 more bolts arrived so we finiched the first route, cleaned it and climbed it. It's a nice 20m 7a-ish that we will probably call "First rule of fight club"... Finally Josh ended up the day by starting bolting another route, more to the right of the cave! We had to hike down at night, which made it quite funny on the tyrolean!
To celebrate this good day, we all had a nice diner with good salads, pita bread, dips and A LOT of meat !!
October 9th - Reaching the cave
We wanted to check out a few walls we spotted from the car yesterday, starting from that big cave. With Igor, we approached it from the bottom, but the river to cross seemed to strong and deep, so we had the idea to drive further down the road and then up to arrive from teh plateau above it. After 15min driving we found a remote old village, where we (Igor) talked to a group of people living here who told us not knowing about that cave and a potential approach to it. So we walked on open fields toward the cave (GPS directions) for about 45min but found out it was to steep to go down, so we just turned around, back to the car and down close to the river. There, Josh sacrificed himself to go across the river (for info it's pretty cold here!) and we set up a tyrolean to all cross easier. Then we bushwhacked straight up the hill (after making sure no train was coming by when we crossed the rails) for about 15min and arrived to the cave. It was enormous!!! So much bigger and cooler than it looks from the road. We walked around and couldn't believe how amazing that place is, with a unlimited bolting potential. It really reminded us of the Grotte de Galetas in France, so we agreed to call it the "Galeti cave".
Excited to be back with a drill, few static ropes and A LOT of bolts !
We wanted to check out a few walls we spotted from the car yesterday, starting from that big cave. With Igor, we approached it from the bottom, but the river to cross seemed to strong and deep, so we had the idea to drive further down the road and then up to arrive from teh plateau above it. After 15min driving we found a remote old village, where we (Igor) talked to a group of people living here who told us not knowing about that cave and a potential approach to it. So we walked on open fields toward the cave (GPS directions) for about 45min but found out it was to steep to go down, so we just turned around, back to the car and down close to the river. There, Josh sacrificed himself to go across the river (for info it's pretty cold here!) and we set up a tyrolean to all cross easier. Then we bushwhacked straight up the hill (after making sure no train was coming by when we crossed the rails) for about 15min and arrived to the cave. It was enormous!!! So much bigger and cooler than it looks from the road. We walked around and couldn't believe how amazing that place is, with a unlimited bolting potential. It really reminded us of the Grotte de Galetas in France, so we agreed to call it the "Galeti cave".
Excited to be back with a drill, few static ropes and A LOT of bolts !
October 8th - Beautiful weekend and moving to Nis
One of the most relaxing and chill weekend we have had in a while : Saturday we climbed with Milena at V3. We set up few lines on the "real rock", and then we all climbed on the castle walls which was really fun and unique! Then we went to have lunch with the family and they guided through the old fort and some part of downtown. It was definitively the best way to experience the history of the area. And then this morning, Charlotte and Milena prepared some crepes for a nice breakfast/ early lunch, before we had to say goodbye to our family to drive down to Nis :(
First thing we did before we checked out our new house was to drive through the Sicevo gorge with Djuk, Velko and Igor, where the potential of bolting is enormous. Indeed, the Jelanisca gorge next to Sicevo got well developped, but not Sicevo yet. We noticed a lot of potential faces, but our main attraction was a big cave across the gorge, meaning across the river and a train rail and up a steep hill). We then all had diner at a cool place where we had awesome local specialties, like some good bread, good spreads and good meats!
One of the most relaxing and chill weekend we have had in a while : Saturday we climbed with Milena at V3. We set up few lines on the "real rock", and then we all climbed on the castle walls which was really fun and unique! Then we went to have lunch with the family and they guided through the old fort and some part of downtown. It was definitively the best way to experience the history of the area. And then this morning, Charlotte and Milena prepared some crepes for a nice breakfast/ early lunch, before we had to say goodbye to our family to drive down to Nis :(
First thing we did before we checked out our new house was to drive through the Sicevo gorge with Djuk, Velko and Igor, where the potential of bolting is enormous. Indeed, the Jelanisca gorge next to Sicevo got well developped, but not Sicevo yet. We noticed a lot of potential faces, but our main attraction was a big cave across the gorge, meaning across the river and a train rail and up a steep hill). We then all had diner at a cool place where we had awesome local specialties, like some good bread, good spreads and good meats!
October 6th - Training and working
We saw our first rain drop of the trip, and also got our first parking ticket of the trip.... not the best firsts here! Anyway we spent few days (computer) working in Belgrade, and training at the Zemun bouldering wall. Definitively not as exciting as rockclimbing, but still very fun with our friends here! Tonight we did a talk in downtown Belgrade, organized by Outdoor Collective. Was nice to see new (and friend's) faces and share our background, stories, projects, and talk (for the first time) about some interesting subject : sponsoring, social media and pitching project!
We saw our first rain drop of the trip, and also got our first parking ticket of the trip.... not the best firsts here! Anyway we spent few days (computer) working in Belgrade, and training at the Zemun bouldering wall. Definitively not as exciting as rockclimbing, but still very fun with our friends here! Tonight we did a talk in downtown Belgrade, organized by Outdoor Collective. Was nice to see new (and friend's) faces and share our background, stories, projects, and talk (for the first time) about some interesting subject : sponsoring, social media and pitching project!
October 3rd - Outdoor climbing around Belgrade
Our Serbian friends didn't waste time (good for us!) to show us the two best outdoor spots around Belgrade !
- Valjevo, sport climbing area, 2h30 driving south of Belgrade. The routes were about 15meters high, limestone with crimps and pockets. We felt pretty confused about
- Vrsac, bouldering spot, 1h30 North-east of Belgrade. The rock was really nice, a mix of granit and gneiss and offered us a beautiful day out with a big crew of locals. We put up two new lines that Josh sent first : a V7 link up in the main cave (strating from the warm up, and going out all the way to the right), and "White castle", V9, a super cool and obvious line on the main trail. The highlight of the day was probably when the owner of the little café up there (and guide for all outdoor activitied, and crashpads makers, ...) brought us a big bowl of grilled sausages, accompanied with beers, for dinner!
Our Serbian friends didn't waste time (good for us!) to show us the two best outdoor spots around Belgrade !
- Valjevo, sport climbing area, 2h30 driving south of Belgrade. The routes were about 15meters high, limestone with crimps and pockets. We felt pretty confused about
- Vrsac, bouldering spot, 1h30 North-east of Belgrade. The rock was really nice, a mix of granit and gneiss and offered us a beautiful day out with a big crew of locals. We put up two new lines that Josh sent first : a V7 link up in the main cave (strating from the warm up, and going out all the way to the right), and "White castle", V9, a super cool and obvious line on the main trail. The highlight of the day was probably when the owner of the little café up there (and guide for all outdoor activitied, and crashpads makers, ...) brought us a big bowl of grilled sausages, accompanied with beers, for dinner!
September 30th - Good bye Greece, Hello Serbia
Yes, we had to leave Greece, and it was honestly hard because we had such a good time and easy life there! But we are excited for all the adventures coming up and the next is Serbia! We are spending our first a week in Belgrade to interact with the local clubs and friends. On our arrival, we got welcomed by Alexandra, Simone and little crusher Milena, who are kindly hosting us. After a first night we met up with Josh's friend, who he met last year, and had a little tour of the town and surrounding crags, and then went to have pizza on a restaurant on a boat. It was Josh's birtday today and he got a nice suprise from his local friends, with a giant cake and few gifts! We all met up after at a personal climbing wall, and had a very cool session all together.
Yes, we had to leave Greece, and it was honestly hard because we had such a good time and easy life there! But we are excited for all the adventures coming up and the next is Serbia! We are spending our first a week in Belgrade to interact with the local clubs and friends. On our arrival, we got welcomed by Alexandra, Simone and little crusher Milena, who are kindly hosting us. After a first night we met up with Josh's friend, who he met last year, and had a little tour of the town and surrounding crags, and then went to have pizza on a restaurant on a boat. It was Josh's birtday today and he got a nice suprise from his local friends, with a giant cake and few gifts! We all met up after at a personal climbing wall, and had a very cool session all together.
September 28th - Very busy last few days!
The island of Tinos was incredible, a future must-go bouldering destination for sure! However, we were so overwhelmed by the amount of boulders that we just did a few, and then just sightsee. It was definitively worth, as the Island is part of the Cyclades, well known for its architecture (white houses with blue doors/windows). We definitively had a great time in Tinos, the food was delicious and camping (on the beach) felt great. We went back to Athens and climbed at the Rockway bouldering gym for a little... climbing plastic felt hard and weird, but it will definitively be good to be training a little bit! After, we spent our last greek night at the Alpine club where we coached and climbed with the youth team, and then spend some time showing videos and talking about our background and sharing our passion. We then went to the restaurant with Aris, Katie and Anastasio and had a very fun diner, full of great stories!
The island of Tinos was incredible, a future must-go bouldering destination for sure! However, we were so overwhelmed by the amount of boulders that we just did a few, and then just sightsee. It was definitively worth, as the Island is part of the Cyclades, well known for its architecture (white houses with blue doors/windows). We definitively had a great time in Tinos, the food was delicious and camping (on the beach) felt great. We went back to Athens and climbed at the Rockway bouldering gym for a little... climbing plastic felt hard and weird, but it will definitively be good to be training a little bit! After, we spent our last greek night at the Alpine club where we coached and climbed with the youth team, and then spend some time showing videos and talking about our background and sharing our passion. We then went to the restaurant with Aris, Katie and Anastasio and had a very fun diner, full of great stories!
September 26th - Last minute trip to an island!
Yesterday we left Kyparissi, which was pretty hard because we spent amazing times in place, at Cavo Kortia, up on the cliffs and down at the beaches. We drove all the way back to Athens to catch a ferry to the island of Tinos!! It was definitively not in our plans until a week ago, when we first heard about this place from Katie when we asked about the Greek bouldering potential. We arrived at night and met up with Manthos who gave us very good advices, directions, and a crash pads. We drove about 15 minutes to Volax, where we installed the tent, not really aware of what was around because it was dark out. When we woke up this morning, we were mind-blowed by the amount of rocks around us ! We are psyched for the next two days of climbing here !!
Yesterday we left Kyparissi, which was pretty hard because we spent amazing times in place, at Cavo Kortia, up on the cliffs and down at the beaches. We drove all the way back to Athens to catch a ferry to the island of Tinos!! It was definitively not in our plans until a week ago, when we first heard about this place from Katie when we asked about the Greek bouldering potential. We arrived at night and met up with Manthos who gave us very good advices, directions, and a crash pads. We drove about 15 minutes to Volax, where we installed the tent, not really aware of what was around because it was dark out. When we woke up this morning, we were mind-blowed by the amount of rocks around us ! We are psyched for the next two days of climbing here !!
September 24th - Success and failure
One more climbing day brought us to the Babala sector, where we had our eyes on Tarsus Manus. The temperatures had been great for few days with a little chill, and we were excited to that it stayed for our "try to send" day as well. For warm up, we took the quickdraws down from the Scorpio project, that we bailed on because we didn't have enough time left. Then we both did a memory try on Tarsus Manus, which felt good as it has been a week that we didn't go on it. We actually did some great links altready, found subtile better beta and then went for the real tries !
- SUCCESS : Cha sent the route !! Tarsus Manus, 8c, went down! Josh gave few more tries, but it didn't pay off.
- FAILURE :Then we set up to film the route, and we took the drone out to take shots from the upper part. Something went wrong just after take off, and the drone flew extremely fast, uncontrolled, and crashed into the cliff to then bounce couple times on the floor. It was heartbreaking to witness this, and we are very bummed that it happened with no expectations or understanding...
One more climbing day brought us to the Babala sector, where we had our eyes on Tarsus Manus. The temperatures had been great for few days with a little chill, and we were excited to that it stayed for our "try to send" day as well. For warm up, we took the quickdraws down from the Scorpio project, that we bailed on because we didn't have enough time left. Then we both did a memory try on Tarsus Manus, which felt good as it has been a week that we didn't go on it. We actually did some great links altready, found subtile better beta and then went for the real tries !
- SUCCESS : Cha sent the route !! Tarsus Manus, 8c, went down! Josh gave few more tries, but it didn't pay off.
- FAILURE :Then we set up to film the route, and we took the drone out to take shots from the upper part. Something went wrong just after take off, and the drone flew extremely fast, uncontrolled, and crashed into the cliff to then bounce couple times on the floor. It was heartbreaking to witness this, and we are very bummed that it happened with no expectations or understanding...
September 22nd - Filming days with our new Greek friends : done!
We just spent 4 (wonderful) days with Aris, Kathie, Andreas, Georges (sorry for any mis-spelling there) filming for a future Kyparissi climbing promotional video. We all :
- went by boat (!!!) to the sector of Vlyhada - 1 min hike from the beach-,
- checked out some more potential further south,
- went up to Babala and sent our new bolted route Sequoia love, 8a :)
- briefly discovered the sector of Kastraki, right above Kyparissi, where it's mostly easy routes,
- drove 1h away to Molaoi to get gas (well, that was just Josh and me... yes we needed gas that much!)
- drove back to Kyparissi and the sector of Watermill, where we both sent Medusa's blood, 8b. We had tried it at the beginning of the trip, but it felt MUCH better with few (10?!) °C less and more use to this tuffa endurance climbing,
- finished the 4 days by climbing at the beautiful, and very different, routes in the Kapsala sector, right above the sea!
It was real nice to meet and hang with such a nice group of people and climbers, and got to discover the surrounding from their eyes! See you soon friends
We just spent 4 (wonderful) days with Aris, Kathie, Andreas, Georges (sorry for any mis-spelling there) filming for a future Kyparissi climbing promotional video. We all :
- went by boat (!!!) to the sector of Vlyhada - 1 min hike from the beach-,
- checked out some more potential further south,
- went up to Babala and sent our new bolted route Sequoia love, 8a :)
- briefly discovered the sector of Kastraki, right above Kyparissi, where it's mostly easy routes,
- drove 1h away to Molaoi to get gas (well, that was just Josh and me... yes we needed gas that much!)
- drove back to Kyparissi and the sector of Watermill, where we both sent Medusa's blood, 8b. We had tried it at the beginning of the trip, but it felt MUCH better with few (10?!) °C less and more use to this tuffa endurance climbing,
- finished the 4 days by climbing at the beautiful, and very different, routes in the Kapsala sector, right above the sea!
It was real nice to meet and hang with such a nice group of people and climbers, and got to discover the surrounding from their eyes! See you soon friends
September 18th - Still tryin the projects, and epic rest day at Monemvasia
Yep, still trying the projects! We mostly put our attention on Tarsus Manus because it is the first route that we bolted and was climbable. Annd we are making progress.
On Monday we took a rest day and went to Monemvasia, a place which has been advised to us as an "old fort". We didn't review anything about it on the internet and just went for it. We were stunned by the place. Old fort (indeed) on top of a peninsula island, open archeological site with a lot of remaining ruins and church from teh 16th century. But the best is the little town at the base of it, made of cute narrow streets, all rocky , very good little restaurants, cute shops, lots of cats... aaaand a direct path in the middle of the fortified town, with a pool ladder access to the clear blue sea. What a nice place Monemvasia is, barely 1h30 south of Kyparissi, a must go for a rest day, or two ;)
Yep, still trying the projects! We mostly put our attention on Tarsus Manus because it is the first route that we bolted and was climbable. Annd we are making progress.
On Monday we took a rest day and went to Monemvasia, a place which has been advised to us as an "old fort". We didn't review anything about it on the internet and just went for it. We were stunned by the place. Old fort (indeed) on top of a peninsula island, open archeological site with a lot of remaining ruins and church from teh 16th century. But the best is the little town at the base of it, made of cute narrow streets, all rocky , very good little restaurants, cute shops, lots of cats... aaaand a direct path in the middle of the fortified town, with a pool ladder access to the clear blue sea. What a nice place Monemvasia is, barely 1h30 south of Kyparissi, a must go for a rest day, or two ;)
September 14th - Proj's sent, new routes work
The last rest day felt wonderful and we were both very committed for our projects on the return day. Luckily the weather was on our side, because it was pretty dry and we had a little breeze. Don't get us wrong here, we still had to climb topless (for Josh at least !), but we had a nice send train :
The last rest day felt wonderful and we were both very committed for our projects on the return day. Luckily the weather was on our side, because it was pretty dry and we had a little breeze. Don't get us wrong here, we still had to climb topless (for Josh at least !), but we had a nice send train :
- Josh started it with an epic fight on "Partage de l'Adage" 8b
- Charlotte followed by clipping the chain of "Watt Didier doux" 8b+, which is the FA of it
September 10th - First bolting days!
After trying our projects ("Watt Didier Doux" 8b+ for Cha and "Partage de l'Adage" 8b for Josh, we had a super nice rest day at a "secret cove" and went to explore potential boulders (we failed) we spot on a hill side while driving to Kyparissi. Then we hiked up to Babala again, but the warm temperatures made us want to bolt, more than climb. So here we are! We just spent 3 days bolting two beautiful and hard lines in a steep cave. We are very excited about these two lines which go through perfect tuffas and pure headwall. It's gonna be hard lines, minimum 8b+, we are psyched to project them! But for now, we are truely wrecked so we are taking a well deserved rest day !
After trying our projects ("Watt Didier Doux" 8b+ for Cha and "Partage de l'Adage" 8b for Josh, we had a super nice rest day at a "secret cove" and went to explore potential boulders (we failed) we spot on a hill side while driving to Kyparissi. Then we hiked up to Babala again, but the warm temperatures made us want to bolt, more than climb. So here we are! We just spent 3 days bolting two beautiful and hard lines in a steep cave. We are very excited about these two lines which go through perfect tuffas and pure headwall. It's gonna be hard lines, minimum 8b+, we are psyched to project them! But for now, we are truely wrecked so we are taking a well deserved rest day !
September 5th - 3rd day of climbing, new sector
After getting way to hot in the Watermill sector (35°C in teh shade, no air), we took a nice rest day where we mostly enjoyed swimming in the clear blue water down our hotel. All refreshed the day after, we checked out another sector, Babala, which Charlotte knew from her visit last year. The 45 min hike in the baking sun was a true labor, but we made it to the shady cliff, and a little breeze welcomed us nicely!
After getting way to hot in the Watermill sector (35°C in teh shade, no air), we took a nice rest day where we mostly enjoyed swimming in the clear blue water down our hotel. All refreshed the day after, we checked out another sector, Babala, which Charlotte knew from her visit last year. The 45 min hike in the baking sun was a true labor, but we made it to the shady cliff, and a little breeze welcomed us nicely!
- Charlotte sent "Octo plus" 8a+ and "Partage de l'Adage" 8b. Pretty happy about this second one, because she is actually the co-bolter of it, and couldn't sent it during her last visit!
- Josh did a quick send of "Octo plus" 8a+ as well, and solved the moves on "Partage de l'Adage" 8b.
September 2nd - First day climbing during the trip!
WE CLIMBED TODAY! First time during the trip - many, many more days like that to come! (Seems overwhelming to think about...). We climbed at the local cliff called Water Mill - 5 min drive and 5 min hike (yea, it was still uphill). We can see the cliff from town so we watched the sun until the cliff was in the shade and drove over around 1pm and started climbing around 1:30pm - 6:30pm!
G'night!
WE CLIMBED TODAY! First time during the trip - many, many more days like that to come! (Seems overwhelming to think about...). We climbed at the local cliff called Water Mill - 5 min drive and 5 min hike (yea, it was still uphill). We can see the cliff from town so we watched the sun until the cliff was in the shade and drove over around 1pm and started climbing around 1:30pm - 6:30pm!
- Charlotte sent "Esterattitude" 7b and "Zarax" 8a and worked all the moves on a nice sustained 8a+ called "Ya Kyparissi Ksésec".
- Josh sent "Kalimeralex" 7a+, "Esterattitude" (7b) and flashed "Zarax" (8a) and worked hard on the 8a+.
G'night!
September 1st - Arrival in Greece / Update about our climbing
- Charlotte has defended her PhD and is now a Doctor in chemistry and physical chemistry of materials. In August, she enjoyed time in her home region, Burgundy, and climbed in new shady sectors. She sent a few routes up to 8b, as well as the two 8b+ "La cerise sur le gateau" and "Bonne pioche" (FA).
- Josh is getting back from his pulley injury! After a nice month in the Tetons, Wyoming, where he put up and sent lots of boulders up to V12/8A+, he went in Magic Wood in Swizerland where he sent Voigas, V12/8A+.
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