los gehts!!!

The rest phase is over and I have started training for 2010. I will be training basic stamina for the next 3 weeks in Innsbruck, Imst and in the local bouldering wall. On tuesday we had a session at Tivoli doing double routes in the 7a-7c range. Towards the end of the session it was a real fight to hold on to the biggest jugs and the next day my forearms felt totally "fertig"....great feeling. Heading back to the UK for Christmas with Sabby and really looking forward to boulderig on the grit. I would like to do the Ace at Stanage...hope I'm strong enough after the stamina training?!?

Resting

At the moment I am taking a rest from climbing to let my body recover before I start preparing for 2010. I have been running and working on my core strength to ensure that I am fit enough to train effectively and I need to think of some attainable goals for next year to keep me motivated during this period. A great thing about Tirol is that you are able to do lots of diverse sports throughout the whole year meaning that you never get bored and you are able to take little breaks from training to do something fun like skiing through a forest of conifer trees with soft powder under your feet....can't wait!!!

(long slog up to 3000m peak Jan'09)

Siurana Trip

The Siruana trip was fantastic but way too short. I was a little overwhelmed by the lines, I had a few ideas of what I wanted to try before the trip but as you walk through the siurana valley every route is appealing. My dad was climbing very well...respect. Very much looking forward to returing to this magical place.

Outstanding routes of the trip:

migranya...8b (3rd go)
la cara que no miente...8a+ (2nd go)
el prado del rey...7b+
brigadistak...7a (fantastic)
lo deje to blanco...7a
xerinola...7b+ (amazing route)

Alhambra, Niederthai

On Tuesday I climbed a really nice link between 2 routes at Niederthai. Climb through the crux of Masada and finish through the last crux wall of Wargames. The link is called 'Alhambra' and it's probably around the Fr8b mark. Heading out to Siruana for a long weekend soon with my Dad. I am really looking forward to this trip but need to work on power endurance before heading out there.

Memento

Today I climbed Memento (8B+) at Silvretta. I needed 2 sessions for the boulder. Cool line in a nice setting.

(Elias Holzknecht)

8c after work

I had the afternoon off work today to go climbing with Sabby at a limestone crag, Nassereith, near Imst. I warmed-up on some really nice routes and climbed Morpheus (8c) on my 5th go spread over 2 days. The route is great, it involves some really wide moves on a 45˚ wall and a really hard slap to a crimp from an undercut at the top of the wall. Sabby is trying a hard route there, so I am looking forward to returning and attempting some of the other routes.

I'm heading back to the UK tommorrow for the British Bouldering Team Training weekend....looking forward to aching muscles on Monday.

Mordor

I don't know what to write........I literally can't express how I'm feeling right now. I first tried Mordor (8c+/9a) a few years ago and made really fast progress. The route took alot longer than expected and nothing has ever pushed me through so many physical and emotional barriers. I can't actually believe that I have done it and this epic is finally over.

(Elias Holzknecht)

Bloc Master Innsbruck

(Photo: Heiko Wilhelm)

Silmarillion 8b-Zillertal trip with bro

Just got back from a great trip to zillertal. It was mega warm but cool. Managed to climb Silmarillion 8b on my 3rd go and Mart is back on the rock...............!!

zwettler-master

The 2nd part of the Austrian Bouldering Cup was held in Zwettl. The comp was really well organised and we had some great blocs to climb in both the qualificaion and final round. The final started in the evening and with Cody playing some good music and commentating, the atmosphere was fantastic. The battle between luki and myself commenced at the final bloc. We both flashed the first two blocs and climbed the tricky 3rd bloc on our 2nd attempt. I'd won the quali, so if we both flashed the 4th I would win on count-back, the pressure was on. Luki was out first and flashed the complicated bloc and the crowd went wild. I had some water, looked at the stars, chalked-up and walked across the stage to the final bloc. I pulled on and the initial hard move felt really good and then I wasn't sure what to do next so i just went for the sequence we'd worked out and fell. I realised I'd come 2nd but still wanted to climb the bloc so I got the crowd behind me and climbed it 2nd go...great feeling. Zwettl beer was one of the event's sponsors so Luki and Sabby recieved 2 massive bottles of beer for winning.....very nice.

Minas Tirith 8b/+

Minas Tirith is a route at Niederthai that I have always wanted to do as in my opinion it follows one of the best lines at Niederthai. It winds its way up an incredible boulder towering above the green forest below. The route has always been slightly intimidating because it's quite long and involves an aggressive crux sequence on bad footholds. Sabby was psyched to give it a go, so I decided to go for it. I felt pretty bad warming-up, every muscle in my upper body was aching after the Austrian Championships held on Friday and Saturday. I climbed the route unexpectadly on my 3rd go just before a wild thunderstorm hit Niederthai. The weather has turned bad now, which is not a bad thing as it gives a good excuse to stay indoors and train for the up and coming boulder comp in Zwettl. Thanks to Lukas Ennemoser for the great photos of Minas Tirith.

bloc-battle Mayrhofen

The Austrian Bouldering Championships were held in Mayrhofen, Zillertal. I finished 3rd in the event behind Mario and Luki. The girl's event was won by Babsy closely followed by Sabby in 2nd. The competition was really great but what made it stand-out was the fact that it was held in Zillertal and organised by some of Austria's climbing legends.

Céüse Trip

A tick-list from my short trip to Céüse and La Balme. More pics and info to follow.
l'ami tout la monde 8b (3rd go)
violente illusion 8b (2nd go)
carte blache 8a (onsight)
les colonnettes 8a (flash)
l'ami caouette 8a (2nd go)
la coleur du vent 8a (2nd go)
Alien extension 8a+ (3rd go)
le privilege du serpant 7c+ (flash)
vagaond d'occident 7c (flash)
best route of my trip: Bibendum 7b+

Training evening at Piburger See

I think this was the first time that I went to a crag with the intention of just training. The routes at Piburg are around 25-30m so getting pumped was the goal. We warmed up and flashed an 8a extension (no name) and then climbed another 8a and finishing with a 7b+. All climbed within 2hrs. I'm really enjoying routes at the moment but I need to get back to the bouldering wall to do some max before the Austrian Bouldering Champs in August.

Oetztal Fun

Had a great day in Oetztal. Luki and I went to Piburger See just down the road to climb some routes that we'd not done before. I climbed the following routes:

• 7b warm-up
• Metamorphose 8a+ (flash)
• Nostalgie 8a (onsight)
• A floater dreier 7b+

It felt really good to be flowing on the rock and I find Piburger See one of the best climbing areas around.

Atfer climbing we decided to go mountain biking. The ride ended up been mega and we finally arrived at a mountain hut with no money and really thirsty. Luki sorted of knew the old guy that owned the hut and he gave us some home-made schnapps and we just took in the view for a bit before the downhill fun started.

UK Trip June'09

I attended a Kinesio Taping course in Manchester last weekend and decided to stay for a few days after the course had finished. I visited kilnsey and Yew Cogar and climbed the following routes:

• Urgent Action 8a+ (one of the best routes I have ever climbed)
• Dead Calm 8a (flash)
• Love Sculpture 8a+ (2nd go)
• Vorsprung Durch Technik 7c+ (flash)

I am really enjoying climbing loads of things at the moment but ready for some real red-pointing.

Eindhoven World Cup

Back from NL after the World Cup in Eindhoven. Cool event that has left me more psyched for comps than ever before. The British Team did really well:
Ned 6th (final!)
Dave 25th
me 27th
Diane 15th
Leah 25th
Mina 27th
It feels really good to be part of a team of focused and psyched climbers who want to climb well at international events...next year will be interesting.

I am a little dissapointed with my result because although I felt like I was climbing ok, I lacked focus costing me a few top-outs. I need to work on this before the next event.

I am really looking forward to the BBC this year, just need to find some reasonable flights back to the UK for the weekend.

Boulder World Cup Wien

Went to Wien on Thursday for the WC. The qualification round went really well and I qualified for the semi-final. The blocs in the semi were really cool with all different styles of climbing. I was well psyched on the 3rd bloc that involved a fight with some massive volumes. I climbed two blocs and finished 8th, my best WC result to date....well happy.

Driving out to Averstal on Friday for the weekend...I hope it's not too hot.

Weekend in Averstal

Just back from a great trip in Averstal with Sabby and Eli. It was pretty warm, but still managed to climb some great boulders. Looking forward to going back. Here is a quick tick list of the trip:

NBL Stand 8A+
Electroboogie 8A+
Rythmo Brachial 8A (flash)
Jack the Chipper 7C (well good)
FightClub 7C (Flash)
Gollum 7C (Flash)

Next weekend is the WC in Wien....Vollgas.

Japan

Bouldering at Shiobara: Heiko

The Team above Tokyo City: Babsy

Sabby bouldering at Shiobara: Nalle

more info about the trip coming soon......

Chironico

Amazing 2 day trip with Sabby in Chironico.

Day 1: Sabby really wanted to climb Dr Pinch (V11) so we drove out to Chironico on Friday for a quick trip. We warmed up by climbing a mega highball slab, Hans Jorg would of been proud! Sabby worked out moves on doc pinch and after an hour climbed the problem (check out her blog for some pics etc), respect Sabby. I really wanted to climb Boogalagga and started work figuring out the moves...amazing. I had the moves wired and was pretty sure I could do it. I had 2 attempts on the first crux move and felt the dreaded feeling of a split tip (so typical). I decided to leave it for the next trip and climb the V11 to the right 'Walker on Earth', involving a mono...was loving it.
Day 2: We woke up to goats surrounding the car, was pretty scared because one was bigger than Sabby, not exactly hard to achieve, but still scary. Today was going to be a day where we were going to climb as many blocs as possible. We climbed so much, but some highlights include a flash ascent of 'Serre moi Fort' (V11). Was echt a whansin, Gu gave me the beta and I got pretty psyched...cool topping out...totally surreal. Another highlight was 'Les Cliques a Claques' (V9); a classic problem. I think I have finally improved my slab skills thanks to Heiko's coaching.
Going skiing now

working, training, working, training

The time is passing so fast this year, can't believe it's nearly march. Training is going really well, started campussing and climbing loads of blocs, and I'm feeling really fast. Sabby is looking strong, never seen her so strong. We are both looking forward to the WC in Japan, will be interesting to compete and climb on the surrounding rocks. I had a quick trip to switzerland last weekend with the Oetztaler team and some Innsbruck guys...was really cool. Managed to flash a V10 in cresciano and we climbed some hard slabs. This trip was a little unusual for me, normally I want to tick something hard and I put a little pressure upon myself, during this trip I just climbed loads of blocs and was more interested by the technical blocs. I did, however, have a quick look at Dreamtime, I really want to climb this boulder in the future. I have also decided to stop updating my 8a.nu logbook because it doesn't interest me anymore and I find the whole thing a little strange. On a sad note, an old climbing friend of my Dad's, Brian Roberts, had a walking accident and died a few weeks ago, really sad but at least he died doing something that every climber loves...been in the mountains.

update

Over the past few months I have been very busy with my new business 'body²' and training. I am really looking forward to this year from a career and climbing point of view. I want to climb things that really mean something to me and give these climbs everything, I need to fulfill a sense of adventure and climb in the mountains! LOS GEHTS!