work, train, ski, work, train, ski.....

The past few months have been spent in the practice, at the wall and on the mountain. I was able to spend a weekend in Chironico last month but it was too cold to try really hard so we ended up just climbing lots of blocs to keep warm. On Thursday I will be returning to the UK for the Climbing Works competition and spending the following week with the Austrian Bouldering Team on the grit.

next phase

The past month has been spent training strength at the gym and doing specific exercises at the wall. I have one more day of this training before I start the next phase which involves lots of exercises to improve my hand strength. I'm really missing climbing on the rock so we've planned a bouldering trip next weekend...can't wait.

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)