Movie Tonight on Television at ORF SPORTPLUS

 

Air time on Mainstream Ticino. Photo by Radek Capek

You can watch the movie of the climb „Sangre de Toro“ and Highballing on ORF SPORTPLUS at 22.45 o´clock. There will be a live stream too on the homepage of ORF Sport plus.

Enjoy

Alex

Filming projects

 

 climbing high on Mainstream for the filming. pic Radek Capek

After an intense ice climbing season and the trips to Utah and North Wales I had two filming project one with Bernd Zangerl and some Highballs. The other project is about the red point ascent off my multipitch route “Sangre de Toro” at the Rote Wand. Both movies will be coming soon in television. 

                                                on the cruxpitch 10+ of Sangre de Toro

 

                                at the belay before starting into the cruxpitch

After finishing the productions I headed to Chamonix with Jojo for some granite climbing.  As we got there the weather and conditions were just perfect but my mind was not, I felt lazy. Maybe I did too much climbing, it´s the first time in my climbing life where I felt it s okay to sit in the sun while there was a perfect high pressure in the Alps.  So after some days on the Cham-granite we ended up in Ceüse for some group sport climbing.

At the moment I am equipping new routes in my home area, amazing steep limestone….. but secret ; ).

Flash Back

After my first time in the US I travelled to Frankenjura for the Adidas Base Camp event at Burg Rabenstein.

I met up with the other climbers of the team and we had a great and productive time together with meetings and climbing lot’s of chatting with the other athletes and good food ;).

the famous slate quarry....... slippery climbing in a crazy area

After this few days with not much climbing, I travelled for my first time to North Wales. In my mind I was prepared for shitty weather, scary routes, cool people and lot´s of rock.

Dorita accompanied me and when we stepped out off Manchester airport the sun was shining and no cloud was visible. This day Rob Greenwood picked us up and introduced us to the Welsh rock. This visit we went climbing at the sea cliffs of Gogarth, Rhoscolyn, Craig Dorys the Slate Quarry and on the pass. I fell in love with the climbing in Wales. The walls are small compared to the Alps, sometimes with lot´s of vegetation, and often wet. But there are lot ´s off different types of rock so close that it´s easy to combine two climbing spots in a day. The rocks are drying fast and on trad climbing it´s not about running up 10 routes to have a proper training. I am remembering a writing on the bar in the Klatrekafeen in Henningsvaer it ´s saying: “Sport climbing is like eating a burger at Mc Donalds, you now what you get.” (Dough Scott)

Compared to the climbing on the sandstone in Utah, where you can almost place every two meters a protection if you carry enough gear and a bomber endurance ;). In Wales it was like being an artist. Looking up a blank wall deciding what gear could be needed and just start the climb and see what you find. It´s more a journey up the wall searching for features that will capture a wire, a cam or a sling. 

                                          Electric Blue at Rhoscolyn, amazing solo

My impression of the local climbing community was that everyone climbs but nobody talks about how bold or epic his day was and that’s something I have rarely seen on my travels. It´s just about climbing and not how is better or the more badass climber.

Thanks DMM team and friends fro the good times.

 

 very windy day at the seacliffs of north wales

 

the weather was amazing, the first 4 days  we had sunshine all day ; ) 

                                     A E3 at the slate

                                          Dreams and Screams, E6, on sight

                                Not so solid rock but great atmosphere, Craig Dorys

 

                                    Classic E3 at Craig Dorys on a rainy day

                                Daddy Ben and the master genius himself Ray Wood at work!

 

and myself at work ;) Cockplot E5 on sight

                               amazing landscape and of course sheeps

                                All pictures of this post are taken by Doris Solis all rights reserved

Traveltime Open Space

 Canyonlands National Park

Ok where should I start? My last entry is a long time ago and lots of stuff happened in the mean time. After a intense iceclimbing season this winter I found myself flying over the Atlantic. The aim was the desert of Utah, the long clean lines of Indian Creek the towers, the arches, the emptiness. The first thing I felt being out in the desert was water, water and water. I am born in a region where water is just normal and if your in the mountains you will find tons of springs and lots of rivers rushing down the steep valleys, everything is green and juicy.

I had lots of days in the mountains where my thoughts where just focused on the next sip of water running down my throat.

Here in the middle of the desert our water reserves where the biggest treasure. Water is life, and we had a easy life with our recourses. Imagine the natives living in these canyons for hundred’s of years is just mind blowing.

Desert is dead no life at least no “warm blooded” life. I was wrong.

Deer’s, Rabbit’s, Turkeys, Coyote’s, Flowers in fresh colours I didn´t expected that variety of life, it was everywhere.

 

lonely flower

I felt somehow vulnerable and stupid because of my lack for basic survival knowledge. I am a climber, I visit remote places, know how to survive in the mountains. But I don´t know where to get water and food out of the desert because nowadays there is no need to learn these skills.

It just reminds me that we our society is running more and more in an addiction where organizing food from mother earth is almost impossible even the theoretical thought is not there because everything is available all day. We life in a organized and structured environment. It´s a big advantage yes but on the other hand we are addicted. And this was what I felt the most while climbing in the desert.

The sandstone cracks in Utah, think everyone knows it or at least has seen some pictures of the area, clear and CLEAN lines, powerfull, sustained, crackclimbing. Stemming, jamming and yes liebaking, it´s somehow a European thing ;) but it works soooo well.

We climbed tons of cracks from offwidths to tips, my personal suffer size was an open green to a closed red placement. After some time I focused on this size of crack to learn how to jam, move fast and economic with “Ringlocks”.

Most people ask me about the suffering on this type of climbing, the pain.  The pain oh yes it´s there it´s part of crackclimbing but while climbing I forget the pain I feel free I am in a flow.

In the morning swollen hands almost impossible to close. Sand everywhere, rattlesnakes and massive whole body pumps.

I´ll be back.

Climbing pics will follow soon…

Pictures of the Ice Night Project

Ray Demski put some pics of the nightclimbing session on is homepage....

check it out now......

http://www.raydemski.com/#/ACTION/Ice%20Nights/1

Ice Nights - Behind the Scenes

This february Ray Demski and I realised a nightshooting project on ice with crazy equipment. The pictures of the Phase One camera have a amazing quality and a massiv size.....

So keep your eyes open to see these pics!

Clip from the indian himalaya

Last autumn i traveled with Bernd Zangerl, Alex, Ray Demski and Jasmine to the Indian Himalaya for exploring, tradclimbing and bouldering. It was a really cool time, we had great climbing, funny experiences and not so funny ones, but all in all it was a great time.
Ray made a nice short video for Red Bull, so Bernd is talking a lot ;).... the clip is cool and hopefully we or better Ray can make a longer version of this trip.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4Cn2IlCnb0

Brückenkerze - Averstal

the hard climbing is over and we enjoy the top out in the sun ;)

at the beginning of the last pitch

because of the low temperatures the ice was still very brittle

Together with Hanno I’m driving through the wild Avers Valley in Switzerland. Seeing the steep gorges and the partly iced-over Avers River we get the impression that we can grasp the cold. Our focus is the „Brueckenkerze“ icefall, which is located right next to the road outside the small town of Juf. 

I have some unfinished business with this line. A few years ago I wanted to climb the fall, after I heard that it looks good. However, when we drove around the corner early in the morning and saw the icefall we realised that the entire last pitch was missing. The upper part of the Brueckenkerze must have broken off a few days prior. Not unusual for such a line, that is exposed to the sun pre-noon. “Shoot, we’re too late,” was my first thought. On the same day we climbed another fall to left of the “Kerze”. On our way home I said to myself “that was just in time and not too late at all!”

Timing – that is what I’ve learned over the past years climbing icefalls – decides about what is climbable and what not. Temperature profiles, danger of avalanches, and ice quality are factors I take into account when I consider an ice climb. Ice structures like the Brueckenkerze are only climbable for a few days and not every season. At noontime the water flow increases, ice jutties and icicles put on a lot of weight. The surface turns into some kind of mush and it doesn’t make sense to start a climb.

 As we turn around the corner the fall is complete! There is not much ice, but temperatures were quite stable throughout the last days and we currently have 15 degrees Celsius below zero. As I am repelling from the bridge I realise how craggy the fall is and I wonder how the ice structure on the rather overhanging wall sticks together. But I have a good feeling and the surrounding conditions are fine. The first pitch is much steeper than I expected, the ice is very brittle and towards the end I have to climb through an ice funnel in order to avoid a big ice mushroom. The giant cone that holds the second pitch is “slightly ripped”, visually not too inviting, but structurally no problem, because the strain energy is “released”. In the upper part of the pillar the ice is less brittle and we thoroughly enjoy the climb. It’s challenging, but I feel good. I’m in full control all the way up to the bridge where I set my belay and wait for my partner. At 10h30 we are back at the car and enjoy the sun. It feels great to have climbed the icefall in such conditions. Who knows if the Brueckenkerze will once again stand there like that, especially in times of gobal warming…

Two days later I’m back in the area and I’m curious how the fall looks like. As approach it by car I can see that one pillar in the lower section broke off. “Timing”, I say to myself. “I was at the right place at the right time.” 

Facts:

-Length: 80 Meter

-Grade: WI6

-Location: Avers Valley, Switzerland 

Photos by Beat Kammerlander
Translated into english by Sonja Hamel

Diedro Lux - English Version

Diedro Lux

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This is a movie about a really nice icefall at the Averstal. The day before I climbed the fall, it snowed so when we arrived there was plenty of it on the easier parts of the wall. On this terrain I had to dig my way through the snow, on the steep parts was no snow but spindrifts from above. I had more the feeling to be on an alpine wall than on an ice-climb! Despite the snow the climbing was great and I can recommend it. The colour of the ice is sick….

It was Hot, It was Hard, It´s Classic

Destination Frankenjura from DMM Climbing on Vimeo.

It was a really fun trip to the land of the beers, cakes, and pockets in every imaginal size and form....... 

it was hot, it was hard, it´s classic ;)

Keeping Spirits High

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on the fist hard pitch.....overhanging ice

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The ice climbing season is not an every year fixed part of my climbing activity. It´s more a feeling that reminds me that it´s time again to hang on these crazy formations created by the cold. Some days ago I saw some frozen water while ski touring in the local mountains, and as I walked the summit ridge the noise of the crunchy icy snow rushed with each step into my body. It´s winter. It´s cold. It is time for ice.

still one pitch to go, but the hard part is done

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After two ice falls in the nearby Averstal, I wanted to visit Kandersteg because I saw a picture of the Breitwangflue made by some local. Crack Baby looked not as solid as in the guidebook but it looked like it´s grown together. So few days later accompanied by Hanno we put on our skis and approached to the base of the wall. It ‘was a relief that no one was already at the start of the route. Climbing behind a party on an ice climb is not a good idea.

The start went smooth, we climbed simultaneously until we reached the steeper pitches. This section looked really impressive. The whole wall seemed to be overhanging and the ice just gets some friction on the ledges. We had some mind game because of the big “pang” I provoked while placing my first screw on the crux pitch. The whole pillar got a horizontal crack. After calming down a little I thought: now the tension built up with the change of the temperatures over the last days is gone, now it´s maybe even more stable?!” With this in mind I focused and climbed on. The consistence of the ice was ok but it had not much ice so the steep pitches included big mushrooms, some of them created an overhang with a little hole to scramble through.

I lead most of the pitches so I was tired but happy when we reached the top. It was an amazing day.

Thanks Hanno for keeping spirits high.

on the decent of Crack Baby, after success...it´s steep ;)

save belay....in the middle of the route

the line

avers ice