Hi guys
I have
finally decided to write a personal blog where I can post my climbing
adventures, nay my bouldering adventures. maybe it sounds better!
My first
article regards august, although it isn’t the best bouldering period. It has
passed a lot of time since I wrote my last blog on the web and this is due to
some facts. The first reason is because I stopped my rock climbing in april in
order to dedicate myself to study, whereas I had the high school final exam in
june and it has gone well enough. The second one is due to summer, in fact from
may it became really hard climbing in our usual spots. I stayed at home for all
july together with my beastmaker and by going to climb at gym for training. In
the end of july, Salewa called me to take part in L’aquila climbing festival at
the beginning of august. L’aquila is a city situated in the south of Italy,
where in 2009 april a big earthquake hit it, the village is still distroyed
today and unfortunatly a lot of ruins are still into the buildings.
The climbing
event presented 10 athletes who had to compete on three qualification boulder
problems, and, the first three people, would be going to a final composed by an
only problem. Concerning the program about days after, it was going to climb in
a local zone for two days of bouldering. I left Bergamo airport on august the
3rd with my friend Gabri and on august the 4th we competed in the evening. The
atmophere was amazing, because there was a lot of crowd watching the compt, the
square was full and the tribune too. I think This fact was very positive
and I was really glad to see the
happiness in L’aquila people, knowing what was happened three years ago.
Talking about the organization of the competition I would like to congratulate
with them because it was one of greatest compt that I have done. I think that
the italian federation have to learn something about this master because the
italian cup is shoddy today and a lot of guys are rightly leaving the
competition’s world. Concerning the compt itself, the achievement wasn’t so
good and I took the 7th place, gabri insted grabbed the final and an
awesome second place!
The plans
for the days after changed and local guys decided to carry us to “vado di
sole”, a cool spot where doing some rope climbing. Unfortunatly, I don’t like
this activity but anyway I climbed two really easy routes, a 6b and a 7a. The
environment in vado di sole was perfect, it is situated in a big desert valley
at the foot of Gran Sasso and, in the evening, I climbed two boulder problems
situated below the routes getting one of the best sunset I have ever seen. The
first boulder was “la scarpetta di
cavalletto” originally graded 8a+. It
is very essential and very cool, it starts with two two-finger pockets
and it develops in a little limestone overhanging wall. I sent it after 15 mins
and I think that it could be easier than that grade, probably 7c+. Ten minutes
later I maneged to climb another cool line situated on the left of “la
scarpetta”. I don’t know how it is called, but it is a really nice problem and
its crux is a dynamic move from a orizzontal hole, that I had to match, to a
three finger pocket. I think that also this one could have the same grade of
its neighbour. The day after we went to “monte
aquila” where there is the famous prow called dosage but after some goes
I stopped to try it because I was tired and we got home at 3 o’clock in the
morning.
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| british airways 7c+ |
During the
week later I had some training sessions and I planned with two friends of mine,
marco and max, to go to Silvretta (AUT). We were motiveted because we would be
stayed in a new place for us all and it wouldn’t have been so hot, despite the
period. We left on monday 13 and the journey was a bit long. When we arrived we
immediatly went to the camping and after having builded my tent, at 6 o’clock,
we started the path to reach the spot. We knew that the area required some
minutes of walking but we didn’t think such a lot as truely are. Furthermore,
the guide was hard to understand in fact we got lost and we found the first
boulders after one hour and fourty minutes of fucking walking.We reached the
sector of niviuk, a problem graded 8a on the guide that seemed quite good to
climb.I warmed up on a little easy highball and then I flashed a great arete
named flechtenkante then I flashed niviuk too. Maybe the grade of this one
could be more 7c than 8a.
The evening
was over and we ate in the camping with other two friends of us, Fabri and
Donatella.
The second
day, with the ideas of the path clearer, we left the camping and we reached the
spot in “only” fourty minutes of walking. We climbed on anam cara’s block and I
did a flash attempt on the famous “british airways” 7c+.Unfortunatly I dabbed
on the pad and I crushed it on the second go from start. I also tried anam cara
8B+/C a bit, but I managed to do just the first two moves.
In the
afternoon we went to memento sector that was other 40 minutes far by walking
from anam cara. I tried it with a spanish guy but after 20 minutes I decided to
leave it because I wanted to keep skin and energy. In the evening I tried a
nice prow called X-ray and I figured out my beta in one session, then I tried
to link all the moves but I did some memory misteakes during the climbing, in
fact I didn’t remeber every steps when I sought to climb it and I miserably
fell down. I took a little rest and I went to check out other lines like golden
gate and rongbuk. They are both amazing and I hope to come back there to try
them. After the rest, just before the sunset, I refresched my mind about the
beta and I did X-ray. I think that 8A could be ok!
Third day
was next but when we woke up the weather for the day after didn’t seem good so
we had to leave at the end of that day. In the mornig we went to british
airways again where Marco climbed it and we were happy for him! Once finished
our plans there, we decided to go to pretty belinda, a traverse 23 moves long
which covers a huge boulder. I did it on the third go from start and I suppose
that 8A could be the right grade for a long traverse like that. It has been
really fun having climbed pretty belinda because it was a different way of
climbing respect pure bouldering and, sometime, I think that strength-endurance
problems can increase my motivation.
The short
climbing holiday in Austria ended and we came back home really late that night.
It was the first time in Silvretta for us and in my opinion it is a good place
for the summer. The environmental impact is high, some lines are deserving and,
although the path is very long, we had a positive view of that spot. Here a video about the little trip and some pics by Marco Pelle.
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| british airways 7c+ |
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| niviuk 7c flash |
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| silvretta cow |
