News from Varazze and Donnas

Hi there!

After a month and over my blog reborn with new words about my bouldering adventures. The main topic is about the first half of December, since in November no important things happened. In fact November was a month of training except some little rock times with poor results. I had three weeks really full of mixed traning sessions, with 6/7 sessions per week, by using different kind of trainings like fingerboard, pan gullich, climbingym, a bit of rock and in addition of these things also three or four hours of stretching per week. After this period I took one week of rest with 3 sessions of mild training. The sessions on the rock took place in Gaby (Aosta Valley) and in Chironico. The first place is the spot where there is “el raton matado” a really nice line I opened in April and other stuff are waiting for a brush and for a first ascent. I went there twice, the first time I  tried a great project. It deals of a white and smooth wall, at the beginning lightly overhang, then vertical until the top. It has just some little slopery crimps which make it possible in my opinion. It counts four moves and the first two ones are quite simple, while the last ones seem really hard. The third single presents a wide span from the second crimp to another one and the last move is a big dyno which I tried with two really high footholds. I managed to do it just with a big push up given by my brother, but I feel that it could be possible. I have to work it more to understand some little new things and I hope to try the whole sequence next year. A crimp on the proj signed my right fingers a bit and I stopped to try. I moved down to another great boulder, a huge roof six meters long which looks climbable at the edge with a cool exit on a prow. I used the rope to brush the last part in the pillar and I put the chalk on. After few goes, I did it and it seemed quite easy, having no idea about what grade could be. The second move is awesome, from a good pich for the right hand I had to take a bad sloper for the left one and it looked like a font-style move. I tried the first part in the roof, which I also attempted in April but it seems too hard for me now. The second time I was there I brushed another line on that boulder but after the removal of the moss it was completely wet and I let it dry. Unfortunatly the week later the snow arrived and I have to wait for the next season.

I took also some occasions to go to Ticino, expecially Chironico with Marco and Alice. My main projects of the fall were shadowfax and collateral but unfortunatly I wasn’t capable of doing nobody of these. Marco did a great line after some sessions, it is called “serre moi fort” 8A. He climbed it really well during the right attempt and I was happy for him since that line gave me a big satisfaction when I did it three years ago. I am sure that serre gave an important satisfaction to him too.

In December I decided to check some lines in Varazze, a spot where I stayed only once last year and this winter I hope to visit it more frequently. I went there on Tuesday the 4^th and it was a cool day of climbing. I met Christian, Stella, their little daughters and one of my ex-competition mates, Marcello.

In the morning, after a good warm up on the gioia’s boulder I climbed “raptor” a good line opened by Christian two years ago and I probably made the 5^th ascent from the stand. I think that it could be a right 8A+ as Christian thought. The plans for the afternoon were to try Gandalf 8A, but it was really wet. So I moved toward “scacco al rè nero”, a peculiar 7C which always rejected me years ago. This time I climbed it after few attempts and then I also crushed “phantom” 7C+.

The dark was arriving so I fastly decided to climb the whole line of “messa delle streghe” that is a bit high but with a really easy topout. The day is completly reported in this Video on my Vimeo’s channel.

I felt really good in Varazze because it was a long of time since I hadn’t climbed in “new” spot and during the last times in Ticino I haven’t relaxed my mind from my hard projects. I really needed to climbing on new kind of rocks, new lines and in new woods. For these points I really hope to come back to Varazze this winter in January to check some new sectors I have never stayed in. 

 Raptor stand 8A+, Varazze. foto: Christian Core

Raptor stand 8A+, Varazze. foto: Christian Core

 The weekend later I went to Donnas on saturday and I came back to Varazze on sunday. Donnas started to be haunted by climbers from just one year and I have never had occasion to check the area, considered a bit secret for unknown reasons. On saturday the 8^th I finally reached this spot and I climbed after few goes “mucca pazza”, a little cool pillar opened by Alberto Gnerro. The grade could be around a 7C+, probably soft, but still in 7C+ range in my opinion. Max got a great performance crashing it in a day. In the afternoon we moved to a nice cave where there is a fine problem called “klettermachine” 8A. Also this one was opened by Alberto. When we reached the boulder I was really cold after Mucca pazza and my hands were frozen. Despite this fact I decided to try a flash go and I failed it on the last move, where the hard was completely finished. I didn’t feel the good crimp in my right hand becasue it was too frozen and I fell down miserably. After some rest I did it on the third go.

The darkness came and we went on to brush a new bouder where two lines seemed possible. When the visibility was too bad, we decided to go back to the parking. The day after I moved again to Varazze with my dad. The plans of the day were to check “tai lung”, an 8A+ in Cava sector. Christian told me that it is very worthy and proud and finally an occasion to try it arrived. The rock is very good, maybe better than the druidi sector’s rock. The walk to reach it doesn’t exist and we parked among the boulders. After a good warm up I tried it and I did every movement really fast. Unfortunately I couldn’t do it from the bottom and I did my best attempt falling in the last dyno from the start. In the afternoon we went down to gioia’s sector and I climbed after 20 minutes Gandalf 8A, which has good moves but the rock is bad. After this one I really wanted to try “alphancentaury stand” 8A. It is situated in a cool cave with a fine kind of rock. I tried it two years ago and it was really hard, in fact one single move missed in my beta. This time I was more relaxed and more optimistic since the hardest move for me is an heel hook which require a bit of flexibility and in 2010 it was impossible for me. After some attempts I managed to do the single move and I worked the squatted start. I did it with a hard effort and I felt it like one of my hardest 8A. Now I’m pretty syked to come back to try the whole line which adds two hard moves and it becomes an 8B.

During this passed week I have had just an occasion to climb out on the rock. I went to Donnas again to try the lines brushed days before. Marco sent the FA on a really cool line called “ricochet” in honor of a song of Faith No More. During the day, I did it and I confirmed the 7B+ grade suggested by my friend. I also brushed and opened a new line called “kamino78” which Marco repeated and he thought that 7B could be appropiated. This week I climbed twice in the gyms and the weather for the weekend wasn’t good, in fact on Friday night the snow arrived in the lowlands.

klettermachine 8A Donnas. foto max Buvoli

klettermachine 8A Donnas. foto max Buvoli

alphacentauri 8A, Varazze

  

alphacentauri 8A, Varazze