The return
from US has been quite fuzzy and until today I had not so many items to tell about
. The jet leg lasted more than what I expected and the days went on without exactly
knowing what I would have done in this spring period. I don't know the next
destination for bouldering, so I decided to restart training in the climbing
gym, on the fingerboard and climbing in Ticino until the real and boring heat
will break out.
The days in
Swiss were fun and I was able to get there five times. All the days I tried new
problems, with improvements, worsening and some top out. Some of them required
me a bit of work to search personal betas, by avoiding the movements typical of
my lacks and exalting the sequences that suited my climbing style. This process
happened for "Big Paw", "from dirt grows the flowers",
"Insanity of Grandeur" and "Santoku", where my betas were a
bit or totally different than my mates' ones. I hadn't the success I wanted on
these lines, but they are definitively on the list for the fall, when I hope to
get some improvements and make the ascents closer than in those days. Despite the
fails, I managed to climb some easier lines like "Bella Luna" 8B, the
low start version of "Alphane Moon", "Delusion of grandeur"
8A+, "Walk the line" 8A+ and "Einfisch Kleinfisch" 8A+ where the
knee-pad made a really difference in terms of difficulty.
The other
great day of climbing, or better of brushing, took place in Donnas, just at the
beginning of the Aosta Valley. It has been a really awesome afternoon, where I
was finally able to brush a stunning piece of rock that was in my mind from few
seasons. The Area is located in the front side of Donnas, in a hamlet of the
homonymous village, and as many times happens, Marco was the first that lead me
to discover the area. At the beginning we brushed and climbed some problems in
the wood and some of them are worthy moderates; but the most inspiring block
for him seemed to be at the end of that zone, and when he carried me there the looking
of the north-east arete was simply incredible: tall, huge, rounded, slopy,
technical and emotional.
Its shape
appeared sometime in my mind and after US I decided to go to check this
"forgotten" boulder. Last Thursday I went there with Giulia and we
found a good place to bond the rope and go down on the other side, where the
arete ends. That moment is always exciting. You don't know how the problem
really is and you want to discover its true face really soon, removing the weak
flakes, brushing its holds, putting the chalk on and see the magic emotion that
a virgin pure line can offer. Feeling that moment is really important and this
part of bouldering is definitively one of my favorite. You can see the line
take shape, after the green patina, some holds look better and at the end they
become magically white and your imagination become true. That's a really exciting
way of bouldering, I usually love to alternate this side of climbing to the
other one of repeating boulders already put up that is fun and important for
the motivation but sure not the only way. At the end of the day the arete was
cleaned, but maybe some little piece of rock is still moving and it has to have
another session of brushing. I also had occasion to try a bit the movements,
but obviously the holds were greasy and warm so I hadn't so many good efforts,
especially in the hardest part that seems to require cold, good skin e perfectly
cleaned holds. At least for me.
Here some
photos of the arete I brushed. Obviously, if someone want to try this one, it
would be a pleasure for me showing it.
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