David right before setting off for the famous dyno in „La Rambla“ (c) Iuliia Leonova

The two weeks trip to Siurana turned out to be a very successful one. After a couple of days of working on „La Rambla“ David could finally tick his first 9a+ ever. And right before leaving he finished the trip with a quick ascent of „La Reina Mora“, just next to La Rambla.

The trip to Catalonia was originally planned together with Ruben over New Year. But just before David got a foot injury which made it impossible for him to go. So he had to shift his climbing in Catalonia to February.

The main objective of the trip was to send La Rambla. In January David started to train for the upcoming bouldering season. Together with his coach Urs Stöcker he put up a new training plan in Zurich. Since the trip to Catalonia was actually planned earlier he didn’t train his endurance specifically. Instead he’d done a lot of maximum and explosive strength exercises in the gyms around Zurich and spent 3 days bouldering in Fontainebleau where he did some milestones of the history in bouldering, such as „Karma“ (Fb 8A), „La Merveille“ (Fb 8A+) and „Partage“ (Fb 8A+). All of them are very technical and tricky. True Fontainebleau style which everyone knows who has been to this magical bouldering area once.

Well, it was the first time that David has been to Catalonia in February. It is calmer than over New Year (not so many climbers). He stayed in a nice apartment of „La Vileta“ which is run by very friendly Catalonian locals, close to the main square of Cornudella de Montsant, the village underneath Siurana. Cornudella is pretty rural, mainly inhabited by farmers’ families who live from the surrounding olive, nut and wine fields. When you go climbing or walk around in the countryside you notice its beautiful landscape and nature. In the karst there are numerous caves. Dry and rocky areas dominate with a low vegetation of herbs, shrubs and pines. There are many rare species of wild animals. Because of their trustfulness robins often accompany you when climbing.

Dad feeding a robin who came to take a look if we don’t make any troubles at the crag

Because of its 9a+ difficulty La Rambla has been a new challenge for David. It is a long (around 45 meters), overhanging and technical route. It has got a famous name in the climbing scene. First ascended by Alex Huber to a lower anchor and extended by Ramón Julián Puigblanque to the actual top. It first kicks off with a technical crack followed by more powerful and pumpy moves with a unique jump in the middle to a rest before the hardest and most bouldery part at the end.

Some years ago David did already „El Rastro“ and „Broadway“, two lines which share at least half of the route with La Rambla, so that he already knew the lower part. On the first day he once checked out the moves, brushed and tick-marked the holds and gave it a good try where he already fell in the last and hardest part at the top. There are 4 compression moves on round side holds and crimps which easily spit you off when too pumped after around 35 meters of climbing approximately 8c to this point.

David shaking out his arms before he attacks the redpoint crux of „La Rambla“ (c) Iuliia Leonova

After this good first day of projecting David struggled some days with bad skin (especially the pockets literally ate the side skin of his fingers). Not the best conditions to send hard stuff. During these days he always fell on a certain and probably the hardest move in the route at the top from an open side hold into a small undercling which you have to catch close to your chest after you’ve reached out longly. In the past years such failures (falling on the same move without getting any higher) sometimes awakened negative thoughts and frustration in David. But meanwhile he can manage his mind set well. This time he didn’t really care about these failures and took it easy.

To be honest, every time you fall and reflect what mistake you’ve done you somehow have a progress in your project. It does not always have to be that you’ve got some moves higher but that you have adapted your beta or optimized your clipping positions and rest points for example. It is actually a failure itself to think that there is no progression at all although you keep on falling on the same move.

„It will happen sooner or later“ was David’s devise and he kept on trying with confidence and mental coolness. In the end it took him some 6 days of work to finally stuck the last hard move and top out his first 9a+ ever.

Keep smiling although projecting might be frustrating sometimes – that works wonders (c) Iuliia Leonova

So, La Rambla represents a new dimension in his climbing and now it feels like that there are more years of personal progress in climbing still to come. There must be a reason why the years between 20 and 30 are called „The Golden Twenties“ in climbing The main task will probably be to keep the mental coolness alive and to work on the maximum strength, mainly in bouldering and in the gym.

Right before David had to leave Siurana to head back home to Switzerland he wanted to use his fitness to dedicate to „La Reina Mora“ which has the same crack start and the same top-out with La Rambla but a more crimpy and sustained middle section. It is the real straight-up on this part of the wall. Falling two times on the last hard move in the end was a bit annoying but he had chosen a not optimal beta and when he optimized this it went down first go of the day and the finish of the trip couldn’t have been sweeter. La Reina Mora might be one of the most beautiful climbs in whole Catalonia.

David working himself up the crack of „La Reina Mora“ (c) Jon Cardwell

David is happy to return back to Switzerland again to prepare for the upcoming bouldering competitions and rock climbings in Switzerland. University lectures start as well again and it is great to come back home to reload batteries for the next challenges which climbing always has to offer in a brilliant way.

Thanks to Iuliia Leonova and Jon Caldwell for their nice pictures and to our sponsors Scarpa, Haglöfs, Friction Labs, Escaladrome Hannover and the DAV section Rhineland-Cologne for the amazing support lately. As the Spanish climbers say: A Muerte!!!

The crew. F.l.t.r. Julian, Ruben, David and Michi (c) Julian Bückers Photography

In the beginning of October we’ve spent three days at Swiss Rätikon for some multipitch climbing. Rätikon to climbers is well known for its hard alpine climbs on outstanding limestone and the surrounding beauty of mountain nature. It is located up in the mountains on an altitude above 2000 meters and is divided into two parts, a Swiss and an Austrian but the walls are mostly south facing so you predominantly climb on the Swiss side. The closest village is called Schuders consisting of only a handful houses. This time we were climbing at the Schweizereck in the region around Grüscher Älpli besides the other parts of the wall such as Kirchlispitzen (known for routes like Silbergeier, Unendliche Geschichte and WoGü), Drusenfluh and Drusentürmen.

It was our first multi pitch experience ever and we could share it with multi talent Michi Wohlleben and photographer and mountain guide Julian Bückers. They were introducing us the required belaying techniques for alpine routes and supporting us up there every time we needed some help. During this short but really enjoyable time we were curious and attentive as small kids. Greedy for knowledge waiting for the new adventure to come. It is always nice to feel that there is still high motivation and exaltation when trying new things and there are a lot of things we haven’t seen in climbing yet although we’ve already practiced it for almost 15 years now. That’s such a great aspect of climbing. That’s its unique variety and we love it.

On the first day we met at Bad Ragaz down in the Tamina valley and drove to a nearby sport climbing crag close to the village called Fläsch which is funny because as German speaking climbers we spell it like English „flash“. Sometimes things are meant to be and fit together

Nevertheless, Michi and Julian gave us a technical briefing to prepare for alpine terrain and all of its challenges and risks. They taught us how to install a belay, haul, jumar and place gear such as cams and nuts. Basically, learning all of this techniques enables you to move in alpine terrain in a safe style. But gear is only steel. What you also need are strong mental abilities. Focus, alertness and rationality are one of the most important ingredients you need up in a high wall with a lot of air below your ass. After this extensive briefing we drove up to the car park below the wall to stay the night and therewith be able to start our tour right after an early breakfast the next day. It was an adventurous drive with our old van because the zig zag road is steep, long and often tight. But we made it and David as the driver was totally done afterwards

On the second day we woke up at 7 a.m. and had a nourishing out meal. Well rested and euphoric we hiked up to New Age, our main mission for this stay. Austrian pioneer Beat Kammerlander opened it as one of the extreme multi pitch classics back in 1989. Such a big achievement back then and always worth to remind yourself what this has meant during this time. A milestone. It’s located at Schweizereck and is 5 pitches long (150 meters, first pitch starts at 100 meters above the ground, until there it’s easy climbing but you have to belay each other). It’s mainly very technical climbing on compact and sometimes very sharp rock with a powerful roof passage in the third and hardest pitch.

The Schweizereck (c) Julian Bückers Photography

Well, we got our asses kicked in the beginning. Already the first two pitches (7a and 7c) turned out to be super special and technical. We were bewildered as climbers who already have sent 9a but they told us that alpine climbs and grades are tough compared to the modern sport climbing disciplines and now we know that it’s true. It does not mean that the climbing itself is harder but it’s the stress and pressure which comes along with longer bolt distances, own mobile placements, technical climbing styles and of course the heights. We were also very slow but that’s normal as „beginners“. Professionals have a collective routine and flow. It’s about fast partner shifts, belaying and knowing what to do in different cases. You have to be spontaneous as a good alpine climber.

Finally, we made it up to the fourth pitch that day. Then strong wind appeared and we started freezing and even shaking. Moreover, it was quiet late and it was time to get back to the ground. So we lowered down and went back to the van. Opening its doors and sitting down we realized that being out there all day, walking, freezing, climbing and focusing is completely exhausting. We were actually too tired to cook some dinner but we had to reload our batteries because the next and last day of our stay would be as tiring as this day. It’s this enjoyable tiredness though you probably all know when coming back home after a long day at work

On the third day up in Rätikon our goal was to send New Age. Red pointing the pitches felt possible so it was only about going up there again and get our mission done. The weather this morning was cloudy and very windy though and when we approached the route Michi wasn’t sure if it would be possible to ascend it. However, we decided to give it a try at least. Let’s say there was still some hope to get rewarded in the end

David was leading the first two pitches and it was a true struggle from the very first moves on. It was so cold that it was impossible to get warm fingers to feel the holds. He somehow made it up until the belay below the roof of the third pitch although some sequences almost shook him off the wall. He fought and even sometimes screamed but that comes out by its own when you try hard and need to push yourself. It should have been a team ascent so we switched knots and decided that Ruben should lead the third and hardest pitch. The weather started to clear and it was only a matter of time that the sun started to reach our belay to encourage us with its warmth. Ruben started to reach the crux moves, slowly pulling over the edge of the roof but then he fell on the crucial move, a long move from a jamming side pull one pad crimp high up left to another crimp of the same size, hitting his wrist against the rock. David lowered him off to the belay that he could get his down jacket back on to warm himself. 5 minutes break and then it was time to give it another shot but the same happened again. Back to the belay.

Ruben while trying the crux moves in the third pitch on the first day in „New Age“. Michi is belaying (c) Julian Bückers Photography

Not sure what to do, still freezing and a bit frustrated Michi pulled out his mobile phone and showed us some videos of old men sitting in a bar and making funny jokes about alcohol. We started to laugh and then the sun came around the corner and started to touch our helmets on our heads. In retrospect these were the two recipes which probably saved us the ascent of our first demanding multi pitch. David started to take over the lead again, fell once even before the crux slipping away with his foot, returned to the belay and managed to get up to the next belay without falling into the rope in his next try. That was refreshing and we got the energy and confidence back again to reach the top.

The last pitches weren’t that hard anymore and especially the last pitch was varied climbing in corners with many body position shifts involved in the lower overhanging part. That was kind of the perfect end of the whole project and when we all reached the top, shook hands and hugged each other everyone of us was happy that all the hard work payed off and everything was successful and no one hurt himself. But as every mountaineer says: You not only have to get up the mountain but also back down to the base camp. There was a way down a steep slope on the back side of the wall but one part of it was so steep and slippery that we were wondering how to get down there in a save way. We both would have taken the risk to climb down on the rubble but Michi told us that this won’t work and would be too dangerous. He felt responsible for us and with his expertise he found a spot to place cams and fix a rope to be able to lower down the slope. This is what we did and after a short shock we all stood on solid ground again. At this point New Age was really done! Yesss man

We threw all of our gear into our backs and hiked back to the car. When we got there we were even more tired than the day before (we expected that) but the feeling that everything worked well in the end and that we’d completed our mission was stronger. We sorted our gear, shared some victory cookies and had a fresh little beer before Michi and Julian left with their car on the way back home.

Such an experience with all its components keeps staying in our minds and it motivates us to face new alpine projects and challenges in the future. We’ve already got some lines on our tick list which definitely are even more challenging than New Age. We are very satisfied to have done it as our first multi pitch though and we think that Michi and Julian showed us all the skills to conquer new heights soon. Thanks for your great work guys and to our partners Scarpa and Petzl for making it all possible. We are really looking forward to climbing in the future together again in the same style and with the same motivation and good vibes as this time.

Thank You and take care!

David & Ruben

In October last year I’ve been to the Oker Valley to the south of Hannover where I’ve done the FA of a nice Fb 8A boulder problem called Daruma. On 15th of February I re-visited the area with the local Falco Bartus who now published the nice little video above featuring Daruma and some other classics. Thank You Falco! I like it very much.

In the Oker Valley there is still some potential for several FA’s in the Fb 7th range and maybe a few Fb 8th grades. Hopefully I can join the Northern German Rock Climbing Team (Norddeutscher Felskader) who is going to visit the area in March to open new lines again. The Oker Valley is a beautiful bouldering area on brown and coarse granite in the Harz National Park close to the town of Goslar in Northern Germany. More climbers are welcome!

Cheers David

During New Year we’ve been to Ticino for bouldering and repeated some nice boulders in the 8A range. We’ve edited the little video above which shows a couple of 8A’s in Chironico we were able to send together.

It was the first time we haven’t been to Spain over Christmas and New Year’s Eve since a couple of years now. It was bouldering on nice granite instead of lead climbing in long limestone walls in Catalunya. A different feeling. As every time we leave thousands problems unrepeated. That’s why soon we’ll be back in Ticino

Featured problems in the video:
3° Carne (8A)
Rah Plats Plats (8A)
The Arete With The Pocket (8A)
Hineruage/Deep red (8A)
Blonch Addiction (8A)
Willenberg Dach (8A)

Enjoy and CU on the rocks David & Ruben

I’m currently in Fontainebleau again and I thought why not putting up a little video again from my last trip earlier this year. I’m bouldering a lot and my skin isn’t so good. In Font I always have bad skin. It feels like it isn’t regrowing, I just ripp off more and more. Well, this is the only thing right now which isn’t working so well. Yesterday I’ve sent Big Dragon (8A) at Petit Bois, a small but beautiful spot. In November last year I teamed up with my British boulder buddy Nathan Phillips to give it a try. When I slipped off the spiky sloper while going for the top jug I ripped the worst flapper on my right index finger I’ve ever had in my climbing life. That was such an awful moment. That day we concluded: Fontainebleau bites back! This is why I had to rest for more than one week. Yesterday it went down like it would have been nothing hard, like an ordinary medium hard problem You tick on Your way through the area. But it was much more in my mind. I came over the trauma and finished something I thought I would never try again. But I felt like I can’t just leave it there unrepeated because it’s such a must-do in Font. In the movie „Between the trees“ featuring Ty Landman he determines with a proud smile after his repetition „One problem ticked. One problem erased“. This is exactly how I feel now. Onto the next one on the tick list. Enjoy the little video above!

More days to come. Hope the weather will be fine!?

Cheers David