martedì 2 dicembre 2014

Frankenjura part 2




The Frankenjura is the place I visited most this year, I spent almost one month there everytime with Gabri Moroni and my brother, visiting the amazing environment and climbing on that weird kind of limestone.
I love that style of climbing, short and intense routes on small pockets, but this time was different I wanted to focus primary on a hard proj and in the meanwhile climb on easy stuff.
My project was “Penumbral Solar Eclipse” graded 8c situated in a really small crag with just 3 routes,  one 9a open by Markus Boch, an 8a+ and the 8c that is the link of this 2 routes
P.S.E start like the 8a+ and then after 3 quickdraws it goes right just under a big roof where is situated the crux of the route composed by an amazing swing from two good pinches and a big move from a weird undercling to a good edge almost at the end of the wall where you can clip the chain.
I tried it for the first time the day before we moved to Stuggart for the Adidas Rock Stars, but just to try the moves and figure out the beta for the days after the comp but I had really difficulties to grab the fucking edge.

Penumbral Solar Eclipse   Pic. Marco Znone
                                                     
In Stuggart I took part in the “Gore-tex be a Rockstar” competition, not the real one "Adidas Rock Stars" but it was one of the best amateur competition I did in my career! I was a bit stressed during the competition beacuse I was in the 2nd round so I knew how many mistakes and how many boulder problems I had to do to get into the first three positions and took part in the finals!
I climbed 6 problems over 8 but in too many tries so I finished in 5th position. I was disappointed but happy at the same time to have climbed in that competition with many strong guys. 
The day after I saw the offical competition as a spectator and it was super funny and emotional.
 Gore-tex Be a Rockstar Jam Session    Pic. Christian Waldegger

After 4 days in Stuttgard we came back to Franken for other ten days, I climbed two routes that gave me positive thought like “Bastard” 8a+ 2nd go open by J.Moffat in the 1989 featured by just one hard move to grab a good pockect, the name say everything, and “Spiderman” 8a+ also on my 2nd attempt sending this 2 hard testpieces in two hours.
 I tried for other 3 days the proj but everytime the big move cause me serious problems so I started to be nervous and stressed about that move so I decided to leave the route for a while and take some days of rest! My motivation in that days was so low so I climbed on easiest routes but I had hard problems to focused my mind on climbing, I was completely off and exhaust. After a couple of days we went to check  Maximilian Wande sector, one of the best spot in my opinion, where, in May, I tried “Boiling Point” 8b, but I fell off at the very last move. This time was another story and I took down this classic on my 2nd go of the day and a bit of motivation came back.
In the afternoon Gabri wanted to try the 9a next to my project because he was so closed on it, so I decided to make one try on the 8c
My mind during the effort was really free and without pressure so I grab the crux hold in the best way and finally I managed to keep the swing, lock the undercling and stick the edge! I was so incredulous and with a scream of joy I clipped the chain! Everything went in the best way and I couldn't describe my happiness and my satisfaction, for all the day I got a big smile on my face and that strange sensations of weakness and the low motivation was blown away.
In the last days of the trip I was really tired, I had bad skin and my muscels were really destroyed so I climbed everyday but just for the pleasure of climbing trying as many routes as I could.
Surely the Frankenjura will be a place on my list for the next years because I have a lot of routes that one day I would like to climb.
See ya the next! 
The Forest


Lucky Man 8c



It’s long time from my last blog, but now I have a good reason to write again. I want to explaine my summer season in my favourite crag in Aosta Valley, precisely in Gressoney, called La Benedizione.
La Benedizione
Pic. Pierre Zanone

The “season” start in June just after the trip in Frankenjura. So I was really psyched to start seriously the sport climbing period in fact I had in mind to try “Lucky Man 8c” my first 8c ever tried. Since that day I felt in love with this route and each day of climbing on it, I felt  my self more and more obsessed and motivated to come back to try it again.
At the end of June I spent 4 days trying it and everytime I felt a little bit closer and all the moves seemed to be easier since I started to assimilate the hardest part of the route and to get confidence on it.
During the month of July I was really busy with training for the competitions so I spent a lot of time in the gyms. I climbed just two days on easy stuffs in the Valley and 4 days in Magic Wood but “Lucky Man” was completely stuck in my mind. In the first days of August I took part in a Italian National meeting in Arco to train for the World Championship in Munich but in the first day I did a strange move and I felt a strong pain on my left biceps so I had to stop climbing for a couple. The day after I was really sad because my left arm was  weak and the pain was stronger that the day before.
After Arco I took some days of rest for the left arm but in the week end I went to Gressoney  to touch some rock again and to see how my biceps was. During the warm up I felt it ok but when I decided to try some harder stuff the pain returned again.
Devils and Dust 8a+( i.m.o. one the the best routes in this cliff)
Pic. Marco Zanone

August the 12, Gabri, Stephan and I were ready to spent 10 days around Frankenjura crags but mainly for training in climbing gym to get train for World Championship in Munich. We checked some fantastic gyms in Munich and Numberg like: Boulderwelt, E4 and Cafè Kraft but my injury was still alive driving me crazy during the training sesh, so I wasn’t able to train as hard as I expected.
During the qualifications round of the World Championship  seemed that the injury was heal but somehow I was not able to express my best so I did a quite terrible competition. I have to say that the boulders were way harder than a normal World cup comp and I was defintely not enough strong the solve even one problem; I was really proud to be there anyway. It was an awesome experience.
When I came back to Germany, I finally had the time to go to Gressoney to try my project again.
In the first day of trying I was in great shape and the conditions was perfect. I did my best attempt on “Lucky Man” falling ,at the very last move, with the first rest-point  in front of my eyes… what a pity! 
Marco Zanone on the second crux of Lucky Man
Pic. Pierre Zanone

I started to understand that this thing was possible even with my poor endurance.
I came back in Gressoney  with my family during the week end, the conditions were a bit warmer that the previous days but I was quite hopeful and super syked. I climbed  two easy route for warming up and then I felt ready for the first try because I have not real expectations since the warm up  is everytime not enough to try hard on such an hard route. I started to climb and moves by moves   I grabbed the rest-point , I shaked up my arms and then I started for the endurance part, the feelings was quite good but after 20 moves I got pumped in just one second ,because my forearms were not ready enough to struggle, so I locked as hard as I could the last crimp before the second rest-point but I was too tired and I fell down. I was like incredulous and I started to scream every kind of words came to my mind.
When I touch the ground I was switch off and for about 30 min I didn’t speak with anybody, my  mind and my body were completely destroyed.
I thought  alot about the possibilities I had to climb it on the second go after this big effort but the sun was coming so I had to get a try. 
I took two big breaths and I started my ascent, I climbed the first part quite fast and I got the rest-point again and in mind I said “wow, how is possible?” I focused  my last mental energies for the endurance part and I climbed really fast until the second rest-point (where I felt the try before), everything went in the right way and finally I grabbed the jug. I had some difficulties to reach the chain because I was really really pumped and tired but when clip the chain any kind of effort and hard work turned into happiness and satisfaction, MY BEST MENTAL BATTLE WAS OVER! I couldn’t describe my joy, a little dream came true.
 It was a pleasure share this magic moment with my brother and my family, thanks everybody  for the big support and also a big thanks to Alberto Gnerro for having bolted all these amazing routes
the first crux of Lucky Man
Pic. Francesco Longhini