O Kalashnikov!

Four days spread out over 3 years; two days 3 years ago and 2 more since arriving at the beginning of September.  That is how long it has taken to do the last move of this problem.  3 years ago I tried it and quickly made it to the last move, a long dynamic move with the left hand from a crimp to a high sloper.  The second day on I met up with Filipe and we both worked on the climb, he sent and I fell a couple of times on the same last move before it got dark and people left… I was on a short visit to Portugal and the next day I flew back to the US.

Today I met up with Nico Favresse and with Rances Rodriguez and after a nice little warm-up we went to check out this climb.  Second try and I was back to falling from the last move.  But this time the mood was different.  No-one was eager to leave, sunset had come and the headlamps were out, and there was a lot of psych going around.  I fell two or three more times then I stuck the move only to fall matching the sloper.  Super amped I added one more element of motivation by putting La Roux’s “Going in for the kill” on the little sound system.  With little rest and much motivation I sent and let out an immense yell of satisfaction!!

Soooo Goood!!

What a climb!  5 stars!  The first 7c (V9) in Portugal and such a beautiful line!  Tall, unique (not an eliminate), excellent sequence of moves…  SO PSYCHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zeitgeist

It was the fifth day trying the problem and I was still stumped on the same move, a slap with the left hand from a good crimp to a good but far pocket which juan can’t see because it is around the corner, the slap always caused my body to barndoor immensely.  It was the only move that I couldn’t do.  I figured out the last move, a left-hand dyno from the pocket to a good sloper with the right hand on some terrible divets which you have to crimp or bear down on, the setting up for the dyno would be tough though…

It was 9:00 pm and I was alone in the Sintra mountains.  There was a crescent moon.  The air had a faint breeze.  It was quiet and too warm to be bouldering on granite slopers.  Like many other boulder problems here this one had only seen one ascent, by the abominable Macau.  Similarly to what I have been doing for the past few weeks–bouldering alone–Macau has been exploring and sending in Sintra but for many years.  He graded this climb 7b+,  It was my fifth day on and I was getting sceptical.

After lying on the crash pads with my headlamp off, enjoying the forest soudns, I put the shoes back on, switched the headlamp on and decided to see if a proper sit-start was possible.  The way this problem had been sent and tried by other climbed was get a right hand crimp, to crouch down and place a right heel hook, then place the left hand on a side pull, lift the left foot off the ground and do a left hand deadpoint to a good crimp.  Needless to say it was an awkward start.

The sit start looked improbable but I had nothing better to do, I soon found out that improbable was really only its appearance.  The rock revealed a very nice and natural sequence leading up to the previous start, adding two excellent moves.

Having figured out the new start I managed to climb the problem in two parts and was again left wondering how to do that one middle move.  I examined the whole boulder again, like a chess problem, convinced that it was possible to do and that I just needed to figure it out, to observe it until something clicked.  Then it clicked!  A new foothold, a different body position unlocked a new way of going for the pocket while keeping the body locked close to the rock.  Then I would release the foot and have to hold a less violent barndoor.  It was now close to 10pm, my fingers were raw and close to bleeding and I was super psyched to try this new sequence!  I gave it three good goes but with the low start I was getting to the hard moves without enough juice.  I had to call it a night.

Today was the sixth and last time I had to work on this climb.  The warm up was lame, my body felt great but my skin hadn’t fully recovered and I imagined I would only have a few goes before it might bleed; I found myself resisting doing any effort on the warm up problems in order to save skin and so instead of wasting time I went straight to the boulder.

I brushed the holds and felt them.  The temperature felt warm but the holds felt ok.  I was feeling more and more motivated it was hard to contain the psyche.  I just wanted to get on the climb and do it.  Its a feeling that I have when I know that the climb has now fallen into the possible side of reality.  I can see it happening but it hasn’t happened.  Just possible.  And a part of me told me to relax or I would rush the moves, to contain the motivation… I already had the shoes on and my fingers chalked up but I sad and tried to calm myself down.  After about a minute I got worried that I would calm down too much and begin to be putting off the climbing, hesitating; I told myself I would give it a few burns just to help me warm up and maintain the adrenaline flowing.

I got set up, did the first two moves and hit the left hand crimp slightly off, crimped down and continued, put the right heel on and locked off the left arm, the bad sloper was right there so I reached statically to it with my right hand and my healing fingers told me the hold was exactly on, I locked the body in and reached for the pocket, then tightened the core and slowly released the feet, the hands stayed on!  I adjusted the feet with the right heel on the hard-to-see foothold, felt ok, moved right hand to the miniature grooves and tried to bear down on them, I’m at the dyno, I know this is just a test run, a warm up but I’m here now and it would really suck if I fell from here.  Raised the right foot and fired for the sloper, and hit it!  I remembered Macau saying he still fell a few times after hitting the sloper, and this was my first time here on link, I got the right foot up high and stabbed right hand to a high groove which turned out to be a very positive hold!  Yes!  Climbed up, turned around, gave a good yell and sat at the top of the boulder laughing.  So psyched.  This was supposed to have been the test run, do I have to go again?

Grades are all subjective, I’m giving it a 7c (V9).  It is an excellent climb, highly recommended.

Not sure what I’ll try next though.  I really enjoy climbing with other people but recently I’ve been bouldering alone and noticing an added depth to the experience.  It’s just me, no-one to complain to or climb hard for or receive psyche from… no spotter on the sketchier moves.  I’m finding it to be a very good learning experience when I go bouldering alone.  You’re doing it only for yourself when you’re alone.  So, I look forward to days when other people show up and to days when no-one else comes.

And now a link to the Zeitgeist movie (note, no climbing in this movie):

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3932487043163636261#

<embed id=VideoPlayback src=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=3932487043163636261&hl=en&fs=true style=width:400px;height:326px allowFullScreen=true allowScriptAccess=always type=application/x-shockwave-flash> </embed>

Just Enough To Dream

It’s 4:40pm and I’ll be going to Sintra again tonight, not sure which blocs to go to but I’ll be going somewhere.

Two days ago I met up with Rasta at the Mecca and we repeated some of the nice easier blocs there.  I really like the lines that already exist there.  I figured out the correct foot placement and sent Megalito 7b; the first day on it I had gotten stumped on one move which I kept trying the way Macau told me to and my foot kept cutting.  The lesson is to always try to do the bloc the way it feels/looks right for you, then listen to what others say and try their beta, I could have saved a lot of skin!

Then Rasta and I eyed a new bloc which was uncovered due to the epic deforestation that has been going on in the name of fire prevention.

We looked at it and both found some possible lines.  Rasta cleaned up the left side/arete of this bloc and I cleaned the right side of the roof.  With headlamps we both sent Rasta’s line and dubbed it Transilvania 6c; we were hesitating between A Morte do Vampiro (the death of the vampire) or O Crepusculo do Vampiro (the sunset of the vampire) because the if we were to fall and roll off the pad we would be staked to death by the sharp wooden spears caused by the deforestation.  Then we went to look at the other line and had a good laugh.  I titled this post “just enough to dream” because there are just enough hold there to dream of doing this problem.  Good start feet on the back wall, a small yet solid undercling crimp on the roof, a small one/one.5 finger divet for the right hand on the bulge, and just one hold for the right foot.  Just enough holds…  We couldn’t even budge on any of the starting moves but there is something there.  8a? 8a+? 8a++?  Someday this is going to be a solid Sintra 7b+!!!

O Karma da Serra

For some reason wordpress was crashing when I tried to post two days ago… I’ve already written and lost this post 3 times because of that! Well, besides pictures, the main news today is that two days ago I felt strong after a two-day rest by the beach and I crushed a classic 7b+ (V8) in Sintra called O Karma da Serra!! It was my third day trying this climb.

On the first day I figured out some beta which seemed to work really well but my fingers weren’t ready for the sharp rock.

The second day my beta simply was not working anymore so I spent most of the time figuring out new beta and ended up using the method everybody else trying it uses; I gave it two or three good burns with that method but my shoe kept pulling off my foot on the second-to-last move which is heavy on the left heel.

This third day I quickly found myself at the same situation, I tried taping the shoe on tighter but it wasn’t working, then I decided to try a different shoe which has a looser heel and, counterintuitively, it worked. The extra give in the heel actually allowed the shoe to adjust to the rock whereas with the other shoes once the heel opened slightly the shoe would come off. So I fell once on the very last bump move off a crimp, got super adrenalized, put on La Roux’s “Going in for the Kill” and sent it! Feeling super pumped I drove over to A Tapada to try Zeitgeist, another 7b+ that was close, but got shut down. It was my 4th day on it and I still haven’t figureda way to do the slap move; my body just swings violently out everytime I try that move… Oh well – projects projects projects!

And here are some photos taken by Macau:

Trying to open a new line.

O Dia da Besta 7b

Grande Canhao? 6c+? (so many names I get confused)

Megalito 7b

O Mito stand 7a+

O Mito

The Mecca and The Myth

Macau sent his usual email informing about 10 people that there would be another night-bouldering session last night, other than himself the only fanatics to show up were Isabel Boavida and I.

The meeting place was Lagoa Azul, another gorgeous place in Sintra.

Last night we went to two more new (for me) sectors: A Mecca e o Mito and these were the best thus far.  The boulders were really sweet!  It was like a little Hueco Tanks.  Good texture to the rock, nice lines, tall boulders, good landings…  Sintra has grown!

Macau setting up to try a project in the Mecca sector.

Quality bouldering at The Mecca sector.

The Mito area really has one main bloc, the Mito bloc.  This bloc was discovered over a decade ago by the elite boulderers back then but it was discarded at the time because of its difficulty and then it was lost.  Literally, it was lost for many years, it was found by chance and the rapidly growing foliage in Sintra made it so that it was extremely difficult to find again.  Only two years ago was it rediscovered with the help of GoogleEarth and a lot of persistence.

Two problems are on this bloc: the Mito sit start which weighs in at 8a (V11) and the stand start which is a powerful 7a+ (v5).

O Mito

Macau on the sit start of O Mito

We ended the night session at an early 11:30pm under a perfectly clear and starry sky.  I was definitely feeling much better on the rock and had an excellent session at The Mecca, sending several boulders in the 7a/+ range in a few goes.  My skin, though, is suffering, the fingertips feel pretty beat up so I’m planning on taking a full 2 days rest!!  …  let’s see if I can manage to stay away that long!  Autumn is coming soon and with it the cooler temperatures which will make bouldering that much better, so I will definitely be back to work on O Mito!

The Day of the Beast

The fanatism continues, today I met up with Macau, Rita, Bibs, Alex, Rui, Ramel, Marco… (I think I’m missing someone) for another day for energetic bouldering.  Today was Sao Pedro, yet another sector with some very nice boulders.  We warmed up on a nice 5/6a and then worked on a project for a while and ended the day trying a very nice 7b called O Dia da Besta.  I got very close to the send but that is beside the point, I’m starting to feel some semblance of familiarity on the rock again, some better movement, which is really encouraging.  I’m sure the transition from climbing on plastic to climbing on rock will take a few more weeks but it is feeling so good to climb outdoors!!

Macau will be leaving to visit the New England area so I may have to get on rope for a while since the all-night-fanatic-bouldering will not have enough participants… we’ll see!

Photo by Bibs.

Just Some Photos

These are photos which Macau took of me about a week ago.

Lagarta Titanica 7a+ or so since a few good climbers have tried it but it has only seen one ascent… by Macau.

Chapavao, 6c or so, I saw the line but Macau papa-FA’s got the ascent.

A hard Macau slab project.

Yes, my foot is cutting, found out I can go static with a heel instead of a tip.

The last move on Zeitgeist, that right hand sucks!!!

Diamonds in Sintra

Went bouldering last night, Sintra of course.  In fact, this post includes climbing on the 9th and on the 11th.

In the previous post I talked a bit about the grading system in Sintra.  The grading is something that is talked about nearly every time we go bouldering, not because we are addicted to number, no, it is because it is SO interesting!!!  We (and by “we” I mean the totality of boulderers in Sintra who were present for the debate yesterday) have come to the conclusion that the grading in Sintra is scientifically correct, and we have arrived at this fantastic point because the grading is based on a “universal” scale.  You may be aware of how the temperature scale came about; of how it was necessary to have two points, two fixed points (these being the freezing and boiling points of pure water at a certain atmospheric pressure and so on), in order to establish the temperature scale.  Such an idealized situation is necessary for scientific reasoning.

An astrophysicist, a engineer and a biologist are asked to predict which racehorse will win the horse racing derby. The biologist bases his reasoning on what the horse ate, the horse’s caloric intake and its energetic output, and the ATPs and so on and so on.  The engineer looks at the horses in the race and gets mesurements of their legs, looking at the legs as fulcrums, and then measures the curvature of the spine and gets ready to calculate the air drag and so on.  Finally the astrophysicist says “I know, if we assume the horse is a sphere…”.

That’s the joke, physicist always make these kind of outrageous approximations/simplifications.

SIMILARLY, and getting back to the grading in Sintra, anything that is easy is given 6c/+ or 7a, then anything for anything that is hard we say: “well, it was hard but it’s kind of warm today and maybe a little damp even but if it was dry and 0 degrees Celsius outside then this boulder would be a 7b or possibly 7b+.  So the grade is 7b+.”

I mentioned to Macau that I’m having a hard time imagining something that is Sintra 7c or higher.  I’ve played on 7c+’s and seen plenty of 8a’s and above outside of Portugal but not in Sintra… hummmmm

But what I wanted to get to is mentioning the next level of bouldering in Sintra, boulders such as Diamante Branco (White Diamond):

Ricardo “Macau” Alves trying the moves on a new line which goes right on this giant bloc.

A number of large blocs have recently been found and they contain some powerful lines which even Sintrenses are agreeing are not easier than 7c.  That is a bold statement out here.  The Diamante Branco bloc has three main lines: Sete Vidas 7b+, Diamante Branco 7c and the new line out right that is still an unnamed project and some of the moves are shown in the above pictures.  In these pictures Macau is already halfway up the bloc, the first crux is below him and hard to photograph.  The fall is well padded but it is a small caos of boulders so very uneven.  Spicy!!

Two days ago we went to another sector: Eden.  We were 4 this time, the usual Macau, Pena and I and then Alex.  This was Alex’s first climbing experience in Portugal and now I wonder if I will ever see him again…  We met at the parking lot at 6:30pm.  Headlamps – check.  Jackets – check.  Music – check.  Snacks – check.  To all who join us – please remember to bring sturdy long pants.

We first climbed on a really excellent boulder which somwhat resembled a large piano turned slightly on its side ; it is made up of large rounded smooth-granite blcos.  The moves are on sidepulls and underclings, technical and a lot of tension.  5 star climb rated somewhere between 6c and 7a.  It is still unnamed–the rate at which new boulders are being discovered is faster than the climbers can name them!!  Macau and Pena have to have a list of names for future blocs or else there would be many unnamed lines.

The first crux move on this new line, going to a two finger divet.  Photo by Macau.

Photo by Macau.

Photo by Macau.

Matching the undercling. Photo by Macau.

Going up to the sidepull. Photo by Macau.

At this point some very heavy fog started rolling in, setting some nice mood, and Alex was already feeling the effects of the granite on his skin.  We decided to move to another sector: Arca de Noe (Noah’s Arc), so named because when it was first climbed on there was a lot of rain coming down and yet it remained dry.  Likewise, no this day, a few minutes after getting there the rain started coming down!  The foliage in Sintra grows rather rapidly… and agressively, and to get to get to this sector required some trampling through well armed sharp bushes and brambles.  Alex only had capri pants…

Alex on the right, feeling the effects of the hike, the cold, and the drizzle while Macau and Pena prep the main line.

Pena on the first move of the Arca de Noe 7b.  The first move is probably the hardest move but the last of the 11 moves was the crux for me.

The transition moves, requiring some tension on good holds.  Photo by Macau.

These moves are soooo good!! and on excellent quality rock!  Photo by Macau.

Photo by Macau.

The second-to-last move on A Arca de Noe.  Photo by Macau.

It was a good session at this sector.  Pena sent two of the three lines and made excellent progress on the third.  I got to the last move on the Arca, 3 or 4 times, and Macau made a new line going across all three established climbs possibly baptizing it A Arca do Dragao.

I wonder if Alex was yearning to go home because the blocs were a bit hard for his first day and he ended up sleeping on the crashpad for a while… however, after this sector we still tried a few lines on another bloc which was overhung enough to have stayed dry and by then it was something like 1:20am.  We ended another fanatic session in Sintra, I hope it only served to inspire Alex and not frighten him away… we will see in the coming episodes.

More Sintra

After so many weeks without updates on this blog it feels a little strange to update it twice in two days; however, I am not complaining and I believe/hope that this trend will continue since it just means that I’m climbing a lot!

Despite my fingers being all pink on the tips from the climbing session the day before, I was very interested in seeing some of the new sectors and new boulders, so I went to meet up with Macau and Pena at S. Pedro at 3:15pm.  If I remember correctly today we went to the sector “O Gigante” – The Giant.

Macau – the main developer of the Serra de Sintra over the past decade.

One of the reasons why so many new sectors and boulders have shown up recently has been because of the small group of fanatics that sprouted this past year, another reason is because the government is taking steps to avoid fires in the Serra and so they have cut down HUGE amounts of brush and trees.  This large scale, organized deforestation has made the walks in the woods much more manageable and vastly increased the visibility (not to mention the reduction of risk of fires!).

What most surprises me about the climbing in Sintra is the variety of rock within the same Serra.  Yesterday the sector had really rough granite, dark granite, that innevitably leaves your fingertips and palms raw at the end of a day, today the rock was much lighter, nearly white, and a much finer grain (and I’m told some of the other new sectors have even finer grain).  We warmed up on two easy but super fun tall slabs and then played on some other technical climbs.

The above bloc as the FA and only send by Macau, it looks easier than it is.  It involves several compression moves first on good holds and then on small slopers that are very temperature dependent.  Neither Pena nor I managed to send though Macau showed us all the moves.

As a testament to the opportunity that exists at the moment, in the little time I was there I saw and cleaned a nice new line starting just to the right of an existing bloc.  This starts on two underclings with a high left foot, placing the body in a compressed and locked position, then one tight move to a shallow mono divet followed by a large move to the top; the FA was by Macau who reached the top without having to cut feet, I gave it several valiant efforts but it stays for another day.  The line was dubbed Chapavao.

We then moved on to a problem called Zeitgeist, also a Macau FA (and again sole ascent).  In contrast to the surrounding rock this prow has a really fine grain and is a dark color–reminding me of some lines in Hueco Tanks such as Black Mamba.  Pena and I both tried it several times and made good progress but no ascents.  The moves are awesome, top problem which is given a 7b+/V8 grade.  Sintra has, in my opinion, pretty stiff grading; I think the most common grades in Sintra are 6a (given to something that is easy), 6c+ (given to something that is hard but come on that that hard) and 7b+ (given to something that when first discovered everyone thought would be at least 7c but once it was finally sent nobody wants to give it the V9 grade).  I won’t pronounce my opinion about the grading here, these are some hard problems, they are great quality and I’m happy that I can move my ass on them – that’s all I’ve got to say about that!

Here are some photos of Pena doing the beginning moves:

I didn’t get good photos of the last moves but they are not a given as you may imagine if you think about topping that thing out.  I got just about as far as Pena did, so we are both pscyhed to come back to this new gem.

Along with these sweet little gems that are being discovered there are also the giants.  Macau had brough 4 crash pads, Pena and I 1 each so, with the aid of a rope, Macau cleaned a wall which contains at least 3 good lines and we gave it some burns.  My fingers where shot from the sudden immersion into Sintra grains yesterday and I wasn’t feeling ready for the psychological high moves today so I took photos while Pena and then Macau sent a new 7a and then tried a much harder line (undoubtedly 7c+/8a for now but 7b+ when it finally goes) to the right.

Macau cleaning the line with Pena looking on.

Macau starting the line.

Macau learning to fly.

Pena on the start moves.

I’ll just leave one more photo taken at night with the headlamps.  I started taking this photo just as Macau made a move to the next hold, he then fell and fell towards me while the shutter was still open, leaving a cool light effect:

Macau, Pena and I have planned to have another session on Monday, at a different sector, so it gives time for the hounds to heal!  More updates will most certainly come!

So Good To Be Back

Yes, it really feels so good to be back in Sintra, Portugal.  This is the beginning of a 10 month long visit, we arrived yesterday morning, and today I went bouldering in the magical land of Sintra.

Sintra really is a magical place, the forest, the boulders, the springs… the ocean, the cliffside, the village… it has always felt special to me and more so now that I am here with my parents and my family.  The last time I was here was two and half years ago, at that time there were not many people bouldering in the woods, there was a afficionado group but not many people.  During those two years the bouldering community has seen a large rise and a group of 5 or 6 Sintraddicts have been opening new and beautiful lines in these boulders.  I was eager to meet this crew and to meet those boulders.

Today was the first day and I my top priority was to take it easy.  The granite in Sintra is rough, like the coarsest type of sandpaper but even coarser, so each climbing session innevitably leaves the fingers raw; also, I hadn’t climbed outdoors in a while and I know it takes me a few days to adapt, and I definitely wanted to avoid injuries right of the bat.

At 4pm I arrived at the boulders, just 25-30mins from my home here, and immediately met up with a friend I knew from before, Bruno, and one of the more addicted climbers from the new generation: Pena.  The location where we started was the most conducive to “taking it easy” since it has one main proud boulder: Kalashnikov (V9) but I managed to not abuse it too much.  What I immediately noticed was that the griains gripped onto the calousy parts of my fingers and ripped good chunks (no flappers though, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a flapper!) and that my grip was very slick.  Pena had been getting close to sending Kalashnikov but the entry moves were very dicey, I gave him the beta I had figured out two and a half years ago and he strongly dispatched the problem in a handful more turns!

This is a really sweet problem, beautiful line and the first V9 (7c) in Sintra.

After this Pena, Bruno and Rasta wanted to show me another classic which was Karma da Serra.  When we arrived at the bloc I realized that I knew this line because I had been present 6-7 years ago when Leo and Macau envisioned the sit-start of this line.  It goes at around V8/7b+ and is very pretty.  I did the easier stand start (6c+/V4 ish) and then gave a good flash burn on the full line.  I also figured out different beta than what was being suggested and felt very close to sending, I’m sure this will go soon with cooler temps and a few more days of acclimatizing.

We then left to check out Massa Expansiva which houses a 7a+, 7b, and 7c.  We played on that bloc for a while but the temps were not providing the grip which it so needed so we decided to jump on Boomerang (7b) to close the day; Pena quickly repeated the line and Rasta and I tried it a couple of times, both of us getting close but having to leave it for another day.  No photos from those two lines.

In all it was a good first day back, I wanted to take it easy and yet try some classic lines and that is exactly what ended up happening.  Tomorrow I will probably get to see a new sector! and climb with more of the fanatic crew so I’m happy I still have enough skin for that!

Stay tuned, the updates should be rolling in nicely from here on.

Inshalla