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

Climbing and Bodyboarding Photos

Here are a couple of photos from bouldering at Turtle Rock, bodyboarding at ?? Beach, and sport climbing at Stinson.

Turtle Rock:

When I was moving out west I thought the area was littered with reasonably good climbing areas.  I mean, Yosemite is just 3 hours away (less if you drive fast), Tahoe is about the same distance, Bishop like 5 hours, the Pinnacles 2 hours… however, Berkeley and Oakland are in this kind of limbo area, a dead zone, where the only outdoor climbing occurs on these random rocks that sprouted from somewhere.

Mortar Rock and Turtle Rock are prime examples, both containing anywhere from 5 to 100 problems depending on how creative you feel that day.

Kevin on the only underclings allowed eliminate # 56 (hey Kevin: underclings for the start too!)

Rances Rodriguez priming his low-ball bouldering skills to help his mental game on the 40-meter Spanish sport routes he is facing nowadays.

We figured we’d go bodyboarding before climbing at Stinson beach.  Get there and I brought the wrong wetsuit, Kevin forgot his, Rances was equipped with wetsit and surf board but the waves were only 2-3 feet high… still had fun though.

Approaching Stinson Beach climbing area, the drizzling hadn’t started yet:

Kevin on the sketchy warm-up route involving slippery feet:

I like this next picture:

My next post will probably come from my homeland, Portugal!  Motivation and fitness levels are high so I just gotta resurrect my contacts to get on some awesome sport climbs and boulders!!!

What is new?

Climbing outdoors has been very scarce unfortunately.  My hopes are all reserved for Portugal.  I and the family will be flying out there at the end of this month (!! so close) and staying there for a few months and I’ve been imagining that I’ll be doing a lot of outdoor climbing!  I do hope it comes true.

About a month ago I went sport climbing outdoors on the coast, at Stinson Beach, with friends Rances and Kevin.  A nice location especially if there is sun and low tide.  What we got was drizzle, fog, and high tide!  We still managed to have an awesome time.  We did a 5.10b, then a 5.11a (I think) and then quickly figured out the moves on a 5.12a.  We kept eye-ing a line that looked super rad but also looked super hard.  We could only spot some really small crimps, a huge jug and more small crimps… thing is the jug was miles away from the crimp holds and the feet looked very poor.  Kevin believed it was a 5.12c so we set it up on toprope and started working on it.

What seemed laughably impossible quickly revealed a really well-defined and pretty sequence of moves involving, of course, a dyno from two bad crimps to the jug.  Last try of the day, in now reasonably heavy drizzle (our stuff got all wet and muddy), and I managed to fall on the very last move.  Haven’t gone back to send but it has been on my thoughts quite frequently.  Oh, and the book says it is a 5.13a, that explains why we thought it was hard for a 12c!!

In the meanwhile I’ve been following a structured training program which I made for myself and it has been giving good results.  Strength, endurance, power are all well up and I’ve been feeling really good on the plastic (pity it’s on the plastic).  The other day I did about 20 problems including 5 V7s and only fell once, great feeling.

However, it seems like everytime I get into the groove with training or with a climbing routine it gets interrupted.  Portugal will be a welcome interruption but a part of me wishes I could have more time to explore my potential through this training.

p.s. what’s up with that kid Ondra uh?  insane!