GlobalClimbing

The day didn’t start out so well. In fact, even the days before kind of sucked.  Though I was in good company and I really enjoyed seeing my old buddy Stefan again, the weather bummed us both out.

[Stefan looking pretty psyched for bouldering on a wonderful day at Magic Wood]

After waiting a couple of days for reasonable conditions Stefan finally gave up and went home to Austria. I waited another day at my friend’s place near Zürich and finally the clouds began to clear.

[The fog is lifting - at least for a moment...]

Originally it was supposed to be a relaxed bouldering day at the “lake sector” in Murgtal, where you can find many easy problems located in a perfect greed meadow split by a creek. But just as we threw the pads under the first 6b problem the rain returned, forcing us to hide under a big, overhanging boulder.

[The big overhanging boulder that hosts Double Infraction, 8a+ and some hard projects]

One of the lines on this particular boulder is called Double Infraction, originally given font 8b in the old Bloc-Heart Guide by Harald Röker. It’s now considered 8a+ and this also reflects my opinion.

[I often hear about 8bs being sent when "totally wet". I never quite believe this. Here I used some toilet paper to dry a crucial hold]

Anyway, after stuffing some toilet paper into a thin crack above a crucial hold and after thinking about how the whole sequence might work I sat down and gave it a go... The one and only go I needed to complete the climb. Sweet!

Here’s a video of the actual flash and a few pictures:

[The first long move in Double Infraction, 8a+]

[Thank God I am flexible! A high foot on the last hard move seemed like the right solution during my flash]

[Walking back to the car in the rain]

Before we left, we checked out some of the moderate stuff down at the lower sector, close to the village of Murg. The climbing is totally different because the rock is sandstone unlike the lake sector where you climb on gneiss. Here's a short video clip of some great warm ups!

Well, as short as my visit was, as much I would like to come back some day, when it's not raining! I've had enough fog for the next 3 years. Even though it looked pretty:

[The usual sight on our Swizzy trip: Fog and mist creeping through the alpine trees ]