Ab 2010 geht ausser den inzwischen zahlreich stattfindenen Spaßbewerben auch die Hard Moves Boulder League an den Start, erstmal deutschlandweit, für die nächsten Jahre aber durchaus mit internationaler Perspektive. Die beteiligten Hallen bieten jeweils 100 Probleme an. Jeder kann mitmachen und versuchen so viele Probleme wie möglich über einen Zeitraum von sechs Wochen zu lösen. Soweit laufen die Hard Moves wie ein andere Spaßwettkämpfe auch. Man bekommt einen Laufzettel und bouldert, was die Finger halten. Die Frauen und Männer, die in ihrer Halle die meisten Problem gelöst haben, sind damit für das deutschlandweite Finale qualifiziert, wo die besten Boulderer der teilnehmenden Hallen gegeneinander antreten. Der Charme dieser Idee liegt in ihrer Einfachheit. Jede Halle versucht ihre Hard Moves so gut wie möglich zu organisieren, schon alleine um in der Liga ein schlagkräftiges Team präsentieren zu können. Ganz unbürokratisch treffen so hundert Finalisten aus allen Teilen Deutschlands zum großen Showdown aufeinander! Sobals es losgegangen ist, werden wir auf www.udini.de immer frische Bilder und Berichte hochladen, weitere Infos gibts auf www.hard-moves.de.
It has been a while since the rock climbing world and the competition scene could agree on one champion. In 2009 Adam Ondra climbed the most not only hard but also diverse rock routes and won the World Cup. There is nothing super human or magical about Adam, he just brings, for the time being, the most complete climbing skill set to the table.
It is the nature of human progress that we learn. By watching the clips posted here and elsewhere, we will learn about climbing and therefore improve. Somewhere in the world a talented girl or boy, say 12 years old, who watches Adam, Johanna, Chris and all the other great climbers of our time, will be a far better climber in five years time than those guys ever could be! So read on, watch those clips, watch them again, discuss them - we will keep on making them, for the future of climbing!
Progression ist eine "abendfüllende" (so nennt man Filme mit Kinolänge von etwa 90min.) und packende Dokumentation über das Klettern auf höchstem Niveau. Heute ist endlich, mit einiger Verspätung die Progression DVD bei uns eingetrudelt. Nachdem man den Hauptfilm schon seit einiger Zeit bei BigUp 'runterladen kann, stellt sich natürlich die Frage, ob sich der Kauf der DVD überhaupt lohnt. Wir finden schon, denn viele Aspekte, die im Film aus dramaturgischen Gründen nur angerissen werden können, werden im Bonusmaterial sehr interessant vertieft. Man könnte auch böse sagen, der Hauptfilm wäre die mainstreamige Version des Bonusmaterials. Was bekommt man also für sein Geld? Bouldern in Südafrikas Rocklands. (gut 20min.), Sportklettern in Oliana (gut 7min.), El Cap Bigwall Hintergründe mit Tommi Caldwell in der Technoroute "Magic Mushroom"(knapp 15min.), eine Dokumentation über den Leadworldcup in Puurs 2008 (knapp 6min.), gut 4 Minuten Headpoint / clean climbing äktschn in Colorado, ein viereinhalb Adam Ondra Portrait in Spanien, der "This is the season" clip über Indian Summer Bouldern in New York State, knapp acht Minuten tolle Probleme in Bishop, eine DWS Bootserkundungsfahrt mit Chris Sharma auf dem Colorado bzw. am Hoover Damm und schließlich knapp sechs Minuten Hintergründe zum Klettern im britischen Grit. Wie aufwändig inzwischen Kletterfilmproduktionen wie Progression geworden sind, erkennt man auch daran, das nichts vom Trip nach China zu sehen ist. Ein Kamerateam mit Chris Sharma nach China zu schicken und dann nichts von dem verwerten zu können (aus welchen Gründen auch immer) muß weh tun. Das "Bonusmaterial" auf der Progression DVD ist trotzdem hochinteressant und besser produziert als die allermeisten Kletterfilme! Beeindruckend, wie ambitioniert Big Up Kletterfilme produziert! Hier gibts die Progression DVD in unserem Shop...
An alert mind that allows for quick descision making. Check! A huge repertoire of movements from lots of hard climbing already in the age of sixteen. Check! A body that won't hold you back. Check! Voilà, now you can virtually run through the notoriously overhanging Puurs competition wall! Demonstrated by Adam Ondra winning the IFSC Climbing Worldcup in Belgium Saturday night! His style is so efficient that we foresee that in the future everybody has to climb like Adam! The videos below let you compare the top 3 climbers of the men's finals and the women's superfinals (due to poor route setting in the finals, more about that later) to analyze their different styles. The indisputed winner Johanna Ernst for example climbs faster and apparently effortless through those endurance monsters, from the qualification routes to the superfinals. Check out the complete results here ... note: the videos below are again of very high HD quality and need a fast connection and computer. If you experience problems watching them, please watch them on our our youtube channel instead!
The BAZ! team managed to pull off another great event with the fourth incarnation of "Boulderen An Zee" at Scheveningen Beach. Even more climbers, better conditions (at least for bouldering, sun bathers were shivering) and the incredible atmosphere when the sun sets and the finals start... Stay tuned for more soon!
above: Planet BAZ! Friday, 20:00 CET, 14h to go before the comp starts. (If you are interested in what it takes to pull off such an event, check out the BAZ! blog.)
The BAZ! 2008 has been the best climbing related event I've ever been to! Around 700 climbers from all over the world met to climb on 200 carefully crafted problems, the best youngsters and adults made it into the enthralling finals that took place in front of a magical sunset (these guys are friends with all weathergods too!). Everything was top notch at the BAZ! 2008, with the help of more than 100 volunteers (!!!), they built 3 huge "boulders" and the final stage. They had DJ's, live music,impressive light, good food and some of the best route setting by any standard.
That all this can happen in a country without any rock doesn't come as a surprise, without any significant alpine tradition, the Dutch developed a very modern approach to climbing. They have some of the best climbers in the world, the biggest Fontainebleau site (and the nicest Bleau guide) and now:
above: birds eye view of the BAZ! site, thurday, 28.08.08, -44h till lift off
The BAZ! 2008 has been the best climbing related event I've ever been to and so the documentary about it became almost 35 minutes long. The first part tells you the logistics of such a huge event and gives some impressions of the open contest. The second part is about the finals with lots of split screens to compare climbers and some incredible fisheye close-up footage.
Think Climbing in China - think Yangshuo - think again!
Rockclimbing in China has gotten a lot of media exposure over the last months: From blogs and other well known internet resources to magazines and climbing flics everyone seems to have covered the topic. All these reports had one thing in common: The phrase „Climbing in China“ has been used synonymously with sportclimbing on the steep limestone cliffs of Yangshuo, situated in the beautiful southwestern province of Yunnan. While planning our summer vacation in China due to different reasons it was soon clear, that Piaʼs and my route wouldnʼt go any near the Yunnan province and therefore we wouldnʼt be visiting Yangshuo after all. We didnʼt want to give up on climbing in China though, so we started doing some research on other possible climbing – or even better bouldering – spots. After a long time of searching we found a short information about an obscure granite bouldering area right on the ocean at the city of Qingdao in between Shanghai and Beijing. There was no topo yet, but bouldering right on the beach sounded really inviting. We got in contact with some local climbers and planned for a longer stop in Qingdao.
(note: the clips above are of the best and fattest video quality, if you have problems watching them, consider our youtube channel instead)
Recipe for a fantastic boulder contest:
Invite 12 very different climbers, all with various backgrounds, 6 girls and 6 boys. Have a cool venue ready, with clean structures that allow for creative route setting that challenge all skills for bouldering. Let them pick straws, one girl and one boy share one section on your structure. Leave it open to them if or if not to coorporate, just ask them to care for each others safety. Let them put up problems, apply as few rules as possible, provide the girls with 2 additional (bad!) holds to compensate for reach etc. Do the ranking / prize thing Melloblocco style, each problem is worth x €, divided through the ascendonistas so nobody returns empty handed. After them setting for one hour, do something for your audience, get into the climber's head, ask them for the idea behind their problem, some might have one, some not, the crowd loves world class climbers talk about climbing!
Than it is bouldering time!
Your job is done, from now on the thing flows by itself! The climbers support each other, the vibe is friendly and the air electric. Some unexpected turns are to be expected, boys get grey hair over "easy" girl problems, girls cheat by solving macho moves with girl technique. More grey hair for the boys! After 90 minutes everybody is wasted beyond believe and you have clear, undisputed winners. (Jule & Jonas in this case) Everybody is happy.
For hours you've fought with this problem. By the time you've figured out the sequence, your power is gone. You rest. Put the shoes back on. Uuuuh, that hurts. Your toes are screaming, the laces cutting through the battered skin of your fingers. A couple more alibi tries before you admit that you are done for today, defeated! Hiking back you wonder if you ever felt so wasted before. You get lost. This dammed forest! Every muscle fiber is begging for mercy... But wait, this arête really looks too good! Lets check it out for another day! It is so tempting, you might as well put the shoes on and give it a try ... By the time you've figured out the sequence, all your power is gone ... It's getting dark, you are stoked, before you fall asleep your body remembers the moves it did today ... There still isn't a place like Fontainebleau in the bouldering world, regardless what the hype says. That arête you've been trying might be only 5c, but believe me, there isn't a climber who never struggled with a font 5c! Nowadays, bouldering areas are developed by 8a boulderers for their 8a buddies, media hype very welcomed. Most of these areas therefore lack the diversity and spectrum that makes them enjoyable in any physical shape you might be in, with any friends you are with (climbers or not) and in any season.
This is Fontainebleau,
the place where 8a heroes are being lectured by middle aged housewives, inflatable monster pads don't make you dare to top out problems that were established 30 years ago starting on a little carpet and the hardest easy bouldering in the universe!
Fontainebleau, the place
where it all began...
Cuvier Rempart - impressive problems, even with crash pads!
Bas Cuvier - some of the most classic boulder problems in the world!
below: some new pics of Jonas Baumann and Tobi Reichert from a photo shoot for my upcoming 'Lizenz zum Bouldern' book
below some older (and some downright ancient pics from our many trips to Bleau
The Boulder World Cup 2009 was gripping to the last problem, at least for the boys. Until Rustam Gelmanov couldn't do problem # 3, the outcome was totally open. All the three candidates, Kilian Fischhuber, Gabi Moroni and Rustam had shown flawless performances in the qualiification and semifinals and are truly incredible boulderers but at the end it was Kilian who showed that he is the most complete of them all!
When defending champion Anna Stöhr failed to qualify for the finals, it was clear that Akiyo Noguchi would be the new queen of bouldering. Akiyo barely made it into the finals, but then, with the tail wind of here overall win, showed an incredible performance!
The main ingrdient for any climbing comp is the route setting and I can not praise the quality of the international route setting team around Reini Fichtinger highly enough! Each problem was different and in the end everybody agreed with the outcome. Well done!
Jonas Baumann, who won the Boulder WC in Vail unfortunately didn't have a good day and didn't pass qualification. His fifth place overall is still a great success.
What a lovely event that is! We met in the village of Petrohrad, Petr Resch led us to this years' area, where everybody, armed with the brand new guidebook tried to solve as many of the stunning granit problems as possible. The weather gods were gentle this year and we had two great days in the Czech forest. I mainly shot stills for my upcoming bouldering book this time. Some sequences are shot so rapidly that it makes for an entertaining slideshow. Enjoy!
... please find the clip of the Petrohradske PADani 2006 below ...
Im Supersommer 2003, der ja für Kletterer gar kein Supersommer, sondern einfach nur unerträglich heiss war, „entdeckten“ wir die Bretagne. Praktisch die ganze Küste besteht aus beboulderbarem Granit und die Surfspots sind fantastisch. Beim Bouldern sticht besonders Kerlouan heraus, das man sich über 14 Kilometer wie Hampi am Ozean vorstellen muss, eines der ganz großen Bouldergebiete Europas, aber merkwürdigerweise weitesgehend unbekannt.
So viele Möglichkeiten hat man in Europa ja nicht, bouldern und surfen unter einen Hut zu bringen. (Portugal wäre auch eine Möglichkeit) Aber warum sollte man dass überhaupt wollen? Warum nicht in irgendein Bouldergebiet und ein anderes Mal, wenn es vielleicht eh zum bouldern zu heiss ist zum surfen fahren?
Alle Kletterer fahren ja gerne nach Südfrankreichs unverschänt schöne Landschaft. Das Licht der Provence, gutes Essen und die Stimmungen und Gerüche der verschiedenen Orte und Jahreszeiten - dazu noch die vielen tollen Klettergebiete - Stefan Reians fährt am liebsten zum bouldern nach Annot. Hier ist sein Bericht:
Wenn ich mir einen Ort auf dem Planeten aussuchen könnte - bis jetzt habe ich noch nichts besseres gesehen!
Egal in welchem geilen, exotischen Land man dem Winter entflieht, ich zumindest freue mich immer schon auf den Frühling oder Herbst in France. Schöne Orte und weltklasse Klettergebiete an jedem dicken Baum,und so hat sicher jeder seine Favoriten,die man immer mal wieder besucht - auch ich habe da mehrere.
Seit einigen Jahren gehört Annot jedes Jahr aufs Menu!
Nathan Cando hat mit Koh Tao, adventure bouldering in Thailand die ideale DVD zum sich aus dem dunkelgrauen Mitteleuropaherbst weg träumen vorgelegt. Im Gegensatz zu einigen anderen exotischen Destinationen wie Seychellen oder Virgin Gorda, ist eine Reise nach Thailand auch durchaus erschwinglich! Ein gut gemachter Film mit fittem Kanadisch-Amerikanischen Team bei dem auch einiges an Infos zur Logistic einer solchen Reise rüberkommt!
Zur Abrundung der ganzen Koh Tao Geschichte haben wir unten noch ein ganz besonderes Schmankerl für Euch: Matt Pierson's Videoaufzeichnungen der frühen Bouldertage auf Koh Tao. 1996 kam James March. AKA the Zen Gecko, zum ersten Mal auf die Insel ... (exklusiv @ www.udini.de)
Laut dem ZenGecko soll Jamson Bay den besten Granit auf der Insel haben, deswegen sind wir am ersten Tag direkt da hin. Aber, was für ein Schock, um, zwischen und über den Blöcken wuchert inzwischen ein Ferienresort. Selten in so merkwürdiger Umgebung gebouldert! Gut drauf sind die burmanesischen Mitarbeiter, die Palmen hochlaufen können, dass einem schwindelig wird und in jeder freien Minute barfuß mitbouldern. Die nächsten Tage haben wir dann selber gesucht und schließlich auch den "Secret Garden" gefunden in dem es teilweise auch nicht so hautzerstörende Griffe gibt. Meistens waren wir morgens bouldern und nachmittags schnorcheln (Koh Tao gilt als mit der beste Tauchgrund Südostasiens!).
oben: die Bilder von unserer Boulderreise nach Koh Tao, 2008
Hier ist ein Panorama mit den spektakulärem Blick von Ko Nang Yuan auf Ko Tao.
