Cranking into Number 1, Boven part II

We ended up going out for Pizza on Friday night. Was great. There was a lot of pizza, 25 of them to be exact. Good evening.

Joey and I getting our butts kicked

Dylan tying in to climb the Beast 8a+

Saturday saw me back at the God No! Wall with Joey. Was a really cool day. Warmed up on Burning Spear and go so flash pumped that I couldn't do the last move! Irritating. But it's all good. Afterward I did two massive links on Rodan. First link found me falling off half way through the second major boulder problem which was an amazing feat for me seeing as I had never caught the dynamic move from the ground. So I added about 8m to my previous highpoint here. Joey took a burn for warmup and did the sequences so he had them solid in mind.

Second burn got me even higher, I managed to make the next clip and fall off moving for the "butter knife crimp." I am really psyched about it. After this, Joey cruised Rodan. He looked really solid until the very last move, which he almost fell off of. But he held it and in 5 attempts the route was done, 8c it remains.

We headed over to Raptophilia (8b) to watch Paul working on it. I also gave it a burn and Brendon Salzer took some good photos (still to come). I then watched Joey waltz right up it, 4th go over two days. Good work! Second ascent. At the end of the day I did Burning Spear (7c) guess that would have been 4th go.

Sunday was a rest day for me. I watched a bunch of people climbing routes all over Wonderland. I saw James crush Stitch It (7c+) and Dylan fight hard on Pit Fighter (8a+). It is good to see everyone cranking so hard, it also made me glad I left my shoes up in the car, no temptations. James and I had a celebratory meal and then went to the lodge and sat there quietly for the rest of the day, I think it was kind of necessary to have a moment of calm during a rest day after so many days of cranking.

MONDAY! The main event for me. I woke up and made breakfast for James and myself and then we headed out to Superbowl. I put the draws on Lotters for James and brushed holds. He almost got it on his warmup, just had to figure out exactly what to do with his feet. I jumped on Strata and made it through the crux effortlessly. I however realized that the foot sequence I had to get to the chains wouldn't work while I was tired so I quickly hung out there and found a new one. Then James crushed Lotters and it was time to play the waiting game. I knew that I wanted to wait 45 minutes. It took James 10 to climb and clean Lotters so I had another 35 minutes to sit around and wait.

I was pretty excited and a little nervous. There was more to this climb than it being a hard 32/8b. I knew that if I sent this one it would propel me into first place on the 8a.nu ranking game for the sport category in South Africa. So when I busted through the crux the second time and got my feet up on those little smears and then into the big slot I knew it was mine for the taking. I guess all I needed to do to get the number 1 spot was work my ass off and send Andrew Pedley off to Brazil. Ha Ha Ha! I can't wait to climb with him again, I miss the psyche that he brought to the crag every day we climbed together. Watching him climb Rodan was an awe-inspiring feat of mental courage. He just would not give up. Again and again he fell at the same spot and yet he persevered and climbed it in the end.

After I did Strata I was so amped that I wanted to do something else as well, so I walked up to Hypertension (8a), tied in and sent it placing draws. It felt great to feel so fit. I hadn't even been on the ground for 5 minutes after sending Strata. I guess you could say that I achieved a bit of a personal goal this weekend, all the hours of hard training and torture paid off. The next trip is about to begin in the morning: 6 weeks in Rocklands. I can't wait. I have some good goals and a bit ticklist in the making. Time will tell if the boulder power is there for me.

Witness the BOVEN fitness!

Thursday: Boven is always great. Whether the weather sucks or it is brilliant, I always manage to have a great time. Sure there are days that are better than others, but I can tell that this trip is going to be exceptional. After arriving, Illona and I missioned down to the Superbowl and put up some draws on Snapdragon and Strata. On my second go I managed to get two moves higher in the crux than my previous high point. If I get two more moves then it'll be all over. Illona crushed every sequence on Snapdragon, her endurance is just lacking a little after all the bouldering and time away from these loooooong routes here. At the end of the day we walked past God No! and Illona managed to on sight Little Red Riding Hood (25), GOOD JOB! I got on Monster and red pointed it for training. Such a fun line. The evening was awesome, hung out with Joey and Colette some; watched some of their time lapse sequences of clouds and stars. Really brilliant to see. I wish my camera could do that. Video editing looks to be quite time consuming, but the results certainly justify the time.

Friday: I just had a pretty short day at the crag but quite eventful. Today saw Joey Kinder on Rodan for the first time. Within a few minutes he had done all the moves and was having a lot of fun. His presence was quite inspirational. After my warmup on Big Bad Wolf (I still love that dyno) and placing draws on Burning Spear (28), Illona and I realized that we weren't going to be able to make it through to the Superbowl for us to continue Snapdragon and Strata respectively. As a result I ended up on Rodan. I did all the moves really well. I was gonna say easily, but then I'd be lying. It is still bolt-to-bolt at this stage but my aim for the weekend is to manage to link from the ground till the bolt before the undercling pinch. Looks like we're all going for pizza tonight at the Stone Circle. I'm looking forward to it quite a bit. I can't believe I forgot my camera! STOOPiD

More updates to come... Hopefully with some pics

Good Times and New Hype!

The last two weeks haven't been particularly exciting. I did manage to take Yvette to eZemvelo last Sunday for the first time, we loved it. The day was for shooting some photos and videos of the boulder problems I have done recently. I am really psyched about the whole idea of making a movie as a promo for myself and Vertigo. I spoke to Kyle about doing the soundtrack for the film and he is psyched, will be great for his music to get out there to the world too.

I shot this movie of Total Reflection

Healing Power 7C+

During the week I spend a bunch of time at Chosspile. It was the first time I'd been there since it reopened. The path is in really good shape and will increase one's fitness level, that's for sure. I started working an open project of Wesley's. Really good climbing. It starts just left of Fossil Fuel and ends on the same anchors. Neither Paul nor I could manage it but when we went back, Joey Kinder climbed it and crushed it second go, after he did Fossil Fuel second go. KICK ASS!

Joey and Colette are fantastic! Joey is so psyched, so excited about climbing. Colette gives off the same vibe! We had some very interesting discussions in the car relating to life in South Africa. It can be quite an eye-opener to someone used to being in the United States or Europe. They went on a tour of Soweto the previous day, saw the apartheid museum and listened to real intense stories. We spoke about it in the car (while I got us lost on both ends of the trip).

Afterward, back at Monte Casino, Joey met up with the primary school kids. They seemed so excited to meet him and he was fantastic with them. Colette snapped some awesome pics! We had more time to chat at dinner, Chinese food is always good. I was quite curious about what life is like as a professional climber and being the girlfriend of a professional climber. They told me some of their stories and I was impressed about the stress involved with constantly being on the move, not really staying in one place for more than a season or two. Joey is also a very keen film maker, having shot multiple short films for himself and others. At the slideshow that evening he showed us the new adds he shot for Sterling Ropes in Europe recently.

I'm really looking forward to spending some more time with Joey in Boven and then Rocklands later this month! He is psyched for Nutsa and Black Shadow. I'm psyched to do Nutsa and wouldn't mind trying Black Shadow to try it out. Would be fun.

Saturday I was back at Chosspile. I mangled my finger on the crux of Shadowfax! Wasn't pleasant, but managed to do some really tough links on the route. I think I'll be pretty close to sending it in a short time. I shot some video of myself on one of the attempts. Once I'm done editing it, I'll put it up!

As far as training goes over the past two weeks, I've been taking it very easy, a bit of a down period before the long road trip begins. I've been making grips for the new Edelrid Brian Weaver Signature Series, very excited to see how they turn out.

I'm about to get my hands on the new Mad Rock Conflicts, look out for a review after a few weeks in Rocklands...

Hardcore Thursdays!

The last few weeks have been fantastic. I have managed to spend a great deal of time on the rock again. Thursday 2nd of June I managed to hit Fernkloof! Fantastic day. I finally managed to put down the second ascent of Paul Brouard's A Will To Cower. The line was fantastic. I had a long struggle on it, but the conditions were fantastic and on my 5th go of the day I stuck the big move to the sloping two finger hold. The boulder problem preceding this move revolves around 3 bolts of tiny sloping crimps which are a real pain to hold on to. The best sequence turned out to be playing catch up with one hand following the other. The feet also had to moved 3-to-1 for each hand movement. Was a great deal of climbing for so few holds.

Afterwards, I jumped on to a project, the only project, at Fern. This one is an open project that Andrew bolted a while back. Starts left of Acromax and finishes on the same last move. I found a way to do most of the moves individually, but they are insanely hard. Maybe they'll feel better in the future.

The weekend was great. I went to Blyde River Canyon with Hector Pringle, Ian Kotze, Richard Behne and Hilton Davies. I hadn't met Hilton or Ian previously and I was not disappointed. They are both characters of note! My first day there was a long one that started off very slowly. I followed Hector on three lines, an 18, 19 and then a 27/28+. The 28 looks fantastic! I cannot wait to try it again someday. The first line I led was really hard, 30+ at least. Ended up aiding it. I think that Hilton and Ian called it a 22 A1. It is really cool. I loved it. I think that it will be best to boulder out the beginning, possibly 7C/+, into easy climbing above. FANTASTIC. Sunday was much better for me, I was feeling much more comfortable on the rock. I tried a crack called Aqua Balls (22) but I couldn't manage it. Truth be told, it's not my style and it hurt my hands a lot. Tape would be great for next time. Afterward, I managed to flash a 20 and a 21. Both are absolutely amazing climbs. The 21, Prelude to Luca, is a long route, 35m of crack. First is offwidth, then fingers, then fist jams! Don't use all your #3s too early or you'll end up running it out for 5m+ like me before you can place something bigger. Nothing smaller will go either. The topout is also a lot of fun as you bust through the roof with interesting jams and a heel hook!

Aqua Balls (22)

Hector, Ian and myself

I was really shaken up after the days in cracks. My left wrist really took some strain. So much so that I had to see a doctor about it. Turns out that I have Carpel Tunnel Syndrome in my left wrist and the recommended recourse is surgery. I'll let that one slide for as long as I possibly can, that's for sure.

Wednesday Flex and I headed off to Boven, climbed Jabs twice in the cold and wet weather. Thursday was also frigid, cold enough that I was definitely not taking off my shirt, needed to wear thermal pants too. I wasn't really feeling on top of my game, did two attempts which were frustrating. I was feeling pretty bleak and didn't think I was in a sending mode. I ended up taking a third go which I was gonna use as training.

I quickly moved through the lower crux but my fingers were cold and sore. I sat in the double kneebar, kept my hands under my armpits and in my elbows to rewarm them. After a minute or two I moved on, did the next few moves effortlessly, clipped the crux draw and came back to the jugs below. I shook out for a minute, focused deeply and moved into the crux. Double undercling, left hand to lower sidepull, right foot up, bounce the left hand to the higher sidepull with the thumb catch, move the right foot, right hand to the really small hold, move the right foot on to the face, left hand to the micro, left foot to the decent hold (don't lose your balance), left hand again, right foot, left hand stab to the slot! GOT IT! Keep on moving, don't let go! Move through the clip, move through the underclings, catch the jug after the traverse! WOoHOo! Fantastic, now if my hands are just able to hold on to the frozen holds. I recovered some steam and then forced my way to the top. I was very happy to reach the finish holds. I almost fell off twice because it was horribly cold, wasn't even pumped but it was a journey. I didn't find the route that hard overall. It was really fun and I'm glad it only took 14 attempts.

I ran up Hell Yeah (27) afterward. Was great climbing, just too bad it has all those massive ledges on it.

Rest day on Friday.

Saturday, tried Backcountry Butcher (31), got butchered. Flex send Jabberwocky. I onsighted African Rain (26) later that day and then tried to climb Rodan (34). Didn't make it to the chains on this attempt and had to cheat my way to the top on Sunday to clean it. Was feeling a bit unmotivated but this all changed when I flew up Rude Bushman (24) and then got on Strata (32). Fran was belaying me on my first try and a big piece of rock broke at the first bolt and whacked her on the head. I felt horrible but it was just a bump and she is fine. I worked out the moves for Strata in two goes, apart from 2m of climbing but I am pretty sure I have a good idea how to do it. I'm very excited. The route is very fun and atypical of Boven. Great stuff.

Monday I managed to do some training at the boulder cave. I set myself a really hard boulder problem. I can do the moves, but after it gets to around 15 moves, the power-endurance starts to run out. I did some campus training too.

Did one or two 1-4-7 moves with my right hand. I can touch the middle of the plank with my left hand but could not get the fingers over the top of it. It is really just a matter of time. I am really enjoying my time on plastic, it is making me quite a bit stronger.

Making it stick!

18 May: eZemvelo! Such an unbelievable place. After making a bunch of trips to the boulders, I was finally able to climb and open my first 8A, Total Reflection. I spent 4 days working the problem before being able to send it from the sit start. It is an extension of Third Reflection (7B+) that adds another 5 moves to the standing start which are each absolutely gut-wrenching. Pulling off the ground on the first two crimps is painful and powerful till your right heel can latch a very small hold high above the ground. After that I had to pull into a gaston and then match. There is a very big move following this which sets into motion the remainder of the problem.

Total Reflection 8A

Both Falco and PW repeated the problem after I opened it and Falco confirmed it to be 8A.

Next up was Aminal Arete, a problem opened by Wesley Black. I flashed it with different beta to Wes so it felt 7B to me instead of 7C, but I can admit that if I would use the same beta as Wes then it would likely have been 7C. Spoon (7C) was next on the chopping block. I nearly flashed it, fell off the finish hold pretty much. Took a few more goes to get the details narrowed down and send. While everyone else was working Spoon, I opened Spork (7B), which starts of the same holds but forks right instead of going straight up. We spent a few burns on Deadly Mosquito (7C) at the end of the day and I fell off with both hands on the finish jug, next time...

Spoon 7C

19 May: I spent the evening at the boulder cave. The object was to boulder for 1.5hours doing very specific power problems. I set 8 problems, not longer than 8 moves each (foot tracking) which forced me to move to maximum reach on crimps and slopers. I only climbed open-handed with 3 fingers. Afterwards I did 30 minutes of dynos and some campusing.

1-3-5-7-9

1-3-5-7-9
1-3-5-7-9
1-3-5-7-9

1-4-6-9 L
1-4-6-9 R
1-4-6-9 L
1-4-6-9 R

1-4-7 R BIG SUCCESS HERE!!
1-4-7 L failed on 7

Doubles skipping rungs 2x

21 May. Ilse, Frankie, Alex and I went to Wigwam where we met up with Dirk, Marc, Dewald, Werner, Alex and Gustav. Was a really fun day. Spent a great deal of time working Running Bare and Squall Play with no sends on either, typical wigwam day for me. Gustav did manage to snap this really awesome pic though! Ilse, Alex and Frankie were all very close to sending tomahawk but no joy (not till next weekend when Ilse and Alex both sent).

Hanging out on Running Bare (31)

The week held lots of training for me...

Sunday: Program A --> Maximum effort bouldering. The idea behind this is to set a problem that is absolutely maximum effort, no straight pulling. The goal is to develop strength in unusual positions that are not always trained or even found on a normal route. I worked with open hands to make sure that I was needing to put in the most effort to hold on. If you get stronger open handed, then your crimp strength will increase as well. I can already hold on to pretty much any crimp in a static position, but I am trying to develop my contact strength so I can catch small holds on the fly.

Afterward, I did an hour of campus work using a mixture of staggered hand positions to increase my reach and my lockoff strength.

I would start at 1 move left to 4, move right to 3, then bounce right to 7. I increased difficulty but moving Left from 1-4, Right then 1-2-7. I did this for both hands with 2 min rests in between. The idea is to rest fully so that you are able to give maximum effort behind the attempts rather than develop power endurance wherein one would repeat the moves back to back.

Monday I spent in the cave again. Program B --> 20 move boulder problem with 2 min between attempts is the goal. I made it a little harder. For the first 3 I rested 2 min, from 4-6 I rested 1.5 min, the last three I didn't rest between attempts, I simply walked back to the starting holds, put on chalk and started again. I set the problem with a weight vest of 7 kilos, otherwise the problem might end up being too hard by the end.

The campus board saw me again. This time the goal was power endurance. The aim was to stay on the board, climbing continuously for 45 seconds. I worked my way up to it. I climbed up once. Then I climbed up and down. Then I climbed up, down, up. Then finally up down, up down, up which too 50 seconds. I was simply climbing 1-3-5-7-9, so that it was not too difficult.

Tuesday. The Bedroom. I started off with a 15 minute warm up

Min	Type of hold	Exercise	Sec/Rep
1	Jug	Drops	5 rep
2	Medium Edge	Drops	2 rep
3	Small Edge	Negs	5 rep
4	Pocket	Pull-upp	5 rep
5	Medium Edge	Hanging	20 sec
6	Jug	Pull-up	10 rep
7	Medium Edge	Hanging	20 sec
8	Small Edge	Hanging	20 sec
9	Medium Edge	Pull-up	5 rep
10	Jug	Hanging	40 sec
11	Medium Edge	Hanging	25 sec
12	Medium Edge	Hanging	25 sec
13	Small Edge	Pull-up	5 rep
14	Small Edge	Hanging	20 sec
15	Jug	Hanging	1 min

Then moved into PROGRAM A for Finger Strength. This is very challenging and a bit time consuming. It takes about 2.5 hours to complete.

Grip	Goal	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Slopey 3 finger pocket on left	5	2.2	4.1	3.8	4.6	5.6	2.7	4.8	5
Slopey 3 finger pocket on right	5	2.1	3	3.7	2.2	4.8	5.2	4.6	3.3
Devil Left on ring and middle finger on tiny crimp	5	1	3.1	3.3	4.1	5	4	4	5
Devil Right on ring and middle finger on tiny crimp	5	3.1	1.2	4.1	4.3	5	2.3	2	5
small crimp on Right. Left pinky helper	5	3	2.5	3.5	4.2	3	3.4	4.3	4.3
small crimp on Left. Right pinky helper	5	1.2	3.5	5	3	2.8
Right front two pocket	5	2.3	3	3.8	3.1	3.3
Left front two pocket	5
Rigth half crimp	5
Left half crimp	5
Right big crimp middle of hold	5
Left big crimp middle of hold	5
sloper hang R with thumb in pocket	5
sloper hang L with thumb in pocket	5

I ran out of energy, so I did not finish (not to mention that my middle fingers were starting to fatigue). But you can get the picture. You should rest 2 min between maximum attempts and your goal is 5 seconds. If you can hang for 5 seconds, choose a smaller hold or add weight.

Wednesday I did some light bouldering to get the blood pumping.

Boven Baby! Left for Boven Saturday morning with Flex and Dirk. Spent the day climbing in the sun at Tranquilitas. Flex crushed Pit Fighter (31). I tried it too, figured out most of the beta, one move stumped me before my skin encouraged me to move on... Climbed Atlantis (26) once and tried Inca Trail (27) SANDBAGGED!!!!! Andrew... Your legacy lives on...

Sunday I tried Psych Ward (31) a few times and got the beta from Flex. Then spent a few hours rebolting Jabberwocky, well 2/3's of it anyway. I have to go back and get the last few bolts still. I moved a few of the bolts to make clipping easier, I hope no one minds, none of them moved more than 50 cm but I think it makes the route far better than before...

eZemvelo

I have been thoroughly swept off my feet by bouldering! I have been training my power and power-endurance so much in the past months that bouldering has now become incredibly appealing! I went back to eZemvelo this week, twice. GREAT FUN!

On Thursday I was there with Schalk, Johnny and Ansie. Was a great day. I warmed up on Animal Planet (7C) and within a few tries managed to send it. Schalk was so close to the send too, he fell off the final hold twice. Shame bud, those 5.10s are just not made for heel hooks! Later on I sent Healing Power (7C+) which was awesome!

Animal Planet 7C



Healing Power 7C+

Went back to eZemvelo on Sunday with Falco, PW and Tii. Was another brilliant day. I warmed up by repeating Animal Planet so that I could should the onlookers the beta. Falco sent it in about 4 goes after he got the beta. STRONG MAN!!

Squirrel Drums Zipper 6C in approach shoes :)

I showed them Healing Power after that but there was no sending there. Shortly after we moved to the Italian Stallion dyno (7C). Absolutely awesome dyno! I was finally able to stick it! Falco also got it in about 6 goes! We managed to nab the 4th and 5th ascents!

Catching the dyno on Italian Stallion 7C

We moved on to a project of mine: First Reflection, this should be 8A, it will be my first when I get it. Falco and PW were also very close to getting it after I figured out some very crucial beta to get off the ground: a very thin and technical heel hook into a very difficult move into the starting holds of Second Reflection! Both PW and Falco flashed the standing start Third Reflection and decided it needed to be downgraded so but Third Reflection (now 7B+) and Second Reflection (7C) are slightly downgraded. I had my suspicions but was not sure one way or the other as the gradings were suggested by others.

Last problem of the day was Flashpoint (7C) opened by Marijus Smigelskis. Really fun, very powerful and short. Managed to point it in about 20 min. Very cool moves revolving around a heel hook on a thin hold up the roof.

Wigwam, Plastic and SEVERE CRUSHING!

Well, this week started off hitting Wigwam with Illona and Don. Was a lot of fun except that both Don and Illona weren't quite feeling 100% plus Illona ended up being flipped upside down on her first attempt (bump on the head wasn't nice), I was attacked by wasps at the top of Running Bare and Don got a beauty of a blood blister on his right ring finger on the first try of the day. Hmmm. At this point, we were wondering what could possibly happen next. And then the weather took a turn for the worse, leaving Don yanking on draws in an attempt to clean Tomahawk. What a day.

On Monday, Illona and I decided to take a different approach to the climbing: Stamina training on my hangboard. We both did very well in fact. I was wearing a 5.2kg weight vest to compensate for the fact that I've lost 5kgs in the last month:

		B	I
just off straight	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
90 degree	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
full lock	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
Rest, 10 small pulls	30 secs, 10 small pull ups	10	10
Rest	10 min
just off straight	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
90 degree	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	5
full lock	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	4
Rest, 10 small pulls	30 secs, 10 small pull ups	10	10
Rest	5min
just off straight	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
90 degree	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	5
full lock	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	3
Rest, 10 small pulls	30 secs, 10 small pull ups	10	10
Rest	5min
just off straight	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
90 degree	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	5.5	4
full lock	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	4	2
Rest, 10 small pulls	30 secs, 10 small pull ups	10	10
Rest	5min	109.5	99
		97.77%	88.39%

Went to Bobbejaan's Berg on Tuesday for a little bit of bouldering. Was thoroughly upset to find that entrance to the area had nearly doubled in price so I think I'm not going to be heading there again. I'd rather drive further and pay less at eZemvelo where there is a much great abundance of rock. I'm quite sad about losing a destination that only takes 25 minutes to reach from home, which means I could go any day for a afternoon or morning session. Too bad.

Wednesday I got an sms from Paul Brouard asking me if I wanted to hit the barn for a training session. We had a great time there with Paul and Illona and James. Some insane bouldering happened right before my eyes. It really makes me realize how strong 8c+ climbers actually are when I try to do the problems Paul was setting.

Friday found Paul and I heading back to Wigwam for his last day in South Africa. It was fantastic. Paul crushed both Running Bare (31) and Squall Play (30) second go. I climbed both lines too but didn't managed to redpoint. I am very close on both of them, nearly sticking the first move on Running Bare and having been able to clip the crux draw on Squall Play but not able to move off the heel hook.

Saturday was the big day though of this week. After finding out that it was raining at Wigwam (which is where I left my draws and rope) I headed out to eZemvelo. This was the best decision that I'd made in a while. My new-found bouldering strength paid off completely. I warmed up by crushing a 7C called Third Reflection opened by Paul Bruyere, which had been a project of Schalk Erasmus and myself on my last visit to eZemvelo. I then added a low start to it 10 minutes later giving it the grade of 7C+ as suggested by Paul and Schalk.

Next on the chopping block was Where's Willis (7B+), a very cool line with a double dyno to a compression hold. Quite unique. The only way it is possible is with a heel-toe lock with the right foot! SOOOO cool. Right next door is Wesley Black's King Kong (7C). Took me a little while to figure it out, but eventually I stuck the dynamic throw to a finger lock and then it was all over! Schalk showed me a dyno project on the same boulder that had been tried in the past. It was very cool, 1.5m+ from a good hold to a section of rock that is less than 10cm wide and 5cm deep with slopers all around it. I managed to stick it after a bunch of tries. After some discussion I called it Learn To Drive: inspired by Dina and her horrible driving ability which wasted 45 minutes of our morning! I graded it 7B+ after trying the Italian Stallion dyno (7C) which is not too much harder than this one. I think that it might be easier if you are taller but time will tell. I did not manage to catch the Italian Stallion but Schalk manage to make the third ascent of this proud line. The first ascent belongs to a tiny Italian dude, second is Paul Brouard and third is Schalk, who caught this one and now has done his first 7C!!! Congratulations!!!

I did Dragons and Shrooms first go. The problem was opened at 7B but I don't know if that is right, 7A felt more appropriate. Last of the day was Animal Planet (7C). Stupid Brian dorked it by marking the wrong hold, so I fell off the last move twice!!!! DUMBASS!!!! Oh well, you know what, you win some and you lose some. I'll cruise this next time when I haven't bouldered all of eZemvelo first. I just wish I had some pictures to commemorate this week...