The cast came of on August 11, and I've been climbing myself back to my old level ever since. I'm nearly there, it's just that slabs still give me the creeps. But since I always found them a bit of a hassle, there is not much love lost anyway. As soon as I start scratching my way back into that weird and wonderful territory beyond the far side of 6+ again, I'll let you know.
The actual subject of this post takes us yet further up the hardness scale, or acutally nearly off it, into another dimension way beyond the reaches of modern day gravity theory into the realm where there are it's no longer boulder problems you are dealing with, but outright singularities. One of my bouldering companions, Jurriaan Zwier, went out and did an interview with Dutch climbing and bouldering phenomenon Jorg Verhoeven, who at the start of his adult climbing carreer already knows how it feels to be a world champion (twice).
That should give them something to talk about! It's a good read, so check it out! (And Freakclimbing.com has been added to the linkslist on my climbing page.)
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21 June 2005 - Although autobiography wasn't a goal I had
in mind when I started this site, I do owe you an explanation regarding
the
Pic of the Day of June 19th. |
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of an hour before the foot, all of a sudden, was attached to the
rest of me in a rather onconventional angle. Although a bit harder
than a ball-and-socket joint like the shoulder, it is possible to
dislocate the ankle. Strangest thing, to see a foot simply ignoring
to the signal to bloody well behave and straighten out. Thanks to
the ambulance guy who did the first aid, in the photograph the foot
is already back in it's proper position - and I am as high as a
kite thanks to the painkillers. What exactly is wrong with the foot
isn't clear yet. |
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07 June 2005 - I kept you waiting for a bit, but i'm done
with the photo's I made in Fontainebleau the weekend before. The
series consists of some boulder pics aswell as some unashamedly
touristical snap shots... |
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17 May 2005 - More urbanning in Amsterdam! This
time at the new tram station along the Piet Hein kade. Otto
Jongerius does de the boulder of the
ladybird and the little spider... |
| will understand this once you get there), or doing it in proper style and push out those arms till full stretch before you place a foot. Start sitting and do a two-handed dyno for some extra credits. | |
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12 May 2005 - As the self-declared guru of Amsterdam's outdoor
bouldering, I can't get around giving you some good examples of how
it's done. As it happens, I have come up with some bad little problems
over the years! Heaps of 'm! Here's something you might like to try on what we call, admittedly somewhat denigrating, the junky wall (you'll find this little stretch of basalt opposite the entrance of the Scheepvaartmuseum). |
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There are two doors there (a wide one and a narrow one), and you can do these moves facing both ways. Loads of chimney fun to you all! The photographs are by Yolande van der Sande. By the way: if you are visiting from abroad, packing some rock shoes and eager to do some urbanning, don't hesitate to contact me... I'd be more than happy to show you around! |
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on the left Casper ten Sijthoff, on the right Ima Nahumury |
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20 November 2004 - Turns out I'm not that injured. Been to the 12th Felsfreunde Bouldercup in the attick of the Ex-Haus in Trier (Germany). Here are the photo's...
While hanging from the bouldering roof in my local climbing gym with both my arms stretched out wide perpendicular from my body - Jezus style - with the middle two fingers of my right hand in a hold, i heard a tearing sound as i pulled on that hold. I said 'auw' (as we do in the Netherlands), but actually felt no pain whatsoever. Much to my surprise, i might add.
Today i'm still not completely sure about what is is that tore. Hardly anything seems to hurt. I'm pretty sure it's not a ligament. More likely the damage is in a part that attaches the ligament to the rest of the hand. It doesn't seem too serious... But it scares the shit out of me!
AAARGH!
Question is, how injured am I?
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01 November 2004 - Well, the old git is back. Bleau (stop calling it 'Font' will ya!) was tres enjoyable. As always, the weather was great. (I saw Dave Graham in a clip complaining about how bad the weather was treating him during his stays in Bleau. Nature is cruel in more ways than one, it seems Dave, you awfully-skinny-yet-horendously-strong, superligamented freak, you!) And i finally did P'tit toit - probably just in time before they downgrade it |
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ones more. I almost did it last year; i was absolutely sure
it would be a doddle this time, and it was. Only thing was, i was
so psyched when i got there, it still took me about five times to
do the whole bloody thing! I kept racing through the first bit like
the 5b it is, but i kept falling off the 6c moves at the end, because
they of course don't allow for that kind of exhuberance. |
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29 October 2004 - I'm off to a realy slow start, i do
realize. But that's not going to deter me from continuing the journal.
My Picture of the Day had a slow start too, but it's progressing nicely
by now: i haven't missed a day since the early beginnings, now almost
two years ago.
Off to Bleau for the weekend. Finally! Thought it wasn't going to happen
this year. Weather seems nice enough. Hotel has been booked. There a couple
of boulders i wanna do. Bleau has a way of humbling people, so i don't
try and be too optimistic.
Already finished packing. And i didn't forget the sixpack. Hate arriving
somewhere to find there isn't a beer to be had anywhere!
Hope i can bring you back a story and a photo or two.
18 October 2004 - Jeez! I had completely forgotten about
my old geezer climbing log. No wonder, considering i've been climbing
every day! Too friggin' busy doing it to be writingabout it. My last installment
tells me i was on a climbing literature trip. Let's cut that one short.
Among my favourite books are two collections of short stories by several
authors: The
High Lonesome; epic solo climbing stories and The
best of Rock & Ice; an anthology. But topping them all is
Sherman
exposed; slightly censored bouldering stories, by John Sherman.
The book I realy hate. Or should I say the couple of pages i really learned
to hate before i chucked away the book because i couldn't stomach the
selfobsessed prose contained in it, are in Op
zoek naar evenwicht (which translates as 'looking for balance')
by Ronald Naar. Naar is the Dutch alpine climber who says he summitted
Everest but probably didn't. To write about your own childhood as if you
were some sort of historical figure, must be the pinnacle of arrogance
- well, at least he summitted that one!
18 October 2004 - ..sentence. I apologize for this, and
do hope it didn't cause you any inconvenience.
Since you might have guessed i am aiming for humour here, this might be
the right moment to inform you on some of my likes and dislikes in climbing
literature. I do like the funny stories best. I have nothing against the
icy suspense of great books like, say, Touching the Void. Which
is a very funny in places too, i hasten to add. But i really love the
works of guys like John Long and John Sherman. (I even forgive the latter
his habbit of going for the easy, adolescent laugh.)
07 October 2004 - Since i've always wanted to write something
in English, I'll start this in that language and not in Dutch. I never
intended this website to be fully bilingual anyway, and most of it is
in Dutch at the moment; so i don't feel to bad about doing something fully
and only in English for a change.
It is my intention to start keeping you people out there informed in my
pro- and - unquestionably - ultimate regress in the sport of climbing.
i've been at it for four years now, mainly finding my kicks in bouldering,
but not minding having to do (short) routes aswell. Am i doing anything
that is remarkable for someone having spent four years training pretty
fanaticaly? No, not really. I'm guessing i move quite nicely, but i'm
still pretty mediocre as it is. The only remarkable thing about me, is
that I started climbing when i was 37, going on 38, and that i'm 42 as
i write this. (Click
here, if you want to check this against information i provide elsewhere...)
Now everybody out there familiar with the the works of the late Douglas
Adams (the bugger died when at 49 when he was working out in a bloody
gym - one reason not to go near the bastards!) knows 42 is a very significant
number indeed, it being the answer to the question of life, the universe
and everything (as given in his classic The
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy).
I sort of had the idea i should mark this year in my life by doing something that has some relevance, somehow. Well, this is it: i'm going to write about climbing and my part in it. (Actually, i already started doing this in February of this year, when i wrote a story on my trip to Hampi. The story is in Dutch, but if you are not able to read it, you can still have a look at the pictures i took.) But that was such a great experience, the story almost forced itself upon me and wrote itself. In part this was due to the Southern Indian atmos and the feeling of retreat that clung to the whole affair. It was also and largley due to the quality of the rock and problems. I've only been in three real bouldering areas in my time, but i hazzard a guess Hampi must be among the top three bouldering areas in the world. In my version of the lingo: it def. ruleZ okay, mate!
Since this is sort of a weblog, don't expect nicely rounce stories all the time. I will write this in between other things. So be warned! It can and will get sketchy at times. I might have to hurry off mid...
September 2004 - Our climbing gym in Amsterdam has a new bouldering roof. I put a small dyno on there. And we made some pictures...
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2004 (undoubtedly a first). Train your
fingers and feet in a wonderfully peacefull environment. Extra dimension: in some places the bricks break off when you put pressure on them. Talking about ripping the grips off the wall! |
The problem being done in the foreground is to the right end of the wall.
It starts on a reasonable crimper for the left hand and a pretty tricky
bonus hold (that's what we call holds that are genuine features
on the rock instead of being edges of the basal blocks). There's a drill
hole (we didn't drill them, they are just there) for hte left foot and
a good edge for the left. Stepping into the problem (left toe in the hole)
is a not all that easy.
Then, high up, there is a nice and lumpy bonus hold for the right hand,
the left hand can go to a pointy hold. To get to the edge, stand with
your right foot on the hold (recognizable by the bit of cement on it)
in front of your crotch. (Schatting niveau: Fb5+)
Meanwhile in the background two guys (Denny and I) are doing the Screw Boulder (I saw it first!). Match your hands on the screw, walk up to the good edges on the corner of on of the stones - and reach for the edge (no intermediates!) Easy!. (Fb4)
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