Boulderkei Rotterdam - NIEUW FOTO'S

HAAAA!! Niemand in de buurt en het hele blok voor me alleen. Ik kon na het lezen van het bericht op Sloper.nl niet op m'n stoel blijven zitten en ben meteen met m'n klimspullen naar Rotterdam Zuid gegaan. Daar, op zo'n 200 meter naast AHOY staat Nederlands eerste boulderblok in de openbare ruimte. En niet zomaar een blok ! Vormgegeven door klimmer/boulderaar en ontwerper Bart van Raaij staat daar een kruising tussen iets wat je in Bleau en Peak District tegen zou kunnen komen. Randjes, kommen, richels, pockets slopers en pinchers, je vindt het er allemaal.

Ik kon natuurlijk niet alleen kijken dus ik heb, naast het maken van foto's (helaas met m'n telefoon) ook geboulderd. WOW, superlatieven schieten te kort. Dat ligt niet alleen aan het feit dat er goed nagedacht is over de grepen, die allemaal als stuctuur in de boulderkei gemaakt zijn, maar ook het feit dat je in het park aan het klimmen bent.

Ook over de rotsvorm is nagedacht. Overhangen (natuurlijk) maar ook loodrecht, mooie randen, spleetjes en grote kommen waar je je lichaamsspanning flink op kunt uitleven. Het is nog te vroeg om de kwaliteit van de boulderei (het materiaal) te beoordelen, maar het voelt goed. Minder ruw dan gegoten grepen (die godzijdank niet op de boulderkei voorkomen) maar hier en daar nog wat losse structuur die na het fabricageproces nog los komt. Ik denk dat het wel losloopt met het zanderige materiaal dat er her en der afkomt, maar de toekomst moet uitwijzen hoe slijtvast het is. Hieronder nog een aantal foto's van de structuur.

(pics by Paschnampook)

Boulderkei Rotterdam Gereed - Bouldering in the Park

Wahoo !! It's there at last!!! Long awaited (see previous post), but now the boulderstructure in the 'Vaanweide'-park is ready. Designed by Bart van Raaij the construction of the boulder started in july this year at the Entre-Prises factory, England - Skipton. In eight different parts the boulder was delivered in Rotterdam and construted on sight into the complete boulder. It looks stunningly good and according to Bart it's bouldering in the grades 5 and 6 but if boulders are combined the grade 7 is possible too. The next BLOK will have topo of the boulder.
The boulder is open from now on but the official ceremony will be held on the 19th of september. See ya there !!

(source: sloper.nl)

Reel Rock Film Tour

The Reel Rock Film Tour is coming to MONK - Eindhoven - Netherlands at the 7th of November (To watch the trailer click the pic). And Guess WHAT !! Chris Sharma is coming too.... Need I say more?

(source: Fightgravity.nl & monkbouldergym.nl

Worn out Climbing Shoes - BAZ 2009

Hmmm, after BAZ 2009 (Boulderevent at the sea - Netherlands) my climbing shoes defenitely have suffered a lot. Not only from the friction but the same from landing on the sand. In comparison to last year the lack of sufficient landing mats had it's downsides. A lot of sprained ankles and climbing shoes gettin heavy blows from landing on the sand. Pitty because BAZ was a super event again this year.

My shoes are defenitely in for resoling and my backup pair as well... This means thinking of a new pair, and which one I am going to get. On the short list are the following shoes:

- Boreal Crux

- Evolve Pontas

- 5.10 Project

The first one is my current shoe, the second was to expensive a year ago but certainly is a versatile climbing shoe. The last one could be another option beside the fact that most of the 5.10 shoes don't seem to fit my heel too well.

There will be only one task to set my mind to: go to the shop of Fuerza Climbing from Ad and try them all !!

Steve McClure on TV (BBC1)

I found this little piece of info by McClure quite funny to read:

Funny game climbing, sometimes its like buses, you wait for ages, getting more and more frustrated, and then, just when you’ve given up, two come along at once.
Last week was a weird week. It began in typical British style, the style we expect now in summer. We drove to the crag and found it utterly soaking. Everywhere else was wet too; we drove straight back home to the local climbing wall! With damp weather for a while my motivation had been sliding downwards as fast as I slid from the greasy footholds. That day it took a distinct nose dive to zero. Indoors in August was just not right. I gave up! Mentally I packed in climbing for a while. There were some parties to go to for the next few days. Then it got boiling hot, too hot to climb, then I climbed Hubble! This was confusing but very nice indeed. Perhaps my shortest and most bouldery route ever. Now I could really relax and party!

Before this I’d been trying a route at Malham cove, a link between Bat Route, Rainshadow and Overshadow, but with quite a lot of new climbing. I dreamt this up a while ago but was inspired to get involved after I got a call from the British Broadcasting Corporation (the TV)! read more

Air Star (V14 - South Africa) by Kilian Fischhuber

Kilian Fischhuber has sent a problem at Rocklands, South Africa, previously dubbed the Air Star Project, that likely is V14 or harder. The problem, which had been worked by Kevin Jorgeson and Nalle Hukkataival, has V6 moves leading to a big dyno to a sharp flake, followed by scary V8 or V9 climbing to the top-out. Fischhuber, from Austria, has been the world’s number-one competition boulderer for the past three years.

Emerson said that previous attempts on the Air Star dyno had involved a leg-swinging move to build momentum which Emerson dubbed the “Moon Kick,” after English boulderer Ben Moon. Though Fischhuber reportedly declined to use the Moon Kick to send Air Star, this simple, fascinating technique is well-illustrated in the following video

(source:B3bouldering.com)

Fight Gravity - NEW Website

Last year Maurice and I had the idea to make pay tribute to Wolfgang Güllich by making a Che Guevara-like T-shirt. At Boulderen aan Zee (dutch version) - "bouldering at the sea" for ya Eng-linguists) they were noticed. And how !

This year he went way beyond his first idea and some new goodies are thrown into the world ! The famous red-and-white striped climbing pants of Wolfgang were recreated and who knows can be ordered soon at his site ! Retro climbing lives and who knows will be the next hot thing in the climbing society the coming season.

Check for more info and other climbing-related news at www.fightgravity.nl

(source: where else ! fgthgrvt.nl YO M. you rule !!)

Climbing the Stairs-Chairs

Art for art's sake? a flight of chairs to be used as chairs perhaps.
A short one for today, but I'm too busy now. Next one will be more elaborate.

(source: stumbleupon.com)

Animation edPixar/Disney - Lift

As a starter for the weekend a short animation film made by Pixar and Disney. Keep watching until the 5th minute is finished for the punchline ! Click picture to start the movie.

VIDEO + MINI INTERVIEW Steve McClure - Hubble (F8c+)

Steve McClure, one of Britain's top climbers, recently repeated the Raven Tor test-piece Hubble (F8c+) and in doing so completed one of his major climbing ambitions. Click the picture for the video and see here for the mini-interview with Steve.

The route is a short limestone power problem and was first climbed by Ben Moon back in 1990. Commenting on his blog, Keith Sharples said:
"Hubble was reckoned to be the first Font 8b problem ever climbed. Despite being done nearly 20 years ago, the list of Hubble repeats is very short and entirely restricted to UK climbers."

(source: blog.keithsharplesphotography.co.uk)

Forecast Netherlands (20-8-2009) Severe Thunderstorms

Forecast Netherlands for tomorrow: severe chance for thunderstorms after tropical heat stress.

Picture above is from Boulderen aan Zee 2006 when all the onlookers were stunned to see not one (quite rare in the Netherlands) but three(!!) twisters, or waterspout, at the same time. Lower picture is just an beautiful view from a storm front coming towards a ship on the ocean. Gulp.... it looks like the captain is streerin it's ship into a time warp vortex.

Spiderman, but quite different

A spiderman action in an uncommon style. 's nice to watch all the more since the guy doesn't seem to wear climbing shoes...

(source: Tinus vd Linden Thnx mate!)

Belaying Lips

It looks like lips, it has the colour of lips but it is..... a tuber. Meant as a belaying device for climbers it also has great resemblance of the lips of a very well known rock star.

Climbing Ad - Anti Pimple advertisement

This climbing gym in Tel Aviv came up with an unusual sponsor: anti pimple lotion (first pic). Climbing the pimples on the face, where have I seen that before !! Yeah right, BAZ 2008 (lower pic (by Paschnampook).

(source: thecoolhunter.net)

IBM votes Rotterdam first Smart Delta City on climate change in the world

The City of Rotterdam and IBM are developing a groundbreaking new system together for the close monitoring of real-time measuring data on climate change and energy management. This system will enable administrators and scientists to predict changes and to respond rapidly to this information. The implementation of this innovative system wins Rotterdam the title of first Smart Delta City on climate change in the world. Go here for more information and to get a subscription on the RCI newsflash.

(source: rotterdamclimateinitiative.nl)

Newest creation of Calatrava -The Agora (City of Arts Sciences, Valencia)

The City of Arts and Sciences, developed by Santiago Calatrava, is a large-scale urban recreation center for culture and science which also incorporates L’Oceanogràfic, an underwater city designed by the late Felix Candela (click the second picture for a 360 degree panorama feature).

Set in the old dried-up river bed of the Turia, midway between the old city of Valencia and the coastal district of Nazaret, the City of Arts and Sciences covers an area of 350,000 square meters.

The City of Arts and Sciences is a unique complex devoted to scientific and cultural dissemination which is made up of five main elements: the Hemisfèric (IMAX cinema and digital projections), the Umbracle (a landscaped vantage point and car park), the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum (an innovative centre of interactive science), the Oceanográfico (the largest aquarium in Europe with over 500 marine species) and the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (which takes care of the operatic programme). The Ágora (first picture), which will give the complex a multifunctional space, is under construction.

(source: cobouw & www.cac.es)

Urban Camping - Made in Belgium @#!$%??

It's not a joke but perhaps just another crazy idea: an urban camping á-la skyscraper. Check the site import.export (info) and Urban Camping (pictures).

Petzl Rocktrip 2009 - Millau France

Every year Petzl organises the Petzl Roctrip. The trip normally involves climbers from around the world of all different standards, being bought together somewhere in Europe to climb a crop of fresh new sports climbs.

Last weekend the Petzl Roctrip was taking place at the limestone crags of Millau, France and there was the usual boundless enthusiasm of climbers new routing.

There is a slight element of competition involved in the Roctrip. This normally revolves around which one of the top climbers from around the world can first climb the hardest route on the trip. This year the ‘Ultimate Route’ was Infinity Lane, a 100m long 8c! (see below)

This route being something of a stamina fest was first climbed and flashed by Chris Sharma, the stamina king. Dani Andrada fell a few draws from the top on his first attempt, but the unrelenting length of the route kept most below even this high point.

For more pictures and info go to the Petzl website.

(zourzé: climbmagazine.com)

Dutch BLOG from World Championships Climbing China 2009

With this BLOG the Dutch National Climbing Team keeps us posted about their performance at the World Championships Climbing (Lead, Bouldering and Speed) in Qinghai, China. The heat, humidity, long traveling distances, the poor accomodation and the stil omnipresent swineflu makes it hard to perform well. Still Wouter Jongeneelen made it (as the only Dutch climber....) to the semi finals.
Read the BLOG for more (sometimes hilarious) adventures about playing havoc with the Chinese rules and regulations (Jorg coming with the Austrian Team) and strange habits (eating Yak-meat). Njoy !!

(source: www.caspertensijthoff.nl)

Touching the Void - on Dutch TV tonight

Need I say more. Watch this epic and documentary style movie (because of the voice over of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates). Today, 1st of july, SBS7 at 22.20 hours