Public Boulder Walls

(above: blackpool boulder wall)

Yesh, they are real and existing. Some examples of boulder walls which are public domains of the urban climber. The best example I have found so far exeeds my imagination. Specially because the rock was 'simply' lifted from it's surroundings and transported to it's destination !! That's something we Dutchies dream of !! No reel rock to be found here, but hey ! let's go to Belgium and buy some rock to be placed in a park somewhere (preferably the Vondelpark in Amsterdam ;P). Anyway check the site of the Shoreditchboulder and see for yourself. (pic directly below: shoreditch, 2nd pic: ?, 3rd pic: wall-wanaka-lge New Zealand).

Jorg Verhoeven bij Holland Sport

fff een tip voor de Nederlandse klimmers. Jorg Verhoeven meldt op zijn website dat hij a.s. maandag bij Holland Sport te zien zijn. Jorg zelf heeft het over 'hoe een arme klimmer in de zeik wordt genomen', maar dat lijkt me sterk. Gewoon kijken dus, maandagavond 17 november, 20.30 uur bij VPRO op Ned 3.

Art Bouldering Wall Badami

Beautifull rock structure to climb/boulder on. Comes from a fine website with stories about climbing/bouldering in the following countries:

Montenegro 2008
Russia 2007
India 2006 / 2007
Sahara 2005 / 2006
Kirgisien / Karavshin 2003
Marmolata 1999

It's fun to read and makes you want to go to these places !!

(source: geoquest-verlag.de)

Trick Or Treat

Although we do not celebrate trick or treat in the same way as in the US or UK, in the Netherlands we also walk down the streets asking for sweets. Supposedly there is no connection between the trick-or-treat and here it is a celebration of Sint(= saint) Maarten, in origin a religious tradition.

For many (older kids) in the Netherlands it is just a reason to gather a year-load of sweets (or fruit for the more nature minded amongst us). For the little ones it's an adventure to walk in the evening with their lanterns, bring some light in the dark months and sing funny songs. Tonight I will be opening the door many times, assuming they dare ring our doorbell...

Anti Boredom Commercial

I found this in the archives of my digital storage. Don't be as crude as is displayed here, but otherwise the effect will be a few smiles that day.

(source unknown)

Street Art Toast

Ahhh, just a bit of toast with marmelade to start the day....

(bron: stumbleupon.com)

Make Art = Climb Art

The Burning man Festival has been held in september this year again. A 'monstruous' big and very arty festival where everything seems possible. This pic I found in the records of previous years. Looks like a crossover of an eggplant and a pear to me, but climable nevertheless.

In the photo below (shot bij Maurice Licher; thnx mate!) Tim van der Linden masters the in- and outside 3D wonder in France. The people who recognise it know where to find it. For U other guys, keep searching :-P

Little girls do Boulder

Yep, last sunday I took my 3 year old daughter (Maru) to the Climbing Gym Haarlem (Netherlands that is, not Harlem-NY. Although it is situated alongside a river too ;-P). My friends Tim, Mirjam and Maurice were there too, so I thought: what the heck I even might boulder a bit and show Maru what fun it is. I new she liked the falling matrasses a lot so she would certainly be enjoying that.

But it turned out that she mostly wanted to climb those colourful 'thingies' on the wall. Although it shouldn't be suprising to me (kids do climb in everything) I was elated nevertheless. The time flew by, and even Wendy came over to have dinner there. At leaving the Gym she acclaimed "Ed, can we go here sometime again?". Ahhhhhh, the magic words came from herself. JOY !!

(p.s.: the pics are taken at our own bouldercorner in the back garden).

Powers of Ten - A film about a comparative look at live

This is a (old) video by Charles and Ray Eames about relative size and distance. Journey from a sub-atomic molecule to the far reaches of the universe and back again...
The film was popular as a example of scale during my physics classes at high school. Click picture to start the film.

Comic Strip Mutts in Metro Netherlands

WOW !! Mutts as a regular comic in the dutch version of the Metro newspaper. That's news which makes my day more colourful.

The comic revolves around Mooch (the cat) and Earl (the dog) who reflect on our (peoples) daily lives. It contains a sense of humour that is a mix of the brilliant simple but effective drawing style of Patrick McDonnell and the lingual pun's he let them make. Besides the cat and dog other characters (all animals) do have a regular appearance.

Check www.muttscomic.com for more info about the comic and the maker.

Get the most out of your period

Humour for the ladies.
(source: www.s1ngle.nl/idx_strips.html)

Bouldernacht 2008 Klimhal Haarlem

Don't forget! Zaterdag 1 november 2008 wachten er weer meer dan 100 nieuwe boulders om beklommen te worden op vette muziek van twee DJ's! Je kunt er naast het boulderen fijn eten van Kantina en er is een klimmersmarkt bij Fuerza Climbing met vele aanbiedingen. Haarlem is niet zo'n nachttreinstad dus je kunt in de hal blijven pitten (wel fff slaapzak meenemen) en er is ontbijt de volgende ochtend. Check http://www.bouldernacht.nl/ voor als je nog mee wilt doen, maar de inschrijving nadert zijn limiet.

Bouldering Art Block

Could we have this in the Netherlands, please?
(source:www.forestresearch.gov.uk)

New Boulder Structure at Bronx Rock (DE)

'Der Aussteiger' is the name they gave it (too many meanings, I'll come back to it later).

Such a clever design and a wonderful simple but effective way of constructing an outdoor boulder facility. Cool in it's way of all the possible moves it provides but most of all because it is outdoors !! Manteling in the open air with an environment that smells of wood makes it remind me of Bleau. Well not exactly, because it misses the great (smell of the) pinewoods of FB, but still a remarkable state of the art, eco-friendly boulderwall. Good on ya there in Wesseling, Germany.

Check out the construction pics and the full article (pdf) on their site.

(source: www.ontopklettern.de)

High Ball Street Art Perspective

WoW !! This is what I call a drawing in with a 'point of view'.

Couch from IKEAaaargh

(source: www.fotostrips.nl - only available in dutch)

Fibram Five Fingers Climbing Shoe

Did you always wonder how a foot-hugging climbing shoe would climb? The first impression is that the climber feels a sort of like the fantasy creature that walks like a frog and is obsessed by his 'precious' (she nearly starts muttering Gollum). The second finding is that the shoe is all but attained for little ledges but the better for smearing at friction routes. Needless to say that the shoe doesn't give the foot much support.

Check the site of outdoorchannel.de where a 'very' subjective test was performed and judge for yourself if this gadget is something worth buying... (p.s. you have to
(source: outdoorchannel.de)

How to take a fall with Sports Climbing?

An article from the German Climbing Site http://www.klettern.de/ dealing with the topic of falling at sports climbing. Looks like a lot of of open doors to me (don't grip the rope/quickdraw while falling) but the good thing is they emphasise on how to do it right. Check for the whole article this link.

FedEx making fun of UPS

Eh, eh, I like this one. The rivalry of FedEx and UPC expressed in funny viral advertisement. Niiiiice, certainly for some Ex-FedEx employees !!

(source: youthedesigner.com)

Upgrading Boulder Wall at Home

Yep, the 'finishing touch' to my own boulder wall will be an extension on top. Maurice (more than) kindly will donate his old wooden plates (incl. nuts) and some grips. This makes it possible to top the wall at nearly 4 metres high and make the boulder routes more challenging.

Hopefully the weather will ease up a little since it rains almost every day for long periods at a time. In the meantime we seak refuge at the climbing gym Centraal and make my project 7A a redpoint ascent. Keep U posted.