Biggest Climbing Gyms in the World

According to (research by) 8a.nu these are the BIGGEST climbing gyms in the world. Two of them being situated in the Netherlands. How suprising.....

BTW Thalkirken DAV Munich - 5 000m2 (picture above)

Kletterzentrum Gaswerk - 4 000m2: 17 meters high

Ratho in Edinburgh - 3 214m2

Sydney Indoor Gym - 2 800m2: 16 meters high

Klimhal Amsterdam - 2 550m2: 21 meters high

Milandia - 2 500m2: 12 meters high

Klimax Puurs - 2 000m2: 21 meters high

Klimhal Nijmegen - 1 900 m2: 19 meters high

Camp5 Kuala Lumpur - 1 900m2: 16 meters high

(source: 8a.nu)

Coffee as solution to the Crisis - Dilbert

yuk yuk, this is a memorable comic because in my company they actually going to raise our contribution to coffee..... see what's goint to happen :P

(source: Dilbert.com)

Mad Rock gives you The Finger

Really,.... how MAD can you be to want these:

According to Needle Sports they are 'Little black rubber thingies to roll over your appendage and protect it! Designed to enable boulderers to keep bouldering, even when they split a tip. According to bouldering Lake District guru Greg Chapman they work best on Grit. Need to be forced on to finger and warmed up, then maybe taped into place. Packet of three. By the way, ignore the sizing info on the packet - they only ever made one size in the end....' What a gadget, Duh!

(source: Needlesports.com)

Video Chris Sharma in Humildes pa Casa 8C onsight

I found this nice footage of Chris climbing the tufa route in spain at 8a.nu. Click the pic and Njoy!!

Lecture Jerry Moffat in MONK Netherlands

Just as Wolfgang Güllich is a huge example for me Jerry Moffat is the embodiment of motivation and drive. Last saturday he came to MONK, the mother of all boulderfacilities in the Netherlands, and gave a funny and by all means interesting lecture about the two decades he was one of the dominating climbers in the world. A lot of pics of his highlights accompanied by the mantra 'this was me climbing 'this and that', at that time the worlds most difficult route'. I heard it a bit to often to my taste but it was compensated by hilarious bits of footage about his training with Ben Moon in their home based bouldering cellar, luring the monkeys in Hampi with bananas and try to get them to climb boulders and other stuff with Jerry showing of. He likes to do that I figured.

But speaking to him afterwards about climbing in Australia (and if he had climbed Punks in the Gym) he wasn't like that any more. Was is because he has stopped climbing all together (and taking up surfing and playing golf !!). Perhaps the reason is that he couldn't cope with the new climbing standards anymore, e.g. his age didn't allow him to climb the hard grades nowadays?

I wore the T-shirt we made for BAZ 2009 (see pic below) with the picture of Wolfgang and one of his most memorable quotes on it. I pointed it out to him asking if coffee was, as much as is had been to Wolfgang, an essential part of climbing to him. He aswered that it wasn't but that coffee to Wolfgang was as essential as petrol is for a car. Jerry thought the T-shirt was cool and asked where he could get that. I waved to Ad Siemons (from Fuerza Climbing and standing next to us), and said that Maurice and I made it as a rememberance to Wolfgang but that Fuerza probably would start selling the T-shirt later this year. Jerry wrote his address in one of his books (Revelations) and signed it. I'll bet he will get the first one once Fuerza starts manufacturing the T-shirts. By the way Fuerza has ten signed copies of Jerry's new book Revelations for sale !!

We had been bouldering in MONK as well and I have to say that it is the best indoor bouldering experience I have had!! What a great place to be and the magnificent boulderstructures with the even better routes are second best to bouldering the real rock. I'll be back, but sadly enough not to soon. It's a wee bit out of my way to Eindhoven... but if it's possible: 'beam me up MONK!!'.

Pics of us bouldering in MONK will be posted later. To be continued.

Beat Kammerlander - Prinzip Hoffnung

Beat says: "The crux is six or seven meters of blank face climbing, to where the crack shifts diagonally. It is unique to find a crack on such a sheer and difficult face where it is possible to free climb with removable protection (5.13d/14a and E9-E10). The climb is very particular and uses tiny edges and footholds. If you try it to often you bloody your fingers and wear through the rubber on your shoes. It’s a battle climbing up there.”

For an interview and footage of Prinzip Hoffnung go here or click the pic below.

If you get excited by this and the pic above, check this link to more pics and the full story of the 50 year old Austrian climbing his guts off.

(source: beatkammerlander.com)

Gullible, a little story of learning Dutch

At times a brillant Photo Comic series about the lives of four stereotypical students in the Netherlands. Unfortunately for the rest of the world it's in Dutch. Sometimes there's an exception because of an international student living in the house....

( source: http://www.fotostrips.nl/)

Pure Bouldering Film

A bit of info found on http://www.udinishop.de/:

From the producer of Dosage V - Alpine Blocs comes a 35mm bouldering flick about bouldering on planet Earth: PURE. Pure is about 19 extraordinary climbers in six countries on three continents , with no ropes. This is the first bouldering film to be shot entirely in cutting edge 35mm digital format. Featured Climbers: Nalle Hukkataival: As soon as he opened an 8a scorecard he was ranked 3rd in the world. This young Finnish climber has put in his time on the world cup circuit and is now focusing on climbing the most daunting boulders on Earth. Kevin Jorgeson: Pure features exclusive footage of Kevin's first ascents and first ropeless ascents in California. A Unique perspective on the mind control necessary to solo, and the rehabilitation needed when you screw up. Kilian Fischhuber: Winner of the 2008 Bouldering World Cup. No climber has ever had a more dominant season on the World Cup Circuit then Kilian, and few have the sense of humor. Anna Stoehr: Winner of the 2008 Bouldering World Cup. Professional Climber. 20 years old. Fred Nicole: No introduction needed. The author of the lion's share of hard boulder problems in the world. The leader and grand master of the sport. Cody Roth: Psyched to get on just about anything, PURE showcases Cody on hair-raising first ascents from Rocklands to Europe.

For the Dutch: the dvd is also for sale at Fuerzaclimbing in Haarlem Netherlands.

Friday 13th - Fate

Hot shots from Chris Sharma

Pictures by Pete O'Donovan: chris in Demencia Senil (9A)

Click forth to the site of 8a.nu where Pete posted some nice shots from Chris working in some most amazing routes, of which there will be some footage in the upcoming BigUpProductions film.

Earth Guide - How does the Earth work?

Although much of the information on this site you probably already know, it's the way it is being presented that draws attention. Questions like 'where is the Earth located in the Milky Way galaxy?, 'where does the sky become space?' and 'how do water and carbon circulate?' do tend to make you think, aww that's kid's stuff. But what the heck, check the site and enjoy.

World Longest Ice Climbing Routes Norway

(pic above by Bjorn-Elvind Aartun: Strandhogg, 800m, M5+ WI6+ A0)

The winter is nearing it's end, but not in Norway. A super long ice route (1,000-meters-high) has formed at the Kjerag massif directly above the open sea in Lysefjord in southwestern Norway. Extreme cold weather made it possible to form unusual long and sustained ice routes.

(pic above by Bjorn-Elvind Aartun: the crux in Strandhogg)

Separate teams of Norwegian, Swiss and German Climbers climbed routes from 600 to nearly 1300 meters. But it was Robert Jasper who made the most uit of the extreme long routes, cold weather and extreme difficulties.

(pic above byobert Jasper : Robert Jasper climbing on Fosslimonster (800m, M8+ WI6)

For the whole story and more pics see this link.

(source: climbing.com)

TEST

To see if my blog is online again. I've been experiencing some trblzzz this day..... grrreetz

Chris Sharma - New Project in Margalef

According to the BigUp Productions Blog Chris has a new project in Margalef. A line called 'First Round, First Minute' which consists of a bunch of bad pinchers and will be probably harder than the last 5.15 he did in the same area. All the footage will be there in the new movie 'Progression'.

Nice to get a little insight in the way the guys of BigUp work during the shooting of the film. Way to go with that Van!! Looks like the climbers version of similar vans used by, for instance CNN, during on site news covering. Check for more info the BigUp Productions Blog.

(source: BigUpProductions.com)

Geology = basic for Bouldering

(pic above: Chilled rims - NW Turkey)

Movements, grading, holds, finger positions, chalk and ofcourse coffee are some basic (conversation) elements for bouldering. BUT it's nothing without an element which exits since the early beginning of time: the rock itself being a major part of the earth. Well ofcourse the earth's surface consists of more than 80%. Geology (from Greek: γη, gê, "earth"; and λόγος, logos, "speech" lit. to talk about the earth) is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structure, physical properties, dynamics, and history of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed.

And boy what geological features do we encounter in our search for new boulders. Let's be inspired by the beauty and awesome forms earth has in store for us:

Geology = basic for Bouldering

Movements, grading, holds, finger positions, chalk

Jerry Moffat PRO Bouldering Tips

As a teaser before Jerry will have his lecture at MONK, see his PRO advise (click picture) about how boulderproblems need to be handled. And remember, it´s all in the mind.....

Numbers and other things

Today being the 3rd of the 3rd month in the year '09 it seems obvious to search for a picture of a watch showing 03:33:33 03/03/2009... But nope none of such pictures exists (by my knowledge) on the internet. A lot of people have a tic of watching watches set for a whole hour or seeing the mileage of your car turn from 29.999 to 30.000.

So this day a little puzzle for the keen of eye and the ones with a wide perspective.

Look at the picture above as if you are looking through it and focus on a point infinite away. See if you can figure out what lies beyond the figures.

Overzicht klimgebieden Europa - List Climbing Sites Europe

By coincidence I stumbled upon this site of the ESAC (Eindhoven Students Climbing Club) where I found this very helpful list of the most climbing area's in Europe. Just browse around, click the various links and pick your destination. There is only one little snag... the site is in Dutch (but the links are internet lingo). Click the pic above and scroll through the list of countries and sites. Enjoy!

Bouldering Time at Home

Spring is in the air! Which in Holland has a Dubble Dutch meaning of 'just jump in the air'. But indeed, in the morning you smell the distant scent of spring which means time for outdoor climbing and bouldering activities. These are pics from my own bouldering wall at the back of the house.