Ice Climbing in the Netherlands

Last sunday I got the word from my ice climbing buddy, Tim, that some guys in Woerden (Netherlands, duh...) had made their own ice climbing wall !! Not bad for the Lowlands and despite the changing climate this winter had many activities in store for the seriouly out doors minded.

More info in the next posts.

(source: Tim, ya know it)

Not so many posts...

I am not posting so much lately, for which I am sorry. But, being optimistic I reckon this will change in due time. Perhaps it's because so many new blogs and websites are being made about climbing and bouldering. Maybe it's time to make a change although 'what' is not clear to me. I will continue to 'blog' though !!

Above is the comic figure Gaston who represents to me 'taking the ordinary out of ordinary' and making the most out of life with tons an loads of fun. That's the way I will continue with Paschnampook

Hard New Ice Climging Routes and Scary Soloing in Austria

On January 7th the Austrians Albert Leichtfried and Benedikt Purner completed the first ascent of Centercourt WI7+, 300m. This route is located in the Eisarena in Gasteinertal, Austria. It took Leichtfried one and a half hours to climb the crux pitch of Centercourt, placing a single bolt on the lead that still did not make him feel that this pitch was safe. The line is now probably one of the hardest ice fall routes in Europe. Leichtfried and Purner are both Austrian Alpine Guides and are building up quiet a resume of hard new routes in their home country. Before Christmas they climbed a 1000m long route that weighed in at WI6/M7 that they named Moonwalk.

Continuing the hard Austrian ice ticks this month was Rudolf Hauser. Just to the side of Centercourt is a 270m long WI6 called Supervisor. This route was first climbed nearly twenty years ago by Joseph Steinbacher and Hans Zlobl and it took them eight hours. In January this year Rudolf Hauser free soloed the route in one hour and forty minutes.

For more info: see here
For more pics: go this place

source: climbmagazine.com

Pictures Ice Climbing World Cup Saas Fee - Finals Men

Being in the vicinity of Saas Fee during the World Cup Ice Climbing I took the opportunity to shoot some pictures of the world class competition ice climbers. Our 'basecamp' in Grachen turned out to be a perfect hot spot for ice climbing activities ourself. Just below Saas Fee a small but fine gorge is situated and filled with high quality waterfall ice in the grades of III and IV. Tim and I scaled two of them and later on another near Saas Balen.

Below some pics of the (for me) two leading men, Markus Bendler from Austria and Park Hee Yong, delivering some spectacular ice climbing acrobatics in the (world?) famous parking lot of Saas Fee. Pictures of our own ice climbing adventures will follow later.

World Cup Ice Climbing - Saas Fee, Zwitserland

A nice occasion to visit 'the Boermans' in Grächen, Zwitserland; the World Cup Ice Climbing in Saas Fee. Tim and I would take the opportunity to seize out ice axes and taste the ice in the Saastal and at the same time support the Dutch Climbing Team.

The first day in Grächen Tim and I went just below Saas Fee to a nice gorge where the conditions were as good as can be. To get used to the ice we both climbed two routes and then decided to head for Saas Fee and some warm coffee. In the warm rock of the 'eventhalle' all the climbers and coaches assembled for the ritual meeting of sorting the numbers and having some spagetti supper.

Today Menno, Dick and I went walking to the Hannig hütte and spent some sunny hours walking. After a quick lunch Menno and I ran back to Saas and were in time to watch the Guys of the Dutch Team (Corné Brouwer and Dennis van Hoek) climbing. Below some more pics and more to follow in the coming dayzzzzz.

Optical Illusions - Climbing the stairs

Escher-like optical illusions are not always so complicated as the one above. Try the more simple but even so effective climbing the stairs as shown below. It's deceptive how the trick is done but look closely to the tiles and the way the painting is drawn. To make such an optical illusion, the artist has to step back from his work of art and see if the perspective is still right. DO try this at home !!

(source: stumbleupon.com)

New Years Resolutions - Sarcastic Remarks to help you through the day

Some fine sarcastic remarks to put someone off if needed....

- This isn't a office. It's hell with fluorescent lighting.

- I pretend to work. They pretend to pay me.

- You!!.... off my planet!

- Does your train of thought have a caboose?

- Allow me to introduce my selves.

- Suburbia: whert they tear out the trees an then name streets after them.

- Are those your eyeballs? I found them in my cleavage.

- I'm trying to imagine you with a personality.

- Stress is when you wake up screaming and realize you haven't fallen asleep yet.

- Okay, okay, I take it back! UN-fuck you!

- Chaos, panic and disorder; my work here is done.

- How do I set a laser printer to stun?

Dave Grahams The Island (V15) repeated by Vincent Pochon

Happy thoughts and many happy memories for the coming climbing adventures in 2010. This footage is from Dave Graham climbing The Island (V15) in Coquibus, Rumont, Fontainebleau, now repeated by Vincent Pochon.

Christmas Break - Calvin and Hobbes

For all those of you who follow my blog or Stumble Upon it: all the best whishes and a merry christmas with my all-time-favourites comic.

p.s the second comic is a slightly altered version I found during 'stumbling' through the web.

Red Bull Urban Bloc - Anna Stoehr (by Rainer Eder)

Check out the fine pictures taken during the Red Bull Urban Bloc, held in the end of october 2009. Amongst others Anna Stoehr was present and together with Rainer Eder (the photographer) and Franz Widmer (a local climber) they roamed Zürich for climable objects.

The contest was more of a photo- than bouldering contest, so the best photo's would win.

Go here for more pictures, and there good !

(source: anna-stoehr.at)

Simon's Cat - Snow Business part 1

Unfortunately I wasn't able to put an embedded file here. Don't know why but I'll try to fix that.
Njoy !! for I did certainly.

Calvin and Hobbes - Christmas Loot Reprise

Because last year the resolution turned out to be less than hopeless, this year the full picture of the best Christmas comics of Calvin and Hobbes; as a teaser of the christmas comics...

Simon's Cat - Snow Business Part1

Sorry, I couldn't get the film embedded here. I'll try again soon !!

Louder Than 11 presents "Colorado Glow" - boulder movie

Click the picture to watch the movie.

(source: revolutioniclimbing.com)

Chris Sharma Neanderthal - part 2

Is there some controversy about the route and grading of Neantherthal??
Bjorn Pohl reports:

I just had a chat with David Graham, who's snowed in with Jon Cardwell in Cataluña. He said they were all kinda laughing at the Neanderthal reports because they're all so off regarding the route.

"The route is like a 9a (more or less) which is comprised of something like four 7C blocs on a row, very resitant, on pinches and kinda crack like features. There are some holds to shake on in between the last 7C and the crux which is this dyno. The dyno is a move from a crimp and a two finger pocket to a sloper brick. Then there is a jug after a couple more moves. The boulder must be 8A minimum.
Then there is a small rest, a small boulder, maybe 3 moves, not so hard, then a big rest. Then it is a maybe 8a+/8b route to the end of the cave, out another little bulge.
Thus the route is something like a 9a, to a 8A bloc, to a big rest, which makes solid 9a+ or easy 9b? Then about 8a+/8b route outro climb after a big rest in a break.
This is Neanderthal."

To be continued or not? I'll keep U posted.

Chris Sharma sets another possible 9b in Santa Linya

(picture by Joe Kind)

After adding Papichulo 9Aa+ to Oliana, Demenica Senil 9a to Margalef and Golpe de Estado, a possible 8b to Siurana, Chris Sharma has now freed another testpiece for the world elite. Neantherthal stands a 9b and is located at the wildly steep Santa Linya cave in Spain.

Read more here.

(source: planetmountain.com)

Less impressive climbing skills

hmpfrr, a dry wit to the max.

(source: xkcd.com)

A guide to understanding flow charts, in flow chart form

eh-eh, I luuuve this kind of humour.

(source: xkcd.com)

Climate Change?? - Economical Energy !!

In the hausse of news about the climate change, and weather global warming is true of false, one forgets that men (in the sense of the inhabitants of the earth f/m) are capable of huge changes and feats that have impact way beyond our imagination. But on the other hand many, far more catastrophic changes have taken place during the earth's history.

I think it's true that men consume much more than we should, and in that sense we change the 'world'. But to say we can change the climate and make a shift in the global system is much more 'credit' than men should get.

So all in all we should focus on consuming less, including energy. Contrary to the filosophy of Cradle2Cradle where the focus lies on 'consume more' if the equation waste=energy is true.
It's the way of living we should worry about (consuming, production, waste, environmental health) not the amount of CO2 or the global warming that certainly could originate by the earht's system itself.

Anyway, enough of my thoughts and it's time to activate. Check the site of GE (yes.... they company who invest in energy from coal and gas, but also in renewable sources) where you can set your own wind of solarenergy system in motion. Augmented reality plugged into the smartgrid of ecomagination. Above picture is me blowin into the mic of my laptop showing a part of the print I am holding and the 3D picture that my webcam constructed. Nice eh !!

Check this link, download the solar panel marker and get started !!

Sports Center Paris - Mulifunctional vs Monotonic

Designed by Paris-based KOZ Architects, and coexisting with several older educational buildings and a residential development, the 1,600 square-meter facility is unexpected and bold in its riotous use of colors both inside and out.

The funhouse by KOZ has turned into a favorite of kids, parents and teachers, as the facility was planned and its wild colors used in specific ways that fosters the intended functions -- play and sports – and not just to shock or delight.

Joining cube-shaped, basic concrete structures with an overlay and creating a sports court on top of the building have not only increased the building’s usability and maximized the use of the site, but also accommodated the complex’s surprisingly easy fit into the site. A monolithic, monotonic approach would have created a mass much more imposing and seemingly unfriendly than the varying-height structure with its pixelated glass facade that now draws children in through color and an abundance of natural light.