Sport rock climbing is the act of ascending steep rock formations using the physical strength of the body, your mental and with the help of specialized gear and safety equipment made for this sport. As technology and material for equipment improves each year, this sport seem safer to deal with. We have a better possibility today to concentrate solely on our physical condition, training and pumping up those biceps for the climb of your dreams. With the variety of grading systems, you can accurately compare the difficulty of the climb. Many existing systems emphasize the technical difficulty, some the endurance and some others the number of ascents the climb has. It’s hard to compare these grades in differant regions of the world as the rock varies. You’ll find differant routes to climb on with granite, limestone, gneis, etc.

Sports climbing used to be a sport, if mentioned in the 90ties, it gathered raised eyebrows in the crowd. Nobody would understand why someone would take the trouble to climb up the gripless wall when you could walk the easy and comfortable way up to the summit on the other side. Nobody understood about getting psych in one single route and spending many hard working days to just free climb it. But also, nobody told them that it was better than ecstasy when you finally succeeded!?

Today, climbing is trendy. You would find a boom of numerous Gyms in many cities offering Sports climbing, most of them over crowded and air filled with Magnesia. Outside, the natural climbing areas obviously filthed out with signs of civilisation left behind ruthlessly at certain times of the year. It isn’t a wonder that more and more areas get banned from further climbing if we don’t push up our awareness and respect for the environment soon enough. I’m hoping everyone who climbs gets to experience this awesome sport outside, savouring everything that comes along with it – hard work, pumpy arms, shots of adrenaline, sun and the beauty of the nature. It’s a love story just between you and the rock. Long lives the rocky planet!

Happy climbing!

It’s snowing, cold, grey and it’s winter? You could either book a flight to Phra Nang or choose a destination thats much closer to europe, like Geyikbayiri, some 30km away from Antalya. Travelling at a time where everyone else is busy with christmas festivities and preparations, you usually find the best prices in terms of flights and hotels. Geyikbayiri is probably the best climbing area Turkey has to offer. Read the rest of this entry »

If you grade a climbing area, you do not count only the beauty of the routes. Ambience, beauty, surroundings and facilities count too. So if you do find these items here, you know that it’s almost a  small haven in paradise. ^^ Read the rest of this entry »

The next holiday was just a few days away and we had only 20kg luggage allowance for the flight. I wasn’t sure if we should save on my cosmetics (;-) or on the gear….but i opted for a lighter, newer gear instead. After all, it’s just impossible to tell a girl to cut down on her own necessities than on her climbing gear. Read the rest of this entry »

Gone are the days when you have to buy multiple materials for a special sport. Mountaineering today is found in different forms and categories. You boulder, sports climb, make an occasional alpine route and ice climb in the winter. And for the rest days you take out that slack line and work on balance and coordination. If you upkeep all these sports, I’d like to take a look in the room where these  materials are stored. You could either have 5 different varieties of each equipment or have one that works for all. Read the rest of this entry »

When this headlamp first appeared years back, it started off a small revolution in the history of torches. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s the weekend again, thank goodness!  Our car was all ready and packed with enough carbohydrates, and spices for dinner and Mymuesli for breakfast. Our destination brought us to one of the many climber’s paradise in Tirol, again a new spot for us in 100% granite.

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Summer finally came and this year right at the end of august. I have actually given up all hope for any chance to spend a nice hot summer back home and decided to take the plunge into an autumn vacation that was way too early! The weather forecast prognosed a heat wave in most of the European cities, we therefore chose north facing destinations, with a little hope for some coolness during the day.

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Finding the right app to navigate or track a trail to your crag could get sometimes tedious. Either you think you’ ve got the correct app and then there’s no GPS signal, or your app tells you, you are limited to 3 tracks in the free version or entitled to 5 Min’s of tracking, or you ve got everything right and your battery dies on you. And I hear my hubby shaking his head and telling me whats the use of having the highest technology when it dies on you when you need it? Sigh… Read the rest of this entry »

When we heard that the new GriGri2 was on the  way to the market, we were really excited about how it was going to perform. Our last grigri was 15 years old and never failed on us. It was quite difficult to imagine how the manufacturers were going to cut down on material while stil keeping up good performance of one of the best half automatic devices on the market. Finally, after a year, we got our chance to test out this masterpiece. And I must say, petzl’s product managers waited all 10 years, but they did a good job making this device a success. Read the rest of this entry »

Ultra-light quickdraws are a blessing if you’re on the go for mountaineering and multipitch routes. It doesn’t really mean that you have to be climbing multipitch routes to have them. If you sports climb, they are just as good for sports climbing. It lightens your rack and you don’t sacrifice performance with these modern quickdraws. These 5 quickdraws featured and tested below is specially designed for users demanding uncomplicated ultra-light gear. Wired gates ensure at the same time no freeze on an alpine trip even under 0°c temperatures. Read the rest of this entry »

The Orientale Sarda

Isn’t it a dream to waking up to flawless sunrises, the cry of seagulls and the crashing of waves? What a good idea it was to leave the winter behind you and enjoy the warming sunrays on your skin, have your breakfast right on the beach (5m away from the water)and enjoy absolute serenity with your environment and yourself. We were back in Sardegna after 10 years with no regrets. Read the rest of this entry »

I have been a true fan of Five Ten ever since I started climbing, equipped for differant types of rock and climbing styles with a velcro and lace up version at all times. There are climbing shoes good for slabs, others for overhangs and big comfy  shoes for sun shone routes. For some reason that Five Ten changed the cutting and shape of these shoes in their newer models, made me look out for other models that offer a better fitting. I change my shoes almost every year, and this was a good opportunity to do so. Read the rest of this entry »

The season for climbing outdoors has more or less begun. Not that it has ever stopped over the winter for us. Snow was sufficient this season, but there were also many sunny days where climbing on a winter’s day made winter just a wee shorter…and yes how much we longed for spring to finally come. Hey, and before you know it, it’s here already. The weather forcasts are forecasting good spring weather for the next few weeks (at the least the temperatures are going to stay up) and our plans for climbing areas to check out on hits the lists.

Friaul, which is right on the easten side of Italy was our first further destination for an extended weekend. Villa Santina, which is situated just at the border of Austria is the “Lago di Garda” for those staying in Carinthia. If the weather was bad in Villach, you’d bet that it’s pretty sunny just over the moutains within an hours drive. We did not have this pleasure though, but we also made it to our destination some 4 hours later.

After a pleasent obligatory cappucino at Caffè Nuova in Villa Santina (which had the best caffe and hot chocolate variations) we set off to  finger the crags. Villa Nuova, within 15 mins walking distance rewarded us with routes ranging from 6c – 8b. The crag called for intact skin and fresh fingers as it’s sharp structured limestone leaves you howling after 4 routes on ledges, and yearning for a rest day. I was surprised, as this sector is not new but “refurbished”. The locals rebolted and put up new routes right and left of the crag making it possible for a come back. A perfect  crag  protected from winds and it’s sunny southern position makes it a solarium for the winter. Don’t forget your shorts when coming here. We started off with an athletic “Lorens D’Arabia” and finished the day with “Carribean Club” which was recommended by Franzi. Undoubtly a fantastic route with everything in it. Another sector further up – Falesia Alta offers about 10 multipitch routes. Read the rest of this entry »

A couple of months back the new sensation opened and the biggest boulder gym in the world “Boulderwelt” was born. A little haven for all those living in munich, a dream come true for all those who boulder and the solution for all the others who wants to climb but has no climbing partner. This concept came and actually exploded right in the heart of munich. Well yes, a concept that’s going to be a success story of this century.

In just a couple of hours more  the biggest climbing gym in the world is going to open it’s doors to the world in Thalkirchen. On Saturday morning 19.02.2011, the climbers are going to be richer with an extra 2500m² playground.  With it’s extension, it will have 7800m² altogether. Wow! That could be equivalent to a small climbing area in France like Chateauvert…or La Turbie… ?

Thalkirchen has been reputed as the busiest, fullest, most crowded climbing gym at all times.  Everybody can definately confirm this. Thank goodness that there are alternatives in Gilching and Heimstetten to look out for. But now, there’s something new to look forward to. I’m not so sure what the locals did to deserve 2 biggest gyms in the world, but it looks like there’s lots of people in munich who’s gotten in to the hang of climbing. One thing is for sure. All natural climbing areas are situated with a minimum of an hour drive from Munich, and thus Good job! Munich’s has the biggest and most climbing walls summed together with it’s >10 climbing communities and probably some 20.000 m² altogether.

So the next time you come by Munich and are not sure what you’re going to do, come to a climbing gym! Munich is indeed catching up with as many routes that are found in Frankenjura, don’t you think?

This year Lago di Garda seems to have been blessed with heavy rainfalls , lots of snow and bad weather … but so much snow that it sheerly reduced the climbing possiblities around the area. Read the rest of this entry »

Time flies…. and before you knew it… Iphone was just as important as your liptstick in the handbag.

I still remember the days when I pulled out my smartphone and people would frown and ask me why I cared so much about the internet? Isn’t a phone’s function sufficient enough to just call your friends? I had to justify myself, but did not convince them that the internet is the thing thats going to be a part of your life, even while you’re outside. Some 2 years later, that same person turned up with his new IPhone, babbles me with “Which App do you have on your phone?” and “Have you used the sync function” and “are you on facebook too?”….. I had a smurk on my face, but I didn’t say why.

I must say, I have been an dedicated diciple of smartphones. I started off with WIN CE and saw this developed into WIN mobile 5. And then it was time to look for a new phone. You must be aware that I have been using all this time a combination of a PDA and a smartphone, using it as a dialer to get me into the net. Why a PDA, since Smartphones were invented? It has a huge screen that enabled me to display all the topos i brought along with me and it was easier on the eye. It has applications that was compatible with my Office programms with which I can document my texting and reviews, I was able to install .NET on my PDA which enabled me to put my text into my very own WIKI, yes it was easy…and yet i had always 2 devices with me. Somewhere along the way, I got tired of that. And the Iphone era walked into my life. Read the rest of this entry »

I never thought that making your own cereal snack bars was so easy, tasty and healthy until I tried it out by myself! Inspired by friends that actually told me the story that they emptied the supermarket shelf that sold snackbars just for the excursion trip, I ask myself – why not make your own? The online recipes did say it was soooo easy to make. So I tried that out… and viola!

Not difficult, no hassel, healthy, tasty and an absolute favourite! Here it goes… Read the rest of this entry »

A review through the eyes of an climber.

This was the hype. The moment jackets with prima loft came out on the markets, many climbers eyed for it. It looked warm, thin and light and durable. It took me a long time until I decided to get one too. I was pretty sure on the equipment I had at present that kept me warm even on a whole day out with a temperature of 6°on a climbing day. Until today, my 700 Nuptse Downjacket was pretty unbeatable compared to any other brand.

Nevertheless I took the plunge. Curious and wanting to have a light jacket for trips to other parts of Europe where moderate temperatures are the daily, something which doesn’t plush up your luggage when you’re trying to fly light together with your 12kg Rucksack full of climbing gear. I came home happy with my new jacket and waited hungrily for bad weather to come.

The Womans Redpoint Optimus Jacket is highly praised as the layer for cool to cold weather conditions. It comes with a 2 hand pocket, 1 chest pocket on the left, a nice fitting hood and an interior stow pocket. The collar is overlapped to prevent the zipper scratching up your chin. A lightweight compared to downs: this jacket weighs 500 g and can be compressed into the small 20x20cm stow pocket. The Insulation consists of 100g Prima Loft One filling which is the highest quality from all prima lofts. The pockets are lined out with a soft fleece material, making it cudlly when your fingers get cold. The hand cuffs were out of softshell, making the jacket really cuddly and soft. As of all north face clothings, it gave me a good impression on quality of the material and workmanship.

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Beal Cliff Rope bag

The person who invented this bag must have had enough of getting his back dirty when he carried the rucksack. And I’m glad that someone else in the world thought so too. Finally a Beal Cliff Rope bag which has the zips at the right side! What a genious idea! Read the rest of this entry »