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!

There are some who needs a few days to reach Spain, with an stopover in France. But we did that in a day and a half. 1600km in a stretch, and when we arrived, we felt that we needed at least 4 days of recovery. Nevertheless, we were happy to be back in Catalunya after almost a decade of absence.

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Want to get a modern ultra light jacket with absolutely no weight? Wonder if it will warm you sufficiently in cold conditions? Let’s take a closer look at the Broad Peak II Thermo jacket Read the rest of this entry »

Many are running around with one of these cool, light down jackets and are testifying that it’s great. Curious to finding out the limits of this jacket, I soon found the perfect opportunity to do so. If you are not sure whether to buy or not to buy such a jacket, read on. Read the rest of this entry »

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. It was the first time a head lamp would last up till 180h, with it’s bright LEDs. It was the first time you must not worry if your head lamp is going to die on you while you’re still hiking in the dusk to reach point B. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s very easy to get the local made saussages in the supermarket, especially in italy or france. They have them specially made for grilling or just to be fried on the pan. I love combineing them with differant spices and then sauté white onions with a dash of wine to go with it. A possible recipe to make instead of BBQing and you could get unexpected guests as well. 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. Read the rest of this entry »