Barcelona rocks

Hey people :-)

Some days ago I returned from a 10 days vacation in Barcelona. It was my first time visiting this astonishing, colorful and vibrant city. From the arrival on I really enjoyed the life in Catalonia's capital. I strolled around and took some interesting pics, went to the beach, cycled through the narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter, met a lot of inspiring people, made some new friends and went climbing, of course. Although there are plenty of amazing cliffs around the town, I mainly went to climbing gyms, since I was mostly on my own. I checked out the Deu dits (click here for further information) which is a simply amazing facility with a lot of awesome boulder problems and a mind blowing training area. Apart from that, I also went to a smaller gym called Freebloc (webpage), which is thoroughly equipped and a good place to train. Towards the end of my trip I met Alba and Roque, two extremely friendly and open minded climbers, who currently live in Barcelona. They invited me to come with them for some rock climbing, so I eventually touched some real rock on the last day of my stay. Climbing with all these super nice folks turned out to be a wonderful experience! They showed me a sandstone crag called Grau dels Matxos, which is located in the north of Barcelona. Despite of partying a little bit the evening before, I managed to climb Sots Fèrestecs, a gorgeous 8a with small crimps, at my third go. Additionally, I climbed a bunch of easier routes. Thanks a lot for your hospitality, I really enjoyed climbing with you! 

I hope you like the pictures and stay tuned for another post about an innovative portable fingerboard,  developed by a friend of mine, which I took with me on this trip :-)

Rock climbing around Graz 1.1

Hey people :-)

Yesterday I managed to climb one of my three projects, which I mentioned in the preceding post. I did it on my fourth try that day and I'm stoked that I still had the power to climb through the upper crux which is almost a mantle^^ but actually it wasn't really a question of power, much more it requires proper technique and precision. The route is called Vagina Diaboli (as far as I know because of a specific hold^^) and is located in the Arena. A big thank you goes to all my friends who, belayed me, cheered on me and helped me with the beta. You are awesome! I made a small video of my ascent (thx a lot to Vici for filming!). It's nothing special but maybe it's interesting for some of you, who are trying the route or for those who would like to know how it looks like :D (sorry for the medium quality but the video was made with my phone :D) Click here for the video...

The line

Keep climbing :-)