Last week I flew to Sweden to attend the first international bouldering meeting which was held in Västervik. This was the first time I have been climbing in Sweden, and also the first time I have had the possibility to climb together with Alex Puccio, Daniel Woods, Courtney Sanders and Chris Webb Parson. Despite the huge gap in the level in which we climb, I have to say I enjoyed every second of it.
Chris sending Namaste
The idea of the bouldering meeting was similar to what they have in Melloblocco every year – basically getting people in to try some of the hardest problems already established and the projects that are lying around the area. The hardest problems around were also some of the hardest problems Sweden has to offer. For example lines like Hourglass 8B, Namaste 8B, David O Goliat Low 8A+ and many more. Daniel and Chris, and our very own Anthony Gullsten, crushed many of those problems during the weekend.
The girls also showed their skills in Sweden. Alex topped out a nice line called The Office 8A and David O Goliat 8A. And even though Miss Sanders didn’t top out David O Goliat, she surely kicked my ass by doing all the moves.
Courtney on David O Goliat
Courtney, who has only climbed for two and a half years, is truly inspiring when it comes to training motivation. Just like me, she is traveling to Rocklands during the summer of 2012. I promised that I would be in shape by that time so we can climb together. Still, I reckon that even if I train my ass off during the winter months, she will kick my ass every day when it comes to hard bouldering. Personally I don’t know that many people who in less than three years boulder 7C+’s and hit the same grade in sport climbing as well. When I asked her about it she said that when she started climbing she saw a guy she knows who had climbed his first 7c’s in under three years. She wanted to do the same.
The weekend went by going around different spots around Västervik. Some of them had really nice rock and some boulders didn’t really inspire me at all. We also took cover in the local gym when it started raining. Luckily it did actually rain as I got to feel some new holds at the gym that I hadn’t seen before. They felt really nice, and I guess during the upcoming Fall Boulderkeskus will see some of them on the walls as well.
During the evenings we spent our time at the campground doing what ever there was to do. We checked out some slideshows by Petitou “Philip” Rib, Courtney and Daniel. Philip's show was mainly about his upcoming movie WILD ONE and how he has adapted to the climbing scene despite being handicapped; a truly inspiring French man who is showing the world that even if you are different you can still climb hard and enjoy life. Daniel and Courtney went by and told about their past, present and future; how they have come together and how they push each other forward in the hobby they both love so much.
During the evenings we spent our time at the campground doing what ever there was to do. We checked out some slideshows by Petitou “Philip” Rib, Courtney and Daniel. Philip's show was mainly about his upcoming movie WILD ONE and how he has adapted to the climbing scene despite being handicapped; a truly inspiring French man who is showing the world that even if you are different you can still climb hard and enjoy life. Daniel and Courtney went by and told about their past, present and future; how they have come together and how they push each other forward in the hobby they both love so much.
Andy making the second ascent of Namaste
This time we didn’t see a slideshow by Alex or Chris but perhaps in the near future we will see them showing one over at Konala. What we did see on Saturday night was Alex crushing the women’s world record in dynoing or getting to the same hight as the old record. Even if she didn’t officially break the record, as the holds weren’t the official ones, she easily beat the record. And while she jokes about being really bad at dynoing I think she had it pretty easily.
Jocke Berglund won the men’s dynocomp by jumping 260 cm, and Andy came second by doing 255 cm. The first rounds were fun to watch as Jocke was fooling around doing 360’s in the jug and jumping while holding a beer in his hand at the same time.
I left during the afternoon on Sunday and all together I left with good feelings about the event. I got to meet some really cool people, climbed a bunch outside, saw some good slideshows, and actually climbed the coolest 7A boulder so far in my few years of climbing.
As a destination Västervik might not be a place where I would plan a long bouldering trip, but if I were to be driving by, I would definitely stop and hug some rock. Stefan Rasmussen has done an amazing job finding and opening 99% of the lines in the area and, as he said, there is still so much more to find around the nearby areas.
The meeting will be held yearly, and it would be nice to see more Finns around next year.
Jocke Berglund won the men’s dynocomp by jumping 260 cm, and Andy came second by doing 255 cm. The first rounds were fun to watch as Jocke was fooling around doing 360’s in the jug and jumping while holding a beer in his hand at the same time.
I left during the afternoon on Sunday and all together I left with good feelings about the event. I got to meet some really cool people, climbed a bunch outside, saw some good slideshows, and actually climbed the coolest 7A boulder so far in my few years of climbing.
As a destination Västervik might not be a place where I would plan a long bouldering trip, but if I were to be driving by, I would definitely stop and hug some rock. Stefan Rasmussen has done an amazing job finding and opening 99% of the lines in the area and, as he said, there is still so much more to find around the nearby areas.
The meeting will be held yearly, and it would be nice to see more Finns around next year.
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