Finding hard boulder problems is the same as discovering a new line on a mountain or route on a cliff. The same question is a motivator among climbers of all kinds: Is it possible?
But where does one even begin to answer that question when the line is only four moves long, and every move seems beyond the possible?
Austrian Bernd Zangerl is a philosopher of sorts, constantly struggling to unravel the enigma of really difficult climbing. His passion has taken him around the world, from Peru to Africa, to forests in Europe, where he’s sent problems like Momento (V16), Dreamtime, and New Baseline (both V15) His goal is simple and his desire infinite. He makes the impossible his business, breaking down problems into small pieces of success. Bernd is most intrigued by the question of the possible,often applied to entire mountains, when it’s condensed into a single move.
On October 14th Bernd opened a new test piece in the Silvretta Mountains and called it Anam Cara (A Celtic phrase meaning, roughly “soul mate”). Following are Bernd’s own words on what he’s calling his hardest problem ever.
I will never forget my first bouldering day in Ticino. It felt like Christmas and my birthday together. Hundreds of Boulders. Hypermotivated I cruised around in the woods of Cresciano. At one point I stopped under a huge roof. I saw some structures on it, but for me it looked unclimbable.
My friend Steini came around and told me that this was a Fred Nicole Problem. The famous La Proue (8b), with two hard moves to the top. This was mind-blowing for me. I got a total different understanding of climbing. Another imagination of limits, or what is actually climbable. Since that day I was fascinated by short, [featureless] pieces of rock…and boulder problems with really hard moves.
Viva La Evolution (8c), Tintenfischalarm (8b/b+), Frontline (8b), and Gecko Supply (8a) — all unrepeated — have been small personal Highlights for me. On these Problems, the crux can be reduced to a single move. MEMENTO, a problem I opened three years ago, was different: A hard start, then four easy moves followed by a very hard jump to the top. Close to perfection. But I was dreaming of something more radical, something with no compromises, no tricks. I was looking for a boulder, where all moves are at my limit. The only problem: Does it exist? Is there something like this? We don’t find these problems on every corner and there are also aesthetic demands. Ironically, just after my ascent of MEMENTO, two friends of mine told me about a golden…30-degree roof. It sounded exactly what I was looking for. Steeper than Memento and smaller holds, I was curious.
Reality distorted by Jason Kehl — cryptochild.comTo all the brainiac hold shapers out there: Steven Jeffery tips his hat…umm, head to you.
HEADZ
Reality distorted by Jason Kehl — cryptochild.comTo all the brainiac hold shapers out there: Steven Jeffery tips his hat…umm, head to you.
A few days later it was time to have a look at that roof. In my imagination I already had a picture of it.… I was feeling the urge of excitement when I came closer. Beautiful, orange-golden rock,…overhanging with small crimpers. Theoretically the problem was easy to decode. The first hard move should be possible. Then you get a three finger under cling for your fingertips, placing your feet in the roof and do a crazy move to the lip. It was so logical, so clear. So utopic.
On my first tries I wasn’t able to put power on, because it felt like my wrist was going to break.… I had to take care. I had some “time-taking” injuries in the last years, and I am not allowed to get another one. Does it make sense to work on problem, where I can get injured? It was stupid, but I had to try. I couldn’t just walk away and say it’s not possible.
Regularly, I was working on the problem, and in September 2006 I had one good try, falling on the last move. I thought that I am close to solving the problem...but at that time, I didn’t know: I was still far away from linking these four moves at once.
August 2007. I [came] back. I was motivated. In the beginning I was working on the project just once a week, to avoid injuries. Despite that unusual ‘training method“ with lots of rest days, I was making fast progress. On September 24 I did the last move to the lip…and slipped off. I was happy.
Now I was sure that I can do the problem…sooner or later. But I was just not sure about the weather. The winters in Tyrol can be sneaky. Sometimes they come during the night and the bouldering season is finished. Time was passing by. I was feeling stronger, but my tries get worse and worse. I was so close, and suddenly I was far away from doing the problem. It was a mystery and time was running. The first snow was going to come soon, and then I got ill. Nature telling me it was time for a break. And so despite perfect “sending conditions“ in Silvretta, I found myself driving through the Swiss mountains with no real destination. Looking for new places, enjoying the crazy weather in the mountains, and forgetting about everything. Should I try again?
October 14, 2007. Reverberations of happiness come down from the mountain peaks above me. I call it ANAM CARA.
For me ANAM CARA is a personal Highlight of my climbing career. I feel no regret of reaching the end of that story…because I am still hungry, and I also know that with each new problem I try I will get a profound feeling of pushing back my personal limits.
This June 6th and 7th, we Americans will host a Bouldering World Cup right here on our shores, at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado. This is a historic event, seeing as the last — and only — World Cup we’ve ever hosted, a sport climbing event, went down in Snow Bird, UT almost two decades ago. The hosting of a truly global comp, one with an expected 30-nation attendance and sponsored by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), marks a new day in top-flight plastic pulling for the US. Much of the thanks goes to USA Climbing, headed by Mike Moelter, Anne-Worley Moelter, and Kynan Waggoner, who worked with Teva Mountain Games, the IFSC, Untraditional Marketing, and many, many others to make this event a reality. UC dialed 411 and these three picked up.
Tell us a little about this event -- what’s up?
The event will be one of eight Bouldering World Cups on the IFSC circuit next year. The winners of this event will be one step closer to becoming the Overall Bouldering Champion of the World. Up to 80 Men and Women will compete in a Qualifying Round, from which twenty strong athletes per gender will advance to the Semi-Final Round. From there, the top six of each gender will proceed to Finals.
How could this event change the competition landscape in America?
The World Cup circuit is the highest caliber of competition in the World and is governed by the IFSC to assure that every World Cup is professionally run and exciting for spectators. This is our opportunity to be in front of millions of people around the world, including potential partners for the sport. This World Cup...holds great potential for the future of climbing in terms of the level of seriousness of the sport, the stature of athletes, and growth.
Is this a part of a larger growth trend in American climbing? Yes…in the past several years, climbing organizations across the board have seen an increase in participation. … In terms of competition, USA Climbing has seen a steady growth in…participation, spectator viewing, and membership for the past five years.
How many climbers will be on the US team?
There will minimally be six men and six women. … These competitors will be selected at the ABS National Championship in February 2008, in Boulder. Once all other countries have registered their athletes, we will have the opportunity to augment our team…I estimate that we have the potential to have as many as 25 men and 25 women in the Qualifying Round of the World Cup.
How do you think American climbers are going to stack up against a very deep European field?Are we in for a rude awakening?
I hope not! We have some amazingly strong athletes in this country and I think we will certainly have the Home Field Advantage in our favor. Besides, with thousands of fellow Americans cheering them on, how can they not succeed?!
Daniel Woods. Midnight Express (V14). 2nd ascent. Boulder Canyon, CO. Photo by: Andy Mann
Daniel Woods. Midnight Express (V14). 2nd ascent. Boulder Canyon, CO. Photo by: Andy Mann
COLDER, COLORADO
Words and Photos by Andy Mann
This winter, strong climbers from around the world have been landing in Boulder almost as frequently as the snow. Finding a group of V14 boulderers huddled beneath one dry rock these days is as easy as finding Crawdads in a dried up creek bed.
Daniel Woods, coming home to his roots for the Holidays, was one of those climbers – and he brought a friend. The Woods family hung a stocking for Austrian David Lama this year. With snowdrifts abound, Daniel and David remained positive, fixated on Boulder Canyon’s testpieces. The highlight came with Daniel’s quick work of Chris Shulte’s “Free Range” (V13) and Ty Landman’s “Midnight Express” (V14). He worked out a few moves one day, and returned to bag them both in under an hour the next.
The two, who continued to sledge through the snow, ice and unforgiving cold harnessing Boulder this winter in search of ticking hard problems, will tell you this: If you want Rocky Mountain Granite, this is the time to get some. It may be far from the warmth of Hueco and the comforts of a gym, but there are many rewards to reap if you’re psyched enough to get out there and brave the weather.
As local Herman Feissner puts it, "You wanna play, you gotta pay. You gotta earn your turns today!" (Translation: "Grab a shovel, son!")
The Wadi Rum Expedition A new Film by Aaron Black and Jean Gamilovskij
Imagine; You’re thousands of miles from friends and loved ones, on a vertical wall 1000 feet above a vast red desert, the wind rattles your collar as you climb. Each move gets a little bit harder but you continue moving upward, searching for a crack or hole to place gear. The holds you are pulling on have never been touched - so you don’t know if they will support your weight. The route has no grade, and you don’t know if you will even have the strength to climb it. All you have is your ability to access what you can see. You’re climbing with the faith that your years of experience will guide you to make decisions that will protect your life. You find a cam placement over an awkward bulge and go for it, forcing you to do an almost irreversible move. Now in a stance requiring energy just to stay put, your last piece of gear is far below and out of sight, and there’s nowhere to place a piece of protection…
The Wadi Rum, located in Jordan near the lost city of Petra, is a vast, silent landscape of ancient riverbeds and pastel colored stretches of sandy desert, suddenly shattered by towering sandstone mountains and sheer, shimmering cliff faces. A Muslim country bordered by Syria, Iraq, and Israel, Jordan also offers a glimpse of a culture and region on which the world is currently focused.
Watch as four climbers, Heidi Wirtz, Ben Firth, Chris Kalous and Aaron Black, leave behind the comforts of the Western World and travel to the Wadi Rum with dreams of establishing a hard new free climb on one of the largest walls in the valley. Their fears, often severely tested, are forcefully placed in two categories – irrational and real fear. Expectations become muffled hopes, and hopes are sometimes almost lost. But the crew does all except give up. This film is a true picture of perseverance, dedication and belief. It’s as inspiring as it is visually alluring. Follow these four full-time climbers through the Wadi Rum for a high dose of adventure and culture, and witness their passion to discover a beautiful, bold new line.
On December 22, 2007 the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) announced the closure of the north face of the iconic Mushroom Boulder. The park, which is protected and preserved by the TPWD, is known to contain a significant amount of cultural deposits dating back to prehistoric times. The TPWD’s Cultural Resources Program performed an assessment of several areas within Hueco Tanks State Park, and sited the area surrounding the Mushroom Boulder to have been significantly eroded where foot traffic and crash pad placement was concentrated. Archeologists for the park recommended the area be closed to all activities. The Mushroom Boulder is home to such legendary problems as The El Murrays, The El Shermans, The Mushroom Roof, and Woman With a Hueco in Her Head, among others. Some believe its closure marks the beginning of an uphill battle to maintain climbing privileges within other areas of Hueco Tanks State Park. Climbing at Hueco has been extremely sensitive since the 1998 Public Use Restriction Plan (PURP), which essentially restricted access for all users in response to the crimes of vandals. Restrictions were lightened up in 2000, when a revised PURP allowed up to 70 people per day to hike and climb without guides on North Mountain. The east and west parts of the mountain were to be accessed with a guide only. Those restrictions stand today.
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