Kim in Sandsjöbacka

Having Kim as a neighbor is awesome.  It takes almost no effort to meet up for a fika and on climbing days pick ups and drop offs are none issues.  It is a little puzzling that we haven't actually been out climbing together as much as we should but we are hoping to change that.  

On that note, we headed down to Sandsjöbacka this Sunday for a little grappling.  Here are a few pictures of Kim crushing.

 

 Kim finding balance on a cool arete

 Grabbing the top

 Gunning for a sloper

 One of Kim's projects, Oskarsgalan

It's a long way to that jug

Time Lapse at Klätterlabbet

On Friday I went to Klätterlabbet to help in the long process of clearing the wall and building new problems for the comp on Saturday.  I wasn't there that long but I set up a time lapse that captured Björn's route-setting for two hour.  I built around the corner and can say I'm a little rusty and was not as proliffic as Björn in my 2 hours of setting.  
I should have left my camera there all day as a time lapse of the whole process would have been pretty cool.  Next time.  

Island Classics

Here are a few more problems on Öckerö.

 The very tricky Friskvård

 Anders sends Lilla Öckeröhoppet

Klas sends Lamborghini

Bättre än Bouldercupen

Bättre än Bouldercupen is one of the island's more popular problems. Being steep with big moves on slopey jugs it is easy to see why. The beautiful setting of course adds to the appeal.

Klas on Bättre än Bouldercupen

Taking the small intermediate crimp before the lip

The view with your back to the problem

Using the Cold to my Advantage

It's still cold in Sweden and believe it or not this can be a good thing. On Sunday the frozen ocean provided a solid landing where there is usually water. The idea was to try a couple lines on the Fotö boulder that we couldn't try in the summer (due to getting tired of stacking rocks). In the end we didn't put up any new problems but we did manage to climb despite the torture of warming up in sub-zero temperatures.

The Fotö Boulder

Martin sends Water Dogs

Martin exploring the icy hell-scape

Austria Bouldering Video: Zillertal

Last June we took a brief trip to Austria. Here's a little video of a couple boulder problems from that trip.

Faces in the Crowd

Some of the kids back home.

David the Australian strikes a pose

Jeff (aka Jefe) does his tiger impression beneath Unbeatable Boulder

Scott "the Boxerina" Roberts

Ann loses herself in a blueberry snack

Making the Most of It

Swedish winter seem to be in full force as temps remain below freezing and it is currently snowing. Swedes of course are descended from vikings and siege projects with their frozen digests and make outrageous claims like "the winter is the best season to boulder in Sweden". Ludicrous I say. But there is something to just getting out as a lack of wind and sun can make even a bitterly cold day manageable, for a few hours at least.

Here are a couple pics from my first day of climbing in Sweden for 2011. I will be honest and say that not much climbing got done but I now know it's possible, and knowing is half the battle.

Thinking about ice-skating to the bouldering

Lars getting his climb on

Yes, it's cold

Hammie would like to point out that it is too damn cold to climb

Heeding Hammie's advice and heading back to the mainland on the ferry named Marie

Taking a Digger

It's always nice to capture a good fall, especially when the climber emerges unscathed.




Disclaimer: I'd like to say that Chris is a good spotter. Actually, I think the video is a testament to this as Chris skillfully walks that thin line between avoiding a dab and catching the climber. Of course, things don't always go as planned and bad falls still happen with good spots. I don't reckon there is a good way to spot this fall without dabbing, but pad placement could have been better.

Utah Bouldering Video

Here's a little video of five classic Utah boulder problems. The first four problems are in Joe's Valley and the last is located in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Hope you enjoy.

Joshua Tree Video

I still haven't been climbing since returning to Sweden. While the weather has provided windows it has not been conducive to taking out my toddling sidekick. It seems to always be too cold, too windy, or too wet but I hope that soon everything can come together. I manage to keep the shakes at bay with attempts to potty-train my daughter, which will be my hardest send to date.

Here is a short video of a couple problems in Joshua Tree. Bittersweet is a steep crimpy line right behind a campsite in Hidden Valley and So High is a Jtree classic that blurs the line between high-balling and free-soloing. Bittersweet requires strong fingers and So High requires a strong head and both come recommend.

I'm also toying around with my editing program and trying some different things. I'd like to know what folks think of the split screen and would be psyched for feedback.

Hope you enjoy.

Monkey Bar Boulder

The Monkey Bar Boulder is one of the more popular boulders in Red Rocks. Steep and featured there are probably a good dozen problems on the boulder with countless variations and contrivances.

Prairie warms up on the Monkey Bar Boulder

Monkey Bar Direct, the test piece of the boulder, climbs straight out the steepest section.

Mr Smiley

One of the cool problems I did while in Las Vegas was Mr Smiley. The problem gets little traffic due to it's isolated location and the lack of adjacent climbing but it is well worth the hike, if you can unlock the sequence and stand on top. I think Prairie would like a return trip to finish it off.

Doing the limbo to reach the "smiley" sloper.

Trying the knee-scum method for the crux

The setup for the dyno method

Good Prospects of Climbing and a Kjugekull Video

The probability of climbing here in Sweden is actually looking pretty good. I admittedly could have gone out for a couple hours last weekend but when you're flying solo and packing a toddler it's not always that easy. The good news is that if things continue like they are now then I'll be touching real rock tomorrow and then hopefully on a regular basis. This is all assuming that the temperatures stays above freezing and we don't get any more snow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed but we'll see what the Swedish winter holds in store for us.

I've still got more stuff from the States I plan on putting on the blog but I figured I post this video from Sweden in hopes that spring is near.

Most of this video was shot in November and was the last day I climbed in Sweden.

Rio's Secret Arete

Rio's Secret Arete, as the name implies, is hidden on the south rim of the Happies. This little gem can be a bit tricky and is one of the better problems in the volcanics.

The tucked away location of Rio's Arete

Lina tries to discover the right beta