Big Block in Värnamo

There is a giant solitary boulder in Värnamo that I was shown a year ago and last weekend I finally went back to climb on it.  A striking arete had been my main motivation but after brushing it up I failed to find a sequence that didn't feel really hard.  In the end, and with the help of Jimmy, I found what I believe will be beta but a send will have to wait until another day.  Here are a couple pictures of the boulder.

Jimmy working the arete

A beautiful line waiting to be done

Jimmy on an established highball

Per on his way to a send

Time on my Hands

With shorter days keeping me inside I've got a bit more time to kill in front of a computer. I'm once again making an effort to go through some older footage and throwing together little videos. Assuming the tilt of the earth doesn't change in the immediate future I should be adding videos to the blog on a fairly regular basis for the next month or so.

This video is from last winter and has a couple FA's. The Perfect In-between is a 3-star problem in Värnamo that I wish I had better footage of. So it goes. All the other problems are on a boulder nearish to Ronneby. The best lines on that boulder still have yet to be done.

Some Swedish Bouldering from Kearney Journey from Walker Kearney on Vimeo.

Boring Pictures of Boulders

Went down to Ronneby to visit with family and managed to get out bouldering for a couple hours. I made quick work of the project from last trip then drove around looking for boulders. I found plenty. You folks down south got your work cut out for you. I'm really hoping to spend more time down there and I'd love to see what others have found.

Also made the standard pit-stop in Värnamo to say hello to the locals and ogle at a sick boulder.

Here's a couple boring pictures of boulders that I'm hoping might encourage people to check out these areas.

Värnamo's biggest boulder

Super arete I brushed up

Pretty damn good boulder. Most of the lines are undone

The Prefect In-between

I've been getting out heaps lately but haven't had the time to update the blog. I'll try to do some catching up over the next few days.

Two weekends ago our little family headed down south to visit Lina's dad in Ronneby. The drive takes about 4 hours and as anyone with a baby knows this is way too long for a tiny girl to sit contently in a car seat. A short respite was certainly in order and as luck would have it there are several small bouldering areas located two hours down the road. Perfect.

We had sampled the bouldering around Värnamo on a previous trip this summer and even had the honor of local beta and a mini tour of a couple small areas. On that trip I had been shown a line that raised my heart rate but left me with sore tips and a bruised ego. I'd been jonesing for a rematch ever since. The beautiful prow requires a prefect mix of power, technique, trickery, and is a bit conditions dependent. Fortunately this round provided much cooler temps and a total lack of biting gnats, leaving me with one less project to occupy my mind. I called it "The Perfect In-between". Thanks heaps to Viktor and Dan for the local support. Come to Göteborg so I can return the favor.

Viktor trying "The Perfect In-between"

Lina getting back on the rock

Projects

The list of problems I'd still like to do is constantly growing and with the summer heat keeping the friction to a minimum it seems I'll have to wait until it cools down. Summer is usually the time for exploring and getting mileage but this summer is a bit different as the ultimate project of having a kid has consumed much of my time and energy. The arrival of Hammerstryke will certainly curtail climbing time for a bit but some things are more important.

Hopefully Hammie will be here any day as we are quickly approaching the somewhat arbitrary due date of July 17th. While we wait, here's a few of the problems I'll be dreaming about in between changing diapers and cleaning up baby vomit.

Undone slopey arete

Molndal Lighting. Undone.

Undone roof.

King Ding-a-ling. Henrik has done the stand.

The Cathedral Project. Impossible?

Abdominator. Undone

F**k it Dude. Undone.

Jesus Flys to Heaven...to get away from choss

I think we call it "the Ascension" in English but the day Jesus was said to ascend into heaven has a better ring to it when translated from Swedish. Jesus-Flys-to-Heaven Day is a national holiday in Sweden and Lina and I paid our respects by trying to ascend some boulders in Småland.
Since Lina's new physique doesn't allow her to climb the trip was primarily scouting as we cruised around checking out several bouldering areas. Some were disappointing and some were a welcomed surprise.

Järnforsen
I'd been wanting to go to Järnforsen for some time and when I rolled into town I was expecting to climb myself to oblivion. Unfortunately I discovered that the rock is generally decomposing choss or glued choss, which is even worse. I spent hours hiking among perfect sized boulders hoping to find one that wasn't about turn to rubble at the touch of a hand. It's a shame that all that rock is wasted and I won't go back unless I have someone to show me around as there was occasionally descent quality rock. I did manage to find and climb one sweet problem as Rythm in itself is worth a stopover.

Rythm. A bad picture of Järnforsen's good problem

Kyrkstenarna
I'd seen a picture of a super line at a small area 40 km from Järnforsen and since it didn't look like choss we cruised down. Kyrkstenarna is a little area with good rock. I think the problem I did was called Salvation and it was worth the detour. There seemed some good high stuff still to do.

Salvation from choss.

Värnamo
The bouldering around Järnamo is the exact opposite of Järnforsen. The rock is incredibly good but the boulders were generally runtish. There were a few respectable sized boulders and I'm convinced there is some good stuff to be found. I'd like to go back and see the areas I didn't have time to check out.

One of Värnamo's mini boulders. Sitstart to get more bang for your buck.

The best problem I did. Great line and good height.

Project. Looks sweet. I think it's hard.