tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56612732068002147492024-03-13T16:15:09.329+02:00Nalle HukkataivalNalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-52466553259832300022011-07-21T23:43:00.000+03:002012-10-28T14:17:48.668+02:00Moving the blog to TumblrLately I’ve found myself having less time to write long trip reports and blog posts. That’s why my blog has gone without an update for a while now. Moving my blog to Tumblr seemed like a better option for posting shorter updates, photos and such but on a more regular basis. Also, unlike my previous blog which was strictly climbing related and only about my personal travels and projects, my Tumblr will be a place for me to share other things that I find interesting as well. I’m new to Tumblr, but I hope this new blog starts off smoothly and you guys like it. So here it is:<br />
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<a href="http://nallehukkataival.com/blog.html"><span style="font-size: large;">www.nalle<span style="font-size: large;">h</span>ukkataival.com/blog</span></a><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">.</span>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-90821912366515457592011-05-12T17:58:00.000+03:002011-05-13T23:43:28.968+03:00Photo update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Alright, it's been forever since I last updated this blog. A lot has happened since and I've been to a lot of different places. I don't even know where to start writing, so I'll just post a bunch of photos from the past months and try to find more time to write updates more often.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0PGJzSJhDRU/Tcv71_fzuDI/AAAAAAAAA2c/-blCR8zV7W4/s1600/blog-7-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="137" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0PGJzSJhDRU/Tcv71_fzuDI/AAAAAAAAA2c/-blCR8zV7W4/s320/blog-7-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">Topping out Evilution (V12), California. ©Chuck Fryberger</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nn7tKew494Y/Tcv1y4JuN3I/AAAAAAAAA2I/bTZ_KG6FaVA/s1600/blog-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nn7tKew494Y/Tcv1y4JuN3I/AAAAAAAAA2I/bTZ_KG6FaVA/s320/blog-8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">The Swarm (V13), Bishop, CA. ©Reinhart Fichtinger </td></tr>
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<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">The Swarm (V13), Bishop, CA. ©Reinhart Fichtinger</td></tr>
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<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">Xavier's Roof (V11), Bishop, CA. ©Reinhart Fichtinger</td></tr>
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<tr align="right"><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D_3KSyqgNbc/Tcv14cstpMI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/YETmlCQxYik/s1600/blog-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D_3KSyqgNbc/Tcv14cstpMI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/YETmlCQxYik/s320/blog-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">Taking some air on Evilution (V12), Bishop. ©Reinhart Fichtinger</td></tr>
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<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">Highball (V11), Bishop. ©Reinhart Fichtinger</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EiVDoFhogf4/Tcv1rBp0gDI/AAAAAAAAA1w/RL1KAbDtkXA/s1600/angelshare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EiVDoFhogf4/Tcv1rBp0gDI/AAAAAAAAA1w/RL1KAbDtkXA/s320/angelshare.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">Angel's Share, Black Rocks, UK</td></tr>
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<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">Trying a new project, Black Rocks, UK ©Nick Brown</td></tr>
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<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">Tigre et Dragon (8A), Fontainebleau</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XFifjLL2_LA/Tcv1sOQcZQI/AAAAAAAAA10/WLpoCk9kH64/s1600/rainbow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XFifjLL2_LA/Tcv1sOQcZQI/AAAAAAAAA10/WLpoCk9kH64/s320/rainbow.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow Rocket (8A), Fontainebleau ©Jani Lehtola</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LE5z59CUvv4/Tcv1tipzF8I/AAAAAAAAA14/VPKA5vZzpx0/s1600/dws-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LE5z59CUvv4/Tcv1tipzF8I/AAAAAAAAA14/VPKA5vZzpx0/s320/dws-12.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">New FA: Peter Pan Syndrome, Ticino, CH</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-54911037745266032082011-02-28T05:21:00.000+02:002011-02-28T05:21:31.078+02:00Bishop actionBishop was one of the last big bouldering areas I had not previously visited, so It was cool to be able to climb lots of problems each day. That's something I rarely get to do these days. Repeating the area classics was great, but did not leave much time for projects. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-OzztFWuXiP0/TWsRoZAtqkI/AAAAAAAAA0k/2KXj0tNcHGc/s1600/blog-1-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-OzztFWuXiP0/TWsRoZAtqkI/AAAAAAAAA0k/2KXj0tNcHGc/s320/blog-1-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">FA of <i>The Swarm Direct</i> (V13)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I did however get the first ascent of the direct finish to The Swarm after rappelling down and cleaning it. The first two moves are the same as the original line, but after the crux instead of doing the double gaston move you cross over to a good gaston with the left hand, get your right foot up on the rail. and lock off to a good crimp. After that you have a few crimpy but not so hard moves leading to a mantle on to the slab. This way you stay on the wall the whole time instead of traversing out right to the arete. For the grade I suggested 8B as for the original version. It's hard to grade this one because every time I did the crux move it felt easier and easier. A few days ago we went to film The Swarm with Chuck Fryberger and I did the whole problem again first try without warming up, so who knows.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JRdf4bA5cQA/TWsRvcfJKTI/AAAAAAAAA0s/jqbvNArVm_w/s1600/blog-1-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JRdf4bA5cQA/TWsRvcfJKTI/AAAAAAAAA0s/jqbvNArVm_w/s320/blog-1-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption"><i>This Side of Paradise</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Trying Evilution ground up with no chalk or tick marks on the holds was a quite mission. First I tried the direct finish, but after climbing three times to the very top and taking big falls when I couldn't find the holds, I decided to do the original version. It's slightly harder, but you can actually locate most of the holds from the ground. It's definitely one of the coolest highballs I've climbed. Another amazing highball that I did was This side of paradise!!! This one I checked out with a rope first. Still, I was scared topping it out after a hold crumbled under my foot in the no-fall zone.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_J4xlsReCVc/TWsR2q0czFI/AAAAAAAAA04/zCI_9HgSu8c/s1600/blog-1-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_J4xlsReCVc/TWsR2q0czFI/AAAAAAAAA04/zCI_9HgSu8c/s320/blog-1-7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption"><i>Maze of Death</i> (V12)</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Xavier's roof (V11), Golden Shower (V10), Haroun and the Sea of Stories (V11), Southwest Arete, Maze of Death (V12) all deserve a mention too as they were amazing along with many more problems.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6saOlTqj3UA/TWsR6V1I7vI/AAAAAAAAA1A/RIMfeIhwyCc/s1600/blog-1-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6saOlTqj3UA/TWsR6V1I7vI/AAAAAAAAA1A/RIMfeIhwyCc/s320/blog-1-9.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">3 weeks in Bishop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It was a very good trip for me, but I'm a little disappointed I didn't really get to try Lucid Dreaming. I tried it one time for about 15 minutes and split three finger tips and didn't really get another change with all the other problems I wanted to climb. Right now I'm in Las Vegas. I'm flying back to Finland for three days and then I'm off to Sheffield for a competition and a couple days on the grit. Font and/or Switzerland is in the plans after that.Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-41607069369794220612011-02-13T02:29:00.002+02:002011-02-13T02:30:37.298+02:00BishopAfter spending a few days in Las Vegas and climbing at Red Rocks we've made our way to Bishop. The weather has been perfect the whole time. On our first day we climbed a bunch of easier problems in the Buttermilks main area. The Southwest Arete on the Grandma peabody was a perfect introduction to Bishop highballs. I also climbed the classic Stained class V10 later that day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vGlrROH_Ujg/TVcjuiZG0TI/AAAAAAAAA0c/CFneHnAdgtc/s1600/fb-1-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="187" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vGlrROH_Ujg/TVcjuiZG0TI/AAAAAAAAA0c/CFneHnAdgtc/s320/fb-1-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">Buttermilks main area</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The second day we climbed Haroun and the Sea of Stories, an amazing V11 in the Buttermilks. Later that day we hiked to the Secrets of the Beehive area to check out The Swarm. I felt already quite trashed from climbing easier problems all day, but I thought I would try it anyway and I actually sent the problem pretty quickly. It's for sure one of the coolest crimp lines I've climbed and the double gaston move in the middle is amazing. As for the grade, I think V13 would be more appropriate than V14.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PDwCUFrrRV8/TVcjZByEk1I/AAAAAAAAA0E/QRfQ9qakafE/s1600/fb-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PDwCUFrrRV8/TVcjZByEk1I/AAAAAAAAA0E/QRfQ9qakafE/s320/fb-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption"><i>South West Arete</i> on the Grandma Peabody</td></tr>
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Next day we warmed up again in the main area of Buttermilks. Then, for some reason we decided to try Mandala when it was in the sun. After a while of shredding skin on the warm crimps, I got to last moves but could not even hang on the good incut crimps that had been baking in the sun. So we waited for the sun to go behind the mountains and the conditions improved immediately. I quickly sent the stand start (from the original start) and so did Kilian. I gave the sitstart a few goes and quickly afterwards sent it too. Both the stand and the sit are world class problems, no doubt.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hxzu1-SNNtE/TVcjn7fVBaI/AAAAAAAAA0U/gECcnVuFAQY/s1600/fb-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hxzu1-SNNtE/TVcjn7fVBaI/AAAAAAAAA0U/gECcnVuFAQY/s320/fb-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption"><i>Suspended in Silence</i> <i>V5</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>We've done a lot of hiking and checked out most of the areas already. There are lots of problems that I want to do like This Side of Paradise, Evilution, Spectre and many others. If the weather stays like this there should be more to report soon.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iOrfDNhSRIs/TVcjhCPkXsI/AAAAAAAAA0M/8MpCT-MFMDY/s1600/fb-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iOrfDNhSRIs/TVcjhCPkXsI/AAAAAAAAA0M/8MpCT-MFMDY/s320/fb-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2efoiqOeZbQ/TVcjkb6_EEI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/UYNBiMNDFlw/s1600/fb-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2efoiqOeZbQ/TVcjkb6_EEI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/UYNBiMNDFlw/s320/fb-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-89567496862460453322011-02-03T07:06:00.000+02:002011-02-03T07:06:24.242+02:00It's On Like Donkey Kong!It's been forever since my last blog post. As much as I love being constantly on the road, sometimes I just need a little break from it all; hotel rooms, airports, rental cars, airline food, speaking a foreign language, people that come and go… Traveling can get tough sometimes, so I've been chilling in Finland for a while and getting psyched to hit the road again.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TUdGC7THjPI/AAAAAAAAAzY/WnN456rI_Tk/s1600/4724_104433667072_658652072_2456000_5503664_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TUdGC7THjPI/AAAAAAAAAzY/WnN456rI_Tk/s320/4724_104433667072_658652072_2456000_5503664_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">© Nalle Hukkataival</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The climbing season here in Finland has been over for long after we got a record amount of snow already at the end of November, so it's just been climbing on plastic for me. I completely missed the small window to try the Sisu project. Before the snow I had my last attempts on my Opposition project, but it still remains unclimbed. It's interesting that this is a project that is near my home and I've probably tried it more than any other project ever, but still I think it's only an 8B+. I got very close to sending it just before my trip to Colorado last fall, but then got a minor injury on it and had to stop trying it. In November, after returning from Colorado, I competed in the IMS Bouldering Cup in Brixen, Italy, which I was psyched to win ahead of Kilian Fischuber and Paul Robinson. Last week I also won the Finnish bouldering nationals.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TUdID9HsAzI/AAAAAAAAAzc/-PY4PaBBseM/s1600/74555_1709262093073_1283707370_1895864_854190_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TUdID9HsAzI/AAAAAAAAAzc/-PY4PaBBseM/s200/74555_1709262093073_1283707370_1895864_854190_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">IMS Cup 2010 photo: Angelica Hintner</td></tr>
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Now it's time to get out there again and climb on some real rock! Right now I'm at Helsinki airport waiting for my flight to board. I'm going back to the States, to Las Vegas where I'm meeting up with Kilian Fischuber, Anna Stöhr and the rest of the Austrian crew. First stop is Red Rocks for a couple of days and then Bishop for about three weeks. Chuck Fryberger should be joining us in Bishop to do some filming. This will be my first time in Bishop and I can't wait for all the highballs and classics I've seen so many photos of!<br />
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Stay tuned for updates!Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-75041987356252342432010-10-02T11:17:00.000+03:002010-10-02T11:17:07.244+03:00Norway VideoI'm here in Colorado with only two days left for Wolverine Land before the road is closed for the winter. I've been doing a lot of editing lately and I finally finished a 30 min video from our Norway trip this summer. It's filmed at three famous bouldering areas in Norway: Harbak, Vingsand and Lofoten islands and features a lot of classic boulder problems and some first ascent like <i>The Diamond 8B</i> and <i>Rough Gem 8B</i>.<br />
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<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/15477060?byline=0&portrait=0" width="420" height="236" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/15477060">Bouldering in Norway</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1537598">Boulderkeskus</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-45813056358229079112010-09-25T10:53:00.001+03:002010-12-09T01:16:19.595+02:00Wolverine Land - Season FinaleHere's a video we filmed yesterday at Wolverine Land. The season is winding down with only nine days left before the road to Lincoln lake closes. Conditions are prime and the psyche is high.<br />
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<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/15271569?byline=0" width="420" height="236" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/15271569">Wolverine Land - Season Finale, part I</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/zeroskillz">ZeroSkillz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-74641847086860492362010-09-19T11:23:00.000+03:002010-09-19T11:23:20.485+03:00ColoradoThe conditions are getting prime in Colorado right now, so here I am. I got here three days ago and we've been to the new area <i>Lincoln Lake / Wolverine Land</i> twice now. I must say it's looking very promising. There seems to be a lot of potential for new lines and a lot of the established lines look really good. I still haven't fully gotten used to the altitude, because the area is at about 12,000 ft.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TJXCbH2Z6ZI/AAAAAAAAAx4/Vr2mo2lqJng/s1600/blog-1-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TJXCbH2Z6ZI/AAAAAAAAAx4/Vr2mo2lqJng/s320/blog-1-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
We probably have about 2-3 weeks time at this area, before the snow comes and the road gets closed. After that RMNP should be good and we're also planning on going to Idaho to try <i>Warpath</i>, an unrepeated V15 from James Litz. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TJXCcIWNrbI/AAAAAAAAAyA/LBE_ZO2m-GU/s1600/blog-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TJXCcIWNrbI/AAAAAAAAAyA/LBE_ZO2m-GU/s320/blog-1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
This just happened today, so I may have to stay off crimpy problems for a few days, but I'm still psyched to get out there and go find some cool projects!Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-38285183682142636812010-09-04T02:07:00.000+03:002010-09-04T02:07:53.501+03:00Norway video teaserI've been editing a short bouldering film for quite a while now. All the footage is from our last trip to Norway and features three of some of the best bouldering areas in Norway: Harbak, Vingsand and Lofoten Islands. It's been hard to find time for editing, but most of the work is already done. It's out when it's out. That's all I can say at this point.<br />
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Meanwhile, here's a little clip from the movie. It's the first ascent of a famous project in the Lofoten Islands in Norway, which I later named Rough Gem, 8B. This video was shot June 10th at about 2.30 A.M. when the sun did not set at all.<br />
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<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/14675095?byline=0" width="420" height="236" frameborder="0"></iframe>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-7279966636052823272010-07-05T21:04:00.000+03:002010-07-05T21:04:08.611+03:00Norway UpdateIt's been a while since my last blog post so here's a few photos from my latest trip to Norway. I'm back home now and pretty busy editing footage from the trip. We're putting together a short film again. Hopefully we can finish the edit soon.<br />
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We spent most of this trip near Trondheim, in Harbak and Vingsand, and last stop was the Lofoten Islands as soon as it stopped snowing up there. Harbak and Vingsand were definitely worth the trip, but Lofoten didn't quite match my expectations. While the weather turned out to be really good around Trondheim, in Lofoten the weather was more unstable than I could even imagine. We basically had to take advantage of every moment it didn't rain. The weather seemed to be more calm at night, so we started climbing at night, not that it really mattered when you climb since the sun did not set at all.<br />
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We spent most of the time filming so there aren't that many photos, but here are some from all of the areas we visited.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TCn3kOASo-I/AAAAAAAAArk/NTi1AcIvwsg/s1600/nalle-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TCn3kOASo-I/AAAAAAAAArk/NTi1AcIvwsg/s320/nalle-2.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: right;">First ascent of <i>Outlook</i> <br />
</div>I heard about this boulder from a friend of mine who discovered it last year. It's very high quality sandstone with a small lighthouse on top of boulder. We put up a few really good problems here.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TCn3ie4OZvI/AAAAAAAAArc/FiVHhQHln4Y/s1600/nalle-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TCn3ie4OZvI/AAAAAAAAArc/FiVHhQHln4Y/s320/nalle-1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i> </i>First Ascent of<i> Outlook</i> <br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I felt like I got in a really good shape this trip. I managed to flash two 8A+ boulders: <i>Fokus</i> in Harbak and <i>Talib </i>in Vingsand. Flashing <i>Talib</i> was very effortless, but I was convinced by my friends that it is indeed 8A+. On top of that I got the first ascents of two well known projects in Norway: <i>The Diamond 8B</i> in Vingsand and <i>Rough Gem 8B</i> in Lofoten, both of which are very proud and beautiful lines. Another first ascent worth mentioning is <i>Straight Outta Hellvika 8A+</i> which climbs the biggest and most obvious line out of the Hellvika cave. I also got really close to sending a hard roof project in Vingsand that I called the Greg Valentino project, because of the very bicep-intensive crux move.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TDIdvMhgrXI/AAAAAAAAAtE/2p4qVeq4JQM/s1600/rough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TDIdvMhgrXI/AAAAAAAAAtE/2p4qVeq4JQM/s320/rough.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;">Video frame, FA of <i>Rough Gem 8B</i> in Lofoten at 3 A.M. </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TCn3llLOuDI/AAAAAAAAArs/-p-GM40f2oU/s1600/nalle-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TCn3llLOuDI/AAAAAAAAArs/-p-GM40f2oU/s320/nalle-3.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: right;">Harbak view </div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TDIKFsmftpI/AAAAAAAAAsk/yg3InoaytFI/s1600/flash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TDIKFsmftpI/AAAAAAAAAsk/yg3InoaytFI/s320/flash.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;">Video frame of me flashing <i>Fokus 8A+</i> in Harbak </div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The highlight of the trip was without a doubt grabbing the first ascent of the Diamanten project in Vingsand. I had seen photos of this amazing diamond shaped boulder already two years ago. Just seeing the photos got me syked to go there and hearing that both Fred Nicole and Bernd Zangerl have tried it was sort of a conformation that it has to be pretty good. People who had worked on it speculated that it must be 8B+. Later an important hold broke off making it even harder.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TCn3rMWY0zI/AAAAAAAAAsE/FZZ1ILsfz4k/s1600/nalle-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TCn3rMWY0zI/AAAAAAAAAsE/FZZ1ILsfz4k/s320/nalle-6.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;">First Ascent of <i>The Diamond</i> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">I managed to do the first ascent in one day and that's why I didn't think it was quite hard enough to be 8B+, so I gave it 8B. We'll see what other people think of the grade. Regardless of the grade <i>The Diamond</i> is an amazing problem. It must be one of the best boulders I've climbed in Europe. The photo above unfortunately doesn't do justice for the problem. I'll try to get better photo from someone and we also have video footage of the send.</div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TCn3nVkUPeI/AAAAAAAAAr0/le9UDsH5nBY/s1600/nalle-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TCn3nVkUPeI/AAAAAAAAAr0/le9UDsH5nBY/s320/nalle-4.jpg" /> </a></div><div style="text-align: right;"> First Ascent of <i>Where's the Paradise?</i> </div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Eventually we got tired of the Lofoten weather and left a couple days early. I might be going back again soon possibly to try to finish the Greg Valentino project and try to find a new area. On the drive back home we made a couple quick stops and I ticked <i>Lada Miestä Kuljettaa Assis 8A+</i> and Paddington which I think deserves a downgrade to 8A after I climbed it 3 times in a row.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TDH3kXZ15qI/AAAAAAAAAsc/pOwDKUsX_gw/s1600/nalle-5-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TDH3kXZ15qI/AAAAAAAAAsc/pOwDKUsX_gw/s320/nalle-5-2.jpg" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Slartibartfast</i> in Lofoten </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TDIKLCPRF4I/AAAAAAAAAs8/-Xx2YffSOoA/s1600/nalle-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TDIKLCPRF4I/AAAAAAAAAs8/-Xx2YffSOoA/s320/nalle-10.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Sømp 8A</i> in Harbak </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TDIKHv_GQVI/AAAAAAAAAss/NPtkr3BgIn8/s1600/nalle-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/TDIKHv_GQVI/AAAAAAAAAss/NPtkr3BgIn8/s320/nalle-8.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Midnight Sun 7C+</i> in Lofoten </div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's my ticklist from this trip:</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The Diamond 8B First Ascent<br />
Rough Gem 8B First Ascent<br />
Trouble 8A+<br />
Fokus 8A+ FLASH<br />
Talib 8A+ FLASH<br />
Origins 8A+<br />
Straight Outta Hellvika 8A+ First Ascent<br />
Lada Miestä Kuljettaa Assis 8A+</div><div style="text-align: left;">Cool Hand Luke 8A<br />
Sømp 8A<br />
Lynx 8A<br />
Torstein problem 8A<br />
Full Battery 8A First Ascent<br />
Paddington 8A<br />
Hurtigruttan 7C+</div><div style="text-align: left;">Strong Youth 7C+</div><div style="text-align: left;">Neptune 7C+<br />
Akkurat Der 7C+</div><div style="text-align: left;">Midnight Sun 7C+<br />
Tare Baby 7C+<br />
Nesten der 7C+</div><div style="text-align: left;">Midnight Madness ? First Ascent</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div></div>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-39460366480019322822010-05-23T22:58:00.000+03:002010-05-23T22:58:52.623+03:00Norway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S_gRAKtZd4I/AAAAAAAAArM/9m_MH_DIGsA/s1600/photo-780336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474144041641277314" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S_gRAKtZd4I/AAAAAAAAArM/9m_MH_DIGsA/s320/photo-780336.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
I'm finally leaving to Norway tomorrow. I have to wake up in 6 hours (5am, early start) so I'm not going to make this very long. First stop is Trondheim (Harbak, Vingsand) and later we will continue further up north to Gjerdalen ja fianlly the Lofoten islands</div><br />
<div class="mobile-photo"></div>I don't like checking the weather forecast for Norway, because it always looks bad, but I'm sure the weather will turn out to be fine (yeah right!)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S_kAEH4_pBI/AAAAAAAAArU/0IE7FQQ7Pp0/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S_kAEH4_pBI/AAAAAAAAArU/0IE7FQQ7Pp0/s320/Picture+2.png" /></a></div>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-13073934165955497702010-05-20T14:41:00.000+03:002010-05-20T14:41:06.664+03:00PuumalaMy last weeks boulder hunt went well. The weather could not have been better and I spent every day running around the woods looking for new boulders and making first ascents. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S_Q8sblgY7I/AAAAAAAAAqc/K7dxy76fjxM/s1600/nalle-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S_Q8sblgY7I/AAAAAAAAAqc/K7dxy76fjxM/s400/nalle-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Puumala area</i> </div><div style="text-align: right;"> </div>I found a lot of boulders, big ones, but not that many lines for some reason. The rock quality wasn't the best in some places. I put a few nice problems, but overall this area wasn't quite as good as I thought it might be. Oh well, that's the way it goes sometimes.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S_Q8uEIReuI/AAAAAAAAAqk/izq7qXmfN_U/s1600/nalle-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S_Q8uEIReuI/AAAAAAAAAqk/izq7qXmfN_U/s400/nalle-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Puumala </i></div><br />
Here's a little clip I filmed while I was there. I didn't have much time to put into editing it, but the footage isn't that great anyway so whatever. It shows two new problems I put up: <i>Milestone</i> and <i>Laiskuus Palkitaan</i>.<br />
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On Monday I'm leaving to Norway. I haven't spent much time there climbing, but I've seen enough to know that the potential for new bouldering is huge there. The last few days it's been really hot in Finland, so hopefully we'll find better conditions in northern Norway. If not, you can always do night sessions. Soon you wont even need headlamps because the sun doesn't set that far up north in the summer!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-24020226750310561432010-05-05T01:27:00.000+03:002010-05-05T01:27:28.155+03:00New bouldersNot many people would drive 8 hours back and forth on a Friday to go run around the woods for nine hours while it's raining.<br />
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That's how I spent my Friday. After hours on the computer scrolling trough maps and aerial images, I was headed towards a remote area about 4 hours drive North east of Helsinki. Maps are an essential tool for finding boulders in Finland, because there are thick forest everywhere so the visibility is often really bad and the boulders are usually scattered around. You never really get a good view from the road, so you really need to go look at each boulder individually. So, after several exhausting hours of non-stop boulder hunting, I did find some really cool projects and not just individual boulders, but potentially actual areas. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S-BDKogHPtI/AAAAAAAAAp4/2c_sIkwRZo4/s1600/paku.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S-BDKogHPtI/AAAAAAAAAp4/2c_sIkwRZo4/s320/paku.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"> <i>Some of the small roads were in bad shape </i></div><br />
The weather forecast for the this week looks a bit dubious, but whatever. I'm psyched to go out there and make some first ascents and brush some cool projects. If it's going to rain the whole time, at least I'll have a change to go look for some new boulders around.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S-AuplyRe5I/AAAAAAAAApw/E81edcwiaww/s1600/Nalle_Hukkataival-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S-AuplyRe5I/AAAAAAAAApw/E81edcwiaww/s320/Nalle_Hukkataival-1.jpg" /></a>I'm driving out there in the morning and I was just packing some of my stuff and once again realized how much gear I actually bring on a bouldering trip. Often people say that bouldering is nice because you don't need a lot of gear. I would say quite the opposite. When I was sport climbing in Spain, I often realized how nice it was that you didn't have to carry a lot of gear.<br />
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I'll be out for a few days if the weather allows and hopefully come back with some photos and video.Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-33513949912898602462010-04-26T15:17:00.000+03:002010-04-26T15:17:02.838+03:00Happy Up Here<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Yesterday I put up a really nice new boulder in Sipoo. I tried this scary highball a little bit last spring and after falling from the last move a couple times I never went back. This year I finished it off on my first try after warming up on the bottom part. <i>Happy Up Here </i>has a technical start which leads to a bit steeper climbing with a committing move at the top. There are two ways to do the very top section, either a big dyno or two long lockoffs. I did it both ways and they feel about the same difficulty, depending on what your good at. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S9V-ak_HmmI/AAAAAAAAApo/S3g91WZ_n1E/s1600/Nalle_Happy_Up_Here.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S9V-ak_HmmI/AAAAAAAAApo/S3g91WZ_n1E/s400/Nalle_Happy_Up_Here.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;">A video still of <span style="font-style: italic;"> Happy Up Here</span> </div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We got it on film, but I'm not sure yet when it's going to be out. I just started a new film project and I don't know whether I will release several smaller clips or make a longer flick like Could Be Worse.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I've spent a lot of time training for and working on the Sisu project, but I can't really say that there has been any progress lately. I'm planning to stay in Finland for about a month trying it, as long as the conditions are still good. After that the plan is to go to northern Norway and explore the endless potential for hard bouldering there. Alright, I'm off to try Sisu again!</div>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-44709597712276697872010-04-12T23:34:00.013+03:002010-04-13T00:18:32.644+03:00Sisu Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S8I1ljrzN3I/AAAAAAAAAms/HupSTo031QY/s1600/project-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S8I1ljrzN3I/AAAAAAAAAms/HupSTo031QY/s320/project-2.jpg" /></a></div>The prime bouldering season is now really kicking in here in Finland and I've been taking full advantage of the good temps. I've spent four sessions on what I named <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sisu">Sisu project</a>. All I can say at this point is that it is the hardest boulder problem I have ever tried in my entire life. It's still difficult to say if it actually goes or not.<br />
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So far, after four sessions on it, I've managed to do one single move, not counting the five last exit moves that I did on a rope (which are also hard). In total, this problem would be around 16 moves long and about 7 meters tall. Also, that one move that I've been able to do is the first move and most likely the easiest one. I've had my spotters push me into different places on the wall and at best I've been able to hold a positions of them for a split second, not even feeling remotely close to being able to move any part of my body.<br />
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To put things in a perspective, I've seen, climbed and tried several boulders graded 8C or 8C+ around the globe and this line seems to be on a completely different level of difficulty. I've done the all moves to several 8C boulders in a session or two. I climbed <i>Jade</i> in 2 days of effort, <i>The Island</i> took me 4 days. After spending 4 days on this project, I've been able to do 1 move, the easiest one.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S8I1jjqlQAI/AAAAAAAAAmk/g1TU9e3z0dQ/s1600/Project1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S8I1jjqlQAI/AAAAAAAAAmk/g1TU9e3z0dQ/s320/Project1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i><a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sisu">Sisu</a> project</i> </div><br />
I can't tell you how psyched I am, that I found a boulder this perfect and difficult near my home. It's still unsure if it actually goes, but no matter what, this has already been a dream come true for me. Even if I wouldn't ever be able to climb this line, at least I'll have an amazing project to work on for the next twenty years. It's a huge source of motivation for me and I've already started training like crazy to get fit enough to do a little better on it. I even built a training "simulator" of a couple of the bottom moves at my gym. I just canceled my trip to Switzerland, because the weather is just getting prime here and I don't want to miss a day of the perfect weather to try it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S8I1oVQhJsI/AAAAAAAAAm0/1NQ5OiU4loU/s1600/project-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S8I1oVQhJsI/AAAAAAAAAm0/1NQ5OiU4loU/s320/project-3.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I'm not expecting to climb this line any time soon, although that would be amazing and I am training harder than ever, now that I'm super motivated on this project. Most likely, climbing this line will take years and years of hard work and maybe it will still remain unclimbed. Time will tell, but I know I will enjoy every moment of trying it, no matter what the outcome is. Hopefully I can convince some other climbers to come and try it. We're also filming it and the footage will be released eventually in a climbing film, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it to come out. For those who can't wait to see some video, I'll probably upload a short clip of me trying it/failing miserably, at some point.<br />
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Oh, and then there's the sitstart project, which adds a four move ∼ 8B+ into the the obvious stand start...Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-39649828672266681572010-03-22T01:43:00.002+02:002010-04-02T02:53:59.311+03:00Finland updateI left Spain a few days ago and now I'm back in Finland for a couple weeks. I had enough of sport climbing for a long time and am very psyched to boulder again! A few months ago I heard about a cool project near Helsinki and now that I'm back in Finland, I finally got a chance to go check it out. Today we went to go look at it, but the weather and record amount of snow turned our trip into an epic expedition.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S6abhwAaF5I/AAAAAAAAAl0/EyodrvCiF2Q/s1600-h/project-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S6abhwAaF5I/AAAAAAAAAl0/EyodrvCiF2Q/s320/project-5.jpg" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S6abklvlRZI/AAAAAAAAAl8/UAnhW5iMr88/s1600-h/project-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S6abklvlRZI/AAAAAAAAAl8/UAnhW5iMr88/s320/project-6.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Moving around in the snow was hard and really slow, but eventually we found what we were looking for and it was absolutely amazing! About 6-7 meters tall, steep, rounded feature with a Fontainebleau-esque top-out. The project is on bulletproof granite with small crimps that are far apart. Here's a few photos. The wall is frosted and the holds look better than they are, but you get the idea.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S6abYESA-TI/AAAAAAAAAlU/cc2KFA52RW0/s1600-h/project-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S6abYESA-TI/AAAAAAAAAlU/cc2KFA52RW0/s320/project-1.jpg" /> </a></div><br />
It's hard to tell how difficult it is yet, but it definitely seems like it could be very, very hard or even impossible. And then there's the sitstart... Either way, I'm very satisfied with this project. I've been searching for a hard project near my home for a long time now and here it finally is; an incredible line that will be a huge challenge.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S6abc-8wd-I/AAAAAAAAAlk/__CKhZR6e0Y/s1600-h/project-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S6abc-8wd-I/AAAAAAAAAlk/__CKhZR6e0Y/s320/project-3.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S6abaKLdleI/AAAAAAAAAlc/VS0R8clxuRw/s1600-h/project-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S6abaKLdleI/AAAAAAAAAlc/VS0R8clxuRw/s320/project-2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
We shoveled all the snow off the top, so that it won't seep when all the snow starts melting. I'm very psyched to start trying this as soon as possible, hopefully within the next couple weeks. It's about time for the weather to get better. I hope I get to try this before I leave for Switzerland in a couple weeks. If so, I will post some updates.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S6abgfMvJCI/AAAAAAAAAls/TNI6sjl8olg/s1600-h/project-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S6abgfMvJCI/AAAAAAAAAls/TNI6sjl8olg/s320/project-4.jpg" /></a></div>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com79tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-76967418469154728752010-03-03T19:48:00.001+02:002010-03-03T19:56:32.126+02:00Bouldering grades: Everything is average nowadaysI decided to write down some of my thoughts on bouldering grades, since a lot has been happening during the last years in the bouldering world. This sort of conversation still seems to be some sort of a taboo in the climbing community, so I am prepared to receive a lot of negative reactions, but I feel like this is a really important topic to discuss.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S46cj_SkmiI/AAAAAAAAAlI/nb-rrAQMcHM/s1600-h/grade_chart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S46cj_SkmiI/AAAAAAAAAlI/nb-rrAQMcHM/s200/grade_chart.jpg" width="115" /></a>I'm going to start from the beginning of this whole mess. In the year 2000, 8C (V15) grade first got introduced to bouldering, when Fred Nicole did the first ascent of <i>Dreamtime</i> and proposed a never before seen grade of 8C for it. Soon it became known as the standard for 8C in the climbing media. That was 10 years ago. Still to this date, most of the cutting-edge boulders being put up are 8C. To most, this means that a decade passed and we have not progressed at all.<br />
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Sometimes things are not how seem. There has been huge progression difficulty-wise in bouldering. What happened is deflation in the grading scale. <i>Dreamtime</i> being set as the 8C standard (by the media), other hard problems are being put up and since <i>Dreamtime</i> is the 8C standard (and the only problem of that grade in the world) they get graded based on <i>Dreamtime</i>. New Base Line gets it's first ascent and marks the upper end of 8C. Time goes by, more hard problems get put up and graded based on these standards. And then, BOOOM! After Dreamtime gets enough repeats, turns out it is actually not 8C, but only 8B+. Same thing with <i>New Base Line</i>, which marked the upper end of 8C, it turns out to be 8B+ also. This is were it all started to go wrong.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S42wGf2i_ZI/AAAAAAAAAkA/IM4G_SYxRtc/s1600-h/BD-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S42wGf2i_ZI/AAAAAAAAAkA/IM4G_SYxRtc/s320/BD-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"> <i>Dreamtime</i>, the problem that started it all.</div><br />
In 2005 Dave Graham makes the first ascent of <i>The Story Of Two Worlds</i> and decides to call it the new standard for 8C, even though he could have proposed 8C+ as it was harder for him than anything else at the time. Instead, Dave chose to use it as the 8C standard and make some sense to the chaotic grading scale. Today, there is a lot of variety in the upper-scale grades, simply based on these double standards, because some problems are still graded based on the old standard, while other problems are more reliant on Dave's standard. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S426SKJw3MI/AAAAAAAAAkI/ULtyELWVj5k/s1600-h/The+Story+of+Two+Worlds.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S426SKJw3MI/AAAAAAAAAkI/ULtyELWVj5k/s320/The+Story+of+Two+Worlds.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Story of Two Worlds,</i> in Cresciano, Switzerland</div><br />
I have repeated at least five boulder problems that were originally graded 8C or even 8C+, and have now been downgraded by a grade or two. And the list goes on. Actually, most of the proposed 8C's or 8C+'s have been downgraded and many of the ones that have not, are still unconfirmed. The issue here is that a few people (like me and Dave Graham for instance) are still trying to define the 8C grade (which I personally think is still the cutting edge) while rest of the climbers do not necessarily realize the the grade deflation, that has been going on for some years now.<br />
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<b>Here are a few examples:</b><br />
<br />
<i>- Dreamtime</i> <span style="color: red;">downgraded</span> from 8C to 8B+<br />
<i>- New Base Line</i> 8C (hard), <span style="color: red;">downgraded</span> to 8B+ <br />
<i>- The Never-ending Story</i> in Magic Wood was originally called 8C+, now <span style="color: red;">downgraded</span> to 8B+<br />
<i>- El Techo de los Tres B's</i>, <span style="color: red;">downgraded</span> from 8C to 8B<br />
<i>- Banshousha</i>, supposedly the hardest slab in the world - <span style="color: red;">downgraded</span> from 8C to 8B<br />
<i>- Memento</i>, <span style="color: red;">downgraded</span> from 8C+ to 8B+ (and according to many still deserves a downgrade)<br />
<i>- Amandla</i>, <span style="color: red;">downgraded</span> from 8C+ to 8B+<br />
<i>- Terremer</i> in Hueco Tanks, <span style="color: red;">downgraded</span> from 8C+ to (soft?) 8C<br />
<i>- Ode to the modern man</i>, <span style="color: red;">downgraded</span> from 8C to soft 8B+<br />
<i>- Kheops assis</i>, <span style="color: red;">downgraded</span> from 8C to 8B+<br />
<br />
and the list goes on...<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S46DXgobYUI/AAAAAAAAAkg/CFxlKHjqir0/s1600-h/most8b%2B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S46DXgobYUI/AAAAAAAAAkg/CFxlKHjqir0/s320/most8b%2B.jpg" /></a>I see this trend repeating itself year after year and there seems to be no end to it. Why do so many problems keep getting downgraded? Why are so many problems overgraded in the first place? The media is adding pressure for professional climbers to strive for new grades, since bouldering grades have been stalling or even on the decline for years. An 8C first ascent is not necessarily that newsworthy anymore, after all that grade was climbed already 10 years ago.</div></div><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S46NWjIc64I/AAAAAAAAAlA/Oc9cpQvA5qI/s1600-h/livin_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S46NWjIc64I/AAAAAAAAAlA/Oc9cpQvA5qI/s320/livin_large.jpg" /></a>Last June I did the first ascent of <i>Livin' Large</i> in South Africa. It is by far the hardest boulder I've climbed so far, a lot harder than any 8C that I have climbed in the past. Does that mean that it is 8C+? Maybe, just maybe. Does that mean that I should grade it 8C+? I don't think so. Why do we always have to shoot high first and then wait for the downgrade. Why is it never the other way around? I graded it 8C because I feel certain that it is at least 8C. If other people feel like it's harder, they can upgrade it. Why do people always choose the egotistical approach to these things instead of "playing it safe"? Furthermore, I think <i>Livin' Large</i> equals in difficulty with The Story of Two Worlds, the stiff standard set by Dave Graham back in 2005, defining the standard further.<br />
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The previous standards failed us and sent the highest grades to a down-ward spiral. This time we tried to set standards that are very likely to hold their grade. A solid foundation for the grade is what we need to correct the situation and that also means lots of downgrades. This is where it gets hard, because often people can take it personal, when their biggest pride gets downrated. The few people who actually put themselves on the line and try to make a change for better, get a bad name for criticising other people's ascents or more precisely the grades. Grading climbs based on the new-school standard can mean getting "left behind" so to speak. In the world of professional climbing, that can be a big risk to take.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S46Dq2XxoEI/AAAAAAAAAko/Rw4YGEHPRgc/s1600-h/stiffer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S46Dq2XxoEI/AAAAAAAAAko/Rw4YGEHPRgc/s320/stiffer.jpg" /></a></div>It is too easy to keep quiet and go with the flow, but where will this lead us in a few years? Already, the grading scale is so chaotic in the upper end, that sometimes I'm not sure if it's even salvageable anymore, especially if we start basing an entirely new grade on the "standard" set right now.<br />
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Like I said before, there are not many people out there trying to fix the current situation, before jumping to a new grade. If others do not approve on this standard that we are trying to set and grade things based on a slightly different scale, that's totally fine with me, but in that case our problems need to be potentially re-graded. Who sets the grading scale, is the question here. I totally agree, that we need to move up on the scale soon, but I'm not sure if the necessary (big) step has been reached yet and further do we want to base a new grade on such a chaotic "foundation".<br />
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The fact is, that there is still no clear standard for 8C. We can all be throwingout big grades and flashy numbers and get on magazine covers, get better sponsorship and then a few months later watch our problem getting downgraded. The irony here is that a downgrade rarely makes the news and one would not necessarily get discredited for what he claims to have done.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S46Dtn7HeVI/AAAAAAAAAkw/ocDpUt5Hx2o/s1600-h/few.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S46Dtn7HeVI/AAAAAAAAAkw/ocDpUt5Hx2o/s320/few.jpg" /></a></div>I see lists of the hardest boulders in the world and in reality there is a three grades alternation between different problems, all categorized under the same grade. This almost makes me want to start a new grading scale. Another important thing is, that grades should be openly discussed, not kept quiet. Although, most grade related conversations on internet forums are usually quite pointless, I think there are people who are in certain situations qualified to state their opinion about a grade, without necessarily completing a climb.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S46DxSD-eFI/AAAAAAAAAk4/1lkIWZVEgAw/s1600-h/insearch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S46DxSD-eFI/AAAAAAAAAk4/1lkIWZVEgAw/s320/insearch.jpg" /></a>In conclusion, grades are only estimates, personal opinions of the difficulty of a climb. People make mistakes, that is how it will always be. But how does it happen that 99 percent of the time, the mistake happens to be giving a HIGHER grade, very very rarely lower. Especially with upper-scale boulder problems, comes a fair amount of responsibility with the grading, because when the problem becomes a standard of some sort, a test-piece, it can and will affect the grading of many other climbs.<br />
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Grades are only a very small and quite unimportant part of climbing, but why do we even bother with the grades, if they really mean nothing?<br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> sreen grabs: www.8a.nu </span></div>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com83tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-33348268311279780512010-03-01T01:27:00.002+02:002010-03-01T01:30:18.525+02:00CORE Trailer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object height="236" width="420"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9803426&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9803426&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="420" height="236"></embed></object></div><br />
This is the trailer for our upcoming feature-length climbing film CORE.<br />
<br />
From the director of PURE...<br />
<br />
CORE goes to the heart of climbing. Join an international cast of the sport's most dedicated athletes as they stick it when it matters most. Shot in 35mm Ultra High Definition, get ready to see every detail of some of the nastiest pieces of rock ever climbed. <br />
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A close examination of each character offers perspective beyond just their achievements on the stone. From Helsinki to Hueco, Africa to Italy, the enclosed forests of Tuscany to the vast open space of the American West, this film is a study in the landscapes and lifestyles that define our sport.<br />
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Be there, in the moment, as a 5.14 traditional route gets its first ascent. See the mind-bending footage from Livin Large, Nalle Hukkataival's monster 8C. Watch as Fred Nicole polishes off his multi-year project in Switzerland – his hardest ever. All these achievements and more are brought to you here in Chuck Fryberger's followup to the hit bouldering flick PURE. These are the moments and the athletes that define our sport, documented here with a unique style that invites the viewer to be part of the experience. <br />
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<br />
Featured Athletes:<br />
Nalle Hukkataival<br />
Matt Wilder<br />
Fred Nicole<br />
Kilian Fischhuber<br />
Kevin Jorgeson<br />
BJ Tilden<br />
Lucas Preti<br />
Cody Roth<br />
Michele Caminati<br />
Jamie Emerson<br />
Sarah and Steph Marvez<br />
Berni Fiedler<br />
And Many More.<br />
<br />
On Location in:<br />
Lander, Wyoming<br />
Colorado, USA<br />
Hueco Tanks, USA<br />
Helsinki Finland<br />
Switzerland<br />
Tuscany, Italy<br />
Rocklands, South AfricaNalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-90005670104668304312010-02-21T16:27:00.001+02:002010-02-21T16:28:39.631+02:00Spain and CORE<div style="text-align: left;">Not much has been going on lately. I've been trying to get some endurance by climbing some easier routes around 8a+ - 8b. I feel like my endurance has finally improved enough to start trying the hard routes. We've been climbing mainly in Oliana lately, where all the routes are extremely long, but also a little bit in Margalef where all routes are much shorter. I've been syked on the long routes that are really hard for me, instead of getting on the short ones that I know I can do.</div><br />
Since there's not much to report right now, here's a bunch of photos instead:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E10tMSZgI/AAAAAAAAAjY/64C3VgKoCvk/s1600-h/nalle-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E10tMSZgI/AAAAAAAAAjY/64C3VgKoCvk/s320/nalle-6.jpg" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><i>Margalef</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i> </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E124kAT6I/AAAAAAAAAjg/_kUuhhqb3II/s1600-h/nalle-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E124kAT6I/AAAAAAAAAjg/_kUuhhqb3II/s320/nalle-7.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"> <i>Oliana</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E1_mv5OrI/AAAAAAAAAj4/OQ6edZO1VqQ/s1600-h/nalle-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E1_mv5OrI/AAAAAAAAAj4/OQ6edZO1VqQ/s320/nalle-10.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Humildes pa casa</i></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E15o2zGYI/AAAAAAAAAjo/mnfqu_hUPqM/s1600-h/nalle-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E15o2zGYI/AAAAAAAAAjo/mnfqu_hUPqM/s320/nalle-8.jpg" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><i>Humildes pa casa, the best tufa in Spain!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E1mNI4nMI/AAAAAAAAAiw/zbNbSBnfJPs/s1600-h/nalle-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E1mNI4nMI/AAAAAAAAAiw/zbNbSBnfJPs/s320/nalle-1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><i>Oliana</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E1qeWW5DI/AAAAAAAAAi4/4BnILwWbxrs/s1600-h/nalle-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E1qeWW5DI/AAAAAAAAAi4/4BnILwWbxrs/s320/nalle-2.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Dave checking out a boulder project</i></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E1s8Rz1CI/AAAAAAAAAjA/xutoNCczIBk/s1600-h/nalle-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E1s8Rz1CI/AAAAAAAAAjA/xutoNCczIBk/s320/nalle-3.jpg" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><i>Lleida</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E1u8HzXeI/AAAAAAAAAjI/TJvhSJJKHII/s1600-h/nalle-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E1u8HzXeI/AAAAAAAAAjI/TJvhSJJKHII/s320/nalle-4.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><i>Les Avellanes</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E18lETq1I/AAAAAAAAAjw/-qqDa37yRbE/s1600-h/nalle-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E18lETq1I/AAAAAAAAAjw/-qqDa37yRbE/s320/nalle-9.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><i>Lleida</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E1xENN33I/AAAAAAAAAjQ/XCYJT70Bpno/s1600-h/nalle-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4E1xENN33I/AAAAAAAAAjQ/XCYJT70Bpno/s320/nalle-5.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"> <i>Oliana</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">On another topic, Chuck Fryberger's new film CORE is coming out soon. I'll let the trailer speak for itself. Check it out here soon:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.chuckfryberger.com/Trailer_Countdown.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S4EynDsyp4I/AAAAAAAAAio/qf-j4mU9PVg/s400/core_l.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-46372960333129165472010-01-25T15:48:00.002+02:002010-01-25T22:32:44.950+02:00CataluñaI've been sport climbing here in Catalonia, Spain for over a week now and it's been really fun. The bad weather all over Europe made me change my plans and I decided to come here to hang out with the crew. Overall the weather has been pretty good here, but Margalef is still wet for the most part, so we've been climbing a lot in Oliana.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S12AbQwBf3I/AAAAAAAAAhc/dtiUtYk8C7g/s1600-h/blog-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S12AbQwBf3I/AAAAAAAAAhc/dtiUtYk8C7g/s320/blog-7.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Boira in Les Avillanes</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Oliana is an amazing cliff with very long hard routes. Most of the routes are between 8b and 9a+. For a boulderer like me, climbing in Oliana has been very effective endurance training. I actually feel like I've gained a lot endurance in just a week and soon I can seriously start trying some hard routes. I can't wait for Margalef to dry up so we get to try some shorter routes also. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S12APWPhxfI/AAAAAAAAAhE/Ea8bY0fZu98/s1600-h/blog-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S12APWPhxfI/AAAAAAAAAhE/Ea8bY0fZu98/s320/blog-4.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Dave on Fish eye, Oliana</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Yesterday I actually managed to climb something by doing the first repeat of <i>Duele la realidad,</i><i> 8c+</i> in Oliana. To the right of <i>Duele la realidad</i> is a really hard project, that Chris bolted a few days ago. It has a very hard bouldery start. I managed to do all the moves of the first part yesterday, but linking them is going to be a challenge.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S12ALOIOPNI/AAAAAAAAAg8/OJzpcdioFmg/s1600-h/blog-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S12ALOIOPNI/AAAAAAAAAg8/OJzpcdioFmg/s320/blog-3.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"> <i>Jon Cardwell using his Mexican ninja beta on Duele la realidad</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We have spent our restdays looking for boulders. From what I understand, not many people boulder here and even fewer actually go looking for boulders, so there's a lot of bouldering to be discovered.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S12AXKKspSI/AAAAAAAAAhU/pMiX5PeEooU/s1600-h/blog-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S12AXKKspSI/AAAAAAAAAhU/pMiX5PeEooU/s320/blog-6.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S12AG2hKO0I/AAAAAAAAAg0/ckbDbeFUcww/s1600-h/blog-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S12AG2hKO0I/AAAAAAAAAg0/ckbDbeFUcww/s320/blog-2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S12ATMkW0uI/AAAAAAAAAhM/bThhbrAHUlA/s1600-h/blog-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S12ATMkW0uI/AAAAAAAAAhM/bThhbrAHUlA/s320/blog-5.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><i> Nalle Hukkataival trying Identifacation y placas, 8c</i><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S12ACFikXtI/AAAAAAAAAgs/1eKxo6cNTtw/s1600-h/blog-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/S12ACFikXtI/AAAAAAAAAgs/1eKxo6cNTtw/s320/blog-1.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Chad filming in Oliana<br />
</i><br />
</div></div></div>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-82815921607272490442010-01-09T18:48:00.003+02:002010-01-09T20:34:28.704+02:00Pure available as HD dowloadChuck Fryberger's latest film <b><i>Pure</i></b> is now available as HD download from <a href="http://www.bouldering.com/products/Pure-HD-Download.html#">Bouldering.com</a>. I just downloaded it and it looks really good in high definition. Get it <a href="http://www.bouldering.com/products/Pure-HD-Download.html#">here</a> for <i class="ProductPrice VariationProductPrice"><i class="ProductPrice VariationProductPrice">$14.99 </i></i><i>(~10 euros) </i><br />
<br />
Here's the trailer:<br />
<br />
<object height="236" width="420"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3018853&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3018853&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="420" height="236"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Pure is about 19 extraordinary climbers in six countries on three continents, with no ropes.</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Featured Climbers:</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Nalle Hukkataival: This young Finnish climber has put in his time on the world cup circuit and is now focusing on climbing the most daunting boulders on Earth.</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Kevin Jorgeson: Pure features exclusive footage of Kevin's first ascents and first ropeless ascents in California. A Unique</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>perspective on the mind control necessary to solo, and the rehabilitation needed when you screw up.</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Kilian Fischhuber: Winner of the Mens 2008 Bouldering World Cup. No climber has ever had a more dominant season on the World Cup</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Circuit then Kilian, and few have the sense of humor.</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Anna Stoehr: Winner of the Womens 2008 Bouldering World Cup. Professional Climber. 20 years old.</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Fred Nicole: No introduction needed. The author of the lion's share of hard boulder problems in the world. The leader and grand master of the sport.</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Cody Roth: Psyched to get on just about anything, PURE showcases Cody on hair-raising first ascents from Rocklands to Europe.</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Areas Featured:</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Rocklands, South Africa.</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Sonoma County, California.</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Fountainebleu, France.</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Innsbruck, Austria.</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Colorado.</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Arco, Italy.</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>La Vallei, Magic Wood, and Brione Switzerland</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="color: #cccccc;"><i>Join these visionary climbers as they test their limits against the rock of planet earth in search of Taller, Harder, Cleaner, and Farther. </i><br />
<br />
</div>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-9577593305174726922009-12-25T20:45:00.006+02:002009-12-26T00:44:43.252+02:00Could Be WorseFinally the film is finished. None of us know anything about filming or editing so we decided on the name Could Be Worse. I personally think it turned out pretty decent, so here it is. Please send all negative feedback to wedontcare@zer0skillz.com.<br />
<br />
<object height="236" width="420"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8382230&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8382230&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="420" height="236"></embed></object><br />
<br />
A short bouldering film (27 min) shot in Ticino, Switzerland and Maltatal, Austria. Starring Nalle Hukkataival and Kuutti Huhtikorpi.<br />
<br />
List of problems:<br />
<br />
<b>Switzerland:</b> <br />
<i>Conquistador, 8A+</i><br />
<i>Ninja Warrior, 7C+ FA</i><br />
<i>Schule des Lebens, 8A+</i><br />
<i>Nameless, 6C+</i><br />
<i>Special Edition, 8A</i><br />
<i>Fake Pamplemousse, 8A</i><br />
<i>Walker on Earth, 8A</i><br />
<i>Ninja Skills, 8B+ FA</i><br />
<br />
<b>Maltatal:</b><br />
<i>Wrestling with an Alligator, 8B<br />
The Power of Goodbye, 8B<br />
Marmelade auf der Schulter, 8A</i><br />
<br />
<br />
I also added a video of Ninja Skills to my previous post (also in the film).<br />
<br />
Enjoy!Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-60248766438393291152009-12-21T17:29:00.009+02:002009-12-25T21:00:22.943+02:00Ninja SkillsTwo week ago I found the Ninja project in Sobrio. I cleaned it started working on it the next day. It turned out to be harder than it looks and the first day we spent trying to figure out the upper section. After lots of tries with countless different ways, I tried something out of the box. Smearing my left foot on the overhanging wall and kicking hard with my right foot as I jumped, gave me enough time to pull my right hand out of the pocket and latch for the next crimp. Instantly I jumped even too far missing the hold. After more tries we were unable to stick the crimp, but we were convinced we had figured out the beta for the dyno. I checked out the top part and once we got the sequence figured out, it didn't feel too bad, but could prove to be hard on the link.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<object width="420" height="236"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8374073&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8374073&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="420" height="236"></embed></object><br />
<br />
</div>Next day I got back to working on the crux dyno. I was getting closer and holding the crimp a little bit, but still unable to hold the swing. I started working on the lower part that leads up to the dyno. First two moves proved to be really hard again, followed by 6 slightly easier but tiring moves that lead to the crux dyno. All together the problem is 20 moves long, with hard climbed all teh way. It got dark and I had to pack my stuff unable to do the crux dyno or the first moves.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/Sy-QTO7kHgI/AAAAAAAAAcs/s1A7_Iaj5LY/s1600-h/ninjaskillstop.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/Sy-QTO7kHgI/AAAAAAAAAcs/s1A7_Iaj5LY/s320/ninjaskillstop.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Working on the upper section</i><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/Sy-QRaNP0vI/AAAAAAAAAck/hE9_Wz2OrBw/s1600-h/ninjaskillsstart.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/Sy-QRaNP0vI/AAAAAAAAAck/hE9_Wz2OrBw/s320/ninjaskillsstart.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Working the first moves</i><br />
</div><br />
After two days break from the project, we returned. Pretty quickly I managed to stick the crux dyno and climb to the top. I also did the first moves and managed to link it all the way from the start to the crux, but so tired that I really had no chance of trying the crux dyno.<br />
<br />
Next day I started taking tries from the start, but got shut down really bad. Next day I came back feeling much stronger. After warming up I gave it a go from the start. I got through the first moves and the middle section. I set up for the dyno, jumped, got the crimp and held the swing for a moment, but then my hand exploded of the crimp. Second try I also made it to the crux dyno and stuck it. After a quick shake I fought my way to the very last lock-off. When working on the upper part, this move felt really easy once you got the drop-knee, but after 20 moves from the start something was different. I barely reached the intermediate and with my last strength deadpointed to the lip. I topped out completely pumped but pysched. I named the problem Ninja Skills and I think it's pretty solid at 8B+. <br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/Sy-QPrDy6-I/AAAAAAAAAcc/GNJ-UsAuopE/s1600-h/ninjaskillsdyno.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/Sy-QPrDy6-I/AAAAAAAAAcc/GNJ-UsAuopE/s320/ninjaskillsdyno.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>The crux dyno</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/Sy-QNkUIoGI/AAAAAAAAAcU/Kg3qmIuPHfo/s1600-h/gfsgfsds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/Sy-QNkUIoGI/AAAAAAAAAcU/Kg3qmIuPHfo/s320/gfsgfsds.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><i> The crux foothold</i><br />
</div><br />
Luckily I sent it that day, because the cold front rolled in, taking over whole Switzerland. Chironico is currently too cold to climb in and Cresciano is the only place warm enough, so we've been climbing there for the past days. A couple days ago I climbed Mithril, 8B quite easily after trying it quite a few times over the last years. Today even Cresciano got snowed in so we decided it's time to flee the scene.<br />
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Our video camera broke due to a user malfunction (sorry Jarmo!), so no more filming. The movie should be out soon, once we get the finishing edits done. Of course Ninja Skills will also be in the film.<br />
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I'm hoping people will go and try Ninja Skills, since it's such an amazing piece of rock. Very close to it I put up another nice line called 'Ninja Warrior' 7C+. Here are instructions on how to get there:<br />
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<i>Park in the village of Sobrio (on the other side of the valley from Chironico). Walk downhill following the hiking trail and signs for 'Scarti vegetali disposita'. After about 15 min you pass 'Scarti vegetali disposita' and follow the trail signs. After about 15 min more you arrive at an obvious 45 degree overhang on the right side of the path. Ninja Skills is 150 meters up and left from here. Ninja Warrior is 50 meters above Ninja Skills.</i><br />
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Here are some more screen grabs from the film:<i></i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/Sy-QU-N0JFI/AAAAAAAAAc0/IlHUWisqUn8/s1600-h/ninjaskillstop2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/Sy-QU-N0JFI/AAAAAAAAAc0/IlHUWisqUn8/s320/ninjaskillstop2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"> Last move of <i>Ninja Skills</i>, 8B+<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/Sy-QW4_yO0I/AAAAAAAAAc8/6Huie85bgNc/s1600-h/ninjawarrior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/Sy-QW4_yO0I/AAAAAAAAAc8/6Huie85bgNc/s320/ninjawarrior.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"> First ascent of <i>Ninja Warrior</i>, 7C+<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/Sy-QcwpSGSI/AAAAAAAAAdE/-H_IlDB5cKs/s1600-h/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/Sy-QcwpSGSI/AAAAAAAAAdE/-H_IlDB5cKs/s320/Picture+1.png" /></a><br />
</div>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-60753647365191111582009-12-12T20:43:00.003+02:002009-12-25T16:32:40.621+02:00Ninja projectWeather in Ticino has been great and we've been climbing pretty much every day. Some days ago we had a nice night session at Dreamtime and I managed to do the FA (?) of the stand start after the break, which is probably 8B now. I must say it's not as good as it used to be. The would probably be a real 8C now.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SyPiOZH9eZI/AAAAAAAAAcE/X2KTcnZgaZk/s1600-h/Dreamtime-1.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SyPiOZH9eZI/AAAAAAAAAcE/X2KTcnZgaZk/s320/Dreamtime-1.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Dreamtime stand after-break</i><br />
</div><br />
On Wednesday I found a sick new project that I'm really psyched on! It's on a big proud boulder with only one very obvious line in the middle. It holds about 20 moves of intense climbing. The project name Ninja Skills comes from the interesting crux move in the picture along with some other crazy moves. I've worked on it for 2 days now and it feels hard.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SyPi3i_zgcI/AAAAAAAAAcM/_qagEdD26xI/s1600-h/Ninja_Skills.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SyPi3i_zgcI/AAAAAAAAAcM/_qagEdD26xI/s320/Ninja_Skills.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>The crux move of Ninja Skills project</i><br />
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Too many things to climb, need to stay focused!Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661273206800214749.post-89535506116683446292009-12-06T21:32:00.000+02:002009-12-06T21:32:25.971+02:00Zero Skillz ProductionsI've been here in Switzerland for a couple weeks now. The weather has not been very good, but seems like it's getting better. A few days ago I did a very height dependent problem called Conquistador, 8A+ in Chironico. This boulder lies in the riverbed in Schattental and the landing is now about 2 meters higher than what it used to be. A nice problem nevertheless. Yesterday I climbed Confessions of a Crap Artist low, 8A+.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwABFb5EMI/AAAAAAAAAas/Lt-3vH80mWk/s1600-h/confessionsofacrapartist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwABFb5EMI/AAAAAAAAAas/Lt-3vH80mWk/s320/confessionsofacrapartist.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><i> Confessions of a Crap Artist low, 8A+</i><br />
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I have a few harder things here that I want to try, so I'm hoping the conditions stay good. Today I tried a hard project that we call the Friction Addiction project. It's 30-90 degrees overhanging and about 10 moves long on really good rock. It's too early to say much about the difficulty, but it definitely feels hard. A lot of of the moves have gone already and I'm pretty confident the rest will go, too. I'm very psyched to spend more time on this one.<br />
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We also made a quick visit to Maltatal to check out some of Klem Loskot's classics like Wresting with an Alligator and Bügeleisen. Unfortunately Bügeleisen was wet so we never got to try it, but it looked really good. I'm very psyched to return to try it. Still, the trip wasn't for nothing as I climbed The Power of Goodbye 8B, Wrestling with an Alligator 8B and flashed an amazing problem called Marmelade auf der Shulter 8A.<br />
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Our Zero Skillz Productions has been busy filming and editing and we are trying to put together a short film from this trip, that will appear on my blog as soon as it's finished. So far we have footage from Switzerland and Maltatal. Stay tuned.<br />
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Here are some screens from the film:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwBHjbk34I/AAAAAAAAAa8/tv4rr-RDw9w/s1600-h/zeroskillz_screen.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwBHjbk34I/AAAAAAAAAa8/tv4rr-RDw9w/s320/zeroskillz_screen.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwBMn76pgI/AAAAAAAAAbE/DJ9h9Ft_big/s1600-h/maltatal_screen.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwBMn76pgI/AAAAAAAAAbE/DJ9h9Ft_big/s320/maltatal_screen.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwBCvfnveI/AAAAAAAAAa0/yA_65xXlAJ4/s1600-h/conquistador_screen.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwBCvfnveI/AAAAAAAAAa0/yA_65xXlAJ4/s320/conquistador_screen.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"> Conquistador 8A+, Chironico <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwBgXE4FTI/AAAAAAAAAbc/BNa4k6BE4Hc/s1600-h/wrestling_screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwBgXE4FTI/AAAAAAAAAbc/BNa4k6BE4Hc/s320/wrestling_screen.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"> <i>Wrestling with an Alligator, 8B</i><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwBlLtsqCI/AAAAAAAAAbk/QmfNYSs7osg/s1600-h/wrestling_screen2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwBlLtsqCI/AAAAAAAAAbk/QmfNYSs7osg/s320/wrestling_screen2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Wrestling with an Alligator, 8B</i></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i> </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwBWhit7gI/AAAAAAAAAbM/AJB5Z0-3GD8/s1600-h/powerof_screen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwBWhit7gI/AAAAAAAAAbM/AJB5Z0-3GD8/s320/powerof_screen1.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><i>The Power of Goodbye, 8B </i><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwBbGkua8I/AAAAAAAAAbU/u_pUdTbE9KE/s1600-h/powerof_screen2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwBbGkua8I/AAAAAAAAAbU/u_pUdTbE9KE/s320/powerof_screen2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><i>The Power of Goodbye, 8B</i><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwEcLU9MzI/AAAAAAAAAbs/4wsSssMfM2o/s1600-h/marmelade_screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5iBJKDR6c_U/SxwEcLU9MzI/AAAAAAAAAbs/4wsSssMfM2o/s320/marmelade_screen.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Marmelade auf der Shulter, 8A </i></div>Nalle Hukkataivalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01987034544805130854noreply@blogger.com0