07 / 04 / 2024
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At the easter holidays I had one of the best weekends ever. At the moment I live about one and a half hour away from the beautiful Maltatal, so it was just logical for me to spend my holidays at home and go bouldering in Maltatal.
On Friday I warmed up a little bit on some easier problems, then started the day by reclimbing the standing start to Emotional Landscapes (8C), the stand is about 8A+. I also checked out the lower moves a little bit but it got too warm quite early and I also had another goal in my mind. I wanted to try Bügeleisen (8B+) but I had to wait for the sun to go down.
So I decided to try some other problems till the conditions get better. A few friends of mine tried a nice 7C called Soft Skills, after some beta from Michl I was able to flash it. After that, it got too warm to even climb easier problems, at least for me. So I went down to the Bügeleisen to prepare everything for my tries.
I cleaned the holds and put the crashpads in the right position but I had to wait another 45 minutes till the shade came in. I decided to try the cruxmove at first, for me this is the 4th move but the problem is more or less pretty hard from the start to the top. To start from this position you already need a ladder or a lot of pads, I felt quite strong and could climb without the first 3 moves to the top on my first try of the day.
At this moment I was pretty sure that I could climb it that day but bouldering isnt as simple as it looks like. I had to deal with pretty soft skin and this problem is everything else as friendly for the skin. It is really powerful and steep on some small crimps. On my best try I fell on the cruxmove (4th move) and had to stop trying after just 3 tries from the start.
A little bit frustrated but not really tired I went about 30m to the left. Where one of the best lines in the valley is located. It is called Air (8B) and there is also a shorter variation to it called Air direct(8A). After a few tries and brushing up the spicy topout groundup, I was able to climb Air direct, one of the best lines in this grade Ive climbed so far. Directly after topping out I was so excited to check out the moves of the 8B that I didnt even put my shoes off. The moves were solved pretty quickly but on my sendtries I always fell on the move where it joins the direct line.
It already started to get dark and I had no big expectations anymore but I wanted to give it a really last try. I stuck the move which put me down the tries before and joined the 8A. I was really close to fall on every move but somehow my body kept on the wall. The day ended by an epic last try send of Air.
On Sunday I went back to Maltatal with healed skin and endless motivation. After a little warmup I went back to Emotional Landscapes but just for a little powercheck. I felt really strong and could repeat the standing start two times. To have better skin than on Friday I basically chilled the rest of the day till 3 oclock and just climbed some easier problems to stay activated.
Then I went back to the real business and met up with Robert, Martin and Hannes. This time it was even warmer than on Friday. I had to wait over an hour till the shade came in. This time I was a little bit wiser and jumped down after checking out the cruxmove. After cooling down my fingers with some snow in a bag I went for my first try. I felt good but fell down pretty close on the cruxmove. I knew I could climb it but I wouldnt have more than 2 or 3 more goes in this sharp beast. So I made a longer break and cooled down my skin. Really focused and also a bit nervous I went for another go, I sticked the cruxmove, kept the focus, sticked the jump to the edge, sticked the last jump to the good sloper and went for the last move to a good flake in the slab, my hook slipped but luckily I stayed on. I couldnt believe that I actually topped out the famous Bügeleisen, the masterpiece by Klem Loskot. I dreamed about this line till I started bouldering but never thought that I would ever be able to climb it. A dream came true
Most of my friends would end the bouldering day after such an epic ascent but I wanted to check out the moves of the sit start. It went quite well and I could already link it two times into the first move of the stand. Ill be back in fall/winter.
On Monday I was still super happy and had no big expectations. But after warming up I realized that I felt still pretty strong. So I decided to try Emotional Landscapes again. After a few tries I was able to climb the standing start again. So I went for the lower moves. Somehow I managed to do them isolated but linking even 3 of them felt impossible and it also got quite warm really early. I chilled a little bit in the sun with my friends Ribi and Stefan but after almost falling asleep Ribi and me decided to make the dropzone of Nalle Hukkataivals Flight Mode a little bit better.
We moved some big rocks. When the hottest time of the day was over we started trying the moves. I did the lower moves pretty quick but got really scared at the end cause there is another rock just behind you. If you take a bad fall you could easily hit this rock with your back. Stefan made no big deal about this scary landing and climbed the upper part through some small crimps to the top. After I saw him, I also had to try it. I climbed the upper part but was really scared. Now I had to try it from the start. A few minutes later I gave it a go and ended up with the second ascent of one of the valleys proudest lines, Flight Mode 8A+. My friends wanted to make a few more tries, so I decided to try the logical straight sit start. It starts with left hand on a good crimp and right hand on a jug. It adds about 4 moves and climbs really well. On my first real try after checking out the lower moves quite a while, I was able to get the first ascent of Flight Mode sit(8B).
I couldnt be happier to finish this amazing weekend with the FA of such a kingline.