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Schärtenspitze – Westgrat

It was to be another rainy weekend. Good planning is important to help achieve goals.

My partner Kathi and I decided to continue on our gumby multipitch summer of adventures and drove 2 hours after work on Friday, through a thunderstorm to Berchtesgaden.

Our objective was to hike 3 hours  up to Blaueishütte, climb 600 meters up The Westgrat (a 5+, climbed in the 1920s by Allwein and Welzenbach) and hike back down to the base before the rain was to start at 5pm. The goal was to be at the car by dinner time.

Sounds easy and with an early start 5:15 from the parking lot.

Things went well with a quick 3 hours to the base of the route. All the quiet morning sunrise hiking was sweet but the first 2 pitches of the route were wet.It was a bit challenging to get the confidence up but then things dried out (my tears of fear being one). 

 

It was STUNNING place to be looking down onto Hintersee and being the only ones on the route. Which was good because it does get spooky after the 10th pitch. The problems began  when the fog came in after 8 pitches. 

 

 

WE had to TRUDGE ON and ON. Through grass and scree and the few large rocks that came loose.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally we made it to the summit and no rain yet but not much water left.

We made a quick decent and 13.5 hours we were back at the car. Not a fast day but fun and somewhat dry.

King of the Dolomites 2016

A great 2 days of photography and free riding. Check the video out, it is 2 minutes of sweet powder skiing.

King of the Dolomites 2016

 

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Life takes me to interesting places and I enjoy the journey.

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I slowed the car down and did a speedy u-turn, had I seen the massive sign correctly? Sometimes my mind sees what it wants and in my dream world. I’m constantly looking for these unique, intriguing, city women when out on the hiking trails and finally I know where to find them! #frankenjura #germany #hiking @moredaysoff

It’s a zoo out there

This is classic BC

Sketchbook of a GPS Artist

This work of Strava art by Stephen Lund required around 115 kilometres of cycling in and around Victoria, BC

Remember that scene near the end of Twelve Monkeys – where Bruce Willis’ character learns that the Army of the 12 Monkeys has set all the animals free from the zoo and then sees four giraffes cantering along a Philadelphia freeway?

Well, that’s what it’s like on the streets of Victoria, BC today, as I spent my morning surprising the city with about 100 kilometres worth of Strava giraffe.

In a straight line from head to front hoof, she measures about 11 kilometres.

I had to use the “Strava OFF/Strava ON” trick for a few sections of the legs as the inventory of roads (especially straight ones) is rather meagre in that area. With the extra dashing about between OFF and ON points, this work of Strava art called for around 115 km of cycling.

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The Sponsored Climber

By @moredaysoff

There is a lot of press lately about the sponsored climber. Is a sponsored athlete @Arcteryx or @Petzl someone who gets paid only to climb? The outdoor industry expects something in return. The climber can choose to use social media to blog, Tweet, and Facebook post, pictures, stories and videos about what they have done. This is the work they are getting paid for, sure they are also testing quality products (www.arcteryx.com,www.ocun.com, www.petzl.com) but giving valuable feedback.

Kalymnos and Telendos Tufa routes

Follow the link to a list and some pictures of the terrific tufa in Greece. I posted it on the webpage yesterday.

moredaysoff

Singapore – hotel balcony and staring into a staircase

Great words about a new world city

Perspectives on Life, the Universe and Everything

neon lights
day in nights
City declaring
end of dark rites
find your purpose
written on the billboard
gold coins in dozens hoard
Eden on earth, party in paradise
limbs deeply sore, blind by the sun rise
looking back at that time, what to take away!

Here are few snaps from my hotel balcony, I also found this staircase amusing🙂

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Multipitching in Finale Ligure, Italy

The multipitch – Via Lunga is found in Finale Ligure, on Bric Pianarella and is a cool, unique, and fun route with caving, exposure, clean limestone, stunning vistas, great fluid movement, scrambling, tree slinging and solitude. One of the climbing guide books describes the fantastic Via Lunga as a 320 meter 6a+.

It was not a wild new year night filled with some serious partying but rather a cold and windy one spent in the Monte Cucco camping after a couple of tasty authentic Italian pizzas. The morning was spent across the valley from Monte Cucco in the sun, drinking espresso, washing and eating burritos. It was a relaxed start to the day  because in the winter Bric Pianarella does not begin to come into the sun till 1 pm.

From the parking spot to the base of the route was an easy 20 minute up hill hike on a good trail.

P1-6a+ 30 meter. The route had some nice small pockets which I enjoyed and thought it was a good start to the afternoons adventure.

P2-5b 30 meter. From the first belay we had to crawl through a cave and hike left 60 meters to the next rock bluff which was followed by a vertical jug fest up clean crisp limestone. I did use some slings as threads because the massive old steel pins were rusted colored.

P3-5c 25 meter. This was a smoothish, slabbish, chunck of rock with some slopey holds, some textured side pulls and lots of high feet on the same slopey hand holds.

P4-4c 25 meter. A slab traverse up a nice clean sharp arête then some light movement over toilet sized loose blocks to a tree covered ledge. Here we could see the big face of Bric Pianarella and the only other climbers on the wall 100 meters away.

P5-5a 30 meter. Here there was another bushy tree covered ledge hike for 50 meters rightward. The climbing began up 10 meters on pockets to a great white 15 meter dihedral with a finger sized crack.

P6-5b 30 meter. This pitch involved a short 30 meter walking traverse right on the ledge. This clean pitch had small pockets on a vertical wall and arrived at a massive ledge with a 70 meter high orange wall.

P7-4c 10 meter. The small birth cave. The route’s bolts go around but when presented with dangerous bolts or an exciting squeeze, I will squirm every time. As I climbed out of the rock the sun was setting and I set the belay up.

P8-5a 15 meter. We traversed right again and up a solid layback flake to a stunning situation.The bright orange pink skies and bats flying around made for a great spot to   belay and be in the moment.

P9-6a 40 meter. This was the  money pitch, with high exposure and a fantastic view down the valley to the Mediterranean sea and the castle ruins on the hillside and the old town of Finale Borgo.

We arrived at the summit had a snack and began the 45 minute walk down the wide and easy trail with head lamps. To arrive at the car and head back to Monte  Cucco for a pasta dinner in the moonlight at 6:30 pm.

Spanish serenity in Montgrony

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGpqy0EQwyw

The calm warm winds in Montgrony sent me to dreamland and when I awoke…

The fabulous crisp, textured, steep, tufas greeted me. Most of the 200 routes in the Catalonian heaven are 6b to 8b (french sport grades) and can be found in the 10 different sectors that are a 2 to 10 minute walk apart. There is even free camping nearby with picnic tables, grassy tent pitches and a fresh mountain stream.  There is even an old Church, Sant Pere der Montgrony to ____ your soul if the TUFA GODS have not abused your body enough