Céüse - I had to climb rock again!

Two weeks back in Belgium and a bunch of new opportunities to take showed up. I enjoyed being back in Belgium and see my friends and family back. Thanks to my decision of resting in Brazil and then climbing again before going home, I arrived home with more motivation to climb then before! My last day in Brazil I realized to climb my first 8a+ on sight, this was a motivation boost to return to Belgium and climb more.

A week ago I got the chance to join Stephane Hanssens, Nico Favresse and his girlfriend to Céüse in France. One of the most famous sport climbing areas in Europe. I’ve been here already two times before and I’m sure more trips will lead me to this amazing destination. I climbed four days right now and still have three climbing days left before I go back to Belgium. The first days demanded my body to adjust to the climbing style. Yesterday the climbing went already really good and I could send ‘Face the Rat’ (8a+), a classic long line. I enjoy climbing here a lot because of the style, I’m not super strong in this style, but it is really interesting climbing and I feel I can get fast stronger here.  Every route you need to be focused and look around for the holds.

There are a lot of people I now here from my trips in the past with result that I have a good time with whomever I want. I even met Marcos, Brazilian friend, back again who is making a 5 month road trip in Europe. The climbing world is small and the people who dream and climb, I come across again.

The 22th of June I return back to Belgium and then? Who knows? I don’t!

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Rio - My belly full of climbing

The and of my climbing trip in South-America and I'm well rested and full of motivation! The first week here in I enjoyed the luxurious life with Marcos. We went to the beach, drank amazing juices, did a lot of slacklining and just relaxed.

View from de route on Pão de Açucar.

But after one week I felt the motivation again, the lack of exercises and my fat belly screamed for climbing! In Teresopolis we did not climb because of the rainy weather. We decided to start climbing easy again with a multipitch on Pão de Açucar (Sugar Loaf). This is a beautifull granite dome on a kind of peninsula in the middle of Rio de Janeiro. It's so touristic that after 6 pitches of climbing you can drink a fruit juice on top and go down with the cable-way between a bunch of tourists. We did an amazing climb on the totem of Pão de Açucar with a view on the big city, beaches, bays (no babes), other granite mountains and lots of jungle. A really special feeling to climb in civilisation on a wall that big and top out first in jungle and then behind a juice bar still with you climbing shoes on.

Pão de Açucar - I love to be a tourist after climbing!

After that we climbed in the best little sportclimbing area of Rio, called Barrinha. Although it isn't a big climbing area, there are a lot of hard routes and I've spend the last days of my trip in this place. The wall in Barrinha is a slightly overhanging wall with 30 meter endurance routes. Climbing on crimps you do big moves up to the top ending up in pumpy-land. The rock is a mixture of three kinds of rock but it feels like climbing on granite edges with lots of sharp cristals.

An amazing 7c in Barrinha

The climbing here for me motivated me like crazy. After the first day I new I would spend the rest of the trip on this wall. Athlethic moves on positive crimps is what I like a lot. The first day I could climb some 7's onsight up to 7c+ and I was close to onsight an 8a at the end of the day. A day like that motivated me as hell. But then the tropical rain arrived again and me and Marcos ended up climbing routes of 20 to 25 meters. We where obligated to say 'Take' five or even 2 draws before the anker and lower down because of a completely soaked end. Despite of the rain our motivation stayed high and we climbed  couple of days 'half-routes' to get ready for dry sending weather. Once the rock was almost completely dry I climbed an 8a and 8b on the same day and the day after I did another 8b.



It's crazy what a good rest and good food does with your body. I feel suddenly so ready for more sportclimbing when I'm back in Belgium. I really needed this rest to find the motivation again. Climbing goes with ups and downs, mostly it is not only fysical but also the head that gets tired. Changing your mind and focussing on other things can be good to, then you realyse again how much you like climbing and the whole atmosphere around this sport.

Today is my last climbing day of the trip! Then I go back to Buenos Aires for one night to pick up half of my gear and see some good friends again! On thursday I'll fly back to Belgium.

 After that the big questionmark of 'What should I do now?' will be there again. But today, I go climbing!

Some surfbabe crusing arround!

Those guys in Barrinha where wondering what climbers eat without asking. 

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Tuzgle - Paradise of the three climbingstyles

Tuzgle, ten days of everything! From snowy sportclimbing to windy crackclimbing to hot bouldering.

Tuzgle is a high dessert climbing area at 4000 meters above sea level that offers three different types of climbing. The climbing area is a volcanic canyon near the volcano Tuzgle. On both sides of the canyon are two rails of basalt rock with underneath on the slopes a lot of boulders. In the main canyon where the road goes you can climb easily a good two week trip or longer. Besides this canyon there are 3 other canyons with as much rock as the main canyon. In those other canyons are no sportclimbing routes but there is a lot of possibility. Cracks and boulders you´ll find all over ready to be climbed.

The Tuzgle volcano en some gay pose! 

You can climb some nice boulders with slopy pockets, rails and crimps. In de bouldering and the sportclimbing  the style is the same. The typical styles of the area are big arrets and prows that result in real technical and balance climbing. Perfectionism is key in this climbing style.



Getting there is pretty difficult without a car. You can go to Tuzgle on two different ways. Entering from Jujuy or Salta. If you go from Salta you can take the bus to San Antonio de los Cobres and from there you need a car. Nico, Argiro, Sean, Paulita and I entered from Jujuy. From Jujuy you take a bus to Susques and then to the little village of Puesto Sey. This bus ride is rough, uncomfortable and took us the hole night, we left Jujuy at   21h and arrived at 6h in the morning. This you need to do with all your food because in Puesto Sey you can buy really little food. From Puesto Sey we walked five kilometers towards the middle of the main canyon where the road goes. Down in this canyon you can camp. It´s important to take your drinking water from the village because the water from the river is not potable because of the sulfur. Even a good water pump or chlorine tablets don´t get the sulfur out. Some people say the water from the village is also not good to drink but we just did it and did not get sick.

Show me what you got Tuzgle!

The canyon and rock reminded me to Indian Creek, only the rock is harder. We climbed a lot of sport routes and cracks. The cracks are mostly really perfect like in the Creek. But a lot of times there is a first 10 meter layer of loose white rock that makes a start hard or impossible.

We did all kind of cracks, one day we even committed to do a big off width (second route of the day). Start with a roof crack wide hands into a runout (groundfall) off width without protection. Before entering the off width I started hesitating; it was scary, hard and I wasn´t acclimatized yet. Sean under me kept screaming; ´´Common man, once you get in the off width you can not fall out anymore and it´s getting easy towards the top!´´ So under some pressure of Sean I just went for it and fought to the top. But because me lack of off width experience this was never getting easier towards the end. After a scary fight I arrived on top laying down 10 minutes and waiting to vomit but I never did. That day I didn´t climb much anymore and felt sick from the effort at 4000 meters. Oh I love off widths!

The life and climbing in Tuzgle can be really rough when the cold wind is arriving. The first week we had really cold weather and the wind was making climbing, cooking, sleeping and almost everything really hard! It´s hard imagining staying there a long time with those conditions. But at the end of the first week the wind got less little by little. The last three days in Tuzgle were amazing, it got a lot colder when the sun was gone, but there was no wind and so nice to climb during the day.

The group of climbers we ended up with at the end of our Tuzgle trip. 

Our camp next to the big boulder!

After 10 days in Tuzgle and 3 and a half months of climbing and traveling I felt like taking a little break of climbing and doing something to change my mind. I returned with Paulita and Sean towards Buenos Aires and searched for some nice place to spend my last 20 days in South America.

It took me a long time to decide were to go and what to do but I found it!

After I ate some Alfajores in Buenos Aires with Sean and Paulita I took the plane to a new and unplanned destination:

Rio de Janeiro - Brasil 

Straight out of the real life. (It´s strict forbidden to zoom in on this picture!)

I decided to come Brasil to relax, get some rest and afterwards still climb a little with Marcos Costa at his home town Teresopolis. When I´m sick of beaches and blue water we will climb some granite multi-pitch on the big Jungle domes near Teresopolis. In the mean time I´ll do some Janiero´s in the coconut trees on the beach!

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On our way to Tuzgle, San Juan Calle 11!

Five days ago I left Bariloche together with Sean and Paulita Jones towards Tuzgle. We stopped half way in San Juan to visit friends of Sean and climb in a limestone canyon called 'Calle 11'. This was a good plan since the bus ride to Tuzgle is three days. As soon as we arrived in San Juan we went back in to the silence of nature again. Together with Turco (nickname, like everybody has a nickname here) and Flor from San Juan we climbed two days in Calle 11.

This climbing area is really small and not so known but really interesting. It is the most polished rock a ever climbed on. The first time you climb on it you think it's a joke but if you give it some time it becomes interesting in the feet and balance. The nicest climbs where the limestone cracks, a completely different style as the granite cracks we did in Frey. The cracks are hard to protect and require another style of protection. Camalots dare to slip unless they are placed like a nut.

Tonight we will make our way towards Tuzgle where we meet up with a lot of other friends including Nico and his girlfriend.

I have to say that I love the hospitality of the Argentinians! Amazing how everybody helps you here!

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Frey - As good as the one with the R at the end.

1700 meters high, a nice lake, great refugio, perfect granite spires, good athmosphere with nice life music! Frey is an amazing granite tradclimbing area near Bariloche, Argentina. Easy to get there without a car. By bus from Bariloche you can get to the base of the closest mountains to town. From there a three hour walk trough a beautifull automn forrest brought us up to a place full of granite. Frey is close to Bariloche but when you're there you feel far away from civilasition. Our team consisted out of Sean, Marcus and me. As soon as we arrived we met up with 'Pela', an Argintine 'Changa!', who was planning to go down because of the lack of climbers at this late climbing season. Our Changa man was happy to see us and stayed one week longer to complete our team.

It felt amazing to climb some cracks again, place gear and jam. In Frey you can do a lot of single to three pitches, but there is also a possibility to climb up to 7 pitches. It's a perfect trad and crackclimbing school. The approaches are not long and the closest spire is 'Aguya Frey' at 10 minutes walk from camp. But not only the crack climbing is interesting here, the slabs are mean and really technical. Every time I go to a granite climbing area I learn again. To bad I always have to leave a nice little package of fingertips skin on the slabs.

Sean had been to Frey a couple of times and had some unfinnished buisness to do. The second day we went up to 'El Techo de Frey' on the granite spire Aguya Frey. El Techo de Frey is the third pitch of a four pitch climb. After a first easy pitch, a second 'hard' 6b slab follows up to the roof crack in the third old aidclimbing pitch. This pitch starts with an overhanging roofcrack in a dihidral. This roof goes on for only 6 meters and has lots of complicated moves. The protection is good on small cams in the crack. The first day Sean and I tried it, we coudn't even move and had a hard time working out all the moves. Both of us never did something like this! Flat friction feet, slopy slopers and crazy compression moves make this climb incredibly complicated. The first three tries I would never think it was possible. Slowly we made progress and found both our own metode to climb this line. The roof ends with a jug and the climb continues with another tricky 6b crack on a slab.

After some days of working and learning how to climb this thing Sean could do the second ascent after Nicolas who did it last year. I got really close to send it, but a little 'Brain Fart' like Sean would call it, gave me some trouble. The next day we went back, this time strong and more confident about the possibility I could send it! Raaaaackckck. . . first try of the day I did it smoothly! Both super happy and excided about this line we did the second and third ascent of this line many climbers tried! I guess this line is getting some black, yellow and red collor!

Above: Sean researching the moves in El Techo.

But not only this line is amazing, Frey offered us way more beautifull and classic lines. One day we did an old aidclimb of 6 pitches on the central pillar named 'Kopcke-Insua' Interesting climb because not many people climb it because of the aidclimbing grade they give it in the guidebook. The crux pitch goes through a technical dihidral with old protection pitons and small gear! Great line and a great school! I love those technical ones on some scary 'old' gear!

                                                    
                                                Above: Me being excited about the roof!

But climbing is not everything! The mornings in the sun eating a great poridge and drinking a hot mate (Argentinian typical thee/culture) with some nice people in this great place is already worth it to come here. Our last night we ate some home made pizza's in the refugio, played a lot of music and sang with a bunch of people. Athmosphere guaranty in those Patagonian mountains.

Back in Bariloche we went to our friends house, Hormiga (Cintia) and Maty. While we had been enjoying the granite, they suffered with wood to build a new little house next to theirs for Hormiga's parents. We helped them a little cutting some trees to make space for the house. Below you find a picture of Hormiga spectacularly cutting a big tree from the roof of the new house. After 10 minutes of effort cutting the tree, Hormiga (professional rock climber in Argentina, known for certain proud ascents of big walls) looked at us really miserable and said: Tengo miedo! (I'm so scared!).

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From Piedras Paradas to the mountains!

The Petzl bolting trip ended with over 100 new routes in all different styles. Thanks to petzl and all the nice people of the bolting trip there will be a nice new sportclimbing area in Argentina. In total there are over 200 routes to climb. The last week Sean arrived too. Whithout hesitating we gave him a drill and the last bolts Petzl had to open a new multi-pitch line. Sean, Maty, Aymerik and I choose a line in beautifull white and surprisingly solid rock to climb and open ground-up with the drill. This resulted in a couple of days hard work and scary climbing. Especially Sean worked hard until the last day to realize this new hard multi-pitch of 6 pitches. It's still an open project right now and it will be waiting for strong climbers in November.

We returned the third of april to Bariloche when the bolting trip was over. Last three days Sean, Marcus (the Brazilian with an amazing history), Maty and I climbed in a little but amazing sport climbing area near Bariloche. Those three days resulted in good training but showed me that I'm really tired and need some rest and variation!

Bariloche is amazing, the climbing community is great. I'm only a little over a month here in Argentina and I know already so many great people! My spanish is getting better to and I'll never regret the spanish classes I took before I came here. In Bariloche I'm staying in the house of Maty and Cintia (Hormiga), two great people I want to thank for there help and the place to stay.

Tomorrow Marcus, Sean and I are going for one week up to Frey, a granite tradclimbing area 3 hours hiking from Bariloche in to the mountains. I'm so excited to place some gear again and be in the mountains!

Enjoy the pictures of Piedras Paradas taken by Guillaume Vallot, Petzl Photographer.

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Argentina - Piedras Paradas

Short update of the trip here in South America. After a little climbing trip in Caracas where I did some sportclimbing in La Guairita I left Venezuela and flew towards Argentina. Three days of sitting on a plane or bus brought me towards Bariloche. One of the city´s in Argentina that have a lot of climbing around. I only stayed one day in Bariloche before I moved to Piedras Paradas with a local Argentine, Maty.

Piedras Paradas is a national park four ours southeast of Bariloche. This is a climbing area that is developed a little bit first in 2000. The reason I went to this place is to develop it more thanks to the next Petzl Roc Trip. After the amazing climbing Petzl developed in China, now Petzl will have a new rock trip in Piedras Paradas, Argentina. This amazing desert park is far away from civilization. It exists out of beautiful volcanic canyons. The Petzl Roc Trip will take place in the biggest canyon with walls of 200 meters each side. It's not only a tall canyon but also profound, you can walk from begin to the end for about 5 kilometers.

About 30 climbers from Argentina, France, US and more where invited to bold new routes and search for amazing new lines in this beautiful canyon. I suddenly ran in to the right people and am lucky I ended up here. With a lot of bolds, drills and motivation everybody assaulted the canyon and started putting up amazing lines everywhere. For about two weeks now we have been bolting new lines and it resulted in some nice new sectors containing hard short bouldery routes in steep overhangs to long 50 meter endurance routes.


Altough the quantaty of impressive walls, the rock is a lot of time chosy and not good to climb on. So we had to search very well to find good sectors and solid rock. But this is not a big problem because there is just a lot.

The athmosphere at this Petzl Bolting Trip is amazing. Every night everybody comes together and tells abouth there new lines. A lot of music, some good Argentina wine and good food. A luxuary trip compared to Venezuela Jungle climbing.

Yesterday we came to town with a group of 15 climbers/routesetters to have a nice restday and enjoy the luxuous aspects of civilization. On our way to town we picked up a bump on the side of the road! This bump came right out of the Venezuelan Jungle and is also Belgian.



I was pretty happy to see Sean and hear his stories. I'm exited for the nect part of the trip when we go to Bariloche and Frey. At the end we will be in Tuzgle in the north of Argentina. But first we go back to the Piedras Paradas to find some more king lines!

The goal of this rock trip is not only to have a great event but is also to leave a new and amazing climbing area for after the trip in november 2012. So Petzl helps not only developing the climbing area but also the camping. Right now the camping doesn't has anything except water for drinking. The plan is to build showers and toilets. On our rest days Erwan, the organiser of the trip, gets us to work on toilets. Dig holes and make cement is all we did yesterday as you can see on this picture.


In a week I'll be back with more pictures to give you an image of how the climbing is!

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