Beal Cliff Rope bag

The person who invented this bag must have had enough of getting his back dirty when he carried the rucksack. And I’m glad that someone else in the world thought so too. Finally a Beal Cliff Rope bag which has the zips at the right side! What a genious idea! Read the rest of this entry »

It took a while before the new guide book came out again. And when it did, it was sure worth while to get it. Dream routes and new areas in granite, conglomarat and limestone – all found summerized in a valley and each one better than the next. Infact we did not climb any route that did not deserve a star the last week. I was practically amazed how international the scene has become, with annual boulder cups and rock climbing competitions, the area has developed well for the rock climber in the last few years. Read the rest of this entry »

Mention the word “Frankenjura” and your opposite stares at you glimply and says…oh! you mean the climbing area in the woods? Yes, hmmm ….. right! Many of the crags are all found hidden in the woods, which is why it’s rumoured to be Robin Hood’s hideout. Frankenjura is blessed with a huge bunch of crags spreaded all over. The majority of them are formed into 12-15m overhanging crags with thousands of finger pockets, dents and scarce bolts.  Of course, not all crags are this way… but thats the impression you’re going to take along with you after you leave Frankenjura.

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It’s never wrong to have a few Sleeping bags for all four seasons of the year. Of course your budget is the only thing that is going to break down your decision. Nevertheless, I have now 2 down sleeping bags, one for winter and one for summer. I realised that the summer down, after 15 years of usage is just clumping up, making the sleeping bag get lots of cold spots and makes me freeze in a warm summer night. That was the reason for getting my first synthetic sleeping bag. It had to be one which is good for warm nights up to 18°c, as well as sudden temperatures that drops to +-3°c.  With Starlight II, I have all which is desired and ordered this through my favourite online outdoor shop.

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Alpes – Maritimes: a beautiful mixture of the alps and the sea next to each other in southern france. The region is blessed with hundreds of sectors of climbing possibilities for every taste and  difficulty be it a wall of tufas, ledges or overhanging grips. If you are situated in Nice, the furtherst crag to reach is at most 1.5 hrs away. The border to Italy is just about an hour away from there and every view you inhale is one of blue skies, sun and sea, one of the things which is essential for the beginning of a great climbing holiday in Côte d’Azur.

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Sleeping bag Starlight I

Manufacterer: Mountain Equipment Model: Starlight I Total Weight: 1270g (including cover) Insulation: Polarloft Micro

Here’s a few lines on my new starlight sleeping from Mountain Equipment which has been in use since this summer. I have been using a down sleeping bag for a very long time now. I keep one for the summer and one for the winter that keeps me warm even in conditions up to -10°C. It was the first time I was going to try out a synthetic sleeping bag. The price was moderate, not too cheap and not too espensive. Read the rest of this entry »

We finally made it to the areas near Grenoble after dozens of recomendations from various climbers. Without much expectations and equipt with an 10 year old guide book from 1996 Val d´Isere, we packed our stuffs and took off for Grenoble, Combe lava

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General If you drive through Longarone and look up to the roads that lead to Erto, you’ll notice this great wall that covers a great part of that hill you’ll be passing. Then you’d go asking yourself, if there’s anything to climb on it. Casso is situated just right on top left of Erto. The access is a liitle difficult to find, especially if you’re there for the first time and if you get on the wrong path, it’s going to lead you all the way down to the other side of the valley. Read the rest of this entry »

I guess this is a very familiar scene at your crag, you’re surrounded by a bunch of guys, one hand on the mobile phone and the other trying to follow instructions to the crux move in that particular route. His hands gesticulate wildly in the air. “Now take the crimp on the left, move your right feet on that tiny black dot above your knee, press and snap on the next hold…..” and the poor guy who’s listening is gaffing up the route and yelling back – “hey thats impossible! Who can ever do such a move like that…” and the discussion continues, on the phone, outside in the wilderness breaking the peace and quiet and your concentration….

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…is an all time favourite. And it’s topping up the favourites list in the last few years.

Kalymnos is an island some 20 minutes away by ferry from the Island Kos in Greece. We discovered Kalymnos in 2001, many people kept saying that there’s so much potential in-between the crags, you could build up routes for the rest of your life.Well, if you’re alone, yes, you may need quite an effort and some time to finish all those routes. We left for Kalymnos in 2001 to test and feel those 21 sectors people were drooling about.

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