Back in the states

So I'm back in the states now and woke up this morning at 4:40. The one good side of the return jetlag is that you have lots of time in the morning to be productive. I'm taking advantage of that to write a quick summary post about the trip.

All ended well. On Saturday we got an early start warming up at Elephant. I did a good portion of the blue circuit there which was tons of fun. It's a real adventure through the boulders and has a bunch of highball problems. They mapped out the first problems so you can go from one to the next without ever having to walk on the ground.

Once we were warmed up we headed to Elephunk and Ethan gave it some goes. Unfortunately the conditions were a bit mungy at the boulder and Ethan had to let it go for another trip. Next we stopped off at my favorite bakery (Frederic and Delphine's Artisan Boulanger in Ury) and stocked up on croissants and other delectable treats for the drive back to Zurich. With that important business taken care of, we drove over to the area with Gecko.

I had Ethan give me weight through the first move because I wanted to try slightly different beta for the next move. The higher foot worked well for me and I climbed to the top. I came close on my next go and then sent on my third try of the day. The problem felt pretty good and I found myself wishing I had more time to work on the 8b+ sit start which is the most obvious start for the problem. Next time I guess. Ethan got back on Les Beaux Quartiers 8a again and looked much more solid on the moves. Then he gave it a go from the bottom and cruised it.

We were both psyched to finish the trip on a good note and decided to end our day while we were ahead. The drive back to Zurich was mellower than I was expecting. My flights yesterday were long and arduous but I think it's always that way with international flights. Now I'm back in Boulder with lots of school work and house work to get done. I have a few climbing projects in mind too though so perhaps you'll be hearing more about those soon.

Below are three sceen captures from some of the video I got. I'll be editing a longer video of the trip that will be posted on the Sportiva site. I'll post a link to it when it's up.

Me on Gecko 8a+

Ethan on Les Beaux Quartiers 8a

Me doing Fata Morgana 8a