Ailefroide pt. 2

And another day with internet :)

It's hard to get a good connection to upload photo's and videos...

But now in Gap (yes, close to Céüse) I'm having a good connection :)

We left Ailefroide because the weather predicted some cold days with maybe some rain. So Bérarde and Céüse are my next desinations.

We'd been climbing some really nice things and trained with our big backpack for our "dream climb"

on the Trois Dents du Pevloux. Not sure if we'll make it though :)

Trad climbing in Ailefroide is harden then we thought. Most lines which are listed as trad in the topo are actually

fully bolted. Frustrating, getting prepared, being enthusiastic for a new line... get to the route and realise

we actually don't need all our cams and nuts...Even more when you climb and see it's just not necessary to bolt

the line, prefect placements all the way... Though, with a heavy backpack on trad 6a, I can still get quite scared...

The pictures: Tout a Blocs bouldering competition and trad-climbing training with a backpack :)

Ailefroide pt. 1

Finally, some internet to write about my adventures.

I'm eating McFlurry and enjoy the free internet of the MacDonalds in Brinacon.

Just went shopping. We have a rest day to spend some money on climbing stuff.

I have a new backpack, really small and still big (45L Grivel)

I really needed one, after my tour this last days. My 30L backback can't hold a tent, all trad gear, axe, food, sleeping bag and more...

I made a little movie of the first days on the road to Ailefroide, more video's soon :)

After the adventures in the video we climbed some more stuff close to the Glacier Blanc, attempted to open a new trad line and failed (as we found some really ancient gear all the way) did some bouldering, and we've been reading the guidebooks like a bible. Figured we want to do a really long line on the Pelvoux, 20 pitches, 2 bivouacs, 2 glacier to cross more then 6 6a's and all trad of course :)

Can't wait!

Just a day or two to go...and then...I'll be on the road. Heading for the Alps to climb! Finally climbing on real rock!

I've been sitting at home, not knowing what to do here any longer. Loads of things to do though, but just can't concentrate any longer :)

Climbing research

On the site Pimpin and Crimpin I found this brilliant research.

...I guess, think and worry...cause it's so true :)

Pink Moon Run 2010

Haha! Surprises are fun!

Yesterday evening I joined the 'Pink Moon Run' in Muiden.

Thanks to: Hans, Alie, Diederik, Dennis, Gertrude en Johan, Erik, ...

I was able to get even €60,- together! I ran for breast cancer together with more then 150

other runners and walkers.

The run was nice: after one kilometre I was all alone, with three male runners in front of me and all female runners far behind. I had no music because my iPod doesn't work. So I was listening to the silence and my own running pace. On the second part over the dike I saw the sunset. A huge orange bowl going down behind the dike.

It all did make me think of breast cancer. One on eight females gets breast cancer. And thats a high number... I know two people myself, who luckily survived the cancer. But I heard many stories of young people dying on breast cancer... One grabbed me, my dad told me about a teacher who got the w

rong cancer medicines for years and died in her struggle to survive. That is hard, painful.

I hope, with the run, to help people fight against cancer!

I didn't run to win, I just ran to enjoy and do something good. But afterwards, when I finished, I heard they had prices for the first place in the 5 and 8 kilometre run! With my 48 minutes I landed in first place! Just two minutes behind the fastest male.

Not bad for a climber :)

Before we ran we had a speech form the Major of Muiden and a warm-up.

Ilse, the one who did the warm-up was a bit weird though. Stretching when being completely cold and she made, after many other remarks about my body and fitness, this funny remark: you've got a nice ass (lekker kontje) my dad was standing next to me and found it almost necessary to protect me for the lesbian sounding insult ;)

The big winner in the end was the fund 'A Sister's hope'. All runners and walkers together raised over €12.000 for the fund! Over €4000 more compared to last years Run&Walk!

Pictures: Hans van der Steen

Running for breast cancer

The temperatures here in Holland are raising sky-high: over 30˚C. And somehow I like to run: bad combination. So, most of the times I take a swim after running.

This evening I'll join a special run, a run against Breast Cancer: Pink Moon Run. 'A Sister's Hope' organises every year a run starting and ending at the Muiderslot Castle in Muiden (where my parents live). The run I'll join is 8km long and is actually just my normal running round to Muiderberg and back.

I join the run, because I've got tits and I love to keep them :) And it would be good if we can help all these women (and men) who get Breast Cancer!

Worldwide, breast cancer comprises 10.4% of all cancer incidence among women, making it the second most common type of non-skin cancer (after lung cancer) and the fifth most common cause of cancer death. In 2004, breast cancer caused 519,000 deaths worldwide (7% of cancer deaths; almost 1% of all deaths). Breast cancer is about 100 times more common in women than in men, although males tend to have poorer outcomes due to delays in diagnosis.

I'm a bit late wit announcing the event...Late, because I need to raise money for the breast cancer fund. The minimum amount for joining the run is €50,- (which is a lot of money for me!)

Please e-mail or call me to put in some money TODAY :)

der.steen@gmail.com

My home/van

On Sunday I made all kinds of plans of how to improve the interior of my van. Making more shelfs, decorating the seats, putting a top window in the roof, painting the roof... I had the feeling I could make it a real home now. Ready for the Summer in the Alps!

On Monday I brought my van to the garage because it made a bit a weird sound.

That midday I heard it would cost me €900 just to get a new axle, not to mention all the costs to get the car through the next MOT in September.

All together to get it through MOT it would cost me around €3000. As much as a whole new van. The mechanic showed me the axle, shock absorbers, the rust, the oil leaking out and all other things. I was surprised that the thing was still driving at all.

Fuck! €3000 is way too much for me. I really can’t afford fixing the van. €3000 is enough for half a year of full-time climbing, a plane ticket to South Korea and all additional Iceclimbing competitions, €3000 is a lot of money.

Even if I’d do most of the things myself, like fixing the rusty parts, get parts from some scrapheap...It’d still cost me more then €2000 and a lot of time. And time is something I don’t have these days...sort of. It’s actually a matter of priorities: if I want to climb something in the Alps I have to go there now, and not next month. So, I need a working car now...

Hopefully Dennis’ van will do the job!

So, if you know a good car mechanic who can weld some new plates on my car, get an extra long Ford Transit axle and knows how to deal with oil leaking out on some places...

I’m thinking of selling the car in parts. The engine is pretty good with just 120.000k on the counter and the rest just works fine as well.

Any ideas of what to do now??? (Please mail me:)

Next week we planned to go to the Alps. Take Dennis’ van and climb, on real rock. Join the Tout a Bloc competition, try to climb Far West (8a) and get into real multipitch climbing! Dennis wants to climb on Dibona (just Google it) and I, eh, well, I want to climb all routes, just as much as possible, as long as it’s trad and difficult ;)

The pictures are taken on the Worldcup in Eindhoven. Was this the last trip of my good van and home...?

Worldcup Boulder Eindhoven

Sometimes I’m not so motivated to write anything on my blog.

When things don’t go the way I want them to go.

But yesterday somebody gave me the insight, that people like to read ‘bad news’ they love to see ones emotions and sorrows. So, as my blog is here to share my life, I should write about the World Cup and my car.

Last weekend I joined the World Cup Boulder in Eindhoven (Holland). I’d been training for weeks. Not months because months ago I was still covered in plaster: I had a broken wrist.

So recovering and training for the competition in once. Not the best combination, but it went quite well. I was (and still am) making such fast progress. From climbing just 6a routes on toprope in April to onsighting 6c boulder and flashing 7a boulders in June.

Though I feel my wrist when I climb. Not a lot, not that it really hurts, but I feel it. Just like I’m not strong enough on my wrist or get tired fast on my right hand and then in stings a bit. Very annoying...

So, finally there on the worldcup. I guess I was strong enough in my fingers and not too nervous. I met some friends who also joined the Iceclimbing competitions and was already less nervous.

On Friday in the isolation I was already getting a bit insecure. Gosh, I thought, those girls are light and skinny. Gosh, they’re doing hard stuff as warm-up. Gosh, what if I get nervous? Oh, shit, I think I am nervous...

Then around 11 it was finally my turn.

The first problem was ok, as I reached the zone in my first go. And then I though, oh, well if this is the level I can expect for the rest of the boulders, I’d be fine and maybe even top out some. So to save some energy and stay relaxed, I quit and waited for the next boulder.

This second boulder wasn’t as easy. It was weird, balancy, girly. Definately not my style. As I couldn’t reach the Zone, I got a bit more nervous and my concentration level dropped.

After quite some tries I decided to stop and maybe go for the next boulder.

Number three was a dyno, at least, I guess it was a dyno. I wanted to use the sides, skip the dyno, but my confidence dropped to minus temperatures. Dynoing is not my thing and so try after try...I just couldn’t fix the holds. The speaker started talking about me and I didn’t agree to what he said. More listening to the audience, the people watching me and all the noise then getting focussed on my job: sicking the boulder.

Time was up, next boulder, number four.

Completely out of focus, loosing all my strength and confidence I couldn’t even get to the first hold after the starting holds! And I knew this kind of boulders is my thing. Bit tricky, toehook, bit dynamic, positive holes in an overhaninging wall. And I guessed I had to heelhook. I love doing heelhooks. But, I couldn’t even get to the hols after the starting holds! A ridge like a crack in a green hold. So annoying! I got angry, not understanding why I couldn’t just grab the thing. It wasn’t even a long move! I tried and tried and lost all my confidence and strength in my climbing...

The last problem to stick and just f

ive minutes. I knew I was too bad to ever reach the semifinals and was disappointed in myself.

Boulder number five. Funny start, easy to reach for the zone and weird to get on after it. Rock over my leg and get the crimper. But my energy, confidence, concent

ration and mood were too low to even climb anything. I knew it wasn’t such a hard thing to climb, but I just couldn’t make it to the top. What a bummer!

And there I stood, climbing like a bad of potatoes and was ashamed. Ashamed of myself, was I really that bad of a climber? Was I on my place between these climbers? Why do I never do well on comps?

To make it even worse I watched the screen and noticed I landed in last place. Great.

On such a moment I’d rather quit climbing, hide for all people who want to ask me how I did on the comp and just become window-washer, hairdresser or supermarket employee and do some easy sports like fitness or soccer.

The next day I watched the semi finals and the finals.

So good to see those men (and women) climbing. Rachel, another Dutch climber did really good. I made a lot of videos of the climbers, maybe I can learn something of it. Placed them all on YouTube. (Click the link).

Photo's: Hans van der Steen