The story of Andrea is breathtaking. In 2006 she fell down a cliff of about 30 meters high. She was heavily injured and although the doctors didn’t expect she could ever walk again, she’s back, climbing [...]]]>
30 Meter | Aufwind is a short documentary by Sebastian Wöber about professional Austrian climbers Andrea Maruna and Angelika Rainer.

The story of Andrea is breathtaking. In 2006 she fell down a cliff of about 30 meters high. She was heavily injured and although the doctors didn’t expect she could ever walk again, she’s back, climbing hard.

source: kletterszene.com

Three of Mad Rock’s original partners: Alex Kim, Ken Kim and ‘Joe’ [...]]]>
I just received a press release with breaking news: Joseph Garland, a founding member of Mad Rock Climbing who announced his departure from the company in early January has returned to the industry, and is now working for Mad Rock’s parent company and manufacturer.

Three of Mad Rock’s original partners: Alex Kim, Ken Kim and ‘Joe’ Garland will continue the business under the new name ‘Climb X’, with Joe Garland being named its new president.

Original Mad Rock president and partner Young Chu will retain the Mad Rock name, but is no longer a member of this group. Climb X will assume the former Mad Rock operation, its distributors, most of its sales reps, international staff, warehouse, factory & production, and product development facility, as well as its Chinese and international warehouse facilities.

I hope this doesn’t mean the end of Mad Rock, because with the current price and fit, Mad Rock is one of my favourite route climbing shoes.

The ISPO fair, that starts in Germany this weekend, will be very interesting because both Mad Rock and the new Climb X will be setting up meetings to inform about the future.

Now don’t expect this to be the best films you’ve ever seen… first of [...]]]>
Outside is a free film about bouldering by Bowlder Films from Spain. It features  bouldering area’s from Spain ( La Comarca, Savassona, the Quarry, Fussimanya, Vilajuiga and Targassone), Switserland (Cresciano, Chironico, Magic Wood and San Gottardo) and France, (Targassone and Orlu).

Now don’t expect this to be the best films you’ve ever seen… first of all it is in Spanish, it wasn’t shot by professionals, and it doesn’t feature your world famous climbing heroes. It doesn’t show the hardest  8th-grade boulder problems either, but that’s also the nice part of this film.

With this film the makers are showing some very nice boulders in beautiful area’s, and they’ve put quite some effort in it.
Download the film by (right) clicking the link on this website.

source: climbinspain via kletterszene

Maybe I can start with buying two big blocks in Fontainebleau… or Castle Hill :)

Here are two beautiful pictures of the house from Jsome1 that I found on Flickr.

Too bad it features a windmill garden. A video [...]]]>
This house can be found in the mountains of Fave, Portugal. I want a house like that someday.

Maybe I can start with buying two big blocks in Fontainebleau… or Castle Hill :)

Here are two beautiful pictures of the house from Jsome1 that I found on Flickr.

Too bad it features a windmill garden. A video in Portuguese…

Terremer links Diaphanous Sea (fb 8A+) and Terre de Sienne (fb 8B+), two other Nicole problems.

Dave Graham did some serious attempts in 2006, but [...]]]>
Daniel Woods has made the third ascent of Terremer fb 8c in Hueco Tanks, Texas. Terremer was opened by Fred Nicole in 2006. The problem was repeated by Paul Robinson in 2008.

Terremer links Diaphanous Sea (fb 8A+) and Terre de Sienne (fb 8B+), two other Nicole problems.

Dave Graham did some serious attempts in 2006, but had to give up. Here’s a video about that.

Do you want to see Pauls ascent? Then you have to check this video and skip to 1:58.

Watch Dave Graham Terremer V15

Sources: Jamie Emerson via The Lowdown
Picture by Sanders Photography from danielwoods.us

Some rock formations in Stolby are easy to climb [...]]]>
Stolby is a national park in Russia, it features rock formations that have been climbed for ages.  This video about climbing in Stolby was shot some years ago and put online by Patagonia. It’s probably one of the most bizarre climbing videos I have ever seen.

Some rock formations in Stolby are easy to climb or even walk on to. Other rock formations have some really hard routes. It’s bizarre to see that the border between walking up a rock formation and free soloing harder routes doesn’t seem to exist in Stolby.

I just rediscovered the video because my colleague (thanks Tim) showed me the english version of the Stolby National Nature Reserve website.  Make sure you check out the historic pictures on that website. It also features stories from ‘Stolbists’.

Oh and…  Free soloing kills! Don’t do it.

Finisterre is a small company located on the cliffs of Northern Cornwall. With only a handful of employees they produce a limited edition range every year, using environmentally friendly and exclusive fabrics. Finisterre is a [...]]]>
I received an email from an English brand called Finisterre. Never heard of it? Me neither. But I was enthusiastic right away.

Finisterre is a small company located on the cliffs of Northern Cornwall. With only a handful of employees they produce a limited edition range every year, using environmentally friendly and exclusive fabrics.
Finisterre is a very small operation, and the four guys that founded the brand are still the mainstay there. They share the goal of creating the best technical apparel with minimal environmental impact. Their pioneering environmental initiatives have been recognised widely.

Finisterre started as a surfing brand… but you’re going to love it too. In their collection: Jackets made from recycled polyester, merino wool sweatshirts, merino wool underwear and beeswax impregnated jackets… it might sound a bit eco-boring but their clothing design is amazing. The fabrics they use and the smart details of the clothing look  awesome.

Most products on their website feature a product video. Go check them out. They’re fun, and show the smart designs.

I don’t have enough Finisterre credits yet to arrange a prize question ;)  Sooo, I’ll just point you to the Finisterre retailers that can be found on their website even though that probably doesn’t make you happy because the brand is hard to get outside the UK.  No worries, you can order the collection from the Finisterre website.

The official website of the film can be found here.

Natalija Gros - New Dimension Teaser from Film IT on Vimeo.

Monkee is probably the first climbing brand winning a BrandNew Award. The competition was initiated in 2000 by the ispo fair, an international trade fair for sporting goods and sports fashion in Munich,  with [...]]]>
It’s hard to describe how extremely proud I am of Monkee winning the ispo brand new award in the category eco/fair-trade.

Monkee is probably the first climbing brand winning a BrandNew Award. The competition was initiated in 2000 by the ispo fair, an international trade fair for sporting goods and sports fashion in Munich,  with the aim to give young entrepreneurs with their sports products a stage where they can introduce themselves to the market.

For that purpose the bestproducts receive a booth at ispo and are promoted in numerous means of communication. The ispo BrandNew Award is a stepping stone for young labels to become established in the marketplace.

It doesn’t surprise me that Monkee has won. The young label from my German friends produces true ecofair wear. The new collection is produced ethically and is exclusively made from ecological and/or recycled materials. Monkee also aims for fair employment conditions for in regards to working hours, payment and job security.

Congratulations!!!

Check out all the ispo BrandNew award winners here.

The first video is about Paul Robinson. In the last decade, he has bouldered V15, and sent literally hundreds of problems in the V14 to V11 range. What most people don’t know is that Paul [...]]]>
While I was gone it was hard to miss out one these two video portraits from Chuck Fryberger for Prana

The first video is about Paul Robinson. In the last decade, he has bouldered V15, and sent literally hundreds of problems in the V14 to V11 range. What most people don’t know is that Paul is also an accomplished artist and painter majoring in Fine Arts at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

The second video is about Swiss bouldering legend Frederic Nicole. Fred was the first to boulder V13 and V14… It’s awesome to hear Fred speak and to see him climb in his famous controlled style.

Paul Robinson: Inside the Climbing Guild from Prana Living on Vimeo.

A Portrait of Fred Nicole from Prana Living on Vimeo.