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lunes, 22 de septiembre de 2014

Calders Action Climbing Flick

Check out the last video we produced at JustGoForIt Media. Action Takes Place in Calders. Also don't forget to subscrive on our Youtube Channel, Twitter Acount and Facebook Page to stay tuned on upcoming Flicks or photo sessions!!

sábado, 30 de agosto de 2014

Görüşürüz Emrah

Wish I could start a post telling something about a new climbing trip or a comp.
Wish It wouldn't be about a friend.
Wish It wouldn't be about one of these people for who everybody only can have nice words,
and also wish that my worst wish would never come true.


Even if It was only for a few months, I feel super lucky to have had the opportunity to share 
some moments with You. Thanks for the belays, the methods, the motivation, and your kindness.
Not every day One can find a climbing partner like You.

Görüşürüz Emrah


jueves, 26 de junio de 2014

End of trip: Sarikaya and Aladaglar

Sadly yesterday I said goodbye to the beautiful country that have been my home for the last 5 months. Even if I didn't wanted  was time to return to see again physicaly my people and not through a skype screen. Have been 5 months of non stoping activity. Meeting new people, climbing, studying and discovering super cool new places, and obviously i've been enjoying my last days doing exactly the same.


This time the trip have been to one of the coolest places i've visited in Turkey. Maybe the place with the best sunset i've seen and probably one of the greatest places to climb where alpinism, multipitch, trad and sport climbing go together. This place is Aladaglar, an alpin massif of 3000 m mountains located like hundred kilometers at the north of Adana, where we spent 12 days basically climbing at Kazikli Vadisi and Cimbar valley, without forgetting to make a fast stop just some days before at Sarikaya, where I sent the bouldery arete called Umagumma, a really solid 8a, and Gamze a fucking hard powerfull 7b+ for wich i don't remember the name.


In our 12 days we set our "base camp" in the little town called Demir Kazik at the Ordos Mountain House (So much thanks for letting us stay there!), from where we were able to reach both valleys with not more than 10 minutes of car. My aim this trip was try something harder, to push me a little bit further, and I was super excited with the nice looking of the super big cave located at Kazikli Ali. Unluckly some days before was raining a lot in Aladaglar, so the routes in the cave were super wet and with a lot of mud in the big holds. From this point I started to search for other hard projects in other nice sectors but outside the cave there weren't so much, and the few i checked had bird  nests or bee hives in the holds, so finally I changed my objective to just climb lots of routes. Some of the most notable sends I did where the bouldery and hard Lanet 7c, The super long Trans Aladaglar 7c+, Misyoner another 7c+ that felt really hard, Kirim Kongo 8a and Nebukat nezar 7c+, which felt too easy for the grade and in my opinion are 7c+ and 7c, and the one that I enjoyed the most, and for which i want to congratulate Recep (the bolter) is Master Papets, a 35m 8a "King Line" I was able to climb in my 4th try after sticking the slippy crimp of on the second crux!

Also Gamze sent hard routes these days like the Cehennem bekçisi 7b+ (really hard in my opinion) and the physical Nebukat Nezar 7c+ after testing some interesting tricks to dry the crux hold!


In Cimbar valley, we only climbed there one day, but better to don't tell my disaster day. Let's just say that wasn't my best day climbing and we finished playing in some easy adherence slab routes at the afternoon. Even that, the little trekking inside this amazing limestone canyon, made me realize the super big potential that this place have, and also made me dream for new future projects. Sure I will return! :)



I would like to finish this post giving a big teşekkürler to all the people I met these days and made this 5 months the best of my life. Also I want to specially thank Gokçe and the people from the Ege climbing gym for letting me train there to don't finish my erasmus fat like a cow and letting me discover Kaynaklar, The "ankara climbing crew" and Emrah for the belays and the beta sharing, and Gamze also for the long belays, the "hobbit" methods sharing, and specially for showing me the fucking paradise that Aladaglar is. For all of you I wish the best luck in the world and I wish we will meet again any day even in Turkey or Catalonia, and  you know that you have a guide and an open house to come to climb in Catalonia.
So much thanks :)



lunes, 2 de junio de 2014

Shady Sarikaya

Sometimes shit happens, and this time at the beggining of the month the Kalymnos trip had to be cancelled, what doesn't means that climbing has stopped.

Even if the lasts three days has been raining, last month, the heat has increased a lot. Kaynaklar sectors where we were developing our activity, now are like a fucking furnace and is practicaly impossible to climb without the sensation that you are slipping even if you are holding a jug. Luckly Izmir has more to offer than Kaynaklar. Just at the north-west of the city before arriving to Manisa, there is a windy place called Sarikaya where you can find shady sectors before one o'clock and where despite being in Turkish May/June you should be prepared to be cold.

Sarikaya is basically an endurance limestone crag with routes about 20 to 45 meters long, where you can find climbs from 6b to 8b being 7's the most common grade. Maybe at first the rock can seem a bit fragile and broken, but the quality and the movment of some of the routes will make any visit being awarded with a perfect climbing day. 


In Sarikaya I invested my last four climbing days, where I did various routes between 6b to 8a, for which i would remark Kybele 7b+/7c in two tries which felt really hard for the grade, Karnivor 8a in 5 or 6 tries which is basically a good powerfull endurance testpiece that also Gamze sent after an impresive fight, and Dharma 8a in 3 tries despite i'm not sure if it's really an 8a or a 7c+. Anyways for me was the best of the three and the one that I enjoyed more :)  

Now it's time to finish my last 4 days of class here, and then being prepared to see where i can go in my last 23 days here in Turkey before returning to Catalonia.






viernes, 9 de mayo de 2014

Kaynaklar Climbing Festival XI & Misanthrope 8a+

Two weeks ago in Izmir took place the XI Kaynaklar Climbing Festival, a climbing fest that met people from all Turkey and also Greece! The Festival basically consisted in three days of rock climbing, concerts, talks, yoga classes, and also a competition. The competition was based in a 6 routes contest where the winner basically was who was able to climb more routes. In that case I got some luck an after the comp, Erkin, Emre and me, were the winners for the man's category, in my case doing all the routes except Yuji onsight where I was close but finally not lucky enough.



Even the comp, the festival was more than a competition and a result by itself. It was more like a big climbing fest where all people had the oportunity to meet old friends, share experiences, meet new people and of course have a lot of fun doing what we love. Is in this point where i want to congratulate the organizers for all these fantastic organitzation work, and simply say that i feel so lucky for have been able to participate in this fantastic event!


But that's not all! Moving on, last weekend after 3 days, finally i got some luck and i redpointed "Misanthrope" 8a+ also in Kaynaklar. The route follows a superb 15m overhanging tufa line where  the crux consists in 5 super powerfull moves between pinches and lateral holds, followed by a rest and  8 meters of 7b+ climbing, to finally finish with a HARD anchor clip. Finally after working a bit the tricky sequence and learning that was easier to skip the 4th bolt i send it :)


Now i'm psyched to see if next week the weather is good and we can go to Kalymnossss!!!!

jueves, 3 de abril de 2014

Beach Climbing in Kaynaklar!

Tot i la calor aquí no parem. Si bé ja fa setmanes que aquí rondem la temperatura del "maig català", la roca no es mou de lloc, i de moment amb la bona colla d'escaladors d'Izmir i en especial de l'universitat de Ege sortim al menys un cop per setmana a una propera zona anomenada Kaynaklar. Situada just a l'est de la ciutat, i apartada de tot el rebombori. Kaynaklar, per els que no la coneguin, es una zona d'escalada modesta però de bon calcari, on la majoria de vies (unes 150) es desenvolupen en murs verticals o desplomats d'entre 15 i 25 metres, i on s'hi poden trobar tota varietat de graus i vies, des de 5ens fins a 8b+'s, sempre amb un peu de via més que còmode.

 Alejandro "BeachBelayingStyle"
Emre Baran escalfant a Komodo 6b+
És aquí on dimarts passat vaig realitzar una de les vies que més he disfrutat des de que estic a Turquia. Es tracta de Zerdüst, un bonic 8a+ que enfila una preciosa placa desplomada de regletes d'uns 22 metres, saltejada per un bloc a mitja via, i on el final taquicàrdic de petites regletes fàcilment et pot tombar, i més quan a Kaynaklar les vies dures al no repetir-se no tenen magnesi i et fan treballar de valent per treu-ren els moviments. En definitiva, una via preciosa totalment natural, que m'ha portat tres dies de feina, i que m'obre la porta de la motivació de cara a probar alguna de les seves veïnes més dures.
*Us deix-ho un "cutre selfie video" al final:









viernes, 28 de febrero de 2014

Orient

Fa molt de temps que no actualitzo. Pràcticament 4 mesos, però es que tampoc n'he tingut el temps ni les ganes, i alhora cap història rellevant de la qual valguès la pena parlar. Aquests quatre mesos han estat mesos de fer el de sempre, la vella rutina de l'escalador modern.. Plafó, feina, roca, i algun cop per saltar de l'habitual acostarme a alguna paret per a nens més grans amb la bona companyia de la gent del moianès. Tot i això des de fa gairebé tres setmanes alguna cosa és diferent. Visc envoltat d'un gran caos de cotxes, kebabs i espècies, just enmig d'un gran degradat cultural on es barreja la més moderna Europa occidental amb les societat més rural de l'Àsia musulmana. Aquesta nova població d'adopció és Esmirna o Izmir per els amics, una ciutat de contrasts, construïda en pocs anys del no res, i on l'hospitalitat de la seva gent no deixa a  ningú indiferent.


És aquí, on envoltat de tastadors de té amarg em trobo jo. Lluny de tot el que pugui semblar el núvol mediàtic escalador. Un lloc tot i que no ho sembli tranquil, amb un petit i rudimentari plafonet universitari, i on per les seves contrades, encara es possible anar a escalar per sectors de qualitat essent incordiat només per marees de cabres i no de cordades.


Si em busqueu, aquí es on em trobareu els següents mesos, fins que la calor es faci insuportable o la síndrome d'abstinència del fuet em cridi de nou cap a casa.


*Si veniu per Turquia porteu-me un bon  fuet. Gràcies