Here are some shots taken by Anssi Laatikainen from Myllis.
Supermario 8A+
Unusual Suspect 8A
It has been raining now for a couple of days, but today was finally dry so I hope tomorrow will be a good day for climbing outside. I'm planning to go to Liljendal with some of my friends and we will probably try a problem called Pukaron paroni. I've seen a couple of pictures of the route and it looked really good!
Hope it's going to be sunny tomorrow so we can chill on the pads and climb a little if we're not too tired ;)
I climbed this problem a while ago, but we decided to film it with Sakari McGregor and I can tell you that it was EPIC! First try was in a smooth rain and I had my shoes constantly wet and the friction was sh*t. The second time, which was the "succesful" day of filming was in a good +25 celciusdegrees warmth and with constant sunshine. Not so cool... But here's the clip
Today we went bouldering in Myllis hoping that it would be dry. The past week had been pretty dry and hot so there was a good chance that it wouldn't drip water like it always does.
I warmed up with the usual routes like Potsmoker, 72 markkaa and the nameless next to them and then I had my eye on the project between Potsmoker and Endless hangover. The friction felt surprisingly good even though it was around 20 celciusdegrees.
The project is very simple. It starts as a sitdown from the same holds than Potsmoker and then you have to do three really easy moves until you get a small crimp. Then you take another small crimp and jump to a relatively good but sharp hold. After that you do the same last moves than in Endless Hangover. Even if it has some same moves than the problems next to it, it's still a clear line. I named it Hattivatti and gave a grade of 8A. But the ones who will repeat it can give a better opinion for the grade.
After the proj I gave a quick burn to the traverse called Eskimo, 8A+, which has around 30 moves and ends with a 7C+ boulder. Luckily the moves felt good and I did it on my first try this season. I got quite pumped and I was really surprised that I managed to do it with such a bad endurance.
Not long after that I started working on Koopa, 8A, which is a huge dyno from two crimps to a "meathook"- jug. That didn't take long either. I think it went on my 5th try or something.
I had a very good day today and I'm psyched to go to Swizzy this summer. I hope that I'll have the same drive in Switzerland than here!
I came back from the island of Åland a couple of days ago and now I finally have enough energy to write something on my blog.
Flashing a new Highball called Luonnonvalinta in Kasviken, picture by Alvi Pakarinen
The trip went very well and I had a lot of fun. There was a lot of nice people whom I got to know and I got to climb a lot. I climbed every day for 5 days and the result was a couple of hard ticks, fatigue and of course bloody fingers.
Mikko Manninen doing the FA of Luonnonvalinta 6B, picture by Alvi Pakarinen
I managed to do almost all of the routes from my want to do list, but some of them I just couldn't do. Perhaps I'm just too damn weak.
Sending Hello Africa 7C+, picture by Alvi Pakarinen
I was really close climbing Normipäivä 8B, but I fell from the very last move. It is the hardest move, but it was soooo close. Unfortunately after my best try a friend of mine broke a hold from Normipäivä. He did the last moves and got to the topjug when it suddenly came off. Luckily he didn't hurt himself. The breakage was quite predictable because it had some cracks around it, so it was just a matter of time when it would be ripped off. Later on I managed to come up with some kind of a new beta for the ending but it felt a little bit harder than before. So I'll use this as an excuse on why I didn't climb it :).
Giving a good burn to Normipäivä 8B, picture by Sakari McGregor
Saturday was probably the best day of my trip. I went to Kasviken really motivated and the climbing felt really good. I started working on Dodo assis and I did the moves quickly and then started to try it from the beginning. It felt good but I still managed to fall from the last moves... The route is really simple and clear and you can see the beta from the video below. All you have to do is stick the heeltoe. After I sent Dodo I went to Mongooli and tried to figure out a good beta for it. Luckily there was a local called Tomas Johansson who gave me some good hints for it and then I succesfully flashed it. That was definetly one of the highlights of my trip.
