Going Big

The Verzasca Dam is on the way to Brione and it is where James Bond was filmed bungee jumping in the intro to Goldeneye. At over 720 feet in height, it is the tallest unguided bungee jump in the world.

This is Les going airborne off the Verzasca Dam (video forthcoming):

Since our last post we’ve been spending a lot of time in Brione, where it has been HOT. We usually don’t head out until 4 in the afternoon so that we can get on our projects just before dark. I’ve had a few more sessions on Vecchio Leone and I have been agonizingly close to sending. I think I’ve fallen on the last move 25 times now. All I’ve been doing is resting and trying this problem for 2-3 hours per session then taking another rest day. It is very frustrating to come so close so many times and never succeed, especially in this heat. We climbed in the dark and drove home at midnight with the windows rolled down..

Yesterday we decided we needed a break from projects so we went up to Magic Wood for the first time. On the drive up we traveled through beautiful mountains covered in snow. The forecast was for rain but it was sunny when we arrived. The forest here is very dense with thick moss covering the boulders. We ran into a friend from Milano we had met in Ticino earlier in the week. She offered to show us around since it was our first time visiting Magic Wood. We did a few cool warm ups and then it started raining so we huddled under the Sofa Surfer boulder. After 30 minutes or so the rain slowed to a drizzle and I decided to give Sofa Surfer a go. From what I hear this problem was originally given 8a+ but now it is given 8a. It is a direct line going up an overhanging wall on decent crimps. After spending a few minutes trying to figure out where I should start it, I pulled on and climbed my way to the last move before blowing off the last holds. I sent a few goes later and didn’t think the problem felt anywhere near 8a. So far it seems some of the grades in Switzerland are off. Not all problems feel that way, but many feel a bit soft.

After my first day I have mixed feelings about Magic Wood. It is a beautiful forest full of boulders but I haven’t seen too many lines that really inspire me. Many of the problems here are dropoffs, which is mostly due to the foot of grass and moss on the top of most boulders. Some of the lines have bunchy starts and traverse boulders rather than climbing directly up. On the other hand, I am very psyched to climb in a place with cooler weather and many problems to do. It’s so nice to be able to climb at any time of the day rather than waiting for the sun to go down before climbing.

We are resting today and I’m giving Vecchio one last shot tomorrow before we move out of Bellinzona and into Magic Wood for a few weeks. Sorry no pics from Magic Wood yet but we’ll post some whenever we have internet access again.

Be sure to check out Black Diamond’s Blog to see our latest video from font!