Since about 2 months we are back in switzerland and trying to get settled for some time. as much as we miss to head out for some rocks every morning, as much we are enjoying the comforts of everyday life where you have your bathroom just next to the place you sleep ;)
coming back and having our bouldering reduced to some 2 or 3 plastic sessions a week is kind of strange. first of all, we kind of quit our trip on a peak of performance. by that, the thought of 'being strong' at the moment is omnipresent. at least for me that was the case, as i surprised myself by having climbed some problems i tagged impossible for me just some months before actually climbing them... so i was shocked (!) by how much i struggled with the first plastic sessions we had back here! but instead of seeing it negativ i realized, that, if i was able to perform my best so far on the rocks, but actually feeling weak on the physically demanding plastic movements, there had to be room for big improvement!
the last year was a major step of improvement for me and my climbing. i learned a lot about how to succeed by adapting to the specific demands of different rock types instead of forcing success by trying to apply something you are good at. sure, at the higher grades (or your limit grades) you have to play out your specific strengths. but at a certain point you want to face challenges. and at this point, your strengths are none of a help! and by actually making yourself a beginner again you free the way for new improvement! and this happens mostly by impacts on your technical skills and not by making you stronger at all! 'strengths' is a term we falsely address mostly to physical aspects of athletic performance.
back on plastic.
there have been opportunities to go climb on rock. but to be honest, the last weeks we have just been enjoying the simpleness of humping around some colored holds! and this 'having fun' approach is quite productive, as we are steadily getting back in shape and maybe setting a good base for this years climbing projects!
besides that, i gave a comeback to the routesetting thing... and i am going to analyse some of my thoughts about this topic soon
