Training mode!

I had a really enjoyable trip to Turkey and being back on the rock again felt great! It was fun and very relaxed, just climbing routes that looked nice and appealing. In addition, I always find it exciting and interesting visiting a new country, encountering a different culture and climbing new fun routes. All I could have wished for was a little better (warmer) weather as it was actually the coldest winter in Geyikbayiri in 8 years..! Since I would not be there for too long and I was just back to climbing after my break over the holidays, I decided to just try as many routes as possible onsight or flash. I did some routes in the 8a+ to 7c range that were all very nice! 

I went back home to Stockholm with new gained motivation and ready to start training! After my return I have been doing a lot of basic training, in terms of strength and endurance, in order to gain more fitness and be able to endure more training further on. At the moment the focus i on core training, finger strength and endurance. During this period I am supposed to get very tired physically. However, I believe that listening to your body to maintain high quality in training is significant.  

Last year I really learnt the importance - and the difficulties - of finding balance in training and everything else in life. Bearing that in mind, I think that in order to optimize the training, it is more about training smart and listening to your body rather than following a program to the letter. And of course always remember to have fun...  

Also, I recently did an interview for EpicTV which you can read here =)

❄ Christmas break ❄

... Is over and it is time to get ready for 2013! I took some time off from climbing during Christmas to let my body (and head) recover. Despite being rather restless some days it was definitely good to charge the batteries and gain some new motivation. But, I have not been completely idle during my little break. Winter in Sweden this year has been cold and we have had a huge amount of snow. Eventhough I am not a big fan of cold weather, I enjoyed being outside, going X-country skiing and just having fun in the snow!

A part from all the winter activities, I also attended the opening of a new exhibition at the Swedish National museum of sports. Climbing is actually fairly big part of the exhibition, with a big boulder wall and really nice photos. Pretty cool! Climbing as a sport has grown a lot in Sweden recently and it has been getting more and more attention and exposure in media, which I really believe is great.

It feels eally nice to be back climbing again. Now I am heading to Geyikbayiri in Turkey for one week of climbing outside! Wohoo =)

VIDEO: El Fustigador 8a+, Onsight

Filmed by Henning Wang, edited by Edvard Stokstad. I hope you enjoy it!

Matilda Söderlund, El Fustigador 8a+ Onsight from Edvard Stokstad on Vimeo.

I climbed El Fustigador in April, on my first trip to Spain this year. After being injured for over a month, I went there with no expectations and with the intention to just have fun and climb as much as possible. It turned out to be a crazy trip where I managed to climb routes that I would never have dreamed of! I had so much fun and gained a huge amount of experience. This route is certainly one of the best and coolest 8a+'s that I have done. Also, it is a rather memorable climb as it was such a battle at the top - both physically and mentally. Very happy and lucky about sending it! Venga, venga!

Towards the Olympics!

Today one of Scandinavia's biggest newspapers published an article about climbing possibly becoming an Olympic sport in 2020. Check it out here (in Swedish) and support the dream by liking Sport Climbing 2020 on Facebook!

A competition from a new point of view...

La Sportiva Legends 2012 was a great success! The strongest line up in a competition ever, super cool boulder problems and amazing atmosphere really made it a legendary show.

For me, this competition was a completely new experience. I hosted the event together with Kjell Eriksson! To be honest, I had never spoken in front of a big crowd, nor handled a microphone before. The tickets were all sold out, which meant there would more than 700 people in the audience. Considering that, I actually did not feel as nervous as I thought I would (or maybe should)... Preparing for my job as a host was in some ways similar to getting ready for a competition, a lot of focus and mental preparation. I am very happy I took on the challenge and did it. It was certainly a learning experience and a lot more fun than I expected!

Shauna Coxsey and the setters from Klättercentret did an excellent job with the boulders. The problems were of perfect difficulty, decisive and challenging in many different ways, making it very exciting to watch. It was all settled on the last problem, where Sean McColl could secure the victory!

Big thanks to Björn Pohl for organizing it all perfectly. It is still possible to watch the competition on SVTplay and Sandstones Media has made a really cool behind the scenes film, check it out here!

CAC - Climbers Against Cancer

© Mattias Kanhov

La Sportvia Legends Only

This Saturday the La Sportvia Legends Only event will take place at Klättercentret in Stockholm! It is an international invitational competition and the contestants are the best of the best - Adam Ondra, Jakob Schubert, Sean McColl, Dmitry Sharafutdinov and Guillaume Glarion Mondet. I definitely think anyone who is in town should check it out. I am certain it is going to be a really cool event and a spectacular show!

If you cannot make it to Klättercentret on saturday, the event will be broadcasted live on the web by Swedish television. More information in Swedish can be found here!

Hope to see you on Saturday!

No Kranj WC this year either...

I had really been looking forward to the last World Cup in Kranj, Slovenia. The wall in Kranj is definitely one of my favorites and it was also the final World Cup of the year. In addition, the flu prevented me from going last year so therefore I was even more eager going there this time. After my return from the US I had been able to train pretty well and I was feeling fine. Until one week before departure... November illness struck and I got a bad cold and a fever. Despite my massive amount of vitamin C boosts it lasted all week and I had to stay at home this year again.

So instead of competing in Kranj, I was at home trying to get rid of the stupid illness and occupying myself with baking - a lot. Cookies, cupcakes, muffins and saffron buns..! In retrospect, I can definitely say that not going was the right decision. Nevertheless it is still very frustrating, especially since I felt all better again on Tuesday. But, there is always next year - third time's the charm, right?