Home sweet home?

I am back in Sweden after an amazing month in the US ♡

The last stop of my trip was New York City! After spending two weeks in Boulder I left Colorado for some city life, and to visit my good friend Sasha DiGiulian for a few days. Even though my time was slightly limited I still got to do quite a lot of things - sight seeing (of course), some shopping, training at Brooklyn Boulders, homecoming at Columbia University and watching my first American football game ever. Plenty of fun and I certainly had a fantastic time in the incredible city. But, too little time and too much to do, so I hope I can go back again soon!

In one way it feels good to be back home. I really enjoy seeing my friends, spending some time with my family and getting some structure in life. On the other hand I tend to get kind of restless when i am at home, I love traveling and seeing the world! Anyways, now when I am at home I have (besides recovering from the heinous jet lag) mostly been training and trying to prepare a little for the final World Cup in Kranj, Slovenia, which is coming up in a little less than three weeks! =)

Here are a few pictures and impressions from my trip!

Climbing gyms, Movement in Boulder and Stone Summit in Atlanta!

Caterpillar in Rifle and a dog in a... stroller (!) in Boulder.

Homecoming at Columbia ✌

Prime Time To Shine

Yesterday i did my second 8c, Prime time to shine, in Clear Creek Canyon!

 Photo by Scott Clark

Back to sport climbing! After two weeks with lots of bouldering in the gym and outside and only a small amount of endurance oriented training, I was very excited to climb some routes again. Primo Wall in Clear Creek Canyon was on the agenda and my plan was to try Prime time to shine.

The route is about 18 meters long with super fun and cool climbing. It has two obvious cruxes, one in the beginning and one almost at the very end, which both consist of quite powerful moves. I spent five tries figuring out the sequences, messing up the sequences several times and getting more and more tired after every go on the route. Even though I felt rather sore, I decided to make one last try... And managed to climb all the way to the anchors and sent the route! Wohoo! Thanks to Gabor for the perfect beta and the perfect belay and thanks to Scott for the photos!

 Photo by Scott Clark

I have come to the conclusion that often when I try to project a route, I just find a sequence that works - not the best one for me. As a result, I almost always have tries where I mess up the moves or forget my beta, which of course waste a lot of energy. I have to become more accurate when I am working the moves and I will definitely try to improve this!

Now I only have two days left in Boulder. On Friday I am flying to THE BIG APPLE to visit my friend Sasha DiGiulian, train and just travel as a tourist in the big city (I hope I don't t get lost...) =)

Bouldering in Boulder

Havig a great time in the US so far! After Atlanta me and my Dutch friend Nikki headed west and flew to Denver, Colorado. There we met up with two friends of hers and drove to Rifle for a couple of days of climbing outside. The climbing in Rifle was plenty of fun - but the style, maybe not my cup of tea... The routes were very blocky and sequency, with beta that often involved knee bars. Since I injured my knee in July, those were not an option for me. I did a bunch of easier, classic routes that were super cool and it was really enjoyable climbing on rock again and being outside in the beautiful nature.

Next stop, the climbing Mekka of the US, Boulder! This is for sure one of my favorite cities that I have visited so far. Mostly for its beautiful scenery, cute houses and buildings, the big focus on health and sustainability, friendly people and the huge amount of climbing in the area. The training facilities are very good too, especially for bouldering (likewise to the outdoor climbing). So, time to get back to bouldering for me!

606, V10, in Eldorado Canyon

Before this trip I had not bouldered outside for over two years, but it was so much fun doing it again! I went to several different areas and climbed many nice problems, including 606 and Kelly traverse (flash), both graded V10 and both very crimpy..! While climbing outside I have also gotten to experience parts of the wildlife here, seeing some rare and dangerous animals. So far I have seen a rattlesnake and a bear, very cool - and scary! Besides that I have been training indoors at the Spot and Movement. Life is pretty good... =)

Rattlesnake!!!

Atlanta - First stop and Worldcup

My US trip has started! The first stop was Atlanta and the Worldcup at the amazing Stone Summit climbing gym. After flying from Stockholm on Thursday I arrived safely at the airport in Atlanta. Unfortunately, so did not my luggage... Stress! On the morning of the competition I finally got my bag. Considering the stress caused by luggage incident and still being jet lagged, the qualifiation round went alright and I qualified for the semifinal in 10th place.

My climbing felt good while warming up prior to the semifinal. However, it ended quite abruptly as I slipped off a foot hold early in the route. Very frustrating indeed..! In competitions there is no room for messing up, one small mistake, a tiny slip with the foot, and it is over - but you learn from your mistakes and I am already looking forward to the next competition. All in all I still had a lot of fun in Atlanta, and that is what is important. Together with my Dutch friend, Nikki van Bergen, I am now heading to Colorado! =)

As the saying goes, When in Rome, do as the Romans do, since I will be in the US for the next three weeks I figured it would be a good opportunity to start writing in English...

Bye bye Atlanta, next stop Colorado!