Cross Posted From BigUp Productions
Brett’s over in Spain with Chris and Daila, filming projects, waiting out rain, helping with home-improvements. Yesterday we extended his ticket home for the third time, hoping to catch the FA of First Round First Minute, Chris’ current obsession. This is familiar territory for B. He spent six weeks in Ceuse to get the FA of Realization, made four trips to Mallorca to capture Es Pontas, and ground it out at Clark Mountain for Jumbo Love. Trying to shoot first ascents of groundbreaking routes is a game of patience and luck, and with Chris it’s tricky to time, because he goes to the crag every day with the belief that he might do his project, even if he’s still falling three or four times. You never want to bet against him, because somehow you know the one day you don’t go to shoot is the one day he’ll send – “you shoulda been there, man…”
Here’s a little report from Brett on the scene over there, the status of the project, and the process of trying to shoot it:
“Last year we shot Chris trying First Round First Minute a few days for Progression. He wasn’t very close to sending, but it was clear that the route would be something unique and exciting. When I spoke with Chris a few weeks ago, I asked him how it was going. He said the day before he fell on the last move twice, and it was about to go down. “If you want to shoot the send you better come now.”
I was on a flight to Barcelona the next day, he picked me up, we drove to Margalef, and were shooting that afternoon. He fell on the last move again. I’ve been here 3 weeks now and he’s still falling on the last move. He has the entire bottom section wired now. When he reaches the last few moves you can watch the needle go from 1/2 tank to running on fumes.
Rain and snow came after the first few days, and the route was seeping. The only place to climb was Santa Linya, and while Chris’s focus was on First Round, he tricked himself and sent another one of his long standing projects, Neanderthal. There was no pressure or intense desire, he just hopped on the route after barely trying it the past year, and hiked another 9b FA. Video still below.
It’s crazy how this region has become the epicenter of hard sport climbing. Dani Andrada has put up hard routes around here for years, and now that Chris is here the gravity has really shifted. So far we’ve seen Dave Graham, John Cardwell, Thomas Mrazek, Sachi Anma, Kilian Fischhuber, Anna Stohr, and a handful of others that you’ve never heard of who all climb hard 5.14.
Once the tufas stopped seeping, we went back to Margalef. Dani had opened a sweet 8c+ called Bumaye, just to the right of Chris’s project, and Dave and John were trying it, so we had a good group vibe going at the Laboratorio. Yesterday John and Kilian both sent, and Dave had done it a couple of days ago. They are now trying the moves on First Round, and helping me out with the funky tracking rig I set up so I can shoot the whole send one camera one take, right in his face the whole way up. Yesterday I had John doing the pulling with Dave dangling on the other end as a human counter weight. Dave was pissed because he got spun around backwards while hanging and couldn’t watch the action. Sorry man, way to be a team player!
I came over with hopes of making it back to my family for the holidays, but that didn’t happen. On X-mas day we were at the proj. Chris said “This would be a nice Christmas present,” but no. We were there on New Years Eve, and Chris said “This would be a great way to wrap up ‘09,” but no. In Spain they exchange gifts on the day the Kings came to give gifts to Jesus, the 6th of January. Guess where we were? Chris said, “what are the Kings gonna bring me?” Nothing.
Chris and I have been comparing my job to those nature Photographers that sit in a bush in the jungle for weeks, waiting for the rare Blue Spotted Tiger to do his mating dance. So if everyone would send some positive vibes our way, I will stick it out and get you the sick footage of the Blue Spotted Tiger.”
-Brett
UPDATE (Jan 8): Chris told us that he has fallen over 15 times on the last move (the crux) and is getting a little “down about it”. So please send s…ome good vibes his way! Maybe your positive energy will be all he needs to get through the crux!
UPDATE (Jan 12): Daila Ojeda… What happen with the weather now? The weather is getting crazy in Spain right now. It is raining and snowing for everywhere… Climbing with cold weather is really hard and climbing with wet rock is a piece of (poop).. but climbing with temperatures below zero and totally wet rock at the same time that is the worst of the worst! That means that we have to find the climbing gym keys wherever it is and to start training a little bit because our fitness is going to holidays! uff that sounds hard! It’s just motivation!! venga! a muerte! hehe
see you!