Climbing is many things to me. Passion. Obsession. Desire. Drive. Beauty. Climbing is a reason to be outside and experience the world. But more than that, climbing is travel and people.
Being a climber has taken me places I’d never dreamed of going and allowed me to meet people I’d never have met. What other sport takes you across the ocean to an obscure location, usually in the middle of the woods, where you’ll meet amazing like-minded people from all walks of life.
In what other sport do you get to “play” side-by-side with your heroes? Good luck ever playing basketball with Michael Jordan, or throwing a football around with one of the Manning brothers. But climbing a route at the same crag as Chris Sharma, Dave Graham, or Lynn Hill, that can happen to anyone, you just have to be in the right place at the right time.
Who knows, you might even end up having a beer with your idol at the end of the day.
The right place this spring was Catalunya, Spain. Here you will find the some of the best climbers in the world climbing the hardest sport climbs in the world, everyday. It’s truly amazing and inspiring to watch and be a part of.
For two weeks this spring Andrew Bisharat, senior editor at Rock and Ice and also my boyfriend, Keith Ladzinski, photographer extraordinaire, Elly Stewart, Keith’s intern, and I had the opportunity to live and climb with Chris Sharma and Daila Ojeda in their home region of Catalunya, Spain.
Spain is basically a country made of limestone and tufas. World class climbing sits just off the road and is abundant to say the least.
Ours days quickly took on the comfortable routine of Chris and Daila, which I now refer to as “Spain style”. Wake up around 10:00am, or 11:00am, or noon, whenever you’re body decides it’s had enough.
Drink coffee, read a book, relax, deal with things around the house, and talk about the days plans. When the time feels right and the sun is sure to be off the wall, motivate and head to the crag. Once at the crag the amount of climbing tended to be minimal, but the amount of effort put into each climb was huge. A muerte, to the death, as the Spanish say. Short spurts of everything you had with chill, tranquilo, moments in between.
I learned a lot about the type of life I’d like to lead from watching Chris and Daila. Of course they are great climbers, but more than that, they are great people. Caring, kind, welcoming, thoughtful, and tranquilo. . . except when climbing, then it’s a muerte.
~Jen Vennon, prAna Ambassador
Andrew Bisharat and Keith Ladzinski tell the story of our trip to Spain in the new Rock and Ice, issue 196. It should be on the newsstands next week. Look for the amazing cover of Daila Ojeda on Mind Control, 5.14c.
Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.
It was so good to finally send First Round First Minute yesterday.. After almost 3 years effort and falling at the last move over 50 times, I thought I might never do this route. I never gave up, but after so much time on this climb with no success I was forced to let go and move on . I had done 99% of the route so many times and was just really over it. Last fall I dedicated a handful of days on the line but every try ended at the end of the rope. I actually made it past the crux once, only to fall above. I was getting stuck in a rut that I didn’t know how to get out of. Ive always been able to keep the faith and see my projects through to the end but it just wasn’t happening with First Round. After so many times on the same route, at the same area, and falling in the same place, it started to become really boring and frustrating. It became a big mental block. I would climb perfectly up to the last move and then blow it for one reason or another. It was really necessary to get some space, climb on other lines and connect again with just the pure joy of climbing without always looking at it in such goal oriented way. The desire to do the route can be the same thing that prevents us form succeeding. To do our best we have to let go of all expectations and just be totally in the moment. So this year Ive been trying lots of different projects that I have around the Catalunya region of Spain and just trying to reconnect with the pure fun of climbing. Whatever the results make sure that I’m enjoying it and in it for the right reasons (The incredible feeling of flow while moving on rock, not some competitive aim to be the best). Although I succeeded in forgetting about the route for a while, my confidence and belief in myself had been shaken . Its really hard to continue progressing on your personal path with such unfinished business left behind.
highpoint on Perfectomundo so I felt really satisfied with the day already and it seemed like a good time to go back and refresh the moves on first Round and at the very least get some good training in. I hadn’t been on it in over two months and it was just like”what the heck, Ill give it a burn and see what happens.” Maybe I caught the route off guard but probably it was the other way around. I had no expectations and wen I arrived at the loathsome reappoint crux, I didn’t think, just climbed and a few moments later I had the finishing jug in my hand. After so many times falling , I felt like I was in a dream. Its definitely one of my hardest routes, but the mental mountain I had to climb was really makes it stand out for me.
