a climbing experiment

Wow! Norway is such a wild and wonderful place, and I can’t imagine a better way to have ended this incredible trip! It was rugged and cold and dark but we were surrounded by family and loved ones, making this holiday one to remember.

Max and I flew from London to Oslo on December 20th, where we met my Dad and brothers at the Oslo airport. They had come all the way from Oregon, so were pretty exhausted by the time we met up with them. They hung in there like champs, however, as we all flew together up to Tromsø, one of the northernmost cities in Norway. Tromsø itself is at latitude 69, which puts it well above the Arctic Circle. Due to being so far north, Tromsø does not see the sunlight at this time of year. The sun never breaks the horizon, and there are only about four hours of visible light each day (from about 10am until 2pm). During these hours, the sky takes on a twilight-like quality, with pale sunrise and sunset hues—oranges, purples, and pinks—coloring the horizon. By 2:30pm, the sky is pitch black. We were warned about how dark it would be in Tromsø, but the reality of this did not sink in until we actually landed in Tromsø, where it was pitch black in the middle of the afternoon. All I can say is that I’m glad Max and I were already acclimated to the time difference, rather than having to deal with jet-lag in the complete darkness like the rest of my family!

After locating our bags and rental car, we drove about thirty minutes to Ersfjordbotn, a tiny village at the end of the Ersfjorden fjord on the island of Kvaløya just outside of Tromsø. So just as my dad had requested when I made the reservation, we stayed in a little house at the end of the road overlooking a beautiful fjord. The "little house" was actually a beautiful rustic cabin with windows overlooking the fjord. We had little time to make ourselves comfortable, however, before waking up up early the next morning to prepare for the main reason we came to Tromsø: the overnight dogsledding expedition!

Our fjord

Our cabin

Wearing wool long-underwear, headlamps, and not much else, we sleepily piled into our rental car to meet the dog sled guides at their nearby camp. We pulled up to the camp just as the horizon was beginning to come back into focus through the mid morning twilight. We met our guides, Tork and Stefan, as well as the sixth member of our expedition: Jack, a young Australian traveling through Europe by himself. Tork and Stefan welcomed us into the largest of their traditional Sami huts, where we sat around the fire sipping tea out of wooden mugs and learning a bit more about our trusty guides.

Tork, a skinny 24-year-old with a massive Sammi knife on his belt, was born in Tromso and was raised with the dogs. In addition to guiding dogsled tours, Tork spends his time training to be a competitive dogsledder like his mother. In fact, he introduced her to us as “my mother, my boss, and my competition.” Tork takes dosledding very seriously, which is not surprising given where he came from: his mother is a champion racer, and has competed the Iditarod several times. While Tork made a point to inform us that he has an apartment in Tromso and “no longer lives with his mother,” he also mentioned that he spends most nights camping on-site so he can “sleep with his dogs.” You get the picture…

Our other guide was named Stefan (who goes by Rob because everyone who works at the camp is also named Stefan) is a large, bearded Swede who is on a two-year ban from the United States for overstaying his visa racing dogs in Alaska. Classic. We later learn that RobStefan is a former professional fashion photographer and has over two-thousand followers on Instagram. Never judge a book by it’s cover!

Tork (left) and Stefan (right)

My preconceived idea that I’d be lying in the back of a comfortable sled covered in reindeer hides and sipping hot toddy while looking at the northern lights was quickly shattered when we learned that we would each be driving our own sled, pulled by five dogs. After an all-too-brief lesson on how to steer, slow, and stop the sled, it was time to meet our team of huskies. As we walked through the dog-yard, hundreds of husky mixes poked their heads out of their wooden dog-houses to say hello. These dogs are smart, well-trained, and love to run! Seeing us line up our sleds cued them of what was about to happen and they began to let out yelps of excitement the quickly gained volume until the whole yard was howling and jumping up and down. We each were instructed to collect our dogs, harness them, and clip them to our sleds. While the dogs were all different in size, appearance, and temperament, they shared a wildness and excitement to run. Before I even knew what was happening, Tork set off, leading the line of sleds into the wilderness. As I took my foot off the break, the sled ripped out from under me as all five of my dogs sprinted after their leader at full-speed. I had barely made it out of the gates when I hit an ice-patch, lost control of the sled, and was being dragged by my arms through the snow. “Heeeeellllp!!!” I screamed, as one of the crew members ran up to help me get back on my feet. Once again, we were flying across the snow. The air whipped my face as I held desperately onto my sled, hearing nothing but the crunch of the snow and focusing on nothing other than staying on my two feet.

Learning the ropes of manning the dog sled

Getting to know my lead dog, Pearla

Max is ready to go!

I took about three more falls before feeling comfortable on the sled. By the time we broke for lunch, however, I was feeling much more at ease. After watching Stefan, I learned a good technique for driving the sled: keep my left foot on the runner and my right foot on the break at all times. If I wanted to go faster, I’d ease up on the break , and if I wanted to slow down, I’d dig in. If I really wanted to slow down, I’d jump both feet onto the break, and if we were going up a hill, I’d give the ground a few kicks with my right foot to make the dogs feel like I was helping them (in reality they did not need any help!). While everyone else had to get off and push the sled when going up hills, my dogs were so fast and strong that I never had to do this. Lucky for me, because it looked pretty exhausting to be running up a snowy hill while pushing a giant sled!

Lunch break

For lunch, we sat in the snow, munched on sandwiches, and sipped hot water before putting on our headlamps. By 2pm, it was nearly dark and we were riding by headlamp. While I was nervous to ride in the dark at first, I actually found it to be some of the most peaceful riding of the trip. The snow fell gently around us as the freezing conditions turned our hair and eyelashes white. Illuminated only by headlamp, we rode silently through the night.       

After riding through the dark for several hours, we set up camp in a snowy clearing surrounded by hills and trees. We each were responsible for getting our dogs set up for the night: taking them out of their harnesses, attaching them to an overnight line, feeding them some combination of frozen salmon and reindeer liver, and of course, thanking them for a great day of riding! Once our dogs were squared away, it was time to take care of ourselves! We set up our tents, changed into even warmer gear for the night, and huddled around a fire melting snow for drinking water. Our guides served us a traditional reindeer and lingenberry stew, which was surprisingly nourishing after a long day in the snow.

Our cozy tent

We used this fire to melt ice for drinking water

Just as we were finishing up dinner, the Northern Lights came out to say hello. What began as a faint green whisper on the horizon evolved into a full-blown aurora display painted across the night sky. We endured the cold just long enough to score some beautiful photographs of the lights before curling into our arctic sleeping bags for the night.

Waking up at 9am to the frozen darkness was no easy feat. We dragged our stiff and sore bodies out of our tents, fed the dogs, packed up camp, munched on some muesli, and hit the road just as the sky was beginning to lighten up. The second day of riding felt like a breeze after the steep learning curve of the day prior. We glided silently over powdery hills with ease, taking in the views of fjords and mountains as the sky turned once again to darkness.

Good morning doggies!

A rather bumpy final push (which included several hard falls on ice for me) brought us safely, although a bit banged up, back to camp. We thanked our dogs once again for the journey and put them back in their houses before enjoying one more batch of reindeer stew and reflecting on the adventure with our guides. Exhausted, we piled back into our rental car and headed home to our cabin where we proceeded to sleep for many hours in our warm and comfortable beds.

The next week was spent hanging out in our cabin, playing cards, watching movies, venturing on small day excursions during the light hours, and of course, celebrating Christmas. We kept Christmas small and low-key this year, and opted to do a secret-Santa gift exchange to cut down on cost and the stress of holiday shopping. I made my annual cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and Walker and I made our first pot roast together! On Christmas night, we celebrated our American patriotism by watching a pirated version of The Interview (worst movie ever by the way). While in Tromso, we also went on a snowy boat ride out into the Norwegian sea, which was a fun excursion for all. After a week in Tromso, we headed down the coast to finish up our trip with two days in Oslo.

Christmas dinner

The first thing we noticed about Oslo was how much lighter it was than Tromsø! Instead of three hours of twilight per day, we enjoyed about six! Hooray! We utilized this time to explore the city, do a bit of last-minute holiday shopping, have lunch at a charming Norwegian food market, visit the Museum of Contemporary Art, and enjoy some delicious dinners along Oslo’s waterfront area.

After our two days in Oslo, we packed our bags one last time, headed to the airport one last time, and crossed our fingers for an easy, stress-free trip home. We got our wish, and fifteen hours and zero delays later, we landed safely home in Portland, Oregon. It’s been a few days since we returned from Europe, and our jet-lag is only now beginning to fade. The memories of our trip, however, will not soon fade, and will be cherished for the rest of our lives. We feel so grateful to have had the privilege of spending the past three months traveling through Europe, climbing, eating delicious food, seeing new places and revisiting our old favorites. We are grateful to our friends and family for supporting us in our journey, and hope you all have enjoyed reading our blog along the way. Happy 2015 to all!

Love,

Eli and Max

  As the climbing portion of my trip drew to an end, it was time for me to flee the Schengen Travel Zone so as not to overstay my visa and become an international criminal! The Schengen Travel Zone, which makes up most of mainland Europe, has a 90-day travel limit in each 180-day period. Due to a week-long trip to Venice over the summer to celebrate my Grandpa’s 90th birthday, this current trip would have put me at 98 days, thus overstaying the limit by a week. So in order to avoid this, I needed to spend a week somewhere outside of the Schengen Zone. England fit the bill.

 What would have been a short travel day from Milan (the closest major airport to Claro) to Manchester (the closest airport to Sheffield, where I was to begin this portion of the trip) ended up taking about 30 agonizing hours! This is because my flight from Milan to Barcelona was delayed, causing me to miss my connecting flight from Barcelona to London (I literally ran up to the gate as the plane was pulling away). The airline wanted to keep me in Barcelona overnight, but I absolutely needed to leave the Schengen Travel Zone and enter the UK that day! I explained this to the airline, and luckily they were able to get me on a flight to London that night, where they put me up in a nice hotel and gave me food vouchers. Although my travel was delayed a bit, I am always impressed and pleasantly surprised when I receive any sort of free accommodation, so I couldn’t complain too much!

 Introduction to England, the Yorkshire Way

Somewhat miraculously, my bag and I arrived in Manchester the next morning. After a short train ride, I landed in Sheffield, and my introduction to England began! Hearing English for the first time was a shock, and it took a bit of adjusting to get used to being able to understand people! I exited the train station to find my friend Joe waiting to greet me. I originally met Joe through his girlfriend, Sydney, who studied at Colorado College in the grade above me. He lives in Sheffield with his brother and their silly little dog, Lola. My first impression of Sheffield was how cold it was! After being in temperate Switzerland and Spain, the winter light and freezing wind came as a bit of a shock. As we walked around downtown Sheffield, I quickly adjusted to the harsher conditions and enjoyed exploring the many independent shops, cafes, and gastro-pubs that have recently popped up as the city recovers from the recession and subsequent financial hardship.

Eating a typical Yorkshire dinner with Joe (right) and family

The next three days were spent taking walks around town, visiting the local bouldering gym, and eating plenty of delicious food (highlights included: classic Yorkshire pie, fish & chips, and Indian curry). Because Sheffield is still recovering from the recession, it is quite affordable, which was a nice surprise after my one night in London where everything was incredibly expensive. Joe and his friends repeatedly emphasized the cultural split between northern and southern England, explaining that the “good, hardworking people lived in Yorkshire, while the south is overpriced and full of pretentious snobs.” At that point, hadn’t yet been to the south of England to see for myself, but I did agree with the first part of this assertion. Joe and his brother were generous hosts, and his friends were all some of the nicest and most down-to-earth people I’ve ever met. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Sheffield and the people I met there, and will make a point to visit again, hopefully next time when it’s warmer and we can climb in the famous Peak District. Rested and eager to continue exploring England, I packed my bags for London!

Christmas Hustle and Bustle in London

A short train ride across the English countryside landed me in the bustling metropolis of London. While I would never want to live in a big city, I love visiting them! I’ve spent time in some serious cities, including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, Milan and Madrid, but I had never before been to London. After spending about five days exploring the city, I can say that London is one of my top three favorite cities I’ve ever been to! London is an old city with so much rich history and culture, but at the same time, it is a trendy, forward-thinking, international modern hub. I loved the combination of historical and modern London and the ease with which the two identities fit together. Like New York, there is always something to do in London, from music to art to shopping to eating to nightlife to parks and green spaces, and I surely tried to do it all! I spent three of my five days in London staying with Phil, a friend from Colorado College who is living and working London, and another two days with my distant cousin Boz and his family, who live in a northern suburb of the city. During these five short days, my frantic attempt to see all of London was only interrupted when I sat down to eat delicious meals and occasionally slept for a few hours. Here are some of the highlights from my trip:

Food!

It’s true what they say: London is a foodie’s paradise! From trendy gastro-pubs to quaint cafes and bars to street food from all around the world, one could spend a lifetime in London and do nothing but eat! After my fish and chips up in Sheffield, I felt like I’d had enough English food and moved on to international food! During my five day trip, I enjoyed: Korean BBQ, Thai, Indian (four times), and Vietnamese Pho (which took the cake for best meal).

Thai dinner in London

Camden Lock Market

Before coming to London, I asked for recommendations from my mom and from my cousin Robin, who spent the summer there. Above all else, Robin recommended I check out the many food and shopping markets that can be found all over the city. Because it was the week before Christmas, all of London’s famous markets were operating in overdrive as frantic shoppers scrambled for last minute gifts. I joined in the scramble by attempting to see as many markets as possible and purchase some gifts for friends and family. On my first day, I visited the quirky and more hippy-ish Camden Lock, where I perused beautiful hadmade jewelry and indulged in made-to-order Mexican hot chocolate with almond milk and a vegan/gluten-free cookie.

 Brick Lane and Old Spitalfields Market

On Saturday, I checked out Brick Lane and Old Spitalfields Market. The Christmas bustle was even more extreme on this day, and it was nearly impossible to even move through the market due to so many holiday shoppers! In spite of this, however, I managed to score some nice gifts, eat a few delicious dumplings from a street vendor, and make friends with a wacky fashion designer, before heading on my way to meet up with Phil for the evening.

Borough Market and Southbank

A few days later, on my last day in London, I visited Borough Market and the Southbank Christmas market. Located under the London Bridge right on the canal, Borough Market exclusively features food. So much food! I chatted with vendors selling everything from fruits and vegetables to sweets to fresh chai tea and every kind of international food one could imagine! I spent hours strolling through this festive market, enjoying the many various holiday smells and tasty samples before heading to Tate Modern and Southbank for the afternoon. With spiced wine, an ice-skating rink, and many overpriced gifts, the Southbank Christmas market was more of your standard holiday shopping scene. I really only passed through here because it felt a bit commercial and I was getting tired of shopping at this point! Nevertheless, however, the walk along the canal from Borough Market to Southbank was lovely, and allowed me to view some of London’s classic sights such as the Millennium Bridge, Southbank Skate Park, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and even a distant view of Big Ben.

Borough Market

Borough Market

South Bank Skate Park

The Eye Ferris Wheel in South Bank

Live Music

On Saturday night, Phil, his friend Tatiana, and I went out to see Gramatik and Big Gigantic (who are from Boulder, Colorado!) at a venue called the Forum. While much of the London nightlife scene is rather fancy and requires you wear heels, trendy clothes, and generally look pulled together, I was pleased to learn that the Forum is a casual and somewhat grungy venue. This was perfect for me, because looking posh has never been my strong suit! Upon our arrival to The Forum, I understood what Phil and Tatiana meant! The venue itself reminded me of the Roseland in Portland or the Fillmore in Denver—small, intimate, and casual. I felt right at home! Because Big Gigantic is from Boulder, Phil and I decided to represent their home state by wearing Colorado hats to the show. During their set, we fought our way to the front row and when they said “thank you very much, we are Big Gigantic from Boulder, Colorado,” they pointed right at us! After Big G, we danced to Slovenia’s Gramatik until 2am before catching a taxi home. It was a solid night on the town dancing with my buddy Phil! 

Repping Colorado in London

Paris Reunion

When my time in London came to an end, I hopped on the EuroStar train down to Paris to meet up with Max and Griffin for a few days. We stayed in a charming flat in the heart in Montmartre, a bohemian neighborhood in the northeast of Paris. During our short three days in Pairs, we visited the Pompidou museum and saw a Jeff Koons exhibit, toured the catacombs, home to over 6 million skeletons, explored the city’s Christmas markets by foot and walked about 50 blocks to the Eiffel tower (which Max had never seen up close!), ate delicious Moroccan, French, and Japanese food, and somehow managed to get into one of Paris’ most exclusive clubs, Le Carmen (spoiler: pulling this off included meeting some nerdy French guys at an Australian bar and pretending to be Canadians who were pretending to be from Miami). Our time in Paris was brief, but was a great way to end our trip before meeting up with family in Norway! At the end of the three days, we bid Griffin adieu and headed back to London to catch our flight to Oslo the next day. 

Our apartment in Montmartre

It’s been several weeks since we left the sunny sandstone paradise of Albarracín, Spain. Since leaving, we spent a long weekend in Barcelona and a night in Nice before heading back to Switzerland for a few final weeks of climbing. At the moment, Max and the guys are finishing off their bouldering trip in Switzerland, while I’ve already transitioned into travel-mode and am now exploring England by train and visiting friends. In a few days, Max, Griffin and I will be briefly reunited in Paris before Max and I head off to Norway to finish the trip. I’m currently sitting on a train from Sheffield, Yorkshire (where I’ve just spent a few days visiting my buddy Joe) to London, where I’ll spend the weekend visiting my friend Phil from Colorado College. Since I’ve finally stopped running around for more than a few minutes, I figured it was prime time to reflect on the bouldering in Albarracín and other recent adventures!

In total, we spent three weeks in Albarracín, and due to the good weather and forgiving rock, we were able to climb a LOT during that time. While the area is made up of about 8 or 9 smaller areas, we spent most of our time in the Arrestradero, Techos, Parking, and Península sectors, each of which has its own distinct style. As I’ve mentioned, the climbing in Albarracín is fun, gymnastic, and incredibly varied. There is an enormous volume of boulder problems at all difficulty levels and climbing styles, which lends itself well to our group.

Taking in the views in Albarracín's Acantilados sector

Because it tends to be more powerful and dynamic, the climbing in Albarracín is well suited for Max’s style. He spent his time in Spain touring some of the most classic lines, including El Varano (8a), Revenge (7c+), Cosmos (8a), Dizdira (De Romerias) (7c), and El Camino del Exceso (8a), among others.

  Max on El Varano (8a)

Dizdira (De Romerias) (7c)

I also got on a lot of quality boulders in Albarracín, and really pushed myself on some harder lines. I spent a good portion of our time there working on an 7b project, but after about a week of sessioning, I decided to walk away due to the fact that it was tearing up my skin and was no longer fun or inspiring. I did manage to send my first 7b a few days later however, the sit-start to Raquel, a crimpy 6c+ problem in the Techos sector. I also climbed La Lagrima (6c; and the guidebook cover!), 4Shit (7a+), and Punta y Talón (7a). 

Raquel (sit) (7b)

La Lagrima (6c)

4shit (7a+)

Griff and Danny also enjoyed Albarracín, ticking off some classic lines during our time there. Max also managed to get a lot of quality footage of Griff, which he will use in upcoming projects.

  After leaving Albarracín, we decided to split our drive home into several legs (rather than one long push as we did on the way there). We planned to spend one night—the night of my 24th birthday—in Barcelona before going to Nice and then back to Claro. After one night, however, we were having so much fun that we decided to stay in Barcelona for almost four days! Here are some of the highlights:

Birthday dinner at Salamanca—one of Barcelona’s best seafood restaurants:

Located down by the beach in a rather iffy neighborhood of Barcelona is Salamanca, one of the most famous seafood restaurants the city has to offer. It was recommended to us by the guys who worked at our Hostel, and man was it incredible! I have eaten at a lot of restaurants in my life, but I can honestly say this is one of the most memorable dinners of my life! We ordered a bottle of wine and started with calamari (best I’ve ever had) and ham before moving on the main event. Griff and I split seafood paella, which came out on a plate bigger than my head and was absolutely delicious. Max got a meat sampler platter which had every kind of meat imaginable cooked to perfection, and Danny had the same with seafood. After dinner the whole restaurant sang me happy birthday while they served me a little cake and I was so embarrassed I almost cried! Free house-made coffee liquor and espressos followed, leaving us full, satisfied, and ready for a night out. I still have dreams of that seafood paella, and I know it was a meal I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

Calamari to start

Marveling at my paella

Max and his meat

Dancing at Barcelona’s Beach clubs

After dinner, we headed down to the beach, where all the big clubs bump electronic music until the morning. We bounced around from club to club, dancing, meeting people and having a great time. Walking out of a club and onto the beach is something I’ve never experienced, so for that reason it was a memorable night out and a fantastic way to spend my birthday.

Visiting the famous ­­­­La Boqueria Market

Located at near La Rambla is one of the most incredible open-air markets I’ve ever seen! This place is world-famous, and for good reason. First of all, it’s enormous. You could spend hours walking around the various sections shopping for (or just admiring) meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, sweets, flowers, juices, and more. There are several restaurants inside of the market where you can have freshly caught seafood cooked right in front of you and eat it at a small, crowded counter with a bunch of rowdy Spaniards drinking beer after work. We visited this market three times during our trip because we simply could not get enough! On our last day I had an order of freshly cooked calamari with lemon and served in a newspaper cone to go. It was delicious!

Calamari in a cone!

Exploring the El Raval neighborhood

In addition to hitting all the touristy spots (La Rambla, Sagrada Familia, Parque Guill), we ventured a bit off the tourist path to see a neighborhood called El Raval. The guys at our hostel told us they don’t usually recommend this area to tourists (a bit gritty, can be dangerous at night), but thought we would enjoy it. The area is home to most of Barcelona’s immigrant population and is filled with international shops and restaurants, as well as the MACBA (museum of contemporary art). We spent a lovely rainy afternoon exploring the area and poking our heads into the dozens of independent shops and vegan cafes lining the narrow streets. I think the highlight for all of us, however, was the snack we had at an artisanal hotdog joint called “The Dog is Hot.” We’re talking arugula and sundried tomatoes on hotdogs, made fresh and offered at a reasonable price. Doesn’t get much better than that!

 We all were ready for a little break from climbing, and our visit to the big city—complete with shopping, good food, nights out, and general exploration—definitely delivered. We left Barcelona with empty wallets and mild hangovers, but also refreshed, happy, and eager to get back to Switzerland where life is simple and there’s nothing to do past 6pm.

Rain, rain, and more rain. That was the extended forecast for all of Switzerland and its surrounding climbing areas (including those in Italy and Austria). And by “extended,” we are talking the entirety of November. While rest days in Claro were truly relaxing and lovely, the thought of spending three rainy weeks sitting in our cabin baking scones and playing cards was not very appealing to anyone. We came to Europe to climb, not to sit around in the rain, and we decided that we would do whatever it took to keep climbing. So we began to think outside of the box…way outside of the box that encompasses Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy…all the way out of the rainy box and into a completely different box with a completely different weather system: Spain was calling.

After deciding to relocate to Spain for the remainder of November, we quickly packed all of our belongings and notified the property managers at our home in Claro that we would be leaving to seek out drier rock, and would be back sometime around the beginning of December. We did this knowing full well that we might not have a home to come back to, that our cabin would likely be filled while we were away, and we would be taking our chances by leaving so abruptly. This did not matter to us, however. We had made up our mind and were going to climb dry rock at whatever the cost. Luckily for us, the property owners understood our situation, and were willing to work with us and accommodate our change in plans. All we’d need to do would be to pay an additional cleaning fee, and we would be able to leave for three weeks, not pay rent while away, and return to our same cabin for the remainder of our trip. With this good news, a car brimming with gear, a newly downloaded road trip playlist, and MapQuest directions loaded on our phones, we hit the road and headed south. 

All packed up and ready to go! Don't be deceived by the sun... this was the last sunny day for 3 weeks!

The late-afternoon light allowed us to enjoy one of the most beautiful drives of our lives along the French Riviera. As the sun set over the Mediterranean and our road trip playlist echoed through our trusty van, we were overcome by that special feeling of freedom and adventure that accompanies being young and on the road, living spontaneously and worrying about nothing other than the present moment. 

Driving south

As is the nature of traveling through Europe, however, feelings of awe and euphoria are often interrupted by the harsh realities of travel. As the sunlight faded along with our energy-drink-buzzes, the 14-hour drive turned into 17. This was likely due to several wrong turns and the ubiquitous pay-tolls located about every 50km of road, which emptied our pockets of about 120 euro over the course of this drive (no one told us about this minor detail!) All frustration passed, however, as we rolled into Albarracín around 7am the following morning. As the black sky turned a deep blue, and then a lighter blue, we miraculously found our home at “Camping Albarracín,” where we had reserved a small 4-person bungalow for the duration of our stay. Exhausted, we crawled into bed just as the birds began to chirp.

The next morning (or shall I say, about four hours later the same morning), we woke up in our little Bungalow and the reality of the situation hit us: We were in Spain! We did it! Our new home, which although is much smaller than our previous accommodation, has everything we need and will keep us warm and rested for the duration of our stay! The bungalow has two rooms, a small kitchen, bathroom, and dining room table. The property itself also has on-site laundry, a cafeteria/bar, climber shop, and a whole family of kittens roaming the grounds!

Bungalow #7 

Interior view 

After briefly unpacking and getting settled, we hopped in the car to go check out the boulders! As we explored the forest of Albarracín, we were struck by how different it felt from Switzerland. First of all, the rock here is sandstone, something we have not seen or climbed on since spending Max’s birthday in Utah back in September. With rounded features, steep terrain, and pockets of all shapes and sizes, sandstone lends itself to fun, gymnastic climbing at all difficulty levels. Sandstone is much less sharp and is gentler on the fingers than most other kinds of rock. The beautiful pink and brown sandstone boulders of Albarracín are varied, and one could spend months enjoying all kinds of climbing here. Many of the boulders boast steep roofs, jutting features, and bubbly-looking tops. For this reason, Albarracín has been nicknamed the “Fontainebleau of Spain.”

This climb is called El Varano (8a). Can you see the dragon?

Sandstone's varied features 

The second difference we noticed between Switzerland and Spain is the climate. After traveling 17 hours, we really did land ourselves in the desert, and the difference can be felt. The climate is arid, wind is strong, and sun is hot. The pine forest is less dense than those in Switzerland, allowing wind to travel throughout and the boulders to dry quickly when it does rain (which is infrequent and minimal). The area itself is comprised of about 6 smaller areas, all of which can be accessed in about 10-15 minutes by foot. Some of the areas, such as Mezquita and Península are situated on cliff bands, and are surrounded by breathtaking views of the area.

A boulder with a view

The pine forest of Albarracín

The final difference that struck us about Albarracín is the climbing culture. Whereas in Switzerland, everyone seemed rather serious, climbers here are much more relaxed. This is likely due to general cultural differences between the two countries, with Spain being known for its fun, carefree spirit. Most of the climbers we’ve met here are either charming families with dogs or young Spaniards living out of their vans and smoking hash at the boulders. Needless to say, Albarracín is a pretty laid-back environment, and we are definitely not complaining! 

The beautiful Albarracín

We’ve been here in Albarracín for about two weeks now, and have one more week left before heading back to Switzerland to finish our trip. The weather here has been amazing. Sure, it’s been a little bit warm, but that’s a small price to pay for perfectly dry rock, beautiful blue skies, and climbing shirtless in late November! The whole crew has been absolutely crushing, with each of us ticking off hard climbs, finding new projects, and keeping the motivation high. After our final week here, I’ll write a post about the climbing itself, but suffice it to say we are having a phenomenal time here in Spain!

One extra-special addition to our time here in Spain was the brief trip we took to Madrid last weekend. Max spent his junior year of highschool living in Santander, a small city in the north of Spain, and throughout the years, he has kept in contact with his host-brother and friends from his time there (we even went to Santander to visit in 2010!). Well, due to the poor job market in Santander, most of his buddies have moved to Madrid, only a 3.5 hour drive away from Albarracín. In desperate need of a rest and a strong desire to blow off some steam, Max, Griffin, and I headed to Madrid for a weekend of fun with our Spanish friends! We spent the weekend sleeping on our friend Alvaro’s couch, experiencing an insider tour of Madrid, eating a LOT of pork, and going out at night. I was able to meet up with a distant cousin, whom I’d never before met, and enjoy lunch while getting to know him and his daughter. Max was thrilled to be able to spend time with his Spanish brothers, who are all grown up and successful now! Griffin enjoyed the opportunity to meet some new friends, practice his Spanish, eat a lot of ham, and bust a move on the dance floor! All in all, our weekend in Madrid was a highlight of our trip thus far, leaving us refreshed and eager to keep pushing our limits on the rock! 

Estadio del Torros in Madrid

 Elevator selfie!

Touring El Parque Retiro 

It feels funny to be posting this now, as I wrote it a few weeks ago and a lot has changed since then. Since writing this, we experienced some torrential rain in Switzerland and decided to relocate to Spain for the next few weeks to wait out the bad weather! The move was exciting, and we are so happy to be here climbing dry rock. I will be posting soon about our move and our new home in Albarracín, Spain. In the meantime though, let's take a trip back in time to when Switzerland was dry and we spent our days in Brione...

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We’ve just wrapped up two solid weeks of bouldering in Brione, home to arguably the best rock in the world. Located in the small village about an hour from our home in Claro, Brione truly is a boulderer’s paradise. The rock at Brione is a fine-grain gneiss, but looks, feels, and climbs like a perfect combination of sandstone and granite. The area itself is comprised of three smaller sectors: the lower sector, the river boulders, and the meadow. Brione doesn’t have a guidebook, so climbing there means doing a lot of online research (downloading topographic maps, watching videos, checking 8a), engaging with locals and asking questions, and most importantly, climbing things because they look fun or inspiring, not because they are a particular grade! Difficult climbs in the 7c and up range are all pretty well-established, and the classics are well-known (due largely to being featured the Dosage film series). Many of the more moderate 7a-7c climbs are less well-known, which challenged me to try all sorts of climbs without knowing their difficulty. It was a cool experience to be working on climbs for the sheer joy of the movement, rather than to tick off a particular grade.  Here is an overview of Brione’s three sectors, and how we spent our time in each of them:

The Lower Sector

The Lower Sector consists of a roadside cluster of boulders in a beautiful forest along the river. We probably spent the least amount of time here, most likely due to the fact that this area required we pay for parking (10 francs/day). That said, however, we did have several fantastic days here climbing some classic and inspiring lines. Most notably were General Disarray (8B), which Griffin sent quickly on his second day, Bach Block (7c), which Griffin flashed, and Marilyn Monroe (8a), which Danny put a few good sessions into before tweaking his elbow. He will be back for her though! Griffin also managed to send Wie Im Urlaub (8a) in this area, and Max and I climbed some fun mystery boulders.

Griff on General Disarray (8b) (photo-cred: Danny Popowski)

The River Sector

The River Sector is just what it sounds like: bouldering along a river. To access this area, one need only hike a short distance across a bridge and along the river to a perfect beach surrounded by turquoise water and boasting one long, overhanging face. This small face is home to Frogger (8a), Fake Pamplemousse (8a), Flash Flood (8b), and Ganymede Takeover (8a+). We spent a fair amount of time here in the mornings, as the meadow was too hot to climb until about 1pm. During our time here, Griffin worked on Flash Flood, Max projected and sent Frogger, and Danny managed to send both Frogger and Fake Pamplemousse. Being that these were the only climbs in the area, I worked on my relaxation game by reading, sun bathing, and on the days we came here in the evenings, drinking wine on the beach.

Perfect turquiose watera the River Area

The Meadow

When one thinks of Brione bouldering, this is the image that comes to mind: a perfect grassy meadow above a rustic village, surrounded by striking cliffs and fall trees, and filled with the most beautiful chocolatey-brown boulders in the world. This is the meadow, where we spent most of our days in Brione. To access the meadow, one need only hike about ten minutes through a charming stone village, avoiding one villager’s vicious little dog on the way (I managed to avoid being bitten by this obnoxious little thing. Max was not so lucky…)

  The village we walk through to get to the Meadow Boulders

The view from the meadow

Once in the meadow, the first boulder one sees is the classic Brione Arete (7a). This climb really is perfect, and is the first thing we got on in Brione. Further down the meadow sits the massive Black Mirror (6b+), which in spite of its moderate grade, is terrifying and rather difficult as well. Griff put his extra reach to use and sent this beauty, while Danny and I were unable to reach through the crux sequence and unwilling to trust our feet so high off the deck.

  Max and Danny warming up on both sides of the Brione Arete

Griffin high off the deck on Black Mirror

Most of the boulders in this area are actually located in the forest lining the meadow. This forest is beautiful, and so different than that in Magic Wood. With sparser tree coverage, and rolling hills rather than steep cliffs, this forest is reminiscent of the Northeast of the USA. During our two weeks in Brione, we witnessed most of the leaves fall, leaving the trees bare. Accessing the boulders meant wading through a sea of crunchy orange leaves and the ubiquitous chestnuts scattered throughout. The late-October temperatures were surprisingly warm, and most days were spent lounging around (either at the river or napping in the meadow) until the sun dipped behind the ridge at about 1pm. Afternoons and evenings were when the real climbing took place and we all worked on our projects.

  Fall forest 

Max spent his time in the meadow climbing some area classics, such as Molunk (7c) and Atlantis (7c). His sights were set, however, on Amber (8b), a gorgeous climb on a stand-alone boulder located several hundred meters in the forest below the meadow. Amber’s crux is the first move, which requires a heinous stabbing move out to a gaston with terrible start holds and awkward feet. The rest of the climb is no joke either, with the second-hardest move involving a foot-cut off bad holds, followed by a beautiful prow-sequence to the finish. Max worked hard and made some serious progress on this climb, eventually figuring out all the moves and making some solid links before practically ripping his pinky off on the start hold. This unfortunate occurrence left Max with a gaping hole in his pinky, making pulling up on the start move virtually impossible. He will be back though, after his pinky skin grows back, and will take this thing down!

Max on Amber (8b)

I (Eli) put some attempts into Molunk, and was surprised by the ease with which I could figure out the bottom moves. The top is very reachy and powerful, but I plan to put some more work into it when we come back to Brione. I ended up turning my attention to a mystery climb for the remainder of my time in Brione. I have no idea how hard this thing is or what it is called, but I was instantly inspired by the line and by the movement. The climb starts on a perfect ledge and moves through a nice little jug sequence before shooting out left to some powerful moves through crimps and slopers. My beta for the middle section required a quick heel be placed above my head to help with a heinous cross move onto a razor crimp and terrible right hand sloper-gaston. Then comes the crux move in which I perch on a high left foot while locking off the terrible sloper-gaston with the right hand and find balance before stabbing up to a slot with the left hand. I tried this thing for about a week, spending at least a few days figuring out my beta and then several agonizing sessions falling on the last move (and splitting my tips in the process). Eventually with the support of the guys and a lot of patience, I was able to unlock some micro-beta and finish the climb. It felt great to send this thing after putting so much work into it (more than I have any other boulder before), and to work on my mental game in the process. I don’t know if I’ll ever find out the difficulty of the climb, but I know it was a challenge for me, and more importantly, it was inspiring to me, and that’s what really matters.

  The mystery climb (grade unknown)

Danny ticked off the classic Molunk and Atlantis (both 7c), and put some serious work into Salamander (8a/8a+) and ­­­­­­Ponk (8a). Unfortunately, Danny’s tendonitis was acting up, making working these problems a challenge. He is resting and rehabbing his elbows and will come back for these guys when we return to Brione.

Up in the meadow, Griffin sent Amber (8b), Salamander (8a/+), and Blinded by the Light (8b; in a session!). Toward the end of our time in Brione, Griffin started working on The Kingdom (8c), a vertical shoulder-y masterpiece. Because all the holds face the same direction, this climb requires perfect body positioning and exceptional core strength. Griff managed to figure out all the moves on the climb, and is excited to come back and try for the send.

Max and Danny frolic in the meadow

We had an action-packed last day in Brione, cleaning up some projects and leaving inspired to come back. We spent the next week hunkered down in our cabin in Claro, playing cards and drinking beer with our Welsh friends who arrived a few days later. Once the extended forecast was made visible, and we were able to see the gravity of the upcoming rain, we made an executive decision to relocate to Spain. We talked to the landlord in Claro and managed to get our money back for the house there, packed the car, mapped the directions to Spain, piled in our trusty van, and hit the road. 

After a big going-away blowout at the hostel in Magic Wood with all of our friends, we packed our trusty van and headed south to Claro, a small town in Ticino that is centrally located near all of the major climbing areas. As we drove out of the mountains and into region of Ticino, the landscape, culture, language, and overall feel of the country changed. The rugged cliffs were replaced by rolling hills and the German signs were replaced by Italian ones. Even pulling over for gas and directions left us feeling as if we were in a completely different part of the country, as the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland feels entirely different than the German region only a few minutes up the road. Upon our arrival in Claro,  Max and I could not shake the feeling that our hour-long drive through Switzerland had somehow landed us in northern California. The rolling hills spanning the horizon, eucalyptus and palm trees, vineyards stretching across the countryside, and beautiful homes conjured images of Santa Barbara, Napa, and even Max’s hometown of Ojai, California. Needless to say, we felt right at home upon our arrival in Claro, and that was before we had even seen our house!

The main house at Casa Stillhart, and the trellis we walk under daily

We arrived at the Casa Stillhart, a family-run guesthouse property located on a hill above Claro, eager to see what our new accommodation would be like. Our host, Cordula, an adorable old Swiss woman who speaks Italian and German, but not a word of English, greeted us warmly upon our arrival. Our cottage is located across a small meadow from the main house, and to reach it, we walked under a gorgeous trellis boasting hundreds of plump red wine grapes.  The house itself is made entirely of stone with big windows overlooking the front yard and a perfectly stacked woodpile lining the back of the house. Our backyard is a literal vineyard, and the front yard is a perfect grassy lawn with a wooden bench, lawn chairs, wood-chopping block, and charming marble table.

Our house and view

Max likes it here... he thinks he'll stay

Our outdoor seating area

The house is small, but has everything we need. The downstairs area houses our little kitchen—complete with a small stovetop and oven, wood-burning fireplace, and all the necessary kitchen equipment. The fridge is small, about half the size of a typical American fridge, which has taught us to only buy what we need, and only refrigerate what really needs to be cold. In Europe, eggs are not refrigerated, so we are embracing this cultural difference and storing our eggs in the pantry. The kitchen also fits a large table, which we use for eating, drinking, playing cards, watching climbing videos, reviewing photos, planning our days, and pretty much everything else that requires we all be in the same space.

Our little kitchen

Spices to keep things interesting

Cupboard under the stairs

The wood-burning stove keeps us warm on cold days

Upstairs, the space above the kitchen forms somewhat of a loft, where Danny and Griffin each have a small bed. The other main room is Max and my bedroom, which has two twin beds pushed together (a big step up from having to sleep in separate bunk beds in Magic Wood). We have a wall of windows overlooking the front yard, which deliver good light but might prove to be pretty chilly in the winter (thank goodness for our wood-burning fireplace!) Our room leads to a shared bathroom with a sunken shower. We also have a small TV in our room, which we have been able to hook up to Danny’s laptop with an HDMI cable and watch movies at night.

Max and my bedroom

Our cozy bed

We’ve been living in Claro for almost two weeks now now, and have sunken into a comfortable routine of two long days of climbing, followed by a solid rest day. On climbing days, we wake up at about 07:00, eat breakfast, pack lunch, and hit the road. Because of the changing seasons and rapidly cooling temperatures, we have been climbing at Brione, which is at the highest altitude of the three areas, and will thus soon be covered in snow. The drive to Brione is about an hour each way, so our days there are long. We usually arrive and begin climbing by 09:30 or 10:00, and climb in all three sectors of Brione until dark, about 6pm, before driving an hour home. The scenery in Brione is unbelievable, and the climbing is world-class. Needless to say, this area warrants a proper blog post, which I will share soon. We have also spent one day in Chironico, a much bigger and closer area, that I will also post about soon. 

A sneak-peek of the meadow where we climb in Brione 

Per usual, rest days have been spent sleeping in, eating big breakfasts, watching movies, playing cards, napping, and using the internet (which really doesn’t work here—hence our diminished social media presence). I have been enjoying baking in our little kitchen, and have mastered the art of homemade raspberry scones! We have also been relishing in the warm weather by playing yard games, tanning, and having wood-chopping competitions in the front yard (the simple life, right?).

Phase 10 gets serious

Homemade scones

Danny and Max enjoying scones in the garden

Danny the wood-chopping master

Movie night

We are so happy here in Claro, and while we loved our accommodations in Magic Wood, this really feels like home. Good thing too, because this will be our home for the next six weeks! Stay tuned for more updates about our adventures climbing in Brione, Chironico, and Cresciano!

Wow! I can’t believe our time in Magic Wood has come to an end! It’s been an amazing two weeks here, filled with successes, frustrations, new friends, lots of rain, delicious meals, romantic comedies, and lots and lots of climbing! After an action-packed few weeks, we are packing our bags and heading down the road to Claro, in the region of Ticino, where we will spend the next few months climbing at several classic bouldering areas. I’ll post in a few days about our new home in Claro, but for now, here is a summary of our time in Magic Wood:

The world-class granite boulders of Magic Wood are located a mere five-minute hike from our door at the Hostel Generoso in Ausferrera, Switzerland. The hike, if you can call it that, consists of a short walk down the main road in town, through a field, and across the famous Magic Wood bridge. Crossing the bridge for the first time serves as somewhat of a right of passage for any boulderer, and I loved that our days in Magic Wood began and ended with crossing this beautiful bridge bouncing over a rushing alpine river.

The guys crossing the bridge to Magic Wood on our first day

Nestled on a steep hillside above this raging river, the boulders of Magic Wood are surrounded by dense trees, complex root systems, and lush patches of moss and ferns clinging to the earth. The approaches are short, but rather technical due to the ubiquitous roots and slippery rocks. The climbing is DENSE, with hundreds of classic lines virtually on top of each other for less than a mile-long stretch of forest. On our first day in Magic Wood, we felt like little kids in a candy store, not even able to walk 10 feet without stopping to feel holds, scope lines, and attempt to discern what we were looking at in our poorly organized and cryptic guidebook.   

The river

The climbing is varied, and whatever the style, Magic Wood delivers: compression arêtes; thin, vertical faces; steep roofs and caves; tick-tacky crimp lines; and heel-hooks everywhere. Most of the climbing is fairly powerful, and there is no shortage of positive edges at all difficulty levels. For four climbers of varying abilities and styles, Magic Wood was a perfect place to begin the trip. That is when it wasn’t raining… It rained a LOT during our two weeks in Magic Wood. Most notably, last week we had a massive storm, which resulted in 26mm of rain, drenching the canyon and all of the boulders. Even after the rain stopped, the entire hillside was water-logged for about three days, with the moss acting as a giant sponge that simply would not dry. The boulders seeped from within, something I did not even know rock could do. For these four days, nearly all of our projects were un-climbable. Those that were dry were few and far between, leaving us limited in what we could try. Needless to say, this weather left us feeling rather discouraged and depressed. We spent the rainy days climbing what we could, attempting to stay positive, and hoping for drier days to come.

The forest

Sure enough, the dry days did come, and were accompanied by warmer temperatures, sun speckled boulders, and an influx of weekenders taking over our once peaceful hostel. The frustration of a group of passive-aggressive Austrians accusing us of stealing their pesto and then guilt-tripping us into giving them ours was easily pacified by the sheer amount of amazing bouldering we were able to achieve this past weekend! We climbed for three straight days, ticking off what climbs we could, and coming home exhausted and happy each night. As we turn our attention to our next destinations, here is a summary of each of our time in Magic Wood:

Max has been focusing on getting to know his new girlfriend, his Sony FS700 camera. This baby shoots beautiful slow-motion footage, and will take some time to learn and master. As usual, however, Max manages to get out from behind the camera, and has enjoyed climbing some of the most classic and picturesque lines in Magic Wood. Some of Max’s most memorable sends were: Cote de Szechuan (7c+), Never Ending Story Pt. II (8a) and Hohenrausch (7b+) -- a perfect crimper boulder over a treacherous landing on arguably the best rock in the forest.

Max getting to know his new camera 

Max on Hohenrausch

Eli spent her time in Magic Wood ticking off some classic moderates, such as Stressman (7a), Bosna Royal (7a), and Enterprise (7a), which was her favorite of the trip. With powerful movement and bad holds, Enterprise was not Eli’s usual style. In spite of this, however, she managed to figure out some micro-beta, making the crux more do-able, and nab the send on the second day trying it.   

Eli on Enterprise

Griffin has had a great trip so far! He managed to tick off some of the most classic hard lines in the area, including Cote de Szechuan (7c+), Never Ending Story Part 2 (8a), and Jack’s Broken Heart (8a+). Griffin’s most memorable send was of Cote de Szechuan. In his opinion, this is the best problem in the woods. It involves intricate moves through perfect ledge-like features while culminating in a perfect all-out finishing dyno.

Griffin on Never Ending Story Part 2

Danny sent his first 8a+ (V12) on this trip, Massive Attack, but didn’t stop there. He also finished our trip to by completing Left Hand of Darkness, also 8a+. This was Danny’s most memorable send of the trip because it was a climb he didn’t think he’d be able to do, but eventually managed to nab the send on our last day. Other notable sends included Foxy Lady (8a) and Piranja (7C+).

Danny on Left Hand of Darkness

Now our time in Magic Wood has come to and end. We will miss this beautiful canyon, magical forest and perfect turquoise river. We will miss our home at the Hostel Generoso, and all of the lovely people we’ve met here. We won’t however, miss the dangerously slick hillside with death-falls everywhere! It’s been a great few weeks, and we now leave Magic Wood grateful to have had some dry days, happy about the boulders we were able to climb, and excited to see what Ticino has in store for us!

After being in Magic Wood for only one day, I (Eli) ventured to Milan, Italy, for a quick trip to see some friends. Max was scheduled to join me, but upon arriving in Bellinzona (about an hour from Magic Wood) to catch our train, he realized he had forgotten his passport. So Max did not come to Milan. He did, however, get in three solid days of climbing, which is more than I can say due to the incessant rain that’s been plaguing us since my return. Nevertheless, I had a fantastic time in Milan! Here is a quick summary:

Our good friends from Colorado, Andrew and Rhiannon, are currently traveling through Europe for six weeks, and Milan served as a good meeting place due to its proximity to Magic Wood and taking into consideration everyone’s timing. None of us knew much about Milan (other than, like, fashion…), but were excited to see each other and explore a new city. We stayed at a nice little hotel near the train station (making it easy to coordinate with different train arrival and departure times). I arrived first and spent a few hours relaxing in the hotel room and exploring the surrounding neighborhood. Andrew and Rhiannon arrived several hours later, exhausted after a 13-hour travel day from Marseille. I was fairly tired myself, so we opted for an easy dinner near our hotel, and sharing a cheap bottle of wine while exchanging stories of our travels. There really is nothing quite like seeing good friends in a new place, and we were all thrilled to be in this new city together!

  Hotel Due Giardini, Milan

The next day—our only full day in Milan—was action packed. We visited the Duomo, the Archeological Museum, and a bizarre “Sounds in Motion” exhibit. We had a delicious late lunch, explored the fashion district (Andrew was a great sport in Chanel and Prada), and spent the afternoon playing Phase 10 (my favorite card game) and drinking pints in the courtyard of our hotel. That evening, we spent over an hour wandering the streets of Milan trying to find “Corso Como,” an area that we were told was the nightlife district, and was not to be missed. After a late dinner, we headed over to Loolapalooza, one of the trendier clubs in the area. We finagled our way onto the list and enjoyed a few hours of mojitos and conversation with new Austrian friends before retiring to our hostel, but not before 2am sandwiches, of course.

Duomo

Doesn't get much better than good friends and good food 

Card-playing and beer-drinking in hour hotel's courtyard before heading out for a night on the town

On our final day, we visited our favorite café, did some shopping at reasonably priced stores (a welcome contrast to the fashion district, where even a small keychain cost about 250 euro), and enjoyed lunch and beers at the train station before parting ways to continue our journeys. Andrew and Rhiannon moved on to Rome, Venice, and then to Croatia to finish their trip, and I headed back up north to Bellinzona. As I sat on the train, watching the misty Italian and Swiss scenery fly by, I could not help but feel a sense of relief to be out of the big city and eagerness to go back to our simple life in the mountains.

It was so great seeing these beautiful people for a brief moment as our paths crossed in Italy. <3

With a newly found sense of unemployment freedom, Eli’s grad school applications submitted, Huntsmen successfully under wrap, a trusted subletter nailed down, and a few too many goodbye margaritas consumed with friends in Boulder, there was nothing left to do but begin our journey to Switzerland. Packing for three months in Europe that will include time in the mountains, cities, and arctic Norway is no easy feat, and needless to say, we brought way too much crap! Once we’d checked our bags and moved seamlessly through security, we felt a lightness and ease that would set the tone for the trip to come.

Here we are at DIA with all of our stuff!

 We arrived at our gate ready to fly from Denver to Reykjavik, then to Munich, arriving mid morning the next day. As I’ve come to expect when traveling internationally, our flight was delayed three hours, meaning we would miss our connection in Reykjavik the next morning. The airline attendants told us that we would be told our new itinerary upon our arrival in Reykjavik, but it was likely we would be spending the following night there. While the other travelers grumbled “oh great,” and “this is just perfect,” and “I need to speak to your supervisor!,” we settled comfortably into our seats, wondering if we would get to see Iceland (and maybe even slightly hoping for this outcome).

Sure enough, we got to see Iceland! For a whole 21 glorious hours! Iceland Air put us up in the Hilton (easily the nicest hotel we will stay at for months), supplied us with meal vouchers and bus fare, and told us to “enjoy Iceland, and we will see you in the morning!” After an absolutely delicious Scandinavian feast at our hotel, we ventured into the town of Reykjavik. We walked along the ocean, explored the conference center (a futuristic and beautiful multi-use space along the water), wandered the narrow streets (admiring the super hip shops and handmade treasures), and enjoyed Icelandic beer on tap and warm beverages at a café that looked like it was out of some Icelandic indie music video. Reykjavik felt like a Wes Anderson film meets Where the Wild Things Are meets the Ace Hotel in Portland, a milieu that was pulled off effortlessly, and without pretention. Needless to say, we will be back to Iceland, and next time it will be intentional!

  A statue overlooking the ocean in Iceland

Hanging out at the conference center

Max enjoying a warm beverage at a cafe in Reykjavik

We believe it!

After what proved to be an exhausting journey, we arrived in Munich the following evening and were greeted by our two friends from Maryland, Danny and Griffin. These two had been traveling through Europe for a month already, and picked us up in the newly obtained long-term rental car, a means of transportation that came as a relief after being under the mercy of airlines and busses. We made our way through Germany, Austria, and eventually arrived in Aussferrera, Switzerland (which houses Magic Wood) late that night.

Our Home in Magic Wood

Our home in Magic Wood is incredible! We are staying in the Hostel Generoso, which is owned by the Edelweiss hotel, a popular spot for climbers to stay while visiting Magic Wood. The four of us are staying in an apartment-style bunkroom with a small mudroom, spacious closets, bunk beds, a private bathroom, and huge windows overlooking Magic Wood. The hostel itself is very industrial with cement walls and floors, vaulted ceilings, and big windows overlooking the dramatic views. We have access to a shared kitchen and can walk across the street to the Edelweiss hotel to access the Internet and lounge. Most climbers either stay here or camp at a nearby campground, so it is a great place to meet fellow climbers from all over the world (Germany, Norway, Scotland, Wales, Spain, South Africa, and Venezuela to name a few)!

Hostel Generoso, our home for the next two weeks

Our little mudroom

The town of Aussferrera is situated in the foothills of the Swiss Alps, in a valley surrounded by dramatic rocky cliffs shooting up above a raging river on one side, and rolling hills lined with yellow and red trees on the other. The narrow and windy road is lined with small cottages and farms, and it is not uncommon to see Swiss farmers tending to their livestock in the mornings. There are more sheep than people, and we often fall asleep to the sound of them baaaah-ing at night. Due to the fall weather system, we have seen a lot of rain. Consequently, everything is incredibly lush, and even when it is not dumping rain, low-hanging clouds hug the hills, giving the whole area a rather magical feeling.

View from our front door

Because of the rain, or climbing has been punctuated with forced rest days, which are spent sleeping in, eating big brunches, using the Internet, playing Bannanagrams, enjoying rainy runs and hikes, stretching, drinking German beer, and exploring the nearby villages. Tune in later in the week for a post about the incredible climbing and my (Eli)’s brief trip to Milan! In the mean time, we hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our journey to Switzerland!

Our trip to Squamish was a huge success. I didn't film quite as much as I would've liked but there was just way too much climbing to be done. However, we did manage to grab a bit of footy during our final two days...

Working Top Notch, V13

RMNP, CO

Austin Geiman climbs Stinkbug (V10)

Alexis Mascarenas climbs Tommy's Arete (V7)

Max Krimmer climbs Dead Raccoon (V11)