Katie Brown has run away

What ever happened to Katie Brown. One can find an answer to this question in her book Unreveled: A Climber's Journey Through Darkness and Back.

In short, she has run away from her demons (her mother and faith) and their dwelling place (climbing).

The book is really sincere. Yes, it is repetitive as our patterns truly are. It's hard to read, but it is also therapeutic. It illustrates double standards regarding women as well as the indifference of medics who never mentioned her apparent underweight as a possible cause of health problems.

The way out of that was tricky, but she is strong enough to cope with all that shit on her own.

Some quotes:

• My tongue refused to move and my mind was fuzzy with the confusion between what I wanted to say and what I felt like I should say and whether either of those things were the right thing to say.
• Onsighting was a world where I felt completely, wholly at home. It’s just see how far you can get before you fall, and give it your all. No do-overs.
• I didn’t like the feeling of wanting things. Wanting things meant dealing with the inevitability of loss, and I needed to shut that down before its tidal wave consumed me. It was safer to not want anything, to be more dead than alive.
• To go through life feeling like you belonged, rather than feeling like you were taking up space meant for someone else.
• ...see how far I could get before I fell—my usual approach to onsighting.

Rock Athlete by Ron Fawcett and Ed Douglas

 

This book is especially valuable for at least 2 reasons. First, there is so little data about Ron Fawcett on the internet or elsewhere, nevertheless he is a true climbing legend. Second, this book was awarded with the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature in 2010. And it’s about rock climbing, not about mountaineering. 

It is about the epoch era, when “heads were stronger than arms”. He became one of the first pro-climbers. Whilst it is hard nowadays, it was unimaginable back then. 

It’s about dedication and passion. It was unthinkable that they could live off climbing, but they gave it all without any expectations. It’s about self-drive. The story begins from the end (or almost the end) when an already very experienced author challenges himself with one hundred ‘Extreme’ routes climbed solo in a day just to push himself to the limits again. Just to feel where these limits were. Sometimes, it was a rush, sometimes, it was a disappointment, sometimes, it was an inner piece, and sometimes, it was satisfaction, tiredness, and peacefulness. Like all his climbing life… which had begun in

a farm and made a sudden turn to unknown, vertical, terranean. He became a climbing film star, a sponsored athlete, and a father, and he became… But the most interesting aren’t endpoints, but the way to them, his thoughts and feelings, doubts and triumphs about endless challenges, and he and his co-author managed to show it clearly and entertainingly. 

Taking into account the tiny bits of data that are available about Ron Fawcett, the book is worth reading for all climbing fans. We can learn a lot about commitment and courage from such people.

Quotes:

• 'Your favorite new routes are a bit like your kids; they don’t belong to you, but you want people to think well of them.'

• 'I'd do a couple of thousand press-ups before breakfast to keep in shape'

• 'Nothing else mattered beyond climbing. I was obsessed. Looking back, I don’t regret any of it.'

• 'If the weather was bad, we’d hole up in the Beck Hall Café. They were always kind to me there. I’d sit watching the rain, getting endless top-ups of hot water for my teapot. I think my record from the same bag stood at sixteen.'

• 'We knew that if you fell off there was a good chance you’d hit the ground.'

• 'Without access to modern climbing walls, it took longer to become strong. That saved me from overtraining injuries, which climbers would begin to suffer from as walls were built.'

• 'In those days, heads were stronger than arms.'  

A Fortress of Mistakes over the Lake

We were sitting in the cabin of our airplane to Italy when I heard the captain tell us the destination of the flight. It was supposed to be different one. At least, I had thought that it would be another one. My son of 7 months and my mom were sitting together with us in the plane. I was hoping I misheard, but he repeated the information once again, and that was it.

I was feverishly searching through the internet about our new destination while we were still preparing to take off. Everything wasn’t so bad. It was another airport near Milan. A smaller one. It was even closer to the city where we supposed to fly. But the car and a hotel was booked in another place. How could I tell this to my companions though one of them wouldn’t understand the situation at all?

— You did what?
— I booked a car and a hotel in another airport by mistake.
— We’re arriving at 22! What are we gonna do?
— Everything will be fine. I hope.

The car was booked through rentalCar service and they have an option to change booking location with additional costs of only 10 euro. The issue was resolved within a half an hour after landing and picking the luggage due to very slow and unstable internet connection. We all breathed a sigh of relief and tried to make ourselves as comfortable as we could for the forthcoming night. At midnight the airport was closed, so we had to find a place near the closed gate of the rental car office. A floor cleaning machine came and we were forced to change our location to the bench. My son was the one who really slept that night, in the morning he was strongly against a children's cradle for a car that was given to us for free.

The staff of the rental car company (in the early morning) was incredibly nice and that made us a little more comfortable. One benefit was that from this airport we needed to drive almost 90 kilometers less. As we weren’t experienced drivers at all, that was a big deal. Anyway, we would still miss the run-out from the highway and drive into long tunnels. It was a detour for 60 more kilometers when we already were very near to our destination.

As I have mentioned, we weren’t experienced drivers, so we drove from the airport to the nearest Decathlon for approximately 8 kilometers with handbrake turned. But the only accident we had with a car was at the empty parking lot under a shopping mall. One more accident was at the crags (which were the main goal of our trip) when our son started rolling over the hill. But, he stopped soon and it is just a funny thing to remember. Additionally, we had some troubles while checking-in to our apartment, filling in the gas-tank before dropping the car in the airport, missing our excursion in Lecco, etc.

Nevertheless, we had 4 excellent days in the heart of Northern Italy. Every climbing day we visited new crags and ticked some routes. Some crags were very near to the road and to the city, almost at the walking distance. Other were more remote, and we even found a gem.

 

We found our beautiful boy somewhere in Italy!

On the first day we went to the solitary crags with 3 levels. We climbed only on the first level. The routes were crimpy and tricky, the sun was shining and primroses were all around us. The youngest one grabbed every rock and grass he managed to reach to, his next step was to put everything he had in his mouth. We didn’t object to it too much, cause he should know the world by himself in every possible way.  

The evening was perfect. We were so glad that we finally got there. The wrong airport and sleepless night weren’t all our adventures on the way to this authentic place.

 

The next day was sunny, too. It was excellent for climbing at the beginning of March. Our son took sun baths, we fought on the routes. For my mom the way there already was a little fight. She was resting and mustering the strength for the way back. The sector is named ‘Bastionata del Lago’ which is the fortress over a lake. With leafless trees the views were picturesque. All our trip was like ‘Bastionata del Lago’.

 

By the way, here we ate the most delicious ice-cream. It was vegan, so I don’t know what it was made from, but it didn’t matter to us.

The next day it rained all day. It was our rest day and we drove to Bellagio that is situated on the cape in the lake. The town is very romantic with numerous streets-staircases. We warmed ourselves with a big cup of coffee in a cafe after a short walk in the drizzle.
The map of the mountains that are visible from this place, but not today. Our trip was spontaneous. We just drove and stopped at every place we wanted.

At the end of that day we discovered the real gem among crags, high above my level back then as the easiest route there was 7b. It was remote, with hard access and steep. It was almost dry regardless the whole night and the whole day of rain. We were to get there the next day. It was hard to find the right path to it. First we climbed over the hill higher than the crags. Then we needed to find the way down. Last, somehow we needed to get my mom with our son there, so I still breastfed.

The crag is high above the building on the steep hill. The next day many routes became wet, because it still rained. But we weren’t alone there. Short after we climbed there two men appeared under the crag. They were typical Italians. They had a baguette, that one man was still eating while belaying his friend on his project 8a. Of course, they made coffee and made fire. They brought sausages and gave some to us. It was incredible on such a wet, clammy day to take in some hot coffee with a piece of sausage and bread. They definitely know something about life.

On the day of our departure we climbed in the easiest-to-reach sector which is named Discoteca. The routes there were long and pleasant. Kostya climbed his second 7c, I climbed some 6c. A small point that is almost in the sky that is me.

 

And that is me! 

The trip was definitely worth it. I recall the blue sky with the tender sun, the heavy rain as it would never end, primroses, limestone under my fingers and shoes, the rolling baby, the long wrong way tunnel and our other little adventures.  

Vid’ma was like a whole life.

Valentyn Shvydkyy has done Vid`ma 8a in 2019. He climbed 8a at age 50 for the first time. It could have happen a few years earlier, as he thinks, if only....  what?

I started climbing in Simeiz. I went there for holiday and for working in a children camp. All along, I saw climbers on the rocks there. I was admired by their courage. Definitely, I couldn't have been one of them. No way! But finally we ran out of all excursions there except 2 of them: diving and climbing. I would have chosen rather diving, but was persuaded to try climbing. So, we had a master-class by Wedeenmeer. He introduced himself at once: Andrew - Twice World Champion. He did his job excellent. I climbed everything in my running shoes. And then we rappelled from 45 meters. It was amazing. I had a feeling that I was awesome, that I could climb almost like him. Maybe, a little bit worse due to a lack of experience. We wanted more. The next day we went to Nikita crag. At the entrance I saw the route Luntik (5c+ or 6a) for dummies as I immediately thought. We climbed some easy routes and then returned to Luntik. That moment I felt myself a total dummy. I couldn’t do a single move. But we still wanted more. At the third day Andrew led as at a 300 meters high multi-pitch climbing in Paragilmen. We still wanted more. We had a few days left of our holiday, but the money was gone.


In Kiev I went to NAU. Soon I climbed 6b toprope and hit the plateau. I needed a trainer, so I started training with Sasha Paukaev. But he switched to producing climbing hold soon. For a long time, I was training by myself.


I wasn’t intended to climb 8a. Kolya Ostrouch convinced me to try Vid`ma just because he climbed it and once had no partner. I continued to refuse, but surprisingly I did all the moves at my first try. I had a feeling that I could try to do it. It was September 2016.


I was a few times there in 2017, but my level significantly raised. In 2018 I had already had a feeling that I could do it. Fortunately, I came to Misha Shalagin’s children camp at the Dovbush rocks. All my arrogance was gone. Misha said: “You have no beta. You climb as it is. If it is the route at your limit, you should know everything”. I had known it, theoretically, but I hadn’t remembered beta even at the crux. Misha made me learn everything. Thus, I understood I wasn’t about to climb it. He forced me to climb the hard part of the route several times in a row. 1,5 hour later I was totally exhausted, though, usually I could try it 5 times a day. It was a huge amount. But we worked efficiently together with Misha.

I continued to climb it the next year, and my beta was changing almost every trip. I have learned how to breathe. I have learned how to not over-gripping. I have learned how to save energy during climb. If you don’t save energy, you won’t have it left enough for the last move. And after that the mentality went ahead. I felt fear: what if I climb? With 7c and 7c+ all were the same. I could do them early, but fear made my breathe shallow and my hands over-gripping. Every time I did it when I wasn’t expect it. The hardest thing was to reduce the importance of the result.


Vid’ma was like a whole life that thought me a lot. One thing is that when you think you have the beta, it is just a beta. It isn’t the optimal one. One should search for an easier beta, but we often stick to what we already know. It is hard to search for some new ways of doing familiar things. Occasionally, I found 3 more footholds. They were worse, but I fit me better. Firstly, I hadn’t seen them at all. I couldn’t find a rest position before the crux for a long time, but I wasn’t strong enough to climb non-stop.


I have understood: there is no linear dependence between results and amount of training. Sometimes, it seems you should train 5-6 times a week to progress. But personally I think, it is better to have rest and then probably climb a route. I think, if you want to climb well on crags, you should climb on crags. If you want to climb 8a on crags, you should climb a lot on crags. If I go to the rocks every weekend and do nothing except that, I will be a better climber. IMHO



Climbing isn’t a sport, it’s a way of life. Climbers don’t ask what you are doing on Easter. They ask where you are going.

More expiriences

Not last year was about quantity in climbing, neither was it about quality. It was more about searching own inner motivation and balance in training.

I climbed a little more than a half of the year, partly due to Kosty’s surgery, partly due my own illnesses and a new diagnosis. Eventually, I was climbing from May to October and also in January.

Nevertheless, this year had its memorable moments.

One of my favorite feelings in climbing is to climb, when it seems almost impossible. When nobody can think I might climb in this particular go. Not that as cannot I do it, because I can do all the movements, though, often not first try and not in long links. And, finally at the last go after a few days of climbing I do all the movements one by one.

Interestingly, in such way I climb hard routes (about 7b), but not the hardest ones for me. My high-graded routes vise versa felt relatively easy. Maybe, all the time and efforts I put in them make such feelings possible.

One more my memorable climb was at my last climbing day on Malta. The route goes from a big overhanging to a roof and finally to a vertical part. In the middle of the route, you find yourself climb upside down because of a bulge on the roof. The problem was even not about difficulty of the route, but about timing. It wouldn’t have been easy to come back to this route.

I like that all routes this year were different: endurance and bouldery, on slopers, pockets and tufas. And, they were at 3 different rock types: limestone, sandstone and granite.

Other new experiences include climbing in gyms of others countries and living on the rock with my project located nearby.

Not bad for such “bad” year. At least, there was time and place for climbing, and what one would do without it?

Суперслопер. Расклад.

Тяжёлая вертикальная 7с+ по покатому граниту в Буках. Тяжёлая для невысоких и тяжёлая для меня. Всегда была такой, даже более того - нереальной. даже когда я была в лучшей форме. И сейчас она стала возможной, но для этого должны сложиться карты.

Расклад открывается маленькими кусочками. Последние кусочки добавились  10 ноября, спустя 2 месяца настолько активной работы над проектом, насколько позволяли погода, свободное время и мои ограниченные силы.

Начиналось всё с того, что я пыталась сделать отдельные движения на трассе, каждое после многочисленных дёрганий. Вначале я могла сделать движения только на нижней половине ключа или на верхней, или лезть верхнюю часть трассы. Постепенно я смогла сделать всё за один день или за один подход, потом даже пару раз за один день. Потом начала собирать ключ снизу вверх. В лучшую попытку пролезла до последнего перехвата на нижнем ключе (того места, которое переразложила совсем недавно).
(Фото Стёпа Костусев)

Расклад:

1.Левая рука на “корявой” откидке, правая зажимает в активник пассивную полку (первое время, когда я делала по многу попыток за подход, у меня начала побаливать последняя фаланга среднего пальца правой руки. В какой то момент я поняла, что именно от этого активника, в котором из-за неровностей рельефа именно на эту фалангу приходится основная нагрузка). Левая нога на небольшом пиптике с самого края стартовой “полки”, правая на верхней дальней активной ноге этой же полки (расклад для ног честно подсмотрен у Тани Шурубор пару лет назад, когда мы вместе лазили эту трассу, и у Тани получалось практически только первое движение, а у меня, наоборот, только оно совсем-совсем не получалось). С этих ног наконец-то я смогла более-менее стабильно делать первое движение на долблёную дырку - 2 пальца + половинка. Правая нога на полочку с выемкой под правой рукой.
2. Правую руку перебросить в подхват. Там можно подклинить пальцы, если их согнуть. Теперь можно поправить левую руку - всунуть поглубже пальцы и включить активник. Левая нога поднимается на полку-крыло слева.
3. Правая рука в маленький долблёный подхват над головой. Левая нога на маленькую ногу правее “корявой” откидки. Хочется развернуть ногу внутренней стороной стопы к скале, чтобы занять больше площади ноги, но нужно ставить носок прямо, потому что потом будет скрутка вправо. Встаю в этот подхватик, максимально прижимаясь к скале так, что даже немного блокируется шея. Левая нога идёт в флажок, и я поправляю пальцы в подхвате так, чтобы немного больше развернуть кисть к себе. Левая нога на покатую ногу высоко слева.
4. Максимально прижаться к скале и вытянуться так, чтобы левой рукой взять “улыбку” и зажать в активник. Там есть хороший уступчик для этого.
5. Вес тела частично перенести на левую высокую покатую ногу и перебросить левую руку на нижнюю часть “улыбки” примерно посередине. Чем дальше, тем она удобнее, но потом будет тяжелее делать тягу на пассив. Ещё больше перенести вес тела на левую ногу и наконец полностью загрузить её, а правую ногу поставить на покатую стартовую полку. Немного поправить ногу - выше. Поднять плечи и прижаться к скале, левую ногу вынести далеко влево на долблёную дырку, загрузить её, подставить правую ногу на точку на стене (эфемерную ногу) и сделать тягу на нижний пассив.
6. Загрузить левую ногу сильней и частично сдвинуть корпус влево, перебросить правую руку в откидку на “улыбке”. Подставить правую ногу в трение немного выше, чем она была примерно на той же высоте, и добросить левую руку на второй пассив.
7. Ещё больше загрузить левую ногу на дырке, снова сместив корпус немного влево и на прямых руках поднять правую руку, чтобы двумя пальцами зацепиться за небольшой активный скол справа от пассива. Встать и поднять правую ногу в хорошую ногу-скол под “улыбкой”.
8. Загрузить больше левую руку, отклониться и вставить правую руку в щель немного выше, развернув кисть так, чтобы заклинились пальцы, начиная с указательного.
9. Перебросить левую руку в хорошую щель. Поменять ноги на дырке, вщелкнуть оттяжку, сделать несколько глубоких вдохов-выдохов и стряхнуть правую руку. Подшагнуть сначала левой ногой на покатую полочку, потом правой высоко вверх на пассив.
10. Взять правой рукой выше по щели, поднимать левую ногу так, чтобы упереться ей на одной высоте с правой немного левее. После этого немного передвинуть левую руку выше по щели, а правую перебросить на следующую зацепку.
11. Поднять ноги, дать отдохнуть левой руке и совсем намного правой, так как левая сильно забивается в этот момент. Подшагнуть левой ногой, правую поставить в угол щели на чёрную слегка покатую ногу, правой рукой взять активник, поднять левую ногу на сколы возле шлямбура, взяться левой рукой и щелкнуть оттяжку правой. По секунде сбросить руки. Подшагнуть на косую полку: правой, левой, правой ногой.
12. Взять в плечо подхват над головой так, чтобы мизинец тоже работал. Перешагать ногами по следующей покатой полке: левой, и потом правой, а левую увести шире. Встать и взяться правой рукой в подхват рядом с левой, удерживая ногтями активник.
13. Перебросить левую руку в левый подхват. Поднять ноги и щелкнуть оттяжку. Сбросить руки по разу.
14. Взять правой рукой с мизинцем косое плечо над собой. Подставить левую ногу на 3-миллиметровую активную полочку слева. Встать на ногу, поменять руки на плече, правой рукой взять подхват и поставить ногу под подхватом на активный скол.
15. Сброситься и взять левой рукой дырку сверху без мизинца. Подставить левую ногу на скол, правую на небольшую активную полочку, левую поднять на 10 см выше на ещё один косой скол. Взять правой рукой без мизинца дырку над собой. Поменять ноги на активной полке.
16. Правую ногу подставить высоко справа на дальнюю удобную ногу. Поправить пальцы. Придержать двумя пальцами небольшую дырку перед носом и помочь себе выкатить на левую ногу. Вытянуть левую руку вверх и придержать неровности рельефа немного слева вверху над собой, привстать так, чтобы стало немного видно большую полку и бросить туда левую руку, подставить правую ногу в большую дырку, вщелкнуть оттяжку. Вот оно, спасений, но дальше тоже нужно сделать всё собрано.

Interview with Jenya Kazbekova

Jenya Kazbekova comes from family with strong climbing traditions. Her parents are Champions, her grandma is successful paraclimber. Jenya took climbing like her own path and this year she have already won Dock Masters. Here is an interview with her was taken last year.

Hello, Jenya! Tell us please how it all have started for you?

I climb since childhood. I don’t remember when exactly I started because my parents brought 2-months baby me to climbing gym. I have grown up in these atmosphere.I don’t remember, but parents say that in 8 years I told them I would become a climber and started training. How many can remember I climb.