Mountain photos - amateur and professional photos of mountains.

The author: Sergey Kovalev, Zhitomir

 

Italy. "Wild bouldering"

Autumn trip to France and Italy, 2003 in the team with Seric Kazbekov, Natalia Perlova, Salavat Rakhmetov, Eugeny Ovchinnikov and Olga Bibik.

Gathering to the next journey to Europe, I suspected, that everything would turn out interest and cognitive. I did not plan especial things, knowing, that in such departures any plans do not live long. However all the same the basic purpose was to climb a lot as much as possible and to see the RockMaster 2003 competitions. I was familiar with Seric Kazbekov, Natalia Perlova for a long time and I heard a lot, that during their trips, except for the cases when they should compete, they aspire to survey and master as much as possible new rocky areas. And therefore they are considered as experts on novelties in the European rock-climbing. Having shown a maximum of own persistence and personal charm, I thrust to them in fellow travellers. After competitions "Boulder Masters Grenoble", carried out in France 29.03.2003, the guys, having accepted the invitation of Christian Core, the world bouldering champion, went to Varraze (Italy) to examine the bouldering areas located in woods, which cover the coastal hills of Mediterranean sea. After the fires, stormed all the summer long, it was not woods any more but charred glades among black and fragile as glass rests of trees and smoked rocks. From time to time above us fire helicopters flew over, carrying tons of water to the columns of the smoke which got up closely to the city. In general, except for the firemen, anybody as it seemed was not especially disturbed by that fact. People worked a little and had a lot of rest: drank beer, ate a pizza, slept and fell into all idleness. In Italy it is called as a siesta. Especially proof and unruly individuals, like us, despite of heat and all-conquering laziness tried to climb the huge boulders: it is called the wild bouldering.

Wild bouldering is good deal when there are a lot of people around. Except for a variety of tactics, styles and techniques of climbing in wild bouldering the crowd of climbers presents the important factor of safety: it is not too terrible to fall even hanging head first on a plenty of spread spongy mats and hands stretched to you (I have even almost not told lies:-)).

There are three bouldering areas in Vzrezze, approximately with one thousand bouldering problems. Our team consisted of such eminent rock-climbers, as Seric Kazbekov, his wife Natalia Perlova (Ukraine), Salavat Rakhmetov, Eugeny Ovchinnikov(Russia), Olga Bibik (Russia), and your humble servant Kovalev Sergey. We stayed in the most beautiful place. Imagine a canyon forgotten in woods with steep walls and the most beautiful lakes with emerald water in which there is a lot of fish not scared by fishermen. A mountain rivulet connects the lakes and there is a centenary manor, standing on its bank: the elderly married couple of farmers lives in it. They willingly receive tourists, on the whole the same farmers who come here with the purpose to familiarize with subtleties of conducting agriculture farms in this area. This manor, actually - a boarding-house, gives to tourists services of a parking, a place under tents (often it is direct near to the vehicles of tourists) etc. You can use a verandah with tables, a toilet. All this, naturally, for the certain payment. In Italy there is a whole system of such farms (in Italian they are called Agri Fonda). We had luck: under Christian Core's recommendation we stayed free-of-charge there. Besides the tourist season by the moment of our arrival already passed, that is why there were not crowds of tourists. As for me there was one more positive moment to stay there: every evening I had an opportunity to improve my Italian in conversations with the elderly mistress of the manor. Though I did not understood something from that she spoke me, our conversations, as a rule, came to the end with compliments, and sometimes - and with a storm of mistress's applause which I put down to the successes in perfection of my Italian. :-)

Within ten days our team fairly tried to send all promlems suggested by Christian Core. In passion of struggle with ourselves and with the problems we twisted everything, that only was possible. Seric hurt skin on his fingers and heels, Salavat walked with turned on one side head, and wilyly looked only with the right eye at his interlocutors - the consequences of twisted neck. Eugeny seriously twisted his back and moved with a royal bearing, and my rocky shoes recently re-stuck fell to pieces and my skin on two the most used fingers chapped. And only artful our girls very quickly noticed later, that Core climbed no more than one or two blocks a day and only for twenty - thirty minutes.

Having noticed that, they adopted his tactics and could avoid the superfluous traumas caused by unusual loadings. By the way, traumas frequently occur owing to dryness of climate. Dry air squeezes out water of a body that leads to increasing dryness of your skin. Muscles and joints, losing water, become more subject to dislocations and spasms. Therefore in such areas you have to use good cosmetic and medical creams and drink water as much as possible. It is necessary to replace soap with shampoo.

However, will we return to our theme. The complexity of the problems surpassed all our expectations. The problems appreciated by Christian as not the most complex, we sent extremely hardly but with passion and persistence. Then we sent 7a (approximately tenth go) and thoughtful smiles began to appear on our faces, but when they mentioned the problems of complexity 8, 8-b and higher - the smiles became to be confused. In passion we tried not to pay attention to the collected tiredness, being pleased with new impressions and sensations. All of us were shocked by Olya Bibik: she on-sighted the block graded as 7-c, moreover she did it in unusual for bouldering static manner of climbing. And personally I was staggered by Salavat Rakhmetov: he was able, being in the company of the excited rock-climbers under sporty agiotage, suddenly to interrupt training, and with words: "I feel sorry for my fingers" to leave the block, where he was exactly the closest to send it.

 

 

As for me, I shall tell, that my modest limit was a problem named "Beaver" "cost" 6-b. I was short of a bit- only one centimetre, one pulse or, who knows, only goodness knows what, to send 6-c.

Our guide - Christian Core deserved special attention. He is mobile, unsmiling, but very sociable person. In conversation he is especially attentive to the interlocutor (more especially if the interlocutor would like to speak in Italian). He constantly analyzes his own and another's climbing. And he does that, even when he drives on a dizzy hairpin-bend road..

He is fanatical, as to be exact - is professional devoted to rock-climbing. It confirms the fact, that he, the person with world renowned and serious titles, rushes with a broom, a shovel and spongy mats through the wild woods and canyons, opening, clearing away and making notes in the catalogue about new and new big and small stones.

And, to all appearances and judging by wide tracks and the trodden sites of grass, these stones are very popular and often visited by rock-climbers. And if under any of blocks the tourists have kindled a fire and also have smoked the valuable object then you can hear the inimitable Italian speech and you can guess that a murder or the violation are preparing and threatening for good-for-nothing goombas in case of their capture. In general, he is the typical Italian.

The following events showed, that the traumas and the weariness were not all for us yet. After arrival in Arko and after trial trainings on long lines we found out, that our re-shaped organisms of sportsmen tried to react to long lines with the reflexes worked up on bouldering stones. Eugeny Ovchinnikov depicted that in following: "Every edge I take not knowing the further movement, on the maximal holding, somehow in a thick way. On simple moves there is no "flight", I have to make too heavy power consumption on insignificant sites" (forgive me, Eugeny, for possible discrepancies). In general, these nuances are very interesting. The same nuances, in many respects, affected the results of our climbers competing on Rock Master 2003. In general it is very interesting to live for some months in the company of such eminent climbers. You start to understand how everything is in order in professional sports. And in general I can compare my trip to Alice's adventure to the World behind the looking-glass. Judge for yourself: could I imagine just couple of years ago that I can shake hands with Stefan Glovach! And, sitting on dust rope under the well-known lines I can have a photo with him for memory. The opportunity to drink on a buffet table fault with Sandrine Levet, Alexandre Shabot, to be photographed with SARKANY and to converse in English-Italian with her, is worth I don't know what! The sensation of unreality of all happening appears when you stand under Undeground, and Christian Brena, having moved the last three boulderings of this well-known 9a problem, dumped from above on you letting fourth a stream of perfect Italian oaths. Or when you stand near to the thing Spaniard Patxi Usobiaga who visited Arko for the first time and on-sighted 8-b + in twenty five quickdraws on a forty-meter roof "La Pietramurata."

You can even more doubt the reality of life when you are beleying valorous Dimitry Konovalov from Odessa climbing Undeground or when you meet casually Sasha Ledovskih (in the world more known as Medun). A lot of thanks to Sacha for sponsor's bolts, got in the same place in Arko. Exactly these bolts were used when Red Bull and Drunk lines were bolted.

Coming to conclusion according aforesaid thoughts: however that may be too difficult to find time, money and courage for such trip, it will renumerate your aspiration with interest. Earlier I stewed in my own juice, being anxious about the problems of a small collective and a small city. I was confident, that I had to run from this small boring, as I seemed that time, life. I wanted to rush to something greater, to the best, to another world. But in Europe I understood, how people which are fond of rocks, with love and patience improve and prepare for climbing every in the slightest degree suitable boulder even somewhere in a deep province in thick forest. Generation after generation they do that, and the results of this work surprise the entire world. When you acquire these simple trues, you will understand, that you have hands and legs and you live in a beautiful place where, as it appears, there are a lot of places you can develop. You have only to start to do something.