New Year Resolution

I read that in some Italian gym, behind a campus board, there's a writing that reads: "climbing is all about being so strong that it looks like you are using your feet". It's meant to be a joke, but it's also so true for so many people...

There is one kid who started showing up at the Westway few months ago who is the perfect example. I nicknamed him "induttanza", inductance in English, such is the inefficiency of his climbing. You could probably measure the waste in terawatts. He is stronger than Wolfgang Güllich, he's very young, taller than average, flexible, he is apparently in some comp team back in his own country and he is constantly coached and followed by a personal trainer. When he climbs I am afraid a black hole will materialize any moment. Induttanza is just one of many gym freaks in there and I am at risk of becoming one of them.

A gym is a gym, but a climbing gym should not only make you stronger, but also teach you how to climb. Real rock very rarely forces the climber into some crazy dynos or desperately long moves. In my experience I climbed up to 8a and never found either. Nevertheless it would appear the new trend is having climbers flying and screaming like monkeys on a trapeze. The setters at the Westway have very different styles, but they all seem to follow this trend unfortunately. Last Monday when repeatedly trying a move on a 7c+ I felt like I was only missing a clown juggling on a unicycle below me and the circus march playing in the background.

I never leave unfinished business unfinished and I'll definitely try again that monkey move until I succeed or the line is reset. However, that move will no doubt make me stronger, but will do very little if nothing to improve my climbing. The day I will try Es Pontas, maybe the awkward ballistic I have to put together to stick that move, will turn out to be useful. But until then, it's just a circus feat.

So the question arises. Where am I supposed to learn how to climb? I'm slowly convincing myself that urban climbers will find it more and more difficult to learn how to climb properly. Since I am very "urban", not because I'm cool, but because I live and work in this godforsaken city, the same applies to me too. Ergo the danger of becoming the next "induttanza", materialize a black hole and destroy the universe. As you can see, the stakes are high.

I have just committed to going through weeks of brutal training. The Master has spoken. I shall get stronger, more flexible and increase my power endurance. I shall abide to his word and work hard to succeed. But I also must not forget how to climb. So I am going to use a different strategy this time.

Despite the inherent difficulties in leaving the capital I must get my hands dirty more often. I must hit the crag on weekends. There is no way around it.

The Master once wrote an article on Climb going over the importance of engrams. Engrams are the words in the climbing dictionary. The more words you know, the more articulate your climbing will be. When one tries to learn a foreign language in his own country it's very rarely going to work. I've been studying French at school back in Italy since I was ten. I go little further than "bonjour". When I moved to London my English barely covered the basics: "How do you do" "Are you Mary? No I'm not, I'm Jane" "Where is the nearest post office" "Bye bye". By the way, what's the deal with teaching the non-English speaking world how to ask where the nearest post office is? Never-mind. I decided I would learn English where the locals express themselves at their highest: the pub.

Being drunk amongst the drunks definitely helped me going over my shyness and trying to put together sentences that could only make sense to the drunken elite. I gradually moved away from the pub until I was able to converse, being sober, a little beyond asking where the post office was. I was also about 15 kg heavier, but that's a different story...

The point is, my sport is called "rock climbing", not "plastic climbing". The number of engrams I can learn at the Westway is very limited. They're intentionally or unintentionally designed to make me stronger or to find me a job in a circus, but they won't help me increasing my climbing vocabulary. In order to do that I have to hit the pub... oops, I mean the crag.

Not only that. The one thing I always liked about rock climbing is its outdoor nature. I used to drive out of Turin (a little easier than driving out of London) and enjoy the nature around me, be it in the mountains or at the crag. Climbing was so much more than just climbing.

So I did not have a New Year resolution yet, here it is now: this year I am going to spend more time outdoor. Time is ticking...