Little Nina in big America, a funny thing to imagine, if you know me in person. I had always been a little critical of the mindset of Americans, even disturbed by some of the huge differences in culture and tradition. My travel last year to Smith Rocks changed that a lot. I realized how bign this country is how diverse people are. My mind started to open more and more and the differences became something I wanted to experience more of.
So I headed out for this 3-months climbing trip mid february, making the best of opportunities ahead. I flew into Reno and from there to South Lake Tahoe. It has been a real winter there, like the onces I had the chanche to live during my childhood in Switzerland. Huge amounts of snow everywhere, big storms rolling in one after the other. These winter are always outstanding to live and to witness .
The storms brought lots of light and deep powder, time for skiing. Although I haven’t been skiing much this last years, it’s a sport that kids in my Swiss valley do from 3 on, and so the connection I have to this incredible feeling of sliding is big. Like all of us out there, I ate lots of powder on the way down with this overwhelming wave of gratefulness. Skiing is so much fun.
From the breathtaking powder descents in Lake Tahoe, my path went down south to Bishop. I’m not the biggest boulderer of the word, but it was important for me to see this outstanding climbing area.
With my friends Sean Haverstock from the U.S. and French legend Julien Nadiras we went for the full outdoor experience in the Sierra. The previous few months of my life before the trip, I wasn’t able to be outside much and I realized how much that impacts my simple feeling of freedom and wellbeeing.
We lived out of a van, feet the cold night of the desert and the violent sunshine during day.
The Buttermilks represented exactely what I’m looking for in climbing. Obvious lines on high boulder balls in the middle of the snow covered eastern Sierras. The climbing is demanding and the holds are very small and sharp.
My goal was to climb as efficiently as possible. I only put in a few tries on a problem. That feeling of giving everything in a flash try felt crazy good !!! I climbed in the flow, directed by my intuition.
It was a great feeling to bewell spotted by Julien and Sean, they are both strong and experienced boulderers. They know the buisness of bouldering.
Bishop is a funny little town, very charming with a good hospital. Injury number one in Bishop are twisted or broken ankles. On our second climbing day I was part of a big accident on a high ball. Sierra Knots, fell down from a 7 meter high bouder problem. Her foot slept and so she felt a little twisted. My first reaction was to catch her. Not a good idea. I hit her right foot and so she landed only on her left leg. The force of the fall was such that she broke her ankle and leg multiple times. It’s been since a while that I havent heard someone yell so loud. She was full of pain. We carried her down to the car on a crashpad and drove straight to the hospital. I felt really bad and responsible for her injury.
That event was a strong experience. I realized yet again how big the commitement is in climbing, even on bouder problem. I know that feeling of commitment from alpine climbing when the moment comes where you’re not allowed to fall anymore. It’s somehow the same. You go because you feel like. There is no room for doubts, negative feelings and you can’t count on your partners anymore. You go for the free soloing with this big feeling of selfcontrol due to your climbing skills and strong mindset.
I spent seven days up in Bittermilks. Some days, I felt a big attraction to high boulder problems and I climbed them. And on some days I was unable to imagine to climb high so I played on problems where it’s allowed to fall.
I finished my trip with plenty of pure problems in my pocket, up to V9 in grade flashing them sometimes but always only in a few tries, a good strategy to save.
The outdoor experince up there made me feel alive ! We were dirty, lived in the cold and somehow it felt rough. But I like that. I don’t wanna be too much of a princess and I need to be outdoors to feel the balance in my body. Well, stil thanks a lot to our friends for the hot shower from time to time … 😉
I visited Sierra in the hospital two days after her accident She did not blame me, she simply owned her commitment to the dangerous game of climbing high balls. Since then, I have learned to be a better spotter and to let it go when you have to. All my best wishes to her for a quick recovery !
And now my trail goes north. Leaving for Smith Rocks now to deal with some tabs I still have there from last year ! Stay tuned.