Final stop – Turkey. This was the destination I was most psyched on. I was in Turkey last year for about three weeks for the Petzl Bolting trip and honestly, I love this country so much. The people there have a real respect to each other and it feels like they would do anything for you. The climate and the food are amazing and life is healthy, simple and ‘chill’. So far every thing is running smooth.
It seemed that it wasn’t the best time to visit Turkey. A lot of people are afraid of the delicate political situation there, but if feels like the media are just pushing too much. It’s crazy how much influence the media can have in our lives if we don’t stop to look around. I was confronted with this in the beginning of the summer with the Orbayu/Digulian history. The media loves drama.
We felt good in Turkey and there was not even a small sign of all the bullshit people in France have heard about this country.
Our first stop was a huge field of boulders, near Bodrum, Bafa Lake. So impressive. The only negative point was that we were quiet early in the season so the weather was extremely hot!
I felt a little weak after the holidays. And, after five weeks of travelling with the whole group I had my overdose of people…so Bafa wasn’t the most glorious destination for me, but those feelings are just normal when you’re travelling with a big group for such a long time. After a little ‘crisis’ things got back to normal and I felt comfortable again with the Roc Trip situation.
Next step was Antalya. I was so excited to go back to Citdibi, the new climbing cliff we bolted just last year. I was really happy to watch all the people appreciate the work we had done and seeing them climb the routes I bolted a year ago. My dear Citdici is one of the best high-level spots I’ve seen so far… A tufa basar in the middle of a Turkish paradise.
I feel in my element with this kind of climbing. I like to manage long routes, like the special effort of tufa climbing and I like to fully express myself.
On the first day I did the huge multipitch route of Daniel Dulac (8b+/8b/8b/7a/6c), together with Cedric and then I concentrated on the sport climbing routes.
There was so much to do! My best performances were an 8a+ onsight, an 8b flash, an 8b+ on second go and an 8b+/8c redpoint. It was the first time since Orbayu that I felt ready to push hard, I missed it so much…
Last and ultimate stop of the Petzl Roc trip was Olympus, the perfect place to celebrate the end of this great event. The principal discipline here was the deep water soloing. It was so much fun and the perfect discipline to do in this hot, humid weather.
The last evening party was soooo great! All the members of the team were wearing traditional Turkish clothes and we danced the whole night….
What a great event, what a great experience, what a great opportunity. I feel so lucky in my life and I’m so thankful for these rich moments I lived during this trip.
Thank you Petzl for making all of this possible!!!!
