Actually, I had a deal with myself – travelling until Septembre and studying at university in Octobre. Actually …. Some friends, Jan and Daniel, asked me for a spontaneous trip to the Gorge du Tarn in Southern France and I simply could not refuse. I was there a few months ago and I liked the huge walls in this wonderful valley very much.
The season was over in the Gorge du Tarn and just a few climbers and other tourists were there. During the night it was pretty cold with about 5 degrees and I was happy that we had a little mobile home. But during the day it was pretty sunny and we enjoyed the last summer days with about 25 degrees.
In the past, a lot of people asked me how I am able to train and perform constantly on a relatively high level without injuries, without pauses and without losing motivation. The secret is – I do not. When went to the Gorges du Tarn I felt pretty burned out from climbing hard over months and stressed from the university. I felt I had to take a break from climbing hard routes. So I slept nearly the whole days in the sun, ate as much as I could and climbed some easy routes in the „L’Oasif“ and „Planete causse“ sector enjoying the movements.
Refusing of doing some hard projects, I found some other interesting challenges: the over 50m long 8a routes in the „Tenessee“ sector. I enjoyed climbing these super long lines doing hundreds of moves. Struggling with the head while climbing the crux moves far above the bolts was a lot of fun. I was super happy that I could climb them within a few tries and that I was not falling in the upper parts again and again (like you normally do in such super long routes). And I am especially happy that I did not fall in the tricky 8m runout at the top – I am pretty sure that would have been a lot of fun for everyone except me.
Back again in Karlsruhe, it is time to study for real again – at least until the next climbing trip 🙂 .
