"El Mon de Sofia" (8b+/c) - A Mental Game!

Hey Guys!

 

I’m coming to a close on this years Spain trip. It’s all gone so fast, it seems like only yesterday that I was heading out with Andy in the plane and now it’s almost over L. I’ve had a really great time climbing in Siurana this year both in terms of personal climbing and with my friends those new and old.

 

This year’s trip has certainly been an educational one for me. Although I ticked the hardest grade I’ve ever climbed, I definitely got my butt spanked on a few other routes of different styles proving yet again that being proficient at a grade is incredibly hard. Style comes into play massively as well as confidence and mental strength – an area that I am going to be training specifically from now on.

I climbed another 8b+ yesterday (my 14^th at the grade), this one called “El Mon de Sofia”. This route is relatively new to Siurana having only been bolted in the last 2 or 3 years and was previously deemed as 8c? in the older guide. The locals give it the awkward grade of 8b+/c, so either it’s a hard 8b+ or soft 8c.

 

Moving on from grades for now – the route takes a spectacular line up the blank looking faces and bulges of El Pati (left-side). It starts up the same first bolt as “2x30” then branches immediately out right into fun compression moves on a weird bulge feature. Once your at the top of this you can sit down and relax on a nice little ledge (to here it’s probably about f7a).

 

Above you now is a daunting barrel wall with a tough little crux starting on the first move and ending at a rest one move before the second crux. The issue with the first crux is that a lot of the holds are permanently wet! The rock seems to soak in the moisture really easily and a lot of the holds feel like damp sponges from which your hands could grease off instantly without warning (something I got a bit of experience in whilst red-pointing).

 

Although the holds are damp, they are all positive. The main difficulty of this crux lies in the feet and the one awkward, slightly dangerous, clipping position that you have as the first clip halfway through the initial moves of the crux. Funny thing was I never fell of this section, but I was always very wary of the potential to. The first clip was right above a ledge, which if you fell clipping would more than certainly send you straight into. The next moves where tricky and off balance, then you had one last slap for a wet crimp before you pull yourself up into the two wet side-pull jugs that you rest on (LOVELY!).

 

The rest here was good, you were standing on one good foothold and a smear for your left with a good side-pull jug for your left and a slopey side-pull crimp for your right that you laid back off. I could definitely recover more or less fully but it certainly wasn’t the most comfortable of rests.

 

After resting up, you head straight into what I would call the meat of the route. Although probably not physically the hardest moves, it’s a very sustained crux with lots of little technicalities and slightly lower percentage moves than you would like, especially seeing as when you get through them you still have to deal with the hardest moves on the route! The second crux involves a couple of soapy but positive crimps, the last of which you have to do a hard pull to reach a big damp gaston jug in the steepest section of the bulge. You gaston with your right hand from which you can then clip, match, then re-adjust to an undercut which gives you the position to reach up with your left hand to a really good slot. From the slot you step your left foot up on a little button then push and pull as hard as you can to make the big move to the next soapy crimp up and right. You are now entering the hardest section of the crux, a powerful move to a small sharp crimp with your left, then a stab with your right into yet another small crimp, gaston left, press, then up and right to a small flat edge, left to a thumb sprag crimp and press out right to a jug… WOOOOOOHHHHH

 

You’re now in the “Please don’t blow it territory”… although you still have the most physically demanding move still to come, it’s right after a massive rest so theoretically you should be ok. Unfortunately, conditions where not on my side the first time I arrived at the rest. It was stiflingly hot and humid, and when I made the hard move to the shallow crimp, my fingers rolled off it like they were covered in butter! Thankfully I didn’t let that happen second time round :P

 

After the crux move you still have some tricky moves to go, nothing that you should fall off but there is definitely foot popping potential still there and the second last move is quite a big lunge for a flat side pull that’s hard to catch (that was scary!).

 

“El Mon de Sofia” took me around six or seven goes in total spread across three or four days. For me, this was more of a challenge than “2x30” for the sheer fact that there are just so many places to fall off. It’s not as sustained but the potential to fall of at the top is a lot higher. On “2x30” you could fall of at the crux a load of times, lower off, have 10mins rest, then get back on it (one time you’ll do the crux and go to the top). With “El Mon de Sofia” it felt like I could fail in the middle crux a lot as well as fall in the final crux!

 

Doing this route in the last week of the trip after having a long period of relatively no tickage was a big boost in confidence. I had lost a lot already from having failed on “Pati Noso” (8c/+). In all honesty, I kind of gave up the ghost on that route a long time ago. It was trashing my skin every time I got on it and I felt like I wasn’t getting to go climbing much because of that. I am intending on coming back next year to finish it off, this time I know what I need to do to do it, all I have to do is come back, armed with another year of training and smash it to a pulp!!!

 

This trip has been a massive eye opener once again into the world of the mental processes involved in climbing. I have seen many climbers fail due to pressure, whether it’s on one specific route, or a number of routes or just expectations. I have come to realize that in order to achieve the best results and climb to your best abilities, you need to have a strong mindset that has been built to deal with the pressures you put on it. I know I put a lot of pressure on myself, I am very open about wanting to improve and achieve higher and harder year after year. I think being like this does leave me open to personal performance demons, but this is something I can train for sure.

 

In the last few weeks I have been working hard on a presentation on mental training that I will be providing for youth competition climbers when I get back. Work on this has allowed me to spend a bit more time than I usually do thinking about this side of the performance table. I am already putting steps in motion to develop a really good mental training program both for the kids I coach and myself. I have known for years just how important the mental game is, but sometimes it’s easy to forget to train it when you get so caught up in the other aspects of climbing that seem more important (but really aren’t).

 

Stay tuned on the training blog as I will be writing up some mental training blogs soon enough.

 

On one last note, I tried the 8b+/c direct to “El Mon de Sofia” called “Project Moro”. It shared the first and second crux but takes a much more sustained line than “El Mon de Sofia”. I actually think it might be one of the best routes I have ever tried! After the second crux you get a good rest on some flat jugs, then head straight into a technical crimpy section before reaching another OK rest (shared with “2x30”) which sends you into the crux, a powerful sequence on undercuts and crimps finishing off finally with a very techy, sequency finale with little rest right until the lip of El Pati, 40m in the air! AMAZING!!!

 

I’m gonna climb tomorrow if it stops raining soon and see maybe if I can do the variation either then or in the following days of the trip… We will see…

PSYCHED!

 

ROBZ OUT