Rockmaster 2003

Woo, had it really been a year since the last appointment! To celebrate I had invited over the Chunk, who in turn had invited his girlfriend, Liz. We met as usual at Bergamo airport. The worst of the long summer heat had past, it would be perfect climbing weather.

We had wielded our mighty powers of time control and stretched the weekend out from Friday to Tuesday. By Friday afternoon we had arrived in Arco, mounted the tent and were ready to dip ourselves in the Zoo camping pool. The lime green haze shimmering over the pool soon put a stop to that nonesense. Since it was a cool, bright evening we headed out to climb instead. Why I lose my sense of direction in Arco I don't know. One has only two choices; North away from the lake or South towards the lake. It shouldn't be difficult, but it is like the poles get reversed every 2 hours or so. We drove around a bit, waiting for the poles to settle before we eventually ended up at Massone. Ok, no points for creativity but having only an hour of light we were pushed for time. We climbed a couple of easier routes in the first sector, polished, they seemed a touch tough for their grade.

Saturday was to be 'the' climbing day whilst Sunday was absolutely reserved for the final of the Rockmasters. Saturday morning we prepared ourselves by first visiting Riva del Garda, it was windy, a bit chilly actually but it didn't stop us taking a nice walk, drinking coffee and commenting on passing strangers. Now ready for some exercise we headed out to Passo San Giovanni. Unfortunately our drive was greater than that of our car. Hesitant to pull away, 1st and 2nd gears were missing. This was a problem. The area around Riva is somewhat hilly and hill starts in 3rd are not easy, but fortunately a clear road allowed us to maintain momentum up the hill to Nago where we pulled over and called assistance.

The verdict was decisive. Our knight of the road took our car away leaving us with a tent for one and a half people to be shared between three. A quick call to Avis proved somewhat unsatisfactory, they suggested flagging down the next passing train to the nearest Avis office open on a Saturday afternoon, which was... Verona airport!! Now, let me explain in case you don't know. Verona airport is not close to Arco, and how one would go there by train I did not know. Since we had the car for just 4 days it was a considerable inconvenience, obviously I couldn't go Sunday because of the competition, I had to go now. A couple of more calls were made to make sure I had understood well, this time it was suggested I take a taxi, still not as good as someone delivering the car, but it seemed it would be the only way.

1 hour later and I had enjoyed a 125euro taxi ride. I collected my new car and 1 hour later I was back at the campsite sipping wine. Slick, but not satisfactory. Is it normal that one has to collect there own car in a case such as this?

Things got better. Finding the competition timetable we saw that the women's bouldering event was just minutes away. Obviously it was not to be missed, and we had a front row view. The problems were set by Jackie Godoffe, each completely diverse and as entertaining for the spectators as for the athletes. A new name from the French; Alizé Dufraisse small in stature but strong and technical made a big impression and passed through to the final with Olga Bibik and Guilia Giammarco. The final problem became a bit drawn out when none of the remaining athletes managed to finish the problem. It seemed no one knew how to solve the issue not even our unstoppable front man Andrea Gennari Daneri, who twice proclaimed a winner only to look on in dismay as the competition continued regardless. So the girls continued climbing, until at last it was agreed that Olga Bibik had done enough.

Sunday, and at last a time to relax. Liz was up late, a competition virgin, it had already taken its toll on her. The Chunk and myself went straight into the competition arena. There were already quite a few spectators so we quietly laid out our roll mat and turned our heads towards the wall.

We got underway with the worked difficulty competition. So how worked was it?, well I understood they had had 20 minutes on the route. And how difficult?, the men's route was 8c/+. Chabot won, his combined height greater than his closest rivals Puigblanque and Mrazek. The little Austrian Angela Eiter won the womens event ahead of Muriel Sarkany and Sandrine Levet, and at only 17 years old, wow. During the course of the day we realised that whoever was in charge of the sound system had a very small music collection. The Red Hot Chilly Peppers was one of his favourites, then there was.. err.. no, nothing else comes to mind.

After lunch it was the mens bouldering competition. Mr Calibani put in a good performance which pleased the crowd, just pipping Kazbekov and Dulac. Again Godoffe provided 4 testing challenges, the last of which stopped all in their tracks. My favourite event was next, the duel. Two climbers on adjacent but identical routes, first to the top wins. But it's not just about speed. The routes are climbed onsight, they are difficult and it is very possible your competitor may fall. It is best when you have two competitors of very different statue; Levet against Sarkany for example. It's like cat and mouse, do you go fast, or slow and steady. Chabot got it wrong, climbing fast to the roof, before fluffing the sequence and allowing Patxi Usobiaga to take victory in the first heat. The final pairs were Eiter vs Sarkany and Mr‡zek vs Usobiaga, another great match. Eiter took her 3rd victory of the weekend, and Mr‡zek was just to quick for Usobiaga.

Not many people stayed for the presentation, in fact competitors seemed to outnumber spectators. Each winner had his or her national anthem played except for the Czech Mz‡rek who received his prize to the sound of 'We are the Champions' played by popular rock combo Queen. Afterwards we met up with Gili, an Israeli who was staying at the campsite on a solo climbing trip and having problems finding partners to achieve his target 8b. Obviously we were not well disposed to help him with that problem, but we could take him for a drink. We hit the after event party, well a gathering in the bar in the centre of town. A small kiosk offered cheap beers each coming with a raffle ticket. For all the tickets we had we were sure to be in with a chance. There were some great prizes on offer: A North Face tent, jackets, numerous rock shoes and rucksacs from Cassin and others.

I walked away with a pair of womens shorts.

Monday and today we would climb. This time we arrived at Passo San Giovanni. And hey what a great little spot, sheltered from the sun, and convenient. My confidence was running high having seen the competition so I went for my obligatory 7a in high spirits. First attempt went with a couple of rests and just one move that I didn't manage to do. The Chunk stepped forward and had a stab. He solved the crux but a pie excess prevented him from seeing the top of the route. My turn again, and guess what.. I did it. I was very satisfied with my first red-point. We left just after lunch, we had to return to Lecco and there were flights to catch the following day. The evening was spent eating pizza in Bellagio on lake Como, very nice.