My hardest project yet
Monster Original 8a
It is the last day here on Lofoten we had a really good breakfast, and now it’s time to pack the crashpads for the last try. Chalkbag, shorts, fan, Clifbars, a left scarpa instinct, and a right Furia air. Just the perfect combination. I have to do it. I’ve climbed this boulder a hundred times, but only in my head. So now it’s time to put it on the wall. To this moment, I have done all the moves but one, the crux move. But I know now how it works. No heel hook, just putting my left foot out as far as I can and then slowly controlled take my right hand up to the small crimp and then bump up to the jug. Everything is now stuffed into the crash pads, and it’s time to leave the campsite. The boulder is just a few hundred meters away. We park at the side of the road and walk the last 150 meters to the bloc. It’s just so beautiful, even though it’s right beside the E10, the main road in Lofoten.
One deep breath. And here we go. Right Hand up to the good crimp and the heel into the starting hold. This heel hook is so good. Next, the left hand out onto the first sloper. Now the fight is on. Another short breath and now the big move out to the side pull. Uff, this hurts. My skin is not the best. But I can hold it. Now the real battle begins. I bump my left hand up to the second sloper. Now the feet. The right foot out to the edge above the starting holds. Hopefully, the toe hook stays. It doesn’t feel that bad. So now the left heel up under my left hand on the sloper. Then I take the next move to the 3rd sloper. This move is hard and painful as soon as my hand touches the rock, pain flows through the skin of my hand. But it’s not over yet. I have to do it a second time the next move is not so far, but the last sloper hurts the most this move has thrown me off this boulder so often, but this time I can hold onto it. So now it’s time to put my right foot on the good hold and stretch out my left leg as far as possible to hold the balance. How can I let go of the right hold and get to this small crimp. It just hurts so much, but now I'm so close. I can't give up…
This year I did my first 7b in Magic Wood, and it felt relatively easy. But after this trip in May, I had several bigger and smaller injuries which were the reason I couldn't really train for the Norway trip. But I still decided to try Monster Original 8a, a cool looking classic on the island Austvågøy in Lofoten. After arriving and not managing to do my last year’s 7b project because of my shoulder which wasn't 100% fit. I went to check Monster with no expectations at all. But after doing one session on it, it felt doable because the style of climbing didn't affect my shoulder that much and the moves are just cool.
After arriving in Moskenes in the middle of the night with our ferry being delayed because of bad weather and a really stormy ride we arrived at Austvågøy in the evening. We stayed at Lyngvær camping, very close to the Monster boulder, and did a short evening walk up to the Monster boulder to check it out. I couldn’t climb because it was all wet, but I got a first look at the boulder, and we had a really nice sunset.
The view from above on the islands Vestvågøy, Gimsøy and Austvågøy (from left to right), Monster is located in the lower right corner just outside the photo
Day 1 (August 14th)
On my first day, I tried the boulder from the start and figured out the first moves up to the slopers. It was an excellent start into the project, and that I could do the first few moves made the boulder feel possible, which was a really good sign and a motivational boost because when I looked at the boulder in 2021, one year before the boulder looked so unclimbable to me—especially doing the big move out to the side-pull (second picture below) after just a few tries felt so good and made me fall in love with this line.
After bouldering, we enjoyed the sun and watched the bouldering finals of the European championships, and I did some stretching.
Day 2 (August 18th)
After three days of rest and a lot of hiking, it was time to get back on the project. I made some progress and managed to move the left heel hook from the start up to the first sloper by using a toe hook with the right on the edge above the starting holds.
Getting the toes in place to release the left heel from the starting hold
Sunset near Rørvik beach
Day 3 (August 19th)
My skin was not the best from the day before so I didn’t make any progress. But we met a really nice guy from Denmark, and we shared some beta, and he did the crux move up to the small crimp with a heel hook placed on the side pull. It looked really solid, so I tried it too. But I wasn’t able to do it that way. We didn’t film that day, but my brother took some really nice photos after I showed him how to use and hold the camera properly (see below).
Day 4 (August 21st)
After seeing the heel hook beta the day before, I gave it another try and spent a lot of time trying to stick the move up to the small crimp with the heel. But it just wouldn’t work, and after trying it a lot with all the different shoes, I gave up and tried it without the heel. Which takes a lot more power and skin. It was very hot that day, and it was time to get the fan out so I could hold onto the slopers. When I say hot, it means between 15 and 20°C in Lofoten. But when it’s mostly windy and cold, this feels hot. By this time, my skin got really bad, and soon after a few more tries, I ripped my right middle finger completely open, and it was time to stop.
After staying in parking spots overnight for the last few days, it was time for a shower and a campsite. Luckily there is one close to the boulder. It’s called Lyngvær camping and has everything you need.
Unreal fire like sunset at the campsite
Day 5 (August 26th)
I woke up for our last day on Lofoten, motivated and psyched to end the project. It was the last chance to do the boulder this trip. After a good breakfast and some warmup at the campsite, we drove the short way up to the boulder. I felt relatively good even though my skin was not the best. But I still had to stick the crux move. After a few tries, I finally found the right balance to stay on the wall with my left leg stretched out to the left and my right foot on a good foothold to get to the crimp. Now that I finally figured it out, it didn’t feel very hard anymore. So I just tried the boulder from the crux to the top, and it felt like this part wouldn’t be a problem. After some rest, it was time to give it the first real go from the ground. I got into the starting position and flowed up the first moves to the second sloper, but then it got hard. I barely reached the last sloper, but I couldn’t hold onto it and fell. For the following hours, I tried and rested and tried. But I was never able to get past the crux. The highest I got was trying to reach the crimp, and then I fell.
My skin went from not really good to very bad, and I had to tape up most of my fingers. After trying for 3,5 hours, I had to stop. I was disappointed and frustrated because this was my last chance this year, and now I would have to wait at least a year to try it again. But after a while, I realized that I was definitely capable of climbing a boulder this grade, and if I had more skin, I probably would have done it, which gave me a lot of confidence and motivation.
I also learned some valuable things about projecting and movement along the way, and it was so much fun figuring out all the moves. It also showed me again that even if a boulder looks way too hard in the beginning, after some time and sometimes a lot of tries, it can happen that moves that felt impossible a session before feel relatively easy in the next. So definitely expect another Norway trip next year.
Thanks for reading. If you have any suggestions for improvement, please leave a comment. I also made a video about projecting this boulder, which you can find on Youtube. And if you want to know when I upload the next blog or youtube video or get other news from me (some big things are to come), sign up for my newsletter.
