Magic Wood

To say that it has been a long time since my last post would be to make a gross understatement. In no way does the recent frequency (or, perhaps, the lack there of) of my writing reflect the level of excitement in our lives! So much has happened over the last couple of months that I find myself at a loss as to where to begin! I suppose the best way to begin would be simply to chose a destination and tell you about it, would you not agree? So here goes, lets start this story in a campsite, girt by a raging river, in the mountains of Switzerland....

Magic Wood
If any forest is more worthy of the name Magic Wood than that lying between Andeer and Ausserferrera, Switzerland, I am yet to have seen it! Bursting with life, ferociously delicate and overwhelmingly serene, Magic Wood will steal the first breath from your lungs (quite literally) each morning as you open your eyes to the majesty of its mountainous setting. It is getting this breath back that proves difficult, set at approximately 1'500m above sea level a stroll through Magic Wood can seem strangely laborious when you first arrive. When we arrived in Magic Wood at the beginning of May, we were greeted with snow on the ground, wet bocks and an ominous looking sky, unfortunately over the next six weeks not a great deal changed! During our time at Magic Wood it rained a lot, eventually both Josh and I were able to find lines that inspired us that were dry and finally I was able to experience granite bouldering for the first time in my life!

Josh on Super Nova 7c

Unnamed boulder 6a+

Our opportunities to get out and climb seemed to be as fleeting as a flame in the wind at altitude (and trust me after endeavouring to light fires for warmth each day and night I am very aware of how short lived this flame is!). In some ways the terrible weather that we experienced was a blessing, had it not been for the rain forcing us to abandon camp and take refuge in the guest house most days we may not have met the amazing people who made our time at Magic Wood truly memorable! The rainy days were passed with game after game of Rummy 500, Uno, Yatzee, Chess and Red 7's. The less rainy days, and the few sunny days we enjoyed, were spent in the forest throwing ourselves at our latest projects.

U-Boot 6c - learning to heel hook again :)

For me the climbing in Magic Wood was for the most part frustrating. Having not found a great deal of information on Magic Wood before we left from Australia we were unsure what to expect. Each story we heard of Magic Wood seemed to contrast the last to such a degree that drawing any conclusions on what would await us seemed impossible. Climbers we respect had told us stories from their time in the Woods ranging from 'the best place I have ever been' to 'not worth going at all'. It is only now after visiting that I understand the reason for these contrasting remarks. It all comes down to the fact that if you are climbing 7a and above Magic Wood is a theme park packed full of boulders to inspire and challenge you, if you are climbing below 7a Magic Wood may not be the best place to visit, places like Fontainebleau offer a great deal more variety at this level and may be more inspiring. Magic Wood does not offer a large number of problems below 6c (and the 6c's are tough), factor in that a large number of these 'lower grade' problems have the terrible landings associated with granite climbing and that some are so high that even the bravest amongst us will probably be searching for a belay bolt and you are not left with a great deal to climb. The climbs that are available below 7a are of value, please do not mistake me as saying that they are not, in fact some are great, but perhaps you will find greater value in a region offering more variety - especially if you are planning to stay for a while. In addition to the low number of climbs at my grade, my experience at Magic Wood was unfortunately dampened when my bad knee decided that it did not like the cold...at all! Between the somewhat epic walk-ins and my knee refusing to let me weightbear on the cold days I often found myself sat at camp with very little hope of being physically able to get into the forest. Oh well, it is a long time until my leg will need to tolerate temperatures below -10 and by then I fully expect it to be stronger and more healed, so nothing to worry about!
During the time in Magic Wood I got strong (at least compared to where I was before), unlike the delicate balance-dependant moves of Bleau, Magic Wood is strength dependant climbing. I learned to heel hook with my right leg again (well!), something I haven't able to do since I injured my knee. I learned to mantel and compression climb. I had amazing times with new friends and old. I built snowmen and made snow angels. I slept in a tent in the snow. I saw mountains and streams more beautiful than any I have seen before. And above all, I spent six weeks in a majestic wonderland, with my favourite person in the world!

Snow Day!

Josh's 1st Snowman...EVER!

Our Cosy Home

Some tips if you are planning a Magic Wood trip;

• Maybe wait until you are climbing at least 7a
• If you are going for an extended time consider having a car*
• At the start of the season you can get bad weather, but in the peak it will be super busy, decide what you would rather
• Take food for the first night, don't rely on the shop at the campground being open, you might go hungry - we did!
• The bus to Andeer is expensive, make your journey worth the money and get everything you need
• EVERYTHING in Andeer is closed on Sunday and they siesta every afternoon, go in the morning or the afternoon, not lunch time!
• Thusis is further away, but the shops are bigger and much cheaper
• Remember Switzerland has a different power point to the rest of Europe, you will need an extra adaptor 

* - It is possible to be in Magic Wood quite happily without a car. The bus from Andeer drops you directly outside the campground. The blocks are accessed from the campground by foot, thus you don't need a car to get to any of the climbing. The Edelweiss Guesthouse is about a 10minute walk from camp and provides internet, food and drinks, charging stations, TV and Xbox. There is normally someone who you can get a lift into town from, or someone who will pick up what you need when they go shopping. BUT - if it is raining chances are you can probably find better weather in a valley not too far away, if you have a car you can probably find somewhere to climb regardless of the weather, if you don't have a car and the weather turns foul, bad luck you just have to wait it out!

Innsbruck
During the middle of our time in Magic Wood we decided to go to Innsbruck (thank you to all of you who gave us gifts that allowed this to happen) to watch the Bouldering World Cup. Heidi (the friend we met in Fontainbleau) had passed on our details to her friend Barbara and before we knew it Barbara and Mathias had offered to have us stay during our time in Innsbruck, not just Josh and I, no FOUR of us! They had never met us, and actually didn't even know how we knew Heidi before they welcomed us into their home! I know what you are thinking, what legends! Right?!

Our Awesome Hosts!!!

Unfortunately, we had to wait a couple of days before we would truly find out how awesome they actually are! When we arrived in Innsbruck Barbara and Mathias had only five minutes until they had to leave to go to the cinema, after quick introductions, a tour around their fabulous abode and instructions on how to get into town they were off and we were alone in their home. Overwhelmed by their trust and generosity we sat in shock for a while! Soon we made our way into the Market Place to meet up with Nick and the Sweeds (three awesome guys we had met in Magic Wood who decided to join us in Innsbruck for a final party to end their three months of travelling around California and Europe). The walls were set for the competition and we decided to celebrate our being there with a few drinks with great people!

Team Sweden!

By the time we woke the following morning Barbara and Mathias had already left for work and we were still yet to have spoken more than 10 words to the couple who had been so generous to us. After a quick breakfast it was time to explore the city. And what an AMAZING city it is!!! Words cannot describe how beautiful Innsbruck is, mountains on every side, river though the middle, cute colourful houses the city oozes character! In contrast to our subzero rainy conditions in Magic Wood the 25 degrees, sunshine and ice-cream we experienced in Innsbruck felt heavenly! Not for the first time since starting this blog I find my vocabulary insufficient, words to do justice to the beauty of Innsbruck fail me and so again I will turn to photos in the hope that they can convey what I am unable to.

After watching the kids tear it up at the blocparty, we headed back home to have dinner with and finally properly meet our hosts. Barbara cooked lasagne for everyone and even made a special gluten free pasta for me. Over dinner conversation flowed easily and we found that our hosts were truly awesome!!! Hopefully at a point not too far in the future we are able to return the favour to them and have them stay with us in Australia!
The next day the qualifications for the world cup began, it was great to cheer on James and our new friend Sandeep! The problems were thought provoking and the athlete's ability to make them look easy was perplexing and above all else inspiring. In a controversial twist the weather took a turn for the worst after the first half of male athletes had completed the first of the boulders (A1 and B1). Strangely, the organisers had only seen the need to cover boulders 2-5 leaving boulders A1 and B1 exposed to the elements. After the rain set in the competition was paused after some time the officials decided that it would be unsafe to have athletes compete on these problems and as such cancelled the first wall. Sounds like a good solution unless you were one of the first 20 athletes whose position on the leader board was greatly impacted by the cancelling of this boulder, not to mention the fatigue these athletes took into the second problem compared to the freshness of the rest the group. Sadly neither James nor Sandeep qualified, however both should be proud of the examples that they have set to all of the climbers in their respective countries, they have truly proven that with hard work all dreams are possible, regardless of where you are from!

James on A1

After the female qualification finished, we made our way home, losing Claire and the now time obsessed Lukas somewhere in the park (they were a bit drunk to say the least). Don't worry Claire I wont tell anyone you fell asleep at the comp ;). After eventually finding our lost comrades we got home in time to join Barbara and Mathias and their friends for a few more drinks and some youtube laughs. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR_byRbXxvs Check it out haha)
Then it was final day, we arrived at the market place early to ensure that we could get seats and settled in for the entertainment! During the Semis the first female competitor had us all convinced that the problems were too easy, near on topping all of them, it was only later when the big names struggled on the same problems that we realised that the problems were in fact not easy, rather this girl was very strong! The quality of the problems seemed to improved the longer the competition went on and the home crowd support for Killian and Anna was deafening and electric! During the break between Semis and Finals Barbara and Mathias took us on a local's tour of the city, leading us to good food and great views of the city!

The sun set below the mountain ridge, spilling colours through the sky, colours that danced across the water of the river beside us as thousands of people spilled into the market place taking their place for the main event, the Finals! The atmosphere was immense, the stage was set, the crowd screamed as their favourites took to it. The athletes fed off of the crowd's enthusiasm and pulled of amazing fetes that only added to the roar! The competition was unpredictable and the result was not decided until the final boulder for both the males and females. A double win for Germany, much to Lukas' delight! Home favourites Anna and Killian both made the podium much to the crowd's delight and when it was all over I knew that we had just witnessed the most impressive competition climbing I had ever seen. I was inspired and could not wait to train again!
The excitement did not finish with the awarding of the medals, far from it actually! Following the competition was the after party... a surreal event! It seemed the more I drank the better my German speaking abilities became and before I knew it I found myself having conversations with Udo Neumann about what makes the German team so strong auf Deutsch! Carving up the dance floor with friends we were surrounded by all of the biggest names in the climbing world! Pretty amazing really! Some time around 4am the party finished and we dragged ourselves home again.
After a bit of a sleep in we were at a loss for what to do with our final day in Innsbruck. Claire had decided to walk up one of the mountains, something that my knee and my hangover did not want me to do and so soon it was decided that Barbara and Mathias needed to be taken to the Bouldering gym to see what all the fuss was about!
On the way home from the gym, after having an awesome time on plastic, we stopped off for some more amazing views! The time we spent in Innsbruck was sooo much more amazing than I expected it to be and my expectations we pretty high!

The following day we packed up and set of early, Lukas had decided to take us to visit Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. I had learned about Neuschwanstein when I was young in German classes and I was excited to finally visit the castle that Disney stole for their logo, to see the fairy tales painted on the walls and ceilings, it was spectacular and was the perfect end to our Innsbruck adventure!