Switzerland, bouldering in Chironico
This is a story RECONNECTION WITH CLIMBING!
Switzerland, mountains, fresh air, bouldering,… what else would you need to be happy?
This trip was something special. I thought about climbing a lot. About my journey as a photographer and solopreneur. About my monkey mind, my thoughts. I wrote a small story of my climbing. Read it down below:
RECONNECTION WITH CLIMBING!
My climbing goes back to 2005, when I was 19 years old….
I began to climb in the winter of 2005. At the age 19 at the university in Czech Republic. It was my first year at the university of Architecture and Civil Engineering and my second semester.
My previous semester mandatory sport was swimming and I always felt cold and irritated. During architecture class, I met a guy (we became room mates) who introduce me to climbing. This time I sign up for a climbing course and the ball was rolling. I was generally quite week climber, could not even do a pull up. Skinny and boney type of guy.
I was always a bit scared of falling, not very confident. My monkey head was often bringing my performance down. I clearly remember my shaking legs while climbing, over gripping every hold, breathing and thinking about other things. I liked climbing as a lifestyle, a bit of an escape from home. I found climbing obsession as a great segway to reaching my freedom. Escape, not dealing with life challenges and commitments and responsibilities. I was surrounded by cool people, strong climbers, always a bit stronger than me. Many my friends would always climb a bit better, because even tho I was becoming stronger, my head would always bring my performance down. I started to hear from my friend, …Look at you Ales….you clim and train and have a campus board at home, but you suck. I started developing this believe in me and not enjoying fully my climbing. But I still craved that life escape.
I did not know until later in my 38 years of age, that my brain is so strong and effects my body. I loved climbing but always had this love and hate relationship. I would get psyched before the trip, during the trip I would suck, develop negative attitude and come back, slowly regain elegy, start climbing and training….and again. I did many cool climbing stuff. Eld climbing on The Nose, El Capitan, some scary mountaineering winter climbing in Slovakia, ice climbing and for me it is scary stuff. Man, to climb El Cap, it took me a year to prepare myself. But I enjoyed climbing on El Cap so much. Free of thoughts, love it, lead it all the way up. This was a blast. This was an achievement of my youth life.
Once I finished University studies, it was around 2010, I started to focus more on sport climbing in Moravian Karst, Czech Republic. I quickly get to the level of 8a/8a+. Very technical, slab climbing. Super cool, I felt I can climb anything. Until my trip to Spain, Rodellar. I did not even climb 7a on those massive roofs, overhangs. I have slowly starter to develop passion for bouldering, but suck at it. 6a was a hard grade. But, occasionally on good days, good setup, good friends or alone feels the best I would climb my best. I slowly started to disconnect from climbing, my improvements suck, I had a full time job as an Engineer, my long love girl left me after 7 years, hated my job and all went down the hill. I found more obsession in alcohol. It was a great escape from life.
In January 2012, I have lost my job and immediately got an opportunity to work in Dubai, UAE. I had no interest, but house mortgage and shortage of working opportunity was a driving factor just to try for some time. I moved to Dubai, immediately became star in small climbing community, THAT strong Czech guy. Since I am a friend with Adam Ondra, I brought some presents signed by Adam to my new friends in Dubai. Climbing was ok, underdeveloped, Oman was amazing, but I was slowly disappearing from the climbing scene and took 3 years break. Just stopped, started surfing and loved it. Surf, booze, girls :-)
The climbing was always in the back of my mind, something I loved at some point. Something I was proud to be, have this lifestyle but would not progress anymore. Around 2015 I slowly started again, build MoonBoard and my obsession was back. But my trips would always suck. Lovely and in Oman I would climb again around 8a RP. From 2015 till 2019, I would climb, I would train, I would love it, I would hate it. I worked with Tom Randal and I did send my first 7C+, Du Cot De Sesuan in Magic Wood. I did few more 7Cs. Internally I was killing myself with alcohol, depression, stress from hating my job, my life, divorce, my new business would suck, all was going down hill. All I wanted was to be a good father, good lover, good climber and good in creating financial freedom. I had nothing, just my monkey mind taking to me. But you know what, I pursued to climb, maintain myself physicaly, kept putting those tight climbing shoes on, buying new climbing holds, new shoes, new chalk, new bouldering stuff, new books about climbing. I was totally sucked in. I was still using a climbing as a sagway to leave the place I currently was. I felt absolutely stuck.
In 2018 I decided to stop training with Tom. I told him I need to sort my life first. My alcoholism, my financial situation, my fucking head. In 2019 things started to move forward. I stared to meditate, relax, think, listed myself, read and write journal, took year break from girls and sex, worked on my business. I finally stopped drinking alcohol cold turkey. Never drank again since (it was easiest quit of my biggest fear). Later covid hit me also quite hard. No money in the bank, no work, too much stress, too much of everything and nothing. But I kept climbing, battled some finger injuries, bad elbow injuries, slowly brought my business to fruition, found self love, love in general. I build new life, full of gratitude, appreciation, love. Love my girlfriend, take LSD occasionally, smoke weed whenever I can, relax, meditate, read, write. I feel I am closer to myself than ever before. I cry, I laugh, my love is deeper, my sex is better, my financial situation is amazing, I don’t have to look at my bank account anymore when I want to buy something to my daughter or for me.
Last summer, July 2022 I was in the forest of Bahratal/Germany bouldering with my old friend. It was hot, humid and I was trying one 7C boulder. My friend did moves, while I could not. He also sent one 7A which I could not. My inner Ales was hurt so much, that I lost myself. I cried, and cried. I did not know why I hate climbing so much. Why I can’t just enjoy it like before. It was very painful moment in my climbing. Later that week I wrote a list of 30+ reasons why I love climbing. Whole 2022 and 2023, I climbed so much. I have founded UAE Bouldering, where we develop great areas in the UAE. We also organised bouldering festival. I opened so many boulders. I invited friends to develop some world class boulder, I also trained, but mostly climbed and climbed. In September 2022, fist time since I had a Moonboard I decided to start using it :) haha I did almost 500 boulder problems. I did not focus on max limit bouldering as I wanted to build lager pyramid and hopefully take it from here safely with no injury.
As I am writing this, it’s sunny Sunday, April 30, 2023. I am sitting in my VAN in Chironico, Switzerland. 5 days to the full moon and I feel so blessed to have climbing in my life. It always allows me to learn so much about myself. And the reason I wanna climb more and climb 8B is to do it finally for myself. Not for anybody around me. I want this to be a message to my body to relax and let go. It is only my brain stopping me. I want this to be purely from the love to climbing. I am the LOVE, I am the POWER, I am the SUCCESS. And I know if I set the clear goal, I will succeed!
All images copyright@ales vyslouzil photography shooting with Leica Q2.
