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On Thursday I discovered a fantastic probably unclimbed line on the island of Bornholm, Denmark. It was only 6½m high, but what a line! A clean thin finger crack came down the grey granite of Holkadalen. It had to be climbed by me.

Should I climb it as a Route or just try to do it as a scary highball boulder? It looked hard and I figured that I would have no chance of placing gear while climbing.I brought out the crash pad and recruited Heidi as my spotter. It was hard, my fingers could barely fit in the crack and brutal finger locks was the only way of progress.

It took me a few tries to condition myself to accept the pain while jamming my fingers. I was at the point of resigning, but all of a sudden it all came together. What a fantastic line, this will surely become a classic.

The first ascent of Holka Risset, 7a, Holkadalen, Bornholm, Denmark.

Me and my photos from Tenerife has made it to the frontpage on the May issue of ‘Klatring’. The frontpage photo was shot early in the morning with self-timer on the summit of El Teide, 3718m - The sun is just about to rise!

Inside the magazine there is a full featured story with more of my photography including the centerfold article about my Pico de Teide ascent.

(Click the picture to read the article in Danish)

This spring has turned out to be my best season on rock, ever. I feel solid climbing around grade 7 on our local crag Kullen. It’s amazing to be warming up on routes that only last year tested me sorely. It’s impressive what training and experience will do. My objective is to climb ten grade 7 routes within a year. So far my count is seven, so I seem to be getting there.

I am taking a few days of now since i feel a bit over-trained and lack motivation. I should be back training in about a week. Later this summer, the plan is to take my newly acquired rock climbing skills to the big mountain rock routes of the Alps.

A desperate unshaved wannabe rockstar sending Deja Vu (7) on Kullen.
Photo by Morten Johansen

I had a very good time on Tenerife with my small family! It was nice and warm and the climbing lived up to the expectation. I went to the summit of Pico de Teide (3718m) on the 7th of Feburary climbing via the Altavista Hut (3200m)

The temperature was about -10 on the summit, but it was a very beautiful sunrise though it smelled very bad of sulphur on the crater rim. The climb was non-technical and only a small amount of snow and ice on the crater-rim was encountered.

I did also manage to do some bouldering at ‘Arico Nuevo’ I worked and finally climbed a fun 7A called ‘Nave Esp.’

In February 2008 Heidi, Sif and I will be on the island Tenerife for a whole month. I am really looking forward to this since my plans on the island include an ascent of the highest mountain in Spain ‘Pico de Teide’ 3.718m - a marvellous snow covered extinct volcano.

Also in the plans are rock climbing and a good deal of relaxation together with Heidi and our young daughter Sif. Tenerife has several good areas for both bouldering and rock climbing. I really like going to the beach, but after a while I usually get bored and want to go climbing. Baby Sif is of course still to young to go climbing; hopefully she plans to sleep while I’m doing it.

I have just returned from a few days in Paris. I was visiting an old friend who lives outside Paris in the small city of Recloses near the forest of Fontainebleau. Fontainebleau is a bouldering mecca. I am not a hardcore boulder, but I did manage to do some nice 6th degree Bleau problems.

Anders executes a dyno (Photo by Bo Nortvig)

Bleau is a fine place with a very special relaxed atmosphere. The sandstone climbing is highly technical and you will be punished instantly if your technique is not up to the task. The climbing is very ‘family friendly’ and so you could easily bring your non-climbing friends. This is a perfect place to learn the first moves on the rocks.

Last Thursday was spent on Kullen. It was raining when we left Copenhagen and it rained on Kullen as well. We got wet, but we also managed some climbing between the showers. This is me leading Aero (7-) on Gubbamalen

Thomas Boesgaard made a fine movie by leaving his camera on the ground while belaying me.

Well done!

Kristoffer Szilas and Allan Christensen has climbed the Eiger Nordwand over two days during the easter. They had a bivy at the classic ‘death bivuak’. Pictures and story on http://danskbjergklub.dk/forum/showthread.php?t=1044

Many climbers seem puzzled by the concept of (T) and (B) ratings on ice axes. Let me try to explain this concept. Axes are either rated (T)echnical or (B)asic. All climbing axes are rated (T) per default. The confusion arises because the picks are also (T) and (B) rated. (T) Rated picks are stronger and heavier. They are primarily designed for mixed climbing where rock work is involved, they are however also suited for normal icefall climbing. (B) Rated picks have finer blades and are only suited for pure water ice climbing.

For Scottish mixed or hard alpine climbing I would recommend the use of (T) rated picks as (B) rated picks may not be strong enough for mixed climbing.

I’m still following my training regime as outlined in my last post. I have had to rest a few days during the Christmas and new-year holidays, but now I am at it again. For the last couple of days I have had some slight pain in my right shoulder, probably due to overtraining. I try to listen to my body, so for the rest of the week, I will go easy on hard bouldering and focus more on technique and mental exercises.
As ‘training manual’ I can highly recommend Eric J. Hörst’s Training for climbing This book is a very comprehensive training bible that covers everything from specific workouts to nutrition.

As mental training I have read The Rock Warriors Way by Arno Iligner. Arno’s book gives you a total mental training program and provides useful insight on how to approach the climbing sport from a mental point of view.