Šimon Potůček, autumn climbing in Osp
After the competition season, I decided to go to the crags one last time before the break. Originally the plan was to go to Arco or something like that, but that didn't work out, so a fairly classic visit to Mišja peč took place. I've been here more times than I think is a healthy number. I like it here though, there are still plenty of routes left and you can climb here in almost any weather.
Immediately upon arrival I started trying the Martin Krpan route for 9a. After last year's climb of Konec Mira route, it was a fairly logical choice. The route is located in the cave, goes across the whole profile and sweeps practically all the hard spots that are there. It's no Kingline to look at, but it's a nice climb with awesome sequences and a real test of physical readiness.
I knew the sequences well from previous ascents and just needed to connect them all. I felt good with the shape left after the competitions and surprised myself on the first day when I managed to link the route in 2 parts on the third attempt with a fall a few meters below the top. That's when the nervousness set in, because the idea of "just climbing the route and seeing" quickly became "I can climb it on the next attempt if I don't make a mistake". And unfortunately the attempt with mistakes followed the very next day. But this helped me to "get a feel" for it, and the next attempt was climbed correctly and I sent it around lunchtime.
This is my first 9a, so the happiness was huge. I know I'm probably a bit late with climbing 9a, but it's sometimes hard to combine that with competitions and probably better late than never. :)
At the end of the trip, my friends still convinced me that I should check out the Sanjski par again, also for 9a. It's a technical, bouldering ceiling with an endurance climb completely on the other side of the area. I tried the route 2 years ago. I didn't really like it though - the technical sequences didn't work for me, I was weak in the body, and "claustrophobic" climbing 2 meters above the ground is not something I particularly enjoy.
However, I felt good in the route, tuned the key sequence better and managed the climb, after a big struggle, on the 4th attempt. Climbing this route is perhaps even more important to me than Krpan. It's close to my personal heart - it was the first 9a I've ever seen, and at the same time it didn't sit well with me and was hard to climb. That said, it was a real struggle, which is always my favorite thing about climbing in the end.
In the meantime, there were still some good climbs of the Pikova Dama 8b route for third and Matrix 8b for second, which definitely makes it probably the most successful climbing trip so far.
Šimon Potůček