Vogon poetry


The majority of you might know it just by the simple fact that...

'Vogon poetry is of course, the third worst in the universe...' as Douglas Adams ingeniuously put it in his entertaining sci-fi masterpiece The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy...

I also got to know it from a quite different perspective - as one of the toughest and trickiest routes of my local climbing crag, Dovzanova soteska.

Because of it's flat nature and only minimalistic holds some climbers were also grading it as the 'ugliest' (no harm intended ;)) of the lot, but I eventually decided to at least try it out before giving it any smart remarks.

Through my tendency to perform better on overhanging routes, the conclusion for me ended up as a three-week 'full on' project, with the final ascent lying in the air for the whole of the last week. And though graded at a mere 7b+ and thus beeing quite far from my outmost climbing maximum - it was, remarkably, also a route that probably taught me the most about climbing movement of them all?!!

When I arrived back home, I simply had to open the book for one last time... to read...

Oh freddled gruntbuggly
Thy micturations are to me
As plurdled gabbleblotchits
On a lurgid bee.

Groop, I implore thee, my foonting turlingdromes
And hooptiously drangle me
With crinkly bindlewurdles,
Or I will rend thee in the gobberwarts with my blurglecruncheon,

See if I don't! - Excerpt (7th chapter)


...as the the words interestingly made sence - for once. See if I don't'! ;)

Melting ice & drippin' candles


February 2006.
With all the 'competition hassle' & excitement behind us - with all mental conclusions asside - we still couldn't quite say goodbye to this years winter, as it somehow just kept calling us in. Inviting and promising sweet rewards. Just like a tempting cone of ice-cream on one of those hot summer days...

And though, at first, I didn't quite know how to respond to it's calls, I quickly managed to switch my attention as I found out that one of the true pearls of slovenian ice climbing has formed in a reasonably climbable condition. The very next day, a small bunch of us 'ice-addicts' were already burried into knee-deep snow, just pushing to get to the tempting candles as soon as possible...

A couple of cold mornings and warm(ing) afternoons
- accompanied by a series of really amazing and pictueresque ascents (the famed 7th grades of Membrana and Super slap Kosobrin in the valley of Tamar being just the most outstanding ones!!) were a really great conclusion to jet another winters bout.

Good-bye (at least for now ;)) my trusty axes and cramp's - HELLO, colourful spring!!

Competition season - FINAL outcome(s)



The weeks just rushed by, as we were trying to catch the most of them and the good climbing & outdoor conditions they were offering. It was also a time to slowly conclude my list of organized climbing events for yet another winter.

The first 'gauntlet' of decision fell during the last competition of our national CUP, held in a 'one-of-a-kind' (quite unique for European and even world standards!!) artificially frozen gorge near Mojstrana, Slovenia.

I managed to climb consistently on the roots of my growing experience and finished with the 3rd (yes, a HATTRICK!!) national victory in a row in the difficulty alignment!! After (also) winning the over-all championship title for the first time (!!), climbing to a final 3rd place in the speed-category was one of the best ways of concluding another thrilling weekend!

Yup, it was a fine season indeed... one that will not be forgotten so fast!

Ohh, but not so quick... since I promised to a couple of my foreign friends, I couldn't complete my 'competition voyage' just yet?! ;) Departing for Zagreb (the capital of Croatia) a couple of weeks later, finally put a lot of the things in the rightly-earned perspective for me.

Another nicely-organized event, this time held in a non-operational street tunnel, was another icing on the cake after a looong and (sometimes) tiring season. Final outcome: 2nd place in difficulty... with a lot of warm memories to accompany me until the next winter's 'rush'. I wonder if that will suffice?? ;))

Competition season 06' - part 'deux'



When writing about all the previous events I have already witnessed this year I felt kind of strange. Somehow I just couldn't seem to shake the feeling I was capable of doing a lot more with my current state of fitness and over-all climbing preparation. Like I was missing some great opportunities?!!

Feeling a bit uncertain at first, it was exactly those feelings (although being far from negative) that later allowed me to stop and reflect a little about my wishes and realistic future possibilities. Realizing the 'pros & cons' I was calm and relaxed again... just an evening away form one of the biggest ice-climbing events of the year... the WORLD CUP competition in Saas Fee, Switzerland.

Driving there with my climbing friend Tanja, I was having a true blast. Passing through snowy mountain-passes we seemed to be ready for just about everything. But then... just once we drove into the Saas-walley... DISASTER?!! My stomach started acheing, my head pounding and I knew I was in trouble. I seemed to have caught a late 'fragment' of stomach-flu, that my sister had just conquered a couple of days back?!! And this REALLY needed to happen right here... in one of the world's most expensive places?! I was in for a great weekend...

But I seemed to pull through somehow... sleeping perhaps 2 short hours, eating one and a half biscuits and two bananas, altogether mixed with 2-3 small cups of bitter tea... all of this while all the other competitors were 'lingering' on all-you-can-eat pasta dinners and a good nights sleep?!

Still determined, I tried... I warmed up slowly, drank some more tea, ate another banana-biscuit-mix... and waited for my number to be called. When it was I was in a zone of my own. Climbing slowly, but surely... no unneeded movements and no serious fatigue... untill the time finally ran out on me.
I made it through the qualifying with a solid performance. And that's when I realized that anything was possible... if only my 'medical state' would co-operate with me.

Luckily it DID and together with the newly found 'knowing' & relief came also the long awaited burst of energy. It was time to ENJOY competition climbing at it's best once again... the fact that there was a wast competition of the world's best climbers still waiting for me, didn't seem so important at this moment. It was time to have FUN!

And I did... finishing 13th in the speed-event and advancing to the 12th place over-all in difficulty was more than I could have ever bargained for just 2 days prior.

The evening finished with a glorious final-event and an even more special (and already legendary!! ;)) climbing-PARTY... one that you don't get to see just every day.

Eventhough we wanted to do some more climbing in the coming days (Tanja got sick as well - caught a 'heavy' cold, after making a great WC debút?!), we felt content and kin'da fulfiled when driving back home...

Competition season 06' - part one

January is usually a pretty busy month for... huh, probably just about everybody... starting right after the new year celebrations, then blasting off at full speed like nothing interrupted the rythm in the first place.


For me it has been one of the most intense periods of the year for say, 3 straight winters now -> especially as the ice-climbing competition season somehow manages to win my attention time and time again.


This month I attended 4: one of them of extremely high quality, the other ones not stepping far behind.


International Kötschach- Mauthen (3rd place speed), Mezica (1st place difficulty, 4th place speed), 'cremme de la cremme' World Cup in Val Daone (9th place speed) and another 'marathon speed event' held in Slovenia (record time, but a slight mistake that cost me another victory!?!!) were definately the places to be at.

Meeting up with a couple of my dear foreign friends, acquiring some additional razor-sharp and highly effective equipment (LOWA shoes) and attaining a great level of physical form that could (and hopefully will ;)) do me good in the next cycle, definately meant great news... but, merely potentially, though... for more, I guess we'll just have to wait (take part, compete, strain out brains off) and see...

Happy NEW YEAR !

It has supprised us with the speed of a combat super-sonic if not faster... as do seasons and temperaments occasionally change, so must the dates and years, I guess.

I hope it 2 be filled with dreams come true. Alongside happiness and positive thought, may it also be based on your strong beliefs, perseverance and
achievement as well as the right touch of the ever fragile, gentle hope. A guiding light and a clear path ahead...

All the BEST in 2006, everybody!!

Snowy , icy paths

A short glimpse into a few of my trips & climbing action done in December could point out some very opposing activities.

Expanding all the way from swimming in warm, (almost too comfortably, huh) heated water to swiftly gaining altitude on extremely cold structures of chrystalized H2O is one way to get to know & love the outdoors even more.

The 'material' result can sometimes be seen and weighed merely by looking at the enclosed pics' (also click here for a detailed report in Slovenian-language), whilst on those other, rare occasions can help you acheave a whole new SPECTRE of thought and movement... unknowingly at first, but definately worth a good TRY or two.