Saturday 31 August 2013

August: Stelvio and Ötztal Climbing Camp



My summer turned out better than expected. I really enjoyed biking, because as soon as the cast was removed I felt like if I could bike like nothing had happened, injury free! The following weeks I trained more on the bike than I did climbing and in August I went to Bormio with Stew where we met his Mum and Dad, because Stew, Mike and I planned to cycle the Stelvio loop. On Monday the 5th of August we left the campsite at 7:30am in Bormio (1225m), cycled up to the Passo Umbrail summit (2501m), cycled down to Switzerland, cycled back to Italy to the Prato allo Stelvio and up the Stelvio (2758m) with the 48 hairpin turns and finally down to Bormio again. In total we cycled 100km with 3200m of climbing. This was probably one of the most challenging things that I have done in my life! The constant battle with your innerself, the determination and the different mental stages you go through, but the feeling of success at the end of the day is so rewarding that you would definitely do it again, again and again. 



As the weeks passed my ankle got stronger and stronger and I switched back from cycling to climbing. End of August was the yearly Ötztal Climbing Camp, which was held already the 5th time in a row. Each year the event grows and gets more professional. I enjoyed working with the motivated climbers, who were eager to learn and improve their climbing skills and enjoy their time on the rock of Ötztal.