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Iâm currently on a climbing trip in Norway at Jøssingfjord. For those knowledgeable Cracksters out there, you will know this is where the famous crack climb Recovery Drink is. And also my route Crown Royale, which I did a few years ago.
I have been on this trip with Jernej Kruder, a former world champion in bouldering, who has recently got into trad and crack climbing. He ended up making the first repeat of Crown Royale, and from watching and spending some time with Jernej in Jøssingfjord, there are always some things to learn from the best.
When I climb with some of these top level climbers, I often find itâs the smaller obvious details which sets them apart from others. There are so many strong climbers now, but what sets apart âthe strongâ from âthe strong that have successâ
Here are a few things I heard from or noticed about Jernej, which I believe gave him success on the route (aside from his obvious world cup winner strength).
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These are all things we can apply ourselves:
1. Always have another go
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I was impressed that Jernej would always give the route 'another goâ. Where most climbers would have stopped, called it a day, felt too broken, Jernej gave it one last effort (either on that specific day of redpointing, or on the trip as a whole).
On the morning of his last day, he woke up with swollen hands, tired biceps and general fatigue from trying the climb. For most climbers cleaning their ropes and gear from the wall would have been the day's agenda. But Jernej put his last ounce of effort into a redpoint attempt which ended in success.
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Jernej is relatively new to trad and crack climbing, and he told me his biggest improvements came in the last 6 months when he trained hand jams.
He didnât train the awkward sizes, no paddles, no ringlocks, he built strength and resilience in his hand jam, and he said by doing this made fantastic gains.
This gives us even further confidence in our point we always say to anyone starting crack climbing⌠âMaster the hand jam, it is the staple of your crack climbing diet, and everything else will start to follow naturallyâ
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3. Focus on the goal and donât get distracted
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Jernej turned up in Jøssingfjord like a kid in a sweet shop. New location, new climbs, and so much to do. It would be so easy to try all the classics or try something that a mate was on because it looked good. But he had a goal in mind from the beginning and stuck to it.
Even on the last day when the send was very unlikely due to fatigue, he didnât deviate and climb some cruisey cracks to round out the trip. Nope, he stuck to his goal and gave the route one last go against the odds.
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4. Relaxed âcan doâ attitude
I was impressed by Jernejâs relaxed attitude towards the climbing. He was quietly going about the project doing all the right things, but he wasnât âgoing on about itâ all the time, obsessing over sequences, he had a good âcan doâ attitude, and saw the whole process as learning, even if the outcome didnât end up with a send.
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Everybody always has different ways to approach climbs or trips. But I do always find it fascinating to see how the best go about it, as I often find I can take some of their positives and fit it into my own approach.
Keep working those hand jams, and happy jamming
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