Boulder open #62 @ Karbin

_MAL6485.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Friday night I joined Linda and some of her friends for a bit of bouldering at Karbin. We participated in the boulder open competition and had a lot of fun. I completed twenty-seven out of forty problems, a new record for me. I placed seventh out of thirty-two in the rankings.

Here are forty-five photos from the competition.

Boulder open #61 @ Karbin

Last night I participated in boulder open #61 at Karbin in Västberga. I completed 22 out of 40 problems, better than my last showing of 16, but still a bit off my record of 26. I met some nice folks there, including Joakim and Sara, whom I learned are also friends with Josefin, a girl I met at Karbin a couple of weeks ago.

Update: The results from the boulder open #61 have been posted. Andreas and I tied for fifth place.

_MAL3283, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

I arrived late at the competition, and as a result, I didn't have much time left over for taking photos. Still, I managed to get a few. In this shot, Isabelle conquers one of the problems on the back wall. I posted thirty-five photos from the competition.

_MAL3465, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

After the competition, I joined a bunch of climbers at Judit & Bertil near Hornstull, for a few beers. The bar has Samuel Adams Boston Lager on tap, so I was happy. Here are twenty-three more photos from the pub.

Saturday afternoon at KC

_MAL6797.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Saturday I biked to KC for a bit of climbing with Emma & Henrik. I brought my 70-200mm lens and had fun capturing some photos from the top of the tall wall there. Photos taken from above the climber are often the most interesting, because the face and hands — usually the most interesting parts of the photo — are clearly visible.

I also saw Miranda’s sister Josefin there. I imagine Miranda and Kalle are back in Lund now, resuming their studies this week.

After climbing with Emma and Henrik on the tall wall, we all did a bit of bouldering. It was then that I ran into Stefan & Anja, two regulars from Karbin. They're both excellent climbers, and it was fun just to watch them and to see how they approach each problem.

Speaking of Karbin, the results from boulder open #60 have been posted. I finished 16 out of 40 problems, placing 23rd out of 50 participants. Not bad, but I'll have to get back in shape if I'm going to place in the top 10 again. Actually, I think the problems must have been harder than usual this time around. Dan S. completed just 26 problems, and he’s a lot better than I am.

After bouldering for a while, I joined Daniela, Robban, Kjell & Maja for a bit of Thai take-out food. I hadn’t eaten a proper lunch, so the meal was tasty and welcome.

Here are the 14 photos from the evening.

Boulder open #60 @ Karbin

_MAL4718.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Last night was boulder open #60 at Karbin. I did the best I could, but it was certainly not my best performance to date. I completed 16 problems, a bit off my record of 26! Still, I had a good time and completed a few tricky problems. Here are a bunch of photos from the evening.

Boulder Open at Karbin

_MAL1188.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Friday the 31st of August was the last boulder open at Karbin and I'm just now getting around to posting the photos from the evening.

_MAL1317.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Here, Kjell tackles a tricky but fun black-graded problem. With his advice I also managed to complete it.

I wasn't climbing my best that night, and managed to complete only 18 out of 40 problems. I usually complete a few over 20. First of all, I was still recovering from a cold, so I wasn't really firing on all cylinders. Also, there were a lot of good climbers there. These days, folks are returning from their summer vacation, and with were more competitors, it's harder to place high in the rankings. I think the problems were pretty hard this time around too. I placed 16th, down a bit compared to my recent showings. All things considered though, I'm quite happy with my performance.

_MAL1400.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

After the competition, a bunch of climbers went to the Tre Vänner bar in nearby Midsommarkransen. There we had chips and drinks. Here I am with my climber friend Elin. Take a look at all 27 photos from the evening!

“Summer Open” at Karbin

_MAL1005.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Friday night I participated in the recently-announced and somewhat last-minute “Summer Open” bouldering competition at Karbin in Västberga. I had a sore foot but still managed to complete 26 out of 40 problems. I think the problems were a bit easier this time around, so that probably helped too.

Ewa took a few photos of me, including this one of me tackling problem #4. This was hardest problem that I managed to complete.

For more, take a look at my 38 photos from the competition.

_MAL1060.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

After the competition, I joined Elin, Emma, Sara, Magnus, Lisa, Christian, Pete, and a few others at Judit & Bertil pub near Hornstull. The pub has Samuel Adams Boston Lager on tap, so I was satisfied. Nothing beats a cold beer after climbing, and my sore foot probably benefitted from the alcohol.

_MAL1062.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

And after that, I went to Mojito on Upplandsgatan for a bit of salsa dancing. There, I met my new friend from Paris, Mouss, and his salsa-dancing friends from Stockholm. It was so hot and humid inside that I had to wipe off the lens with a cloth in order to get this shot of Mouss and Amanda.

Boulder Open #55 at Karbin

_MAL3713.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

I went to Karbin tonight for the boulder open. It was a lot of fun and very challenging. I completed 25 out of 40 problems this time — one more than than last time, but still one off my record of 26. When the rankings have been tabulated, they'll be posted on Karbin's competitions page.

Update: I placed 6th — not bad!

The problem of orange grips pictured above was a tricky one. It was necessary to pull oneself up on top of the orange grip I'm holding with my hands, and then reach up to another grip just off the top of this image. That was the hard part, and it took me a few tries before I did it successfully.

Tonight when I had climbed ten or so problems, I thought to myself, “this boulder open is harder than the last one!” It's funny, because I remembered thinking the exact same thing last time. For some reason I always get the idea that each boulder open is more difficult than the one preceeding it. But in fact, each time, I complete about the same number of problems. So either I'm getting better at a rate equivalent to the increase in difficulty, or I'm not really improving very quickly!

As in past competitions, tonight there were a couple of black-graded problems that I could almost complete, but not quite. I didn't even try any of the white-graded ones.

I met some new folks tonight, including sisters Elin and Emma, who did a great job considering that they've only been climbing for a couple of months. Hung and Daniel were there, and they made the rest of us look like we were working too hard. Christian K. was there too, and he gave me some good tips on a couple of problems. Isabelle, Patrick, Zindy and John were there as well, and some of us might go bouldering together in Kolartorp on Sunday if the weather cooperates. Follow that link and click on the "stor bild" links to enlarge the photos. I especially like this one.

I have posted 34 photos from the evening, including some of Åsa and Colleen, who were there climbing the top-rope routes.

Boulder open #54 at Karbin

_MAL9659, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Friday night I participated in boulder open #54 at Karbin. The assortment of bouldering problems was more challenging than last time, and I completed just 24 out of 40. Still, I placed higher in the rankings this time: 8th place as opposed to 14th last time.

I met some nice folks there, including Emma, pictured above, and Matilda, the 14-year-old girl who placed first in the competition. Matilda is one of the best climbers in Sweden and was featured in an article in the most recent issue of Bergsport magazine.

Boulder open #50 at Karbin

_MAL9231, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Here, Kjell tackles a tricky route on the back boulering wall at Karbin, during the December 22 boulder open competition there. I placed 22nd in the competition. I posted 31 photos from the evening.