Magic Wood; Heartbreak and Pain

Ausserferrara

Everything in Magic Wood is run out of the town of Ausserferrara by a one man organisation called Bodhi climbing. This includes everything from camping to climber- local relations, a very real concern in a place that gets such a huge amount of visitors. From what we'd seen in the Magic Wood Facebook group the guy seemed like a real crusader; writing on peoples windows that don't pay for camping and arbitrating strict adherence to principles on anything from common decency to environmental ethics. 

In reality this turned out to be a mere veneer. This guy turned out to be one of the reasons I can look back and say Magic Wood was very kind to us. We headed to the guest house early on the first morning to sort out camping, out of fear, to find it shut. We met the owner who asked how long we were staying and said he was happy for us to fix it up whenever. This is the guy that seemed so strict and who has a tidy relationship with the Swiss police who stop people who haven't paid for camping at the border on his behalf.

Drying clothes in the forest

I mentioned we were interested in buying a bouldering mat and he instantly offered to sell us an ex-rental pad for a reasonable price. Best of all, seeing as the guest house was shut, he gave us a pad to use until we purchased one, free of charge. The rental fee is ten Swiss Francs per day and we only ended up buying a pad on the day we were leaving which he was perfectly fine with. The pad was just over half rental price and in almost brand new condition, a very good deal for such a hassle free arrangement.

Thomas, or Bodhi, as we referred to him between ourselves after his one man organisation, is simply a very warm and hospitable guy. I would have engaged in conversation that extended beyond small talk with him every time we went to the guest house to use the WiFi and he always seemed interested in what problems I'd been working on. Camping costs five Francs a night with no facilities except for toilets but I did not mind paying this in the slightest knowing we had access to people that were so willing to help with anything at all and a lounge with free WiFi 1km up the road.

Un-named EXPO, 6a

On that first day I found climbing frustrating. My body just simply didn't feel up to it, even after multiple stretching sessions, and I barely topped a thing. The next day was similar but this improved the day after, providing a solid evening session. We covered the holes underneath a problem marked “EXPO” with logs and then mats before climbing on it. The 6a line on this face was rather scary as the drop gains an extra two metres in height as you near the top; it moves left off the edge of the ledge you would otherwise land on. The term EXPO is usually accompanied by phrases like “ladder or rope necessary to climb down”. Once on top of this climb there is no easy way down. You can either down climb the problem or cross a rather sketchy slab and jump down onto pads. The top of the boulder feels pretty exposed!

Madame Etoile, 6b+

 After climbing the EXPO we went for a walk to find a problem I had seen in a video, Blindflug. This also has a landing that has to be fixed with logs. The log covered section probably extends 2.5m x 4m and you want to be very careful where you place pads so there's no chance of falling onto logs! We had a bit of a play on this problem and made reasonable progress which was surprising, seeing it was 7a, but really had no idea what to do as we got higher.

One of many huge slugs

On the second day we met a member of quite an endangered species. We met an American guy called Jay who was probably somewhere in his sixties and one of the last true climbing bums. He was an intelligent guy with a university degree and business exploits into exercise science but had the exterior of a stereotypical hippie. His hair was long, he was missing a tooth or two and he was really roughing it, relying on hitchhiking and networking to take him place to place. He'd been doing this for a good part of his life from the stories he told, dedicating his working life (which seemed rather patchy and sporadic) to getting him to some of the world's most iconic climbing and bouldering destinations; Yosemite, Rocklands, Joshua Tree, Arapiles, you name it and he's probably been there. 

He was one of those intriguing characters you can talk to for hours who dabbles in just about everything to strive towards peace of mind and body. I found some of his insights into the link between running your body on the fuel that suits it best to perform at your peak and into eyesight very interesting. He suggested that slacklining is one of the best forms of training for any sport as it builds focus, eyesight, balance and awareness of one's body much like yoga does. Of the many people I've met in my life I'd have to say he's one of the few I've met that seems to have come anywhere near achieving total contentment and happiness. He has little in the way of physical assets and ties, contrary to most people's dreams in the west, but this has allowed him to disconnect himself in a way from all the trappings that make the world a cruel place.

The head waters of the Rhine, one of Europe's great rivers

Magic Wood is an amazing spot to stay a few days. The landscape, no matter where you are in the vicinity, seems to sooth the pain induced by climbing for too much of the day; many times I would wake up and need a stretch just to get me going. There's never a boring moment getting lost looking for problems in the majestic, convoluted forest. One hot afternoon we decided to go for a swim and discovered just how cold fast moving water at 1200m can be at the start of summer. I remember diving in and it taking a second or two for the shock to stimulate a quick swim to the rocky beach. Its the only time I've ever gotten brain freeze from exposure to water. Oh well, cold water is supposed to be great for recovery.

Beach Arête, 6c

The day after climbing the EXPO I sent my first 6c/ V5, a stunning line on Beach Block, aptly named “Beach Arete”. The rock on this waterside free-standing boulder is probably the best I climbed on in the whole forest, cleaned by exposure to the elements and unique with its river-polished lower walls. The moves felt rather straightforward for such a high graded problem once we actually worked the route out. The top out is an intimidating slopey slab but once you know you have to do it becomes quite easy, simply scary the first time as its some four odd metres off the ground. A little compression to hold balance and a some footwork on good edges and you're on top. 

Breaks between climbs were spent sunning ourselves at the campsite or in the guest house using the WiFi. During our time in Magic Wood we had a pretty high living standard for what was likely under fifteen Australian dollars a day. Its just one of those places where camping is the obvious choice and other than camping and food there's no costs. Its barely noticeable that you're spending so little money in a place like this. I guess that's part of the beauty of it; you can really live to the full here for fifteen Australian dollars a day but that would be nowhere near enough to make the most of even the cheapest European cities.

After watching a video on the WiFi for beta I returned to Blindflug on my own while Dan was doing some paddling training. In the first couple of goes I was able to touch the lip but didn't feel confident pushing above a sketchy feeling landing with no spotter. Luckily I got talking to a couple, from Norway and the UK respectively, who came and gave me a spot and even had a bit of a session with me. I talked to the Norwegian girl about how I wanted to visit the Lofoten Islands and she revealed that her and her partner had met there. They were both extremely nice, level headed people and I spent about an hour with them before Dan turned up.

Breakfast all alone in the tranquility of the forest

I could easily touch the lip but I would get no further, even with an additional two sessions. My body felt beaten after that session, the tendons in my fingers sore and tight. The next day was our last day so I gave it two more solid chunks of time but to no avail. I was so close, yet so far. Feeling frustrated that I couldn't stick it I lost motivation completely just before dark, packing up and leaving Magic Wood soon after.

There was little chance I would have gotten it in post sunset conditions while being exhausted from two intensive sessions of climbing early that day. I felt guttered. I left with this sinking feeling in my heart, knowing it would likely be a long time until I return. However it was a 7a. That's V6 on the grading system back home, a grade I'd never been anywhere near pushing. So I guess that is a positive. But still, as we drove away I could not help but feel the resounding feeling of defeat settling into the pit of my stomach. 

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