Christof Rauch once again made short work of the Swiss bouldering area Magic Wood. Within a few days he repeated Glory Hole (8b) Gipsy (8a +) and Tipsy (7c) and opened with Nuts and berries a new 8a.
Most of them have that Magic Wood written off after the area around Ausserferrera was covered by a thick blanket of snow in October and the temperatures dropped. But the snow was gone in the meantime, the temperatures were not that bad and so blocks were still being made. A few days ago, the 24-year-old succeeded in the repetition of just recently lines opened by Giuliano Cameroni, In addition, Christof opened a new 8a Boulder named Nuts and berriesstanding around 15 meters to the right of Steppenwolf lies. we have with Christof talked about his time in Magic Wood.
When were you in Magic Wood?
I drove to Averstal for two days and bouldered on the weekend of the 16. on the 17. November.
How were the conditions on the ground? Was not snow anymore?
No, by that time it was free of snow and pretty dry in the forest.
How many trials did you need in Glory Hole and Gipsy?
I had tried Glory Hole for two to three hours a few weeks earlier, but took a long time to find my beta. Then I made a minor break on the board and fell four or five times unhappy after the Crux. This time I climbed it in the second attempt from the start after bouldering again.
Gipsy I climbed in a nightsession later in the day. Unfortunately, we had too few pads, so it was a bit uncomfortable to check out the exit. In just over an hour I scored Gipsy.
How would you characterize Glory and Gipsy?
Glory Hole is a dark cave. You have to boulder with lamps all day here. So the spot is rather uncomfortable, but the trains and the line are absolutely worth it. I would say Glory Hole is one of the best 8b's in Magic Wood and has the potential to become a classic. Tricky, persistent, body-tight with lots of hooks and pleasant handles.
Gipsy is a sloper boulder with an exit reminiscent of Fontainebleau. Super rock, cool handles and a technically challenging exit.
Video of his celebration of the classic New Base Line from the year 2016
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Credits: picture Julia Rechenmacher