Right now, I am sitting in an internet cafe here in Innsbruck, Austria, typing my first blog entry for climbing.com. This is the first time I have been away from home for an extended period of time. Living here for about 4 months now has been a true challenge. I have to do everything on my own and it can be stressful in some ways. Now that I have my girlfriend Laura, a car, and a home, I am ready to begin a new life as a full time professional climber.

The majority of my time has been spent taking trips to Switzerland. When I first arrived, one goal was on my mind, ever since I began climbing, is the boulder problem Dreamtime. This boulder was so special to me. I remember when I sent my first 8A+, I wanted to fly to Switzerland and climb Dreamtime. Now 5 years later I am here. When I first saw the boulder, it literally felt like I was in a dream. Everything about it was surreal. At first I didnt even want to try it because it was too perfect, but then my psych overwhelmed me and I quickly put on the shoes and went crazy.

By the end of the first day, Dreamtime felt like the hardest boulder in the world. After another day of trying, everything fell into place. I was able to do all moves, the stand start, and almost linked the full boulder. Sadly I went home but came back the next weekend with Laura and fired it off. When I sent, it felt like my climbing career could just end because this is what I had dreamed for ever since I started climbing. Then I realized that my climbing career had just begun, and like Fred who set the new standard by climbing Dreamtime, I wanted to set the standard for myself and climb something that was so impossible at first, but later a new masterpiece.

Another climb that was a famous testpiece in my mind was Bernd Zangerls New Base Line in Magic Wood. This is another climb that is so surreal and is just asking to be climbed. My friend Emanuel Mooseburger from Innsbruck gave me a tour of the full woods, but only one climb caught my attention for the day, New Base Line! I warmed up then gave a good flash attempt on this 8A+/8B called Voigas and fell with my hand in the finishing jug. I sent in 2 more tries and then went to study NBL. At first it looked impossible and I thought that I could not do it. Once I climbed on the rock though everything clicked. I almost flashed the stand start and was thinking to myself that this climb could be possible. All I had left to do was link a couple of the moves in the crack and the climb would go. The first move of the crack is the hardest. It is very slopey and the only thing holding you on is friction. You paste your feet on these terrible smears, keep the tention, then jump to the next crack which is a bit better.