Sebastian Cotting is booming 8c (The Story of Two Worlds) without media hype

Just over a week ago reported LACRUX and many more media about the celebration of the Cresciano classic The Story of Two Worlds due to Christof Rauch and Pawel Jelonek. A little later another boulderer managed to climb through without anyone reporting. The “secret” talent is Sebastian Cotting from the canton of Friborg. We met Sebastian last weekend in Ticino and talked to him about his historic ascent.

The interview with Sebastian Cotting

Congratulations for the first time, Sebastian, to your celebration of The Story of Two Worlds, What did you think of first after a successful ascent?
I thought: That was definitely not a perfect way through, but it was one!

When did you first look at the line and start designing the boulder?
In February 2014 I witnessed an impressive climb through The Story of Two Worlds by my good friend Giuliano Cameroni, That was also the first time that I briefly on the trains from the start The Dagger tried. The following October, to my great astonishment, I was able to climb it relatively easily in three days in poor conditions. When I looked at the start of the seat a few weeks later, I immediately found a completely new solution, which included a knee clamp, among other things. This moment was the starting signal and determined one of the key moments in all the years of designing.

How many attempts, on how many days have you estimated to invest?
It was probably between 70 and 100 days that I spent under this block. So correct attempts to get off the start (low start), I've given in the last 40 sessions. I had time and energy per session for at most 10 attempts.

Where do you get the immense endurance and stamina?
My mental strength is definitely the most important factor in training and climbing itself. I would also call this my greatest strength. At this point a big thank you to my "fellow sufferers" Martin kellerwho plays a very inspirational role in my climbing life.

Why did you decide to project exactly this boulder?
When I started climbing at the age of 13, it was my big goal to plan and climb a line that was really difficult for me one day. For years I have chosen my project according to strict criteria. These included good accessibility by public transport, not too long an approach, not too large a crowd, preferably away from the main sectors, a line that dries quickly after rain and is not dangerously high or excessively unhealthy stress on individual parts of the body (really healthy is this hard bouldering safe not). And of course the line also had to convince me visually and with the beauty of the trains, which in the best case also correspond to my climbing style. And that is exactly what "Story" did. No other boulder came close to meeting these criteria. For me it was the perfect project, one that only exists once in the world for any climber. And I was incredibly lucky to find my personal perfect project in my adopted home Ticino.

Sebastian Cotting in the story of the two worlds - cresciano tessin switzerland
Sebastian Cotting in The Story of Two Worlds - picture Sebastian Cotting

You are not known to the masses, though you boulder heavily. Why?
This has to do mainly with the fact that I'm not active on any social media platform and deny no competitions. Both are not suitable for my attitude towards climbing. In addition, I often train alone in a small, semi-public boulder room. And otherwise, the climbing scene in my hometown Friborg is very small.

Are you supported by sponsors? If not, how do you finance your hobby?
No, I do not have sponsors, although I apply every year. As far as the sponsorship of strong, young rock climbers is concerned, in Switzerland, in my opinion, there is still a lot of catching up to do. Luckily I was able to finance the GA and my climbing equipment pretty well with summer jobs and civil service assignments.

How much time do you invest in bouldering?
Training is very important to me. Pure bouldering and rope climbing only accounted for about 20 percent of my athletic activity last year. The rest was fitness training. One training session lasted from 1 to 3 hours, depending on the week spread over 4 to 7 days.

What is your favorite area?
Ticino is at the top of bouldering. The excellent rock quality, but also the language, the climate, the fauna and flora in this part of Switzerland have particularly appealed to me. Rather for logistical reasons (I do not have a driver's license) I would say that Cresciano is my favorite bouldering area. My favorite rope climbing area is clearly Gimmelwald.

Have you already considered a next long-term project?
The legendary “Coup de Grace” in the Bavona valley. Hopefully the higher peaks of this world will be later.

Video about the committing of The Story of Two Worlds by Sebastian Cotting

"The Story of Two Worlds" by Sebastian Cotting.

Credits: Cover Picture Sebastian Cotting, Picture instagram Stefan Küerzi (www.stefankuerzi.com)

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