After the Summer Olympics, Adam Ondra, like many other Olympic participants, took a break. But that didn't mean he wasn't climbing. On the contrary, he was extremely active, namely opening new routes.
The Summer Olympics demanded everything from the participating athletes. Due to the corona-related postponement of the competitions by one year, the qualified athletes had to concentrate fully on the preparatory training for another year - and thus on climbing on plastic. Most of them were rarely on the rock.
“After the summer games I was very exhausted and didn't feel like training hard. But I was super motivated to climb rocks - and to open up new routes. "
Adam Ondra
After returning from Tokyo, Adam Ondra spent several months mostly at home in Brno, Czech Republic. But he faced a problem. He had already scored points on the difficult routes in the climbing areas around Brno, mostly in the Moravian Karst. In addition, there is hardly any space left in the popular sectors and areas to open up new routes.
Byci Skala discovered as a playground
The Byci Skala (Bull's Rock) climbing area was an exception, as there was enough space for new, difficult tours. The only catch in this area: climbing is prohibited for several months, namely during the bird breeding season.
“I really don't know why I never had that area on my radar. Sure, it's a bit demotivating that the climbing season is so short. "
Adam Ondra
In addition, the rock at Byci Skala is not particularly solid. But none of that noticeably diminished Adam Ondra's motivation. Over and over again he drove into the area, bored new routes, tried long-term open projects and opened a 9a, which at the beginning seemed unclimbable. Thanks to Kneepads and crazy 3D climbing, Ondra deciphered all the sequences and opened Protivnik (9a).
According to Ondra, there are at least five other potential lines in the area, which he previously also assessed as unclimbable. But this year he also took a closer look at these lines and realized that they can also be climbed.
“The routes can all be climbed, but they are very difficult. I have to start training again to be able to score these lines. "
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Credits: Cover picture Petr Piechowicz, content AO Production sro