UKC

Did Finland's hardest route just get harder?

© 27crags.com

Toby Archer reports:
Compared to many other European countries, Finnish climbing history is (like many of the routes) rather short. But what the routes don't have in stature, it appears they make up for in being nails.

The Bouldertehdas (Bouldering Factory) blog reports, via a translation at 27 Crags, that visiting German, Christian Bindhammer has repeated the hardest route in Finland, Syncro at Nummi (an amusingly overhanging, beautiful lump of granite halfway between Helsinki and Turku).

Syncro was first climbed by Tomi Nytorp in 2006, graded 8c, and has gone unrepeated for half a decade since.
Bindhammer says he has done a number of 8c+'s that have been easier elsewhere and therefore he reckons Syncro is probably an 8c+ itself.
Bouldertehdas also mentions that he felt quite a few other routes at Nummi were much harder than their grades suggest. Quite a few Finnish and Finnish-based climbers (your reporter included) who have been thoroughly spanked by Nummi will be very happy to hear this, although the ever modest Finns are already suggesting that Bindhammer picked a poor time of year (too hot) for such hard routes. Indeed he deserves applause just for braving this years bumper mosquito crop to send the route.


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27 Jun, 2011
Bindhammer just isn't used to granite... So, Syncro is prolly only 8a+ on a mosquito infested north facing tiny cliff... On other related issues, it seems that Tomi (FA of Syncro) also has spent more time @ Nummi, climbing a new direct start to Tornado (orig. one is 7b+/7c) with a grade of something like 8b (so, again prolly something like 7c)... Source: http://www.slouppi.net/contents/news/moreNews.phtml?typeId=2
27 Jun, 2011
With your nice list of VD - VS leads you sound like just the guy to be down grading routes you've never tried and never could. Unlike Bindhammer, mean whats he ever done? Hes not even used ot the rock.
27 Jun, 2011
Kind Sir, could you swiftly calibrate your Sarcasm meter, it seems to be broken... * my feeble attempt of playing with the traditional finnish lack of self esteem.
27 Jun, 2011
Leaving aside Henkka's obvious sarcasm that you missed, mid-summer generally isn't the best time for climbing in Finland - despite you being able to climb for 22 hours of the day in sunshine. Granite routes (99% of the rock here) often depends on small, crystalline holds that can become very slippy and hard on your skin in hot weather, and this makes Bindhammer's ascent particularly noteworthy, although perhaps he's just better acclimatised to hotter weather coming from the south! Nalle Hukkataival has noted on his blog that the season for hard bouldering sends in Finland is actually rather short - things get wet and then buried in snow from November until March, and then it gets too hot and muggy from May to end of August!
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