Meet the Humble Heroes of Climbing
It's always a privilege to work with people with great passion towards what they are doing. When it comes to climbing this seems more like a standard than exception.
It's easy to forget that behind each problem, route and topo is a climber willing to do the extra effort to create something new. These people are not looking for fame and glory. They just have a passion for creating something amazing while enjoying the rock to the fullest.
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50% of the .premium topo payments go straight to the topo makers and climbing area development!
We wanted to introduce some of these heroes and especially, to thank them for the great effort they have done for the climbing community by developing new problems and routes, as well as making topos.
Meet these amazing climbing area developers, who are also part of the 27 Crags .premium topo author team!
Maya Ayupova and Vicent Palau / Margalef, Spain
Besides all the work for making new routes, Maya and Vicent have made amazing topos for climbers to enjoy.
Vicent, together with Jordi Pou, has been bolting hundreds of new routes in Margalef since 2008. Climbers who have enjoyed their routes know that they are such a pleasure to climb.
Maya and Vicent have put a lot of passion into creating a beautiful 27 Crags .premium topo and the Climbing Margalef Guidebook. This is easy to see from the stunning photos, great route descriptions (which are descriptive but won’t ruin your on sight!) and overall very accurate route information.
Besides the rocks you can find this beautiful couple from Refugi Margalef, which is a great place for climbers to enjoy a beer and stay during their climbing trip.
Petter and Hanna Restorp / Bohuslän, Sweden
Bohuslän is known for its amazing traditional single pitch climbing on granite. Petter and Hanna are the authors of the Klättring i Bohuslän guidebook and before recently moving to Chamonix, they used to live and climb many years in Bohuslän.
Petter and Hanna Restorp.
Petter and Hanna have seen the development of Bohuslän transforming from a place where only few people visited into a known destination for international travelers.
"I'm very positive about the direction of the general trend at the moment. Climbing is getting increasingly accepted as a sport and outdoor activity and more people are moving to the area to live."
"At the same time other initiatives are taken like the campground at Häller, the new indoor climbing wall and the reopening of the local food store. The climbing community is getting stronger and the most important challenge for the future is to deal with access issues in a good way." - Petter
Petter used to enjoy traditional climbing mostly in the eighth grade and has also made the first ascents of some of the harder routs of the area. Lately he has been focusing more on running and have found new ways to enjoy the mountains
Laurent Girousse / Céüse, France
Laurent Girousse is an UIAA mountain guide and one of the authors of Céüse - Grimper dans les Hautes-Alpes topo. Laurent has climbed in Céüse for more than 30 years, and has opened and rebolted more than 200 routes during a 25 years period. He is currently living in Sigoyer in a house closest to the cliff. Even now you can still feel his passion towards this magnificent place.
Laurent doing the hard work of opening new routes with his friend.
"My favourite thing about Céüse is the view! I can just sit at the crag and look at the sunrise. Everything is the same but still different. Every season brings something unique. I love discovering new parts of the cliff, follow this perfect rock to find new routes and see all the climbers enjoying the place!
It's a pleasure for me to collaborate with 27 Crags and thanks to their involvement, 27 Crags contributes in a new way to the evolution of one of the most beautiful cliffs in the world."
Tomi Lindroos / Capital Region and Åland, Finland
Tomi Lindroos is an enthusiastic boulderer who has made the guidebook Bouldering in Southern Finland. Besides knowing a LOT about the bouldering in Southern Finland, Tomi really knows how to make beautiful and informative topo pictures.
Tomi in his element.
"There's something very fascinating about finding and opening new problems! I've been making new ones here and there, especially around the Capital region of Finland, including problems in Fallbacka, Lintukallio and Myllypuro. When it comes to the climbing style, I love technical slouper problems with high heel hooks, and Fontainebleau is for sure very dear for me."
Georgios Chaziris / Athens, Greece
Georgios is a climber who has spent almost all his life in Athens and has been climbing there for more than 20 years. Lately he has focused more on his newly created family but keeps on dreaming about the rocks and for the return to them.
Georgios enjoying the view of Greek cliffs.
In addition Georgios is the co-author of an excellent topo Athens Climbing Guidebook and the high quality of his work is also visible in the .premium topos.
"What I like the most about climbing in Athens is the fact that you can find places of great natural beauty and unbelievable solitude so close to a modern city of 5 million inhabitants. There are approximate 2000 bolted lines around the city and relatively few local climbers. I also enjoy the variety of climbing on offer. The rock varies dramatically from one crag to the other and you can spend a lifetime climbing around here and not get bored!"
"I know the people behind the 27 Crags and consider them personal friends. I have found 27 crags to have the most ethical approach compared to any other online topo application, putting great importance on returning to the local community. I find this really important."
Next time you head outside to climb, take a moment to be grateful for all the people making outdoor climbing possible for all of us. The best thing you can do to respect their work and the climbing place, is to behave and leave no trace.
More heroes will be introduced in the upcoming blogs!
Text by Hanna Vartia, who works as a marketing manager at 27 Crags and enjoys her rock best at 5m high.
Interested in joining the .premium topo maker team? Don't hesitate to send us an email tim(at)27crags(dot)com or clicking the button below!
27 Crags topos are made by local climbing area developers and enthusiasts. From the .premium subscriptions 50% of the income will go straight to the topo authors who are doing extremely important job in developing the climbing areas.
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