{"id":5966,"date":"2024-11-30T00:28:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T23:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/?post_type=relatos&p=5966"},"modified":"2025-12-16T00:30:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T23:30:56","slug":"setting-the-standard","status":"publish","type":"relatos","link":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/relatos\/setting-the-standard\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting the Standard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cWhen I first saw I\u00f1i Ameriketan<\/em>, I really liked the line,\u201d said 18 year old Bizikia, Spain climber Ainhize Belar. \u201cI didn\u2019t think twice.\u201d  That moment of attraction and then decisiveness cemented Belar\u2019s already strong resume. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belar began climbing over a decade ago when her father took the then 8-year old to the crag. She progressed quickly, sending hard routes in Valdegobia, Etxauri, and Onate. At the latter area\u2019s Korea Sector, she climbed Honky Tonky <\/em> (8c) and then Honky Mix <\/em>(8c+). \u201cRepeating the route that became the world\u2019s first female 8c+  by Josune Bereziartu  was something incredible,\u201d Belar said of climbing Honky Mix<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Belar warming up for her project \u00a0Aitziber Narbaiza photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHer accomplishments have had a very significant impact on the climbing community, as they have challenged stereotypes and, without a doubt, opened the door for many other female climbers to keep dreaming big,\u201d said Belar, who like Berezartu also onsighted 8b+ with her ascent of  Txirrin txirran<\/em> at La<\/a> Leze. By following in Bereziartu\u2019s footsteps, Belar was poised to push the standards of hard climbing. That came with her move toward the Baltzola Cave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 With nearly 100 routes from 7b+ to 9b and a fifteen minute approach, the Baltzola Cave in Urkiola Natural Park provided an excellent opportunity for Belar to push her climbing<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI saw that it was a route with a lot of history,\u201d Belar said of I\u00f1i Ameriketan <\/em>\u00cd\u00f1igo Basterra equipped the line in 1995 and Rikar Otegui made the first ascent in 2002. Since then, Patxi Usobiaga, Adam Ondra, and Iban Larrion have repeated the route and it\u2019s reached a consensus grade of 9a+.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Belar sussing the beta. \u00a0Aitziber Narbaiza photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Belar first tried the physical, strength endurance route in February, during her second year of high school. The line tackles the steep belly of the cave, moving through a series of limestone crimps to a headwall, where things ease but requires a steady head. Belar knew that linking everything from the start would be difficult. In late April, she managed to climb it with a fall. She was close but weather came in and the route started to seep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belar waited for the conditions of the cave to improve, climbing on it occasionally to stay in shape. In early September, she tried the route after her vacation, performing better than usual. She fought through the hardest part and reached the vertical section. \u201cIt was key to keep my head in check to get to the top,\u201d Belar said. \u201cThe encouragement from those below also helped!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Belar in the Baltzola Cave. \u00a0Aitziber Narbaiza photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Belar gained significant momentum from sending I\u00f1i Ameriketan <\/em> \u201cA couple of years ago, I wasn\u2019t able to climb at a crag like Baltzola and now I\u2019ve been able to climb a route like this,\u201d Belar said. \u201cSeeing that evolution as a climber is super cool.\u201d Her development allowed her to quickly send Celedon <\/em>(9a) at La Leze and make a few hard redpoints on a recent trip to Terradets. Belar\u2019s determined to search for her limits, trying hard routes around her home and across Spain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Belar\u2019s Tick List<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • I\u00f1i Ameriketan (9a+), Baltzola, Spain \u2013 first Spanish 9a+<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Celedon (9a), La Leze, Spain<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Begi Punt\u00faan (9a), Etxauri, Spain \u2013 first female ascent<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Honky Mix (8c+), Araotz, Spain \u2013 first female 8c+ by Josune Bereziartu 2000<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Honky Tonky (8c), Araotz, Spain \u2013 first female 8c by Josune Bereziartu 1998<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Coma Sant Pere 8c+, Margalef, Spain<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Txirrin txirran (8b+) O.S, La Leze, Spain<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Wallstreet (8c), Frankenjura, Germany \u2013 first 8c in sport climbing history by Wolfgang G\u00fcllich<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5968,"template":"","class_list":["post-5966","relatos","type-relatos","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relatos\/5966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relatos"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/relatos"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relatos\/5966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}