{"id":5995,"date":"2025-04-30T00:41:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T22:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/?post_type=relatos&p=5995"},"modified":"2025-12-16T00:44:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T23:44:39","slug":"big-beautiful-lines","status":"publish","type":"relatos","link":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/relatos\/big-beautiful-lines\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Beautiful Lines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The first time I visited Ticino was in the winter of 2012\/13. The area was already famous for bouldering and I was super inspired by Dreamtime<\/em> and other Fred Nicole first ascents. I\u2019d also watched the old Dosage video of Chris Sharma and Dave Graham trying Off the Wagon<\/em> back in the day. Just seeing all of that made me want to go over there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I finally made the trip, I remember being blown away not only by the amount of rock, but also the quality. The granite was unlike anything else I\u2019ve climbed. It was super featured, but not too sharp. It was also not super technical, but required its own style of technique. A lot of the hard climbing ended up being on longer boulders with 15 moves or more, which was extremely fun to climb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo: Roman Yalowitz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I spent that first season repeating many amazing lines and also establishing a few of my own. La Rustica<\/em> was the first hard line I established here back in 2013. It opened my eyes to the bouldering potential around Bavona, which was less developed than the classic areas like Cresciano, Brione, and Chironico. I\u2019ve returned basically every season since\u2014it\u2019s hard not to when there are just so many amazing lines left to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing new lines is the main reason I climb. I typically seek out big, beautiful, independent lines\u2014the taller, the better. But I\u2019m always looking for rad stuff, even if it\u2019s short and steep. From searching for new lines to eventually climbing them, the entire process gives me so much satisfaction. I find it to be a therapeutic experience that fulfills what I\u2019m looking for in my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been super fortunate to establish some great lines in Ticino. My all-time favorites include La Rustica<\/em> (8C), The New Abnormal<\/em> (8B+), and Swiss Air<\/em> (8C). Yet, the potential for new boulders is what keeps me coming back year after year. It\u2019s truly never ending in terms of rock to develop. Now that I\u2019ve been coming here for a long time, I\u2019m stoked to explore deeper in the valleys and higher in the mountains to find new stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo: Roman Yalowitz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The thing I like the most about Swiss, however, isn\u2019t the bouldering itself but the moments in between. It\u2019s the culture and the community. My buddy Egon Bernasconi and his family live in the heart of Giumaglio, and their place has become a home away from home for me. I go there to climb a bunch, obviously, but I have so much fun eating good dinners, drinking good wine, and just chilling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For how much of a bouldering mecca it is, it\u2019s kind of crazy that there\u2019s actually not so many local boulderers. The area mostly draws an international crowd, and as more and more people travel here to climb, we\u2019ll have a larger collective impact on the locals who live and farm in the valleys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re planning a trip, especially to Bavona, be respectful of the landowners. Most of the climbing is pretty roadside, but there is a lot of private land back there so be mindful of where you park and how you access boulders. Walk around fences and gates instead of cutting across fields that are used for cattle or crops. If we\u2019re good stewards, we\u2019ll maintain positive relationships for many years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo: Roman Yalowitz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t need to be a super strong climber to enjoy bouldering in Ticino, either. Egon and a crew of dedicated locals have been working hard to clean and open new boulders of all grades in the Prenzo Sector<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, which is located just next to the town of Giumaglio. The access is super easy and it\u2019s a perfect spot for families. This year at the DAG ADOSS event they\u2019ll be presenting a new guidebook for the area to facilitate access for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The classic zones like Brione, Chironico, and Cresciano all have a slew of really good moderates, too. And while Bavona is known for its hard climbing\u2014I would say the majority is 8B and above\u2014there\u2019s a ton of easier stuff to be developed. You could go there as a 7A climber and develop amazing highballs all day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are loads of amazing lines still sitting out there right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5997,"template":"","class_list":["post-5995","relatos","type-relatos","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relatos\/5995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relatos"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/relatos"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relatos\/5995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}