SOUTH BOUND

I will take the job south.

There are many reasons.

It's close to the sea, and I can't wait to have my first dawn patrol on glassy two footers before heading to work. Moreover, I can stay at our house at the sea for the whole spring, summer and probably early autumn, saving money from a rent.

Then it's also much closer to my bouldering playing grounds, and to my current projects, that are a nasty vertical wall with a huge dyno to a mono, the direct line under the roof, Out of Service sit start, and Ossezia, a problem still I haven't seriously tried, but am not convinced I can't do it. It involves bear hugging a roof, hands and feet on both edges. Shame my friend Luca, who opened it, is 190 cm tall...

One of reasons, or perhaps the most important reason I wanted to go North, was that I'd been closer to Ticino. I had this picture of climbing in Cresciano or Chironico every weekend, and it was a beautiful picture of myself ticking away 8a's barechested in the snow. Then I realized that being closer meant being still 250 km away. If I look back, I don't usually drive three hours to go bouldering every weekend, and then three hours to sleep in my bed. So I had to reconsider this aspect...

Also, considering how much work hours take of our days and minds, not being satisfied at work, and not working in a place and with people you like, is a very good way to spoil your climbing days as well. I clearly remember when I was working in the bank: on sunday evenings, driving home from the boulders, I used to get so depressed, thinking about another week of office life coming, that I used to lose all the joy of the climbing day.

Last but not least: training facilities.

I should say last and first.

There's nothing South, to train. There were gyms North. So what?

Nothing special, I will have to find a cheap place and build a wall. Gone are the days of showing off in a crowded gym, amongst admiring boys and girls. This is time for the Dark Days to resurrect. Only anger and frustration will lead to more and more gains in terms of power, and in term of iron will and psyche to train. It's too easy to lose focus in the gym, to talk your session away, to get sucked into your friends' problems just to burn them off (as if could do it...). As history demonstrated, in the persons of Malcolm Smith and John Gaskins, being isolated and with no comparisons can really be a great thing, because you lose every objective parameter and YOU FINALLY BECOME YOUR ONLY AND TRUE PARAMETER: you and your will.

Our imagination's possibilities are endless. Sometimes they can be hindered by others. Sometimes our judgement and our will can be fooled by our EGO. Being the strongest of the gym, being the strongest of the city (unless it's Sheffield), being the strongest of the region, are simple, trivial goals, because they are objective, and they will necessary lead, when obtained, to stall and self indulgence. Of course I am exaggerating, but I'm only trying to make my theory clear: to always progress you have to dream, you have to desire. To dream and to desire you have to LACK. To always lack something you have to be on your own, you have to be frustrated, angry, proud, cold and tired. And still going on, going on to try and stay close to your mind's endless possibilities, regardless of how hard reality bites.

So, now, I am scared by what I wrote. Will I be capable of honouring this? I don't know. If I will not, it will be fine. If I will be, it will be even better, if I won't try, it will be the only failure.