The summer holidays are behind us, and this is immediately reflected in the bouldering competition calendar. Competitions are once again filling climbing gyms throughout the Netherlands. At my home gym, Bossche Boulders, the Flits Project Edition is scheduled this week: a unique bouldering competition in which you have seven days to top as many boulders as possible or to reach the zones.
Flits Project: 26 boulders in one week
The concept is simple but challenging. There are 26 boulders in total. You earn bonus points for a flash, but also for a second or third attempt. It is therefore important to carefully record your attempts in Toplogger. For me personally there is an additional challenge: I want to save my skin for Blockmasters, where more than 90 boulders are on the programme.
First session: a tough start
As soon as the boulders are released, I am at the gym. I start with the lower numbers and immediately notice that the entry level is higher than what I am used to from other competitions. The boulders are clearly comp-style, with many dynamic moves and surprising sequences. I work my way up systematically, but at number 18, a technical slab boulder, I get stuck. My balance is lacking, so I decide to leave it for now. At number 20, I encounter a boulder with a playful move. After four attempts I manage to reach the top. No bonus points, but still a satisfying success.
I also give the hardest boulders a try, but without success. At the end of my session I return to number 18, and this time I manage to complete it. That means boulders 1 through 20 are ticked off, with six challenging projects still to go.
An exciting twist: the scoreboard in Toplogger remains hidden until the final day. This makes it even more thrilling, as I have no idea how my competition is doing.
Second session: progress in the toughest boulders
In my second session I knew that the six hardest boulders were still waiting. My goal was at least one top and a few zones. After a good warm-up I started working on each problem again. In almost all of them I made progress.
Especially in the two slab boulders I found better solutions, although a top was not within reach. Fortunately, I did manage to secure zones. In boulder 24 I got the farthest: I was even able to touch the final hold, but I could not hold it. I have written off the two hardest boulders for myself; I do not want to waste my energy and skin on something that is unlikely to be achievable within a week.
The result of this session: two zones. Not what I had hoped for, but still valuable steps forward. I have one more project day before I give my fingers some rest. In that session I hope to finally tick off boulder 24. To be continued.
Third and final session: unexpected turn
In my final session I had one clear goal: to top boulder 24. After the warm-up I tried the final move several times, but without success. Climbing back into that position drained so much energy that I decided to go all in. To my relief I managed to reach the top. Goal achieved, satisfied feeling.
Still, Lina thought I should give the slab another try. I had already written this boulder off, but with tips from followers and her support I managed to secure the zone. That gave me new motivation, and after a few more attempts I even matched the final hold. An unexpected top!
On the final competition day the score list was revealed in the morning. I was in first place, with a ten-point lead. Since I did not want to make any additional attempts, it remained tense to see if that would be enough. For a long time it looked good, until my closest competitor managed to top one more boulder. That gave him a five-point lead, leaving me just behind.
A slight disappointment, but considering my effort, the number of attempts, and the result, I look back with satisfaction. Now it is time to look ahead to Blockmasters, where ninety boulders are waiting.
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