Marcin Wszołek – Summer trip 2014 report part 1
At the beginning of July, a Wild Country Team Poland athlete, Marcin Wszołek set off on his annual long summer trip to the best western climbing areas. Rock climbing achievements were once again combined with his work as a certified IFSC routesetter. A representative of the KS Korona sports club began his trip in the famous Chamonix mountain resort, where he worked as an intern during the second edition of the Lead World Cup taking place between July 10-12. That was Marcin’s first major experience as far as lead events are concerned as 
until that time, his international routesetting work had been limited solely to bouldering comps.
„When it comes to the WC circuit, I’ve always wanted to deal more with lead. The IFSC courses are organized irregularly and each of them is devoted either to lead or to bouldering only. Accidentally, the one that I managed to complete was related solely to bouldering. Obviously, I do not regret it as setting boulders on the international level is quite a challenge that can be extremely satisfying and rewarding if you manage to meet it. Nevertheless, I’ve been always leaning towards longer routes and finally, I was given the opportunity. Great experience, the more so since at the international scene, there’s no room for leniency and every intern works – even if unofficially – as a full member of the team.”
After the comp, Marcin decided to stay in France in order to explore some of the crags he had never visited before and to get used to the rock climbing style. Until now, the main focus was put on the vicinity of Briançon (Rocher des Brumes, Tournoux, Pelvoux i Entraygues). From among all his ascents, the one moving to the forefront is undoubtedly Une arquée pour le criquet 8c/c+ - one of the extreme lines of the Rocher des Brumes crag, located in the Fournel valley.
Une arquée pour le criquet 8c/c+ RP (phot. archiv. Marcin Wszołek)
As Marcin says:
„The route, running along an excellent prow, offers about 30 metres of climbing in massive overhang. The first part consists of several bouldery moves, whereas the upper part seems to be a bit easier, however, it keeps you in suspense till the very last draw. I tried the line few times already last year together with Piotr [Schab, Wild Country Team Poland] and some other friends and it was our joint impression that the difficulties it offered oscillated around 8c/+ rather than pure 8c, as it was suggested by the topo. Moreover, this year, shortly before my ascent, one of the good holds broke, which added another delicate sequence to the already demanding passage. Taking into account the previous attempts, it took me five days altogether to send the route. The extraordinary atmosphere of the Fournel valley and the fact that I’ve been really enjoying the local crags climbing style makes me want to stay here a bit longer and try something harder.”
Apart from sending his projects, Marcin has traditionally focused also on on-sight climbing. As a result, his climbing résumé was enriched with ascents like Beauté de chine 8a+, Cost of freedom (L1) 8a or Espoir Karcherisé 8a OS.
But there are also other challenges of the trip, related mostly to various exciting board games as well as creating foam forms for a new FUMAR holds collection. Work in progress! What’s next? The plans for the second part of the trip remain unspecified:
“Spain or Switzerland, hard to say ”
Selected ascents:
Une arquée pour le criquet 8c/c+ RP (Rocher des Brumes)
Un clin d'oeil au paradis d'en face 8c RP (Tournoux)
Loups hurlant 8a+ FL (Tournoux)
Espoir Karcherisé 8a OS (Rocher des Brumes)
Cost of freedom (L1) 8a OS (Tournoux)
Beauté de chine 8a+ OS (Tournoux)
