The emerging reality of bouldering meetings.

Unofficial competitions and meetings. A growing reality in the variegated Italian climbing world. It is about the last trend of this period, born in the shadow of the artificial lights of the climbing gyms and originated from the request of a sportive event that brings people together, in alternative to the traditional climbing competition.
All began a few years ago, as consequence of the usual end-of-the-year competition that the climbing center B-Side in Turin used to organize on Christmas Eve.
In December 1998 it was decided to transform the meeting in a more important event, an auto-certified climbing competition open to everybody and for everybody. That meant that international champions were invited, in order to compete with the local passionates, simply divided in a different category. And it was a sensational success.
More than two hundred participants: on that day two thousand passionates crowd, as never before, the hall in Turin. It is the consecration of the project, the confirmation that there is a need for new ideas in the climbing world.
The appointment becomes the reference point of the sector. The idea is winning, the concept is exported and other gyms adopt the format. A couple of years ago a series of auto-certified competition is born, it is called Korto circuito, and today it consists of five events, all very successful.
But this is not enough. Considering the success of this kind of events, the brains of B-Side think that, besides the indoor meeting, it should be possible to try also the way of the outdoor.
Therefore the first tries in natural environment. They begin looking for new areas to equip for traditional climbing (with the rope) and inaugurate them during the meeting, as it happened for the last Tornetti area, in Lanzo Valley. But the issue isn’t simple, it is complicated to realize. They think about other possibilities, like bouldering.
The first experiment, Incubiamoci, takes place in February 2002. And from the start they understand that this is the way to follow in the future. Since then, in September 2002, the bouldering day has been organized, and the last edition of Incubiamoci took place few days ago.
Marzio Nardi, and Luca Giammarco, “brain” of B-Side, tell us their impressions of the issue. Enclosed are the reports of the events, published on the gym website (Bsidezone.it).

Laboratory of ideas.
Often a competition is fascinating if you are able to taste the victory, or smell its perfume, reaching the group of the elected climbers to the final. The rest is bureaucracy during registration, (often endless) isolation, anguish, doubts and demoralizing falls. Probably, exactly because of this, the meetings like Korto circuito represent the best answer to all the ones who were looking for a stimulating comparison, but free from all the problems I spoke about. Therefore the crowd during these meetings stimulate the contact, the physical and philosophic comparison during a common activity, and you don’t think only about how stupid have you been to fall down, or how strong to climb up. The comparison is pure joyful expression, informal challenge, time spent with people you wouldn’t have met or you wouldn’t have looked at with the same feeling. If the Korto circuito competitions have allowed a big step forward in order to make friendly an apparently hostile situation, the meetings on the boulders represent the concentration of the best aspects of this activity, where the natural environment joins the wish of discovery of a new place, of new people or, more simply, of moments, otherwise not livable.
Besides the values of bringing people together, the meetings among the natural boulders are the occasion to understand which is the trend of the moment, to discuss and make comparison, not only in the physical, but also in the ethical and searching aspects of bouldering. You discover that climbing a boulder is a small thing, but it can be also enriched by so many variegated details, to become, may be, the most important thing in life.
Marzio Nardi

Incubiamoci 02, Cubo di Arnad (A0)
Sunday morning. The sun rises two hour earlier than usual. The roads become chocolate, the wind blows and with it the friction increases. The climbers arrive to INCUBIAMOCI 2002, they are more than ten and less than one hundred, they shake hands, slap on the shoulders, and walk to the rocky wonder. In the initial crowd we are able to recognize Giova Massari, who still has the same face of a 18 years old and whose achievements in the area of Monregale date back to long forgotten times. “Capsula” Baistrocchi, with a hat bigger than his head, Gabriele Moroni, the “child”, who is one meter fifty tall, but can extend to one eighty when he is on the rocks, that great looking guy “Canon” Zardini, in cheerful company with “sky” Scarian, always skinnier and “Gippo” Giupponi, always less flexible. Gigi Billoro and his beautiful wife were with them, with Martino, the brave squire. And then climbers from Genoa, Biella, Cuneo, Turin, Bergamo, and women, a lot of women, beautiful women, half naked and bouldering specialists (Giulia, Anita, Federica, Elena, Ulla and all the ones whose names I sadly don’t know).
During the day you could hear any kind of cheering, sometimes also in American slang (go, camon, gudgiob, giudaporc), screams of pleasure when somebody managed to lift his ass from the ground or step on with the second foot (ies, greit, boiafaus). Hugs and ghimmifaiv when sometimes both feet reached with glory the top of the boulder.
On February 24th, 2002, no swearwords existed, rivers of peace and love flowed sincerely, in such a way to move even an executioner, while the guitars played and fires were lighted under the boulders. The luckiest ones could make free love on the crash pads. Who was able to climb 6a continued to climb 6a, who could climb 7c climbed 7c and everything was easy but at the same time extreme.
In the mild and scented evening, the great river of peace and love has reached the magic rite of the prize drawing and among the thousand gifts donated by the sacred hands of the sponsors, two lucky persons took home a crash pad to make free love (before) and bouldering (afterward). Peace, Love and Flowers Marzio Thank you very much: Ronco alpinismo, E9, Vertical sport, Cassin, Longoni sport and of course all the ones who came.

Bouldering Day, Hut Levi Molinari, Exilles (To)
21-22 February 2002
On Friday afternoon I reach the Levi Hut and Marzio is already there, in the role of director and cameraman, filming some French friends. It’s a wonderful day: sun, a few little clouds and a wind that creates remarkable friction conditions. Around 5 PM Marzio and the French guys leave and I, after shooting a few photos, say good-bye to them. I take the power drill and walk up to the crag, to bolt a new pitch (shortly I will provide all information) for the “notonlyboulder” friends. While I was hanging from the jumars my thoughts were troubled by the unsettled weather. The local weather forecast, in fact, previewed “very unstable weather”, but I didn’t feel like postponing everything. I had spoken with many people, telling everybody to call on Saturday morning, to get updates about the weather condition.
On Saturday morning sun and a few little clouds, only in the afternoon a few rain drops, just enough to wet the boulders and oblige us to stop until 6 PM, then we could climb again on the boulders that had dried in the meantime. In the evening the Bside Brother Band stopped, to have a huge dinner in the Hut (cheese with garlic and spices, baked turkey with green sauce, wheat soup, lentils with cheese, polenta with sausages and mushrooms, cabbage and cheese, various cakes, all while drinking wine, coffee and tea. To burn a few calories and to get some movement, we go out of the hut and start a nighttime competition on the boulders in front of the hut. We start with a two hands dyno, to be made in sneakers, only three climbers manage it and reach the final, here the goal is a 6c boulder (that is already hard during the day, imagine in the dark, with only flash light). Only two succeed and then super final on a 5-meter-high boulder, but with the grass below and three crash pads, also here same result and then it must go on in the hut, turning around the table without feet, at the end it is Giorgio Pastore who takes home a hat from E9. On Sunday morning I wake up, look out: it rains, I resign myself and go down to have breakfast. I get out and it continues to rain, I am already thinking to put my stuff together and go back home, as it stops raining, the sky opens clear and the wind blows. At 10.30 the boulders are COMPLETELY dry, washed, clean and with incredible friction.
In the meantime cars and people with crash pads on the shoulders arrive: Lombard, Fourbet, Jeunet and other French guys, Marzio with his children and a lot of other people. The weather is wonderful and so has remained all day long. Meeting at 6 PM at the hut for the prize drawing, 41 participants and 41 prizes, everybody went home with a wonderful experience … and a prize. I’d like to thank all participants, the FRIENDS who helped me and the sponsors: LA SPORTIVA, BSIDE, E9, BSIDE FACTORY and IL RIFUGIO LEVI (Marco Pozzi &Co.)

Incubiamoci 03, Cubo di Arnad (A0)
March 2nd, 2003
It was necessary to wait for the rain and the large meeting at the famous Kiuva wine-cellar, to see the gathering of the boulder family that, on Sunday, March 2nd, has covered with chalk the by now famous boulders of Cubo. With the palate caressed by the red wine and softened by the bacon-fat of Arnad, all agreed that bouldering is beautiful and socializing, also if just before the ones who fought on the 5° stayed with their companions and the same was valid for the ones of 6°, 7° and 8°. It could seem that this consideration characterizes a not very joyful environment, instead the crowd with the crash pads under all boulders created a relaxed and cozy ambiance, typical of a Vienna sitting-room. To discover that there are many other people like you that climb 4°, 5°, 6°, hope to manage 7° and dream of 8°, but, at the same time, don’t care (for once) about the cold numbers, had joined all climbers in this great activity that resembles a production line of the muscles and sometimes of the brain. Anyway, also this year you could hear the gudgiob and boiafaus, little screams from nice girls and deep roars of guys in woolen underpants, together with continuous crashes on the crash pads, the rhythmical base of this activity.
Everybody, at his own level, was pulling like an animal, but you couldn’t say the same for Christian Core, who arrived among the humans with his usual dreaming mood, with surprise as if he had made contact with new living beings (he hadn’t yet seen the boulders of Cubo) and he tuned in with about all, be it climbers or boulders, 5° or 7°. He pulled a great show, climbing in less than an hour Alby traverse - Cuor di leone (flash) and Materiale Resistente. Not bad, for his first visit to the place.
Regarding the sponsors, the same who had supported with excitement our event in 2002 didn’t pull back also this year, and even increased the number of prizes for the drawing. In particular let’s point out Vertical Sport of Arco, Bside and Svendi as the ones who gave generously the most gear. Ronco Alpinismo and B Side Factory have financed the printing of the small guidebook that was given for free to the ones who arrived wearing their climbing shoes. At last, we thank Camp, E9 e Cassin for the support, and the Ristorante la Kiuva that, with the help of the Arnad Municipality, had provided for food and drink for free in this second but not last edition of Incubiamoci 2003.