For the first time in my life when I stepped inside the plane from Spain to USA, I felt RELIEVED. I’ve always felt quite melancholic about leaving and ending a trip, but this time I was HAPPY :D . When the boarding started and we started to walk towards the plane we saw from the window that it was raining again. It actually felt like it might start raining yesterday when the air in Oliana felt heavy and humid.

I tried my best again even though the conditions were probably the worst and gave a good try for once more! I could not say that I didn’t try and I wasn’t ready to give up. Hell no. But 1,5 months of giving everything just drained me both mentally and physically and it was time to call it. Without having the Black Diamond Athlete’s Summit in Utah I would have probably extended so I could give another try :D :D :D . I’m glad I didn’t because I heard that it got worse!!! When I sat on my seat I was thinking about Daniel who was staying in Oliana for a couple of days more. Respect dude. Going amuerte!!! 😄

When we finally arrived to Utah we had a long trip behind us. We had already missed our connection flight, we had a shit ton of stuff and at the customs I got pulled over because I didn’t have a return ticker. NOTE: In the ESTA reads that you should have a return ticket if you’re coming to the States :D!!! I didn’t know the exact day when I’d go back home so that’s why I didn’t have it. I booked the first one which looked okay, and later I noticed that the departure would be a day before the competition in Vail!!! FAIL :D

We went straight from airport to the Black Diamond office to start the first day of the Black Diamond Athlete's Summit and meet the team before we left to the gym to make some boulders at the Momentum MIllcreek Gym!!! I teamed up with Claire and luckily she was a little jet lagged too :D . We were pretty slow because we spaced out so. Much and just stared nothing while holding the holds in our hands. The boulder we made turned out surprisingly good!!! And damn I felt weak after Spain haha! Check the video from here :).

!The whole Black Diamond Athlete's Summit was a great experience and I'm feeling happy to be a part of the BD family!!! Even though we had a great time with a lot of laughing, climbing and hanging, we were all quite stunned, still confused and sad about one of our member's absence by an unfortunate occasion on Instagram and getting fired from the team. We missed you there <3

Right after the Black Diamond Athlete's Summit we flew back to Colorado with Matty on sunday. I left my luggages and headed back to the Denver airport on the next morning for the Mountain Hardwear sales meeting. Even thought I felt really tired for travelling I was excited about visiting San Fransisco and my MHW people again! We went to the Dogpatch bouldering gym straight from the airport with Tim Emmet (left on the picture) and Jon Glassberg (guy on the right). Bouldering felt pretty much as horrible as it felt on our first week in Utah :D. Really stoked on getting back on it and the process of getting strong again.

During a week I was mostly training while Matty was working on some films. Sometimes when I'm back home in Finland I'm dreaming about my happy place which is Matty's backyard on a mountainside, I'm sipping my morning coffee while Matty's cat Vesper keeps me company. Sun is scorching hot but air is dry and I can only hear the sprinklers watering the plants and the cat meowing. Aaahhh...... wish I could stay here forever......

One of my other favorite is the Rifle National Park where the unique and funky climbing joines together with the camping vibes and the river. Rifle in Colorado reminds me a little of Siurana because you eather love it or you hate it! It's a brutal place and even the old climbers are struggling there every weekend and sending is a rare occasion. Style is a little weird with its kneebars and the routes makes you feel like a shitty weak ass climber. It for sure puts a climber on a test both your physics and your attitude as well :D. You gotta love challenges!

So the process of getting back on shape included both the Rifle weekends, hiking, running, core, yoga, bouldering, campusing and fingerboard. I felt like I was getting strong again but if I'd like to try something really hard in Africa I'd need to focus more on pure power and only bouldering.  But who could resist the Rifle weekends? Not me, that's for sure.

In Rifle I wanted to just climb on the classics and just climb what ever. I really needed like having a break from projecting and trying a route more than just twice appeared on my mind after a couple of mileage days. I jumped back on "Zulu" I tried a 2 years ago. It was a good test piece for my current fitness and I also had to practise some dynoing and big moves!!! I remember it being super fun route as well so I found myself on it again. I only had 2 weeks in the States so this was also a good pic for as a little weekend-project besides climbing on some other sectors and routes :).

I found "Zulu, 5.14a" really hard! It is for sure the hardest 8b+  I have done. The moves are long, style is powerful and there was a couple of jumps for me too! I one-hanged to route for couple of times without getting pumped after falling on the second dyno. When I finally sticked the second dyno I did the route! SO HAPPY!!! Definitely earned a Larkburger (spoiled myself with the Wholefoods hot bar tho… om om om)

A little clip of me on Zulu on the bottom!!!! I also added clip of me climbing on "Wacka Flocka, 5.14.b" I did a summer ago! Sick ones!!!!! That one was my comeback route after my bad ankle sprain last year :).

I could write a book about my times in the states but because picture is a worth of thousand words I've put a little gallery with a lot of variety including camping vibes and training <3. Enjjjoy.

Fat camp continues indoors during a week while my hard-working boyfriend was editing.

Leaving back home from Colorado is always hard for me since I could call it as my second home and I feel like I'm slowly leaning more to that idea of moving there. I have a lot of friends there, family, routines and as a climber it would not be a bad spot to live. And every time I've came back home I've felt a lot stronger after being around with such a good and strong climbers who have made me to push myself even more!

Here's some little videos from Rifle filmed by Colette McInerney (left) and Jon Cardwell (right) from Rifle! The one of Zulu might be in the Pretty Strong movie next year!!!!! Check what is it all about from the link <https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nevernotcollective/pretty-strong-all-your-favorite-climbing-chicks-in>