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Max Ricker

@max.ricker

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Surfing, climbing, outdoor adventures, veganism, nature conservation & sustainability ✊

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‘Bingo Bongo’ 7b / V8
Magic Wood

Wow, this one was an absolute pleasure to project! I’ve never come across movement on rock like this before and it just strikes the perfect balance for me between creativity, power, and precise technique.
I first got stoked on it last year when I saw the crazy sequence. It felt beyond my limits when I first tried it. I could barely get the first move and it felt like the high foot would slip most of time, leaving me with a brutal shoulder move to hold the tension. Then this year I had a random project session on it with two Italians who also got stoked on the sequence and we unlocked a new position for the foot. And BAM! Suddenly it held every time. The next challenge was figuring out how to work my way around the left rail. It felt insanely powerful to hold tension between a slippery foot and a sloped edge, feeling like I was gonna fly off and go barreling down the hill behind. And then suddenly I found a lower position to hang in and swap my hands and it felt easy. And pretty much the same thing for the throw around the corner to the first crimp. It was blind for me and felt so far and then a little tip from @jelle.prosperi to bring my left foot over and flag completely unlocked the final crux.

It was a pure joy to climb and made for one of the most unique routes I’ve sent. It was a great sending day with the Bongo Boyz! by @max.ricker

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3 months ago

Another beautiful season done. Not so many great surfs; but some great people and some fun times. by @max.ricker

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5 months ago

This road trip down to Joshua Tree with @pabsdoyle was a highlight of the end of the year. Such a great time getting out, showing my home spots, and exploring parts of California I’ve never been to before. The desert is really something else… by @max.ricker

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9 months ago

Grit de luxe, 7a+ / V7

This one’s a really special one for me. When I first came to Magic Wood three years ago I was immediately drawn to the line- it’s an absolutely stunning setting right next to the river, the rock has this beautiful water-worn texture, and the route’s just got this really interesting flow to it. At the time I couldn’t really figure out how to even get past the first move though. Then last year I came back and projected it and managed to bit by bit work out beta for each move. Just when I thought I’d cracked the crux, the next move would turn out to be just as tricky as the one before it. Finally I worked out every piece of the puzzle and on my send go my right hand unexpectedly fired off the hold and I fell badly, missing the pad and breaking my heel. I couldn’t just walk away from the boulder though; it really got under my skin. I dreamt of coming back to it several times this winter, and finally this last weekend I returned to give it another go. My body seemed to remember my beta and the sequence came back super quickly for me and after a few goes and learning to shut off my mind at the point I’d fallen, I finally managed to send this beautiful, beautiful line.
It’s been such a special feeling connecting with this route, and sure, I’m not climbing the harder grades in the forest yet, but from what I’ve seen, I think this is one of the most interesting lines in Magic Wood. It’s just got everything packed into three cruxes: a strength-intensive and balance-y mantle start with a super delicate and technical stand up where you need to avoid getting pushed off by a bulge in the rock, then a powerful and precise launch off of water-polished ‘footholds’ into a crack that barely fits two half pad finger tips and one three quarter pad, then to finish it off you’ve got an awkward hand-foot match to lock in while you’re trying to keep your hands locked in and your other foot from slipping.
Anyways, I’m stoked and I’m damn proud. taken in Magic wood, Switzerland by @max.ricker

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a year ago

Golden memories from the best winter in a long time. So much love for my Aljezur / Vale da Telha family, as stinky and lazy as they are ❤️ taken in Algarve, Portugal by @max.ricker

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a year ago

Albarra stills taken in Albarracín by @max.ricker

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a year ago

Flowing // falling

Some of my favorite lines from my recent Albarracín trip:
-‘Zig Zag’, 7a
-‘Dos mandingas, un destino’, 7a
-‘Techos de los alemanes’, 7a
-‘Air France’, 7a
-‘Sin más’, 6c
-‘Cerrojo matador’, 7a
-‘Variante de la playa’, 6c+
-A montage of trying hard taken in Albarracín by @max.ricker

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a year ago

Island cruising 🌴🛵
Ubud -> Medewi by @max.ricker

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2 years ago

Trying my hand at silversmithing to design my own ring. Such a cool process to see how you work some scraps of silver slowly into the right shape and then refine, refine, refine. by @max.ricker

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2 years ago

Blue Sky of Mine, 6a+ ⛰️ // Magic Wood, Switzerland

What an incredible route. Blue sky is my first proper highball route, at 8m. It somehow keeps this sustained edge throughout the entire climb which feels so perfectly crafted that it’s hard to believe the rock just naturally chipped that way over the millennia. It starts with a more technical, beautiful crimp ladder and then the second half gets progressively easier and easier, but you’ve got to battle your fear as you’re getting further and further off the ground. It all comes together for pure flow and ended up being an absolute highlight of the trip for me. by @max.ricker

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2 years ago

Waves on my mind by @max.ricker

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2 years ago

Coupla good fer nothin tricksters taken in Praia Do Barranco by @max.ricker

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2 years ago