Svana Bjarnason Climbs Her Second 5.14c
She climbed the test-piece route during breaks from working on restoring lines affected by last year's wildfire
Svana Bjarnason has recently climbed Mind Control 5.14c, her second of the grade after climbing Fish Eye. Both routes are in Oliana, a popular area in Spain that was damaged by wildfires in 2022.
Mind Control was one of the routes affected by the wildfire last year, but Bjarnason and others took the initiative to replace hardware and clean the rock. She had almost redpointed the famous route two days before the fire.
She reported on 8a.nu, “In my mind, I had already made the decision to not try to send anymore so I started climbing feeling free and happy to do the moves one last time. With that mindset everything suddenly felt easy and so enjoyable. And it worked. I cruised the route, I felt like I could have climbed it twice in a row. I was definitely not stronger that day than two days before but the different mindset changed everything! That’s how you realize the mental game is so important in climbing. Now that I sent it, I’m super excited to find myself a new project but first I want to try and finish the work we’ve started there.”
Bjarnason organized a fundraiser the help with the recovery process in Oliana. With the money raised, she’s buying new bolts, perma-draws and doing trail work. You can find out more and donate here. Below are nine climbing tips from Bjarnason.
Climbing Tips
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
