Bouldering, bouldering, bouldering

Saturday - Amiatta

After the great meal we had a good our first taste of the bouldering. Lore took us to a very beautiful location called Amiatta, where the climbing is powerful and short with the sharpest rock I have ever pulled down on. After a tour of the routes (which looked amazing), we went down the hill and did a circuit of great warm up problems before heading back to the van and driving to the real action!

In the second location, we got some fantastic wall and arete climbs and I managed to get a possible new problem sent from a sit start via some very sharp holds and long reaches (maybe a little bit morpho ;)) and we had comedy scenes with Tom heel hooking his shoe off and me attempting to put it back on whilst he clung to the rock for the flash!

Down the hill, we all sent some hard problems on a hueco style roof before Lore took us to one of the best pieces of rock i have seen abroad, which contains 3 main lines a 7B+, 7c and his 8a roof problem which was beyond impressive and certainly very hard for the grade seeing as every move was nails! Lore was pulling down hard and was looking strong on his 8a+/b project line (the first of the Mohicans direct).

Sunday - Sasso

The next day, we were taken to an even more special place, Sassofortino which was totally serene, with scattered blocks hidden deep in the woods with the rock very similar to Magic Woods. After another warmup we went to the Lourdes roof and I was amazed at how pure the line was, utterly stunning to look at and the moves were fantastic. I managed to just about get up the easiest of the lines on the roof with a fight to top out and Lore also crushed Lourdes to the finish on the retro flash! Mightily impressive as his wrist was giving him quite a bit of pain. I was really psyched for Lourdes but wanted to go and check out Spigolo calibani that Keith had recommended to tom to go and try.

The line of Spigolo is beautiful and what was even better were the superb moves all the way to the top, it had everything, with heels, compression, crimping and jumping with an airy finish onto a damp slabby top! We worked the moves on it and quickly linked most of it but sadly the air was really humid and the rock greasy as anything I have encountered. I managed to do it in 2 overlapping halves but on the final attempt at linking I had to give in to bad skin and pain, with every finger on my left hand covered in tape to avoid going through more tips than the 2 I did on day 1. Giving up on this we spotted Tom on an even sharper problem to the right that also had a really nice line and great crimpy moves but thin skin and agony won the battle and we had to concede defeat.

In the evening, we went swimming in the outdoor pool and it was slightly cold. We did a few laps and I nearly died from the cardio! The meal afterwards was really nice with some pizza and local cheeses, ham and honey brought over by Lore and Valetina's friends. Good times!

Sleep, Surf, Seafood

We've been here 2 days and it has been fucking Ottimo! Sleeping in till midday and then living a life of decadence and relaxation.

After a hardcore power session on Lore's board of justice, the psyche is high for the trips to Amiata and/or sassofortino.

I've never known such hospitality and have enjoyed attempting to learn Italian along with Tom, with the help of Valentina, whilst Lore is at work busy reading the Bible (aka North Wales Bouldering!).

Today was a rest day, so we went to the beach and started to work on our sun-tans as well as hacky sack skills before Magic Wood. After a couple of cans we thougt we had best burn the extra calories off and hiked back to the Villa. Twenty minutes later Lore rocked up and we were travelling back to la Spiaggia, armed with sickeningly strong shorts and a board adorned in the colours of the best football team in Europe!

I had never surfed before and Tom had about 4 sessions of experience, so we did not hold high expectations. The sea was nice and not too aggressive, whilst being far from placid. After becoming acclimatised to the 'fucking freddo' temperature of the Sea we got fully stuck in, with both of us managing to stand for more than a second or so and catching some sort of wave (with some expert coaching from Lore the resident Guru!). My horrendous cardio system was fully overloaded and whilst getting stood up was not too bad, the art of not swallowing gallons of Sea water may take some time to master.

We finished off with a team photo adorned in garish Primark shorts and made haste to the best restaurant I have ever been to. Lore was pretty much related to everone we met and the service and food was simply amazing. Octopus in Humous, mussels and espresso mussels (miniature with a very strong taste). followed by a platter of every fish in the Mediterranean with 3 bottles of locally sourced wine. Just as we thought it was over, they bring in 3 incredible deserts and some imported vintage Scottish whisky! I think this meal would have cost about a months wages for me back in Britain and I think me and Tom both felt privileged to be so welcome here.

Tonight we will sleep well for sure.

Great Weekend away

Well I've just had one of the best weekends away in a while over in North Wales from Friday till Monday.

Friday

Me and Rog set off from the pool on Friday morning and popped down to Gogarth. I'd never experienced sea cliff climbing before or even used twin ropes, so it could have been a baptism of fire at Castel Helen, but mercifully the weather was great and the sea calm. We mutilated 2 VS routes Pel and Lighthouse direct with some interesting offline route finding by Rog and some tricky elimnate style climbing by myself, thinking certain holds couldn't possibly be in! Rog somehow managed to drop a set of my small wires into the nether and said he might have to hand his MIA back in for that show of ineptitude!
It was a great day out, and we rounded it off by popping into the pass to meet Christine, Rog and her went off to Carrag Wastad to do some route and I puntered about at the Cromlechs ticking off easy gaps in the problems list in the back.

Saturday

I managed to hitch a lift up to the pass from Nant peris campsite and met up with Ben and the Shire Horse at the Roadside. We did a good warmup circuit where I flashed a new V7 James Pond RH and then went over the road and did some brilliant easy highballs on Pont Y Gromlech including the Seam which was classic. Continuing on we went over and did NASA and then uphill to the Lizard King block, which looks stunning. I got the beta off Ben and tried to flash Emyr's Arete the V7 on the right and blew off the sharp left sidepull when going for a small positive edge, nasty! I chalked up and got it done next go, cool problem. Ben then did the scary and rarely clean line of Envy V6 about 80ft to the right.
Ben had to get off to soem party, so me and Si missioned down the hill over to Jerry's Roof and I decided to try Bus stop again as I was feeling quite good the last 2 sessions on it. It was well windy so Si stood on the edge of the pad and I pulled on, I stuck the first move perfectly and then just kinda flowed through the rest topping out with ease! My first font 7C and hopefully not the last! I almost feel ready to try some of Lorenzo's brutal problems in Italy in the next 2 weeks, but probably need to do a bit more training. It was nice that it felt like a path when sent which means I am hopefully capable of climbing harder this year, we will see!
I celebrated with a nice fry up at Pete's Eats and then got dropped off at Llyn Peris Lake by Si to check out Fish Skin Wall (one of the finest V7's in the pass). It took a phone call to Ben to get a location and a few minutes later I was stood beneath this fine looking wall full of edges and layaways. It took about 20 minutes to work out what I was doing and when it did go down it felt like the polar opposite of what I had done that day, technique, balance and footwork.

Sunday

The weather was looking grim but I headed back up to the boulders on the bus and went to Jerrys Roof again, managed to get Bus Stop again first try of the day then put my mat under Jerry's Roof. Sadly the wind ripped my pad from under the roof and sent it about 100ft down the road! I gave chase and went off to the roadside to seek shelter. James Pond roof was still dry underneath so I worked the sit start and got it in a few goes at about V8ish, worthwhile! Bored of this venue, I checked out Fear of a Slopey Planet down at Ettws and got it in a few tries once I corrected my appauling top out sequence. Tried Boysen's Roof Sitter and got thoroughly shut down for a second session! I need to get some beta on this nemesis.

Monday

On the wind down day, it was blowing a storm again so me, Dave and Si H met up around the Sleep Deprivation roof and worked some of the links. I finally got Sleep light sent avoiding the rock by sacking off the use of pads and pulling a front lever over the lip. With this in the bag and psyche rising again, I got on the Roof crack that I had always avoided for some reason. It got done in 2 halves fairly quickly and then got sent about 20 mins later. Me, Roger and Kris went back to Beris and had a coffee before we had to head back to Liverpool and start packing for Italy!

I am so psyched for the trip with Tom to visit Lorenzo and can't wait to get fat on red wine, pizza, pasta, surfing and sunbathing! (+ maybe some crushing? YES.)

Limestone season

With the recent heatwaves, me and Tom have been getting out on the hallowed lime as much as possible and enjoying the near crushing that each session seems to be bringing. I can't wait till it all starts clicking and things get sent, but in the meantime much strength is being gained from repeated redpoint attempts on Rock Atrocity and Bus Stop for myself and the former for Tom.



The Bank holiday weekend began well with a trip to the Cave. I had a best ever session on Attrocity getting to the final pinch 5 times and dropping the finishing slot 2 times! The problem is starting to feel easy until that elusive final move. We finished off the day with a chilled session at Pigeons Cave boulders.

Monday was good with a trip to The Wavelength where I managed a few new problems; Gav's Sitter, Boysen's Groove sitter and a desperate sandbag V4 called Paul's Bulge on the back of the Grooves boulder! The weather was scorching and we all got nicely burnt/tanned.

During the week it was back to indoors to earn some money for Italy in a couple weeks time. I sneaked in a 2nd routes session of the month and despite my pathetic endurance managed to onsight a 7a, onsight another 7a till the last move and did a 7b with 2 falls. Thats 3 routes sessions in roughly 2 years and I think this time I'll have to try keep it up for a month or so to see if I can reap the benefits of extra gas in the tank when back in the Cave.

In the last 3 days I've enjoyed a trip out to Angel Bay with Si, Ben and Andy where I intended to just rest and take photos but got psyched and swiftly dispatched Mussel Bound and after a lot of drying, chalking and cursing... Spectrum via wet holds and a big campus, it was a productive active rest day.

Yesterday was a late start in the pass with Dave and Tom to warm up and crush under Jerry's roof. We met the Cattells there for a warmup and a play on the Sleep Deprivation roof eliminates. The heat and humidity were crazy so not much got done, including watching Danny nearly pass out trying to pull on to Arachnophobia... surely the hardest V8 in the world?



We walked down the road and Dave had a play on Jerry's roof whilst I got my sequence wired for Bus Stop, bar the first move, topping it out twice from the 2nd move. About 20 people suddenly arrived and started jumping all over the problems so we sacked it down to pete's Eats and had a chill.
We drove back up about 8.30 and it was nicely empty. The lanterns got fired up and crushing commenced, warming up on some footless moves before Dave got real close on Jerry's falling off the last hard move. He will get it soon for sure when he can see where his feet are going! I managed to finally work out where to put my feet on Bus Stop and crushed the first move a few times before linking it to the lip and losing my tension through tiredness but I have now done it comfortably in 2 halves and fatigued. I can't wait to return and finally climb something hard that I know I am capable of.

Weak Week

After getting back from font I decided I probably needed a rest. So I took 2 days off after about 10 on and felt pretty good with new thick tips and everything!

I had a good campus session on the Mills' board then another strong session in the crypt on my V7 green = outdoor V10ish (Harder than Sparks with more moves and 3 cruxes instead of 2, the hardest being 2nd to last move). Enjoying this feeling of stength I took another 2 rest days and went to the wall on Sunday afternoon...

I was testing out a new weight belt that Tom got me as a bargain birthday gift and circuited the new step wall up to the V5's without too much hassle. I removed the belt to crush the harder lines but to my dismay I managed to get 5 flappers across several joints on both hands from some scrittly shitty holds that were a bit sharper than I expected! Devestated, I had to tape up 4 fingers and had a really poor session (not being able to send 5 of my own problems).

I went the wall on Monday afternoon and decided to make up for Sunday's bad session by working 2 of the problems I couldn't do from the day before and got 1 of them first go. I failed on the last move of the other due to it being another dynamic move with more flapper potential if not caught perfectly...so I backed off and felt defeated, although slightly more satisfied than the previous day.

I hate my hands, whenever the arms feel great (i.e. most of the time) my skin is falling apart either on the tips or the joints and I seem to be forever climbing on tape and glue.

I had a mixed return to Pantymwyn last night with Si H. With an unexpectedly large crew down there, we had to queue for problems! I warmed up and felt like a sack of shit but thought I would just try and get the moves of Sparks into the system again. I couldn't believe how bad the left heel-toe felt to get the dish over the lip and how hard the last move was again! I only managed the heeltoe move once in about 8 attempts and failed to do the last move. The rest wasn't too bad but I just didn't feel good on it at all. It all felt like a path till the last move when I was there a month ago (failing on the last move from the start 3 times in a row).

I sacked off Sparks in the end and put it down to the amount of tape covering my hands as well as lethargy and a greasy dish over the lip but I might have lost some power too from all that technique based climbing I have been doing!

Afterwards, me and Chester Si got on Mental extension and it got crushed in about 3 goes. Considering how shit I felt it was nice to get something positive from the day and I'm keen for Thug mentality as another problem for next time.

I really need my hands to repair as soon as possible so I can climb tapeless, so it looks like I'll have to just do some arm work on a bar, lots of core and maybe some deadhanging on small edges to feel like I'm not slacking off. Today's deadhang/pressup/core session at the wall was good and I'll probably rest a couple days now incase there is a chance of getting out on the hallowed lime this weekend.

Font 08

I've just had a great last few weeks in Sheffield and fontainebleau so I'll try and break it down a little into manageable parts!

March 21st-->25th (Merseyside & Sheffield)

We had a good day out at the Breck with Mike where he bouldered out overhanging wall direct at 7B+/7C, In the Jungle Direct 7B and some other line on the left at about 7A (all highball with 3 pads and a ropew to the side to get down!). I flashed In the Jungle Direct on a top rope but didn't try the highball as I wanted to keep my legs intact for font! I had a play about on the Haston Dyno on top rope and can confirm the moves are amazing and that the final dyno is nails - definitely felt like 7B+/7C on it's own as I couldn't stick it.

We were in Sheffield from the Saturday till Wednesday and had a day out at Stanage on the Sunday where I got Deliverance done and then Mike made the most amazingly static ascent of The Ace (8B) the day before he got married to Debs. It was great to be there and witness it from a couple of metres away.

On Monday me and Tom went to Crag Y with the ex nicest man in climbing and showed him the problems and he crushed everything in his path save the sitter into Fallen Idol and Speedway. He got all the moves into the standup wired on FI and am sure he will get it sent on his return! The wedding recepti0on in the evening for Mike and Debs was a nice event with good food and lots of familiar faces from Merseyside and Hull.

26th March -> 5th April (Fontainebleau)


This was my 3rd trip to font and I came to crush a couple of old nemesis from last year, try some new projects and get as many new 7's as possible for our 'friendly' competition versus team Hull. It was me and Mills against the combined decades worth of experience of Gibson and Jennings and it proved to be a lot closer in the end than anyone would probably have expected with Hull winning 50 - 40 in overall points (7A=1pt, 7A+=2pts, 7B=3pts..etc). Next time should be different as father time catches up with the ageing Hull pensioners!


The highlight of the trip was getting Carnage done as I had tried it last trip in October and struggled to make the first move (dropping across into the crimp from the non jump start). I had a few good efforts on it at the end of day 1 and returned to send on day 7 in about 4 attempts. I also tried a new problem in Salle Gosse and surprised myself in slapping the top after about 5 goes (from the low left hand mono start). I can't wait to return to try it later this year as it felt surprisingly steady for a forest 7C.


It was good to see other people sending new problems too with Tom pathing Fleur de Rhum static at Apremont, Ben getting Aerodynamite on his last day and Scott crushing Infidel on the last evening as it went dark.

I also managed to momentarily drag myself away from the hunt for new 7's to try a classic problem in Duroxmanie and can say it is the finest problem I have ever done in the 6's.

At the end of the 10 day trip I had managed 27 7A and above new problems and had a great time in doing so. My only regret was splitting a tip 3 days before we went on the Storm at Stanage and then another 2 tips 2 days into the trip on sharp things I should have avoided with my imfamously poor skin! I think next time I'll swerve anything grit related or sharp before we go on trips abroad.

I think font will have to wait till October now and I'll be saving for trips to Italy and Switzerland in the meantime to try out new venues. Time to get training again.

So close yet so far

It's been a while since I updated my blog so here is a general roundup from the last few weeks...

After returning from Charente I had a great weekend spent in North Wales and Pex Hill with conditions being very cold and dry. I ticked an old nemesis in King of Drunks and then did the superior right hand version, both were brilliant. I started to work Wavelength with Dave but whilst getting some good photos for him, his hands slipped off the greasy edge and he smashed his arm into the encroaching boulder, causing much pain! We had to cut the day short but not before I did that grim but fun dyno from the crimp and mono to the top (hellraiser V5 or something?).



The next day at Pex was superb and I managed to get Catalepsy done in about 5 goes, after dropping the jug on the flash attempt :( (I kind of agree with Ben and think it may only be V6 after all). The highlight of the day was Mike crushing Monoblock for the 5th ascent, making it look like a path!



The entire week was amazing, so we spent another session at Pex on the Tuesday and I had one of my best sessions ever climbing North and Southwest Overhang from standing and as it got very dark and cold, the sit start into North West that felt easily the hardest thing I've done in the UK. Lamplight sessions are definitely the way to go for good climbing conditions in Merseyside.



The weather kind of deteriorated after that and I got some hours in at the wall to help save for Mike's stag weekend and the font trip in March.

Last week marked a welcome return to the cave and current bane/addiction/mental barrier in my climbing. I went with Si and Tom late in the day and we warmed up in Split as we still had some daylight. As the darkness descended rapidly, we fired up the lanterns and got stuck into the warmups (Beaver righthand and some other unnamed V4). I retro flashed them all and felt great, had a rest and went over to Rock Attrocity. I practiced the finish from the pocket 3 times in a row and it felt easy. After brushing it all and drying a couple of the footholds, I pulled on and completely cruised through to the pocket. I still felt strong but as soon as I reach up for the pinch before the final hold I seem to hit a complete wall and all energy leaves me in an instant. This was about the 8th time I've been at the same point and it doesn't seem to be getting any easier, maybe I need to get here more than once every 2 months?
I feel way stronger than at the end of 07 when I was getting to the same point and can only put my failure down to lack of mental focus and/or power endurance. I don't know whether to keep going at it and see if it just happens or to start training power endurance circuits indoors. (I was starting to do this once a week before our board got suddenly closed! :()
I'm half looking forward to watching Tom's video of me on the problem, but not sure whether it will help me get psyched again or depressed about the last move. Maybe it's time to start trying some other problems in there?

Mike's stag weekend was a great laugh and the image of Dave's post-paintball injuries will stay with me for a long time as a reminder to never run out infront of 20 people solo! He looked in agony all of Sunday when a few of us went to Crag Y for a relaxed session. I felt like shite and just about managed to send a 7A and 7A+, but there are 2 problems that have me very motivated to go back in the form of a horizontal 6 inch roof dyno (bullet) and a sit start problem beginning with a fantastic long move off a mono to a crimpy sloper and then hard deadpointing to a pocket (the vision).

Today I'm back at home visiting my mum and making up for missing Mother's Day. I have a nice card that I made myself and a present which should help me avoid being disowned and banned from future family events!