Dusty Ropes

Well as i mentioned yesterday while posting random clips of climbing - i was going to a crag yesterday. Not for real climbing, more just to give some friends their first taste of climbing on rock. A Friend from work and her boyfriend. He had just been and bought himself some rock shoes and a harness and was hooked on climbing ever since he took a trip to the local climbing wall last week. It's wierd going climbing with total beginners after so long just climbing with Caroline or the lads from home - you kinda forget just how excited you were to be at the bottom of a seemingly sheer rock-face for the first time. You could taste the excitement! It was a perfect day, blue skies, dry rock, warm and calm. I think everyone enjoyed the couple of hours and i enjoyed just dusting off the trad rack and harness after so long and getting out into the sunshine. I think my last trad lead was Sharkbait in the burren way back in August! The climbing at Pothole quarry has never really challenged me but i think the recent focus on training and sports climbing had totally shifted my "sence of hard". We did a couple of routes, all the classics, and although i had racked up i ended up soloing most (just as well as Nath had never even seen leading before never mind belaying!). Even the E2's felt like less than a warm up and over before they began. After a slap up feed of Bacon Butties, thanks to Mez, we moved crag to the nearby Maeshafn quarry to finish up for the day. Now i like this place. Very quiet and home to some much nicer routes (including 2 very worthwhile E6's). I hadn't been back here since i sent the harder lines, probably a year and a half ago at this stage, but felt a nice familiarity walking in all the same. We just did two of the more popular vs's and called it a day - I hope they enjoyed their taste of climbing coz it was fun for me - they're repaying the favour today by taking me sailing - Gulp! or should i type Glug!? I'm not afraid of watersports but it's just not rock now is it? lets be honnest :)

It's 7:50 am right now and i've been for a run, had a shower, breckfast, Caroline has gone to work, I've tones of marking to do, a couple of Bio's to write as a favour and i'm going Sailing at 10 - Whats that i hear you thinking through the misty haze of time and distance? Go climbing? What? Where? Panytmwyn? What and work those roofs? Surley not! Alright! OK! I'll do it! Quit pressuring me! (Thanks folks - i really needed that :)) - Adios!

Did someone say Trad?

Look, i know this doesn't count as blogging but again, i saw this and thought of you Guys out there - just look at the position he places the two cams from below the crux!! I gotta admit... i'm torn now between starting my route projecting early or doing some bouldering...hmmmm

...and more (they better arrive soon coz i'm bursting to climb!!!!)

Ondra sending a 9a (Martin Krpan)

This isn't exactly news but God Damn! this is some sick climbing! - 9a ....Buuuhhh??? Just came across it while waiting to hit a crag and thought i'd share :)

For the record

Just a few points about the previous post and the pictures. The first few of Jerry's Roof, V9 were actually taken at the end of the day - wrecked. I had tried this problem a couple of times over the years but could never even pull any one move on the bleedin thing! Well yesterday I pulled on and linked every move (even the dyno in the picture sequence!) right up to the last move before turning the lip. Then I was pumped, suffering from lack of skin and lost... I’d never had reason to scope out the holds above this point and had no clue as where I was to go. But most importantly I was very, very pleased - that dyno sequence alone was enough for me - pure bouldering perfection! I'll be back as soon as I can to dispatch it.

The other pics are from earlier on in the day. Ultimate Retro Party is a V8 that I had looked at before but I couldn't even pull on (noticing a pattern?). This time I began by working the final 2 thirds of the problem from a stand up. Pulling on from a shallow scar with my left and the undercut crack with my right, I spanned out right to the lip, used some toe clamping and all the meagre body tension I had to lock the position and cross-over with my left to a small rail then on to the finishing jug - probably worth V6/7 in it's own right. Then surprised at that, I began to work the start - despite expecting it to be more difficult than it was I dug in and soon had a sequence that overlapped my first couple of attempts nicely and I began to work the complete thing. This is where I think I need to find more focus - I just kept trying and trying it - always falling tantalising close to the finishing jug. I felt like I just wanted to send it quick and move on so we could both try more problems. I guess that’s the wrong attitude to have, as I was just getting more and more fatigued with each try. A problem like that should be wanted and waited for - making each attempt count and resting in between. Ah well, impatience won and we moved on leaving me with URP's sweet heel hooks, and balancy undercut snatching moves lodged firmly in my psyche! Again, another sequence that I was both happy to have figured out and surprised to be able to pull!

This was Caroline’s first time on rock since Spain in October! Well she didn't waste any time, after warming up with a few laps of the roof crack in the slideshow below she went on to try URP and the cramlech roof crack V7 (my one decent send for the day). We were both feeling the lack of bouldering but saying that we were getting up some things that we probably would not have sent before - Caroline had a great run of sends on the cromlech roadside face, flashing most of the lines up to V4 and getting over her initial fear of top outs :) All of a sudden things were looking possible - a great day out!

Playing in the Pass

A picture paints a thousand words... Something good has happened over the winter... i couldn't hold those holds before - never mind pull the moves!