Portlethen

Was in Aberdeen this weekend for my brother's stag do. Managed to get out to Porty for a good three hour session. I had gone with the aim of climbing The Prow 6c, a classic of the area on probably the best rock Portlethen has to offer. Sadly, I failed on the last move a couple of times and by the time I had worked out some decent foot beta, I was struggling to latch the left pinch. I met a couple of cool guys and we got stuck into The Pit 7a. Stuart had been trying for a few weeks and could do the top move but wasn't able to link the bottom section. I worked out some better beta and he did it next go! Gutted. I was able to link from the bottom to the lat move (about 6b+ in itself) but couldn't power up the last one. I got to this point three times. To be fair I couldn't do the move from standing so I'll have to come back to them. I'll call it a blessing in disguise as I'm up again next weekend fro the actual wedding so I can try again!

All at Sea with Bobby Shaftoe

Well, today was my birthday. Pete and I travelled to 'the county' last night and camped out in the woods. We found a fantastic spot with a soft bedding to sleep on and after a knock out doob we were fast asleep. Woke up at 6am to rain on my face. I crawled under the waterproof tent outer and went back to sleep until 8am. After coffee and a cable I was psyched to see what Rothey had to offer. We are not used to finding grit on county missions so this was a bit of a treat. The ferns were high and the ground was boggy but we made it to the best looking area - the arete area. Unfortunately, I decided to warm up on Hanging Arete 6a/V3. Pete climbed it very quickly but I fucked around on it for ages. I was getting completely owned. Must have taken a dozen goes before I climbed it. I was furious and as always it felt ok when it went. It is probably the best line at the crag using odd holds and powerful moves - not my thing but hey... Also climbed The Rounded Arete 6a and Pockets Wall 6a. Things hadn't started well and I was having having a shocker. Pete spent some time trying the sit start to Hanging Arete at 6c+ with good efforts but no joy. We moved over to the crag area to try some of the 6bs but a lot of the problems were wet or, in the case of Gloom, absolutely shit. Pete liked the look of The Long Reach 6c+. I had a few goes as well but found it hard and grim on the skin. Pete on the other hand manned through it in half a dozen goes. Definitely the send of the day. 

We left just as John "earl of northumberland" Earl turned up with his crew. We had seen as much of Rothley as we wanted and were slightly disappointed. We gambled with the weather and the petrol light and went to Bobby Shaftoe. Another county gritstone effort. this crag is much better. We should have gone there first thing. We went straight to Arete land and we both had a proper struggle with Classic Arete 6a. Thankfully I climbed it on the same go ad Pete so I wasn't too angry this time. I climbed a problem called The Long Reach 6a. Pete couldn't do it after two goes so gave up. It goes from an undercut up to a crimp and top (photo - check out my neck gun). I was a bit more psyched for it so gave it a couple more goes. 

Moving on to explore more of the crags. The place just got better and better. I completely failed on two 6bs but got one, Classic Arete Sit Start 6b. It was easy though, especially compared to some of the other problems around. Pete made a good but forceful ascent of Crease Classic 6b. A really nice problem which  I really want to go back and try. We were more or less spent but went the cob area and failed miserably on some further problems. 

All in all, it was a great day out in the county and the rain never came. We climbed for nearly 8 hours and were completely owned by the end. Shame its not as good as St Bees!

Fontainebleau

Jeeka was kind enough to let us stop in Font on the 'way home'. I lost my psyche for it when I saw the weather forecast in Geneva. Thunderstorms in Paris. Seems the closer I get to home the worse the weather gets! We parked at Apremont. I wanted to try Hyperplomb and Medalle au Chocolat, both 7a. the heavens opened s soon as I put my mat down. Rather than wait it out and get soaked we went back to the car and drove to Bas Cuvier. It dried out here after an hour but it then became very hot and humid. I met a 7b sender from Wales who couldn't do La Marie Rose due to the weather. I just got stuck into the red circuit. Its great! Wall and aretes, crimps and slopers. Pure Font. 

In the evening we went to Roche Aux Sabot, probably my favorite Font venue. Full of Pizza from the amazing shop next to the station, I was psyched to get on a nemesis, Le Angle Jean-Luc 6c. I failed again but came much closer than least year. The heat rendered the left sloper fairly useless but its hardly an excuse. I would love someone to come and show me the beta. Some cool Swedish guys gave me some psyche and when their strongman couldn't get to my high point (poor footwork) I didn't feel to bad. 

It was dark before I gave up on the red circuit. Jeeka had found a boulder with a flat sand top which we were going to sleep on. The rain started slightly so we found a roof instead. When the rain got heavier it drained off the boulder, under the roof and straight onto us. Springing to action, I jumped out of my bag, and pitched the tent, the lightning throwing the silhouette of my naked body onto the canvas as I struggled with no torch to erect the damn thing.....

A great end to a fantastic holiday. Jeeks indulged me no end but I did manage to cook Thai curry and get champagne for our 3rd anniversary. From a bouldering point of view I only climbed two 6b+, three 6b, and lots of 6a/+. Not amazing but the three venues were superb and worth it just to be there... 

Other Random Holiday Snaps

Sustenpass

On the way back from Italy we stopped at the Sustenpass for a few hours to break the journey and check out the bouldering. I had hoped to get here for evening sessions from Interlaken but the drive was not the 40 minutes promised on UKClimbing but about 90 minutes over a harsh alpine pass. Coupled with the 4pm thunderstorm, no evening sends would be possible and this would be my only chance to get stuck in. I thought it would be a quiet venue but there were another five teams out. I later found out that Dave Graham has an 8b here so I suppose it must be popular. It was a hot sunny day but the boulders are at 2000m so the air is nicely cool. The rock is a granitic gneiss and is very rough. Crimps, edges and slopers. I climbed for over 3 hours but only climbed 4 'proper' problems. I warmed up on a few slabs and traverses and started on a 6a sitter. I expected to flash it but was spat off harshly. Took a few goes before I sorted the sneaky beta for the send. Next up was a cool 6b+ sit start (pictured). It is in the guide as a "6" whatever that means. I assume it is a misprint and so I gave it what I feel it is. It took some doing, maybe 15 goes. I was getting pretty pissed off with it Next up was a 6b. the first two moves of this were the crux but it went in 5 goes. The following youtube link shows the two problems. Its the last two problems - the ones the guys struggle on! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHHy6GONQq4&feature=related) Lastly we moved boulder and I climbed a nice 6a+ arete and tried a 6c before packing up for a coke and a smile. An amazing venue which I hope the photos give testament to. 

Road Trip - Val Di Mello

Well, back in the UK and surprise, surprise it's pissing it down. Must say that I'm less than psyched about the prospect of going back to work. I have an interview on Thursday for a job I'm not sure I want and loads to do on top. I've been thinking of a career change recently. I've done 5 years at SEPA now and maybe it's time to move on to something new... 

Anyway, on to the sending... I got in 3 1/2 sessions during the holiday. Not bad considering it was a slice land trip.. Each session was at a different venue, Val Di Mello, Sustenpass and Fontainebleau. Before the bouldering started we spent some time traveling over stopping in London and Bern on our way to Interlaken in Switzerland. Here, we camped under the Jungfrau range and got stuck into some other the cool sports they have on offer there. White Water Rafting was brilliant but canyoning was amazing!

The first climbing happened in Italy. The Val Di Mello is probably the prettiest venue I have ever climbed in. 

The only problem is that it was hot! Even at 1500m it was pushing 30 degrees. I was psyched though. No big numbers unfortunately. One 6a, two 6a+, one 6b. All fantastic problems. I then spent some time trying a highball 6b+ which without someone to move the mat along, I gave up on quickly. Moving on I found I nice 6c arete. I spent about an hour and a half on it but the top slopers were minging. By this time the daily 5pm thunderstorm was coming so we packed up and retreated back for dinner. These thunderstorms meant that evening sends were not really a possibility so I had to be out in the heat of the day. Check out the photos... Amazing...

The following day was the hottest day of the trip so far. Added to this was the fact that I was very low on skin. The rock is extremely rough and, similar to gritstone, it is only possible to have one hard day before skin is thin. I tried to climb but the heat was too much and after climbing another classic 6a+ I gave up and sat under a tree to read my book. I thought that would e it for sending in Italy. However, today was to be different. There was no thunderstorm so in the evening I went to a boulder near the campsite and climbed a 6a+, 6b, 6b+. A nice evening in the end. We left the next morning.