Psyched and Devasated

The team made it to the Shire this weekend after snow put the trip to the gneiss on hold for another day. We woke up in the boot of the car, with ice on the inside of the window but the sun rising over the eastern moors. The sky was perfect blue and we knew it would be a special day for friction. Bullies and flapjack later we were on our way up the hill to the Slipstones, a series of micro edges of perfect grit. Lovely, fine grained, high friction stuff. mmmmm. We warmed up on seven V0 to V1s. We were psyched! We moved on tot he main edge where we climbed a variation to a V1 at about V3. The guide said V4 but I don't think so. I had a bit of a captain about on it but all it took was a move of the hand on the starting hold and it felt easy. We had goes on Sulky Little Boys V7 and Supple Wall V5 but all failed. Pete nearly had Supple Wall though. We moved on and did a nice V4 in a corridor. A cool move from an undercut and sidepull. I had been doing it static but the time I sent the problem was a scrappy affair. Psyched though. We then tried Steptoe V3 and got completely owned! Nearly even got owned by Tiptoe V1. It was quickly turning into farce and the inevitable chat of "lets go to Brimham" was busted out. I reluctantly agreed, having never had a good day at this chossy paradise. I do really like it and the boulders in the Pommel area are amazing. We packed up and travelled over. I have failed on the Pommel V4 (bottom photo) on every visit. I was starting to feel a bit nervous as we approached. Last time I was there, I couldn't even grab the top! What a captain! This time, however, I used different beta and quite quickly got involved. I just couldn't pull over the top. Seven times I took the top boss but every time I peeled off. So frustrating. The YorkshireGrit videos have different beta for the top but I found it a testpeice. Looks like I'm going to have to go back. Oh well. We went straight to Heart Shaped Slab Arete 6c+. This testpeice nealy went for both Pete and Rosco but both got owned by the top rockover. Sacking it off we had team sends on Murky Rib 6a+ (top photo) and then tried a 6c sit start on the cubic block. I captained, Pete struggled but rosco got it second go. Send of the day at the end of the day. 

A great day out, even if I didn't get the Pommel. I was psyched to be pathing the first moves by the end but devastated that I just couldn't finish it. Brimham owned my tips.... I hope they are better for Monday when I do battle with Fight Club!

The day Pete sent the Trossachs

Well, after two weeks of cake eating and arm bending today was never going to be my day. I did, however, make it to Ratho for the first time this week to check it out. Very nice. Lots of bouldering to go at and a campus board. They have got rid of the barrel wall though which seems a shame. Lets hope they change the problems frequently. Although the Blue Oyster banter was noticeable by its absence, I think I will be happy to train there in the years to come. The hour to an hour and a half drive from work to the centre has made training tiresome for the last six months since I moved to Stirling. Ratho is an easy twenty five minutes away from work. The move will be god for me although I will miss the chat. Hopefully, I will get the four training days a week I need to move through my plateau. The once or twice a week I managed all summer/autumn has simply maintained my captain status, no better, no worse. 

And so it was, I went to the Trossachs with Pete and Jonny. I climbed lots of thing I have climbed before (including HB 6b+) which was fun but hardly inspiring. What was inspiring though was seeing Pete climb the triptych of Jawa 6c, Tourist Trap 6c+ and Fight Club 6c+ with no bother. It was a mark of ten months of four times a week training. Pete, I know you are reading! I am relieved in a way that you didn't get that RSPB job. Commuting is a test-piece and I would be gutted if you had to give up a couple of training days for it. You would just keep on the same grade like I have done and stop improving the way you have been. 

Anyway... I'm already starting to send at Ratho. I am going tomorrow. Jeeka and I will be moving in the next couple of weeks so life will soon be very different but I will have up to two hours of my day back again which can be spent training. Two hours wasted in the car every day just so I can drive my desk!! Its gutting but it will be over soon. 

Devastated....

that Hebson hasn't put the Annot footage on YouPorn yet...

French Fancies

It's difficult to know where to start with a blog entry about such an eventful trip. It would be pretty boring to bust out a full length blow by blow account of each day, so I'm not going to do that. Instead, I will record the main events. Firstly, respect must go out to Andrew "stealth trainer" Hebson for taking the title of Rock Star for the week. I had expected Pete to burn Andy off. Pete has really embraced the smack beta and is so much stronger than this time last year. However, Andrew "outdoor beta" Hebson just rocked up and climbed over 50 problems in the four sending days, an impressive return. Well done big man!!! 

Next up must be a word about the venue itself. The boulders are sat on a hillside, high above the village in a fantastic mixed oak forest. Autumn was in full flow and the forest floor was strewn with leaf litter. Although the bouldering is not as extensive as Font, there is plenty to go at during short trips like this. The best thing about it is the quietness. The campsite was sparsely populated and we were climbing by ourselves all the time. It made for really relaxing sessions. Font is more hectic. In Annot you can really sit and breathe. Shame it only lasted a week. 

Next up, I suppose, was my "seminal moment" which unfortunately took place not on a 7a but on a 6c or, at a push a 6c+. Regardless of the grade I was psyched to climb Psycho Addict, an Annot classic. I also climbed another few problems that had me psyched. At Place de Carduer, I climbed a nice B7 (Andy gave it 6c - could be V5 or just hard V4 - its difficult to know) and flashed the B7 slab at Place Vondome (6b at most). the problem was fantastic, not my usual style but sent in quick time. Apart from these two, I climbed a lot of B5 and B6, some of which were fantastic.. 

What would this blog entry be without mention of Vladimir the drunken Slovak. When the rain came we broke into the Grimpers caravan to borrow his tarp. We slung the tarp over out campfire area and cooked some sausages. We had limited psyche at this point but the success of the tarp and the dinner, coupled with a few beers and the promise of a better forecast for the next had lifted spirits. We were warm, dry, fed and watered. Feeling lucky, we shouted on the new comers to join us. Expecting to interpret some french we were hit with a volley of Slovak. Slightly taken aback, we welcomed the four guys to our fire and tried to get the chat on. I quickly realised that these guys were not up for a relaxing chat by the fire but a full on wine drinking session. One by one people left the fire side, Vladimir still talking. Pete was taking the full brunt of his drunken chat and we eventually had all left the two of them to it. I was quite drunk myself by this point and was happily tucked into my sleeping bag. Inevitably, I awoke desperate for a drink of water, I looked around the tent for the bottle I had filled from the waster block before bed and noticed a bright light from outside. I opened the tent doors to look out expecting to see Vlad staring into the fire but I had to move my head quickly to avoid the burning ash fling past my tent. the flames were huge! I shouted for Pete and went to see what was happening. My bouldering mat was on fire. Only a fingernail moon shape of it was left. the rest was gone. I ran back to the tent to find water to douse the flames but it was too late, the mat was gone. Gutted. Pete and Andy arrived at the scene and as the headtorches moved around, we glimpsed the full extent of the damage. The grimpers tarp was ruined. The flames had got so big that they had burned a two foot hole in the tarp. We were gutted. We had borrowed his gear without asking and bulled it. 

The next morning the rain had turned to ice on the tents. the sun was shining and it was another great sending day. By 4pm, the snow started and we left for Nice. The sending was over for the trip. We got 4 good sending days in which is pretty good for a winter trip. I sent some great problems and felt I climbed at my limit, Pete climbed well but not as well as he can, Rosco failed to deploy his immense strength, Karen climbed really well and sent some good problems but Andy burned us all.