Monday, February 23, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Aims for 2009
The list is also available here but these are the aims for 2009 with value added ramblings for my blog readers. You lucky lucky blog readers...
1. Buy the van and get it sorted.
2. The Holy Trinity - Pebble Arete, Murky Rib & Anniversary Arete - two problems that I know I can do and one that I think I can.
3. More trad all over the country - 2008 was a really good year for trad from my perspective and hopefully 2009 will provide the same.
4. Try and be consistent when out climbing - it really frustrates me how inconsistent I can be at times.
5. Organise my life better so I can work in some form of training\fitness thing.
6. Sport climbing trips - a rediscovered love after 3 years away - definitely a lot more bolted action (non Peak) required for this year.
7. Go to Font!! This now warrants two exclamation marks!
8. The Holy Trinity of Grades - consistently climbing HVS, Font 6b and F6b (onsight) would be considered a big tick.
9. Gorilla\Extended Warfare.
10. Avalanche Wall (Curbar) without falling off or slumping onto gear.
I actually did quite well last year and of the aims I have set myself this year 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 10 are certainly attainable. Of the rest I think the key is to get 5 sorted - get that in place and the rest all become possible.
1. Buy the van and get it sorted.
2. The Holy Trinity - Pebble Arete, Murky Rib & Anniversary Arete - two problems that I know I can do and one that I think I can.
3. More trad all over the country - 2008 was a really good year for trad from my perspective and hopefully 2009 will provide the same.
4. Try and be consistent when out climbing - it really frustrates me how inconsistent I can be at times.
5. Organise my life better so I can work in some form of training\fitness thing.
6. Sport climbing trips - a rediscovered love after 3 years away - definitely a lot more bolted action (non Peak) required for this year.
7. Go to Font!! This now warrants two exclamation marks!
8. The Holy Trinity of Grades - consistently climbing HVS, Font 6b and F6b (onsight) would be considered a big tick.
9. Gorilla\Extended Warfare.
10. Avalanche Wall (Curbar) without falling off or slumping onto gear.
I actually did quite well last year and of the aims I have set myself this year 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 10 are certainly attainable. Of the rest I think the key is to get 5 sorted - get that in place and the rest all become possible.
The art of one sock wearing...
Christmas came and went in a bit of a blur featuring plenty of beer, a distinct lack of activity, catching up with family and no climbing. It was good and to be honest it came at the right time as I had been steadily losing motivation with climbing in the run up to Christmas anyway so it did me good to get away and avoid the temptation to touch rock in some sort of masochistic way.
As for the title - that's a whole different sort of motivation...
As for the title - that's a whole different sort of motivation...
Monday, December 15, 2008
Excuses, excuses, excuses.
I didn't sleep well last night - blame it on eating pizza and then suffering some really weird fucked up dreams as a result of cheese overload.
The dog is getting in the way and just annoying me.
I feel heavy and lethargic - even my warm up problems that I have done plenty of times feel about two grades harder than they are in reality.
My bloody knee is giving me grief and my shoulder doesn't feel right.
I just don't feel psyched - there is stuff out there that I know I am capable of doing and I just don't try.
Excuses, excuses, excuses - plenty more where they came from.
All I really know is that conditions were mint out in the Peak today. Didn't make much difference as it proved to be one of the worst climbing days I have endured in a long while and as a result I am really pissed off!
The dog is getting in the way and just annoying me.
I feel heavy and lethargic - even my warm up problems that I have done plenty of times feel about two grades harder than they are in reality.
My bloody knee is giving me grief and my shoulder doesn't feel right.
I just don't feel psyched - there is stuff out there that I know I am capable of doing and I just don't try.
Excuses, excuses, excuses - plenty more where they came from.
All I really know is that conditions were mint out in the Peak today. Didn't make much difference as it proved to be one of the worst climbing days I have endured in a long while and as a result I am really pissed off!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Three Bears
For a while now I had been meaning to check out the Three Bears boulders at the end of Burbage North but had just never got round to it before now. Yesterday I finally got my act together and wandered down there with the Fiend and a few other people and can’t recommend it highly enough.
Combined with the easy solos at the end of Burbage North or just used as a warm up before carrying on down to the boulders in the valley they are well worth a visit. The problems range from english tech 4c to 5b and are slabby, smeary affairs with horizontal breaks or steeper wall climbing again with breaks and while there are not many of them - 8 or 9 problems with the potential for further eliminates - they are all good technical problems. The best by far is the 5b slab problem and it is only improved when done "properly", with the high foot in break and rockover method that the tall will lank past while wondering what the fuss is all about. Speaking from experience the tall lose out here and it is the short get the better deal out of it - I can lank the move in question if I want to stretch a bit but it's rubbish doing it that way - trust me on this!
Need more reasons to go? The landings are all good - the slab of Daddy Bear is the worst but with a couple of mats and some thought it is OK and the top outs are all reasonable edges - no slopey horror shows to contend with here so in theory it should be a sure fire winner for those seeking a easy afternoon out or a gentle introduction to bouldering. The reality is though that these boulders don't see as much traffic as they should given the quality of the problems so there is the odd bit of scrittle here and there but nothing that a few more people climbing on them wouldn't solve.
So what are you waiting for - be brave and walk on past the 20 Foot Crack area for change and go to the far end of the crag - you might just be pleasantly surprised...
Combined with the easy solos at the end of Burbage North or just used as a warm up before carrying on down to the boulders in the valley they are well worth a visit. The problems range from english tech 4c to 5b and are slabby, smeary affairs with horizontal breaks or steeper wall climbing again with breaks and while there are not many of them - 8 or 9 problems with the potential for further eliminates - they are all good technical problems. The best by far is the 5b slab problem and it is only improved when done "properly", with the high foot in break and rockover method that the tall will lank past while wondering what the fuss is all about. Speaking from experience the tall lose out here and it is the short get the better deal out of it - I can lank the move in question if I want to stretch a bit but it's rubbish doing it that way - trust me on this!
Need more reasons to go? The landings are all good - the slab of Daddy Bear is the worst but with a couple of mats and some thought it is OK and the top outs are all reasonable edges - no slopey horror shows to contend with here so in theory it should be a sure fire winner for those seeking a easy afternoon out or a gentle introduction to bouldering. The reality is though that these boulders don't see as much traffic as they should given the quality of the problems so there is the odd bit of scrittle here and there but nothing that a few more people climbing on them wouldn't solve.
So what are you waiting for - be brave and walk on past the 20 Foot Crack area for change and go to the far end of the crag - you might just be pleasantly surprised...
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Reading of the riot act.
"Our Sovereign Lord the King chargeth and commandeth all persons, being assembled, immediately to disperse themselves, and peaceably to depart to their habitations, or to their lawful business, upon the pains contained in the act made in the first year of King George, for preventing tumults and riotous assemblies. God Save the King!"
As mentioned a while back, Murky Rib at Brimham was due to be revisited and read the riot act, so Tim's stag do weekend seemed the perfect time to do it. Now given that Tim got married in August we were slightly behind schedule but since the organisation of said stag do trip had been entrusted to Duncan Disorderly (famous for his eternal struggle to get past the 5th bolt on Body Machine) the fact it was only three months late was notable in itself.
Anyway the plan, as far as I was concerned, was to punter about a bit and then get on my nemesis problem but somehow I missed out the punter about part and just found myself stood in front of Murky Rib. Mmmm...
Deciding to ignore this minor flaw in my plan I repeated the right arete as a quick warm up before spending a very amusing 5 minutes watching Sloper top out the problem "in proper style" and then discovering that getting off was not such a formality. At one point it looked like the fire brigade would be required to rescue Sloper from his lofty perch but, faced with the ignominy of said scenario, he finally made it to the ground and so I decided it was time to "read the riot act".
After the initial couple of goes to reaquaint myself with the problem it felt like it would actually go - the part which had given me so many problems before (getting the toe on) felt good and from there it was a slap for the big dish before topping it out. The slapping the dish bit proved to be relatively easy once I had done it a couple of times but the topping out was a whole different matter - six times I got the dish only to stand up and then slap blindly for the finishing hold in a fit of uselessness. Six bloody times I slapped on that upturned bath of a finish and six bloody bastard times I fell off and after the sixth time that I decided the reading of the Riot Act would have to wait a few more days - I was going to try something else and then have a pint.
As mentioned a while back, Murky Rib at Brimham was due to be revisited and read the riot act, so Tim's stag do weekend seemed the perfect time to do it. Now given that Tim got married in August we were slightly behind schedule but since the organisation of said stag do trip had been entrusted to Duncan Disorderly (famous for his eternal struggle to get past the 5th bolt on Body Machine) the fact it was only three months late was notable in itself.
Anyway the plan, as far as I was concerned, was to punter about a bit and then get on my nemesis problem but somehow I missed out the punter about part and just found myself stood in front of Murky Rib. Mmmm...
Deciding to ignore this minor flaw in my plan I repeated the right arete as a quick warm up before spending a very amusing 5 minutes watching Sloper top out the problem "in proper style" and then discovering that getting off was not such a formality. At one point it looked like the fire brigade would be required to rescue Sloper from his lofty perch but, faced with the ignominy of said scenario, he finally made it to the ground and so I decided it was time to "read the riot act".
After the initial couple of goes to reaquaint myself with the problem it felt like it would actually go - the part which had given me so many problems before (getting the toe on) felt good and from there it was a slap for the big dish before topping it out. The slapping the dish bit proved to be relatively easy once I had done it a couple of times but the topping out was a whole different matter - six times I got the dish only to stand up and then slap blindly for the finishing hold in a fit of uselessness. Six bloody times I slapped on that upturned bath of a finish and six bloody bastard times I fell off and after the sixth time that I decided the reading of the Riot Act would have to wait a few more days - I was going to try something else and then have a pint.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Hurrah for the Albanian Rat Hound!
This is an Albanian Rat Hound - supposedly bred to hunt and kill rats in truth he has not been especially successful when it comes to curtailing the numbers of the genus rattus. Up till last week his number of rat kills stood at the lofty heights of zero but after 6 years he finally got the idea and killed his first rat!
Hurrah for the Albanian Rat Hound!
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