Quick update

Last update 19th October! Damn its been too long.
I keep going to write posts then realise that there isn't any pictures and it's all just words.
But whats been going on?
Well I now finally own my own T5 which i am in the process of converting the back out to make it comfortable to sleep in. So a lot of time and money is going into that as a full time project.
Climbing wise well the weather has been dump so not been outdoors in the UK for a while just training a little indoors trying to stay fit and not eat or drink too much.
Font was a bit of an unsucsessful trip with the whole forest being sat in a cloud for the majority of the week a lot of my time was spent drinking. Still managing two 7a's it wasnt a total waste of time just more frustration as i tweaked a finger on a problem.
Focus now is on Spain for a sport climbing holiday, away for christmas? Some people think i am mad but really what do we do on christmas?? Eat too much? Drink too much? See family we see all the time? Exactly so why not have a change.
The psyche levels are high and i have been watching quite a few video two of which stick out in my mind. One got my psyche levels off the scale and made me want to live in Scotland. The other made me want to be able to crush hard trad! Both are embedded below so have a watch.
Just a short one with the promise of more regular posts with plenty of photos of both the van and a full round up of Font.


Scottish Icetrip in Ben Nevis - English by Petzl-crew

Lazy but also busy

I get so lazy filling this thing in sometimes. I think of something brilliant to write but then when it comes to it i can never be arsed.
To sum things up though i've been climbing loads, found my psyche with a week long trip to Font booked for November and 10 days sport climbing in Spain in December i need to get strong and fit.
Spent four days in the Lakes at the bank holiday and had various other days out sport climbing and trad climbing i feel like i can move on rock again and i'm getting that confidence back to go past bolts or gear.
Anyways i promise i will update more regularly from now on, with more pictures less words and more psyche!!
To keep you occupied for now though check out this short video i made from Parisella's Cave:

Time for something new

So days are passing by and i feel stuck in a rut, i've heard plenty of people say "life's to short!"
What next i keep asking myself, I am enjoying work at the wall but the simple fact is i don't want to be here for the rest of my life! Looking at what other people have done since finishing university makes me think why aren't i off doing that? There is people in Canada, Fiji, Nepal... people have been working the UAE. And here is me still in Liverpool.
Before this gets on to a rant i'm going to stop myself and get to the point of the post.
The job i was hoping to apply for at Plas y Brenin came up on their vacancies the other day and i read through it and decided that i haven't got the relevant experience at this time, so i called up a few friends who are in similar positions but with a bit more experience and they suggested applying for the Nightwatch scheme at Glenmore Lodge, so i looked into this and it sounds perfect.
I mean being based in Scotland for a full year (a full winter) i got super psyched and downloaded the application form and started to fill it out, turns out when i think about it i've got quite a lot of climbing under my belt. Pretty varied as well from bouldering font 7b+ to leading winter grade V. One vital thing i think is missing from my CV is my D1 so i got on to sorting it all out.. more complex than i thought it would be have to apply for a provisional, and get a medical from the GP at £80!! Well i know it will be worth it when i get it as it is like another NGB award in itself.
I feel I am actually making a concious effort now to move on and get the experience i require, also my finger is feeling better so gently started to train on it again indoors over the past week and it feels good, now to get fit for Fontainbleau in November!!
Even feeling slightly down i realised it wasn't just me who was feeling like this after reading Owens blog (Raw Edge Days) i realised the psyche level in Liverpool is pretty low. Lets hope the weather picks up and people get more motivated!!

All the Seven's!

Wow mega psyche at the moment!

Last week proved to be a great two days of sport climbing, although carrying a pulley injury!

So i headed to Kilnsey with Pete and Dave, keen to get on Nerve Ending the 7b but not expecting to see great results, turns out i managed all the moves and just powered out on the jugs at the top, haha. Who says fitness is over rated ;)

Second day on and a different venue, this time with Mike Psyche to Dinbren, i knew these routes suited my style and serious lack of fitness. I went with one goal in mind and that was to do the classic Technicolour Yawn 7a+ this would be my first of this grade.

So we warmed up and then i went and put the clips in and worked the moves, found the bottom section quite hard but then the middle section had an on/off barn door move. After carrying on to the top i decided to practice the move in the middle.

Happy i had done all the moves i came down and had a rest and belayed Mike on Diaperspace 7c. It looks like a brilliant route a hard bouldery start followed by some technical thin climbing. Goes without saying that he walked up it on his first redpoint of the day! I was mega psyched for him as this was his goal for the day.

After the rest i got back on Technicolour Yawn, i was going to top rope it to get the moves but just thought naa will go straight for the lead.... and i got it first red point!!

That being my first 7a+ i was suprised with how easy it felt.

We planned to get out and crush again today checked the forecast and it was on for a good day!

With plans to head back to Yorkshire, last minute change of plan and we were heading back to the Orme.

I had plans and goals last time we went i had a quick play on Julio Juvenito 7a got the moves but was just too tired to get it in one.

Warming up on Contusion 6c i felt good managing to retro flash it. So straight on to Julio, messing up my feet in the mid-section bulge i came off, sorted the move, came down and rested for a while. In the mean time Mike tried to onsight Mayfair 7a+ and just came unstuck near the top, getting it next go however. I jumped back on Julio and crushed it next go. Super pleased to get my first 7a on the Orme and only my second in the UK.

With the mood feeling good i thought i would give The Bloods 7a+ a go. This went pretty swiftly as well, had a top rope on it to get the moves, got it clean. Gets on it for the lead and came off because my feet popped! Argh..

Knowing i didn't have much energy left i knew i needed to get it next go, and i did!!

YES!! Mega psyche another 7a+ in a session.

Need to pull my finger out and get up a 7b ;)

Back in the Game!!

So the weekend was approaching and the weather was looking good. I was psyched for some North Wales trad action with Heather. With the clocks going forward and both of us partying on Saturday night i knew Sunday wasn't going to be a good day!

But it didn't turn out too badly, we headed up to Clogwyn Y Grochan and i had SS Special in mind anyways after loosing my psyche BIG time we ended up just puntering round up some easy classics that i had never done; Phantom Rib VS 4c and Nea VS 4b. Both of which were amazing climbing especially Phantom Rib. After realising that both of us were terrible at making descisions we finally decided to head to the slate for some more classics!

Not being super psyched to walk we just went to Bus Stop Quarry, and Heather did Gnat Attack E1 5b my head wasnt feeling up to leading it so i blew the flash and just top roped it, kind of wish i lead it now but ah well. After that i felt a bit more confident and decided to go for the lead on Solstice HVS 5a WOW what a class route, it just flowed really nicelt with gear exactly where you needed it.

So after a successful day of not falling off i felt i had some more confidence and would like to up it a bit more on the Monday. We decided we were going to go Tremadog and get some 'E' points.

I had a few routes in mind but didn't say anything to Heather as we get there she suggested Meshach HVS 5a which was one of the routes i wanted to do. This was good as she let me lead the 5a pitch, some technical climbing on smallish holds but good moves and the hard move is protected nicely by a peg. After topping out we chilled in the sunshine at the top for a while. Abseiled down and had some lunch, Heather then wanted to do Leg Slip which i also had eyed up in the guide that morning! So we got on that she wanted to lead the 5b pitch which i was fine with, but this meant i got an awkward corner/groove/tree 5a pitch, very wierd climbing!! But the second pitch was phenomenal, really wierd climbing well protected but felt exposed.

We had time for one last route and i had eyed up Grim Wall Direct when we abseiled down from Meshach so i got on it, didn't even think about falling, my head totally in the zone, and this was good because i cruised it! Felt really confident on it, steady, calm and composed all the way up it.

So this wrapped up a good two days climbing and i feel i have got alot more confidence now than when we went, psyched for a summer of trad and long routes, pushing the grade slightly to nail that E4!!!

On the way home we called into Plas-y-Brenin to see Katy, this was good because we got some well nice food and had some good banter with the guys there.

This in turn motivated me even more to go get more routes done and get my MIA training nailed!!!!

Grit Success

Yesterday was the first day ive managed to have out this year on real rock.

Either ive been working too much or the weather hasn't been upto much or ive been focussing on winter stuff, but whatever the problem was i had a great day and i am actually psyched to climb on some grit for a change.

So we headed out to Stanage Plantation this was a first as i had never been so was quite looking forward to it.

Starts off with a warm up on Pebble Arete, although the problem is only 5+ definately a technical one and certainly felt pretty high. Didnt manage to flash it but managed it after a few goes, all about the foot placements and balance, turns out this technique is harder than i thought.

Following the theme of classic problems is pretty much how the day went, we then moved down to Cresent Arete which i was psyched to flash, only for my hands to grease off near the top! Damn that was a scary fall, but got it next go.

Not to be taken away had been on my ticklist for a while now, but could i fuck manage it! just couldnt get that first move, then by the time i did i had wasted SO much skin.

Anyways went to watch Sean an Mike try Brad Pit, this was a comical scene as Sean rocked up really confident then just couldnt manage to find the body position for the first move, he kept trying and trying, changing through nearly all 5 pairs of shoes that he had with him. But all to no avail he just couldn't get that move.

Back down so Rich could try Capatain Hook, what a class looking problem, tension under a roof, lots of heels, looked like being back in the cave!!

Temps dropped but with the drop came the damp so he just couldnt hold the sloper on the lip.

Although we slagged off Green Traverse at the start of the day we thought we would kill the last of our energy on it.

Super choice for me as i managed it after a few goes, bagging my first gritstone 7a, definately pleased with that tick.

To finish off the whole day went back for another try of Deliverence, managed to get the slabby start dialed within a few tries now its just getting my body sorted for the jump, wasn't doing too badly as at the end i was only about an inch off the top.

Going to try and get back and get it done soon!

Learning to Climb

After a 2 week trip to Font the fingers are feeling amazing! just think the milage that was done was just what Dr Donnelly ordered. haha.

Climbing in Font certainly is of a different standard to anywhere else within the world, you can go from one day getting totally shut down on a 6a classic problem to crushing a 7a third go the next.

the title of this post is certainly what was needed, second trip this year and managed to up my game even though i have been injured and not trained for 8 weeks prior to the trip.

Overall i managed to get 2 7a's done and a 7a+ now in my eyes to climb at your personal best in the place where bouldering was born and after not training was a real achievement.

I actually feel like i have come back from the trip feeling fresher, having a better outlook on climbing and being re-psyched once again to train an improve my general conditioning again.

So onto the next trip to Kalymnos in October.

best dust off the harness, rope an draws an get doing some routes.

One goal for the next trip gonna keep is simple an realistic to do 2 7a's while there!

Lets see what happens with 3 weeks training, haha!