[PeterH]

Well I asked what people thought and you all say, "You're talking bollocks." I'm not offended, just rather surprised. I would have thought that people might at least have been open to what was supposed to be a helpful suggestion (=where you can go on holiday to best use the skills you develop best at home). Maybe the title of the post, re-using the rather provocative title, didn't help. If this caused confusion/offence, I apologise. Personally I don't have an opinion on British standards as compared to those in other places, and speaking as someone living on the Continent, I can tell you that many people here are very respectful of British climbing.

Peter
PS we have a lemon tree in the garden, it's warm here

[saltbeef]

too much time in the sun?
you're thread is entitled are british climbers shit?
then you harp on about vertical 8as, how you know someone who climbs 8c+ and then another swerve ball about where is good for british climbers to climb hard on holiday?

 

[abarro81]

Personally I don't have an opinion on British standards as compared to those in other places

Huh? So why did you start a new thread about British standards?

I'm sure those who are better at vert-ish, short, hard routes already realise they're likely to get on better at Buoux, Frankenjua or short stuff elsewhere than on 50m pump outs in Tarn. Despite our best efforts at getting strong on pinches wall, some of us are still just weak and thus love stamina routes.

[Fiend]

What do people think?

It's fucking snowing again and hardly anyone wants to climb rock at the moment. That's what I think.

[Jim]

It's fucking snowing again and hardly anyone wants to climb rock at the moment

I'm psyched out of my mind to climb some rocks at the moment, even raven tor. I just can't (in bed, work in the morning etc...)

I find it strange that people get upset cos we aren't the best country at sport climbing, I don't really understand the competative nature of the sport, i climb for fun, no wait I boulder for power!

for once I fully agree with papa houdini

[account_inactive]

I sent that message from Font, in the rain, pissed off and about to bail..............

Peter you are off your spunky backpack, but yes the vert routes are harder than the steep routes in Sardinia.

If Ru ever goes to Sardinia, climbs the 8a in the middle of Urania and then writes a guide you're all fucked.  It would get 7b at the Tor tops

[MorganW]

What do people think?
Peter

i think you're subtely trying to drum up business for your B&B 

anyway in a global sense British standards do lag a bit.  Check out recent newsworthy ascents eg here:

http://bjornpohl.blogspot.com/

plenty of activity by euros and yanks.  mostly these are people just going travelling and climbing hard....why aren't the brits doing this?  Ryan P seemed like the most recent hard climb by a Brit....have there been others either here or overseas (ok Alan C in Rodellar and Tom b at Santa Linya).  I certainly respect these guy's achievements, however you would think it would be happening more often.

[Falling Down]

Subtle... I think not.

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM

[PeterH]

"i think you're subtely trying to drum up business for your B&B"

Not really, if you look at my UKB posts they talk about the area and often ask for help with development. Neil (Slackline) thought the same at first, somewhere you can find a thread, but he realised that it was only enthusiasm for where we live, now that I would admit to. We give info on new routes here to anyone who's around, irrespective of where they are staying, and also bolts to people who bolt (properly) routes (see www.sardiniaclimb.com Lots of new routes have been bolted and freed here in the last few days with the mild weather, we gave 80 bolts to the Czechs).

Now back to translating the new guide for Sardinia...I am just doing Domusnovas, where Adam Ondra freed his 9a+/b. "MARINA SUPERSTAR*** - 9a+/9b  - 30 mt – Matteo Marini (2007) – RP Adam Ondra 10/2009"

Nothing so far as hard as that round here, though there is one route > 8b+/8c (Tactoo, see http://27crags.com/crags/su-telargiu-oro-cave/topos which we hope some wad frees this spring...the bottom 8a+ was freed in the summer. I am happy to belay as I have plenty to work on there! You can sleep in the cave if you want

ciao Peter

[adam_NE5]

Ultimately I think that what goes around comes around and whilst some countries may be top dog for hard climbs being sent at the moment doesn't mean that the British won't top the scale again at some point in the future, we are merely observing that great British tradition, forming an orderly queue and waiting our turn 
Also I am a boulderer through and through and don't really care about what routes get done where, I have the utmost respect for people who climb routes, it's something I'm not suited for but I generally speaking couldnt give a toss what hard routes get sent, like everyone else I read the news and say well done that man, invariably directing it at Sharma and the like but I get infintely more pysche out of hearing about new boulder problems out there, hell, we have lots of those in the county in the peak, in wales etc.
And our weather is a tad more moist than alot of places as people may have noticed, when will I ever get outdoors again?

[MorganW]

"i think you're subtely trying to drum up business for your B&B"

Not really,

just being toungue in cheek....i understand you're doing quite a bit for development on the island.  out of interest are you making the point that none of Sardinia's hard climbing visitors are Brits?  I think it's an interesting point....if you want to climb hard sport you need to look further afield than the UK and most brits like to travel a bit but it doesn't seem to translate into a lot of overseas achievements.

Case in point is Sasha Digiulian....just onsighted 8a+ in Margalef at 17yrs old....would be considered UKC newsworthy if she were a british bloke!

[Paul B]

no it wouldn't. Unless I missed a news item on Stu from about 3 months ago?

Margalef is bad place to quote for anything newsworthy IMO but if you want to be horrified there were many many young boys and girls walking up 8c while I was there. Some had Tribout in their surname but even so...

[yorkshiregripper]

Ive been living in Spain for over a year now and those big stamina plods have not become any easier in that time, probably because ive stuck to slightly shorter routes, which unfortunately havent become any easier either.  Spending quite a bit of time at the crags I see a lot of people from countries such at Norway, Poland, Japan, Belgium etc who like UK based climbers dont have a lot of climbing or reliable conditions.  However, these guys and girls come out and do hard routes on short trips. 

Being from the UK I understand that getting conditions isnt an easy thing to do but I dont think that is the only reason why people are not doing British routes or that the routes are super hard compared to Europe.  I think that the British style is very specific and not everyone enjoys it or has the motivation for this style ie vertical with tiny crimps, I personally enjoy jugs with huge moves, sounds easier you would think?   I dont have motivation for vertical crimpy routes.

There are loads of styles here and many lengths of routes but I wasnt aware of any Brits coming out and doing hard routes (with the exception of Lucy who is a beast no matter what country) and if it is that easy to do them why arent people coming and doing 8cs and 8c+s.  As for the routes being easy, obviously I dont know anything about hard grades but many Brits come to Margalef, Rodellar, Terradets etc and try the routes that the locals know will be downgraded or are not the grade ie Primera Linea, Darwin Dixit etc.  If you want to try some meaty graded routes there are loads at Disblia and St Linya, some really short British style ones at Disblia that offer something a bit different than the stereotypical Spanish stamina plod.

[Sloper]

Having climbed with Peter once and had him seriously help me out in sardinia once, my judgement is that this is far from spam, just the sort of random conversation that face to face at the crag would regarded as good value, it's just on here that it seems very odd.

(and I have no interest to declare)

[slackline]

Having climbed with Peter once and had him seriously help me out in sardinia once, my judgement is that this is far from spam, just the sort of random conversation that face to face at the crag would regarded as good value, it's just on here that it seems very odd.

(and I have no interest to declare)

  he's very enthusiastic about his climbing.

(no interest to declare either)

[adam p]

Once again I think this will help explain the matter more clearly:

have read all this and think Jas's piccy captures it well...ie, if you've got lemons then you should make lemonade

which is what Brits have done for years in climbing terms, they've got short, powerful stuff so are good at it. stick 'em on long stamina routes then they'll get pumped and fall off.

bring non-bouldering sports wads to uk and they'll struggle too....

exceptions like steve mc (and mr menestrel soloing revelations) prove the rule...

course this could comparing apples with oranges....

[Falling Down]

Having climbed with Peter once and had him seriously help me out in sardinia once, my judgement is that this is far from spam, just the sort of random conversation that face to face at the crag would regarded as good value, it's just on here that it seems very odd.

(and I have no interest to declare)

Fair do's.

Peter I take it back.

[MorganW]

no it wouldn't.

really:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=47304

"Jonathan Stocking is the 16 year old British Youth Champion. He has recently flashed Primera Linea (F8a) at Terradets, Spain"

but you are right always good to see how the grades settle in places like this.

[Paul B]

  fair enough...

[mrjonathanr]

I've no real knowledge of this and these days climb when I can which doesn't amount to all that much, and never climbed that hard anyway. However in the past I did climb a fair bit abroad, substantially with the French being semi-resident in Buoux for a while so I do have a take on this.
Viz: British climbers have a substantially different (crimpy) style as the norm, and importantly do not have that many sports routes to just throw themselves at...which creates a kind of flow, a 'used-to-ness' for routes that I don't think is so easily achievable in Britain because repeated routing tends towards repeatedly trying the same (difficult) routes, rather than getting that variety which is so accessible to many continental climbers.
I've been on a few trips where we just went to the crag, started on the left, whenever we fell off, sacked the route (unless 5*), stepped right and carried on onsighting (apart from me, who was glad to get up just one, any old how). I think that variety gets you really tuned in to routes. The only guy I've ever seen onsight 8a as talented as he surely was was not one of my harder-climbing French mates. But tuned-in to f~~K.

Coda: some of the guys I used to climb with almost NEVER bouldered...but when you're falling off 8b+ (again, not me you understand) day after day after day after..... power comes , all nicely wrapped up with PE and stamina too. Routing is good for routing, no question.

[Doylo]

Coda: some of the guys I used to climb with almost NEVER bouldered...but when you're falling off 8b+ (again, not me you understand) day after day after day after..... power comes , all nicely wrapped up with PE and stamina too. Routing is good for routing, no question.

Kind of agree. Obviously depends on how long the 8b+ is, most the Euro 8b+s wouldn't do much for the equivalent boulder power, say 8a/+, the ones in the frankenjura would though.

[PeterH]

I just bolted a short 7m very steep route, still to be freed (I have a brachioradialis strain  and made it worst bolting, it hurts when I hammer the bolts in), sort of like Rubicon but  shorter, less steep and with smaller holds. Called it PEAK POWER for you guys, looking at it at least 7b so you wads would piss up it. I thought of calling it Stamina Plod but too hard to explain to the Italians and they don't really have an ironic/sarcastic SOH. Here's a piccie taken Friday 7th, Peak Power is shown in red, the crux is moving up then pulling round the bulge:

The route I'm on here is Steep for Robert, we bolted this for someone who likes Stamina Plods, British SOH. 7a.
Will soon bolt two routes in the middle and also the wall behind.
Happy New Year

[Paul B]

In my opinion you've just highlighted why brits aren't coming your way. I'd rather go and get spanked on almost anything in Spain or the South of France rather than climbing on that. Sorry.

[account_inactive]

That does indeed look log

[slackline]

Sardinia is a beautiful place to climb...

La Poltrona above the town of Cala Gonone



Cala Luna (lots of routes in the caves)


Monte Odeu


And in situ giant dogs at at least one crag


Obviously most of these crags reflect the grade/standard I climb at, which is shit, rather than the hardest there is to be had, but there are other more aesthetic hard lines, the comprehensive guide book is packed with them.