[duncan]

Do keep writing Stuart. The Bisharat article was interesting and entertaining but your thoughts on injury would be too.

[Wood FT]

Do keep writing Stuart. The Bisharat article was interesting and entertaining but your thoughts on injury would be too.

+1

[T_B]

I thought that Bisherat blog was hilarious. Loving all these blogs about people being injured  :

[slackline]

Were you feeling left out so decided to join the club by smashing your heel up?

[comPiler]

Best Forgotten Crags
30 September 2013, 8:48 pm

When I was a teenager growing up in Wetherby I used to climb at Almscliffe obsessively. I'd cycle there after school and at weekends and would regularly warm up by climbing the classic HVS Great Western. Being a nerd I used to keep a tally chart of Great Western ascents in the back of my guide. I stopped when I ran out of space, after around 500 ascents. All this is so you know that I am as guilty as anyone of visiting the same old crags and doing the same old routes. What follows is by no means a lecture...

The comeback trail hit two neglected but great crags this weekend. Saturday saw us wading the bracing river which guards Chee Tor, these days best known as the Cornice's recluse neighbour. Chee Tor is a brilliant crag which is actually quite popular, but which seems to revert almost instantly to a dust covered, cobwebby heap of vegetable matter when no-ones looking. Mortlock's Arête is a case in point. With the Chris Craggs seal of approval - "one of the best E4s on limestone in the country" - it is deservedly popular. I know of several ascents in 2012 and probably many this year as well. Nevertheless on Saturday, the Arête looked more like a project for a Sarah Beeny makeover than a 3 star route. After several hours shuffling and brushing and sweeping Jules and I topped out with massive grins. A great route! Thanks to the spring clean I gave it on the way down it's also in pretty good nick now. The same goes for Absent Friends, which I gave a good ground up brushing for Jules, who lead it on my gear.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Thor's Cave. Tourist (and death) trap.[/td][/tr]

[/table]To be honest, we both felt a bit burnt out after our Chee Tor day, so a relaxing Sunday bolt-clipping was in order. We tried to get a posse together for a day at Thor's Cave but no-one was biting. Everyone was certain it would be wet. To be honest, based on the descriptions in the Rockfax I don't blame them. The classic 8a, Thormen's Moth is "almost always wet". What bollocks. Thor's doesn't actually seep that badly. Although it can be condensed out on the hottest of summer days, those who visit after a week or two of dry weather will find a smattering of very special routes which will all be dry.

I had my eye on two John Fullwood nuevo-classics from 2006 - Midgard Serpent and Spear of Odin. Midgard is only 7b+ but actually took me a few efforts, one to work out all the kneebars and upside down leg bar trickery and a couple to actually remember it all ground up. The ascent also had a bit of spice when I broke a fragile crimp on the initial wall and hit the starting ledge with some force. Ouchy. Naturally for Spear of Odin I learnt my lesson and stick clipped the first bolt.

I don't know if Spear has had many ascents, but it is hands down one of the best 7c+s in the country. Athletic climbing up the leaning gray prow lead to a tenuous swing out to a small crimp round the corner and a chunky cross through which brings you to an upside down no-hander on a kneebar/toe hook combination. From the no-hander you can hang bat-like and admire the pillar you've just climbed.  Once you've finished posing, some big butch pulls bring you to a cubby-hole in the roof where you can sit and admire your efforts. It's like a bit of Spain brought over to the peak for your climbing pleasure.

Unfortunately it's out of action for a short while. I was wasted from my Midgard efforts and pretty skeptical about my chances so i was chuffed and surprised to find myself in the rest with a full tank of gas. Over-excited, I muffed the sequence out of the rest and fell onto the bolt - which promptly ripped out. Screaming like a hormone-fuelled One Direction fan I swooped towards the shocked tourists and came to a halt, swinging gently about ten feet above their anxious upturned faces. I tried to regain some dignity by acting all casual but I could tell from the look on the two teenage girl's faces that I wasn't fooling anyone.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The offending article[/td][/tr]

[/table]I'll try and get a bolt back in as soon as possible. Until then, there are still plenty of great dry routes at both venues to get stuck into. As for me, I'll see you at the Tor. I've had quite enough of neglected crags for now...

Source: The Spherical Cow

[Bonjoy]

Yep, pretty sure that's one of the aid bolts.

[comPiler]

Flow
7 October 2013, 8:58 pm

Choosing venues at the weekend can be a thorny issue. This saturday looked beautiful on paper, but a quick skim of facebook from the comfort of my bed revealed that those unhinged enough to rise with the dawn had seen a deep inversion layer and valleys thick with cloud. Yet the warm sunshine meant a grit hit was premature. In an attempt to balance choosing the right venue with a desire to go somewhere new we got it half wrong and went to Nudas Tartan.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Nudas Tartan - Tarantula[/td][/tr]

[/table]

Nudas Tartan is, it turns out, a great little venue, but not one that is dry in high humidity. We managed to towel off a couple of problems which kept us busy for a little while. I worked out a cunning sequence on Tarantula (above) which turned out not to work, so I took my feet off and campussed it instead. Jules spent some time working out a sequence on the 7b lip traverse Meltdown and then crushed it first try. A good tick for her, since she's not much of a boulderiser.

On Sunday we faced the same conditions dilemma, but I had to go down to Two Tier in Cheedale to try and repeat Rupert's new 8a+, Flow. Opinions on the name vary from "I like it" to "It reminds me of tampons", but everyone is in agreement about the 3* nature of the route. The climbing is a mixture of Rupert's trademark mono-packed gnarl-fest and chunky pulls on big sidepulls before a wildly optimistic lunge brings the climbing to an end.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]One the 'wildly optimistic lunge' at the end of Flow, 8a+. Photo: Keith Sharples[/td][/tr]

[/table]When Rupert was working the route I would highlight his inadequacy by comfortably lapping the route from the second bolt, and exhorting him to get it next go, because I wouldn't wait forever. I like to feel that my unique brand of support contributed to the multi-day siege that saw Ru repeatedly falling from the last move. Since he climbed it, the route has seen fast repeats from Dave McLaughlin and James Noble but (as yet), not by me. Given my previous performance I was confident of doing the route first go.

Ah. Mark Twain said: "All you need is ignorance and confidence and success is sure". After two goes falling from the last move I no longer had either. Two more goes falling lower down and failure was damn near assured. I thought of the pressure I'd put on Rupert and tried to feel guilty, but I'm out of practice. Instead I recruited my secret weapon, and got Keith to get his big lens out. With my ego properly motivated, a successful redpoint was a mere formality. Everyone said how great I was* and then it was back to my place for a dinner of fish finger sandwiches and baked beans. Fun times.

*this may have happened only in my head



Source: The Spherical Cow

[Fiend]

Were the fish finger sandwiches real though??

[Nibile]

Brilliant, brilliant stuff.

[Ru]

Yeah yeah. I could lap it from half way up too.

I'm starting to get worried by my route names. This is the second route that has had menstrual undertones. I renamed Full Bleed (now Seraphim) for the same reason.

Anyway Flow is supposed to be named after a) the river, and b) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)

[Stu Littlefair]

Were the fish finger sandwiches real though??

Real, but ephemeral.

I'd forgotten the original name for Seraphim. Maybe you should go and see someone?

[Ru]

That has rather spoiled it. Again.

[Stu Littlefair]

Sorry Ru,

Bollinger still thinks it's the hardest 8b in the world, if that cheers you up?

[Wood FT]

good work to both the above, watched James climb the route on saturday and it looks brilliant

[Jaspersharpe]

I'm starting to get worried by my route names. This is the second route that has had menstrual undertones.

Maybe you're turning into Jon Redhead.

[Nibile]

I'm starting to get worried by my route names. This is the second route that has had menstrual undertones.

Maybe you're turning into Jon Redhead.

Still better than turning into Jon Redflow.

[Kingy]

I like Flow in an Ondra-style monosyllabic kind of way. Like his new 9b in Norway is called 'Move' and the 9b+ 'Change', why waste words?

[comPiler]

The Sean Myles Appreciation Society
20 November 2013, 10:20 pm

One thing I hate is asymmetry in language. You can be underwhelmed, and you can be overwhelmed, so why has no-one been whelmed since the mid 1850s? Similarly, why is no-one ever vincible? I'm mulling this over because of the spectacular grit season so far. It's been an astonishing month, with testpieces like Meshuga getting multiple ascents, and people like Nathan Lee and Ethan Walker climbing a grit E8 or E9 every other day. As if that wasn't enough, Ben Bransby has resurrected Parthian Shot. In typical fashion, he's playing it down, but make no mistake - this is a big fucking deal. I can't imagine what it would feel like to be climbing solid 8b above the single remaining RP3. Perhaps the only other route on grit with similarly hard climbing is Captain Invincible, which brings us back to the waffling about language at the start of this post.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Captain Invincible - climbs up the middle of this big lump of grit[/td][/tr]

[/table]CI was first climbed by Sean Myles back in 1991. Largely forgotten by today's climbers since he moved to California to go surfing, Sean was one of the strongest climbers in the country back in the early 90s. Anyone who doubts that should go and look at the photo of Sean's back rippling it's way across the Powerband in The Power of Climbing. CI has only seen one repeat, by that other 90's legend Robin 'Tubby' Barker. Tubby is my wife's favourite climber, ever since he turned up at Raven Tor one morning, clearly out of shape and not having climbed for several months. After a desultory warm up, he strolled up Revelations - by far the easiest ascent I've ever seen - warmed down by lapping the Powerband a few times, and then spent the rest of the morning cheerfully taking the piss out of everyone else for being so weak. Unfortunately, in recent years Robin has begun disintegrating, and has snapped several tendons - ouch!

I've always wanted to do CI, and have never tried. This is partly due to the awe I hold the two ascensionists in, and partly because it looks so flipping hard! However, the recent spate of grit sends got me inspired, and so this weekend I trudged over the moor to the Cioch block and threw a rope down, to see what I could see. I think it would be fair to say that things did not go well. In retrospect I had at least hoped to be able to pull off the floor! Pulling past the first few moves I worked out a sequence up the half-height roof, where I found more moves which are apparently impossible. Ignoring these I started working the traverse left into the obvious break. This went more easily - until it didn't - leaving me several moved from the top and with no clue as to how to proceed.

Hmm. I don't think I've ever been on a grit route with such physical difficulty! The gear is not bad, particularly if it's fair game to replace the many pegs in the route. On the other hand I have absolutely no idea how to climb it. On the off chance that Robin reads this blog I'd appreciate any beta (and sorry for the 'tubby' thing)! Or, if any of the keen youths ticking everything in sight fancy joining me for a real challenge, then let's get it done!

Source: The Spherical Cow

[r-man]

The Sean Myles Appreciation Society
20 November 2013, 10:20 pm

Or, if any of the keen youths ticking everything in sight fancy joining me for a real challenge, then let's get it done!

Source: The Spherical Cow

 

Rally the troops! Sound the bugles! Will the yoofs triumph or will hard grit get hard again?

[Grubes]

I hear (from twitter) some crack addict has been on it recently.

[Wood FT]

Really really hard grit

[SA Chris]

Great post, be good to see it done.

On the language thing inflammable and flammable really get to me, as they are both the same thing.

[Stu Littlefair]

Ah yes, that bugs me as well. Why isn't language logically structured? 

Grubes - I believe that is true, yes. I will be hitting him up for beta...

[Nibile]

IIRC Sean Myles also have the first flash of Midnight Lightning. I read it somewhere.

[carlisle slapper]

Hey Stu,

I had a few sessions in 2008 trying to ground up this. It isn't a route for winter really as it's effectively a sport route so you need a warm body as due to it being quarried there's not loads to gain from cooler temps, that was mainly my mistake. The bottom boulder problem is fine but committing, monkey up the prow then, get to the off kilter ledges, there's a knacky shoulder move off those to get the big ledge and peg nest. The physical crux i think is leaving the peg nest. Big fat pinch on the arete with LH, drop knee between a footer on the arete/scoop area and other foot on the ledge (might have heel hooked it in the end). roll over and get back 3 in the first slot, then roll out of that, match and head leftwards (pretty basic crimping) upon getting the good pocket at the end (good wires 1 & 2) stick a heel on, lock upto a RH side pull (and if you are me bump LH up the crack then lay one on for the break and take some huge wangers) Pete W has better beta which involves rolling out the pocket into a fingerlock RH, then getting LH higher up the crack in an undercut and walking feet round so you can get the break on offspring static. Brilliant route, super varied and cruxy with rests.
Good luck, would be amazing to see it come into vogue. Ben doing parthian is possibly the only route on eastern grit to surpass it when it comes to difficulty. Fagus Sylvatica close call too maybe but never got on that. You forgot Welford and his Mother of Pearl too for the nails old farts grit club. How about Barker doing Transcendance super fast and downgrading it! only repeat still... Brilliant stuff