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Glen Nevis podcasts
20 February 2012, 7:25 pm

 

 One of the nice things about living where I do and working in the outdoor field is being involved in creative projects. Over the past few years I’ve made films and written books but recently I was asked to do something new  for me - produce a series of podcasts!    Claire and I have just finished a series of 6 podcasts about Glen Nevis on behalf of Friends of Nevis. If you haven’t heard of Friends of Nevis, they are the charity that looks after Ben Nevis and Glen Nevis. We were asked to produce and present 6 episodes and interview interesting folk who are connected to the place in some way. They are structured around different low level walks you can do in the glen, but it really doesn’t matter if you walk them, bike them, run them or use them to get to the cliffs!    I spend a big chunk of my life training in the glen, hence being asked to produce the podcasts, but although I know a lot about one aspect of the place (the climbing history and landscape), there are many other areas I had much to learn about; the natural and human history, geology and ecology.    So we had a great time interviewing many different experts in their different fields and putting together the episodes. The first one is uploaded now and you can stream/download it and of course subscribe to the others on the Friends of Nevis site here, or on iTunes here.    I’ll be uploading the episodes weekly. The first one covers the lower part of the glen and in it I talk to Cubby Cuthbertson about almost falling down Five Finger Gully above this part of the glen, Mick Tighe about the first winter ascent of one of Scotland’s longest gullies - Surgeon’s Gully - and how it got it’s name, archaeologist Jennie Robertson about the remains of ancient clan settlements you can find hereabouts if you know where to look and geologist and climber Noel Williams about the upside down geology of the Mamores range of mountains.    By the way if you would like to show your appreciation for this (free) production, the best way would be to make a wee donation to the charity on the Friends of Nevis site here (button at bottom of page). Every year they build the excellent paths you walk on the Ben and in the Glen, remove and carry literally tons of rubbish from these places and work to improve the facilities and the landscape generally. It’s pretty good work!  

 

Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Boulder moves done!
20 February 2012, 9:19 pm

 

Since I last spoke about my roof project on the Skeleton boulder, I’ve had another good few sessions on it. On my last blog I was getting a bit dejected, still unable to find a method for the crux move despite trying seemingly everything.   

Well, I have surprised myself in managing to find a method to (sort of) do all the moves! How can you sort of do the moves? Technically speaking I have done them, I’ve pulled on each move and climbed the whole thing in three sections actually. But I'm aware that the sections in the crux don’t completely link as my highpoint into the crux move has my body hanging a little lower in a kneebar than where I’ve pulled on and actually done the crux. I won't totally know it will work for me until I can link through the entire section of about 7 hand moves.   

So there is much, much progress still to be made before I even have a feeling it’s possible for me. But just finding a method that would clearly work for ‘some’ climber is superb progress.   

Plus, each session I’m still making small improvements and learning new details about the sequence. Now that I’m properly starting to link moves together on it, I’m seeing how to make everything more efficient and getting the excitement of envisioning actually climbing right through the sequence.   

It still feels very intimidating for me though, until I’m really warmed up the holds just feel terrible. While the Lochaber downpour rules for the next few day, I have some homework; stick to my diet, go for some soggy runs, make a new kneepad and do some much needed antagonist work for my brachioradialis which are not enjoying the repetitive compression moves.   

I’m in the long bit in the middle between the excitement of finding a new project and finally seeing it through to an ever uncertain outcome. Let the battle sessions roll on...

Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Meeting Adam Watson
21 February 2012, 6:39 pm

 

The Fort William Mountain Festival asked us to make a short film about Dr Adam Watson to play at the festival, marking his award for excellence in mountain culture this year. I had of course read some of Adam’s work before when I’d just started climbing and was aware of his huge influence in the conservation of the Cairngorms and in many research fields including ptarmigan, snow distribution, Gaelic and many other areas of mountain culture.    Like the other people to have received this award in previous years, it was obvious when I went to meet him that he was still very much full of the same energy and interest in his passions as ever, even as a man in his eighties.     I proceeded to record a fascinating interview that could have formed the base for a much longer film, on everything from Speyside Gaelic speaking poachers of the Cairngorm deer forests over the past 100 years, to living with innuit in Baffin Island, to the 1950’s Scottish climbing scene, to the qualities needed to underpin a successful contribution to literature and scientific research. Oh, and a bit of Gaelic song!    Driving home after a thought provoking day speaking with Adam, his wife Jenny and friend Derek Pyper, I had a new appreciation for the shared interest in mountains and the people involved in them, and felt pretty inspired by the energy that Adam puts into his lifelong effort to document and share his knowledge in writing so many books. The little film we made with the help of Adam, friends and colleagues of his, and a little music from Croft No. 5 is above.  Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Glen Nevis podcast episode 2
22 February 2012, 11:33 pm

     

Archaeologist Jennie Robertson surveying in Glen Nevis during her interview for the Glen Nevis podcasts.  

I’ve just uploaded the second episode of the Glen Nevis podcast series. It’s on Friends of Nevis here or iTunes here. This episode covers the walk to the Iron Age vitrified fort of Dun Deardail which overlooks the glen from a spectacular position opposite Ben Nevis.

In this episode, we hear from Cameron McNeish and Ali Austin on the ancient caledonian pine forest that once covered this glen, archaeologist Jennie Robertson talks us through the history of the fort itself and the mysterious vitrification applied to the stone walls at great temperatures and Gaelic historian Ron Cameron gives us some leads on where the unusual name ‘Deardail’ may originate from. This route is one of my favourite running routes in the Glen, combined with Cow Hill if time or daylight are short for going onto the bigger mountains.

Also in the pipeline from Friends of Nevis right now is an Android phone App for Glen Nevis with lots of details and maps to direct your explorations of the best spots. It's in beta right now but you can download and try it here. Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Weather beaten on Hoy
27 February 2012, 9:17 pm

 

The huge swell kicked up by storm force southwesterlies last Friday got the better of my date to speak about the Long Hope route back on Hoy itself. It’s a bit ironic really that the most important lecture of quite a lot I’ve done this winter should be the one that didn’t work out. I was really looking forward to talking to the locals about what all the fuss was about for me visiting the island all those times.    It was OK though, at least the great audience that turned out in Hoy Kirk watched the film and apparently had a fun night. Sorry about that, and wish it could have worked out a bit better! I only found out the weather had finally got the better of the ferry schedule when I’d driven all the way up to Thurso. Not so keen to turn around and drive the way I came, I decided to go on a tour across to the west and see what could be seen.  

   I spotted this fantastic and massive boulder on the beach near Tongue. Apparently called The Keystone. I’d say you’d be hard pushed to find a better looking V5 anywhere than the flakes leading right out through the overhang.      

Ben Loyal looks like an interesting mountain. I’d love to do a route here sometime. No doubt I’ll get back for a wander about soon.     I finished the day on a ridiculously hard boulder project near Sheigra, which after 7 hours driving and a mad dash across the moors in the failing light, 70mph winds and hail squalls didn’t go great. But it raised the psyche for the big drive home.    

Nice Broch near Ben Loyal  

The failure of my Hoy trip meant I could go to some family events in Glasgow. I had three bottles of beer and tried to climb the next day at TCA. Oh dear, I couldn’t get off the floor without shaking myself of the wall in a gibbering heap. Pathetic. Must do better. Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Glen Nevis podcast episode 3
29 February 2012, 11:41 pm

 

Episode 3 of the Glen Nevis Podcast series is online now on the Friends of Nevis site and iTunes. This episode covers one of the most accessible walks in the glen from lower falls up to Paddy's Bridge. I've been back and forth across Paddy's Bridge on my way to the Skeleton Boulder most of last month and can't wait to get back up there when the current rubbish weather decides to change later this week    There's Geologist Noel Williams talking about why the lovely Glen Nevis rock is all in the volcanic baking, Cubby talking about his favourite photography spots and Archaeologist Jennie Robertson on the many charcoal burners platforms you'll still find the remains of all over this part of the glen. Why were they burning so many trees? Have a listen...   Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Glen Nevis podcast episode 4: Steall
8 March 2012, 1:56 pm

   

Episode 4 of the Glen Nevis Walks Podcast is up now on Friends of Nevis here and on iTunes here. This episode takes us through to Steall and the most dramatic bit of the glen. As usual there are stacks of good interviews but you climbers might be particularly interested in Kevin Howett’s rather worrying description of taking 60 foot falls onto an RP1 and breaking his ribs during the first ascent of Chairoscuro E7 6b in the gorge. I made the second ascent of Chairoscuro, onsight,  in 2010, 23 years after Kev’s ascent. So listening to him describe the lonely upper arete brought back some strong memories for me too!

We’ve also made a couple of videos of the interviews contained in our Glen Nevis Walks podcast series. They’ll give you a taster of some of the interviews in the episodes. The first is geologist and climber Noel Williams describing the fascinating and unusual geology of Ben Nevis and it’s volcanic caldera.

Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Hill running
8 March 2012, 2:17 pm

 

Glen Ceitlin granite boulder hunting  

Hill running was always a discipline I couldn’t get my head round. For the last ten years or so I’ve done a little every year, for one reason alone - to lose weight for hard rock climbing. Left to it’s own, it settles at a stocky build well too heavy for anything harder than 8c. So a couple of times a year, I tend to do a bit of running to get in shape for something hard in sport climbing or bouldering.    Although it doesn’t even come close to the enjoyment I get from almost any type of climbing, I still enjoy running for a few different reasons. When I lived in Dumbarton in the mid 2000s and was training to get strong enough to climb Rhapsody, I used to do my fingerboarding and endurance circuits each day and then go running on the streets late at night. I used to use it to switch off and remind myself why I was doing all this training. I wasn’t doing the run in a particularly scenic place, so the enjoyment was purely internal. At that time, I used to think of hill runners as crazy. It just seemed so hard and relentless. How could you ever be fit enough to be able to enjoy it. Only later I understood how slowly hill runners (except the real pros of course) run uphill.

Now I live in the mountains I enjoy running primarily for the scenery and terrain. A great formula for me has been to use my runs to explore potential new bouldering spots in the more remote highland glens. Sometimes there are great boulders, sometimes there is just nice scenery and weather. Either way, it is enjoyable and answers a curiosity.



Nice big boulder, a few good easier climbs to go on this.  

I particularly enjoy these hill runs if the terrain itself is quite technical; rough paths, rocky ridges or slabs and even some scrambling. I don’t think I could ever sustain long runs on open trails, forestry tracks or roads since having experienced the hill running in the Scottish Highlands. Wild mountain areas all over the world have this opportunity to explore really interesting mountain terrain, unfolding I front of you as you move quickly through it.

Running the other day in Glen Ceitlin on my first run of the spring season, I was reminded that the feeling of running on open mountainside (apart from the real uphill parts) is like floating. It takes so much concentration to move at speed between rocks, tussocks, holes and over streams without falling over. Yet it is not thinking - just immediate, subconscious reaction to the movement sequence demanded from split second to second. Despite having to focus hard, your conscious mind has the chance to sit back, relax and enjoy being there.    Hill running suddenly makes sense when you think of it in these terms - a feeling of flying over the terrain with little conscious effort. It’s obvious really that it would have to hold an enjoyment that was very strong, to be worth all the hardship that goes with it for those who do it all the time. Proper training for top performance in any sport has it’s fair share of grinding hard work doing boring exercises for the rewards. Hard climbing training, despite it’s hardships (lactate, finger skin destroying circuits and repetitive finger strength exercises) still probably has nothing on endurance running in this respect.

It’s true though that such feelings are fleeting. Just as I was floating along, dreamily pondering these ideas while running back down Glen Ceitlin, I misjudged the consistency of the bog ahead and dropped up to my knees in slurping peat porridge, lunging forwards with my momentum to land on my knee on a granite boulder beyond. After rolling around, clutching my knee and moaning for a few minutes, I limped off down the glen. Brought back down to earth.

 



Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Important link
9 March 2012, 9:42 am

 

The other day, I mad a massive breakthrough on the Skeleton Boulder roof with the ‘2 halves’ link. I couldn’t quite believe it happened after seeming so, so far away. It’s quite strange how a few different strands of progress combine to propel you forward such a long way.    Although I was pretty sure that a poor kneebar was the right beta for me to get through the crux, I was desperate to sort out something for my left foot to put myself in balance and with a stable base to slap the pinch on the lip without my feet cutting loose. Out of a lot of options, I’ve finally homed in on a sequence that I’m sure works for the whole link. The catalyst was losing a couple of pounds last week and a good stint of sessions on different boards.    I has simply improved my strength/weight ratio enough to feel what the solution would be. You might think ‘why didn’t you get light earlier’. I don’t think that would really have worked. Short of a drastic weight loss, which would be seriously counterproductive in the longer run, I wasn’t ready to trim up until now. I needed to put in the hours on the line first, getting stronger on the moves and homing in on the best sequence for most of the moves.    Now I feel good and confident on many of the moves, and since I’m starting to round off my fitness state with a pound or two lost, I’m getting closer to thinking about going into link mode and really going for some big attempts. I did actually climb from the start to the crux too, so you could call it overlapping halves. But I wasn’t tight enough on the third move to get my knee pulled right up to the best bit of the kneebar, so it doesn’t count. That can be my immediate goal now.    The buzz of the breakthrough link from the second hard move to the top kept me up for most of a night. Pointlessly starting to imagine rest day/redpoint day planning despite the crazy Lochaber weather, which if I may say has been irritatingly crap.    The feeling of having made an irrefutably clear breakthrough in strength and climbing ability isn’t something that happens all the time, except in the easy first couple of years of climbing where you just have to show up to get stronger and better. I’m aware of how special it is. So the prospect of trying to build on it and adding three more moves onto the start of my link is a little scary. But I’m sure I’ll get over it. Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Glen Nevis Walks podcast 5
16 March 2012, 11:57 am

 

 

Episode 5 of the Glen Nevis Walks podcast talks about the Gaelic names of the Ben and the Mamores range with Gaelic historian Ron Cameron. Mick Tighe tells about his north face lowers on Ben Nevis, being lowered on a 1000 foot rope to find stuck ice climbers somewhere in the night below. John Muir Trust ranger and climber Ali Austin tells us about some of the wildlife in the Glen which I must say constantly amazes me.    Enjoy. It’s right here. And on iTunes here. By the way if you are into putting something back, you could join myself and a small group of other folk doing a clear up in the lower part of the Glen around the curling ponds on Friday 23rd March. Details here. Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Steall sessions start with a new route
16 March 2012, 12:24 pm

   

 Bouldery climbing on Stolen Direct 8b/+, Steall  

Finally a break in the rain and some decidedly unwintery weather in Scotland and it was time to venture up to Steall for the first time this season. I had a quick session on my project which although obviously still felt sick hard, I could do the moves straight away so it was nice to get a first taste of the effects of the winter’s training.     After that I decided to look again at a direct start to Stolen that I bolted last year. I had thought the first three bolts would be 8b+ in themselves, with the meat of Stolen to do above that. But a small block had fallen off making a slightly better foothold just where you need it. After a couple of tries, I did it! Since I’d only had one quick bolt to bolt up Stolen and hadn’t tied onto a rope for a looooong time, I didn’t think I’d have the endurance to carry on to the top without a couple of sessions learning how to be a route climber again. There was a bit of puffing and panting, but I got there without too much stress. My base level of strength does seem not too bad. A good place to start for the project. The direct start to Stolen might be 8b or 8b+, not sure so we’ll say 8b/8b+. Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Clocking up some training hours
22 March 2012, 9:49 pm

 

Greg Boswell working on Leopold, 8a.    A great three days at Steall with Michael and Greg. The first morning started grimly wet after 24 hours of heavy rain. All the streams were in spate, and that was just the ones coming down the crag. Nevertheless we worked our moves and got sequences dialled on our respective projects.     Today the sun was out and spring was well and truly in the air for the first time. The crux of my project was still seepy, so it was simply time to put in the reps on the first half. To get steely strong and fit on the moves. This bit is both hard and easy. Sore fingers, pumped arms and tying right back in for another burn right after you lowered off. On the other hand, there’s no stress. Hard work is not scary on it’s own. You can’t lose; just put in the hours in the knowledge that the big progress happens right here, not on the eventual redpoints, which are just the very end of the process.    In the last week I’ve gone from bouldering strong with zero endurance to almost getting through the crux of Ring of Steall 8c+. It’s a great start, but just a start. I have some killer beta for the crux, but could do with a bit more. The bit above Ring of Steall gets properly hard. It feels good to be able to rep the easy lower part without getting pumped. But to even get close to redpoints, I’d need to be doing the same on the upper half. I couldn’t even imagine that right now. About a month or maybe six weeks of uninterrupted power-endurance training on the right sort of terrain will be needed.    Soon I’m leaving for a long trip with a fair bit of bouldering. So I’ll rack up some more sessions on the crux, and hopefully get a confidence boosting link before I go. While I’m away I can continue to build up some iron crimp strength and the sort of fitness you only get from trips. Exciting stuff.



Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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New links
31 March 2012, 10:27 pm

   

On the crux of Ring of Steall 8c+, on the way to the actual crux!    I have been enjoying good sessions in fine conditions on my project at Steall. My objective was just to get a sequence I was happy with before I leave for Switzerland. But It’s gone better than I expected. On the last session I linked from the block after the Ring of Steall crux to the top. This rather brutal section of climbing revolves around three big moves in a row. Each of them used to feel pretty damn hard in isolation. But on my second link they felt pretty solid.    It’s taken a bit of time to re-learn the subtleties of the Ring of Steall crux. But I think I’ve got it again now. But I’m still a good bit away from the pre-requisite of managing to redpoint through it every go! I still think the egyptian move must be one of the best moves on British rock. Easy if you do it perfectly, impossible if you are even slightly out of the right body position.    I’m definitely feeling some momentum of a good run of training and can’t believe I’ll be in Switzerland next weekend! First up, more STEEEAAALLL!



Michael getting the workout on my own route Steallworker, 8b.

Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Swiss Gneiss first week
28 April 2012, 8:10 pm

 

I’m settling well into Switzerland, sharing our flat with various friends and visiting the boulders. The first week of my trip was spent in Chrionico which was unfortunately a little warm for hard stuff, and rainy too, but still good fun. I was speaking in Lecco also which was a great evening, if a little stressful with my words being translated sentence by sentence. I think it worked ok for the 500+ audience who turned out!    I spent a couple of sessions trying From the Dirt Grows the Flowers 8C which was excellent. I got the moves but it was far too warm in the sun for the famously slopey top out. I’m sure I’ll come back to this one sometime. Rounded topouts are a huge weakness of mine which although I don’t enjoy them so much I’d like to improve at them. In between trying this I went across the river and made a quick ascent of Conquistador Direct 8B/+ which was recently put up and the video of it looked excellent. I made my own video above.    It was just as good as it looked although I did have a grumble to myself about the heat making in hard to squeeze the pinches. It’s really made me realise how lucky we are in Scotland with frequent good conditions thanks to the almost permanent wind! When I was climbing Conquistador Direct it was about 14 degrees and humid after the rain but completely still. It’s often 14-16 degrees in the highland glens right through the summer, but with a good wind it’s much easier to stick to the holds. The rain, however, does present a problem…occasionally.    Now we have moved over to Magic Wood which despite the sudden 20 degree increase in temperature, conditions are still surprisingly good and getting some excited about recent links. Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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New Base Line
30 April 2012, 7:42 pm

   

Climbing New Base Line 8B+, Magic Wood. Video stills from the Polished Project. Their blog is here and has a few more pics.    Woohoo! I’m well pleased I did one of my long term dream climbs - New Base Line 8B+ in Magic Wood. It is one of the most iconic hard problems on the planet and I’ve seen so many pictures of the world’s best boulderers on it and thought it looked line an inspiring line. For years I’ve wanted to come and try it, but I expected it would only be to see how hard it was. I didn’t really dare to think I could do it.    I was able to climb it a lot faster than I expected, on my third session. When I walked up the first day and saw it, I just thought it looked even more inspiring than the pictures. But after a couple of weeks in Switzerland I’ve finally curbed my tendency to headless chicken, and I carefully worked the individual moves. I got them all done after an hour or two but was getting worried about very thin fingertips.  

 Next day I found an even better foot sequence for the first and last moves and got overlapping halves before my skin totally died. My plan was to have a rest day and come back for some proper attempts. Lukasz and Wojtek were arriving that day for a week of filming me talking about ideas of mine about climbing. Maybe they would have timed their visit well?    But next day it snowed like hell I had to take another rest day to sit out the blizzard. The guys couldn’t even make it up the road to Magic Wood film the snowy landscapes. I knew that there would likely be a few days of snow melting down New Base Line. So, never shy to shift some offending snow, I borrowed a yard brush from our flat, floundered up through the forest and cleared great heaps of soft snow from the top of the boulder.    It was a good strategy. Next day it was bone dry and in perfect condition. So I warmed up and battled my way all the way to the finishing jug. I wasn’t quite warmed up to full power on the successful go and on the final four moves I was fading fast, swinging out wildly on every move. If it had been a week earlier in the trip I’d have definitely fallen, but I’ve really re-learned the bouldering skill of just not letting go even when your mind tells you you’re falling.    I was so happy to complete it. Apart from being so nice to climb, it’s definitely a landmark in my bouldering progress. We finished off the day with a flash of Foxy Lady 8A and had a session on an 8C that seems to suit me. Since then I’ve been back for another session trying hard things, and once my skin and muscles get tired, going off round the forest ticking off classics like Sofa Surfer 8A, Muttertag 8A and Free for All 8A.     The weather has gone rather downhill again - warm and wet, which is probably just as well as I’ve seriously pulled a muscle in my trunk and can hardly bend down never mind climb hard!

The footage of New Base Line and all the others will be in the Lukasz and Wojtek's film, although the main part of the film is about ideas of mine, and things I've learned from the last ten years of my climbing life.







Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Hot Hot Hot
12 May 2012, 10:48 am

 

Scots don’t do well in the heat. We always used to shake our heads when we waited for the Glasgow flight home from sport climbing trips in Spain, watching reams of fellow Scots returning home lobster coloured and happy. Of course, whether we were the exactly the same colour just depended whether our project for the week was south facing or not.    Although I struggle with the cold in Scottish winter climbing, I certainly don’t in bouldering. Probably because my work rate at the crag never drops low enough to get cold. My sweaty fingers keep me from climbing harder than about 7C+ indoors most of the time. But with a cold Scottish breeze I can actually use my finger strength.  

You can probably tell this blog is a bit of a conditions moan. Well, it’s not really. Yesterday at 3pm my car read 37 degrees driving to Chur. But at 5am that morning I was falling off the last move of my project in 10 degrees. Still waaaay to hot for me but at least I could get on OK. In Scotland it would be totally fine since you’d probably be pinning your mats down with rocks to stop them blowing away in the wind. But here in Switzerland, wind seems like a distant memory. I saw a twig move on a slight breath of breeze at 7am and had a really good attempt next try.    But hope is on the way. A cold front ahead of my last couple of sessions in Switzerland might help me climb a little harder problems before I head home. Aside from it being too hot for the really hard stuff now, I'm feeling great in my climbing, strong and enjoying pulling hard without any injury niggles at all. Even the holes in my fingers have healed up well now.  

Better get to bed early. Alarm for 4am... drink tea, put on head torch, stumble to the boulders. Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Lecture tour of southern UK
12 May 2012, 10:49 am

 

In the last part of May I’m doing a little tour around England and Wales, speaking at various places I’ve never lectured at before. The tour was organised by Cotswold Outdoor and the talks will be at their stores. While showing you pictures and videos from various climbing adventures from recent years I’ll discuss thoughts about everything from risk in the mountains to why hard projects are important and how I was lucky to make some great decisions to prepare me for doing hard climbs.    The dates are:    Reading - May 22^nd    Southampton May 23^rd    Cardiff May 24^th    Chester May 28^th    Plymouth May 29^th    Bournemouth May 30^th    London Islington May 31^st    Since the talks are in the Cotswold stores it might be a plan to ring and get a ticket, although tickets will be available on the door too. You can find out how to get tickets from this page on the Cotswold site.    See you there, looking forward to it. Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Mystic Stylez
13 May 2012, 8:33 pm

 

Holding the swing on the last hard move of Mystic Stylez Font 8C, Magic Wood (video still) The footage will be in the Polished Project film which is on the way.   

Today I climbed Mystic Stylez 8C in Magic Wood. As far as I know the second ascent of this Daniel Woods climb from last year. It really has been a big restorer of my confidence after a couple of weeks of questioning my ability to get things done.   

Having just succeeded and with the benefit of hindsight, I think it’s probably fair to say I tend to be a bit hard on myself at times. So much so that I know people sometimes mistake me for not taking satisfaction from my climbing. While being hard on yourself makes you hard edged and a bit ‘difficult’, it does have its uses, in moderation. This is how it went:   

After I did New Base Line nearly two weeks ago I wandered down to Muttertag (8a) to try that and look at Daniel Woods 8C sit start, Mystic Stylez. With only three moves into the stand start, itself a one hard move 8A, It must have some pretty bad holds? The holds did seem better than you would expect, but it’s not until you try it you realise that they are at such unhelpful angles that moving between them is desperate. It’s a running theme with the steeper problems on Swiss Gneiss. The holds are deceptively good, but the climbing very powerful. The only way to make powerful moves less powerful is to get more weight on your feet.   

So after getting the stand start in a few tries, I set about finding all manner of knee ligament shredding contortions to get opposition with my feet for the crux. I found a method to reach the right hand hold of the stand start, but was completely unable to move from that position (except towards the ground). But it was enough of a sequence to warrant some more serious sessions. 



Then the temperature rocketed. 25 degrees in Chur, then 26, then 28. By the second week it hit 37 degrees briefly while driving to the shops. I started climbing by headtorch after dusk, then getting up at 4am and warming up by headtorch. It’s always hard to just blame conditions. I was determined that my movement was getting worse; more errors, less confidence. With hindsight, the big greasy fingerprints on the holds after each attempt should have told me that my lack of confidence that I could make more progress was because I could feel my fingers sliding from the warm holds, unable to apply their strength.   

I replaced biscuits at the crag with apples, rested, got up earlier, and carefully refined my movement on each session. Time to leave for Scotland was approaching fast, but each session I did learn at least one small thing about how to climb the moves better. And I got a little further. On my last session before departure day, I touched the finishing finger rail on Muttertag 4 times. Although it is the last hold, touching it and holding it are two different things.    It would be expensive, but I could change my travel home and stay another week for the small chance I could keep making progress. It seemed a remote chance of making any difference. Maybe I should just take my medicine and go home to the fingerboard? I joked with a friend that on the other hand, maybe I ought to take my climbing more seriously than that and just stay no matter how remote my chances. He knew what I meant, but still laughed. Although lots of people think I do take climbing unbelievably seriously, a lot of the time I do feel like I’m at constant risk of being a lazy bastard and not fulfilling my potential.     

On one hand, the climb represented a target to focus my efforts. It’s just a bit of rock and it doesn’t matter to anyone whether I climb it or not. But completing it does make a difference in the mind of the climber. If you’ve really set yourself the target, and you’ve done enough work to know it’s possible, then giving in when the ‘extra mile’ to completion is there for the taking makes it difficult to move on with confidence to the next challenge. I’ve completed plenty of super hard projects, and have many more incomplete projects that I’m just not ready for yet. So I have been here before. I knew I might not manage it, but I looked forward and visualised driving home to Scotland without the send. The failure on the climb wouldn’t be worth a second thought (because if you never have failures, you can’t be trying anything that’s actually hard). The only regret I’d have would be failing without first giving everything to the fight.   

So I rebooked the travel this morning, and studied the forecast. Rain on a cold front was coming through (at last!). By tomorrow, the front would be through and the temperature lower. So I planned to go for a run in the woods and get up at 4am for the next session. On the way I dropped in to see Thomas at Bodhi Climbing and book a room for the final days. He reckoned the rain was coming tomorrow, and I panicked. I walked outside and the temperature was dropping, clouds lowering and wind increasing. Maybe I should just get on it right NOW?!   

So I jogged into the woods, and got my mats out under Mystic Stylez. As I did, raindrops started to patter onto the mats. I laughed at how desperate this was getting and just did the stand start twice for a warm up and to see if the rain would come on properly. It started to get heavier. Inwardly I said ‘well maybe I should just do it first try!’, while thinking back to the last 4 sessions of failures.   

And then, I pulled on and did it first try. I was strong enough, confident enough and moving well enough all along. All I needed was a cool wind. All in all I probably tried it for 8 sessions. I’m pretty sure I could have done it in 4 if the conditions had stayed cold.   

It seems that it doesn’t matter how many times you learn that conditions matter and it’s ok to be confident when you’ve put in the work, it’s hard not to get downbeat when things don't run smoothly. At least this leaves room for nice surprises. 

Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Using the natural method
18 May 2012, 8:53 pm

 

At the end of March, a week before I left for Switzerland, I completed a long term boulder project in Glen Nevis, the roof on the Skeleton boulder. I was ecstatic to finally finish such a fantastic line, and one which I’d had a good struggle with. I didn’t mention I'd actually completed it until now (here at least) as I thought it would be good to first see how it compared to some boulder testpieces in the famous Swiss venues.   

John Watson showed me the boulder not long after I moved to Lochaber in 2007. I first worked on it for a handful of sessions in 2008. One of those sessions you might remember from the movie ‘Committed 2’. All in all, it’s pretty much a perfect boulder climb - it’s a great roof feature with a straightforward but high headwall finish. It’s in one of the most scenic spots in Scotland, but I’ve never once seen another soul there apart from folk I’ve gone up there with. It has obvious holds the whole way, so you can be sure it’s possible. Yet the method that worked for me didn’t show itself until two weeks before I did it, with a eureka moment while lying in bed daydreaming.   

After those early sessions in 2008 I had injured elbows for nearly two years and couldn’t really train strength with any sort of commitment. So I knew there was no point going on it. In the meantime, I trained my technique. When my elbows were at their worst, I would probably struggle to do F7a at the climbing wall without pain. At that time, I went and climbed a lot of slabs - The Walk of Life, Indian Face etc. After a while I got back up to about F8c+ standard, but only if I just went climbing. I still couldn’t train. I missed bouldering a lot during this period, hence I’m having my fill now I’m healthy again! I still went bouldering as much as elbows allowed, and I became a little obsessed with finding super technical ways to do hard boulder problems. It was a fun experiment to see how hard you could boulder on fingers that hadn’t seen a fingerboard in two years. Eternity’s Gate was probably my best effort during that time, although it probably doesn’t count as it’s 25 metres long!   

Of course it had limitations, but I definitely feel a much better climber for it. I’ve noticed that I can more consistently find sequences that provide that killer advantage on the hard moves. In winter this year, my ‘100%’ twinge free sessions were getting more and more consistent, at the same time as doing more and more hard 45 board sessions. I even managed the odd fingerboard session, although deep lock offs still awake sleeping demons in my elbows.   

So I went back to the Skeleton boulder. For a few weeks I wrestled with so many potential sequences, eventually having a bit of brain-crash and losing my focus a little. Then, the right sequence popped into my head while daydreaming. It took a couple of sessions to morph what I had imagined into what actually worked. But one attempt I suddenly found myself holding the swing on the lip after climbing through the crux. I walked down to the car 6 feet off the ground after that session.   

The final hurdle to sharpen up the fingers were some foot-off bouldering sessions at the Ice Factor. It turned out that entering the crux was actually slightly easier if you’d done the starting moves rather than pulling on at half way to work the moves. The day I did it, I’d had a really crap morning and was feeling fed up and not fully concentrated. So I had no tension of anticipation of success. I just found myself standing in the warm sunshine on the top and had to double check with myself that I’d actually climbed it from the start!     

Like every hard project, It felt really easy when I actually did it. In fact I did it again a few days later when getting a few pictures with Cubby. Because I don’t boulder that much and when I do it’s always first ascents, I have no solid idea about bouldering grades. Before I went to Switzerland I thought I should give it 8B. But now I think maybe 8B+ is fairer. That is on the British-Font scale which I sense is a little (!) different from what I read and the odd Gaskins problem I’ve tried on visits to the south. In Switzerland it would be a harder grade! There are quite a few problems around Scotland now which are a lot harder than both New Base Line and Mystic Stylez which I climbed in Magic Wood recently. The disparity in grading scales isn’t something I’d like to get too involved in, except to acknowledge it’s there.   

It’s called ‘Natural Method’ as a nod to George Hebert who was one of the earliest proponents of Parkour as a method to gain specific fitness that was useful for real life tasks, as opposed to relying too much on basic strength work like weights. My experience of bouldering while injured showed me that although my technique wasn’t bad from my Dumbarton apprenticeship, I still was seriously undervaluing it even as a much more experienced climber. That said, although the natural method of trying to climb harder and harder without training was invaluable, the basic strength work was still essential to make it work at the limits of my ability. Like so many things, it wasn’t one or the other, but both in spades.   

Feels like it might be time to tie onto a rope again... Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Home Soon
25 May 2012, 9:30 am

 

Another clip from the Polished Project film 'Dave' which is on the way. This clip shows off what a nice climb New Base Line is!

I was home from Switzerland for all of one night before driving south to speak at various Cotswold stores around England and Wales. After the first talks I have a couple of days off now and then to Chester, Bouremouth, Islington - details here).    I spent a long time looking forward to the Swiss bouldering trip and enjoyed it a lot. Now I’m going to be heading home soon I’m pretty sure it’s time for some routes again. I’ll need to start from scratch with endurance for tries on my Steall project. I also need to put some time into planning more trips this year.     On my last day I finally managed to get a session on Practice of the Wild (8C) before I left Magic Wood. It was dry for the first time since I’ve been here. It’s definitely the most inspiring line I’ve seen in the woods and I’d be keen to return sometime to work on it more. It has definitely reminded me not to be afraid to try the harder stuff in bouldering even though I struggle a lot with indoor climbing. For sure this is partly down to my training diet of mostly climbing outdoors - I can usually get more weight on my feet than most on real rock. But a big part of it is my sweaty fingertips and general inability to perform well even in  moderately warm conditions. I’ve resisted this conclusion for a long time, but it’s probably better if I just accept it and start working with rather than against it.    My body also feels in good shape to start some basic finger strength training again this year. I’ll have to be careful to build up slowly. That, together with some other changes in my training will hopefully reap some good rewards down the line. In the short term, I’ll see where the mood takes me when I get home and probably go exploring some of the great places I’ve still never been to.  Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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Fluid Plans
27 May 2012, 9:52 pm

 Sometimes I sense that I’m a bit too keen just to take climbing as it comes. I must admit that when not tied to any particular objective which is forming my focus, I tend to lose my focus a bit. Not in an apathetic way - quite the opposite. I headless chicken. My mind fills with so many possibilities that it does become rather paralysing. Not a bad problem to have.

I’ve just come out of a long period in my climbing where I was quite restricted. 2 years of no proper training due to injury, and a lot of time training my legs and seabird fighting skills on Orkney. With those behind me, I’m keen to step up a gear. To move to another level takes a fair bit of time. I’ve put in a good base over winter with an increasing amount of bouldering indoors and then a good trip bouldering in Switzerland. But it’s really just a foundation block. I’ve still been very careful not to build up too fast. I think now I’m feeling safe to step up another notch to more intense strength and fitness work.     It’s an odd feeling to have that sense of resistance to training after so long feeling fragile. So what to train for? Hard multipitch new routes on big mountain cliffs in Scotland and abroad. Some more repeats of others hard trad routes and my super hard project at Steall. All of the above. The bouldering is always there, building a foundation of strength to take to the big routes.    I do know about a few boulder projects around Scotland that will demand another level than I’m climbing right now. Some local and some further afield. I must take a look at the line left of Seven of Nine in Glen Nevis. Sky Pilot is after all one of the nicest places to hang out I can think of. As for my sport project, progress on that depends a little on the summer weather, but there is always enough good days to get at least some time on it. I’m quite into the idea of training away from it too. I think a routine of trad climbing 2 or 3 days a week over summer and evening board sessions of anaerobic circuits will work well. I do miss the feeling of being stamina fit. It’s been a while!    Bizarrely enough, one of the main issues with using a board to clock up large amounts of daily circuit time comes down to skin rather than motivation. My hands just get so trashed I do struggle to keep going despite telling myself to ‘man up’ constantly. I need to experiment a bit to build up and take care of my fingers better, or get better at ‘detachment’.  

In in Wales right now, en route to my lecture in Chester on Monday night. Last night I had a good session at Dinas Rock. I did the second ascent of Liam Fyfe’s monster roof link ‘Wife of Fyfe’ 8A/ F8b+ which I headed for since it was tagged as the hardest line in South Wales (hasty video above). It’s 25 metres long and not having climbed anything longer than about 5 moves in 2 months, I expected to just work on it to get my endurance off the starting rung. But it was interesting to note that the individual moves felt easy enough to get through despite forearms like balloons. So maybe I do have a good base to start from. So now for the next stage of hard work to start. It was nice to run into Liam himself at the crag while I was repeating his line. I'd witnessed his strength on the rock before and despite several months of recent layoff was still looking like a machine on the rock. Thanks for the inspiration Liam!  

PS After my lecture in Chester Cotswolds tomorrow night (7.30pm), I'm speaking at the Plymouth store on Tues, Bournemouth on Weds and Islington on Thurs. See you there.. details here. Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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9 de cada 10 escaladores cometen los mismos errores
27 May 2012, 10:15 pm

 

 We arrived home from Switzerland to find our stock of our latest publication; the Spanish edition of 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes! 9 de cada 10 escaladores cometen los mismos errores is now available in the shop right here. It’s €18 and worldwide shipping is €3.    We are massively grateful to Alicia Hudelson and Elena Suarez for a huge amount of hard work to make the translation of the book. 9 out of 10 has been out for 2 years now and read by many thousands of climbers all over the English speaking parts of the planet. We are continually amazed not only by it’s popularity but the nice messages from so many of you letting us know that it helped you break real barriers in your climbing. It’s a pleasure to open it up to a Spanish speaking audience.    Stay tuned for news of some other translations of the book... Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

[SA Chris]

I know the perfecto candidate for doing an italian translation...

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Redpoint - a whole book on tactics finally!
9 June 2012, 10:29 pm

 

 Finally we’ve got hold of some stock of Hague and Hunter’s new book ‘Redpoint’ in the shop (right here). The authors are most famous for their superb book The Self-Coached Climber which is justifiably one of our better selling climbing improvement texts. Like I’m sure most experienced coaches know, tactics are becoming an increasingly important area that forms the difference between progress and stagnation among modern climbers. So they have written a whole book dedicated to perfecting all the tactical tricks and advantages for both onsight and redpoint climbing.    It’s a worthy addition to the knowledge base and I’d say there are very few climbers around who are not aware of, or milking all the tactical advantages offered in the book. Whether you read it as a beginner or intermediate level climber to open up a whole new world of tactical awareness and advantage, or as an expert climber reminding yourself of all the tricks you could be using to get that crucial extra edge for your current goal, I’d recommend it.    It’s a substantial subject and a substantial book too. There’s even a 30 minute DVD that comes with it to see the tactics in action. They have included some assessment forms and checklists in each section to help you get a clearer idea of where you stand with your use and prowess of different tactics or skills. This sort of thing maybe doesn’t appeal to everyone. But if writing things down isn’t your style, you can just skip them and simply read the advice. Just as with The Self-Coached Climber, the book is thoughtfully laid out, well illustrated with colour photos and thorough without being a mind-number.    As a coach visiting ever improving climbing walls with stronger and fitter climbers, I’ve appreciated that tactics are the big deal for climbers these days. More and more often, climbers have the strength and fitness from many hours in the climbing wall. But without even knowing it, lack of tactical awareness has placed the glass ceiling above their head much lower than it ought to be. It’s a shame when that happens.    You can get hold of a copy from our shop here. Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog

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On the lookout
12 June 2012, 8:21 pm

   

The stunning and tranquil lost valley, Glen Coe    Since getting home from my travels I’ve been doing all the necessary tasks of settling in and getting out to climb in some new places. With Alicia I checked out the Lost Valley boulders in Glen Coe. There’s definitely some new stuff that I’d come back for another look at here. In fact I cant believe more problems haven’t been recorded in this beautiful but very accessible location.  

 

Nice Font 4, first ascent, Glen Elg    We also looked at some untouched boulders in Glen Elg. There’s room for 50 or 60 porblems here. We did three fantastic ones from Font 4 to 6b+ on excellent crimpy gneiss in about 15 minutes but we got the wind forecast wrong and the midges called an immediate halt to proceedings before they got started. This is primarily a venue for 6s and 7s, although there are a few harder things to do. It was too midgy to brush our problems first so if you go, take a wiry with you. After driving past the famous brochs, park at the road end and walk up the farm track for 10 minutes and you’ll see the boulders over the river.

 

Boulders, Glen Elg. Yes, that’s a high deer fence and big trees (and big boulders!)    Instead we drive round to Applecross and I ticked Mike’s Problem 7C+ which is a beautiful problem. I’d been to the boulder once before about 6 years ago and had a ten minutes on it while it was still unclimbed. I never quite got round to going back. We rounded off the day with a jog to the top of the Bealach na Ba and back, which after 2400 miles in the car the previous week felt more uphill than it should have.

 

Lovely Font 5, Glen Elg, first ascent.

 

Applecross slabs of the best rock on earth



Mike’s Problem 7C+  

As well as enjoying the almost endless new venues (never mind new routes) and repeating other peoples climbs which is a novelty for me sometimes, I'm on the lookout. I know that at some point, in one of the new places, I'll find really amazing lines which are worth getting really obsessed about. Dave MacLeod

My book - 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

Source: Dave MacLeod blog