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Malteser 9.
21 January 2011, 6:20 pm



Today we climbed errr slabs and white pockety walls. Again. But this time on Gozo! Which is nice. A bit more scenic and a bit less manic than Malta. We got to see more of the island in an action-packed day. Got the ferry over, drove across to see the "Inland Sea" (more like Inland Puddle, but pretty) and the Azure Window...

...then found a cool roadside slab and did a couple of routes...

...then had a wandering circumnavigation of the scenic Citadel in Victoria, then drove back to M-thingy I-thingy X-thingy to finish with a couple of cool sport climbs and retrieving some misplaced trousers. Not the wrong trousers, more like the right trousers in the wrong place. Thence back on the ferry and back to the hostel by 7. Good stuff. 4 more good routes woohoo.



Source:  fiendblog

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Malteser 10.
22 January 2011, 4:30 pm



Today....we....climbed!! The last day: In a pleasingly circular crag choice we finished as we started, at Wieb Badu (I think it might be Wied Babu actually?). But instead of the somewhat average valley slabs, we sampled hot pumping sea-cliff action in the altogether more dramatic surrounds of the Blue Wall (grey coloured) and Red Wall (orange coloured). The former provided a fine committing trad climb in the calm shade, and the latter a fine long sport climb in the breezy sun...

...and a rather "traditional" big old corner as an escape route. The routes I led were class, but belaying on an expansive ledge in a cosy nook in the warm sun was perhaps the highlight. We rounded off the day and indeed the entire climbing week at the sunny side of W.B. where I pleasingly punctuated the trip not with a full stop but an exclamation mark, battling up a fine bulging crack we had "looked" at on the first day. 3 contrasting routes and a great finale.

All that remains is a quick dinner, the last bit of mad Maltese driving (regrettably, I'll miss it) to the airport, and braving the possible crux of flying home with Ryanair. Ciao!



Source:  fiendblog

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Maltesed
23 January 2011, 3:02 pm



So I am back. It was a great trip. Greatness of note including:

9 days climbing in a row. I think that's the most in a row I've done, not hampered by pissy weather or gaylord gf climbing partners "waaah I need a rest day can we do something different for a change?!?" etc etc. I was still as SYKED as ever on the last day, still just loving the climbing. It was important that we kept mixing it up: steep routes, slabs, sport, trad, adventurous routes, rough rock, smooth rock. This kept it FRESH and FUNKY and kept motivation and inspiration high whilst alternating limbs and skin to allow things to heal. Scratches aside I felt invigorated rather than tired by the end of it. I'd be quite interested to base myself in a similarly dry and varied climbing area and see how many....WEEKS I could climb in a row :D.

Did I mention the weather?? OMFG. I'd forgotten what such dryness was like. The forecast kept predicting 20% chance of rain (itself not a huge worry with sunny quick drying crags), which invariably turned into 20% of light cloud of 80% chance of awesomeness. There was a grand total of 1 light shower and one thunderstorm, both overnight. Some good luck at last.

I think I did okay climbing. I kept a fair level of challenge although didn't push that hard, with only a handful of routes that made me go "woah, that was tough". By the end I was keen to ramp up the grade a bit, but there was still too much to explore. I guess I was actually doing pretty well as it was a trip during the "off-season" for trad....but I also think the rock often suited me well, with a good choice of reassuringly positive holds and pretty good gear when you got it (apart from the slabs, which just felt nice in general regardless). It's all good mileage anyway.

Malta was cool for the reasons mentioned before: exotic and intriguing yet fairly convenient and cheap, cool architecture and churches, nice coastlines, a manageable size, and entertainingly lawless driving - the latter I survived more by fitting well into it rather than taking suitable care ;).

Climbing-wise I'd definitely recommend it for a typical British climber. If you want to sit at the bottom of a mega-classic mega-chalked mega-polished 7c rotpunkt for a whole week, or want some epic dolomotic suffer-fests, then forget it. But if you want plentiful mid-grade trad, mixed and sport limestone with a good varied blend of steep accessible outcrops, proper slabs, and proper UK-style sea-cliff face climbing, all with a decent guidebook on a fun island with very good winter temperatures, then it's got to be worth a try.

Next up: Plans for April, plans for the year, Scottish bouldering, sun-trap trad, gym and general climbing training. Woohoo!



Source:  fiendblog

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2011.1
1 February 2011, 9:00 am



General climbing related issues to work on and improve.

As always the main challenges with climbing - not just my climbing, almost anyone's climbing - apart from the utterly crucial personal psychology are WEATHER and PEOPLE (I still aspire to join the ranks of those very fortunate people who have a good local scene of similarly-syked partners...). For me there is the additional challenge of FITNESS which has been an uphill battle since DVTs preventing some simple exercises. Weather is both uncontrollable and malicious (ah, if only it was just one of those!), so can only be worked around with knowledge, readiness and flexibility. The others can be worked on directly...

1. Keep in touch with friends and partners better and organise myself more proactively. - needs: reply promptly to partners in whatever media and don't put off emails, always reply even when unavailable, accept invites if I'm free just for the social side (if suitable), try plans with regular partners I already know before asking on UKC, try to be a good partner myself, make plans in advance with the option to change them rather then leaving them until the last minute.

9. Keep fit at gym, pool, and wall. - needs: get in routine of exercise, make it logistically convenient to fit into life, use workouts that are beneficial but easy to be motivated for, try to do gym work that compliments wall work and pool work and vice versa, go with current inclinations rather than worrying about specifics (better to go and do a sub-optimal workout than not go at all), stretch regularly after showers, download more ruff and rude drum and bass MP3 mixes...

10. Lose 1 stone via the above. - needs: watch diet - eat smaller portions, be aware of and avoid overeating, avoid fatty convenience food, maximise enjoyment of healthier foods, drink lots of water, make exercise and healthy eating part of routine.



Source:  fiendblog

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2011.2
3 February 2011, 9:00 am



Exploration plans, ideas and inspirations to work on.

I've seen him live at the Cold Meat Industry festival years ago. Pretty cool stuff, although better as bedtime listening music.

Last year I did pretty well with exploring cool places, although was hampered by the Scottish weather, some disorganisation, and a shocking amount of faff that prevented a summer trip. This year I want to get MORE ORGANISED. I have a better idea of when I can go places, a better network of climbing partners, and a pleasingly decreasing list of Scottish venues. Thus...

2. Get to somewhere interesting over Easter (Pedriza? Alscace?), and over summer (Scandinavia? South Africa? Hatun Machay?). - needs: plan in advance, find similarly motivated partners, investigate areas fully (including travel, accomodation, car hire, guidebooks, weather options etc), book soon to make firm committments and keep costs down.

3. Week long trip to Lewis, several days sea-cliffing in Skye, long weekend in Caithness, long weekend in Mull over winter/spring. - needs: plan trips firmly but flexibly with similarly motivated partners, make such plans a priority over lesser plans, have all the relevant information to keep the costs low.

4. Get to Merionydd & Lleyn when weather is bolleaux in Scotland. - needs: keep in touch with suitable climbing partners near those areas, keep checking the weather there, make such plans a priority over "normal" Scottish areas.

5. Keep exploring cool places in Scotland. - needs: keep in touch with similarly motivated partners, make positive plans, take advantage of any weather windows, have good plan Bs.

6. Explore more bouldering over winter: Torridon, Reiff, Skye, Mull, Inverness, Aberdeen, Trossachs, Northumberland, Carrock Fell, Gouther, St Bees. - needs: early starts not to waste petrol, sensible planning with training and skin conditions, knowledge of where to stay for multi-day trips.



Source:  fiendblog

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2011.3
5 February 2011, 9:00 am



7. Climb a few E5s.

Some inspiring and challenging trad routes to aim for, and what I might need to do / improve / be prepared for.

It is worth noting that having had a good look at almost all of these, I am SYKED ;) Inspiration >>> challenge >>>> grade.

Nijinski, Auchinstarry - needs: very cool dry conditions, practise with friction/slab/arete climbing.

Purrblind Doomster, Cambusbarron - needs: dry breezy weather, practise finger jamming, speed and precision with gear, falling practise.

Anger Management, Cambusbarron - needs: dry breezy weather, bouldering power for start, fitness, good gear planning.

On The Beach, Polldubh - needs: morning shade, good route reading, fitness for first crack, mental stamina.

Freddie Across The Mersey, Polldubh - needs: similar to above.

Triode, Polldubh - needs: cool breezy day, even better route reading, practise on slabs and bad holds.

Colder Than A Hooker's Heart, Creag Dubh - needs: good technique, schist-familiarity, deadhanging / crimping strength, fitness.

The Final Solution, Creag Dubh - needs: overall fitness and stamina, deadhanging / crimping strength, rapid gear finding.

Smith's Arete, Ballater - needs: cool fresh conditions, bouldering / arete practise, short term power endurance, flexibility, quick gear placing.

Neart Nan Gaidheal, Ardmair - needs: fitness and stamina, quick and careful gear placing, falling practise.

Spirit Air, Loch Maree Crag - needs: lots of fitness and stamina, route reading, crimp strength, mental stamina, good weather.



Source:  fiendblog

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Real winter sun at Red Wall seacliffs.
6 February 2011, 8:16 pm



This weekend I visited the third in the triptych of welcoming Aberdonian climbing couples I know. This was all rather pleasant: bRad, Amelia, Atlas (above) and Dido hosted me graciously and we went out climbing. Well, the people, not the cats. Although the cats could have done a better job than I did on Sunday. But first, Saturday. Winter sun, good East Coast weather (escaping the deluge in the West), and bird-free pink granite. These are other good reasons to visit Aberdeen climbing, and why I intend to do more of it this winter season. On Saturday we visited Red Wall, and lo it is RED and a WALL. It also doesn't have any shortcuts to the base of the crag apart from abseiling, certainly not wandering through the intriguing sport climbing quarry, and wondering how appealing a swim would be if we attempted the green bulging sea-traverse to the base. Eventually we established base camp - via abseil - and rattled off a few routes. Despite the short day, false start approach, late arrival of myself from Edinburger, and climbing as a team of 3, we still managed 4 good routes albeit with the second and third following the last route in something between dusk and pitch dark. I didn't tackle anything major - I have a general syke to do so but am cautious of the conditions and Aberdonian sea-cliffs in general - but did a couple of fun routes.

Sunday initially promised sun. Then mist. Then torrential rain. Then sun again. Eventually it settled on one of the few things that wasn't forecast - light cloud and cool grey temps. We had a look at the dramatic and photogenic Round Tower but alas despite no rain and little seepage, it was damper than a squid's snatch. The infamous coastal clag in full effect. Without sun and breeze and indeed any margin for error at this time of year, options were limited to sensible retreat, but it was a good recce for the future. Thusly we ended up at Transition wall, where I transitioned into someone giving a vague impression of climbing competence, to an inept bumbling blob of punterdom. I was fat and weak in ways which are hard to describe and impossible for mere mortals to comprehend. Anything which required a modicum of arm strength rather than crimping or compression left me beaten, battered, and belligerent. Oh and my skin was utter rubbish too. All rather perturbing, but it turned out to be a good workout, I suppose. God knows I need one!



Source:  fiendblog

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2011.4
7 February 2011, 9:00 am



8. Climb a few F7a+s.

Some inspiring and challenging sport routes to aim for, and what I might need to do / improve / be prepared for.

I expect some of these will be particularly challenging given the stamina, fitness, and strength required, and in particular the luck required with onsighting harder sport. Nevertheless the choice and general quality of these routes gives me plenty to go at, and if I feel fit enough then they will be worth a try.

General requirements: Falling practise, stamina, falling practise, fitness, falling practise, route reading on varied rock, falling practise, falling practise.

Persistence Of Vision, Dumby - needs: very cold and dry conditions, someone to give it a brush first, finger strength, basalt technique, falling practise.

High Pitched Weem, Weem - needs: finger / crimp / deadhanging strength, fitness and stamina, 30 degree training, climbing speed.

Screaming Weem, Weem - needs: as above.

Grand Theft Auto, Rob's Reed - needs: fitness and stamina, good conditions, training on bad holds.

Sun City, Cambus O May - needs: dry breezy weather, crimp strength, fitness and stamina, dynamism, careful footwork training.

Sticks And Stones, Cambus O May - needs: as above.

Paralysis By Analysis, The Camel - needs: route reading, stamina, route reading, stamina, more stamina, decent conditions, climbing speed.

Mactallah, Goat Crag - needs: cool weather, stamina, strength, route reading.

Yosemite Wall, Malham - needs: cool weather, stamina, strength, footwork on polished holds.

Appetite, Malham - needs: as above.

Plus lots of supporting F7as at Chapel Head Scar etc etc.



Source:  fiendblog

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2011.Summary
9 February 2011, 9:00 am



Thusly I determine the main things I need to work on and DO are:



1. Keep in touch with climbing partners regularly, promptly, and positively.

2. Prioritise plans for the most inspiring areas with like-minded partners.

3. Plan more proactively but flexibly in advance rather and last minute.

4. Get started on days out earlier to make best use of time.

5. Keep fitness training and make it a regular habit.

6. Keep eating a decent diet with small portions, less junk, more water.

7. Train stamina, finger strength, finger power, dynamism and endurance at walls.

8. Falling practise, falling practise, falling practise, falling practise.

9. Work on route reading and gear placing outdoors.

10. Stack odds in my favour with suitable weather conditions.



If I don't, keep reminding me and beat it into me until I habitually live like this to make my climbing lifestyle more pleasurable and personally rewarding!!



Source:  fiendblog

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Bumbling at Bowden.
10 February 2011, 9:10 pm



Made a last minute plan to visit The County on a free day with a decent forecast. Decent as in sun, cool temps, light breeze - but also after a previous day's rain, so some caution was needed. I first checked out the exposed and sunny Goat Crag, which I've only done one easy route at. It was pretty dry and the plethora of considerably less easy routes looked rather inspiring, but I felt a bit underprepared for the diverse sandstone battles. So off it was to the definitive classic and fairly honeypot Bowden Doors, where I again recced some harder inspirations, and eventually met a dude for some routes. However it was feeling a bit nervy on some sandyish top-outs, so we retreated to an easy bouldering circuit, which was fun....and also turned out to be a bit nervy on the shallow bog solo of Child's Play F6b S1!



Source:  fiendblog

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Soggy syke.
17 February 2011, 3:26 pm



Syke ebbs and flows. Mine is flowing (?) at the moment. I am syked to get out on the rock and CLIMB. Bouldering, trad, sport, circuits, projects, mileage, new areas, testpieces, whatever. I just feel the love and desire for the pleasure of touching, pulling, and moving over rock.

Naturally this is coinciding with a period of prolonged dampness. I don't think anything has been reliably dry for nearly two weeks now. At this time of year - as with any time of year in the UK - this is "normal". Blech. Also at this time of year there is a little leeway - a small drizzle shower can ruin a whole day, whilst in summer things might dry out. Or might not. Suffice to say I can't put my syke to good use at the moment.

No doubt the weather will turn crisp or sunny or fresh and breezy and then I'll somehow be syked to paint toy soldiers and listen to death metal instead. But just in case I can put my syke to delayed-good use. I've been doing a little bit of training at Ratho, a crude mixture of routes, falling practise, steep ground, bouldering circuits and beastmakering. Not very focused, but my current relevant weaknesses are not very specific - mostly fitness (trainable at gym etc) and lock off / pulling power (trainable at wall but less relevant to outside desires). Keeping reasonably climbing fit and ticking over will do.



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Techy.
20 February 2011, 8:01 am



Given the season - the cold-weather-short-days-winter-sun-crisp-friction-bouldering-strength-season when its at it's rare best - I find myself fancying techy gritstone-esque routes. Short, technical, thought-provoking, bold, bouldery. The sort of routes where you boulder around for an hour, emerge steaming from your duvet jacket cocoon, place two bits of gear, stand around getting a bit nervous, and execute some delicate funky moves just before your hands go numb. The sort of routes that gritstone does perfectly, but are rarities in Scotland. Rarities, but not entirely absent. It just takes some cunning and planning to find them. This is a current list (with good mid-grade options) I'm pondering on:

Lowland Outcrops (E.g. most places of little consequence) - The standard easily-jaded Local Climbing blah but with some interesting places scattered around.

Trossachs/Arrochar (E.g. Glen Croe, Loch Sloy, Glen Ogle, Glen Lednock) - Often a bit on the steep side but some good slabs and shorter routes that are suitable.

Glen Nevis (E.g. Roadside, Blacks, Wave etc) - Living in the shadow of errr Ben Nevis this is very weather specific, but some of the more accessible crags have the right style of climbing.

Mull (E.g. Scoor, Erraid) - Still not been alas, but the photos of short granite and schist outcrops definitely look right.

Gairloch (E.g. Mungrisdale, Gruinard Crags, Stone Valley, Loch Tollaidh, Diabeg) - Some of the best crags are a bit northerly facing, but there's a wide choice that fit the bill.

Reiff (E.g. Ardmair, Stone Pig, Pinnacle, Seal Song) - Despite the rock quality Reiff is not THAT good as it's so well featured that most harder routes tend to be thugfests rather than techfests.

Aberdeen North (E.g. Ballater, Red Wall, Round Tower etc) - Pretty good as can be pretty technically intense and good in cooler weather.

Aberdeen South (E.g. Long Slough, Harbour Wall, Floors Craig etc) - Generally a bit too steep and strenuous (i.e. very), but some potential.

Northumberland (E.g. Everywhere) - what more needs to be said? Gritstone with more holds and less hordes.

P.S. It's still wet and shit out there, BTW.



Source:  fiendblog

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Recent stuff.
3 March 2011, 3:00 pm



Bleh, forgot to blog. The weather has been merciful recently so I've done some climbing. Yay for climbing. Bouldering at Clashfarquar and Loch Sloy, trad at Cummingston. Here's some stuff...

P.S. Blogspot seems to keep randomly changing font faces and/or sizes on my blog. Can you please post if it's doing the same for you, ta. Or if you know a fix! double ta!



Source:  fiendblog

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Rather beautiful at the Ruthven Boulder.
7 March 2011, 3:10 pm



Approaching Ruthven...

Another weekend, another damp-in-the-west-dry-in-the-east forecast, another visit to Aberdeen with some bouldering en route. After last summer's somewhat painful attempt, I returned to the Ruthven Boulder in much nicer conditions, and discovered that yes indeed the skin-murdering texture is about the only flaw with this monolithic beast of bouldering goodness. Another chap was passing through and we teamed up for a good syke-filled session...

With my skin just on the tolerable side of critically abraded, I embarked on the long slog across the A96 to Aberdeen, via collecting a well earned and long overdue bottle of Singleton from Dufftown, a favourite smooth and sweet single malt with a distictive dried fruit palate and a spicey finish. Thence followed the usual good hospitality of various Aberdeen friends, a day of trad at Red Wall, an eye-rollingly frustrating replacement of two wrecked tyres from a completely hidden chicane, and an afternoon of bouldering at Portlethen as it was too breezy for coastal trad. A pretty good weekend and while my skin is ready for a rest, my mind is vaguely keen to ramp things up a bit on the trad action...

P.S. Blogspot is still screwing up the fonts for me, but since no-one has said anything, I guess it's fine for other people, which is okay.



Source:  fiendblog

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Risk Quotient at Ratho Quarry.
8 March 2011, 3:38 pm



Turned out to be higher than I expected... A fresh morning, a strong breeze, rain in the west but dry in the East, a keen partner passing through, a few hours to rattle off a couple of routes. The right ingredients for a sensible plan....but there are some factors outside the realm of planning, or even sense.

I started up a cool little arete route. Steady climbing with a bit of gear to a ledge at 9m, some more gear there, then 6m of classic arete laybacking to easy ground. Good for cool conditions, good to start on as there was a rest ledge to recoup.

So I tickled up the lower wall, and grappled the ledge. It was reassuring, a nice crack down the back for hands and protection. Cool. I yarded up and started to mantle. The ledge - a double pillow-size sheet of rock - started to peel away from the wall.

THE FUCKING LEDGE IS PEELING AWAY FROM THE WALL...!

I somehow dropped down without agitating it further, it somehow teetered back onto it's resting posture. I have no idea how....but I do know if it and me had come off, it would have badly injured me and could have fatally injured my belayer (who was in the standard pose, with helmet). GULP.

I outwitted the ledge mantle, stood on it (which was fine, pressing down), put some RPs in a seam, tip-toed up the upper arete, finished the route, abbed down, did a nice sport route, and left just as it started to rain. A good morning. I think. ???



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Rainy day stuff.
11 March 2011, 2:14 pm



Yup after a not-too-brief respite, the rain is back. Hopefully it will be bringing some snow onto the mountains to extend to the somewhat tapering out ski season - I've only had one slushy day at Glen Coe this year - but in the meantime it is shutting down the continuation of the recent good climbing I have been enjoying.

So I have retreated to my plethoric collection of geeky indoor activities. Actually I should be retreating to more GYM, more CAMPUSSING and more LEADING/FALLING PRACTICE. But I'm kinda having a week off that because I'm being fucking lazy. Instead in recent times I have been indulging myself with:

Models:

Have had a wee urge to paint recently and completed a couple of figures....old figures. Have a few more in progress but am generally very lazy about painting so these will do for now:

(Not to relative scale - click for more normal size!)

Music:

Although I'm back on the DRUMS and the BASS at the moment, I had a splurge on some metal recently which was very pleasing to my ears....but less pleasing to those of my friend Wendy who came out with the awesome quote:

"YUCK!!! i had to turn that off after 30 seconds, thats SHITE!! LMAO thats what u listen to? have you not killed enough brain cells?"

Yes it is what I listen to. Yes I genuinely REALLY like it. Yes I feel the same way as your quote about pop music. So the following CDs have been recent favourites...

Behemoth - The Apostasy & Zos Kia Cultus

Burzum - Belus

Gorefest - La Muerte

Immortal - All Shall Fall

Kataklysm - Prevail

Games:

I've finally got around to using my new (in October 2010) computer to it's full potential. As well as the usual Starcraft 2 (very good, very refinded indeed) shenanigans with my buddies VULTURE and DRAKE, I've got back into quality FPSes...

Bioshock - Excellent, a very distinctive and intruiging take on the FPS genre. Strong atmosphere, rich background, some emotional involvement and many interesting combat options.

Crysis - Superb, great graphics and great gameplay, the latter was refreshing after COD4. The nanosuit gives you many options and makes you feel in charge of your own gameplay destiny.

Call Of Duty 4 - (aka Modern Warfare) Pretty good but obviously overrated as a typical "crowd pleaser". Great looks and atmosphere and some strong scenes, but average gameplay, twitchy story, and too much war/weapon pr0n.

Next up will be: Thief 3, Far Cry 2, then maybe Crysis Warhead, Bioshock 2, and I might end up buying Singularity, COD5, Bulletstorm, Dead Space 2.....hmmm actually maybe the weather will improve and I will sack it all off ;)



Source:  fiendblog

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Clash crush.
20 March 2011, 5:47 pm



Just had a rather fun long weekend sampling the diversity that Scotland in late winter has to offer: Great day skiing on full snow cover at Glenshee, good afternoon bouldering in very fresh conditions at Clashfarquar, and a fun afternoon doing trad at Limekilns. Clash was the main point of interest for me, I was very specifically focused on trying to climb Clash Arete, possibly the best line in the best setting in the whole of Aberdeen. And thus:

I'd been completely shut down on this before when Lyons, bRad and I were trying it. It looks....kinda feasible as there are a lot of holds and stuff and they mostly point in the right direction. But it is steep, with minimal footholds and sharp handholds - pain resistance becomes as important as power reserves. This is the hardest problem I've done in a year and I wanted to do it right....

The boulder platform is very convenient, but the approach is tidal. I decided it would be best to be trapped outside than inside, so got there early afternoon at high tide, knowing I would have all afternoon once I could get across. Lo and behold there was a group of climbers who had indeed got trapped inside. So we sat and waited on opposite sides of the tidal bay, in a stalemate, waiting for someone to crack and start wading. Eventually the platform was accessible, they slid out, I slid in, and started a nice peaceful session.

I'm pleased with my tactics for this. I warmed up with a grip strengthener and didn't waste any skin on other problems. I started playing on the moves knowing they would feel desperate and knowing that I would gradually unlock them with patience. I kept playing around in short attempts and resting my skin in between. As soon as I worked out a move, I moved onto the next one to keep the whole puzzle going. And as soon as I worked out all the moves - with a possibly unconventional sequence - I got up, walked away, and strolled around the platform to let my mind and body settle.

On my return, I floundered on the started a few times, then managed to udge my way up, slapped, ignored how much sketchier the moves felt in the sequence than in isolation, hung on tight, and crushed it, happy with a cool problem and happy with some good tactics.



Source:  fiendblog

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Sandy Syke.
28 March 2011, 3:24 pm



I was down in Northumberland this weekend to maintain my unblemished attendance record at the Official Lads Bouldering Weekends, in this case number 4. Slightly bleak Bowden, painful Kyloe, the cheap and cheerful Bluebell Bunkhouse, and cool Callerhues. As often the case with these events, I rarely do that much serious bouldering unless I go off on my own and play around a bit. I find the large team logistics gets in the way of actually focusing on climbing, and for me to push my bouldering I usually need a fair bit of focus and plenty of peace. However the large team logistics (lots of pads and encouragement) does have it's benefits for highballs, and Sunday was fun taking advantage of that at Callerhues (I missed out on one good highball at Bowden which was a pity).

Apart from the social side and relentless banter, what was most rewarding about this weekend was checking out a few more trad lines and the entire trad crag at Callerhues. I'd been there before years ago but hadn't really grasped much other than Callerhues Crack was nice and soft and most other things were desperate. This has been well and worthily corrected in the Rockfax guide with plenty of routes going up by two full grades into the realistic realms of actual accuracy. Combining this improved information with a diligent look at potential possibilities has exponentially expanded my ticklist which is now:

Weeping Fingers E2 5c *** - classic flake line, looks fine.

Tossing A Wobbler E3 5c * - cool looking rugosities with a wee runout.

Twin Hats E3 5c * - looks cool but also tricky.

Ned Kelly E3 5c ** - looks cool but also powerful.

Rice Krispies E4 5c * - nice looking wall, loads of gear, might be worth it's old E3 grade.

Toshiba Receiver E4 5c ** - also nice looking, bolder but still gear potential.

Green Fluff E4 6b * - solo and very funky looking.

Micro E3 5c - no stars but still looks nice, decent pro.

The Lurcher E3 5c * - maybe solo and a nice feature.

Hyena E2 5c * - looks a nice wall thing.

Hmmm might need more than just one visit there ;)



Source:  fiendblog

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Transition.
30 March 2011, 8:45 pm



With the disappearance of that sneaky little hour, the season is gradually and inexorably dragging itself from winter towards spring, somewhat lubricated on it's difficult journey by adequate amounts of water falling from the sky. To escape this I am off abroad for a week, and upon my return I suspect there will feel like a distinct transition from winter clag to spring soakings.

Thus a transition in my climbing, plans, desires, inspiration and instinct. I felt this last weekend at Bowden and Callerhues. Despite conditions still feeling adequate for bouldering, there was something in the air that catalysed my urges towards TRAD. Obviously urges that remain unsatisfied on a Lads' Bouldering Weekend, but ones that will no doubt remain for forthcoming months. This is expected, and suitable, despite the usual anticipated battle with the weather - the latter of course will dictate where to begin, but counting in the County as well as all the Scottish options, there should be much to look forward to.



Source:  fiendblog

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La Pedriza 1.
1 April 2011, 5:00 pm



So I am away in Spain again. A long overdue trip to Pedriza, the well reputed home of terrifying granite sport climbing. It was a toss-up between this and Annot, the increasingly reputed home of sandstone....stuff. Being able to actually buy a Pedriza guidebook (a novel concept that the Annot book writers should perhaps consider) was the deciding factor. So Pedriza it was, but the associated faffing and procrastination has forced a somewhat lengthy journey. Glasgow (wet) > Prestwick (boring) > Alicante (relaxed flight dozing next to two perfectly sulky teenage girls) > 5 hour drive to La Candreda (LONG, but actually went fairly smooth and beta-flashed bypassing Madrid).

Of course since it was dry and sunny and daylight, it would have been particularly ungracious to not stop off for climbing en-route. To ensure a reasonable arrival out our campsite cabin, I picked a nice bulging pockety limestone crag 5 mins down the motorway. A quick stroll in, and so much for a reward for our dedication, almost all the crag, including by far the best bits, was seriously flooded by risen lake levels. The flat grassy base was now 2m of water, so we had to dick around on a poxy upper tier before establishing bungalow basecamp and some much needed crashing out for the night.

Climbing: A few short steep easy routes at by far the worst crag I've climbed at in Europe. Still it loosened the muscles after a long journey.

Wildlife: A small turtle, a giant fish, and a cute, daft, giddy Rottweiler puppy with big paws.

And: A bottle of 7.3% beer on an empty stomach after a full day's travelling washed away all the stresses. And any sort of coherence.



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La Pedriza 2.
2 April 2011, 5:00 pm



Today it all began: The granite....the slabs....the bolts....the friction....the holds.

The holds??

HOLDS??

There weren't any fucking holds.

The day started somewhat tiresomely with circuitous driving around the local town Manzaneres El Real in search of parking, food, parking, access to La Pedriza national park, parking, and more parking. It seems most of Madrid comes here at the weekend, and you can see why - truly spectacular amounts of undulating, slabby, bulging and layered granite, interspersed by limitless boulders. However the popularity  ensures vehicular access is a faff, and even once parked, the deceptive scope ensures ambulatory access is somewhat tiresome if your legs don't work. However the scale of the rock with it's uniform texture is also deceptive, and we reached an appealing slab in reasonable order. A wise choice it seems, due to the "easy" grades and in this case plethoric bolting.

Hmmm yes the grades. There were rumours that the climbing was desperate for the grade, that is one correct way of putting it, another equally correct way is that the grades are complete shite. Either Costa Blanca / El Chorro / Costa Daurada / Siurana / Ceuse / Buoux etc etc are wrong....or Pedriza is. It's not rocket science, everything is simply undergraded by at least one, usually two grades. Oh wait, "It's friction slab climbing, you just aren't used to it yet". Bag of COCKS. I've done enough slabs and friction slabs to know. You don't get San Melas or Chalkstorm given E1 5a do you?? Exactly.

Anyway it's blank, it's desperate, it's tenuous....but it's really rather cool. A whole day of pure and proper slabs. There is a lot more where that came from, in fact rather too much, so we will be seeking the all important variety, to give the feet and mind a rest!

Climbing: Smear smear smear smear feet on nothing smear hands on crystals and be unduly grateful when you get a massive 1cm wide micro-nipple that enables you to get up a F6a after 20m of relentless English 5c slab climbing.

Wildlife: Two wild goats, two horses, lots of cool heron-like things in big nests by the road, and loads of griffon vultures....had seen these years ago in the Verdon and they are spectacular, 1m long, 2.5m wingspan, when they fly overhead it's like the shadow from an airplane.

And: Sunburn, yoiks!



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La Pedriza 3.
3 April 2011, 5:00 pm



It is raining. This is bad, but not as bad as it could be. Firstly, our bungalow. This is a cramped, over-priced, uninsulated, wobbly box with fake wood plastic walls, loose sliding doors, a poxy micro-hob, and a bathroom sink unit that leaks and comes away from the wall. It is also - assuming one isn't using that sink - apparently completely watertight, and potentially warm. I knew with the non-100%-guaranteed dry climate that there was a good reason to get a bungalow rather than camp, and tonight's relative comfort and general relaxation makes the extortionate extra Euros and hours spent trying to find a suitable box worthwhile.

Secondly, the overall forecast. It was supposed to rain all day today, but it didn't start until 2:20. At 2:18 I started up a typical sketchy slab route, at 2:25 I lowered off the top just as it was getting problematic. We had preceded this by a couple of longer, easier angled, and smearier pitches. The usual deal but with slightly less bolts. Halfway up the first route I led I was feeling queasy due to the constant tentativeness of it all, by the top I was revelling in the sheer nonsense. So a planned wash-out day turned into actually getting into the park on a Sunday, a bit of walking, a bit of climbing, and then an afternoon vaguelly recceing some pretty nifty looking limestone areas. The forecast is okay tomorrow but the rock might need some drying time, then glorious for the rest of the week. Possibly too glorious with lots of sun and little wind, so we might need to hit the limestone as shelter from the sun (and slabs!) rather than shelter from the rain.

Climbing: One slab with less angle and less holds (was this possible? apparently so), one slab with more angle and more holds, mostly pointing in awkward directions. Fun!

Wildlife: Still more heron-like things, we still don't know what they are. 3 crag dogs one of which apparently would prefer chorizo rather than the stick I offered him. Not a chance.

And: Might be time for my first shower since Friday morning (too scared with sunburn last night). Mmmm hmmm.



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Pedriza 4.
4 April 2011, 5:15 pm



Today it has not been raining. Instead, this was the sky at lunchtime:

Which was nice. There was a rather late start due to a somewhat cloudier forecast, and a pleasant breakfast fending off innumerably shy yet greedy kitties. Then, rather than slogging into La Pedriza with uncertainty as to what would dry, we went back to the limestone we recced yesterday. This proved to be a more than adequate choice with a vast amount of quickly drying routes set in a plush valley with a harmonious combination of natural beauty and minor manmade spectacle.

After 5 fun and mostly undergraded routes starting off a convenient walkway (somewhat more substantial than El Camino Del Rey), we had lunch and took stock of the situation. Despite the 11am departure, it was still only 3:30pm! Well there was only one sensible option, so we headed around to the other side, recced some now-baking routes for another day, and finished off with a blast of steep pocket pulling. The sides of my fingers are now trashed but my tips should be ready for more granite tomorrow...

This is not the approach path I am looking for...

Climbing: Lots. I thought the limestone was going to be a second-best rest/rainy day option compared to the granite, but it's pretty swish in it's own right.  

Wildlife: The following cats that attempted to raid/scavenge our bungalow: big and black (mean looking), black and white (bland), big and white/ginger and fluffy (king cat, must overheat here), small ginger (cutest), small mongrel (annoying and hissy and not getting any more food), other small mongrel (also cute)

And: Fucking crickets. Like a constant ray gun fire alarm rave outside. Why can't the kitties eat them??



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Pedriza 5.
5 April 2011, 5:33 pm



This is what we have to wake up to:

Gosh I am tired. Today we combined the steepness of limestone-style climbing with the texture of granite-style climbing and with a walk-in specifically designed to fuck my shit up. We headed to the mini-summit of Cancho De Los Muertos in search of steep shady granite walls, lo, after a "stop and rest every 2 mins" death-slog, we found what was promised.

The view from Cancho De Los Muertos:

Cancho De Los Muertos from the view:

The Cancho is rather fine place indeed, with sheer buttresses forming a summit crossroads micro-plateau, each way out leading to a different spectacular compass viewpoint, and some ways out leading to cool little climbing canyons. We did a lot in the main one of these, relishing in the shade, sliver of sun, and occasional fresh breeze....and relishing in steep granite climbing WITH HOLDS. Yes, actual holds. That one can pull on and all! The only slight detriment being that some of them were quite small and most of them required quite a bit of pulling, so the skin has suffered. A night of marinating in anti-hydral cream and a day of "gentle slabs" calls. Eeeek!

Climbing: 7 good, satisfying routes, 6 short and intense steep things, one so-called easy slab to "warm down".

Wildlife: All the usual suspect, plus one bonus ginger and white cat (seemed quite placid lying on a wall, so I threw chorizo at it). Still don't know what the bloody red beaked heron things are.

And: 0% San Miguel. The connoisseur's choice. And by "connoisseur" I mean "idiot".



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La Pedriza 4.
4 April 2011, 5:15 pm



Today it has not been raining. Instead, this was the sky at lunchtime:

Which was nice. There was a rather late start due to a somewhat cloudier forecast, and a pleasant breakfast fending off innumerably shy yet greedy kitties. Then, rather than slogging into La Pedriza with uncertainty as to what would dry, we went back to the limestone we recced yesterday. This proved to be a more than adequate choice with a vast amount of quickly drying routes set in a plush valley with a harmonious combination of natural beauty and minor manmade spectacle.

After 5 fun and mostly undergraded routes starting off a convenient walkway (somewhat more substantial than El Camino Del Rey), we had lunch and took stock of the situation. Despite the 11am departure, it was still only 3:30pm! Well there was only one sensible option, so we headed around to the other side, recced some now-baking routes for another day, and finished off with a blast of steep pocket pulling. The sides of my fingers are now trashed but my tips should be ready for more granite tomorrow...

This is not the approach path I am looking for...

Climbing: Lots. I thought the limestone was going to be a second-best rest/rainy day option compared to the granite, but it's pretty swish in it's own right.  

Wildlife: The following cats that attempted to raid/scavenge our bungalow: big and black (mean looking), black and white (bland), big and white/ginger and fluffy (king cat, must overheat here), small ginger (cutest), small mongrel (annoying and hissy and not getting any more food), other small mongrel (also cute)

And: Fucking crickets. Like a constant ray gun fire alarm rave outside. Why can't the kitties eat them??



Source:  fiendblog