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Metalcore
28 July 2011, 9:55 pm

I’m a bit flabbergasted at how the last week and a half has gone. It started the weekend before last with a fantastic 3 day weekend in the Highlands, climbing plans abandoned thanks to the unreliable forecast. Instead we ventured off in search of a living legend by the name of Frank, raconteur extraordinaire, welcoming host and keeper of the bothy at Tarbet on Loch Nevis.

 

 

Frank recounting his wild days! (Photo: Helen Black)?

If I can be as animated, alive and kicking in my 80s, I will be a happy man indeed. Helen tells the story beautifully on her blog. High on life from meeting such a man and after a little life affirming fresh water swimming I felt revitalised for the week ahead and a rematch with the bugbear that is Metalcore. I had restarted earlier this month my account after a month of successful weekend raids to Yorkshire. I found myself a new convert in the form of Mark McQuade who was looking for something different to do while patiently waiting for winter. The boy has a big project of his own.

A rock athlete needs his ice bath (Photo: Helen Black)

After 2 visits I found myself back to where I was last October when the weather stopped play. Falling at the penultimate bolt, the sting in the tail, which I know saw to Dave a few times when he put the route up. At least I was in good company falling there.

Mid-week I was invited to take another look at TCA Glasgow. I was blown away by the progress and the scale of the place, oh and the possibility of becoming assistant manager. In fact I didn’t manage to sleep on it before writing my acceptance. I literally cannot wait to get in there!

Training for Santa Linya in this corner (Photo: Paul Twomey/TCA)

I pencilled in the weekend for the next bout at the Anvil, seeing life with a real positive bent after meeting Frank, swimming in the sea, scoring a job at the future coolest wall in the UK and discovering that when you go to the UK mainland’s most westerly point you find like-minded people.

Ardnamurchan Lighthouse Saintees! (Photo: Helen Black)

I arranged a date with Matt Pycroft fresh off the back of filming the MacLeod machine on his latest scary epic. What I had to offer was a lot tamer but he seemed just as psyched to get something in the can. Unlike Dave, I had a lot of self-doubt that I could actually produce the goods while the camera was rolling. Sure enough 5 redpoints on Saturday before the sweltering heat became too much saw me unable to nail the bottom crux move. I was miffed, I was doing the move in isolation better than ever and linking it to the top, yet it eluded me from the ground. Perhaps the pressure of wanting to do it while Matt was there to provide the evidence was getting to me.

Trying hard to stay warm and stay on last October (Screen grab: Matt Pycroft Media)

Unable to find a belay for the Sunday, I really didn’t think it would happen for yet another few weeks. What a delight to roll over in bed and check the time on my phone, at 2 am as it happens, and see a text from Mikey Jeans. He was ready to push his belaying to the next grade.

Mikey Jeans, one of Scotland's greatest belaying talents (Screen Grab: Matt Pycroft Media)?

And he did. One more go was all it took. The route felt fine, not easy, not hard, but within me. I think that was a satisfying conclusion. To have invested the effort, to climb the route well and get it all on film to boot, seemed like a dream. I await the footage with excitement but my mind is already turning to what is next. Once is never enough.

Chilling on the rest before the heartbreaker sequence (Photo: Dan Walker)

Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

[willackers]

We all know who the real hero is here. Good work Mikey Jeans!

[willackers]

Nice on Al! 

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Metalcore Video
5 August 2011, 8:58 am

As I mentioned in my previous post, Matt Pycroft was at the Anvil with me for the succesful ascent of Metalcore and has come up trumps with the final edit.  I think Matt is going to go far, I hope you'll agree. ENJOY.



Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

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The Climbing Academy
31 August 2011, 5:37 pm

Since Metalcore I haven't had a lot of time for my own personal climbing what with starting my new role as assistant manger at TCA Glasgow and all that involves.  The great thing for me is that I am going to be working in one of the greatest training facilities anywhere and I see no reason not to push things on to the next level of difficulty and commitment.  For now we just need to get the wall finished but when it is the long term search for 9a strength and fitness can begin.  Sounds like an exciting adventure.

To give you a taste for TCA, Jen Randall has produced this fantastic little clip with a few very familiar faces in it.

from Posing Productions on Vimeo.

Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

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Vive La France
15 September 2011, 10:23 pm

It seems a long time ago now but I lived in Lyon, France for a year in 2003.  It is there that I really got to grips with sport climbing, improving from having done one 8a to many thanks to an inspirational group of friends; Nicholas Ecoffet, Arthur Lespagnol, Johann Guillaume and the rest encouraged me and showed me what was possible.  We dossed under the crags on our budget weekends to the crags of Provence, made a trip to Magic Wood before it was famous and had great laughs along the way.  It seems apt that I am returning to the South of France as I embark on my next stage on the journey of improvement.  What will it take to climb 9a?  I am keen to, and going to find out.  I will keep you posted on how it goes... stage 1 commences on Saturday.

Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

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French Medicine
2 October 2011, 1:22 pm

I suppose I knew I wasn't in the best form ever before I went to France, having hardly done much rock climbing in the last couple of months, but it was exactly what I needed to give me a kick up the backside, take some medicine and get me motivated for a winter of training in TCA Glasgow.

Having eluded already to the fact the daunting prospect of taking on a 9a is now entering my head I admit that this trip partially had the motivation of actually getting on one to see how far off that mark I actually am.  In this regard the trip was an abject failure.  I had wanted in particular to try a route put up by the French equipper extraordinaire, Bruno Clément and first climbed by Adam Ondra; PPP in the Verdon gorge.  Unfortunately access to this route is extremely sensitive and requires accessing the cave by boat and breaking a host of by-laws in the process.  Not wanting to step on too many toes on a busy afternoon in the gorge it didn't seem appropriate to go try this route until I clarify what the access rules are.  We did however hire a pedalo to go take a look and it is safe to say the thing was pretty mind blowing.



PPP climbs out the enormous left cave, the scale of which is hardly done justice in this photograph (Photo: Helen Black)



Day dreaming about climbing 9a from the luxury of the Pedalo (Photo: Helen Black)

I didn't need to get on a 9a however to realise that a lot of hard training effort will be required for me to get one done.  I say this having tried and narrowly failed to climb an 8b+ in any kind of reasonable time and generally struggling on the harder routes.  Temperatures were high and I have that as some kind of excuse, but given I am aspiring to the next number grade I really should be close to on-sighting at this level and certainly making ascents in a few goes.  Normally this kind of realisation might defeat me but I think having TCA at my finger tips has given me the belief that I can still turn things around.



The TCA circuits board, as good as anywhere to train for 9a

A couple of major milestones were reached on this trip.  I did my first route in the Verdon with Helen (my now fiancé!) which is the most stunning place and somewhere I have wanted to climb for years.  I surpassed the milestone that is my 200th grade 8 route, onsighting a few fantastic 8a's in the process, including 2 of Gorges du Loup's best, Diplodocus and Deversé Satanique. I also got very inspired by a 9a put up by Alex Chabot in the Gorges du Loup, Abysse which, at a crag marred slightly by chipping, is an inspirational natural line up 1 single tufa.  And, being a lover of tufas, got me thinking...



3 of my 200+ grade 8a routes, all 3 star routes and featuring my favourite thing, tufas (Photos: Helen Black)

Now we're back my mind is switching to the hard training required and the most awesome training centre in the UK in which to do so.



Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

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Exciting Times, Milestones, Climbing?
14 October 2011, 8:48 pm

It still feels like I haven't really been climbing in months in spite of my recent trip to France.  If there is one thing I miss about Spain it has to be the reliability of climbing outside on amazing routes every week. At the time it felt like the climbing was snatched in amongst 6 days of weird working hours, but now it seem all so simple.

BUT I can't complain, my business has mostly been down to getting the finishing touches to TCA Glasgow completed and with that comes a training den to die for and more climbing than you can shake a stick at, so I will be back on form before long I am sure.

I was approached a few weeks ago by Triple Echo Productions, the people behind the BBC's Live Climb and The Adventure Show, with an offer of an exciting opportunity to put up a couple of unusual routes underground (!) in Yorkshire and the Peak.  It sounded fun and a great opportunity to climb with Dave Macleod.  The whole experience was enjoyable from start to finish and I hope to have some photos to share with you soon.  The date for broadcast is likely to be some time in March as an Adventure Show Special.

In a similar vein I was asked to present the Metalcore 8c+ video, (see my video page) at the Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival.  Despite being blinded by the bright lights I managed to control my nerves and I think the audience all appreciated the quality of Matt's work.

All this and a 3 week cold has provided a less than perfect lead in to the BLCC at Ratho this weekend.  That is my excuse blogged and entered in advance in case anyone wonder why I fall off the first qualifier miserably at the 4th bolt.

See you all at TCA soon I hope!

Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

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Training, Bouldering & The Brin Rock Fan Club
16 November 2011, 6:51 pm

TCA Glasgow has opened its doors and my new lifestyle as the Assistant Manager of an immense bouldering centre is starting to sink in. After nearly 3 manic months of late nights and last minute  preparations it is a relief to finally be able to start to focus back in on my own climbing as I find myself with some spare time and weekends once again.

I have embarked upon a phase of training focussed in on being on form for a 1 week trip to southern Spain over the New Year.  It is nice to have a clear goal to work towards.  I have always wanted to be able to follow a truly structured training schedule but never had the time, will power or training resource there to fully explore what working to a plan can do.  Well TCA has everything I need and so there are now no excuses.

TCA Glasgow - My own training Mecca (Paul Twomey)

The first phase of training has been to learn to boulder again.  It has been a while since I have actually focussed on pulling hard over a short number of moves and it has never been something I have excelled at.  Short on weeks to dedicate to this strength phase of training, improvements are hard to measure but the holds on Gary Vincent's white circuit seem less far a part than they did at the start of the the 3 weeks I have dedicated to purely bouldering.

Scotland has been blessed by 2 weeks of settled Autumnal weather and this has allowed for a couple of opportunities to try out the bouldering strength on a few real rocks.  Whilst nothing to write home about for your average boulderer, I was pleased to squeeze in a couple of 7Cs in two idyllic locations, in between an engagement party (mine) and a family birthday.

The superlative Put My New Shoes On, 7C, in the last light of a perfect Autumnal day at Brin Rock (Helen Black)

It would be great to think that these conditions will last all winter but I somewhat doubt that.  But if they do I will be keen to return to both Glen Nevis and Brin Rock, the scene of these two most recent sends to try and bag some of the hard test pieces that they have to offer. And there is always Dumby.

Brin, the poor man's Magic Wood.  Gneiss boulders, moss and a beautiful setting make for a top class venue (Helen Black)

The training phase has now changed and so commences 6 weeks of power endurance focussed training.  I was in the shape of my life for last Christmas' trip and I would love to be in the position to replicate those ascents this time round.

More proof Brin is where it's at (Helen Black)

So for now its circuits, circuits, circuits and fingers crossed for dry weekends bouldering.

Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

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The Long Hope
25 December 2011, 12:18 pm

We are settled in for Christmas Day in the Cassidy household and rather than watching the usual Christmas trash it was time to finally watch Hot Aches Productions Long Hope Route on download.

I have to say that I honestly haven't seen such a nice climbing film in years, if not ever.  The history of the climb comes to life with the inimitable and eminently likeable Ed Drummond's, poetry and sheer presence.  The scale and unlikely nature of the climb is as awe inspiring as the fulmar's are off putting and Dave's ascent is another epic monument to his single handed mission to make the traditional climbing of Scotland some of the most significant and difficult in the world.  Well done to all involved.

Watch it!

Often when you watch a climbing movie on a dreich Scottish winter day there is only frustration at the end of it as the next day on rock seems an eternity away.  Not for me this time.  Boxing Day see's my second Christmas trip to El Chorro in as many years.

I'm totally inspired for that, and 2012 in general.

Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

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Spanish Reflection: New Objectives
29 January 2012, 11:30 pm

My recent trip to El Chorro was both my last trip of 2011 and first of 2012.  It was a time to reflect upon both what I had achieved in climbing 2011 and a measure of where I was as we set off into 2012.  

What to try at Loja?  A day out at a new crag (to which I must return) with amazing tufa 8's... Heaven!

At almost the very same time of year in 2010 I had had my best short trip ever; a good wedge of 8s, my first 8b onsight (though I suppose it may be 8a+?) and an 8c in a day (though I suppose it may be 8b+?).  One year later and despite having climbed my first 8c+ in the summer, I had lost a lot!  Some pills are bitter to swallow and as a climber who is always searching for that ever harder tick, to seem to have got worse is depressing to say the least.  

The Chorro 2011 team carb-loading on traditional Spanish fare.

To feel like I was going in to a  new year, in which I had been hoping to exceed my limits, having taken many steps backwards hit me like a tonne of bricks.  My resolve is weakened easily (an admission of frailty perhaps) and it was a tough corner that had to be turned to pick myself out from the "what is the point" moment.  But, a couple of days back in TCA and I realised that with this kind of facility at my finger tips all is not lost, indeed I am in the perfect position to exceed my personal expectations.  

All I needed to do was to step back, analyse my present situation, challenge the status quo a little and push myself outwith my comfort zone.

Maybe the dream catcher will help.

Step 1: analysing what has changed.  Though I had started work at a top training venue I was putting in long work hours and not actually training to the same volume as I had been previously been used to.     The increase in short boulder sessions over long volume, and almost no running, coupled perhaps with a change in dietary content, had meant that I had gained almost and a stone and a half in weight.  My father was a great rugby player and I have inherited a propensity to "bulk up".  Such genes are a curse in this gravity dictated sport.  Lastly, I had not done nearly enough ROCK climbing in the whole of 2011.  

Step 2: doing something about it.  The long hours are petering out as TCA takes off, so turning around the training volume is not going to be too hard.  Planning sessions out and sticking to the plan will make the sessions more time effective.  Though it will upset my fiance and mother (the only readers of this blog?) to hear it, I need to lose some bulk to get that next grade.  I am not anorexic, I do not think I am fat, I am not.  I am just not the right shape for what I want to do.   Lastly, I need to do more ROCK climbing. If I can get on top of these things then I might just about climb another 8c+.  I might climb 9a!  I might do neither of these things.   I will however be happier knowing I have tried to achieve my dreams rather than giving up on them because they were hard.

I might even boulder a real 7B+, in Font!

The limit of human possibility; Rubis Sur L'Ongle 7B+

Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

[Fiend]

Interesting to read! About someone else having similar experiences with weight and lack of rock time (surely the weather has something to do with the latter?!), abeit at a full numerical grade higher .

Good luck with it in the New Year.

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January 2012
5 February 2012, 10:05 am

It was pointed out to me that in my last post I didn't actually mention what I did do while in Spain.  So in the week I manage to get myself up 5 "guidebook" 8a's 4 of which I think are worthy of the magical grade.  I tried a lot more than this, but bad route choices, near misses with the ground and blazing hot sunshine conspired against me.  It's pretty clear that if you only have a few days to get a big tick, the route choice has to be very well suited to your style.  

The stunning Archidona, is very much my style.

We also paid a visit to the incredible Archidona Cave.  It was a very low temperature day which didn't help matters much but I flashed a couple of cool 7c's and more interestingly tried the stunning Kallisté, which is supposed to be a soft 8c.  I did all the moves bar 1 in 3 attempts.  As I was able to climb to this crux on my 2nd go I felt that this route would have gone given a couple more sessions at the cave. Alas a return visit was not to happen but I am desperate to go back for this one.... and all its neighbours!



2012 kicked off with a weekend of work at TCA, a wet/admin filled weekend, a weekend in Northumberland and finally this weekend's very successful TCA competition.  On that note, the final was excellent.  As the route setters we were relieved to get clear winners in all the categories, though it was nail biting in the youth girls!

I guess 1 weekend in 4 on rock, in January, is actually pretty good when you live in Glasgow, but I am so psyched to get the time in on rock this year, I still feel frustrated.  The Adam Ondra movie had me really inspired to get out and try hard stuff.  I'm in it too.



Yes that is me, hanging on a bolt while the boy wonder looks on (obviously he is watching me through the corner of his eye).

I have channelled this frustration into a bit of a new regime which I hope will yield the results.  The first phase has been to build up a base of strength including some really basic core and general strength exercises, deadhangs on the fingerboard, a sprinkle of campusing and as large a volume of climbing moves I can fit in.  Oh and Ashtanga yoga.  That is breaking me!

I have been taking on the fingerboards and surprising myself with PB deadhangs on a number of the holds, one arm pull ups don't seem to be a desperate as they have been before either.  As I have only had 3 sessions in this regime so far, the improvements must be down to the greater amount of bouldering I am doing these days.  It is pleasing to know that though I am heavier I am stronger.  The conundrum is of course that I aspire to climb long endurance routes where every ounce counts in energy expenditure.

The mono deadhangs paid off the other day too.  I finally did Poverty at Bowden Doors.  In the guide this is a lowly 7A+ but until now has felt like a serious "PLM" (personal limit move).  I might be stronger (what I will tell myself)....  but the problem is probably just easier thanks to erosion (what they will tell me).

I'm going to be bold and put some goals for February right out there on the internet.  I want to do a Font 8A this month, run more often and train like a pro.

Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

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Endlessly Treading (Rain) Water
3 March 2012, 8:41 am

I always knew I would regret being bold and putting my goals out there on the internet.  I said in my last post that in February I wanted to: 1) climb a Font 8A; 2) train like a pro; and 3) run more.

Triple fail.  I present the case for the following excuses:

1) Failure to climb an 8A

1.1  Since my last post I have been climbing outside a depressing once - We went to the very nice, but very cold and exposed Callerhues for the first time.

1.2  Being exposed and very cold and me having Raynaud's Syndrome, I failed to get warm all day.

1.3  For reasons that will become clear in 2.1 and those stated in 1.2 I spent most of the day either spotting or lying in my duvet jacket cold and tired.

1.4  Even if things had been going well, Callerhues is a sandstone crag with almost exclusively slabs the odds of a sandstone slab punter like myself climbing Font 8A in a day/ever at a crag like that are worse than that of a martian winning the lottery.

1.5  I think there is only one 8A there and its so low ball I don't recall even seeing it in passing.  In any case I had written that one off as it is a Dan Varian problem and thus likely very hard.  I'm looking for soft touches here, I'm a sponsored climber.

1.6  I did try and climb outside at the crucible of soft if your a local action only to get rained on, en route.

1.7  The nicest weekend of the month I spent indoors with Matt Pycroft, Dom Bush & Adrian Samarra filming a little clip.  Should be cool, so I won't complain about that one!

1.8  Being a weekend only climber is not compatible with climbing hard in the UK, let alone Scotland.

2) Failure to Train Like a Pro

This was actually going quite well although I wasn't quite hitting the Pro mark.  Please note that other than excuse 2.1, which is valid, all the others on this list are clearly just evidence of a lack of will power and fire to make things happen.

2.1  TCA Flu.  For 2 weeks now I have had a horrible cough and cold that just doesn't want to go away.  It has been doing the rounds and was at its peak 2 days before the Callerhues trip see 1.1.  This has eaten into my energy.

2.2  Working too much in a climbing wall makes you really sick of being in the climbing wall.  Obviously I should suck this one in, I'm just not being mentally tough enough.

2.3  I was moving house and that requires me pulling my weight in the home.

2.4  I am getting married (see 2.3 viz pulling my weight) and that requires a bit of admin.  I don't begrudge planning the honeymoon mind you, especially not the Red River Gorge part!

3)  Failure to Run More

3.1  See 2.1 & 2.3 & 2.4

3.2  I have been lazy when opportunities have arisen.

So for March I put out the following goals with the hope I will not be writing a snivelling excuse again, I have upped the ante and added 2 more goals in:

• DONT EMBARRASS MYSELF AT CWIF (preparing the excuses now)
• Climb FB8A
• Climb a F8b (Note to self: seepage and lack of foreign holidays will be useful excuses for this one)
• Train like a pro
• Run More

Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

[Fiend]

Callerhues is an odd (if excellent for micro/routes) crag and maybe not the 8A bagging venue of choice. Eyes Of Silence would have been the tick to aim for surely...

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A CWIF-fy Performance
19 March 2012, 8:45 pm

I am only going to write one negative thing in this post, (don't worry Helen x) and that is... I had a crap CWIF.  Done.  The 2am arrival in Sheffield, the 9am start and feeling like I was at work, rather than there to have fun, conspired against me.

The problem in the photo below is where team TCA Glasgow started and my competition more or less ended.  Turns out that starting the comp on a problem that required a bit of burl and co-ordination when still half asleep and failing on it does nothing to set you up for a crush fest.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Thanks to Jen Randall for the fab pics of the day.[/td][/tr]

[/table]Anyway, on the positive side, I learned a lot about the tactics required in a competition like this (tactics I probably should actually know already after 18 years of climbing!)  Now that the fog of frustration has lifted I am actually quite psyched to reclaim my honour at the 2013 event.

It was great to get back to Sheffield after a long absence too.  The city has changed loads!  Yet I haven't as it turns out.  I have got no better at gritstone climbing, Brad Pit still eludes me, I can't do more than a move on West Side Story and Stanage is still too busy for my taste.  (Thats not negative by the way, just factual).

Whatsmore the CWIF final was truly inspiring to watch with both winners getting me super psyched to train hard and get stronger, lighter and fitter.  Then at least when I get showed up by the TCA Bristol Youth Team at the 2013 CWIF I might at least compensate for it by finally hauling my ass up Brad Pit!  

Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

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A Return to Wester Ross
7 April 2012, 8:27 am

Grand Beau! Le Soleil, les montagnes, la mer et du gres. (Photo: Helen Black)

Helen and I were lucky enough with our timing that a long planned 4 day weekend happened to coincide with Scotland's March heatwave.  Though the conditions were sub-optimal for Torridon, our first port of call, it did at least mean that everything was bone dry.  We ran around the Celtic Jumble just trying loads of things, whether they were in the guide or not and had loads of fun.  I think that is the beauty of Torridon really.  The sheer quantity and quality of every piece of rock just screams CLIMB.  

 Helen on just another fabulous Torridon wall

I stupidly tried Frantic 7C in the heat - and split a tip on Day 1. D'oh! (Photo; Helen Black)

My last trip to Torridon was during the May heatwave last year and the valley was ripped through by fire.  The after effects of the fire were still visible with scorched heather and blackened trees, but the upside is the boulders are much easier to navigate at the moment.  Last year too I failed miserably to summit Malc's Arete.  I was baffled at how this could possibly be given 7A+, so hard were we finding it last May, but sure enough it was dispatched with the crucial beta we were missing last time; just go for it.  It isn't actually that hard but it surely one of the best boulder problems in the UK.



Trying Dan Varian's Robert the Brute 7B+. Send? Nope! (Photo: Helen Black)

The Dinosaur area is a playground of technical problems with rounded top outs. (Photo: Helen Black)

On Dan Varian's Pallet Knife 7B+/C. Send? Nope! Next Time (Photo: Helen Black)

From Torridon we moved on to the brilliant Gneiss sport crags in the Gairloch and Gruinard area.  I had one thing in mind, to attempt a project equipped by Paul Thorburn known as Stalks at Creag Nan Luch.  This route is mentioned in the Gary Latter guide as a potential 8b/+.  After seeking a pass from Paul Tattersall, who has put in a power of effort developing these crags with excellent resin bolts, nice belays etc and getting a green light, I gave it a go.  

The route turned out to be an amazing sustained piece of climbing requiring a sequence of cool contortions up the left hand hanging groove line on the steepest part of the crag.  The approach wall leads to a long span round the roof off a slopey undercut, gets the muscles firing and it doesn't ease up much from there to the belay.   In total it took 4 goes to get the move round the roof right and it was done.  I felt the route was more like 8a+, a little morpho, so perhaps 8b for those of a smaller wingspan than I and another 3 star sport route to add to those found in the area.  Again I'd like to reiterate the amazing work that has been done by the locals at these crags by the likes of the 2 Pauls, Murdo Jamieson, and Andy Willby.

Very psyched arriving to take on the Creag Nan Luch projects (Photo: Helen Black)

Cleaning the route after the successful ascent of Paul Throburn's Stalks 8a+ (Photo; Helen Black)

En route home we stopped off at Moy Rock near Dingwall.  This long conglomerate crag has been well bolted and comes complete with over 50 routes from 4-7b+/c.  There are many more still to be equipped and the main wall is as good as any conglomerate wall that the likes of Margalef or Montsant has to offer.

 

I survived The Fear at Moy

I unexpectedly ended up with the onsight first ascent of the crag's hardest route to date when I climbed the right hand extension to the excellent Seer.  This is a project of Andy Willby's which I assumed must have been climbed, as to look at it didn't look that bad. The Fear as it turns out, still needs a bit of Sika to keep it up.  To give it a grade was quit difficult as I ended up squeezing my way up it trying to distribute my weight as evenly as possible so as not to bring the whole thing down on Helen.  With a bit of stabilisation work I think the grade might settle around 7b+ or possibly 7c.

Please note that there are Owls and Ravens nesting at Moy at the moment.  Advice on which routes should be avoided is available at www.mcofs.org



Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

[Fiend]

Twas April last year.... No chance of a repeat this year. Fingers crossed for May...

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The Adventure Show Adventure
13 April 2012, 7:59 am

One afternoon while I was painting the cafe walls during the build of TCA I got a surprise phone call from Richard Else from Triple Echo Productions, the series producer of BBC Scotland's The Adventure Show.  He had a proposal.  Dave MacLeod and I were to go climb a new sport route in the UK's biggest limestone cave mouth, Peak Cavern.  

Dave looks like he would fit entirely inside me like a Russian Doll! (Photo; Triple Echo Productions)

I have to say that I had never heard of the place but being a fan of climbing in caves and with a description that made the place sound like the Santa Linya of the UK, I couldn't say no.  Plus it sounded like a real once in a lifetime experience.  The caveat of also doing a route in a pothole as part of the project seemed worth it, maybe an "adventure" in itself, and slightly frightening all at once.  

Dave on the best (the driest) section of the crux pitch. Technical moves amidst the backdrop of technicolour-slime (Photo: Triple Echo Productions)

The show aired last night (April 12th) and should be available here on iPlayer shortly (not at the time of writing this) for those who missed it.  I thought I would add a bit of my own take on the trip for those who might like to know more about it.

Jingling Pot is literally an unmarked hole in the ground in a field in the remote Dales above Ingleton in North Yorkshire.  It drops about 100m down into the gloom and is, I suspect, an easy enough introduction into potholing.  The squeezing and wriggling sections were not too uncomfortable or claustrophobic yet did represent a dramatic shift away from what I am used to in terms of crag approach.  It is also the potential entrance to a vast cave network of truly terrifying proportions.  The story of pioneering the first link out of Jingling through a mud choked, water filled passage, to a cave known as "Aquamole" gave me the heeby-geebys. Kermit in the chimney of Jingling Pot pitch 2 (Photo: Triple Echo Productions)

Reaching the bottom I was filled with fear and doubt as to whether we could actually climb the soaking wet walls we were faced with.  Electing to go first, (better to be over and done with surely), I set off up a wall I would normally have turned away from.  Yet the experience turned out to be excellent.  Once I got used to discerning the holds from shadows and got a few bits of gear in I started to relax.  The unlichened rock was grippy despite being wet.  Relaxing into it the climb, things went much more smoothly than I thought they might and all in all the climb was a fantastic, though probably once in a lifetime, experience.

I kid thee not!

Peak Cavern was a different kettle of fish.  I don't think the cameras truly did justice to the scale of the place nor the route we climbed.  Which I might add was brilliant, particularly the 3rd and 4th pitches which could be done straight up from the ground at about 7c+.  I suspect that the first 7c+ pitch may never dry out nor will the vast ceiling.  The cave does indeed have at least as much potential for grade 9's as Santa Linya.  The huge tufa column above the entrance to the show cave or the system of blobs across the roof are climbs that will have to be left to the imagination of climbers visiting as tourists.

Seconding the hard start to pitch 1, knowing if I fall, rope stretch will plant me on the floor.  Gripped! (Photo: Triple Echo Productions)

Like Santa Linya too, access for the pleasure of climbers has to be balanced with respect for the historical significance of the cave.  While the route was a good stunt and a great climb for Dave and I, it sadly will not be repeatable to anybody else without some difficult discussions with the land owner.  Funnily enough though he does seem to allow some Aid Climbing (yes, some people still do that!) to be practiced in the cave.  

I sense from the above blog, and from the general vibe in the cave at the time, that we were seen as steeping on some toes.  Some recognition is being looked for.  Yes there has been some (aid) climbing activities that have gone on in the cave before Dave and I went there and certainly the vast amount of bolts that have been put in is truly incredible!  While aid climbing is not for me, some people seem to enjoy it.  Crossing the entire ceiling of Peak Cavern is certainly a hell of a lot of aid climbing.  

Dave and I were very lucky to have the backing of the BBC to secure access to the Cavern and some people may have an issue with that, but the fact that a small group of aid climbers are allowed to have their fun while the free climbers aren't seems to me to smack of inconsistency.  To my mind, the place should either be left entirely alone, or opened up to all climbers in sensible places.  Perhaps climbing on the outer left wall would be manageable.  This would open up the second half of our route to a repeat and potentially could be linked into the massive head wall to the right of where we climbed which looks like a 9a in waiting.  Climbing activity on that side would not pose a threat to the archaeologically significant parts of the cave.  Just a thought.



Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

[comPiler]

April (Snow) Showers
22 April 2012, 8:47 am

The march of time seems to have the upper hand at the moment.  Though it feels like April has only just got started, it has as I write, only a week left.  The amount of routes going down is far too few and the goal of getting lighter such that I might climb harder routes seems unable to suppress my appetite for treats at TCA.  You see it isn't always as simple as doing a 9a once you've done an 8c+.

Earlier in the month I had short session at Malham with TCA manager Rob Sutton on two routes that are high on my tick list; Austrian Oak 8b, and Bat Route 8b+/c.  The Oak is one of those routes I should no doubt have done years ago but have never finished off.  I felt frustratingly sluggish on it with a lack of outdoor route practice.  Bat Route was largely wet but I did get a sequence together on the crux (broken recently by Rob (mutant strength has its disadvantages too).  I give the split grade above as Steve Mac in conversation while staying at mine recently told me "you can't take 8c for it anymore" but now with the snapped hold maybe it is (?).  I don't recall what Adam Ondra's comments were but I think he took the grade.    

A couple of weeks after a heatwave, Scotland kicks back.

Given the experience at Malham, I decided that the following weekend it would be a good idea to get some routes done in the hope this would start the ball rolling in terms of route fitness.  Despite some weather warnings for the Cairngorms Rich and I headed for the Camel near Inverness.  I had heard it said many a time that the Camel was a good venue, with long routes and a couple of 8a's to try.  It was, but the weather was not exactly compliant.  I very much doubt the temperature got above 2 degrees all day.  The hail, then later snow flurries were frequent and heavy.  As we had driven all that way, we persevered, which was at times hilariously farcical.  I haven't had such a fun days climbing in a long time.  



How typically Scottish! The same view more or less, on the same day in April

The hot aches were horrendous, but the fact that we got something done in the face of weather that would put most people off was a reward.  Among the few classics I came away with were Ubuntu (2nd go) and a flash of its harder variation, Gift Link,  which are probably 7c+ and 8a respectively and the hardest on the crag.  I was happy with that given the conditions.

Steall Hut is one of the finest sport climbing crags in Scotland. Shame about the pegs and wires! (Photo; Dan Walker)

The very next day it was to Steall Hut crag to try some of Dave Macleod's latest additions.  It was another cold day but not in the same league as the previous day.  With getting some mileage in mind I opted for the easiest of the crag's offerings; Trick of the Tail and The Fat Groove. Which are both very technical offerings with strenuous footwork akin to that at Malham.  Both routes went 3rd go.  Trick of the Tail is 7b+ so that didn't go as well as expected.  I finished the Fat Groove by extending it into the top of Stolen for fun.  I think that might just edge it up to 8a+, but I might have just been cold and tired by that point!

Nearing the end of the footwork intensive Fat Groove 8a (Photo: Dan Walker)



Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

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Moving Things Forward
30 May 2012, 7:17 pm

I have been struggling for an Internet connection that isn't at work for the past month.  The connection at home is failing us and I really don't want to stay in work any longer than I have to.  As a result all you Cassidy blog fans have had a nice wee holiday from hearing me moan about conditions, lack of time, being weak or any of the usual crap that I come up with.



The most significant news at this juncture is not any big sends but to announce my association with Montane.  I am super psyched to be working with a real innovator in the UK outdoor clothing industry.  This is a brand I know I can trust in whatever Scotland can throw at me.  I have been wearing a North Star downy since Christmas time and I am super impressed with it.  I can't wait to test drive the kit and go on some proper adventures with Montane.  Norway is calling me!  The tag line: Further, Faster kind of sums up where I want to go with my climbing at the moment.  Doing things in the upper 8's faster and furthering my climbing towards the mythical 9a!



Although I haven't been blogging I have been out on the rock a few times, mostly getting painfully close yet still painfully far away from a few really cool boulders in the 7C+ bracket.  The Steall Hut projects have not yet been returned to as a window in the schedule has failed to present itself.  Unfortunately the midges and sweaty heat of summer have now appeared so the Steall things might have to wait till I return from the States in September.

I have a rough outline of a plan in my head on how to orientate my training towards achieving as best I can in the US.  It looks likely to be my only trip to good quality sport this year so I really want to make it count.  For the next 6 weeks I intend to work on bettering my bouldering strength (Max Strength phase).  This however is a real conundrum to me.  I find that my bouldering has not really improved in years and I have no real clue as to what exactly I actually need to do to break the plateau.  I know I can easily get fitter than I am or have been.  The "how to" for that is also self evident to me, but getting stronger for climbing beyond where I am at the moment remains a bit of a mystery.  My plan is largely to engage with the fingerboard and let the movement elements take care of themselves during my on-rock time.

I would dearly love to break into being solid on the Font 8As (the local ones I have done don't count btw).  With that level of strength as a baseline for my PE I could really move forward towards the 9a mark.  I feel I hold be able to climb at this level though I did have a worrying chat with John Watson about genetic ceilings and bouldering potential today.  I hope I haven't found mine.  If anyone out there has the answer I am all ears...

Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

[Fiend]

Montane wind smock is the only "technical" bit of clothing I own, apart from a downie. Really useful for cragging.

Maybe getting fitter could break the plateau? Or maybe diversifying strength training?

[comPiler]

Hotline to Bouldering Progress
6 June 2012, 8:38 am

I am becoming a bit of an Arrochar aficionado.   I have been looking away from Dumbarton for bouldering venues of late and also enjoying a bit of solitary climbing.  This is partly to get me used to hard schist moves for the next big Anvil project and the first leg of my trip to the States where we will have a few days in Rumney which I think is a kind of schist or gneiss.  It is also part of my grand scheme of getting a hell of a lot better at bouldering, which as I alluded to in my last post I see as being the keystone to my development towards harder routes.

With the long summer evenings, Glen Croe is manageable from Glasgow for some evening action. At the time of my last blog I had managed to squeeze in 2 sessions up at the Kennedy Boulder in amongst the as ever hectic schedule at TCA Glasgow.  I was getting frustrated with my lack of success on two Dave Macleod problems; Hotline and The Nuclear Button which I felt should have been very do-able for me.  With DM duties this last weekend I thought I might be able to snatch one last trip up to the boulder before sacking the problems off.  Mr MacLeod happened to be in TCA that morning and he said an interesting thing which whipped me up a bit.  He thought it was just my "lack of on-rock time".

With new found belief that a little bit of persistence would be rewarded and a tactical shoe change to my brand new 5.10 Quantums I arrived at the boulder about 7:45pm.  There was a good breeze, not the 27 degree sunshine of visit 1 or the midge death of visit 2.  An inadequate warm up later and I pulled on to Hotline and nearly stuck the problem first go.  I looked at my hand. The split that has been plaguing me for the last month now (yeah, really) had reopened.  I was good for one more go with a bit of glue before the tape would have to come out rendering the crux too hard once again.  I stuck it and sent the problem. Happy boy.



My chronic split tips are a legacy of my Sheffield Uni days and generally being too heavy for small holds

Given the holds on Nuclear Button are as aggressive/the same as those on Hotline I had to leave that for another day but the line of Thermostatic 7c was winking at me through the lichen and moss.  Half an hour of brushing and playing re-revealed this problem which is absolutely excellent and only marred by the proximity of the neighbouring bloc at the top.  Doubly happy to have got this one ticked too.

It would be good to see people up there trying more of theses lines to get them cleaner still.  As a local's venue it is a wonderfully peaceful spot.  The boulders are big and there are a lot of lines to be done, especially in the lower grades.  As with most of the Scottish boulder venues, lack of traffic really detracts from the problems and the Kennedy Boulder though big, is by no means the Scottish Bowderstone as implied in the Stone Country guide.

At 10 pm I wandered down the hill, still in the daylight.  The setting sun cast a great light on the Cobbler and the impressive overhang of Dalriada.  Gordon Lennox had just last weekend got the first known onsight, something I had been meaning to try for ages....

Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing

[Stewart]

Hotline to Bouldering Progress
6 June 2012, 8:38 am

Dalriada. something I had been meaning to try for ages....

 

[Fiend]

It would be good to see people up there trying more of theses lines to get them cleaner still.  As a local's venue it is a wonderfully peaceful spot.  The boulders are big and there are a lot of lines to be done, especially in the lower grades.  As with most of the Scottish boulder venues, lack of traffic really detracts from the problems

Totally agree. Too many climbers are too blinkered by Dumby....Arrochar is only 1/2 hour further.... There's so much rock that could do with more attention.