the shizzle > the blog pile
Mina Leslie-Wujastyk
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Video from The Valley of the Giants, Grampians, Australia
1 February 2017, 4:56 pm
Mina Leslie-Wujastyk in the Valley of the Giants
Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk
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Video from Flock Hill, New Zealand.
1 February 2017, 5:00 pm
Mina Leslie-Wujastyk at Flock Hill, New Zealand
Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk
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So much training….
2 February 2017, 12:32 pm
Since we arrived back in the UK after our trip to Australia and New Zealand, I have seen an awful lot of the inside of climbing walls. I feel a bit like I’m in Groundhog Day, looking up at the fingerboard and thinking – wasn’t I just here doing this? It’s all been thoroughly exhausting and a bit surreal. I’ve been at the mercy of Alex Barrows and David Mason; seems I’m quite the masochist. I’m approaching completion of four months of solid training with a few flurries on rock here and there. I’ve got around five weeks left before I start resting more, climbing on rock and seeing what has changed. Yep, Malham season is approaching.
For those of you who love it as much as I do, you will know the bubble of excitement I’m feeling that the spring season is getting closer and it’s nearly time to smear hopefully, grip holds that consistently face the wrong way, tense all the muscles in your body at once and squeal with the effort that this style of climbing notoriously demands. I can’t wait! Malham Cove is very much my happy place; even a bad climbing day is still a good picnic day on the catwalk.
Having said that, I am also nervous. I’ve put in some serious effort to get stronger. Endless fingerboard sessions, weightlifting (with awesome help from the guys at CPC), weighted pull ups, campusing, core workouts, board climbing and endurance based climbing is just some of it. I feel like I have done everything I can with the time available. But….what if it hasn’t worked? Or what if, after hours of toil, I’ve only marginally improved? I know I’m psychically stronger but by how much? And will it translate to rock? I suppose this is the risk one takes with big efforts and maybe I’ll never be good enough to climb the things I want to…… but you don’t know unless you try and, well, as a back up, complete failure is probably quite character building.
I’m playing the long game on this route. This spring season has bite size goals attached. I don’t envisage that any red-pointing will be happening, let alone any sending. I’m hoping for improvement, for moves to feel a little less desperate and links to be a little longer.
If nothing else, I’m gunning for the final Simon Lee versus Austrian Oak belay tick. Now that will be historic.
See you other keen beans on the catwalk soon!
Some training pictures and videos:
Fingerboarding at the Schoolroom
Endless therabanding
More fingerboarding…..
Lifting weights with the hero that is Jill Whitaker
Woodology at the Schoolroom
This was my project move on the board at the Climbing Works for some time – finally I can do it!!
More weightlifting….
Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk
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Projecting: Round one with Rainshadow…
27 April 2017, 4:26 pm
After a winter spent training I worked on Rainshadow for 12 sessions, about 6 weeks: it’s gone so fast.
Slowly piecing things together, changing beta, making progress, changing beta again, making a bit more progress… tiny adjustments, small concessions from the route. Trying to be fresh for each day at the crag, maybe in the process becoming a mild hypochondriac. Trying to find the balance between keeping strength and being rested enough.
Dieting. Again trying to find the balance, wanting to be light but also have enough energy to push myself. How to manage it? Simple calories in vs calories out? Ketogenic? Glyco-dumping the day before? Fasting? Or maybe carb-loading to make sure the fuel is there for the link attempts? Trying to do this and still keep a healthy relationship with food and body image…. now that’s a tall order.
And then there are conditions. Constantly checking the weather. Too hot, too cold, too wet…., some days perfect. Skin damage; split tips, epic bruising. Specific methods of taping; I found myself trying to saw my finger tape with a kitchen knife so it was small and light to fit in my chalk bag. The things we do, eh.
Ha and the main problem is probably over thinking it all.
The best bits? The moments when all those things fade away and it’s just you and the rock and it is hard but simple. The figuring it out, the breakthrough moments are so satisfying and worth it. The days spent in a beautiful place with such lovely people. Seeing other people make breakthroughs on their projects and feeling your own psyche swell with theirs to a new level.
Projecting is a funny old process. So many factors at play, especially when trying something at your limit. It seemed like to just make a good link I needed an awful lot of things to line up. There’s a clue in there somewhere. I need to be over-strong for this route. Gulp.
My goals this year were bite-size in comparison to the end goal of sending but they felt like big mouthfuls nonetheless. The main goal was to link the crux section of the route, to do the “boulder” that lies smack bang in the middle of the route. For those that don’t know Rainshadow, it is comprised of an F8a route (Raindogs) to an awkward rest before the crux boulder (estimated around Font 8Aish (I actually think potentially harder)), which then leads into a burly headwall of about F8a+. Getting the middle bit sorted was my main focus. I found the boulder really hard! It’s 12 moves (from the Raindogs rest to where it eases off) and it’s a proper battle unless you’re Steve Mcclure. Last year I had a wee play on the moves and could just do them in isolation and only just. So I had a long way to come this year to hit my goals.
I find it interesting looking back now at how my short season at Malham panned out. I got better and better until I peaked – two great sessions where I did big links through the hardest section. Then I dropped off the back of that peak with a heavy thud.
Those good sessions gave me such confidence, I felt like the route was actually possible for me. It was still going to be a long journey but one I felt was suddenly realistic and not just a far off dream. Three sessions later and I’m desperately hanging onto that feeling, trying to keep it safe somewhere. I went back for three more days at Malham and my performance went steadily downhill. I rested more but it made no difference. I was struggling with psyche; bruised fingertips, fatigue and I think an element of becoming de-trained. I lost my edge. So I’m taking a step back for a bit to re-group, get stronger and come back when the time is right with a vengeance. I think the key to this route is going to be bloody mindedness and long term psyche for all the effort involved….only one way to find out.
One of the best parts of the season for me has to be the car journeys up to Malham and the time spent on the catwalk. The conversational content now coined “The Malham Files”, would make great reading. From the latest training and diet experiments undertaken by keen Malham goers, to tall tales from the climbing community, current affairs discussions and everything in-between, it’s been a blast. Thanks to everyone in that special community for making it such a fun and interesting place to be, see you back there soon!
View from the catwalk
Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk
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South Africa 2017
4 July 2017, 3:45 pm
I got a bit stuck trying to begin writing this blog; I didn’t really know what to write. In some ways this was one of the best trips I’ve been on, in other ways it was challenging and frustrating at times.
Great thing no.1: I climbed my first V13. As I wrote in my posts on social media at the time, The Pursuit of Happiness has had some mixed views on its grade, with some supporting the original V13 and some suggesting V12. I couldn’t do it on a previous trip and could do it this time so whatever the number I am really psyched. My suspicion is that if we were to add decimals it would be V13.1, but that is perfect, the first foray into a new grade boundary is always at the lower end and I’m happy with that. Setting aside grade chat, the boulder is incredible, pictures and video really don’t do this one justice! A proud line, beautiful holds and try-hard compression all the way. Loved it.
The Pursuit of Happiness, photo Jimmy Webb
This shot gives you more of an idea of the angle, Photo David Mason
This happened in our first week and I also managed to send Ard Ay (V12) the next day, another one left form a previous trip. All was going well and I was psyched to head to Rocklands to re-visit some old demons.
from mina leslie-wujastyk on Vimeo.
Challenging thing no.1: What I didn’t mention about this first week was that David and I both got ill… We still aren’t 100% sure what it was but all suspicions point to drinking bad water in Cape Town. We have drunk the tap water there in the past with no issues but with the country in a current drought situation this perhaps wasn’t the wisest decision. On the bright side, it was only diarrhoea, we didn’t have a fever or nausea or anything like that so we continued to go climbing! To begin with we didn’t feel that bad (I actually did Pursuit on day 3 of being unwell) but as you can imagine, we eventually started to get really tired as our bodies were not holding onto anything for long. It went on for 5 days for me, 10 in total for David who ended up needing antibiotics (amazingly the first course of antibiotics he has EVER taken!).
So the Rocklands section of our trip started off a bit shaky and, although we had a blast, the climbing parts didn’t really go to plan.
Challenging thing no.2: David and I were in a similar boat in Rocklands, we have both done a lot of the classics within our comfort zone of difficulty and were both hoping to be able to up our level. For me, there are loads of V13s to try and in particular I wanted to try again on The Vice. Despite feeling fine for the first few days of being ill, it took its toll and we were both struggling. I also really wrecked my skin in Cape Town – I’m usually one of those annoying people that always has amazing skin so this was a whole new experience for me and I can see why people find it so frustrating! I only had two sessions on The Vice before my motivation ebbed away. I was actually better on it than in the past but a combination of lack of energy, skin and waning psyche eventually meant that I walked away to try other things. It actually didn’t feel sad though, I felt really okay about it and was able to go and enjoy climbing on slightly easier problems.
The Section (V10), photo Nick Milburn
Great thing no. 2: People!! It’s easy to think that climbing trips are all about climbing but they really aren’t. They are also about the people that you climb and hang out with in all the other moments. This was awesome. David and I went on this trip with two close friends, Tom and Michelle and we had a blast. Between us four, Carol and Jess and Jimmy and Hannah, we took braais (BBQs) to a whole new level of feasting. From great climbing days to morning chats over tea to epic BBQs and long hikes together, these are the moments we cherish.
Basic Instinct (V10/V11), Photo David Mason
Challenging thing no. 3: Injury. I have never really thought of my lower back as an injury because it has been an issue on and off for so long and I manage it well most of the time. It’s very much chronic rather than acute and usually doesn’t hold me back that much. Luckily for me, it doesn’t hurt to climb; in fact climbing often makes it feel better. It’s the walking uphill with a heavy pad or rucksack that gets it. So much so that I avoid trips to crags with notoriously steep walk ins. It’s sad really, for example, I would love to go back to Ceuse but I’m fearful of the implications the walk in would have for pain and function. Some days in South Africa I would get to the boulders and cry, nerve pain reaching my foot. I would have to spend time stretching and moving to release the spasms before I could think about climbing. It was particularly challenging on this trip for some reason, which I wasn’t expecting.
Trying out some tape….
On a positive note, it has spurred me on to tackle the issue from more angles now I’m home. I was having treatment before which was really helping (I think being ill knocked my whole system and then walking tired is probably the worst idea!) but I now have more ideas on how to complement that treatment.
Great thing no. 3: Spending more time climbing in Cape Town. I love the rock on the peninsula; it is really fun to climb on. For sure, there is not as much as in Rocklands but there is still room for loads of development and the rock quality is incredible. We ended up leaving Rocklands earlier than planned to spend our last ten days back there and it was great; David sent Simple Knowing (V14) and I was able to put more time into Artform (V12) which was so fun even though I didn’t quite pull it out of the bag in time to go home.
David on A Simple Knowing (V14)
Cloverfields (V10/11), Photo David Mason
View of Cape Town lights on the walk back down from Topside
So, I think that covers it….the trip flew by and it honestly feels a bit strange to be home. We had an amazing time, both climbed things at our limit and you can’t ask for much more than that.
Bouldering for 5 weeks has left me pretty psyched to tie on…..anyone keen for Kilnsey??
Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk
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