[csl]

April Goals
At least 20 sessions climbing 7/20
Rehab finger
7b indoors
Get outside twice 1/2
Run 17.50 Parkrun

Mon
Tue- biscuit factory. Bouldering up to v4 all onsight. Circuit board managed to onsight all the circuits up to 7a fairly easily. Then did someones 7a+ link up second go. Then lots of laps of 6b circuit. The only route i didnt o/s on the circuit board was just too crimpy to risk trying. 
Run - 14km in an hour around london. Muggy but nice around hyde park.
Wed - offered a job in london...
Thu - climbing kk, tried some hard problems then 3x3s on a v5 and 2 v4s
Run - 6km - 5km threshold- 18.55
Fri - climbing kk, hard circuits. Made previous one harder and made a steep 7a. 6 x total. 20 mins arc.  Distracted session
Sat- climbing kk, recovery intervals. 12 mins x 2. Steep circuit x1. Arc
Sun - rest!

Good to measure myself at biscuit factory, just been training on own circuits so didnt know where i was at. Also job related goodness. And the most important, booked my ferry for 5 weeks in ceuse from the 9th of may. YYFY!

[Muenchener]

STG: Redpoint 7a (most likely indoors). Anything from this list of Frankenjura classics
MTG (2013): Frankenjura VII onsight; Alpine multipitch VI; Welsh trad E2
LTG (<= 5 years): Big alpine rock routes: Totenkirchl west face (Dülfer), Marmolada south face (Vinatzer-Messner)

M: Wall, Boulderwelt. A mistake. A couple of weak attempts at PE circuits make it clear that I have neither P or E remaining after climbing yesterday. Contemplate home/curry/beer; opt instead for working a couple of slab problems on 6B/C circuit. Tick one of them after learning that knackered old Katanas smear a lot better than newish Pythons (Note To Self: do not forget this when packing for Alpine Granite trip to Ailefroide in summer.)
   Ordered clipstick: essential preparation for the first Frankenjura visit of the year next weekend
T: Alpine approach training: 40 mins step-ups with 12kg rucksack
W: Wall, Thalkirchen. Routes 5b 5b 6b 6b+ 6b 6b, then some falling practice. Weak session: fell or rested on everything except the warm-ups. Falling practice felt like the only worthwhile part of the evening, and I should probably switch to doing it as part of the warm up rather than at the end.
T: Wall, Boulderwelt. A better second day on than Monday: got a move further (34/40) on my 7a circuit project.
F:
S: 40 minutes mobility / pressups / core
S: Wall, Boulderwelt. Another fairly crappy session. Two goes on project circuit (after warming up): matched previous high point (34/40) but got no further and felt completely wasted. Went for a play on some slab problems not involving finger strength and strained my trapezius whilst mantelling. 

One afternoon working a hard route on Sunday, and I'm fscked for a week? Need to have a think about this. I've been doing endurance training for about seven or eight weeks now, and the last time I successfully finished a hard circuit or route was at the beginning of March. My performance, confidence and enthusiasm are starting to suffer. Time to ease off or change focus for a while.

[Dolly]

M tennis
T Fagin at Clogwyn y bustach. Smart problem. Flashed Sick happy from a stand, hurt my shouder but chuffed to do it. Elephant Cave but long walk for probs that needed a spot with rock that would be better in the cold. Bit disappointed with the venue
W Slow limpy run and tennis
T
F First time at Porth Ysgo. A completely brilliant place. It really is as good as everyone says. Next time we stay on the Llyn Im only going here. Everything I did was ace.
S
S slow limpy run. Quick shed sess.


Achilles not really any better. Maybe I should stop running for a while. Shoulder OK. Didnt stop me doing anyhing I wanted in Wales.

[andy popp]

Elephant Cave but long walk for probs that needed a spot with rock that would be better in the cold. Bit disappointed with the venue

Elephantitis really is brilliant though.

[tommytwotone]

LTG: Font 7b

M: Easy Depot session after return from Font previous Sat. Felt pretty creaky, shoulder still complaining.
T: Nowt.
W: Out for first after work session of the year attempting Not My Stile at Caley. Even better, managed to do it!
T: Out for a few beers after work.
F: Nowt.
S: Was meant to be going out but change of plans meant I took the lie-in instead. Chilled day with Mrs Tone.
S: Couple of hours at The Depot, added middle finger on RH to list of ongoing tweaks.

[nai]

Missed last week, wasn't much to write anyway, spent it on antibiotics trying to clear a sinus problem that wouldn't go away, did go out on Tuesday and spend a long time wimping around on Big Air and Wednesday spent a lot of time doing a couple of moves then breathing heavily for five minutes. 

Travelled to Font on Friday arriving at 3pm Saturday. Intending to quickly unpack, shop and be at a crag by 5pm I was dismayed to find we were still "settling in" by 4:30 and shopping then took until gone 6.  Chance missed.

Sunday was lovely and with an indifferent forecast all week I was keen to crack on.  Long-story-short I did Clin D'Oeil but not Egoiste and was pretty gutted when it was announced at 3:30 that we were heading off for a barbeque.  I know it was potentially the last day of BBQ weather but more importantly it was also potentially the last decent day of climbing weather and other meals are available, non?  Non, it seemed.

Monday turned out to be fine, I did an early Cuvier session (7am, spooky with business suited men walking around looking for action) trying Conque de Doigts then we went to Sabot like we often do.  Despite the crowds it's about the best place for our group, I spent a lot of time on/around L'Oblique where I witnessed some terrible "ascents" by young English lads despite dabbing the mat on the undercut move, the swing into the block or the match move that follows, I was amazed as despite the dabs their mates still shouted encouragement while I just thought "no, drop off, do it properly".  Six of them topped it out with between one and three dabs but they all seemed happy enough, holiday rules maybe.  Oh, I did Danger Majeur Assis. Nice but unobvious problem.

Tuesday was mostly a wash out, the small window of opportunity was spent driving to a closed swimming pool an hour away.  Bloody French.

Wednesday I got up early to finish off Conque de Doigts which was much grippier having been washed clean and despite Cuvier mostly being a green damp mess it was more pleasant without the out-of-place suits, girls don't work when it's wet I guess. Then we went to J.A Martin which wasn't that great, I tried Coup de Symbal and the 6C just left between the showers but only confirmed that's it's too reachy, everything else stayed wet all day.

Thursday started damp and was my daughter's birthday, we took her around the drier Apremont whites then went ice-skating in the afternoon. It was raining by the time we'd finished.

Friday swung hither and thither, early promise of brightness gave way to a heavy shower just as we pulled into the Sabot car park (95.2 having been deemed too far for the kids and too far from the car if it really did rain hard). As it stopped we wandered into a wet scene as many passed the other way.  There were dry bits to warm up on including most of L'Oblique and I eventually worked out a sequence that worked for me.  Immediately it started raining.  I quickly got on it -  one pad, no spot, pretty desperate really - but fell at the throw.  The rain eased and my mate appeared, I checked the hold and got straight back on, held the throw but took ages to adjust and despite making the match and getting the crimp couldn't top out.  The rain started proper and it looked like that was it but as soon as we were packed to leave blue sky appeared again and fortunately everyone else was as keen to stay as I was today.  The sun even came out.  30 minutes was spent spotting and doing blues then I went back to find it dry and with another Brit aspirant looking at it.  I managed it without too mush fuss then after sharing the beta he managed it with an average of two dabs.

I did think about an early Cuvier session on Saturday but a mother of all thunderstorms on Friday night convinced me otherwise.  I must admit to ducking, so loud was the thunder.

[Duncan Disorderly]

Goals - That traverse and F8a.

M: Fingerboard - Felt tweaky so stopped early, off set pulls and frenchies.
T: Boulder @ The Works - Good and reasonably hard!
W+T: Frankfurt Musik Messe - Ate pork, drank beer, talked shit!
F: Boulder @ The Works - Same as Tuesday despite the excess schwine in my gut!
S: Boulder @ The Works - Good but tired, faded fast!
S: Walked some of the Mossal trail and had a pint with the family, Ace!

Not tooo bad considering I was away working - Planned to do power but finger and elbow were a bit tweaky so opted for bouldering at a reasonable level, pushed myself a bit bit never into what felt like injury territory...

This week: Should rest in preparation for a Power Endurance phase but been a bit on and off for a couple of weeks so might just opt for similar to this week with a bit of additional AeroCap... 

:D

[Duma]

S/MTG - keep niggles in check, run regularly, get out more. If I do any hard stuff that'll be nice too.
LTG - 8A, 68kg

M - Osteo, said elbow wasn't too bad and can carry on climbing, just don't get slack on the contrast bathing/weight on a stick/self massage (stop sn**gering at the back!)
T - Run, 6 miles, 52 min. Felt ok, given it's the first run I've done for a couple of months
W -
T -
F - TCA eve before nights, mojo still MIA, but got stuck into some circuits, got pretty close to black (given 7b+, but prob realistically closer to 7c+).
S -
S - Very brief TCA session - 40 mins, did the whole Black (3-5) and Yellow (4-5+) circuits. Felt more like aero than anything else. hot ad sweaty.

Still 70kg - poor effort over last few weeks.

Bit concerned at how little enthusiasm I've got at the moment.

[chillax]

STG: Stand on tip-toes on Grammy ankle
MTG: E4, 7B

M: Attempt gym. Do half hour on bike and feel like death. CWP fingerboard session
T: Physio for ankle. Happy with how I'm getting on. Should be back on trad within a month hopefully.
W: 
T: 
F: Slowly recovering.
S: Wall session in Gravity. Felt good to be able to gimp my way up some easy problems. Either the Gravity Beast maker is easier than any other I've ever used, or everyone else I know has been putting them up wrong. Easily held the 35s and rounded edges one armed and the 45s two armed. It was casual. Even managed to just about hold the 45s one armed with thumb catch. Good ego boost. Got spat off the 35s on my one at home after, which I'm chalking down to fatigue....
S: Gym. 1hr stat bike, core, ankle rehab.

Bit of a write off of a week, though the freak BM session was fun. I'm putting it down too humidity or something, as my board is way harder than that. 4 days scouting out trad projects on an island off Donegal lined up for next week. Looking forward to bring able to read again, hopefully soon. I think the last time I tied in was in the first week of Dec!

[cheque]

STG- E2 on grit this season. 
MTG- 7b, 7B and E3 in 2013

M- Rest.
T- Notts wall routes. Up to ~6c. 4 leader falls. Feeling good. Consciously addressed my recent head issues with success.
W- Rest.
T- Rest. Not really rest, just had other things to do.
F- Walk around Staffs moors. Pleased that walking up Hen Cloud felt easier than in the past, although it is the first time I've done it without a trad rack. Planned to do a little soloing but rain/sleet onslaught put paid to that.
S- Ice skating. Only the second time I've tried it (the first was in 1995!). Predictably I fell over and tweaked my wrist. 
S- Rest. Planned to do some core in the evening but eating more than I've ever eaten in one day at lunchtime put paid to that.

Shamefully crap week, although I did get into the swing of leading again on Tuesday night. Wrist feeling OK now which is good as I'm going to Portland at the weekend.  Plan is to get back training from tomorrow, when my wrist will hopefully be fine.

[shark]

Weight 11st 8 on sunday

Mon. Rampart. We all got burned off by Tommy on L'Angle Allain Then failed on a 6B+ bulge and finally failed on some other classic 6c+ I forget the name of
Tues - Fri Weather crapped out. Visited Notre Dame (Louvre closed due to pickpockets wtf?) and also Fontainbleau palace. 
Sat. Drove home 
Sun. Malham. Oak dry. Did OK on it surprisingly but got powered out and sore tips. Led Taking the Space and Appetite at the end. Nice to be driven.

Nice chilled out trip. Shame we didn't get better weather.

[fried]

Mon - Tues - Folks still here on visit.
Wednesday - 1h - BM session
Thursday - nothing
Friday - 1h BM session
Saturday - I'm turning into a miserable old man. I used to like a party but all I can see is tonight housewarming ruining my climbing tomorrow. I drink a little and try to not get too bored.

Sunday - Still have a lie in, brunch and then hit the road. Decide on Mont Aigu as it's supposed to hit 25° this arvo. Pass Cuvier and the car park is packed to overflowing, aah the first real day of spring, just a little further the eastern European girls look like they're doing good business.

Mont Aigu turns out to be in perfect condition and I do lots of yellows, oranges and some blues. The rock here is some of the roughest in the forest and really nice for an early outing. BM might be helping the finger strength but indoors isn't helping the footwork and you don't really need much finger strength to climb at this level (although you can cheat your way through stuff).

Drive home take 3h 30 instead of 1h, it was still worth it, fantastic day out! except having to pop into Ikea for a couple of shelves.

[webbo]

Goal. Try and recover from chest infection.
Mon. Rockcity feel tired so spent the session working the various problems on the roof.
Tue. Chest infection seems to have come back or I've got another cold. Snotty.
Wed. Rough coughing and sneezing all day.
Thu. Back to Doc's not got a lower chest infection but possibly an upper respiratory infection. Referred for tests. Man up and go on my board repeat the last of the old problems which I did before I moved all the footholds. Going quite well.
Fri. Nothing.
Sat. Board followed by weights going ok.
Sun. Supposed to be riding a 100 mile sportive. Give it a miss given state of my chest and the wind. Spend day retrieving shed roof and tying it back on.

Still struggling to get ride of whatever I've got. 

[Luke Owens]

STG - F7b+ and Font 7A+
MTG - F7c and Font 7B (End of 2013)
LTG - F8a and Font 7B+ (Next few years)

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - Trevor Rocks - Took girlfriend out to top rope, she's has a really bad fear of heights even on top rope, put 2 top ropes up on two F4's. Was too cold for her and she got to freaked out. Will get her out again when it's warmer. On-sighted a F6b and F6c also.

Wednesday - Feet on Fingerboarding -
2 x (30 moves 2 mins rest x 3 - Rest 5 minutes)
3 x (40 moves 2 mins rest x 3 - Rest 5 minutes)

Thursday - Feet on Fingerboarding -
5 x (40 moves 2 mins rest x 4 - Rest 6 minutes)

Friday - Deadhangs
Unweighted
20mm edge - Half crimp (10 secs x 5)
8mm edge - Full crimp (5 secs x 5)

Weighted
20mm edge
Progressive Set
2.5kg - 10 secs, 5kg - 10 sec, 7.5kg - 10 secs - 3 minutes rest between.

Main Set
10kg 5 hangs with 3 minutes rest between - 6 sec, 8 sec, 8 sec, 10 sec, 10 sec (Had to dig deep on last hang)

Saturday - Llanddulas - Hooked up with Chris Doyle and Spidey - Flashed a F6a+ for a warm up and dogged up Pump Action (F7a) to get the clips in, it rained and soaked the top of the route, had to sack it off - dispair!

Headed up to the main cave area and the guys recommended El Tigre (F7b) which was dry. Not expecting to get close in a session I dogged up it, surprisingly seemed very doable. Insanely technical through the first 2 bolts, vertical wall with tiny holds (Suites me). Steep, pumpy but easier upper section.

1 RP - Rubbish, fell off getting confused on the crux, hung around to work out better foot beta.
2 RP - Better but still not 100% on beta - sorted this (again!), started to feel tired but seeing Spidey and Chris repeat it got me psyched.
3 RP - Went without a hitch, got into this "Zone" where I just flowed through the moves without over thinking. I love moments like this only had this happen once before when I successfully redpointed my first 7a+ last year. Came back round once I'd clipped the chains...

Psyched to get a 7b in a session! Keen to get back to Dulas, great crag.

Need to make sure I know my beta 100% before trying to redpoint. Tactics have gone a bit rubbish after a winter of no rope!

Sunday - Rest - Son ill again.

[kelvin]

Lurker alert.

State of play - Finally decided to focus on one thing. I'll never be a good climber but a climber I intend to be. Managed to finish a 69 mile ultra last year, get to the Alps, Morocco and Wales for 20 weekends amongst other stuff. Injury prone. Managed a V3 in Switzerland and three at the local wall last Autumn. Port Ysgo at easter and ticked something that may have been font 6A+. Onsighted the only F6a I've tried. HS 4c is my best lead but I've soloed one too. Been very lazy when it comes to leading however and that needs sorting this year.

Goals for this year - trad E1. F6b onsight. Boulder better. LTG 7a

Weaknesses - Power Endurance, rockovers.

Mon - Routes, all top roped. 4+, 3 4times & no rests, 6b+ 8m, 6b+ 8m x2 no rest, 6c 9m (first go), 7a 1st clip, 6b 8m, 6b+ halfway. Stupid pumped.
Tue - Forgot knee brace so, warmed up then 2 sets on the BM big slots, then went to start 3rd and nothing in my fingers. Literally NOWT :-(
Wed - Rest
Thu - 60 dynamic but nothing more. Pathetic really.
Fri - RAC Boulders for a couple of hrs after work but no psyche, couldn't pull as forearms were so tight and empty. Scared of slipping when on a slab and twisting the knee, so just farted around really on V0ish stuff.
Sat - Working meet at club hut.
Sun - Working meet and drive home.

Tuesday was day 18 out of 24 doing some sort of climbing/fingerboard.

Strange week really. Monday was great! Had a go at a 6c, breezed to 9m and could see the next move just nowt left but was happy with that. I was just mullered then till Sunday when I finally woke up with arms not aching.

Booked a session for Monday (just gone) with Alex Fry, to sort a training plan out and hopefully move forward. Need to sort the power endurance out as just can't get to the top of routes.

Cheers.

[csl]

Welcome Kelvin!

"Booked a session for Monday (just gone) with Alex Fry"

Does this mean you climb at the pinnacle? I go over from cambridge occasionally.

[cheque]

I'll never be a good climber

Not with that attitude you won't!   

[kelvin]

Welcome Kelvin!

"Booked a session for Monday (just gone) with Alex Fry"

Does this mean you climb at the pinnacle? I go over from cambridge occasionally.

Thanks.

It's about a mile and half from my front door - which makes me lazy/tight about using other walls. 

[kelvin]

I'll never be a good climber

Not with that attitude you won't!   

Hehe - I did wonder at putting that but seeing as the body is basically wrecked and I'm no natural... aiming for anything over 8c+ may be slightly futile