[fried]

Excellent week

M - Rest
T - Indoor, started O.K, then right knee started aching a bit, so took it easy then did some weights, back stuff etc. I found out that my
Lat pull down technique is completely wrong, I've been doing it behind my neck, not in front. Very bad for the shoulders apparently, which is why I'd been doing the exercise in the first place.

W/Th/Fr - Nothing I have a big weekend planned.

Sa- Drop the missus off at CDG airport at 5.30am, then go home and try to get some sleep, it's not happening. Drive to Blockout in Lisses to get my new crash pad ( Thanks TT for the report, I managed to swing my Birthday pressy early this year). Then continue to Bois Rond.

I arrive tired and don't expect to last too long, but warm up a bit on some oranges, then go to have a try on Meilleur des mondes. The start is fine but I'm not flexible enough to get in the toe hook. Have a few goes, but I'm not in the mood to spend all day in front of one thing. Went back and started working through the blue circuit, flashed lots of problems I've never done before, flashed a couple of reds. Tried loads of (razor, crimpy) stuff until my fingers were too sore to climb anymore. Brilliant, conditions were perfect, my new pad so much more reassuring.

Then got home and Ipswich had done Watford away to stay in the play-offs. Asleep by 7.30.

Su- Slight anticlimax, went to Franchard sablons, but nothing happening, try Prise de tete again, but I can't figure out a sequence. My fingers are too sore and everything feels hard. Repeat some blues. Go home.

[nai]

Spring goals - Hot Fun Closing, Short Chimes, (Zaffs)
Summer goals - Body Machine & Extension.
Autumn - Raindogs, Call of Nature, Full Chimes
winter - Brad Pit.

M- Campus session 3 - thought it was going badly then suddenly started doing ok, seems that even a couple of hard boulders as a warm up aren't preparation enough and you need to take your time to get recruited before trying max efforts. Did 1-3-5 on med rungs with a bump to 6. Failed on 1-3-5.5 but it feels feasible.
10 minutes aero before and 20 minutes afterwards

T rest

W - was going to go to Burbage South but it felt like it would be damp after an overnight frost so went for an optimistic look at Zaff's.  Despite warming up thoroughly at home I Could barely do a move when I arrived and thought about finding something else to try.  Stuck at it though and slowly pieced it together, ended up doing all the moves and linking it in three: lie into sit; sit to lip; lip to top out. Too tired and battered to try a full link but happy with such seemingly rapid progress.  10 minutes Aero beforehand & 2x10 mins afterwards.

T - PE session 1.
4 attempts at a broken circuit of 25ish moves (about 2 mins climbing time), did it 4 times in 3 sections but was developing it as I went as it needed to be harder.
Foot on campussing - 6 sets of 1:40 on, 3:20 rest. Intended to do 8 sets but failed set 5 move 21 then set 6 move 17. Fairly pleased for a first session back though.

F - Agonised about whether to rest knowing I could go out tomorrow but the bigger picture prevailed - 4x10 minutes Aero,  Kept it very low intensity

S - went back to Zaffs, warmed up in garage and did one of the last remaining 2-move problems I'd set at the beginning of the power block, felt strong but that didn't translate to climbing well. Took a while to transition to the brutality of the moves, got there eventually but felt clunky and uncoordinated all session.  Worked the top-out a few times then started trying it, but couldn't do the heel release from the pocket move. Tried from a sit and got to the lip but couldn't keep the heel-toe in for the roll over move, had felt so solid on Wednesday.  Couldn't rediscover whatever had worked so well for those moves on Wednesday and had to sack it as I was in danger of putting a couple of tips through.  Don't want that with Font just a fortnight away.

Decent week, pretty psyched by Zaffs despite being at the wrong end of the season to have a gnarly, connies dependent grit project. Especially when the plan is to dust the rope off and hit the PE.  Sure there'll be some chilly mornings though so there's a glimmer of hope.

[shark]

Thanks fried

11.5-7
11.5-6 at weekend (Target was 11.5-6)
Target this coming weekend 11.3-4
 
M. Malham Up with Paul, Ben and Ste. Crag drenched. Did F&EE and Cons twice. Played on the first part of the headwall of Predator as that bit was dry. Stronger on the moves than last year which was nice but overall a bit of a wasted journey
T. Systems board.  Noon. Hard individual moves on crimps and gastons. Late afternoon. PE. Did 4reps x 2 sets. Go 1-4 Set 1 and Go 1-2 Set 2 complted new hard way Go 3&4 old way Go 3 and 4 failed on last moves on old way. Massive improvement :-
W. AM Started a FB session but was off the pace so aborted the session
T.
F.  Malham. fter complex arrangements ended up going with Mina and Andy Cave. Met Dave Hesleden Paul Reeve and Rob Napier there. Good temp Radically drier than Monday. Oak dry. F&EE and Cons twice each. Go1 Got to undercut by third bolt for first time this year but decided not to press on as would have blown the warm up. Go two got to do throw from ground but with fingers not properly in undercut. Third go got to hold before throw but busted. Go 4 pulled up and did throw to falling going left on traverse. Worked out I needed to revert to old foot sequence. Go 6 same link. Encouraging session. Nearly back to last year's efforts
S.
S.

Good week with step change improvement in performance on PE circuits and at crag and finally feels like Im getting weight control back. Off to Malham tomorrow (monday).

[iain]

STG: Chulilla at Easter, 1 week of training and a week taper left.
MTG: Hasse Brandler in late summer/autumn and resume my Shark-lite Infinite Gravity project addiction.

M: Works circuit problems focusing on vertical ones I find hard, then when strength begins to taper 3x10mins aerocap.
T: Rest
W: Works trying whatever looks fun. When starting to tire finished with aeropow (i think) on the campus board. 8x 1min work, 1min rest reps. Elbows properly opening out on sets 5-8 and switched to larger rung to complete at the point I would've fallen off.
T: Good day. Morning at secret garden. Find all the warm ups desperate, still can't do beachball, then it turns worthwhile by getting on Dick Williams and making quick progress on most of the moves. Wimp out of the topout several times but it's a confidence in the feet thing rather than can't do. Keen to get back before Chililla/it gets too warm.
Evening back to the works, run round a circuit and finish with 2x10min aerocap, couldn't push myself to a third.
F: Eclipse watching  rest and developing cold
S/S: Second beautiful climbing weekend in a month ruined by a cold. Not up to anything apart from pottering and a lot of the walking dead.

The cold is annoying, hopefully picked a new one up and it wasn't the result of me overdoing it and bringing the last one back. Great training week otherwise, felt like I got some bouldering snap back whilst still working the fitness. Finger's crossed I'm feeling well enough tomorrow to do something.

Summer goals - Body Machine & Extension.

Was it you I was talking BM beta with at plantation last autumn? If so and I'd like to steal your method to the 1st roof 

[nai]

Summer goals - Body Machine & Extension.

Was it you I was talking BM beta with at plantation last autumn? If so and I'd like to steal your method to the 1st roof 

Could be.  Did we meet at the Tor previously then at the plantation just before you went off to font?

[iain]

Yes, you'd been trying call of nature I think. Did you make the span on BM?

[gme]

Mon- long day at work
Tues- ditto
Wed- moonboard. Ok session
Thurs- conference
Fri- conference
Sat- moonboard 1 hr. Average
Sun - 8 mile walk with 22 kids. Pints in pubs on way.

Totally shit week but not unexpected. Too much work and too much to eat and drink. The two sessions I had were rushed and very average.
Put on a kg as well.
Back to normal now so hopefully a good week coming up. Next four weeks should be good.

[nai]

Aha, good to put a face to the name.

I only had one quick trip up the start of BM while my mate finished Indecent. That's hard enough by itself but from what you said about it being hard climbing separated by good rests I'm hopeful that it will suit.

[tomtom]

Mon > late Friday night fieldwork.

Walked lots (over 50 miles) but ate lots (put on 3lbs).. split tips had healed though...

Sa: Helsby in't woods... just a quick 40-45 min session - felt fairly good..
Su: Brownstones... Had a couple of attempts at hanks, but felt the LH tip was getting thin, had fun on Right Hand Hank (may have different to the approved sequence), slapped over, stabbed fingers in and below the high hold on Groundhog.. gave up feeling suitably tired...

[Muenchener]

STG: go climbing
MTG (2015): 7b redpoint
            Beastmaker 5A routine
            Muscle-Up
            Sautanz
LTG (<= 5 years): Big alpine rock routes: Totenkirchl West Face (Dülfer), Marmolada south face (Vinatzer-Messner)

Had a partner lined up to go sport climbing in Ötztal at the weekend but the weather forecast was atrocious.

M:
T:
W: Bike to work 25km
T:   Beastmaker. Two and a half rounds of cut down Beastmaker 5A. Plus small campus rung full crimps, two more sets than last week. Good.
F: Bike to work the long way 30km
S: Wall, Boulderwelt. An hour bouldering to warm up, then 7b circuit project. Linked in two overlapping sections. My fourth session on this; good progress considering when I first tried there there were half a dozen single moves that I found desperate in isolation. It comes down on the 9th or April though.
S: An hour mobility, knee physio exercises, kettlebell in the morning, then accompanied M jnr to the Munich Watersports Festival. This turned out to be a good use of a wet Sunday.
   There was dragon boat tug of war (we lost). There was video analysis of swimming technique. I turn my head too far in crawl and don't extend my leading arm enough. Would be good to get this kind of input for something I actually care about e.g. climbing. Also - and this surprised me - synchronized swimming looks really difficult and impressive live, unlike on the telly.

[iain]

Aha, good to put a face to the name.

Likewise, after Plantation I realised that I might have watched your videos.

[petejh]

STG: Melanchollie (in May) or The Brute (in August)
MTG: Onsight attempts on The Hurting, Cathedral, Banana Wall, Anubis (next winter)
LTG: 8c (within three years)
Ultimate goal: undecided

Strength phase week 2
Started the week with back feeling well sketch, fragile and lots of tightness/sore muscles from it going into spasm the previous Thursday.

M. Massage in a.m. / chiro in p.m. Chiro said I'd a minor sprain of the facet joint capsule and it was nothing to worry about long-term. Feeling much better and looser by end of the day - perhaps it's the £65 less weight in my account.
T. Fingerboard sesh 3. Core strengthening and mobility.
W.
T. Mobility
F. Fingerboard sesh 4.
S. Core strengthening and mobility
S. TRX session and 3 sets of bodyweight squats. Wandered around Pass looking at crimpy 7Cs for forthcoming Power phase

Started the week feeling despondent, ended it feeling great.

[kelvin]

Cheers fried 

Bouldered all week as it happens - no plan to it other than to try hard and fit lots of easier stuff in the gaps of time between decent goes. Skills-wise, it was all about momentum this week and not a training week at all. Just went and climbed..

Mon - Boulder 2hrs. Got on the spotty V3 on the roof, someone then said the V5 might feel a bit easier for me - had a proper play and held the first few crimps but need to sort my feet. Worked some V4s and a vertical V5.
Tue - Boulder 3hrs .Tried the V3s I can't do and the V5 on the roof and a couple of V4s. Lapped some V1/2s for a bit, stopped as soon as I felt a bit knackered. Sleep was hard to come by later, my arms and shoulders were aching.
Wed - Rest
Thu - Yoga class
Fri - Boulder 2.5hrs. Worked the V5, some V3s, finally worked out some 'dodgy wrist on sloper beta' on a V2 that didn't make the nerves fire and the fingers let go. Flashed the easy stuff I hadn't tried.
Sat - Rest
Sun - Boulder at Curbar. First time there. Flashed up to V2, fell off lots of harder stuff including Gorilla Warfare. The start felt okay, my heel hooking skills are non-existent but hanging the slopers was easier than expected. Skin got too thin eventually, so chilled and enjoyed the sunshine. Strawberries is a quirky little thing...

Felt like the first time I've made progress since last July. Lots of moves were doable which wouldn't have been a month ago and it feels good to end the week with no niggles, just a dull ache in my shoulders and upper arms.

[Sasquatch]

STG: Maintain Psych, and drop weight.   Either local boulder or route projects depending on weather.
MTG: Bolt new route projects, have a couple of promising walls to recon.  1-4-7 & 1-arm pullup
LTG: To Bolt....

M-First PE type session.  Broken 4x4 (2 at v6 and 2 at v7), 8 x 1min on 2 min off foot on campusing.  elbow rehab
T-rest
W-Bouldering up to v9, then PE 7 x 2x routes between 7b and 7c.
Th-rest-elbow rehab
F-Set and forerun for comp.  Felt really good.  7c+/8a 2nd go and 7c, 7c, 7a, and 7b os. elbow rehab
S-Snowboard-resort.  elbow rehab
S-Rest

Great week.  Climbing and strength is feeling pretty good overall.  Elbow is feeling much much better. 

[JackAus]

STG: Another V7. Drop down to sub 80kg. The Trance
MTG: V8. Sub 75kg.
LTG: V11

M: St Leonards. Made up problems to V6ish. Then gym. 1km sprint on row; 5x10 each of front press, leg press, pull down, shoulder press, leg raises; 500m row sprint; 5x10 each of ab roll on knees and elbow tendon stuff; 500m row sprint; core 3x30 vertical scissor kicks, horizontal scissors, bicycles. Finish with a few back pull ups.
T: St Leonards. Usual stuff up to V5/6.
W: Rest.
T: Fear Factory. 3.5km walk in. Took rope to clean a highball, The Trance. Ticked usual circuit up to V5, then got cleaning. 6m slab over a very slopey landing. Only "V4" but probably had less than 10 ascents. Quite mossy. Worked it on rope and have most of the moves/link sections but very insecure and unable to do the top. Might take a few more sessions to sort out a sequence and before I consider ditching the rope.
F: Rest day.
S: Rest. Top rope comp at the local gym. Went along and heckled. Free beer so ended up getting quite drunk. Didn't get to bed until 6am.
S: St Leonards. Late arvo session. Very hungover. Bunch of stuff up to about V5/6.

Weight still coming down but abit all over the place this week. Still getting there though.

[the_dom]

STG: Font: Tick at least one 7B and leave with a decent ticklist full of 7s
 
Mon: Indoor bouldering for the first time since September(?) - ticked a few problems in the 6C to 7A+ range in a few goes (max) each. Headed to the campus board to see where I was at and was pleased to tick 1-4-7 on the medium metolius rungs first try leading with my right arm. All in all, a decent session, but my biggest problem is how harsh it is on my skin.
Tues: Trail run and leg rehab.
Wed: Slept terribly, so got up early and snuck in a 5am hangboard session before work. Not a bad session - weighted one-arms a la the Webb Parsons programme with some degree of Frankensteination. PM indoor bouldering - tiredness really kicked in and was having a crap session until I felt a split coming on and had a good excuse to call it.
Thurs: AM deadlifts (warmup, then 1x 5 x 120; 2 x 5 x 130; 1 x 5 x 140), dumbbell snatches (4 x 5 x 24kgs) and kettlebell swings (4 x 25 x 24kgs); PM 75 min hike in the forest.
Fri: AM hangboard session - unweighted max one arm hangs at various lockoffs.
Sat: Long bouldering session with an equally long walk-in. 6C, 7A x 2, 7A+ x 2, 7B, close but failed on a 7B and a 7C. Good session, exhausted afterwards.
Sun: AM Surf in small but fun waves. PM hangboard session - unweighted max one arm hangs at various lockoffs, and 2 sets of repeaters on the 35 degree sloper and small rung of the Beastmaker.

Overall a decent week. Nice to have a goal to work towards, and also nice to get in a surf.

Since restarting climbing in January I've purposefully avoided climbing indoors, and I think that I'll continue that in the run up to Font. I find that I get splits much more regularly when climbing indoors and that they really get in the way of climbing / training.

[T_B]

86Kg

M –
T – F/board p.m. Front 3 and back 3 2 x 6 x 7 (failed on 5 first attempt on back 3). With 3.7Kg added. Started on 15mm edge, but couldn’t concentrate so sacked it off.
W – School lunch. Campus board. 1-4-7 x 10 on each arm. Close to 1-5-8 on right. 25mm rungs.
T – School p.m. Bouldering 50 degrees. Best session since Christmas.
F –
S – Stanage plantation with Nic. Had planned to try the Joker, but too warm. Did a massive circuit of classics, plus Back in the YMCA in the full sun – a problem I’d dismissed in the past as nails, but it went in a few goes and didn’t feel grim at all. Great stuff. Finished off seconding a couple of E2s.

Ate what I wanted this week and energy levels back up. Felt like 4 quality sessions. Hadn’t campussed since December and felt solid on 1-4-7, despite being ‘heavy’. Must be, as I managed to pull the Fingerboard off the wall on Sunday morning warming up! One more week of strength/bouldering, then going to start doing some PE sessions before the body/house falls apart.

[a dense loner]

Monster!

[iain]

Started the week feeling despondent, ended it feeling great.

[JohnM]

STG: Strength and conditioning phase, Bat Route.
MTG: Indian Summer, Kilnsey or Bat Route, Malham, onsight 8a in Kalymnos.
LTG: Big wall/hard multipitch, 8A/+ boulder problem (bloc style < 10 moves), UK 8b+/c, live in Spain.

Monday: Nothing.
Tuesday: Theraband and stretching.
Wednesday: Went to a talk by Neil Gresham at Brigham's in Covent Garden.  Nice talk and got me inspired for some DWS this year.  Maybe look at his 8b thing in Pembroke if I get a chance.
Thursday: Nothing.
Friday: Drive to Malham after work.  Took five and half bloody hours!  Endless road works on the M1 going down to one lane and at about 11pm nearing my lowest point they close the whole frigging motorway.  Sleep in the car up above Kettlewell.
Saturday: Malham - Wake up aching and tired after not enough sleep.  Warm up on Consenting twice and then get on Bat Route.  I do the crux a couple of times but have no power.  It feels like all the insertion points in my upper body are aching and sore!  The headwall on the route is finally dry so I go up and finally work out a solid sequence for the undercut to undercut section and link it from below this to the top.  I have a redpoint go but fall halfway into the crux. It is in the sun and even the 7b feels desperate and one of my segs has opened up.  I wait until after 4 when the sun is gone to have another redpoint.  This time I barely make it into the crux with a seg pissing blood and zero power.  I then nearly link the whole headwall from above the rest to the top but fall in the crimpy section because of a beta fumble rather than being pumped which is good. 
Sunday:  Cheddar Gorge - Warm up on some horrible 6b+ feeling pretty achey and then fail on a 7a+ I have done before but get warmed up on it.  Put the clips up Right Hand Man which feels desperate and it takes me a while to work out the moves again after trying the top half 18 months ago.  Conditions are pretty much perfect and I manage to redpoint Right Hand Man first go.  I then try to onsight Lives of Ordinary People but fall on a hard move to an edge at the start.  I work out the move and then do it from start onsighting the top section with a scary moment on the final hard move above the bottom crux where somehow the rope comes out of the quickdraw and I end up soloing!

A pretty decent week and my final "rest" week before heading back indoors during the week to start and strength and conditioning phase.  I was disappointed to not have a decent chance at doing Bat Route but I need to turn up at the crag feeling fresh and with power in the tank to get through the crux bulge from the start and not try it in the sun.  I hope I don't regret saying this but I hope I only need to get through that bit once as the top bit feels steady and I can recover before most of the hard sections.  It has been nice the past couple of weeks trying Bat Route on the Saturday and then ticking unfinished business and lower grade 8s on the Sunday but I might have to knuckle down and try two days on Bat Route soon to maximize my chances!   

   

[Schnell]

STG: 7B in Font next week while remaining uninjured
MTG: 7C in 2015

Two week update here: week of 9-15 Marc: did a few training sessions followed by last minute weekend trip to N. Wales, two days bouldering in which I did v. little new due to being tired and sleep deprived. Went to wavelength and sheep pen boulders and did a few low 7s. Then had two days tradding on slate which was great, really refreshing after not climbing on a rope for almost 6 months. Did a few low extremes including comes the dervish.

Week just gone: mon-tues was still in wales.
W. rest
Thursday great training session probably due to  restfulness of trad for the body. hitting 1-3-6 pretty regular on the campus board and managed a couple of muscle ups in the rings.
F. shoulder stability
S. shoulders, rest
S. yesterday got out for a nice day, bit too warm for hard bouldering but lovely to see the sun once in a while. feeling pretty strong after more rest fri and sat, managed a new hardish 7A and a few other bits. worked my 7C proj for a bit at the end of the day, all moves done but it's long and very physical. almost linked from start of proper hard climbing to end

This week I'm going to keep reducing the volume a bit before heading to font on sat, will train ancap today and do a bit on wed. well psyched for font obviously

[tomtom]

Good post.

[blamo]

STG: Figure out LTG (ugh... going on four weeks now), keep up with campusing, get ready for bouldering trip
MTG: Really short 8b/b+ sport route

M: Stretch, Run 6 miles
T: AM campus, PM campus and max. hangs, stretch
W: AM max. hangs, PM repeater hangs, stretch, weights
R: AM repeater hangs, PM woody session
F: Some easy outside bouldering, didn't stretch and crap diet made me suffer on Saturday
S: Very easy sport climbing
Su: Bouldering session, didn't send much of anything

Keeping my early week sessions short enough that I don't carry fatigue into the next day is a bit of a challenge.  I might scrap this whole two a day business as the gains might not be much better than one a day sessions.

[webbo]

 Week off work
Mon. Bike 63.39 miles 3 hrs 51 mins longest ride this year. Battered.
Tue. Board easy session.
Wed. Cows mouth. Did Starter for ten second go, tried Get your finger out briefly felt too warm in the sun and my skin was still thin from Saturday. Flashed the Slug but put a couple of holes in finger tips. Then did Bugle practice after a few goes and finding the crucial beta of a left testicle suff. Sort of ground to a halt partly to having most of my fingers taped up by now.
Thu. Bike 64.96 miles 3hrs 58 mins battered again.
Fri. Board steady session skin still poor.
Sat. Lunch with wife, daughter, son in law and grandson.
Sun. Board reasonable session. Bike 1hr 50 mins.
Plan of doing something everyday to try and get back on track nearly worked.

[Dolly]

M .
T Foundry Wave. I was OK again - 2nd time in a row. Did another of the  level 3s for the first time and nearly another one which is good for me
W Gym Core and one arm pull downs
T Beastmaker
F
S Knackered from too much work and not enough sleep. Family jobs in the morning then I had to have a nap before I went out to Secret Garden. Felt sluggish and had one go on Left Hand Man but was nowhere. Had 10 minutes rest, had another go and just did it. My foot slipped at the top but held it. First 7b+ for over 6 years so I was very pleased. Did Beach Bum which I havent done before then that slab in the woods which is pretty good. Got a text from Seb who'd just done something new so met him for a pint in the Norfolk Arms. Wednesday won away scoring 2 goals in injury time. Went home, drank champagne and had a curry. YYFY
S Gardening. Knackered

[nik at work]

STG - Trad projects, hmmmmm bird bans looming....
MTG - 8c, age related flim flam
LTG - 9a...
BHAG - Bruderliebe

M - nothing
T - BM session
W - Very brief climb outside, a bit pointless but it was nice weather...
T - nothing
F - NNFN went to pick something up at work and BOOM lower back "goes". Felt bad, not just like a strain of muscle but like something slipped/moved, aaaaaargh. Finished work at lunchtime and went to lie down (and sulk...)
S - Back sore, can't really bend down. Went climbing anyway. Had a pretty good session. Trad project is sort of coming together in a still not really together way. When I started looking at the line I pinned it as a STG but it turned out to be (much) harder than I thought and forthcoming bird bans mean it's not really a viable STG. Anyway I can now climb from the ground to the first crux move, drop the  first crux move, pull on drop the first crux move, pull on, almost hit the first crux move, pull up a move, pull on, do the next (hard) move to the mono. Now the mono, the mono is not good, when I first found it I thought it was similar to the mono on the bottom row of the BM but revisiting the BM and comparing I think the mono is more like the shallow four finger pocket/crimp on the bottom row of the BM only a mono instead of a 4-finger. And it's on a ~30 degree overhanging wall. The good news is it's not a huge move off it and the feet are OK. Anyway I can get the mono and slap to the next hold and hit it but not hang it. Then pull back on and climb the next three moves to the mid height rest. Then after a rest (on the rope, ahem) I can climb the next boulder sequence, then rest on the rope again, then climb the final boulder sequence to the top. So like 5 completely not overlapping sections and a couple of undone moves, hmmmm.... Sorry for all the wittering. Anyway back didn't feel to bad whilst climbing, I find that climbing doesn't usually aggravate back strains and pains. At the end of the day it felt sore and stiff and such like but no worse than before climbing. However...
S - Back felt OK when I woke up then I went sea kayaking for a couple of hours. Spent the rest of the day lying on the bed in a lot of pain. Booooo. (in case you can't wait until nexxt weeks thrilling instalment, my back feels a lot better today... in a still broken way)

Annoyed about my back and another week of not that much quality training. Some project progress but really need to play the long game a bit and come up with some sort of plan... or not.

[Muenchener]

Now the mono, the mono is not good, when I first found it I thought it was similar to the mono on the bottom row of the BM but revisiting the BM and comparing I think the mono is more like the shallow four finger pocket/crimp on the bottom row of the BM only a mono instead of a 4-finger. And it's on a ~30 degree overhanging wall.

 

More of this sort of thing. It should be compulsory for everybody to describe the crux holds on their proejcts in terms of the Beastmaker holds they are sort-of-like-but-more-not-like.

Sorry to hear about the back though.

[nik at work]

I'm just making a fuss, I'm sure the back will be fine in a couple of days...

Anyway on a more interesting note I see that you too have an interest in the Marmaloda area, so what are you doing in five years time?

The Rules Of Power Club

1. No one talks about power club
2. NO ONE talks about power club
3. If you must talk about power club then make sure that any reference to holds on routes is cross referenced with a BM hold...

[Muenchener]

Anyway on a more interesting note I see that you too have an interest in the Marmaloda area, so what are you doing in five years time?

Jumaring Bruderliebe?

Seriously, I'd be well content with getting up one or two of the "easier" classics like the V-M, Don Quixote or Schwalbenschwanz. I can't bring myself to see things like Tempi Moderni or The Fish as anything other than out of my league, even if that means I'm guilty of self-limiting negative thinking.

I'm just making a fuss, I'm sure the back will be fine in a couple of days

Understandable, that sort of thing is worrying and frustrating. I had what seemed like an incident of sciatica a couple of years ago and was scared that I was going to have a recurring problem for life. Cleared up quickly though and hasn't recurred.

[kelvin]

1. No one talks about power club
2. NO ONE talks about power club
3. If you must talk about power club then make sure that any reference to holds on routes is cross referenced with a BM hold...

There's a power club?

[sdm]

2015 Goals:
Bouldering Pyramid:
7B: 0/1
7A+: 0/3
7A: 3/9
6C/6C+: 4/27 (Mark's Roof Left-hand) - 0/13 slabs/aretes

Sport: Do more sport, get in to redpointing properly

M: V3-V5 circuit. I meant to do them off limited rest but found a few of them harder than I remembered so ended up having to project some of them. Then did most of the wooden (~V3-V6) circuit. Made up some balancey slab problems.
T: Repeaters. Struggled on 35 degrees slopers and front two, felt strong on the small crimps.
W: Limit bouldering, made small amounts of progress on some projects. Finished off with the V1-V3 circuit with zero rest (aerocap?).
Th: stretching, light weights
F:Warmed up on the new V3-5 circuit, flashed all bar one of them. Fun circuit but they felt very soft for the grade. Then had a play on the new woody. Good to finally have a board to train on again. Think I'm out of practice on board climbing, my feet were all over the place.
S:Rest
S:Gardom's. Did a few easy warmups and Mark's Roof Left-Hand, then attempted but couldn't complete: Mark's Roof, Pogle's Wood (nowhere near it), Pogle's Wood Left-Hand (couldn't work out the topout), A Fearful Orange (too fearful), Bin Laden's Cave (too tired) and G-Thang (no skin left). It was a good day, probably should have stopped a bit sooner.

[tomtom]

I'm just making a fuss, I'm sure the back will be fine in a couple of days...

Take care with that back - mine took 4 1/2 months to get back to close to how it was before.. (and c.£500+ in various physio/osteo fees)

[cheque]

I missed two weeks on here. I panicked about being out of shape for my first trip to Font (The catalyst for the trip was to meet up with a visiting American friend who climbs way harder than me and I didn't want to look like I'd got worse at climbing since I saw him last), trained too hard too quickly and got an horrific chest infection that laid me up for a full week and was still lingering when I went away.

I got quite depressed and unmotivated for the trip and felt almost like I was just going so as not to let the mate I was travelling with down, particularly after it turned out the guy I'd intended to meet was moving on on the day we'd be arriving and, having not climbed for two weeks, I was feeling neither physically nor mentally prepared.

Anyway, here's a full-on trip report, starting on March 14th. I imagine my first-timer's observations about somewhere everyone else on this forum has been to loads will be entertaining!

S- Drive down. It's nice and sunny and by the time we get there I'm starting to feel like I'm on my holidays. The forest is surprisingly flat and there are a fuck ton of boulders visible just from the car.  We're the only people staying at the huge peaceful campsite we randomly picked. There's still daylight so it's straight to Elephant, which turns out to be a beach with fences and bigger boulders than I'd expected. I immediately get on a 4A crack thing. Three strenuous goes later I'm at the top which is high and way slopier than I expected. A French guy and his family advise me not to fall and throw a pad on top of ours. I then completely fail on two 3Bs  . I am such a punter here and it feels great. We both manage to scratch our way up a cool 6A overhang before dark. 

S- Haute Pleins. A lovely place with no other climbers. The forecast was for rain but it's actually turned out to be lovely cool conditions. Plan is to quickly do the orange circuit to acclimatise. It takes all day and feels like a proper day out- this is not helped by having to do it all in newish Dragons after leaving a Mocc in the tent  The circuit has nothing harder than 4A but I find myself feeling proud that I didn't need more than 3 goes to do any of them. My cough is way better  but it's obvious that my baby-soft skin is going to need some serious management if I'm to climb all week.

M- Apremont. Fucking hell what a place. There are lizards and it feels like the medditeranean in the sun. We step it up a notch with the "Baltic Blue" circuit which goes up to the heady grade of 5A and includes highballs. We only get through half of them before nightfall and are basically broken men by the end. Climbing circuits is, it turns out, really, really fun- a bit like playing crazy golf. Doing them all in sequence is also quite stretching as you do them all rather than skipping over ones you don't fancy- great for technique and confidence.

T- Rest day. It's 20 degrees! Check out Bas Cuvier, where people are braving the sex litter to throw themselves at polished problems in the full sun, Cuvier Rempart, where we get lost without finding a single problem, Diplodocus and a huge supermarket.

W- Petit Bois. This place feels like the southern Peak- shady, mossy and semi-urban- but with even better bouldering! Time to start throwing ourselves at 6s- 6As seem OK, but we only get one 6A+, despite working quite a few that are harder. My problem of using all my energy in working a problem out then needing to come back another time to have a chance is showing itself and I realise that prioritising climbing hard would be daft for this trip.

T- Cuvier. Really cool perfect temps. Lots of British people. Do plenty of 6s including the first 6B of the trip and La Marie Rose 2nd go . This crag is simultaneously the best bouldering venue in the world and the worst! It must have been awesome 20 years ago. At the end of the day I have an "experience" with the most rounded thing I've ever topped-out. 

F- Isatis. More 6s, including 3 6Bs, one of which is a slab I'm very proud of as it feel utterly nails- my (lanky) mate does it with four foot moves while I need more like 10! By lunchtime we decide that we should wind down on an easy circuit- for some reason we choose the red at Sablons. The problems are steep and brutal and destroy us.

went to Franchard sablons, but nothing happening, try Prise de tete again, but I can't figure out a sequence. My fingers are too sore and everything feels hard.

What felt like the trick to me was to get my left hand turned round on the flattest bit of the arete so I was kind of mantling up on it to get my right foot in the awkwardly-placed seam on the right. On my best go I then got my left foot on the left arete but couldn't move- foot and hand too close. My mate pointed out that if I'd put it on the highest poor foothold on the face instead that would have been the trick to then get my right on the big hold on the right (it's surely over then) but I couldn't get there again. I hope this helps!

S- 13 hour journey home.

S- Wrecked.

It's safe to say that my first trip to Font made a big impression on me! I feel like I've learnt so much about climbing in one week- the technique required for competency down there is just incredible. I've always said that you can't expect to improve at climbing if you don't boulder but I somehow never took my advice seriously enough to properly dedicate myself to it, even for a week. It was also great to be in France- I did French at A-level but hadn't used it since 1999 and I was unexpectedly confident with the language. With recovering from illness and the freakishly good weather we had (dry every day!) it really was a great experience 

And I didn't tweak my fingers. 

Here's the film I made in case anyone missed it in the other thread.

[kelvin]

Great read cheque - laughed with you due to my own experiences there :-D

[fried]

Sounds like a class visit    Glad you enjoyed yourself.

I'll try manteling off the arete next time I try prise de tete ( I noticed this while I was freeze-framing through the whole sequence ). I'd been trying to bump the right hand up from the flake then get the left hand on the flake...but I've also tried heels on the arete, starting on the other foot. At last I have another new idea!

Excellent short film too.

[shark]

had one go on Left Hand Man but was nowhere. Had 10 minutes rest, had another go and just did it. My foot slipped at the top but held it. First 7b+ for over 6 years so I was very pleased.

Nice work.