[shark]

10.11-12

M.
T. Malham Noon. Car full of wads - two 8c climbers and a 9a+ climber and me. Hoping for primo conditions. It was coolish but not perfect as wind not catching the crag. Draws and rope already in the Oak (Tom). Midge count was lower than recently. Warmed up leading F&EE then Consenting x 3. Dogged up Oak. Go1 didnt climb fluidly but got to fumble the horn Go2 Got to horn but messed up going for sloper - too focussed on getting the thumb catch and forgot to pull with my right arm. Bit of a temperature drop. Stu did Rainshadow.  Go3 Got to shake and clipped 4th bolt for first time ever!! felt good and shook out feeling a 100% confident I would do it - launched on the moves out left but was a bit untidy with a couple of foot placements then suddenly lost body tension coming into the sidepull on the redpoint crux and was off  . Devastated. Belayed Mina then went for a walk round the top of the Cove to calm down Go 4 Felt tired from the off but fumbled the horn - bit distracted by Stu and Steve exchanging shouting beta with Stu on Steve's project Go 5 Asked Steve to give me 3 mins quiet Managed to get through to my new highpoint but utterly busted this time so no way was I going to do the the snatch in for the sidepull Go6 ! Getting dark now - managed to fumble horn Rest on rope then did throw to falling off the redpoint crux due to foot poppage then very short rest and did large undercut to top. Drove back with a car full of Wads one 8c climber, one 9a climber  and one 9a+ climber
W. Busted
T.  Slightly less busted
F. Malham with Steve Mac. Warm. Probably 5 degrees warmer than tues but catching a breeze and the air felt fresh but on the rock somehow was weirdly slippery and chalk felt like talc. Cons x 3. Put clips in. Go 1 Managed to get to top traverse but fingers greasy Go 2 Touched horn Go 3 Touched horn but felt busted Went for a walk round the top of the Cove to regroup Go 4 Put in a massive effort and got to the top traverse again with a bit of power screeching
S.
S.

Seminal week.

Was in a reflective mood and recorded my thoughts this afternoon  Its quite long and detailed. You have been warned.

[tomtom]

All it needs is an Islamic State banner in the background Simon... is it safe to watch?

(ps. Don't give up!)

[kelvin]

Epic. Literally. Roll on next week's report.

 

[davej]

Nice one Shark  what you going to do after the Oak??

[lagerstarfish]

Nice one Shark...  what you going to do after the Oak??

eat some of Dave's croissant bread and butter pudding

[andy popp]

I just watched it Simon - its interesting. But I was intrigued that you never really touch on the psychological issues, both of having such a long-term project, but also how you handle feeling that is now very close?

Most of all though, good luck tomorrow. All power to you!

[dave]

All it needs is an Islamic State banner in the background Simon... is it safe to watch?

(ps. Don't give up!)

"Eyup you unbelieving kuffar bastards...."

[shark]

I just watched it Simon - its interesting. But I was intrigued that you never really touch on the psychological issues, both of having such a long-term project, but also how you handle feeling that is now very close?

Most of all though, good luck tomorrow. All power to you!

Its odd. I feel quite relaxed about it at the moment. The struggle to get strong/good enough to do the route is behind me now. I don't feel wound up, at least not yet, in the way K3 drove me mad. Im not under any time pressure as the route should be in good nick for a while yet.

Nice one Shark  what you going to do after the Oak??

Dont want to be presumptious though I do have a cunning plan...

Here's a video of my first redpoint go on Friday     

[davej]

All it needs is an Islamic State banner in the background Simon... is it safe to watch?

(ps. Don't give up!)

I've done the Oak banner in background for next episode. Good luck on Monday

[tomtom]

Climb faster Simon - you look over deliberate in the lower sections (the first 5 moves take you 30 secs)... Watching Ben Moon on thingy whatsit, he fair romped up the first part..

[shark]

Climb faster Simon - you look over deliberate in the lower sections (the first 5 moves take you 30 secs)... Watching Ben Moon on thingy whatsit, he fair romped up the first part..

A typical boulderer's observation.

You have to be really precise on the footholds and handholds on the start of this especially on Friday when it was greasy. If I went fast it would screw up my breathing too. I have to keep things smooth so I have enough power in reserve to execute the throw move. A stronger climber's strategy might be to move faster because the throw move isn't especially hard for them. They would also be better off using a slightly different sequence which is quicker but harder. 

[tomtom]

Well you should have posted on a sports climbing forum then :p

[shark]

Well you should have posted on a sports climbing forum then :p

 

[andy popp]

[quote author=shark link=topic=26303.msg499499#msg499499 date=1442163872
Its odd. I feel quite relaxed about it at the moment. The struggle to get strong/good enough to do the route is behind me now. I don't feel wound up,
[/quote]

Nice - not easy to achieve but definitely the best way to be, if possible.

[tomtom]

Less glibly I know climbing fast for me can ruin my composure - but it's what ultimately dragged me across weed killer (which is the closest thing to a route in terms of endurance In my locker )

More about flow than speed if that makes sense. Anyway - good effort and glad you're progressing.. Relax and have fun on Monday..

[cheque]

  Excellent Simon.  That monologue would be great cut with footage of you on the route or, failing that, dubbed over some ambient techno. 

Psyche-filled week. Setting myself a serious long-term goal as a result.

STG- 100 routes at 24HHH and a 12b on imminent Arkansas trip.

MTG- E3 & 7A+ on grit in the coming season.

LTG- 8a before 40. Raindogs appeals the most.

M- Rest.

Tu- Planned to go to the wall for some pre-trip power-boosting bouldering but traffic on return from work and sorting out picture of 9a Stu for the nation's climbing media  ate up time. Did some home training for the first time since June (when film editathon took up all my climbing time and I had a strong desire to assess how weak I'd got) instead. 30 pull-ups in 3 sets of 10 (in June I could only do 6 in a set) 30 pushups (in June 20 made me feel sick) and some situps. Looks like I've got stronger from just going climbing.

W- Rest. DOMS in abdomen and triceps

Th- Notts Depot. Just bouldering, no more than two goes at any problem to get variety and guard against injury. Flashed almost all of the reds ("V3-V5" I think), but couldn't pull onto most of the yellows (next hardest)! Probably an accurate reflection of the effects of sport climbing all the time- consolidation at a certain level of difficulty and inaptitude at the sort of weird tension moves you have to do to start harder indoor problems.

F- Rest. As sore as usual after indoor climbing.

Sa- In Hull.

Su- In Hull- marathon support for girlfriend. She did it in 3:44:22 which I believe is pretty good, especially as it was her first one and her target was simply "under 4 hours"! She was certainly in much better shape afterwards than lots of the runners (mainly men) who'd been ahead for most of the race but crashed in the last mile and finished after her  Learnt quite a lot about how physically and mentally gruelling these things are- a mixed feeling as it reaffirmed my plans not to ever run one and also brought home to me the similarities between something like this and the 24-hour climbing event I'll be doing in less than a fortnight!  Inspired by my girl's performance though.  Hopefully she'll stop eating giant platefuls of carbs now.

Flying to the US on Friday so that's it for climbing and training 'til then. I'll probably leave Powerclub for a bumper report when I get back. I'm also planning to shoot a film about the trip.

I reckon I'm well prepared- I did my hardest redpoint a month ago, don't seem disastrously weak at bouldering and should be able to climb for 24 hours, even if the 100 pitches are all very short and easy. I've gone almost four weeks without eating anything with sugar in now and I'm pretty much down to my fighting weight (more than half a stone down from my filmmaking weight in May) as a result.

[tomtom]

Have a great trip Cheque!

[Teaboy]

Great effort Shark

[duncan]

STG: get over cold, don't get injured, finger-boarding or bouldering twice a week.
MTG: E5 OS and 7b RP by end of year.
LTG: Long hard (for me) rock routes in the Alps, Dolomites, Picos and Scotland. 7b+ RP.

M -
T -
W - Fingerboard warm-up
T - Fingerboard warm-up & micro strength session
F - Shoulder rehab. / prehab. stuff
S - Fingerboard warm-up & micro strength session
S -

All change. After two years of largely focusing on endurance it's time to start making a serious attempt to improve my strength-to-weight ratio. Full of cold all week, so gently does it with some very, very easy fingerboarding.

[andy popp]

Goals: probably don't really need to say at this point.

M - work
T - work. Would normally have trained on the board but could see a chance to get to Harmer Wed evening.
W - Harmers. Another futile session on the project, though still getting as close as I have ever done. Conditions were pretty poor again; still and humid.
T - full on work scenes
F - good finger board session, almost unable to hang anything by the end.
S - nowt, work
S - What a lovely day. I was parked up at the White House pub to walk to Stony Edge just after 10. The walk is deliciously flat ... but long. Nearly an hour. It was a beautiful day, high blue skies, and warm sun and cool breeze and the moors almost empty. Arrived first at the RB slab.
Started on RB (5+) then Delicat (6A) both lovely and more substantial than videos make them look, followed by the delightful Dance Me to the End of Time (5+). I hadn't intended trying Elf and Safety (7A+) and a first feel of the holds wasn't encouraging. But it was right there. Three goes later it was done, to my surprise. From the top spotted a nice looking nose up and right. Wandered up and did Acres of Shakers (6A+) followed by Ephemeral (7A) in a couple of goes. One of those ones were you just have to improvise, and wonder how you're still on. A quick trot right and I nipped up Lust is Downward Slope (6B+), a tough pull off the ground and quality rock. Going to pick up stuff still at the RB boulder I couldn't resist Beach Mechanics (7A) and got the flash. I had thought stuff on the Big One would be my main target but I hadn't even seen it yet. Wandered over and gave Longship (7A) a couple of goes but was definitely starting to tire. Scraped my way up The Kingdom of Slope (6B+) in several goes - definitely hard for the grade. Finally made it up to the back edge; A is for Aardvark (6A), Flute Note (6B) and Gritworm (6A) had me totally finished. Felt beasted by the time I'd trudged back to the car. Got that great all over ache now.

Then I came home and made some fantastic roast potatoes.

I want to say a massive thanks to Robin for producing the guide, its opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me that are tantalising close to home. These may not be the most major crags in the world but they all have a real charm and everyone of them has more than enough gems. I didn't do a bad problem today.

[Kingy]

Good luck tomorrow Simon! Crush it, well impressed you getting up to your new highpoint

[Muenchener]

Well you should have posted on a sports climbing forum then :p

 

He said "expresso" in the coffee thread once too.

UPDATE: ok, it wasn't actually in the coffee thread.

[Muenchener]

Was in a reflective mood and recorded my thoughts this afternoon  Its quite long and detailed. You have been warned.

Needs more of the bit of you at the beginning going to and from the microphone, but speeded up.

STG: cross something, anything, off my large and growing collection of redpoint projects
MTG (2015): redpoint two more 7a’s and a 7a+
LTG (2016/2017): Redpoint 7b's with dance-themed names (Sautanz, Brachiation)

M: rest
T: Wall, Boulderwelt. Of late at bouldering walls I've mostly just bouldered around my onsight level to warm up, then done PE circuits. Last weekend it became clear to me that I actually need to get stronger so need to try some proper  bouldering. But I also had sore fingers from the weekend so had to focus the session on slopers & volume wrestling, which are very much not my specialist subjects. Came away feeling weak and frustrated. This will do me good if I keep it up.
W: Mobility / knee physio / kettlebell TGUs, swings, rows
T:   Wall, Boulderwelt. Same session as Tuesday with an encouragingly higher success rate.
F:
S: Wall, Thalkirchen, bouldering. This was a mistake. Had planned to get a couple of hours real bouldering in at Kochel in the morning before family duties, but when I woke up  the weather was damp & cloudy so I went to the wall instead. Then it turned out glorious and I was indoors. Had a decent session indoors though, so it could have been worse.
S: am: knee & shoulder prehab, mobility etc.
   pm: walk with M jnr in the woods. Had a look at Munich's traditional local bouldering spot at Baierbrunn: frequented by a hundred years of local wads from Hans Dülfer to Toni Lamprecht and polished accordingly. Still, it looks worth a visit or two on the basis that rock is always better than plastic.

[Fiend]

That monologue would be great cut with footage of you on the route or, failing that, dubbed over some ambient techno. 

This especially. It was interesting, if all a bit disturbing. I did like 18:15 tho!

[r-man]

I want to say a massive thanks to Robin for producing the guide, its opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me that are tantalising close to home. These may not be the most major crags in the world but they all have a real charm and everyone of them has more than enough gems. I didn't do a bad problem today.

Cheers Andy. I love it up there, and it's been great sharing these places through the guidebook. Sounds like a great day out!