[tomtom]

Still waiting for my index finger tip flapper to heal properly - so a partial week...

M > Th Work. Xmas booze up on Weds eve that I managed to survive. The odd bit of core work but nothing much..

Fri: Was shown round the new Manchester Depot by Stallioni. Very Impressive. Then went to Logport wall. Less impressive. Gentle hours bouldering with a taped up finger tip. Tip looking much better - just thin skin now.

Sa: Rest. Well, if bickering with MrsTT is rest then rest it is..

Su: Lovely couple of hours out at Helsby. No one else around ~ creaked my way up the hard stuff on the hill top - then moved down to set to work on "Ron Burgandys Moustache" a 7B+ that featured on Mike Adams new video. Managed to work out all the moves - though ran out of beans (unsurprisingly) and the top out pockets were wet. One for another day and a spotter - but good to get out on rock for the first time in ages..

Managing to keep weight down to 10:11-12.

[Muenchener]

STG (2015): onsight 6b+ on plastic
MTG (2016): Redpoint 7b
LTG (<= 5 years): Redpoint 8a before I hit 60.

Rather busy caring for a temporarily disabled child, but still managed to get three sessions in.

M:
T: Wall, Boulderwelt. Another weak session with things on the 6B/C circuit feeling like the absolute living end. Perhaps time to shift into a PE phase, given that I'm planning to get to Spain some time in the New Year
W:   
T: FB max hangs whilst listening to Tommy on trainingbeta. Very good session, matched previous bests on everything without any of it feeling utterly desperate. Interesting contrast to Monday's bouldering session, for no apparent reason. (Great podcast too. Although I shudder to think how much assistance I would need to one-hand a small campus rung as per Tommy's assessment)
F:
S: Half hour knee physio/mobility. Haven't been doing nearly enough of this lately.
S: Sport climbing, Griesen. Took advantage of the surprisingly warm weather. Redpointed a 6c+ in three goes and was only prevented from onsighting a 6b+ by a finishing hold full of mud. Not a bad day at all.

[shark]

Thanks tomtom

11.2-11.4

M. Eve. Systems board. AeroCap 360moves
T.  Lunch. Systems board. PE (AnCap) intro session on incuts and screw-ons. I set only. Not done this for ages
W.
T. Evening.Systems board. Bouldery warm up Did 3 sets of the PE circuits 190 moves in total. A PB with an extra set, increased number of moves and decreased rest on the sessions I used to do.
F.
S. PM/Eve Even more absurdly protracted fingerboard session than usual (5 hours?) with looong rests between max hangs Frustratingly still not seeing any gains with full crimps despite prioritising them but at least did more of them on this session. Drags/chisels by contrast still improving - moved added weight up by 2.5kgs to 32.5kgs on 16mm edge (compared to 17.5kg on same edge for crimps). Is it normal to improve on one grip and not on another? any thoughts for improving max crimp strength?
S.

Busy with work and weather shit so no excuses not to do more stamina training this week and got encouraging result on thursday. Usual increase in weight of 1lb so now 6lbs above where I was. Chulilla in 2 weeks

[the_dom]

Saturday evening: arrive in Munich. Beer. Interesting change from 30+ degree centigrade Cape Town to -2 degree Munich.

Sunday: Munich christmas markets. Beer and gluhwein. And pretzels. And sausages. And Kaizerschmarm (spelling?). Basically, all of the stodgy German comfort food.

Monday: Leave Munich super early to avoid traffic - what with driving on the other side of the road etc - and fight through to Cresciano first, to collect a rented bouldering mat and horribly expensive guides to Cresciano and Chironico from Ostello Cresciano, and then to our rented cottage in Sambugaro, high in the Valle Verzasca (and conveniently close to Brione). After the slightly nerve-wracking drive, we settled into the cottage quite late. I was humming and hawing about whether to try to sneak in a boulder at Brione - the psyche overcame me and I drove up with the intention of just scoping it out. Thanks to a helpful set of directions, I checked out the lower area and then the Black Mirror area (which required a fair bit of a hiking in the wrong direction). When I came across Molunk, however, and felt the holds, I practically ran down to the car, grabbed my gear, ran back up and spent 45 mins coming quite close. I drove home defeated but vowing to return.

Tuesday: Early start for Cresciano, Grotte des Soupirs on my mind. It looks like the kind of thing that would suit me. After hiking up the hill from Ostello Cresciano, thinking you weren’t allowed to drive up, and then getting slightly wrong directions to the main boulders, I eventually warmed up and did all the moves quite quickly. After an hour or so I had linked it into two parts but couldn’t seal the deal and after my returns started diminishing, I tried some other things (dammit Vol au Vent is hard for 7A! - it was quite warm though.. #excuses). One thing about Cresciano: it’s not a bouldering area that is easy to enjoy on your own, with one mat. The landings can be quite poor and I often ended up not wanting to try problems because of them - and I am relatively seasoned at this kind of single pad solo mission. I headed home for coffee. And then decided that Molunk was calling. An hour later, and thanks to some kind Italians for a spot / extra mat, I topped it out. PSYCHE. Honestly, what a great problem. I also realised that I left one of my Speedsters at Cresciano. Win some, lose some.

Wednesday: Rest my aching bones. Up to Cresciano to attempt to find lost Speedster. No luck.

Thursday: Chironico. Slightly damp. Wanted to try Sierre Moi Fort but it looks really hard. Next stop Autopilot. Landing’s not brilliant, and it’s bloody cold, but I get more and more psyched and comfortable with the jump and end up doing it in about an hour. Good problem. Then Selection Door, which is brilliant and not too hard for 7A in Switzerland. I say that because some of the grades of the easier problems, or maybe just the style thereof, are proper stiff. There were some 7As that I couldn’t get off the ground on. After Selection Door, I had a play on Le Vent Nous Portrera, which would definitely go given some time, mats and a proper spot, and finished off by doing Sloper Attack, which was great fun.

Friday: Last day, and I need to return the mat, so I drag my aching body up to Cresciano, where I fall off U-Turn repeatedly and don’t do Pixel, because I’m too tired and Pixel's landing is crap sans spotter. I almost do Carlo il Magnifico at the end of the session, but my skin prevents pulling too hard on that godawful sharp crimp. Fun day despite the lack of sends. Likely the last of climbing for 2015. Drive to Verona.

Saturday - Sunday: Verona. Pizza. Wine.

All in all, Switzerland was good. I was slightly disappointed, but probably more due to the limitations of being on a solo mission with one pad. In terms of the grades, the steep, gymnastic boulders felt soft, and the vert, crimpy problems felt nails - but that does reflect my preferences and the fact that I felt that had it been a few degrees colder, I may have felt different. The temps tended to hover at a balmy 6 - 10 degrees at midday, even warmer occasionally. I would have liked to seal the deal on Grotte des Soupirs, but such is life. I’d definitely come back, but not before going to Font again.

[the_dom]

Is it normal to improve on one grip and not on another? any thoughts for improving max crimp strength?

I find my rate of improvement differs across grip types - weaker ones tend to improve quicker, which isn't rocket science, but F3 half crimp vs B3 half crimp are worlds apart in terms of rate of improvement..

[shark]

Is it normal to improve on one grip and not on another? any thoughts for improving max crimp strength?

I find my rate of improvement differs across grip types - weaker ones tend to improve quicker, which isn't rocket science, but F3 half crimp vs B3 half crimp are worlds apart in terms of rate of improvement..

Thanks Dom - The weird thing is that the stronger grip (drag) is getting stronger currently but the weaker grip (full crimp) has plateaued. Factoring in body mass the full crimp is 7% stronger which doesn't sound a lot but that equates to an extra 15kg   

[T_B]

83.8Kg

M - Foundry lunch  - AeroCap
T - School p.m. Mainly 50 degree inc 3 x 7Cs. Then 3 x attempts on the Purple circuit, getting to finishing moves twice and completing once. Felt like I was able to move more slowly using Aerobic energy.
W -
T - Foundry lunch - AeroCap. Felt ill later and went home early to bed.
F - Ill in morning. P.M. F/Board repeaters 3 x 6 x 7 front and back 3 with 2 mins rest. First time I've ever done 3 sets. 2 sets of 6 x 7 on half-crimped edge.
S -
S -

Less than 3 wks until a long weekend in Spain. Having decided I wouldn't bother doing any training for it, I've ended up doing a bit and am definitely feeling fitter. Not much outside climbing happening anyway!

[duncan]

STG: treat and rehab. finger.
MTG: 7a+ OS and 7b RP in Chulilla in the new year. ??
LTG: Long hard (for me) rock routes in the Alps, Dolomites, Picos and Scotland. 7b+ RP.


M - Shoulder full routine. Hip and posterior chain exercises.
T - Westway: 12 routes in sets of 2 or 3 (to 6b I e aerocap.). Good session.
W - Shoulders
T - Pull-ups
F - Shoulder routine.
S - Portland Cuttings. Warmed-up on 4 routes to 6b. Got on The Holy Hand Grenade (7a). Got to the last move on the flash but ran out of gas. Had given everything and couldn't recover to do any of the moves. Finger started to feel a bit sore so bagged it for the day.
S - Middle finger painful, red, swollen to double size, and immobile. 

Depressing finger injury, 10 days before planning to go to Spain. Seems like the proximal interphalangeal joint, middle finger, which I tweaked a couple of months ago. A sprain of some sort I think, possibly medial collateral ligament, definitely not a pulley. Weird that it's so swollen though, almost like it was infected. All too painful and puffy at the moment to be very sure. No idea how long these kind of things take to recover, never had a significant finger injury like this before. Struggling to stay positive, in general I seem to get better faster from acute injuries like this than from non-specific tweaks. Any thoughts on the recovery timescale?

[Nibile]

STG - board projects. Two more in my sights. It never ends.

Mon - theraband and full body squeeze in hotel room.
Tue - rest. Glutes Doms. Full body squeeze definitely works.
Wed - rest. Glutes sore. A couple of hours of walking.
Thu - dumbbell complex, barbell complex. Mega tired. Mega weak.
Fri - rest. Tons of food.
Sat - board climbing. Mixed sensastions. New problem is hard. Crux move has never been stuck in almost three years of trying it on and off. I will do it though and it will be amazing, because I am the best. Finisher: "Protocol 4" x2. Phew, that's hard.
Sun - board climbing at Filz's with friends. Getting back into it after a stressful week. The perfect session? 50+ degrees board, mental sequences, dirty crimps, prosecco, pizza, cream pie, chocolate, happiness and smiles all around, what the fuck else would you fuckin' want?

[Hugh]

Another 2-in-1:

7th-13th Dec:

Can't entirely remember this as was finishing off house prior to moving in. Managed a couple of sessions at TCA and some max hangs. May have been for a run? Mental week.

14th-20th Dec:

Mon: 4x4s and circuits at TCA.
Tues: Max hangs, 16mm +20kg. Felt really weak, couldn't seem engage properly.
Wed: TCA, Woody Wednesday. Climbing terribly, but fun session thrashing away at short controlled moves on small crimps (a weakness, so all good).
Thu: Swim.
Fri: Quick bash at TCA, did some stuff on the Mothership.
Sat: Nowt.
Sun: Zipped up to Burbage for the day. Not expecting much as properly knackered. Decided not the get on Boyager as didn't think I was on it enough to get anywhere. Unexpectedly great session though, got the Nose pleasingly quickly and did some other bits and bobs. Also did Brian (the 7a starting right of Spartacus at Burb West), which seemed rather overgraded at 7a; in retrospect it's presumably fairly eliminate (i.e. sidepulls above the shelf are out). Anyone able to shed any light?

Tiring few weeks, pleased I managed to fit in some sessions and a great end. Looking forward to stuffing my face over Crimbo now

[cheque]

Gutted Duncan. 

STG- 7s/ Extremes on grit this season. Wall of Horrors before it's too hot again.
MTG- 7b/+ in 2016
LTG- 8a

M- Rest.

Tu- Derby Unit. "Limit bouldering" on blue circuit. Ticked two of them, which sounds rubbish but the point of my early week sessions like this is to try really hard (for me) moves, something I've traditionally rarely done. As the circuit hadn't been reset in the month since I last visited I'd also picked of all the "low hanging fruit". Good session.

W- Rest.

Th- Notts Depot. On the circuit board, working the yellow 7a. turns out my tactics were a bit wonky as I was going anticlockwise, doing the easy half first, making the hard half harder and putting the crux moves on a downclimb. Many (6 I think) attempts going the right way round. Got two moves from the first jug on my best one. Really fun session.

F- Rest.

Sa- Nothing.

Su- Curbar. 10 degrees! The problem with getting out on the first dry day for weeks is that you don't care where you go and what you try, plus you're out of practice at climbing. To this end I went to Curbar as it's where my mates wanted to go and failed on everything- Early Doors (slightly damp), Cloud Cuckoo Land (fighting the wind and it turns out we should have been sit-starting it) and Ultimate fucking Gritstone Experience, which despite making progress still feels like a nemesis problem I'll never do.

Training seems to be going well- enjoyed going to the walls this week- but depressingly bad on the rock yesterday.  Right ring finger feeling a bit weird now too.

[Muenchener]

Depressing finger injury, 10 days before planning to go to Spain.

Oh noes. Sympathy.

I hurt a collateral ligament two/three weeks before a big trip a couple of years ago, by pulling at a funny angle on a mono. Not as dramatic as yours sounds, but with complete rest for the two weeks I was able to climb on the trip. With no pulling at funny angles on monos.

[Wood FT]

STG (1-2 months): 7B (Suavito?)
MTG (4-6 months): Raindogs
LTG (8-12months): Pierrepoint/Supercool

Mon - Awesome Walls, went not expecting much but turned out to be a great session. Tried harder routes rather than volume. 8 routes between 6c/7a+. os'd my first indoor 7a on shallow pockets, pleased as this equates to 8b following my own scale.
Tues -
Weds - Job interview, went to the wave after to burn off anxiety, not strong. 20mins on wall at end. Works in the evening with gf, managed a couple of new whites and got to pull on small crimps.
Thurs -knackered
Fri - The
Sat - Capital
Sun -City

Feeling quite lumpy after a weekend of mormon based drinking but not beating myself up about it, December is a free month.  Looking at Siurana for Easter so good motivation to be had though I will hopefully be at Malham for quite some time before then.

[ashtond6]

M - Sick
T - Sick
W - Indoor session, climbed well, max grade ~7A. Really pleased since I've been quite sick
T - Rest
F - Drove to Peak, so much water
S - Went to Raven Tor, Crag X & Stoney... not a dry hold anywhere... spent the afternoon at the foundry on 6a-7a+ish
S - Gardoms bouldering. Working on my biggest weaknesses - roof! Did a fun / not that fun f6C+ mantle. Failed on Marks Roof Original, but think it will go soon

[SA Chris]

M-nowt
T-nowt
W-wall session. Usual plan of working on comp probs I couldn't do, but instead spent evening failing on probs I flashed in the comp. C'est la vie. Got embroiled in some of the new ones on the the 45 deg board, spent more time on it than I usually do, and felt good on it.
T- right shoulder started hurting about lunchtime, by end of day couldn't lift it above head without pain. Did some core work.
F - crap night shoulder really hurting. Decided it was a muscle knot and got one of the lasses at work to stick here elbow into it and work it. Agony, but it seemed to work, pain mostly gone by bed time.
S - Swimming lessons with daughter.
S - short early morning walk. Shoulder feels OK, but a bit numb? Probably climb tonight to see how it goes.

[galpinos]

Fri: Was shown round the new Manchester Depot by Stallioni. Very Impressive. Then went to Logport wall. Less impressive.

So excited about the Depot. Apparently opening between Christmas and New Year. So where exactly is it?

It's still amazing that Logport is the best bouldering wall i Manchester (until the Depot opens by the look of it).

[tomtom]

Fri: Was shown round the new Manchester Depot by Stallioni. Very Impressive. Then went to Logport wall. Less impressive.

So excited about the Depot. Apparently opening between Christmas and New Year. So where exactly is it?

It's still amazing that Logport is the best bouldering wall i Manchester (until the Depot opens by the look of it).

There's directions\map on the fb page for it. Units N1 and N2 of the industrial estate its in. Soft launch was how it was described to me.. I think the timing depends on when the get stuff finished - but doubt they want to wait any longer than they have to..

If I hear when it opens I'll text you - I'm keen to test it out and about here until 29\30th.

[galpinos]

There's directions\map on the fb page for it. Units N1 and N2 of the industrial estate its in. Soft launch was how it was described to me.. I think the timing depends on when the get stuff finished - but doubt they want to wait any longer than they have to..

If I hear when it opens I'll text you - I'm keen to test it out and about here until 29\30th.

Yeah, do that, it'd be nice to catch up as well as get burnt off! It may be a "soft launch" but it'll still feel more finished that RockOver which hasn't looked more than 70% complete since it opened......

I shalln't ask what favour it cost you to get a tour from the Stallion......

[Three Nine]

Depressing finger injury, 10 days before planning to go to Spain. Seems like the proximal interphalangeal joint, middle finger, which I tweaked a couple of months ago. A sprain of some sort I think, possibly medial collateral ligament, definitely not a pulley. Weird that it's so swollen though, almost like it was infected. All too painful and puffy at the moment to be very sure. No idea how long these kind of things take to recover, never had a significant finger injury like this before. Struggling to stay positive, in general I seem to get better faster from acute injuries like this than from non-specific tweaks. Any thoughts on the recovery timescale?

Every possibility you'll be ok to climb in Spain. Often these PIP sprains take forever to heal properly, but you can get by fine by avoiding certain grip types. Usually pulling down on edges is ok. Perhaps stick to redpointing, which is more predictable.

[filz]

Mon: board climbing. Great workout. Climbed a problem I was trying and easily repeated some test problems
Tue: nothing
Wed: board climbing with friends. Tried some short problems and worked on a new one.
Thu: another board session with friends. This time I was tired and didn't do much
Fri: body weight exercises and weights, finishers
Sat: rest
Sun: board climbing with Nibs and other friends. Had a lot of fun.

[rodma]

almost trained, then got the shits 

that is all for this week, although i am quite light right now

[Luke Owens]

Another 2-in-1:
Sun: Zipped up to Burbage for the day.

I was at Burbage West most of the day, probably seen you there. I was the one falling off everything.

[petejh]

Depressing finger injury, 10 days before planning to go to Spain. Seems like the proximal interphalangeal joint, middle finger, which I tweaked a couple of months ago. A sprain of some sort I think, possibly medial collateral ligament, definitely not a pulley. Weird that it's so swollen though, almost like it was infected. All too painful and puffy at the moment to be very sure. No idea how long these kind of things take to recover, never had a significant finger injury like this before. Struggling to stay positive, in general I seem to get better faster from acute injuries like this than from non-specific tweaks. Any thoughts on the recovery timescale?

Every possibility you'll be ok to climb in Spain. Often these PIP sprains take forever to heal properly, but you can get by fine by avoiding certain grip types. Usually pulling down on edges is ok. Perhaps stick to redpointing, which is more predictable.

^ This.

I get swollen PIP joints fairly regularly when I up the load, usually the middle finger, it just seems to come with the territory - they always seem to settle fairly quickly to a level which isn't too disruptive. Treat it like any low level inflammation - keep using it gently and try to remember to ice it after each sesh. Perhaps try a quick blast of anti-inflammatory if the swelling hasn't improved after a couple of days, although I avoid vitamin I these days (try cissuss! ). Once the inflammation has settled down a little I've found Dave Mac's advice of gently rotating and very gently bending the pip joint  side to side with the other hand to be beneficial. Page 144 of Dave Mac's book is useful.

It may well just be synovial fluid reaction as DM talks about.

If it's just a swollen pip you should be fine for you trip.

Also had a couple of collateral ligament sprains - takes a bit longer.

[duncan]

Depressing finger injury, 10 days before planning to go to Spain. Seems like the proximal interphalangeal joint, middle finger, which I tweaked a couple of months ago. A sprain of some sort I think, possibly medial collateral ligament, definitely not a pulley. Weird that it's so swollen though, almost like it was infected. All too painful and puffy at the moment to be very sure. No idea how long these kind of things take to recover, never had a significant finger injury like this before. Struggling to stay positive, in general I seem to get better faster from acute injuries like this than from non-specific tweaks. Any thoughts on the recovery timescale?

Every possibility you'll be ok to climb in Spain. Often these PIP sprains take forever to heal properly, but you can get by fine by avoiding certain grip types. Usually pulling down on edges is ok. Perhaps stick to redpointing, which is more predictable.

^ This.

I get swollen PIP joints fairly regularly when I up the load, usually the middle finger, it just seems to come with the territory - they always seem to settle fairly quickly to a level which isn't too disruptive. Treat it like any low level inflammation - keep using it gently and try to remember to ice it after each sesh. Perhaps try a quick blast of anti-inflammatory if the swelling hasn't improved after a couple of days, although I avoid vitamin I these days (try cissuss! ). Once the inflammation has settled down a little I've found Dave Mac's advice of gently rotating and very gently bending the pip joint  side to side with the other hand to be beneficial. Page 144 of Dave Mac's book is useful.

It may well just be synovial fluid reaction as DM talks about.

If it's just a swollen pip you should be fine for you trip.

Also had a couple of collateral ligament sprains - takes a bit longer.

Thanks chaps, good advice. If I try climbing I'm going to have to force myself to shout 'take!' a lot more often than I do at present. This is probably for my long-term good since I need to overcome decades of programming to fight like a bastard the whole way up a route. Good for onsighting, less good for redpointing or my body.

[fried]

No time to read what anyone else has done.

M/ T - Rest
W - Indoors, remember nothing
Th - Su - Family in Paris. Eating , drinking, putting on weight.