[shark]

Aidan Roberts flashed Tsunami today, and practically everything else at Rubicon. He won't shout about it so I thought I would.

Thought this probably deserves a bit more prominence.

I checked with Billy and Aidan did it properly (ie Sloper match) and hadn't been on Bigger Splash direct.

Apart from the significance of him being just 17 or 18 and so still ascendant! I can't think of a harder flash on Peak lime

[dave]

If I remember right didn't Garth Miller (mutant strongfingered Aussie) flash Staminaband? Not sure if that was having done powerband or not, but it should be on here somewhere in an old thread.

[fiveknuckle21]

I remember that news. He had done Powerband beforehand and the standard flash/no flash debate ensued. Please not again.

Good effort on Tsunami first go. Especially if it was sans heel. The snatch upto the sidepull feels the most offable move on the problem for me.

[Ged]

For those of us not in the know, what is tsunami?

[lagerstarfish]

http://peakbouldering.info/areas/5-central-limestone/crags/77-rubicon/boulders/328-kudos-wall/problems/1398-tsunami#.WBRZpvkrJPY

innit

[tomtom]

For those of us not in the know, what is tsunami?

[Murph]

 Incredible achievement. 

Was there this morning and what fascinates me most about this feat, and this applies to most everything on that wall tbh, is knowing where the problems go - specifically the feet. I was looking at the problem (it's a bit damp round there btw) at a couple of videos on my phone (sorry Ned) and even with the problem in front of you and beta in your hand there's a fairly big choice of holds to choose from.

Of course a bit of beta is helpful on a lot of problems, but particularly on that bit of wall.

If he just walked up to it on sight and did the thing, then I don't think my brain could handle that.

Also, isn't bigger belly due a repeat soon then?

[measles23]

Morning early bird..

It's reported as a flash, and the whole flash vs on-sight concept is very different in bouldering compared to routes - because problems tend to require some knowledge about where to start and what's in (particularly peak lime!), most people going for a 'first go' ascent do so with beta, and the idea of true on-sighting has faded away..
Tsunami in particular has rules, so I'd presume Aiden had advice..

Very strong thing to do - like Bosi on Hubble and Nalle's 9A there's some wonderful demonstrations of next-gen climbing strength going down - inspiring times

BB's had at least 2 repeats - Ned and Shauna

[Doylo]

He flashed a 'V10' on the Kendal wall board that everyone was projecting last winter.

[Murph]

Thanks for the repeat knowledge Matt. Wish there was a decent video of it.  And totally agree with you - Aiden, Nalle and Bosi showing us how it's done is feeding the psyche monkey. It's a great time to be obsessed about pulling on little tiny holds.   

Just realised when I said "sorry Ned" up above I meant "sorry Dan" (Varian cos he doesn't believe in the whole beta on yer phone thing) and I meant to put a smiley face after it too.

[haydn jones]

heres a video of me doing the non eliminate version.

[shark]

I've just done a Q & A with Aidan. Yer tiz:

How old are you, where you from and when and how did you start climbing?

Just turned 18. Born and lived in the Lake District. I started when a small wall opened up in a local town when I was 13 and I've enjoyed it ever since.

I read you have a home board you train on - tell me about the set up, how often and how you use it train?

I have 2 boards, a 50degree and a 40degree filled with wooden holds through beastmaker, then I have some fingerboards and a non standard campus board. It is my main place to train and I'm usually in there 5 days a week but I'm trying to get outside when I can now so a bit less. My board sessions are pretty standard without much structure but I mainly work hard projects on it. My Fingerboarding is more scientific and I tend to stick to repeaters with the odd set of max reps

Why do you prefer bouldering?

I've always enjoyed both and have a lot of fun on routes but I've grown up climbing by myself and lack a belayer to frequently get on routes. I think this has meant I've always focused mainly on bouldering and so get more satisfaction out of the harder boulders I do. I also enjoy the absolute limit of difficulty of moves which you get on hard boulders

After winning last years European Championship did you expect to get an invite to the Olympics?

The European Championships was a big surprise for me and I wasn't really sure what to expect but in terms of the Olympics I'm still not 100% sure of the format in terms of qualification for the event and I'm unsure as to whether it is by invitation.

How do you feel about comp climbing vs outdoor climbing currently?

After a disappointing misunderstanding of the rules by the GB climbing team, I lost my opportunity to compete in the China youth world championships, the event I've been training for all year. This left me feeling pretty frustrated with the competition scene and I've decided to dedicate my time to focusing outdoors with the intention of maybe doing the competitions next summer

Bugger.

Yea! Though I'm enjoying the opportunity to focus on climbing outdoors

You bust your heel in March. How is that ? And have you had any other injuries that have held you back?

Yea, that was a pain and it's been a long road ro recovery but I'm finally feeling back in shape. Other than my heel I've never had any other injuries

Any people who have been a big influence for you?

Definitely Dan Varian, he's been a coach for me for a long while and we often get outdoors. It's very useful having someone who is stronger and more experienced than you, though we have slight contrasts in style which I feel helps us both out when working hard projects


Which have been your hardest boulder problems to date (worked and flashed) ?

I recently flashed tsunami 8a at Rubicon. In terms of hard projects I've never really worked on something for a significant time so I've more just been doing mileage of grades up to about 8a+. I've climbed some harder stuff abroad but they feel soft. One of my best hard blocs was super duper gene which I got the first ascent of a couple of months back at doh crag, Coniston. It links some hard 8a moves into a soft 8a higher start. I got it in my first session and graded it a 8a+. I've currently got 2 FA projects I'd like to put some time into over the winter graded around 8b+ and 8c but I'm keeping them quiet 🙂

Even from Dan?

No, we've been putting some work/sharing beta on both

Nice. Last question. Font or V grades?

Font for sure!

[standard]

I've just done a Q & A with Aidan. Yer tiz:

How do you feel about comp climbing vs outdoor climbing currently?

After a disappointing misunderstanding of the rules by the GB climbing team, I lost my opportunity to compete in the China youth world championships, the event I've been training for all year.

Bugger.

???

[dave]

Doh crag? Presumably that's Dow crag with locals pronunciation?

[peewee]

I'm guessing so as Supergene is an 8A so must be a low start to that.