[James Malloch]

After two weeks of illness I had a hectic week at work last week resulting in no time for climbing midweek. Went to Scotland for the Bank Holiday and, due to rain, had a few days of walking.

Stopped off at Kyloe-in-the-woods on Sunday and had a bit of a fail. Got close on one 7A+ and failed on a bunch of other stuff. A session at the wall on Monday suggested the last 3 weeks have knocked me back a bit...

[Murph]

Murph, that's ace, Charles better watch his back!

Just looked up who you meant here. My god. 8C barefoot, 7C barefoot and blindfold :jawdrop:

[tomtom]

Murph, that's ace, Charles better watch his back!

Just looked up who you meant here. My god. 8C barefoot, 7C barefoot and blindfold :jawdrop:

Time to work on your weight added toe deadhangs..

[duncan]

Some good weeks people.

STG: Rehab. elbow, 6c at Siurana. Place gear.
MTG: tbc
LTG: 7b. Classic sea-cliff E5 this August.

M -
T - Flight to Barcelona. Evening pottering at Arboli.
W - Arboli - routes including “Cuencame un Cuenco” (~6b+).
T - Siurana - routes including “”Sorry Not Clean” (6b).
F - Siurana - sight-seeing for me.
S - Margalef - routes including “Brigada Txocolata” (6c).
S - Margalef - routes to 6b. Out of skin, out of strength, too close to unpleasantly pushy French family (your daughter may be on the national junior team but please don’t shout at your plainly frightened ~8 year old son because he is whimpering a little on a tough 6a+). Bailed to tea-making duties.

Excellent trip: great area, enthusiastic company, recommendable accommodation, and no flight or car rental screw-ups. Siurana was heaving with visitors, the team - strong indoor boulderers - found the climbing a bit long, vertical, and scary (gratifyingly ). Roadside Margalef worked for everyone.

I ran out of gas by the final day, felt notably weak and unfit, not surprising since it’s 7 months since I’ve tried hard on anything. Was climbing 7a/+ at the same venues 3 years ago after a winter of general conditioning and easy volume on the autobelay: aerocap and not getting injured clearly works for me. The tweaks are pretty good, I’m moving reasonably well on rock, and should be climbing harder with a little more mileage.

Plan: time on rock, trad. climbing (it’s six months since I’ve placed gear) and slowly, carefully, build up the fitness indoors.

[Yossarian]

Plan: time on rock, trad. climbing (it’s six months since I’ve placed gear) and slowly, carefully, build up the fitness indoors.

If you're ever stuck for partners for Dorset (or other south coast) Duncan, give me a shout...

[SA Chris]

Forgive me for i have sinned, it has been many weeks since my last confession

STG - Loch Ness Etape, which has come round too fast
MTG - linkup project
LTG - something harder.

M before last - Wall session. Reset of 10 deg board so loads to play on. Felt pretty good.
T - can't recall, nothing much
W - outside bouldering. Good conditions. Managed to do first half of linkup project, but skin too sore to do any more. Cave was really dry though, so managed an eliminate traverse I had thought of a while back.
T - nothing. Packing
F - nothing. Packing
S - long drive to York
S - planned trip to Brimham, but  friends said it was a zoo and nowhere to park so we sacked it off. Gutted
M - walk in town. 10 k easy run in evening, all a bit flat round there!
T - walk with kids, then bouldered at Red Goat in evening. Good session, nice centre with good route setting, and beta from Stabbsy.
W - walk with kids railway museum, 36 k bike ride on Solar System ride towards Selby. Had to turn around before I reached Pluto, but fuck it, it's not a planet any more any way. All a bit flat as well, 59 m of ascent!
T - Tiresome day at Flamingo Land. Lots of walking.
F - Brimham. Toproped a few routes with kids, they complained it was cold, then we did an easter egg hunt with them, then everyone got cold and wanted to go home. I pulled on a few holds wearing trainers. Fuck it.
S - Long drive home, 2 hours in Edinburgh IKEA to add salt to wounds.
S - 36 k all the local hills ride, 478m of ascent. Got rained on a bit.

[TobyD]

Mon - another hour a Bonehill late afternoon.  Was shit and got quite upset about it, had expected to do The Wave after coming so, so close yesterday.  Eventually managed a 6C in the worst style imaginable.

A mate down there used to eat clotted cream and golden syrup on toast every morning. Amazingly, he's not fat; more importantly, I've never seen him split a tip

[psborland]

M:  Nothing

T: BBC Limit Bouldering. Purchased a dozen big - very big   wood crimps  from Alex Fry whilst he was there setting. Seem really nice, hoping to set up something on my garage board to train PE / capacity
 
https://www.instagram.com/p/BS8oSMwgWK7/?taken-by=psborland

W: Core b

Th: none

F: Hangboard max hangs. Aiming for 10 second hangs/ 3 minutes rest two handed : metolius small slot front 3 half crimp +5Kg .  7 sec/6 sec changed to 3.75Kg 9 seconds
BM2k small edge 4 finger half crimp +5Kg : 8 / 10 sec + 6.25Kg =8 seconds
BM2k 4 finger open +17.5Kg: 7/8/5 seconds
Dead lifts 70 KGx 8; 85Kg x8 ; 95Kg x 5 

Sa: screwed LXgrips on to board

Su: Ate easter chocolate.

[SA Chris]

put in a solid session on Shadows of Ourselves – another problem with which I thought I had unfinished business until a mate told me that I’d done it years ago.

I do that sometimes.

[jwi]

Siurana was heaving with visitors

That chimes with what other reliable sources have told me: Siurana is off limits for a few years until it becomes unfashionable again. A pity, would like to revisit at some point soon.

[T_B]

Easter innit.

Buoux?

[fried]

M - Petit Bois, dry for a week or so, so worth a punt. Pretty green still but got stuck into the traverse of remise à l'heure https://bleau.info/petit/8004.html. Close but not there, did the beginning and the end but couldn't quite get out of the groove, no doubt the crux. Did loads of easy stuff.

T- rest
W - Indoors, feeling much better at the moment, indoors might not help outdoors but the reverse wotks pretty well. Shoulder ok.

Th- rest
Fr - Franchard Sablons, like a creche, but lots of happy, smiley people so that was ok. Planned to do the new, experimental orange circuit...did a few, then found myself in front of Dalle à Clement https://bleau.info/sablons/3164.html. I get about 5 goes at this every year, 3 to work the sequence, up to th last move....then fluffed the last moved. Couldn't even pull on again after that. Fingers sore, did easy stuff...went home. Best I've climbed outdoors for a long time.

Sa/ Su - Easter boozing.

[Duma]

found myself in front of Dalle à Clement https://bleau.info/sablons/3164.html. I get about 5 goes at this every year, 3 to work the sequence, up to th last move....

Top problem that one, impressed it still sticks in my memory after 13 years...

[Will Hunt]

M - Petit Bois, dry for a week or so, so worth a punt. Pretty green still but got stuck into the traverse of remise à l'heure https://bleau.info/petit/8004.html. Close but not there, did the beginning and the end but couldn't quite get out of the groove, no doubt the crux. Did loads of easy stuff.

Lovely problem on a lovely block. I think if I could pick up on little part of Font and transport it back home it would be Petit Bois (obviously Franchard being too big to transport).

[fried]

M - Petit Bois, dry for a week or so, so worth a punt. Pretty green still but got stuck into the traverse of remise à l'heure https://bleau.info/petit/8004.html. Close but not there, did the beginning and the end but couldn't quite get out of the groove, no doubt the crux. Did loads of easy stuff.

Lovely problem on a lovely block. I think if I could pick up on little part of Font and transport it back home it would be Petit Bois (obviously Franchard being too big to transport).

A lot of the problems could use a bit more traffic. Last year was pretty wet and some stuff is in danger of disppearing under thick moss. Lovely rock.

[the_dom]

put in a solid session on Shadows of Ourselves – another problem with which I thought I had unfinished business until a mate told me that I’d done it years ago.

I do that sometimes.

Normally with me it's the other way around..

[duncan]

Siurana was heaving with visitors

That chimes with what other reliable sources have told me: Siurana is off limits for a few years until it becomes unfashionable again. A pity, would like to revisit at some point soon.

Easter innit.

Yes.

Part of the problem was the number of non-climbers, on some days the police were limiting the number of cars past the Herbolari parking spot.

I'll go again but off-season, whenever that is. November?

[T_B]

I was there in January ('16) and was lucky to have perfect conditions (bit hot in the sun). It was pretty quiet, but I definitely wouldn't describe it as deserted.

[Luke Owens]

Two weeks from me, been ill all this week.

3rd April - 9th April

Shoulders are feeling great after all the rotation and IYT stuff lately. Feel stronger and less achey.

M: Pantymwyn - Got over excited and didn't warm up properly. Felt a twinge in my left forearm on my 2nd go on Panty's sit. Thought nothing of it... Fell off the last move again after a few more goes then on one go foot slipped out of heel-toe as I was going into the pocket and ripped a massive flapper. When I got home/warmed down realised twinge was flexor unit strain from the 2 finger pocket - Not happy! Basicly means I can forget this problem for the foreseable until that's fully healed.

T: Rest

W: Lunch -
2 x 10 Press-ups
2 x 10 Shoulder rotations (4kg)
2 x 10 Tricep curls (8kg)
3 x 5 reps of IYT's (4kg)
4 x 10 Eccentric curls - both arms (8kg, 10kg, 10kg, 12kg)
Stretching forearms and back

T: Lunch -
2 x 10 Press-ups
2 x 10 Shoulder rotations (4kg)
2 x 10 Tricep curls (8kg)
3 x 5 reps of IYT's (4kg)
4 x 10 Eccentric curls - both arms (8kg, 10kg, 10kg, 12kg)
Stretching forearms and back

Eve: Ruthin Escarpment - Haven't been in years, crimpy local lime venue. Flashed "Thriller In Minilla" (6C) and did "The Butterfly Collector Sit-start" (7A) 3rd go. Pretty chuffed to actually be able climb after Monday's epic.



F: Lunch -
2 x 10 Press-ups
2 x 10 Shoulder rotations (4kg)
6 x 10s L-hangs
3 x 5 reps of IYT's (4kg)
2 x 10 Eccentric curls - both arms (12kg)

S: Rest/Gardening

S: Rest/Gardening

10th April - 16th April

M: Cave - Finally did Right Wall Traverse (7A), complete nemesis for some reason, I've tried it on and off for a couple of years and always fall off the end... Had a few goes on Lipstick (7A), felt hard in the sun.

Had a quick look at Lickety Split - Pulling on was hard, managed one move...

Went around to Pill Box, freezing in the wind. Tried the Original (7A) again, still feels impossible, how this can be 7A I'll never know.

Went to check out Silence of the Trams (7A+/B), managed to pull off the deck a few times but them holds are horrid, not enjoyable. Did most of the up lines to the left all around 6A.

T: Lunch -
30 Crunches (+5kg)
20s Side planks (+6kg)
5 x 5sec L-hangs
3 x 10 Dorsal raises (+5kg)
3 x 5 reps of IYT's (4kg)
2 x 10 Eccentric curls - both arms (12kg)

Eve: 10 min warm up of various easy hangs.

Max Hangs - Half Crimp on 20mm edge
R1: 10s, R2: 10s, R3: 8s, R4: 8s, R5: 9s

W: Lunch -
3 x 5 reps of IYT's (4kg)
3 x 10 Eccentric curls - both arms (12kg)

T: Pigeon's Cave - Lamp session - first time down there.

Did all but the last move on "In the Mix" (7A), moved on further down the beach and did "Fossil Arete" (7A) 2nd go.  I had a bunch of goes on the 7A+ low start and came close.

F: Rest

S: Pigeon's Cave again - Warmed up quickly and did the 7A+ low start to Fossil Arete twice. Had a brief greasy go on Jimnastic (7A+). Then went to try and finish off "In the Mix". Did the last move I couldn't do the other day but couldn't link from the start as it was so humid/greasy. Felt weird and like I had a high temperature when I got back to the car.

S: Caught some sort of bug could barely move all day...

[Kingy]

Went around to Pill Box, freezing in the wind. Tried the Original (7A) again, still feels impossible, how this can be 7A I'll never know.

Its hard but try the beta in this vid of Drink Driving, drill your feet into them polished smears!
youtube.com/watch?v=Y4rB2QkR9lI&t=152s

[Luke Owens]

Went around to Pill Box, freezing in the wind. Tried the Original (7A) again, still feels impossible, how this can be 7A I'll never know.

Its hard but try the beta in this vid of Drink Driving, drill your feet into them polished smears!
youtube.com/watch?v=Y4rB2QkR9lI&t=152s

Cheers Ted, not tried it like that, will give it a whirl!