[lagerstarfish]

Yes I am keen for grit bouldering starting tomoorrw in fact.

where? I'll be out doing the bouldering equivalent of top roping V Diff

[shark]

Heading out tennish to Froggatt to try Hot Toddy with Paul Reeve

[measles23]

S- Stoke AW evening session - handed in the “history of bouldering” timeline poster that boy and I had fun making for NIBAS 3 - bulk mid grade problems; climbing better than earlier in the weak and did a couple of V7s quickly..

 

 

Fucksake - Freudian slip it’s been a weak week..

[lagerstarfish]

Heading out tennish to Froggatt to try Hot Toddy with Paul Reeve

[36chambers]

I thought that was shark for a moment, was just about to write "SLACK!!! ...you c**t."           

[tomtom]

Sounds like Dolly

[Fiend]

Firstly, I’m so jealous that you’re in the Red. I have such fond memories of those two crags- saw the biggest spider I’ve ever seen at Purgatory.

FFS!!! <scratches that one off the list> 

[Stabbsy]

Heading out tennish to Froggatt to try Hot Toddy with Paul Reeve

Looks like he was going for the lip. I thought Hot Toddy went left there?

[cheque]

Firstly, I’m so jealous that you’re in the Red. I have such fond memories of those two crags- saw the biggest spider I’ve ever seen at Purgatory.

FFS!!! <scratches that one off the list> 

  No-one really talks about spiders in the Red. I think they’ve largely cleared off by the autumn (The big fucker I saw was apparently a “brown recluse” so there’s a clue in the name) but it’s probably crawling in the summer when no one in their right mind goes climbing.

What they do talk about is the feared “Copperhead” snakes though. I saw only one, which slithered about 50cm in front of me as I was immobilised mid-bowel movement.  I’m the typical Brit who naïvely thinks that thrashing through dense undergrowth in foreign countries to find a secluded toilet spot is sensible. That’s also how I found out that I’m immune to poison ivy. 

In a nicer story I also found an amazingly-patterned turtle/ tortoise in similar circumstances.

[andy_e]

In a nicer story I also found an amazingly-patterned turtle/ tortoise in similar circumstances.

Was its head poking out?

[Fiend]

I don't mind terminally lethal death snakes nearly as much as completely harmless but fucking enormous spiders *SHUDDER**

* literally shudder - one time when I saw a "completely harmless" rain spider scuttling up the side of the shower block at Rocklands, I was actually shaking with fear at the sight of it, and ended up washing bollock-naked at the cold tap in the middle of the campsite.


@Bradders - if you saw some sweaty shirtless dude with overly baggy tracksuit bottoms falling off the wood circuit and shaking a bit (this time from a rather excellent macchiato), then HI.

[Nibile]

shaking a bit (this time from a rather excellent macchiato)

Hey Fiend, I don't want to piss in your coffee, but to my knowledge it's quite impossible to shake from a macchiato, because milk kind of "absorbs" caffeine, making it not digestible. In fact, having some milk in your coffee is just a way to make it less caffeine-strong.
That's also why I can digest more easily a bucket of tripes than a macchiato or a cappuccino.
Not that it ever occurred to me to have a macchiato rather than a coffee.

[Fiend]

Definitely not the case for me, even when I had a fully functional digestion!!

[Nibile]

I inadvertently erased last week's training.
Anyway it was fingers on Monday (BM 10x5) with good progress on ring monos.
Rest on Tuesday.
Weights of various kinds and intensity of suffering on Wednesday and Thursday. Mix of static and dynamic.
Rest again on Friday.
Some more weights on Saturday. Static and dynamic press ups, Farmer's 30/30 x10.
A wonderful session of weights and pull ups on Sunday: good mornings and pull ups (5x5); high pulls and pull ups (5x5); cleans and pull ups (5x5). 

[user deactivated]

Heading out tennish to Froggatt to try Hot Toddy with Paul Reeve

Looks like he was going for the lip. I thought Hot Toddy went left there?

Yeah duff beta / sequence to go straight up there. Go out to the flake under the roof, right heel on, bring right hand to the arête type feature where it meets the roof. Flick left out to arête, foot shuffle shenanigans and end up with double heels before blasting up. Tough at 7a 🤯

[Will Hunt]

M -
T - Depot. Warmed up. Ben was there, as was N Dogg (36Chambers) and a few others. Ben wondered how this session would be written up for Power Club. We warmed ourselves, though not really enough. Went to the 30 board and had an enjoyable sesh. Managed one of the things that Ben had shown me last week - it was all in the foot placement choice; couldn't remember the other. Started to put together a rising traverse which will hopefully go next session. There was decent psyche with lots of messing about on the board. As we warmed down, Ben declared that I was the greatest climber that he'd ever known, as well as a really fantastic person and a terrific shag.
W - Guidebook meeting at the pub.
T -
F -
S - Wife was at a wedding so took the nipper to Brimham. Lots of stuff wet so we took refuge under Joker's Wall. 36C, Louise, and Molly were there as well and were really good with Jess. This allowed me to do a few warm ups and then do Joker's Wall Traverse, which went easily enough with the right beta, if not slightly shambolicly towards the end.

Jess loves a playpark and to be outside. We've had a couple of trips to the crag, but she often feels unsure about the crag environment and people that she doesn't know at first. After she'd had her lunch and then a little cry and a cuddle (at which point I felt like a terrible father) she really cheered up and loved scampering around and being played with. It's an objective of mine to get her to enjoy trips out to the crag. I'm hoping that more exposure and familiarisation will help get over that initial uncertainty in a new environment. Any tips welcomed.
S -

[GazM]

How old is Jess Will? I've got a 14 month old and looking forward to this kind of fun.

[tomtom]

Im more worried by what MrsTT would say if ours (2 1/2) came back with a fresh bump/scrape etc... than anything actually happening to him... he came back from Wilton fest the summer before last with a load of midge bites on him and that got me in a load of trouble

Its a tricky one with the nipper - as ideally venues need to be within 45 min (so they dont get too crotchety in the car) - have a fairly flat, enclosed and safe (glass free) area where there are decent problems and not too far a walk from the car (quarrys would be ideal apart from the glass/rubbish that seems to be there). Ours is pretty well behaved - but quite capable of getting himself into trouble! 

14mth is a good age - as they are not too mobile then! and readily entertained... We have a constant stream of 'whats that noise', 'whys that' and 'I WANT it'...   Its brilliant though...

[slab_happy]

Thank you. Sounds like the anti-Castle. Totally what I am looking for. 40° MB not a deal breaker as they have the lower angle circuit and symmetry boards.

Glad I could recommend it! And honestly, I also love the walls where I can go and do interesting new problems every week. But Blocfit is going to be a phenomenal resource for training.

Also in location/style it reminds me a bit of the original Arch under the London Bridge railway arches, so I come over all sentimental.

[lagerstarfish]

Will, a small pop up tent goes a long way to making trips to the crag/beach/forest less intimidating

I've used the sunsense junior pop up beach tent for the last 17 years (on 2nd one now)

you can fill the pockets with sand to stop it blowing away - small bouldering mat fits inside and makes a comfortable bed - folds up small enough to fit inside bouldering mat

the kids have slept in them as babies, my wife has used them as changing rooms on the beach and we've sheltered from thunderstorms in them

[andy_e]

...Joker's Wall Traverse, which went easily enough with the right beta, if not slightly shambolicly towards the end.

I've yet to see it done any other way.

[Will Hunt]

Thanks for the tips. I've sometimes thought about having a thread going with crag and problem recommendations for those with child, but what's right for a 6 month old won't be right for and 18 month old or a 3 year old. And then there's each individual child's personalities and quirks.

Jess is a year and 6 months old now. We actually have a beach tent (though I expect it will give no protection from rain; it's a cheap Aldi job) so will try that. The main hurdle is probably convincing my wife (non-climber) that it will be a fun family activity to sit at a crag and watch Daddy climb. This is going to be more suited to a project, rather than problems that might go quickly to reduce moving around.

For us, a venue which is an hour from the house works well as she tends to sleep for an hour at 10:30/11, so this can be done on the way to the crag. She'll have a sleep on the way home, and it's best to be home for half four for dinner time. So that gives a few hours at the crag.

Almscliff (nothing I really want to do there), some bits of Caley, Brimham, Ilkley (yuck), Baildon (glass and dog turds notwithstanding), Widdop are obvious choices.
Any more suggestions?

[36chambers]

Almscliff (nothing I really want to do there), some bits of Caley, Brimham
Any more suggestions?

I imagine there's enough at just those crags to keep you more than occupied for the next year or so, particularly if you would rather be in one spot and project stuff.

It sounds like what you need is a piece of rock that has plenty to go at, such as hard projects, link ups, eliminates, all in one easily accessible place. If only there existed some sort of roof in Yorkshire that contained such potential. Some sort of walled roof. Some sort of demonic walled roof...

I've been told a certain Stu's Roof is a pretty dece problem for getting stuck into. Other areas with plenty of scope for eliminates and fun are To Me To You/Dolphin wall area. (Whitehouses would have been a good option #sadface.)

[Will Hunt]

Almscliff (nothing I really want to do there), some bits of Caley, Brimham
Any more suggestions?

It sounds like what you need is a piece of rock that has plenty to go at, such as hard projects, link ups, eliminates, all in one easily accessible place. If only there existed some sort of roof in Yorkshire that contained such potential. Some sort of walled roof. Some sort of demonic walled roof...

I might just give up climbing now...

[cheque]

I love that you’re acting like fitting a scaled-down version of climbing ambitions around fatherhood is a new subject for this forum Will. Have you read UKB before?