[Murph]

James - a Tsunami replica would be amazing. Also contenders are dancing fish and king of lambs and something on Sean’s. But Tsunami is what I always had in mind.

Tom - there’s no doubt it’s something about my shocking posture. Volvo (good memory) has been replaced with a Skoda but problem predates that.

Recent back problem was really quite bad - upper back pain meant I couldn’t look round much at all. Super frustratingly it came after a concerted attempt to up my stretching routine which really isn’t the sort of feedback one hopes for after eventually doing the right thing.

Really appreciate the kind words. Thanks!

[cheque]

Rehab Diaries Week Twenty-nine

STG- "Retro-redpoint" Consenting Adults by end of March, onsighting HVS/ low 6s by end of September.

M- Rest.

T- Malham. TR'd Consenting with one hang on warm-up go. Got a bit flash pumped but I really wanted to link as much as possible first go so worth it. Did it clean on second go. Absolutely amazing how much one session on this route improved my fitness- the breathlessness I reported last week now seems to have been overcome!

Now the trickier business of leading it. I hadn't led anything apart from easy grit trad and sub-6 indoor routes since my accident (and before that hadn't led harder than 6b+ since the end of August 2017!) so not a straightforward proposition. First RP got to fourth bolt- this is after the first crux but before the second and it seems my brain was only really prepared to lead one hard bit. Went to the last bolt from there (doing the second crux in the process after a few wobbles) but couldn't make myself do the last bolt to the chains on lead. With hindsight I should have jumped off from the bit I found most scary (this has worked wonders for me in the past) but I really just wanted to come down.

Next RP climbed much better and got to the last bolt from the floor but I was clipping each bolt from way too low so felt too pumped to have the confidence to finish it off. Again couldn't commit to the top after hanging. TR'd it at the end of the day in failing light and hung twice due to being battered but did totally refine beta for my new method of doing the top which will hopefully give me the confidence to do it next session- best approach would be to warm up on lead and take some falls while energy and psyche are still high.

W- Rest.

T- Gym. Exercise bike for the first time in a month- levels up 1 from last session in the time-honoured fashion. This has been the bit of rehab that I've phased out to fit more climbing in as I've got stronger but there does still feel to be value in doing it.

F- Foundry Autos. Felt very good. Onsighted two 6bs. Had a few goes on the red 6b+ without progress but made it to the same height (2/3rdsish) on the 7a on the same panel onsight which I think illustrates the folly of placing too much stock in indoor grading. Plenty of burns on various 6c and above routes as well. Didn't want to focus too much on one route as that seems to be the path to finger tweaks.

S- Short walk/ scoot with my sister's family.

S- Race support for girlfriend in Buckinghamshire. Sometimes this involves a bit of walking and carrying but this one was basically just sitting in the car reading the Ogwen guidebook which was welcome as the wind was baltic, it was ridiculously muddy and I was unexpectedly very tired. Pleased to see Rache neither limping or covered in mud at the finish line!

Malham and weekend down south meant that I broke my fingerboard and weight training schedule for the first time in months. I needed a restful weekend anyway and Malham is easily as beneficial for my fingers as the board is as well as in pretty much every other way. Great to be back at a crag trying hard with other people doing the same thing. 

Felt disappointed not to get Consenting done on Tuesday but it was like when your team concedes a last-minute equaliser in a match you expected them to lose- whether I led it or not it's unbelievable how much progress I made in two sessions. I would love to get this route under my belt before the anniversary of my accident but a wet crag and a gash forecast for my forthcoming week off work  mean that this may not be possible. Hopefully the stars will align and I can get it done.

Leading at my limit is (unsurprisingly) a tough little obstacle to get past, particularly higher up. This is my new target.

[shark]

Recent back problem was really quite bad - upper back pain meant I couldn’t look round much at all. Super frustratingly it came after a concerted attempt to up my stretching routine which really isn’t the sort of feedback one hopes for after eventually doing the right thing.

Time to see Louise - high priestess of pain.

PM me for her number

[tommytwotone]

Goal: 3 x new (to me) Font 7a by end of 2019


M: nowt
T: Gym on lunch - sub 4 min 1k row (PB) then thought I'd do my old shoulder rehab TRX exercises which were surprisingly hard. Finished with military press and chest press, which also felt hard.
W: DOMS, lunchtime stretching to try and alleviate stubborn glute / hamstring pain I've had for ages now
T: As Weds
F: Nowt
S: Nowt
S: Depot with Una (aged 5) in tow. First time she's ever been with me with climbing in mind. Had a really good session, she was keen and did loads and we left because I was tired out, not because she'd lost interest. When I put her to bed later she asked if we could go again next weekend. Bit of a YYFY.

[Will Hunt]

Rehab Diaries Week Twenty-nine

STG- "Retro-redpoint" Consenting Adults by end of March, onsighting HVS/ low 6s by end of September.

M- Rest.

T- Malham. TR'd Consenting with one hang on warm-up go. Got a bit flash pumped but I really wanted to link as much as possible first go so worth it. Did it clean on second go. Absolutely amazing how much one session on this route improved my fitness- the breathlessness I reported last week now seems to have been overcome!

Now the trickier business of leading it. I hadn't led anything apart from easy grit trad and sub-6 indoor routes since my accident (and before that hadn't led harder than 6b+ since the end of August 2017!) so not a straightforward proposition. First RP got to fourth bolt- this is after the first crux but before the second and it seems my brain was only really prepared to lead one hard bit. Went to the last bolt from there (doing the second crux in the process after a few wobbles) but couldn't make myself do the last bolt to the chains on lead. With hindsight I should have jumped off from the bit I found most scary (this has worked wonders for me in the past) but I really just wanted to come down.

Next RP climbed much better and got to the last bolt from the floor but I was clipping each bolt from way too low so felt too pumped to have the confidence to finish it off. Again couldn't commit to the top after hanging. TR'd it at the end of the day in failing light and hung twice due to being battered but did totally refine beta for my new method of doing the top which will hopefully give me the confidence to do it next session- best approach would be to warm up on lead and take some falls while energy and psyche are still high.

W- Rest.

T- Gym. Exercise bike for the first time in a month- levels up 1 from last session in the time-honoured fashion. This has been the bit of rehab that I've phased out to fit more climbing in as I've got stronger but there does still feel to be value in doing it.

F- Foundry Autos. Felt very good. Onsighted two 6bs. Had a few goes on the red 6b+ without progress but made it to the same height (2/3rdsish) on the 7a on the same panel onsight which I think illustrates the folly of placing too much stock in indoor grading. Plenty of burns on various 6c and above routes as well. Didn't want to focus too much on one route as that seems to be the path to finger tweaks.

S- Short walk/ scoot with my sister's family.

S- Race support for girlfriend in Buckinghamshire. Sometimes this involves a bit of walking and carrying but this one was basically just sitting in the car reading the Ogwen guidebook which was welcome as the wind was baltic, it was ridiculously muddy and I was unexpectedly very tired. Pleased to see Rache neither limping or covered in mud at the finish line!

Malham and weekend down south meant that I broke my fingerboard and weight training schedule for the first time in months. I needed a restful weekend anyway and Malham is easily as beneficial for my fingers as the board is as well as in pretty much every other way. Great to be back at a crag trying hard with other people doing the same thing. 

Felt disappointed not to get Consenting done on Tuesday but it was like when your team concedes a last-minute equaliser in a match you expected them to lose- whether I led it or not it's unbelievable how much progress I made in two sessions. I would love to get this route under my belt before the anniversary of my accident but a wet crag and a gash forecast for my forthcoming week off work  mean that this may not be possible. Hopefully the stars will align and I can get it done.

Leading at my limit is (unsurprisingly) a tough little obstacle to get past, particularly higher up. This is my new target.

Brilliant effort, Cheque. I've always found the low 7s at Malham to be a bit mean. Rose Coronary is good at 6c+. Other than that, if you haven't done much at Troller's Gill then get yourself there. Barguest is a top notch 7a, Jim Grin is excellent (but top end 7a). Barguest Direct at 7a/7a+ is great. A bit steeper than Malham on bigger holds and with friendlier bolting.

[spidermonkey09]

Felt disappointed not to get Consenting done on Tuesday but it was like when your team concedes a last-minute equaliser in a match you expected them to lose- whether I led it or not it's unbelievable how much progress I made in two sessions. I would love to get this route under my belt before the anniversary of my accident but a wet crag and a gash forecast for my forthcoming week off work  mean that this may not be possible. Hopefully the stars will align and I can get it done.

Quality once again. Although as I'm sure you know, Consenting is basically bulletproof as far as seepage is concerned so as long as the rain isn't blowing directly onto it you could probably get there this week. That said, it might be a bit grim.

Second Will's suggestion of the Trollers 7's and Rose at Malham.

[T_B]

Recent back problem was really quite bad - upper back pain meant I couldn’t look round much at all. Super frustratingly it came after a concerted attempt to up my stretching routine which really isn’t the sort of feedback one hopes for after eventually doing the right thing.

Time to see Louise - high priestess of pain.

PM me for her number

That's what I was thinking. 27 months later and no back issues (though I now have a stand up desk and regularly roll on a tennis ball) it's the best money I've ever spent #louiseevangelist

[cheque]

Cheers guys. Yeah I've done RoCo and F&EE. I really want to get Consenting done to have the 7a tick then move onto routes I haven't done before to be honest. The Grim Jim is a good shout- I tried that on my only visit to Troller's years ago and thought it was ace. More "my style" than any of the central Catwalk 7s. I was on 7th Aardvark on my last little Malham campaign but Yosemite Wall appeals more.

Yeah, Consenting will be dry, it's just harder to car share from when most other routes are wet. I've no complaints with the bolting on it (it's had two moved from when I was last on it and it felt fine to me then) the problem is just my unfamiliarity with leading.

[Will Hunt]

Cheers guys. Yeah I've done RoCo and F&EE. I really want to get Consenting done to have the 7a tick then move onto routes I haven't done before to be honest. The Grim Jim is a good shout- I tried that on my only visit to Troller's years ago and thought it was ace. More "my style" than any of the central Catwalk 7s. I was on 7th Aardvark on my last little Malham campaign but Yosemite Wall appeals more.

Yeah, Consenting will be dry, it's just harder to car share from when most other routes are wet. I've no complaints with the bolting on it (it's had two moved from when I was last on it and it felt fine to me then) the problem is just my unfamiliarity with leading.

I imagine Yosemite Wall is a good one to flash. Great route; never desperate; some good rests on it: is it 7a+ or 7a? But it crosses a load of straight ups and I can imagine it being a pig to work. Depending on your style, there are some nice 7s to do at Moughton Nab that are basically boulder problems into paths. Same goes for Panorama. Those routes might not be worth the drive from Settle on their own but they're at crags with plenty of nice 6s. Moughton in particular serves as an exposed spot that gets plenty of shade once the morning sun is off it. And then there's Trow Gill which has the friendly, sunny side with some absolute corkers of 6s; contrasted by the Gordale in miniature that is the dark side. Brush With A Goat is 7a and ace.

[Smith42]

M - Complete rest day.
T - 6km run then Climb Newcastle (Pool) and did easy/mid-grade circuit (6A-7A).
W - Sunderland Wall warmed up then did four blocks of ten minute climbing routes with 30min rest in between.  Good endurance workout.
Th - Trained at home, did some Max Hangs @ +25kg and then some project bouldering on small holds with board at 30degs.
F - Run/Bike at gym.
Sat - Jesmond Dene Quarry, went with the intention of just getting some fresh air in the rain and clean up the 7C traverse for future attempts before heading in to the wall.  Anyway spent half an hour cleaning everything that might be of use and working out some imaginary beta.  Thought I would give it a joke try and the beta worked! Ended up doing whole thing second go after a foot slip robbed me on the last move first try.  Was gobsmacked it went so easily.  The day was not a complete success however, walking out in the rain i slipped and stubbed my toe badly.  Really Bad.
Sun - Barely slept cos of throbbing toe, the nail had turned black/purple and was bummed out at the prospect of not being able to wear rock shoes for a while.  Decided to spend the next couple weeks concentrating on finger boarding, campusing and doing core training. 
Went to Climb Newcastle (Valley) finger board/core session and bumped in mate who is an AE doctor.  He offered to take a look and said it would be less painful and recover quicker if I released the pressure forming a hole in the nail to let the blood out.  He suggested heating a needle over a flame till it was glowing orange then using it to melt the nail and form a hole to let the blood out. 
So this was how I spent my Sunday evening and let me tell you poking red hot needles into your bleeding toe nail is not as much fun as it sounds. 
Overall a good week and super stoked to have taken another 7C scalp so easily.  The toe thing would have really bummed me out if it has occurred a prior to this run of form but it is a bit easier to accept having some time off rock on the back of several successes.  And training should be relatively unaffected

[SA Chris]

M- late evening bouldering session - felt knackered but went down anyway. had an OK Session
T - nothing. Was going to go running at lunch, but forgot about optician appt.
W - was going to go see free Solo, but fucking sold out. Long climbing session instead, main bouldering section closed, so campus and circuits session.
T - lunch run - weather minging so did trail circuit - 7 km.
F - boulder comp. Climbed pretty well, grabbed what i could. Ended up winning vets for once, and score would have got me 5th in mens. Surprisingly won vets winter series, as they decided to take results from all 4 comps, not best 3. Result.
S - long run. 26km in cold and windy conditions. Could have gone a bit longer at end, but was frozen by that point so sacked it in.
S - Nothing much. Short walk with kids.

[jamesturnbull97]

M- Quick ride around some of the trail on The Chevin, pretty muddy and slick but still good fun.

T- Around quick ride around Baildon Moor in the morning, the went for a walk around The Chevin with some work friends. Went to the Depot in the evening but understanderably felt tired, repeated a couple of things on the 50 but ended up climbing on the 30 with Nathaniel and Ben which ended up just being a good laugh on random moves.

W- Went for a social session at The Works for a change of scenery. Climbed on the board for a while with G, did three of the 7c's (Roger Rabbit, DMM>Wildcountry & Spread Eagle) although they'd probably be 7a+ on the Depot beastmaker  . Then ended up have a session on the comp wall with Sam Whittaker and Bosi, suprised myslef by doing 3 of the womans CWIF finals problems.

T-

F- Surf on the East coast. Pumping session at one of the reefs, difficult conditions but some really good waves to be had! https://www.instagram.com/p/BuwgCVLhFC5/

S- The start of a very hectic weekend at work! Had planned to train again in the evening but ended up being involved in a rescue of a customer with a horrendous looking knee/lower led dislocation which made so a stressful afternoon and then the 4 of us involved had to spend the evening writing and submitting report so didn't end up leaving site till 9pm. Then had an evening at the pub and straight to bed, haha.

S- Started off well looking like a quite day until the afternoon again when the sudden storm front hit with hail and 40mph wind so had to carry out a course evacuation and then deal with everyone that couldn't continue. Managed to get a in on the Depot board, repeated a lot of my current problems and tried Steady Intro again but wasn't really feeling it so just sacked in off as I wasn't really in the best mindset.
To top all this off I then got a call from Ellie who'd got for walk on The Chevin that her car had been broken in to and bag stolen and now wouldn't start, so headed out to make sure she wasn't stranded in the snow while we waited for a recovery vehicle.

A hectic weekend at work and a few personal things at the end of the week meant I was feeling a bit stressed and not in a very good mindset for climbing or training. Feeling better today though so hopefully this week will turn out a bit better. It's a strange feeling that for the first time in years I've not missed climbing outside post injury and have been enjoying other things instead so will just have to see where it takes me over the next few weeks, hopefully I'll get some drive back for the sport season and it's just the fact I've missed the winter of bouldering.

[highrepute]

He suggested heating a needle over a flame till it was glowing orange then using it to melt the nail and form a hole to let the blood out. 
So this was how I spent my Sunday evening and let me tell you poking red hot needles into your bleeding toe nail is not as much fun as it sounds.

Lovely stuff! Effort on the 7c

[highrepute]

Tue - Voyager

How many pads do you usually use and more importantly do you stack pads for the start?

I found myself at Burbage last weekend, on my tod with one large organic pad, and went to have a look. Excited to finally check it out, I threw my pad down and quickly realised that I was so stretched out reaching the first hold that I couldn't generate enough bend to actually jump off the floor...

I'm hoping I'm not expected to do a strict OAP to start the damn thing.

There's a few blocks lying around I stick under my 2 pads at the start to allow me to reach. I carry 4 pads (one is big, 3 are dmm highball sized) in when I'm on my own, it's fine with 3 actually but I feel better with 4.

How high do you stack the pads? Obviously, you want the pads high enough to make the move easier but low enough that you don't get called out  it's a fine line

[highrepute]

Chance of getting out wed or Fri this week.

If you're out on Weds and want a spot/pad I'll probably be out in the Peak and could wander down that way for a bit (couple of things that end - though not on Voyager! - I could try). Though destination undecided at the moment (forecast/timing blah blah) etc.. (it'll be during the day - 10:30 ~ 3 ish).

Thanks, I'll let you know what I do

[teestub]

How high do you stack the pads? Obviously, you want the pads high enough to make the move easier but low enough that you don't get called out  it's a fine line

I think the only sensible way will be to measure the exact bend in Moon's elbow before he jumped during the first ascent; short people will then be allowed to stack pads and/or stones to gain the correct bend. Taller people may have to dig a small hole to stand in so that their arm can be straighter before jumping 

[tomtom]

How high do you stack the pads? Obviously, you want the pads high enough to make the move easier but low enough that you don't get called out  it's a fine line

I think the only sensible way will be to measure the exact bend in Moon's elbow before he jumped during the first ascent; short people will then be allowed to stack pads and/or stones to gain the correct bend. Taller people may have to dig a small hole to stand in so that their arm can be straighter before jumping 

As a taller person I’ve generally found it easier to simply bend my knees than dig a hole...

[teestub]

As a taller person I’ve generally found it easier to simply bend my knees than dig a hole...

This would only work in this case if you were going to jump without fully straightening your legs!

[tomtom]

As a taller person I’ve generally found it easier to simply bend my knees than dig a hole...

This would only work in this case if you were going to jump without fully straightening your legs!

Easier than digging a hole!

[BuzyG]

50mph wind yesterday. No one out climbing on the SW moors so went tor bagging.  Enjoyed the climbing hangar, Plymouth after work tonight.  Any one else on here climb there?

[Wood FT]

50mph wind yesterday. No one out climbing on the SW moors so went tor bagging.  Enjoyed the climbing hangar, Plymouth after work tonight.  Any one else on here climb there?

I have a few times when I'm down but up in Sheffield mainly. Good place, good setting from Mikey et al.

[Yossarian]

M - Wall. Felt ok after relatively strenuous session the previous day. Spent about an hour doing AnCap, which I’d not done before in a particularly structured way. Quite enjoyed the technique / precision improvement vs power slipping away aspect with each consecutive rep. 4 problems x3 x2 sets. Returned to the 7a on the circuit board (which I was failing on the previous week. Did it 7x with 3-4 min rests, coming off a couple of times at the end. Then 7x 1min foot on campus on large / medium rungs alternating. Felt battered by the end.
T - 12km trail run. Didn’t feel good - slow, and the only run I’ve wanted to given up on this year. But had to get back for parents meeting so had to push on.
W - Started a deadhanging session but quickly realised I was still tired.
T + F - Rest (and daytime napping)
S - Wall. Recovered(ish) but felt a bit weak and heavy. Tried to focus on technique and footwork, and made some progress on some steeper things despite general lack of ooomph. Quite a long session.
S - Beastmaker. Some repeaters first, and then max hangs. Managed -24kg for 10sec a few times, but didn’t have time to try 22. Hopefully I’ll be able to get down to the teens with some more weight loss.

Weight hovering around 88-89kg

Totally wiped out at the start of the week - wondering if this was a mixture of overdoing it slightly coupled with a bug of some sort.

Reflecting on routes and endurance training, I started thinking that, even with some more weight loss, I’m still some way off being strong enough for the harder / steeper routes (and boulders) I really want to do, and therefore would be better served by trying to make more strength progress with a bit of endurance on the side, rather than adding a load of endurance work which compromises the former. Particularly as possible Spain route trip is (hopefully) going to be in the autumn. Even if I can get down to 80kg, it’s increasingly obvious that there’s lots more work to be done in terms of pulling harder on smaller things. I think it’s time to take a leaf out of Nibs’ book...

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Some really interesting training diaries here.

Huge variety in terms of volume/intensity, and things like running/not running, handstands, deadlifts etc.

A lot of food for thought.

Gollum, will pm you about your running.

Nibile - no mention of watching the Motogp on Sunday  good race!

[Bradders]

Some good weeks in here, plus commiserations for others. Cheque your updates always get me psyched.


M - chanced Crow Crag in the afternoon. Warmed up on Losing My Edge and did it first go with the new beta starting matched on the arete jug and going up to crimps on the face. Much easier than the original but probably better. Briefly tried Fluide and actually felt good on it. When I tried it last the hold used to really hurt my fingers but that seems to have passed and I hit just a couple inches below the top! Then it chucked it down. Depot Board on the way home. Few warm ups then AM first go. Two goes on Zoo dropping the crux. Few goes on Steady Intro and couldn't do the first two moves but did the stand to the penultimate move. Two poor goes at Palmer Sutra.

T - lunch gym, TRX maximal Is and Ts mainly, short and sweet.

W - Depot Board. Better session. Still couldn't do the move on Palmer Sutra. Mainly tried Steady Intro, had loads of goes and at least did all the moves this time and felt steady on the third move onwards. Couple of goes on Zoo and one poor attempt at Palmer Ham before I was finally so tired I couldn't even do Austrian.

T - rest

F - Depot again, did a couple of purples then flashed pink 27 which was easy. Then one arm max hangs on low BM2K centre edge, did a benchmarking session total of 7 hangs on each arm after warm up. Best managed 10s w/ 6.25kg assistance & 5s w/ 5kg on LH, and 10s w/ 8kg & 5s w/ 7kg on RH.

S - escaped terrible weather in Yorkshire to go to Hepburn. Repeated Rheumatology 2nd go, then Another Flake. Briefly dropped a rope down Prep H and got a feel for the holds but others I was with were keen for Trivial Pursuit so tried that and got close but no cigar. It was absolutely freezing in the wind so went down to try Daze of the Weak and did it 4th go having fully puntered the top on my 3rd. Lovely day, worth the 15hrs door to door.

S - rest

Last proper training sessions before Font next week. Bit disappointed that my high point on Steady Intro the week before seems to be more an anomaly than breakthrough but didn't do too badly I suppose. Pleased with significant progress on the one arm hangs! Hoping it all comes together now for a good week next week.

[Coops_13]

Couple of weeks missing, good trip to Prilep, Macedonia. Warm conditions and very sharp rock. Interesting country and worth going to on a trip. Nothing ticked harder than 7A+ but a good trip nonetheless.

Hastily put together video below: