[shark]

11.1-3 Average 156.6lbs down 0.8lbs

M

T Tor with Nick early doors. Warm and humid. Go 1 on Anger Management linked top headwall. Go 2 linked middle of headwall to final move. Did some offset pull-ups.
Afternoon. Ergo edge duration weighted deadhangs. After 2 hours of trench filling in sun with the boys

W Morning. Tor again with Nick. Early bird strategy backfired as warm, still and humid to start and then got less humid and breezy but still too warm. Two goes up AM messing about on the moves. Main attempt at a decent link greased off holds. After did kneebar rest to top on Bens which was surprise. Tried to do start but too tired

T

F Morning. Tor of course. Drizzly and still. Less greasy than tues but still poor. 2 goes up Anger Management. No breakthrough links but yet more foot refinement. Nick left. Tried Bens from start. Holds felt weirdly good and tacky (sticky damp!?) First go fell off at kick move. Second go climbed really well and got to second kneebar and felt fresh and 100% convinced it was going down. Muffed groping for pocket round corner but still plenty in tank. Stuck the high edge on THFML but badly, tried to adjust but doing so came off. Bugger. Long rest and then re-warm up. Two failed attempts to get through first section. Rest. Unexpectedly did first kneebar to top :-) Some offset pull-ups to finish.

S Afternoon. Systems board . Play on benchmark moves. Felt really good on crusher crimps. Psyched how I can now pull on them half crimped rather than having to bone the fuck out of them. Good on undercut move too. Noted there was a breeze and the air was fresh and torn on whether to go back to Tor as forecast indicated connies were only going to get hotter before going to France.

Evening Tor. Where else? Beautiful evening. Bit of a breeze. Only Matthew Wright and Pete Dawson there. Holds tinder dry almost glassy. Very different to Friday. Met Kyle L and then surprise showing by Nemo. Forgot my preferred footwear. Tried Bens from start failing at kick move 3x. Tried end section but too tired. Wiped out at end. Disappointed despite it being an opportunistic long shot

S PM Afternoon. Lengthy weighted limit hangs session on ergo edge. Up added weight by 2.5kgs. 7 hard hangs. Tried sticking fingers in an orange and tips felt well grippy especially on the drags. Deadlift 1x140kg failed at 145kg

Blown away by how much I packed in on Friday. Even hotter weather forecast for next week then off to France on Friday evening. Not sure how to play my cards

[tomtom]

Busy week Shark!
Weight showed a recent low of 11.04 at one point....

A funny old week for me....

Weds: Went to Lees Bottom on Weds and met up with Nai and Dolly. Was a bit smeggy at first but better than last time I was there. Arrived before the other two so set about working Chiggas With Attitude 7A+ managed to get the lower half dry enough and worked all the moves including some nice heel out left beta - but despite getting overlaps I just couldnt get the first move as the beginning slot was damp. Cricked my neck trying it - but persisted. Messed about on some of the other low 7's there but didnt really get anywhere - then after a bit of fan-age the slot dried out a bit and I found I could do the first move with a left heel toe. But by then had lost too much steam and my tips were hurting. Loved the problem - enjoyed the session - want to get back.

Fri. I was due to be heading off to Alnwick with wife and toddler - but kind of managed to get out of it. A weekend at home! Alone! I started planning 3 days of climbing......

That eve I slinked off to Rubicon for a quick session, and upon arriving discoverd I'd left my boots at home. It was damp and not great anyway (I went and looked) but still 2 hours in the car for nothing,,

Sa. Making up for Friday I wanted to get out early. Forecast didnt look great and it was pissing it down in Manchester. Radar looked more promising up north, so headed up to Farelton. Inspired by Wills trip, I felt the need to re-visit the Coil. I arrived and it was pissing it down. Sat in the car for 30 min and read a book about Cornish Geology. Then went to the nearby auction rooms (called 1818) and had a great cuppa in a really good cafe there (good tip if you're heading there and the cafe is 1 min from the M6... if passing). It stopped raining - strong westerly - I knew it would dry quite quick. Looked like more showers coming in so went to my folks house in Kendal for a cuppa.

Then headed up there - the Coil had a great wet streak down the crozzles. Warmed up on some other stuff and the wet streak started shrinking in the wind. Dried up the relevant crozzles with my sock and started work. Made some progress - but slimey crozzle pockets were not helping. So I resorted to modifying some of Wills beta taking the top of the crack with a gaston LH then with no crozzles I could just about slap for the slopey break. And then drop it. and drop it again. and again. and again. For about an hour in fact. About to throw in the towel, I gave it one last go and it went. Yay. Except - its not really the way its supposed to go... to me at least. It didnt feel like a 3* problem how I did it.. teetering up thin holds on the crozzles to pop for the top ~ yes I can see that being 3*. Anyway, I was very pleased with getting the problem and its always more satisfying when you have a Hollywood send.



Went up to New Rose and (for future reference) there was a huge - not going to dry fast - wet streak running down the crozzles. Got home 8 hours after I left :D

Su: 3 days climbing intention.... I felt knackered. Did some housework, supermarket, usual stuff, picked wife and toddler up from the station.

[moose]

Went up to New Rose and (for future reference) there was a huge - not going to dry fast - wet streak running down the crozzles. Got home 8 hours after I left :D

I was there this morning - it was very windy and New Rose was dry.

[tomtom]

Went up to New Rose and (for future reference) there was a huge - not going to dry fast - wet streak running down the crozzles. Got home 8 hours after I left :D

I was there this morning - it was very windy and New Rose was dry.

Fast was maybe not the best description... the one down the coil went from running water to disappeared in the 90 min I was there.. NR was a bit more resilient! Recon the SS is worth a go - and wanted to try the 7B+ just to the left of it. How did you get on?

[Duma]

Goals - fix elbow, Chullila in Oct

M-S  elbow rehab. Was planning to get out today but drank too much on Sat...

[moose]

Went pretty well, considering.  I only went there because I had a knackered wrist and figured if I couldn't climb, at least the walk-in would fulfil my exercise quota for the day!  Went straight to New Rose from the car and did it in 2-3 goes (around 10 minutes after setting out my mats). 

Then had lots of fruitless goes on Wild Rose - hit the break a few times but couldn't hold it.  Eventually gave up and went home I was developing the type of fingertip damage that stops you from crimping properly hard a week later!

[nai]

Another busy fit-it-in week:

M downed another scetion of garden wall, lost of lump hammer& cold chisel action. Removed 15x50kg blocks which were then lifted and carried 20m.

T some core workout that, apparently.

W Lees Bottom with 2t and 1D, that thing Tom tried is badly set for non-lanks so mostly played with Dolly on the rhs. Good fun, mostly decent first moves followed by some other moves to finish.
Core

Th nowt

F speed board session, 45 mins cold to cooked. Actually felt a decent workout
Core

S nowt

S slightly slower version of Friday
Core

Off on hols tomorrow, have a pad and shoes packed, unlikley to get much done the first week in Gower/Pembroke but potential if we head North as planned.

[gollum]

 M - Back at it. Deadlifts to warm up and 140 was coming off the floor really quickly. Took it steady though as know I have deadlifts and squats tomorrow. Move on to some light shrugs for 15 reps and some Roman chair. Bit of Achilles rehab and short intervals that are slowly getting quicker. Then on to some single arm pull downs for 5x5. Finished session with some steady preacher curls for reasonably high reps and done as a drop set at the end. Good start to the week.
Managed a progressive intervals run at lunchtime, keeping the intensity between 40% and 70%. Seems to have gone okay without pain or stiffness. Taking it easy.
Evening at the Depot. Just training. Campus board session goes really well with lots of grit and determination and finding benchmarks really comfortable. Then on to a fingerboard session. Repeaters on varied grip types. Warm and tough on slippers but finish it without too much trouble. Then do five pull ups on the minute working down the Transgression board. Safe to say by 6mm they are not the best of pull ups I’ve ever done. Finish off with some technique drills.

T - The dreaded leg day. Squats for doubles, failed at 120k got one rep but then couldn’t get the second. Deadlifts and managed 140 for a fairly easy triple, which is as solid as I have been in months. Then did some split squats coupled with leg raises and finished off with Pallof presses. A good session. All in all.
More progressive intervals on the treadmill today. A little bit harder and maybe a bit of stiffness in the Achilles so will keep an eye on it and see how it feels tomorrow.
Depot in the evening. Start with a quick campus session to warm up and feeling good. Then go to try two of the remaining gimp problems. First one looks like I should be able to flash it. Five goes later I am drenched in sweat and falling off second to last move consistently, so thoroughly battered I give up. Half hearted single attempt on other then has me giving up. Rattle off a load of the new woods but after about forty minutes think 27 degrees is just too hot to be trying to hard and decode discretion is better part and go home early. Not my best session but some positives.

W- Push day. Bench for doubles up to a steady 100k. Then do some shoulder work. Dumbbell presses nice and slow with lots of control and tension followed by lateral raises, wide grip front rows and barbell front raises. A nice warm feeling in my rear delts ensues. Finish off with some Achilles rehab and am pretty pleased as it actually feels pretty good.
Lunchtime, quick trip to Big Depot and a repeaters session. Everything goes pretty well and is nice and solid except 45 degree slippers that are just not happening today no matter how I try.

T - Another rehab interval run at lunch. Doing one set of slightly longer intervals. Well chuffed as no stiffness whatsoever, which is better than I expected three weeks ago.
Evening at the Depot. Nice bit of warming up including scapular work followed by a really pleasant evening of ticking most of the woods that I hadn’t done on Tuesday. Only a few left to try now. Highlight of the evening was being asked if a particular problem was really as hard as I’d made it look.......the cheek!!!!! I had made it look hard to be fair. A good fun evening with friends.

F - Lunchtime rehab run, again increasing the volume and all feels fine. May even try a normal run soon.
Mrs B is away running for the weekend, so get to do extra sessions. Depot after work and do a longer than normal campus session to start. Pretty steady but nothing in terms of progress. Steady away is the way to go. Then move on to some deadhangs. Repeaters on the BM2K. Solid session. Avoid Back2 due to splits but otherwise nice and steady on each set.

S - Pull day and fresh from keeping heavy lifting sessions to lower volume this week. Warm up with fears and 140 flys off floor and 150 is nice and steady with a ten second hold at the top. Then on to shrugs with real concentration in the contraction, superset this with Roman chair. Pendlay rows at a fairly light weight working on explosive power. Barbell curls with slow movements and maximum time under tension. A really solid session for strength. Finish off with some rehab for shoulders and Achilles both of which seem there or thereabouts these days.
Quick trip to Manchester Depot. Get a load of reds done and a handful of yellows. Do like the nature of some of the holds there that are blocky and very natural feeling. Finish off with a few offset pull-ups to help the push and pull.
Late afternoon, run 5k local loop. First time out testing Achilles and seems to have held up well at what is a reasonable pace for me, so could be well along the road to recovery with it.

S - Push day. Start with some steady bench press up to 100 for two solid reps. Then do some tricep work with close grip presses, overhead presses and two exercises on the cables. A quick session but a good one.
Sheffield Depot for a couple of hours do a boat load of reds and purples, generally first go, so happy enough. Extremely warm and definitely fear the slide down the textured paint at the top of one of the slab problems. Great time with friends all of whom get plenty done.

Lots of climbing this week without going on the 50 board which made a pleasant change. Happy with how things are going at the moment.

[spidermonkey09]

M - max hangs. Felt strong on 24kg so time to add a bit more this week. Some press ups to finish.

T - Sore shoulders from the press ups and volcanic temperatures in the Depot so opted for campusing as it seemed the most conditions proof option. Did 1-4-6 and 2-4-6.5 on the big juggy rungs easily enough but the extra push to 1-4-7 felt challenging! Better than I've done before though. Did about a third of the woods before my skin started hurting and sacked it off.

W - rest. necessary.

T - Gordale. Climbed incredibly badly up Dogpoint but fluked my way to the chain, allowing a no pressure go at the Pierrepoint roof. Felt hydraulic on the first two clips before the pump suddenly arrived and I dropped it going for the turbo jug that ends the hard climbing. Balls. Didn't make it through Dogpoint next go but managed to sort the sequence up top for when I do. Defcon looks amazing, might go on that next time as I quite fancy getting an 8 in the bank...

F - rest. Got pissed in the evening.

S - a bit delicate waking up. Arrived in Gordale to discover it raining onto the crag, so sacked it off in favour of Malham. Good conditions!  Decided to dog up and reacquaint myself. Tried some new foot beta of John Thornton's on final move of the boulder which I have been consistently dropping and immediately liked it; probably should have been doing this the whole time.  Dogged to the bird hole and then linked it to the top with ease which was really positive as this is the '8a link.' Lowered off psyched and after a good rest had a bash from the ground and dropped the final move of the boulder again. Pleased to fight through when already a bit tired and every move felt hard though. Linked through boulder and up to undercut rest in full sun before falling off. Good session; the difference conditions make is nuts.

S - Kilnsey. Iffy conditions but just wanted to do some mileage really. Did Ground Effect after a shambolic effort on the steep start and flashed Hardy Annual with encyclopaedic beta from Pete Chadwick. Thought it was really good and certainly better than 1 star.

Not sure how to structure this week with the heat that is forecast. Might have a day off today and do some max hangs tomorrow. Out Thursday and Saturday, will keep an eye on conditions but have learned my lesson now and will not be going to Malham unless conditions look good!

[Duma]

Nai, if you're in North Pembroke Mynydd Dinas is a lovely spot with fantastic rock and fine for a quick hit. The preseli stuff is good too but a bit more of a walk and spread out.

[nai]

Cheers, had somehow overlooked that from BB.

[Nibile]

Power Club

Mon - gym-like training, static/dynamic pull ups, dumbbell circuit, abs.
Tue - new fingers session: one arm and two arms half crimp work in the garage, two fingers work on the BM. Weights.
Wed - finger strength system session, mainly pinches. Weights. Overhead walk.
Thu - gym-like training, mainly bar work. Fantastic. Overhead walk.
Fri - light weights work, uphill walking.
Sat - gym training, bar work and weights. Brutal.
Sun - rest.

[cheque]

Rehab Diaries Week Forty-eight

STG- Sub-HVS *** Peak Trad list (13 12/27 remain), onsighting HVS/ low 6s by end of September.

M-T- Rest. Battered and bruised from weekend exertions.

F- Gym for the first time in six weeks Did the normal 30 minutes interval workout on the bike, one level harder as always. Tried to channel Peter Sagan as I’ve been watching TdF on telly with my other half recently. I don’t know if it was that or the gainz I’ve made from all the steep walk-ins I’ve been doing recently (I do really) but it didn’t feel too hard. Experience tells me that it will do me good though- there’s just something about the exercise bike that strengthens  my leg like nothing else.

S- Rest. Mate’s garden party.

S- Plum Buttress to do The Stalk. For those who haven’t done it it’s the corner on the left of the big bulging buttress- a nice line with good engaging rock and climbing in it’s upper two-thirds but the bottom is steep grassy rock that doesn’t seem stable at all and this, for me, was the crux- felt very rusty and faffed for ages at a bit where you pull over a little overlap without being able to see what you’re going for then, as I down climbed to the deck to clear my head a helicopter flew overhead, I lost the plot and weighted the rope. 

Second go I literally went straight up the route feeling confident and climbing well.  The tat at the top was in a dreadful state though so I left some shiny gear which I’m happy to serve as a reward for anyone who heads up there with a new piece of static to replace the current clusterfuck of knackered tat.

Into a high-summer routine of just going rock climbing and being too knackered in between to train or anything now. It’s suboptimal from a training perspective but it’s fun, seems alright from a rehab one and my list is reducing by the week.

[Nibile]

Having fun makes for great rehabs. I'd say it's the most important thing after all.

[Fiend]

Cheque can;t you clip the lower-off of the mediocre F6c that goes through the roof to finish just right of the stalk??

[cheque]

Having fun makes for great rehabs. I'd say it's the most important thing after all.

Yeah, it’s got me this far! Only doing easy routes and not climbing indoors means I’m weaker for climbing than I was in March but I’m having loads of fun and since I can’t Boulder these days I’ll have the whole winter to train so I’m not worrying about it.

Cheque can;t you clip the lower-off of the mediocre F6c that goes through the roof to finish just right of the stalk??

Maybe. I didn’t know there were any there to be honest. Looking at the topo in the book it seems you’d have to climb through the roof to get to them though?

[Will Hunt]

Good work on the coil, TT. I'm a bit confused by all the talk of crozzle though. The streak of crozzle to the right (without using the crack) is a different problem - The Wrath of Khan at 7B. So if you just climb the crozzle then you're not doing the Coil. My understanding is that The Coil climbs the crack (and you only really need to use the top bit) with recourse to crozzle out right if you want it. Hard to tell from your video but it looks like you keep your right hand low on the starting flake. I moved it up to the top crozzle which is a good two finger crimp before going to the break which allowed me to set my feet and be less stretched. Surely this is the natural way to climb it?

[Will Hunt]

Tuesday - Attermire with Katie. Got the topo lines drawn on for Legover, SW and Apex Buttress lower tier. Climbed on SW buttress which was lovely in the setting sun. Routes up to VS.

Sunday - Back to Attermire with a small crew. Tested the notion of highballing on Apex Lower and didn't like the idea of committing to the top outs above the slopey landing. Decided that these should go in but best climbed above a pad or two and a small trad rack to protect the top outs. Actually led onsight an E3 6a on Yorkshire Limestone so that will clearly have to be downgraded. Moved around to Main Buttress and got the topo lines drawn and some routes climbed. Good fun. Seconded Dave up Amber Gambler.

I have come to the conclusion that Yorkshire Limestone trad is probably the biggest overall test of your ability as a trad climber that you're likely to find on single pitch routes in the UK. I'll generally get up E3s and E4s if I try them on grit but on the lime I have to keep a very cool approach on the HVSs! I think it's the fact that all the gear is fiddly and you have to be careful about what features you put it in if you want to have any confidence in it, so you end up hanging the holds for much longer.

[Fiend]

Nah you could just scramble up a bit from the top of the stalk I'm sure.

[shark]

I have come to the conclusion that Yorkshire Limestone trad is probably the biggest overall test of your ability as a trad climber that you're likely to find on single pitch routes in the UK.

Too say the least - don't forget the loose rock, abseil approaches and tides that you have to contend with at Attermire.

[webbo]

I thought Attermire was where you go when you are not feeling brave enough for proper Limestone crags

[cheque]

Nah you could just scramble up a bit from the top of the stalk I'm sure.

That’s the start of pitch 2 of Aplomb- not sure how hard it is technically but most of the UKC logbook comments on the Stalk (which is also pitch 1 of Aplomb) say something along the lines of “planned to do Aplomb but abbed after this pitch as the start of the next one was too loose and vegetated”. 

+1 for the gear on pennine lime trad- I often feel like I’ve spent 60+% of the time stood fiddling gear in.

[duncan]

Cheque, VS/HVS Pennine limestone can be pretty adventurous! I may be repeating myself here but, whatever you do, don’t go near West Window Groove until you’re comfortable on Culm Coast E2s.

STG: Rehab. wrist, enjoy climbing.
MTG: a classic sea cliff E5 this summer (now includes September).
LTG: 5.13 at 60; a LH&F BHAG

M - Woke up to lovely weather and amazing views down The Pass. Of course we had to spend the morning on PhD work (H) and performance review preparation (me) which ruled out anything big. In the spirit of going to new crags (a Fiend suggestion!), but with no obscure Mendip quarries close to hand, thought it would be good to check out Scimitar Ridge. I did Chreon (E2) and Troy by a more direct start than usual, traversing in horizontally from the start of Chreon which make it independent of that route (about E2 this way), H flashed Killerkrankie, his first route outdoors since March. Some people make you sick!  Quite tempted by this but chose to keep things lighthearted.
T - More wonderful weather. We got an early start but had to be on the road by 4pm for H to have a good chance of catching the last train home. Cloggy seemed too big a risk but Cyrn Las doable. Edge of Time (E4 6a) was the only significant harder route from the current guide I’d not done, which made the choice easy. It takes the arete right of The Grooves with continuously interesting climbing. Like most of the big routes there the positions are sensational. It’s not a bumper fun book route so a bit grubby in places, especially the first pitch which would benefit from a good scrub. Drove home, making the last train with 15 minutes spare.
W - Hip stretches
T - Fingerboard ‘max’ hangs.
F - Hip stretches, squats, pistols
S - All day DIY, short run
S - All day DIY, hip stretches, squats, pistols


Glorious but far too short trip to N Wales. A couple of nights in Cwm Glas Mawr is worth the annual subscription to the CC on its own. All undone by a particularly appalling week at work.

Plan: keep the easy stuff ticking over. Family are around and on school holidays for the next few weeks which will curtail longer trips away til September. We have the annual Font. trip in two weeks time however weather forecast suggests most of this will be spent in the pool.

[Yossarian]

M-F: Wallowing in slowly decreasing self-pity at woeful Portland performance. Considered giving up in favour of an unhealthy new addiction (somewhere between crack > Jack Reacher novels). Eventually pulled myself together.
S: Local comp. No masters category to take the edge off. Did slightly less well than on-the-day comparisons suggested.
S

Day trip to Anstey’s scheduled for next month with the sole intention of fluking my way up a 7b+ so I can mute my whining ego and address my myriad weaknesses in peace / be more like Fiend, etc. Until then, I’m going to have fun climbing things I’ve not done on the sandstone / train lots, and avoid feeling hard-done-by at lack of weekend missions as seem to have become paralysed by expectation.

[Coops_13]

T: Tufas Philadelphia. Finger rehab, BM 1K lower 18mm edge. -15lb X3, BW X3, +5lb X3. Climbing up to V4/5, feeling pretty good. Trying to get session fitness back

W: Tufas Philadelphia. Strength & Conditioning. Squats up to 200lb (PB). Bench up to 175lb. Cables and dumbell burnout for chest, lats, delts, bis X2. Back exercises and stretching - sore lower back has flared up. Hip and lower body stretching. Ab wheel X31.

F: Drove to Aspen for gf birthday

S: Maroon Bells Hike. Up at 0530 to get a parking spot and avoid crowds. Gorgeous walk up beyond Crater Lake. Huge thunderstorm at 0930 on our way back. Spent the afternoon by the pool of the hotel in glorious sunshine

S: Lazy drive back to Denver, stopping off at viewpoints and to check out the boulders in Independence Pass on the way back

Core DOMS for FOUR days after ab wheel - a core exercise I actually enjoy, need to do more of this. In Denver this coming week, hope I can get out midweek

[tomtom]

Good work on the coil, TT. I'm a bit confused by all the talk of crozzle though. The streak of crozzle to the right (without using the crack) is a different problem - The Wrath of Khan at 7B. So if you just climb the crozzle then you're not doing the Coil. My understanding is that The Coil climbs the crack (and you only really need to use the top bit) with recourse to crozzle out right if you want it. Hard to tell from your video but it looks like you keep your right hand low on the starting flake. I moved it up to the top crozzle which is a good two finger crimp before going to the break which allowed me to set my feet and be less stretched. Surely this is the natural way to climb it?

I've read it described as easy for the short, easy for the tall - bloody hard if you're inbetween... From the vids I've seen and when I was up there with TStub and Andy the crack gets used for the LH but you work your RH up the crozzles sorting feet as you go for a pop for the top. I tried using crozzles for my RH and it kind of helped, but (a) they were damp/drying and (b) I didnt really need to using some lank... I can see it being a 3* wall climb crimping teeny crozzles with smallish footholds with a pop for the top... Anyway...

[Goat]

Mon-    Rest
Tues-   One arm hangs, and a few 3 finger pullups. Meh well alrightish, just doing them to rest my right-hand pulleys.
Wed-    2 hour board session, ended with core and one-armer practice. Felt alright but not that brilliant. I set a few new projects.
Thurs-  1 hour 45 min board session, ended with core and one-armer practice. Felt meh. But at the end I got on the first project in my route book, which I had never done. Did it in a oner today, so I was pretty happy with that, especially considering that I only put that project in 6 months ago, and at the time it felt undoable.
Fri-      Rest- Played tennis but got rained off after 5 mins.
Sat-    1 hour 30 minute board session. Ended with core and one-armer practice. I no longer have a tweak in my right hand middle finger pulley. However, fully crimping on my right hand didn’t feel particularly safe, so I guess it is stilled a bit miffed, but nothing too bad. I also felt a slight tweak in my left elbow, nothing serious I just want to keep it in mind.
Sun-     Rest- Successfully played tennis

[Fiend]

I can mute my whining ego and address my myriad weaknesses in peace / be more like Fiend, etc.

LOL. It's worth pointing out that Fiend is a massive bag of neuroses, insecurity, self-rage etc etc who struggles to practise what he preaches due to actually really needing to try to get a better climbing attitude to preserve his....shreds of sanity....

[Yossarian]

I can mute my whining ego and address my myriad weaknesses in peace / be more like Fiend, etc.

LOL. It's worth pointing out that Fiend is a massive bag of neuroses, insecurity, self-rage etc etc who struggles to practise what he preaches due to actually really needing to try to get a better climbing attitude to preserve his....shreds of sanity....

Don’t sell yourself short.
I’m going to order some vests in the morning...

[Steve R]

M - Rest
T- Chee Cornice.  2nd look at powerplant, dogged again, got clips in then started redpoints.  1st go got up to the crimps then realised i'd forgotten to put my knee pad on, oops.  2nd go fell on rockover onto headwall just after crux bit.  Then did it next go.  A bit unexpected but pleased to have the PE for it to feel relatively steady (I guess routes like this always do when you do 'em).  Then just a bit of mileage on big zipper and martial music.  Neither steady away but endurance def improving as got up them a bit tired without falling off.
W - Rest     
T- Wall pm.  did some of a new set on comp wall then board.  Felt pretty bad on it - heavy, no snap.
F-  ~40min light run.  wall pm.  bit on board then 3x bouts of 10mins on 10mins off easy traversing/pump managing.
S- ~40min light run
S-Chee cornice again.  3xdogs on Roof Warrior.  Had half hoped might be able to do it in a session but didn't feel on very good form so miles off that in reality.  Possibly insufficient warm up contributed as felt like never really recovered after 1st dog getting the clips in.  did manage a decentish link; from knee bar to top.  cool route, keen to get back on it soon. Optimistic go at cordless madness after.  Fell a move or two after where it leaves cosmo which was pleased with and better than expected.  got sequence sorted for next time so again, keen to have another go soon.  No ticks but really good day.  Cornice was surprisingly very quiet.

Weight 74kg so another kilo down, 4 to go - will aim for half a kilo per week from here, marathon not a sprint approach.  Good days in Cheedale this week.  Disappointing session on board on Thurs as felt good warming up and was rested.  I suppose a drop in power and strength is inevitable as soon as you start prioritising more endurance stuff though.   

[Will Hunt]

I have come to the conclusion that Yorkshire Limestone trad is probably the biggest overall test of your ability as a trad climber that you're likely to find on single pitch routes in the UK.

Too say the least - don't forget the loose rock, abseil approaches and tides that you have to contend with at Attermire.

Abseiling? Tides? Entirely predictable and not exactly difficult. There is some loose rock at Attermire, from the perspective of a gritstoner if not Fiend.

I think a better way of putting it would be to say that I don't think the grades are stiffer anywhere and the challenge often comes from things that aren't doing the moves. It can be difficult to read and the gear is fiddly so routes of the same physical difficulty as elsewhere generally feel pumpier. The trickiness of reading the rock and the ever-present possibility of finding loose stuff at the top mean that you have to put in a lot more gear as well. Away from places like Twistleton and Malham, the gear is often in rock that's a bit flakey or snappy-looking, so it's not like grit or volcanic where you can lob with impunity.

It's not entirely universal. Malham and Gigg South Upper and Twistleton didn't feel too bad. Maybe it's just a few crags where the grades are a bit stiff.

Feel free to mock me for my opinion.

[webbo]

After mocking your previous post and remembering we used to solo things at Attermire. I went and dug out my old Yorkshire Limestone guide and despite my rapidly fading memory I was correct.
We used to solo things like Red Light, Blue Light and Legover Groove, this was in the days when Wombat, Carnage, Midnight Cowboy and Slender Loris were all graded HVS and you think you’ve got it tough.

[tomtom]

Is this a "Will going to climb and UPgrading routes" scandal?

Akin to the Will Hunt isn't tall conspiracy theories

[Fiend]

Away from the 3 star classics (genuine ones not weirdo "give stars to any old crumbly bs" in the old YL guides ones), inland limestone is pokey as fuck. Everyone has sodded off sport climbing and the less classic trad routes are neglected, likely to have changed due to loose rock, grass, etc, and full of bullshit grades compared to things like Wombat and Midnight Cowboy etc which have been actually sorted out. Add in the inherently unappealing nature of the base material which makes it harder to get psyched to deal with some nasty little dusty wobbly sandbag... Less of an all-round trad test and more of a test of grot tolerance.

[dunnyg]

I wish my knob was as big as webbos so I could wave it around as much.

[Will Hunt]

Away from the 3 star classics (genuine ones not weirdo "give stars to any old crumbly bs" in the old YL guides ones), inland limestone is pokey as fuck. Everyone has sodded off sport climbing and the less classic trad routes are neglected, likely to have changed due to loose rock, grass, etc, and full of bullshit grades compared to things like Wombat and Midnight Cowboy etc which have been actually sorted out. Add in the inherently unappealing nature of the base material which makes it harder to get psyched to deal with some nasty little dusty wobbly sandbag... Less of an all-round trad test and more of a test of grot tolerance.

Even the starred classics are a bit neglected in places. The finish of Recessed Slab was keeping hands low and building high feet so you could then reach right up and over and grab armfuls of the better rooted grass. Amber Gambler, which is brilliant, had an impenetrable ivy cornice which Dave hacked at a bit before he did it. Stood on the ledge at the top looking down you couldn't actually see any rock, just ivy. To pull over this you had to crimp a little limestone pebble embedded in the earth on the ledge, which started to peel away as you did so 

And yet the climbs are so satisfying, probably because when you get to the top you feel like you were really tested on a number of different abilities - many of which cannot be honed on a campus board.

[tomtom]

Away from the 3 star classics (genuine ones not weirdo "give stars to any old crumbly bs" in the old YL guides ones), inland limestone is pokey as fuck. Everyone has sodded off sport climbing and the less classic trad routes are neglected, likely to have changed due to loose rock, grass, etc, and full of bullshit grades compared to things like Wombat and Midnight Cowboy etc which have been actually sorted out. Add in the inherently unappealing nature of the base material which makes it harder to get psyched to deal with some nasty little dusty wobbly sandbag... Less of an all-round trad test and more of a test of grot tolerance.

So to summarise this week: off the beaten path inland lime is tottering horror type II fun choss and we should all be focussing on restoring holds on polished bouldering testpieces whilst topless. 

And Will is tall.

[andy_e]

I wish my knob was as big as webbos so I could wave it around as much.

Normally I'd agree but he's waving it in Will's face so I don't mind so much.

[36chambers]

Away from the 3 star classics (genuine ones not weirdo "give stars to any old crumbly bs" in the old YL guides ones), inland limestone is pokey as fuck. Everyone has sodded off sport climbing and the less classic trad routes are neglected, likely to have changed due to loose rock, grass, etc, and full of bullshit grades compared to things like Wombat and Midnight Cowboy etc which have been actually sorted out. Add in the inherently unappealing nature of the base material which makes it harder to get psyched to deal with some nasty little dusty wobbly sandbag... Less of an all-round trad test and more of a test of grot tolerance.

So to summarise this week: off the beaten path inland lime is tottering horror type II fun choss and we should all be focussing on restoring holds on polished bouldering testpieces whilst topless. 

And Will is tall.

Don't forget the rumour that Ondra glued Silence

[webbo]

I wish my knob was as big as webbos so I could wave it around as much.

Just do few solo sessions on Yorkshire lime and you will be able to use it to keep your neck warm when it’s cold.

[36chambers]

I wish my knob was as big as webbos so I could wave it around as much.

Just do few solo sessions on Yorkshire lime and you will be able to use it to keep your neck warm when it’s cold.

and that's when it's cold!

[dunnyg]

Do you have to tell everyone before it grows or is it just the climbing? Asking for a friend (who needs a scarf).

[webbo]

The best way is to wait till Will fails on some 50 year old route then solo it and before you know it, you will find it’s long enough to use as a spare rope.

[Will Hunt]

Keep going, Webbo, it's great. We were actually laughing about this at the crag. We had a similar discussion and we came to the conclusion that you could express such thoughts on UKBouldering but that Steve Webster would definitely be in like a shot to remind everyone how much better everyone was in the 70s and 80s. I do wonder whether you've got a little database of pre-written reminders of your superiority that you can easily adjust to fit the route/crag to save time?

As far as I'm aware, nobody "failed" on a route on our little trip to the crag, but even if we had I wouldn't take any shame from failing on something that Tony Barley put up (especially if whatever shiny pegs it may have had in 1970 are now just snapped off pieces of rust). He was a very good, very bold climber.

[webbo]

Don’t worry will I have always known my place in the pecking order. I had just led one of those short routes then graded HVS on Malhams left wing, Martin Berzin who led it before stated it was at least E2 if not harder. At which Mike Hamill said how can it be as he’s just done it pointing at me.

[Will Hunt]

Don’t worry will I have always known my place in the pecking order. I had just led one of those short routes then graded HVS on Malhams left wing, Martin Berzin who led it before stated it was at least E2 if not harder. At which Mike Hamill said how can it be as he’s just done it pointing at me.

 

I'm going to have to file that away in my own database of snarks.

[dunnyg]

When the weather gets shit again, i'm going to make a customisable random snark generator. Enter crag, year of birth and it will generate something appropriate. Anyway, this is as close as I get to posting in power club. Sorry to get 

\end{powerclubhijack}