[Duma]

Corrected the numbering (hopefully)...

M - nothing, 12hr shift. Glorious weather again. Started to feel bitter about my BH weekend at work which I'd managed to avoid until this point.
T - Cycled down to leigh woods for a look at Leigh Ace (7B). Only had a bump pad, but it's not high and the landing is OK if a bit slopey. Arrived with hopes of a quick send, even a flash, left an hour and a half later with only 2.5 moves done, and no real ideas for how to progress any further. Proper pad and spotter might unlock a few more options I guess. Cycled home via TCA, got one more blue done and a few laps on the reset circuit board.
W - half term duties
T - half term duties. Few desultory pull ups and front lever progressions. Evening off but out for supper (which was lush).
F - half term duties, am drive to Cornwall.
S - half term duties, couple of hours on the beach in the drizzle. Apparently the only part of the country that wasn't great weather. Still, nice to play in the surf
S - half term duties, back to Bris in eve.

71kg

Poor training/climbing week.

[tommytwotone]

Poor training/climbing week.

Ha ha - the way it's going for me that's about standard!

Goal: Font 7a outdoors somewhere

W: VERY sweaty session at LSD - everything feeling about 2 grades harder. Scraped up a V5 but everything else eluded me.

Sun: Out on a whim with kids to Gilstead - tempted by comment in guide about breeze, plus promises of a westerly.

Kids had fun pottering on the small stuff at the top, then headed down to the main bouldering bit - some good, if a bit big on your tod, lines. Smattering of broken glass as well, but that's par for the course on a West Yorkshire urban crag I guess.

Did a few 4s and 5s but breeze died the moment I arrived, prompting change to muggy, sweaty connies. Stuck it out for about an hour and then sacked it off for a pint at Salt Brewery en route home.

[shark]

Corrected the numbering (hopefully)...

Thanks Duma - I’ll get round to correcting previous threads sometimes but not tonight as I’ve had a few glasses of wine.

 
11.5-6 everage 159.4 down 0.5lbs

M. PM Tor. Tired from 450 miles driving previous 3 days. Scorching. Deserted. One other turned up for his first time ever bouldering on limestone. At least he had an excuse for not knowing better. Pottered on the throw move of Bens trying to nail the static method. Didn’t achieve anything.

T.

W. Had sacked off board stamina training previous day because of heat so made last minute arrangement to meet Fiend at Two Tier. Combination of being woken up early then oversleeping left me fuggy headed which was my excuse for forgetting rope. Thought Fiend looked trimmer but I didn’t pass comment as presumably if I can’t say he’s fat then I can’t say when he looks thinner either. He also looked like a gnomic with his white goatee sat on his little portable stool. Is that PC?
Led Open Gate 7a taking a rest on penultimate bolt after mistakenly questing rightwards and getting pumped. Fiend then flashed it and I redpointed. Then joined Fiend on Blockheads7b+ a short desperate number which it later transpired I’ve redpointed twice in the past but struggled on today. Nice day out in glorious weather but brooded after on my poor performance compared to the past. Got clocked by a mobile speed camera coming home past Three Stags

T.

F. Lunch Set of recruitment and speed pulls
Late PM/Eve Malham with Haydn. Got there at 4pm. Warm no wind. Only a handful at crag. 1x cons. Bolt to bolted up Mescalito. First redpoint struggled on bottom moves but got through to the shake at the 4th bolt but struggled to recover and fell off the hard move past it to the pinch at the base of the overlap. Second redpoint better on the bottom section and got more back at the rest and managed to climb through into New Dawn to the overlap. Tried to flag to do the big reach left to the side hold but wilted and should have just laid one on but tried to reset my left foot on and was off. Third go despite long rest didn’t have oomph to get through start and fell off at foot udge. Didn’t have skin or time for another go so quickly bolt to bolted to the top and stripped it. Disappointing

S.

S. Assumed it would be scorchio so taken by surprise with the rain. Tor with Eva - got there before 8. Start of Indecent almost dry on Monday but soaking wet again today. Two goes on Anger Management head wall. Felt good on the moves first go. Bit harder second go as it had gone humid. Stripped it to preserve skin and strength for tomorrow. Positive session with some moves feeling easier than in the past from finger strength and flexibility gains.

Brooded a lot on the slow rate of progress in my route climbing performance this week and shortcomings but today’s micro improvements cheered me up. LPT again this week.

[yetix]

M: rest
T: rest
W: Hot, and uncertain as to what to climb really, opted for Parisellas Cave. Managed Hatch Life second go despite the sweaty conditons. Psyched. Spent about 45 mins trying Bellpig at split infinity afterwards, could consistently get to the last blind RH slap (crux I believe) but couldn't quite make contact with the hold, hopefully a little fresher this move will feel more straight forward, and ideally the final 2 moves will be okay.
Weighted pull ups 3x5, 1 arm lock offs 3x10s each side, windscreen wipers 3x10. Had planned to do cable flies but they were making a recent wrist issue angry unfortunately.
T: rest
F: Churnet. Evening session on Amarna. Been waiting to find this dry for some time now! Super cool and super spanny, managed to do all the moves and a few times cut a moment too early to get into the stand. Feels very doable, keen to get back ASAP.
S: rest
S: St bees. Quite warm but spent most of the session on dark side of the moon, flashed the first 2 moves and could tickle the last hold but could never quite link it. Another for a rematch.

Psyched to do Hatch life but feeling pretty drained atm, felt at like 60% going to churnet and St bees and feel if I was just a little fresher either problem could have got over the line. Hopefully a light week next week.

[duncan]

M - Edinburgh with family. Shoulder stuff: side planks, horizontal ring rows, handstands, IsYsTs in the local park. 10km walking.
T - Climbing with Wil. We’d agreed on Glen Coe but hadn’t decided on the crag. I’d put out a request for conditions reports on FB and one reply suggested Slime Wall was “fairly dry”. I was delighted to hear Wil suggest we might have a look at Shibboleth whilst feeling a bit nervous about my lack of trad. fitness or mileage over the last 18 months. It’s not known to be a soft-touch at the grade. Worse still, I won the toss for the second pitch. This was quite a challenge: spaced gear, perma-slime, unobvious climbing, and with the encouragement of the chalked holds running out half way up... I loved it! The fourth - crux according to Martin Boysen in Hard Rock - was no pushover either. To cut a long story short we did the route via the original finish. Lack of fitness, no water or food, and too much clothing meant I started getting forearm cramps and ran out of gas. Had to take the descent very slowly. A great route deserving its plaudits (and wasn’t Robin Smith an incredible climber?).
W - Battered. Walked 10km around Edinburgh and Portobello.
T - Shoulder stuff in the park. More Edinburgh family stuff.
F - Drove back to London. Shoulder stuff. Pull-ups 6x6.
S - Fingerboard (close to) max. hangs on the 20mm edge. Shoulder stuff. Walked 10km.
S - Bouldering: Stronghold Tottenham with the lad. Good fun, nothing difficult.


Great to climb with Wil again and absolutely delighted to do Shibboleth. It was the ideal combination of climbing, partner, place, and the right amount of challenge. Plus good weather and no midges! Not quite off the couch for trad. but I’ve had one day on Dartmoor and a weekend at Gogarth in the last 18 months and felt pretty out of practice. Very happy with my trad. head considering my lack of endurance: a rapidly ticking clock in the forearms makes it hard to be confident. I’ve not had the mental bandwidth to push myself over the last couple of years so this also feels like an indication of somewhat better psychological well-being.

Power Club thoughts: big day fitness is woeful. Not sure how much this is a post-Covid effect or just a lack of being out-and-about. Either way, more general fitness work is needed, especially going up and down hills (or boxes if the former is unavailable).  Also curious if anyone has any ideas on how to train for the particular kind of pump you get from long, slow, vertical trad. pitches. You’d think after >40 years I’d have this nailed but I can’t see anything that’s a step up from traversing on natural stone walls that were the state of the art in 1978 (and unavailable in London).

[Teaboy]

What a result to do Shibboleth! Nice one

[Bradders]

M - hottest day of the year cons. Still boiling at 7pm. Fingerboard, 4x 6s full crimp 10mm edge +17kg with 1 min rests. Then 6x 10s half crimp Lattice edge +25kg with 2 min rests. Still a bit stuck on the half crimp hangs but good to see full crimp feeling steady. Spent an hour doing general stuff on the board. Everything felt 3 grades harder than normal in the heat. Struggled on mediums. Then 8x 12 move boulder problem, again felt nails, even reverting to easier version after halfway, only topped it twice.

Tu - AM weighted wide pull ups, weighted Lattice edge pull ups, prone Ts on rings, shoulder presses and hammer curls, then aerocap 5 mins on, 3 mins off, x3 sets. Nice and chilled.

W - rest

Th - Kilnsey with Rich W. Warm and humid at first but it cleared up towards the end. Had intended to get on Metal Guru, but dithered once there and Rich was keen to repeat Subculture so I decided to try Slab Culture. First go was an utter shambles. Couldn't do one move, struggled on others, got a bit pumped and scared, and opened up an awful split in my left index DIP joint. Did at least get to the top bolt to bolt and figure a sequence. Next go dropped it at the last hard move before the jugs prior to the traverse. Third go the same. Fourth go made it to the point it merges with Subculture but was too tired to carry on. Went bolt-to-bolt again and worked the top sequence some more. Fifth go had intended to just work the traverse some more but powered out and struggled on almost every move.

F - rest

Sa - Kilnsey with Spidermonkey. Lovely day, but on crag breeze died quickly. Bolt-to-bolt up Slab Culture to warm up, figured out lots of good extra beta. First proper go wasn't warmed up enough and took a few attempts to do the hard move to the break, but once I stuck it I went to the top...only to pump out two moves from the hold I'd planned to clip the chain from! Found a better rest position just below the chains, and second go fell off one move higher! Took some time to look at the holds again, and realised I could clip the belay from four moves lower than I'd originally thought, I.e. from below where I'd got to on the two previous attempts. Feared that this was the universe punishing me for short roping will on Subculture last year, but luckily conditions had improved and I had enough left to get it done, feeling pretty comfy once through the start. Great feeling on the pumpy but easy climbing on the traverse, and cool to have basically done it three times in a row, maybe some fitness coming?

Su - AM fingerboard, 5x 6s half crimp 10mm edge +15kg with 90 sec rests. Then an hour and a half on the board doing weakness problems. Okay on crossovers, shoulder engagement a bit weak, but did the easiest version of undercuts for the first time. Then a bit more fingerboard, repeaters 6 on 10 off x5, 2 sets half crimp +10kg, 2 sets front 3 drag at bodyweight. Finished with 1 min on, 1 min off feet on campus ladders x4. Did a load of gardening, then in the evening did some core and scapula / rotator cuff conditioning.

[Will Hunt]

Booked Thursday off and spent Wednesday night in the Lakes. Walked up to Neckband and looked at all the brilliant looking routes for 5 mins before mist descended and soaked everything. Stuck it out for a bit but it was clearly a bust.
Descended to Langdale where Penny bought a sport rope. Proceeded to Gigg South, arriving at 5.30.
Did Silent Laughter and a few 7a's and 7a+'s before leaving at dusk.

F - at request of a friend who was visiting in laws nearby: an evening cycle. Hideous. It was all going well until the final 10km when my blood sugar hit the floor.

Family weekend.

[Nibile]

Power Club
Mon - push ups, full body plank, behind the neck press. 15' EMOM finisher: 56 kg 3x clean, 5x high pulls, 10x bentover row, all x5. Brutal and beautiful.
Tue - rest.
Wed - loaded carries 6'. TBDL static holds 130, 140, 142 kg.
Thu - 20' EMOM finisher: 56 kg 3x clean, 5x high pulls, 10x bentover row, 5x pull up, all x5. Good.
Fri - rest.
Sat - very tired. 6' overhead carry, 6' farmer's, TBDL 30" finisher 5x5 80 kg.
Sun - boxing bag, session cut short due to other stuff.

[Yossarian]

M - Recovering from camping w/e with kids
T - Longish walk with kids, max hangs benchmark. Not done any fingerboarding since March. Managed -12kg on both sides on BM centre edge, which works out at 91.8kg. Only just off last autumn PB of 93.5kg. But I kind of knew my fingers were still quite strong...
W - Another long hilly walk with 6-year-old. Wall with daughter. 2.5hrs trying various projects together. Great fun despite sweltering conditions.
T - Another long walk. Press weights, goblet squats, etc. Not done this for a while and rapidly felt exhausted, but persevered.
F - Mini max hangs session then wall. Continued with projects from Wed. Really fun session. Daughter seems to be back to her pre-pandemic level and is v syked.
S - Wall. Skin and forearms a little tender so was fairly careful. Very mini board session but distinct lack of oomph. Carried on with various projects, finished off a couple of things. 6-year-old is rapidly improving. General syke high.
S - Another long walk. 6-y-o and I managed 44km together this week which is a record for him.

General life stuff / optimism had improved before the bank holiday, so decided to sort out diet, cut out booze, and start enjoying training and the wall this week. Lost around 1.5kg and generally feeling much better. Distinct lack of oomph on steeper problems, so going to add some juggy campusing at the wall (when arms feel fresh) plus resume midweek locks and one arm progressions as time allows. Also need to wean myself off crimpy small move problems on the board and embrace some more exuberant behaviour.

[gollum]

W/C 31/5/21

M - Yoga
T - Indoor routes, cardio, yoga.
W - Cardio, yoga
T - Depot, cardio, yoga
F - Cardio
S - Rest
S - Rest

Having a bit of a deload week, so turning down the volume completely for the week, just maintaining yoga, cardio and a couple of sessions climbing for fun.

M - Just do my yoga for hamstrings.

T - Big Depot doing routes up to 7a on all sorts of angles. Lots of fun.
Half an hour on the bike for cardio.
Yoga for hips.

W - Couple of sessions on the bike which were had but fun.
Yoga for shoulders, with the once dreaded hangman, which remains tough but much more amenable.

T - Depot for social climbing. Nip round the pinks, get them all done bar a few that are a bit more techy, including one that I not only can’t do, but can’t see what to do.
Steady half hour on the bike. Yoga for twists, hands and feet.

S - Rest. Away in van.

S -Rest. Back in van.

Took greater levels of fortitude not doing very much than it ever takes in full on effort weeks. Looking forward to returning to normal routine next week.

[spidermonkey09]

M - Pembroke. Back into the Leap for some shade. Did Quiet Waters, which I thought was full on at E3. The top crux was in the sun and only a strong will to avoid testing the ancient peg got me through it. A long rest and deliberated whether to try Head Hunter or Minotaur. Went for Head Hunter as didn't fancy the reachy top move on Minotaur. The lower wall was hard from the get go and really pumpy to place the gear. Several committing and scary sequences later i was getting my breath back on the slopey halfway ledge. Frankly it felt like E5 to there. A long and easy runout left ensued to the base of the finishing groove. Spent ages fiddling some rubbish and small kit in before going for it. The groove was not piss and I up and downed a bit before committing; just about made it to the jugs but it was a touch and go. Glad I didn't test the kit as if it has pulled I'd have gone the length of the crag  A 3* experience but will not be leading it again!

T - Mother Careys. Did Brazen Buttress which was good before traversing into Just Klingon. Tried really hard on the lower wall and somehow made it to a decent rest halfway up. Recovered well but spooned the next sequence and came off, going a long way! Way too boxed for another go so dogged to the top. Mike seconded it clean which was a top effort.

W - raining in Pembroke so bailed.

T - rest.

F - rest.

S - Kilnsey. Lovely day but very warm even in the shade. First session on Urgent Action. First go was spent finding the holds and did all the moves. Second go felt better and did some decent links on sections. Third go a shambles; really tired and hot by then. Had a go on Slab Culture at the end of the day which was also shambolic before belaying Bradders on his successful go. Good session ; keen to get stuck into Urgent while its dry.

S - ended up at Victoria Cave which I'd never been to before. Did a decent 7a to warm up and then had a onsight go at Lost in Thought and Lost In Time before falling off the crux. Sorted the sequence and did it next go. Brilliant route this and well worth seeking out while its dry. The rest of the crag looks great as well.

Good week. Going to try and do some tentative training this week as I feel off the pace on the crimps after so long away from the fingerboard. Also need to go back on the board to get in the groove for Urgent. Hope the good weather continues!

[Duncan Disorderly]

M: Routes @ Scout Scar up to F6c - First time at the crag, not bad, not great... Bit chossy on the easier stuff, bit run out on some stuff with proper groundfall potential!
T: Routes @ Giggleswick - Hot, Hot, Hot! Did some sweaty stuff up to F6b..
W: Shoulder stuff
T: Rest
F: Drive to Conwy...
S: Routes @ Castle Inn - Great crag! Did 12 routes up to F6c...
S: Routes @ Castle Inn - Had planned to go elsewhere but GF was enjoying it and I still had stuff to go at... Another 10 routes up to F6b+ Exhausted!

Great week getting out - weather was glorious... Probably should have gone to some more shady spots as got properly baked at Giggleswick and the last F6b+ at Castle Inn yesterday felt absolutely desperate in the sun! All good tho... Feeling fit and getting loads done, definitely gotta start training properly and pulling hard soon to capitalise on this....

[T_B]

Also curious if anyone has any ideas on how to train for the particular kind of pump you get from long, slow, vertical trad. pitches. You’d think after >40 years I’d have this nailed but I can’t see anything that’s a step up from traversing on natural stone walls that were the state of the art in 1978 (and unavailable in London).

Good work on Big Shib.

Whilst I don’t think you can properly fast track trad mileage fitness, I reckon if you try and replicate what goes on as much as possible, it’s better than doing indoor routes. So, I’ve been doing 4 x 10 mins on, 5 off on a mix of vert and steep (as that’s what I have). Move onto steep to get some pump, back onto vert to de-pump. Medium intensity. Kind of what might go on in the middle of a sustained pitch. Crucially, rather than just moving all the time, plenty of stopping in awkward positions and hanging on one arm. If you’re in a public wall you might want to avoid mimicking fiddling in a wire? Session takes 1 hour, is totally tedious, but my base aerobic fitness seems pretty decent. Yet to really test it out on anything longer than 20 metres!

At a wall with a decent (not too steep) circuit board I’d be linking circuits together, but not necessarily moving quickly and I’m not sure being on the wall for sub 5 mins is the type of endurance we're talking about here. Unless you’re doing a 2 hour session of circuits and cumulatively end up with 40+ mins of actual climbing time.

[Coops_13]

M: Guanella Pass. Wet forecast but chanced it. Inch or so of wet snow on the ground, boulders dry. Warmed up and got on Guanella Arete V6, have tried in the past and fustratingly didn't do. Nice to put that down quickly. Went to look at Toxic Shock V8/9. Three very hard moves of which I managed to do one. Couldn't find an easy way to pull on to try the other two without a spot. Did the end as well then went for an explore as the weather closed in


T: Density pickups 20mm 40s 40lb *4 HC. First time pulling without pulley ring! Legs. Leg press, calf raise, knee extension, hamstring curl. X15 *3sets. Squats up to 165lb X5 *5sets. Heavy core *3sets (weighted cable ab crunch, woodcutter).

W: DBC. TA Max Hangs - 20 mm, 7s hangs up to +45lb * 2sets. First time doing max hangs without pulley ring and new PB! Pulley ring on for first moonboard session in a couple of years. Did 15 boulders, 13 6B+ and 2 6C. Focused on keeping tension and not cutting loose. Really good session. Cooled down doing maybe 10 M- boulders. Finished with weighted pull-ups +55lb X3 *5sets.

T: Density pickups 20mm 40s 40lb *4 HC.

F: Long drive up to Lander, WY

S: Rock Shop, nice granite boulders scattered through a forest among a bunch of tors / buttresses. Tweaked (good wrist) on V1 warm-up but seemed OK-ish to climb. Almost flashed Lord of the Flies V5, sent second go. Went exploring and eventually found Millennium Falcon V6 which I found much more work but eventually sent. Went to look at Lander Calrissian V8 a world class boulder with big moves on big slopey holds - no luck. Trekked out to Gem Thief area to try Starry Night V7, no luck. Finished at UFO boulder which is a simply amazing piece of rock. Tried the stand to the classic 10, Luke Skywalker V8 but def not up for two-move V8s just yet (or maybe not end of a full day) and settled for the V6, First Contact.

S: Rock Shop again at the Nexus area. Warmed up and tried Sleepy Hollow V6 but all feeling a bit too hard so canned it and went and did Font Simulator (nothing like Font) V4 before the long drive home


L wrist tweak doesn't seem too bad so will monitor that. Great to check out a new area and so many amazing boulders there to go back for. It sits at 8 - 8.5k ft so more of a late spring / Autumn destination - a bit hot this weekend.

[duncan]

Cheers Tom, that all makes sense. I’ve got a high boredom threshold and don’t mind putting in the time. Finding the appropriate circuit board is more of an issue. The Stronghold’s is a good angle and usually isn’t busy but doesn’t have a de-pump area. Mainly need to get the hanging-on time a lot closer to that on a big pitch outside.

[andy popp]

Congratulations on Shibboleth Duncan, sounds like it was a grand day out.

[Wood FT]

M - Pembroke. Back into the Leap for some shade. Did Quiet Waters, which I thought was full on at E3. The top crux was in the sun and only a strong will to avoid testing the ancient peg got me through it. A long rest and deliberated whether to try Head Hunter or Minotaur. Went for Head Hunter as didn't fancy the reachy top move on Minotaur. The lower wall was hard from the get go and really pumpy to place the gear. Several committing and scary sequences later i was getting my breath back on the slopey halfway ledge. Frankly it felt like E5 to there. A long and easy runout left ensued to the base of the finishing groove. Spent ages fiddling some rubbish and small kit in before going for it. The groove was not piss and I up and downed a bit before committing; just about made it to the jugs but it was a touch and go. Glad I didn't test the kit as if it has pulled I'd have gone the length of the crag  A 3* experience but will not be leading it again!

Annoyingly reachy off the ledge too, isn’t it? I can’t really remember the final groove but I do remember wanting it to be over by the time I reached the niche. My main memory is just how wonderful the rock is. Mixed emotions from the leap!

[SA Chris]

M - 10 k run. mate was bust, so i put in an extra lap around the block at fast pace, felt good.
T - Cubs, too knackered after to do much. Might have done some core.
W - Board session - first in ages.
T - 10km run. nearly did 50 min mark, but a bit warm
F - not much
S - cracking morning, first sunny day in ages. Invariably everyone was away enjoying weather, so I had a billy session at new spot. started off with an intense platforming session, trying to make one landing at least semi feasible. Had a few burns on the burly section of the low lip traverse, got a workable sequence to the semi rest, but can't get enough back to do the last finger section. Any advice on getting better at recovering? Traverse is 15 burly moves on OK ish holds to a semi rest on finger jugs in a niche, followed by 6 long moves on OK but sharp crimps to the end. After initially thinking 6C or so, I'm now thinking maybe  7A/+ at least. Also did FA of highball slab I cleaned last week (F5) and the brilliant roof and face which flows nicely at 6B (or so it felt after some knowledge from rope clean). Decided the arete is not clever on my tod even with platforming so need to go back for it. 3.5 km hill reps in late afternoon.
S - Munro hillwalk with kids. An Socach near Glenshee with the kids. After not paying much attention to the map, turns out what we thought was the summit wasn't and actual top was 6 m higher and 2 km away. Kids did fine, just a long day, and 18km of walking. 

[User deactivated.]

I've kept away from this thread after burning out on real climbing - as a training junkie I don't really need any additional accountability to get stuff done, and my entries would have been extremely boring just logging 'board sesh x 5', week after week. I'm gradually starting to add in some real climbing again after a semi-deload to start the week.

M: rest/deload

T: rest/deload

W:  rest/deload

T: Smeaton Edge. Fist time on rock in a couple of months and as an 85kg+ climber, limestone is a revelation in skin friendliness; not a single split after a session on rock is unheard of for me. I did Elysium in a few goes, but not before taking the ride down the hill through the brambles. I really enjoyed this problem. Then spent an hour on the steep block to the left making up eliminates. Generally being very goal oriented, I've never seen the point in eliminates, but I did today and it was glorious just enjoying the movement and the moment. Zen.

F: Bought a camera.

S: Wild camping in the lakes with a couple of friends. Put the camera to use (below).

S: A quick call in to Trowbarrow on the way back. Only had a couple hours of sleep, so I wasn't expecting much but I managed to climb the line of weakness up the centre of the steep face. Vitruvian man also felt ok but I didn't manage to link it and bailed quickly as I was too tired and it was too hot. Incredible boulder but shame about the polish.
 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uDDYq9BB1qSJWowI5dTgWBBTEGBKuu5L/view?usp=sharing
Resting place for the night

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oJnBf9uL8LD1AxiVFnhSBOWuRSlZPq63/view?usp=sharing
The same view when the morning mist rolled in

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c3o4Diq7CHeoJUKvAN8Ru1lwWeLiz9ws/view?usp=sharing
Cliche abstract reflection photo

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_cfKaqTt-M_XgogawOd2CRh57nSfVFg4/view?usp=sharing
Mate checking out the shelter stone

[RobK]

Nice shots Liam!

M – TRX Ts and row. Some press ups after in the sun.

T – 35 minute run round Minera quarry on my way back from picking up a new (second hand) mountain bike.

W – Took the new bike for an hour’s ride round a loop in the Clwyds from Cilcain. Loved it!

T – Rest.

F – Drove over to Wales in the van and had a great three hours going round the Dragon Back trail at Coed y Brenin. It didn’t take long to get back in the groove technically (I used to do a lot of mountain biking). Hands and arms wrecked afterwards though, they took a totally different kind of battering to going climbing.

S – A good day! Started with a 2.5 hour run round Cadair Idris and the surrounding ridge. Nice steady ascent going up the non-tourist route and then a really nice technical descent going past all the punters. Stopped for a dip on the way down too. Great weather for it. Sunny intervals so nice views but got occasional rest bites from the heat. Then on the way home I stopped in at Cwm Pennant to take a look at Ultimate Warrior 7B+. I’ve had my eye on this for a while and it didn’t disappoint. Loved everything about it, the setting, the moves and that it’s basically like climbing on a board. Flashed the 6C+ stand and then took a little while longer to figure out the hard heel hook lock on the sit.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPv_ovNDIN5/

S – Half planned on a day out climbing but my body was definitely demanding a lazy morning. Had a fun hour or so playing on the board in the afternoon.

Really nice to take a step back from training/projecting. I had definitely not got the right balance recently and am feeling a lot better for it.

[Duma]

Nice Rob, very jealous of Ultimate Warrior

[RobK]

Nice Rob, very jealous of Ultimate Warrior

Thanks Duma, yes, I can't think of anything I've done that's better. Nothing else there but definitely worth a visit if you're ever in the area.

[Stabbsy]

M - Pembroke. Back into the Leap for some shade. Did Quiet Waters, which I thought was full on at E3.

Ha, even more stout at E2 when I did it!

Went for Head Hunter as didn't fancy the reachy top move on Minotaur. The lower wall was hard from the get go and really pumpy to place the gear. Several committing and scary sequences later i was getting my breath back on the slopey halfway ledge. Frankly it felt like E5 to there. A long and easy runout left ensued to the base of the finishing groove. Spent ages fiddling some rubbish and small kit in before going for it. The groove was not piss and I up and downed a bit before committing; just about made it to the jugs but it was a touch and go. Glad I didn't test the kit as if it has pulled I'd have gone the length of the crag  A 3* experience but will not be leading it again!

I find it really interesting reading this sort of stuff from someone that's climbed F8c. I might have done a handful of F7b's when I did Head Hunter. If you thought that was committing and scary, don't get on Fitzcorraldo! Can't really comment on the Minotaur long reach (I'm tall) but I found the start way more committing than I was expecting - full-on E3 5c followed by the hard move.

[spidermonkey09]

Ha, even more stout at E2 when I did it!

Its a funny route isn't it. I thought it probably was E2 right up to that final crux section around the top overlap, which is only protected by the ancient peg. Entirely possible I missed a hold or some gear though, especially in full sun for the top bit!

I find it really interesting reading this sort of stuff from someone that's climbed F8c. I might have done a handful of F7b's when I did Head Hunter. If you thought that was committing and scary, don't get on Fitzcorraldo! Can't really comment on the Minotaur long reach (I'm tall) but I found the start way more committing than I was expecting - full-on E3 5c followed by the hard move.

Getting scared on E5s is a much more representative metric of my ability  I wasted a lot of time /energy through not being slick placing wires on that bottom bit, which I'd like to think would be mostly down to being out of practice. It also felt a lot more 'traddy' in style; lots of layaways, fingerlocks and sidepulls and awkward positions, which I was crap at even when trad climbing a lot and am even worse at now!  Its probably no harder than 6c if we're honest, just pumpy; still a good effort doing it with a fairly narrow margin though, I think I'd have been off for sure a few years ago.

Annoyingly reachy off the ledge too, isn’t it? I can’t really remember the final groove but I do remember wanting it to be over by the time I reached the niche. My main memory is just how wonderful the rock is. Mixed emotions from the leap!

Super reachy, but I didn't think it was the crux as long as you hit the non slopey bit of the break! I love it down there.