[shark]

11.5-7 160.3 down 0.9lb

M. Early AM Home warm up up. Tor. 8am. Overcast. Nick looking glum - he’d tweaked a tendon in his wrist so was just on belay duty. Two tie ins on CN’A. Worked headwall and then linked move 3 (ie from undercut and rail) to break comfortably on top rope - 9 moves. Second go up whole route in sections. Foot too low on Push Up and fell off crux so pulled past. Linked from there to Prow hole and clipped in. Then linked Prow hole to grabbing QuickDraw in middle of headwall. Couple of goes from bolt but ended up pulling past. Linked from rest on Prow to Crucifixion crux. Few dogging goes on crux then linked from middle off crux section to belay. Stripped it . Was still only mid morning. Good session.

T.

W.

T. Home warm up. Tor. Texted Graham after he failed to show. Turned out I’d arranged to meet him on Friday 🤦‍♂️ Took dog for a walk

F. 11 degrees. Beautiful morning. Blue skies. Home warm up. Tor. Climbing with Graham C for first time. CN’A. Frigged up to headwall. Holds not as grippy as last two sessions for some reason. Found a mini shake by the bolt. On top rope linked from Prow hole to getting sidepull pinch and just about getting feet across but with not enough body tension - 9 moves. Need to be stronger at this point to press harder on the dreadful broken foothold straightening my legs a bit more and with right hip in a bit closer to the rock. Second tie in fell off Push Up going for gaston over bulge.  Graham told me an interesting way to hold the right handhold on the crux which seemed good and would save skin. Will refine the move next session. Pulled past to break and linked from there to grabbing draw in middle of headwall - 6 moves. Couple of attempts to climb past it then pulled past to break. Climbed to falling off pulling over roof on crucifixion. Linked from lip to the crucifixion crux. Almost linked thru crux to jug at last bolt but left arm turned to spaghetti . Stumbled on the gaston mentioned in my old beta notes which I couldn’t find before. Climbed from middle of crux to top. 

S.

S.

Good to glean a few more beta tweaks and overall I’m feeling a bit stronger on the moves than last year. Felt wiped out after both sessions and on into the following day. Aiming next week to link the headwall in a oner and then climb the whole thing with a couple of falls/rests in the middle of the headwall and at the Crucifixion crux.

[Wood FT]

Re: push up hold - was it by using your thumb instead?

[shark]

Re: push up hold - was it by using your thumb instead?

👍🏻

[Duma]

M - couldn't get partner for sport climbing. Wall instead, TCA, immediately realised elbow was not happy, did a few easier things and foolishly one of the new blues, but the sacked it off and went home to ice elbow. Doesn't feel like tennis or golfers, more a weird unstable/nervy thing. Will take a few days off and reassess.
T - elbow still dodgy, esp in full flexion (regardless of load). Terrible sleep, elbow combined with lingering effects of night shifts last week.
W - 12 hr shift. Elbow still sore, maybe slightly improved but not much. Slept better at least.
T - 8 hr shift. Was going to climb but elbow not feeling recovered, poss shoulder too.
F - 12 hr shift. Elbow still dodgy, doesn't like full flexion or extension.
S - 2 min plank with variations, elbow seemed ok, but def not with press ups.
S - run, 6k, pace ~ half of Kipchoge's for the marathon today. 2 min plank with variations.

70 kg
2022 plank total 264 min

Bit worried about my elbow, think it started last Fri at the Remnant but there wasn't any discomfort until Sunday night, though that was after 2 out of 3 days sport climbing after not getting out for 2 months. Will see someone this week if no improvement in the next couple of days.

[Will Hunt]

Felt a bit iffy early in the week so skipped the wall session. Kept forgetting to do ab ripper. Forgive me Tony, I have sinned.

Friday - nice weather so got a couple of after work hours at the Glen. Did a few fairly daft new lowball things. Enjoyable couple of hours messing about on rocks.

Sunday - we went to Gordale by mistake. Surely far too cold but Tom was psyched. We pleasured an old lady while warming up. "Thank you for that, you've given me great pleasure" she said to me as I belayed. New kink discovered.
Dogged up Cave Right trying to figure out the beta. Forgot most of it but knew enough to know that I had no chance. I find the first crux really hard and the top crack quite baffling. Belayed Tom then tied on.
Made a complete mess of the first crux.  Reached up into an undercut too early and had to reset my hand on the previous hold. Couldn't get the hold properly. Then stretching up to a thin sidepull overhead and somehow found myself pulling on it and actually pulling through. Landed on the big holds in disbelief that I was still on. Climbed into the first rest and stayed a long time while Tom got an earful from a "lovely but quite mad" passerby.  Gave myself a pep talk. "You're a good climber, Will. You know what you're doing here. You can figure this top bit out, you'll be fine". Set off and immediately got it wrong so reversed and shook some more. Next time up got it right and fumbled through, climbing slowly and uncertainly, through to the next rest. The kneepad I'd opted to wear actually hindered the kneebar - knee now too thick to properly bury into it. Uh oh. This wasn't the hands off rest I'd envisaged. Eventually decided there was nothing for it but to get going and delved into the crack. Somehow scraped through the dusty peg pockets on completely busted arms. At some point I started screaming. Then I was falling off, but on my way out from the rock my hand made contact with the last big sidepull at the end of the hard climbing and, against the laws of physics, I stayed on and gruelled into the groove and a hands off rest. Time passed. Perhaps hours or eons. Life began to return to my arms. Two bolts of easy climbing to go. Pressed and bridged up the groove before arriving with fingers groping an inch from the cave. One last move - an elevator-doors pull that allows the feet to make the final stem and the hands to sink into the jugs of the cave. Jugs they may be, but I was in such a decrepit state that pulling up on them and getting into the cave was not pretty. Clipped the belay to end one of the biggest and most satisfying battles of my climbing life. YYFY.

[Fultonius]

Haha, quality barrel scrapeage Will!!

I've been off PC for a while, I think I mentioned it before, but it doesn't really work for me as a diary/logbook so if I'm not really training I don't feel that inclined to post - that said, I got back on Endurance, my Dumby project on Friday and got pretty owned!  On my last go before going to Canada I managed to almost match the crux vertical rail where it joins Sufferance - should really be doable from there, and I have done that bit as a short link from 2 clips in. Feels like I have fair bit of work to do, and therefore a dilemma!

At this time of year we're running out of good days up here for getting stuff done, so, do I press on just getting better on the route by trying the route, or step back and do a few weeks of training (limiting good weather possibilities even further... )

I managed all the individual moves, but could barely link 2 clips at a time.

[Nibile]

Power Club

Mon - surf.
Tue - surf.
Wed - surf.
Thu - surf.
Fri - ab wheel.
Sat - ab wheel, Tyson push ups.
Sun - loaded carries.

[SA Chris]

You not in Italy then Nibs? Seems a bit consistent.

[Duma]

Sounds like a sweet week Nibs!

[SA Chris]

M - sat about watching burial, decided to get out the door, went up to Balmoral Estate and walked around Loch Muick, 12km. Lovely day, no midges, only a light drizzle. 6.5km tempo run at home.
T - bouldering on home woody. First in a while. actually had an OK session.
W - some curls, not much else.
T - easy 7 km. A bit of fingerboarding.
F - not much, chilled out.
S - Crathes HM. Perfect weather, decent rest, new trainers (carbon), properly fuelled, headphones with carefully selected playlist, and a few encouraging mates to pace. Banked time in the flatter first half, then bit hard on the hills in the second, and tried to claw back time hammering the downhills (strong suit). And doing mental pacing maths along the way. New I had cracked PB by the time I i was in last km, some twat tried to drop me in the last 500 m, but he looked like he might be in my  age category, so i took him out in the last 10m. chip time 1:38:03. Previous PB was 1:40:38 back in 2018.
S - Pretty wiped, managed afternoon indoor bouldering session. Belayed Kyle a bit, he's progressing well into the mid 6es now, need to start him leading.

[mr chaz]

Power Club:

M.
T.
W.
T. Evening board session doing limit boulder problems. Slow start, but felt good by the end. Couple of new problems conceptualised and then realised. One thing is pretty hard and may take a few more sessions.
F.
S.
S. Evening board session. Went through my current logbook (17 problems from 6C to 7B) and tried to repeat as many as possible, 3 tries per problem. Didn't get very far, but makes for a good session! Last one before heading to France for a (non climbing) break at my parents' place.

[duncan]

Well done on CRR Will, that’s what we’re here for. If I lived further north that would be a BHAG for me.

Great effort on the half Chris. You asked about whether to do another half or an ultra in the one for the shufflers thread. I’d try to improve my half time, you can always do ultras when you’re old!

M - A long walk with some good podcasts to avoid the nonsense.  Shoulder conditioning avoiding anything too wristy: side planks on elbows, bar hangs.
T - 11km walk including 2km of shuffle. Shoulders conditioning.
W - Fingerboard: pick-ups, 15mm edge, 3 finger crimp. 30kg with left hand, 20kg with right.
T - Fingerboard as above. 10km walk,
F - Shoulder conditioning.
S - Fingerboard pick-ups, as above progressing to 27.5kg on R and 32.5kg on left. 5s hangs on 28mm edge.
S - Fingerboard as above. 5s hangs on 28mm edge, wrist did not tolerate two consecutive days of these so stopped.

Had a cold most of the week so eased back from the shuffling. Wrist is slowly tolerating more load, with the occasional set-back as you’d expect. Assuming my cold improves will gently ease back into some rehab. climbing / aerocap. this week.

[SA Chris]

Great effort on the half Chris. You asked about whether to do another half or an ultra in the one for the shufflers thread. I’d try to improve my half time, you can always do ultras when you’re old!

True, just been told by home management that Fraserburgh is on a long weekend. Gutted I missed entry for Clova, sells out fast. Might do Braemar, but it's pretty hilly. I did John Muir Way Ultra last year, you are right, definitely suit older stamina plodders, basically a moving picnic.   

[Duncan Disorderly]

Kalymnos Club:

M: Surf @ Skegvegas... MSW said it looked the best bet as was close to where I was DJing Sunday evening... Turned out it wasn't great... Pretty average beach break with waves breaking way too close to shore, brown and smelly water too... Good temps tho! Caught a couple and my pop is definitely getting better - chips and musshy peas with the royalists!
T: Nowt
W: Planks and pop
T: Nowt
F: Fly to Kaly - get here at 2am...
S: Super tired so just did some F5's with the GF then a F6b @ Arginonta Valley.
S: Still pretty trashed so no early start - Griffig (new crag that sees shade all day) - F5, F6a+, F6b, F6c... Looked at some mega lines... Warming into it nicely.

Taking it slow... 3 Weeks is a long time to sit here with an injury or no skin!

[Nutty]

Monday - Cold still lingering. Rest.

Tuesday - Cold still lingering. Rest.

Wednesday - Cold seems to have finally shifted. Wall session. Warmup then work some problems on the board until power fades, then routes.

Thursday - Rest.

Friday - Rest.

Saturday - Garden board session. Best session for a while - not that I did any new problems or anything but it's been the first session since my groin and abdominal injuries that I've been able to easily rattle through my warm-up problems.

Sunday - Yoga and physio.

Finally got over the cold from the week before. Took things a bit easy this week, but good to be feeling normal again. No running as I thought that might be pushing it.

[tommytwotone]

I'm back! (kind of...)

On Weds, after multiple delays (one by my having The Snip too close to the original date, then delays over summer holidays due to diary clashes, then a final week's delay after they couldn't get some of the equipment), I finally had my knee op.

Done privately (thanks to work healthcare plan) so all very pleasant, apart from getting stung by a wasp after about 5 mins of getting to the room!

Good news - specialist confirmed it was meniscus damage, and that he managed to tidy it up / prune off the bad bits

Bad news - he spotted some signs of arthritis(!) so "while he was in there" did a microfracture procedure to try and stimulate some cartilage growth

Latter is bad news as a) I wasn't expecting it (I wonder what state my "good" knee is in now...) and b) I'm now on crutches for 6 weeks, can't drive etc, and if he hadn't done it I'd have been walking about starting rehab proper.

Doing school drop-off and pickup (1km there, 1km back x 2) on Friday was definitely some type 2 fun.

So it looks like I'll be on crutches for 6 weeks, then after that maybe still on them with partial weight-bearing, maybe off them altogether.

After that it looks like that's when the rehab really starts, and the prognosis for return to activity (and certainly anything involving impact on the knee) after microfracture is in the 6+ months timeframe rather than the 6+ weeks I was hoping for if it'd been only the meniscus thing.


 

[Nibile]

You not in Italy then Nibs? Seems a bit consistent.

Sounds like a sweet week Nibs!

Hey guys!
I was in Italy in fact, but barely...
Sardinia's West coast.
We had three days of NW swell, from slightly onshore to blown out, and a final memorable day of 2 ft glassy.
First time in the water in 11 years.
Did it feel good!
Being shit aside... it was awesome.

[SA Chris]

Sardinia is on the hit list for many reasons, shame it's such a faff to get to from NE Scotland.

Embrace being shit!

[Nibile]

Sardinia is on the hit list for many reasons, shame it's such a faff to get to from NE Scotland.

Embrace being shit! 😅😅😅😅😅

You have to go, absolutely. Amazing climbing and surfing.

[Coops_13]

M: Core. G1. Max hangs 85% 7s 20mm +37.5lb *6. Limit boulders on Kilter 45deg. 4 V7, 1 V8. Linked boulders at V4-6 range c.12 moves X4 *2

T: Press-ups and shoulder press. Lower body stretching

W: Upper body mobility

T: Bodyweight repeaters. Finger curls. Core. Lower body stretching. Shoulder press and press ups

F: Core.

S: Power Endurance Repeaters

S: 100 press-ups, light core

[Will Hunt]

Well done on CRR Will, that’s what we’re here for. If I lived further north that would be a BHAG for me.

Thanks Duncan, but I'm confused as to why you'd think it wasn't a reasonable goal. For an old school stamina plodder like you it'd be a path!

[cheque]

Well done on CRR Will, that’s what we’re here for.

 

[duncan]

... basically a moving picnic.   

I'm almost tempted!

Taking it slow... 3 Weeks is a long time to sit here with an injury or no skin!

Good news - specialist confirmed it was meniscus damage, and that he managed to tidy it up / prune off the bad bits

Bad news - he spotted some signs of arthritis(!) so "while he was in there" did a microfracture procedure to try and stimulate some cartilage growth

That's a pretty significant thing to do unannounced. Good luck.

Thanks Duncan, but I'm confused as to why you'd think it wasn't a reasonable goal. For an old school stamina plodder like you it'd be a path!

I'm a 7a (with a fair wind) stamina plodder not a 7b+ stamina plodder! If Gordale was in The Mendips it would make a great project but I'd need to spend several days in the area and the Yorkshire dales are frustrating distance from London. When conditions, fitness and several days free coincide I tend to head for Wales, The Lakes or Scotland. I did buy Northern Rock and I think a few days on the Yorkshire lime might be on the cards next year.

[Rocksteady]

I'll include the Sunday before as I managed to sneak in some days away from the family down in Portland while the funeral was on.

Sun: Drove down to Portland, went to Blacknor Far South. Did Ocean Drive 6b which was absolute class, but I felt a bit pumped. Then did the Unknown Soldier at 6b+ which was also excellent, thankfully eased off near the top. I felt pumped as hell and struggled to recover for the rest of the day. Tried a 7a+ nearby and had no hope. This was disappointing since I have been specifically trying to build up power endurance with foot on campussing and had made serious gains. However, this has not translated onto the rock.

Mon: Went down to the Trad Free World area at Wallsend. Rarely get here on a normal trip because of long approach but was perfect. Amazing 30m lines right by the sea. Loads of big ammonites in the belay platform. A couple of other teams about but otherwise quiet. I did Stalker Zone as a warm up 6a+ which has to be one of the best routes I've ever done at this grade, a varied and enjoyable line that keeps going and going. But I was feeling it in my forearms from the day before. Then tried The Jewel of the Isle 6b+, also amazing but I had a total 'mare and failed at the crux. I felt I didn't have the endurance to clip. Same thing happened on Trad Free World at 6b. Looking at my logbook that's the first time I've failed on a 6b in 10 years. Depressing.
I then did both climbs (just) on top rope. And realised a lot of it is in my head, fear of falling, fear of committing above a run out and massive rock rustiness. I was kind of benchmarking myself on the me that was climbing 7c in 2017 before I had kids and started only doing a handful of days out climbing a year.
I do also think that the foot on campussing training I was doing seems to have had a detrimental effect, and I wonder whether I've done that thing where you increase your power endurance but not your aerobic capacity and can't flush out the pump.
Anyway, an enjoyable weekend despite me climbing very badly. Lots of food for thought - but mainly that I can't expect to climb well unless I go climbing regularly.

Tue: Rest, sore back

Wed: Same

Thur: Quick bouldering session at the Arch Acton where I didn't try to train but just enjoyed it. Surprised myself managing to tick off quite a few problems that previously evaded me.

Fri: Rest

Sat: Bit of cycling with my son.

Sun: Big family walk then a session at the Arch in the evening. Similar to last time except bumped into some old friends so chatted more and climbed less. But found out they now lived locally and had a Moon board that I was invited to try. Result!

[Aussiegav]

A very frantic & emotional week. Finishing my role as Head of Nursing Quality, dealing with the shock and supporting family member with diagnosis of cancer and starting end of life care within 8 days.
Didn’t get much done, fortunately it was a planned rest/deload week.

Monday -
Rest day. Spent day in Croydon University Hospital. Working out what’s going to happen with unexpected cancer diagnosis, working out care management plans. Very heavy day. Long ride on the motorcycle back to Sheffield was just the tonic to end a very long day. 


Tuesday

Went to the Depot after work do the new Pink Circuit
Did around 8 warm ups blues & blacks. Then we went through the pink circuit. Around 30 problems. Grade range is meant to be V2-5. I flashed all except 1. Did it next go. I thought they were more like V2 to V3. Good to get the volume in.
Finished with pull ups on the minute and core.

Wednesday -


Thursday -

Good warm up with quad block lifts & shoulder shrugs with weights before the density hangs.
Open hand hangs. 3x30s with 4min rests. BW less 17.5kg
Half crimp hangs. 3x30s with 4min rests. BW less 20kg. Managed to hold better half crimp form for the full hangs.
Finished with some core & stretching

Friday -

60min Peloton ride, core and stretching

Saturday -
Long day at the hospice in London

Sunday.

Had a great session with Asa at the Depot.
He did 18 problems on the blue circuit V1-3. Most of them were first go. Tried a few blacks and pink.
I warmed up and did around 11 problems, blue, black & red circuit. Most were first try.

Project Session on Purples.
1. Pockets problem. Came off the top 4 times. I need to either get stronger or find out the sequence off someone.
2. Fat pinches & Edges on the prow. Managed this one 3rd try. Had to fight at the top. Just did it by the skin of my teeth.
3. Steep prow. Pinches and undercling. Tried this 6 times. Couldn’t stick the cross over into the side pull (2nd last hold).
4. 3move problem on first joint edges. Basic problem but was tired by this point.

Nice set of projects, hope to get back on this next weekend. Thank goodness I have climbing. Such a positive impact on my well being and head space for the week

[Wellsy]

Recently I've done a lot of indoor climbing, some outdoor stuff up to about 7A, not a lot of training, and a few nights out until 6am. Basically learning to love it all again, which is going nicely. Bit physically and mentally wobbly of late, but going in the right direction

Soon I'll get back on a training plan and start pushing my body in terms of strength and power. Looking forward to it.

[Duma]

Christ that's rough Gav, hope you're ok

[Wellsy]

Yeah I missed that, best of luck Gav