[duncan]

M - More Fair Head. The glorious weather continued and I was feeling a bit more lively, so got on Salango (E3, 5.11a). A bit of try-hard was employed at the start of the second pitch and a few puffing noises were heard but I felt like I had a little in reserve. Followed it with the magnificent Equinox. “Climb the massive fucking corner”, which I did, in one 55m pitch. It’s never very hard but there is a lot of climbing (E2, 5.10c).
T - Battered. Rest day. Walked 7-8km around the cliff top.
W - Late start. Went in search of  Dark Forces. Failed to find it so did The X-Men (E3) instead as it’s next to the An Bealach Rúnda abseil. An excellent route: pitch one is an epic hand crack (5.10d) unlike anything else I’ve done in the UK. I led p2 which was the shorter but more technical of the two (5.10d, and not UK6a). Celebrated 63rd birthday and West Ham’s victory in Prague with a glass or two of Côtes du Rhône. Should have been a Claret!
T - Getting weary by this point. Back to The Hustler, another E3 banger. Simon led the slightly hollow first pitch and I took on the top pitch. This is a bit run-out at the start, not bad, just not a plug-cams-at-will crack. Then there is an unobvious step into the final crack off a too-comfortable ledge. This needed some encouragement from my belayer to get started but went OK with a bit of try-hard once I committed (F6b/5.10d?).
F - Last day, not the best day. Fell off following Simon up the first pitch of Ocean Boulevard (E3, 5.11b?). Tired, not concentrating, I’d done it before with no major problems, and I wasn't even on the hardest bit! Led the top pitch. Long drive-ferry-drive back to Sheffield.
S - Leisurely start and drive down to London. 30C.  Someone has switched-on summer in my absence. Hip seized-up completely after all the travel.
S - Hobbled around. Legs conditioning: frog squats, single leg squats, heel raises. Shoulder and elbow conditioning: handstands, press-ups, side planks, lock-offs and so on.

A great trip: nine days on, two days off, 14 routes, 40 stars, not a drop of rain, the only misty day turned into a glorious cloud inversion. Good company and the Fair Head meet is always very enjoyable. It's not that cheap now and, entertaining though they were, I'm not sure it needs guest speakers that (reportedly) cost €2500.

Hip doesn’t like sitting in cars and has stiffened up again. Unfortunately this is probably more than a tweak. I clearly need to find more E2/3 cracks to grovel up as it seems relatively happy with this, less so with long journeys or big walk-ins.

Plan: quiet week, a little easy climbing to keep things moving.
 

[Wellsy]

Sounds like a fantastic trip Duncan! Lots of rock and sun

Monday - Clean and Jerks, Backsquat doubles, WOD (skipping, hang power snatches, ring dips, 12 mins). Evening chill climbing

Tuesday - rested

Wednesday - Anston. More banging head vs 7B. Tried some silly dyno Eliminate. Repeats

Thursday- Backsquats to 85kgs for 5 for sets

Friday- rested, went to Langdale

Saturday- Chapel Stile Circuit and Langdale Boulders in morning/evening, two new rock type which ticks off some of my 2023 aims! Nice variety of problems, about 14 in all done up to 6C. Couple of high proud slabs too, which I'm satisfied with personally (The Slab of Death!!!). End of day was knackered, skin gone, terrible connies. Will be back for Overhang SS 7A+ later in year. Outdoor swimming

Sunday - rested, outdoor swimming.

[Duma]

Happy birthday Duncan, sounds like a great trip!

M - eve TCA, 90 min. Feeling a bit clunky after a week off. New blue (nominally 7A to 7C) set up so mostly tried those. Did 4, including one flash. All moves on two more, one is doable but the other will be a tough link.
T - eve, run, 6ish k, hilly, trail, 29 min. Stoke park estate looking and smelling glorious. Hawthorn fading out but honeysuckle in to join the elderflower.
W - eve, TCA, 90 min. Knackered from shite sleep and climbed pretty badly, made some small progress on a couple of blues though.
T -  not feeling great, eve out with work, slept badly again, think I'm fighting something off.
F - felt pretty ropey to start, and knackered by eve. Slept much better though.
S - felt much better in morning. Lunch gentle run. As Tues but much slower.
S -

71.5kg

[Aussiegav]

Happy 63rd Duncan. Inspiring.

Power Club

Monday -

Body weight + 2.5kg repeaters. 7:3ratio. 3hangs/set. 4 sets. 1min rest between sets.

Tuesday
Project session at the Depot. Did a purple in 15mins and then tried a few another purples. Notable drop in power and strength.

Wednesday
Peloton ride

Thursday

Body weight repeaters. 7:3ratio. 3hangs/set. 4 sets. 1min rest between sets.

Friday
Rest

Saturday
Rest

Sunday
Two Tier.
Went to get back on Quality Control. Warmed up on the 6a+ on the far right end of the main wall, Tip Dollar 6a+. I took garden shears and cut back all the nettles from Inbetweeners to the right hand end and then cleaned up this route.
Then went up Subterfuge, bolt to bolt to put in the draws for Phil.
Coming down I set up a top rope on Quality Control. Got a good sequence sorted from the 2nd bolt to good rest at the 4th bolt. Did the link around 4-5 times in a row. Need to get the start dialled in.  Finished the day by belaying Phil at Sit Down Buttress.

[shark]

~11.11

M Salango E3. Trickier than expected first pitch for me leading to an uncomfortable semi hanging belay where I got gradually grumpier. Managed to follow the next crack pitch without damaging my hands. Then seconded Equinox E2 which I’d done before but Duncan hadn’t

T

W We spent time trying to locate where Dark Forces might be but gave up rather than ab in blindly. Got to lead the sustained first pitch of TheX Men E3 5c, 5c. which was the best single pitch on this trip. Quite technical jamming I thought when you’re looking to conserve energy. Quite a few helpful edges in the groove walls. Would be another level without them.

T The Hustler E3 5c, 5c. First pitch for me which was a bit spooky and hollow in places. Good lead by Duncan on second pitch when he stopped dithering on the ledges and committed to the crack.

F AM Sunset Boulevard E3 5c, 5b. Another classic challenging steep crack with a few tight greasy jams andgladI borrowed Duncan’s crack gloves. Less handy edges on the wall on this one. Wouldn’t have wanted it to be any harder. Back to Sheffield via the Stranraer. Clocked Dave Mac on the ferry. UKB going down necessitated a fair bit of shizzle with Duncan Disorderly - thanks for sorting things out 👏

S Eve Disco!

S Weighted deadhangs and pull-ups on Ergo edge. Hot weather and general post trip tiredness meant I had to force myself to do this session. Expected to do badly but actually improved on the previous  sessions scores a fortnight ago.

Fairhead was a memorable trip. Climbed 9 days of 11 wanting to make the most of the fabulous weather and at times it felt like a grind and had to pace ourselves toward the end. Only did mega threee star classics - typically sustained physically demanding crack climbing and not the sort of thing I’ve done in any quantity for nearly 20 years. For overall quality An Bealach Runda E1 and Hurricane E2 were the best but in terms of single pitches I led the first pitch of both The X Men E3 and Sunset Boulevard E3 were my highlights being full on sustained cracks. Got to feel increasingly comfortable climbing on placed gear and if I hadn’t felt generally battered would have had a go at one of the harder face routes.

Going in the camper van worked well as the camping at Sean’s Field was very basic (ie a tap and sometimes a portaloo) but a gorgeous location, meant you didn’t have to drive anywhere and only £5 a night. Going via Stranraer was £391 return with a 5.5 hour drive from Sheffield 2 hour crossing then a gorgeous 1 hour drive up the coast road from Larne to Ballycastle. Would be good to go back there to focus on the E4 and E5 face routes and Paul Reeve 👋 has already expressed an interest for next year.

Definitely trimmer so disappointed  to only lose a couple of lbs so still heavier than I can remember being for this time of year.

[mr chaz]

Power Club:

M.
T. Evening board session with max hangs warmup. Seen some improvement with my hangs lately which appears to be more than just a one off low gravity day.
W.
T. Planned to train in the evening but abandoned due to pain in my thumb/hand from manual labouring at work 
F.
S. Day pass and a scorching forecast - so headed off early doors to Pantymwyn. Warmup repeat of Firestarter, felt easy compared to my previous repeat a year ago. 30 mins working the crux on Be Ruthless, still can't make it work for me. The dynamic method feels the most doable but I cant commit to it without a spotter. Took a nasty fall trying to do it static and landed in a heap next to my pads, feeling a bit bruised and battered today. Rest of the session spent on Under The Bridge. Lots of goes and beta tweaking, then started making the distance on the crux several times but couldn't hold it. Think I was tiring before getting my beta fully sorted, but feeling confident for next time.
S.

[steveri]

Solar update:
Solar panels just had 10th birthday, around 65kWh last week, worth about 20 quid.

M: Manley, bit of a potter, bit of cleaning
W: first fell race in a year, didn’t die
T: trying Backwoods Man, not enough power, sore shoulder, forgot arthritis meds
F: easy trail run, easy problems at wall, sun out, daughter wanted a final session before going travelling. Sore shoulder, sleepless night. Back on meds.
S: gardening! Drugs are good.
S: 6am airport drop off, Plantation by 8am. Rare opportunity to climb in the quiet, boiling. Chips.

[Duncan Disorderly]

HB Duncan... Sounds like you and Simon had an ace trip!

M: Yomp up to Cloggy - Whoop whoop! The crucible of British climbing didn't disapoint... Had designs on doing some of the classic E4's (Great Wall being high on the list) but in the end opted to go for  something a bit longer to get the full experience for our first visit - Was a toss up between West Buttress Eliminate at E3 and White Slab at E2. Opted for White Slab as it sounded better, it was awesome!... Amazing day out! Alt leads and strung a few pitches together - Finished up Longlands direct which was an experience - Loose AND bold, definitely blew the cobwebs out!
T: Bit of slate sport action, legs were like jelly so mustered the energy for a few F6's and caught the Energizer Bunny on some harder sport and a couple of E4's (which he thankfully backed off before taking the monster whips!)....
W: Rest
T: AW with GF and Daughter - F6a+, F6c, F6c, F6c, F6c+... Tired.
F: Rest
S: Hot! Sheaf bloc... Managed hard section of traverse but anything remotely slopey was like soap. Pint.
S: Swimming @ Agden...

Summer is here - Turbo psyche!!

[Will Hunt]

Was on holiday. Swimming etc. The week before I managed one Ruin Bank pump sesh finishing off a slightly harder variation on Yorkshire Trav.

Su - Hell Gill with dunnyg fun splashing and a tricky boulder problem out of the plunge pool when doing it in ascent. Mooted grades range from Font 7B to English 5c. Then sweated up Pen-y-ghent to do Red Pencil Direct. Thunder rumbled as we climbed. Lightning to the south. Packed the bags as the first drops fell. Ran down in a thundery and lightningy cloudburst with rivers of water flowing over the baked-solid paths. Completely and utterly drenched. As wet as if we'd jumped in a swimming pool. Knee now fucked.

[Nibile]

Power Club

Mon - goblet squat, pull ups, back work. Very easy, despite that I managed to injure left lat/ribs.
Tue - thruster, high pulls.
Wed - French ball, boxing bag, some weights.
Thu - AM as usual; PM clean and press 5x5 50 kg; push press 5x5 45 kg. Bentover rows.
Fri - AM as usual; PM wheel, loaded carries, uphill sprints.
Sat - clean five singles 95%; 5x5 90%; 5x2 clean and push 80%.
Sun - Lattice edge back3, front3 half crimp 12,5 kg off. Regular BW hangs. Back work.
A few very slack weeks, not because I could have trained more or in a better way, but because I couldn't train as I would have liked.

[Wellsy]

Out of interest what are your oly lifting PRs Nibs?

[Nibile]

Ciao Wellsy!
I have to tell you that in PC my entries are a bit in jargon, in reality I basically don't do any real olympic lifting, technically speaking. I mainly do (roughly) what olympic lifters may do as ancillary excercises...
So, when you read "clean and press" you should think "power clean from hang and power press", etc. but it's boring to write down...
I never start from the ground, because I have no idea on how to transition from the first pull, to the hip contact, to the second pull and dive under the bar.
In fact, I never squat under the bar because of my knees...
So, having said that: I managed to power clean from hang 80 kg and to power snatch from clean 55 kg (IIRC).
So sorry to disappoint you!
 
As for the rest, the clean and push differs from the clean and press in that in the former I start pressing the bar up as much as I can without being able to press it overhead. It goes up to around forehead level.

[Coops_13]

M: Bulgarian Split squats 65lb X5 *5sets. Bench press 185lb X3 *3sets. Incline chest press, bar dips. Shoulder press, bicep curl, diagonal raise. 30 mins peloton

T: 2.2mile walk. MH warm-up down to -30lb. Board session, use one of my small Strongholds holds for the first time. Weighted pull-ups 90lb X2 *5sets. 20 mins peloton

W: Chest flys, chest press, bar dips, shoulder press, bicep curl, diagonal raise, svend press. 35 mins peloton

T: MH warm-up down to -35lb RH (R Ring A4 sore) -17.5lb LH. Board session. Careful with RH but almost sent an OG project. Front lever pulls. Weighted pull-ups 100lb X2 *3sets.

F: 30 mins peloton, huge PR.

S: Lots of steps walking round Vail Mountain Games

S: Poor forecast so went to Guanella. Poor acclimatisation after Squamish. Spent a while trying Toxic Shock V8, very crimpy. Did all the moves then fingers tired out on the link. Went to try Beyond Matters V8 but too tired. Finished the day repeating Love Matters V8

[Wellsy]

Ciao Wellsy!
I have to tell you that in PC my entries are a bit in jargon, in reality I basically don't do any real olympic lifting, technically speaking. I mainly do (roughly) what olympic lifters may do as ancillary excercises...
So, when you read "clean and press" you should think "power clean from hang and power press", etc. but it's boring to write down...
I never start from the ground, because I have no idea on how to transition from the first pull, to the hip contact, to the second pull and dive under the bar.
In fact, I never squat under the bar because of my knees...
So, having said that: I managed to power clean from hang 80 kg and to power snatch from clean 55 kg (IIRC).
So sorry to disappoint you!
 
As for the rest, the clean and push differs from the clean and press in that in the former I start pressing the bar up as much as I can without being able to press it overhead. It goes up to around forehead level.

Sorry for the delayed reply! And certainly not disappointing!

From what I can tell the non-full variants are apparently even better for most athletes in terms of developing power and strength, without needing huge amounts of time on technique. Those sound pretty cool.

I recently just started getting into actually doing the full oly lifts, just for fun. Hard but fun! Today was a clean and jerk day, and I got a 65kgs PB, but with absolutely naff technique lol

Power cleaning from hang 80kgs would be cool to do!

[Nibile]

Hey!
65 kg clean and jerk is good!