[Duma]

M - Leonidio, La Maison des Chèvres. Really hot, the guidebook promise of afternoon shade is a lie, evening shade at most. Really tired and bit anxious too, GF has been hit with a bunch of work stress just as we go on holiday and I think that's affecting my sleep and mental state. Tuk-Tuk 5b, nice warm up, Tanzmarie 6c felt hard but probably more mental than physical. Tried the brilliant looking Amalthee 7b but anxious before setting off, overgripping and pumped out by halfway. Struggled to the top in the heat and stress. Didn't feel up to another go so stripped it. Flashed the slabby Finding Mono 7a with quality beta from Michelle to somewhat rescue the day.
T - Rest
W - Leonidio, Panórama. Still not sleeping great but feeling bit better mentally. Shady and high, great connies. Did the excellent Stairway to Heaven 6c to warm up, then dogged Fakir 7c ( OS attempt ended low, but short crimpy route so fair enough). Worked out a sequence and scraped up it next go, thankfully as the broccoli crimps eat skin pretty quick. Finished with flash of From Berlin to Bombay 7a.
T - Leonidio, King of Thrones. Slept better at last. Horrible 6b, Franz Jäger Berlin to warm up, but then the truly amazing Tsoutsouni 7a, best route of the trip so far. Had a decent OS burn on Song of Ice and Fire 7b, picked wrong way at the high crux but good to have a fight. Thought it might be a struggle second go with the sun coming on to it but went smoothly on RP. Middle section of this is really fantastic.
F - Rest.
S - Leonidio, Panórama. Back for people's projects. Repeated Stairway to Heaven 6c to warm up and get clips in for others, then decent OS go on Dutch Cupcake 7c, dropped around halfway. Felt bit wigged by the spaced bolting in the upper half but went smoothly next go. GF did her mini-proj and Michelle made good progress on hers too, top day.
S - Leonidio, Geraki. The drive is a bit of a ball ache but the stunning scenery takes the sting out of it. Great crag but super busy, more people than routes today I think. Couple of 5's Maleatis Apollo and Nikiforos Vrettakos to warm up, then flashed the excellent Torelli Route 7a+ on Remus' draws. Next dogged (very token OS attempt) up Adiemus 7c+. Hard crimpy crux boulder but ok either side, and excellent upper groove. 2nd go realised hadn't properly worked the boulder, third go scraped through, recovered a bit on my way up the groove, then somehow forgot about a decent hold and had to do an absolute all in throw to the final sinker, very satisfying. Finished with flash of Dopamine Crack 7a, good but skin was pretty painful by then, and quick run up another 5 Mikros Mystras. Knackered but great day.

? kg

[Duncan Disorderly]

Kalymnos club...

M: Sea Breeze - Guide says shade til 2, it's wrong... 5 Routes F6a+ to F6c in full sun, all at least 35m... Ace.
T: Arginonta with GF - Lead up a load of F5's for her to TR. Got hit by a fist sized rock dislodged by a goat at the top of the crag - very lucky as wasn't wearing a lid and it hit me right on the collar bone... Won't make that mistake again!
W: Summertime - Project time (a F7c called Vertigo). Was feeling sore from the rock so decided to just work some links on TR... Linked top half putting the draws in then linked the bottom half easily on TR! So much so that I went for the RP, close but no cigar... Bailed after one attempt.
T: Noufaro with GF - Led up some F5's for her and did a couple up to F6b.
F: Rest
S: Summertime - Project time. 1st RP fumbled 3rd clip and narrowly avoided decking! Spooked but fine, and good to know that the worst clipping mistake possible still leaves you a few feet off the deck! 2nd RP messed up a sequence low down so wasted energy but swapped the gate on the 3rd clip which is much less droppable. 3rd RP was tired and powered out going for last tricky move... Thought it would be easier than this but enjoying the process and have refined all sequences so it's really now down to feeling fresh and doing one move just right! Psyched!
S: Noufaro Indians Face - Got there late but managed a F6b, F6c and F6c+ before the sun hit - all good long routes too.

Good first full week in Kaly, still warming into it and enjoying the holiday vibes, still got nearly 3 weeks left. Hopefully do project this week and ramp up the onsighting and day RP's...

[shark]

Thanks Duma


12.0

M

T Noon. Tor. 11 deg and good breeze at times. Benchmark session on Bens. Cross thru felt fine reverting to the original method Lost knack on throw and didn’t do it at all. Foot on pinch move still tricky. Felt strong but somehow didn’t perform well. Level not where I thought I was. Gutted. Went home and drank a bottle of wine

W.

T.

F. AM Tor with Ewa. Drizzly warm blowy. Rock felt soft and ungrippy. Push Up drenched. 3 goes lowering from top. First got a decent link on AM headwall despite conditions from move 3 to going for penultimate hold. Second go on Crucifixion headwall did the crux section and can’t remember it ever feeling so easy. Then tried on TR from the lip of the overhang and got to crux totally fresh but the top of a dogging draw had clipped itself into the rope. Back to the lip then linked all the way to the belay which felt 7a/7a+ rather than 7b+/7c Third lower in mainly to retrieve draws on AM headwall which was tiring to do but then surprised myself linking all the way from the top of the AM headwall to middle of the Crucifixion crux section then after a short rest from start of crux section to the belay. Eve drove to Grange over sands via Leyland so Tommy could check out a TT bike

S. Shortish walk in clag up fell above Windermere. Masons Arms for a couple of pints. Eve Great curry by brother in law. Guzzled wine

S Walk up fell above Grange. Could see the view. Drove back to Sheffield via Leyland to pick up bike.

Devastated after Mondays session and elated after Friday’s. Seem to have stumbled on some form and endurance on C&A. More of the same this week.

[Fiend]

The usual STG: Stay focused and don't make silly mistakes - n/a. Do something challenging and inspiring on a rope, or above a pad - n/a, keep in regular contact with suitable friends and partners - sorta but demoralising as too much onus on me doing it, falling practise if I do routes indoors or out - no, deadhangs (if suitable) - no, and could have done, elbow rehab x 2 - x1, shoulder rehab x 2 - yes, stretching x 3 - x1.
Next week STG: Be careful with sprained toe - I think so. Get a fixed plan for Autumn - yes. Re-introduce myself positively to some local climbing online groups to try to have more options to be involved with local climbers - n/a. Outside aims depend on weather - piss off.
MTG - keep incrementally regaining capability, do regular increasingly large falling practise, try to stretch bi-weekly, keep rehabbing (and moderating training if needed) to avoid injury, try to rally support and inclusion amongst climbing partners.
LTG - regain physical capability for F7a o/s, F7b+-ish r/p, to be able to take into trad, try to regain some confidence in going further afield.


M - Indoor bouldering @ AW - ~15 V3-5, mostly flashed, avoided the 3 slabs  - toe still sprained, so the session was partly to test the toe. Outside edging fine, inside large edging okay, front-on not good. Downturned shoes seemed to help. No idea how long a big toe sprain takes to heal. Mood still a bit grumpy. Also arm fatigue - 2 hours top-out excavating @ Lester Mill, part of the 8 hours of top, bottom, and vegetation clearing I've done so far in the vain hope that other people will reciprocate a little bit and clean the routes so I can onsight them.

T -  Active rest / arm fatigue - 2 hours top-out excavating @ Pinfold Quarry. The routes don't need cleaning here and it's a nice suntrap so hopefully will be able to climb there this autumn. Toe feeling a bit better.

W -  Booked flights, accommodation, and car hire for Pfalz in late October. Partly excited and partly panicked because I'm out of the habit of doing this. Toe sore walking again for no good reason, which was concerning. Went to AW, did a few easy boulder problems and toe was worse and inhibitive, I felt fucking awful climbing like a clunky beginner and went home having done fuck all apart from stretching and shoulder rehab. Foul mood and generally worried.

T - Indoor routes / careful toe testing @ Boardroom. F6b+ x 2, F6c x 2, attempted 4 x F6c+, 2 total sandbags and 2 was close to (mostly steep to have larger footholds). Had well taped toe, downturned shoes, and climbed bloody carefully looking at every right foothold before weighting it, thus climbing inhibitively and even more punterly than usual, but it was a lot more reassuring climbing-wise than the previous debacle. Toe was fine, but then strained back of leg / knee on one route, which, amazingly enough, is not what I needed. Slightly less foul mood overall.

F - Rest. Elbow rehab, shoulder rehab, stretching. Made a plastic insole. Toe okay. Back of leg / knee a bit tender and stiff. Fed up mood.

S - Rest. Short walks to Lancs esoterica. Toe and back of leg / knee mildly tender. Took it gently. Fed up mood.

S - Active rest / careful toe testing @ Moughton Nab. 2 x 20min uphill and downhill walk, 2 x F6a, 3 x F6b/+. Had well taped toe, downturned shoes, and climbed bloody carefully looking at every right foothold before weighting it, thus climbing inhibitively and even more punterly than usual - felt extra weak and leaden. However toe was mostly fine apart from a tiny bit of tenderness on one hold on one route, and the back of leg / knee was better. Mood gradually transitioning into merely worried / demoralised.


Bollox week. Should have been really exciting / happy / inspiring to finally get a return trip to Pfalz organised, but instead being thrust back into "damage control" for my body - and then mind - is horrible. I think I've done the right things to keep going but keep careful at least.


The usual STG: Stay focused and don't make silly mistakes. Do something challenging and inspiring on a rope, or above a pad, keep in regular contact with suitable friends and partners, falling practise if I do routes indoors or out, deadhangs (if suitable), elbow rehab x 2, shoulder rehab x 2, stretching x 3.
Next week STG: Be careful with sprained toe. Be careful with strained leg. Keep up some form of training / conditioning. Try to look after my mindstate

[Duma]

Rollercoaster ride Simon!

[SA Chris]

M - too much work and had to hang about for a parcel, so no lunchtime run. Did intervals at HM pace on treadmill instead. Brutal.
T - evening run - 6km plus as much vet as you can find in Portlethen (not a lot). Some pickups with FB in evening.
W - kettlebells in evening
T - fingerboard session at lunchtime. Think i did some kettlebells later too.
F - evening 10.5km. tried to push pace a bit, hard going.
S - Wall session. did all the new probs on vert reset, except one which just felt grim.
M - nothing.

[Nibile]

Power Club

Mon - bentover rows, high pulls, shrugs, push press, static holds, pull ups.
Tue - board climbing. Links of first half of current project. 24,5°.
Wed - AM as usual; PM 4x AM session, farmer's.
Thu - AM as usual; PM boxing bag.
Fri - AM as usual; PM GM 5x5 110kg, 5x3 100 kg with pause. Short on time.
Sat - weights.
Sun - boxing bag.

[duncan]

Good work on C+A Simon. It's a completely different style to Ben’s though, so perhaps not a surprise your performance was so much better. In S+C terms, I’d have thought Ben’s would be much more reliant on a strong/well-functioning posterior chain.

Matt, hope the toe is OK this week.

M - Westway - easy long endurance. Several hundred metres on the autobelay.
T - Short swim in the murk. Pull-ups. Fingerboard: crimp, half crimp and drag on 14mm.
W - Westway - short endurance on the autobelay.
T - Short swim, 14.5C: bracing! Pull-ups. Fingerboard as above.
F - Shoulders and elbows conditioning. Drove to The Retired Super Alpinist’s pad in Dorset. Note to self: do not drive out of London on Friday afternoon.
S - Drove to Bosigran. Shorts on multipitch trad. weather. Ochre Slab and Autumn Flakes/Nameless (both VS/HVS depending on the guidebook). Thin Wall Special, which I first did 44 years ago. Followed the thin first pitch (some key footholds are now quite polished) and led the top which was a struggle (also much harder than I remember and I can't blame polish for this!). Shortly after it became apparent I’d done something to my left wrist, probably from the awkward jamming on the top overhang. Reminiscence therapy at the Count House.
S - Wrist painful and immobile. Changing gear OK; belaying and steering had to be done one-handed. Belayed TRSA on a couple of routes at Sennen. Weather still glorious. Seven hour drive home.

A lot of driving for a little climbing but great company and a beautiful spot. West Cornwall now takes as long to get to as Edinburgh, surely the journey was not this bad in the 90s when I did this semi-regularly. The weather was amazing but temperatures in the 20s in mid-October are... unseasonable at best.

Wrist doesn't feel great. It’s a bit early to say but at the moment supination is scuppered and it feels like a TFCC. I did something similar to the right wrist just over a year ago, that was milder initially than this but is still intermittently troubling me.

Plan: fingerboard pick-ups, leg conditioning and hip flexibility, anything else I can manage.

[Aussiegav]

Power Club

Monday -
5 sets of 3 body weight repeaters. 1 minute rests.
6 sets of 7 sec hangs on 12mm edges.
First hang with 15kg assistance. Next 5 with 12.5kg assist.  Fingers felt tired.

Tuesday

Boulder mileage session on Red circuit at the Depot. 20problems. 2mins to do the problem with 2min rests between problems.
Needing a deload.



Wednesday
Rest


Thursday

Rest


Friday
Rest day

Saturday
Deep Rake in the afternoon.
Great British Rake Off
Bolt to bolt on Rakes Progress
Redpointed Rake’s Progress. Felt good.
Got it on video this time.


Worked the first half of Reliquary with an aim to do Pit Viper. 3 tie ins. Did all the moves and got some good links.
As I’m shorter, I have to dead point a thumb catch into the obvious undercut and stand up at the same time. Have seen others reach up into a gaston/ backhand.
 Very pleased overall. Got the climb bouncing around in head now. This seems tough for 7a+.


Sunday

4x4 each leg. assisted pistol squats off footstool


1x10 8kg dumbbell chest flyes
3x8. 9kg dumbbell chest flyes

1x8. 5kg. Front & lateral raises.
3x12. 7kg. Front & lateral raises.

45min Peloton ride.

[Steve R]

M. Mostly in bed with covid
T. Mostly on sofa with covid
W. as above
T. as above but managed a walk
F. as above + stretching
S. still feeling knackered, keen to climb/train but feel like need to recover more
S. Waves of feeling knackered, stretching

Terrible week.  Whatever strain of covid this is, it's been pretty grim for me and worse than last time.  Very start of the week not much appetite due to fever and attendant slight nausea but there's been considerable comfort eating going on since the fever subsided... Hopefully can start building momentum back and doing some training this week.

[SA Chris]

I was the same with round 2. Round 1 last year I managed to keep working OK, Round 2 I was in bed on my back for 2 days.

[Fultonius]

Mon: Drnulk. PM session, ended up running out of time before being able to get on more challenging routes, so just did 6a, 6b+, 6a o/s, repeated the 6b+ as B wanted to try it but didn't get to the chains (crux is runout and hard) and finished off with a 6c+ onsight (first this trip) in the fading light. Good crag, less sandbagged than a lot but still tricky. 6c+ would maybe only get 7a most places.
Thu: Dolge Nijve near Nova Gorica. 6a, 6c (had to RP this as I climbed the line of bolts and got powered out / missed a hold, turns out it is poorly bolted and climbs mainly 1m right of bolts. Final bolt is also very hard to clip (easier when long QD in place). Then tried a 7a which was short, sharp and punchy. Fell on crux after last bolt. 6a to get clips back. 2nd go on 7a was a struggle (skin, very sharp tufa) and literally couldn't hold the finishing hold as it was so painful... Found a better way of doing it that was less deadpointy for next time).

Went to free Patti Smith concert in Gorizia.

Sat: Frika Fest - local delicacy that's like Rosti & tonnes of cheese,, fried in pork fat. Too many beers, but fun... Big local competition with 6 teams competing for the "best Frika" prize.
Sun: DIY then Senica, 6a+ repeat, 7a RP "Akcent" (finally - 3rd session! went first go today and didn't feel too bad as I just climbed better with more weight on my feet - still feels like 7b compared to Scotland). tried to onsight a new 6c+ which was super sharp and quite cruxy. Didn't figure out the crux on the onsight, but managed it second go. Not bad considering was a bit tired/hungover.

[Yossarian]

M - Fingerboard pulls, then bit of board at the wall followed by ticking a couple of prow things I'd not finished the prev week. Tired and trashed skin from Sat.
T - Back to wall (because daughter, etc), bit of easier board and then various bits and bobs.
W
T
F
S - Back to the wall. Expected to feel recovered after 3 days off, but didn't.
S

M
T - Fingerboard pulls. OK wall session but feeling a bit funny. Came home and did various weighted pull-ups, locks, etc.
W - Ill
T - Iller
F - Illest
S - Wall. Still feeling a bit shitty.
S

Second week of "do something about being too heavy rather than complaining about it" regime slightly scuppered by having prob done too much in week one. And then I got the horrid achy, headache flu-ish but not covid bug that's going around in the second week. On the plus side, have lost a little bit of weight already. Also figured out home for some of the furniture in my garage, and it looks like there's room for a steep board (50ish degrees, 1800 wide, 2100 high - yay). Original plan was to not bother going back to Font until I had made a lot more progress, but seeing as I have a pretty free week at the start of Nov it would be a pity to waste the opportunity. Also thinking of taking the kids somewhere (n Wales / Lakes perhaps) for a few days the previous week.