[andy_e]

Good work Moose! It seems like a quite a bunched problem too, have you got shorter?

[moose]

I bloody well hope I haven't got any shorter - lank is all I have and an attack of rickets would be a bit worrying.  It is a bit bunched - hence my previous sequence which used a flying front-lever to a distant foothold on the back-wall to support the crux reach to the undercut under the roof.   With the "official" sequence, the key is just trusting the marginal holds - heel on a pebble, left-hand on a barely there crimp - and trying not to worry about the nearby block.  Seems what I might have lost in strength I have made up for in reckless idiocy and stubbornness (I fell off whilst reaching to the final hold four times)! 

[fatneck]

Had a boss day out on Sat at Thorn Crag and managed to ascend And For My Next Trick thus ticking my first 7a in about three years! Been on it before and got shut down but with a bit of sound beta from BenF I managed to rinse it really quickly 

My weight loss and font training programme is already bearing fruit 

Well Brown...

[tesla]

Minor YYFY. My daughter just qualified for the ABS National Youth Bouldering comp in March. This YYFY is mine, though, as I now get to visit Colorado and have a mooch around, I've not ever been there before. Interested to visit Boulder and a few other places if I have time.

[SA Chris]

Nice one. Where is the comp? Denver, Boulder or Fort Collins? Still be awesome snows at the front range resorts as well if you fancied.

[tesla]

heh, it's Colorado Springs which is apparently ultra conservative and religious, so not too excited about that in itself - but I will take a day or two and visit some other places, maybe go skiing. The company I work for has an office in Boulder so I might work from there for a day too just to check it out.

[andyd]

heh, it's Colorado Springs which is apparently ultra conservative and religious, so not too excited about that in itself - but I will take a day or two and visit some other places, maybe go skiing. The company I work for has an office in Boulder so I might work from there for a day too just to check it out.

It doesn't mean you have to wear a tie and carry a bible under your arm. Can't imagine you're intending to have a night on the lash, hitting some strip joints and starting a few street fights with your daughter in toe are you?

[SA Chris]

Yeah, it's not like you re going to Utah or anything. It's still Colorado, you can but beer anywhere, although they might not let you buy your daughter one, you'll need to go to Boulder for that .

From Boulder you can easily get to Loveland for a day skiing (or Arapahoe Basin, Winter Park or Keystone are not much further, need an early start though) or Eldora (which is small but OK for a day) and get on some rock up at Flagstaff Mountain or Eldorado Canyon. RMNP will be very closed and snowbound.

[Nibile]

Two YYFY's recently.
A minor one, climbing training wise, is that I managed to do a front lever on ring finger monos. Pinkies now.
A more important one is that I found a lawyer so foolish to take me for my practice in his law firm. I took all the documents to the Law Court yesterday and from next week if everything is OK I'll officially start attending trials and practicing. I'll have to complete 18 months of practice and then I'll be able to try the final exam.

[Blunk]

Congratulations! You'll certainly be the strongest lawyer in Italy! 

[slackline]

Great news Nibs 

[tomtom]

Superb news Lore! and well done on the legal stuff too

[Nibile]

Thank you guys, but everything's just started!!! The final exam is very difficult, so for the moment I don't want to think about it, but hopefully I'll manage it even having another job and being unable to study full time! 

[tesla]

heh, it's Colorado Springs which is apparently ultra conservative and religious, so not too excited about that in itself - but I will take a day or two and visit some other places, maybe go skiing. The company I work for has an office in Boulder so I might work from there for a day too just to check it out.

It doesn't mean you have to wear a tie and carry a bible under your arm. Can't imagine you're intending to have a night on the lash, hitting some strip joints and starting a few street fights with your daughter in toe are you?

I don't know what plans she has...

Eh, and re: ultra conservative / overly religious types, I'm very live-and-let-live, but I hear stories from people I trust that make much of Colorado sound like quite an unfriendly place to visit.

[andy_e]

Just watch loads of South Park, it should be good training.

[Blunk]

I don't know what plans she has...

Eh, and re: ultra conservative / overly religious types, I'm very live-and-let-live, but I hear stories from people I trust that make much of Colorado sound like quite an unfriendly place to visit.

Most of Colorado, esp the Front Range area where you'll be visiting, is very easy going tesla. It's not a conservative stronghold despite our unfortunate share of religious zealots. 

Climbers are well accepted, the food is good and the beer selection is excellent. And we're one of two states in which marijuana is legal! Really, it's not half bad here.

Give a shout if you're coming up to Fort Collins, will try to get free to give a tour of Horsetooth bouldering if you're interested.

[lagerstarfish]

I'll officially start attending trials and practicing

nice one

before going into court, flex your formidable guns, take a deep breath and rember that

Power is the most persuasive rhetoric

not sure why I was convinced that Aristotle said that, but google says otherwise

[Nibile]

 
I fear that after two years of teaching in the mornings and practicing in the evenings my biceps will be barely able to put a signature on papers...

[Sasquatch]

I fear that after two years of teaching in the mornings and practicing in the evenings my biceps will be barely able to put a signature on papers...

Where there's a will, there's a way. 

And you definitely have the will......   

[tesla]

I don't know what plans she has...

Eh, and re: ultra conservative / overly religious types, I'm very live-and-let-live, but I hear stories from people I trust that make much of Colorado sound like quite an unfriendly place to visit.

Most of Colorado, esp the Front Range area where you'll be visiting, is very easy going tesla. It's not a conservative stronghold despite our unfortunate share of religious zealots. 

Climbers are well accepted, the food is good and the beer selection is excellent. And we're one of two states in which marijuana is legal! Really, it's not half bad here.

Give a shout if you're coming up to Fort Collins, will try to get free to give a tour of Horsetooth bouldering if you're interested.

Nice to hear that Blunk. I expect my friends just had a bad experience. I was wondering which areas would be in season to visit as I don't know CO very well at all? I was thumbing through Stone Crusade yesterday for inspiration actually =)

A tour of Horsetooth would be really, really cool, thanks for the offer! Will drop you a PM.

heh, I <3 ukb...

[Blunk]

In the Boulder area Flagstaff and Eldorado, further north Carter Lake and Horsetooth are your best bets.  March can be tricky, we get the most snow in March and April. Nonetheless there are almost always good days between storms and somewhere will be dry. And all within an hour's drive. Should be a good time.

Do PM me, looking forward to meeting you--

[lagerstarfish]

for Christmas I got an Aircast A60 ankle brace - AKA the Andy Murray brace - reccommended by a physio mate

On Saturday I went sledging with the kids (without brace) and was nearly in tears when it turned out that I was the weak link in the session - having to stay at the bottom of the hill because walking up became too painful after a while. As a result the day turned into a game of Snow Hospital which was pretty hilarious, with me playing the part of an old man who has broken his leg.

Sunday morning arrived - my chance to spend a few hours with just the oldest child; important time to her. She wanted to go sledging.

It was obviously time to use the brace. I had the great idea of wearing a snowboard boot over the brace for extra support - this felt pretty good. It felt better than good - it felt strong. I did some jumping off chairs to conform that it was as supported/strong as it felt.

This felt good enough to have a go on a snowboard.

We went out to the Norfolk Arms to have a play on Le Piste des Alpacas. The snow was just about adequate for boarding.

I did some gentle turns and was delighted to find that this felt OK - even the walk/limp up the slope felt OK. Probably only did 10 runs, but that's 10 more runs than I expected to be doing in 2013. Feels weird that boarding is easier than walking in to a crag, but I'm not complaining.

Ankle feels fine today.

YES, YES, FUCKING YES!

what this means is that oldest child and I can start going to Castleford indoor snow slope again and she can resume lessons while I find out what I can and can't do on a board.

Very happy indeed - another ankle op will obviously set me back for a while, but long term I'm sure I'll be back on a board.

The big question is - if the brace can make me this happy, why hasn't it worked on Murray?

[andyd]

Is it the same make as the one batman used in 'the dark knight rises'? If so, it didn't make him much happier, although sorted his limp out a treat. Maybe true happiness is found within.

[Fiend]

Good luck Lagers. Glad there is something helping out.

[SA Chris]

Nice one lagers. When I screwed my ankle i found it impossible to wear a ski boot, but could board OK; board boot gave ample support without any brace or anything. Acutally tried it with brace on as well and found it very painful (maybe because it was still too swollen).