UKBouldering.com
places to visit => indoor walls => Topic started by: i.munro on November 13, 2012, 03:45:54 pm
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Help! Are there any walls in/around London that still have a door/window/vent anything open to let in some air &
some ok-ish setting?
Getting desperate enough to consider starting the trek to Mile End again.
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Craggy 2 is usually pretty frosty this time of year; back door left open, windows open around the top.
Are you looking for low temps or low dust?
Best setting in London I reckon
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Best setting in London I reckon
Thanks I'd agree about the setting & that was my usual weekend spot until they started closing both door & windows & having heaters on
about this time last year. I haven't been back since. It'd be good to know they haven't started that game yet as I've got several visits pre-paid?
I'm after non-slipperyness. Dave Mac reckons (heat/humidity) is a factor in injury & I'm fairly sure he's right. I'd rather get the surgery on my current injury finished before collecting any more.
I suspect low humidity is more important than low temps but happy to get both.
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Dave Mac reckons (heat/humidity) is a factor in injury & I'm fairly sure he's right.
Eh? easier to get injured in a cold wall from not working up surely? unless you are saying that perhaps you are more likely to get injured from slipping off unexpectedly?
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unless you are saying that perhaps you are more likely to get injured from slipping off unexpectedly?
I asked him to clarify what he said here
http://onlineclimbingcoach.blogspot.ca/2012/08/another-good-injury-story.html (http://onlineclimbingcoach.blogspot.ca/2012/08/another-good-injury-story.html)
& that's apparently what he meant. Certainly fits with my recent injury pattern.
From my own recent experience, I'd add that being forced to wear shorts (which I hate) in a wall by the heat can also be the difference between going home with a bruised leg & six hours in A&E, a scar & a permanent numb area on your leg.
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If you find somewhere, please let me know.
Craggy 1 is a joke on a busy night, I was there today and it was grim. Yesterday though - it was definitely bearable (all be it with shorts on and tops off)
SSP is not godawful since it is pretty empty most of the time...but if it *is* hot, then you are stuffed for ventilation options due to tops on rule and no vents.
Reading can be alright, but I havent been for ages. Depends if they turn on those vile heating machines...
Evo is crap, but cold...good for training.
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From my own recent experience, I'd add that being forced to wear shorts (which I hate) in a wall by the heat can also be the difference between going home with a bruised leg & six hours in A&E, a scar & a permanent numb area on your leg.
If your foot slipped and the resulting injury was serious enough to warrant an A&E trip I seriously doubt that not wearing shorts would have been of any use whatsoever. ::)
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Well, as of last week they hadn't turned the heaters on at Craggy 2, and it's a pretty self-service approach there on a quiet night - can always turn the heaters on/off if there's a general consensus, and they've also got 2 big fans to move the air around.
The outdoor temps aren't so low that it's hard to warm up so things might change in a few weeks, but it's all good so far.
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How about this for a change, ventilation is very good.
http://www.peeruk.org/projects/frankland/john-frankland.html (http://www.peeruk.org/projects/frankland/john-frankland.html)
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Probably better than southern Sandstone at least... ::)
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Well, as of last week they hadn't turned the heaters on at Craggy 2, ...., but it's all good so far.
Thanks. Good to know. So that's a weekend venue sorted at least for a while. (plus an option for dry evenings granticus).
Anyone know of anything a bit nearer to London that'd be viable after work on wet days?
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[/quote]
If your foot slipped and the resulting injury was serious enough to warrant an A&E trip I seriously doubt that not wearing shorts would have been of any use whatsoever. ::)
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No way of knowing for sure but the injury was a long gash (sn**ger !) which needed stitches. I'm fairly sure by preferred choice of
jeans would have prevented ths. I'd still have had a nasty bruise but that's all.
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white spider seems pretty good for ventilation so far. Its a big space so seems pretty good.
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No way of knowing for sure but the injury was a long gash (sn**ger !) which needed stitches. I'm fairly sure by preferred choice of
jeans would have prevented ths. I'd still have had a nasty bruise but that's all.
Fair-do's sounds dodgy if there was something that sharp around though, and deep enough to require stitches could easily have ripped denim.
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[sounds dodgy if there was something that sharp around though, and deep enough to require stitches could easily have ripped denim.
It was a bit of a freak incident. Never done or even seen anything like it before. I was trying to work out whether there was something sharp that I'd hit straight after it happened. Then I decided my time would be better occupied by lying down & bleeding a lot. ;D
Protection isn't the reason I hate climbing in shorts, that's due to kneebars & stuff but it can help on the odd occasion.
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unless you are saying that perhaps you are more likely to get injured from slipping off unexpectedly?
I asked him to clarify what he said here
http://onlineclimbingcoach.blogspot.ca/2012/08/another-good-injury-story.html (http://onlineclimbingcoach.blogspot.ca/2012/08/another-good-injury-story.html)
& that's apparently what he meant. Certainly fits with my recent injury pattern.
There are other things that can help (http://onlineclimbingcoach.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/sweaty-hands-manage-it.html). Including the ubiquitous MTFU and get on with it.
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Including the ubiquitous MTFU and get on with it.
Well that's the approach that keeps putting me in hospital so I think I'm going to try
GTFU instead.
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Protection isn't the reason I hate climbing in shorts, that's due to kneebars & stuff but it can help on the odd occasion.
Get involved with the pads trend - they work better with shorts than trousers.
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MTFU and get on with it.
Thinking about it this is a really odd attitude. In what other area of life would you keep on paying over & over for a crap product?
"My local takeaway gave me food poisoning. Again" " You should just MTFU & go back"
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Why is it that every time I see your name, it is complaining about the temperature of walls?!
Anyway, I don't know if Reading is too far out for you, but if you get there soon after it opens it is bloody freezing in the winter (although you will have to stay away from the walls facing the awful "gushing out instant sweaty conditions" heaters). I normally don't find the cold a problem, and even enjoy it, but last weekend it took me over an hour of solid bouldering before my fingers felt properly warmed up!
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Just got back from Craggy Guildford - and frankly it was on of the most dispiriting session ever....
or it would be if I didn't take everything I (don't) do there with half a ton of salt.
It was sauna hot with no fans on and the grades... the grades...
well even the staff were having a hard time defending them!
So today I was struggling on problems a whole number grade below what I can climbing in a session outside (and on a good day even on-sight) - grease and heat didn't help and made the general experience rather poor but that was, as ever that was half the story.
Now I know it's "not all about grades" and "indoors is just training" but actually when you live in the grim South (and have a six day a we job and a young family as I do) indoors is as close as we get to "actually climbing" a lot of the time so it is important....
So back to the board and wait for the next peak trip I guess... at least if that's rained out there's always the works....
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Could you move to craggy Sutton? Like I say, haven't been for a year but I always found the grades to be both internally & , amazingly, externally consistent.
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Craggy 2 is an extra hours drive away from where we are based in the SE, so not really a goer unless there is a specific reason to make the journey (comps etc.)
The people that set at guildford are the same that set at Sutton, so mayhaps the grading at Sutton is done differently?
I feel like Guildford takes the joke about their sandbag grades a little too far at time though.
A 6A warmup boulder shouldnt feel like a 6C boulder...
And when it takes me multiple attempts on a straightforward 6B before I can evn do all the moves, let alone on a link...
:-\
I agree, indoors shouldnt necessarily be about the grade, but that isnt a reason/excuse for ballsing up your grading that badly.
:offtopic: (has anyone had a go on their green traverse...optimistically given 6C I think, but I'm not convinced anyone has climbed the middle move.)
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Are they using English tech grades but not telling anyone?
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The 7c's are hard enough.
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Craggy 2 i .....
Best setting in London I reckon
Good knowledge thanks. Trains co-operated enough to get there this weekend.
I'd forgotten just how good the setting is.
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Good stuff, glad it's not just me who likes the setting - something you only really appreciate when you go somewhere where it's duff. *cough*SSP*cough*
Re: Craggy grades. I started climbing there, and rarely climb (indoors) anywhere else - so the stiff grades are actually quite useful as it means you can go to other walls, in particular Westway, and get a good ego-boost when you climb 2 grades harder.
I think the grading bewteen Craggy and Sutton is quite close, but Craggy G always feels slippier - not sure if using older holds, get more traffic or just hotter.
Probably because I don't get out enough, but I still find indoor grades way below outdoor grades - I can climb 6a+ boulders regularly at Craggy G/Craggy 2 - and still get shut down on 5's outdoors. So in that respect, I think it's quite useful that Craggy are stuff, as if you were regularly climbing 6c at your wall it would be a bit of a shock to get stuck on 4's and 5's.
(I am aware that many I've spoken to who climb outside more than me, find after a while this switches and they get higher grades outdoors than Craggy)
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Not really in a position to comment re grades as everywhere else I climb indoors uses meaningless V-grades.
FWIW I was failing to onsight 6bs which is about what I'd expect in Bleau where I don't think I;ve ever onsighted 6b either so felt fine to me.
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Good stuff, glad it's not just me who likes the setting - something you only really appreciate when you go somewhere where it's duff. *cough*SSP*cough*
When was the last time you went?
Recently they have been getting in some pro setters like James Garden who sets at Reading etc.
Personally I think that the problems there are alright now - not quite craggy standard, but certainly not worth actively complaining about any more...there are other problems with that centre that need changing first.
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Oh that's good, we went about 3 months after it had opened and every climb was essentially a ladder with varying hold-types and angles... Might give it another look if I'm in the area, though Craggy is kinda-free (3-star) so we'll see.
I've been trying to persuade Craggy 2 to add an outside (but covered area) out the back where they own a load more land, but not sure they get the numbers to merit the expansion. Would be good to add a proper long roof there.
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Re: Craggy grades. I started climbing there, and rarely climb (indoors) anywhere else - so the stiff grades are actually quite useful as it means you can go to other walls, in particular Westway, and get a good ego-boost when you climb 2 grades harder.
which means their grading is rubbish - not useful
Probably because I don't get out enough, but I still find indoor grades way below outdoor grades - I can climb 6a+ boulders regularly at Craggy G/Craggy 2 - and still get shut down on 5's outdoors. So in that respect, I think it's quite useful that Craggy are stuff, as if you were regularly climbing 6c at your wall it would be a bit of a shock to get stuck on 4's and 5's.
I regularly climb 7b outside in session - was getting shut down by a "6b" indoors last week - sandbag grading and poor conditions
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Slightly confused now, how can you compare to WW they use V-blah don't they? :worms:
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Rough translations... V3 </>= 6a...
Anyway, was speaking to C2 staff yesterday about the grading - as one room had just been re-set but not graded. Apparently the grading assumes perfect technique and "average" height, so all that seperates the grades is how strong you are/powerful the route is. (This wasn't from the route setter, so large pinch of salt required).
This does make sense to me, as often when faced by a seemingly impossible "5+" it's because I'm using a duff sequence or not read the route properly. The 6b's I can't do, and what stops me ticking harder grades is my lack of strength.
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Hi Durbs hope you're well :wave:
I haven't been in the last year but the grades at craggy were always massively undergraded in my experience (and every single other climber I knew). They shared no comparison with any real world grading, although it didn't really matter as the difficulty was always in the right order. Most importantly the route setting was better than anywhere else inside the M25 and it was never too busy to climb as can be found in other walls.
i.munro: Have you spoken to craggy about the temps. they've got a reputation for being really friendly and helpful at sutton and it was always on a par with the works ( lovely and cold) when I was a regular.
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deacon: I was very happy with both conditions & setting ( & grades) when I toddled down on Sun ta. They may well be helpful but I guess asking them to move the whole shebang into London is asking a bit much :)
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haha fair enough. Pretty inconsiderate of them if you ask me.
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Just to be clear that was Craggy Sutton. From what people are saying about Craggy G I'm staying well clear.
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Apparently the grading assumes perfect technique and "average" height,
Isn't this how grading works generally...?
Some of their boulders at Guildford right now are definitely reachy for me (at taller than average height) and hard due to this fact. I dont know how they expect for their shorter patrons to deal with this (especially at the same grade range), but hey ho...I guess they have to lump it or leave it.
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I dont know how they expect for their shorter patrons to deal with this (especially at the same grade range), but hey ho...I guess they have to lump it or leave it.
I'm not sure if this is true, but I've heard Joe Brown was being interviewed once...
Interviewer : Joe, you're quite short, how do you reach the holds?
Joe Brown : I climb up to them!
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Much as I tend to voice a similar opinion when moaned at by someone who cant reach, sometimes (frequently) it is just one of those reachy moves...
Anyways, back on topic - I went to White Spider on Wednesday last week and found it to be mostly empty, cold and well set...
Dont know what more to say really...It may be an extra 20 minute drive than craggy, but I will be returning to do my training sessions there from now on I think.
Good campus board, super friendly rungs.
There is no leg room to do front levers on the fingerboard, but you can make do with holds on the roof.
If anyone fancies a boulder, I reckon I will be going back on Tuesday or Wednesday this week.
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Thanks for the info.
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Surprised no one has mentioned the back room at the Westway? It's always chilly, never seems to be busy and I think the setting is awesome.
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Well I did ask about ventilation rather than cold.
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There's a door which you can open. On the rare occasions I've seen the place with more than a few people there, it's been open. Also low temperatures mean less sweatiness/mugginess/humidity/slipping about on holds.....
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There's a door which you can open. On the rare occasions I've seen the place with more than a few people there, it's been open. Also low temperatures mean less sweatiness/mugginess/humidity/slipping about on holds.....
Very true. Just trying to answer your question about why nobody mentioned it.
I did ask the WW regulars at work about that room & the answerI got was "you can open that door as often as you want some c^&*t will close it 2s later" & that's from people who virtually live in there :-)
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Probably true during peak hours actually, I suppose I always go during the day or last thing at night, and compared with the biscuit factory...... (where even after the crowds have left in the evening you can still see the sweaty haze in the air!)
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So WW last thing at night worth a punt. That's useful thanks.
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I reckon you should just build your own wall i.munro, then you can have exactly what you want with regards to problem setting/grades/temperature/humidity/ventilation.
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Sounds like a plan to me :)
From this thread looks like I might get 3 customers.
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I'd be careful though, it might get over-crowded!
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Didn't mean to sound like I was slagging on TBF by the way, I think it's great for vertical and near-vertical setting, the circuit board is good, and the 50 degree board is beyond awesome. I also like the way there is a set of rings to distract people from the steep boards. It's also totally not TBF's fault that it gets incredibly busy in the evening.
I do prefer the steep problems at the WW to the comp wall at TBF though.