UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => the blog pile => Topic started by: comPiler on September 01, 2013, 07:01:28 pm
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Yorkshire depart (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/40249340827)
11 January 2013, 11:53 am
Send us your pictures of the polka dot hat and be in with a chance of winning nothing at all....
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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A few thoughts (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/40524555439)
14 January 2013, 4:39 pm
Jacob and Bojan have since sent the bulb, pretty sick effort. It just goes to show what happens when...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Teknoe board asked if I could upload his latest instagram meal.... (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/40524760559)
14 January 2013, 4:42 pm
(http://31.media.tumblr.com/0f61d2eadd83a4bc511e84a9b7204242/tumblr_mgmjrdhDA91rgffhho1_500.jpg)Teknoe board asked if I could upload his latest instagram meal. Sure thing - looks tasty!
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Paranormal activity (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/41626573149)
27 January 2013, 6:50 pm
Some weird shit has been going down at night lately. I left my perfectly unsolved rubix cube on the...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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A bit of a battering (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/42832730895)
11 February 2013, 9:36 am
I went to the wall with Jacob the other day. After managing to link the 7c circuit in two halves and...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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The Roaches: part 1 (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/43646627398)
21 February 2013, 3:16 pm
It was once again time to go on the best climbing trip in the LUUMC calendar. Last year we had...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Waddage (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/44299822224)
1 March 2013, 4:46 pm
Time to catch up a bit on some wad behaviour. Ralph has been wasting no time since his wrist has...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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KitKats (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/44302264522)
1 March 2013, 5:34 pm
It has recently been reported that Edward Hutchins (who shall not be named for their own safety) has...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Winter ain't over yet! (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/45433189130)
15 March 2013, 6:56 pm
A couple of weeks ago I started noticing green shoots sprouting all over the place. This could only...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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back to work you (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/48942879350)
26 April 2013, 6:40 pm
I’ve just returned from a month long trip to California. Climbing was the ulterior motive and...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Neglected (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/53604252677)
22 June 2013, 4:54 pm
Is exactly how I feel when Conor and Jacob eat all the pain au chocolat and don’t leave any...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Fresh off the lathe. The last time I tried to make anything out... (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/53681336120)
23 June 2013, 4:13 pm
(http://24.media.tumblr.com/45971f73b5cc2c63d939ea71bf19436b/tumblr_mout2tHlZh1rgffhho1_500.jpg)Fresh off the lathe. The last time I tried to make anything out of wood was in year 9 design class where we made pointy things out of scrap mdf and stabbed each other all lesson. I shall start taking commissions at a hundred thousand. Anyone?
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Familiar return (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/55374596807)
13 July 2013, 11:06 pm
A week ago I found myself on a train and heading up North. I had been in London working back at the...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Learning to fly (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/55632120323)
16 July 2013, 9:26 pm
My favourite shot from our trip to Céüse, Jacob taking a victory whipper from the top of...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Trad (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/55812564064)
18 July 2013, 9:52 pm
Almscliff. Ghost written by Jerry Moffat. It seems the most illogical answer to everything. Not...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Gone W I D E (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/56052779604)
21 July 2013, 1:43 pm
Offwidth is not a term most climbers like to hear. With guidebooks describing pitches as ‘an...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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A taste of rock (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/57165709846)
2 August 2013, 4:37 pm
Yesterday I was looking through some old climbing pictures on facebook and came across this one. My...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Huw and Ben's day out at Brimham (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/58253094598)
14 August 2013, 5:13 pm
'Hi Lisa, thanks for letting me pick up Ed's number 6 this morning' 'Fuck you Ben, you woke me up',...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Two wheel saddo (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/59051106751)
22 August 2013, 11:26 pm
I fumble the key in my excitement. Second time lucky I open the door, my hand trembling. It had...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Mmmmarrow (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/59794197752)
30 August 2013, 7:27 pm
So my driving instructor says he has too many marrows. He wasn’t kidding either, as we made...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Stop thief! (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/60092925501)
2 September 2013, 5:42 pm
Luke Tilley stole our last marrow! Under the pretence of wanting to come to our house party and be...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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The Big Three (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/60530059844)
7 September 2013, 10:02 am
The Big Greeny. Wall Of Horrors. Western Front. These extreme rock ticks are the crowning glory of...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Great Blog Ben!! :strongbench:
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Does everyone else just get the first line of each post?
Or have I got something set up wrong?
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Works fine over here, try clicking the titles?
Brilliant blog, had me laughing a few times already. Excited for the next installment!
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I only get the first line too.
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My blog is the same - its a setting in the blog software. Click through if you want to read it.
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do click through its a good blog well written and pretty funny.
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do click through its a good blog well written and pretty funny.
Ben, get off flyguy's login.
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Hacked!
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Click through if you want to read it.
You know, I could have never figured that out.
JB, Slackline has hacked your log in too.
I was just asking the question out of curiosity more than anything else.
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It's actually a bug in the RSS import software (which unhelpfully is no longer supported by its author). It needs someone with good PHP skills to figure it out. All the blogs have the same settings within that software but for some reason some are imported in full and some not.
I'm not convinced anything you do will override this setting at my end:
(http://adamlong.co.uk/files/settings.jpg)
I'd rather lose a few readers than have most read it with the formatting all messed up.
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1 year old (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/61347363578)
15 September 2013, 9:57 pm
I received an email from tumblr today saying living with wads is a year old. Like the doting father...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Generally it would be better if "Adam Long" updated his blog more often :rtfm:
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You used your 6666 post on that????
What a dick.
"He's Johnnycake Braaaaaaaaan!!!!!!!!!!"
EDIT: It's quite possible only one other person will vaguely get that post......
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Christ, sorry, that is a waste, I should have put that and my Surgical Steel pimpage the other way around :chair:
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The house mate shuffle (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/61792954487)
20 September 2013, 10:24 pm
As stated in my last post, some dear friends have left us at Grove Gardens, moving on to bigger and...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Rough Love (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/62228087893)
25 September 2013, 7:51 am
'Hurry the fuck up come on come ON!' Her ladyship did not like delay. Although as you can probably...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Whats that coming over the hill is it a punter, is it a puntaaa (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/62813737099)
1 October 2013, 3:29 pm
This weekend Sam and I went back to Brimham for a bash at Gigglin’ Crack. Before you ask, yes...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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First day (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/63265568059)
6 October 2013, 12:53 pm
I was late. Five minutes and twenty seven seconds late to be precise. My time keeping is impeccable...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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The grit whisperer (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/63726804669)
11 October 2013, 12:36 pm
Rumours have begun to spread that the grit is soon ready to be called. To my short knowledge the...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Blimey - "Living with Wads" makes very interesting reading - the author has got quite a unique imagination! I like the Charlie Chaplain Project reference - sheer talent.
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Up to speed (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/64705756845)
21 October 2013, 8:21 pm
It all started with patient zero. Sam unscrewed the first bottle of piss of the day....
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Why its embarrassing to hang out with ben. (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/65326738158)
28 October 2013, 10:51 am
Well, there are probably many reasons if i’m to be honest. However, there seems to be a faux...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Funny post, Ben. The picture of your logbook is priceless.
You fucking punter.
I notice that you haven't pointed me out as one of your climbing heroes. I take it that will be described in the next post?
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good blog. I too have made prize winning tits out of myself in face of greatness.
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Living with Will Hunt, my personal inspiration :-\
:P
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4 weeks in (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/65988477736)
4 November 2013, 11:37 am
I’m impressed. Mr Darcy’s secretary is still immaculate as ever and no one has come in...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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EXpresso!? Argh......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3y0CD2CoCs#ws (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3y0CD2CoCs#ws)
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I know. Ben's dive into the legal profession may be the most out of character career turn of the century. It's like a particularly disorganised Worzel Gummidge training to become a wedding planner for A-listers.
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Bugger, i'll have to check how it's spelt on the coffee machine now
Piss off Will, I'll have you for defamation and so will Worzel :tease: I got 79% on the practice test i'll have you know. Shame about the real one :whistle:
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Open season (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/66361173442)
8 November 2013, 10:41 am
Imagine my disbelief when walking into my living room one morning, to find a reindeer sat on the...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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White trousers is a universal sign that a girl isn't on her period. (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/67400907430)
18 November 2013, 10:00 pm
Sam: Sophie, would you wear white trousers if you were on your period? Sophie: No. Sam: So would...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Groovy (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/67972104681)
24 November 2013, 5:58 pm
Someone recently pestered me that I wasn’t writing enough. I am flattered, really. But the...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Haiku (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/68264500683)
27 November 2013, 3:07 pm
Poor Sam forced to go To knitting and stitching show No climbing for you
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Man in tights scares off spotters (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/68869472919)
3 December 2013, 10:28 am
I love these darker mornings, the sound of a house slowly waking up from a deep slumber. The first...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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A short law interlude (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/70208411143)
16 December 2013, 6:52 pm
Meanwhile, during Land law… ‘So why were you in the library at 7.30 this morning...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Merry Christmas (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/70774132858)
22 December 2013, 10:13 am
To everyone who reads this blog. Hope you all have a great holiday and festivities. I’m...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Train on! (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/71739367197)
31 December 2013, 10:29 am
Well christmas is over. I ate too much, drank too much. Got some things I don’t really need to...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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I hope you had to look it up too (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/72769989978)
9 January 2014, 3:26 pm
I learnt a new word today. I am not a pecunious person. Indeed I am not. Even less so now I...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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That boy needs therapy (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/73342393089)
14 January 2014, 10:08 pm
I find this rather resembles the theme of this post. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8BWBn26bX0 I...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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I fucking knew it.
To spur you into action, I will not accept that you have climbed a particular grade until you have matched it with a problem that is not at Almscliff.
I hear there are some good 7B+ problems in Yorkshire, bon chance.
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And I thought my Almscliff obsession was bad ;) good effort - keep up the keel combo's!
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Not just Almscliff, but one boulder at Almscliff, impressive narrowness of vision!
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Don't listen to them! There is no need to climb anywhere else, they are just jealous because they can't do the keel.
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they are just jealous because they can't do the keel.
But we can! You've done t' Keel haven't you Stubbs?
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they are just jealous because they can't do the keel.
But we can! You've done t' Keel haven't you Stubbs?
indeed and it IS 7C (especially for the tall) ;)
I'm just gearing up for a Feb Jess' roof seige... (already doing my 3 pad chimney squirming exercises)
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But we can! You've done t' Keel haven't you Stubbs?
Never been to Almscliff myself, never saw the point of it...
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But we can! You've done t' Keel haven't you Stubbs?
Never been to Almscliff myself, never saw the point of it...
Exactly - over-rated scrittle. It should be avoided by all - especially at weekends when conditions are good ;)
#CliffLove
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I'm just gearing up for a Feb Jess' roof seige... (already doing my 3 pad chimney squirming exercises)
My latest nadir was New Year's Day spent trying to work Jess' Roof during a storm. I'd squeezed down the gully early doors, hoping for a quick grit hit before the forecast bad weather arrived. I eventually admitted defeat due to numb fingers and water pouring down the walls; emerged onto the crag top looking like a drowned rat to 40mphs winds that nearly blew me off the edge. Not sure if it's worth having a rematch - very difficult to judge whether it's worth working or just too hard since the landing stops me from committing to any of the crux moves. That said I'm not sure if there are many other options. I've now done my other Almscliff, Brimham, and Baildon projects (unless I train for the Bulb or the Underhand Super-extension, or buy a bouncy-castle to put under Pistol Whip); and Caley has been wet for weeks.
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Not just Almscliff, but one boulder at Almscliff, impressive narrowness of vision!
The beauty of it is, if you get tired of working Keelhaul there is no need to move to a new crag, or even a different boulder... Just a slightly different set of holds!
The Real Keel is waiting... :popcorn:
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I fucking knew it.
To spur you into action, I will not accept that you have climbed a particular grade until you have matched it with a problem that is not at Almscliff.
I hear there are some good 7B+ problems in Yorkshire, bon chance.
Come on Will, when i no longer live in Yorkshire you'll miss complaining about all of this :hug: (but hopefully i'll never move so I can progress to the real bulbhaul) Accept what you want, ignorance is bliss ;)
I might have to join you and your flotilla of pads Tomtom! (they really will be floating). I did promise myself I would climb it... I can provide more dog eared pads to that destitute place.
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I've had 3-4 sessions on Jess' - mainly watching and having the odd go whilst RobL was trying it 18 months or so ago.. feels quite do-able but I was not strong enough then.. Nice problem - good moves. Very much like a climbing wall style problem.. Surprisingly well protected if you get a semi vertical pad over the last lump and one at the bottom of the pit - you fall against the semi vert pad and plop to the bottom..
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indeed and it IS 7C (especially for the tall) ;)
Typo no? (?7b)
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The great plains of the cliff (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/74071109397)
21 January 2014, 4:50 pm
Naaants ingonyama bagithi Baba Sithi uhm ingonyamaaa The storm had driven them out. They came in...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Superb :) Though really the Cliff is the ultimate predator..
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Brilliant!
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Amusing post.
Re the obsession with one bit of rock and grade stuff, you could comfortably equate it to Kudos Wall for some people. Easy to push your grade when you're doing variations on a theme and nothing wrong with that if you love the moves and the place.
The comparison only falls down when you think about The Keel and BSD Low Right getting the same grade.
;-)
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The comparison only falls down when you think about The Keel and BSD Low Right getting the same grade.
Word. Everyone knows the Keel's really 7C+ ;)
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Brilliant!
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Also, Skinny Dog said he really enjoyed this and to pass on his compliments. Nice one...
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Thanks for the kind words guys :wave: always nice to know it isn't just my mum who reads it.
I agree about pushing grade boundaries on the same piece of rock, your body just tunes in to the holds and movement. Though the climbing on keelhaul is all new to me up to the chip ;) and even then it's all wrong handed...
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i really enjoyed it too!
:thumbsup:
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The return of the wandering tramp (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/74849296218)
28 January 2014, 6:16 pm
I was sat in our dingily lit living room when I heard it, the rap rap rap at the front door. Who on...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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The EU beast (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/76476441882)
13 February 2014, 12:49 am
I have tried to be good, I have tried to be reasonable. Rise early and don’t stay up past...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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We'll be back shortly (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/77702237167)
24 February 2014, 2:29 pm
Apologies for the lack of writing as of late. The slave that writes this thing for me asked for a...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Veni Vidi Vici (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/78312093793)
2 March 2014, 12:06 pm
He spoke little English. Smiling at everything I said, he drank his coffee and nodded...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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oh! Cheers mate. But I prefer by beer at room temp. ta
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(http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/93/a6/d1/93a6d11b0b918b0a6f69dcc11794b263.jpg)
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(http://i.imgur.com/9KeQFhF.jpg)
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That post would probably work better if he didn't have an 8a account!
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Very true, but no one cares about other peoples 8a score cards ;) Especially Mr Cooper. My reporting skills are evidently way off, sorry about that.
Blimey, Luke Tilley has let himself go a bit.
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Is that a cheap shot at the only person who doesn't think you're a total numpty for dedicating your life to the Keel boulder? :lol:
I would be more offended if I hadn't already stalked the aforementioned Spaniard's scorecard (which is pretty impressive....)
Maybe you should get him to sign your Peak bouldering guide? ;)
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Not at all! No point getting anyone to sign your guidebook unless others know who they are ;) I'll need be needing a peak guide first! If anyone would like to sign the first page by the way please send me a copy of your climbing cv.
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Ill sign, but im better on paint than rok
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Lightweight! Yeaahh buddy! (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/78739176077)
6 March 2014, 10:45 am
Despite my rampant joy for the library and heavy books, I have been living the high life one might...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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(https://31.media.tumblr.com/c609ad61e89649b8bac5413ee998210b/tumblr_n21ateCQBe1qkjuq9o1_500.jpg)
~11g per scoop. Handy when you forget to buy milk. similar taste to milk avec sick des baby. YUM!
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Quality blog. They'd been a bit lacklustre recently with all the law rubbish. I pissed laughing at Kev's mass gain shit!
Want to be a beefcake like me? Get on this. LIGHT WEIGHT!
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7330/12977509934_4aff0170a6.jpg)
Edit: James I'm so glad you did the same as me. Now repeat but this time with the guns in open carry.
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Watch out with those pythons Will, you're gonna hurt somebody!
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(http://i.imgur.com/9KeQFhF.jpg)
25g per 10 pints :D
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Splendid, James and Will :2thumbsup:
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Watch out with those pythons Will, you're gonna hurt somebody!
That is one of the fattest pipecleaners I've ever seen!
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(http://cache3.asset-cache.net/gc/450024171-germanys-bernd-ebert-prepares-backstage-to-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=GkZZ8bf5zL1ZiijUmxa7QUjyk93t5qSIeSHtmH0mGZZ5bx0lLioKpz2BMhKKDPsSQBX7CNBoYJgRJSbqQ%2BhSbQ%3D%3D)
I don't need supplements. I just stare at lovely girls (around 50kg protein per serving) . Thanks to Kev for letting me use his exercise bands.
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Caley knowledge (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/79694075620)
15 March 2014, 10:09 pm
Me: If we go for a night session we could go and try Ben's Groove sit Kev: Where's that? Me: It's...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Chalk (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/79695301201)
15 March 2014, 10:23 pm
So for some while now I thought my SD card reader was finished. I would have to ask Sam (nicely) if...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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4 faces a frame (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/79793054968)
16 March 2014, 8:12 pm
They say a thousand words can be spoken by a single picture. Well thats not true, pictures...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Poor show with the Jew's wallet comment, Ben Bigot. Spend an extra two seconds on thinking up a better simile next time!
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Selfie (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/81182973873)
30 March 2014, 2:40 pm
First order of business. Jacob has created a Tw@tter account. Yesterday he had 3 followers. Maybe...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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F*ck me, just watching I-Robot and that first pic looks like a screenshot!
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You're probably on to something Tomtom, he does climb like a machine. Pity he doesn't clean like one :tumble:
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Psycho (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/81574843380)
3 April 2014, 10:39 am
It was a familiar feeling standing at the bottom, my head a mixture of contemplation and excited...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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That was a well written piece, well in.
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Two weeks of no climbing and training. 82 hours of sleep, 67... (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/82693446282)
14 April 2014, 3:21 pm
Two weeks of no climbing and training. 82 hours of sleep, 67 coffees and copious amounts of papers read. Bread and butter puddings, banoffee pies and apple crumbles. No longer feeling like an athlete and feeling more like a code programmer I decided to get off the computer and go outside. Here’s a short video of Sunday’s climbing. One of the greatest pleasures of climbing on grit is picking bits of scrittle out of your hair when you get home. Music is Big bad trumpet player by Kormac
Saturday. We turned back before even making it to Brimham. Sheets of misty rain fast engulfing Yorkshire followed the little Skoda home. On taking the wrong road back, Sam spotted some rocks on the hillside. No guide, no idea and approximately 10 minutes ahead of the rain, we stumbled over the moor (which we hoped would not be full of venomous snakes or land mines) to what turned out to be Snowden Crag. Lowball to the extreme, soaking wet and thinking it was a bit shit we vowed never to return, only to be back the next day. Lots of swearing, laughs and creme eggs. A normal day out for three rather average climbers. Sam did actually climb a few things that day but the camera for some reason was always off. Oh yeah and we all look much better in HD!
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Today I went to the beach (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/83706657981)
24 April 2014, 10:17 am
Ok, no i didn’t. Yet as I lay there on the bouldering pad, my top off and my eyes closed, I could...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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The Easter bunny (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/83799195076)
25 April 2014, 7:43 am
To the best of my knowledge, Easter has something to do with Jesus. Although that really depends on...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Mash likes this (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/84522935368)
2 May 2014, 2:55 pm
Bojan (the mountain): is anyone else going to Shipley Glen? Me: yeah Will and two of his...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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YES BOSS!
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The craic was excellent last night. More of this sort of thing.
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Yeah good times ;D Wads will be back up to scratch soon, just need to find a bit of spare time and new material. Grumpy tits made a pretty good bid yesterday on the drive to shipley... I have never wished more in my life for a passenger ejector seat button ;)
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I have never wished more in my life for a passenger ejector seat button ;)
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
That'll teach you to bail on Pembroke trips!
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Socially unacceptable (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/85341169883)
10 May 2014, 7:22 pm
Pre-occupied is an understatement. My final exams are closing in faster than UKIP on mentally...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Where two roads diverge (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/85809017963)
15 May 2014, 11:07 am
At some point or another we all take the wrong road. None the wiser we walk down this road for some...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Absolutely correct. Keep that attitude cos it only gets more difficult to switch paths.
Great writing btw.
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Eloquently put. Great stuff!
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Excellent. I started reading it out to MrsTT - who didn't get the climbing references and then thought I was asking for a divorce :D
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Thanks guys :) That would be some way to go around asking for a divorce. 'Sorry dear, but I passed this other girl back 14 years ago and, you know what, I think i'm going run back and check she's still there...' I hope you didn't get too much abuse TT :-[
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I hope you didn't get too much abuse TT :-[
Naa - she just grunted, turned over and was snoring 5 min later. Normal service resumed :D
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The graffiti artist (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/87112702843)
28 May 2014, 4:53 pm
Sorry it’s been a while, I’m half way through my exams and on the afternoon of the 3rd...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Yes, Jacob!
I think the finger up the bum comments are a bit rich coming from a kid who spent his childhood having paracetemol suppositories inserted into him by his grandparents.
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Glad to hear Jacob is well (or at least alive); I had feared for him. When we last met, he had been reading a book on big wall techniques and was telling me, with an expression of wide-eyed wonderment, that he had just discovered the existence of fifi hooks. He also told me his intention was to tackle a serious route as soon as he arrived in Yosemite......
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I think the finger up the bum comments are a bit rich coming from a kid who spent his childhood having paracetemol suppositories inserted into him by his grandparents.
And I turned out just fine! :-\
Don't worry Moose :) I reckon Jacob had to learn to climb again when he first got there, just like everyone's first time in the Valley! he'll probably be building his confidence to try something hard. I think he said he was off to climb the nose the day after I messaged him, i'm pretty envious as it's something I'd love to do. No mention of fifi hooks over fb chat ;)
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A quick one (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/87940643758)
6 June 2014, 12:36 am
In about 9 hours i’ll be sitting my final law exam. Between now and then however I need to...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Shopping a la mode (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/90860393798)
5 July 2014, 4:56 pm
I call it the dragged man. You see it all the time in department stores. Women marching headstrong...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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hahaha! Ball and chain for you Ben
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Leash. If you're lucky it'll be one if those extendable wind out ones that occasionally allows you to do what you want/can get away with...
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Have Vertibrate published a decent topo for John Lewis yet?
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Rockfax have it in hand. They've added extra icons to indicate where you can get a coffee or find a loo.
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Yeh, they've just poorly copied the in-store guide.
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:D
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into the frying pan again (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/92568867138)
22 July 2014, 9:57 pm
Being unemployed and living in London means you’re pretty much stuffed as a climber. You...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Yeh, they've just poorly copied the in-store guide.
The've also included a climbing dept that doesn't exist it was marker up on the store managers private copy
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School boy error. When are you coming back?
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Enjoy the blog but there's no need to throw in the beer mat living in London. Southern Sandstone makes for a quality diversion in the summer evenings and was, once upon a time, cheaper than 8.50 on the train. Suspect it's one to save up for now... Anyway, Font is now a stone throw away and the mauve circuit at Dame Jouanne is an alpinist's training/play-ground. And this is before weekend breaks to Swanage are considered.
Edit: Omitted plug for South Eastern trains.
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Russell, at first your post appears inoccuous and reasonable enough; however I cannot muster the words to describe how grotesque it is. To try and compare the local climbing of London with that of Leeds, in a way that seeks to convey that they are even vaguely comparable, is a disgraceful misrepresentation of the facts.
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Shopping a la mode (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/90860393798)
5 July 2014, 4:56 pm
I call it the dragged man. You see it all the time in department stores. Women marching headstrong...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
I'm still working up a concept to sell to department / fashion clothing stores. I'm calling it the mangarten, like a kindergarten, except the enclosed area has a comfy sofa, a coffee machine (beer dispenser might need licensing issues), wifi, and a telly, they are in the corner next to each changing room. Man get's left with pile of bags he's there to carry, can relax, catch up on sports and take a few easy paces before comment on each outfit being presented in changing room. mutter compliments, then return to telly until called on again.
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Enjoy the blog but there's no need to throw in the beer mat living in London. Southern Sandstone makes for a quality diversion in the summer evenings and was, once upon a time, cheaper than 8.50 on the train. Suspect it's one to save up for now... Anyway, Font is now a stone throw away and the mauve circuit at Dame Jouanne is an alpinist's training/play-ground. And this is before weekend breaks to Swanage are considered.
Haha, i'm not throwing the towel in just yet! Will is right though, it's a harsh reality after having lived in Leeds for the past 5 years. I've been on southern sandstone a bit, but didn't really enjoy the whole top-roping part. I've only ever been to font leaving from further North and can't really see the fact i'm in London make a difference to the amount of trips I make there. Having the time, money etc are the main factors rather than distance. I backed off the Dame Jouanne circuit, it was scary :o
I miss the the Grit, especially the Keel boulder.
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Russell, at first your post appears inoccuous and reasonable enough; however I cannot muster the words to describe how grotesque it is. To try and compare the local climbing of London with that of Leeds, in a way that seeks to convey that they are even vaguely comparable, is a disgraceful misrepresentation of the facts.
No comparison just consolation. Of course Footwork is a poorer* man now and I feel for him. On the SS, admittedly the top-roping part turns the whole affair into a tops-off family picnic perhaps you could try the EXTREME soloing on offer down there? Oh wait, much the same as DJ circuit so... a fixie and beard it is then.
* even taken into account living wage adjustment.
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I miss the the Grit, especially the Keel boulder and I have been told that there are some other crags in Yorkshire which it would have been nice to visit. I think one was called the Virgin boulder.
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so... a fixie and beard it is then.
Unfortunately I crashed my fixie and i can't grow a beard. It's like a London caste system and i'm at the bottom of it.
I'll have you know I went to Snowden crags once, Will. I'm back this Sunday to next if you want to see my (beardless) mug :tease:
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Start a microbrewery... Call your beer 'Wank' in an ironic but not actually ironic piece of marketing...
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"Pint of wank please, vendor".
Got quite a ring to it I think.
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Surely peak beard will hit London first and suddenly the inability to grow one will be a great asset (as the majority of the male population there gets ripped off by Turkish barbers).
Hope so anyway. Stupid bearded hipster cunts.
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"Pint of wank please, vendor".
Got quite a ring to it I think.
Three wankers and a bag of nuts please.
Sounds like a bbc sitcom...
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origins (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/93594055933)
2 August 2014, 3:15 pm
Sadly I no longer live with wads. I’m actually living in someone else’s house in a...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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The last four posts have been like a rock star who has had their fifteen minutes and is no longer asked to gig. I await the memorial post written after you are found in a pool of your own vomit.
I seem to remember that I told you this would happen. We were underneath Underhand and you were all like "Oh yeah?! No way, man. I'm the second coming of Guillich, man. I'm gonna climb 4eva."
What happened to the firing up of the Crank Engine? Did it run out of petrol?
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The last four posts have been like a rock star who has had their fifteen minutes and is no longer asked to gig. I await the memorial post written after you are found in a pool of your own vomit.
I seem to remember that I told you this would happen. We were underneath Underhand and you were all like "Oh yeah?! No way, man. I'm the second coming of Guillich, man. I'm gonna climb 4eva."
What happened to the firing up of the Crank Engine? Did it run out of petrol?
From an old thread called the power of climbing....
''This thread has made me sad. Ive heard a few times about big names "giving up" climbing and I never really understood. Why, and more importantly, how? It just doesn't make any sense. I intend to leave uni, maybe hang round Leeds for a bit. Might try and get a job at the wall or something. Then move to North Wales or Sheffield or The Lakes and get a job in a gear shop. Sorted. Many grades shall be crushed. Almscliff will fall. :bounce:
This will continue until I die of old age or get hit by a bus or something.
Ha! You old people and your responsibilities.''
''Bouldering aint really my thing. Am currently planning an expedition to Mongolia.''
Sound familiar to you at all, Will? Life and responsibility kick in, it's nothing to be ashamed of :P
I don't think i've ever compared myself to Gullich, that would be sacrilege. He's my hero. I remember not climbing underhand either so I couldn't possibly have said that.
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Excellent retort.
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Did you go to mongolia will? (genuine question innit)
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Everyone bailed I think. Probably a good thing as we would have all surely died.
I knew that post would come back to haunt me. However, I probably climb more now, and harder, than I ever did at uni after the honeymoon of first year/second year passed.
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At it again (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/94332880813)
10 August 2014, 12:15 pm
'He's going to do it. What a dick. He fucking flashed it' I remember reading Steve McClure saying...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Why not have a crack at Jess' roof? Bit of a schlep with the pads - but catches even more wind so is usually in better nick.. positive holds as well etc..
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Brrr not that pit of darkness again :no:
Extensions on underhand felt like velcro yesterday and i've finally managed to do it in halves, it's worth a punt with two more days. C'MON
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Is there a reason this blog is set to import partial feeds only?
Anything with blogspot / tumblr etc. in the address is automatically blocked from work (on my lunch break :-[ ).
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India (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/95370008438)
21 August 2014, 1:38 pm
Since I started climbing 5 years ago it has taken over my holidays. If there wasn’t any...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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El Chorro (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/95378247781)
21 August 2014, 4:01 pm
Hola Boys! Still 2 weeks to go here, hope you are having a ball and out crushing! Very interested...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Fuck yeah. Have a nice time!
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Yosemite (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/95467069034)
22 August 2014, 4:01 pm
Fellow 11GG CHARGERS!! Yosemite is the BOMB. Been climbing here for nearly a month and not even...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Pretty rad stamp.
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Verdon (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/95555248453)
23 August 2014, 4:01 pm
Salut! After ZERO sleep we arrived to Nice airport to find trains were broken down and the bus had...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Céüse (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/95646873831)
24 August 2014, 4:01 pm
SAFE! I bring tales of muchos sendage dans SAYOOSE. Handycrush Larned up Alabanter abiding by the...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Riglos (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/95741126263)
25 August 2014, 4:01 pm
Hey guys! We’re having a potatotally fanmashtic time here in Riglos. Bron was peeling pretty...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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True warmth comes from within - happy memories for sure. Cheers for posting these.
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Hi Paul, sorry I don't really know :shrug: The layout gets screwed up on the forum so it probably asked me at the beginning and I must have said no.
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Gimme your petrol, Punk (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/97638624128)
16 September 2014, 9:29 am
Climbers are notoriously stingy, penny hoarding bastards. Way before Jesus Christ and the invention...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Does £5 return to Stanage refer to Gugs? I distinctly remember the moment when he turned round and, almost in slow motion, he uttered "five pounds please". We were reeling for weeks. Could have flown cheaper on Jet2.
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you are correct :lol:
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Gimme your petrol money, Punk (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/97638624128)
16 September 2014, 9:29 am
Climbers are notoriously stingy, penny hoarding bastards. Way before Jesus Christ and the invention...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Brilliant and very true, this post reflects a personal evolution: from my early, good, social times in climbing, in which all costs were shared by a large use of guesstimation; to the lonely days, in which I would wake up at 6 and drive automatically to the crag, no matter who was with me, I was alone in my mind - scary; to present days, in which I sold the car, bought a motorbike that's cool as hell, wear a leather jacket and never leave my board.
Cheers.
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That reminds me, you still owe me for that lift down to Stanage last year...
Just because we didn't drive you back doesn't mean you don't have to chip in. :jab:
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:tumble: errmm... I think you're right
Go on, how much do I owe you then? :-[
This thread was a bad idea...
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And that lift to malham about a year ago you freeloading bastard.
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Lagerstarfish enterprises operates a debt recovery service...?
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Oh fuck, abort abort!
I did ask if you wanted money for that Tom and you said I could just owe you a lift to Malham, which I fully intend to uphold. Your own fault really...
Funny what people remember isn't it ;D
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Tweeter (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/97902881128)
19 September 2014, 6:36 pm
You can now follow this blog on tweeter. Apparently tweeter is used by people, so I thought...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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The Indian queue (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/98297517138)
24 September 2014, 9:47 am
The Indian queue, if you could ever call it that, is quite an experience. If you’re a frail...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Dirty cracks (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/99052213428)
3 October 2014, 1:31 pm
Yep, we were back. The unstoppable duo that have failed on more climbs than a Mountaineering Club...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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The Brutalizer, Awesome! :boxing:
I seem to remember a good head jam on that one, that and only needing a rack of one Rock 5...
Nice to know they're still taking scalps.... :popcorn:
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Charming Crack - strangely alluring despite its reputation and disgustingness! Just been looking through the UKC logbooks and couldn't find a more dogged/DNF'ed route, with only a 7% onsight rate.
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No punters here. PunterWatch is pleased.
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You cant do charming without me... im going to ramshaw to train for it. Brutaliser look banging.
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Huw, you'll love it :) If I do Charming without you we'll drive out and i'll give you a belay next time you're up.
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London gives you writers block (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/100698517393)
22 October 2014, 10:14 pm
I’m late, i’m late, i’m late for a very important date. I hurriedly leave Bank...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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The Wolf of Tottenham Court Road.
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good luck with the interview
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Yes, if you don't come back to Leeds then there will be trouble. Give it the biz, Chief :boxing:
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The Wolf of Tottenham Court Road.
I prefer Fantastic Mr Fox ;)
Thanks Guy! I've already had a 15min phone call and a 50min partner interview. Morrisons sure are tough on the recruitment these days...
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I hear that Tesco are looking for a couple of bodies to work at head office...
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Full circle (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/102369430933)
11 November 2014, 4:33 pm
My dark shoes sparkle as I dance down the steps of the London Underwriting Centre. It’s only...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Buy easy iron shirts. Worth the extra...
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Living with wads 2.0. Good luck in the new job
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Nice. Hope it works out.
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Ilkley (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/102777277328)
16 November 2014, 1:18 pm
I could describe the weather yesterday as quite grey, a bit miserable, bloody windy, tad wet and to...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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This blog is really good!
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Normally it seems to be written specifically for people in the OP's social circle.....but in this case that was a nice entry indeed.
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That shit, hole in the ground problem Will Hunt keeps banging on about is actually very, very good. It would be amazing if it were facing the other way, out of the pit and not into it!
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You also forgot eliminate in the description of the shit hole in the ground problem!
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I see Mr Hunt has form then.... ;)
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It would be amazing if it were facing the other way, out of the pit and not into it!
:lol: fuck me, gonna add that to the wishlist then...
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Which shit, hole-in-the-ground problem is this? There are so many...
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For a minute, before I read the blog, I though someone had repeated Northern Rail. I'll continue to dream of the day.
:(
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Did Optimus Prime get written up in the new guidebook?
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It's not in the index, there's a route called Warriors of the Wasteland (E6 6b) which I think may be the same line.
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that's why I was asking really
thanks
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Rodeo Roaches (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/106100788633)
25 December 2014, 12:50 am
Twas the night before the Roaches, when all through the hut no climber was stirring, not even Tom...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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I've been complimented in Living with Wads. This is the best Christmas ever.
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The weekend weather forecast (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/108687361993)
21 January 2015, 12:30 am
Wondering where to go climbing this weekend? Unsure whether to trust the weather forecast...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Skipton moor was nice for running, and Simons seat for walking.
It's the return of the cliff this weekend! (Or maybe Leeds wall...)
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The golden hour (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/117634047303)
28 April 2015, 10:41 pm
Yesterday (well actually Sunday) I went to Almscliff for precisely 6.30pm. 2 hours before spotting...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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no! living with wads has been blocked at work.
How am I meant to sit here pretending to do work if they block things on the internet :rtfm:
Any chance the full blog can be pulled here?
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The golden hour
Yesterday (well actually Sunday) I went to Almscliff for precisely 6.30pm. 2 hours before spotting footholds would become difficult, 30 minutes before the grit cranked up the velcro factor. I love walking up the all too familiar path, the small tricep assisted squeeze through the notch in the wall, your mind focussed on todays goal.
In my mind were two solitary crimps. The left one has three fingers tightly stacked, a thumb curls around them protectively on a small natural notch. On the right crimp, trembling white fingertips, each trying not to push the other off the depressingly small ledge they share. They’re lifting 70kgs of dumb and they can certainly feel it.
Before I get to business I warm up on two problems I’m not acquainted with. Teaspoon Variation Left and The Little Greeny. Whilst dumping my bag and pads on the grassy slopes looking for a place to lob my banana skin I look up and see Naomi Buys waving at me from the mid height rest on Big Greeny. ‘Hello’, I say and wave back. Immediately I realise Naomi is actually shaking out and not waving at a complete stranger in a once blue down jacket. Luckily I come across as a bit of a muppet and what would normally be an awkward moment is instantly diffused. Naomi, being very kind and not a muppet, waves back and returns my hello. Jordan wonders who the muppet in the dirty coat is.
image
Is she waving or shaking out? Act like a London commuter to save embarrassment.
Teaspoon variation goes quickly and I’m standing above Little Greeny shortly after. I think I’ve now actually done all the 7a’s at the Cliff (bar the massively eliminate ones). Time for the goal, time to focus again. As I walk around to the main face of high man the wind drops and the two crimps I’ve had in my mind the past 30 minutes come into view.
The week before Nathaniel and I had gone to try Jess’ Roof which, despite finding a human shit in the cave, is an excellent problem. We didn’t tick, but the potential of landing in poo meant we put extra effort into not falling off. As the horizon swallowed the sun whole and night befell us, we quickly threw the pads down and hurried to Stu’s Roof. Taking it in turns to wear the only head torch, one would point and the other would climb using the small beam of light to navigate their way over lumpy crimps. I fall off the small break on Stu’s Roof Left, cursing into the night, but I was spent and it was time to go home.
Now I was back and the glowing sun was flirting with the treeline. I had a good hour yet before dark. On my second go I fall off both hands in the small break with my feet scrabbling on the face. Instead of cursing like last time, I lie on my pads, drape my asbestos rag of down jacket around me and close my eyes. I count to 60. My heart was beating hard and fast and I felt nervous having fallen off the jugs. In this situation it has been suggested to break down the problem into individual moves, enjoy the climbing and don’t think about the end goal. I brush myself down and concentrate on the first move, just enjoy the climbing…
My foot slips and I fall off the first move.
Balls to that. I flex and clench my fingers and think only of the break. I think of how the rock is weak and has exposed itself to assault. All too quickly I am I rocking onto my right heel but haven’t generated enough momentum. I readjust my left hand ever so slightly and keep pulling onwards to the break. My right hand pierces the break like a knights lance thrust through his opponents visor. I match the break and throw again for the juggy ear. Cautiously I begin to stand up, a shaking hand feels for the top. ‘If I pop off now I’m going to sell this pad that doesn’t belong to me’, I think to myself.
I don’t cheer, nor whoop nor dance. I allow myself a smile and let the waves of relief wash over me, it’s the satisfaction of a job well done. I traverse off, pack my stuff and walk down the grassy hill back to my car, the golden light still dancing on it’s silver top.
I hope Jordan doesn’t realise there’s a banana skin in his rope bag.
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brilliant
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Very good! :clap2:
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good blog as usual
Wonder if Nike Air will see this ;D
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Ben - Embarrassing himself in front of wads since that time he asked Steve Mac to sign his guidebook at Malham.
Well done on ticking. What's the project now? A quick trip to Pike Stones?
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:tumble:
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Give that man a biscuit (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/133196819973)
14 November 2015, 2:30 pm
Let me be very open (I usually am). I think the Depot is great place to climb (you just know things...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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That is a shit poster. It's not even Sharma climbing for fuck's sake.
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Fortuity (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/133728064358)
22 November 2015, 3:45 pm
I had made plans for this winter. My diary was more booked up than an on call A&E doctor and my...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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What fucking fruits? Split tips and back pain such that I can't move today?
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A new hope (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/134885269038)
10 December 2015, 12:00 am
After an initial diagnosis at the physio of scapulata incorrectus (scapula not doing its job...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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The Roaches trip take two (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/136545983668)
3 January 2016, 6:34 pm
We woke to a roaring wind that made the hut groan. Our phones said 51mph gusts but that wasn’t going...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Thick skin (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/139323643778)
14 February 2016, 11:59 pm
3 February I was half way through pouring my cereal when Laura came through the door. It was 9.30am...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Good post.
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Quality!
"Are you local?" - Only around Blubberhouses
(http://assets.londonist.com/uploads/2005/11/2077_local.jpg)
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Connies are shit, we’re going home (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/139973465148)
25 February 2016, 3:55 pm
“I just remember at Ilkley… Wills skin was too hard yet too soft, the rock was perfectly dry...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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There’s going to be some changes around here (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/145203560573)
31 May 2016, 1:44 pm
In the wild west vale of Yorkshire, rumour has it that a new editor is in town. Wielding printing...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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The Peaky Blinder making the most of #EarlCragConnies there.
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love it #MakeYorkshireHardAgain :2thumbsup:
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Classic routes in a classic helmet (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/146728153828)
1 July 2016, 1:31 am
High Tor. I didn’t want to go at first. After finishing final exams and a two month lay off from...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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The circle goes clockwise (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/149146870533)
18 August 2016, 11:37 pm
Two weeks. In just two weeks time I’ll have to don the black shiny shoes once more. Iron a shirt,...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Diving for scrittle (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/150228704338)
10 September 2016, 10:00 pm
Some bits of Almscliff are forgotten. Neglected lumps of rock that lie in the murky shadows,...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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Sorry lads, these got done by Swanny whilst he was trying to escape a pack of velociraptors.
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It wouldn't be a new problem in Yorkshire without the traditional Andy claim :)
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The day we get an Andy Emery Aproved (TM) Yorkshire first ascent will be a glorious day!
Good writing Footers.
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Hungry (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/153490260978)
21 November 2016, 10:36 pm
The young male relies on sending rock climbs to survive. He can go without dry rock for days at a...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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It’s about time (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/164459994808)
21 August 2017, 11:31 pm
I came close in January. Very close. Exorcist on demon wall roof, Almscliff. I’d done all the...
Source: Living with wads (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/)
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stunning photo, wow
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Nice one Ben
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:agree: Top-notch post mate
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been a long time coming, nice writing mate!
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Well written indeed. I shall refer to it in the coming grit season battles for inspiration and a lesson in perseverance (and microbeta).
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That rainbow pic is tha bizzle.
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Aisle 24 (http://livingwithwads.tumblr.com/post/169863162538/aisle-24)
I’m drifting aimlessly through the aisles with the shopping list in my hand. Written on the back of a torn envelope, I’ve had to guess what a couple of the items are. Freekeh, for example, could be a yoghurt or it could be a cereal. Fuck knows. The bloke wearing a Sainsbury’s jumper had no idea either. Turns out it’s just posh bulgar wheat, which is basically posh couscous. Don’t ask. I’m just the errand boy.
Supermarkets are an odd place to bump into people you know. Half the time you’ll try and keep a tab on where they are in the shop, just so you can avoid them. There’s nothing quite like having a stilted conversation with someone you vaguely know in front of the broccoli, shuffling back and forth like you’re at beginners salsa whilst annoyed shoppers lean past you to one of their five a day. On this occasion I ran into Tom and Jeni, who, unfortunately for them, only saw me coming when it was too late. Oh yes, people are probably avoiding you too.
We stayed chatting a while by the tender stem, catching up on the old and the new. I always enjoy climbing with Tom, it usually being a lesson getting schooled at route climbing. He climbed Right Wall as his second E5 and dragged me up Supersonic as his third. Far from the safety of my grit climbing repertoire and the knowledge I probably won’t die if I hit the ground, these routes are in a different league to what I’m used to. I didn’t even mind so much when we got to High Tor once and he’d forgotten his harness so we ended up at Kilnsey via a quick house visit in Leeds. Climbing has taken a back seat in Tom’s life as of late. His board shunned for a different discipline, one of lifting iron and PB’s in a hall of mirrors. Looking back, it was a bit of a blow when he told me. But then I’d had not too dissimilar thoughts of my own late last year. It’s a nagging of the conscience, a guilt that you’re at the crag just because you’re a climber but what you’d rather be doing, is not climbing. One boulder was just blending into the next and the satisfaction I used to get that glowed for days would evaporate by the time I’d put my shoes back on. Climbing had become mundane and would it not be for the mates I climb with (great gossip) I might have gone looking elsewhere. I guess I was in a bit of a rut.
There’s an article by Andi Turner called ‘The Start of Something New’ in which his words struck a chord:
“we start climbing as an adventure, as something different, as something to get us out of the norm, but then it becomes the norm, it no longer scares; it’s the thing we do at the weekend, after work and in our spare time. I’m no longer the person who found climbing by doing something different, by getting out of my comfort zone; I’m just a climber comfortably seeing it out.”
I might be pessimistic in thinking people can’t have an eternal fire roaring in their belly for climbing. If Instagram is anything to go by the world is full of these zealots. But, then again, I’ve seen Robbie Philips sipping coffee indoors looking glum for 2 hours before asking his partner to take a shot of him hanging on the board then going home. The ensuing post gushed about psyche and a hardcore session. Yeah right. This is presumably why I’m not sponsored either.
The new year is a perfect time to take stock and, heeding Andi’s words, i’m going to try and not comfortably see it out. If Tom won’t drag me up the routes then I’ll just have to do it myself.
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Another brilliant introspection.
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Disappointed with the lack of photos of broccoli. Come trad climbing with me and stop fannying about on boulders.
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Supermarkets are an odd place to bump into people you know. Half the time you’ll try and keep a tab on where they are in the shop, just so you can avoid them. There’s nothing quite like having a stilted conversation with someone you vaguely know in front of the broccoli,
Quite. Stopped off at Aldi on my way to the climbing wall the other day & bumped into the father of a girl my son knew in primary school. And what's the first thing I thought of in connection with him, and then had to carefully not say? "Oh by the way, did you know I thought your wife was, apart from my wife, the only other totally hot mum in 3B?"
Perhaps not.
(My son thought his daughter was totally hot too, inasmuch as one thinks these things at age ten)
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A guy who used to work in the same office as me also lived near me for a bit. There was a small (like, five short aisles) Co-Op opposite my flat that I'd shop in most days and he'd do the most blatant hiding/ avoiding every time we were both in there at the same time, which was quite often.
I never mentioned that I'd seen him outside work and I'm not sure if he thought that he was effectively avoiding me or just thought that the awkwardness of hiding was less awkward than saying hello would be. :lol:
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Someone in a supermarket recognised me once and said hello to me. I said hello back, recognising him, but not being able to think from where. Five minutes later it dawned on me that he was the owner of the local chippy, and that I probably should cut down on the amount of fish suppers I treat myself to.
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This is an intriguing post from the Ben.
So do you think you'll restore your mojo by going and doing some non-bouldering activity?
I have found myself a little out of love with bouldering of late. I mean, it's good to do in the winter, but I'm quite keen to go and do some trad and even some sport soon.
It's dawned on me lately that the most memorable and re-liveable climbing experiences I've had recently have been the ones where I got a bit scared i.e. I felt I was doing something a bit adventurous.
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There are many ways to scare yourself if you get too competent at climbing that it becomes a bit safe.
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This is an intriguing post from the Ben.
So do you think you'll restore your mojo by going and doing some non-bouldering activity?
I have found myself a little out of love with bouldering of late. I mean, it's good to do in the winter, but I'm quite keen to go and do some trad and even some sport soon.
It's dawned on me lately that the most memorable and re-liveable climbing experiences I've had recently have been the ones where I got a bit scared i.e. I felt I was doing something a bit adventurous.
I find it amazing that people just do one discipline year round, again and again. Part of what I love about climbing is the variety, and how at the beginning of each season the new style feels unknown and scary.
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The best bits about the blog are the little insights into the stultifying banality of Ben's day to day life.
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I find it amazing that people just do one discipline year round, again and again. Part of what I love about climbing is the variety, and how at the beginning of each season the new style feels unknown and scary.
:agree: Could have written this word for word myself.
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:thumbsup:
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I love all the different disciplines too: grit bouldering in the winter, moorland grit bouldering in early spring and late autumn, Lakes and N Wales bouldering from late spring to early autum.
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Sometimes we even go to a pub that isn't the Hunters, or we get a scotch egg instead of a pork pie from the farm shop. Now that's variety.
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:punk: rock and roll life of the boulderer :P
Obviously if just bouldering makes you happy - power to you - bouldering is brilliant fun. I just miss bothering nuggets and taking whoppers too much
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When boulderers don’t rope climb they get told they’re missing out, when they do people complain that Kilnsey and the Malham have become too busy :-)
I’d probably do more of the other disciplines if I had more time on my hands, but like to spent my limited climbing time climbing rather than fiddling widgets or belaying for 4 hours.
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I find it amazing that people just do one discipline year round, again and again. Part of what I love about climbing is the variety, and how at the beginning of each season the new style feels unknown and scary.
Depends what you are aiming for. Being a average jack of all trades or a master of one.
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I don't think Ben (or anyone) is pontificating on any way of going out climbing, either varied or focussed, being better than another. I think he's just saying that going to the boulders has lost its thrill and become a routine which is fulfilled unquestioningly. Because that's just what climbers do; when they get a spare moment they go to the wall or to the crag. But what if that's becoming dull?
I don't like to pigeonhole myself but when I started to do more bouldering than any other discipline I can remember the thrill of the progression through the grades. Now I've been doing that for a few years, much of the thrill has gone; though I still enjoy climbing and climbing for the sake of climbing. My grade on the boulders has plateaued, and possibly dipped since fatherhood has begun, though it's hard to tell definitively as this season has been appallingly bad for opportunity and all the other factors coming together. I don't have the temperament to get really involved with training and sessioning long term projects to progress much further with bouldering.
When I switched back from moorland exploring in the summer to trad climbing it was like a reawakening. Having plugged away on Yorkshire grit as a jobbing HVS - E2 tradder for a few years in the past, coming back to the crag with the extra bouldering power was just incredible. Suddenly there were all these routes which had been unattainable before which I could now do in comfort. Taking that onto the mountain crags and doing long lusted for routes like Saxon was just amazing. Even though the grades are modest, it's fun. I wonder what thrills are to be had from sport climbing since I've never really put my mind to redpointing?
I think it's quite scary for a climber to admit to themselves that they're becoming bored with climbing - especially if 90% of your mates are climbers and it's where your social identity lies. Fortunately, if you find yourself so afflicted, climbing has given us lots of different disciplines to keep it interesting.
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I find it amazing that people just do one discipline year round, again and again. Part of what I love about climbing is the variety, and how at the beginning of each season the new style feels unknown and scary.
Depends what you are aiming for. Being a average jack of all trades or a master of one.
Us year round boulderers are just boring people.
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I love all the different disciplines too: grit bouldering in the winter, moorland grit bouldering in early spring and late autumn, Lakes and N Wales bouldering from late spring to early autum.
This! Plus a bit of slime in spring/summer.
I've never once gone to the crag or the wall just because I'm a climber and that's where I feel I should be. Can't imagine what that might feel like, or to have the spare time to do that sort of thing! I think it actually helps to have a totally non-climbing full time job and partner, giving you lots of other things to fill your time with and thereby making the time in which you can get out that bit more special.
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I find it amazing that people just do one discipline year round, again and again. Part of what I love about climbing is the variety, and how at the beginning of each season the new style feels unknown and scary.
Depends what you are aiming for. Being a average jack of all trades or a master of one.
Us year round boulderers are just boring people.
No, it's just you.
:-*
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I don't think Ben (or anyone) is pontificating on any way of going out climbing, either varied or focussed, being better than another. I think he's just saying that going to the boulders has lost its thrill and become a routine which is fulfilled unquestioningly. Because that's just what climbers do; when they get a spare moment they go to the wall or to the crag. But what if that's becoming dull?
I don't like to pigeonhole myself but when I started to do more bouldering than any other discipline I can remember the thrill of the progression through the grades. Now I've been doing that for a few years, much of the thrill has gone; though I still enjoy climbing and climbing for the sake of climbing. My grade on the boulders has plateaued, and possibly dipped since fatherhood has begun, though it's hard to tell definitively as this season has been appallingly bad for opportunity and all the other factors coming together. I don't have the temperament to get really involved with training and sessioning long term projects to progress much further with bouldering.
When I switched back from moorland exploring in the summer to trad climbing it was like a reawakening. Having plugged away on Yorkshire grit as a jobbing HVS - E2 tradder for a few years in the past, coming back to the crag with the extra bouldering power was just incredible. Suddenly there were all these routes which had been unattainable before which I could now do in comfort. Taking that onto the mountain crags and doing long lusted for routes like Saxon was just amazing. Even though the grades are modest, it's fun. I wonder what thrills are to be had from sport climbing since I've never really put my mind to redpointing?
I think it's quite scary for a climber to admit to themselves that they're becoming bored with climbing - especially if 90% of your mates are climbers and it's where your social identity lies. Fortunately, if you find yourself so afflicted, climbing has given us lots of different disciplines to keep it interesting.
Think thats spot on. I spent ages trad climbing and am really enjoying sport climbing and bouldering more as I get to feel that grade progression again. V8 used to be unattainable for a weak, bold trad climber and now its a stepping stone. Same for the sport. The rough plan is to take that fitness back to the trad for a time in the summer and knock off some dream routes (best laid plans...) before reverting to bouldering again over the winter. I think thats the best way to stay psyched!