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Moving on, for now... (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/04/moving-on-for-now.html)
27 April 2010, 11:28 am
Well I seem to have been woken with a start from the dreams of bagging Open Your Mind. I have a lot to learn from the experience of this project. Should I have done it before now? Probably! There are a lot of factors to weigh up. I certainly could have been a little more "pro" but with Team Scotland about, it was hard to turn down the odd cerveza (or 2...). I suppose I really should have kept the eye on the ball, but then again, climbing is meant to be fun; though sometimes I wonder!
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/S9bIlEakZXI/AAAAAAAAAQw/fQtpO5nT-Q8/s320/Jonny+Spiv+Boy.jpg) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/S9bIlEakZXI/AAAAAAAAAQw/fQtpO5nT-Q8/s1600/Jonny+Spiv+Boy.jpg)Teen Mutant or Bad Influence?
Circumstances too have had an impact. When I started with this project I was on a bit of a high, just having done Rollito-Sharma Extension. It's hard to maintain these peaks, and with the time pressure of giving the cave over to the archaeologists for another year I was reluctant to take more than a rest day at a time. Perhaps this was the nail in the coffin. A definite negative spiral of performance has been accompanied by an almost overnight increase in the temperatures from "good nick" to "inferno" and breaking the tiniest, but seemingly crucial, sliver of rock off a pinch has added another dimension to the diminishing returns. So I have accepted defeat in this battle at least; but the war, as they say, is not over!
Now it's time to tick a few routes draw up a final set of goals for the few weeks that remain of my Catalan climbing adventure. But deep down I can feel a Trad Revival coming on...
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/S9bInY6QXrI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/KkJdU08jpD8/s320/IMGP4064.PEF.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/S9bInY6QXrI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/KkJdU08jpD8/s1600/IMGP4064.PEF.jpg)Trad Revival 2010?
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-754292598809399653?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Rodellar, No Cash, No Future: CLIMB CLIMB CLIMB!!! (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/05/rodellar-no-cash-no-future-climb-climb.html)
4 May 2010, 9:47 pm
So I've found my way to Rodellar, sleeping in the GTI (which I need to get rid of) freezing to death in the Siberian winds but climbing well! Leaving the furnace of Santa Linya behind, I followed Team Scotland MkII to Rodellar. Day one was a nice start, tidying up a loose end Gladiator 8a+ (formerly 8b) and adding Coliseum 8a to the slowly growing list of 8s I have bagged onsight.
The next day was a dream, after a struggled 7b warm up I plucked up the courage to try the next big route I have been dreaming of trying in Rodellar after Pata Negra, Geminis. This former 8c, downgraded for the latest topo, is one of the biggest lines to be found anywhere and I felt nervous leaving the ground with 20 odd clips not knowing what was going to happen. 30 mins later I was on the ground, I knew it was possible, but in how many days? A 2nd attempt would sort out where I needed to iron out the sequences. Setting off "for a go", I went comfortably through the crux, on to the huge pumpy head wall, but didn't get that pumped. I kept climbing through the last hard bit; not that bad; anchors clipped; 8b+ second go. GET IN!!!(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-8907533732629940605?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Rodellar me encantas (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/05/rodellar-me-encantas.html)
9 May 2010, 10:39 am
Another good few days have been had in Rodellar with "Team Scotland MkII". After the pleasure of my success on Geminis and various other onsights up to 8a my motivation and confidence has been very high. Looking for another BIG line to project I set my sights on Iron Man a huge 45m 8c. The reality of this route turned out to be a little less enticing. The 45m really comes down to a 17m power endurance roof in the sky above an easy 7b+ with the two sections being separated by a complete (standing up) no hand rest. I can see the approach to the roof getting very dull if this turns into a siege! The 8c part comes down to long physical moves on good holds which deposit you at the lip of the enormous roof of the La Surgencia sector. The crux kicks in at the transitition to the headwall with awkward almost slabby moves guarded by a long cross-through off the world's most painful heelhook. Tactically I decided to look at the route 3rd day on, tired from the first 2 big days here, but with the idea I would have it all sorted for the day after a rest day.
On the next climbing day and by the 2nd redpoint I reached the lip only to hurt my heel quite badly in the heelhook. I decided to leave thoughts of this route behind for a few days and turn my hand to some onsighting/flashing, finishing the day off with a flash of Evasion 8a and then a spectacular failure and near groundfall (thanks to some spectacular belaying) on the phenomenal, Les Chacals which is only spoiled by being downgraded to the terrible non-grade of 8a+/b in the latest topo.
The next day was fantastic, a possible rival to doing Geminis second go. I set off to the crag with Team Australia, this time; Andrea Hah (mutante) and Doug McConnell (dunkin biscuit). Not sure what to warm up on I decided to just get on something; No Limit a 45m 8a+ which I knew to be a good candidate for an onsight. Although I have onsighted a few 8a+'s I really want to get my confidence up onsighting this grade and this seemed like the perfect route to get the ball rolling. The long, pumpy, blocky style is very much my thing and after a long time on the wall, I had bagged the route onsight. A good start to the day!
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/S-aPDUoIvqI/AAAAAAAAARI/PD3APwSm688/s320/Andrea.bmp) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/S-aPDUoIvqI/AAAAAAAAARI/PD3APwSm688/s1600/Andrea.bmp)Andrea Hah one half of team Oz, great climbers and fantastic cooks! (Photo: Doug McConnell)
Next off was a return to Les Chacals, both Andrea and Doug had recently ticked this and they were able to run through the beta with me and I was very pleased to get this 2nd go. This might well be the best route in Rodellar, a real standout piece of climbing. With a quality beta team, I decided to have a go at another Rodellar classic, Espirit Rebeld which I had been saving for a flash or onsight for some time. In spite of a few damp holds the impeccable beta got me up this route to round up a fantastic day and another 8a+/b in the bag. (I hate these slash grades!)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/S-aOtwLK6sI/AAAAAAAAARA/FMQUqIaFW7w/s320/Doug.bmp) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/S-aOtwLK6sI/AAAAAAAAARA/FMQUqIaFW7w/s1600/Doug.bmp)Doug McConnell: This man has good beta and good beer! (Photo Andrea Hah)
Photos to come, when I find the time to get the camera out of the bag...too much climbing to do! (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-6067202491527743549?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Siurana: End of a Dream! (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/05/siurana-end-of-dream.html)
20 May 2010, 1:59 pm
The big news from Casa Guiri is Lynne's send of her first 8a. I think it was probablly a real surprise for her that it didn't turn out to be a steep route but the slightly less than vertical Thai Dream in Santa Linya's sector Futbolín. As far as I know this makes her the first Scotswoman to climb 8a and I'm sure this is just the first of many. NICE ONE LYNNE :-)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/S_U_H6y84HI/AAAAAAAAARQ/kOTtaqDU5Qk/s320/Santa+Linya+March+025.JPG) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/S_U_H6y84HI/AAAAAAAAARQ/kOTtaqDU5Qk/s1600/Santa+Linya+March+025.JPG)Lynne Malcolm on another 8a project: Trio Ternura at Santa Linya
The other big news from the "Scots in Spain" was a flash of the same 8a by Ross (Adam Ondra) Kirkland, meaning he joins Paul Williamson in flashing his first 8a: The youth of today! Big up to Ally Swinton too for joing the 8a club with Thai Dream and Primera Linea (Terradets) on consecutive days.
With Rodellar written off due to wetness that would make Scotland look dry, I took off to Margalef with Doug and Andrea (Team Oz). After a narrow miss on the onsight of Sargantana Killer 8a+ I moved on to an 8b that is becoming a bit of a classic; Chupito + Cubato 3 Euros. i sorted the moves and went for a redpoint, fell at the crux and considered another go later in the day. While resting I felt the strangest sensation of my finger filling up with fluid and turning blue! Scary stuff but as it turned out nothing too bad. All the same it made a change of scene desirable.
With Andrea leaving for Oz, Doug and I thought to ourselves, why not try Siurana? The weather being unseasonably cold for May. For me this was to turn into a disaster. To cut a long story short, on my first redpoint run on the absolutely amazing Migranya Profunda 8b+, mid cross through I heard the most horrible tearing sound in my shoulder followed up immediately by a complete loss of power in my arm. (Torn posterior deltoid perhaps?) Whatever it is it certainly doesn't make for the best way to end my Spanish adventure at all. Time for a week of sorting out life stuff, hoping the shoulder isn't as bad as it currently feels. If it isn't up to any hard pulling I think it'll be time for some trad slabs in Scotland....(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-7169538554116143417?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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The Anvil: Back From the Brink (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/08/anvil-back-from-brink.html)
26 August 2010, 10:07 am
Back in Scotland, injured, unemployed, miserable, I decided that the blog had to come down. I wanted to hide away for a bit. BUT its back, almost injury free, remotivated and hopefully constantly improving.
After sitting out most of June and July I have started training again, getting outside and importantly getting the trad revival modestly started with some Cambusbarron action. The highlight so far being an ascent of Production Line E6 6c which was also repeated by motivation incarnate, Will Atkinson (more on him later).
I have also made 3 trips out to the Anvil with one thing in mind: getting back on the 8c+ train. I have my sights set on Dave MacLeod's excellent Metalcore which for me is the line of the steep face. Malcolm Smith has been exceptionally busy out here in recent months and the Anvil now boasts another excellent (and likely hard for the grade) 8c+, Blood Diamond and a 9a, Hunger. So, Mr Ondra, there is now enough to make a weekend trip worthwhile!
My first Anvil trip of the season was made with Niall McNair who is on a mission to get all Scotland's 8b's ticked. This is a growing list of esoteric classics and no mean feat to repeat given that some of them are horrificly bouldery, sharp or perma damp. At the Anvil, his first goal was Fire Power which is one of the most utterly desperate 8bs in existence, especially to the reach impaired. This route's crux (a 2 move V10/11) forms the start of Malcolm's 9aand to be honest I think that it would sit quite happily at 8b+. The difficulty is belighed by the light work made of it by Will Atkinson (definitely not reach impaired), who impressively bagged this in a day and captured it nicely on video (which I have pinched).
The desperate Fire Power 8b (Video by: Will Atkinson)
On that first day Metalcore seemed almost impossible, move by move I was struggling. But the intensive traing sessions in between the crag days seem to be paying off. Day 2 with Johnny Stocking trying the route with me, found me find my own alternative sequence for the crux, avoiding the grim toe hook method used by Dave in the next video (heavily endorsed by a certain footwear brand) and the desperate shoulder press method used by Malc. I still felt miles off, but the route was finally in the realms of the possible.
Dave MacLeod on Bodyswerve 8c which forms the main crux of Metalcore (Video by: HotAches)
Yesterday I hit the crag once again, this time with another young whippersnapper, Paul Williamson,and found myself linking into the crux, through the crux to the last bolt (which holds the sting in the tail redpoint crux) and through this. It is quite startling how something can go from a long-term "maybe" to a short-term possibility in so few steps. Very very motivating!(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-5168868026769406428?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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The Wasted Generation (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/09/wasted-generation.html)
2 September 2010, 6:56 pm
Since the shoulder has got better I have been training and climbing non-stop. I'm currently overly psyched for everything; training, bouldering (at Dumbarton), competitions (BLCCs soon - everybody enter please!) and yes trad climbing. I was left feeling quite guilty having watched the "Great Climb" on Saturday. As part of the generation "lost" to bouldering and sport routes I suppose I really should have been on a big mountain route on Sunday. BUT NO, I have a score to settle with Metalcore and so I took advantage of the current dry snap to return to my big project (of the moment) reassuring myself that I would cleanse my soul and appease Mr McCallum in the mountains once this route is done... To further confirm to me that I shouldn't have been sport-climbing on such a nice day, when I arrived at the crag, I was faced with a libelous assault on my character...
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TH_pik8E0NI/AAAAAAAAARo/WsohmJuFAj8/s320/august+2010+145.JPG) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TH_pik8E0NI/AAAAAAAAARo/WsohmJuFAj8/s1600/august+2010+145.JPG)Message at the bottom of Metalcore, takes one to know one, if you ask me.... Niall!
Anyway, I went with the objective of a smidgen of progress and came away with a link to the last bolt and the feeling that the route is on. Thankfully the Cowal peninsula has been blessed with an unusually stable weather system this week and so I might get a concerted attempt to seal the deal this weekend. Bring it on!
I've also been frequenting Dumbarton a fair bit and finding my motivation for the black Font unusually high. I have been working away at some of Will's latest additions to the Home Rule Boulder bagging the 2nd ascent of Nice and Sleazier and a repeat of Nice and Sleazy both reputedly 7C+ and definitely classics. I also enjoyed Mike Lee's Le Tour de Technique 7B+ and hope to add the Sabotage start to get my first "proper hard" bouldering tick since I did King Kong a few years back. Dumbarton is so popular these days and all the action can be found at the stunning http://www.dumby.info/ website.
Will Atkinson shows how its done on Nice and Sleazier 7c+ first ascent
I'm slowly building upon the content of this blog, for example see the new "Top Tens" page and hopefully make it less of a list of "I did this and that" (sorry I didn't avoid the ego polishing this time round) and more of a climbing fanzine type affair (with a bit of ego polishing in there too). So watch this space!
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-7256484462452715401?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Not Enough Hours in the Day (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/10/not-enough-hours-in-day.html)
9 October 2010, 9:12 am
There aren't enough hours in the day if your not a full-time American rock superstar, but to the detriment of my sleep and blog, I've been all over the place this last month, benefiting from the huge enjoyment climbing has to offer across the disciplines, trad, sport, bouldering and competitions (forget ice, thats just mental).
Having seen the live climb and getting a bee in my bonnet about the "lost generation" comments, Stu and I got ourselves motivated for some big trad and decided to take a look at a crag I have wanted to get to for many years now, Dirc Mhor. And I can't recommend it enough. Fantastic micro-granite in a non-intimidating place makes for a pleasant multi-pitch experience. Too be perfectly honest I'm a bit soft and find multi-pitch climbing a strange juxtaposition of terror and boredom, as pitch after pitch of easy stuff lies between you and getting off the bloody cliff when the crux interests are over. This (probably unfair) opinion of big cliff routes couldn't be further from the truth at Dirc Mhor (its not actualy that big - which probably helps!). (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TKbmk90VzSI/AAAAAAAAAR0/rTV5eGEnOGA/s400/DSC00352.JPG) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TKbmk90VzSI/AAAAAAAAAR0/rTV5eGEnOGA/s1600/DSC00352.JPG)Me below the Bastion at Dirc Mhor - Man With the Child in His Eeyes froms the steep right arete on the left of the face
With plans of cleaning up the three, three-star E5s in one visit, we were building oursleves up for a disappointment, opting to work left to right saw us starting with what turns out to be the hardest of the crags trilogy of classics, The Man With The Child in His Eyes. On the crux pitch I found myself terrified and thinking "this is E6 surely" which I have been reliably told is a common assessment, thank god! When the rope got stuck on the abseil, the big plans were put to rest but a return visit has been pencilled in. My advice to anyone is - get yourselves there, a visit will be well rewarded.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TKbto0zP0nI/AAAAAAAAAR4/7-c34MX8QOA/s400/DSC00374.JPG) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TKbto0zP0nI/AAAAAAAAAR4/7-c34MX8QOA/s1600/DSC00374.JPG)Will Atkinson came close to the 2nd ascent of Malcolm Smith's desperately bouldery The Smiddy 8b+
In only returning to the Anvil project one day per weekend and not every weekend at that, I'm starting to get a little worried that I'm not going to get Metalcore before the 6 months of winter rain kick in. If I believed in such things, I'd think too that there is something conspiring against my aspirations of 8c+ climbing. First holds started breaking on Open Your Mind, now Metalcore too is proving no match for my body mass! Thankfully the damage was repairable and both routes remain high on my agenda, if only the cash and time off were there to go get the sends.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TKbtvMHsuoI/AAAAAAAAAR8/YKvmT70kzLY/s400/IPhone+Photos+010.JPG)The broken hold, safely caught before it smashed to smithereens...
I never seem to get very far with bouldering bit I do plan on making more of an effort this year, and try and learn a few things from Will, "I eat font 8A for breakfast" Atkinson along the way. So far a few trips to Dumby have yielded a handful of pleasing ticks including the 3rd ascent of Le Saboteur which comes in at 8A+ and the complete trilogy of Will's 7C+ variations on Malky.
Le Saboteur and Glasgow Kiss sends... sorry about the terrible video dimensions and soundtrack - I'm new to this stuff!?
A trip with the Sheffield ex-pats (Will and Dan Walker) to Queens Crag gave me a few problems to add to the project list. They didn't stay on Will's ticklist for long though as his video below demonstrates. The one man crush fest rolls on...
Furture Cassidy projects?..Queen Kong and Big Dragon beautifully demo'd by Will (video: Will Atkinson)
The September long weekend and fantastic break in the weather probably was my window to do Metalcore but instead I took a trip up to Reiff with Richard McGhee, who like me has re-found his love for trad climbing. Gritstone has nothing on the Torridonian sandstone of the North West which, though it has similar friction, is much kinder on the skin. Though the climbs are short it is easy to become absorbed in the pure unadulterated fun of the routes, the solitude and the sea air. All the better as well because you can pack a lot in to a day and you'd be unlucky to be queuing for a route. We concentrated our efforts on day 1 at the Leaning Block cliff, where after ticking the classics; The Screamer, E4 6a and The Gift E5 6a,I turned my attention to Gary Latter's Otto E7 6b. (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TKbt65maOBI/AAAAAAAAASE/psr1J9-gjjQ/s400/IPhone+Photos+019.JPG) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TKbt65maOBI/AAAAAAAAASE/psr1J9-gjjQ/s1600/IPhone+Photos+019.JPG)The view from the clifftop
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TKbuUpwagXI/AAAAAAAAASI/zIsBasVYeoY/s400/IPhone+Photos+021.JPG) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TKbuUpwagXI/AAAAAAAAASI/zIsBasVYeoY/s1600/IPhone+Photos+021.JPG)The fantastic wall of The Screamer (chalked), The Gift is the left arete.
Unfortunately I found myself underequipped with cams for this essentially safe but hard E7. Managing to reverse from about half way, I preserved the attempt at the clean ascent for my next visit, hopefully sooner rather than later. Too much wine that night meant that day 2 was a little slow to get started but a great day ticking away at the Seal Song area just gave me the taste for getting back as soon as possible for some harder stuff. I did manage to salvage something relatively hard out of the day, climbing The Mystic which is either the softest E6 6b in the book or a rather cool E5 arete in the grit ilk.
It's the BLCC this weekend at Ratho, a regular fixture in my calendar. For some reason I seem to be one of the few people who really enjoys competitions whether I do well or not. It's a real shame that more people don't enter this comp as potentially it could be a fantastic big event and an opportunity for lots of British climbers to get together, enjoy some cool routes, try hard and talk shop... maybe one day people will get over the "I´m not doing it, I'm not climbing well enough" attitude and just come have a go... FOR FUN!
?
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TKbt27_7k7I/AAAAAAAAASA/2vdKDRq5-rI/s400/IPhone+Photos+012.JPG) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TKbt27_7k7I/AAAAAAAAASA/2vdKDRq5-rI/s1600/IPhone+Photos+012.JPG)Mushrooms, the key to Will's powers??(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-2982854254133467676?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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What happened there then? (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-happened-there-then.html)
15 October 2010, 4:15 pm
Synopsis of my BLCC´s last weekend: Made final, with 2 top outs. I felt good apart from a lingering cough and cold from too much physical labour in the damp west of Scotland and perhaps in the best form prior to a comp I've ever been in. The final route was exactly what I would have wanted, a pump fest. Half way out the roof I felt amazing, relaxed and confident. Two seconds later, I botched the sequence in a confused panic, an unplanned change to the sequence I had read from the ground. All because one of the holds wasn't as good as I had expected... if only I had gone for it in the pre-planned sequence, the result could have been oh so different. Sob, sob, sob.
My frustration at the result is my own problem though. Massive congratulations must go out to the new generation who showed everyone how it is done: Ed Hamer, Luke Tilley, Jonathan Field, Nathalie Berry and Kitty Wallace - I salute you all. I hope the dire state of senior competitions in Britain doesn't put you off competing.
As for me, and to quote Patxi in the film Progression: "The future will be mine. The future; will be mine!"(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-5113413888695807003?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Bit by bit, day by day... 8c+ in 2010? (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/10/bit-by-bit-day-by-day-8c-in-2010.html)
23 October 2010, 3:30 pm
Metalcore... I've gotta do this thing.... I'm getting closer and closer but still no cigar and the Scottish weather window gets tighter and tighter. Please, please, pretty please...
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TML-xbYOQbI/AAAAAAAAASY/oTN2XZzDdqg/s400/AnvilOct.JPG) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TML-xbYOQbI/AAAAAAAAASY/oTN2XZzDdqg/s1600/AnvilOct.JPG)I made the best links ever last weekend but just couldn't quite get the tick (Photo: Murdoch Jamieson)?
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TML-FUAS0JI/AAAAAAAAASU/wQpNBcd7Jpc/s400/AnvilOct4.JPG) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TML-FUAS0JI/AAAAAAAAASU/wQpNBcd7Jpc/s1600/AnvilOct4.JPG)
The new Glasgow strong man Dan Walker sampling the magnificent Spitfire 8a+ (Photo: Murdoch Jamieson)(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-2980977434969561931?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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How Close is Close? (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-close-is-close.html)
29 October 2010, 1:23 pm
Sometimes in climbing we say we are close to our projects when we do all the moves for the first time. Sometimes it might be a significant back link, overlapping sections or a fall from the last bolt or the last hard move. And sometimes we fall with the last hold in our hands!
Metalcore has now gone beyond the realms of being a possibility into the horrible purgatory of having essentially been done (twice in the same day) but not DONE done. Last Sunday presented me with the ultimate low-humidty, crisp, autumnal, weekend-day that Argyll only throws up once in a blue moon and I was fit and raring to go.
After battling with the cold to get going, the first proper redpoint was amazing, the route never feeling so within my abilities. The disappointment? On the 1st and 3rd redpoints I actually had my hand in the penultimate handhold, with only a step up onto a good foot rail left to do to clinch victory. Yet still I failed to seal the deal. Why?
Firstly, the move is super-tenuous - a slippery heel hook at the limit of its usefullness calls upon all your body tension to stop it ripping out (which was what happened both times). Secondly, I am prone to that last minute rush of blood to the head, over excitement as the goal looms large that strikes many people, in many sports. The composure to see the task through to the end before relaxing is, I've come to realise, one of the biggest factors affecting my performance (or at least getting things done in good time). I wonder what techniques sport's psychology has to combat this....
Dont Celebrate Too Early (http://www.break.com/index/celebrateearly1.html) - Watch more Funny Videos (http://www.break.com/)(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-54457467324731337?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Bouldering Inspiration with the Unsung Strongmen... (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/11/bouldering-inspiration-with-unsung.html)
3 November 2010, 8:45 pm
With some sadness I think my chances of 8c+ in 2010 have now washed away. The last visit saw thick mist, run-off water streaming down the face and near on 100% humidty leading to a horrible film of condesation everywhere else. Maybe the weather will turn again, but it's not looking likely. At least I have a big insentive to train this winter. 2011 could be a good year!
For now my attention will be turning to bouldering, trying to get stronger and catch up with Will before his ego runs away with him. ;-) Believe it or not he wasn't happy with this little haul (of which I am very jealous) highlighted in his fantastic new video:
Fontainebleau October 2010 from Will Atkinson on Vimeo.
Inspiration...
Anyway my main motivation to write this week is to highlight some comings and goings in other parts of the Scottish scene (as part of a more regular theme I wish to incorporate into this blog). This time I want to highlight the inspiration I can take from a couple of Scotland's strongest training beasts as I embark on my journey into the strange world of climbing the little rocks.
Gary Vincent and Mark McQuade, 2 guys I have known from a very young age, are well-known for there epic feats of strength in the bouldering wall and in Mark's case in particular the campus board. However, these guys can cut it on the rocks too, with Mark having repeated Dave Macleod's problem Sanction, 8B, among other things and Gary having the world famous Chris Sharma problem The Mandala, 8A+ in his collection.
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3342/33/93/519542084/n519542084_2161583_5537738.jpg) (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?op=1&view=global&subj=1397168855&pid=2161558&id=519542084)Gary Vincent on the Mandala V12 (Photo: Vincent Coll.)
They have just returned from a productive trip to Magic Wood and I have been catching up with Mark to find out what went down....
They started their trip like they meant to go on with a day 1 haul, that most people would be satisfied with as trip highlights: both sent Coté De Seshuan 7C+ and Massive Attack 8A (Mark got this 3rd go!) and Gaz also did Supernova 7C (Mark had done this on another trip last year).
2 days later and both boys had done Unendliche Geshicte II (the Never Ending Story part 2) 8A which was sent by Gaz in one session, while Mark had also tried it the previous year. Gaz also did Octopussy 8A in one session a few days later. Mark's best day included an in-an-hour tick of the impressive Sofa Surfer 8A+ (he felt it was more top end 8A) and then Octopussy straight after wards (3rd day of trying it).
But really that was just the warm-up. The guys had their sights set much higher and focused on getting a "big tick" each. Gaz opted for trying One Summer in Paradise 8B, and Mark for Steppenwolf 8B. Mark was frustratingly close to the send on the first day falling off the top sloper 3 times. A feeling I know only too well this month! Gaz came stupidly close to his project too, failing at the final easy move on the problem after seemingly losing his head and using the wrong foot beta. (Is there something in the Scottish water?) Both guys could not have really been any closer to getting their goal problems when heavy rain and snow wrote Magic Wood off.
Nice video by Haroun Souirji showing Zach Lerner on Steppenwolf, Magic Wood
Future plans? Gaz is very psyched to get on Sanction and for Mark, its all about Monk Life, Malc Smith's Kyloe 8B+. Nice one lads!
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs142.snc4/36451_1517510661688_1352132370_31376523_2110113_n.jpg) (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?op=1&view=global&subj=1352132370&pid=4129655&id=506048386)One day Mark is going to pull Kyloe down with those arms! (Photo: McQuade Coll)(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-7126157536420666272?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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News Just In... (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/11/news-just-in.html)
8 November 2010, 6:24 pm
I've heard word on the grapevine that Gordon Lennox has repeated New Statesman at Ilkley, which is a very inspirational tick. New Statesman has to be one of the best grit lines there is and looks extremely scary. Quality effort! It really is nice to be able to highlight some action coming from the North East scene too. Aberdeen has a number of strong inspiring guys like Lennie, Tim Rankin and Ally Coull who are out there getting it done without all the fanfare. To me it feels like they aren't given the credit they deserve on Scottish Climbs which is a shame as it is the Scottish climbing news site after all. Lennie and Tim have a trad ticklist I'm very envious of and I'm really keen to go check out some of their FA's on the Aberdeen coast and Ally is one of Scotland's most prolific sport climbers, with 8b+ in the bag. So guys I salute you!
Other repeats news, this time in the more familiar Central Belt form, is the 4th ascent of Le Saboteur by Robin Sutton. I have the feeling that this problem will go on to have a flood of ascents this winter just as happened with Sabotage. Deservedly so too, it is a truly fantastic problem.
As for me, the bouldering phase took 2 trips to The County where I ticked a few things and added to my to do list a few more....(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-5314896792077588744?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Look Mum I'm in a Video! (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/11/look-mum-im-in-video.html)
9 November 2010, 9:26 pm
A little post for the 1/5th of my readership (mum) who isn't also a Facebook friend. Here is a great liitle video (shame about the ugly bloke climbing) made by Mikey Jeans. The video can be watched, by those of you with better video cards than me, in beautiful HD which really shows off what a fantastic day it was and just how nice the rock is at Bowden (although for how long?).
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TNm7b2NA7UI/AAAAAAAAASc/LLKYpb9S1pE/s400/Samta+Linya+April+066.JPG) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TNm7b2NA7UI/AAAAAAAAASc/LLKYpb9S1pE/s1600/Samta+Linya+April+066.JPG)Mikey Jeans - "The Director"
"The Alan Cassidy Show" by Mikey Jeans
In the next few days or so I will be adding a page to this blog completely unrelated to climbing on a topic which is dear to my heart... don't worry it's not politics, religion or football. It's all about biscuits!(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-7688233687324695199?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Updates - CragX Shop (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/11/updates-cragx-shop.html)
24 November 2010, 6:52 pm
The big news here at Cassidy towers is that the kind people at (the excellently stocked) CragX (http://www.cragxclimbing.com/#cid=10) in Sheffield have kindly offered to team up with me to help me out with some of my hardware needs. You will notice a CragX tab at the top of the page and please click through to check out the great online shop where you will be able to get your hands on the best kit your hard earned sterling can buy! I will also be highlighting any offers and reviewing items available in the shop on the shop page. A big thanks to Iain at CragX for this.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TO1Yd3JRAtI/AAAAAAAAASg/U3Zweh8QeRw/s400/OYM4.JPG) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TO1Yd3JRAtI/AAAAAAAAASg/U3Zweh8QeRw/s1600/OYM4.JPG)Fighting with Open Your Mind earlier this year (Photo: Dan Walker)
I had bad news relayed to me from my old haunt of Santa Linya. Open Your Mind, the 8c+ I was very close to repeating back in easter has broken and now is much harder. This is a real blow as I had hoped to return for this route in 2011. This route has however lived up to its name and opened my mind to going for projects at grades I never really imagined to be realistic for me. Hopefully, even if I never get this route, there will be other 8c+s out there for me.
As the cold snap sets in, I at least have a trip to El Chorro to look forward to. This trip will be a great opportunity to keep my hand in on the hard rock routes while I patiently wait for another crack at Metalcore in the spring. Normally I go away on short trips hoping for a big haul of routes in the 8a-8a+ range but this time I'm going more with the idea of trying to get a route with a bigger number ticked. I'm not going to make any predictions but I did onsight my first 7b+ in El Chorro, so I have a good history with the place. :-) We shall see...
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TO1dih4ce1I/AAAAAAAAASk/jAknkVWsDC8/s400/Julie+Silk.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TO1dih4ce1I/AAAAAAAAASk/jAknkVWsDC8/s1600/Julie+Silk.jpg)Julie Pearson on The Silk Purse 7c+ Dunkeld (Photo: Fraser Harle)
Finally, I'd like to highlight another Scottish climber who is really impressing at the moment with her motivation and comittment. Julie Pearson can be regularly seen burning off most of the blokes at Ratho and I have learned that she has recently climbed the quintessential classic of its grade in Scotland, The Silk Purse 7c+, joining the very short list of Scots women to have done so. (I'm not sure whether the list extends beyond the equally impressive Jo George and April Marr). Well done Julie! I'm sure, judging by the way you're climbing, that 8a is just round the corner.(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-7594837876579935089?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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The Return to Spain (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/12/return-to-spain.html)
18 December 2010, 4:14 pm
I'm writing from a bar, cowering away from the dreich grey skys that are beginning to put a dampner (literally) on the spirits which were so high after the first 2, very successful days, in El Chorro. At least the cervezas have been well deserved. I came with 1 objective in mind, to climb Cous Cous a stunning line on the Makinodromo sector which I had eyed up on my last trip here 5 years ago. I never imagined I'd ever be good enough to climb such a route, let alone do it in a day. If I take the guide book grade of 8c, then this is my first 8c "in-a-day" and marks a major milestone in my climbing.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TQzbIMLk4dI/AAAAAAAAASw/0IfT1jNWht4/s320/040.JPG) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TQzbIMLk4dI/AAAAAAAAASw/0IfT1jNWht4/s1600/040.JPG)If the rain continues, the digs have a wall we can train on!!
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TQzbdMTCDBI/AAAAAAAAAS0/Y5qZNgsLIis/s320/042.JPG) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TQzbdMTCDBI/AAAAAAAAAS0/Y5qZNgsLIis/s1600/042.JPG)The famous entrance to El Chorro
Whether it's a hard 8b+ or an 8c, doesn't really matter at the end of the day, this is one of the best sport climbs I have done and will be long in the memory.
Not wanting to rest on my laurels I have a new project, Que Trabaje Randy clipped up and worked out for a redpoint attempt after a rest day. I only hope the rain doesn't last too much longer....(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-6357661278666631921?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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"Another Tick in the Book" (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/12/another-tick-in-book.html)
30 December 2010, 8:31 pm
The Chorro invasion continues...
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TRzhcHZ6-lI/AAAAAAAAATI/n1dcecR4NyQ/s320/P1030839.JPG) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TRzhcHZ6-lI/AAAAAAAAATI/n1dcecR4NyQ/s1600/P1030839.JPG)The Chouchter invasion of Chorro!!!
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TRzi93ShfHI/AAAAAAAAATY/TeHcTybIqcc/s320/Chorro+2010.JPG) Ah 15 degrees! - Warming up, for the send (Photo: Sam Walker)
"Another tick in the book" seems to be my catchphrase. As a discerning collector of grade 8 routes, I have to be pleased with a haul of 12 "guidebook" 8s in 14 days away yet I still feel like I should have got more done. Bad weather, rain and high humidity, meant my next 8c project, Que Trabaje Randy, (after Cous Cous) was permanently out of nick. Indeed the clip retreival mission might have been harder than the actual route! With the tufas of Makinodromo sector never drying out, it was a case of making the most of the things that were do-able. Classics like Swimming Through a Shark Attack and its 8b extension, remained possible as long as you disn't mind the odd wet hold and a mid route shower.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TRzkRIcmXQI/AAAAAAAAATg/RQ9bhefVpyo/s320/shark+attack.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TRzkRIcmXQI/AAAAAAAAATg/RQ9bhefVpyo/s1600/shark+attack.jpg)Enjoying having survived a Shark Attack 8b (Photo: Ross Henighen)
I felt like I was climbing well, perhaps my best ever and with a few more 8's ticked my mind turned to a lifetime ambition tick of 8b onsight. I had identified a soft-touch target at Chorro that I knew would suit me; fulfilling all my favourite criteria: very, very long (45m at least), tufa-y, blobby and not a hard 8b by all accounts. Though it had a few wet tufas, reading from the ground they didn't seem to interfere too much and happily that turned out to be the case. I wont bore you with the blow by blow account except for recounting the epic I had at the last bolt, thinking it was in the bag only to be faced with a long move off a small slopey crimp. Up-down-up-down I went until finally I was convinced that it was indeed this horrible little thing I had to pull on. Summoning everything I had for one last pull, it was a relief when the next hold turned out to be better than it looked. Job done! El Oraculo in the bag. Maybe it's only 8a+, but it felt like I gave 8b's worth of effort and the mental door has been opened onto doing more in the future. An important big step!
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TRzhngHMzcI/AAAAAAAAATM/Jn6z9Ojif3I/s320/P1030843.JPG) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TRzhngHMzcI/AAAAAAAAATM/Jn6z9Ojif3I/s1600/P1030843.JPG)El Camino del Rey (GradeXS 2b?) - A different way to spend Christmas day!
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TRzhxyxCpqI/AAAAAAAAATQ/Ddiwl7C8jsQ/s320/P1030798.JPG) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TRzhxyxCpqI/AAAAAAAAATQ/Ddiwl7C8jsQ/s1600/P1030798.JPG)Celebrating with a bit of "Bandaloop dancing" (Photo: Sam Walker)
The rum came out, the dancing began and I don't (want to) remember too much else about that.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TRzkL-92fBI/AAAAAAAAATc/MSUcP1teh4o/s320/bad+news.jpg) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TRzkL-92fBI/AAAAAAAAATc/MSUcP1teh4o/s1600/bad+news.jpg)
Rum is bad news
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TRzirEYmW9I/AAAAAAAAATU/aPvHZ5bUJnM/s320/3+muppets.jpg) 3 numpties walk-in. (Photo: Sam Walker)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-2027650721894606115?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Gri-Gri 2; Have you got yours? (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/02/gri-gri-2-have-you-got-yours.html)
3 February 2011, 7:04 pm
I think I'm not alone in being someone who used to say "Petzl should bring out a smaller Gri-Gri for thin ropes". Well, now they have and its very sleek, light and sexy. The name? Gri-Gri 2 of course!
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TUr7hbhh6WI/AAAAAAAAATs/JVNcrIEQoFs/s1600/grigri2_focus2_0.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TUr7hbhh6WI/AAAAAAAAATs/JVNcrIEQoFs/s1600/grigri2_focus2_0.jpg)
Crag X (http://www.cragxclimbing.com/) have these at a ridiculous cheap, not to be beaten, price of only £60!! You can access this (and many others) fantastic offer through the following link: GRI-GRI 2 (http://www.cragxclimbing.com/climbing-gear/belay-devicesdescenders/petzl-grigri-2-belay-device-p-5464cid=10.html)
I might also add that the original GRI-GRI is selling at bargain basement £43.50 at Crag X too and is still as useful today as it always was, despite the advent of its little brother.
Finally I'd like to draw attention to the availability of the 5.10 Jet7 (http://www.cragxclimbing.com/clearance-stock/fiveten-jet-7-p-3321.html) which I wore extensively and to great effect on my recent trip to Spain. In an age when shoe prices are going through the roof, these are selling at an amazing £56.17! I'll be buying myself a new pair anyway!
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TUr7MmlagqI/AAAAAAAAATo/JjlM1e_2NLw/s1600/Jet7rs.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2WhEjK3JM4Y/TUr7MmlagqI/AAAAAAAAATo/JjlM1e_2NLw/s1600/Jet7rs.jpg)
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-2771064973011849158?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Où est la motivation? (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/03/ou-est-la-motivation.html)
4 March 2011, 2:21 pm
Climbing has seemed like the number one thing in my life since a very young age. Motivation always ebbs and flows but I've not known a period of such a dip in motivation in quite some time. The fire that usually burns so furiously in my belly became little more than a few smouldering embers about 3 or 4 days into my January trip to Fontainebleau.
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-75w_hmmTqms/TXDu2JcUPDI/AAAAAAAAAUA/d_0yy9pPuAI/s400/Font+2011.jpg) (https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-75w_hmmTqms/TXDu2JcUPDI/AAAAAAAAAUA/d_0yy9pPuAI/s1600/Font+2011.jpg)Losing the will... Attempt c100! Magic Bus 7B Photo: Jen Randall
The more I tried to analyse the siruation the worse it got. I'd just achieved a dream PB onsight, busted out one of the most inspiring 8c's I've done to date and I was in one of the World's greatest bouldering areas with a great bunch of people. So what bites? I was dissapointed, yes, to not climb as hard as I had wanted to in Font but there were a number of factors going against top performance on the trip to excuse this (at least a little). My general dissatisfaction ran deeper. I guess that in looking forward, in to 2011 and beyond, I just couldn't see where so many of the other things in life were going and climbing ceased to seem all that important.
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZN-qp2aye6Q/TXDu_rYelkI/AAAAAAAAAUE/uNWh7IdgZWg/s400/Font+2011%25283%2529.jpg) (https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZN-qp2aye6Q/TXDu_rYelkI/AAAAAAAAAUE/uNWh7IdgZWg/s1600/Font+2011%25283%2529.jpg)You'd think an 8c climber could climb Rubis Sur L'Ongle 7B+ (aye right!) Photo: Tom Mills
I've given a lot to pursuing my goals, yet in a way that is not self sustaining. I gave up the "regular" career path in pursuit of hard climbing, yet not worked hard enough at creating the lifestyle that makes it last. My "ostrich" approach has stretched my grades quite far, but athletically I know I have more in me, (I'm not exactly puritanical when it comes to diet and training). But what hopes of bigger numbers, when you can't pay for the necessary trips or everyday life for that matter?
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Cwy_eKhomn0/TXDwxEdpZGI/AAAAAAAAAUI/3w2qu2ZFknM/s400/Font+2011%25282%2529.jpg) (https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Cwy_eKhomn0/TXDwxEdpZGI/AAAAAAAAAUI/3w2qu2ZFknM/s1600/Font+2011%25282%2529.jpg)Success!!! ? 7a Buthiers Photo: Jen Randall
January and February's climbing has just been about "ticking over" because I know I should. I've slipped away a bit, but I needed to. Although I'm still not sure about what I'm working towards beyond Metalcore, the 1st of March has been a milestone to get back on the training bandwagon. Enough pontificating, more action required. There is, afterall, unfinished business at the Anvil! (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-6666908155152602407?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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I was lost, but now I'm found... (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/03/i-was-lost-but-now-im-found.html)
11 March 2011, 11:42 am
RIGHT! This late kick start to 2011 is in full swing and I've decided I need to get stronger. I guess this is the usual mindset for most climbers, at least in the UK where strength and bouldering is the thing that seems to get the most interest at the climbing walls and in the media. I'm one of these people who prefers a long duration forearm burn for a workout as opposed to repetitive failing on the same grim desperate move over and over. BUT, you can only get so good ignoring your weaknesses and pure strength is mine. It is clearly time to address this so I can guarantee eeking out an extra grade or two in my route climbing.
Last week there was a strange orb in space with an orangey colour and a pleasant radiance. I saw it a lot when I lived in Spain, seems like I haven't seen it in a while! My climbing spirits have once again been stirred and with the sun out it seemed like as good a time to start the quest for power outside on some rock. I have set myself a goal over the next few weeks of trying to do as many Font 7Cs as possible, weather and skin permitting, to form a basis to move upwards from.
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TvDqm6YXQys/TXoBUqXPIBI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/8_KJeL3H7Cs/s400/Alan_Cassidy_on_Precious.jpg) (https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TvDqm6YXQys/TXoBUqXPIBI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/8_KJeL3H7Cs/s1600/Alan_Cassidy_on_Precious.jpg)A previous attempt many moons ago - Precious 7c (Photo: John Watson)
Those of you in posession of John Watson's Stone Country (http://www.stonecountry.blogspot.com/) guides may be familiar with photos of a problem known as Precious in Glen Croe. This is a brilliant steep prow on good rock (this fact is not done justice in the photos as the wall to the right is somewhat scruffy) which I hadn't ever finished off and seemed like a good place to start. What I thought was going to be a quick send turned out to be a bit of an epic with two lessons learned. 1) Lichenous mica schist boulders, can be very slippy after rain. 2) Take a short rope AND/OR a brush on a stick to clean up said boulders if they haven't seen much traffic. I got the situation sorted on day 2 after spending a first day of hard effort denied by all manner of slips and slides on the finishing moves.
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7Mm_K1f-2to/TXoBt51r6eI/AAAAAAAAAUU/lPiTCS3NfX8/s400/IMG_0127%255B1%255D.JPG) (https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7Mm_K1f-2to/TXoBt51r6eI/AAAAAAAAAUU/lPiTCS3NfX8/s1600/IMG_0127%255B1%255D.JPG)Lovely textured sloper - Precious
A few days later it was a day trip to sunny Kyloe-Out for the in-vogue (among the Scot's anyway) Northern Territory. I had pulled on to this once or twice a few weeks ago without making much effort (I couldn't handle the sub-zero temps) but it felt more or less like a quick 1 session effort, all be it with the advantage of all the beta courtesey of messers McNair, Phillips and Atkinson. Although a guide book 7c+, I'd suggest more likely 7c when you know whats going on. I followed that up with a levelling on the infamous Yorkshireman at Kyloe-In - I simply can't get my massive meat hooks in that top crack. SO SO FRUSTRATING - damned genes!
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-e-0nNCWU4Cc/TXoI3yEPe7I/AAAAAAAAAUY/lkw_YbqIPjQ/s400/Camera+Photos+326.JPG) (https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-e-0nNCWU4Cc/TXoI3yEPe7I/AAAAAAAAAUY/lkw_YbqIPjQ/s1600/Camera+Photos+326.JPG)Nice day in the Northern Territory 7c (Photo: Mikey Jeans)
Oh and I also got to see the beast that is Mark McQuade trying Monk Life, 8b+ - very impressive and makes my quest for a few piddly 7c's seem all rather pathetic!
And finally...
I have been asked by a producer at STV to spread the word about auditions for a new show they are making. Here are the details:
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-KUrz1rMlPkY/TXoBP8LYWhI/AAAAAAAAAUM/AL5KxbfijZk/s1600/STV-Logo.jpg) (https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-KUrz1rMlPkY/TXoBP8LYWhI/AAAAAAAAAUM/AL5KxbfijZk/s1600/STV-Logo.jpg)
New Series About Scotland's Great Outdoors
We’re casting people for a new documentary series which celebrates Scotland’s great outdoors, especially the Highlands. We’re looking for people who have a strong connection with the great outdoors, especially in areas such as hillwalking, climbing, mountain biking, and so on. Applicants should be extremely outgoing, have an extensive knowledge of the Scottish landscape and feel comfortable on camera.
For more information email derek.stuart@stv.tv (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-5816067029761276537?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Jutified & Ancient (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/04/jutified-ancient.html)
11 April 2011, 9:33 pm
The first 3 months of this year left me feeling out of shape and with reduced confidence in my ability to send hard routes but thankfully I seem to have turned things back around more quickly than I thought I might. 2 weekends ago I had my first trip to Malham in about 2 years and decided to test myself on the UKs most popular 8c, Unjustified. I had tried this route 1 day several years ago and couldn't make head nor tail of the crux move. Thankfully I am a bit stronger these days and after a bit of huffing and puffing it came together quite quickly. But feeling fat and weak compared to where I was in December, psychologically I wasn't ready to put a big effort in for a redpoint that weekend and was happy to come away with an overlapping-in-2-sections link.
On the hottest weekend of the year so far, 2 weeks later, it was back to Malham and a severe test of patience, sitting out a whole day, awaiting the evening's shade, while the rest of the squad were getting stuff done. Luckily being patient paid off this time and I got the route ticked on my 3rd redpoint. Happy days!
Unjustified is a, justifiably popular route and, the UK being the UK, is subject to a lot of controversy regarding grades, down climbs and a whole host of other crap. And that's before we talk about its earlier format as Justified & Ancient. So here is my take on it....
Regarding style of the ascent, I climbed the route clipping every clip (apart from the one I skipped) from the first to the chain inclusive. Many people start with a pre-clip of the chain of the 7b, which Unjustified extends, having down climbed from there. For me this is an old-school and out-dated practice out of keeping with world sport-climbing ethics and completely unnecessary - surely clipping the clips on a 7b isn't that exhausting if you climb 8c. The real issue for me is that doing so amounts to top-roping half the length of the whole route and doesn't equate to a "lead" at all in my mind. I can sense certain people now getting rubbed up the wrong way! I don't want to piss people off in saying this and I have huge respect for everyone I know to have climbed this route, they are all great climbers AND have, as far as I can tell, been honest about their ascents. At the end of a day we climb for ourselves, there is no pay day for climbing this route, just personal satisfaction and we all get that in different ways.
However, it is interesting to take a look at what constitutes a "valid" ascent. I find it unusual that such a practice is even really considered as appropriate here. For me a 1st bolt pre-clip is fair but rarely necessary unless it involves a dangerous start or an impossible clip. It is reasonable to extend these criteria to 2 or possibly 3 clips depending on the bolting etc. Beyond that, for me just isn't cricket... but we all make our own choices.
Another controversy, the chain clip... I would always choose to clip the chains from a hold but many people don't and again this comes down to honesty and your own personal choices. A lot of the time it makes no difference, but sometimes it does. For the record, yes, I grabbed the chain on Raindogs.
Finally the grade...
Because a route is popular does not necessarily mean it is over graded. It is a real shame that people's hard work and achievements are stripped of them because they are not perceived of as being among the "strong". It is this very attitude of giving hard routes too much respect that holds the general level back in this country. I think that on the continent people are more inclined to try harder routes, whether they are a "somebody" or a "nobody" and this drags the whole community along.
On a different note, I tire of hearing how "soft" European routes are compared to here in the UK. There like here there are certain routes that are hard for the grade and certain routes that are easy for the grade. Being my first UK 8c (I have yet to do an 8b+ on UK limestone for that matter) and I can't say where it fits in relative to the rest of the UK's hard routes but comparing with what I have done abroad, Unjustified would be in the bottom end of my personal list of 8c's thus far ticked. I'll reserve any further judgement for now.
The main thing is... it's a great route, justifiably popular and worth a go. Good luck to everyone trying it in 2011 in whatever style they wish.
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-1335353634134528051?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Sun, Sea & Sand (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/05/sun-sea-sand.html)
6 May 2011, 8:24 pm
Late me take you on a journey through time and space... to the world of the Mighty North West
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z61CiUq_K4A/TcRL3WlicoI/AAAAAAAAAU0/tpZGKHZkR00/s400/Camping.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z61CiUq_K4A/TcRL3WlicoI/AAAAAAAAAU0/tpZGKHZkR00/s1600/Camping.jpg)Seeing to the sausages as the sun sets over Gruinard bay (Photo: Dan Walker)
It really has been a busy last 3 weeks. I have hardly found time to sit down and write a post between trips northwards. The stable weather, Easter bank holiday and royal wedding, seemed to coincide perfectly to allow midge free climbing in the North West which, in the kind of weather we have had, seems more like a desert Caribbean island than the usual damp and dreary west of Scotland we often have to put up with.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n5FS_A8fHEE/TcRShjM_kMI/AAAAAAAAAVE/lD_ByajWRl0/s400/Dan+1.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n5FS_A8fHEE/TcRShjM_kMI/AAAAAAAAAVE/lD_ByajWRl0/s1600/Dan+1.jpg)(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OgiFrAd6HuY/TcRMpjGKQ8I/AAAAAAAAAU4/16f5KwNXGPQ/s400/Rob+1.jpg) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OgiFrAd6HuY/TcRMpjGKQ8I/AAAAAAAAAU4/16f5KwNXGPQ/s1600/Rob+1.jpg)
Rob Sutton and Dan Walker deploying the big guns to rapidly send Stolen 8b (Photo: Dan Walker coll)
The first trip north was a weekend with Rob Sutton, Tony Stone and Dan Walker in Glen Nevis. The focus was Steall Hut on the first day with Rob coming within a cat's whisker of sending a damp Stolen, a contender for the UKs best 8b. For my part I was battling with Scotland's answer to Magnetic Fields at Malham, The Gurrie, a new, bouldery, 8a+ and not succeeding; a bump back to Earth after the previous weekend.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ChJ0QmYSHug/TcRLnG_vP6I/AAAAAAAAAUs/XkBwD_PiM7s/s400/Alan+1.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ChJ0QmYSHug/TcRLnG_vP6I/AAAAAAAAAUs/XkBwD_PiM7s/s1600/Alan+1.jpg)
Eventually sticking the crux of The Gurrie, 8a+ (Photo: Dan Walker)
We then headed up to Sky Pilot on the Sunday, where I managed to finish off Beatleback ,7C and a couple of other thing and introduced Dan and Rob to one of Scotland's better bouldering spots. We were treated to a display of power by Mr Macleod in the evening, trying his project that was to become 7 of 9, 8B+. The latter problem looks amazing; I'd love to try it. Guess I'll just have to get a damn sight stronger!
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MXdVfvLnhzE/TcROIrjaz_I/AAAAAAAAAVA/XDE7vbvCuAU/s320/Sky+P+3.jpg)
Last hard move of Beatleback (Photo: Dan Walker)
The next weekend was a real breath of fresh air and at times a real scorcher! Returning, to Steall with Dan and Rob on the Friday, we all managed to dispense with our respective projects and Stolen had another 2 votes behind its 4* status.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ao1E_3yWEps/TcRTZirW1NI/AAAAAAAAAVI/psgwV3mJ7j4/s400/AmFasgadh+1.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ao1E_3yWEps/TcRTZirW1NI/AAAAAAAAAVI/psgwV3mJ7j4/s1600/AmFasgadh+1.jpg)Tog Balla at Am Fasgadh, Limestone never looked so Gneiss! (Photo: Will Atkinson)
It was then to Am Fasgadh and Goat Crag for some Gneiss, sport climbing. Amazing rock, wide open spaces, silver sands, and a brace of high quality routes up to 7c+ make these crags in Gruinard a new addition to my top ten favourite UK climbing locations. In fact it was so good we went back for a day the next weekend en route to Torridon. Props to the locals for all their hard efforts in creating these venues, not least Paul Tattersal.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_MpgGAAk1qo/TcRUjhdFhNI/AAAAAAAAAVM/W4EOu5oTgnU/s400/Beach.jpg) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_MpgGAAk1qo/TcRUjhdFhNI/AAAAAAAAAVM/W4EOu5oTgnU/s1600/Beach.jpg)Who need's Ryanair for bolts and beaches! (Photo: Will Atkinson)The route highlights for me being the trio of Am Fasgadh 7c's - Black Sox, Primo and Tog Balla, the stunning Goat Crag Prow 7c+ and MacTalla, possibly the best 7a+ I have ever done (!), certainly in the UK if not anywhere. On the return visit, this most recent weekend I even got my wires out and enjoyed myself of Twilo Thunder, which comes in at a very friendly E6.
The final piece of the North West odyssey was a trip to Torridon, which already has a justifiably large fan club to which I will now be subscribing. I was accompanied by Dan again, Mikey Jeans and Lukasz Warzecha (http://www.lwimages.co.uk/), who was keen to get photos. Lukasz was truly in luck. The clear starry sky’s would have been a delight in themselves, but the drama of Torridon going up in flames meant he got some truly jaw dropping shots, some of which can be seen on his blog so be sure to check them out. Take note of the one taken as we packed up out tents at 3am when the fire brigade decided it was time to evacuate the campsite!
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5K6_VP6C9To/TcRX0OHat6I/AAAAAAAAAVQ/c55PuxMpcrA/s400/IMG_0168%255B1%255D.JPG) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5K6_VP6C9To/TcRX0OHat6I/AAAAAAAAAVQ/c55PuxMpcrA/s1600/IMG_0168%255B1%255D.JPG)My phone struggled to handle the shear scale of what unfolded in Torridon: the fires chasing up the hill after midnight.
Sadly the fire tore through the Celtic Jumble, creating an almost lunar landscape and making the ship boulder look even more like the Jawa's vehicle in Star Wars. Prior to the fire, the heat of the day meant that hardcore bouldering wasn't on the menu amongst the Celtic Jumble, however in the shade below Seanna Mhellan, Dan and I were both able to appreciate the stunning problem, The Essence, a 7B+ of the highest order of quality. It was a pleasure to repeat it multiple times for the camera.
Up on Seanna Mhellan, the afternoon conditions were not conducive to trying Dave Mac's Kolus which quite frankly looks like the scariest E8 of its type I have ever seen. The crag is like an amplified Stanage, double, or triple the height and with rock of a far superior quality - yes you read that right. We contented ourselves with a fun little E2 and agreed that Kolus would have to be attempted... err... another time!
NOW - It's Metalcore time!!
?
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-2848393437600895430?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Back to Old Habits (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/05/back-to-old-habits.html)
14 May 2011, 8:35 am
Well done William!
I think it is safe to say that Will Atkinson has done a lot for climbing at Dumbarton in the time he has been living up here. Numerous new problems, repeating everything, keeping the faith and inspiring others to push themselves to try harder things. He has now capped that all off with a ground-up ascent of Requiem. I hope this will inspire others to go enjoy one of the best pieces of trad climbing anywhere, a route with real international importance and put up by an all time legend, Dave Cuthbertson.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--8Qv8AmrQ2k/Tc4-SlGO-8I/AAAAAAAAAVU/nN6Of7ULBhQ/s400/will+requiem.jpg) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--8Qv8AmrQ2k/Tc4-SlGO-8I/AAAAAAAAAVU/nN6Of7ULBhQ/s1600/will+requiem.jpg)Will attempting Requiem (Photo: David Brigham)
On the same night I managed to find a spoiler sequence which got me up Thoroughbred which is the latest trendy tick now that almost everyone has done Sabotage. My Spanish route beast beta, might drop the grade a bit though.
Otherwise Scotland is back to normal. Showers, sunshine, torrential rain, wind, hail, snow, midges, humidity. Such a dissapontment after a month of amazing rock climbing opportunities. I tried to go do Metalcore last weekend, cycling in with the intentions of a sustained bout to finally kill this thing off, only to be dissapointed to find the whole crag covered in a film of condensation. I then wrote the rest of the weekend off with too much beer!
With squally showers forecast there isn't much hope of Metalcore action this week either. Frustration! At least it gives me some more time to get in to shape. My internal dialogue is a real battle at the moment between the half that wants to knuckle down and get serious about athletic discipline and the hedonistic side which wants to spoil it all. I think it's time for an ultimatum - "no fun 'til the routes are done".(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-4056356691171868837?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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What is Yorkshire? (Part 1) (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-is-yorkshire-part-1.html)
16 June 2011, 9:39 pm
....Yorkshire is a state of mind.
Once upon a time in Yorkshire, this blogger, Robin Sutton and Malcolm Smith decided to try a route on the North Buttress of Kilnsey. That route was True North and is graded the magical grade of 8c. The hardest grade imaginable in 1990. The grade of Agincourt, the grade on the poster above my bed, the one in place of the football line-ups that decorated the walls of my mate's rooms. The thing that made me different. A bit of rock, with a number. Massive moves on holds for only one finger, a million miles from the routes my Dad was taking me up at Polney crag every weekend. How exciting to finally think I too could be like Ben Moon.
Malcolm sent the route, no surprises there, with the efficiency expected of an international rock star. Rob and I needed more time. We didn't lack commitment. M8, M74, M6, A65... up and down, up and down. Round and round the Glasgow 45 board, 40 move circuits midweek. We got fit. We each came within a move. Next time we reasoned. M8, M74, M6, A65... WETNESS! Weeks of wetness, months of wetness, years of wetness. I gave up. Rob had 2 kids. I moved to Spain, climbed 8c, knowing I could thanks to True North,but it was always there needing finished.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SEKCSJwTGQg/Tfp10pQT4lI/AAAAAAAAAVg/D-4YD_kr0hM/s400/Alan-1.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SEKCSJwTGQg/Tfp10pQT4lI/AAAAAAAAAVg/D-4YD_kr0hM/s1600/Alan-1.jpg)My younger self trying True North in 2007 (Photo Copyright: Pete O'Donovan)
Fast forward to 2011 and it was time for Rob and I to take up the gauntlet again. We booked some days of work, committed ourselves and got it done. Rob, requiring a fair few goes less than I, showed just what a beast he is. Inspired I pulled my finger out and got it done in less than perfect conditions, drying holds before attempts and getting resourceful in my hold drying methods (I might be looking for a tampon sponsor).
True North is now my 6th (or 7th) route graded 8c and I think it fits in quite neatly among routes like Rollito-Sharma Extension in terms of difficulty (i.e. low/mid 8c). It is far from horrendous move by move but a pumpy power endurance test when summed together. Having ticked True North I got thinking about Unjustified again. I think Adam Ondra eluded clearly to his opinion about the grade when he commented on Bat Route and he isn't alone in thinking the route is soft. I knew at the time I did it that it all went too easy to be 8c given my form at the time and True North, by no means a hard 8c confirms it; Unjustified is a good grade easier. If Cry Freedom remains at 8b+ then even that grade may seem a bit much.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yx_LPX67kqE/Tfp15YRvLzI/AAAAAAAAAVk/FGDDx2mMaVU/s400/Alan-2.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yx_LPX67kqE/Tfp15YRvLzI/AAAAAAAAAVk/FGDDx2mMaVU/s1600/Alan-2.jpg)The glory move to the final jugs leading in to Urgent Action (Photo copyright Pete O'Donovan)
So there we go, somebody has done it, stepped up to take the flack and (with no malice intended) shatter a few egoes. Maybe I'm wrong and it sure as hell doesn't matter one bit. It is still a fantastic climb and still just a bit of rock with an arbitary and subjective number attached to it just like True North, just like Agincourt...(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-7425860805282676069?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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What is Yorkshire? (Part 2) (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/07/what-is-yorkshire-part-2.html)
1 July 2011, 5:20 pm
Yorkshire is more than Malham and Kilnsey....
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JampEOrSccY/TgjYTLA3VzI/AAAAAAAAAWU/bx4wnT7H9LI/s400/IMG_9038.JPG) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JampEOrSccY/TgjYTLA3VzI/AAAAAAAAAWU/bx4wnT7H9LI/s1600/IMG_9038.JPG)Stu Cobra Lyall Cruisin For A Bruisin 7b (Photo: Dan Walker)
Pushing yourself on hard projects is great but for the tick-aholic there is nothing better than turning up at a new crag and getting stuff done. With the pressure off after completing True North and the so called summer still not happening trips to the Yorkshire limestone continue to seem like one of the most likely ways to climb dry rock of a weekend.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w2Ia94ezqNk/Tg36ouaZHaI/AAAAAAAAAWc/R65AsYUBEg0/s400/IMG_9055.JPG) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w2Ia94ezqNk/Tg36ouaZHaI/AAAAAAAAAWc/R65AsYUBEg0/s1600/IMG_9055.JPG)Possible kneebar, Love Sculpture (Photo: Dan Walker)
A Glaswegian raiding party was assembled and set off down the all too familiar M74 with big plans for success. Modern fuel prices make every tick that little more expensive and adds an extra reason to get the most out of every weekend trip.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KsiymUj7-no/Tg37bLhvVzI/AAAAAAAAAWg/seyOkUudKnU/s400/IMG_9140.JPG) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KsiymUj7-no/Tg37bLhvVzI/AAAAAAAAAWg/seyOkUudKnU/s1600/IMG_9140.JPG)Going through the sequence before the redpoint of Pegged Out (Photo: Dan Walker)?
Having a sunny Saturday forecast and sensing it to be dry down there, we agreed to check out Yew Cogar for a day of something different. Having never been before I was keen to see how a Yorkshire tufa measured up and while this is no Rodellar or Kalymnos, the rock at the right hand end of the crag reminded me (minus the humungous cave and 20m of extra length) of La Balme de Yenne, my most local quality crag when I was based in Lyon. The prickly tufas of Cruisin for a Bruisin and Vorsprung Durch Technique were great fun to climb despite being over all too soon.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8eb2w1HYlM8/Tg38KNMwPvI/AAAAAAAAAWk/pKW6Y4MAts4/s400/IMG_9025.JPG) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8eb2w1HYlM8/Tg38KNMwPvI/AAAAAAAAAWk/pKW6Y4MAts4/s1600/IMG_9025.JPG)Biceps Guy 2.0 on Vorsprung Durch Tecnik 7c+ (Photo: Dan Walker) Despite the odd frustration a great day was had away from the crowds. We were joined by a certain Mr McHaffie who was fantastic to watch in action. I could really do with a dose of Caf staying power and tenacity the next time I don my trad rack - impressive stuff.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_dFgvZgqI-g/Tg38ksWFV-I/AAAAAAAAAWo/DFk1DX3NH3k/s400/IMG_9217.JPG) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_dFgvZgqI-g/Tg38ksWFV-I/AAAAAAAAAWo/DFk1DX3NH3k/s1600/IMG_9217.JPG)Reviewing the sequence after the redpoint of Pegged Out - a lot more sketchy! (Photo: Dan Walker)I was quite pleased with my own day mind you, drawing 2 routes closer to another major milestone, my 200th grade 8. No doubt I would have reached that number last year had I not returned from Spain, the gross slow down in my 8 ticking rate reminds me of how difficult it is to get sport climbing volume in the UK in general and in Scotland in particular, especially if you can’t afford or don’t have the time for a lot of foreign holidays.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oQWa2p8pvXM/Tg3-ZIbCilI/AAAAAAAAAWs/aHg4eovl5Pc/s400/IMG_9226.JPG) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oQWa2p8pvXM/Tg3-ZIbCilI/AAAAAAAAAWs/aHg4eovl5Pc/s1600/IMG_9226.JPG)It's down there somewhere! (Photo: Dan Walker)?
Not put off by the trudge out, a return visit will definitely be on the cards. I’d love to lay claim to the quair of Vickers' routes, though from what I have heard the 8a and the 8b+ might not give themselves up as easily as Pegged Out and Love Sculpture.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-saUMFTRZR3Y/Tg3_PtQKbMI/AAAAAAAAAWw/JYioQTeQ9PU/s400/IMG_9236.JPG) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-saUMFTRZR3Y/Tg3_PtQKbMI/AAAAAAAAAWw/JYioQTeQ9PU/s1600/IMG_9236.JPG)Kilnsey Crag - ahhhhhhhh! (Photo: Dan Walker)
A rainy Sunday forecast provided a good excuse for a return to Kilnsey in search of the next big personal project. I really feel it’s time to raise my game after building a good base of 8c’s now. Although I was so close to Metalcore last year, the UK weather and my previous experience with True North has led me to believe that it is worth having a few project options at any one time if you want to be guaranteed a big tick or two in any one year. (The other alternative being giving up your job, but I still haven’t got that one sussed).
Chris Savage who has been crushing his way through the Yorkshire limestone was happy to give away all the crucial beta on Progress which was an important head start. Chris has now dispatched the route in impressive time. Nice one Chris. Watching him on it made me wince at how weak my fingers are in comparison as he chalked up on the little crimps from which the the 3rd clip is clipped. The fact I can’t take a hand off at this point gave me a clear indication of the training I need to do to get this route done either crimp like a disease or embrace the ground fall and keep climbing…. what a choice!(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-2348274003462973061?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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What is Yorkshire? The Final Chapter? (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/07/what-is-yorkshire-final-chapter.html)
8 July 2011, 7:22 pm
I mentioned in my last blog post that I had started trying Progress at Kilnsey and that Chris Savage had just climbed the route. Well now there is a video and I'm even more dismayed at how easy he makes it all look! I'm going to mumble something about it being easy if you're tall, skinny, southern, got a new born baby.... aye OK, basically he's just pretty good. If you want to know how I don't look on this route, try this video for size:
Yorkshire love doesn't stop at making regular visits to the furthest county you can get from Scotland before feeling out of place. Yorkshire has also had a massive impact in climbing closer to home. When Yorkshire comes to Scotland, you know about it!
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LpsSIDta0Pk/ThdTtl0O5uI/AAAAAAAAAW8/JgdE139WShs/s400/IMG_9256.JPG) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LpsSIDta0Pk/ThdTtl0O5uI/AAAAAAAAAW8/JgdE139WShs/s1600/IMG_9256.JPG)Will puts his tiny arms to good effect at Kilnsey (Photo: Dan Walker)
A few years ago now a very tall man, with a cheeky grin and strong fingers appeared in the basement of Glasgow Climbing Centre and started flashing everything. He then went out to Dumbarton and made the place his own in a way nobody else has since King Dave left for pastures new (apart from Malcolm of course). That man is Will Atkinson, top geezer, sometimes an affront to the senses, always a laugh and always 6 inches stronger than me. The impact Will has had on Dumbarton climbing extends beyond the surprisingly large number of first ascents he was able to bag in his time in Glasgow. Will's legacy will be the surge of collective psyche he brought to the Dumbarton scene. A lot of people lost their usual antipathy towards the place thanks to his enthusiasm.
Will's toughest Dumby addition - a testament to the man - Mr Tickle Extension 8a+ (FA) from Will Atkinson on Vimeo.
Despite sounding a bit like an obituary, Will is not dead, just moving back to the white rose county. As a mark of respect to the man the myth (and with a nod to a Limmy sketch) , Glasgow threw a Yorkshire themed party. It was a "reyt" success, there was real ale, a whippet and 4 Glasgow neds just to remind us where we were. Good times. Big Willy, we salute you!
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rgCrWr2USnw/ThdSCwOnfrI/AAAAAAAAAW0/wD_K4TJiS7I/s400/Up+tit+bloody+party+001.JPG)Squint and you'd think it was a nightclub in Leeds
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AUwlzGgWdIk/ThdTPtfCISI/AAAAAAAAAW4/LgL0MSiAvQQ/s400/Up+tit+bloody+party+002.JPG) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AUwlzGgWdIk/ThdTPtfCISI/AAAAAAAAAW4/LgL0MSiAvQQ/s1600/Up+tit+bloody+party+002.JPG)A ned and a Yorkshireman share the decks - Dropping 100% Motown bombs
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-8632172654705780867?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Metalcore (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/07/metalcore.html)
28 July 2011, 9:55 pm
I’m a bit flabbergasted at how the last week and a half has gone. It started the weekend before last with a fantastic 3 day weekend in the Highlands, climbing plans abandoned thanks to the unreliable forecast. Instead we ventured off in search of a living legend by the name of Frank, raconteur extraordinaire, welcoming host and keeper of the bothy at Tarbet on Loch Nevis.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ODv89LVFy5E/TjHUz_hTc6I/AAAAAAAAAXw/WgDmUAcqVKI/s400/FRANK.jpg) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ODv89LVFy5E/TjHUz_hTc6I/AAAAAAAAAXw/WgDmUAcqVKI/s1600/FRANK.jpg)Frank recounting his wild days! (Photo: Helen Black)?
If I can be as animated, alive and kicking in my 80s, I will be a happy man indeed. Helen (http://www.whatwillsurviveofus.wordpress.com/) tells the story beautifully on her blog. High on life from meeting such a man and after a little life affirming fresh water swimming I felt revitalised for the week ahead and a rematch with the bugbear that is Metalcore. I had restarted earlier this month my account after a month of successful weekend raids to Yorkshire. I found myself a new convert in the form of Mark McQuade who was looking for something different to do while patiently waiting for winter. The boy has a big project of his own.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--5mqnNatCAI/TjHY4e6Kw_I/AAAAAAAAAYE/SuTYnLrW6C4/s400/swim.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--5mqnNatCAI/TjHY4e6Kw_I/AAAAAAAAAYE/SuTYnLrW6C4/s1600/swim.jpg)A rock athlete needs his ice bath (Photo: Helen Black)
After 2 visits I found myself back to where I was last October when the weather stopped play. Falling at the penultimate bolt, the sting in the tail, which I know saw to Dave a few times when he put the route up. At least I was in good company falling there.
Mid-week I was invited to take another look at TCA Glasgow (http://www.tca-glasgow.com/). I was blown away by the progress and the scale of the place, oh and the possibility of becoming assistant manager. In fact I didn’t manage to sleep on it before writing my acceptance. I literally cannot wait to get in there!
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iDwP_hUiQTM/TjHWnv3PEWI/AAAAAAAAAX4/vocciq8pgqo/s400/TCA.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iDwP_hUiQTM/TjHWnv3PEWI/AAAAAAAAAX4/vocciq8pgqo/s1600/TCA.jpg)Training for Santa Linya in this corner (Photo: Paul Twomey/TCA)
I pencilled in the weekend for the next bout at the Anvil, seeing life with a real positive bent after meeting Frank, swimming in the sea, scoring a job at the future coolest wall in the UK and discovering that when you go to the UK mainland’s most westerly point you find like-minded people.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1dg6XW1Sq9Q/TjHVbH7Nl_I/AAAAAAAAAX0/CEkghcdG88c/s400/Saints.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1dg6XW1Sq9Q/TjHVbH7Nl_I/AAAAAAAAAX0/CEkghcdG88c/s1600/Saints.jpg)Ardnamurchan Lighthouse Saintees! (Photo: Helen Black)
I arranged a date with Matt Pycroft (http://www.facebook.com/mattpycroftmedia) fresh off the back of filming the MacLeod machine on his latest scary epic. What I had to offer was a lot tamer but he seemed just as psyched to get something in the can. Unlike Dave, I had a lot of self-doubt that I could actually produce the goods while the camera was rolling. Sure enough 5 redpoints on Saturday before the sweltering heat became too much saw me unable to nail the bottom crux move. I was miffed, I was doing the move in isolation better than ever and linking it to the top, yet it eluded me from the ground. Perhaps the pressure of wanting to do it while Matt was there to provide the evidence was getting to me.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CyI8EN8vvr8/TjHXpHP19ZI/AAAAAAAAAYA/zg66MlxFbKg/s400/Alan+Cassidy+Metalcore+MP+Screen+shot+2011-07-24+at+22.22.16.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CyI8EN8vvr8/TjHXpHP19ZI/AAAAAAAAAYA/zg66MlxFbKg/s1600/Alan+Cassidy+Metalcore+MP+Screen+shot+2011-07-24+at+22.22.16.jpg)Trying hard to stay warm and stay on last October (Screen grab: Matt Pycroft Media)
Unable to find a belay for the Sunday, I really didn’t think it would happen for yet another few weeks. What a delight to roll over in bed and check the time on my phone, at 2 am as it happens, and see a text from Mikey Jeans. He was ready to push his belaying to the next grade.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5PplzbwQV1c/TjHTNJPkW7I/AAAAAAAAAXs/cSYu9_kyRx4/s400/Alan+Cassidy+Metalcore+MP+2011-07-24_Metalcore__MG_8441.jpg) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5PplzbwQV1c/TjHTNJPkW7I/AAAAAAAAAXs/cSYu9_kyRx4/s1600/Alan+Cassidy+Metalcore+MP+2011-07-24_Metalcore__MG_8441.jpg)Mikey Jeans, one of Scotland's greatest belaying talents (Screen Grab: Matt Pycroft Media)?
And he did. One more go was all it took. The route felt fine, not easy, not hard, but within me. I think that was a satisfying conclusion. To have invested the effort, to climb the route well and get it all on film to boot, seemed like a dream. I await the footage with excitement but my mind is already turning to what is next. Once is never enough.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0eiXiaaaxnw/TjHPsa_lbhI/AAAAAAAAAXo/bFXyxSb8f30/s400/Metalcore_3.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0eiXiaaaxnw/TjHPsa_lbhI/AAAAAAAAAXo/bFXyxSb8f30/s1600/Metalcore_3.jpg)Chilling on the rest before the heartbreaker sequence (Photo: Dan Walker)
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-5065058400980572803?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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We all know who the real hero is here. Good work Mikey Jeans!
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Nice on Al! :clap2:
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Metalcore Video (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/08/metalcore-video.html)
5 August 2011, 8:58 am
As I mentioned in my previous post, Matt Pycroft (http://vimeo.com/mattpycroft) was at the Anvil with me for the succesful ascent of Metalcore and has come up trumps with the final edit. I think Matt is going to go far, I hope you'll agree. ENJOY.
Matt Pycroft Media Presents: Metalcore 8c+ (http://vimeo.com/27315396)(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-7456375940886194564?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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The Climbing Academy (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/08/climbing-academy.html)
31 August 2011, 5:37 pm
Since Metalcore I haven't had a lot of time for my own personal climbing what with starting my new role as assistant manger at TCA Glasgow (http://www.tca-glasgow.com/) and all that involves. The great thing for me is that I am going to be working in one of the greatest training facilities anywhere and I see no reason not to push things on to the next level of difficulty and commitment. For now we just need to get the wall finished but when it is the long term search for 9a strength and fitness can begin. Sounds like an exciting adventure.
To give you a taste for TCA, Jen Randall (http://www.jenrandall.co.uk/) has produced this fantastic little clip with a few very familiar faces in it.
The Climbing Academy Glasgow (http://vimeo.com/28411797) from Posing Productions (http://vimeo.com/user4514680) on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com).(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-9148171633251995734?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Vive La France (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/09/vive-la-france.html)
15 September 2011, 10:23 pm
It seems a long time ago now but I lived in Lyon, France for a year in 2003. It is there that I really got to grips with sport climbing, improving from having done one 8a to many thanks to an inspirational group of friends; Nicholas Ecoffet, Arthur Lespagnol, Johann Guillaume and the rest encouraged me and showed me what was possible. We dossed under the crags on our budget weekends to the crags of Provence, made a trip to Magic Wood before it was famous and had great laughs along the way. It seems apt that I am returning to the South of France as I embark on my next stage on the journey of improvement. What will it take to climb 9a? I am keen to, and going to find out. I will keep you posted on how it goes... stage 1 commences on Saturday.(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-1078065407937884647?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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French Medicine
2 October 2011, 1:22 pm
I suppose I knew I wasn't in the best form ever before I went to France, having hardly done much rock climbing in the last couple of months, but it was exactly what I needed to give me a kick up the backside, take some medicine and get me motivated for a winter of training in TCA Glasgow. (http://www.tca-glasgow.com/)
Having eluded already to the fact the daunting prospect of taking on a 9a is now entering my head I admit that this trip partially had the motivation of actually getting on one to see how far off that mark I actually am. In this regard the trip was an abject failure. I had wanted in particular to try a route put up by the French equipper extraordinaire, Bruno Clément and first climbed by Adam Ondra; PPP in the Verdon gorge. Unfortunately access to this route is extremely sensitive and requires accessing the cave by boat and breaking a host of by-laws in the process. Not wanting to step on too many toes on a busy afternoon in the gorge it didn't seem appropriate to go try this route until I clarify what the access rules are. We did however hire a pedalo to go take a look and it is safe to say the thing was pretty mind blowing.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pUfbxZqLnKQ/TohjSLZUgHI/AAAAAAAAAYs/PaLSthgSbQM/s400/France+122.jpg) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pUfbxZqLnKQ/TohjSLZUgHI/AAAAAAAAAYs/PaLSthgSbQM/s1600/France+122.jpg)
PPP climbs out the enormous left cave, the scale of which is hardly done justice in this photograph (Photo: Helen Black)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BfBsmd9OhAU/TohiwMd_Z_I/AAAAAAAAAYk/lCidol14Sg4/s400/France+124.+Reccy-tastic+in+the+Verdon..jpg) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BfBsmd9OhAU/TohiwMd_Z_I/AAAAAAAAAYk/lCidol14Sg4/s1600/France+124.+Reccy-tastic+in+the+Verdon..jpg)
Day dreaming about climbing 9a from the luxury of the Pedalo (Photo: Helen Black)
I didn't need to get on a 9a however to realise that a lot of hard training effort will be required for me to get one done. I say this having tried and narrowly failed to climb an 8b+ in any kind of reasonable time and generally struggling on the harder routes. Temperatures were high and I have that as some kind of excuse, but given I am aspiring to the next number grade I really should be close to on-sighting at this level and certainly making ascents in a few goes. Normally this kind of realisation might defeat me but I think having TCA at my finger tips has given me the belief that I can still turn things around.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rx2dtqLjgJo/TohkDcHNcJI/AAAAAAAAAYw/Oabr-3_sVJU/s400/circuit+resize.jpg) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rx2dtqLjgJo/TohkDcHNcJI/AAAAAAAAAYw/Oabr-3_sVJU/s1600/circuit+resize.jpg)
The TCA circuits board, as good as anywhere to train for 9a
A couple of major milestones were reached on this trip. I did my first route in the Verdon with Helen (my now fiancé!) which is the most stunning place and somewhere I have wanted to climb for years. I surpassed the milestone that is my 200th grade 8 route, onsighting a few fantastic 8a's in the process, including 2 of Gorges du Loup's best, Diplodocus and Deversé Satanique. I also got very inspired by a 9a put up by Alex Chabot in the Gorges du Loup, Abysse which, at a crag marred slightly by chipping, is an inspirational natural line up 1 single tufa. And, being a lover of tufas, got me thinking...
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-szHaPOM27VM/TohhvW2CMAI/AAAAAAAAAYg/BJT7nknx1SU/s400/FranceRoutesPanel.jpg) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-szHaPOM27VM/TohhvW2CMAI/AAAAAAAAAYg/BJT7nknx1SU/s1600/FranceRoutesPanel.jpg)
3 of my 200+ grade 8a routes, all 3 star routes and featuring my favourite thing, tufas (Photos: Helen Black)
Now we're back my mind is switching to the hard training required and the most awesome training centre in the UK in which to do so.
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-3840801297013169463?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Exciting Times, Milestones, Climbing?
14 October 2011, 8:48 pm
It still feels like I haven't really been climbing in months in spite of my recent trip to France. If there is one thing I miss about Spain it has to be the reliability of climbing outside on amazing routes every week. At the time it felt like the climbing was snatched in amongst 6 days of weird working hours, but now it seem all so simple.
BUT I can't complain, my business has mostly been down to getting the finishing touches to TCA Glasgow (http://www.tca-glasgow.com/) completed and with that comes a training den to die for and more climbing than you can shake a stick at, so I will be back on form before long I am sure.
I was approached a few weeks ago by Triple Echo Productions (http://www.tripleecho.co.uk/), the people behind the BBC's Live Climb and The Adventure Show, with an offer of an exciting opportunity to put up a couple of unusual routes underground (!) in Yorkshire and the Peak. It sounded fun and a great opportunity to climb with Dave Macleod (http://www.davemacleod.blogspot.com/). The whole experience was enjoyable from start to finish and I hope to have some photos to share with you soon. The date for broadcast is likely to be some time in March as an Adventure Show Special.
In a similar vein I was asked to present the Metalcore 8c+ video, (see my video page) at the Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival. Despite being blinded by the bright lights I managed to control my nerves and I think the audience all appreciated the quality of Matt's work.
All this and a 3 week cold has provided a less than perfect lead in to the BLCC at Ratho this weekend. That is my excuse blogged and entered in advance in case anyone wonder why I fall off the first qualifier miserably at the 4th bolt.
See you all at TCA soon I hope!(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-6948022482214614072?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Training, Bouldering & The Brin Rock Fan Club (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/11/training-bouldering-brin-rock-fan-club.html)
16 November 2011, 6:51 pm
TCA Glasgow (http://www.tca-glasgow.com/) has opened its doors and my new lifestyle as the Assistant Manager of an immense bouldering centre is starting to sink in. After nearly 3 manic months of late nights and last minute preparations it is a relief to finally be able to start to focus back in on my own climbing as I find myself with some spare time and weekends once again.
I have embarked upon a phase of training focussed in on being on form for a 1 week trip to southern Spain over the New Year. It is nice to have a clear goal to work towards. I have always wanted to be able to follow a truly structured training schedule but never had the time, will power or training resource there to fully explore what working to a plan can do. Well TCA has everything I need and so there are now no excuses.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lQS4qiVskSU/TsQP-k0pegI/AAAAAAAAAZw/CKFsbhZdhJU/s400/332066_10150414119705295_712635294_10722493_1262621887_o-1.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lQS4qiVskSU/TsQP-k0pegI/AAAAAAAAAZw/CKFsbhZdhJU/s1600/332066_10150414119705295_712635294_10722493_1262621887_o-1.jpg)TCA Glasgow - My own training Mecca (Paul Twomey)
The first phase of training has been to learn to boulder again. It has been a while since I have actually focussed on pulling hard over a short number of moves and it has never been something I have excelled at. Short on weeks to dedicate to this strength phase of training, improvements are hard to measure but the holds on Gary Vincent's (http://www.tca-glasgow.com/glasgow-climbing-blog/2011/11/10/introducing-our-first-guest-route-setter-gary-vincent.html) white circuit seem less far a part than they did at the start of the the 3 weeks I have dedicated to purely bouldering.
Scotland has been blessed by 2 weeks of settled Autumnal weather and this has allowed for a couple of opportunities to try out the bouldering strength on a few real rocks. Whilst nothing to write home about for your average boulderer, I was pleased to squeeze in a couple of 7Cs in two idyllic locations, in between an engagement party (mine) and a family birthday.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U8rMYYoWys0/TsQOfIgVYxI/AAAAAAAAAZY/xN_eLwWkTp8/s400/310371_10150447540402107_595757106_10764554_1121827039_n.jpg) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U8rMYYoWys0/TsQOfIgVYxI/AAAAAAAAAZY/xN_eLwWkTp8/s1600/310371_10150447540402107_595757106_10764554_1121827039_n.jpg)The superlative Put My New Shoes On, 7C, in the last light of a perfect Autumnal day at Brin Rock (Helen Black)
It would be great to think that these conditions will last all winter but I somewhat doubt that. But if they do I will be keen to return to both Glen Nevis and Brin Rock, the scene of these two most recent sends to try and bag some of the hard test pieces that they have to offer. And there is always Dumby.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LKM1Ks006Qs/TsQPSNFp6_I/AAAAAAAAAZg/Qo_ZokTM3-M/s400/316957_10150447531942107_595757106_10764467_128112629_n.jpg) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LKM1Ks006Qs/TsQPSNFp6_I/AAAAAAAAAZg/Qo_ZokTM3-M/s1600/316957_10150447531942107_595757106_10764467_128112629_n.jpg)Brin, the poor man's Magic Wood. Gneiss boulders, moss and a beautiful setting make for a top class venue (Helen Black)
The training phase has now changed and so commences 6 weeks of power endurance focussed training. I was in the shape of my life for last Christmas' trip (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/12/another-tick-in-book.html) and I would love to be in the position to replicate those ascents this time round.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zD2l9THJlBk/TsQQ1SxRyYI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/63t2vOJwJrk/s400/310206_10150447522602107_595757106_10764381_1002034424_n.jpg) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zD2l9THJlBk/TsQQ1SxRyYI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/63t2vOJwJrk/s1600/310206_10150447522602107_595757106_10764381_1002034424_n.jpg)More proof Brin is where it's at (Helen Black)
So for now its circuits, circuits, circuits and fingers crossed for dry weekends bouldering.(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-957497092016088226?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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The Long Hope (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/12/long-hope.html)
25 December 2011, 12:18 pm
We are settled in for Christmas Day in the Cassidy household and rather than watching the usual Christmas trash it was time to finally watch Hot Aches Productions Long Hope Route (http://www.hotaches.com/) on download.
I have to say that I honestly haven't seen such a nice climbing film in years, if not ever. The history of the climb comes to life with the inimitable and eminently likeable Ed Drummond's, poetry and sheer presence. The scale and unlikely nature of the climb is as awe inspiring as the fulmar's are off putting and Dave's ascent is another epic monument to his single handed mission to make the traditional climbing of Scotland some of the most significant and difficult in the world. Well done to all involved.
Watch it!
Often when you watch a climbing movie on a dreich Scottish winter day there is only frustration at the end of it as the next day on rock seems an eternity away. Not for me this time. Boxing Day see's my second Christmas trip to El Chorro in as many years.
I'm totally inspired for that, and 2012 in general.(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-1134762858485060381?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Spanish Reflection: New Objectives (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/01/spanish-reflection-new-objectives.html)
29 January 2012, 11:30 pm
My recent trip to El Chorro was both my last trip of 2011 and first of 2012. It was a time to reflect upon both what I had achieved in climbing 2011 and a measure of where I was as we set off into 2012.
| (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oJBZA1inZUU/TyXR0YaRtlI/AAAAAAAAAaA/Nd5zDS3g5AM/s640/El+Chorro+2011+176.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oJBZA1inZUU/TyXR0YaRtlI/AAAAAAAAAaA/Nd5zDS3g5AM/s1600/El+Chorro+2011+176.jpg) |
| What to try at Loja? A day out at a new crag (to which I must return) with amazing tufa 8's... Heaven! |
At almost the very same time of year in 2010 I had had my best short trip ever; a good wedge of 8s, my first 8b onsight (though I suppose it may be 8a+?) and an 8c in a day (though I suppose it may be 8b+?). One year later and despite having climbed my first 8c+ in the summer, I had lost a lot! Some pills are bitter to swallow and as a climber who is always searching for that ever harder tick, to seem to have got worse is depressing to say the least.
| (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jQkLkmgoG60/TyXSxgSEtWI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/tq4bkvhst2c/s400/El+Chorro+2011+142.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jQkLkmgoG60/TyXSxgSEtWI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/tq4bkvhst2c/s1600/El+Chorro+2011+142.jpg) |
| The Chorro 2011 team carb-loading on traditional Spanish fare. |
To feel like I was going in to a new year, in which I had been hoping to exceed my limits, having taken many steps backwards hit me like a tonne of bricks. My resolve is weakened easily (an admission of frailty perhaps) and it was a tough corner that had to be turned to pick myself out from the "what is the point" moment. But, a couple of days back in TCA and I realised that with this kind of facility at my finger tips all is not lost, indeed I am in the perfect position to exceed my personal expectations.
All I needed to do was to step back, analyse my present situation, challenge the status quo a little and push myself outwith my comfort zone.
| (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G0XM20MW2xQ/TyXSFD5GIiI/AAAAAAAAAaI/KLZSx2V25LE/s400/El+Chorro+2011+205.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G0XM20MW2xQ/TyXSFD5GIiI/AAAAAAAAAaI/KLZSx2V25LE/s1600/El+Chorro+2011+205.jpg) |
| Maybe the dream catcher will help. |
Step 1: analysing what has changed. Though I had started work at a top training venue I was putting in long work hours and not actually training to the same volume as I had been previously been used to. The increase in short boulder sessions over long volume, and almost no running, coupled perhaps with a change in dietary content, had meant that I had gained almost and a stone and a half in weight. My father was a great rugby player and I have inherited a propensity to "bulk up". Such genes are a curse in this gravity dictated sport. Lastly, I had not done nearly enough ROCK climbing in the whole of 2011.
Step 2: doing something about it. The long hours are petering out as TCA takes off, so turning around the training volume is not going to be too hard. Planning sessions out and sticking to the plan will make the sessions more time effective. Though it will upset my fiance and mother (the only readers of this blog?) to hear it, I need to lose some bulk to get that next grade. I am not anorexic, I do not think I am fat, I am not. I am just not the right shape for what I want to do. Lastly, I need to do more ROCK climbing. If I can get on top of these things then I might just about climb another 8c+. I might climb 9a! I might do neither of these things. I will however be happier knowing I have tried to achieve my dreams rather than giving up on them because they were hard.
I might even boulder a real 7B+, in Font!
| (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZN-qp2aye6Q/TXDu_rYelkI/AAAAAAAAAUE/uNWh7IdgZWg/s640/Font+2011%25283%2529.jpg) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZN-qp2aye6Q/TXDu_rYelkI/AAAAAAAAAUE/uNWh7IdgZWg/s1600/Font+2011%25283%2529.jpg) |
| The limit of human possibility; Rubis Sur L'Ongle 7B+ |
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-4169522727470815122?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Interesting to read! About someone else having similar experiences with weight and lack of rock time (surely the weather has something to do with the latter?!), abeit at a full numerical grade higher ;).
Good luck with it in the New Year.
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January 2012 (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/02/january-2012.html)
5 February 2012, 10:05 am
It was pointed out to me that in my last post I didn't actually mention what I did do while in Spain. So in the week I manage to get myself up 5 "guidebook" 8a's 4 of which I think are worthy of the magical grade. I tried a lot more than this, but bad route choices, near misses with the ground and blazing hot sunshine conspired against me. It's pretty clear that if you only have a few days to get a big tick, the route choice has to be very well suited to your style.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9QJfqsSZin0/Ty5Q1YAfl8I/AAAAAAAAAag/kwTrSZk8q9Q/s400/IMG_0551.JPG) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9QJfqsSZin0/Ty5Q1YAfl8I/AAAAAAAAAag/kwTrSZk8q9Q/s1600/IMG_0551.JPG)The stunning Archidona, is very much my style.
We also paid a visit to the incredible Archidona Cave. It was a very low temperature day which didn't help matters much but I flashed a couple of cool 7c's and more interestingly tried the stunning Kallisté, which is supposed to be a soft 8c. I did all the moves bar 1 in 3 attempts. As I was able to climb to this crux on my 2nd go I felt that this route would have gone given a couple more sessions at the cave. Alas a return visit was not to happen but I am desperate to go back for this one.... and all its neighbours!
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MqDwHH8R6sw/Ty5RXhsw2LI/AAAAAAAAAao/vxhrbKRnsuI/s400/IMG_0556.JPG) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MqDwHH8R6sw/Ty5RXhsw2LI/AAAAAAAAAao/vxhrbKRnsuI/s1600/IMG_0556.JPG)
2012 kicked off with a weekend of work at TCA (http://www.tca-glasgow.com/), a wet/admin filled weekend, a weekend in Northumberland and finally this weekend's very successful TCA competition. On that note, the final was excellent. As the route setters we were relieved to get clear winners in all the categories, though it was nail biting in the youth girls!
I guess 1 weekend in 4 on rock, in January, is actually pretty good when you live in Glasgow, but I am so psyched to get the time in on rock this year, I still feel frustrated. The Adam Ondra movie had me really inspired to get out and try hard stuff. I'm in it too.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_oKpXPQpGys/Ty5TcMGsUAI/AAAAAAAAAaw/E3KI5_VFam8/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-01-19+at+00.15.02.png) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_oKpXPQpGys/Ty5TcMGsUAI/AAAAAAAAAaw/E3KI5_VFam8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-01-19+at+00.15.02.png)
Yes that is me, hanging on a bolt while the boy wonder looks on (obviously he is watching me through the corner of his eye).
I have channelled this frustration into a bit of a new regime which I hope will yield the results. The first phase has been to build up a base of strength including some really basic core and general strength exercises, deadhangs on the fingerboard, a sprinkle of campusing and as large a volume of climbing moves I can fit in. Oh and Ashtanga yoga. That is breaking me!
I have been taking on the fingerboards and surprising myself with PB deadhangs on a number of the holds, one arm pull ups don't seem to be a desperate as they have been before either. As I have only had 3 sessions in this regime so far, the improvements must be down to the greater amount of bouldering I am doing these days. It is pleasing to know that though I am heavier I am stronger. The conundrum is of course that I aspire to climb long endurance routes where every ounce counts in energy expenditure.
The mono deadhangs paid off the other day too. I finally did Poverty at Bowden Doors. In the guide this is a lowly 7A+ but until now has felt like a serious "PLM" (personal limit move). I might be stronger (what I will tell myself).... but the problem is probably just easier thanks to erosion (what they will tell me).
I'm going to be bold and put some goals for February right out there on the internet. I want to do a Font 8A this month, run more often and train like a pro.(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-4897599209663140914?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Endlessly Treading (Rain) Water (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/03/endlessly-treading-rain-water.html)
3 March 2012, 8:41 am
I always knew I would regret being bold and putting my goals out there on the internet. I said in my last post that in February I wanted to: 1) climb a Font 8A; 2) train like a pro; and 3) run more.
Triple fail. I present the case for the following excuses:
1) Failure to climb an 8A
1.1 Since my last post I have been climbing outside a depressing once - We went to the very nice, but very cold and exposed Callerhues for the first time.
1.2 Being exposed and very cold and me having Raynaud's Syndrome, I failed to get warm all day.
1.3 For reasons that will become clear in 2.1 and those stated in 1.2 I spent most of the day either spotting or lying in my duvet jacket cold and tired.
1.4 Even if things had been going well, Callerhues is a sandstone crag with almost exclusively slabs the odds of a sandstone slab punter like myself climbing Font 8A in a day/ever at a crag like that are worse than that of a martian winning the lottery.
1.5 I think there is only one 8A there and its so low ball I don't recall even seeing it in passing. In any case I had written that one off as it is a Dan Varian (http://www.beastmaker.co.uk/) problem and thus likely very hard. I'm looking for soft touches here, I'm a sponsored climber (http://www.bigstone.co.uk/climbing-team/alan-cassidy/).
1.6 I did try and climb outside at the crucible of soft if your a local action (http://www.dumby.info/homeRuleBoulder.htm) only to get rained on, en route.
1.7 The nicest weekend of the month I spent indoors with Matt Pycroft (http://www.facebook.com/MattPycroftMedia), Dom Bush (http://landandsky.wordpress.com/) & Adrian Samarra (http://adriansamarra.com/) filming a little clip. Should be cool, so I won't complain about that one!
1.8 Being a weekend only climber is not compatible with climbing hard in the UK, let alone Scotland.
2) Failure to Train Like a Pro
This was actually going quite well although I wasn't quite hitting the Pro (http://ramonjulian.blogspot.com/) mark. Please note that other than excuse 2.1, which is valid, all the others on this list are clearly just evidence of a lack of will power and fire to make things happen.
2.1 TCA (http://www.tca-glasgow.com/) Flu. For 2 weeks now I have had a horrible cough and cold that just doesn't want to go away. It has been doing the rounds and was at its peak 2 days before the Callerhues trip see 1.1. This has eaten into my energy.
2.2 Working too much in a climbing wall makes you really sick of being in the climbing wall. Obviously I should suck this one in, I'm just not being mentally tough enough.
2.3 I was moving house and that requires me pulling my weight in the home.
2.4 I am getting married (see 2.3 viz pulling my weight) and that requires a bit of admin. I don't begrudge planning the honeymoon mind you, especially not the Red River Gorge part!
3) Failure to Run More
3.1 See 2.1 & 2.3 & 2.4
3.2 I have been lazy when opportunities have arisen.
So for March I put out the following goals with the hope I will not be writing a snivelling excuse again, I have upped the ante and added 2 more goals in:- DONT EMBARRASS MYSELF AT CWIF (preparing the excuses now)
- Climb FB8A
- Climb a F8b (Note to self: seepage and lack of foreign holidays will be useful excuses for this one)
- Train like a pro
- Run More
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-2123303426084745832?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Callerhues is an odd (if excellent for micro/routes) crag and maybe not the 8A bagging venue of choice. Eyes Of Silence would have been the tick to aim for surely...
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A CWIF-fy Performance (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/03/cwif-fy-performance.html)
19 March 2012, 8:45 pm
I am only going to write one negative thing in this post, (don't worry Helen x) and that is... I had a crap CWIF. Done. The 2am arrival in Sheffield, the 9am start and feeling like I was at work, rather than there to have fun, conspired against me.
The problem in the photo below is where team TCA Glasgow started and my competition more or less ended. Turns out that starting the comp on a problem that required a bit of burl and co-ordination when still half asleep and failing on it does nothing to set you up for a crush fest.
[tr][td](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qyppd_nu-6w/T2eV8QMp4-I/AAAAAAAAAbQ/xVuNN9-VrHc/s400/cwif1.jpg) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qyppd_nu-6w/T2eV8QMp4-I/AAAAAAAAAbQ/xVuNN9-VrHc/s1600/cwif1.jpg)[/td][/tr][tr][td]Thanks to Jen Randall (http://www.jenrandall.co.uk/) for the fab pics of the day.[/td][/tr]
[/table]Anyway, on the positive side, I learned a lot about the tactics required in a competition like this (tactics I probably should actually know already after 18 years of climbing!) Now that the fog of frustration has lifted I am actually quite psyched to reclaim my honour at the 2013 event.
It was great to get back to Sheffield after a long absence too. The city has changed loads! Yet I haven't as it turns out. I have got no better at gritstone climbing, Brad Pit still eludes me, I can't do more than a move on West Side Story and Stanage is still too busy for my taste. (Thats not negative by the way, just factual).
Whatsmore the CWIF final was truly inspiring to watch with both winners getting me super psyched to train hard and get stronger, lighter and fitter. Then at least when I get showed up by the TCA Bristol Youth Team at the 2013 CWIF I might at least compensate for it by finally hauling my ass up Brad Pit! (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-2378809280285271905?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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A Return to Wester Ross (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/04/return-to-wester-ross.html)
7 April 2012, 8:27 am
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AquvQ5-Ikg4/T36g22FFMzI/AAAAAAAAAco/TTD-QoL9ico/s400/Alan+Personal+Blog+3.jpg) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AquvQ5-Ikg4/T36g22FFMzI/AAAAAAAAAco/TTD-QoL9ico/s1600/Alan+Personal+Blog+3.jpg)Grand Beau! Le Soleil, les montagnes, la mer et du gres. (Photo: Helen Black)
Helen and I were lucky enough with our timing that a long planned 4 day weekend happened to coincide with Scotland's March heatwave. Though the conditions were sub-optimal for Torridon, our first port of call, it did at least mean that everything was bone dry. We ran around the Celtic Jumble just trying loads of things, whether they were in the guide or not and had loads of fun. I think that is the beauty of Torridon really. The sheer quantity and quality of every piece of rock just screams CLIMB.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7sEcgqpZPok/T36grJ0s0mI/AAAAAAAAAcg/a0ZFv4LuiZE/s400/Alan+Personal+Blog+2.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7sEcgqpZPok/T36grJ0s0mI/AAAAAAAAAcg/a0ZFv4LuiZE/s1600/Alan+Personal+Blog+2.jpg)Helen on just another fabulous Torridon wall
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-24-1UFfVe2E/T36e6tDfk2I/AAAAAAAAAbw/VIGkELtIsLg/s400/Alan+Personal+Blog+1.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-24-1UFfVe2E/T36e6tDfk2I/AAAAAAAAAbw/VIGkELtIsLg/s1600/Alan+Personal+Blog+1.jpg)I stupidly tried Frantic 7C in the heat - and split a tip on Day 1. D'oh! (Photo; Helen Black)
My last trip to Torridon was during the May heatwave last year and the valley was ripped through by fire. The after effects of the fire were still visible with scorched heather and blackened trees, but the upside is the boulders are much easier to navigate at the moment. Last year too I failed miserably to summit Malc's Arete. I was baffled at how this could possibly be given 7A+, so hard were we finding it last May, but sure enough it was dispatched with the crucial beta we were missing last time; just go for it. It isn't actually that hard but it surely one of the best boulder problems in the UK.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P2UEnlFVdWE/T36ha18-saI/AAAAAAAAAc4/6WCtVQh1Nic/s400/Alan+Personal+Blog+5.jpg) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P2UEnlFVdWE/T36ha18-saI/AAAAAAAAAc4/6WCtVQh1Nic/s1600/Alan+Personal+Blog+5.jpg)
Trying Dan Varian's Robert the Brute 7B+. Send? Nope! (Photo: Helen Black)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qLhJZ_dDpwU/T36hxZs2xzI/AAAAAAAAAdA/aHuITWlw4P0/s400/Alan+Personal+Blog+6.jpg) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qLhJZ_dDpwU/T36hxZs2xzI/AAAAAAAAAdA/aHuITWlw4P0/s1600/Alan+Personal+Blog+6.jpg)The Dinosaur area is a playground of technical problems with rounded top outs. (Photo: Helen Black)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dIQSe9aVw4w/T36i2P0lOjI/AAAAAAAAAdY/MIEAea4G388/s400/Alan+Personal+Blog+9.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dIQSe9aVw4w/T36i2P0lOjI/AAAAAAAAAdY/MIEAea4G388/s1600/Alan+Personal+Blog+9.jpg)On Dan Varian's Pallet Knife 7B+/C. Send? Nope! Next Time (Photo: Helen Black)
From Torridon we moved on to the brilliant Gneiss sport crags in the Gairloch and Gruinard area. I had one thing in mind, to attempt a project equipped by Paul Thorburn known as Stalks at Creag Nan Luch. This route is mentioned in the Gary Latter guide as a potential 8b/+. After seeking a pass from Paul Tattersall, who has put in a power of effort developing these crags with excellent resin bolts, nice belays etc and getting a green light, I gave it a go.
The route turned out to be an amazing sustained piece of climbing requiring a sequence of cool contortions up the left hand hanging groove line on the steepest part of the crag. The approach wall leads to a long span round the roof off a slopey undercut, gets the muscles firing and it doesn't ease up much from there to the belay. In total it took 4 goes to get the move round the roof right and it was done. I felt the route was more like 8a+, a little morpho, so perhaps 8b for those of a smaller wingspan than I and another 3 star sport route to add to those found in the area. Again I'd like to reiterate the amazing work that has been done by the locals at these crags by the likes of the 2 Pauls, Murdo Jamieson, and Andy Willby.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-472fP9JTbh8/T36fPrk7BII/AAAAAAAAAb4/J9pLNj_026Q/s400/Alan+Personal+Blog+10.jpg) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-472fP9JTbh8/T36fPrk7BII/AAAAAAAAAb4/J9pLNj_026Q/s1600/Alan+Personal+Blog+10.jpg)Very psyched arriving to take on the Creag Nan Luch projects (Photo: Helen Black)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9o0ia7_ULf4/T36gBPjkmJI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/6mJD8cKb85I/s400/Alan+Personal+Blog+13.jpg) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9o0ia7_ULf4/T36gBPjkmJI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/6mJD8cKb85I/s1600/Alan+Personal+Blog+13.jpg)Cleaning the route after the successful ascent of Paul Throburn's Stalks 8a+ (Photo; Helen Black)
En route home we stopped off at Moy Rock near Dingwall. This long conglomerate crag has been well bolted and comes complete with over 50 routes from 4-7b+/c. There are many more still to be equipped and the main wall is as good as any conglomerate wall that the likes of Margalef or Montsant has to offer.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8ySdeDQKWIo/T3_5UMbfiII/AAAAAAAAAdg/V6lRx_HJZf8/s400/moy.JPG) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8ySdeDQKWIo/T3_5UMbfiII/AAAAAAAAAdg/V6lRx_HJZf8/s1600/moy.JPG)I survived The Fear at Moy
I unexpectedly ended up with the onsight first ascent of the crag's hardest route to date when I climbed the right hand extension to the excellent Seer. This is a project of Andy Willby's which I assumed must have been climbed, as to look at it didn't look that bad. The Fear as it turns out, still needs a bit of Sika to keep it up. To give it a grade was quit difficult as I ended up squeezing my way up it trying to distribute my weight as evenly as possible so as not to bring the whole thing down on Helen. With a bit of stabilisation work I think the grade might settle around 7b+ or possibly 7c.
Please note that there are Owls and Ravens nesting at Moy at the moment. Advice on which routes should be avoided is available at www.mcofs.org (http://www.mcofs.org/)
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-6500826194770906674?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Twas April last year.... No chance of a repeat this year. Fingers crossed for May...
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The Adventure Show Adventure (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/04/adventure-show-adventure.html)
13 April 2012, 7:59 am
One afternoon while I was painting the cafe walls during the build of TCA (http://www.tca-glasgow.com/) I got a surprise phone call from Richard Else from Triple Echo Productions, the series producer of BBC Scotland's The Adventure Show (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0071mxr). He had a proposal. Dave MacLeod (http://www.davemacleod.blogspot.com/) and I were to go climb a new sport route in the UK's biggest limestone cave mouth, Peak Cavern.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-flqOJkRCkJ0/T4fWOnWCsxI/AAAAAAAAAdo/Zop9BM2ivPM/s400/Dave+MacLeod(r)+&+Alan+Cassidy+(l)+Peak+Cavern.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-flqOJkRCkJ0/T4fWOnWCsxI/AAAAAAAAAdo/Zop9BM2ivPM/s1600/Dave+MacLeod(r)+&+Alan+Cassidy+(l)+Peak+Cavern.jpg)Dave looks like he would fit entirely inside me like a Russian Doll! (Photo; Triple Echo Productions)
I have to say that I had never heard of the place but being a fan of climbing in caves and with a description that made the place sound like the Santa Linya of the UK, I couldn't say no. Plus it sounded like a real once in a lifetime experience. The caveat of also doing a route in a pothole as part of the project seemed worth it, maybe an "adventure" in itself, and slightly frightening all at once.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WV_tqBDXCFs/T4fW4iuBTII/AAAAAAAAAdw/hONNLa1uitc/s400/Peak+Cavern+crux+5+MacLeod.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WV_tqBDXCFs/T4fW4iuBTII/AAAAAAAAAdw/hONNLa1uitc/s1600/Peak+Cavern+crux+5+MacLeod.jpg)Dave on the best (the driest) section of the crux pitch. Technical moves amidst the backdrop of technicolour-slime (Photo: Triple Echo Productions)
The show aired last night (April 12th) and should be available here on iPlayer (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01g89w3/The_Adventure_Show_2011_2012_Climbing..._No_Limits!/) shortly (not at the time of writing this) for those who missed it. I thought I would add a bit of my own take on the trip for those who might like to know more about it.
Jingling Pot (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brcc/2198812843/) is literally an unmarked hole in the ground in a field in the remote Dales above Ingleton in North Yorkshire. It drops about 100m down into the gloom and is, I suspect, an easy enough introduction into potholing. The squeezing and wriggling sections were not too uncomfortable or claustrophobic yet did represent a dramatic shift away from what I am used to in terms of crag approach. It is also the potential entrance to a vast cave network of truly terrifying proportions. The story of pioneering the first link out of Jingling through a mud choked, water filled passage, to a cave known as "Aquamole" gave me the heeby-geebys. (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RNpuDVpdrrE/T4fX6buHMFI/AAAAAAAAAd4/iL0iV38M9LU/s400/MacLeod+leading+Jingling+Pot.jpg) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RNpuDVpdrrE/T4fX6buHMFI/AAAAAAAAAd4/iL0iV38M9LU/s1600/MacLeod+leading+Jingling+Pot.jpg)Kermit in the chimney of Jingling Pot pitch 2 (Photo: Triple Echo Productions)
Reaching the bottom I was filled with fear and doubt as to whether we could actually climb the soaking wet walls we were faced with. Electing to go first, (better to be over and done with surely), I set off up a wall I would normally have turned away from. Yet the experience turned out to be excellent. Once I got used to discerning the holds from shadows and got a few bits of gear in I started to relax. The unlichened rock was grippy despite being wet. Relaxing into it the climb, things went much more smoothly than I thought they might and all in all the climb was a fantastic, though probably once in a lifetime, experience.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-icUXfEiBMqE/T4faFG6qTmI/AAAAAAAAAeI/x4sKWMd48jg/s400/devilsarse.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-icUXfEiBMqE/T4faFG6qTmI/AAAAAAAAAeI/x4sKWMd48jg/s1600/devilsarse.jpg)I kid thee not!
Peak Cavern was a different kettle of fish. I don't think the cameras truly did justice to the scale of the place nor the route we climbed. Which I might add was brilliant, particularly the 3rd and 4th pitches which could be done straight up from the ground at about 7c+. I suspect that the first 7c+ pitch may never dry out nor will the vast ceiling. The cave does indeed have at least as much potential for grade 9's as Santa Linya. The huge tufa column above the entrance to the show cave or the system of blobs across the roof are climbs that will have to be left to the imagination of climbers visiting as tourists.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CHL44PUG2q0/T4fYrqnYQpI/AAAAAAAAAeA/E5W1oNmCVhM/s400/Alan+Cassidy+crux+pitch+Peak+Cavern+1.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CHL44PUG2q0/T4fYrqnYQpI/AAAAAAAAAeA/E5W1oNmCVhM/s1600/Alan+Cassidy+crux+pitch+Peak+Cavern+1.jpg)Seconding the hard start to pitch 1, knowing if I fall, rope stretch will plant me on the floor. Gripped! (Photo: Triple Echo Productions)
Like Santa Linya too, access for the pleasure of climbers has to be balanced with respect for the historical significance of the cave. While the route was a good stunt and a great climb for Dave and I, it sadly will not be repeatable to anybody else without some difficult discussions with the land owner. Funnily enough though he does seem to allow some Aid Climbing (http://aidclimbing.blogspot.fr/) (yes, some people still do that!) to be practiced in the cave.
I sense from the above blog, and from the general vibe in the cave at the time, that we were seen as steeping on some toes. Some recognition is being looked for. Yes there has been some (aid) climbing activities that have gone on in the cave before Dave and I went there and certainly the vast amount of bolts that have been put in is truly incredible! While aid climbing is not for me, some people seem to enjoy it. Crossing the entire ceiling of Peak Cavern is certainly a hell of a lot of aid climbing.
Dave and I were very lucky to have the backing of the BBC to secure access to the Cavern and some people may have an issue with that, but the fact that a small group of aid climbers are allowed to have their fun while the free climbers aren't seems to me to smack of inconsistency. To my mind, the place should either be left entirely alone, or opened up to all climbers in sensible places. Perhaps climbing on the outer left wall would be manageable. This would open up the second half of our route to a repeat and potentially could be linked into the massive head wall to the right of where we climbed which looks like a 9a in waiting. Climbing activity on that side would not pose a threat to the archaeologically significant parts of the cave. Just a thought.
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-4708669458618072375?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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April (Snow) Showers (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-snow-showers.html)
22 April 2012, 8:47 am
The march of time seems to have the upper hand at the moment. Though it feels like April has only just got started, it has as I write, only a week left. The amount of routes going down is far too few and the goal of getting lighter such that I might climb harder routes seems unable to suppress my appetite for treats at TCA (http://www.tca-glasgow.com/). You see it isn't always as simple as doing a 9a once you've done an 8c+.
Earlier in the month I had short session at Malham with TCA manager Rob Sutton on two routes that are high on my tick list; Austrian Oak 8b, and Bat Route 8b+/c. The Oak is one of those routes I should no doubt have done years ago but have never finished off. I felt frustratingly sluggish on it with a lack of outdoor route practice. Bat Route was largely wet but I did get a sequence together on the crux (broken recently by Rob (mutant strength has its disadvantages too). I give the split grade above as Steve Mac in conversation while staying at mine recently told me "you can't take 8c for it anymore" but now with the snapped hold maybe it is (?). I don't recall what Adam Ondra's comments were but I think he took the grade. He onsighted it! (http://vimeo.com/24463453)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NVSFQIVO4IQ/T5PC17ITxSI/AAAAAAAAAeg/W7LF6mwK6hQ/s400/IMG_0667.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NVSFQIVO4IQ/T5PC17ITxSI/AAAAAAAAAeg/W7LF6mwK6hQ/s1600/IMG_0667.jpg)A couple of weeks after a heatwave, Scotland kicks back.
Given the experience at Malham, I decided that the following weekend it would be a good idea to get some routes done in the hope this would start the ball rolling in terms of route fitness. Despite some weather warnings for the Cairngorms Rich and I headed for the Camel near Inverness. I had heard it said many a time that the Camel was a good venue, with long routes and a couple of 8a's to try. It was, but the weather was not exactly compliant. I very much doubt the temperature got above 2 degrees all day. The hail, then later snow flurries were frequent and heavy. As we had driven all that way, we persevered, which was at times hilariously farcical. I haven't had such a fun days climbing in a long time.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3TvgGx_fif4/T5PBqqmZ3lI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/n5CDp-YVVCY/s400/IMG_0665.jpg) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3TvgGx_fif4/T5PBqqmZ3lI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/n5CDp-YVVCY/s1600/IMG_0665.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-loK9hf0_vUg/T5PBxv7HXPI/AAAAAAAAAeY/TjAakMqQDQ0/s400/IMG_0669.jpg) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-loK9hf0_vUg/T5PBxv7HXPI/AAAAAAAAAeY/TjAakMqQDQ0/s1600/IMG_0669.jpg)How typically Scottish! The same view more or less, on the same day in April
The hot aches were horrendous, but the fact that we got something done in the face of weather that would put most people off was a reward. Among the few classics I came away with were Ubuntu (2nd go) and a flash of its harder variation, Gift Link, which are probably 7c+ and 8a respectively and the hardest on the crag. I was happy with that given the conditions.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4LXSK58zs/T5PDrQsTt8I/AAAAAAAAAeo/wpPJL7T34zc/s400/SH_06small.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4LXSK58zs/T5PDrQsTt8I/AAAAAAAAAeo/wpPJL7T34zc/s1600/SH_06small.jpg)Steall Hut is one of the finest sport climbing crags in Scotland. Shame about the pegs and wires! (Photo; Dan Walker)
The very next day it was to Steall Hut crag to try some of Dave Macleod's latest additions. It was another cold day but not in the same league as the previous day. With getting some mileage in mind I opted for the easiest of the crag's offerings; Trick of the Tail and The Fat Groove. Which are both very technical offerings with strenuous footwork akin to that at Malham. Both routes went 3rd go. Trick of the Tail is 7b+ so that didn't go as well as expected. I finished the Fat Groove by extending it into the top of Stolen for fun. I think that might just edge it up to 8a+, but I might have just been cold and tired by that point!
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3ziZ9SqdpJo/T5PETeZ9ZgI/AAAAAAAAAew/xi4sYMtKQvM/s400/SH_03small.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3ziZ9SqdpJo/T5PETeZ9ZgI/AAAAAAAAAew/xi4sYMtKQvM/s1600/SH_03small.jpg)Nearing the end of the footwork intensive Fat Groove 8a (Photo: Dan Walker)
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-2131335770772033455?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Moving Things Forward (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/05/moving-things-forward.html)
30 May 2012, 7:17 pm
I have been struggling for an Internet connection that isn't at work for the past month. The connection at home is failing us and I really don't want to stay in work any longer than I have to. As a result all you Cassidy blog fans have had a nice wee holiday from hearing me moan about conditions, lack of time, being weak or any of the usual crap that I come up with.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dG61RNqdIwc/T8ZvxCIEqsI/AAAAAAAAAfA/Vze89O923X8/s400/montrane.png)
The most significant news at this juncture is not any big sends but to announce my association with Montane (http://www.montane.co.uk/). I am super psyched to be working with a real innovator in the UK outdoor clothing industry. This is a brand I know I can trust in whatever Scotland can throw at me. I have been wearing a North Star (http://www.montane.co.uk/products/men/insulation/north-star-jacket/238)downy since Christmas time and I am super impressed with it. I can't wait to test drive the kit and go on some proper adventures with Montane. Norway is calling me! The tag line: Further, Faster kind of sums up where I want to go with my climbing at the moment. Doing things in the upper 8's faster and furthering my climbing towards the mythical 9a!
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oJBZA1inZUU/TyXR0YaRtlI/AAAAAAAAAaA/Nd5zDS3g5AM/s400/El+Chorro+2011+176.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oJBZA1inZUU/TyXR0YaRtlI/AAAAAAAAAaA/Nd5zDS3g5AM/s1600/El+Chorro+2011+176.jpg)
Although I haven't been blogging I have been out on the rock a few times, mostly getting painfully close yet still painfully far away from a few really cool boulders in the 7C+ bracket. The Steall Hut projects have not yet been returned to as a window in the schedule has failed to present itself. Unfortunately the midges and sweaty heat of summer have now appeared so the Steall things might have to wait till I return from the States in September.
I have a rough outline of a plan in my head on how to orientate my training towards achieving as best I can in the US. It looks likely to be my only trip to good quality sport this year so I really want to make it count. For the next 6 weeks I intend to work on bettering my bouldering strength (Max Strength phase). This however is a real conundrum to me. I find that my bouldering has not really improved in years and I have no real clue as to what exactly I actually need to do to break the plateau. I know I can easily get fitter than I am or have been. The "how to" for that is also self evident to me, but getting stronger for climbing beyond where I am at the moment remains a bit of a mystery. My plan is largely to engage with the fingerboard and let the movement elements take care of themselves during my on-rock time.
I would dearly love to break into being solid on the Font 8As (the local ones I have done don't count btw). With that level of strength as a baseline for my PE I could really move forward towards the 9a mark. I feel I hold be able to climb at this level though I did have a worrying chat with John Watson (http://www.stonecountry.co.uk/) about genetic ceilings and bouldering potential today. I hope I haven't found mine. If anyone out there has the answer I am all ears...(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-4751147763437468477?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Montane wind smock is the only "technical" bit of clothing I own, apart from a downie. Really useful for cragging.
Maybe getting fitter could break the plateau? Or maybe diversifying strength training?
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Hotline to Bouldering Progress (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/06/hotline-to-bouldering-progress.html)
6 June 2012, 8:38 am
I am becoming a bit of an Arrochar aficionado. I have been looking away from Dumbarton for bouldering venues of late and also enjoying a bit of solitary climbing. This is partly to get me used to hard schist moves for the next big Anvil project and the first leg of my trip to the States where we will have a few days in Rumney which I think is a kind of schist or gneiss. It is also part of my grand scheme of getting a hell of a lot better at bouldering, which as I alluded to in my last post I see as being the keystone to my development towards harder routes.
With the long summer evenings, Glen Croe is manageable from Glasgow for some evening action. At the time of my last blog I had managed to squeeze in 2 sessions up at the Kennedy Boulder in amongst the as ever hectic schedule at TCA Glasgow (http://www.tca-glasgow.com/). I was getting frustrated with my lack of success on two Dave Macleod problems; Hotline and The Nuclear Button which I felt should have been very do-able for me. With DM duties this last weekend I thought I might be able to snatch one last trip up to the boulder before sacking the problems off. Mr MacLeod happened to be in TCA that morning and he said an interesting thing which whipped me up a bit. He thought it was just my "lack of on-rock time".
With new found belief that a little bit of persistence would be rewarded and a tactical shoe change to my brand new 5.10 Quantums (http://fiveten.com/products/footwear-detail/10097-quantum) I arrived at the boulder about 7:45pm. There was a good breeze, not the 27 degree sunshine of visit 1 or the midge death of visit 2. An inadequate warm up later and I pulled on to Hotline and nearly stuck the problem first go. I looked at my hand. The split that has been plaguing me for the last month now (yeah, really) had reopened. I was good for one more go with a bit of glue before the tape would have to come out rendering the crux too hard once again. I stuck it and sent the problem. Happy boy.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dTPhbij_1BM/T88V6JCcqHI/AAAAAAAAAgM/5OwcRtdvlx0/s400/Split+Tip.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dTPhbij_1BM/T88V6JCcqHI/AAAAAAAAAgM/5OwcRtdvlx0/s1600/Split+Tip.jpg)
My chronic split tips are a legacy of my Sheffield Uni days and generally being too heavy for small holds
Given the holds on Nuclear Button are as aggressive/the same as those on Hotline I had to leave that for another day but the line of Thermostatic 7c was winking at me through the lichen and moss. Half an hour of brushing and playing re-revealed this problem which is absolutely excellent and only marred by the proximity of the neighbouring bloc at the top. Doubly happy to have got this one ticked too.
It would be good to see people up there trying more of theses lines to get them cleaner still. As a local's venue it is a wonderfully peaceful spot. The boulders are big and there are a lot of lines to be done, especially in the lower grades. As with most of the Scottish boulder venues, lack of traffic really detracts from the problems and the Kennedy Boulder though big, is by no means the Scottish Bowderstone as implied in the Stone Country guide.
At 10 pm I wandered down the hill, still in the daylight. The setting sun cast a great light on the Cobbler and the impressive overhang of Dalriada. Gordon Lennox had just last weekend got the first known onsight (http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=507198), something I had been meaning to try for ages....(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-3839490727151901499?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Hotline to Bouldering Progress (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/06/hotline-to-bouldering-progress.html)
6 June 2012, 8:38 am
Dalriada. something I had been meaning to try for ages....
:clap2:
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It would be good to see people up there trying more of theses lines to get them cleaner still. As a local's venue it is a wonderfully peaceful spot. The boulders are big and there are a lot of lines to be done, especially in the lower grades. As with most of the Scottish boulder venues, lack of traffic really detracts from the problems
Totally agree. Too many climbers are too blinkered by Dumby....Arrochar is only 1/2 hour further.... There's so much rock that could do with more attention.
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Hotline to Bouldering Progress (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/06/hotline-to-bouldering-progress.html)
6 June 2012, 8:38 am
Dalriada. something I had been meaning to try for ages....
:clap2:
2nd Onsight logged Monday 4th June (http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=111354) :clap2:
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Such an inspiring line. Well done
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Dalriada Onsight (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/06/dalriada-onsight.html)
7 June 2012, 8:00 am
Dalriada on the Cobbler seemed to creep firmly into mind over the last week. I heard on the grapevine that Gordon Lennox had made an onsight ascent, the first, I know of, to have be claimed. Tim Rankin had also made an ascent. I knew there would be chalk on it. I also knew of 4 other ground up ascents including a flash from Ally Coull. Why had I waited so long to try it? "B" had posed that very same question only a few days before my trip up to the Kennedy Boulder.
I suggested to Cobes that we hide from the Jubilee up the Cobbler. I had once been told by Niall McNair that the rock up the Cobbler takes a lot of getting used to and that it is worth taking some time to get your Cobbler apprenticeship before attempting the hard things. I had only been up once before with my Dad back in 1998. I thought the advice was worth heeding.
I set off up Club Crack E2 with an unexplained bout of Raynaud (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raynaud's_phenomenon)'s setting in. My numb hands meant I had a hard and very frightening time. If this was what an E2 was like, then Dalriada must be insane!
Long after we came down from the route, the sensation had returned and the sun was warm.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-INH0almAhgs/T9Bbip76mGI/AAAAAAAAAgw/ZrYN27isFRI/s400/IMG_0720.jpg) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-INH0almAhgs/T9Bbip76mGI/AAAAAAAAAgw/ZrYN27isFRI/s1600/IMG_0720.jpg)Dalriada from below. It's Steep!
I knew there must be some chalk still on Dalriada though I could not see it from the ground. The thread was enticing. I was sure I could get that far. I could see the good gear placements above that, and the rest described in the guide. The description really didn't make it sound that bad, 7b climbing. I had onsighted 8b once. Why not go for it?
There was fixed gear to clip and I could see places where other gear must go. I had also just bought a whole rack of BD Cams too from Crag X (http://www.cragxclimbing.com/), they are amazing, and made me feel more confident. It was on.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f2lenj5XXes/T9BcS9xQoAI/AAAAAAAAAhA/miJaTs-d8OE/s400/385753_10150977938332107_347566651_n.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f2lenj5XXes/T9BcS9xQoAI/AAAAAAAAAhA/miJaTs-d8OE/s1600/385753_10150977938332107_347566651_n.jpg)Shiny new cams. Thanks CragX
Progressing up I told myself that both Daves, Macleod and Birkett, thought the route E6. I have onsighted quite a few of those. Given the pegs had probably deteriorated maybe it was creeping towards E7 but the gear in between them was good, the fall would be big but not deadly. Yet I never felt like I would fall. The holds were huge.
I reached the stance below the final headwall without much of a pump. The position was out there but comfortable. I had plenty of time to consider that from here it was just likely to be the protection of the pegs at the lip to the top. Pulling round the angle change I was off my arms but the character of the rock had changed too. The scallops and scoops all looked like holds but most were slopers at best and generally not holds at all. Any chalk up there had washed away. It was all up to me. I committed to a crimp and what looked like a break. It was nothing. My body arced backwards. Somehow I recruited every fibre in my body and dropped down on to small scoop and pulled it back in. I scuttled down to the safety of a big crimp rail near the last peg. I was flummoxed. After 10 lonely minutes getting an exceedingly dry mouth, I finally saw a way through and pulled out my first E7 onsight. If it is E7 (https://www.scottishclimbs.com/wiki/Talk%3AHardest_Scottish_Trad_Routes).
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wWaF6RSk7yY/T9Bb1jaJS9I/AAAAAAAAAg4/gVRkuSjdQaE/s400/IMG_0722.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wWaF6RSk7yY/T9Bb1jaJS9I/AAAAAAAAAg4/gVRkuSjdQaE/s1600/IMG_0722.jpg)Cobes semaphores news of the ascent back to Glasgow from the summit.
My belief in pegs is very minimal given my experience the last time I went for an E7 onsight (as seen in Committed (https://vimeo.com/5163164)). Yet there are so many on Dalriada and the gear in between is so good. Without any pegs it may well be E8 (I am stunned it ever got this grade), or at least what I imagine E8 may feel like. Undoubtedly in the 10 years since the Daves' ascents the pegs will have deteriorated in the Scotch mist. The route is out-there and intimidating. I'd like to think it was E7 for the position and the uncertainty of the gear but the climbing just isn't that hard. French 7b would seem more in keeping with an E6. I guess I will have to try a few more E7s to decide! Did someone say "Trad Revival 2012"?(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-2981442566891818581?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Whats the route where the peg breaks Alan?
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Yes, yes at Creag Dubh I think.
Good to hear Thermostatics clean, went up a couple of weeks ago and thought it looked cool. Beautiful spot, and good escape now the midgies are out!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
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I committed to a crimp and what looked like a break. It was nothing. My body arced backwards. Somehow I recruited every fibre in my body and dropped down on to small scoop and pulled it back in. I scuttled down to the safety of a big crimp rail near the last peg. I was flummoxed. After 10 lonely minutes getting an exceedingly dry mouth
Good stuff :punk:
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Nice also to hear Club Crack still puts up a fight - I thought it was a rather desperate E2 when I did it!
One day I'd love to try Dalriada!
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7b climbing, as an 8a climber you should piss it Fultonius :)
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7b climbing, as an 8a climber you should piss it Fultonius :)
What? Shit, is that how it works? What the hell have I been doing struggling on all the E3s for when I should have been cruising E7.
Ha!
I suppose I have onsighted one Fr7b. It was short, covered in chalk and bouldery and in Spain. Qualifications complete ;-)
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Not the Big Trad Man (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/06/not-big-trad-man.html)
9 June 2012, 7:41 am
Doing Dalriada (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/dalriada-onsight.html) has me psyched to get my trad-climbing game up. What else are you going to do in Scotland where the lack of good, dry, midge free, high 8 sport routes are countable on the thumbs of one hand?!
With a day off and a forecast that looked doomed to failure, Cobes, B and I went to Glen Nevis. We were late in arriving as they still haven't done anything to improve the A82 on Loch Lomond.
As a 3 is always inconvenient when tradding, I left the guys to enjoy a few classics that I had done many years ago with my dad, Plague of Blazes E2 and Travellin Man E3 on Gorge Crag. Thinking myself to be the next best thing in trad climbing since Dave MacLeod I headed up to Wave Buttress, where the guys wanted to go to next, and dropped a rope down Jodicus Direct (http://davemacleod.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/jodicus-direct-and-clean.html)which a couple of years ago Dave had climbed headpoint without the peg at E7.
First trip down the route on the Gri-Gri and I found the little sideways RP that protects the crux and a really good RP which could potentially be placed mid-crux if you could hold on to place it. The crux moves were delicate with small holds that I couldn't quite get my sausages in to. Yet I could still do it if I trusted my feet well.
Reaching the bottom, I climbed straight back up on the Gri-Gri, placing all the pieces. Well that was easy enough! I abbed back down. Certainly when you saw all the gear in place the hard moves were protected and even if you couldn't get the mid-crux runner in the sideways RP at your feet would probably hold. At worst it was down to a cluster of good cams. Nothing too dangerous. Just a big ride down a slabby wall.
I went up again. Cleaned the gear out and waited at the bottom. The guys arrived. The wind dropped. The midges arrived. The air temperature increased. I wanted to do it though. I got on lead. Hot and bothered by the time I reached the first low RPs I climbed back down. I needed to wait for better conditions.
The shadow came round again and a gust picked up from the summit of a neighbouring Munro. I went again and climbed comfortably enough to the cams. I paused a long time. I could feel the hormones pulsing through my body. Not endorphins, not adrenaline, this wasn't a buzz. It was pure cortisol. Fear and stress. I stood for ages rationalising it all in my head. I tugged the cams umpteen times. Bomber. I controlled the fear, pressed on up. Into the crux I paused and successfully placed the RP well, clipped it, then somehow reversed to the comfort of the stance. I got all my strength back.
Well this was it, the crux was protected after all. I felt strong. I could do this thing no problem. Yet the fear was hanging over me. It glued me to the foot ledge until my legs went numb and I couldn't feel my toes. I had better do something.
I climbed back up facing fear directly in the eyes. With precision I got the hand holds well and I crushed them. I got my foot up. I just had to trust it, get the other up and all would be well. The runner was at my chest.
I SAID "TAKE". FEAR TAKES THE WIN.
I tortured myself about wimping out all the way home.
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-7206631128165382762?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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The Trad Headspace (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/06/trad-headspace.html)
10 June 2012, 1:21 pm
I firmly believe that my trad head is poor because I don't fall off. I don't mean that in an "I'm so good I never fall off" kind of way, I mean that I never, or rarely, get into a position where I am likely to fall off on a trad route. Now some might say that is a good thing but if you never take the falls, you'll never truly believe in the gear. Or I won't anyway. I can grasp when a placement is theoretically good but I have not taken a leader fall onto gear in such a long time that my instincts make me fear it.
My sport climbing onsight grade has far exceeded my trad grade. The suggestion that simply getting on more trad climbs building a base, though an important element, I don't think cuts it. I believe that I could go out and (with the caveat of route choice) climb a whole season on E5s and possibly E6s without falling off once.
Considering the sport grade on most E5s; 6c-7a+ perhaps, I would be horrified if I fell off with bolts. Unless it was some weird slab, or über-lichenous I could safely say I would onsight close to 99% at this level on bolts. If my life depended on it, I could probably solo at that level without too much of a problem. So getting on E5's with bad gear falls into the latter category, in my mind I'm soloing but I know I'll make it and those with good gear just feel like an easy sport route. Within the E6 category, the story is obviously different but even at the upper end, I'd fancy my chances against a lot of sport 7c's. With careful route choice the success odds are still upwards of 70 percent I reckon. Dalraida is case in point, long, very steep, 7b climbing was home territory and so I never actually felt out my comfort zone.
No, what I really need to do is actually fall off stuff! Crazy as that might sound, I need to go for routes that will be hard for me, get out of my comfort zone and into positions where to cry "take" is not an option. I'm not getting into death defying stuff here, there are loads of fall-offable hard E6's and E7's. I need to take a few wingers onto gear that I know is good and put theory into practice. Obviously if I were to get a few onsights in the process that would be a good thing!
Having had the frustrating day in Glen Nevis (http://cassidyclimbing.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/not-big-trad-man.html) it was good to be able to get back on the horse straight away, with one of Scotland's true trad gurus too, Niall McNair. We set off for Iron Crag (http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=44971) in the Lakes, home to host of E6s, E7s and one of the UKs most deadly trad routes If 6 was 9, E9. Niall had been trying to climb an E7 called Iron Man ground up and had fully embraced the falling off thing.
There was a lot of seepage and a few showers and when I went for an attempt on Western Union E6 which shared half of Niall's route the flash pump and the wet holds put me off. I said "TAKE" again. I threw my helmet on the floor and had a tantrum about being a pussy. After Niall's second attempt ended in another fall from the last move I felt like I really should have another go. This time the confidence was there. I climbed up beyond Niall's gear, through the wetness and into the independent top half. It all went rather smoothly and was definitely comfortable stuff.
Niall sent on his third attempt, adjusting the top sequence made it all look rather easy. The seepage down Pheonix of Obsidian appeared to have regressed enough to climb it. Despite nearly saying take on the first hard section I fought the urge and climbed up into the roof. From here the crux traverse left was wet. I had a nut and a cam and it was a long way to the last piece. They had to hold if the wetness beat me. After an attempt at the traverse, and frustrated by the wetness I shouted for beta from Niall. With confidence that there was something good coming up I went for it and succeeded on my second (guidebook) E7 of the week. Niall won't give me the E7 tick, but I felt like I had had much more of the E7 experience than on Dalriada. I'd be interested to hear the grade consensus from the experienced trad heads out there.
So no falls yet. Looks like I will have to return to Iron Crag for Iron Man, which looks to have much greater potential for a big ride!(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-526296007459341458?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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Excellent blogging, really interested to hear it....same was happening to me 3 grades lower!
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It's been a while... (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/09/its-been-while.html)
7 September 2012, 10:18 am
It has been a while since I last blogged. I was reminded of this last night. I guess I just haven't had a whole lot to share with the world beyond the random words and phrases I tweet (http://www.twitter.com/cassidyclimbing) from time to time.
The last couple of months have been all about; getting married (best day of my life), going to 2 other weddings, covering as much of Rob's job as I could whilst he was away, expanding the TCA Glasgow (http://www.tca-glasgow.com/) Youth Squad and getting ready to go on Honeymoon. Yay!
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d3mxAxuVn70/UEnOxgwUffI/AAAAAAAAAhk/3BYpr1WBzbU/s320/cody_wedding.jpeg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d3mxAxuVn70/UEnOxgwUffI/AAAAAAAAAhk/3BYpr1WBzbU/s1600/cody_wedding.jpeg)Mr & Mrs. Typically wet July in Scotland. (Photo: Cody Cox)
Climbing wise I have been quite focused with my training. Mornings are me time. I spend an hour or two most mornings before work on the campus boards and fingerboards of TCA. I find it easier to train the basic stuff early in the day, the co-ordination of the motor systems seem to require a bit longer to wake up. I still find it difficult to train in the evenings mid-week with other commitments but knowing that I have at least done my morning workout keeps me sane. I have been working to a program with a clearly defined progression and I must say ticking off the daily objectives can turn the most monotonous hangs into a motivating battle.
The goals are to have a successful trip around the Eastern States, tick a few 5.13s (maybe a 14 or two?) and enjoy climbing on rock which has not happened nearly enough in 2012. Yes, I say this in every blog but it has been a while! (Future essay: How much actually is enough? Discuss.)
Coming back to the UK in Autumn I hope to progress the bouldering a bit further (weather permitting). I have really got more into my bouldering this summer and have started to build up a better base of Font 7s on other rock types. I hope this will form a base from which to head up the grades a bit further and finally master the mystery to me that is Font 8A away from Dumby.
Below are a couple of videos of a couple of things I hauled myself up during the sunniest day I have managed to grab outdoors this year so far.
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-3375607914725380454?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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The End? (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-end.html)
10 October 2012, 8:35 pm
This is the end of my Blogspot.
It has been an emotional experience blogging on here. Often times I have doubted whether my blog was worth keeping. Whether I was interesting enough to read? A good enough climber? A good enough writer? Too self interested? Not self confident enough? Etc etc...
I do however know the stats and know that many people do actually check in at my blog. Those people need not worry. I am still blogging, but like Des Lynam, Eamon Holmes and Natasha Kaplinsky before me, I have changed channels. You can still read my self-interested, banal, climbing banter over at www.alancassidyclimbing.wordpress.com (http://www.alancassidyclimbing.wordpress.com/).
:-)(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2165493974406404560-1612092904946512171?l=alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com)
Source: Alan Cassidy (& others) Climbing (http://alancassidyclimbing.blogspot.com/)
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See you there!
:)