[ghisino]

SO, i know it's not exactly bouldering, but...

has anyone been to margalef?

should be going in less than 3 weeks, what specific training would i want to make in this short time, given that up to now i've been building a satisfying power-endurance base?

 ???

[Adam Lincoln]

Errr. Train some pocket strength. Maybe some pockets. Oh and yes, i nearly forgot, some pockets... 

[ghisino]

surprising!



oh, if i want to give an 8a a chance

-will i have to choose based on temperatures/weather first, or (better) every sector will be manageable at the right time of the day
-will i find one around 15 meters and without monos
-will i always have GF wall (5's and 6's) and fun routes (6's and 7's) next door

(just trying to psyche up some more really , just tell me that one of the three is true )

thank you 

[ghisino]

d'oh (posting error)

[Adam Lincoln]

surprising!
oh, if i want to give an 8a a chance
-will i have to choose based on temperatures/weather first, or (better) every sector will be manageable at the right time of the day
-will i find some around 15 meters and without monos
-will i always have GF wall (5's and 6's) and fun routes (6's and 7's) next door
(just trying to psyche up some more really , just tell me that one of the three is true )
thank you 

Temps won't be an issue in 3 weeks. Though you can easily chase shade/sun.
Lab sector is quite short,  sub 15 metres. Though is very sharp. Other sectors stuff is longer than 15 metres mostly.

[Paul B]

As Adam pointed out, pockets but do yourself a favour and avoid the typical Brit shortcoming and try to get fit. It really will help and it'll open up the place.

I'd say for the most part is very hard to find routes with that grade seperation and of comparable quality right next to each other,however here's a few suggestions:

Finnestra, in my humble opinion is the jewel of the crown of this area, but the warmup is 6b+ (its very good mind you). Aeroplastika R2 would be a good one for you, its a steep 7c+ with a bit of a one mover over a bulge to reach the greying rock (and then some pockets). The 7's on the LHS of this crag are all good, one in particular that follows a strong natural line of non tufa.
There's a large boulder opposite the car park. Its not mindblowing but it does have some easy routes on it.

Tenebres is just around the corner and is great for pumpy stuff, it may not suit the brits but fighting between hands off rests is great fun and IMO shouldn't be missed.

La corva de la felicitat by travelswithmyt4, on Flickr

The 8a here is very good, its also fairly squishy (ducks) and as I was told "will put a smile on your face".

Lab sector is short and hard, the rock quality is lower here than in the other sectors (the areas close to this road seem to suffer this). There's easy stuff right above it on another sector or easy stuff down the road. ~5mins walk

Near the Erimtage (church), there's a fair grade spread. At the left its fairly easy, on the balcony you're up to 7's and then there's a sprinkling of 8's. Check the refugio photographs for inspiration.

Cova Soleida has some easy routes on the surrounding sectors then a choice of potential routes for yourself. Dr Feelgood being the ever popular and rapidly polishing classic.

Ca la Marta section should fit the bill in that there are easier routes nearby, tobbogan area etc. and then two 8a's (one with a sika'd cheat stone tower start) and a few great 7c+'s one which involves crux crimps which is novel. The aspect is pretty nice, looking out over a bluer than blue reservoir.

Ca la Marte by travelswithmyt4, on Flickr

I can get more specific if necessary, unfortunately Nat isn't around to remind me of the routes she enjoyed. I do know she climbed much harder here than she expected. Take that as you will.

[ghisino]

thanks!

GF is much more selective than me. She likes to rope climb if three conditions are matched :
-short (no more than 20 meters)
-bombproof looking rock, the thought of breaking something and falling terrifies her (i've just managed to convince her that practice falls are a good idea but i don't expect short term miracles here)
-not too sharp.
-(optional fourth condition) sunny, open, bright locations
Otherwise, she gets completely frustrated.
I'm confident that if she completely removed fear of falling and enjoyed "trying hard" outdoors as much as she does in the gym she could redpoint a convenient f7a in a few days, but there's no point in forcing her to do so. She's new to rope climbing and basically needs mileage on fine easy stuff.

myself, i think to have more fitness and psyche for bouldery-nasty-sharp routes matching lab sector descriptions, at least for serious redpoint, but in reality i'm open to many styles, so i'll try a few and see. Usually i fall in love with the second or third route i look at, anyway.
My only big no's are :
-the obviously soft "holiday gift" grade. When i'm in "grade hunting" mode, i also hunt the challenge/discomfort/battle behind that particular grade, so an "easy fake everyone's first 8a feeling like 7c or less" would disappoint me as much as an "hard polished scary sandbag 6c". 
-(hard) uber-pumpy routes, like 20 meters of continuos climbing and falling on some easish move just below the chains. That, feeling womit-sick because of the pump, anally refining beta from "easy" to "easier" and waiting 1 hour for another serious attempt are a kind of punishment i'm not ready for, at the moment...

thanks again 
 

[Paul B]

It always confuses me as to why Brits who enjoy short wham bam thank you mam style of routes are drawn to Margalerf Are the only picture of Margalerf in peoples heads from the videos of Dave Mac or Sharmatron on First round?
Compare the shot of Tenebres with secot Laboratori I beg of you.

I'd suggest ignoring most of my rec's given your last point, thats only my opinion and isn't shared by all.

[Doylo]

You could also prepare by putting your fingers in a food blender 

[Adam Lincoln]

You could also prepare by putting your fingers in a food blender 

 

[ghisino]

It always confuses me as to why Brits who enjoy short wham bam thank you mam style of routes are drawn to Margalerf Are the only picture of Margalerf in peoples heads from the videos of Dave Mac or Sharmatron on First round?

-i'm not brit, i'm italian and i live in france (how comes i troll here is a different story)
-duh, i'd get back to Siurana, loved it last year and left a route unfinished... but since i'm not traveling alone this time, and last year people operating in her grades said margalef was much nicer, and @Siurana i was finding most easy routes uninspiring one-move-crux sandbags, i thought margalef would be a better compromise
-i didn't say that if there's 30 meter 7a's, be them steep and juggy or face climbs or whatever other style, I won't love them! 

anyway yeah, i guess for most folks who haven't been there, like me, margalef=laboratori. First hard sector to get media coverage, and sector who got more videos/pics overall (must be very convenient to shoot?)

[shark]

It always confuses me as to why Brits who enjoy short wham bam thank you mam style of routes are drawn to Margalerf Are the only picture of Margalerf in peoples heads from the videos of Dave Mac or Sharmatron on First round?

-i'm not brit, i'm italian and i live in france

  Paul - I think you just made an ass out of u and umption. 

[Paul B]

sorry. I could get anal and try to plead that I was talking of a 'British' shortcoming but that (unfortunately) wouldn't be true.

[ghisino]

so, let's get back to training.

started doing a bit more 2 finger work yesteday (middle and ring)

nothing extreme :

-12 pullups (deep slopey pockets)
-6+6 pullups with hands on 2 different rows (i  work on a campus board with pocketed tiles)
-max time deadhang, main hand on 2 fingers, arm almost straight. 2nd hand on a mono @shoulder height. 20-30 seconds each side.
-Punter version of Nibile's beastmaker feat : pullup bar gripped with middle two fingers, front lever attempts (getting there as slow as i can and back to normal hang). Arms slightly bent. Managed around 6 swings before failure. Surprisingly it's not much harder than with a full grip!
-again at the pullup bar, deadhangs with one hand gripping it with middle 2 generous), the other 1-pad-mono to take some weight off. 6 secs, switch hands, 6 secs, switch, etc...to failure, i.e. not completing the 6 seconds (not sure how many i managed really)

1 minute between each exercise. After that i did two laps on a 15 move cave thing and bouldered a bit, feeling really bad on open-handed grips...funny!

I know it'a not really scientific and it could be better organized, any comments? 

[slackline]

Try the Beastmaker training tips

[ghisino]

so, after the weirdest rock trip ever*, dunno if the best advice was pockets or food blender! 
*only one full climbing day, the rest was a 2hrs evening session, and that didn't depend on me but on the events, let's say...yet this unplanned strategy seemed to work perfectly for my "objective" 

as for why people think margalef=laboratori maybe i have an answer.
Laboratori is maybe 1/1000th of margalef, it's sharp, short, it's on the roadside, BUT it climbs a bit like the frankenjura, with slightly bigger holds, good conditions in winter, and most important SUN instead of rain and condensation.