Saturday 21 August 2010

Strong-ISH at Strathyre.


Had a pleasant day out today with Phil and Mr 6a to 8a in 180 days. I am currently trying to be Mr 7a to 7a in 360 days (it will make sense soon...) and today was a successful day. I warmed up the grey cells trying to navigate to the crag, warmed up the fucked legs walking the 5 steep minutes to it, and warmed up the arms on a short steep pokey 6b and thence a shorter, steeper, and pokier 6c (which defied belief how an 8m route covered in big holds could be so pumpy, but it was, so it served it's purpose). Over-warming up by dogging a 7b was cut short - quite literally - by the biggest reach to the worst hold I've encountered in a very long time. Thus it was onto the main meat of the semi-classic Electrodynamics, which in a radical break from the crag tradition was....errr....very short and very steep. But it had a cool line i.e. an arete. Gave it a blast, got involved with the steepness, found a sneaky handjam, and it was in the bag. Tried an adjacent 6c+ up a radical hanging, leaning, and perplexing micro-groove - the Quarryman of Strathyre crag - but after a series of improbable contortions all of which I was sure I was falling off, I didn't quite make it. Still it was all good training....which will hopefully pay off soon...

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