tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6333938844132450772024-03-13T14:53:52.827-07:00 fiendblog Escendo, ergo sum...Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.comBlogger677125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-11435165813440356472023-12-30T03:56:00.000-08:002023-12-30T03:56:08.529-08:00Best New Music 2023<div><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b><u>Mixes:</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Presha - HOR</b></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TxJEWG4nv8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TxJEWG4nv8</a></div><div>Somewhat inevitably Samurai Records and PRSPCT Recordings have been the sources of the year's best music and I don't see this changing any time soon. Hard to pick a particular favourite from Samurai but this superbly varied, deep, creative and uncompromising mix from the boss man Presha sums it all up - and hints at more excellent releases to come. </div><div>To compliment that, favourite releases from Samurai this year, I can't pick a track to show off but both EPs are excellent in their own right:</div><div><a href="https://presha.bandcamp.com/album/sacrifice">https://presha.bandcamp.com/album/sacrifice</a></div><div><a href="https://rdgs.bandcamp.com/album/samurai-outliers-004">https://rdgs.bandcamp.com/album/samurai-outliers-004</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tracks and EPs...</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Dom & Crystl - Stimulant</b></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdWrfPYCa8w&t=414">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdWrfPYCa8w&t=414</a></div><div>(From <a href="https://domandroland.bandcamp.com/album/dom-crystl">https://domandroland.bandcamp.com/album/dom-crystl</a> )</div><div>Dom has been at the top of his game for nearly 3 decades with no sign of wavering, and this is as good as it gets. From FADNB thread: "a lovely blend of soaring melodies and tones like the cry of avian aliens, militant drums of a victorious army, and bass pulses direct from the earth's core"</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Dom & Roland - Clash Of The Titans</b></div><div>(From the Against A Dark Background album - <a href="https://domandroland.bandcamp.com/album/against-a-dark-background-lp">https://domandroland.bandcamp.com/album/against-a-dark-background-lp</a> )</div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl01Go8shUg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl01Go8shUg</a></div><div>Roland too has been at the top of his game and this is one for the podium of classics. Epic hardly does it justice but it's a start - the soundtrack to your gnarliest board session, hardest redpoint, or walking onto stage at the Olympics. This track turns men into titans, mortals into heroes, and will make a champion out of you too.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Kilbourne - Sunshine Terror</b></div><div>(From the Milkshake EP <a href="https://prspctrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/milkshake">https://prspctrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/milkshake</a> )</div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d3iBKNWabw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d3iBKNWabw</a></div><div>The Empress of Electronic Music returns for the 4th year in a row having a best of the year track (previous ones being Pillsurfer, Pain Becomes Pleasure, and Cathedrals). Definitely both euphoric and energetic, but other than that it's a classic yin-yang of good and evil, light and dark, hard and soft, sunshine and terror.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Bug - Brutalized</b></div><div>(From the Machines EP series <a href="https://thebugmusic.bandcamp.com/music">https://thebugmusic.bandcamp.com/music</a> )</div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkbiqFL5jv0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkbiqFL5jv0</a></div><div>Apocalyptically good industrial doom dub from the master. Who know the soundtrack to the Earth melting under the weight of human civilisation would be so damn groovy??</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Neurocore - Dawn Of The Rising Spirits</b></div><div>(From the Existences album <a href="https://prspctrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/existences">https://prspctrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/existences</a> )</div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m47JgcPpzT0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m47JgcPpzT0</a></div><div>Is this uncategorisably excellent track the ultimate electronic dance music track?? Are there any sets it wouldn't fit into perfectly as peak time euphoria?? There's only one way to find out, and that's a full listen at full volume. Once you've done that, check out the album for all your cinematic-euphoric-techno-ambient-soundtrack-trance-melodic-hardcore-electro-rave needs.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Offish & Attempt - The Faceless</b></div><div>(From <a href="https://armoryrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/armory-008">https://armoryrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/armory-008</a> )</div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJMBvyK14pY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJMBvyK14pY</a> </div><div>A fantastic future-looking track on Homemade Weapon's "Armoury" imprint so you know it's going to be good. Smoothly rolling drums, pulsing caresses of downright erotic bass, and taut analogue bleeps combined in a perfect cyberfunk blend.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Homemade Weapons & Red Army - Spellbound (Homemade Weapons remix)</b></div><div>(From <a href="https://redarmy.bandcamp.com/album/armory-003">https://redarmy.bandcamp.com/album/armory-003</a> )</div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nknFOKKNWKY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nknFOKKNWKY</a></div><div>An unusually direct track from the deadly Homemade Weapons, but no less quality than his more creative and quirky dubbed out steppers. Absolutely fierce, absolutely groovy, headbanging and bootyshaking.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>Rediscovery of the year:</u></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Pascal - Johnny - )E|3( remix</b></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR_sOrzJruk">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR_sOrzJruk</a></div><div>A Bad Company track / remixed I missed for 20 years?? I've been making up for that with repeated plays in the last fortnight. As good as anything they've done with that classic BC energy - YA BADBWOY</div><div><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-49566173170606921342023-07-23T03:09:00.000-07:002023-07-23T03:09:02.436-07:00Last Of A Dying Breed<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I realise now, decades too late, I've gone about it all the wrong way around... Fat arse over useless man tit (okay they're pecs, but pecs don't get you ticking big numbers unless the rest of the body is leanly aligned towards climbing). Cart before donkey, tail wagging daschund etc etc. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I guess things started normally: Little climbing wall at school, a few trips out with a school club and a friend, learn to lead with him then Plas Y Brenin, more climbing at uni, the standard trips and places, cranking away at an early bouldering wall because it's fun. Oh and the obligatory 4 year break due to a breakdown, mental health collapse, complete isolation, that's a normal part of the path too, right?? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Move to Sheffield, restart life, restart climbing. Grit. The Edge. Lime in summer. Wales. The Foundry. Bouldering mats. The Lakes. The Works. Convincing people it's worth driving to The Roaches. Etc etc. So far, so normal, despite being friends with Pylon King.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But the rot starts to creep in.... The Llyn, Carn Gowla, Gairloch, Galloway, North York Moors, South Stack. Ledge shuffling. Exploration. Adventure. Proper trad. Esoterica. Hidden trad gems. New crags all the time. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Can you spot it yet??</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Was I at the Cornice? (no) Two Tier? (no) Malham? (yes - did Wombat and Crossbones and Midnight Cowboy), Kilnsey? (yes - did Dodger Direct) Gordale? (no) LPT? (no).</li><li>Was I pushing redpointing to get stronger and fitter - no.</li><li>Was I training on proper boards instead of fun circuits - no.</li><li>Was I mixing in hard long term boulder projects rather than just exploring venues - no.</li><li>Was I using a fingerboard - no.</li><li>Was I having any structure - no.</li><li>(Was I aware that I had a "ticking bomb" of a non-existent IVC vein in my chest and I'd be struck down with DVTs and unavoidably gain over 10kg and then have a body with fairly mature muscles and connective tissues that would suddenly have to cope with that - no).</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So that's where I got it the wrong way around: From a fairly neutral start to a climbing career, I took the Left Hand Path of proper ledge shuffling, where the ledges are very ledgey and the shuffling is very shuffley and the best form of strength is weakness. A path of personal inspiration and genuine pleasure, a path that is absolutely "true to self"... </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="248" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kWOCx-cmJ6A" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But a path that leads inexorably to a dead end. One day, I wake up and realise that I've done most of the ledge shuffles I've wanted to do, and those that are left are bloody hard for me and I need to be fitter and stronger. And I've been wasting my time avoiding getting fitter and stronger by farting around having fun and enjoying exploration. Now I'm getting older, heavier, weaker, less fit and more injured - and I'm too late. I'm too old, too heavy, too weak, too unfit and too injured to get enough back. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Meanwhile around me, to add insult to whatever injury is inhibiting me this particular week, I am part of a dying breed of ledge shufflers. Not the last (as people will immediately jump to correct me, before hopefully realising that I'm entirely correct and proper ledge shuffling is now vastly overshadowed by indoor blob-jumping and instagram green-ticking), but one of them. I've plied my trade with good honest traditional weakness, and now I'm getting weaker, surrounded by a climbing scene that is getting stronger, as the focus on athletic performance grows exponentially. Of course, comparing oneself to others is almost as naff as grade chasing, but the general feeling is hard to avoid and pretty galling - as is my own personal mistake in not taking the opportunities to focus on performance when I was still able to.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZYTs6n0aXBw" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>So, kids, the motto is: Don't learn your craft. Don't get experience on rock. Don't focus on technique and skill. Don't do laps of Stanage highball slabs. You can pick all that crap up when you're old, injured, decrepit, out of training action. Be a Goal Climber, not a Soul Climber - the soul doesn't age and rot until long after the body does. Get on the wall, the board, the campus rungs, the beastmaker. Get strong now, put the effort in now, focus on those gainz now that will last you a long time, before it's too late, before the body can't cope with it any more.</div><div><br /></div><div>God knows what I'm going to do about it. I keep trying. The body keeps breaking. The mind too. I do see older people who do quite well in maintaining (not necessarily gaining) physical prowess. They inevitably have a proper history in training (or past performance), or enough venous return to keep lean enough for climbing, or enough self-discipline to do the most boring regimes, or all three. So far my best alternative seems to be bury my head in the sand and keep dreaming of a day where something magically changes and I miraculously gain some physical prowess to take back into the remaining ledge shuffles and esoteric explorations. Oh, and, not giving up yet. I'm not even sure why, against all sense and reason, but still not giving up yet.</div><div><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-92210245202896213322023-07-14T02:01:00.000-07:002023-07-14T02:01:48.294-07:00How To Train When You're Depressed As Fuck<div style="text-align: left;"> <br />Apparently I wrote this title down sometime in the winter and forgot to write anything in it, or even why I wrote it - apart from the bloody obvious of course... Well maybe I can make some use of it so here goes.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Not everyone responds to depression by being phenomenally obsessed with rigid training, militant motivation, constant exercise and running up Ben Nevis on a rest day. Some of us respond by wanting to curl up in a ball and die or wish the world would fuck off and go away, or usually both.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Unsurprisingly this is absolutely bloody useless for maintaining any form or capability in an active strength / power-to-weight / fitness based lifestyle, and indeed it's the both the polar opposite of that AND the start of the vicious circle where the lack of activity leads to a lack of climbing ability leads to being more depressed leads to a lack of activity leads to etc etc and really there is no amount of FUCKING RIGHT OFF that is enough for that particular cycle.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Accepting that it's both really bloody hard and really bloody important and trying to work around the former to appease the latter is a start. Here are some possible tactics to work with that:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Keep moving</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">It always boils down to this as the lowest common denominator - and it's a motto which fits with general depression alleviation i.e. do some exercise. Fuck what you should be doing, fuck the training plans, fuck the cycles, fuck working your weaknesses, fuck goals. Just move. It's a start and it will help. Build on that basis, even if the movement isn't even initially relevant to climbing, it can snowball into something more relevant and focused. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>Take the pressure off</b></div><div>Pressure to do well? Pressure to progress?? Pressure to keep strong and fit?? Pressure to "tick grades" or whatever shite the insta-kids of today are obsessed with?? Nope. None of the above. When it boils down to <i>"survive this day to see if things can improve the next day"</i>, all of that pressure is OFF. The only pressure is to keep surviving. If that's manageable, the next pressure is to - see #1 here - keep moving. Do whatever you can to avoid worsening your mental and physical situation, if that's manageable, then do whatever you can to progress or benefit your mental and physical situation. </div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Make it fun</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">God knows you need that right now, right?? This should be obvious but on the spectrum of training from <i>"miserably methodical rigid regime"</i> to <i>"jolly jaunt aping around"</i>, you probably need the latter far more than the former, especially if other people are involved (generally more feasible with the latter). Which brings me on to...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The best training is the training you actually do</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A good motto in general unless you're the sort of self-discipline end boss mentioned in the intro, but especially so when you're struggling to do anything. It's fine to aim for effective training, but don't force yourself to try to do that in an "all or nothing" way. Whatever you do will be good, because it's something you're doing. And if it's fun enough, and easy enough to motivate yourself to do it, then you'll probably do it enough, and regularly enough, to be effective anyway.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Play the long game</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you're really fucking depressed right now, you're not going to do well at climbing nor training right now, and the focus has to be getting through "right now". It can be hard to see beyond that and anticipate the future, but if it's possible to look at the bigger picture that you might (probably will) get through the current situation, it can help to see that the little bits of exercise and activity right now will add up and benefit you eventually. Most of the time there still is time to get climbing capacity and ability back - aim for short term coping, medium term regaining, and long term progressing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Turn the volume up</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">It might be best to tend towards getting climbing volume and mileage in rather than sporadic, harder shorter training sessions. There could be less risk of injury, and having longer sessions will take up more time doing something fun as a distraction from depression, and can tire you out enough to feel more sated afterwards and sleep better.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>Take care</b></div><div>The last thing you want is to have an injury - or another injury - to set you back. If depression manifests as a desperation to exercise / get stuff done, a lack of moderation / restraint could be detrimental. Also do your bloody rehab / prehab / warming up / stretching - if you're capable. If not, take it easy!</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Acknowledge anything you do</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Write a wee diary, tick off each day, write down any exercise, anything you did that could benefit you or your climbing, no matter how small. Whatever it is, it's better than nothing (well, unless you've done enough to need a total rest day). Each bit of exercise or activity is a victory over depression, and to be celebrated.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Okay so, re-reading this, it seems the answer to<i> "How To Train When You're Depressed As Fuck"</i> is.... <i>"You Can't"</i>. But more promisingly, it's "<i>You Can't, But You Can Probably Do Lots Of Things To Keep Active And That Will Add Up In Then End For When You're Back On Track (And Help You Get Back On Track"</i>... Good luck.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-83587295017483039862023-07-12T03:57:00.000-07:002023-07-12T03:57:45.780-07:00The Shock Of The New 2022 - Routes<div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Routes:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b><u>Wales:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b><u>Bryn Castell:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>End Times</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho92c821yk2r3srIzRKAUEzTELNgIU2kNCtOh--bQ2YL46C8PHVRi309b3rtTGi8x6hUBdy14cW4S_K_CDjwgPHLilQ2meWh_GpwZyw-WcKUt3s-COlvSwuzhD1fQBGVWFNRwccTay10cf5-16rSMiqVVzE55JZ36roZwMqqj8vu_nOV3uCtWTN4Nneg/s960/fiend_ba0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho92c821yk2r3srIzRKAUEzTELNgIU2kNCtOh--bQ2YL46C8PHVRi309b3rtTGi8x6hUBdy14cW4S_K_CDjwgPHLilQ2meWh_GpwZyw-WcKUt3s-COlvSwuzhD1fQBGVWFNRwccTay10cf5-16rSMiqVVzE55JZ36roZwMqqj8vu_nOV3uCtWTN4Nneg/w400-h300/fiend_ba0.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBJ3mj1cbqL7Wu_RbS44yeOo9gtr7EaYN7aMvmH0Ap_XN97Y22xGrB5Fc_JO9-gwOUTnUrWMe4PESypC0rgZLFKe0ZWaSHF0VibdILO6o-CuSBzkjVljZTx-naHMEvXxUXAQHcXTtPJ1iZmfD-zQAaiWcnt6T-D1GiDu_mFPLA0upMDtTeLZBISX6ow/s880/fiend_ba1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBJ3mj1cbqL7Wu_RbS44yeOo9gtr7EaYN7aMvmH0Ap_XN97Y22xGrB5Fc_JO9-gwOUTnUrWMe4PESypC0rgZLFKe0ZWaSHF0VibdILO6o-CuSBzkjVljZTx-naHMEvXxUXAQHcXTtPJ1iZmfD-zQAaiWcnt6T-D1GiDu_mFPLA0upMDtTeLZBISX6ow/w300-h400/fiend_ba1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">This was a funny one.... Ever since the cool new Moelwynion guide, I've been keen to go to Bryn Castell and repeat Terry's "Cantorix Is Dead" E3 5c **, up what looked like a cool arete on the main buttress. At the crag I realised - with some insider beta from TT - that CID actually goes left around the arete into a slightly grubby crack, not quite the line I wanted! So I decided to try the arete direct, it all went fine until getting my hands over the top above a micro-cam and slightly-too-good fall potential. I couldn't commit to the blind / sloping pull over, so reversed to a ledge and clipped in whilst my partner Adam H went around to inspect the top. A bit of brushing and digging later, he suggested that *I* also go around and inspect the top as it looked "worryingly bold", so I did. It turned out that there was a good jug slot that just needed a bit more cleaning, I got back on the lead, pulled over, and it was "worryingly easy". I wish Adam had known me a bit better and told me to go for it as it would have been fine first go. Still, it's a cool line, and name comes from this arete being a near twin to TT's "End Action" E3 5c ** at the far end of Carreg Foel Gron, just over the hill.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After this, TT and Mari and Ross B turned up, I already had Noodles at the crag, she escaped her collar to slither down a grass slope, then I watched Ross do some bouldering and Noodles started squeaking because she was bored and once again got told to "stop that nonsense".</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Dead End</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHCshQqlqF5DO2DQKAuy3padHx6PymBIm5nXcfUDvHBfOrEuHB3IyAeT_SifAx2GuBn376MAGAS-lyk3XOoCc7g5BHHGo-C9mMcj6K_j1-YoIT6uFF46_IlHzM1K9YVrWAGPWXUjmnW1PoCn-NhwA9xzKhXikdUdqnj57STO6RS2rrWp64wMMVHvZSg/s960/fiend_deadend1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHCshQqlqF5DO2DQKAuy3padHx6PymBIm5nXcfUDvHBfOrEuHB3IyAeT_SifAx2GuBn376MAGAS-lyk3XOoCc7g5BHHGo-C9mMcj6K_j1-YoIT6uFF46_IlHzM1K9YVrWAGPWXUjmnW1PoCn-NhwA9xzKhXikdUdqnj57STO6RS2rrWp64wMMVHvZSg/w400-h300/fiend_deadend1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOyDa0-5gFkBC8K2kA3oYfF2okwts9mU_qMSuYzUrl83-L1lQNutrsaH1guwRCv256CktmjNNAo1GtDZlwTJj7E7MnFGp1tvcFaMWqd0GeRUj-YSU7TzIrUU86XdJOGE89OtChBqwM0W7Ndr7lA50TD7kXRq3OxZfSzLF6T5e8DgQ0tf66JbhyePqycg/s960/fiend_deadend3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOyDa0-5gFkBC8K2kA3oYfF2okwts9mU_qMSuYzUrl83-L1lQNutrsaH1guwRCv256CktmjNNAo1GtDZlwTJj7E7MnFGp1tvcFaMWqd0GeRUj-YSU7TzIrUU86XdJOGE89OtChBqwM0W7Ndr7lA50TD7kXRq3OxZfSzLF6T5e8DgQ0tf66JbhyePqycg/w300-h400/fiend_deadend3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Another arete which required an "end" name, and could be appropriate if one muffs the final moves. Despite a great line higher up, this has an average start, a scruffy middle with hollow rock, a deviation to place side-runners, and the possibility to hit a sharp glacis edge - so why am I pretty chuffed with it?? Because the moves on the exposed upper arete are just so damn good, perfect elegant monkeying-up-a-stick via spaced flakes jugs and crimps, that will feel pretty committing but very rewarding on an onsight. This was done with Cian K who had joined me on my sole Red Walls adventure lead of the year, the typically excellent Communication Breakdown - the easiest route I'd done on South Stack for a while, and unfortunately highlighted how downhill my climbing had gone when I found it slightly more panicking than exhilarating in places. Anyway on another day I introduced him to the delights of the Mignient with an unpromisingly damp Bryn Castell. We decided to do further cleaning and play on a pre-new-routing top-rope to see if it cleared up, and lo it did, and the final route project at the crag was complete, and we finished by repeating Adam's pleasant Super Infinite HVS 4c too.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b><u>Lancashire:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b><u>Winewall:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qt206Ck6f6U" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">[ Coping Mechanism / A Guided Detour / Exhume To Consume / Whump!! / Soul Searching ]</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><b>Coping Mechanism</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihBZ10vHFaGMsQ293sFxNNK21sgg9iv2Bo_BMnHPZ2Ge5p7mWN9RrZ3GN8fQ2TKcTbOZmQ-BkF-2uzaDWLTfxE5KqnU9LmJWoj6tonrJTynbtR594FNyowefY8J2AcDBhwdYFD_Va91oZOQKCp8rbwv36HUx3BMQP689FGzTizr_aGWrEvFDUBK1k3dA/s640/ukb2022_coping.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihBZ10vHFaGMsQ293sFxNNK21sgg9iv2Bo_BMnHPZ2Ge5p7mWN9RrZ3GN8fQ2TKcTbOZmQ-BkF-2uzaDWLTfxE5KqnU9LmJWoj6tonrJTynbtR594FNyowefY8J2AcDBhwdYFD_Va91oZOQKCp8rbwv36HUx3BMQP689FGzTizr_aGWrEvFDUBK1k3dA/s320/ukb2022_coping.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Named after the amount of quarry cleaning / guidebook work I was doing last summer, which was my main coping mechanism to deal with persistent elbow injury and related persistent shit climbing ability - better than being an alky or a junkie or sitting in a dark room playing games until my eyes bleed, some of it was even good elbow rehab too. This was the first line I spotted in the now legendary Winewall Quarry when I went there on a hot summer's day after doing some cleaning at the lovely Deeply Vale, to meet R-man who was developing some impressive bouldering potential on an adjacent sidewall. It was far too hot for me to climb so I just lounged on his pads and heckled - but only after I'd had a good recce around the quarry and been impressed by the existing lines, and even more impressed by the potential new lines! This began a whirlwind romance with the quarry which still continues this year as I sporadically pick off established routes - it was genuinely exciting to find some much potential in a roadside crag I'd never heard of before. This particular arete has the best Font 5 climbing in the quarry, but the landing drops away too much to make a highball, so easily placed siderunners were needed. A tight line but fun.<div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>A Guided Detour</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbts8w4jaxphBQN-l3Hcy-69v4grCEREQI1dIpe0Dzxq_hNaknarU-SAk5rPYdGc6gONPG-CuzxLo_1sTKrJ2Uk1HY1HmFMZwYHdTNgblypukyJU-wuH6vkylIiS-U17LjXBywtzep0wn5CKhJUdomGcKhdO356CUifjCYIT8BOhKLkYl7L-xLdzM9FQ/s640/ukb2022_guided.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbts8w4jaxphBQN-l3Hcy-69v4grCEREQI1dIpe0Dzxq_hNaknarU-SAk5rPYdGc6gONPG-CuzxLo_1sTKrJ2Uk1HY1HmFMZwYHdTNgblypukyJU-wuH6vkylIiS-U17LjXBywtzep0wn5CKhJUdomGcKhdO356CUifjCYIT8BOhKLkYl7L-xLdzM9FQ/s320/ukb2022_guided.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Named because, well, it's a fairly circuitous, but with the right guidance about where to go on this wall, it's actually got really good climbing. This was a good example of salvaging a decent route out of an impressive face that didn't work direct. Trying to mantle on the lower sandy break leads you into a gearless dead end or too close to the rocky gully on the left, but traversing in from the VS crack is a real nice technical teeter that culminates in a bit of a jump for shorties, and then a fun finish up the headwall. Minus 1 star line, 2 star climbing I reckon.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Exhume To Consume</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DZX4uUb3S5JXZshxmg_SETefJXCGXQS54dt6nd_CyHAlK2wZWQUPLnDaZSHS-0S8myE6SFnh-tq1EEJVsVL7uc5BMPmTEU0uE-LfTxHDyNtRjUfOKqGufCehZo3-LJTGTCXsMzLNnSacTFhRl2bMnvcsY6CsHnOGDxWAMovAhKaqIyZzyyTuXy-T7g/s640/ukb2022_exhume.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DZX4uUb3S5JXZshxmg_SETefJXCGXQS54dt6nd_CyHAlK2wZWQUPLnDaZSHS-0S8myE6SFnh-tq1EEJVsVL7uc5BMPmTEU0uE-LfTxHDyNtRjUfOKqGufCehZo3-LJTGTCXsMzLNnSacTFhRl2bMnvcsY6CsHnOGDxWAMovAhKaqIyZzyyTuXy-T7g/s320/ukb2022_exhume.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Named after the Carcass track of course, which I first heard on the legendary John Peel show, and also after the adjacent gully with some unfortunate farmer's debris in. The insalubrious gully aside, this is THE line of Winewall, searing an afterimage into your eyeballs as soon as you look left after the 1 minute approach, it would be a 3 star classic if it wasn't for the start. Originally intended to be gained from the adjacent First Vintage, more perusal of the start and some initial squirming unlocked a direct ascent and enough protection to make the classic arete moves feel reasonable - until you're on the post-crux final easier rock-over...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Whump!!</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl3G3iP0N_eFJSqjkOeT5dAgpWjzFc_0x5X72Vqiezry0SKgKOiJ2wOFv8nuVPJI1Wx734y09s1W6vl_UoJ2mtCafLa2aeSbHUkD6cFqBg-wT1BLpS2X-5S4MjCzFfYur3B3Larc5Z6IOESchf8SNaYLx66VV8pfLJKBQGNzCqZWY8t2dAkzmVbR7MGw/s640/ukb2022_whump.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl3G3iP0N_eFJSqjkOeT5dAgpWjzFc_0x5X72Vqiezry0SKgKOiJ2wOFv8nuVPJI1Wx734y09s1W6vl_UoJ2mtCafLa2aeSbHUkD6cFqBg-wT1BLpS2X-5S4MjCzFfYur3B3Larc5Z6IOESchf8SNaYLx66VV8pfLJKBQGNzCqZWY8t2dAkzmVbR7MGw/s320/ukb2022_whump.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Named both for the prolapse-inducing lurch to a jug over the roof, but more pertinently in honour of UKB's glorious insect overlord Shark, who had posted a thread complaining about people throwing mats down next to him at Raven Tor (whilst sieging Ben's Roof Sans Kneebar - Day 8304) and kicking up dust in his face like the ignorant bullies they are. This unusual complaint about climbing ethics resulted in some light-hearted mockery, and me sending him a few videos / screenshots of mat throws around the Peaks. The response was an edited screenshot with the motto "The Bigger The Whump, The Bigger The Chump" :). Anyway this route was quite a late discovery after cleaning the adjacent HVS had me spotting a jug in the headwall on the left and yet another new line!! I didn't like bouncing around on the ab rope trying the lurch over the lip, which is very much hostile to the short heavy climber, so I hadn't practised that and had to work it out on lead, which was pretty satisfying even if it's not my favourite sort of move.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Soul Searching</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiONUXxd9F2zY6389nOb5TkFkYp-dcSdjxO6ZlPwv1tmaa3GGVJyLWlvT5LH8Ka27te1qnTPyFXz3xKIxjcCbnC2qJPhkQs7IcpFQpve8GOQkFjp-FOJh7JLpEnm4crbt8az06J0SSgZODfQkQ2W5nl4xCM-BO2IBdHGj5QCxKFmnutvpCVP2oJzXcHg/s640/ukb2022_soul.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiONUXxd9F2zY6389nOb5TkFkYp-dcSdjxO6ZlPwv1tmaa3GGVJyLWlvT5LH8Ka27te1qnTPyFXz3xKIxjcCbnC2qJPhkQs7IcpFQpve8GOQkFjp-FOJh7JLpEnm4crbt8az06J0SSgZODfQkQ2W5nl4xCM-BO2IBdHGj5QCxKFmnutvpCVP2oJzXcHg/s320/ukb2022_soul.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Named because a lot of soul searching was required before deciding to place a peg on this route - especially in the context that at the time a group of passionate Lancs climbers were campaigning hard to get BMC North West Area approval to remove several pointless retrobolts that were ruining good, established trad routes at Winewall. I pondered on the ethics - including the general principle of avoiding fixed gear (I could do the climb easily as a headpointed new route without the peg, but it would provide more encouragement for onsight ascentionists), how it affects the experience (it doesn't protect either crux, but does protect a post-crux grovel onto a ledge that would be a groundfall), and the possible degradation of the peg (it's in a long seam and would be easily replaced) - before hammering it in as it makes a better trad experience for others. Were it that all people placing fixed gear in Lancashire quarries actually applied as much thought and consideration to a single piece of gear, let alone changing a full route...</div><div><br /></div><div>The route itself was an interesting experience, I'd spotted a line of sidepulls on the seemingly blank lower wall, but with just those it looked too hard and bouldery and I was going to leave it to Dave "mono front lever" Mann. Then a bit more owl-like head-swerving had me spotting opposing sidepulls, a possible compression sequence, and nearby runners, and I had to hoard it for myself. In a twist of fate, Dave came along to do some routes and belayed me, went for a heavy beta flash, fell off reversing a duff sequence on the lower wall, only just clipped the peg, and generally had a jolly fun time and confirmed the grade and quality. Halcyon days!<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /><b><u>Peak Grit:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wD2C4nC5y4E" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">[Omibozu / Bolt Thrower / Gloom Keep / Mobster Lobster]</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><u>John Henry Quarry:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Lobster Mobster</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Named because the name is fun, I like nautical / marine names on Western Front crags, and it's also a slight reference to a Swollen Members lyric<i> "...mobster, used to eating steaks and lobster..."</i>. Yet another route on the impressive right wall at the totally underrated JHQ, revealed after more extensive cleaning - just check out these pictures in the video above compared to the topo picture in the guide. I suspect this wall is now full, and now one of the best training walls for safe and pumpy extremes in the area! This line is a bit escapable as you end up on the edge of a niche shared with the E2 to the right, but still climbs well and is very safe with lots of cams. My other route "Pirate Error" E3 5c * to the left was repeated and enjoyed on a Rucksac club meet this year and the grade and quality confirmed - I then repeated Andy S's very new "Longendale Frights" E3 5c * the same day - a fun action packed day with far more people on new routes than guidebook routes!!<br /><br /><b><u>Cracken Edge:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Omibozu</b> (aka Too Hard For Mark20)</div><div style="text-align: left;">Named after a Japanese mythological sea monster that I had been facing in the Nioh PC game, and Cracken Edge tends to require sea monster names... The working name is a both a play on Too Hard For Mark Leach and also a reference to the gritstone ninja who belayed me but somehow declined a beta-flash repeat.... M20 had original been pencilled in to do this project but when I inspected it more thoroughly I found it was feasible for a gritstone punter as a pre-practised new route. M20 did at least repeat my "Summon The Kraken", which I then failed to cleanly repeat on second, ooops. That didn't put me off too much as the teetery Omibozu is a different kettle of sea monsters, so I went for the lead, albeit with some trepidation which made it more rewarding (as well as the neat, delicate moves).<br /><br /><b><u>Oldgate Nick:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Bolt Thrower</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Named because, well, it's nicknamed Cat Tor, the grossly inferior E5 is named Catapult, I needed an ancient artillery name... Trebuchet? Bolt Thrower! And since that coincided with the mighty Brummie war metal legends, I had to do it as a matter of urgency! This line is a right jolly jaunt and, as can be seen from the brief intro, probably the line of the buttress. I originally went to check out Catapult which looks pretty dire - a couple of campus moves above a leg breaking ledge - but finding this was a greater reward. Apparently it hasn't been done before, well it has now so if you've warmed up at Windgather, have a wee trot over the road!<br /><br /><b><u>Coombes Edge:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Gloom Keep</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Named after Map 5 from Episode 1 from the mighty Quake PC game, a game which pretty much defined my earlier life when I was doing more gaming than living. Still it's a firm favourite and the very start of this map is one of my favourite scenes from the game. There's old graffiti saying "Keep Off" on the crag and the name just occurred to me.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Anyway this was a pretty significant climb for me to do last autumn. A few days before I'd had a major emotional breakdown as part of acutely recurring depression and had to run away to my friend Katy's for a night where I shuffled around like a zombie but did appreciate the company and support and dog cuddles. On my return I was still extremely fragile and shell-shocked, but the weather and Coel's availability aligned to at least get out of the flat and give this line a go - partly encouraged by it being a glorious evening for a crag with the highest "amazing view to minor esoteric crag" ratio in the area. I faffed around, worked it out, hadn't fully done all the moves on the ab rope, so when it came to the crux turning the lip, I had to properly go for it, and had a moment of unadulterated exhilaration as I did it (just audible at 5:30 in the video). This was quite a surprise after some very bleak and anhedonic days where such simple pleasure was unimaginable. I even managed to walk semi-normally around the Mottram Tesco on the way back without being in emotional trauma just looking at the other, normal, people...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-89333689734856740692023-07-10T12:52:00.007-07:002023-07-10T12:52:56.764-07:00The Shock Of The New 2022 - Boulder Problems<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><b>Boulder Problems:</b></u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><b><br />Welsh Coastal Crags:</b></u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><b><br />Porth Howel</b></u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><b><br /></b></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="240" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OxiH3mG_9BI" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">[Noodles / Multiple Choice]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Noodles</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Named after Noodles of course :). Hosey introduced me to Porth Howel in the pissing drizzle, and after too many visits I finally filled this gap before the sun crept onto it. Porth Howel is a lovely spot, with a spectacular walk down to it, and the mischievous pebbles that sometimes obscure the problems' starts also provide a welcoming atmosphere and good lone wolf landings. Noodles is a bit of an eliminate, but it's on great, aesthetic rock, has cool techy and powerful moves, and I had to put some damn effort in.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Multiple Choice</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Pointed out by Senor Hoseo on the same day, and indeed we both gave the start a good go because it was staying dry-ish. I came back, and this also took a few sessions, probably because I was alternating between it and Noodles to make sure I was getting too fatigued overall but also only getting close to both as they were coming into the sun. So named because there were many confusing options at the start, and on the easier but committing finish.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Stinky Pool Issue<br /></b>A nice leisurely afternoon out with Head Mafioso Pantontino, having checked out Ty Mawr in the morning, before decamping to Porth Dinllaen for some easy circuiteering and finally the Ty Coch beachside pub for post-match analysis of course. SPI was a nice techy traverse of the main block that I was surprised to get before Si, and it worked quite well despite the potential Stinky Pool Issue in the landing ;). <br /><br /><u><b>Welsh Rhinog Grit:</b></u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><b><br />Ysgyfarnagod</b></u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><b><br /></b></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="240" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V8PWH1fRPvQ" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">[Ends Of The Earth / Twisting By The Llyn / The Rematch]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>End Of The Earth</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Named because it was the first (or last) problem on the craglet, and the expansive view from the remote ridge feels like you're well away from the rest of the earth, and because, well, the 2020s have been a bit gash haven't they, and who knows where it's all going?? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Twisting By The Llyn</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Named after the twisty moves and the welcoming refreshment of Llyn Ddu scarely 100m away if the sunny grit becomes too much. Part of a charming little Llyn Ddu circuit, itself part of the bigger Ysgyfarnagod circuit, in which the easiest hour walk in the Rhinogs (I did it thrice) takes you to a scenic playground of perfect stone. This was my favourite midgrade problems just due to the techy moves and a committing finish.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>The Rematch</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">So on the first trip Terry took us - inevitably - to a traverse wall, which to be fair was pretty inspiring by his standards. I didn't touch it of course, but did do a few other up problems. On the way out we investigated Llyn Ddu crag which is by far the most obvious bouldering crag in the area - completely untouched since it doesn't really lend itself to traverses (thank god!). Anyway I only did one problem there and insisted that we - or just myself - go back and develop it properly rather than having just one damn problem on the whole crag! The rematch worked well as on the next visit we added a dozen decent and obvious problems.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Inscrutable Urge</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This was the sole problem on the first visit, and is pretty cool if done strictly. The name mangles both Calvin and Hobbes AND Mick Fowler quotes, and could there be any greater combination of inspirations?? It's also the only reason I could come up with for committing to a sketchy top above an iffy landing on my first bouldering visit out after recovering from a torn LCL, at dusk, an hour from the road....</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Chasing Ghosts</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RPkdr6keDs2XecscgzK9bOfsHs45gRpWibqtVi4I4Q4ozhqsPRp1qkneH1nIF5FzOKq706LJFcJ4ZKdFcr_KtmyAAkCdnQRWGRRKqnPnoVG59QLCAdoDtjYfrfi9vwUdAuoz8vmGd1oiFiKxeMvwUSk_BJeqoRAsV2r1QqkkBhZCdYt-875_L3kVFA/s640/ukb2022_chasing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RPkdr6keDs2XecscgzK9bOfsHs45gRpWibqtVi4I4Q4ozhqsPRp1qkneH1nIF5FzOKq706LJFcJ4ZKdFcr_KtmyAAkCdnQRWGRRKqnPnoVG59QLCAdoDtjYfrfi9vwUdAuoz8vmGd1oiFiKxeMvwUSk_BJeqoRAsV2r1QqkkBhZCdYt-875_L3kVFA/w300-h400/ukb2022_chasing.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Named from the patio beneath the adjacent new problem, Katz's Here Hare Here, which turns out to be the work of Emyr Jones whom I climbed with on The Range and had previously been exploring Rhinogs bouldering. Despite the patio the lines were too high for a lone wolf, so we ended up picking them off as a larger team. HHH is the king line, but CG is one of the nicest new problems I've done, cool moves via a hidden crimp to a finish on the most perfect rounded jugs, all in one of the most stunning locations in the entire country.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>The Pit And The Punterdom</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HKjaUWRRWuNBgkRxqr8E9reUBs33rEvCh-fQqSDFB4m8nsoqE-AAcIfl-Wc9hKeJo28L5HD6fyytjOYPmTx47ucTrG9GFSyhxUBjgDF_k-oV54BPL4ATl2uYcb8B0Bd5OHFtGsHtBXeQ9Gue5rUiA4J514HQcl_iqdUvyuFstYbVm4VZF-cN2DzvCg/s640/ukb2022_pit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HKjaUWRRWuNBgkRxqr8E9reUBs33rEvCh-fQqSDFB4m8nsoqE-AAcIfl-Wc9hKeJo28L5HD6fyytjOYPmTx47ucTrG9GFSyhxUBjgDF_k-oV54BPL4ATl2uYcb8B0Bd5OHFtGsHtBXeQ9Gue5rUiA4J514HQcl_iqdUvyuFstYbVm4VZF-cN2DzvCg/w300-h400/ukb2022_pit.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">The pit provided, well, the pit, and I provided the punterdom. There's a TT E4 6b that goes diagonally across the wall above this, and an E8-ish mega project directly through the centre. My wee sitter provides an alternative for anyone feeling more leisurely.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>No Stone Unturned</b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkr1kyeVtxvrc7brrVgsMW94mObY9ve7hVLjDGbobN9pRrKb-R9VwCBTkTblOWovsX31gQzgPJZCI8lk7-_pbQ2uWRKmKO0TjGvrvL9GZKLQEdrdnqUShQKfByt7dlM4sHn0I1DI-Ra7Jv8vkbIeGrkDMPRcdV_6QrBkBHhtaa-SRYlqGOZaFASSNcnw/s640/ukb2022_nostone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkr1kyeVtxvrc7brrVgsMW94mObY9ve7hVLjDGbobN9pRrKb-R9VwCBTkTblOWovsX31gQzgPJZCI8lk7-_pbQ2uWRKmKO0TjGvrvL9GZKLQEdrdnqUShQKfByt7dlM4sHn0I1DI-Ra7Jv8vkbIeGrkDMPRcdV_6QrBkBHhtaa-SRYlqGOZaFASSNcnw/w300-h400/ukb2022_nostone.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A good combination with the above, and another fun wee problem, so named because the boulder cluster was initially disappointing (as so many in the rock-strewn Rhinogau are), but exploring all aspects of it revealed a couple of good lines.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Nunus Is Good News</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A short sitter beneath Terry's traverse wall ("which one?" you ask. #85243 I think). Funnily enough Mari who is the goddess of short sitters couldn't do this because it was 6A compression instead of 7A+++ rat crimps. Mostly done so I could give it this name. Noodles tried to steal Hula Hoops this day. I say she deserves them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Counterintuitive Bollox</b></div></div><div>The first new problem I did in Y Rhinogau and indeed this year. Just named because it was a bit odd and didn't climb how it looked, but still quite fun.</div><div><br /></div><b><u>Fridd Hare Crag:</u></b><div><b><u><br /></u></b><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kLUs-nIlr74" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">[Snootbooper / Neither Ear Nor There / Mezzanine Ridge / Groove / Compress To Impress / Landward Arete / Pillar Of Pain]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Snootbooper</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Named because Pylon King - stoic page-setter of the forthcoming guide - had explored years ago and nicknamed the feature and his stand-up line The Rabbit. The sitter awaited and was much easier than expected with steady compression moves past a truly lovely sloper pinch, on the usual immaculate rock.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Neither Ear Nor There</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">The sidewall of The Hare, another one where the name is better than the climb, but then again the climb is still pretty fun - most ways into the sidewall didn't really work until a stretch into a hold adjacent to Snootbooper unlocked it.<br /><br /><b><u>Fridd Oak Tree Wall:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Mezzanine Ridge</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Mezzanine Groove</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Simple problems with simple names. The Mezzanine boulder has climbing on almost all aretes and all sides so ended up being pretty good value.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Compress To Impress</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Another example of how bewildering it is climbing with the maturing lady crimp waif that is Mari. She totally didn't get the compression on this, so let me flash the FA. I've tried some of her 6C-ish sitters and can't even hold the holds left alone imagine moving between positions.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Half Baked Idea</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">The main line on the boulder that didn't really work - great features but the blankness below forces a disappointingly high start on them, make it feel like half a problem. The much harder sitter awaits...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Pillar Of Pain</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Another problem with "issues". The best easy line in Y Rhinogau, with one of the worst landings for it's height. i.e. it doesn't really have one - hence the name. Thus it's a bit wasted on underperforming boulderers who won't fall off. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Landward Arete<br /></b>So named because it's more part of the parent crag than the Mezzanine block. It didn't look like much but climbed pretty well.<br /><br /><b><u>Welsh Elsewhere:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b><u>Craig Y Clipiau / Cwm Orthin</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="240" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rz-8kUnfwTo" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">[Sais Highway / Slim Pickings / Squeezing One Out]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Sais Highway</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Named after the new A487 Caernarfon bypass that ferries sais conts to the Llyn in unprecedented European-quality comfort. Apparently unclaimed and possibly unclimbed, this is a striking line right on the Craig Y Clipiau approach and 5 minutes from the carpark. Maybe too dodgy pre-pads and not "sick" enough since them? It's also damn good with plentiful holds allowing the arete to succumb to a steady au cheval approach.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Slim Pickings</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's a slim groove and I picked it off as an afterthought...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Bidoight</b> <b>Bypass</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A weird traversey line but one that actually works pretty logically. It bypasses the much harder sitter coming from below, but also features cool moves past a duo pocket. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><a href="https://fiendophobia.blogspot.com/2022/07/diary-of-dog.html"><b>Diary Of Dog</b></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yet another TT / Mari traverse / rat crimp sitter combo crag. Thankfully the sitter was too hard on this so I could enjoy a nice wall climb with a fun combo of some poor handholds / good footholds, then some good handholds / poor footholds. I'm pretty sure Noodles was being a bit of a dick this day and Mari told her quite sternly to "stop that nonsense". Never seems to work.<br /><br /><b><u>Cwm Teigl / Mignient</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="240" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WdWJumEesQ8" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">[End Game / Diary Of Dog / Earl Of Burl]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><b>End Game</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Named in conjunction with a new route I did on the crag above - an arete named End Times as it's a similar twin to End Action on Foel Gron. End Game is also an arete but being a boulder problem, got a more playful name. The Bryn Castell boulder cluster had already been developed by Terry and Mari, and as always they'd focused on traverses and steep lowballs and left the best line of the entire area untouched. Thankfully it even escaped the addition of Ross Barker as he focused on board-style brutality just to the right, leaving me to womble in and find that plentiful holds and a really cool heel-toe made it fairly steady and as good as the line looked.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>The Earl Of Burl</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This was listed in a topo script as a project, so I went along to give it a go and after a LOT of working stuff out with undercuts and slapping around, managed to do it as a nice arete climb after a burly start. I later found out that Sam T had also climbed this bit of rock in via a fairly obtuse eliminate avoiding the arete that you're right next to and that forms the line, so I'm treating this as a natural FA!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Not Helping</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Adjacent to a Pylon King problem "Help Me", thus spaketh the first ascentionist in some concern at the sloping top, naturally I did all I could to assist him i.e. nothing at all! PK was up to meet TT for an important guidebook summit which involved a lot of first ascents from all of us, a lot of cider and red wine for them, and from what I recall, a lot of dog cuddles for me.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>The Brail Snail</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A nice easier addition to Cwm Teigl that will be good for scaring lower grade climbers and is one of quite a good circuit (if you ignore the cheesegrater lip traverses) on very coarse rock in a very beautiful location. I was chuffed to repeat a neat, thin, Waddy problem "A to Z" 6C on that day.<br /><br /><b><u>Dolgellau Forest</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jqgd1JEclGw" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">[Counterintuitive Bollox / Inscrutable Urge / Bidoight Bypass / Madman Stand / Special Mossatary Operation]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Madman Stand</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Another classic example of bouldering with TT and Mari. TT had done a girdle across various bits of rock around this boulder. Mari had done a lone sitter on the shortest bit. They'd left the really good obvious up lines untouched, well I shouldn't look a gift dog in the mouth, so I did them both. This was named because it's a stand start, also because that demented dickscraping Putin had just started trying to fuck up world peace, and as an added bonus Madman Stand is a classic techno album by Robert Armani.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Special Mossatary Operation</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Another play on current affairs, still it could be worse, I could be spewing out utterly naff and banal anti-Tory names like nuggets of regurgitated teen angst. Also there might be a bit of moss in the forest, well a bit less once I got the yard broom on these problems.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Squeezing One Out</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A wee compression thing. Also my usual behaviour when I get to a crag, especially one in a forest with plenty of moss around!!<br /><br /><b><u>Peak / Lancs Grit:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://fiendophobia.blogspot.com/2021/11/solace-part-2.html"><b>Solace / Solexit</b></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">^^ click ^^</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="240" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PPMpAYoj-4U" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">Details in the link above!!</div><br /><a href="https://fiendophobia.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-very-secret-slab.html" target="_blank"><b>Paul's Peach Superdirect</b></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">^^ click ^^</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="240" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S1zUBoMtkHU" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;">I have no idea what new lines I did here if any, as the guide description and UKC logbook are similarly hopeless and contrary, but I expect it was something, maybe even the excellent "two different shoes and one filed down toe rand to fit the pebbles" superdirect?? Regardless it was rewarding cleaning the slab, cleaning up the confusion of lines, and doing some lovely hidden slabbing as elbow rehab.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><a href="https://fiendophobia.blogspot.com/2022/11/another-fallow-year.html" target="_blank"><b>Another Fallow Year</b></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">^^ click ^^</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/99z5HIvKsr0" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">Details in the link above!!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Moonwalk</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1aSjlN4xskUGdzgB7Xqi-fd9NQ8KhZHRqPuipV7-S-JUfe793rlTaUQxrik1N0-RohDbbiUJFQn509qIgzSOtIPDhcRs_AekFmsYZrEwIAg8TLn2L5xUXZTG5-BIL6NPwR5L9Cq-nC816Oy448p69hIs3gOtkEtQ9wkzmtsZ1fML-cwyD7YF0Ri7mA/s640/ukb2022_moonwalk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1aSjlN4xskUGdzgB7Xqi-fd9NQ8KhZHRqPuipV7-S-JUfe793rlTaUQxrik1N0-RohDbbiUJFQn509qIgzSOtIPDhcRs_AekFmsYZrEwIAg8TLn2L5xUXZTG5-BIL6NPwR5L9Cq-nC816Oy448p69hIs3gOtkEtQ9wkzmtsZ1fML-cwyD7YF0Ri7mA/w400-h300/ukb2022_moonwalk.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>A perculiar twin to the real Moonwalk (which I did 15 years ago, that now seems like a distant dream), up a flakey arete with a bold but steady teeter around the arete via a hidden pocket. It's a total eliminate avoiding an adjacent corner, but still cool climbing. This was one of a few days out with the irrepressible R-man who is determined to revitalise Lancashire bouldering once more with many new crags and developments for the forthcoming guidebook, you have been warned.<div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Unnamed, Viewpoint Crag</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A sidewall around the corner for Moonwalk. Quite high, quite easy. There will be a pretty good circuit at this crag now, and the walk isn't that bad.</div></div></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-67868621917549204232022-12-26T00:54:00.002-08:002022-12-26T01:03:40.922-08:00It Shouldn't Come As A Surprise...<div style="text-align: left;"><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u>Warning:</u> <i>Contains amateur ramblings and speculation solely based on personal experience and various anecdotes and perceptions, with a complete lack of any research or scientific basis. Also casually uses the term neurodivergence to refer mostly to autistic spectrum divergence and includes relies on the likely assumption that mental health issues such as anxiety and depression are more prevalent therein. Don't like that slapdash approach?? Go read a proper article that might make an ounce of sense!!</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>It shouldn't come as a surprise...</b><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...that there is a seemingly high correlation between dedicated climbers and neurodivergent people especially on the autistic spectrum (a multifaceted spectrum of various common traits radiating out from a mythical core of "normality", with people having a different profile depending on the prominence of those facets)?? Is it a truism that it's a weird activity for weird people (often in a good way)?? After all, we're designed to swing from trees (jugs) with ease, but what sort of person is designed to sprag quarks 50' above filed down RPs behind a loose flake??</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">One who is potentially drawn to a relatively atypical activity that is:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>All-consuming and captivating in a wide variety of ways</li><li>Rewards intense focus and single-mindedness</li><li>Is individual-focused rather than a team sport, and is often social on a small, tight-knit scale</li><li>Has a wide variety of challenges to tackle and stimulation from those</li><li>Is very much up to the individual how they approach it</li><li>Can be both very organic and spiritual (locations, flow, beauty of the outdoors) and/or incredibly geeky and cognitive (training, planning, progression, gear)</li><li>Can be very distracting from the mundanities of normal existence</li><li>In short allows the climber to be completely obsessive, oblivious to normality, anti-social to the point of sullenness, devoid of conventional emotion, driven by numbers and tactics and other minutiae, etc etc. Or indeed rewards them for being so... What's not to like?!</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;">Climbing is just a sport. Or just a lifestyle. Like many others. But I genuinely believe that those factors above are more prominent than in most activities, and also that climbing just has so much going on it, so many ways to engage and enjoy it, that make it a truly captivating activity. Spending day after day in the bitter cold trying to do two moves on micro-edges is climbing. Watching the sun set over the sea at the top of a new route of unknown rock with the smell of sea-gull shit being the only reference point is climbing. An-pow-cap wanking over Lattice clickbait is climbing (ish). Chatting to your mate and sharing a snack bar on a half-way ledge on a big multi-pitch is climbing. Jumping between resin blobs is climbing and trudging through the snow to stick to vertical slopers is climbing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So it's captivating. It just needs a target to capture, a willing victim or unwitting prey... And with so many factors that are seemingly suitable for some form of neurodivergence, that's the best hunting grounds. Sometimes you get juicier, more prestigious prey. Maybe people like JD, JMcC, ET, DMcC etc seem to be the finer trophies on climbing's wall.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(At least, historically so. With the increase in comfortable consumerist climbing as the gym-style gateway into the sport (and the relatively simplicity of that), maybe the mainstream is taking over, with an increase in neurotypical participants. Ugh)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkkQ0lSuYgIb9-1GEz0oC8or6n4939ndAnhXV16uu-mBRGYFES8Je-meWayhzjDKpWKqq7-mj3d7OJ8Ad0EYi9WTVTMonGLJ026zNrvaEAa8anbN13OEnR1dliodN2_ysgbuy5_EsSU6gHHZyBJa9XqxvRvZCoZK2cI1wePretWONYNLbb2-PcXp_gA/s960/fiend_peg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkkQ0lSuYgIb9-1GEz0oC8or6n4939ndAnhXV16uu-mBRGYFES8Je-meWayhzjDKpWKqq7-mj3d7OJ8Ad0EYi9WTVTMonGLJ026zNrvaEAa8anbN13OEnR1dliodN2_ysgbuy5_EsSU6gHHZyBJa9XqxvRvZCoZK2cI1wePretWONYNLbb2-PcXp_gA/w400-h300/fiend_peg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Completely normal activity. Nothing to see here.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>It shouldn't come as a surprise...</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">...that I am one of those people. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>People sometimes ask why did I choose climbing.</div><div><br /></div><div>The answer is: I didn't, IT chose ME. </div><div><br /></div><div>(Stupid fucking activity.)</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've been dedicated to climbing for over 20 years, and from the start, after having sampled and spurned many sports and activities, it just seemed right to me (somewhat incongruously with my athletic background of, errr, painting toy soldiers). I've seen it through thick and thin, highs and lows, illness and injury and injury and injury, I've battled a fair amount of feeling physical and mental unsuitable for it because it's still just seemed right. And I've always been inspired, always been determined, almost always loved it (and when I haven't it's due to inhibitions getting in the way). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've also had my own tastes and my own drives which are often an incongruous melting pot by climbing's already oddball standards. Most of those examples above and more (well apart from the Latticewanking, fuck that) have drawn me in, with a pretty personal and sometimes peculiar focus.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So no surprises. I am neurodivergent, and that is intrinsically linked to climbing choosing me, me being swallowed alive by it, and being digested to be at one with that activity. "High-functioning (-ish!!) aspergyers" (as it was described back then) personality with a tendency to depression and anxiety (I've done a lot of work in the past on the social/emotional/relational issues that are common and were very prevalent in my youth - I know, imagine what a knobhead I was back then. Still a work in progress of course). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's me. It's not something I want to write about, nor broadcast publicly. With a bit of a, ummm, particular personality already, I can already be a bit of a target, and I don't want to me more of one. But equally I don't want to be hidden away when being open about these things could be beneficial to me, and even to people around me. In recent years - more specifically this year - the depression and anxiety and other old issues that have been snapping at my heels have caught me up as injury and age and personal issues have slowed me down, and.....they kinda nip hard. And whilst I'm tackling that myself, I'm also needing help and support, so I've had to take the risk, make myself vulnerable and open up. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm writing this because I want to clear it up. And for any people who are wondering <i>"Yeah right why is that belligerent sod Chief Inspector Twat Of The Ethics Police, amateur chossaneer and relentless contrarian coming across as such a needy, fragile fanny these days??" </i>- now you know. Because it's all part of that same personality, all sides of the same coin (and indeed the Chief Twat is all part of the coin of being passionate about climbing). Loving grovelling up silty chimneys on Red Wall // being out looking at the most beautiful scenery with an empty heart because I don't understand what it all means - it's all part of it; Walking 2 hours with 2 pads and 2 gammy legs to do the best hand crack boulder problem in the UK // pacing around my living room at 8am in the morning because I'm frantic about indecision on going to Ratho in a team of 3 - it's all part of it. And this bewildering and challenging melting pot of personality traits is something I perceive as fairly common, whether people need to admit it or not. I've had to...and hope it works out.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-90169916444404731512022-12-23T04:03:00.004-08:002022-12-23T04:03:52.608-08:00Five Favourites From 2022<div style="text-align: left;"><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u>Best Albums of 2022:</u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: left;">(Shamelessly copied from my UKB post)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />A neat 5 slices of sonic excellence for you:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />Tripped - Unboxed</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gPyPz1RSi_8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D-ILHQi_kQ&list=PLR8jjdYYmdaXSYiQRxoYI0c9Izpl1-bAM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D-ILHQi_kQ&list=PLR8jjdYYmdaXSYiQRxoYI0c9Izpl1-bAM<br /></a>(full playlist)<br /><a href="https://prspctrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/unboxed">https://prspctrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/unboxed</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Prspct dropping Album Of The Year for the 3rd year in a row, but what do you expect from one of the world's premier electronic dance music labels?? Unboxed is an absolute rollercoaster of energetic techno themes from the euphoric to the relentless and back again, but what really make it stands out is how Tripped focuses on a refreshing directness of dance music - there is a bare minimum of the "endless big cheesy breakdown into a predictable drop of empty beats" cliches here. Instead it's all about driving and evolving beats that are constantly layered with atmospheric sounds - danceable and listenable at the same time.<br /><br /><br /><b>Presha - Rats Infest 1 / 2 / 3</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XKQUHAvptvs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR1FYauQp0k&list=PLRPUUEqmciasnfYyYEwXy3idJ9pvAePGw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR1FYauQp0k&list=PLRPUUEqmciasnfYyYEwXy3idJ9pvAePGw<br /></a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlaUa7XBhhk&list=PLRPUUEqmciatr5oqQuQv-l8Aae2iYalVe">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlaUa7XBhhk&list=PLRPUUEqmciatr5oqQuQv-l8Aae2iYalVe</a><br />(full playlists)<br /><a href="https://presha.bandcamp.com/album/rats-infest-1">https://presha.bandcamp.com/album/rats-infest-1<br /></a><a href="https://presha.bandcamp.com/album/rats-infest-2">https://presha.bandcamp.com/album/rats-infest-2<br /></a><a href="https://presha.bandcamp.com/album/rats-infest-3">https://presha.bandcamp.com/album/rats-infest-3</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Samurai Records is another label that can do no wrong, and following last year's highlight of the boss's Rats EP, this is followed up with a seething swarm of remixes that over 2 EPs and a single makes for a superb album across a broad spectrum of proper modern jungle (and bonus breaks on #3). It's hard to resist the cliche of "deep, dark, and deadly", but these tracks are undeniably that, with the usual Samurai creative hallmarks.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Mares Of Thrace - The Exile</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tGu5B-JN5b4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGu5B-JN5b4&list=OLAK5uy_kKTs5FDtbFY-Y80IJXlH9BWwz_6CQqBcI&index=1">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGu5B-JN5b4&list=OLAK5uy_kKTs5FDtbFY-Y80IJXlH9BWwz_6CQqBcI&index=1<br /></a>(full playlist)<br /><a href="https://maresofthrace.bandcamp.com/album/the-exile">https://maresofthrace.bandcamp.com/album/the-exile</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Mares are back after a long hiatus and whilst they're now one Mare and one Stallion, the musical quality of their epic, sexy, groovy, bluesy, quirky dissonant extreme metal blend is as good as it ever was. Lovely.<br /><br /><br /><b>Samurai - Hannya II</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E-FPH9WidHM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMSDaEcH5HY&list=PLRPUUEqmciauOgil8nobW2pp6IzgH7ckz">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMSDaEcH5HY&list=PLRPUUEqmciauOgil8nobW2pp6IzgH7ckz<br /></a>(full playlist)<br /><a href="https://samuraimusic.bandcamp.com/album/samurai-hannya-ii">https://samuraimusic.bandcamp.com/album/samurai-hannya-ii</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />If the Rats Infest EPs were a broad spectrum of proper modern jungle, Samurai's second Hannya compilation is the FULL spectrum. For a music genre that could seem dated after near 30 years, the future-looking freshness here is a captivating reassurance. From methodical technoid plodders from Mako, minimal tribalism from The Untouchables, serious industrial jungle presha from Presha, and proper fucking nightmare fuel from Artilect, there's a whole lot of quality to take in here.<br /><br /><br /><b>Origin - Chaosmos</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KOxcwJdQvZ4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2kzewIKTKY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2kzewIKTKY<br /></a><a href="http://origin-chaosmos.com/">http://origin-chaosmos.com/</a> (pain in the arse but is available on digital somehow)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />And Origin are back in action with an album that really caught my attention after getting a bit lost with their previous releases. This one is an absolute cracker that has all the brain-warping leadwork and frantic technicality of Origin at their best, but with a whole lot more variety and fun packed into one album, with black and hardcore influences swirling around along with some more traditional tracks. <br /> </div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-61786725248472949282022-11-30T03:45:00.001-08:002022-11-30T03:45:42.739-08:00Thinning the wedge??<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://fiendophobia.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-wedge-keeps-thickening.html" target="_blank">I posted a year about about the general increase in retro-bolting of good protectable trad routes in various areas across the UK.</a> It seems my concerns were more prescient than alarmist: On my only two (due to injury) visits to The Ormes this year, the amount of retro-bolting seems to be accelerating rather than being curtailed. This means that when I turned up to rehab my elbow on some minor but enjoyable E1/2s on the usual pleasant Pen Trwyn rock, I found them to have been fully retro-bolted and turned into sport routes. I led them on trad anyway (which, despite the all-too-common false arguments to the contrary, definitely alters / spoils the experience, especially if it was on routes closer to the climber's limit), and still managed to enjoy good protectable trad <i>despite</i> the very unwelcome bolting situation. See below for more details.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There has been some online discussion, some discussion at the BMC North Wales Area Meet, and some extra discussion between interested parties about this issue. I've had some closer discussion with concerned friends and whilst there is some agreement that the this is an entirely undesirable and negative situation that is detrimental to both British trad climbing and the sport / trad balance in historically "mixed" venues, what to actually DO about this is another question - one that is sadly not solved merely by ranting.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So I've had a think and come up with a few ideas of how to TRY to reverse the trend a bit. As with Ken Canute (RIP), this is probably still trying to stop the ceaseless tide, but maybe it's worth trying. These are only my own ideas, perhaps naive and ill-formed, but they could be a starting point...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Practical actions:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>1. Climb the minor but enjoyable trad routes in these venues NOW.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Partly don't keep putting them off because "I've got bigger plans and those routes will always been there for a quick hit / casual day". Because apparently they won't... And partly because the "this route was neglected and was rarely climbed as trad" reason is seemingly still used to "justify" retrobolting. So if the routes are more obviously climbed and not neglected, that reason becomes more invalid.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>2. If suitable, do some careful cleaning (such as access allows).</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This obviously depends on what is permissible and sensible. But if a route is relatively neglected and has become vegetated, this might put people off (even if it's still perfectly climbable). A light trim and spruce up can encourage people to get on it, and further reduce the "unpopular trad" argument.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>3. If suitable, replace old fixed gear like-for-like.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Similar to above, depending on what is permissible and sensible. Old and rotting fixed gear that might need to be replaced somehow seems to transmogrify into yet another spurious "justification" for retro-bolting - not just replacing the fixed gear (or even just checking if it's needed at all!!), but bolting the whole route up because it had an old bolt or two pegs that needed replacing. This could be stopped before it started by replacing JUST the essential old fixed gear yourself (obviously having learnt the necessary skills and doing a safe job)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>4. Publicise the quality of these trad routes</b>.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Following and of the above actions - PROMOTE THE ROUTES. Get good photos. Assess the trad gear situation. Write up a good report. Suggest tweaks to grades and descriptions, correct anything that's misleadingly off-putting. Provide people with good information about good routes and encourage them to go and climb them. If enough people do, it could show the quality of the trad enough to dissuade retro-bolting.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>5. Be supportive and respectful of bolt removal.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Hypothetically. If it were to happen.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>High level involvement:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>1. Discuss the situation in general, online and in real life. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A lot of the retro-bolting seems to come from people doing it without consultation, without warning, without discussion. The modus operandi seems to be secrecy / minimal consultation and try to let it become the route's status quo before anyone notices and queries it. Conversely, highlighting the issues, posting about them online, talking with other climbers about them, and raising awareness can bring the retro-bolting out into the open, maybe dissuade people from doing it too readily, and maybe encourage more people to stand against it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>2. If you know anyone involved with retro-bolting, talk to them, express your perspective.</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Ask them to please avoid retro-bolting trad routes, especially without consultation. It might fall on deaf ears but enough calmly put requests might add up (and see 5. below).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>3. Attend BMC Area Meets or at least check the minutes of the meetings to keep informed.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Despite relatively limited participation and the difficulty for non-locals to attend, these still seem to have some importance and often provide a formal forum to investigate these issues. Put up with the boring / hill-walking bits, put the effort in attend if you can, or keep up to date with the meeting minutes if you can't.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>4. If there are any polls or consensus requests, vote in them and make your view heard.</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Similar to getting the issues out in the open, don't keep your views private where they're not able to have any influence. Take part in any situation or consultation where a yay or nay, or a hand raised, or a "I vote for..." post can add to the numbers. Anyone can do this and it could help.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>5. Keep a balance and pick the right battles. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A general disapproval of bolts and sport climbing is futile these days. It seems many people responsible for retro-bolting also do good work that doesn't spoilt trad routes. E.g. if they've also been involved with replacing bolts on established sport routes, replacing lower-offs or adding them where needed, replacing like-for-like fixed gear, putting up new sport routes - praise them for such, make it clear that all of that, without retro-bolting, is appreciated and valuable.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Grass roots encouragement:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>1. Encourage people at relevant crags to get on trad routes and give them a go.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Share your knowledge, spread your enthusiasm. Give them ideas of what might be good and suitable. Overhear someone at at a mixed trad/sport sector saying "Oh I'm keen to do my first E1 but the ones here look a bit blank"?? Point them at what you know, reassure them the gear is okay. Overhear general qualms about trad?? Sing it's praises, explain how much great stuff there is to go at on trad.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>2. Promote trad across social media and other forums.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Try to be a positive influence on people where trad - and where preserving trad - is concerned. Highlight all that is good about it, reassure people about anything that might be putting them off, provide information about easy ways into trad, and in general present it palatably and accessible as possible. Any post, any discussion where you can positively nudge people towards it, try to do so.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>3. Try to answer any concerns / questions about trad that might be putting people off.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">E.g. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"It's dangerous"</i> - there's a huge amount of well-protected routes where you can place gear more regularly than on a sport routes, so it's definitely not necessarily dangerous.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"It's scary"</i> - fear is part of the challenge and can be tackled and learnt to be overcome.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"It takes too long to learn"</i> - that partly depends on the climbers diligence and dedication, and people who are determined enough and really focus on the core principles of placing gear, ropework, and the overall safety system can pick it up quickly.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"It's too expensive to learn"</i> - formal trad instruction is expensive but it also opens up a vast array of excellent climbing all over the UK, and there's the option of informal coaching from clubs or other climbers.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"I don't know where to start"</i> - give this person a list of courses and outdoor instruction venues to contact!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"A trad rack is too expensive"</i> - thee are various ways around this including: hooking up with someone who has a rack, initially sharing a rack purchase with a friend, joining a climbing club, getting good advice about the bare minimum starting rack, etc.</div><div style="text-align: left;">...and if it's really all too much, suggest that top-roping trad routes in these areas might be better as a last resort rather than asking for them to be retro-bolted??</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>4. Try not to alienate people.</b> Highlight the quality of trad whilst acknowledging the popularity of sport - and inform people about the large amount of sport available in many areas so they know there's often plenty to do without needing to support retro-bolting trad. Phrase the encouragement positively rather than judgementally.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>5. Take people under your wing if you can.</b> Be a mentor, be an informal guide, offer to take people out, be part of a climbing club. Pass down your experience and encourage people to develop the skills to do more trad and rely less on bolted routes (and maybe reduce the pressure to create more of them).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">------</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Recent-ish retro-bolting examples:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Tramstation Crag:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A very pleasant and accessible suntrap that would be a charming little trad venue in inclement weather or for a quick hit. The routes are short, some are pretty minor, but the rock and climbing are good as usual.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The Three Musketeers <strike>E1 5b *</strike></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This would make a lovely little first E1 for anyone who can place wires. Lots of wires. So many wires that I started running out of quickdraws. Very steady good tradding with nice hidden sharp flake holds.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UuQoo3OjkwJHstI3gnmAqjLg_0T0NM0Zt369sRXYiRf92qv2Ox_lUMPz446tH4XbQ5_BBCgJtcA3CmMUHiZSkjqfUSLIuxK-fDkp98gPkS9UOBeR3_vWQ3mS3iHH0b_WvcqeP2cuo3Y61gsFwLSl2h7DoSjqAc3yYesU6e4bCYKkPeTqIFEWzCSQqw/s960/fiend_tram4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UuQoo3OjkwJHstI3gnmAqjLg_0T0NM0Zt369sRXYiRf92qv2Ox_lUMPz446tH4XbQ5_BBCgJtcA3CmMUHiZSkjqfUSLIuxK-fDkp98gPkS9UOBeR3_vWQ3mS3iHH0b_WvcqeP2cuo3Y61gsFwLSl2h7DoSjqAc3yYesU6e4bCYKkPeTqIFEWzCSQqw/s320/fiend_tram4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFS_q6UF3Douqbc-zaP2_JFf6JldpWOf9F21DMO0x9vN2-OPlW-MLT93A5FcleusbCGgtJI8_PKAbEPQhBb00isY6oBMTNVzS64jjlfRKhhipTsE3qq4EBjV7Res3cpLtCKNyV8Gq1ri6bpGZOjKeEii5beQW-1X0ci6lAoNkNR93Is4ut6um6iERfuA/s960/fiend_tram1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFS_q6UF3Douqbc-zaP2_JFf6JldpWOf9F21DMO0x9vN2-OPlW-MLT93A5FcleusbCGgtJI8_PKAbEPQhBb00isY6oBMTNVzS64jjlfRKhhipTsE3qq4EBjV7Res3cpLtCKNyV8Gq1ri6bpGZOjKeEii5beQW-1X0ci6lAoNkNR93Is4ut6um6iERfuA/s320/fiend_tram1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>D'Artagnan <strike>E1 5c *</strike></b></div>Another pleasant wee route with an easier start and a trickier and nicely technical finish. This was protected in the classic and natural Ormes "hybrid" style of having a lone bolt on the only blank bit. It would have been obvious and sensible to replace this lone bolt instead of retro-bolting a good route, or actually just remove the upper bolt given there are micro-cam placements nearby.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZwJOPZuBw6Xj4glAhQLA1vF2UniJ5a-X-i9GuXb1wCYraODwRAz8hQd-4uMvktak5wXOTuPJFOdw170ESmrGoAe0rqcYIv_pRNSv3I9jwi-mTIEODkx31W65vCzXmfVeyVVEHyt1Gdww0dXAJaAaJ6W3hZDWLaWcYA5ZAfrzWU8dPgMvc_NbqDF7LA/s880/fiend_tram3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZwJOPZuBw6Xj4glAhQLA1vF2UniJ5a-X-i9GuXb1wCYraODwRAz8hQd-4uMvktak5wXOTuPJFOdw170ESmrGoAe0rqcYIv_pRNSv3I9jwi-mTIEODkx31W65vCzXmfVeyVVEHyt1Gdww0dXAJaAaJ6W3hZDWLaWcYA5ZAfrzWU8dPgMvc_NbqDF7LA/s320/fiend_tram3.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfLz1NiAUTS-eUKBTf212TXQ00NHmKSTEDaSMcA8zUh6qTMJWkjRGbUc_QIAsJPiBM-VFtZSfCshY1QXQkVY-7a0jetkY7PkruldoSnWDrM4k4sWLl_PHRQ67l3co2_BeCpDE-Fy3IOY_33BeAeKUeyB6ah14C4MDcUo2bbYS62jR6F8q15WWf_5iOw/s960/fiend_tram2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfLz1NiAUTS-eUKBTf212TXQ00NHmKSTEDaSMcA8zUh6qTMJWkjRGbUc_QIAsJPiBM-VFtZSfCshY1QXQkVY-7a0jetkY7PkruldoSnWDrM4k4sWLl_PHRQ67l3co2_BeCpDE-Fy3IOY_33BeAeKUeyB6ah14C4MDcUo2bbYS62jR6F8q15WWf_5iOw/s320/fiend_tram2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><br />(Not shown is <b>The Catwalk Direct </b><b><strike>E2 5c *</strike> </b>on the left of this wall. The route originally had plentiful trad gear to start, a couple of hybrid bolts to protect the crux, and then a weird traverse out right for unknown reasons. It seems entirely sensible to have a lower-off at the finish to get the natural direct line without the traverse. It would have also been sensible to replace the two old bolts, or even better replace them with a single bolt to give more of a committing feel, rather than fully retro-bolting.)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><b>St Tudno's Upper</b><div>Just one of many of a good cluster of crags in Lighthouse Area with fine sea-views, easy access but an exposed feel, good rock, good climbing, and in theory a good sport / trad blend.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Rest And Be Thankful <strike>E2 5c **</strike></b></div><div>A cracker of a route with more gear than you can place, although you still have to properly go for it on a typically committing but rewarding Ormes crux leading to good holds. Apparently there were two old pegs and a thread. These were clearly not needed, but what really wasn't needing was retrobolting.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY5IQ70BOTIGpjpxOtPOAWnKY1hgDD48TxbwK4g6X8oUvtoaGPHmLUqeuZ8kqKz8ZLt1VS0dgCTmfQmys9hfzoLCNG497PfEVgOUlKAm1UqZBCXYlv1ZW9BJacPJFy8zQVG81kfOKwBGey4jvHR6xCI1vdfB2k1Yb6m_n7DhBHhY7cy5c2WzOk22cRMQ/s880/retro_fiend1_a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY5IQ70BOTIGpjpxOtPOAWnKY1hgDD48TxbwK4g6X8oUvtoaGPHmLUqeuZ8kqKz8ZLt1VS0dgCTmfQmys9hfzoLCNG497PfEVgOUlKAm1UqZBCXYlv1ZW9BJacPJFy8zQVG81kfOKwBGey4jvHR6xCI1vdfB2k1Yb6m_n7DhBHhY7cy5c2WzOk22cRMQ/s320/retro_fiend1_a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFiJO4nUDcXFk1uYdl8DJRK8JVLyMhD70GUB-7C6-TiWzAsXOSvh9FzfkrucZih505XLS-hNsDoN3ngQaNI9vFXv_DKSNxdVazMFFWtZvIfdIgT3D6MP2eYaJyzNbxzZwp7jHcI0INYYTsP5gG4SuRMkt5Yj8wgQjf-Xu8g0WnRM3MX2G-OTYRK6aFw/s880/retro_fiend1_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFiJO4nUDcXFk1uYdl8DJRK8JVLyMhD70GUB-7C6-TiWzAsXOSvh9FzfkrucZih505XLS-hNsDoN3ngQaNI9vFXv_DKSNxdVazMFFWtZvIfdIgT3D6MP2eYaJyzNbxzZwp7jHcI0INYYTsP5gG4SuRMkt5Yj8wgQjf-Xu8g0WnRM3MX2G-OTYRK6aFw/s320/retro_fiend1_b.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><b>Pile Driver <strike>E2 5b</strike> </b></div><div>A good and photogenic line with some committing climbing away from the good gear low down. Maybe a bit unbalanced to be worth a star here but definitely would get one on Peaks / Yorkshire lime and still well worth doing, and keeping, as trad.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGz4-iGf0rjlGwVmguQG8XQnRMEEnWMccWTllDtbVtFSl9lhSAowRefnvIisJuGQqPkny1zWTv3H_Hpk2otBbo-KAvv6HhXkKqh1iRT9HImpK0Yj7b1Mu_MRhNtB7SEoclakQgVn3qCPh9poTWRSf8aKTkYGFfDUyH69kNSXfswVnBz7Tnza3Dvk5zQ/s960/retro_fiend2_a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGz4-iGf0rjlGwVmguQG8XQnRMEEnWMccWTllDtbVtFSl9lhSAowRefnvIisJuGQqPkny1zWTv3H_Hpk2otBbo-KAvv6HhXkKqh1iRT9HImpK0Yj7b1Mu_MRhNtB7SEoclakQgVn3qCPh9poTWRSf8aKTkYGFfDUyH69kNSXfswVnBz7Tnza3Dvk5zQ/s320/retro_fiend2_a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPH6QswOIpxWVaUUdTYfFHy1Esmbh7oZ1vvb8vPd_1CbP-YKbcN0MczxoqncEFU81UqZ3cH_-mPiMYed-duRp-peVPo_t0Vu_NgftBwyhf1muwquSMiHcejcgvq7hNQxa-qhlnE6jK8uKi63tos3iRTqsHmS01VynGCYz01bhYwCz5y66KDOm6biSm8w/s880/retro_fiend2_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPH6QswOIpxWVaUUdTYfFHy1Esmbh7oZ1vvb8vPd_1CbP-YKbcN0MczxoqncEFU81UqZ3cH_-mPiMYed-duRp-peVPo_t0Vu_NgftBwyhf1muwquSMiHcejcgvq7hNQxa-qhlnE6jK8uKi63tos3iRTqsHmS01VynGCYz01bhYwCz5y66KDOm6biSm8w/s320/retro_fiend2_b.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Thank You Johnny / Thank You Matt <strike>E2 5c **</strike></b></div><u>Note:</u> There is some confusion about this line. The bolter / retro-bolter claims it's a new sport route and not a retro-bolted version of TYJ, however it is listed on UKC as TYJ F6a+ "Now retro-bolted". Which does mean that any pro-retro-bolting arguments using UKC logbook ticks as a "popularity" "justification" for removing trad routes might be based on unreliable evidence.</div><div>Anyway what is clear is this is a good trad route with plentiful gear (fiddly in the main break but with a great shake-out there and easy gear just right) and a really nice techy rockover crux that shouldn't have been retro-bolted - and for that matter should have been done as trad if it is a new line.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9Z-612b4ErG37X2c0vcSeqrzP1nFVP7hC7RCPXmF9rEKQCGlCGgkyJTV8W5N2UbkPLN-1kvigofXAswmWMg3maUoFvL_hyo6nZq8EwahGQJzQ3Xq0ZDyGPdGQvapjitwn0I1ldCY29KCYyKbBR6x_ukFj-M2Ab9oBB2JTELltOd9DNl4gCmIjw0zDw/s880/retro_fiend3_a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9Z-612b4ErG37X2c0vcSeqrzP1nFVP7hC7RCPXmF9rEKQCGlCGgkyJTV8W5N2UbkPLN-1kvigofXAswmWMg3maUoFvL_hyo6nZq8EwahGQJzQ3Xq0ZDyGPdGQvapjitwn0I1ldCY29KCYyKbBR6x_ukFj-M2Ab9oBB2JTELltOd9DNl4gCmIjw0zDw/s320/retro_fiend3_a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpHetTdHFRdT9B_pBP2rdT-7SJqSjZqIniTBnE43qrdXgEGR8IG8NUqgQvFPXjYiUkRgwvmADvSnj9Zz8Ah-hYFdDcw7lGU3MSqjNdtwlOTkCXOOu1woOECJnzW86LgO9nVEKTf_8_hUkZXeme2T8C5yJk7IHk2IHYxvwS6eunyhMVJqHuII5c5_xWw/s880/retro_fiend3_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpHetTdHFRdT9B_pBP2rdT-7SJqSjZqIniTBnE43qrdXgEGR8IG8NUqgQvFPXjYiUkRgwvmADvSnj9Zz8Ah-hYFdDcw7lGU3MSqjNdtwlOTkCXOOu1woOECJnzW86LgO9nVEKTf_8_hUkZXeme2T8C5yJk7IHk2IHYxvwS6eunyhMVJqHuII5c5_xWw/s320/retro_fiend3_b.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><b>And All Hell Broke Loose <strike>E2 5c *</strike></b></div><div>Another good route with a stiff (but easier than it looks) start, a bit of boldness, then some delicacy, and a final thought-provoking crux with plentiful good small gear and a good rest to ponder it all. I found this one particularly satisfying even if it is a bit disjointed. The guide mentions a peg, it's clear this wasn't needed and neither was retro-bolting.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJT8sBITDPSBqoWWpJ03PEASBm9cBxVS_UGBazoOhcqdgP1h84I3-zymZM346aU2jvK0g7_l_FSvvKmmxvz8guN2B6DawlSz0K9v8TdGvtGMPL66M-VfYYvAlrN5yoK4mz-DdvihYcf6nZGZEMEjdFJ6L1tl6s5qxU5_CPOria45rtN-0zyUVmU_h5A/s880/retro_fiend4_a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJT8sBITDPSBqoWWpJ03PEASBm9cBxVS_UGBazoOhcqdgP1h84I3-zymZM346aU2jvK0g7_l_FSvvKmmxvz8guN2B6DawlSz0K9v8TdGvtGMPL66M-VfYYvAlrN5yoK4mz-DdvihYcf6nZGZEMEjdFJ6L1tl6s5qxU5_CPOria45rtN-0zyUVmU_h5A/s320/retro_fiend4_a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">Hopefully this seemingly yearly post next year will be a lot more positive and celebratory??...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-26342396772058780922022-11-22T02:08:00.000-08:002022-11-22T02:08:35.387-08:00Another Fallow Year<div style="text-align: left;"> <br /><i>"It's okay"</i>, said the ginger beastlette, <i>"sometimes you just need to have a fallow year. Take a step back from pushing yourself, from doing major challenges, from aiming for strong inspirations. Let yourself recover, let the spirit and psyche regrow. It's what serious climbers and actual athletes would do."</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And she was right.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I did have to take a step back due to physical and mental health issues. A step away from challenges and inspirations and exciting destinations. A fallow spring and summer - when the weather was hot and everyone was in the shady mountains, I was grumping away at the climbing wall, when the weather was generally nice and people were exploring crags all over, I was day-tripping to grotty sport bollox to masochist myself redpointing. The amount of big ticks that got away was the only big number around, but it was all I could cope with - and I was keeping my activity levels and climbing strength up. God redpointing is bollox, but it does keep you moving and pulling hard.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So come autumn, inhibitive issues had alleviated a bit, and my body was ready to keep climbing, the physical GAINZ from the redpointing bollox paid off, and I had as good a big inspiration / major challenge trad autumn as I ever had (...for the last time, it seems...). So the fallow period did indeed work.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The thing is, this was 2018, not 2022. 2022 is another fallow year, but it's a very different fallow year.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">2018 was about digestive issues, occasional debilitating nausea bouts, the fragility that left me with (go on a camping trip to the north west with those looming over me?? nope...), and the associated vagal depression - the latter having a clear cause and not being too overwhelming. The rest of my body was holding up okay (including a complete lack of decade-long golfer's elbow that cleared up within a week of the reflexologist I was seeing for my digestion finding <i>"a strong pressure point reaction indicating upper left limb issues"</i>) and my physical ability to dick around on the rock in between dangling off bolts was as good as it's been post-DVTs/post-weight-gain. Once the bouts became more sporadic and the increased citalopram and CBT kicked in, I could put that into action.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">2022 the digestive issues are not an issue. The perma-injury is, and the associated cumulative depression from that combining with age, perma-heaviness, old mental health issues and new personal issues. Full golfer's elbow from late September 2021 to <i><checks date></i> late November 2022 (and counting...) with only a brief respite in March/April, plus LCL injury from December 2021 to March 2022, plus tennis elbows in February/March then May 2022 has meant I've had only the slightest chance to get a meagre period of near-normal climbing strength (March/April), and no chance whatsoever of getting any fitness nor confidence. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>This</i> fallow year is not only about taking a step back from pushing myself, from major challenges, from strong inspirations, it's about taking a step back from the positive physical side I sought solace in in 2018, the side that enabled me to keep going and come out with my climbing ability intact. In fact it's about taking a step back from most of the positivity in climbing in general.... I came out of 2018 with my physical ability probably slightly improved, and maybe my confidence from getting through the fallow year. I'm going to come out of 2022 with almost everything about my climbing worsened, apart from possibly flexibility, which I have managed to "train" a little bit, by not avoiding stretching quite as much as before! Maybe there will also be some benefits to the groundwork I've been forced to do about mental health issues, but that won't be evident yet.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is a fallow year from which nothing is going to regrow in the foreseeable future...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I said a step back from most of the positivity in climbing. Not all. There have been a few very brief moments of strong inspiration rather than treading water waiting and hoping for it all to pass. This was one, by random chance something that was interesting in it's obscurity and challenging in a way which mostly bypassed my injury.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/99z5HIvKsr0" title="YouTube video player" width="420"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>An interesting process and the name just came to me.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-44405165594314693562022-07-03T14:30:00.003-07:002022-07-03T14:30:53.677-07:00Diary of DOG.<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Hello I am <b>Nunu</b> aka <b>Noodles</b>, Mari and Terry's 12 year old husky-alsatian cross. I like pulling on the lead all the way to the crag, sleeping at
the crag on anyone's down jacket, begging for food, trying to steal
people's lunches, and then pulling on the lead all the way back from the
crag. Anyway "Fiend" (who is clearly quite daft) somehow volunteered to dogsit me whilst M and T were
off galivanting so I write guest dog guest blog to tell everyone
about grand adventures.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><b>Day 1 - Talfarach, Llanbedrog, Gesail</b><div><b><br /></b>WHY YOU DOGNAPPING ME IN SMOL CAR WITH TECHNOS??</div><div><br />Doesn't
seem right. Where's the big van? Why don't I have bouldering mats
toppling onto my head at any slight bump? Where are we going?<br /><br />Oh okay through a farm with really rude dogs who do the Big Barks and snap at me and have no manners and fuck off.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirZshGjZEoW4hreXlnwJ12i84UPQFoowkWyWQXxPOvYkNkZZSEh8A4bB7yC2EVZ_fvhVWzTuC7m5wFTDtws7prcvHUWCx4gIyLLF5npVLx3RuZic69XdTVjsD8hsMcJ7XY_-zJMtrVEJQo6ToiqMfpit8OSNhSzRy4fJv1IqrkTW8iKtBzInJ8W5Lx2w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirZshGjZEoW4hreXlnwJ12i84UPQFoowkWyWQXxPOvYkNkZZSEh8A4bB7yC2EVZ_fvhVWzTuC7m5wFTDtws7prcvHUWCx4gIyLLF5npVLx3RuZic69XdTVjsD8hsMcJ7XY_-zJMtrVEJQo6ToiqMfpit8OSNhSzRy4fJv1IqrkTW8iKtBzInJ8W5Lx2w=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">What now tied under a boulder in the shade no I want to be in the sun and frying alive. Where you going?? What is "recce offwidth with horrible landing"?? Doesn't sound like dog treats to me.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9Utdjf9naAfZTi_dhe0WRdmxR0VwDJooOOlLJIqiQrkhcknvEJGdwltpBxZCl_zDQ5MoihLf11ifRk-LRc6XLqPwNXoRKodAaJs-ljNm7BF4DzmMFnXfbh_vTJlxpgMN0CeBdhWmyjLMfCu_iXLEnwFIIwWsBEQOPU25KBHm_AiFZzM-NrQql05ak2w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9Utdjf9naAfZTi_dhe0WRdmxR0VwDJooOOlLJIqiQrkhcknvEJGdwltpBxZCl_zDQ5MoihLf11ifRk-LRc6XLqPwNXoRKodAaJs-ljNm7BF4DzmMFnXfbh_vTJlxpgMN0CeBdhWmyjLMfCu_iXLEnwFIIwWsBEQOPU25KBHm_AiFZzM-NrQql05ak2w=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>SRSLY NOT SURE ABOUT THIS.<br /><br />Oh
okay you gave me smol bit of egg that rolled into crack in the rock and
now I can spend 15 minutes trying to lick it out this might be okay.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDI-hObPLRPCfqhxXFBbCkJPxdw9cZ0FBiyl5RaPKDoFggmZ44kwyFVbLljUMH9PiX168oFjCzslcicZjksGtoU3JiiK4xDtkvUzEge8vIoJgpfbr_vdDA10c5tWpmVG4SIPeeiMZ-mUiIbOjfmX3pY4auf-rmgL1UqAIU8Uye69Hq_GY7LFD11edOCA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDI-hObPLRPCfqhxXFBbCkJPxdw9cZ0FBiyl5RaPKDoFggmZ44kwyFVbLljUMH9PiX168oFjCzslcicZjksGtoU3JiiK4xDtkvUzEge8vIoJgpfbr_vdDA10c5tWpmVG4SIPeeiMZ-mUiIbOjfmX3pY4auf-rmgL1UqAIU8Uye69Hq_GY7LFD11edOCA=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjn1RHMokakjtS2gC4JaIxrEwcGJByiJf5VHItzs7fJzjy6PgxCKHuD0_JfP2KzcjCeMgahLlqTcKhVUFfFhA3PAD3nH2mkhJS14laFbKULhdgsnGnONYxvk00nP4DMrUQKVzxr1MllmSmAaV4T60o2FbR9MZTNpzEpVs3TrBIDcDmgKJg76D2yezbRjw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjn1RHMokakjtS2gC4JaIxrEwcGJByiJf5VHItzs7fJzjy6PgxCKHuD0_JfP2KzcjCeMgahLlqTcKhVUFfFhA3PAD3nH2mkhJS14laFbKULhdgsnGnONYxvk00nP4DMrUQKVzxr1MllmSmAaV4T60o2FbR9MZTNpzEpVs3TrBIDcDmgKJg76D2yezbRjw=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Not convinced by broccoli. Would prefer your dinner.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>Day 2 - Porth Howel, Carreg Lefain</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div>I AM BIG BRAVE ADVENTURE DOG, I DON'T CARE ABOUT HORIZONTAL RAIN.<br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDV5PPyBX6yicrThHuG4DiGELSSeQyBGvll0KComy4PBPEd8JRiNCEpI2CscTHx-7EkWbAHLrWJjfWUujTKcmi525vclLrOVw5mveBN6aVQ5h2cCtaJMqlV5-8ghr-A0H26JDPcUJn6fW0M_Qcr5ONFRerQ1TlLU9cjs4-RtV0wa9iHv0jJ5PlytD9yQ/s900/IMG_20220609_1049438.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDV5PPyBX6yicrThHuG4DiGELSSeQyBGvll0KComy4PBPEd8JRiNCEpI2CscTHx-7EkWbAHLrWJjfWUujTKcmi525vclLrOVw5mveBN6aVQ5h2cCtaJMqlV5-8ghr-A0H26JDPcUJn6fW0M_Qcr5ONFRerQ1TlLU9cjs4-RtV0wa9iHv0jJ5PlytD9yQ/w400-h266/IMG_20220609_1049438.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br />I
am husky x alsatian I bite terrorists hunt down trolls and yeti and
have impenetrable fur so yes rain lets go down to the crag even if I
have to be pushed back up that awful gravel gully 2 paws up 3 paws down.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9AifWiY49q8f1Fw_HSrY6EjtDaWc_hfbUR3_PCgwueh_OscBRAcLDw0Hdv-FGBzbBICpPxuRjUegyyuxtzfkTtkre6cXvd9Pc6gD-o8uBiftAE5S-TfEs9Ua1OLkQrreIT9cdLQ5bYlcyYF6HXxmFU2lNJU4CxPrvDqTb2oaFsmuunaa2plG8ogJlQ/s900/IMG_20220609_1157442.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9AifWiY49q8f1Fw_HSrY6EjtDaWc_hfbUR3_PCgwueh_OscBRAcLDw0Hdv-FGBzbBICpPxuRjUegyyuxtzfkTtkre6cXvd9Pc6gD-o8uBiftAE5S-TfEs9Ua1OLkQrreIT9cdLQ5bYlcyYF6HXxmFU2lNJU4CxPrvDqTb2oaFsmuunaa2plG8ogJlQ/w266-h400/IMG_20220609_1157442.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Also great recceing skills at the second crag well done at least I can still pull on the lead.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_wqT_jwoPG-6HgldA_pEZ4-G7x2HuTtJT6WXzmSF-WNlbPAIjVKPFQnaTrRL-mPKWsPysj7MC_0uCBORqurVqukY-8VIrqyPbF0ygQSx28rmqa1upQ54_6C6yVmrEEyOeKs0Hm7vC41JgRph0_RfnGU_l_Ex4_4VUDUvysqKYwi0WV2use9GWASZEcA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_wqT_jwoPG-6HgldA_pEZ4-G7x2HuTtJT6WXzmSF-WNlbPAIjVKPFQnaTrRL-mPKWsPysj7MC_0uCBORqurVqukY-8VIrqyPbF0ygQSx28rmqa1upQ54_6C6yVmrEEyOeKs0Hm7vC41JgRph0_RfnGU_l_Ex4_4VUDUvysqKYwi0WV2use9GWASZEcA=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>Day 3 - Porth Dafrach, Benllech</b></div><div><b><br /></b>YES I AM GOING TO YELP AND SQUEAK FOR NO APPARENT REASON UNTIL YOU PUT YOUR JACKET BACK DOWN FOR ME.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGDFzlTDamhQ69JETu-ABcA2YmMCd1M8iCSr2g8x-56ZEqtesy3GH0egHOXF1o4CM6goQSvHBZ0lmhdLsBmmI3FlkfA1T3Vvr2TKK3NSXPJxgwgzTujD1yVnxVAK-5tXMlq8SDXolBIc5D8unG7-SWkUGliGmz49zlIhS8hx6w4iCy5AnwTJRJFzh_YQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGDFzlTDamhQ69JETu-ABcA2YmMCd1M8iCSr2g8x-56ZEqtesy3GH0egHOXF1o4CM6goQSvHBZ0lmhdLsBmmI3FlkfA1T3Vvr2TKK3NSXPJxgwgzTujD1yVnxVAK-5tXMlq8SDXolBIc5D8unG7-SWkUGliGmz49zlIhS8hx6w4iCy5AnwTJRJFzh_YQ=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div></div><div><br />I
mean what do you expect. The Range area is lovely as you said and you
gave me biscuits and Emyr gave me a bit of bread crust but I have to
fuss about something and the jacket is very nice thank you it just needs
extra fur to replace the down.<br /><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin2Fx7slQ4Em9ghTV9QKzenoHQ8ioREeOX4Y_gr7QKdZANzleGH3tG_8Yujwn7ElZUeBij3De-rtZ7Fef-570Dqc-3xpQmQkiYcDg49ic4Op_eSypMD68La5M0ZZw1Qlqt03LBPz8-sRPyDwC9KtFTevwt7w5NPDnnJ1mHBTus2ZXyOWWNM4qc5bv35Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin2Fx7slQ4Em9ghTV9QKzenoHQ8ioREeOX4Y_gr7QKdZANzleGH3tG_8Yujwn7ElZUeBij3De-rtZ7Fef-570Dqc-3xpQmQkiYcDg49ic4Op_eSypMD68La5M0ZZw1Qlqt03LBPz8-sRPyDwC9KtFTevwt7w5NPDnnJ1mHBTus2ZXyOWWNM4qc5bv35Q=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEju2FJ2DZlVh1Psz52RU4pD2c1zqpwl91YizHk2V8hcVSKpGHPiRYrSNBHWTOK4efpt5KE72yMsou45M1mzWDU-STzgqowKiPe-d-VzsGucqZujBS6a4LeBTf4TRz6f9rAOxIQ91MNONFXinbPXvP45skGT5G_HRjY0-u7nGQI0epeJ8G5_X35SJ0Dozg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEju2FJ2DZlVh1Psz52RU4pD2c1zqpwl91YizHk2V8hcVSKpGHPiRYrSNBHWTOK4efpt5KE72yMsou45M1mzWDU-STzgqowKiPe-d-VzsGucqZujBS6a4LeBTf4TRz6f9rAOxIQ91MNONFXinbPXvP45skGT5G_HRjY0-u7nGQI0epeJ8G5_X35SJ0Dozg=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div>DEAD ROTTING SEAL, I WANT DEAD ROTTING SEAL.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhMnJ2JA7HPv0hjAJSO70EydcqRzVxPqJJ2YS37aI6fqGj3OzcFStu0N8vNC5eHH1oHyWQdmWP4Jq96hUcceuiDTYaPwYW2JRm5r2xz5Tdjf4DdvrWfxzaz6CqxyfpumZdzZWgxJu06i9srVAIXrNwwNT7YzrQPnY4Lurnd-wbog9ay6WLGC0CECbR0Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhMnJ2JA7HPv0hjAJSO70EydcqRzVxPqJJ2YS37aI6fqGj3OzcFStu0N8vNC5eHH1oHyWQdmWP4Jq96hUcceuiDTYaPwYW2JRm5r2xz5Tdjf4DdvrWfxzaz6CqxyfpumZdzZWgxJu06i9srVAIXrNwwNT7YzrQPnY4Lurnd-wbog9ay6WLGC0CECbR0Q=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div><br />Mmmmokay
biscuits are fine breadcrusts are fine but really as a husky I live on
dead rotting seal. Important diet, very nutritious. Will sulk a lot if I
don't get rotting seal. Just watch me.<br /><br /><br /><b>Day 4 - Porth Ceiriad, Porth Howel</b></div><div><b><br /></b>YES
LET ME OFF LEAD ON THIS GIANT BEACH AND A I PROMISE I WON'T RUN MILES
BACK TO JOIN IN A KID'S FOOTBALL GAME AND GET SHOUTED AT. PROMISE
PROMISE THXBYETHEN.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjx6RTwx1r94La1s5aQeDvPKKlAeX5AHlMJOjJarL3PsjDNv7us0GuI35U9SPthpklsjDHOEIOyZ0Rl7O9p19gWab8m6uGA0S9Qc-3EGqow3wta1oaAd4oGxtLkN5rnmwrOe9dF8syKvPMVoF7xvZBajhQ9Q_Dz5adUVccipFZ-C6LBNOtCxzqRiF72kw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjx6RTwx1r94La1s5aQeDvPKKlAeX5AHlMJOjJarL3PsjDNv7us0GuI35U9SPthpklsjDHOEIOyZ0Rl7O9p19gWab8m6uGA0S9Qc-3EGqow3wta1oaAd4oGxtLkN5rnmwrOe9dF8syKvPMVoF7xvZBajhQ9Q_Dz5adUVccipFZ-C6LBNOtCxzqRiF72kw=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br />Okay that was a great promise. Worked well.
Oh now we're in a quiet, safe corner with a dog who I just said hello to and wanted to play with, yes let me off again. Okay I will just stand
here and do nothing now. Nunu reasonz.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhu7Urz91RXne_K3cVCj9Q2InE3w8D4kAgoRT0t_aZCKhZ6VC9o7VTc7W3epxOdEVEQVZyAMDVH0WYav6Hl7Zrmr3kh4tPgWNDEacWTYb72vJru4els61UBQzL24Vg5HzTmrdDuRjLQASeyhJmAlx7gmyL274KgYU_X_1SQdSpIECSpDySCcGVCxxrnew" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhu7Urz91RXne_K3cVCj9Q2InE3w8D4kAgoRT0t_aZCKhZ6VC9o7VTc7W3epxOdEVEQVZyAMDVH0WYav6Hl7Zrmr3kh4tPgWNDEacWTYb72vJru4els61UBQzL24Vg5HzTmrdDuRjLQASeyhJmAlx7gmyL274KgYU_X_1SQdSpIECSpDySCcGVCxxrnew=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">GOATS, I WANT GOATS</span></div><div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIovp9siyRchU4rKNDT25hI2RFppEHfEE2QM2viGHNVJA_PNa16ewtmlSt4VYs-hKDJwuMqEi4VaHaOrVak2ijLWA8bahj9qZpz2onpjbsQnfTZ4eXkOdz-YG6V45vFZyfyBUT3_BySoxCULOR_rgmQGoMrkz6Tt5W-wDWmH6nbTAKeMQTMbbhVKM1Bg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIovp9siyRchU4rKNDT25hI2RFppEHfEE2QM2viGHNVJA_PNa16ewtmlSt4VYs-hKDJwuMqEi4VaHaOrVak2ijLWA8bahj9qZpz2onpjbsQnfTZ4eXkOdz-YG6V45vFZyfyBUT3_BySoxCULOR_rgmQGoMrkz6Tt5W-wDWmH6nbTAKeMQTMbbhVKM1Bg=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6EArSLnE-EB0pefXEP6w1ARf_62Ga0T4vjjeGw7wxGqfsfvVyeKL627t6l1h3wc_yWJnraQxX2Klbo51iQTg4PU0YLepb_C4Pm2xAwgq73p0Cb3fBY-SHPh5QyZN7z5XKqYUTMcLuNfzXtwdMfQ1bTjXz5BqF_VZ6i2gejH9El5c_biy4Nzwriz3wbg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6EArSLnE-EB0pefXEP6w1ARf_62Ga0T4vjjeGw7wxGqfsfvVyeKL627t6l1h3wc_yWJnraQxX2Klbo51iQTg4PU0YLepb_C4Pm2xAwgq73p0Cb3fBY-SHPh5QyZN7z5XKqYUTMcLuNfzXtwdMfQ1bTjXz5BqF_VZ6i2gejH9El5c_biy4Nzwriz3wbg=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLC86jUBlx2jakOq4YUOGRnJJvu4yEJT_Id-_XpklUU5WKaDv8yNaNXl_2eadyg7n5YjSV_wTFY3O9hYSkcBlZMPA3m9xjRkbE1jjpIZiNYykwLdrYDu-diGf6RdAk_8PMFTXzCqLdEIIMusnwETp78dUAY-p-RXhNxE2OBYWwGf96AxJFtHAUPiF9XQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLC86jUBlx2jakOq4YUOGRnJJvu4yEJT_Id-_XpklUU5WKaDv8yNaNXl_2eadyg7n5YjSV_wTFY3O9hYSkcBlZMPA3m9xjRkbE1jjpIZiNYykwLdrYDu-diGf6RdAk_8PMFTXzCqLdEIIMusnwETp78dUAY-p-RXhNxE2OBYWwGf96AxJFtHAUPiF9XQ=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtrfXKgMD-JYj1G6ZwxlmwVPNuNAOvqZUHb_VSNsgsIRwgo6KuPMM7_C4Isw9lxi4DSnN19v2XPzoQAUTVrv41SMUkN0Q4utxqa8SJc5AFGMViuNkjBaOrLP3dlT6pXnkHgKGrv2nBIrqSiFWnnXXgF29Z1WUbtkO5Df6VW72jQET34v3OIP85Apq6ZQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtrfXKgMD-JYj1G6ZwxlmwVPNuNAOvqZUHb_VSNsgsIRwgo6KuPMM7_C4Isw9lxi4DSnN19v2XPzoQAUTVrv41SMUkN0Q4utxqa8SJc5AFGMViuNkjBaOrLP3dlT6pXnkHgKGrv2nBIrqSiFWnnXXgF29Z1WUbtkO5Df6VW72jQET34v3OIP85Apq6ZQ=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><br />Back
here again seriously why come on. Okay you had to carry me over bad
steps to the rock ramp but why. Ah bouldering. Yes you're close to that
project, well done but GOATS now I can bark like a fucking lunatic at
goats because you needed the distraction P.S. GOATS.</div><div><br /><br /><b>Day 5 - Carreg Lefain</b></div><div><b><br /></b>YAAAY RAFE'S TUPPERWARE LUNCH BOX IS THE CHALLENGE I WANTED.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgioFjk8_X89puQ4RIHaJA9rYRfqoeZHcx16sRN_iAalmnB7Pp-s6QvRKjACa6-JKIoPcdRbGEAkNR9EnqLL1pGDDP0MlYn_XBxRjwKan05f7BGokVHdqQuVr52qdRnfl0MqrCJRcGk1rr7BNszsw8vGRlvhUf36iErVABl1FPIx395zPE-kD5z1S2csQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgioFjk8_X89puQ4RIHaJA9rYRfqoeZHcx16sRN_iAalmnB7Pp-s6QvRKjACa6-JKIoPcdRbGEAkNR9EnqLL1pGDDP0MlYn_XBxRjwKan05f7BGokVHdqQuVr52qdRnfl0MqrCJRcGk1rr7BNszsw8vGRlvhUf36iErVABl1FPIx395zPE-kD5z1S2csQ=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjo8qyPGzLtGh3Wz6quSls0k6GicCCHq2dqX__5KQaI0ZEzCYK6qh--n-AMKbvEVStjbRmuN2V6lT29bW8iAjaqc3vObwB6nnT2tHPS7XBhvS8y1qqFPK51h61qD2U0yBjzbJwDriK20s8PbAsf8tmP-F2TfIVHJ4asiYcJUu8hWZv-XqF8O-ILm5XUHg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjo8qyPGzLtGh3Wz6quSls0k6GicCCHq2dqX__5KQaI0ZEzCYK6qh--n-AMKbvEVStjbRmuN2V6lT29bW8iAjaqc3vObwB6nnT2tHPS7XBhvS8y1qqFPK51h61qD2U0yBjzbJwDriK20s8PbAsf8tmP-F2TfIVHJ4asiYcJUu8hWZv-XqF8O-ILm5XUHg=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I'm
big brain husky x alsatian, I need serious thinking challenges.
Stealing water bottles too easy. Creating n-dimensional cat's cradle of
long lead too easy. Tupperware good brain stimulation. Rafe said lunch
had lots of chilli. No problem. More brain stimulation.</div><div> </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFPBJ0Yz7aZ-4OH0kbRqqrX3Mvm0tFqDRL8DNpWJcxjV9Ql6il8qxRYhEjdojzKHTJPh4lKshsDUcR0OdnI4BcR1Yo6veBubqQ0kMGnybawTZsEscUdB4b7AfJKg3fXu0fIdFRUnhlgc4-6SyQRCdmaGg-d_9E6lxI6N5iRXZ7P_TBQWRWcqt5l1AXlA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFPBJ0Yz7aZ-4OH0kbRqqrX3Mvm0tFqDRL8DNpWJcxjV9Ql6il8qxRYhEjdojzKHTJPh4lKshsDUcR0OdnI4BcR1Yo6veBubqQ0kMGnybawTZsEscUdB4b7AfJKg3fXu0fIdFRUnhlgc4-6SyQRCdmaGg-d_9E6lxI6N5iRXZ7P_TBQWRWcqt5l1AXlA=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>Day 6 - Penmaen Head Trench Wall</b></div><div><b><br /></b>BEST
IDEA IS TO GET TANGLED WITH DAVE LYON'S DOG MILO, TREAD ON HIM WHEN WE
FALL OVER, THEN EVERYONE CAN SNAP AND SNARL. YES GOOD PLAN.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfaH3ZnTCOIaw5ugVFLBGXGTNPbMcdcNxNh4aGXHYq0k6loJpfqbrJhQTtG24vTM15Cwj6e827CjPVNMTJay4bDoGATA_lOvrH9t5qMstovC4d891SLDGMw9eXDq6AZ1aleAlDKWYxesg-gnt2GeWQhpICHC-0K5eRbba-HUyBLHWN35EjL_QNSTnDYw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfaH3ZnTCOIaw5ugVFLBGXGTNPbMcdcNxNh4aGXHYq0k6loJpfqbrJhQTtG24vTM15Cwj6e827CjPVNMTJay4bDoGATA_lOvrH9t5qMstovC4d891SLDGMw9eXDq6AZ1aleAlDKWYxesg-gnt2GeWQhpICHC-0K5eRbba-HUyBLHWN35EjL_QNSTnDYw=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVD1koT1hqevFpvApZjg8wyqgwCATRTLbD6f6XTli5zlAWQA6Aa2rtVM_jrk0QJR73Tb7UsbzPxp7emecGPU44_lCdCOwl5e8INhYS7JQag5Tq3lB2JNvqCV1corcLsHyrkVME0nQcBcOmPKQyDebzw2-AO2_pbw8sQMCtUXwjmwso-BQa0irCs9itlg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVD1koT1hqevFpvApZjg8wyqgwCATRTLbD6f6XTli5zlAWQA6Aa2rtVM_jrk0QJR73Tb7UsbzPxp7emecGPU44_lCdCOwl5e8INhYS7JQag5Tq3lB2JNvqCV1corcLsHyrkVME0nQcBcOmPKQyDebzw2-AO2_pbw8sQMCtUXwjmwso-BQa0irCs9itlg=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br />Okay
all that was too exciting, maybe I need my breakfast now which I never
eat at breakfast time. Even better if you have to go up this vertical
steps back to the car to get it. Much fun. Then I can guzzle whole lot
and still try to steal your lunch. I have best plans.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIt-ehRWFiP1EaR7YODipNRocvWbDXF4IdXKCGWnGvwfbS1xxKTNB_obh3cI3yNtDfQhKmwToVXSKCLThZDQVv7zRw6MIN1I-y3jjfz51OrVKiTC7Rrfaj_fEOefl8TW0yBE0pzw1bKzQoHu1UCvIOcwk8psJDw8AnGKZvZ5YgqVQBlrDfX7wQ6GX6rQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIt-ehRWFiP1EaR7YODipNRocvWbDXF4IdXKCGWnGvwfbS1xxKTNB_obh3cI3yNtDfQhKmwToVXSKCLThZDQVv7zRw6MIN1I-y3jjfz51OrVKiTC7Rrfaj_fEOefl8TW0yBE0pzw1bKzQoHu1UCvIOcwk8psJDw8AnGKZvZ5YgqVQBlrDfX7wQ6GX6rQ=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><b>Day 7 - Porth Howel</b></div><div><b><br /></b>FOR FUCK'S SAKE NOT THIS GRAVEL SCRAMBLE AGAIN.</div><div><br /></div><div>You better have a plan to get me back up seriously. I might need to get
goats again. Also 3 bouldering mats good luck with that I'm a big brave
adventure dog not a porter.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIaz54Brk8o2WaVp2RUMsX2QKhdKlrMI-BYZy1G7KySb6rsIkpoCXiEe11vCAq8QAnWIH615O4YOxzEDrWzSEou2aO3tsd3VrG1agSe__IW02tGlwi7CR2fewGMLTYxRHYU3uolnniiDi5rUsT-til4boryotUY8phQW9engskotfogUZr160x-30Kfg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIaz54Brk8o2WaVp2RUMsX2QKhdKlrMI-BYZy1G7KySb6rsIkpoCXiEe11vCAq8QAnWIH615O4YOxzEDrWzSEou2aO3tsd3VrG1agSe__IW02tGlwi7CR2fewGMLTYxRHYU3uolnniiDi5rUsT-til4boryotUY8phQW9engskotfogUZr160x-30Kfg=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgktycnTBxh57FeGqLi3gCFr03pUzKBfymvQA1_zCl-1JV7EgERRJgzAZNJqSjzeOZqgiYH8gC7eAfqgMAxb3a-v7C5-Mmi8eqZVc8IiVH_ZglSKLUSTswDZ-J635nLwPhlrO54NP82RXXVfjK1sfwbKMoMoDvdrC4IKbqRBxMbsGJAJhkkiubts9WEsg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgktycnTBxh57FeGqLi3gCFr03pUzKBfymvQA1_zCl-1JV7EgERRJgzAZNJqSjzeOZqgiYH8gC7eAfqgMAxb3a-v7C5-Mmi8eqZVc8IiVH_ZglSKLUSTswDZ-J635nLwPhlrO54NP82RXXVfjK1sfwbKMoMoDvdrC4IKbqRBxMbsGJAJhkkiubts9WEsg=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBHJMcwsvYB6OJZRNeq2I9opbOOvOPHjF1NCvKfaMXCTmFVLd_FCnv_oatOE-2FwF9kUYAYoOVMzcamu6kd-zmM6_FZesOix_zTGvb7OhY0cYrDArKv3MdkEZFAhGxhzS3k51wZVer84w-x_wjgPo6GWqir2en44lw_yJshergMk96HkrBGO-MnG_52Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBHJMcwsvYB6OJZRNeq2I9opbOOvOPHjF1NCvKfaMXCTmFVLd_FCnv_oatOE-2FwF9kUYAYoOVMzcamu6kd-zmM6_FZesOix_zTGvb7OhY0cYrDArKv3MdkEZFAhGxhzS3k51wZVer84w-x_wjgPo6GWqir2en44lw_yJshergMk96HkrBGO-MnG_52Q=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>ROTTING SEAGULL, I WANT ROTTING SEAGULL.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjePMb-8lG5lXg9yimyWY5bmcxzZ1QvdHCsD_6kMeGvfu9IHCcvDPcSpLWTIz77ng8q3YdELhw9fJWqe04BCTKthVB6pgRMEKScUNznpoXJJ8sKlSLSAynBFbYRX4IMrWUTy0qSFnaIZe8bsyzGGWi7rl-rLffglgb-_-7GQaZmpeNMvMmmLFxHk09Nvw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjePMb-8lG5lXg9yimyWY5bmcxzZ1QvdHCsD_6kMeGvfu9IHCcvDPcSpLWTIz77ng8q3YdELhw9fJWqe04BCTKthVB6pgRMEKScUNznpoXJJ8sKlSLSAynBFbYRX4IMrWUTy0qSFnaIZe8bsyzGGWi7rl-rLffglgb-_-7GQaZmpeNMvMmmLFxHk09Nvw=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div>Not
as good as seal but since Hosey said this cove is completely enclosed
and secure and dog-friendly, I'm allowed to hunt out every rotting
seagull carcass right?? Yum.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><b>Day 8 - Cwm Orthin</b></div><div><b><br /></b>OKAY THIS IS NICE TO I'M GOING TO PULL ON THE LEAD EXTRA MORE.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghZXe0B2Kw5ApCBO7iW2ORAhJa2nNpDW7PUBMeWeHnJvEienjrVhJOVmP5e8_cbZdYkv9QAHlGz2TDxwoUGNyx3Yg2Q3-ZcUglH6d1ftyiPg1ngD2_O73-82Ds1hYuKiEqxj2xQ6PvNE_4QPiyMqjloMTvyURDb6Jq6851BceUK9Ah8krpeXdPb5vdeQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghZXe0B2Kw5ApCBO7iW2ORAhJa2nNpDW7PUBMeWeHnJvEienjrVhJOVmP5e8_cbZdYkv9QAHlGz2TDxwoUGNyx3Yg2Q3-ZcUglH6d1ftyiPg1ngD2_O73-82Ds1hYuKiEqxj2xQ6PvNE_4QPiyMqjloMTvyURDb6Jq6851BceUK9Ah8krpeXdPb5vdeQ=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><br />Ooohhh,
I know this place. Close to home, very relaxed, soothing. Good time to
pull on the lead and try to chase sheep even though they'd beat me up.
But I'm not scared. Big brave adventure dog.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhc9Hg6W_X92XgY_ZmJFoN4ZMBzh3dh1zJKfTnPY00sDycDxls-tO6_ptCPx89FPvqnEXjcGmCpXyKsbv6tp7yEGDawBKwYR3aQ9wEUnHA0i1n6b-7g7la2Gu03nn5BiRMYtc2-__ZMjsYkl_lM36Q_PBqFwvLPCrOZLTaxZgEAlAmoxIiflpo3HxiDWw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhc9Hg6W_X92XgY_ZmJFoN4ZMBzh3dh1zJKfTnPY00sDycDxls-tO6_ptCPx89FPvqnEXjcGmCpXyKsbv6tp7yEGDawBKwYR3aQ9wEUnHA0i1n6b-7g7la2Gu03nn5BiRMYtc2-__ZMjsYkl_lM36Q_PBqFwvLPCrOZLTaxZgEAlAmoxIiflpo3HxiDWw=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Still not convinced by broccoli. Maybe Hula Hoops instead.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjGfCUFv8fY3uN35PYn9n5uHQZm9VxZeUEV8Pu-VUEGMdz5IuXDXUtBekfJdYN3fzzo5d_D2CztvgBmSoFf8FmUK7kVb8YKDCfBcig3aoIHzHvW2_Lak6RYaubn_FVbCZDBu3_cVVQhYl28g3EmaS_pTFNwIR1eVC0ipbxGoSMIXYTcklwxfbb-MKl9A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjGfCUFv8fY3uN35PYn9n5uHQZm9VxZeUEV8Pu-VUEGMdz5IuXDXUtBekfJdYN3fzzo5d_D2CztvgBmSoFf8FmUK7kVb8YKDCfBcig3aoIHzHvW2_Lak6RYaubn_FVbCZDBu3_cVVQhYl28g3EmaS_pTFNwIR1eVC0ipbxGoSMIXYTcklwxfbb-MKl9A=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Many sleeps and dream of goats.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-83769508434412361782022-06-13T01:11:00.000-07:002022-06-13T01:11:03.916-07:00The Beginning Of The End.<div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">I can point to an exact time and place when I realised my climbing career was coming to an end. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It was mid-evening last summer, 10 or 11 months ago, and it was walking back along the grassy path that provides a 10 minute flat gentle stroll between The Range sea-cliffs and the carpark. The Range - and Porth Dafrach - had been as delightfully fun and enjoyable as ever, the quintessential Type 1 pleasures of crenellated zawns and headlands, undulating and intriguing rock, quirky and characterful lines. I had been less fun and enjoyable, as I'd started to run out of soft-touches to ledge-shuffle my way up, and not only had I backed off a few alluring routes, I'd started to run out of inspiration too, it felt like perhaps my passion there was waning...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was with my friend S. S and I share a few things in common - a passion for interesting mini-adventures (he'd come up to climb after being inspired by "the dog stake"), a fair amount of diligence and attention to detail placing gear in such situations, and a puerile and vulgar sense of humour that usually results in a contest for how many cocks we can finger draw on each other's cars. And that's where the similarities abruptly end...S is very tall, lean, young, strong, fit (climbing and cv-wise), able-legged, constantly motivated and stoic about travelling around, seemingly unhindered by depression, sociable and affable and part of a vibrant climbing scene. All things I wish I was (well I could live without the "very tall" bit...), most of them out of my reach without vascular surgery / lobotomy / time machine. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The point is, we were chatting about routes and areas and climbs I'd done and been inspired by, and climbs he was going to do and was inspired by, and it became very obvious that he was on an exciting upwards trajectory through climbs, crags, challenges and exploration.... ... .. And I was winding down. I became acutely aware that in my main passion of trad cragging and sea-cliffs, whilst I had some prominent and deep-seated inspirations left, both minor and major, I was gradually working my way through those that were feasible, and was starting to run low on routes, crags, and determination for all the faff that comes with it - partners, conditions, travelling, uncertainties, intimidation, constantly trying to be on mental and physical form....</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This feeling came pretty much out of nowhere - on a trip that was specifically about following inspirations and passions - and blindsided me. I can't recall feeling like that about climbing before. Climbing, for all it's internal and external difficulties, is an incredibly positive experience for me in a wide variety of ways (maybe that's why those difficulties are so frustrating, because they're inhibiting that positivity). To feel I was "running out" of the most important aspect of it for me was bewildering and felt like it was untethering me from myself. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">What the fuck was I going to do after the next few challenges?? Where was it all going?? Why would I be climbing in a few years time?? If I'm winding down, what is the point in it all??</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But.... Remember that bit about "incredibly positive experience in a wide variety of ways"?? It's genuine and that passion isn't easily quenched. So my mind started wondering and wandering onto other possibilities and what could keep me going. As well as constantly trying to explore around (and "tick" new crags instead of routes, all over the UK - although this is a desire that is constantly hampered by the fairly fruitless struggle to find like-minded partners), I came up with a couple of options: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Firstly taking a step back and focusing more on sport climbing and training and the physical side - relaxing into the logistical and psychological calmness of that approach, and hopefully occasionally springing out to do some awesome trad with the confidence from having a larger physical buffer (my buffer then was the size of a midge's foreskin, now it's actually inverted). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Secondly also taking a step back and focusing on the simultaneously exploratory, challenging, aesthetic and technical delights of bouldering in the UK (and elsewhere). Particularly the endless and endlessly varied Welsh bouldering which has consistently inspired me in the last few years.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So there I had it. There were options, there were inspirations, I would still keep climbing, I'd just change the focus a bit, and see how a fresh approach - particularly easing off on the mental and emotional challenges of pushing my trad climbing, and instead relishing in the physical challenges of pushing bouldering, sport, and training.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">..</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A couple of months after this - whilst starting to do a bit more bouldering as my trad confidence had remained shaky during the rest of the summer - I pushed too hard in the wrong conditions and injured my left elbow.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Since then - concurrent with my idea to reassure myself and reignite my passion by focusing a bit more on the physical side of climbing - I've been near constantly injured (sometimes, like the LCL, without even pushing myself), for the last 8 months.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">..</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-13708219008598698842022-05-08T04:21:00.002-07:002022-05-08T04:21:46.061-07:00Steps forward, steps back.<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A long overdue update that ends up not dissimilar to previous updates?? I've been clawing my way back into climbing over the last couple of months. Easy trad, easy sport, initially easy bouldering, testing my injuries, seeing what they could cope with, testing my confidence and fitness, seeing that they were entirely absent, so working back into roped climbing especially slowly - the new Moelwynion guide has helped a lot with that.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Bouldering seemed to progress better, with my golfer's elbow and LCL strain coping well, and a recent background of board training giving me some strength regains. So naturally and inevitably, I started to try hard and push myself, and naturally and inevitably my recent tennis elbow flared up to the point of being notably injured and requiring a lot of care and restraint again.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />So 2-3 weeks of respite and normality, then back to the usual bullshit. I'm starting to realise how crippling inevitable this is when you're too heavy, too old, and don't have the essential pre-climbing background of athletic/fitness activities - and don't have enough self-discipline to bumble along when you're fed up of bumbling along. At least I'm down to one inhibitive injury rather than two or three, but it's still as frustrating as ever. Of course I'm trying to find ways to work around this, and trying to find options to keep inspired and keep trying to regain back to a normal level...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Things that are OFF the cards:</b> Classic mainstream crags where I've done all the easier routes and only have things that are too hard for me left / board training / excessive bouldering / redpointing / grit because it's too warm obviously.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Plan Bs...</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>More sea-cliff mini-adventures: especially Porth Dafrach / Range / Llyn (just the gentle bits!) / Trinity House Walls / Thunderbird Zawn ...and a long weekend at Ynys Lochtan??</li><li>More hidden gem cragging: especially smaller Duddon areas like Crag Band / Tongue House / Gaitkins / Little Stand / Brandy Crag / Buck Crag....and some more Moelwyns of course.</li><li>More conjuring up similarly inspired climbing partners out of thin air 😂😆😐😞☹</li><li>More indoor leading / falling practise</li><li>More indoor stamina circuits</li><li>Maybe a bit of Welsh slab / crack bouldering</li><li>Maybe some steadier sport at venues I haven't climbed out yet...</li><li>Stretching, because I've been neglecting that.</li><li>Boring rehab, as always....</li><li>Lancs quarries for local stuff of course!</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Anyway have some photos of some trad and some videos of some bouldering:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuXrN79C-OtF7D09TcCqeoAWSp38_z7KkiNPo0jQysh03Na44qvCjfquarWr_KYhNjNld409RIhHhI44Caif9-DhsegVGXXuOgNSV5RozdT4DUo0Ij-VjkSgWINwwp_6liaDxvMSjzk9iPJV0J8zruZSoPcImHA7FZhwieY4X-Bj_eilXgyS9_tcE2Hg/s960/geese.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuXrN79C-OtF7D09TcCqeoAWSp38_z7KkiNPo0jQysh03Na44qvCjfquarWr_KYhNjNld409RIhHhI44Caif9-DhsegVGXXuOgNSV5RozdT4DUo0Ij-VjkSgWINwwp_6liaDxvMSjzk9iPJV0J8zruZSoPcImHA7FZhwieY4X-Bj_eilXgyS9_tcE2Hg/w400-h225/geese.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29_kNNKd8EWGfsDAFAr5eBbCVKzYXub8YmaAwmdIeW96OwN291auL43J8nqxTw8IgWF9Fc47A_MaeaRl-Qzn7Yiuq1ZIbwjiK7062pKvxxQVfeLwfKtELyPI3fAwVvgvfdhS7PdY7umWwm3Be2REQ7FD748ogt5DeRqyrESXpV_XmTsLtu_M_EuD8QA/s1280/fiend_midarete2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29_kNNKd8EWGfsDAFAr5eBbCVKzYXub8YmaAwmdIeW96OwN291auL43J8nqxTw8IgWF9Fc47A_MaeaRl-Qzn7Yiuq1ZIbwjiK7062pKvxxQVfeLwfKtELyPI3fAwVvgvfdhS7PdY7umWwm3Be2REQ7FD748ogt5DeRqyrESXpV_XmTsLtu_M_EuD8QA/w400-h225/fiend_midarete2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfkyAaGid6ZecGUTc4ksu5U2jqTZbVD8qpqscV-vbzY2rQ2IDHF_k_VxPdWdXnBpGRv3GDMQvLFUckf3wwr2A4jDc3LYlSjqg-7KQndm40hCeOaC41CjK2TKjh1q-18Ge4HmHsE2RJdl0b-qIZBJ2YtzQMjbI4eUso3KIJBX16YaeMX-D64PhJz2sXzg/s880/fiend_midarete1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfkyAaGid6ZecGUTc4ksu5U2jqTZbVD8qpqscV-vbzY2rQ2IDHF_k_VxPdWdXnBpGRv3GDMQvLFUckf3wwr2A4jDc3LYlSjqg-7KQndm40hCeOaC41CjK2TKjh1q-18Ge4HmHsE2RJdl0b-qIZBJ2YtzQMjbI4eUso3KIJBX16YaeMX-D64PhJz2sXzg/w480-h640/fiend_midarete1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp2COlMEOlITRNINokjKpueB4Kre2KPoWQ9px2N9CB9ctFDgF9NFcUXpPNZZfMBJdHtu1KhfwA-QBzkNAflTKauVtcKE3MiQdyK5IP6RY42uiXUcBZGEsFlCNoSMEo7vCulRyg2nAoKozXvOzymBJ14ldCICCp0WbSjbkN2UmaQ4HltLjs3aIzSjmUlA/s960/fiend_gp1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp2COlMEOlITRNINokjKpueB4Kre2KPoWQ9px2N9CB9ctFDgF9NFcUXpPNZZfMBJdHtu1KhfwA-QBzkNAflTKauVtcKE3MiQdyK5IP6RY42uiXUcBZGEsFlCNoSMEo7vCulRyg2nAoKozXvOzymBJ14ldCICCp0WbSjbkN2UmaQ4HltLjs3aIzSjmUlA/w480-h640/fiend_gp1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvG2DPrLCKbSzT1sPlWbdPfVb1VpMZsUTP6_dRsCN7BiUbbxCfOLg7f6-Mr6-5vVaZ2I_6XicSdxeX-6mxpnXigScXGPWTCON2v2KGBoT_hrggJ63GDXZ9js2aUyFIZLpGt96b0xr-v9EsgJuGTFvvssAdUUzwQ2hVrhAnpJ1EHmB3V0hoKvwbRJ_atA/s960/fiend_gp2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvG2DPrLCKbSzT1sPlWbdPfVb1VpMZsUTP6_dRsCN7BiUbbxCfOLg7f6-Mr6-5vVaZ2I_6XicSdxeX-6mxpnXigScXGPWTCON2v2KGBoT_hrggJ63GDXZ9js2aUyFIZLpGt96b0xr-v9EsgJuGTFvvssAdUUzwQ2hVrhAnpJ1EHmB3V0hoKvwbRJ_atA/w480-h640/fiend_gp2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AAmuh6XFLh0" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GgwUl6fXUvc" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IilvlKZwEyM" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jqgd1JEclGw" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-18573995550722389712022-01-20T10:33:00.001-08:002022-01-20T10:33:58.245-08:00What Went Wrong??<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGu3QxEyrRs9ak1gpUCEw8lqTyXgx4zt3NsFhu540SomtfKUOCUNDNzUM-qfIrkLtRF4JPfLo6uXlajG_2p5M6gseQaVKwzGrKMCOvhtACGQiuOAXjpb7c8-bzqWyxOo50YkwFDvD2OZQwe_PN6F8-91XSgFnRXyMYHs2PmGAwKGMVdiwiAVaHzURA4Q=s1200" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGu3QxEyrRs9ak1gpUCEw8lqTyXgx4zt3NsFhu540SomtfKUOCUNDNzUM-qfIrkLtRF4JPfLo6uXlajG_2p5M6gseQaVKwzGrKMCOvhtACGQiuOAXjpb7c8-bzqWyxOo50YkwFDvD2OZQwe_PN6F8-91XSgFnRXyMYHs2PmGAwKGMVdiwiAVaHzURA4Q=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The path to recovery is long, slow, and winding. </b></div></b><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>And not always as neatly paved as this one.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A month and a half ago I sprained my LCL (lateral cruciate ligament) in my left knee at the wall. I was near the end of a session and was trying a leg-intensive problem to avoid over-using my injured golfer's elbow. I was in a deep squat on my left leg on a hold, right leg and hands on pretty much nothing - this is usually a strong position for me, but this time I heard a crunch in my knee and fell off. I could walk / squat immediately after and had little pain. However seeing a physio the next day showed that I definitely had an LCL sprain and would need to go through the usual slow healing / care / rehab process, which I am doing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Having just about managed to get my head above water coping with the golfer's elbow injury and partly-associated depression, mostly by relying on slabs and leg-focused stuff, this has been very hard to cope with and has lead to some pretty bleak moments. I've managed to get a bit more stable just recently, and regardless have been sticking to rehab and aggravation-avoidance diligently.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is the latest in a series of injuries that has either wiped out training time, climbing time, or both, and has got me speculating if there's anything obvious I'm doing wrong. So I've done a retrospective of the last few years (lower down page) to see if there are any common threads (just below).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">------</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Common issues and prevention ideas:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Always pushing to my limit:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Something which I think people often don't believe, because by the standards of many of my peers the end results are entirely unspectacular, and because I've heard that it doesn't look like I'm trying hard - when in fact I'm battling for dear life. The reality is that in any physically focused climbing genre (sport, bouldering, indoors, even gym), I'm always pushing really really fucking hard because that's why I enjoy. This isn't a problem in itself, BUT becomes a problem when that desire / habit overrides common sense in terms of (deep breath) recruitment, preparation, warm-ups, conditions, rest days, physiological imbalances etc etc. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Prevention: </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>WARNING FLAGS checklist (below) - go through this before any challenging climbing session and check that the risk of injury is acceptable / manageable.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>IF there's any uncertainty about any of the factors on the checklist, TEST them if possible - probably as part of the warm-up - with something that mimics the risk factors.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Have a Plan B in terms of climbs or venues.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Be wary of the risks involved in a sudden change of situation or focus (climbing to training, outdoors to indoors, wall to gym, etc). A change of focus could be equivalent to restarting an activity after a lot of time off - warm into it as appropriate. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Not warming up enough:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Related to above, I know that sometimes I don't need to warm-up much at all (good weather, well-recruited from previous climbing / training days), and sometimes I know I need to warm up well (low energy, low mood, too much time off, inactivity etc). But occasionally my judgement and self-discipline is very flawed and I'm too lazy / distracted to warm-up methodically, and definitely risk injury.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Prevention: </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Have a warming up checklist: Temperature & blood flow > conditioning & stabilising > recruitment > injury & sensitivity specific > climb specific.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Refine my warming up to include recruitment. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Work on habitualising a good warm-up routine. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Ask my friends and partners to remind me to warm-up properly. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Think outside the box when it comes to warming up in situations without easy / obvious warm-ups. Play around on rock / wall for movement at least.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Remember that warming up applies after a long period of cooling down, as well as first starting.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>Not adapting to weather conditions.</b></div><div><div>In the UK it weathers a lot. I've been out on a spring weekend when it's been too hot for lime one day and too cold for grit the next. And the calling of the lime is a good chance of blizzards and when I moved to Manc it was 20+ degrees at the end of February. Anyway I'm mostly good at picking a sensible crag for whatever ridiculous conditions have sprung out of nowhere, but not always, and sometimes I definitely have stuck to a plan or desire in adverse conditions that have caused a higher risk of injury for my intended climbing.</div><div><b>Prevention: </b></div><div><i>Now part of the WARNING FLAGS checklist (below).</i></div></div><div><i>Have a Plan B in terms of climbs or venues.</i></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Not heeding niggles in the earlier or manageable stages.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I often get minor, manageable niggles - from pushing hard, irrespective of whether I should be - which isn't a big problem in itself, BUT becomes a problem when I don't manage those. I'm okay with partly managing them with rehab exercises and some balancing out work, but much worse with using sensible judgement to avoid pushing too hard in extreme situations that are high risk to those niggles.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Prevention: </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Now part of the WARNING FLAGS checklist (below).</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Remember that stepping back and taking it easy for a week or two will impact on training and progression much less than having to take it easy for a few months due to full injury. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Rest from the niggle-stressing activity is crucial, not resting from other activity (but heed change of focus risks).</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Impacting with the ground / rock (not pads).</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've always landed like an 80kg sack of spuds, and tend very readily to break rather than bounce, whether it's hitting the rock or more likely the ground. That's how I am physiologically, and recovering from an LCL is maybe not a time when I'm thinking about a "learning to land" course, yet. Incidentally so far I've never had an impact injury from falling on pads nor falling indoors, including some semi-highball stuff outdoors and bouncing off pads etc. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Prevention: </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Do more varied falling practise indoors and outdoors to learn fall more safely in awkward situations. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Seriously consider giving up the idea of never using pads before leading / soloing trad routes. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Take the lower parts of routes seriously rather than casually, and plan for falling risks</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Pushing knees to extremes in unusual movements.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's only happened a couple of times, but with frustrating consequences. I'm not really sure why as I have reasonably strong legs from gym work, and no persistent niggles from running etc. Perhaps just bad luck??</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Prevention: </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Warm-up legs better before leg-intensive climbs / problems. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Have additional WARNING FLAGS for a set of leg movements / positions that might be risky and need extra care, e.g.: Deep squats / heel hooks / heel-toes / drop-knees.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Being heavy.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">No shit. An extra 10% weight is an extra 10% stress through all the joints / tissues in question.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Prevention: </b><i>Get a magic fairy to remove my DVTs and repair my digestion so I can do more CV exercise, get more energy from food, and manage my weight better.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>WARNING FLAGS</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">These are checklists for me to print out (in a better format), stick in my rucksac, stick in my guidebooks, tattoo on my knob (might need a smaller font...), and check off before any challenging climbing sessions.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>General risk checklist:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Niggles and injuries / Other physical issues (inc fatigue) / Weather and conditions / Type of climb / Risky holds / Risky moves or positions (including unfamiliar ones).</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Previous injury and weakness risk checklist:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Golfer's elbow (both) / Tennis elbow (both) / Shoulder impingements (both, especially right) / Left hand main finger A2 / Left hand ring finger PIP / Left knee in general.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>------</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><b>4 year timeline of injuries:</b></u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>2017:</u></b><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>November - January 2018:</b> Widespread impact / muscle damage in right leg.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Cause</b>: Falling off the "easy" bit of a challenging route and slamming into an overlap.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Effects</b>: 2-3 months recovering to full fitness / leg use. Kept up with upper body training so no extra muscular detriments (but contracted norovirus in hospital with long term digestive / mood / energy level detriments).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>2018:</u></b><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">[July onwards - maximum fitness due to mostly redpointing during summer]</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>December onwards:</b> Tennis elbow in both elbows</div><div><b>Cause</b>: 4 days bouldering / training, then niggles, then more cold bouldering instead of resting.</div><div><b>Effects</b>: Restricted any harder climbing and any training for several months.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>2019:</u></b><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>January to May:</b> Tennis elbow in both elbows.</div><div><b>Cause</b>: 4 days bouldering / training, then niggles, then more cold bouldering instead of resting.</div><div><b>Effects</b>: Prevented any harder climbing nor any training for several months, still weak in April.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>October to November:</b> Injured / strained lower back.</div><div><div><b>Cause</b>: Running 0.7 miles to local gym and deadlifting on exhausted / de-oxygenated legs.</div><div><b>Effects</b>: A week off climbing / training and a couple of weeks gently getting back into it.</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>December to Feb 2020:</b> Tendon sheath injury (?) in left forearm.</div><div><b>Cause</b>: Unknown!</div><div><b>Effects</b>: Some small restrictions on hold usage especially crimps and mixed/split grips.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>2020:</u></b><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">[Early August - maximum fitness due to mostly redpointing during summer]</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Mid-August to mid-November: </b>MCL sprain in left knee.</div><div><b>Cause</b>: Pushing far too deep in a maximum effort drop knee in poor conditions.</div><div><b>Effects</b>: Prevented any harder climbing nor any leg-intensive training for 3 months.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Mid-August to mid-December:</b> Full golfer's elbow in right elbow.</div><div><b>Cause</b>: Deadhanging / pull-ups with little warming up, then steep traversing instead of resting.</div><div><b>Effects</b>: Prevented any harder climbing nor any arm-intensive training for 3+ months.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>2021:</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>May onwards:</b> Bicep tendon insertion slight impingement in right shoulder.</div><div><b>Cause</b>: Attempting to climb strenuous sport after freezing on a cold and prolonged redpoint belay.</div><div><b>Effects</b>: Some small restrictions on strenuous climbing, especially pulling into sidepulls / underclings from below.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>May:</b> Bruised left heel.</div><div><div><b>Cause</b>: Dropping a couple of metres off the start of a route.</div><div><b>Effects</b>: Curtailed indoor/outdoor bouldering, heel-hooks, and running for a few weeks.</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>July to September:</b> Golfer's elbow slight niggle in left elbow.</div><div><b>Cause</b>: Deadhanging / pull-ups with little warming up.</div><div><b>Effects</b>: Little effect at time, manageable with care.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>August: </b>Bruised right heel.</div><div><div><b>Cause</b>: Falling a couple of metres off the start of a route.</div><div><b>Effects</b>: Would have curtailed bouldering as before except it was too warm anyway.</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>October onwards:</b> Full golfer's elbow in left elbow.</div><div><b>Cause</b>: Attempting to boulder beyond my limit, in the freezing cold, without warming up and without taping up.</div><div><b>Effects</b>: Prevented any harder climbing nor any arm-intensive training 4+ months.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>November onwards:</b> Sciatica / sore piriformis.</div><div><div><b>Cause</b>: Unknown but likely change in routine from lots of climbing to more gym / stretching.</div><div><b>Effects</b>: Mostly just annoyance but some confusion when assessing LCL pain.</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>December onwards:</b> LCL sprain in left knee.</div><div><b>Cause</b>: Single leg deep squat position on indoor problem whilst avoiding elbow-stressing problems.</div><div><b>Effects</b>: Prevented any harder climbing nor any leg-intensive training for 3 months.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><b>Mid-December onwards:</b> Tennis elbow slight niggle in left elbow.</div><div><b>Cause: </b>Weighted deadhanging (okay for golfer's) off the couch, to max limit.</div><div><b>Effects: </b>Curtailed further "training" and some gym work and rehab for golfer's elbow.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>P.S. </b>For a blog post that is just about recording events and analysing them (which should be fairly simple!!), it's taken a long time for me to write it and try to get it right. Sorry for the length / dryness / anything that doesn't make sense / etc.</div><div><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-47929539628568018552021-11-25T10:50:00.000-08:002021-11-25T10:50:07.591-08:00A Very Secret Slab<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Seek and ye shall find....maybe....or just get lost in the woods. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S1zUBoMtkHU" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Paul's Peach Slab, Honley Old Woods - update.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Main problems thoroughly cleaned November 2021</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Approach:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AXyEc_fizlk/YZ0jbh21liI/AAAAAAAADRs/gCA2WEr_6H023KnhIolfbTEVvaFIkL_bgCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/honleyslabapproach.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AXyEc_fizlk/YZ0jbh21liI/AAAAAAAADRs/gCA2WEr_6H023KnhIolfbTEVvaFIkL_bgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/honleyslabapproach.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The old parking at the end of Hassocks Lane is no longer viable as it's now a public bridleway and even if you park very discreetly and sensibly you'll likely get some self-important twat in the last house / building site blocking you in and waffling on about road traffic act blah blah whatever shut up already you tedious bellend.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Instead, park carefully on the verge next to a gate on the south side of Meltham Road, halfway between Honley Livery Stables and the edge of Honley Village, 50m west of the footpath / farm track leading to Hassocks Lane. Walk north down this track to the woodland, go into the woods and diagonally left for 30m until a carved block points a path leading rightwards, i.e. directly away from the main road. Follow this path for 200m until it reaches the valley edge, and drops down beneath Old Honley Wood Quarry. Turn left onto the path above the edge and follow this for 300m or so until it intertwines with a path on the left, next to the fence on the left. At this point you should be directly opposite a strange silo in a clearing to the left, turn right and the top of the slab should be 20m down the valley slope.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Problems:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PZaLqG4nR6w/YZ0jb3v2UiI/AAAAAAAADRw/sTYuu6lRfI4gk9sKtlEjPx9GdpwjbVVQACLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/honleyslabtopo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PZaLqG4nR6w/YZ0jb3v2UiI/AAAAAAAADRw/sTYuu6lRfI4gk9sKtlEjPx9GdpwjbVVQACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/honleyslabtopo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>The description on the <a href="http://www.kirkleesclimbing.co.uk/" target="_blank">Kirklees</a> climbing site isn't very clear and the update on UKC doesn't help much either! So maybe this will show the potential.... Apart from miscellaneous pebbles and smears, the centre of the slab has few features, but the two main ones naturally lead to distinct and good quality variants. The main holds are a head-height diagonal edge left of centre (with a good starting smear low down), and a very shallow flaky scoop high up with a useful rail at it's bottom.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>?</b> - A possible one move wonder up the left edge.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>PL - Peach Lefthand 6C?</b></div><div>Shorter but still tricky and good. Right hand gaston the diagonal edge, right foot low smear, and climb straight up on pebbles, with or without the scoop rail to finish.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>PP - Paul's Peach 6B+</b></div><div>The original and best linking of the features. Left hand sidepull the diagonal edge, left foot low smear, and reach and rock up right to the scoop rail before finishing slightly leftwards.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>PSD - Peach Superdirect 7A?</b></div><div>Fierce pebble pulling to get the most slab value. Just right climb direct on pebbles to the scoop rail, match it and finish slightly rightwards. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>TS - Tentative Steps 4+</b></div><div>Link the lower diagonal runnel and a good flat hold above to gain the right crest of the slab.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Low Traverse</b> - It would also be possible to do a rather fun traverse from the good footholds on the left edge all the way into Tentative Steps to finish.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-29048451871550861312021-11-22T12:16:00.001-08:002021-11-22T12:17:05.958-08:00Solace Part 2<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Maybe a post about actually climbing for a change??</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(Edit, and warning: there now are a lot of words about climbing in this post, I got carried away)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's still a struggle. I want to push myself. I want to be climbing at over 50% capacity. I want to train. I want to bivvy beneath the 30' board in the new Depot training room. I want to feel the cranking. Sigh.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But there's a little bit of stuff I can do, apart from easy circuits indoors and trying to work out why the fuck my pelvis and left leg are constantly aching and tweaky despite exercise and stretching. Mostly easy grit, slabs, and easy grit slabs. Thankfully all of those things are rather good so there's some pleasure to be had in the usual luck-based scrittle malarkey of sliding off smears, pinging off pebbles, being unable to reach holds, and moaning about skin / conditions. So here's a little tale about most of those...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yTytN8uFvGo/YZAc669Xi0I/AAAAAAAADQ0/fzuG_SB2hNsrGiwaDVpqKE9_wgQq30cNQCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/fiend_solace.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yTytN8uFvGo/YZAc669Xi0I/AAAAAAAADQ0/fzuG_SB2hNsrGiwaDVpqKE9_wgQq30cNQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/fiend_solace.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />M20 and I went questing off to Standing Stones. He promised me a Bonjoy 6C slab, and the chance to heckle him on a downsloping lip traverse just above the pads and then a large drop-off so if the climber fell and the precariously bridged spotter fumbled, you'd both end up plunging headfirst into a likely bottomless pit in the boulders below. I promised myself to get a decent walk, fresh air, and not aggravate my elbow, which is sometimes all I aim for these days.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'd actually been for a recce last autumn (previous golfer's elbow AND tweaked MCL rehab...) and spotted a few things including this slab that featured one of the two defining characteristics of the extensive SS boulderfield: boulders that either don't have a landing, or are so wedged and jumbled that they don't form problems at all. Since this only featured the former, I decided to investigate further whilst M20 was brushing scrittle or looking lustily at grouse or something. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The slab was indeed attractive, the terrain beneath it less so, consisting of an artisanal blend of holey bits and jaggy bits and finely seasoned by a suitcase-sized block jutting right out over it. It turns out that the latter was in a fairly relaxed state about it's current position and decided it's ultimate destiny in life was to roll down into one of the afore-mentioned holes in a position which initially seemed equally jutting and inconvenient but actually provided a useful centerpiece around which other unstable blocks could migrate towards and cuddle up next to. An hour or so later there was, miraculously, a landing. And it seemed that no mosses, lichens, ferns nor rodent nests were disturbed in the transition, indeed scarcely a displaced woodlouse was spotted.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After some stones had partaken in downwards motion, it was incumbent for the climber to attempt upwards motion. A lone excellent sidepull provided both the solution and conundrum, and it quickly became apparently that it's more obvious orientation naturally led the climber off onto the left arete rather abruptly, albeit after a very pleasant smear-stepping start (<b>Solexit 6A</b>). A more direct line didn't seem to work and I started to lose interest, and, somewhat prematurely, left Gritstone Jesus to take over. He worked out an extended smearing sequence that used the Hold to gaston back right and up, leaving a final smear and stretch to a particularly enticing pebble, at which point the gritstone decided to take revenge for all the downwards motion earlier on, and the pebble and climber joined the downward motion...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">At this point the Gritstone Gentleman, after a half-hearted attempt discovering the remaining hole was a pale shadow of the pebble it once embraced, confessed that he was feeling a bit reluctant to fully go for it, as I'd put all the effort into fixing the landing and really I should be giving it a fair go. Gulp. So I did, and the climbing started to feel pretty damn interesting - a different extended sequence of smears led back to the same position, and a worse, higher pebble showed potential to reach the top. After a few tentative dismounts, I pulled on the pebble, bridged a foot onto a ripple and reached.... ....the bloody left arete, albeit a lot higher. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This was something I hadn't intended nor desired. The problem was already a bit eliminate in that you had to move back right to avoid easier ground, and I wanted it to be a logical eliminate with a simple "avoid the left arete" description. I checked if I could reach the top directly (not really), tried a few more times, skidded off a higher smear, ran out of time and shuffled away. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But it kept nagging at me, and inspiring me, and it's been a while since I've been able to feel inspiration or anything that motivational. I didn't think there was much to improve to do that last move more directly, just having more time to persist with it and hope the luck part of the luck based scrittle appeared out of somewhere. I bade my time, cleaned off an excellent project to tempt M20 back, and thought about smears. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Eventually M20, MG and I went back - the closest Standing Stones has got to an actual send train! We downgraded the Bonjoy 6B+, did a new one move wonder undercut arete I found - Careless Pork - and I got back on the slab. And exactly the same thing happened, the best position I got into, the way for me to progress was rolling onto the arete. Again I tested the stretch to the top, this time with more diligence, to discover I'd have to be on tip-toes on the crucial ankle-down smear to reach it. Again I passed the baton on, and M20 stretched the very top of the arete and slab apex to match. With the team's support, the assessment was that where you reach from the final position wasn't the main thrust of the problem, and effectively I'd already done it last time. This was quite weird for me, closure of the inspiration not by success but by changing the goalposts.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Post-match analysis however revealed some logic, in which I was inspired by writings of the ex-Newcastle now Cymru captain Pantontino. It's nice for new things to make clear-cut sense: Follow the line from the bottom to the top. But sometimes they don't. Bits of rock impinge, easier ground impinges, features lead away from the best climbing. Guidance from a well-written guide nudges the climber to make the best use out of the rock, even if it means guidelines on what to do. In this case, matching the Hold and rocking back right locks you into the sequence of smears and pebbles until you're bridged higher and either slap the upper arete or the top. Yes you go back to the arete if you can't reach the top, but only after 6 tricky and delicate moves away from the much easier start-sidepull-arete problem.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So it's a flawed result, but there's now a feasible problem with good climbing. It's about 6C/+-ish maybe.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And the name??</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Solace.</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PPMpAYoj-4U" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-48579964028560261862021-11-03T02:39:00.000-07:002021-11-03T02:39:23.270-07:00Strategies<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I somehow got away with another <strike>moany, whiney, self-pitying and inanely negative</strike> AHEM I mean <i>disarmingly honest which most climbers can identify with</i> blog post. Not only that, I had some nice supportive words from people, which has nudged me towards doing something more productive with the topic. Thus, based on my own experiences: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Some snappily-titled ideas of how to cope with physical and mental setbacks and disorders whilst trying to keep climbing...</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Keep turning up / </b><b>Get through each day</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is not as optimistic as "Keep turning up to some sort of climbing relevant activity", nor "Keep turning up to the crag", let alone "Keep turning up to your challenging project". It's more like keep turning up to life, get through each day, day by day. Unless you've got an illness more swiftly terminal than life itself, you can probably spare a few days, or weeks, or months, just to survive and cope with whatever issues you need to. The lost strength / fitness / confidence can be regained.....IF you're still alive, and have kept a basic amount of self-care (eating normally, sleeping, avoiding substance reliance, etc). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A day where you can say <i>"I'm still alive"</i> at the end of it is good.</div><div style="text-align: left;">A day where you can say <i>"I didn't do anything to worsen my physical / mental issues"</i> is better.</div><div style="text-align: left;">A day where you can say <i>"I did something, no matter how small, to alleviate / improve my issues"</i> is better still.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's pretty bleak being reduced to this level, but if you are, this is what you have to resort to. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Just keep moving</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">We're motive beings attempting a motive activity / lifestyle. Even if we can't do anything specific or even supportive towards that activity, it is essential to keep moving, keep active, keep healthy. Both getting through the difficult periods will be easier if there's some form of exercise (endorphins / fresh air / less stiffness and aches and pains / easier rehab / better sleep / better appetite), and it will be better groundwork for recovery and regaining strength/fitness.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yes, it's best if it's as close as possible to the desired activity, yes it's best if it's stimulating, enjoyable or progressive/training. But if it's not, just keep moving. Want to have a nice hard session cranking on plastic but your injury is so bad you can only go for a shitty road run?? That's moving, it's better than nothing. Want to go do some cool suntrap sea-cliff climbs but you're so cowed by depression you can't even message potential partners, and instead you book a fucking yoga class?? That's moving, it's better than nothing. Want to do 30 mins of beastmaking and you can only force yourself for a 10 min walk?? That's moving, it's - just about - better than nothing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Beginner's mind</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">To try to retain some enjoyment in climbing, go back to basics. Go back to easy stuff. If all you can do is easy stuff, try to make the most out of that, and try to find what enjoyment and learning you can get from that. Yes easy moves suck and aren't nearly as stimulating as hard moves, but they can still be fun - it helps if you don't climb exclusively on limestone of course... Recapture what it was like before obsession progression and goal chasing, accept your new "reduced" state and work with that. Climb easy stuff well, climb it really well, focus on being in the moment and being in the movement. This might even be progressive for the future when you don't punt off the 5b slab on your s1ck pr0ject....</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Diversify / </b><b>Love the one you're with</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">In such dire circumstances it's highly unlikely that you'll be able to do the climbing you really desire (the same is governed by location and seasons too, of course). But if you can manage to do something, try to adapt your goals and your satisfactions to what is available to you. Climbing boils down to the act of moving over an impending surface and there are many ways to do that and hopefully many ways that some variant of that core motion can be enjoyable even if it's very distant from your specific aspirations. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Try to focus down on aspects that can be pleasurable - the feel of the holds, the bite of an edge, the trusting of a smear, the changing of balance, the burning sensation in muscles, the flow of a sequence.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Or try to experiment with things you don't normally do. Jamming? Mantel practise? Coordination problems? Hands free problems? Falling practise? Beastmaker hang benchmarks?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>See what else you can fix</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you're rehabbing from an injury, you're having to climb at a much gentler level, and you can't push your body as much, and certainly can't directly train as much. But no doubt there's other areas that you could progress with, to either fix other niggles and aches and pains, or to train supporting areas that could be beneficial in the future. Got a frustrating golfer's elbow tweak?? Maybe... look at that shoulder impingement at the same time, try to sort out that swollen PIP joint, do some work on the aching pelvic area, sore piriformis, and tweaky hip, do some stretching to ease up back mobility, and a lot more stretching to for general flexibility, keep working on core for body tension and legs for those rockovers (any correlation with what I'm personally trying to do is entirely coincidence....).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>It's all in the mind</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you're rehabbing your mind, it can be a mighty fucking struggle. Sorry, I know it's bloody hard for anything to alleviate that. But I can reiterate just how much one's mindstate clouds judgement and perception and obscures the reality. In the midst of depression everything is viewed through a very bleak, very murky, very monochrome filter. But this IS just the filter. There's the reality, and there's how you perceive it. Knowing this logically won't help much when you don't feel it, but if it helps a tiny fraction, that's something. Trying to focus on objective realities of the situation, e.g. <i>"It will take me 2 months to heal, and 2 months to regain strength, so in 4 months I will be physically back to normal"</i> may help to cut through the bleakness, again a tiny fraction. Use any moments of alleviation in mood to check the reality and remind yourself what it's like without the filter.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Misery loves company</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">But it can also be diluted by it, and it can be important to stay social. Obviously this will vary from person to person but I think generally keeping involved with other people is regarded as a positive thing for most humans. Ideally the focus should be just about getting out (or in!) with people and sharing the activity, not about off-loading your woes (although almost everyone will be sympathetic to the usual climber injuries!!). Just hanging out (and doing some moves together) can alleviate issues a lot without even having to mention those issues. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This does become a lot harder when it seems all of your friends / climbing partners are invariably busy, have their own groups / plans, don't receive messages, aren't in suitable locations, etc etc, and attempts at staying sociable fall on deaf ears. At these times it takes some persistence to keep banging your head against the wall - try to get something organised, get knocked back, pick yourself up, and do it all over again the next time. Obviously this is especially hard if you're already struggling, aside from simply being patient one possible idea is to try to habituate it and make it as much of a routine as rehab and some form of exercise.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">An alternative is to keep part of the community even if it doesn't directly involve meeting other people. Route and boulder cleaning, guidebook work, exploring crags and taking photos, sharing experiences online, engaging with people in climbing forums / groups, getting back in touch with old mates etc etc. It can help you feel a bit more like a climber-on-sabbatical rather than a non-climber, and might be useful groundwork for the future.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>It all adds up</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This motto mostly sums up all of the above tactics: Every little bit of positive action you take will add up, whether it's adding up to rehabbing and healing, adding up to getting through the bleak shit miserable times, adding up to regaining strength / fitness, or adding up to progressing in the future. Celebrate and take heart with every small thing you do, because you've done in it, and doing that small thing is better than not doing that small thing, and "better" IS positive.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Whatever you do, don't paint toy soldiers</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yes alternative hobbies are good, yes distractions are good, yes creative endeavours are good, but seriously, painting fucking toy soldiers?? Get a grip. It's extremely time-consuming, phenomenally sedentary, completely introverted, and arguably the worst possible hobby to maintain any form of active functionality. It's a fucking terrible idea, just don't do it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-53161326010650392692021-10-26T02:29:00.000-07:002021-10-26T02:29:18.786-07:00Solace??<div style="text-align: left;"> <br />So. I lost my confidence, I lost my motivation for organising away trips, I got depressed.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />I came up with a cunning plan to deal with this: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I delayed the climbing that I was struggling with, I put on hold the more complex trad challenges, relinquished them to next spring, and started to think about preparing for that in advance.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I gave myself a focus for training, taking a slightly longer term view to try to address my genuine need to have a bit more in reserve physically to tackle those challenges, and anticipating winter to be a good time for that.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I dialled my climbing back to something that was manageable but enjoyable and could contribute to progression: Logistically easy but physically challenging, mostly bouldering, often starting exploring Welsh limestone.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In short I sought solace in enjoying the physical aspect of climbing, whilst relaxing a bit and being patient and preparative.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Then I went bouldering on the top of the Little Orme on a bitterly windy day. One of the craglets had the cold wind raking along it and I had to wear a duvet jacket just to try to start climbing. That was the sheltered crag - at the exposed one I could barely stand up to look at the lines and had to walk back at a 30' angle so I didn't get blown back to Manc. Back at the former I was looking for an autumn project to push myself on, and decided the best course of action was to warm up by vigorously brushing some holds (this did deceptively raise my core temperature), not tape my niggling elbow, and start working a 45' overhanging beyond-my-limit project move-by-move... </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Maybe I didn't notice how badly I'd aggravated my golfer's elbow because everything had gone numb?? Whichever way, I am a <b>fucking idiot</b>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Solace - gone. Training plans - gone. Relaxation - gone.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Depression - back, with reinforcements and heavier anti-Fiend weapons.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The overall plan for this time had been: Get fitter, get stronger, get more powerful, get more confident physically, get better prepared for next trad season.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now the imminent future is: Get less fit (and heavier?), get weaker, get less powerful, get more timid and much less confident physically, feel increasingly distant from any trad season.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">What I'm doing of course is rehab (with good advice from Process), gentle climbing (at least gritstone bumblecircuits are quite pleasant, and indoor walls have plenty of slabs and non-pulling nonsense on them these days), keeping active by going out exploring, going to the gym, and focusing on the minimal things I can train: core, and especially flexibility. Interestingly since I've been doing less proper climbing and more of the latter, I've got all sorts of pains around my hips, buttocks, groin, knees etc. Nothing too inhibitive but extra physical niggles that actually I don't really need.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I still have the same cunning Plan B mentioned at the start of this post, but it's all pretty much delayed until I've healed my elbow to a manageable state. Thus any updates around here are going to be pretty sporadic, unless I find any ethics to rant about. Anyone seen any peg-bolted lower-offs recently??</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Anyway here's a couple of things from the recent but very distant-seeming time when I only had mental inhibitions:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jfu1qnQFj70/YWxpLde3_gI/AAAAAAAADQI/j7RE4ioWuCAVV9GqhKpyllPKtnJ7MLVJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s880/fiiend_badgers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jfu1qnQFj70/YWxpLde3_gI/AAAAAAAADQI/j7RE4ioWuCAVV9GqhKpyllPKtnJ7MLVJQCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/fiiend_badgers.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b>A nice little boulder problem.</b></div></b><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OXXtrO4DbsM" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe><div><b>A fairly mediocre video </b>mostly due to the light and angles and forgetting my camera and using my phone fingertaped to a tripod, but it was only a few days before I properly aggravated my elbow and it does show I was pretty confident with both cranking up things and jumping off things (even though some of those drop-off landings felt as hard as the climber is heavy!!).</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-3281114343584179932021-09-25T03:49:00.001-07:002021-09-25T03:50:11.681-07:00Mini-Adventures #4<div style="text-align: left;"> <br />(Ab)normal service resumes?? They're getting mini-er and slightly less adventurous, but no less fun-spirited...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UIo3U41ot5w/YUiIDWvN-9I/AAAAAAAADOc/QMqDFEsaB5E7w22qHuK5kqjkHWy6-HSPQCLcBGAsYHQ/s880/fiend_fear1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UIo3U41ot5w/YUiIDWvN-9I/AAAAAAAADOc/QMqDFEsaB5E7w22qHuK5kqjkHWy6-HSPQCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/fiend_fear1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U8QGmcZu39I/YUiIEWBQmOI/AAAAAAAADOo/E5z538jknVIuyN85-gI4kr3qf21JB8Z_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/fiend_fear2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U8QGmcZu39I/YUiIEWBQmOI/AAAAAAAADOo/E5z538jknVIuyN85-gI4kr3qf21JB8Z_QCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/fiend_fear2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><b>Fear Test, Rhoscolyn. </b>A well-named wee route combining boldness with steepness, although thankfully not exactly at the same time. Hidden out of view just below me is an "alarmingly steep groove" that only partially lives up to that promise, having neither a good crack at the back nor enough angularity for good bridging at the front. It does have good holds which is quite welcome when fiddling in spaced and obtuse cams. Once this is dealt with, it is a matter of some elation popping through the steepest bulge out onto the biggest jugs and romping to the top. <div><br /></div><div>8b+ Reeve was trying to persuade me that this was a good option to warm-up and get inspired for Big Sunday E5 6a just to the left, equally alarming in angle but woefully lacking in any form of groove-based respite. Funnily enough 7b+ Fiend politely declined (okay, there was no politeness actually involved....).<div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--uJ9MR-i4qM/YUiIElreeFI/AAAAAAAADOs/dqlRy8nzh9Uz5news8lAEecGVUXvGHm2gCLcBGAsYHQ/s880/fiend_graze1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--uJ9MR-i4qM/YUiIElreeFI/AAAAAAAADOs/dqlRy8nzh9Uz5news8lAEecGVUXvGHm2gCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/fiend_graze1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GdAxpPRxsfs/YUiIE0TRdpI/AAAAAAAADOw/JDOcFE_YyvQEPbzFvo2TwKB3q2YCk-2FQCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/fiend_graze2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GdAxpPRxsfs/YUiIE0TRdpI/AAAAAAAADOw/JDOcFE_YyvQEPbzFvo2TwKB3q2YCk-2FQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/fiend_graze2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Grazed And Confused, The Range. </b>This is one of the mini-adventures of the year. One star, a completely wrong topo of an adjacent route, a hopeless description, and good potential to be lowered into the sea if you muff the crux. I was extremely close to backing off when the the last two factors saw me in a stable position but struggling to decide between a highly off-putting hard and protectionless roof above me or a highly offputting cramped traverse to swing blindly out in space to the right of me. Reeve was disarmingly cheery and encouraging on belay whilst I was sweating and stalling. Eventually the swing right was right and led to more comprehensible terrain and a feeling of <i>"I'm not quite sure how I committed through that and ended up here but I'm bloody glad I did"</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>This route had it all packed into a compact size: interesting line, variety of climbing, essential Gogarth "hanging slabs" and "shuffling between roofs", funky rock, good gear where needed, the lurking zawn below... </div><div><br /></div><div>The correct description: </div><div><i>From the palatial ledges, step down and traverse right on an easy slab until it is possible to pull up a blocky feature to beneath the main roof. Make an increasingly cramped traverse right and a committing swing around the corner to pull up onto easier ground on the grey corrugated slab. Climb through the weakness in the overlap above to finish up the yellow slab.</i></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8Ftjs4OClAA/YUiIFJFzJBI/AAAAAAAADO0/G3cjeQx9TngrRi7uIYJM0h7kJrzcHigwwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/range_sun2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8Ftjs4OClAA/YUiIFJFzJBI/AAAAAAAADO0/G3cjeQx9TngrRi7uIYJM0h7kJrzcHigwwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/range_sun2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><b>The Range</b> at sunset - obviously the fantastic light came out just after all the climbing was finished!! This is mostly looking towards Emmenthal Zawn, Wensleydale Walls, and The Fortress on the right. Lurking out of shot are Housetrap Zawn, The Old Steam Piano, Curious Yellow, Daichotomous etc etc.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MuvdkawsOCs/YUiIX0DtDwI/AAAAAAAADPQ/gWQGfMrhQygnK11HJDArwmwszOjnCHsPACLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/cilanview.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MuvdkawsOCs/YUiIX0DtDwI/AAAAAAAADPQ/gWQGfMrhQygnK11HJDArwmwszOjnCHsPACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/cilanview.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b>Cilan Head</b>, looking North from Mur Y Fulfran. Cilan Main is partly tucked out of view just behind the brighter white patch that's just right of centre. Zawn Two is the shaded buttress nearer by with the diagonal top. This was taken from the very amenable (tidal considerations aside - yes it really is that bad for swell!) MYF - Cilan Lite at it's litest!</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aforttb0F_g/YUiIX6t-nXI/AAAAAAAADPU/jctmTni7hWQ7xIGGeppfZAZYPFTNWKfPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/fiend_cilane2a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aforttb0F_g/YUiIX6t-nXI/AAAAAAAADPU/jctmTni7hWQ7xIGGeppfZAZYPFTNWKfPgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/fiend_cilane2a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b>Cantre'r Gwaelod, Mur Y Fulfran</b>. Silence Of The Clams climbs the chimney to the left, I'm Not Swimming Now climbs the stepped corner to the right. This is a rather fine route for anyone who is a fan of cranking through slabby bulges, as it mostly involves cranking through slabby bulges. This, and a couple of other cool little routes that we did, was disarmingly normal and conventional, despite the feeling of general wildness and "not like anywhere else" that the area has. Given the suntrap location there might be more mini-adventures here this autumn who knoweth....</div><div><br /></div></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-50266341194525326602021-09-20T04:54:00.000-07:002021-09-20T04:54:35.035-07:00Shadows of hope.<div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8xnW6_7esvo/YUTsZmnJj-I/AAAAAAAADN0/Fx_EzT-tiV0VGSDuURziBtIe7CVqw2ZfACLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/shadows.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8xnW6_7esvo/YUTsZmnJj-I/AAAAAAAADN0/Fx_EzT-tiV0VGSDuURziBtIe7CVqw2ZfACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/shadows.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><b>The moments of light that shine through the darkness are real and wonderful, but sporadic.</b></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><i>"You seem to still be ticking off a lot of crags/routes on your list. Good work."</i><br /></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>...said Biscuit. Oh how social media lies, even if you don't use cuntstagram. Show a few half-decent shots, write a couple of blog posts, celebrate the occasional success, and it all looks fine on the surface. People can assume it's representative, that it's all going well, a general trend of success and satisfaction. The bigger picture is of course bigger, and sometimes blander, and sometimes bleaker. </div><div><br /></div><div>The reality is ticking off very few routes of my list, and even fewer of the most inspiring and challenging ones. The shown successes are also real, but circumstance and self-timer means a disproportionate amount of showing off. There's not really a hidden iceberg of further successes beneath the photographic tip, instead it's a dark pool swirling with depression, disorganisation, de-confidence. </div><div><br /></div><div>Funnily enough this is not the sort of DMac style depression that gets you running up Ben Nevis on rest days. I've never encountered that sort of depression, I'd love to get hold of some. Okay so no amount of mental bleakness is going to overcome fluid mechanics and get me fell-running by pure magic, but obsessive training / physical activity depression?? Much better than the common-or-garden hiding-under-the-duvet-hoping-either-the-world-fucks-off-or-you-do depression. The latter really doesn't get you fit nor strong for climbing. And interval timer shots of someone staring at their phone for hours, desperately trying to summon up the courage to get in contact with someone or make a plan to get away, doesn't get you many "likes" on FB....</div><div><br /></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>"It IS supposed to be fun, climbing...."</i> <br /><br /></div><div>...said Reeve. And indeed it is fun. Lots of fun. Type 1 or below fun (even if it sometimes takes a bit of Type 1.5 to overcome to get there), that's why I go on Red Walls and The Range, not hanging off bolts at The Tor, nor winter fucking mountaineering (the latter being Type 3 fun - the only pleasure coming from finally stopping it and forgetting the horror).</div><div><br /></div><div>The problem comes when a lot of fun comes from the challenge, and the challenge is is a huge motivator and also big and scary and that's quite off-putting for the mind, and when the mind is as dysfunctional as mine can be, well, the mental processes are Not Fun - trying to get to grips with the fun is not fun. The desire is very strong and very authentic and gets proven so on the rare occasions I get to grips with those challenges and pull through them. Almost inevitably no matter how daunting the prospect or tortuous and convoluted the process to get there, the actual climbs and experiences that I've somehow ended up fixating on are really wonderful. But fuck me it would be easier if they were easier.... But then I wouldn't want to do them as much. FFS.</div><div><br /></div><div>So this somewhat tedious post (yes, I'd much rather be writing about sandy troughs, but I am allowed to express these issues, just as you're allowed to "smash" the back button on your browser so quickly it counts as fast twitch muscle training, at any rate I'm hoping that expelling some of this discordant mental shit will be as relieving as when my bowels expel their discordant bacterial shit at higher and scarcely less readable velocity) bookends the summer with the more positive <a href="http://fiendophobia.blogspot.com/2021/07/glimmers-of-hope.html" target="_blank">glimmers of hope</a> I initially felt. It's been up and down, there's definitely been some good stuff, and definitely some bad stuff, most of it inside my head. I'm just keeping plodding on, trying to stay focused when I can, trying to stay accepting when I can't, trying to keep moving because that all adds up in the end. </div><div><br /></div></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-27762763911026407542021-09-09T08:33:00.001-07:002021-09-09T10:17:53.627-07:00Moonboard? Manorboard!<div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RmyUow2FhNA/YTpBrrb6W7I/AAAAAAAADNU/h-QGL-0-bycbZNuyUM_02PkY_4DDMLg0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/227117889_10160073282213623_6012632921209107358_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RmyUow2FhNA/YTpBrrb6W7I/AAAAAAAADNU/h-QGL-0-bycbZNuyUM_02PkY_4DDMLg0QCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h426/227117889_10160073282213623_6012632921209107358_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Power-to-weight is a constant battle. Too little of the former, too much of the latter. The latter I can do very little about as the DVTs prevent easy CV exercise and the b0rked digestion (and healthier diet to try to alleviate it) simultaneously gives me lower energy without any weight reduction. I once asked an established climbing coach I met at the crag about the general issue, and the short answer was "It's fine to be really heavy, you just have to be really fucking strong too", and the disclaimer "The trick is to get strong without getting injured". I haven't booked a masterclass quite yet. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But yes the former I can at least try to do something about and maybe I should try a bit harder instead of spinning the ledge shuffling and esoteric bouldering and quick easy redpoint plates. Actually, I have lost a couple of kilos this summer (a dozen to go...), and this is almost entirely due to some hefty days out combining ledge shuffling with inimical walking. One edge of this sword is a tiny improvement in fitness and lightness, the other edge is a severe blunting of any power. Hauling my carcass up to Dow for two 6A+ moves, or a full day trudging back and forth around The Range doesn't actually get you strong, who would have thought it?? And when the buffer between my sport / bloc ability and my trad desires often feels as thin as a midge's scrotum, there's something to heed there.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A while ago I realised how dire the situation was that I was a solid grade and a half below my redpointing at this time last year, despite not having the restrictive nonsense of a spring lockdown to crawl back from. By chance the revamped Awesome Stockport bouldering room has a vastly better selection of holds and problems on nice angles, the same terrible decor and ear-vomittingly awful dad rock soundtrack, AND a new Moonboard with wooden holds, which lured me in with promises of a convenient skin-friendly power top-up. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Naturally I took to this like a cat to water, although admittedly it was as much an issue of the constant "so farcical it's gone beyond hilarious and back around into tediously unfunny" pseudo-grading, the common terrible setting by morons who should be blocked off the MB app, and the often entirely useless feet-follow-hands style which given the larger holds on the easier problems reduces most situations to neanderthal lurching between relative jugs whilst pretending that "finger strength" and "core tension" are not relevant things to be trained. But at least the app makes it vaguely easy to sift through all the dross that actually gets in the way of training to find the occasional sandbag gem that might actually get me stronger. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After a few sessions moaning my way through the 40° steepness I didn't feel any weaker, so en route back to Gogarth for some Red Walls trough squirming I stopped off at Manor Crag which has always looked fairly aesthetic for limestone. Given the angle of the place I had initial hopes that it could be a good test to see if the Moonboard had given me any hint of a power top-up, but on first viewings I remembered this same angle is my definite anti-style and resigned myself to merely getting a workout failing on everything, and at least it's more scenic than the AWMB. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But then this happened....</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k2igPznj3-g" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">....which was quite a shock to me. I know, climber in "trains a bit on a steep board and then does okay on steep board-ish style climbs" shocker, hold the fucking press. Actually in terms of tackling challenges, this is one of my very best bouldering days out ever, it didn't even feel like a training day because it was over so quick. A few notes: Jawa I missed the flash simply because I forgot my planned sequence and where to bump my hand to. Patch's Crack I missed the flash because I didn't seat the hand jam right a couple of times. Cracked Roof I missed the flash because I didn't get my thumb fully in the jam first time - all very close things!! All very good fun too.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Anyway recently I went back on the Moonboard a couple of times, there's a Font """""6B+""""" that I've tried at least a few times each session for 6 sessions now. I'm almost close. Almost. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-47453557511897592312021-09-02T11:51:00.000-07:002021-09-02T11:51:06.296-07:00And thus it begins...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qr-Mhamo61Y/YTDegd8jL8I/AAAAAAAADMk/zAPqjgyJQAgFBZc3bLq0NwEHZUE-OIZgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s880/fiendhonnold2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qr-Mhamo61Y/YTDegd8jL8I/AAAAAAAADMk/zAPqjgyJQAgFBZc3bLq0NwEHZUE-OIZgwCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/fiendhonnold2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>T = 0</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm sat on a slope of tumbling tussocks, 20m above the sea, 70m below the crag top, looking out at a rising trench of steep silt with little sign of protection nor security, and I'm terrified. Unusually, rarely, I don't want to be here. A non-trivial percentage of my brain wants to scramble out and haul up the ab rope. My confidence has been very vague this summer, I'm fed up of being stressed and scared - not of the climbing, but of my own mental fragility. But....maybe I could just pull on the first holds, see if I can move...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>T +1.2hrs</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm sat on a small pedestal at the top of the silt trench, anchored in to abstract ironmongery hammered into dust, and I feel sick with fear. Well, partly fear and partly my guts playing up after wolfing down an emergency egg breakfast. The fragility is still there - if I struggled to cope with the easy intro pitch, how can I cope with the main pitches?? Maybe it's best to finish up an easier version, maybe I could cope with that. Except I'd have to do it all again at some point in the future. But....the next "poor rock" section looks easier, and I can see some resting spots to aim for...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>T +1.4hrs</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've just pulled onto a thin wall, out of the steep looseness, and onto terrain that intimidates me just as much - sheer and smooth and supposedly sustained. But....I'm hanging on okay, I'm trusting small finger flakes, small foot edges, a good small nut next to me....I'm no longer scared....I'm curious, I'm inspired, I'm becoming happy....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">( <b>T +2.5hrs</b> - the above photo )</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>T +4hrs</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm sat on a dusty crag top, belaying, diligently taking the the ropes at constantly contrasting paces to best protect my partner on the bewilderingly weaving top pitch. I'm mostly.....surprised. Surprised I could cope with the initial reluctance, especially surprised I could transmogrify from that fear and nervousness to genuine pleasure in the middle pitch. <b>Pagan</b> isn't the hardest route I've done (nor the hardest this year, nor the hardest on South Stack), but it is one of the hardest that I've ever climbed when I've been so lacking in confidence - confidence being one of the essential pre-requisites (along with a light touch, trad nouse, and a lot of cams, rather than physical prowess) for this sort of terrain. I'm still not quite sure how it happened...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v63hlZHIqGw/YTDefU3cWAI/AAAAAAAADMc/_FzdBuN7PKwgGlNf_HAsdEp17hozWwfgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/fiend_approach1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v63hlZHIqGw/YTDefU3cWAI/AAAAAAAADMc/_FzdBuN7PKwgGlNf_HAsdEp17hozWwfgwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/fiend_approach1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Expansive.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fSWnlwhAFc0/YTDe8xqH9_I/AAAAAAAADM8/zbk8j9GbVCACs_lLKG523pSrfSUhrPEvgCLcBGAsYHQ/s880/fiend_pitch1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fSWnlwhAFc0/YTDe8xqH9_I/AAAAAAAADM8/zbk8j9GbVCACs_lLKG523pSrfSUhrPEvgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/fiend_pitch1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The mildly horrifying ""E3 5b"" first pitch. 50% of the climbing on this pitch you could have a nasty accident on.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tp5nLa3UXc/YTDefRPMvJI/AAAAAAAADMg/QTDeXkFBBLUjgQ8st796AKp6uVb3sGeVACLcBGAsYHQ/s960/fiend_belay1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tp5nLa3UXc/YTDefRPMvJI/AAAAAAAADMg/QTDeXkFBBLUjgQ8st796AKp6uVb3sGeVACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/fiend_belay1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The completely fine and normal first belay. <i>"Yes we could sling together the 3 pegs in siltstone and abseil off into the sea to escape".</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>~~{§}~~</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Meanwhile, a few weeks earlier....</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As chance would have it, I started the Red Wall campaign nicely early this year, scarcely a few days after the bird ban was off. Gogarth South became my constant literary companion...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KhXVCe_EZCs/YRUTDT55QZI/AAAAAAAADLY/69tSngXreqsgmXSRIeutl2NHuPW4KDrcwCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/redwall1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KhXVCe_EZCs/YRUTDT55QZI/AAAAAAAADLY/69tSngXreqsgmXSRIeutl2NHuPW4KDrcwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/redwall1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I've always particularly loved the second paragraph :)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ZKAV4w8ZFY/YRUSv3JdrzI/AAAAAAAADK4/_Xw8yLsIUxweikpy6QBpSRaq6YJF5iQQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s881/fiend_lhrw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ZKAV4w8ZFY/YRUSv3JdrzI/AAAAAAAADK4/_Xw8yLsIUxweikpy6QBpSRaq6YJF5iQQgCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/fiend_lhrw.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Looking down to Left Hand Red Wall, about to do<b> Left Hand Red Wall</b>. Another traumatic start off the tussocky ramp!<div><br /></div><div>LHRW was a stern reacquaintance with the terrain, but pretty good. But not as good as <b>Television Route</b> which was bloody marvellous, surely one of the best single pitches in the whole UK. The tricky climbing on this 45m route starts at about the 3m mark and eventually eases off at the 43m mark, and on the way takes in a massive variety of steep, committing, wobbly, technical and constantly interesting climbing. World class.</div><div><br /></div><div>Incidentally the description is quite inaccurate so have a proper one:</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Television Route E4 5c *** 45m</i></b></div><div><i>Start by the two loose spikes. Just to the right is a groove, follow it, passing a few rusty relics from the original aided ascent. Surmount a loose bulge to gain a better crack and step right to an improvement in rock quality and more bolt heads. Continue on easier ground with little gear to an overhung red niche in the groove, and make crux moves around the right edge of the overhang via a "thank god" jug. Move up to the where the groove steepens again, and step right to a rib and spike holds, then trend left and finish up the continuation groove, past the last remnants of scrap metal.</i></div><div><br /><div>However there weren't enough sandy troughs on TR, so I had to go back and do <b>Last Of The Summer Wine</b>, a lesser-rated but quite quintessential Red Wall experience, as seen below:</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qx5p7wi4l7g/YRUSv49LQ9I/AAAAAAAADK8/7zHkJd5nEcUPgWfjuGtuAzln-6CIU4eKACLcBGAsYHQ/s960/fiend_lotsw1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qx5p7wi4l7g/YRUSv49LQ9I/AAAAAAAADK8/7zHkJd5nEcUPgWfjuGtuAzln-6CIU4eKACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/fiend_lotsw1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">"Moon cheese" according to Andy McBiscuit. Mars cheese according to me!!</div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DVmpYwDNgeA/YRUSv0Zwc5I/AAAAAAAADLA/Ja7VIv6jeoUdM1mO0wQUfvnCBTruiooHACLcBGAsYHQ/s880/fiend_lotsw2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DVmpYwDNgeA/YRUSv0Zwc5I/AAAAAAAADLA/Ja7VIv6jeoUdM1mO0wQUfvnCBTruiooHACLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/fiend_lotsw2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The usual view of the usual situation.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-esyOqkMcBnE/YRUSw5BttaI/AAAAAAAADLE/oVLKViRxkWwmgHKPWkLyqYQz1BwNs9eDwCLcBGAsYHQ/s880/fiend_lotsw3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-esyOqkMcBnE/YRUSw5BttaI/AAAAAAAADLE/oVLKViRxkWwmgHKPWkLyqYQz1BwNs9eDwCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/fiend_lotsw3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Recovering after the "very exciting" start to pitch 3 - right limbs on overhanging flanges of quartz, left limbs on fins of silt. All quite emotional. Above this it was a typically brilliant finish up steady steepness - the final straits of these routes are invariably euphoric.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>~~{§}~~</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So, if everyone can forgive a bit of numerical masturbation, and very much taking into account the start of this post where I fully explicated my weakness, that makes it 5 out of 5 successes on Red Wall E4s (the others being <b>Cannibal</b> and <b>Rapture Of The Deep</b>), and 9 out of 9 successes overall on South Stack (adding in <b>Hysteresis</b> on Mousetrap, <b>Dogs Of War</b> and <b>93,000,000 Miles</b> on Yellow Wall, and <b>Natalie</b> in Natalie Zawn). I will aim to do Kalahari Highway to get to a nice round number and have something on Castle Helen, but of course the post-bird-ban stuff has been a priority recently. What that all means I don't really know (especially since one generally steps onto these crags with enough in hand that failure is unlikely, or were it to happen one is unlikely to be around to blog about it afterwards!), but given my passion for the area it's something worth celebrating??</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Thanks to Jodie and Jordan for accompanying me on these shenanigans.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /></div></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-3395736371261232642021-08-01T13:09:00.000-07:002021-08-01T13:09:38.138-07:00Mini-Adventures #3<div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Although things ground to a bit of a halt on a recent (pre-heatwave!) trip, there was still some fun to be had. The pictures can do most of the talking:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sfkraZhd2YU/YQb7ZC1v9qI/AAAAAAAADIs/wwBnriJw8qExDRxJB7KYS8HtsxunMiLDwCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/dafrachview1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sfkraZhd2YU/YQb7ZC1v9qI/AAAAAAAADIs/wwBnriJw8qExDRxJB7KYS8HtsxunMiLDwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/dafrachview1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Looking straight down to a shell glued to a vertical face by the very edge of it's shell!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vwEIAaBDtYw/YQb7ZQogHYI/AAAAAAAADIw/Qe3V7EuNVVoX4Hmt7O0bTjUk5ogGi7MbwCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/dafrachview2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vwEIAaBDtYw/YQb7ZQogHYI/AAAAAAAADIw/Qe3V7EuNVVoX4Hmt7O0bTjUk5ogGi7MbwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/dafrachview2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">View out from Porth Dafrach. So many lovely and intriguing inlets headlands and zawns.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t0steRM5m7M/YQb7qq96onI/AAAAAAAADJ0/HDkicCoSOkQRIJDz4aLhFBkrCC-LKNmTACLcBGAsYHQ/s1140/therangeview1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="1140" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t0steRM5m7M/YQb7qq96onI/AAAAAAAADJ0/HDkicCoSOkQRIJDz4aLhFBkrCC-LKNmTACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/therangeview1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Rhoscolyn lighthouse and the Llyn.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F1alkhSvz7A/YQb7qkhnHLI/AAAAAAAADJw/1dsTHNLENPcxCH1xDUKsPw4CKow_eooPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1140/porthllechogmoon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="1140" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F1alkhSvz7A/YQb7qkhnHLI/AAAAAAAADJw/1dsTHNLENPcxCH1xDUKsPw4CKow_eooPgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/porthllechogmoon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Moonrise over Porthllechog</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zlX2zGIzu8g/YQb7qgNKrfI/AAAAAAAADJs/QvColWkTu1cR0Ui9XqXRiB9ah2A7Y9gBwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1140/therangesky1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="1140" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zlX2zGIzu8g/YQb7qgNKrfI/AAAAAAAADJs/QvColWkTu1cR0Ui9XqXRiB9ah2A7Y9gBwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/therangesky1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Big skies over The Range all the way to The Llyn.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dCoLSUcDyoE/YQb7zgTJd9I/AAAAAAAADKE/RUtQwGw3ocUknvG5-hTbCv6tuvL_7RWdQCLcBGAsYHQ/s880/gull1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dCoLSUcDyoE/YQb7zgTJd9I/AAAAAAAADKE/RUtQwGw3ocUknvG5-hTbCv6tuvL_7RWdQCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/gull1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Dickhead.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3glM1joGw88/YQb7ZcIC5dI/AAAAAAAADI0/f9HIb6N5VWI6YVOdlgIvS0XwREvimHBAACLcBGAsYHQ/s960/dogstake1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3glM1joGw88/YQb7ZcIC5dI/AAAAAAAADI0/f9HIb6N5VWI6YVOdlgIvS0XwREvimHBAACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/dogstake1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">An anchor without a dog stake is an anchor without dignity.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-or7rxDQzMgw/YQb7aOPLLLI/AAAAAAAADI4/ckVCKp4zd0If8Xomep0cDKNcKqNmOY43gCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/fiend_crazy1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-or7rxDQzMgw/YQb7aOPLLLI/AAAAAAAADI4/ckVCKp4zd0If8Xomep0cDKNcKqNmOY43gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/fiend_crazy1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nd4Ig7WQliY/YQb7aoPTJvI/AAAAAAAADI8/ieqDp8R_B446K96zeAmNUNYvTI48DNxTgCLcBGAsYHQ/s880/fiend_crazy2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nd4Ig7WQliY/YQb7aoPTJvI/AAAAAAAADI8/ieqDp8R_B446K96zeAmNUNYvTI48DNxTgCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/fiend_crazy2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div>Crazy Horse, Porthllechog. A Nick Bullock "decomposing wide crack". Amenable standard but good, thought-provoking fun.<br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-drl7ysY18XU/YQb7a-tf--I/AAAAAAAADJA/zTZAY26ePaszd1quWXmucbQAZUnDArM9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s880/fiend_dai.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-drl7ysY18XU/YQb7a-tf--I/AAAAAAAADJA/zTZAY26ePaszd1quWXmucbQAZUnDArM9ACLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/fiend_dai.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div>Dichotomous / Dai-Version, The Range. This was actually on the failed attempt on the former, but the latter meets it at exactly this point so I figure it's okay. A great and substantial route that is less mini than some hereabouts.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hZ-8rL2xF3E/YQb7bNkLV7I/AAAAAAAADJE/vBDgZ6Ge1ToDBnsvanz-w58PHsWs56thwCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/fiend_dame0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hZ-8rL2xF3E/YQb7bNkLV7I/AAAAAAAADJE/vBDgZ6Ge1ToDBnsvanz-w58PHsWs56thwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/fiend_dame0.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9ywmp2UV244/YQb7brQfzzI/AAAAAAAADJI/taGle1omDD4JPZBzl8D5C61e-cUiIK0VwCLcBGAsYHQ/s880/fiend_dame1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9ywmp2UV244/YQb7brQfzzI/AAAAAAAADJI/taGle1omDD4JPZBzl8D5C61e-cUiIK0VwCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/fiend_dame1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div>Dame, Porth Dafrach. A minor Caff sandbag, good adventurous fun in a lovely location. Just look at the rock architecture!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3YIdhmNlUuc/YQb7b8Xn7UI/AAAAAAAADJM/kAfhK9Nfhlgnbyver_aFx5k0n0zIqL4kgCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/fiend_surreal1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3YIdhmNlUuc/YQb7b8Xn7UI/AAAAAAAADJM/kAfhK9Nfhlgnbyver_aFx5k0n0zIqL4kgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/fiend_surreal1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kfsCe6SOa1M/YQb7cO5_X4I/AAAAAAAADJQ/ZNZ5gCG8jDAV8G7NPVHLIlssVrIm329lgCLcBGAsYHQ/s880/fiend_surreal2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kfsCe6SOa1M/YQb7cO5_X4I/AAAAAAAADJQ/ZNZ5gCG8jDAV8G7NPVHLIlssVrIm329lgCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/fiend_surreal2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Surreal Estate, The Range. A minor Big G ultra-soft touch, but guess what, yes it was fun too, and in a cool setting too!<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So that was that. Since then it got hot, it got showery, I got back on the sport, I got back to the indoor wall, I had an epiphany that I've got physically weak due lack of any actual strength training and pushing redpointing, I had an epiphany that I've got mentally weak after starting re-reading The Rock Warriors Way and a mere 10 pages in realising my mindstate had gone awry on almost all counts. Lots to work on there....</div><div><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-61667878745722382742021-07-28T13:27:00.000-07:002021-07-28T13:27:19.916-07:00You Should Have Seen The Looseness Of The One That Got Away...<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Recently I've had some setbacks with my amateur chossaneering. I seem to have come up with an abrupt wall where the gentle terrain of <i>"Big G grading routes quite softly in his later climbing years"</i> suddenly rears up into daunting scenarios of <i>"Big G grading routes in direct comparison to his multiple Gogarth E7 6b roof crack heyday"</i>, and unlike the rock in reality, this particular wall doesn't seem soft or wobbly enough to pull a few bits off and sneak around it. Thus I'm running out of routes I can pretend my way up by climbing very slowly and gently and ignoring the dubious structural integrity, and starting to be faced with things that are actually hard. And then there are other issues with off-piste routes that don't get nearly the repeats they deserve:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-53-Ek6FdUEE/YQG04NSOeLI/AAAAAAAADIQ/zrdjrPFdT0IS7Jp2A33tQBG5YEZEAESvQCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/peg1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-53-Ek6FdUEE/YQG04NSOeLI/AAAAAAAADIQ/zrdjrPFdT0IS7Jp2A33tQBG5YEZEAESvQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/peg1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The latest shambles looked a bit like this:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Dichotomous, The Range - superb bit of rock in a superb situation. The first two superfluous pegs I pulled out by hand. The essential gear protecting the crux along an expanding undercling finger flake with lichenous smearing consisted of the one remaining bendy peg with rust flaking off it and a missing RURP. The long fall from here would leave on having to be lowered into the sea. I bailed.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Blue Horse, Porth Dafrach - Warming up on Caff's minor sandbag DAME was fun. Feeling the greasy flakiness at the start of The Blue Horse and trying to envisage the brutal laybacking required for upwards/outwards progress along with protecting the whole sheningan was less fun. I bailed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Angel Of The West, The Range - On paper this is a mere half a grade harder than Surreal Estate that had been a perfectly charming womble the previous day. In reality it must be a good 3 grades harder. I have looked at AOTW from many angles on 4 visits, and have been doing specific training for it on The Depot roof and The Boardroom DWS roof, and it still looks utterly and incomprehensibly outrageous. I bailed (but I'm still thinking about the fucking thing).</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Three Day Event, Porthllechog - more like Three Metre Event as that's about how high I got up it. Somewhat more conventional in angle and situation than the other routes but, well, my guts had been bad that morning (for absolutely no fucking reason), the refreshing breeze all day had dropped in time for my attempt, there seemed to be plant life covering crucial holds, I'm a wimp, etc etc. I bailed.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">---</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Anyway, all of this got me thinking, thinking about some proper choss, proper potentially wonderful routes, and the <b>Top Three That Got Away</b>, which goes a bit like this....</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strike>Gold, North Pembroke</strike></div><div style="text-align: left;">Wow. Okay. This one. Honestly, if I'd got up this (a one star route at a grade I've done dozens of), it could have been the route of my life. Rainbow Zawn looks quite impressive from the side....but from below, it's unbelievable. It was genuinely hard to take in how impressive and intimidating it looked - constantly overhanging end-on strata of culm sandstone and shale. I battled for an hour up the first pitch to find that a section through an overhang (shared with an E3 5b!!) was missing and I couldn't work out how to climb it. I left a wire and krab in-situ and this update for UKHitlering (which never made it on afaik)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"An epic climb that is one of the easiest (!) lines up a shocking cliff. Originally graded E4, the first pitch has lost holds including at least one crucial ledge, and it is a very different experience to South Stack / Lleyn / Craig Llong E4s. The end-on shale strata are ungenerous with holds so expect an awesome adventure with hard, strenuous climbing as well as the obligatory loose rock, rope-cutting edges, rusty pegs and sandy cracks."</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">I still regret not doing it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strike>Back To The Old Ways, Atlantic Coast</strike></div><div style="text-align: left;">Immortalised on film with me backing off it, tail firmly between stockings. A very cinemogenic King Line chosen for Cheque's Seaside, as a light digestif to accompanying Duncan on Eroica (and the bugger calmly encouraging me onto Black Magic despite my qualms). Alas it wasn't meant to be, the choss quotient was perfectly fine (in it's own shaley way) but the much-harder-than-graded climbing with much-smaller-than-required gear was a bit too much. A pity as it really did look ace.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strike>Kelly's Eye, Lleyn</strike></div><div style="text-align: left;">A recent inspiration and retreat. A great bit of rock in a lovely wee zawn, but this time whilst both the climbing and gear on the first pitch seemed manageable, the choss was in full effect with almost everything feeling crunchy, or wobbly, or indeed both. Yes, I backed off the first 5a pitch, but abbing down (with the lone belay stake reassuringly backed up by the dog stake), the two 5b pitches looked just as hard and terrifying as they did from the slope opposite. I suppose when someone (Littlejohn) who has been E6 new-routing for decades, including the Lleyn, warns that "some of the rock requires a light touch", I should probably be extra wary despite the lowly grade. So the right decision, but still disappointing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">---</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Back to the present day. It feels a bit weird to run out of inspiration at The Range. I do love it there. So gentle and peaceful and beautiful and weird and sketchy on the routes. But there's odds and sods to pop in for, and other coastal gems to explore and the bird bans are off South Stack this weekend... I just need to get some fucking confidence back as it's taken a bit of a beating with these retreats, my digestion being up and down, my sport fitness going to pot (too much amateur chossaneering, sigh), etc etc. Fingers crossed.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-53420767518848700242021-07-13T00:00:00.002-07:002021-07-13T00:00:00.201-07:00The Wedge Keeps Thickening...<div><br /></div>...thickening like a fat greasy chode, which pretty much sums up the state of the climbing scene.<div><br /></div><div>Yes. Ken was right after all. Bellowing like Canute at the ceaseless tide of crap new bolts surging towards his sandcastle, but he had a point. All the wedge-deniers - you're wrong. It is happening, it is here, the bolts are here. The wedge has thickened from additional sport climbs to re-equipping of sport climbs to sporadic retro-bolting of mostly fixed gear routes to straight out full on retro-bolting of good reasonably protected trad routes. </div><div><br /></div><div>I do fucking loads of sport climbing throughout the UK both as training for trad and for an inherently strong pleasure in it's own right. I thoroughly appreciate proper sport crags, proper re-equipping of shoddy old sport routes that are mostly run-outs on caving bolts and bits of coathanger, and sometimes obvious and justifiable retro-bolting of neglected trad routes that were full of fixed gear, never really offered a satisfactory trad experience (and indeed were closer to sport experiences when first put up before the fixed gear rotted).</div><div><br /></div><div>I am profoundly less convinced when this bolting fervour sweeps onto good and protectable trad routes. And the more I explore around the lime, the more I see this happening all over... E.g.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Attermire</i></div><div>Almost completely retrobolted away from the main crag, including classic HVS/E1s that if not fully retroed have been compromised by bolts. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>High Stony Bank</i></div><div>Some good new sport additions, but stuff like <i>Oedipus</i>, which was on my list after seeing a photo, has been lost to bolts despite following an attractive flake crack system.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Lower Pen Trwyn</i></div><div>I took my rack down to do <i>Jacuzzi Jive</i> and <i>Twisting By The Pool</i> that I've always wanted to do (I've got them earmarked in North Wales Rock from a decade ago).... And they've been retroed too. As it happened I pretty much did Twisting By The Pool on trad, but caved in and clipped one bolt to back up the wire on the headwall crux, I'm dropping one E-grade off for that. Aside from that one move it is perfectly well protected with wires and a perfect waste having it as another F6b+ on a crag that really doesn't need that many of them.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Marine Drive</i></div><div>Whilst <i>Beaverbrook</i> might arguably be a sensible retrobolting proposition compared to it's previous mono-peg incarnation (somewhat out of character with the generally reasonably protected routes around there), <i>Pure Mania</i> further around is definitely NOT. I lead this a couple of years ago, and in character for the crag it was a great wee trad experience, a bit run-out, a bit thoughtful, a bit technical. Just a proper good trad route. Now it's a line of fucking bolts. </div><div><br /></div><div>The latter examples particularly baffling / infuriating. Pen Trwyn has, in my experience, always been a bastion of balance, a showcase of trad and sport sitting side by side, with neither impinging on the other, where you can have great experiences of both genres right next to each other, (and where the quality of the rock and climbing transcends Pete's miserly understarring ;)). It should have stayed as that great example, rather than another example of insidious wedge-thickening. </div><div><br /></div><div>What next?? <i>Melkor</i> has a thread in and most nearby routes are partly bolted - should that be another F6b-ish thing?? No. Fuck that, it's a lovely trad climb, I did it last week as a warm-down in the evening sun and wouldn't have wanted a single bolt other than the lower-off. It won't happen, huh?? It already IS fucking happening...</div><div><br /></div><div>I always suggest the first and most important course of action should be:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>1. Thoroughly clean the route up including removing vegetation and loose rock, scrubbing and chalking the holds (yes, some effort, but less, and much cheaper, than retro-bolting).</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2. Replace essential fixed gear with like-for-like if possible. Install lower-offs if the finishing terrain is too appalling (as it sometimes gets).</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>3. Publicise the route(s) all over. Get some nice photos of people leading them in a pristine state. Shout it from the social media roof-tops. Write an article for UKWebanpeopleunjustifiably.com, update the logbooks.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>4. In short, give the trad routes, and trad climbers, a fighting chance BEFORE reaching for the drill.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>In the meantime I'm either going to have to get on any limestone trad routes pretty damn quickly. Or buy a re-chargeable angle grinder. Suggestions on a postcard...</div><div><br /></div><div>P.S. Vaguely on topic, here's a disgruntled miserable old sport-hating trad dinosaur in action:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gSEvwVJcwVk/YOv6zLTuQTI/AAAAAAAADHo/yYy4IUfkLFMhXAA355iIRevLpRUY2FIGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/fiend_bloods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gSEvwVJcwVk/YOv6zLTuQTI/AAAAAAAADHo/yYy4IUfkLFMhXAA355iIRevLpRUY2FIGQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/fiend_bloods.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>The Bloods -</b> I've wanted to do this for a while since the rather evocative photo of Redhead on it in ...And One For The Crow (my 3rd tick in the book after Poetry Pink and Young And Easy... , I probably won't get many more!!). In the accompanying essay / demented rambling, he says it was first done with two bolts, then ended up with 7 bolts and a lower off. It's actually only 5 bolts and a lower off and is still a bit run out for a sport route at the start, middle, and finish. Should this have been left as a sparsely bolted semi-trad route?? I don't know - would it have provided a good, intricate, nut-slotting, committing trad experience?? It didn't look like it, but if someone had chosen to take a strong stand for it, that would be fair enough.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GFrqu8YqI9s/YOv6zK-C62I/AAAAAAAADHk/gsSTRxNtEPsVTy_Cy-WsUKhL5Z8j3tRGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s880/fiend_julio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GFrqu8YqI9s/YOv6zK-C62I/AAAAAAAADHk/gsSTRxNtEPsVTy_Cy-WsUKhL5Z8j3tRGQCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/fiend_julio.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><b>Julio Juventus - </b>partly done because a friend was on the first half (a very logical pitch in it's own right) and partly done to avoid failing to flash Axle Attack or Mayfair! I somehow scraped through this one despite botching the my feet on the first crux and simply not having enough feet on the second crux, thus having to skip an unfeasible clip, and I got away with it and was pretty chuffed with my commitment. No idea about a previous trad / semi-trad status of this one. <br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633393884413245077.post-6876641452476419822021-07-12T01:15:00.002-07:002021-07-12T01:15:44.246-07:00Creative Urges<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's something I did recently (although I've been wanting to do it for years...a decade?)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N3rHuFlghJs" title="YouTube video player" width="420"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://soundcloud.com/fiend-ophobia/96darkness">https://soundcloud.com/fiend-ophobia/96darkness</a></div><div><br /></div><div>A semi-mix / segued selection of 30 classic dark drum'n'bass / techstep tracks from the mid-late 1990s, the era between Origin Unknown's Valley Of The Shadows creating the darkside, and until Bad Company's The Nine took it to the next rave level. Especially 96-98-ish when early Ed Rush, Nico, Optical, Doc Scott, Ray Keith, Trace etc were creating a maelstorm of stomping 2-step beats, furious amen breaks, deep reese bass and haunting sci-fi atmospheres. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is something I had planned a very long time ago - I had a rough tracklist written down with reasons for each position, limited to 70-ish minutes to be hypothetically written to CD! It was partly inspired by this being my favourite era of drum and bass, despite still loving stuff right up to the present day (and future!), and partly by a few tracks and mixes, specifically: <i>Shadow Boxing / Secrets</i> in particular, <i>John B</i>'s recent and fantastic Wormhole old skool techstep mix that has alas disappeared off Youtube, <i>The Prototype Years</i> album, and the <i>Torque</i> album (still a classic to this day even if I only included one track)</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm bloody chuffed with this to be honest. Sure it's simple, but I've put lots of thought and inspiration into the tracklist and ordering, and if I found this online, it would be one of my favourite "mixes" ever, just for the track selection. Even after so many partial listens during hours of chopping away in Audacity, I still enjoy it - and feel like it is a creative venture overall, and one that I'm most proud of, along with my<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfeePvVGjQs"> North Wales Outliers bouldering video from 2 years ago</a>, which I view in a similar way. I guess I do other creative stuff like <a href="https://teamshambler.blogspot.com/">toy soldiers</a> and <a href="https://teamshambler.blogspot.com/2019/05/mapping-portfolio.html">sporadic game map design</a>, bit there's something about the aforementioned edits that are special to me.</div><div><br /></div><div>I say "semi-mix" because I'm not a DJ and can't really mix, but there are some aspects I think are close enough to mixing and work pretty well, here's a few thoughts from the process:</div><div><br /></div><div>Segues / tracks of note:</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Terrorist > Pulp Fiction</i></div><div>This was the first bit I ever tried, just having two Youtube videos playing side by side and quickly pausing one and playing the other to see if the drop worked, and it did! I couldn't get the original version of Terrorist but the updated revamp works fine I think.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Shadow Boxing remix > Your Sound remix </i></div><div>The second bit I planned, I remember John Peel playing SB remix and commenting on the notorious "record fuck up" section, and I knew I had to do something with that, and it happens that YS remix also has a vaguely similar section, so it's almost like a rewind, -ish ;)</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Sonar > Lost In New York</i></div><div>The worst / crudest segue of the lot I think. LINY had to go in and this seemed the best spot but the structure of the two tracks is so different there's little I could work out. I think LINY into Still works pretty well though.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>DJ SS - Lost In New York</i> - I never heard this in any mixes except one on a magazine cover CD, and I think it's brilliant, heavy and well crafted and highly atmospheric, it had to go in.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Edtrafienical > Secrets</i></div><div>I thought this would "mix" well given that both tracks have distinct and clear 2-step beats, but somehow the edits in Secrets made it really tricky to get the right bit. In the end I'm really pleased that it worked.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Raven > Mute</i></div><div>Another bit I'm really pleased with, a simple "mix" but the 2 step beats from Mute just fit surprisingly well with the bassline of Raven</div><div><br /></div><div><i>To Shape The Future > TSTF remix > TSTF amen mix</i></div><div>Surely one of the greatest things in the history of DnB?? 3 bloody brilliant and surprisingly diverse track versions. I bloody love the drop into the amen mix :D</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Equinox - Some Kind Of Illusion</i> - a bit more laid back for the era, early stripped back breakage, from the birth of Renegade Hardware.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Rob & Goldie - The Shadow (Process mix)</i> - this was on a Moving Shadow special 100th release EP, and the full track is a 9 minute epic with a massive intro build-up. Amazingly it's a remix by Rick Smith from Underworld (I'm not a fan myself) and is proper classy.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Embee - Fractured Soul</i> - another one I never heard in a mix but I really love the combination of playful, almost delicate beats and noises, with those occasional waves of absolutely apocalyptic amens.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Cybin - Roller</i> - this featured on John B's Wormhole mix, but I've loved it for many years from an Emcee records Knowledge mix CD. Huge energy and ridiculous bass that I had to keep toning down after testing in the car.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dom & Roland - Imagination </i>- a bit cheeky as this is just outside the specified era but it captures and refines all the dark techstep facets of that era perfectly into one of my favourite tracks. So much so that instead of the very natural ending at the main breakdown, I had to let the whole the play out to earworm everyone to fuck :D.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Enjoy :)</div>Fiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675152383774213576noreply@blogger.com0