Bumbling at Bruin Cove with Birthday and BBQ Boy Brad.

Enough Bs?? I hope so. So this last weekend was back up for Aberdeen Brad's highly successful Birthday Event ;). The forecast was good, not too many non-climbers were going, Brad was keen to climb both days, and not even the prospect of a mostly vegetarian barbeque could put me off.

As it was the BBQ provided me with the best tick of the weekend - an entire block of bbqed Halloumi. Nom nom nom but man did I have a raging thirst the whole drive home...

Other ticks were kept low-key with the emphasis on chilled days out rather than big challenges. Day 1 was Sickle Row, a nice sunny spot, I was knackered from a few night's bad sleep (including my cunning plan of preparing for the Rothley single day mission by staying up late playing Starcraft2 hurrrrr) so stuck to mid-grade mileage. Day 2 was Bruin Cove, a nice sunny spot, I was totally refreshed after a great night's sleep, but to avoid hampering the BBQ plans stuck to mid-grade mileage. Both nice fun days. I did miss a bit on getting on something a bit errrr stiffer (unlike Brad and Johannes later in the evening ;)), the sense of doubt and discovery and rising to the challenge and getting into a more focused headspace to deal with it. But that can wait until next time...

2011.1

General climbing related issues to work on and improve.

As always the main challenges with climbing - not just my climbing, almost anyone's climbing - apart from the utterly crucial personal psychology are WEATHER and PEOPLE (I still aspire to join the ranks of those very fortunate people who have a good local scene of similarly-syked partners...). For me there is the additional challenge of FITNESS which has been an uphill battle since DVTs preventing some simple exercises. Weather is both uncontrollable and malicious (ah, if only it was just one of those!), so can only be worked around with knowledge, readiness and flexibility. The others can be worked on directly...

1. Keep in touch with friends and partners better and organise myself more proactively. - needs: reply promptly to partners in whatever media and don't put off emails, always reply even when unavailable, accept invites if I'm free just for the social side (if suitable), try plans with regular partners I already know before asking on UKC, try to be a good partner myself, make plans in advance with the option to change them rather then leaving them until the last minute.

9. Keep fit at gym, pool, and wall. - needs: get in routine of exercise, make it logistically convenient to fit into life, use workouts that are beneficial but easy to be motivated for, try to do gym work that compliments wall work and pool work and vice versa, go with current inclinations rather than worrying about specifics (better to go and do a sub-optimal workout than not go at all), stretch regularly after showers, download more ruff and rude drum and bass MP3 mixes...

10. Lose 1 stone via the above. - needs: watch diet - eat smaller portions, be aware of and avoid overeating, avoid fatty convenience food, maximise enjoyment of healthier foods, drink lots of water, make exercise and healthy eating part of routine.

Backlog Blog!!

Previous weekends as follows:
Sorry for all the number bollox but it's been a good run and I can't be arsed to write anything more interesting.

Desires come true at Duntelchaig
Before I considered moving to Scotland, I had 3 routes I'd seen photos of that had really inspired me. I did Edgehog a few weeks ago, and then managed to get to Dracula, which really is a good steep E3 5c crack and not an HVS jamming traverse lke it looks in the photos... One more to go....soon ;). Now I have a thousand more inspirations from my being up here, though.
Dracula E3 5c ***
The All Seeing Eye Font6c ** (flash)

Awesome at Ardmair
I liked Ardmair a lot before, and I like it even more now. Apparently the home of gritty rounded rock and steep jamming sandbags....more like the home of good holds, good gear, and generous grades!
Shakedown E3 5c **
Western Skyline E4 6a **
Space Monkey E2 5c ***
Unleash The Beast E4 6a ***

Lovely day at Lochan Dubh
Originally the plan had been to go to Inverthingy Rock Gym, but since Richie had ticked the crag, we needed another option. A brisk Northerly wind precluded many of the more interesting Gairloch crags, but the sunny and scenic Lochan Dubh seemed a sensible choice. Nice to get on the gneiss, and satisfying to do some big pitches.
The Missing Link E2 5b *
Call Of The Wild E4 6a ***

Minimal respite at Moy Rock
Finally to route off a diverse weekend of schisty stuff, sandstone and gneiss, we added conglomerate into the mix, well indeed it is a mix in itself. It's always fascinated me and Inverness seems the home of UK conglomerate sport climbing. Bizarre and intriguing, who could ask for more. Well, apart from a bit more fitness and freshness after a long weekend...
Little Teaser F6b+ ***
The Dark Side F6c/+ **

Power at Portlethen
As with pretty much everywhere on the Aberdeen coast, Portlethen has shut my ass down. Time for revenge, well only a little bit - small numbers! Under the watchful eye of Mr Big Numbers - indeed the power was his this session, with a massive run of macho problems - I managed to do a couple of previous nemesii fairly steadily. So that was nice. I don't suck that much after all.
Slap And Tickle Font6b+ ** (worked)
The Prow Font6c *** (worked)

Balls conditions at Balmashanner
The lovely Lyons decided a nice sunny evening was best spent clipping bolts in a dank festering hole in the ground, and who was I to argue?? Climbing is a broad church, right?? Apart from bloody mountaineering, that's an entirely different church with it's fair share of wizened old weirdos and kiddy fiddlers. Anyway and alas, Balmashanner really was dank and festering so I warmed up on one lead and warmed down on one errr aid pitch, and that was that. Ace dinner though.
Start The Fire F6b+ **

Climbing really okay at Clashrodney
Next up for my Crushing Aberdeen weekend was a bit of a granite taster. Clashrodney is a nice place with nice climbing, most of which I avoided by sticking to steep and pokey stuff, but that was cool, it turned out to be good fun and give me some confidence. Notably the hardest route felt easy and the easier routes felt hard. Hmmm.
Yellow Peril E1 5b *
Birthday Treat E1 5b ***
Blind Faith E3 5c **

Finishing nicely at Findon Ness
Already evening but with a showery morning forecast the next day, I was determined to get a bit more out of the day, and get a bit more action on the steep and worrying metamorphic schist that spanked my arse sideways a few weeks prior. This time there was distinct progress - my plan of "lots of chalk, slam in the cams, move quick and trust to good holds" seemed to work. There was a bit of a blip going off route on the ambiguous Siva-Guru connection and sitting on the gear before realising I'd ignored a piss easy finish. I can live with that, I got way more pumped attempting the off route version and resting for 10 seconds than if I'd gone direct (a clearer description would help!) initially. Spirit of the law rather than merely the letter of the law!
Siva-guru E3 5c **
Armed Conflict E1 5b **

Mini-beasting at Munich Buttress
A recent inspiration has been the well photographed Monkey Puzzle at Longhaven Quarries. Well photographed and justifiably so as it is an ace tower of rock - strong and dramatic lines up a striking pillar. Both routes I did were brilliant, the mini-beasting came from approx 3m of crux climbing in Jammy Dodger - nope I didn't dodge the jams and yep it was the hardest bit of crack climbing I did on lead. Raaaargh.
Monkey Puzzle E3 5c **
American Route / Jammy Dodger E3 6a **

Final words from the lean and mean Aberdeen legend, regular Font 7a+ ticker, and attempted Jammy Dodger seconder Amanda Lyons:

I'LL FOOKIN' KILL YOU LITTLE MAN!!!!

:D

Going well at Great Wanney, climbing languidly at Crag Lough

So after Sicily it was onto Northumberland for Secret Squirrel's Secret Weekend - with only a minor diversion driving to fucking Glasgow to get spare climbing kit and warfarin. Thanks Ryanair you cunts, I really appreciated the extra 4 hours driving and a total of 3 hours sleep. Genuine thanks to Red Bull and to the climbing posse for being leisurely enough that I met them at the crag parking. That crag was Great Wanney (Squirrel wisely chose to base us in Bellingham to explore the equally interesting but underused southern Northumbria area), and that name filled me with a certain amount of trepidation, because I've been wanting to do the minor classic Thin Ice (below) for years and that doing probably meant getting scared and faffing and stuff.


In the end, however, it didn't mean that at all!! After warming up on the opposite route (Broken Wing - almost as good and an essential warm-up), the World Famous Helen Rogers - as well as providing the usual excellent company AND plenty of amusement getting to grips with Wanney's easy classics - was kind enough to abseil down and clean Thin Ice (north facing crag, bit of lichen, likely first ascent of the year etc etc). And so I got on it and skated up it with a quite frankly shocking lack of fuss. This might be because it's a full grade overgraded, or it might be because it was really inspiring and just drew me on - the crux (below) being the best sequence in Northumbria, surely? Or it might be because I'm climbing well....but let's not get too silly...


Next day, after actually participating in another leisurely morning of eating bacon and stroking cows (mmm cows), the remaining members of the party sampled the diversity of the area by visiting the vaguely Tremadog-esque Crag Lough and Peel Crag. My highest aspirations at this crag were also lichenous and there was no Helen Rogers to get her brush into action, so I could relax and sample some other options. Except, in the perculiar world of grades, styles, and climbing variance, both the other options I did felt as hard as anything the previous day. Good onsight challenges, and one was a great route. And that was that. Feel very chuffed, drive back to Glasgow, battered haggis and chips and SLEEP.

Bumbling around at St Bees and Bowderstone.

This weekend, shortly after arriving back in Glasgow (more in this later), I whisked myself off to the latest round of banter and buggery that masquerades as the Official Lads Bouldering Weekend (aka "What Happens In The Bunkhouse Stays In The Bunkhouse (especially the stains)"). Standards and my 100% attendance record needed to be maintained. St Bees was the main destination and a break from shitty schist sit-starts was somewhat appealing.

I'd never bouldered at St Bees before, only done sport routes (which are pretty cool), and the Lads decided to head for St Bees South on the Sunday. The seemingly endless gruelling boulder bash (alternating V0- mantles with two pads on your back, and skating across lethally slippery rock-slime) to reach it means we'd be unlikely to head for it again, but once at the area it was all rather fun. Nice lines, nice rock, nice colours. I did some nice problems, including this easy but sweet one:



Notice that I'm trying out some new styles (more on this later). I reckon the no-t-shirt + sleeveless fleece + ned tracksuit bottoms could be a winning look. Or maybe not.

The chalk-crusted Clam Chowderstone was a considerably less aesthetic experience, it's much renowned main face combining the worst of Dumbarton's ugly brutality with an almost limestone-esque linelessness. Good training but not quite the experience of carefree bouldering joy. A few hardy souls braved it en-route back to the M6 - including myself, spending most of my time struggling to move on the easiest warm-up on the main face. Eventually I sulked my way around to the more enticing side-wall, flashed the Crack Direct (apparently harder than the main face warm-up), felt chuffed, and called it a day - a day that took a lot of driving, but a fun day.

Next: Routes. It's mid-March, warm enough to get the gut out at St Bees, light until after 6, definitely time to get routing properly.

Learning Day 1 : Faith

Around this last weekend - the joint birthday of Knitwear Massive 1 and 2 i.e. Commander Loggington and Big Dave, which aside from climbing was characterised mostly by a short sharp burst of gayflu and a jolly jaunt out canoeing on the Tyne - I've managed to do a fair amount of climbing. Not just climbing but enjoyable and inspiring climbing (albeit mostly bouldering but even that's....okay). Obviously with the various injuries climbing has been a bit of an "issue" recently, however I've realised I am still learning stuff (particularly about movement and positioning), and still progressing, albeit in a more sideways way. Anyway recently I've managed to put some of this into practise:


Day 1, Lesson 1: Faith.

Above is the Drake Stone, a singular and somewhat exciting lump in the depths of Northumberland. Previously I'd been for a look and been inspired by a bold wall climb on the front right face, now I had the opportunity to go back and give it a try. Having been firmly in "Confessions Of A Bouldering Punter" mode for several months, I was quite unsure about pushing myself on lead again.

Unsure, out of practise, tired, suffering from gay flu, put off by the icy breeze... But I still had one of the two main weapons in my arsenal with me: Determination (the other main weapon being Uncanny Ability To Downclimb Back To Rests). Determination born of inspiration and a desire to give it a try. So I did, warmed up, cooled down, warmed up, etc etc. Fiddled in some pro, downclimbed, mused. Then got on with it, committed to moves above uncertain protection (decent gear at 1/3 height, shallow untested tri-cam at 1/2 height, crux right at the top). Committed, scared, unable to reverse, windswept, fingers going cold. What can one do in this situation except....learn?? Learn that I wasn't getting that pumped, so I had a bit of time, learn that I could use that time to calm down, learn that once calmer I could try the move, learn that I'd done enough puntering around recently to have a buffer of technique so it wasn't that hard, work it out in two plays, have faith and do it...

The trickiest route I'd done in a while (and a really nice little route, great climbing), and reassuring lesson about my abilities.

Things to do...

...that I'd actually like to do, with people, instead of climbing.

Outdoor active

Skiing -

Running -

Exploring & dicking around in the countryside -

Hillwalking -

Scuba-diving -

Paintball -

Alton Towers -

Indoor (semi)active

Dry-slope / indoor skiing -

Swimming / saunaing -

Ice-skating -

Clubbing -

Playing pool -

Bowling -

Indoor chilled

Board games -

Card games -

Eating out -

Eating in -

Watching DVDs -

Cinema -

Art galleries -