Lines Of Lust

Inspiration + desire + challenge + exploration + variety...

Lewis:
Dalbeg:
Tweetie Pie Slalom  E5 6a ***
Limpet Crack  E3 5c ***
Neptune  E2 5c ***
Blessed Are The Weak  E5 6a ***
Various routes

Mangestra:
The Prozac Link  E4 5c ***
Various routes

Skye:
Neist:
Supercharger  E3 5c **
Wish You Were Here  E2 5b ***
Have A Nice Day  E3 6a **
Golden Shower  E4 5c ***
American Vampire  E4 6a ***
Fight Club  E3 6a ***

Rubha Hunish:
Whispering Crack E3 5c ***
Northern Exposure E2 5b ***

Elgol:
Digitalis E3 5c ***
Mother's Pride E4 5c ***

Staffin Slip:
Various routes.

Caithness:
Sarclet:
Occam's Razor E4 6a ***
A Paddler's Tale E3/4 5c ***

Reiff:
Headstrong E4 5c **
Wyatt Earp E3 6a ***
Crack Of Desire E3 6a ***
Various routes

Wester Ross:
Tollie Crags:
Each Uisge Direct  E4 6a ***
Murray's Arete  E3/4 5c *
The Shimmer  E4 6a **

Loch Tollaidh Crags:
Flag Iris  E4 5c **
Various routes.

Stone Valley Crags:
Demon Razor  E3 5c *
Flashing Blade  E3 6a **

Gruinard Crags:
How The West Was Won  E3 5c **
Stand And Deliver  E4 6a **

Diabeg:
Edgewood Whimper  E4 5c **
Porpoise Pun  E3 5c **
Wall Of Flame  E4 6a ***
Instant Muscle  E4 6a **
Rough Justice  E2 5c *

Glen Nevis:
On Some Beach  E5 6a ***
Freddie Across The Mersey  E5 6a **
Crackattack  E3 5c ***
Mutant  E4 5c **
Triode  E5 6a **
Risque Grapefruit  E4 5c **
Fingertip Finale  E4 5c *
Precious Cargo  E5 6a *

Creag Dubh:
Colder Than A Hooker's Heart  E5 5c **
Harder Than Your Husband  E5 6a **
The Final Solution  E5 6a **
Acapulco  E4 5c ***
Bratach Uaine  E4 6a ***
Case Dismissed  E3 6a ***
Ayatollah  E4 6a ***

North East:
Moray Coast:
The Prow  E5 6a **
The Essential  E3 5c ***
Senakot Rose  E4 6a **
Old Fashioned Waltz  E3 5c *

Aberdeen Coast:
Red Army Blues  E4 6a **
Downies' Syndrome E4 6a **
Sair Fecht  E3 6a **
The Pugilist  E4 6a ***
Johnsheugh routes
Various other routes

Pass Of Ballater:
Peel's Wall  E4 6a ***
Smith's Arete  E5 6a ***

Central Highlands:
Glen Lednock:
No Place For A Wendy  E2 5b ***
Pole-Axed  E4 6a **
Gabrielle  E4 6a *
Diamond Cutter  E3 6a ***

Glen Croe:
Edge Of Insanity  E4 5c **
Short Sharp Shock  E4 6a **

 ...so much of it, and so little dry weather.

This is is partly to remind myself and partly to keep aware what I need to train for.

Desired Days...

North West trips

Lewis - 6 days
Dalbeg - 1 day
Mangestra - 1 day
Painted Wall - 1 day
Other areas - 3 days

Skye - 5 days
Neist - 2 days
Rubha Hunish - 1 day
Elgol - 1 day
Staffin Slip - 1 day

Wester Ross - 5 days
Gruinard - 1 day
Tollie Crag - 1 day
Diabeg - 1 day
Tollaidh/Stone Valley - 1 day
Reiff - 1 day

Caithness - 1 day
Sarclett/Mid-Clyth - 1 day

Glen Nevis - 3 days
Wave Buttress/Meadow - 1 day
High Crag - 1 day
Road/Scimitar - 1 day

Creag Dubh - 2 days
Great Wall - 1 day
Barrier Wall / Waterfall - 1 day

TOTAL: 22 days (in an entire spring/summer/autumn)

Other trips:

Other venues - 3 days
Cummingston - 1 day
Rosehearty - 1 day
Pass Of Ballater - 1 day

Aberdeen area - 6 days
Whisky Cliff - 1 day
Berrymuir - 1 day
Johnsheugh - 1 day
Floor's Craig - 1 day
Red Tower - 1 day
Other venues - 1 day

Local - 4 days
Glen Lednock - 2 days
Glen Croe - 1 day
Roslin Glen - 1 day

TOTAL: 13 days (when it's raining in the North West)

...

35 days...

...

Radical Changes.

Or, radical reversion to what is right.

In the latter part of 2011 I realised my life has gone off track. See over to the left where it says "Aiming to live a lifestyle of climbing and travelling"?? A matter of necessity as well as inspiration - I think it's pretty good and harmonious that necessity and inspiration align. But I have partly been working indirectly to that path, partly tried to stick to it in difficult circumstances, and partly strayed from it. So I need to realign those straying parts to that path, for my own sanity as well as pleasure. To this aim, I have some Scottish plans...

1. Steadily up my levels of general activity and fitness training until they become habitual.

2. Keep in touch with partners and keep organised AND try to be part of an active positive scene, not just climbing but general fitness.

3. Get to somewhere interesting in late Jan (Morocco? Gibraltar?) and early April (Pfalz? Annot?).

4. Week long trip to Lewis, several days sea-cliffing in Skye, long weekend in Ardnamurchan.

5. Explore more bouldering over winter, esp: Glen Nevis, Torridon/Reiff, Skye, Carrock Fell, Queen's Crag, Shaftoe, Rothley, Simonside

6. Climb a few E5s and maybe a few F7a+s if I get my fitness back

7. Keep fit at gym, pool, and wall.

8. Lose 1 stone via the above.


...and the same general climbing lifestyle guidelines as last year...


1. Keep in touch with climbing partners regularly, promptly, and positively.

2. Prioritise plans for the most inspiring areas with like-minded partners.

3. Plan more proactively but flexibly in advance rather and last minute.

4. Get started on days out earlier to make best use of time.

5. Keep fitness training and make it a regular habit.

6. Keep eating a decent diet with small portions, less junk, more water.

7. Train stamina, finger strength, finger power, dynamism and endurance at walls.

8. Falling practise, falling practise, falling practise, falling practise.

9. Work on route reading and gear placing outdoors.

10. Stack odds in my favour with suitable weather conditions.


...the main but slight change being focusing on habits and lifestyle as much as specific factors / plans. I have a path, I need to follow it.

Bouldering.

Although I am still syked to get as much trad as possible before it becomes too bitterly baltic (i.e. WET I suspect) this winter (still trying to play catch up over the missed summer that never happened), now the nights are drawing in I am getting my bouldering syke and thus plans and inspirations up. Hopefully the quick hit nature of bouldering, lack of reliance on partners or seepage drying up, and lack of midgies will allow some good varied days out. I want to start pushing myself earlier this winter, having done enough exploration last winter to get some good ideas (and thus a vague ticklist up). As usual my ideas are my own inspiration rather than "essential ticks", and remain to be edited, added to, or deleted as I explore around and play on stuff.

So to remind myself, wishlist as follows:

Pump Up The Jam, various - Skye
Razorback, Romancing The Stone, various - Reiff
Various - Reiff In The Woods
The Ship Boulder - Torridon
Blankety Blank - Torridon
Big Lebowski, The Dude - Ruthven Boulder
Brin Done Before - Brin Rock
Various - Cammachmore
Deep Breath Arete, Hamish, various - Glen Nevis
Pyramid Lip - Glen Ogle
??? - Loch Sloy
Swap Meet, Ace Of Spades, various - Glen Croe
The Bottler - Loch Lomond
Nameless Pimp Toy - Stronlachlar
The Chop - Weem
Various Corrie Boulders - Arran
Suck My Woolie, Snow White - Garheugh

Fingers crossed! Better get training eh....

Any I've forgotten post em in the comments....

The Waiting Game.

Some free time, some keen partners, some atrocious weather.

This is the way it goes but once all the moaning and ranting and fist-shaking is out of the way, what is the best way to make the best use out of it?? In Arno's Problem - Question - Opportunity terms:

Problem: The weather fucking blows.

Question: What can I do in climbing / planning terms to maximise current and future enjoyment despite the weather??

Opportunity: Work out what areas are best to explore in weather that fucking blows, work out what climbing desires can be incorporated into weather that fucking blows, take the opportunity to train in preparation for when the weather doesn't fucking blow.

So, here are some ideas for reference, for when it's the typical south-westerly sunshine/fuckingshowers wet in the west weather:

Venues:

Northumberland: Callerhues, Rothley, Simonside, Bowden, Goat Crag...
South West: Laggantalluch, Crammag Head, Kiln O' Fuffock...
Central Outcrops: Tig-thingy Viewpoint, Glen Croe, Ardvorlich, Glen Lednock, Glen Ogle...
Eastern Outcrops: Glen Clova, Limekilns, Roslin Glen, Cambusbarron, Angus Quarries, Weem...
North East: Ballater, Rosehearty, Tarlair, Red Tower, Harper's Wall, Earnsheugh, Craig Stirling and more...

...all of which have either useful training routes (physically and mentally challenging), or specific inspirations, or would be interesting to explore, or would tackle useful climbing styles.

Other plans:

Bouldering: Glen Nevis, Arrochar (projects ;)), Carrock Fell, Gouther Crag, Gillercombe etc etc, Queen's Crag, Simonside Plateau, Shaftoe etc etc...

...the weather might be occasionally warm but it's often bloody windy during sunshine/fuckingshowers periods, so conditions can be surprisingly good. More mixing and matching, more exploration, more physical training, more fun.

Suitable inspirations: As well as exploring super-awesome areas, I do want to push myself a bit more and explore new areas of challenge and personal climbing development. Some of those challenges are more local, more compatible with general training and a focused hit... ...so that could be a good aspiration.

Training: I've found I need to progress physically to progress with my climbing overall, particularly fitness, stamina, and power to weight ratio. The gym, the campus board, the mighty R, the local-ish sport venues are all suitable and I do have some syke to keep using... ...this needs to be balanced with "keeping my hand in" on trad, but should leave me better prepared when it's dry enough to get to proper venues.


Overall: when the weather fucking blows, explore locally, mix and match with other climbing styles, train hard, and be ready to crush the Highlands and Islands :).

(And paint more toy soldiers and listen to more drum and bass...)

Transition.

With the disappearance of that sneaky little hour, the season is gradually and inexorably dragging itself from winter towards spring, somewhat lubricated on it's difficult journey by adequate amounts of water falling from the sky. To escape this I am off abroad for a week, and upon my return I suspect there will feel like a distinct transition from winter clag to spring soakings.

Thus a transition in my climbing, plans, desires, inspiration and instinct. I felt this last weekend at Bowden and Callerhues. Despite conditions still feeling adequate for bouldering, there was something in the air that catalysed my urges towards TRAD. Obviously urges that remain unsatisfied on a Lads' Bouldering Weekend, but ones that will no doubt remain for forthcoming months. This is expected, and suitable, despite the usual anticipated battle with the weather - the latter of course will dictate where to begin, but counting in the County as well as all the Scottish options, there should be much to look forward to.

2011.4

8. Climb a few F7a+s.

Some inspiring and challenging sport routes to aim for, and what I might need to do / improve / be prepared for.

I expect some of these will be particularly challenging given the stamina, fitness, and strength required, and in particular the luck required with onsighting harder sport. Nevertheless the choice and general quality of these routes gives me plenty to go at, and if I feel fit enough then they will be worth a try.

General requirements: Falling practise, stamina, falling practise, fitness, falling practise, route reading on varied rock, falling practise, falling practise.

Persistence Of Vision, Dumby - needs: very cold and dry conditions, someone to give it a brush first, finger strength, basalt technique, falling practise.

High Pitched Weem, Weem - needs: finger / crimp / deadhanging strength, fitness and stamina, 30 degree training, climbing speed.

Screaming Weem, Weem - needs: as above.

Grand Theft Auto, Rob's Reed - needs: fitness and stamina, good conditions, training on bad holds.

Sun City, Cambus O May - needs: dry breezy weather, crimp strength, fitness and stamina, dynamism, careful footwork training.

Sticks And Stones, Cambus O May - needs: as above.

Paralysis By Analysis, The Camel - needs: route reading, stamina, route reading, stamina, more stamina, decent conditions, climbing speed.

Mactallah, Goat Crag - needs: cool weather, stamina, strength, route reading.

Yosemite Wall, Malham - needs: cool weather, stamina, strength, footwork on polished holds.

Appetite, Malham - needs: as above.

Plus lots of supporting F7as at Chapel Head Scar etc etc.

2011.3

7. Climb a few E5s.

Some inspiring and challenging trad routes to aim for, and what I might need to do / improve / be prepared for.

It is worth noting that having had a good look at almost all of these, I am SYKED ;) Inspiration >>> challenge >>>> grade.

Nijinski, Auchinstarry - needs: very cool dry conditions, practise with friction/slab/arete climbing.

Purrblind Doomster, Cambusbarron - needs: dry breezy weather, practise finger jamming, speed and precision with gear, falling practise.

Anger Management, Cambusbarron - needs: dry breezy weather, bouldering power for start, fitness, good gear planning.

On The Beach, Polldubh - needs: morning shade, good route reading, fitness for first crack, mental stamina.

Freddie Across The Mersey, Polldubh - needs: similar to above.

Triode, Polldubh - needs: cool breezy day, even better route reading, practise on slabs and bad holds.

Colder Than A Hooker's Heart, Creag Dubh - needs: good technique, schist-familiarity, deadhanging / crimping strength, fitness.

The Final Solution, Creag Dubh - needs: overall fitness and stamina, deadhanging / crimping strength, rapid gear finding.

Smith's Arete, Ballater - needs: cool fresh conditions, bouldering / arete practise, short term power endurance, flexibility, quick gear placing.

Neart Nan Gaidheal, Ardmair - needs: fitness and stamina, quick and careful gear placing, falling practise.

Spirit Air, Loch Maree Crag - needs: lots of fitness and stamina, route reading, crimp strength, mental stamina, good weather.

2011.2

Exploration plans, ideas and inspirations to work on.



I've seen him live at the Cold Meat Industry festival years ago. Pretty cool stuff, although better as bedtime listening music.

Last year I did pretty well with exploring cool places, although was hampered by the Scottish weather, some disorganisation, and a shocking amount of faff that prevented a summer trip. This year I want to get MORE ORGANISED. I have a better idea of when I can go places, a better network of climbing partners, and a pleasingly decreasing list of Scottish venues. Thus...

2. Get to somewhere interesting over Easter (Pedriza? Alscace?), and over summer (Scandinavia? South Africa? Hatun Machay?). - needs: plan in advance, find similarly motivated partners, investigate areas fully (including travel, accomodation, car hire, guidebooks, weather options etc), book soon to make firm committments and keep costs down.

3. Week long trip to Lewis, several days sea-cliffing in Skye, long weekend in Caithness, long weekend in Mull over winter/spring. - needs: plan trips firmly but flexibly with similarly motivated partners, make such plans a priority over lesser plans, have all the relevant information to keep the costs low.

4. Get to Merionydd & Lleyn when weather is bolleaux in Scotland. - needs: keep in touch with suitable climbing partners near those areas, keep checking the weather there, make such plans a priority over "normal" Scottish areas.

5. Keep exploring cool places in Scotland. - needs: keep in touch with similarly motivated partners, make positive plans, take advantage of any weather windows, have good plan Bs.

6. Explore more bouldering over winter: Torridon, Reiff, Skye, Mull, Inverness, Aberdeen, Trossachs, Northumberland, Carrock Fell, Gouther, St Bees. - needs: early starts not to waste petrol, sensible planning with training and skin conditions, knowledge of where to stay for multi-day trips.

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.

2011.0

2010 felt like returning to some sort of normality - adjusting to life after DVTs, getting back into climbing after that time out, and settling into Scotland after a rough and rocky move to Glasgow. I'm still quite a way from the sort of normality I want to live in, including in climbing exploration, travelling, fitness, pro-activity, action, and social life. I'm intending 2011 to be a year of building determinedly on last year's foundations, and revelling in the pleasure and personal happiness that will bring.

So far I have completely failed to start doing that and have mostly been behaving in the opposite way to how I'd like to and what brings me pleasure. I'm hoping setting out some intentions will encourage me to have more focus...

Climbingwise my intentions are as follows:

1. Keep in touch with friends and partners better and organise myself more proactively.

2. Get to somewhere interesting over Easter (Pedriza? Alscace?), and over summer (Scandinavia? South Africa? Hatun Machay?).

3. Week long trip to Lewis, several days sea-cliffing in Skye, long weekend in Caithness, long weekend in Mull over winter/spring.

4. Get to Merionydd & Lleyn when weather is bolleaux in Scotland.

5. Keep exploring cool places in Scotland.

6. Explore more bouldering over winter: Torridon, Reiff, Skye, Mull, Inverness, Aberdeen, Trossachs, Northumberland, Carrock Fell, Gouther, St Bees.

7. Climb a few E5s.

8. Climb a few F7a+s.

9. Keep fit at gym, pool, and wall.

10. Lose 1 stone via the above.

I'll write more about some of these in following updates.

Snow down / slow down.

It's a fairly odd time at the moment. I am shit but still syked. It snowed a lot. Then everything was covered in snow and ice apart from the things that weren't and were too warm. Now it's all melted and everything is damp including Ratho which has streams pouring out of the old comp wall. I've been taking things steady down the wall through necessity, same with the bouldering too - certainly not pushing hard and crimping like a demon. So my 2003-tweaked finger has come back and retweaked HOW THE CHOADING HELL. I'm getting syked for training and going to the gym too. This has had the noticable benefit of me feeling at least as unfit and tired on routes if not more so. It's not making any sense.

One thing that is making sense is that I've got a mini trip booked to Costa Blanca between Xmas and New Year. Look, I've got email confirmation from Easyjet. So that's real. My climbing out there could be surreal, unreal, or just plain fictious. God only knows. It's what I'm training for anyway. A shining beacon of merely possible failure, gleaming through the dank fog of certain failure.

Other than that I want to make some more exciting plans abroad (thinking of Malta and Morocco at the end of Jan), keep bouldering and pull my finger out and push myself as much as errr that finger allows, get out tradding too, keep exploring, keep fit, get some vestige of stamina back. Not much to ask when it's all inspiring despite the lack of sense ;).

County account...

...has been opened. For bouldering at least - I've done a few routes there before. One of my favourite self-indulgent stunts is waiting for people to ask me, an outsider, if I've ever climbed in Northumberland. "A little bit....only Back Bowden, Berryhill, Bowden, Callerhues, Corby's, Crag Lough, Curtis Crag, Drakestone, East Woodburn, Goat's Crag, Great Wanney, Jack Rock, Kyloe In, Kyloe Out, Peel Crag, Raven's Crag, Ravensheugh, Rothley, Sandy Crag, Selby's Cove, Simonside and South Yardhope" I answer with a poker face but without modesty. I still want to add Howlerhirst and Linshields to my list.

I've also done a few boulder problems there before, mostly at Kyloe In (when recovering from golfer's elbow) and Hepburn Out (when recovering - or thinking I was recovering - from DVTs). Both really rather good. Of course there is so much more than that, indeed a whole guidebook full of hugely innaccurate grades and "not to scale" maps etc etc, and to optimise winter climbing I've realised I need to explore the County a lot more. I've started with a visit to Dove Holes (the bouldering venue, not the Dove Dale caves nor the village near Buxton), despite a deluge overnight it was sunny and idyllic and indeed a bit warm for bouldering as shown in the video below, but pretty good fun. Alas I ran out of daylight / courage for the better and higher problems but I'll be back for sure.


In a generally very fine afternoon, one disappointment was my renewed punterness. This time I didn't need stamina of course, but did notice that I seemed to get tired and out of breath even on boulder problems. Partly due to the penis-grinding mantle top-outs, and probably partly due to not breathing well enough, but it is still rather odd. Particularly since I went to the gym on Thu night and had my best recumbent cycling / rowing fitness session so far. So why do I get so tired on 1 minute of strenuous bouldering?? Maybe this is the same issue as getting so tired in Arco?? Anyone got any thoughts??

Changing seasons, changing styles.

The previous weekend in Aberdeen definitely heralded the arrival of autumn, and possibly winter too as the bleaker seasons tend to blur together up here in the windswept wastelands. Leave were swirling off the trees, the sun's lazy low angle made the warmth of it's light exceed the warmth of it's glow, the air felt cool in the lungs and the rock cold under the skin. I was still syked for trad as it is objectively and factually the best, most fun and most rewarding form of climbing, but I got an increasing urge to sample the friction and power of bouldering (and sport, to a lesser degree).

So although I'm keen to maximise the trad potential this winter, I'm just as keen to mix it up with bouldering as the conditions dictate. In the end I've explored a fair amount of good trad this year, and the few outstanding (in terms of unvisited status AND quality) venues won't be suitable in winter, so when it really is too grim for trad I'll turn my exploring urge to bouldering. I've very rarely travelled far to boulder, apart from Font it's just been one weekend with Ogs in Wales, and a couple of the Official Lads Bouldering meets. But you have to travel far to get the best out of Scotland and bouldering is no exception. Thus trips to Mull, Inverness, Torridon and Reiff are being planned, as well as Northumberland too. This should hopefully mean more time on the rock and more fun :). Mix and match and go with the flow.

Related to that, the other good option in winter is of course winter sun sport climbing. As always my urge is exploration, particular atypical options away from the homogenous Euro-limestone. I'm still gathering ideas for that, but in the meantime, Sir Choadington Choadalot of Choadsbury is out in Arco with his family, and I've got some time to take a long weekend out there. Thus another change in style, back to some last minute emergency training. Recent Ratho visits confirm I'm not fit....but getting fitter. It's nice to have something to work towards, and that thing itself will be a good top-up for now too.

Preparation, planning, and plotting.

The end of the September and the end of a fairly dismal summer. The good weather in May/June was on schedule, as was the miserable monsoon in July/August. So far so tedious. But the Indian Summer in September was more like an Indian Week and bonus weekend - good for what it was, but hardly a worthy reward for sitting out the endless away-trip-preventing sunshine and showers. Once again - despite a few consistently ace trips - I am behind schedule for ticking Scotland ;).

Which leaves October, autumn, and winter.

So...

Cunning planning is needed to make the best use out of this off-season. Cunning planning to maximise climbing time AND climbing pleasure. Because this time, I'm not missing out - Scottish cragging is too ace for that.

The plan is:

Stay combat ready:
Opportunities where time and weather and partners coincide are sometimes rare and, thanks to the weather, always unpredictable. Thus one needs to be able to go whenever, last minute - having flexible plans and having everything waiting, ready, to hit the crags. Patience in the meantime (maybe for a long time) and action when opportunity arises.
What I can do is keep my shit in order. All relevant and irrelevant logistics up to date, bags packed, car fuelled, guidebooks out and one eye on the forecast. Not much different to normal really!

Knowledge is power:
Related to the above. Shorter days, colder weather, and unpredictable crag conditions all demand making the right choices to optimise climbing. The right choices means knowing the relevant information, options, and logistics for any situation. From seepage lines to bogginess of approaches to ferry times to which hostels are open...
What I can do is revise and find all that out. Get everything detailed for all the suitable areas, so when the times come, the trips will work.

Rally the troops:
As always the two biggest challenges with climbing are not time nor transport, they are climate and companions, precipitation and people. Finding the right people who are good to climb with with AND up for exploring and taking advantage of opportunities is so important. Thankfully this time I do know quite a few more climbers in Scotland, and unlike last year's debacle where I met some people who were initially welcoming and then decided for no obvious reason to all but ignore me, many of my current partners are genuinely welcoming and friendly. Hopefully we can share a good winter cragging season!
What I can do is regularly keep in touch with people, be clear about possible plans and positive potentials, and try to be a good partner in return.

So let's set Metoffice as the homepage and get ready!!

There is a Plan B.

The waiting game continues - the weather still too rubbish and unreliable in the all-important North West and Isles - sunshine and sodding showers, glorious dry days alternating with torrentially wet ones, preventing the multi-day trips that such inspiring yet remote venues require. Although expected from a Scottish summer, and an all too familiar bane of the syked trad explorer, this still sucks festering goat arse. Thus something is needed to alleviate the tedium of the waiting and "keeping one's hand in" game.

That Plan B is coming in the form of inspiration to push myself more physically. There are other reasons for this (I will explain later), but also taking advantage of local crags, sport crags, wet-weather crags, venues that are considerably less interesting but much more reliable. Finding some solace in the joys of movement and the thrill of intense challenge and the dark art of redpointing. For me this is all a side-line but it is an interesting and rewarding one....and one which will hopefully feedback into my trad climbing, firstly as valuable physical (and sometimes mental) training but also too keep my trad syke undersatiated and unjaded.

Time to stop being weak, I think.

Very little climbing at various lovely crags.

Climbing trips - sometimes you win 'em, sometimes you lose 'em. Recently I've won a few, so in the grand karmic balance it's not that surprising to lose one.

In recent years I've become very inspired by the Caithness area - lovely looking sea-cliff outcrops, reasonable approaches, peaceful area, benevolent (for Scotland!!) climate, what's not to like?? Finally I got up there butr due to various circumstances the promised mega-ticking-trip didn't happen. The climate had a moment of malevolence, mixing midges and mizzle in equal quantities - it was climbable, but not captivating conditions. And there were issues with the abseil approaches and a loose block falling onto my partner's (thankfully helmeted) head. Despite this there is a lot of great looking stuff there and the few routes I did confirmed the quality. On the plus side, I got a good recce of many great routes, the Wick campsite is very nice and very cheap, and there's a good curry house in town.

In recent days I've become extremely inspired by the Caithness area....and will be back soon!!

Retreat was beaten via: Strathconnon - okay but too hot and too midgey; Cummingston - kinda cool but too late and too greasy; Cullen Caves - ugly choss but good fun power bouldering, unfortunately Cullen Skink in Cullen was somewhat disappointing; Luath Boulders - nice rock but rubbish micro-bouldering; and finally Glen Clova - lovely evening, fairly inspiring, but so knackered due to low-level gayflu that I quit after seconding a couple of routes.

Thusly a rather flaccid non-celebration of midsummer. Long trip, lots of crags, little climbing. Best just to view this as a recce and recuperation time - I think a wee break to let the gayflu settle, then a guns blazing return with maximum SYKE is the best plan. Raaargh.

This, and that.

Not a lot going on at the moment but that's going to change pretty soon. This week I have had gayflu and it has been pretty gay but fairly shortlived. After a pleasantly energetic week last week I knew it was best to rest and did so quite diligently - the mediocre weather helped too.

The cold has mostly abated, still a bit sore and snuffly but it's out of my head now. Somehow I seem to have missed the "feel considerably better but still hack up great solid lumps of phlegm" stage which is a little disappointing.

Last night I went bouldering at Dumby. I'm really syked for routes at the moment but then again also syked to get a couple of hours out full stop after a day stuck indoors. It had changed from a glorious spring day to a cold spring evening. I kept my t-shirt on and just managed to warm up by the time it got dark. Cold fingers, very sluggish, no energy after gayflu. Only to be expected really. Naturally Dumby is particularly harsh punishment for someone in this ailing state, so I was rubbish. But it was exercise and there was some good news - my tweaky finger has been feeling better all week and was fine last night despite a few crimpy and pockety things. That is good. I reckon it was raving the previous weekend - 4 hours of wild mal-coordinated arm-flailing must have got plenty of blood to my digits.

This week I do have some exciting plans - going out to Sicily from Tuesday morning to Friday night to join a veritable clan of veteran climbers out there who invited me along. More Euro-lime is not my first choice and if the weather was remotely decent (naturally it's not) I'd rather just have a couple of days in the Highlands BUT given the forecast and the opportunity and it does look rather nice in the photos, it would be churlish to refuse. Coming back on Friday night I go straight up to Northumbria for Squirrel's weekend bonanza which might be an Official Burd's Tradding Weekend or something of the sort. All of which is cool but it is avoiding actually climbing in Scotland which is partly why I'm up here!! Hopefully mid-late Spring will be good.

2010.

Shit, is that the year already?? Time flies whether you're having fun or not. The trick is to fly along with it and ride the temporal waves....maybe this year I'll learn it??

2009 brought some interest: emotional ups and downs, a return to climbing strength, a return to trying to sort my mind out, a brush with serious illness, a move to Glasgow, and a whole lot of upheaval....and a whole lot of potential that may as yet be realised.

2010 will bring....Christ, last year has made me even warier of predictions or expectations!! But I do have some aims (or are they resolutions?? well I resolve to try hard to do them...), of which the most interesting are:

1. Life live with passion and inspiration.
2. Follow the path of action (which isn't just "doing stuff").
3. Continue trying to sort my mind out.
4. Continue my post-DVT recovery fitness with determination.
5. Explore as much Scottish rock-climbing as possible.
6. Meet more Scottish rock-climbers to do that with.
7. Improve my social life in general.
8. Climb as many interesting places abroad as possible.
9. TICK BIG NUMBERS.
10. (The last one might not be entirely serious).

N.B. These aren't S.M.A.R.T. goals, in fact they are mostly habits to get into rather than specific goals, ways of life rather than ends to aim for.

Anyway, I'm off to do participate in one of those now. Back in a week!

State of play.

Summarising mostly for my own benefit:

1. My short-medium term desires are (in order of desirability but probably reverse order of effect):
Explore as much further afield Scottish outcrop climbing as possible.
Progress with my outdoor leading back up to a normal level.
Explore and utilise the closer-by Scottish outcrop climbing.
Progress with my climbing fitness up to a normal level.
Progress with my overall fitness.
(Scottish big in-the-mountains climbing is a longer term desire due to the season)

2. I am now living in Scotland. There is a vast amount of big in-the-mountains climbing available for weekend trips, a lot of outcrop available for weekend trips, also a lot of outcrop climbing available for longer trips, and a bit of outcrop climbing available for day trips.

3. It is nearly the start of winter. The days are shorter and colder, restricting any climbing to more accessible sun trap outcrops (which is all I can walk to anyway).

4. The weather is likely to be variable and often poor from now on, and at least unpredictable. This will further restrict climbing areas and necessitate flexible or last minute plans.

5. I have a reasonable amount of free time and could take 3 day weekend trips if I could find a partner for such.

6. I know plenty of people to climb down the wall with, a few people to go sport climbing with, a few people to do single day trad climbing with, and so far almost no-one to go on full weekend nor long weekend trips with.

7. My current level of outdoor climbing is approximately as follows:
(Taking into account reduced psychological ability and all dependent on type of climbing)
Trad adjectival: 2-3 grades below desired
Trad technical: 1-2 grades below desired
Sport climbing: 3 grades below desired
Bouldering: unknown, estimate 1-2 grades below normal
Redpointing: 3-4 grades below normal

8. My current level of physical ability is approximately as follows:
Technique: 90%
Flexibility: 90%
Upper body strength: 80%
Lower body strength: 60%
Overall fitness: 35%
(Upper body fitness: 55%)
(Lower body fitness: 15%)
Walking ability: max 45 mins flat, 15 mins uphill.

9. I have access to one very large but rarely changing "double size" climbing wall, and one normal climbing wall.

10. I have the opportunity to regularly run, swim, use weights machines etc etc.

The question of course is: How do I best use, or take into account, 2-10, to achieve 1? I.e. this is what I've got, how can I use it?, This is what I'm faced with, how can I deal with it?

So far the best plan would seem to involve plenty of fitness training, a fair amount of climbing training, plenty of looking after myself since I'm still recuperating, discipline to maximise the preceding, good organisation, particular diligence in finding suitable partners, and particular readiness for any chance to take advantage of breaks in the weather.

[Edit: This of course refers to "local" i.e. Scottish climbing desires. Obviously I still have very strong desires for inspiring climbing abroad, but that might have to wait for a little while. Although I really definitely should fit something in over Christmas - I haven't been on a single climbing trip abroad this year which is a shocking waste!!]