Font post-match analysis part one.

I’ve just(-ish) got back from four days in Font. I think four days is all one needs - I cut the last day short due to trashed skin (down the sides of my knuckles, rather than the tips as usual - what have I been doing??) . The joys of the intensity of bouldering meaning that a mere 4 hours a day for 4 days is plenty.

This was a last minute trip (literally, the ferry was booked about an hour before I had to start driving to catch it), requiring a lot of driving on my own and a petrol cost I don’t even want to think about (there are big numbers and BIG numbers). But I was inspired by the forest and my friends, and frustrated sitting at home whilst everyone else was going away, so…. Well it was worth it, despite afternoon showers sometimes hampering my style. Meeting up with friends, climbing in the forest, it’s all good - leave Sheffield at 8 pm, drive through the night, sleep on the ferry, arrive at the Eagle’s gite at 9 am and have a strong coffee pressed into my hand, chill out, and go bouldering! Simple pleasures…

Further, my elbow held up surprisingly well. Sure I was living on ibuprofen and trying to look after it with ice, massage, and warming up, but I also climbed plenty, pulled hard, and didn’t feel held back by it. I’ve been off the ibuprofen for two days now and it’s feeling a bit tweaky in certain movements but not that much worse than before. Sure I’ll have set the healing back but I think it was worth that, too.

This general climbing/elbow success includes climbing the hardest problem I’ve done in the forest, and quite possibly the best too: El Poussif. This was a good challenge but also a great, genuine inspiration - I’d seen this problem on my first visit to Font a few years ago, wandering around Isatis with Jim and Dense from UKB. It looked awesome then and it looked awesome on this last trip - a subtle, sinuous, bulging, flowing rib (quite a lot like Brad’s Arete at Eagle Tor, cross with a, errr, crocodile!). Not only that, it climbs as good as it looks - beautiful, flowing, switching movement, leading to a captivating mantel crux that tests the body in under-used ways. That is, if you DO IT RIGHT. I had a look on Bleau.info (link above) to remind myself of how stylish it is, and what do I see on the videos?? All sorts of inelegant, deviant and obscure methods, that usually seem to involve avoiding the true start, and/or a lot of slapping and lanking past the crux. This is really not on. Yeah sure, occasionally some method might be a fraction easier (one of our team found a good gaston method for the start), but it really is missing the point of the problem - the line leads you to climb it in a certain way where the flow of the climbing matches the flow of the line, and trust me that is the finest way to do it:

Left hand on sharp side-pull, right hand palming off a faint mound, left foot on obvious big hold. Pull on leaning right, smear right foot, and bring RH into sidepull crimp. Switch to leaning left, RF on higher smear, LH to faint dimple over bulge. Switch to leaning right and bring RF through to good nick on rib. Layaway up to get pinch with RH and bring LF through to decent nick in face. Paste RF on high smear and switch to leaning left in order to turn LH into palm down on faint dimple or just above. Start pressing out into mantle, then press some more…..and some more… Then fall off and make vow to take up yoga. Repeat above steps… Eventually get LF onto smear below LH palm, find a balance point and reach for sloper with LH. Keep laying away off RH pinch to bring RF up and reach finishing jug.

THE AUTHORISED SEQUENCE: Accept no substitutes!

Actually this might be the second finest tick I got on the trip. The best being on-sighting the drive from Dunkerque to Font AND the drive back from Font to Dunkerque. No wrong turns, no getting lost (unlike some regular visitors *cough*), and all on my ownsome. Big ticks…!

Back to El Poussif… One thing I should have done was got a video of myself doing it (incidentally I watched a Swedish dude try it with a similar starting sequence, which reinforced how good the sequence is). I think there might be photos. But not enough photos and not enough videos. This has nagged me in the Font trip. I had a camera, a load of beautiful problems, and lots of people milling around, and I got no bloody photos. What am I playing at?? This is the ideal opportunity! Am I supposed to be a photo whore or not?? I’m not going to get guidebook cover shots or magazine spreads by not getting photos of myself posing and preening. I’ll be losing my narcissistic edge, sheesh.

Still, the climbing is good ;)

Injury time.

Well I’m definitely injured. The tweak in my elbow is a tear in the bicep tendon where it joins the elbow bone, caused by tweaking it on one particular move down the wall a month or so ago, and accentuated by not resting it enough in the weeks following. I’ve been to see Ozzy at The Clinic, Sheffield’s foremost sanctioned torturer aka physio, who gave that diagnosis but was confident - particularly since it seems to be an acute rather than chronic injury - that it would heal soon. In the meantime I’m restricted in what climbing I can do, and have to be particularly careful not to aggravate it (as I did on a gentle circuit down the wall the other night).

So I’m writing about being injured. Should I turn this into a blog of shoe-gazing woe, the blog equivalent of whining, soul-dampening indie music?? Droning and mumbling on about the mundanities of one’s life and luck and lack of climbing, without any concern for how bland it all is??

Perhaps not eh. It DOES dampen my spirit, but that’s for me to deal with! It is what it is (pushing oneself physically whilst climbing being so intensive) and I just have to work with it. No real way around it, and I can still potter around, especially on trad. In fact, recently I managed some wonderful routes like The Phantom at Gradbach Hill and Flashdance & Blinding Flash down in Torquay, so I won’t complain. Though, I miss the social scene down the wall, funnily enough!

What is of some interest to me is that I seem to be getting more injured these days. Two tweaks in two years, as opposed to one A2 pulley injury in the previous 4 years - it feels quite odd to be “injured again”. A function of getting old? Or of just pushing myself harder? Or maybe or just climbing a lot while doing less “balancing” physical activities? Or probably all three. A lesson to be learnt: I should be taking this increase in susceptability on board, and being more aware of it. Prevention better than cure and all that.

Another plus side, all my previous injuries, I’ve recovered from and got back to feeling as strong and fit as ever. This one too, I hope.

On top of my game…

Warning: Egocentric rambling ahead (well, this IS a blog…)

I had a realisation the other day:

I have now been fighting fit and climbing well continuously for the last 2 years.

That, I think, is quite thought-provoking. I looked in my logbook and saw that it was early February 2006 that I started properly getting back into grit climbing after many months off with a broken foot. Later in the month I had a decent trip to Barcelona….then some increasingly good days on grit….then a good trip to Pembroke with The King….then “that” weekend in North Wales where my climbing dreams started coming true. Since the start of 2006 I’ve had some low points, periods of bad motivation, periods of atrocious weather, times out due to minor injuries - but they’ve all been pauses in the flow of climbing, rather than stops. Even last year, being hampered in spring by a shoulder injury and in summer by the monsoons, as soon as the shoulder healed and the weather cleared, I got out, got fit, and climbed well.

It’s generally regarded, particularly in a highly intensive (physically and mentally) activity such as climbing, that maintaining a high level of performance over a long period of time is unlikely to happen (the mind and body need respite). I’m making no great claims about my performance, only that it is good FOR ME. But the point is, it’s still good now…

(Even recently, I’ve felt my strongest indoors on bouldering and routes, I’ve onsighted my hardest sport climbs outdoors, climbed my hardest boulder problem, and recently climbed my first grit trad routes since November - it took a few goes to get back into it, and I didn’t push myself that much, but I managed to climb with confidence on some routes and tackle fine challenges on others, and kept learning more throughout - not bad!!)

…even 2 years on. If this isn’t “supposed to happen”, then maybe there are explanations.

Firstly, the enforced mini-breaks I’ve taken might have let mind and body recover for a renewed assault. This need for respite is something I’ve become aware of, and thus I make sure I don’t push things at inappropriate times and thus get jaded or too wrapped up in climbing.

But, secondly, more interestingly, maybe this isn’t some straining, pushing, performance peak. Maybe this is my NATURAL level. A level that suits my climbing, my abilities, my desire. And to be honest, that’s what it felt like, that’s why I was striving to climb how I climb now - because I felt I could, I felt it was the right level for me to reach and be inspired by. And sure, it was a long, bloody battle to get there, but what I felt in 2006 was more like “I am climbing as my true self” rather than “I am on top of my game”.

Less of a “peaking”, and more of a “maturing”?

What happens from here, I don’t know. I’m quite happy not knowing. I’m still as psyched, yet less pressured. Maybe I will climb harder or climb better (not the same thing, of course!!). Maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll improve more in different areas, maybe I won’t. Maybe something with go cataclysmically wrong and I will climb very little. Maybe I’ll improve a lot by devious, circuitous methods. Maybe I’ll just plod along doing the climbing I enjoy.

Right at the moment, I have a bit of a tweak in my elbow. I’m being careful - it’s not too bad and doesn’t seem to affect climbing too much - but I’ve been taking it easy, sticking to outdoor routes where possible and avoiding the physical strains of indoor bouldering. So not, right now, 100% fighting fit, BUT it’s okay, and I’ll get past it, and just see where things go…

A blog challenge!

From JIMBO’s blog (link on Rockfax blog page):

I have been continuing on my regime to return as a fully functioning climber, back at the grades that I was once achieving some years ago. I have been reading around and from sources such as Training for Climbing and from my own profession it is clear that target setting is the first stage to realising your goals. However, to coin a teaching term (possibly borrowed from American corporate bullsh*t) they need to be SMART. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound. For example; I will do 1 one-armed pull up by Easter with my left and right arms. This hits all the criteria for me from this model, being specific in the exercise that I will perform (could be a route or a grade), measurable in that I must do 1 on each arm, it is attainable as I have done them before, realistic in that I am not far off it now and the time frame is long enough to achieve it and time bound in that I must do it by Easter. Having looked at Fiend’s blog it is clear that some of his targets fall short in one or more of these ideas and may lead to many left unfulfilled.

Would I be right in guessing this is Jimbo Kimber, beefy Portland guru from a few years back??

I’m somewhat entertained that a serious climber read my blog and thought enough to mention it (although a comment on my blog would have been useful). He may or may not have a point about my goals - although I do think my goals are in a different genre to some peoples - and since I quite like an online climbing discussion challenge, I’ll try to justify my goals in that context:

1. Climb the remaining routes E2-4 in the Lleyn section of North Wales Rock.
5. Climb at a few of the inspiring places that I didn’t manage to visit in 2007, specifically: Baggy Point, Nesscliffe, mid-Wales, Pembroke, and a bit of grit.

These two are more specific goals and do fit into the SMART criteria
S - Yes, specific places and specific routes (I have lists, but little desire to post them here).
M - Yes, whether I visit those places and do those routes.
A - Yes, subject to weather and partners.
R - Yes, all of the are accessible and routes are realistic targets.
T - Yes, have made them goals for this year in particular (although Lleyn would be up to the next bird ban). I can’t have specific deadlines set because it depends on: weather, opportunity, people to climb with, bird bans, and other factors.

2. Go on a climbing holiday to Scandinavian granite and/or German/Czech sandstone.
6. Climb more in Scotland.
7. Go on a climbing trip to Ireland if weather allows.

These three are all general destinations are the SMART criteria is not applicable to them. As above they are subject to weather, opportunity, etc etc, but more specifically to having the right people to go with. I will try to find the right people to go with, and to be able to go at the right times, but these trips are too external-factor-dependent to be more “SMART”.

3. Join with more climbing and bouldering trips abroad.
4. Climb more with my friends, old and new, and join in their climbing plans.

These two are climbing….scene? I guess….desires, and again the SMART criteria is not applicable to them. They simply depend on what other people are doing when, who is available, who wants me along. I’ve spent a couple of years being focused on my own specific desires, to good effect, now I am happier to join in with other peoples’ plans, in the knowledge that there’s bound to be something I’ll want to climb and enjoy doing.

8. Push myself more in bouldering and deep water soloing in different venues.

This one, perhaps is a bone of contention - it is performance / challenge / progression desire, and as such could be considered SMART suitable. But…
S - not really, no particular problems, no particular routes, nor locations.
M - not really (although a vague hint to boulder the next grade up).
A - yes definitely. I’m sure I can climb a bit harder.
R - yes definitely, ditto.
T - this year??

Maybe this should be SMART?? Maybe I should be saying: Boulder V-whatever on grit by April and onsight 3 E-whatevers at Portland between July and October.

The thing is, it boils down to my initial impression: I have a different genre of goals. Although a few are specific routes and specific challenges, most of them are exploratory venue-based goals: Get away with some mates to somewhere new and find inspiring stuff to do there (these might well be unfulfilled but that’s the nature of climbing trips!!). And the progression goals?? Well, I’ve spent the last decade focusing on progression and the last two years succeeding in it. I’ll always want to progress but at the moment I’m happy to do so in a “see how it goes” way. The point of that is not about being vague, it’s about being relaxed and being confident in my groundwork of climbing that I can tackle what challenges I feel like without having to be quite so obsessed over Specific (etc etc) details. And - it’s worth noting - I still train for general challenges, I still push myself in what’s relevant, work what I need to and work my weaknesses, but again I do that in a “looser” way. It doesn’t mean I’m pulling any less hard though!!

Finally…

Last weekend I did my hardest graded boulder problem ever. I hadn’t had it as a specific goal, I hadn’t used it as a measurement, I didn’t know for sure if it was attainable or realistic, and I set no time-limits on it. I’d just seen the line a couple of years ago, it inspired me, I thought I might be able to do it, and I did (it was piss, took a few goes and I could have possibly flashed it if I’d used the best starting hand-hold). Was a great problem BTW.

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 -

2008.

Another number ;)

Climbing goals for 2008.

1. Climb the remaining routes E2-4 in the Lleyn section of North Wales Rock.

2. Go on a climbing holiday to Scandinavian granite and/or German/Czech sandstone.

3. Join with more climbing and bouldering trips abroad.

4. Climb more with my friends, old and new, and join in their climbing plans.

5. Climb at a few of the inspiring places that I didn’t manage to visit in 2007, specifically: Baggy Point, Nesscliffe, mid-Wales, Pembroke, and a bit of grit.

6. Climb more in Scotland.

7. Go on a climbing trip to Ireland if weather allows.

8. Push myself more in bouldering and deep water soloing in different venues.

Now….if anyone wants to join in with any of these, or has any trips they want to invite me along to….get in touch….I’m keen to be involved with a more diverse agenda this year

So, the way things have gone: 2006 and 2007, overall, were great climbing years for me. I finally - after a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of ups and downs - felt like I was climbing how I wanted to, and a level I had always thought I was capable of, doing the sort of routes and climbing that deeply inspired me (mostly, as it happens, trad climbing).

I had this vague notion that if I did enough, that if I really felt I’d done what was true to me and the dedication had paid off, that I’d be more relaxed about my climbing, more willing to firstly not be quite as obssessed with it, and secondly to be less specific and go along with “whatever” climbing was around rather than purely my specific plans.

So far, somewhat surprisingly, I DO feel like that - still inspired, still keen, but also more relaxed, and less pressured. I don’t know if it will last but it’s a good way to be now.

Thus, my 2008 goals - mostly about travelling around, exploring, different styles of climbing, and joining in with what other people are doing (only the few UK ones are really specific, although Scandinavia and Germany/Czech are also strong inspirations I’ve had for many years). Hopefully this will enable another good, but diverse climbing year. The sort of year where someone can say “Hey Fiend, fancy coming to Magic Wood for a long weekend” and I can reply “Sure, sounds cool” rather than “No. Must stay in England and prove to myself I can climb hard in The Lakes etc etc”. Or where I can invite friends to the honeypots of Pembroke instead of having to drag people to some esoteric uber-gem that the voices in my head told me I have to do.

It is, I think, all good…

Numbers...

I have an uneasy relationship with numbers - climbing grades that is.

On the one hand, I like them: Or rather, I like the meaning behind them. They are useful pieces of information that roughly quantify a level of challenge. They tell you roughly how hard a climb is going to be and enable you to make an informed choice on what you’re going to be climbing and how you’re going to approach it. I like having an accurate and fair grading system - particularly when it is reliable enough to positively encourage onsight climbing with the information it provides. Knowledge is power…

On the other hand, I dislike them: Or rather, I dislike the way they are used and abused by climbers and the climbing community. The grade-chasing, number-ticking, ego-boosting, cock-waving “I’ve done grade X, look at me” / “I really want to do grade X, getting that number will be so significant to me”. Okay a crude summary but the attitudes are out there for all to see. Focusing on a number as if it is important?? The number is meaningless….only the meaning is important! Myself, I’m human too (despite some opinions to the contrary), and I too find myself susceptible to this, a desire to measure my progress that occasionally flares up into a desire to attain and achieve…

Thus it was with a similar unease that I set myself a number-orientated goal for a recent trip to El Chorro: I wanted to onsight at least a few F7as (that number - of course - being of no public significance).

Would this be a case of the tail wagging the dog?? Chasing routes for the grade alone, it all seemed somewhat sordid. On the first day in El Chorro I was wandering aimlessly and aimlessly wondering about my motivations. There were reasons for this goal - in recent years I have progressed tangibly with my trad climbing, and also (when I can be bothered) with my bouldering. I am also keen on sport climbing, and also keen to progress in it, yet I found myself having plateaued at a vaguely constant level in the last few years. The plateau, I think, is from mostly a lack of trying and a lack of ambition. Thus, a more quantifiable ambition - onsight F7a more - could give me a focus.

(Also, I like F7a as a number, it is complete and neat. F6c+ is so messy…)

But still….for me the lines, the inspiration to climb them, should come first…

My wandering and wondering stopped when I reached one of the F7as I’d considered: Arabesque on Sector Escalera Arabe. It looked great (although the F6c to the left up a sinuous groove, looked even better). Thin, technical climbing up a blunt rib, good rock, good position, the occasional rest, obviously fingery cranking in places. I led it, just after sunset, and it was great, testing, intricate, and satisfying.

And onwards…

Un-named route, F7a, Las Encantadas - looked great, sheer, intimidating, sustained, a wild finish up a hanging blunt rib, supposedly the crux. Was great, lots of good climbing, steady rests and a brilliant “go-for-it” finish in the best position on the crag.

Poema De Roca, F7a, Poema De Roca - looked great, ridiculously steep, wild rock features, possible cunning rests but obviously a mega-pump. Was great, err….ridiculously steep, wild rock features, possible cunning rests but obviously a mega-pump.

Uretofilio, F7a, Desplomandia - looked great, a high quality bulging wall promising varied bouldery climbing between decent rests. Was great, a series of increasingly hard boulder problems with good rests but a sustained and thin finish right to the last move.

So there you go….the quality of the climbing, the pleasure of the experiences, the thrill of the challenge (a challenge which was just right for me at this time) - all justified the goal (which was really a goal of “slightly increased challenge and progression”) that led to them.