UKC

Has anyone downloaded this book?
is it what it purports to be?
is it worth $24?

In reply to ray: well all it can tell you is to train hard rest more

In reply to ray:
Post the link ffs post the link I will try ANYTHING (as long as i dont have to give up beer)

In reply to ray:

For anyone that's interested

http://www.howtoclimbthreegradesharder.com/

I'm not to sure, but what does everyone else think?

Rob

In reply to Rob Laird:

Developed after extensive scientific analysis of my training regime:

1. Don't eat chocolate before, coffee and cake during, and fish, chips, mushy peas and a breadcake after a training session at the wall - this negates any positive effect.

2. Cut down on beer, curries, kebabs, crisps and other tasty treats.

3. Drag lardy frame out for a run, rather than watching telly with beer and crisps.

4. Try something more effective than tapping a keyboard for an upper body workout.

5. Don't be such a wimp when more than 2 feet above gear.

6. Don't be such a wimp when more than 2 feet above gear. (Worth repeating twice).

By following the simple plan above I should be able to easily climb 3 grades harder.

That'll be $24 please!

In reply to ray:

Checked out that link, and got to say, I'd be a bit suspicious about sending money to someone with a site that looks like that!

Maybe it's genuine enough, but to me, it's giving out al the wrong signals. Looks like the author got their 12 year old nephew to design it, and that's enough to put me off.

Mind you 3 grades, so easily.......hmmmm.

In reply to Fraser:

Don't know anything about the book but Mick is a genuine guy. He posted on here about writing this book a few months back.

In reply to ray:

The book looks a bit fat for me....if someone did a quick reference version I would be more interested

In reply to ray:

Well I'm quite happy to buy it - I'll report back after the weekend as to whether I've managed to climb 6C+ or not?!?

In reply to ray:

special launch offer is, according to link, $19.97 (about £11)

In reply to ray:

Mick Ward was a frequent contributor to OTE and has a good rep.

Personally, I think the style of the advertisement and the web page itself is offputting which is a shame as I would expect the book to be pretty good.

Don't doubt the benefits of a good training programme - I was languishing at HVS & 6a+ in October and am now up back up to E3/4 and done my first 7b through a combination of structured training and 'getting my head together'.

In reply to Derbyshire Ben:

Is the advert aimed at Americans?

90 days money back guarantee though.

In reply to Derbyshire Ben:

Youy can read some more of his writing here

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/info/search.php?forum=0&dates=0&name=...

In reply to Fraser:

do not be suspicious about Mick have climbed with him on and off and he would not rip you off!!!

In reply to Ridge:
>>

So that'll be a lightly tossed salad for you tomorrrow night then while we all have curry.

PS: if you write something twice you're repeating it once not twice. God i sound like someone we know (!!!!)

Surely the easiest way to climb 3 grades harder is go from Northumberland to the Peak?

In reply to ray:

Do it on a tight top rope? :>)

In reply to ray:

wax on......














....wax off

In reply to Philip Smith1000:

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that he would, it's just that the site doesn't sell the book very well. It smacks of those "Become a property millionaire in 6 months, for only £199" courses.

(I recognised Mick's name, but wasn't sure where from.)

In reply to Chris Fryer: Then from there to somerset.

Is the book really going to tell us anything we haven't already read in a Neil Gresham, Mat Smith or Marius Morstad article?

In reply to Paz:

Knowing Mick I skim read it a few weeks ago and I would say yes. It is more specifically aimed at the low/mid grade climber not knowing how to improve or putting obstacles up from achieving improvements. It is also based around the authors specific experiences and the anecdotes are enlightening.

In reply to Ridge:
2. Cut down on beer, curries, kebabs, crisps and other tasty treats.
3. Drag lardy frame out for a run, rather than watching telly with beer and crisps.
5. Don't be such a wimp when more than 2 feet above gear.


I can agree with that, my two biggest problems are weight and being a pussy when above my last bit of gear

In reply to ray:

I printed it and it seems worthwhile. Have only skimmed it but looking forward to getting into it Yes, the website isnt the greatest, but if you ignore that and actually read what he's saying it makes sense.

In reply to Liathac:

Yeah, I end up having a bit of a mind fcuk moment when 2 feet above gear....really need to stop...

though if it seems good like Anni says then I may download it....that'll be 6b+ soon then!!

In reply to Sharket:

A lot of it is common sense, but the kind of common sense you get told and go 'oh yeah, why didnt I think of that?' and as its aimed at the less...errr...elite of us its quite good

In reply to Anni:

So do you just get a PDF for your 11 quid or does a book come through the post too?

I must admit I'm tempted to buy it now, climbing 3 grades harder would be great.

In reply to MeMeMe:

It is just a PDF, bit of a shame really, a book would have been nice, but then, thats an ebook for you.

Im especially liking his diet advice. Which is mostly umm...eat if youre hungry, whatever is to hand :oD

In reply to Anni:

Eat if you're hungry sounds good to me!!

(I'm definitely one of the less elite!!)

In reply to Anni:

Oh well, I've been suckered in and I've bought it. Will start following it's advice from tonight and see how it goes.

Would be interesting for people to report back in a few weeks to see if anyone has made progress.

In reply to MeMeMe:

Im up for that Provided I get anything done!!

In reply to MeMeMe:

Right then, I too will purchase it and report back...

In reply to Anni:

Um....just bought it but it wont download fully...I've only got acrobat 4 at work though...

pants, bloody administrators rights and all that so cant upgrade, dont have the interwebnet at home either..

In reply to Sharket:

Ok so I can download the adobe test page but not the book...???!?

In reply to ray:
Get it tax free ($19.97 rather than $23 odd by saying you are in USA and putting any old 6 figure number in for your zip code. This is the internet after all.

In reply to Stingy: Wish you'd posted that 5 minutes earlier!

In reply to Sharket:

Its all under control, I emailed Mick and he is currently being very helpful...nice chap

In reply to ray:

Just paid and tried to download, because of paranoid work firewall will need to retry download from home tonight.

Looks very interesting and I am willing to be guinea pig, I am desperate. I only started climbing again two weeks ago after a break of 23 years. I could cope with seconding 4a/4b but ended up feeling like a quivering jelly after attempting a 5a, it's taken my arms a week to stop aching. This is all very depressing as I used to lead HVS/E1 5b/5c.

In reply to sandywilson:

From what Ive read so far, and from what Ive heard from people whove been on them, its a book version of a planet fear training week...without the location or hefty price tag

In reply to Sharket:

Lol, anyone up for some falling practice? Im usually exceptional at that part :oS

In reply to Anni:

Hi Anni,

I suppose it is a sort of book version of such a training week, without the location (sadly!) or cost. But I've heard such good things about planet fear training weeks that I really would suggest anyone interested check 'em out. Obviously a treat - but probably a fantastic treat! My book should help people get even more benefit. Anyway... hope you're enjoying the read!

All best wishes,

Mick

In reply to Anni:

You see i'm not so much of a faller...well not outside - I'm quite happy to lob off the top of the overhang at the wall after not clipping the last bolt - defo get a bit of a kick out of that...so maybe I should practise...I tend to down climb then have a strop instead (thats what I'm meant to be getting out of though isn't it)

think my problems are essentially the whole mind f*ck on the being above my gear thing, oh and my technique...

In reply to ray:

I'm trying to do the profiling strengths and weaknesses section but it just doesn't work for me!

For example, it asks: Do you prefer slabs, walls, gently overhanging or massively overhanging?

Erm, I quite like all of them really, I mean it's all climbing.

And I seem to answer all the questions like that.

I think I am just a homogenous blob with no strengths and no weaknesses.

In reply to MeMeMe:

No you're an all round climber which is what he's trying to achieve through all that anyway - you're way ahead of me!!

In reply to MeMeMe:

A good all rounder then? Nowt wrong with that I got that on the climbing technique bit too...

It took me ages to think of what was holding me back. I quite enjoy falling off, and have taken controlled falls of about 5m or so in the past when Ive been up s**t creek on a route. Finally realised its just a lack of confidence, I actually think I cant do it and so cant...


Mick:

Either way its very good and well written. Ok, the sun and location and help from some rather erm asthetically pleasing climbers would be nice, but for those who cant afford it suppose this is trhe next best thing!

In reply to Anni:

Hmm, I think I need a bit of practice with falling, don't do it very much.

>Finally realised its just a lack of confidence, I actually think I cant do it and so cant...

Yes, I think confidence is important. I sometimes feel a bit silly trying something that is harder than I usually climb (Why am I trying this, it's too hard for me, I'll just make an idiot of myself?), but have decided I just don't care now if I fall off or can't get to the top, better that than doing it comfortably and not making any improvements.

In reply to ray:

Oh, and following the advice in the book is anyone going to buy a *cough* clip-stick *cough* ?

In reply to MeMeMe:

Have proudly used one before and will again :oD

Falling is fun, best with a bit of slack too (sounds scarier but it isnt) so you get a nice squishy fall instead of a jarring one...

Im not actually scared of making a fool of myself either (I do that often enough without trying! Lol!) I just defeat myself before Ive started, its just how to remove that mindset :oS

In reply to Stingy:
'Get it tax free ($19.97 rather than $23 odd by saying you are in USA and putting any old 6 figure number in for your zip code. This is the internet after all.'

Nice tip. Tried it and it works.

In reply to Simon Lee:

Nice one. If it's aimed at low/mid grade climbers then it sounds like a quality thing to buy your 8a sport climbing friends as a joke. "Saw this and thought of you, punter". Saying that if anyone wants to buy me one for my birthday I'd appreciate it.

Mick could do a sequel, which by taking a leaf out of Bernabe `9b+' Bernandez's book also works for 9a climbers?
Q: How to climb three grades harder?
A: Climb a route that's three times longer, that takes you about three more years to complete(*).

(some guesstimation in the above).

(*) and is probably three times steeper and indeed probably three grades harder.

In reply to ray:

Just tried the practising falling off stuff that he suggests you do. It's harder than I thought to just let go when the clip is below your feet. Quite exciting too!

Not sure if it's helped my climbing or not.

In reply to ray: I'm climbing about once a week with Mick Ward down in Portland and I can't fault his advice.

We've been working 7a+ and 7b routes at Portland - complete with using the dreaded 'stick clip'. It is certainly helping my trad climbing as I managed my first two E4s at the weekend.

My biggest problem (as with many people) is not believing how hard I can actually climb. Red-pointing and working harder routes proves to yourself that you can climb harder and it has certainly given me the confidence to on get E3s and E4s I've been looking at for years.

Given that amount we all spend on gear, magazines, climbing wall fees etc, I'd certainly say the book is worthwhile and a very well written and entertaining read. It offers some good, effective advice from a different viewpoint from normal training articles.

In 2005 my redpoint grade is up one grade to 7b and my lead grade up one to E4. I can't truthfully credit Mick's book with the improvement but since January I've pretty much been doing exactly what it recommends and it's working.

HTH

I agree falling's fun at the wall on nice safe bolts. Is it still fun when you're leading outdoors? I'm really nervous of falling on gear I've placed myself... probably because I can't even hang a picture safely indoors so have absolutely no faith in my gear placement. Doesn't matter at the moment because I don't lead anything outdoors unless it resembles an escalator.

In reply to Rosie A:

If youre not confident with placements is there anyone who can take you out and give you some advice? My gear placing improved leaps and bounds in 3 days by climbing with Fiend. You could have 3 people fall on his gear and know it wasnt going anywhere! Seconding and really looking at placements, as well as then leading and having advice helps dramatically. If youre not confident about your placements youll never feel ok about falling off! Once you are utterly confident, yes, its great fun As mentioned before Ive actually purposefully jumped off when Ive known I have little other choice (well off route..ooops) but wasnt scared as I knew my placements were good.

In reply to Rosie A:

Hi Rosie,

Some of my early leads in the 1960s were nightmares of shaking legs (the return of Elvis!), accompanied by the 'Ping!' of gear falling out, followed by... you've guessed it - more Elvis! I was lucky; I survived. Other, better climbers didn't.

With learning traditional leading, I feel it's best to split the skills of a) gear placement and b) all the other skills of leading. Sometimes I've gone out with people learning trad leading and I've soloed the routes, placing bomber gear. They've then 'led' them. They don't have to worry about the gear (it's bomber!) but they do need to learn steadiness, reading the rock, resting, perhaps reversing a few moves to key footholds,etc... i.e. all the other skills of leading. Also having seen the route already climbed, probably diminishes the 'aura' that can hang over such leads.

Obviously these are not 'proper' leads but I think they can be a useful half-way house to learning trad leading. What the aspirant leader must then do is place gear (tons of it, again and again and again...) at ground level - under the beady eye of their helper.

There was a tale that Ian Vickers, when he was a young lad, learned every sequence, every gear placement, everything he could... just like, say, Tiger Woods did - and with similarly spectacular results.

Back to our learner leader. Perhaps they've 'led' 5 severes with pre-placed gear. They then maybe start on well protected Diffs (e.g. cracks), placing their own gear.

After a while, the skills of gear placing begin to align with the other skills of leading and it all starts to come together. This is the magical bit!

Sorry to go on... but you've raised a very important point about quality of gear placement. I'm hopelessly unmechanical (if that's the word!) Some of us just are. So it may take us a while longer to learn to place good gear.
So what? As long as we're learning in relative safety.

Friends have criticised this notion of temporarily pre-placing gear (and close mentoring) as 'hopelessly soft'. But if 'hopelessly soft' keeps people alive at probably the most vulnerable part of their climbing career, then I'm all for it.

Hope this makes some kind of sense. It's Saturday moring and my brain's a bit fuddled!

All best wishes,

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:

With some friends in the states we did what they called 'mock leading' having a rope on top, but slightly looser than youd like (its there for safety purposes only). Gear was taken up and placed and clipped with a second rope. Youd still fall off if you messed up, but you wouldnt deck/die if you did. Again there was contention with other climbers if this was ethical, but personally I felt it was a great way especially to get used to a new rock type...

In reply to Anni:

Hi Anni,

I completely agree. A bit of friendly help from a more experienced climber is the way forward. (And when you get better, you can help someone else, in turn.) Kind of a good way to do things... in many senses.

Mick

In reply to Anni:

Whoops, we've got 'overlapping posts' - a new phenomonen to me! Yes again, I'd agree. 'Mock leading' - fine. Whatever works. Again and again in the book, I'm trying to get people to think tactically about what will work best for them. And when you find it - USE IT!!!

Re ethics. My personal feeling is that, if you're not damaging the rock & environment/being a nuisance and you're scrupulously honest about your style of ascent - where is the harm?

I can remember when Friends 'weren't ethical', chalk 'wasn't ethical', PAs 'weren't ethical', nuts 'weren't ethical' (OK, I know the latter is pre-history!) Many of the 'ethics police' have a funny way of changing their tack as time goes on (and they get older?) A bit like Jane Fonda and cosmetic surgery...

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:

Eeek. On reflection, that remark about Jane Fonda seems petty and mean spirited. It wasn't meant to be. She was (and is) a heart-achingly lovely woman. (As with some ethics police) I just found it hard to reconcile the fortysomething rant against cosmetic surgery with the sixtysomething "I'm having some!"

Apologies to Jane.

Could anyone tell me how many pages this book is? just for printing purposes...

Thanks

In reply to KA:

Hi Ken,

About 94. (Pop in a fresh cartridge??)

Mick

In reply to ray: I'm a bit late to this topic but...

I read the book a while back and think it's great. Unfortunately I haven't been able to go the whole hog and take on every recommendation, but I've cherry-picked a few that seemed to be particularly applicable to me and I've got a grade raise out of it already. It's no magic bullet, but it 's really good at indicating wht you may be doing wrong and ways you can sort it out.

For what it's worth Mick seems like a really genuine, quality bloke. He sent me a draft of his book a while back in response to a request I'd made on this forum for info on raising a grade. I didn't know him from Adam and have still never met him, but his book and subsequent email advice have been invaluable. Cheers Mick!

In reply to Clinger:

seconded .

In fact Mick, send me an email with your address and Ill send you a cheque for the draft you sent me.

In reply to ray:

I suppose its all relative....

I Love the Peak, any route that Brown/Whillans put up is a test piece to me. Apply this to your own area...

I sit in the Outside, thinking about my day on Froggy (A Derby slang we use when we don't have the time/petrol/bravery to go to wales!)

I'm thinking about all the VS routes i'd love to do, when I get a chance offer from the waitress (!) if i pay £11 for that bacon butty, i WILL climb "Todys Wall"

I would of course pay it, and think the money is well spent as that moment when i top out will stay with me forever...

and it goes on - I can do this, so I should be able to do that ETC ETC...

Pay the cash if you are curious - do not moan if the book tells you to train/fall/work out/etc/etc if you have an open mind and are ready to take on someone elses thinking then try it for a while, 2 weeks say, you will see an improvement.

I have the book, not fair that i say what it says but, it is what i knew already, however, it presents a new way to look at it. Have i learnt anything? yes but it is not my biggest lesson. That was learning to eat!

YES 35 years old and still eating like a teenager! Day before i go climbing, i have a Pasta, or Spuds, snak out on Nannas/ nuts/ fruit etc and this is from a kebab and chips man! Drinking too - drink loads of water!

(NOTE: learn to eat = Good woman!)

This is simple stuff guys but we need things like this to kick us in the teeth! If you can go 1 grade higher for a tenner, with a fortnights work, then to some it is worth it eh?
F**k me - my own ebook! I should sell this

In reply to ray:
I found the advert for this book by accident the other day so its been interesting reading everyones comments and good to hear that the author is a genuine well respected climber.
Might download it at some point - sounds like interesting reading. :0)

In reply to haze01: Yeah Mick is top shelf all the way. That is why I linked to him from www.climbingreport.com The authors I linked are all commited to helping folks.
That's good Karma.

Chris

In reply to sandywilson:


Well, that's pretty good, surely? I had a break of about six months recently and when I started again I found leading VS 4b desperate, which was a drop of rather more grades than that. Didn't find it too depressing mind - climbing is climbing, after all.

jcm

In reply to Anonymous:

I've not even led anything yet! I'm sizing up a V.Diff at the moment. Leading is a whole different head game from seconding.

In reply to ray: is a paper copy available? my pc will never download that lot, its far too slow and old

In reply to Big Steve:

Hi Steve,

Whoops, just come across your post! Here, at Portland Publishing (Acorn Antiques?), the entire staff should have been out bouldering, down the pub, etc,etc. Actually been immersed in the antics of Renaissance men (and ladies). Some wild characters!

Right - to work! If you drop me an email, I'll sort you out with a paper copy. Might take a day or so, though.

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:
Is there any other way of getting hold of a hard copy, as I cannot buy over t'interweb due to not having a credit card.
Nowhere I can just walk in and buy a copy with old fashioned cash?

In reply to Obi Wan:

No worries. You can't get it in the shops but, if you email me your address via portlandpublishing@tiscali.co.uk or lonestar62@hotmail.com, I'll pop a hard copy in the post. When you get it, you can just send along a cheque (or even some used fivers if we're really going to be old-fashioned...)

Hey, let's not knock old-fashioned! I was brought up on it. And sometimes it can work surprisingly well.

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:

Cheers dude,

I think we should start a revolution to bring back snail mail, hard cash, and maybe even half pennies.
I have mailed to your Lonestar address.
Thanks again.

In reply to Mick Ward: just emailed you. thanks in advance

In reply to Mick Ward:
I've also emailed you. Thanks.

In reply to mick ward:

Mick, can you recommend the best printer settings to use and get a nice compact book size?
A4 is rather large format. Can you set the pages to print A5 and what is the best way to do this with all the boxes of print options on my computer.
Many Thanks
Sue

In reply to purple sue:

Flamin' heck, Sue! Now my consummate ignorance of IT is shamelessly paraded before the world. ("Is 'IT literate' an oxymoron? Discuss!") The terrible truth is... that I've no earthly idea of how to get to A5. (I'm sure it's incredibly simple though; someone round here must know??)

I thought you were a hard core tradgirl anyway. When you coming back to Portland?

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:

Ahem! My partner says it's all in the printer manual. (Is it? Nasty, horrible things...)

In reply to mick:
Hi Mick! I'll have another go then and see what happpens..
Hope the book is selling well; makes interesting reading.

I've been without transport for a while, so am happy to go climbing wherever there is a lift available, trad or bolts. Maybe next w/e it could be portland?
See you later,
Sue