UKC

8c in a year? How far in 9 months?

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 porridgefan 14 Sep 2011
Does anyone know (or does little sam himself know) how he's getting on?

I remember watching this post with avid interest last December.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=435593&v=1#x6142118

It would be amazing to document this if he is at all close!
 LakesWinter 14 Sep 2011
In reply to porridgefan: Great question BUMP!!!!
 TheAvenger 14 Sep 2011
In reply to porridgefan:

He claims to have done it back in April, 4 months after the initial post were he said had climbed a soft E4 and one V7 http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=453030&v=1#x6332484

His logbook up to January http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/showlog.html?id=94757

Now, call me cynical, but if it took Dave Mac a few days... youtube.com/watch?v=gIZaNluM2KM&
OP porridgefan 14 Sep 2011
In reply to TheAvenger:

Why wasn't this documented!?

I'm sure hitting the F8b+ mark 4 months after an E4 is an amazing effort! His logbook is a little thin mind.

Does anyone know him personally who can testify? This should be UKC news worthy!
 Dave Todd 14 Sep 2011
In reply to porridgefan:

Hmmm...a lot of amazing things happen on the date in question...
 TheAvenger 14 Sep 2011
In reply to Dave Todd:

Ha! April the 1st. Good spot...
 Microwired22 14 Sep 2011
In reply to porridgefan: Bollocks!

Just my opinion mind..
 LITTLE SAM 14 Sep 2011
In reply to porridgefan: Hello! Yes the April post was an April fools. Well progress update...Ive been sat inside for almost three months writing my masters dissertation. Havent climbed on a rope since April, after wich i spent three months in Sweedish lapland. So 8b+ is looking UNLIKELY. But thanks for remebering, the original thread was good fun. I am going out to spain in november/ december for a week, so we will see what i can drag my arse up . Also back to spain in 2012 for a long period of time, 3-4months. During wich i will be mainly climbing, so ill keep updates going. Even if i dont get 8b+ think itll be fun to write a post every now and again. Maybe i will start the challenge again in 2012, as for the year i will only be working part time and climbing the rest. So i stand a much better chance in that year than i do during this year, in wich i have been studying a full time postgraduate university course.


Cheers Little Sam
 John Mcshea 16 Sep 2011
In reply to LITTLE SAM:
Don't forget to get your dissertation spell checked...
 sam1971 16 Sep 2011
In reply to John Mcshea:

This blog might amuse you all. Norwegian guy and his 5 year plan for a certain route at Ceuse.

http://climbing5yplan.wordpress.com/

davo 16 Sep 2011
In reply to sam1971:

Another fantasist! Some of my favourite quotes:

My current level is 5.8. The route I will attempt to climb at the end of the 5 years (2014) is graded 5.15!!!

I am 510, and I weigh 205 pounds. Not exactly a climbers body, at least not the body of a very good climber. I am not very strong, I can’t do a single pull-up, and I get winded fairly easily when engaging in vigorous activity. Did I mention I am 32 years old?

And my favourite bit of all, the strategy in a nutshell:

2010: Climb routes of grade 5.12

2011: Climb routes of grade 5.13

2012: Climb routes of grade 5.14

2013: Project Realization

2014: Send Realization at 5.15

Can't believe I have never tried to just make continuous progression every year. It is so simple!! All these years I have been doing completely the wrong thing.

 sam1971 16 Sep 2011
In reply to davo:

I agree, no smart money will be bet on him being succesful however I admire him for putting it all out there. Its an honest blog sharing his ups and some major downs, he is articulate and amusing in English although its not his native language. Whether successful or not he will be a better climber.

Blogs like this only enrich and whatever our views I appreciate his effort rather than wishing to mock.
 AJM 16 Sep 2011
In reply to davo:

You jest, but trying to make a continuous progression each year is hardly a bad plan really - how else do you expect to continuously improve...?

Admittedly you might not do it at the rate of about 4 French grades per year (although doesn't Self coached climbed claim that by following their idea of pyramids you could do 2-3, at least for a while), but this guy might be one of the rare people who overestimates how far really training well can get you...
davo 16 Sep 2011
In reply to AJM:

You are right; aiming to make continuous progression is a good aim if tempered with a bit of realism. I think his aim of going from 5.8 to 5.13 in a couple of years is completely realistic and achievable. My main issue comes when he aims to go from 5.13 (7c+) to 5.14 (8b+). This is a huge (enormous) leap. The very next year he goes up to 9a!!!
davo 16 Sep 2011
In reply to sam1971:

Take your points there. I looked through his blog and it is actually well written and has some good stories. Would be good if he ditched the ridiculous 5 year plan.

I wouldn't have mocked if he had actually made serious progress but so far he has failed to even redpoint 5.11a (6b+ish). If he was training and dieting like a beast and getting up towards the upper end of 5.12 by now I would only wish him well. However it just looks to me like he set himself a massive goal and then failed to try hard enough to get anywhere near achieving it.
 AJM 16 Sep 2011
In reply to davo:

It has to be said, assuming his comment about 5.8 was written in 2009, I thought 5.8 (5+?) in 2009 to 5.12 (mid 5.12 is what, 7b+) in 2010 was perhaps no less ambitious.

The realism, especially given where he currently is, appears to have been lacking - perhaps 8a rather than 9a+ would have been more achievable, who knows.
 sam1971 16 Sep 2011
In reply to AJM:

Agree and I sense from the tone of his blog that the reality is starting to dawn. Still makes for a good occasional read.

Having looked at the start of Biographie myself last month I understand why only a handful have got off the ground.
OP porridgefan 16 Sep 2011
In reply to AJM:

> The realism, especially given where he currently is, appears to have been lacking - perhaps 8a rather than 9a+ would have been more achievable, who knows.

Did you not listen to Mr Haston last year when he said that ANYONE can climb 8a. There was even a follow-up article focused on two CAs that proved beyond doubt that this was the case!

On a more serious note, I love his blog.
 AJM 16 Sep 2011
In reply to porridgefan:

I don't doubt he is right. If you go at it in the right way I'm sure that 5+ to 8a can be done in 5 years.

But you still have to want it enough. And if as another poster said he has gone from 5+ to about 6b in about 2 of his 5 years I'm wondering whether he really wants to pit in the required work or whether he is putting in the hours in the wrong way.
climbing5yplan 17 Sep 2011
In reply to sam1971:

I was pretty surprised to see the activity on my blog explode yesterday, and even more surprised to see ukclimbing as the main refferer. How did you come across my blog?

Anyways, I think the 5 year plan part of my blog is the only insane bit really. It was meant partly as a joke (people do seem to react in interesting ways when they read it) and partly as a big hairy goal (it seems to be generally accepted that to achieve great things you need to im high) that would help me focus on what really mattered: Having more and more fun climbing by getting better and better (as you get better you can climb more exciting routes, right?).

The reality is that I have lost 25 kilos (a whopping 55 pounds) and that accounts for pretty much all of my improvements, as my elbow injuries (and other real life difficulties) have kept me from pushing too hard.

Now I have spent a month climbing cracks on my own gear in Squamish, Canada, and enjoyed the hell out of climbing low 5.10s. Best climbing of my life. It would obviously take a miracle or more for me to acheive my BHG for the five years, or even for this trip which is 5.12 (cracks me up a little just thinking about it).


All that aside, it was a lot of fun being mentioned here, and I enjoyed all the comments equally. Thanks for caring.

 sam1971 20 Sep 2011
In reply to climbing5yplan:

Good to hear from you, I happened across your blog a year or so ago when I started my more modest 7a project in the sector Pont sur l'infini. I was looking for general tips/comments on Ceuse.

Enjoy North America and keep blogging!!
 Dean177 20 Sep 2011
In reply to porridgefan:
I pretty much started afresh last October (Could do somewhere between 5+/6a) and have managed to RP 7b+, my goal to begin with was to do a 7a in my first year, but then i did it, so it became 7b, now i am aiming for 7c by the end of the year!
 mole2k 26 Sep 2011
In reply to Dean177:
> I pretty much started afresh last October (Could do somewhere between 5+/6a) and have managed to RP 7b+, my goal to begin with was to do a 7a in my first year, but then i did it, so it became 7b, now i am aiming for 7c by the end of the year!


That's been similar to my goals for my first year too! Started in January and could do 5+/6a, 9 months on and I've RP'd a 6c+ so it's looking hopeful for a 7a within the year!
 Dean177 26 Sep 2011
In reply to mole2k:
Awesome, good luck to you!
 Tom Last 26 Sep 2011
In reply to porridgefan:

Nice, a lot of positivity on this thread - keep it up boys and good luck!

Personally, I aim to have eaten 5:14 pasties by the close of 2011, not as easy as you might think
 franksnb 26 Sep 2011
In reply to porridgefan: inspiration by numbers? I wish it worked for me.
 J B Oughton 26 Sep 2011
In reply to Dean177: I'd always wanted to do a 7a whilst being 14, 7b at 15, 7c at 16 and then do Statement of Youth at 17 - the reason being to do it younger than Ben Moon was when he did the F.A.

Didn't manage to get 7a at 14, but I redpointed 7b a third of the way through being 15, and have now onsighted 7b+ so I'm hoping to get 7c before I turn 16, which is 6 months away! Shame is everything's all wet now so I'll just have to train like crazy indoors over the winter... Then 7c by the end of the year for me tooo!

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