UKC

A new thread is posted each week on Sunday for anyone to jot down their previous week's activity. UKC fit club is a rich community with posters sharing their goals, noting successes and failures and offering support to those struggling to maintain motivation. Anyone interested in starting is very welcome to join, but to get the most of UKC fit club you should aim to post each week, every week, however little or much you have done. By making such a regular public record of your activities and by restating your goals every week this new habit will hopefully improve your training habits and drive you towards achieving your goals whatever the level of your chosen activity.

Link to last week’s thread:

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/walls+training/fit_club_week_803-750562

A quiet week from most of us - everyone seems to be on their holidays!  Belting out heat at home as well.

AJM:  Useful tips came flooding in on Frankenjura child friendly cool spots, so hope that it works out well.  Excellent work with the 40 mile walks, though I would have thought that you could find a garage closer (😉).  Clearly my interpretation of your notes is generous here.  Good to keep the board / circuit going with clips as well – really hope that it delivers results on your trip as you have put quite a few sessions into this over the last few weeks.

Hope that the trip turns out well and that the mid-European heat doesn’t prove too much of a problem.

Alan:  Excellent work on the slow walking discipline and the effects are striking.  I’m not sure how much slower it actually is in practice, because I find I just keep going rather than stop for rests.

Good also that you are back on an autobelay despite the shoulder injury.  Hope that you can build something back up in preparation for Kalymnos!  I’m not a wall person, but nine routes to 6c would make me proud!

Very good also to see that you are chipping away at your ‘not a goal’ objective!  Before long, you will have put together all of the bits.

Ross BarkerI Great that the sport was enjoyable at least and now branching out into DWS.  Dinbren does look good, though not much to warm up on for me, but very close to the road really and some great looking lines.  I have ambitions to work the routes around Walking with Barrence at some point.

You are doing well on the Moonboard with new things going down most weeks.  You have reported your weight so it is up to me to comment – it’s going up.  Given that I’ve stripped weight (about 10 kg) and now struggle to get up to 65 kg most days, I am happy to suggest solutions.

Never tried DWS seriously, but it does sound fun.  Portland is a brilliant place in many respects so good effort getting there and having a go.  Quite like the running around the island thing though not sure about losing a shoe as motivation!  I’m also sure that some of the DWS will have been helping with bulletproof fingers, so I don’t think you have been slacking that much.

Ally:  Again. Impressive stats being maintained at a time of year when a lot of us are slacking off.  I guess that sort of dedication is reflected in the things that you actually climb, so useful insights for us all.  Anyway, of course it’s soft (the clarion call of the moonboarder), though given the work it has taken I somehow doubt it.

Fantastic to put together Persephone – all that time at the Gorge is clearly giving you dividends.  Nice work.  You must be quite close to having worked out the place, though it seems to have the sort of endless charm that some associate with the Snore.

Randy:  Take care with your exercise balance.  You did say that you felt that you were trying too hard alongside your wider life commitments and yet you are still not getting the sleep that you plan.  Good that you have backed off the intensity a bit to reflect your pressures though.  That said, you have kept something going throughout your trip, so some good maintenance going on.  It will be interesting to see how things go when you step back the level on return to Germany.

Thanks also for contributing so much good advice on destinations in Frankenjura. Very helpful.

Steve Claw:  Holidaying!  Excellent!  I’ve sort of missed out this season as we have elected to stay home and now I am in the thick of work!  I look forward to your usual ‘pull hard’ posts.  I have been trying to persuade people of this technique, but no bites yet!

Biscuit:  You have certainly put your theory to the test anyway with some pretty serious intensity for this time of year.  I reckon pulling is pretty easy to train and combine with some of the other work, so you should be able to close the gap quite quickly. 

Hood work in Northumberland.  It is great, but I haven’t been back often as it is quite a long way.  Tbh, I’d prefer to get on Lakes trad anyday.  Some of the grading has always been a bit off.  Good to see that your trad targets are coming into sharp focus now.  I look forward to seeing some going down and hope to get on some myself before I get swamped.

Tyler:  Holidays are clearly all about weight gain!  I’m at the same stage – definitely not doing enough to progress at the moment and may well be going backwards – a bit frustrating, but simply can’t fit everything in.  Desperately hoping that weather coincides with my days off through until Christmas, though what are the chances?  I am keen to apply Steve’s strategy of always taking the opportunity to pull really hard, but struggle to enthuse anyone else of the value at the moment!

SteveJC94:  Another one simply enjoying the sun and the sea.  Keep enjoying the trip and you can get back to your usual numbers on return.  An official rest week!

SSB:  Standard setting holiday levels of exercise again!  Good effort.  No mention of drinking, nightclubbing or any of that stuff.  I can see where I am going wrong.

Great to see a good mix of activity in amongst the family holiday.  Hope that you have had some reasonable conditions at Font – I had a brilliant Christmas trip there once (the year Ron did Master’s Edge) where the temperature was great and everything was dry.  My kids used to love the place when they were young – Elephant was always popular.

Tom Green:  Sounds like a lot of alpine starts without the benefit of some alpine scenery.  A pretty quiet week by your standards, but I’m sure you will be back to ticking off your goals soon enough.  I don’t know who gives out the end of year prizes, but I’m sure you’ll be due something!

Sheep:  Busy with water clearly!  Another week that has clocked up more than 10 km in the pool and plenty on the road as well.  I wish my busy week’s were as good!  You look like you are getting something done every day, which is a brilliant base to have.

Liam P:  I think the temperature has been a bit debilitating really.  I went out Thursday evening after working outside all day.  I felt distinctly flat and struggled with things that I would normally find easy, so just enjoyed being out and seeing the sun set.  It will come when conditions are in your favour.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Good evening all, hopefully now that's the last we see of >30⁰C weather for the rest of this year, my sweat glands have been working overtime!

Cheers! It's one of my main focuses with climbing at the moment as there's just not really anything I'm too psyched on that's also in condition! That said, I did revisit an problem I last tried a few years ago and managed all the moves today, so that's some local motivation sorted for a little while at least.

Ah, it's dropped back again this week! I think I must have just been eating poorly, I remember doing a bit more chocolate binging than usual. I'm a sugar fiend! I think I could probably shave off a couple % of body fat as I don't think I'm particularly shredded, but I also enjoy food. If it starts getting out of hand then I'll have to take action, but for now I'm happy living with the extra kilo or two. I used to be 70kg years pre-pandemic but I was a proper skinny lad, so my extra gain is mostly muscle I reckon.

Do it!

A pretty tame week from me. Been feeling the heat and not wanting to climb, so I've not been forcing it. Would've been nice to get a hangboard session in but no biggie.

Last Week:

M - Lurgy-like symptoms. Sore throat and a bit of fatigue, though the latter could be explained by lack of sleep and lots of time in the sun.

T - Rest.

W - Weigh-in at 77.6kg. Played my first ever round of non-mini golf in the evening, managed to get two holes on par somehow!

T, F, S - Rest.

S - Early AM Ippikins bouldering. Was working 7A (f7A) (more like 7B!) through the middle of the cave. Eventually sussed a sequence and did it in two halves.

Next Week:

M - Rest.

T - Moonboard.

W - Rest.

T - Ippikins session maybe?

F - Rest.

S, S - Hopefully getting out somewhere nice!

Goals:

Bulletproof fingers.

In reply to Derek Furze:

An odd week for me, trying to fit things in around work.  I have finished a 'job' that I took on for a friend, so only proper work to worry about now.

Went to Ravenstones on Tuesday which was a hoot.  Hot day, but a shady crag.  Went up on mountain bikes.  Crag was quite dirty, but some decent routes though generously starred.  Worth another visit.  Cycling down was brilliant 

Evening visit to Harpur Hill on Thursday.  Had worked outside all day so was strangely tired, but climbed until sunset anyway.  Nothing spectacular.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Thanks for all your stats work Derek. Font was HOT. We got into a routine of climbing early and being done by 10.30am to avoid the hottest part of the day. This worked out well we'd have been climbing for at least an hr before the girls and the kids were awake then spent most of the day all together. We also didn't try any individual hard stuff and stuck to milage circuits. 

Mon. Did the first half of the red circuit at Beauvais (20 problems). This was the one day we went out in the afternoon and it was noticeably harder!

Tues. Alpine start and did the orange mountain orange circuit at franchard cuisinere. This is the most fun you can have in the forest and I'd recommend it to anyone going to font whatever their climbing level. We were nackered afterwards but we did go fast. It's 6km of interlinked easy boulders. We did the whole thing in approach shoes and managed just over 3.5hrs. Highlight of the trip.

Wed. Rest, all the big muscles hurt but fingers and toes doing OK. 

Thurs. Finished the second half of the red TD+ circuit at Beauvais (another 20 problems). This is the hardest circuit I've done in the forest but this half felt easier than the first in the cooler temps although it was still over 30 degrees by 10am. Roche aux Sabots in the afternoon so the kids and girls could do the kids white circuit, I just spotted and acted as pad sherpa and problem finder. 

Fri. Finished the second half of the red TD- circuit at Franchard Isatis (another 31 problems) . This was great with a handful of scary highballs (solos really, you couldn't have fallen in the higher half of the problem). Canche aux merciers in the afternoon for more kids/girls climbing. 

Sat. Travel day, no exercise but needed a rest anyway. 

Sun. Still needed a rest, took the kids for a walk and some stream bed scrambling. Need to put mini swede in her wetsuit next time. It's impossible to keep a skinny 4yr old girl warm in water even if it is a 'heatwave'.

Pleased with lots of things this week. No font elbow despite a really high milage week. It didn't rain. Got lots done despite the heat. Worked well going with my climbing partners family. Kids really enjoyed the circuits. Girls really enjoyed the kids circuits too. Girls got lots of running and a cycle in too. Everyone happy. 

In reply to Derek Furze:

Will take a while based on this week's performance, see below

STG: Get my shoulders working again - looking promising
MTG: Autumn Kalymnos trip with my son, shoulders permitting
MTG: Winter 22/23 - do an actual off piste ski tour
LTG: Be a confident, well rounded low to mid 7's sport climber. For measurable definition see Fit Club 658

M:    Rest/coursework
T:     ditto
W:   ditto
T:    Bike one hour
F:    Wall, Weyarn. Another decent easing-my-shoulder-back-in session

S:  Another week, another non-ascent of the Musterstein. No weather excuses this time either - conditions and visibility were perfect. Not, it was just that continuous easy-but-chossy Do Not Fall scrambling, coupled with uncertainty about what was ahead because I forgot to print off the topo, proved too much for my soloing head.
    And if I find one kilometre of that sort of thing stressful, then that finally and definitvely rules out attempting thirty-some kilometres of it.
    One hour of scary scrambling aside though, the rest of the day - approach, descent, lunch at the hut - was delightful. And my "slow" pace is still an hour below DAV guidebook time on the way up to the hut, yay.
    
S: Bike 45 minutes to flush some blood through my weary legs.
 

In reply to Somerset swede basher:

I have memories long a go of doing an easy-ish circuit that started at the Gorges d'Apremont car park but led away from there up a hill into the forest, where the boulder gradually got bigger and bigger, culminating in one that no longer had anything to do with bouldering and was more like an E1 5a solo.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Nah, seriously it's about 7C or maybe 7C+.

There are a few link-up things left to do at the gorge, but it's very close to maturity now.

Good week of training, especially considering the added challenge of a heatwave, but sadly no opportunity to touch rock.

Week 32

M – Axle deadlift session before starting work. Thorough warm-up, then heavy singles. First attempt at 145.7kg was a failure but got it after getting psyched listening to cheesy 90s trance (or maybe just my morning coffee soaking in?) Added another 5kg and boshed that too. Another 5kg would have made it 2x bodyweight, but that wasn’t to be. 148.7kg (327lb) is 195% bodyweight and a PB by 7kg.

5x5 bench press 57kg. 

T – Warmed up and flashed Ross’ latest 2x 7As. “SOFT”  Then “20 in 20” aero-power (actually 23 in 23): 6C+’s again; 12 problems for variety. Dropped the last 2 reps. Getting fitter.

W – Rest. Feeling a bit beaten up last 2 days training combined with disturbed sleep with coughing daughter.

T – Warmed up on the board with a variety of 6B+/Cs. Was too warm to waste a flash go on the new 7A/+ benchmarks, so tried individual moves on harder problems.  8A benchmark KAWASHUWU remains brick hard, but started to get a feel for the first hard move and super bunched position to get the foot up afterwards. Moved on to Dank Energy (8A BM) and started landing the first hard move but not quite controlling the swing.  However, the finishing move still felt brick hard.

1-arm dead-hangs. Crimpd timings; -10kg as an extra warm-up, then -4kg x6 hangs on BM2K central slot. Felt fairly steady on LH but a 3x 9s hangs with RH.

Weights: 4x11 axle DL @~85kg. 4x12 bench press @45kg. More pumpy than powerful.

F – 32km flat ride before work to avoid excess heat.  Found some new quiet lanes, but startled a pair of grumpy dog walkers.

S – A couple of hours of pushchair walking through Dunham Massey and brief play with new Saxon bar. Managed a fairly decent lift of 75.7kg. >Bodyweight should go fairly easily, but not sure how much more I can add?

S – Similar session to Tuesday – greasy board warm up on a variety of 6B+ to 6C+s. Managed one “7B+” and was close on a couple of "7C"s I tried. Again, I tried individual moves on Dank Energy (8A BM) and had a brilliant session managing to do both of the big moves in isolation. Definite progress. Bar core A. 6x4 bench press @60kg.

In reply to AlanLittle:

Yes, sounds similar. We looked at the book beforehand and said 'I wonder why that one gets its own name and not just a number?' then we got there and went, 'oh, I see now!' 

In reply to Derek Furze:

Thanks for the stats Derek. Getting enough sleep was always a challenge for me in the last years. Just too much stuff going on in my life so i at least try to put more focus on it. Even it does not work out completely i have the feeling that every 15 minutes more average sleep helps. Apart from that, being aware of a deficit and adjusting load accordingly is something that i should do more often:

Recap last week:

Mon: Fingerboard repeaters at a 20mm edge, 6x 6x7,3 at 103 % bodyweight, weighted pullups +8kg with 3 min rest: 10,10,9; 

Tues: L-Sit 2x20s; handstand against the wall, 2x12 pike pushups,15 lunges, 3 pistol squats with each leg, 30 pushups and 45s V-Sit Up;

Wed: Fingerboard repeaters at a 20mm edge, 6x 6x7,3 at 103 % bodyweight, weighted pullups +8kg with 3 min rest: 10,10,9; 

Thurs: L-Sit 2x20s; handstand against the wall, 2x12 pike pushups,15 lunges, 3 pistol squats with each leg, 30 pushups and 45s V-Sit Up;

Fri: Rest (traveling back to munich)

Sat:  Bouldering Session in the Gym. As expected i was still tired from the long travel, and kept the session short and easy. Focusing on getting volume in the 6a to 6b+ range and trying to move well and efficient. Finished the session with 3x10 weighted Pullups + 8kg. Was slightly submaximal so maybe i could have done another set, but did not wanted to push it today. 

Sun: L-Sit 2x20s; handstand against the wall, 2x12 pike pushups,15 lunges, 3 pistol squats with each leg, 30 pushups and 45s V-Sit Up; felt fitter but still a little bit tired. Nevertheless, quite happy with the level that i have for core and antagonist strength. I am the level now where i can almost always do 2x20s L-Sit even when i not feeling at 100%, and my shoulder is also feeling much stronger during the handstands (just the balance is still lacking )

Review last weeks goals: 

• Get at least 7 hours sleep on average per night  - Check: Was around 7h Monday till Thursday, crappy 5-6h in the plane on friday, and then around 9h saturday and sunday
• Stay healthy - Check Probably getting more used to food and climate after i've spent almost two months in India already this year

Goals next week: 

• Get at least 7 hours sleep on average per night
• Keep the bouldering sessions around 7-8/10 effort level, so that i always leave something in the tank
• 4x10 weigthed pullups + 8kg with 3 min Rest

On the one hand, i have the feeling that pullups, core strength and shoulder strength in general is improving quiet a lot, despite non-optimal circumstance with all the travel. On the other hand, fingerstrength is more or less on the same level during the last 6 months. I probably need to accept that progress is not linear but sometimes happen in steps. Last year it was the other way around. Improved my fingerstrength a lot, but pretty much stagnated with my pulling strength. So in the long run it will probably even out, i just need be consistent and patient.

In reply to Derek Furze:

That was my main objective 

Been a different kind of week gone by, beginning of the week I took the kids up to Yorkshire to see their granny. We have not met up in over 2 years due to Covid, she only has half a lung on one side due to cancer so has been understandably cautious. Anyway we had a lovely 3 days. Did plenty of walking and even a bimble around the Eavestone boulder field so actually contributing some climbing this week 

Thursday was back to work so a 1km swim and 8.5k trail run in the evening.

Friday, 1k swim

Weekend was spent pottering round the house and delivering taxi services for the kids. 

In reply to Derek Furze:

Hi everyone -some good, inspiring reports! Thanks for continuing a good run of stats, Derek. You'll be ready for your break at the end of the month!

Week 32:

A week of highs and lows. Four fairly exhausting work days, but managed to fit in some good stuff too. Finished on a bit of a bad note, but hopefully just a blip...

M: Shoulder prehab.

T: Trail run and swim. 10.4km, 543m vert, 6:47/min. Very hot, so good swim in the sea to cool down.

W: Fingerboarding and upper body strength. Very hot, so another swim to cool down!

T: Shoulder prehab.

F: Trad at Cyrn Las. The Grooves (E1 5b) -amazing route, led pitch two and was super-chuffed to find it pretty cruisey (i would never have got up this a couple of years ago -used to be very antistyle). Warmed down on Main Wall (HS 4b) -lovely stuff!

S: Trad at Cloggy (STG tick!) Led The Corner (amazing route!) and followed up Great Wall (E4 6a) -what a mega piece of climbing -forces you to climb well! Delighted to get up the first pitch clean (although felt a million miles off leading it) and then heart-broken to fall off the one hard move on pitch two -just rushed it, got facing the wrong way and instead of reversing to a rest a starting the sequence again (which would have been easy to do) tried to improvise and slap for the jug -slightly took the shine off what was otherwise an amazing bit of climbing.

S: Bad day. Went in to Llech Ddu to do The Groove, but had some unexpected and belated PTSD nonsense and couldn't bring myself to climb. Basically had a weird mental breakdown halfway up the first pitch (someone had sent me a video of the aftermath of me breaking my leg and stupidly I'd watched it that morning before walking in). Felt awful, partly through guilt of sabotaging my partners day when the route was in rare good condition, partly through worry that this might happen again. The only consolation was I managed to keep it together enough to downclimb the pitch, taking the gear out, so the onsight is still there to be had. Shitty end to a good week, but hopefully just a temporary blip. 

Week 33:

Prehab at least five days -no excuses.

Two runs.

Two fingerboard sessions.

One day's climbing.

STG -end Sept:

Climb at four of my 'climb here more' crags (Ticked! 4/4).

Climb six of my local to-do list.

Allakazam.

Ultra distance run. 

Three of my big mountain day list.

Keep injury free (elbows, hips and knees). 

MTG -end Dec:

Two big alpine routes.

Weighted Pull-up: 100kg.

Max Hangs: 95kg.

Weighted hill climb: 2 laps of RT in 30 mins with 15kg.

2022 Climbing goals:

7a (Possibly one of: Arc en Ciel, The Jim Grin, Rock & Roll, Clink) -TICK!

ALL of my local must-do list: 4/15

Visit at least five of my 'why haven't I climbed here' list: 3/5

Get at least one session at each of my 'I should climb more at this crag' list: 4/8

Start properly getting to know: Brimham 2/3, Almscliff 2/3, Caley 0/3, Slipstones 2/3.

(For lists see FitClub 772)

At least two big, classic alpine goals.

In reply to Tom Green:

It is no consolation, but I have heard that The Groove can have this effect.  One of my partners (E5 climber) backed off it because they were spooked badly, but weren't sure why.  At least you had watched a horror movie first!

In reply to Derek Furze:

Thanks Derek. That is a bit of consolation! 

In reply to Tom Green:

Snap: I've backed off that pitch too!

I got spooked soloing up the grassy ledges to access the groove itself and then couldn't commit once tied in. I've not been back since.

In reply to Ally Smith:

Fourthed?

So is there anybody here who hasn't walked up to Llech Ddu and backed off that pitch?

In reply to Ally Smith:

I can see a Fit Club meet coming up here...

In reply to Derek Furze:

Bring on the next drought! The groove isn’t  going to know what’s hit it!

In reply to Derek Furze:

the week of the start of holiday - a few sessions at my parents house before we headed out and then a few days experimenting with climbing with the children in tow. The heat was surprisingly ok actually at the start - shirts and T-shirts fairly comfy all day in the shade - although today was a bit sweaty, possibly a bit warmer and possibly a bit more humid.

Monday - did the 7:3 @70% workout from crimpd, since I figured that might be about right for bodyweight hangs which was basically what I could do on the portable fingerboard. Went well, a few seconds shy on the 5th and 6th reps on the last two sets so a solid difficulty level.

Tuesday - rest

Wednesday - same 7:3 workout. Stopped a set early since I was basically the same few seconds shy on sets 4/5 as I was 5/6 last time and I thought better to stop than let things deteriorate. After work, drove to the tunnel and then onwards to near Liege

Thursday - a poor nights sleep - the hotel had been chosen on price and proximity to the route rather than comfort, noise proofing and quality - and a long drive, but we made it to our accommodation by about 4. Pretty bushed so a quiet evening and early to bed - managed a token 5 minutes or so of stretching but that was it.

Friday - a leisurely start and then Hartensteiner Wand. We went for short approach, kid friendly, easy routes since it’s the first time we have been entirely reliant on the kids behaving themselves independently whilst we climbed so we wanted to stack the deck in our favour. They behaved very well and we hoovered up a lot of the “red strawberry” (my guide uses red strawberries and paler orange strawberries in lieu of stars) routes in the 6a-6b+ range. Then went to stock up on bier and headed back.

Saturday - off to Castellwand. Similar sort of plan, albeit this time with added hammock. Did a few nice easier routes and got a bit spanked by a VII (6b, nominally?) which felt very hard indeed.

Sunday - rest, with Helen due to arrive that evening (and with her the time period in which it is probably easiest to get things done) it felt best to rest early rather than potentially lose a day when we had the extra person to make logistics easier. Late pickup, bed by midnight.

In reply to Tom Green:

Bring on the next big freeze! My aborted attempt was with axes and 'pons...

In reply to AlanLittle:

Me, although I would join any FC meet (summer only) to climb it as that’s as far as I got. I was very annoyed that my second said he was not going to follow the traverse after I’d lead the, supposed, two hardest pitches (although I have heard the easy pitches above are quite terrifying). I’d always had the Grest Arete on my list as well but I think that ship has sailed.

In reply to Tom Green:

Some 5 star belters there!

In reply to Derek Furze:

Pity you don't live closer I'm still without a regular partner.

M: Nothing

T: A truly dismal bouldering effort, nice to be out in the Pass with friends after work but I'm definitely going backwards. Fared worse on Cross Fader than I did earlier in the year and not just down to the heat.

W: Gwydir Fach MTB from home.

T: Went to clean up Crash Landing (E5 6b) as this is a route that's intrigued me since I started climbing ("first 6c in UK") and I thought it might make a headpoint project so I persuaded Mrs T to come for  'a little walk around Crafnant', once my intention became clear she returned to sit by the lake and I, stupidly, ploughed on. After about 50 mins of slipping between bracken covered boulders I still was not above the crag so decided to content myself with looking from below (there is a perfect clean rock terrace at the bottom). What. A. Route. I won't return unless someone else is keen but it is the most perfect looking pitch I've seen in the UK! Anyway, after the ankle snapping decent I got back to discover Mrs T had driven off and I had no signal. Fortunately she came back to rescue me before I'd walked too far.

F: Went to Colwyn Bay beach after work but didn't get in the water as it looked a bit grim! 

S: Did Thema (E1 5b) and Far From The Madding Throng (E2 5c), I lead a couple of E1 pitches without too much drama so that's something I guess.

S: Set out to recce Gwydir Mawr MTB. Was feeling surprisingly ok after an hour, despite the heat, and had done a lot of the uphill when my knee (which has been causing me some grief for a while) suddenly 'went'. Was much too painful to peddle on, even after resting a while, so free wheeled home and put up the finger board as my knee is now probably more knackered than my elbow!

In reply to Tyler:

Sounds intriguing, did you take any photos?

In reply to Steve Claw:

Unfortunately not, the thing is that although the crag itself is a complete backwater the boulders underneath are really popular so I wonder how many strong climbers have looked up and thought “I’ll come back with my gear one day”! 

In reply to Ally Smith:

Now you’re talking!

In reply to Derek Furze:

Thank you Derek,

Another quiet week on the climbing, mainly due to the heat.

On Monday met a friend at the shady Armistice wall at  Blaise Castle Gorge.  More of a social outing than anything as it was something like 30 degrees.  Had fun playing on Wave No White Flag (7c) and Remembrance (7b+), but no chance of serious repointing in those conditions.

In reply to AJM:

No worry happens to also to the locals, and yes VII should mean 6b, but sometimes it seems to translate to 2 move font 6b boulder problem . Out of curiosity, which route was it exactly?

In reply to Randy:

Rainy days (VII)

I think I sucked up a bunch of energy trying to climb quite directly up the front face of the pillar where there are some holds slightly to the right that are a bit better, and then there was a bit which probably would have been fine if I hadn’t done that faffing and had also just committed to it, but neither of those things occurred…..

In reply to Derek Furze:

Cheers Derek. Had family visiting this weekend but managed to squeeze in a few training sessions.

Tue

Fingers

• Max Hang 20mm4FD 5x 7s (25kg)

Thu

Leg Rehab & Pull Strength

• Single Leg Calf Raises 5x 20 (5kg)
• Leg Curls 3x 10 (5kg)
• Leg Extension 5x 15 (L 18kg R iso hold)
• Single Leg Leg Press 3x 10 (L 47kg)
• Hanging Leg Wipers 12/10/8
• Hanging Knee Raises 12/10/8
• Hanging Leg Raises 8/8/8
• Back Extensors 3x 12
• Weighted Pullups 1/4/5/7 @ 47kg/32kg/22kg/12kg. Did these on a bar (as opposed to hangboard jugs) and, interestingly, dropped a rep on each set? Might change up the set x reps to 5x5 as I’m still 10kg off my 175%BW goal.

Sat

Antags

• Press-ups. 10x 15

Got my biweekly trip out this weekend. Fingers crossed for cooler temps!

In reply to Derek Furze:

Thanks Derek. Yes quite a decent level of training but as I seem to have only been climbing once a week recently it doesn't feel too much.

M - Aero Cap - 5 repeats of 30 move slopey/pinchy circuit. Rest 2 x climb time.

5x5 pull ups OTM

Shoulder work (not rehab anymore)

Zercher squats @ 50kgs 3x10

30 min jog.

T - Chapel Head - absolutely boiling but we only had a half day and it could be used to sort beta on my partner's project. Moonchild a couple of times and then did all the moves on Gilbert Cardigan (7a+). That was enough in that heat. I'd be back for GC it was very good.

W - Boulder at BUK. Still V hot. Topped out at V5. Everything felt hard.

T - S - Away with my kids for a few days. Lovely.

The plan for this week was to go to Raven Crag Threshthwaite on Tuesday (thunderstorms scuppered that) and Kilnsey on Friday then Wiltons on Sunday. I'm currently isolating having finally caught COVID. I feel crap but nothing serious. Next week won't be a very exciting write up.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Been away a bit lately but should hopefully return to regular updates. Quick review of the last few weeks - 

Dolomites
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Great trip, not many climbers from the club went so turned out to be a bit more of a holiday (no bad thing). Still some highlights:

• Via Olga (V+) 3 pitch VS corner climb
• Vinatzer (V+) 11 pitches at around HVS on some fantastic 3D limestone. Horrendous descent though - glad I don't have to do it again!
• Diretta Dimai (VI+) 4 pitches at around E2 5c (possibly 6a) - had to French-free through the crux
• Trephor Slab (6c+) About the hardest sport climb I've ever attempted. Managed all moves but the last, which I blame on having comfy mountain trad shoes...

Overall I found the climbing harder than expected, and I'm nowhere near where I want to be to tackle Comici-Dimai (VII+) - but I think I know how to get there. Maybe an objective for next year or 2024, with the right partner.

Last week
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Saturday

• The Troach (E2 5b) Great to be back at Cloggy after I think about 7 years, and really pleased with this. Had originally intended to get on White Slab (E2 5c) but was occupied by some lads having a bit of an epic and decided we'd best leave them to it.
• Llithrig (E1 5c) Done in traditional fashion with the pendulum (more like a bit of a tension traverse) to get past a very thin 5c section. I still think the route's E1 even with the aid.

Sunday

• Black Spring (HVS 5a) Seconded Will and Andy. Some really nice pitches.

Next Week
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Revisit goals for the autumn