UKC

I have to say this is probably the best week to do fit club becasue so many people have done so much.

UKC Fit Club is not a substitute for the training diary but to use with ( or without ) it as a motivational tool for all.

For those wanting to find out more about training for climbing a number of physical training articles here:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=274502

A new thread is posted each week on Sunday for anyone to jot down their previous week's activity, noting goals, successes and failures and to swap ideas.

Anyone interested in starting is very welcome but 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 to help achieve your goals whatever the level of your chosen activity.

Link to last week's (287) thread:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=520136

Si dH - Well done on Robert Brown. Still not been to high tor. Did you get on lyme crime this week?
IainRUK - congrats on the race win
Grubes - Oi Fatty lose weight!!
Ali - Might not of trained but you got your passport sorted. Enjoy Rodellar, try not to burn AJM off too much
Joughton - Nice one on tippler direct I have looked at tippler normal a few times but I just can't stand stanage popular when its busy. Are you settling into college yet?
Eagle River - Congrats on Frankie You dicided on whats next? or gonna save yourself for chorro?
Kevster - What a great week in Lundy nice one!
Leon - Nice milage. It's always good to have a break from training and french wine is awesome!
Maria85 - Extending a draw is not cheating its redpoint tactics i.e. important part of climbing. Well done on the tick. Also well done on getting so much done while carrying sickness. Hope you feel better soon.
Jimmykay - Nice one on the 1-4-7 looks like your strengths not gone. Got any trips planned?
Daniel Heath - Sounds like another awesome weekend on the grit. Was great slab not a bit warm?
AJM - awesome fast Almost me tick and the E2. Must be time to invest some time into an 8a? Hope you have an amazing trip to Rodellar
Biscuit - well done on getting the wall done and nice milage. How was your trip with the beasts yesterday?
MrChewy - Hope the knees okay. Nice to see your daughter has caught the bug
Richard popp - Did you make it to the wall?
Nomics4sale - welcome back Good weekend in wales?
Oddtoast - Wellcome and well done on the 5+.
Ally smith - How are the diamond project going? Light at the end of the tunnel or future prospects?
NMN - The wall is not everyones cup of tea. Do not worry about not climbing too much if your not psyched for it you wont enjoy it. The so called summer is ending and the weather will be getting worse (if thats possible). Just do what you enjoy and comes naturally.
Steve John B - Welcome back. Too much drinking on a school night is bad (its fun though).
IanBell - Have fun in kalymnos
Pebbles - Run out slabs are fun aren't they
Hokkyokusei - Nice milage on the bike
SAnkey - Did you manage to get back climbing this week?
Pork pie girl - did you get back to malham? SS was soaking when I got there yesterday but was dry when I left. I posted a pick on the face book group.
Rollo - Welcome. Thats a long bike ride .. Nicely done
Mattrm - Nice one on the specific foot work session. Strength can only get you so far foot work will get you a lot further.
Quiddity - Well done on the long term tick. It is awesome when they go.

In reply to grubes:

Turkey in T-minus 4weeks. I will be climbing in the Antalya region this time 4 weeks today. I am so pyched.

Mixed week for me climbing wise. Hard week work-wise. 2 open evenings at school meant that Tues and Weds were 7:30am-10:30pm days. Still managed my monday night run and thursday night climb. Mon run was good. Definitely feeling improvements - shame I didn't have time to go for another this week (may go for one today). Climbing session on thursday night was v.good considering how tired I was. Literally felt as strong as I used to. Was getting close to 1-4-8. Up and down, Up and down, Up on the medium rungs - did this 3 times. Core felt very good climbing on the prow.

However I then went to Dinbre yesterday and had potentially one of my worst ever climbing sessions! Ha. Fortunately the weather was absolutely gorgeous and it was nice to be outside. Warmed up on some 6c. Then moved on to Elite - a project which I had fallen off the finishing jugs last year. And couldn't do any moves. Moved onto Extreme Ways, and couldn't do any moves. Then finally to When Saturday comes, couldn't do any moves at all. Finally jumped on a 7a+ which I managed to flash, but such a massive psyche busting day. Fortunately I know I have Turkey to look forward to.

M- Run 12K - 45min
T- Work
W- Work
T- Indoor bouldering. Dips, campus boards, leg raisers, lock-offs.
F- Nothing
S- Dinbren. Awful climbing, lovely picnic.
S- Potentially running later. Will re-post if I do.

In reply to JimmyKay:

Probably the rest of the week catching up with you i would think.

It's always good to have an absolute stinker now and then to slap you round the chops and make you get back to it.

In reply to grubes:

How was your trip with the beasts yesterday?

Totally knackering for all the wrong reasons. Never got to climb. We were all working together but it ended up being a 12 hr day and no-one could be arsed after 2 full Camino Del Rey trips in 40 degree heat.

Mrs Biscuit goes back to the UK for 2 1/2 weeks in a few hours so i am stuck with kids and no climbing until then. This was my main motivation in building the wall so i can get something done before Eagle River arrives to crush Hasta Luego Luca.

My wall seems to be doing the job. Been on it 4 times so far this week and progressed up to 2m30s reps with 5 min rest. I start off doing 1-4-7 and as i get more pumped i end up eventually dropping down to 1 rung at a time. I don't want to increase the time anymore so i will work on being able to pull off bigger moves all the way through and then drop the rest time. The pump is awful/awesome depending on which way you look at it i guess. I can get 4 sets done and a warm up in about half hour, it's real convenience training.

I am going to do another session tonight with a pinch training session too.

Just need to get some vertical wood strips up the side for pinch training. I had one session pinching a big block of wood with my old car battery on it. Surprised to find it weighs 18kg and it's chuffing hard to hold. Does the job though.

Ribs are still quite sore and stopping any thoughts on core or complexes.

This weeks targets:

Board session x5, maybe more if i am feeling good.

Run x7. 45 minutes min.

Get an average body fat % and reduce it by .5% ( no idea where i am up to on this )

Elbow prehab x 7 as they are feeling the effects of being on the campus rungs.

In reply to grubes: The fact that my climbing wall session was the highlight of my week really sums up how rubbish it was! Still feeling pretty tired every time I get home but I'm determined to get three sessions in next week.

Mon - nowt
Tue - nought
Wed - academy, practiced for the BLCCs by spending 40 mins on and off the 45deg circuit board, then onsights on qualifier level routes. Managed to onsight both of the new 7b+s - one very pumpy, on lots of slopers and tufa-pinches, felt hard but way within my limit. Next one was thinner, all very crimpy. Not as much my style so I only scraped up it but still pleased.
Thur - nothing
Fri - zilch
Sat - Luke decided it was a 'grit day' so we went to the Roaches. Warmed up leading The Mincer, a classically brutal HVS. Probably my first awkward offwidth experience. We were getting eaten alive my midges so we bailed all the way to Millstone. I don't what came over me but I decided I wanted to do London Wall (don't read this if you don't want beta Dan!). I fell off the initial crack which I had expected, then lowered and set off again. This time I made it all the way to about a meter from the top of the crag, where my foot slipped popping for the last finger pocket, my arms gave out and I took a massive whipper. My cam ripped so I fell about half the length of the crag - felt a bit shaken! Abbed for the gear, looking forward to coming back stronger though.
Sun - seem to have got a cold, aching all over - bad day.

So I took my first ever whipper which was pretty scary, really wasn't expecting it on a route that is meant to be so safe. Gutted to have fallen off where I did, after putting in all the effort to get there, but the last section is so much harder than I expected - there's no footholds! Even so it was a learning experience, and as my Dad said - what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

I've realised my quick rise through the trad grades from my first E2 this time last year was probably because my sport climbing level was so far ahead of my trad climbing level. I think now if I want to progress again, my sport climbing needs to improve again, so I think I'm going to hang up my rack for a while and go clip some bolts. Hopefully with some work I can get to 7c onsight, which will make the E5s feel a piece of piss!

Cheers, Jake

In reply to grubes:
Yup need to diet properly again.

STG (end of Nov):
7a in Chorro
Onsight 6c in or before Chorro - Tick!
MTG (end of 2012):
No major injuries
Do some DWS
LTG (June 2013):
7b
7A
E3/4

This Weeks Goals:
Malham to try seventh ardvark fail Rose coronary Tick Free and even easier. tick
Works session Tick
Foundry/Depot session? Tick
Rokt session? Tick
Maybe mid week outside? Weather fail
Work out chorro goals Tick/fail

M: Rest
T: Rest
W: Rokt 3 hours+ not feeling inspired got afew v5-v7s and some comp wall v4's
T: Rest
F: Works 3hours+. Hard session. Working through many problems between easy and at my limit.
S: Malham. Warmed up doggin my way up consenting reminding myself of the moves. Worked my way up Free and even easier with a clip stick working some moves. Dogged F&EE on top rope getting most of the moves but felling very hard. TR'ed F&EE again got the moves bot links felt pretty far off.
Next up I dogged my way up Rose coranary with the clip stick. I belayed a friend on the route and got her beta. TR'ed the route again and made a really good link from start to the move to the under cut but powering out being tired. I then did the from the undercut to the lower off. I had a long rest then tried the route again. I again linked from start to the crux but powered out. Feeling tired I stripped but I am just about ready to start red pointing the route.
I ended the day belaying my friend on frankenstien with loooked fun and doable. I think I will try that next once rose is ticked.
S: Depot 2 hours+. On my own so probably was climbing too fast. I was tired but entered the comp anyway. I was looking at the steep problems and walking away or leaving them until the end of the session. By focusing on the more technical session seemed to work as I ended up at 177 points my highest points total. I am happy with that espcially as I felt I dropped some points I shouldn't. I finished the session by a very tired blue circuit.

Next Weeks goals:
Wall session
Climbing outside.
Eat as good as possible while away with work

I am pretty happy with that week. F&EE was hard. It started feeling like the hardest thing I have every been on to feeling like it could be doable but definately felt at my limit. Rose coronary is very close going at it fresh I will get the tick. I just need a nice session when its dry.
I have also started to bring crimping back into my climbing after my finger injuries.
A good week even with nothing ticked.

In reply to grubes: Also I meant to say I picked up a 5.10 knee pad, which is available for loan (eagle river/biscuit?) as I will not need it until november in chorro.

There are currently a couple of knee bars at rokt I will test it on this week.

In reply to Joughton:
great effort on London wall. From what I heard its a sprint finish up there and the crux is pretty much the last move. I was at millstone the same day as what seemed to be a wild country meet. I saw Tom randall piss it. I then saw richie and several other people doing it as a clip up dog the f*ck out of it taking big falls on the sprint finish upper crack.

Don't take it too hard.

In reply to JimmyKay:
Dont worry about dibren you had a hard week.

Just look forward to antalya

In reply to grubes: Cheers Grubes - will that new knee pad hold my knee together perchance?

Knee was bone sore on Monday, so it was time for a rest. The arthritis just needs days off, I managed the ultra fine doing that and even doing small runs like the last eight days is too much if it's every day.

M - Rest
T - Rest
W - Rest. Actually went at bed at 7.30pm and woke at 6am, most unlike me. Just felt a little burnt out to be honest.
T - Climbing wall. A good night really. Tried a few V3 probs and could see all the moves, even if I couldn't quite do them. Then toproping with a mate who's not been in a while. At the end of the eveninh, I did a F4 five times straight off without rest and jumped on the 6a+ for the sixth climb - got to 6m before I fell. Rested for 10 min and then did a 6a second go. This is a big improvement, not so much in the grade but how I climbed it.
F,S,S - Only the fourth wkd at home this year so time to catch up with jobs and mates. Rest, beer and food.

Weighed 80kg this week, so pretty happy with that considering. Knee feels better for the rest, so will push the training again this week.

Quite envious of everyone's coming trips abroad!

In reply to grubes and biscuit:

Cheers guys. Last couple of weeks I've been feeling a little disillusioned with climbing and whether it's been too high a priority in my life for the last few years. I think this is mainly due to starting the new job and will pass eventually. I'm enjoying a return to running though. I think the balance I've stuck at the moment is better.

In reply to grubes: Back to normal this week with a mix of climbing a run and a bike ride:

M:
T:
W: Matrix Probs to 6b
T: Run 4.6 miles
F:
S: Bike 36 miles 3700 feet
S: Foundry Level 1 circuit


STG: Get back into bouldering, trips to wall and outdoor circuits
...doing, ish subject to interuptions

MTG: Walnut Traverse at Birchen / Crucifix traverse at Almscliff
2 problems I couldn't quite do last winter, so good benchmarks
LTG: Font 7a - want to get on some traverses at this grade at Churnet

(VLTG: 7a Sport - can't see a route to this yet, managing 6b ish o/s but only after a fair few days on to get head back, e.g. end of a sport climbing holiday. Not climbing on a rope often enough due to partners/vague lack of quality/inspiration at these grades in UK,and would also need to find and commit to some red-point projects)

In reply to grubes:

Thanks grubes.
It hasn't been deliberate, I keep hoping I'll get more time to maintain the running but add some climbing and it never happens.
See what next year brings.

STG: Snowdon Race - beat last years time. - Fail
Cuillin Ridge Traverse - 2 day attempt. - Tick
Just to get out climbing again (struggle to run and climb, running has won for the last 2 years or so).
Ben Nevis Race - beat last years time. - Tick

MTG:
Sub 40 min 10km
Get back to regularly onsighting VS / HS.

LTG: Push trad grade.
(High Peak Marathon?)

M - 3.48m treadmill, 1.6%.
T - 4.00m road run, 41ft.
W - 8.71m trail run, 911ft.
T - rest.
F - 7.53m trail run, 589ft.
S - 7.23m trail/road run, 315ft.
S - 6.12m trail run, 681ft.

In reply to grubes:
STG: More than 50 problems in a session. (tick)
MTG: 70(too much??) problems in one session.
LTG(2012): 1*V8, 2*V7, 4*V6(2), 8*V5(5). Something on the main cliff @ Gogarth(tick). Lead a 6c
VLTG(2015?): Classic e5 (Positron?, Right Wall?)

Falls: 0(94)
Fat %: 11.5
Focus: Endurance 3/4

Mon: Weights. Core
Tue: ARC. Technique.
Wed: Guests around.
Thu: Guests around.
Fri: Volume @ The Works (55 problems mainly V3).
Sat: Guests around.
Sun: ARC. 4x4(all v3). Repeaters

Really pleased with the training this week, though dropped a couple of sessions due to having people over.

Excellent session on Friday, similar volume to last week but did this week in 2 hours (3 hours last week) and kept to a minimum of V3 going to V5 (last week 4 problems dropped to V2).

I was poor on the 4x4 today. PE was also poor in my repeaters set, compared to strength which seemed to be close to peak.

All in I think I'm OK on LE, strength and seem to be back on the ball with technique (partly due to more sleep I think). Power endurance and general upper body strength are in a dip.

Next week I guess I need to try and do 70 problems in a session. Wouldn't mind getting out on some real rock too!!!

In reply to grubes: Thanks grubes, and also for clarifying extending draws! I do feel a little silly 'redpointing' a 6a+ though...!

This week's goals were:
- Keep sleeping lots!! Can't believe how tired I am. Weird. -DONE!
- Run (/walk the hills!) the Mont Blanc Cross course - 23km roughly -DONE
- 3x leg strength again -FAIL
- Climbing wise goals are open, boyf has a mate visiting all week so I'll see what they're planning and if I want to go along or not. -Gone climbing! Also had some much needed me-time while they've been in the hills, and run lots. Good balance.

M: Slept all morning, went for a quick afternoon cragging session at Barberine, led a 5c and a 4+ (granite friction slab so the 5+ is good going for me!), seconded a 6a and 5c.
T: 6 pitch climb with an hours walk in/out. Led 6a, 6a+ pitches. Nice climb, enjoyed climbing as a 3 for once (more photo taking and someone to talk to on the belays!)
W: 4.2km run, 21mins.
T: run, cut my usual 10km circuit short a little to avoid the hill, feeling rubbish - really tired and kind of dizzy. Still did 9.5km, 95m height gain. 56 mins. Think the rubbish feeling was a bit of sickness still continuing, combined with a bad night's sleep and heat.
F: psyched myself up for 'the' long run! Ended up being 26.5 km, 645m height gain. 4hrs 7mins. I walked the steeper uphills, ran the low angle ones plus the flat and down. Happy! However, on the final descent down to Chamonix, my knee started hurting pretty badly (even with poles), not sure what's going on with it but it's not very happy... Accept I may have pushed it a bit for the knee, but physically felt pretty good. Could definitely get into this longer distance running malarky, really enjoyed pushing myself. Need to work on nutrition before/during - felt fine at the time but about an hour after getting back I realised I hadn't eaten enough and crashed a little.
S: Rest. Short walk while the guys were bouldering, knee sore.
S: Climbing at Cheserys, so an hour uphill walk in. Led 2 pitches of 5c, seconded some more. Knee felt sore but manageable on the walk out (with poles). It managed to collapse on me walking up the stairs tonight though, ouch.

This week's goals - going to be a low-key week with the knee and moving back to the UK next weekend.
- Rest knee! Maybe do a short run towards the end of the week IF it's feeling better. Stretch lots. It's going to be at least 2 weeks til I can make it to a decent physio so am crossing fingers it sorts itself out and saves me the money...
- Get out cragging another couple of times before leaving Cham. No real objectives though. Would like to lead a 6b clean but I'm struggling to find any that play to my strengths and are dry.

In reply to grubes: thanks grubes.

weight 182lb end aug – target 168lb by mid-december

M - rest
T - swimming lesson - first one in 25+ years. trying to learn front crawl. hard work but quite good fun and a friendly bunch.
W - rest - lazy
T - 15 mins on new turbo - I'm desperate not to injure myself yet again so building up very slowly
F - 50 min run
S - rest
S - 40 min run, 20 mins on turbo. need a fan!

In reply to grubes: Cheers Grubes, that's good to hear. And 'sprint finish' really is the word, I just wish I'd sprinted a little faster!

If anyone is interested, once again my blog has a more detailed description of the days events, with a more personal account of my thoughts during the fall - http://jakeoughtonclimbing.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/taking-risks.html

In reply to grubes:
Cheers Grubes. Prior arrangements meant no climbing for me outside this week, I have the next two days off and was supposed to be at malham but weather is playing havoc with that...will probably end up at the wall.
On my phone here (visiting rellies tonight) so havent pasted my goals.

M: routes at alter rock. Good session - onsighted about 6 routes 6b-6c+, then tried a 7b a few times, almost got it. Got quite beasted.
T: bouldering at the Climbing Station. Good session, mostly mileage on the v3-4 and v4-5 grade circuits, did 10-15 of each. Also did a couple from the v5-7 set. Found the circuit training board right at the end and did a 6b+ to warm down.
W: rest
T: alter rock. Really good session, spent about 90 mins bouldering, did most of the new problems, up to v4/5 or so. Then about an hour on routes, did the 7b from monday night, onsighted a 6c+ and did something else.
F: rest, wedding reception, over-indulgence
S: diy followed by evening out and more over indulgence
S: 7.5 mile walk in the peak with ruth, otherwise rest.

Really pleased with the training up to thursdqy this week, less pleased with the food intake and.weather forecasts since. Just hope I get something in over the next two days. Therell be nothing next week as im in helsinki for a long weekend visiting friends.

Si

In reply to Si dH: Pure running now..working in US 2 consecutive 90 mile weeks and feeling it..

m: 12.5 mile road run @ 6:42 pace
t: am: 4 mile road run. pm: 8 miles with 4 x 1 mile reps
w: am: 4 mile trail run. pm: 12.5 mile road run @ 6:30 pace
t: am: 4 mile trail run. pm: 8 mile road run with 2x2 k reps
f: 8 mile steady trail run
s: 16.1 mile road run @ 6:45 pace.. then baseball game then beers...
s: 10.1 mile steady pace.. hungover.. in US open bar and Brits don't mix.. $30 for 2 hrs drink as much as you can.. went down fighting.. tbf the yanks did well too..

In reply to JimmyKay:

Keep the faith Jimmy! More time on rock will help you translate that indoor beast strength better to real holds I reckon - there's always a transference period, and I guess your outdoor volume hasn't been what it was...?

In reply to Joughton:

You've flown up through the trad grades by virtue of being over strong from the sport, now you're finding the trad hard, so you want to get more over strong to progress further...

It felt to me when I read your post like the root cause probably isn't strength/fitness (there are, after all, knarly old men out there who onsight about the same on trad and sport, so you certainly don't need an onsight grade of 7c to climb what are probably 6c-7a+ routes placing wires, you only "need" to be rock solid on like 7a+ especially on vert techy ground climbing slowly and deliberately and have stamina/tactics to tire yourself out as little as possible getting the gear in). Maybe by avoiding the root cause and simply getting fitter you will just find yourself with the same issue in 6 months time but on slightly harder routes? Perhaps trying to work through the "transference" of your sport fitness onto trad might pay dividends in the long run?

Anyway, it was just a thought, and I'm in no position to comment really, I'm still finding my way back into trad after a year or more of mainly sport climbing and so am probably still in the stage where I'm over reliant on being over fit myself.....

In reply to AJM:

+1 i have to say Jake.

I thought this when i read it but never got round to typing an answer. It sounds like a period of consolidation is required rather than rushing on.

Having said all that this is the first time you've taken a whipper and it's on an E5. My first was on an E1. You're doing amazingly well and i think this is your first real set back, that i know of anyway. How you handle these set backs is the key to your long term improvement. You didn't get up one route, that's all ( though i know it doesn't always feel like that i know). Take a few days to take stock before making decisions as to where to go from here.

In reply to leon: What time were you at the works on friday? I was there from 7ish till 10. May of seen you

In reply to biscuit:
Jake
What AJM and Biscuit said. My first whipper was my very first trad lead (a S/HS) missing the deck by a few inches. To get to E5 before your first proper fall is pretty impressive.

In reply to biscuit:

Thanks,

Seems like from last weeks highs, this week has some lows.

My week was poor really, indoors just isn't doing it.
My 2 day weekend was cancelled and the day trip fell through. No outdoors this weekend.

Tues: Indoors leading - no psyche, did a couple of 7's but felt weak and didn't climb smoothly or efficienty.
Thurs: Indoors bouldering - I know I am weak in the arms, but come on! Low psyche again.
Sat: Went to the wall, couldn't be bothered to put my shoes on at all. So went for a run instead, the calves still hurt this morning! But good to do some CV stuff.

Next week: Gogarth hopefully at the weekend. After this I plan on getting back on the sport climbs. 7c soon, harder after.

Thanks, hope you all had a better week than I.
Maybe its just Lundy that is taking ages to get over..... Gotta blame something.

In reply to biscuit and AJM:
To be honest I would go with what Joughton was planning to do. If he gets that bit fitter he may well find himself in the same situation a grade up 6-12 months down the line, but if so, hasnt he achieved his goal? Personally I think from what ive read of his posts his onsighting ability especially is amazing. I think doing more trad mileage might help, but there is also the danger of bogging down and plateauing without the continual fitness benefit you get from pushing yourself on sport. I did this for about 4 years! In addition there is also a huge amount he could achieve on bolts in the near term if he is almost onsighting 7c - well into the low/mid 8s anyone?

Just my two penneth. Wish id got to e5 before my fitness became a problem...

In reply to grubes:

M- Bouldering- testing the shoulder recover, up to V3
T- 50k bike
W- Away on business
T- Away on business
F- Away on business
S- Swanage. Perfect day, Lead VS-Tensor II, Bat Crack; 2nd VS-Mistaken Identity, HVS-Strapiombo
S- Roaches, Lead 2nd pitch of VS-Valkyrie, 2nded The Sloth. Both Awesome climbs.

Good week for me, back climbing after injury and the HVS lead doesn't feel as far away as I though it would. Managed to avoid the weather until the last climb at the Roaches where I fell off a trad lead for the first time! It was raining....

In reply to Si dH:

I wasn't meaning to take his foot off the gas. Climbing harder and harder at sport is never going to do his trad any harm is it ? Just maybe to think about what is making him fail on routes. Is it fitness or tactics etc. that comes with mileage.

Anyway i am sure he will be carrying onwards and upwards without taking advice from people operating well below his level :0)

In reply to grubes:

Thanks grubes. Wales was good, cheers.

STG: 7a at a wall, V5, train for Spain, onsight E1
MTG: RP 7a in a day, onsight 6c/+ in Spain

Mon: nowt
Tues: Kendal wall, onsight up to 6c+ (very soft!), RP 6c (hard!), fail on 7a (about right).
Wed: 6 mile run Forest of Bowland, 300m ascent.
Thurs: Kendal again, onsight 6c x 2, RP the 7a from Tues.
Fri: 7.2 mile run Forest of Bowland, 320m ascent
Sat: repeat easy routes at Castell Helen (Lighthouse Arete and Rap) then onsight Bruvvers HVS 5a at Holyhead Mountain.
Sun: 13.5 mile run/scramble up Snowdon from Llyn Gwyant via Crib Goch. 1,510m ascent

Thought I'd take it easy trad climbing on Saturday as I've not been out for 5/6 weeks. Surprisingly though Bruvers felt straightforward. I had a look at North West Passage at Castell Helen and Breaking the Barrier at Holyhead but wimped out of them both. Probably should have had a go.

Indoor climbing is going ok, need to keep at it as I have booked (another!) coaching holiday with Nik J, leaving 13 October. Should be good but I need to get fit.

Run/scramble combo yesterday was good, probably the most ascent I've done in a day .

In reply to Rollo:
I lead both The sloth and valkyrie in a day and I found the second pitch of valkyrie the hardest pitch of climbing all day. Nice lead.

There are a lot softer HVS's about than valkyrie Congrats on your lead.

In reply to grubes:
Anyone around for yorkshire sport saturday?
I would like to get to malham or trollers really to try and get a 7a tick before I head off with work and eat curry for 5 days straight.

In reply to grubes:

Thanks for doing fitclub. I'm going to try another foot focused bouldering session this week as well.

Continuous - Shoulder / knee rehab / ankle strengthening
1 - Lose 1/2 stone (no progress)
2 - Improve finger strength (need to make/buy a fingerboard...)
3 - Improve footwork (nothing this week)
STG - Consolidate VS (2nds DONE | 7/10 leads), 12st 2lbs, 6a onsight.
MTG - Lead HVS, 12st
LTG - Lead E1, 11st 12lbs
VLTG - Lead E2, maintain weight - 11st 10lbs
Aspirational - Climb E5/6, Scottish Winter VI, WI5, Redpoint 8a, stay injury free & maintain 11st 7lbs

Weight - 12st 2lbs - haven't weighed myself, so don't know

M - Exercise and stretches
T - Rest
W - 2 hours @ wall
T - 10k run
F - Rest
S - DIY
S - DIY

Good climbing session at the wall, bagged 3 6as and dogged up a 6b. Really need to start hitting the 6bs now when I'm doing a 'hard' session and getting into lots of 6as when I'm doing a 'milage' session. Guess I ought to look into pyramids? Otherwise I've been doing lots of DIY this week (again) but we're making steady progress at the moment, so I'm happy to keep on going. Also I do actually quite enjoy it. Going to try and get out to the gym/wall lots this week. No idea about the weight, probably no change. Hopefully not put anything on.

In reply to grubes: weekend a bit of a let down, did nothing much, but felt I'd made progress at the wall this week. Got all the way up a 6b route on the autobelay I'v always failed on before, main difference being just going for the moves which I'v looked at before and decided in advance I couldnt do. And the thing was, when I just went for them anyway I found myself at the top. Tried another route, managed the crux move above gear but then couldnt figure out how to clip, downclimbed a little bit before lobbing. It would have been better to just lob really, but lobbing off at any point without getting stressed is a plus for me. Did the move again, clipped and completed although arms felt ready to drop off and wasnt sure I could hold on - definately getting a bit more relaxed about falling. And happily took a big jump off the top of another route so my belayer could try holding a fall under supervision.

In reply to pebbles:

Falling on a belayer who isn't tried and tested can at times be stressfull.
Commitment is a hard thing to pull on a route too.
Psychological advancement maybe?

Hi all, thanks Grubes, tough tough week fostering and working on complex piece of work, these three have been coming to us for two years now and the last two and half weeks have been the toughest yet, felt very drained at times-still back to our nice adult life.
Managed to continue to hit the fingerboard much harder than I ever have done and feel stronger, got to TCA and was pleasantly surprised by my performance on the cirsuit boards if not the problems.

M-Stretching and fingerboard
T-Swiming 1/2 mile as fast as poss
W-Stretching and fingerboard
T-TCA-flashed all the F5-5+ problems, flashed the 6b circuit (big, 40 moves) almost flashed the 6c+ circuit (?! must be a bit soft)then did in two halves.
F-Swimming-some mechanical glitch meant the pool was 34 degrees, very pleasant for a few lenghs but ended up just bobbing around half asleep.
S-Not much
S-Stretching and fingerboard

This week-would be great to get out on rock, this is completely dependent on weather-aim for three sessions on circuit board in prep for Kalymnos.

STG (April)-repeat/red-point 6c (tick) lead HVS
MTG (October) red-point 7a, lead E2 (would love to do Ahimsa but not sure how realistic that is)

7A 0/1, 6c+ 0/2, 6c 4/4, 6b+ 7/8
E3 0/1, E2 0/2, E1 0/4, HVS 0/8

Rich

LTG (April 2013) On-sight 7a, lead E4(????!!!!)

Mixed bag this week. Ticked a STG, but got shut down trying a different style at a crag I’d not visited for a while.

MTG (Spring 2013) - Melanchollie at LPT

STG (end Oct 2012)
- Get over re-current A2 injury in right index finger - getting there; adapting to open handing stuff isn't as easy as you think when you're an inveterate crimper!
- Supercool (Gordale)
- Dumpster divers (Diamond) - TICK! 3rd Ascent I'm told.
- Training link: Melancopout (LPT)

Also: Get bolts in Diamond and Orme projects

M (17th Sept) – Gym session: 7:27 2k row, felt hard. 3x circuit, B-curl, reverse flies, press, etc. 8x DL @ 57kg x2.
T – 45min Aero-cap at Racecourse wall. Concentrating on open handing to avoid previous finger soreness.
W – Mad-dash Diamond trip after work. Warm-up dog, then 3 quick RPs. First time I landed the dyno from the floor I got to the top. Chuffed. Quick go on the Sting at dusk. Flash go ended by last bolt with elbows out and nothing left in the tank. Shite forecast this week may spell the end of the Diamond season?
T – Awful Walls. 1st time indoor for 6mths (!!). Warm-up boulder; feel very slow and static on indoor problems, though speeding up by end of session. An-cap: foot-on campusing x6 with 2min rest. Should make a facility at home for this kind of training? Good banter.
F – Sore back this morning. SI joint needs manipulating.
S – Raven Tor; got up late and hence got completely shut down trying to OS Indecent. No chalk and glaring sun meant I couldn’t see what to do and sacked it off quick. Got gripped by exposure and fractured nature of rock on top pitch of Prow instead; poor RP attempt ended at groove, exactly the same place i failed 4 years ago when trying it last. not good for motivation when i consider amount of training that i've done since then!
S - Gym session: 7:19 2k row – obviously improving here! 3x circuit, B-curl, reverse flies, press, etc. Then stretching in hot sauna and got back to “pop” back into place. No need to physio this week.

Not sure if ropey RP performance was bad tactics (mid-day heat), poor head (letting exposure get to me), missing a hold, or a pure fitness thing (change of style from Diamond PE to long stamina). Mix of an-cap and Aero-cap at the wall this week.

Looking back at the list for the week, I hadn’t realised how many sessions I’d put in back-2-back and this may have contributed to Saturdays poor performance (7days straight inc last weekend; though a mix of non-climbing and easier sessions). See this as an advantage of UKCFC to keep tabs on stuff.

Hopefully this will result in a nice little bounce back and peak before going away to Oz?

In reply to Kevster: yeah definately. I'm sure commitment/falling is my big issue, so I reckon if I can crack that I can climb way harder.

In reply to grubes:

hiya all,

yeah, got back to malham on wed, fri and sat.

RP'd SS on wed as it was dry.. what a relief


started working 7th aardvark...got all the moves done straight away on TR and did laps on it, just coming off at the spike though but reckon a RP attempt would give me enough of a kick up the pants to try and climb through as i find the actual moves from the spike ok

TP'd raindogs on friday a couple of times (but first ten feet was too wet, could do most of the moves apart from the section where there's a pocket that feels like it'll just break my finger if i try to pull, when i sayi can do the moves i have to rest every 2-3 feet, the foot holds feel very polished too but getting on it really helped me climb 7th aardvark better because it's a trillion times easier!! 7th also felt a lot easier than SS...it's clear that my power endurance continues to be an issue.. top tips from you guys would be good

last week my training went like this:

m cardio , weights, core
t cardio and core
w cardio and malham
t cardio, weights, core
f cardio and malham
s cardio and malham
s wrecked

this week... start indoor training and the usual gym workouts.. hope to get on 7th at malham because another 7b RP would be great

In reply to pork pie girl:

anyone know what craig y longridge is like for bouldering in this rubbish weather or just after it's rained? are the routes in the lancs rock guide? (i have the guide but not with me)

would be happy to meet up with folk to do some training there

In reply to pebbles:
Have you tried missing the top belay/chain when indoors and taking the fall EVERY route? At least where the fall out is cleanish - no point breaking yourself indoors. I find it helps keep falling ticking over.

Ally 8a+ tick, good effort.

In reply to Si dH:

It will almost certainly help him improve, but it's not the biggest weakness and so logically not the place where most improvements will be seen, if you see what I mean. The old idea of the steep section of the curve at the start and then it flattening out later on and requiring more effort in order to see the same results.....

It will help achieve a short term goal but is it the best route to long term improvement - sure if you push to 7c onsight E5 will feel easier than if you onsight 7b+, but you rapidly get to the point where you'll need to expend so much time training to push that onsight sport grade that you will hit diminishing returns - if you're onsighting E5/7c, is it going to be easier to move to E6 onsighting by improving onsighting to 8a or becoming a more efficient trad climber and using that sport fitness to its fuller advantage...?

I didn't think you had ever been in Jakes position had you? You obviously plateaued on trad for a while but for you you probably weren't several sport grades over fit at the time, you were probably reasonably well balanced in that respect which is why sport fitness improvements fed easily and directly through to your trad? That's certainly my impression, that you've been reasonably good at applying sport fitness on trad and therefore that trad skill improvement hasn't been your limiting factor...

In reply to pork pie girl:

Well done with SS. Looks like it was a good day for ticking projects!

The crux on 7th Aardvark is probably harder than anything on Raindogs and suggests you have sufficient strength for Raindogs, but may need to sort out your power/endurance. However, linking short sections on Raindogs should be a great confidence booster.

Personally i went from short links to long links to redpointing in half a dozen sessions, with a lot of improvement coming from "clean" technique on the polished holds.

In reply to ally smith:

it would take me half a dozen years to RP rain dogs!! (if at all.. i'll dream on)

10 more 7a (5/14)
2x7a+ (1/2)
1x7b

Hi all

Unwanted ability to post for me this week, should have been in Kalymnos but was too sick to fly on Thurs ;-( however good news is will at least be able to fly out tomorrow so will get 5 days potential climbing in. Not as good as 10 days potential climbing but a lot better than zero days which is what I thought I might have at one point!

In reply to pork pie girl:
Maybe cut down your work load?

You trained every day so chances of being fresh for something that feels hard is going to be low. Maybe ditch a cardio session if you are climbing?

In reply to pork pie girl:

Craig y longridge stays dry in the rain but like all good steep places to climb it tends to seep after prolonged rain. It dries out much quicker than places like malham though and there are regulars who will reply to a question on the ukb conditions thread ( http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,7263.625.html )

In reply to grubes:

Thanks Luke.

Goals:

STG - Hasta Luego Luca @ Loja (so by mid october) and Truth Drug @ Kilnsey (hopefully next time I climb there which is completely weather dependent)

MTG - Again completely weather dependent but I'd like a 7c by the end of March 2013.

Mon: routes indoors - the two 7b+s I have left at the wall I've been going to recently both have distinct cruxes I can't get past yet and one has what feels like an impossible clip (can't clip off the minging sloper next to the clip but once off that hold you're into a sequence where you can't stop until level with the next clip). That sounds like a poor excuse but I guess the solution is just to skip that clip (you're far enough from the ground to be safe). Ticked off a new 7b and fell off a different 7b repeatedly.

Thurs: Routes again, no progress on the 7b+ with the awkward clip but ticked off the other 7b.

No climbing this weekend as I turned 30 (shit) and my wife surprised me with a weekend in Berlin with some friends (definitely not shit).

I'm being hesitant and a bit generous with the time-element of my goals as the weather has been such a huge piss-take this summer that i can't rely on getting consistent time on rock. I also can't think of a 7c at Malham that'd be dry (really don't fancy chiselling the dragon) and it might be too cold for Kilnsey soon (where I'd like to try Metal Guru). Just going to have to play it by ear with my eye on the conditions thread.

In reply to grubes: Thanks for the encouragement!

In reply to pork pie girl:

I tried emailing you some PE tips, but got an out of office reply. Msg me and i'll send you the word doc i have.

In reply to grubes:
Didn't do owt in the week, oops, but spent weekend in the peak district. Saturday a trad intro course at Stanage building belays (something I really struggle with) and a bit of top roping in unexpected midge hell.

Sunday went to Birchen for first time, nice spot and did a couple of routes. Was nice to lead a vdiff onsight for first time, and got the awkward starting moves on blind eye on second attempt after a swingy fall (seconding) which was well chuffed at. Then got rained off which was a pity. Not much volume over the weekend but nice to be out and getting more practice with trad gear. Am lucky to have patient folks to climb with and lend me stuff- thanks guys!

Aims for next week - 2 indoor sessions and a bike ride. Hope this godawful rain stops...

In reply to Ian Bell:

AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH !

That would be my worst nightmare. I feel for you.

I hope you manage to get out there and get ticking.

In reply to grubes:
you probably did then. i was there 6 til 8. i think i was wearing a red bmc top. on my own (no mates).

In reply to Nomics4sale:

I thought the same when I lead Bruvers. Then seconded someone up it & was glad I wasn't leading it!

You should do both North West Passage & Breaking the Barrier next time you are at gogarth. Both fantastic routes on good holds.

In reply to grubes: cardio's a good warm up mate.. honestly felt fresh on wednesday for my RP of SS at malham

In reply to Si dH:

Why do you say that? Your fitness seems pretty good to me. You on-sighted Foil (without knowing exactly where the 6a move was!!!) & from what I've read of people comparing Foil & Right Wall the fitness required is the same, you just need a much better lead head for Right Wall. Although I've not done either

In reply to AJM, biscuit and Si: Cheers for all the advice guys, I should probably clarify what I meant -

About half a year ago I was onsighting 7b pretty solidly, and I think I'd done maybe one or two E3s. Obviously the reason I wasn't really climbing hard enough on trad was due to a lack of experience, whether that was through rubbish tactics or just not being good at placing or judging gear, so to get better I climbed a lot of trad. If you look over my logbook from after Easter to now, probably 80+% of my climbing has been on gear, and as a result my trad climbing caught up to my sport climbing level, to where I am now. I genuinely believe that London Wall would be about 7a+ to toprope, then 7b leading placing gear, so really to onsight this I would have had to be as good as I have ever been at sport climbing. What I'm saying is that rather than improve my sport climbing loads to get some fitness to improve my trad climbing, I'm going to try to sport climb to the same level or a little harder than I did before, so I'll hopefully have my previous sport fitness (or maybe even better) coupled with the recently acquired trad experience from onsighting 15+ E4s or harder. This is because the reason I think I fell off London Wall (really the first time I have ever thought this) is because I was lacking in fitness. So hopefully after some time sport climbing I'll get back to the position where I'll be falling off because I'm at my trad climbing limit, rather than being at my fitness limit. If any of that made sense...

Anyway I've also got a big leading competition on the 7th of October and a trip to Catalunya later in the year so trad isn't totally my priority at the mo, which is new! If I've said anything which anyone disagrees with, feel free to point it out as your advice is very useful.

In reply to grubes: Thanks grubes-so happy to be in Rodellar!

Pork pie girl - congrats on SS from team Rodellar! (me, cider yellow, Quiddity, AJM)! Personally I think 7th aardvark is easier-sounds like you'll get it in no time!

Eagle River-happy birthday you old git

So last minute preparation for Rodellar consisted of one routes session at the reach-did a fair number of routes, all lead up to 6c+ (dogged). Made myself do the tufa monstrousity again. Finished by lapping a 5+ on the steep wall-good session.

Fri-flight to Spain

Sat - first day so feeling psyched. Rodellar is so beautiful! Headed to Aquest to start off-decided to warm up on 6b+ which ended up top-roping as rope only just long enough to get Cider Yellow to the floor after she put clips in (literally had 6inches!) and was a diagonal line. Toproped clean. We decided to try a 7a+ next which looked fun and I volunteered to put the clips in-part of my 'getting straight on lead and get over falling' strategy. Managed to totally psyche myself out before starting by distance between clips and was rather dreading it. Then had what can only be described as a total freak out (short of any much screaming thankgoodness) where i had to try and psyche/talk myself up bolt y bolt. Got the second, third and fourth in, but couldn't commit to crux move on fifth so far above bolt ( ok it prob wasn't that far but I couldn't bring myself o fall at all...). Clipsticked the bolt, got next one in the clipsticked anchor as just felt too emotionally drained to contemplate the last moves. Had another go on top rope later and decided just too pumpy for me to be able to lead through. Was feeling quite low, though I guess looking on the positive side I have never put in clips on lead on anything harder than 6b+ before, let alone an overhanging, pumpy 7a+. That said I seriously need to sort my head out... Just can't seem to contemplate falling at the moment which isn't't an attitude that's going to get me up anything here!

Sun - headed to El Camino -felt a bit nervous after sat's failures. Got rather flash pumped flashing a 6b to warm up, but managed it clean so quite pleased. Cider Yellow kindly put clips in Tomo Castanazo (7a+) so got on lead and managed to bolt to bolt it. Felt sooo much easier than day before though still not able to contemplate falling... Managed to then get it first redpoint, which was really pleased with, even if i did only get up it so I didn't have to fall off then headed to la nuit de temps and got totally psyched out and came down on a long 6b+ - heart and mind just not in it at end of day.

In other news, the main entertainment for Team Rodellar seems to be some pointless phone game called fruit ninja....I think Quiddity is currently the undisputed king but there are several others trying to take the throne!

In reply to Joughton:

For some reason I had you down as a fairly consistent 7b+ onsighter, hence my thoughts on you being over fit for the routes. If it was 7b instead then you make a fair point, you've got less headroom than I figured on the harder ones - I've heard LW as 7a+ before although probably graded 7a+ if you're used to cracks so near as impossible for me!

Quiddity, incidentally, has extended his lead with a new record of 695 on Fruit Ninja

In reply to Kevster: can do deliberate falls, (although smaller than youre suggesting so maybe i should try it) but after trying clip drop for a while I I was finding it didnt seem to translate into being happy with unplanned falls. What seems to be working better for me is just focussing on trying to do the move and saying "if I fall, I fall", but committing to them regardless. I'm not there yet, but at the moment it feels as if I'm making more progress because the energy gets put into trying to do the move rather than preparing to fall off

In reply to grubes:


Thanks

This week started well with three commuting days on the bike. Sadly, on the third day I collided with a car turning right across my path. My first cycling accident since I got back on a bike about a year ago. The bruises are still coming out, but apparently no real harm done. Thankfully not as serious, as last time, when I spent a month in hospital. Just hope that when I get the bike fixed I can get back on it.

In reply to AJM: I've onsighted three 7b+s I think, but one was super soft and another was 7b elsewhere (Empire of the Sun). I flashed(ish) Sardine recently but I had a lot of beta on the crux from when I did my 7c, and I did three 5.12b onsights which get 7b on some grade conversions and 7b+ on others. So not very consistent!

Glad to hear you guys are using your time well! Look forward to hearing about it, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip! Have you decided between redpointing and onsighting yet?

In reply to pork pie girl:

What do you do for cardio?

In reply to JimmyKay:

And great effort on SS

In reply to Joughton:
Jake, I knew a lad who wanted to up his trad- he was good anyway. Solid e5 climber and an all out trad head.
He decided that ard sport would help get him used to the harder routes and the effort required. So he became a sport climber to help his trad.
He then reached his limit on sport and realised that the cruxes on hard sport were stopping him. So he started bouldering to up his crux grade.
Basically he went from trad to bouldering as a logical progression. Then applied it to trad. Last I heard was e7 onsight and not a one off. Sport 7b he expects to onsight and max to in the 8's.
Maybe this is why wads cycle hard sport with hard bouldering. Trad being a side line for most outside the UK.
Good luck! Hope the anecdote helps thinking.
Team Chorro: so jealous, have fun and best success to y

In reply to Kevster:

I also know a lot of people who started sport to improve their trad, then bouldering to improve their sort, and have never come back from the sport/bouldering arena, got hooked and never returned

In reply to Joughton:

No major redpoints for me - not really practical with what others want to do and to be honest I'm not sure it was ever really practical for a trip of 4 climbing days unless you really mission it and go all out, you'd have to identify a project day 1 and then devote all focus to it which isn't really that practical. Dne some flashing and onsighting and a fast redpoint so far, probably continue with more of the same...

In reply to leon: Think I may have seen you I was mainly on (falling off) the slab at that time with a couple of mates

In reply to leon:

UKC logbook concensus seems to be that Bruvers is middle of the grade. Straightforward if you're keen to get it done?

Cheers re the other 2 routes. They both did look good so I will get on them next time (maybe...).

In reply to ally smith:

try this email add

liketocrimp@hotmail.com


cheers Ally

In reply to JimmyKay:

hiya, mainly cycling and at the moment only in the gym or at home as don't have the time to get outside on mountain bike .. usually 45 mins to an hour until i'm knacked, sometimes go on a stair climber.
don't run any more as makes my lower back a bit sore

In reply to Kevster: Cheers, that's very helpful. I probably won't go as far as bouldering regularly but I can definitely see the benefits of going through phases of different styles, though at the moment the weather is really deciding for me, so I've been training at the wall a lot.

In reply to AJM: I don't think there's much chance of me getting sucked into sport of bouldering, I usually get bored of bolt clipping after a few months max anyway. Onsighting and quick redpoints is probably the way to go on a trip like yours, hope you push your grade on something good!

In reply to grubes: 

So, a week and a half update from me...

Taper week:
M: Cheddar. Fourth day on so battered. 5 redpoints I think on Circus Circus (7c) but no tick, just couldn't nail the crux when I got there and frequently fell off before. A training day rather than a performance day!
T: rest
W: Cheddar. 
- Clips in Circus Circus to get warm. One redpoint, fell at the crux. Next go, nailed it! Very pleased. 
- Dossed for a bit then decided it was time for another evaluation session: got on Right Hand Man (8a). Worked out two of the moves I couldn't previously do, moving right from the groove into the start of the bulge and rocking up from the better holds (comparatively!) on the lip of the bulge to the next ones. One small section remains, a move or so getting into the aforementioned better holds. Could tell that I need new shoes! Good link of a bit of the top on toprope at the end too. Pleased with progress. 
T: rest
F: rest


Rodellar! (route names in logbook where not mentioned, I can't be bothered looking them up right now!)
S: Aquest. 
-Clips were in a 7b when we arrived, so dogged it to get warm. Next go managed to tick it! Good start. Basically power endurance to a throw over a roof to finish the difficulties.
-Then waited a bit and got on a 7a+ with good team beta - scraped my way through it! 2nd 7a+ flash I think. Tufa town low down, then a big rest before a steep blocky finish.
-Then had 2 goes on a 7b+ (Aquest, the route the sector is named after) because the clips were in, but sacked it as I couldn't get a sequence I liked for the top. 
S: El Camino to start.
-Pumpy 6b+ flash to get warm. 
-Then a 6c+ flash and a 6c+ onsight after that. Both steep blocky sprints.
- Then a 7a+ onsight - YYFY last goal for the year completed and first of is grade. Softie, but both guides and most of 8a and ukc vote for it so I'll take it! Tough move off the floor, rest, then a crux followed by some steep ground on good holds
- Was going to get on a 7a in the afternoon at Nuit des Temps but ended up trying a 6b+ instead to retrieve clips - fell a move from easy ground, shocked to even make it that far, absolutely running on empty...
M: Rest
T: A few nights of bad sleep caught up with me. 
- Bikini to start. Warmed up on a 6a and then a 6b+/c (actually a 6c+ but quite nice warmup if you pulled past the slippery bouldery start). 
- Then moved to Cafe Solo, but got cold and exhausted and depsyched and did nothing else. Went back early and slept for 3 hours!
W: Aquest again. Feeling recovered. Cold and rainy though.
- Put clips in a very cool 7b and sent next go! Basically steep tufa into a good knee bar, then a few moves over the bulge to finish it off.
- Then tried a 7a onsight - climbed badly, plus it was humid and polished so super sweaty, so fell off. Stripped it. 
- Then decided to have a play on a 7b+ - worked out a sequence but no time to tick. Couldn't memorise it fast enough! Tufa intro, hands off rest knee bar, crux, tufa outro. Ace route. Learned so much about knees for trying it so definitely not time wasted. 

So a good trip and taper into it. 
- 7c number 3 ticked in my taper
- Then 2 7bs (both "dog it then send it"), 2 7a+s (one onsight one flash) and 2 6c+s (ditto) in what was 4 or effectively 3 climbing days. 

Plus points:
- 4 7s in 3-4 climbing days, with all done fast redpoint or better. 
- Rodellar is ace. Basically though next time I go back I want to be able to spend time at the big sectors like Boveda etc, which realistically means being able do 7c or so in a day...
- Onsighting/flashing as well as I could have hoped. A glass ceiling of sorts broken, although I'd still like to work towards a/multiple proper 7a+ onsight(s) putting clips in next trip. 
- Felt like my drop knees were way more instinctive as a result of France
- Felt like I was using knees like a vaguely competent novice (pro is a bit much!) by the end especially on the last route where I had a hands off knee bar and about 4 knees assisting in moves. 5.10 pads are ace

Learning points:
- Look at routes before committing - part of the reason I tried the route Aquest on Saturday was just because the clips were in, now thinking that in hindsight the other line with its steep tufa would have appealed more had I looked closely at it, and might have got the tick if I had had the extra time on it.
- Disappointing onsight performance on the 7a, pay attention to conditions more perhaps
- Improve core for knee bars before next trip (Turkey at Xmas perhaps?)
- Work on faster identification of knee opportunities, I can use them quite well if I put time into finding them but need to make it more instinctive for onsighting. Also improve trust in them too, found it took a while to fully commit to them.
- New shoes required for right hand man and in general to maximise purchase on footholds on overhanging euro stuff. Soft and worn down slippers won't cut it any more I don't think!

So, that's Rodellar done. All my goals for the year complete too I think. Basically really pleased with that. So, what next? 
- Work is still elusive, and I've hopefully still got a partner keen for midweek days. I think at home the first priority is to get another session or two on right hand man. I reckon I'm a session or two away from a link from the "jugs" (they are comparatively, but that means nothing!) on the lip of the bulge to the top. If I can also get a link into the 2 missing moves consistently and figure those moves out  (milliona of shocking footholds and a few very poor handholds means many possible sequences!) it could be game on. Otherwise it's maybe time to work on those key links, get stronger for the missing moves and return come spring. 
- Otherwise filling out more of my 8a pyramid rungs, with as varied a mix of routes as possible from as many places as possible (perhaps including Obsession as one of the 7b+s end of October). 
- Keeping some trad in my sights too, I've got a few more E3s especially locally I want to try over the winter, and maybe I'll try and take the lob on an E4 before the year is out, who knows...
- And training for a possible Christmas trip where I want to maybe do a 7b+ or two but the way I'm feeling at the moment a high volume trip of onsight/flash/day redpoint in the low 7s appeals a lot (obviously combining both by getting day redpoints of 7b+ would be mint!)



A

In reply to AJM: Top work! Nice to be able to say you've attained your goals with a few months spare and a top example for us all. Seriously - well done.

Kelvin

In reply to AJM:
Nice sounds like an amazing trip

In reply to mrchewy & grubes:

Think goals now look like:

Indoor/training priorities

• Strength/aerocap/ancap phase
  
• Rolling average weight/body fat - ?
  

<STG> - remainder of 2012

• Prepare for Xmas trip
  
• Keep on plugging with the E3s
  
• Tick some more of the 8a pyramid (currently completed 4/8 x 7b+, 3/4 x 7c, 1/2 x 7c+, 0/1 x 8a)
  
• Try to do all moves and some key links on RHM

<MTG> - 2012 <DONE>

• Complete 7c+ pyramid (currently completed 9/8 x 7b, 4/4 x 7b+, 3/2 x 7c, 1/1 x 7c+) <DONE>
  
• 20 x 7as/E2s or above in good style [completed: 5x 7a onsight, 1x 7a+ flash, 1x 7a+ onsight, 10 x E2 onsight, 1 x E2 flash-ish, 3 x E3 onsight, 1 x E3 ground-up] <DONE>
  
• 7a+ onsight <DONE>

<LTG>

• Well rounded E3 leader, tackling routes in committing locations
  
• E4 onsight
  
• 8a before 30
  
• 7a/+ onsights at hard continental crags

<BHAG>

• Big mountain routes like Tempi Moderne, Comici etc
  
• E5 onsights
  
• 8a/+ redpoints
  
• 7b/+ onsights at hard continental crags
  
• Some big silly bike ride like Pyrenees coast to coast or Tour du Mont Blanc or something

In reply to AJM:

There was meant to be a "cheers" to start

In reply to AJM:

I think any glass ceiling has been well and truly smashed both for OS and quick RP's at a really good standard.

Now, is it because you have had a lot of time on your hands ( being between contracts ) and so you've been putting a lot of effort into training and climbing loads or is it just because you've got a 5.10 knee pad ?

Please tell me it's the knee pad then i can crack open the beers, go to McDonalds and hit this years target with ease.

In reply to biscuit:

I hope its the soft Euro grading, can't wait for my grade hike if so!
Joking aside, well done! And is the pad worth it?
Kev

In reply to biscuit:

So accounting for 5:10 kneepad-adjusted grades AJM onsighted a 6c and got a couple of 7a/7a+s quickly?

I have a pad of my own now which you can borrow, for a small fee......
Just how much is 7c worth to you in monetary value I wonder??

In reply to Eagle River:

I know 7c at chorro which needs a pad, and has hand holds the size of tea cups. May be going there Xmas, what constitutes a small fee?

In reply to Eagle River:

You have to bear in mind Steve that if Euro routes are graded without pads then you can probably only take the 7a tick if you use one on that route at Loja which spanked you on your last visit

On a more serious note, I thought that the pads were ace. They're the best ones I have used and they make bomber knee bars more comfortable and marginal knee bars useable. And if you're on a route where they are useful they will make a difference - certainly on the routes I tried yesterday knee bars made a difference to the grade, and pads will have made the knee bars more useable to some degree (not having tried them without, I don't honestly know how much!)

And Kev - I'll await the rest of team Rodellars return for commentary on grades. I know that the 7a+ I did onsight wasn't hard, but it was probably comparable to other routes I've done given 7a+ like Mac du Mal at Boffi and England's Dreaming on Portland (similar in style to both in that it's a lot crux then just keep plodding on to the chains). Nick hadn't ticked the first 7b by the time I left, and no one had tried the other one. So maybe you need a pad for the boost, and maybe you just need to be in the right place - who knows?

In reply to AJM:

Oh, and it goes without saying that if I am not using them at the time trusted Fit Cub members can apply for knee pad loans of up to 2 pads in return for beer, flapjack or 8a points

In reply to AJM: I've got my trip to tufa land soon too so I was actually wondering if any Fit Clubbers would be so kind as to lend me one? I'm afraid the beer would be a little difficult but flapjack and 8a points I can do!

In reply to AJM: And well done on such a great trip, 7a+ onsight is a really big step seeing as 7b/+ onsights at Euro crags is on your VLTG (which I think you'll actually start doing very soon at the rate your going at the moment). Also I'm glad to see onsight/quick redpoints plan payed off too - it would have been frustrating to spend all your time on one project.

In reply to Joughton:

When are you out in tufa town again? Drop me an email, sure I can sort something out, not much use of them round here and not scheduled to be abroad until Christmas...

In reply to Joughton:

The VLTG is set with crags like Claret in mind, which are pretty much the opposite of my style, but yeah I'm feeling pretty pleased with how it's going at the minute... if pre-Xmas training goes well I might have to switch my default approach on 7bs from quick redpoint to flash/onsight attempt...

In reply to Eagle River:

On the evidence available ( soft Euro grading and girls climbing 8b+ while wearing one ) i think you're being generous. 6b+ onsight and 6c+/7a on redpointing


I've just spent over 150 euro on a training board for the 7c so i have no money left. I can offer beer, or home brewed elderflower wine. Seriously though if they're good i'll get one. However Cenizo has a couple of kneebars in it and they are both sinkers so i am not sure if it will help with that one in particular. Plenty of others it will though.

In reply to biscuit:
If you want if I see Steve before he heads out I can pass him mine for you to borrow till I get out there?

Tested it at the wall last night on a few steep areas of the comp wall. Definately easier with the pad

In reply to AJM:
Well done beast. Particularly impressed with 7a+ onsight.

Are the knee pads postable? I wouldnt mind borrowing one for kaly in 3 weeks...

Ive also just taken delivery of a brand new arctrryx harness weighing about a gram need every advantage I can get!

In reply to Si dH:

Mailed you.

Is it the lurid multicolour one?

I got a new harness cheap in a sale in Chamomix, so I'm a fan of this "bringing the route down to my level" concept...

In reply to AJM: orange - my favorite, matches my helmet, chalk bag and favourite climbing tshirt - and grey

In reply to biscuit:


So what grade is Cenzino really then?

The saying about people in glass houses and stone throwing seems somewhat apt...

In reply to AJM:

Ah but i am fully integrated into the euro climbing zone and have left all the UK sandbags far behind me. So to me 7c feels like 7c, just not UK 7c. When i climb in the UK i can say the style no longer suits me and that's why i struggle

In reply to grubes:

That's a really nice offer mate but i am not able to climb until Steve comes over anyway due to wife issues. I will test his out and if it's as good as everyone says i can feel an early Xmas present coming on.


Shh! you'll start people claiming 8b+ are now only 8b.....oops too late.

In reply to AJM:

Take the grade; kneepad or not. I thought Caco que te mato was one of the harder 7b's i did on my Catalunya trip last year. There's certainly softer 7b's at Geyikbayiri.

I'm pretty sure you could be talked up a 7b flash with your current 7a+ OS fitness.

Also, a Turksih 7c redpoint should be pretty achieveable at Christmas i'd have thought.

In reply to ally smith:

Cheers for the vote of confidence ally!