Changes are afoot for me. I ship out to Leeds this week. Decided to drop this blog as I move on into the next chapter of my little existence. I fear I'll be too busy to idle time away on the internet anyway. If I have time, I might continue making videos though I'm keen to head towards a more quality over quantity policy in that regard. Not much footage has been left on the cutting room floor so far! I've enjoyed learning a bit with video though and I feel I've developed enough skill both filming in the field and editting with Sony Vegas to create something I'd be happy with if I put in some time and effort. Could do with a better camera and some good new music too but anyway...
In terms of climbing, I go to Leeds focussed on bouldering really. I'd hoped to complete my 'tempered triple 8' climbing challenge this year but my one day sport climbing at Kilnsey hurt my injured elbows and so more or less put paid to that particular numbers quest. Not to worry, the main thing is I'm still able to climb and enjoying it.
I want to improve and break new ground in bouldering before Christmas and I think I know how to achieve this. Stronger fingers, a lighter body and a focussed siege on something good should see me right. I could bore the world with a new blog chronicling this personal glory quest but I won't.
So that's it for now, Ram Man goes to ground. I've enjoyed this little blogging experiment and it seems to have come to a good natural end. Happy Climbing and until next time.
31/07/10 Visited Round Crag with Noaks, Oli and Miles. After a shower or two, really good conditions prevailed - overcast, cool and breezy. Warmed up a bit on the boulder then, after a quick top rope refamiliarisation and a few false starts on Pippi Longstocking, I got to the top. Great little solo. Though there's no gear (couldn't get anything reliably placed in the slot) I thought it was worth having a tied down belayer to stop you careering all the way down into the bottom of the dale in the event of a crash. The vid makes it all look fairly tame really but I found it quite exciting - messing up after you've got the slot would probably hurt a bit.
Next up, flashed Time Out (e3 6a) which I thought was a really good route. Quite hard too.
And so onto the steep arete line just to the right. I'd shunted it a bit but not fully managed the crux last visit. Found a better way to do said crux this time and 20 mins or so later, bagged it up on the lead. Used runners in Time out - seemed logical/sensible. Nice little slappy route. Was struggling to come up with a name so went with 'Fresh Arete' because of the nice conditions/weather and the moves are pretty fresh in the jive talking sense of the word. Definitely easier than Pippi, gone for E5 6b. Another good day all round really!
Familiar ground - Raven's Scar with Noaks this time. I tried a couple of things on a rope and found out a couple of things. The Arete is definitely in need of a direct solution. I found a feasible sequence climbing it on the steep left hand side. Couldn't manage the moves but certainly 'felt' them and I reckon it's more likely doable (for me anyway) than the arete direct on the right hand side. Really good cold conditions, good skin and Font8A (+?) boulder ability required.
Also checked the moves on an epic link-up route I thought might be worthwhile on this butress. As for ADKOB but go straight across horizontally right into stratagem from jug on arete to join it below its second peg. Clip that sucker then continue at the same level to reach collateral's holds/jugs above the roof and finish up that. Decent amount of new climbing! Perhaps a bit ridiculous but I think it's worthwhile anyway and would like to do it - maybe next year when I've hopefully regained some route fitness.
Finished the day bouldering at Wainstones, enjoying really nice cool conditions again. Showed Noaks the Prow which he got up in no time then I got shut down on Psycho Syndicate - don't get that thing, may have to top rope as jumping off onto the slope was hurting ankles! Checked out For Liechtenstein last thing to test Dave Warb's beta for the move using the broken foothold out right. Felt about the same trickiness to me either way but think I like the move more with my original method. Just pull on and swoop for the top - sometimes doesn't take much to get a decent and satisfying problem really does it? It seems I totally overgraded this too as it felt piss. Condtions? move memory? hold friction improved with use? Who knows but it felt no harder than font7A this time.
Well, about that report... As the vid suggests, I visited the Rosedale Head Boulders again yesterday. Ended up there mainly as I couldn't find anyone keen to come top-roping with me. Anyway, it was a bit warm but I enjoyed it and realised my main objectives. I'd done the moves on the low start to Lion Arete last visit but for some reason I never linked it into the upper arete which, once you're there, is a formality. Good set of moves. A shower passed through. Then, with better skin and a stronger will to succeed, did White Room within a few goes this visit. Satisfying how hard you get to pull on that little crimp.
Onto the nasty link of Lion Arete Low into White Room. I knew I'd never do it this visit as it was too hot and I'm still using up that shit Wild Country chalk. And it's hard for me. However, it was good to revise the sequence. I remain unsure whether this problem's crap or not. It's certainly quite hard and intense. Main beef is that you're in a world of left foot dab fear moving across the iron seam and a couple of the holds are not pleasant. I thought disaster (or salvation?) had struck when I ripped one of the holds off, out of the iron seam. Fortunately or unfortunately, it just makes the problem that bit harder and all the holds are completely stable now so it's still there for the taking. Need it to be quite cold though I think - the crimps on it seem more prone to greasing than the majority of moors sandstone for some reason....
Hit the Rosedale Monolith next for the first time. Repeated Lee's monologue problem which was great. Uses a nice stacked mono, I thought it was pretty hard at 6B. Did the easy but quite nice aretes either side and then, as a bonus for the day, made a bit of an attempt at the rippled front face of the monolith. Straight Talking as I called it has a decent couple of moves. And again, you get to pull quite hard on a crimp or two.
Busted over into farndale next for some shunting at Round Crag. Had a spin on a relatively recent route (well, it was done this millenium) opened by Nick Dixon - Scut di Scun Ai. First impressions were good, nice rock, decent moves. Things started to go a bit haywire for me at the top though. As a protectionless E6 6b I thought I wouldn't struggle with the moves and, in the back of my mind, I was hoping to get a quick day headpoint out of the deal. Not true. Circa 20mins trying and failing on the last couple of moves, prospects were looking bleak. And then I pulled a hold off. I managed the moves via different method after that and I reckon you could get gear in a thin crack to the right for the top moves too. Not too keen for this one though - Good to have done the moves but not really interested in investing much else. Pippi Longstocking is much better in my opinion, with better and harder moves - very keen to get that one done next visit.
Grade Talk.... up there failing for a while on Scut di Scun Ai reminded me how ridiculous some moors gradings are. 8m up, above a fairly unthinkable landing, pulling hard,tenuous and dynamic 6b with poor feet and having done plenty of 6a/b to get there, is this for real? Take well established routes of the same grade and similar style. ie. Linden, Nosferatu, Shock Horror and the like. Granted, they may be soft E6 6b (on both scores) but there's considerably more than a grade between the likes of them and Scut di Scun, so something's gone wrong along the way. Ah Well, such is the way of these things.
Next I headed to a top secret location and shunted my new top secret project. Did all the moves and it's pretty good I reckon. So that's towards the top of the priorities list, hopefully more news soon.
And in other news, I went to Kilnsey a couple of weeks ago. Sure enough, not climbing that much and exclusively bouldering with the odd bouldery headpoint leaves you pretty useless for sport climbing at Kilnsey. My general conditioning is pretty low as I can't do any volume on my gay elbows so I was spent pretty quickly. However, I did manage to flash Nerve Ending which I thought was a good route. It was interesting too in that, I reckon the sequence I'd done on Collateral a couple of days previous was better and harder, so that's good to know. I dogged up The Bulge a couple of times too. Enjoyed it and all the moves felt pretty easy but I was distinctly lacking in fitness and suffered elbow beef, so won't be rushing back this year unfortunately.
Upshot is, focussed on bouldering (with bouldery headpoints for kicks) for now probably until spring 2011. Can't complain.
Decided on Collateral as a name for the new Raven's Scar line. Was and still am buzzing after doing it - really cool climbing in a pretty spicy situation. Have made a quick edit of it. I'd planned to lump it together with footage of Reeve's ground up heroics but have decided to just do seperate little vids instead - so further vids of all that to come, unfortunately not the best of footage due to belaying duties but anyway...
Grade-wise, I think low E7 is a fair guide for the would be onsighter though in a totally clean state and with some chalk on the holds it could sneak in at top end E6. I reckon E7 is more in line with the grades of other routes at the crag though.
Anyway, after a few sweaty top ropes on Saturday's roastathon, fortunately I bottled going for the lead and returned with my dad and dog and met up with Reeve again on a considerably cooler and more conducive Sunday. Got warmed up a bit, did one more top rope then went for the lead. All went ok really, fortunately the unrehearsed, dusty 4c/5a top out didn't cause as many problems as it might've. Should have moved the top rope anchors out the way too as it spoils the vid footage and stills a bit but oh well...
that's about all I can write right now as I start work in 6/7 hours but today was indeed a sweet day. Cool conditions saw Reeve nail A Different Kind of Blue Ground Up - impressive! And I headpointed another new line on the same butress:
