^Guy on Elephantitus on the Elephant Boulder
Elephantitus was the pick of the problems, got to be world-class. Me and Tom got it pretty quickly so thought 7A might be a bit generous.... But then Steve and Lee were trying it on about the hottest day of 2010, Tom's tall (which I think helps) and the crux throw is the nearest thing I've got to a signature move so who knows...
Had a look around high crag and tarn hole and any other boulders I could spot but didn't get too inspired by any of it. Partly I think since the midges weren't great...
It was a bit late for hitting one of the major crags we'd planned to visit thanks to the leisurly start and lots of walking in and out of Tripsdale so ended up driving round to blakey ridge and an assault on the roadside Stormy Hall.
Tom and Guy got shut down by the problems or perhaps just the midges. (either way, I'm glad I told lee Angry Woodlouse was never font 6A+!) I enjoyed a second wave of energy in the day and got stuck into Body Torque sitter. There was some breeze and it was late on so cooler - conditions felt ok. Having worked the now familiar (from previous two sessions) moves again I got it second redpoint:
Really pleased to get Body Torque done. Last time I was on it I thought I'd have to execute a near flawless effort to get to the top. I think I've got a little stronger since then though so it felt like I had some in reserve allowing for a few adjustments along the way as well as an unplanned semi cut loose which let me bury the crucial right heel really solidly. It's a really good aggressive problem I think, strong but technical, for me anyway. A slight detraction is that the holds can bite a bit (worth taping right hand little finger) but that's part of the nature (and charm?) of problems like this - they hurt a bit!
Gradewise, I've plumped for 7B+. It felt harder than some of the 7B+'s I've done before but not sure how well I'm going in comparison to those pre-elbow disaster days really. Anyway, it's definitely the hardest set of moves I've done on the moors so far as well as one of the best. Enough rambling, here's the poor quality video from the van Gruening Shakey Cam; not bothered with any editting so just the complete send with puntering on the top out included:
Body Torque from Ram Man on Vimeo.
Then Saturday night and sunday it rained which was a bit of a bummer. Should have got home and out on the rip saturday night in hindsight but then we had a good session on Guy's board sunday afternoon which wouldn't have been the case for me otherwise in reality.
Feel like I've got some decent momentum at the moment, ticking stuff off which I've wanted to get done for a while on the Moors. Still thoroughly enjoying trips up there. Pippi Longstocking (+ a look at a direct finish for it) and the wall at Oak Crag are the main things I'd like to get done next - Blakey ridge is the new Billsdale it seems. Hopefully get back up towards the end of the week with a few days work under the belt...
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