One more go...

At last the rain has stopped and this week has been perfect grit conditions. I got so fed up with the weather that I even went to the Depot twice last week. Unsurprisingly training on the Beastmaker board made my elbows a bit tender so I bought some dumbbells and did some recuperative eccentric wrist curls. Due to a miscalculation of the weight I was using the first few times I did these were a bit harder than they should be, but a few more with less weight and 30-40 mins of icing worked great.

On tuesday I went to Brimham but despite the sunshine and breeze a lot of stuff I wanted to try was wet so I ended up at Crimpy Roof again. First go was probably the most determined as I fired backwards off the crimps heading for the slap. I really think this is going to be very hard for me as it's a long long way. I'm too much of a wuss to use the razor sharp intermediate crimps though.

My middle RH finger was a bit tender so I had a rest and went out to the cinema with Nicky on wednesday and then today headed to Earl. Conditions were perfect: sunny but no wind. After a quick warm-up I headed to Grape Nut. This has been a bit of a nemesis as the only time I've held the jug (starting from the floor) I bottled the move off the gaston above. The first time I pulled on I hit the jug and tore a bit out of my finger. I taped up and 2 goes later held the jug and then once again couldn't commit to the move off the gaston.

Each subsequent go resulted in hitting but not holding the jug and 2 more flappers and it was all looking like another failure session. But a bit of MTFU when I held the jug and a scary rockover and I was at the break with just the slightly green top-out to negotiate. A good thing really as I doubt my hand could have taken much more.



After that I had a couple of goes on Andy Brown's wall but didn't get near hitting the top. I think the problem with this is because one time I was at Earl I tried this with the whole of the ground beneath it covered with pads and a good spotter and still didn't hit the top any subsequent attempts have been a bit half-arsed. I then went down and tried the Flakes and Lager Lager Lager (or Dave's Groove). The Flakes is still a massive reach and I wasn't getting anywhere but I made some good progress on the other problem (whatever it's called now!). By crimping the back of the first sloper hard with my right hand I could get my foot in the slot and cross my left onto the sloper - no idea what I'm going to do next though! After that I went for a walk to check out the 7A+ arete in the quarry in the new guide but it was covered in ice and then went back for a couple of pathetic goes on Underpants which reminded me my tips really were pretty thin. A great day though and the best conditions all winter - the sort of day that really used to make me depressed when I was in the lab.

Almscliff again

It dried up and got sunny at about 11 today so I headed up to Almscliff. As expected it was very windy but Demon Wall was sheltered. I did what is fast becoming the usual warm-up - traverse, stretch, Demon Wall Roof, Stu's from standing, Stu's LH and felt pretty good. Then I failed to do anything new at all. No further on Stu's proper than I was years ago, couldn't get off the ground on Streaky's traverse and Sewer Rat Connection was impossible with the tape over the remnants of Saturday's flapper. It was grim in the wind so I sacked it and retreated home via a walk up to Caley crag to confirm it was as wet and green as I thought it would be. I desperately need some new, quick drying, projects.

Almscliff

This afternoon, once yesterday's snow had melted, I wandered up to Almscliff. It was pretty damp to begin with but the wind dried things out pretty well. It was hard to stay warm though. After the usual warm-up I did Stu's LH for the 4th or 5th time I think. I then had a couple of good goes on Sewer Rat Connection before tearing a small flapper. I taped it up and tried again but wasn't getting the heel to stick anymore so headed home.

Norwood

The promised cold and sunny weather failed to materialise today so it was a cold and damp afternoon at Norwood. I went to the boulder with Falcon on as it overhangs so much it was bound to be dry. By starting Falcon a bit further down the slope and closer into the rock I found it much easier to pull on without hitting the rock below. After a couple of goes it was in the bag for the first 7 of 2011.



I had quite a few goes on the right hand variant Falcon Pro but couldn't catch the first big move without dabbing my arse on the ground. I guess this also requires a crucial start position so that your trajectory as you throw for the hold keeps you off the ground - unfortunately often the crux of lowball problems.

Norwood

Today Matt and I went to check out the relatively recently developed boulders at Norwood. After a brief warm up on some easy but sharp problems we both did a very soft 7A roof called Pocket Rocket. Then we headed over to try a couple of 7A+ problems called Falcon and Falcon Pro. I couldn't work out what I was supposed to do with my feet and the sit-start felt very cramped as you couldn't really hang the starting holds properly as there is a block in the way. It's a pity as this move looks awesome:



Matt had some good attempts on the Ruff Traverse on the same boulder but just ran out of power on the last move. Then the sun went down and it was time for an icy drive home.



Unlikely to be out now 'till after Christmas.

Almscliff

Met Matt at the Cliff this afternoon for what we thought would be a short baltic session. Surprisingly up at Demon Wall Roof it was really pretty pleasant in the sun but the cold air meant that the friction was great. Matt finally managed to repeat Demon Wall Roof on his first go today.



I also retro-flashed it and the finish of Stu's Roof. We then had a play on Dreamland which I've done a couple of times. The starting crimps were trashing one of my not-quite-healed tips so I gave up after a couple of tries. Matt had a lot more goes with some power-screams and top-off attempts (which I'm not going to post the pictures of on here). The best go was probably this one:



After Matt got bored we headed down to look at the problem I thought was an eliminate last time I was at the Cliff. Now there's no snow drift under it I can see where the sit-start should go from but I'm still not sure which holds are in. The sun was setting by then and it was freezing so we headed home. Going out again tomorrow as if there's sun and no wind it's actually OK to climb when it's this cold which is much better than the last cold spell.

More adventures in the snow

Despite the brief thaw on Saturday when it got above zero for the first time in days, most of the crags are still covered in snow. I went to Whitehouses on Monday which was sunny and snow-free and after multiple failed attempts on Peshmurga I moved over to Rageh Omaar which I abandoned last visit due to it trashing my skin. After a few goes trying to avoid the skin-shredding sloper I just MTFU-ed and did it the way I was trying last time - the sloper felt great and the pop to the next hold felt piss. Funny how with grit the difference between failure and success is so subtle - a tiny change in body position or catching a hold just right makes a problem feel effortless when moments before it felt desperate.



I had a few more goes on Peshmurga after that and then went home just as it got dark. Nearly couldn't get the car out of the lay-by which was a bit of a worry - I really must buy a shovel to keep in the boot!

Today I went to Almscliff to see what was dry. The road up was almost totally clear of snow making driving to the crag much less stressful.



It was pretty windy at the Cliff (what a surprise) and so properly baltic. I had a go on a problem on a bit of rock I've never climbed on at Almscliff near the heart-shaped slab. I think I missed a move out as the snow underneath the problem means a sit start is probably a lot higher than usual. I had a bad sequence involving slapping for a huge jug and so the inevitable happened:



Putting on my shoes I noticed a foot hold I'd missed and so pulled on my rock boots for another go after attempting to stop the blood with lots of chalk. This hold and a crafty toe-hook enabled me to do the move to the jug static. I did the problem from the probably-not-the-real sit start and topped it out which led to an epic cold and snowy descent. It's supposed to be 7B but what I did felt more like 6B so I think it must be an eliminate or something. After the descent I was frozen (rock boots and snow-drifts are a bad combination) and so headed home.