Perfect conditions

Ice on the bird-bath and sunshine melting the frost of the roof of the houses signified excellent grit conditions this morning. I met up with Matt at Norwood car park and we drove to Brimham.

We started off on Heart shaped slab, thinking this would make a good start to an afternoon of crushing. After flashing the 5+ mantel to warm-up I got on the arete and first go I was rocking over onto the slab thinking it was all in the bag when my foot slipped and I rolled back off. Another few attempts ended the same way but finally with some crucial differences in foot position and a healthy desire to not have to do it again I grovelled my way over the top. It felt pretty insecure and I was glad I didn't get that far when I was on my own!

I pulled back on for some glory shots:







Matt had some attempts but wasn't getting the toe-heel to stick as well as his first attempt and I don't think my dismounts from the top were helping his psyche!

We then went over to the Anchor and Matt crushed this (and on camera too) making the mantle onto the slab look pretty graceful.

We then headed over to Take a Bough a new problem climbed last winter. The landing to this looked worse than I thought but I soon had my heel on and was attempting the committing moves upwards. I got scared as the heel is so good but the hands felt a bit scrittly and so kept backing off. Just as we were about to sack it some more folk turned up and so with about 6+ pads underneath it I tried again but was still not getting committed. The other guy that was trying it had a couple of goes to but also got scared and once the sun went behind the trees it got baltic very quickly so we sacked it and went home.

When it's this warm inside you know the friction will be good on the grit:

(not quite so) weak at Brimham

I went to Brimham with Matt on Sunday meeting up at the Norwood carpark and sharing a lift to the crag. We started off at the Anchor which was absolutely plastered in chalk with tick-marks everywhere:



This really annoyed me as the tick-marks are pointless on this problem as the only hard bit is the horrific mantel to top out. Also although this is hardly the most tourist-visible bit of Brimham a lot of non-climbers go there to look at the rocks and so covering them with chalk is hardly going to improve relations with the National Trust who own the place. I cleaned off as much as I could and then Matt had a few good attempts but failed to do the mantel.

We then went to a very cold and windy Fantasy League and I still couldn't do the last move - I don't get this problem at all, however strong I feel on the start I just don't have the power to slap round the arete. I think I need some better beta for my feet.

We then did a nice 6A+ wall which I should have flashed but was too busy gossiping and so did second go. Then we moved onto Heart-shaped Slab and tried the 6C+ arete on the right of the slab. After working out how to do the huge reach at the start I had a couple of good attempts but ran out of daylight before topping it out.

I came back to Brimham on Wednesday and tried the arete again. The first moves felt easy and soon I was past Sunday's highpoint and thought it should be in the bag. Multiple attempts later all failing with me rolling backwards off the rockover onto the slab and my skin was too trashed to do the start any more. Really annoying as with the benefit of a spot I think I'd have MTFU'd up and topped it out. Oh well another one to come back for. After this I had a couple of goes on Fantasy League but my skin was too trashed really.

I went to Brimham again today as the cold sunny morning looked really promising. Unfortunately on the way I was chasing some ominous clouds and when I got there it was pretty damp. Fantasy League was too scrittly to attempt so I wandered down to the Pommel area which was pretty green and damp. The only thing that was dry was a crimpy eliminate that gets 7A+ in the new guide. I'd had a few goes on this a while ago but it was sunny and the slopey crimps felt rubbish. In the cold today they felt great and I soon had the hard move done. I then spent a while cleaning holds and finding the most positive bit of the damp top to get the (easy) top out done. This meant I had to match one of the crimps so I could go to the top with my left where it was flatter.





A nervy, slimy grovel over the top and it was in the bag. Not sure what grade this is really as it's pretty eliminate but it has some nice moves. 3 days in 7 on the grit with crap skin have taken their toll though.

Weak at Brimham

I met up with Matt at Brimham today. I wasn't feeling particularly psyched so I was happy to wander over to the Titfield Thunderbolt block and give Matt the beta on that and Whisky Galore. I did the latter 2nd go and then Matt spent a while trying to adapt my short-arse thumb spragg beta into something that would work for him.





I had a few goes pulling back on Titfield but I wasn't really throwing for the top and my skin was getting sore so I went back to spotting Matt and soon he'd got Whisky Galore done. He did it again for the camera and I did it with his beta which had a lovely move for the top.







After that we wandered over to Tom Peckitt's arete problem from last winter. I'd forgotten how bad the landing to this is but with 3 pads Matt got on it and would have done it easily if he'd been a bit fresher. I had some rubbish attempts but couldn't remember my beta but could remember how relieved I'd been to top it out so wasn't really that that keen to get back on it. It's a great problem so I should really get on it again.

Back on the grit

It's been ages since I've been climbing and even longer since I posted on here. I was back in the lab over the summer for about 6 weeks and after that I went on holiday with Nicky. We did some walking with my parents in the lakes:





and some biking up near Nicky's parents in Aberdeenshire. Nicky particularly enjoyed pushing her bike up Clachnaben



only to be confronted with a "Granny-stepped" descent that was a bit too technical for her to ride. I managed to get down most of it - although not without a couple of head-first dismounts and subsequent tumbles down the slope at the side of the path! It was lovely to do a big ride with no tarmac and the views were great.

After the ridiculous temperatures recently that were more suitable for drinking beers in the sun than crushing on the grit, I was pleased to wake up yesterday to a frozen bird bath and frost on the cars outside - a sure sign conditions would be good. As I'd not been climbing for months I thought a trip to somewhere new would be better than failing to do all my favourite warm-ups at the Cliff so I went to Hunter's Stones near Otley. I'd forgotten how rough the grit is here and my skin is so soft after no climbing (and no dosing with 100% ethanol in the lab) that I knew it would have to be a quick session.

I did a nice 6C arete (Mnemonic) in a few goes and then looked at Orion on the side of the big roof but the landing was a bit awkward without a spot so I wandered into the woods to see if the X wall was dry. It was and so I had a look at the left arete of this wall - By hook or by crook - which is 6C+/7A from standing. This looks totally desperate and until I worked out where the crucial heel hook suggested by the name went - I couldn't make any progress. Once I worked this out the next go I was set up to throw for the top but didn't really commit. I climbed over the top to check out what to throw for and the next go it was in the bag.



I thought about trying the sitter but my fingers were already starting to show the strain of pulling on the sharp crimps on this block so I sacked it and went home.



I got back to discover on checking my e-mails that the wrangling with the typesetters was over and my paper that I spent so much of last winter writing has been published. I'm really pleased about this as it's taken up so much of my life for the last 4 years and so it's a great feeling to know it's finally finished - although obviously nothing like as satisfying as latching that pocket on the keel ;-)

More Yorkshire biking

Last Saturday I went biking with Nicky on a lovely loop from Clapham (a village off the A65). It was classic dales riding with stoney tracks and some great views. Blue skies and a pint of Golden Pippin made for a great afternoon's ride.



Unfortunately my brakes needed some attention as by the end the front brake lever would pull to the bars without any contact between the pads and disc. I spent a couple of hours on Monday afternoon with syringes full of brake fluid getting them bled properly so they felt solid again. Even with a new sequence meaning each end only took one go it still took twice as long to bleed 2 disc brakes as it took me to change the oil, oil filter, air filter and diesel filter on my car that evening.

After a hot and greasy couple of hours bouldering at Snowden Crag last night with Matt I thought it really was too hot for climbing so decided to go out on my bike today. I started in a lay-by off the B6160 near Bolton Abbey, rode down the road into Addingham, then out up a minor road and then off-road towards Skipton.



I planned to avoid the busy B6265 to Rylstone by going over Sharp Haw and up some quieter back roads, which meant all the height lost descending into Skipton (which was great - rocky and rooty) had to be regained before going over Sharp Haw.



It looked much worse than it was.



The bridleway doesn't go to the top of Sharp Haw but for some reason the track I followed did. The view across to Rylstone (the next climb) was great.



The descent to Flasby was good and not too boggy and the roads to Rylstone were quiet - the few minutes along the B6265 confirmed that avoiding it was a good plan!

The climb up onto Barden moor wasn't as bad as it looked and was all ridable (apart from when I had to push past some sheep who kept zig-zagging in front of where I was trying to ride).



Then it was (sort of all) downhill to Halton Height with views back to Rylstone



and across to Simon's seat.



A bit of invisible bridleway meant it took a bit longer to find the gate (that was unlocked and didn't have PRIVATE signs on) into the woods above Bolton Abbey than it should have but I was soon back to the road.



A quick spin down to return to my car 4 1/2 hours after I left. I got back to Burley just as it started pissing it down which seemed like great timing until I remembered I had to wash my bike. A meal and a couple of pints in a pub in Otley finished off the day.

Back in the saddle

I've not posted for a while mainly because I've been busy reading papers and looking for jobs. Last week I went to the Depot for a proper power-endurance training session (with a stopwatch and everything) which left me broken for days. I've also been out running a few times with Nicky.

In preparation for Chad's stag do this weekend which is going to involve biking, I decided to go out on my bike. Stage one was to replace the sealant in the tyres which was pretty hassle free - the tyres re-inflated 1st go and they didn't lose air overnight. Today I biked around some of where me and Nicky ran on Sunday on Middleton moor. Some of this is possibly a bit cheeky but I met a few walkers and they were all pretty friendly - even holding open a gate for me on one of the climbs.

It was pretty windy so uphills with a head wind were even harder than when running on the weekend but the stony descents were much better on the bike. When I came back I couldn't remember why I don't go biking so often but after all the post-ride cleaning faff I could! Running is just so much less hassle...

Here's a couple of pictures:



Obligatory bike leaning against stone shot



Quality singletrack on the moor

Power is nothing without endurance?!

Since coming back from Fontainebleau I've not been out much mainly because my middle left-hand finger was feeling pretty sore after pulling hard on the starting pocket of Carnage. I went up to Fairies Chest and did Pixie Tits from standing - which has a pretty scary mantle above a crap landing (even with the 2 pads I'd lugged up there) but the hot weather and sore finger meant I couldn't manage the sit start. The next day I had a sociable evening at Caley with Matt, Johnny and Dom but didn't do anything hard and Matt missed the pads falling off the top of the Pinch and hurt his foot which looked very nasty.

Escaping the Royal Wedding I went to Guisecliff armed with my copy of the new Yorkshire (moorland and esoterica) Gritstone Bouldering guide. This was great as it's easier to identify where all the boulders are in relation to each other than it was from a handful of printouts from yorkshiregrit.com. It started to rain when I got there and was a bit humid but I had a few goes on Pok-a-Tok and went up to Trust - which looked great but I wasn't sure how to pull on.

I was at Matt's for his birthday BBQ on Wed that week and had drunkenly agreed it might be time to go sport climbing. Matt txted me on sunday to make sure I had remembered and so we headed to Troller's Gill on Monday afternoon. For the last few years I've only been bouldering so it's almost 4 years since I actually tried to climb anything hard on a rope and since then I've got a lot stronger but have no stamina at all. I thought it would be a bit of a depressing experience and I was right. After Matt put the clips in the Jim Grin (7a/+) by pulling on the draws and resting on every bolt I had a go on top rope. Predictably up to about 3 bolts I was thinking "this is piss all the holds are huge" then I got pumped and suddenly I couldn't pull on anything. I managed to do all the moves with a lot of rests but didn't really recover even after I was on the ground for a while. I did go up it again on top rope (again with several rests) but wasn't feeling recovered at all. The next day I felt totally broken in a completely different way to how I feel after a hard bouldering session.

I guess that I need to work on my power-endurance (I've never been very inspired by long stamina routes and most UK sport is short and cruxy) or go climbing at the right hand end of Raven Tor if I want to improve my sport climbing grade. Unfortunately training power by working lots of hard boulder problems is fun but training power endurance means pain! I knew this would be the case as I've been bouldering several times when women who've done 8b were trying the same problem and it's obvious a) that they aren't very powerful but b) they can apply the same amount of power every single go for many more attempts than I could - which clearly illustrates you don't have to be able to pull *that* hard to climb power-endurance 8s...

In an attempt to get a bit more volume to my climbing I went up to High Crag on Ilkey Moor and ticked 3 3s, a 4, a 5, 3 5+s a 6A and a 6B+ in about an hour but then got sucked into the "classic of the crag" a 7A+ on slopers which felt desperate in the heat (and I think I might have been eliminating an undercut that is allowed). I tried to focus on doing easy problems with the minimum amount of effort which was hard on some of the dirty top-outs!

Yesterday I went back to Guisecliff armed with video beta but the undercut needed for Pok-a-Tok was filthy and I didn't have a proper brush to clean it. I went up to Trust and tried pulling on with the high foot method I'd seen in a video on UKB but this was so contorted that I needed to bounce off my left foot to get it off the pad. I then tried rocking up off a lower left foot hold without "french starting" off the pad. Eventually I could do this and hold the side pull and 3 goes later (including an exciting out of control fall bouncing off the edge of the pads and tumbling down the slope) I'd done it. This gets 7B but it's a bit odd as I found getting off the ground without bouncing off the pad is the hardest bit. If there was one good foothold just a couple of inches above the ground to start on it'd be a lot easier. Certainly if you were tall enough to pull on 1 move higher (which I could do off 2 stacked pads) it'd be a gift for 7B (Matt are you reading this?!)

Here's a picture anyway