There and back again

So I reached another training goal today. Its a small step, but its good to feel like I'm still moving forward. Following the F7A+ through to the side wall (3 moves from the end) and then back again. Four minutes in a fairly horizontal world, feel free to fast forward. Wednesday is looking dry, so I'm now psyched to see how it feels in the real world...

This is maybe the crazy box's doing, but I've marked all the low tide windows on the family calendar until June. The Tosheroon and I have some unfinished business...

Cracking open a little wider

All this rain is turning me a little loopy. Today I got there and back as far as the red shiny volume on my knee bar trainer at the Beacon. Also, I've started daydreaming up some new wacky ideas to fill the days of drizzle, just doodling like...

I've just bought myself some new winter patioing gloves too.....

Partially Opening the Crazy Box

I haven't trained since 2013. The Beast in Me closed a chapter in my life, I realised that my body couldn't be ignored any more, and if I wanted to continue enjoying climbing I had to ease up and try to get fixed. In truth I've never really embraced training, I'd built up strength and flexibility, but I've never given much time to conditioning or endurance. I just went climbing.

This year I've set out goals; to get fixed, to climb the Tosheroon project, then climb my Marchlyn project.

Getting fixed. I've had my first proper session of one to one pilates with Eirian. Already I'm gaining better control of my core and a better awareness of my musculature ( what is tight and what's not activating etc.) Even on my pessimistic painful days I'm still hopeful.


Tosheroon. The training has tentatively started. My base is not too miserable, and getting fixed is still too early days for much volume. In fact the volume at the moment is taken up with pilates.

Specific training has always been my anvil on which to batter myself. So when the project is 40ft of horizontal grovelfest, its time to crack open the crazy box and build yourself a grinder:

OK its not a slimy squeeze box, its a lot more fun than that, less painful too. I made it for a bouldering comp at the Beacon, it has multiple knee bars, and goes around F7A+. Prior to my last Eirian session, I wheezed and flailed my way to barely kick the sidewall. This version is after a week of focussed pilates. The next step is to go there and reverse back again, and after that is smooth and under control (and I can walk the next day) its off to George's crack for laps. To squeeze the tide window for Tosheroon into my busy schedule is tricky and infrequent, so I need to be battle ready before I rock up there.

Tosheroon is specialist, even in the widefetish world, but it feeds my crazy and I'm properly psyched. Even if I'm getting pain free just to inflict pain on myself.


More soon, once I start more regular conditioning, who knows what normal achievements I may attain...


Enjoy your own crazy...

I.N.S.P.R.E. Jan '16

First post of the new year, and I seem to have found myself without a monthly feature. All Giveaway projects are, well, given away.. The big tick list is now short mid term and loooonnnggg goals. What can I prattle on about? okay, not a big dilemma.

Talking to fellow pursuers of unclimbed esoterica, we've all got pet rocks we're rather proud of. The fact that other people have never heard of them, let alone climbed them, is a little irksome. However, I do concede that I've climbed some right tat too, so how do we promote the horseshoes and ignore the horseapples. My new monthly feature looks to address this.

I.N.S.P.R.E. stands for "Its Not Shit, Please Repeat Everybody". There are neglected gems out in them thar hills, that may have never been seen by anybody but the FA, let alone had someone else climb on them. I intend to limit my own contributions to 2-3 so as to not be too narcissistic, so expect some beta and history from other fellow esoterrorists.

This months contribution is "It not the Years, its the Mileage" F7A/+ found at Crag y Giat above Nant Peris. 

Here it is. Through the campsite and up the hill, 30 mins if you're unfit like me.

The gate seems to have gone, but the crags still here.

I first stumbled across the crag in 2003, where I cleaned it up and led a couple of lines up the middle (no. 2 cam I seem to recall). The line on the left intrigued me, and over the next 8 years I sporadically humped myself up the hill, trying new sequences, and testing my fitness. My eventual success was down to improved core keeping my feet on.

Almost 5 years later, and still no repeat, the lichen and fluff has grown back a little, and would be repeatists would be wise to take a harness and 15m of rope to give it a good clean.

plenty of bosses to tie off a cleaning rope!

lots of interesting rugosities

slabby to steep..

Myself modelling the crag. The crack I'm under is Chemistry Crack. I chose the name as it was reminiscent of the test piece at my old uni. A join between two high walls outside the chemistry dept at Royal Holloway, young guns would test their jamming/ laybacking skill here on the way back from the pub.

On the left are the starting holds for mileage, and here on the right are the Starting holds for "Desire is Repressed Fire" a F6A+ up the middle into the hanging crack. The cam can go in the dark slot above my head. "Sharks patrol these waters" is another line to the right of this up the margin of the slab, above a nasty block. Sharks and Desire both somehow made it into the Llanberis guide, but Mileage is currently recorded only in this blog, and on North Wales Bouldering.

Its a stiff walk, but for capable types it will certainly be a rewarding one. The slash grade reflects my uncertainty, its certainly the hardest I've climbed of its type, and I still remember the crux sequence; thumb gaston to stacked mono in shallow gouge, into a dynamic rockover for a monocrimp.. all very esoteric.

For your consideration...

Another year throttled

So while the kids are in bed, and less exhausted people are out befuddling their brains in celebration of another year survived, I thought I'd take a look back on 2015 and try to work out what the heck happened.

January

Kicked this off with a proud tick up at Marchlyn, not without some significant tumbling. It wasn't until much later in the year that this was viable as a one pad venue, so a few scrapes had to be taken on the chin..

Also around here was a trip to the lleyn with new mate Fatneck, where I learn't my grading wasn't too far out, and many people are better than me.

February

Snow meant snowballing! The cube became a more viable proposition for 5 days of the year, and we found out that child number four was on her way unaccompanied by another twin, and arriving slap bang in sendtember.

Oh yes and my patio efforts in Neverneverland finally bore fruit.

March

Patio number two was underway, and much other assorted and unproductive faffing.

April

A proper month this. Cae Dafydd, a sortie to Tosheroon, and some serious scooter exploration at Llugwy reservoir.

May

May brought a peak of sorts. I was still too unfit to take any serious scalps, however, enthusiasm and trying hard won out. The Baron was realised, abet in a sanitised form. I gave the Tosheroon a proper go, and was probably only a metre off success (a couple of miles in offwidth terms), making a year highlight, in retrospect.

I also found my happy place once more in Dyffryn Mymbyr, this disparate collection of stones have given me pleasure for 8 years or more, and I hope to meet more of you there in the future.

June, July & August

With the summer holidays descending and Sam now rather full of baby, opportunities started to dry up. However, Mymbyr continued to make me happy on the odd solitary day. Also, I started my quixotic quest to scare the poo clear out my bowels with some Lleyn DWS action.
July also allowed me to stop getting cross with the state of ethics in Twll Mawr, and  help in a small way to usher in the back walls hardest route.

September

Seren

The Rest

Family and a little exploring, but generally getting happy, but out of shape, content with my awesome family, but aware of my bodies deep failings.


Next year

Get my body sorted, get Tosheroon done, have some happiness up at Marchlyn and Mymbyr, and enjoy the Family.

Happy New Year!

Brewing next year's psyche 2015

Christmas eve,

The rain stopped once again, and it was time to be proactive in achieving my goals. Last time I brewed up, it was my highest viewed post. It was also the build up to The Beast in Me, and at the time I had 6 month old twins and was plagued by a list of niggles and injuries. Well, 2015 and the monkeys of chaos are 5, I have a 3 month old girl, and I'm plagued by a list of niggles and injuries. Certainly seems like its time to brew up again....

Where have I grown?
My understanding of my injuries firstly, The meeting with Eirian was extremely helpful. It has helped me understand how my past adventures in poor training and hitting the ground, coupled with my slight hyper-mobility has knocked every thing out of place. The links up the chain of balance from my feet upwards, even to my elbows(damn gravity), has given me fresh perspective, and hope that it can be corrected.

Where have I regressed?
Quite simply motivation. If ever there was a need for a montage, its now.

In an effort to kick start this years brew, I  had started watching old fail tapes of myself up at Marchlyn. Although my body definitely felt too creaky to climb, I was keen to get back up there so that I didn't build up any blockage about the walk in. I thought I could get some new shots, look at some new positions, and celebrate the patio I built up there.

Made it up here in under 40 mins, its going to be a while before I start threatening the 30 minute mark again. From here you can see the tide line cutting across the midline of the main boulder. Fortunately the water is so eutrophic the grot build up is very low.

The steepness. Exhibiting the starting flake hold, my 10" brush, and an overly scrubbed patch of starting "non" footholds (still clean Owen).

The main boulder with its glorious patio. This means its a one pad venue, two at the most. It also has made the few addition holds in the steepness accessible from a sit.This means more things to work on, rather than banging my head against the same problem.

The starting position. Left hand on flake. The premise of the project was to go from here into the finish of Tumbleweed. Previously I'd tried to link through with the beautiful blunt arete. However my thoughts from this visit were that this was just way too hard if not impossible, and also eliminate...

Full stretch off the starting flake gains a rail on Erodeo/Tumbleweed(face squashed into the rock). Any moves from this position wrap you around the arete until you gain the Tumbleweed  standing start.

A cool toe hook makes the transitions possible. I think this project is now a little less perfect, but a lot more attainable. I have T-rex arms, so its going to be the most obvious sequence for normal people. All in all, this brings this goal more in reach, somewhere between long and short term...

All things are possible, given the right amount of work

back on the scooter too! much fear and braking until i get used to it again. new rear wheel too I think.

Merry Christmas!

Coming Up For Air

I haven't posted for what seems like ages. I've missed it, but life and meteorology have got in the way.

So Friday was the first dry moment without work, family or husbandly commitments since the last post. November was pretty much a write off, the only point of note was visiting Dangleberries with pads to find it wet, hardish, and needing a spotter to prevent headplanting. Friday, however, I went for a quick walk above our house to walk round a scree cone I hadn't navigated before.

Ponds! must remember these come the frogspawn season (for the kids obviously)

Cool Junk. The cone is pretty old so the composition is a little unstable and exciting with some cool lichens and plants.

random pretty rock, nothing to boot up for though.

Damn good wall.

Although Seren continues to be a fairly easy going baby, Ethan and Dylan are getting into their stride as 5yr old twin boys, hereby known as the Chaos Munkeys. The Chaos Munkeys have stopped destroying their school, and started to slow down on the destruction of the family home, but they're not going to bed like little darlings at the moment. Ho Hum.

Last week I also visited Sunny Carlisle. This was for a NIBAS course for the delivery of the meaty stuff; levels 4&5. Good coaching content, with a chance to practice on ourselves. With all the upheaval in my life at the moment it was good to set some Goals:

Short Term

Get myself back into regular training with good form and all niggles managed

I have been increasingly frustrated with my bodies failures of late. a lack of regular climbing combined with some long term injuries / sources of pain have made it a bit of a dark time (fortunately lit up by Seren). Borrowed this book for the Train Journey to Carlisle

The opportunities of delayed trains meant it all got read. The gist of it is that this is complicated; find the best people to advise you, work hard and adapt to keep enjoying it, eccentrics are good, sort technique and bio mechanics. So this week I have a date with a Dance, Pilates, and Fitness instructor Eirian Roberts for a full MOT, and I'll try to fit some (very) light conditioning in too, rather than be a boy and jump on the pretty hard things.

Medium Goal

Get the Tosheroon done

Need to be fit, aerobically and core, for this, and for it to be warm. one for the spring.

Long Term Goal

Climb this:

By Next Winter I need to be solid of core, injury free, in full four wheel drive, and have muscles on my muscles.

The first step is to lap a few 5b's