Cliffhanger

Last weekend was the British bouldering championships at cliffhanger in sheffield. The comp was really well run and a lot of fun. It was a shock to see how many strong people had turned up!

After returing from europe i needed to get back into plastic. i had a quick session at the works on their new dirty yellow circuit. Gaz told me "it will make you cry" and he wasn't far wrong. Most of the problems are hard and use minging little crimps. I felt pretty psyched to be climbing on plastic again (strange but true) and felt pretty strong, doing most the probems in a session. I left feeling really beaten with really sore skin, but feeling like i was in tune wth plastic again just in time for the comp.

After arriving at the comp on Sunday and warming up we got stuck in to the qualifyers. They were all pretty hard with loads of the problems being dropable due to bad foot holds. I was pretty nervous - i find it hard to climb well with the pressure of having to flash the problems. In the end I managed to do 9 of the 10 problems, qualifying in 2nd place behind Gaz. I was really happy to have made the final and wasn't really bothered with how well i would do as the worst i could do was come 8th and this would have been my best result in the BBCs yet.

After watching the womens final we headed into isolation and began the warm up again. I was out second last after all the others so could take my time and warm up fully.

The first problem suited me totally. An easy lay back led to big moves on pockets and dishes and a tricky move at the end. I dropped the last move on my first go (just funbled the finishing pocket) but did it next go.



The second and third problems were not too hard but they took me a few goes to figure out and do. Luckily they were not very long so i didn't get too tired despite having a lot of goes.
The 4th problem was dirty hard and i got shut down. Luckly so did everyone else ( a couple got very close). I limited my goes on this in order to save some beans for the last problem.

The last problem was easy all the way to the last move which used a tricky foot lock. It seems that most people didn't find the foot lock and couldnt hold the last hold. On my first go i saw what to do but got too pupmed getting there and couldn't make the foot lock work. I knew i could do the problem so i decided to take maximum rest and give it one more go. This time i pulled on and sprinted to the last move. I got there feeling pretty fresh compared to the previous go and had time to make the footlock work, and stick the last hold.


I was pretty pleased to have done 4 of the 5 poblems but presumed a lot of the others would have as well. As i went to sit down and chill Gangle ran up to me and told me i had won. I didn't belive him but then more and more people kept running over and congratulating me! Nice! It turns out that i am the youngest winner yet which is pretty cool, even if it does feel a bit like i won it by accident!

I had decided before the comp that i would be happy to make the finals, even if i came last in the final. After qualifying in 2nd place, i was really chuffed and not at all bothered how well i would do in the final. I think this stopped me from putting too much pressuere on myself which really helped.

Overall the comp was really good fun. It was good to see all the usual comp faces as well as some additional beasts, and it is always nice to feel like you are climbing well.

euro trip

After my exams finished I headed off to Europe with the Masonator and the gangly Tom Newman.

First was magic – Dave and Tom crushed while I battled to keep up, but still got some cool problems ticked.
We then went to Fionnay (an area Dave Graham developed) which has a cool cave with loads of horizontal problems on amazing granite. We all got some problems done – especially gangle who was dispatching left right and centre despite being injured!

I then had a comp in Montauban (one of the last rounds of this years world cup) so we drove down to meet the others. Gaz was taken ill and had to go to hospital and get scanned and fed some funky drugs. He didn’t get to compete in the end which sucked a bit.

I managed to do ok and surprised myself (and probably the others) a bit by coming 23rd overall. I was close to getting into the semis which would have been really good fun, but I was pretty pleased to not come at the bottom of the field for the first time! The party afterwards was ok but the band sucked and they ran out of beer (probably because team austria (Fishuber and Lama) had got to it first judging by the state of them!)

After this we drove up to font to chill for a while before heading home. I had so much fun pottering about on easy stuff with a bit of carpet feeling all old school (but without the woolly jumper and high trousers), but also got stuck into a couple of harder problems.

fata morgana

Overall it was a really fun trip with us all getting some good problems done especially the other two who were dispatching despite old or new injuries. I managed to flash a 7c+ which has been a goal for a while as well as doing loads of cool problems at loads of venues.


This is my ticklist from may til now: -

Peak district:
Mutton busting – 8a/8a+ first ascent
Recreational violence (LH) - 8a
Candyman – 8a first ascent
Hard Candy – 8a first ascent
Neil’s wall (sit start) – 7c+/8a
Mint sauce – 7c 2nd ascent
Candy Kaned – 7c 2nd ascent
Hand candy – 7c First ascent
Candy floss – 7b+ first ascent


Switzerland:
Left hand of darkness – 8a+
Right hand of darkness – 8a
Mutter tag – 8a
Rhytmo Brachial – 8a
Unnamed - 7c+ (flash)
Sneestrum – 7c+ (flash)
Unnamed roof - 7c+
Man of cow – 7c (flash)
Campus problem – 7c
Some river boulder - 7c first ascent
Back bloc – 7c
Sheep fatale – 7c
Welcome to jamrock – 7b+ (flash)

Font:
Fata morgana – 8a

keeping busy...

Have been busy and then on holiday so no updates for a while.
This is what I have been up to since May.

Dan and I developed a newish venue on peak limestone and did some sweet problems up to and including a couple of 8a’s. One of which is a link up of a couple of 7c problems via a butch move, and the other is a big move off a terrible crimp. We also did an amazing 7c called candy kaned which features sloper slapping up a vague prow as well as a bunch of other cool problems.

After this we went to beginners wall and did Neil’s wall from sitting (Dan flashed the stand up then flashed the sitter, leaving me flailing but I eventually did the sitter after a while). Next was recreational violence – polish dave’s big dyno thing. We saw some other holds on the left and climbed it. We thought it could be 8a? Who knows. Its fun!

Next we started to try the low roof across the road from beginners wall. Ru had been trying this via a savage crimpy sequence, but the dream team (Dan and myself) found some new beta which made it a bit more doable, and a bit more fun. We were close to linking it that session but had to go back for it. Finally on my 3rd session it went down with Dan doing it the session after. Its called Mutton Busting due to the sheep bones scattered at the base of the crag and is probably 8a/+?

After this we got stuck in to the highball groove to the left. After abbing it and pulling off loads of loose rock Dan dispatched and I did it a bit later with a slightly different sequence. Its called Mint Sauce and is probably about 7c – but pretty highball.

A bad pic of mutton busting.

A bad pic of rec. violenc