Works comp and team training

Friday night saw th 2nd works comp and it was a roll over on the bonus problem meaning there was £150 to be won. I arrived at 7 having driven from France to find hardly anyone there in the mix for the prize, all i had to do was figure out Percy's deviance and send to glory. the problem turned out to be more of a route, with footless moves on jams! thankfully i like jamming and so after figuring out a few of the moves sent it on my second attempt :)

And so to Newcastle for the second team training of the year at the newly opened climb Newcastle, always good to climb at a new wall. Saturday saw us tackling 15 problems from 7a to 8a, before a fingerboard session with the Earl (well take the piss session!). Sunday saw another 8 problems in the morning, followed by another visit to yesterdays problems plus some others that looked good along the way (the perils of climbing in group of 4 competitive people!)

I felt fit, my main problem being the pain in my finger tips having just spent three weeks on granite! but the body was still willing at the end, and the whole weekend was really positive with everyone climbing well. And would well recomend climb Newcastle as a top venue, nice one Andy and Chris (and Darren)

Cresciano and Chironico and snow

Just returned from three weeks in Switzerland, had two days of perfect weather, with barely reaching zero degrees! flashed power ranger - 7b+, just a couple of minging crimps and did Komilator in less than an hour, a really cool tenuous heel hook. Then it snowed and rained for four days, with a day of waiting for things to dry before t was back to sending!
I very nearly flashed the mega classic La Boule at Cresciano, dropping the move to the final good crimp! if only i'd been warmer, and then frustration as i lost how to do the press across.

Stew and Sabby came out to meet us at Chironico, i did No Mysteries 8a+, unfortunately couldn't reach the move of the heel-toe so just had to jump and basically one arm the crimp! definitely worth the plus in my book! The same day i flashed Dr Crimp - 7c not just pulling on minging little crimps as i thought it would be, a really nice problem.



The next day at cresc for a bit of warmth, saw round two of the la boule battle! i new i only had one good try on it due to failing skin, the pressure was on! thankfully i did it on my second attempt of the day, and decided i would spend the rest of the day trying to grow skin!


Back to Chironico, saw a flashes of les doigts vert - 7c+ and Virtruvian man - 7c, before declaring it too cold and going in search of hot chocolate and a weather forecast.
The forecast showed only one more day of good weather and a promising forecast for font, so a long morning was had at cresc, making good progress on La Prou getting my hand over the hold with my foot popping or coming up just short with it sticking! definitely psyched to go back.

European championships

Heading off to the European champs in Paris starting on Wednesday followed by a few days in font after, should be a good trip especially with stew finally breaking his font cherry!
Feeling vaguely strong after a weeks worth of hard pulling, but feeling a bit held back by a slight bit of man flu hampering my recovery. Just have to go and see what happens i guess.

Kalymnos

Just returned from two weeks of mind blowing tufa pulling in kalymnos. Good to touch some real dry rock after the horrible summer we've had. Onsighted a couple of 8a's and a shed load of really good 7b+ to 7c+'s. was good to stilll feel fairly fit.
Now i'm back to a week of hard training and reminding myself how to pull hard for the European championships in Paris starting on the 15th of October.

BBC's

Having had three weeks to train i was feeling in better shape than at any time this year(thank god!) having been struggling with a bit of golfer's elbow. The qualifiers went well, landing up in joint 4th and still feeling fresh for the final.
After watching the women's final, nice one Audrey (go team evolv!) it was into isolation and time to get focused. I was out 4th feeling focused and psyched and flashed the first three problems, but i had a feeling that Stu and Gaz would do the same. I knew that i would need one of the last two problems to stand a chance of winning. I touched the finishing hold on both problems but didn't quite latch them, the last problem because i didn't spot a crucial foot lock! to my surprise Stu didn,t do the last two problems either, but he had qualified better than me. Gaz had had an absolute mare on the first problem and was out of it, and so Ned sneaked in, topping out the last problem to win with four tops in 11 attempts, leaving me in third, awesome effort Ned.

Need to do some training!

After the disapointment of traveling half way round the world to get one bonus hold in Vail (although the problems were hard) it was back to Fiera for the third world cup in as many weeks. I was a bit more positive for this one the chief route setter being our own Jamie Cassidy.

Well i thought wrong! For the second comp ever i didn't top a single probem! although i did drop the top of three problems! Time for some power endurance training i think.





Here's me about to drop the top of the third and probably the hardest problem!









Following a string of disapointing results i have decided not to do the next round in Montauban to concentrate on the BBC in three weeks. On with the training!

Vail dude!!

Had a chilled few days in vail acclimatising, getting over jet lag and being sarcastic to over friendly Americans, they really don't get it!.
Gaz had to get some oxygen.............. yes it is actually real , air in a can!

Finally get to climb tommorrow, hopefully the wall and mats will dry out after a day of rain and drizzle.

BWC - Vail

Have arrived in Vail for the next round of the world cup, with a very confused body. it is currently about 6 in the morning here having been awake for the last two hours! I'm sure i'll get used to it soon enough!
The flight over seemed to go very quickly as Gaz and i were very entertained by the American version of the innovations catalogue. (we were on a plane for 10 hours!)

Lazy route setters!

Finished in 21st in Grindelwald, just about the worst place to finish! should have been 20th and in the semis only the route setters didn't take some holds of the wall from the womens problem and didn't tape the out of bounds so the Slovenian lad Blaz managed to go up the womens problem and back to finish on top of the mens! Hats off to him for doing it but he shouldn't have had the option on a problem that no one else topped out.
Here's a pic of me flashing the first problem.














Stu climbed really well in the qualifiers finishing third but slipped to 16th in the semis

World cup Grindelwald

Just arrived in a very damp Grindelwald for the third round of the bouldering world cup.
Qualifiers are tommorrow morning for the men and afternoon for the women, with the semi's and final on saturday

BLCC - not bad for a boulderer!

Did the BLCC yesterday, not really knowing how i was going to fair, and having a bit of pressure having won the skymasters earlier this year. Qualifiers were a very tight affair but i managed to squeeze through to the final. Once again in the final saw Gaz Dew and myself get to the same hold.
So Gaz won on count back leaving Drew and myself to share the second step of the podium.
2nd place in the BLCC not bad for a boulderer!

Kilnsey - First 8a+

Been to Kilnsey again today, third time in a week! Did my first 8a+ today, Grooved Arete, lovely climbing up an overhanging groove, short and bouldery so right up my street! Also flashed Dominatrix a long classic 7c considered quite stern for the grade!

World Cup Belgrade - or not

Should be in Belgrade for the third round of the world cup except it has been cancelled very annoying being on a non refundable flight and not sure if we'll get any compensation. oh well off to Kilnsey with Gaz and do a few routes before the BLCC in Blackpool next weekend.

Hall - World cup rd1

Climbed ok in Hall after drawing a nasty start position (only 6 hours in isolation!) but landed up 49th in a very big field (88) of wads! One of those comps where it just didn't happen, taking too many attempts to do a problem, and having a taped up finger didn't help. Still managed one of the hardest problems, although on my second go having dropped the finishing hold!

First round of the World cup

Off to Austria tommorrow for the first round of the world cup in Hall near Innsbruck, hopefully my arms will be a bit more cooperative and the split in my finger will be ok.

Qualifiers are on Friday, semis and final on Saturday. You should be able to watch online at www.salzlager.at and search around a bit unless your deutsch is better than mine!

CWIF

Competed in the climbing works international festival at the weekend, qualifiers went well finishing joint third and our team living up to its name coming in first, with Jordan getting a perfect score, Dan putting in a fine hungover performance being joint third with me and Leah winning the womens.

The semis didn't go so well :-( seems i'm still struggling a bit with some plague which won't go away! Topped the first problem on my second go and then got past the bonus hold on my first go on the other three but my forearms just didn't want to play, all very frustrating! landed up in 8th place.

Ohh well at least we won the team event, making me a litle bit better off!

Skymasters champion

Won the first Skymasters challenge at the outdoor show in Birmingham. Amazing climbing through 30+ metres of roof and Kalymnos style tufas! Arrived on Saturday with no expectations and no pressure found myself in first place for Sundays final!

Then there was some pressure! Being the last out i knew that people had got close to the end but no one had topped it! My usual route tactic of go go go seemed the order of the day and get into the hands off rest in the tufas to try and recover before a sprint to the end! i have never been so pumped in my life and not fallen off! Pure adrenaline pulled me up the last moves feeling the crowd willing me to the top, i latched the finishing jug and knew i had won, amazing! the last competitor out and the only one to the top. oh and a bit richer to boot!

Check out my pumped forearms!

long time no writing!

Not a lot been going on recently, just a bit of work and some training. Won the last round of the works comp, which i won overall so some nice piece of berghaus gear heading my way!

Made some good progress on a project in Yorkshire very frustrating being dragged around on the end of a shunt, so be good to get on it on a top rope!


Off to the outdoors show in Birmingham this weekend to compete in the Skymasters Challenge which should be a good laugh, 30m of horizontal roof madness, check it out

another fine gritstone day

Finally the nice cold grit days have arrived! thank god for being self employed! Went to the plantation today had a really good first proper session on the ace. Got my hand over the top a few times, don't know why i didn't hold it! but there's something to get excited about. Left is a still from the video footage.

8 ball

Nailed 8 ball today, what an amazing problem! Took a gamble on the weather and found awesome conditions at Gardoms. Check it out! shame they missed the first move!

Works comp etc

Been a bit rubbish at writting recently mostly due to being constantly working and the none stop rain!
Was joint first in the Climbing works bouldering league on friday night, thats 3 out of 3 now, and walked away with the prize money from Percy's special problem which is always a good boost to funds! Good to still be cranking having not been training very much since November! Starting to train for the start of the world cup series starting in April.

Finally got out on some real rock at the weekend coming fustratingly close to 8 ball, just a matter of time now!