CWIF 2013

Last weekend was the Climbing Works International Festival, the first big comp of the season and a good opportunity to see where you are up to in your training. It is also usually a pretty good comp for me, having had god knows how many 2nd places and finally winning last year.
My build up hadn't been ideal so i was going in a bit unsure having only started my training cycle in January, having had quite a long break from being massively over trained from last season (and probably the previous 3 seasons too!) My left shoulder was also not 100% due to a chronic knot at the base of my neck, causing all sorts of issues. Finally i split a tip the weekend before so didn't get to climb very much the week before, leaving me feeling very "wooden" in the qualifiers making some very basic errors on some really easy moves. In the end i qualified in 12th for Sundays semis, with some very sore feeling skin.
After much application of skin repair balm the night before it felt surprisingly ok warming up as did my movement and muscles. The semi problems suited me well being on volumes and slopers/pinches and i topped all 4 in 9 attempts and the only one to do all 4 putting me in 1st place for the finals, i still felt fairly fresh which felt good as i wasn't sure of my fitness coming into the event.
 Viewing the final problems i thought they all looked well within my capabilities although we weren't quite sure how to do the finish of the first slab!
Being last out i knew all the taller boys had reached the last hold off the foothold and that Jacob hadn't been able to reach it, so i would have to pull something special out the bag or my final would be effectively over! Feeling extremely angry at the route setters (not the best mental state for slab climbing) i pulled on knowing I had to stand on the 1mm edge left at the top of a volume and push up hard into the bottom of the finishing hold. I slipped on my first go not quite on the best bit trying to match the finish. slipped again mantling up then somehow at full stretched managed to match, i hope someone got a picture! Sorry boys but that was a really bad problem, good if everyone had to stand on the edge as set.
Still fuming i flashed problem 2 knowing only Jacob had topped it putting me in 1st place.

Flashing problem 2

The third problem i thought looked like my thing the only move i was concerned about being the move to the bonus slot! It turns out that the 2nd move was just too big and i couldn't drop in from my iron cross position!

Bit stretched! thanks to Mark Bullock for the photo

Jacob had done it quickly too. Leaving us joint on tops but not on bonuses going into the last problem so i needed Jacob to fall off a few times, which he didn't being world champion. I did the last problem 2nd go after just missing a hidden hold on a volume to secure another  CWIF 2nd place.

The final problem

 Not bad and i have a few things to work on before my first world cup of 2013 in April.
Thanks to the climbing Works for putting on another great event.   
Anyone else got any pics?

Briancon LWC

As British leading champion I felt I ought to attend at least one of the rounds of the lead world cup. After a quick scan down the IFSC calendar and a bit of research I plucked for Briancon as it is one of the shorter walls on the tour and therefore must be better for a lost boulderer such as myself!

Post BBC’s I found my finger still sore and just over a week to do some emergency circuits, but also fit in as much route setting/coaching as possible as I was going to Europe for three weeks.

Qualifiers started early, the first climber starting at 8:30, thankfully I was out 24^th on the first route giving me a little more time for some more coffee to kick in. The first route was definitely my style on small volumes slopers and pinches and I got pretty high falling of the same move as quite a few others leaving me in 14^th on that route. 

The first route slopey pinches in a roof....heaven!

The 2^nd route looked like it was going to hurt! A line of crimps up to the overhang then a powerful sequence through it. The crimps were smaller than they looked and I had to enter battle mode from the deck (normally reserved for at least 15 moves in!) I got through the bottom wall just, then could enter a more comfortable area of power moves (well for me anyhow) the pump was setting in and I fought through another 6 moves before failing on a long go again move.

bearing down on the 2nd qualifier

elbows about to go up.

Making semi finals had never even crossed my mind, but I finished in joint 21^st and so got to come back the next day for another fight.

In semi finals you have 6 minutes observation time, then back to isolation and come out in reverse order of qualification. The route looked hard which was a good thing since I get pumped at the same height whatever the grade!

The bottom wall was much harder than it looked, as the moves didn’t quite flow, battling between positions. I pulled into the roof pumped out of my mind and thankfully found a knee bar rest where I could take both hands off and try to recover a little. 

After a while I decided I was about as recovered as I was going to get and quested across the powerful sequence across the roof where my pump soon returned with a vengeance I fell moving through the lip too pumped to think clearly and doing the move slightly wrong! I was still pumped an hour later!

A few people fell of just before me and most went only six moves further, which I found really encouraging that I was not too far away from making finals! I finished in 21^st, a little disappointing as its always nice to go up a bit.

I will definitely be doing the lead at the world championships in Paris and maybe Kranj at the end of the year. I may even squeeze some proper training in before hand! 

British Bouldering Champion

Well it finally happened! I am the 2012 British Bouldering Champion, after three years of being so close I was convinced that this one was my nemesis. This year seemed like no exception as I did my middle finger pulley three weeks before! I could climb on it but it would then swell lots and be useless the day after. So three weeks of antag work and occasional pull-ups would be my training for the BBC's.....I wasn't hopeful!
Qualifiers went ok considering the boards we covered in lines of crimps, thankfully nothing you had to really pull of though. And I qualified in joint 2nd for the finals, hoping for some more volumes and slopers.

 here is me on one of the qualifiers. photo Alex Messenger

I was happy to see that it mostly was during our observation period (you get 2minutes to look at each problem before the final starts) and although it took lots of goes, I managed to top all 4 problems (the only person to do the 2nd problem). Relief is most definitely the word!

Me celebrating topping out the 2nd boulder in the final. Photo Alex Messenger

More of Alex's photos here.


Ellie and I are now in Briancon, after having driving for what seemed like an age to get here. First stop is the Lead World Cup which is being held here on Friday and Saturday, followed by 2 weeks of climbing on the real stuff. Watch live at www.ifsc.tv

2012

So its been far too long since i last blogged, guess i just got out of the habit over the long winter of not really doing anything interesting (apart from the third ascent of Brownian motion) and started using twitter too. I just had my head down training hard and bolting holds to various different walls.
My pre season training went well, even managed to stay injury free, something i haven't managed to do for a long time. This meant by the time the first international came round, the CWIF (climbing works international festival) i was feel strong fit and ready to compete. It seems my feelings were correct as i finally won it (having been 2nd in this comp at least 3 times before).

My bubble burst slightly as a head cold decided it wanted to go onto my chest, making training and sleeping very difficult for two weeks, leaving me feeling a little under prepared for my first world cup of the season in Slovenia, but i managed to squeeze a few good sessions in before heading out but still unsure of how i would fare.
Thankfully i made it through the lottery of qualifiers and into the semifinals topping 3 boulders out of the 5 but should have been 4 really! The semi finals were a similar story really topping 2 boulders out of the 4, one of which was one of the harder ones, but failed to stick the horizontal roof dyno that quite a few others did, leaving me in a slightly disappointing 17th ( 2 flashes was enough to be in the final). It definitely felt like a top ten climb to me but in a field where every man in the semi finals had previously been in a final before it was always going to be a tight one.

The following weekend was Vienna, somewhere that has treated me quite well in the past so i was hopeful for a strong performance. I felt good and relaxed warming up perhaps a bit too relaxed in hindsight as i missed the easy dyno on the first problem thinking how warm the holds were! I slightly misread the third problem topping that 2nd go too! The 4th problem was infuriatingly close as i slipped off the final hold, turns out no one else got close! The 5th problem was easy, leaving me with 3 tops in 5, but should have been 3 in 3 really! even 3 in 4 would have put me into the semis...just. instead i landed up 27th kicking myself over two stupid mistakes and wondering what if over the 4th problem! At least i got some points! The semis and finals looked like my style too!
We have three weeks off now before Innsbruck, giving me a few weeks to work on a few things, and try to get things a bit more hooked up.

Eindhoven, Barcelona and Sheffield

First up I qualified for the final in 4th place at Eindhoven and slipped to 6th place. In the final i had nothing left even though i felt like i was capable of doing all four, i only topped the first problem. This photo sums up my final quite well.The following weekend was Barcelona, where i qualified for the semi finals and finished 11th but should have been in the final really after i missed a foothold on one problem doing it 2nd go and fell victim to a stupid out of bounds tape on an other. I was pleased to perform well in such horrendously hot conditions, i don't know who's idea it was to hold a competition in a non air conditioned building in the middle of summer but they should be shot as the are so many cool places in Barcelona it could have been attracting a large audience too, but it wasn't so no one really saw it!
Finally It was the home event in Sheffield at cliffhanger, where i hoped to climb well......unfortunately i climbed well and felt strong but only topped three problems falling off the top of the other 2 leaving me 16th in a very strong group. I guess that's the way it goes sometimes in such a strong field 7 of this years finalists did not qualify! The semi final problems also look like they would have suited me too, a very frustrating weekend.

Ohh well a weekend off this week(well lots of work) before heading out to Arco for the World championships where I'm also going to do the lead, which should be fun.

Font Videos

Below are two videos from my trip to Font, Karma and Gecko (assis) which is apparently 8b+ my first of the grade :-)

Karma


Gecko assis

Karma and Gecko (assis)

I've just got back from 2 weeks in Font, where i did the mega classic Karma (8a+) and the sit start to Gecko (8b) my first 8b in the forest. I also did Rubis Sur L'Ongle, La Gaule a reach dependent prow that i didn't think i had the span for. I was also getting close to Satan i Helvete but ran out of dry weather and skin!

Here is a pic of La Gaule, i am currently editing together some video footage so watch this space.

While i've not been posting any thing on here i've mostly been out doing a few routes including Power ranger at Malham, my first 8b+. I've not been on it for about a year and sent it on my first redpoint of the day, hitting all the holds wrong through the crux, but still managing to get to the top! i guess that's the way it goes sometimes, never let go!

Amongst doing a few routes i've also been training for the European championships in Innsbruck starting on Thursday, it will be web cast here, withe semis and finals on Saturday.

a few bits and pieces

My finger is now well on the mend just in time for the final round of the world cup in Munich at the weekend which should be web cast here. Qualifiers on Friday, semi's and final on Sunday.
I'm then heading to Frankenjura for a week of sport climbing.
The last few weeks i've been sport climbing a bit, I did Full Tilt at Kilnsey first red point and started working All Out.
I have also been route setting at Harrogate climbing centre, resetting the bouldering last week, here is a video of a few of the problems.
I also set the upstairs bouldering room at Manchester too.

the frustrations of finger injuries

Well the Sheffield world cup was extremely frustrating. The finger i tweaked at city bloc a few weeks ago and aggravated last weekend in Eindhoven was very sore while crimping, which was fine on the first three problems, but on the fourth, a very fingery vickers creation it proved too much for my weakened finger. The last problem wasn't much better, leaving me with three tops in four attempts. and a very frustrating 28th place. At least the rest of the Brits did us proud with three men and four women getting into the semi-finals, and the team came 2nd!
Here's a pic of me making some shapes on problem 3.

I've now got a few weeks before the final world cup round in Munich to sort my finger out and do some training and some work.

Sheffield world cup this weekend

This weekend sees the uk round of the bouldering world cup, Qualifiers are on saturday, semi's and finals on sunday. It is being held at Cliffhanger in Sheffield, so come on down and support the British team. If you can't get down there, it is being webcast too here

Eindhoven world cup

After taking 15th place at Vail i had a few weeks to work on a few things before the next round in Eindhoven, mostly a bit of strength work and take part in the City bloc comp (bloc party) where i successfully defended my title, flashing all three of the final problems. It was good to start feeling strong again.

Before Eindhoven i had a long rest my last climbing session being on the Tuesday, i actually felt good warming up for the qualifiers. I topped out three of the five problems and could have done the fifth but got a split tip on my first attempt! But i qualified well for the semis in 9th. Warming up for the semis i felt relaxed and strong, but had a big hole in my finger! i tapped up and told my self it didn't matter and i could pull on the holds anyway. I topped out two problems in three attempts, which to my surprise was enough to make my first final of the season. Stu very nearly made it in too, which probably would have been a first for GB but was pushed out at the last minute by Ondra.
I decided i was just going to enjoy the final, even though i felt tired and my skin was very sore. I topped the first two problems but ran out of steam on the third even though i would have backed my self to do it. I was so tired on the last problem and it was probably the hardest problem too. I finished 5th in the best final of the season in front of a very large and noisy dutch crowd.

here's me after flashing the first final problem. Thanks to Heiko for the photo.
I can't wait for Sheffield next weekend.

Vienna World cup

Last weekend was the 2nd world cup round in Vienna.
I scrapped through the qualifiers in 17th for the semi finals, where i always seem to climb better than the qualifiers. I topped the hardest problem on my second go and got all four bonus's in five attempts, putting me in a slightly frustrating 8th, just missing the final (if only i had done that problem on my first attempt!). I was still quite pleased considering the frustrating off season i've had.
Stew made in to the final with 2 tops and came in fourth.

Swiss world cup

The Swiss world cup was a bit frustrating, so close to making the semi finals but not quite on a slightly strange and reachy set of problems, it was good to see Stu climbing well and be so close to making the final.
Off to Vienna this weekend for round two which is being broadcast live here.

Swiss bound

I am just about to head out to Griefensee near Zurich for the 2010 World Cup as a member of the British bouldering team. This is the first round of the year in a series of seven, including one at Cliffhanger in Sheffield. There are seven of us going, so wish us all luck and keep track of the results at http://www.climbingworldcup-switzerland.com/

one or two things

Plywood masters

Last Saturday saw the annual Plywood masters at Boulder UK, After the qualifiers i was in first place, but with Nige looking strong and Ned always capable of pulling something out the bag the pressure was still on!
I flashed all five of the final problems to take the title for the second year in a row.
It was nice to feel strong in a comp again and am now motivated to train for the first round of the world cup in a three weeks time.

Harrogate

Monday and Tuesday i was at the recently opened Harroagte climbing centre to do the first re-set of the bouldering wall so there are now 50 new problems to test yourselves on, get down there its well worth a visit.

A bit of trad pottering!

Saturday i decided to dust off the trad head and went off to Burbage south to find some cooler temperatures and found the conditions to be really good, having warmed up on a few easy routes we did the knock, then i on-sighted Nosferatu, which has amazing moves on really positive crimps, a bit like a limestone route really! Then it was down for a classic fight with Goliath, which i found surprisingly easy, and not much of a fight at all if you just go for it! Finally the draw of Messiah was too much it looked like my kind of climbing and decided to go for the flash(nearly on-sight but it was well chalked and i have seen video footage a long time ago so not much help from that!) Turns out it was my style as i powered through the crux some of the best moves i've done in a long time. Mr Messenger was on hand to take a few photos too.
Not a bad day really E6 on-sight, E7 flash and not a pad in sight!

Manchester

Yesterday i set the downstairs bouldering area at Manchester climbing centre so more problems to test your monkey genes on.

Skymasters

The third skymasters was last weekend, thankfully the spinning planet of doom was now fixed meaning more of a straight race across the suspended boulders in the sky. Saturdays Qualifiers saw me land up third fastest with a good draw for sundays knockout rounds.
I seem to have been fighting the dreaded man flu for a week or two now, and it seemed to affect my ability to campus through moves, not good when its quite often the quickest way through most of the skymasters course! I managed to speed my way through to the semi's with my feet on, where i met eventual winner Rob Mackenzie who proved just too young and quick, leaving me in the climb off for third against Adam Watson, a particularly rangy beast from the north east! I lost the climb off by just one hold in a very close race finishing in quite possibly the worst place in a comp 4th! All still a great fun though.

The CWIF

Saturdays Cwif was a mixed affair for me, qualifiers went well, finishing in third place for the semi-finals. The semi's where incredibly frustrating as i felt strong but only managed to top out one problem, finishing in 11th. I miss read the second and just did not feel like i had enough power endurance on the third or enough recovery for the last problem. I'm not sure whether i was not fit enough or i just hadn't eaten enough during the day. But at least i now have something to work on in the five weeks before the first round of the world cup in Switzerland.

MCC new problems

Finished filling in the problems on the bouldering wall at Manchester climbing centre yesterday, after fridays final bouldering league. Loads of new problems up to test you all out.
The leading ladder also started on saturday so dust off that rope and get leading.

Font video

Finished editing the footage from font check it out