Your Christmas Sermon

Climbing with world class climbers like Mick and Ty makes you realise that we all suffer the same frustrations and pressures. We are all players in the same game. The desire to do a much sought after bloc can affect the climber whatever level they’re at. I also realised that the lack of logic in climbing applies to all levels. Sometimes you feel strong and everythings perfect but you fail whereas on other less than perfect days you succeed. Climbings at ones limit is a mystery; a lottery where success is never guaranteed. Watching Micky make the fourth ascent of The Dagger (8b+) at Cresciano yesterday was a truly inspirational experience. At one point after the crux his heel slipped and the tenacity and pure compression power that he summoned to get it back on was super impressive. It made me determined to apply the same tenacity to The Alphane Moon and as i swung footless with one hand on the final jug today i somehow found the strength and tension to match it up and complete the problem-a great way to spend Christmas. As i matched that blocky jug all the doubts and pressure dispersed and i felt truly satisfied. Climbing is a special sport. It gives us all pleasure in different ways. Whether everything is a battle and a siege (like me!) or whether your crushing 8b+ blocs in a matter of days (like Mick and Ty) we all ultimately gain great pleasure from these experiences. Anyway Merry Crimbo and i hope you all crush in the New Year.

Swiss 7

The weather has finally broken, blue skies are back at last just in time for the arrival of MIcky and Tom. Jackie and si had enough and went home, can’t say i blame them. They didn’t have much luck. True to form i did a link up on one of the driest bits of rock in Chrionico area 1. The loneliness of Arabald 7c links the start of the Loneliness of the long distance runner and the very nice 7b Arabald. This is very nice and is probably a FA i’d say. Tom and Mick hit the ground running both climbing Lapelle and Extreme Ironing in Cresciano. Today i took them to the Alphane Moon where they both despatched. It seems i’ve finally developed some muscle memory on this problem. Today i fell going for the last hold when my hand ripped. Fingers crossed i’ll get it done. Mick and Tom confirmed the quality anyway.
Finally there has been some debate over the top end grades in the Cave. I’d say whether we go for realistic grades or hardcore grades the problems must be in order of difficulty. When a problem graded 8b is easier than a problem graded 8a something must be wrong.

Swiss 6

Apparently this has been the most snow to fall in ticino since records began. On saturday i failed to even get to the blocs at Chironico. Today i will return shovel in hand and i will spend the day creating a path to the Alphane Moon. I anticipate this will take approx 3 hours. The snow is so deep one can no longer walk through it. Things are better snow wise in cresciano and i anticipate with the good forecast ahead this crag will recover. Folk are departing and arriving at the house in the next few days. I told micky in font to try and get some snow shoes. Hopefully decathlon stock them. Time is running out now, i have effectively been beaten by the weather, split tips and my own complacency but i haven`t given up yet. Ciao for now.

A lovely shit

Finally a nice pic of Alphane taken by Sander Pick:

Swiss 5

I sit in an internet cafe in the town of bellinzona. Only me, si, jackie and sander remain. Keith did Amber 8b so he left maybe to return maybe not. His willpower on this problem was impressive, many days trecking up there through the snow on his tod to clean it. Most days he couldn t even climb on it cos it was wet. I am proud to announce in the next week the arrival of the owen and mîcky and master newman. Hopefully they ll bring fresh physche to the proceedings. I have had to be patient with my own climbing. The alphane moon is still holding out from my attacks. I either need to get a bit stronger or i need a bit of luck. i really struggle with the last two moves on the link. As ever it is a interesting process. One i have been through many times before. I need to stay relaxed but physched at the same time. Fingers crossed i will do it before leaving. My other current proj is a different kettle of fish style wise. Teamwork is a crimpy not so steep bastard on sharp rock. It reminds me of a cromlech problem, similar gnarly rock and holds. I have it down to one hard crux move. If my skin holds out i should do it. I also plan to spend a week in font before going home. There are over 60 8as in the forest so i figure i might be able to do one if i find the right one. I will use this trip as a selection process. Surely every man wants to climb 8a in font. Will be good to hang out with the sheffield hombres out there too. Anyway ciao, happy climbing.

Swiss 4

Times are hard here in swiss, i have had major skin troubles for a while and then the weather turned to shit. Thick thick snow followed by rain followed by more snow. Basically bad news, team physche hit a new low as all contemplated a dart to font. However the forecast there is abysmal and the forecast here is better in the coming days. It seems the wise move will be to sit it out here. I still haven't done the Alphane Moon and this is a major goal so if i stay here i will have a chance of geting it done. Jeff Landman and Ricky Bell joined the team a week ago. Jeff tore it up - Dream Stand (repeat), reve de mario 8a, komilator (2nd go), Freak Bros (3rd go) and alphane moon (flash), not bad for a week. Ty did the Shadowfax 8b and Davey G did the low start to Boogaloga (8b+ or 8c). Ty and Keith also went to check Vareze in Italy, it seems the weather is bad all over. Anyway i have identified the problems i am physched to do this trip, i have been concentrating on seiging harder stuff rather than getting loads of ticks. I'm not too bothered about coming away with 30 7bs, a couple of 8as would be nice though! As long as i can climb on a few things at a time i stay physched. Going to the same problem every day is demotivating though. Anyway hopefully the net will be fixed in the house soon and all will come good. Adios

Swiss 3

Times are hard here in Swiss, nearly every day is good conditions, blue skies most days. Sprits remain high as the team embarks upon a ticking mission every day. Si and jackie arrived, they were so physched for world class bouldering after being starved of rock for months on end in Belfast. BRICK returned to NYC, Dave, Chad and Andre left the house and Sander arrived to join the crew. We have visited Brione a few times. Brione contains the best rock in the region and some of the nicest blocs too. My ticklist for Brione basically consisted of Molunk. I was also keen to try the 8a to the right of Ganymede. It turned out i couldn't do any of the moves so we headed up to the meadow to show Si Vecchia Lione, the premier Ticino 8b. I wanted to climb more so i tried one of the silly 7c+s in the area, after realising that they were very lame i thought i'd give the Vecch a blast. After all it is totally world class and i'm never normally put off trying a problem by the grade. It felt very hard at first but when i played around with body positions and the holds it started to click. The holds are surprisingly ample for the grade but the feet are poor and much subtle body postioning is required. I did the first move and basically the 3rd move. The 2nd move was a hard stab to a reasonable hold off poor feet. The crux of this problem revolves around a quartz pinch. I was buzzing, this was so much fun, the climbing was exquisite. I soon realised that with some work i could probably get to the pinch this trip and this would be a great achievement for me. I certainly think i will do this problem in my life, this will be a happy day.
Si working the crux:


The other thing on my mind has been the alphane moon. I have had 3 sessions on this now, i took Si and Ty and Sander to it and my assessment of the quality was confirmed. It is a very cool boulder problem. Ty flashed with ease and me and si did all the moves. Sander wrapped it up too. The crux is the second too last move a hard match off a terrible slopey crimp. Today i did the match 3 times but fell repeatedly on the last move because my foot slipped slightly off the foothold each time,frustrating. I will continue to try it till i do it, luckily it is dry in the rain too. I think it will be my hardest bloc to date, a spice 8a. Some pics:

Swiss 2

Well we've had to endure some quite wet weather so far. But despite this spirits are high. On the wet days i have been exploring and looking for dry rock. I'm still on a reccy to find out what i want to climb on and what i think i can climb. Each day is useful in this respect. My ticklist changes day by day. Ty has been ticking along nicely waiting for the low temps for his harder projects. Its impressive watching him. He moves like a world beast, watching him do Conquistadors 8a+ with a disamaying sequence was very inspiring. What a man can do when he's so far beneath his limit. After a tip off from Chad and Dave i went to check out an 8a+ called The Alphane Moon at Chironico. Dave put it up back in the day and was reunited with it whilst trying a super meaty project to its left recently, This project is very disamaying. They told me The Alphane was like a limestone problem which increased my interest more. On a wet day i wandered up there solo and tried to figure it out. I did all the moves with a new sequence on the crux but couldn't move my feet. Determined not to give up i tried the original sequnce which involved a terrible slopey crimp. I failed to commit to this move cos of grease and a lack of a spotter but i think i can do it. It is the kind of problem that inspires me so i will be going back. One of the crimps is straight out of LPT - yeah! Today me and Brick headed up to Chironico, we went to check out Komilator again. I had tried this twice before in the wet, once the other day and once in january. The crux revloves around a tenuous heel, if it sticks the problem is on if not you have no chance. The other day this felt impossible. I thought about the anasazi heel and how it had sorted me out before. Often you need a baggy heel that will catch. It just so happened that Brick had such a boot, and i knew instantly that it would work. I filmed Brick as he crushed and then i got it worked. I knew i could do it that day, and then i did by the skin of my nutsack. A quick 8a in the bag, perfect. After i went to check out No mystery again, wasn't feeling inspired so we opened our account on Freak Brothers, the most aesthetic bloc in Chironico. Tonight si and Jackie and some dude called Sander arrive so the team physche should keep on rolling.

Swiss Pics

Trying Down Under 7c+


Me on Molunk


Brad on limited edition

Swiss 1

Well its been a strange start. I was sitting in my car in Dover waiting to board the ferry when i heard a tap on the window, it was 3 students. They explained to me about some Jailbreak challenge they were doing. They had to get as far away from there uni as they could. I was on my own so i agreed to let them come in my car, it was for charity after all! So i drove through the night to font, getting to cuvier at 5.30 am. Little did i now it was a popular site for gay dogging! I slept outside and they slept in my car, the next day i went climbing at 8.00 am with some bleausard dude, it was cool. Then feeling quite zombified i set off to Swiss, it was gonna be a long drive. I dropped the students off at Bellinzona train station and they went on there merry way. Quite a strange experience really. Then i headed to the house where i was greeted by Ty, Chad and Andre de Felice. They explained how it had been raining for days, not good, the forecast was bad too. The next day me and Chad went up to magic in the pissing rain, two 8as were dry so we tried them. This was not ideal, my plan was to build up slowly and get some ticks before trying really hard stuff. The next few times climbing were the same, hard stuff! Dave Graham and Brick turned up at the house too. One day we all went up to susten and i was reminded that it was shit. Was cold! Then it finally stopped raining, Keith turned up and the team was physched. We went to Brione and i did the best 7c i've ever done Moulnk, Ty and brad did the amazing limited edition 7c+. Finally things were drying so its back to the original plan. Anyway i'll try and get some pics to ya when i can.

From Llandudno to Bellinzona

Well i'm off! Today i depart for Riccardo Simpsons gaff in Birmingham. Tonight we will celebrate Halloween with some of the city's finest totty. Tommorrow i catch the late ferry and then i will either climb a little bit in font or drive straight to Swizzy. I am in ok shape, if i am going to climb the things i really want to i will have to get a lot stronger, but thats why i've got a one way ticket. In Hueco i was significantly stronger at the end. I'm starting from a higher place this time so feel excited. It is a step into the unknown for me, i have high hopes but modest expectations. I am going to have to be strategic and pick the right problems if i am going to return with a healthy ticklist. The curse of 8a bloc has already been lifted from my shoulders so without that pressure hopefully i will perform. The purpose of my trip is threefold. First i want to crush many hard high quality blocs. Secondly i want to get lots of decent footage for my next film, i have started work on this already. And thirdly i want to gain the physchical attributes to crush Wales on my return. I have many projects that i'm just not strong enough to do at the mo, Halfway being an example. I hope all your climbing aspirations are realised here in the UK, crush my friends.
Finally i would like to wish Miss Nell Cattell good luck in her new job which she starts on Monday. These are the two main reasons i like to go round the Cattells:

From dismay To joy to dismay to joy

Gave Jim the tour of the mwyn on saturday. Conditions were bon, amazingly the driest i'd ever seen it. However the crest of a wave that i was riding on was about to come (predictably) crashing down. I've always struggled with this crag but this time i fully expected to crush. It wasn't to be, Be Ruthless felt as hard a link as ever and we couldn't for the life of us figure out Under the Bridge (fantastic this though). Jim ran round like a dog with six, the guy doesn't rest, jesus. He made quick work of Firestarter and Panty's Down:


Next day i headed to the pass, the weather was pretty dodge but i thought i'd give it a whirl. Wanted to try diesel, when ever i go to try diesel i end up trying Breathe and Vice versa. So i tried Breathe (well the crux last move). This is a scary throw of a fairly shoddy left hold with a high right heel. I'd never liked it but today i was stronger and could static to within inches of the hold. I changed the heal to a toe to make it less scary chalked up some shitty intermediates and nearly stuck the move. The bottom is fairly steady so fuck it i thought, physche on the last move will count for a lot. I got to the last move but my finger was pissing blood so i dropped it, bastard, a deep split, it was game over. This was given 8a by accident and Hock and Mickey seem to think it could be 7c+. Its still only had 3 ascents though, give it 8a i say, its hard. Anyway i took The cypriot, Clyde and Gav to the mill where we bumped into Stevie Haston (wad tick). I just got frustrated trying to climb with tape.
Cave next day, couldn't be arsed warming up and didn't know what to try, soon gave up on crucial, the worlds hardest 8a. I turned my attention back to Broken Heart, there had to be a way that doesn't dislocate your shoulders. I'd always wandered about the good edge hold on the lip of crucial, surely god had a plan for this hold after all it is particularly pleasant. And he did, from the broken heart start i spanned out to this, ace move! All i needed now was some trickery to allow me to come into the undercut, the most marginal heel toe on the planet worked on one occasion and i got to the easier moves before the jugs. Then i muled it, what a cock! Anyway despite being fairly dangerous to the groin area i was made up with this beta. Usually when i find easier new beta in the cave i kinda wreck a classic hardcore sequence. Well this time i think the moves are better my way, not as hardcore but better. Anyway its easier, no more than 7c+, but really nice. Pics:




My fingers are now cut to ribbons and i must rest. I may go back to the Cave on thurs to try and finish BH. Also i will catch up with Huffy who is in Wales for a few days.

Anyone recognise this man?

Whilst at Richie Hawtin last week i was groped in the bogs by some dirty man. Well i've found a picture of him on the net. If anyone could give me information that leads to the arrest of this sex beast please do so. Be careful though as you can tell from the picture he is mentally deranged, he still thinks he's living in the 1980s!

Never had a dream come true until the day that i met you.

Headed to the Gop with DC today, on our arrival we were pleased to find dry conditions, bones dryes to be precise. We were physced! After a quick warm up we pottered on some tricky moves. Danny demonstrated Push the Button 8a and i tried some of the moves. Then i thought i'd give my nemesis Smoke a Bloke a blast, this is a one move 7b+ which consists of a blind stab to a narrow pocket off a pinch. Quite powerful but luck is also needed. I felt strong on it but knew that more than strength was needed if i was going the latch the pocket. Anyway i got it picked my feet up and it was in the bag. Had been trying that one for years, the worlds hardest 7b+ anyone? Danny is trying the low start, very Jonnyesque, he says it could be his hardest yet, strong words indeed:

I had a quick look at my project, the crux was still impossible, back to the drawing board on this one. Then i went back to Push the Button. Told Danny this was high on the list to crush when i got back from swiss. I have always been able to do the end of this but the first move was always elusive. I played around with new foot beta and instantly it felt better, "think i can do this before i go to swiss" i remarked. Then i nearly stuck the move: "Think i can do this today" i remarked! Finally i stuck the move but only got 3 fingers on the crux pinch, i peservered anyway and got to the second to last move - it was on! Next go i hit the move again this time managing to get all my fingers on. I grunted came into the sidepull got my foot up and looked at the next pinch, it was do or die, i had to grab that hold. And i did and the next move was ok, i grabbed the jug and let out a roar that Simba would have been proud of. I topped out and looked back down at a shocked but chuffed DC. It had been a good sesh. I had seen the Mule do the first ascent of this problem and it had always been a hardcore thing in my mind. In the end it submitted after about 4 sessions- happy days! Cave tomorrow with the Stack and the rest of the swiss boys.

Route Vids

I've uploaded some route footage, check em:

Mill Pics

Some pics of a new problem i did in the Mill (courtesy of Simon Panton)





Also here is a vid by Chad including Ty flashing Schule and Hock doing Komilator. Also includes me being a complete punt.

Ticks, Richie and end of an era!

This was my last week in Lancaster (yes get in, no more abseiling in the rain, no more early starts and no more prison!!!). I went climbing in the week and managed to finish off Vitruvian Man, Nige's 7c at Trowbarrow. I really rate this problem, nice holds and nice moves. Well brown! Unfortunately though due to wetness i couldn't actually top the bugger out and only made it to the jugs on the lip, and it wasn't for want of trying. Anyway the local jury (Nige and Greg) have said i can have it so i'm not gonna lose sleep over an easy mantle. Friday night was Richie night at the Warehouse Project in Manc. I went to sheff then got the train over with some loons. And so the sheffield, welsh and scouse possee descended on the club and a good time was had by all. I got a bit pissed off with being manhandled by sausage every other second on the dancefloor so i buggered off to the back on my own where there were less hombres. The legend of the night in my eyes was Sir Matthew Donnelley who was royally off his tits:


Shit Bastard on the train back:


Had a few hours sleep back at the bears then headed to Rubicon on the way home. Dobbin and Char were there trying Zeke. Dobbin gave me a Kudos wall masterclass, very impressive!


I did the moves on Tsnami, i did the kneeling start to this years ago, the sitter is a good problem and a hard link I intend to return and finish it sometime. The low press felt just as impossible as ever however, not my scene. Then i popped into the tor briefly and did that undercut to sloper thing which for some reason i'd never done before. Very height dependent but felt easier than 7c to me, good though. So there you have it, i am a full time climber again. I've got some time in Wales then i head to swizzy! Yeah!

Weekend

Ho ho today was too hot in the pass. Me and Sausage, Cattells and Katzy had a burn on Jerry's, Dan did Pools again and worked the low. Usual story with DC, if he wants to do it enough he probably will, mega. Yesterday i took Katzy to the mill and he flashed three of my 7b projects the bastard. I managed to do one before him though, my first mill 7b, cool. One more week left in the Lanc now. Thank the lord. I see Ty did the shark hunt and took 8a for it, maybe the mule was right after all!

Pool Of Video

A good day

Headed to orme with danny and mule today but surpise, surprise was a bit wet so we sacked it to the Pass for a change of scene. It was cold and surprisingly dry when we got there, mint bouldering weather. Simon P turned up and we all warmed up on the roadside face on the finger trashers, the Edge Problem and Johnny's Wall. I fancied another crack of Breathe, after pulling onto the last crux move and wasn't really feeling it. I turned my attention to Diesel Power and immediately felt better (in fact better than i had felt on it for 5 years!), i played around and did the powerful moves but struggled with the tensiony finish. Sacked it down to Jerry's where i managed to get Danny on film doing Pool of again (he was trying the direct low start so he thought he better practice the stand- sick!). Well physced cos when he first did it my camera stopped working. Anyway i went back to DP and Pete R turned up, i knew he had been close so i wandered if he had any magic beta. He told me the foot beta for the end and i ended up trying the start with the original beta and found it worked better too. Pete had the end wired but was low percentage on the first move, i suggested my foot beta and he did it, very smooth, got it on camera too. I ended up getting to the crux from the start and i did the finishing moves so game on! I finally found an 8a bloc i can do, for once i can actually do every single move and can attempt to link it. Looking forward to trying to get this done now, could be a dream come true, until someone downgardes it to 7c+ that is........ Some footage and pic next week!

Den Resurgence

The Den has been somewhat neglected this year. I've been working and the Cattells haven't been too arsed. However recently Danny's been getting keen again and has moved a few holds about and started to get beastly again. Notably he climbed his long term project, the yellow screw on's the other day. This goes at 7c+ and is a challenge of the body tension and boning down variety - effort! I paid a visit today and after a pathetic warm up i managed two 7bs- a much needed confidence boost. Hopefully with work coming to an end i'll be able to get stuck in soon. I feel if your going well in the den you can really crank on rock.

the den film in case you haven't seen it.

Circus

Last night i went out with Monolith and his buddies to circus in Liverpool, Loco Dice was playing. Haven't been to techno for ages so was good. Danced for 5 hours sober as a judge which i thought was a good effort! Got home at 7 - knackered.
The brits have been crushing in Swizzy, Ty got Practice done and Liam 8a+ Desroy is now Liam 8b Desroy. Good work fellas. 3 weeks of work left now!

Exploration and Trigger Cut

This weekend i went in search of new bouldering. Firstly to the Boadafon hillside- i found myself running round a wood like a kid in a candy shop, rock everywhere but none good enough. We tried to go to Pumpsville but we couldn't even get there it was so overgrown. Its a shame no one ever goes. Today me and Matt went back to Rhiw Goch, it was baking so i went exploring again, once again almost but not quite. I also climbed a lot in the cave, it is my opinion that any cave stalwart just find Trigger Cut steady, it is after all Cave bread and butter. Unfortunately i don't,although one go this weekend i fell out the kneebar- punt! Basically i need to get strong on this bastard problem so i can complete halfway. I'm also interested in doing Chris's problem Daisy From Concrete, today i did the rib moves fron where it gets hard and got into TC (this is about 7b+/c and is some of the best moves in the Cave IMO), once again just need to get stronger on the latter cos i know my power endurance can cope with this problem, after all the start is only V5. One month of work left now then CLIMB!

Bolton Wanderers

I would just like to say many men have the potential to climb hard (see Sunday sermon on the overachiever) but not everyone can step it up a level and get physched and focussed enough to climb at their limit. Smitton and Pasquill can - not only do they have the physical attributes of hard climbers but they also have a mental toughness and edge that is very difficult to attain if you don't have it naturally. Congrats on crushing 8c+s you guys. And Paul to repeat a Mcclure 8c+ at the tor is extra impressive so give yourself a thumb up your arse from me you Euro crushing globe trotting superstar. I'm going climbing now but i do not have high hopes as i was up all night.

What a difference a day makes!

Well after doing bugger all in magic in true doylo style i felt strong as soon as i got home. First port of call was Parisellas where i kept getting to the last hard move of Halfway- very pleasing. The Liverpool posse were out in force, Mike Adams did Crucial with the original beta. I went to the box (bit wet) and did last rites, jackies and Whisky. All good. Today i went back to the Cattells and we climbed on our respective 8a, 8a+ and 8b projects. Danny's looking good, he'll crush soon and mule should bag greenheart. Being the greasiest man on the earth doesn't help on a warm day. Also nice work to Chris Sharma on climbing that meaty route - the most influential climber of his generation! Back to work now unfortunately

A hint of magic a dose of Gee and a whole lot of namedropping

Well i arrived home last night. It was a good trip, i failed to fulfill all my objectives though. Firstly i wanted to crush some nice tricky blocs, in this i failed. Four days of climbing wasn't really enough for me and although i did some nice climbs i failed on those at the satisfaction level. Secondly i wanted to spread the word of Gee, in this i was definetely successful. Many world class beasts did i meet in the wood and with the help of Mickey and Liam we planted the seed of Gee into their minds. It was a good crack in the wood with the brits and all the wads. Matt had a good time doing a couple of quality 7as. Stressman pictured below:


Ty and Chad turned up and took residence at our place, the crack was good and i got some good footage of the beasts. Liam and Mick were climbing well as usual. I saw Liam crush The Right Hand of Darkness (a very inspiring bloc for me - one day!) and Octopussy. As for Mickey i won't say too much about this guy cos it'll make him blush but i am very happy to report that Britain has another world class boulderer and bearing in mind that he has only been climbing for 3 and a half years i'm sure there's more to come. Think powerful and smooth - spiffing bloke too! Here's a picture of Mickey on of Sharmas hardest Practice of the Wild (an incredible line- Mick did most the moves):

This problem features a ficking huge dyno to a jug as the last move - 8c anyone? Zangeryl showed up when Mickey and Ty were trying the moves- he must have wondered who these people were. Ty was cranking as usual, he had a good day doing Electroboogie, Octopussy and Massive Attack. He's in swizzy til xmas so he's chill. Anyway back to Gee - Liam and Mickey and Dave climbed with Paul Robinson (very world class climber) and they told him about the Pill Box, they told him Ty had inspected and was impressed. The seed was planted. Basically whenever we were around wads we would big up the Gee as being the worlds best- we wanted them to know that yes they were good climbers who could crush but there is a man out there out on his own when it comes to hard moves. Nalle and Sean Mccoll took the brunt of our Gee praising. I would also like to say that Gee is a more humble and genuine man than these guys who were up there own shitters. Mickey made a funny after watching Nalle do One Summer in Paradise 8b- that looked 'Nalle' Mickey quirked - ha ha. Chuck Fryberger was out there making another shit film, i told him of Gee and showed him a pic. He replied - "i've heard of this John Gaskins but i've never met him". Yeah no shit mate, no ones met him! Anyway i have footage of some nice stuff including Practice, i would like to make a nice flick at some point. As for me well its back to the drawing board, i always known that i can crush harder at home than abroad (like some dodgy footy team) but this is something i'd like to address. Working and not training for 4 months didn't help either. Anyway the dream of 8a bloc is still alive and i will be back out there soon enough. Ciao!

A word from the wise

"Accept it or not you have a god given duty to spread the word. We have been enlightened by the Gee, now we must spread his glory. Look to the East on the third day and you will receive your commands. Praise Gee, praise Gee."

More vids

Yesterday i was resting so in my hours of boredom i uploaded some more stuff to youtube. Includes the font vid - the first thing i ever edited and very popular with some). Enjoy, i'm going on holiday today.

The Plan

The other day Danny came up with a brilliant idea. We're going to dress up in white robes and acquire some white staliions. Then we're going to ride North up the M6 on our trusty steads, having a quick stop off at Gee's house in Warton to sacrifice a newly born goat. Then we shall continue on our quest up to Kentmere. Upon reaching little font we shall go by foot and one by one we shall kneel down in front of Shadowplay and pledge our allegiance to the Gee.

The Future

Its here! Everyone knows about the potential for super links in the Cave. Well i for one thought these links were for the next generation - apparently not! Liam and Danny have been beavering away in the Cave to bring home the big numbers. Liam is close to linking In Hell into Clyde, Danny has been trying RA into TC but has plans to link it from the big link start. These will be big big numbers i kid you not. I haven't seen Danny keen for a while, he's even got back into the Den. Good to see. Liam is in swizzy now, hopefully he'll crush! I fly out on friday with no expectations, i'm hoping the lack of climbing can be overruled by the extreme physche that i have coarsing through my veins. If i do a lot of climbing and get a few cool ticks i will be happy.

Louis Armstrong 3rd ascent

Congrats to Mickey who recently made the 3rd ascent of Louis Armstrong. A neo classic!

Your Sunday Sermon - Life is like a shit sandwich, the more bread you have the less shit you eat.

Well after six months of sermons father doyle is going on a sabbatical which will begin in Switzerland next week. I intend to spread the word of Jonny, the world must know that they are pulling on Jonny jugs. Young Danny Cattell informed me on his trip back from Branson that Radja (a hard Nicole problem) was laced wih G jugs. Gee did the almost impossible during his heyday yet his legacy is not secure. Admittedly this could be partly his fault, instead of travelling to the nu skool softly graded areas he chose to keep it real in his own back yard on lines that inspired him. He did not seek the publicity and the stuff he did was simply unbelievable to some(fools!). I'm not saying that Gee was the best in the world but i do belive in his style of ferocious boning he was unsurpassed. Set the Gee loose on Amandla and see what would happen. I hope you all have enjoyed these weekly sermons, remember - never give up and when its time to crush do so to the best of your ability. Finally i would like to say a prayer to young Simmo who proved last week that he could still cut it with a holiday ascent of the classic Burn4U 8c in the jura. God bless you all.

Swiss Vids

I'm going to magic on friday so i've been checking out swiss vids on youtube, here are a few i've found:
Check this beast out:


Go Brit girls!:


CORE!:


Go Parry:


A male PISSING Shark Hunt:


Six problems:


An 8a me an Mule tried:


Komilator:


I'm going to Swiss with the Cypriot, mainly cos i hate work and need a small break. I will hopefully get some ticks and check out some harder stuff. In November i will be returning to stay for a while so i should be able to get stuck in then. Keen to get some footage and to finally crush an 8a bloc (please oh lord!)

BELL fast

Just got back from Belfast, it was a good trip. Japs was his usual self. Him an Jackie have got a nice little house in Belfast:



We met up with trad hero Ricky Bell too and had a session on his board - very nice:




Sat night we went partying then today we just chilled and then got a flight home- a good flying visit!

Your Sunday Sermon - Don't undervalue your efforts

When a strong man pulls a basic move it will often feel easy, does this mean the move is easy? No. When a man finally crushes a problem after a protracted seige and it feels easy does this mean that the problem is easy? Once again the answer is no. It is important that climbers don't undervalue their efforts and ability especially when grading things. This is a slippery slope which will lead eventually to a grade meltdown. So it is important that climbers be realistic and accept that they are at a certain level.

Pill box vid

Check out Jamie Kings vid of me doing Malteser/Last Orders link (7c+) last november

Success

After ages of going backwards i finally tasted success on my pill box project today. Yesterday i twatted my thumb with a hammer at work so i thought it was game over. Anyway i crushed it today with Dense spotting my back - it felt easy. The mysteries of climbing eh! Oh yeah the linkup of Malteser/Last Rites rates 8a (maybe a hard one?). Off to belfast now to visit Irish Si and his lady wife with bonse and inspector.

Rhiw Goch and a breakthrough!

Me Matt, Dave Buchanan and Louise went back to Rhiw Goch near Betws, this is well good little crag. Very hard to find though with a bushwack through bracken to get there:


We looked at Mules sitter to Ride the Wild Smurf, a great hardcore problem which he gave V10 back in the day. This is damn hardcore and at least 8a. Matt did RTWS stand V6 and White Rider V7, good problems:

Then Dave repeated Mules Nazgals Traverse, well good, he gave it 7b+ back in the day but its 7c i think. I did alright on it but its a tricky link:


Today we donned the cave and the box, i felt nothing special but on my first go of my link the dropped off with my fingers almost in the last pocket. This is a major breakthrough for me and i was very happy. After going backwards for the last 3/4 weeks all that muscle memory and effort is finally kicking in. Like i always say - persistence pays! Some pics of Louise almost crushing Last orders 7a:



A couple of over pics:

Your Sunday Sermon- Weight Issues

Everyone knows that rock climbing is easy when your light. Thus the temptation is always there to try and lose some weight in order to crank harder. This is however easier said than done. Often when a fit rock climber attempts to lose weight he'll be fighting against mother nature. It is not easy to shed the pounds unless your a rik waller wannabe:



So instead of trying to lose weight why not just get stronger, train heavy, get big muscles (the chicks will love this too)! Then maybe you could lose a couple of pounds and crush the world's hardest bloc!

Pics and Smith

Pics of the Mill




Tom Newman trying Drink Driving - i think he will do it. Lanky bastard. Get it done beast.



Cave pics: Matt on RA:


Me and Rich rocked up to the orme today to find Big Malc there. He was pottering about in the cave:


Malc recrushed Louey and Simmo recrushed RA (not bad considering he ain't bouldered for 3 years!). I showed Malc Jonnies problem on the box, he was suitably impressed.
Simmo also copped off in Chester (see below):