Doylo's blog

I Hate Sharp Jugs

2012-01-24T03:14:00.000-08:00

I fuckin hate sharp jugs, a jug never needs to be sharp. My fingers are in bits after the last few days climbing:

Spurred on by this news report i trekked back up to the George's crack hillside in Ogwen. We went up to Lily Savage area, i was keen to look upon it with fresh eyes. Just underneath LS is Paul O Grady, a stunning arete bizzarely overlooked by locals. It took Ben Farley and Mick Adams to do the Stand up and Sit Start a couple of years ago. It was really gusty and pretty cold. Mr P walked up but coulnd't take the pace and bailed straight away (i hear you feel the cold more in old age). I did the stand which is 6c+, it felt amazing, lovely holds and great body positions. I worked the sitter (7b) and eventually figured out a sequence and dispatched it. It's the best 7b i've done in Wales and has all the ingredients of a classic problem in my eyes. Gorgeous holds, great line and importantly there is nothing nasty about it. When i got home i thought about the best 7b's in Wales and came to the conclusion that it is a fairly weak grade for top draw quality. I would certainly rank Paul O Grady at the top. I then started working Lily Savage. This is regarded as a classic 7b of Wales and certainly has the line and moves to justify it. Unfortunately the first slopey ledge has a razor sharp edge which took chunks off my hands slapping for it and later cut my leg heel hooking on it. This puts a dampner on it for me, i fell off the end and didn't have time for another go.

Orme Bouldering Bits

2012-01-21T03:01:00.000-08:00

Pete Robins has done a couple of new problems on the top of the Orme recently. First up was a coolF8a traverse on the lower grade sunny walls over on West Shore side above the road. Pete also ticked off an old project on a little area that Mr P and friends had visited a few years ago. The Bottom Billion climbs out from a break through a small roof and up to another break via some sharp crimps. I went and did it yesterday and it is cool if a little sharp on soft skin. Anything with a edge that you have to bone is going through my tip at the moment. To the left is a equually good problem if not a little nicer. This was put up by Jon Ratcliffe back in the day with Mr P. It uses a nice sidepull pinch and some rough crozzly slopes and felt about 6c+ to me. All in all some nice new additions! Can't wait for the guide. The committee has been overseesing the graded lists for each area and there is indeed a lot of stuff these days. And lots and lots of hard problems. It should be colossal!

Ruthin Escarpment

2012-01-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

Last winter when we were developing Dyserth etc..Clwyd guru and tallest man in North Wales Lee Proctor was giving Ruthin escarpment a makeover. He sent me some pics of a new buttress where he'd done some short routes and which he reckoned might have some bouldering potential. I popped up in early summer with Spidey and we did some of the routes. We did a immaculate little 7a up there and i failed on the 7b (punt). I was keen for the bouldering but wasn't in bouldering mode so i decided to save it for winter. Owen Mcshane and friends beat me to it and did some cool stuff. I finally made it up recently and it turned out to be really good. I went back the next day with a possee and soon the place was nicely developed. Even local Danny C came out and bagged the problem of the crag which took a stand up line with a highball top out (Another Million). I was keen for the big traverse and managed to bag the first section to an obvious jug. This was dead cool and i called it One in a Million and graded it 7b (turns out my illness had cocked up my gradeometer and 7a+ was right for it). The other week Jamie Skates bagged the last bolted line on the crag (Sting Like a Bee 7c). Lee has also rebolted the two main routes section of the crag and there is a new buttress beyond Butterfly Butress with some 6's. You can find the routes on the UKC database. Topo
Lee on his own problem/route Fritillary Flake Fb6a+, F6c:

Military operation coordinated by Gav:

Gav on what was to become Another Million 7b:

Mr P on what was to become One in a Million 7a+:

Mint Mountains

2012-01-17T09:20:00.000-08:00

After the ysgo i had to go to Sheff for 5 days to take care of some business. I don't really like the standard climbing wall scene. I only want to go inside to increase my basic strength and most walls are more interested in fun climbing and proper training facilities are often a bit shite despite the massive space at their disposal. This is fine but i'm not bothered about training my technique on plastic. I thought the best bet was the Foundry, last time i had tried to climb on the Works Beastmaker board. This has very nice handholds but i didn't like the foothold situation i.e they were too small and not enough of them. Mawson told me that they'd stuck some more on so i thought i'd give it another go. A few people have told me they find it hard to train properly at the Works because they generally know so many people in there and so end up making small talk and trying not to be rude. I know what they mean now! It was good chatting to folk i hadn't seen for ages but it is quite time consuming. Anyway the footholds made all the difference to the board and although the range of stuff you can do on there is still a bit limited it is a good board and undoubtedly awesome for finger strength and body tension.
Back in Wales we have finally had some proper winter bouldering weather. Driving down to Nant Gwynant i was feeling pretty inspired. Beautifully lit valleys, frost on the ground, no wind,lots of sun and just about t shirt temps. Wish it was like this more often! I took Gorgy down to Craig y Lyn. He had a do on Voie Normale and i finished off Abnormale 7b+. Last time thin skin had stopped me and this time it was fine after a few goes figuring out the technique for the jump. One helluva move! We then went to the Bustach via some shit parking beta from me. Muddy fields, wading through freezing river and stuck car once again. I wanted to try Sick Happy sds but it was wet so just did the 7a stand again (great problem!). The sitter seems very butch, i'm not sure its my bag really. Back in Gorgy's garage tonight. Last time i was there i said 'i think i'm coming down with something'. Two weeks of hell ensued. The priority now is finger strength, this is massively important for hard sport climbing in Britain so i need to get cracking. Would love to get close to my old crimping abilities when i was a youth. Wood and deadhangs barring any global disasters.

Here we go again!

2012-01-06T03:33:00.000-08:00

And it was going so well! I was really getting into the training groove until the sickness came. 3 weeks later and i'm still not back on it. I've been getting out a bit with the old conflict still ever present. I know i need to get indoors campussing, deadhanging and doing steep bouldering but i just love climbing outside so much i struggle with discipline. It's a simple choice, meander along at the same level on the routes again this year or put some hard work in now and hopefully climb a bit harder come summer. Ramon says to get really strong you need to climb indoors. I'm inclined to agree with him. I know plenty of people who climb amazingly without training but are they really fulfilling their potential? They're happy so it doesn't matter but you need to train to get the best out of yourself in any sport. Imagine if Neil Dyer went over to Spain and spent a winter with the beast coaches over there. It's a scary thought. His training for next year consists of 'not actually going climbing ever'. But you know he'll be awesome again next year! Well i know i need to get to work. I went to Porth Ysgo yesterday with Mr P, baby Dave and big Tim. I forget what an amazing place it is as i tend to go once every few years. It is the best bouldering crag in Wales without doubt and such a pretty place to boot. It is a sign of a good crag when the warm ups are just as good as the harder problems. Dave bagged a few FAs, the crag that keeps on giving. One of my objectives for the day was Truth, a cool little 7b arete that i'd never done:

I got to within millimetres of the ledge quite quickly and then proceeded to go backwards on it to the point of surrender. I let the holds cool down and had one more go and did it much to my relief. We then played around on Anaconda which is a stellar 7c:

Mr P on the slightly flawed Higginson Scar RH 7a:

I had a quick look at Dolly Rocker which is a very cool little arete which goes at 8a or thereabouts. One to go back for if i'm ever going well.
Some development has been going on at a limestone crag x. It's a good addition and i'm quite inspired by a big traverse. Quite miss sideways shuffling it's been a while. 10 out of my 12 hardest problems are shuffles, will be good to get involved again.

Xmas Bouldering

2011-12-29T02:10:00.000-08:00

The weather has been pretty terrible in these parts. You make big plans to boulder all winter but of course it rains all winter! So it's a case of grabbing those nice days and getting out when you can. Myself and Pete Harrison went on probably the most optimistic mission ever on Boxing Day as we drove through the wet hills to check out the new Craig-y-Lyn boulders. The left hand side of the face was wet but we managed to dry the holds so we could dispatch Voie Normale. This is a really cool powerful 7a+:

I got close on Abnormale which is a 7b+ variant but had to stop due to skin:

It is very similar in style and grade to Jack Daniels Connection on the box. I guess that probably is 7b+ after all. It was quite shocking how my skin was peeling off on both problems. I guess that's what you get for climbing outdoors twice in 6 weeks. The next day i hit Tremeirchion with a crew (Mr P, Pete R, Pete H and Owen). Everyone was suitably impressed and got stuck in. Pete R ticked 36 Chambers and got close on 22 Chambers (7c to the right):

This has a tricky finish using a shit pocket with an annoying twig in it and the low moves are really powerful. Probably a hard 7c which Pete didn't have enough steam to complete. Both really classic 7c's. Mr P did a traverse of the top wall at about 7a which was pretty cool:

Yesterday Danny C took me out to check out a sweet little project he's found. It is indeed pretty classic and there's another one to the left. Surely it's time for a comeback DC!

Best New Routes of the Year

2011-12-19T06:58:00.000-08:00

It's been perhaps the most frenzied year for new route activity on the North Wales Limestone for the best part of 20 years. From show stopping high 8's to diddy 5's there's been a lot going on throughout the region. The A55 guide has almost doubled in size, Lee Proctor and friends have been busy at Pantymywn and Ruthin and the Ormes have continued to provide routes as good as any in the UK. There were 11 new grade 8's on the coast, i don't think this has ever happened before in a year! Anyway here are my top ten, argue away at will, they're not in order of quality. couldn't be ringed with that! When i told Pete Robins and Pete Harrison i was doing the list i jokingly said 9 out of the 10 routes were my routes. It is probably indicative of how vain and deluded people think i am as they actually believed me!

Megalopa,8c+, LPT, Neil Dyer
The most significant Welsh line of the year! This incredible route was a surprise to many who hadn't even spotted the potential for a direct finish to Walking Mussel up that gleaming white headwall. Pete Robins and Neil bolted it together and tried it together. Initial forays soon accelerated into full blown redpoints and a race to the top ensued that provided much excitement and entertainment for the regular LPT goers. We hadn't seen a situation like this before (had Britain on anything near this hard??!), both climbers had a long way to go. It was a case of placing your bets, popping on you 3D specs, pulling out a deck chair and watching the action. Neil was the darhorse but despite him not having done the Walking Mussel he took the early advantage being more consistent on that middle crux sequence. We thought he had it in him but did he? Pete was the current king of the crag but was not up to full speed yet and he would have to get used to breathing in Dyer's Miura dust. Dyer soon made it through the first crux on the headwall. Pete had made it to the move but was in bulk and not close. Everyone expected a quick conclusion but it wasn't to be as Dyer came up short on the next big move. Weeks passed and Robins started to gather momentum. How would Dyer cope with this new situation. He wanted it, he felt he deserved it but would he get it! The prospect of Robin's latching that first crux and then shooting to the top like a rat up a drainpipe was omnipresent. He kept it chill, he continued not to warm up and one day in mid August he stuck that twatting move. I watched with baited breath from the Over The Moon crack as he negotiated the finishing moves. Nervously but solidly he topped out and shrieked: "Is it happening" (wait for the footage to hear this delightful quip). A brilliant well deserved achievement and a fantastic route that will hopefully receive the attention it deserves. To his credit Pete kept plugging away and a few weeks later got his topout to assure his place as an LPT great and becoming the first to tick the 8c+ trilogy.

Red Meat,7b,Craig Pen Gogarth,Pete Harrison
Pete Harrison must have racked up the most ab time yet again this year. Exploring the Orme researching for the bolt fund guide helped him unearth a few plum lines. The most significant of these was Red Meat on the leaning wall opposite 'Dave Lyon' crag. This 30 metre line took much effort to bolt and clean and was pretty unique for the area. The first 2/3 or so was relatively steady with pumpy climbing but some good rests. This let to a sustained finishing crux sequence where decison making was of the essence as your forearms waned. The route became a popular tick with many intrigued parties heading down for the new Orme pump experience.

The Madness Reigns,8a,Dyserth Waterfall, Chris Doyle
Probably the best new route on a excellent new sector. Worthy of inclusion for the crux sequence along which features some pathetic grips. Good fun. The two 7c's are also excellent and the 8b will float some people's boats.
Pic: Ray Wood:

Release The Hounds,7c,Craigiau Gigfran,Gav Foster
Finally Gav got round to climbing his project (hence the name)! This curving overhanging prow above Penmaenmawr was one of the worst kept secrets in North Wales. Gav realised the time had come and put a few sessions in in order to bag it. The first half of the route is the prow feature. It is climbed with compression and heels, you really feel like you're fighting to stop yourself slipping off the frictionless rock. After the crux better holds and easier climbing are waiting and a nervy romp to the top via some excellent wall climbing. Release the Hounds became an instant classic and propelled itself to near the top of the 7c quality list. For me it was brilliant to do something unique for the area that wasn't just another overhanging piece of limestone.

The Empire State,8a,The Diamond,Tommy Chamings
Diamond season really captured the imagination this year. Pete Harrison and Neil Dyer were all over the massive walls in exploration mode. There were ropes hanging everywhere. More curious visitors landed on the beach and more quality routes went up. One of the coolest lines was Tommy's project from 2009 which followed a yellow streak of rough grease free Diamond rock. The first 2 bolts featured desperate bouldery climbing but from there the route was 8a and went right to the top of the crag. It had jugs, shakeouts and runouts and was unlike most of the 8's in the area. With this route and Pete Robin's excellent The Black Pearl just to the right it made sense to start them initially with aid starts from the jugs. Why deny ourselves 25 metres of 3 star climbing for the sake of a boulder problem! If it's good enough for Ceuse! Anyway Tommy satched it up quicktime and Dyer did the deed on the flash. Supersmashinggreat
Pic by Mark Reeves:

The Brute,8b,The Diamond,Neil Dyer
The Diamond super route of the year and right near the top of the best of it's grade in the country. For me it isn't the amazing line, movement and rock that make this route so special-it's the style. Bouldery routes are too short, stamina routes are too long. Power endurance is the most interesting style for me and this route epitomises the best of it even though it is a lot of moves for PE. From leaving the amazing juggy flake at the 2nd bolt it's a weaving, sustained, hold onto your hats sprint to the top with barely a chance to catch breath. In 32 moves you only really stop once and it's not a good rest as the right hand is on a sloper. You cling to the barrelled steepness trying to execute each move as well as possible to preserve strength. Speed is important but not to the detriment of precision. Basically it just flows like perfection and the difficulties are largely dispersed on amazing holds. The climbing let's up a bit towards the chain but you need to keep crimping when the crimp is fading. A 20 year old project; props to Steve Mayers for his early efforts and to Neil for making it a reality. Jordan and Caff nipped in for repeats and seemed to agree with the hard 8b tag. Mega

The Last Crusade,8a+,Llanddulas Cave,Chris Doyle
Last year when i was redpointing on what would become Temple of Gloom i spent a lot of time staring at this line trying to imagine what you would pull on and how it climbed. Unlike Temple it had never been inspected before. Early this year i pestered Tony to lug his ladder up there and we got the thing bolted. Sessions of hanging on the bolts trying to figure out shapes, positions and moves followed. On both those roof routes i have been amazed how steady the sections have become after a bit of time playing around. I soon had the sections wired enough to try some redpoints although it was a bit of a memory test on the complex sea of slopey sidepulls at the end. Just as i was about to seal the deal i tore my oblique warming up on it resulting in a month out and severe pain when sneezing. I was soon back in the groove and pulled out a memorable ascent with a near skipping bolts deck out scene. If you like PE and you like roof climbing get on it!

Alberta Rose, 7c,Detritus Wall,Pete Harrison
Pete's little community project for the year was installing a handline across the top of Detritus Wall on the Little Orme to allow safe access to classic but neglected routes like Ocean of Emotion. These routes were glorified in the guidebooks but the carrot was still a little untempting. Pete's handline was a brilliant piece of craftsmanship and he regarded it as his biggest achievement in the area. As word started to get out he knew he had to strike quick on what Dave Lyon had tipped him off as being 'the line of the Orme'. He started working out the line to the left of Ocean on top rope and soon had it bolted and prepped for a redpoint. With the seasons fitness slightly on the wane all was not a formality but he topped out quicktime much to his delight. His belayer Calum Muskett got the 2nd ascent confirming the grade and quality. The route is equal in quality to its neighbour Ocean. When i checked the place out to get some footage i thought it was reminiscent of Ceuse's famous sector Demi Lune with Orange rock and amazing wall climbing. Unfortunately the season ran out before the masses could descend but it should be high on everyones list having some of th e best routes of their grade in the UK.

Stff Upper Lip Extension,8b,Pigeons Cave,Pete Robins
Pete brought George Smith's original vision of this line to its inevitable concluson by giving it the top out and a proper finish. The original route is amazing but the but the finish was somewhat abitary and unsatisfactory. Above an awkward clip off a man made slot was a superb boulder problem on amazing pinches and edges. This gave access to the top of the crag and was the full line. Pete found himself in a bit of a race for the FA with Lancashireman Jordan Buys. Pete got there but Jordan was hot on his heels for the 2nd ascent. SUPE is certainly one of the best 8b's in the area. I would rank it in the top 3 with The Brute and Melanchollie. The jury's still out on whether the original is 7c+ or 8a (its 7c+).

Dumpster Divers,8a+,The Diamond,Neil Dyer
Another old project that many a beast must have gazed at in the Rockfax. It wasn't going to hold out this year with man on a mission Neil Dyer on the warpath. Worthy of inclusion for the crux alone which is a massive dyno. This section of wall is not quite as awe inspiring as the meat to the right but it is still pretty damn impressive and like all the Diamond routes the climbing is sustained and amazing. Pete got the 2nd ascent shortly afterwards. Roll on next year!

For those who have noticed that this list is a bit elitist well it is but there were some excellent 6's put up also. Check out Chilly T 6c (Ty Newydd, Tony Shelmerdine), Vegas Nights 6c+ (The Tower,Dulas, Chris Doyle) and The Hunt 6c/+ (Craigiau Gigfran, Jon Ratcliffe)

Winter is Wank

2011-12-18T07:49:00.000-08:00

I've just been reminded today of how Winter is an abysmal time of year. You can't get your fingers warm, it's so rainy and wet, it snows - stopping you going places, it gets dark at 3 o clock, its so flippin muddy. It is just generally shite. For the stuff i like to climb it doesn't need to be -10 so it's no use to me. I've been ill this week, i even thought i might have meningitis at one point. I don't luckily but still feel wonky. Being a sensible person i sacked off recuperation indoors and went on top of the freezing Little Orme for 2 days to piss about. Mr P, Robins and Dan came up yesterday. We were huddled under Cave wall trying to warm up. Dan and Pete were both trying Caveman Low 7c+. Neither managed it and Mr P bailed on Caveman too. I went back with Dan today and he romped it. He then started trying Mule's '7c+' Batman to the right. Now if most people would have done this problem they would have thought to themselves 'well Caveman Low is soft 7c+ and this is 2 grades harder so i should probably give it hard 8a'. Mule's line of thinking was 'it can't be 8a, 8a is a grade reserved for the God's and even though i can do one armer's on pinches and am insanely strong i will give it 7c+ to be on the safe side'. I asked Mule and he said 'it's quite a bit harder than the low start but i'm scared to give things 8a'. Those boys, those boys! Dan said it would get 8a+ in Hueco. We walked round to bulging wall and the heavens opened, grim grim grim. I had a play on Weirdo when it stopped but it remains my ultimate Nemesis. I couldn't re-warm my fingers at all so sacked it. Sack.
Pete trying Caveman Low:

DK on Batman 8a:

Dan repeated the variant start to Drink Driving, Jack the Drunk last week.
Last night i had a dream that Vechio Lione in Brione was made of limestone and that the 3rd hold had snapped off and been replaced with a ugly resin edge. Weird.

Norm Rescued by Future King

2011-12-13T09:32:00.000-08:00

Norman Clacher caned himself at a new crag x yesterday. My old king was belaying and tells the tale

He had just started up a new route and was pulling over the initial overhang pulled off 2 large slabs of rock one on top of the other. I couldn't believe it - they were'nt jutting out so you could get some leverage on them but on a flat ledge and the whole thing seemed to defy the laws of physics. Norm and the slabs were coming towards me and I nearly crapped myself. I ducked under the overhang, locked off the rope but Norm seemed to hit the deck at the same time as the blocks. The edge of one landed on his pelvis and he was in a lot of pain. He got choppered out and I went down to casualty at Glan Clwyd. He has a fractured pelvic socket. Lucky as hell - it so easily could have been curtains for both of us.

I reckon Prince William was flying the chopper. Get well soon Norm and easy on those nurses!

Back to The Craft

2011-12-11T03:59:00.000-08:00

Unbelievably it's been 9 years since those first bouldering forays at Craftnant and the FA's of Wonderwall, Cruella and Grasswind (think the latter two were in 2003). The crag has reached maturity in recent times and has been in vogue this year. I went up yesterday with Dan to give Nodder's neo classic Special K a blast. Time conspired against us and we got distracted so didn't get on it. I will be back! It was a bit dampy on arrival but just about climbable. We warmed up pissing about on Katzy's Cruella. It's funny as at the time we didn't think much about this problem but now i'm of the opinion that it's brilliant. The moves are really cool and the holds are so lush. Really nice rough mountain slopes. Dan got it quickstyle, i found myself having a bit of a battle in the end as i kept homming it up. I manned up in the end and finished it. Dan was checking out Floppy's 8b to the right. I remember taking Chris up there, when he first spotted the line i disregarded his interest. Fair play it's a cracker and one of the better hard problem's in North Wales. Really pure, short and hard. Dude's got the vision! Dan's quite keen for it, would be cool for it to get repeated. He's got decent pedigree, he did 8b in Rocklands this year and has climbed numerous 8a+'s around the place including a 30 minute ascent of Jim Holloways Trice 8a+ at Flagstaff, Colorado. With fading light we jumped ship to DC's 7c Grasswind which has had a few ascent's this year. I really didn't think this one was for me but i perservered. I tried to get the heel to work for ages but it just wasn't having it so i abandoned all finesse and got the move laying one on. This was actually ok and the set up was easier. It was getting dark however so i needed to act fast. Dan ticked it with a mad toe hook power screaming his way through. I got the good hold on the lip from the start but my foot slipped off matching. I gritted my teeth, got into the 'board' mentality and satched it up. Mega, a fantastic problem, as good as Cruella with also a beautiful visual line. These problems are some of the better ones of their grade in NWales. Consensus seems to be soft 7c for Grasswind but i didn't find Cruella to be 2 grades easier so perhaps that is 7b+. I still think Wonderwall's too brutal for 7b especially now it's lost a hold. When i was trying to make the cruxes of these problem's i found myself thinking back to how hard i try and how ferocious i get on the board. Why is it so hard to replicate this effort outside! I do stuff inside that seconds before i thought i had no chance on by conjuring up pure psyche from within and just forcing myself to do a move that feels improbable. I need to tap into this on rock and i'll pull stuff out the bag a lot quicker.
Top Craftnant tips
- take wellies or get piss wet feet ( slid down the hill all the way on my arse getting soaked)
- don't park on muddy downwards slopes. The fucking car got stuck and we had to piss about sticking pebbles and bracken under the wheels. Slightly epic.

Old pic of Floppy on Grasswind:

Now i'm off to this magnificent place!:

I got the book!

2011-12-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

I picked up a copy of the A55 2nd edition today from the old king. It is twice as big as the first edition and looks really good. Nice one to Mikey and to Pesda Press, the world's fastest climbing guide publisher (unbelievable). I'm really excited to see my babies and the new stuff documented. There's quite a few pics of me but before anyone starts throwing charges of nepotism just remember you can choose your friends.....

The Tower and Golf Ball Wall

2011-12-05T10:04:00.001-08:00

I reported a new mini sector at Llanddulas in the summer. Further on from KO Wall two other sectors have been developed. The Tower/Turret is quite a significant new crag. Most people driving along the A55 will have spotted the tower on the wooded hillside before Colwyn Bay. Myself, Tony and Norman put up 9 routes there this year. The crag must be 18 metres or so and the climbing is very good on most the routes. Norman did a 6b+ and a couple of 7a's. Tony put up a 6a+ and a 6c+ and bolted a project (which he will be doing next year, stay off please. I put up a 7c, 7b and the route of the crag Vegas Nights which goes at 6c+. It is a nice line and is nice and sustained all the way without a noticeable crux section. The crag was quite loose when we first abbed it and hasn't had much traffic yet so take care.
Me on vegas Nights:

Spidey high on Vegas:

Between the Main cave and the Turret is a little craglet above the path hidden in the trees. I found the crag and myself and Tony gave it a quick blitz to give 9 short but pleasant routes. The routes are all in the 6's apart from one 7a+ of mine. It won't be denting Ceuse's popularity next summer but i'm sure people will go there.
We called the crag Golf Ball Wall after the finding driving range gold balls all over the hillside in strange positions. Must be the crows!
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Spidey on Off With Their Heads 7a+:

Drink Driving 3rd Ascent

2011-12-04T04:55:00.000-08:00

We have a new beast living on the coast. Dan Knight has moved over from Yorkshire and he's already made the 3rd ascent of Drink Driving confirming mine and Ed Hamer's assessment of bottom end 8a+. A few beasts have been snooty about the grade of this problem over the years without even trying it. Tommy told me Mick Adams downgraded it with his eyes which isn't a bad effort. I guess it doesn't look that hard and the moves are ok on their own but that's not the problem is it. He played around on Jack the Drunk too which he reckoned was higher up the grade. Dan thought it was really good and comparable to 8a+s he'd encountered on his travels. I haven't had chance to get on rock as i've been engaging in the strange practice of work. It's a bit of a shock really. It's too dark to go out after work and it rains all weekend so you're a bit stuffed really. I popped into Tremeirchion the other day to play on Danny's low start to 36 Chambers. I'm surprised this hasn't really seen much attention by the people who've done the stand. In my mind its one of the best hard problems in these parts. The limestone is really good, it starts on a massive blob tufa, is sustained and has great moves and is a good length, about 13 moves. I think maybe the low is slightly unobvious as there are only a couple of holds and they're quite spaced. Apparently some folk thought the sitter went from the left which wouldn't be anything special. Anyway i still felt ok on the stand if a little heavier (8 pounds to be precise!). I figured out a sequence on the low moves but didn't quite manage them. It is a pretty hard link for 7c+, it could potentially be 8a, time will tell. It must be 7b+ or so just to get into the stand up and then that would be a real battle. Awesome! Training's been going better than i expected, i've got up to top form on the board in 6/7 sessions despite being a fat cunt. I don't mind one bit being heavy, there's no point being a stick insect all year. So much of my top end climbing relies on that weight loss impact and the bigger the impact the better next June! If i can get den 7b+ like this i should be crusing.
The board:

Dyserth Castle Slab (aka Ghost Canyon)

2011-12-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

The final part of the Dyserth jigsaw is the big slab above the Dyserth-Prestatyn walkway. This has been messed about on for years by locals but my old king took it upon himself to bolt the place up this year to give a fine new crag that is pretty unique for the area. There aren't many big limestone slabs around here! The slab took a lot of cleaning but is now in pretty good shape. There are 6 routes with the hardest and best being an old Andy Pollitt route Genesis which went at E3 with a old bolt or two. It's is now a excellent 6b+. The crag gets mucho sun and is close to the car park. So Dyserth now has 3 great crags. The Waterfall with its easy walls and meaty roof routes. Ty Newydd, longer more technical challenges and some shorties and the sunny slab to keep the punts happy. The gop bouldering cave is also up the road and Meliden Quarry has a few old sport routes and a neat little bouldering wall. Both these places will feature in the guide.

Mikey D at work:

Ty Newydd

2011-11-28T14:27:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the best new crag in my dad's guide is Ty Newydd in Dyserth. It is one of those crags that makes you doubt yourself on the approach as you can't imagine that a cliff is about to appear. It is situated in a wooded valley in some fields and from spring onwards the air is pungent with the smell of wild garlic. The main section of crag is deceiving. It consists of sections of steep wall and slabbier sections. The holds are often hidden and sloping making onsighting reasonably tricky and the rock is a flinty type of limestone. The crag is on a farmer's private land and thus far he has been very accomodating with regard to access. However this will not be the case if people ignore the strict access arrangements. The most important of these is that there is no access to the crag from 1st October to 31 January on Friday and Saturdays. It is very important that this is adhered to.
There are some great longer routes like Chilly Tea 6c and Ivan the Responsible 6b+. Black Wednesday is a great 7a+ and Three Degrees of Levitation is a cool 7c. Dreambadger 7c+ is a super steep boulder problem on a rope. Wouldn't mind a grade opinion on this. And finally Pete Robins First Round, First Second provides some real beef at 8a+. All info in the guide!
Dreambadger:

Chill Tea:

Mule on Black Wednesday:

A55 Second Edition on way!

2011-11-25T07:30:00.000-08:00

Since the A55 sport climbs book was released in 2010 my old king has continued to chronicle the developments in the area. In 18 months there have been 117 new routes, new sectors and even new crags. Three crags have been developed in Dyserth, Llanddulas has 3 new sectors, Penmaenhead has a new sector and Craig y Gigfran above Penmaenmawr was developed. Pesda Press are publishing the 2nd edition and it should be on the shelves a few weeks into December. The guide looks great, the new crags have really fleshed it out and the action shots are much better. There's even some hard routes now. Pesda have stuck a couple of quid onto the price as it's a bigger guide but it's great value at £13.99. I will give a run down on the new crags on this here blog.

Back to The Chase

2011-11-16T09:03:00.000-08:00

Well i started training again and so far so good. My elbow still feels ok and i was pleasantly surprised not to be completely terrible. It must be because i was quite strong when i stopped so i didn't sink to the usual levels of crapness that i would have done normally. I was also pleased to be feeling motivated on the board. I half expected it to feel like a slog but i've really enjoyed it so far. You soon remember why you like doing it and why the sedate life will never be enough. I even missed brushing holds! Climbing has simplified from those last few months of summer where i wanted to climb FA's, existing routes, get ticks, go bouldering. Now i see a winter of training ahead of me (if my body can withstand it). I always had it in mind to focus on raising my game over this winter and the plan hasn't changed. I want to redpoint harder stuff than i've done which means doing it in North Wales which means power, power and more power. I know i need to be consistently stronger to have a chance on some of the hardies round here. During my usual elevated 3 weeks a year i'm capable of hard climbing but to actually do something i need to feel like that for months at a time. I couldn't believe how doable Liquid Ambar felt when i got on it that day but if it's gonna take 40/50 days then 2 weeks of beastliness won't cut it. I need to raise my game through months of hard training and actually raise my base level rather than relying on weight loss and the stars coming into alignment. So lots of board sessions and lots of bouldering. I'm still keen for all those problems i listed a few months ago and will start heading out when i hit den 7b again, hopefully shouldn't be long. I put on half on stone during my lay off so i'm not expecting too many fireworks for a while as i'm sure as hell not dieting again til next year. I'm keen to get on the campus board in the Mill at some point as this has always been a major weakness of mine. I remember when i was going pretty well in the School but couldn't do 147 when everyone else could cream it. I'm not sure exactly how much of a difference it will make to me but it's worth a shot. There is a great wooden symmetry board in the mill with great holds made by Nodder and i know this is great tool for getting those fingers strong. The crux of Liquid Ambar involves being strong and powerful on two slopey crap holds so this will be ideal for this. Might as well aim high and hopefully bag a few tricky 8's on the way back down to earth...

End of Season

2011-11-06T12:21:00.000-08:00

I've only climbed on average once a week for the last 5/6 weeks. It's the best time of year for a break and i needed to rest my elbow anyway. It's slowly improving but i've not thought too much about climbing in the last month. Considering how obsessed i am about climbing for the majority of the year it does surprise me how well i handle not climbing. I am pleased and relieved my life doesn't implode when i don't go. Of course i miss the buzz and excitement but a sedate life has plenty going for it too. I didn't climb for 2 weeks until yesterday. Me and Tommy went for a probable last blast down LPT. Tommy hommed around on 8a and i finished off Rompsville which i had tried briefly earlier in the year. I must say i was surprised with how good it is. I had always imagined it to be gnarly and sharp and nasty. It starts up Statement and then breaks right through 6c+/7a ground up to a decent rest. The crux is the slabby headwall which is very sequency and involves some cool sidepull holds and small feet. It's an excellent sequence and deserves more attention really. It did get upgraded to 7c from 7b+ but i'm inclined to keep these old skool slabby testpieces as their original grades. Routes like Cafe Libre, The Acid test and Rompsville do feel hard for the grade because most people these days are more adept at steep climbing and i thinks slabs traditionally feel stiff for the grade anyway. It's still warm enough to do routes round here but the feeling that the season is coming to an end is prevalent. It's not bad though when you can do routes for the majority of the year. After we went up to Pill Box where there was a healthy scene. The bangor boys were bouldering and doing routes and Pete Robins was checking out Carinthian Groove 8b, the hardest route on the upper drive. I put my boots on to try a few hard moves, i was dreading it as i haven't tried any hard moves for 5 weeks and i've put on half a stone. I needn't of worried as my old friend the Pill Box sorted me out and i managed Pill Bow Original, Mr Whippy, Chocolate Wall and Last Rites 7b+. I was quite surprised as i got spanked there in summer that day with Nodder when i had been climbing a lot. Don't write yourself off before you pull on! Time to start climbing again perhaps

Alberta Rose

2011-10-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Pete Harrison has sent over some info about his new route:

I finished my most recent 'do something creative whilst the weather's shit' project - the Detritus Wall traverse which provides airy access to those intriguing routes out above the sea. Of all the things I've done over the last couple of years this is definitely the thing I'm most proud of. It's been so fulfilling to go out there by myself after work and do such a bizarre thing, trying not to think about the consequences of a mistake and the resulting 40 metre plummet to the sea with rope, drill, batteries, bolts, gear and god knows what other shit hanging off me dragging me down like a stone. Then getting back safely to the pub car park and seeing the fat fuckers doing their chain-pub thing makes me feel priveledged to be able to spend time in the hidden corners of the Ormes!
Anyway I thought it was a fitting use of the last of the DMM Eco bolts, which Dave Lyon gave to me last year after having been holding onto them for the last 15 years waiting for the next classic. What a great design they were.

Dave's efforts back in the day make mine look like childs' play. During 'a bit of a bad patch' he thought it'd be good to go out across Detritus Wall by himself with a single 9mm rope, a sky hoook, a drill and some ironmongery. It took him half a day to do what took me eight - to get to the top of what is now Ocean of Emotion. I found it quite harrowing at times and I had all the old kit ahead of me to aim for. Dave wouldn't have had any of that. Fucking loon.

Pete has called his route Alberta Rose. He has provided some more in depth info about the area:

Detritus and Atlanta Walls
Access to the these walls is actually simple - no harder than accessing Gogarth uper tier and easier than The Diamond. You can walk straight to the abseil point for all the routes on Atlanta Wall and the first three routes on Detritus Wall. A simple 30m abseil reaches good non-tidal ledges with bolt belays on the Detritus Wall routes, or a thread-belay for the Atlanta Wall routes. All the routes have good bolts - stainless though-bolts on Dave Lyon's Detritus Wall and Atlanta Wall routes, stainless 'petzl long-lifes' on a couple of the left-hand Atlanta Wall routes, resins on Alberta Rose.
Atlanta Wall gets sun from 2pm in August / 3.30pm in October. Detritus Wall gets the sun from 2.30pm in August / 4pm in October. Both walls are more exposed to the wind and get more sun than The Diamond so are more reliable for good conditions. Climbing here on a sunny afternoon is pretty hard to beat. Stormy October/November may be memorable for less pleasant reasons, but yesterday was primo climbing conditions and weather. Atalanta wall faces due West, Detritus Wall faces NW.

The in-situ handline across Detritus Wall is very airy but well bolted. 'E' is reached by abbing down to a non-tidal ledge from the first set of double rings about one-thirds way along the traverse. Ocean of Emotion and Alberta Rose are reached by abbing to a non-tidal ledge from the end of the traverse.
You can gear up for the routes on Detritus Wall at the start of the traverse, but I find it better to take the packs in to the end of the traverse for Ocean of Emotion/Alberta Rose and leave them hanging from the line - careful with the wallet and car keys!

Either take an ab rope or a lighter option is to take a clip stick as a fail-safe for getting out. If go with the clip stick you'll need to know how to rig a single line retrivable abseil if abbing in on gri-gri's, or bring a normal belay plate.

The Acid Test and Mega New 7c on Little Orme!

2011-10-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

The Electric Cool-Aid Acid Test is one of the iconic Pen Trwyn routes. It was first climbed by Ron Fawcett at E5 6c in 1983 and was one of the most technical challenges at the time. I have always thought it would be cool to do it. It was on the front of the Pollitt 87 guide and was one of the significant testpieces of the 80s boom. Ben and Jerry even met under it for the first time. The difficulties are fairly short, easy plodding leads to a pristine scooped headwall where everything blanks out. I was out with Tommy today. We started up at Mumbo Jumbo doing a few warm ups and Tommy did the FA of a new line that Tony had bolted on the left hand side of the crag. It's about 7a+ and he's called it Lizzy Askins (ahem, the girl who popped my cherry, ahem. His idea not mine!). We then headed up to the Acid Test area and both did Quicksilver (really good 7a) to get a top rope on it. I had been on it briefly before and remember struggling to understand it! This time i spent the first 30 minutes trying to identify holds and trying to execute funky positions and palming manouveres. I couldn't believe i was on a 7b+!! Eventually i worked out a sequence that involved crimpy pulls on crozzly holds. It was just pulling really and not overly technical in the end. It went pretty easily first redpoint and i was left wondering what all the fuss had been about. It must be one of the hardest 7b+ onsights in the country when it's unchalked though. Stevie Haston managed it onsight back in the 80s which was a great effort. I don't think many would onsight it now (get on it N Waleans). Satisfying! We then went and hommed around on some 7a's and i did two old routes that have recently been bolted up. Big is Best is now roughly 6b and Adequate Compensation 6b+ish. I think they're both destined to be quite popular.
France? Spain? No, the Orme in October!:

I spotted this project for the Wideboys today for when they return:

Last week me and Tommy headed down to Detritus wall on the Little Orme with Pete Harrison. Pete has spent 8 days putting a handline in across the top of the wall from the grassy ledge above Atlanta Wall all the way across the wall to the Ocean of Emotion belay. Pete rates this new handline as his best achievement in the area. He had some pretty hairy moments sticking it in and most of it he was self belaying holding on to terrible loose rock while sticking in the bolts. Dave Lyon had tipped Pete off about a line to the left of Ocean which he reckoned would probably be just as good. Pete thought this would be a good reward for his efforts and soon had the line bolted an worked. Today he redpointed it at 7c stating it was one of the best of it's grade around. It is a great wall in an amazing position and now it's not even an epic to access it. I got some pics of Pete working the line. Ocean of Emotion looked immaculate too. It takes a orange streak through pristine rock and wall climbing. It looks like a route from Demi Lune sector, Ceuse stuck to the Orme. The last bit of the routes are a bit shitty to the handline. Pete was struggling to get a belayer so he drove to the hills to pick Calum Muskett up who repaid him by working out the top. Calum also bagged the 2nd ascent.
Bird shit tufas:

Handline:

Top roping the proj:

The Wizard is Oz

2011-10-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

I did my 24th new route of the year today at Penmaenhead. I had wondered about the wall right of Clogau Gold years ago but had never checked it out. Recently Tommy mentioned he had looked at it and it looked good. I abbed down it and it did look very cool so i bolted it up. The route took no cleaning and there were no loose holds at all which is rare for a virgin route of this height. The rock is really nice and rough. The route follows the first two bolts of Clogau Cold on easy terrain then breaks right onto the ledge. From here blast straight up the headwall. The first section is reasonably steady up to a small overlap and a jug. Then you tackle the crux sequence which is a really nice tenuous couple of moves with some more nice moves above on bad feet. I've called it The Wizard is Oz. Oz is the 6 ft 6 Ghambian doorman at The Barrel in Rhyl, a very handsome man. I've given it 7b+, it's quite hard to grade as the hard section is very shortlived but it seems too thin for 7b and it's a bit easier than a hard 7b+ like Rompsville. All in all a very satisfying experience and if it's my last new route this year it's a good one to end on. I'm chuffed to have the hardest route as Dyserth, Dulas and Penmaenhead. I was a bit snooty about Penmaenhead years ago when i was doing the first new routes there. Fair play to the old king though it is a very handy crag. It's a convenient ticking venue but the quality is actually very good and with over 60 routes there's loads to go at. I onsighted Clogau Gold 7a after my FA and found it quite tough for 7a. I think it's because it was unchalked and i've just been following the dots this year. Nice big wall anyway.
I went to Dulas with Pete Robin's the other day. Pete did the 2nd ascent of The Last Crusade, he managed it first redpoint which is a good effort as it's quite a complex route and hard to remember straight off. I guess it doesn't matter when you're four grades beneath your limit. He confirmed the grade but said he found it as hard as Temple which he found really easy. I still think he beasted Temple and 8c wad Bob Hickish has a couple of sessions on it recently and reckoned it was tricky. I had a play on the link up i bolted. The new section was really good and it seemed like the moves would go ok with some time. It's definitely doable but i'm going to have to be climbing well. It'll be quite pumpy with Last Crusade start, then hard 8 move or so middle sequence then the redpoint crux of Temple. Look's like i'll be seiging in that roof for the 3rd year in a row. We then went down LPT, pete was keen for a look on The Big Crunch project that i bolted a year or two ago. The first crux is nails and it's yet to be worked out. The middle section is excellent and doable and then there's a really hard lip encounter. Pete reckoned it could be 9a! I had a go at the middle bit and did the moves, LPT LGP! Footage of Tommy crushing Simon Says 8a in Split Infinity:

Finally some bellend kids have set fire to the two gym mats in the Cave. Tommy put it out and no real harm is done but i think it's worth keeping the place free from such detritus as it is definitely tempting for some nob who's a bit trigger happy with his lighter. It could have been a lot worse!

New Proj

2011-10-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling increasingly refreshed after having a break from pulling hard. The elbow hasn't really improved so it's been an enforced rest. I've had to sack off my Font trip which was dissapointing but you can't go there with a bad elbow. Tony 'knackered elbows' Shelmerdine says it's not tennis elbow as it is in the centre on the outside. Anyone any ideas? I've been doing some easier routes and have bolted a couple of projects. One is a line i'm very excited about at Dulas, a link up of my two roofs that Ben Heason spotted when he tried Temple. The new section of climbing looks really good and hard. The whole route will certainly be harder than Temple, time will tell if it qualifies for the next grade or not. I'd quite like it too as long as it's doable, i like going up there!
Aiding in the roof:

Something to play on next year anyway. Early Bird on the outside of the Cave has been bolted to give a fine 6b and Norman has done a route branching out right at about 6b+. Tony has been very active re-equipping on the Orme. He's re-equipped Hamburger Buttress. The routes got trad grades but relied on a lot of insitu gear. So we need the sport grades for these routes for the guides.
Tommy fingering his beast:

The Ferret

2011-10-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

Pete Robins has climbed a very old project down LPT. It was known as the Angel Project and is a short bouldery affair left of Mellanchollie. This route has been strangely neglected over the years, despite being short it is a nice wall. It would certainly have been done if it were in the Peak and would be the best route on the right hand side of Raven Tor. I think it was bolted by Johnny Dawes back in the day and has seen attention off a few people. Steve Mcclure almost did it years ago but pulled a hold off the top. I belayed him on it again a few years later and he was all over it but split his tip. Matt Donnelly, Mark Katz and Danny Cattell all put some effort in over the years. Danny got through the crux but was pulled off by his belayer (Bob Hickish). Despite effort from all these beasts Pete reckons the difficulties are about font 7c and french 8b and he's called it The Ferret.

We re-equipped the line last winter. Pics:

By my calculations there have been 11 new grade 8's in the area this year. 3 8a's, 3 8a+s, 4 8b's, 1 8c+.

Pilgrimage vid

2011-10-05T05:06:00.000-07:00

Jamie King found the old footage of Malc doing Pilgrimage and has stuck it on youtube. It's great to see it again, really inspiring (especially the celebration):

I am taking things easy now to let my tennis elbow sort itself out. I ignored it for a few weeks and kept pulling hard. It didn't get any worse but i'm very paranoid and want to nip it in the bud now. I'm pretty sure it's a consequence of the sudden strength increase that i underwent. Apparently tendons are 6 weeks or so behind muscles in strengthening. So lots of stretching and hot and cold for me and some easy climbing. Bit gutted as i was sposed to be going to Font next week!

Trwyn Ticking

2011-10-02T04:44:00.000-07:00

My desire for hard climbing has diminished slightly so yesterday i was keen to go out and do some ticking on the Upper drive. Me and Tommy warmed up on Testament, a classic Orme 6c then moved on to the Cutaway as Tommy was keen to finish off John Paul and The Vatican 7(7c). I'd been up there a few days earlier with Jim having a play on the hideously horrible Rock Lobster 8a+. Tommy clipped up John Paul. I wanted to do it first go and i managed to pull it off which was good. Pretty gutting really though as i'd been on it once in 2003 and so i miss out on the flash tick. It would have been a PB in the UK too. I was satisfied with how i had climbed it however and it gave me confidence. Next up was Chain Gang Wall, i'd never done any of the hard routes despite them being some of the best on the Upper drive. Mr Olympia was the one i was keen for despite it getting a trad grade (E5 6b). It has a insitu thread and two bolts on it so feels like a sport route really (especially if you clipstick the thread- i did). The top is runout but is about french 6a. It was well chalked so i just joined the dots. It is great steep climb and my first E5 tick for quite a long time. Didn't feel like trad though. There are two other E5's on this wall that are proper trad and they look brilliant. When i've done Liquid Ambar i will get back into trad, i've pencilled in a new rack for 2022. Tommy managed to cock up the flash somehow, moment of madness on the last move. Then we headed to Black Wall which is a very nice little sector with pockety technical routes. We did Storm Warning 7a, and i cocked up The Lull (7b) on the onsight and we finshed off on Wet Dreams, a ace 7a slab which would be a very tricky onsight without chalk.
Pic by Mills:

On the bumpy boy scene Pete Robins has extended The Black Pearl to the top of the crag to make a harder 8a (i thought the original was hard enough!). He joined Tommy's route at the top so there are now two 8a mega pitches side by side. Caff and Dyer both made a rare repeat of Central Pillar on the Gwynt. Apparently its similar in difficulty and style to Masterclass and it took them 3 go's each. I'll give that a miss then!

October Furnace

2011-09-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

What a topsy turvy island this is! It's too hot to climb in late September. I went to the Cave today but it was warm and i had no growl. I sacked it to Pigeon's with Ducko to have a look, it was still a bit wet but my route was dry enough to have a quick look. It's all there but there's not much you can do if its wet or 30 degrees. I've lost a bit of spark this week but it's normal after a sustained psyche period and a big project. Ducko pointed out a nice clean little wall on the way down to Pigeon's. There were two potential problems that i doubt have been climbed before (the hard one defo hasn't). The left hand one was a cool sit start and followed some nice flowstone. I got it ticked when the sequence was worked out. It's worth checking out and is around 7a+. I've christened it October Furnace. The line to the right looks 8a/+ and is one for CJD i reckon when it cools down, come on fatty!
Pic's:

Come on Floppy!:

Dyer flashed The Empire State on The Diamond as a warm up like he does.

The Empire State

2011-09-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

Me and Tommy headed down The Diamond today. It was quite warm and still so we were expecting a bit of grease but the chalk was glowing as we approached and it was quite good. The crag's recent upsurge in popularity continues and there were people all over it. Tommy was keen for an old project line he re-equipped back in 2009. Right of Never get Out of The Boat is a amazing yellow streak. The start is a hard boulder sequence up to a long vertical jug and from here is a further 25 metres of amazing pumpy climbing to the top of the crag. Like The Black Pearl it makes for an unbalanced route with the first two bolts taking the grade up 3/4 grades and so the link from the jug to the top was an obvious challenge. The route has a hard sequence above the jug before it turns into a stamina fest. The rock has a rough shell so it's usually ok conditions when everything else is greasy. Tommy spent 6 days on it in 2009 and got involved again last Saturday and was soon on redpoint. Today he got the link first redpoint despite wet holds at the top. I'm glad he didn't drop the end as i doubt he would have got there again. We don't get much practice on 30 metre sport routes round here! He's called it The Empire State and has given it 8a but reckons it could be a tough one. Nice one mate. There are some pics on Mark Reeves blog.
I had another go on The Black Pearl, i still felt tired despite a rest day but had a redpoint and powered out on the top crux sequence. It's flippin sustained and the shake isn't that good as the holds are flat. I had a realisation that i really shouldn't be wasting myself on any more fitness routes this year. I need to make the most of feeling strong not wasting the window of opportunity getting boxed and tiring myself. It was a useful epiphany to have! I need to crush some stuff before mediocrity creeps back in. Jimmy Big Guns did Skip of Fools 8a+, ye! Later i had a look at the thing i bolted on hanging rock on the Orme. After one go i've christened it Hubble's Welsh cousin, its fuckin nails! Oh well, if i ever do Louis Armstrong i'll give it another go. Some nice weather coming up, need some wind to dry Pigeons!

New craglet near Ruthin

2011-09-26T02:29:00.000-07:00

Two years ago my old mucker Ryan Mcconnell (aka Spidey) started developing a small roadside crag at Pwll Glass just outside of Ruthin on the A494. The crag yielded a 6a and a 6b on the right and a 7b through the central section which Danny Cattell bagged the first ascent of (name:Apple Crumble). Spidey had his sights set on a harder route on the left hand side. The route was a very nice little boulder problem passing the 3rd/4th clips involving some small crimps, a pocket and a high heel. Spidey tried the route sporadically but struggled with the tenuous bouldery crux, a long slap off the heel. This year he made the breakthrough and latched the move but got spat off the next move. He started getting through the crux more consistently recently but the last moves were still tenuous and hard for the feet and he kept dropping them. However he could tell the redpoint was close and desperate to bring closure to his seige he linked a few days in close succession and got the route ticked yesterday. It is the great thing about redpointing that we all go through the same tribulations on a long term project. The route is called Fraxinus Excelsior and is 7c or 7c+. The 7c's Spidey has done (including the LPT beast I've Been a Bad Bad Boy) have taken him considerably less effort than this route but he concedes that it may just not suit him. Time will tell but it is a very nice little route with a satisfying crux sequence. It's right by Ruthin escarpment which has been re-equipped by Lee Proctor and co so it's quite a handy micro venue. Spidey gets to jet off to Yosemite with his proj in the bag, nice one shag!
Pics:

Lee Proctor on Apple Crumble:

An attempt earlier in the year:

Tigger Cut

2011-09-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

Wandered into the cave and saw this beast on Trigger Cut:

I chilled for a bit after the Dyserth exploits then went down the Diamond with Pete. It was greasy on first arrival but it got good. I finished off NGOOTB. I felt good on it but climbed it mainly on strength rather on fitness. I did get a bit back on the shakeout. Without doubt a North Wales classic! Pete tried the start to The Black Pearl, awesome hard boulder problem. I had a bolt to bolt on the new 8a. It is steeper than the other low 8's and is a really good power endurance route. I was tired so didn't have a redpoint. Yesterday i had a meaty sesh in the Cave with the stags. Some more Waiting Game footage:

The Black Pearl

2011-09-21T02:44:00.000-07:00

Years ago Dave Redpath stuck some bolts in one of the obvious main lines on The Diamond. The line followed a hanging corner in the middle of the steepness which had plenty of holds but the first couple of metres off the beach to gain the corner was totally desperate. It made sense for someone to climb the route from the first jug as it is such an excellent line and the desperate start was so unbalanced. I remember when i first went to Ceuse this was a common practice on several routes. It seemed silly on those routes as starting from the ground was only usually a grade harder. I recall people hanging on the first bolt of Blanche Fesses 7c at Cascade. The one move off the deck was a v3 dynamic move but all the stamina jug pullers couldn't handle this savage piece of bouldering so they bypassed it. On the Diamond route it was an obvious way forward and Pete Robins did the deed a few days ago at 8a (name The Black Pearl). Now all it needs is a new lower off, maybe an extension and of course the route needs to be climbed from the deck. Hopefully this will go down this season. Its brilliant watching the crag coming to maturity with the obvious new routes getting done and the old routes getting re-equipped.

I was looking in my diary this morning and i noticed a list of 14 new routes that i made back in May that i wanted to complete this year. The Hole Truth was the last one on the list but a few extras have been added. Forgot to post this pic of my lucky belayer:

The Hole Truth

2011-09-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

I did my project at Dyserth Waterfall today. I can't believe its 9 months since i first wondered up to this crag with Tony in the search for new rock. I was taken by the steep roofs and the first line i spotted was the roof with the hole on the right. I didn't really spot the potential for the two middle lines as i couldn't see the holds. I cut down some brambles at the top of the crag so i could ab down the line of the hole route. I got down to the lip and where i had been hoping to find some good holds was basically one solitary pinch. I gave up on the route and concentrated on the other lines. The hole was good when you got into it but there were so few options for your feet, i just thought it wouldn't go for me. After i'd completed Meatsville Arizona and Strawberries Man (7c's) i decided to bolt the last two lines even if they were two hard for me someone would do them. The middle line turned into The Madness Reigns which i sandbagged at 7c+. It was one of my best new routes. I had been playing on the hole project and had worked bits of it out. Before my injury in June i had a freak go and managed to get to the lip. It was a freak and when i started trying it again i struggled to get into the hole despite being as strong. It needed drastic action and a crash diet resulted in a breakthrough two days ago. It felt like a different route and i ended up dropping the last hard move. Today i returned with my lucky belayer Norman Clacher (Norm belayed me on the other routes) and did it first redpoint. I felt strangley subdued as i lowered off. I don't know why but the usual excitement when i do something at my limit wasn't there. I just felt pleased and relieved. I've never done a route like this, it is a hard, gnarly, crazy style. The moves you are forced into doing are quite wild for a route. It felt like a weird redpoint because after setting off it was done 40 seconds later. Difficulty wise i can't pinpoint it exactly but i'm guessing it is somewhere between mid to hard 8b. It could be my hardest route, i can't really judge if it's harder than Melanchollie as they're 7 years apart and so different in style. It's 6 easy moves to a 11 move font 7c+ sequence (compared to the recent boulders i've been doing/trying) and then 6b to the top. The name is The Hole Truth (nice one gorgy). I'd love to see some other folk trying it, i'd be intrigued to see what beta people come up with. Anyway to get to the crag follow the river from the top of the falls. Please act sensibly if you visit this crag. It is a popular tourist area and the crag is close to residential properties. You all know the score. I celebrated by climbing two 5's on the left so i could tick the crag.
Pic's by Mike Doyle:

Shit topo for the hard routes:

Pics n Vid

2011-09-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

Ducko on G Spotting 7a, Pac Man boulders:

Bogroll comfortiser for toe cam on my hole proj:

Pete on the 2nd Ascent of The Madness Reigns:

Loyal belayer Tommy C:

Jimmy big guns film of the 2nd ascent of Dumpster Diver's. Looks cool, nice to see someone else recording the action!

We need some dry weather drastically, Pigeon's, The Diamond and the cave are all gopping. The Orme was shut today because of rockfall

New 8a+ on The Diamond

2011-09-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

Neil Dyer climbed the old left hand Skip of Fools project today. Neil was surprised by the quality of Dumpster Divers (i don't know why! Name connection to Skip of Fools, google it!). This was one of the oldest projects in North Wales and if it were at any other crag it would have been done yonks ago. Pete Robins almost flashed the 2nd ascent falling really high on one of the last hard moves. The first proper hard move of the route is a spectacular dyno which is followed by sustained climbing above. The boys seem to think soft 8a+ is appropriate. The two long wall climbs to the left Robinson Cruiser and Non Tidal Screamer are now good to go. Pete did Robinson last week reckoning it to be pretty hard for the guidebook grade of 7c+. This must of been the first ascent for 20 years. Pete reckoned it could be 8a which in my brain register's as definitely 8a :). Expect a hard runout finish. Caff did Non Tidal Screamer, also probably the first ascent for a very long time. Unsurprisingly this also seems to be pretty tricky for its guidebook grade of 7c and don't be surprised if it feels 7c+ by modern standards. Either George didn't realise how well he was climbing in the late Eighties or we've all gone soft (probably both). Boat People is another example, 7c to the top of the crag in the guide but surely 7c+ compared to all the popular 7c's round here. Owen did NGOOTB (effort) and Caff did the 3rd ascent of The Brute (effort). I'm sure it was a casual affair, i love the way Caff keeps his belayer informed of his movements when he's on a hard route - "i'll have a little look in a min Soph" and the classic "bit of loose". Legend! Anyway no project is safe down The Diamond now, i'm quite glad i don't have to stress about it anymore as all the beasts are going down this year. I tried my Pigeon's proj again yesterday, it was a bit hot and still again. I took my jeans and kneepad but the kneebar wasn't as bomber as i hoped. I persisted and by the end of the session i understood the intricacies of it a bit better and managed to link the 3 hard moves. Pete was trying the S crack but had a go of my proj at the end and confirmed that it's tricky and there is no revolutionary beta that i'm missing. He reckons kneepads are cheating but he's just bitter cos his knee's too short. I embrace cheating like Tiger Woods so i've gone a step further and glued some rubber to my jeans. Please let it work, winter gop is coming! After i went to the cave and had a few redpoints on The Wire, it's a bit of a frustrating one as it's very easy to fall off Broken Heart even if you feel fairly fresh. You have to concentrate and climb it right. Dyer turned up and we killed the day off down LPT. I was keen to have a play on Liquid Ambar as i hadn't been on it this year and i wanted to keep it fresh in my mind. I wanted to try the crux as i knew the big slap Moffatt beta that i had employed when i did it wouldn't work for me on the link as it would be very low percentage. I know he was Jerry Moffatt but i find the way he did that move much more dismaying than the other methods despite being less powerful. It's such a hard accurate slap to be doing there. I had been taking notes when Malc was on it last year and was keen to try his foot beta of keeping his feet low on the shit left hand crimp pinch. I pulled and i roared and i was heartbroken to discover that i'm not as strong as Malcolm Smith, i wish someone had told me sooner, i've been living a lie for all these years. Anyway this crux move is substantially harder than all the other moves on the route for me and i'm not sure how i'm going to do it. The high feet feel too high and Malcs way feels too powerful and low. It'll probably be Malcs way. Just need to get stronger on that shit left hand. Dyer tried a cheeky heel on a decent sidepull which looked interesting. I had it in mind to go away this winter and do loads of campussing but i think its more a case of being able to hold a couple of very shit holds on the crux. On the plus side i was all over the first hard bit straight off, i was pleased because this is the second hardest bit and likely font 7b+. I was even more pleased to find the last sequence pretty steady on it's own. It is significantly easier than the lower moves. I'm sure it's hard on redpoint but if you're getting there you're laughing anyway. It's my lifetime goal and i'm fairly optimistic i can crack it within ten years after yesterdays session. Just need to get beastly, work the crux out and link 13 hard moves. Shouldn't be too bad actually. Its been the golden year for Welsh sport climbing. With well over 100 new routes from French 4 to 8c+ and hopefully more to come the place really is alive.

Sexy Little Knee

2011-09-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

The good weather continues, i was losing the will with the rain but this weeks been very nice thank you very much. I headed to the recently unbanned hanging rock just past Mayfair Wall this morning to catch up with Tony. He was bolting up two very old forgotten routes, Wall of Goutes and Gripper Clipper. The rest of the crag was bolted up recently. The routes look very good actually. I bolted a new line through the main roof. A very nice looking boulder problem route on excellent rock. It will be the most roadside hard route in North Wales and looks pretty despy actually. Hope i can do it!
Pic:
We removed a few loose blocks from above the crag. Its quite scary to prise a big block away with your little finger. This kind of work definitely makes the marine drive safer for everyone that uses it. If us climbers didn't clear loose rock they would eventually come down, probably in a rainstorm and they are potentially lethal. Anyway that's enough blowing climbers trumpets for now.
I tootled on down to the cave pleased with my mornings work. Nodder, Jack The Ratt and Ducko were getting involved. I felt light and bouncy, my performance is definitely elevated at the moment. I've had a few of these moments over the years and the lesson i've learnt is to strike while the irons hot as they don't last forever! The priorities are my new routes and Cave 8a+s. I'm on redpoint on The Wire now and got the undercut twice today falling just shy of the jugs. I'm sure i'll fall off Clever Beaver pumped stupid when i get there. It's a brilliant bit of power endurance climbing and it feels good to climb well on a hard problem. Mills turned up and we headed down Pigeon's. It was nice and dry but still and muggy so not mint. I was well excited to get on my project feeling strong. I hadn't tried it for ages. The moves felt easier straight away and my original beta seemed about right. The route is about 7b+ to some undercuts and it's pretty intense to the top from there. I was still finding two fingery moves pretty hard and deep down i was thinking 8b and pretty hard on the link. The important thing is to keep an open mind and i wedged my knee against the slopey ramp feature. I had the worst kneebarring trousers on but instantly i knew that it would work as my leg was the right size. It dawned on me that the knee might work for the next move too and sure enough it seemed too. I'm pretty sure this will feel solid with my jeans and kneepad and all of a sudden the routes seems do-able. I need to do it before winter as the top does seep. I'm sceptical about Pete's 7c grade for the right hand route. It looks harder and Mills said he belayed Kristian Klemmow on it in the 90s. He was crushing 7c's back then. 3 finger deadhangs now.

Praise the Hurricane

2011-09-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

Phew i'm at risk of spreading myself too thin at the mo. I want to climb everything, stamina down the Diamond, hard new route projects, blocs in the hills, PE in the cave. Need to take a deep breath and concentrate on the new routes. Me and Jimmy went to climb down Pigeon's today. The remnants of the Atlantic hurricane has made everything so mint round here. It was a one in 500 day down Pigeon's. Definitely the most mint conditions i've ever seen down there. Unfortunately it was approaching high tide, the sea was proper choppy and it was a high tide so we had to bail. Jim had a quick go on Stiff extension and i warmed up on Koo. Tony was on the Orme re equipping Paradise 6c amongst other things. There's been lots of action on the Upper Drive as Tony and co are trying to get the place sorted for the guide. I headed back to the Cave to meet Nodder, we warmed up in Split. I managed Belpig 7c for the first time, another nemisis despatched. I never thought i'd ever do that one. I kicked my cave season off and felt good despite feeling worked. I re-worked Pilgrim with the heel (superior beta) method and managed to get into RA. I also did the first move of Broken Heart from the start of The Wire which i was chuffed with also. I don't know which one to try first now! When i was hanging on The Diamond the other day i got thinking about some of the sport routes round here that i've been on and where i'd rank them in their respective grade in percentage terms. With 1% being low in the grade and 99% being top. Here we go (my opinions obviously!):

7c
Boat People 80%
Bad Boy 90% (for tallies)
Magic Flute 50%
Body Torque Direct 30%
Tomorrow People 20%
Release The Hounds 80%
Koo Koo 70%
Upside Doom 90%

7c+
Follow The Prof 90%
Stiff Upper Lip 90%
Wirral Whip 30%
Billy The Fish 90%

8a
Stark 10%
Statement 70%
Over The Moon 80%
Over The Moon Direct 20%
Battle of The Little Big Orme 70%
Mussel Beach 5%
Parasite 10%
Rodney God (pre break) 20%
Never Get Out of The Boat 80%
The Waiting Game 25%
Simon Says 35%
Masterclass 70%
Oyster 30%

8a+
Masterplan 5%
Rock Lobster 10%
Wild Understatement 30%
Moonwalk 40%
Pas De Deux 90%
The Last Crusade 50%
Melon Beach 80%

8b
Melanchollie 85%
Stiff Upper Lip 20%
Temple of Gloom 5%
Carinthian Groove 50%

8b+
The Brute 5%
Walking Mussel 5%

Bowldro Gogledd Cymru

2011-09-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

Back in uni North Wales bouldering was my main inspiration. The Northern Soul guides and the subsequent bouldering guide galvanised my psyche. I loved the varied nature of bouldering in the area and the many options for a good day out. As i did most the cool stuff i could do my psyche went off the boil a bit and i went on a bit of a downer with British bouldering as a whole. After a couple of years routing i'm really keen to get back into it and have earmarked a meaty list of problems to play on this winter. Some are definitely goers and some are very optimistic but i'm looking forward to getting out there. Currently the list includes: Flick of The Wrist, Diesel Power, Special K, Cruella, Nazgals Traverse, Love Pie, Wurzel Gunnage Stand, Will, 36 Chambers sit, Be Ruthless, Smackhead, Jerry's Problem, Main Vein, Lizard King, Sick happy, The Tusk, Lotus, Wierdo and Papa Big Lunch. Will be interesting to see how many of these babies i can tick off. The plan for the winter is to train like i never have before. The thing i care about most in climbing is my top end sport grade and i've been frustrated that this has stagnated for 7 years. Living round here to make a step up i need to get stronger. It is the most important thing. So i'm keen to hit the boards for an extended period and start campussing. This is something i've always been shit at. It's always been a major weakness and i really think developing that power will help me step up. I'm going to have to do something different if i want to be doing some good links on Liquid Ambar! The only way i can maintain psyche is by continuing to climb outside and get ticks. I can't just lock myself on the board like Nodder and Gorgy. Anyway hopefully my body and mind will allow me to stick to the plan, be like Jerry.
I have been dieting hard for my Hole proj, today was the first day on it for over a week and i was hoping for a breakthrough. It wasn't to be as the start was as hard and awkward as ever. i did do a bigger link on the end and could feel the weight loss kicking in. The start involves getting a shit three finger drag for your right hand, camming your foot in a hole and reaching left via some really wide moves into the hole. Its strength, technique and body position rolled into 3 go again moves. I'm starting to run out of ideas on it. I know i can do it because i got to the lip pre injury. I think some specific training is in order, i'm going to do some 3 finger deadhanging on my bit of wood. Grrr! I tried Pete's route First Round, First Second. I bolted the line but didn't feel like i would ever do it. It was good to try it with the beta. It basically boils down to 2 hand moves and 2 foot moves. The hand moves i could do ok by keeping my feet low but moving my feet was the desperate bit. With 2% more finger power i think i could do it. Its an inspiring style, short, just off vertical and bony. It's probably a tricky Font 7c sequence i'd say. Pete did the 2nd ascent of my 8a The Madness Reigns and also did the 7c's Meatsville Arizona and Strawberries Man. Today was a mint climbing day in North Wales. Jordan chose a great day to make a solo trip from Lancashire and came away with the 2nd ascent of The Brute. "Made it look like 7a+" was Pete Harrison's comment. Ahh to be fit. Finally a big well done to Jimmy Big Guns who finally came out the other side on his seige of Melanchollie. I think he first tried it in 2009 so it's been a while in coming. Great effort and a great first 8b!

Den Rebirth

2011-09-10T01:45:00.000-07:00

Back in the mid noughties the Denbigh Den was THE training facility in North Wales. Located in the Cattell's shed it contained some of the hardest problems in North Wales courtesy of Danny and Mule. Danny in particular had the style dialled and used to pull out some sick moves. A new grading system emerged, it wasn't based on logic as the gap between the grades got bigger the higher they got. I.e the jump between 7b and 7b+ was bigger than the jump between 7a and 7a+. It worked though and some hard classics were established. Eventually though the Den ran out of steam. It wasn't perfect. There were plenty of nasty holds and we thought we'd give it a complete makeover. The board was stripped and put back together. Things weren't quite the same and we stopped climbing there. The Mill came along and Dannny hardly climbed for a few years. I was chuffed to hear that Dan had been back in there and had tweaked it. I went along the other night and it was great. It has the potential to be better than before and maybe one day now Den 8a will become a reality. It was great to see Danny cranking again. His base level is unbelievable. He is really good at that dynamic snatchy style. He has even reset his old favourite 7c Goin homo and has repeated it already. I'm keen to get there while i'm working in Runcorn. One of my favourite vids, the Den vid:

Another evening i went to try Danny's problem
36 Chambers
at Tremerchion. This is a great great limestone 7c. Obvious stand start to a high jug on the arete. The rock, holds and moves are all first class. It's one of those problems that is hard because you have to ground it up (unless you have a ladder). The finish is easier but quite high. I tried it years ago but didn't get too far. I felt stronger this time and bagged it after a fairly intense session and quite a few go's falling off the last hard move and having to do it all again. I don't know at what point during the last year and a half of route climbing i got better at bouldering but i'm not complaining!
Pic:
The sit start from the big tufa down and right is even better and unrepeated i think. I'm quite keen for it. The next day my elbow felt knackered. I've felt it for a while but the seige on 36 Chambers made it worse. I've never had a elbow problem and it's quite worrying. I have got a lot stronger over the summer, maybe my tendons are struggling to keep up with my biceps. I'm also aware that i have literally just pulled down for 15 years. Never doing any pushing to balance things out. I know this will catch up with me eventually, maybe its time to do some push ups. I'm unsure what action to take with my elbow. Pete Harrison has had elbow issues and he says its good to keep climbing.
Went down the Diamond yesterday. I've done so many new routes this year but no re- equipping yet so wanted to pull my weight a bit and do some. I drilled the old George Smith route left of Skip, Robinson Cruiser 7c+. It looked pretty meaty and hard to me. The top headwall to the lower off in particular looke fairly blank and there is a big run out. May have to put another bolt in. Anyway it should be glued soon so get on it. The LPT brigade heard my rallying call it seems. It was chocker down there yesterday and big queues for Boat People. Jordan and Shauna (FFA) crushed The Waiting Game. I always knew this would become popular!

Billy The Fish pic

2011-09-06T02:03:00.000-07:00

From Si Panton:

Billy The Fish

2011-09-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

True to my last post about craving bouldering (i'm not just copying Ondra, honest) i went to the pass on Sunday. My strategy was spot on. I waited all day for it to start raining then sat under Jerry's and Diesel Power in the monsoon. I felt quite strong though and did the move on Diesel Power i've never done. It's really hard and nasty but this problem's already appealed to me. I like trying the 90s problems from round here. There usually CJD or Higginson testpieces. I waited til it stopped raining then went to the Mill to finish off. Today me and Tommy were down the Diamond bright and early but were still behind Scotland's greatest Diamond connisieur Dave Redpath who is down for his annual trip. Tommy did Boat People and i went bolt to bolt on Never Get Out of The Boat, i was intrigued to try it as i've been watching people on it for 3 years. I sorted the moves and had a redpoint and fell getting the shake out jug before the last boulder problem. I concur with Jim that it is the best 8a in Wales (he says it's the best he's done in Britain). Its not visually the best 8a, it doesn't look that special compared to something like Statement but the climbing is superb. Pure power endurance and amazing moves - an 8a version of The Brute. I didn't get quite as high 2nd redpoint, my fitness was found wanting but i was satisfied with my first redpoint and it is quite complex so nice to get so high first go. The same nucleus of people are going to The Diamond whereas all the sad gits are still going to LPT, it baffles me really! I don't get it! And when are some strong people coming to try The Brute, come on lets be having you. Pete Harrison has extended the handline so you can now get into the crag 2 hours after high tide. This is extremely handy especially considering the short season. More beers for Pete please! We jumped ship to the Great Orme. I wanted to try an old project on the upper drive. I first tried it in 2003, at the time i thought it was one of the last projects and i was really keen to do a new route in the area. It takes the crozzly bulge between Gold n Delicious and Magical Ring. I tried it last year again with Panton and was convinced it was 8a. Part of the problem was that it was so painful on the crux you let go becuase your fingers were screaming. Today i twatted a few of the spikes off with a krab and suddenly hanging the holds became easier. I played around with the beta for a bit and finally got a way i was happy with. I got through the hard bulge in the rain but the easy ground just after it was now piss wet through. My hands and feet were on water as i tried to get my fingers to feel normal. Stupidly i hadn't done the finish on Magical Ring 7a+. I had done the route years ago but all i could remember was that there was a bony 6b move before the jugs. I hung out below the move getting ever more soaked and watching the top get ever more soaked. I had to act fast and managed to keep it together, luckily the very last moves after the tricky move were on massive holds. It was certainly very memorable and very nice to finish something i first tried so long ago. After Gorgy badgering me to name something Billy The Fish for years i think i will this time. I'll go for 7c+ gradewise but i can't see too many people being psyched for it. It looks cool but is a little gnarly but if i can do it the day after trying Diesel Power it can't be that nasty. Finished a long day off at Matt's. Yeeeeeeeeeeee

Hole + Diamond

2011-09-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

I've been on my project a few times this week. I've done some good links on the end but the first hard moves remain as hard and as awkward as ever. The route is about 10 serious moves and some easy climbing either side. I am getting better on it but progress can mean learning a bit about the body positions. It remains an inspiring challenge, i've never done a route like this before and i think it is going to take a fairly monster effort to complete. Luckily Tommy is trying The Madness Reigns to the left. It's nice watching someone on it. I feel a lot of enjoyment watching people on my routes. It's certainly more enjoyable than the stressful redpointing i underwent! Seems a bit silly i gave it 7c+ now but i was lacking in confidence after 6 months climbing 7c. My project brutalises the bottom of my fingers as they have to wedge in to allow me to move through the roof. My foot is also bruised as i have to jam it in a hole and hang off it. I'm going to leave it for a week now as i felt a bit jaded today and lacked the necessary growl. I really need to raise my game a little for this one and could do with getting super skinny. This is almost a big a challenge as the only nice thing that happens in work is my lunchtime panini. Think of the bigger picture, topping out on this route will be better than any bastard panini (even a mozzarella and chorizo one).
Back at the Diamond people have been getting stuck in. Pete Robins made the first flash of the Waiting Game and Dyer got the 4th ascent. I went down on Thursday night and raised the belay of the Brute. When we re-equipped it in 2006 we didn't know what went on with the route and so stuck an extra bolt by an existing eco just under the jugs. This turned out to be in the middle of the final sequence and although it was still fine clipping from the finishing jugs above it was a bit unclear and strong people would be able to cheat and clip without doing the final moves. So i stuck two new bolts in. They're not that much higher but it is now obvious where it finishes and hopefully people won't be able to clip it early. I also grinded the old bolts off so its nice and tidy now. Pete Harrison surprised everyone (but not himself) by crushing Never get Out of the Boat 8a. A few sessions ago he was struggling with the high crux but he looked solid on his first proper redpoint. It is quite an impressive second 8a, certainly a step up from Mussel Beach. All the more impressive considering that when i first met him about 2/3 years ago he'd only climbed 7a+! Happy man:

Apparently when George Smith first bolted NGOOTB it had a big hole that made it too easy so he covered it with newspaper and resined over it and blended it in with rock dust. You can't see where the hole was now, he obviously did an excellent job. It's funny to think there's a page 3 girl from 1989 stuck in the rock halfway up the Diamond. She'll be there forever now!
Jim is working Skip of Fools 8a+. I must admit i always thought this looked like the lesser one of the newly bolted trio even belaying Pete on it didn't excite me in 2009. I have to say i think it looks brilliant now. Its great watching Jim going for it on big links. Hopefully he'll get it soon:

I ticked the final one of the North Wales big 3 7c's. There are 3 7c's that stand out from the rest in terms of quality. They are truly great routes that would stand up anywhere. Bad Boy and Boat People are joined by newbie Release the Hounds at the top of the pile. Boat People is a fantastic route, i really enjoyed it this year. It is really meaty for a 7c. It packs in quite a lot and features superb atheletic climbing with a need to really go for it. It's a little more run out than most the routes round here. I'm not normally nervous before setting off on a 7c but i was on this one. I almost dropped the last tricky move, i really thought i was off. Keith also did it that night, it is definitely highly recommended. It's about time someone did Wall of Evening Light too, come on peeps.
Dyer looking for projects:

Shauna staticing her way along The Waiting Game:

Jim on Skip and Ally on NGOOTB:

The little old Orme is currently on the news pages of American magazine websiteRock and Ice. Nice to see it getting some international exposure.
Last night i went to film Lee Proctor on his big Mywn project. He is currently locked in battle but is looking good. Come on big fella! He does well to get off the ground considering he's 14 stone (he's 6ft 6). Not many people lift me in the air when they fall off! I was going to rest but got sucked into doing a bit of climbing. I ended up trying Danny's problem Under the Bridge 7b+ in the gorge, a problem that i'd failed on quite a bit. I instantly felt stronger on it this time and got it in half a dozen or so go's using the right hand method. This is the first proper boulder problem i've done for almost a year. I was pleased to tick a bit of a nemesis and to feel strong but my first thought was if that's what 7b+ is my hole proj is at least hard 7c. I have been psyched to do some bouldering recently, i'm not even dreading winter like usual. I haven't bouldered for so long i quite miss it. It is inferior to sport climbing but i really enjoyed just standing on a pad with no harness on and having repeated go's. It's a simplistic easy life and after a 9 month sport climbing campaign i am actually craving it. So i intend to mix it up a bit and i need more strength for my project anyway. My fitness has been on a downward spiral and although i'd love to do some more long stuff like Never Get out of The Boat i'm not sure it's going to happen now. I'm in a happy place with climbing at the moment, i enjoy every day and feel like one day in this life i might do something hard.

Megalopa 2nd Ascent

2011-08-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

Pete Robins, king of banging your head against a brick wall finally repeated Megalopa on LPT today. He started trying it in May with Dyer but Neil bagged the FA three weeks ago. Pete ventured on, he'd put too much time in to give up and finally he started to get close falling off the last moves. He went backwards once or twice but finally topped out to his sheer relief. Pete becomes the first man to tick the LPT 8c+ trilogy which is quite an achievement especially as they're all so different. Sea of Tranquility is a boulder problem in the middle of the wall (about font 8a). Liquid Ambar is steep power endurance and Megalopa is longer with a hard middle boulder, a shake out and then leaning falloffable headwall. All mega routes! After 3 years of seiging LPT every summer you should probably txt someone else if you're looking for a partner down there!
I was back down the Diamond yesterday and managed to finish off The Waiting Game, i stuck with my big slap last move and it was touch and go on the link but i managed to hang on in there. I think this was the 2nd ascent, it looks ace now its chalked again. Barrows did a Jordan i.e, should of flashed it and then didn't redpoint it. So this little soft 8a has taken two 8c scalps in as many days! Bet you're psyched Jonny boy. Here is a vid of Barrows blowing the flash, look how long he shakes out i think he thinks he's still in Spain!:

The big moment of the day for me though was i finally got round to doing Rub a Dub Dub. This is the warm up 7a on the left and it encapsulates all that is good about Diamond climbing into a long wall climb. It didn't dissapoint and i thoroughly enjoyed it. Think Pete is giving it 6c+ in the guide. There's no hard moves to be fair. For two seasons i just tried the Brute, warming up on it and redpointing. Now i've done 3 routes at the crag and i'm keen for more. The climbing is so good! Apparently Steve Mayers the old Diamond master went down for a look today, legend. I was trying my hole project inland. I did a good link and got into the hole again feeling stronger. Hopefully it won't be long. Tommy tried my recently upgraded 8a and got the beta sorted out. He confirmed that it is very good indeed. I'm still collecting footage for the film and every day i'm getting new ideas in my head. What started out as a little idea is becoming ever bigger. Nice to have something to work on, i only used to make films about holidays and now i don't go on holiday anymore the camera hasn't been out much.

Diamond Science

2011-08-28T02:28:00.000-07:00

Pete Harrison has been employing some scientific theory in order to work out Diamond conditions on a given day. The Diamond is extremely fickle and hard to predict, a sunny day can end up a gopfest and a rainy day mint and vice versa. Yesterday it rained all morning, very heavy showers, it seemed like it would be a write off but we went with Pete's theory and it was actually pretty good. Pete reckons that a difference of 8 degrees or more between air temp and dew point means good conditions. The relevant information can be found here I went down yesterday with Jordan and Naomi Buys and Jon and Becky. Jordan had tried The Brute the previous day and was keen for another go. He worked it some more and had a couple of redpoints. I got on Jonnny boy's route from last year The Waiting Game. I was intrigued to try this as i had spent so long watching Jon on it and it looked such fun. I got it worked out after a few go's and was on redpoint. I fell off the last move into the Hysteria jugs on my best go which i was satisfied with. It's definitely a mini classic and one of the sweetest little 8as in Wales. The last sequence is so good. I was doing it a long man's way which involved keeping my hands low and just springing up to the final jug. Jordan got to the last move on the flash. He was totally cruising but opted for my beta which proved a bit long. Anyway we didn't manage it and the 2nd ascent awaits. Its bottom end for 8a, i'd probably rate it as a tad harder than Follow The Prof down Pigeons which is hard 7c+ in my book. I did a lot of training this week and in my last session finally hit the strength levels that i had pre-injury. This was really pleasing and encouraging for my projects. My two biggies now both involve hard moves so strength is the priority.

More Big Bang Footage

2011-08-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a short film i made for Wil Country about Big Bang. Enjoy!:

Crack of Dawn

2011-08-23T14:53:00.000-07:00

Pete Robins cleaned up an old project line down Pigeon's today. The nice looking but permanently wet line left of The Fanatic now goes at 7c apparently. I think the line was equipped by Kristian Klemmow in the 90s but hasn't seen much attention as it is always flippin wet. Pete found it in a climbable state today and finished it off. I'm surprised at the grade, Pete said it was pretty burly and harder than Koo Koo. I can't see it becoming too popular as its only climbable 4 days a year but its good for crag completeness. The name is Crack of Dawn. And if you're reading Dawn your pants are still under the route.

Nodder cleaning it up last year:

Colin Goodey has been busy this year developing some low grade routes on some new walls at Castle Inn. He's also done another cracker up at Gigfran which he reckons is his last new route, legend!:
link

End of the Dream

2011-08-21T14:51:00.001-07:00

Two years ago Pete Harrison installed the handline into the Diamond and i started seriously trying The Brute project. I spent 25 days trying the line over the 2009 and 2010 season getting about 6 moves from the top and always failing on a long redpoint crux. Last winter i gave up hope of climbing it and after a very slow start to the year after a lay off i knew i was miles off the form required to climb it. An upsurge in form gave me some hope and i planned to start training endurance circuits. I was on course to give it another bash but injury curtailed these plans and a month off in the middle of summer was no help. At Malham the other day and as Diamond season was approaching i knew the game was up. Neil Dyer had re-equipped the line with me in 2006 and i knew he was keen to climb it so i passed the baton onto him. It broke my heart a bit as this line had been a big inspiration for me in recent years but the harsh reality was it was a bit much for my fitness levels. Last year i would have done it on my best goes with perhaps 3% extra but it wasn't to be. Neil climbed the Brute today after about 6/7 redpoints spread over 3 days. He romped up it locking every move and never looked in danger of falling. As some small consolation i got the FA on camera. We both think the grade is hard 8b. The old project name remains in tribute to Steve Mayers and co who had the vision all those years ago. I'd like to think i can climb 8b in 25 days but i guess i just came up a bit short fitness wise on this one. The route is amazing, pure power endurance up a bulging overhang. The moves and holds are perfect, it is a very special route. I can't think of a better 8b in Britain. Everyone who climbs around that grade should come give it a bash, you won't be disapointed.
Video stills:

Today we abbed in at high tide off the top of the Orme, it was quite exciting. Neil and Pete H have been all over the upper walls checking them out. Hard proj:

Me arriving:

The Last Crusade

2011-08-17T14:42:00.001-07:00

I completed my Llanddulas roof project today. I bolted the line off Tony Shelmerdines ladder back in February. I had eyed the line up last year when i was trying Temple but unlike Temple this line had not been looked at or bolted. I hung on the bolts occasionally trying to find a way through a sea of funky climbing and downwards facing holds. The start and the end were the hard bits but as it cleaned up a jug appeared at the start which made it easier. I slowly got a decent sequence on the end and was soon on redpoint. The route features brilliant climbing. I think it has better moves than Temple of Gloom though it is perhaps not quite as meaty a line as the wall comes in close at the end. It is a power endurance route, about 20 moves with no shaking out or chalking (for me anyway). I got close in June but i tore my oblique warming up on one of the moves and that resulted in a month off. The line remained in my mind and i was desperate to return and complete it. Immediately i was getting to the end again wrestling up that final sequence on slopey sidepulls and heel hooks. Yesterday i did the last tricky move but was totally powered out and fell grabbing a jug undercut. I have to skip the last two bolts as i can't clip them and there is a ledge that comes into the fall zone. I fell and swooped right down skimming my bouldering mat. It was quite exciting and i knew it would be bad news to fall from the next moves. Danger is not something that usually comes into sport climbing! Today i went back with Danny Cattell who had belayed the day i hurt myself. I got past the move i fell off last time but the plan for the last moves soon went out of the window. My feet were in different places than i had planned and i couldn't pull the last moves even though they are on jugs. I couldn't slap or move so i improvised and pushed my knee against a small corner. By some miracle it wedged enough to allow me to keep moving up and i topped out on the ledge. Unlike Temple this one doesn't top out as i didn't fancy back and footing up the cave above. I was really pleased to have my two babies side by side. Two quality but different roof climbs. The grade is 8a+, it is a slightly easier proposition as the start is easier on The Last Crusade. Whereas Temple has a font 7a+ the start to this route is more like 6c+. I managed to get it on film- more footage for the film. I have 3 more new routes in the 8's i'd like to do this year. I'm going to concentrate on them a bit more and stop homming around on routes that i could do anytime and tiring myself. Next up is the hole project for which i need to power up.
Pics from Mike Doyle:

Danny quotes of the day: "there's not been much going on in the routes scene has there, theres been nothing on North Wales bouldering" and "What's Dans Finish". What a guy!

Later on i went down the Diamond. It was so good, no grease, no seepage and everything lit up in golden light. This place is so inspiring when its like that. The potential of the place really dawns on you when you see that massive virgin wall all lit up. Incredible. Some pics:
Boat People and Skip of Fools:

Big black wall:

Jim figuring out Skip of Fools 8a+:

Dip Week

2011-08-15T03:25:00.000-07:00

Last week started off really well, i had a meaty session on my Dulas proj. I fell off the penultimate move again. I got this far the day i hurt myself. I felt really good flowing through the steep moves and wrestling at the end. Tommy was working the sections. He used a non hold on the last move that was a bit worse but was closer so easier to grab. I had a exploratory look and it was very unobvious but superior beta. Nice one mate! Next go i grabbed the hold and dropped the last hard move, it was my 4th redpoint so i was a bit goosed. Next time! After that day i just felt fucked all week. I worked out the crack on Over the Moon and got into it on redpoint but just felt tired. I had that overtraining strained feeling in my arms. Tried to go back to Dulas on Thursday with Dyer but it was gopping so we went to one of my new crags. Neil tried a 7c+ of mine. I was anticipating a flash ascent but it wasn't to be, he found the crux sequence quite hard and didn't even get it first redpoint. It sounds bad but i was quite pleased. I thought it probably was 8a when i did it but didn't want to overgrade anything else and wasn't confident in my abilities. Next time Ding Dong! I tried my hole project and didn't feel any worse on it. I just need to get to the hole consistently and i'll have a chance. Such a physical beast i love it! Saturday morning me, Caff and Jimmy Big Guns went to Malham. It was quite wet but we got stuck in to some dry routes. Jimmy put the clips in Connect 4 so i had a do on that. I worked it out but it felt a bit hard for the weekend. Its not the most inspiring route at Malham either. Caff was trying Rainshadow:

He had tried it once before and tried it both days this weekend. Considering he'd only had 3 days on it he was looking really good. He worked out some important beta on the crux bulge and by the end he was looking very solid on the upper wall. Best moment of the weekend was Caff in the steepness shouting down that there was 5c moves on it! He was serious. The upper section was touted as 8a+ but Caff declared it 7c+ by the end of his tries. I don't think he understands that the more you do something the easier it gets. Ha ha, total legend! He's so psyched at the moment and has really pushed onto the next level. British sport climbing is in good shape. His new nickname is The Feather! Me and Jimmy tried Toadall Recall. Jimmy struggled with the reachy moves. I fell off the crux, my skin was not coping well with Malham and my shoes were too smeary. I had forgotten how hard it is. I tried to tick Chiselling The Dragon at the end but alas my skin could take no more. So the week ended a bit shitly, i felt pretty average. Back to Wales for overhangs and footholds, my finances have meant that i've been stuck there for two years with hardly any holiday and now i just want to stay. I would have chastised someone with this sad attitude years ago! Don't forget folks, Diamond season starts today, make the most of it and take some gloves for the last part of the handline!

LPT White Headwall Project Goes Down!!!!

2011-08-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

Back in late May, Neil Dyer and Pete Robins bolted the much eyed but never tried white headwall above the Walking Mussel down LPT. Ben Pritch has stuck a couple of studs in it years ago but no one ever put any serious effort in. Pete had been eyeing it up and checking it out from Over the Moon. After bolting the route the boys could try it properly and it was immediately apparent that it was a special route. The top headwall was immaculate. The holds were perfect and took no cleaning, it was made to be climbed. The moves went fairly quickly with a probable Font 7b+ ish sequence after the shakeout on Walking Mussel. A big move to a flat crimp in the middle of the wall seemed the first stopping point but some more big moves on very tenuous footholds were waiting at the end. Pete and Neil went to work and soon both were on redpoint. Pete had the initial advantage of having done Walking Mussel before but Neil was immediately strong on the boulder problem crux and was more consistent than Pete in getting to the top headwall. I started filming up on a rope hoping to get the first ascent on camera for a film project. Dyer steamed ahead and soon made the initial crux move to the flat hold. It seemed like the end was near. Pete was getting more consistent on Walking Mussel but wasn't close to latching the flat hold. Weeks and weeks passed and it was clear that it was only going to go down after a proper seige. Both climbers coped well with the extra pressure of being in a race for the FA and they tried it together getting down whenever they could. Neil was soon latching the flat crimp almost every go. He was in pole position but there was always something not quite right whether it be conditions or his feet popping on the last moves. He knew that Pete might well top it out if he could get through that move so the pressure was kept on. Dyer was tantalisingly close but Pete was utilising the persistence that has got him up so many hard climbs in recent years. I asked him if he was getting fed up with it and he replied "well i've got nothing else to do!". Me, Neil and Pete went down there today. After the recent shit conditions we were pleased to find it fresh and breezy. Pete had probabaly his best ever go but still failed to grab the hold. I was working the crack on Over The Moon and so clipped into a bolt to give the lads a redpoint. Dyer set off and soon got to the familar shakeout. It was the first time i had been filming on a rope on the route since June. He latched the hold then latched the next big pop out right. This was it, i was praying he wouldn't slip off the top out. He maintained composure and topped it out much to everyones excitement. It really is a amazing route and is a great achievement for Neil to add one of his own thats so good after so long climbing in the area. Its also nice to finally see him do a hard route. He'd never climbed harder than 8b in Britain until this which was quite frankly underachieveing as he's such a monster! As for the grade after the intitial inspection everyone seemed to think it would weigh in at 8c. Months later and with Pete still not even getting through the first crux it seems more like 8c+ and indeed Pete said its harder than Liquid Ambar and Sea of Tranquility for him, its certainly taking more effort. All we need now is for Neil to come up with a good name. Any ideas are welcome. I'm trying to put together a film about the new routes so keep an eye out for the footage.
Stills:

On top:

Gwynt Cherry Popped

2011-08-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

The smeggy weather didn't stop Caff doing Big Bang again! Unbelievable, how many people can just repeat their hardest redpoint like this. I reckon he could pip Ondra to 9b+. I've tried to climb down Pigeon's a few times but you might as well not bother unless its a fresh day. One day me and Pete H bailed to the mighty Castell-y-Gwynt. Much to my shame i had never climbed down there. Lee Roberts was hanging on the main crag replacing some of the threads on Psychic Threshold a very meaty E5 6b:

I was keen to give Hidden Sign 7b a bash. This was put up in the 90s by UKB baron Simon Lee. This is a great continental style route, probably 22 metres with a wicked first part on lovely tufa holds. There is no warm up there so i felt flash pumped after this section. Luckily there is a no hands rest before the top crux. I knew it was fairly sequency and tricky as Ally Smith had told me he dropped it there. Its always heartbreaking dropping the top of a long route but luckily i read it right and climbed to the chain. A great route and definitely recommended. Cruella Deville 7b to the right looked good too. I belayed Pete on the Long Goodbye 7b+ which looked cool. Its all good basically!
Pete on Long Goodbye and climber on Psychic Threshold:

Yesterday i did some bouldering on the Orme with Nodder. Nodder has locked himself in the Mill for 4 months and has hardly been outside at all. The hard work seemed to be paying off the other day when he did Dans Finish. Check out his cazy beta on the crux:

We floundered a bit in the Cave but it was good. I didn't feel too bad and managed to get to the shothole twice on Trigger Cut. Not bad for a chuffer. I tempted Nodder to go to Pill Box telling him i would show him the way to do his nemesis Mr Whippy. This went out the window when we got there and i couldn't even do it. I couldn't do anything as it happened. Verdict- ok power but weak fingers, must address. Easily sorted with a bit of deadhanging.
Back down Pigeon's today with Pete again. We were both keen to finish Follow the Prof 7c+. I should have done it the day i did Stiff Upper Lip slipping off the top of the crag. I hadn't had much luck with grease since then. After a few frustrating redpoints i finally found myself shaking out beneath the last move. I sagged but i grabbed and it was done. Pete did it next go too.

It must be the best 7c+ on the Great Orme as there aren't many contenders. The last move is up there with the last move of Bad Boy quality wise, it felt like tough 7c+ to me and harder than Stiff Upper Lip. Ally was trying Stiff Upper Lip extension but didn't manage it. I can't wait to have a proper session on that final boulder problem now. So good! I read an old OTE with Stiff Upper written up in the Welsh report and George stating that he was leaving the final 2 moves for a 'younger man'. I think its nearly time, back to the Dulas!

Red Meat

2011-08-02T04:36:00.000-07:00

The weather has been turd around here recently. Every day is cloudy and still with no wind and high humidity. Lord only knows how Caff did Big Bang in this weather. While he was beasting 9a i was greasing off Follow The Prof. Tricky little number this one, its becoming a bit of a bogey route. I think its as hard as Stiff Upper Lip personally. Pigeons is a very fickle place and often the rock feels like butter. A fresh day is almost essential for mint conditions. I still can't believe how we neglected it and let it rot for all those years. When all is done the grade spread wil be something like - 7b+.7c,7c+,8b,7c+,7b,7c,8a,8a+,8a+,8b+. Quite a meaty place! We sacked it off and went to belay Pete Harrison on a new route that he had spent 5 days bolting and preparing. Pete has been all over the Orme checking stuff for the forthcoming guide and inevitably has spotted some gaps. He unearthed this little beauty a few months ago and then went to work on a big steep wall left of Dave Lyon's big routes at Craig Pen Gogarth. Pete was buzzing about the line and we were keen to check it out. It is indeed a big wall. The route is about 30 metres so pretty big for the Orme. Pete put the clips in on abseil then led his project. He reckoned it was about 7a+, Me and Mule both fell off it and reckoned 7b and 2 stars. It will certainly feel 7b for the onsight, it was almost intimidating setting off on a long route. Its been a while! I think Pete has settled on the name Red Meat, very appropriate. Pics:

I always defend conditions on LPT to people saying that if common sense is applied you will rarely find it terrible down there. I.e. don't go down when its been raining and feels humid and minging. Yesterday i failed to take my own advice and went down with Tommy. I almost decked on the start of Over the Moon and we bailed. Dick. I've been back at Gorgy's and the strength is returning. Should be cranking 7b again soon. All i need now is that beautiful psyche i had pre injury to return!
Caff was back down LPT behaving like a 9a beast the other day. He put to bed Melanchollie first redpoint and warmed down on Statement putting the clips in. Not surprising but good to see a man on form.

Big Bang 2nd Ascent!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-07-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

James Mchaffie made the 2nd ascent of Neil Carson's LPT testpiece Big Bang today. Big Bang was Britain's first 9a and indeed one of the first in the world. Neil Carson did the first ascent in 1996 after lots of effort and specific training. The route has seen little attention over the years and it seemed like the 2nd ascent may never come. Last year Caff did Infanticide, the 8c that shares the same start as Big Bang. He then tried the direct finish and even put in a good link getting quite high. Caff had the 2nd ascent in his sights and on returning to Wales this year he got on it again and got a consistent method of doing the crux upper slab. Now all that was needed was to build up the specific muscle memory and get it absolutely dialled. He decided to lay down a seige and was down LPT at every available opportunity. Today he put it to bed on a pretty warm and muggy day. It is definitely one of the most significant repeats in Britain of recent years and a brilliant effort for a amazing climber. Back to onsighting e7s now Caff!
Unfortunately i missed the ascent but here is some footage of the moves:

Walking Mussel 3rd Ascent

2011-07-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

I have continued to try my luck on some overhangs and the side is holding up well. I had one go at my Dulas roof yesterday. I got to near the end but didn't want to do the final twisty sequence so dropped off. Felt ok to there though, hopefully i can try it properly soon. Mule has been over and we went down LPT today. I got back on Parasite, i had a go of it before i got injured and was close so was interested to see how i'd get on. It went down fine first redpoint, was never in danger of falling really. Ben Bransby did the 3rd ascent of Walking Mussel 8b+, he tried it the other day and did it today on his 3rd redpoint overall. Pretty impressive! Mule had a go and did the moves again, he tried it 2 years ago and should of stuck with it and done it really. Ben Pritch's clips were in Mussel Beach so i had a go and topped out much to my surprise. I'm wondering if i sold my soul to the devil when i was pissed one night. I have done two 8's in a day before but only once. I think the truth lies in the fact that i've actually done quite a lot of climbing this year. I checked my routes book and i actually only did 20 routes last year. I've done 80 already this year and consequently am feeling fit and climbing well. I had a board session the other day and was a fair bit weaker than before i got injured so there is still more to come.

Lou F/Bonnie FA footage

2011-07-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

Pete Robins and Dave Evans in North Wales from Bjarne Sahlen on Vimeo.

Me on Koo Koo 7c, pic by Si Panton

Back in the Game

2011-07-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

Well after 3 and a half weeks i finally feel like i can start to climb properly again. The injury feels fine on the stuff i've been doing but i'm trying to be careful as i know it will be vulnerable for another week or two. I have mainly been doing non steep stuff to ease it back in and have re-aquainted myself with some of the old classics like Face Race and Pink Pinkie. I did my 20th new route of the year, a nice long 6c and today had a cracking day on the Orme. It was early tide down LPT and the sun was out but there was a nice breeze and the conditions were good. Usual good scene down there, i did Night Glue and Bad Boy and chilled and watched the hommes. As the sea came in we scarpered to Pigeon's. It was mint there too and i dispatched Koo Koo and Stiff Upper Lip again, both first go. I'm convinced now that Stiff Upper is 7c+ and not 8a. The extensions still nails though! Yesterday i had my first dose of steep climbing and tried a great 7b+ by Breck Road called The Mask. I had been saving this for a possible flash attempt so i foolishly sent Mule up first. He fell, i fell, he did, i fell. I then got shut down on a bouldery 7a+. This was the most demoralised i'd felt for a while. It's easy to be pessimistic after this but i was pleased with todays performance, two 7c's and a 7c+ all first go is a great day for me even if i've done the routes before. I find it easy to think the worst of my form. This is due to a long history of mediocrity after time off but sometimes i need to be a bit more optimistic. A great day was rounded off with Gav swimming out to sea in his harness to save a lad who didn't need rescuing and a barbecue on the ledge in the sun. 'Oh i do like to be beside the seaside!'. The plan now is to get on Gorgys board pretty soon to test my bouldering power and get back to where i was. My fitness feels ok and i've still got the flow on the rock but i've put weight on by comfort eating and need to steel up again. Can't wait to get back on those loevely projects!
North Wales guidebook mogul Mr P:

vid:

Rehab

2011-07-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

I finally went to a physio today. Andy Scott is a physio who also climbs and has a surgery in Bangor. He prodded and poked me and gave me exercises to do and advice. He reckons my affliction is a oblique tear and i could be looking at another 3/4 weeks before it is fully recovered and ready for extreme stuff. This was a bit sobering as by the time i've got strong again after 6 weeks off it will be winter! I can work around it a bit however and keep experimenting and see how it feels. Andy said the next week is part of the crucial timescale where i must really try not to strain it as it will set me back. It feels a lot better now though, it doesn't hurt day to day and sneezing is a lot more bearable. I even managed to hang off the pull up bar at home. I went to Penmaenhead after to do my first bit of climbing for two weeks. I did some routes up to 6a+ and it felt fine which was promising. It's certainly put a spanner in the works but there you go. Obviously i want to do my projects but i also was starting to think that i could climb better than usual this year and that was really motivating. I was getting somewhere before the injury which is why it was so frustrating. The plan now is to do some more easy climbing this week then if i feel i can do some harder vertical stuff. Back to stretching now....

The Pros of Being Injured

2011-07-12T03:30:00.000-07:00

The pros of being injured are that you get to go exploring and find a 3 star limestone bouldering cave. This is what happened yesterday. Walking up a river i encountered a couple of nice steep buttresses, very South Lakes-esque. Potential for quite a few problems and a nice traverse:

Just round the corner was the main deal however. An amazing cave with tufas and funky looking climbing. In the cave was a long horizontal juggy break that the good lord put there to give all the problems a logical starting place. It really looks like it will be fantastic. The cons are that it is almost certainly a summer crag and will probably need a dry spell before its climbable. It really look as good as any limestone bouldering i've seen in the UK though. Starting bids for the location information starting at £1000 please.
Pic doesn't even do it justice:

I've been hanging out LPT down a lot watching the action, there is some beastly shit going down. I haven't been blogging about any of it as its not really my place to potentially add pressure to folks who are immersed in battle but i look forward to writing about there feats when all is complete. I've been climbing down there about 3 times this year but i've been on the beach a further 8 or so times. Its pretty frustrating, i can only liken it to getting a dance at a lap dancing bar when you've got to sit on your hands or you get pulverised by a meathead bouncer. Here is some footage of Pete doing some training on Over the Moon, 8a:

Wad and Waddette Beast Cave

2011-07-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

I popped into the Cave today to say hi to Sam Whittaker. He was there with his lady wife Lu and ned and worm and 8c crusher Chris Webb Parsons with his girlfriend Alex Puccio. Alex is a strong American boulderer who has climbed quite a few 8a+s in the US and Swiss. Good to see some foreign beasts in the Cave. I arrived to see Alex fall off the last hard move on Lou Ferrino on the flash. Considering no man has ever flashed this it would have been quite a feat, she was a little unlucky! It was quite shocking to behold, it was more of an onsight really. I've seen strong men in the Cave before who don't know what they're doing but it doesn't matter because they have so much strength in reserve. This was a similar deal! She got it next go. Chris then did the first probable flash which was a good effort. Alex rested then did the first female flash of Rockatrocity. Watch her do the last move on the footage and if you know the problem you will realise this is one strong femme. Today was certainly the most impressive bouldering display i've seen from a women. Chris had a go on Pilgrim, did RA (took a few go's, must be weird getting burnt off by your girl when you've climbed 8c!) and tried the crux of Louis Armstrong (but to no avail). Louis Armstrong is a trade route these days, its had 5 ascents so must be piss! Some footage:

Doomsday!

2011-06-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

Went out with Danny C today. We headed to the Gop first. Like i've said before Danny has done very little climbing in two years so i was expecting him to get a wooping as the Gop takes no prisoners. Confirming he has a ridiculous base level he crushed his old problem Smoke a Bloke in a few go's. This is only 7b+ but is one brutal move and pretty tricky:

He also looked like Push the Button wouldn't take him too long. He needs to pull his finger out. We then went down to Meliden quarry, this is the first place i ever bouldered. There is a nice little limestone bouldering wall with half a dozen low grade problems. I haven't been back there since the late 90s so it was cool to see it again. Once me and Mule spent half a day trying to shift a burnt out car that someone had dumped under the bouldering. We moved it bit by bit! Such psyche for a small wall. The problems go up to V3 but are a good height and the rock is good. There's also a couple of French 6's there. Worth a look for locals:

I did something to my hamstring jumping off and was pretty concerned it would affect me at Llanddulas heelhooking on my project. We headed there and i had my warm up dog. On the last twisty moves on the end i felt somthing go in my lower side. I was pissed off but it didn't feel too bad so i had a redpoint anyway. Jeez it was very painful but i felt the best yet on the route getting to the end with more in the tank. I went for the penultimate move but it was too painful and i dropped off. I knew it was bad, i could barely get to the chain and stripping it was agony. Now it hurts to bend over and stretch and i just nearly cried after sneezing. I'm trying not to complain too much because i'm lucky with injuries but it's just annoying as i would have done it and i don't want time off!

Riding a Bike

2011-06-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

Another climbing stint has passed without me realising how many days on i've had. I only feel like resting when i'm feeling tired but my skins getting pretty thin now. My form has continued to improve. The little jumps in strength coupled with shedding a few pounds have made me much happier. I made some good progress on my hole project making it to the lip with about 4 more moves to go. I've got every move worked out and its pretty short so hopefully i'll do it soon. I went back the next day though and really struggled with the move into the hole. Its a weird one for me, some subtle body position that i can't quite pin down. The sequence is about font 7c and pretty crazy! I returned to Parisellas Cave after not climbing in there regularly for about a year. I was quite good in there considering the lay off. I've spent so many days hanging on all those holds and trying the moves i think i'll always know how to do the problems (if i've got the strength that is). RA went first go and felt easy, fell off the end of LF and Broken Heart both 1st go. I played on Pilgrim a bit struggling with my old heel sequence. The foot swing method is now much easier with the new right foothold but the swing is still pretty draining. I should probably get the heel way sorted again. Anyway its a low priority when it's route season. It felt nice being in there though. I felt really good on TC but didn't have my jeans on so dropped out the kneebars. I was keen to get back on my Dulas proj to see if that felt any easier. I still felt like i didn't have the moves drilled in so spent some time making sure i knew what i was doing before having a few shots from the ground. It went quite well, i got to just before the end sequence but fell. After a short rest i went to the end. The moves are excellent, just as good as Temple though its not quite as pure as on the proj the sidewall comes in so if you were hellbent on it you could escape the finish. I guess that makes it a slight eliminate but the holds and the line are obvious and the moves are damn fine. I need to take a bouldering pad up there to pad out a ledge that i don't want to break my legs on if i run the top out. Potato bulge did Mudjekeewis. Today i went downstairs with Jimmy big guns. It pissed it down in the night and we were not impressed with the conditions to start with as there was actually water on some of the holds. I was keen for Parasite. I got shutdown on this last year but i've realised that if i don't go and re-try routes i get shutdown on then i won't have much to try! First dog i was flummoxed on the last hard move, a rockover just over the lip. I was getting frustrated as it wasn't strength that was failing me, i just wasn't doing it right. Obeying another golden rule (don't give up after one go up!) i linked the crux sequence first go on the next go up. I went for a redpoint and fell off the last hard move, quite close. The next redpoint didn't go as well. The plan now is to try and do the two projects i've made headway on. To keep training (cave/board/start deadhanging), keep doing easier routes and harder redpoints and in mid July start PE training. The upturn in form means that i might be re-visiting a teeny weeny crag on the Little Orme. Oh god!!!

A Stiff Up Her Mawsons

2011-06-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

Neil Inspector Mawson joined me this weekend, this year he has mainly been climbing trad routes and homming around. He was whinging that he hasn't done anything hard yet. I guess 8b+ and 8a+ on gear is a bit shit in this day and age. We headed down Pigeon's. I was keen to try a few existing routes so left the project this time. Last year i tried Stiff Upper Lip and it felt pretty hard, certainly solid 8a. I had been told recently about a backhand pocket on the crux which means you don't have to do it the burly undercut way. Also everyone seemed to be doing the move to the last hold with their left so i was keen to try these different methods. Sure enough it was easier with the new beta. The crux is now the move after the backhand pocket, a slap to a decent pocket. The last move going up with your lefthand is pretty easy. First go i dropped the crux but i managed it next redpoint. Neil blew the flash on the crux but got it next go. We had a do on the new extension. Straight after Stiff Upper Lip original is a amazing font 7a boulder problem on sloping pinches that lead to some crimps and the top of the crag. Neil had a redpoint but fell on the boulder. We both thought Stiff Upper Lip was more like 7c+ than 8a but the extension still 8b. Amazing fun climbing anyway.
On redpoint:

Pain to strip!

Will definitely lay down a seige on this one day when i've got less on my plate. I fell off Follow the Prof 7c+ somehow with my fingers on the top of the crag. A true climber i ended up dissapointed that i hadn't done this route rather than enjoying the tick that i did get. Neil tried Stark but was out of beans. You can climb down there at high tide at the moment so its a useful place. If anyone goes down for Follow the Prof take some bogroll to dry the hold by the 2nd bolt before your redpoint. Next day we went and did some routes on Mayfair wall. I re-aquainted myself with Julio, Axle Attack, Mayfair and The Bloods. Only the 2nd time i'd done Mayfair, the first being ten years ago! Its easy to forget what a great wall this is, the routes are fantastic. I felt good on the rock, i definitely feel the benefit of having done a lot of routes this year. For quite a few years now i have mainly just hung on bolts and this has actually made me quite shit at climbing. I even found myself getting intimidated on the easier numbers. Not scared of falling just worried about climbing shit on them. I can see now that this is a bad strategy and there is a lot to be said for mileage and succeeding on routes regularly. Starting at the bottom and getting to the top without falling, its a great feeling! Hopefully this will stand me in good stead now the strength and fitness is returning. I'm as psyched as a ex nun in a cucumber field now. After thinking this was going to be a nothing year there is finally light at the end of the tunnel and the only way is up. Must train harder too!
Some footage of Ioan Doyle on one of the best LPT 8a's, Battle of the Little Big orme. Don't copy the top beta however as he's doing it the hard way!

Dreambadger

2011-06-16T15:51:00.001-07:00

I cracked another new route yesterday. I bolted this one back in winter, it was out of my league to start with and it got gradually better as i improved. I was looking forward to the day it would go down as i had a soft spot for this route. It is a boulder problem route but the holds are lovely, the kind of holds i'd have on my board. It is a very cool sequence. The crux involves squeezing a undercut pinch above your head and fighting your feet up on smears. I had always struggled with this move. Yesterday i turned up hoping that a bit of extra strength would make the move feel easy but that wasn't the case. Halfway through the session it still wasn't looking good. I managed the move once or twice but the redpoints weren't going well. I kept perservering though and by the skin of my teeth finally made it to the top. A bit of a theme has been developing with the last three routes i've done. All three have been colossal efforts and i should have fallen on the successful redpoint of all three. I have managed to summon up something extra when the chips were down and this is a habit i hope to keep up. The best climbers always fight don't give up until they're in the air. I let Pete Robins have a go months ago before i'd even tried it and he said 7c+ so i'll go with that. Felt flippin hard though!
Pic:

The Madness Reigns

2011-06-14T06:49:00.000-07:00

I finished one of my projects yesterday. I bolted the line in April and have been on it a few times trying to suss the sequence (mainly struggling!). It takes a traverse line on good holds under a roof then tackles the roof at its smallest point via some very tenuous moves, a few terrible holds and then a nice headwall finish. It took a while to figure out but it only needed a few redpoints. It felt hard but is probably 7c+ as the hard bit quite short lived really. It's called The Madness Reigns after the chaos a few months back when all the kids were in the river. Definitely the route of the crag and of course like i always say, it's one of the best new routes i've done! If you don't big your own routes up no one else will. This crag is nearing completion. I have one more project which is also fantastic but harder and bouldery. Norm also has a project to finish there. Despite having a rest day the day before i still felt knackered yesterday so am resting today. Going to head down LPT to film the bumpy boys though. I'm making a film about the new routes and projects, i want to make it as good as i possibly can with my limited abilities. I've already got some good footage but need some hard FAs on camera.

The Madness Reigns:

.

New Hold in Cave

2011-06-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

The big news this end is that there is a new hold in the Cave, this cheeky little blighter has appeared under the Rockatrocity jug. It is a positive handhold when moving up off the wobbly block. Better than the shit intermediates that people used to use so that moves easier. The wobbly block is apparently harder to use since i glued it back on so maybe that will address the balance. The hold is also a pretty handy foothold for Cave Life and also for Pilgrim the swing across way. Time will tell how much it affect's their difficulty:

I just checked my diary and saw i have done some form of climbing every day for the last 10 days. It's no wonder i'm boxed! My form has stayed pretty good, i made progress on my project down Pigeon's doing all the moves but one and in Llanddulas i finally worked out some decent beta on the end and manged to link all the finish. It will be hard work from the start though. I had a good time ticking some of Tony and Norm's new routes. The new guides will tell all!

Pic of Sam Whittaker on Walking Mussel 8b+:

Climbing Gods or Coincedence?

2011-06-09T05:33:00.000-07:00

Last year i blogged about how i had some personal stresses and suddenly found myself climbing much better on the Diamond. Climbing really gave me a lift just when i needed it. Well its happened again. Its been a really grim time this week. I've kept getting out and hanging with my pals. One evening i went training with Gorgy on his board. I felt pretty bouncy on the warm ups but was shocked with how the session ended up. A few days previous i had been really struggling in there barely able to do 7a. This sesh i knocked out 5 7a's, 5 7a+'s and a 7b that i've only done once 4 years ago. In the context of my current form it was my best board session ever! I've had a few extremely surprising moments in my climbing life but this was right up there with them. To feel strong was so good, i crushed every hold i grabbed, it felt so simple. I went home worried it would be a one off as has happened before. The next day i headed to Dinbren with Mule and Danny. Mule has a hard project there and i've been filming it. I did a 7b+ there a few days ago but thought i should get on something hard after the board session i'd had. Gwennan seemed the perfect candidate, i had one go last year but couldn't really do the move. It was put up by Rob Mirfin who reckoned it was a font 7c boulder problem with a French 7b+ route on top (8a+ route grade). Judging from the guidebook description i think Rob did the move quite statically. Mule did it last year and he just jumped to the jug which was a bit easier and less powerful. I did the move on the dog quickly and worked the top out. I knew i had a chance to get to the jug, it is only one move really. I managed to sketch through the start on my first RP, leaping when it felt like i wasn't going to make it. I pulled tape off my fingers with my teeth and composed myself for the top. It turned out to be the biggest effort i've probably ever put in on redpoint. I was shouting down for beta i'd forgotten and almost off every move. I slapped a small pocket but only latched it with two fingers right on the edge, i was powering out quickly but in the beast mantra "if you don't let go you can't fall off" i somehow managed to get the next hold. Probably 99 times out of a hundred i would have fallen there but i somehow found some inner reserve. The top is easier and i finished the route and lowered off in shock. Last week i could only climb 7c and now i'd done my quickest ascent of an 8 ever. Its bizarre really. The route is hard 8a with the dyno method, not hard enough for 8a+. I warmed down on the brilliant Dyperspace, a 7c that i should have flashed last year. So once again i shall be sacrificing a new born goat to appease the climbing gods. They always seem to sort me out when the chips are down!
Footage:

My Pals:

Pilgrim Vid

2011-06-07T02:41:00.001-07:00

West Shore

2011-06-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

Went down to check out Mules bouldering down on the beach at West Shore on Saturday. The strategy wasn't good. The marine drive was shut for a car rally so we parked on the summit of the Orme and walked down from there. Dyer didn't get very far as his poor dog Smudge had a fit so he had to turn back. It was boiling and the tide was in so we just took it easy. We ended up lazing around and couldn't get to a lot of the boulders because of the sea but we still saw some cool stuff. Into the Sun is a ace 7a with nice moves out of a cave:

I felt the holds on Mules 8a The Spray. Its an impressive problem and it looks ridiculously burly. Its such a steep overhang and the feet for the crux are tiny smears. The strong boys need to get down on this. I agree with Mr P that its a better harder version of Manchester Dogs. Some of Mule's grades need to be taken with a pinch of salt. I had to seige a 6c+ at the end.

On the way back up to the road from the opposite end of the boulders to the Red Wall is a sweet high arete thats a nice V2. Mule has christened it Learning to Fly but i expect it has been done before:

The Future:

Conflict Continues

2011-06-04T01:05:00.000-07:00

Well the need to train/wanting to go outside every day and have a nice time conflict continues. I think i'm finally waking up and smelling the coffee though. It took another new project to bring it home. The situation is that i have 5 projects, all of them i cannot climb in my current state. 3 of them are probably 8a+. I would love to do them all this year but if i carry on like i am this is very doubtful. I can keep going out and hanging on the bolts and hoping for a miracle or i can get on the board and get big gains very quickly. Two of my routes are quite bouldery so i need to be pretty strong. Its hard when its nice outside, after hibernating all winter i really want to be outside enjoying the weather but it's not going to get me where i want to be. Training hard doesn't mean climbing outside is off bounds. I can still go and get some ticks but the main focus needs to be strength improvements. My new project came out of the blue. Down Pigeon's is a old project that is always wet. Nodder tried it a bit last year. Me and Dyer noticed a crimp in the wall which looked like it would allow access to a nice visual line up and left. We put a bolt in off a ladder and i tried the move. It was really cool so i came back the next day from the top and finished bolting the line. Next day i tried it with Pete H. It's really good, there were 3 or 4 moves i couldn't do but i could see how they worked. I did the top finishing moves which were ace. So out of the blue i have a very sexy new project on the Orme to get my juices flowing.

We finished re-equipping Fellatio Nelson and Cat Amongst the Pidgeons but i was left wondering if we should have bothered.

The shared finishing moves involve a shoulder popping jump to a rusty old chain. Fellatio has some big holds that are slimey and filthy and Cat doesn't look that good either. Dyer rebolted the short but sweet looking African Headcharge 7a+. Lovely tufas, shame it doesn't go on for 30 metres:

I went to Dulas with Mule yesterday. Some prick has stolen the two draws i left on temple and my project to aid stripping them. It dismays me that there's climbers out there who are happy enough to nick gear. I hope they snap and they break their legs. I worked out some good beta on the proj, the first 2/3 are great and i've got it worked out. Like Temple the important thing with this route is to get the end dialled so it feels piss. Mule flashed Sticky Fingers and had a go on Temple but it didn't really fit him and he found it hard. I went to the Mill after to kick things off again. There is some nice wood in there now, tasty!

Finally in what must be the greatest week ever for women's performances on the Orme Shauna Coxsey completed Pilgrim 8a+ in the Cave. This is a brilliant effort and all the more impressive considering she hadn't climb 8a before. So this makes Shauna the first women to do 8a on British soil and maybe the first to climb 8a+ full stop. Claire Murphy did some hard problems in Hueco but Chablanke is not 8a+ and Sarah gets V11/12 which suggests 8a (some Hueco V12's would be worth 8a in Europe). Pilgrim is undoubtedly 8a+, the first section is hard 7c+ then it finshes up Rockatrocity which is probably hard 7c. Mega!

LPT

2011-05-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

LPT was mint tonight, it is chilly at the moment though. Should be climbing in a T-Shirt this time of year, too cold for me. Caff having a bash of Wild Understatement

Emma Twyford made a flying visit the other day and pulled off a very impressive flash of Statement. I can't think of many people managing this first go in the last 10 years and that includes some very strong climbers. It is a sustained and complex route and is possible to blow it in a number of places. Definitely an impressive flash. Most locals regard it as the 2nd hardest 8a down there. Interestingly she still fell victim to the last move of Bad Boy on her first go, maybe this needs upgrading to 8a+ now!

Cave, Bock and Pigeon's

2011-05-29T03:19:00.000-07:00

The bumpy boys have continued to beaver away in the Cave. Dyer ticked Bonnie Extension, vid of a attempt below:

Dyer has never owned a decent pair of boots in his life, he's currently climbing in some knackered old 5.10s. Doesn't seem to stop him though!

Pete found a new bit of climbing, working out the moves from the top jug of Trigger Cut into the Bonnie jug. He reckoned this was about font 7a+ on its own. Then he linked it from Parisellas Original and continued up Bonnie Extension for a pump fest 8b (or so) route:

Pete found himself confused as he reckoned Bonnie Extension was 8b+ but this new thing 8b. There's obviously more than one grade difference between them (give BE 8c i say)!
Markus Bock, legend of the Jura and 9a+ route and 8c bloc crusher was down LPT last week. He tried Sea of Tranquility and Liquid Ambar and reckoned they were both pretty tricky. He thought Sea Of was definitely 8c+ and said Liquid Ambar probably was too and is harder than any 8c he's ever done. Markus has done many 8c/+s and the Frankenjura is not exactly known as being soft so i think his opinion is very worthwhile. He may come back in a few months to give them another go. I'm just chuffed to have done all the moves on a relatively short probable 8c+!
Me and Dyer went down Pigeons yesterday. I was keen for the new Koo extension. Despite it being shortlived i've always liked Koo so was quite excited about trying an improved harder version. Dyer put the clips in and i had a bolt to bolt, the extension part felt quite tricky. It felt like it could be an epic but was actually ok on redpoint. Definitely a big improvement, original Koo doesn't feel like a route now and the new version must be one of the coolest 7c's on the Orme. Dyer did it too then floated up Stark and Follow the Prof again. Follow the Prof was only rebolted last week and Pete and Neil were the first men up. It looked really good watching Neil on it. The last dynamic move to the top is the redpoint crux. There aren't many decent 7c+'s on the Orme so this should prove popular. I can't wait to try it next time.

Pigeon's is looking ace now. The extensions have really took it up a notch. Koo Koo is a great route. Dyer has improved the unsatisfactory finish of Stark by taking it up to Koo Koo finish and Stiff Upper Lip extension looks like the best 8b in Wales. The last boulder problem looks amazing with the chalk on, shame i'm not going well enough to get on it :-(.
We started rebolting the two old routes on the left. I'll finish these off sometime
when i get my hands on some bolts:

Dyer seeking holds in the roof:

And finally, farewell to my old climbing sack that i've had since day one, i'll miss you buddy!

Mcclure Blitzes Mayfair Wall

2011-05-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

Team Marmot Europe are in Wales this week so expect some good ticks if the rain holds off. Today Inspector Mawsons and Steve Mcclure were on the Orme ticking on Mayfair wall. Neil finished off Masterplan, first redpoint. He struggled with the crux of this when he tried it just after i did it but he's an 8c crusher these days so it went down ok. Steve then pulled off the first flash defying those long reaches. He then onsighted Masterclass (first onsight???) putting the clips in thinking it to be one grade easier than Masterplan. I'm always confused with the grading on this wall as for me (and others i'm sure) Masterclass is harder than Masterplan. This is due to Masterplan being a modern bouldery style and Masterclass being old school and technical. It's good to have confirmation that the grades are fairly accurate from someone not affected by styles at this level. Of course these are not surprising feats by Steve buts its still nice that a good climber came along and did them first go. Shame he didn't do Oyster for the full sweep.
I did a lot of climbing this week, six days on in fact! I did some training and ticked some nice routes. I went to Pantymwyn earlier in the week to have a bash on Grand Canyon. I've been going to the gorge for years. There is a picture of me asleep under the bouldering when i was 7 or so, i shunted the slabs back in the 90s and of course i've been there bouldering loads of times but to my shame never climbed on the steep side. In my ticking frame of mind i was keen to do the classic 7b+ Grand Canyon so met Lee down there. There's not really a decent warm up route there so i thought i'd give Canyon a bash to see how high i got, a stategic error! Its not your average North Wales 7b+, its steep and pumpy and i was soon boxed and off. Unfortunately the pump was terminal so i couldn't really do much more and left without doing it. I returned later in the week to finish it. Its really good- involving pumpy big moves! Only the Diamond and the Gwynt really compares for pump factor. Yesterday i went back up to Craig Seiriol with Lee Proctor and Paul. Rob Pitt and Lee Roberts were working Hounds. I did a new route that i'd drilled last time but not bolted left of Osama. Its called Gadaffi the Diplomat and is about 6c+. Its nothing special but is worth doing. Lee climbed Osama with a different sequence which he reckoned was more like 6c. Jonny Boy had been up to do the groove left of Hounds. This is another stellar line which suprisingly went at 6c/+. It is another classic, great positive holds the whole way up, ace!
Lee on the hunt:

Release the Hounds

2011-05-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

Me, Jonny Boy and Alex went up to Craig Seiriol today to give Gav's route a proper go. I had worked out that Jon was going up from a coded Facebook status and luckily for me he didn't mind me inviting myself along. It was cold and windy up there and we all took a while to warm up. Alex warmed up on Osama Bin Bin Bag and then had a respectable flash burn and me and Jon were soon on redpoint. I managed the 2nd ascent, then Jon bagged it and finally Alex completed the clean sweep. A great route that is destined to be a classic. All it needs now is the strong boys to go up there and give it its first onsight. We all agreed the grade is solid 7c. Some footage:

New Mega Sport Line Above A55

2011-05-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago i went up to the old quarries between Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan with Gav Foster. I had heard of Gav's project up there that was supposed to be very good so i was keen to check it out. Gav bolted it a while ago, he spied the line after walking up there in hope of finding some bouldering potential. Working away and his house building project meant that getting consistent days on it was proving tricky. After slogging up there i was hoping it was going to be good as people had suggested. I was not disappointed! The line is quite striking and i was immediately impressed. The route takes a curving overhanging prow before finishing up a immaculate headwall. We got to work and after an initial scare pulling some loose blocks off the start (probably a result of winter freeze thaw, luckily the holds underneath were perfect) Gav soon got the moves again. He was kind enough to let me have a dog up it. The start is steep and keeping tension was tricky as a result of the low friction and slopey holds. After 8 or so metres of amazing slopey compression the line eases and leaves the arete for the headwall which leads to the chain. Gav had some redpoints and was falling just shy of the easier top section. I knew he just needed to get back ASAP and he could do it. Today he went back with Mr P and finished his project. It really is a stunner and anyone who climbs around the grade 7c/+ in Wales (visitor or local) really need to get up there and get on it. I really think it is one of the best sport routes in Wales. It has the quality moves and rock that you find on the best routes but what sets is apart in my eyes is the unique line that is really quite rare. Its not just another bit of overhanging limestone (in fact its not even limestone). I can't wait to get on it again. The name is Release the Hounds (a reference to the people chomping at the bit to get on it). I thought 7c after my brief dog up it, Gav's not sure but thinks maybe even 7c+ so 7c/+ will do til the repeats start rolling in. In the bay to the left is a new 6c+ that i put up which will be a good warm up for the meat. In terms of access details i'm sure Mr P will have them online soon enough and as he's much better at such things than me i'll leave it to him

Line of the Cave Goes Down

2011-05-16T02:47:00.000-07:00

Pete Robins linked Lou Ferrino into Bonnie last night in Parisella's Cave. This has long been admired/touted as the visual line of the Cave but it has never really seen much attention until recently as Bonnie is such a tough little cookie on its own (Font 8a+). Pete first climbed Bonnie in the winter 09/10 after a bit of a seige and at that point the link seemed some way off. After Ben Bransby climbed Bonnie Extension and Neil Dyer did Bonnie in quick time the spotlight was back on the big link. Neil was looking like the main contender making quick progress and looking very strong. This was all the encouragement Pete needed and he got stuck in and soon found himself falling near the end. Last night he completed it thinking it to be of similar difficulty to the other two mega link ups he's done in there, Silk Cut and The Incredible Bulk. That would make it around Font 8b or French 8c+. The breakdown of the numbers would suggest that this new line is perhaps the hardest of the three. Bonnie is a power problem with hard moves which makes for a very spicy link. The line follows the two ramp features of the Cave. All we need now is for someone to finish this link up the extension for a mega boulder/route hybrid for a 9a combination.

Someone at Malham please convince Ondra to pop over to LPT.

2011-05-15T05:28:00.000-07:00

This week was a mixture of training and cragging. I went to check out a very cool project with Neil Dyer, a line up a short but sustained red wall. It was very ansteys-esque and very hard too. Probably 8b+ or 8c, come on Neil pull yer finger out! He probably won't try it for another 3 years or so. I went to the Dulas with Heason and we hung out in the roofs. Ben tried Temple making quick progress. Since i did it everyone has used a easier more efficient foot sequence just before the last crux which seems a bit less draining. Ben also did the first crux some mental foot above yer head in a hole method, pretty different really! Looked cool. I worked on the end sequence of my proj and made good progress. The finish is a bit weird as the right wall comes in at the end and your feet go on a slab. This doesn't feel like it detracts from the route when you're on it but looks funny from the bottom. Its bad cos it means its not quite as cool as Temple but good cos its makes it do-able. The moves are all good anyway, i need to experiment a bit more. Ben had a quick go and even got a double knee bar in. I don't care what grade it is, the easier the better as long as its cool. We will see. I went for a quiet and gloomy mill sesh with Nodder (the electricitys off!). He's training religiously at the moment and not getting distracted with routes like he did last year. Its probably what i should be doing but i don't have the self discipline at the mo. I realised thats its time to stop complaining about being shit as i'm not actually that weak. Hopefully there's much more to come though. Yesterday i went down LPT with Pete Harrison, amazingly my first time down there this year. It felt good being down there, its such a good social crag as everyone has to go down at the same time. I even did a new 6, the short but good Bosch Bastards. Then i tried Life's a Beach, this is a previously neglected 7b that's become quite popular with a couple of new bolts. It is also probably one of the hardest 7b's on the Orme. An initial tricky wall leads to a ledge but the final slabby headwall is the crux and even though you're fresh when you get there it has a very tricky move. I did the move first go but then was losing purchase on the crimp on subsequent goes. Boooo i can't do slabs. It was raining though. I had no plans to try Bad Boy before i went down as i thought i'd get too pumped but was pleasantly surprised to not get that pumped. That route always draws me in, its such a joy. Then we headed up to the Cave's. Pete recommended a 7b+ called The Damage Religion that he'd done recently. It's one of those routes that you walk under on the way to Breck Road but never glance up at. It should get more attention as its well bolted and has a very nice bouldery crux sequence. I got the beta off Pete and set off. I utilised what he'd said but also did what felt natural and ended up climbing it a bit differently and managed to flash it. I wasn't kidding myself as it felt pretty steady, even 7a+. Its probably 7b though for most of average stature. Kind of summed up my climbing these days, shut down on Life's a Beach then flashing that in the same day. I'm really keen for some other routes round these parts especially The Mask and Taipan if anyones keen? It's been a good week which has helped my confidence a bit. You don't really know what the state of play is just climbing on your own routes.
Pete Robins went back down Pigeon's and extended Koo to the top of the crag this time. This takes it from 7b to 7cish. I'm quite keen for this as i've always enjoyed Koo. It needs a lower off putting in for it to become popular.

photo by Calum Muskett:

Ondra's back at Malham, still dreaming that he'll come over to these parts. He needs to crush the Orme and do the old aid route at Dulas 9a+.

Orme Bouldering Heaven

2011-05-09T02:49:00.000-07:00

Mule's new bouldering area on West Shore has finally been revealed. I haven't been yet but have heard some good reports. There's quite a bit of bouldering dotted around the Orme now. Here's a quick rundown on it:

Parisellas Cave
Say no more

Split Infinity
15 problems 6a+ - 7c+/8a
A classic warming up spot with a hard traverse and some good up problems.
Best problem: Belpig 7c

Breck Road
15 problems 6c+ - 7c
Great independent up lines and some good links and a mega traverse.
Best problem: Swing of Fire 7b

Normans Wisdom
5 problems 7a - 7c
Direct starts to routes and a cool traverse.
Best Problem: Snout 7c

Pill Box Wall
30??? problems
6c+ - 8a+
Pristine crimpy lime and link up heaven.
Best Problem: Ain't No Party/Mr Whippy?

Pigeon's Cave Boulders
35 Problems?
V0 - 7b+
Smooth boulders with more easier grades.
Best Problem: ?

Sea View Walls
6 problems
6b - 7c
Some amazing higballs off a tidal ledge
Best Problem: Flashpoint 7b+

Badger Cave
5 Problems
Steep Cave.
v4 - 7a+
Best Problem: Brock Direct

West Shore Boulders:
30/40 Problems
6a - 8a
Cool boulderfield
Best Problem: The Spray 8a?
There's also Clutch, Plumbline Traverse and that easy sunny vertical stuff above the road on West Shore side.
Some interesting musings on hard grades on Paul Robinsons blog. He's travelled the world and done most of the hard shit so i'd say he's got a pretty good idea on what goes on. Its interesting reading about his grade calculations. Maybe we should use them to sort out the contentious problems over here. It sounds like East Coker and Silk Cut would both be 8b on the Robinson Scale. East Coker is 8a+ into 7c+/8a ands Silk Cut is 8b into higball 7a+, not big enough link up numbers to warrant 8b+ in his book. We don't need world wads to come and repeat our problems we just need to read their blogs!

Stiffer Upper Lip

2011-05-03T11:37:00.000-07:00

Pete robins has done the extension to Stiff Upper Lip at 8b at pigeons.The original is a cool roof line but it finishes in a rather random place as the first ascentionist George Smith lowered his original lower off as he was struggling to get it done.Above georges chain is a cool boulder problem to the top of the crag. When stiff upper got re equipped last year so whole line was bolted by Pete Harrison as we weren't sure what went on.Jordan has already bagged the 2nd ascent.This makes a trio of mega 8bs on the orme alongside Melancholie and Youthanasia. If you like things a bit shorter and sharper then Carinthian Groove awaits a second ascent still.

Osama Bin Bin Bag

2011-05-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

My time off is drawing to an end. Have done loads of climbing, lots of nice easier routes and few projects done and bolted. Thursday i headed to Three Degrees Crag with sausage, Gav and Panton. I tried my proj there, some progress as i got to the crux on top rope but still struggling to get my feet up on the undercut. More burl needed. Sausage got on Pete's 8a+. I was interested to see what he thought of it as it took Pete 3 days and he's no slouch. He did the moves pretty much first go then lowered to the top of the ramp and linked them first go. He still didn't get the redpoint though as the holds (which are very small) heated up a bit. Conditions are quite important on this, seems Pete was wise doing it in winter. Anyway Sausage reckoned 8a+ was right, a similar proposition to Pas de Deux he said and he'll return in cooler temps. Me and Mule went for a random mooch on the Orme on Friday. We abbed into Seal Point for some reason??

I had been down to do Crigyll Outlaws in 2000. The rock is nice down there and the sport routes look good and the bolts aren't fucked yet. The hangers have rusted a bit. Then we went to check out Tony and Colin Goodeys mini crag on West Shore side of the Orme, this is under the road above some concrete slabs. I'm sure its destined to be quite a popular venue as its nice rock and non serious. We soloed a few diddy routes.

I took Jonny boy out to new crags on Saturday. I tried one of my best projects and finally made a breakthrough with the beta. Sould be on redpoint next time. Jon put in a good effort and flashed my groove route. He reckoned it was 7a+ for real men who can jam. I think the grade of this will divide opinion! Today i did a new 6c+ at a non limestone venue which i named Osama Bin Bin Bag, watch this space about this one, some impressive shit. I really feel if i didn't have a few hard projects then i'd be happy to have a break from trying to beast it this year. Just going out and doing routes and quick redpoints has been mega. Its a better life of this i am sure!

Ormesmen of the Week Mel Griffiths, He came, he went and then he came back!

2011-05-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

Mel Griffiths burst onto the Orme scene in 1981 with the first ascent of the iconic route Axle Attack on Mayfair Wall. Axle Attack is an Orme classic which was an incomplete aid route. Pollits guide states that: "it was this route before than any other before it, on Trwyn, that gave a realistic impression of the wealth of new climbing waiting to be done." Mel and fellow first ascentionist Leigh McGinley famously trained for the ascent using the axle of a train. Mel had ten years off climbing and was partaking in activities such as cave diving. When he started climbing again he got back into the Orme scene and started new routing and re-equipping on both Ormes.

Well that draws and end to the Ormesmen of the week series, i've enjoyed delving into the history of the area and the men who shaped our crags. It is a area with a rich history and with mnay routes that are of national importance. I've undoubtedly missed some Ormesmens but i am only young so please forgive me. Finally a big up to these guys: Billy Wayman, Pete Bailey, Ben Moon, Ron Fawcett, Mark Pretty, Perry Hawkins, Mike Owen, Phil Smith, Rob Shepton, Ed Stone and Nick Jowett

Time Off

2011-04-27T04:18:00.000-07:00

Been loving having some time off with the bank holidays. Last week i was cursing the heat though. After spending the winter complaining about the cold and wet i should have been pleased to have some nice weather but i was greasing off so complained instead. Ridiculous for April! Been to the Mill a few times and even managed a 7a+ so things are looking up. Been doing some nice easier routes on the new crags and trying the projects. Making progress but i've finally hit big 8 land with a few of them so more effort is going to be needed. One of them is a big roof with a solitary hole in the middle of it. Every move is a burlfest, must be the burliest 8a-8b in wales. Definitely a cool style but i can't do all the moves yet. I met up with the Sellars clan who were over from Sheffield for Easter. I showed them Llanddulas and some nice routes were bagged. Nic was one of the UKs top sport climbers in the 90s so i picked his brain about fitness training. I tried my roof project and after some experimentation i thought i had cracked the hard start. That was until the hold fell off, doh! Nic did a good onsight of Mudjekeewis. He cocked up the crux first go but hung on in there and did it. I went back to the roof another day and glued the hold back on, hopefully it will stay put. I had a prolific day yesterday bagging 4 new routes! 3 were shorties that i bolted in winter but they were all fairly pleasant with nice rough rock. One was quite a peculiar route. Its 6a+ to the last move which is a english 6b/c move off quite a small crimp. Quite unbalanced but a bit different. Really hard to grade something like this though. 7a or 7a+ probably. I called it Off With Their Heads cos i don't believe in hereditary priviledge. Then i did a route i bolted up on Monday. It was a right effort bolting and cleaning it as its 17 metres and the crag is very loose in its natural state. It turned out to be another cracker. The first bulge is the crux but its still tricky until you reach a really good rest before some more fairly tenuous moves above. Its either 7b+ or 7c and the name is Big Kohoona Burger. I wish i'd bolted it better, its fine for a redpoint but a bit shit for the onsight, oops. Development on this crag is almost complete and i think people will enjoy it as its a good length and nice routes. I asked Norm the other day why he didn't develop LPT earlier back in the day. He said everytime he went there the tide was in so for years he didn't realise it actually went out. Thought that was pretty classic!

Ormesmen of the Week- Gary Gibson, new route fanatic

2011-04-24T03:30:00.000-07:00

During the new route boom on Pen Trwyn during the 1980s it was inevitable that the country's leading new routers would be attracted to the area. Gary Gibson must be the most prolific new router in Britain ever with thousands of new routes to his name and he wasted no time in leaving his mark on the Orme. Although he sometimes courted controversy his contribution to new routing is undeniable. Gary's first new route was The Violater, a now banned E3 up the left side of Mayfair wall. Gary then turned his attention to Black Wall and completed most of the lines there. These routes were properly bolted in the 90s which caused one young man to write in to the mags: "take care lads because the time for agreement is over. As far as i am concerned your licence to bolt has been revoked!" 1984 saw perhaps Gibsons most classic Pen Trwyn addition. Homesapien 7a+ is a great thin technical testpiece. Gary left his mark on many of the sectors on Pee Trwyn establishing three easier classics down LPT which were destined to be popular. Other significant ascents included Plagued by Fools, Capturing the Coelacanth, Barking up the Wrong Tree and Two Ton Cainman.

Something for the Yorkshire Hombres

2011-04-20T04:56:00.000-07:00

Some footage from 2003 of Pascal trying Zoolook at Malham, looks nails!

Praise the Beastmaker

2011-04-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

I had 3 fingerboard sessions last week in work and felt much better at the weekend. No more arms turning to jelly after 5 minutes. Saturday i went out with Danny C. Danny has hardly climbed for a few years now which pains me as i used to love watching him beasting it. Its not that he's completely lost interest in climbing. Its more the case that he's so flippin laid back he just doesn't get around to it and get organised. Anyway he was 30 minutes late at our old pick up point and wasn't answering his landline or mobile so i drove to Denbigh, crept up to his room and poured a cup of water over his face as he slept. That taught the little shit a lesson. I took him to one of my crags and i got on my last bolted line there. A nice line with flowing moves through a hanging corner system and a very cool headwall. Danny puked into the river as i set off on redpoint. I didn't do it but was close. Danny tried my diagonal groove 7b but failed after spending 5 minutes trying to jam his arm in a crack. Was very entertaining to watch. Sunday i went to the mill despite the beautiful weather, beautiful weather doesn't make you strong! Was expecting the worst after hardly being able to pull on last time i went but was pleasantly surprised to do 3 7as first go. 7a isn't hard but it does require pulling with your fingers and arms. I was happy as i'm 12 stone and haven't been training much. Need to keep going back now, such a good facility. Finished off my project from Saturday, yesterday. Its called Strawberries Man after a 5b chubby fella who once told me he'd toproped Strawberries. I didn't believe him. The grade is 7c, vid here: (usual boring tripod scene)

It was quite hard to concentrate as there were loads of kids screaming and shouting in the river. Kids only seem to be able to speak with the volume on max. I forgave them when one said i was cooler than the climber he'd seen yesterday. Was good to know. Almost finished bolting the last two lines here which is very exciting as i think they'll both go. One is a big roof with a hole in the middle of it leading to a hard lip encounter and the other is the line of the crag. A traverse across a steep break, funky roof exit, hard lip then nice headwall. Can't wait to try them properly. Read an interesting article by Malc in a old mag about dieting. He says crash dieting can be counter productive and that its better to reduce your weekly calories gradually in order to make weight loss sustainable. Shocking the body isn't necessarily a good thing as it is likely to go into defence mode and you could lose equal amounts of muscle as well as fat.
One of the first appearances in a mag for the Ormes:

Ormesmen of the Week-Andy Pollitt, Prestatyn Conquerer

2011-04-17T02:59:00.000-07:00

Andy grew up in Prestatyn and began climbing with his teacher Andy Boorman. Andy takes up the early story:

When he was 14 and just started climbing he used to work for a cake delivery company. Sell-by dates had just been invented - this was great for Andy: all out-of-date cakes came his way! Perhaps that explains his legendary stamina or possibly it's all those hours he spent on the brick-edges of the original Prestatyn Climbing Wall in the late 1970s?

Andy's first two real rock climbs were with myself on a school trip to Craig y Forwyn on 20th June 1978. He seconded Y Chimney H.V. Diff and a pleasant Severe called Softly, Softly. A few weeks later he was taking leader falls on Scalar VS!

In April 1981 Andy P joined a strong team for a trip to Buoux and the Verdon Gorge. There will be a star prize for the blog reader who can identify all the climbers (some well known, some well weak) in the group photo which was taken by Pete Bailey!

Great routes were climbed on that trip, but not without incident: ask Pete Bailey to recount his tale of the Verdon Gorge Luna Bong abseil, where they discovered that the rope Chris Lyon had sold Andy as a 150 feet length turned out to be only 40 metres, or around 130 feet. Pete arrived in space 3 metres out from and 3 metres above the first abseil tree, 250 metres minimum above the deck, to find that only one of the ropes reached (no knots in the ends). Andy was perched in the tree:
"How did you get there?" Pete enquired. "I jumped" said Andy!

Witnesses still have a clear vision of Pete and Andy's shrunken faces sporting manic protruding eyes as they rolled into camp late evening after an ascent of the 320 metre off-width Voie Ula on a very hot day with a very small water-bottle.

These were some of the experiences that formed Andy's early years and gave him the confidence and vision to realise that routes such as Mayfair could go free and that Chain Gang could be climbed as a trad E5 up an unlikely looking wall on a bitter November day in 1982.

Andy Pollitt is a true, talented and very special Ormesman!!

Andy also sent through a pic of Andy P on Midnight Blues in December 1980. I can think of nothing worse than hanging on a belay on the Little Orme in December:

As Andy started to progress through the grades in the 80s he to leave his mark on the Ormes and bagged some classic routes on many of the crags. The history in Andy's own 1987 guide chronicles some of the great ascents and epics. Andy produced two guidebooks, the first one coming out in 1981. This brought many climbers to the area in search of new lines. Andy's legacy of routes is fantastic. Wall of Evening Light was re equipped last year so get on it in August people! Night Glue has become one of the mega classics in the area and Over the Moon is testament to Andy's ability as it is now regarded as the hardest 8a on LPT. Someone once told me that the top crack was originally protected by wires and so the jams felt a bit better as often fingers were sitting on the wires. Don't know if its true or not. One of the greatest Ormesmen ever!

Sandstone of the South

2011-04-16T01:11:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working down in Kent on a old skool windmill. Tim the boss was keen to get some pics of Southern Sandstone so we went to check it out one afternoon. We walked up to the entrance of High Rocks where we were met by this:

This was followed by lots of laughter from the lads and lots of cursing from Tim as he was paying! Back to the van he said and we headed to Bowles. Luckily it was the hottest day of the year and Bowles was in the sun which was perfect for sandstone. We dicked about a bit doing a bit of soloing and some quite nice boulder problems up to font 6c. Bob Elliot rolling back the years:

It was hot and sweaty but a laugh. We only had one little flat bouldering pad which didn't inspire pascal as he tried to ground up this 6c roof with a potential uncontrolled fall:

The crux involved lunging to some jams at the lip. Must have been tricky as he didn't do it Back to the car our grand leader commanded and we headed back to High Rocks. This time he forked out and in we went. The fun began on a ace 6a arete that would be a highball with decent paddage. Pascal went first, bit hesitant on the top. Pete had let us know how straightforward the top was from the comfort of the ground. Little Bob shot up it only to come unstuck on the top, all of a sudden it looked quite high and the drop off not to appealing! He had to get dragged over the top in the end. Then up steps big daddy bear Peter Hurley, not climbing for 5 months wasn't going to stop this guy and he shoots up it barefoot. He hits the same place as Bob but surprisingly his toes don't work too well on the final smear and he starts to panic. Pete has got a back full of metal after hitting the ground from a long way up in Cheedale a few years and capers like this are not recommended. It seems his legendary stamina of 10 years ago has dried up, funny that! He looks down, the fear in his face is evident as the consequences of a nasty fall flash through all our minds. Bob runs to the top but doesn't hit the ascent path first go. Petes got nothing left and down he comes, collapsing as his 12.5 stone mass hits the ground. He lies there for a while with a worried look on his face but all is ok. Pascal then drops the top of the Honeycomb wall to the left, he's having a shocker. Then we move down the crag and engage in some traditional top roping with waist belays and no harnesses:

A couple of routes are done then its my turn to provide the entertainment. I set off up a 5c hand jamming crack called Coronation Crack. I soon remember that i can't hand jam (memories of climbing The File using the holds on the face flash through my mind). I try to jam but soon realise i can't do it and revert to heel hooks and powerful laybacking. Soon enough i'm off much to the hilarity of everyone. My spirits are soon raised as Pascal drops a damp 6a crack and mauls his hands in the process:

I walk down to look at Chimaera, nice feature, then return just in time to see Pascal dropping the top of the classic Krait Arete,he's flipping boxed and everyone is cracking up. Shocking day!

Old Shizzle

2011-04-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

Tony gave me a load of old mags as he's moving house. I love old mags and anything to do with climbing history and how things have evolved. There are gems of information that most people would never know like Neil Carson went from climbing 8a to doing Cry Freedom 8b+ in a massive leap! I keep seeing Liquid Ambar written up as a stamina route! This just goes to show that the hard routes back then involved bouldery moves and were short and nasty. These days LA would be regarded as a boulder problem. Under 30 metres is short! And of course these days you may find a Font 8b+ on a 50 metre route! Zippy wrote a good article in OTE 18 about state of the art routes. Cry Freedom was Britains first 8c but Mark Leach did it with a duff sequence which JB Tribout eliminated on the 2nd ascent. Agincourt has five 7a moves in a row! There was an interesting piece in high about a old project above La Plage in Buoux that Ben Moon checked out. It was originally Marc le Menestrel's project but he only managed 70% of the moves. Moony took measurements and impressions of the crux holds with string and foil and when he returned home his sponsor Bendcrete helped him build a replica of the roof section so Moony could train on it. Sounds like this route was a 9 and i don't think theres a 9 at Buoux so i'm guessing its still a project. Would be cool if someone finished off such an old project. Come on Ondra get yourself to Buoux!

Climb Article

2011-04-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

Raymondo has a nice north Wales limestone article in Climb.There is a pic of me on my Diamond project and caption says 8c/8c+"one of the showpiece hard sport routes of the u k when finally redpointed". Well its nice to see the Diamond getting hyped up but as anyone who's ever seen me climb will tell you I wouldn't be getting that far up a 8c/+! It's only 8b! I hope nice pics of the Diamond in the mag will inspire more people to open their horizons a bit and tear themselves away from LPT! Today in work I kept thinking about the route. I haven't really thought about it all winter as I was fairly sure I wouldn't get on it again. I wasn't interested in going through it all again.I went from thinking I was going to do it to falling off the first move in the space 2 and a half weeks. I decided I would only get on it this year if I was absolutely climbing out of my skin. Last year I had planned to train like a madman but in reality my training was not structured and intense enough. I was climbing ok but needed another 4% percent to reach the lower off. Today I couldn't help but think that I would probably do it if I put some real effort in. I m keen to get in good shape again whatever so I guess i ll just go with the flow and see where I am in august.there are lots of ifs and buts.its going to be hard getting to this level working away and if i did get a local job I would only get one day a week to get there which isn't enough. I guess I ll just see what happens.I know what jerry would do....

Ormesman of the Week - George Smith,hard FA crusher

2011-04-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Tony is of the opinion that some of my Ormesmen of the week don't actually qulify for the title as a true Ormesman has "climbed on every crag and done most the routes". I guess i agree with him, a few show stopping ascents doesn't make a true Ormesman but i'm widening the scope of Ormesmanship in order to make a more entertaining series!
George Smith is more well known for his trad antics at Gogarth and elsewhere than for his efforts on the Ormes. He does have some impressive first ascents to his name and spent a considerable amount of time climbing in the area. George was one of the early pioneers of the Diamond and must have braved that epic abseil off the top of the Little Orme trying to find his way through the mass of overhanging rock. Amazingly his Skip of Fools 8a+ is the hardest thing there (if you've seen this crag you'll understand this comment!). Never Get Out of the Boat has had several ascents since the Diamond renaissance with common opinion rating it as one of the best 8a's on the Ormes. I find the efforts of the early Diamondsmen very impressive as equipping the routes must have taken a lot of effort not to mention the small detail of getting in there. It's a stressful enough crag as it is now with the handline access! George also stamped his mark on Pigeons Cave with 3 first ascents. Until recent times this has been another place that has been left to rot. There is still 3 routes to re-equip down there. George's Stiff Upper Lip is a fantastic roof climb unlike anything else on the Ormes. Big burly moves lead you to a jug before a droppable last move. Pete Robins made the first ascent of this for a long time last year. Apparently George spent days and days trying to get to his belay before he realised he wasn't going to do it and dropped it a metre or so. The extension is a great project. George is also responsible for Wild Understatement, Parasite and Fair Sized Fish down on LPT. Wild Understatement was upgraded to 8a+ in the recent LPT boom years. Its like Statement only much harder (and thats hard enough!). Parasite is a route that was always looked down upon as a result of its proximity to Mussel Beach. The fact is though if Parasite has been done first Mussel beach would be the parasite! Its great climbing and is now justifiably popular. The top blue headwall must be sampled. On top of the Little Orme the esoteric Magic Flute 7c is another George creation and well worth seeking out. George is a North Wales legend, respect!

Watch out Ondra

2011-04-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen it already this video of Ondra onsighting Mind Control at Oliana is a must watch. Aswell as being well filmed and put together this vid shows the incredible level that Ondra is performing at. Since the early 90s there hasn't really been a clear 'best climber in the world'. We've had many hard routes put up but no one really breaking away from the pack. At this moment Ondra is breaking away from the current crop with every climbing day. I always thought that if onsighting got up to 8c/+ level then the climbers would need a large element of luck, perfect conditions and also would have to slap there way vigoruously up a route looking like they could fall on any move. With Ondra on this route we see him hanging out and shuffling on holds and taking time to make decisions. You really have no feel for how hard the moves that he is doing are. It really is remarkable. The fact that the route is flippin wet also makes it even more impressive and indicates that this isn't actually his limit. Truly historic footage!

BD athlete Adam Ondra onsights Mind Control (8c+), Oliana, Spain from Black Diamond Equipment on Vimeo.

In sharp contrast my arms felt tired warming up on a 3 bolt 6b yesterday! I went to check out some new stuff Lee Proctor has been doing in the Clwyd. He's done some good stuff. Me and spidey did a short 7a+ that was immaculate and contained probably the best move i've done on a route of this grade, a big dynamic slap where your hand travels miles. Very morpho! Then we went to a little craglet Spidey has developed. He has done 2 6's there and last year Danny C did a 7b/+. Spidey has a project there which he has been trying and falling off the last move for 2 years. I had a quick go, its a very Frankenjuraesque route with a crux involving a pocket and a heel hook.

I think he'll do it soon. Come on Spidey!
Lee repeated Danny's route thinking 7b:

I'm going to eat loads of salad this week and hopefully get on the fingerboard. The trouble is pascal doesn't finish training til 8.30 and i really can't be arsed by then. Everytime i go climbing its as so my arms don't know what i'm doing to them. They should, i've been at it 15 years!

Mediocre Excellence

2011-04-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

My routine Sunday afternoon jaunt was almost curtailed by rain today. Still i needed to climb so pressed on to a steep crag that i thought would be dry. Sure enough it was and i bagged a new 7a/+ that was very good. My climbing life is strange at the moment. I'm weak as piss, unfit and overweight and my arms feel like jelly after being on the rock for 5 minutes. Despite this i've had the most enjoyable start to a year ever and have done ten new routes. I've enjoyed all of them, they've all been interesting and challenging in there own way and i'm grateful that the old boys of North Wales left them for me. Things should be slowing down soon and i'll be re-aquainted with the long hard slog again. I've got 3 diddy newbies to do which should be fine and a good harder one then the last two i'm going to have to get a lot stronger for. Love it! Lee Proctor repeated Tony Stud and What Man Would? at Dulas. Thankfully for my grading insecurities he confirmed them at 7b and said he and his mate thought Tony Stud could be 7b+. Good to hear as i'd started to convince myself it was 7a+. They thought it was excellent too. One of my other favourites Black Wednesday has been touted at 7a+ instead of 7b but me and Lee still think soft 7b. Time will tell!

Ormesman of the Week: Jerry Moffatt - Orme Star Takes on the World

2011-04-02T02:38:00.000-07:00

Jerry Moffatt is an Ormesman who went on to make a big splash on the global scene. Jerry became one of the best climbers (maybe the best!) in the world but his climbing career started in the Llandudno area as he attended St Davids boarding school. This weeks research was easy as i have a copy of Jerry's autbiography, Revelations. If you haven't read it yet you should as its quite an inspiring read. You can order it here. Jerry started to get the bug on a trip to nearby Craig-y-Forwyn. It was there he met up with Andy Pollitt who was the same age. The two youngsters were very keen and soon they ventured onto the Great Orme. Andy wanted to try and free the aid route Mayfair. Jerry describes his thoughts in Revelations:

The line was blanker and steeper than anything either of us had tried before, by a long way. It just felt like a waste of time, as i really couldn't see any way it could be climbed, and felt a bit miffed at Andy's over-optimism.

They bagged the first free ascent, a trend which would continue through the 80s.
In 1983 things really began to take off on Pen Trwyn with many of the top British climbers heading there regularly. Jerry was right in the centre of this scene. Jerry describes sunny days on the Orme in his book. It sounds like not much has changed, music coming form the pier organ and the hustle and bustle of Llandudno. Jerry and pals slept in the Cave and enjoyed a simplistic life. Jerry first met Ben Moon on the Orme and the pair would hone their skills there. Jerry left his mark with two hard first ascents. Oyster was the first to go down. Back then it was a mere E6, these days its regarded as 8a! Jerry then climbed Masterclass as Wofgang Gullich looked on. It was 1983 and this was the hardest route in the country at 7c+ (although it would have been regarded as E7 then). No one knows if the route has undergone any significant changes (lost holds?) since Jerry did it but compared with the rest of the routes in the area this route is certainly worth 8a these days. Did Jerry crack 8a in 83, i guess we'll never know! In 1987 Jerry began his most significant Orme journey. He had noticed the line that would become Liquid Ambar after climbing Statement in 1984 and in 1987 he placed the first bolts in it:

Abseling down the line, i placed some bolts and confirmed my thoughts. It would be extremely hard, but there did look to be just about enough holds to make it climbable. It looked amazing, right up my street and i began to work on it. It took a lot of time to sort the moves out and i spent a good few days on it that year. It was extremely tough, much harder than anything else i had ever done and my attempts carried on into the following year

Jerry's attempts were curtailed by a motorcycle accident but he returned in 1990 and completed the ascent. In Jerry's book it is clear that this ascent meant more to him than almost any other. He had climbed Britains first 8c, a real cutting edge route of great quality. Liquid Ambar has only seen 3 ascents since 1990 which i bet Jerry would not have believed at the time if someone had told him. It is a bit of a shame it doesn't get more attention as it is a historical classic and one of the best hard routes in the country. It seems to be regarded by most as 8c+ these days. This route hasn't changed since the first ascent so grading it 8c+ has significant historical ramifications as it would have pipped Hubble to the post as the worlds first 8c+. I don't know whether this is right or not but i can guess what Jerry and Moony think about this! I came across Jerry a few times when i moved to Sheffield. I remember one occasion in the nightclub, Bed (now Sainsbury's). Jerry was walking down the stairs next to me and in shock i shouted at him: "You're Jerry Moffatt". He looked at me and a big cheeky grin came on his face:"thats right i am" he replied I was starstruck and spent most of the rest of the night hanging out by the mens bogs to get another glimpse of the legend. Last night i dreamt that Ondra tried to onsight LA, he got through the first hard section and the cocked up on the crux. Now there's a show i'd like to see!

LA:

KO Wall

2011-03-27T12:59:00.001-07:00

Me and Norm have developed a new little sector at Llanddulas. I bolted a steep line similar to Sticky Fingers back in early February and Norm bolted a line to the left and two to the right more recently. Today i did my route, quite nice and with a very distinct crux. The grade is 7b and the name is What Man Would?, after a chat me and Dyer had in Indy! Last week Norm did the line to the left at 6c, this is called Two C's in a KO. Norm also bolted two 5's to the right, he gave the first to Fran Gowling and Norm led the last route on the right himself, this is called Elizabeth Taylor. All in all a nice little addition. To get here follow the path away from the main cave on the same level. Very shortly you will see a smaller path breaking off right up the hill. Shortly Sector Ko becomes obvious to the right of the path. Then we got in the car and went to another Crag X. I did a new 20 metre 6c+ which is as good as anything i've done at the grade in North Wales. Was getting quite pumped at the top!

Two C's in a KO:

What Man Would?

Ormesman of the Week - Pete Robins, The Ticking Machine

2011-03-27T02:37:00.000-07:00

Pete is the most recent Ormesman. It is only in recent years that he's got properly stuck into the place and spent some significant time there. Pete has been climbing since he was quite young and up until a few years ago trad was the main event in his climbing. After climbing thousands of routes all over the place and onsighting many hard trad routes Pete fancied a different challenge and set about getting strong. I remember him failing on my problem Ain't No Party (7a+)in 2006. I also remember him absolutely taking ages to do Trigger Cut! In one of the greatest transformations ever he shed a load of weight, started training and climbed more overhangs. In a few years Pete went from finding Trigger Cut the living end to completing the 2nd ascent of Silk Cut! Talk about rags to riches. hollywood ain't got nothing on this. I guess the modern Ormesman needs to have cut his teeth in the Cave and Pete certainly has. He already has some impressive FAs to his name including In Heaven, The Wire and the seriously impressive Incredible Bulk. Petes trademark is his speed, don't blink as he sets off up Lou Ferrino as this takes about 0.4 seconds. With his new found beastliness Pete also went to work on LPT and soon got ticking through the 8's. The 8a's, Melancholie and Walking Mussel soon succombed and in 2009 he embarked on what would become an epic mission on the very classic Liquid Ambar. Pete spent over 20 sessions down there trying it relentlessly. I remember him going down one minging humid afternoon as the sea clag made everything minging. I thought he was mad going down in that weather but he'd driven over from the hills and was psyched. He got it done in September and you can see the ascent in the Welsh Connections film. In 2010 the LPT campaign continued and Pete added a new link - Wild Youth. The next obvious one was Infanticide which went down without too much of a fight. After a look at Big Bang, Pete channelled his energies into Sea of Tranquility and after another seige topped out on the 2nd ascent becoming the first person to tick the 3 big 8's of LPT, quite an achievement. Pete does his training at the crag and usually leaves absolutely spent. He finishes off his day lapping tough problems in the cave or by lapping 8as down LPT! Pete has an unwavering psyche which is probably one of his greatest strengths. It will be good to see what he gets up to this year, i know he's got a few things lined up, lets hope he doesn't dust off his rack just yet!
Melon Beach 2nd ascent:

Wobbly Block Back On

2011-03-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

I went to the cave today and resined the wobbly block back in place. It slid back into place so with the glue i'd be surprised if it came off again. It should be fine to climb on from sunday. Jump on fat bastards!

Check it out.

2011-03-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

The hottest new thing on the blogosphere is yorkshires very own sex machine, the man with the piston pumping levers and a tight little booty. No i'm not talking about Steve Dunning its this man

Tony Stud

2011-03-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

After two weeks off the rock i finally got to go climbing on Sunday afternoon. I have been doing pull ups down in Kent which help stop the rot but i struggle to find the motivation to do enough to actually get stronger. I really think i'm going to struggle to improve without climbing. It's a shame as i was starting to drag myself out of the doldrums a month ago but then i had to go away to some very terrible places. On Sunday i met some Sheffielders on the way back from LAMFF at Llanddulas. I belayed Lucy Creamer on a route as she got some pics for an article. Back in early February i bolted a line that Tony had tried on the Forgotten Sun Area. It follows Ralarwdins for the first 4 bolts then breaks out right up the blue headwall. Tony had struggled on a move or two, he had placed a high stud to work it but gave me the green light to fully bolt it. I was impressed on the abseil, i had gazed up at this wall before but never had the vision to think about it as a route. When i was off work i didn't get to try it as the top was wet. Yesterday I went bolt to bolt as a warm up which turned out to be a bad idea after not climbing for a while as my forearms went all jellylike. Regardless I managed to sprint it out first redpoint freestyling a bit. Its quite surprising that no ones done this as its quite an obvious line on a well developed sector, that is the beauty of North Wales i guess! The name is Tony Stud, as i was encouraged to bolt it by, Tony's high stud and he is a stud of course. Not certain about grade but its probably 7b, don't laugh me out of town if i'm wrong. We popped up to the main cave and i had a quick play on the first crux of my new roof project. It needs a good clean as is quite dusty but i was able to get a feel for it. I think i know how the sequence works, need to try it when i've got more time and i'm strong again. Back in work now, fingers crossed i'll get out next weekend again, loads more to do! Climbing is frustrating at the moment but the truth is i'm just happy that i love it again.

Ormesman of the Week - Andy Boorman, puller of strings.

2011-03-20T12:56:00.000-07:00

Behind every great movement there are those behind the scenes. Andy Boorman has not got the rack of FAs that some of the other Ormesman have but he's been climbing in the area since the 70s and has been involved in access negotiations over the years. In recent times he's checked lower offs and added rings to the crags and is one of the mian collaborators of the Bolt Fund guide. I'll let him tell his own story:

I moved to Prestatyn in 1978, taking up a teaching post at the High School. Cash was short so local climbing venues were very important and there was a great supply of keen youngsters in the school to get out and explore the crags with: Andy Pollitt, Dave Prendergast, Trevor Hodgson, Anthony Ingham and so forth. The Rowland Edwards 1975 guidebook Climbs on North Wales Limestone was our bible and we did a good job of ticking it and getting rid of the odd point of aid. Andy P swung leads with me on The New Dimension and Moon Shadow in 1980 and soon the pupil became the coach! He moved on to Jerry Moffatt and I linked up with Pete Bailey - a great man to have around on the scary parts of the Ormes.

Summer evenings were devoted to Craig y Forwyn and the Ormes, with chips then a pint in the Cottage Loaf to finish off the fun.

I'm not one for epics or accidents but in the late 90s some careless footwork just below the first bolt on Firefly led me to inherit a very sore arse, a cracked wrist bone and a large clip-stick!

Attached scan from my logbook page in 1992 gives a flavour of those grand days and evenings.

New 8a at the Mwyn!

2011-03-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

Sam 'mule' Cattell has returned to his old stomping ground of Pantymwyn near mold and done a cracking new 8a traverse problem. Spinal Tap starts on the lefthand side of the main crag down and right of the obvious hole on a flat jug. The problem traverses righwards into the finish of Be Ruthless. Mule has been climbing at the mwyn for over ten years now establishing nearly every problem. He says his new addition is the best one he's done there. Mules career has been blighted by injuries so its good to see him cranking although he never seems to be weak. In the hills he also repeated the sitter to the Caseg Groove,another 8a.

Ormesman of the Week: Steve Mayers - Early 90s activist

2011-03-12T13:48:00.000-08:00

Steve Mayers was an Orme activist in the late 80s early 90s. Steve is a well known British beast adding some significant new routes to North Wales and beyond. Although probably best known for his trad ascents Steve put up some good new routes on the Ormes including Youthanasia (8b) on LPT, Specular Reflections (8a) and The Shining (8a) on the Diamond. Youthanasia was briefly 8a+ but has long been regarded as 8b and not an easy one. Pete Robins described the top moves as some of the best on the crag. Steve was one of the early pioneers of the Diamond. It must have been quite something abbing off the top of the Little Orme onto the sea of steepness that is the Diamond. Bolting it must have been fun too. Steve got very close to climbing The Brute project and it was the photo of him on it in the guide that got me inspired to try it. Steve started the North Wales Bolt Fund in 1991 which helped fund the DMM eco bolt which became commonplace on the Ormes. Steve also authored the 1992 Rockfax guidebook to the area which was the first guide to include photo-topos. Still living in North Wales Steve is a partner/director of The Beacon Climbing wall.

Bonnie Extension

2011-03-08T13:12:00.000-08:00

Ben Bransby has climbed an extension to Bonnie in the cave.Ben had played on the line with Pete Robins last week.Pete was raving about the moves Into the top of werry's. The line needed two extra bolts.Ben returned today to bag the FA.Pritch was on hand to capture the ascent on camera.The grade is in the region of font 8a+/b.The full link from Lou Ferrino is an obvious challenge.

Meatsville Arizona

2011-03-06T13:01:00.000-08:00

I picked the right day of the weekend to go climbing this week. Saturday was all misty and damp so i pampered myself at the posh spa near me. I got out with Norm today, i wanted to try and finish off my roof project that i'd failed on last week. I was feeling the pressure as i'm just about to embark on a 12 day stint of work and i wanted to get it done. I played around with the bit i fell off last week and found some better beta. Then i belayed Norm on his project before pulling it out the bag on redpoint. There was some freestyling going on as i powered out but i managed to sketch up it. Its a great route, probably my 3rd favourite new route that i've done. I had been convinced that it was 7c+ but last week it felt easier so its probably 7c. Now for 12 days off work and pull ups. Hopefully i won't be any shitter when i go climbing next.
Vid with quality Norm commentary: