Over the last year or so Ryan Mcconnell, Luke Owens and friends have been developing a sweet little crag near the castle in Denbigh. Like the Dyserth crags this has been climbed on before on trad and top rope but the boys have been putting up some very nice bolted routes. The rock is interesting and featured and quite slopey in places. Last week Luke topped developments with a great looking new 7b:
The crag will feature in the forthcoming North Wales Lime guide but for a few more details check out Lukes blog.
As sport season (hopefully) approaches here's one from last year. Some phone camera footage of Pete Robins repeating Corinthian Groove (8b) on the Orme:
Below average temperatures are forecast until mid April so unless you catch Malham or Dinbren on a sunny day there's not much fun to be had on a rope for the wimps.
Alex Barrows has made quick work of Malc Smiths Pilgrimage in Parisellas. Pilgrimage (or The Big Link as it was always referred to) is a historic piece of Welsh climbing. In the early 90s long before the Cave was a popular and recognised bouldering destination an in-form Ben Moon got close to making the FA. The problem was written up in the first Northern Soul despite being a project and its legend grew in Cave circles. In 2004 legendary strong man Malcolm Smith invested considerable time and money (1000 pounds worth of fuel driving down from Scotland) and made the first ascent of the link at 8b+ or F9a. Over the years it has repelled would be repeaters such as Danny Cattell, Mark Katz, Gaz Parry and even Pete Robins who has done most of the links in there. Although all the moves are achievable for many the main undercut crux section is hideous after climbing the first half. Barrows has put the time into the Cave recently and has found kneebars on most of the links he has done. The rubber pads have resulted in the most minor of knee scums being utilised to bypass otherwise pretty burly moves. His sequence on Pilgrimage is quite something. He knees down on the arch to get into RA. At the start of RA he shakes out with a kneebar. The first serious move on Pilgrimage is getting your left hand into the penultimate pocket on Rocka. Here Barrows walks his feet round, gets a knee in and shuffles his left hand into the pocket. Then he rolls over to the Trigger Cut starting hold a la Malc and at the undercuts crux he walks his right knee into a knee bar and here he can get a almost no hands rest before the finish up Beaver Cleaver . Barrows reckons his sequence is worth 8c+. I think most people who have a affinity to the harder problems in the Cave will feel slightly saddened about these classic hard links being made easier. They've always been such meaty, inspiring challenges. It's not quite the same seeing them climbed with shakeouts at various points. Having said that they are still meaty bits of climbing and i for one still don't think the majority will take their kneepads to the Cave. The kneebars on Trigger Cut have been known about for years and still most try it without. Barrows kneebars in particular are so leg length specific and tricky that they will never be popular. All of this creates a nightmare for guidebook editors (poor Mr P). Anyway Spring has nearly sprung, its almost time to get the rope out!
I haven't blogged much of late - i haven't been climbing outside much and there has been nothing newsworthy to report. I'm pretty pleased with myself however as i've finally managed to get in the training groove. I always doubted whether i could curtail my rock obsession in the short term to get some bigger gains in the long term. The weather was terrible in December so there wasn't much of a decision to be made. My form hit a big low - a combination of not doing much and hitting the dreaded 12 stone mark- over half a stone up on Summer. Some people panic when they get over there fighting weight and immediately act to do something about it. At this time of year i couldn't care less and the sensible strategy for me seemed to be train heavy then slim down in route season. I wasn't climbing on rock much anyway so didn't need to be on top form and if i could get strong at this weight the eventual weight loss would surely have a greater impact. After a few demoralising board sessions my form started to improve. Ben Pritch had been raving about a weighted deadhang regime he had done in summer so i thought i might aswell give it a go. It only takes 30 minutes twice a week and is fairly painless. I did get stronger after a few weeks and was back up to doing some of the usual's on the board despite my obscene waistline. I'm working away now but Kendal Wall is only 45 minutes away. The training room has a 30 degree board full of wood and resin nubbins for feet. At first i was a bit dismissive of it but after climbing on it i reckon it's perfect training for British lime. So my immediate future looks to be an indoor one while i sit the winter out and hopefully get some spondoolees in. As long as injuries keep away i should be in form come the Spring. I have been outside a few times ticking a 7b+ and 7c link on the Box that i'd never done. Today we glued the Rockatrocity foothold back on so if the resin does it's job it should be there for many moons to come.
So i doubt they'll be much acitivity on the blog until warmer times when we can go all down to this amazing place:
Bouldering on the Great Orme has been made famous by the often maligned Parisellas Cave. The Cave is an important and popular venue (people don't travel hours to get here for nothing) but there are plenty of gems on the Orme that i think are often overlooked. Most of these have better rock and are more aesthetically pleasing than Parisellas. I went out to the high sunny walls crag yesterday to try this - A superb old school wall on brilliant limestone that has never seen any attention. I thought it would be good to do a ten of the best list of none Cave problems to hopefully inspire people to broaden their horizons!
Tramps Tea Party, 7c+, Elephants Cave
I've blogged about this quite a bit recently so won't say too much. A good, funky addition. Had two repeats already and a downgrade!
Swing of Fire, 7b, Breck Road
A superb and radical limestone boulder problem. A massive roof is crossed using an undercut at the back before the frustrating and brilliant 'swing' move. Seems unlikely for the grade:
Bellpig, 7c, Split Infinity
Unlikely and very satisfying when you hit every slap. There's more to limestone than just pulling down!
At 1:19:
Snout,7c,Norman's Wisdom
A powerful line through a steep roof that still hasn't seen many repeats. When Danny C was still a rock climber.
Ain't No Party Like a Pill Box Party,7a+,Pill Box Wall
Jump start then lovely limestone holds direct up the steep wall. Climb up to easy ground and jumpy onto the box for the full tick. Good fun from the links too.
At 1:28:
Where's My Hippo?,7a,Pill Box Area
A really satisfying 7a that was rediscovered by rediscoverer Ben Farley. Some lovely holds.
vid:
Fourteen Years Later, 7c?, Pigeons Beach
A true board style problem with some great powerful climbing and a top out to boot. Worth the effort! Conditions dependent and tidal.
3:12:
Flashpoint,7b+, Sea View Walls
Probably the best new problem i've done. High overhanging wall with jug, tufa and committing finish. Would have a permanent queue if was roadside and perma dry. Major flaw - needs a dry spell. Perhaps the best problem on the Orme?
1:31:
The Spray,8a,West Shore
Really THE grade 8 bloc of the Orme. Impressive short, pure line on a freestanding boulder. Extremely tensiony and burly first move. FA by the Mule when he was going really well and potentially 8a+. Proper bouldering, 3 moves. Really deserves the attention of some beasts:
Silence of The Trams,7b, High West Shore
Located on the sunny walls above the road on the back of the Orme this was recently put up by Ben Farley. Different from the other problems on the list as it is slightly on the other side of vertical and old school in style. Essentially one move off a piss poor (but sublime) sloper. Perhaps 7a+ (?) but would undoubtedly feel harder in summer.
Vid:
The mid winter blues have really kicked in - this really is the worst time to live in North Wales! Summer was extremely wet but this time of year is even worse, it's so grey and dreary. I miss climbing routes and the buzz of the sport scene. Everyone is hibernating and the hustle and bustle of the Orme scene is a distant memory. I've been fantasizing about warm afternoons down LPT just as the crag is coming into the shade. Ahhh.... I miss the endorphins and to add insult to injury i'm very heavy and so pulling down is now too hard. In truth i've lost my zest but need to think for the future and get training. It's good to have some down time in the year and i certainly don't need to be a beast in December. I went down Pigeon's last week. The pebbles are quite low and we climbed some great roof problems on the ladder wall. These deserve recording IMO, the two we did were like the left wall of Angel Bay but better. Mule repeated Fourteen Years Later and Limehouse, 7c:
I've uploaded a few more of my old films to Vimeo.
This one's from Hueco in 2007:
It's ever so slightly racy but no where near as bad as my first effort from 2003, Stonedlove. If anyone thinks they can handle this i will give them the password but i warn you it's not for the easily offended and is very immature indeed. We were young though :).
After finishing uni in 2004 i embarked on a epic climbing trip to the US with some fellow loons. The following 3 months were unforgettable, of course there was lots of quality climbing and amazing ascents but there were also lots of epics along the way. I managed to capture a fair few ascents (and epics) on my little camera. On my return i was living with Some Climbers hard gritter Dan Honneyman and he let me use his PC to put together the film. I got some covers printed out and managed to flog a few on UKB. It went down pretty well and they kept trickling out to across Britain and beyond for a few years to come. It was especially nice sending them abroad. These days i don't watch it much but whenever i do it makes me smile. It was the kind of trip that won't happen again. Everyone's too old, with girlfriends, jobs etc.. Anyway it crossed my mind that i should get it online to keep it alive. I considered a torrent but i preferred to have it more easily accessible so i upgraded my Vimeo account so i could upload it. It's pretty long, is very immature but hopefully people will still enjoy it 7 years later. It the greatest achievement of my amateur film career! Enjoy:
Some other bits. A relic of North Wales bouldering that is actually dead. I don't think Mr P's intro in the old Northern Soul coastal crags pamphlet can be beat:
A strange place to climb you might think; so close to a busy road, so devoid of traditional ambience; so fucking hardcore. The initial assault on your senses might send you scampering back to the mountains and pretty views. that is, if you fail to notice just how perfect this crag is. Believe me once you've gotten stuck into one of the many superb redpoint links you'll be so absorbed that you won't even notice the passing of the world beyond the confines of this magic little garden.
Every winter i tell myself that i'm going to train like a beast and come out in Spring and blitz the sport routes. For several reasons it never quite happens and i always find myself lamenting another missed opportunity. The main reason is that to train properly you have to curtail your outdoor sessions a bit and i find that hard to do. I love climbing on a board but i love climbing outside a lot more. I find it hard to do any training when i get in from the crag and i don't like feeling tired when i'm on the crag. Last winter i pottered about outside (only climbed 7c), did little training and was still ok in spring. I feel like my recent ticks have set me free in a way. I managed 4 years of bouldering ticks in 6 weeks, plus the FA i really wanted so don't feel so guilty about going inside now. Plus i'm definitely out of my purple patch now (probably due to an expanding winter waistline) so don't feel like i can keep crushing in the 8's. Every time i see one of those wads training videos i feel a tinge of guilt. I'm trying to achieve my potential at a sport with minimal proper effort. I know climbing is training but know how much i could benefit from a few pull ups and a deadhang regime. I figure if i can climb F8b/+ and 8a boulders by pottering about outside i could improve with some effort. I'm a lazy twat though so these grandiose plans may come to nothing.
I have been out to Ogwen a few times. I managed to do Pit Traverse, a classy 7c that i've always fancied. I failed on Pit and the Pendulum 7b though, seemed nails. Yesterday i was up at Lily Savage, it was too cold and a bit seepy. I tried a project up there and failed to repeat Paul o Grady (punter!). Hosey B style proj giveaway, right of Lily Savage:
Vid of Alex despatching Paul o Grady:
The best 7b in North Wales fo sho!
Then i played on The Spawn 7c+, i'd never even seen this Katz problem and was suitably impressed. I can't believe it's had so few ascents actually as it's one of the better hard problems if you ask me, very Swiss-esque. The start is super steep and there's plenty of beta options. I'm definitely keen to try this again to see if i can work out a sequence.
Jordan made a flying visit to repeat Tramps which he did with minimal bother. I think it's going to end up as 7c+ which is ironic to me as i've never been so sure about the grade of an FA. On the other hand for once i don't actually care, i'm still relieved that i managed it after all that effort.
