Blood Lust

It seems like Winter has finally gone. It was a brutal affair spanning 6 months and while the ice freaks were having the time of their lives putting up amazing new routes keen rock jocks like myself were dreaming of cragging in a T shirt. Most years, sport season kicks off in March but this year the Marine Drive was temporarily shut as massive snow drift blocked the road. I had been climbing inside all winter with some forays outside and on the fingerboard. Weighted deadhangs were getting me strong but strangely enough my elbows didn't seem to like me hanging 30kg off them. I tried repeaters but they hurt my skin! So i spent the majority of the time pissing about on the board. A couple of weeks ago i had my first day on a rope for 6 months and got very pumped on everything. It was so nice to be out though, I've always preferred climbing continuously up a cliff to spending most of the day stood on a bouldering mat. I decided to try and tick Llanddulas to make myself do some mileage. I had 9 6's to do and Tony's route Tenacious T, 7b+ on the Tower. Tenacious T turned out to be a cracking route. It starts up Resist the Race then breaks left via some tenuous sidepull and backhand moves. Halfway up you get good footholds and can lean in and get a no hands rest. Then there is another tricky link to the top which felt hard on first acquaintance. I managed to get it first redpoint to tick the crag (72 routes). It is one of the better routes on the Tower along with Resist the Race and Vegas Nights. Most people still can't be arsed to walk any further than the Upper Cave though. I also went to Mayfair Wall in an attempt to do some mileage and ended up getting on Oyster which I'd dabbled on previously. I felt strong on the moves and started redpointing as it basically boils down to a few moves. It follows Bearded Clam (7a+) to a good shake then tackles a super burly crack. The key moment was a beta suggestion from Dave Evans which meant it was on. You know when you're working something and your belayer is shouting up beta suggestions despite never trying the route and it never works - well this time it did! It's crazy to think Jerry gave it E4 6b 30 years ago. Today it's 8a and rarely climbed. Moffatt was ahead of his time! I only need to Masterclass now to complete the Triple Crown. I've got a feeling it's going to be a battle. I had planned in winter to try and tick these two routes and make them a priority. You can't think of them as quick 8a ticks (unless you're really good!). They are old school and a lot tougher propositions for most than the modern style routes down LPT. I put another bolt in Masterclass today after the ledge belay. Last year i pulled the big flake jug off Masterclass with a metal bar. I also pulled off the big flake left of Contusion. I looked at the possibility of doing a new route there but couldn't really see it. It was a big gap between The Bloods and Oyster but i guess no one had bothered because of the flake. When lowering off Contusion the other day it looked like a worthy proposition. There were some cool crimpers in the white rock and there were a couple of holds on the left edge of the scar. The rock wasn't great on these holds but they were big enough for it to be ok. After doing Oyster i stuck 4 bolts in the new section. The route would start up The Bloods and rejoin it at it's last bolt at the top. I returned today with Pete Harrison to give it a go. The moves were really good and there were some mean little crimps and quite sequency feet. I was pro and made sure i had a good sequence dialled and managed to bust it out on redpoint. It was touch and go though and cold fingers didn't help. Difficulty wise i think it's at least as hard as Body Torque Direct which gets 7c but it really needs another opinion as it could be 7b+. The name is Blood Lust keeping with the Blood theme and also my mangled thumb from Oyster. Anyway it's one of the best walls on North Wales lime so any new route there is special. We have the greenlight to bolt the old extensions to Axle, The Bloods and Mayfair. This will turn already 3 star routes in 30 metre monsters. It just needs someone motivated to get stuck in, hopefully i'll get the time to do a bit.

Curse or a Blessing?

Sometimes i question the merits of having an all consuming obsession like climbing in your life. For myself and many people i know it is apparent that once climbing became something far beyond what you would simply class as a 'hobby' then inevitably it would be to the detriment of other aspects of life. I'm 30, have little in the way of financial security;I don't own my own house, have no pension or significant savings. Of course getting the balance right is key to having a fulfilling life. To achieve your sporting dreams and aspirations whilst furthering your life by more standard parameters is a tricky ask for the majority. Dream climbing ticks for the average human won't sustain you in later life or provide you with a good standard of living. So obviously the key is balance and plenty of people manage to get the balance right. I think humans who have been 'lucky' enough to find something that they find truly exhilarating are in a way cursed. The mind will be dependent on a repeated buzz to truly feel alive. The mind drudging monotony of a normal boring routine will be a proverbial vampire for the soul. So many people i meet just want to 'get ahead'. Work, work, work, achieve financial security, retire, die. The latter option befalls so many and it is this i want to avoid. Anyway onto some climbing!

North Wales has many superb boulder problems spread amongst its diverse array of crags. There are significantly less that i would class as exceptional i.e. they would hold their own at some of the global top areas. Recently the exceptional list has been bolstered. Pete Robins has put up several pearlers in Ogwen including a recent new 8b extension to Danny Le Rue. There are IMO half a dozen or so problems that deserve this classification but one of the best i've seen is Nodder's new problem Roof of Baby Buddha 7c+ just outside Betws-y-Coed. There are a fair few famous problems that i've seen in Swizzy that aren't as good as this. The problem takes a big roof with a perfect start on big jug. Tensiony slaps up perfect edges lead to a satisfying top out. The rock is great, the line is as pure as they come and the climbing is equally fantastic. I hope i can get it done before it gets wet or it warms up and i get tempted by routes. The boulder is up a private road and it is pretty tempting to drive up and park near it. It has become apparent that if people do this access issues are inevitable and so park at the bottom people. It's only a ten minute walk anyway and just not worth jeapordising such a classic .

Photo of me on it by Craig 'Ducko' Davies:


And the man himself crushing it:

Denbigh Quarry

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:

Force Majeure - 7b - First Ascent from Luke Owens on Vimeo.

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.

Pilgrimage 2nd Ascent

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!

Training Life

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:

Ten of The Best

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:

Nicest hold?

Thanks to NWB for some of the pics.

Mid Winter Blues

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:

Best of the Westies from Chris Doyle on Vimeo.

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 :).