Back in the saddle

Well after three weeks in rodellar it was time to head home, with arms failing to do there stuff we decided to give ourselves an extra day to drive home. Ending the trip after 52 days away not a bad way to spend the summer.
The only problem with this is now I'm balls deep in Christmas decorations putting them up for he next month all around the country from Southampton to Glasgow. 

I did manage tho to get a few hours off to go to the opening round of the Climbing Academy's first round for there winter boulder league, tho to manage this I did have to drive on Friday to peterbourgh work most of the night get up early then drive back to Bristol to start climbing at 12!

It was at this point that I found out that wile I'm quite fit and can pull V5 moves after 30 meters of climbing this is my limit and can only do V5 off the deck as well I think some boulder training is in need!!

Shoes

I think iv spoken of this before at some time in this blog! But I must rave and rant about the c limbing shoe that is the speedster from sportiva, when I first got a hold of this shoe I had a quick play and thought that this is a shoe that has a narrow field of play ie steep.
Well hear I am in the land of the steep and tufa Rodellar and I must say. That I was bob on with my summery the way the speedster makes you use your feet difrantly with the funky Rand turns your feet into little claws you push pull and hook your way up climbs with them I can only offer as everdence of this in my climbing of resant times, looking back though my 8a.nu score card all my hardest climbs have been done in the speedster, from red pointing 8b to on sighting 8a's the speedster has come up trumps.

last legg

well hear we are on the last leg of the trip Rodellar,
after looking at a crag on the way hear the boys and girls thought fuck it might just as well get on it at up and come to the crag of crags. we got hear in the dark so armed witha torch we went to find a spot in the campsite then got our heads down for the night.
so an lazy morn and a few coffees we headed you the valley the only thing on mikes and mine mind was getting back on les chacals an 8b i looked at last year but went away with the route unclimbed so i went up to get the draws in and i was in for a shock it was so much harder than remember there's no way i can get up this!
so as a look i went for a point and as i expected came up short, falling off the mid crux so working it more i then headed to the top.
mike was in the same place as me with the crux stopping him as well so after a rest and waiting for the sun to go behind the hill i pulled back on, by some luck of some sort i got though the crux into the first rest this might be game on last year iwas falling just one move short of a jug can i make it this time. well the rest is history i got to the move and i said to myself don't PANIC slow down and do it right and the jug was in my grasp get in a few more moves and glory and a big jump off from the chains.

Tres ponts

Tres ponts been hear just over a week, I just so love this crag short walk in and a nice relaxing feel always a few folk around to watch climb and get the numbers on the harder routes also saw daila send the crag 8b in fine stile it looked like she was just warming up the girl can crush, for me tho some on sighting in the 7 grade and pointing the 8's one of witch An 8a that took me three days to point I later found out that a hold has broken and in the new topo it now gets 8a+ so feel a bit better about it taking so long to send.
From hear With mike and T dog coming down from france and mike showing me the way I stepped up the game with flashing another 8a mite modens, getting the next one second point Rauxa, and first redpoint of a 8a+ Carbassa pel tap de bassa

Spain

Home at last, well when I say home I mean Spain. Lisa and me after dropping Ed off at the airport drove down yesterday and now we are at Montgrony and sat at the restaurant after a nice morning's climbing where Lisa found a project for her to ork and send.
Since the last time I checked in we first went to bus les baronies and climbed around there after a morning taking a wonder around the local morning market, at baume Rousse I warmed up and then got the draws in a route I had seen last time I was down this way, the route Les Secrets de Regine 8a felt ok with a hard move at the start and finish went ok on the third point after falling from the top move on the second burn.

From hear after Steve sent his second ever 8a on his fourth point a sterling effort, we headed to St Leger where after a a few days of sweating and saying it far to hot so many times I lost count ( iv never sweated from inside my ear before) we have as I said come to spain.

Week one

With a nice but quite long drive down thru France we arrived at Ceuse, with camp set and a few beers looking at the crag from the safety of the campsite we got t planning the climbing the following day.
Walking up the hill the next day in the full sun was quite fun but ok at a slow pace, climbing on the other hand although the best ever was quite hard work falling off a 7b+ something that's not happened for quite some time! I think the last few weeks plus the drive has taken a bit more out of me than I think.
Another day on followed by a rest day and it all starts to come together feeling like I can climb recover on good holds and get stuff done. Having been hear a week I think it's time to move on try out new crags and get projects done so heading west before turning south yet again !
IMG_2065.JPG

Week one

Week one
With a nice but quite long drive down thru France we arrived at Ceuse, with camp set and a few beers looking at the crag from the safety of the campsite we got t planning the climbing the following day.
Walking up the hill the next day in the full sun was quite fun but ok at a slow pace, climbing on the other hand although the best ever was quite hard work falling off a 7b+ something that's not happened for quite some time! I think the last few weeks plus the drive has taken a bit more out of me than I think.
Another day on followed by a rest day and it all starts to come together feeling like I can climb recover on good holds and get stuff done. Having been hear a week I think it's time to move on try out new crags and get projects done so heading west before turning south yet again !

The List

Adrenachrome, Lulworth 8a
Pump up the beast, lulworth 8a
Windowchrome, Lulworth 8a+
Christine, long quarry point 8a
Cutlass, Berry head 8a+
Balance of Power, Portland 8a
San simeon, pembroke 8a
The Wizard, pembroke 8a
Jaws, pembroke 8a/7c+
heal hook look, north wales 8a

This is I think the list of 8a and above DWS's in the uk, up until recently having done a few of them I thought would it be possible to get them all done?
So the mission started but where to start, I'd done three of the ten one being a harder version of Adrenachrome also on the list, But a strong team and fair weather saw me headed to pembroke,a good as place to start as any!
So jaws it was to be then and it was in the best condition I'd ever seen it, I thought I'd chalk it up from a rope then have at. Two goes later standing on the top of the route thinking well there's four of the ten done I might just manage to do this challenge I set myself, so off to bed to mull over the day and hope for good weather and the wizard.
Well rain the next day put pay to the wizard so with a quick weather check Devon and Chistine was calling, so five hours later and a small sleep we went to long quarry point.
I'd tried the line before ground up so keeping with theme Bob and me took it in turns to have a play, a few splashdowns later I got to thinking that some chalk on the holds might help so down I went with brush and chalk to have a look! Well from a rope it made no sense as the roof is so 3D, so I slapped some chalk on things that might be holds and came back out to continue playing from the bottom up. So again with many splashdowns but making progress each time I finally made the crux slap followed but a flick to a jug and glory.

The Azores movie

http://vimeo.com/13281696
Sent from my iPad

New times ahead

Well it seams that I'm not very good at keeping things up to date so iv come up with a plan, I'm going to do a monthly update this gives me a nice deadline with witch to keep things moving along.
Im going to start as from now so I'll give you a brief overview of what iv been up to up to this date in time, since I last posted iv been to the Azores looking for new DWS ( I'll post a vid) as always been working a bit but had a week off chill last week and headed to pembroke for a bit of solo fun, I got on Jaws an 8a first put up by Timmy Emmett iv wanted to do this route for so long and it was supper cool to finally get it done. From hear a day of rain saw us headed south for a nother route that's been on the list for I wile Christine down at long quarry point at Ansteys in Devon,

Spain and Skymasters

Well with the send of Tuppance in the bag i packed my bags and headed to spain to get some Spanish sun! Dave and myself landed in sunny Mercia and drove up to the Blanca and wildside getting there in the dark finding a dos spot we parked up and got to making dinner and bedding down for the night thinking that the stars re out lets try out my new sleeping bag under said stars, well a few hours later and putting the tent up in the middle of the night in the rain things were not looking good!
So a lazy morn and climbing in the rain on a damp and cold wildside we decided to head back south chorro hear we come. five hours of driving later and again finding a dos spot on the top of a mountain and cooking dinner in the dark we settled down to sleep and not learning from the first night i slept out under the stars, dave not risking it and opting for the tent.A dry night saw us having coffee the next morn with the best view but shortly after we found the nice looking but very very wet crag of loca.
this pattern followed for the next few days moving around finding some nice crags but climbing the dry rock ie stuff in the sun was trashing our skin as was to hot and out of the sun it was wet.
we found ourselves passing thru chorro stopping to do afew routes then going up to Displomlandia and finding a route i try'd a few years ago but failed on so again went looking for a nice dos spot and found it in the form of an Olive grove, we bedded down hear fingers crossed for good red pointing the next day. So Mar de Ortigas 8a i went up working the moves and warming up all good so far, i came down jumped around a bit to stay warmed up and ten miutes later tyed on to have a go, a further five minutes later i was at the top thinking why dident i do that last time its not so bad! so coming down i thought why not try the 8a+ to the right iv not done two 8's in a day before so moved the draws over and started working the moves on that. So two redpoints later and first falling off a big move near the top and the last move with arms feeling spent i was close to calling it a day when dave said just try one more time so a coffee in town and a nice rest saw me not only sending it but in a fine style.





So back home a few days work first route setting in dublin then building a climbing wall closer to home, also a few comps first CWIF at the climbing works a wicked boulder comp, and then Skymasters at the outdoors show at the NEC.
now getting the van ready for another trip down to spain to get amongest the Spanish boulders of Allbracin happy days...

Tuppance

Well at last The seal has been broken I have reached the 8b garade in
theform of climbing Tuppance at Ansteys cove Devon. A route that gets
8a+ in the guide but knowbody says it is it is much harder ie 8b
This route marks a bigstep up in my climbing as is a route iv worked
over along perord of time, I first got on this route it must of been
five or more years ago with rob Sutton and on that first try I did all
but one of the moves ( the crux ).
So from hear I'd go down once in a wile and have a look at said move
but alas no luck, the move consists of a deep drop knee to a crimp for
me holding this crimp comming out of the drop knee and moving the
right hand is the hardest part, I got on the route late last year and
on that day I did the move only once mind you but this was enuf to let
me know I could do the route! So with this In mind I set to training
on my weekness in climbing.... crimps
This all came together in march with almost sending it on a Monday
then comming back on wensday and climbing it making a very happy gav
now where to go from hear will have to look around find a new
project ! .....

E-mailing you from my phone because this is the 21st centuary after
all...

comps and climbing

so since my last update i'v had some time off that rubbish work thing do do some climbing, well that was the plan when going to font! not the best thing to happen the day before we turned up was a big dummping of snow. so a nice load of picturesque walks looking at bocks that were unclimbable saw us driving home boots unpacked and the only use for our bouldermats was as a nice sledge.
I also had a bit of a trip to the london first building a big volume then setting for the last round for the King of the mez at the castle, the comp went well with a nice split in the men and women thenks to mr j partride turning up to show all how its done.

March started well with aweek of training down in the shed on portland and sportclimbing for the first time this year on the west coast fine days had by all, March is also the month for comps getting off to a fine start with the last round o fthe leage at the Climbing Academy in bristol, with around win and comming joint first in the final head to head the leage was in the bag.
Comps now on the cards are the cwif at the climbing works and skymasters at the outdoor show at the NEC brum. So what to till then i think a short trip to spain should fill the gap nicely ill keep you posted on how it go's !!

well what a start to the year as per norm not much climbing done but have been deep in the land of Wall building this time in Stoke on trent for Awesome walls. A big boulder wall with easy climbing downstairs and not so easy climbing up stairs!

Three weeks later and all done saw the best weekend of the year so far with the sun out Mike Langley and me in the peak, a touch of Stanage to get our eyes in on sat then over to burbage with a flash of the nose and a resend of westside story after the pebble came off, Then we went over to The Terrace for a quick send not a bad weekend and a good starting point befor going to Font next week!

New Year

Well into the new year and time to start anew! it all went a bit wrong with the blog at the end of the last so now ill start afresh.
Well last year was bizy times with getting back from spain was running around all over putting up Christmas dec's and building climbing walls, So not much climbing to report as of such.

surrey wall

in the far north

Xmas saw a turn in form with a little climbing after an aborted trip to font dew to weather we went down to Devon and i had a play on tupance at Ansteys cove a very classic route that feels well like a send is on the cards!


new year night at Swanage

Stoping with bez

Work was calling again so back in the van and heading to London we stopped off on Portland for new year and a day bouldering at the Cuttings on Portland had me feeling on top form with a growing list of projects!

spain road tripping from Gavin Symonds on Vimeo.