Well hear I am again hoping that the sun
mixes with tide and rock so I can get my project done, after having a play last week only to find out that it started to seep when it went in the shade at high tide thus making it a no go.
One week on looking out the window at a rather damp and windy day! yesterday was better a bit of sun in the afternoon making it bon and climbable, With a film crew on site (stolen from Tim) ready to catch the climbing it was all going well till after the first crux and the big move to the crimp apon high, finger tips over the grip and slipping off to plunge the 55ft into the sea.
Time's running out for me this Year i'v only a few days left before me and Lisa are heading to spain for a month of climbing First down in the blanca for a deep water solo fest at the orange house them up to the mountains of the north to getfit and live the dream....
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Well things seam to be coming together after a trip down to Ansteys cove in Devon a sweet sport climbing spot on the south coast, on a route called Tupance a route i first tried it must be three or four years ago where I made it must be said good progress on that day so long ago only not doing one move on my working sesh.
Well three years on iv done the move! With it I think I can climb the route I might have to spend some time playing on it but it will be done.
wile down in the west I headed to Dartmoor for a spot of van camping followed by an early wake up call coming from a Dartmoor pony popping his head in the open door to say hello I called him Tom!
From my early start I went up to Hound tor to do a bit of soloing before my coaching clients turned up for there days climbing on the perfect granit of the moor in the wind and sun, with a debrief over a pint at the Rugglestone in Wideacome in the moor. Back on the road it’s off to Portland to meet up with Lisa for her first climbing day outside in seven weeks! With her call on climbing venues she had us headed to Blacknor north and a redpoint she looked at all those weeks ago. Working the moves on toprope a few times to get her eye back in she pulls on for the lead.
Mean wile mike and myself on another long term project of mine Freaky Ralph a route witch starts with a nice 7a+ and finishes with a slaby 7a with a spicy V7 splitting the two, a new set of numbers witch include a slap to a poorer hold then a flick to the slide pull proper making the crux a different story the game was on, so two go’s down and finding out that I do need to move my foot before the slap I just had to step up one more time and sure enough after watching Mike fall off the slab sent it on my next run.
Well three years on iv done the move! With it I think I can climb the route I might have to spend some time playing on it but it will be done.
wile down in the west I headed to Dartmoor for a spot of van camping followed by an early wake up call coming from a Dartmoor pony popping his head in the open door to say hello I called him Tom!
From my early start I went up to Hound tor to do a bit of soloing before my coaching clients turned up for there days climbing on the perfect granit of the moor in the wind and sun, with a debrief over a pint at the Rugglestone in Wideacome in the moor. Back on the road it’s off to Portland to meet up with Lisa for her first climbing day outside in seven weeks! With her call on climbing venues she had us headed to Blacknor north and a redpoint she looked at all those weeks ago. Working the moves on toprope a few times to get her eye back in she pulls on for the lead.
Mean wile mike and myself on another long term project of mine Freaky Ralph a route witch starts with a nice 7a+ and finishes with a slaby 7a with a spicy V7 splitting the two, a new set of numbers witch include a slap to a poorer hold then a flick to the slide pull proper making the crux a different story the game was on, so two go’s down and finding out that I do need to move my foot before the slap I just had to step up one more time and sure enough after watching Mike fall off the slab sent it on my next run.
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Camping
Well not a bad camping spot on my working road tour, I came across this spot(Wardour Castle) when driving towards Gillingham Dorset a nice castle in the dorset hills i can recommend popping in if your in the area! best to do early morning before they open.
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Time
Well times a funny thing and she run's on apace and i see that its been awhile since i last tapped away!
Well whats been going on in this life of mine? climbing wise on returning from spain had me headed to the skymasters comp with fitness up all was set for a good few days fun, climbing and drinking. With that done and Easter around the bend looking at forecasts seemed little help with the planning so Lisa and me booked a ferry for france and Font, thinking that sat in the forest drinking coffee/chocolate in the rain was not the worst way to spend a few days, Who could of guessed that the sun would come out and make it lisa's best Font trip to date!
With the weather good on the south coast climbing on portland seemed a good bet so a few weeks working and climbing evenings brings us to now where i find myself again packing for Spain bring on the steep juggy limestone.
a picy of me in Newport standing around!
Well whats been going on in this life of mine? climbing wise on returning from spain had me headed to the skymasters comp with fitness up all was set for a good few days fun, climbing and drinking. With that done and Easter around the bend looking at forecasts seemed little help with the planning so Lisa and me booked a ferry for france and Font, thinking that sat in the forest drinking coffee/chocolate in the rain was not the worst way to spend a few days, Who could of guessed that the sun would come out and make it lisa's best Font trip to date!
With the weather good on the south coast climbing on portland seemed a good bet so a few weeks working and climbing evenings brings us to now where i find myself again packing for Spain bring on the steep juggy limestone.
a picy of me in Newport standing around!
Friday, 27 March 2009
Spain again
Well just back from spain again this time climbing with the French man Yann (the project maker!) with a special appearance from me bird Lisa.
On this trip i had a few goals 1= get fit/strong for sky masters 2= do a few 8a's 3= try and onsight one!
twelve days of climbing lay befor me so my thinking was little and often so only a few routes a day for me, Day one saw us at Forada sleepy but keen getting our eye's in doing a few climbs up to 7b+ then over to the house to settle in and meet up with the others.
El Bov was next on the list and redpointing the super steep Arcadia 7c after dropping the last move first go! Then followed a pair of days falling off flashing and onsighting 8's at Wildside and L'ocaive, not god falling off things but starting to build fitness up, More redpointing needed so back to Wildside to do Ergometia 8a with Yann's hands of rest near top helps! followed by a rest day only a 7b+ done this day.
The arrival of Leah Crane climbing in the sun saw us at Echo vally and again an almost flash of Shelter 8a sent 2point.
As climbing in the sun is overrated we went back to the dark side and i got back on Dimension Diamante 8a+, i was on this last time out but got shut down on the crux but this time pissed it pointng it second go.
More rest days followed only trying 7c+'s and climbing up to 7b's, then we went to the short crag of Murla 15 meters and i jumped my way up LaChaqueta Hidraulica 8a.
Then on to our last day what a perfect trip fitness up, four 8's in the bag climbing and chilling in sunny spain with friends life can't get much better?
With a late flight we went to Cabezon a long crag 40+ meters and is near the airport so good as can climb for longer, warming up on the best 6b+ and 6c+ anywhere i can think of, looking up at Columneta an 8a so long i couldn't see the top the only two bits of info i had on the route were gaz fell off it not a good thing to know he don't fall much and a small tufa pinch for your right hand i set off just seeing how far i could get.
Well finding a knee bar after the steep start 25 meters up and not falling off was a nice place to be, after resting a bit set of up the still steep but not quite so steep top, it went like this steady climbing hard move more steady climbing to side pulls on bad feet, pulling with all i had i found the small tufa with my left hand? pushed on past it to bad crimps and a jug i had made it this far im 38 metres up the route onsight hanging on a resting jug! i can see the chain now only one bolt higher up but the only problem is i can't see any holds! getting my feet up and reaching up finds me at a two finger pocket trusting this is the way to go i pull up again and found another pocket i still can't see any holds and seeing as this method has worked twice now i try it again and again and again and there it is the chain all i need to do is get my finger out of the pocket it seams stuck in and clip! Panic setts in as finger is quite stuck but no a bit of a hip wiggle sees it free and clip and relax 8a onsight in the bag whoop whoop.
On this trip i had a few goals 1= get fit/strong for sky masters 2= do a few 8a's 3= try and onsight one!
twelve days of climbing lay befor me so my thinking was little and often so only a few routes a day for me, Day one saw us at Forada sleepy but keen getting our eye's in doing a few climbs up to 7b+ then over to the house to settle in and meet up with the others.
El Bov was next on the list and redpointing the super steep Arcadia 7c after dropping the last move first go! Then followed a pair of days falling off flashing and onsighting 8's at Wildside and L'ocaive, not god falling off things but starting to build fitness up, More redpointing needed so back to Wildside to do Ergometia 8a with Yann's hands of rest near top helps! followed by a rest day only a 7b+ done this day.
The arrival of Leah Crane climbing in the sun saw us at Echo vally and again an almost flash of Shelter 8a sent 2point.
As climbing in the sun is overrated we went back to the dark side and i got back on Dimension Diamante 8a+, i was on this last time out but got shut down on the crux but this time pissed it pointng it second go.
More rest days followed only trying 7c+'s and climbing up to 7b's, then we went to the short crag of Murla 15 meters and i jumped my way up LaChaqueta Hidraulica 8a.
Then on to our last day what a perfect trip fitness up, four 8's in the bag climbing and chilling in sunny spain with friends life can't get much better?
With a late flight we went to Cabezon a long crag 40+ meters and is near the airport so good as can climb for longer, warming up on the best 6b+ and 6c+ anywhere i can think of, looking up at Columneta an 8a so long i couldn't see the top the only two bits of info i had on the route were gaz fell off it not a good thing to know he don't fall much and a small tufa pinch for your right hand i set off just seeing how far i could get.
Well finding a knee bar after the steep start 25 meters up and not falling off was a nice place to be, after resting a bit set of up the still steep but not quite so steep top, it went like this steady climbing hard move more steady climbing to side pulls on bad feet, pulling with all i had i found the small tufa with my left hand? pushed on past it to bad crimps and a jug i had made it this far im 38 metres up the route onsight hanging on a resting jug! i can see the chain now only one bolt higher up but the only problem is i can't see any holds! getting my feet up and reaching up finds me at a two finger pocket trusting this is the way to go i pull up again and found another pocket i still can't see any holds and seeing as this method has worked twice now i try it again and again and again and there it is the chain all i need to do is get my finger out of the pocket it seams stuck in and clip! Panic setts in as finger is quite stuck but no a bit of a hip wiggle sees it free and clip and relax 8a onsight in the bag whoop whoop.
Friday, 27 February 2009
Spain
Well just back from the Blanca with a nice stay at the Orange House with Gaz P, Shauna C and charlie E.
The one overriding feeling is that i need to get fitter, not just a bit fitter tho i need large amount of fitness i can hang on for a point or two but as for onsighting its just another game.
Saying that though not a bad trip considering that be for going out the years tally of routes was at a hedonistic tally of about 10 climbs on the rock stuff! The first day was just a case of doing a few easy routes in the sun as id not slept much and was recovering from setting at the Academy the day be for, Then the climbing started proper getting out of the sun and into the shade of caves and the dark of north, With Crags the likes of Wildside, El Bov and Forada.
the ascent of the week has to go to Shauna on climbing her first 8a in the shape of Watermark at Wildside sella working the climb with Gaz's sequence of putting your thumb in a whole on crux move we went for our first redpoint trys, i managed to pull though the crux and on up past the easier climbing to the chains bricking it on the easy ground all the way hoping i wouldn't mess it up. Shauna tho after getting her thumb in on the action missed her foot sequence and peeled off the crux.
So on to day two of redpoint land she worked up the route sorting the numbers and getting warm, so second point! getting past the crux surely its in the bag but no dam footwork. So round three and guess what yep that's right feet again not such a problem on round four with a picture perfect ascent, a sweet effort as 7c was her hardest climb up to this, i'd recommend not sitting out on those dancing lessons from now on sort out dem feet.
With a few more days of trip left i made short work on another 8a/8a+ at Forada and finished up climbing a long standing project for me a 7b+ at Wildside i was working ten years ago!
The one overriding feeling is that i need to get fitter, not just a bit fitter tho i need large amount of fitness i can hang on for a point or two but as for onsighting its just another game.
Saying that though not a bad trip considering that be for going out the years tally of routes was at a hedonistic tally of about 10 climbs on the rock stuff! The first day was just a case of doing a few easy routes in the sun as id not slept much and was recovering from setting at the Academy the day be for, Then the climbing started proper getting out of the sun and into the shade of caves and the dark of north, With Crags the likes of Wildside, El Bov and Forada.
the ascent of the week has to go to Shauna on climbing her first 8a in the shape of Watermark at Wildside sella working the climb with Gaz's sequence of putting your thumb in a whole on crux move we went for our first redpoint trys, i managed to pull though the crux and on up past the easier climbing to the chains bricking it on the easy ground all the way hoping i wouldn't mess it up. Shauna tho after getting her thumb in on the action missed her foot sequence and peeled off the crux.
So on to day two of redpoint land she worked up the route sorting the numbers and getting warm, so second point! getting past the crux surely its in the bag but no dam footwork. So round three and guess what yep that's right feet again not such a problem on round four with a picture perfect ascent, a sweet effort as 7c was her hardest climb up to this, i'd recommend not sitting out on those dancing lessons from now on sort out dem feet.
With a few more days of trip left i made short work on another 8a/8a+ at Forada and finished up climbing a long standing project for me a 7b+ at Wildside i was working ten years ago!
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
Out of the box
Well the day started well waking up in Clifton Bristol overlooking the bridge, After a big Bowl of porridge on to the climbing Academy for a spot of coaching for the uni climbing team and coffee on tap.
Well with the weather shinning and work Finished the outdoors was calling and a few hours later i found myself on Dartmoor! After getting a bit stuck getting into the car park at bonehill i pulled on my new climbing shoes the La Sportiva miura VS's, i can safely say that they performed beyond compare on the small granite crystals making the climbs of my usual circuit a path, not so good on the snow but cant have every thing!
Snow+Sun on the Moor from Gavin Symonds on Vimeo.
Well with the weather shinning and work Finished the outdoors was calling and a few hours later i found myself on Dartmoor! After getting a bit stuck getting into the car park at bonehill i pulled on my new climbing shoes the La Sportiva miura VS's, i can safely say that they performed beyond compare on the small granite crystals making the climbs of my usual circuit a path, not so good on the snow but cant have every thing!
Snow+Sun on the Moor from Gavin Symonds on Vimeo.
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