The end of a wet year

Dry days- 178
Days of rain- 187

Well, that's the end of 2011! All of the Turkish Delight and walnuts are gone, there are still some mince pies and Brazil nuts left, and my as yet uncut cake As far as bouldering goes it's not been the best year, the weather has been against me from the start. Having said that, I've managed to put up a few new problems which I'm proud of which is always good. The new routing had taken the focus away from other projects such as the Keel and The Silverdale stuff, although its been a bit wet to do a lot of my Aims. Also this year I've managed my first half marathon in the Cross Bay Challenge which I thoroughly enjoyed. Losing the Old Man was a bit of a dip, but recently leaving his ashes on a Munro helped bring closure.

So life goes on, with all of its ups and downs. Despite all the ups and downs and lack of goals being achieved, I think 2011 has been pretty positive despite the roller coaster ride. I'm looking forward to a 2012 with fewer downs, more ups and more bouldering goals ticked. All in all things look pretty positive for the coming year.

Happy New Year to everybody!! I'm off to celebrate with my 6th alcohol free day. See you all next year.

Horizontal Snails

Dry days- 178
Days of rain- 185

Annual leave today. And guess what? RAIN! No surprise there. After dragging my ass out of bed, I headed out for a walk. Due to the short days I decided to go somewhere close, so a Kentmere revisit was on the cards. There was no parking in the usual place by the church so I went to Weak Sam's spot, which was free. It was pissing down as got my stuff on, then stomped up the Garburn Pass track. There was a couple who set off as I was getting dressed, so I followed them up the track. At the summit I hung a right and headed towards Yoke. There was snow on the ground at the summits, but the ground was sodden. At one point avoiding a bog lake was impossible so I ended up with wet feet before the first Wainwright top. Great.

Between Yoke and Ill Bell the Westerlies blew with a vengeance. It was hard to walk, and the horizontal hail didn't help. I stayed behind the couple as I couldn't be bothered putting any effort in. Foswick was achieved easily enough in a clear spell with old views, but then the wind and hail came back with an extra spurt of enthusiasm. Heading to Thornthwaite Crag the woman in front kept getting blown over, as did I (albeit less so) then at one point she obviously took a glove off as it then sailed horizontally somewhere towards Harter Fell. I didn't bother going to the summit of Thornthwaite Crag as conditions were bloody awful, although I overtook the couple here. After this I stomped through snow and slush towards Mardale Ill Bell. This is when the hail softened to snow, then back to hail. The snow was ok but the hail hurt like hell. The snow hail combo (hence, snail) continued past the summit of Mardale Ill Bell, down to Nan Bield Pass, and all the way to Kentmere Reservoir. After this it seemed to settle, with occasional flurries.

I was back at the car by four, after five hours of snail blasting to the face. It was getting dark so after getting changed I headed home. I'm making a turkey biryani, which has taken two days effort but smells excellent in the oven. I hope it tastes as good as it smells, I'm hungry.

The wind down to 2012

Dry days- 178
Days of rain- 184

A belated Happy Christmas to everyone. I hope you all had a good one.

It's remained wet here, so I've not managed to get out. After a decent Christmas, today the Doc and I went out for a walk around Entwisle Reservoir to get some fresh air. It was pretty busy and lots of the trees had been decorated, plus cards dedicated to various late loved ones. It all created a bit of a Blair Witch atmosphere. Red Wall was soaking, so that's one for next year. Rivers Of Blood SDS was the only aim I achieved this year, so looking forwards I've come up with a fresh set of ten for 2012:

1. Finish my Red Wall Link Up Project
2. Boulder 7c. I think the Red Wall project will be this grade, so that is excluded.  It'd be nice to do a 7C that doesn't instantly get downgraded too.
3. Get a house that I can build a woody in
4. Build a woody, and more crucially, use it
5. Tick two problems from the last few years Aims For lists
6. Run a marathon
7. Go to Font
8. Do at least ten Munros and ten Wainwrights
9. Stop drinking and get fit
10. Read ten more books from the BBC Big Read top 100

Number 9 comes from too much to drink at Christmas, although it's a theme I've needed to address for some time. The weight has been creeping inexorably upwards, the waist expanding. Thus I haven't drunk since Christmas Day and I'm planning not to for a while just to see if it makes much of a difference.

Number 10 is obviously off topic, but after War and Peace and Anna Kereninananina I have read Catch 22, and am keen to get more of these books read- just started Pride and Prejudice.

Obviously this year has been fairly wet, guaranteed more wet days than dry days now, and time has been an issue. Next year I am hoping to get out more if the weather allows. A house move and a board would help no end, but that's something to address in 2012.

As ever, too much to do but too little time. I may go for a walk tomorrow, as the forecast is wet.

Dank Days

Dry days- 176
Days of rain- 180

I think the wet days are going to win this year.

After final Christmas shopping this morning, it was a sunny day so I headed over to the project R-Man and I cleaned recently. I found that the mud washes down the crag as the cracks were filled with it. It was wet, but due to the mud it wasn't even possible to towel it dry. I had a brief play on what will be the easiest line, but it wasn't the day to try it. So now I'm home and making icing for the cake.

Winter Wonderland

Dry days- 173
Days of rain- 176

I went to see the family Mac yesterday. MadMac and I had planned to walk up a couple of hills, the plan was Beinn Dorain and Beinn an Dothaidh. MiniMac 1 was up at 6:45 so we were ready at a reasonable time. We drove up easily, the roads being in good condition, and parked at Bridge of Orchy station and set off before ten.

Getting to the bealach was quite straightforward, apart from one steep section. We opted to wander up Beinn an Dothaidh first as navigation can be difficult in mist or cloud. The only downside to this plan was that no one had been up the hill recently so we had to blaze a trail through fairly deep snow. It took a lot longer than planned to get to the summit, although the weather was amazing. Clear skies, cloud free tops, crisp. A bit windy with spindrift but you couldn't really ask for better. Looking back down all we could see was fields of white snow with our tracks piercing through them.

I scattered a few of the Old Man's ashes at the summit cairn, then we stomped back down. By the time we were back at the bealach it was gone 13:00 so after a discussion we opted to leave Dorain for another day, as there was only another 150 minutes of light left. After something to eat, we headed back down and drove back to Glasgow whilst listening to Napalm Death's most recent album, very good actually.

Still full of the lurgy, been two weeks now and it's not going yet. Pain in the arse.

Brief Report

Dry days- 171
Days of rain- 172

R-Man, the Ginnster and myself had a day looking at wet quarries today. We found a couple of possibilities, R-Man did a nice crimpy wall and I saw a fox.

Over and out.

More rain

Dry days- 171
Days of rain- 171

More rain!!

I went for a run this morning, just the short course in the rain. I certainly didn't feel very fit. I'll need to get back into the running from January.

This afternoon the Doc was off shopping in Preston, so I popped to Wet Poo for an hour. When I got there I realised I'd forgotten to bring my shorts, so I ended up climbing in my jeans. The problems had been reset, so I had a go at flashing as much as possible. As usual I managed to flash a few V5s and most of the easier stuff, but then got shut down on anything harder. Consistent if rather unimpressive.

Im hoping the weather will be less crap this week, still need to get out on real rock!

Holy Crap!!!!!

The water soaked iPhone is working! Zero battery life, but a sync means I haven't lost anything which is fab. And to boot, I was due an upgrade in February so I've now put in an order for a new phone.

All is well in the world. Except for the weather. The financial crisis. War. Taxes. Religious disputes. Disease.

Oh well.

Weather Warnings

Dry days- 171
Days of rain- 169

The recent weather has been pretty rubbish, to say the least. Yesterday I decided I would go out anyway. An interesting decision considering the gales hitting the UK, with various road closures and weather warnings.

I opted to walk up a Wainwright, in order to get some numbers up. As I was Blob herding after school, I opted for one of the smaller and closer hills- Loughrigg Fell fitted the bill. Getting there was fun due to high winds, and areas of flooding on the way there. I had t o drive through various bits of flooded road, with a few inches of standing water. Eventually I arrived and headed off in the rain.

It wasn't too bad going, although the path was a river. Evidently I was in the Lee of the hill as when I was 100 metres from the trig point I encountered the full force of the wind. I literally could not stand up, but being the stubborn person I am I crawled to the top, then back down again. The pain from the hailstones travelling at the motorway speed limit pursuaded me not to walk up Silver How on the same day. Winded and breathless due to the high wind, I headed back down.

Back at the car I found that my phone, which I had in the bottom of the rucksack in a poly bag, was more like a goldfish that you win at the fair- sloshing about in a poly bag of water. iPhones and water don't mix, so I think this is an insurance job. At least I got out for a bit. I wonder when the rain will cease. Off to do some Munros next weekend with MadMac, I hope the weather ain't as bad then!


The road past Windermere:

Moss, Rain and Hiding

Dry days- 172
Days of rain- 165

The forecast was changeable for today, but when I woke up this morning it was shitting it down and was windy to boot. After a brief text exchange, R-Man and I opted for a wet day wandering around dank Lancashire venues looking for bouldering.

First up was Billinge Hill Quarry which was impressive in its verdant nature. We stomped about getting wet, then cleaned a few bits and bobs. There's some rock there that may be worthy of attention, but it will require some cleaning. After a while getting muddy and wet and smacked in the face by Rhodedendrons, we decided to move on.

Next up was Central Quarry. We parked up, and hopped over the fence and into the quarry. Generally the quarry was disappointing. There are some nice looking lines over on the left, which are unfortunately obscured by the piles of logs. On the right are a couple of potential boulder problems, usually requiring a patio to be built.

With wet feet and mud coated trousers, I met up with R-Man at Withnell Quarry. The quarry was working today, so we had to jump the barbed wire fence then sneak round to the left end and Brick Buttress. Nothing special here. We tried to look at the right end, but that meant we couldn't sneak past without being seen so we opted to leave it for the day.

Some things to look at. Let's hope that the rain stops at some point.

Blown Away

Dry days- 171
Days of rain- 160

Doc jnr 1 and I weren't keen on going to a swim party today. It was clear and sunny, so we opted to head to the Kebs. When we arrived we discovered it was blowing a gale. We walked the length of the boulders, struggling to walk, before calling it a day and shifting to Widdop with soaking feet.

There's a lot of work going on at the Widdop dam, and the temporary path goes down then back up. At the boulders, the ground was waterlogged. I did Red Edge problems, the scoop and the other easier problems. After a while we called it a day as soggy feet meant I spent more time drying shoes than climbing.

We dropped in on BeardyBeast on the way home for a coffee and mince pies, along with Postman Pat. Lovely.

Wet Day Wanderings

The Doc and I went for a walk in the rain this afternoon. We had a wander past Cadshaw and around Entwistle Reservoir. I noticed that the Red Wall had loads of blocks at its base, obviously trundled from loose stuff at the top of the crag. More annoyingly, the nice tree in front of the Red Wall had been cut down. I hope whoever did this is coming back to tidy all the mess up.

At f**king last

Forgot to say the bike's brakes are sorted and now has an up to date MOT and Tax. Wooooo!!!

Wilton Wet, Denham Trashed

I went to Wilton One this morning, but as I drove South past Abbey Village the cloud thickened up. I wandered around Wilton One but everything was wet due to condensate.

As I headed back home I thought about the recent reports of fire damage at Denham, so I thought I'd take a look.

Basically, some fools have set a fire under Crap Pot- this fire was obviously very hot as it has taken the surface layer off the crag. The damage is localised but still significant. The only surviving hold on Crap Pot is the right starting hand hold. The higher holds that are slapped to are gone- the flakey area they existed on has peeled off. This is unfortunate, as these are also the crux holds on The Denham Traverse.

So basically two of the best hard problems here are destroyed, and no longer possible. I would strongl suggest this section of the crag is left well alone until natural weathering over the next couple of years stabilises the surface.

Gutted.

Blackstone Edge Revisit

Dry days- 169
Days of rain- 157

Bit of a delay in blogging, apologies!!

On Sunday a team of us went to Blackstone Edge. This was due to the re-write for the new Brick, as well as the topo I had done for the Edge 3 years ago. Gordon and Bruce (Goodwin) hda kindly agreed to join R-Man, myself and the Ginnster to look at what I had documented and what was done in the last 40 years.

It was foggy/ cloudy at the White House. We wandered into the small quarry, then on to the crag end. The cloud dropped into an inversion and left us basking in the sun. Unfortunately this didn't last, and we soon ended up back in the cloud. We looked at the Back Edge, I showed Bruce all the stuff we'd done before- much of which he said he'd never seen climbed.

After this we headed to teh Trig Area, much of what BeardyBeast and I had done before were old problems, as expected. Wandering along to the Hueco Block area we again found much of what was old and rediscovered matched up. Interestingly, Bruce knew that what we had referred to as Ape Hour and Nik's Traverse were done years ago by Nick Conway. Heading further right most stuff matched again.

R-Man and I had a look at Ape Hour. I was getting fingers on the top some goes, but getting nowhere on others. The drifting mist probably didn't help. R-Man used a typically R-Man technique and beasted it. A couple of his friends arrived from the Peak, whilst The Ginnster and myself wandered over to the right and did some of the good easier problems. There's a foul mantel that we tried as a dyno, big move and one to get back to.

After this I had one more go on Ape Hour but discovered my skin was ruined. We wandered past the Trig Point to the Crag Boulders. The Ginnster failed to cruch the Double Arete/ Blackstone Best. R-Man and Gareth.PB.info had a look at BeardyBeast's Fridge Hugger, but PastyKid and I had to head off. Later I found out they had done it, and the shamelessly stolen video is below. Seems to be a consensus of 7b+/7c.

Keen for a re-visit sometime, still lots of work to do.






R-Man and Gareth.PB.info on Fridge Hugger:

Wilton Mist

Dry days- 166
Days of rain- 155

I took the bike in for its MOT this morning. This was 12 months overdue as it has been sat in the garage all that time. Therefore I wasn't surprised when it failed due to the brakes not running freely. I ended up leaving it at the garage so it was 11:30 before I got home.

This afternoon I went to Wilton, only to find it full of mist. I looked at R-Man's new problems but they were damp. Sex in the Woods felt awkward, but having seen R-Man's vid I was doing it rather differently. I briefly tried Barbara's Man, via another daft sequence. After this I looked at Midgesquito Crimpelopes. I snapped the left hand sidepull that I had used for my sequence. I tried an alternative method, but it was also greasy.

I ended up back at the graveyard area, trying my pinch project. I was getting close using some completely different footwork. Another to go back to.

Venue Choice Incompetence

Dry days- 163
Days of rain- 155

Today I intended to head out to Brimham, but being lazy I didn't get away as early as I had intended. I decided to go somewhere a little closer, and after Probes' recent comments about Charlotte Rampling Direct I decided to hit the Kebs. I sent the BeardyBeast a text to this effect.

The Sun over Chorley faded as I went along the M65, and by the time I was heading over from Burnley the mist was on the hills. Helpfully, BeardyBeast texted me at this point to tell me the Kebs were covered in mist. He did, however, have coffee and chocolate brownies so I carried on and went to chez Beardy. I sat in the car to hear the end of the Armistice Service, then headed in. D-unit was Ben 10ing, Mrs Beast had been sent out shopping (more halloumi). After a coffee and a bit of brownie, I opted to head back West to see how the weather was.

As I headed home it brightened up. I thought I'd have a look at Wilton one. A fair bit was wet, so I had a look at the Graveyard area, initially doing the traverse link. Then I did various eliminates. I ended up trying a new eliminate involving a pinch on the arete and a big move to get a foot on and slap for the high sloper. It felt pretty tricky and it's left for another day.

Need to get the 'bike MOTd and taxed, it's all due. Maybe this week. How come I now work part time but have even less free time than ever before?!?!

Crowds of Children

Dry days- 159
Days of rain- 154

Drizzle this afternoon so the going out plan was shelved. I had an afternoon at Wet Pooh which went reasonably well. I managed quite a lot up to the usual V5 level, fell off a couple of V6s that I should have done and got a fair bit of mileage in.

I'd been there an hour and a half when all the climbing lessons started and I found myself spending more time waiting than bouldering, so I did some easier problems and then left. The forecast for my day off tomorrow is poor, so I may continue the half arsed Wainwright ticking in between child herding. We shall see.

Pissed Off

Dry days- 158
Days of rain- 152

Went to Earl. Failed on everything. Again.

When will I learn that Earl and I don't get on and stop going back? Fuck it.

Ghost Goat

Dry days- 156
Days of rain- 148

Today I wandered to Wet Pooh with Doc Jnr 1. I wasn't great, started off okay by doing a V5/6 first try and loads of V5s. I didn't manage anything harder, and went downhill fairly quickly.

The evening was spent doing some Pumpkin etching. The Ghost Goat is here!! (bit of an in joke I'm afraid)

Bloody Weather

Dry days- 155
Days of rain- 148

I had planned to head to Brimham today as Met Office said all was dryness. BeardyBeast was invited, but duly declined with the reasonable excuse that he is in Font. Git.

So I headed East this morning in the rain of Lancashire. Met Office still said dry o'er t'other side. At Colne it was still raining and the skies ahead didn't look promising. By Kelbrook it was still raining, and a quick check of Met Office now said rain all day at Brimham. Brilliant. So I turned round and came home.

After a trip out to Tesco (woohoo) I opted to go for a run. I haven't run since the Cross Bay, which was over 3 months ago. I didn't have a particular route, so I just set off at a gentle pace and listened to Van Halen. At 1 hour 15 my left knee stopped me, popliteus again i think, so I walked the last mile home. Looking it up I managed 12.4km, which isn't too bad I suppose.

Oh well, if this is grit season JB I ain't impressed.

As an aside, had some health news about a good friend of mine of 17 years- you know who you are, all the best for the op and the recovery. Thinking of you, mate.

Brimham Revisited

Dry days- 152
Days of rain- 144

I forgot to mention about last Sunday. I had planned to meet R-Man for some new routing/ guide checking, but Sunday morning was a bit wet. I ended up heading to Lower Montcliffe to have a look at R-Man's new problem, but everything except for Bach was wet. I played on Back, but basically got spanked. Again. I think this is nails!! After this I ended up heading to Wet Pooh with my sore skin and managed to flash a few V5s, but still failed to tick anything harder. Sack o' cack.

Fast forward to today. Lord Pasty and I had opted to head to Brimham, the Doc and her SiL agreed to come along. When we arrived, we wandered to the Pommel area and found an in situ Ginnster. The ladies went for a wander, so I got my kit and proceded to be, erm, brilliant. The mist was down which didn't help, but I did Pommel to the top out, which was wet. Then I did Back Dog Arete to the top out, which was wet. Ginnster insisted on jamming his way up these aretes. We had a brief look at the hanging flake SDS, which felt impossible today.

We moved to the Hole in the World which had kicked my arse last time. This time I was armed with the heel/ toe beta. I was getting close to matching the lip, but then opted for method B: LANK!!!! Anyway, i managed it after a few more goes. And if anyone wants to claim it ain't 7a that way, then it should be downgraded and all you shorties can accept yout beta is duff ;-)

We then went over to Pair in a Cubicle, which is becoming a Nemesis. Today I was really close to nailing it, sliding off the final belly flop. Next time, when it's cold, I'll nail this sucker. Pasty Lord had a look at Murky Rib, and once he remembered he had feet nailed it very smoothly.

We all left after this, although as a NTS member I seem to have been given a parkign ticket. The Doc, SiL and I stopped off at The Bull at Broughton for a late lunch. I've never been, despite having eyed it up numerous times when driving past. The food was excellent, a little pricey but at least to the standard you'd expect at this level. Well worth a visit.

Repeating

Dry days- 148
Days of rain- 140

I went back to the Wiltons today. I headed to Wilton 3 initially and had a look at the small roof, but it was in the shade and therefore cold and not the best place to warm up. I wandered across to Wilton 2, but there were some guys there shooting. I don't think they were part of the gun club as they parked outside the gate, evidently not having as key, and hadn't put a flag up. So because of the L255OEV boys, I sacked it off and went to Wilton One.

The Outside of the Prow was much drier than when I went with R-Man, so I had a look there. My own Pocket Wall Sitter went down quite easily, and felt more 6c in the dry. I then looked at Robin's Wall, and tried it using my original method. This time I was pulling on with the left hand nasty sidepull, then got a high RH to a shit sharp crimp. Then slap left to the obvious sloper crimp, sort feet and a crux slap to the finishing edge. Felt about 7a+ to me. After this I did the sitter to something R-man and I had looked at before but not really tried. This started off a big flatty, snatched up right to a sidepull and then another snatch to a higher sidepull. After this a tenuous high foot gained the finishing edge- 6b+ I felt.

After this I tried Midgesquito Crimpelopes, and was slapping up to the left hand crimp but never held it. I think this is one to go back to. Anyway, video:

Bog Stomping

Dry days- 146
Days of rain- 140

Yesterday I was off until school pick up. The weather, typiclly, was foul. It was blowing an gale and absolutely chucking it down. I really didn't want to mooch about the house, so I ended up thinking of alternatives- and lighted upon my Wainwright books.

As a child I've done most of these hills with the now late parents, but never kept a record. I went through a phase of nipping up one or two hills on wet days a few years back, but got out of the habit. Fed up with getting nothing done, I jumped in the car and headed to Kentmere.

The roads in were bordering on flooded, with standing water everywhere- thank goodness for Quattro!- and the rivers were verging on bursting point. Walking up to the Garburn pass, the track was a river. From the summit of the pass I headed left and up to the summit of Sallows via a swim through ankle deep bog. No view at all here.


Looking cheerful on Sallows in the rain





After this a bog trot gently down and back up got me to Sour Howes, which consisted of mounds of bog that all appeared higher than the one you were stood upon, until you got there. After a stand off with some cows i had been up every mound to make sure I'd ticked the summit, then admired the view:




I retraced my steps towards Sallows, then skirted left where the path crosses the wall and headed back down to Garburn Pass. A gentle amble back down had me back at the car, a tad wet but pleased to have got out and done something. 2 hours round trip, including all the wandering over mounds at Sour Howes. Don't feel hill fit though. May see if MadMac wants to do some Munros this winter.


Looking towards Sallows from Sour Howes

Weakness and Sore skin

Dry days- 144
Days of rain- 138

At the weekend I finally managed to finish clearing my Dad's house, so I'm hoping I'll have a bit more free time soon. My day off seems to have coincided with crap weather etc recently and it seems an age since I've done much.

I've just been to West View, and it certainly shows evidence of my lack of recent activity. I was only there for an hour and a half, my skin was really sore pretty quickly. I didn't manage anything harder than V4 but had a reasonable session. It certainly felt a lot harder than it should!!

Off tomorrow, but the weather looks crap again so I may just wander up some Wainwrights or run. Not done any running since the Cross Bay, and I've got the Manchester Marathon next April.

Arse

Dry days- 142
Days of rain- 134

The forecast was rubbish for today, but looked better out East. I hasd planned to head to the Cliff or Brimham, but this morning was breezy but dry with bright blue sky so I decided to save time driving and go to Silverdale.

As I headed North up the M6 the skies darkened and there was occasional drizzle. When I got there conditions were poor, I had a handful of goes on Screaming Slave but realised I was onto a hiding to nothing so left.

For some reason a lack of any motivation at all infected me. Despite the skies clearing as I headed back home, and the sky being bright and blue, I simply couldn't be arsed going out. So here I am, being grumpy and sitting inside. Fuck it.

New Routing

Dry days- 138
Days of rain- 131

This morning I met up with R-Man at the Wiltons for some looking-for-new-stuff action. We wandered through Wilton Four, which was wet, then Two (which was wet) and then to Three, which was half wet. In the end we headed to W1, which was also pretty wet.

We wandered down to the far left end, noting a couple of possible lines and doing some cleaning and tidying. Then we headed back to the Outside of the Prow. This was also fairly damp, but we had noted a couple of things to try and got to work.

The arete left of Fingernail went at around 6b- we had planned to do it on the right, but the logical line started on the right then skipped round left to the jug. We then looked at the wall to the right, which didn't get on with me. My right foot kept popping, so I tried a more direct using a foul LH sidepull that was only 2 tips and threatened pulley injury or laceraction. I gave up, but R-Man persevered and was ultimately successful using a typical R-Man sequence.

I looked at the wall further right, the stand up going at 6a+ ballpark. The sitter was an onvious challlenge, and a few minutes with a trowel flattened the ground and revealed a decent foothold. I sorted the moves, but it took time to link. Eventually Pocket Wall was born, it felt about 7a today but it was a little damp so take that with a pinch of salt. Still more to go back for, and then there's R-Man's guide.......

Video

Should've gone to Woodwell

Dry days- 134
Days of rain- 128

The weather has been pretty rubbish recently, and I'm on school run and therefore didn't have too long. I had originally planned to head to Woodwell, but in the end I went to Wilton One.

First up I had a look at the block in the hillside opposite the Prow as I'd never looked at it before. It yielded a nice wall problem at about 6b, tough first move. Then an arete on its left, about 5, and another wall round right of equal difficulty. I also did a nice dyno at about 6a, but a nice move.

After this I wandered past Remembarete, which was green and soaking, and ended up at the Prow. I did Get Your Font Tick Here, quite a nice set of moves, then had a couple of goes at Robin's dyno which I failed utterly on- I'm presuming he used a high right foot, but this put me well off balance. I got very close to the Yoga Dyno, frustrating, then did a little traverse across from here. At this point I managed to get a shard of glass stuck in my left index finger. It went in pretty deep and I had to pull it out with my teeth. It wouldn't stop bleeding, so I ended up calling it a day. I'll need to keep an eye on it as it's a prime wound for flexor sheath/ pulp space infection.

Crap little vid will no doubt follow soon.

Wilton Two

Dry days- 132
Days of rain- 124

I had a spare hour, so what better way to spend it than in Wilton Two looking at R-Man problems. I looked at Purple Feel, which was in the sun and roasting. I managed the first couple of moves OK, but the move to get the left hand into the slot puzzled me. I never nailed this one.

The Down Low was in the shade and thus next up. I did it in a few goes, keeping the left heel on rather than spinning round to a right heel a la R-Meister. This then made me think about a lower start, from the left arete into The Down Low. I had a look but one move releasing a toe hook was hard to do. I got it done after numerous goes, felt about 7a to me. I did the left arete on its own at 6b, both aretes at 6b adn failed to do a slap to the apex at around 6c+/7a due to ruined skin- the arete is sharp!!

Sp once more, stuff to get back on. A day of heels 'n' toes.

Drizzle and WoR

Dry days- 131
Days of rain- 124


I headed up to Woodwell today, after chatting to Weak Sam yesterday (he mentioned the left crimp on AOSD looks like it has been chipped). It was pretty drizzly all morning, but started drying up towards midday. I couldn't be bothered with the Wall, so I opted to risk an outdoor trip.

WoR, if I had theoretically gone there, would have been dry but a little greasy. If I'd tried climbing there I would have written the following account:


I had a look at Deal in Pain. It didn't take long to suss what was required. The sitter into the RH hand undercut was easy, a sneaky left hand sidepull/ undercut thing helped sort the feet to get the left hand edge static. The next two moves are the meat of the problem. I was getting a right foot lock in the obvious cup shaped hole, although the little spike was agony. This allowed me to slap the high right hand sidepull, and almost hold it. The limiting facgtor here was the amount of pain the footlock caused. Deal with the pain, too right. After this I had a brief look at Prohibition Exhibition, but my first failed slap suggested more than one mat was required. I did Australian Werewolf in Silverdale, then had a few more plays on Deal in Pain. Once the heel pain was too much, I left for home.

So, I'm off tomorrow afternoon so I may have a look at the Wiltons, there's still some newer R-Man problems I haven't tried. I'm hoping to get out a bit more from now on, now things are settling more. Been getting the itch the last few weeks when I've been busy!!

Hill Strolling

Dry days- 126
Days of rain- 114

I had big plans for this weekend- the Doc was in New York, so I had 4 days to play. I had made an itinery for these 4 days which would tick 15 Munros, sleeping in the back of the Big Car and drinking beer.

Yesterday I dropped the Doc and friends at Manc Aerodrome at 6am, them popped back to pack stuff before heading North. I arrived at Glen Shee before 2pm. Buoyed up by a Tesco Cheese and Onion pasty thing (Sorry Rick) I stomped up The Cairnwell, then Carn a'Gheoidh and finally Carn Aosda. The weather was nice, I felt good and I was back at the car in 2 hours and 40 minutes. I drove towards Braemar until I spotted a nice layby, and stopped. I read 20 pages of Anna Karenina, drank 4 cans of Stella and ate a bowl of chilli I made yesterday. After this I bedded down in the boot having set the alarm for 5am.

5am came to the sound of rain. I looked out the window and decided to get another hour's sleep.

6am arrived- it was drying up, still some drizzle and mist but better. I ate some Weetabix then drove round to Inverey. After putting the Stella casns in the recycling I got going at 7am on the 8km cycle up Glen Ey. Now, I am no cyclist and my ass aches as I type. There was another guy and his dog that set off before me, although he seemed pretty quick.

It was pretty clear initially, and it took me an hour to get to the Altanour ruin. I dumped the bike and started walking. I was planning to follow the McNeish route, but as thunder was forecast later on I decided to reverse the route, so if I had to bail the remaining hills were accessible without repeating the cycle.

The stomp up Carn Bhac was hard- shin deep heather, bog and midges. I also ended up going over the summit of Cam Creagach, which needlessly added 300m of ascent. It took 90 minutes to get to Carn Bhac from the ruin, but it all looked calm at this point.

Next up was a bog march. Very tiring, sucking bog for 5km. And then it started to rain- gently at first so I put on my waterproof jacket. I took a direct line (read: miserable slog) straight up to the Beinn Iutharn Mhor ridge. At the point the heavens opened and with 60 seconds my trousers were soaked. I sprinted to the cairn where I took some shelter and put my waterproof trousers on then ate some lunch.

The guy I had seen leaving Inverey appeared at this point, going clockwise. It transpired he does mountain marathons, explains a lot. I headed down to traverse around to Carn an Righ but as I got to Mam nan Carn the torrential rain turned to hail, then rain, then hail. This I wasn't too bothered about despite being like a drowned rat. What was more of an issue was the repeated bolts of lightning hitting Cam Creagach summit. Rolls of thunder were all around and I turned tail and headed down. It was 6km back to the bike, then an ass murdering 8km back to the Big Car and the rain didn't let up for a second. The cycle back was through standing water, biut I was so wet by then it didn't matter. The cycle back was much easier than the approach, and the whole trip had taken 6 1/4 hours.

At the car I dismantled the bike and shoved it in the car, then stripped and changed. MWIS said that there would be high gales for tomorrow with difficulty walking on the hills. As it was still early, I decided to bail. I managed to get home on the remaining diesel, getting 500 miles from one tank.

So here I am drinking Stella and about to cook up the last of the chilli- may have chips this time. Then it's shower and bed.

Banking

Dry days- 124
Days of rain- 113

Today I had planned a Birthday trip to Woodwell, and I was pretty psyched to get back on Screaming Slave. Unfortunately, it was not to be as I had a phone call from ther ex this morning which resulted in me spending the day running around the banks.

I've now got a vague plan sussed for the weekend, consisting of all the Cairnwell tops plus the Macdui 3 and then Braeriach to Devil's Point. Big days, I hope my legs can deliver!!

Bumbling

Dry days- 123
Days of rain- 113

After a weekend near Matlock with The Doc and kids, we headed to Cratcliffe for an hour. The first thing I did was get stung on my arm by a wasp. I hate them.

I was feeling low on energy, everything felt hard. And it was perfect grit weather- hot, sunny and humid. I did Razor Roof second try, dropping the top on the first try. I did most of the other problems here, apart from Razor Arete. Then we had a bumble at the Clifftop Boulders and I did a few of the easier problems.

And then it was time to head back. I'm off to the Cairngorms this coming weekend, big days on the hills planned if the weather allows. Fingers crossed.

Dry days- 121
Days of rain- 113

I've finished War and Peace!!

Back Again

Dry days- 120
Days of rain- 113

I headed back to Wilton One this morning for another scout. I initially went to the Pit, failing miserably to pull onto The Postman's Daughter sitter, I can't even get my arse off the floor!! Then the midges ate me so I ran away to the Prow where there was a breeze.

I did the easier stuff again, then lost skin on Yoga For Climbers before trying it as a dyno from the first hold. This will go, tough move though as you start on small flatties with high feet- feels like you'll blast off backwards.

Once my skin was dead, I headed back to the car- but on the way I noticed a dirty arete right of Remembrance Corner and thought I'd try it. It took ages to clean but eventually it was in a condition to try. I had a go from a standing start, and latched the last move 5th go, unfortunately re-opening my flapper from the other day. Felt about font 6c, but it may be easier when properly clean. There is a sitter which I didn't try due to bleeding, so I may head back at some point. It'll go on its left too I expect.

EDIT: R-man and Binks did that arete previously. It must get dirty prettyu fast!!

Wilton from GCW on Vimeo.

Rained off

Dry days- 119
Days of rain- 113

Went to Wilton One with mr Pasty. It rained. We did Clamp and the 6b Fly variant, then it rained more so we retreated to the Snakey B wall. I did SB left Hand and Baby Fae. Then it it rained more so we left.

Bloody weather!!!!!

Ridiculous Video

Ridiculous Dyno from GCW on Vimeo.

Flappers

Dry days- 119
Days of rain- 112

I had dropped in at Brownstones on Saturday, but not a lot was dry so I ended up doing a few eliminatea on the Nexus Wall.

Today I headed back for a short session. I started off with Ridiculous Dyno, something I did ages ago but have never managed to repeat for the HD camera. It took a good while to nail it today, but the time I did it I got a good sized flapper on my little finger. I had a few goes at The Unjust Dyno, but it was too hot for any serious tries.

I had a 2 goes at Hank's Wall which now feels a lot harder due to hold loss. I couldn't even get the RH razor edge, so I'm not sure I'll be able to do this in future.

After this I dropped into Wilton One, failed on The Move and had a brief visual inspection of R-Meister's new stuff. It was a bit wet today, but looks worthy of another visit when dry.

Dyno video to follow.......

Wet Pooh Again

Dry days- 118
Days of rain- 107

R-man has returned from the antipodes, and has not hung about- he's cleaned and climbed some cool looking lines in Wilton One. I had planned to get out today but the ongoing drizzle put pay to that. Plan B was Wet Poo, and after liaising with R-man I went there for 3pm. R couldn't make it until 5, and in the end our paths didn't cross.

It was hot at the wall. Really hot. After warming up I was sweating buckets. In the end I manages to flash another V6, and got all the moves on another three of them. I did most if thebother V5s I hadn't dine already. After two hours I had to give up due to heatstroke. Not too bad a session.

The Power of Flapjack

Dry days- 117
Days of rain- 104

I met up with the Pasty King at West View after work. I got there a bit early, and as i hadn't had tea I bought and scoffed a flapjack.

When the Ginnster arrived we went about the Crush, warming uop by flashing some V0-V2 problems. Mental. Then I managed to flash 4x V5s and a V5/6, stupidly dropping a blue V6 on the flash and doing it second go.

It was all downhill from there, we did most of the stuff up to V4 and we were then pretty done in. We were inspired by 2 kids leading, must have been 8 and 12 or something, but they were zipping up 6b+ routes with no fear. Superb to see!!

CyL

Dry days- 117
Days of rain- 102

Rain today. I was going to head to Wet Poo with Doc Jnr 1, but when we arrived at 19:05 we found the wall now shuts at 19:00. Perfect. We went for a look at Longridge, which was mostly dry. Doc Jnr 1 did some stuff at the left end. I did all the moves on Kiss The Razor's Edge, one to head back for. I had one go at Bog Marine and it didn't feel far off getting the RH pocket. Then it was time for home.

May have to go back for some more failure..............

PS I'm gutted that it seems Fairy Steps access is getting a bit awkward. I had plans to nail Aeon, assholes!!!!!!!!!

W.O.F.T.

Dry days- 116
Days of rain- 101

This morning I drove to Preston and did battle with LaSCA, although to be fair they seemed OK with my completion of their 38 page form and have now told me I am allowed to work. This news was a bit double edged, as I had quite looked forward to a month of enforced workshyness, and thus more bouldering. Needless to say the Doc was pleased. As I was in Preston, and done by 11:30, I thought I'd pop to West View.

The lady on the desk cheerfully took my 6 pounds, without mention that the freestanding boards were all being reset. I've said it before but the lack of a sign and being charged full price when only a small part is available is annoying. Cracked record, I be, yes.

Aaaanyway, I did most of the problems in the cave, which was hot and crowded. After an hour I'd had enough, and had done any problems I was likely to do, so I bailed. I popped into Tesco to get some stuff for tea, I'd planned to do lamb kidneys in red wine- and got asked for ID for the bottle of red wine I was trying to buy. I was quite taken aback, as was the checkout girl when she realised I'm 34. I'll assume it must be my youthful good looks.

After this I decided to go for a run, but it was so humid and hot I opted for the shortest local route, 4.66km in 25:45 (the usual 10.9kmh average). Now I have cooled down and showered, I'm sat with a beer and about to read War and Peace, up to page 1058 now.

Skinless Wonder

Dry days- 114
Days of rain- 100

Another hot weekend. The Family Doc and I headed to Brimham yesterday. I had a look at The Lost World. I wasn't sure if the flatty out right was in, so avoided it. I was getting the lip OK with a low left smear and a right toe hook, but couldn't pull enough to then match the lip. Looking at the pics on YG, Big Frank uses a heel which wasn't possible starting the way I was. Basically I tried it RH to lip then a blind dyno to the hole, which I nearly held a few times- nearly meaning I ended up with holes in a couple of tips and subsequently filed it in the "another day" folder.

I did a fair few easy problems around the Pommel, but it was scorching so eventually we just went for a wander and a coffee.

Raining today, which means my skin has a little rest. As of Wednesday I should have some free time to get out. Also planning a weekend in Scotland to try to up the Munro numbers before starting work in September.

Oh, and there's also a dodgy pic from the Cross Bay challenge now online, credits to Boswell Photography.

Thorn

Dry days- 112
Days of rain- 99

Today I headed out early and went to Thorn. To start with it was cloudy and cool, I was hopeful for decent conditions. I note the 3 car bay now has a "no parking" sign. I wandered up to Pit Stop, having a look at the direct through the roof. With a wedged right foot I was getting close to the good bit of the break by taking the left and off and popping up with the right. NO cigar today though, although I did lose a decent amount of skin.

Next I headed up to Monster Minds, which seems a cool problem. I did all the moves but the slap to the RH ear- every time I tried this I got cramp in my right calf when trying to heel hook!! It's still sore now. I wandered up to the crag, skin being pretty rubbish by now I didn't bother putting my boots on, although I did admire A Moment Of Clarity:



I went to try Bad Moon Rising but I found the flake was in a right state, eroded but more worryingly flexing significantly. It's only held on by the area on the left and I doubt it'll last much longer- therefore I walked on by and went to The Mothership area. I had a look at Yule Jewel, how the hell you pull on I still can't fathom. By now it was hot, I was tired and my skin was suffering. I did a load of the easier problems, then headed home. 2 more days at work then I'll have no plans for most of August, thanks to LaSCA and their paperwork.

Cross Bay Challenge

Today I did the Cross Bay Challenge- the half Marathon across Morecambe bay. I can't recommend it enough. Unique environment, lively running surfaces which vary a lot, wading through channels etc. Awesome!

I felt pretty good for the run. I was a little over an hour at the 7 mile point, so sub 2 hours was on. At 12 miles I was at 1:48 so it was still on. I tried to push it, the surfaces got more wet but thenthe finish was there. And I was very pleased to get it done in 1:59:30!!!

So what next? Hmmmm, maybe a longer distance?........

Sore skin

Dry days- 106
Days of rain- 97

Tonight I went to West View with the BeardyBeast, Pasty King being in Belgium. I was there a good 40 minutes before the Bearded One, so warmed up and then looked at some of the stuff I failed on last visit.

I managed to do two V6s first go, then flashed a couple more V5s. Beardy Beast flashed everything. Once he'd done everything twice we had a chocolate break, then I struggled to do more problems. I ended up climbing for 2 3/4 hours, and my skin is trashed.

Half marathon in 3 days. Knee's a bit sore, but hopefully it should be OK. 2 1/2 hour target to hit!!

Grit Rash

Dry days- 105
Days of rain- 96

Damn this weather!! Today I was going to go to Thorn as the forecast was for dryness. I was out quite early and when I was driving up the M6 at 9am, in the drizzle. It dried up as I headed North but on the way over to Thorn the cloud was down on the tops. I realised the walk would be a waste of a day, so plan B had to be formed. Options? Well 1. exposed Lime, which means either Farleton or Newbiggin. Option 2 would be free standing grit- Thorn or Windy Clough.

I went for option 2. It drizzled a bit on the walk in, so when I got to the rocks they were wet. But not as wet as my shoes and socks. Balls. I sat and late my lunch (at 10:30) and waited. It stopped drizzling and after a while the rock dried off. As an aside the rock up here is getting quite worn, the slopers sdeem either over brushed or well used.

I had a crack at Country for Old Men which was pretty much dry by this point. It took a good number of goes to get the move- it's basically a one mover from two shit edges to a good flatty. I found I needed to use a foot jam for all it was worth to even pull on. After this I moved up to Live Evil, although the arete hold was damp. This went quite quickly, so it was time for a look at Mr. Owl ate my Metal Worm. It took me a while working out a sequence between the crack and the finish- eventually I just did it as a flop move. It took a handful of goes to link it, the last move spitting me off a couple of times due to scrittle.

I was getting tired by now, but I had a look at the two mat boulder. I did the 6b+ wall second go, then failed on the wet groove. At this point I sacked it off and headed back to meet the Doc for a coffee. On the way there were a few pheasant chicks in the verge, but as I passed mother pheasant flew out of the hedge and under my wheels. Orphans created I guess, and I feel a bit bad about that but there's not a lot I can do now.

Windy Clough Revisited from GCW on Vimeo.

Il pluet

Dry days- 105
Days of rain- 95

Well, the weather crapped out and it's been really wet the last couple few days. Whilst this is nice as it has been too hot and humid, it has the disadvantage of my projects being wet for a while now.

I went to Wet Poo yesterday afternoon, conscious of the fact I haven't climbed for what seems like an eternity. I made the schoolboy error of rushing in and climbing lots of problems and not resting, resulting in a perpetual pump that lasted the two hours I was there. Add this to the heat in the climbing hall, and it was a recipe for crush.

On the positive side, I managed to flash most of the V5s on the right three boards, and flashed one of the V6s. I have to say this set feels softer than previous, so I'll take that performance with a pinch of salt.

I'm off work today and tomorrow, but the forecast is gash again so I may not get anything done. Plenty to be going at on the job front- need to sort out what I'll be doing in a couple of weeks, plus all the paperwork that is required. I may go for a run later, I'll see how I feel.

Projects Remain

Dry days- 104
Days of rain- 91

I had a spare couple of hours this afternoon and having been reminded of Healey Nab I decided to head up there.

It was hot. Really hot. By the time I'd walked up to The Nab I was sweating. I did the usual problems, then failed utterly on R-man's Double Dutch. Then I set to work on my project right of DD. I had always tried it by going LH to a sidepull, then pop to the top. Today I tried it as an all out dyno- undercuts to top. I was getting pretty close, but it isn't skin friendly and eventually I had to leave.

I've finally done the Cadshaw video, here it is. My own Cadswallop and Olly Mueller's Cadger. Good problems.

Cadshaw castle Rocks Bouldering from GCW on Vimeo.

Munros and Pounding the Streets

Dry days- 103
Days of rain- 91

Back from a long weekend away. The Doc and I went up to Scotland on Friday, having a wander around Glasgow on the Friday, finding out all the nice shops etc that aren't there anymore, and going for tea at the Ubiquitous Chip, and a pint at Jinty's afterwards. Saturday we met up with MadMac and family, and wandered up to the Whangie in the blazing sun, then takeaway curry.

Sunday the Doc and I took advantage of the Grosvenor's cooked breakfast before driving up to Arrochar for a wander. The midges were out in force, and the Doc wasn't too impressed at this. We headed up the Cobbler path, then over to the direct path up the ridge to Ben Narnain. The weather wasn't too bad, cloud base below the summit. After the summit, we headed back down to the bealach to the Cobbler in the rain, then headed back down past the Narnain boulders (which looked so so).

Today I was back at work, and finished at 18:30. When I got home I went for a run managing 14.7km in 1:26:37, averaging 10.2kmh which I was quite pleased with. 12 days until the Cross bay Challenge!!

I may head to Healey Nab tomorrow, the Ginnster went there today and CRUSHED!!!!

Rain and Running

Dry days- 100
Days of rain- 88

It pissed down today, thunmder too. After sorting children tonight I went for a run, did the local 7k in 37:54- I seem to be getting the average up to 11kmh.

The Ginnster went to Cadshaw. I await tales of amazing success and general awesomeness.

Horse Flies

Dry days- 100
Days of rain- 87

Last night I went to Cadshaw again. Red Wall was greasy, and Mighty Mouse tore my skin. The Midges were bearable, but the addition of a cloud of horse flies was not. needless to say I ran away pretty quickly, and headed over to Cadshaw Castle Rocks.

I filmed the short arete sitter I did a while ago as well as Cadger, one of Ollie Mueller's problems from back in the day.



I carried on up the slab above this to the higher break, with a sketchy sequence higher up. With this it became a nicely sustained font 6B, with evil polished holds. I'll get the video up at some point.
I tried the left side of my arete sitter which will be a one move wonder, but I couldn't pull on so went home.

It's rained a bit today, but still hot. Let's see what the rest of the week brings. Should be up in Glasgow for the weekend, may wander up a hill.

Motivational Awesomeness Innit

Dry days- 99
Days of rain- 86

I was going to go out today, but it's hot and energy sapping. Psyche was low and when push came to shove, my get up and go got up and went. I'm useless when it's hot, it makes me tired and grumpy.

The weather is supposed to break by Tuesday, so I may brave the midges tomorrow.

I'm off to lie down.

Mighty (Mouse) Failure

Dry days- 97
Days of rain- 86

I went to Cadshaw tonight. There were so many midges it was hard to breathe. I totally failed on my RoB-Jump Arete project. I made some progress on the Arete project. I did all but one of the moves on Mighty Mouse too, painful though it is. After an hour I was so bitten to death that I ran away.

Still projects to do.......

Too Hot For Me

Dry days- 94
Days of rain- 85

It's been hot, today was awful- humid and hot.

Sunday came and was superheated and muggy, with drizzle here and there for good measure. Bottom line? I couldn't be arsed going out and suffereing in shit conditions.

Today was even hotter, but it looked like rain tonight so I went for a run. I did my 7km route, if the app is right (which I doubt) I did it in a shade under 30 minutes. Whatever the time I was hot and very tired.

4 weeks or so until the cross bay challenge. I pray it's cooler on the day or I'll be dead before I start!!

Frustration

Dry days- 92
Days of rain- 82

I felt pretty tired this morning after the Cadshaw Crush Fest. It rained all morning, but by 9am it brightened up so I opted for a look at Silverdale.

On my way up it pissed it down again. Brill. I decided to give Trowbarrow a go. Walking in I was surrounded by a cloud of mosquitos, and when I got there the Shelterstone was seeping. It was nice to see that some kind soul had taken a shit next to to Vitruvian Man, makes the landing even more fun. Asshole. I had a couple of half arsed goes on a damp Pit Problem, no chance. Vitruvian was also wet- the right toe hook was piss wet. I had a few goes at the Crouch method- right foot on and slap. I was getting the hold but failing to keep the right foot on the wet hold.

I looked at the Buccaneer, getting the lip but not getting anywhere near holding it. One to come back to.

I was annoyed by this time. I drove home, ate a Twirl and growled for 10 minutes. Then I went for a run. I managed 13km in 1:14:51, average of 10.4km/h. Still a bit to do in the next 4 weeks before the Cross bay death run.

Rick Fell Over

Dry days- 92
Days of rain- 81

After work I headed to Cadshaw to meet up with BeardyBeast and the Ginnster. BeardyBeast had brought some ladders for the arete project. We wandered in to the Red Wall, aware it was humid and still.

Red Wall wasn't in good nick. Everything felt greasy and nasty. Basically, I did Brian Jacques and Jump Arete and BeardyBeast did Jump Arete. He also suggested a different sequence for RoB going right had to the left hand sloping crimp then throw to the high edge. This felt a bit easier, 7B, but also felt more like a crap version of Brian Jacques avoiding certain holds rather than being the centre of the wall. The Ginnster didn't do Brian Jacques, his fear of success got in the way. The midges ate us.

We used BB's ladder to clean the "bnreak" on the Arete Project, then failed to make any progress on it due to grease. One to come back to. Did I mention neither Pasty Lord nor Beardy Beast did Brian Jacques?

Once anaemic from the midges we wandered back to the Small Quarry. BeardyBeast and I did Great War of France, or whatever the hell it's called. The Ginnster didn't, he did a variation that used big holds 10 feet off line. Then he fell over. We all looked at the Atom Rush, which felt greasy, off balance and a bit committing (sloping landing dontchaknow) so that wasn't done today.

After this we headed home. What an evening. Quite amazing. Although the Ginnster fell over. Fairy Steps tomorrow?

Another One Down

Dry days- 91
Days of rain- 80

Drizzle this morning, so once more the Aeon plan was shelved. I wonder where may be dry when it's drizzling, somewhere overhanging with some tree cover maybe.

Cadshaw was indeed dry. A bit greasy unfortunately, and very much midge infested. The crux today was not so much pulling harder, but resisting the onslaught of the midge. My envisigaed project felt hard again, I wasn't getting very good links on it today, although I did each move and refined the footwork. Then I noticed a foothold I hadn't looked at before and realised my original sequence for Jump Arete sitter was back on.

It took quite some time to do this, but then when I did it felt OK. Although I tried to then film the start from a different angle and took ages to do the move again. I had originally thought this would be 7b/+, and seemingly R-Man had thought similar. Since it felt OK today, I'll go with 7a+ for the moment.

After this I managed to repeat Brian Jacques via R-Mans's original sequence, which is about the same difficulty as the Lanky sequence once you get the body positioning right.

So there you have it- another project done, and only 2 more to go at Cadshaw- I just need it to be less greasy.

On a seperate note, the new Peak guide arrived on Friday and it's brill- inspired to get back and try some stuff! Oh, and I'm ober half way through War and Peace now- hurrah.

Jump Arete SDS first ascent from GCW on Vimeo.

Fickle Conditions

Dry days- 89
Days of rain- 79

After work I headed to Cadshaw for another crack at the projects. I was disappointed to find that the wall felt very greasy. There were also a lot of midges, and they were hungry.

After a while I was still pinging off the sloping edges. Finally I linked from the sit to the foot swap before the dyno to the jug, and fucked it up. I never got as far again.

With better conditions I know I can do this. The moves feel harder than anything I've been on recently, including Aeon/ Poison etc, and there's a few of them.. At my limit- well, beyond it until the day it all clicks into place.

Thanks to everyone's comments/ e-mails/ texts recently. It is appreciated.

Busy day

Dry days- 88
Days of rain- 78

Yesterday I ran home from work in the scorching heat: 9.38km in 56:31. Felt ok actually.

Today I cleared my Dad's attic and went to see the solicitor. Then some dick nearly ran into the back of me on the motorway near Leeds.

May try to get to Cadshaw for an hour tomorrow.

Aeon Session

Dry days- 86
Days of rain- 78

I had 90 minutes at Fairy Steps today, bit of a wind down after days of house clearing and getting forms/ certificates sorted.

I tried this when BeardyBeast crushed it ages ago, couldn't touch it at all. MOre recently on a day when I saw Johnny G in his car near Trowbarrow I managed all but one of the moves. Today it felt sweaty and greasy. I got the moves done individually, including the one I'd failed on before (the slap to the final sidepull form the undercut). I had a go at trying to link it. I managed to get from the start to the undercut but the next two moves are going to be the stoppers for me. It's a pretty powerful problem, but I think i can do it. Like Poison, it's one I just need to work at to link it, and then get my 7C tick in 2011. Hmmmm.

2/3/1937- 8/6/2011

[IMG]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk163/CyLwiki/11GarethandDad.jpg[/IMG]

A Decision

Dry days- 81
Days of rain- 77

For the last 12 years I've made decisions affecting peoples' lives, and their deaths. Today I made a decision.

A 74 year old, terminally ill. No quality of life. Lying in bed, aware, but tired of it all and unwilling to engage. The eyes still see. But a shadow, a shell of the former formidable, strong self. Where has all the power, the strength, the humour, gone?

A phone call from the consultant in ENT. A professional conversation. What do I want to do from here? Carry on with drip feeding of fluids, PEG nutrition- keeping the shell alive?

"No. Put him on the end of life pathway". The voice is clear. Calm. The sentiment truly meant.

But this isn't just some patient. The link goes beyond this. This is a father. My father. The one that raised me. The one that made me, well, me.

I know I am right, the decision is sound. He would hate to be sustained as a shell. He deserves more, I know this and I know my words ring true. But in the same breath death is condemned. I have decided for him- to die, not to live.

That feels odd. Unsettling. I am confident, but nausea is there. Power over life. Death. What is my right in all this? The correct decision, surely? But it means death. A quandary.

I write this knowing that in a few days a busy, and emotional, period of my life will begin. Is this cathartic? Therapeutic? No, not really. It just feels hollow.

I made a decision today.

Progress?

Dry days- 80
Days of rain- 77

I had a couple of hours this morning. I had planned a Silverdale trip, but when the Ginnster became free from 9-11 I had opted for somewhere more local, probably Cadshaw. This morning I got up to find it was pissing down hence Silverdasle was out, so we opted to look at Snakey B wall which often stays dry in the rain. When we got there at 9am, after fighting past a cycle race, we found the rain was driving in the wrong direction and nothing was dry. Soaked and demoralised, we left adn opted to risk a Cadshaw visit.

We got even more soaked on the way in, but when we arrived the Red Wall was dry!! The Pasty Lord had a look at Brian Jacques, coming pretty close to holding the crux move again- very body position dependent. I had a little look at one of my other projects (viz RoB sitter into Jump Arete). I did Jump Arete first try, still a funny problem. I also managed the individual moves for RoB sit start. Then I managed the jump from the RoB crimps to the Jump Arete jug, only taking some skin off. The final move was the transition from the original RoB to the slap to the jug, which means moving the left foot 12 inches to the right. This is a body tension move, but after a few methods I found a way of doing this move. So, all the moves done. I had a try at linking it today but it wasn't to be. My left ring finger was still numb after the day I did RoB anyway, that foul crack hold is nasty, but it's even more numb now.

Ah, well- I know I can do this. It feels a bit harder than RoB, probably still 7B+ though. All I need to do is go back again to try the link, if the rain holds off that is.

Video Update

Dry days- 80
Days of rain- 76

A few bits from Wednesday, plus the unfinished project. May head back there tomorrow with the Ginnster and have another look.

Bits and Bobs from GCW on Vimeo.

Revisiting the Nemesis

Dry days- 79
Days of rain- 73

Well, today it was dry so I went to Almscliff. I warmed up on the Keel, and after a bit of memory bank searching I remembered my sequence. I managed to do it from the start to the chip, and from the chip to missing the pocket. The right toe locky thingy didn't feel as secure as it used to, and I was still just getting tips in the pocket.

I tried Underhand, which felt harder than I remember. Then Ed's Dyno, which felt like 7a and I was getting a hand on the top, why I didn't do it I don't know. I finally managed that stupid polished 6c/+ traverse on the same block. Then a brief look at Silver Trout reminded me I couldn't do it.

A similar story with Demon Wall Roof. I can easily get the high crimp, but then switching to the undercut and moving feet into the roof is impossible. Disillusioned and with a bit of Font elbow (left) I moved on.

I looked at Hunter stones, which hurt my skin so I ran away with tail firmly between legs and headed for home.

I stopped of at Calf Crag, did Cookie Monster to a top out made entirely of scrittle. Then failed on the 7a+ round the wat, although it looks to have lost a pebble. So that was that.

Video to follow, too much brandy to drink to do any editing ;-)

Pastures New

Dry days- 78
Days of rain- 72

This morning dawned wet, rain rain rain. So much for a Silverdale session. The Doc was heading out for a run this morning so I opted to do the same. I did a variation on the usual, chopping it down to 7-and-a-bit km, managing it in 41:03 (average of 10.5kmh). I think I will need to get more miles in before the Cross Bay Challenge.

This afternoon I went over to the BeardyBeast's, the original plan being to have a WoB session. Unfortunately, neither of us felt particularly up to that so after a brew the plan morphed into a trip to Rokt in Brighouse. After registration, we had a wander round the place- it's quite big and has quite a few rooms and a comp board. The comp board felt hard to me, it's pretty steep really. I managed to flash a V6 in one of the rooms (but it wasn't really V6, more like V4) and did one of BeardyBeast's yellow problems second go, although it wasn't V7 for someone of my height. But don't tell him I said it was easier for the tall, we'll never hear the end of it.

Funny wall really, lots of potential but rather dark- lighting needs sorting, you're either blinded or can't see- and some rooms are cramped meaning a lot of waiting for others to finish their problem. But it's nice to go somewhere new.

Weak

Dry days- 78
Days of rain- 70

Weather is still a bit duff. I had an hour this morning so went to Wet Poo, basically being a bit crap. I failed on the knee smasher V6.... again. And I flashed one of the new V5/6s in the cave. How does that work. Skin's sore now though.

I was potentially going up Silverdale way tomorrow/ Monday with the BeardyBeast, but we'll have to see what the sky sends our way.

Bad knees

Dry days- 78
Days of rain- 68

Crap weather continues!

I headedto West View after work. Schoolboy error- forgot drink and chalkbag. Luckily Nike Air was there, so after a brief chat (he had customers) he wangled me a chalk bag from lost property (thanks J) and I got down to work.

Basically I was shite. I failed to do the V6 that I failed on last time, doing the crux a few times before cocking it up. To add insult to injury my right foot popped off on one occasion sending my right knee into high speed impact with a hold. Ouch.

After this I did a few more V5s and below, then did all the moves on a V7 but ended up with sore skin. After 2 hours I left and headed home for a cold beer.

More Running

Dry days- 78
Days of rain- 66

The weather has been very variable- sun, wind rain. I was half thinking about about going out tonight, but wasn't convinced anything would be dry. As it was clear asnd sunny when I got home, it just felt wrong to go indoors to some hot sweaty chalk filled wall.

I decided to go for a run, especially as it's less than 9 weeks until the cross bay challenge. I did a shorter version of my last route and covered 12.2km in 1 hour 15 mins 50 seconds, pretty much 9.6kmh. I feel pretty good after it which is a nice change. I am still looking forward to this Cross Bay half marathon, but then if that goes OK then there's always longer runs. But that's a dangerous thought, marathons and all that. I will put that line of thought to one side for now.

I need to get bouldering again, still aims to acheive and 7C seems more elusive than ever. But let's stay positive and psyched, and belief will no doubt help move me in the right direction. A big up to The Coolboy for his recent 7B+ sends, effort!!

Accurate Weather Forecast?

Dry days- 77
Days of rain- 65

The forecasts said rain overnight, then today would be dry. After liaising with BeardyBeast we opted to have a look at Ilkley. It was sunny, but very windy when we arrived. We had a look at Chariots of Fire Eliminate again, although I'd totally forgotten my sequence and had to start again. After some time I did all the moves again, but it's still going to be a bugger for me to link.

BeardyBeast had 2 burns, falling on the last little bit. Then came the rain. We bailed and wandered over to Ron's Traverse, neither of us having looked at it. The rain stopped long enough to have a quick go, but then returned with a veangance and didn't go. We retired to the car to sip hot drinks from the cafe.

As an aside, there's been more chipping going on. Photos clickable for full size image.


"Hannah, James, Lauren, Faith, Jasper" on the Chariots of Fire Buttress- this has appeared in the last 72 hours.





"Here resting Susan Brown RIP" just left of Chariots Buttress.





"L. Copley" at the bottom of First Arete

Remind me in future......

Dry days- 77
Days of rain- 62

Earl Crag. The hardest thing I've done there is the John Dunne Slap, it always kicks may arse. I just don't get on with the place- it destroys my skin and kicks my arse every time.

Anyway, today I had some free time. I wanted to head to Silverdale really, but it's been so wet recently I thought it would be wet. Earl it was. First off I had a look at Jim Purchon's 7b under the monument, and got pretty close to getting the hold you leap for. But the left hand hold has a pebble, and it wasn't friendly so I sacked that off. I failed to make any progress on Handy Andy's, desperate. I had a look at Andy Brown's Wall, getting the sidepull quite easily but then getting spat off from the last move. I was OK moving feet about to get set up, but on one try my right hand slipped off and I ripped a fingernail off- message received, move on.

I looked at the Gimp/ the Flakes / Lager Lager Lager, but by then the spirit was broken and after half heartedly pulling on to these problems, I admitted defeat.

Ilkley- another place I don't get on with. in fact most of ghe visits have been after running from Earl with tail-between-legs. Ringpiece kicked my ass, the move I could do before defeated me- partly due to tired legs, the 11 mile run has obviously had some effect. I then went and looked at Chairiots of Fire Eliminate, doing all the moves steadily. This could be a good one to try, but I'm shite at stamina so it coiuld be a bit of a seige.

So if I suggest an Earl visit, please remind me of all this........

A transition from doubt

Dry days- 75
Days of rain- 62

After I registered for the Morecambe Cross Bay Challenge in a fit of success and wine, I woke yesterday to the realisation that 13.1 miles across wet sand and rivers may not be that easy. I wondered to myself if this was a bridge too far, a thought that sat in my mind all of yesterday.

I finished at a reasonable time today, so I put on my shoes and went for a run in the drizzle. I had a vague idea of where I was going but no real plans and no idea of distance. I wanted to see how far I could go, so I set off at rest pace and just kept going.

Somewhere around a mile from home my legs were going, but I made it back OK. After checking distances online I have managed to do 10.8 miles, in 1:54:45 (although that includes time spent waiting at crossings etc) which gives an average of 9.1kmh- certainly not fast but I know I can do a half marathon now and if I kept up that pace it would be in 2 hours 20 minutes, although I am under no illusions that the Cross Bay Challenge will be tough and no place for a PB.

Tired now, but quite pleased. Need a bit more prep before the day, and it should be OK.

Pissed off with the weather though, totally shite.

Manchester 10k

Dry days- 75
Days of rain- 60

Blob 2 had her super exciting mega fun birthday party yesterday, so we all had sugar and E-number fuelled kids to deal with. More excitement when BeardyBeast needed a jump start due to forgetfulness. My knee has been pretty bad recently and I wasn't even sure if I was going to do the Manchester 10k.

I was taking the Doc to Manchestah anyway as she was doing the race, so I decided to give it a go. It was cold and rainy today, not ideal but at least it was cooler than it has been for sometime. I ended up doing the run, taking a rucksack full of coats along the way. Other than the bad knee I felt pretty decent, although by no means was I pushing it. I managed to get around OK, my stopwatch said 56:14 but the electronic chip time will be out soon.

I've been thinking about doing the Morecambe Bay half marathon- after today I'm even more keen, looks like a really interesting day out. In fact, I may go and register right now.

Bugger

Either the wall or my recent return to running has annoyed my left knee. It's never been right since Magic Bus and the last time I started training for a 10k it flared up. I thought last time it was a meniscal pathology, and the fact it settled down meant I'd left it alone. I'll have to see what it does long term, but it has pissed me off somewhat.

So the question this week is this: do I go running again to train for the Manc Run, risking annoying it more? Or rest it until the run itself, relying on basic fitness to muddle through. The was it is today I'm thinking the latter.

Crap Indoors As Usual

Dry days- 75
Days of rain- 52

I had an hour at Wet Poo today, before an afternoon at work. I felt battered actually, dragging myself up lots of V4/5 things and getting close to a few V6s. Fingers are quite sore too.

The fact the last few days have been wet means Red Wall will be out for a bit, projects will have to wait for a bit.

The Weather Breaks

Dry days- 75
Days of rain- 50

Today it rained- I am really pleased to have got Rivers of Blood done yesterday.

As it was raining I thought I'd go for a run, especially as I have the Manchester 10k in 2 weeks or so and I haven't run since November. I did the local circuit after work, 4.83km in 23:50 (12.2kmh) in the rain. It felt OK, but I could do with doing some longer runs to get stamina back.

Whilst running it occurred to me that I could link the sitter of RoB into my 6b Jump Arete- I reckon this would be a notch harder than RoB SDS. But the rain needs top bugger off first.

YYFY

Dry days- 75
Days of rain- 43

This afternoon I had a couple of hours free, and as the forecast suggests rain soon I opted to look at Cadshaw again.

On the way over the fire of Anglezarke Moor was evident, having spread across to Wheelton Moor over as far as the A675. Quite a decent burn area, reinforced by the number of fire engines around.

Red Wall wsa in pretty decent nick. I spent a while trying the various moves on the Red Wall, before getting sucked into my project. After a lot of trying I managed to link from the LH crack and RH sidepull to the finish of the stand up of Rivers Of Blood (that nobody else can do as they can't reach the starting holds?!?).

After a lot more trying I finally did the project. It felt super hard, I'll suggest 7b+, but also very morpho (my solution involved a dynamic slap at full stretch for me) and condition dependant. Really really pleased though, it's a cool problem.

So there was the little matter of the Rick's Arete project. Shit, this is also pretty tough. And as my skin was trashed and ROB had given me a flapper, I left it for another day- and headed home happy. And psyched for more. YYFY.

Rivers of Blood from GCW on Vimeo.

Esoterica

Dry days- 72
Days of rain- 43

A day at Fairy Steps. The Trick and beyond!

Greg's guide mentions a couple of things of V6 and above beyond The Trick. I explored a bit, eventually finding the V6 wall. This ended up being a really hard pull on, then a slap for the top. it took a while to get the move sussed but then it was dans le sac.

I then did the rib to the left, although I didn't top out as there was a big loose block.

Then back to The Trick, and the sitter. After trying to do The Trick via my original sequence:

The Trick Font 7a/+ from GCW on Vimeo.

I suddenly found a Trick involving a left foot lock. After a bit I managed to link from the sitter, albeit via a not--as-eliminate as before sequence.

This weather is pretty mad, almost 4 weeks of sun and dry weather. Time to get on the projects....................................

Even More Fairy Steps from GCW on Vimeo.

Fairy Steps Wedding

Dry days- 70
Days of rain- 43

The run of dry weather continues! I just hope this isn't our quota for the year. And today was William and Katherine's right Royal Wedding, so us plebs got an extra day off work.

And what better way to spend it than flailing around on the sitstart that beat me 2 days ago? There was less pressure of time today, so I got to rest properly. However, the first move was eluding me. In fact the second move was too. After a lot of failure, and many many oaths, I was getting really angry. But it made no difference. After many tries I was finally getting the first move done, it's very body position dependant. Then I was consistent on the second move- falling off every time.

Eventually I realised I could put my right foot on a crap dink which helped get the body position right for the cross over. And then in the end I managed to link it. Thank goodness for that, pain in the arse that it is.

After this I was wrecked, so I did Et Tu Brute which is an enjoyable traverse and then drove back home to recuperate, and grow some skin. I'm quite keen to get on Intellect SDS but I'm not sure of the approved Johnny G rules.

Fairy Steps Wedding from GCW on Vimeo.

A New Nemesis

Dry days- 68
Days of rain- 43

It was hot today, and I wasn't sure if I'd be getting out. My left index finger is still raw from Second Coming, so I was trying to think of places with slopers and Shuck's Lair popped into mind. I went here once with BeardyBeast a while ago and wasn't impressed but I thought I'd give it another go. The Doc was at a loose end so she tagged along.

The new approach is much better than the original, and we got ther easily enough. It was in direct sun and pretty hot and sweaty. As a lot of the starts seem to involve a campus move it wasn't long before we moved on to the Fairy Steps. I had a look at the Taliesin area, which I've never been to before. The sitter for the V4 crack was worth a look. Initially I was getting nowhere on the sit start, although the stand start was steady away. After a while I got all but the first move sussed and fairly solid. Eventually I managed the first move.

The link was elusive today, I got through the hard moves a few times only to botch a fairly easy, but quite powerful move, that transitions into the stand start. I was very annoyed, had reopened my split finger and had run out of time. So that's another to add to the to-do list.

Rematch

Dry days- 64
Days of rain- 43

This afternoon the Doc was off to see her father in Carnforth, so I tagged along and headed to Fairy Steps. It was hot, and very humid. Initially I headed to Aeon buttress and warmed up on Aeon Dyno. This still felt hard, although I used he poorer of the two footholds today and got closer to the move. I still can't get any decent push from my lanky legs, so I need to head back...... again.

I gave up, and headed back to the left upper tier. Only having an hour I threw myself into the V7 wall to the right of Second Coming. After my last spanking I had watched Greg's video and got some beta. After a number of tries I was getting close to holding the gaston in the crack, so I set up the HV20. After a few more goes I had it in the bag, very pleased as this had eluded me a few times before.

As I'd had some success i opted to try Second Coming, another problem that had whooped my ass every time I'd tried it. Today was no different, but then I started slapping the break a bit less wildly. And then it started getting less and less out of control. I held the start, albeit with a dab, so I dropped off and planned to do it properly. It then took a while, but just as the claret was starting from the tips of my left hand I caught the break, didn't dab, and topped out. Fantastic, two Nemeses in a day.

Just for fun I did the other problem on the block and then headed back. There's still the Aeon Buttress laughing at me, but I'm quite pleased by today- even if my skin has holes in it!!!!!!!!!

And a big medal for the BeardyBeast for an 8a flash in font, even if it was a traverse.

Ticked the Bloc from GCW on Vimeo.