The 09 trad season

Summer 09 season was good and I havn't updated this in forever so this is a brief round up with a lot missed out. I was due to be going back to the University of Chichester but things changed and I decided to stay in Scotland and move to Fort William to finish my degree, not just for its climbing potential, there were other reasons aswell! With the thought of moving to the wettest part of the world at the end of the season I tried to pack a bit in!

Got a good few early season crisp days in ~Glen Nevis (now local crag) did Ausafartenjesusbarten among other things 170m with a total of 14 bits of gear in the route made for an interesting day. Climbed The Palmist (E4 6b) at Cummingston, a route that had always appealed to me but was a shame to discover its just one crux and then loose nothingness above to the topout. In the same week did a new E4 at Tynrich and then climbed the unclimbed start to Trumpet of the Dead which was 8m unprotected slab with a british 6a crux at the top. For that reason I thought it felt necky (at least E5) but apparently Mr Julian Lines of Slab Monsters Limited thought E4, scary and brave man.

Spent two days in Reiff with wee Jamie and had an amazing time and piled in a ridiculous amount of routes including an amazing slab in black rocks, im sure you know the one I mean. Truely awsome experience with big swell and blue skys proving the perfect climbing atmosphere and experience

Between all this managed to fit alot of not climbing in which has been amazing, went to Malta with Jo with the idea of a few bits of dws and chilled out instead! Rockness was amazing we will be back! Jo and I got away in the newly half finished van for a week on the west coast and got perfect weather the whole time and even managed to get Jo on her first outdoor climb over at Tollaidh.

Managed to get a few days over on the west in some amazing conditions, over at Mungasdale both Paul and I climbed Three Kings which comes highly recommended, awsome line and awsome day considering it was Pauls first E5! Then alot happened that I cant remember and I don't seem to have any pictures of but gradually got stronger over the summer and settled into trad then spent a great day at loch Tollaidh up at Fraggle Rock and climbed a crimpy Paul Tattersal route, Tall In The Saddle E6 6b making it my first and achieving the grade which has always been my ultimate goal in climbing grades. Nice to get it done but not for the reason I thought, having achieved my goal it meant I stopped looking at grades and started climbing things because I wanted too! Nice feeling!

Got out for some great days out in Torridon and found a line that I really want to work on, I know the sequence I've got the strength to do it. I just need to work on some serious yoga and core strength to try and stick it. Need to get better and I reckon it will be next years project, it has the line, the location and the right amount of fear inducing positions to make it interesting. Whilst there I held the ropes for Dave whilst he put up a new E8 and E9, Koleus is something I would love to improve enough to climb and I reckon it will be one of my goals for the next 2 to three years. It's the best arete lines I've seen and after seeing it done I want a piece of it. Goal number 2!Pic by claire Macleod hope you dont mind that I pinched a shot of it.

Got down to the Peak district briefly to catch up with Phil and true to form it rained alot! Good climbing though when it wasnt raining and I have a few things I want to go back to do. Phil was climbing well and kept going back for more totally unphased even after two whippers off of a cool line. Went back in the morning though and he cruised it. This pic is from the night before as he was stripping the gear.I felt like I was going quite well and came away with my first E7 which was cool. Little Jamie learnt alot about grit and its weirdness we need to go back for unfinished business! Short steep and powerful, which suits my style nicely which helped me out.

Back from the grit, I found a project near by that I set about working on, it may have seemed eliminate to others as I could traversed a few feet to the side and use a big arete but for me that didn't matter I wanted to try and climb this line. Spent forever trying to land a dyno from a two finger one pad undercut and a mono to a slopey jug. It was somewhere in the region of 80 attempts before I stuck it for the first time. So set about trying to lead it, I have now taken the fall from the dyno 8 times... should i get another chance while its dry and im free over in Inv I know I can do it next time.

I've now moved to Fort William and the weather has been dire so I'm hitting Kimbers as much as possible to try and get strong and get ready for whatever may come over the winter (no long walk ins), been getting into paddling as well so at least I now have a sport for when it rains and thankfully the boys I'm going with give me an absolute schooling so I should stay in one piece for the climbing. The weather has been immense the last week and I have been stuck in with suspected flu of the swine so iI've missed it all. Gutted! As soon as im back fit the training begins!

The ultimate fuel!!

Winter part 1

Paul and i got out 2 weeks go with the first cold snap and it proved to be a good one! 3 hours to get to the bottom of the route though due to having to park at the bottom car park as the road was ungritted and we just made it that far and then waste deep snow to trudge through.

We did Jacobs edge since it seemed a sensible grade for our first scottish winter, good fun if not abit easy but we picked out some harder bits to make it more interesting. Perfect day and conditions there arte very few of them in Scotland but we found one of them, only problem was swimming through the powder on the easier angled parts of the route.

Truely heaven!Everything is out again and looks like 2 weeks before anything will be back from what iv heard. who knows, but for now its inside to to try and get stronger for trad time i already miss it and have been looking for a project.

Its coming....

its in the air...

West coast and new line at tynrich

Busy period trying to make use of any weather thats going. Out on the west coast stewart and I spent the day at Loch tollaidh, beautiful place and scenery the west has to be one of the best if not the best place in Britain.I climbed crossroads E5 6b which felt painfully hard on crimps up an overhang but was a really cool route, so its clean just now if anybody is interested. Stewart also continued his strong form with 2 more E1s before we moved together on what must be one of the best slabs around. Highly recommended.

We then spent the next day in midge hell whilst i finished a route I had been working on and stewart worked and climbed his first E2. The line takes the blank wall towards the far end of the slabs. A relativly easy start takes you to a small crack left of Scorpion a runner here protects you thoughout the crux of a rising ramp of crystals and razor crimps until better holds and gear are reached, I preplaced this wire before the lead due to the fact I knew if i fell trying to place it you would be looking at aroung a 6-7m fall, this is not that bad but there is a ledge roughly 5m below the crux so a fall from anywhere from the crux sequence(long) or above would result in most likely broken ankles and or legs. Once the good holds are reached a shake out and then the route continues directly up again into probably a 6a sequence once again above gear. Its the hardest route iv climbed recently without doubt, a few months back i climbed the E5 6a on the same wall,cant remember the name, and it dosnt even compare, the fall was safer too...however I will say E5 6b but feedback would be appreciated. Called it Penultimate Demons. Also climbed another line in the sameish area, Flirtations with fate (E3 5c) which resulted in the sheath of my rope being torn wide open! Il put the picture on when i find it.

Going back on my word

I had previously said I would never solo anything after seeing how fast a person falls, im still not a huge fan of the idea of watching someone solo but everything has its time and place. I soloed my first E5 the other day but I only because I had no doubt in my mind. All part of making a better climber if you can keep your head together then it may help in another situation where you cant afford to freak and loose your bottle. The way i see it is I wasnt soloing, the route is protected by a sky hook, I dont have a sky hook... so i lead it but didnt have the right gear.

Round up

Spent some time at ruthven as usual last week and it eventually came together, just before I lost all of the skin I owned. Did another finish from the jug of dude/dude direct out right and up to a horrible airy mantel, its yet another locals eliminate ofcourse but good all the same as i found it to be a fair bit harder than the original finish. I did it from a jumping start to try and work out the sequence and once i had done it once sat down and tried to work through dude direct into it to make it as awkward as possible, it took me about 10 goes to stick the dyno as it was so muggy but 44 midge bites and an hour later it was done. From catching the dyno match the jug and move right to crimps, high rock over to poor side pull and up again to small flake and then mantel. Like I said its a another locals eliminate but certainly makes dude direct sustained and if you did the dude satrt into it it might make it a grade harder.

Good news for Stewart yesterday as he climbed his first E1 in the sunshine of cummingston, done in fine style with little effort. I got in an E4 at the same time and wer off back again today to work on something a little harder.

V9!

Progress is being made all round on the bouldering front in Inverness, by the time the new season comes round there is the potential for some hard repeats and new lines all round. Back up at Ruthven within 20 hours of the last session so was very conscious of how long my skin would last. The realisation that Lorraine came minus her shoes could have ended the day right there but she managed to put up with a pair of mine for the evening and climbed extremely well considering!

Agonisingly close early on

After a couple of warm up routes got back on Dude Direct V9 after first trying it yesterday, with a few hours rest it seemed more manageable but still hard. Was distraught 15 minutes later after catching the hold and holding the swing all the way to the point where i came back into the wall and sure enough fell off!! A quick lie down in disbelief sorted my head out and next go held it even longer before coming off. Ben and I had the conversation yesterday of the point you reach in your mind that is like a light coming on and you know you will do it next go. I struggle to see how this happens and I suppose nobody really knows why or how it happens or if it really happens at all. You may or may not know what im talking about or you may think im talking rubbish but its a strong force in my eyes. Sure enough next time I held the swing and it felt suprisingly positive as did all the holds to the top, I was still very conscious not to blow it on the top mantle but got there! A happy boy after my first V9 and really pleased to get the second repeat especially after Ben getting the first repeat in the day before.

Crux Dyno(Big thank you to Lorraine for the perfectly timed photo)

Once i came back down i had to prove a point to myself that it wasnt a fluke so after a two minute rest to get rid of the pump got back on it and did it again first go and it felt even better and smoother the second time!!! Awsome day and now psyche is at an all time high, its time to find a project get strong and get even more psyched!!