Well...this sucks.

Had a climb today. Not a good one. Not a good one by any stretch of the imagination.

Unfortunately I think this is all caused by my visit to the US and the weeks that have followed; when over there I got lazy and fell back into old eating habits; I put on 14lbs in 3 weeks and honestly haven't really done anything about it. I've talked about it with Bailey but I keep being tempted by Two-for-Tuesdays and convenient ice cream offers (especially in this heat). So I'm not in all of that good-a shape, unfortunately, which has a direct impact on my climbing.

Before I left for the US, I was actually climbing to a reasonable standard - I was regularly topping out on 5+ indoor leads and was even top-roping 6a routes. Today I got 75% up a grade 4 lead and had to back down because I couldn't hold myself on to clip in securely. In fact I didn't top out on anything at all - all my flow, my moves, my power and my poise has disappeared. Not saying that I was the world's most elegant climber before I left, but I look like a ham-fisted buffoon up there at the moment. I still have power to do the big moves, but staying static on a hold to clip in saps all of my strength. It's irritating and frankly embarrassing.

A solution to one of my problems. But not a fix-all, upsettingly
enough.

So, I have to work on a plan as to how to rectify this; and quickly - I'm supposed to be leading my first outdoor routes in just over 3 weeks time. My first solution (and the easiest) is to work on my grip strength and endurance. To that end, on the way home today I picked up a tub of Rock Technologies' ExerFlex Power Putty from the good folks at Urban Rock. (I got the medium one to kick off with - it's tough stuff) My plan is to carry it around with me, and in an effort to avoid me picking my nails (which I do a lot, and I'm convinced affects my ability to crimp) have it rolling around in my palm getting squeezed and squished every which way to try and bring my forearm strength up to speed.

I've also resolved to try and get climbing as much as possible, and not just doing top-roped work; I want to get some good bouldering action in to again work on my strength, balance, poise and technique. I won't need a partner so I'm not beholden to climb with anyone which means I can do it pretty much whenever I'm free which is good. I'm also going to try and get to the gym as much as possible to work on pure strength and power, mainly in my upper body and arms - lots of pullups for me!

The intimidating shape of 'The Spike'
following Charlie's successful climb

In matters of a target, me and Charlie discovered something cool at the Westway: indoor climbing walls outdoors. Two great slabs of concrete fitted with climbing holds and pre-placed quickdraws to create some really interesting climbs. I named one (a massive, five-meter wide behemoth that is a permanent, evil-looking overhang) 'The Devil' and the other 'The Spike'. I didn't get far up the main face of the Spike but Charlie took it on, beat it and told me how fun it was. This is my new nemisis. This is my target for the next few weeks - lets see if I can beat it before I get back to Froggatt.

General Housework

Hey folks, just been doing some housework around here; I've updated the FAQ and Useful Links pages, so go and have a look over there, you might find something interesting.

In updates, it looks like I'm headed back to Froggatt in August, this time with a bigger group of 4/5 of us so I'll be talking about the prep for that soon (now that I know more about what I'm doing when I head to the hills!). I have also discovered a good friend of mine from School now climbs in Wales so hopefully I'll get to pop over there in the near future...

Anyway, nothing major to report, see you all soon!

Adventures across a big sea

As many of you may know, I recently took a trip to the USA; the exact reason for the trip I am unable to talk about due to matters of 'national security' (how cool is that I can actually say that legitimately) however during my time off there I got around a few places, many of which were actually a lot of fun and totally relevant to this blog!


Devil's Tower

Now, Devil's Tower in South Dakota is a rare sight to behold. A solid spire of granite rising 1,250ft into the air. I really would try and convey just how tall and awe-inspiring this thing is, but in truth you'd have to see it to believe it. Legends say it was created when some children were saved from a massive demon-bear but whatever did create it certainly left its mark on the landscape.

It's certainly striking...

Up close it's an absolutely crazy prospect; we saw climbers
up it when we arrived but midday heat was too much

Unfortunately, despite incredibly inviting routes and some awesome weather, I had not the gear nor the partner in order to make a decent ascent; not that I think I'd like to at this stage. It's a thousand feet of gruelling multi-pitch climbing without a huge amount of space for protection and even less areas to rest. A climb to the top would certainly be intense!

The Southern side was a bit more forgiving, but not
much further up here the handholds dissappear

There is, however, a nature trail surrounding the tower which is still rather rocky, hilly and appropriately raised above the surrounding landscape to provide some amazing vistas.

Custer State Park

The main nature reserve in South Dakota, Custer State Park is a beautiful bit of the world. Not a huge amount of climbing that goes on there, but me and Bailey made a decent enough fist of it with what we had and tried a bit of scrambling over lakeside boulder formations. The thing that stuck with me the most in the state park was actually the surrounding mountainsides; whilst not being quite as impressive as the snow-capped French Alps or the Appalachians, they had a stark beauty and a unique draw all of their own - no crampons and ice axes for ascents of these; it would be down to shredded palms and skills in the legs.

Bailey makes an excellent job of scrambling up lakeside rock

Unfortunately not very much else on the trip was hugely exciting from an outdoorsy point of view...I ate a lot of food, put on some weight, had some fun and became a redneck for a few days. All in all a good trip though!

I do really apologise for the lack of Climbing-related stuff on the blog so far, but I promise this will change!

Until next time readers (soon)!

Woah, that was a long wait...Sorry!

Well crikey, it's been quite some time since I've posted on here. In my defence I've been away in the US for a month, and not all that much has happened, but I should have put up something by now...

Honestly I think I just forgot. Whups.

Well, I'm currently writing a post about my various adventures in the US (all blog-related, honest) and that should be up in a few days, and I've got some stuff in the pipeline in regards to kit - I keep getting emails from people asking me what I use, so I really should get around to doing something about that.

Also, Charlie and I are heading back to Froggatt in August, this time with a bigger group so that should be interesting - by the sounds of it I'll be considered 'experienced'. Ha! Well...at least there's that to look forward to for you all...

In the meantime here's a fetching photo of me sweating buckets in 30degree heat hiking on the North Downs back in the UK:

Gorgeous