Beer then wine - fine. Wine then beer - oh dear. My sister and new hubby came down for tea on Friday night. I drank everything placed in front of me which was my undoing. Saturday was a wash out as a result, but my mood was matched by the weather. Attempted to console ourselves by going to the cinema, choosing 'Fox and child' as something suitably easy going to sit in front of. Good god. This is almost without doubt the worst film I have ever seen. And in fact, I can't truly claim to have seen it - we walked out after 45 minutes. Its supposed to show a relationship between a Fox and a child, but what you actually get to see is an irritating fox pestering oik chasing after a reluctant Basil bloody brush. Boom boom. Its the same director as the March of the Penguins - which I'd loved, but instead I got fucking Carebears. 1/10. The 1 is for nice cinematography.
Sunday was a better day altogether. She went to meet the girls to talk weddings and I arranged to meet Foley at 12. At 1230 I sent him a if you dont reply I am going here message, and he rang. We arranged to meet at the Foundry (as he thought it would all be wet) at 1330. I figured I would set the far reaching text tentacles in motion and find out if there was anything dry. The texts I got back were quite reassuring, so I decided to set off and have a look. I could be back in time to still meet him I thought. He'd said the snake was like a river, manchester was tipping it down - Doom and gloom, etc. I got to Stoney and it looked like a pretty good day to be honest. Hmm. Texted him to that effect and pushed on to the tor. Last summer I almost exclusively went to the tor, and this summer I haven't been at all. It's the first time I have seen it sans tree too. It looks wierd - empty. There are holds in the dirt though. My initial reaction to the felling was of righteous indignation, but really, in the global scheme of things it doesn't really matter, and I suppose it is a bit strange that all those routes started out of it anyway. I just dont know why anyone would have been possessed to do it?
Anyway, JLS, Alain, Brian and John Cooke are all bimbling around by the pinches wall. I have a quick mooch down the right hand side and its all totally mint. Conditions are better than I have seen since spring. The sun is out and the rocks are dry, plus, there's a cold wind whipping past the base of the crag. It feels good. I warm up and I feel allright but not very bouldering strong. John and I start waxing on about Revelations and he fancies a go too, so we head up there. I've never pulled on Rev' before, and it's one of my goals for the year, today is as good a day as any to get started. The first move is a bit wierd but OK. A strange opening of the hips leads to a reasonable pocket for the right, but there's a stepped roof above it so you cant bear down. Its one of those holds that if you moulded it and stuck it on a board, you'd be able to crush it - by crimping, but because of the roof above, you can't, you have to half crimp it, and I, clearly, am weak in this position. Neither of us does the move, but I have an idea of what is involved and am going to go away and work that position.
Seb turns up and we enjoy being rude to each other. Its a gorgeous afternoon, when the sun is behind the clouds its cold - shirt on weather, and when its out its a bit too warm. It feels like a summer Sunday afternoon, like its a good day for taking things easy. I dont feel like pulling hard, neither do I feel like driving fast on the way home. I love the Peak on a sunday afternoon. It empties of tourists towards the end of the day and the locals have it to themselves (ourselves). Its a more pronounced effect in winter. If you're up at Stanage, say, on Saturday afternoon - its rammed. 'Awwwight geezaaah, cor blimey you wanna caaam daaahhn the Castle mate, apples an pears...' etc, come Sunday afternoon, they've all gone home and its tranquil again. I love being outside. As I said to Jon Boy, anything outside is better than everything in. How things change!
Anyway, Foley fannys around until the end of time and finishes his spell in Sheffield with a quick hour of power at the Foundry. Given that I have given blogspace to the merits of actual rock climbing, I should redress the balance with this from Joe Le Sausage : here's Nacho showing the importance of technique : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhkWmeaUTLw&sdig=1
2 comments:
twisty twisty, did jo put that up there? If so he needs to get that school vid up, its taken long enough!
I am endlessly amazed by the unrelenting pessimism from Sheffielders when it comes to judging the effect of a spot or two of rain! A cynic might be tempted to think folk prefer it down the wall, given how quickly they bottle it at the sniff of a cloud.
Especially in summer, the best conditions are often on windy showery days. Low temps, shading clouds and a drying breeze, what more do these freaks need to drag them from the wall?! :)
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