Thursday, 28 February 2008
Tom Peckitt - Yorkshire's nicest man
Last night (weds) I was presented with a dilemma. Spoke to Jim who was Peakside with Adam and the worm. Think he said they were going to do Mossatrocity and then go to yarncliffe. Not that bothered about anything at Yarncliffe, would be nice to join the team, but - it goes dark at 1800, so after leaving Leeds at 1500, I would only really have an hour and a half. Contemplate a split outdoors/in session but decide to go to Caley instead. At 15 minutes from work, I really shouldn't be such a stranger to this Yorks gem. The last time I went it was wet, so with Almscliffe in my back pocket as reserve I left work and legged it to Caley. As I was chatting to the honey monster on the phone at the roadside, a harnessed up Fiend yomped past, through the trees presumably on the way to the edge - wonder if he always drives with his harness on? does he sleep with it on too? and a full rack? the mind boggles!
Bimbled up Otley wall, fingernacker crack etc before moving to Zoo York and finding Tom Peckitt - yorkshire's nicest man. Its pretty green but all climbable, and I'm quietly pleased to have recruited a team to hang out with, especially one containing such an accomplished local hero. We pad out ZY and he pulls on. He's shaking like a shitting dog and theres no way he's gonna do it, but he fights it out and has despatched. Blimey! it looks well feasible to see it done so well, even with the shakes. I have a go and get to the first toe lock, go to sidepull bit, the toe isnt in and i'm scared - drop off. Do that move, and fail on the undercut to edge bit thats coming up, but it does feel possible. My skin is terrible. I have holes from Gardoms in four fingers - as soon as I chalk up my finger tips go pink again and are wet to the touch. This is less than ideal. Do some more links on ZY and really think I could do it. Everything needs to be right for success mind - I'd need to be on it, wearing a toe with rubber on the toe and have a full hand of skin. I can tick none of the boxes on this session, so move to something more realistic - ju ju club. Originally in the old book at 7a+ but everyone says its more like 7b+. I would tend to agree. Tom and I work a sequence and he does it - again, shaky shaky, but gets it done. I get to the top two holds maybe 6 times? but I never do the last move (other than in isolation) It feels really really slippy. Its like its moist. Think its a combo of it being super green and my weeping fingertips. They move their pads to secret seventh. I stay on ju ju club (have done SS before). They move to Ben's groove, and its this that I had ideas about when I thought of coming to Caley, but its high, and one small pad on your own is bold. Join in and comfortably romp past the 'hard' bit but have no concept of how to get my left foot atop the rounded boss. I'm set up in the sidepull and pocket every time, and I try a variety of things with my right foot on that ramp thing, but I'm miles off, and I dont know what to do! Give up and have another failed attempt at ju-ju club. They move to Wainwrights wobble as their last problem. I've never tried it and have a few goes, but it reopens one of my tips and I sack it all off with nothing in the bag when it goes dark.
I'm pretty psyched for Zoo York mind. I think with two pads I would be allright on my own. Hmm. Not really in keeping with the Mosely plan. But I suppose I could try it for half an hour on each visit to do other easier stuff. The grit at Caley is so sharp that its murder on the tips. Good crag though.
I looked across at 8a.nu in the week, and saw that Ted Kingsnorth had done low right press. I was amazed - he was nowhere near such things when I last climbed with him. Happened to mention this to someone and apparently he's out of work at the moment, so is climbing a lot. Its a great effort, and must be one of the quickest progressions I can think of. He added Tsunami to his ticklist this week too. Blimey.
8c Stu also chalked his name on Tsunami's well worn bed post this week too. Apparently he had to match the sloper footless! Is this the shortest persons ascent? I cant think of any other midgets who've done it? Hark back to Keith's comment that it would get downgraded due to the number of people whove done it now. I dont think that means it isnt 8a, it just means that its very accessible. I'm pretty sure it is 8a. I'll entertain your argument if you suggest bouncing off the sloper to the pocket is 7c+, but matching the sloper (like a hero) and walking the feet is for sure the full monty.
Monday, 25 February 2008
Weekend pass
Friday, 22 February 2008
Thursday, 21 February 2008
What would clifford do?
its been a funny couple of days over here in Mortonland. I last posted after a very early morning on the way down to London. Got into town for 8am and can heartily not recommend being dog tired and dazed amidst the peak rush hour commuter chaos. Made it to old broad st, started doing what I had to do which I anticipated finishing about 1300 in order to get to a climbing wall for a few hours. Everything went badly wrong from the off and continued to do so through the morning. It got to 1530 before I could get off to my hotel to drop off my bags and do some testing. I felt fully jaded. Found the hotel and it was grim. Not happy. Checked in and went up to my room. Nothing actually wrong with it, just dilapadated and impersonal. So, I do a bit of testing, have a cuppa and head straight back out. On the tube on the way back round to Liverpool street I feel shocking. cant wait to get to bed, get back on site early and do what I have to do, eventually finishing around half 8. I'm walloped and go straight back to the hotel to sleep.
I start on Tsunami. The holds all feel pretty reasonable, but I really do have this problem pretty wired. Pull on and nail the sloper - feels mint, cant fault the conditions anyway. Walk feet across rightwards, but they feel really insecure and ultimately, my right foot plops off into the mud. I clean everything again, start the stopwatch and put a little chalk dab on the right bits of the footholds. More goes happen and I get to the last move a couple of times, but it feels miles off. The lads loose interest and wander off to try rubicon. I feel around the left hand pinchy undercut thing, and wonder if the little finger catch has shattered a bit more - I think it feels a bit different. Work out there is somewhere for the little finger that changes the move from being a full on slap to being a controlled slap. This doesnt sound much when I write it out, but on the link from the sitter it might be all thats required. Theres another sequence change I've found that I havent mentioned - This session, I've started moving my center of gravity right for the move left into the pinchy undercut thing. It means that instead of having to snatch the undercut, I can take it in complete control - and, crucially, settle that all important little finger on the notch.
The 'I'm going to do this' pre-ascent nerves set in and I wonder if I've had too much coffee. Sit myself down and give my boots a squeak, pull in to the wall and set my hands up in the slot. Because the very back of the pocket is dank, I'm really not using my right hand, just sort of starting with it resting on the lip, as I pull up to the sloper with my right the thought 'What would clifford do' flashes into my head, I smile inwardly and think that he would have done it ages ago and refocus on the job in hand. The subtle changes in position, the nuances of individual holds all come back, I'm in the zone and I know I can do it, with my right hand crimping seven shades out of the sloper, I step right to the spike, stretch underneath with my left foot, then right again onto the good foothold, out of the corner of my eye I can see one of the lads has come back, but is considerately waiting silently a little way down the path, I come in for the match and my thumb locks on to the pinchy thumb catch under the sloper, I move my right hand out of the way and lock up to the press hold in good control. I take it just right, and because I've moved to it slower, I weedle my fingers just perfectly into the hold and move my feet until my right foot is on the square cut hold on the rail. Really bone that right handhold now to pull my weight over my right foot and theres a sweet spot at which it becomes easy to reach back left into the pinchy undercut thing, I'm moving slower and am able to adjust so that my little finger is on the notch. Pull into the position pasting my left foot down on an unhelpful smear, and again, theres a point at which the outward force becomes undercutting force, comes onto your biceps and feels more probable. Stare at the finish jug and bang - I've nailed it! yes yes yes! let out a gurgled cry and it doesnt feel as hard as it should have felt considering how long I have spent trying to do it, but its a slow burning sinking in of happiness that I mute out until that evening. Amazing. I think I have been trying it off three fingers in that undercut until now, and my own advice about wack beta has been borne out in practice!
As soon as I've dropped off and exchanged pleasantries with the lads I've put my stuff away and legged it to the car. Stanage awaits!
Yomp up to Help the young and it feels dead hard. Am being an idiot, and two mins later its done. Turns out that this lovely problem was retro claimed by paul mitchell after char did it. Try the stand and have no idea what to do, plus, theres a fair wind blowing and its fully freezing. I sack it to find brass monkeys which would appear to be more sheltered. What a great problem this looks! Dylan has sent me some beta, but it involves left hand sidepull, then right all the way to the crimp - hellfire - thats desperate! I try it, but end up flying backwards down the gully and with visions of breaking my legs I back off and walk back to the car.
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Sunday School closure
The boss lady has just moved into the office behind my desk, so my usual blogging spot is again under siege. This morning I'm on the train, so it doesn't matter. After saturday's siege of the plantation my skin was (and still is) bad, so I was happy not to climb on sunday, but it was another perfect day and I had to get my carcass outside as much as possible. We did some cleaning housey type jobs, I got called by work, and then we headed out to the hills for a walk. We were going to go down to monsal head, so i could see whether rubicon was as dry as I have heard (talking to that scottish Lynne girl yesterday, the tor is wet) but as I had been called, I kind of needed to stay within mobile phone signal incase they called again (they didnt, but had i gone down wcj dale I bet they would have done), so we parked the car at the yorkshire bridge and walked up win hill instead. It was a gorgeous day. However, chavs seem to favour win hill, as there were loads of henri lloyd garments and football shirts making a pilgrimage to the summit. They obviously cant read maps either, as they get to the top, turn around and walk back down the way they came up. Wierd. We did a big loop and came back in along the shores of the resevoir. Stopped in the pub for some food - pleasantly suprised. Both cheap and nice, and it came quickly! Finished the day watching Shaun of the dead which I'd taped over xmas. A brilliant weekend. Lovely.
Yesterday I called the Foundry to see if Neil was back and whether I could start my two month free pass. Neil was back but there is some confusion over one of the other level's prizes and I couldnt get in for free just yet. Well, once I get my free pass I will be using it as much as I can, so I certainly dont want to be paying in and getting sick of it on my own money, so I tried to go to the board. On sight at least there was no change, the sign is still on the door and our key was there, but when you try to use it to unlock the door it will not turn. Its like the council have deadlocked the door shut or something. I need to mail this out to the other school users, but I wouldnt be at all suprised to discover that this is the last time I will get to do basic jez. And, I never did turd reich! Will I ever feel the pinch? Rubbish. Hopefully, we will get a reprieve, but I wouldnt bank on it. So I pushed on to the works for a couple of hours. Always leave the works feeling that I havent done much/enough/anything, and certainly that i didnt climb well, but its so steep and so long and so different to outdoor climbing that I dont have the prerequisite wall strength to succeed. Busby turns up and we laugh like hyenas.
Plans for the weekend are brewing, but theres a big question over the weather. Apparently, it will all change by thursday. So, I had harboured desires of yorkshire, thinking about either earl or crookrise, but not if its raining.
Saturday, 16 February 2008
Brad pitt
Passed Adam Long on the way in at fiddlers elbow - whats this? adam on way back at 930? surely it cant be crap and he is on his way home already? it hasnt rained for days and the sun is out. The car reckoned -1.5 in the car park, but walking up to the plantation with two pads on I soon warmed up. Travelled light - just pads, one pair of shoes, chalk and a flask of coffee. The grass was crispy with virgin frost and slippy to walk on, hopped from boulder to boulder, feeling velcro like friction under muddy soles - surely it cant be wet.... and it wasnt.
Started off on the pebble bimbling about. Saw a nice picture of Ned doing boston mess in the week. Have always been massively underwhelmed looking at it, and understand its a bit eliminate? didnt even look in the end, but will have to get him to show me. Did pebble arete on both sides, that easy thing on the side facing towards careless torque, and then a quick pootle on deliverance. The lack of wind plus pots of sun was enough that I was back to t shirt. Couldnt do it, couldnt really remember what I was supposed to do with my feet.
Moved to the green traverse, did some elimanates and a few laps before moving to captain hook. Bruised my cocyx years ago trying this with a wack method, and nearly wasted skin trying to do so again today. Adam turned up just in time and confirmed what I was doing was stupid and the way I discounted was in fact correct. Why do I do this? If I dont do something quickly I think too much about it and start to become convoluted. Get it done and do that fun thing just next to it where you climb a hanging arete. Dont know what its called, but its quite easy, and very fun.
Just below the hanging arete theres a little face with a pair of opposing pockets. You smear, grasp the pockets and then pop your right to a chip, I do this and then Adam shows some good problems on the other aretes. I follow where I can, excepting the one he falls off as it looks hard.
More and more people are turning up now and its starting to look busy. As it turns out, most people are either walking or tradding, and the blocs arent too busy. We move over to the storm and to my delight there's noone there. Put all the pads down and Adam has a go. It feels terrible so he drops off to brush it. Has another go and does it easily - watching adam highlights clearly exactly what I have been doing wrong. I have been trying to rock straight up where he sits over on his heel, mantles his left hand right back past his body moving his center of gravity over his heel and then all he needs to do is move his left hand out to the lip - easy. I try my best to make the heel work but it just isnt secure, I dont feel good, so I go back to the toe. It takes me a few more goes, but I've seen what I was doing wrong. Another chap turns up and joins us, I know I am either one or two goes away from success, Adam does something scary up the right arete and I have another go, rocking more leftwards on to the toe and mantling with my left hand. I reach the limit of movement, and stretch my left hand out to the lip managing to snag three tips over the lip, start to barn door, but the friction is so good I stay on and after I've stopped the overbalance I settle my hand and mantle out to glory. I'm pleased and it feels good - especially as its something I had on my own pre-roy list, but I'm not ecstatic for some reason.
Adam suggests brad pitt (his rules are that if its good on the storm it will be good on the pitt). Theres noone on it and its mint condition - plus, I have the best Plantation coach there is, I cant miss this opportunity, might actually do something! I phone the honey monster and explain - thankfully, She's very understanding and my pass out gets extended.
Someone starts up archangel - It looks amazing. Adam takes some pictures, we have some goes on BP, I try to adopt the 'coming over with left hand' beta, but it feels totally improbable, and I switch back to the right hand gaston method. We take a break for a coffee and a familiar face walks over and says hello. Its one of those people who I dont know but I do know. I've seen the face before but I dont have a name, and its probably a nod to at wall type of person. Said person says hi and starts talking to adam. My hearing is notoriously bad (she and I say that she is see no evil monkey, and I am hear no evil monkey) and when the newcomer quips something about this 'ere blog I miss it at first, then he elaborates saying that he is going out with my friend Helen - and I know who it is! and its good news! the person is fiend, and fiend isnt who I thought he was! Am delighted! this person seems really nice, which is good, because the other chap wouldnt have been right for her. She is at Bamford (or Baslow) and apparently coming later. Some more pleasantries exchanged and I go back to the pitt.
Adam shows a few different methods and I inch closer. I start to scooch my right foot up against the wall, and it feels good, and I think I know then that I can do it. I've got here before, but all thats stopping play now is fear, I dont want to match the gaston. Tell adam to give a spot and thats all I need to really try. Do the match on the gaston and confidence gets massive boost - it feels really steady, but I dont think I can move up.
The next goes are all about building confidence in what feels like a very tenuous position. The nervousness of knowing I could do it is made worse by dwindling skin and I'm worried that I will be beaten back before the deed is done. Pull on, slap the heel on and roll it into position. Scum my right foot and bang to the gaston, weedle it into the right postion and push and oppose with
all my limbs until a bit more weight comes on to the heel and then I match, feel well insecure, but dead point the crimp and with a bit of a shuffle am more and more over the heel. In my subconcious I can hear adam shouting to go for it, and I've managed to move up just enough to pop to the top jug... Bang! I lash out like my life depends on it and I'm there! Adam yells, I yell, I pull up so fast I pull my feet off the holds and I'm on top - AAAARGHHGHHGHG! I've done brad pitt! get in! very happy.
Shout some gentle abuse at Jon Barton and collect all my belongings, planning to check out help the young before finishing for the day. I have split a tip but am full of beans and keen for more.
Adam explains, demonstrates and chats to a mancunian dude about chamonix. Jim turns up. I dont know if I can hold the hold as right hand is bleeding and skin tres thin. Jim dispatches and I pack up and walk down.
A really good day out. And hasnt it been better than flailing at rubicon? god yes. This programme of Roy's feels like am being made to rediscover the joy of climbing, and its really made me appreciate being out with people. Operating in isolation is ok, but when you are working something new out I think its invaluable to be with others. Plus, its really nice to get to know new people. Its going to be a best ever year for me at this rate, I am doing more climbing than ever before, and rediscovering what I loved about it in the first place.
Thursday, 14 February 2008
Build up to buoux
James and I did routes at the foundry last night. This is the start of buoux training. It felt good, but I suprised myself by being unscared. I even felt like I was climbing above the bolts, not backing off being a homo. Its two years since I got dropped though, so perhaps the memory is finally fading. Even took a lob. The routes climb well, and I will be using my two month freebie pass to good effect and doing as many as I can. Pockets are apparently order of the day at Buoux. Sharp manufactured ones. Hmm.
On a course today. Half read a mail from Dr Pinch (ed robinson) that he has hurt his back surfing. And that he cannot read this blog any more. Get well soon ed. Not that you can see this. Chill tomorrow, climb saturday morning.
