Blueband

Its great to have a project. I like having something on the go, something to absorb those contemplatative moments when your mind wanders. And so the next one is the mighty Blueband. Some will scoff, as this is powerband backwards missing out some of the holds, but the moves are actually really good. Its butch, kind on the skin and close to the ground so can be tried on ones own. I have previously tried it, but always dismissed it as being slightly too hard and my not being able to do any of the moves. Well, last night I went from zero to a bit better than zero. I have a sequence, I did all the moves, and to be honest, it looked like I could move it up to the being doable category fairly soon. I also went on the Bear Claw, which is another tor classic I havent done. This I have to admit is pretty uninspiring, and so I never put the time in. Well, with a bit of Ned psyche I did all the moves last night and I think that one is on too. Delightfully, another one I dont need an army of spotters, pads or even a belayer for. Being so absorbed in wedding planning of late I have missed having a project to get my teeth into. Now I have two.

 

The Tor was in a fine state last night, and I am delighted to have to retract my 'will Liam leave litter?' question - no is the answer, there were no signs of the Red end boys, so well done Liam for keeping a low profile. I collected Ned from the Works where he had been training and we nattered on the way to the crag. I really felt I enjoyed last nights session there, have been a bit ambivalent of late, but last night my faith was restored. She really is the crag which even after so many visits, still has gems to offer. Actually, this says more that I am a punter and should have tied up these loose ends years ago. Folog joined us later which was nice and that was it.

Pub Job

In the Guardian a couple of weeks ago was a 'Best pub guide', and in
it the entry for Sheffield was the Kelham Island Tavern. Usually, if I
was in that neck of the woods I'd go to the Fat Cat but with this new
knowledge like a feather in my cap, so this was the destination for
the first friday of the month traditional pub outing.

In times past, so every friday and saturday our little band of chums
would meet up and drink beers, and sometimes go out raving etc etc.
Enthusiasm waned, tiredness and homeliness appealed and we all stopped
going. Then one of our number (not me) took the initiative and set up
a recurring Crackbook event to get us to the pub once a month on the
first friday. Its been a good kick up the arse to stop us all from
slothing. I know I am so tired on Fridays that it feels hard at first,
but when I get out its all worth it.

Anyway, this boozer. Very good. Very small inside, but a lovely
trellised beer garden and some nice ales to sample. Farmers Blonde on
tap too. I have a bit of a problem with farmers blonde. I really like
the taste of it, but fairly consistently it seems to give me a
headache. That was Friday.

She and I were up early on Saturday to go to Church, visit the wedding
reception venue and do some other jobs. A busy day ended in the cinema
watching Ice Age 3 - which is palatable, but ultimately empty rubbish.
Still havent seen Star Trek about which I have heard only good things.

Sunday, again its all about the jobs, the house cleaning, the endless
washing etc etc. Drive up to Leeds to see my sister for tea. She has a
new house which she and hubby Andy have bought out in Horsforth. Its
well nice. On a funny sort of crescent road which feels oh so
desperate housewives. House has been previously owned by guy whose
wife died 15 years since, and the absence of the female touch is all
too obvious in the little things around the place. Nothing a bit of
tittivation wont cure.

Last night I was keen to climb again, and it was a good bit cooler.
Headed to the works to meet Dylog and EdRob. Good session, still kinda
warm - ran out of skin and pain threshold before really exhausting
muscles, but it feels like low season for climbing hard at the moment.
Nacho the problem demonstrator is amazing. I love him. I get to abuse
him and he just laughs through it all - I imagine he is plotting some
sort of hideous vengeance involving chorizo. You jump on a problem,
fail, Nacho comes and does it and then you get to follow. And he
manages to do it without being a cock about it. I dont get a 'woo woo
look at me' vibe from him, just a 'I am psyched out of my tiny mind'
vibe of him wanting to climb. Plus, he is captain inspiration.

News that the Copley boys are in situ at Raven Tor reaches my ears.
Whilst this shouldn't be a problem, I feel a bit uneasy about this
whole situation. I am concerned (possibly unfounded) about the leaving
of litter and about them having fires, neither of which may happen -
lets hope not. But my main concern arises out of hearing that locals
and fishermen have already been complaining about the parking
situation, and I cant imagine some dudes camped out in Ben's roof is
going to make things better - not of course, that they are using a
parking space! more that if the locals are already pissed, then this
is fuel to the fires. What I think we have to keep in mind is that we
are privileged to be able to climb at some of these places, and its
best to keep a low key presence where possible. Its not essential that
they stay at the tor - there is an excellent youth hostel within
walking distance, and, the better rested you are, the better climbing
you will do.

Rest of the week looks like this - Wednesday - out somewhere.
Potentially with Folog, Dylog and Edlog. Maybe check this tube place
out? (although I would like to do BlueBand/Staminaband

Boiling point

There really is no point at the moment. Perhaps if you have either air
conditioning or a cellar board then maybe, but all other options look
a bit desperate. On the way into the Foundry I saw Dan and Rob and
they were amazed I was going in. I'd made my decisions based on the
temp and on reports that the peak was soaked.

Tim confirmed Rubicon was hideous, Rae described a mist of
condensation rising from the lake and unclimbable conditions. Jules
and I had chatted on the text, she was going to try the Tor, but I got
another text later to say that 'in' was the right answer. In spite of
all of this, Dan Walker has posted on UKB saying that WCJ Cornice was
a bit damp but ok.

At the Foundry meanwhile, so much as standing up and walking to the
wall was enough to break a sweat and I only lasted an hour and half
before sheets of skin were rolling off and it all felt desperate. Went
home and sat in the back garden with the monster before walking to the
Norfolk Arms for a pint of shandy.

Stag Two

No climbing this weekend, but things have gone on so I have something
to witter on about. Its Thursday night, its late and we are getting
ready for bed. Best man James is driving up from Hastings on the south
coast. ETA 2330. So, I keep my phone on and curl up on the sofa with a
book, its 2200 - I fall asleep almost instantly and wake up at
midnight. He's still not here, but is about to be. I let him in, we
have a whiggy and I get to go to proper bed.

All too soon its time to get up again. He sets up working from the
kitchen whilst I work from the attic bedroom. There are two
interesting things about James' work (runs own product company), he
exists almost completely on Skype and they have improved this no end -
in short, its fully amazing where it used to be a bit crap before. The
most notable thing is that the call quality is outstanding. And the
other interesting thing he gave me was spotify. This is all the music
in the world (if you have fairly mainstream tastes) at your
fingertips, and for free. You cant download it, but you can create
playlists and just listen all day long online. Isnt so good if you are
into electronic music (from what I have seen so far), but is good to
listen to albums and other stuff.

Anyway, we set off for the dales, bikes strapped to the back of the
car and luggage stowed. Its Friday night, and Bradford is well busy
(predicatably). It takes two and half hours to get to Malham, but all
in good spirits and I am delighted when we arrive, as Kirkby Malham
village hall is perfect for our weekend. Indoor camping with cooking
facilities - and opposite the pub. With most people now here, we pop
over the road for a couple, before coming back for home cooked tea.
The kitchen is pretty awesome - proper full catering job, but
inexplicably with a shit electric oven. Suspect its used for buffet
preparation and tea making rather than Sausage and bean cassoulet.
Sausages, real ale and all boys together in one room - its going to be
a pungent aroma by the end of the night. Back to the pub, few more
beers, few more turn up, everyone is tired and we retire about 1am.

Thermarests are great things - really they are, but they are designed
for sleeping on grass, and its suprising just how soft grass must be,
because a hard wooden floor feels uncomfortable even through the
thermarest. Anyway, a bit achey people start blundering around early
in the morning (830) which is another minor issue with the village
hall, when one is up so are you all. My brother in law, Andy, turns up
at 930, and at which point I am informed that the postie has been.
Expecting this to be some stag shenanighans, I depart for the door
with trepidation. There on the mat is a mocked up post card with the
message on the back that Jim (the best man) has fixed it for me to be
a famous Ben for the weekend. The Famous Ben is Ben Hur! I get
outfitted in a centurion outfit and we head out for breakfast. Its
going to be hot, as PVC does not breathe well. Breakfasted and
slightly bilious we begin what feels like an almost vertical climb up
past Malham cove itself before looping back east round the top of the
tarn. This takes us to Street gate, and then the amazing Mastiles lane
which is a roman road which leads right to the tennant arms at
Kilnsey. The downhill section is fast and entertaining and we arrive
at the pub breathless and grinning.

Its funny being admist so much world class limestone and not pulling
on. Kilnsey is busy and as far as I can tell from the road -
completely dry. We pass the crag and continue on the road until
Arncliffe, when we turn left and climb steeply up back towards Malham
tarn. The sun is now out and it feels pretty oppressively still. With
a lot of stops and some fairly serious whinging from the less fit
members of the party we make it back to street gate, from where its a
short but sharp road downhill section back to the village. All but
three zip off to get to the pub, whilst Chris, lee and I turn back and
ride the first two km of Mastiles again, this time branching
rightwards to Weets top, before enjoying the best downhill of the
weekend. Swooping along flat out in a rut chasing sheep down off the
moor. There are swooping jumps and berms and again, the grin factor is
multiplied.

The dales are beautiful. Airton and Kirkby Malham are just so
wonderful little places to look at. I have visions of buying a house
there and becoming a bumpkin. Wish the honey monster was here to see
it, she would love it. But then again, everywhere looks great in the
sunshine and it would be pretty isolated. Perhaps we are too young for
such remoteness quite so soon. The last road section back to meet the
others in the pub feels hard work but worth it to sit on the green
outside the pub, the sun is out, theres a little stream at the bottom
of the green and it just all feels good! With a feeling of summer, and
euphoric post exertion well being in my bones (and a sore arse), we
head back to kirkby malham to change and go out for tea.

You can imagine the rest of the evening. Drinking beer, talking shit
and farting basically. In the morning the parish hall smells like a
sewage work. We have another slap up feed and a walk up to gordale to
watch someone dogging Supercool and tourists nearly maim themselves
trying to climb out on the footpath. Although tired I have had a
lovely time. I feel wobbly (hungover), but euphoric. I drive back to
Sheff, James collects his car and continues on to Battle. Honey and I
go out for tea. I allow myself more beer and we catch up. The day
finishes with Top Gear and the world feels a good place to be.

So then, this week - rock climbing. Weather is supposed to be shit
(for climbing), hot, humid etc. It might dump its load by thurs from
what I read/hear/see. I would like to get back to do Free Monster, and
that might be a good choice, but then foley was on about thormens on
weds. Will have to see if I can flex the time.

Free Monster

Years ago I went on the Free Monster at WCJ Cornice. Its a brilliant
route for me to go on because its everything I'm not good at. There
are no hard moves, no small holds, just lots of good ones and no
respite between them. With it being so warm, both the route and the
Cornice seemed like a great choice of venue, and I wondered how many
others would have come to the same conclusion, but the answer it
seemed, was none.

Dylog and I met at the Norfolk Arms, and I transferred to the newly
Saab seated van. Unlike the gaudy uncomfortable faux racing chair that
was there before, there's now a soft and comfortable leather car seat
out of a Saab. This is a big improvement. We swooped down to Rubicon
and were suprised to see a team on Caviar, which although in the shade
(just), must have felt horrendous in those temps.

The walk to the Cornice is lovely. Perched atop the hill on the
opposite bank to the 'con, a lovely view of the dale coaxes you deeper
into its folds until finally you weave down into the undergrowth to
get to the 'last grand daddy wave of them all, frozen on the point of
collapse' (zippy, in a guidebook somewhere). The mighty Cornice.

The crag is largely dry, with patches of wetness in the middle of BD
but certainly climbable. I set off up Brachiation dance, and whilst I
am teetering on the slab trying to remember what to do I pull a hold
off and get a rope burn into the bargain. In many ways, this is a good
thing, as I have now actually had a proper fall, and of the worst,
most feared type - a slipping off fall on vertical territory - but,
now I know I am not going to die and can climb till I'm off rather
than wimp out. I start again, and negotiate my way through the
dampness to the final break. As I shake out I think to myself whoa!
this is scary, then I think - no it isnt, and I rationalise. I go for
it. Its all fine and my nerves subside. Dylog climbs, slips off the
wetness, but we are only warming up. He strips the route and we move
right.

The routes at the Cornice share some common factors. Usually there is
a tenuous wobbly bit on the slab at the start, then some heel in break
undercutting gubbins at the top. Free Monster (which is right next to
BD) feels very similar, just much harder. I bolt to bolt it putting
the clips in and remember the way. It feels like it will require more
fitness than perhaps I have. But I banish those feelings and try to
think like I am Ben Moon.

Dylog tries, works it all out but has a bit of a whitey about the
pocket before the crux. It feels like a jug to me, so I dont know what
counsel to give. He finds an alternative method and puts in some good
links. Back to me. Redpoint goes. From the ground I climb well, and
confidently, but manage to scum my toe under the roof on some milky
slime, such that when I try to use that foot again I get nothing from
it and fall. Thats ok, its the first time I have been on it in years.
I climb from there to the top. Another good link - I'm pretty happy
with how it all felt after such an absence. Dylog gets to the pocket
but cant make it work. Although we have another couple of goes, the
return I'm getting is diminishing and I put my boots away to wait for
another time.

The walk out is lovely, and we stop off at Rubicon to do the route of
the same name on the way home. Been a couple of years, and the holds
have changed again, but its still a fun route, and about the right
length!

Thats climbing over until Monday at the earliest. This weekend is stag
2 up in the Yorkshire dales, mountain biking with my non climbing
friends. Am well looking forwards to it!

Its not the winning...

Its not the winning that's important, its the taking part that counts. This is true, but its not meant for an already motivated person. What this statement says is that you shouldn't let life pass you by, you should take the chance, get involved - even if you will come last. Who knows what it might lead to - whatever it is might be the start of something new and special.

Its also true that second is the first looser and that there are no prizes for second best, but these statements are meant to motivate those already at the top of their game. The difference is, the first statement is saying have a go - live your life, and the second, well that one urges the already involved to strive for the top.

And so it is. Whatever you do, make the most of the time you have and be the best you can, but don't forget to enjoy the ride.

Normal service resumed

As I walked to the shop to get a sandwich I thought it felt
suprisingly close. Humidity and warmth are not generally sought after
conditions for rock climbing, and with that in mind I wondered what I
should do, and where I should go when 3pm arrived. Given that Stag do
2 is this weekend, I should be riding this week - getting ready for
the weekend, but as I havent climbed much since Swizzy so I wanted to
get back on it and to the Tor I went.

Someone is writing a guide to Minus Ten at the moment. I like Minus
Ten, and I will buy a copy when it is published. These thoughts were
in my head as I drove through Stoney, but I didnt stop. No, I shall
save my bi annual minus ten session for when I am in possession of
this guide. Besides, I had designs on the right hand side of the Tor -
it was time to get involved with Staminaband once more.

There was noone at the Tor when I arrived, and it was boiling. A few
cars in the layby, but they must belong to fishermen as the dale was
tranquil. No crag banter, no chink of karabiners being clipped. I
warmed up, literally - as it was boiling but there was a pleasant
breeze being funneled by the trees down the shady right side.
Thankfully, this was where I was headed. All wasnt completely perfect
however - the base of the crag seemed to have taken on a greenish hue.
Things seemed like they had been damp, but not from seepage. Perhaps
some sort of condensation taking place.

Thought I was going to do the powerband. I have only ever done this
once. I find the last move so desperate (doing it the proper way,
reaching down with the right hand into the undercut), so its always on
the menu for me as I can always get there - the end that is, but never
usually seal the deal. I blast through the meat of the traverse and
find myself feeling suprisingly sparky and remembering to settle my
fingers on the edge of the last pocket. I walk my feet, try to relax
and fall off. Never mind I think, I felt noticeably better at the end
this time. I must be getting fitter (or just better at doing
Powerband?). After a few laps on the last move from a couple of moves
in, I try but fail once more.

Undeterred, I move rightwards to the start of Staminaband (good logic
- cant do the end traverse, make it harder!). I have tried Staminaband
on and off for years. For ages it was strength or technique which
stopped me - I just couldnt do the moves. Then I could do the moves
but not together. Then, maybe two or three years ago I got a bit
fitter and was getting to the end, and it looked on. Well, there's
some work to do to get back there I can tell you. I climb into
Powerband with a bit of a wobble getting out of the undercuts - but
this old bogey move is getting easier. Its not too great a leap of
faith to imagine being able to glide past it effortlessly (a la
Harris). I am aware of someone else having arrived watching and I fall
off early in the Powerband. Its Dave Hesleden. We chat, he heads off
home, such is my charm and wit.

My goes get better, and I find myself failing at the middle 'pillar'
of powerband. The problem with trying Staminaband and being on your
own at the crag is that you have to rest for ages and its very boring.
I play sudoku on my phone in between goes, but I am clearly quite
dense and my mind wanders... Thankfully, Dan Walker, Karl Bacon and
Andy Hutch turn up and save me from myself. We chat, they warm up, I
have a quick go on Blueband - finally working out a way of doing the
first move. As I have never been able to do this before, so the go
when I do it is the best go of my life. Still, I fail on the first
'hard' move (after the first one), but I'm pleased. Its good to have
things to focus on.

So, the rest of this week then. I hope to go out on Wednesday.
Thinking of trying to get to Entree if I can find someone else keen to
come...