I am not sure what has happened with Britain’s weather over the past few months. We have had unseasonably high temperatures, mixed with humidity and rain; this as we all know does not result in good climbing conditions. There has been the odd spell of cold dry days but just as momentum starts to build with psyche and motivation, in sweeps another warm, wet front to dash any hopes of ticking off those projects. The weather being like this also makes it hard to train- what are we training for?! Why do we do this?! Are questions that circulate around my head. So, if the weather in the UK wasn’t going to supply me with psyche I would need another impetus, and the only way I know of is a.... plane ticket!! A few clicks and phone calls later, a flight was booked!! Colorado here we come!! I have always wanted to visit Rocky Mountain National Park and Mt. Evans, the lines don’t look as stunning as places like Rocklands or Bishop but the movement looks phenomenal. Boulder also looks like a fun place to hang out, eat nice food and live the good life!

It’s funny how a piece of paper promising to take you to a new destination and a substantial decrease in one’s bank balance can increase levels of psyche tenfold, but for me it is definitely the answer to waning levels of motivation.

Training was planned over Christmas in Ireland and after the food consumption it would definitely be needed!!! My family seems to awaken at around 6:00am and cook non-stop till bed time! Amazing!

A wet trip to Fontainebleau over New Year didn’t even dampen my spirits; I managed to complete the Real Thing ticks with Bicep Mou, drink a good amount of red wine and eat some lovely buttery air, that the French call croissants!

After having nearly 3 weeks of very little climbing it was time for the training! The weather even played ball. Rubbish weather means I don’t feel guilty for not going out on the rock! However we managed to get the odd day of nice weather. In early January I went back to Darkstar, a highball 7c+ of John Welford’s that seems to have been all but forgotten. I brushed it up and worked out the moves before Christmas but it was a bit damp to finish it off. A cold, breezy day came and that was the first thing on my mind. After warming up at home and giving the holds a chalk on a rope I managed to send it on my second (and third) attempt. I was made up, it felt so much better because I had had to clean it up and put a bit of effort into making it climbable again. A great problem that will hopefully see a little more attention now. I was lucky enough to get the ascent captured by Outcrop Films and it will appear on the upcoming film Life on Hold.

Darkstar, 7c+: Courtesy of Outcrop Films

The good weather disappeared as quickly as it had arrived and it was back into the training! Always keeping a watchful eye on the weather, as time on rock is really important for me! During this period fellow Moon and Five Ten athlete Phil Schaal stopped over in the UK for a week before heading to the granite boulders and cold temperatures of Ticino. The weather meant he spent most of his time in the wall but he also sampled his first FULL English breakfast, Fish and Chips and a typical pub meal of.... PIE!! He managed a few sends too, of which I am sure he will update you all at some point!

 A cold front seemed to be coming for the end of January and beginning of February. Fingers crossed!

And as we all know a few good days did arrive! I headed up to Bowden for the weekend; having never been here before I was as excited as a child on Christmas morning. There were particular things I wanted to try but I basically ran around for 2 days trying everything!! Both days we were first at the crag and last to leave, it reminded me of times gone by when if you weren’t completely boxed with bleeding tips then the day hadn’t been a success! I will definitely be visiting the County more often as there are a number of climbs I would like to do up there. More restraint will be critical next time!

Staggered, 7b: Courtesy of http://marksavagephotography.blogspot.com/

Another problem on my winter tick list was Brownian Motion at West Chevin in Yorkshire. This was climbed by Andy Brown way back when.... well I don’t when but needless to say it didn’t get repeated for a long time. Andy had used a toe hook around the arête which was a country mile away and given it the paltry grade of 7c+. Strong Bingly based Martin Smith aka Shaggy aka Pencil aka Terrace Ghost decided to use strength (as opposed to seriously long legs) to get the long awaited second ascent a couple of winters ago and proposed a more realistic 8a+ for it. Dave Barrens grabbed the third ascent earlier in the month and after watching the video of Dave doing it I was psyched! A few easy set up moves leads to a long lock off a right hand crimp to a slopey left hand rail, this is followed by poor feet and a number of poor right hand intermediates to the top! It was fifth day on but I had done relatively little (even sacrificing training) the previous day as I knew the weather looked pukka! A friend Dom volunteered to come along for moral support and a spot, he was resting on his laurels after climbing The Pinch at Crag X the day before. Arriving at the Crag I felt good, it looked even better in real life and much higher than I had expected but with a perfectly flat landing. I chalked up the holds and to my relief it wasn’t even damp. I had briefly warmed up on the finger board at home but the rock was cold. Needless to say I jumped on, soon realising that the first right hand crimp was sharp! My goes would be numbered! Thoughts of going home with a split tip after a few tries were not appealing. A few more goes and I was close to the long move up to the left hand hold but my skin was becoming wafer thin. I estimated two more goes at most! The long move for me seemed to be a mix of a lock and a pop at the last minute. I put the poor skin thoughts out of my head and pulled on, hit and adjusted the right crimp and surged up to the slopey rail and this time stayed there, for a brief moment surprise stopped me dead, I re-adjusted the hold-it was worse than I had expected- I brought my left foot out onto a very small foot hold and moved my right hand to the first intermediate, as I did this my foot popped, I tensed everything, getting to the top of my out swing I realised I had just managed to stay on. I steadied myself and campussed to the next intermediate, steadied myself again and went for the top hold!! Holding it and topping out from darkness into sun was one of my best climbing feelings!! I had been frustrated with my attempts at climbing outside recently and with this send it all disappeared!! I couldn’t believe first time after doing the first hard move I had managed to continue to the top, especially with the cut loose and campussing!

Ecstatic was the word and relief, my right index wouldn’t have taken another go. Three hours driving (there and back) and £15 in petrol for 7 goes to climb a bit of rock and it was all worth it, having said that the line between success and failure must have been pretty thin. The mental battle to have done the drive again knowing I would only get half a dozen goes would have been difficult! Oh climbing is a funny game!!

I finished the week off with a send of Zoo York, an overhung arête imported directly from Switzerland and Terry, a highball slab involving a mono pinch on pebbles, definitely a more typical gritstone experience!!

A few other ticks during this week of good ‘nick’ included- Domes sit start (Rowtor), Green Man (Stanton Moor), Salle Goose and River of Life (Turningstone).

River of Life, 7c+: Courtesy of Outcrop Films.

Salle Goose, 7c: Courtesy of Outcrop Films.

Since returning from Africa I have been as busy as a honey bee on a summer’s day. Juggling work, weekends away, time for training and lucking out on good weather has been difficult and for this reason my mind and overall climbing ability seems to have been in a dark place!! I knew however this would change; climbing (or my climbing at least) is always going through peaks and troughs and it’s just about getting through the low times. The way I climb really does affect my mood and this vicious circle tends to continue with poor training sessions or wasted time on rock.

Enough of the misery, I think I can see the light and there have been some fun days and even the odd successful day amidst the gloom. This blog will aim to be short; an instalment of my activities over the past few months!

 

Not having a trip to train for makes pulling your finger out, in terms of training, difficult in my opinion. Hats off to everyone who manages this! Feeling weak after my trip to Africa meant that something had to be done. So I went back to basics; fingerboarding. I hung some pieces of wood (thanks Ned and Leo for their kind donations) up in the cellar and so, during this rainy and humid time, I can put on some music and retreat down into the darkness, to sooth my inner training demon!

As well as the fingerboarding I have had a few good days out; in September I repeated Vanilla Sky, a Mike Adams 8a+ at Anston Stones. Over the past few years Mike has been developing the magnesium limestone areas to be found near Rotherham, resulting in some good and VERY hard little problems!! Vanilla Skies is one of his most recent, but in terms of moves I think one of his best. Being at the problem took me back to the Frankenjura... a small but very compact limestone buttress, hidden deep within the woods. For limestone it really does have a little of everything- an ‘eggy’ sloper that the crux revolves around, a heel hook that is very tricky to place and a few moves that require a lot of body tension plus the obligatory small, sharp holds and a nice mono side pull! I got close on my first session, sticking the crux slap to the sloper but unable to bring my heel out from under the roof. On my second session I felt awful and nearly returned home with my tail between my legs but then out of nowhere I had a good go and the send felt on. I realised that I just hadn’t warmed up properly! After a good 20 minutes rest, which is always difficult when you are on your own, I felt ready to go again. Squirreling my fingers into the first left hand slot takes time; it is always damp and is very small and narrow. Pulling on, I moved into the right hand undercut, adjusted my feet and slapped for the ‘egg’, it always feels as if I will come up short. Hitting the slope I adjusted my feet and ninja kicked my left heel out onto the hold, now it was just a case of praying it stayed put long enough for me to get through the top bit. Lots of re-adjusting later I reach the side pull mono and stood up to the finishing jugs! Very exhilarating as my climbing has been poor lately and the send was very unexpected after feeling sloth like for the majority of the session.

I am now trying Serenity another problem of Mike’s near Roche Abbey; I have had two sessions on it and am slowly piecing it all together with just the crux move still to go. For a limestone crag it requires amazingly cold conditions- talking to Mike the other day he said he didn’t go there unless there was frost on the ground!! I am hoping cooler temperatures come and allow me to put the few more sessions I think I need to do it. It’s the hardest thing I ever tried and I am really excited for the process of figuring everything out so that I can get to the top. As I said in a previous blog I don’t think I have ever really pushed myself to see what I am capable of, hopefully this will be the first of many...

Other days out include a very, very hot and humid day out to Churnet. I managed a few problems I hadn’t tried before but the real purpose of the day was just to have fun and test out the new boom that the Outcrop boys have got; needless to say this will definitely add to the quality of their capturing the moment, especially on highballs!!

This brings us nicely to yesterday and a fun day out at Stanage. A friend, Calle has been over from Copenhagen for a week and this was his last day. He had tried Brad Pitt earlier in the week and got close before fatigue set in. So after a rest day hopefully it would be his! To cut the story short it was and he managed it in very fine style indeed, after a 9 month finger injury and very little outdoor climbing his elation was obvious. We then put the pads under Big Air and after a few minutes plucked up the courage to jump the gap, hold the pocket and continue to the top. Moving leftwards we joined Rob Smith and co on Beneath the Breadline (another classic that I had never tried). After figuring out the beta to transition from the left side of the arête to the right, we both managed to scoot up to the top. A brilliant example of gritstone climbing; smeary arête climbing with subtle body positions and a bit of spice to make sure you get a flutter of the heart or two.

And this brings us to this morning; it’s raining, I am going to leave the cellar session for today and probably climb on the board at the Works, another part of getting myself back in shape. I want to work on my shoulder and deep lock strength so think I will be using the big footholds for some time to come!!

Climbing seems to be improving and with this so is the mind; fingers crossed for some cold, dry autumnal days so that projects can be sent and new ones started and of course I will continue to dangle from small pieces of wood in a damp, dark Victorian cellar!

Sorry it didn’t end up short at all, maybe I should I start a journal in order to cut these ramblings down!

The idea of going to Rockland’s this summer had been batted about for over a year and after eventually booking our flights in April I allowed myself to start getting excited. You don’t have to be a climber to look at the landscape of Rockland’s and be left speechless, but it does add to the excitement! The amount of rock there really is incredible; orange sandstone boulders and cliff faces as far as the eye can see.

The Amphitheatre, 8a.

Photo: Jon Butters

A big group of us were staying in a large farmhouse at Travellers Rest; you could walk to the closest climbing area from our house and the furthest area was 20 minutes drive. The walk-ins however tended to be a bit more of a slog, on average between 20-40 minutes; it did mean that you were thoroughly warm by the time you got to the boulders and feeling ‘fit as fiddle’ by the time we left Africa.

The area itself is quite sparsely populated but during the summer months is taken over by boulderers and botanists. The locals definitely seem to prefer the boulderers!!

We arrived on July 5th and were immediately greeted by 30° heat and unfortunately this stayed for the majority of the month. Great for rest day tanning sessions that were needed far too often after the destruction of skin on hot, sweaty rock! With August came a little more rain and some colder temperatures that allowed for an increase in dispatching.
The climbing style in Rockland’s is quite gymnastic; it tends to be big moves between fairly good holds requiring lots of power, tension and compression. In theory this should have suited my climbing style quite well but perhaps I was a little under prepared in terms of training and maybe a little over confident. Needless to say the first few weeks were not a success...added to the heat and big holes in my skin, I was not a happy bunny!! I decided to just stick to doing as much climbing as possible and, if weather and strength allowed, try some harder things nearer the end of the trip.

Broadside arete, 7b.

Photo: Jon Butters

This seemed to work and I started to enjoy the climbing much more; my confidence improved, bringing with it some good ticks. I never really went back to trying the harder things; I was enjoying doing as much as I could far too much.

I had also decided that I definitely wanted to return in better shape for the harder climbs like Sky and Amandala.

It’s funny how mental climbing is; as soon as things start going well you get on a role and everything is perfect but with failure comes the cycle of misery and however much you flog yourself nothing seems to come of it. I suppose that is what really makes the difference between the best and the rest as they say; yes genetics and strength, technique and fitness help but at the end of the day it’s all in the mind.

I had an amazing time in Africa and learnt a lot that will hopefully aid me in the future. I remembered that I love climbing as much and as often as I can when I visit a new area. Near the end of the trip I climbed for a few hours each day for 7 or 8 days in a row and felt better by the end of it than ever. I also learnt that not completing a hard problem can also be rewarding, the process of enjoying the climbing every time you go is as important as the actual send. The last and probably the most important thing in terms of pushing my personal climbing is that I don’t think I have ever put enough time into one climb, therefore I think I am capable of climbing much harder than I have ever climbed before and this feels very liberating. You read about people putting 10, 12, 20 or 100 days into a project, I have never put more than 5 or 6 and even they will have involved very short sessions or ones in awful conditions. Fingers crossed I can build up the mental strength and afford the petrol to put the time into something that is really hard for me!!!

Leap of Faith, 8a.

Photo: Nick Brown

I have digressed from Rockland’s; the place is amazing- beautiful scenery, great climbing and you can do it all in shorts and t-shirts which is always a bonus. June and August appear to be better months than July (a shame it’s in the middle of them) but we could just have been unlucky. It would be too much to describe individual problems and the feeling about climbing them so below is a list of what I managed to get to the top of.

The one thing I will describe is the feeling of not climbing the Vice. I hate the idea of having an antithesis in climbing and describing a problem as such but if that exists then the Vice is my antithesis. A power endurance problem based around compression with a million different options for beta, definitely not something I thrive at but it is one of the best climbs I have ever seen and getting shut down on it was fun! After the first session I had done the moves and thought I had my beta figured out, this changed on the second and third session, eventually settling with the most basic and powerful beta shown to me on my fourth session by Joey Kinder. So the previous sessions wasted and with time running out I managed two more sessions on it, coming dangerously close 5 times the day before we had to leave. One more session and it would have been mine. All the thoughts of... if I hadn’t wasted sessions trying duff beta or why didn’t I try it earlier passed through my mind but in reality I loved every minute of it and yes a story book ending would have been nice but it wasn’t to be. This boulder really did teach me that I can climb much harder than I ever have; I didn’t do it but I am not sure why as it didn’t feel hard, I could jump back on straight after falling off and finish it easily. Next time and there definitely will be a next time....

The Vice, 8b.

Photo: Jon Butters

Tea with Elmarie 8a+
Shosholoza 8a+
In Between Dreams 8a+
Black Shadow 8a+
Royksopp 8a
The hatchling 8a
Green Mamba 8a
Out of Balance 8a (flash)
Salam 8a
Black Velvet 8a
Leap of Faith 8a
Panama 8a
Barracuda 8a
The Amphitheatre 8a
Au Bord de l’eau 8a
Macho King 7c+ (flash)
No late tenders 7c+
Pinotage 7c+ (flash)
Splash of Red 7c+
Hole in One 7c+
Black Mango Chutney 7c+ (flash)
The shark 7c+
Stretched and Pressed 7c+
Ron, Ron et Caramel 7c+
Red Piano 7c
Kingdom in the Sky 7c (flash)
Last Day in Paradise 7c (flash)
Tomorrow I’ll be Gone 7c
Little Wing 7c
Jaws 7c
Time Out 7c
Sproing 7c
Winnie 7c (flash)
Caroline 7c
 

Fair Head classics! from Tops Off 4POWER on Vimeo.

Ireland; home to leprechauns, Guinness and more unclimbed rock than you can shake your stick at! A friend Ryan said he was heading over there a few months ago and I thought it would be a nice break; a chance to visit somewhere new and check out some bouldering of the rock variety!

We were lucky enough to get a bed at Casa Bell. The hospitality we received was of the highest quality; not only comfy living quarters, training facilities and guided tours of Fairhead but gerbils to entertain us as we sipped (downed) Jagermeister!

Now to the climbing... there seems to be a LOT of rock in Ireland, I only visited Fairhead; this was reckoned to be the area in best nick at the time. I climbed 3 days whilst there and was pretty impressed. Bouldering in Ireland is definitely not as popular as routes and this means there is a tonne of projects to climb. The boulders that have been established at Fairhead tend to be the cream of the crop; tall lines on super good rock. I would go as far to say that the few things I climbed would not be out of place in Fontainebleau! Quite a bold statement but in my eyes true. I would also say that only 5-10% of Fairhead has been developed; it will take effort but for the explorers out there the potential is endless. I was lucky enough to climb most of the existing blocs there and add a few delights to the area as well as being coaxed into abseiling off the top of Fairhead, quite a scary experience and needless to say I won’t be swapping foam for ropes anytime soon!

I have done relatively little development of boulders in my time climbing and so the opportunity to add a few things to the area was really special. I can see why people get such a buzz from doing a first ascent. Ricky was nice enough to show me a wall he had brushed last year; we gave it another clean and had a play but didn’t have enough pads to make it safe and so returned a couple of days to finish it off. Now being from the Peak when someone tells you about a project I never hold my breath. So when I saw what later became known as Homme Jomme I was pretty blown away! A 35° overhanging wall with just a few holds and a spicy, slightly technical top out! The next time we returned it was pretty humid; I Abed down and chalked the holds, we had six pads this time so the landing would be transformed into a big hug! I then proceeded to wait for it to cool a little, after 20 minutes I was bored of waiting and pulled on my boots. Holds brushed, hands chalked and even a tops off 4POWER moment, I pulled on. I think after the first move I knew I was in, I just felt good, although a foot pop at the top nearly ended it all I managed to stay on and proceed to the top. Probably only 7c but so good; a mixture of power and technical climbing!

On our last day we headed to try a problem called The Penitent Man Shall Pass (points for naming what film this is from)! This is probably the best line at Fairhead; a tall, slopey arête with Fontainebleau style holds and climbing, and of course a compulsory scary top section. After doing the stand, I decided to look at the project sit start. Now normally I don’t think it is necessary to add sit starts to tall lines but this is the obvious place to start this boulder. A good finger jug allows you to pull off the deck and do a big move to a slopey edge; from here a throw to a good hold puts you into the stand. The nice thing is that it adds a dynamic two move 7c into a technical arête climb; variety is the spice of life after all! I stuck the first move but managed to drop the crux of the stand, a few goes later I managed to do the move again, and sticking the crux of the stand I just had one more scary move to do, I switched off my brain and went for it, catching the penultimate hold with two fingers was luckily enough and I topped out! This is probably one of the best climbs I have ever done and is definitely a world class bloc, doing it first also adds a little for sure!

A perfect end to a really good trip and I will definitely be returning to explore a few other areas of Ireland’s bouldering. Big thanks to Ryan, Rob, Ricky and Magek for making everything nice and easy!

A few snaps of David Mason on a recent trip to Fairhead in N.Ireland

ohh arrhhhh

 

FA Homme Jomme 7c

 

FA The Pentient Man Shall Pass Sit Start 8a

 

FA The Pentient Man Shall Pass Sit Start 8a

 

The Pentient Man Shall Pass Stand 7c

 

The Spastic 7c

David and Ned spend a day in North Wales with the Outcrop Film crew...

Will 8a from Outcrop Films on Vimeo.

David Mason Climbs Three 7c's from Outcrop Films on Vimeo.

 

Dave Mason on his new route... Pink Lady 8a

Snatch, one move, 8a, Stanage plantation.    Photo by: Nick Brown

David Mason evades the wind and hits up a local 8a+