After the joys of a decadent festive season in London I headed out with friends to Fontainebleau to celebrate the New Year and do some bouldering. As we drove there, it was raining; when we got there, it was raining; and for the first four days, it rained. Fontainebleau is an amazing climbing venue, one of the best in the world but the one thing that brings it down is the weather. During our trip of seven days we had two and a half days climbing, which is better than nothing and worth the wait. I was lucky enough to try Irreversible, a high ball 7C at Manoury. It is a great line, a bit scary and brilliant climbing. After taking two falls from the last hard move, I finished the climb with my heart in my mouth and my hands a bit shaky! On the last day of the trip I went back to try again on Big Golden at Cuvier Rempart. I had tried this climb one afternoon earlier in the trip and was astonished to find I could now do some moves on it that I had, on previous trips to Font, never managed. Filled with psyche I tried to piece it together and, after a last change in beta, I found myself topping out. Very happy, I really thought I may never do this problem.

Big Golden, Photo by Bart van Raaij

 

Big Golden, Photo Bart van Raaij

 

 

Back in the UK, the weather has suddenly turned nice. Blue skies and cold air inspired me to head out to a grit problem I had failed on a year or so ago – Suavito (7B). This problem is fairly high and committing at the top, requiring a big throw and a big span. I was psyched to try it again and this time (after one fall landing flat on my back!) I managed to climb it. Hopefully this weather will continue.....

The last few months have been training, training, training. I come from a background of not really training at all, just climbing lots and the occasional pull up....so I have been surprised by how much I am enjoying it! I have done bits and bobs – 6 weeks here and there – in the past, but nothing as full on as this. Part of my decision to immerse myself in training was because I am now a student again. I am studying part time for an MSc in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy and it is a lot easier to do training sessions around uni work than it is to go out climbing for the day and the course also means I am at home in Sheffield, not gallivanting around Europe. The other part of the decision came from a desire to do better in the Bouldering World Cup circuit this year. I have done a few events in the last three years but I have always competed in them off the back of long outdoor trips – which isn't necessarily bad – but isn't the perfect preparation..... Thirdly, after the comps are pretty much over (after the Vail event) I am going to stay in Colorado for a couple of months to get my outside climbing fix for 2012. So, all in all, lots of reasons to get psyched and get better.

So the training. Essentially I have been a pupil of David Mason who has been helping me out with a training programme. It all began in September with 8 weeks of conditioning. This was a bit of a trial and error phase and I was a guinea pig for ideas. The guinea pig expired. I overdid it and began to fatigue. I have never experienced real fatigue before and it was an odd experience for me. I was tired all the time but the oddest thing was that I began to cry randomly for no reason (quite often during or after any kind of training). I had nothing to cry about so this began to ring alarm bells and I cut the training down. At this point I began to look more closely at my nutrition. The British Team trainings were just beginning and through the team I received a lot of help from Rebecca Dent (the team nutritionist) who has been brilliant. I also got in touch with Optimum Nutrition and Nick and Sara have been really supportive too, providing me with supplements so that I can recover better and get the most out of my training. The crying stopped! Now I have moved onto my strength phase which is more my kind of thing and I am really enjoying it. At the moment I am doing two fingerboard sessions a week (which are made up of assisted one arm pull ups, weighted pull up pyramids and pull downs), two weights sessions a week (exercises like bench press, bicep curls, squats, roll outs and flies), two or three climbing sessions a week and three runs a week to help my fitness. One thing I can really recommend for training is keeping a diary; it helps you stay organised and (more importantly) keeps you psyched as it shows your progress right there on the page in front of you (even if it's minute).

I'm looking forward to a bit of a break over Christmas in London with a couple of WestWay sessions, New Year in Fontainebleau (!!) and then into a power phase in January......

 

 

I haven’t written a blog entry for sometime now. This is partly due to being busy and partly due to not quite knowing where to start!

 I guess I will begin at Cressbrook in May this year.  Cressbrook is a small limestone crag in the peak district, a stone’s throw from Rubicon. The crag has no topo and is fairly quiet because, similar to areas such as Brione in Switzerland, it is only found through word of mouth. The weather was pretty warm in May and so I started going in the evening and climbing by lamplight to get good conditions. My project was The Hulk, a very basic 7C+ boulder problem. I don’t know if this is just the difference between UK grades and European grades or a style that doesn’t suit me, but this was by far the hardest 7C+ I have ever done! Climbing by lamplight is great; very eerie, quiet and of course cooler temperatures. As my sessions went on I made progress bit by bit and, not having been able to do all the moves on my first session, I gradually pieced it together. The send came as a bit of a surprise, earlier than anticipated! I got a lot of satisfaction from this problem, a real example of how something that feels super hard at the start can in fact be achievable.

So, the next chapter of this blog takes place in South Africa. This is the most remote place that I have been to go climbing and it felt like a complete adventure from the start. We flew into Capetown and then got the bus out to Clanwilliam (the nearest town to the climbing). Here we were picked up by friends and we drove out to Traveller’s rest where we were staying. This drive we did in the dark so it was only in the morning that we woke up to experience the amazing views, the vast landscape absolutely littered with reddy-orange rock. The place I can liken it to is Hampi; in terms of the vast expanse of rock (I cannot compare the climbing as I only passed through Hampi when travelling and have not climbed there). We had seven weeks and it was like being a kid in a sweet shop. I could talk forever about this trip but I guess the most important point is to say that it is worth it!! Go there if you get the chance, especially if you like steep climbing and enjoy friendly temperatures! While we were there one of my aims was to step up my climbing achievements and climb V12, a grade that has thus far eluded me. I put a lot of time into one bloc in particular: Black Shadow. This climb is brilliant fun, steep and gymnastic. I really enjoyed trying it and could manage it in two sections but alas I was not quite strong enough to pull it out of the bag. It did however give me the confidence that with a little work this grade of climbing was achievable for me, just not quite yet...Whilst working away at Black Shadow in vein I also had some successes completing Nutsa (8A), a few 7C+s and 7Cs (including my first 7C flash – Last Day in Paradise).So all in all a happy successful holiday, I’m already trying to plan a return trip!

Now I’m back in Sheffield and the hours and days are whizzing past at an alarming rate. I am training as much as I can, trying to up my game for the World Cup circuit next year. I have always entered the international events off the back of outdoor trips, which isn’t bad preparation but certainly isn’t ideal. Now that I am studying for an MSc, it seems the perfect opportunity to train in a more structured way....hopefully I will see some changes!

Below: Pinotage, 7B+.

Photo: Jon Butters

              

 

Below: Creaky Heights, 6C+.

Photo: Jon Butters

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We have just arrived back in Sheffield and our 6 month long trip has come to an end. The last couple of weeks in Font were brilliant – the weather really picked up and it was dry and windy for almost two weeks which is pretty rare in the forest. No rain at all meant that the conditions were perfect, it didn't even need to be that cold because everything was so completely dry.

Around the time the weather picked up I managed to injure myself a bit. I was trying a problem called Pancras that involves (with my beta) doing a pretty burly move on a two finger pocket and when I went for it something when rip in the region of my forearm (nearer my wrist) and I felt it into my ring finger of that hand. Rubbish. I didn't climb for a few days and then began to slowly test it out on some easier climbs. I was surprised (and happy) to find that it wasn't too bad. It is an open hand injury so as long as I keep four fingers on (preferably at least half crimped) then it is fine and I can pull as normal. The things I couldn't do without pain were holding a pocket (two or three fingers) and random things like opening the van door (!). I took it easy for a bit and had to make some changes -like not competing in the CWIF. This was a tricky decision as it now forms part of the selection process for the British Team and I have already been away for almost all the trainings this year. My finger may have been okay but in a competition situation, with the adrenalin and the atmosphere, one always pulls a bit harder and I decided it wasn't worth the risk. So, decision made, I stayed in Font.

This turned out to be a huge blessing. I had basically given up on my remaining projects as I thought I wouldn't be able to try them any more but as my finger improved I thought maybe I could have a little go at some of them. We had six days left of the trip and day one after some rest I revisited Hotline (7C). This is a beautiful high block that is technical and burly at the same time, with a committing throw at the top. I had tried it earlier in the trip and Kook had successfully done it when the conditions were a lot worse. I had not yet made it to the last move and was a bit nervous about it -it is big and committing and you are pretty high. So this time, mindful of being a bit injured, I took a rope to have a little go at the top in safety. The moves were surprisingly okay and after a short practice on the rope I came down and did it first go from the ground -very pleased!

Day two of the last six I went back to Vague Patatras (8A). I had had one previous session on this and was feeling really positive about it, the only problem was whether my finger would be okay on one particular key hold. I went to join two friends Scott and Micky who were trying it and getting very close. My first go was just a tester to see if I could hold the hold still but it felt fine and I got further than I expected. Psyched now, with all three of us getting close, we took it in turns. On my fourth go I found myself at the last move and then topping out the boulder, very surprised! The others didn't quite make it that session but Micky went back and finished it on his next session. Here is a video: 

Vague Patatras, Fontainebleau 8A from mina leslie-wujastyk on Vimeo.

Day three we went to Petit Bois. This is a lovely little crag but it is often damp so this dry spell was a great opportunity to go there. I climbed La Baleine which I have never done before and is a brilliant 7a! I then went to try a problem called Paddy. This is a stunning block, font in a nutshell with a very slopey top out! It was originally climbed by Dave Graham and he gave it 8A but it has since been downgraded by a few people to 7C+/7C. It is a crimpy start followed by lots of slopers and blind foot movements. I think I was lucky to find a good sequence and surprised myself by doing it in four goes, I my mind it can be no harder than 7C.
 

On day four we went back to the Eclipse roof at Cul de Chien. Kook has been trying Total Eclispe and getting very close but this time he decided to try the low sit into Nouvelle Vague. He pulled it out of the bag very quickly and it got me psyched to try to do Nouvelle Vague (7C). I had tried it before and found it very hard to hold the slopers but this day the conditions were so good that it was like climbing a different problem. It took me quite a few goes but eventually I managed to finish it (with a very undignified grovel at the end!).

 

On day five I returned to Megalithe (7C) at Rocher Greau. I have tried this on previous trips and had no luck but this trip I had tried it once and managed to get past the crux (to the break) and then bailed off because it is high and scary and I didn't know what to do! So this time I was determined. I knew I could do the crux and that the top wasn't very hard – just scary and committing. When I got there I switched my brain off and just climbed without thinking about the potential fall and luckily I topped it out!

On day six, our last day, we went to Rocher Canon and bumbled about in the sunshine, although Kook did some crushing by sending La Baleine (different one) (7C) and another 7C climb there too.

 

After probably my best week ever in Fontainebleau we set off home, back to reality and to friends!

Video of Misericorde 7c+

 

 

 

We have been in Fontainebleau for another month since I last wrote. It has been a slightly mixed bag in terms of weather but has definitely been fun. There is a line in Fontainebleau that I have always wanted to climb: Misericorde. It is a stunning, high arete at Cuisiniere that I have always stopped and looked at in awe on previous trips; it is, for me, quite an intimidating line. I had played on the start a year or two ago with a friend but this trip I was determined to make a real effort to climb it. It is very high and, despite the good landing, I was nervous having recently hurt my ankle quite badly. I decided to go down it on a rope to give the holds a clean and some chalk and to try out the top moves. This really helped me confidence wise as I didn't find the top too hard and knew that if I could keep it together mentally, I could do it. The crux for me was a move about half way up where you go for a good crimp with your left hand (before setting up for the high rock up) and I knew in my mind that if I held this move then I could finish it if I kept my cool. After this session we had a bout of rain but next time it was dry I headed back over to try it. It took a good few attempts for me to warm into my sequence for the first couple of moves and then a few more to hold that left hold half way up. When I got that hold I switched my brain off and just climbed! For those of you that have done it you will know that the top hold is a massive jug and it is a great feeling getting that.... even better feeling when you are safe on top though!

 

 

 

misericorde from mina leslie-wujastyk on Vimeo.

Les Beaux Quartiers Fontainebleau 8A - Mina Leslie-Wujastyk from mina leslie-wujastyk on Vimeo.

Écaille de Lune 7c (7b+) - Mina Leslie-Wujastyk from mina leslie-wujastyk on Vimeo.