So just come back from the island and anyone who's been in the UK the last couple of days will be amazed to hear we did actually get some climbing in... woke up to some good weather yesterday morning, Friday night was washed out by weather and heavy traffic going down, but didn't look like it was going to hold so the plan to go down to the hidden zawn to sent the 7a that had handed my arse to me on a plate last time down was abandoned (low tide wasn't until earlier afternoon) and instead we headed to my favourite haunt of the New Cuttings where Sian wanted to have a go at Bun Fight at the Portland Corral 5+ maybe 6a. Well we both onsighted, well I onsighted and she flashed it if you want to get specific, so I turned my attention to Deadlosski must Die which, at 7b, would be the hardest route I'd ever done on rock. I knew the finish would be fine, it shares a top with two routes I'd done previously, but that meant that all the 7b difficulty would be at the start in concentrated form... took a while to sort the sequence but after 30/40 minutes work all the moves were just about there, the draws where in and it was time to rest. First red point attempt was a big time failure - bad feet and a hot head saw me kneeling at the bottom gasping after falling off mid crux sequence. So with the sun out it was time for food and a lie down; there was a one hell of a blow coming off the sea but the new cuttings is sheltered at the bottom so a touch of sunbathing was undertaken and I might even have dozed off for a while. Second proper redpoint I breathed properly, slowed the pace, and thought about me feet.... so much so that I found myself looking at my left hand mid crux sequence having taken if off the rock thinking "where does this go then??? oh right crimp" - I suspect my beautiful belay slave was going apoplectic at this point.... anyways long story short finished it off with the most beautiful feeling I have climbing (well since I felt exactly the same thing on Stompin' with Bez a few weeks earlier but that's the point isn't it...)
so what today - rest I think, took a lot out of me, as did the drive back through the monsoon this morning, tomorrow back to the Grisham arm sequence then some light bouldering in the shed Tuesday and a master class with the man Grisham at the westway on Wednesday (30th birthday present from the wife!!!). Actually I've got to take the cardboard to the recycling so that's what for now
peace out