I'm back baby....

more with a wimper than a bang but nevermind slowly slowly

back at craggy this afternoon with the kids from school, new set of problems courtesy of the man Croxall et al (big up to Mark for his 13th place in the world cup in Italy on the weekend). Good problems pretty powerful and longer than I really like but good for working.

Finger held up ok but the core was a tad lacking, still only way to get better is train, the stuff I've been doing down on Portland are pretty balancy straight ups or two move wonders so viva la difference.........

New Portland vid is made and should be up on the interweb within the next week or so...

here comes the summer holiday.... yay for me.....

hi-de ho
not been blogging much cause not been climbing much, we'll shouldn't have been climbing much, got a jersey pull on my left ring finger... Boo.... :-( tried to go an climb sensibly within my limit indoors, no bouldering etc, ended up campusing with Justin's new 10k weight vest, looked like the bloody unibomber
anyways about a quarter of the way into a self enforced fortnight off, doing some weights and swimming but mostly just trying to get through to the end of term in one piece
might get round to putting together another portland movie next weekend.... watch this space
for now, peace out

hey ho readers... if anyone other than me bothers with this.... nevermind eh acts as a diary type thing... so wales was shelved due to the reinstatement of usual bank holiday weather, the nice people at dol peris seemed very cool about us cancelling, seems they're not surprised that the weather screws up peoples plans....
so went to portland instead with Sian (obviously) and Eve (who is actually shorter than my dear wife!). Now really I should know better than to try anything tricky, read anything above about V3 after a full days work and a two and half plus hour drive but what can I say, I'm a very slow learner... so we went to the neddyfields and whilst screwing up indian summer (got it a couple of times, it's real powerful to start, like a harder version of strawberries at curbar) managed to put a bloody (literally) hole in the tip of my right index, and re-pulled my dodgy left tricep for good measure.... cue all of the toys being throw out of the pram, man I can act like a class prat at times... (hangs head in shame)... on the bright side did colossus pretty much static... yay
Saturday morning didn't start much better for me either, half a dozen tries before sending Nu-Breed then three or four more before repeating it... then africa, found the foot placements this time but just couldn't hold the slap, dodgy tendon and tricep conspiring, big sulk again... still Sian got her boulderfield project (Rocky and Diesel V2) 2nd go, and Eve got it third go so all good there... kinda calmed down after that and went pottering on some 3's and 4's and actually had real fun, worked some of the moves on lightning strike too, can do the moves to the lip and can do the arete from standing, just the hard bit to do then... think a hold might have come off by the lip, big fresh looking scar... must ask gav next time I see him.. speaking of loosing holds the side pull on relativity seems to be on it's last legs which'll be a real shame if it dies, great problem... tried to repeat secret handshake but was just too powerful on a dodgy left arm, shame class problem that one...
Slept most of the afternoon then back to the neddyfields... mostly balancy rather than pully type problems and stayed away from the sharp stuff... good decision making that, repeated fontanel (V7 and probably worthy of the grade too, sticking your thumb under pebble size underclings seems to be a theme on the balancy stuff at neddy's) and the groove for the camera and ran a few laps on ripples, I take it all back it is a class problem, just don't even bother if it's hot!!!!
Sunday the heavens opened and basically after driving home I lounged on the sofa all afternoon trying to shift the nagging cold some delightful little urchin at school gave me just in time for half term... charming....
so what for the week, just pottering, some DIY type stuff in the kitchen, maybe an IKEA trip tomorrow (dread), some training and a trip to craggy to play on croxall's new probelms... then see if portland is dry again by the end of the week.....
peace out

Hey ho english summer rain...
looks like wales is gonna be a no go....
so portland this weekend with the sort-arse Eve!!!
guess we'll go for some boulderfield action and ultra complicated dwarf sequences...
in other news booked up to see Stef in Font in August - BIG PSYCHE
yeah yeah it'll be too hot but there's always the real shady bits
Petit Bois is number one on the hit list... La Baleine.... Big Jim.....
and as for next week in the rain, well Croxall's reseting craggy so....
been putting a few problems up on bouldr.net could end up being a really good resource

ok been a week or so.
lots going on at work, trip to north wales coming up, oh an pulled a tendon and a tricep on my weak left side so been kinda taking it easy on the bouldering front... Had a shed session last sunday which went pretty well once we got warmed up.... Sian's getting to grips with the more overhanging stuff but it's buggering her shoulders a bit so a little at a time to build up the muscle.... as for me-didn't do anything new just repeated a load of my favourite problems for about three hours which is enough...
been down craggy a bit, managed to do most of the current crop of problems, bit pissed that I did my left side in 'cause I'd have probably cleared up all the "hard problems" otherwise, oh well shit happens... did some leading on the comp' wall for a change, feels a long way so god knows what I'd be like if I went to the westway or the castle with their massive lead walls...
so this week is enforced rest, one gentle session on wednesday when I take the kids down from school, but that'll be it.... talking about school looks like I'm gonna be incharge of the climbing club from next year so hopefully I'll manage to inject a bit more umpf into it, and who knows where it'll go... a wall on school grounds??? a development squad???
So why the rest... as I said north wales next week... llanberis pass and all that, got a couple of recommendations.. croxall has sent me in the direction of the minimum on the barrel and everyone seems to rate the king of drunks.. will post a tick list before I go and we'll see how I do.... should get enough footage for another flick, gonna a hook up with alan and eve so you might see some other folks in the flick (hopefully sian if she'll let me get a camera on her again!)
gotta go, taking parents out for their birthday lunch, there's definitely been some sort shift in the balance of power, I mean.... I'm paying....

ten o'clock sunday morning and it's absolutely weeing it down outside... had half thought about going out onto the soft stuff but canned that one on friday after seeing the forecast...

just for shits and giggles here's a photo of me from a couple of weeks ago working magnetic 7a+/b at high rocks a few weekends ago.... pretty much got all the moves bar the dyno which is about half an inch off, need to get the dink so that I don't just land it, need to move off the bugger...... another project....
down craggy again friday and the problems are growing on me, think it's that featured wall that gets me, so hard to set good flowing problems on it, the array of footholds, and big ones at that, kinda makes the problems feel really unnatural, be so much better if they pulled it down and replaced it with flat panel step roofs and and undercut slap on the side... hmm might talk to Dani about that one when she gets back from bouldering in the south seas - all right for some... again the session benifitted from a good group Eve was down again and both she and Sian got their V2 project, not bad when you consider they're both v small and indoor setting doesn't account much for lack of height.... climbed a bit with Dan Gibson who is another quiet centre of positive energy (and a local hero to boot - onsighted E5 the other day which for a mere mortal is pretty damn fine achievement) and he psyched me up a couple more of the "hard" problems .... I 'm getting to think that I need an enthused positive but quiet type to climb with, it dampens the urge to throw Earl style wobblers....

what else... got an email from an ex-student the other day (which I must respond to!).. it's a real buzz to hear how the good ones are doing, kinda balances out the crap you get from day to day in a job like mine... not that there's much, it's a great thing to do-teach in a good school-but like anything....

so back to today, looks like a shed session this afternoon with the doors open and the rain coming down outside, at least the friction'll be good and maybe some friends might pop by and play who knows.....

craggy again tonite and again it turned into a humid sweat fest but I did a few more problems and kinda reassessed my initial view... sure some are just long reaches between crap holds, pretty uninspiring, but some are worth doing and working... unfortunately some or the more inspiring lines involve that outwards shoulder press type thing that my lower back just won't hold so I can get so far then.... started a heinous new training thingy yesterday to try and improve stamina and contact strength on the 40 deg' board in the shed, might tell you all about it when I get bored, save to say it hurts...
cheese on toast now... yay.....