Progression

Since getting back home it has been so good to finally have a settled period of weather with a decent amount of sunshine and good conditions. If you could guarantee something like this every year in the UK I would quite happily stick around and not chase off around Europe as much.

Sport climbing season is now here and in a big way. The crags have been drying fast, even the Cornices! I always find it weird how it only takes one session back on the lime or even the grit for that matter, to suddenly get you instantly hooked again and forget about everything else.

There is no doubt about it that our Jura trip has set us up perfectly for the season and I've been reaping the benefits of this and all the training throughout the winter, over the last couple weeks. I love to see progression and there is nothing better than to see all the hard work begin to pay off.

Heres a short list of the stuff that's been going down in the two weeks since getting back.

Kneedless - 8b+
Zeke the Freak - 8b
Sworn Enemy - 8a
Caviar - 8a+
The Sissy - 8a
The Free Monster - 8a
O'Leanna the Butler Dunn It! - 8a?
River of Life - V11

The day after we flew back into Manchester I got a tick I've dreamed of for quite a while. Zeke at Rubicon. We arrived early, it was cold, perfect for sticking to those holds and I was fired up! We warmed up, put the clips in, got all the moves dialed, had a brief rest and it was done. Such a crazy feeling clipping the lower off on this route. It had felt straight forward all the way, solid on every move.

 River of Life

A few days later another one fell, but not without a bit of a fight first. This time it was down at the sleepy hidden crag of Turning Stone. A small grit outcrop not far from our house. I've been going down here all winter and each time its been soaked so when we found out it was dry I was over there in a flash. Amongst the rhododendrons lays one of the best roof problems on grit, if not the best! River of Life.

This bloc began to mess with my head at one point and started to become quite a mental battle along with butchering my fingers like never before. But it succumbed in the end and I found the whole process to be a great learning curve. Its been said before but you really do have to stick with these things sometimes and basically in the end, just try harder.

No excuses.

Then last Monday I was able to do another route that I've craved after for a long time! Jon Clarks masterpiece 'Sworn Enemy' over in Dovedale. Its probably the best 8a in the Peak and one of the best in the UK... True Euro style climbing through a magnificent limestone arch. Big thanks to JC for having the vision and investing the time into putting up such an awesome line.

Since writing the above I've had a crazy weekend! Even though the rain returned and tried to dampen the mood at times, the crags held out firm. An 8b+ linkup at the Tor and two 8a's on Saturday and yesterday I fought my way up the crimpy piano playing number, The Sissy back at Rubicon. It poured it down for most of the afternoon, but we had fun and that is what matters most!

My psyche is extremely high right now and I'm constantly amazed at just how much stuff there is to do in the Peak and the UK in general. I'm very much looking forward to sticking around for a while and seeing where we can go with things. Lots of projects, the tick-list of stuff that we want to get on grows daily!

Peace out and thanks for checking in.

E

Schnitzel, Kuchen and Pockets

 

So our trip to the Jura was full of its ups and downs and unfortunately we decided to fly back home a couple of weeks early. It seems like the whole of Europe had been hit by a very harsh winter, which we soon realised on our first day over there, with many crags having a large amount of seepage. But its all about learning to deal with these kind of situations and just get on with making the most out of it all.

We spent the majority of our time in the northern parts, revisiting some of the crags we were at last year and checking out some new spots as well. Climbing once again in shorts and t-shirts, nearly everyday felt amazing. Its been a while!

King Lui at Diebsloch | 7c

I really do love the style of climbing over here, it suits me pretty well and I'm constantly fascinated by the vast amounts of crags dotted amongst the hills and around the forests. The countryside is incredible and sometimes you'll be lucky to bump into anybody all day.

Last day send of Nullkommanix, 8a+

The trip didn't exactly get off to the best start as I woke up the morning after our first session with a screwed up finger. I was so annoyed with myself and my motivation quickly slipped away. After a few days rest it seemed it be healing and by the following weekend it felt good enough to pull on again. I took advantage and dispatched one of my favourite routes of the trip, 'Primeur de Leux' a very popular 8a+ at the small roadside crag of Kuhkirchner Wand. This set me up for a brilliant next few days and during this time I really started to feel strong and felt my body fully adjusting to the toll, pressures and joy of sport climbing again.

 

Primeur de Luxe

I'm sure we'll be back here soon! There are so many routes we all wanted to try on this trip but in the end you gotta take what you're given and move on. It ain't going no where! Enjoy the photos. I'll post up some more when I get chance.

 

 

Snowballtastic

 Messiah, Burbage South | E7 6c

Here's a blog I wrote before we flew out to Germany. Unfortunately we had to cut our trip short but we all still managed to get some really cool routes done and see a bit more of what Franken has to offer. I'll post up a report on what went down when I get chance.

________________

Well everybody has been having fun in the snow over this last couple weeks and taking advantage of some of the hugeeeeee drifts that have formed under many of the harder routes up on the edges. Meaning some of these routes have finally had a second ascent after goodness knows how long and other lines have seen a constant stream of traffic.

 © Neil Shephard

Big team up at Shine On, Stanage | E7 6c (font7A+)

I kinda missed out on the last round of snowballing, whenever that was, 2010 maybe...? But made sure we got in there while it was still fresh this time. I've managed to get most of the classics done that include, Three Blind Mice, Corrida, Shine On and a flash of Cemetery Waits. It is pretty cool the way that people have been rallying together on all these hard grit lines and its been nice to see so many guys and gals out and sending these old time routes.

Three Blind Mice | Burbage North

Samwise riding the stunning fin of Clippity Clop, Ramshaw | E7 6c

Its not been a case of packing the ropes and trad rack away though as we've all been out to take advantage of the dry and sunny conditions that have been left behind in the aftermath of the snow dump.

First up was Sam's ascent of Clippity Clop in some of the most baltic and windy conditions everrrr! Hardly what you need on a precarious arete, but he dispatched it in his usual smooth style although I know he was pretty relieved to grab that top jug. 

Then Ed and myself both got a quick tick of another perfectly formed arete, this time at Burbage South. I've wanted to do Messiah for a long time and being able to climb it under clear blue skies surrounded by snow made it all the better. Si tres belle!

Ulysses or bust, E5 6b

Finally, a few weeks ago I had made a short ticklist of routes I'd really like to get done before we head off to Germany. Right at the top of this list was Simbas Pride, E8 6b. I know I go on and on about all these amazing lines all the time, but this one is special. An incredible over hanging arete with an awesome sequence of moves from start to finish.

 Simbas Pride

Hitting the top on this with all that space below you and your body thriving off that feeling of being in total control was mind blowing and something hard to explain, but I was stoked out of my head! Dave went next with a very impressive flash and then Pete quickly followed. A brilliant way to finish off the season right before we leave.

Take a look at the video below for some footage from the day!

So now our thoughts turn to and focus in on the Jura! I can't wait to return to this place and we're all immensely looking forward to a month of pocket pulling in the forests. We'll all be blogging out there so be sure to keep checking back for updates on whats going down! Auf Gehts!

Return of the Jedi

Since climbing The Power of the Darkside earlier in the season, I've been super psyched to get back to Bank Quarry and try its bigger and harder sibling, Return of the Jedi. I remember reading about Pearson climbing this a couple years back and being pretty impressed with the line and how cool the climbing looked. At the time it was another world really and I never had any thoughts about ever trying it.

Heres a link to the UKC news story they ran at the time.
www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=61066 

The bottom half of the route and the bulk of the climbing is completely unprotected and features some very WILD moves up the arete. I guess this could just about be classed as a highball... but its definitely getting pretty close to what you might start to consider a route and not just a boulder problem. Once through this though its still not over and after stashing some rotten cracks with slightly suspect gear you have one final tricky move between you and the top. At this point it is 110% NOT a highball!
So with all this in mind I can totally see why it was never given a 'proper' grade and instead the unknown tag of HXS 7a. Whatever that means... Personally I felt the climbing to be somewhere in the region of F7c+/8a as a whole, maybe slightly easier...

Since being first done its had just two? ascents that I know of, from Ryan Pasquill and Dan Varian. They both did the route ground up which required some serious commitment and balls, so massive respect to those guys!

We all decided to check it out on a rope first and see how it was feeling. Ed had persuaded Dave Mason to make the trip over to try as well and he was looking strong and fired up. The crux revolves around a crazy dynamic move to a good flatty and once we had this dialed I knew it was game on.
I stuck this move on the lead but then missed the next tag in move and took the long flight down to the deck, missing the pads and just being caught by Ed! Annoyed but buzzing at the same time that it had been that close! After a breather I went again and this time didn't mess up, stuck the move, feet up and powered to the jug. Total relief!
Big props to Dave sending as well, proving he's not too shabby at climbing with a rope on either! Here is a cool video he put together of the ascent, which includes some big air time!

Putting aside all the talk about how hard it is etc, its just an fantastic line, with some truly great climbing. I really enjoyed the process with this one and again its cool to see the progression and to keep moving forward. Cheers to Ed, Dave and Gracie for all the support!

Thanks for reading

Cornelius

Here are a few photos and a short clip of our trip to the Churnet a couple weeks ago. It is such a sweet spot down here and Cornelius in particular is one of the most perfect lines you could wish for. For those of you that don't know about this line, its something that sits somewhere in between a highball boulder and route. Its pretty dam high whatever way you look at it! Originally given E8 6c but now generally thought of as V9, which seems fair. The crag is also situated in what feels like the gardens of Alton Towers!
I do love the Churnet, its very unique with mostly immaculate rock wherever you go. Its certainly a different vibe climbing here and makes for a nice change.

Thanks again to Jon Clark for hanging on a rope all day to get these shots for us. And to Dan for capturing our ascents on video!

Sam pebble pulling above his nest on 'Inaccessible' E5 6a

More hard grit...

Its been a case of back to reality this week, in terms of the weather anyway, and it doesn't look like its gona change much over the coming days! So I thought I'd take a break from training and sulking over the state of things outside and post up a short blog with some cool pictures from last week.

I made a trip over to Shining Cliff about a week ago, its probably one of the closest crags to my house being about a 15/20min drive. This place has had a bit of attention of late from our friend Tom Randall where he made the long awaited FA of 'My Kai' the direct to Seb Grieves route, Gecko Blaster. Another great lump of solid, slightly overhanging gritstone, on small crimps, sidepulls and gastons with a spicey last move... Awesome effort from Tom on this, a frickin BOLDD solo for sure!

 Gecko Blaster, E7 6c

We ended up doing a slight hyrbid of the two routes, joining the direct version lower down rather than at the overlap. It felt to be about french 7c this way, and even though I didn't have a try at the boulder problem start it looks pretty tricky and I can see why Tom suggested hard 8a for the linkup! Keen to return sometime soon. Big thanks to Jon Clark again for coming out and getting some more sweet shots!

 

 Sketchy last move, long way above the ground...

Then a few days later it was back up on the edges joined this time by photographer Mike Hutton. We all had a fantastic day out, sunshine and blue skies for everyone. Why can't it be like this all time! Check out what we got up to below. Cheers Mike for the pics, great work! You can see more of his work here: www.mikehuttonphotography.com

Cool Moon, E7 6c

Spanish Fly, E6 6c below

 

I also bagged another couple of funky routes, that hardly get much attention, back up at Black Rocks. One being Tom de Gays 'Small Things' E6 6c. A wild and unusual sort of line to the left of Golden Days. I guess its slightly eliminate... but not by much and who cares anyway. If you are up around that way, I'd recommend you give it a look as its all squeaky clean now! Then it was a quick trip around onto the front face for 'Camel Hot' a rad exposed arete from the 80's. Its crazy to think of the stuff people were doing back then, much respect to those guys!

Cheers for checkin in ya'll, have a good weekend!

 

Don't play with cams kidzzz!!!

7 UP

I've just had one of my best few days on the grit EVERR! Temps have been super chilled, its been dry and perfect for getting stuff done! Me and my homie Sam have been to check out a few 'esoteric' places and routes that are absolutely brilliant but for whatever reasons, never get done.

The tick-list that we have managed to drum up between us over the last few days goes something like this:

Fat Slapper - E7 6c, third and fourth ascent...?
Speak the Truth - E7 6b
Jumping on a Beetle - E7 6c
Moon Madness - E7 6c
Benign Lives - E7 6c
Velvet Silence - E6 6c

Fat Slapper is a Seb Grieve classic, and a route made famous in the opening minutes of the movie, Hard Grit. When this was first done I would have been about 5 years old! We all randomly got inspired to try this historic line a few months back and finally went to give it a bash, it didn't disappoint! It is honestly one of the finest grit routes I've ever done, steep pulling with big moves on a good set of holds. It went down super smooth after a good scrubbing and we left on a massive high. Cheers Seb!

The next day we wandered into a dank and grotty looking quarry... Hardly stunning surroundings but there is a hidden gem here that sticks out from all the crap the minute you walk in. If it was anywhere else I'm sure it would prove to be immensely popular. A razor sharp arete rising up from the brambles and boulders below! Bit of a sketchy landing.... but immaculate climbing nonetheless! Check it in the video.

As the weekend came round we popped to Froggatt. Here Sam floated up the tricky Dawes slab Benign Lives. Rad effort from the lad on this, its all in the feet guys. I definitely wasn't feeling it so we packed up and made the trek across to Moon Buttress at Curbar.

 All or nothing on Benign...

The snow flurries seemed to be getting heavier and oddly falling from clear blue skies???? But conditions were top drawer and as the sun went down I went for it on Moon Madness, everything clicked, hands sticking to the holds like no tomorrow. A surprise tick to finish the day. Will post up a video soon.
I seem to have tapped into something pretty crazy at the moment, knowing I'm 100% confident of being able to execute the route without any problems or fear. Its a great feeling for sure!
Time to step it up a gear...