Jura Calling

Heyup this will be my last blog post before my upcoming 12 day trip to the Frankenjura with my good homie Ethan Walker! The last couple of weeks have mainly been hitting the plastic for some intense training sessions but I have managed to get out on zee rock a few times. I have invested in a new camera that takes sick HD movies so watch this space for some forthcoming productions from Germany soon! Check out this vid of Mossatrocity stand start I made to test the thing out. I managed to work out the bottom moves but the full link will have to wait til May when get back. Hopefully it won't be too hot for the odd grit tick then.

The weekend before last I managed to work out Ben's Sidewall at Gardoms finally with Ethan. Camming your foot between the ledge and the underside of the roof seemed to take 3 grades off the problem and it went from practically impossible to easy in about 2 minutes, that's grit for you! I tried Heartland again and nearly managed to link this, doing the crux move for the first time but the next move after slapping up for the slopers on top of the boulder proved elusive.

Just a few words on training, how do you train for a trip involving hard bouldering with a rope on? Well, I have been doing 2 - 3 hour bouldering sessions mixed up with route sessions with between 10 - 13 tie ins. Never less than 10 tie ins is the golden rule! Stockport Wall has been great for this as the problems are cool, challenging and long too. The routes are also good - keeping the fitness topped up has been key for me this year, I feel fitter at this stage than usual, remember its not all about power folks!

When I get back from the Jura, it will finally be time to hit the lime so I intend to get involved up at Malham, Kilnsey and the Tor. Psyched to check out a new area on this trip and sample some German cake and beer too. Keep it real!

Dartmoor Hit

Hi I thought I would update you on my last couple of outdoor missions. Last sunday I was up at Kilnsey at a freakishly dry crag trying Full Tilt. I refreshed all the moves since my last go on it nearly 3 years ago and did some good links. I need to invest in a knee pad for that top kneebar but I managed to find a slightly easier method for that killer last move!

After a good couple of training sessions down at Stockport wall I felt in decent shape for the weekend's exploits. A trip down south to Devon to visit family gave me the opportunity for a quick visit to my favourite south west crag, Bonehill Rocks. I have been coming here since 1997 and have gradually worked my way up the grades, ticking a lot of the classics along the way. I was stoked to do Tsunami about 2 months ago and meant to return to finish off The Wave Traverse, the rightwards finish to this, without finishing up the Wave, a classic V6. Check out Dave Henderson's excellent online topos for further detail: http://javu.co.uk/Climbing/Guides/DartmoorBouldering/Bonehill/ After trying my original beta on Tsunami for 45 mins, I had an epiphany and thinking back to Dave doing Tsunami in Gone West, I revised my sequence to crossing through on the crimps and spanning to the slot rather than cranking on the bear claw. It worked and the problem went down next go, another one off the list! Then I tried Floater, an unrepeated V9 following a higher break to the Wave Traverse, quality climbing but ti was unfortunately born without a landing in the initial moves!

After looking at a crimpy sidepull left of the Wave I thought that was maybe something John Gaskins could pull on. I didn't look totally impossible so I tried to envision how you could pull on such a hold. Surprisingly, it proved to be simpler than I first thought and the problem went at a lowly V6. I named it Rip Curl to fit in with the nautical theme of this sector. The link from Tsumani may bump it up to V9. Check this video I made. Peace out.