You know how you sometimes want to listen to really bad music?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7mPqycQ0tQ

yeah.

Just a quick note to say that Caroline is ON!

I did all the moves a few days ago, and I can do all the moves easily now,. The problem is linking it!

I can get up to the last right hand hold relatively consistently, and I can do it from there every time when I am fresh.  It is just a case of sticking it well with all my fingers on the hold, unfortunately I havent managed to do this yet.

I think I am up to about 5/6 sessions on it now, which is by far and a way the longest I have ever spent on a project before, I have to move down to Cape Town to today as my time in the Rocklands house has run out.

Fortunately I am staying with Arjan de Kock, and he is regularly driving up to RL to climb on his own projects, so I will hitch a lift with him until I manage to do it.

I had a session on it yesterday with Dave Graham looking on, felt super strong, but it just wasnt working out for me. I then went up and gave him a spot on a crazy new 8a(?) boulder he found and did. Check out 'The Island' Website for a video in the future perhaps.

It is all rainy today, so no climbing for anyone it seems, not that I mind too much, I probably need another rest day to let my skin get back to a decent thickness for Caroline, because those holds are damned sharp if you catch them wrong. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to make a great deal of difference whether you have taped up or not, so that might work just fine.

Toodles.

Ticklist of my hardest stuff so far:

A Question of Balance	Roadside	7B
Poison Dwarf	Close Plateau	7B
Mud Puddles	8 Day Rain	7B
Crazy Leg	8 Day Rain	7B
Stinky Pants	Fields of Joy	7B
When the Day Breaks	Roadcrew	7B
Des Claques Pour Nini	Riverside	7B
Humility	8 Day Rain	7B
The Secret to Olive's Preserve Cupboard	Roadside	7B
Roadside Slab	Roadside	7B
The Soul Train	Fields of Joy	7B+
The Rhino	The Rhino Boulders	7B+
Zanzibar	Hidden Boulders	7B+
Pinotage	Sassies	7B+
Cedar Spine	Cedar Spine Gully	7C

I have 2 more 7C lined up and ready to go, should take only a few attempts on each.

I have also done all the moves on a few more 7C and all the moves on Witness the Sickness, No late Tenders and Caroline.

Given the time I have left though, I don't think I will be able to get them in the remaining sessions this trip, but I have no doubt that I will be returning next year so I will train hard and do them then.

Update Post

Hi all.

I'm sorry to say that I haven't written any more rubbish story for you, so you'll have to make do with me bragging about my awesome climbing trip.

There is lots of good footage, and many good pictures.
Unfortunately, given that the internet here is awful, and my computer is even worse, they will have to wait till I am in Cape Town until anything might be done about that situation.

I managed to get out to the Rhino Boulder yesterday afternoon after walking past it multiple times on the way to other areas. The conditions had set themselves up to be less than perfect, with clouds rolling through the pass and spots of rain throughout the day that had forced us to bail off of various other things in the area.
It was also damned cold because of the wind.

Fortunately, the wind dried off the rock and conditions were super grippy, every one of the holds on the Rhino is very skin friendly and it was a pleasure to climb.
When I showed up, we met two friends there,one of whom was trying it. She had worked out the beta during her previous sessions on the problem and kindly gave me all the minutia of foot and hand movements that would have doubtless taken me quite a lot of time to figure out.

My first attempt ended about halfway through during a tricky heel-->toe footswap and I landed on the ground with my hands freezing cold and lacking any feeling.
I rested a while and plotted some beta to make that move a little easier.

On my second attempt, everything went about the same. But at the point I had fallen off before, I clamped a bit harder and managed to power on through the moves to arrive at the top in a bit of a knackered state.

Given that the weather was super cold, and I never expected to do it so quickly, there are no photos or video. The other members of the trip will no doubt like to give it a go though, and I will get some neat footage and pictures when the skies are a little bluer and the weather a little warmer.

I also managed to do Cedar Spine on my second session of the trip 2 evenings ago. After padding out the landing pretty comprehensively, and working out the ground moves again, I found myself at the airy crimp move up top and just gave it some beans to reach the good flat holds up top.

I was speaking to some Scottish chaps yesterday and they said that when they were trying the problem, 2 people consecutively sprained their ankles and one guy is sitting in the Pakhuis campground with a cast on his foot from that problem. I'm glad I didnt find this out before I did it, because otherwise I might not have managed to commit to the move and complete the problem.

Ticklist so far:

	Number	Cumulative
6A	0	30
6A+	1	30
6B	2	29
6B+	5	27
6C	3	22
6C+	2	19
7A	5	17
7A+	2	12
7B	7	10
7B+	2	3
7C	1	1
7C+	0	0
8A	0	0

Problem	Area	Grade	Date
The Golden Rail	8 Day Rain	6C	18/07/2012
The Golden Child	8 Day Rain	6B+	18/07/2012
The Beckoning	8 Day Rain	6B+	18/07/2012
The Beckoning Sit Start	8 Day Rain	7A	18/07/2012
Vertige	Roadside	6B+	19/07/2012
A Question of Balance	Roadside	7B	19/07/2012
Sun Run	Roadside	6C+	19/07/2012
CAROLINE	Roadside	(7C+)	19/07/2012
Kiesl	Fields of Joy	7A	21/07/2012
Dirty Lies	Fields of Joy	7A+	21/07/2012
The Soul Train	Fields of Joy	7B+	21/07/2012
RSA	Close Plateau	6B	22/07/2012
Girl on our mind	Close Plateau	6B+	22/07/2012
Poison Dwarf	Close Plateau	7B	22/07/2012
Witness the Sickness	Close Plateau	(8A)	22/07/2012
REST DAY	LAMBERTS BAY		23/07/2012
Gegen Den Winds	Fields of Joy	7A+	24/07/2012
FAILED TO DO ANYTHING	Riverside		25/07/2012
REST DAY	8 Day Rain		26/07/2012
Hueco Face	8 Day Rain	6B+	27/07/2012
Whirlpool Arete	8 Day Rain	6A+	27/07/2012
Mud Puddles	8 Day Rain	7B	27/07/2012
Crazy Leg	8 Day Rain	7B	27/07/2012
Maties	Sassies	7A	29/07/2012
Great Escape	Sassies	6C+	29/07/2012
Nothing	8 Day Rain		30/07/2012
Sale in Execution	Fields of Joy	6C	31/07/2012
Stinky Pants	Fields of Joy	7B	31/07/2012
Maniac	Fields of Joy	(7B)	31/07/2012
When the Day Breaks	Roadcrew	7B	01/08/2012
Hill Start	Roadcrew	7A	01/08/2012
Cedar Spine	Cedar Spine Gully	(7C)	01/08/2012
Riverside Slab	Riverside	6B	03/08/2012
Alligator	Riverside	6C	03/08/2012
Des Claques Pour Nini	Riverside	7B	03/08/2012
Cedar Spine	Cedar Spine Gully	7C	04/08/2012
CAROLINE	Roadside	(7C+)	04/08/2012
Le Bowling Ball	Fortress	7A	04/08/2012
The Rhino	The Rhino Boulders	7B+	05/08/2012

Cheerios all, 8 day rain later methinks, unless we head to Pakhuis Campground again.

Update Post

Hi all.

I'm sorry to say that I haven't written any more rubbish story for you, so you'll have to make do with me bragging about my awesome climbing trip.

There is lots of good footage, and many good pictures.
Unfortunately, given that the internet here is awful, and my computer is even worse, they will have to wait till I am in Cape Town until anything might be done about that situation.

I managed to get out to the Rhino Boulder yesterday afternoon after walking past it multiple times on the way to other areas. The conditions had set themselves up to be less than perfect, with clouds rolling through the pass and spots of rain throughout the day that had forced us to bail off of various other things in the area.
It was also damned cold because of the wind.

Fortunately, the wind dried off the rock and conditions were super grippy, every one of the holds on the Rhino is very skin friendly and it was a pleasure to climb.
When I showed up, we met two friends there,one of whom was trying it. She had worked out the beta during her previous sessions on the problem and kindly gave me all the minutia of foot and hand movements that would have doubtless taken me quite a lot of time to figure out.

My first attempt ended about halfway through during a tricky heel-->toe footswap and I landed on the ground with my hands freezing cold and lacking any feeling.
I rested a while and plotted some beta to make that move a little easier.

On my second attempt, everything went about the same. But at the point I had fallen off before, I clamped a bit harder and managed to power on through the moves to arrive at the top in a bit of a knackered state.

Given that the weather was super cold, and I never expected to do it so quickly, there are no photos or video. The other members of the trip will no doubt like to give it a go though, and I will get some neat footage and pictures when the skies are a little bluer and the weather a little warmer.

I also managed to do Cedar Spine on my second session of the trip 2 evenings ago. After padding out the landing pretty comprehensively, and working out the ground moves again, I found myself at the airy crimp move up top and just gave it some beans to reach the good flat holds up top.

I was speaking to some Scottish chaps yesterday and they said that when they were trying the problem, 2 people consecutively sprained their ankles and one guy is sitting in the Pakhuis campground with a cast on his foot from that problem. I'm glad I didnt find this out before I did it, because otherwise I might not have managed to commit to the move and complete the problem.

Ticklist so far:

	Number	Cumulative
6A	0	30
6A+	1	30
6B	2	29
6B+	5	27
6C	3	22
6C+	2	19
7A	5	17
7A+	2	12
7B	7	10
7B+	2	3
7C	1	1
7C+	0	0
8A	0	0

Problem	Area	Grade	Date
The Golden Rail	8 Day Rain	6C	18/07/2012
The Golden Child	8 Day Rain	6B+	18/07/2012
The Beckoning	8 Day Rain	6B+	18/07/2012
The Beckoning Sit Start	8 Day Rain	7A	18/07/2012
Vertige	Roadside	6B+	19/07/2012
A Question of Balance	Roadside	7B	19/07/2012
Sun Run	Roadside	6C+	19/07/2012
CAROLINE	Roadside	(7C+)	19/07/2012
Kiesl	Fields of Joy	7A	21/07/2012
Dirty Lies	Fields of Joy	7A+	21/07/2012
The Soul Train	Fields of Joy	7B+	21/07/2012
RSA	Close Plateau	6B	22/07/2012
Girl on our mind	Close Plateau	6B+	22/07/2012
Poison Dwarf	Close Plateau	7B	22/07/2012
Witness the Sickness	Close Plateau	(8A)	22/07/2012
REST DAY	LAMBERTS BAY		23/07/2012
Gegen Den Winds	Fields of Joy	7A+	24/07/2012
FAILED TO DO ANYTHING	Riverside		25/07/2012
REST DAY	8 Day Rain		26/07/2012
Hueco Face	8 Day Rain	6B+	27/07/2012
Whirlpool Arete	8 Day Rain	6A+	27/07/2012
Mud Puddles	8 Day Rain	7B	27/07/2012
Crazy Leg	8 Day Rain	7B	27/07/2012
Maties	Sassies	7A	29/07/2012
Great Escape	Sassies	6C+	29/07/2012
Nothing	8 Day Rain		30/07/2012
Sale in Execution	Fields of Joy	6C	31/07/2012
Stinky Pants	Fields of Joy	7B	31/07/2012
Maniac	Fields of Joy	(7B)	31/07/2012
When the Day Breaks	Roadcrew	7B	01/08/2012
Hill Start	Roadcrew	7A	01/08/2012
Cedar Spine	Cedar Spine Gully	(7C)	01/08/2012
Riverside Slab	Riverside	6B	03/08/2012
Alligator	Riverside	6C	03/08/2012
Des Claques Pour Nini	Riverside	7B	03/08/2012
Cedar Spine	Cedar Spine Gully	7C	04/08/2012
CAROLINE	Roadside	(7C+)	04/08/2012
Le Bowling Ball	Fortress	7A	04/08/2012
The Rhino	The Rhino Boulders	7B+	05/08/2012

Cheerios all, 8 day rain later methinks, unless we head to Pakhuis Campground again.

   Bentbeak the bird flew over the prehistory of the world.

   He flew over wide stretches of land and water, verdant fields of green and yellow grass that swayed back and forth in a light breeze. It flew over vast expanses of water, ducking low to glide over the waves and enjoy the company of its own reflection.

It flew over the deserts and the badlands where nothing grew for miles.

And finally it flew over the volcano.

   The bird had no way of knowing that it was flying over the volcano, since it gave no external signs, except for a slightly higher land temperature than might have been expected for that time of year. Unfortunately for the bird, it was not attuned to imperceptible temperature errors, and it was also unaware of the increasing pressure buildup beneath the surface.

   The surface of the planet began to split and crack, giant trees fell headlong into the cavernous holes and returned as wisps of smoke a few seconds later. Any animals ill-fated enough to be on the ground attempted to leave, but many plunged headfirst into the holes to join the trees.

   The surrounding airspace took on the aroma of a poorly tended barbeque, singed meat rising through the air and mingling with the clouds that had formed from the rivers and streams that, until recently, had been flowing peaceably across the plains.

  

   The bird was oblivious to these changes.

   He often found it hard to concentrate on what he was doing, and right now he was quite interested in the sudden appearance of the new clouds that were blocking his vision.

   Two years ago he had been flying through one of the greater mountain ranges on his way to a party, when he was distracted by an attractively fish shaped cloud. He had promptly flown into a mountain and bent his beak, which had resulted in a great deal of teasing when he finally arrived. Ever since that day, his nose hadn’t worked properly, and right now he was starting to pay the ultimate price for his navigational mishap.

   If he had smelt the burning flesh below, he might have ducked below the cloud line and found the time to escape. Instead, he flew on, oblivious to the danger below.

   When the lava hit him he was surprised, naturally. The presence of superheated rock in an area you wouldn’t expect it is certainly something to be surprised at. But his real surprise, looking back on it, was the speed of it. It was travelling, and it didn’t seem to be slowing down. The volcano below, was forcing the lava above onwards in an explosion of such violence that the planet shrank as its insides flew upwards in one long stream of molten granite.

   Eventually, the pillar reached the upper atmosphere and started to cool. The liquid re-solidifying into a giant cylinder that soared on through the upper atmosphere, buoyed by the momentum it received from below. Just as it was clearing the gravitational pull of the planet…it stopped.

   The volcano was done. The planet’s core was dry, and the event was over except for the tower. The base was still liquid, while the upper part was sticking out into space. Slowly- gravity started to notice and the pillar began to descend, cracking and splitting along its length. The space pillar freed itself from its earthbound relative and soared majestically into orbit, the splinters from the schism fell like mighty bolts into the earth. Jagged and heavy, they fell into the ground and sank, only to be covered by the setting lava from the end of the eruption. Some fell wide over the surface, many miles from the epicentre, causing fiery arcs to spread across the sky.

   The tower stood for a second, unsure of which way to fall. The wind swirled around it buffeting it one way then the other, all the while, the lava on the ground continued to set. Eventually it stood, as a giant totem, lording over the landscape and casting a monstrous shadow well beyond the horizon.

   The planet sighed, and over the following millenia tried to adjust to the new space within. Many of the giant fissures widened as the core contracted, and when the planet cooled enough for the rains to fall, they became the new seas and rivers. Thousands of islands now populated the area around the tower, some large, some small, some that glittered like diamond and some that seemed to suck in the light from the sun. The planet had taken the lives from most of its inhabitants, and in return it had spilt its bounteous resources of the clean across the surface.

Oh yeah - I'm in South Africa too...

Climbed a few things, nothing nails hard yet.

	Number	Cumulative
6A	0	18
6A+	1	18
6B	1	17
6B+	5	16
6C	1	11
6C+	1	10
7A	2	9
7A+	2	7
7B	4	5
7B+	1	1
7C	0	0
7C+	0	0
8A	0	0

There are probably some 7Bs that should be on that list that arent, havent kept it thoroughly up to date.

It is baking hot today, so we are sitting in Clanwilliam eating toasties and drinking milkshakes.
Good times, might sunbathe later. So hot.

Jack - I had a professional accountant include a bit of code on my spreadsheet to measure the number of flashes of each grade I have. If you manage to work it out for yourself, have a pat on the back.

I'll write again if I manage to do any 7C boulders, loads in the pipeline, not many achieved though.