Monday, 30 November 2009

TCA + James Pearson

I went to TCA today for a late session 7-10 and to meet the great James 'E12' Pearson
Climbed pretty well all session ticking many of the red problems.

The one on the front wall should go fresh but the super tiny crimpy one still requires some sequence discovery.

I also met James Pearson today, seems like a nice chap. Spoke to him about Switzerland and got some tips about where to go and what to do conditions wise.

Pearson and Holding


Still super psyched about Cresciano but I do feel like I'm not really crushing hard enough to get a 7a+/7b but you never know.

I'm not sure what to set for a target but a 7a a day sounds like a reasonably tough primary goal.

Saturday, 28 November 2009

Homewall Training and TCA yoga

Had a short 3 hour session with Anthony yesterday on the Homewall which culminated in the hardest route so far despite the fact that I could barely do three laps on the green circuit as a warmup.

Went to yoga this morning which felt good - just waiting for the pain to set in now.
Climbed ok afterwards ticking one of my projects and a couple of the '6a' circuit which are not even close to being 6a.
Tried the 7b+ and got rinsed again - perhaps with day or two off it might work better.

Fingers are pretty sore and muscles a touch weak but still feeling ok.

Unfortunately I think I may have to do some work this weekend...Bummer

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

TCA climbing and campussing

Went to TCA today - tried a few routes - got one pretty hard one that no one else in the group got which - while obviously a little petty - made me feel like it is all working . Also made an attempt on the 7b+ and managed the route in three sections but the end (surprisingly for TCA) really sticks the dagger in.

Then the campussing started. I tried to do a 1-4-7 but didnt really get anywhere - the extra 10 cm seems to make a huge difference.
I did another 1 - 3.5 - 6 wish ease though and various other sequences.

Little bit of front levering - not very good.

Tried various methods of one armer practice along with single fingers on the beastmaker which is feeling super close.

I think I'm going to order a pullup bar so I can really start making some gains in that department.

Tuesday, 24 November 2009

Homewall Training

I read Dave Macleod's blog earlier and it really inspired me to try a little harder, and put the extra effort into getting on the wall.

I moved a couple of holds so it would be less of a faff at the top and tried limiting feet to bad holds to make routes harder.

I repeated all the previous routes with relative ease and put a couple of crimpy and slopey things up - some of which I was quite pleased with...

TCA tomorrow - campus training with Anthony.

Saturday, 21 November 2009

Craggy Island and Home

I went home this weekend for the first time in a couple of months.
I did plenty today at craggy island - onsighting 6c+ doing a 6c boulder problem and almost getting a tough 7a+ onsight (more like 7b).

I love the onsighting sport game at the moment - so much more interesting when all the glory is there for the taking.

Still feeling a bit weak on the stamina side but then again I think the grades on the lead wall are perhaps a little low for the difficulty. Either way I think I should get back on the 30 degree board at TCA and get to work.

Nothing planned for tomorrow, but need to sort out the trip to Cresciano otherwise it might not go ahead.
Still stronger than monkey but not much in it. Need to keep training!

Thursday, 19 November 2009

Cheddar Ticklist.

Roight
After a long time sat up last night looking at the Cheddar Guide by Martin Crocker (which I think is an excellent guide) I have decided that for now (because of the slightly easier access) these are the climbs I will attempt to complete before some arbitrary point in time.

7B
  • All Hands to the Pump - Arch Rock
  • Postcard from Titan - Castle Rocks (Scary Monsters)
  • Thermopylae - Castle Rocks (Madruga)
  • Still Waters Run Deep - High Rock
  • Fool's Bolt - Acid Rock
7A+
  • Sherry Land - High Rock
  • The Minstrel - The Wave
  • Islands in the City - The Wave
7A
  • Get That Man - Ginsberg
  • Shakin' Like a Leaf - High Rock
  • Ritual Slaughter - The Wave
  • Crystal Gale - The Wave

Wednesday, 18 November 2009

TCA

Long lie in then TCA this afternoon, I did a few orange problems - somewhere around 6c I reckon.

New 7b+ circuit has just gone up which might be interesting given time.

Did a campus and repeaters session afterwards which seemed very worthwhile.
I managed a 1-3-5-7-7-5-3-1 set which I was pretty happy with
also did a 1-3.5-6 which ain't that far from a 1-4-7

Anyways - I'm going to take a couple of days off now and perhaps go to cheddar on Friday morning if it looks dryish and I can get a partner.
If not then going home for the first time in a while - climb on Ben's wall and have a play in Craggy.