Temperatures today were below freezing but myself, Phil and Alisha were keen to get out and climb, we headed into the boulderfeild with not much enthusiasm due to the cold, it took a while to warm up so we decided to head straight around to Declassified, I had a few goes and my fingers were so numb, it was hard to tell if you actually holding the holds, after a few attempts I went for it, and finally after three trips to the boulderfeild I manged to latch the last hold and send the route, A happy man as this was a test for me and one of the reasons I've been training so hard.
We decided to head on up to new cuttings area to look at Guy Fawkes.. This is the hardest recorded problem on the island at V11 so it wasn't going to be easy, Phil had been working it for a few weeks now and was starting to come close, He tried a few times but due to just getting over a cold and the numbness of finger tips he didn't quite latch the last hold of the crux section..
I had a look at gunpowder plot and decided to have a go, surprisingly I manged to flash the route and to be honest it didn't feel that hard for V5.
With our bodies frozen and poor Alisha looking like a block of ice we decided to call it a day, My next project and session will be spent on lightning strike, after trying the starting moves I'm pretty keen to spend some time on it and hopefully tick one of the classics of the boulderfeild..
Maybe Sunday I will get Out but a few things may stop that but I'm fighting keen and ready to crank.
I was hoping to put Declassified to bed today but it had answers for me and left me cut, aching and even more determined to send this route, after many attempts and falling on the last hold i still didn't manage to send the route...
Myself, Paul and Alisha headed in to Portland again, weather was perfect and we were all pretty psyched to get shit done, we warmed up on some easy grade routes and watch Alisha holding crimps barely noticeable, we then made our way over to Declassified where the games began, i nearly managed to send it first go but slipped going for the last hold, after many attempts, rests and lots of skin and blood drawn i was empty and getting angry and frustrated, Paul had a play and it didn't take long for him to realise how hard it was, we decided to move on so Paul could try harmeggeddon, tired and feeling the strain Paul was unable to send it, he did make good progress though and I'm sure with a fresh set of arms he will send it soon..
Paul done some filming today on the GoPro so looking forward to seeing what he came up with once edited, A good week of training ahead and planning my rest correctly should hopefully see more steps in the right direction.. and hopefully to tick on Declassified.
With Perfect weather conditions it was prime time to hit the boulderfeild to try tick off some of the harder lines, i headed in and after a few amazing cupcakes from the local shop I met drew and we made our way down with a number of routes in our sights... ladys night, Declassified, Lightning strikes & Borro del Terro.. All tough problems and test pieces of the boulderfield.. After warming up on a few easy V1, and 2's we jumped on the hard Ladies night V8, Drew had been working this the previous week and had some good beta on how to get off the floor, the holds really on non existent on this other than a few shocking slopers, after a few attempt Drew managed to send the route, I tried a few times but unable to to get on with it, defiantly possibly but i will need to work on it, With drew sending it we were both very stoked and wanting more. We decided to head over to declassified, this is an amazing prow which goes at V7, probably one of the best at the grade on the island.. whist drew was getting is shoes on i mentioned that if he got it first go id give him my bag of min eggs, I was a Little shakey when he landed the lip with only the top out to go..but that's the thing with this problem, it is never over until you right on top, sad for him..but lucky for me he fell, i enjoyed the mini eggs, i did give him one for his efforts.. I jumped on and had a few attempt getting close on a few occasions, with the nature of the route being very powerful moves rest is essential and you don't get many attempts before your body starts to feel broken, we both played and both came close but due to tiredness we were unable to send it, I pretty sure with fresh arms I will send it next visit.. Although we were both pretty done now we decided to head to Borro Del Terro on the walk out, this is another hard V7 with a possible dangerous landing.. but the setting for this boulder is awesome.. we both had a couple of attempt but feeling weak we didn't get very far, we decided to call it a day..
Another good day and especially for drew getting ladys night ticked, although i didn't manage to finish any of the problems it was still a successful day with allot of progress.. lets hope when i visit Sunday i can bring news of ticking at least one of these problems...
After having a quick look on the National geographic site today at some of the images I was very supriced to see my photo had been published by them, I am very happy as this is a great acheivemnt and i was completley shocked when the picture as over 9.1k likes, not bad for part time photographer.. this as now giving more motivation and inspiration to take my DSLR into the mountains more often... Below is my picture and you can also see it here http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/climbers-french-alps/
With the past few weeks weather not being the best Ive put all my efforts into my training and future plans, Ive been training hard at the wall and I'm starting to feel strong again, Ive also joined back at the gym training three times a week, hopefully this will get some of my upper body strength back and help on that important core strength, trying to balance the training is tough, there is a thin line when your trying to benefit for a specific sport, of course i want to be in shape and look good but pumping to many weights will increase my weight which will not help the climbing sides of things, Ive set out a good plan though and should i stick to it i should start seeing some good results.
Ive got a few adventures up my sleeve for this year, I'm planning on competing in some ultra trail races to keep fit for the mountains, there are a few big lines which i want to tackle in the alps this year and if all goes to plan these should lead up to a trip to to the Himalaya in November to attempt a well known mountain, I will putting lots of proposals together to see if i can get some sponsors for this, I would like to try and raise some money for a charity but this is all stuff il need to work on in the near future, In the mean time il grit my teeth, knuckle down and work my butt off to hopefully make a big difference this year.
Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are naught without prudence, and that a momentary negliance may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; Look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end
