Magic Wood

Danny on a 7a traverse

Hohendrausch - a great problem

Alpine conditions

Ben on his project - Jacks broken heart

Chris on a 7a

Swimming here was not a good idea

Melted snow/poor substitute for a shower

Nice hair - project denied

c-c-cold....

Supernova - amazing
Warmth of a fire... greatly appreciated!

Photos thanks very much to Stew and Ben

Just got back from Magic Wood a couple of days ago. It's such an amazing place, really beautiful and everything from trying so hard on a project to simply chilling out by the river seems easy, you can do whatever inspires you. The main feature of the trip was lots of snow, and freezing temps. Waking up with shoes frozen solid seemed funny at first but the novelty quickly wore out as they thawed and another pair of socks were soaked. But the cold also meant mint friction, the snow meant getting around was a something of a winter mountaineering experience, so what worked best was to get stuck into some projects for the week. For me, I was keen to do Supernova, which is a slopey ramp/roof feature. I think throwing for slopers/heel hooks/roofs are a my weaknesses on account of there is nothing like that at the Inverness Wall where I learnt to climb. I really struggled with the boulder and it became a mental test more than anything towards the end but managed to keep cool and climb it on my last day.

Another project was Piranja. This was much more my bag, slightly overhanging crimp fest! You gotta love it... Welll - I did, and got my first 7C+.

Octapussy is an 8A that ben did last year, I tried that for a few days but upsidedown heelhooking slaps again proved tough but this time too tough - one to come back for.

Other amazing climbs that really inspired me were Blown Away which is beautiful rising ramp feature on a 50 degree boulder the size of a house... Hohenrausch, a perfect face with a highball feel and an amazing crimpy sequence.

The bouldering there seems to just get better and better the harder you're climbing which is just so inspiring - the stuff around 7B is incredible anyway...

New Shoes?

"Put your new shoes on" - V9

Ruthven thing

I'm back up the road in Inverness for the weekend and this means trying to... sort of settle the score with some climbs that have been nagging me at Brin and Ruthven. Being in Glasgow most the time I end up getting really motivated for the stuff up here not just because there's some excellent problems up here but also because I don't get much chance to try them. When I do, it feels like a real privilege and I get very psyched... It's good fun haha..

Well murdo is recovering from his back injury, luckily he can still drive and was kind enough to give me a lift. I don't like taking advantage of cripples normally but he said he gets fed up at home and was up for spending a day at the crag.

We went to brin and Murdo seemed impressed with some of the problems. I was very keen to do Ben's problem from last year, New Shoes, so just headed straight to that after showing Murdo around a bit. After maybe an hour I eventually managed to keep my heel on, cut loose, and enjoy the very funky finishing moves. Tried Richie's new problem the Scientist but its desperate... definate tall mans problem.

Went to Ruthven to try a problem that I've been trying for ages but, after splitting 2 tips, gave up... It's hard.

The Inspiring words of "Stone Play"

The flat was generously given a copy of Stone Country's "Stone Play" and, as I was heading to Dumby solo once again, I decided to read it in the train.

I wasn't sure what I'd think of it... I think John said once that it was "more waffle" but I really liked it. over the past year I think bouldering has become my main focus in climbing so its interesting to read a book like this and see written down things that I had picked up on but not had the wisdom or vocabuary to write like that. So... pretty cool.

Inspired by such creative writing and really nice pictures I joined Michael on Silverback. 7C's are finally becoming more straight forward but I'd been trying this problem for ages and a definate barrier to overcome. To be honest, when I did it, it felt kinda easy and left me wondering what I'd been doing wrong... Pretty good to get it - chuffed.

Then I saw the 1990 trav was well chalked up so went for the flash but fell off. So spent couple of tries getting the moves and got through the hard climbing first go after that... but I didn't know where to finish so shouted down to danny who had his guide at the Sea Boulder and he said that it finished up 2HB, a problem which I hadn't done since my first day at D-bart (to keep in the nu skool hip lingo) but luckily topped it in belly flop stylee.

Anyway, another good day but this blog... I duno if I can be arsed anymore. It's not as fun really... But achh... I don't seem to care much for it...

Good Sesh at D-Bart

D-Bart is the new hip and happ'nin' name for Dumby, it's fresh from the world of sk8rs and sick music, like Metallica and Avril Lavirine... Rad.

I went out there yesterday without my crew, who were doing other things like uni... Luckily the climbers of D-Bart were numerous and happy to be in the sunshine so I wasn't stuck doing power pockets sitstart due to only one pad... for most the time anyway. Not that power pockets s/s is a terrible problem - it's not really a line, but an arbitrary piece difficulty which, if you're trying to climb something new, makes an ok challenge untill your stronger/have more pads to do the better lines, am I right?!

After failing on power pockets, I tried Consolidated extension. After going over the last wee bit a few times I made the slippery walk to the start of the traverse and (hurray!) made it to the end. This was very pleasing and says to me, "if you want better stamina, do some maximum intensity bouldering!!"

After that I felt like sitting in the sun all day but tried a few things... Saboutage is just to weird a sequence to get sorted, and I can't do the second move on pongo, though can get the first every time...

Resisting temptation to go back on power pockets, I went to see what the Watson was up to round the corner. He wasn't really up to much... but going round the corner made me want to try Spam which is a cool roof problem on crimps. With only one pad, I didn't fancy the fall, so just had fun doing the last move. Then a new buddy called Andy offered me use of his pad and after only one big dab per attempt, it was on... Eventually manged to keep my feet on by being super agressive and over crimping, luckily, wasn't too nervous for the top. Delighted, I did a small dance.

Decided to call it a day there. 2 V9's in a sesh.... Can't wait for Magic Wood...

Glen Croe

Thought I'd update this slowly deterriorating blog while I'm in a good mood. Went to Glen Croe with the team... Thanks to Stew's dad for the lift out! Hopefully the photos (thanks to Ben's flash new camera) show that we had an excellent time, this was my first Croe experience.

The boulders are on the backside of the Cobbler and don't get too much sun this time of year. What they do get is a lot of rain, and it wasn't too much of a surprise to find the whole area very boggy. Foolishly, I'd left my wellies in inverness. Wet socks - one of the worst experinces known to man... the thought of them now makes me cringe and wimper slightly.

Anyway, the boulders were (mostly) dry and we had a tarp to keep things from being soggy/lost into a bog. Ben cruised Precious and I came pretty close, falling off on the finishing jug... just have to go back and try again, I suppose.

Then we went to the cutting room boulder. It's pretty cool - we all made ascents of The Nose problem. I wanted to flash the Cutting Room which is 7B or something so got psyched, got some sort of beta and pulled on. Before I knew what was what I was back on the floor, having pulled off the starting side pull... oopsie, it's now quite hard to get off the ground. Eventually got up the problem but not before falling off the finishing jug!

I think Dumbarton is a bad place for training... mental training anyway - you forget what its like to actually do problems, so get lost and confused when you're done the hard climbing and all that's left to do is match that massive hold... and you fall. Something odd is going on, I have a terrible case of summit fever or something.

Next we did Swap Meet, kinda cool problem which seemed really hard for me until I worked out a good bit of beta and sent.

We did some stuff on Fernandez boulder and took a look at Turbinal Nose (yes, it was wet) and went home (to bed).

Cummy and Brin

Well, exams finished last friday and I agreed with myself that it was time to go home for a bath and home cooked food...

It also meant some bouldering at Cummingston and Brin on saturday and sunday with Inverness bouldering's legend-in-the-making, Richie betts!

Cummingston is a good wet weather venue and since it was raining when we left inverness we went there... Most the day was spent in the cave, I was psyched to do Richies new problem and we worked a really hard project --- details of which in the up and coming Bouldering in Scotland guide...!!

Sunday, we went to brin. The weather again looked not so nice but we decided "let's do this thang!" and headed out.

I borrowed these pics from Richies flickr page...

This arete is an excellent feature and has holds!

Richie seems on top form at the moment and crushed one of the big arete projects detailed in the scottish climbs guide. He used a combination of shirts-off-psyche and tall-man-beta to jump past a section Ben and I tried to use technique to overcome. Anyway, I was very impressed especially with the top out on soaking moss, grass and mud. (it needs a rope to clean it, but it shall be a classic!)

We tried New Shoes, which I think has the best rock of all the problems at brin. I linked it in 2 sections but the law of diminishing returns set in...

Next we went to look at a problem that a few of us brushed up over winter but we were too scared to climb. It's a very bold arete and is very imposing. The landing is awful... Couldn't be too much worse. I was trying to chalk up the top out out holds when, richie's hand appeared on it. Puzzled, I peered around the arete to see richie sketching about for footholds. I pointed out a jug handhold and he was up. He said that that was silly. I agreed. I tried to climb it and had one of the scariest, sketchiest and committed bouldering experences I've ever had! It made archangle feel like an afternoon stroll along a beach in summer... or something. It's only like V3, but V3 XXS.

Prehaps the most striking line at brin?

Video from Richie

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=3019316677662772719&hl=en-GB

Richie Betts just sent me this link to a short clip he took of a climb at Duntelchaig last summer. It's an Ian Taylor route from a few years ago, but since then a jug and a peg have fallen off and leaves a protectionless boulder problem to a juggy rail with an ok micro wire. From here it's a scary and hard move to the top. Since the jug has gone, no one's climbed it, except for a man in his late 40s who was doing laps on it, according to one local... hmm...

Anyway, it got me psyched for climbing at home and took me away from horrible revision. I have two exams tomorrow and I'm not confident on either of them. It was nice to remember a time when getting eating by midges was my only concern, and I lay in bed at night thinking about nothing but climbing, individual holds and doing hard moves. But now I'm going to force myself back to studying, I feel I'm under some pressure to pass - not least because resits clash with a DWS trip to Portugal!!