The Wood is Good

Finally built a decent woody at my place and we've added loads of little wooden jibs in an attempt to get use to pulling on smaller more incut holds with small feet. I still haven't put the bad ones on yet but hopefully we'll graduate to them soon.

It's a nice 35 degree angle so you can pull steep hard moves but still use quite small holds that you can't afford to let your feet cut off on.

Let the jibbing begin

Coming Up For Air

So we're still alive and kicking!

I've been training away quite hard the past two months with my friend Chris Ritchie in preparation for our trip to Hueco Tanks which is coming very fast. Three weeks from now we'll be on our way over wahoo!

This year has been a bit up and down for me and i've been finding it tough sticking to my training and not really having my usual motivation. But we've really stuck to the plan the past couple of months and we are both feeling stonger with every session. I've been blown away how far Chris has come along during the training, he managed to do his first v8, 'phone sex' and has just got stonger and stronger since. I'm excited to see how far i can push it too, i feel in the best shape i've been in for a long time. I guess time will tell? but it's great to be back on the blocs again after a whole month of hang boarding and weights which nearly drove us mad ha ha.

The basic training plan was:

5 weeks of conditioning
Building up from easy problems to harder as the weeks progress with high volume

4 weeks strength training
Of hang boarding and weights with very minimal climbing

4 weeks power
Extremely hard bouldering and campus

1 week taper off/ rest.

Only 3 weeks to go of power, will it all come together in time???
At least i can crimp hard now!

Getting Happy

So I've been sneaking back out over the past month or so to my little training ground at the Happy Place and managed to clean up a few old link up projects. Most of these are all link ups but are great pwr/end problems. I haven't updated the guide yet but i'll try to do that very soon. These are the problems in question

Dirty drowning man V7
Attack of the clones V8
Killer Loop V9
Magic Beans V9
Long Udon V10

I think my happy place projecting is done for a little while but I spied a few new lines so i'll be back.

I took a few mates out there from Sydney last weekend and they all thought it great. it was good to see people thrasing it out on the problems. Neil Wallace made a really fast ascent of The golden pinch v7 and Chris 'ipoppie' Ritchie almost managed a flash of the classic happy pyramid v4 sending 2nd shot.

We warmed up on the upper ridge with the boys repeating many of the moderates up there. Neil managed the FA of a classic line i'd been looking at on the gentle overhang wall next to the classic five spice v4. We worked the problem out with funky moves that lead to a spicy top out over a tree thats in the fall zone. 'seven swallows v6' is my new favourate problem

Trips, comps and coast rock

I've been a bit slack with updates of late but I haven't been getting out much around the coast but hopefully I'll be back at it over the next few months and clean up a few old projects I've got in mind.

I've been training loads at Ecat lately but not much outside aside for a few sneaky Gramps trips which are always excellent :) Climbed in the bouldering series on Saturday night at Ecat which was awesome! so many good problems and a really strong Field of some of Australia's top climbers. The boys did a great job setting some really interesting problems and out did themselves yet again. James Kassay took it out on the day, with Tom Farrell and Ben Cossey tied 2nd and Lee Cossey third.

Firing back up for some Coast action again soon too, so hopefully I'll get out and finish up some old projects in the coming months. I finished up one project at the Happy Place the other night which climbs out the low rail as for 'Viking Invader v9' but then climbs up the little bulging prow to finish up 'Another clone v6'. I was lucky to get this in the end as I couldn't do any of the moves on either of the problems initially, so they felt quite solid. After I re-worked all moves out I had a couple of shots form the start and got lucky sending 'Attack of the Clones' it felt like around v8. Now I just have to link it back into the underclinging traverse of 'Damage inc v8' and the full loop will be done.

Back in the Gramps

So we're back down the Gramps after wetting our appetites with a great trip down in Easter. Despite the hot conditions the Easter trip was great with a lot of sending especially Philby Neville who managed to dispatch all his projects in one weekend of sending fury including 'Monkey Bars v8', 'Happy Camper Trav v9' 'Shanghai v8'as well as 'haribo boulder v9' just for good measure. Awesome effort mate!

Conditions this time have been perfect and with loads of people down it's sure to be a great trip. It's just a shame we have to go home. I even made it up to the Gallery to belay Jason Piper on 'Monkey puzzle' He fell just before the anchors! but the gear is still on so he will do it next time I'm sure. Stellar effort though, Go coast power!

Coast Action

Been a bit slack with the updates but after a little break from the rock I've been getting out and about and cleaning up a few new problems too. Photo me on 'Mercy Killing'

I revisited a little crag I call slip stream just up the road from me a Phegans Bay which is an old Anthoney Alexander area. I cleaned up some of the lines and did a few nice easy problems up there as well as a nice v5 I called 'Mercy Killing' which is a bit of an eliminate but fun climbing none the less. Still plenty to do there and a few hard lines there too.

Pat Reynolds did a flying visit a few weeks back now and we hit up the brown room where he managed all the standard classics as well as a quick second ascent of 'Red October v7' he also came super close to doing 'Brutal v9' which needs a second ascent so hopefully he'll be back soon to crush it! We also ducked into the pearl jam cave to try 'dissident v8' which is still unrepeated. We both got smacked around on it and I struggled to repeat the moves again, maybe it's a little harder? definitely a steely number and one of the coast's harder 8's for sure.

The development continues around the Dark Forrest. I've been working through some really nice lines along the upper ridge and added a handful of nice easy new problems. Most of the stuff in this section are low in the grade range but some really nice climbing even the -v0 are great and interesting. Some stand outs were;

'Mexican Mavis v3' which has a funky mantle on an iron stone ledge.

'Fresh Squeezed v6' is a nice eliminate of 'the ark' which is a steep arete, the harder variation climbs the arete proper not using any face holds.

'Riddles abound tonight 'v4 is another great problem which climbs out a little cave to a weird slopey top out.

'Five spice v4/5' is probably my favourite new problem and climbs a gently overhanging face on perfect edges to a big move to the high slopey lip and a rounded top out classic!

Me and fellow coast climber Al headed to the Happy place again too and added two nice additions 'Yummy Noodle v6' which pinches up the tufa feature on the main wall from a sit start and a really nice problem I named 'front end loader v5' which climbs out a steep detached block below the main cliff.

The scrubbing continues.....

Making Contact

I finally managed to haul my old tired ass up contact @ the Villa's on Tuesday arvo. It will be nice to not have to do the long drive from the Coast to Sutherland for a little while. I had been going down about twice a week to try it since I've been home from Swiss. I nearly sent a few weeks ago but popped my footing going for the jug near the end :( I spent six sessions since being home plus five earlier last year. Happy Days.

Now rest and back to begin training for a huge winter!

Happy Place Guide

The Guide for "The Happy Place" has been updated, get on it!

http://www.climb.org.au/index.php?page_id=10&action=area&area_id=1459

Switzerland wrap up

The dream is over, boo hoo hoo. Just finished my first week back at work and I miss the beautiful Swiss Alps. The final week we had there was amazing, so much fun and an awesome crew. Thanks guys for making it a great trip, I'm sure your all loving being back to reality just as much as I am.

So after spending a frustrating few days waiting for the snow to bugger off and a fun trip to Interlarken (even though it was snowing too much to see the Igar)
we finally managed to cram a lot into the last three days with some beautiful and crisp conditions. Unfortunately I was a bit slack on the photo's cause of all the frantic climbing, sorry.

I had been really keen to get back on this roof problem called 'Backgammon' which is an 8a or a 7c stand. It has a huge move out the roof to a sloper then a go again to a good edge at nearly full span. We managed to work out a good way to do the move with a high heel and I was sure I would be able to do the problem having nearly stuck the move. I had a quick look at the easy finishing moves or at least that's what I thought! I got totally shut down. I wasn't able to work out a good way of linking the crux throw into the finishing traverse that exits the roof via a thin seam, Tragedy! So off we went with our tails between our legs to find some other problems.

We headed over to the Jungle book for Pat to try for a send on the sit start. Unfortunately the snow kept the top out wet and he never got the chance to finish it off. I felt bad for him, he had looked so solid on it and I'm sure he would have got it done if he had the chance. One for next time.

XP is this cool little 7c on a small triangular bloc in front of Jungle book. Me and Pat had been spying it since we got there and it was time to give it a go. Essentially it's a hard pull on from an undercling with bad feet then slap out some sharp holds to get out of the low pit, punch out to the arete and cruise to the top. After struggling with the first move initially we both manage to send. Pat also managed a quick send of this awesome 7a+ near by "Media Men" involved slapping up this fridge type block feature then a huge move at the top. He managed to over come the dicey top out without falling much to my relief.

One last big day. We decide to just get out and just have some fun and we ended up climbing alot of stuff it was really cool. So a quick run down.

Me, Pat and Tor all managed "street parade 7a" which is a classic Cresciano sloper traverse. Pat made a quick send of "voule a vont 7a" and a surprise ascent of the area classic "Arcadia 7c" which is a proud slopey arete. Pat and me also managed "voci dalla cantina 7b+" After a quick chat with Bern Zangeral we all did this classic high ball boulder which Pat scrambled like an egg and was one of the most memorable of the trip. Me and Tor also snuck in the classic "ci credo o non ci credo 7a" just before dark, happy days.

The last day is still a bit of a blur, I ran into Milan with Pat at 3am to get him off for his flight home then jumped back in bed for a couple hours before me, Tor and Simen headed out for one last quick hoorah. I had a quick look at this problem high up in the boulder field the previous day called "carlo il magnifico 7a+" it looked awesome, so we thought we'd head up and give it a shot. This thing is a seriously cool sharp arete feature slapping up opposing side pulls and the arete. We only had till about 1.00pm before we had to leave to get the boys to the train and me and Tor were both getting very close. It came right down to the wire in the end with me just managing to scrap a send in and Tor getting robbed when his hand blew of the side pull going to the finishing hold.

So there you go, the end of an unbelievable trip.

Kram Snø (sticky snow)

The last week hasn't brought alot of news. Me and Pat kind of broke ourselves after pushing five or six sort of short days on, which caught up to us in the end. We spent a few days resting and pick up the Nord's Tor and Simen from Milan and now our little group is complete but it seems the boys have brought the 'Kram Sno' or 'sticky snow' from Norway with them. We got pounded with 20cm over night!

What to do?

Boulder at Brione!Frogger 8a Brione

This area has to be one of the most awesome I've seen here! so much great looking stuff. Unfortunate that the snow was so heavy. This amazing cave is one of the only things that stays dry and is climbable in the snow. We had some vauge directions and descriptions so we thought we'd give it a shot. We headed up in heavy snow and our little van only barely made it up the slippery icey roads 'the boys had to get out and push up some of the steep hills'. We made it in the end and it was awesome, the cave has the most spectacular colours and sculpted grips. Tor and Pat made quick work of the short 7a+ in the cave which shut me down and then it was on to Frogger.

Pat and me working Frogger

Such a super problem, perfect holds, beautiful, I wish one of us had sent it. We worked out the funky heel, toe beta for the start. I managed to link the starting moves but was getting shut down trying to work out the finish which eluded us. One to come back for...

All the snow has made for some fun rest days which have involved driving around to some different towns, eating and drinking. Great fun! Weather has cleared now so we're back into it tomorrow.

Rest day in Bissone

Swiss update

Me on l'altra faccia

We've been running around like mad trying every thing we can and working our selves into the ground but we have managed to haul our self up a few things. Pat had an awesome day the other day and sent 'le grotto de soupris 7c+' and the stand to 'Jungle book 8a'. Super effort mate. We both managed 'ictus cerebral 7c' I got up 'la pinoche 7b+' also as well as 'l'altra faccia 7b'. I've lost track of all the easier classics, there is so much to do and so little time. Pat has been working the sit start to jungle book and has made some really good links, hopefully we can get back there soon so he can crush it.

I've been looking for a good project to put some time into but i'm still not sure on what yet? I've been feeling pretty good so i'd really like to test my metal on some of the harder lines. Let the search continue....

German Dude 'Jungle book from the sit 8a+'

Pat working the sit on Jungle book

From the land of Chocolate

Cool little house on the death road past chironico

Me getting whipped on 'la Pinoche 7b+' cresciano Pat with the post van at chironico

So we've been bunkered down here in our little swiss house for nearly a week now and it's been awesome. After ariving and a death drive by myself through Italy in our little post man van I managed to find our house and make it back to pick up Pat from the airport the next day.

Pat warming up on a high ball Cresciano

The first few days were spent at Cresciano with great conditions except for a bit of snow. We spent lots of time learning to climb these beautiful boulders and getting shut down on projects. Pat managed an impressive flash of la Pionche 7b+ on the amazing la Pelle boulder. We took a quick trip further up to Chironico which is quite snowy at the moment but still some classic's to be had. I managed to haul my ass up a beautiful problem call 'Globe trotter' 7a which I really had to work hard for but was worth all the effort. We got snowed off after that before taking a wrong turn and ending up on an ice death road but we've made it back and are waiting for better weather to come.