All change

Over the years I have worked in various parts of the outdoor industry. As a youngster I worked for Cotswold Outdoor in the Manchester store. Back then it was a great hub for climbers and the place to buy your gear in town, maybe it still is as I haven't been in ages.
I left there and became a sales rep for The North Face. I joined the company at a really exciting time and experienced some fantastic times and as we saw amazing growth.
I moved on after 4 years and just climbed....dream job...not really, not always. It is not always easy to focus when you have all the time in the world, but still it was great fun.
Then came Spain, coaching, climbing holidays and accommodation...brill apart from the heat and no Tescos!

Recently the setting has really kicked in. I love setting but too much is not good for a 40 year old :-) it means you cant really climb and cant really train, which for me is what it is really about.

So with this in mind last weekend I headed to the Netherlands to meet with my friend Rene. Rene is head of European sales for Madrock and Nihil. So low and behold I am now in charge of UK and Ireland sales for Madrock Climbing and Nihil Clothing.

I have never worn Madrock until a few weeks ago but I knew my friend and comp beast Guillaume Glairon Mondet had been wearing their new Shark shoe recently and kicking some Fontainebleau ass in this and the Mugen Tech.


Guillaume Glairon mondet climbing in Fontainebleau from guittooo on Vimeo.

To be honest I was impressed. I recently have worn the popular Mugen Tech a few times and straight out of
the box they felt great. A full 4 hour session at The Monk in the Netherlands in a brand new pair of boots and I could still walk amazing.

Beast and Beastess, Jan Hojer and Jule Wurm are also in the Madrock team and put them to recent good use by both winning the last World Cup in Innsbruck a couple of weeks ago!!


Jan Hojer Training from Jan Hojer on Vimeo.

Yes I know he doesn't use his feet much in this vid, but that board bloc looks totally sick.

I can remember when Nihil was started back in 2004 by my friend Irene Pieper. Irene does everything from design and development to over seeing manufacture which believe me is an immense task. She produces some great designs of which my favourites are The Dresden Hoodie and beautifully made Tabacco Jeans. All designed in the Netherlands with fabrics and construction in Portugal.

If you want to see more check out
www.madrockclimbing.com and www.nihilclimbing.com

If you are interested in becoming a stockist or just checking out the products available drop me a message to gazparryclimbing@gmail.com or come and say hi on our stand at Freidrichshafen.

Now't like a comfy sofa

Well it has pretty much been a year now that I have been back in the UK. Not so much has happened in my world, not much I can remember anyway. This last few weeks things have really started to settle down for me, more of a routine. The horses are happy in their field, living like a herd and loving the better weather. We have a nice place, only a few minutes walk from Wharncliffe Woods perfect for the dogs.

This evening I am off to Holland. First on business and then to catch up with my good friend Wouter, World Cup competitor and Dutch Team Manager. I am really looking forward to this as firstly as it will be the beginning of some big changes in the coming months and secondly it will be great to chat and train with Wally. He has been lacking motivation, as have I but he is back in the game, just like I am trying to do at the moment.

Wouter back in the day of old school World Cups...Russian style.


I am also looking forward to sitting down and chatting about how he manages and works with the Dutch team. How he deals with his team living in various countries as Jorg has been in Austria for years now. Why is this of interest to me? Well I am stepping into some big shoes. I am taking over the role of GB Bouldering Team Manager. I must admit it is a daunting prospect but I cant wait to start the plan for next year 2014. We have such a great team at the moment. Strength and depth in both the Womens and Mens. When I chatted with them about my decision I was totally made up how pleased they were that I would be taking on this roll, at least that will make my life a little easier. The future for the team is very bright.

Over the last few weeks I have been enjoying new places and old. Anston Stones, Forest Rock, The Works, The Foundry, Badger Cove and Rubicon. The dry rock has been fun and with a visit to Chee Tor to tick the excellent Ogre it has felt like I am finally home. Home at the end of a long day, when you sit down to relax with a cup of tea and think there is now't like a comfy sofa.

Blocfest 2012/2013

So finally the word is out. There is a new bouldering festival coming to town, well to a few towns really.

After much beavering away and work behind the scenes we think we have a concept that will please all, from the youngest little tweak who has just started to dream about the imposssible to the well honed rockstar and competition aficionado. Something for every one :-)

We have some great sponsors and partners signed up so expect some mega prizes and loads of giveaways. We have Holdz as our official hold suppliers. Boreal and Mountain Hardwear as our Series Partners and Domonic from Rock On has stepped up to the mark to be our Spot Prize Provider.

We also have Nourish Me Now providing some mega refreshments and New Heights Fitness on hand to answer all you training and nutrition questions.

The dates we have planned and round sponsors for the 2012/13 season are as follows:-

20th October 2012 - Mile End, London Wild Country

8th December 2012 - The Castle, London Beal

19th January 2013 - Reading Climbing Centre, Reading Prana, Metolius, Evolve

16th February 2013 - The Climbing Academy, Bristol La Sportiva

9th March 2013 - The Biscuit Factory, London DMM

Just to wet your palate we have produced this little teaser video. Hope you like it.

BlocFest 2012 - 2013 Promo from Ben Grubb on Vimeo.

Come and join in the fun and adventure by following us on the Blocfest website. Or follow Blocfest on Twitter or Facebook

Anston, BBC, ISPO and Magic

Well it really has been ages since I last blogged. So here is a whistle stop tour of all that has happened in between route setting and coaching.

Towards the end of June I began to explore Anston stones. This was great fun as for me it was somewhere totally new and is was crimpy limestone, a style I had not really climbed on for years. Initially it was pretty intense put after a few sessions my fingers were getting back into the crimping game. My trips here culminated in climbing the cool Black Crow 7c+ and on my last visit there I flashed Quarantine, given 8a but on what grading scale I dont know. Grades here are pretty varied, in the 7a/+ region they seem soft and in the 7c region seem hard, but that is just grades I suppose like everywhere else. Quality venue though and good effort to Mick Adams and Lee Robinson for producing the guide. I am looking forward to the colder temps for the harder boulders here.

July began with more work but now I was managing to squeeze in some rest days and some sessions at The Works getting spanked by Ned, Chris Webb and Alex. I wasnt training for the BBC but I was aiming to up my game a little. Sadly Cliffhanger was rained off but the BBC went ahead. I managed to scrape into the final in 8th place and with only one way to go I finished in 5th. To be honest I was totally made up wih this and am sure with some effort I will be back on the podium next year. Awesome to see Barrans take this year and the Shauna v's Alex battle was fantastic.

After a week setting for the Reach and the amazing new Beacon Climbing Wall, I did my first mega drive of the last few weeks out to Freidrichshafen to catch up with my sponsors, DMM, Boreal and Sterling. I was also there with two other hats on, firstly I was a stand in Dave Simmonite (climb magazine editor) though not as wide, and had to call on a few brands for him. Secondly I was there to talk Blocfest. Blocfest is a new series of comps with a festival feeling to be held in the South kicking off in October they will run over the winter to Febuary. Check out www.blocfest.co.uk for more info.

Next up was Magic Wood, a quick hit trip and althought completely destroyed from a hard week and loads of driving I managed a couple of 7c+'s. From Darkness to Sunshine was great and the new (dont know the name) 7c+ on the Bruno Bloc was mega.

With only 4 days in the Wood it was time to leave......more driving to the Costa Blanca. Time to bring Joe and Oliana (and her unborn foal) back to the UK.

A quick stop in the Ariege allowed me to tick the super hard Reine De Sabart and a hot day on the blocs in font landed me back in the UK for a 10 day coaching and setting stint!!

Today is my rest and packing day. Tonight I am off to Stuttgart to climb at the Adidas Rockstars event. After that it is off to the Alps!

Euro Cheese and Grit Video

Its been a busy few weeks since I arrived back in the UK. We have officially moved here!! I went to Malham a few weeks ago and everyone one was like WTF are you doing. It was freezing, windy and generally miserable, soon I was beginning to wonder the same thing. Finally I bit the bullet and got on a route. The route of the moment for Malham is Bat Route and I can assure you it did not let me down. Very euro in nature with a number of shakes, the climbing is truly amazing and one of the best sport routes in the UK, tough right to the end, just ask Sam Whittaker who knows the ride well. Something I need to get back soon. Congrats to Ben Bransby who recently got the tick. I also paid a visit to the southern cheese that is Cheddar. A refined delicacy that is not to all tastes but there are certainley some gems. One of the best buttresses is Lion Rock. Recently updraded with a costa coffee facing the crag and free parking directly below it it has a few quality lines on good rock.
 


Taming Of The Lion was the aim. I was totally destroyed from a mamouth 9.30am to 6.30pm climbing session at The Climbing Academy the day before mainly revolving around coaching their youth team and an open to all coaching session. I over did it a bit and the next day I was destroyed. I still managed an ascent of Taming The Lion via a sneaky leftwards follow the easiest line method which in french grades is around 7c. The direct semi eliminate version which is 7c+/8a is great climbing but as I said a little eliminate. Maybe I will go back for this sometime. In the afternoon I met up with Dave Pickford, by now I was just a belay bitch, I snoozed as he attempted and dirty looking and loose E5 and snoozed again as he threw some laps on House Burning Down to finish off. Dave has always had a penchant for intereting cars and his newest jam is a beast. A BMW M3 2002, Black with Red Leather Seats. Never having been a fan of BMW's I am now, ohhhh BMW's and cider :-)

 
This is a pic of the worst that Cheddar can offer. Apparently the reason why bolting is currently banned there. Well worth it for some 2 bolt piles of shit Gordan.

Over the last few weeks we have been living with friends in Cubley near Ashbourne and I have been legging it around the UK setting and coaching and basically just cramming the work in. Finally we have found a house and some land to rent. The 5 acre field is now home to our two horses Elsa and Arco and joined by Dooley (Kates sisters horse), as soon as we get Oliana and Joe from Spain there will be 5......or maybe 6 if Oliana is in foal. Next week we move into our house, a mint little cottage in Letwell. A village so small there are no shops and no pub but walking distance from the field and perfect for the dogs. Infact I cant believe how nice this area is. The best part about being based here is that I will be near Sheffield, I have ever really spent time here but I am pretty psyched to now as there is plenty for me to do. Apart from that my house is only 4 miles from Anston Stones.

This bank holiday weekend has turned into a double rest day, so I dug out this clip from Posing Productions. It was taken from the DVD "On Sight". Enjoy.