Gaz Parry

New Year, new Sponsors and free coaching at TCA

2012-01-27T22:51:00.000Z

2012 feels old to me but it has already been fantastic. On my last day in Spain (Jan 6th) I managed to flash my first 8b. Traversia De Los Gliadores. This takes the obvious left to right diagonal break line starting up the grey rock in the back of the cave finishing in the top right of the pic.

Thanks to Jack Geldard of UKC for the pic

A full 50m of pumpy climbing where it is possible to fall not far from the end. Even with my years as a boulderer it is routes like this that I really love. Once the fitness comes it is a fantastic feeling when you are able to recover in amazing positions. Hanging from a jug in the middle of this cave is one of those places. Going from being boxed out of you mind to ready to go again. I find my self leaving my climbing mind and just chilling, able to take in the surroundings, even have a conversation with people around you and take time to watch others climb. Love it.

With my already hectic year almost one month old I have some great news. Not one but two new sponsors. I have joined the family over at Boreal and after a few years of working with their kids club I have put pen to paper and become The Climbing Academy's first sponsored climber. They join DMM and Beta Climbing Designs for 2012.

So what does all this mean?

Well its great to be involved with Boreal as they are a Spanish company and obviously I like Spain. I can now actually go to the factory and work with them directly to give them feedback and work on prototyping. I call it the Boreal family as it is a family business. Jesus (the boss) is the man that Jerry refers to in his book Revelations. It is family owned and family run, a rare thing nowadays. Its always a better feeling and a better relationship when you are dealing direct with a company and not through a distributor. Thats not to say I didn't have a great time with 5.10 over the years and I certainly wish Big Stone all the best. Its amazing to join the likes of Yuji Hirayama, Danni Andrada and the UK's very own climbing couple Jordan and Naomi Buys.

The real reason I have switched to Boreal though is this.

Yuji Hirayama on Boreal - UKC/UKH at OutDoor 2011 from UKClimbing.com TV on Vimeo.

Zenith, the stickiest rubber from the company that brought sticky rubber to the world of climbing.

My association with The Climbing Academy has been growing ever since they opened and with their recent Glasgow project coming on line we both felt now is a good time to make some stronger links. Having worked with the Youth Squad since 2009 we are now also incorporating regular setting and coaching sessions.

In order to achieve my goals for 2012 TCA's sponsorship will allow me to set a little less when I am in the UK yet still work and earn a crust. I will be working closely with Paul Twomey in Bristol and Al Cassidy (Assistant Manager in Glasgow) to develop a training resource that hopefully will help all their customers to achieve their own goals.

WOW I am really looking forward to visiting TCA Glasgow it looks amazing.

I will be around at both centres from time to time to offer 1:1's or small group private coaching sessions and on a few occasions I will just be wandering around offering advice to anyone who might want some and even if you don't want it you will probably still get it. TCA will use their newsletter and blogs to keep peeps up to date with my progress through the season and to let you know more about the training resource as it develops.

Tomorrow I will be at TCA Bristol coaching the Youth Squad and hanging out with Mike from Boreal at their boot demo. On Sunday 29th I have two coaching sessions left, one from 2.45-4.15 and the last from 4.30-6.00. They cost £60 for a 1 to 1 or £80 for up to 4. You can book or find out more by calling TCA on 0117 9072956.

But, the real reason I have signed a deal with TCA is so that I can partake in their fantastic Cappucinos. Try them as a double....rocket fuel!!!

I will be hanging out with TCA on the following dates:

Bristol
Jan 28 - Squad Coaching
Jan 29 - 1:1 Coaching. Book through TCA
May 26 - Open Coaching. Free for all.
May 27 - Squad Coaching
May 28 - Setting
June 15 - Setting
June 16 - Squad Coaching
June 17 - Open Coaching. Free for all

Glasgow
Feb 26 - 1:1 Coaching
Feb 27 - Setting
March 18 - Open Coaching. Free for all.
March 19 - Setting

You can also see where The UK Boreal boot demo tour will be stopping at here.

Happy climbing :-)

Back to the UK.

2012-01-05T12:41:00.000Z

My time in Spain is almost over. One more climbing day left tomorrow. Then a late flight back to the UK. I am heading straight up to Sheffield for Boulder Team Training which will be interesting as I have been chuffing up and down routes for the past month.
After that I am setting at various wall around the country and will be available for some coaching sessions on the following evening in the following locations.

Sunday 8th TCA Bristol
Monday 9th TCA Bristol
Tuesday 10th Hull
Thursday 12th, 13th London

On January the 11th I will be joining Neil Gresham at the opening of the new bouldering facility at Rock City.......BlocCity. So come along to join in the fun and say hi.

On Sat the 14th and 15th you can catch me on the DMM stand at the Outdoor Show, Excel in London. Come down for a climb, to learn from the pros or just to fondle some nice new kit from the best brand in the world DMM.

Here are a few pics from the last month.

Pony rides in Santa Linya

Nailing the last hard slap on Fabelita 8c

Tom Bolger getting close to Cataxsa

A happy Irish John after multi pitching in St Llorenc last week. John is one of my regular clients and always rocks up with Christmas Pudding. Cheers for a great week John.

Blomu 8c+

2011-12-29T18:35:00.000Z

Yesterday day was a funny old day. Over the last few days I have been making steady progress on Blomu in Cova Gran, Santa Linya. Slowly but surely I have been able to measure my progress by a one move higher each go. Blomu is a route with 3 belays, earlier in the year I on sighted the first section at 7b+ and completely failed to do the crimpy moves past the belay. At the top of the 7b+ is a good knee bar and a chance to refresh before the bulk of the route to the 8b belay. Climbing involving a crimpy boulder problem, a couple of small jumps, some good holds on which to rest and a powerful finish to clip the belay off a knee bar. Although there is a knee bar at the 8b belay it is by no means a place to recover, a chance to clip and chalk up and straight into a hard boulder problem, a powerful slap to a slopey hold followed by another sloper and then a hard move to shift the feet allowing another slightly better hold to taken. A big move rightwards then a hard move into an undercut (my highpoint the day before) allows a poor shake to be gained. Good hold with your left and crimp with your right. The last move is a 100% all out slap for a sloper just before the final belay.
The reason I say it was funny is because I wanted to complete Blomu before the New Year, with two 8c’s and a few 8b’s in the last month I think it is about time I climbed something a little more respectable. This combined with a lack of time in the day was starting to stress me out a little. With the slopers high on the route in the sun all day you can only really get good conditions in the shade, which means you only really get one good go right at the end of the day. I piled on the pressure, not sure about resting or climbing for a third day, a little niggle in a joint also confusing the issue. In the end I bit the bullet, opting for the usual bouldering warm up in the back of the cave. As I tied on I relaxed knowing what I had to do.
The power of the mind is immense, it constantly surprises me how strong it can be. I warmed and in the cold shade probably now 0 degrees, just before the redpoint I would donned my shorts took off my shirt and tied into my Sterling Nano, the feeling of freedom and lightness was fantastic. The mental battle was won.
Within seconds I managed to switch from totally stressed out to totally relaxed and in the zone. The various hard sections passed in a blur and as I shook out high up I felt myself practically completely recovering. A few more moves and the 8b belay clipped I switched into boulder mode powering past my high point to the poor shake out. I recovered a bit, focussing on how my left arm felt. All day I had been telling myself the next move was no harder than a V4, I kept saying I would never fall from a move like this on a boulder wall…..I didn’t.
Jug in hand I screamed in relief my first 8c+, the first one I have tried. Bring on 2012, but not just yet I still have another two days ;-)
Big up to Magnus Midtboe who today ticked his second 9a of the month. Fuck The System followed by Open Your Mind Direct……….strong man.
Hopefully I will have some pics up soon.

Oswestry Climbing Center

2011-12-08T13:37:00.000Z

Another small video here of a set I did for the small but excellent Oswestry Climbing Center.

An afternoon setting routes at oswestry from Robbie Meade films on Vimeo.

Video of finals setting for The Arch round of the SIBL

2011-12-07T00:37:00.000Z

Just a quick video made while me and Yann set the 6 final boulders for the Arch round of The Sibl. Dont forget it is the Castle round this Saturday, we set the Castle finals last week and they are safely under lock on key. Filmed and edited by Kieron Hall.

Fabulous, Fabelita 8c

2011-11-29T22:39:00.000Z

Back in the UK and back in London. Sometimes I don't like rest days, today I do. Usually I get frustrated that I am missing a days climbing, sometimes I even get angry and act like a right tit especially to those that are close. Today though my rest day feels well deserved. Yesterday I managed to nail the mega class route Fabelita 8c in Santa Linya. I started work on it on my last trip home. This week and on my last day in Spain it went down. The day before I had two redpoints and found myself falling mid crux. A third attempt with some new beta thanks to Hannah Midtboe I found myself in the mid height rest only to fall on the last hard slap high on the face. I suppose you have to fall here I thought, more value for money, more moves in the bank, but I didnt want to drop it again. Yesterday I was back, I needed to do it so I could move on to Christmas projects new when I return. The usual warm up and a quick play on the moves I was ready, a busy cave with 6 people all wanting to head on the same line or there abouts. The Poles stepped aside, Lynne held the ropes and I dug deep. The rest as they say is a happy restday :-)

I didn't get any pics on the route but here is one of Alan Cassidy in Dec 2009 not far from the tasty mono move into an undercut on the upper half of the route. Thanks to POD for the pic.

Homeward bound

2011-11-19T03:34:00.001Z

As ever I have been a little slack on the blog front. It is 3am at Gatwick and I am wiring for my flight back to Barcelona. Finally we are getting some kind of order on out field, 3 out of 4 horses are now there and manage to spend most of their time on the right side of the fence, the dogs are living living life in the outdoors and the cats spend their days eating mice, so much so I think patcho will soon explode.
I had a good trip to the UK this time, holding a mock world cup comp at The Castle last Sunday was the highlight, a massive thanks to Tricky, Mike and our time keepers for giving me the motivation to destroy myself for the rest of the week. 5 days of setting and I am almost recovered!!
So now it's back to Spain, rock and projects. Last week in Santa Linya was inspirational, not a lot went down apart from Iraq Attack by me but just being surrounded by people going a muerte on everything made you feel you had to step upto the mark and pull the finger out. First I tried Rollito Sharma 8b then it rained, so I moved onto Fabellita 8c. On day 1 I managed the top half in one but the meat is the bottom half, the whole level of endurance required on these routes is insane to me. Fabellita feels much harder than any 8c I have climbed before, hopefully the endurance will come, the start will dry out and I can get it ticked fast so I can move on to bigger fish. So psyched to get involved more with the cave, it's attraction gets greater everytime I climb there and the routes are inspirational hopefully I will one day climb one.

Jordan Buys completes the Yorkshire arete trilogy with an ascent of Loaded E8 7a

2011-10-23T19:33:00.001Z

You may wonder why I am blogging about Jordan repeating Loaded. The first repeat in 14 years :-o.
Well many moons ago I tried this line and managed to link it on a TR. The conditions on the day were poor and the rock was very harsh on the fingers, I made a vow to return. Sadly I never did, but on hearing the news I wasn't gutted I was totally made up the Jordan had got the tick. Although it did remind me that sometimes we all need to pull our the preverbial finger, stop talking about it, stop training for it and just go and climb it.
Today I headed down to the best bouldering wall in the country BUK, I had a climb with Ian (the man with the biggest shoulders) Vickers and managed to find time to have a chat with Jordan about his ascent. Here is what he had to say.

G. Yesterday was not only a good day for you but also for Naomi. Possibly the best husband and wife grit sending day ever!
J: Yeah Naomi had a great day with a quick repeat of Snap Decision, a fairly stern E7 to the right of Loaded.
G: The 1st female ascent I think, previously it has had a few OS in the early days by Seb and Ian but it has now lost one of the poor pegs.
J: Its a bolder proposition nowadays. She had a look on Friday to give it a brush and then led in first go on Saturady (yesterday)
G: Nice work Nao. How much time has Loaded taken you.
J: I have been on it 4 times. 3 years ago I tried to ground up it with James Ibbotson, we made it as far as the arete but being already totally boxed we failed to get any further.

Dave Sutcliffe out on the arete. Photo Kevin Avery

My next visit was with Pete Whit, we were both climbing well and managed all the moves on a top rope but never went back for the lead. There are some sharp crimps on it and the sequence is complex so its hard to do in a day.
On friday I returned, I knew Dave Sutcliffe had been trying it and also Neil Sugden has been very close so I knew the line would be brushed. I manged to do all the moves and re-learn the sequences.
I returned on Saturday warmed up and then climbed up to place the gear and reversed to the ground. On my first real attempt I fell and on the second it went down.
G: How was the lead then?
J: Well the guys watching and belaying said I looked smooth, but inside I felt like I was shaking all over. Its one of those routes with moves that you are never sure you will do until you have and you keep climbing it like that, will I or wont I? After a bit I was near the top thinking, oh no I am gonna have to climb it now.
G: How is that top out?
J: Totally gripping, I hadnt cleaned all the holds and Sootys method was to the left and mine is to the right so I ended up slapping up some green filth with my heart in my mouth. Sitting on the top and after I had finished screaming I was awarded to a round of applause from all the helmet clad climbers in the quarry.
G: So what prep did you and Naomi do for your grit day out?
J: Lots of sport, a week in Majorca DWS and a trip down to the amazing Foxhole on The Gower.
G: So the Yorkshire arete tripple crown is yours, Reservoir Dogs at Widdop, New Statesman and Loaded at Ilkley. Which is the hardest?
J: Loaded, then Reservoir then Statesman. All are amazing though.
G: The grade?
J: Hard E8 7a not enough for E9
G: Good effort to both of you, E8 and E7 yesterday from a husband and wife team, class. Anything else to say?
J: To Sooty and Neil, sorry for getting the repeat guys, you have put in so much time just keep trying.

Dace Sutcliffe taking the ride from near the top. Photo Kevin Avery.

Thanks to Naomi and Jordan and a special thanks to Kevin Avery for the pics. You can visit Kevins Climbing Gear Reviews UK site here. It is full of info reviews and his blog. Check it out.

Moving to Catlunya, Catalunya Holidays and Animal Hell

2011-10-19T23:00:00.000Z

Over the last couple of weeks there have been a few big changes in our lives. We have rented out our house in the Costa Blanca to Sofia she is now running it over the winter period and is offering camping and accommodation. You can check out her website here or contact her through Epic Adventures. Remember the house is located near Pego, a perfect location for L'Ocaive, Alcalali and Gandia.

So we have packed up all our animals, now 4 horses, 4 cats and 2 dogs and headed north. We are now based in Cubells, located pefectly between Santa Linya and Oliana with our nearest crags being Camarassa and Disblia :-)

Santa Linya

In November we are running our first course in conjunction with our guest coach Tom Bloger. Tom has been living and climbing hard in the area for the last 3 years. I will be running the first 3 days on basic climbing and on sight techniques. Tom will take over for the second half of the course and focussing on red point and pushing your grade. The course is running from the 6th to the 11th of November. We have plenty of accommodation options available so just get in touch if you want to book or have any questions.

On the animal front over the last few days Kate, Lynne and Tom have been having a few minor traumas. While Kate and Tom have been driving all over Spain looking at buying horses. Lynne has been looking after 5 dogs and 4 horses. Yesterday Morgana, our Podengo managed to get some cuts on her legs (probably form scrapping) and she had to go to the vets for stitches. In the evening Lynne had to go to work but didn't have time to collect Mog. She ended up ringing Chris (yes the Chris) to get my dog and look after her until Lynne got back. What a star. Today whilst Lynne was feeding the horses, Harry (Lynne and Toms big dog) managed to slip into the horses pen and Arco our new stallion took offence, he had a go at Harry throwing him against the fence then trapping him there. Luckily Harry got off pretty lightly and after spending the afternoon in the Vets was declared fit to go home!! Thankfully everyone is now back in one piece, Harry is as bouncy as ever, Morgana is wearing a muzzle as she removed her stitches and had to go back for staples and Arco wont be a stallion by the ned of next week.....the nut cutter is on his way.

Moral of the story? Make sure you are route setting in the UK when animal hell breaks loose in Catlunya :-)

The view from my door. Only fields.

Chulilla

2011-10-13T00:02:00.000Z

My ugly mug made the front cover of Climb Magazine this month. A few months back I visited Chulilla with Dave Simmonite and Kate. We spent some cool days exploring the village and climbing with Pedro Pons. Chulilla is an old climbing area that is quickly becoming a new destination. Here are some more pics to wet your appetite even more.

The classic Si Vols Pots 7a+

The Refugio

Chilling in the parking with the village in the backgroung.

The Village is stunning.

Looking up the upper part of the gorge to the village.

Looking up the gorge from the reservoir, with the new Sector Choreas in the middle of the pic.

There is climbing for everyone, from 4+ to 8c check out the November Issue for all the info.

Have fun....G

Bolting and new routes.

2011-09-25T21:44:00.000Z

Over the last few weeks I have spent a number of days here.....

or from another angle here......

It was way back in March 2010 when I made the first ascent of Luz De Sol 7c, the obvious sun lit white tufa in the pic above. The crag now boasts 23 routes from 6a to 8b some of which have been climbed and some of which are still projects. The current hardest is Adios Sol 8b, climbed in early January this year.

The first round of routes were bolted by Mike Langley and myself in May 2010 and a few weeks ago we returned to continue the job.

Mike "I don't like to climb anymore just give me a bolt gun" Langley

With another 7 routes bolted some of them even got climbed this time. A couple of new 7c's were both class additions, Pared De Rojo 7c, climbs leftwards out of Sunshine to re-join and finish as for that route. The massive 16 bolt journey of Crimp Eastward 7c follows the slightly obvious diagonal line in the top pic and after an epic bolting and cleaning effort from Mike I managed a flashed first ascent.

8 bolts in and still smiling.....that will be the 7a bit then!!

The other massive diagonal line was also soon to follow. Another 14 bolt diagonal epic. This time a stern double boulder problem start made the first half the crux. After a decent rest climbing around 7c leads you to the top.

Over on the right hand side we added a 6c Zen Garden, a intricate and continous 7b+ Say No To Jugs and another 6a to join Dave Simmonites earlier addition of Lentamente Lentamente. Roots Manuva was so named after the massive tree and earth moving effort carried out by our resident beach babe Kornelija Howick.

Kornelija looking a bit rough before she applied her mud pack.

The final man with a gun this week was Martin aka Strong Martin. As you can see from his bolting technique he still has a little to learn. We climbed the first half of this line at a pleasant and juggy 6b and I also bolted a right-hand finish that will probably become a classic 8a/+.

The main aim for my bolting mission though was the "King Line"....possibly one of the better sport lines I have every seen and most definitely the best line in the Costa Blanca. 14 bolts up a stunning arete mark the way. A hard boulder problem start. Some more hard moves to gain the arete and then another 10 bolts worth of pumpy moves to the top interspersed with a few more hard moves......grade? Well who knows? Who cares? I just want to be able to climb this stunning feature.

After all that hard work there is only one thing left to do, have a beer a plan for the next visit.

As for the crags location and access you will have to wait a bit longer as there is some unfinished business. Happy climbing. BIG G

Crags around L'Argentiere La Besse

2011-08-30T10:36:00.021Z

Over the past few years I have visited this region a number of times. I think my first visit was for a Boulder World Cup and the Tout a Bloc festival run by BaBa "Francois Lombard". A few festivals later and a winter visit around 3 years ago on my way to Spain I am back. The Ecrins is truly an area that has it all. In the winter the skiing, boarding, ice climbing and sunny winter rock available makes this a special place to spend Christmas. It has only been this visit that I have discovered the wealth of shady summer climbing available too. With temperatures ranging in the 25 to 30 degree I wasn't really expecting great conditions or amazing crags but, I found myself faced with stunning lines and excellect conditions on a daily basis so much so that sometimes I had to put a down jacket on and even a wooly hat and yet be able to sunbathe or swim in the lake in the valley!!

Here is a little overview of the single pitch sport crags I visited and another multi pitch, this time a total sport route I nick named the Seven 7's.

On the first day we headed to the Vallouise sector Entraygues, home to the amazing Tony Lamiche route San Ku Kai 9a and a new 9a+ from the wonder kid Enzo Oddo. After a quick warm up on a 6c I managed to crimp my way up the bouldery 8a Les Pitchounes followed by another 8a Le Sika Karai De Rika Zarai.

Unknown climber attempting San Ku Kai 9a

Next up was Rocher Des Brumes. Routes of choice were Yvan Colonnette 7b, Papapuk 8a, Papa Tank 8a, La Rentiere Mal Baisee 8a+. A fantastic crag with some very steep climbs. A fairly new venue this crag actually faces South but with the very overhanging nature the routes are in the shade at the moment. A the sun drops lower in the sky the crag will become a more winter friendly venue also.

Jerry Gore enjoying the 6c+ warm up

Here is a video of the stunning 8c there, Une Arquee Pour Le Criquet, with that man again BaBa.

The new Ailefroide crag I visited is a bit of a local secret. Jerry Gore has a topo and I am sure he will lend it to you if you belay him on his project ;-) Anyway if you do get to visit...Punishment Park is the amazing 7c crack with bolts.....it has also been on-sighted with gear before someone starts a thread on UKC. For more info and pics check out two posts ago.

The last single pitch crag I visited was Tournoux. A number of sectors here provide sunny and shady aspects at around 1800m. We opted for the shady side, three routes later we ran away as the low temps were getting to us. Routes of choice were La Ruee Vers L'or 6c+, Rape a Plat 7a+ and the amazing Cost Of Freedom 8a.

The variation of temps available in August was amazing. With many crags in many valleys all at different altitudes make this valley a place for all seasons. So my much so that i bumped into my fried Gabbi Moroni who was running away from the heat at Ceuse

Earlier I mentioned another multi pitch we climbed. This was Daisy Cheine high above the famous (you might have seen it in the Tour De France), Col Du Lautaret.

Looking down to the Col from the start of the route.

Looking up at the wall. The line follows a black streak high up on the left hand side of the wall.

I called it the 7 7's as the pitches go like this. 7a, 7a, 7b, 7b+, 7a+, 7b and 7a+. Not bad for a sports climbing day out. There are plenty of other routes here all bolted (ground-up) around 8 pitches in length. Many of which are around 6c with an oblig grade on 6a/6b. Well worth a visit. At this time of year you will need to wait until the sun comes onto the wall, around 1pm, then it will be shirts off.

FinallyIi just want to say a massive thanks....agian to Jerry Gore for putting me up and putting up with me ( or is that me with him!!) being my guide and motivation. Jerry originally from the UK has lived in the Hautes Alpes year round since 2003. They are always on hand to provide advice and support for families, couples and groups. So like minded people can get the most out of this huge and diverse mountain arena and make full use of the 300 days of sunshine every year - Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter!

Some of Jerrys Chalets

Chalet Chabrand in Summer

Chalet Eyrie in Winter

If you want to read more about Jerry and Alpbase and the climbing in the Ecrins check out his article "10 of the Best" from Climb Magazine Sept 2009.

Unchi Maka aka Mother Earth

2011-08-30T08:01:00.014Z

On the 24th of August Giles Cornah, Jerry Gore and myself made the first British ascent of Unchi Maka on the South West Face of Sialouze. The classic line from late 2009 was originally put up by Francis Elichabe, Ben Kempf and Fred Roulx over a period of 3 days, 2 in August and 1 in September and only really became public knowledge when Jean-Michel Cambon published the latest edition of “Oisans Nouveau" in 2011.

The name Unchi Maka comes from the Sioux Indians name for Mother earth and is the perfect partner for Wakantanka, The Great Spirit, on the East Face of Sialoze. Wakantanka was also climbed first by Fred. It was attempted to be freed by Patrick Edlinger but first freed by Jacques Perrier alias Pschitt. Jaques is a long time old local hero who I managed to meet on this trip, famous for the first ascent of Pichnibule in the Verdon which our very own Big Ron went onto free.

Fred also chose the name Unchi Maka in the memory of his mother who passed away in 2009.

The rubber glove was surplus to our kit requirements!!

The 13 pitch route Unchi Maka is arguably the hardest alpine wall in the Southern French Alps. Graded ABO (abominable!) and with a crux pitch of Fr. 8a. With another 6pitches between 7a and 7c+ the route is over 400m long and finishes at 3576m, right at the top of the Sialouze. The climbing is never impossible but always difficult and challenging with pitches that required both bolts and trad gear. The line took 10hrs to climb from bivi to summit to bivi.

The South West Face of Sialouze. Unchi climbs the black streaks left of the centre.

We climbed all the pitches free, either os or flash except for the 8a where I took 1 fall. A hard pitch! That pitch had only a few weeks ago repelled the amazing Yann Ghesquiers.

Warming up at 3000m!!

Giles On Sighting pitch 5 7c(7b/+)

The best pitch was actually Pitch 11 – an horrendous overhanging 7a off-width.

The top....pheww...

For me this was a another great in-sight into hard climbing in alternative places. The walk in, the bivi, the temperatures and the altitude all lead to the added seriousness and difficulties of climbing something like this free. As for the pitch grades, I thought they were a little softer than those in the valley but with my non existent altitude fitness there were still a challenge, something of which I am looking forward to do more of. All in all though for me the hardest part was..........the bloody walking!!!

The Gin and Tonic celebration and a big thanks to Jerry from www.alpbase.com for his motivation and entertainment.

Going BIG.............

2011-08-22T17:08:00.012Z

Yet again and yes I hear you say it I am a slack blogger......sorry.

So just as a quick catch up last time I posted I mentioned a new crag up on the Segaria ridge, bolting has finished and the results are L to R 6c+, 7b, 7c with an 8a+ extension and a nice warm up line of 6a. I also managed a trip up to my crag, 45 Degrees. I have had a few days working a line up there, originally bolted by Mike Langley. Although I tend not to work projects that are gonna become long term missions I think this one will be. After 4 days of work I still have 4 moves un done, 3 that constitute the crux and one hard move near the top. The line is a total power endurance feast of around 30 moves, with no rest and some heart breaking big moves to pass the last bolt. Hopefully when I get back on it in September it will be a little cooler and I will be a little stronger. In between beating myself up on the "Barrel" project I polished off another FA on The Sun Terrace. Sunny Side Up has a hard and sustained start past the first three clips into some massive pipe tufas to a pumpy and interesting finish. The lines on this sector are now 7c+, 8a, 7c, 8b, 7b and 6a.

This is the 8b Adios Sol on The Sun Terrace

When I get back to Spain in September the main aim will be to bolt the amazing tufa wall in the background and the amzing arete to the left.

For the last few days I have been staying with Jerry Gore of Alp Base fame, and climbing around the valley of Ailefrode, seeking out the shade. Day 1 we headed to the Vallouise sector Entraygues home to the amazing Tony Lamiche route San Ku Kai 9a. After a quick warm up on a 6c I managed to crimp my way up the bouldery 8a Les Pitchounes followed my another 8a Le Sika Karai De Rika Zarai. Pretty please with my morning on sights we left for another sector as the crowds arrived. We headed up to Grand Bois to catch up with my good friend Pierre Muller who I went to Trango with. Another awesome sector where we finished the day with a couple of ace 7b+'s including the fantastic 35m Diaclase, a must for anyone climbing at this grade.

The next day we headed up to the valley of Ailefroide to check out a newly bolted in the shade sport crag. Currently there is no topo for here so out of the 10 or so routes we only had a grade for two of them. A pumpy warm up on the 30m and 10m overhanging 7c crack Punishman Park was a cool way to start the day.

Punishman Park 7c. The left hand version 8b moves out left from the next bolt. Initially via some powerul indercuts on poor feet followed by a set of complex crimp and foot movements. Wow weeeeee.

Giles Cornah lowering off into space.

Next up was Punishman Park left hand. A flash attempt finished pretty quickly, I managed to get through the crux but found myself wronghanded and out of sequence...doh. After a bolt to bolt, I sent the route first go at around 8b. I had to dig deep and probably screamed on all but one move!! I felt that this made something like Predator at Malham look like your euro holiday tick or 8a+. Hence the name Punishman Park(to be said in a french accent)

Tomorrow we are off up into the mountains, we are heading up to Sialouze to try a 13 pitch route with 7c+ and 8a pitches. So tomorrow a 4hr walk in and bivi, route on Wednesday and down for tea and chocolate croissants for breakfast on Thursday.

Looking forward to a challenge that is a change from choosing the colour of my next boulder problem. :-)

Comps are coming

2011-06-03T07:11:00.007Z

Again it has been a while since i blogged. Its not that i dont want to, i have just been running around like an idiot, cramming at all in. Lots of setting, a little climbing and some canal boating......just the usual stuff really. I have been in the UK since the 25th of April!!! and head back to Spain on the 14th June a little under 2 months of work. I am not complaining as i have a great time when i am here setting with friends and to be honest i even enjoy watching people experience my climbs...unlocking the secrets, learning the body position and basically learning from the experience.
In my last post in mentioned i had been over at DMM, on our last evening me and Ben managed to get out on the Slate. We even harboured the idea of trying The Quarryman though time did not allow. Hats off to 5.10 team mate Steve for his recent ascent. A dream that i still carry. We opted for an easier afternoon and after warming up i sent Ben up The Dark Half 8a to place the clips and work out the moves. Although i was destroyed i managed to get a flash, a route i have wanted to do for ages.
I the middle of my stint i grabbed a long weekend back at my house. Kate was in the UK for her sisters wedding so i just cracked on with some jobs. Our paths did cross and on the Mon we headed to Bunyol for the afternoon. Only 30 kms from Valencia airport this is a perfect first day venue.

Climbing one of the steeper 8a's at Bunyol.

The next day i headed to a new crag with only one route, a 7c from CNG. I managed to get the extension to up the level to 8a+. When i go back next in 10 days time we are going to head up here a bolt some more lines. It is a perfect summer venue. Fast access, shade all day and amazing views....will keep you posted.

We are deep in the comp season now and all the guys are reving up for the WC in Vail. My season will start with Barca on the 25th of June followed by Sheffield, Arco World Championships and an invitation to climb at the Adidas Rock Masters in Austria. This weekend though i am off to the Rockfest in Manchester. I dont hold out much hope after so much work, no rest and no skin but it will be interesting to see how many crimps the setters can put on a wall. The last comp i did was at The Climbing Hanger, a cool event set by Taz where i managed a 3rd behind Ned and Dave.

DMM and the new Alpha Quickdraw

2011-05-15T14:51:00.012Z

As I said on Facebook a few days ago I was off to DMM for a factory visit and to check out the new product. There is lots of great stuff in the pipeline but the big one for me in the arrival of the Alpha biners. These are already in some shops and the quickdraw will be along soon......hopefully. BUT me being a very lucky boy and a sponsered DMM athelete I managed to get my hands on a rock of prototype Alphas. These are full strength prototypes but will not be this colour in production, where they will be available in the classic DMM Grey with Yellow gates.

These purpose designed sport biners are definately a step forward, the feel in your hand at the top (bolt or wire end) is perfectly balanced and at the action end (clipping end) the rope almost seems to clip itself. Mine are on a 16mm 15cm long nylon tape, though in production they will have a tapered end sport draw, similar to what is available from Petzl on a Spirit, and be available in 12, 18 and 25cm lengths. Individual biners are a shade lighter than the Spirits at 44g each. Obviously they are not built for lightness the are built for clipping. Good old solid gate style, with an agressive bent gate make them a perfect draw. The Alpha clip end uses gates that are the first in the World to be totally hot forged. Including a deeper basket for the nose to lock in. The back of the biners are rippled to improove the grip when placing, clipping or just for more pleasure.

Nowadays it is common place to see people out with clipstcks and the most common one is the Beta Stick from Beta Climbing Designs. To be honest it is almost as if the Alphas where designed to be used with the Beta Stick. The fit and the security is amazing with the clip stick wires sitting perfectly in the grooves in the gate. No more quickdraw dropping just as you about to get it in the bolt!

Top put it simply these are the best QD's I have ever used and above all they even look a bit bling. A perfect addition to the DMM range in 2011......DMMs 30th aniversary year.

E10 flash.....almost.

2011-05-08T07:01:00.004Z

It is great to see James Pearson back in the news with some UK trad big hits. A few words to describe his recent ascents, strong, big balls and done with an air of style and flamboyance. Respect. Check out the report here here in The North Face Journal and a cool video form Unclesomebody.

Climber's Casita for Sale - 105,000 euros

2011-05-07T10:18:00.006Z

Ideal climber's property located right in the middle of the Costa Blanca climbing region. Peacefully situated along a shared private track yet only 5 km from two traditional Spanish towns with all amenities. 10mins drive to beach.
Only 1hr 15mins from both Alicante and Valencia airports.
Price: 105,000 euros

To view full PDF brochure go to...
http://freepdfhosting.com/bcd787a4ec.pdf

For more information or to arrange a viewing email:
kate@epic-adventures.eu or gazclimber@hotmail.com

May Coaching Availability

2011-05-01T12:06:00.005Z

Ceri Williams keeping focussed on a 6a+ at Aventador on a recent coaching holiday with Epic Adventures in the Costa Blanca.

After my recent break at home in Spain I am now in the UK for a sustained period of setting and coaching. I am available for evening coaching sessions around the country. The sessions can be indoors or even outdoors (see the Wales dates). Sessions are 1.5hrs but this can be tweeked to fit your needs.

The sesions can cover whatever you require but predominantly will be based around 3 topics. Warming Up, Techniques and Training.

May
4th London evening
5th London evening
6th London evening
7th Bristol evening
8th TCA daytime
9th London evening
10th London evening
15th to 19th Wales (sessions can be indoors or out)

24th The Crag evening
25th London evening
26th London evening
27th London evening
31st London evening

Mike Langley on the excellent Castle bouldering facilities.

Indoor Masterclasses are 1.5hrs and cost 50 GBP for one-to-one sessions and 80 GBP for groups of 2-4 clients.(Wall entry is payable by the client) It is also possible to book bespoke session and holidays from 1.5 hrs to 1 week.

To book just get in touch by email gazclimber@hotmail.com or just call on 07742858367

Sandi

2011-04-26T13:36:00.012Z

Ok time to get back on the blog.

Its been a sad couple of months for me and Kate. On March the 26th our beloved dog Sandi died very unepectedly in unknown circumstances. It hit us harder than we ever expected. I have lost friends in the past, family and animals but to us Sandi represented something special, she was part of our Spanish family she was a bit part of our new life in Spain.
She arrived one year ago yapping as a pup on the drive, when we approached her she burried her head in a wall to try and hide.

In a year she turned from a squished and stumpy little dog to an elegant, bouncy and fantastic friend.

Here are some of my favourite pics from the year.

Rest in peace Sandi Sox

Catalunya Bound

2011-02-18T23:34:00.006Z

Yesterday I arrived in the big smoke rested……..well almost. 7hrs sleep and a train at lunch time allowed me to relax. On the way down I caught up with a few outstanding things. Somebody asked me today if at 16 I was told I would be a teacher one day what would my reaction be. Then it would probably have been greeted with a smile and a laugh. But nowadays I suppose I am. I am many things now, a coach, a builder, a setter, an advisor, a hotel manager and last but not least a professional climber. Its great to have many strings to your bow, and slowly those strings are increasing in numbers and thickness. Just to plan my next UK work trip is no simple project. In 15 days I have 2 competitions, 10 days of setting, 4 coaching sessions and 1 team-training day. If you do the maths it adds up to a busy 2 weeks, a lot of travelling and an organisational nightmare. Add to that all my additional work then it leaves me with little sleep time. So you may wonder what my point is? Well 7hrs sleep and a day on the train yesterday was my idea of heaven. A little bit of this does wonders for your motivation, add a few other motivated people into the mix, a session on the Castle Panels and The Wave and I was totally psyched. That psyche carried over to today, a reset of The Pen with Mike and Tricky. I enjoy setting, creating something new, watching peoples pleasure and intrigue as they unlock the secret. One such problem was my yellow on the right wall V3, it took a great scalp, the one and only Johnny Dawes. A child hood hero I must admit. He climbed it second go, buzzing and grinning through the experience, the V3 tag meaningless. The pleasure was the move, for someone so deeply engrained in gritstone pleasure it was fun to see Johnny revel in plastic pleasure though I am not sure the Grindelford café guys would agree, we are all wimps apparently. Think I’d rather be a wind than a pot washer…….again.

Rest is such a fine commodity for me, so much so I have treated myself to a night in a hotel before my 6am flight. The Desalis hotel is about 1 mile from Stanstead. Only £39 for a mint room and worth every penny.

Hopefully my investment will pay off over the next few days, tomorrow I am off to Catalunya. With no misconceptions about what I might be able to climb I am just going for the holiday after all climbing routes is all about resting and climbing 25 meters just to find that move

DMM Dragon Cam Recall size 4, 5 and 6

2011-02-17T11:19:00.002Z

You can read more about the recall here or on the DMM site here.

Simone Moro Summit Video. The North Face

2011-02-17T09:24:00.004Z

Corey Richards video of the Winter Summiting of G2

GII Winter Expedition | Dispatch # 4 | The way up to the summit from story.teller on Vimeo.

Hardcore.......

London Bound

2011-02-17T00:46:00.005Z

Well thats my little visit up north over with. 2 days setting at The Rope Race in their new boulder lounge. A red v2-v5 circuit, a green v5-v8 circuit and a few whites v8-infinity.

I don't often get a chance to chill when I am in the UK but I have just spent a relaxing evening at my Aunties, eating some nice food and watching some TV....Fly Low infact, blooming hilarious. Tomorrow I have a slow start with a train to London at Lunch followed by some coaching at The Castle and then a session with the boys, Tricks, Langley and Unclesomebody. After that is one more setting day then off to spain.
Kate has been busy as ever while I have been away and over the last few days she has been working on our horse box/campervan ready for the trip. We now have new seats, some shelves and a wider bed. So it will be a full family outing north with Joe (horse), Ted (collie dog), Sandi (nutter dog) Kate (woodworker) and me. If I manage to get my arse to a crag and then up anything I will be a lucky man

The horsebox, with new additions, 2 double beds and all the mod cons, by the way Kate is on the phone to me!! Sorry about the quality will get some better pics next week.

New Routes and Boulders

2011-02-15T00:32:00.004Z

So its midnight again the end of a long day and the start of another. I left London at 8am, hot footed it up to Big Rock in Milton Keynes, which now has a nice selection of new routes and boulder problems. Dont worry all you Milton massive I tweeked the leading ladder 5+ and brought it inline with reality.
Tomorrow....or today really I am off to The Rope Race to do my first set in their new Bouldering Lounge. Really excited about this as I saw this new area being built and yippeee it is now finished. Infact I am going to de setting on the big roof which will be christened with some of the usual funk and wierdness normally reserved for London :-)
I will report back. That is after I have finished some evening coaching sessions.
Check out the big roof pre set here. Hopefully tomorrow i will bring you some video and pics of the new wall.

Good night

Training and Wolfgang Gullich

2011-02-13T08:49:00.006Z

Yesterday I had my first climbing session for what seemed like a million years yet again. I didn't call it a training sesion as I a rarely follow a plan. The last time I climbed really hard and tried really hard was 23rd of Jan about 20 days ago. Hmmmm not so long but in Gaz world thats a million years. I am lucky really as I have never really had an injury other that the usual DOMS that may require a longer rest period. I have never had to STOP climbing and lets hope that never occurs.

Wolfgang Gullich once said "it's all about getting strong without getting injured"

If you are injured you cant train and cant climb....simple.

Other interesting factors in my mund are Pain Tolerence, Revovery Rate, Skin.

He also said "The Brain is the most important muscle for climbing". This is something I whole heardtedly agree with. Take two climbers A and B, both equal strengths. The one that will always out perform the other is the one who is more clever in their climbing.

Anyway enough thoughts........for now.

Back to my session, it was short fairly and intense. 5 circuits from 30 to 52 moves 6aish to 7b. Followed be a light campus session. The circuits were to speed up the muscle memory or engrams and the campus was basically just to make them remember how to pull hard finishing off with a few one armers, it was good and I felt satisfied and worked.

As for today I am back at TCA.....as for training I will just see what tickles my fancy.

Dream training session location...my finger board at my house in the Costa Blanca.

Right off for a quick climb.

G

The North Face Summit Series Road Trip

2011-02-11T13:56:00.008Z

Last tuesday night I did a lecture in London. It was on behalf of the London and South East Mountaineering club and the BMC Area Committee. To be honest I was a little bit worried as I hadnt done one for ages. In the end it all went well, lots of laughs and lots of questions and thanks afterwards. The area meeting itself was also good lots of people attended and the main point of discussion was the forestry sell off. Yet another thing that the goverment will fuck up....probably. That is unless they can the idea which may also happen. Basically the sell off is not only enviromentally flawed but is it only going to raise around £100 million, not a lot in todays world and only a small bankers bonus.

Anyway I also played a couple of movies from our road trip. Movies that I hadn't seen for ages. They brought back a lot of good memories and made everyone laugh. The next morning on my train to Cardiff I watch the Road Trip video. Having fits of laughter and tears on a packed commuter carriage is sometimes a little odd but I enjoyed it heaps. I would definitely recommend it. Its not just about booring climbing like many of the movies today it about the fun side, its about the journey, its about the trip.

The highs of the rockstars....

And the lows of a film maker .....

You can get the download of the full roadtrip movie here. from Unclesomebody of L'Etranger and Between The Trees fame.

You can read more about the SSRT here here. including a full list of the routes climbed.

Here is a short clip or really our Webisode 1

Summit Series Road Trip - Webisode 1 from unclesomebody on Vimeo.

Enjoy.....

A route setting session too far!!

2011-02-11T11:40:00.007Z

Sometimes we push ourselves to the limit and sometimes we go a little too far. My experiences of this feeling is fairly varied over the years.

- On Sighting Thormen's Moth as a warm up. Usually a bad idea but warming up on an 8a is an interesting concept. Thankfully the big holds, holes and general funky nature of this route make this possible. Prior to doing this I knew Ben Bransby had flashed it as a warm up, I also knew he was practically sick afterwards. After I clipped the belay and my body was feeling like it was about to explode I was lowered directly into a sitting position.......where I stayed for a good 20mins......someone else had to untie me.

Picture courtesy of the Hamer Boys Blog

-CWIFF 2010. As with any part of my climbing I like to put in 110%. When it comes to competition I can usually raise the bar and its more like 150%...maybe I just get a peverse kind of pleasure form huting myself on small holds. You all know there is a difference from pulling hard and really pulling hard. CWIFF 2010 was a massive day. Qualifier, Semi Final and Final meant a really long day, leaving the wall at 11pm after a lot of hard boulders is never a good thing for your general well being.

Video courtesy of The Climbing Works

-Trango 2008. On our final attempt to get high on the Tower. I left BC at midnight, walked up the death gully, climbed to our high point. I pushed on, climbing a pitch in essentially a white out with bare hands and rock boots. I left the ropes fixed at our high point and returned to the not so sunny sun terrace to a night of about -25 and more snow. We called an end to the expedition, stripped the gear and headed down. This time I was exhausted but obviously happy to be safe and sound.

Base Camp after the Serac avalanche above the death gully.

-Renovating my house. When we bought our Costa Blanca house in 2009, we already had some clients booked into come and stay. So instantly we had a deadline to work for. It was summer and the work we had to do was hard. Days were long. During the day we could only do certain jobs. Concrete and cementing could only be mixed and used at night when temperatures were cooler. Every day was the same for around a month.....and we are still not finished.

A break for the building of The Epic Adventures empire with Kate, Joe and Blacky.

-Working too hard. Twice in the past month I have managed to get ill. A few weeks ago I did 14 or so days setting testing and travelling back to back. Basically I did too much. I finished my trip off with a really hard Boulder Team Training session at Boulder UK followed by a sleepless night in Manchester airport waiting for a 6am flight!! When I got hime I was ill. In the 10 days I spent in Spain I managed a walk on the hills and one days climbing.
Thursday this week was my 7 day working in a row. Setting most days, including a day trip to Ratho, an evening lecture and some evening coaching. Yesterday I was destroyed, sickness and nausea. I felt like I could pass out at any moment as I arrived at TCA for my next job. As you can probably imagine I did not go to work today!!! Sorry Paul for letting you down. Its not so much the hard work, its a combination of the setting and testing combined with travelling. Long days turn into even longer days when you add in trains etc. Today has now turned into a well needed rest day. Thanks to Lisa and here sofa. Tomorrow i will be on fire again.

Anyway what is the solution and what is the point.....the soulution does not exist. I like to push myself in whatever I do. I think sometimes I need to hold back a little before I experience total destruction, but at the end of the day I always enjoy what I do. The point.........I dont know, what is the point of most things.....just like the latest new fad, or tracky bottoms tucked into white socks (think this is a Blackburn thing)....rather pointless really........just like cricket.

Climbing Masterclasses

2011-02-10T08:47:00.006Z

Next week I be will travelling around the UK to various climbing walls and running Performance Masterclasses. You dont have to be a world class athlete to benefit from expert tuition. Anyone can improve their training, technique and performance with a little help.

Each wall I will be at I will have just reset, so there also be a load of new and interesting problems to get involved on and be coached through and even some routes!

Venues and Times
14th Big Rock Milton Keynes 6pm to 7.30pm
15th The Rope Race Marple 6pm to 7.30pm
17th The Castle Climbing Centre London 11-12.30, 1-2.30 3-4.30 5-6.30, 6-7.30, 8-9.30

Classes are £50 for 1 to 1 and £80 for a group of 2 to 3.
Please note the times stated are flexible (except for the Castle Sessions)

Dont worry you wont have to do this.......unless you really want to!!!!

You can book by emailing me at gazclimber@hotmail.com times slots and numbers are limited so get booking.

Gaz Parry Lecture

2011-02-08T16:24:00.005Z

This evening and for one night only I will be at the London and South East BMC area meeting. Not to meet and discuss how good southern sandstone is (by southern remember Font falls into this category as does Varezee and Albaraccin)but to give a free lecture and eat free food provided by the BMC. The event is open to anyone, the Area meeting starts at 7.30 and food and lecture is at around 8.30pm.

The lecture will be just about some of my climbing exoperiences over the years from the UK through bouldering in Europe a trip to Pakistan and The North Face Summit Series Road Trip. Various pics and vidoes will give me a fantastic opportunity to take the piss out of James Pearson and probably myself!

An Athlete diet.....Santana Champ.

Below is one video I will not be playing tonight but it was a small present that James and Keith prepared at the end of our journey.

Here are some of Keiths final words at the of the adventure.
"As the trip drew to a close we knew the inevitable moment would come when Gaz would board a plane and fly of to Espana to build a new life for him and Kate. None of us were looking forward to this moment and it was something we actively discouraged as a topic of conversation. No one wanted to shed any tears...

The day arrived and it was a sombre drive to Bergamo airport. The final moments were difficult but in every situation there is always something positive to be drawn. Here it was the fact that in 40 days we'd established such a deep and lasting bond. We'd been known (perhaps only internally) as the tripod of stability and losing one leg was a hard fact to face, but it was something we'd breakthrough and it would only serve to make us stronger.

In honour of the Big G, James and I decided to make a little video dedicated to his memory, expressing just how we truly feel. Some people might not understand some of the more subtle references in the montage, but everything has it's place for a reason. Big G, if you're reading this, know that even though the tripod is not together in physical form it will always live on in our hearts and minds. As always, click on the word vimeo to watch it in glorious HD. Enjoy..."

Take a Look from unclesomebody on Vimeo.

Anyway if you are still interested after watching that we will be in the Upstairs Room, The Devereux public house, 20 Devereux Court, Essex St, The Strand, London, London, WC2R 3JJ

Maybe see you this evening.

Simone Moro G2 Success

2011-02-08T08:56:00.006Z

Simone at a very cold Camp 2 last week. Pic from Simone Moro/The North Face

Congratulations to Simone Moro, Denis Urubko and Cory Richards after reaching the summit of G2. This is Simones 3rd 8000m peak in winter. I met Simone in the UK a few years ago when i took him around the UK for a lecture tour. A really nice guy and an amazing climber not only in the mountains but on the rock too. On our Scottish leg of the tour he bought me a Lochness stuffed toy......still got it.
The guys had a bit of an epic getting down due to storms but are now safely back in Base Camp. Well done.

Vetta from Richelmo on Vimeo.

Climbing Coaching

2011-02-07T21:12:00.004Z

Right at last i am back and psyched. It seems like ages since i have felt keen and up for doing a bit. Its not that long though really just sometimes when you get a little ill miss a few sessions it just seem like you haven't been climbing for ever. I am back in London again setting and coaching. Sat i visited Ratho in a 18.5 hr round trip to do a coaching session with the Quickdraw club. It was great to see all the motivated kids. Ratho is such a great facility it is just a shame its so far up north and underground........its like being in the blooming freezer.

Then yesterday i was over at the new wall in Guildford, The Surrey Sports Park is an amazing facility and has a good wall to boot. I ran a full days session for the Surrey Uni Club, they are all psyched up for the uni comp at The Works in March......so good luck guys. I am back there in March to do a bit of setting, cant wait as the wall is fantastic and on top of it is a Starbucks!!!

If you havent seen Keith Sharples 2011 Calender here are a couple of images from the Epic Adventures page. They are of SAdam 8c Jee busting a few moves at the amazing Craig Y Longridge....the pride of Lancashire bouldering.

Adam on the 8b+ traverse

Adam on the mega classic Big Marine.

Seeing these pics almost make me want to be there........hmmm not till the summer though. It was 21 degrees in the shade at my house today. Kate has been outside all day putting the finishing touches to the path leading to our new bunk house.

First and Last Video, Costa Blanca

2011-02-03T20:40:00.004Z

Well here I am back in the UK and hanging out at the Castle. I just popped in to get a brew and deal with some mail. The guys were in setting and really going to town in prep for the BMC YCS round here at the weekend. An all star crowd headed up by Mike Langley, French national setter Yann Genoux, star climber Leah Crane, Mile End hot shot Alex Lemel and bringing up the rear and by no means the odd one out Slim West.
I also nipped into town on a quest for a new phone. Alas I came back empty handed, my wallet was happy and I hadnt had my pants removed by the phone retailers. I still had a nice experience though.

I am usually a critic of the dole and goverment hand out culture that this country seems to be gripped by but for a while today my view changed. At the bus stop I met a jovial bloke called Tony who greeted me with the statement "I thought you were J-Kay crossing the road there". After a while chatting it turns out he has just come out from rehab and now has six months (paid for) in a flat near The Castle. He has already been in there and is going back soon with his son. I was great to meet someone like this who had been through some bad times but was now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and it was nice to be reminded that climbing can bring the most unlikely people together sometimes and that even though the money comes form the taxpayer via the government it was nice to meet someone like this who was happy and really upbeat about his fuuture.

I have just got around to posting my video of The First and Last from sunday gone.....I must apologise in advance about the poor editing and the hairy gorilla.

First and Last 8a, Costa Blanca from Gaz Parry on Vimeo.

An Epic Adventure back in the UK.......again.

2011-02-02T19:18:00.004Z

My short stint back in the Costa Blanca is over. 10 days and only 1 day climbing, sometimes a climbers life is not so glamorous. Today was a good day though, we finally got around to moving our water tank further up the hillside it is amazing what a few more meters can do to the pressure, our new sigle pipe up and down solution seems to have also simplified matters. Anyway, hot water now flows with power from all the taps......I must now try and remember to keep the tank full!!

So its back to the UK for another tour of setting and coaching. From London to Ratho and across to Bristol and Cardiff this time it is pretty nationwide. I will even mamage to swing by Preston for a Team Training. Half way through I will be swinging by The Climbing Acadamey again to coach their junior team. I did a number of sessions with them last season and was psyched to see them at the BBC this year, with local wad Hamish gaining a creditable 4th place.

Last year I hooked up with TCA to produce a Gaz Parry Comp Climbing Top Tips poster, check it out.

I

One day climbing in The Costa Blanca

2011-02-01T12:20:00.004Z

Sorry I have been slow in getting back to you guys after my post on First and Last and Andreas Profit's amazing 8b solo.

Well first off I did indeed head up to the Bernia Ridge and climb the First and Last. I have got to say hats off to Andreas in soloing the line it is deffo something I would never do and to be honest could i be arsed......no. In my world nowadays I have very little time to fit everything in. With trying to run my business Epic Adventures, route setting in the UK and building my home in Spain I dont really have the time (6 weeks in Andreas's case) to put into a route, let alone a route that is not at my physical limit and is a bolted sport route! If I wanted to solo a hard route I would go and find one that is either a complete solo or a spicy trad route.

At the end of the day we are a funny sport which in the big wide world sometimes seems a little pointless, just like cricket. But like many things in our lives it is a very personal game and we take different things from it at different stages in our existence.

So if thats what floats Andreas's boat then so be it, but if I ever meet him at the crag I hope he will introduce himself so that I can leave. I would rather not see someone break a hold a die while soloing a perfectly safe route, there are plenty of unbolted ones around.

In the past I have done my fair share of spicy routes and solos but to be honest I would rather be able to go climbing again tomorrow, and if I choose to do a spicy one in the future it wont be a bolted one. There is a line to the right of First and Last with no bolts and probably around the same grade maybe it would have been a better solo, although I fear it wouldnt quite have the same wow factor as soloing an 8b sport route.

Anyway back to the route. After having been ill all week and tired from working I found myself getting a little powered out in my left arm so it took me a few goes. In my mind, I have spent ages comparing the grades with other routes in the area. Los Lobos 8a and Matrix 8b in Bovedon. Holds What Holds 8a at Murla. L'Espolon De L'Ocaive (part 1)8b Raindogs 8a at Malham and a million others and my conclusion is that First and Last is more like hard 8a. The crux is basically a boulder problem off the slab, then good holdS to a powerfull move at the top. The best route around here to compare directly to this is Matrix at Bovedon. Almost identical in that the hard moves are at the start of the route (or at least at the start of the main part of the route). The only difference is Matrix is 8b.

I got a mesage from Mark Edawrds after my previous post and he said, A grade is just a grade...but was the route good? That's what's most important in my opinion.

My response was The route was great. Nice day up there today. Lots of sun, a little rain then hail!!!

So if you fancy a nice route in a nice position i will definitely recommend The First and Last.

And just to keep you up to date with Ted. He can now do sit, fetch and paw. With 2 dogs, 4 cats and a horse its hard to decide who is no 1.....next up some chickens I think.

Andreas Proft - F8b Costa Blanc

2011-01-29T21:45:00.011Z

Just read this news piece on UKC......very interesting. I remember looking up at this route years ago when i visited with Ian Vickers and thinking wow. We had gone up to the Bernia ridge to climb the famous Magic Flute, one of the best tufas on the Costa Blanca.

Chris Newton-Goverd on The Magic Flute, Bernia Ridge, Costa Blanca.

We also tried the extension, The Sphinx 8a but ended up coming down because many of the holds were chipped. We then went onto climb The Immaculate Arete, given 8a at the time we climbed it os and flash only to discover that it was probably 7b. In the latest guide it is 7b.

I saw Adreas Profits videos ages ago on you tube and saw he had a video of him soloing Path Of Excess Power 8a+. Now this was originally given 8a+ by Mark Edwards but is in fact 7b+ or possibly 7c. If you dont believe me go and climb if for your self, in fact i remember once i warmed up on it. Anyway here is Path Of Excess Power solo.

Now back to The First And Last, i am in no way saying this is not 8b as i have never been on it or near it for 15 years but the UKC news piece has reminded me of its existence, the fact i have always wanted to climb it and now would be as good a time as any to find out the grade. Apart from that i didnt know where to climb tomorrow as the weather is going to be mint, so thanks Mark for bolting it, Andreas for videoing it and UKC for making the news about it.

I will report back.

oh yeah almost forgot here is an old post from another Mark Edwards Costa Blanca 8b Iratika at Echo.....probably only 7c+. Get it while you can before the guidebook gets reprinted. Here is the older blog to copy and paste, sorry lost the plot now time for bed!!! www.gazparryclimbing.blogspot.com/2009/02/echo-two.html

Potential new crag, Costa Blanca?

2011-01-29T09:31:00.005Z

Yesterday we went for a drive up the Vall de Gallinera out of Pego in search of new Costa Blanca crags. We have been up this valley many times before while Gaz has been putting up new routes on another crag in the valley. From the new crag we have always liked the look of a big cave we could see in the distance. So after alot of bush wacking by Gaz here it is....

Seen as there is so much potential for new routes in the Costa Blanca we would be more than happy to offer help and advice to anyone who would like to stay at our climbers accommodation in the Costa Blanca and bolt their own new routes in Spain.
Hope to see you climbing in the Costa Blanca soon!
Kate

Costa Blanca Bunk House

2011-01-28T23:01:00.007Z

Since returning from the UK i have spent the last few days inside preparing our accounts for Epic Adventures!!! Three days of tax and receipt hell. Anyway today thats almost over and we found time to do some more work on our new bunk room. In the next few days we will have four beds available with shared kitchen, shower and toilet. Hopefully we will have some pics of the newest Spanish Bunk house on the Costa Blanca soon.

For those of you that have never seen the Epic Adventures HQ here it is. Our little orange house is based in the orange groves and is called Casa Violetta, strangley enough our only neighbours are oranges!!

Oh yeah and here is the newest guard dog and Costa Blanca Crag dog ..... Ted

14 Days Of Destruction

2011-01-23T22:44:00.006Z

It has been a busy few weeks again. Kicking off with a reset at The Castle followed by a boot demo with 5.10 team mate and all round nice guy Steve Mac. We had the new Arrowhead on show and this was the first time I had used them in anger. Although I am not a fan of a downturned toe (I am a long term abuser of the VCS) the Arrowhead has been created to fill the void between a VCS and the more aggressive Dragon.

Instantly wearable I felt at home in the Arrowhead, which is very similar in fit to the VCS last. The downturned toe provides you with a little more power on steep angles with small feet and the Velcro fastening allows easy removal and adjustment to crank in the heel. All in all a great boot for those who want a little more power for their feet without the hobble.

Next up I was due up in Edinburgh to coach the kids from the Quickdraw Climbing Club based at Ratho. This is 6 month programme I have devised for them and it will take them from pre season fitness through all aspects of training up until full competition readiness. Annoyingly it snowed………and the only airport to be closed was Edinburgh. Looks like we will begin in February now.

January the 10th was the start of a very hard 14 days. After two days setting for High Sports we packed a van and headed to Excel in London. The Outdoor Show is always an event I enjoy being involved with and this year was no exception. I got the opportunity to work on the Skymasters Wall along with fellow setters Mike Langley and Yann Genoux. On the Thursday Kate arrived and we manned and womaned our Epic Adventures stand in conjuction with Revolution Holds. For more info on Rev contact Mike Langley at The Castle Climbing Centre. It gave us the opportunity to spread the word about out little place amongst the orange groves. We met some old friends some new friends and even took some bookings. Saturday was the senior BBC event and as I had done ZERO plastic over the 7 weeks I was in Spain at Christmas I didn’t expect too much. I just missed out on the final and finished 7th, I was lacking that little bit of basic raw power in the end but I was pleased with my climbing, still managing to flash a bloc that took many worthy scalps.

Another flash but not enough.

All in all it was a good show and a worthwhile move to London, maybe one day the BMC will pull out their finger and start putting some effort in to make these things more of a spectacle rather than just a box ticking exercise.

Hull was next on the agenda and as I went to Uni there it was a little bit like going home. Sadly Hull hasn’t really changed and it was probably the first time I had seen totally derelict buildings in a city centre for years. Probably a great place to invest in property but I don’t think you will see a return on your cash for at least a thousand years and by then it will all be underwater. Rockcity though is bucking the trend and is fast becoming an all singing all dancing climbing/skate/shop selling everything from Torq bars to very expensive downhill Mountain Bikes….and a few cheaper ones. Some route setting and some coaching over 3 days combined with some exceptional hospitality meant I had a great few days.

After a swift and fun visit to The Crag in Suffolk to set their comp blocs it was back down to the South to set for the Reading round of the SIBL. Reading is the new wall in the ever-expanding repertoire of man mountain John Dunne. The wall is great, with loads of lines, routes perfect for the kids to routes perfect for the seasoned plastic demon. A great café albeit a tad expensive with free wifi provides a top view of the centre. The wall is a multi faceted creation from Walltopia and is pretty dam good. I was there to set for the SIBL and that is exactly what I did, sorry chaps if I didn’t go to town doing your full reset but at the end of the day it was Sam paying me for the SIBL set and not JD and to be honest I must apologise to Sam for straying from the path. Anyway I heard it all went swimmingly and even Jon Partridge fell off my vert dirt ☺. Maybe I will get invited back?

The final day of my 14 days to destruction was a trip up to Boulder UK in Blackburn for The British Boulder Team Training. Although I don’t want to blow our own trumpet if you want to experience the best setting on the best boulder wall in the country a visit here is a must. World class setters Ian Vickers and Jamie Cassidy continue to churn out fantastic blocs every month and there isn’t really a vertical panel in sight.
Anyway it is 11.30pm now my fingers are destroyed and I am sitting in Manchester airport waiting for my 6am flight back to Spain and looking forward to seeing my new puppy Ted for the first time.

New Year New Route New Accomodation

2011-01-08T15:45:00.006Z

Happy New Year everyone. Already its been a great year as far as I am concerned. On my last day in Spain on Thursday hours before I flew back to the UK I managed the first ascent of a new route at my secret crag....I know the crag as 45 Degrees.
The line was bolted by Mike Langley a few months back and is a route of two halfs. A steep powerful tufa start with a delicate rest point followed by a sustained 14 move sequence to the most perfect of finishing jugs via a very hard clip. As with most new lines they take longer than normal to get a sequence, mainly because you cant see any holds and combinded with the technical upper wall it actually took me 4 visits before I went for a lead. It all went nicely though and even clipping the hard clip from a tiny crimp with my elbow high felt enjoyable!!! Anyway Adios Sol 8b was a pretty satisfying first ascent with some proud moves and a hard tick for the grade......

Working Adios Sol 8b a few days before the first ascent and yes the tufa wall behind me is yet to be bolted.

The Christmas period was pretty busy and we have had people in the house all month. We now have a number of accomodation options available with a room for 2 in the house at 30 euros per night, a bunk bed room for 4 at 10 euros pppn or camping from 5 euros per night. We can also organise villas with beds from 2 to 12 and prices to fit most pockets.

John another ex pat now based in Switzerland spent Christmas with us and the weather was perfect all week. Christmas day on the beach was a real treat for the dogs.

And an ascent of Coasta Blanca on the Penon was a highlight for both of us.

Top of The Penon with John

Finally if you are down in London for the Outdoor Show at Excel you will be able to catch me and Kate on our stand. Come along for a chat about coaching or anything really and watch me get spanked at the BBC after zero plastic training!!

Here are our some of holiday dates for 2011 and thanks to everyone we have had the pleasure to meet and spend time with over the last year.

Mallorca Sport 20th to the 25th of Febuary
Antalya Sport 6th to 11th of November
Thailand and Malaysia Adventures Dec 2011 and Jan 2012

Check out Epic Adventures for more holidays and details on our available accomodation.

Pumpy

2010-12-24T12:49:00.005Z

Yesterday we headed back up to the Montgo crag. As I was not so keen to get embroiled in another project here at the moment I decided to do the extension to a
7c+ I had done before. This 45m monster is called ......and weighs in at a pumpy 8a+. I had already previously os the 7c+ and tried to climb past the belay in a very very pumped state only to back off due to the dirty tufas and no chalk. Although this crag is probably has probably the best hard routes in the Costa Blanca no one ever climbs here for 3 reasons. It is a 45 minute up hill walk, there are no topos and the routes start at around 7c. That said it is amazing up there and well worth the effort and also contains probably the best 8a+ and the best 8c in the region.
Having already been on the 8a+ I just dogged up it, worked it, cleaned it then sent it. The redpoint crux at the top bolt is especially interesting and would be nails os even with chalk.

Low down and still on the on the steep 7c+ section of La Conquista De Mongolia 8a+

Anyway back to my Kitchen. Happy Christmas and Happy New Year all our thoughts are with Andy and all his family at this time.

Another 8c

2010-12-17T08:35:00.007Z

In my last post I mentioned the next project that I was on with. Well now it is no longer a proj. The fantastic Mala Hierbes 8c is in the bag. After my poorly prepared visit with my 6am start I returned rested. I warmed up on the route. This is not so hard to do as the first 10 metres are 6b, then the 8b section which has a crux at the end then finally the 8c section. This just gives me a chance to recall the moves on the long 45m route, refine some foot movements and get back into the flow of the route.

My first red point went well and I felt strong, I fell two moves from good holds. My next go I felt on fire and the 8b whizzed by feeling easy and flowing well, I clipped the 8b chain and two moves into the extension I found myself sat on the rope! Too many biscuits Mike Langley said. I had broken a small tufa. I pulled back on to find a new method and the I broke a large foothold. Now normally feet on tufa ground tend to be in abundance but this one was the one I clipped from and one that was a almost no-hands rest at the end of the 8b......doh. Again I reworked the moves which now felt a bit harder. After a while I called it a day, I didnt feel I had another go in me with a new sequence and no knee bar rest!! You have to look on the brightside though, its all moves in the bank as they say in the trade.

Arriving at the 8b belay and the now defunct kneebar rest.

Another rest day was spent building the kitchen, the house is coming along well now as we have committed ourselves to get it finished by spring rather than dragging it out. We have gone for a more traditional built in Spanish look, an old pot style sink and some pine drawers we found at the maket. All in all we should have it done in the week and all for around 200 euro.

Kate in Mojacar mode.

After my kitchen building rest day I was back up at the crag with Kate and Sandi. The weather was perfect and we could sun ourselves in the sun trap. After my usual warm up I reached my high point from the previous session and feeling a little stronger i thought it might be the go, that is until I muffed the foot movements!! A quick rework a snooze in the sun then i set off knowing this would be the go, I blasted up to my high point, go the feet right and a few slaps later found myself in the no-hands by the last clip. I milked it for all it was worth knowing that a fall form the last powerfull moves would be really stupid. In the end I topped out easily to see the sun setting behind the Bernia Ridge. Another quality 8c in the bag and possibly one of the harder ones I have done thanks to the biscuits.

Leaving the 6b warmup section.

A stunning wall.

Sandi takes in the view.

As for today in the land of dreams. A clear blue sky, a morning frost, shirt off in the sun, Kitchen building and mucking out the horse, hmmmmmm its not always perfect here.

Back in Spain for Winter

2010-12-13T08:15:00.009Z

L'Espolon De L'Ocaive 8c

I have been back in Spain now for just over a week and my initial project has gone down pretty quick. I had tried L'Espolon De L'Ocaive before but after three concerntrated sessions it all came together fairly easily and rather enjoyably. The 40 metre stamina route with a very technical top half is possibly one of the best routes i have ever climbed. It was the perfect route to put my new Sterling 9.8 rope through its paces, thanks to Beta Climbing Designs. You can follow the Beta Team and its other members like Mina Fantastic and Charlie Woodburner here on the Beta Team Blog, or check out Betas products here.

L'Ocaive in all its glory.

L'Espolon is the obvious arete bathed in Sunshine.

Clients Mark and Gerry enjoying Gandia

Next on the list hopefully is a route called Mala Hierba at a secret crag. I have had three sessions on this route and yesterday headed up fully expecting to get the route in the bag. Although after a 6am start, a three hour round trip to Alicante to take Mark and Gerry my recent clients home and a 45 min steep walk in even my psyche for climbing was a little low. I pushed on and dogged up the route, it gave me an opportunity to refine some sequences. I had one redpoint but the gas levels were so low i didnt even manage to make it through the 8b crux!!!! At least i can look on the positive side and take something away, you are never too old to learn something new.

High up on Mala Hierba 8c

We have an addition to our ever growing family of animals. Nemo has joined the gang and i currently acting as a toy for Sandi to throw around the house and grounds.

Nemo and Kate at L'Ocaive

Ok time to go back to building the new kitchen and maybe some climbing this afternoon.

2010-10-24T10:16:00.005Z

Kate taking the swing at Disblia

After 3 hard weeks route setting and coaching in the UK I was back in Spain. Another days coaching with the guys from The Rope Race in the Costa Blanca and finally my mega work stint was over!! For a change we have decided to take a break and head to our field in Catalunya rather than work on the house. It feels like an age since I have climbed routes but day one was cool, we met Tom and Lynn at Disblia and after a warm up on a 7b+ I managed an 8a os. As the sun came around we headed off for a break, some food and quick-guided tour of Santa Linya from Tom. In the evening we went to a newish sector at St Llorenc finishing off with a 7b and a fantastic 7c.

One of three 8's i climbed at Disblia

Day two and clear blue sky (again). Kate headed out on Joe for a ride and I did some field tidying and had coffee. When it came to starting the van though all was not good. After a while trying we called out the breakdown service and by the time we got our friendly breakdown man to the van I tried to start it once more and low and behold it started. It looks like we have a problem with the glow plugs and they need the sun to warm them to start. Late afternoon arrived and we decided to head to Santa Linya. With little time left in the day I just ticked a few short and bouldery routes on the left, 2 7b+’s and a 7c.

Doggy Bag!!!

Yesterday evening we had parked the van the right way to catch the morning sun. With today originally being a planned rest day, we decided to put off a garage visit and head to Tres Ponts. The thing about Ponts is that the routes are massive, usually with 16 quicks and between 30 and 50 metres in length, perfect for getting fit. After a couple of easy warm ups it was time for the main events. A classic 7b+ followed by the 7c+ version of El Segre was amazing. My second 8a os of the trip was Mitres Moderns, which apart from a tussle with an undercut and almost doing the box splits was pretty steady. An easy 7c came next which really was a bit soft. Finally it was time to warm down!!! So I chose the amazing and highly recommended Nidra 7c+. This felt like one of the harder routes of the day and was the best fight yet. All 30 metres was a battle to stay on the rock, numerous power screams and some pretty scrappy climbing style allowed me to somehow clip the belay. I lowered off a very happy man and declared to Kate it was time to leave.
Tom and Lyn came to the rescue as we have taken the van to the garage. It turns out that one of the injector pipes is pissing diesel all over the place!!! Two weeks to get a replacement!!! But in true Spanish style they have removed the pipe sent it to Lleida to get a new one hand made and will have it fitted and ready for tomorrow for us to head to Disblia again. I must admit there is something about this Spanish lifestyle I like.
Back on the road.

The rest of the week was spent back at Disblia, Santa Linya and an interesting visit to the slightly off the beaten track Camarassa crag, home to a very stern but cool 7a. The highlight of my week was a redpoint in fantastic Sunshine of the hard 8a+ Asaltibiankis at Linya. A route that would probably get 8b elsewhere.

New Site

2010-08-31T22:22:00.005Z

Kate has been working very hard over the last few days to get it finished and finally here is it. The new Epic Adventures Epic Adventures is go. Check it out for our latest holiday availability. We have a couple of places left on our ultimate Tufa Tour in Kalymnos. Running the first two weeks of November.

Also this week I have already been busy setting at the new Big Rock climbing centre in Milton Keynes. The wall will be up and running for business on Sunday with a grand opening with Tim Emmett and Dave Mac on the 18th.

Check out the Big Rock Website for more details.

Finally a while back I managed to slip in and get the 2nd ascent this year of the newly re-bolted and cleaned up Monumental Armblaster 8b. A number of years ago I held Ian V's ropes when he on sighted it, i think that day I made a 1st RP ascent of R and P but couldnt do Monumental, I vowed that one day i would come back. One of the best lines in the Peak and a little bit euro. It was a bit of a tussle as i had just done two days at the Sheffield World Cup where I qualified in 1st and finished 14th.

Monumental Armblaster 8b..........what a classic name.

New Website Coming Soon

2010-08-28T22:15:00.004Z

Hi all. Kate has been working very hard to update our Epic Adventures website. This means we will NOT be able to recieve emails on kate@epic-adventures.eu or enquiries@epic-adventures.eu for a while. Please use katiclimber@gmail.com until we have made the change over.

Thanks

And just for fun here is a cave we found recently.

Chloe

2010-08-26T22:36:00.002Z

Just a mega short post. Last weekend Chloe Grafitaux was killed in a tragic climbing accident in the Alps. I had met Chloe on many occasions over the last few years and i was always proud to say i know her, not just someone who excelled in all facets of our silly little sport but someone who was a genuinely nice person. After seeing her climb and win at CWIFF and The Sheffield World Cup she became my heroine. Her death is a great loss to the world of climbing and a sad time. Be careful out there whatever you are to.

Gaz

Instalment 3

2010-07-02T14:09:00.007Z

Just as I was ready to return to Spain along came the ash cloud and cancelled my flight. Kate was pretty annoyed with this as I was expected back in Spain to work on the house. As far as I was concerned I was going to make the most of my extended stay in the UK and headed to Andy Longs house in Portland. First up was a little bit of warm up deep water in fantastic sunshine.

We then went onto replace a bolt and repeat Once Were Warriors 7c

Andy on Once Were Warriors 7c

Followed by the hard Osaki Dolphin 7b+ and the excellent Air Hoodlum 7b+.

Enjoying the evening sun on Air Hoodlum 7b+, beware though as the first bolt is missing.

Next up was Cheddar where we warmed up on Follow The Slick Red Road To Gadansk 7c, then climbed Licking Tarmac 7c and just for fun I linked the boulder traverse in to a Licking Tarmac at around 8a.

Licking Tarmac Link F8a from Gaz Parry on Vimeo.

Finally I finished off with a real tussle to OS Harder They Fall 7c on the imposing Lion Rock, a route i have wanted to repeat since the Remnant years. The next day we headed up to Sunset Buttress to climb Paradise Lost 7b+ and Edge of Eternity, cool climbing in a spectacular situation.

The next day we headed to Swanage and the amazing Palace Of The Brine 8a+. A warm up flash attempt left me pumped, I got close to getting through the crux but I am sure I would have still fallen after. With a bit of work to unlock the tricks I managed a 1st RP ascent using a variety of knee bars, hand/fist jams, footlocks, powerful undercuts and screams to get to the belay for the 3rd ascent.

My final day on the South Coast had arrived and we headed back to Cheddar. I warmed up on Jaz Defector 7c+ which is Crockers original version of Licking Tarmac and essentially the same route. The main event of the day though was the excellent Shadow Walker 8a+. This funky 8a+ on Lion Rock has a powerful and pumpy start to a good rest followed by a nice technial crux. Well worth the effort and a Cheddar classic with a tasty last bolt.

Still Sunny

2010-06-24T07:31:00.006Z

In the second of my catch up blogs I find myself back in the uk for some more setting work. As always I like to try and come up with some random problems rather than stick to the crimp, crimp, right, left, right that you get at so many walls.

Dont lie down on the job.

Mike making shapes.

After a testing sesion we began to ponder what to do for the weekend and with the weather looking great it seemed there were two options. The Plywood Masters or Pembroke? Being a bit tired of the plastic we decided to rest on the Sat and drive over to Pembroke with one thing in mind The Big Issue. Ever since the first images of Dunne came out I wanted to go take a look.

I instantly opted to climb the route with all the gear in place. On the third ascent this was how Adrian Berry climbed it and on the First and Second there were a number of jammed wires that only quick draws we then needed for.

Placing the gear on Abseil

After about two hours of top roping and learning the moves i opted to go for a lead, infact the later I left it the more all the wet and damp pockets dried out. After having not climbed above a wire for ages this was an interesting experience, I shook and wobbled my way through the crux. Mike described my climbing style like that of a sack of potatoes and it felt like it, I was over gripping everything and finally got powered out near the end of the main wall. Down I came knowing I should of been able to do it. After a rest I had another go knowing it should be in the bag, but the day had taken its toll and I fell again even lower. Next day it would go.

Day two and we headed to the parking.....bollocks the flags were out!!! The crag was closed until 4pm. After a long and slightly frustrating wait we legged it back in and after a warm up top rope I climbed cleanly to the top of the best wall and hardest route at the time in Pembroke.

As for the grade? I suppose E9 is about right but 8a+ would be better ;-)

Sunny London

2010-06-21T09:13:00.007Z

Time seems to just fly by nowadays. Life just seems to be full of problems and challenges. Sometimes it feels that climbing is becoming harder and harder to fit in!! Cant be too bad though at least I am not in the England footie team and the sun is out in London.

My first update from the last few months starts with the CWIF. A fantastic event from the Climbing Works team. I managed to scrape and scrap my way into a 5th place which I was really pleased with as the field this year was big and I wasn't fit for bouldering.

Then followed the Sky Masters in Brum. Yet again another great event, yet again I put in an excellent time in the qualifiers but yet again I failed to build on my speed at this comp. It certainly is one of the toughest nuts to crack. Always great fun though and this year Epic Adventures had a stand there to showcase our holidays. Next year The Outdoors show comes to London in January and promises to be a bigger and better event.

The next day I headed back to Spain with Mike Langley (chief Castle Setter) with one intention in mind, bolting. After a weeks work we had bolted 11 lines from 6b+ to 8b+ but we only managed to get two ticked. The amazing tufa of "Sunshine" 7c and an unamed 7b from Mike.

Mike bolting steep rock.

Mike enjoying his unamed 7b

We also managed to squeeze in a trip to Bellus where I flashed the excellent and upside down "Slayer" 8a.

Mike just starting the crux on "Slayer" 8a

Finally I will leave you with a vid of me and an unamed 8b at Bellus. As far as I know this is the first ascent of the powerful and fun boulder problem with bolts.

F8b First Ascent, Bellus from Gaz Parry on Vimeo.

Coaching and Holiday Dates

2010-03-13T12:42:00.008Z

Coaching at The Castle

Mon and Tue I will be hanging out at the castle climbing Centre in old London town. I have spaces on both days for 1 to1's or group coaching sessions. Check out The Castle website for info and booking form,or email Iwona on iwona@castle-climbing.co.uk or 020 8211 1068 for more info.

Holidays 2010

At last we have fixed our holiday dates for the coming year. Yes I know it is near the end of March already but I am getting old (37 three days ago) and sometimes I move a little slower nowadays. Exciting new destinations include Catalunya, Mallorca, Portland, Kalymnos and Arco. We have also introduced a multi activity holiday that will be fun for eveyone with climbing, canyoning, via ferrata and a ridge walk and with these being in early june there will also be plenty of opportunity to chill out on the beach.

Costa Blanca Sport Weekends
ONLY 150 GBP inc. camping
Sat 3rd & Sun 4th April ´10
Sat 10th & Sun 11th April ´10
(Option to add a day Fri/Mon)

Costa Blanca Sport Climbing
ONLY 300 GBP inc. camping
Sun 18th to Fri 23rd April ´10
Sun 25th to Fri 30th April ´10

Costa Blanca Sport Weekends
ONLY 150 GBP inc. camping
Sat 1st & Sun 2nd May ´10
(Option to add a day Fri/Mon)

Catalunya
Price to be confirmed
Mon 17th to Sat 22nd May ´10

Costa Blanca Multi-Activity
ONLY 300 GBP inc. camping
Mon 31st May to Fri 4th June ´10
Mon 21st to Fri 25th June ´10

Arco Rockmaster
A chance to learn from a Rockmaster champion and see the best climbers in the world in action.
3 day - 200 GBP coaching only
5 day - 300 GBP coaching only
Mon 12th to Wed 14th July ´10
Mon 19th to Sat 24th July ´10

Costa Blanca Multi-Activity
ONLY 300 GBP inc. camping
Mon 2nd to Fri 6th Aug ´10
Mon 9th to Fri 13th Aug ´10

Portland Sport Climbing (3 day)
200 GBP - coaching only
Sat 14th to Mon 16th Aug ´10
Fri 20th to Sun 22nd Aug ´10

Arco Rockmaster
A chance to learn from a Rockmaster champion and see the best climbers in the world in action.
Sun 29th Aug to Fri 3rd Sept ´10
Mon 6th to Sat 11th Sept ´10

Majorca
Price to be confirmed
Sun 3rd to Fri 8th Oct ´10
Sun 10th to Fri 15th Oct ´10

Kalymnos
As reccomended by Neil Gresham.
500 GBP inc. hotel accommodation
300 GBP - coaching only
Sun 31st Oct to Fri 5th Nov ´10
Sun 7th Nov to Fri 12th Nov ´10

Costa Blanca Sport Climbing
Sun 5th Dec to Fri 10th Dec ´10
Sun 12th Dec to Fri 17th Dec ´10

Thailand
Jan 2011 dates coming soon...

If none of these dates fit your plans but you still want to have a coached holiday then just get in touch and we will see if we can fit you in....wherever you are.

If you need to ask any questions just contact us at Epic Adventures

2010-01-26T09:27:00.008Z

Having just read Dani Andradas blog it has inspired me to pull my finger out and get back to blogging...oh yeah and climbing. A quick thought about Dani though......what a fucking demon that man is, a total machine. Note to self "I must try harder and buy a drill".

As for what I have been up to since I blogged about True North I am not sure....it all seems to blur into one nowadays. The summer in spain brought an end to climbing hard routes there but I still tried to climb this amazing 8b+ in El Bovedon in between travelling back and forth to the UK for coaching, setting work and of course working on the house. Business at Epic Adventures is starting to pic up and in the next few weeks we will announce our course and holiday dates for 2010.

Conditions for climbing though were not on my side as a few of the holds on my chosen 8b+ were fairly friction dependant. As October arrived I managed to get a few FA's under my belt. Bloque 8b and Jog Pat 8a were both climbed on the same day at the short n hard Los Pinos.

Bloque 8b F.A

Jordan Buys made the second ascent of Bloque over Christmas and confirmed the grade and the quality of the Sharmaesque crux move. I also managed a new 8a+ at L'Ocaive and a new 8a+ link up in El Bovedon. With the onset of September I went to the UK for a two week work stint. I was psyched to train so that when I returned I could do my project. Annoyingly I forgot to bring any rock boots. After about two minutes of being pissed I started climbing in my trainers and two weeks later I was probably as strong as I had ever been. Back in Spain I went straight to Bov and climbed the route first go. A fantastic feeling.
Next up was a slow drive back to the UK. Two reason, one I was selling my van and two we were returning a pony back to the UK after its extended Spanish holiday. We stopped off at my field in Catalunya and paid a visit to the excellent Terradets, checked out Tres Ponts and headed into France. We spent a few days chilling out at John and Anne Arrans place Chez Arran in the Ariege and took the chance to go to the impressive Grotte De Sabart. After an almighty battle I managed to tick Dame De Sabart 8a once i found the correct method. Wow.....Stevie you are also my hero. I cant wait to return here and battle some more.

Dame De Sabart 8a

Dame De Sabart Extension 8a+

Kate attempting to flash a cool 7b+ at Genat

True North 8c

2009-07-19T21:56:00.008Z

A long time ago I witnessed a ground breaking fast ascent of True North 8c. That day I had the pleasure of holding Ian Vickers ropes as he worked the route and redpointed it on his first attempt all within 2hrs. Even by today's standards this would be considered a fast ascent of an 8c. Since then the seed had been sowed that one day I would clip the chains having repeated True North. Finally that day arrived and on Tuesday I got the tick.
A few years ago I came close, failing on the last moves. A few days later I returned only to find the line wet. When the rain comes the North Buttress and in particular True North can get wet in minutes. I returned later in the season and after another day of work i went home hoping that on the next visit it would go. Again the rain put an end to that. Frustrated and annoyed at the British weather I vowed I would never come back but annoyingly the tug of such a fantastic line always remained.
Fast forward 3 years and i find myself with a few weeks to spare and a dry North Buttress. This time I was determined not to be beaten. I decided I would grind True North into submission.
My first few days back on the line were strange to say the least. Fairly unfit and a little weak I found the start (Full Tilt) nails.

Hard crimp moves as I pass the belay on Full Tilt.

I spent ages fine tuning my sequence. The top section felt a lot easier than before though.....maybe the steep juggy climbing I had been doing in Spain was more in keeping with this section of the route.
On day 5 I had two good redpoints, on the first I fell a move from a large hold before the last clip.

My first real redpoint this year i fell from this burly move. The next go I fell slapping the last hold.

The next day I returned confident it would go down quickly, three massive burns later and three falls from the last move, I knew the key to success would be a little more power.
A few rest days and a session at the British Bouldering Champions I returned with Keith Sharples. After warm up session consisting of doing the last moves about 10 times. Keith took over bely duty and Dave Sutcliffe, the maker of the Quest Bouldering DVD assumed his position high on the face with camera in hand.
The redpointed went pretty smooth really the only difference was that I actually felt tired on the lower 3/4 of the route, but when i arrived at the last move I focused on allowing my right arm to recover. It didn't really matter if my left was beasted as I wouldn't really need it again. Two more crimps a bit of a power scream and I found myself shaking out on the rail of Urgent Action.....and as they the rest is history. Not ground breaking like when Ian did it but to me it is one of the most significant climbs I have ever done. Thanks Ian for inspiring me to keep plugging way at this route, at last I can lay it to rest.

Focus now....the Urgent Action rail is inches away.

Watching the cows at Kilnsey. Mick Lovatt on the left who finally ticked his life long goal of Urgent Action after around 20 years of effort. Nice one Mick.

BBC 2009

2009-07-17T11:35:00.005Z

Well this years BBC was better than ever. A fantastic crowd made the final really special. Thanks to Graeme Alderson the event goes from strength to strength and hopefully next year will host not only the BBC but also a World Cup. The weekend was filmed for a sky documentary which should be ready for sept.

Big thanks to Matt Heason for building Cliffhanger to become a must not miss weekend and with the support from BMC and hold suppliers Holdz its only going to get better.

Having not bouldered seriously for a year now i wasnt really expecting much. Attending just for fun and team selection for next years World Cups i was just hoping for a final place. That achieved i managed a great start in the final and flashed the first three boulders. Lack of pure strength was more noticeable after that though and i failed on the last two. I was fuly made up though to get a podium place and its always good to remind them youngsters that next year they need to watch out.

Great to see Ned and Dave looking so strong. Bring on 2010.

Gotta go now as its off to Ratho to get utterly pumped at the BLCC

The Spider

2009-07-16T15:50:00.002Z

Just got this from a friend. We filmed it last spring and it is finally available on Vimeo for all to see. If 8a is your grade then The Spider is a must do route. An amazing trip through some of the steepest peak limestone and the best bit is it's not polished. A really cool route up one of the most imposing buttresses in the country.

Gaz Parry on The Spider f8a, Spring 08. from Joe Bream on Vimeo.

New routes in Norway.

2009-07-06T19:14:00.005Z

After a month in Spain I am back in the UK. This trip is going to be the longest since I left the UK in December. First up was a sunny few days in London. I am really beginning to appreciate the capital. I couldn’t ever imagine living there but it is a fantastic place to spend a few days. After a session at the Arch with Yann and Tyler we had dinner on the banks of the Thames watching the sun set over the river and sharing the wonderful weather with hundreds of others. After two days setting at the Castle I packed my bag for a whistle stop tour of Southern Norway. I had been invited out by Borre “The Bolter” to go and check some unclimbed routes prior to a festival in Skarvann. The routes will be offered to all climbers to try for a first ascent with the best performance taking £1000. The wall for the event is a full 40m, it is really fantastic, last years “final route” is now named “The King Of Bolting 8a+” and still awaits an extension.

The amazing King Of Bolting climbs the long grey streak.

Borre is the King Of Bolting, he has developed loads of crags and bolted more routes that probably anyone else on the planet. A combination of the amount of time Borre spends bolting and not climbing and the lack of climbers in Norway means there are literally hundreds of projects all over the place. On my first day we visited a crag local to my fantastic host ex pat Mathew. Where I managed to bag a couple of first ascents. A nicely technical and almost grit like route I called Nuts at 7a+ and a bouldery 7b I named Crunchy.

Crunchy 7b 1st Ascent

I finished the day with a repeat of the classic 7b called Pistachio which probably explains the names!!!

Norway is somewhere I had wished we had visited on the road trip. It is a beautiful country and full of fantastic leggy blondes. With tones and tones of rock it is definitely a place to be explored. Check out the Skarvann

Activity Park for Borres latest project not only is he bolting around 200 routes most of which await a first ascent he is creating a fantastic activity park for people to climb, hike, bike and walk in.

Catch Up

2009-07-06T00:18:00.006Z

I am sure now most of you have read, watched and followed our trip across Europe. If you haven’t seen the latest few posts then check out the Summit Series Road Trip Blog and the final instalments. Thankfully the trip is over but it will certainly be something i will never forget. Some odd goings on in Font with James.

Some words from Unclesomebody. “The final stop of the roadtrip was also to the longest, with 3 days planned out at the climbing festival of Melloblocco. The 72 hours of planned relaxation and bouldering turned into 66 hours of manic editing, filming, and route climbing. The final 6 hours were spent partying away with the throngs of climbers from all over the world. In one small tent in a valley of Italy, 100’s of people from all over the world were gathered for the same thing, the love of climbing. This is why we continue to push ourselves, this is why we spend many dark days training, this is why we continue to explore the unknown and exciting potential that the world of rock climbing has to offer. We do it for nothing but love.
“the hardest 8a of the Trip”
50,000 words, 15,000 km, 47 days, 30 hours of video, 22 borders, 14 countries, a load of climbing, and a whole load of new friends later, the Summit Series Road Trip was a great success and a journey I feel privileged to have been involved with. James summed it up with “The SSRT was one of the best times of my life. It was harder work than I could ever have imagined but I feel this just made the many good times even sweeter”. Given the opportunity to undertake something like this again, the only question would be “When do we start?”.

If you fancy seeing some of the videos on the big screen then get yourselves down to the Cliffhanger event. Not only can you see me at 3.30 in the lecture tent but there are loads of other events happening and of course the Senior BBC will be held on Sunday. Check out the Cliffhanger for more details.

When the SSRT was over I went from one fantastic adventure to another. Hopping on plane from Milan to Alicante I went home to my new house. Kate had been there for a few weeks or so already. When i arrived it was straight to work on a horse shelter…..no climbing for Gaz this week.Mine or should i say Kate and Joes shelter is under construction. Joe being Kates horse.

A quick week back in the UK for setting at The Arch, The Castle and some coaching at Craggy Island meant another week with no real climbing. Returning to Spain I was determined to get at least a few routes in but this month really had to focus on jobs around the house and my land. A few nice days out and I managed 3 8a+ one of which was a first ascent, an 8a os in a new sector at Sella and another hard 8a rp at the hardest crag in Spain Murla. We had visit from Yann and Kates sister allowing us to be the tour guides and treat ourselves to some relaxing evenings on the beach.
My new 1st new route in Spain. "XPat 8a+"

12 days in

2009-04-12T10:43:00.010Z

Oh my god this trip is just full on. Every day is rammed with stuff to do....climb, coach, lecture and then usually to finish the day off we find ourselves driving for a few hours. After the ferry we quested through Denmark and into Sweeden, over some of the most expensive toll bridges on the planet.

We were on our way to do some euro routes. Abstrakt is one of Sweeden classics, climbed in 1991 and following a really nice flake line with only a few foot holds. We met Jens from 8a.nu at the crag and he gave us the low down.

In the evening we headed round the the 8a.nu headquarters and then our for some pear cider in Gothenberg.

Next up was a lecture in Goth then we headed over to Copenhagen for a full day of coaching and an evening lecture. We finally left Copenhagen at around 11.30 pm and began our 9 hr drive to Eindhoven for more coaching and another lecture.

On a brief visit to Belgium we checked out the waffles and the pissing boy....pretty disapointing really but the city and its buildings are really nice.

Yesterday we climbed at the old Belgium crag of Freyer and were suitably impressed. A beautiful crag in a beautiful setting. We climbed the 1987 route God Save The Queen a really old school route involving some really technical climbing and some small holds. After trying the onsight and slipping high on the route James flashed it and i managed it first go.

Uk to Euro

2009-04-05T09:02:00.002Z

Well that's it we have completed our 4 days in the uk and I have both routes in the bag. Yesterday we were at Malham and it was Cold! Raindogs felt really hard fighting the cold fingers was a real test. I tried it placing the draws but fell from the last move. I nailed it second go. James got the tick on his third attempt after taking the obligatory ride from the chain twice. We are now just leaving matlock to catch a 6pm ferry from Harwich.

The North Face Summit Series Tour

2009-04-03T08:02:00.007Z

Well we are now on our third day of our Summit Series tour. The event kicked off with a fun boulder comp at the Castle Climbing Centre which was really well attended with over 100 competitors. The Castle put on an excellent show with a DJ, snacks and help setting the problems from Mike and Tricky the local setters.
The mens event was decided with a three way superfinal won in fine style by Richard Willams.

And as punishment for the looser we left the castle with an extra passenger on board, 2nd placed Yann from the Arch.

Yann on Mark Of The Beast

Our first classic 8a of the tour was the really cool looking Adrenochrome 8a at Lulworth cove. We arrived to a slightly damp crag so i warmed up on Mark Of the Beast and James got some chalk on the main event. After some beta from James i got on and flashed the route. James had less luck and after a couple of goes he let it go to preserve energy and skin for the 40 days ahead. I was really pleased with this as Adrenochrome has been a route i have wanted to tick for ages, the day was perfect, a flat sea, sun on the crag, a class route and a girl in a bikini being photographed on the beach!!

Who would have thought you could have so much fun in the UK. We finished the day off with Ice Creams and a sausage sarnie sat on top of our van.

You can follow our progress over the next month or so here The North Face Summit Series Road Trip

Malsonando Video

2009-03-31T08:55:00.001Z

Malsoñando, 8c from Gavin Symonds on Vimeo.

Cheers to Lisa for the filming and Gav for the edit..........and Kate of course for the vocals ;-)

8c

2009-03-30T07:24:00.003Z

Well i am back from spain again, but i had a fantastic last week out there. Lots of climbing with lots of friends and chance to spend some time with my wonderful girfriend Kate. We had Gav Symonds and Yann (of The Arch fame) out and also had a few days with Leah Crane on the crag. Everyone was psyched and had a great trip Yann did the classic Ergometria, followed by Leah who also ticked another 8a in great style and Gav managed to on-sight his first 8a, Columneta........he looked really strong on it even with the Knowledge that i had fallen off it a few years before. Another first of the week was Charlie Woodburns first flash of an 8a. He climbed superbly with beta from Gav and myself to bag the excellent Watermark.

I managed to clear up a project from my last visit. I took me four sessions to climb Malsonandro 8c, this route was onsighted by Ramonet.......effort. The cave of El Bovedon is host to some steep routes and this is at about an angle of 60 degrees!!! A cruxy start leads to a series of massive and powerful moves to a poor shake. Following is the crux, a four move boulder problem which basically has to feel easy when you get there. After another shake another 10m of climbing via a big mono move near the top leads to the belay. This is my 3rd 8c and second this year, time to try something harder i think. Starting up Malsonandro 8c

I also ticked a couple of cool 8bs, the loooonnnnggggg Satori at Forada was quite easy and the shorter La Criature at Wildside was quite hard.

Spain

2009-03-21T18:48:00.010Z

Well yet again its been a while since i blogged. Time goes so fast when you are having fun in the sun. Rather than babble away trying to remember all the things i have done over the last few months i am just gonna post some pics.

This is Transnochando 8b in the fantastic cave of El Bovedon near Gandia. I tried to flash the route with pretty pour beta and fell only one move from the good hold at the top!!! It went down first redpoint though.

Starting up a long 8a+ at Orihuela. This sector is not in the Rockfax guide, but if you are interested in finding it go south out of Orihuela and its on the right after the MASSIVE water pipe.

High on the 8a+

A satisfying lower off after a successful flash.

On sighting a class 8a in Sector Cuevas at L'Ocaive

And finally redpointing a wicked 8a at Murla, a crag i cant wait to go back to.

I have got four more days here before i head back to the UK and tomorrow we are off to Bovedon again....................

Echo Two

2009-02-03T10:03:00.002Z

I didnt manage to get back to El Bov yesterday as we had a few jobs to do around the house. In the afternoon I nipped back up to Echo Two to try the cool looking Iratika 8b. After warming up I managed to climb it os. Shame really as it is probably only 7c+. Cool climb though with a massive move on the bottom wall and a commiting jump over the top roof. As i topped out it was pissing it down so i couldnt look up easily. Yes there is some rain here!!! Only made it more memorable though.

Restday today and jobs around the house. I have three more days climbing here till i have to brave the UK weather again. Tomorrow I am off to the Wild Side, the hppefully i will squeeze in El Bov and another day at Echo.

It was great to hear about Jordans second ascent of Widdop Wall, pure class from a talented climber. As for E9 7a.......in ths world of grade discussion.........(note i have tried this line a fair bit in the past)......absolutely spot on. As far as i am concerned the E grade works. It only has problems when it is abused and obviously over time, routes that are rarley repeated will settle down with more ascents.

My view of pads. Use em if you can. I would much rather climb tomorrow than have a bust ankle or worse. The most important thing is that it must be made clear to others the style the ascent has been done in, and if the climber feels a mat reduced the grade he should stand up and say so rather than just take the tick at the guidebook grade.

Anyway i am gonna go back to trying to regrade a few more routes in Echo Valley!!!!! Not an easy job ;-)

El Bovedon

2009-02-01T21:25:00.003Z

Two days ago me and Rich climbed the fantastic Andromeda on Echo 2. The route was climbed by Rowland and Mark Edwards and this was probably the second ascent. A fantastic route though i was a bit dissapointed to find the crux pitch given 7c by Rowland only 6c+, it also sported a bolted on flake (pretty cool) and a chipped hold (very shit) but fairly typical of spain i suppose. Anyway great route and well worth brining a rack for.

Today i went to El Bovedon and ticked the amazing Armando, gonna go back tomorrow i hope as it seems to be raining!!!

Spain

2009-01-27T19:30:00.002Z

Well yet again its been ages since i blogged............and just as i was thinking what to say along come some new guests!!!
Anyway things are great here in Spain and i even had a quick holiday back to the UK for some route setting. Done some great routes here and visited a few new to me crags. I have spent quite a bit of time at the Echo Valley where i have been repeating a lot of Mark Edwards routes. The routes are great though mostly a little over graded. The worst being an E7 that is about E4!!!! Three grades out how the hell can you be so far wrong?
Gonna go big tomorrow, back up to Echo for the hardest multi pitch on Echo One, its meant to be 7c but we shall see. Anyway the crux pitch looks fantastic. I might even take my camera out as i keep forgetting it at the moment.

Just as a quick reminder. You should check out the up and coming SHAFF or Sheffield Adventure Film Festival. I will be there alongwith a load of other speakers. On Sun 1st March at 11am in Showroom 5 i will be showing the world premier of Madagascar.........which is about ......yep......Madagascar. You can see a trailer HERE The film runs for 45 mins and i will be following it with my own lecture called Mad in Madagascar.

2009-01-09T17:27:00.002Z

Just to let you all know. I am back in the UK and will be at The Climbing Works in Sheffield on Sunday evening to do a lecture on my trip to Pakistan. Tickets are available from The Works on 0114 250 9990 or from Heason Events www.heason.net

See you all there hopefully.

ooops almost forgot i will be there during the day also. I you fancy coming down to try out the latest 5.10 boots then i will have a load with me.

Spain

2009-01-07T09:49:00.004Z

Finally after a fairly traumatic drive to Alicante we have settled in to the Orange House. We left Briancon and after a short journey spent the night of the 26th on a farm in the Camargue. The next day we headed for Spain, all was going well until just before the border we had a flat tyre on the horse trailer, rather annoyingly we discovered our spare had a slow puncture!! After an hour or so the mechanic arrived and we set off to pump the spare up. In France on the 27th all the garages are shut so the spare holding air was the only option. Thankfully it did!! With the indicators flashing and our lights on for hours, when i got back to my van the battery had died and our useless mechanics battery pack was also dead. Panic......only until i remembered our leisure battery. Phew.

We arrived at the OH on the 29th and settled in to doing nothing for a few days. On the 1st Jan we took over the house and have already changed quite a few things. We have reinstated the bar, refitted the office, added a new kitchen and rearranged a few rooms. Next up will be some painting and a stable.

Apart from all the DIY i have been out on the crag. First off cleaning up a bouldery 8a at Echo. The i headed up to the Wild Side to get back on Espacio Tiempo 8c with the aim to get it before i returned to the UK on the 8th. On the 5th of Jan after a rest day i headed back, dogged up the route as a warm up and felt really strong, conditions were excellent. I got the route on my first go that day and second overall. Well pleased as its just the start to 2009 i wanted. Afterwards i managed to os two 8a+ though both i felt were more like 8a. A great day for me anyway and hopefully there will be more to come.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T08:47:00.003Z

Well i would just like to start by saying Merry Christmas to everybody. Yesterday was such a cool day, immaculate weather here in Briancon again. I spent the morning on the slopes and then in the afternoon we nipped over to Mount Dauphin where i on sighted a really steep and fun 7c+. What a perfect way to spend Christmas Eve.

Today is our last day in Briancon and i am off boarding in about an hour then we are heading through to Jerry Gores house to join him and his family for Christmas dinner. Tomorrow we leave for Spain and hopefully we will arrive at the Orange House on the 29th. Next up.......lots of routes.

New Adventure

2008-12-19T17:00:00.003Z

I am writing this blog from my friend Pierre Mullers chalet in Briancon after my first day boarding this year.

After some fantastic days on Grit over the last week or so where i managed to tick Western Eyes 7c+ as a warm up, it was off up to Climb Newcastle for a two day team training session. Andy Earls new wall is in Byker otherwise known as The Grove which is an experience in itself. The new wall is based in Bykers old swimming pool, sans water and with the problems set by Andy and Springer it provided us with an excellent weekends worth of climbing.

After the fun of Newcastle it was back down to Barnsley and in the morning with a packed van and horse trailer (with horse) we set off to Spain. Me, Kate and Joe (the horse) headed for Fontainebleau all excited about the forest only to discover the weather was rubbish. We continued on to Grenoble to visit a friend from the comps circuit, Maud Ansade, where Joe spent the night in the back garden with about 2ft of snow. The next day we left for Briancon where we will stay until the 26th for some fun in the snow.
Now you may think why the hell are the driving around europe in winter with a horse. Well we are actually on the way to Spain to look after The Orange House, and as we will be there until May we thought the horse could come too!

Almscliffe and Snow

2008-12-03T21:47:00.004Z

After numerous phone calls about what might be in condition in Yorkshire we opted for the safe bet and went to Almscliffe.
After a quick warm up on Demon Wall Roof I repeated Stus Roof having not done it for years so Sooty could get some footage. We then moved on to Underhand Extension but due to the snow I didnt top it out. Finally we finished off playing around on the Keel bloc. Sooty mentioned Steve Dunnings method on the Bulb so i did that at about 7b!! Then employed the same method for The Real Keel again at about 7b and the finished off by doin CandA into The Bulb but using the block. I think i am keen to come back to try the Real Keel Haul some day. A top day and really nice to see the snow not melting instantly on my mamouth three hour drive back to Bury!!!

Just finished watching Committed 2 and I am well inspired, the footage of Dave MacLeod was fantastic. Those boys at HotAches have done another great job. I have got a few in my shop and you can get them here. Just in time for Christmas at £18.99

Home and fit(ish) again.

2008-12-02T09:27:00.001Z

Whoa........ its been ages since I blogged. Well finally after Trango I have got back up to almost full fitness. When i returned from Pakistan i was the weakest i have been for at least 20 years!!! My max boulder grade was just about V6!! A weeks touring the walls soon got me back up to speed and at the Works Percy almost got the chance to kick my ass, but luckily he was spanked by his spotty slab and after a right tussle it was in the bag for me.

In Jan I have a couple of Lectures organised on Trango. On the 11th I will be at The Climbing Works with Heason Events and during the day I will running a Five-Ten boot demo. Lecture starts at 8.30pm. On the 14th i will be over the border in Blackburn Lancashire where we kick off at 7pm.

In the past few weeks I seem to have missed all the grit action!!! No great trauma really as i have been beavering away down in Swanage with Andy Long and Gav Symonds and doing a bit of route setting in London .

First up though was a weeks coaching for the Orange House and I also took a few days to climb for myself. I visited the Wild Side and climbed with the local wad August and also went to Forada where i did an excellent 8a+.

8a+ at Forada

Swanage must be one of the most underrated sport climbing venues in the UK. Steep and thuggy it lends itself to some fantastic fun sport climbing, and with the help of the BMC Bolt fund most routes are now reequiped with Stainless Steel Resin Bolts.

Highlights of my days out down there were Hells Darker Chambers 8a and Infinate Gravity 8a+.

Hells Darker Chambers 8a

The best way in to Blackers Hole, and the start to Infinate Gravity 8a+.

Infinate Gravity is without doubt the best route at this grade in the UK and infact as good as any route of its style in France or Spain. I thought it was better than the Grande Grotte routes on Kalymnos. Here are the facts......40m long, 20 new stainless runners, 100+ moves, 45 degress overhanging. If that aint fun then I dont know what is.

Myself and Andy rebolted the route over two days and on the second I had a play on the bottom half (the bit with dry bolts). On day three with very tired arms Andy passed on some Beta and i tried it as a warm up. Knowing the bottom half was good, but the top half I was flashing.

Milking the first rest whilst sporting some retro french 80's fashion!!!

After an almighty fight that involed every concievable move I found myself on the top rail, I battled along it screaming to clip the last bolt but my luck was up. Even trying to use my wrists and elbows didnt seen to help as I fell two moves from the belay!!! I hung on the rope limply for what felt an eternity.

Obviously I was a bit gutted but with routes like tis sometimes its great to drop it in such a place after a great battle as you get to have another go. After my sickness subsided I tied back in and did the deed for the 3rd ascent. I stood on the ledge and took in the sunset, gulping in three of the most satisfying and enjoyable days out on the crag ever. F**K the big Mnts and the Grit, Swanage in Nov in your t-shirt is where its at.

About halfway up Infinate Gravity

Just before I headed back up north I visited The new and soon to open Climbing Academy in Bristol. It looks like Paul and his team have done a great job.

Paul and I under the CA logo.

Enjoying an early tick on the 45 degree board.

Trango Bound

2008-08-25T19:26:00.006Z

Well at last i am almost ready for the off. It seems to have taken ages to pack all my stuff and some last minute shopping at Decathlon helped me out. My Metolius haul bag weighs 35kg, my North Face duffle is 28kg and my hand luggage is 11kg. Not sure really how i going to get off the bus at Heathrow never mind anywhere in Pakistan.

Yesterday we managed to squeeze in a day at Rylstone with dave Simmonite and Paul Harrison. We ticked off a few classics in excellent cool and dry conditions and vowed to return for a date with Cocoa Team Special.

Anyway the wait is over everything seems to be in order here, i even moved my boat yesterday. We turned it around to face the evening sun and moved it near the other boats. At last the light can really get to it especially after some extensive tree felling. I cant wait to get going now.

From now till mid October you can follow our adventures on Trango 08

Trango

2008-08-18T21:07:00.009Z

Well there are only 7 more days till i leave for Pakistan!! Arrrgh i am really starting to panic at the mo....too many things to do too little time. Between trying to get ready for an exped and build my boat i have been entertaining a friend from France.

Maud

Maud Ansade is a member of the french boulder team and really she came over to practise her english. We had a great week with a bit of grit, limestone and plastic. In fact i had a special treat for her, as she had never ever touched grit before i took her to Higgar and pointed her at the Rasp.......hmmmm i think she enjoyed it.

Me on The Rasp

Then after a quick waltz along the green trav at stanage

Kate Climbing.

Followed by Left Unconc... and Goliaths Groove......ahh what a nice intro to grit.........not. Goliaths Groove has to be one of the worst climbs on the planet, looks amazing climbs rubbish whichever way you do it and there are a few.

Maud near the top.

I hope she enjoyed her week in the UK even though the weather was poor but i think she will have learnt some new english words, especially on day one ;-)

If you want to follow my trip go to www.trango08.com and click on the BLOG. We will have a sat phone and hopefully be able to send reports and images from BC.

2008-08-07T08:40:00.004Z

Well the wall is now in and is time to finish fitting the bedroom. Ikea has come to the rescue with some excellent and perfectly fitting units and tomorrow i am off to Wigan to collect my new portholes.

Watching the setting sun from the back of my boat :-)

Longridge

2008-08-03T21:51:00.006Z

Its been a few weeks since i bouldered outside or even at all!! A few weeks rest to allow my bicep to fully recover, boat building and Trango prep have all added to a bit of a layoff. Not that i am complaining its given me a chance to catch up on loads of stuff and in a few days The Trango site and blog will go live thnks to Chris Grahams hard work.

Anyway yesterday i headed out with Taz and Jee to Longridge for a session. I was really pleased with how strong i felt. I also took the opportunity to start breaking in my choice 5.10s for Trango. The V-Mile will hopefully give me the comfort combined with the usual amazing 5.10 ability to stick like shit, this combined with a stiffer sole will be excellent in those long Trango cracks.

The V Mile

I have to say i was well impressed with them. I found i could stand on anything so long as it was sharp. I had a great session doing loads of eliminates. I managed to flash Jees new elim at about 7c (or longridge V6) and also climbed a new one of my own also at v9.

Jees Elim

Gazs Elim

After a few hours though it was back to the boat. Maybe i will give you some more pics tomorrow. :-)

Boat

2008-08-02T09:38:00.004Z

Well in between sorting stuff for Trango and Climbing i have finally been getting into fitting out my boat. A lost of the time seems to go into preparation, cleaning, treating and then painting, but at last i have finally started putting stuff back in!!

This is looking forward to where the bedroom will be. The pipe on the floor is now gone.

This is the same area, no pipe, some insulation in and the bedframe almost finished.

The grand plan is to be mooved in by the end of the month!!

Trango Packing

2008-07-31T08:14:00.004Z

Oh my god, so much to do so little time. Packed a load of stuff for Trango over the last few days and yesterday The North Face shipped it to France for me. I am also managing to make a little progress on my boat and am hoping to move onto it before i go to Pakistan. The view of the sunsets over the last week of the bow have been fantastic.

Packing

Setting

2008-07-28T13:32:00.002Z

Well at last the weather is like it should be, sadly i have spent the last few days indoors and yesterday on my boat.
I have just been down in london for a few days setting at Craggy Island and at The Castle. At the Castle i set for their new fun and friendly comp and TNF and DMM provided the prizes. The next day i ran a few one to one coaching sessions which as usual were great fun and the afternoon it was out with the power tools as i helped Audrey with a bit of DIY to kit out her new van. After a fairly steady drive north i got back to my boat just as a barbie was underway and the bottle of red went down very well indeed.

Countdown to Trango

2008-07-23T18:11:00.010Z

To start with i will just catch up from the last week or so. Its now been 10 days since the BBC none of which i have climbed on. After a really poor showing in the final i have just had a bit of time off. The comp itself was fantastic and i had a really good qualifier but in the afternoon a sore bicep and the fact that i was feelin the pressure a bit meant that i didnt do the double this year.
I the mean time it has meant i have been able to catch up with some other stuff. At last i have started work on my boat and then plan is to be able to move in before the end of the month.
This weekend i was in Germany attending the Friedrichshafen trade show on North Faces behalf.

It seems that the idustry is really bouyant at the moment and everyone i spoke to was saying they were having a bumper show. It also gave me the opportunity to catch up with my other sponsors Five Ten and DMM.
Its all go now though for the next month as i am coming to the end of my prep for a 40 day trip to Trango Tower in Pakistan. I leave on the 26th August to attempt to free "The Eternal Flame" route on the Nameless Tower with the same gang i was in Madagascar with. For more info check out the Trango 08 website (Under Construction) and you will be able to follow our trip through Trango Blog.

BBC and Cliffhanger

2008-07-10T11:24:00.002Z

Preparations are now under way for the weekends British Boulder Comp at Cliffhanger. Yesterday i visited the site to do some filming and yes there were no holds on the wall, but it looks amazing. Check out UK Climbing for a report from Alan.

Ouch.........

2008-07-08T08:29:00.004Z

Well it seems ages since i blogged but its only a couple of week. After i returned from Italy i got down to some serious training in preparation for the Montauban World Cup and the BBCs. I also squeezed in a few days outside, with a trip to Stanworth to check out the Gaskins Slab. WOW!!! The hardest slab in the UK and still unrepeated. I also headed back to Kilnsey to finish bolting a new line through the main roof, its gonna take a few more visits to get the route ready for working but at least i got a belay in at the top now.
Montauban turned out to be the best comp this year up till now, with the FFME getting ready for possibly the biggest comp ever in Oct, with the European Championships in Bercy, Paris. I went to the Europeans there in 1996/7 and with around 10,000 spectators expected it will be another level. Check out Montauban Climbing for pics and videos.

Sadly Montauban didnt really happen for me, when i woke thursday morning i had stomach ache and 12 hours laters i found myself in a French hospital with suspected kidney stones!! So all i got from the weekend was an MRI.

I suppose its more than i would have got in the UK ;-)

Anyway all is good now and its time for me to focus on the BBC, entries are already pretty high so i think it is gonna be a bumper weekend. Check out the Cliffhanger website for more infos.

Fiera de Primiero and Arco

2008-06-19T13:59:00.003Z

Well it looks like Jamie did a great job in Fiera with the Blocs, "the best final of the year" according to Tim Hatch the Chief Judge. On the other hand the weather didnt really do the job. Rain, rain and more rain. So rather than stick around for the finals we headed off to Arco for some routes. One day at the classic and excellent Massone Crag and a day at a crag developed in 2006 called Grotosauro just up the road from Massone. After a swift warm up i headed up the line of the crag "The Winner" 7b+, an imense and pumpy outing for its 30m with a real sting in the tail. I also managed to OS Thunder Storm, 7c+ which was also a pretty long outing. Deffo a crag to visit as there is an excellent selection of technical routes in the 6b to 7a+ zone.

Tony Musslebrook on "The Winner"

Fiera De Primero

2008-06-12T07:02:00.004Z

Well thankfully i made it back to the UK on mon and last night i flew to Italy for the next event. Fiera is a regular event on the calendar but lets hope they have some really good weather proofing this year. The weather in Europe is poor to say the least, it has rained every afternoon in Fiera and there is even talk that it mmay snow. We could be in for a treat though as Jamie Cassidy is chief setter for the first time. A job that at this minute he is really enjoying................not.

Anyway off to climb at Arco :-)

Vail

2008-06-08T15:51:00.004Z

Well it seems that Vail didnt really manage to come up with the goods. So much for the USA climbing making history with the first bouldering world cup in the US, in reality they couldnt organise a piss up in a Brewery with a bunch of drop outs from the samaritans in Blackburn. For the competitors that travelled half way around the world it was a poor show from the Yanks, for the yanks it was the best world cup in the world EVER!!!

Thankfully on day two things managed to improve a little and the finals attracted a massive crowd led by the notorius Timmy O'Niel on the mike. Kilian managed to do Europe proud by putting on a great show with Gabriel finally doin the deed a taking silver.

In the womens event Alex Johnson took the title for US albeit with a slightly dodgy judging dedision. At least though she was the best climber in the final on the day. Team Austria took second and third with Katha and Anna on the podium.

As for the brits, well us regulars didnt fair too well as me and Dave failed to climb the only climbable bloc in the qualifier. Ty Landman though made it through to the final and finished in an excellent place. This is the highest Brit result since my 5th at Earlangen and Earls 1st at Reunion last year. Well done Tyler.

Dave in a World Of Hurt!!!

Vail

2008-06-04T04:05:00.007Z

A pretty uneventful day. We walked around Vail a few times and located the comp wall and iso. We were hoping to climb in the iso but they wanted to charge us 35 dollars for a visit! A bit steep i thought. After a bit of pleading we left without any climbing. Back at our Condo we went in the Gym and climb around the wall of the hotel. Back in the main village we watched the play boaters learning the wave

And then Dave thought he would look good as a cowboy or is that Brokeback(doors) Mnt!!!!

All in all though its a fairly cool spot to be and at over 8000ft high you can even by oxygen by the bottle!

2008-06-03T14:15:00.003Z

As usual Anna from Austria took the Wmns title, she seems unbeatable at the moment. Dimitri took the mens ahead of Killian Fish and David Lama.

After a sunday evening flight back to london i was on a plane to Vail for the next world cup the following morning. After a poor nights sleep the sun is shining and we are about to go out and hunt for food. The pool opens at 10am bueno.

Grindelwald World Cup 3

2008-05-31T14:17:00.003Z

Semi finals are over and Stewart finished in a very creditable 16th place. Gabi Moroni goes into the final in a strong position being the only man to climb all 4 boulders.

Mr Moroni on cruise control

Stew getting close to problem 2

Grindelwald World Cup 3

2008-05-30T22:16:00.002Z

Well qualification came and went. Another bad result here for me! This is my third visit to Grindelwald and again i climb crap. I failed to do the first and easiest boulder only managing to top the 2nd and 3rd. This meant i finished 8 places away from the semi final in 28th. Great news for Stewart Watson though as he made it through in 3rd place, so at least tomorrow we have something to cheer about.

Grindelwald World Cup 3

2008-05-29T20:30:00.002Z

Well an early start in London led to an early disapointment when our flight was cancelled. After an initial panic we got another one only an hour later, but annoyingly we had to go via Frankfurt. Finally we made it to a very soggy Grindelwald to meet the rest of the team. With the weather showing no signs of improvement and an early start at 7am lets hope they make good tents!!

Windy days

2008-05-28T18:06:00.002Z

Well the wind has been pretty mad over the last few days. On Monday i headed off to Wilton to give Cat the tour, 4 or 5 classic cracks later i was pretty happy to leave having not been blown off anything. Cat also realised she isnt too good at cracks.
Yesterday it was back to Kilnsey in what was probably the worst conditions i have ever been sport climbing in. On my second attempt i managed a new link, only really two new moves but the combination has excellent climbing. Starting up More Rhubarb Faster,after the crux traverse left to join Dalliance, three moves up then some fun "Rose" moves left allow you to finish up the redpoint crux of Grooved Arete. I have called the link "Just For Fun" and it is one of the best 8b' at Kilnsey.

Dr Crimp, Chris Evans and British Championships 08

2008-05-25T18:33:00.007Z

After resting on thursday i had a really nice day climbing classics with Catherine in the Llanberis Pass. First up was the ultra classic Cemetry Gates topped with the excellent bridging challange of The Grond. A quich descent and we headed over to the slate to climb the fantastic Last Tango In Paris and Comes The Dervish which felt tough in the full on sun and soft boots!! In the evening i had to do my bit for climbing publicity and was interviewed on Chris Evans's Drive Time on Radio 2. Click here and go to play again Friday to listen to it. Its at the end of the show.

Yesterday i was back up to Kilnsey to try my project that i bolted 2 years ago, after four days of effort i managed a first redpoint of the day ascent in cool but very, very windy conditions. The very bouldery route is essentially a direct start to the unpopular but now rebolted and with a belay Chris's Route. The line boulders out of the scoop to the left of Sub Culture where a powerfull clip off an ok hold leads you into the second crux which revolves around a very sharp two finger crimp. Dr Crimp weighs in at around 8b+ and features some excellent climbing.

Finally getting the link on Dr Crimp meant that i could go to Blackpool today to defend my British Leading title. I didnt really hold out much hope as i hadnt done any routes on plastic for ages but obviously a few days of limestone stood me in good stead. I managed to qualify in 1st place and fell joint with Dave Barrans and Drew Haigh so on count back i won the title for the third year running. The womens title was taken by fellow bouldering team member Audrey Seguy. The routes were set by the all star team of Ian Vickers, Rob Lamey, Jamie Cassidy and Andy Long who also came up trumps by making some bespoke tufas, about 10 of them for the mens final!! A massive thanks to Blackpool Wall and all the volunteers who work really hard to make these events great fun.

Spider

2008-05-21T20:27:00.004Z

A great day yesterday. a quick trip to Cheedale resulted in a 1st redpoint of The Spider 8a.

The crux roof

Longridge

2008-05-19T17:05:00.004Z

On wednesday i found myself sat on a train about to depart from manchester to london with the intention of travelling to Serbia for the 3rd round of the world cup. At 12.12 I got the call off Audrey that the comp was cancelled, with two minutes to spare i legged it off the train. After a few hours of public transport and quick car journey i arrived at Longridge and after i quick warm up set off on the traverse. To my surprise i wasnt getting pumped and after a slappy descent of the Bend Of The Rainbow section i made it to the corner rest. The last section went like a breeze and i happily hung off the finishing jugs with the traverse in the bag.
After a brief rest i attempted the return journey only to fall on the last hard section. I suppose two miracles in one day was a bit too much to ask. A big goal in my climbing had been ticked though so i was a happy man.

Thanks to Wouter at e9 for the pic.

Welsh Weekend

2008-05-16T19:33:00.003Z

Had a great three days in Wales last weekend. It was the Weasels birthday so we packed the vans and headed to the valleys. On fri i flashed the amazing Pretty Girls Make Graves and followed it with a leisurely trip up Superdirect on the Mot. Sat dawned another nice day and after the mussy heads subsided we headed for the Slate. Inspired by Nic Sellars getting shut down on Gin Palace in Hard XS we headed up to the Dervish level for some fun. Attempting to warm up on Colditz 7b+ was a mistake but after a swift redpoint it was Ians turn to put the clips in. With clips in place and chalk on the holds!! i managed to flash Gin Palace even though i pulled a hold off the top of the chimney and had a onearm footless moment in the crack. What a fantastic route. In the afternoon we headed over to Upper Pen Trywn to settle an old score with the hard Pollitt route Oyster 7c+. After and good hour staring at a nasty fingerlock i worked out the trick and managed it 2nd rp. Sunday brought more sun and with low tide we headed downstairs where i did Over The Moon Direct on my 1st rp, which is a fantastic route. I finished off a great weekend with Trigger Cut and Lou Ferrino in the Cave of Justice both first go.

Hall, Reunion

2008-05-13T20:13:00.006Z

Well Hall went fairly well. With a massive field of over 80 competitors everyone was there so i was mega pleased to qualify into the semi final in 7th place. The next day i wasnt so fortunate and only managed a 19th. Still really happy with this as its the first of the season and another Semi Final is always good.

Next up we faced an 11hr flight to the dream island of La Reunion. This year we were only there for a few days due to the busy callender. Even though time was short we managed to do the tourist bit a paid a visit to the beautiful volcanic craters in the central part of the Island.

With a couple of days rest under my belt we all enjoyed a high quality comp with Jacky G setting some fun problems. This time i made the semi in 16th and moved up to 10th overall after the semi. After lots of climbing the only thing left to do was hang out at the Champagne Bar at an outdoor party surrounded by boulders (only the French would do this).

World Cup Hall

2008-04-16T16:04:00.006Z

Yesterday i arrived in Austria to get collected from the airport by Kilian Fischhuber. A fast drive got us upto Langenfeld to meet Stewart Watson and go training at Barbara Bachers board alongwith some other members of the Austrian team. By the way this is a personal board!!

Loadsa Holds!!

Sabby cranking downstairs.

A typical Austrian medal haul.

Coaching at The Orange House

2008-04-16T15:21:00.010Z

With the demise of coaching holidays run by Planet Fear the Orange House have taken the helm to deliver quality coaching holidays throughout europe with a team that includes Steve Mac, James Pearson and myself.
Last week was my first holiday with them and it was a cracker. Six clients enjoyed the excellent hospitality of Sam and Rich Mayfield at the Orange House and we had a week of perfect sport weather, not too hot but with lots of sun.

Rich keeping a close eye on the belayers Taylor and Colin Day 1

Taylor enjoying the limestone at Sella

Don at Gandia

After an excellent week where everbody made some big gains and learnt some new tricks. Ian Vickers and friends arrived and i joined them for a quick three days of climbing and some chilled times at our villa. I managed to tick an 8b, 8a+ and a couple of 8a's.

Tanya the punter enjoying an early morning dip.

Onsighting an awesome 7c at El Bovedon

A fantastic 8a at Orihuela (sadly this sector isnt in the Rockfax)

UK 6th to 20th

2008-04-16T13:48:00.004Z

As soon as we got back from Swiss the UK was in excellent condition so it was back to Caley to send the excellent Banana Republic 8a. This time with the sequence already sorted it went down in a couple of goes.
The next weekend i found myself down at the Outdoor Show and the Ford Skymasters event. Due to a total lack of route fitness though i only managed about 100 or so moves on the route!! With the finals on sunday i sat down with Leo behind the microphone and got on with some commentating. All in all though a great weekend.

Mike Weeks the brainchild behind the Skymasters a little shocked at what Percy has just said!

After a couple of days setting at The Rope Race

and The Arch it was off to Font for the Easter weekend. I was expecting it to be really busy but due to a bad forecast it was empty, no brits to be seen anywhere!! Just for all of you who didnt go the weather was great. Managed to do a few news 7c's and a 7c+ and had a quick session on Partage 8a+. The trip was almost over before it began, on the first eve i was trying T Rex at Cuvier Rempart and as i was going for the last move my hand ripped. If you have ever seen this bloc you will know the fall from here is not pretty!! I bounced off a few boulders and landed in a big heap after a great spot from big Bart. I somehow came away with a few scratches and a very sore body.

Andy Chapman enjoying great conditions.

The following weekend i found myself behind the microphone yet again to pass comments at the Leading Ladder final in Stockport an excellent event saw the first ever Leading Ladder Champions Crowned.

Swiss March 1st to 5th

2008-04-16T13:30:00.005Z

Well welcome back dont worry i aint disappeared off the face of the planet, just been a bit busy. Swiss turned out to be a great trip but the temps were a little higher than when i visited in Dec, still managed to get a bit done.

Ben Meeks on a 7c at Brione

Ben again on the holdless and frictionless "There Is No Spoon" 7b Brione

Dan Kennard on a 7b at Chironico

I managed the following problems.

Bridge Over Troubled Water 7c+
Aka Midnight Lightening Of Ticino 7c+
Arete With a Pocket 8a Flash
Fat Boy 7c+ Flash
unnamed 7c+ Flash
Conquistadores 8a+

Also played on Great Shark Hunt 8a+ and got pretty close but after only four goes my skin was trashed!!