Full Circle

So that's it I'm back home at my parents place and my "climbing year out" has come to an end. Observant readers will of course say it never ended up being a year, 8 months in fact. if id gone to the US I would have pushed on through I think till 2010 but certain events saw me back in Europe for the fall and a good job opportunity here in London has meant Ive needed to adapt the schedule somewhat.

So has the climber in me sold out to get back in the rat race? Probably a little but for me being successful in a financial markets career is all about running with it when its good and flying for the hills when its bad. It was pretty darn bad in March when I left NYC and now its seems to have turned, so I had to take any re-entry opportunity seriously.

Anyway enough of the job chatter this is not the place for that but I feel that is some justification for why I cut the climbing year short with more thoughts on that to follow. First up how did my last few days before my journey back to blighty finish up? Sending Appartenance was the highlight. A superb highball arete, powerful down low, then balancey and scary up high with a subtle roll out onto a hanging slab using a very rounded rib like feature. As you slowly tip your weight onto the slab you have to make a long reach to a good crimp that marks the end of the difficulties. Problem is to reach the crimp you have to roll loads of weight onto a very high left foot that is smeared precariously on a sloper just waiting to explode off and send you ground ward. it did quite a few times before success. Aside from that I climbed some great low 7's on the final day and managed another quality 7c - Symbiose Gauche at 95.2.

Regrets; I didn't manage to climb the other 2 problems that constitute the big 4 at Rempart. Big Boss I tried and tweaked my shoulder, Big Golden I ran out of time to get on. They are very high on next years tick list as is Beaux Quartier at Bouligny. Talking of ticks I did think about jotting down a graded list of what id climbed over the course of the year but I think that would bore most people and its all on 8a anyway. Stand outs are the 3 8a's since Feb (especially getting one in Font), the slew of top top quality 7c/+ classics i did in Font (and I'm still only about halfway through the list) and sampling Rocklands/Africa in general.

However with highlights there has to be lowlights for sure. Weather was often challenging. More specifically though when I started this year out I stated I wanted to climb the real classics whenever I ended up, but also I did admittedly want to try and push my grade, 8a+/8b was the target. In the 8 months I pulled on one 8b problem for 5 mins, that's it. Not a massive commitment to the cause that. In terms of 8a+, well to be fair I was close to this target. Jack's Broken Heart was a whisker away before it rained for 4 days straight and Swine Flu killed me off when Tea Time With Elmarie had been linked in two halves.

However despite the agonising last day failures Ive come to realise as the year has gone on that genetically I'm not gifted enough to climb this grade (8b). What I mean by this is that just because Ive climbed a lot this year does not mean my body has suddenly got loads stronger or technically superior. I thought by climbing loads my level would have kinda gone through a super cycle and shot up. Unfortunately it didn't, in fact I'm weaker now than when I was going regularly to the gym after work. That does not mean I cant climb 8b full stop but ill have to siege something for months/years even to do that and a trip where you are moving from venue to venue is not the best way to do this.

This in part is the other reason why Ive decided to step back from this full time climbing thing and back into a more balanced work/climb/booze/sleep type lifestyle. If your not super gifted then the best way to push on in a sport is to train I guess and I haven't done that properly really for years...not since I used to climb with Tyler/Geoff Landman on the board at Mile End, 2005 I think. I'm not going to start campussing tomorrow but 2010 i want to put some training plans into practice and go back to short focused trips to US/Europe. When I was in the US I climbed a few 8a's just by existing in one place and being able to pick the great conditions, by being used to the rock type and training a particular crux move of a project at the wall in the week. Basic stuff but it suited me better because my body takes a while to adapt to a very hard move or a very small handhold - that's what I mean by not being necessarily massively genetically gifted at climbing.

So since I'm back into short sharp trips and sieging things ill need to get a UK ticklist I can focus on for late 09 and 2010. Brad Pit is one and id like to get an 8a done on limestone - Tsunami fits the bill. Ive got to decide whether to keep this blog up..its no good just saying I did some campussing 3 times a week is it so a lot will depend on how often I get out and about once the job life becomes normality again. In the meantime ill try and get some piccies up on here. Ill climb a bit now but some proper rest/time out is key and then its Christmas boozing before the new year plan comes into effect.

4 days on....

Im in McDonalds, internet is crappy so this is going to be shortish. After my last post we finally got a weather window of sorts. Some sun, a bit warm but windy too - it was time to climb. Id written the roof mantel problem at Isatis off, (L'Insoutenable blah blah blah), as a permanent wettie, but when that wind really blows in Font and the leaves have dropped things can dry super-quick.

I knew this problem being dry could be very short-lived so got fired up and sent this one second go in this session. Not the hardest mantel in Font but a problem well worth seeking out, especially in a warm spell in the forest as its always in the shade.

Next up a cracking steep prow at Demoiselles called Home. 7b/+ i think, but here the wind was less prevalent and the thing was a bit damp so 7b+ felt right for sure. Compression moves on wet holds are always quite tough and I found this hard. Took me about an hour to get the hooks right and squeeze the correct slopers to get this one done. Great out of the way problem, in a new area that has been developed by locals. Definately worth the walk-in. Green though.

Finally the last settled day of weather yesterday saw me back up under the big four at Cuvier Rempart. Id had a session previously on Fourmis Rouge and felt ok on it but yesterday I felt confident it might go due to a new factor. When walking out of Demoiselle the other day ive come upon a massive branch, thin and light, that bent slightly to the right. Once id dried this stick out and taped a brush to the end of it I had a secret weapon - I could clean all the higher holds on Fourmis from the ground, due to the sticks length and the way it bent around the nose of the rock. Previously id almost killed myself trying to hang down from the top and brush the top slopers, these things are super marginal so need to be cleaned before an attempt, now I could brush happily in comfort from ground zero.

So after a good brush off with the stick my first go saw me beat my previous highpoint by being able to slap out left to a lumpy sloper right on the top of the prow. From here you have to dig really deep and hike your right foot super-high to a slopey smear before you finally start to get within reach of decent'ish holds and you can stand up and roll off the nose to glory. Despite reaching a new highpoint getting my foot up blindly, really high, onto the smear proved tough. Between goes I was doing all sorts of stretches and karate kicks to try and give me that neccessary suppleness to yard my leg up. Eventually this worked and after a sketchy rock over out right on that high right foot to a good edge I was done. Topping out to a round of applause from French guys sieging Big Boss was a nice touch.

So im pleased because the rain and my fitness had been such that last Tuesday I really thought climbing those three problems in next two weeks before I leave was going to be asking too much. Now today its raining again but at least ive cleared the immediate tick list ready to ship in a load more of course for the final week. In reality there is really two obvious things that stand out. 8a's or above I havent got the heart for the last minute siege to be honest. I still have two of the big four at Rempart to climb and with more rain due, these dry quick so are likely to feature. The other one is Appartenance at Buthier (pronounced boot't'ay im told). This shut me down back in May but today even with the rain, it was actually semi-dry and I managed most of the moves. The top is a problem as it stays wet and it scary to be honest plus the crimps are sharp and tear skin. However this feels doable now and that would be a great way to sign out of Font for this year. C'mon wind do your stuff...

Rain, Smog and Mist

Im not sure who reads this blog apart from some close friends etc, but for any climber that does have an occasional glance - DO NOT COME TO FONT IN NOVEMBER. If I help convey this message to a few uninformed guys or girls it will have been worth it. Seasoned campaigners in the forest, like Neil H, would have told me November is a dodgy month, but I didn't have that much choice to be honest with the US trip on ice, me not working right now and the Swiss granite also proving to be pretty damp/humid, here was the best bet as I didn't fancy going back to Albarracin.

We tend to look at Accuweather here to get a decent view on the forecast for the next few days, for over a week now Ive not seen a single sun symbol for any time of the day, not even a white cloud. Its been super wet, damp, with grey skies and a stillness that means morning and evening mist - a climbers worst nightmare basically and totally brutal to get much done at all.

Apart from many forced days off the rock (today is day two of another rest period as its lashing down currently), going to London for a job interview and watching X-Factor Ive tried to get out when I can. Since Symbiose on day 1 and the day out at Apremont ive managed to get away with climbing two very nice 7b+'s; Fluide Magnetique, the scary and rather classic blunt arete at Cuvier, and Le Cachou, a compression prow at Isatis. I also had a session on the stand start to the L'Insoutenable roof at Isatis, said to be one of Font's hardest mantels at 7c. Its not to be honest as I did the mantel itself pretty quick in the semi-wet but then worked out it actually starts from a jug under the roof. For me anyway this is the crux and I was planning on going back to get this done, but since that session it been soaking wet so Ive all but given up on this one for this trip.

So with two weeks remaining and the weather so bad, albeit it is meant to be better for a day or two from tomorrow, ive decided to focus a bit of effort on the remaining 3 problems that I have not done of the big four at Cuvier Rempart. These tend to dry quick, quicker than most rock in the forest and of course they are super classic must do's. I got up Tristesse in April so now Big Boss, Fourmis Rouge and Big Golden remain. All are high and scary but I had a go on Fourmis the other day and that seems close so ill see if I can get that and the Boss done. Not sure about Big Golden its a far bit more powerful than the others as you basically have to surmount a large bulge with poor hands but we'll see. At the end of the day weather conditions are such you cant really make any firm plans as it can all go wrong very quickly and you must adapt.

Transition

Headed out for the final morning at Magic Wood and manged to piece together the link on that Kalorienmonster thing. Its not the best climb ive ever done but it gave me something to aim for, to at least feel a small level of accomplishment, after a pretty naff week in the Wood.

A couple more shots below. The first Sofa Surfer in a dry state with me matching on the slopey rail which marks the end. of the crux really. That was to be my high point on this trip.

The second, Sofa Surfer dripping on the first few days and me trying to use tissues to dry it out (we have been here before with Jack's)...

So with snow clouds beginning to form we made haste from the Alps. Not sure when ill be back here now on the granite, perhaps spring next year, we will see. Font was the final destination but we broke up the journey with a stopover night in Basel. Strange place really. Some locals speak German, some French, the road signs are in German but most other things like shop names etc are in French, but most confusing of all theres a massive Irish bar there playing NFL games all day where everyone speaks English and you feel like your back in the US celebrating Halloween.

At one point a clear Basel local started chatting the barmaid up in German, when he got no obvious response he tried French and when that also failed to get her going he tried drunken English. Even the local guys are confused here it seems.

So now we are in Font. Ive never been here in November before I dont think but its meant to be a wet month for the forest and its certainly living up to that so far. I have managed two days of decent climbing; one day I sought out the classic 7c roof problem of Symbiose at 95.2. It really deserves the reputation I thought it was great. I also got up to Apremont and did a few 7's there including the classic mantel problem Hyperplomb. Aside from that ive floundered about on a 7b+ compression thing at Isatis that Neil H pointed me at that ill need to get back on and the 7c/+ prow of Madarine that feels pretty darn hard to be fair. I think compression strength is something that has flagged a little in me since being here in spring which isnt going to help with many of the problems here being of that style.

Right now im resting as my split from Magic Wood is still not really healed properly and I need to sort that out. Hoping to get out tomorrow, I still do not really have a defintive tick list but to be fair with the weather so volatile perhaps its best not to and to just go with the flow depending on conditions. I only have 3 weeks left now so not a huge amount of time full stop either when you think about it. I really need to try and put Appartenance away, thats it really, that would be great and anything more than that a bonus. More soon...

The Fat Lady Has Sung

Yep the fat lady has sung her heart out, has packed up and is heading home for supper. What am I talking about? Well thats the end pretty much of another spanking in Magic Wood. I had a rest day Thursday and the split tip looked slightly better Friday PM so headed out again. Warmed up with loads of tape on and felt ok'ish. Up to Sofa Surfer, two goes and the tip has split again with tape on! Game over for Friday.

Today decided to sack Sofa Surfer off as although I feel I can do it its not going to happen with the current gammy finger tip and I actually fancied doing some climbing before I leave this place. Some may say well you have over a month left in Europe so just stay longer, get your finger better and have another pop but the weather window is well and truly closing out as of tomorrow evening. Heavy snow is forecast for Monday to Wednesday in the Alps and if I did ride that out id only experience all the damp issues again like the start of this week, so ive got to call time on this one. Jack's Broken Heart, Sofa Surfer the list of what id really like to climb in Magic Wood is not long but what I do leave behind unfinished does cut a bit.

Anyway so with taped up finger I headed out today trying to get some decent mileage in and climb some of the more obscure problems here. The problem you have with granite is most stuff is a crimp, and typically quite a sharp crimp here in Magic Wood, so actually finding stuff to climb that didn't mean id leave trails of blood on the holds was quite tough. First up I hiked right up to the top of the crag and flashed some 7b called Fleisch something, then I got spanked on some 6c highball wall climbs that took me an hour to work out. Then some local guys pointed me at a 7c+ called Diesel Power, an aesthetic overhanging prow, that had no crimps on it at all.

Went to work on this, it was a little wet, so usual drying tactics first off. A few goes and id realised instead of pinching this obvious hold on the arete you could twist your wrist round and kind of undercut it meaning it was a jug. Once that beta kicked in I was up top and mantling out. 7c+ my way no way, its probably more soft 7c or 7b+ even. Still a good problem and I guess most of the grades on the well established problems at Magic Wood have settled down to what is right but the more obscure ones are bound to need some more input.

From here the helpful locals next pointed me at Kalorienmonster. This thing is a monster. Its a slopey, heel hook shuffling, traverse thing. Again no crimps so I had to give it a go but by now it was 3pm and by that time here the sun has dipped below the ridges and the dreaded damp kicks in big style. After slipping off numerous slopers on the route I decided it was not going to happen today but I have a sequence now so unless my finger recovers miraculously overnight and I can crimp again ill come back for this in the AM.

So a short session tomorrow and then we leave pre the snowstorm to go back to Fontainebleau. The forecast looks pretty bleak, lots of rain around, but at least it may be cooling down a bit and I can try and get out in between the showers. Plus Neil H is based in Font and im really looking forward to climbing with him again after spending most of this week mooching around on my own.

One Step Forward Two Back

Yeah it was going to be a positive post. Yesterday was good, the damp did clear out as predicted with the drier spell and although things were still a bit greasy it was much improved. I fired off Iron Butterfly first try and it felt a hell of a lot easier as I must have been picking up so much moisture on my hands the other day (its a 20 move problem).

So that was good and I walked up to the Sofa Surfer bloc feeling like it could be on. It took a couple of goes to get going but my third and best go of the day saw me reaching for the good right hand edge that marks the end of the difficulties only for my foot to pop at the last minute. Still after a couple more naff goes I left it there thinking by finishing the session strong'ish id be on for it today as that was my best link since June where I fell off the end section due to wet holds.

Sofa Surfer would not be considered a sharp problem for the Wood but it does have a couple of crimps you really bone down on in the middle that do take their toll on your skin. What I did not realise is these edges will really take a chunk out of your index finger if your foot pops unexpectedly. Thats what happened today...again attempt three saw me matched on these crimps setting myself up for the final reaches into the slopey right-handers. Suddenly my right foot popped and I slipped rightwards landing on the pad with a bang. Quick look at my fingers revealed a puncture of my right index finger caused, I guess, because I twisted off rather than fell straight. Its not horrifc but game over of course for the day and now im out tomorow too at least.

I would like to have another lengthy moan about my weak skin and how id be one of the worlds best climbers if I had leather on my finger tips instead, but of course thats rubbish however I split a tip in Magic in June so do feel a little hard done by thats its happened again out of nowhere in cold conditions too. Anyway im not done yet and hopefully with the weather window looking like it will hold good till Sunday I may still have this problem in me before I leave. In the meantime im going to go hiking tomorrow which is the advantage of being in such a stunning place as the alps.

Finally before signing off worth noting that luck, or absence of it in your climbing at a certain point in time is all relative. After my finger incident I went up to spot an Italien guy who has been working High Spirit, an 8a+ boulder problem, for 3 and half years he tells me on and off. He was really up for it today so he said and with my pad meaning he felt more comfortable on the higher moves he fired off a great go getting through all the difficulties only to fall matching at the jug (where the route effectively ends as it does not top out). The Bloke was prettty distraught as it seems his feet popped off alright holds and he did not expect it. After that he was spent and could not get back to his highpoint. Bad days all round then it seems, perhaps its easier just to stick to bouldering 7a.

Not So Magic Wood

Man, I think from living in the States for a couple of winters id forgotten just how damp Europe can be. Im resting today, but not really from climbing as such really, more from the act of "trying to climb". After I last posted I was more optimistic that the weekend forecast was dry and that dry rock would result. True enough it didn't rain and the sun even came out for some fleeting periods but it failed to penetrate the gloom that currently hangs over Magic Wood.

Its just SO moist in there. You cross over the river to get into where the boulders are and almost instantly are hit with these damp plumes of air, rather like when you visit a cave, the ground is saturated and now with day highs of around 10 degrees max it will not dry out easy. Im starting to think maybe I should have stuck with Font but im here now so gonna have to make the best of it for a week or so I think. The worst thing is (and the reason why I am in need of some rest today) is the rocks themselves look dry. You walk around the blocs and the holds are white with chalk dust, drawing you in, thing is once you do chalk up and pull on you realise you have been duped as the holds quickly turn black with moisture. Of course once that happens then you try and kid yourself that its not that bad, you can still pull these moves off, you start to use tissue paper to soak up the damp, you brush every hold hundreds of times, but of course really unless your climbing way below you limit you've had it really.

Still I got drawn in a plenty over the weekend trying Sofa Surfer, Iron Butterfly and Jack's Broken Heart with very limited success. All three of these problems I was really close to back in June so its a bit depressing but i know im not as strong as then so need to get that back and of course the conditions totally suck so perhaps there is still a chance for some success this trip with time. Either way for that to happen I need it to stay dry, anymore rain and im dead, and then perhaps if Im doing the moves now in the damp they will feel easy when the whole place is a bit drier. Thats the theory anyway. Forecast wise no rain is expected this week now so perhaps thats my window, but today its not raining and yet its still super misty and overcast with no wind so ill need better than this I think. Time for a dvd marathon then...