Check out these routes which look absoloutely amazing and that are at my local crags!!!!
Nit de bruixes 9a+ Margalef
Oct 23, 2012
Psyche resurge
Unbelievabe psyche resurge today, went climbing in the wall, did some boulder problems for the first time in the last 2 months and my finger didn't hurt at all!!! I know now it's time to be responsible and not go mad on the rock and try some 9a+ but I must admit i'm fecking psyched. I totally believe that having a break sometimes is a good thing and I definately feel like I have a renewed energy.
Check out these routes which look absoloutely amazing and that are at my local crags!!!!
Nit de bruixes 9a+ Margalef
Fight or flight 9b Oliana
And a video of me that always gets me psyched because it reminds me of good times, hanging out with good friends and trying hard in the cave.
Check out these routes which look absoloutely amazing and that are at my local crags!!!!
Nit de bruixes 9a+ Margalef
Oct 20, 2012
finger issues, fitness training
Well, things don't always go the way you want them too! The summer break in the UK was meant to be for hard core training ready to come back and crush Catalunya's awesome crags, instead it turned into injury riddled rain dodging and feasting on really healthy food like fish and chips, haggis and litres of irn-bru.
Being back in the Spanish sunshine is amazing and great for the body and soul, my finger is healing up well after spending the last couple of months doing very easy climbing and making sure not to crimp anything. The last week I spent training in a cool little wall in les avellanes the village next to Santa Linya, I must admit, it feels weird training indoors when the sun is shining and the cave is just around the corner, but it is what needs to be done. I have been doing some fitness training, going running and the last week I was doing 100 move circuits and doing 1200 moves in total finished off with sets of pull-ups rounding upto 200. Its actually pretty cool just being able to train and then hang out in the sun.
With rain forecast for the next couple of days I'm going to head down to a friends climbing wall in Lleida to do a bit of training and then time to get on rock again.Psyched!
Having this time away from being able to go and try my hardest on routes has made me realise just how much I enjoy it and how difficult I find it to be cooped up inside, how stunning the places where we go climbing actually are and how much I love the process of having a project in mind and running through the moves in your head last thing at night.
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Being back in the Spanish sunshine is amazing and great for the body and soul, my finger is healing up well after spending the last couple of months doing very easy climbing and making sure not to crimp anything. The last week I spent training in a cool little wall in les avellanes the village next to Santa Linya, I must admit, it feels weird training indoors when the sun is shining and the cave is just around the corner, but it is what needs to be done. I have been doing some fitness training, going running and the last week I was doing 100 move circuits and doing 1200 moves in total finished off with sets of pull-ups rounding upto 200. Its actually pretty cool just being able to train and then hang out in the sun.
With rain forecast for the next couple of days I'm going to head down to a friends climbing wall in Lleida to do a bit of training and then time to get on rock again.Psyched!
Having this time away from being able to go and try my hardest on routes has made me realise just how much I enjoy it and how difficult I find it to be cooped up inside, how stunning the places where we go climbing actually are and how much I love the process of having a project in mind and running through the moves in your head last thing at night.
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| Harry hitting the booze |
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Bielsa
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| The new wall at Les Avellanes, work in progress. |
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| Kiu |
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| chilling in the campo |
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| Camarasa coffee break |
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| Dinner time |
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| The best beer out there! |
Sep 26, 2012
New Sponsor- Core Climbing
Big thanks to the guys at Core Climbing, really psyched to be working with them and their support is really appreciated.
Core make awesome holds, inspired designs from real rock destinations like font and the grit give their holds the real rock feel!
Sep 15, 2012
Start of a new chapter
So the ferry is booked!!!
We have hugely enjoyed being back in the UK, old friends- new friends, fish and chips, curry, drinking too much, you know the usual! Pulling on Plastik, and checking out Scotland in the camper.
Next Saturday Lynne, myself and the pooches will be heading out in the camper!! Spain is cooling down nicely for our arrival, we are heading to the Basque country first and then heading across to hit up Oliana, Margalef and Rodellar with maybe some Siurana and Santa linya in there too.
This year is going to be so different we are not going to be teaching so we are going to be free to chase the good conditions and just go wherever, whenever we please!!!!
The Lleida area really has become a second home to me, the people, the food and wine are all truly great and have been sorely missed these last couple of months. The amount of rock and world class routes to go at is insane. The room for further development is just as incredible.
The climbing and the climbers that you see and meet make it the most inspiring place to climb.
We have hugely enjoyed being back in the UK, old friends- new friends, fish and chips, curry, drinking too much, you know the usual! Pulling on Plastik, and checking out Scotland in the camper.
Next Saturday Lynne, myself and the pooches will be heading out in the camper!! Spain is cooling down nicely for our arrival, we are heading to the Basque country first and then heading across to hit up Oliana, Margalef and Rodellar with maybe some Siurana and Santa linya in there too.
This year is going to be so different we are not going to be teaching so we are going to be free to chase the good conditions and just go wherever, whenever we please!!!!
The Lleida area really has become a second home to me, the people, the food and wine are all truly great and have been sorely missed these last couple of months. The amount of rock and world class routes to go at is insane. The room for further development is just as incredible.
The climbing and the climbers that you see and meet make it the most inspiring place to climb.
Aug 23, 2012
New kit, psyche for new routes!
Firstly, so psyched about the new Edelrid kit, they have brought out some great new shoes called the Cyclone. They are a top end performance shoe and I am really psyched to get out and use them on real rock, amazing fit and new stickier rubber are going to make a big difference this season. Secondly they have brought out the Atmosphere harness which is amazing, super light but also super comfortable this is going to be so useful for when I return as I have loads of plans for bolting new routes and also multipitch projects which mean lengthy periods in my harness.
http://www.wobook.com/WBCs1MV9xT4t/Workbook-Sports-2013-Wobook.html
Training indoors here in Scotland has been my only climbing fix, all the crags have been soaked and ridden with biting little midges. One armers, finger boarding and circuits blue and orange plywood have taken over from blue and orange streaked limestone paradises..... One thing being back has taught me is that overtraining is easily attained and that if you really want to train to go away on a trip it is so worth following a periodised plan. Currently I am suffering from the mentioned and with a tweaked a2 pulley i'm going to have to take it easy for a month or so, but if I can't climb I am determined to get out and bolt some sick lines to get me motivated and what better all body workout than bolting steep lines. Didn't seem to harm the beast that is Dani Andrada!!!!!
Here are a couple of spots I've seen that i'm going to go and check out for new routes when I get back:
from outside the cave
Looks really cool, amazing fun climbing on stalactites cant wait to get out there and get involved.
Back to the rings to do some more pull ups, front levers and all the horrible bulls##t you do when you cant just climb rocks!!!!!!! haha
http://www.wobook.com/WBCs1MV9xT4t/Workbook-Sports-2013-Wobook.html
Here are a couple of spots I've seen that i'm going to go and check out for new routes when I get back:
Looks really cool, amazing fun climbing on stalactites cant wait to get out there and get involved.
Back to the rings to do some more pull ups, front levers and all the horrible bulls##t you do when you cant just climb rocks!!!!!!! haha
Jun 11, 2012
Psicoblok Camarasa
I first spotted this small but beautiful band of rock jutting out over the lake in winter on my way to Terradets and thought to myself when it's really hot I need to go and check that place out as it looked like great fun.
So a couple of weekends ago after trying to go climbing at the Camarasa crags and sweating off just about every route I tried we headed up to the lake to check it out.
I took a short rope and abseiled down a couple of lines the rock quality was surisingly excellent and nicely featured which it needed to be as the faces are about 45 degrees overhanging.
The first route to try was an obvious line scaling the left side of the prow on massive jugs, probably the steepest 6b out there and great fun "La via del guiri" 6b, after that we set about trying a route just round the corner which went directly up the prow. This goes up the steepest part and with no chalk and unsure about what to grab it was great fun getting spat off and splashing around in the water. I got the route after working out the sequence and is now known as "La Fiesta del bellyflop" 7b+ after that I traversed round the base of the cliff ( which is prob 5+) which is covered in cool tufa holds and tried another line which starts up a great tufa this one 7b "El Muricec", and finally I abseiled down another blank looking face to clean it up which turned out to be a great little line. Niels grabbed the first ascent naming it "The hole" 7a and I followed after him up the excellent little route ( in the photo us jumping from the top of "The hole" 7a).
By no means is this Lleida province's answer to Mallorca but it is good fun and great for when the weather is really hot, the routes in general are quite short 8 or 9m and bouldery, a good intro to dws as the water is deep, nice and warm and the routes are short. Psyched to check out Mallorca some day looks absoloutely amazing!!!
So a couple of weekends ago after trying to go climbing at the Camarasa crags and sweating off just about every route I tried we headed up to the lake to check it out.
I took a short rope and abseiled down a couple of lines the rock quality was surisingly excellent and nicely featured which it needed to be as the faces are about 45 degrees overhanging.
The first route to try was an obvious line scaling the left side of the prow on massive jugs, probably the steepest 6b out there and great fun "La via del guiri" 6b, after that we set about trying a route just round the corner which went directly up the prow. This goes up the steepest part and with no chalk and unsure about what to grab it was great fun getting spat off and splashing around in the water. I got the route after working out the sequence and is now known as "La Fiesta del bellyflop" 7b+ after that I traversed round the base of the cliff ( which is prob 5+) which is covered in cool tufa holds and tried another line which starts up a great tufa this one 7b "El Muricec", and finally I abseiled down another blank looking face to clean it up which turned out to be a great little line. Niels grabbed the first ascent naming it "The hole" 7a and I followed after him up the excellent little route ( in the photo us jumping from the top of "The hole" 7a).
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| The descent from "the hole" 7a |
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| Niels on La Fiesta del bellyflop 7b+ |
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| Martin on the 6b (Eli and Dave looking in from the viewing platform) |
Jun 4, 2012
A late blog due to lack of internet!
Glad to do Gypsy Blood before the summer, more about it on UKC:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=67143
Its definately hot here now, over 30 most of the last week! We have less than 3 weeks to go here now before we pack up at head back to the UK (to freeze)!
Glad to do Gypsy Blood before the summer, more about it on UKC:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=67143
Its definately hot here now, over 30 most of the last week! We have less than 3 weeks to go here now before we pack up at head back to the UK (to freeze)!
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| Balaguer |
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| POL! |
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| Cookies |
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| Jee waiting patiently for the cookies |
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| Gypsy Blood |
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| Jee on the trav of Favalita |
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