SHERPA

Worked after 8a+ onsight

So big thanks to my newest sponsor SHERPA Adventure Gear, with their amazing clothes I'm going to keep nice and toasty at the crag this winter!!!
All sport climbers know that there is nothing more important than a big warm down jacket at the crag, whether for belaying or chilling with your mates between redpoints it is crucial in being able to keep warm and keep your energy levels up instead of just shivering to death. You might be thinking i'm crazy because I live in Spain and people don't think it gets cold here but they are WRONG!!! It gets feckin freezin but it normally coincides with the good conditions so being able to deal with the cold is essential for making the most of the good friction. The Sherpa khumbuche jacket the perfect crag downy, I had it on today at the cave and it was awesome.

Soo...... getting back some fitness! Two weeks ago I started climbing again on rock and made a trip to Tres Ponts with Lynne and met up with Gaz Parry. To be honest I felt absoloutely turd, I was climbing like a robot locking off every move, trembling at the knees scared about falling off and just generally crap, fumbling clips etc 7b felt like 8b and 7c like 8c. So after three routes I was destroyed both mentally and physically, I was chatting to Gaz about the importance of getting on rock and how plastic just doesn't prepare you for it, I ended up having to have a week off as my finger started to hurt a bit again:( Anyway after a week off I felt fresh again, my finger felt fine and I was psyched to get fit and feel fluid on rock again. We headed back out to tres ponts, I did a 7b to warm up and felt good! I was nicely suprised, feeling much more relaxed and actually enjoying the climb not gripped out of my mind. Next I had a look in the guide and picked out a 7c+ to try and onsight, so I grapped 16 draws thinking that would be more than enough and set off with my new beany on to shield me from the icey wind blowing across the crag. Well I got up into the crux puffing and panting and was thinking to myself the whole time this feels totally desperate for 7c+, shit I have got a lot of work to do to get back into shape!!! Anyway I fought my way up the route, not taking enough draws for the monster, I had to seperate the biners creating a heanous rope drag, I squeezed the rope into the anchor and sat back!! UUUFFFF I let out and muttered to myself something about fucking 7c+ desperate!

Got down and was psyched to get up the thing and thought it was an amazing route, truly 5 star but kept thinking it was desperate for 7c+ after checking the guide again I realised oops it was an 8a+!!! yayy confidence boost!

So that was three days ago, yesterday we went to the cave and I did a couple of 7cs and felt ok today I gave myself a huge kick up the arse and set off up Fabelita 8c just to go bolt to bolt for training and I did it!! I mean I have done this route before and know the moves well but I'm just so psyched to have got some fitness back in such a short time!! I finished off the day by doing the 7c 5 times. So psyched for this season going to have a couple of rest days and then maybe hit Oliana!!

Gaz and I getting ready for some 7b chimneying

tornado in cubells

Jack on 7c at tres ponts

In the cave with Harry, home sweet home!

Power to weight!!!

Incredible week for climbing! 8c+s, by a little girl which just boggles the mind. Having taught english for a few years and teaching loads of 11 year old kids I find this incredible not merely because physically 8c+ is f**king hard but because it is also so mentally and technically challenging and most 11 year olds iv'e met are still little, little kids fighting over using the other kids rubber, spilling bogies everywhere and laughing at everything that has the word bottom in it!

How can an 11 year old girl climb as hard as adults who have dedicated 10s of years to training or basically to the best female climbers in the world?

Pushy parents? Psyched Kid? Naturally amazing power to weight ratio? Environment (loads of psyched climbers)? Coaching?............ The list goes on.

Ondra flashing 9a! Awesome, amazing skills he definately makes you feel like you need to pull your finger out and try hard!! haha

Then you have the other side of the coin, Edu Marin's dad does his first 8b+ at 60..... incredible.

Climbing is amazing it is so complex, thats what keeps it fresh and always inspiring I suppose.

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.

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.

Harry hitting the booze

 

Bielsa

 

 

The new wall at Les Avellanes, work in progress.

Kiu

chilling in the campo

Camarasa coffee break

Dinner time

The best beer out there!

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!

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.

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