Stag Do's, Stag Do's

Brother Adam in the Cow suit

Me and Adam ( Adam in Croc suit )

Wow, the last 3 months have been crazy. It all started with my brothers Stag do in Bad Gastein in Austria. 20 lads including my Dad and his mate Dave headed to the mountains for four days of skiing, snowboarding and drinking!! I opted to stay in a small B&B rather than staying in the YHA dorm with 15 other lads ( you can imagine the scene!). The four days were great fun with Adam having to wear all kinds of ridiculous outfits on and off the slopes. The highlight of the trip was one night where we consumed 100's of bottles of jegermaster, yes it was a messy night with everyone feeling worse for wear the next day.

Adam on the Jeger's

Me and Dad ( his 1st time on a board )

Powder day!!

Brothers!

With only three days to recover and re-group! I was off again on a flight to Geneva to go my mate Bozer's Stag do. This time there was 20 lads living in a swarve chalet just outside Chamonix. The Chalet was comlpete with outdoor hot tub, sauna and walking distance to the nearest ski lift Bravant. I snowbarded for the first few days and had one of the best powder days ive ever had. 3-4 hours of fresh tracks off the back of the Grand Montets, awesome!

Bozer dressed for action on the Grand Montets

Party boys

Probably the best bar in the world

The next few days I borrowed some ski's off Gus to try and get my eye back in bit as we had made plans to go and ski the Valley Blanch. I had heard that it was grim on a snow board and better on ski's. I felt confident skiing on the slopes but there was no powder left to practice my off piste skills. We pushed on and set off to do the Vally Blanch, 13 lads got ready to go up on the cable car none of us really knowing where we were going. Moments later a good friend of ours / mountain guide ( Jon Bracey) turned up to ski with us for the day! we all felt a lot better as visability disapeared at the top station! and we couldnt see 5 meters in front of us!!! lucky Jon was there. After a bit of a sketchey decent we skied down over some ice fields and into powder! I was falling over everywhere, I wished I was on my board! Skiing in powder is loads harder than on the slopes. Oh well it was a good experiance and I feel a bit more confident on ski's now.
We had some great party's in the Chalet as there was four techno Dj's all well psyched to get on the decks. We played quality tunes all night and day, had competitive Sauna sessions and played drinking games in the Hot tub. All in all it was a great week and thanks to Bozer and Mike for arranging such  an awesome trip.

Mike enjoying fresh tracks

Hot Tub!!

DJ Gallop on The Rig...

Time for a detox! I spent the next few weeks training and trying to get fit again. Time was against me! Lucinda and I had arranged a week in Kalymnos with some good friends and I felt like I needed another month to detox. As I didn't feel like I was that fit I was not intending on competing at the CWIF (Climbing works International festival). With a week to go before CWIF Graeme and Percy informed me that a member of TEAM WAD ( climbing works team) had dropped out, neeeding myself to man up! I climbed ok in the Qualifiers and scraped into the Semi finals in 20th place. The semi's took place on the Sunday afternoon and I felt I climbed alot better and got close to a couple of problems. I finished overall in 9th.

CWIF Final

Semi Final - 5 mins rest! Phew

Problem 3!!

Problem 3 again

Two weeks later we quested off to Kalymnos for what turned out to be an awesome week of Sun, Sea and Long pumpy routes littered with jugs. Last time I was on Kalymnos I was attending a prAna sales meet and ended up going on boat for 3 days looking for the ultimate deep water solo with Chris Sharma. It was a trip of a life time and it was great to be back. Lu and I climbed 5 out of our 6 days and onsighted up to 7c. It was great no stress holiday but a shame that we were not there any longer.

Me and Lu on the boat to kalymnos

Party boat

The reason we could not stay longer in Kalymnos was that we had the wedding of my younger brother Adam and his finance Emma to go to. The wedding and reception was all at one venue in  Seften Park nr Liverpool. The spectacular Victorian building was full of  plants and trees and was really atmospheric and magical. They both had a lovely day as did Lu and I and all of our family crew.

Getting ready with the best man Chris

Party's, Spain and Switzerland

December was a crazy month!! It was a month of party's, drinking socialising and not much climbing. The first party was Sheffield's finest underground Techno night STI where Gus and I have played there twice before. Decembers gig was amazing, my best set at STI so far, the club was ram ed and had a great party atmosphere. Then came the Plastikman night in Manchester where 25 of us filled a small mini bus and headed over from Sheffield to the Manchester Acadamy. The Plastikman show was incredible, a ridiculous light show and laser extravaganza with about 2000 people going off!

Then came the big one The Climbing Works 5th Birthday Smash at a new club in Sheffield called FWD. It was so good, the club was full all night with a great atmosphere. I DJ'd from 2 - 3.30am and then The Gusenator tore it up until 5am.The rest of the other DJ's all smashed it up including an amazing debut set from 'THE HORSE' aka Minimal Man Si Wilson.There was usual after party scenes and next day pub madness, what a great weekend.
With a great Staff meal and Christmas Day meals at mine and Lucinda's parents all in all December was a quality month.

One of the few times out on the Grit, here soling Entropy's Jaw at the Roaches, photo: Simon Wilson

Through the Xmas period the weather was horrendous, our Australian brother The Rubber Chicken was over for a 6 week quest around Europe and we had climbed outdoors twice in 2 weeks and he was desperate for some rock action ( me too). Lucinda was suffering from a bad dose of Flu and was keen to get rid of 2 frother's that needed to go climbing. We headed to Spain the next day.
As I was with the Rubber Chicken who is not psyched for sport routes I needed a plan ASAP. I did some research and got some beta from Jordan on a small local bouldering spot near Murcia ( close to my folk's old farmhouse). We checked out the area which was about 30 Min's from our house and we were pleasantly surprised, the area consisted of about 4 steep caves with problems from 6a to 8b. Plenty to go at for 3 days. We both dispatched a couple of 7b's a 7b+, 7c and 7c+ and the RC did a really cool 8a. I was very close but ripped off the last jug taking half of my finger off in the process, game over!

RC dispatching the 8a.

We had new years eve in a curry house on Camp O Sol, (a massive housing resort full of ex pat Brits)It was so bad that it was good!!! The curry was great and we had a quality night people watching and getting lashed.

Curry house scenes.

I headed back to the rain in Sheffield and the Rubber Chicken quested off to Madrid to see number 2 ( our good Spanish friend Unai ), then on to Portugal for a week and then Switzerland.
Lu had finally got over the flu and was psyched to go to Switzerland, we fly out from London Luton and met RC at Milan Malpensa airport. We drove for just over an hour to our very nice accommodation in Claro and got psyched for 12 days of crushing. The weather was amazing we could have climbed every day if we wanted. I climbed 10 days out of the 12.. After the first week we had a surprised visit from the Dizzy 9 (Harry) who had just got back from 3 weeks in South Africa ( there summer ) and was keen to do some climbing and catch up with the crew. We all had a great time drinking 30p pint cans of FinkBrau and bouldering nearly everyday.

Tough guys :)

View from our Crib...

We had a few days warming into it at Chironico and we did a few 7b's and 7b+'s, then quested around looking at some other area's. It was at the end of the day when we found a great looking problem craply named Arete with Pocket 8a. We tried it for about an hour and worked out a few sequences. We came back the next day re-worked out better sequences and I dispatched it finally after dropping the last move a few times.

 

Arete with Pocket 8a

Molunk probably one of the best 7c's in the world.

The Crew

Then we headed up to Brione, passing the 220 meter bungee jump off the world famous dam, that I jumped off on my Stag Do 3 years ago. It brought back some quality memories (the ones I can remember!!). 20 minutes up the road leads you to a totally amazing unspoilt little village where there lies some secret quality bouldering. Me and RC dispatched Molunk which is probably one of the best7c's I have ever done. Then we went down to an awesome boulder next to the river to try some very steep looking problems. Frogger on the left was wet but Fake Pamplemosse 8a was bone dry. We figured out a pretty basic sequence which basically involved pulling really hard. Rubber Chicken dispatched it in about 3 go's and i came close but didn't have enough beans. Lu worked out on the moves and then we headed back down the valley.

Harry cranking in the dry cave,.

The next day we woke up to a bit of rain and snow, undeterred we headed up to Chironico to find some dry rock. We found a couple of caves with some excellent steep problems on good holds.
As the snow had fallen quite heavy over night we decided it would be a good idea to stay lower down in Ticino so we headed up to Cresciano to meet up with fellow Brits Ben M, Ben P and James F. It was pretty warm and very busy with locals, including Cresciano's own Adam Long! This guy new all the problems and didnt even have his own mat he just followed us around and then asked if could try the problems we were trying and then walk up them like they were nothing. It was a great day and everyone at the crag was very friendly and super psyched.

Ben on Stinky Pete, High ball 7b

not sure whats going on here..

 The weather had improved loads so we quested back up to Chironico to check out some more problems. Harry found this amazing looking 7c called Slimeline, the boys set to work on sorting out the sequences and I was supposed to be resting as we were going back to Brione the next day. They did all the moves and Harry checked out the top, it looked amazing, I was psyched to have a go!!! I pulled on the start and smashed through the crux and keeping it togeather toped out with very cold fingers.

  

Flashing Slimeline 7c

After obviously drinking a load of FinkBrau's the next day we went back up Brione as I wanted to finish off Fake Pamplemoose 8a and we all wanted to try Marilyn Monroe. I warmed up and went straight to try F.P. I did all the moves to warm up more and then crushed it 3rd go.. I really enjoy these power style problem's as they just boil down to pulling really hard and trying even harder. Next up was Marilyn Monroe 8a, its a great looking problem with some nice features. At first it feels desperate until we unlocked the beta. RC crushed it first and then I did it straight after. This is the first time I have done 2 8a's in a day and I was over the moon! ( its a good job we got that extra slab of FinkBrau! ).

Check out Video of our swiss trip here:http://vimeo.com/36132010

Fake Pamplemosse 8a

Marilyn Monroe 8a

RC's now back in the Gramps in 35 degree heat

Here is the list of the problems I did, Chironico: Swinger club 7a+, Triade 7a, Slimeline 7c flash, Palpatina 7a+ flash, The Loneliness of long long distance runner 7b+/7c flash, Super otti 7b+, Doctor med dent 7b+ flash, Teamwork stand 7b, II volo del collbri 7b+, Birds 7c, Papa razi 7a flash, Arete with Pocket 8a. Brione: no name 7a, no name jump 7a+, Fake Pamplemoose 8a, Marilyn Monroe 8a, Molunk 7c.

New Videos

I have finally got round to finishing my short video of this summers trip to Rocklands in South Africa. I was waiting to see what problems were featured in the new film 'Tomorrow I will be gone' by Outcrop films.
There are a few problems duplicated in my film but i hope you enjoy it and it gets you  psyched...Rocklands Quest 2011

Rocklands 2011

For the last 6 weeks I have been in South Africa at the  magnificent Bouldering area called Rocklands. the Boulders are situated about 3 hours from Cape Town nr a small town called Clanwilliam. When you first drive up the pass towards the boulders the view is incredible, boulders litter the mountain sides for as far as the eye can see. Wonderland!
We were staying with a big team of Brits from around the UK in a large farmhouse belonging to the Travelers Rest. The accomodation was fairly basic but had loads of comfey sofa's and had a real homely feel to it. This was short lived after 15 people all living togeather attracted all kinds of wildlife from Tics to mice... now I felt like we were in Africa!
The weather in July was pretty hot but the prevailing psyche of loads of amazing looking problems won over and I felt like I was climbing well and enjoying climbing some great problems. I started off doing a few classic 7c's and a couple of 7c+'s and felt pretty fit from this springs sport climbing scene.
I had set myself a little challenge before I went away and this was that I was only allowed to drink beer if I had climbed and 8a or above.. This proved to be a good motivator and I was soon dispatching 8a's left right and centre. After climbing a few classic 8a's I turned my focus to one of the best looking boulder problems I have ever seen called Black Shadow. It was so hot that I went out one night to have a go with head torch's, I pulled on a couple of times but it was still way too hot. My next session was better and I should of done it but I fell off the last move 3 times. I had a double rest day went back for revenge, I changed my sequence at the end and did it first go from the start topping out in a sea of glory!
The weather over the next few weeks improved because we had a weekly day of rain that cooled the air down a bit. With these improved conditions I went up to try a amazing looking roof called The Vice (flashed by Ondra). This was the first time I have a tried an 8b and my first session went well. I managed to do all the moves and link it in 2 sections, spirits were high and I had another double rest day and went back up for another look. Something was different I felt rubbish and the conditions didn't feel very good, I couldn't do the links I did on the first session and I decided to leave it for a while and go and do some other slightly easier problem's.
I had a great week climbing some classic high problems like Cedar spine, Splash of Red and flashing Tomorrow I will be gone and I felt like it was time to have another go at The Vice.
VOID.... I walked up feeling positive and arrived at the problem to a sea of people! no joke there must have been 10-12 people trying it and another 15 watching! not good. I tried to warm up and try the moves but it was ridiculous. One person was trying the end as someone else was going from the start!
I decided then that I didn't have enough time to do it and I was more psyched to get some more classics done instead and leave the Vice for another trip. I then walked over to another sector and dispatched a classic problem called Nutsa 4th go.
All in all I had a great trip and met some really sound people and would defiantly go back in a few years time.
I have listed below some of classic problems I did:

Black Shadow

Splash of Red

Lu on Caroline 7c+

Black Shadow 8a+, The Ampetheate 8a+, Nutsa 8a, Witness the Sickness 8a, Pendragon 8a, Barracuda 8a, No late Benders 8a, Out of balance 8a, Spash of Red 7c+, Ghost in Darkness 7C+, Caroline 7c+,  Cedar spine SS 7c, Une rime stupide 7c+, Winne 7c, Tomorrow I will be gone 7c, Tea Garden Roof  7c, Pinotage 7b+.

Happy days...

The end of the crux...

Well its been an awesome process full of ups and downs but on Tuesday the 26th April I finally dispatched Unjustified 8c at Malham cove. I have been trying it on and off for about 2 years spending over 25 days working it, by far the longest amount of time I have spent on a route. Last year i felt like I was close but in  hynsite I probably wasn't quite fit enough and had put a bit too much pressure on myself to do it. This year felt different I had been training better and felt fitter and stronger than last year. After 1 day reacquainting myself with the moves I decided to have a red point, I climbed past my high point from last year and felt nervous because now I new I could do it! My second red point also went very well getting one move higher again but fell off due to cold fingers. The next 2 weeks were a bit frustrating, I was struggling with conditions and nerves and just felt like it was becoming a bit of a battle, we then had a week of ridiculously warm weather and thought I had blown my chances. over the Easter weekend I relaxed, drank some beers ate lots of cake, pizza and fudge and totally took my mind off the route. Lucinda and I travelled to Malham on the Tuesday to find near perfect conditions, overcast and about 10 degrees. I warmed up and put the clips in the route and did the crux section once to power up. I lowered down had about half an hour rest and then got psyched for a redpoint. I waited at the bottom for ages, just psyching up and chalking up, I took my vest off for a bit of 'shirts off' psyche and set off on my 1st red point of the day. I climbed quick and precise through the crux with only a minor foot slip, I arrived at the move I normally fall and was able to get a little shake out where I normally fall off! It felt good! keep calm I  said to myself, breathe, relax your on a top rope! I could feel the silence around the cove everyone who was at the crag willing me not to fall. I then climbed easily to the top and didn't feel pumped after clipping the belay! GET IN!! I couldn't quite believe I had done it. Thanks to Lucinda for all her support belaying, its been a great month as she alos did her project 2 weeks ago, making the 1st female ascent of Overnight Sensation 8a+.

Clipping the belay...

last 3 months round up....

The last 3 months have been awesome, I have been questing around all over the place having loads of fun. First up way a winter sports trip to Saint Gervais ne Chamonix, some friends of mine had a friend who owned a suarve chalet and invited us along for a week. The chalet was great with loads of room for 8 people and a sauna down stairs. It had amazing views of mont blonc and it was walking distance to a small chair lift that accessed the St Gervais resort.
The weather was perfect for the whole week, in terms of blue skies and no cloud but this also meant there was no fresh snow, oh well you carnt have it all!
We had 3 days snowboarding, 2 days skiing and 1 day ski touring, check out some photo's below.

Next up was a week in Slovenia at the famous crag of Misja Pec with Lu,Gus and Neil. Slovenia is a lovely country, very chilled out with nice people and superb climbing. We had 6 days climbing at Misja Pec, I thought the main part of the crag was like Terradettes with either side of the crag being similar to some of the caves you get in Roddella.
We stayed in a small but very nice apartment owned by the mountaineering legend Silvo Caro, we were the first to stay here and I would fully recomed it if anyone is keen to go out.
I climbed loads of 7b+'s a 7c, 7c+ and 2 8a's, this was pretty much the first time on rock since Hueco and it felt like a great start to the season.

 No Hands rest!!

 Gus and I then Headed straight from Stanstead airpot to Fontainbleau. It was a friends stag do and there was 13 climbers from all over the country desending on the forest. We had a big Gite that slept us all and had loads of room for party games drinking etc. The weater was also perfect, about 10 degrees and patchy cloud! Get in Gus and I climbed 4 days on before heading back to Sheff. I had a really good trip ticking some classics and only climbing 2 problems i had done before, the rest were all new.
I have listed below some of the best problems i did.
L'angle parfait 7b
Appartenance 7c
Contol A 7c
Dosage 7c
Master edge 7c
Irreversible 7c
Alta 7b+
mur de lementations 7b+
Supplement de armes 7c+
La balaine 7a
Paddy 7c+/8a
L' Oef  7b
Metromotrice ( the best 7b+ in the forest!?)
I will try and get some photos up asap.. cheers S

This years CWIF was also a massive success with over 300 competitors and a full capacity crowd. I had been busy organising other areas of the comp and thus had nothing to do with the route setting and after a Dutch team member pulled out due to injury I was drafted in to the dutch team. I really enjoyed myself and ended up finishing in  11th place. check out the following high light film of CWIF 2011
http://vimeo.com/22282373?ab

  Check out another short film advertising the CWIF after party.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml7yhwxsXPk&NR=1

2010 Round up

2010 was a great year, Lucinda and I put together a year book of all the trips we went on, the book was massive over 80 pages long. The year just flew by, from snowboarding on mam tor to bouldering in Hueco I had a wicked year. I forgot to mention in my last blog some of the other highlights of 2010, I have listed them below in no particular order: Unleashing the wild physique 8a, Nemisis 8a+,K3 8a+, repeat of Powerplant 8a, Flash Lockless monster 7c+, Striker ( boulder Burbage N ) 7c+.
In November I went to Hueco Tanks, Texas for 3 and half weeks. Hueco is place that I have always wanted to go to since i started climbing. It is such a magical place, 1000's of amazing boulders scattered across the desert. We found the whole state park access issue very good, we had made reservations for North Mountain before hand and then booked onto volunteer tours when we were there. I climbed 2 days on 1 day off for the first two weeks and then one day on one day off until the last week when I took a double rest day before our last two days. The weather was unbelievable, between 15 - 20degrees and blue skies every day. I have detailed below the number of harder problems i did including a short video of two classic V11's.

8x V5, 6xV6, 6xV7, 5xV8, 6xV9, 5xV10, 3xV11. All great problems.

http://vimeo.com/17703367