The UK

Well this was an interesting period! We originally planned to go back for a brief stint in the UK for the British Bouldering Championships but it soon turned into something very different indeed.

We got back to England about 10 days before the champs and we sat down outside East Midlands airport, tucked into a sausage, bean and cheese bake from Greggs (a bit of a classic among Pete and me from Lancaster) and waited for our knight in shining armour too collect us and take us back to Sheffield (cheers Rix, legend). I had contacted my old boss to see if there was any chance of getting some work while we were back to help out with the rest of the trip as the bank balance was starting to look a bit thin. Fortunately he came through for me and offered me full-time work for the extent of our time in England. I knew that by accepting it I would seriously hamper my chances of doing very well at the BBC’s but I also knew that the longer term was far more important than one competition.

We got as ready for the BBC’s as possible and Pete, Kim, Mum and Dad all came up for the day, it was great to see them and Leah pulled the win out of the bag for the second year running and was really pleased with her performance. I on the other hand fluffed it big time, I climbed badly, suffered from my injured fingers and felt tired from my first week back at work in the last 5 months. Undoubtedly next year will be a far more successful effort, I’ve got a planned and I’m

keen to succeed.

The following week I continued to work at TDC and my tooth began to hurt (worrying). By Thursday my tooth was agony and I had to go to the emergency dentist. At the dentist I discovered that I had an abscess above one of my teeth and it had to be drilled and drained without anaesthetic, it was very enjoyable as you can imagine! More irritating was that our flight back was booked for the following Tuesday and the dentist told me that I needed to get it sorted ASAP or it would come back almost straight away. Could I get an appointment? Could I heck! The soonest I could get in Sheffield was September so I had to book one at my old dentist down south (thanks to Mum). The appointment was at the end of the week which meant the flight was missed and to pay for it all I would need to do yet another week of work afterwards. Joy.

After the tooth was removed and we were back in Sheffield I did my time at work and we got our flights sorted. We booked them for the following Tuesday so that we could get to my Dad’s retirement doo (it was a surprise and seemed to have the desired effect). Coral and John gave us a lift to the airport in the morning (more heroics) and we got our flight back to sunny Spain.

Sorry for the lack of photos but it’s England isn’t it? You all know what it looks like.

Free dinner and more hard climbing

We went to Murla with John and Fran for Leah to try her 8a+ again. While we were there I tried an 8a next to it with John which feels like a real goer but has a ridiculous jump move in the middle that might be a bit of a stopper. Over the next few days we visited the crag and I tried to work out some kind of sequence for the route and Leah had more attempts on her 8a+.

Unfortunately time defeated us as we had to be down to Benidorm to meet up with the European Berghaus sales team for an activity day that they were having on 19th May. We left the routes for a while and started the slog down to Benidorm to meet up with the people that made the trip possible (it’s the least we could do).

It was an interesting day that seemed to go pretty tits up from the word go. Luckily for us all we had to do was turn up and be sociable so none of the responsibility was on us although the organisers at the Orange House did their best to involve us in the shambles. While chatting to the folks from Berghaus Leah suggested that maybe they wanted to by us dinner and they invited us back to the 5* hotel in Calpe for a meal. Bonus!

We got to the hotel “Sol-y-Mar” at about 8:00pm and the meal was served shortly after. It was a 3-course beast and the main course was a steak. I can’t actually explain how good a steak feels after such a long period of chorizo and pasta or tuna and pasta for dinner, I felt like Sypher in the Matrix.

After the meal we headed back to the house in Oliva so we could get back to some climbing the next day. We went back to Murla and both got shut down over and over again, after a few more days Leah managed the 8a (after giving up on the 8a+ for a while as it was getting a bit demoralising). Then after a few more goes I managed to stick the dyno in the middle of the route! I thought I had it in the bag and started racing to the top to beat the fatigue, I started to feel the pump kicking in and as I through for the top holds I knew I was done in. I fell from the top! I literally could have touched the chains and I fell. To say that I was miffed would be a bit of an understatement but at least I knew I had it in me. After a rest and belaying Leah I had another go and to my horror exactly the same thing happened again! I couldn’t believe it but I was goosed and had no chance of going up again so had to retreat for yet another rest day.

Success on the dyno in the middle of my second 8a

After a day off we went to Gandia for a light day that turned into a few 7a and 7a+ onsights which took quite a lot out of me. We went back to Murla the next day anyway and on my second go I did the route. I was really chuffed and so glad to tick another 8a on the trip when my goal was just to get one, not to mention the fact that we now have another 2 months of sport climbing in other areas.

Two days later Leah managed her 8a+ marking the end of our projects in this area and the start of our preparation for the BBC’s at the end of June.

Successes and a birthday!

I finally managed the 7c+ at Murla which is my hardest lead to date. In the end it took about 4 visits and annoyingly felt easy on the successful go. It’s a brilliant route although not as overhanging as I would normally be tempted by. It does have some cool tufas on it though and generally the holds are pretty positive which is always good!

After succeeding we had a little go on an 8a+ at Murla and an 8a at L’Ocaive. The 8a+ feels to savage for the state of my tendons on my left hand and although the 8a feels much more likely there is a move at half height that felt really hard and it’s not really my style, i.e. it’s long and demands quite a bit of fitness that I don’t really have at the moment. Leah was looking really strong on the 8a+ at Murla after her second go and she should probably get it done pretty rapidly (as always!).

With clients coming out for “Epic Adventures” holidays it was time for me and Leah to fly the nest for a while so we headed to Sella, The Orange House, Wildside and most importantly “Ergometria”.

Ergometria is a route that I saw Leah do last year on my first sport climbing trip. It’s an awesome 25m 8a that has a hard start, some amazing tufas and two good rests. I’ve wanted to climb 8a ever since the trip last year and although it has always seemed like an impossible goal I decided it was time to give it a try.

I got on the route on the first day at Wildside and was pretty overwhelmed by the difficulty level and couldn’t really see a way of doing it. I managed all the moves up to the chimney rest but was tired and it was Leah’s turn to play on something. At least the clips were in.

Over the next couple of days I worked the route and did some fall practice to try to reduce my fear levels slightly (I think it’s working). Each evening we would go back to the spot where our van was parked, one of the best so far.

The amazing spot we found at Wildside, Sella

That evening it started to dawn on me that not only could I do all the moves but I might even be able to piece things together. It was time for a rest day.

Next day was spent on the beach getting slightly pink and playing bat and ball. By the time we were back at our spot and in bed I couldn’t help thinking about the next day, the day.

We had a slightly slow start, ate breakfast, stretched a bit and soaked my finger. Then we made our way to the crag. I decided to warm up on the route to refresh my memory and when I arrived at the knee bar rest it suddenly turned into my first redpoint attempt. It was probably an error because flash pump soon kicked in and I couldn’t push through to the top. After a rest on the rope I went to the top anyway and made sure the top was wired.

A long rest was in order so I belayed Leah on her first redpoint attempt of Celia 8a. She did it super smoothly and chalked up her fourth 8a and second on this trip. After that I was psyched, recovered and ready to get back on the route.

The start went better than before and after a while composing myself I pressed on to the knee bar. As I approached the hole I could hear a bird tweeting away inside, I wasn’t ready to blow another attempt so I pulled up got the knee bar in and hoped I wasn’t going to get pecked to death. I shook out for a while trying to ignore the pain of the rock digging into my leg before attacking the hard climbing above to the chimney rest. I arrived at the rest seriously out of breath and pumped out of my mind, I got my shoulder in and bridged between the two big tufas that form the chimney. I started to get my breath back and some blood back into my forearms and the top gradually started to seem possible. After a rest that was as long as my leg would bear I chalked up and pushed on, I felt good and before I knew it I was clipping the chain of my first 8a. Success!

My successful redpoint attempt of Ergometria 8a

The plan was to get an 8a route and an 8a boulder problem this year and one of them is now officially ticked. Weirdly, although it was hard, I had got it so wired that when I finally did it, it felt quite easy. I’m not sure what that means, maybe I should get on something harder? Either way, after the route was finished I was ready to take it easy for a while and get some steadier climbing done.

The next day we headed back to Gaz and Kates house for some R+R and to make a plan for the climbing ahead. We got on some easier ground at crags near the house for a few days and then it was my birthday. We had a day of kite flying (one of my presents), sitting on the beach and cool little cakes.

The kite on it's maiden voyage

My birthday Cakes

Having spent my birthday money on a new bag, some remote flashes and a traction kite we awaited the arrival of some more British homies John and Fran. The Nottingham mega-wads!

Gaz and Kate then spent the following few days trying to leave the country whilst the volcanic eruption repeatedly hindered their attempts. In the end they both got out of the country on the Saturday and we became in-charge of a wild puppy with a broken leg and 4 cats. Fortunately the horse is being looked after by someone else so it’s not too much like a zoo.

The Beast With new hair-do courtesy of Leah

Next up we went to a bunch of crags with John and Fran and on-sighted some 7a’s and a 7a+’s which were my hardest sport on-sights so far. After a few days of this kind of climbing me and Leah were both craving some hard pulling and I was ready for another project.

As Ramsey would say “Albarracin? Done.”

The last couple of weeks in Albarracin was spent clearing up some ticks off the list and being tour guides for Gav and Lisa who came out for a short trip in Gav’s van. I managed to tick Innashakra 7c which finished up all the things that I was keen to do. Leah had managed her project and all the other problems she liked the look of so we were all set. This meant that when Lisa and Gav arrived we had done everything we wanted to do and were in a prime position to be tour guides for our visitors.

Tick List above 7a (in-case anyone cares)

1. Aeroline 7c

2. Innashakra 7c

3. El Circo Del Sol 7c

4. Escaramuza 7b+

5. Thieves (right-hand side) 7b

6. Ojos Negros 7b

7. Aristronauta 7b

8. Space Cowboys 7b

9. El Ermitano 7a+

10. A Oscuras 7a+

11. A Ciegas 7a+

12. Gorillas 7a+

13. Psicokiller Boulder 3 A 7a+

14. Psicokiller Boulder 3 D 7a+

15. Boulder 17 B 7a+

16. La Rave 7a

17. Parking roof 7a

18. Esperanza 7a

19. Peninsula Traverse 7a

20. Peninsula mini-roof 7a

21. Arrastradero mini-roof left 7a

22. Arrastradero mini-roof right 7a

23. Troviscente 7a

Gav wasn’t sure how he was climbing as he hadn’t been on rock for a while and it turned out he was well on form. We went round pointing out the good problems and going through the beta and then stood back while Gav ticked them off after one or two goes. To Leah’s delight he still couldn’t do all the moves on her new line confirming (sort of) that it is indeed 8a.

Leah on her new line "Fuerte a Muerte" 8a

After a couple of days of being in Albarracin with the new visitors we decided that we definitely couldn’t take being there anymore. It’s not that Albarracin isn’t good, it had just got to the point where we’d run out of things to do so we convinced Gav that some sport climbing was the way forward (he didn’t take much convincing) and we made plans to head to Gaz and Kates house in the Costa Blanca.

Gav and Lisa headed up to Techos to try a couple more problems while me and Leah got the van

sorted and started the voyage towards Gandia main crag. The plan was to meet at the crag, sleep under it and climb in the morning and then go to Gaz and Kates house at the end of the day for our first shower in ages!

We woke up and had a cuppa in true British style and then made our way up the hill to the Gandia main crag. It was our first taste of proper sport climbing on the trip and after such a long stint bouldering, it tasted good. We wanted to take it easy so we did a couple of 6b’s and a 7a all of which were really nice. Gandia seems like a good place near to our HQ to get some mileage in as the grades are fairly low but the routes are around 20-25m long. After Gandia we missioned over to El Bovedon to check out a crag with routes that are a little spicier. It’s the most unforgiving crag I have ever seen! The whole thing is at about 50-60 degrees overhanging and covers some ground completely horizontal. Grades are wide ranging but mainly 7c and up through the roof section so there is plenty to go at in terms of projects. We tried the slightly softer option of a 6b that traverses from the right-hand side of the cave all the way into the middle and is about 25m long. The holds are good but the angle is relentless and by the end my bouldering ways were showing their true colours and I was pumped out of my mind. It’s a cool route though and I’m looking forward to trying it again in a few weeks as a test of my (hopefully) improved stamina.

The savage beast that we are stuck with

Whilst Gav was out we went to Gandia and Bovedon again for some more mileage days and to Bellus which turned out to be pants. Then the rain closed in and our fellow Brits decided to head towards home and try to find some good weather on the way. Since they’ve been gone we’ve been helping out in the house trying to get it finished and we’ve had two sessions at Murla.

Preparing a gourmet snack before heading up to Murla

This crag is a brutal, short crag where the routes seem to consist of two 8m boulder problems on top of each other with no available rests on the way. We’ve picked a 7c+ to project which Leah has now done on top rope in one go so is planning on leading it next session and I’ve done it in two halves but feel fairly strong on it now I’ve got some kind of sequence sorted out. The route feels really hard so it will be interesting to see how it compares to others of the same grade in the area and it will also be interesting to see how horrendous anything from 8a upwards at Murla feels!

Toodle-pip!