xmas chilling

hey all

lots to talk about in this blog well the first its been xmas hope you all

had a wicked time, we chilled out here had a bit of a easy climb in the sun

then settled down with friends around a fire and enjoyed a roast dinner

lovingly prepaired by lucy and very nice it was, all washed down by home

made eggnog :)

been climbing a fair bit since then not been trying the project as i have

been super achey from the strenuous positions on it, so have been onsighting

and trying easyer stuff. have managed to flash my first 7c so super happy

with that, Big thanks to david and ayla for the amaxzing beta and

encouragement.



Also a bit late but we have finaly found the video from the flour explosion

we talked about when we were in ceuse in august. here it is for your viewing

pleasure :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVo-xoGPueg

Xmas, crushing and wild pigs

Heya all

Another sunny day here in margaleff and another rest day in tres pins on the internet.

well since last message we have had lots of stuff happening, we had a fire one bitter cold night and drank hot sangrea and wine. with the friendly neighbours. At around 10pm we heard what sounded like 2 really big cats fighting lots of schreeching and weird noises then they came closer and closer up the river then grunting and other noizes from what sounded really big, the dogs didnt like it and guess what it was massive wild pigs, theres loads of scape marks in the floor where they have been forraging.

We had a rest day a few days ago where we went for a wander for a while and found a 500metre long cave with a vague trail going through it so i wanderred around with the head torch scrabling and squeezing my wat through all good fun with some weird formations there, if you come this way its worth checking out, from the parking head towards "Calamarta crag" then follow the resivour along the right hand edge then once oyu cross the bridge turn imediatly right and follow this to the cave then squeeze through the first bit and the back and it opens right up.

A funny thing we saw asweel was a french guy looking at a route called Photo shot(8b)  his friend had just tried it was obvious he was going to try and flash it as he was going through all the moves he felt the first few holds then cleaned them then tied in the rehursed what he was doing, there were maybe 10 people watching then he fafed a bit more then he grabbed the first holds and then went for the first move and was off swinging on the rope, so funny, he didnt look the most impressed.

We also have a christmas tree in the van now freshly sourched from margaleff  along with missle toe and other home made decorations.




we went out forraging here and got loads of almonds from a tree also the red things in the bowl next to them in the photo below, would you eat these? we have been told by loads of peopl that theyre edable, they have the texture of a peach with hardly any flavour, the dog loves them but they make her sick :).




I had another really good day  yesterday finnishing off tsunami which is a super bouldery hard 7c i tried the day before then warmed down on a 7b+ that i got 2nd go so amazing best day so far.

anywho thinking of bristol and home, speak soon all

Projects and injuries

Hey all

Well in the last Blog i mentioned that I had found a 8a project and was working on it, i have since then had another 2 sessions on it and good progress has been made, i have linked upto the 6th bolt where there is a hard stopper move that i have come off at a few times due to having a stupid way of doing it i now have a much easyer way. So next time on it i hope to get past this and get a new high point. I have also linked from this point to the top with 1 40 second hang on the rope. So linked in 3 parts with a super short rest at each point. I am now confident that it will go given a bit of effort and time. It has been good as johnathan has joined me on this project it is his first 8a he is trying and he has done super well doing all the moves and linking to the 5th draw on his 2nd redpoint attempt.

We have both been discussing the route and have come to the conclusion that trying to project a 33metre super overhung endurance route is absoloutly exhausting. Both of us have bene feeling it in our stomachs.

However bad news is that the way i was trying the hard move was really tweaky on my knee and i have strained it a bit so will be taking a rest from this route for a few days to let it recover, my new way doesnt hurt it like the old way but still requires the use of a heal hook on the bad leg :(.

 Cheat stone are the only way to start

Missing the frist clip is a nescisary evil less drag and saving energy

 Steep start leads to a steep finnish

 Setting up for the Hero cut loose jump to a jug

 Johnathan pulling hard

 Johnathan on the i feel like a hero jump

Other good and bad news is that lucy has a 7b project at the crag next to where my project is yay, and she managed todo all the moves on it first go up then on the second linked the whole middle section yay. Bad news is that she has tweaked a finger on her left hand just after so is having to rest for a few days :( Its not looking to bad it is similar to what i did in bristol a year or so ago where you pull really hard on a 2 finger poicket with the middle 2 fingers where your ring finger is strait and pullin and your little finger is curled shut it stretches the muscle groupe that controles these fingers. Time will tell.

in other news tala has found a new Boyfriend who is being a bit ambitious and keeps on trying to hump her see photo :)





Climbing here has been good in addition to trying Dr feelgood i have managed to onsight a few 7b's and got a quick ascent of a really sustained 7c so pretty happy to be able to project and still get other things done.

Tray Trying hard
 

Living the dream breakfast in the sun

Siurana, Margaleff and Home

Hey all

Loads of stuff happening here in sunny spain, we have spent another 4 days in siurana after the last message then having picked up my newly resoled shoes we headed back to margaleff where we are now most probably untill xmas,

Siurana was good whalst we were there Lucy managed to get a really cool 7a 3rd go called "es algo" in The grau Del Massets sector. Lucy had a really good attempt at flashing it where she made it through the hardest moves and got 3 moves away from a rest and the start of the easyer climbing. Was super impressive to watch. I had a good rest of hte time there onsighting managed to get anoter 7b+ and a few 7b's including one called "Fridolin" which was a 30 metre crimp fest up a buldging wall, i was super happy with this one as there was no chalk on it at all and it looked super blank it climbed really well but felt like each crimpy section went on a few moves longer than what was comfortable then a better hold to chalk then off again, then a really cool finnish with a mantle onto a small ledge then the chains,

We have now headed to margaleff and stocked up on some suplied on the way, including 2 items im well pleased with i have now got some Slippers!!! sad i know but they are massive warm things kindof like converse but like something off the simpsons. Also we have a doggy toy thats a pig which Oinks when you squeeze it, i think i have played with it more that the dog. She seems sligly miffed by it :)

We have had the sad decission to make whalst in siurana in that we have booked our return ferry we will be arriving back in england on 14th of febuary. so looking forw2ard to seeing you all. good times and sad times. Its been amazing here and were going to be making the most of our last 2 months to crush and achieve our aims, mine being to onsight a 7c and climb 8a,

On the 8a front i have a project here its a 30 metre pump fest called "dr feelgood" it starts super steep and gradualy eases as you get higher most of the holds are fairly good and there are no super hard moves just a really pumpy climb. I have bolt to bolted it twice and worked out all the sequences and clipping positions. Tomorrow and saturday if needed i will be heading there to try and crush, Photos and a report once i do hopefully crush it, I know there are 2 what i think will be redpoint cruxes which if i get past the first i will make it to the second and if i make it past the second i should make it to the top. But time will tell . . . . .

Escaping the mist

Well we have left margaleff a few days ago as i was ill lucy wasnt feeling great and we had been stuck in low lying fog for a few days and it was generaly cold and damp and miserable, We decided to head to siurana or Arboli as they are both A few hundred metres higher than Margaleff, Having driven through fog for 45 minutes we arrived at the top of the Ridge which siurana is situated and blessed with a few minutes of sunshine before the fog rose up and obscured it. hopping for good weather in the morning we frequeneted the super nice refugio to bask in the warmth of the log fire and consume sickly hot chocolates.

Monring broke and brung with is a super cool inversion where the cloud level was below us giving the impression we were above a swirling white sea it stayed below us all day and again yesterday , although today it has finaly gone so heading back to margaleff in a few days to contiune crushing there (see photos for the inversion)

My stomach bug is much better now im climbing, not feeling achey and my feaver has gone, although having a super rich and spicy Curry a few days ago didnt help so plain food only for me the last few days.

Had a really good day today managed to onsight a super nice 35 metre 7B+ called "Muerte De la Sponsor" it features a fuper technicl crux on small crimps and super poor feet followed by some contiunous climbing into a rest then a Goey sprint from the last bolt to the chain. With the last move being a big slap from 2 poor holds to the finnishing Jug. once again i slapped and only just caught the edge of it with 2 fingers then ajusted and it was in the bag. Just before this i also onsighted a super fun 7B which started up a thin crack then headed into a steeper jugy section with a few spicy moves in the middle, I though that once i got the the end it was in the bag but alas a Tenuous Slabby section awaited me, 4 moves on sharp crozely crimps and bloind feet lead to the warming glow of te last few easy metres and the chains. All in all an amazing day

Good and the Bad

Hey all

Great news and bad news which leads to good news.


Good news is yesterdy (saturday) i have sent my latest project its called "La insaciable" and is a 20ish metre 7c+ in margaleff, its taken me 3 days and 4 goes after working out the moves so super happy as thats twice as quick as the last one i did, the route itself consists of a 4 bold boulder problem start thats pretty pumpy then you have 3 bolts of easyer ground thats not as steep when you can recover a bit then into a 2 bolt boulder problem at the top thats lots steeper and is 5 hard moves with the last move being a super powerfull crossover from a poor crimp pinch thing. I fell off this move 4 times first moving my feet to set up then going for the move i was 5cm short of the finnishing jug. then i got 2 fingers on the last hold and my feet popped so i came off. last time was the most tired that i have felt when arriving at the move so i popped and tried to jump a little this worked and i got the hold then my feel came off, controling the swing hight right foot and its over just a few easy moves and im at the chain for my second 7c+ of the trip!! stoked

I can really feel the bouldering strength comming through as have been working on short bouldery routes here im slowly gaining endurance  but power wins for now. got a few other easyer projects in the form of tsunami which is a powerfull 6 bolt 7c in the laboaratory i have done all the moves i just need to do it now so hopefully soon, then a bit of onsighting then its time to find a 8a project and finaly get one done.

Bad news is that today i woke up with a really bad stomach bug and spent the day in bed with cramps and feeling sick. i havent eaten anything all day and feel pretty crappy but hey another day is all good for climbing, good news occuring from this is i borrowed a hot water bottle from Tray which came in a "Fungus the bogey man" cover!!! This has helped massivly and made me smile cheers tray.

Autumn @ Albarracin

Hello everyone!
It's Lucy here!!
Had such a great time at albarracin thought I would do a blog to tell you all about it!!
When me and simon first arrived it was still pretty warm, so not the best bouldering conditions but were still able to get some great climbing in!!

Firstly the people.....It was pretty much just us when we first arrived then a friend of ours vaughan from NZ that we met in magic wood turned up, which was pretty random was good 2 c him! Then Rosie and Tom from Bristol turned up who had also come to Albarracin from Rodellar, even though they r from Bristol we had never really met them before Rodellar was really good to get to know them! these guys dont boulder as much as they route climb but they r still super strong and sent some good stuff whilst they were there, we had great fun climbing with those guys!

When Rosie and Tom left Michelle and Adam rocked up, they r from birmingham and we also met them in Rodellar! They are totally amazing we had alot of fun climbing and hanging out with those guys! There were also some really cool guys there that we met, chris from south Africa, Tor from Norway & Greg from Southampton, these guys introduced us to burger mondays, basically a barbeque every monday! Every1 got involved was fun :) There were a couple of americans thrown into the mix aswell, cassie and matt, they were on an epic trip, going bouldering all over the world, switzerland, spain, south africa, all across the US and many more! It was matts birthday while we were all in albarracin so i made a card that had the sillhouete of a boulderer cut out along the edge and got every1 to sign it! and made him a birthday peanut butter and jelly pancake!:) And Jason & Claire came over from bristol for the last 10 days that we were there which was so cool! had a wicked time climbing and chilling with them, they even let us use thier washing machine in the apartment they stayed in and have a bath!!! was such a treat thank u guys!

I did get up to other activities other than climbing aswell, Me and michelle did afew long bikes rides on our 'rest days'. We did a really nice circuit that I originally did with simon 1 day that takes you in a big loop along these long winding roads surrounded by huge outcrops of rocks and trees then back through gea de albarracin, through the village and back to the car park which was approx 20.5 miles. It was pretty much up and down hill all the way so u could cycle hard/rest, cycle hard/rest kind but with a 3k continuous hill at the very end, was a proper sting in the tail, hardwork! was awesome! It was so beautiful when going along the roads surrounded by the rocks and trees, michelle said it looked like jurrasic park so we were cycling along singing the jurrasic park theme tune!! (well lalalala-ing it!) was very funny! on 1 of the evenings following the jurrasic park bike ride we watched 1 of the jurrasic park movies! Having that tune in your head just gives you and urge to watch it!! haha :)

Also whilst in Albarracin I discovered I have a candida imbalance in my belly, which is pretty much a yeast intolerance. So without going into to much detail I totally changed my diet as I was eating all the wrong things! As a result I feel like a totally new person, it really is unbelievable the difference it has made so far, so I am loving it! It is hard as there are alot of things I cannot eat now but it is totally worth it! Im lighter and happier now and loving life even more!

One of the highlights of my week whilst in albarracin was the fruit and veg market on wednesday mornings, the guy that runs it is super friendly always giving us freebees, it was fun going there buying lots of yummy veggies and speaking bad spanish at them and learning more bad spanish in the process!
Climbing wise I was really loving the bouldering, I wanted to get a font 6C whilst there but to be honest there was just so many amazing problems around font 6B I was going for alot of them and just really enjoying it!! i did get sooooo close to a 6C on the last day, wasnt even going to climb that day as was so nackered but did the '1 last go' thing, which so nearly paid off! did all the hard moves then lost concentration as thought id done it and slapped to the left of the really good sloaper I had to go for and fell! ahhhhh! was frustrating but was actually really happy to get that close as I was destroyed after 6 weeks of bouldering!!! good times :)

Simon also did super well climbing wise, he was crushing font 7a's real quick and got 2 7b+'s, Amazing!
So after 6 weeks of pulling extremely hard in Albarracin we are now in Margaleff! Did my first 6B+ onsight yesterday shortly followed but my first 6C onsight which felt pretty reasonable so was happy with that! Have already seen many hard lines Im inspired by for potential redpoints but there are just so many good lines here I think Im just gonna do lots of onsighting for now! I really am spoilt for choice here its a fantastic place! Thats all for now but watch this space for news & pics from margaleff!
Much love!
Lucy

(please see below for some of my fave piccys from Albarracin!)

Stupid finger

Stupid injuries

Heya a little rant for my next post im afraid. Well after a rainy first night in margaleff and a rainy forcast for the next few days i decided to take advantage of a break in the weather to try and rush a few routes, and in rushing i didnt clean the mud off the front of my shoe and managed to slip off the first move of the first route i tried here the result is that i now have a hole in the ring finger of my right hand what a result, (see photo)

When in Albarracin i also managed to split 2 of my nails away from the finger which stings like hell for ages. This leads me to believe that the worst injuries on a climbing trip are the little annoying ones that really sting and hurt when you climb :( but really arnt that bad and dont get you any sympathy from anyone

boo

Saca la bestia

Saca la bestia


Morning boys and girls its been a while i know what can i say ive been lazy.

well we are now in margaleff having been in albarracin for the last 6 weeks, its been an amazing time there with loads of hard boulders being crushed, Lucy got some 6b+ and i got some 7b+ so each of us pushing hard. We are both totaly destroied aching everywhere and feel like it is a good time to leave before we start hurting ourselfs, we have had 2 rest days so far and this morning it has rained so looking like 3rd one which is badly needed.

It was pretty cool on the second last day there i saw a huge wild boar running through the fields as i walked tala in the morning. It was over my waist height and around 2 metres long and huge, was pretty awsome to see one and makes you think as didnt realise they were around the area or that they were quite that big. pretty awsome though.

We have met some cool friends and been reaquanted with some old ones from days gone by, been goot to see you again Burger mondays will be remembered, We met chris and greg there who are on a very similar trip to ourselfs doing a year bouldering around europe theyre are in Albarracin for 2 months then off to font, they have a good Blog here http://operationbeastmaker.blogspot.com. Also met up with 2 americans who are starting on a 2 year trip with 3 months in europe Cassie and Matt have a blog here http://matthewandcassie.blogspot.com if you want to get inspired to go on a trip yourself theres lots of good entries to get you Psyched

Big thanks goes out to Jason and Clare who came to visit for 10 days and let us use there bath in the appartment they were it, amazing to have the first bath in 11 months!!!. especialy when its so cold outside.

Arriving in margaleff was a nice experiance as we have left the land of freezing cold, thermal leggings,down jackets and sub zero temperatures to find margaleff very warm. its going to be interesting to get back on routes having not tied into a rope for around 3 months now. we both feel bouldering strong but lacking endurance so think here will be good as there are lots of super hard but short routes.

I have also learned a new phrase in spannish "Saca La Bestia" means "unleash the beast", i think its inspiring to shout at people when theyre trying hard but the spannish guys i have said it to has started laughing and fallen off the rock, But hey its better than A friend who was shouting "Casa la Bestia" or "house of the beast" :)

Been missing you all back in bristol and will try to put up more posts and musing i have a few creative ideas i want to write about and put up so stay posted. No photos this time as bad interenet here some comming soon.

Si

Bouldering in the sun

Hey all

Well were currently in sunny albarracin doing some bouldering, its super good here at the moment weather is about perfect being high teens low twenties durning the day so hot in sun but nice and cold in shade perfect for climbing hard. We had the first frost yesterday morning and its due to hit 0 over night tomorrow and the day after!!

We had a good first couple of days although a bit hot when we first got here, then were joined by Rosey and Tom for 4 days where we commenced crushing the boulders here, well tom did anyway what a machine he is.

Its been fun bouldering as a group its a lot more social and fun + allows you more time between each attempt so you rest more and as a result climb harder,

I had an interesting conversation with Tom about why we climb and what we get out of it and why we climb particular styles (Sport, Trad, Bouldering) this has made me think more about what i actualy enjoy and take from the climbing experiance as it was getting a bit stressfull and hard work over the last few weeks before we arrived here, My realiseation is that i Climb Primarily for Fun and to be outside. And that another thing that i really enjoy about the climbing is the problem solving element of it. Which in bouldering is working out a sequence for a short hard set of moves and in routes i really enjoy onsighting and having to make quick decissions when under pressure.

Lucy has been climbing super well and yesterday managed to fight her way up her First 6b in The psicokiller sector here then as if to back it up that she has now broken into that grade here she got a second one later in the day!!! what a star she is.

My finger has been coping ok with the harder climbing i just need to make sure that any problems with small left hand holds i avoid which i have been. although its a rest day tomorrow and my finger has swolen a bit today and feels fairly tender so its a well needed rest.

Plan for tomorrow is to head to the town where every wednesday there is a fresh fruit and veg market and stock up on some qualaty produce, i have also decided to put up a few blog posts with key details about some of the places we have visited with regards to parking/Sleeping, water, Food, Wifi etc maybe help some of you with arranging a trip in future, first one is going to be for here probably tomorrow when i get the camera out and take some photos.

Well a few shots of team bristol in action below hope you enjoy them, Spot the new prototype bouldering mat that rosey is using in one shot.



Tom crushing




Chilling



Crushing



Proto type bouldering mat



Lucy pulling hard



Jump

More riglos photos

Hey all

Got a few more photos from Riglos that i forgot about, Lucy took them when we were climbing it kinda give another perspective on the scale of hte towers.

First one we are approaching the end of the 3rd pitch so around 80m up

second one at the end of the 3rd pitch getting ready for the 4th


third photo, ruperts setting off on the start of the 4th pitch

Photos from riglos and fiesta de los biceps

 At the top of pitch 6

 Looking down from top of pitch 7

 The village from up high

 Rupert leading the final glory pitch in the sun

 Nearing the top

 The white line on the left is the line we took

 Almost there

 Top of the last pitch

 Down from the top

Succes