Jackie let us know how it went!! ;-)

-Aisling-

Image taken by James mcFadden from the IMRA page.

CHICAGO, UNITED STATES (Team Geared Up) - Dave has posted a video of his recent time in Pembroke on his personal blog.

After dinner we packed the car to capacity and hit the road to Pembroke. Arriving at 2am we set up camp and got up at 8 for a full day on the rock. Warming up at St. Govans we swiftly dispatched half a dozen routes up to E4 between us and made our way to Huntsmans leap – the lads loved it! Straight in for the E6 onsights – damp holds saw the ladz slip off the cruxes of both Souls and Hunterkiller – lack of trad climbing resulted in me fluffing up the 6b crux slap on Minotaur!! Not too bad though as I was fairly happy with the move once I tried it again and it’s the sort of move you do mess up onsight – a reachey (for me!) blind slap to a hidden pocket.

Caroline finished up with a E2 lead in fine form before we went to check out The Big Issue, E9 6c. AWESOME! It was really weird to be climbing with some strong lads on a visit – they had no reason to not jump on these hard routes because they’d never heard or read about their reputation – the outlook really rubbed off on me [...] – Nico checked it for gear and then gave it a quick toprope – agreeing that it was 8a+ … he was psyched for the lead but the following morning it was chucking rain!! Noo!!

There are some great photos too.

-Robin.

(Image Credit: From Dave’s Flickr account. Check out that t-shirt :-)

Still though, having seen the above photo, I can see why it’s so easy for them to situate the artificial wall there. Perfect sheer walls into an old quarry lake.

Can anyone think of a location in Ireland that might suit this sort of situation? Any of the scuba divers out there know of one? I’ve an old memory myself of diving in an abandoned quarry somewhere in the midlands but I was only a youngster back then so the name escapes me. Throw it in the comments if so!

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - Bearded Git (BG) emailed me looking for ‘airtime’ for the Legalise Wild Camping in Wales & England campaign - just like they can in Scotland.

They are looking to gather as many signatories as possible from UK Residents or Expats on the 10 Downing Street website petition. Sign it if you agree (and can).

There are lots of possibles they are looking at:

A card or licence system (like a rod licence for angling) has been proposed in some quarters. I think this has some merit and is worth examination.

Those that enjoy the rights of access should see this as a privilege rather than an inviolable right to used however they deem fit. After all it is someone else’s land! The concept of a privilege that can be withdrawn if certain codes of behaviour cannot be adhered to seems to me to be a good way forward.

BG has got lots of opinions on his blog too.

Further resources: http://www.legalisewildcamping.com/

I welcome debate in the comments section - hopefully BG or John will chip in too.

-Robin.

Visit the S4C webpage here

North Wales, UK (Team Geared Up) - “Ioan Doyle, 17 from Bethesda, Gwynedd, is considered a young climber of exceptional talent and promise. This film documentary follows him over the summer of 2007 as he attempts to conquer some of the world’s most difficult routes.”

Some of ye might remember this lad from trips over to North Wales - the caption pic looks like the photo shoot we seen while we were climbing in Rhoscolyn - On the E5 warpath which he described as climbing a kinda fine quality cheese to begin with :) (in fairness it did look quite loose for the first 30 ft or so till things steepened a bit)

The Lad’s got some great stories (like decking from an onsight attempt of an E6/7 and having to be carried back to the car by his mentor buddy!) and he’s always friendly and smiling so i’d say the programme will be worth a watch/download!

- Dave -

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - Neal McQuaid (TGU Blogger) has started a new climbing coaching company IrishClimbingCoching.ie with Nigel Callender.

We are Irelands first and only dedicated Climbing Coaching provider, combining our own experience of top-level climbing with the science of performance and training.

They have a website in the form of a blog and Nige has done a fantastic piece of writing about the delicate balance of motivation. Worth the read to see what a few misplaced words can do…

What is motivation?

Motivation is something very personal and may not always make much sense to anyone other than the individual concerned. In a global sense it’s something that stirs the soul and sends excited shivers through your body, sometimes it’s so powerful that it consumes you - every unoccupied moment is spent dreaming.

At a climbing comp as Junior, Nige “foolishly” revealed a major personal climbing dream route to a well known and respected older climber…

I was told I was being unrealistic and the word ‘never’ was actually used, but I didn’t have the confidence to tell them exactly where to go and so shrugged it off. This one, small and careless comment had other plans however. It stuck fast in my mind and soon - I was consumed, it burned like a fire inside of me.

Nige’s efforts focused on this mere 6 move bouldering problem.

3 moves in I met what was to become my Nemesis… I fell from that move somewhere in the region of 400-500 times.

7 years later and Nige was “locked into” into his long-term project. Success was not far away.

I gave everything to holding the swing, reaching the heelhook and sketching my way to the top of my own Nemesis. The pressure instantly lifted, but this felt different, there were the usual shouts of success etc. but something was missing. Unfortunately motivation is a hugely complex beast. There was no lasting elation, only a feeling of relief.

Video of Nige on Decoy Ploy V9/10 (first ascent) in the Ogwen Valley, North Wales.

Best of luck to both of you, I look forward to hearing the first stories come through.

-Robin-

NEWBRIDGE, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - Sun. Blue skies. climbing in a t-shirt. Am I still in Thailand? Amazingly, I’m home: Ireland. After going through all the confusion of jumping multiple timezones, it’s been a shock to find myself arriving in weather just as good (if not as hot ;) as what I left.
And back to home turf. There’s always things you’ll miss (old friends, still can’t beat a cup of tea here!, the scenery) and things you won’t (is it possible that traffic has gotten worse?!). My only worries? Losing all my hard-earned fitness for sport, and the mild consideration of future plans……
Still though, it’s been a busy few weeks which hasn’t left much time for doodling. Some days in the wonderland of Glendalough in Wicklow, sunning ourselves while bouldering on the sea cliffs of Doolin bouldering and scoping out new rock in the hills of Kerry, it hasn’t left much time to thinking about the ’settling down’ concept :)

And then there was the discussion with good friend, and current hard climber in Ireland, Dave Ayton to check out some sports climbing in Wales. A quick hop across the water on Ryanair (don’t ask about my airmiles this year, it’s embarrassing), fight the urge not to start climbing on Dave’s own bouldering wall in the spare room I’m crashing in, and we’re off to check out one of the UK’s bigger sports venues: Malham. Jeebus! Why haven’t I been here before. Dave is feeling especially guilty having lived in the UK for the past three years and never being here…….

A rough description: take an old waterfall of limestone, 60-ish meters high, split it into two tiers, and this is it. To say it’s pretty impressive is an understatement as Steve McClure (UK super-sports climber) says, if it was anywhere else in Europe it’d be famous.
Essentially a lot of the routes in the sensible grades are only 10-15meters (30-45foot) high, and expect lots of crimps. For those thinking about it, you’d want to be climbing in the low 7’s (low 5.12) to enjoy this place. Considering most people we saw were just working and routes, make sure you have a stickclip and you’ll be fine :)

 

In traditional Irish fashion, we unknowingly ended up going at the worst 7a (5.12a) on the crag first. Wasn’t too bad and all I was thinking was if that was the worst……… Jump on a 7b (5.12c) next and fall off the final moves. Still though, I was getting psyched after having not being on routes in almost 4 weeks.
In between all this, Dave was showing that he’s been putting some training in too, and Caroline was proving that after only 30-ish sports routes ever, she’s well on her way to settling in the 7’s.
So myself and Dave had been quietly eye-balling one of the local (and UK) classics, Raindogs (8a/5.13b). All I can say is that after only one working of the route each, I’m optimistic. I’ll have to check the calendar to see when I got over again.
In all, we tried 3 7a’s (5.12a), 2 7b’s (5.12c), and an 8a (5.13b) over two days. Not bad and I can highly recommend about 5 of them (one was a little sharp and loose).

Understandably I’m back home now feeling a little stiff and sore as I’ve never used so many crimps, sidepulls, and undercuts. But with a trip to Spain coming up in two weeks (did I mention settling down? ;), I’ve already had my first session on the fingerboard.
But having said that, I fell asleep dreaming of the sequence of moves on Raindogs last night so who says Euro rock is where it’s at………

signing off….

- Neal :) -

LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - All Climbing Blog alerted me to the video featured on UKClimbing of Rob Lamey on the first ascent of The Heel Hook Look 25m F8a, a deep water solo on Little Orme.

The Heel Hook Look climbs across the obvious right-to-left rising break on Craig y Don Lower, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales.

Sorry to echo the same story, but some people won’t have picked it up and we like a bit of video now & again!

-Robin-

NEWBRIDGE, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - A bit late but Irish climber Dave Ayton, currently pushing hard on sports routes, has ticked his 2nd 8a/5.13b. The route, ‘Highway’ at the crag Dinbren in North Wales, involving crimps - lots of crimps and monos, seems to have been a pretty quick ascent.

I think Dave’s comment on his blog says it all: “I was all set for a full days battle and I sent it in one!”

Photo credit: Dave Ayton preparing himself for his 8a ascent. Photo by Caroline

- Neal :) -

DERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - Just picked this interesting offer by ITV up via the BMC’s website! Are you a single guy? Passionate about keeping fit and being active? Believe in a healthy, clean-living lifestyle? Up for a challenge? ITV is making a new dating show and wants to find single men aged 30-45 who love being active and keeping fit to take part. ITV is especially interested in hearing from climbers and mountaineers.

If this you and you’re up for a challenge please get in touch with ITV. Email or call with your phone number and a picture of yourself as soon as you can. Contact Sarah.Rubin@itv.com / 0044207 737 2801. Or call Hedi on 0044207 737 8842.

-Bren Whelan-