It has been a little while since I last blogged – thanks
largely to the massive amounts of work I have had to do in the last couple of
months. But with the beginning of the summer holidays I have slightly less to
do and an opportunity to not only climb but also write about it. The title of
this blog is ‘7C+’ as the main news I have to report is sending two font 7C+
projects on the sandstone. First in June I sent ‘The Read Line’ while in July I
sent ‘Mojo Traverse Extension’.
‘The Read Line’ is a traverse at Eridge Green that I got
frustratingly close to last year. It involves some big powerful moves into a
reasonable edge, which is then very difficult to match before a very technical
and droppable end. Last year I fell off on that droppable end! I was keen to
get back on and finish this off this year when I noticed that the crack line at
the beginning (where you not only have to match, but match on hand jams – ouch!)
has broken a bit. With some re-tweaked beta and high feet I managed to solve
this issue. I likewise found a nice foot scum on the hard matching move which
makes this a lot easier to do. The lesson is to climb smarter, not stronger
(although if I was stronger maybe I wouldn’t need to climb in a smarter way?)
In terms of grade, this was originally given 7C by Ben Read, but I think it was
upgraded to 7C+ following repeats from Polish Pete and Barnaby. Since the crack
has broken and got worse I certainly think it warrants the 7C+ grade.
‘Mojo Traverse Extension’ at High Rocks is one of those
problems for locals who have basically done everything else that they can do –
perfect for me! In May Polish Pete showed me his new problem ‘Grunge Rover’ (font
7C) and a link up that he had repeated - ‘Mojo Traverse Extension’ (font 7C+).
Grunge Rover climbs the classic font 7B ‘Mojo’ to the break before moving right
through a big move off the sloper of ‘Mojo Variation’ to finish at the tree. It
is a great set of moves that I managed to send in June after tweaking my beta
on the big move off the sloper to pull more with my right heel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt0yQrFL0j4
‘Mojo Traverse Extension’ has the same finish, but starts on ‘Mojo Traverse’
(font 7B). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I70hNXKJx68
There are no really hard moves on this link up, but it is long (at least from a
bouldering perspective!). When I eventually sent the extension/link up it was
due to climbing through the first 7B section quick enough so I didn’t feel too
tired for the crux ending of ‘Grunge Rover’. In terms of grade, I think this
one is easier than ‘The Read Line’, but just about squeezes in at 7C+ - it
certainly took me longer to tick off that I thought it would!
My final ascent in these last couple of months was chronologically
the first one back in early June (and also not 7C+!). This was at Mount
Edgcumbe Rocks and was a fairly long traverse into ‘Mustard Seed’ (5+), which I
settled on a grade of 6C. This is one of those great climbs that is very hard to
do unless you properly climb it – you can’t just be strong. With nice flowing
moves and intricate footwork I was very happy with how it turned out! I named
it ‘Curb Rash’ after my late Grandfather (this was his nickname in WWII for
being a shorty), which seemed appropriate considering the small stature of the
climb.
Unfortunately our summer seems to be turning a little damp
at the moment – let’s hope we can squeeze a bit more in before the winter
months!
