Bum Dragon

At High Rocks in the hidden alcove (in what is sometimes called the secret garden) there is an obvious low level traverse called ‘Bum Dragon’. The name gives a lot away – it is very easy to drag your bum on the floor (get it!) and therefore fail the route. First put up by Pete Ziegenfuss in 2002/2003 at font 7C+ the line starts on the far right on the obvious ledge and traverses left underneath the roof (below the traverse line of ‘Crosstown Traffic’ font 7C) on a variety of small crimps and smeary feet before finishing round the corner on the slab. It is an obvious line, and while you are never off the floor more than a few inches for the majority of the climbing, the quality of the moves are excellent.

I had played on the moves in previous years but had become increasingly frustrated at the painfully small crimps and more significantly the non-existent feet in an unavoidably bunched position. It was in March last year that I properly started trying the moves. After a few sessions I had worked out some pretty good beta – instead of keeping my feet low I put my left foot high up on a handhold and flagged my right leg under. This gave me something to pull on as I shuffled along the poor crimps. Unfortunately the more I progressed, the closer I moved to my left foot, which decreased the amount I could pull off it. These 4-5 hand movements form the incredibly frustrating crux section where each individual move is ok, but trying to link them all together feels much harder. If you catch one of these holds slightly wrong then the next move becomes fairly unlikely. After nine sessions on the problem last year, and having made some reasonably good links, I became distracted by other problems and left it.

In January as the rain poured down I reflected on what I would like to climb this year on the sandstone. ‘Bum Dragon’ stood out as unfinished business. Last year I wasn’t serious enough about trying to link the hard moves together – my fingers weren’t strong enough at the time and nor was my core. I set about training on the fingerboard and rings in April and May before getting back on the problem. This year I felt much closer after only a couple of sessions, as I had already worked all the moves out, and having got close a few times I finally sent ‘Bum Dragon’ last Wednesday (27^th May) the first go of my 6^th session this year (15^th session overall).

This brings me to the question of what grade it is. Pete originally gave it font 7C+, but as far as I am aware my ascent twelve years later is only the second ascent, despite attention from a variety of strong climbers who have ticked problems in the eighth grade. I have climbed five problems that are graded as font 8A – ‘Never Ending Story’ (Magic Woods, 4 proper sessions), ‘The Thing’ (Cressbrook, 2 proper sessions), ‘Fuerte a Muerte’ (Albarracin, 4/5 sessions), ‘Black Hoe’ (Anston, 2/3 sessions) and ‘Quarantine’ (Anston, 1 ½ sessions). I ticked all of these off far quicker than I did ‘Bum Dragon’ (15 sessions over 15 months) and it is also certainly the hardest thing I have climbed on the sandstone so far. The style also seems to suit me, featuring weird flexibility and precise beta which I have had to refine. Therefore the question is whether I should suggest that ‘Bum Dragon’ be upgraded to font 8A?

This has put me in a bit of a dilemma. To me it felt like it was 8A based upon other problems I have climbed at that grade, but I would believe it if someone also repeated the problem and declared it hard 7C+. Furthermore if I declared it 8A that would count as the first 8A on sandstone dating back to 2002/3 and significantly re-write the record books. Like most climbers I feel uncomfortable suggesting an upgrade, therefore I am going to dodge the issue slightly and suggest that it is font 7C+/8A. The next ascensionist can determine whether I was being too generous by suggesting it could weigh in at 8A, or agree with me and bump it up to a full 8A. Grading is always very personal in climbing and is a very imprecise science unless the problem has had multiple ascents, and as it has just been repeated by me I don’t think I can bump it up a full grade based upon my experience alone. What ‘Bum Dragon’ needs is a few more repeats to finalise its grade and that is what I would like to see as the moves are excellent and the process of climbing it, despite being frustrating at times, was very rewarding! Hopefully it will take less than twelve years this time! In the meantime I have other on the sandstone to turn my attention to now….

Luchador review

On Friday I eagerly returned home from work to find my new pair of Evolv Luchador’s had arrived in the post. In anticipation of testing them out I checked the weather forecast for the weekend (it was raining of course), but not to fear I headed to the wall on Sunday to see how they would perform.

 

The Luchador is Evolv’s latest shoe in the Chris Sharma series (which has produced some outstanding shoes already including the Nexxo and Shaman), available in both a lace up and in a Velcro. It is basically designed as a technical all-around shoe, comparable to the Pontas lace-up that I was very partial too a few years ago, or La Sportiva’s Miura or 5-10’s pink Anasazi lace-up. The Luchador is designed as what I would describe as a 90% shoe, in that it is what I would want to wear on the majority of my climbing, with perhaps a change to a more aggressive model such as the Nexxo if I was climbing a project on a hugely overhanging wall that required an aggressive downturn.

On Sunday I climbed in them for a few hours as I went about my normal training and while it is difficult to evaluate a shoe’s performance after one session I was pleasantly surprised with how good they felt straight out the box. The rand (the profile of the shoe) is slightly downturned, meaning that the Luchador has a compromise between a flat rand and more aggressive models. As I have mentioned this means that on steep walls (35 degrees and steeper) a shoe with more of a downturn would perhaps be more suitable if it was a problem that was near my maximum grade. However, most climbing (especially outside) is on more vertical or slightly overhanging faces, and the Luchador excels on walls like this. The edging (both inside and out) of this shoe is quite simply ridiculously good! By only having a slight downturn with quite a stiff sole I felt like I was cheating as I stood on minuscule edges at the wall. On limestone and slate where edging is so crucial on small positive footholds this would certainly be my shoe of choice. I videoed a few climbs at the wall to show the versatility of the Luchador.

 

My main worry about the Luchador was whether I would be able to smear effectively in it, as while a slight downturn and stiff sole are good for edging, they often detract from the flexibility in climbing shoes that is needed to smear. However, even in session one I felt confident smearing - as the middle climb in the video shows on a classic Craggy Island horror show. I was also not sure about the new elastic tongue system – as at first it makes it more difficult to get the shoe on your foot. But this not only holds the shoe closer to your foot (creating a more secure fit), but will probably reduce the amount of sand and grit getting in (always a problem on the Sandstone). The shoe is also made from a synthetic upper, which should mean that there is very little stretch – something I always look for in a shoe as there is nothing worse than your shoes ‘bagging’ after a couple of months of use. The lining is also surprisingly soft and provides a nice amount of cushion to ensure that the shoe feels comfortable, but that this is not done at the expense of precision. Finally, the rubber is the Evolv standard of TRAX – which always does the job for me!

So would I recommend this shoe? Most definitely, in fact I already have to a friend of mine! I often feel that climbers don’t evaluate what shoe will be the best for the problem they are trying – relying too much on one shoes for all styles. I prefer to go to crags and walls with a range of shoes in order to meet all available challenges (the other shoes that I climb in being the Evolv Nexxo and Shaman). The Luchador will definitely be coming out when I head out on the slate, limestone, edging problems and probably for routes in general as it is so comfortable. When combined with the other shoes in the Evolv range I can’t really blame anyone else but myself if I can’t get up something!

Winter Session

It has been a while since I last blogged – this is for two reasons. One is that I injured my finger on the 1^st of December. Two is that all the rock in the South East has been wet in the last few months (dam winter!). However, both of these factors have begun to change in the last few weeks…
 

First of all the injury. While warming up on a font 6b at Craggy Island my foot slipped off a hold – unfortunately my hands stayed on the holds. The result was a hyper extended couple of fingers – manly the ring finger on my left hand which I have injured before. This is a bit of weird injury (not to mention annoying – injuring myself in the warm up for goodness sake!) and at first I was not sure about what action to take. As it timed with the run up to Christmas, I basically took the month of December completely off to rest the finger. Since January I have been easing back into climbing, gradually progress through the grades up to about font 7a. At times I have questioned whether I am going to fast or too slow, but experience with finger injuries have left me with a pretty good sense of what is an acceptable ache and what is worrying pain. My methods seem to be further confirmed in Dave Macleod’s new book Make or Break that I have been avidly reading since its recent release (pictured above). Injuries are also a great time to re-focus on technique – when I last injured the same finger two years ago I saw a huge improvement in my slab techniques and footwork, which paid dividends that summer on the sandstone. Hopefully the same will ring true this summer? Anyway the finger is almost there I think – at least I feel closer to where I was in December (although much weaker obviously!).

This brings me on to number two – the weather. Winter and climbing on the Southern Sandstone don’t really coincide. While I watch videos of youths sending Careless Torque or Voyage on the gritstone, all we have down south is some wet sand (literally in some places!). However, as the winter draws to a close and following some rare sunshine this week I managed to head out for the first time this year. This was also motivated by my desire to try out my shiny new orange Metolius Session crash pad (picture below) which arrived this week! One of my favourite ways to kick off the Sandstone season is to try and repeat the multiple classic problems on the North Boulder at Harrison’s Rocks. I caught a couple (Original Route font 5+ and The Sheriff font 6b) on video from this year, which I have posted above. Not only do these problems dry fast (good tip for those who are also looking to get out in the coming weeks!) but they also remind me of the importance of footwork on sandstone.

I have also spent the winter searching out some new problems for the drier months. This search included a closer look at my main find from last year – Mount Edgcumbe Rocks, in particular the upper tier. It was up here that I added a new problem this week – ‘Mustard Seed’ (font 5+), see the video below. This is a small problem (hence the name), but it climbs well and it is nice to get out climbing at all before Easter, and even better to get a FA. I also started work on some other problems at various crags, but alas, it is still too wet for most of them. Watch this space once the sun comes out – hopefully there is plenty more to come in 2015.

I Love my Shoes

Climbing shoes are for me the most important piece of equipment in climbing. They can make a problem feel 3 grades easier, and unfortunately if they are the wrong pair, ten times harder. Changing to a new shoe can be stressful; after all you know what your current pair can do. However, there are few things more satisfying than discovering ‘your new climbing shoes’ – a pair that not only feel just as good as your current shoes, but so much better. Dare I say it; they may even help you break that next grade boundary?

A bit of context is needed here. During my first 8 years of climbing I experimented with a variety of shoes and brands – Boreal, 5-10, Sportiva, Scarpa, to name but a few. However, it wasn’t until 2007 that I found a make that truly fitted my feet – Evolv. Suddenly I had a comfortable, yet tight heel, rather than a baggy one that came off when I really pulled on heel hooks. The rubber was sticky and they lasted a reasonable amount of time. My preferred shoe was the Pontas Velcro, in which I climbed my first font 8a that summer, as well as many of my most memorable climbing experiences. The picture below is taken on a new route I was attempting in Leavenworth, Canada in 2008. That is not to say I wasn’t partial to the other shoes in the Evolv range – I lead my first sport 8a+ in the Pontas lace-up, and I still have a soft spot for the Talon for steep overhanging walls.

However, last year I ended my five-year obsession with the Pontas, as I started wearing Evolv Shamans. I was uneasy at first. This was a far more aggressive shoe than the Pontas, with the ‘love bump’ and ‘knuckle box’ forcing your toes into a down turned position. However, I quickly realised that this new design was not just suited to steep walls, but was also as effective on slabs and technical flat walls. 2013 was probably my best year on Southern Sandstone based upon the nine first ascents (from font 6a-7b+) that I put up. However, it was also my best year due to the improvements I made in the technical aspects of my climbing. I have always found slabs hard, and in the past my footwork has been the subject of many jokes. But last year I managed to repeat the highly technical ‘Porg’s Progress’ (font 7b) and ‘Continuing Adventures of Porg’ (font 7b+), as well as getting the second/third ascent (I’m not sure which) of ‘Sansara’, which is given font 7a, despite being more like a highly technical 7b. All of this is partially down to my change of shoes, as I wore the Shamans pretty much exclusively last year.

Nevertheless, since the end of last year I have been anticipating the release of Evolv’s new performance shoe – the Nexxo. Created with Chris Sharma (my all time climbing hero!), and building upon the success of the Pontas (it also includes a ‘love bump’ and ‘knuckle box’) I couldn’t wait for them to arrive in the UK. At last my pair arrived a couple of months ago, and like a child at Christmas I eagerly unwrapped them - they looked amazing! New climbing shoes always take a bit of time to bed in – but I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly these shoes felt just right. I think it might be due to the elastic top section, but the nearest comparison I can make is that it felt as if I had a rubber sock on. Everything felt so precise, and within a week of starting to wear them I don’t think I have worn my Shaman’s once. However, it is not just how much control I have pushing down that impressed me, but it’s the rubber on the top of the toe as well. I have struggled with toe hooks for years (I find it quite painful to make my leg do that for some reason), but the ample rubber on the top of the toes has made them a lot easier. Multiple people who have tried this shoe have expressed this as well. Unfortunately I have not had much opportunity to try them on rock yet as the weather seems to have turned against us recently, but on the few visits I did manage to make to sandstone with them they justified being my first choice shoe – as I sent ‘Quoi Faire’ (font 7b) at Stone Farm, finally being able to stand up on a particularly nasty sloping foothold.

So there we have it – I am in love with a climbing shoe, and that shoe is the Nexxo by Evolv. I didn’t think I could be swayed from the Pontas so quickly - which I still rate as a top quality shoe, that I am sure I will still use from time to time. But the Nexxo’s have impressed me so much in such a short time frame I am genuinely very excited to see what I can do in them on my projects this winter.

Stone Farm

Stone Farm is a great little outcrop just to the South of East Grinstead, with lovely views overlooking Weir Wood Reservoir. More importantly, it is the closest major outcrop from my house, and contains some classic problems! I have not climbed here enough in the past, as despite it being so close to home, it is quite a faff coming or going to the other bouldering areas, which are nearer to Tunbridge Wells.

However, I ended up here last month for a picnic with my wife. Despite the hot temps I couldn’t help but try my luck on one of the classic mid-grade problems on the sandstone, ‘Milestone Mantle’ (font 6b+). This involves a difficult and reachy pull off the ground, before slapping round a small roof, which is unfortunately often wet. I have a history with this problem, as I last attempted it as a naive 18 year old, who thought it must be a jump start (which would make it even harder). However, it proved no problem this time, and fully deserved its stellar reputation. As is the case in climbing, once I sent the stand I couldn’t help but look at the sit start – ‘The Painkiller’ (font 7b). This is essentially 3 moves from a positive start hold, going up twice with the right hand to two poor slopers, before reaching out left to the good starting side pull. At first I could not do a single move. Everything felt so precise, and not just in the way you have to hold the holds, but you needed to get your body in just the right position in order to weight them properly too. The third move is also the hardest, as moving left inevitably destabilises the right hand and often leads to a barn door effect. Long story short, I eventually did all the moves that day, but not the problem. However, I could not let it go and I came back a few days later when the temps were a little cooler. Unfortunately the top of the problem was a little damp, and my initial idea of warming up on it did not go smoothly! Luckily the crucial bottom holds were dry, and in cooler temps I despatched the problem (even if the top was a little harder than last time!) Since then I have spoken to my friend Peter who did the first ascent, and it seems that I got the second ascent (to our knowledge?!). We also discussed the grade, which like a lot of sandstone is definitely harder than its recorded grade of font 7b – for me it feels more like font 7b+, possibly even 7c? Only further ascents will tell…

After sending ‘The Painkiller’ I had an hour or so spare, so I cast my eye over ‘Quoi Faire’ (7b). This is an old school English 6c top rope from the 1980s up an imposing buttress, with the main difficulties being centred around getting established on the top wall after pulling round an initial roof. However, in recent years it has been climbed as a highball, and I felt inspired to try this after seeing a video of Belinda Be Fuller soloing it earlier in the summer. It proved tricky, and I could not seem to get round the crux. I eventually bailed on the problem after continually failing to match my feet on a large sandy ledge. I did not return to Stone Farm until a few days ago. This is largely due to being away in Romania and Wales with work, but I was psyched to get back. This was also down to having in my possession a new pair of Nexxos by Evolv (thanks beyond hope climbing!). I have been drooling over these shoes for months, and was so excited to get my hands on a pair! New climbing shoes always require a breaking in period for me, but after two brief indoor sessions I felt more than comfortable taking them out to the sandstone. After a quick abseil down to suss the top section I set about trying the problem again. It went about 4^th go of the evening, and the Nexxos more than lived up to their deserved hype as I easily matched the sandy foot ledge that had caused me so many problems in August. Quality shoes, quality climbing! Unfortunately the route is so big I couldn’t fit it all in shot – below is the best that I could manage.

With ‘Quoi Faire’ ticked off, and still two hours of light left I went for a little wander over to Standen Rocks. This is a very minor outcrop that I have not visited before – but I am always curious to see if small spots like this have any overlooked potential for new routes. I was not disappointed. The main buttress was fully developed, but on the wall behind there was only one route, ‘One Fine Day in June’ English 5a, which follows a diagonal crack/flake system from left to right. However, directly above the start of this problem the rock rises into a nice rolling overhang, which was unclimbed. I ran back to my car to grab some pads in an attempt to climb the line before I got benighted. At first I tried to stick strictly to the left hand arête, but the top proved both too sandy, and too close to the main buttress, which made it almost impossible to not dab. Instead I took a more central (and more obvious) line through the overhang, with the crux move being reaching to a right hand side-pull, and using this to pull past the roof section. The climbing was not hugely difficult, and I settled on font 6b+ (English 5c in old money), although it was fun, hence the name ‘Hidden Pearl’. This would be a regularly climbed mini-classic if it was at a more popular venue, but if anyone fancies a walk up to Standen Rocks (again with a nice view of the reservoir below), I don’t think they will be disappointed.

Faith

Today I completed a project of mine at Mount Edgcumbe Rocks that I have been working on for a few sessions. It is highball, technical, varied in style and in angle – in short what I wanted in a project (although less dusty rock would have been preferable!).

This line has gone from me not being able to get past the second move, to making a couple more move of progress, to abseiling down to assess and clean the top holds, before I put it all together today.

I have called it ‘Faith’ – very simply because the crux involved standing (and matching) your feet on a sandy sloping foothold before pulling up to a small pocket/pinch. It requires total faith that your feet will stay (mine peeled off on many other occasions), as well as maintaining ones centre of gravity in a very delicate position.

As for the grade – I went for font 7b in the end. Like almost every project I have tried the line looked reasonable, I got shut down and I thought it was really hard, before I sussed a new sequence, which made it feel much easier than I was anticipating. This might be on the softer side of 7b, but considering the height of the problem, and the difficulty of working out the moves (this would be an impressive flash – if there are any takers?!) I think the grade is fair. It felt similar in style and difficulty to the two ‘Porg’ problems at High Rocks (font 7b and 7b+) at least, which helped me to grade it.

So another project rapped up – plenty more to go! I feel spoilt for choice at the moment as the sun is drying everything up nicely – got to love summer on the sandstone!

Unfinished Business

One of the nice things about climbing is coming back to old projects. Quite often there can be months, even years in between your attempts, and it is in returning to these old undone problems that you can see how much you have progressed. It is definitely an element of climbing that you miss out on if you only climb indoors. In the last couple of weeks I have taken a small break from new routing (it can be exhausting finding and cleaning problems, before the climbing even starts), and I have really enjoyed returning to some unfinished business on the Southern Sandstone.

First up was ‘Maybe When You’re Older’ (font 7b) at Bowles. I met up with a friend mid-week and did a few top ropes at Bowles, and while I was there my eye drifted over to this traverse. I had tried this line once before a couple of years ago, when it was not in the best condition. I did all the moves that day, but I couldn’t put the whole thing together. Anyway, I came back at the weekend, repeated the moves, and to my surprise sent the whole link within about 10 minutes of trying. What was really nice was how easily this climbed, considering how hard font 7b can be on the Sandstone!

Next up was ‘Yoda Assis’ (font 7c) at High Rocks. I had ticked the stand start to this (font 7a+) back in 2012, but when attempting the sit start it looked like a crucial undercut had come off, making it un-climbable. However, sometimes you can’t get a problem out of your head, and I found myself sitting once again underneath Yoda. Indeed, I think that the way that it had been climbed via the undercut would now be very unlikely, however, I started playing around with a slopey left hand hold. This hold is very poor in isolation – yet when you sit just under it and compress with your right hand and feet, it gives you just enough to dead point through to the top section of the problem. In a moment of elation I held this move…. and then I remembered both how difficult the top was and that I was approaching it from a different (and more awkward angle). I didn’t send the problem that day, but a week later I returned, and after tweaking the beta for the top section I sent what has got to be one of the coolest 7cs on Sandstone.

The final un-finished problem that I have tried recently is ‘Hypersonic’ (font 7b+). This is a striking line up a high blank wall at Eridge Green. The problem starts with a tricky (and dynamic) move to get to a large pocket. From here there are basically no more hand holds for another meter and a half, which forces the climber to do a large move from undercutting the pocket to reach a vague break, where a selection of small but positive edges lead to a finishing jug. Traditionally from here you would top out using an old tree, but this is long gone these days and recent ascents instead involving using a rope to pull round the sandy top out (the last meter or so really is completely un-climbable!). I had tried this problem before, but I had always struggled with the large reach off the pocket. However, off the back of climbing the previous two problems I felt a certain momentum that could help me dispatch this one as well. This problem also went fast – so fast in fact that I didn’t film it (this is also difficult to do due to how big the route is). However, it did provide one of those wonderful moments in climbing – as I reached from the pocket to the small ledge – where you do a move where everything feels perfectly in balance. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to capture this climb on film - but there are other videos of the route being done on youtube.

Bring on more good weather!