17 Dec 2011

Britain's first Bouldering Bible

This week has seen the birth of Niall Grimes' bouncing baby 'Boulder Britain'. I got home on Thursday and there it was laid on the doormat; a quick browse and I was hooked. Great job Niall. It's so good to have all those areas to hand, flicking my way around a mass of bouldering trips, new areas, stunning shots and accurate maps. It's a great snap-shot of bouldering in Britain today, showcasing the varied and vast amount of quality rock that this green and pleasant land has to offer. Buy Here
Grab a copy and get exploring

9 Dec 2011

Consumed by Ivy

A wet friday! yet reliable Roache Abbey was in condition, took the GPS this time to plot the buttresses, but woods and valleys rarely have signal, so decided to get stuck into some undocumented walls to the left of Impossible roof, that turned out to have some short but entertaining problems on, some even tested Mike as he was suffering from 'man flu', Moans of "I'm weak' yeah right, no sympathy off me, he is unfeasibly strong.
Spooky Abbey
The Impossible Roof
Cracking move
Juggy Prow


3 Dec 2011

Staring at the Impossible

Life for me is all about staring at the almost impossible, yet the impossible can be useless, we can all look and visualise a line saying "just undercut that, then throw a heel, cut loose and throw for the top!" but the truth is if we don't push our limits harder and improve, get together, climb as a community, smash the grade barriers, share beta and refine our techniques. The impossible will just be something to stared at, so no matter what level we climb at, try harder to make the impossible lines possible.

I always remember looking at 'Monk Life' at Kyloe in the Woods thinking "someone has got up on a ladder and marked the holds?" Then Malc made the ascent. Years later on lesser problem, I looked back at the distance and size of the holds and had a similar feeling, it felt good, hard work and motivation pays off no matter what the grade is.

So get on it, jump for the top, cut loose, curve dyno, bury the nails into the crimp, power off the thumbs, one armer, gaston for your life, slap the sloper,  just get out on the rock, get inspired and enjoy the endless world of bouldering possibilities.