"I'm pumped, the crux is here, what if I fail? I'm so tired, maybe I should just take a rest on the rope?"

I knocked them out quickly with my mantra and foucssed again. What was wrong with giving it your all and failing. I think I would feel worse if I knew I could have tried but didn't. It got to a point where I was just pumped and not recovering, so I pressed on into the crux, ready for battle! An amazing thing happened suddenly, I was climbing, I was pumped but I wasn't receding. Thoughts were all positive and I felt like I was going to do this. Before I knew it I was through the crux and mantled on a small foothold with some small crimps to rest on. I was 35m up and 5m above me was the chains, I could just about see them over the bulge. I knew I still had one major crux to go, not as physical as the last one but still very droppable, and as well as that, to get to the crux you had to do quite a bit of techy climbing on small smeary feet and crimps in the blazing sun.

After another 5 minutes I pressed on, reaching through the smeary feet section and into a quick rest on two pockets before the last crux. My mantra continued to echo in my head and like before I was confident and positive in what I had to do, "Just Climb"... So I did just that. It was hit or miss for a split second, but those words got me through it. I only just sketched my way up the last 5m of "Project Moro", but it doesn't really matter, I still clipped those chains!

As I clipped them, a sickening feeling hit me and I suddenly realised that I had climbed more or less 25m of 8b+/c terrain whilst being totally boxed, in the sun and under constantly restrained stress... I heard whoops from across the valley as English friends celebrated my top out.

I think that was my biggest battle in climbing yet :P

PSYCHED

ROBZ OUT

P.s. Ross also climbed "Pati Pa Mi" (8b) later that evening after attempting it in the blazing sun - sometimes conditions help :P

 

I’m coming to a close on this years Spain trip. It’s all gone so fast, it seems like only yesterday that I was heading out with Andy in the plane and now it’s almost over L. I’ve had a really great time climbing in Siurana this year both in terms of personal climbing and with my friends those new and old.

 

This year’s trip has certainly been an educational one for me. Although I ticked the hardest grade I’ve ever climbed, I definitely got my butt spanked on a few other routes of different styles proving yet again that being proficient at a grade is incredibly hard. Style comes into play massively as well as confidence and mental strength – an area that I am going to be training specifically from now on.

I climbed another 8b+ yesterday (my 14^th at the grade), this one called “El Mon de Sofia”. This route is relatively new to Siurana having only been bolted in the last 2 or 3 years and was previously deemed as 8c? in the older guide. The locals give it the awkward grade of 8b+/c, so either it’s a hard 8b+ or soft 8c.

 

Moving on from grades for now – the route takes a spectacular line up the blank looking faces and bulges of El Pati (left-side). It starts up the same first bolt as “2x30” then branches immediately out right into fun compression moves on a weird bulge feature. Once your at the top of this you can sit down and relax on a nice little ledge (to here it’s probably about f7a).

 

Above you now is a daunting barrel wall with a tough little crux starting on the first move and ending at a rest one move before the second crux. The issue with the first crux is that a lot of the holds are permanently wet! The rock seems to soak in the moisture really easily and a lot of the holds feel like damp sponges from which your hands could grease off instantly without warning (something I got a bit of experience in whilst red-pointing).

 

Although the holds are damp, they are all positive. The main difficulty of this crux lies in the feet and the one awkward, slightly dangerous, clipping position that you have as the first clip halfway through the initial moves of the crux. Funny thing was I never fell of this section, but I was always very wary of the potential to. The first clip was right above a ledge, which if you fell clipping would more than certainly send you straight into. The next moves where tricky and off balance, then you had one last slap for a wet crimp before you pull yourself up into the two wet side-pull jugs that you rest on (LOVELY!).

 

The rest here was good, you were standing on one good foothold and a smear for your left with a good side-pull jug for your left and a slopey side-pull crimp for your right that you laid back off. I could definitely recover more or less fully but it certainly wasn’t the most comfortable of rests.

 

After resting up, you head straight into what I would call the meat of the route. Although probably not physically the hardest moves, it’s a very sustained crux with lots of little technicalities and slightly lower percentage moves than you would like, especially seeing as when you get through them you still have to deal with the hardest moves on the route! The second crux involves a couple of soapy but positive crimps, the last of which you have to do a hard pull to reach a big damp gaston jug in the steepest section of the bulge. You gaston with your right hand from which you can then clip, match, then re-adjust to an undercut which gives you the position to reach up with your left hand to a really good slot. From the slot you step your left foot up on a little button then push and pull as hard as you can to make the big move to the next soapy crimp up and right. You are now entering the hardest section of the crux, a powerful move to a small sharp crimp with your left, then a stab with your right into yet another small crimp, gaston left, press, then up and right to a small flat edge, left to a thumb sprag crimp and press out right to a jug… WOOOOOOHHHHH

 

You’re now in the “Please don’t blow it territory”… although you still have the most physically demanding move still to come, it’s right after a massive rest so theoretically you should be ok. Unfortunately, conditions where not on my side the first time I arrived at the rest. It was stiflingly hot and humid, and when I made the hard move to the shallow crimp, my fingers rolled off it like they were covered in butter! Thankfully I didn’t let that happen second time round :P

 

After the crux move you still have some tricky moves to go, nothing that you should fall off but there is definitely foot popping potential still there and the second last move is quite a big lunge for a flat side pull that’s hard to catch (that was scary!).

 

“El Mon de Sofia” took me around six or seven goes in total spread across three or four days. For me, this was more of a challenge than “2x30” for the sheer fact that there are just so many places to fall off. It’s not as sustained but the potential to fall of at the top is a lot higher. On “2x30” you could fall of at the crux a load of times, lower off, have 10mins rest, then get back on it (one time you’ll do the crux and go to the top). With “El Mon de Sofia” it felt like I could fail in the middle crux a lot as well as fall in the final crux!

 

Doing this route in the last week of the trip after having a long period of relatively no tickage was a big boost in confidence. I had lost a lot already from having failed on “Pati Noso” (8c/+). In all honesty, I kind of gave up the ghost on that route a long time ago. It was trashing my skin every time I got on it and I felt like I wasn’t getting to go climbing much because of that. I am intending on coming back next year to finish it off, this time I know what I need to do to do it, all I have to do is come back, armed with another year of training and smash it to a pulp!!!

 

This trip has been a massive eye opener once again into the world of the mental processes involved in climbing. I have seen many climbers fail due to pressure, whether it’s on one specific route, or a number of routes or just expectations. I have come to realize that in order to achieve the best results and climb to your best abilities, you need to have a strong mindset that has been built to deal with the pressures you put on it. I know I put a lot of pressure on myself, I am very open about wanting to improve and achieve higher and harder year after year. I think being like this does leave me open to personal performance demons, but this is something I can train for sure.

 

In the last few weeks I have been working hard on a presentation on mental training that I will be providing for youth competition climbers when I get back. Work on this has allowed me to spend a bit more time than I usually do thinking about this side of the performance table. I am already putting steps in motion to develop a really good mental training program both for the kids I coach and myself. I have known for years just how important the mental game is, but sometimes it’s easy to forget to train it when you get so caught up in the other aspects of climbing that seem more important (but really aren’t).

 

Stay tuned on the training blog as I will be writing up some mental training blogs soon enough.

 

On one last note, I tried the 8b+/c direct to “El Mon de Sofia” called “Project Moro”. It shared the first and second crux but takes a much more sustained line than “El Mon de Sofia”. I actually think it might be one of the best routes I have ever tried! After the second crux you get a good rest on some flat jugs, then head straight into a technical crimpy section before reaching another OK rest (shared with “2x30”) which sends you into the crux, a powerful sequence on undercuts and crimps finishing off finally with a very techy, sequency finale with little rest right until the lip of El Pati, 40m in the air! AMAZING!!!

 

I’m gonna climb tomorrow if it stops raining soon and see maybe if I can do the variation either then or in the following days of the trip… We will see…

PSYCHED!

 

ROBZ OUT

 

 

 

 

After two days rest, my hole had still not healed and out of haste and my ambition for 8c/+ glory, I taped up and went for it. After warming up on a 7b+, blood was leaking through the tape and I was forced to take further rest. Two days later and there was still no improvement. It’s been pretty tough dealing with this bad skin injury, it doesn’t seem to heal like normal cuts. From chatting to other climbers in the campsite, I reckon the puncture was just really deep and that it will inevitably take a lot longer to heal.

 

After another couple of days rest (bringing us to yesterday), I decided to get back on “Pati Noso” and see how the skin held up. On my first attempt of the day I fell on the last hard move, pulling the easiest move of the final boulder problem to the jug. My foot popped as I stepped up to grab the hold – another frustrating attempt. The pinkie held out a while but from pulling on the crux shards (they can’t be described as holds) my cut was oozing plasma. I wiped my tears (because I’m a big boy now) and went on for a second go.

Amazingly I felt even stronger on this attempt and I was gunning for it now until… disaster struck! I pulled on a small spike low down after the two initial cruxes and my right index finger burst open, showering blood on everyone below. Funnily enough, I didn’t even notice it happen and continued climbing until I realised that there was a serious lack of friction coming from my right hand – so I dropped off with my head in my hands wondering why this is always happening to me.

Looking back on it now, I feel a bit ashamed with the way I was acting. As somebody who is always striving for perfection in climbing and constantly pushing their boundaries, it’s sometimes easy to lose grip on reality. I put so much pressure on myself to achieve, to hit higher and harder grades and it’s easy to forget that there is more to climbing than just ticking of numbers (even though it’s a highly motivating factor).

 

Someone who really inspired me here was a new friend of mine, Felix, from Germany. He is only a year or two older than me, but he’s been climbing since he was very young, competed on the world stage and has a long history of being a top climber both nationally and internationally. The way he approached climbing was refreshing and pretty inspiring to see. He really seemed to enjoy just going climbing, being at the crag, having fun on the routes. He put little pressure on himself to succeed yet he still came out and cranked 8c+, 8c as well as numerous 8b+’s and two 8b onsights/flashs. It was humbling to watch, as I built pressure barriers for myself on “Pati Noso”, he just cruised it practically dancing his way to the top.

 

As I was inspired with his approach, he too was inspired by my dedication and focus to training and improving. Felix was ranked 2^nd in the World in Beijing behind Magnus Midtboe a number of years ago, so he has already lived the training lifestyle and now I think he puts less pressure on himself to achieve, but just as Sharma says in the “King Lines” movie - You have to want to achieve in order to do so, but not so much that it causes you to fail due to pressure (a concept I have struggled to put to practice recently). But in the end, that’s what it’s all about really… when your balancing at the edge of your peak performance, so do you have to start juggling with more variables. Just like in real life, if you juggle with more balls you’re bound to drop them, but only by challenging ourselves with more do we get better!

 

Anyway, right now I am nursing my skin back to health and eagerly awaiting the arrival of my Welsh friends whom I am coaching with this week. The first week of the coaching trips this year is with some top Welsh kids and the second week is with the Scottish kids that I do 1:1’s with back in Edinburgh – it will be good to see how they are progressing with all their hard work and training.

 

The campsite now is buzzing with Scottish accents. All my friends from back home have arrived and are dominating the crag. Neil Mcgeachy and Jonny Stocking arrived last week whilst the rest, Calum Forsyth, Neill Busby, Gary Vincent, Stuart Burns and Mhairi Thorburn arrived earlier this week. Also Jonathan Field arrived last night and today a friend from Ireland, Lucie Mitchell, arrived today. And tomorrow my Welsh friends Simon Rawlinson and Liz Collyer are arriving – WOOP WOOP! IT’S ALL HAPPENING IN SIURANA!!!

 

Even if I’m not climbing much over the next week or two, I certainly won’t be short of company :D

 

ROBZ OUT

Andy and I came back to the crag, this time with a friend of ours, Michelle (Danish) who I have to thank for the excellent photos she took. After warming up on a nice 7b, I went for "Renegoide". That day turns out was the hottest day this year and the rock felt like it was melting! Equally my skin felt like it was melting on the rock, but incidentally, the moves still felt really good. During the crux move at around half-height, I could feel my fingers peeling away from the rock, the holds were so small and slopey here that the heat really wasn't doing me any favours. I pressed on regardless and made it to the rest just after the crux moves. I felt really good physically, not pumped or tired, just hot! I was wearing a beanie as well which didn't help the heat situation. Stupidly I didn't cut my hair before leaving the UK and its becoming an increasing nuisance whilst I'm climbing... much better to just hide it under a hat :P

I pressed on into the second and third crux, still feeling really solid, finally making it to the last few tricky moves. I rested on some small but positive crimps, eyed up the remaining moves and committed to the 6m run-out to the next clip. In the video below you'll see Alizee Dufraisse climbing "Renegoide". The point in which she clips the chain and lets go is after the run-out, unfortunately, she didn't realise that the route isn't over here and that the two clips there are only 3/5 up the wall! But thats a fair mistake, I did the same thing first time up there.

http://youtu.be/AooCc26gQfo

So after making the scary run-out, I then continued to the top (another 15m of 6c-ish climbing). Not hard, not blow-able really, but a little scary technically after having climbed the lower part and not wanting to fall now of course. There was a moment pulling through the bulge at the top when my hand hold broke in one place at the same time as a foothold broke... this was at the end of a 6m runout as well... I may have peed myself slightly :P

Finishing off at the top of the wall was a great feeling again, especially after climbing something so different in style to the other 8b+'s i've done over the last year... Numero 13 - TICKED!

Andy and Michelle decided to go for a 7b onsight after my climb. They fought valiantly, Andy making it more or less into the final hard moves, but unfortunately to no avail. Michelle and I discussed the importance of failure on routes i.e. it's only by failing do we really learn. This got me thinking about my own performance in the day, had I really learned anything from "Renegoide"? I have because I had previously failed and overcome it, but I still felt that the day wasn't entirely satisfactory, I needed to fight something harder and get beaten up a bit!

I decided to try and onsight an 8a I had heard was quite good. It was called "Un rato en cada Postura". I route read it from the ground, spent some time visualising the route, then went for it. In my opinion, this was my best performance of the trip. I fought for it, tooth and nail! I wasn't going to let go unless I really had nothing left. I made mistakes, but I pulled through them, it was a good onsight attempt, but i didn't succeed. I fell staring a jug in the face and moving to a good crimp where my foot popped on a bad smear. I was boxed out my nut and deserved to fail, but I was happy to have given it my all. I pulled back on, did the next move, grabbed the jug and climbed the remaining f5 climbing to the chains 5m above me. I felt even better after reading comments on 8a.nu, usually referring routes as being "soft", but instead this was all "HARD!". Always a confidence booster that :P

So after a good day at Can Pigui Pugui, I decided I need to up my game. I got on the 8c at El Pati called "2x30" and managed to do it in two halves - bottom to crux and crux to top! This is fantastic and it was only my second time on the route. The crux is bloody hard, a dyno of a good sidepull, bad feet and a tiny micro edge crimp to a good flat jug, but i'm psyched now and I know i can do it :) I am also psyched by the route at Can Pigui Pugui "El Membre" (8c) after I've done "2x30" and potentially "Pati Noso" (8c+) if I have enough time, but we'll see :P

For now, I'm going to relax, maybe eat a nice omellette bocadillo whilst watching a film and climb tomorrow!!!

ROBZ OUT



 

Yesterday I did another 8b+ called "Mr Cheki". This route is in a sector called Can Pigui Pugui, a place I have visited only a few times out of the many weeks spent climbing in Siurana over the years. Although this is one of the more popular venues for those climbing in the f8's, it never struck a chord with me. Probably because of the relatively short nature of the routes there. I have always been one for big, impressive lines that cover lots of steep terrain in wild dramatic settings. El Pati for instance is somewhere that really strikes me as a beautiful crag... doing a route there is like a stairway to heaven.

In Can Pigui Pugui the wall is beautiful in its own way, it's shorter by nature but still contains pristine classic lines that have their own unique character. The wall isn't as steep as El Pati but  still has that dramatic setting. You face outwards into a valley with a huge Ceuse style crag spanning across the full length of the opposing side... stunning to say the least.

The climbing is more powerful in Can Pigui Pugui and strangely enough reminds me a bit of Malham. The routes tend to be more polished and a lot more tweaky with lots of weird twisted pockets and sharp jagged crimps - thats a big part of the package with Can Pigui Pugui.

The line I was on ("Mr Cheki") starts up left of one of Siurana's oldest 8a's, "Anabolica". "Anabolica" is the most popular 8a in Siurana according to 8a.nu with around 260 ascents on the database! Whilst I was trying "Mr Cheki", Andy was checking out "Anabolica". Needless to say, Andy being the boulderer, he cruised the first 10m to the crux bulge. The hard move here though is very particular and quite tweaky if your not good on pockets. He worked the sequence a bit, a hard lock move to an undercut pocket then a powerful pull through to a crimp then a bump again to a jug. After that its not completely over but not nearly as hard as the previous sequence. Although Andy is more than capable to doing the sequence, the pocket was feeling a little bit tweaky for him so he gave it a rest and decided to come back for it another day.

On "Mr Cheki" I was having a good day. On my first attempt I climbed through the whole bottom section, through the first hard crux and into more or less the final hard moves. Unfortunately my fingers slipped out of a good resting pocket (probably because they were so numb with cold) and I was left to work the remaining sequence in the upper part.

Needless to say I was back on it in short time, this time I fell a little higher again. I was struggling to gain a positive pocket (the last crux for me). I threw for it once (missed), again (missed), again (missed)... DAMN!!!! AGAIN (STUCK), I pulled through but my fingers were so numb (again) that I couldn't feel what I was holding and slipped out the pocket. This was quite frustrating as you can imagine. The physicality of the route wasn't a problem, it was more the fact that my fingers were constantly cold.

On my last try I decided to look for a better warm up. A small jug at the bottom of the cliff was all that was needed. After 15 minutes of moving my hands about on the flat jug, changing from full crimp to half crimp to open hand, one arm dead-hangs, pull ups and locks I was ready for it!

In the end, it felt really steady. I wasn't tired or pumped and my fingers maintained warmth throughout the whole climb. I really enjoyed sticking the hard launch to the pocket, feeling as though there was no way I was coming off. As I locked in my fingers, I pulled through another deep lock to grab the next jug - SOLID! Afterwards there was still one more move where there is potential to fall, but I was confident with my sequence. A german climber call Felix had tried before me and fallen here with his sequence, but I was sure that mine would prevail. After a minutes rest, I moved through the next few moves and was latching the glory jug with only 2 clips of 6a climbing to finish with.

I lowered to the ground victorious and 15 minutes later, Felix sent the route too! Photos on the blog are of him on his send :)

With only 30-40 minutes of light remaining, I forced Andy back into belay mode despite his moaning about it being too cold. I wanted to try "Renegoide" (8b+), just to check out the moves before I come back after today's rest day. Despite being tired after two days climbing and lack of skin, I did all the moves quite comfortably and am pleased with how the moves piece together. The route is very different to "Mr Cheki", its short but only slightly overhung, very crimpy and very sustained! None of the moves are physically hard, just very involved in your feet and fingertips (skin).

I'm really looking forward to coming back tomorrow, hopefully to do it quickly and to give Andy encouragement on "Anabolica"! He can certainly do it if he puts his mind into it :)

Hope your all climbing and training hard out there!

ROBZ

 

The last sequence isn't hard on its own, probably a V3 and a V4 stuck together but with no rest in between after having already climbed 20m of power endurance climbing. I commit to the moves for a final time and enjoy the feeling of being confident, un-pumped and strong on every hold. I come up to a big move going for a positive juggy edge... before it always felt quite far, today it feels so close. I grab it, rest my right hand, re-position my right foot on a lower polished dish then begin to fiddle about with the awkward match. I hold the positive edge in a full 4 finger crimp position, then drop to back 3, match with my right hand, drop another finger to make back 2, then wriggle a bit more with my right until I feel it bite on the sharp spiky crimp. I drop my now free left hand into a positive open-hand side pull and re-adjust my right to a better grip position. On previous attempts I would be struggling a little now, but it all felt so solid still. I did the next small movements and came to the side pull 2 finger pocket that I had slipped out of last attempt. I lock down, slot middle two in and and lower slowly onto a jug out left... SAFE!

 

Andy is belaying and shouts, "That looked easy!". It felt fine but I'm not completely safe just yet. There are still two cruxes to go, not hard ones but droppable if you aren't prepared for them. I shake out for a few minutes, collecting my thoughts, preparing my strategy and focussing on thinking confident. I begin to move into the last part of the route. I get to a quick rest before the second last crux, shake out, breathe, GO! Right Crimp, Left mono, right crimp, campus feet and stand up high, boost my left to the pinch, drop knee and lock to a good jug... Ahhhhhhhh!

 

I'm looking up now and the final bulge is a metre above my head with the chains glinting tantalisingly in the sunlight. After a minute I proceed but back down due to a brief hesitation moving into the powerful undercut pocket. I re-set, shakeout and proceed again... Lock right, undercut 2 finger pocket, 3 finger pocket, lock deep, intermediate bad crimp, go again... JUG! Feet swing off, left hand latches a jug as well! Heel flies over and I clip the chain... WAHOOOO!!!

 

The trilogy is complete, a journey of one sector that has lasted four years and 3 separate trips to Siurana. It started off only the first 3 clips on the 7c+, then the first 7 on the 8b, now all the way for the 8b+. It also turns turns out to be my 11th 8b+ in the last year, and what a year that has been : D

 

I think "Migranya Profunda" is my hardest route to date. Although it didn't feel anywhere near my limit, nor did I really have any head issues with it, adding the whole route up and comparing to other routes I've done in the 8b+ region, it's pure and simple just harder than every other route I've done and a winter of training has prepared me well for it.

 

Phil and our new friend Simond (French living in Hong Kong) have left now :(  They have had a good trip to Siurana, Phil ticking of lots of 7a and 7a+ onsights plus a few close 7b onsights. He was also making good headway on a tricky 7c+ called "L'escamarla". For a week in Spain, this is a really good effort. Phil is returning to the rigs now and will be getting stuck into some hardcore training for Ceuse in July hopefully :)

 

Andy and I are now on a rest day, we have run out of food and are grabbing a lift of a strong French climber Alizee Dufraise and her dad Philippe who we've been chatting to a bit out here. After our rest day, I am keen to check out an 8c called "2 x 30" and potentially and 8c+ called "Pati Noso" that Philippe and Alizee suggested to me. They both look really good, however I am not big into projecting and prefer to climb lots of easier routes rather than a few really hard ones, so maybe if I do well on "2 x 30" then we can see where I go with trying "Pati Noso" or potentially some easier routes instead :P

 

Anyway, hoping to do a bit of filming as well soon on "Migranya Profunda", perhaps get a good beta vid for anyone who might want it. Stay tuned for more from Siurana!

 

ROBZ OUT

We where very lucky actually, Phil Jack a good friend of mine (and one of my coached climbers) was out already and graciously offered to pick us up from the airport. Siurana isn't the easiest of crags to get to without a car, but once your here, it really is a simple life with worries that only go as far as what your next route is going to be or what your going to be eating for dinner. For Andy and I, the lack of a car provides the added issue of finding people to give us lifts into town, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it :P

On our first day I really didn't know where to start... Andy hasn't been on nearly as many route climbing trips as me and in the last few months, hasn't go that much climbing done, so it was important that he got stuck into some mileage first. I really wanted to inspire Andy with some of Siurana's finest routes on our first day so I took him to one of the most spectacular features I have ever laid my eyes one, the immaculate towering beast of a cliff, El Pati!!!

We warmed up on the classic 6b+ "Lame Chuche Baby" first of all. My fingertips were frozen pulling on the micro edges but one feeling mutual with both Andy and I was - "It was great to be back on rock again!".

I warmed up a little more on an amazing 7a that I have done countless times before, "Viagraman". Andy went on to make very short work of onsighting this little number, coming straight down afterwards not even slightly pumped. Not bad for someone who hasn't really climbed in 3 months!

I was eager to get on to something harder and was eyeing up the fabulous line of "Migranya Profunda" (8b+) from across the valley. Andy went on to onsight the tricky 7a "Ay Mamita" and then we headed across the valley to L'olla sector so I could check out the 8b+. On my first trip to Siurana I onsighted the 7c+ direct start (sharing the first 3 bolts) called "Peixa". On my second trip to Siurana (Last year) I did the mega classic 8b variation, "Migranya", finishing directly upwards where "Migranya Profunda" (8b+) continues to traverse more to the left and up. This year I would like to complete the trilogy :P

On my first attempt I reminded myself of all the moves through the start. It was really nice to feel that moves that had previously felt quite tricky now felt really easy. I continued the traverse left for "Migranya Profunda" and found to my great satisfaction that no move felt harder than about V4 and indeed the crux of the 8b+ was still the crux of the 8b. The moves in "Migranya Profunda" are a million times better than in "Migranya" - you have wild cross throughs upside down with crazy pulls of really good mono's and amazing terrain through steep power endurance style climbing. There's also loads of rest on the route between the harder sections which if it wasn't there I could imagine the route being 8c+ or something? All in all, the route probably follows a boulder grade pattern like this:

V3 -> V4 -> V3 -> Easy Section with rests -> V3 -> V4 -> Easy section with rests -> V3 -> V3

On our second day, I wanted to show Andy some amazing easier routes in a sector I have come to really enjoy, "Espero Primavera". We warmed up on my favourite 6b in Siurana, "Records Oblidats" and continued with the extension to the top of the crag. Andy and I both agreed that the pure quality of the climbing combined with the stunning position this route takes you to makes it one badass climb!

We later on went round the corner back to "El Pati" were Andy onsighted his first 7a+ of the trip, "Crosta Panic". This crazy route goes through a mega steep bulge right at the top with a fun no-hands kneebar to clip the chain :D I did it afterwards as another warm up before heading along to "L'olla" sector for my battle with the 8b+!

After chilling for the afternoon, I got back on the beast. My goals for today were to give it a burn and aim to link in three sections. I topped that with a very high point getting into the final crux (redpoint crux) i.e. the last point I think I'll fall off on and then linked to the top from just below :D Two overlapping halves! I am really happy with this and hopefully it could go quite soon. In terms of difficulty, it doesn't feel too much harder than other 8b+'s i've done but definitely a top end one. I'd say that in comparison with something like "Unjustified" at Malham it feels like there is a lot more to it. It reminds me quite a lot of "Preventiva" (8b) at Disblia, but again there are more cruxy sections with potential to fall. Compared with the Kalymnos 8b+'s its definitely a notch harder than them, maybe like doing "Gaia" (8b) twice :P

Regardless of the difficulty, I think this is the best route I've ever been on and I can't wait to crush it into dust!

Today Andy and I are having a rest day, about to tuck into a Spanish Omelette Bocadillo whilst I fiddle about with photos, blogs, training programs and finishing my book...

Stay tuned in to the blog for the latest news on our trip here and also up and coming is a new blog on "Born to Succeed"! Chck out the old ones on the training blog too ;P

ROBZ OUT

Kalymnos 2010 taught me a harsh lesson, you can be as fit as you want, but when it comes to the hard moves, sometimes you just need to be able to pull hard! This lesson goes both ways though, as I remember on my second trip to Ceuse, it wasn’t just me getting schooled on the harsh technical faces but also my climbing partner Andy (sorry for bringing you into this mate). Andy having coming from a bouldering background had to deal with the reality of not having endurance on the 30+m long pitches common at this popular French sport climbing crag. This taught him that it wasn’t only about being able to pull off the hardest moves, but also being able to recover on the easier or more sustained ground.

Ceuse 2007, 2008 and 2010 taught me even more about climbing than ever before. They taught me that simply coming to the crag from pulling on plastic for a whole season wasn’t going to provide the results that I so desperately was after! It took me 3 years of trips to one crag to realize this, that was a tough lesson.

I have been out in Spain for 8 weeks now, I am returning today and only in the past 2 weeks have I felt my climbing really start to take off. There is definitely something more to getting out on rock as much as you can, something it teaches you that the gym simply can’t. I have watched countless numbers of strong gym climbers thrash there way at the rock for endless weeks getting no where and simply giving up in the end. This is not the way forward! You have to really want to learn from the experiences the rock is giving you. If you are failing, you are failing for a reason, not always because you are too weak:

“Need to do more beastmaker!”

Not always because you are unfit:

“Need to do more laps!”

I think generally its because you haven’t spent enough time learning what the rock is teaching you i.e. how to move your body, how to place your feet, how to pace yourself, how to use resting to your advantage… In truth, you will never stop learning and this is the amazing thing with climbing, because there are always new challenges that await us! The day when you stop challenging yourself with new and interesting climbs, and settle for what looks like you will tick the quickest, get the hardest grade or feel most like what you are used to is the day you stop improving! There is a reason why the best climbers in the world are also the ones who have done the most mileage on rock… it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to understand. It’s because they have learned the most from what the rock has to offer! Watch the videos of Adam Ondra climbing, its an amazing display of sheer athleticism, mental determination and tactical genius! He doesn’t just climb the route… he destroys it!

On this last trip to Spain, I have certainly ticked the most hard routes than ever before. On this trip, more than any before, I was on a mission to set a standard for myself. As I have said in previous posts, climbing is largely about confidence and building it up over time. When I went on my first Spanish climbing trip, I ticked my first 8a, that gave me the confidence to go back home and tick “Raindogs” (one of the hardest 8a’s in the country!). On this trip I have ticked 7 x 8b’s and 3 x 8b+’s as well as numerous 8a’s (onsight and flash). This has set my confidence at a good level for the next year which will allow me to build upon it and realize the next peak at which I am aiming to reach… which is of course 8c!

I have not really been slowed down by anything on this trip, I’ve just been moving from one project to the next and they all seemed to drop like flies one after another. But I don’t want to simply stop and say, “well that was a great trip and now I can have a rest”… Far from it! Now more than ever I need to be on my guard for what weaknesses still lie in my climbing and what skills I need to hone! And as long as I keep on doing this, I will continue to progress and see my dreams of climbing harder routes realized.

I think for me, my biggest weakness still lies in my strength. I am still a weak punter : P But I suppose I had only been focusing on the strength training for 3 months after Kalymnos and look at the gains I have made since then! More or less, this Spain trip has been of similar length as Kalymnos 2010 and the routes I have climbed have been far harder and more significant than then, which shows something substantial must have changed in my climbing! I reckon for this year I am going to continue to focus heavily on my strength and power issues with a keen focus on training my crimp strength and pocket strength (mono’s and front two). The reason for this is that I fancy a long trip back to Siurana in December/January and want to mix this with Margalef. If I can hone my pocket pulling skills, perhaps I can tick of some harder routes there such as “Darwin Dixit” (8b+) and possibly “Aitzol” (8c) if I am lucky?

I am also going to focus on the 15-25 move power endurance bracket that I so often neglect in my training. After climbing the popular 8a “Anabolica” in Siurana on our last day, I realized just how important sustained climbing on hard moves is if I want to continue pushing my level higher. “Migranya” (8b) in Siurana climbed quite easily for me and this was a similar style of climb, but If I want to continue to push the envelope with this style, I think much higher levels will be demanded!

I want to continue to maintain my climbing level outdoors and not let my technical development slip, so I a going to focus more on getting outside climbing in the UK between trips. Yorkshire, Wales and the South West offer lots of challenges for the sport climber working in the 8’s and some of the crags around Scotland have definitely peaked my interest. I plan on spending most of my time in Yorkshire climbing at Malham and Kilnsey, I have made a wee tick list for myself with routes such as these included:

• Predator (8b)


• The Groove (8a+)


• Totally Free (8b)


• Austrian Oak (8b)


• Magnetic Fields (8b)


• Full Tilt (8b)

There is a lot there, but that means plenty of challenge and lots of learning to be had from it : ) I can’t wait! Bring on the UK Limestone!!!

ROBZ OUT