HOLA!!!

Well I'm actually in the UK now so saying "Hola" is probably not gonna get me very far but I will probably continue saying it to everyone I meet over the next few weeks until I get out of the habit :PSkies leaving Liverpool early morning

I've just had what has been such a seemingly quick trip to Spain, the time there just flew by, something I am only too well acquainted with from my climbing trips over the years... why can't they last forever!!! This time I headed out with a more recently accrued friend of mine, Sam Williams, a young and very eager climber who has a talent for decking out on trad routes. I met Sam this year in Ceuse during his mega summer road trip with his friend Darren, both of them undergraduates at Aberdeen Uni. Sam is now in his final year of study and is gunning for a PhD at the start of the next academic year (clever clogs).

Sam and me became good friends from practically our second meeting (not the first meeting as his first impression was me having a tantrum as I struggled on an 8c... frankly he thought I was a bit of a douche!). He was correct... but he somehow forgot this and I managed to con him into coming to Spain with me over Xmas and New Year :PMe and Sam at Espadelles (First day psyche!)

Our plan was to drive out to Spain from Scotland and meet up with my good friends Tom Bolger and Lynne Malcolm. They have a house situated very close to Margalef, PERFECT! A combination of good climbing, good friends and home comforts will make this trip very good indeed :D We did have a few issues getting out however... On every climbing trip there are always moments of madness and muck ups that make the experience even more memorable. Our first one wasn't really until we had made it into Spain... Our journey was split into two sections really, Scotland to Liverpool (where we slept at Sam's parents) and then Liverpool to the house in Spain :P That was a hell of a long drive! We did share it but Sam did most of the driving because I only had the insurance from when we arrived in France. We decided to go to Riglos as soon as we had arrived in Spain to attempt the amazing "Fiesta de los Biceps", however upon our arrival we found much to our disappointment that the huge pillar was covered in a cloud of mist... not ideal conditions and although it would be possible for us to do still, the 30 hours of driving we had just undertaken was having an ever so slightly negative effect on our energy levels... the idea of climbing 250m in the wet with a 40minute hike off it in the rain after driving for 30 hours was not so appealing. Not to mention I was also suffering from car sickness :( So we abandoned our plans and set off for Tom and Lynne's house.Riglos towers under a cloud mist :'(

Amazingly this was only the start of our adventures that day :P We drove another few hours around the long and windy roads towards Pobella de Cerbolla ("Village of the Deer" in Catalan), where Tom and Lynne's house was situated. Upon reaching the village we were both completely exhausted and ready to lie down and have a rest... as we entered the village however, I saw Tom and Lynne pass us in their caravan and much to my disappointment they didn't even notice as I passed them by waving like a lunatic! So Sam and I were in the right place, but we didn't know exactly where their house was... I had some vague directions on my iPhone describing turns on a dirt road just outside the village, and so our next epic begins! 2 hours later we have got lost on muddy dirt roads in the rain, lost the front underside guard of the car (somehow?), overheated the car trying to get up a muddy dirt track and lastly we got stuck in a ditch at the side of the road on our attempts to escape this hellish maze. I managed to push us out after cleaning the mud of the wheels with a stick in the pouring rain...WHAT A JOURNEY!

We eventually got out the maze and back onto the main road where we met up with Tom and Lynne. Amazingly, we were actually on the right road (yes... the dirt track was correct) and if we had gone only 20m further down it we would have come across their house... :'( I wanted to cry...

Not a great start to our time in Spain but certainly one we won't forget in a hurry. Lynne and Tom's house is situated a mere 45 minutes drive from Margalef and an hour or so from Siurana. When we arrived there was no heat, electricity or food... but a few days into the trip and the place was looking a lot better! Tom bought a wood burning stove from town and in a very short time the place had gone from looking like it hadn't been habited in years to looking like home :)

Climbing Time

Our initial days in Spain were mostly spent regaining energy from the drive and doing a spot of climbing to lift our spirits and get into the flow of things. Margalef is without a doubt one of the very best climbing destinations I have ever been to for those climbing in the 7c and up grade range. My expectations of what Margalef would be like went along the lines of, "steep, powerful, big holds, pockets, like an indoor wall".We've Arrived :D SUNNY SPAIN!

Well... I have heard people describe Margalef like this... my thoughts on this are that they are probably on a selection of very few routes that fit this description. I have actually been to Margalef before but only for a few days. I climbed at a sector with classic 7c's and 8a's which all fit the gym-style description, however, the majority of Margalef is more like steep, powerful on technical pocket climbing requiring sick body tension on the steeper stuff and really good foot-work and soft rubber for everything else! The climbing is super technical if you want to climb pretty much anything, even the 6's are desperate! Onsighting is a nightmare as there are millions of pockets to choose from and they are very difficult to guess how good they are going to be which makes planning rests and sequences very challenging!

To climb well in Margalef you need to be strong on two fingers! That goes without saying, every hold is either:

•    3 finger open hand pocket
•    2 finger open hand pocket
•    MONO!!!
•    and occasionally you get a jug :P

Pockets do horrible things to your skin :/The funny thing is, I actually thought I was good on pockets before this trip... oh how wrong I was! I am a total punter on pockets and this has spurred me on to new levels of motivation for my training in 2014 :) A lot of the time on routes harder than 8a your rests are literally hanging on two fingers, if you can't relax comfortably like this you just won't recover! The other thing that became apparent very quickly is that I thrive on being able to put my thumb over my index finger when I need to pull hard or do longer sections of pumpy climbing. It's amazing how much your thumbs can help you indoors and on crimps, which has made me think  differently on training indoors for outdoor sport climbing. 8b+ in Margalef

I guess though that this is a very specific problem only at certain crags where the climbing is on pockets or flat edges. Somewhere with a lot of tufas and I think you would perhaps be quite strong coming from an indoor environment - probably one of the reasons why I thrive on tufa climbing :P

"Ultimos Vampiros Hippies" (8c)So, our trip got off to a bit of a shaky start... A tiring journey through the UK, France and Spain left us a bit exhausted, but after a few easier days on the rock, we were starting to get into a bit more of a routine. Sam and I were climbing mainly at Margalef, specificaly in a sector called "Raco de la Espadelles". It was here that I tried an 8c called "Ultimos Vampiros Hippies". On my first attempt at this route I surprised myself at being able to climb the bottom crux with the exception of one of the moves... This move I found quite hard on it's own, but I feel that the reason wasn't solely down to strength, but more limited by an injury in my right knee that prevented me from using the high right foot most people use for that move. I got all the beta from a young New Zealand climber called Wiz Fineron (who I had actually met about 5 years previously whilst competing in the international competitions). From the bottom crux to the top, the route is about 8a+ which I found quite easy on it's own. I felt that if I managed to get through the bottom then I would have done the whole thing. The lower crux as a boulder grade is probably in the region of V10 I would say?

Sam on a 7c at EspadellesSam tried the hardest 7a+ at the crag, a horrible tenuous and very committing route at the left of the crag called "Dracula"! This thing is grim with a few very had pocket moves on it! I think I've done a lot easier 7b+'s! 

Villanova de Prades

We were climbing a lot with Tom and Lynne and so would check out some other crags with them such as Villanova de Prades. This crag is not as popular or well-known as Margalef. On my first day there I found it absolutely nails... on my 2nd day there, nothing changed :P I actually fell off a 7b and then had to do it 2nd go after figuring out all the beta! Then I projected a 7b+ and managed it on my 4th or 5th go? About as long as 8b+ usually takes :P Then I did an 8a 2nd go and Tom flashed it! The 8a was easier than the 7b+ no doubt :PA horrible 7a+ at Villanova de Prades :P

Christmas @ Tom + Lynne's

Our Christmas Eve was proper grim :( We stayed in one of the worst hotels I have ever had the displeasure of being inside. The Margaelf hotel is so bad I can't even out words to describe it... Imagine faulty towers without the funny characters and in place of them, just a grumpy Catalan woman who looks at you like she hates you with every shred of her soul. The actual hotel was cold, had no atmosphere and genuinely just felt soulless! 

It was an unfortunate circumstance that we landed there... the situation was that we had decided to stay at the Margalef refugio for a few days of warm showers and being a bit closer to the crag, but unfortunately the refugio had ended up being closed over the xmas period, so we were forced to stay in the hotel last minute. Christmas with my friends :D

On the note of the refugio called "Raco de la Finestra", it's absolutely amazing! I highly recommend staying there whilst in Margalef :D The people are lovely, the atmosphere is warm and friendly and the place is clean as anything! If I went back to Margalef on my own or with friends, I would stay there without a doubt. The guy who runs the place and his manager are some of the main equippers for Margalef who put a lot of their own time and money into making Margalef what it is today, so it's actually worth staying there even just to give back to the bolting off the area.

 Christas Day was so much better! Sam and I went climbing at Finestra sector - Sam climbed an amazing 7c which I did after him. I also tried to climb the 8b called "Niña Mala" but was unsuccesful - it had a pretty hard move of a mono which I loved and hated :P I need to get better at monos!EVIL ARTHUR! :P

 After climbing we went to Tom and Lynne's for Christmas dinner :D It was soooooo good :) Those guys know how to do a good Christmas! The place was covered in tinself and christmas decorations - Arthur the cat was going mental with the tinsel and bobbles hanging from the tree :P After dinner we had a mad game of "pass the bomb" (a funny word game) during which time, Tom, Lynne and Sam became ever so increasingly merry. 

The best part of Christmas for me was having my bag of christmas presents that my mum had given me to take out... it seemed I was the only one with any presents so the others just sat and watched me open mine hahaha and occassionaly I would give them one for the pleasure of opening :P We shared any confectionary gifts... Lynne insisted!

New Years!!!

New years was so much fun! New Years Eve was spent climbing at one of the most stunning crags I have ever been to, Montsant, Raco de Misa!!! I spent most of the day belaying Sam on a 60m long 7b+ hahahaha that was a long belay! Honestly I thought it was just selfish of him to choose that route :PRaco de Misa (Montsant) - Lee Cujes, L-Mens is another one for us to go and do :D AMAZING!

It was an awesome effort by Sam though and a worthy onsight for him :) I tried an 8b+ called "L-Mens" which was again, stunning and with incredible moves on incredible rock in an incredible position! Don't think I can use the word "incredible" any more times in this blog? I didn't do it unfortunately as we had limited time - so I only had one go at it but I enjoyed the process of figuring out the moves for my next trip there.

We met up with Sam Hamer, Ed Hamer and Andre Hedger at the crag who were out there on a climbing trip with Ted Kingsnorth and Simon Smith. It was really good catching up with them and Sam and I ended up bringing in the New Year with them at Siurana :D

Attentive belaying :PWe had dinner at a nice refugio in the Siurana village and then headed to Cornudella for the party! I am not a party animal by any stretch of the imagination, but it was fun going out with friends on New Years and being with climbers for once hahaha. At the party there was so many good climbers, I have never seen such a concentration of 9a climbers in one spot! It was good to see old friends from past trips who I hadn't seen in a while, guys like Rueben and David Firnenburg, Izidor Zupan, Eilidh Rouxel and he husband FLo, Wiz Fineron, Alex Megos, Daniel Jung, Felix Neumarker, Michelle Kim Theisen and of course all my good friends from the UK, Ed, Sam H, Sam W, Ted and Andre! 

I won't go into details of the night... there are only three people who can remember what happened on New Years Night in Siurana, Wiz Fineron, Alex Megos and myself as I think we were the only non-drinkers there :P As far as eveyone is aware, what happens in Siurana, stays in Siurana... well... I will give up the secrets for the right price ;)

L-Mens (8b+)

The End of our Trip

 After New Year, Sam and I stayed at the refugio some more to be closer to Margalef. It was a good scene there too! I met up with some friends from back home, Nic and Jon who were out on a trip over the holidays. Also met up with some Danish friends Mikkel, Bjorn at Katrina who are still out climbing there right now :P LUCKY!!!

Sam getting rather excited at New Year Party :PSam and I mainly climbed at Espadelles for the remainder of the trip. All was going really well until Sam ripped one of the biggest flappers I have ever seen when he was warming down one evening on a 6c+! It was horrendous :O That put the lad out of action for a few days :( I continued to climb and decided as it was only a couple of days until we headed home just to focus on mileage. I ended up making a new friend, Alan Pierce, an English climber who now lives in Andorra. We climbed together for two days at Espadelles and one night he tried to show us how to cook with a pressure cooker... this failed miserably resulting in us smoking out the refugio living room hahahaha It was so funny! So that night Alan very kindly treated me to a refugio cooked chicken dinner hahaha :D Thanks man!

The next day, Alan and I climbed at Espadelles again. I did an 8a called "Transilvania" whilst Alan flashed a tricky 7a to the right. We then went further round the corner and Alan tried a really tough 7c in the sun. I tried to onsight it and failed :P It was so greasy in the sun. Luckily I did it 2nd go, but it still felt gnarly! props to Alan for choosing one of the toughest 7c's I've been on in a while :D

Masriudoms!!!On the last day of our trip, Sam and I headed to Masriudoms with a South African called Ebert and his American friend (who lives in SA), Michael. Masriudoms is a crag near Reus which is largely steep tufa climbing, a very big cotrast from Margalef! It felt similar to Terradets climbing actually, suited me to a tea :D I had a fun mileage day by onsighting two 8a's, did another one 2nd go and then did a 7c and a 7b+ onsight at the end. The 7b+ had a huge move at the end that I thnk would be bloody nails if you were much shorter than me... Tom almost fell off on it hahaha!

Headin' Home

So that was our trip to Spain :D We headed home the next day via a 4 hour car journey to Bilbao, then a ferry for 20 hours to Portsmouth and then another car journey to Southport to Sams parents house. I got the train the next day to Edinburgh from Preston.Almost missed the boat home... by 2 minutes!!!

It was a fun trip for sure, maybe not the best ticklist I have ever had by a long run, but it was for sure an educational trip that showed me where my weaknesses lie still. I need to work on my individual finger strength and pocket strength! Also, I was expecting to be relatively fit having only recently come back from a very succesful onsighting trip to Teradets and having felt fit at the wall, however, the open hand style of Margalef totally took me by surprise! I discovered that my open hand endurance is actually really bad. I think for some time now I have been lazy by not training this facet of my climbing and instead just trying to get up hard routes, circuits or laps indoors by any means necessary. I feel now more than ever that if you really want to get the best out of your indoor training for rock, specificity is so important!

I am in the training zone now and have some big plans for 2014! Australia trip is 9 weeks away :D Better get training hard!!!

 

Some people reckon coaching is an easy game, you just rock up to the crag, belay a bit, throw up a few top ropes, basically climb all day, then go back to the campsite and chill out… Well I’ve got news for you, it certainly isn’t that hard :P Well it’s not that hard if you love it… the last two weeks for me have probably been the most enjoyable weeks of my trip even though I’ve barely climbed anything for myself in that time. Sure I managed a few cheeky belays at the end of the day and there are always your clients rest days that you can climb on, but after focussing solidly on their needs and wants for whole days at a time and using all your energy to see their goals and coaching requirements met, it does leave you a bit drained.

 

In the last two weeks I’ve done a couple of nice 8b’s. One was 2^nd go after coaching the Welsh kids (cheers to Liam Fyfe for the belay) and the other was after a particularly draining day shouting five Scottish kids up a 40m 7a+ pillar.

 

My first week coaching the Welsh was unfortunately very wet. After the driest spring in the last 5 years (according to locals), as soon as the Welsh stepped of the plane, dark clouds came from nowhere unleashing a hellish storm upon the Siurana crags. It was a bit of a washout to say the least, but despite not perfect conditions, they still got a good week of climbing in. I was working mostly with two young boys, Cai and Fin (Bishop-Guest). These two brothers were awesome climbers and good friends. What impressed me most about the two of them was their fierce attitude to supporting each other – when one trying something hard the other was supporting them in a die hard (A Muerte) attitude. By the end of the week, Cai had ticked off a couple of classics including “Viagraman” (7a) and “Crosta Panic” (7a+) as well as getting nail bitingly close to flashing the Siurana beast “Bistec de Biceps” (7b+). What was even more impressive was Fin nailing two 7a’s on lead after never having lead harder than 6b before!

 

During the second week of coaching the weather was quite a bit better but not without the odd shower (and hail storm). This time I was coaching as part of the MCofS’s annual Spain trip alongside fellow Ratho coaches Neil Mcgeachy, Neill Busby, Gary Vincent and Calum Forsyth. Also appearing as coaches where Jonny Stocking, Ross Kirkland, Tom Bolger, Lynne Malcolm and Mark Mcgowan. This is the second time the trip has run and in my opinion was even more of a success than last year. The trip was fully booked with 25 kids attending including not only Scottish, but English and even one German kid.

 

Every coach was given a group to work with for the week, my group being those that I do weekly 1:1 sessions with at Ratho (because I know their levels and needs best). Those in my group where:

 

1. Sam Harland-Sendra (12)


2. Robert Davidson (12)


3. David Miedzybrodski (11)


4. Connor Moore (10)


5. Matthew Fall (9)

The aim of the week for my group was for each of them to achieve a grade goal specific to them, a feat of 20 climbs clean (bottom to top whatever grade) and to have fun! Everyone had already achieved the last goal the minute they saw the crag (aided further with Connors iPad games). All of them were eager for 7a outdoors since they had all at least achieved this indoors. I was also keen to get them to lead a few climbs whilst out here. I was not so worried about getting them leading hard outdoors just yet, there is time for that in future trips.

On the first day we were heading to Can Marges, a good easy-ish sector (lots of 4’s, 5’s and low 6’s) when disaster struck! Andy, Matthew’s dad tripped awkwardly on a steep path fracturing various parts of his leg (specifics I’m not sure on). The trip was off to a shaky start – we had to get paramedics in to take Andy off to hospital and little Matthew was left with us. A number of the parents left with Andy whilst the rest of us took the kids climbing to take their minds of the mornings mishap.

 

The days climbing turned out spectacularly though – all the boys ticked off a number of classics and even perfected their re-threading skills under my watchful eye. What was most impressive was at the end of the day, David and Sam flashing the uber classic 6c “El tiempo se ha reido de los que no han venido”.

 

On day 2 we headed to Espero Primavera sector in the morning, climbing yet more classic lines such as “Espero Primavera” (6a), “Tan San Fot” (6b+) and “Berberechin Fibrao” (6b+). Later in the day we headed around the corner to the main sector of Siurana, El Pati. I showed the boys the mega hard lines such as “Kallea Borroka” (8b+), “2x30” (8c) and “La Rambla” (9a+). They then got stuck into some potential projects of their own. Sam, Connor and Matthew tried “Viagraman” (7a) whilst Robert and David attempted the 35m long mega beast “Ay Mamita” (7a). In an amazing turn of events, David set the standard with an impressive (and very surprising) flash of “Ay Mamita”. This was his first attempt at a 7a outdoors and he flashes it!

 

 

 

Day 3 of the coaching was depressingly wet, but that didn’t stop us Scottish :D We got rained of the wet slabs at Grau dels Massets in the morning, then headed to the single dry overhang of “El tiempo se ha reido de los que no han venido” (6c), which David and Sam had already top rope flashed on their first day. Connor and Matthew were super keen to do this redpoint having already tried it on the first day and since it was the only route dry, we all headed back to try it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the end of the third day, David and Sam both succeeded in leading the route whilst Robert, Connor and Matthew al top-roped it on redpoint.

 

On day 4 we headed back to Espero Primavera under the assumption that if it rained again, we would have more than one or two routes that were dry (being one of the only crags in Siurana guaranteed to stay out of the rain). In the morning, Connor and Matthew made impressive lead ascents of the ultimo classico 6a+ flake “Marieta de l’ull viu”. Sam and David also did this (Robert was resting) as well as a top rope onsight of the hard 6b+ slab “Lamparos toca el Dos”.

 

After warming up there, we swapped places with Busby’s group and took on the mega routes at El Cargol (the pillar). The boys had all tried at least one 7a this trip but with the exception of David, none had made an ascent. I was eager for everyone to achieve their grade goal of 7a in the next couple of days but I was unsure of what to get them on.

I ended up putting a top-rope on the 40m pillar 7a+ “Purgandus Populus” with the notion that because its mega long, perhaps the moves won’t be so hard. In truth it was definitely sustained, but with two obvious cruxes, one low at around 15m height (above the chain of the first 6a pitch) and another high in the last 10m of climbing. The upper crux wasn’t too physical but still very blowable whilst the lower crux required fresh fingertips and some power reserve for the powerful locks between small pockety edges.

 

Upon climbing the route I have to say that its probably one of the best pitches I have ever climbed, whilst the 6c+ to the left probably stands out as being the single best pitch (with the exception of “Tom et je ris”) I have ever done. I watched in total astonishment as David and Sam walked up this route (not without a fight) in good style, their first 7a+ flash and first attempted of the grade outdoors. Connor and Matthew next up fought hard, Connor even managed to make it to the last crux before falling, but unfortunately they were left without the tick by the end of the day.

 

2/5 of the boys had ticked a 7a or harder, only 3 to go. Everyone had climbed at least 13/20 of their total number of routes to climb clean, so we were well on our way to achieving the trip goals.

 

Day 5 was aimed at finishing of goals, Matthew had to leave unfortunately as his dad was leaving early due to the leg injury suffered on the first day. Connor was leaving that night and still had a 7a or harder to tick as well as 7 routes clean before the end of the day. David and Sam only had 5 routes to tick before they reached 20 clean routes – an impressive fact to behold was that David hadn’t actually fallen of a single route during the whole trip, I don’t think I was pushing him hard enough :P

 

I really wanted to see Connor get his 7a tick if possible, so the night before we viewed video footage of him climbing the 7a+ “Purgandus Populus” in an effort to suss out the beta and get him up it clean on redpoint. Early on we warmed up at a new sector I hadn’t been to before called A Can de Can a Prop. We where pretty disappointed with this sector to be honest, it didn’t have the nicest routes and we got pretty wet when it started to rain. We rushed away to El Cargol after getting wet so that Robert and Connor could get on the 7a+.

 

Today was truly Connor’s day… he went for “Purgandus Populus” early on but due to the rain, the first 6a pitch had gotten wet and he fell off on easy ground. It took some effort to get Connor’s mind focused for the route, he was starting to get major redpoint nerves (I could tell having had them a lot before myself). I managed to get him psyched up for another attempt – it went well until the first crux when he hesitated far too long eyeing up the jug he was meant to be going for, he powered out, then fell… Frustrated Connor lost a lot of confidence, but after a while he got psyched again and went for his third attempt.

 

Connor’s third attempt at “Purgandus Populus” was one of the most inspiring ascents in climbing I have ever seen. Connor is only 10 years old, yet his determination, drive and focus to keep fighting and never give up was as strong as I’ve seen in climbers with more than his lifetimes experience climbing on rock. There were moments when he hesitated and forgot the sequence, yet he never let go… he battled and battled up the wall, fighting for every move as if it might be his last. He fought his way through all the cruxes up until the very last move of the very last crux, I saw him hesitate, eyeing the jug as he had before on the lower crux one attempt before – but this time was different, he knew what he had to do. In one powerful pull and a power scream to match he launched for the jug, latching it in a vice like grip fueled by adrenaline and lactic acid! If I could give a fight half as much as what Connor had given that day, I think I would have climbed 9a a dozen times by now :P His effort has inspired me to try harder than ever on routes and that’s saying a lot! Connor topped out on the pillar, successful and exhausted after around an hours fight.

 

The funny thing is, after half an hours rest he was up for more, still with five routes left to tick before heading home. Robert was next up on the pillar, making an impressive flash on “Purgandus Populus” after Connor’s ascent giving us 4/5 7a+ ascents in the group – not bad for their first rock trip :D

 

To finish off the day we all headed to one last crag, L’Aparador, to get some last minute easy routes done before everyone went home. Connor got the rest of his routes ticked (just) to make 20 clean climbs, as did the other Sam and David. Robert had missed out on two days climbing but still left with 13 climbs under his belt – Not too shabby :P

 

So that was the end of my two coaching weeks. I had hoped that by now my skin would have healed up, but unfortunately I am still having issues with it. I did a couple of 8a’s the other day as a mileage day to see how they fared. In all honesty, on 8a’s my skin is fine because I don’t really have to weight the holds too much but as soon as I step it up onto 8b’s or harder my little cuts and splits just open up wide bearing sore fleshy innards. I attempted “Pati Noso” (8c/+), the route that started my skin problems early on in the trip, but after reaching the first crux it tore another hole in my right index pad. I think it’s time to give it up for this year. The route felt well within my grade at the beginning of the trip having almost ticked it second try, but now with all the skin problems it brought, my confidence has dropped dramatically and to be frank, I’d rather go climbing than spend my last two weeks nursing my fingers before one more attempt at a route that will almost certainly split them all open again.

 

There are three 8b+’s in Siurana that I would like to do, so perhaps I will see what I can do with them after a few days rest. I am now looking forward to coming home and getting back into my routine of training and coaching before my next trip to Ceuse in July. When I get back I have the Ratho European to look forward to which hopefully I will be route setting for, the YCS Finals soon after and various Team Training days I am organizing.

 

2 MORE WEEKS!!!!!

ROBZ OUT

The coaches involved during the holiday were myself (Robbie Phillips), Neil Mcgeachy, Gary Vincent and Mark Mcgowan. Along to help out was Natalie Berry, Ross Kirkland and Calum Forsyth.

The coaching involved setting up top-ropes for the less experienced kids, putting clips in for leading, working out suitable routes for them to try, splitting the kids into appropriate groups and generally making sure every kid had the best experience they could possibly have.

For the majority of the week, I was working with young Buster Martin (15 years old from London). Buster is one of the most psyched up young climbers I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I first met him a few years ago at a Ratho EYS Selection competition and even back then, he showed noticeable signs that he was going to be good. Buster arrived at the campsite the day before coaching was to take place, the week before he had successfully secured a place on the Junior British Climbing Team at the Team Selection Day so was definitely on form to be climbing well.

The first day that Buster and me climbed together he managed to on-sight a techy F7a and climb his first F7b+ second go (“Mandragora”)! Buster’s goal for the trip was to climb 8a and onsight 7b+, so on the first day it was apparent that this was certainly not too much for him to handle. On the second day he bagged another 7b+ called “Bistec de Biceps” second go, missing the on-sight only by one move! At the end of the second day, I sent Buster up a classic 7c+ called “L’escamarla”. I thought this would be the perfect route for him to try, not only because it was a good step towards climbing 8a, but also because it had a link up to the 8b “Ramadan” next door to it which got 8a, meaning that if he did the 7c+, it wouldn’t be too much more work to do the link up into “Ramadan” giving him his first 8a!

After having a rest day, Buster got back on the 7c+ and made some impressive links but was exhausted after the days work, so we decided to make the next day a half-day and just get Buster to head out in the evening for a redpoint attempt on the 7c+. That next day, our tactics paid of well and Buster secured his first 7c+! Gary took over Busters sessions from that day onwards and after having another half-day the next day, Buster even managed to nab the link up into “Ramadan” for his first 8a! Nice one dude! As well as all this, he even on-sighted his first 7b+!

On the last few days of the trip, I was involved with the younger kids and got to work closely with young Eilidh Payne, Rhiannon Freireich and Megan Saunders. I coach Eilidh and Megan a bit back home but have only ever worked with Rhiannon once during BRYCS sessions (Jonny Stocking coaches Rhiannon). All their goals for the trip were very similar:

1. To get more mileage out on rock


2. To tick 7a!

The day I worked with Rhiannon and Megan we went to a really nice little sector behind the village of Siurana called “Grau dels Masets”. There are loads of F5’s and F6’s as well as a few F7’s for the kids to get stuck into here so it made sense to go as a whole group. Rhiannon managed to tick her first 6b on-sight on lead and Megan tried her first outdoor 7a. She made an impressive on-sight attempt on it and then rested for the remainder of the day with a plan to return on the next day for a red-point attempt!

On the next day, Rhiannon cleaned her first 7a on top-rope and Megan ticked the 7a on lead! On the same day, me, Rachel, Nat, Eleanor and Eilidh headed to the valley to try some different styles of routes before Eilidh left the next day. We warmed up at one of my favourite sectors, “Espero Primavera”. There is a good selection of routes of all grades here, from F5 to F8b and there is the best F6a, F6a+, F6b and F7b+ in Siurana at this one crag! To warm up, Eilidh, Rachel and Eleanor did the F6a and F6b (Rachel and Eleanor did the F6a+ as well). I had set up a F7a round the corner for Eilidh to try later on in the day after she was fully warmed up. The route is called “Ay Mamita”, it is 35m long and super physical the whole way! Eilidh is a bit scared of long routes, but I felt that doing this on top-rope would be a massive achievement for her and certainly a nice finishing touch to her trip to Spain. When it came to do the route, she simply walked up it, struggling a bit at the reachy crux, but managed to power her way through and topped out with not a lot of bother. This was Eilidh’s first 7a flash!

What a good trip! Everyone achieved their goals and everyone had a great time. I have a funny feeling that this won’t be the last coaching trip out here for the crew as it was such a great success… Looking forward to the next one : )

On a personal note, I have managed to nab a few last minute ascents after the days coaching. I did the mega classic “Zona 0” on my second try and yesterday I did the power endurance test piece “Migranya” on my 6^th try. Both these routes are 8b so I am pretty chuffed with myself. Yesterday I also tried “Dogma” 8b or 8b+ (depending on who you talk to) and it looks like this should go quickly as well. Dogma has the same start to “Kallea Borokka” the super classic 8b+, so I think I will also use that as a starting point to doing this mega route at the same time. After I did “Migranya”, I took a look at the variation “Migranya Profunda” 8b+ and that didn’t seem to bad either from what I glimpsed of it. If I tick of “Dogma” and “Kallea Borokka” quick enough, maybe I will test myself on the “Migranya Profunda” (reckoned to be hard 8b+!).

Psyched!!!

ROBZ OUT