JBBC's Round 2 - The Final Chance

Last weekend saw the arrival of the second round of the Junior British Bouldering Championships, an event I had been looking forward to since January. However my main focus had been to train for a font trip a few weeks before (my next blog will be about that but it will be long and I'm waiting on some pictures to break up the text...).

Post Font my elbows had been feeling much better though I didn't seem to be able to get back into the swing of indoor climbing. With 2weeks to the comp my first few sessions back on plastic felt hard... really physically hard. Every movement felt burly and more holds than I realised were pinches (something I had not missed at all in the sandstone world). Not doing any specific training I was merely trying to get the hang of climbing indoors again. Big feet, big moves. With one or two moderately good sessions under my belt with a some days setting and testing under my belt too it was off to Hebden Bridge on the train to jump in the car with the Murphys (thanks a lot for the lifts guys, life savers!! Pretty funny car ride too). After getting them lost a few times trying to find my hotel I hopped out the car to find another familiar, cheeky face in the form of Orrin Coley greeting me. The Premier Inn dinner was delightfully tacky and overpriced as always and with that, we head to bed, pausing only to laugh at how long a film about Snakes on a Plane could go on for so long.

A short car ride from the hotel saw us arrive at the doors of TCA Glasgow where this event has been held the past couple of years. After scouting out which problems were mine and which were easy or hard I preceded to the circuit board area to warm up. 30 minutes later the comp was underway, a couple of blocs seemed to be causing some problems but after a bit of beta sharing I fumbled my way to 7tops in 7attempts with 7 bonuses in just as many. The 8th bloc required some tricky beta mainly revolving around a big greasy volume. After trying 3 times all I could muster was a slap on the bonus hold, not even close to holding it. Hats off to William Bosi, the only one to top this problem (daamn he strong!). Seven in seven saw me comfortably into the finals in joint first with Max Ayrton and Orrin.

(Photo of a qualifying problem by Sandy Carr)

After a quick lunch we were hustled into isolation in preparation for the finals. Due to qualifying in joint first having the lowest competitor number out of the three of us in this position I was set to come out of isolation last. For me this was not ideal, I would much rather be out first than last. I get restless in isolation knowing that everyone else has attempted our climbs and this just builds to the intrinsic pressure I put on myself, though you do get a good idea of how everyone else has done and how difficult the bloc is.

The first problem followed some poor holds to a big protruding ball which doubled as the bonus hold. What came next was a series of more poor crimps, a positive rail and a slot for the finish. Balancing my way to the bonus I made a mistake on the next hold, not leaving room for a match, though with a bomber heel I was quick to shuffle the hands along and pull steadily up to what can only be described as small, slopey horribleness. Squeezing as hard as I could I pulled through to the positive rail and found myself eying up the finishing hold with a swift movement I had one hand in. I looked down to where to put my feet next to be in balance for the match, there was nothing, hmm.. damn. Not but two days before I had had this same problem down at the local wall and had dropped the top trying to campus the match. After assessing all my other options I figured this was the only one with a big pull up I prayed that I would stick the hold. My hand hit the top of the slot then seemed to worm its way onto a holdable part with my arms at full stretch. One flash, I couldn't have wished for a better start.

After another 20 or so minutes and a bit of running and dancing later in isolation, it was onto problem 2. This consisted of a mantle followed by a greasy volume and a very small but technical jump to the bonus. After this it looked like some basic crimpy moves to a finishing jugs. I had what seemed like 100's of goes on this problem. No matter how hard I tried, the small jump to the bonus felt nearly impossible for me. Every time I tried, my feet swung round in crazy style fashion and just at the last minute when I thought I had stuck the hold, my right hand would eject and I would be sprawled across the matting, arms and legs everywhere! No tops for me on this one.

(Problem 2 - photo by Sandy Carr)

When viewing problem 3 myself and fellow competitors had a dilemma. We originally read the problem and confessed it looked hard but where was the bonus. After some more inspection we found the bonus hiding on a volume but with it we found many more holds that took a different line. This looked very hard but was clearly the intended line to take. When coming out for the final bloc I decided to stick with the original beta and pull on the foothold that had been mistaken for a hand hold earlier. This method required an awkwardly high heel that put me out of balance, using the underside of a volume I snatched a positive crimp. Leaning away from the finish I secured a hold on the bonus and turned my focus to the next few moves.  Making one more move my right hand pinged of the crimp with considerable speed. I was back on the deck but it did not matter, I knew I could get there again and I knew I could make the top. Having a minutes rest I did not change my beta in the slightest. I guppied the corner of the volume I had fallen off before and slapped over the top for a big sloper. With one more steady move I was at the top. 2tops in 3 attempts. I knew I was close. But was it good enough? Being back on the ground I conferred with my fellow competitors who confirmed it. I had won! Brilliant, my first national win. I couldn't and still can't quite believe it.

(Junior Podium - photo by Sandy Carr)

The following day I was invited to join in the GB junior team training. Here I learned how to move, eat and stretch well to climb better. All aspects were very interesting and positive for me to see where I need to go from here. The weekend was topped off with me being asked to join the Junior team and being selected for the European Cups and Championships this year. This, was a weekend to remember.

I'd like to say thank you to Mountaineering council of Scotland for putting on a great comp, Alan Cassidy and Gaz for the setting and use of the wall, Tom, Lu, Tim and Nath for all the work the put in all the time behind the scenes and at the comps and training and also my sponsors; Red Goat Climbing wall and Beyond hope for all the support they give me. Cheers guys.

Niggles and Blocs and Wads

From the beginning of February there was nothing more I could think about than the trip to Font at the end of March though I new there were some comps I had to get through without injury first. These were of course, the CWIF and City Blocs final round of their winter bouldering league. Unfortunately these fell on consecutive days though this was the least of my worries...

Towards the middle of February I was feeling about as strong as I have ever felt, though my training had taken a backseat role, mainly doing short sessions whenever I could fit them in. However, having short sessions normally means that they are very intense. This was bad for me. Doing deep locks for a long time because I could hold on longer had caused my elbows to become inflamed and feel very sore. Whenever I had to pull hard or slow I would feel a deep ache erupt from the bottom of my bicep meaning that I had to have a rest from climbing. Fortunately, the following week I had a snowboarding trip booked. ACE! A perfect time for me to rest and recover, then I could have 2 hard weeks training before the CWIF to get stronger again with my elbows healed. This unfortunately, was not the case, for the first two sessions back I felt nothing, cured!! But, we all know it doesn't always work like that. By the third session, it was back, worse than ever, leaving me unable to climb even the easiest of climbs pain free.

Reading round on the Googley Interweb I managed to find many people with the same problem, most of them weight lifters, all saying that they needed to have 1-3months off. Nightmare! Having symptoms that felt not as deep as those described (not being able to lift a cup of tea) I figured with ice, rest and ibuprofen I would be back up and running by the City Bloc comp and CWIF. Maybe not firing on all cylinders but I'd be able to climb. After a few days rest and ice there was no improvement and a session I had planned with Nathan Phillips, I had to cancel. After describing my symptoms to him he gave me an instant response of, "It's not tendinitis" - "just get a deep tissue massage". Being a bit apprehensive, not thinking that this could just be an instant cure, I took his advice and visited a masseur. My god, the pain I went through was unbearable, but it worked a charm. After another 5days rest I was able to climb lightly. Cheers Nathan!!!

City Bloc is notorious for having some of the best set problems across the country! Always having a prime mix of technical, beta related and powerful problems to throw at you. Approaching the start of this comp I had resigned myself to the fact that seeing as it was my first session back from injury (aside from testing problems I had set the day before) that I would not be upset if I did not do well. Warming up I didn't feel strong, unwilling to pull hard and see how my elbows were doing I progressed through the grades and realised I was pain free. Epic. The finals were done in world cup format with the climbers going out one at a time. Having placed in 7th but with Nathan and some others having dropped out, in reverse order I was out 3rd.

The first problem was relatively easy to read with crimps and heel hooks on guiding the way to the top. Matching a volume with 2 micro crimps on it, I found myself 2 holds from the top but with few feet, greasy hand holds and a long way to go, I found myself stuck. In a moment of desperation I put a heel on a lower down volume and decided I would go with the wrong hand to the second to last hold and match it. However, upon rocking over on my heel I discovered the top not too far away. With a swift pop, I was there, top hold, flash. A good start. This put me in joint 1st with Tom Peckitt and Josh Farrel.

The next problem was slightly harder to read with a run a stand into a corner to start. This was awkward, every time I jumped in and put my hands on the starting patch I seemed to fall out. After what seemed like hundreds of attempts with a slower jump I jammed my foot on the second starting hold and stuck it. The next move was a weird crossover and dyno to a jug. I missed it. I missed the jug. With a few more goes to get into the corner I committed to the dyno knowing now what the move felt like and stuck it. Pulling through some easier moves I found myself at the top. Dropping places though, Will Buck, Will Atkinson, Tom and Josh all topped this in fewer goes than myself meaning I dropped to third. With 2 tops in loads of attempts rather than 2 tops in few.

The final climb had a press into a volume then a move to a small crimp, from here you put a foot by your hand on the volume and cranked for a positive arête. With an awkward flick into a sidepull pinch the next section was hard to read. I ended up matching the pinch and pressing into a volume rather than crossing over to a volume like it had been set, from here I flipped my left had to a guppy and flicked to a crimp. Having messed around so much in the middle finding different methods I fell off. With two more goes down falling off the start, I pulled on with one second to go (tighter than  wanted it to be) using my matching beta I raced through the start to maintain energy for the end. Hitting the crimp I dropped before,here I got a knee bar and reached for glory! Score. Three tops. This put me in third place but watching the others to see how they got on. No one else secured a top. 1st place, no elbow pains, a good start to the weekend.

Full set of results here.

The next day I travelled to Sheffield to take part in the CWIF. In previous years I have entered CWIF but been unable to attend due to injuries and family affairs. I had no idea what to expect. I had no expectations before I started. I had seen the start list and had seen the sheer WADdage that was attending this year. So many internationals were coming, just for this. Looking down the morning qualifier list I could see 20 names that were fighting for a place in semis, never mind in the afternoon session too. To be competing alongside the like of; Rustam Gelmanov, Tito, Gabriel Maroni, and Mina Markovic (to name but a few) was incredible! The problems looked super techy with two or three that looked powerful. It was possible to drop even the easiest of climbs. Crushing effort from Megos and Stew Watson for flashing them all!!

I approached the problems in usual fashion, do some easy ones, get on the hard ones, then come back to the rest. This worked for the most part but silly errors came into play, like leaning out on a slabby problem and a foot slips on a smears meant that I dropped crucial points. 10 more points were dropped on a last hold where a super deep lock was required to secure the last hold, with my hand in the jug I slipped off - 3times!! Feeling slightly hard done by I finished on a respectable score of 245 having not topped 4 climbs. This put me in 36th place, going away without a place in the semi finals but lots of things to work on.

Full Qualifying results for cwif here:


Sorry for the lack of photos, I was climbing and unable to take any.. :(

Over the next three weeks I will be in Font, tearing it up with Nathan Phillips, John Thornton and Will Buck! (Hopefully we'll bring you back a nice video too)

Thanks to Red Goat, Evolv and Metolius for all their help!

BRING ON FONT! :D

R.O.C.Fest and F-BO

So after a relatively successful start to the season outdoors, it was time to get back indoors for a few comps. (Not that I venture to far from the warmth of an indoor wall very often

Last weekend saw both the final round of the evolv bouldering league at the Climbing Works and R.O.C.Fest 5.0 at Rock Over climbing in Manchester on consecutive days. After arriving at the works feeling fresh I warmed up on the easy boulders and finally cranked my way to doing all but 3 of the problems in relatively few goes including a flash of the mens bonus problem.

After getting home at gone midnight on the Friday I awoke early in the morning for the long drive to arrive at Rock Over for 9.30(ish). After scouting the problems for half an hour, it was sussed that there were 4 or 5 hard climbs and 20 flashable, but droppable problems. Warming up on the systems board made it clear to me that the day before hard taken it out on me both mentally and physically, my skin stung and was red raw and I couldn't get focussed. However I knew getting completely warm was crucial as I had entered this competition twice before and both times, I had been unable to complete the day, pulling out with finger injuries both times.

Moving quickly through some of the easier problems to get fully warm I felt  much better. The crowds here we tremendous and therefore getting on problems early was essential, I was basically running between problems. So many people!! Time flew by, it seemed my subconscious had kicked in and I was rattling through the climbs fast. Done, everything tried. Overall I managed to qualify for the finals in 5th place with a score of 212. Happy already.

After watching the slacklining jam, (an incredible scene for those who haven't seen how good some of those guys are) we headed for isolation. After the briefing we headed out for viewing. Some pretty straight forward problems that were easy to read lay ahead of us, however they looked very burly and hard.

The first problem was  what can only be considered, my best attempt on a problem. A balancey start to turn round on a volume, followed swiftly by an outward facing dyno, a knee bar to secure a small crimp then a big flick to a slot. The final move was a big yuck from this small slot to the finishing jug. Running out of isolation to cheers from the crowd, this was by far the loudest crowd I had ever heard and the best show of finals I had ever had the pleasure of being in. On my flash attempt I secured the dyno and before I knew it I was at the second to last hold with distant calls from Callum and Cowan of "Come one Joe!!" and "PASSION!" It felt to me like the deepest lock any man had ever. I couldn't reach. I jumped off one foot, missing the jug. It was only when I was standing back on solid ground I realised my mistake. Two feet, is better than one. From here I could not secure the slot again. I was battered. Thinking it was a four minute dead time limit on the finals I quit with 20 seconds to go, only to find out when back in isolation it was 4+. Tits.

From here, it was all down hill. The second and third problems required very tricky jumps both from and to very poor pinches, slapping a bonus was all I could muster. The fourth saw more big moves and a cross through from a terrible hold on a volume to a positive crimp. Unable to hold the crimp I locked in to touch the bottom of the hold in control, jumping off I thought I had been given it, unfortunately not. Damn. I was bumped down from 5th to 6th with Orrin Coley putting in a strong finals performance to take 4th. Solid work on the first problem. However I came away with a cheeky £50 so all was well.

(ROCfest podium and finalsists, congrats guys!)

This weekend saw the arrival of F-BO 2014 at the foundry. Having not attended a comp at the foundry before, I was inquisitive as to how the day would plan out but new above all else, most of the problems would be on the unforgiving, steep and powerful wave. It appeared most of the climbers here were of a different crowd to those at ROCfest, fewer well know comp climbers appeared, but instead it drew in the "outdoor lot". Those who have significant ticklists and crazy hard assents. The legends.

Jumping on the technical problems early my strategy here was different to at ROCfest. I left almost all problems till the end. This was a horrendous mistake. Like, a truly bad decision.From having success on a few of the other hard problems early on I was going well but was becoming drained. 5 problems left all on the steepest part of the wall. I was burned out I had little left. 3 went down, flashes. Two problems that were within my capabilities for a normal climbing session seemed stupidly hard. This was no normal session however, this was a foundry, powerful, wave comp. I needed to flash one to make the finals. Close, but no cigar, after being given "slow" beta by Nathan on my third go of one problem, I managed to see it off on my fourth. The other bloc required an awful drop in from a crimp and a poor undercut. What came next was a big but not super hard move to a pinchy sloper. I reached the very last hold of this with an arm outstretched for the top. The tank was on zero, the reserve tank was on zero.  The wave had beaten me. I fell.

Wave 2 - 0 Joe

I finished on a score of 216. Respectable, but I was by no means happy with this. 

Nathan Phillips and Diane Merrick made up a team that can be described in 3 words. Team number A. I was carried to a second place by Nathan and Diane with them scoring 244 and 187 respectively. They both did crazy well in the finals with Nathan getting to the top hold of every problem on his flash attempt but seemingly was scared of the top and so achieved one flash, but was inches (literally) from coming first. Diane scored a wicked 4tops in 6 attempts to secure third place. Well done guys, you were sick!!

Cheers Red Goat climbing and Beyond hope, super help!!

Night Sessions

The new year and about time I started to write a blog...

With the new year having past, and what felt like all the food under the sun having been consumed over Christmas, it was time to get back on the unforgiving grit stone. The first grit trip of the new year saw me accompanied by Nathan Phillips and Callum Sewell to the famous Stanage Plantation.

The gloomy weather hung over the peak district threatening to rain in the late hours of the morning. Upon arrival at the crag we decided if it was wet we would sack it off and hit the works. Strolling up the path we were not holding our breath for a good day out as it looked sodden and damp but as we reached rock we discovered only a few things sheltered by the wind were wet and the rest was dry. After walking around checking out what was dry the rain rolled in. Great indoors it was. All we had done was manage one warm up climb, and to entertain Nathan, the same climb, one-handed. We stuck around for a while in the hope that the rain would pass and bumped into Hamish Potokar who had been trying The Ace (F8B), desperately trying to keep the holds dry with his jacket. Twenty minutes later and luck was in our favour. The rain had passed and the wind picked up. We're in!

Not being bothered to warm up again we decided to jump on Captain Hook, a cool small roofed F7B with a funky top out. We saw this off relatively fast, myself having to repeat the problem because of kicking the rock while trying by best to "whale-mantle" myself onto the top. After this we took a short walk to Deliverance, a classic slab wall with a dyno to finish. We got shut down. This was hard. So instead we hiked the incredible distance of about 40 yards to Hamish and The Ace. Nathan jumped straight on The Joker (F8A), tickling the jug in his first few attempts. After around half an hour, gaining some super psyche from Hamish getting agonisingly close to topping The Ace, Nathan pulled off the starting block and smashed the campus with his feet flying everywhere. (This was a sick effort, nice one Nath!)

My aims for the day had been to try out Careless Torque (F8A), one of the coolest looking lines at the crag, as well as Brad Pitt (F7C+). From checking earlier in the day we knew Brad Pitt was wet so we went to try and figure the first few moves on Careless Torque. Nathan quickly managed to get the first few moves but no further and after countless efforts to get the first move, I concluded, I would need to be stronger. MUCH stronger.

In a last ditch effort to grab another tick before the sun went down we checked Brad Pitt one last time. It was dry! Someone was there trying it, perfect. After 10 minutes the local sent the problem, leaving behind his beta but also a lack of light, brilliant. Within 15 minutes on the problem under the light the flash on my phone I had stuck the first move 3 times and hit both the left and right sides of the ledge, not sticking it any of the times I had hit it.... This was unbelievably frustrating.  Throwing my heal back on the starting crimp I decided if it did not go soon we may have to leave and save it for another day. Summoning all my strength I hit the first hold perfectly, this was it, just a match and flick to the top and it would be done. My heal felt poor on the starting hold but I knew if I adjusted it and came off, there would be no getting here again. I stuck with it, matching the crack. With one powerful flick I hit the ledge bang in the middle, YES!! First F7C+ in the bag! Clambering over the top my hands and feet were sodden from the puddles at the top of the boulder that I could not see in the dark, but I couldn't care less. I was happy, a sick day out!

(Hamish Potokar hitting the top hold on The Joker (F8A)