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Post by Chris W on Aug 13, 2017 10:05:54 GMT -7
It's always really nice to get those unexpected but hard earned bonus sends. Glad you got a chance to do more climbing
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Post by MarkAnderson on Aug 15, 2017 9:43:19 GMT -7
...in the Gramps. Picked a 40 foot route that was essentially a couple of stacked boulder problems... What route? |
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Post by jetjackson on Aug 15, 2017 22:59:49 GMT -7
It's called Weak Boy - a 26 on the Spurt wall at Staplyton Amphitheatre - it's reportedly soft, but it's still the hardest route I've climbed, even if it's soft.
Hoping to learn trad and graduate up and start climbing on the mixed routes on Taipan by this time next year. Just not really keen on climbing things like Invisible Fist - a 26 where the first bolt is 30 foot off the ground. It's definitely 'adventure climbing' and far from what I have gotten used to climbing in the states at the Red and in Central Texas.
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Post by MarkAnderson on Aug 16, 2017 19:02:05 GMT -7
Nice! I don't see that one in my guide, so it must be new-ish (I have the 2001 Mentz/Tempest guide). It appears I never climbed anything on the Spurt Wall, but I remember looking at it and I have a few things marked in my guidebook that looked interesting. Incidentally, I did climb Invisible Fist. My guidebook notes say:
"First grade 26 onsight! Sick effort. At one slopey crux I clipped a draw to the bolt, but couldn't clip the rope so I kept climbing to next bolt and rest!"
Haha
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Post by jetjackson on Aug 20, 2017 15:01:09 GMT -7
Nice! I don't see that one in my guide, so it must be new-ish (I have the 2001 Mentz/Tempest guide). It appears I never climbed anything on the Spurt Wall, but I remember looking at it and I have a few things marked in my guidebook that looked interesting. Incidentally, I did climb Invisible Fist. My guidebook notes say: "First grade 26 onsight! Sick effort. At one slopey crux I clipped a draw to the bolt, but couldn't clip the rope so I kept climbing to next bolt and rest!" Haha
Yeah it was bolted in the early 2000s - so much rock in the gramps that is still to be developed... well, for those who don't mind a hike.
You skipped the bolt at the slopey crux!? I caught a mate for his first send on Invisible Fist that same day, so I'm fairly sure I know the point you're talking about. He said that the crux has a really hard clip. It's pretty run out already, including that clip - that's some pretty adventurous climbing.
Brings up a good point - I don't recall the book talking that much about the mental aspect of climbing and developing that - I'd be keen to read a blog post about how you have developed your mental game over time - how it has progressed etc.
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Post by MarkAnderson on Aug 21, 2017 15:54:59 GMT -7
Hmm, that's a good idea. I don't really consider myself a bold climber, but I have come a long way from where I started....
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Post by Chris W on Oct 31, 2017 11:19:53 GMT -7
OLD, FAT BALD MAN CLIMBS 13a, with a helmet on, while wearing pants (as opposed to shorts or no pants at all)!!! The grade is a bit debated, but I don't care. It's a big, tall, proud climb and I'm psyched, and, to be honest, relieved. I worked really hard to send that climb, and I'm proud of the send.
It helps that the conditions were finally good, with temps around 45, low humidity, nice breeze, blue skies and sun with the climb entirely in the shade. I used every trick I could think of to ruthlessly wire the route and rehearse the beta. It turned out to be a major mental struggle in the end. Almost decided to pack it in for the season, but glad now that I didn't.
I've now used the Rock Climbers Training Manual to improve two full number grades in 3 years, from 11a to 13a. Many thanks to Mark, Mike, and all of you on the forum for all the help and support you've provided. It's truly appreciated.
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Post by jonfrisby on Oct 31, 2017 11:49:38 GMT -7
beast
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Post by MarkAnderson on Oct 31, 2017 12:38:16 GMT -7
Yaa! Nice work Chris! Your commitment to the process is evident to us all--this one was well-deserved.
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Post by erick on Oct 31, 2017 13:05:53 GMT -7
Nice work! What route?
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Post by daustin on Oct 31, 2017 14:39:07 GMT -7
I've now used the Rock Climbers Training Manual to improve two full number grades in 3 years, from 11a to 13a. Many thanks to Mark, Mike, and all of you on the forum for all the help and support you've provided. It's truly appreciated. This is particularly badass, kudos to you for sticking with the program with such discipline. Looking forward to your post at the end of 2020 where you've made the same relative progress and therefore will have just ticked your first 15a  |
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Post by Chris W on Oct 31, 2017 17:12:11 GMT -7
The Streak, 13a at Birdsboro PA. It's one of the local classics. I just ate, from Chic Fil A ,12 nuggets, one cool wrap sandwich, several waffle fries stolen from the kids, 3 chocolate chip cookies (a simple 330 calories each) and am currently washing it all down with an IPA after putting the kids to bed from trick or treating. It's actually the first time since the kids were born that I have had the evening off of work on Halloween, so I got to go with them. Life is sweet. |
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Post by Chris W on Oct 31, 2017 17:42:17 GMT -7
Looking forward to your post at the end of 2020 where you've made the same relative progress and therefore will have just ticked your first 15a Ha! I'll just have to travel up to Rumney to jump on Jaws II, though I kind of agree with Mike Williams and wish they had named it Broken Jaws. I never thought I would be at this level three years ago when I was taking whippers on Fracture 11a (another Birdsboro old school route), and now I'm wondering where my true limit actually is. This climb, The Streak, was definitely the hardest thing I've sent. My long term goal is to be able to go to a climbing area and jump on a 5.12 climb and have a good chance of sending it in a day. I've had this goal ever since I first started climbing and went climbing outside for the first time, at the RRG. I loved thumbing through the guide book, and all the cool climbs looked like they were 5.12 and up. I still love looking through guide books and dreaming of going to all the places and checking out all the routes I see. |
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Post by Lundy on Oct 31, 2017 18:48:19 GMT -7
Congrats, Chris! Opposing Gravity is the last one left for you now!  |
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Post by aikibujin on Nov 1, 2017 7:20:32 GMT -7
Three years ago, in October 2014, was when I started climbing again after a few years of hiatus. I’m a bit obsessed with logging every route I climb, so I thought it would be interesting to plot out what I’ve climbed in the last three years and see what the data shows. So I assigned a numerical value to the difficulty of a route (very simple: 5.9 = 9, 5.10b = 11, 5.11a = 14, etc), added the number of routes (pitches) I did in a month and the total difficulty, and got the average difficulty by dividing the total difficulty by the total number of routes. In the graph, the green line is the total number of routes I climbed in a month, the blue line is the average difficulty of the routes I climbed that month, and the red line is the linear trendline for the average difficulty. I looked at the trendline for the total number of routes, but it was flat in the last three years, so I didn’t plot it. Notes: In October 2014, I only climbed one 5.7. In November 2014, I climbed about 20 routes, the average grade is about 5.8/5.9. In October 2017, I climbed about 22 routes, the average grade is about 5.11a. December 2015 and January 2016 showed a huge spike in the number of routes I climbed. That was because my wife and little boy went to visit my in-laws overseas for two months. Which means I was climbing whenever I could. August and September 2016 were missing from the graph, because I did not climb outdoors at all in these months, just trained in the gym. Attachments:
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