A Quick Day at The Works

 

Photo by Me on my camera

The van was packed.  Three lads, three ropes, 2 ipods, four pairs of tools, three pizza’s and a fuel tank of diesel!  It was Friday the 13th…..unlucky?  Maybe for some, but that didn’t put off the Scot’s for a wee England invasion!

Dougie and Adam Russell and I made our way south on Friday night to The Works.  Its just outside Ambelside in the Lakes.  Andy Tuner had and still is putting up up drytooling routes there that has attracted climbers from all around the UK to put their tools where their mouths are and give it what they have!  I’ve seen some impressive climbing there in my three visits, and have been very inspired.

The last time I was there, was about 6 weeks or so.  I seen Greg Boswell doing the first ascent of his new creation Powerdab M13.  It looked cool, a slight ‘S’ bend in the quick draws hanging from the roof, huge moves that would test your shoulders, and the all impending doom of a ground fall!  Hence where the name came from.  I guess its not unusual for us Newtylers to climb routes with a ground fall potential.  In Newtyle there are definitely places you don’t want a tool to rip, and there are places you don’t want to take a huge bite of rope for clipping.  So I guess it is only natural the Greg seen this area fitting for a route!

 

 

Photo by Adam Russell on his camera

I had a shot of the route once Greg had been on it.  I think I got to the first crux which is getting your tool into the stein pull, then I went bolt to bolt dogging just to see how hard this thing was……its hard.  Bolt to bolt it seems ok, but climbing it is a bit different.  After going bolt to bolt, I had another shot, but I didn’t get anywhere really.  Lower off, food, and home.

I kept on wondering if I could climb Poweredab.  I mean its M13, at the start of the year I had to relearn Fast and the Furious M10 at Newtyle.  M13?  I don’t know, but something told me that I could.  

 

Photo by Me on my camera

So after arriving late on the Friday, and had some sleep in the back of the van.  We woke to some crazy wind and rain!  It shouldn’t matter too much as most of the climbing and The Works is steep over hanging.

A wee warm up was in order, so I jumped on to First Blood M9/M9+.  Its kinda long and steep, so I thought, if I climb this slow and get pumped, It should warm me up nicely!

 

Photo by Dougie Russell on my camera

Dougie got First Blood in and his flash of the route and Adam had climbed it before, but warmed up on it also.  Dougie then ripped off a massive block on Bloodline M9+/M10 (probably M11 with the block missing!).  And with that slight air of destruction, we went to the upper crag for a shot at Powerdab.

The weather had changed from bad to shite, and thought nothing better to get involved with some ground fall potential.  I tied in, and went.  The first plan of going bolt to bolt to remember the moves went right out of the window.  SEND SEND SEND! And with that burst of enthusiasm and got pumped and shout take four moves from the top!  Hold on……four moves?   That’s not bad!  I was hoping to get the route in to links today.  Once my arms had stop screaming, I tied in again.

 

Photo by Adam on his camera

I felt better this time.  I moved quicker, but the light was falling faster.  Dougie had a head torch shinning where the holds where so I could see.  I made the stein pull first time, which Greg did say was a good indicator that you might have the route.  I powered through the second crux and hung below the last big move.  I was pumped, not as bad as last time.  I waited, shaking out, being patient, can’t afford a mistake now.  One more huge move and I can get a toe hook rest.  As I pulled round to make the move a gust of wind hit me hard, and the rain lashed my face.  I’m going to have to work hard for this.  Come on……

GO!

Missed, miles away in fact.

Again GO!, GO! missed again!

Fighting the urge to let go, fighting the urge not to shout the feeble word ‘take’.

Come on!!! Got it! Toe hook.  I can’t hang here for long, there’s a better rest, two moves later, a nice heel-toe rest, I knew it.  This route was in the bag.  My arms recovered quickly, and with one more lock off, my tool was in the last hole, and I was clipping the lower off.

I don’t care about saying it.  I’m chuffed to bits with that!  From learning a M10 at the start of the year, to climbing M13 six months later, that’s good by my books!

What now?  Well it’s Christmas, and for me that means a little break to Spain.  Not climbing, well a little, but more in the way of relaxing eating, eating and eating!  When I get back there better be some snow on the hills!

Hope Santa is good to everyone, and I might see you out and about.

Never Say Never!

One Year Ago…..or so……

My nerves are shot!

I’ve been sitting in the corner of an office inside Glenmore Lodge.  

I can hear applause, gasps, the scream of someone fighting.

I try to block it out, but I can’t.  

The office is clean and bare, the only thing in here with me is Neil Silver writing up result of the competition that is still going on.

tap, tap, tap…..scream……gasp…….a shout, applause………

Is it over?  Did they finish the route?

I went into the climbing area to see lots of peoples faces, some smiling, some not so much.  A sweaty climber had just untied and sat down out of the way.  He looked nackered, as if he’d just crawled out of a bare knuckle fight.

Rewind One Year and Four Days…..or so……

Mark Chadwick (an lodge instructor)  and myself are having discussions on how to set routes for the STS (Scottish Tooling Series).  Mark wants to work on the granite towers outside, and I have the ‘pleasure’ of setting the final routes.

Route setting, is it hard?  If you ask me now, I would say its alright, a bit tricky.  If you’d asked me halfway through setting the routes, I wouldn’t say anything.  Instead I would just hand you a fist full of hair that I had just been puling out!

Watching/listening to the dudes and dudettes climbing the final was horrible.  Some would climb it really bad, as in not the way I set it.  Others would sketch around on thin holds, making it look like they were about to fall off at any moment, and some would cruise it making the route look easy.  I couldn’t take it, I was a wreck!  

Once the final was over and I somehow looked 20 years older, I said there and then.  ‘No way!, never!, don’t bother asking, I’m not doing that again!’

Rewind a few weeks ago

Ah, email.  Oh it’s Bri.

Open email……………..

(short version) Would you like to set routes for the Glenmore comp this year?

hahaha, no.  Sorry, you couldn’t pay me enough money. Thanks anyway.

Rewind Four Days Ago

Email:

Kev Shields was going to set the routes for Glenmore, but he’s hurt himself…….Any chance you could step in?  We’ll pay you!

AAAAAAAggggggggghhhh!!!! KEEEEEEEVV!!!  If you weren’t so god dam accident pron and were about to kill yourself anyway, I would be doing it!!!!

I had no choice.  I had to suck it up, set some routes and book an appointment with a hairdresser for later…..

Rewind to Saturday Night

After being at the wall till 00:30 on the night before, I was back in doing the final touches.  Well I say final touches, it mostly consisted of flash pump climbing, spinning holds, one near deck out, and a lot of doubt if I had set the route way to hard.  I want the climb hard, maybe have someone get to the end.  It’s always good having someone or yourself finish a final route, but I like it when no one does, its a proper test!  and this route was going to test the best of us.

Did I watch? Did I hell, instead I waited in isolation with the guys.  Instead of listening to the crowd, I listened to Fiona Murray sing the Strictly Come Dancing theme song.  Instead of pulling more hair out, I sharpened about 7 pairs of very blunt tools, and a couple of pairs of crampons!  

It was easier than the last time.  I think the route was close to being really good, not quite there yet.  Some people were off at the start and other half way and some nearly topped out.  There was no real way of guessing which climber was going to end up.

Sorry for the lack of photo’s this time, but that was the last thing on my mind!

Anyone that reads this should understand that Gareth and Bri worked super hard organizing these comps (its no easy task, ask Pete Hill and Neil Silver).  Karen also worked her wee arse off, dawning the head touch to gets the route in!  If it was easy, well it would be crap.  Setting routes is ok, no so bad.  Setting good routes is hard.  Sometimes it doesn’t go right and sometimes it does.  But the thing to bare in mind is that, the route setters are trying their best to keep good climbers challenged.

What now that winter has gone?  Back on the tooling venues for some cranking.

 

The Inconsistent Truth

So this weekend I flew over to Amsterdam for a competition that was being held not far from Rotterdam.

 

 

So once I picked up my passport that I left before going to work, and I found the airport parking after a 20min goose chase around Paisley, I finally got to the lovely people a KLM.

Me: Steve Johnstone to Rotterdam please (as was recommended by Dennis Van Hoek )

KLM: Johnstone? Rotterdam?

Me: Eh, yeah…

KLM: We don’t fly to Rotterdam sir.

I don’t know what I was bemused about the most.  That I might be flying to a different city, I might not be flying at all, or that she thinks that I am a person with a social status that she considered calling me Sir!

Me: Ah ok….(confused look)

KLM: Do you know that your booked onto our flight to Amsterdam?

Me: I do now.  Well at least I’m going to the right country………am I?

KLM: Yes you are Sir.  Please give me your bag.

I complied, and was soon on my way……

Dennis Van Hoek thought that this was highly amusing and thought that it was a mistake to make like booking Glasgow instead of London!  he might have a point, but nonetheless I was on my way.

After a short flight, and a train journey to Rotterdam, Dennis came and picked me up and we were off to the place of the competition.  He said that that night we were going to be sleeping in the climbing wall, I thought this was perfect!  After meeting Marianne Van Der Steen (yes that is a cool name), and had a wee catch up, a couple of beers, I was soon lay out of the sofa for the night.

Competition Day

I woke up.  Not because I had an alarm set, not because I had a bad sleep, and not because I needed a piss.  No I woke up because of Harry.  Harry, I hate you.

 

We soon became friends as he’s kinda cool!

People started filling the climbing wall cafe, and after the usual safety, rules, and routes briefing, nearly 100 hundred climbers set to work out the tricking problems that lay ahead.

Dennis and myself made some good work on the problems, taking turn about for who goes first and finding the secret holds to get us to the top.  After completing all of the hardest routes we were sure that we were in the final and decided to have some lunch and kick back.

At four o’clock, the ‘last route’ shout was giving and the climbers gave their last good effort to grab some extra points to put them higher up the qualifying list.

As Dennis and I thought we and four other were in the final.  The usual things happened.  You get a little nervous, then you put on a brave face, you then have a look at the final route and a quick discussion about rules etc.  You then go into isolation, you contemplate a warm, and when, you try a drink water, although it seems to run right through you, and you end up having about 346 pisses in a hour! And then, you get the call.  Its your turn, time to pull out the stops, push yourself to your limit, time to focus.  You walk through the door, you hear your name being announced and the crowd applaud, you try and look up but the lights are too bright.  You try a remember how to tie in because your mind is racing and there’s lots to think about!  You glance up that the route and hopefully you remember most it, and have already played through your head the way your going to climb it.  Then you a deep breath, and set off.

Now, what happens next?  That’s anyone’s guess.  This is a competition, things happen that shouldn’t and things don’t happen that should.  I should of climbed to the top.  I didn’t.  Nop, I ripped of the fourth hold.  Yep 1,2,3,4.  

Inconsistency is a bitch.  I for me, It catches me out when I least expect it.  I felt strong, I felt focused, and I felt like I had the route planned out in more than one way.  But It wasn’t for me.  Gutted isn’t the word.  Really f***ing pissed off is close.  Why does this happen?  

This year has been great.  I’ve never felt stronger, I’ve climbed harder than I thought I would, but my inconsistent friend keeps me on my toe’s.  One day I’m wont get up my usual warm up route, the next I’ve flash the hardest route I’ve ever climbed!  Or I’ll win a hand full of comps, and the next day I wont get up ten feet.

The solution?  First order two beers for yourself.

You sit there and feel sorry for yourself until the second bottle is empty.  Then you realize that no one gets anywhere without failure.  Is this cheesy? not really, do you feel instantly better? do you hell, but looking like the sad loser that you are isn’t going to help either.  Buck up Steve, sort your shit out and lets start thinking about the Ice Climbing World Cups.  I’m in the Great Britain Ice Climbing team now, and so better start acting like it and put lots of positive mental attitude into what we doing, otherwise you’ve lost before you’ve tied in! 

My weekend was great, Dennis and Marianne looked after me and took me for and quick blast around Amsterdam.  Will I be back next year, your dam right I will!

Back on the training train tomorrow before Christmas makes me fat!