On Saturday morning the usual rainy start had been replaced by blue skies and beaming sun. So I jumped in the car and headed for Dundee to pick up Dougie and Mike Shorter. We drove up the glen to the crags around Clova and proceeded to get stuck into an awesome days trading.

Dougie Cruising Guinness

Dougie started the day off by cruising up “Guinness” which was a fun little E1 that definitely packed a bit of a punch. After that Mike did “Alcopops”, another E1 that got sent with very little effort. Whilst Mike was leading his route, I ventured off to another part of the crag to familiarise myself and look at some routes that I was keen to get on later in the day.

Once Mike and Dougie had abbed back to the base of the crag, I warmed up on the awesome E4 “Stella” which was home to some cool face climbing and good but spaced protection.

After that we all moved over to the upper part of the crag (Upper Doonie) and Dougie made short work of another E1 “Vindaloo” which put up a bit of a fight, but he sent it onsight in the end.

Dougie on Vindaloo

Mike Seconding Vindaloo

The route I really wanted to get on takes the blunt overhanging arête directly below the final crack of “Vindaloo”, which is called “D.R.I” and goes at E6. Mike had done the route a couple of years ago and after giving my some awesome Beta, I tied into the sharp end and got on with the job at hand!

Me on the finishing jug of D.R.I

I climbed up into the crux section and strenuously placed the blind wires that are your last protection for the hard climbing, then proceeded to retreat back down to the platform to psyche myself up for the committing climbing that was to follow.

Not knowing if the gear that I had placed would even hold a fall, and even if it did, would it stop me from hitting the spike/ledge below. But I took a deep breath and committed past the runners and into the balancey/techy climbing up the face of the arête. Thankfully after struggling to find a good foothold, I eventually managed to pull through and found myself rocking up onto the slab and ending the difficult climbing. Then it was just up the final crack of “Vindaloo” and the route was sent. Mike went on to second up the route and after we both had abbed back to the bags, we all headed home feeling good with an awesome days cragging in the sun.

The next day I teamed up with Neil McGeachy, but much to our disappointment the weather was pretty suspect, with high winds and heavy showers throughout the day. But we headed up the east coast regardless and decided to head to the little sea cliff venue Johns Heugh.

After I warmed up on “Jaded Ledge Lizard” E4, it was apparent that the conditions at the crag where definitely a fair bit less than optimal! All the holds up the steep face where really greasy/smeggy and it was not impossible to relax on the holds because of this.

Geachy on E6 at Johns Heugh

But despite the naff conditions we managed to get a couple of routes ticked including Neil making short work of “Arrhythmia” E6, which I would be keen to go back and do on a day with better conditions.

All in all it was a good weekend, and it was fun to get back on the trad routes for the first time this year. Let’s just hope for a drier summer than what we’ve had so far.

On Thursday Mike and I headed west towards the good weather, full of psyche, hoping to make some progress on our sport projects at Steall. When we arrived in the Glen the sun was beaming down and the temps were high. With no wind the conditions were not looking good for redpointing but we still headed up to the crag in high spirits.

Me on the crux of Leopold

After warming up on Mikes’ crag-board I jumped on Leopold and checked how the warm conditions felt on the slopy crux section of the route. Despite being a bit sweaty, the moves felt ok and I was psyched to get the route sent.

After Mike had cranked out some wonder moves through the double roof on his project, I jumped back on Leopold and went for the send.

Me finishing the crux section of Leopold

I managed to sick the powerful crux section and then swing right to the better holds that lead to the tricky top section. At this point there was a shred of hope that I would send the route on this try. I got some recovery back and then headed for the steep moves up the final section of the crack. But to my disappointment as I pulled through the last finger-lock (which was wet) and reached for the second last hold, my fingers slipped out of the wet crack and I took the fall, blowing my hopes of the send to away. No one likes slipping out of a wet crack!

Knowing I had plenty of time the next day to get the route I decided to rest up and when we returned to Fort William I bought some ammunition for my next redpoint attempt, this consisted of some super plus tampons to dry the final moves.

The next day after another fingerboard warm up session hanging from a low down bolt, I went for another send attempt on Leopold after Mike had bunged up the top crack with two tampax. This time everything went to plan and I ticked the route on my first shot of the day. Woohoo!

I was super psyched to get the route sent as it is a mega classic of the Glen and my first route at Steall Hut crag.

Mike Sending the new 7a+

On Saturday, Mike, Dan Timmis and I headed off to check out a potential new bouldering venue on the West coast. It was good fun to try some new stuff and Mike and Dan managed to send some new problems at the crag, two new 7a+’s.

After losing most of my skin on Saturday, Mike and I returned to Steall for a quick route working session, which didn’t last very long. But it was fun to make the most of the good weather before heading back to a rainy Fife.

Dan sending "Bone Crusher 300" 7a+

Me on "Bone Crusher 300"

All in all it was a good trip and it was nice to be on the West for the four days of good weather. Whilst we were in the Fort we stayed at Dans’ and Kev Shields’ place, and It was awesome to hear what Kev had been working on over the last couple of days. So check out his blog for more info on his exploits.   http://kevshieldsclimbing.blogspot.co.uk/

Since my last update over a month ago I have been trapped in a whirlwind of farm work and ongoing efforts to regain some finger strength after a winter of holding onto axe handles in the sub zero temps.

Me on Leopold, Steall Hut Crag,

I have managed to have a couple of good trips on my days off. Including ventures to the Grit, Glen Nevis and some of the closer bouldering venues found near my house.

But despite the long days on the farm, I have been managing to get some good time in on the Beastmaker and some sessions in my training garage/cave. So hopefully once I’ve got some dosh saved up and a bit more fitness, the trips I have planned for this summer should be full off fun and sendage. So watch this space for more updates.

Here are the links and information on how to watch and listen to the BBC interview and filming I did last week.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-17338227
Reporting Scotland tonight, BBC 1, 18:30-19:00 and after on the iPlayer,

Good Morning Scotland between 06:30-09:00 and after on;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074hf7

On Monday Adam Russell and I made the most of the brief return of winter and headed off in Lochain. This wasn’t a normal cragging day in the Northern Corries, we where accompanied by a BBC presenter and two photographers/videographers.

We did some filming and some interviewing and then after some decision making, we opted to head up to the left of the pinnacle area to find some pretty winter conditions.

keep an eye on reporting Scotland next week to see what we were up to.

There will also be some stuff going on the BBC website and on the radio, so keep an eye on this blog to find out when that will be.

When I got home from my Kandersteg trip, it was all go go go. I stopped off at the Sunderland wall on my drive home from Chamonix to run a pre-competition master-class for some of the local climbers. This went really well, and the enthusiasm of the centre and the class occupants was awesome to see.

I then carried on home that night and made the 3 hour journey again, back down south the next day for the competition final and post-comp lecture for the locals and the very tired competitors. It was a good day and it was also good to see how well attended the Sunderland Wall competition was, as it was the first tooling comp they had run. Let’s hope there’ll be many more.

Whilst at the masterclass on the Friday evening, I got a txt from my good friend Charly Fritzer who lives in Austria. It said… “Conditions looking good for Ice, you come?”

Walking down the Valley

Thats all the info I needed, so I drove home from the Masterclass, booked my flights and re-sorted my already packed climbing gear and got psyched for another mixed climbing send session in another country.

Six weeks ago Charly and I were sat in Simon Yearsley’s house after Charly and Matthies had hired a Big Tree Campervan for their Scotland send session during January. I picked up the Climb Magazine photo edition and started to flick through it, I stopped and looked at a photo of the mixed route in Italy “Illuminati”. Charly swiftly said

“ahhhhh Illuminati, I really want to climb that line this season”

I followed with

“yeah me to, it looks awesome”

and Charly being Charly just comes out with

“ok so we climb Illuminati together as soon as it’s in condition”

And that’s exactly what we did!

Guide book route info

On Sunday the 12^th of Feb I flew out to Munich airport where Charly picked me up. We then made the 3hr30 drive to Val Lunga where we kipped in a small ski guest house ready for a day’s cranking the next morning.

Intimidating?

As we walked down the immaculate valley, it was unbelievable how much rock was looming overhead. The huge intimidating Dolomiti towers where staring down on us as we ambled through the trees on the valley floor. Almost as if they were daring us to try and attempt one of the most sort after Ice/mixed this country has to offer.

But we trotted on regardless and as soon as we got to bottom of the leftward branching valley and the ice section of “Illuminati” came into view at its top, all our worries and anticipation went out of the window…..we were PSYCHED!

Illuminati First Sight

After the long slog up the avalanche track we approached what can only be described as the Giant’s Lair. It was a huge overhanging cave with 70 meters of ice dripping over its top. What more could you ask for?

Charly and I knew that the route had a reputation for being hard, but that had never stopped either of us in the past. So we sorted our gear and got ready for the fight.

On day one, Charly sent the route almost onsight, only to slip off on the second pitch when a crumbly hold broke off and he slumped onto the rope. I got the first pitch second go and then followed Charly up the whole thing as he was keen to try and ground up the route.

Pitch One Sent

The ice pitch was totally fine with such featured ice that it was like climbing a vertical staircase of big hooks and easy foot placements. For me the M8 pitch was the scariest of the entire route. After the bolts ran out, you had to make your way up to the ice that was too thin for screws, the rock quality got even worse than the previous two pitches (if that was possible) and you felt like you were climbing a vertical semi frozen beach!

But it all went to plan, and by the end of day one Charly and I had freed the 5 pitch wonder route that is “Illuminati”. This was awesome, but I wasn’t satisfied with my ascent. I really wanted to lead the spicy bits of the route. So we held off on the celebrations that evening so that we were ready to do it all again the following day.

Charly and I at the top of Illuminati

The next day was a bit harder for me, both physically and mentally. It was my turn to lead the route and having already climbed it the previous day, my muscles were not as psyched as I was to get back on the unbelievably steep first two pitches.

But after some huffing and puffing the route got sent fairly swiftly and as Charly was the day before, I was also uber psyched to have also lead “Illuminati”.

Me on the steep and pumpy pitch one

The second pitch didn’t go down without a fight though. On my first go through the roof my axe ripped as I was turning the lip, and I took an upside down fall which resulted in me dropping a tool. This is never good, but thankfully we had packed a spare tool in the haul bag (small rucksack) in case this very thing happened. So I got the pitch sent on my second go. But again the route put every hurdle in our path as possible, and a hold ripped as I was climbing the roof. This time I was left hanging from one tool 50m off the deck with nothing but air bellow me. I managed to throw up my other tool and gingerly carried on for the send.

That night we decided to maybe celebrate just a little, and the next day we opted for a low level, easy accessible ice route which was home to some awesome features and enjoyable climbing.

Some easy ice for the rest day

Charly doing what he does best

On the Thursday (my last day) we had arranged to head back up to “Illuminati” with a photographer for some photos, but the photographer called in sick and had to bail. Unfortunately Charly and I had stashed most of our stuff in the “Illuminati” cave 1hr15 up the valley. So on our last day and under a bluebird sky and beaming sun, we ambled up to the cave and just chilled in the sun.

ahhhh sun

Charly did put some effort in though, and climbed the crux pitch of “El Diamante”  the neighbouring M11 which looked far too loose and chossy to bother with. So after I had retrieved one or two of my draws from “Illuminati” I just sat in the sun and relaxed, happy with the trip.

“Illuminati” was an awesome line and the steep and hard climbing style was super fun. With the ice pitch at the top being the icing on the cake for me. What a line!

And in the broken English words of Charly…. “It was gart to climbing with such a friend” (it was great to climb the route with such a good friend),  which it was!

Below is a link to a short video that I made of ascent of Illuminati. Unfortunately the quality is not the best due to me not knowing how to upload a larger file. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

http://vimeo.com/37338469

Since I arrived in Kandersteg with Adam Russell last Monday, I have managed to do some really fun routes at some amazing crags.

Adam on the first pitch of "Groll"

On our first day we headed into town early and grabbed our food essentials for the week. We also popped into the local climbing shop “Alpine-Center”, to ask if they had any info on the current ice and mixed conditions in the area. Thankfully the guys in there where super helpful and told us pretty much every route that was in condition and which areas to avoid due to avalanche risk or bad ice.

After this we decided to check out Oeschinenwald area which was one of the most accessible from the town for some afternoon ice cragging. We ended up doing “Rattenpissoir / Groll” which is an awesome WI5+ that had a nice, if not a little wet, steep pillar which blew away all the rust and cobwebs from not having climbed water ice in a while.

Me on the second pitch of "Groll"

After this route, Adam and I decided to head back to the scout lodge, where we were staying for the week, and settle for an easy first day. Ready for some sendage at Ueschenen the next day.

On Wednesday we headed up the valley and after following some very broken directions in German, and a couple of detours due to taking the wrong path, we eventually arrived at the ice/mixed playground that is Ueschenen.

Me reaching the ice on "Pink Panther"

As this crag gets no sun during the day and the temps where forecast to be around -16’c at the warmest, it was a bit of a task to get warmed up. But by the time the hands where no longer numb and the muscles were less rigid, Adam and I got stuck into sending some really cool routes.

Adam crushing "Twin Towers"

Firstly we did the super classic “Pink Panther” M9+ which is a route Adam and I had both wanted to do for a good few years, ever since we had seen the picture in the Tim Emmet and Neil Gresham book “Preposterous Tales”. We both got the route sent quickly, and after that we moved onto the neighbouring route to the right “Twin Towers” M10.

Due to the nature of the crux of this route, which involves swinging for a blind pocket (latching it) and fully releasing your other tool and committing to the move, unfortunately I came off on my flash attempt when I thought I was in the pocket, but wasn’t. I managed to get the route on me second go just as the torturous freezing fog rolled in. Adam also had a good few attempts on this line, but came off high on the route on his last go of the day.

Me mid crux on "Twin Towers"

I then moved right once more to the next route “Matador” M11, but as it was late in the day and the Baltic fog was totally draining any energy stores we had left, I tried the moves but we then decided to head back down for some food and warmth. Saving the tick for another day.

On Friday after a rest day and which also happened to be my 21^st Birthday, we headed back up to Ueschenen psyched and ready for another day of mixed madness. Unfortunately our psyche was soon smashed when we reached the crag to find the air temp was around -19’c, but this time there was a stiff breeze which totally destroyed any hopes of staying warm throughout the day.

Me on "Matador", a nice way to spend your birthday.

After running around the crag at full speed with three down jackets on, I eventually felt like I could maybe muster up the courage to go for my route. Thankfully, once I was climbing I managed to get my head in gear, and after blasting through the bouldery moves, I found myself clipping the lower-off on my first go. I was pleased with this, as the temp and wind seamed to get colder later in the day and I wouldn’t have wanted to try the route in the even cooler temperatures!

Adam managed to tick “Twin Towers” on his first go of the day, and was robbed of the tick of “Matador” when he popped off one of the last moves on his final attempt.

On Friday evening we got back to the lodge to find that Adam had an email from his work stating that he had to head back offshore on the evening of the 6^th and would have to be back in Britain for this date. This was bad new as it would mean our trip would be cut short and we wouldn’t have time to get all our intended routes done.

Despite the day news, on Saturday we headed out in search of some steep ice. We headed for Rubezahl which is a classic hard WI 6 in the Staubbach area. Again the air temperature was -19 or below and we knew the ice would be brittle. We decided to have a look anyway and once I got on the route I soon knew that brittle was an understatement.

Me on the first pitch of "Rubezahl"

Due to the fact that in the last week the temperatures in Kandersteg had plummeted rapidly, this had caused the route (which had apparently not been in condition in a while) to form in a very fragile multiple individual icicle formation which is not suited, or the most fun to climb. So after the first pitch, and looking up the second pitch (which was surprisingly wet) we decided to bail. Not wanting to get wet and then freeze our asses off, while not enjoying the climbing.

So we opted to use the rest of the day as a semi rest day and then try and get one last route ticked on Sunday before Adam had to leave.

My plan once Adam had headed off to work was to jump on a train and head over to Chamonix to see my Dad, who is working over there at the moment. And maybe salvage my last few days away with some French climbing. But when I spoke to my Dad on the Saturday evening he said he had a day off on the Sunday and would be keen to get over to Kandersteg to check it out, and also get some pictures of us climbing, then take me back to Cham with him…… Result!

What a day.....Me on "Kraftort" (Photo credit - Ecosse Images)

So yesterday morning we met up with my Dad and headed off up to Oeschinensee for one last mixed hit before we left Kandersteg. The good thing about this venue is that it can be reached by a downhill walk from the top of the ski lift, and the even better thing is that you can descend via hired sledges on a piested  sled run all the way back down to the car, I was PSYCHED!

So we arrived at the breathtaking frozen lake under a totally blue bird sky and the beaming Alpine sun. Our intended route was “Kraftort” which was a steep and thin M11 that takes the wall behind the awesome looking WI6 “Kraftwerk”. Unfortunately the WI6 wasn’t formed, but “Kraftort” was in good condition with a thin ice fang hanging down from the top of the steep rock wall.

Me reaching the finishing ice on "Kraftort" (Photo credit - Ecosse Images)

The route wasn’t the best climbing I had done in Kandersteg, but the line looked totally awesome, so I was really eager to get it ticked. But time was against us and we only had a short day to get it done. Adam went on first trying the moves and soon found out that a lot of the holds had been previously broken off due to the snappy nature of the rock. And that we would have to be careful not to snap any of the remaining tiny crumbly flakes if we wanted to get the route ticked.

I then jumped on the line and swiftly figured out a sequence for the moves which involved some huge throws between holds. The moves obviously hadn’t used to be as big, but with lots of holds now missing (visible from the rock scars and blown pockets) this was the only way I could see to do it.

Adam then went for the redpoint and unexpectedly pulled of a hold that smashed him square in the face. After I realised he was ok, my thoughts soon went towards whether the route would still be climbable without that hold. But Adam pulled back on and found that it was still good for the taking.

So after another warm up go and feeling the last day of the trip pressure, I managed to get the route sent. But not without a fair amount of battling, huffing and puffing, and some sketchy moves trying to gain the thin Ice at the top.

My Dad taking a few seconds out from getting some awesome pictures to take in the view

But all in all it was a good day, and hurtling down the empty slopes back to the car on our sledges was definitely the best way to end a good week in Kandersteg.

I’m in Chamonix now, so hopefully I’ll get some climbing done while I’m here before I head home later in the week.

The Past couple of week have been pretty hectic for me. I was climbing with my Austrian friends for a while, then after that it was time for the BMC International Meet.

During this time I met some awesome people from around the globe, climbed some awesome routes and had a totally brilliant week.

Crazy footwork on The Hyperventilater

I have done a fair few routes since my last post, and I’m out in Kandersteg at the moment, so I’ll probably do a fair few more. But for now here is a list of my most recent ascents and a little info about one or two of them.

-The Hyperventilater IX/10 (FA) – Just before the International Meet Will and I headed into Lochain to bag a quick route on the Sunday before the weeks hosting commenced. The route takes the steep faint overhanging crack line on the left wall of the Vent (to the right of the “Big Daddy Corner”). The route is still waiting a clean ascent as on my last ground up attempt, I came off one move from the easy ground. But pulled back on and finish the route. The second pitch takes the obvious large corner above and right of the terrace.

Masu and Me

- “Coronary Bypass”, with Masu Ryo (from Japan)

-“Hoarmaster”, with Masu Ryo

-“Pfugga-Lule” VIII/9 (second ascent), with Masu Ryo – This route was put up by the strong Austrian team the previous week and takes the steep bulging wall right of “Happy Tyroleans”

Crux moves of Pfugga-Lue

-“Fingers Ridge” – with Paul Sass (from Germany)

-“Devils Delight” –with Paull Sass

-“Gargoyle Wall” – with Jen Olson (from Canada)

After the international meet, James Dunn and I headed up the Ben for one last route before I nipped off to Switzerland. We managed to make the second ascent of the well renowned aid route that Dave Macleod had freed a few years ago “Don’t Die of Ignorance” XI/11.

Jen cruising Gargoyle Wall crux cracks

I had had two attempts on the route on Friday with Jen, but dropped my axe (knocked it off its placement while placing a cam) on my onsight attempt. Then on my second go I pulled trough the crux but the tiny hold I was using ripped off and the attempt was over.

But you know what they say – “Third time lucky”, and surely enough, Incident free and fairly smoothly, on Sunday James and I made the second ascent of “Don’t Die”.

Me entering the crux of "Don't Die"

I was psyched to get the route and even though I was truly gripped and terrified on the cruddy, thin and super technical snow/ice wall above the crack, I was pleased to really enjoy the climbing (once it was over).

So as I said earlier, I am In Kandersteg Switzerland at the moment for 8 days. So keep an eye on my blog for updates on what Adam Russell and I are getting done.

On Thursday night Will and I headed up to the Cairngorms for a couple of days cranking. We met up with Adam Booth and our Austrian friends Charly Fritzer and Matthias Wurzer for a good day in the hills on Friday along with Simon Yearlsey and Mark Chadwick.

Looking over to No.4 Buttress

Pitch one of Daddy Longlegs

We headed into Lochain to find some good conditions and faultless weather. Will, Adam and I made an ascent of the brilliant line of “Daddy Longlegs” and then went on to watch Adam cruse “Fallout Corner” in one long pitch.

Hmmmmm....It just got steeper

Whilst Adam was on “Fallout”, Will and I watched Charly and Matthias cruise Pic’n’Mix” on the pillar. Charly led the crux pitch in roughly 10 mins with very little effort and impeccable style.

Will on pitch two of Daddy Longlegs

On the Saturday Will and I made the second ascent of Guy Robertson and Pete Macpherson’s route “The Gathering” also on the pillar in Lochain. This was a really good line which was home to some deceptively steep and technical climbing with the crux pitch packing a punch at the end.

Me on the first pitch of "The Gathering"

Will on the second crux of "The Gathering"

I thought the route was a fair bit harder than “Pic’n’Mix” but not as hard as “Omerta” so the grade of VIII/9 is probably spot on.

We had met up with Justin Tracey and Jenny Crook on the Friday night who where in the Gorms for some photography and filming antics. They managed to film our entire ascent of “The Gathering”, so watch this space for more info on that soon.

Finely on Sunday after a relaxed start, Will and I walked into a super busy Lochain for the third day in a row to find the buttresses had turned pretty black in places. We wondered up toward Y-Gully in search of some whiteness and found a cool looking line up the right wall of Y-Gully left branch.

What a day!!

Y-Gully (left hand) Right wall

We weren’t sure if the route had been climbed before, but Will set off to have a go. The route turned out to be a super fun and enjoyable line going at around grade VI/6. It was a good day and a good way to end the short trip to the Gorms with some cool climbs and fun people.

Adam Booth on Hookers Corner

Chilling in a Big Tree Camper van with the Austrians

Will leading the wall on the right of Y-Gully

So yesterday it was sendage all round at the Newtyle cave. I headed back with Adam, Harry Holmes, Joanna Lisowiec and as James had sent his project (Torchlite) earlier in the week, he came along as the token photographer.

Most of us had routes we had been trying and we individually readied ourselves for some sending action. I warmed up on the top half of my project and felt surprisingly good through the crux section and onto the headwall. But I knew fine well that when I reached this point from the ground after 20 meters of climbing it was going to feel a little less straight forward!

After this, whilst James was scuttling around setting up ropes for a day of filming, I belayed Adam on “Torchlite” while he warmed up working the moves so that he had it dialled for is redpoint later in the day. During this time Harry and Joanna headed outside to the lower routes to get warmed up and get some millage ticked before venturing onto the steepness.

Adam sending Torchlite

Once Adam was down, my turn was swiftly approaching and those pesky redpoint butterflies where bouncing around in my stomach. I jogged down to the lower routes to ask Harry if I could grab a belay off him when he was free. I was going to need two belayers and two ropes on my route to reduce the rope drag caused by the wandering nature of the line.

The run back up to the cave definitely got the blood flowing and cleared my head, and once I was tied into the sharp end I felt ready and psyched for the send.

I set off up the first moves feeling good and after a couple of annoying mistakes I had joined the steep line of “Torchlite”. I moved up this line feeling not too pumped and found myself reaching the point where I would break out left into the crack of “Training For Something” and swap ropes. After this came the crux, which I had never climbed through from the ground before, so I was psyched to pull through the huge moves to reach the upper pod on “TFTF”.

At this point I was totally boxed and my forearms were pumping with lactic. But I focused on the lip of the head wall and charged off left back into the steepness. I then found myself with only one hard move to do before I was on the slab and I could almost taste the victory. But it was not meant to be. Feeling pumped and a little flustered I moved up and clipped the second last draw, only to realise that when I moved up I had knocked my tool out off the placement where I had left it below and it plummeted to the ground.

Me sending The Big Bad Wolf

After 35 meters of climbing, my attempt was over. I’m not going to repeat what the next words where that came out of my mouth, but I will say that I probably wasn’t much fun to be around for the first hour.

But it was still early in the day and Adam was psyching himself up for battle. He also set off from the ground looking calm and psyched. This seemed to pay off as he managed to tick “Torchlite” with very little effort and got the ball rolling for a day of success (although at this point it didn’t feel like it to me).

After about two hours I decided that it might be time to give my route another go. But in the back of my mind I didn’t have much hope for this attempt. I felt more tired than when I left the ground the first time, plus I had never climbed through the crux, before my last attempt never mind twice in one day. But I tied in again and set off up the steepness for the second time.

This time I managed not to make the silly mistakes that I had on my first go and despite feeling like I had less power in reserve, I definitely wasn’t feeling as pumped as on my first attempt. This gave me a new found confidence and before I knew it I was swapping ropes again on the tenuous hook, and then charged into crux section ready to give it my all.

I soon found myself at my previous high point and this time I was not going to drop my tool! I reached up over the lip to hook the tiny flake, then swung my foot up and rocked over onto the slab.

Even though the lower unclimbed section of the headwall had been bolted and the placements drilled years ago, the slab section was left natural (apart from the bolts), with thin hooks on edges and in cracks. So even though I had passed the steep climbing, I still needed to keep it together on the tenuous section to reach the chains. But this all went to plan and I was soon lowering to the ground with the redpoint high flowing through me. “The Big Bad Wolf” D12*** was ticked.

The Bog Bad Wolf (No.9/Purple line)

With Adam and I having ticked our routes. It was down to Harry to get his route “F&F” to finish off the mass day of sending. And this is exactly what he did.

Harry crushing F&F -- Photo credit - Joanna Lisowiec

Having only had a couple of shots on the route before, and having never linked the crux section, It was very impressive to see him cruise through the lower half and move smoothly through the crux to reach the last clip. After a bit of huffing and puffing (as to be expected) he finally clipped the chain, and the route was his.

It was awesome to see everyone get their routes in the cave yesterday, and it was also good to see that psyche and enthusiasm definitely rubbed off on each other, helping us get our routes.

Check Harry’s blog- http://climberharry.blogspot.com/