"This photo was 3 weeks in the making.
I had to leap for that red hold. The first time I tried, I must have fallen off the wall 20 times. So I went back again and tried every bit of advice I got, & fell off another 20 times.
And as I watched all the guys sail up like it was nothing, I could feel myself thinking: This Is Impossible. I’m Never Gonna Get This. I’m Crap At This. I Look Like An Idiot.
But I fought those feelings and went back to try again. This time my instructor Ray said, “Next time you leap, don’t take your eye off the hold even for a second.” And boom! when my hand connected & held on, it was amazing!!
I was so happy, I hugged the next dude that randomly walked past, haha! (I apologised later). I’m so glad I did this because I learned that if I try & fail, I should just try again. And again, and again, and again, despite those crappy thoughts we all get.
If I open myself to advice, some will work, some won’t, & some will be pure magic. And if I keep my eye on the goal, I will get there eventually. Metaphor for life, no?"
Great words from Shumane who I watched repeat this boulder problem (easily!) last week. Whatever your level, words to live by.
]]>"This photo was 3 weeks in the making.
I had to leap for that red hold. The first time I tried, I must have fallen off the wall 20 times. So I went back again and tried every bit of advice I got, & fell off another 20 times.
And as I watched all the guys sail up like it was nothing, I could feel myself thinking: This Is Impossible. I’m Never Gonna Get This. I’m Crap At This. I Look Like An Idiot.
But I fought those feelings and went back to try again. This time my instructor Ray said, “Next time you leap, don’t take your eye off the hold even for a second.” And boom! when my hand connected & held on, it was amazing!!
I was so happy, I hugged the next dude that randomly walked past, haha! (I apologised later). I’m so glad I did this because I learned that if I try & fail, I should just try again. And again, and again, and again, despite those crappy thoughts we all get.
If I open myself to advice, some will work, some won’t, & some will be pure magic. And if I keep my eye on the goal, I will get there eventually. Metaphor for life, no?"
Great words from Shumane who I watched repeat this boulder problem (easily!) last week. Whatever your level, words to live by.
]]>The coolest trick I've seen in ages (the guy has loads of video on his Vimeo page).
It's a good analogy of the different components of your climbing performance. I've been doing a fair bit of coaching, and observing of individuals, in recent weeks - seems to be that time of year, when just as we come into the Irish Summer (you might have missed it when it happened at Easter? ;).
As always, people at different stages are all chasing different targets: beginners looking to just get better; more experienced climbers chasing getting better technically, developing their mindset; even more experienced climbers chasing more fitness, strength, power; people looking to get outdoors and have adventures over the summer.
And most of them are doing it aimlessly (but that's a story for another day!).
The video above is all the different components of climbing: technique, fitness, strength, strategy, pacing, having fun, route-reading, mental, etc. And every single one of them is just as important as the other - without one of the stones above in the correct place, none can stand up on top of each other. So pick your/those weaknesses and get them all in balance.
Only beginning your journey in climbing, or relatively new to increasing your grade a bit in climbing? Focus on spreading your range of experience across climbs (routes and problems) to develop a range of experience and skillsets. Don't get too hung up on weaknesses just yet. But make sure to vary what you're doing and
Super strong but can't hold on for more than 10 holds - spend some time getting some fitness, you just might be surprised what happens to your strength in time.
Can one-arm a mono but can't go more than a hair above a bolt before freaking out and yet spending all your time getting stronger? you might want to re-consider your priorities.
Can hold on forever so long as the holds are big? Spend some time getting stronger, you'll be surprised what you can do in the future.
Spend all your time talking about people doing hard routes and yourself doing stuff, but can't seem to get off your plateau of several months/years? Re-think your strategy.
Climbing indoors all the time but your entire focus is on outdoor rock? Move to Spain. (O.k. maybe that one I'm being cheeky :).
Spend a lot of time talking about improvement but in same breath won't accept you need to plan what you're doing?
You can apply this to any climber in any context (indoor, outdoor, comp, etc) - it's worth watching The Ring of Fire video here (although I have a new found appreciation of why music can ruin a video) where the new up and coming 14-year olds beat all the senior competitors (which I personally think is fantastic!). If you compare the footage near the end of Kai Lightner and Ashima climbing the men's final route, it's pretty evident that Kai's strength and fitness is phenomenal but his route-reading could do with some work!
So, what rock have got out of line?
]]>The coolest trick I've seen in ages (the guy has loads of video on his Vimeo page).
It's a good analogy of the different components of your climbing performance. I've been doing a fair bit of coaching, and observing of individuals, in recent weeks - seems to be that time of year, when just as we come into the Irish Summer (you might have missed it when it happened at Easter? ;).
As always, people at different stages are all chasing different targets: beginners looking to just get better; more experienced climbers chasing getting better technically, developing their mindset; even more experienced climbers chasing more fitness, strength, power; people looking to get outdoors and have adventures over the summer.
And most of them are doing it aimlessly (but that's a story for another day!).
The video above is all the different components of climbing: technique, fitness, strength, strategy, pacing, having fun, route-reading, mental, etc. And every single one of them is just as important as the other - without one of the stones above in the correct place, none can stand up on top of each other. So pick your/those weaknesses and get them all in balance.
Only beginning your journey in climbing, or relatively new to increasing your grade a bit in climbing? Focus on spreading your range of experience across climbs (routes and problems) to develop a range of experience and skillsets. Don't get too hung up on weaknesses just yet. But make sure to vary what you're doing and
Super strong but can't hold on for more than 10 holds - spend some time getting some fitness, you just might be surprised what happens to your strength in time.
Can one-arm a mono but can't go more than a hair above a bolt before freaking out and yet spending all your time getting stronger? you might want to re-consider your priorities.
Can hold on forever so long as the holds are big? Spend some time getting stronger, you'll be surprised what you can do in the future.
Spend all your time talking about people doing hard routes and yourself doing stuff, but can't seem to get off your plateau of several months/years? Re-think your strategy.
Climbing indoors all the time but your entire focus is on outdoor rock? Move to Spain. (O.k. maybe that one I'm being cheeky :).
Spend a lot of time talking about improvement but in same breath won't accept you need to plan what you're doing?
You can apply this to any climber in any context (indoor, outdoor, comp, etc) - it's worth watching The Ring of Fire video here (although I have a new found appreciation of why music can ruin a video) where the new up and coming 14-year olds beat all the senior competitors (which I personally think is fantastic!). If you compare the footage near the end of Kai Lightner and Ashima climbing the men's final route, it's pretty evident that Kai's strength and fitness is phenomenal but his route-reading could do with some work!
So, what rock have got out of line?
]]>Everybody loves a crowd - last weekend hanging out with great people in the Burren, Co. Clare, Ireland.
I thought I'd give a little update on the numbers from this site since I re-started back on it in January. Since returning from a trip at the end of February, I've made it a mission to post one item a day on workdays (Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays). Some will just be a link to an interesting article, some just to a video, some with some additional comments, some with personal notes on my own training and progress. But the aim was for consistency, and to foster a little community of people. The over-riding goal being to motivate and share some of my own enthusiasm for my two interests: Climbing/Travel/Sport (on this 'personalblog') and Technology/Education (on the 'techblog').
And I must be doing something right.
Thank you to all for the steady increase - in the last month of April I'm now at just over a thousand different people reading the site. Very humbling and nice to share notes and ideas with a great community of people (especially the many people who also took the time to comment/reply/give feedback/disagree/agree*). In the grand scheme of things, it's not a huge number but nice to see the trend (and more importantly, great to see you all coming back).
So the question is, what do people like seeing? And what would they like to see more of? I'm tempted to go down the road of a weekly coaching post (one for beginners/intermediate) but will only happen if there is interest. And at some point, I'm also going to have to consider how to pay the annual fee on this site - all thoughts welcome on that too :)
My thought process at times about climbing skill - there's a post on this later today (keep an eye out for it). This is a classic sketch from TomGreenall (UK Youth Team Boulder Coach, Climbing Works Coach, and friend).
Have a great weekend all!
*I'm a big believer in open discussion - it's what leads to progress. So long as the conversation is kept respectful, I'm always keen to hear a fresh perspective or idea
]]>Everybody loves a crowd - last weekend hanging out with great people in the Burren, Co. Clare, Ireland.
I thought I'd give a little update on the numbers from this site since I re-started back on it in January. Since returning from a trip at the end of February, I've made it a mission to post one item a day on workdays (Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays). Some will just be a link to an interesting article, some just to a video, some with some additional comments, some with personal notes on my own training and progress. But the aim was for consistency, and to foster a little community of people. The over-riding goal being to motivate and share some of my own enthusiasm for my two interests: Climbing/Travel/Sport (on this 'personalblog') and Technology/Education (on the 'techblog').
And I must be doing something right.
Thank you to all for the steady increase - in the last month of April I'm now at just over a thousand different people reading the site. Very humbling and nice to share notes and ideas with a great community of people (especially the many people who also took the time to comment/reply/give feedback/disagree/agree*). In the grand scheme of things, it's not a huge number but nice to see the trend (and more importantly, great to see you all coming back).
So the question is, what do people like seeing? And what would they like to see more of? I'm tempted to go down the road of a weekly coaching post (one for beginners/intermediate) but will only happen if there is interest. And at some point, I'm also going to have to consider how to pay the annual fee on this site - all thoughts welcome on that too :)
My thought process at times about climbing skill - there's a post on this later today (keep an eye out for it). This is a classic sketch from TomGreenall (UK Youth Team Boulder Coach, Climbing Works Coach, and friend).
Have a great weekend all!
*I'm a big believer in open discussion - it's what leads to progress. So long as the conversation is kept respectful, I'm always keen to hear a fresh perspective or idea
]]>One arm pull ups with @minaclimbing @coccapuccio and @julewurm #strongladies #training #lovelife
"Baku didn´t have to offer any climbing gym for a little training session, so we went on a playground again to do some pull-ups and core-exercises again. The playground was on a schoolyard so it became quite busy when the kids came out for there lunch break. They wanted to take photos with us, we needed to conciliate their love stories, and the little boys challenges big boys to pull-up-duels.
The other day we did some yoga in the fitness room of our hotel, from where we had a impressive view over Baku."
From Juliane Wurm (video above from their playground activities in China :)
But then again, there's always the other view which gives an interesting perspective(!):
"Yesterday I read that Baku was hoping to hold a Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2016. This both surprised me and amused me in turn. Anyone that knows Formula 1 knows of Bernie Ecclestone the legendary boss of the sport.
The simple truth is Bernie would not tolerate a fraction of what the IFSC tolerated in Baku this previous weekend. Here is a man that grew Formula 1 from niche sport to where it is today by expecting a high level of professionalism wiIth every event organizer contracted, one not afraid to walk away if the event didn’t meet the standard expected as a top echelon professional sport. The onus is on the IFSC to exact the same high standards of organizers of World Cup climbing events to ensure the growth and development of competition climbing."
Strong words from The Circuit Climbing Magazine (my review of the magazine 1st issue is here). Great review of the competitors caps off a good write-up too.
]]>One arm pull ups with @minaclimbing @coccapuccio and @julewurm #strongladies #training #lovelife
"Baku didn´t have to offer any climbing gym for a little training session, so we went on a playground again to do some pull-ups and core-exercises again. The playground was on a schoolyard so it became quite busy when the kids came out for there lunch break. They wanted to take photos with us, we needed to conciliate their love stories, and the little boys challenges big boys to pull-up-duels.
The other day we did some yoga in the fitness room of our hotel, from where we had a impressive view over Baku."
From Juliane Wurm (video above from their playground activities in China :)
But then again, there's always the other view which gives an interesting perspective(!):
"Yesterday I read that Baku was hoping to hold a Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2016. This both surprised me and amused me in turn. Anyone that knows Formula 1 knows of Bernie Ecclestone the legendary boss of the sport.
The simple truth is Bernie would not tolerate a fraction of what the IFSC tolerated in Baku this previous weekend. Here is a man that grew Formula 1 from niche sport to where it is today by expecting a high level of professionalism wiIth every event organizer contracted, one not afraid to walk away if the event didn’t meet the standard expected as a top echelon professional sport. The onus is on the IFSC to exact the same high standards of organizers of World Cup climbing events to ensure the growth and development of competition climbing."
Strong words from The Circuit Climbing Magazine (my review of the magazine 1st issue is here). Great review of the competitors caps off a good write-up too.
]]>Nice video of a nice route in Spain. I remember trying this on the last day of a trip many years ago and finding it desperate (which I largely put down to it being the second 8b to try that day). Must put it back on the to-do list!
]]>Nice video of a nice route in Spain. I remember trying this on the last day of a trip many years ago and finding it desperate (which I largely put down to it being the second 8b to try that day). Must put it back on the to-do list!
]]>Looks like it'll be a great set of videos from Mammut.
]]>Looks like it'll be a great set of videos from Mammut.
]]>Impressive.
But this is even more impressive:
“The most impressive climbing I have ever seen! Il Domani 9a onsight by #Adam Ondra!”
From DeadPointMag
]]>Impressive.
But this is even more impressive:
“The most impressive climbing I have ever seen! Il Domani 9a onsight by #Adam Ondra!”
From DeadPointMag
]]>Damn, they're also really good at putting together videos too - must remember not to use the free music in iMovie next time :)
Great video showing a range of Irish youths looking like they had a great laugh in Font - talk about seeing standards rising (across all the ages shown in the video!).
]]>Damn, they're also really good at putting together videos too - must remember not to use the free music in iMovie next time :)
Great video showing a range of Irish youths looking like they had a great laugh in Font - talk about seeing standards rising (across all the ages shown in the video!).
]]>Naomi taking the plummet off the classic "Chainsaw Massacre", 5.12 at The Red River Gorge
"Have you ever clipped a bolt from a hard or awkward position, only to find a great stance after making the clip? Nearly all lead climbers have experienced this at least once. It is a powerful example of how the fear of falling affects our thinking and our judgment while climbing."
Following on from the previous post on falling/spotting, a great post from Andrew Bisharat. It ties in nicely with my previous post on learning to fall for bouldering (with the wildest/craziest video I've seen on the topic too - I hope others smiled at it too :).
With a regular emphasis by people on performance training, how many put any thought into their mental mindset? It's just as relevant for trad climbers too!
"Most climbers progress more quickly if they push their limits to falling. And at advanced or elite levels, falling is part of climbing. If you want to climb at this level, you must learn to manage your fear of falling. In order to improve performance, you must first recognize your bad habits and fear-based tendencies preventing you from falling—and therefore preventing you from progressing. The first step to changing these counterproductive habits is to raise problems to awareness."
The article is well worth a read....
]]>Naomi taking the plummet off the classic "Chainsaw Massacre", 5.12 at The Red River Gorge
"Have you ever clipped a bolt from a hard or awkward position, only to find a great stance after making the clip? Nearly all lead climbers have experienced this at least once. It is a powerful example of how the fear of falling affects our thinking and our judgment while climbing."
Following on from the previous post on falling/spotting, a great post from Andrew Bisharat. It ties in nicely with my previous post on learning to fall for bouldering (with the wildest/craziest video I've seen on the topic too - I hope others smiled at it too :).
With a regular emphasis by people on performance training, how many put any thought into their mental mindset? It's just as relevant for trad climbers too!
"Most climbers progress more quickly if they push their limits to falling. And at advanced or elite levels, falling is part of climbing. If you want to climb at this level, you must learn to manage your fear of falling. In order to improve performance, you must first recognize your bad habits and fear-based tendencies preventing you from falling—and therefore preventing you from progressing. The first step to changing these counterproductive habits is to raise problems to awareness."
The article is well worth a read....
]]>Video editing is one of those amazing skills I don't naturally have - the sheer time required, the amount of video required (we ended up with several hours and still realized we didn't have enough), and then most importantly, the creative skill to put it all together. To do it always seems to be a challenge for me - lack of time being the most evident. Still though, 6 weeks late, here's the video from our Spanish road-trip - slowly improving my skill at video (although a long way to go!).
Suffice to say, a brilliant trip - I've written about it already (every word is a different link). A ton of laughs, a bunch of meeting new (and old) friends. Interestingly, they're all the things that aren't shown in the video - must make an effort to record more of that next time.
Good times. With the summer approaching, what's your trip?
]]>Video editing is one of those amazing skills I don't naturally have - the sheer time required, the amount of video required (we ended up with several hours and still realized we didn't have enough), and then most importantly, the creative skill to put it all together. To do it always seems to be a challenge for me - lack of time being the most evident. Still though, 6 weeks late, here's the video from our Spanish road-trip - slowly improving my skill at video (although a long way to go!).
Suffice to say, a brilliant trip - I've written about it already (every word is a different link). A ton of laughs, a bunch of meeting new (and old) friends. Interestingly, they're all the things that aren't shown in the video - must make an effort to record more of that next time.
Good times. With the summer approaching, what's your trip?
]]>The video doing the on Facebook last week. Impressive stuff. Of course, it seems that random articles/videos/people are doing the rounds in this. I think it's great - the idea that you can continue to show progression over the long-term is something nice. Of course, most of us won't get to the levels these people are at, but whatever is your level, so long as you focus on life-long learning, it keeps things interesting.
I love that there's people out there like this who I've never heard of:
"While I scramble my way up a small overhang, we talk about his project: it’s doing “Sanjski Par Extension” 9a, “without the good holds”. That’s what he says. Without the good holds. Tadej is 51, he climbs 8c with no warm up and skips holds on 9a."
Of course, many misconceptions exist that as you get older, you can't perform at sports to the same level of intensity. It's an easy excuse to use as you get older. But then again, it's not just for performance why to exercise to a decent level:
Maintaining good health and fitness is probably the most important goal to keep in mind.
But there's also that when it comes to strength, you can still perform to a high level if you train smart:
"A 2011 study examined 40 athletes aged 40 to 81 to answer the question, “What really happens to our muscles as we age if we are chronically active?” Subjects in the study trained consistently (about four to five times a week) for competitions in various sports such as cycling, running, and swimming. This study shows that we are capable of preserving both muscle mass and strength with lifelong physical activity. The study also demonstrated the retention of muscle strength as we age (pictured to the right, MRI scans of quadriceps; ref 4). The athletes studied showed that peak torque measurements did not decline until ages 60-69, and no significant difference in peak torque measurements were observed among the 60, 70, and 80 year-old groups. So, although peak torque showed a decline around 60 years, there was little decline in strength with further aging."
From TrainingPeaks.com, who is run/operated by Vern Gambetta a fairly respectable(!) coach who writes regularly about older athletes on this blog and twitter account.
Do you agree?
As always, please share :)
]]>The video doing the on Facebook last week. Impressive stuff. Of course, it seems that random articles/videos/people are doing the rounds in this. I think it's great - the idea that you can continue to show progression over the long-term is something nice. Of course, most of us won't get to the levels these people are at, but whatever is your level, so long as you focus on life-long learning, it keeps things interesting.
I love that there's people out there like this who I've never heard of:
"While I scramble my way up a small overhang, we talk about his project: it’s doing “Sanjski Par Extension” 9a, “without the good holds”. That’s what he says. Without the good holds. Tadej is 51, he climbs 8c with no warm up and skips holds on 9a."
Of course, many misconceptions exist that as you get older, you can't perform at sports to the same level of intensity. It's an easy excuse to use as you get older. But then again, it's not just for performance why to exercise to a decent level:
Maintaining good health and fitness is probably the most important goal to keep in mind.
But there's also that when it comes to strength, you can still perform to a high level if you train smart:
"A 2011 study examined 40 athletes aged 40 to 81 to answer the question, “What really happens to our muscles as we age if we are chronically active?” Subjects in the study trained consistently (about four to five times a week) for competitions in various sports such as cycling, running, and swimming. This study shows that we are capable of preserving both muscle mass and strength with lifelong physical activity. The study also demonstrated the retention of muscle strength as we age (pictured to the right, MRI scans of quadriceps; ref 4). The athletes studied showed that peak torque measurements did not decline until ages 60-69, and no significant difference in peak torque measurements were observed among the 60, 70, and 80 year-old groups. So, although peak torque showed a decline around 60 years, there was little decline in strength with further aging."
From TrainingPeaks.com, who is run/operated by Vern Gambetta a fairly respectable(!) coach who writes regularly about older athletes on this blog and twitter account.
Do you agree?
As always, please share :)
]]>
Elevating Proper Falling Technique
And a video on this post, how to fall, (love your feedback on this :):
I'd suspect gymnastics has some great information/experience on this topic.
This also translates outside along with spotting and getting people involved. As someone who landed across his back on a spiky boulder due to his spotters(plural) all sitting back and watching without spotting or moving mats, I'm a big believer in this. You?
]]>
Elevating Proper Falling Technique
And a video on this post, how to fall, (love your feedback on this :):
I'd suspect gymnastics has some great information/experience on this topic.
This also translates outside along with spotting and getting people involved. As someone who landed across his back on a spiky boulder due to his spotters(plural) all sitting back and watching without spotting or moving mats, I'm a big believer in this. You?
]]>Awesome.
Perfect timing at the weekend and as we approach the summer.
Road trip time to Europe anyone?
Have a good weekend all :)
]]>Awesome.
Perfect timing at the weekend and as we approach the summer.
Road trip time to Europe anyone?
Have a good weekend all :)
]]>Dru in the middle of Omaha Beach. Ultra grainy photo from ClimbTech. Photo Credit: Edwin Teran
"Today I was able to climb the incredible route Omaha Beach. Words cant describe how happy and excited I am. Thank you to those who gave me patient belays, or gave beta or just supported me through my LONG process on this route. I feel so fortunate to do what I love everyday, sending my hardest and most time consuming route is just icing on the cake of the amazing life I live.
Ive learned alot from this whole rock climbing thing. "
From Dru Mack who I was lucky enough to hang out with when in The Red last October.. Posted on Facebook privately but considering it was 'liked' by almost 200 people Omaha Beach is the ultra classic 5.14a/8b+ - I got to watch Dru well into the process of putting this amazing route together (it was interesting seeing the ups and downs of getting oh-so-close back in October and having to keep it together until now).
Nice down to earth words to celebrate the send :)
]]>Dru in the middle of Omaha Beach. Ultra grainy photo from ClimbTech. Photo Credit: Edwin Teran
"Today I was able to climb the incredible route Omaha Beach. Words cant describe how happy and excited I am. Thank you to those who gave me patient belays, or gave beta or just supported me through my LONG process on this route. I feel so fortunate to do what I love everyday, sending my hardest and most time consuming route is just icing on the cake of the amazing life I live.
Ive learned alot from this whole rock climbing thing. "
From Dru Mack who I was lucky enough to hang out with when in The Red last October.. Posted on Facebook privately but considering it was 'liked' by almost 200 people Omaha Beach is the ultra classic 5.14a/8b+ - I got to watch Dru well into the process of putting this amazing route together (it was interesting seeing the ups and downs of getting oh-so-close back in October and having to keep it together until now).
Nice down to earth words to celebrate the send :)
]]>One of the many great pages in the new book from Udo Neumann, The Art and Science of Bouldering.
I've had another meeting or two about Coaching Awards in recent weeks with Mountaineering Ireland. It's something I've really loved staying involved in as I see multiple potential avenues/benefits: better quality advice and information for climbers in general instead of word of mouth spreading of information that is unverified, potential career opportunities for people looking to work in the sport of climbing, an opportunity to take the best from other sports (as well as learn from the mistakes they've made) and help in the evolution of climbing (as it's such as new sport/activity/hobby*).
So, what are people's perceptions of a climbing coach? Now is your chance to give some perspectives and ideas of what it is (or isn't) to you. What do you see as the coach's role? Do you see it only for competition (it's not, by the way)?
Taking the Wikipedia** explanation:
"Coaching is a training or development process via which an individual is supported while achieving a specific personal or professional competence result or goal."
Would you agree? Does this align with what you'd like from a coach?
Good articles and ideas on what a coach is or isn't along with various other ideas/notes:
The 10 Types of Coaches and How to Spot Them
"The Ultimate is an extremely rare breed. If you know one of these, find a way to get coached by him. If you’re lucky enough to be coached by him already, you need to keep him on your team. The Ultimate is a killer combination of all of the above coaches. He displays:
Moving Towards Coaching Expertise
"Competition has many benefits to the young athlete; they learn how to lose graciously with pride and sportsmanship, they also learn some valuable experience of dealing with pressure and expectation. Over the course of the next 10 years the athlete will come across many pressures from exams, parents, sports and relationships, competitons at an early age can prepare them for life's challenges and pressures. Competition can still be a hinderence for young athletes in terms of nerves and anxiety, the pressure that is put on them can take away the fun element. When the athletes are young it should be all about fun and following the long term athlete development model they shouldn't really be competing until they are a few years older."
How much should I pay my coach?
“I think everyone should pay their coach something, even if it’s $20 a month,” said Lisa Aguilera, two-time USA Champion in the steeplechase, “It represents a commitment between both of you that this is important."
"Which brings me to my top tip for becoming a coach and deciding if it is right for you...if you love your sport I’d be very surprised if you can’t become a high-performing coach. That should be your starting point, not ‘do I know everything these is to know about my sport’.
People still get so hung up on the technical knowledge, I’m guilty of it myself! But most of the feedback from my mentors has actually been around worrying less about explaining technical intricacies and just making the session clear, simple and fun. It works for all ages, even adults."
"When you see great coaching regardless of the level, you will see a strong foundation in pedagogy, what is done is usually supported by science, it is definitely forged in experience and proven and tested in the competitive cauldron. Great coaches never stray far the basics, sophistication comes from refinement of the basics. You will see a laser like focus on the need to do activities that make the athlete better."
*It's pretty common to see wariness of the term "athlete" in climbing circles as the impression is that it's performance/serious/etc. I came through football/basketball/etc growing up as a child so no such issues, it's just a term to describe people who put a lot of effort into the sport. As Wikipedia describes, an athlete is "person who participates regularly in a sport". Of course, jumping down this, you could then throw back that a sport is "all forms of usually competitive physical activity which,[1] through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills". Maybe we should recognise sport as the original English definition from around 1300: "anything humans find amusing or entertaining"
**I seem to be on a roll with using Wikipedia in this post :)
]]>One of the many great pages in the new book from Udo Neumann, The Art and Science of Bouldering.
I've had another meeting or two about Coaching Awards in recent weeks with Mountaineering Ireland. It's something I've really loved staying involved in as I see multiple potential avenues/benefits: better quality advice and information for climbers in general instead of word of mouth spreading of information that is unverified, potential career opportunities for people looking to work in the sport of climbing, an opportunity to take the best from other sports (as well as learn from the mistakes they've made) and help in the evolution of climbing (as it's such as new sport/activity/hobby*).
So, what are people's perceptions of a climbing coach? Now is your chance to give some perspectives and ideas of what it is (or isn't) to you. What do you see as the coach's role? Do you see it only for competition (it's not, by the way)?
Taking the Wikipedia** explanation:
"Coaching is a training or development process via which an individual is supported while achieving a specific personal or professional competence result or goal."
Would you agree? Does this align with what you'd like from a coach?
Good articles and ideas on what a coach is or isn't along with various other ideas/notes:
The 10 Types of Coaches and How to Spot Them
"The Ultimate is an extremely rare breed. If you know one of these, find a way to get coached by him. If you’re lucky enough to be coached by him already, you need to keep him on your team. The Ultimate is a killer combination of all of the above coaches. He displays:
Moving Towards Coaching Expertise
"Competition has many benefits to the young athlete; they learn how to lose graciously with pride and sportsmanship, they also learn some valuable experience of dealing with pressure and expectation. Over the course of the next 10 years the athlete will come across many pressures from exams, parents, sports and relationships, competitons at an early age can prepare them for life's challenges and pressures. Competition can still be a hinderence for young athletes in terms of nerves and anxiety, the pressure that is put on them can take away the fun element. When the athletes are young it should be all about fun and following the long term athlete development model they shouldn't really be competing until they are a few years older."
How much should I pay my coach?
“I think everyone should pay their coach something, even if it’s $20 a month,” said Lisa Aguilera, two-time USA Champion in the steeplechase, “It represents a commitment between both of you that this is important."
"Which brings me to my top tip for becoming a coach and deciding if it is right for you...if you love your sport I’d be very surprised if you can’t become a high-performing coach. That should be your starting point, not ‘do I know everything these is to know about my sport’.
People still get so hung up on the technical knowledge, I’m guilty of it myself! But most of the feedback from my mentors has actually been around worrying less about explaining technical intricacies and just making the session clear, simple and fun. It works for all ages, even adults."
"When you see great coaching regardless of the level, you will see a strong foundation in pedagogy, what is done is usually supported by science, it is definitely forged in experience and proven and tested in the competitive cauldron. Great coaches never stray far the basics, sophistication comes from refinement of the basics. You will see a laser like focus on the need to do activities that make the athlete better."
*It's pretty common to see wariness of the term "athlete" in climbing circles as the impression is that it's performance/serious/etc. I came through football/basketball/etc growing up as a child so no such issues, it's just a term to describe people who put a lot of effort into the sport. As Wikipedia describes, an athlete is "person who participates regularly in a sport". Of course, jumping down this, you could then throw back that a sport is "all forms of usually competitive physical activity which,[1] through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills". Maybe we should recognise sport as the original English definition from around 1300: "anything humans find amusing or entertaining"
**I seem to be on a roll with using Wikipedia in this post :)
]]>I love seeing things get taken down that were once deemed absolute top-end only a few years ago. Natural progression to see it occur and I see it as an opportunity to be inspired/refreshed.
- Seems three of the youth climbed a Font 8a (all sending it in in the space of an hour) in recent days.
- Another sent his first 8a in Spain. Many others I would suspect seemed to have climbed firsts at their own levels
- Problems like the video above getting a couple of ascents each, with a group of other people who are very close on one or two also. All were deemed top end only a few years ago.
Two choices: give up (no fun), or concentrate on improving your own level and hanging onto the new generation's coat-tails (hanging onto their coat-tails is a form of training, right ;). Savage!
Give it less than five (three?) years before there's a large group knocking down even higher levels?
]]>I love seeing things get taken down that were once deemed absolute top-end only a few years ago. Natural progression to see it occur and I see it as an opportunity to be inspired/refreshed.
- Seems three of the youth climbed a Font 8a (all sending it in in the space of an hour) in recent days.
- Another sent his first 8a in Spain. Many others I would suspect seemed to have climbed firsts at their own levels
- Problems like the video above getting a couple of ascents each, with a group of other people who are very close on one or two also. All were deemed top end only a few years ago.
Two choices: give up (no fun), or concentrate on improving your own level and hanging onto the new generation's coat-tails (hanging onto their coat-tails is a form of training, right ;). Savage!
Give it less than five (three?) years before there's a large group knocking down even higher levels?
]]>Maybe we all just need magnets in our paws like this little critter who I saw at the wall recently?
"There’s no doubt moving to the Blue Mountains and being around other strong motivated climbers has enhanced my progression as a climber. I am excited to train hard and see what I can achieve overseas in the second half of the year."
From Logan, who I had a great time climbing with in Margalef recently. He recently climbed the ultra-classic 'Punks in the Gym' along with Robbie Phillips. Very inspiring!
]]>Maybe we all just need magnets in our paws like this little critter who I saw at the wall recently?
"There’s no doubt moving to the Blue Mountains and being around other strong motivated climbers has enhanced my progression as a climber. I am excited to train hard and see what I can achieve overseas in the second half of the year."
From Logan, who I had a great time climbing with in Margalef recently. He recently climbed the ultra-classic 'Punks in the Gym' along with Robbie Phillips. Very inspiring!
]]>A video-grab from a fun day out in Glendalough yesterday giving some of the new climbers from the wall around the boulders and the classics. Trying many problems I haven't climbed myself in years, it was a fun opportunity to re-remind myself of the fundamentals of climbing. Going out and having a ton of banter. Oh yeah, teaching fundamentals of movement while climbing. Good times.
]]>"I have learned that the longer I climb, the more I will love it. And I have learned that I can’t predict what will happen in my life one year ahead—much less 25."
A video-grab from a fun day out in Glendalough yesterday giving some of the new climbers from the wall around the boulders and the classics. Trying many problems I haven't climbed myself in years, it was a fun opportunity to re-remind myself of the fundamentals of climbing. Going out and having a ton of banter. Oh yeah, teaching fundamentals of movement while climbing. Good times.
]]>"I have learned that the longer I climb, the more I will love it. And I have learned that I can’t predict what will happen in my life one year ahead—much less 25."
Probably one of the technically best climbers I've watched on rock (flawlessly efficient movement), it's nice to see that sometimes you just have to resort to 'battle mode' to send a route. Still though, phenomenal fitness and technique seems to help near the end too.
]]>Probably one of the technically best climbers I've watched on rock (flawlessly efficient movement), it's nice to see that sometimes you just have to resort to 'battle mode' to send a route. Still though, phenomenal fitness and technique seems to help near the end too.
]]>A well put together video:
]]>A well put together video:
]]>Some new problems in the Scalp, Dublin
Cast: Dave Ayton
Tags: Climbing, bouldering, rock, boulder, roof, sloper, moss, trees, forrest, Ireland, dublin, cleaning and first ascent
]]>Some new problems in the Scalp, Dublin
Cast: Dave Ayton
Tags: Climbing, bouldering, rock, boulder, roof, sloper, moss, trees, forrest, Ireland, dublin, cleaning and first ascent
]]>A quick and short edit of a handful of boulder problems from the ever impressive boulder field of Fairhead.
Music:
Sweet Thing by Van Morrison
Squeeze Me by Kraak & Smaak
The Trooper by Iron Maiden
Cast: Fairhead Bouldering Guide
Tags: Fairhead Bouldering, climbing fairhead and bouldering ireland
]]>A quick and short edit of a handful of boulder problems from the ever impressive boulder field of Fairhead.
Music:
Sweet Thing by Van Morrison
Squeeze Me by Kraak & Smaak
The Trooper by Iron Maiden
Cast: Fairhead Bouldering Guide
Tags: Fairhead Bouldering, climbing fairhead and bouldering ireland
]]>Climbing on one of those first days of spring that feels sweeter for the long winter that went before it. I don't know of any record of these little bits of bouldering, which is surprising as they're right on the road. Derrylea, between the Black Valley and Moll's Gap, Co. Kerry. Well worth a visit.
richardcreagh.com
facebook.com/richardcreaghphotography
Cast: Richard Creagh
Tags: climbing, rock climbing, bouldering, Ireland, Kerry, Black Valley, Moll's Gap and Derrylea
]]>Climbing on one of those first days of spring that feels sweeter for the long winter that went before it. I don't know of any record of these little bits of bouldering, which is surprising as they're right on the road. Derrylea, between the Black Valley and Moll's Gap, Co. Kerry. Well worth a visit.
richardcreagh.com
facebook.com/richardcreaghphotography
Cast: Richard Creagh
Tags: climbing, rock climbing, bouldering, Ireland, Kerry, Black Valley, Moll's Gap and Derrylea
]]>Great problem, morpho!!!!
"It All Comes Back to Us" by Blackbird Blackbird (blackbirdblackbird.com/)
Cast: Barry
Tags: Boulder, Wicklow, Bloc, Ireland, Glendasan, So it Goes and Barry
]]>Great problem, morpho!!!!
"It All Comes Back to Us" by Blackbird Blackbird (blackbirdblackbird.com/)
Cast: Barry
Tags: Boulder, Wicklow, Bloc, Ireland, Glendasan, So it Goes and Barry
]]>Ricky Bell climbs 2.4 Pascals thanks to some quality cheerleading
Cast: chris rooney
Tags: glendalough, ireland, bouldering, wicklow and ricky bell
]]>Ricky Bell climbs 2.4 Pascals thanks to some quality cheerleading
Cast: chris rooney
Tags: glendalough, ireland, bouldering, wicklow and ricky bell
]]>A pretty productive day in Glendalough
Cast: Colm Shannon
Tags: Wicklow, Glendalough, Bouldering, Granite, Ireland, Rock, Climbing, Dyno, Roof and Crack
]]>A pretty productive day in Glendalough
Cast: Colm Shannon
Tags: Wicklow, Glendalough, Bouldering, Granite, Ireland, Rock, Climbing, Dyno, Roof and Crack
]]>Tried first in 2004, left gathering moss until Christmas Eve 2013. Footage is at first old and, when it should be in full modern camera glory, shaky!
Music: "Avalanche (Star Slinger Remix)" by Blackbird Blackbird (blackbirdblackbird.com/)
Cast: Barry
Tags: Wicklow, bouldering, ireland, bah humbug, bah and humbug
]]>Tried first in 2004, left gathering moss until Christmas Eve 2013. Footage is at first old and, when it should be in full modern camera glory, shaky!
Music: "Avalanche (Star Slinger Remix)" by Blackbird Blackbird (blackbirdblackbird.com/)
Cast: Barry
Tags: Wicklow, bouldering, ireland, bah humbug, bah and humbug
]]>Gaz Parry making the first ascent of Diagonal Alley in Dublin's Portrane beach
Cast: Dave Ayton
Tags: Gaz Parry, bouldering, climbing, Portrane, Dublin, Ireland, Irish and Beach
]]>Gaz Parry making the first ascent of Diagonal Alley in Dublin's Portrane beach
Cast: Dave Ayton
Tags: Gaz Parry, bouldering, climbing, Portrane, Dublin, Ireland, Irish and Beach
]]>1 block, 2 pads, 3 problems
Cast: Dave Ayton
Tags: Bouldering, Ireland, Wicklow, forrest, dyno, fall, faceplant and sloper
]]>1 block, 2 pads, 3 problems
Cast: Dave Ayton
Tags: Bouldering, Ireland, Wicklow, forrest, dyno, fall, faceplant and sloper
]]>A short teaser from my upcoming film featuring some of Wicklow's best and most difficult, but mainly undocumented, boulder problems. Here, Adam Ryan takes down his first project of the season.
Cast: David Fitzgerald
Tags: Adam Ryan, BBE, 7B, Glendalough, Bouldering and Wicklow
]]>A short teaser from my upcoming film featuring some of Wicklow's best and most difficult, but mainly undocumented, boulder problems. Here, Adam Ryan takes down his first project of the season.
Cast: David Fitzgerald
Tags: Adam Ryan, BBE, 7B, Glendalough, Bouldering and Wicklow
]]>Mur skalny w Dorgali na Sardynii |
Some new stuff and some classics from Fair head, Murlough Bay area. Music is taken from electronic explorations podcast 210 by Brendon Moeller.
Cast: beastmaker.co.uk
Tags: Fair Head, Bouldering, Antrim, Northern Ireland, Ballycastle, beastmaker, spindle, spastic and bombastic.
]]>Some new stuff and some classics from Fair head, Murlough Bay area. Music is taken from electronic explorations podcast 210 by Brendon Moeller.
Cast: beastmaker.co.uk
Tags: Fair Head, Bouldering, Antrim, Northern Ireland, Ballycastle, beastmaker, spindle, spastic and bombastic.
]]>Sardynia 2007 |
On Thursday Ped and I did Howlin Ridge. Got up early to avoid the worse of the heat but still got baked on the walk in. Racked up but didn't use rope or climbing shoes. It felt more like a scramble than a climb thought there was a few tricky sections.
Route finding is pretty easy there is pretty much a path. Took about 2hr15 including a lot of photoshoots en route.
Having done it in such beautiful conditions it seems like it would be shame to do it in shitty weather.
As for the grade, I would say Diff rather than VDiff.
For climbers it's a scramble. For scramblers it's a climb.]]>
On Thursday Ped and I did Howlin Ridge. Got up early to avoid the worse of the heat but still got baked on the walk in. Racked up but didn't use rope or climbing shoes. It felt more like a scramble than a climb thought there was a few tricky sections.
Route finding is pretty easy there is pretty much a path. Took about 2hr15 including a lot of photoshoots en route.
Having done it in such beautiful conditions it seems like it would be shame to do it in shitty weather.
As for the grade, I would say Diff rather than VDiff.
For climbers it's a scramble. For scramblers it's a climb.]]>
Dobrze zagospodarowany schowek w samochodzie :] |
The Scratcher |
Top of last pitch (our fourth) of Pine Tree Buttress. |
Top of last pitch (our fourth) of Pine Tree Buttress. |
Rythm and Stealth, Font 7A , Glendalough
Cast: Brian Hall
Tags:
]]>Rythm and Stealth, Font 7A , Glendalough
Cast: Brian Hall
Tags:
]]>Anyway, last post was on a Friday. The rest of that weekend turned out to be pretty good. While most people were looking at the rain in Dublin on Saturday, I was out around Wicklow Head in the sun with a few people. Good day.
Sunday was a pretty horrible day, but myself, Steve, Niamh, Dan and Patrick decided to give the cave a go. The guys spent the day playing on Loco (7a), and I managed to remember the moves to Solstice (7a+), managing to do it on my second go from the start. Was pretty pleased, as two years ago when I’d last looked at it, I couldn’t do the crux on it’s own.
Next, I got sick, and was out of action for a week or so. Not that interesting.
What then… oh, so I’ve been following this training program since I moved up to Dublin. Neal brought some weights into the wall, so I was able to set up a pulley system, to measure/control how much weight I was taking off with the sling arm. I was horrified to find that I needed to take ~25kg off before I could do a one arm hang for 10 seconds. That’s like a third of my weight!! WEAK!! Anyway, the only way is up, so I’m moving to using the weights from now on, attaching them to my harness. Hopefully I can take off a kg every week or two, and see progress that way.
Finally, I went up to Fair Head this weekend with Steve, Daniel, Patrick, Cormac, Piaras and Peter. Good crowd. Ricky also had a few Polish friends visiting, so the place was pretty busy.
Saturday was a stunning day, which meant that all the silly people that decided to go bouldering (everyone bar Piaras and Cormac) spent the day greasing off the rocks, and I also got some pretty horrible sun burn. Ricky explained the need to cool down in order to send, and I learned that I have abnormally sweaty fingers, and that hiding in the shade between attempts does help.
Anyway, just to go over the highlights, after warming up, we spent ages at Carbide (7a), and I managed to get to the jug on the lip, and then Ricky guided me through the top out. Tick! Was well pleased. Dan and Patrick were both coming ridiculously close, and will probably walk up it next time they’re there (probably next weekend ).
Next we watched the Polish play on Super Extra (7b/+) for a bit. Amazing looking problem, and one of them got so close to sending it, falling on the last hard move. Definitely a problem I’d like to invest some time in some time in the future.
Some of the guys called it a day at this point, and myself Dan, Patrick and a guy called William decided to check out the Eat it boulder. I’d wanted to try Leftovers (7a), but the landing was terrible, so I gave the guys the beta for Eat it (7a) and Stop Feeding It (7a+). I’d done them both two years ago, but with nothing else to do, I ended up repeating them both for funzies. William managed to do SFI before heading off, while Dan was making good progress, and Patrick was finding strange ways of climbing Eat It.
We got back to the tents around 7, few beers etc. Cormac and Piaras showed up at half 11, with tales of epics.
Sunday was a bit messy, with me deciding to join Tom for some trad, only to get to the crag and find he’d gone off to top rope something. With wind and cooler temps, I decided bouldering would be a good move, and after a while walking around the boudler field shouting “MARCO!”, I finally found Dan and Patrick and some Polish, and then Ricky found us, and finally we all found Daniel O’Neill, who was working an amazing looking line.
We joined him, trying the stand (7a+) which he’s done last week, while he worked the sit (7b+). At first pulling on felt nails, but I was soon making progress, and realising it was the coolest problem I’d ever tried. Within half an hour one of the Polish guys sent it, but after tow hours, and after one or two very close attempts, I was starting to tire, and called it a day.
Then it got a bit colder, Danny sent the sit start, and I said fuck it, threw on my shoes, went for one final go, and got it. Very pleased. I’ve some footage of some of my attempts, so I might throw that and a few other bits together over the next week or two, but for now, you’ll just have to believe me when I say that it’s an amazing problem. Get on it!
So that’s it. Fairhead meet this weekend coming. Probably do bit of trad, bit of boudlering. Lots to do either way.
]]>David Mason...
Leftism 7C, Glendalough
SpaceMachine 7C, The Scalp
Leviathan 8A, Portraine
David is sponsored by Moon and Five Ten...
Music - ALIEN ALIEN - SAMBACA
Cast: Tops Off 4POWER
Tags:
]]>David Mason...
Leftism 7C, Glendalough
SpaceMachine 7C, The Scalp
Leviathan 8A, Portraine
David is sponsored by Moon and Five Ten...
Music - ALIEN ALIEN - SAMBACA
Cast: Tops Off 4POWER
Tags:
]]>I’d seen this problem been done in the video below, so all I knew was that it looked hard, and TALL!
With only one mat, I thought I’d just play on the starting moves for a while before heading home, but I quickly found myself half way up the arete, trying to decided if it was worth the risk. After a few seconds of hesitation, I quested onwards, and topped out. Really classic problem, and a good start to the weekend.
]]>Let me know (use the "Add new idea" button) if you like some aspects of one and some of another. Also let me know if you dislike them all or have any other suggestions....
Also it would be great if you let me know if you like one back cover (left hand page) over another.
powered by tricider
See large version of each cover below.
Let me know (use the "Add new idea" button) if you like some aspects of one and some of another. Also let me know if you dislike them all or have any other suggestions....
Also it would be great if you let me know if you like one back cover (left hand page) over another.
powered by tricider
See large version of each cover below.
Myself and Cormac, like many people it would seem, go pulled west on Friday. Talk of both a Burren and Donegal meet. Looking at the forecast on Friday, it was clear the weather was going to be better in the East, so honestly, I’m not sure what everyone was thinking.
Anyway, after warming up at Ailladie on Saturday morning, the rains came, and jokes about heading back to Dublin soon because concrete plans. A lot of driving and money spent on petrol for nothing. That pretty much sums up Saturday.
Sunday was spent at Glendo. I invested some time in 2.4 Pascals (7b+), finding my sequence, and doing the problem in two halves. Afterwards I did the same on Afro Left (7a), but at this stage I was too wrecked to link it. We were ready to call it a day then, but the Marnanes showed up (back from Ailladie too), which led to another while spent trying Super Stars (7a+), with everyone but me managing to get up the bloody thing.
After that, my body started telling me it had had enough. My back started feeling a bit fucked, and I retreated home to try get some rest and recover.
I woke the next day feeling worse. All the muscles in my back were super stiff and my biceps and elbows were sore from working Pascals. Don’t think I’d every felt so trashed before. It was gorgeous out though, so we decided an easy day climbing in Dalkey was a good call.
So Monday was a few easy leads, lunch with some beers, and a long time spent lying in the sun. Cormac got on some E2s I don’t know the name of, while I did The Shield, Ghost Slab and Gargoyles Grove Direct. First time I’ve climbed in Dalkey, bar one horrible winters day with Steve, and it wasn’t too bad.
That was pretty much it. For some reason I went to a comp in Gravity on Tuesday, still feeling totally shattered, so I’m finally having a bit of a rest day today. Didn’t do too badly though. Feeling like the training I’m doing these days is beginning to pay off.
Anyway, to sum up, I won’t been seen anywhere near Ailladie any time soon.
]]>
But Cormac is tempted by talk of a meet, and it seems it’s off to Ailladie this weekend. Not ideal…
That said, it could be a good weekend. When I think about it, I havn’t had a weekend out there since before Ceuse. That’s fucking ages. I think I’m a good bit stronger, especially with the last 5 weeks of proper training at Awesome walls. So I’m going to try push myself.
So…
Prism Sentence (E5 6a, 6b). Glanced at it a few times. Think it’s time I got on it. I think there’s mention of it being a bit bold in the guide, but on the wiki it reads ”Good protection”. Think I’ll go with that.
There’s also Forbidden Kink (E6 6c) which is something I’ve been considering trying to flash (we always ab right down it) for a while now. So why not.
There’s a few other things I might look at if I’m going well. Been so long since I’ve been climbing routes, so I could be absolutely shit. Anywho, that’s pretty much it. Mournes will have to wait for the following weekend.
]]>The weekend before I went off to America, myself and Jono headed out to Glendo, went way up the hillside, and did a few new problems. Video below (Jono named the problems…). I’ll get to why this is relevant shortly…
So anyway. Piaras came up to Dublin this weekend. Sunday wasn’t forecast to be too great, so we decided to squeeze as much in as possible. We got out to Glendo by 9 Friday evening, and climbed by head torch till about half 12. Pretty epic. Good conditions, clear sky with a bright moon, good breeze, lots of deer about. Piaras managed to do his only Glendo project (Greg’s Problem), while I had a pretty productive night, climbing Tim’s Mantle (6c) and some 6b+ beside Greg’s Problem, and later flashing Al’s Arete (6c). Eventually we got sleepy, and an hour later, we found ourselves sleeping in my car, having been too tired to cook dinner/pitch a tent.
Saturday morning was gorgeous, which unfortunately meant that by 9 the car was unbearably warm, and sleeping in was out of the question. With nothing better to do, it was back to Glendo.
What followed was a long and exhausting day. Firstly, we went up to the problems in the video above. Why? Because I’d left my hat there 6 weeks ago. I got it back, and it was in perfect nick. Win! While I was there I spotted a cool looking slab, and after 20 minutes I ended up adding an amazing 6c to the area. I was pretty pleased
Then it was back down to the valley floor. Piaras was learning quickly, managing to do Howard’s Roof (6b), the thing in the picture above, and also The Rails (5+, but he wasn’t able to get it the night before).
I had a pretty good day to, almost doing Superstars of BMX (7a+), before doing Nu Rails (6c) and Andy’s Arete (6c). I was over the moon with Nu Rails. It’s fucking hard, and I’ve tried it every time I’ve come to Glendo over the years. Yay for progress! We ended the day playing on 2.4 Pascals (7b/+) with the Marnanes. A few pointers from them had me doing the second move statically. Now that I’m finished with all the 6cs, it’s on the the 7s and putting more time into things. Thing Pascals is pretty much top of the list.
That was pretty much it. The long days, short sleeps and skipping dinner caught up with us, and we were both pretty fucked on Sunday. Ayton’s Cave would have been on the cards if we’d had more energy, but we settled for some routes in Awesome Walls.
P.S. To all you trad lovers, I’m bouldering to get strong for routes. So don’t worry.
]]>Last weekend was a bit of a wash. Was half way out to Wicklow with Steve and Ailish on Saturday before it started raining and we bailed for Awesome Walls.
On Sunday myself and Steve popped out to Ayton’s Cave, but the sea was too rough, and I got soaked…
I ended up nipping out to the Scalp that evening for a few hours, and found a cool 7c boulder that is pretty perfect to have as a bit of a long term project. Cool problem, half an hour from work, safe landing. It’s called Primer.
I got out on Tuesday after work, but it was a bit warm and still. I’m keen to see what it feels like some evening with good conditions.
Finally, myself and Piaras are just in the door from Glendo. Didn’t think it was possible, but I got even more done than I did two weeks ago. Piaras managed to get loads done too. More on that soon. Stay tuned
]]>Caroline on probably one of the most classic boulder problems in Glendalough, Co. Wicklow.
Cast: Dave Ayton
Tags: Caroline Harney, Ayton, Chillax, Glendalough, Ireland, Wicklow, Rock, Snow, Fox, Lamb, Baby, Bouldering, Roof, Slopers, dyno and heel
]]>Caroline on probably one of the most classic boulder problems in Glendalough, Co. Wicklow.
Cast: Dave Ayton
Tags: Caroline Harney, Ayton, Chillax, Glendalough, Ireland, Wicklow, Rock, Snow, Fox, Lamb, Baby, Bouldering, Roof, Slopers, dyno and heel
]]>Saturday was amazing. Blue skies, lots of people about and lots of skin on our fingers. I was climbing with Daniel Tubridy for the weekend, and after a good warm up, and a quick look at Nu Rails (still feels nails…) the madness began.
We went over to Quality Control (6c). Daniel figured out nice beta for the opening moves, and 15 minutes later we’d both done it. We met up with Paul Mallee and went over to BBE (7a). Paul got psyched, and did it. I got jealous, so did it too. Daniel made some good progress, but it eats skin quickly.
Next it was over to Big Jane. We had a look at The Groove ss (7a+) and I was getting much further on it than before. Paul walked up it… We spent a while playing about on Andy’s Arete before joining two other guys, firing 5 mats under Rhythm and Stealth (7a), and going for it.
I went first, and got it first go (I’ve done it before, but was nice to do it again). Then Paul did it, and Daniel and one of the other guys started working it. Daniel gave it a good flash attempt, but then tiredness began to kick in, and he never got as close again. The other guy eventually figured out all the moves, and blasted to the top for his 1st 7a.
Next it was off to Chillax (6c). Paul did it. I did it eventually, although there was a small bit of a dab so I might go back again some time. Next it was off to the Nu Rails boulder to join the Marnanes. I tried Superstars of BMX (7a+), and watched Kev beast it. Then Sean sent Nu Rails. By the sounds of it he’s been working it for years.
It was probably 6 by this time, so we headed over to look at Johns Roof (6c). Paul dished out beta, but I found an easier way and got in a few minutes. Cool problem. Love finding sneaky beta. Sean, Kev and Dan all managed to do it pretty soon after that.
We finished up with a quick look at Dec’s Pyramid (6c), and to end they day. I flashed some nearby 6b.
So that was my super productive day. A 6b, 3 6cs and a 7a. Think everyone had a pretty great day. Headed back to Kev’s place, and spent the evening watching the boudlering world cup.
Headed out again on Sunday with Dan. Bit cloudier and colder. We were both wrecked, and skin was pretty thin, so we didn’t really plan on getting much done. We played around on a few 6bs on Big Jim and both managing to do Duffy Slap (6b+).
Next we went over to check out a cluster of 7as Kev had recommended. Fuck all Left, The Goat, The Cherry, and Afro Left. We weren’t really going to get up any of them at this stage, but we had a play on The Goat and Afro Left. Two amazing problems. The Goat is easily one of the coolest problems I’ve seen, and I’m going straight for it the next time I’m out. Classic sloper traverse.
Then Sean showed up, and after a play on Afro left, we all nipped up the boulder field to Black Art (6c). I’d tired this before, and wanted to get it done. Managed it second go, and was pretty pleased. Sean figured it out pretty quickly and before long he’d done it too.
Myself and Dan were pretty much done, so we just hung around for another half hour, and showed Sean the other 7as. He blew my mind by flashing The Goat, making it a pretty impressive weekend for him. To top things off, when I got home, I got a text to say he’d managed to do Afro Left after we’d gone.
That’s it anyway. Great weekend. Got loads done. Saw loads of new problems that I want to do. Psyche is high for Wicklow.
]]>
Si gave me one of the best bits of advice anyone’s ever given me. Don’t full crimp indoors. It makes perfect sense. Yes it may help me to get up problems, but that’s not the point. The point is to get strong, and all full crimping achieves in that regard is taking work away from the fingers. Plus full crimp = potential for injury.
I’ve cut it out completely since he told me that. I’m choosing to fail on problems now rather than crimp my way to the top. It feels safer, and my forearms really feel like they’re getting more of a work out.
I’ve also just started this program:
It turns out that the type of training I’ve always done on the beastmaker (7 second hang 3 second rest 7 second hang 3 second rest etc etc) is more for endurance than maximum finger strength. Woops. Ideally I should have been doing something along the lines of the above video first, and then building on that.
Dublin’s pretty good for advice. People like Neal and Ricky floating about throwing out bits of knowledge. It’s great. There’s also no shortage of people looking to get out on the weekend. Weather permitting, I’ll be filling the car and hitting Wicklow or Fair Head most weekends. Whole world of next problems and routes for me to try.
]]>Bits of pieces of footage that I've had for a while, some problems from previous shorts but notable ascents and some new ones.
Problems: Boneyard Arete (7a+),
Left Arete of the Jurgen (6c),
Jungle Massive (6c),
The Burbs (7a),
Jurgen Meyers (5+)
& Mick's Magic (6c).
Music: All the Other Kids by Pumped up Kicks
Tags: kerry, bouldering, ireland, bloc, black valley, gap of dunloe and climbing
]]>Bits of pieces of footage that I've had for a while, some problems from previous shorts but notable ascents and some new ones.
Problems: Boneyard Arete (7a+),
Left Arete of the Jurgen (6c),
Jungle Massive (6c),
The Burbs (7a),
Jurgen Meyers (5+)
& Mick's Magic (6c).
Music: All the Other Kids by Pumped up Kicks
Tags: kerry, bouldering, ireland, bloc, black valley, gap of dunloe and climbing
]]>I’d been talking to Si about getting out one of the weekends I was here, and on Thursday he got in touch and said he was up for getting out on Saturday. I was pretty psyched, and threw a post up on Facebook. Few seconds later I get a message from Sean. Turns out he’d just landed in San Fran with no real plans, and was up for tagging along, and so two became 3.
He was also up for staying the whole weekend if we could find a lift back on Sunday evening, and so one day became two.
Anyway, we all crammed into Si’s car early Saturday morning and hit the road. I snoozed a good bit, but all you need to know is that eventually we pulled up, I got out of the car, and saw this:
I was pretty pleased. A few minutes later and this was our view:
I caught a glimpse of something catching the sun, so took a very zoomed picture, and managed to find two climbers on it.
Basically, the place is fucking HUGE!!!
After a few minutes of staring at the wall, we headed over to camp 4, and warmed up on some of the boulder problems around the campsite. I got spanked by pretty much everything, Si walked up some classic slab called Blue Suede Shoes (V5), and Sean did what Sean does…
After that, the guys decided it would be fun to solo something easy. I was much too aware that what these two considered easy might be pretty fucking hard for me, but I was hardly going to say no, so off we went. The route they’d picked was Royal Arches, and the whole thing was amazing. 15 or so pitches, with pretty much every style of climbing you can imagine.
I’ve no idea how long it took, although I know they would have been a lot faster without me. By the time we got to the top, my ankles were absolutely killing me. I’m guessing they’re just not used to being torqued into cracks, and it’s not like I’ve been out on routes much over the winter. They’ll definitely need to be strengthened a bit before my return in August. He’s a few pictures of the route:
I guess it took another half hour or so to rap down, and by then if was getting late, and Si had to hit the road. Myself and Sean pitched the tent, and went in search of some much needed food. We seemed to be blessed with the luck of the Irish. We popped our heads into an expensive restaurant for a second looking for a friend of Sean’s, and someone handed me a container with a big chunk of lamb. Score! After that we went back to the cafe. We got in just as it was closing, and had to wait 15 min for the gluten free pasta Sean wanted. By the time our food was ready, the tills were closed, and we were told we didn’t need to pay. Free lamb and free dinner! Not too bad.
Back to the campsite, off to bed, and I spent most of the night listening to coyotes make strange noises, and some other animals feast on a load of energy bars some idiot had left outside in a plastic bag.
Day 2. Got up super early, ate loads, and headed over to the Royal Arches to try Serenity Crack. Sean raced up the first pitch, and then it was time for my first Yosemite lead! I felt a bit shaky at the start (I needed to figure out how to do a ring lock for the opening moves right above the belay) , but then settled into things as the crack became a more familiar size. We didn’t have a massive rack, so I was having to run things out a bit more than usual, which was interesting, but I slowly got a feel for the climbing, and picked up the pace a bit. The crux was a delicate traverse moving across from one crack to another, which was pretty cool, and I was over the moon when I finally clipped the chains. Amazing pitch, and great feeling to not fail on my first lead. Sean raced up the 3rd pitch (which had an amazing section with a perfect finger crack though a steep shield of rock with nothing for your feet), and by the time I got to the belay I was looking forward to getting back to the ground, resting my feet, and having a nice drink of water.
Sean had other plans however, and insisted we do the extension, Sons of Yesterday, a further 4 pitches. To keep this story short, I did P4 (another amazing pitch), Sean did P5, I was suffering too much by then, so let Sean do P6, and finally Sean convinced me to do P7. By this point I was having to shake my feet constantly to relieve some of the pain in my ankles, and kept trying to find alternative ways to climb the routes that didn’t require jamming, so P7 was pretty torturous. Finally, I got to the belay, threw off my shoes, and half an hour later we were down at the ground, with all the water and comfy shoes I could ask for.
We made a quick stop by the river on our way back to the campsite, and dipping my feet in the water was the most amazing feeling ever! It was freezing, and I could only hold my hands or feet in for max 10 seconds, but somehow Sean was able to hop in and go for a swim. The guy’s mental…
So that was pretty much our weekend done with. We went back to the campsite, and when Sean asked me to text Mary Kate to let her know where we were, we realised neither of us had a working phone (mine doesn’t work over here and Sean just doesn’t own one). So it seemed we were a bit screwed. We found a payphone, but only got through to her voice-mail, so left her a message, but after an hour or so, we were convinced she’d left and forgotten about us, and I was worried I wasn’t going to make it back for work on Monday.
We tried hitching, but 40 minutes later we’d had no luck and all hope was gone. I was wondering if anyone in work would really believe I’d “accidentally” got stuck in Yosemite, when Mary Kate suddenly showed up and saved the day. The drive back was a good laugh, with a good bit of singing and Sean playing on the whistle, and a long battle with a very temperamental aux input.
We stopped for dinner on the way back at a cool little place owned by Conrad Anker’s family, and Mary Kate showed us a few pictures from a recent trip of hers to Ireland, asking if we had much climbing. I burst out laughing when I saw she had a picture of Ballyryan. The poor thing had stood on top of Ailladie and not even know it.
That’s pretty much it anyway. Got back to the hotel by 12. Home this weekend, and I’m hoping the weather’s a bit better than when I left.
]]>
Cast: Colm Shannon
Tags: Boudlering, Doolin, Ireland, Limestone, Rock and Climbing
]]>Cast: Colm Shannon
Tags: Boudlering, Doolin, Ireland, Limestone, Rock and Climbing
]]>I went through the entire process on this one..... Beautiful boulder...
Music .....Mikhael Paskalev - I spy
Cast: Tops Off 4POWER
Tags:
]]>I went through the entire process on this one..... Beautiful boulder...
Music .....Mikhael Paskalev - I spy
Cast: Tops Off 4POWER
Tags:
]]>Very cool move at 3:12]]>
Very cool move at 3:12]]>
Song: Night Section from Life Cycles Soundtrack by Data Romance
Certainly one of the best lines in Glendalough. Perfect movement!
Cast: David Fitzgerald
Tags: Glendalough, Bouldering and Irish Climbing
]]>Song: Night Section from Life Cycles Soundtrack by Data Romance
Certainly one of the best lines in Glendalough. Perfect movement!
Cast: David Fitzgerald
Tags: Glendalough, Bouldering and Irish Climbing
]]>Could not for the life of me get the foot swap so I had to come up with my own beta...
Song - Little People by The Procussions.
Cast: David Fitzgerald
Tags: Irish Bouldering, Glendalough Bouldering, Irish Climbing, Glendalough and The Groove.
]]>Could not for the life of me get the foot swap so I had to come up with my own beta...
Song - Little People by The Procussions.
Cast: David Fitzgerald
Tags: Irish Bouldering, Glendalough Bouldering, Irish Climbing, Glendalough and The Groove.
]]>Just a little edit I've had lying around on my computer for a while, thought I'd upload it for anyone interested in the beta...Enjoy! It's a great little problem...
Song: Deltron 3030 - 3030
Camera credits: Big thanks to Dan's lovely GoPro.
Cast: David Fitzgerald
Tags: Glendalough, Bouldering, Rock Climbing and BBE
]]>Just a little edit I've had lying around on my computer for a while, thought I'd upload it for anyone interested in the beta...Enjoy! It's a great little problem...
Song: Deltron 3030 - 3030
Camera credits: Big thanks to Dan's lovely GoPro.
Cast: David Fitzgerald
Tags: Glendalough, Bouldering, Rock Climbing and BBE
]]>A brilliant little problemo at Fairhead. The first move took me about a million goes. There are so many quality problems here and a buzzing hive of lines still waiting to be climbed. Already looking forward to my fleeting visit next year
Cast: Kieran King
Tags: Fairhead, Bouldering, 7c, Northern, Ireland, Murlough and Bay
]]>A brilliant little problemo at Fairhead. The first move took me about a million goes. There are so many quality problems here and a buzzing hive of lines still waiting to be climbed. Already looking forward to my fleeting visit next year
Cast: Kieran King
Tags: Fairhead, Bouldering, 7c, Northern, Ireland, Murlough and Bay
]]>Line goes up the right side |
Nice crimp just below the top |
The big roof |
Downhill side |
Lake side |
Beef to the Heel |
Shadow |
Line goes up the right side |
Nice crimp just below the top |
The big roof |
Downhill side |
Lake side |
Beef to the Heel |
Shadow |
We don't usually get cold winters in Ireland, and if we did Clare wouldn't be the place to go for mountaineering. Instead, most climbers go bouldering during the winter. Or stay inside. Here are a few of the easier problems from the boulders near Doolin, Co. Clare. This place is a good option during the winter when wet weather usually leaves the bigger crags damp. Just don't go when the swell is big. Which it often is...
Most of the problems in the area are more like short routes but there are some boulders lying around the place too. Unfortunately a lot of the best problems are the ones nearest the sea. With the big swell...
The last one here is very close to the edge of a small cliff (~5m) so it's probably best not to fall off in case you roll over the edge. Watch out for loose holds too... I'm not selling it well am I?!
Filmed on a Canon Powershot SX220HS.
richardcreagh.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/back-to-doolin/
richardcreagh.com
facebook.com/richardcreaghphotography
Cast: Richard Creagh
Tags: bouldering, Ireland, Burren, Clare, Doolin, climbing, Mars, On The Edge and Broken
]]>We don't usually get cold winters in Ireland, and if we did Clare wouldn't be the place to go for mountaineering. Instead, most climbers go bouldering during the winter. Or stay inside. Here are a few of the easier problems from the boulders near Doolin, Co. Clare. This place is a good option during the winter when wet weather usually leaves the bigger crags damp. Just don't go when the swell is big. Which it often is...
Most of the problems in the area are more like short routes but there are some boulders lying around the place too. Unfortunately a lot of the best problems are the ones nearest the sea. With the big swell...
The last one here is very close to the edge of a small cliff (~5m) so it's probably best not to fall off in case you roll over the edge. Watch out for loose holds too... I'm not selling it well am I?!
Filmed on a Canon Powershot SX220HS.
richardcreagh.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/back-to-doolin/
richardcreagh.com
facebook.com/richardcreaghphotography
Cast: Richard Creagh
Tags: bouldering, Ireland, Burren, Clare, Doolin, climbing, Mars, On The Edge and Broken
]]>Aneta na rozgrzewkowym problemie. |
W oddali bouldery w rejonie Lough Dan |
Zachodnia strona |
Południowa strona |
Wschodnia strona |
Miejscowy zwierzak |
Caught a day out in the midst of the crap, the sun-starved Spaniard Francisco snds the boneyard.
Cast: Barry
Tags: black valley, bouldering, boneyard, ireland and kerry
]]>Caught a day out in the midst of the crap, the sun-starved Spaniard Francisco snds the boneyard.
Cast: Barry
Tags: black valley, bouldering, boneyard, ireland and kerry
]]>The Roof, a real nice line.
Somebody has done this before, Nigel Callender most likely. It has never been documented so it is now, go get it.,
27crags.com/crags/gap-of-dunloe for details.
Music:British Sea Power 'All In It'
Cast: Barry
Tags: Bouldering, Ireland, Kerry, Gap, of, Dunloe, Black, Valley and Barry
]]>The Roof, a real nice line.
Somebody has done this before, Nigel Callender most likely. It has never been documented so it is now, go get it.,
27crags.com/crags/gap-of-dunloe for details.
Music:British Sea Power 'All In It'
Cast: Barry
Tags: Bouldering, Ireland, Kerry, Gap, of, Dunloe, Black, Valley and Barry
]]>A lovely summer's day up at Fraughan Glen, Glenmalure with Shane Mitchell and just enough breeze to keep the midge at bay. and Shane's top on. A great boulder, slightly off the beaten track but worth it for Crowd Control alone.
Cast: chris rooney
Tags: bouldering, ireland, wicklow, glenmalure and climbing
]]>A lovely summer's day up at Fraughan Glen, Glenmalure with Shane Mitchell and just enough breeze to keep the midge at bay. and Shane's top on. A great boulder, slightly off the beaten track but worth it for Crowd Control alone.
Cast: chris rooney
Tags: bouldering, ireland, wicklow, glenmalure and climbing
]]>End Of The Affair from Daniel O'Neill on Vimeo.
]]>This is my new dog Otto. He's about a year old and he's a rescue dog. That's our couch he's standing on even though he's not allowed up on the furniture. Sadly he doesn't like other dogs (probably because of past bad experiences) and is a terrier so he doesn't always do as he's told. This means he'll probably never get to come bouldering with me as he'll run off to start fights, the little fecker.
New bouldering season, new bouldering year for me. Didn't get to send my 7a after all as the weather completely crapped out over the summer and I lost all motivation. But I'm back in the driving seat so to speak and back training as of this week. Have to identify my weaknessess and start on a new training plan.
Oh yeah, happy hallowe'en!
]]>What I want to know is should I keep this blog or start a new one once the year is up? I've a poll posted in the side bar (it's over there >>) so please vote and let me know.
Yes means that ayearbouldering.blogspot.com stays. No means I start a new blog elsewhere.
]]>My fears have defeated me time and time again and I've always got an excuse to avoid going climbing or avoiding the routes I really want to climb. For me the fun in climbing always came after the fact - I felt totaly stoked after I'd climbed but never during. Why? Because I'm afraid.
I guess this is why I love bouldering so much, the fear factor isn't present for me, although I've seen it in other people, and I can experience the pure joy of moving across rock. God how I wish I could have that joy on lead. But I've always had an excuse to stay in my comfort zone. Here's some of the more common ones.
The really noticable thing missing from that list is the following:
This, in truth, is the only honest excuse I have and I never acknowledge it. This is not like me, I'm honest with myself and don't avoid emotional issues. Except I do avoid them it would seem. As I've re-read that list I've realised just how poor and downright ridiculous those excuses are. I'm shy ... WTF?! I know half the climbers in Ireland and, this is something I found suprising this last year, half the climbers in Ireland know me. And what about all those people I boulder with? Shy my ass.
So what's to be done? I need to push my comfort zone - I need to embrace the fear and start enjoying it. I'm going to avoid climbing routes I've already climbed. I'm going back to Dalkey, then the Burren and the Mournes and Fairhead and all the other fantastic crags we have on our wee island. So here's my plan of attack for now.
One last point I should mention, its from Dave MacLeod: He recommends shifting your working life to compliment your climbing life - not the other way around. To heed his advice I've quit my job! I'm planning on being unemployed for a couple of months only but it should be enough to get me to that coveted E1 grade.
So if anybody wants to go climbing with me, I'm based in Dublin, and will be free all week long from July 11th. Can climb about E1, good at multipitching, and I love climbing.
]]>I doubt it will focus exclusively on Irish bouldering because let face it there's not enough of us doing exciting enough stuff on a weekly basis but I do hope to have an Irish bias.
]]>I am developing a small area in Sligo which shall remain secret for the time being. Mostly because at present theres a couple of Font 5s, a 6a and a 6b(ish) project and that's it. Not much interest there yet. I'm also at odds on how to publish the problems. The rock is sandstone and while the problems are fingery and strong there's always a huge jug within reach. How do you say this is such and such when following the line on jugs makes it easy as hell? Anyway I've several trips back to Sligo planned and should *hopefully* put together a little guide at some stage during the summer.
In other news there's a rat-race planned for Belfast in August. I'm entering avec le future wife and we're starting training for that.
]]>
Full details from UKC and Climbing.com.
]]>
The protest is going to take place on 8 August 2008, my 35th birthday, to coincide with the opening ceremony of the Olympic games. Ban Ki-moon won't be attending it would seem, neither will any other world leader with any integrity. Here in Ireland we don't have any significant peaks, Carrauntoohil wouldn't qualify in my humble opinion. I suppose if we got enough smoke off the top of the Dublin Mountains to be seen across the capital it might be good enough.
However to really make an impact (i.e. get on national television) it would have to be a significant structure or building in Dublin with a roof that is attainable.
Anyone have any suggestions?
Ha! Made me laugh anyway.
]]>By the way, the sit start to Andy's Arête is 7a+, not 7a as I had originally thought.
Here you go:
The 6b on the face of Big Jim was first to be worked. Those of you who know me will have seen my on this problem at some stage or another this winter. Its probably way over due a send but I haven't cracked it yet, until today when I cracked it, except I didn't crack it at all. After my bouldering master class last weekend I've been reviewing my technique and seeing problems in a new light, which has inspired a new solution to this problemo. Its a much more technical solution that involves a tricky rock over onto a tiny edge which requires a lot of trusting in feet. But it works. I was so surprised when I eventually latched the top jug that I forgot to hold on, so it didn't go. I tried again in vain for 30 minutes and latched the jug again one more time only to have my foot slip. Its been a long time since I got fed of with my bouldering but I was very un-impressed today. In hind-sight this is probably a good thing as it will give me drive.
Then I moved on to Andy's Arête. This is my big tick for my year of bouldering. Well my big tick is a 7a, I've decided to work this one. Andy's Arête by a standing start goes at 6c (I think), ad the sitting start and you've got a 7a. So today was my first day and it was the standing start. To be honest it went okay, I've worked out a sequence that may work, time will tell, and have started working it. It start off with getting established on a right smear and then latching an small edge with the left toe. At this point you rock up onto the left and then move up for the next hand hold. Managed to get the rockup twice but have to work out what to do with my right foot to stop me from barn-dooring. Probably spent to much time on Big Jim before hand. Ah well, it looks like a plausible project though.
To finish off I did the path side traverse, the sequence is photographed below.
But first of all I want to gush about Piclens. There are very few browser addons that get me excited, I mean Sage is about it when it comes to recommendations. I tend to consider a lot of them a gimmick that I won't use in my day to day life, most of what I use are developer tools and probably aren't much use to anyone who isn't a developer. But piclens is awe inspiring. I don't know if any of you are familiar with it but get yourself firefox (which you should have already), install piclens and get on over to UKC's top 200 photo's. Its amazing, truly amazing. I'm hoping it becomes a web standard like Flash.
In upcoming news I've been bouldering, attended a master class and we've a new climbing wall in Dublin. Keep an eye on this space.
]]>That's why I haven't been blogging, to busy living life.
]]>If this sounds like a good thing to you then leave a comment on Dave's blog.
]]>There is of course a photo, I'll post it later.