Making it stick!

18 May: eZemvelo! Such an unbelievable place. After making a bunch of trips to the boulders, I was finally able to climb and open my first 8A, Total Reflection. I spent 4 days working the problem before being able to send it from the sit start. It is an extension of Third Reflection (7B+) that adds another 5 moves to the standing start which are each absolutely gut-wrenching. Pulling off the ground on the first two crimps is painful and powerful till your right heel can latch a very small hold high above the ground. After that I had to pull into a gaston and then match. There is a very big move following this which sets into motion the remainder of the problem.

Total Reflection 8A

Both Falco and PW repeated the problem after I opened it and Falco confirmed it to be 8A.

Next up was Aminal Arete, a problem opened by Wesley Black. I flashed it with different beta to Wes so it felt 7B to me instead of 7C, but I can admit that if I would use the same beta as Wes then it would likely have been 7C. Spoon (7C) was next on the chopping block. I nearly flashed it, fell off the finish hold pretty much. Took a few more goes to get the details narrowed down and send. While everyone else was working Spoon, I opened Spork (7B), which starts of the same holds but forks right instead of going straight up. We spent a few burns on Deadly Mosquito (7C) at the end of the day and I fell off with both hands on the finish jug, next time...

Spoon 7C

19 May: I spent the evening at the boulder cave. The object was to boulder for 1.5hours doing very specific power problems. I set 8 problems, not longer than 8 moves each (foot tracking) which forced me to move to maximum reach on crimps and slopers. I only climbed open-handed with 3 fingers. Afterwards I did 30 minutes of dynos and some campusing.

1-3-5-7-9

1-3-5-7-9
1-3-5-7-9
1-3-5-7-9

1-4-6-9 L
1-4-6-9 R
1-4-6-9 L
1-4-6-9 R

1-4-7 R BIG SUCCESS HERE!!
1-4-7 L failed on 7

Doubles skipping rungs 2x

21 May. Ilse, Frankie, Alex and I went to Wigwam where we met up with Dirk, Marc, Dewald, Werner, Alex and Gustav. Was a really fun day. Spent a great deal of time working Running Bare and Squall Play with no sends on either, typical wigwam day for me. Gustav did manage to snap this really awesome pic though! Ilse, Alex and Frankie were all very close to sending tomahawk but no joy (not till next weekend when Ilse and Alex both sent).

Hanging out on Running Bare (31)

The week held lots of training for me...

Sunday: Program A --> Maximum effort bouldering. The idea behind this is to set a problem that is absolutely maximum effort, no straight pulling. The goal is to develop strength in unusual positions that are not always trained or even found on a normal route. I worked with open hands to make sure that I was needing to put in the most effort to hold on. If you get stronger open handed, then your crimp strength will increase as well. I can already hold on to pretty much any crimp in a static position, but I am trying to develop my contact strength so I can catch small holds on the fly.

Afterward, I did an hour of campus work using a mixture of staggered hand positions to increase my reach and my lockoff strength.

I would start at 1 move left to 4, move right to 3, then bounce right to 7. I increased difficulty but moving Left from 1-4, Right then 1-2-7. I did this for both hands with 2 min rests in between. The idea is to rest fully so that you are able to give maximum effort behind the attempts rather than develop power endurance wherein one would repeat the moves back to back.

Monday I spent in the cave again. Program B --> 20 move boulder problem with 2 min between attempts is the goal. I made it a little harder. For the first 3 I rested 2 min, from 4-6 I rested 1.5 min, the last three I didn't rest between attempts, I simply walked back to the starting holds, put on chalk and started again. I set the problem with a weight vest of 7 kilos, otherwise the problem might end up being too hard by the end.

The campus board saw me again. This time the goal was power endurance. The aim was to stay on the board, climbing continuously for 45 seconds. I worked my way up to it. I climbed up once. Then I climbed up and down. Then I climbed up, down, up. Then finally up down, up down, up which too 50 seconds. I was simply climbing 1-3-5-7-9, so that it was not too difficult.

Tuesday. The Bedroom. I started off with a 15 minute warm up

Min	Type of hold	Exercise	Sec/Rep
1	Jug	Drops	5 rep
2	Medium Edge	Drops	2 rep
3	Small Edge	Negs	5 rep
4	Pocket	Pull-upp	5 rep
5	Medium Edge	Hanging	20 sec
6	Jug	Pull-up	10 rep
7	Medium Edge	Hanging	20 sec
8	Small Edge	Hanging	20 sec
9	Medium Edge	Pull-up	5 rep
10	Jug	Hanging	40 sec
11	Medium Edge	Hanging	25 sec
12	Medium Edge	Hanging	25 sec
13	Small Edge	Pull-up	5 rep
14	Small Edge	Hanging	20 sec
15	Jug	Hanging	1 min

Then moved into PROGRAM A for Finger Strength. This is very challenging and a bit time consuming. It takes about 2.5 hours to complete.

Grip	Goal	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Slopey 3 finger pocket on left	5	2.2	4.1	3.8	4.6	5.6	2.7	4.8	5
Slopey 3 finger pocket on right	5	2.1	3	3.7	2.2	4.8	5.2	4.6	3.3
Devil Left on ring and middle finger on tiny crimp	5	1	3.1	3.3	4.1	5	4	4	5
Devil Right on ring and middle finger on tiny crimp	5	3.1	1.2	4.1	4.3	5	2.3	2	5
small crimp on Right. Left pinky helper	5	3	2.5	3.5	4.2	3	3.4	4.3	4.3
small crimp on Left. Right pinky helper	5	1.2	3.5	5	3	2.8
Right front two pocket	5	2.3	3	3.8	3.1	3.3
Left front two pocket	5
Rigth half crimp	5
Left half crimp	5
Right big crimp middle of hold	5
Left big crimp middle of hold	5
sloper hang R with thumb in pocket	5
sloper hang L with thumb in pocket	5

I ran out of energy, so I did not finish (not to mention that my middle fingers were starting to fatigue). But you can get the picture. You should rest 2 min between maximum attempts and your goal is 5 seconds. If you can hang for 5 seconds, choose a smaller hold or add weight.

Wednesday I did some light bouldering to get the blood pumping.

Boven Baby! Left for Boven Saturday morning with Flex and Dirk. Spent the day climbing in the sun at Tranquilitas. Flex crushed Pit Fighter (31). I tried it too, figured out most of the beta, one move stumped me before my skin encouraged me to move on... Climbed Atlantis (26) once and tried Inca Trail (27) SANDBAGGED!!!!! Andrew... Your legacy lives on...

Sunday I tried Psych Ward (31) a few times and got the beta from Flex. Then spent a few hours rebolting Jabberwocky, well 2/3's of it anyway. I have to go back and get the last few bolts still. I moved a few of the bolts to make clipping easier, I hope no one minds, none of them moved more than 50 cm but I think it makes the route far better than before...

eZemvelo

I have been thoroughly swept off my feet by bouldering! I have been training my power and power-endurance so much in the past months that bouldering has now become incredibly appealing! I went back to eZemvelo this week, twice. GREAT FUN!

On Thursday I was there with Schalk, Johnny and Ansie. Was a great day. I warmed up on Animal Planet (7C) and within a few tries managed to send it. Schalk was so close to the send too, he fell off the final hold twice. Shame bud, those 5.10s are just not made for heel hooks! Later on I sent Healing Power (7C+) which was awesome!

Animal Planet 7C



Healing Power 7C+

Went back to eZemvelo on Sunday with Falco, PW and Tii. Was another brilliant day. I warmed up by repeating Animal Planet so that I could should the onlookers the beta. Falco sent it in about 4 goes after he got the beta. STRONG MAN!!

Squirrel Drums Zipper 6C in approach shoes :)

I showed them Healing Power after that but there was no sending there. Shortly after we moved to the Italian Stallion dyno (7C). Absolutely awesome dyno! I was finally able to stick it! Falco also got it in about 6 goes! We managed to nab the 4th and 5th ascents!

Catching the dyno on Italian Stallion 7C

We moved on to a project of mine: First Reflection, this should be 8A, it will be my first when I get it. Falco and PW were also very close to getting it after I figured out some very crucial beta to get off the ground: a very thin and technical heel hook into a very difficult move into the starting holds of Second Reflection! Both PW and Falco flashed the standing start Third Reflection and decided it needed to be downgraded so but Third Reflection (now 7B+) and Second Reflection (7C) are slightly downgraded. I had my suspicions but was not sure one way or the other as the gradings were suggested by others.

Last problem of the day was Flashpoint (7C) opened by Marijus Smigelskis. Really fun, very powerful and short. Managed to point it in about 20 min. Very cool moves revolving around a heel hook on a thin hold up the roof.

Wigwam, Plastic and SEVERE CRUSHING!

Well, this week started off hitting Wigwam with Illona and Don. Was a lot of fun except that both Don and Illona weren't quite feeling 100% plus Illona ended up being flipped upside down on her first attempt (bump on the head wasn't nice), I was attacked by wasps at the top of Running Bare and Don got a beauty of a blood blister on his right ring finger on the first try of the day. Hmmm. At this point, we were wondering what could possibly happen next. And then the weather took a turn for the worse, leaving Don yanking on draws in an attempt to clean Tomahawk. What a day.

On Monday, Illona and I decided to take a different approach to the climbing: Stamina training on my hangboard. We both did very well in fact. I was wearing a 5.2kg weight vest to compensate for the fact that I've lost 5kgs in the last month:

		B	I
just off straight	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
90 degree	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
full lock	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
Rest, 10 small pulls	30 secs, 10 small pull ups	10	10
Rest	10 min
just off straight	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
90 degree	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	5
full lock	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	4
Rest, 10 small pulls	30 secs, 10 small pull ups	10	10
Rest	5min
just off straight	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
90 degree	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	5
full lock	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	3
Rest, 10 small pulls	30 secs, 10 small pull ups	10	10
Rest	5min
just off straight	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
90 degree	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	5.5	4
full lock	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	4	2
Rest, 10 small pulls	30 secs, 10 small pull ups	10	10
Rest	5min	109.5	99
		97.77%	88.39%

Went to Bobbejaan's Berg on Tuesday for a little bit of bouldering. Was thoroughly upset to find that entrance to the area had nearly doubled in price so I think I'm not going to be heading there again. I'd rather drive further and pay less at eZemvelo where there is a much great abundance of rock. I'm quite sad about losing a destination that only takes 25 minutes to reach from home, which means I could go any day for a afternoon or morning session. Too bad.

Wednesday I got an sms from Paul Brouard asking me if I wanted to hit the barn for a training session. We had a great time there with Paul and Illona and James. Some insane bouldering happened right before my eyes. It really makes me realize how strong 8c+ climbers actually are when I try to do the problems Paul was setting.

Friday found Paul and I heading back to Wigwam for his last day in South Africa. It was fantastic. Paul crushed both Running Bare (31) and Squall Play (30) second go. I climbed both lines too but didn't managed to redpoint. I am very close on both of them, nearly sticking the first move on Running Bare and having been able to clip the crux draw on Squall Play but not able to move off the heel hook.

Saturday was the big day though of this week. After finding out that it was raining at Wigwam (which is where I left my draws and rope) I headed out to eZemvelo. This was the best decision that I'd made in a while. My new-found bouldering strength paid off completely. I warmed up by crushing a 7C called Third Reflection opened by Paul Bruyere, which had been a project of Schalk Erasmus and myself on my last visit to eZemvelo. I then added a low start to it 10 minutes later giving it the grade of 7C+ as suggested by Paul and Schalk.

Next on the chopping block was Where's Willis (7B+), a very cool line with a double dyno to a compression hold. Quite unique. The only way it is possible is with a heel-toe lock with the right foot! SOOOO cool. Right next door is Wesley Black's King Kong (7C). Took me a little while to figure it out, but eventually I stuck the dynamic throw to a finger lock and then it was all over! Schalk showed me a dyno project on the same boulder that had been tried in the past. It was very cool, 1.5m+ from a good hold to a section of rock that is less than 10cm wide and 5cm deep with slopers all around it. I managed to stick it after a bunch of tries. After some discussion I called it Learn To Drive: inspired by Dina and her horrible driving ability which wasted 45 minutes of our morning! I graded it 7B+ after trying the Italian Stallion dyno (7C) which is not too much harder than this one. I think that it might be easier if you are taller but time will tell. I did not manage to catch the Italian Stallion but Schalk manage to make the third ascent of this proud line. The first ascent belongs to a tiny Italian dude, second is Paul Brouard and third is Schalk, who caught this one and now has done his first 7C!!! Congratulations!!!

I did Dragons and Shrooms first go. The problem was opened at 7B but I don't know if that is right, 7A felt more appropriate. Last of the day was Animal Planet (7C). Stupid Brian dorked it by marking the wrong hold, so I fell off the last move twice!!!! DUMBASS!!!! Oh well, you know what, you win some and you lose some. I'll cruise this next time when I haven't bouldered all of eZemvelo first. I just wish I had some pictures to commemorate this week...

Sending Spree

Well, well, well... It has been a while since I've written here. I guess it's been because I've driven somewhere around 4000km in the last two weeks and climbed 11 of the past 15 days. It all started with a massive training session to sort out my head for the trip to Montagu. My finger tips were still completely shot after climbing at Fernkloof on the 9th so I had a great wad of tape wrapped around my left middle finger and my right index finger. Didn't stop me from hitting my hang board, hard!

I warmed up with the 15 minute 8a.nu program which I often use scoring full on the routine:

Afterward, I did programs A, B and D from Paul's training program. A is for finger strength, B is for stamina and D is for burl or body tension. Doing all three of these in a day is a tall order but I was feeling psyched and ready to go flat out!

Wednesday morning at 4 am: Alex, Ebert, Illona and I piled into my car and made our way down the N1 to Montagu.

I want to thank TRISTAN FIRMAN @ VERTIGO GEAR for making the trip to Montagu possible. Without you as a friend and a sponsore I would never be able to climb as hard as I do...

It wasn't too long of a drive lasting 14 hours with 3 stops included. When we arrived, Matt Bush was already there and so was Paul Brouard. After chatting to Matt around the fire and to Paul for a little while, and meeting his beautiful girlfriend, I knew it was off to bed for me. The next day would need to be a good one.

Thursday saw me being very unproductive from a sending point of view but what I did manage to do was reclimb a few routes that I had done previously in order to refresh the beta for the rock rally on Saturday. What was really fun was walking around Montagu and seeing what the venue really was like. The rock and road trip funneled me into climbing specific routes that would be beneficial for the competition but this was not very helpful for actually gaining a feel to what Montagu is all about.

At lunch time we went back to the campsite and late afternoon we headed out to the penultimate route in Montagu: Mazawattee (35). I watched Paul on it and then he shouted beta up to me as I dogged my way up it. There were only 3 moves that were beyond me. It is quite an interesting route. The interesting thing about Maz is that you rest the whole way up. There are deep kneebars along the entire length of the line making it possible to get your heart rate back to normal and chill out. They are very core intensive though. The way I see it is this: it is a 32 route into an 8A+ boulder problem at the top. Brilliant line. I could see myself making it to the rest before the boulder problem in a week but it would take a very long time to have the endurance and strength to be able to stick the crux moves when fresh, let alone after having done the 30 meters of climbing to that point...

Friday was a really relaxed day, well half day. In the morning I practised the moves on the Activist (30) and figured out Strange Days (31) and redpointed Cyberpunk (24). The palace must be my favourite destination at Montagu currently, well maybe Fireworld, or is it Waterstarter, damn it, it's WATERWORLD. I had a terrible slip of the tongue the whole week in Montagu and don't have any reason for it. One way or the other it was really funny.

Ah the big day has arrived! The rock rally. I must say, this was a very different vibe to the Boven rock rally, quite a bit more chilled which promoted some very hard sending. Personally, I warmed up with a redpoint of the Activist (30), then an onsight of Keep on Going (26 soft). I tried Strange Days three times and then moved on to Waterworld. Here I crushed Firestarter (29) and Simply Irresistible (27). Supertubes was next: I onsighted Leap Tide (27). Illona and I then made our way down to the Scoop. I tried to onsight Monkey Pump (29) which turned out to be quite comical in the state of exhaustion I was in. The Optimist (27) was next in line but I was a bit optimistic about the line and was crushed repeatedly, 6 times I think, trying to move off the crux hold. So while I was resting Illona jump on Archeopteryx (26) to put up the draws and figure out the moves: she totally saved my ass on this one! I managed to flash it as a result. THANKS A LOT! I was then psyched again, though exhausted, until the 23 next door booted me solidly on my onsight and second go, it felt more like a 25 at this point. Either some holds had come off (which is possible, the route is a bit chossy) or I was really tired (which is highly likely). I did manage to crush the 22, onsight.

These routes combined with the fact I had Illona along for a day a great moral support and wicked belaying (THANK YOU SO MUCH!!) landed me in 3rd place for the competition, narrowly behind Jimbo in second. If you were to take all the routes Jimbo and I did and combine them, we would have fallen about 1000 points short of Matt's score. Matt is an amazing athlete and a very philosophical person. I really enjoyed the conversations we had over the course of the trip to Montagu. Looking forward to more time around him in the future, that is for certain.

Paul managed to CRUSH Mazawattee while we were all running around at the rock rally. CONGRATULATIONS!

The party was anything but tame: the tequila body shot competition and the makeshift pole dancing from the loser of the bet (Ant) was, ummm, well, memorable and fun. Illona, I still can't believe you were still on your feet at the end of your 13 body shots plus 5/6 other drinks. Good for you. Good way to cut loose ;)

Sunday was a necessary rest day. There was no chance I could climb anything. Matt on the other hand had to retrieve all his draws from all the lines he climbed during the rally. Strong. Alan Hills arrived Sunday night. Was great to see him again.

Monday: Strange Days in the morning and the Scoop in the afternoon, with a snack at Waterworld in between, did two attempts on My Route By The River (31) -- very fun, will certainly go back for it. Cool Like That (29) was the objective. I wanted to flash it but came off bouncing for the upper sloper in the bottom crux. I went from the rail above the sloper to the chains without resting. But alas, I was spent and did not manage to point the line.

Tuesday: Strange Days was feeling much better. I managed to stick the dynamic move in it twice quite easily but came off afterward. I think that the rally really took it all out of me. I need more time off. Didn't climb during the afternoon.

Wednesday was a write off basically, cleaned Strange Days and we packed up. Climbed into the car at 3pm, short one person as Illona was on her way to Cape Town so she could catch a ride to the NBL finals which she would win!!!! GO TEAM!!!! :-D We finally arrived back in PTA at 4:30am on Thursday, I crawled into bed with the love of my life, and cuddled -- gotta love them cuddles!!! Slept till 10 then was up. Sat around for a while waiting for Yvette to come back from her test, then Yvette and I enjoyed ourselves by laying in bed till almost the evening. In the evening we went out and had Flaming Lamborghini's, ouch. Stayed in bed, all of the next day -- had food delivered and all!

Saturday afternoon we arrived in Boven, placed draws on a wet project and damp Jabberwocky. Was a bit irritated but still pretty relaxed. Yvette crushed Lucy (17) first go (would have been onsight but she had already climbed the first half for another route).

Sunday was great, we went to Hallucinogen and Yvette crushed Sand Glod and Aussie Rules (17). I debated with myself if I wanted to climb Panty Slapped (28). The final tipping point was that I had been trying to wear in my Edelrid Hurricanes for a little while now and I thought that a little slab might do the trick. It did. All the moves were effortless and managed to crush it second go. This line and I had a long history of me thinking it would be a good idea and then after 3 bolts there would normally be a lot of cursing and a promise that I would never try it again. Ha ha. Yvette then climbed Captain Hook (18) but she was too tired from her hard work previously, so I soloed it to clean it. Such a great line. If you can jam, it feels effortless to climb! If you can't, well, you're missing out!

AH, the main event. This is what I came to Boven to climb: my project. I stand beneath it look at the holds thinking to myself: hmmm. Honestly, I didn't think I had a chance. I wasn't feeling at the top of my game. But I have my lucky belayer (yes, Yvette is amazing). This is what the inner monologue sounded like: I pull off the ground...place foot...right hand to the gaston, left foot up effortlessly, keep on moving don't lose concentration...snatch the crimp...clip...shake...move move move...oh no wrong foot...fixed it...oh shit, I just needed my lucky belayer...it's not over yet....concentrate....WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO it's finally DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was psyched. There was nothing more I could want at that moment. I named the route Raptophilia and graded it 32. We went back to the lodge and went to the braai at Alex and Gustav's. Gus told me he could hear from from the far end of Tranquilitas crag. :D what a brilliant way to end the day. Such amazing friends we have in Waterval Boven.... Thanks to Gustav for these brilliant pictures of me.

`

Jabberwocky was next on the list. I had been on it 5 times till now. 6th go found me falling off with my right hand on the crux hold, my feet high in the crux and my left hand being rejected by a small slot. 7th go was just mileage to the chains.

After my rest day I tried again. Yvette crushed Captain Hook and was working the 21 on Disciple Wall. I feel off half way through the undercling section of Jabbs! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! So frustrating. 9th attempt I was rejected by the slot again but went on to the chains skipping half the draws to figure out how to make the route really easy.

Such a brilliant week in Boven, such an amazing two week.

Storming the Bergs

This last week has been quite exceptional. Admittedly, it started on a seriously low point with me slicing my finger wide open with a bread knife and buckets of rain the next day but after that things definitely just kept getting better and better. The cut didn't stop me from climbing or training, it just meant that I had to mummify my finger tip with lots of tape, several times a day.


On Sunday evening last week I received a message from Ansie that Adam was in Pretoria and was keen on going somewhere to climb or boulder. After the epic training session I had just finished I was feeling very skeptical about climbing but after an hour or two of the idea marinading in my mind I couldn't help but suggest we go bouldering at Bobbejaan's Berg. Turn out that this was a really good idea. Adam and I arrived there with Ansie and Mathys to find some interesting formations lower down but nothing really exceptional. However, the further we went the more boulders there were. We warmed up on some interesting traverses and a really cool dyno...




But the real catch of the day would only be found a little further up the mountain. I spotted these two really interesting holds that would make an interesting traverse. We decided to try starting from them and moving inwards. I couldn't quite lift off the ground. So we moved to the left and tried to figure out where the problem would end. We then discovered a small undercling that the left hand could start on if the right started on the original hold. It was still incredibly hard to get off the ground!

Blindside Arete
The original start

The official start

Slapping for the sloper

Catching the sloper

Matching

Trying to control the swing

Catching the finish dyno

Adam was strong enough to open the problem on that Monday. He was looking so strong, what an awesome day. We decided to call it Blindside Arete and graded it 7C+. It might be a little on the soft side but both of us agreed that it was harder than anything else we have ever done by far. I came back on Thursday with PW and was able to send it, PW too, and open another line that is arguably harder than Blindside Arete. It is a highball with a crux about 4m up which is a desperate lunge to a sloping crimper! I thought it deserved the name Acrophobia (fear of heights) and I graded it 7C+. It left me screaming like a girl, twice when I couldn't figure out the move the first two times I reached the move and had to take the fall on to a small platform bordering a 5m drop behind us.

Acrophobia 7C+

The future project!!




Not sure of the grade, but definitely in the 8A/B range

So that was my Monday and Thursday. My Tuesday and Saturday were spent at Fernkloof. Tuesday I was there with Adam, Ansie, Illona and James. We had a fun day, particularly Adam who nabbed Faberge second go. I on the other hand was very frustrated about the dripping water coming from the holds on Stormwatch. No matter how hard I tried to dry them and stuff toilet paper in the cracks, I could not hold back the seeping water and I would slip off every time.

Saturday was more of the same, falling off at the second pinch, the finger lock not wanting to work. After 5 attempts (or more) I was tired and frustrated. I was intending to take off the draws from the route but figured I would give it a good effort. Got to the finger lock and clipped effortlessly, then it was the right hand pinch slow and static, I repositioned my left hand in the slot and reached for the second pinch with the left hand. I had it! I moved my feet and then the right hand so I could clip the 4th draw. This was very much a high point! But now I was feeling desperate as could be! I moved my feet and set up for the move into the roof, I hit the hold with my left hand and almost came off but DIDN'T! I moved my feet and placed my knee into the kneebar. I HAD IT! I knew I would not come off higher up like everyone else. My fitness is too good and the kneebar was solid for me. I shook out for about a minute and breezed through to the chains which I clipped and then topped out cheering the whole time!

The sneaky kneebar

This route was such a fight for me, definitely 8b in my books. I've done a lot of 8a+ routes and this is not 8a+. It was opened at 31/8b/5.13d by Roger Nattrass but as the grading changed from Aussie to SA 31 became 32 but this route did not change in grade. It is the first 32 in the country opened in 1990.

Wigwam Pow Pow...

Ah, yet another really fun week has come to pass. This one has been a bit on the physical side without having time for rest days. I arrived home from a lovely week in Boven on Monday night and enjoyed an evening of rest. The next morning however I was back in business at the boulder cave. You know what they say, "no rest for the wicked." Admittedly I didn't push myself that hard, but I certainly broke a sweat in the process.

I warmed up working a few of the pre-set routes on the wall; this took about an hour. The main objective for this time was to find some very crimpy routes that would push me to my maximum reach between holds. Naturally, this is for the crux on Jabberwocky and I had a lot of fun.

The campus session was also interesting as I was incorporating a new technique that arose from my attempts to perform 1-4-7. 1-4-7 isn't a particularly massive thing for the pros but for me, it is quite a marker, particularly on my campus board which forces me to reach an extra 3cm per rung. This means that I'm moving almost and entire rung further on a normal campus board, ie 1-4.5-8, and that is actually pretty cool. To do this I have to use my triceps on my lower arm to push the upper arm into a full lock-off so I can reach the target rung. Until recently I had not been strong enough to accomplish this feat so I decided to train it specifically.

Starting with my arms staggered on the board on rungs 5&6 I would move my lower hand to 9. I did this a few times and then dropped my lower hand to 4 which simulates skipping 5 rungs to reach the target. After two sessions using this technique I felt that I was learning how the lock-off and pushing down were able to work together.

Now I am able to start with hands staggered on 1&4 and move to 7 on the left side. My right side is a bit weaker and is still in the learning process, but is close. I can latch the rung but not quite hold it. I have been finding campus training very beneficial to the rest of my climbing. I have noticed a great improvement in my contact strength, lock-off ability and precision. Obviously this is not just from campusing but I certainly have been making large improvements in my bouldering and climbing due to being able to pull some much harder between holds. I also have noticed improvements in my shoulder strength. I have weak shoulders due to having dislocated them multiple times from my past life...


Cycling used to be a very big part of my life. I was sponsored by 2one4 Marketing. They organized me events and additional sponsors. Initially, I raced downhill bikes for Scott, No Fear, Arnette Sunglass, Troy Lee Designs and a few other companies. Then I specialized in jump performances and competitions. After a few years I ended up riding for GT with the same other sponsors. It was a lot of fun but three surgeries and a few dislocated shoulders later, not to mention the occasional stitching, I looked for greener pastures in the form of rock climbing.

So where was I? Oh yeah! Wigwam and all the little indians! Oh them indians are evil I tells you! Some of the best hard sport climbing in the country, rolled into these really powerful and technical lines which are simply relentless, having no significant rests until you're about to clip the chains! I managed to spend three days there this week: Wednesday and Thursday with James Barnes and fellow Vertigo Gear Athlete Illona Pelser. James and Illona worked Tomahawk, a solid 29 power endurance line revolving around a difficult crux moving to the chains. Both were looking very strong but only James came out victorious with a redpoint on his second go of the day on Thursday.

I was on Two Dollar Navaho, a solid 30 which has some very small sidepulls and a desperate lunge to a left hand hold that is simply not as good as you want it to be after the preceding climbing... I fell off twice on that move. I will certainly send if I catch it, the rest of the route is sorted out perfectly after I gave up on a stupidly powerful sequence I made up. How our imaginations can run wild with stupidity! I think that my biggest limiting factor on this occasion was my lack of rest days. With five days on I can't really expect myself to be at my peak. I guess it is a good thing that I took Saturday off eventually...

Friday was another day at the boulder cave. I really wanted to take two rest days, but my boredom and desire to hit the campus board ending up pulling me to the cave in the evening for a good two hours. I ended up working some really technical problems with PW, honing some heel hooking skills along the line. Two of the problems we were working were great! Both involved massive amounts of core tension and pulling on the heel. Neither were particularly my style and that is why I loved them so much when I sent them, huffing the whole way. We extended one and that is still awaiting an opening ascent...

The campus board saw some more work after this with particular emphasis on the 1-4-7 training. I managed to touch the 7th rung a few times but not latch it. PSYCHED!! Very close to hitting this milestone.

Saturday was a rest day with a twist. I sliced my finger open pretty decently making breakfast for the lovely Yvette and myself. Damn bread knife should not be used to cut veggies!!! I really need to buy a new knife for the kitchen.

Sunday found me wishing to be back at wigwam. The rain started on Saturday evening around 4 and continued till Sunday afternoon. That is really not cool. So I sent Illona a text and asked her if she wanted to burn it up on the plastic. We did the NBL problems from Wednesday. They were pretty simple till problem 10. I flashed the first 9, almost flashed 10 and 12 but 11 completely eluded everyone. Was still fun to work.

After done with the problems Illona and I hit the hangboard for some stamina training. The great kind that lasts for 4 minutes at a time leaving you feeling completely drained while you rest for the next five minutes. It was the first time that I had ever tried the program anywhere but in my own room and it was the first time Illona had ever tried the routine. She did really well on the first round but had a hard time on the pockets for the second round during full-lock.

Grip	Goal	Goal	10-Mar	27-Mar
just off straight	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6	6
90 degree	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6	6
full lock	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6	6
Rest, 10 small pulls	30 secs, 10 small pull ups	10	10	10
Rest	10 min
just off straight	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6	6
90 degree	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6	6
full lock	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6	5
Rest, 10 small pulls	30 secs, 10 small pull ups	10	10	10
Rest	5min
just off straight	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
90 degree	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
full lock	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
Rest, 10 small pulls	30 secs, 10 small pull ups	10	10
Rest	5min
just off straight	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
90 degree	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
full lock	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
Rest, 10 small pulls	30 secs, 10 small pull ups	10	10
Rest	5min
just off straight	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
90 degree	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	6
full lock	jug, rail, 2pock, crimp, 2pock, med	6	5.5
Rest, 10 small pulls	30 secs, 10 small pull ups	10	9
		140	138.5	55
			98.93%	39.71%

We only did two sets but I felt really strong, definitely could have kept on going. After a solid 3 hours at the barn I headed home. Yvette and I hit the Tuks cave for an hour later in the evening. Was fun. Concentrated on some big power moves that finished in large campus moves to the top of the cave.