Don’t know which is harder, equipping the routes or finnaly doing them. Don’t know which is more enjoyable, I guess doing them, but sometimes its just that first glimmer, when I know that there is a jem there waiting to be birthed. Its like an act of creation at the beginning of the world, bet you think I am being poncy, but I’ am not, it’s a big wow opening routes for others. The escape route from my big cliff, I have done about 25 times and it is still ace, its steep and pumpy, and I normaly do it in trainers with a sac. Mark loved getting pumped on the escape route carrying the drill, a big sac, and worn out trainers! Jeffrey came up the escape route the first time and was impressed, it was getting dark and he had a head-torch on, the last time he had walking boots on and the obligatory sac, his fore arms had huge sepents like veins, and were bigger than his head.
Today was supposed to be a rest day, so I put in about 8 bolts in a really steep bit of cliff! I was goosed man, my core was twisted and wrung out like a wet towel. I really hurt, I ran out of glue, had to go back up, and back down, it is like childbirth, I need gas for the pain. Yes I am joking! Its piss its easy, its like falling off a log, drunk. No it’s a double joke, Its desperate. I like the bit where I am gripped cos I’ave swung in and am hanging off my big butchers hook, and it is slowly pulling through the cheese like rock, and that’s when I whack in a peg , but first of course I whack my thumb. All my fingers are now thinner, so I should be able to do some thin finger cracks, that have been beyond me.
We have done some great grade 5s, some great 6s, some joyous rightuos 7s, and a few tough 8s, I think they are some of the best routes I have done in over 40 years of opening routes. Today I was very happy.
At the end of the day I went down some fishermans chipped routes, way down a big cliff, a couple of hundred feet, and soloed out up a big jug covered wall, just an other new route!
Flowers, fossils, and furry rabbits.
