Welsh Climbing Championships 2014 (Finley)

On Saturday 8th November I got up early and my family drove to the Welsh Climbing Championships at Boulders, Cardiff. I was competing in the Boys D category for the first time. I really liked the look of the routes I was given when I was doing my route reading. There were 25 boys competing in my category.

I flashed each of the qualifiers, made a mistake on the semi-final route, but got the top score in the final when it really mattered. 

I was Boys D winner! 

I felt super strong and I was really happy with how I climbed on the day.

Well done also to Issy (@Issyclimbing) for her second place in the Girls B category after an exciting super-final finish. 

Boys D Podium

My trophy and prizes

Final Route

Semi-final Route

BLCCs 2014 (Issy)

The BLCCs 2014 was hosted by Awesome Walls in Sheffield, and I competed in the Girls C category. We had two qualifiers, graded 6c+ and 7a+. I was nervous at first as I was second to climb on the first qualifier, however I topped it easily. The next qualifier was harder, however I also topped it. 6 other people topped both qualifiers, meaning that 7 people went through to the final. For the final route, we had an orange route which looked technical but do-able. I was 6th out to climb. I climbed through the first bit easily, and came to the crux. There was a large, slopey hold followed by crimps and a rock-over to the top. I managed to clip of the sloper, and move round the arete to another hold. I got the penultimate hold, and put my foot up to rock-over, but my left hand suddenly slipped off the lower hold. I was frustrated as I fell off the last move and I felt that I could have topped the route. I was told that one other person fell off in the same place, and three people topped the route. Overall, I finished 5th as we were split by time. It was a disappointing result as I was aiming to top the route, but I am looking forward to the Youth Open in November where I will compete as a B.

Me on qualifier 1

Me on the final route

White Spider 'Send!' Boulder Comp (Issy)

I competed in the White Spider 2nd anniversary boulder comp- 'Send!'. The blocs were excellent! I flashed 17 out of 20 boulders but was unable to do three. I was very happy with my result, as I won the U16 Junior Female category. Thanks to Scarpa and Grivel for my great prizes and to the White Spider for an amazing experience.

2nd Trip to Malham Cove August 2014 (Issy)

Walking to Malham

On the 30th and the 31st of August my brother and I climbed at Malham cove. On the first day of climbing the weather was cold and it  was raining, but the huge rock walls sheltered us so we could still climb! I warmed up on Rose Coronary before beginning to work on my new project Seventh Ardvark, 7b. I worked all the moves, and at the end of a long day of climbing I knew the route inside out, however I decided to wait until the next day for my redpoint attempt. My skin needed to recover! The seccond day of climbing was much warmer. I warmed up on Yosemite Wall, then top-roped Seventh Ardvark one last time to make sure I knew all the moves and remembered all the footholds. I was finally ready for my first redpoint attempt. The beginning two clips of the route were hard, however there was a nice rest on a huge undercut about halfway up the climb. I clipped the third and fourth quickdraws and tried not to think about the huge runout at the top of the climb. The route was 12 metres high with only four quickdraws! The last move was a scary rock-over off a gaston, but I made it, completing the route. I was very happy as this was the highest grade I had ever climbed outdoors! After the Seventh Aardvark I progressed to my newest project, Space Race, 7b+. I worked the moves and began linking the climb. I look forward to returning to Malham to continue to work on Space Race!

Warming up on Yosemite Wall

Working the moves on Seventh Aardvark, 7b

Me on Seventh Aardvark

Me completing Seventh Aardvark!

Chilling in France

In our spare time we are wizards!

Thanks Mum for the Weasley sweaters!

Climbing in France (Finley)

I am on holiday in France enjoying running and cycling with my family. I have also done 3 sessions at Escalade Adventure. My first session I was pretty pleased with myself because I did some pretty good onsights. Most of the onsights were on the comp wall and I impressed the gnarly dudes. The second day I did 4x4s. After most of them I was pretty tired. In between 4x4s I attempted 2 7as. I found that the grades at Escalade Adventure were much harder than at other climbing walls, so I was happy with my efforts on the 7as. On the third day I onsighted a 6b+ and heard one of the gnarly French men say: 'chapeau', meaning 'respect/hats off'!



Overall I had a great time and wish to go back again some time in the future. 

Climbing in France (Issy)

During the Summer, as well as doing lots of running and cycling, me and Finley trained at the Escalade Adventure climbing wall in Caen, France. I did some great routes up the steeply inclined comp wall, and both me and my brother found that the grades were harder than in England- but it didn't stop us onsighting lots of climbs! We also had fun making up boulders and dangling from the roof of the boulder cave! Although we only went three times, I did some good training. It was a really fun experience and I hope to go back next holiday.