No Pain No Spain Video from Boreal

No Pain No Spain from Boreal Video on Vimeo.

I must be one of the few who were glad to see the rain, every time i saw anyone in the sunny weather they ask that same question you been out at all? I was training in the Mill and the Indy so that when cold weather comes back I will pull the rock down around me crushing it to tiny slivers of diamonds, but that's not really an answer is it. I started to get used to slightly pitying looks as though i have missed the point. The point is sweating sliding and being eaten by insects does not make for a good time as far as I am concerned. Instead I have been hanging around in a very quiet dusty old mill falling off. Its quiet in there at the moment no electricity, so no lights and no radio, but gains are coming slowly, and this is good. Most of April I was working on the system problems on the 30 degree board now I have moved over to the newly systems 50 degree

board. Its tricky at the moment as I don't really know the problems yet so have little concept of a good or bad session. Fortunately I have made good gains on the campus and finger boards, so i take this as meaning I am moving in the right direction. Occasionally I go too the centre of the 50 board to try some normal problems, progress is being made towards my Mill 7c goal, I think the first one to go will be Danny's Foetal Recall, unfortunately this is 7b+/7c so wont do at all.





I did go for a short play outside to make sure I remembered what rock feels like, the one session at Jerry's was funny as all the holds felt weired and bumpy not like smooth wood at all. This time I went to check out Dyers Barotrauma. I can only say that I think it may be a bit morpho...

Anyway that's all, and all there is likely to be for a while as I cant be arsed to write about how I pulled on cunt and em, reached to liquid and jumped to beauty before trying to slap brute and drop into Brutus and jump for 9 bar (possible mill 7c/+) anymore than you can be arsed to read about it.

When I returened from a mercy trip to the shop (tobbacco for me chocolate for fatty), Doylo had been playing with my camera, not sure why but he would appear to think I want a picture of his pubes so I thought I would share that with you all.

Finally

In the end i managed to get the footage sorted, or at least as sorted as it is going to get. For some reason I had to split it into 2 to save it, my technophobia strikes again.

Malcs start

Went out to Jerrys Roof after being to Font, I figured that I would be strong and light and climbing well so Malcs was bound to go, setting off with a limit of 5 goes, I went up and hit the pocket on go 1, or go 61 depending which way you look at it, a good start. Four goes later I had my best attempt so far. I hit the porthole square and swung out back in and a flashbulb in my head went fuckfuckwowwow, then my right hand slipped off the starting hold on Pools all this took no time at all but I was happy, obviously I had a few more goes but to no avail my window of opportunitty had opened and closed before I could get through.


Yesterday I treated myself to a nice day out as I am resting from the mill for 10 days between training 1 and training 2. The original plan had been to just go running and do core stuff but it was far too dull so I went out, problem this time seems that

A) The mill footholds are too big, outside felt very strange.
B) The 4 days of hammering my core meant my lower back was fucked.

So the upshot was I took a little step backwards and the weather is not going to give that many days of nice temps before the summer monsoon season comes to Wales. Ultimatley this is fine I have no real intention of punishing myself outside in the heat with the midges this year, so its back to the Mill with a saw to make some new small slippy wooden footholds.

Its a beautiful thing

Getting stronger that is. Been enclosed in the mill and the Indy for the last little while, went outside for only the 3rd time since i was in font yesterday. All the holds felt massive, a mounth of training has certainlly paid dividends. Six more mounths to go and i might have made real progress or maybee I wont, but at least I will know the truth about me and my relationship with rocks.

Bye bye lovely Jetta!

Well its time for me to say goodbye to my one time pride and joy, my chronic lack of mechanical knowledge and lack of cash means the jetta must go. So if anyone out there wants a project I am sure this is an ideal place to start... After all it features in the Parisellas Guide and makes a (very) fleeting apperance in Pierre Bolingers Vid from Raven Tor.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220770650682&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123

Bye bye...

Fontainberry

Well it was great even better than I remembered to be honest. The conditions were good and it stayed dry for the whole trip till the last couple of days. Jack hurt his arm, Joe split his tip and I tweaked my shoulder all on day one. I discovered soluble ibuprofen, its like a constant drip to keep the aches at bay. Shockingly I didn't get drunk all trip, apart from on the journey in each direction obviously. Anyway it was top.


This was my first attempt too write about the trip when we got back and as you can see its shit, this is mainly because the return to real life hurts. I dream of having time in places like font to explore and touch all the holds I have read about and seen on videos over the years. The problem is you can be time rich or cash rich its difficult to be both. Anyway one thing I don't want to be is a whining bastard, too much of that in the world already, and I am a little prone...


Take 2

Day one, after driving through the night we arrived at Rocher Casspot at 7 am the conditions are mint and with nothing better to do we head to the boulders. None of us do anything, I tweak my shoulder on ---------- and demand we head into town for some water and food before we do anymore damage. Later the same day we head to isatis and do EL pousah, at least me and Joe do, Jack pulls his bicep and then Joe tears a whole the size of a 5p piece in his index finger. Good start.

.

Day two, we decide to go to Rocher Cannon, we set about 36.15 power, using a variety of bad sequences until I do it with a heel on. At the time this seems totally logical but now thinking back it is almost certainly illegal, ah well 36.15 powwow it is. Do a nice prow Le Mare Droight 7a+ and fail to try hard on Chanon Maniquet because a few years ago i sprained my ankle on day one of a week in font and the tree routes under it are wigging me out. Getting better.

Day three, Went to Apremont envers to try Apparoment 8a, First go I was on the slope just below the top, on my third go I hit the boulder behind it falling off and basically failed to try hard again. As a consolation I flashed a nice 7b called Paul's Boutique. Later we went back to Rocher Cannon so Joe could do 36.15 powwow. He crushed it 2nd go of the day, and I did Le channon Maniquet, We ran into Kook as he was on his way to try Le Baline. As the day closed in I had a couple of goes on that and decided it would go with a bit more juice. Good but not good enough.


Day four, Le autre toit. Yes a big roof ye haw etc



I was pretty confident of doing Oil de Sybile, having dropped it on the finishing holds in damp and very tired state last time I was in Font. Turns out I was better at climbing roofs a few years ago, in the end I did it from the pocket in the roof but failed totally to link it. As a consolation prize got Le Nouvelle Vauge done, this kind of felt easyish, I am guessing we were lucky with the condition of the rock that day. After this i had a go at Le Maxx, all I can say is I wish I had spent the effort I put in on Sybile there instead. Pretty shit.

Day five, Rocher de osiex, Basically spent the morning mincing trying to walk my feet about on le Mandarin before getting fucked off, deciding I wasn't going to do it, then pulling really hard and doing it in 2 goes. Yes, a good day.

Day six, Bas cuvier. I love Bas Cuvier. Did Apothese and La Balance in the morning, two problems that I always wanted to do. And they were easy in the end. Had a mini session on Hypothese, shocking myself by being able to pull on the ming crimp, caught the sloper once and cursed everyone who has told me its easy from there, I failed. Finished it of by doing Aero Dynamite on the way back to the car as it went dark. Fuckin ace.

Day seven, rain in the morning, Le Angle Ben's in the evening, one of my favorite problems.

Day eight, Rocher Cannon. Went back to try La Balanine as I was too tired to try anything new. Bit of a tussle but go it done. We then shoot off to Bas Cuvier so Joe could do Aero Dynamite which he did just as it started to rain. Back to Isatis to so he could do Angle Ben's, it rained stopping his full house of things for the trip. Home time.