Indoor climbing

Spent a long weekend in Jan a couple of years back on Portland with my friend Nat, she's got some serious next level climbing skills. Lots of fun in the boulder fields but Jan is not the time to be climbing exposed sea cliffs as we found out to our cost!
I cut myself to ribbons on a band of quartz halfway up one of em before getting uncerimoniously blown off the rockface. Great times.
Still have her copy of Dorset Rockfax book so will try and get down there this summer at some point.
Might try Bowles next week then.

Portland in Jan? Sounds grim as fuck. Seacliffs are def a summer/spring ting.

Pembroke is the winner for me though. Amazing rock, amazing situation.

Forum climbing trip this summer?
Camping, bike rides, climbing, beer = win?

Sounds like a possibility...

I'm off to Font next week, woop!

Woo font. Man that place rocks. Oh lol, I didn't mean to make that crappy joke. Enjoy font

Millstone is one of the greatest, so many lines to aspire to!

yes, and so many that chew you up and spit you out!

Forum climbing trip this summer?
Camping, bike rides, climbing, beer = win?

i don't think it any coincidence that many good cycling areas are around good climbing areas :)

We have family in both Dorset and Yorkshire so can probably do either if there's any interest as we can tie in some visits at the same time. Double win.
Don't quite fancy riding all the way to either with full camping and climbing gear though so some sort of trains or car maybe required. I has small car with rack for 2 bikes but that'll only do for me and Liz. Can take another person or 2 avec some luggage.....

Date and location to be confirmed but List! First or second weekend of July (5th-7th or 12th-14th) work for anyone else?

Lfgss Rocks Ride
Thinking drive/train there on a friday after work and come back on sunday evening so back for work.

1. Edmundro
   
2. LadyLiz
   
   

We're still new to all this so will be looking for spots with plenty of straight forward top rope climbs so can spend more time climbing and less time just trying to survive...
Oh, and will bring my tree climbing kit as well if anyone fancies a go.

ah, the impetiousness of youth!

if, and it's a big if, i were able to tag along, then 1st and 3rd weekends in July for me.

Have: six seater van with space for gear/bikes; ropes (though perhaps best not used by others..) rackx2; tents, mats, camp stuff

I'll pencil it in on the family chalkboard - away killing myself!

..and there's only one spot Ed, the eastern gristone edges; setting of many a solid trad apprenticeship ;)

Why don't you just get a little mob up The Sobell in Holloway?

Watching the HardGrit dvd right now that I got ages ago as a freebie for some reason.
Trad climbing looks scary as fuck but worth a shot...
Would be ace to have some dab hands on the trip to show us how it's done.
Go on, do it!

Eastern Gritstone it is then.

Why don't you just get a little mob up The Sobell in Holloway?

sobell's a good wall; so greasy that it hones good technique. mick fowler inspired me there - watching him do laps of the corridor with a bulging rucksack on his back was just incredible..

/csb

Didn't know it had climbing. Just seen how cheap it is compared to Castle. In.

It has a traverse wall in a corridor. It's not a climbing centre.

The castle is opening a new floor of bouldering on Monday evening.

Wasn't expecting it to be anything like as rad/comprehensive as the castle but nice to know there's cheap stuff for when I'm broke...

regular training at the sobell will build endurance and technique good enough to get up an E1 5B (sport6b) (classic low-end-mid-grade nowadays)

More than good enough for me then.
Tempted with a technique class at the Castle, since doing an intro course and my few previous forrays outdoors I've just made it up as I go along. Don't know how/when to pull off specific moves, sometimes it happens without thinking about it, sometimes I bludgeon my way up and others I eject myself rapidly from the wall...
Back to basics traverse laps ftw.

Fingerboard is finally up in the hallway. 30secs for deadhangs on the big holds and 20secs on the slopers seems to be my limit right now. Just managed 3 chin-ups starting from a deadhang, pausing to lock em off on the way back down.
Got a long way to go til I can even look at the 1 finger pockets and shallow edge without feelin queasy and weak as a kitten.

Skills class at Castle has been booked for May 4th. I am excite.
Turns out it's just as easy to rinse my money on climbing as it is on bikes :(

Looking more at Dorset as potential location for a weekend away. Unlike the Gritstone theres plenty of bolted routes for people like me with no trad experience, in all grades. Mostly short but lots of variety in the locations from sea cliffs to boulder fields and quarries.
I like the idea of camping on Portland and maybe riding inland to a different location on 1 of the days.
Still looking at first weekend in July.

Any takers?

ah, any fule can clip up a line of bolts, but how can you get trad experience unless you succumb to hours, nay years, of tearing the skin off the back of your hands from jamming gritstone cracks?!

Fisting cracks you say?

no you said that

Rive - you've just volunteered to teach me trad on grit. You have no choice now.

Sheeitt, i'll need to lose 5st pdq...