Saturday 15 August 2015

Photographic catch-up

I’m currently broken; the left-side of my body seems to have given up the ghost.

Ankle, knee, ring finger, wrist & shoulder are all at some level injured. Most of these were just minor tweaks or reoccurance of tweaks, but the shoulder is the latest and most significant injury after making a horrid tearing/crunching sound last weekend.

Fingers crossed the noise originated from the belly of one of my shoulder muscles and wasn’t a proper rotator cuff or SLAP tear? Only time will tell…

To pass the time I’ve collated some photos from the last 8 months;

January:
Simon half-way up the French Pillar, Jebel Mischt, Oman - scorchio!

New Years Eve 2014/15 - Me and Simon on the summit of Jebel Mischt, Oman, having climbed the 1100m high French Pillar, f6b+/E3 5c.


February:
In the Summit shelter of Ben Nevis having climbed the "most famous ice gully in the world" - a 0430 wake-up call meant we got first dibs on the route :-)  

March:



Oliana – less said the better - Fisheye handed me my arse on a plate for the second year running. John had a stonking trip though, climbing Fisheye, 8c, Humildes Pas Casa, 8b+ and Gorilla’s en la Nuebla, 8b/+ during our 2 week trip. He’s John enjoying his first glass of wine since Christmas to celebrate his ascent of Fisheye (on the right).


April:

Old and new cars: i then proceeded to fill the boot of the new car with bouldering mats for multiple lamplight sessions in Parisellas cave; a highlight of which was getting up Trigger Cut (avec la knee).


May:


I supplemented a work trip to Detroit and Houston with a long weekend in the Red River Gorge. The climbing highlights were doing Angry Birds, 13c 2nd go and getting spanked by the brilliant Paradise Lost, 13a on a warm day (below). The bourbon is pretty good too!

I really want to go back to the RRG this Autumn, but manky shoulder might have different ideas?

Upon returning from the USA I took a nasty tumble off my mountain bike whilst in a jet lagged fugue, and this was the start of a month off any serious climbing; first from the resulting 2 week concussion, and then another fortnight of chest infection and anti-biotics.





June:
I injured my fingerwhilst trying the crux of Mecca when it was a bit damp, so had to resort to other forms of climbing, including limestone roof crack masochism
The dodgy gaffer tape jamming glove I improvised to get up Licking tarmac (AKA Fisting Katy) f8a at Cheddar.

July:
Much of the month was spent hanging off bits of wood with varying weight dangling off my waist whilst rehab’ing my finger; i.e. avoiding all crimping what so ever.

I made some great progress upping my max hang from 27 to 43 kg over a 6 week training cycle and deployed this new finger strength back at the Tor on the only route that doesn’t have a crimp in sight.

However, after succeeding on Mecca Traverse and Mandela at Kilnsey, I set to working Guns in the Sky, 8b+ at Kilnsey and started to experience some knee pain from repeated heel/toe cams with my left foot, so it was a refreshing break to go down to Dorset for some time off from projects.

 Something completely different! (Indoor rifle range in an old road tunnel at Lyme Regis).

Crazy Notion, f7b DWS at a sunkissed Lulworth Cove. 24 hours before my shoulder self-imploded.