We all need Coffee...

Portland was an early start. 8am, rucksack in hand I jumped into the car with Ana and Dux from the train station. After being given an estiamated arrival time of 10am, due to being informed it would take 2 hours to get down, we pulled into the car park at 9:19am, followed shortly by Richard, Chris, Marc and Pareecha. We made our way round to the small cafe in the car park, which to the disappointment of all was closed as a morning dose of caffeine was needed.

After spending time flicking through the guide book, our numbers grew slowly as we all waited to grab a coffee. Chris talked me through the plan for the day, telling me about The Veranda and before long, coffee in hand, we hopped back into the car and drove up onto the cliffs, up small winding inclines and passed seaside homes we parked and walked down the costal paths looking for the crag. After a little bit of a trek, slopes and bum shuffling we made it down to The Veranda. The Veranda is a wave of smaller crags that are developing over Portland. The routes have taken a beating in recent years and even more so recently with the downpours we were having over the whole of the country. The exposure has made for the development of some expansive grassy areas that make for good chilling, socialising, onlooking and eating areas.

We spent the first 20 minutes watching as Marc, Luba, Marie, Simon, Richard, Chris, Melody and Frank set up top ropes. However, as soon as the chance came Pareecha and I jumped at the chanceto climb. We started on a 4 called 'Phils route' moving onto a 4+ called 'Days of Heaven'. I also sent 'Love on the Rocks' a 5 and attempted a pinchy 5+ that ripped my hands to pieces after throwing myself at it goodness knows how many times. Taped up and chalked up I sent the same routes over and over before finishing on what was meant to be a 4+ called 'Cat juggling', but after a read of the guidebook after it was labelled as a 6a and was a very height dependent route. Always finding the short jokes eh...

The feel of rock was so much better. I had better grip, more friction. I love that you just do you and crimp, hold and scramble onto what ever you can find or push on and it's intense. I adored it. It was such an awesome day and I can't wait to do it again.

Return to Calshot

Climbing at Calshot is scary. Its more demanding,  the routes are harder, and sometimes it's a Struggle. And I love it. The routes are longer, but tonight was about taking it a little easy because of the increased frequency of climbs. After warming up with an easy 4 then a 4+, I sent a few 5s and 5+. I then, thanks to smearing and the encouragement of Chris I sent my first 6a at Calshot. Chris is grades above me on both his skill and technique, he pushed me. Climbing with someone who's better really does pay off. I sent a black 5 that i'd had issues with last time and struggle with due to reaching the final holds, but I found that I sent it easier tonight.

There was also a 5 on the far side of the centre wall that I sent. It was the highest I've climbed over here. (Marylands wall may be higher...Probably higher). It was awesome and great for stamina testing. I also got to rest at the top and look out into how big the velodrome is. Huge is the answer. It was a great route to send though. I also did a spot of leading too with Chris (we traded Belay all evening) and sent a couple 4+, a 5 and 5+.  

Queen of The Castle

Today I took Gina to get her Visa paperwork sorted and her passport sent off.  So after the early morning start we headed over on the tube to Manor House. We got there a little early so we headed over for a little pick me up snack in a lovely little Turkish restaurant. The Castle, as par recommendation from Anna, was a good choice for the day in London. The Castle is run by climbers for climbers spread over 4 floors. With 450 roped and lead routes (8m to 13m) and a large range of bouldering surfaces there's a little bit of everything for beginners to experts.

Opening at 12 and after a quick look around the floors and shop. Gina and I found our way to the 1st Floor. I bouldered in the Mezz (Blue Wall), sticking to V1, V0 and VB. It was awesome to be able to boulder more like that as opposed to the traverse walls at St Marys. We also moved over to The Slab (Green Wall) and I bouldered V0 ans V1, and a couple V1-V3, sticking to a comfort zone due to the early start in the morning. There is also the Lust and Envy area, where I traversed V0s and V1s. Next to it is the Catacomb, that is mainly constructed of roof routes, so I gave a few a go. I tried a couple V3s and got half way before slipping off. 

The Castle is a definite return location for bouldering and to try the top rope and maybe even try some lead. A lot of the routes were being reset for top rope and lead that day anyway so even if I had someone to trade belay with I probably would have been restricted to how much I could have done. I also payed the cafe a little visit with all their home grown products, and it turns out their tomato, pesto and mozzarella toasties really hit the spot! The cafe is next to a lead area and a bouldering wall that Gina explored while I ate. We went up to see The Loft area too but there was a class so we didn't hang around. We bouldered a little more before leaving. Must explore the outside bouldering area sometime.