Gower Life has many upside’s. For me the biggest draw is the Coast line, its simply amazing. With stunning beaches and coves that can be turned into playgrounds for just about every activity you can imagine. Most of my free time is spent exploring these coves, climbing and surfing. Then obviously I love taking photos of all this hi jinx that me and my buddies get up to.
Surf has been ‘Flat’ for 2 weeks know, and my board is no longer living in the van, but inside the house waiting for the next period of swell. Fortunately climbing has been great over the past few weeks. This all started with the ‘Shipwreck Weekend’ which although was hindered by the sheer number of climbers ,was still a fab weekend.
Shipwreck Cove
Next up, work had an interesting surprise with the Armed Forces descending upon Boulders to hold their Climbing Championships. Two days of competition would see who was the the top dog and the interesting part, we were invited to take part.
At first I wasn’t very keen due to badly damaging my knee whilst coaching the previous night. My knee was still swollen and painful to load in key positions, so I had thought about skipping this one. But then I decided it would be a good opportunity to remind myself what comps were like for the participant. As I coach climbers for this very outcome it would in turn help me help others.
Army Climbing Championships
Ill be honest, I was nervous and even easy routes suddenly required attention that would not normally be given. Day 1 consisted of 6 qualifying routes for the 100+ competitors with routes from easy to tricky/difficulty. My buddy, Antony, had already gone earlier in the day and was holding the top spot as I started. But we all new the big guns from the army had not yet started so it was hard to say if his score was high enough to reach the finals on day 2.
After 4 easy routes it was time for something a little spicier and i’m gonna be honest I only just made it! the finishing move was on 2 dirty little crimps that on a normal day would be bread and butter for me, but not being able to sit on my left leg meant I had to just flick through on the wrong foot, fortunately the move worked and although not pretty, so far maximum points.
Route 6 looked harder but in all honesty not brick hard, I had guessed about F7b and involved some high feet that I was concerned about. Oddly I was still really nervous and could not settle so when my turn came I was climbing in a very odd rhythm. This would lead to me reaching the mid hight crux and the ‘High Foot’ that I was already concerned about. My knee it turned out was not the issue but my nerves certainly were! As I rocked up on to my foot (good leg), I could not settle and lurched for the next hold, outcome = I fell off!
Immediately I was relived it was over. I had been nervous for the 2 hrs it had taken for the 6 routes and wasn’t really enjoying my self. It transpired I had reached the same point as Antony and had qualified in joint 3rd for the final. Thinking about all of this over night I realized how crazy it had been to let nerves get the better of me. I spend so much time telling people that they should aim to perform there best, as appose to aiming to win. I believe this as with all thing considered if you climb your best then you will give yourself the best chance of reaching your potential. but I had just focused on Ants high score for 2 hrs and sure enough as soon as I reached this false ceiling, the wheels fell off. I decided the finals were to be different I would ‘climb well’.
Sure enough a change in attitude and finals day was a dream. The route were not that hard mid 7’s, but for the first time in a long time I actually climbed well and felt more like myself in a competition environment. The semi final went straight up and through the roof which is some of my favorite terrain. This involved all manner of heel hooks on some of Andy Longs fiberglass volumes. Topping out easily left me in joint first going into the final, but importantly for me my climbing had been fluid and instinctive which had allowed me to climb well and the result, top!
The final was isolation style, with us coming out one at a time to perform in front of the crowd. The route was one that suited me well, long and juggy roof climbing with no real crucial left leg moves. As each competitor left isolation, we were left second guessing their high points from the crowd reactions that was filtering through to the warm up area.
once I came out, as the penultimate climber the route was a breeze, I had route read, but had only made a few key decisions for 2 sections. The first was a spot that looked an obvious opportunity to shake out and prep for the second half of the route. This appeared the meat of the route with more sustained climbing. The second key section was as the roof crossed under an arch. Here an obvious left leg knee bar was available, I decided to ignore this and keep my right heel high in the roof and blast through. Mainly due to the holds looking good and I would not need to use my left knee in an aggressive way. As long as I could reach the final wall with out being ‘cooked’ I would give myself a great chance.
It turned out that most of the holds were better than I was expecting, and with my fitness being good the route flew by. I was really pleased to have some flow to my climbing, marked by quick decision making and fluid movement. Topping the final route was great, and in doing so I finish in first place.This was a little surprising as climbing in an competition environment has been a challenge for me recently. Mainly due to the fact That I do very few comps, the added pressure is an unknown that leaves me nervous, and its hard to climb your best when you are anxious. This event helped blow some cobwebs out for sure, especially as later in the year I am doing the DWS comp in Exeter as part of Team Evolv. Best find a few more comps to practice before the big one!
Me on FA of ‘Anabell F7c+’ Stallioncove
The weekend came round super quick, with mixed weather. I had arranged to take some of the younger Boulders Academy kids to Foxhole cove, Gower. For a few of these youngsters it would be their first time outside. Its always fun showing these young rock stars what is out there, and giving them the opportunity to grow as climbers. Many of them struggle with confidence as young climbers, and I firmly believe from experience that the more variety they get in their climbing the greater challenges they can cope with, and in turn perform to there potential. With in one session on rock we had gone from being anxious on a top rope, to leading, to some DWS ! They really took to climbing on rock (as any keen climber given the opportunity would) and hopefully we can get out much more as the summer gets going.
As if this wasn’t enough of a hectic week, I also got to go Skydiving. This is something that I would not have booked myself, I hate flying. Anyway Liz had booked me a ticket for my birthday and this was to be the day. It turned out to be great fun and something I may do again. After a briefing that could probably be covered in two sentences (it was a tandem dive so really sit back and enjoy the ride) we boarded a small plane ;-/. We then kitted up and flew to 12000ft, from here sitting with my legs hanging over the side was quite exhilarating. The first second or two of falling was surreal as I found my bearing through the acceleration. But from that moment on I can see why so many of my friends do this regularly.
Image – Swansea Skydive Center
flying towards the earth at over 120mph was incredible and surprisingly peaceful. Yes its noisy and yes its feels like your traveling freakishly fast. But overall it felt wild, the view is crazy with small rainbows surrounding our shadows on the clouds and although I was clearly not doing any of the work, thanks Rikki (my instructor doing the important stuff behind me!) the sensation of how moving your arms effects your trajectory in the air was super cool! After about 6000ft of free fall the chute pulled and our decent slowed to a peaceful pace. Although this did not last as my Instructor, Rikki, had great fun performing all manner of loops and swoops through clouds etc.. which was very impressive. Once landed It was actually over to quick and a shame we could not go up again. Anyway the skydive center is about 5 mins drive from my house so maybe next weekend?