We have started by looking at things like their diet, body fat levels, current training structure, current climbing grade, strengths and weaknesses, reoccurring injuries and access to training facilities. Using this information we have design a program that will help them achieve their target.

We will come back and review everyone once every two months, looking at their training and if its helping them achieve their chosen targets. At the end of the year, we hope we can all celebrate as we hit our 2012 goals!

Gareth Hanson – Current Grade VS

Gareth on Pork Chop Slab, Almscliffe

Gareth is 40 this September and wants to be in the best shape of his life for his birthday. He indulges in cross country mountain biking, snowboarding, climbing and more recently kite surfing. His focus tends to shift from activity to activity depending largely on the weather conditions. If it’s windy he will kitesurf, if it’s dry he will climb and for everything else MTB seems to fit the bill.

He currently leads VS trad and 6a sport outdoors and particularly enjoys climbing slabs and walls. He has had relatively little leading practice lately so can find it harder to commit to moves above protection.

Gareth’s training is currently a mixture of indoor climbing sessions, weights, cycling and kite surfing, along with occasional trip out climbing. Up to this point his climbing training has had very little structure. He has a history of rotator cuff problems as a result of weight  training and other sport related training in the past.

Gareth is 5 foot 7 and weighs 72kg. His diet is generally healthy and varied.

Climbing Target – E1 Trad and 6c Sport

Gareth’s training at the moment isn’t specific enough to improve his climbing performance. Although weights do have benefits, they don’t target fingers, technique or stamina, which are key for improving his grade.

His diet and weight is healthy and will have little impact on his overall performance at his grade level.

Gareth’s new program has been designed to make him a more confident leader, improve his climbing fitness and overall finger/body strength. The program is as follows:

Monday – rest or bike.

Tuesday – Boulder at the climbing wall. Warm up really well on nice easy stuff. Then look at doing different types of boulder problems on roofs, overhanging/vertical, slabs. This will target the different muscle groups required for climbing and help build his technique on the varying surfaces. Finish with core and specific rotator cuff work.

Wednesday – Rest or bike.

Thursday – Leading at wall. To help him improve his confidence and stamina he will do leading pyramids as follows with a 10 min rest in between each route.

5b, 5c, 6a, 6b, 6b+, 6b, 6a, 5c, 5b

Finish with core and rotator cuff work.

Friday – Rest.

Saturday – Climb outside or climbing specific weights.

Sunday – Climb outside or Power endurance circuits, composing of 5 sets of a 25 move circuit with 6 minute rest inbetween.

Menna Pritchard – Current Grade VS

Menna climbing at the Gower

Menna is a single mum to a toddler.  As the same time she is also studying full-time for a degree in Outdoor Education, as well as working as an Outdoor Instructor and doing
some volunteer PR work for a few companies. As a result getting spare time for climbing training can be difficult.

Menna currently leads VS outdoors and although she does lots of swimming and weight training, she doesn’t do much climbing specific training.

Menna is 26 years old, 5 foot 4 and weights 61kg.

Climbing Target – E1 Trad and improve her overall bouldering ability

Menna is in a similar position to Gareth in that her training should be more specific to climbing. Time pressures will sometimes make it difficult for her to train regularly, so her priority will always be climbing outdoors, where she can gain the best overall improvement in her climbing ability.

Her diet and weight is healthy and will have little impact on his overall performance at his grade level.

Menna’s new program has been designed to improve her climbing fitness and overall finger/body strength. The program is as follows:

Monday – rest, swim, ride or surf.

Tuesday – Boulder at the climbing wall. Warm up really well on nice easy stuff. Then look at doing different types of boulder problems on roofs, overhanging/vertical, slabs. This will target the different muscle groups required for climbing and help build her technique on the varying surfaces. Finish with core.

Wednesday – rest, swim, ride or surf.

Thursday – Leading at wall. To help her improve his confidence and stamina she will do leading pyramids as follows with a 10 min rest in between each route.

5a, 5b, 5b+, 5c, 6a, 5c, 5b+, 5b, 5a

Finish with core.

Friday – rest, swim, ride or surf.

Saturday – Climb outside or climbing specific weights.

Sunday – Climb outside or Power endurance circuits, composing of 5 sets of a 25 move circuit with 6 minute rest inbetween.

Tony Rees – Current Grade E3

Tony on Lucky Strike, Pembroke

Tony is a full time climbing instructor on Gower, which gives him excellent access to both rock and partners. He has a young family, but has a lot of flexibility at home. His other hobbies include the regular trappings of outdoor folk such as paddling, surfing etc.

He has lead up to E3 trad in the past, but has recently been plagued by golfers elbow. This has had a knock effect on his overall climbing strength and fitness, as his training has been limited.

His main climbing strengths are his technique and overall stamina, but feels as though his ability to climb through hard crux sections of routes his main limiting factor.

Tony’s training sessions are generally weights based in an effort to improve his climbing strength. These sessions have directly led to his current elbow problems.

Tony is 32, 5 foot 8 and weights around 11.5 stone. Although his diet is healthy he does confess to eating any chocolate or sweets he can get his hands on.

Climbing Target – E5 Trad

Tony’s first priority is to resolve his elbows issue. Since he got the problem he has stopped any climbing specific training for fear of making them worse. This is a common mistake climbers make when they get injured. He really needs to climb at a lower level that doesn’t affect the elbows to help strengthen the connective tissue and aide healing.

The first part of Tony’s program is based around gentle bouldering, gradually increasing the standard as his elbows get stronger. This is combined with eccentric work specific to the injured tendon, regular icing after training and massage of the finger/elbow flexors.

As Tony moves into the E5 category power to weight become much more important. Any reduction in his weight by cutting out sweets and chocolate would help his progression.

Once his elbows are stronger, Tony will start doing more specific climbing orientated training, targeted towards his weakest area, bouldering strength.

Monday - Rest, cycle etc

Tuesday - Bouldering on a Moon Board and then finish with a power endurance session on a finger board.

Wednesday - Rest, cycle etc.

Thursday - Bouldering on a Moon Board

Friday - Rest, cycle etc.

Saturday - Routes outside or power endurance circuits. 4 sets of 25 move circuit with a 7 min rest.

Sunday - Routes outside or power endurance circuits. 4 sets of 25 move circuit with a 7 min rest.

Rob Lonsdale – Current Grade Font 7c+

Rob climbing Brad Pitt, Stanage

Rob works full time, as an IT Support Technician at an Independent School. He started off trad climbing 10 years ago, and then progressed onto sport routes for a couple of years. He finally decided that bouldering was the way forward, finding this to be by far the most fun and social side of the sport. When he’s not bouldering he mountain bikes in the summer and snowboards or ice climbs in the winter.

Rob has recently bouldered up to 7c+, with his focus predominately on gritstone. His training is purely bouldering based with extensive sessions on the competition problems at his local wall.

He has ruptured a pulley in the left ring finger, requiring surgery to fix. As a result the left hand is significantly weaker as a result. This particularly shows up on a campus board where he can do 1-4-6 static with the right and only do 1-3-5 with the left. He also has had shoulder problems in the past.

Rob is 29, 5 foot 5 and weighs 10 stone. His diet is generally good, although he confesses to having a weakness for crumbles and cooked school lunches!

Climbing Target – Font 8a

Currently Rob’s training is based around competition circuits at the local walls. His climbing style is generally very static and controlled with good locking ability. This suites him very well on his favourite rock type, gritstone.

Robs two main weaknesses are the lack of strength in his left hand/side and a lack of ability to move quickly for holds. As a result left hand specific work and campusing/plyometrics will be introduced into his program.

His body fat percentage has been measured at 14%, which is at the top end for an athlete. Any drops in this area will certainly give him an edge on the hardest boulder problems.

To aide recovery and muscle growth Rob will take a protein shake within 30 minutes of the session end.

Monday – Rest

Tuesday – Boulder and campus board session. This will be a mixture of laddering, touches and double handed work. To strengthen the core Rob will also introduce front lever training into his program. Finish with core and rotator cuff exercises.

Wednesday – Rest

Thursday – Bouldering. Including specific work for the left side, such as long moves off small finger holds, dynamic moves to marginal holds leading with left hand and systems training.

Friday – Rest

Saturday – Bouldering indoors or out

Sunday – Bouldering indoors or out.

Paul Fearn – Current Grade 8a+

Paul on the start to Caviar, Rubicon Wall

Paul works at home for a Chinese mobile phone startup. Although he has a 9 month old, working from home provides him with plenty of flexibility for his climbing. From his roots in trad climbing nearly 25 years ago, he now mainly focuses on sport climbing and bouldering.

His hardest sport route is 8a+, climbed last year. His climbing has been blighted by back and shoulder injuries until recently. Following lots of conditioning work he now feels that this winter will be his first uninterrupted period of training for 15 years.

Traditionally Paul has focused on training his strengths and little time on his weaknesses. As a result he has strong fingers, but poor upper body strength and power endurance.

Paul is 40 years old, 6 foot 2 and weights 73kg

Climbing Target 8b+ sport route

Pauls focus over the winter will be on improving his weak elements. Before Christmas he went through a block of strength training, including bouldering, plyometrics, campus board, bachar ladder, weighted pullups and front levers.

For the next eight weeks he is going to focus on power endurance, with a one week break inbetween for a bouldering trip to Spain. To maintain his current strength he will continue to do one strength session a week.

To try and stay away from injuries he will spend a lot of time working on his core, rotator cuff and lower traps and back flexibility.

At the moment he is the heaviest he has ever been. During the climbing season he will lose 4kg to improve his power to weight. At this level of climbing losing 4kg can help give you the edge needed to reach the next grade.

Pauls training for the two blocks of power endurance is as follows:

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - 25 move 8b+route circuit on his board. Initially he can’t do the circuit and has to do it in three overlapping sections. He will take a 15 second rest between each section and then have a longer 15 min break inbetween. As he gains more power endurance he will be able to eventually complete the circuit and use it for intervals. Finish with four sets of power endurance on a finger board, front levers, core and rotator cuff/lower trap work

Wednesday:  Rest. He finds repeated days of power endurance hard on his forearms, so needs to adopt a one day on one day off approach.

Thursday - Repeat Tuesday, but finish with PE on the campus board.

Friday -Rest

Saturday -  Bouldering on a Moon Board. Campus and plyometrics. Finish with intervals on route length boulder problems (20 moves) around 7c-7c+

Sunday – Rest and then repeat

We are all going to meet up at a climbing wall in 2 months time and check on our progress. We will let you know how it goes!

Follow 5 Climbers: Try and Achieve Their 2012 Targets is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

1. Turbo Charged New Year’s Training Resolutions
2. Steve McClure on Training Power Endurance
3. 12 week progression to insane grip strength – guest post by Paul Wilson

The video below is a short one from DPM, a climbing website/magazine based in the USA. Their ‘BETA’ series tackles problems countrywide and helps aspiring boulderers unlock the sequences and secrets to each problem using the video. The BETA video we have for you today has a slightly different twist however; we meet Jim Toomey and hear his very inspiring story…

Stay safe, stay psyched.

Inspiration on all levels is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

1. Carrie Cooper Climbing at 39 Weeks Pregnant
2. Century Crack Trailer
3. Why you should always pay attention when belaying …

Coming soon …

…

What’s that we hear? You’ll never get bored of seeing those two British Warriors slaying the American dragon?

Told you so.

Century Crack Trailer is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

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1. Biggest Dyno World Record Holder, Skyler Weeks returns to Cliffhanger this year
2. KENDAL WALL – VIDEO
3. Carrie Cooper Climbing at 39 Weeks Pregnant

James McHaffie climbing 'Dawes Rides a Shovel Head' onsight. Raven Crag, Langdale

When we saw the following film at the Kendal Film Festival in November, we were blown away by the excellent stories unified & produced by Land & Sky Media. It’s the first film to feature at the festival from Land & Sky Media and it was received with a very warm welcome. It’s been a long time coming, but we managed to get hold of Dom Bush, the main man behind the film and steal a few words from him.

Islands: Traditional Tales of Lakeland Climbing is a three part film which gives an insight into the world of hard traditional ascents in the birthplace of rock climbing, the English Lake District. Featuring fantastic footage of first ascents and hard repeats of routes from E6 (5.12c) to E9 (5.13c) by Wild Country and Red Chili climbers Adam Hocking and James McHaffie, as well Lakes stalwarts Mike Przygrodzki and Stuart Wood, it also includes interviews and commentaries from Lakes legend and Wild Country climber Dave Birkett and the indefatigable Leo Houlding. It’s a sensitive and cinematic documentary film, that represents the Lakes and it’s characters in a simple and poignant way. And with sport climbing and bouldering gaining popularity, this film provides a deep and sometimes comical perspective on the great British trad climbing tradition.

Adam Hocking working 'Return of the King' on East Buttress Scafell

“My hope was to explain, promote and maintain the heritage and tradition within the climbing community in the Lake District, of which I am now a part. To celebrate some of its modern pioneers and their very individual qualities, and to readdress the balance, by placing equal importance on the person, the landscape, and the activity.”

“I would like to thank all the individuals involved in this project, they shaped it just as I did, and I’m very grateful for their contribution. And of course, the sponsors, who have shown their support all the way through, as well as providing valuable bits of kit for this and future projects. Wild Country, Red Chilli, The Epicentre and Alpkit.”

Dom filming Stuart Wood on the first ascent of 'The Big Link', Hodge Close Quarry

There are exciting things afoot, so keep an eye on what’s going on with Land and Sky Media. You can follow on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/landandskymedia

Or keep up to date with content and inspiration on the Land & Sky Media blog – http://landandsky.wordpress.com/

All Photos from Dom Bush & Matt Pycroft

Islands: Traditional Tales of Lakeland Climbing is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

1. Islands Trailer
2. James McHaffie Sends The Big Bang 9a, Lower Pen Trwyn, North Wales
3. Barry-argains: Wild Country Helium Clean Wire Quickdraws 5 pack

Steve McClure on a power endurance route at Raven Tor. Photo copyright Steve McClure

As part of our training series this week we are going to focus on power endurance. Often overlooked by many climbers, training power endurance, is critical to getting you up most UK sport routes where the hard sections are usually no more than 10 to 30 moves.

Steve McClure needs little introduction to most climbers. Having climbed the UK hardest sport route, Overshadow at Malham Cove 9a+, and onsighted upto 8b+ he can certainly be considered to have excellent power endurance! Steve recently kindly spared me some of his time to do an interview on the training techniques he and others use to enable them to get up some of the hardest power endurance routes in the world.

What techniques do you recommend for training Power Endurance?

As a first stage I would suggest the ‘getting really pumped’ method. The key is monitoring the time period. It needs to be about 90 seconds to 120 seconds, from start to failure. The movement needs to be either the same, or on a circuit with absolutely no change in difficulty. This is the problem with circuits, as often it ends up being too easy and then too hard with a fast build-up of fatigue and failure due to being ‘powered out’ rather than pumped. The campus method has worked very well for me and many others. This must be done with feet on, or it will be too hard and you’ll be bouldering! Feet can be on specific footholds or a chair or whatever. Aim for 3 – 4 reps of this, each taking around 90 – 120 seconds. Rest 5 – 7 minutes in between. The movement should be similar to normal campusing, but with feet on, like rung 1 – rung 4, rung 6 match, then back down again (worth putting in rung 2 on way down to cut out the crux move (dropping 4-1) and so you lead with a different hand each movement)

What happens if you don’t have access to a campus board?

It is possible on the fingerboard, you can do actual hangs with feet off, 7 seconds hang, 5 seconds off. However, it may be better to have assistance from feet on a chair or similar allowing you to use smaller hand holds and stay on the board with both hands on for about 5 seconds, then one off for 3, both back on again for 5, the other hand off for 3 etc. This is more applicable to climbing where you stay ‘on the rock’ rather than stepping down, and the hold size will be more appropriate.

What do you do during the rest part of the interval?

You can throw in some body tension exercises.

How do you help improve your recovery on the rock? Do you do try resting on large holds during the rest period, of the interval, and then going again?

On the board it’s useful to switch to a better hold (if available) and shake out to aid recovery just like on a real route. Typically stop the movement before failure at around 4/5 tired, and shake for 30 seconds (15 each arm) before going back in. Alternatively come off completely at 4/5 tired and rest on the ground for 15 seconds before getting back on.
Rest properly between each set though, where a set may include a few rest periods of 15 seconds on the ground or on a hold. Each ‘Set’ must be quality, starting the work feeling reasonably fresh. Just as if you were trying a route.

Do you vary the grip you are using on the campus or is it done open handed?

On the board I always use open handed, (though this tends to be a half crimp for the middle finger when all 4 pads are on a rung). Crimping repeatedly is prone to injury, especially when going for it really pumped.

How many times a week should you do this training during a power endurance cycle?

This must be done twice a week as a minimum, but 3 times maximum. It can be done after climbing, and in fact is a very good top up, as its relatively low impact and not too power orientated. It can also be done in its own right, though it’s an easy session really, and just doing this 3 times per week will give you more PE but less of everything else.

How should you fit it into your training week?

You can either fit it in after a climbing session or you can do a PE session the day after, to make your climbing volume go up slightly.

How long should you train using this approach?

Aim for a 4-5 week block, backing off if you start to feel too tired. If you make 5 weeks at this intensity you should feel the gains. Take a week off PE completely, then resume for another 4 or so weeks. Then you should be firing! PE will be great! Drop off this exercise to once a week at maximum, to maintain this PE level.

Do you use any other techniques for developing the PE required for the test pieces you are well known for?

Circuits are probably the best overall, but hard to make, and use in busy walls. Bouldering continually below your limit is great, drop off a problem and then within a few seconds (maybe 10) get back on. This can be done for around 5 problems. Make sure the level is correct to avoid failure too early.

Our thanks go to Steve McClure for taking the time to complete this interview. We wish him all the best for his climbing during 2012.

Steve is sponsored by:

Steve McClure on Training Power Endurance is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

1. 12 week progression to insane grip strength – guest post by Paul Wilson
2. Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game: Week 5 – strength conditioning and grip (workout 2)
3. Turbo Charged New Year’s Training Resolutions

The author taking a break on Cosmiques Ridge, Aiguille du Midi

Every year British ice climbers face a dilemma. Where to go for that one big trip- Scotland or further afield? Some might choose the Lakes or Snowdonia for a quick jaunt if conditions are good but it’s almost impossible to predict what English and Welsh ice will be like in advance, or even if there will be any to speak of at all. On the day this article was written (18th of January 2012) local sources don’t report any ice worth climbing in the Lake District or in North Wales.

Let’s look at the practical reasons to head up to Scotland first. No passports are required, there’s no language barrier, and while it might be a long drive from down south it’s still drivable without getting on a ferry. Cheap accommodation is relatively easy to find, and compared to Chamonix and other popular European winter resorts there are few crowds.

On the other hand there’s no denying that Scottish conditions are a little less reliable than those you might expect in the Rocky Mountains or most other global ice meccas. While most people get their fair share of decent conditions, poorer years might mean some unlucky visitors having to make do with dry tooling or winter walking. At the time of writing, there is good climbing to be had in Scotland, although some routes might be a little thinner than usual.

Thin ice back in Britain

The other big risk to consider when booking a Scotland trip is the weather. As the recent 160mph winds showed, the Cairngorms can be home to some of the filthiest weather a climber could hope never to encounter. It’s not just the high winds, but also a question of poor visibility and some serious wetness. Of course, mountain weather is a capricious thing no matter where you go but the longer the walk-in and the higher up the routes are, the more of a problem adverse weather can be. And Scotland doesn’t have many roadside ice routes.

If it’s roadside ice you’re after, places like Rjukan are a better bet for a winter climbing holiday. You can spend a week on good ice within spitting distance from your hire car. There’s no need to bring out a map and compass and all your energy can go towards climbing rather than walking in. However, there are plenty of climbers (many of them Scottish) who feel that the walk-in is part of the experience, part of the challenge, and who would much rather enjoy the splendid isolation of a distant peak than queue for a crowded roadside route.

Of all reasons to choose Scotland as a winter climbing destination, there is one that stands out above all the others. It’s all about the routes. There is a certain appeal in tackling the Scottish winter classics, not just for the sake of ticking well-known lines but also because some of them are truly world class. If all your mates have done Point Five Gully and you haven’t it might be time to get yourself up to Scotland and see what all the fuss is about.

Winter Trips for UK Climbers – Scotland or Abroad? is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

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1. An introduction to Welsh winter climbing
2. Clothing for Winter Climbing
3. Equipment for Winter Climbing

BEAL and the French Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (FFME) have renewed their partnership until 2015. Pierre YOU, the President of the FFME and Michel Beal, BEAL President, welcome the extension of this historic partnership.

Official Partner of the FFME, BEAL introduces a revolutionary breakthrough with its new rope DIABLO. This dynamic rope with unprecedented performance equips the lead and speed competitions of the 2012 Climbing Wold Championships, to be held from 12 to 16 September in Paris-Bercy.

DIABLO is the first outdoor use dynamic rope to receive the UNICORE treatment. Its diameter will provide reassurance to the majority of climbers, while its slick sheath and supple handling give the sensation of using a classic rope.

DIABLO has already won 3 international awards:

• Named Best Outdoor Technology 2010 by OutDoor Trade Show, Friedrichshafen,
• Named Best Outdoor Product 2011 by ISPO Trade Show, Munich,
• Named Best Rope 2011 by OutDoor Trade Show, Friedrichshafen.

Competitors will surely be amazed by its running characteristics and performance, organizers by its durability and safety.

Let’s hope Beal send us a Diablo to test!

If you would like to know more about the Beal Diablo, check out their web site.

Beal Diablo Rope to be THE rope for 2012 Climbing World Championships is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

1. The results of the 2011 British Bouldering Championships
2. Join the 2012 British Bouldering Team
3. BMC British Bouldering competition – 15th – 16th January at ExCel Centre

Moon Board at Awesome Walls, Stoke on Trent

I have been in need of adding some new holds to my board for a while, to allow me to start to create some new and harder problems.

After looking around I decided to try the Moon School Room holds set. A single set costs £100, which includes 40 handholds and 10 footholds. This represents much better value for money than most other resin holds.

These holds were originally designed for the Moon Board. This was a concept that was created by Ben Moon and others, from the old school room in Sheffield, in 2005. The idea was that people could create an exact replica of the board used by top climbers such as Ben and try and repeat the problems they had set. Once they then move onto creating their own problems, they could then upload them for others to try. To enable them to achieve this, the Moon board has a grid pattern, with each hole assigned a letter and number, as well as each hand hold having a number and orientation.

Sadly I just don’t have room for a Moon Board in my garage! However the ones I have tried are excellent. I really like the grid pattern as it enables me to measure my progress and then push myself by creating problems that use the next row of holds.

The Yellow Original Moon Holds

There are three different sets, available within the Moon range. Having used all three at Awesome Walls in Stoke on Trent, I have gone for the original version as they are generally smaller than the other two sets. I have fitted these to my 45 degree board. Any steeper and I may well have gone for one of the other two sets, which offer a broader range of hold sizes.

The hand holds and foot holds all have multiple faces, allowing you to turn the holds around. Great if you need to make that problem, just a little bit harder! The texture of the holds is perfect, generally not to abrasive on your skin, but at the same time offering enough grip to avoid slipping off. The holds are generally open hand or crimps, with a few small pinches and undercuts. They are easily the closest, resin hold, you can get to climbing on UK limestone.

For those of you looking at adding an extra set of holds to your board, for getting yourself in shape for hitting the limestone, the Moon School Holds are the way forward. If you have lots of room, then go one better and build yourself a Moon board!

Moon Original School Holds is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

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1. New ROKT climbing gym planning approved
2. Basic climbing techniques: Hand holds, the ‘jug’
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The new bouldering area is called La Cantina (Italian for cellar) and is sponsored by La Sportiva.

Top climber and coach, Neil Gresham was on hand to officially open La Cantina to a large and eager crowd. La Sportiva were on hand with demo shoes and a free pair for the person with the best photo wearing their them during the evening. Check out the Rockcity Facebook wall for the winner later this week.

Being a regular at Rockcity, I can tell you that La Cantina has been a labour of love and has required some extremely long working hours from the Rockcity team to get it ready in time for its grand opening. Pro climber Gaz Parry was could still be seen still checking the grades as a queue formed outside.

So what’s it like?

I love it! It’s bright, the walls are super grippy for smearing, and the colour coded routes are really easy to identify.

There are colour coded circuits ranging from super easy to extremely tough and desperate. I’m finding this makes for a great training session; I can warm up for say 15 easy routes on the yellow circuit, move onto the red circuit for a few harder routes where a few goes are required for successful send, then onto a project, and back onto the easy stuff for a cool down.

The walls are pretty tall and there’s loads of angles; slabs, walls, slight overhangs, roofs and severe overhangs are all part of the mix. off from the main wall is a corridor with traverses and a load of small holds to work individual moves. At the end of the corridor is a replica of Neil Gresham’s own cellar training board!

I for one will be using La Cantina as part of my regular training schedule. If you live anywhere near Hull, you should most definitely check it out!

Neil Gresham Opens New Bouldering Wall at Rockcity, Hull is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

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Once you have registered your phone you will be able to txt 999 in case of emergency, this is for situations where you don’t have enough signal to make a successful call but do have enough to send a SMS.

All the details are on the Emergency SMS website, but in short to register your phone TXT REGISTER to 999 – you will get a message back asking you to confirm; TXT YES to 999 and that’s it you’re all setup.

Definitely worth doing as a precaution, as with everything preparation is the key! It could save a life.

Emergency SMS Service is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

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2. Fancy climbing on a new Saturday night BBC TV show?
3. Mind Coaching for climbing performance at the Harrogate Climbing Wall