Jodicus direct and clean

Starting up Jodicus Direct (without the peg) E7 6c

I was a bit bleary-eyed this morning heading out to meet Richard and Steve for an attack on Wave Buttress after yesterday’s good session at Steall. Yesterday, my ankle managed 90 minutes on steep tensiony climbing before tightening up. Today I was keen to get it moving on a sustained slab and work it a little bit harder.

Wave Buttress had an obvious challenge. In the early nineties Mark Mcgowan crimped his way up the honeycombed wall of Jodicus Direct. But with a pre-placed long sling enabling a peg to be clipped right before the crux, it was a bit of a weird proposition and never got popular. A few years ago the peg was removed but the climb was never re-led. An obvious challenge then to make a clean ascent ‘sans fer’, this time running it out on the 6c crux above an RP3.

I gave it a quick clean and play on the moves to wake myself up and then worried whether it was a good idea as I still in pain walking in tussocky grass at the base of the cliff. What the hell - suck it up. 

I was glad I did. A fine E7 6c. Afterwards all I could do was shuffle off for two dinners and a bath. But who cares.

Richard on Crackattack E3 6a

Steve On The Beach E5 6a

Big Rock opening, Milton Keynes Sept 18th

On September 18th myself and Tim Emmett will be at the opening day of the new Big Rock climbing centre in Milton Keynes. We’ll be running masterclasses in climbing during the day (my classes start at 10.30am). You’ll have to give the centre a ring (quickly!) to book these. 

In the evening, starting 7.30 we’ll be both be hosting an evening’s climbing entertainment talking about our respective backgrounds in climbing, BASE jumping and then telling you our stories from The Great Climb. It should be a fun day - see y’all there!

Big Rock’s site is here. And their facebook is here.

Irresponsible

The trauma of Saturday’s efforts has put my ankle injury back a bit, so it’s no climbing for me for another wee while to give the wound a chance to knit again. Unfortunately, I think it could get in the way of finishing my big trad projects of the summer. But never say die…

Who cares? At least I got through Saturday. I didn’t really tell anyone, but the whole of last week passed in a preoccupied state of worry that I wouldn’t be able to climb on the day. On the Wednesday morning I got out of bed and it was too painful to put on the ground for the first half hour. I guess the responsible thing to do would have been to say “I’m injured, so I’m out”. But I was remembering Paul Pritchard’s story about his and Johnny Dawes first ascent of The Scoop on Sron Uladail in 1988. As they faced failure to get past the capping roofs Pritchard said “In this sort of situation Dawes could be counted upon to throw caution to the wind and just be downright irresponsible”. Thanks for the inspiration guys!

Johnny Dawes about to take a rope snapping winger on the Scoop first ascent 1988. Pic: Paul Pritchard (via Mark Mcgowan's flickr)

For now it’s back to reality, an avalanche of work needing done, my bathroom won’t plaster itself and my book won’t finish itself. Here we go...

The Great Climb success

We pulled off The Great Climb.

All 55 of us were just a little ecstatic last night and we partied in Glen Scaladale until we dropped. Every one of the usual suspects on the team of producers, outside broadcast production team, climbers, riggers, runners, presenters, medics, environmental consultants and many more were chosen for this project because they absolutely were THE person to rely on to come up with the goods when everything had to happen.

If you watched the program, you saw some of the problems we dealt with as climbers to get to the top - a painful ankle and wet rock. But you won’t have seen all the equally hard work, good judgement calls and quick thinking that made it all happen behind the camera. I’ve got to admit I felt a bit emotional when we got to the top. It was just so great that everyones hard graft, gambles and input paid off in style.

We’re over the moon that so many of you on here, Twitter (#thegreatclimb) and my Facebook said you enjoyed it. First up, some questions answered:

I think there was a blip for a while, but it’s available for download on iplayer until Sept 4th, right here. It’ll also be on DVD fairly shortly. And when it does, you’ll find it on my shop as soon as it’s out. The triple 5 trip (myself and Tim, 5 new routes, 5 islands, in 5 days) which would would have seen in case of disaster on the live day, will be coming to the BBC TV screens shortly and also DVD. I’ll keep you posted on this.

Tim climbed amazingly yesterday. He’s an amazing athlete in every way. Not only did he cruise pitch 1 and kept it together when things got ‘a bit spicy’ on pitch 3, but his lead of the soaking wet, slimy overhanging wall at the end was an exemplary display of climbing skill and mental composure.

For me it was a tough day. By the sounds of it, it showed on camera too. I took as much analgesic as I could, but my right foot hurt on nearly every move. Adrenaline provided 100% pain relief that lasted through the crucial pitch 2. But after that I was using most or all of my ‘reserve’ to get me through it. It seemed pretty unlikely we’d get to the top without falling off, succumbing to ankle pain, swearing on live TV or generally failing for some other reason. But with 30 seconds to go after 5.5 hours live, I finished seconding the final pitch and the whoops rang back and forth across Glen Uladail.

Getting the chance to be involved in a production like this, no matter what role you play in it, is an unmissable experience. You learn so much, from so many different people about how to up your game. So when it comes around to doing your own bit, you somehow magically end up making a 110% effort yourself. 

What do you do when you can’t climb?

Find another way.

Well, I’m partially on my way to full able bodied status again after two days resting up, so I can walk with some pain and stand on footholds no problem so long as the twist doesn’t stretch my stitches too much. And that’s on a half dose of analgesic. Promising.

Today I thought it was a good time to start letting my ankle know it’s going to have a long day on Saturday, as well as get some training in to tick over instead of rapid fitness loss sitting on my bum.

I did this traverse about 7 times until a hold broke and I got really quite soaking in the resultant bog-splat. I went back for another 5 reps later this evening, after a cup of tea.

Even though my ankle was throbbing after this, it’s great progress. Yesterday morning when I got out of bed it was too painful to weight it even for a second.

PS: I wrote the above last night, better again this morning. Check out what the Sun have to say about our live climb!

Relief?

It’s day 3 of sitting with my foot propped up, ice pack and pill taking regime. On one hand, it’s quite nice to detach myself from the craziness going on around me as the live outside broadcast machine steps up a gear each day. But it’s kind of weird to say the least when for weeks it’s just been me hanging about alone on the Sron, and now I’m the only one left behind!

Excellent to see the whole team of about 55 people all in one room last night. The size of the production really starts to dawn! Whether it works out on the day might, among other things of course, come down to how much I can get my swollen, hurting ankle to calm down in the next 48 hours. Better get another ice pack.

Afterwards, I’m off to find some foot-off bouldering...

Minor surgery

On Monday, while descending the lines after a session on the Sron, a breeze block sized flake at the belay 10 feet above me was levered off by an unusual direction of pull. It dropped straight onto my bare ankle, splitting it open in a 3cm gash down to the bone. 

After making the most of the rare opportunity to inspect my own skeleton, I abseiled down and started to hurt. 5 stitches later, I’m in less than perfect shape for climbing, or indeed anything right now.

Iain Peter wraps me up for the long walk out to the medical centre.

Less than ideal. Nevertheless, it’s just a flesh wound as they say. A few stitches in one’s ankle shouldn’t bother one’s ability to climb a five pitch E8 on live telly, should it? So I’m doing nothing new but storing up energy (and ibuprofens) for the big day on Saturday.

Harris sunshine

Improving conditions here on Harris. Waterfalls on the cliff are drying out a bit, and a bit of sunshine always lifts the spirits. However, there are no shortage of problems to deal with, for every part of the team. 

Old reel of film we found at the foot of the cliff. Presumably belonging to Alun Hughes when he filmed his Strone Ulladale film in 1989 which is now on the 80’s DVD.

Sheep with it’s heid stuck in a gate, near Rhenigidale. I helped it out.

Great climb trailer

Trailer for The Great Climb us up on the BBC site here. Mostly shots of me falling off on the Triple 5 film (I fell off a lot on that trip). Thing have been kicking off here at Sron Ulladale, more on that later. Also, here is an interview by Peter Ross in last weekend's Scotland on Sunday related to the Great Climb.

The Great Climb team get going

Brian Hall and the team thrash out the rigging logistics

I’m just sitting in the Scaladale Centre on Harris listening to Brian Hall briefing the rigging team on the full horror of their task for the week ahead; rigging a km of rope on grossly overhanging ground on the Sron. They are going to have a mega adventure this week! Today though, is a tea drinking day. Nothing happens on Harris on a Sunday!

The forecast, as ever, is diabolical. Yesterday, I was on the line myself. The upper two pitches had waterfalls coming down them and Brian and Rory were almost blown off their feet in the unseasonal storm force wind on the top of the wall. A helicopter is due to take all the outside broadcast equipment into the broadcast base camp. But the chances of the chopper being able to fly in the next two days is about big fat 0%. So it’ll all need to be carried instead. Ouch!

The plumb line of the rope with haul bag tied to the end illustrate the angle of the route

Looking out from the foot of our proposed new route. The bag is hanging at least 80 feet out from the base!

The team have no option but to rig tomorrow even though they’ll have to do it in a waterfall. All the ropes have to be in place by Wednesday for the 5 climbing cameramen to get on the ropes and start sussing their shots for Saturday.

No doubt there will be some sore legs and stressed heads by tomorrow night.