Ascents as boulder by Brendan Heywood

Gara delivers another classic hiding in plain sight. Felt impossible at first and slowly unlocked the micro beta. Had a bunch of 'ok one last go's, mincing up my right thumb and then stoked to send it when I was thrashed and thought I was going backwards

Second go, not sure I'll ever get sick of it

Felt pretty hard getting back on this, took long breaks to save skin and made each go count. Got it maybe 3rd or 4th try

This is a text book example of everything I love about bouldering. The water level was high and so our original goal of the big nugget was out, as was the king line project. We'd looked at this wall more than once before but it didn't seem that great. Michael started scrubbing and it just got more and more intriguing. But it was completely impossible! I couldn't even pull on! It was totally beyond me. Gradually refined beta and we managed to get unlock it bit by bit and after probably 15 goes got the tick! I haven't pinched, compressed, campus'ed and generally thrashed myself this hard on something in ages and I love it

Was pretty worked and this felt impossible again, just like last time I did it, and then it all just resolves. Maybe 5-6 goes. Bumped it to a V5.

Had 4 attempts and super happy to tick this again. Got through the offwidth part all 4 burns. Need to remember to take the fan during summer, still hot underground

YUS! I've tried this a few times and never really been able to pull on. Gotta really pretend the crimps are good and the landing jug is perfect

Last session we wanted to scout this, but the bridge was 40cm under so we never got here. Now 2 days later the water had receded but we assumed it would be wet as the flood a week ago peaked roughly 4m above fight club! It's been almost 3 months since I've tried this, or anything at all over the rainy period. I pulled on, and could barely move and then grunted and sagged off feeling very weak.

Everyone else had a go, then I silently pulled on for the second go, and all the muscle memory returned and I flowed smoothly through the first crux, got the double inverted feet, plugged the next couple hands, then ended up doing a different sequence through the crimp to touched the nose to finish ...

And then just like that it was done

Almost anti-climatic and it's easy to forget how much of a battle it's been unlocking this, around 40-50 goes over 8 sessions but it feels like longer. New shoes really show how utterly trashed my old ones are, they are at least 16 years old, unsure how many resoles, and have served me faithfully. The Scarpas are dead! Long live the Scarpas!

Later on I worked the extension a little, which Ben put up today as well

Stoked Volo got this for the 3rd ascent. Almost day flashed it, but ripped off the sweet crux undercling and was gutted. But turned out its still quite doable without it, maybe slightly harder but same grade. Got it 3rd go.

I'd had a bunch of goes on this between all of other stuff. Carol sent it first quite different to how I'd been working it in her typical high heels style which wouldn't work for me. I was ready to move on and had a couple more goes feeling super juiced, really feeling the strain in both bicep tendons from compressing pretty hard. Then one subtle swap in the order of the slaps and it all went down and felt somewhat easy. Super psyched to send this! Probably a dozen goes

Took a bit of figuring out but such a great problem. This thing is such a cool find despite us looking at this block before and dismissing it. Maybe 10 attempts and was close to leaving it for next time.

Man oh man what an experience! Thing thing was such a find but I wasn't sure where or how it would finish. After we all had a few goes unlocking it bit by bit I got to the far right fantastic side pinch and then prepped to grovel my way up and out of the chimney. I fought and wrestled and thrutched and thought I was off a few times and then finally back my back pressed high and dry and was basically done and then ... slid out. Gutted! Utterly exhausted and a dry mouth wreck, had a gulp of what in hindsight was waaay too much fluid and then felt much worse. Spent the next 10 mins retching. Meanwhile Ben sends it and they're egging me to get back on it while I feel like death. Then finally I have a couple vomits of red poweraid, and after a few more mins I'm good to go, shoe up and, this time actually using some technique instead of brute force, send it! Stoked with the send and feeling elated I then take 2 steps and sink to the ground retching again for good measure

A genuinely and metaphorically, categorically sick day

Finally something achieved!

Yet another sick little problem that appeared out of nowhere on rock that I've scoured many times. Lots of core and bicep action, very happy to do it first go

This was a nice problem to work, great moves through the rail, landing the little pocket is ok but marginal and sticking the sloper felt nails but then slowly unlocked and then send train

Tricky feet, and then once you really get the undercling at the right angle its all good

A lot of debris at the moment, needs another good excavation. Got it second go but the stand start takes out the hardest move.

A couple goes to resend, kinda butchered it but got to the top

Pure finger licking good chicken wings. Left side in, tried right side with no luck

I'm not sure if I've given this a proper work before, I think I've been daunted by the look of it. Got up it after ~6 goes. A few people got up it and consensus is to downgrade it a tad

Second go

Gets your abs going, ticked it with a dynamic right toe hook kick holding me in while I dyno'ed. Spicy

Perfect setup with 6 pads. Had a couple goes and fairly consistently getting to the same high point as before. Ben sent it which ramped up the stoke, I taped up my right ring finger which I think helped. Just managed to keep bumping my left hand as far as possible, got the right toe pulling hard and then just desperately jabbed it up and to my complete surprise stuck it. Woot! I am so super stoked with this send and this route is totally ace

This is a beastly good little problem

It's funny that this was the first thing we imagined on this rock, but then got so obsessed with the traverse we only did this today, and still only as an afterthought. But it is an obvious warmup for the full traverse, and is still a worthy problem in its own right.

First go didn't get off the ground. Second go did it static. Third go did it the smoothest I've even done it and eliminated the side pull in the middle for a really wide gaston power move probably V5. Classic

I first tried this 11 years ago! We intended to just have a look at this and then chase some underground shade at FC, but then we thrashed ourselves for 4 hours straight, maybe 20 attempts? I was done numerous times: left hand was swollen from the jam and right tips were shredded, but psyche kept regrowing. In the end some new subtle beta eliminated the jam altogether. Super stoked and quite unexpected. Now it just needs a proper start on the underclings, the two moves into where I started will likely bump it up to around V6-7

I was pretty smashed by this stage but nothing like a bit of peer pressure and some send-train to spike the psyche enough to forget how much your fingers hurt.

Super happy with how I re-sent this, very smooth and controlled didn't struggle or grovel at all. All in the hips

I thought I was doing the Feeling of Presence but turns out to be a new problem, and yet another high quality problem on this ace little wall

This was quite a fight, super pleased to get this after a few completely meh lockdown weeks with almost no training of any description

To my great surprise and delight I flashed this. There is the tiniest dish for your foot under your left hand and then a bit of levitation. It is a contrived start but it's a cool problem.

This is borderline not worth a write up, but its also the obvious finish to a mega hard problem which starts on the rails and goes directly up the arete. My guess V8-V10

Super classic, did a few laps on it including a no feet campus lap until the last mantle. This time we just took a single mat and moved / held it in place and way easier than trying to fix them in place with gear over the water

Thought this would put up more fight! This is easier than half the V2’s at gara, so maybe I have sand bagged gara a little...

Solo no pad. Feels possibly soft but so jug tastic for granite

Got it again second go, committing but fine mantle

Fun

I remember being freaked out watching Ben on this but this time it just seemed like no big deal looking up at it. You absolutely do not want to fall but it might even be a V0.

After the uninspired start to the day, I was stoked to jump on and statically move through the crux first go and essentially fell of the top in surprise. Got it very smoothly on 3rd go

Was showing this to Ben as a warmup. In hindsite I now remember that Underbelly starts on the lowest part of the rail and I had worked this line but not sure if I'd actually done it before. I flashed it (thinking it was the V2) and was repeating it, and I think my right crimp was too aggressive, or too early in the morning, or all of the above. A pretty loud crack ended my day before it really started. A2 pulley on right ring finger, probably a grade II / partial tear, so not good but not too bad in the grand scheme of things

Did a couple laps

Last time I didn't actually climb this, and dismissed it but it is really great. I might have just been eyeing up more to the right and missed the two great holds further left

Re-ticked again first time, super hot, keen to get back to the shade

Fairly easy if you can really high step, keeps the grade with the sit start