Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, I haven't been on here for a few days, but have been ultra busy with setting and New Heights Fitness.

I can't remember whether I posted about what I did on Monday but I'm too lazy to check my own Beast blog to find out.

Monday

I set 3 routes at the Castle in the quarry area, line 95. It's my favourite bit of that part of the Castle. A lead line, that is slightly overhanging and probably only about about 7m long. It lends itself to really bouldery moves, so just may cup of tea really, and I got to set the 'King Line' on there, the grey 7b-7c on dirty screw-ons.

The King Line is far left

After this was the beastmaker session of the last blog.

Tuesday

Same job, different day, different wall, Mile End. Setting with Alex, the head setter, a good friend and one of (if not) the strongest climber in London (especially on his own terrority, the 45 board) and Shaun, massive jumps between slopers a speciality.

The Playground (Violetta climbing, I think)

The playground area is a beginners wall, but the shapes can lend themselves to really interesting problems. 

Shaun set one on the slab, just out of the picture on the left. It had a very precarious move on smears and Shaun was taking the mickey, as I took my time to avoid an unscheduled ejection onto shin smears down the slab. I did it first time and then took pleasure in watching Shaun eat his words and bail on the problem. He did it next go. Probably the best problem on the set. Not too hard but probably harder than the V0+ circuit it was in.

I set one on the flat wall that is was pleased with. It had a 'clock' move in it. A move off a pinchy couple of pockets to gain a shallow 3 finger pocket, and then a move off this onto a poor nubbin for the left hand off of poor foot smears. Then you get a 2 finger pocket with the right hand to enable you to get the left hand back down to the pocket that your right was in, and move the right to the nubbin. A rock over with foot in the starting pockets gains a poor left hand hold and then easier ground to the top... Unless you are Al and can lock the right hand in the shallow pocket by your knee and rock over on that. Shaun did it the less strong way anyway.

After the set it was back to the Castle to train Ben. A 20 min interval session on the rower and the weights programme for him to do when I'm not around, then some core work on the swiss ball and some planks.

I decided to have a quick weights session.

Weighted pull ups

Bench Press

Bar curl

Weighted tricep dips

The Castle Gym - 'Hurt Locker'

Wednesday

First thing had me sorting Gaz and Yann out with their holds and being belay bunny for them as Mike had an osteo appointment, to get his elbows primo for Font at the weekend.

Then it was the prep for the official launch of New Heights Fitness, my PT business.

After a bit of a nightmare; lost material, printing issues, misplaced cash card, misplaced phone; it was all ready to go. I went for a weighted campus session to rid myself of the stress (stripped the vest down to 4kg, I still want some tendons). Then it was time to go home for a shower and to get suited and booted.

I got a few people signed up for info and chatted to several more. Thanks go out to Dan and Phi for keeping me in rooibos tea. And to Tia for bring me a thermal mug of bengal spice tea (in my opinion the best herbal tea because it doesn't taste like watered down fruit juice or compost heap) :).

Who is the geezer in the suit!!!! Not my normal climbing wall attire.

Thursday

A day that would end not entirely as I thought it would. The Mezz set ...  the nastro azzurro, blue ribbon set. My fave area after the Pen and the Wave :).

Alex Lemel on the Mezz (Ben Grubb's pic. Check him out!!!!)

Mike was off to Font so needed us all on form to set and test quickly, he had a train to catch!

So it was Mike, Gaz, Al and me. I'll not go into everyone's blocs just yet and just chat about my own.  I set 10 in the end. Two white/red spot circuit (VB-V0(-)), two green circuit (V0-V1) jug hauls(up the middle of the steep and the right), a steep black problem (V1-V3) and 2 yellow (V4-V6), an easier jumpy,long thing on the left of the steep and a dirty flat wall problem on the left wall. That last one had a horrid move off a slippy volume and a dirty foot swap on a small foot hold. Also set 3 off piste, a V5 purple slopers that Al thought V4 (always add a grade to Al's estimate :)), a beige V6 (probably more V5) and a pink V6 (based on Carnage at Bas Cuvier, but steeper). I think is was a good set all round, grade-ar may have been off on some but it's indoor climbing and will be down in 5 weeks. Al set some mad moves on the steep. I couldn't touch the jump, leviate move in the middle of his yellow in the middle of the steep. Gaz set a good yellow in the right of the steep, which I didn't get on on the day but did Friday, and a dirty one on the stepped roof, which made me feel ill.

We finished about 5 and I decided to strip part of the Boulder Ladder (a monthly improvers comp, 20 problems VB-V5) on the feature wall. It was in the place where IRATA (rope access) training is done and they were to have an assessment on the Friday. Here is where the day ended differently to how it should. The IRATA assessment can be a problem when you try and set on the wall at the same time and Mike suggested that Gaz and me set it that night instead. To put this into prospective; we'd started at 8.30am that morning, I'd had a hectic week, as had Gaz and he had to drive to Oswestry (3 1/2 hours nr Shrewsbury) that night. We said 'Yes'!

I stripped the rest and Gaz started setting. He'd set 5 by the time I'd finished. Then I brought up a few sets of holds and started setting. Basically we'd finished setting by 7pm after starting at 5.30pm. We tested and tweaked, tagged and printed the comp sheets by 9. Had to change some of Gaz's holds for bigger ones. 

Then to bed. Gaz got to Oswestry about 3am.

Friday

Washed the holds we stripped, helped Slimfast and Kornelija with their routes and set ups, then more New Heights stuff, emails etc.

A training session in the afternoon. My V5 in the mezz (rubbish on slopers, me), did Gaz's yellow on the steep (about 5th go, hard cross through and lock off, V6 I think!!!). Beastmaker session and weights after.

Health suite and curry with Tia, then bed ... ready for journey to see family in Derbyshire and a rest day (or so I thought!!!!)