Tuppence

Dropping the double dyno

Tuppence is at Ansteys cove and has always seemed like totally out of reach for me, I'd seen loads of really strong people try it, even my brother couldn't do it. It was like a classic of the crag and one of the best 8Bs in the country. Although it is graded 8a+ it is widely regarded as 8b and I agree with 8b because it feels harder than the other 8bs I've done.


sticking it!

The first time I tried it was at the end of the day after I'd done lots of climbing but I still managed to do all the moves on it apart from the third which was a dead point of a finger jam which hurt loads. After that was the hardest move on the route, you had to dyno of two crimps get a sloper and as you fell of grab a jug next to it. It was like really precise. Then you got a rest, now came what was thought of as the crux but I found it quite easy, you got set up on a gaston and a crimp then got a massive drop-knee ,the famous one, to reach a crimp, now most people can keep there feet low but I had to get my feet really high and slap for the next jug. After this was the top section with a load of powerful slaps of undercuts, until you got a sloper and had to stab for a triangle jug then it was over.



At half term I went down with my mum for a morning trying it. I made progress everytime which was really good and kept the psyched going. After making good links on it I decided to start trying ground-up, the real test of mental strength was about it start. From the ground I spent the whole time falling of the 6th move, the double dyno. After loads of time getting to this move then falling, one session I fell of that move every time. On my fourth session on the route I stuck the double dyno and was crushed the rest of the route, got to the stab to the triangle jug and completely missed it, I wasn't that happy.

So today I went there but my chances weren't looking good because it was so hot, after like 6 goes I had fallen every time on the double dyno. I wasn't expecting to do it put it cooled of a bit and I got the feet and hands just right and still only just stuck it. I rested and got into the drop-knee, the next move felt really easy and I was just able to keep pulling to the top. I took extra care on the last move to not drop it. I got the easy slab at the end and clipped the chains! I was so happy and it was great to work something that long and finally do it. The feeling was great and I can't wait to find another project to try!
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Clipping the Chains!

 

Ratho EYC 2013

After last years great results it was now time for the next season of comps. My best result was 11th place and with loads of really strong climbers leaving our category I thought I was in with a real chance to beat that. I was feeling really good and my preparation had been great so I was pretty excited to do really well.
My qualifiers looked like my style, one was on the stepped roofs of the old competition wall and the other was on the arête of the new comp wall. After my warm-up and watching lots of competitors get really far on it, which kind of made me a bit nervous, it was my turn. I sat on the chairs beneath the route looking up at the 25 metre high wall and it was really intimidating. Before I got on I took a couple deep breaths just to calm myself down. I pulled on to the CAC starting hold, the first section was really easy but then there was a really strenuous clip which I could have done better on but I pulled through. I got to the rest really pumped after doing the first roof and managed to recover a little bit but it was nowhere near as much as I would have liked. After another powerful clip on an undercut and a couple big moves I got to another semi-rest but I took it because I was really pumped at this point. I tried to clip with my left but messed it up and dropped it realising that it was loads easier to clip with my right. This shock me up a bit, I left the rest and cranked out the next couple moves which felt really hard. I got a crimp and just was totally pumped, I got the hold beside it but could barely move and I just slapped at the next hold to get the plus point. I'd fallen quite high up but the next couple of moves were where loads of people had fallen and I would have done much better if I had done the next couple moves. This was disappointing but I was pumped out my mind and I couldn't have done much better.

Now it was time for the second route. It was on the new comp wall possibly my favourite bit of indoor wall in the world. I was super nervous about the start which looked really sketchy. For once I didn't find it too bad and the getting to the first chain of the route was quite easy. I was cruising and was only slightly pumped when I was on the roof. I thought I was going to top it, but I slapped to this sloper and it was loads worse than I though it was going to be. I tried to kick my feet onto the next foothold but missed and slipped of the sloper. I was slightly disappointed with this performance and I knew I could have done better. I came 11th. For once I was struck emotionally by my result, it was like even when everything was in my favour I still couldn't pull it out of the bag and I was quite demoralised.

I didn't have much time to sulk though because I got the chance to enter the speed climbing and I took the opportunity hoping to do a bit better. I learnt the sequence and was posting times of about 17 seconds which was quite good. After qualification I was in 5th place out of 8. Which meant I was in the final for the next day.

I woke up with the worst sore throat and felt terrible but after a lozenger I was feeling a bit better. When I got to the wall it was pretty chilled and I watched some of the finals with William Bosi crushing to come in a good 2nd place although he wasn't that happy about it! I tried a 7b+ route in the Ratho quarry with Jim and Buster which was really funny. It was like the dirtiest route ever anyway who would go to Ratho for outdoor climbing? Finally it was time for my speed finals! I'd was up against a Czech climber who had posted a time of around 16 seconds so I was going to have to pull it out of the bag to win. I got an ok start and was just losing right to the very end when he had a slip. I caught up and we got the last two holds at the same time but he was just a bit quicker than me to get the buzzer! I thought I'd lost but he hadn't hit his buzzer properly and it hadn't stopped so I won! This was amazing I now had two races to make the podium and I'd got my personal best of just under 17 seconds. But it wasn't my day and I got smashed by my next two competitors and came 4th overall but it was great fun.

  So I came 11th and 4th which is undoubtedly the two worst positions I could have made but I am not disheartened and after a week of rest I'm going to have a really good couple weeks of training and then its the European Championships in Imst and after that the Worlds. I'm just entering the most exciting time of the year for me and I'm feeling really good so hopefully this year will be one to remember.

Ten Tors

Ed is a bit excited

Ed, James, Matt, Henry, Crème and myself were all out on Dartmoor pushing each other as far as we could go with the guidance of Mike Adams. The reason for this was Ten Tors, which is a challenge where you have to walk over Dartmoor and visit all the tors in your route. We were doing the 35 mile route which was the shortest.

We had done many training sessions on Exmoor and Dartmoor, then we had a team of seven with Jack in it but due to his hockey he missed the practice weekend and so wasn't part of the final team.



We missed school on Friday to travel to Okehampton Camp where it started, it was amazing because of all the people and the atmosphere was great. We got laughed at by the other teams when trying to put up a massive tent and failing but we didn't care because we would show them. Next we went to scrutineering which was a kit check. We tried to do a cheeky bit of queue jumping but it didn't work that well and we got sent to the back. It was a half hour queue but a group behind us had brought some pegs and we pegged them to people without them noticing. Scrutineering was fine and the people where really nice. We got back to our tent and started to plan our route. Mike forgot to mention that it was one of the longest ones but got us this guy who had so much experience of the moor and told us the best route to take. Next we cooked tea, and what a tea it was. We cooked so much meat and veg we could barely move afterward but it was all much needed energy for the next day. It was about 8 o'clock and with nothing else to do we went to bed.

We were woken up by 'Chariots of Fire' and other classics being played over the tannoys. Neil Blom cooked us breakfast which was amazing! Cheers for that! We packed our bags and set of for the start. There were thousands of people lining the hill side and there was an air of excitement. We took of the layers and shouldered our bags. After the prayer the cannon went and we pegged it down the hill to the river while trying not to fall, keep together and get on TV.



Route Planning

To our first tor it was easy and we followed the other teams. Mike told us to walk slow but we didn't listen and keep cracking to our next tor. We got to Sandy hole pass really quickly and without much difficulty but the river was really big because of all the rain we had and the only way across was a big jump from one rock to another. There was a half hour queue for this so we were forced to stop for lunch. We all got across thanks to some guys helping everyone.

Cooking with the Sunnies on!



Breakfast

We continued further south, towards South Hessary. This was the first leg which we felt tired or at least I did. We got there and the next tor was really close so we quickly walked there. This was our 6th tor and we had 1 hour and a half left before the cut-off point at Great Mis tor our 7th tor. At this point I was really struggling but the rest of the team where going strong. After walking along and easy track we cut off and crossed the boggy ground to the road leading into Merrivale. We took a much needed rest and then we had half an hour to get to the tor. We all stood up and groaned we took the weight again. The track was easy but uphill and felt like it went on for ever. Finally we got to the check point, a group of girls where already there so we asked them what route they were doing. Turns out they were doing the same as us and they were looking pretty smug. To our relief we were allowed to carry on to our eighth tor with 10 minutes to spare. The next bit we took really easy. Matt had great fun acting the hero and helping all the girls across the river! Finally we made camp, pitched our tents in the strong wind which was pretty interesting , ate food and went to bed.

The Wait at Sandy Hole



The start

Team Photo

So Day 2, me, Henry and James missed the alarm and got up with 35 minutes to eat and pack everything up. We managed this fine though and set off at 6 which was a bit early for most of us. After overtaking the girls group, we had the hardest leg of the event in front of us. We had to walk on this bearing for about 4 km with not much to guide us. We after about 2km we walked into the cloud so we couldn't see anything, we kept going praying for this boundary line to appear out of the fog. I was getting pretty anxious at this point and we kept checking the map. Finally we saw the boundary line posts, We were all really relived because that was the last hard leg and it was pretty hard to go wrong from there. We made our ninth tor and the army dudes where still in there tent eating breakfast, we got them moving and signed in. So we headed of to our last tor, the last leg had tired us all out and Matt had hurt is ankle. The next bit was flat then we went down a massive hill which wasn't as good as it sounds because it killed our knees and ankles.


Beautiful Dartmoor!

We got to Sourton and we just had the last leg to do. Luckily for us we had a massive hill to climb. This was killer and there wasn't even a path up it so we just had to hit it straight on. We went up and got it over with, now was the last stretch we had a flat bit then a tiny hill then downhill into the finish. There was quite a lot of 'are we there yet' type sayings and we were almost there but we couldn't see the finish which wasn't the best. After walking along the flat bit some off our parents had come out with Woody to take some pictures and watch us in. This was such a boost for us, knowing the finish was just a couple minutes down the road. We got a bit over excited and sprinted but then got tired and went back to a walk.  We crested the hill and we could see the finish! We'd done it! The elation was amazing and something none of us will ever forget. We walked through the crowd as the clapped us in with the biggest smiles on our faces.

After the finish we got our medals presented and found out we were 5th in and 3rd in out of the 35 teams, but its not a race. We were given hot pasties which were amazing and we all stuffed them down, well apart from Henry who couldn't keep his down. It was great to get back to our tent and have our parents and friends there. The support was amazing and so was the food they brought with them! Cheers for that. It was a perfect end to an unforgettable event and it was all because of Mike so thanks from us! Good job guys!




Scottish Youth Bouldering Championships

In Qualifying

On the 4th of May was the Scottish youth bouldering championships which were held at TCA Glasgow. It was also the first event where the bouldering team would compete together. The scene was set for a great competition.

So I flew up with my brother, mum, fellow team members James and Ed Mabon and their mum. We arrived in Scotland and we could tell. It was cold and wet! We stayed at an Ibis Budget which wasn't the most luxurious hotel but it gave us what we wanted and was within walking distance from the wall. That night we ate at a lovely Italian which had an amazing ice cream section. They had Oreo flavour and all they were missing was ice cream with Jaffa cakes in it!



Me in qualifying

James on Final 1

Luke in the finals

The comp day. The wall was already busy because of the younger age groups' qualifying round. After some pretty hard moves to warm me up it was time for the qualifying round. I quickly ticked all the easy problems and did some of the more technical ones. I didn't feel that great, I was really nervous and didn't feel solid on the problems. Most of the problems were quite easy though and I did all except two without much of a fight. The two that were left where a different story though. They were on the steepest bit of the wall. The first was a really fight and the moves felt right at my limit but I was lucky, got everything right and got the flash. Next was the final problem a massive prow. I got on, did the first few easy moves and started slapping, I had no control and was just hoping I'd stick the next hold, once again I was lucky and topped out. I was over the moon. I'd flashed every problem in the qualifiers along with my teammates William Bosi, Ed Mabon and was set for the finals.



Ed on final 2

We went out for viewing, this didn't really help because I found out we had a groove, a slab and a steep wall. Saying grooves and slabs aren't my favourite is a total understatement. I was out second to last for our problem number one which was the groove. I stood looking at the crowd as the countdown started. Getting focus. Then it was the time to send. I checked it out again and started. I got the first volume quite easily and could just reach the bottom of the second one. With some interesting hand swapping I got on it. I got myself into the groove and pressed up. I'd got it! Next was problem two the slab. On my first couple tries I had my beta wrong and kept falling but I changed it and stuck the hold. Now came the fight, I almost fell about three times but sketched my way to the top. After talking to my team mates I worked out I was in third place. The third problem, this suited me more and I was just pulling onto the final two holds when my heel popped. I knew this might have affected my position. Next go I fell earlier because of a small mistake. Now it was on, my arms where tired and I'd got one maybe two goes left. I got the last two holds and made the move to the finish hold. It was great to top all the boulder problems. This got me into second place behind Will who did really well and did everything really quick. James, Ed and Luke came 3rd, 5th and 5th.


The Bouldering team chat

It was a brilliant competition, with a great atmosphere. Well done to everyone who competed and those who set it up.

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Thanks to Sandy Carr for great phots.



Final Problem

    

The Spain Game

Spain has some of the best rock in the world and is widely thought of as one of the top venues for hard sport climbing in particular the region around Llieda, famous for being Sharma's stomping ground. With this in mind my family and I travelled with high hopes for our trip. We stayed in Cornudella de Montsant in a lovely little apartment owned by a jolly Spanish man called Ramon, who was great help to practice Spanish with!


Bistec De Biceps 7b+

After having a wet start to the first day which didn't dampen our spirits we went to sector L'Olla and did Ya Os Vale  and Bistec De Biseps which were both great routes. I watched in awe as my brother redpointed La Cara que no Miente 8a+ which I couldn't get any where near because of lack of height. As the day got late we went to do a 7a as a warm down which was meant to be really good but I wasn't sure because it was a slab! My brother cruised it but one move he could only just reach. I couldn't reach that move so I had to use the worst crimp ever and do a desperate rock over. After several slappy moves which I almost fell it got to the easier section on one of the hardest 7a's I've ever done!


La Cara que No Miente 8a+

Next day we went to Margalef which had the best crags in the area. One in particular, where we spent a lot of time was Raco de Finestra. We warmed up and my brother got on Flash Over 8b+ and he quickly did all the moves. I got slightly intimidated as Loic Timmermans turned up, the Belgian wad. I tried to flash Areoplastica but after doing the crux missed a jug and fell. Wasn't happy but I got it next go. My brother was trying Flash Over and fell of the last hard bit twice! He was so close! Next to Flash Over was Nina Mala 8b which looked amazing and I got on it. The moves to the crux were quite easy about a 7c and then there was a powerful bit on monos! I got these moves but then was really tired so I came down but this brief try on the route had fired me up to have proper go after our rest day.

Luke on Flash Over 8b+

On the third day after an epic drive, along a typically dodgy track, to get to the crag we arrived at the parking for Montsant and above us was Raco de Missa. After a long slog up to the crag; we stood under the massive 50m walls. It was so impressive. Two 7a's to warm up on both of which were amazing then we got on a 7b+. It was pumpy I could barely hold on when I got to the top. This put us of any more flash attempts and we decided to try to redpoint Devormingas 8a which was 30m, with no decent rest on it, of continuously overhanging wall with a bulge in the middle which was the crux. My brother did it first redpoint attempt and so it was my turn. After the bouldery start I took a quick shake before the crux and pulled onto the first couple holds on the bulge. I felt bad my arms were tired and I wasn't sure if I was going to do it. I did the cross through to get the crimp which I had to unwind on and get a pocket. I crimped hard and stabbed for the next hold just getting my fingers in it ,before my body fell away from the wall, and holding on. I kept going through the pain in my arms as the holds felt worse and worse. It was now a fight. After a lots of quick shakes I did the last moves and grabbed the chain which was placed in a stupid place with no holds around it! I was psyched it was the longest 8a I had done and it was amazing! We then left that bit for easier ground and watched some Polish wads cruise an  8a on the onsight and redpoint 8b+. Later that evening we looked them up on 8a.nu and they both had done 9a!


A 7b+ at Montsant

A rest day was seriously needed so we spent the day sleeping, getting food and getting psyched up for Nina Mala which I planned to try the next day. The next day we went to Margalef and it rained. The top on Nina was soaked. But there was a crag we could climb at, El Laboratori which was the ten metre overhanging power cliff. I like that. To get warmed up we did a couple easy routes on it and then I onsighted Tsunami 7c and  Miguel el Casero 7c+ both were amazing with good boulder problems to start and tricky top sections. My brother got on Zona 30 a hard 8b on his first go he did all the moves and decided to try it. I was psyched for Le Bombi "8b" which was soft. So sounded good! I did all the moves on my first go and decided it was a 7b boulder problem with a desperate clip in the middle. After tries on this in which I fell on the last hard move a long deadpoint to a pocket which I kept missing. Next go I got the clip quickly and set up for the move. Taking a second to focus myself I stabbed for the pocket! I got it but only just and it was over my first "8b" but I thought it was more like a hard 8a. Next up I tried Zona 30 which was desperate. I could just do all the moves but was nowhere near from the ground and came of on the moves before the crux. It was good to try something totally at my limit though.

Devoramingas 8a

After my efforts on the day before I was totally knackered and just managed to do Mandrogora 7b+ which was super classic. I was pretty proud of myself for doing this because it was really dirty and involved super balance moves. I then tried Migranya 8b which once again was desperate and I was nowhere near. I did another 7b+ and then called it a day. We went back to Surianna the next day and visited Campi qui pugui. I tried a 7b to warm up on. Turned out it was a total sand bag and was more like 8a plus it had a wasps nest on it. Not the best start. After watching my brother try Anabolica 8a,  finding it to be reach and hard, the psych left me. I was now content to do some easy climbs and sunbath. So the second easy climb was a 7a. It wasn't easy I fell off twice on just out of being so tired. It was like I went to pull and nothing happened.

Zona 30 8b

Nina Mala 8b

Time for another rest day I think! Rest day done, we went back to Margalef to try Nina and Flash Over again. This time it was dry and I was so excited. I got on it worked the moves and learnt the top section because that was were I was going to fall. Right first redpoint. I did the 7c start quite well but it didn't flow that well. Got the monos and cranked out the first crux. Then was a rest on to jugs but it was a big awkward. Once I had recovered I did the next big span out to a crimp and dropped into a crimp next to it. Two more moves and I would have got a big jug. I put my heel up and went for the cross through to a three finger pocket but I didn't have enough power and missed it. I was annoyed with myself I hadn't expected to fall there but these things happen. Belay duty called for my brother's attempt on Flash Over. He wanted it so bad and I could tell it. He cruised it like he always does. Later I would as him how he always makes stuff look easy when I have a massive fight on it. Then Alex Barrows turned up! The 8c crusher from Sheffield. He worked the moves on Nina and did most of then but thought the top section was hard. So send time. I flowed through the start and middle really well and did the mono section quite easily. At the rest I tried to focus myself, force the question of failure out of my head. I was nervous, each night I would hear about Buster, Alex, Jonny and Ellis had all done 8b and I couldn't help but feel the competition. This was it though I felt relaxed and completely focused. I got the two crimps but my heel up and pulled into the pocket. Being careful not to fall with surprise I got the next jug and took a good rest. I did the last bit quite easily and clipped the chains! I was so happy but it was only half way through the day and with psych high we went to try Dando Brea 8a. My brother couldn't do the crux move with was slap to a slopper then a really hard cut-loose. I decided to have a go and did the move really quick with a secret way of holding the hold! Then we both sent it with that beta which made it loads easier. To finish the day we did Magic Festival and La Corva de la Felicitat which were both amazing! The day was amazing.


The Mono section on Nina Mala

Next day we went Raco de Espadelles. After a couple warm ups we did Maligna 7c+. It went through a roof and finished on a vertical headwall. I had never been so pumped! On the headwall all the holds were small pockets and I was totally fighting but I clipped the chains and was really happy with the flash. Next I tried Transilvania 8a. I did all the moves easily and confident it wouldn't be that hard. It didn't go to plan. On the crux my foot kept slipping which happened three times. Lucky on my fifth go I was super careful and my feet stuck and I topped the route. After watching my Dad have a go at redpointing a 7a, which he sadly didn't do, we went back and everyone was in a great mood.



Dando Brea 8a

The last two days were really relaxed and great fun to just chill in the sun. Only a couple routes got done but nobody minded. On the last day it was great to just sit and watch some people trying Esatado Critico and do some chilled routes. It was a great end to a great trip.

After doing Nina Mala

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El Chorro

Well, my first trip of the year. El Chorro in the south of Spain. I was excepting hot weather but I didn't get any. This didn't stop me though on the first day we went to Loja which looked amazing! Lovely tufa-covered overhanging walls. Pity it was all wet and we had to climb on the crap half of the cliff which was dry. Although the crag wasn't quite up to scratched I still managed to climb a good number of 7s. Which includes a nice 7B+ onsight which had a big roof at the top! The evening was spent chilling in our villa which was nice and cosy but not that great because of the lack of a hot shower.

The second day we went to Poema de Roca on the frontales. It blew my mind! It was huge a 25m slightly overhanging wall into a massive overhang. The first route was the classic of the cave and the cave was named after it. It started with really overhanging tufas and then levelled of into a hands-off rest and finish with some pumpy climbing. Before I lowered of I looked up into the next pitch of the route which was 8a+ it looked amazing! I wanted to try it. The next route I got on was a 7b+ and I went for the onsight. I regretted it! By the 3rd bolt I was totally wasted and still had like 15m to go! I kept shaking out on every decent hold going and eventually managed to fight my way to the top crux. I reached over the bulge to find the crack was greasy as and I could barely hold it. Came down chalked up and decided I wasn't going to fall because I had put in to much effort! I got the crack and screamed as I went for the next side pull hold. I stuck it! The final section was easy and I was over the moon that I had done it. It just reminded me that it isn't about the grade it is about how hard you try on the route. I did another 7a which was really easy and I flew up. Now I as really warmed up I decided to try an 8a extension to a 6b. It put it short it was amazing, our 80m route only just reached and it was about 15m overhanging. The first bit was easy small moves on jugs then there was a crux section with some sloppers. After this section I was boxed and was glad to find there was a huge stalactite which you could wrap your legs around and get fully recovered on. Then was a huge reach over a roof and a super powerful match on a tufa. Time for the redpoint! I got to the finish of the 6B and entered the steep wall. I got to the tufa but only just I was quite pumped! I recovered and did the big move, clipped and spanned into the tufa. Cutloose and swing my feet across and slapped into the match. I just caught it and pulled into the knee-bar rest and did the top easily. Amazing! The glory was short lived as I realise I had to strip the route! I was pretty tired after this but I did a 7c+ second go and a 7a+ flash which was good. I was totally wasted on the walk out and it didn't help that we got lost.

I woke up totally excited because we were going to Makimodromo, the most amazing crag ever and on it was Loudes 8a which I was psyched to get the onsight off. God didn't smile on us that day and the whole cliff was soaked! Not good. We went back along the Camiono de Rey which is a metal walkway along the edge of El Chorro gorge. The views from it were staggering and the position was amazing. There was a few doggy bits where there were massive holes in the tarmac and you could see down to the river below. Once again I was tired out at the end of the day but it had been great fun.

After a rest day I was feeling strong and we went to the Frontales again but a different sector. Another 7a warm up and I was ready to crush! I did 3 7a+s, a 7b and a 7b+ which were all amazing! Then we went to a sector with a massive 7c called Hunk Down which I really wanted to onsight. My ideas of a massive fight were wrong it was easy and I cruised up it despite the wet start. There was another 7c to the right and seeing as Hunk Down had gone so well I decided to try it. I climbed half the route easily and was thinking that it was going to be a breeze like Hunk but I got to the main bulge and all I was left with were terrible slopers. I saw a tick mark and wildly jumped to it! My fingers curled in and I stuck the hold! When I got down my mates said my power scream was really loud but I didn't notice I did it at the time. The next two moves where hard as well but I scrapped through them and managed to top the route! This was the second hardest onsight I have ever done! I was ecstatic.

It rained the next day, surprise, but we went to Poema de Roca again so I was happy! I did the normal first pitch of Poema for a warm up again and then I tried an 8a which turned out to be super soft! I cruised it second go without much difficulty. So it was time I couldn't put it of much longer. I went up to the finish of Poema 7a then I set of onto the steep wall of the 8a+ pitch. There was a boulder problem to start with a big move to a crimp then a side pull and a big slap to a jug which was about V4. The next bit was a really hard move to a sloper and then a decent rest. I almost fell on the move to the sloper on my second go but just stuck it. After the rest you pull out onto crap slopey crimpy hold which were shocking. There was a hard cross through on these which I dropped on my first redpoint. There is a big last move and then you clip the chains. When I did it on my third go I was thrilled! Knowing that all my training has paid of and that I am not doing it for no gains is really great! That was why I climb!

The last day was really relaxed we had all had an amazing time and we were just winding down. We stayed inside for the morning to let the crag dry out. About 2 o'clock it did and we went to Encandantes which was just up the road from where we were staying. It was lovely there were loads of people and a great atmosphere. I only did a couple low sevens but I had loads of fun and was really chilled out.

Our Spain trip was really amazing! I love the landscape and it was just really good fun being able to tone it down and not be so intense about it all. Thanks to Mike, Michael, Beef, James and Ed for being such good fun!







The next thing is my trip to Siurana and Margalef in Easter! My brother did three 8Bs so I hope I can do one of them and push my grade even further!