End of the road...

Our time in Ceuse is drawing to a close and it will soon be time to pack up and head back to the Peak. Many of our crew have already returned home or moved onto their next destination, but their are still a few of us keeping it real here. We are on our final rest day before two full days of climbing were we are all hoping to send our projects and finish on a high. It has been an amazing four weeks out here, climbing at one of the best crags in the world, hanging out and visiting lots cool places. I'll try to get a full end of trip post done sometime when I get back home.

The crew in Gap ready for the Tour de France

Everyone has continued to tick their way through the classic lines here with Ed getting a number of awesome onsights of some the cliffs hard lines! Good F youth! Along with this we have all also continued to meet lots of new people and plenty of strong WADS, the latest are a bunch of South Africans who have been keeping the camp alive with us! Many thanks to Dirk Smith for spending a good few hours dangling from a rope snapping pictures of us all. I'll be posting them up when they are all available. Below are a couple he took the other evening. In the mean time check out the guys website to see some more of his work. www.dirksmith.smugmug.com

Sam on the upper section of L'ami Caouette (8a)

Carte Blanche

Finally a big shout out to Caff for his recent ascent of The Big Bang! Mega respect bro!
That is all geeza's! Peace out and catch you when we all get back home!

Ceuse continued...

We've been in Ceuse for a week now, hanging with everyone ticking their way through some of the classics. Its taken a while to get adjusted to the style here and build up a decent amount of of fitness but its feeling like we might be getting somewhere.
A few big sends have gone down with Ed ticking the 8b Violent Illusion earlier in the week and bagging an onsight of Soeurs Froides (8a+). Yesterday he also sent Ami de Tout le Monde, second go, another classic 8b of the crag. Luke also sent it second go and the rest of us are keen to put some work in to get it done as well! Respect!
Friday we drove into Gap to pick up Kitty from the station who will be joining us for a couple of weeks and after we headed up to the crag for a quick evening hit where a few of the guys sent Bourinator.
Our last rest day saw us take a trip to the gorge to check out the amazing swimming that we had heard about. Its a super cool place to hang out and chill with plenty of jumps and deep pools! We'll certainly be spending a lot of time there over the coming weeks. Check out the pictures!
A lot more people seem to have arrived in the last few days and we have continued to meet plenty of cool climbers from all over the world.
Most of the camp seem to be on a rest day today so we might all head back to the gorge or take a trip into town, chill out and hope for a send fest tomorrow! Bring on the pump!

Outs! X

Sam sending The Bourinator in the evening light

Ceuse!

So we are all having a much needed rest day today, everyone is sat chilling around their tents slowly waking up. We spent around 10 hours up at the crag yesterday getting pumped and burnt to a crisp so we are all going swimming today in some amazing Gorge!
Yesterday was also a pretty good sesh for the crew with both Ed and Luke flashing the famous 8a Carte Blanche! Props to you boys! Its taking me a while to adjust to the climbing here as the routes are sooooo chuffing long and pumpy but I'm told that within a week we'll be tuned into the style and ready to crush! There are some incredible lines here, virtually every one a classic, its a super inspiring place with lots of syked people around. We've met some pretty cool climbers already from all over including some Spanish, German, Italian, American and of course plenty of French dudes! The walk-in yesterday took just under an hour and is a bit of a trek but I'm sure by the end of the trip we'll have it dialed, it certainly will get you fit. The campsite is pretty nice place to hang out with plenty of table tennis going down and the occasional campus session on the 45 board in the barn!

Ed flashing the classic 'Carte Blanche'

Biographie worship!

The journey over here from England also went good with no major problems to report. We arrived in Nice Friday afternoon and was instantly greeted with heat that just pounded you in the face. After converging with some of the local crew we made our way to Hotel Pastoral, right in the centre of Nice and once checked in we bombed it down to the beach and took an amazing swim in the incredibly warm sea! I don't think the temperature dropped much below 28 degree for the rest of the night, which is amazing!

Anyway its time for a brew with the crew and sort out the plans for later. Only managed to sort through a few pictures so far but we'll get some more uploaded soon.

Peace out! Allez!

Bricktop Action

Had a really good sesh on Bricktop the other day, and it certainly lived up to everything I've heard. It climbs incredibly well on perfectly formed holds and is a total power enduro fest! Unfortunately my attempts were slightly hindered by a couple of wet holds but as soon as they dry it could be game on... Word to JC for the wicked shots he got with his spanking new camera! Check them out!


Yesterday however was a pretty epic fail. Grim doesn't even come close to describing the weather in the peaks. Its never a good sign as you're walking towards the crag and you see guys with clip-sticks and glum faces walking away and back to the car park. Yesterday morning was one of those times and we were quickly told the Cornice was soaked! We decided to have a run down anyway and sure enough the place was gopping. Not a single route dry, so we decided on bailing to the Tor, collecting people to take with us on the walkout, who also had Cornice plans for the day.

While the Tor was drier the conditions were shocking and many people bailed and called it a day. I hear its still pretty soggy most places today but looks as if this heat is set to rollover into tomorrow, so we'll see what pans out. Not too worried though as this time next week we'll be sunning it up in the south of France with a strong crew and miles of world class rock! We fly out to Nice on Friday then onto the mecca that is Ceuse, for 4 weeks. Bring it on!

Becoming a Warrior

As we approached the Cornice yesterday we were greeted by a host of British climbing legends steadily warming up and pottering about, and later even more turned up, most notably grit master Dawes back for his second session of the week after we first bumped into him a few days before.
After warming up ourselves we watched Zippy wander off into the wilderness in search of "dirt" while Kristian checked out his latest project and Mcclure made a swift ascent of the new line "Easy Rider".
In the end it proved to be another successful few hours in the Dale of Chee as I was able to tick another ol rig I've always been keen for, that is the super fun line of The Roof Warrior (8a). It is a pretty funky route with burly moves through the wide roof up to a bomber knee bar rest! After trying to milk this for as long as my arms would take it was all about sticking the tricky move out left and staying relaxed on the finishing moves. Anyone who hasn't done this already I would definitely recommend them going to give it a barney.
We finished the day off by treking up to the The Embankment and made a quick ascent of Sturgeon in the Cupboard (7c). Another one of those routes you've always been syked for at some point but never got round to getting on them. It made a change anyway to break out from the darkness that engulfs the Cornice and actually climb in sunlight!
Four Doors beckons next along with what is supposedly one of the best 8b's in the Peak, Bricktop!
Ceuse is looking more and more promising and if all goes to plan we'll be flying out on July 1st for a whole month at one of the most amazing crags in the world!

Super Tuesday

Having a really chilled out sesh today sat around at home so thought I'd write a short bit about the ventures of the last few days.
Its extremely motivating when you can see the progression on a route from one session to the next, and feel yourself getting stronger and more in tune with the climbing. You learn tricks to help you relax and re-gain that extra power you need to stick the next move. The end product of this is all super rewarding when it finally comes together. On Tuesday I was able to tick another Cornice test piece, R 'n' P (8a+). It was a bit of a fight towards the end but just about hung in there long enough on the headwall to power up to the finish. Another one in the bag!
After this we took advantage of Stones cleaning efforts and nabbed a quick ascent of the short bouldery 7c+ 'This is the Sea" and Jon cleaned and made short work of 'Dirty Old Man' another 7c+ to the right.

We've also had a few sessions down Dovedale just lately on the fantastic Reynards Arch. If people fancy a day climbing somewhere slightly different to the regular venues around and somewhere you can virtually guarantee won't be over run with climbers then go check this place out.
There is something for everyone here, from the recently retro-bolted 'The Lime Arch' (6b+) which takes in terrain that you wouldn't normally find on a grade at this level in the Peak, all the way to the steep 'Sworn Enemy' (8a) that JC put up last year. With a couple of low end 7's thrown into the mix as well! And of course the arch is home to the old 80's classic and what many people believe to be the best 7c+ in the Peak, Arch Enemies! I managed to crank my way up this yesterday and have to agree that its arguably one of the best routes of the grade I've done, and in a wicked setting. Have a video of this on its way so will post it up sometime when I get a chance.

In other news we are currently in the middle of organising a month long trip to Céüse in July with the Hamer boys! Super excited about this, should be an immense 4 weeks. Will be blogging about our adventures as we go along. So be sure to check out the site for updates!

Taking Shape

Mentioned in a previous post that the Mock Rock team have been busy in Leicester this last week building a brand new climbing wall for a school there. Anyway the structure is up and are now just waiting on some safety matting to arrive. Few shots of their progress so far below. Good work guys!