My summer plans

[chroma]

A local sport climb rated at 8b+ font 7c...
One of the hardest in Europe, (The hardest is an alternate route on the same climb)
Been running 5 miles a day minimum, pressups till fail, pullups till fail, crunches till fail and at least an hour of aerobics and stretch/flexiblity training.

http://i56.tinypic.com/24bsww2.png
A lot of upside down work, need to be able to do 1finger pullups on a single arm, at least 100 without breaking a sweat, i can do 12 :( i can dangle from a single finger all day though :)

http://i53.tinypic.com/25gz6td.jpg
Rope up to the belay station, the rock face at the top is horizontal to the ground, its the ceiling you see in the 1st diagram.

[chroma]

Double post cause it was throwing up too many images errors when ive only tried to post 4...

http://i54.tinypic.com/330dagh.jpg
route layout, a lot of pinchy grip work and ive not yet figured out what to do with my feet... ive got a few of the moves required down but its my leg placements that let me down by the exhaustion point.

http://i52.tinypic.com/szelad.jpg
The split at the top, voodoo is a 8b route and happiness is a 8b+ i cant fathom which is which as i didnt have abseil gear with me to rope down and have a gander and had my dog in tow. The routes may be reversed. dunno.

As of feb1t i was 16st 2lb, as of today im down to 12st 4lb of lean muscle instead of my old flab :)
Even still i doubt i'll hit my target of gaining another 2st of upper body (predominantly lats and biceps to pull me into the ceiling) and get it climbed by August.
Wont be for lack of trying though!

[evs]

Take it the lifts are down again.
good luck m8, from one who thinks fishing is too strenuous.

[Meat-Head]

AWESOME remember to log on to DK mid way to up date this thread


cool, thought "Team Meat" plans for summer were OTT.

Hoping to see some members of DK for real.

Going to cost a fortune in fuel lol

[patkins]

Best of luck chroma.
I've got the head staggers just looking at the pics.

[steppenwolf]

Nice one mate. Extraordinary...

[Lainie]

@chroma yer mad lol

are you raising money for charity?
id sponsor you

[opsmonkey]

Mate that's hardcore.. Good luck

[chroma]

@chroma yer mad lol

are you raising money for charity?
id sponsor you

Nah no charities, doing it for myself, ive been looking at the same climb for just over 5 years and its always been "I'll do it next year."
I have the hardest traditional route close by too that im wanting to tackle, that will be next year (E11 7c) need to drop more weight for that and come in well under weight (10st or so of raw sinew and muscle)

The heaviest climbing ive ever really tackled has been HVS stuff.

Climbs are graded and it gets a little complicated I just realised im throwing acronyms letters and numbers around and it has very little meaning.
Possibly an explanation of the technical jargon?

There are 4 main types of climbing, Traditional, Sport, Winter and Bouldering.

Traditional means you climb up a bare wall and protect yourself by inserting gear into the face as you go, little nuts on wire, mechanical camming devices, hexes and seldom pitons hammered into cracks (this is frowned upon as it causes irreparable damage.) your buddy on the ground whos feeding out rope to you and who acts as a counterbalance in case you fall will follow up after you and remove all your gear whilst you take in rope at the top in case he falls.

Sport is already pre protected, that is to say someone's been and drilled/hammered/glued bolts to the wall, instead of sticking on technical traditional gear you simply clip in a quick-draw to the bolt then clip your rope into the other end (a quickdraw is just 2 caribiners stuck together with a piece of sling)
there's an offshoot to this called "Via Ferrata" which is just climbing with a short shock absorbing sling instead of a rope and clipping into ladders, chains and bolts in a wall, not all that popular in the UK.

Winter is the same as traditional with the inclusion of using spikes on your toes called crampons and axes in your hands to pick into the ice/ rock holds and climb that way. theres also more specialised gear because conventional trad protection is unlikely to work in most situations.
there's an offshoot called "dry tooling" which is just ice climbing without the ice. its more practice than serious climbing, like bouldering for winter.

Bouldering is like training where you find a boulder and practice crux moves, no gear except shoes, a chalk bag and a crash-mat are used, you fall off a LOT on boulders but its better falling 10feet onto a mat or someone spotting than 300feet up a wall


Traditional routes are graded on exposure from MOD to E11.
Sport is graded by numbers from 1 to 9b+

Mod - Moderate - sport 1
Diff - Difficult - sport 2
VDiff -Very Difficult - sport 3
HVDiff - Hard Very Difficult - sport 4
Sev - Severe - sport 4+
Up till this point there's no real challenge
They're not technically classed as climbing routes more like a hard scramble up a steep incline (think of an incline like a / slope), only dangerous without using rope. anything under a 70degree incline generally falls into one of these categories.

Real climbing where gear becomes essential starts at sport routes of 5 or the US 5.9 grade, these are mostly vertical with some incline work, a lot of hand holds and are ideal for beginners to really push themselves.
They're graded:
HS - Hard Severe - Sport 5
VS - Very Severe - Sport 5+ to 6
HVS - Hard Very Severe - Sport 6a to 6a+

At HVS inverted work starts to creep into cruxes (more on cruxes later) think of an inverted face as a \ where its not so much a slope but trying to get up a ladder backwards.
At this point handholds and footholds become less like jugs that you can grab and more little ribbons of rock that you need to pinch with finger tips to keep yourself stuck to the face.
Sport wise they start to involve subtle gradations by including letters a- being easy, a being harder a+ harder still, b- even harder all the way to c+

It then moves on to the E1 to E3 (Extremely Severe) grades, these are exposed, with limited protection, few handholds difficult cruxes and generally reserved for people who've been climbing for years at a high level of fitness and technique.
Doable with a lot of training and practice, this is where most climbers careers taper off. (6b- to 7a in Sport terminology)

After that they get to E4 to E11, E11 being neigh on impossible, think about trying to climb up a sheet of glass held out ant an inverted angle with very little in the way of protection (possibly only one dodgy placement on the entire route, and with non existent handholds and footholds, you fall and you get seriously hurt) (7a+ to 9b+ in sport routes)
Theres no E12 or 9c as of YET, but as gear improves harder challenges will get climbed, an E11 for instance 10 years ago would have been impossible but de to technological advances in rubber compounds and improvements in protection they're possible today.


Cruxes,
These use the French "Font" graded system, used to describe the hardest part of the climb, the terminology comes from Bouldering these go from 5a up to 9a and work the same way sport routes do, 5a being easier than a 5a+ or 5b- etc.

Think about a crux like a technical move, you climb up a wall and notice that your next handhold is a foot and a half out of reach, if its a nice big jug (a hold you can get a full handed grip of like someone's bottom lip) you can transfer your weight into a crouch and spring off the wall jumping up for a couple of feet and slap the hold using both hands to pull you up to the next part of the climb. this would equate to a 5a situation.
6a or so would be one handed.
7a would be no jug at all but there might be a nice crack or pinch hold.
8b might be no hand holds at all but a place to be able to twist your body round and hook an ankle or toe into etc and maybe or a hole that's able to accept one or two fingers and you can progress from a single finger pullup.
The higher the numbers the more demands on stamina, psychological impact and technical ability there will be.

The 5a of jumping to a 2 handed jug is fine but if its 300 feet up it increases the psychological impact, your stamina is already low from climbing up that high, your actively concious that if you screw up you might die and the risks go up, therefore it would move up a few font points from a 5a to maybe a 6b+

Hopefully this is all making sense and you can now figure out the difference from a HVS 5c and an E4 7b route.
The letters describe the amount of exposure and frequency of protection the numbers describe the hardest move required.

An 8b+ sport route (the one pictured) equates well to an E10 7b Traditional climb.
So yeah its going to be impossibly hard to achieve without practically living in the gym but even if i fail the climb isnt going anywhere :) i can always come back again and again till i kick its ass!

[thered]

Do you have a button behind your head that makes yor eyes move


~~~~ that for a game a soldiers 2 weeks 4* AI in Turkey for me in may i might stretch to a game of water polo then again i might not lol

[chroma]

Do you have a button behind your head that makes yor eyes move

And a ripcord that makes me say badass phrases with my velcro hair.

The whole gig relies on me being able to lift my entire body with one arm using only a grip from my fingertips...

Ive got a weird metal spider behind my house, i was out there yesterday, gripped one of the bars and pulled my body up till it was parallel with the ground elbows bent at 90 degrees, and saw how long i could hold it. Managed less than 30 seconds, and this was with two arms using a full bar grip.
one handed using only my finger tips seems a distant milestone at this point, especialy when on the day im going to have the weight of my harness, the rope, chalkbag/chalk and gear loadout going against me :(

[Meat-Head]

*BUMP*SPAM*BUMP

JUST CHECK WITH ADMIN THAT YOU ARE ALLOUD TO JOIN ANOTHER WEBSITE, THEN POST HERE AND THERE WHILST YOU UP THERE

:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

http://www.extremeironing.com/


M1 Extreme Ironing - Yahoo! News UK (http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20110418/toddly-m1-extreme-ironing-cc3a409.html)

A man has been spotted doing his ironing on the closed side of the motorway. Skip related content (http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20110418/toddly-m1-extreme-ironing-cc3a409.html#ynw-article-part2)
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Drivers were left stunned as they saw him walk onto the road, put up his board, and get going.
He didn't have to dodge cars as the southbound stretch has been deserted for days.
Part of the M1 between junctions 1 and 4 has been closed off since Friday after a fire broke out at a scrapyard in the Mill Hill area of north London.
According to the official website, extreme ironing is "the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt."

[RedSpider]

The split at the top, voodoo is a 8b route and happiness is a 8b+ i cant fathom which is which as i didnt have abseil gear with me to rope down and have a gander and had my dog in tow. The routes may be reversed. dunno.

so you've already been to the top then?
what's wrong with you? lol

[Stuart 0366]

That looks like Dumbuck...not that I ever climbed there. I climbed at Auchinstarry in the day but Dumbuck is actually just up the road from me.

I was never that good though, not to your level chroma. I am actually scared of heights which prevented me getting better than average at climbing (V. Diff in old money).

Good luck mate, looks a cracking climb.

[C64]

I can hardly climb out my bed.

Good luck Chroma. :)

[chroma]

That looks like Dumbuck...not that I ever climbed there. I climbed at Auchinstarry in the day but Dumbuck is actually just up the road from me.

I was never that good though, not to your level chroma. I am actually scared of heights which prevented me getting better than average at climbing (V. Diff in old money).

Good luck mate, looks a cracking climb.

It is Dumbuck ;) Just around the road from me.
Fear of heights is good, fear of the ground is healthier though.
I admit its out of my technical ability, not that that will stop me, The pitch isn't going anywhere, no matter how many attempts I fail it cant escape lol
I've been to Aucinstarry a really good day out to be had there, anything over E2 kicks my ass though, but I never really had the drive nor inclination to really go to town.
Similarly with some of the pitches in Ratho and my old haunt up the cobbler (the rock conditions at Arrochar have gone downhill though, every old pitch I used to climb is all crumbly :( and fairly dangerous now... maybe it always was and i was just too young and stupid to care though)

I'm planning Happiness in slavery and possibly Devastation generation if happiness works to plan this year and next year hoping to tackle the castle's Rhapsody route, not all that confident about training for an E11 climb though, but its a local route I've always drooled over thinking "one day."
Been training flat out for happiness though so if I can continue to keep up the pace till next summer and spend the winter abusing finger/peg and campus boards I might actually stand a chance.
This is coming from a fatass 16.5st lump of shit at the beginning of the year though. Just hit my goal of 12st in April however, so like I said I've been hitting the training hard, 4hrs on average per day.

@ RedSpider.
You can walk up to the top RedSpider, its a quarry face, means I can check the bolt condition before asking any of them to support my weight + gravity force from a fall.
Think of most climbing like a multi storey building where you can either take the lift or tackle the stairs. Getting to the top of things is always easy, getting to the top via a specific route... not so much.
Its far more interesting to ascend though ;)

[SouthernComfort]

Hats off to you, I can't even comprehend what you're planning.
What makes someone want to climb a wall upside down on their fingertips?

[chroma]

Hats off to you, I can't even comprehend what you're planning.
What makes someone want to climb a wall upside down on their fingertips?

Because you can!
Climbing as a sport takes a lot, its not just physically demanding, its also mentally and emotionally exerting.

The easy bit is getting into physical condition and being able to balance your entire body from between 1 and 4 points of contact, like a combination of weightlifting and ballet.
The hard part is the mental factor, when your over 20ft in the air and holding on to tiny dubious holds you can feel the shit running down the back of your legs. Its feeling that intense fear and being able to overcome it and still focus your mind on the next series of motions that's the challenge, its extremely fun, even on an easy climb you still get the buzz and an overwhelming sense of self confidence when you complete a route.

Cant beat tackling something unknown, unsure as to whether you have the ability and coming out safe and OK at the other side, the harder it becomes the greater the payoff ;)

What makes a person want to do any sport? I mean when you think about it football is just as insane, 22 guys chasing a ball around a patch of grass.

Hemingway put it best when he said "There are only three real sports, Bullfighting, Mountaineering and Motor racing. The rest are merely games."
I assume its because in each there are real, tangible, fatal risks involved.
Knowing I didn't die whilst dangling off the edge of the world appeals more to me than chasing a ball is all.

[SouthernComfort]

Wasn't having a dig, was just curious on a personal level. I admire what you're doing, don't get much sport myself. Are you involved in rescue or similar?

[chroma]

I didn't take it as a dig, every time I talk about climbing there's always someone who wonders wtf for ;)

Not involved in anything, I've got a summer mountain leadership cert and my spa, still need to get in for my winter mountain cert but ive never had a valid reason to get up to glenmore in the winter.
The only reason I hold any of them was to cover insurance criteria for youth groups years ago.
TBH this entire absurd goal is just to motivate me into getting fit again and getting me back out into more technical hills this year.
Any excuse really, but I've always liked a challenge lol

[SouthernComfort]

I didn't take it as a dig, every time I talk about climbing there's always someone who wonders wtf for ;)

Not involved in anything, I've got a summer mountain leadership cert and my spa, still need to get in for my winter mountain cert but ive never had a valid reason to get up to glenmore in the winter.
The only reason I hold any of them was to cover insurance criteria for youth groups years ago.
TBH this entire absurd goal is just to motivate me into getting fit again and getting me back out into more technical hills this year.
Any excuse really, but I've always liked a challenge lol
Wasted talent, sure the rescue services would be proud to have you.
Ever heard of women, you must be like the female swiss army knife lol.
Extreme dogging, theres something I could try.

[Meat-Head]

BUUUMMMPPPP

wEll mr chroma did you mange this - or are you still there?

Thanks

Meat

[Lainie]

dont think he been on here for ages meat but i can send him a message on fb if you want.

[Meat-Head]

dont think he been on here for ages meat but i can send him a message on fb if you want.

well yeah of course thanks - but he should be here on dk not on fb with dibbers and dobbers and lots of Emeicans

[Meat-Head]

BUMP NUMITU BUMP.

Hoping to go on vacation to Blackpool, to see the rotten pylon, then hopefully meet a few DK members

[WOODWARD395]

Good luck Chroma follow your dreams m8 life's to short wish I could come with you.


http://www.digital-kaos.co.uk/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=293253&stc=1

[Meat-Head]

Seen the orginal thread date Woodward mate

[WOODWARD395]

Seen the orginal thread date Woodward mate
said he would text me when he got to the summit still waiting been nearly 3yrs ago now.

[nara]

said he would text me when he got to the summit still waiting been nearly 3yrs ago now.

Mmm, might be an idea to send out a search party! :(

[ifred]

Must be a very long thread his climbing rope
Or he didn't make it? :angel:

[Meat-Head]

BUMP BUMPITY BUMp

hoping to get rid of this iShit and go see a mate not seen since the last time.

if everything goes to plan will be with a car factory for a few days, need to check they not blocked me on twitter

due to dK no advertising can't mention name of company

[iverset]

Hey, I hope I will be picked for 8 months internship in Spain or in Ireland! I would prefer Ireland! :D And when I won't be picked I would like to travel on mine own!

[sticky21]

I am planning trip with 10 of my friends to Amalfi Coast in Italy! I cant wait to see those cliffside towns! It looks spectacular!

[Meat-Head]

I cant wait to see those cliffside towns! It looks spectacular!

Dont forget to throw a “message in a bottle” into the sea
USB stick would be modern way of doing it

[sticky21]

I really hope that I will find some low cost accomodation in Bristol because I really want to go on vacation there!!!!

[Meat-Head]

Rome, dunno but that colosseum place will look ok when they finish building it