Glendalough

After a couple of sick days I decided to have a gentle stroll to the boulders. The weather was lovely, a light breeze and some sun, it did try and rain but we soldiered on and were rewarded with fine climbing. I was going for more mileage than pushing myself so I tried not to give any individual problem more than 2 goes. We started in the ruins, was well chuffed with doing the plum, one of my favourite problems and has a nasty habit of spitting me off. Then we sauntered up to the path side boulders and I managed to get the problem on the back off the egg boulder that Dermo did last time as well as the same warm up circuit. Did Chillax on the way up to the fin, I also tried the left hand version, I came pretty close but after 3 goes I didn't want to burn myself out so moved on. Got to the fin and had a play around there before settling on the fin ss. I tried it using the foot hold on the left that was pointed out to me at the end of last winter, it felt a lot more natural and I came very close on a number of occasions, I just have to hold the swing. This has me really looking forward to the winter I think it's the fittest I have come out of a summer ever, and with a drop in temperature who knows what might happen! Stopped off on big Jim on the way back and managed the dyno?!?! static which was nice .

In sickness and in health

So it appears I have man flu as Ann calls it. Whatever it is, it sucks I hate being off and being completely unable to do anything, My climbing Psyche is very high but I have only been able to get to the coop due to work issues while some have been to the fabled great outdoors. Now I haven't been able to do anything since Thursday. I have 2 weeks before I'm in the UK then its only 3 weeks after that and its font. I suppose its better to have the flu now than when I'm away. I once had the flu on a trip to Sheffield I couldn't really pull on anything and felt like crap for the whole trip. Yet it was still a fantastic trip but I really feel I let myself down. Here is a list of things to do to while your bored and off sick.

1, update your blog with a pointless list.

2, read all your climbing magazines.

3, watch Starwars ,return of the Jedi

4,watch back to the future

5, www.videoclimb.com they have 104 bouldering vid's hours just tick by.

I was lucky enough to sample some of Mr Tormey's home brew at the weekend, unlike the first batch if offered some of this I strongly recommend you accept as it was great!

I was thinking recently whether alcohol and drugs are blunting natural selection? 2 stupid unattractive people as a rule would generally not mate for one reason or another. However bring drink in to the mix and suddenly you have a drunken desperate adult who would normally know better who at 2:15 in the morning is desperately searching for validation, panicking and ends up going for anything! Now 9 months later there is a child and one of the parents who without liquor would never have had any chance of the dalliance has now passed stupidity an/or ugliness on to another generation. Without the liquor the person who should have known better would have taken an entirely different path.

2 Things,

1. http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/eycwgbeyidau/rss2/

A huge Python found in wexford??? No snakes in Ireland my eye. Cancel Paddys day next year, clearly a fraud. David Blaine take heed, you never know when you will be revealed as a hoax!!

2. I love the randomness of Ipod's shuffle. Yesterday I was getting my groove on down at the coop to Cypress Hill's 'cock the hammer' which was the latest in a long line of quality old school rap , metal and rock then from out of no ware Buddy Holly's 'that'll be the day'. I'd love to know the technology behind the 'randomness'.

the wisdom of kid's

So there I am flicking through my new glossy climber mag enjoying my holidays when Ann's niece, who if I'm honest I'm secretly trying to encourage to climb, comes over and sits with me. Bare in mind she is only 3 - she says "what you doing?" "reading my magazine", says I. "that's climbing"she says pointing at one of the very brightly coloured high res photos. Saweet, I think 'turned this one!'. As we move through the mag we now point at every photo, Pete Robins on a desperate e8, Ian Parnel on a long run out and Neil Grisham on some steep sport route that's climbing, that's climbing, that's climbing. Yes indeed that's climbing. Then we turn over and see the bouldering scene page...... there's a pause, you can imagine my excitement, she's going to point and say 'that's bouldering' she can tell the difference.... the pause continues, still nothing so I say "that's climbing"

Without hesitation she says 'no it's not'! In my head I flipped her off my lap and as she came crashing to the floor I scream 'it's the purest form of climbing'. However I just meekly reply "it is". Ah well live and learn.

No pain, no gain

Tried posting from the Iphone but it wouldn't let me put any words in the box, damn technology. This means this a brief post so your not just staring at a title. Last night me and my mate Dermo set off to Glendo on what literally turned out to be a fly or die mission! After solving the puzzle of 2 bikes and a pad in an Eco friendly (small) car, then rally driving and an excellent transition to bikes we arrived at the boulders at about 10 to 7. There was a slight breeze and we set to it. It went well to start nice warm up the traverse on the path side of the egg boulder was flashed, the ss to the rails was flashed. Now I'm not saying it was all pretty or a mighty dazzling display but for the first time back since march I didn't take my usual kicking. Then we tried the ss on the back off the egg, Dermo tried came down, I then had a go didn't get my heel right and couldn't swap to a press came off. Then from out of no ware and I'm sure playing dam busters They appeared. Dermo was just starting his second go so I bravely stayed to spot so he didn't damage his back but as soon as he was up that thing I dived for cover. Midges were every were, I tried to have another go but they were in my beard, ears every were. We packed up and for some reason thought maybe big Jim would be better. A quick recce showed it was marginally better, so I donned boots and no sooner had I done so they returned, da da da da daaa. da da da ,daa da, needless to say we split. Fun times but still worth the trip cant wait until it gets cooler roll on oct....