My big willy dot and you (3)

Seen on the 8a year book from 8a.nu (source: Zebloc):

"Dès que le grimpeur est à votre niveau, placez votre corps sous le grimpeur afin de pouvoir servir de pouvoir amortir avec votre corps la chute du grimpeur."

So stupid that I though I'd try to give you a back translation:

"Once the climber is at your level, place your body below the climber so your body can be used to soften the fall of the said climber".

Yet another fool who thinks that Google translate works. Well done 8a.nu, once again, you look like a bunch of eejits.

Posage Video

Have you watch the last one? That's what I call a proper video:

Bouldering in Galicia

I am just back from Galicia. I am not going to give you the usual touristic description. Let's just say it's a paradise in terms of food, wine, sun, landscape and not the least, people friendliness.

In terms of rock, it was not the season. Indeed, the main spot in the southern part is Pena Corneira, near the town of Ourense, which did not really see the temperature dropping below 30 during this summer. So I stayed on the coast instead and had a few sessions among the mini sea cliffs.

The guys behind Cantil (A bloque en Galicia/bouldering in Galicia) have gathered a few topos and drafted a Google map of the various areas that have been developed:



There's a great spot called A Pedra Rubia where I had a few nice sessions, but I even found a good spot closer to where we stayed: the Supertanker boulder of Portocelo. I'm not sure if it's got a name or if there's any info about it so I just gave it that name for the sake of it. It's got a good few problems and features a steep overhang with very poor holds. Potential for 8s from sit-start, but hard enough from stand start. Video here:





There's a lot of other stuff around especially between Portocelo and La Guardia. I even found a jumble of boulders with savage roofs and overhang but the landings were also savage, so I did not go near it. It's all in the following video:





And finally, also in Portocelo, close to the Supertanker, is a nice roof with three obvious lines: left arete, centre crack and right arete. But between the last two there's a really hard eliminate that will see me again if I get the chance. Video here:






Special thanks to Miguel and his family for looking after us during As Festas do Monte. It was great!


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UPDATE (23 /09/ 2010):

Luis Vigo (that would be his forum nickname), says that the Portocelo's boulders have been a climbing spot for the last 15 years and it even saw the first Galician bouldering comp in 1998. He says there used to be a topo but he doesn't seem to know where that info is gone.

My Soft Spot

Climbing dad?

Don't miss this article by Sarah Stirling-Assistant (ukclimbing.com):

Mountaineering and Climbing Dads

To all dog owners: please pick up your beloved pet leftovers.

Unlike dogs, babies can't be left running around while climbing. 

Unlike babies, dogs shit everywhere and because the colour can be the very same as the ground, you run the risk of smashing it with your pad (don't sigh, it increases the smell).

My big willy dot and you (2)

Boycott 8a! from Shawn Boye on Vimeo.

In my backyard

Give that man a job!

I was meant to publish the above video ages ago but time flies and I hardly find any time to look after the blog. Anyway judging by the number of posts, you must have read that excuse at least 16 times last year so I'll try to stop writing it and talk only about what is relevant.

Very relevant indeed is this video that Michael Duffy sent me a few months ago at the end of the summer. 2009 has been a bad year for young architects, but for strong climbers it is another story. Having recently moved to Bray, we can only hope that it will make it more difficult for the Dublin man to complete the first ascent of the Arch. Michael has worked out all the moves including the last one on the dodgy top jug, but as the video shows, he has failed to link the most famous line in Portrane.

He wisely hasn't mentioned any grade but we can reasonably assume that this long standing line must not be far from the magical 8 figure, although I've been told it isn't about magic, it's all about will, organisation and power. Anyway, being recently responsible for Switch, Leftism, and Contact, respectively 8a, 7c and 8a+ Michael's unemployment has given him the opportunity to deal with a lot of unfinished business and I would not be surprised if more hard lines like the Wow prow or the Big Squeeze SS were falling before the end of the winter.

Michael is also a talented young architect. Someone, please, give him a job!