Friday glee is Team Technique (because of not having power)

[rydra_wong]

The Friday post of glee is where you get to tell us about your climbing-related happiness this week.

It can be a new achievement or adventure, or just that you climbed and had fun; it can be that your favourite climbing wall is expanding or that you bought new rock shoes or that you found a cool ice-climbing vid on YouTube. No glee is too small -- or too big. Members are encouraged to cheer each other on and share the squee.

N.B. Please feel free to post your glee on any day of the week; the Friday glee is just to get the ball rolling.

To enhance this week's glee: some indoor climbing, for once. Raw Power versus Flawless Technique: Alex Megos, Tommy Caldwell, Hazel Findlay, and Emily Harrington have a play indoors.

Comments

[naath]

I got an exciting purple rope for Christmas (Mammut, 60m single) and took it to the wall this week. Works great :) but the wall isn't tall enough to require it.

[rydra_wong]

You'll be forced to go outside just to justify it. Tragedy! *g*

[naath]

Horrific! I am hoping to manage a trip or two this year, weather permitting...

[rydra_wong]

Got anywhere particular in mind? (I am currently forlornly refreshing the weather forecast for Hathersage a lot.)

[naath]

We tend to like Snowdonia. And I waaaaaant to get the East Face of Tryffan...

That takes a load of planning though :( (but from Cambridge anywhere with rocks takes planning)

[rydra_wong]

Central London also has a tragic shortage of nearby rocks ...

I have not yet been to Tryfan, but I have been to Little Tryfan and then to Littler Tryfan -- I mention the latter because it's awesome, 100 metres away from Little, but facing away so nobody seems to wander over there.

And it's lovely, like a mini version of Little Tryfan but with no polish and nobody on it.

And no listed routes, so you have to be prepared to pick something that looks do-able, but basically you can see exactly what you're getting into, so it's a pretty low-risk adventure.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=16711

[naath]

oh, cute.

[emperor]

Huh, I have climbed loads on Tryfan Fach, but never seen that!

[rydra_wong]

Yeah, it faces in the same direction as Little Tryfan, and from the back, it just looks like a very un-promising lump -- I only checked it out because I'd seen the UKC entry and knew it had to be over in that direction somewhere.

But if you go round, it's this gorgeous slab with perfect rough rock and nice little cracklines to slot gear into.

Highly recommended if you're in the neighbourhood.

[rydra_wong]

Here are someone else's pictures I found on Google:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikepeacock/sets/72157626385546839/

All the pretty little crack-lines!

And the third photo shows where it is in relation to Little Tryfan.

[wpadmirer]

Nice. Also, purple! Purple is a cool color.

[rydra_wong]

I have a fluorescent pink rope (I didn't choose this -- a friend had two brand new ropes of the same colour, and wanted to sell one so she could get one of a different colour for using as doubles).

I am not a naturally pink-inclined person, and it's eye-searingly bright pink, and there have been a fair few mornings where I feel I am just not equipped to deal with something that pink.

(I suffer.)

[wpadmirer]

LOL! OMG, yes. Eye-searing pink would be hard to deal with. Though you'd never lose sight of it!

[rydra_wong]

With it strapped on top of my rucksack, people could probably see me from some distance off in thick fog.

[emperor]

Does it have little orange flecks? If so, that's the same eye-bleeding horror that my climbing partner bought (in 80m) for our trip to France last year.

[rydra_wong]

Not sure "flecks" is the right word, but it's definitely got an orange cast to it in the right light.

And "eye-bleeding horror" seems accurate.

I am now strangely fond of it, but it is VERY pink.

[emperor]

You can see the rope in the picture here; also me looking anywhere but at the rope ;-)

[rydra_wong]

Yep, looks like the one.

[emperor]

FEET

*ahem*

By which I mean, I used both feet to climb this week, for the first time since June! And while my foot was too swollen to put my usual shoe on, I could fit my older shoe, so that was OK. I took it fairly gently, but it was still awesome :)

[wpadmirer]

YAY! for climbing with two feet, but sorry to hear about the swelling. I hope you can figure out what's causing that and lessen it.

[emperor]

It's still just the fracture-healing that's causing the swelling, I think.

[wpadmirer]

ARGH. Does icing it help?

[rydra_wong]

YAY FEET PLURAL!!!!!!