Friday glee is not sure the words "skyhook" and "good gear" should be near each other

[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, a double-bill of archive footage from Posing Productions: Steve McClure sport climbing in Rodellar, and Nick Bullock on an E7 first ascent at Rhoscolyn.

Comments

[rydra_wong]

On Saturday, I went to my second Johnny Dawes masterclass! Which was very different but also very good, and he commented on how much I'd learned and progressed since the first one. \o/

[wpadmirer]

That is SO cool. I have masterclass envy.

[emperor]

Wow :)

[wpadmirer]

Wow. Those videos are gorgeous!

Well, believe it or not, I'm still waiting to get my first time back climbing. Yes, my partner has been unable to climb again. This time it's been work issues.

We're scheduled for Monday, and I'm keeping all digits crossed. I haven't climbed since April! EGADS!

[rydra_wong]

Aaaargh! I will keep my fingers crossed for Monday ...

[emperor]

I know the feeling! I have yet to find a climbing partner here.

[wpadmirer]

I send you good vibes on that. It took me forever to find a partner, and she has a knack for injuring herself - not climbing injuries, just injuries. So our climbing has been spotty for a while.

[emperor]

That's a pretty big fall he takes on some pretty crummy gear!

[rydra_wong]

When he's not climbing hideous loose trad routes, he's an alpinist and Himalayan climber, so yes. Dude is hardcore.

http://nickbullock-climber.co.uk/about/bullock-bio/

If you're interested, he features heavily in the film "Welsh Connections" (in which Johnny Dawes characterizes him as a "turbo-bumbly").

[fadeaccompli]

I managed to make it to the top of a V2, fair and square, for the first time ever. And it was on my first attempt, too.

(And then on my next six attempts I fell off in various hilarious ways, but hey!)

[rydra_wong]

ROCK THE FUCK ON. \o/

[fadeaccompli]

It was a weird little V2. Tons of holds--and set alone on its section of the wall, so no chance of confusing holds with any other route--but all of them just a little bit nasty or difficult, and hard to see at a quick glance which were for hands or...rather not. So it was sort of a swinging mad scramble where I got lucky on the first try.

But it was damn fun. And I will conquer it again some day soon, before they take it down.

[juliet]

WOO YEAH! :)

[wpadmirer]

YAY!

[juliet]

Went climbing! Hurrah for me.

Also: masterclass! Awesome! I really must reread my climbing book & actually do some of the exercises again, now I'm back on the wall regularly.

[rydra_wong]

Hurrah for you!

Which is your climbing book?

[juliet]

The Self-Coached Climber. And now I've just reminded myself to look up an exercise before I go tomorrow morning :)