Highlights from the past few weeks. Well here in the UK we have experienced so much mixed weather it has been hard for me to focus my climbing on one particular thing. So I ve taken time out from trying to red point my goal for this year and started ticking over and to wait for the right conditions. We had a big trip to Pembroke planned but had to change our destination at the last minute due to bad weather.

First we headed to Nesscliffe, the last time I visited here we were bouldering, I felt so silly walking past these magnificent aretes and corners to go and climb some short and sharp blocs. This time routes were our focus, warming up on the E4 corner Imagination I thought I was going to deck, it was filthy, the holds covered in spiders webs and the smears had a fine coating of sand on them. After some sketching I also did Straight Talk the E3 to the right which is ace.

The main aim was to try and onsight Yucan II. Setting off I was so nervous, I had wanted to do this E7 for so so long. I t was quite a battle in the greasy conditions but I loved every moment of it and topping out I had such a smile on my face. I will never forget the full on jump/slap I did to get to the half height break. Trad is brill. We went to Swanage next, here we did some cool routes up to E5 at Boulder ruckle, War of the Worlds and The Lean Machine. We met some great guys and girls down there who were really pushing themselves on the trad. Well done.

Brean Down was our last day destination on this trip, I ticked two 8a’s, Black Snake Moan and Storm Warning Variation. Then onsighted the 7c called El Chocco, all this whilst we could see the clouds dropping their content everywhere but where we were, meaning we managed to climb in shorts all day and get a tan. So lesson learned, trust the rain radar and internet forecasts and be willing to change plans and follow the good weather….

After that little trip I got back into training. I ve started wearing extra weight to compensate for the weight I ve lost. I ve found that the fitness training I ve been doing has led me to be the lightest I ve ever been since being a child!! Problem is that my body has adapted, at first I was amazing and now Im not seeing the benefits. So I ve been climbing indoors with added weight and also doing my 8b+ training traverse as a fatty. This has helped since I last week I did the second ascent of a new hard 8c link up at Malham Cove, Neil Mawson linked Bat Route into Rainshadow and named it Raining bats and dogs.

This climbs to the kneebars on B.R. Then quests leftwards via so cool airy climbing into Rainshadow after its crux. I was pumped out my mind the first few times and fell from the last couple of moves until I got really focused and climbed quicker with saw me less pumped and at the chains a happy man. Now at least I know what it will be like to be pumped at the top of Rainshadow.

Se you all out there!

Jordan Buys