Steve MccClure

winter is here at last

As in a winter that is any use to us. Us being climbers. So far its been no use to anyone, last year it was good for kids building snowmen and good business for sledge sellers. At last we have those cold clear crisp days where you remember what the gritsone was invented for. More used to warmer days it feels like cheating! Jerry’s traverse easier than it’s ever felt, even the drop down traverse a path. But the big sloper slappy stuff I still can’t do, that takes a little getting used to, not translating well from indoors and limestone crimps. Hopefully there will be some time. Yesterday (Friday 3rd Feb) was amazing, but it’s forecast snow today!

If you go out know that anything in the sun is perfect, if it’s not, or hasn’t been at all, it’s probably frosted up and unclimable without a brushing.

February 04, 2012 09:39 AM

TCA GLASGOW

Image - Jen Randal. TCA Glasgow

I recently went through some time travel which was interesting. Leaving home on Friday at 6am, I arrived back Sunday 4pm but seemed to have been away for a whole week! I was up at the new mega wall in Glasgow. This isn’t a plug for them, but just an observation about how the standards of indoor bouldering venues have risen so much recently. With the Works in Sheffield setting the bar so high, it’s been a tough act to follow. TCA hits the mark!
And the important point is that top facilities mean top climbers. Anyone else noticed how standards seem to be cruising upwards at the moment? Out at Stanage yesterday it was clear that those hard problems in the circuit that were rarely done are now the norm for plenty. This summer could give us a bumper crop.
So in my 2.5 days I managed 13 hours of travel, 11 hours of route setting, a lecture and 9 hours of coaching, plus some climbing, meeting tons of people and eating a good chunk from the TCA café (top pizza). Thanks to the guys there, and to Al Cassidy for putting me up.

January 17, 2012 10:06 AM

Costa Blanca

Pic - Alex at Cabezon onsighting 8a

A perfect recipe needs all the right ingredients. Miss some out and what you get might still be good but not quite right. The perfect climbing trip needs a lot of ingredients to come together. Good climbing most important, but feels empty without good people, beautiful surroundings and a comfy place to crash.
The Costa Blanca was my first Spanish climbing venue, back in 1985 when I was still at school and had no idea of sport tactics; it was double 9’s and crippling fear without a solid wire above my head! But I could already see I’d be back. More recently I found all the ingredients were on hand, bound together with the best weather in Spain. The Orange House is what really makes it work though, an amazing place to stay which is close to absolutely everything; airport, shops, beach, countryside and central to all the climbing. This isn’t an advert for them; it’s telling you what you need to know! I was in the Costa Blanca about 6 times over two years, until the key ingredient ran out: the climbing. Ticking the very last route at Wild Side was a sad day, I reckon its one of the best crags in the world. There was no need to come back!

So I’ve spent more time in Catalunya, the vast expanses of awesome cliffs taking all the attention. Rhodellar, Margalef, Siurana. These have held the action and quietened the Blanca. But a very last minute 4 ½ day trip took us back, stuck for a doss an email to the Orange house swung our decision on venue and we rolled straight in. A breath of fresh air! It was like returning home, and I surprised myself at just how good everything felt! And the real treat? A whole new supply of climbing, new routes at old venues, and complete new crags to get started on. If you have not been for a while, or never been before, remember, this used to be the premier venue in Spain, and in reality, it still is!

Things you should know!
Wild Side has a load of new routes
Cabezon also has new routes, but doing the old ones again is amazing!
Rincon De Bella is awesome for 40m routes of all grades
That massive wall up from Cabezon is ‘Sherpa’ and is as you always thought – amazing! Topo from me if needed!
theorangehouse.co.uk

Sherpa was the highlight, way up there with a cool wind. It’s kind of like Oliana, technical face climbing with the odd tufa. It’s blatantly sustained, 40 or 50 meters, almost no rest! The grades felt hard! Fill in the topo with your own ideas!

December 01, 2011 10:44 PM

Stars Shining at Kendal

As a kid, in fact even as an adult, I looked up to the stars of the climbing world. Then slowly, as you meet them you realise they are actually normal people. It’s almost a surprise! Ben Moon is Human!
But some stars remain up there, and even when you get to know them well, there is still just something about them that sets them apart. I can be having a totally normal conversation about something totally normal, but there is something else, a depth of history surrounding us like a mist. Unseen but felt.
Normally Kendal doesn’t excite me that much, but this year there were a few people that I really wanted to see, all doing talks, and all good friends. It’s strange to think I’d want to see them talk, when I could just sit with them in a pub for a few hours, but hearing their story from amongst a crowd is different, another side. It puts them back up there from a good mate to a star.
A triple hit, I fluked tickets to them all. Andy Kirkpatrick, Lynn Hill, Johnny Dawes. No introductions necessary.
Andy is mountain hero. And talk expert! I wanted to see his show as I’ve just read his book. The only problem is it makes me realise my talks are totally dull, as his are really funny and fly along at a blistering pace. He covers his book, ‘Cold Wars’. Great, though his talk is ALL funny. There is a lot in the book that is pretty deep, the strong bond between his kids and himself and the struggle to justify the risk. I thought he’d go into this, but maybe some things and best just on paper!
Lynn had the house packed out. Her story is just so vast! She picked out the important bits but barely got started. A history lesson on why Lynn is just such an Icon. We know it, but when you see how much she’s done….. And at 50 she’s still cranking, 8b+ and font 8a!
Johnny was the big one for me. Undoubtedly THE legend in British Climbing, and recognised on the world stage. His talk is pure genius. No plan, a rough idea of what to cover, but the genius is in the way he can wander. Details that should take ages to describe he paints with incredible detail in just a single sentence. Occasionally he read from his book and it added an extra sparkle to the words; when I read them again they seemed to tell a whole new story. Watching Johnny was like when you see a true performer in action, maybe a singer, where the talent shines so brightly it’s clear that there is something entirely special. Johnny isn’t just a climber that did some hard stuff!

November 23, 2011 10:53 AM

Jet Lag

I’ve just had a new experience. Coming back from a trip away to find the weather at home better than where I have just been. (exclude Norway from that!). I’m a day into the UK from China. But don’t get me wrong, China was awesome, and good climbing weather too, I just didn’t coincide my trip with the sunny days that they usually have at this time of year. And it’s sunny here. I went straight out to the peaks, and then realised I was totally jet lagged and totally useless! 8 hours sleep in 4 days, not a good amount!
And also suffering that ‘just back’ feeling, a bit empty and plan less! I always get it after a Rock Trip, these events being one the best events of the year. Being invited along is a massive privilege, hanging out with the best climbers in the world at the best destinations. China was just off the scale, hard to get your head round. I’m telling people about it now and doubting my own description – was I even there or was it a dream? So much to tell.
Look out for my article in CLIMB next month which has the full details: Why you’d want to go, what there is, what the routes are like and what the stars thought of it all.

November 02, 2011 10:28 AM

Lost In Translation

From the first moment that I stumbled under the arch and pretty much fell over at the scale I’ve wanted to climb a multi-pitch. The challenge is pretty obvious, to climb all the way up, the short hard routes on the side being hard, but relatively, short! Though not exactly short at all, it’s just this place is ridiculous! The Petzl heroes have put in an insane effort to put up a bunch of multi-pitch routes through the most ridiculous terrain, the two that stand out being Dani’s project, and Arnaud and Stephanie’s. Dani’s took 11 days to bolt, Arnaud about seven. That’s a lot of effort, but worth it because these are world classics.
Obviously Dani’s was out, it not even completed yet, but even if it had been, with pitches at around 8a+/8b/7c+/7b/8b+/8c/8a/8a+ it was probably slightly out of my league for a last day effort. Added to that I was hanging out in an effort to expel all nasty stuff from my body via frequent high velocity sprints to the bathroom. Multi pitching with an added layer of fear! Arnaud’s route, named Lost In Translation, goes at 7b+/7c+/8a+/8a, not exactly a path, but a hell of a lot easier than the terrain looks to yield. I climbed it with Cody Roth, amazing. One of the best routes I’ve ever done. To make it even better we had a view all the way up of Dani redpointing each of the pitches on his route, one after the other over about five hours. A fantastic last day, and I didn’t even need a bung!

October 30, 2011 09:44 AM

Last day of noodles

Photo - John Evans

yesterday was another good day. Amazing climbing on tufas and stalagtites. As usual its taken the whole trip to get my form together, or maybe its more in the head? I managed another 8b onsight, and feel like I’m just getting warmed up. But today is my last day here, my last day in China and my last day of Chinese food. The food bit I have been loving, looking forward to every evening for a pile of rice and noodles and loads of different stuff. But this morning I am not so psyched, and I’m actually happy right now that this is my last day of this stuff, having been rather ill and getting faster and faster at sprinting from bed to toilet. I had my eyes on a multi pitch through the arch, the one route I wanted to do all trip, and unless I find a cork it’s not looking much fun!

October 29, 2011 01:12 AM

Banyangs Cave

Picture - John Evans. The 8b Treblinca

Petzl Rock Trip 2011. Getu valley. There must be more limestone here than the whole of the UK put together! But the really crazy thing is the variation in styles. There just seems to be everything plus more other styles you didn’t know existed. The world of slopers was totally crazy, but pretty close to on-sight hell, certainly for me anyway. And also not red-point heaven either requiring large biceps and shoulders that God forgot to give me.

So we took a trip to Banyang’s Cave, some ‘normal’ climbing for a change, though a sea of tufas and stalactites is far from normal really. But basically in this cave a ‘hold’ is in fact a hold, as opposed to every large feature turning out to be an impossible nothingness! A Chinese style walk in through drizzle and knee deep mud led to my climbing heaven, monster tufa routes and a 20 degree overhanging wall with thin face climbing. The Frenchies had been before and climbed ‘Treblinca’, an awesome 8b on crimps that Jerome and Tony flashed. In true style they said it was ‘made for me’! No pressure then. I would have explained that I couldn’t crimp due to injury, and I had done sod all for ages, but I’ve learned now that moaning is just boring, no one wants to hear it, and if you do fall off it doesn’t matter anyway. And I’ve also learned not to save things, why bother, life is short, you might never come back and there are plenty of routes; crack on! So I set off in the mist and crimped my way up it onsight by the skin of my teeth. Not a big grade by today’s standards, kind of entry level for 10 year olds, but a big deal for me, because it means I can pull again after a month or so of prodding my finger and wrapping it up in ice.

And now the Petzl Rock Trip really starts. In the past they have been big, but pale into insignificance compared to this one. Hundreds and hundreds of people are arriving from every corner of the word to be entertained all day on the rocks and all night with films, talks and music. Its always obvious that the trip is getting going - the parties start to get BIG.Paradise might just be here, though a little sunshine might help out………

October 28, 2011 02:38 AM

A View of China

Bits of rock can look pretty much the same, it doesn’t matter where you are in the world. Big features, crazy formations, caves, pinnacles, whatever; up close and pulling hard, rock is rock. In a place like China you need to escape the system and explore the view, just to know where you are, or you might as well have stayed home!

Petzl needed some filming for their new helmets and reverse 4, the stuff needed for a multi pitch. I was called in, partner to be Stephanie Bodet. Hardly a work day! Steph is one of the true legends of rock climbing and one of the beauties that would appear in the climbing mags winning competitions in the 90’s. The pleasure and privilege was all mine! We climbed a 6 pitch route ‘Pussa Yan’, a bunch of 6c’s and 7a’s. Bolted but with a touch of spice, some loose stuff and a trad feel. But a true mountain, with exposure and a real summit. But the real beauty was watching the view unfold as we inched higher. Taking in the scene, and the country from the belays as the mist swirled and the birds soared. I can look back on a bunch of hard routes at the end of the week, but this will be one of the days I remember most, a day where I was definitely in China.

October 27, 2011 04:33 AM

Off The Scale!

Dani Andrada Lost in an upside down sea of Tufas. Same image, different zoom!

China. A country just over the edge of the radar. A little exploration here and there. But it is vast, and only just opening up. Are we in for a surprise as the view unfolds! People talk of our rock running out, but here in China we have not even begun. The Petzl rock trip is beginning at the area of Getu, a national park, only opened up maybe 10 years ago. Before that the only eyes that passed over the mind blowing scenery were that of the locals. But we are privileged to be here and to witness something totally off the scale with a natural arch that sinks all others dead in the water.
There is so much potential for climbing here that it makes my head spin. Petzl have done a massive effort to put up and clean a lot of routes ready for this trip, and to put the place on the map. And it deserves its place on the map; the map of wonders of the world, the places that climbers just must visit to be complete. Yosemite, Fontainbleu, Verdon, Kalymnos, Horseshoe, whatever your list, this one just got added!

There is pretty much every style at every grade, short intense hard 8’s, long multi-pitch 6’s, and the reverse. There are crimps and tufas and jugs. There is also a world of slopers and this stuff is shutting me down. Those with lots of compression and pinch and undercut strength will do well, if you are a crimper you need not apply. Just off vertical walls that look anything from 6a to 7a turn out to be 8c, the intensely scalloped surface offering endless holds, all of which are useless, like holding onto the inside of a breakfast bowl. Its totally unique. I’m crap at it, but I love it!

October 25, 2011 01:01 PM

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