Traditional Horrowshow Training Programme.

Last week I had the opportunity to return to Tremadog and do battle with the classic HVS 'Strapiombo'. Over the past few weeks I've been trying to push myself on things that I don't normally like doing and I flagged this route up as something I probably wouldn't like doing;  'Struggle up the flared chimney in a state of physical exhaustion and abject horror' says North Wales rock. In the past I have been frustrated by my ability to climb techy E2 walls quite nicely and fail completely when faced with a traditional ledgy thrutchy VS. I have since realised that I am never going to get better at thrutchy VSs by climbing harder techy walls and constructed myself a bit of a traditional horrowshow training programme. I guess this route belongs to that programme.

Essentially I was going to cheat, using black diamond's largest camelot creations, to get runners where no self respecting hobnail booted fellow had got them before.

Some patient belaying from Owen later, I was 'established' within the fissure and commenced slow and painful upwards progress. For those climbing from a purely fitness perspective I would estimate that squeeze chimney climbing probably burns more calories per unit of rock ascended than any other kind of climbing. It is also a true unavoidable test of endurance, more than once I had the impulse to sit on the rope, always skittering the camelot up beside me but if you were to relax and 'rest' you might become irreversable wedged in the narrower back of the crack only to have to extert more effort to get yourself out again. The human equivalent of a cam 'walking'.

I reached an impasse near the top where upwards progress began to seem impossible. Then I realised, I was trying to climb the chimney like a wall again. I then adopted a technique not dissimilar to the video below with much more success.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpWATMtTPkk



Must squeeze harder.....

I was thoroughly disappointed when Owen cruised it on second, as I was maliciously hoping he struggle as I had done and save my ego...... it evidently isn't actually as hard as I just made it sound.

Previously in the day we had basked in the sunshine on Hardd (beautiful, not hard in welsh, although it is hard), on Carreg Hylldrem and finished off with Silver Crow, on Pant I Fan.



Owen across the funny tremadog ramps of Hardd

Me leading downwards off the belay, to avoid extreme excitment on second the in situ anchors mean the second
can backrope although this may lead to confusion when the leader is belaying out of earshot....

Thanks very much to Owen Samuels for a fun day out and all the piccies!

I have had a request to include the grades of stuff so here is a graded list:
Strapiombo - ungradeable
Hardd - E2
Silver Crow - E1