ISSUE 2 MAY 2014 What’s On Diary - May Sat 3rd Youth Climbing Club Week 1 Sun 4th Youth Climbing Club Week 1 Tues 6th Youth Squad 6-8pm Wed 7th Youth Climbing Club - Drop In 4:30-6pm Wed 7th Mill Climbing Club 7-10pm Thur 8th Step Up to Lead Part 1 Sat 10th Youth Climbing Club Week 2 Sun 11th Youth Climbing Club Week 2 Tues 13th Youth Squad 6-8pm Wed 14th Youth Climbing Club - Drop In 4:30-6pm Wed 14th Mill Climbing Club 7-10pm Thur 15th Step Up to Lead - Part 2 Sat 17th Youth Climbing Club Week 3 Sun 18th Youth Climbing Club Week 3 Tues 20th Youth Squad 6-8pm Weds 21st Youth Climbing Club - Drop In 4:30-6pm Weds 21st Mill Climbing Club 7-10pm Thur 22nd Step Up to Lead Part 1 Sat 24th Youth Climbing Club Week 4 Sun 25th Youth Climbing Club Week 4 Tues 27th Youth Squad 6-8pm Weds 28th Youth Climbing Club - Drop In 4:30-6pm Weds 28th Mill Climbing Club 7-10pm Thur 29th Step Up to Lead Part 2 Sat 31st Youth Climbing Club Week 5 rock AND rapid • www.rockandrapidadventures.co.uk • 0333 600 6001 Fontainebleau Bouldering – What is all that about? 5 blokes, one van, some Bouldering Pads and several tents. The recipe for a good weekend. Everyone at the wall has a story about and a longing for ‘Font’. That fabled land of magic and soulfulness, where shafts of sunlight shimmer through peaceful, leafy canopies to dance across the surface of never-ending boulders littered with wholesome, mouth- watering problems. It’s a right of passage for climbers everywhere and to not have experienced it leaves you with a feeling of exclusion from a rather smug clique – motivation enough to go, if not just for the exquisite bouldering? The first thing you notice about font however, is that everything looks the same. The same straight roads flagged by recurrent forest leading to another cross road or roundabout, whereabouts a confluence of yet more rule-like carriageways lurk, waiting to whisk you off into yet more similarly regimented woodland. Traffic thunders by as a sense of stale repetition sinks in. Where’s the magic? You’d be forgiven for thinking that your first visit to this celebrated venue was a damp squib of an experience, especially given the high frequency of professional ladies touting their wares in every other layby. But with most car parks providing just a short walk-in its not long before the forest of Fontainebleau reveals to you exactly what you’d hoped for. Amongst the magic of the forest, coloured circuits of rock lie in wait, ready to draw you deeper under their spell. Embarking on one of these circuits is one of the true pleasures of bouldering. As you follow small coloured arrows and numbers around the rocks, time becomes irrelevant and the pressures of life are lost to a world of focus, sequencing and shared experiences with friends old and new. The simplicity of bouldering and the enjoyment and calm that it brings is realised here more than in any local wall. In order to become a true Fontainebleau master, all manner FONTAINEBLEAU BOULDERING see FONT, page 4 Ollie “Go big or go home!”
Transcript
ISSUE 2 MAY 2014
What’s On Diary - MaySat 3rd Youth Climbing Club
Week 1
Sun 4th Youth Climbing Club Week 1
Tues 6th Youth Squad 6-8pm
Wed 7th Youth Climbing Club - Drop In 4:30-6pm
Wed 7th Mill Climbing Club 7-10pm
Thur 8th Step Up to Lead Part 1
Sat 10th Youth Climbing Club Week 2
Sun 11th Youth Climbing Club Week 2
Tues 13th Youth Squad 6-8pm
Wed 14th Youth Climbing Club - Drop In 4:30-6pm
Wed 14th Mill Climbing Club 7-10pm
Thur 15th Step Up to Lead - Part 2
Sat 17th Youth Climbing Club Week 3
Sun 18th Youth Climbing Club Week 3
Tues 20th Youth Squad 6-8pm
Weds 21st Youth Climbing Club - Drop In 4:30-6pm
Weds 21st Mill Climbing Club 7-10pm
Thur 22nd Step Up to Lead Part 1
Sat 24th Youth Climbing Club Week 4
Sun 25th Youth Climbing Club Week 4
Tues 27th Youth Squad 6-8pm
Weds 28th Youth Climbing Club - Drop In 4:30-6pm
Weds 28th Mill Climbing Club 7-10pm
Thur 29th Step Up to Lead Part 2
Sat 31st Youth Climbing Club Week 5
rock AND rapid • www.rockandrapidadventures.co.uk • 0333 600 6001
Fontainebleau Bouldering – What is all that about? 5 blokes, one van, some Bouldering Pads and several tents. The recipe for a good weekend.
Everyone at the wall has a story about and a longing for ‘Font’. That fabled land of magic and soulfulness, where shafts of sunlight shimmer through peaceful, leafy canopies to dance across the surface of never-ending boulders littered with wholesome, mouth-watering problems. It’s a right of passage for climbers everywhere and to not have experienced it leaves you with a feeling of exclusion from a rather smug clique – motivation enough to go, if not just for the exquisite bouldering?
The first thing you notice about font however, is that everything looks the same. The same straight roads flagged by recurrent forest leading to another cross road or roundabout, whereabouts a confluence of yet more rule-like carriageways lurk, waiting to whisk you off into yet more similarly regimented woodland. Traffic thunders by as a sense of stale repetition sinks
in. Where’s the magic? You’d be forgiven for thinking that your first visit to this celebrated venue was a damp squib of an experience, especially given the high frequency of professional ladies touting their wares in every other layby.
But with most car parks providing just a short walk-in its not long before the forest of Fontainebleau reveals to you exactly what you’d hoped for. Amongst the magic of the forest, coloured circuits of rock lie in wait, ready to draw you deeper under their spell.
Embarking on one of these circuits is one of the true pleasures of bouldering. As you follow small coloured arrows and numbers around the rocks, time becomes irrelevant and the pressures of life are lost to a world of focus, sequencing and shared experiences with friends old and new. The simplicity of bouldering and the enjoyment and calm that it brings is realised here more than in any local wall. In order to become a true Fontainebleau master, all manner
FONTAINEBLEAU BOULDERING
see FONT, page 4
Ollie “Go big or go home!”
When you first start climbing, there are two big areas that always need to be addressed more than anything else. These are: Footwork and Body Positioning.
FOOTWORK – THE BASICS
Your climbing shoe consists of several main parts:• Toe• Inside Edge• Outside Edge• Heel
Knowing these parts and when to use them is essential to good technique and you must be aware of them when you are climbing. If you watch a typical beginner climber, he/she will often place their entire foot on a hold rather than specifically choosing one part of the shoe.
This is very bad technique because: • It restricts good contact of shoe
rubber on the hold making you more likely to Slip. It restricts the range of movement you get with placing your foot precisely on a hold.
• You don't get the same height from standing on the hold.
• As you progress as a climber, the feet become increasingly more important and if you focus on them early on in your development, you will be better prepared for when footwork is essential to success.
Exercise Drills to Improve Footwork
Traversing (Concentrating on foot placements)
This is incredibly simple and is a perfect addition to your warm-up and warm-down routine. All you need to do is find an easy wall to traverse on; it must have plenty of positive handholds and lots of varying sizes of footholds to practice your footwork on. Traverse for 10 minutes, focusing on placing your feet precisely on each foothold. Look at which parts of the foothold you are using and try and choose an appropriate part of the shoe: toe, inside edge, outside edge or heel?
Cork Game (Not just for kids!)Again, another incredibly simple exercise, and a good excuse to go drinking (You've got to get the corks from somewhere right?). Place a number of corks on footholds along a vertical or slabby traverse wall. Now try to traverse the wall using all
the footholds with corks on without knocking the corks over.
BODY POSITIONING – THE BASICS
Understanding the position of your body on the wall is an essential technique to develop early. Therefore when you start hitting harder grades you won't be held back as much by technical issues such as balance, co-ordination, sequence reading and even strength and endurance, as having good body positioning improves efficiency whilst climbing.
The efficient use of your body on the wall relies mainly on your arms, legs and hips. If you watch good climbers at the wall, you will see that they are rarely out of balance and
page 2ISSUE 2 • MAY 2014
Footwork & Body Positionrock AND rapid
Climber using whole foot on hold.
Not be able to pull on arms means more engagement in your hips and legs.
TRAINING GUIDE
Mill Climbing ClubThis month's outside meeting was at Vicarage Cliff at Morwenstow, in lovely spring weather. Club members ranging from trad beginners to the (speaking frankly) gnarly, enjoyed rough, sun-warmed rock and the spectacular coastal scenery while beefing up the faintly alarming top ab-off points.
Join us on a Wednesday evening at the R&RA Centre when club members are always present, and at outside venues on the first or second weekend of the month." Written by Robert Down (Chairman)
see TRAINING, page 3
ISSUE 2 • may 2014 page 3
By Keith Crockford
The 2013 Renegade is the third evolution of DMM’s premium adjustable leg harness. It now has an improved racking system designed to work with both summer and winter racks, a narrower belay loop for better compatibility with small belay biners and skinny rear elastics that are light whilst still holding their position well. This really is the ultimate all rounder; a clever design that works across the full range of climbing disciplines: from cragging and winter climbing to big alpine routes.
Let’s take a closer look at some of those smart design features:
For a start, there is the free floating waist belt with fully adjustable, Slide Lock buckles – regardless of how many clothes you wear, or whether you are at the top or bottom of the sizing range, you will get a good fit with the gear loops, padding and belay loop all in the correct place.
The waist belt is constructed from high
quality closed cell foam combined with a firm spreader plate. This gives excellent comfort and support, while the carefully sculpted shape allows freedom of movement, no matter how gymnastic things get.
And then there is the racking system – DMM believe this should be generous enough to cope with anything up to the biggest of sea cliff racks (Steve Gannon!!) And let’s face it; with today’s super lightweight gear we all carry more wires, cams and quickdraws than we used to. There are seven (Yes, that’s seven!) gear loops – three on each side and one on the back. These have been re-
positioned and re-shaped for 2013 so that your gear is less cluttered and hangs more evenly.
And finally it’s worth mentioning a few of the micro features which make this such a special harness. They have used Cordura face fabric on the waist belt and legs, ensuring extra durability. The tie-in points are also protected by an even tougher abrasion resistant webbing and the belay loop, even though it is thinner is still rated at a whopping 25kN.
A female specific version of the Renegade is available – the Puma – which has a slightly longer rise and a smaller waist to leg size ratio.
DMM Renegade 2 Harness Reviewrock AND rapid
kit review
use extensions of their body such as their legs to counterbalance weight distribution. You will also see good climbers twisting their hips into the wall to give them better reach and more stability on harder moves.
There are a number of brilliant exercises to help you use your arms, legs and hips to their full potential.
Exercise Drills to Improve Body Position
Climbing with Tennis BallsSimply hold a tennis ball in each hand and climb a slab. Because you are now unable to use your fingers to grasp the holds, you are limiting the amount of force your arms can apply to them, engaging your legs and hips automatically. Try and take mental notes about how your body moves during this exercise.
Climbing One HandedClimbing one handed is the next stage up from "Tennis Balls". Choose one hand to use the whole way up the wall and don't alter! You will now have to encourage the use of your legs and hips even more and this time begin to use momentum to carry you through the moves. To increase difficulty again, just climb one handed with a tennis ball.
Climbing No HandedClimbing no handed is obviously the most advanced of these three exercises. This will engage your arms, legs and hips as well as forcing you to use momentum through your legs to make high steps and awkward balancy movements. Your hands are allowed to palm on the flat wall for this, just make sure you don't inadvertently push against a hold. For all these exercises, its best to do them on a top rope wall!
Becoming An All-Rounder (having more strengths than weaknesses)To develop into a better climber, you need to have a good grounding in lots of different styles of climbing. This is important, because most climbers prefer climbing what they are naturally good at and don't challenge themselves on what they find difficult.This happens to everyone and is most common among those who have been climbing for a long time and don't want to admit they have a weakness. I see this a lot with older climbers who may have had many years experience climbing slabs and vertical to slightly overhanging walls but refuse to touch the bouldering walls or challenge themselves on steeper ground.
There is however an easy way around this. When you go climbing at the wall, make sure you vary the style of routes and boulders you try.
Well Done to Everyone who took part in this year‘s British Regional Youth Climbing Championships. As usual we had some excellent results. Those in bold will be heading to Edinburgh in June to represent the South West in the Finals. Good Luck to everyone.
Girls Group EErin Huxley 4th
Boys Group DMichael Ritzen 2nd
Girls Group DHolly Thomas 4th
Boys Group CJoel Thomas 2ndHarry Eley 3rd
Girls Group BRosie Walters 11th
Boys Group BJoe Walmsley 3rdDom Walker 19th
Girls Group AFaith Walters 5th
Boys Group ATom Corras 3rdRobin Bailey 8th
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of techniques must be mastered. Crimps, gastons, undercuts and perhaps most importantly, slopers, all play a part in the genetic make-up of many Font problems. It is the sloper – a hold that relies on open handed pressure and an inward squeezing of the arm to apply friction and torque on the rocks surface – that separates the majority of font problems from those in other venues.
For us mere mortals however, the safety and comfort of the introductory boulders offer enough of a challenge, whilst the serene surroundings supply more than necessary pleasure to the senses to provide a welcome respite from climbing. The higher areas such as 95.2, 91.1 and Cul de Chien even offer beach-like surroundings, where sand provides excellent landings and the pretense of a beach holiday, without the hours sat bored on a beach towel.
Landings are something that newbie boulderers should take into account, as the lack of ropes in this sport mean that a fall from just a few metres can result in a case of a sprained ankle.
The big difference between bouldering indoors and outside is that out in the natural world one must learn to top out by mantling over the summit of the boulder, a process which focuses the mind expertly and requires sound footwork – or if you’re anything like me, precise and well practiced use of the belly to help me over the top!
The very fact that we are able to experience this inspiring venue at all is down to years of work by the original Bleausards, taking it upon themselves through passion alone, to work at and rationalise the hidden
problems into the openly accessible park-like area that exist today. With interest from the climbing fraternity being registered as early as 1900 there is a real sense of history to Font, manifested in the physical markings on the rock but more so in the act of simply standing still for a moment between the trees and boulders of the forest and imagining what must have gone on before.
It was not until the 1940s that the circuits seen today were properly established and the iconic numbered, coloured arrows sprang up across the more significant areas. The development of the circuits and improved access to the forest has clearly done wonders for the sport of bouldering by attracting climbers in their thousands to the region, which is why it is just as well that there are so many problems to chose from. Where there is popularity, however, there is also an issue of environmental impact. The volume of traffic to Font boulders has naturally accelerated the ageing of the rock on certain problems, particularly to those in the lower grades, and respect and understanding must be applied to climbing methods in order to secure the future of the area as a world-class bouldering venue.
Whether you’re new to the world of body tension, deft precision and cranking hard or have the callused hands and achy elbows of a veteran Bleausarde the magical, sun-blessed forest of Fontainebleau will always welcome you in wondering and send you away contended. And, of course, should it rain there’s always the magnificence of the French food and wine to fall back on!!
Keep an eye out later on this year, as we will start advertising next Easter’s Trip to Fontainebleau. Although this time we will be going for 7 days!
