All happening

Happy Christmas everyone. It’s been all happening for me - ups and downs. First up I have been in the foundation stages of next years training, putting in four or five hours a day on my board, doing my moves and exercises. My body feels great apart from a core stabiliser muscle in my trunk which is causing some pain and concern.  More on this later. As much as this could get in the way of immediate performances on cliffs, it’s letting me get on with the much needed work of preparing my body for next year’s objectives. 

For the last couple of years I’ve been quite focused on short term objectives, hence not doing any hard routes, just lots of ‘easy’ ones. Not easy of course, just easy enough to do in a couple of days. Two E10s, three E9s and a good few E8s this year. I’m ready for a big one or two routes again. And that means short term sacrifice.

I’ve made several changes to my training, which are going great so far. I’m excited for next year. After training I’ve also been doing a ton of reading about training and about injury rehabilitation as I continue to work hard on my book Rock ‘Til You Drop. It’s fascinating. There is so much to learn. But I must admit it’s been hard to sleep. I’ve got the information coming out of my ears by the time I go to bed. Usually 3am at the moment.

On our way home from Christmas in Glasgow, we briefly became accident statistics. After sticking below 40mph all the way from Glasgow in sleet and snow in Claire’s 4x4, a ridiculous stretch of black ice took control of the car on Rannoch Moor. I managed about 5 anti-steers back and forth, keeping the car facing ‘forward’ (roughly) for about 200 or more yards. But it was useless and I had time to apologise to Claire and receive her acceptance as we spun a few more times and were finally deposited in the ditch. A winch and a couple of hundred quid later, we drove home, at jogging pace. Thanks to the lads who tried to help us get the car out under our own steam. I have your snow shovel. Drop me a line and I can send it back.

Mountain Equipment Ts are here

Our fresh stock of Mountain Equipment Pro-Team T-shirts arrived just before Christmas. It’s a short run from ME and we are due to get more sometime in the spring. But just to say the current lot are selling fast, so if you want one get it now. There are 3 male mediums left at the moment!

Claire has added chest sizes for them on their page in the shop so you can be sure which size is right. We have been impressed with the quality of the new run of T-shirts, great quality organic cotton and a little ‘heavier’ cotton and crisper print than the previous batches. In the shop here.

[UPDATE] The mediums are now sold out for now. Small is a chest size 28 and large is 42.

Christmas orders

More and more of you are asking each day about our last posting dates for Christmas from our shop. Claire is dispatching every day as usual, via Royal Mail. If you’re ordering within the UK then you ought to get your order in by last thing Monday night (20th) to make sure it’s there before Christmas. Please be aware things are sometimes taking a little longer as Royal Mail still seem to be delayed in a few places by the snowy weather. 

We’re expecting new stock of the Mountain Equipment Pro-team T-shirts later today and will put  all the sizes up in the shop as soon as they arrive. We've been out of men's sizes in these for ages and I know lots of you asked when they were coming back.

As always, if you want anything signed, just ask, in the special instructions field of the PayPal checkout. Thanks to everyone who’s ordered from us recently. Claire’s been doing a great job in the office getting everything out in double quick time every morning.

Too steep for dry snow..

Michael on some nice ice, on the way to look at some steepness and then abseil off.

It’s been an up and down couple of weeks. I tried training hard but ended up annoying an arm muscle and having to back off just when psyche levels were getting very high. I must admit I got a bit fed up after that and put my energy into various writing tasks I’m working on. A lot of work got done, and now my arms are feeling ready for some training again. So it's worked out well.

I went with Michael to look at a winter project, a very steep one. But it’s 45 degree steepness meant it was the only route on the cliff not in condition. ARRRGH! Next time.

Ukclimbing.com just put up my video of Die by the Drop E10 7a, Apophenia E8 7a and Kev doing Frustration E5 6a on the slab at Glenfinnan. 

It’s here.

Couple of videos: Pinnacle Trailer and the cave

Here is the trailer for The Pinnacle DVD, ice climbing on Ben Nevis following in the footsteps of Smith and Marshall. Brilliant for the winter psyche!The DVD is in the shop here.

This is an extended clip of Michael making a determined second ascent of my own problem Bone Broke (Font 7c) in the Arisaig Cave last week. The wee fire was great, shame the wind was blowing it into the cave for the full winter cave dwelling experience!

New 8b at Steall, Glen Nevis

Since the conditions got kinda frozen last week I was eager to see if the drips of Steall would freeze at source and allow me to see off an obvious link-up project. A few months ago I did a new 8a+ called The Gurrie, between Leopold and Steall Appeal. So named because I started up it only intending to work out the first 4 moves off the deck and ended up growling and scuffling my way through the crux bulge to the chain.

The obvious link was to take in the second crux of Steall Appeal to bump it to soft 8b. Once I’d worked a sequence around the icicles at the top, I stuck my handwarmer ‘teabag’ in the chalkbag and got it done. Video below:

Die by the Drop pics + another new E8

Apophenia E8 7a  - Taking each move as it comes on the crux section. Photo:  © Suzy Devey

Above and below: Die By the Drop E10 7a (video stills)

Man it’s great to be home after a week on the road on one stage or another. I’ve come home to a great spell of weather which has halted work on my book but been great for cragging. 

Yesterday I returned to Donald’s slab in Glenfinnan with Donald himself and the keen gang for a great session in crisp winter sun. Kev dispatched Donald’s E5 ‘Frustration’ in a smooth lead, if you can call one shaky skyhook a lead rather than a solo.

Afterwards I started up the remaining project on lead, with a lump in my throat. It has 2 microwires for gear which is twice as many runners as Die By the Drop just to the left. But the crux is a pure balance move without really anything useful for the hands to apply ‘do or die’ finger strength to if you don’t climb it perfectly on the lead.

As it was, although I had a bit of mishap with lead ropes behind heels on ‘the move’, I felt good on it in the superb conditions after the sun had dropped. Still, ‘Apophenia' still felt like a solid E8 7a to me. I suppose it might be a good idea to sharpen some ice axes soon? What do you do when conditions are perfect for bouldering, sport, hard trad and winter all at the same time? It’s a hard life. Some more photos below of the action yesterday. I'm editing some film of these ascents just now too.

Suzy enjoying the lovely light for photography

Kev, solid on the sharp end of ‘Frustration’ E5 6a

Lovely afternoon at Steall the other day

Great Climb & Triple 5 DVD’s have arrived

The DVDs of our live BBC Great Climb and also the Triple 5 (5 Climbs, 5 Islands) programmes are ready and Cameron McNeish is dropping them in to me later this morning. I’ve put them up in the shop just now.

The Great Climb DVD comes as a 3xDVD set with the full 6 hour programme of the first ascent of The Usual Suspects E9 7a, including an option to listen with or without the television commentary, extra footage from the climb such as the roof section on Pitch 4 of our route and extras about the background and making of the programme. It’s in the shop here.

The Triple 5 DVD comes as a 2xDVD set of a longer cut of the film with extra climbing, interview and background footage. The ‘5 Climbs, 5 Islands’ programmes that went out on the BBC was 2 hour cut. The DVD is a 3.5 hour cut so could go into more depth about the climbs we did during the challenge and our approaches to climbing in general. It’s in the shop here.

I noticed at Kendal that a lot of folk wanted their DVD signed. If you would like that when ordering from the shop, just ask! Write in the ‘Special instructions to merchant’ field of the checkout page.

Hope you enjoy them.

The Pinnacle wins at Kendal

I’m just home from the Kendal Mountain festival where I had a great couple of nights speaking about The Pinnacle film and The Great Climb. The Pinnacle won the People’s Choice prize for the best film at the festival - thanks for voting for it!

It’s great that people liked it so much. It was a great vibe at the premiere and watching the film for the first time I just felt so glad that we were able to make it. I think Jimmy Marshall and Robin Smith’s story is as inspiring as ever and the film shows off Ben Nevis at it’s absolute best.

Diff gave me a pile of Pinnacle DVDs to take home and Claire has just dispatched all the pre-orders today. I had a watch of the extras this morning, which include our live show with myself and Andy Turner talking with Jimmy at last year’s Fort William Mountain Festival, Diff’s full uncut interview with Jimmy for the film, and also Heatherhat’s film about my first ascent of Don’t Die of Ignorance (XI,11) with Joe French on the Ben. All the info about the DVD is in the shop here.