Tempting Fate

Current highpoint on my project at Steall - a horrendous gaston/cross/backhand/fingerlock move to a perfect little edge I have to hit with my fingers and thumb in just the right spot.

In my blog post last night about my recent efforts on my Steall project, I knew that if I said out loud that my sequence wouldn’t couldn’t be improved much, I’d immediately prove myself wrong. And so it was. Today, With fresh body and mind after a seriously needed rest day I found five new bits of of beta which help my sequence. Of course, most of them are small; a change in body position or momentum in the move. But one change in particular might make a significant difference in how consistently I can get to my highpoint. So maybe I can get a little higher sometime soon?

I still am two steps (links) away from doing proper redpoints. I have yet to climb from below the Ring of Steall crux to the top. That’s a pretty important link that still feels a good bit away. After that, the next important link is from the ground to two moves higher in the crux than my current best effort. If that ever happens I’ll be on seek and destroy mode immediately. I’m feeling good enough on it to justify keeping on training my endurance on the route, at least for another session. Maybe next week I’ll do some targeted training elsewhere in case I get stale on the route.

It’s helping that England is currently getting the chains of rain bearing fronts that we normally get up here right now. Apparently thanks to the Jet stream? In the easterly today it was around 13 degrees at Steall with a 30mph wind. Sticky holds and even the hungriest midge grounded. A good session!