Foot training

Climbing Romancing The Stone E5 6a today at Wave Buttress, Glen Nevis. Photo: Steve Holmes

May is often a month of sore feet for me. After a winter of climbing short and very steep things, when I start trad climbing my weak and unfit feet get kind of sore. I remember having this problem particularly badly a few years ago on my first visit to Cloggy one june after a month of climbing upside down in the Anvil.

Kev Shields making good progress on his project.

So today I joined Kev, Steve, Joe, Dot and Ewan at Wave Buttress for some slabby wall climbing and toe endurance training. Kev has been working away on a project up there which will be a nice E7 6c. He toproped it with apparent ease today and was looking strong on it. I had some laps on it too and enjoyed myself in the May sunshine. It has a very thin thumb press move with just enough gear to entice you on, followed by a sustained E6 6a to the top.

 

Joe and his shadow leading Edgehog E3 6a. 

Afterwards I went round and did Romancing The Stone E5 6a with Joe. It was a little dirty in places and I took my wire brush with me to clean the odd hold as I went. As predicted, my feet felt worked. I enjoyed the route finding, although another decent runner on the lower part would’ve been nice. The other guys were giving On The Beach (E5) some traffic.

Natalie on a thin groove problem on Harris on our pre-ferry boulder session the other day.

It was a little hot for crimping this hard. That's my excuse anyway.