Gone Epic

For the first time in my life I've actually been applying myself to training for something, it's been about 10 weeks since I started an aperiodized climbing training plan, based loosely on Steve Bechtel's Logical Progression .  The basic premise is that you rotate between the three types of sessions, progressing them all simultaneously, rather than peaking and letting each of them fall in turn.  The results seem to be pretty good, I'm climbing harder than I ever have before, and am seeing benefits in all three areas.  Finger strength and general strength is improving (so surprising given that I've never done any lifts before)  My on route endurance is improving, and my ability to apply power is increasing as well.  I still struggle with setting goals, but one route that I've been keen on doing for years is Butterfly Wall Direct (24) at Nowra. I first had a look at it in January this year, and the moves felt surprisingly doable. I spent another ...

March  I've finally bitten the bullet and purchased an autoblock belay device, Actually, thats not quite true. I've had a Gri Gri for years, but it's used solely for tensioning slacklines. I've never liked the way they operate, I can't feed slack well enough with them, and with the exception of the times when someone is dogging a route, I've rarely found that the ATC guide isn't sufficient. You never short rope anyone, and give a better belay in general. However getting a rock dropped on me a few months ago has got me looking at alternatives, I've now got a MegaJul for cases where the rock is concerning. But it too struggles to pay out rope as nicely as I'd like if someone is going for a hard send on good rock. We'll see how the Vergo goes, everything I've heard about it suggests that it's a gri gri, but a little better. If it addresses a few of the gri gri issues I may use it a fair bit, if not, it will still be useful when someone ...

I've spent a lot of time shooting with the EOS-M now, in a variety of situations. I'm finding that I can make it do most things I want it to with a little bit of effort. I've made a few changes or additions to make it work better for me. I've added: - An aluminium grip to the camera, this adds to the bulk, and the weight, but makes it a lot easier to hold onto it with one hand as you are dangling from a rope. - The long lens that I mentioned last time, this allows me to get close ups, and means I need to move less when I'm on the rope, or get decent cliff wide shots from further back - a set of RF flash triggers, great when you want a discrete flash, or don't want to play with photo-triggers - UV filters on all of the lenses - these are pretty much solely to prevent scratches on the lenses... something that is bound to occur in the conditions I shoot in. - a lens hood - this is mostly to save the UV filters and lenses from bashing into the rock as I move...

I've been back from China for a week and a half now, and as I catch up with work, I find my mind drifting to the next trip. I'm thinking somewhere within Australia, almost certainly East coast so that the car is an option. It's already somewhat fitted out, and the addition of a rooftop tent and some decent solar panels would make it a solid option for a month or so on the road. I'd also need to kit it out with better organised storage, and reconfigure it to be better used as a kitchen. However it works, I'm keen to get to a bunch of places that I haven't got a chance to climb at yet. - Tassie - probably summer, it's a lovely place, and I know a lot of people down there, mostly cavers, but I could probably get a few spots to crash for a night in a bed if need be, and the scenery and routes down there are amazing. I'd certainly love to get some time in the area of Cataract Gorge, Ben Lomond, Mt Wellington and the totem pole - Arapiles - It's an ...

Apologies for the long time between posts, I just got back from 3 weeks climbing in Yangshuo, China. It's limestone Karst country, with some tufa climbing, some overhanging pockets and caves, and some slab-like climbing. It's certainly an interesting mix, and a very enjoyable place to climb. The climbing was great, as was the group we had, mostly current or former ANUMC members, and based out of Canberra. We spent a lot of weekends in the lead up climbing in Nowra, as the sandstone there seemed better suited to training for limestone than anything else that we had available. Phil is so expressive The Climbing The climbing is varied on the cliffs around Yangshuo. It's not as tufa heavy as the tropical limestone in Thailand, but it has a combination of tufas, pockets, and slabby walls. You will find something you will enjoy here, although some of the higher traffic areas are getting polished and chalk caked in places. The grading is meant to be  a little stiffer...

 I've been training seriously for the first time ever in preparation for the trip to Yangshuo, I'm interested to see how far I can push, and in what kind of time frame It's hard to say how effective training has been so far, it's only been 6 weeks, and I don't really know where the baseline was to begin with. I am feeling stronger that I ever have been before, but this is the first time I've ever really trained seriously, and even now it has been less consistent and regular than I'd like... One of the effects of having one's life shaken up a bit. I've just started the second power phase, and based on the indoor 'grades' I'm a few grades above where I was a month or so ago.Moves on V8-10's, completing or nearly so on V6-8's But with limited problems, and limited people grading the problems it's hard to put much stock in it. Doing routes, my strength on individual moves has improved a bit, but it...

I finally upgraded the old camera... I'm moving from a relatively high end point and shoot from 2007, to a basic mirror less DSLR from about 2014 - as always my basic requirement is full manual mode, and no weird double flashes that will mess with a slave flash. - size is important, but not overly so, I just want a machine that will do what I want, and allow me the control when I want it. The EOS-M fits these criteria, and is a large step up from the compact that I was using prior. It's not the top of the line, nor the newest, but for something that I will abuse, that suits me just fine. I've got the 22mm pancake lens, an 18-55mm lens, and I've added a 55-200mm lens, allowing me to get close to the action for climbing shots.