something stupid

I've spent the last two days with my brother at Malham Cove, the only rock to stay dry in the current showery weather.

We rocked up on Thursday and, after relearning the sequence for Consenting Adults to warm up, we got on Something Stupid. This 12m route forms the first section of The Groove and is F7b. It is technical and fingery and really quite different to the 20m routes we'd been doing at Horseshoe. Matt worked out a sequence for the bottom and I figured something out for the top section.

After a second play on toprope I felt ready to lead it. Matt went first and fell near the top. On my attempt I messed up the bottom sequence slightly but managed to complete the climb.

This was my first F7b and I was really chuffed to do it in one session, first redpoint. I finished with another lap on Consenting Adults.

The next day I felt pretty beaten up but I caught the train to Matt's again and we had a morning session at the Cove. The conditions were a lot colder and there was a strong wind buffeting the catwalk.

We warmed up on Consenting Adults again and then Matt went for the lead on Something Stupid. He got closer and closer on each of his three goes but just couldn't quite hang in there. I had two goes on toprope first doing it in two halves and then doing it from the bottom jugs.

I ached so much and my skin was so trashed we decided not to bother getting on any other routes. I did two laps of Consenting Adults in quick succession and we left.

There are a couple of issues I noticed over these two days that need to be addressed in the next couple of weeks. Firstly, my fitness is clearly rubbish as two days of sport climbing nearly crippled me! Secondly, I get pumped much more quickly on crimps than on any other type of hold. I need to start using crimps more in my PE training to ensure this weakness is balanced out.