cruise control

cruise control
Originally uploaded by Beastmaker. inc

ned chucking another lap on careless just as the good photo light is leaving town

stanage pictures

luke wall
Originally uploaded by Beastmaker. inc

luke shortly before making a rare ascent of andy browns wall

Rain has led to training over the past weeks. This isn’t a problem as I like hanging out with/onto my beastmaker and progress is being made. 

We are planning a quick font trip in Feb so I have been getting psyched out of my mind for slopers. Dan reported that the 45s had been chinned with no cheating. I though I would take things to the next sloping level and did 3 pull ups on them. I reckon a bit of sticky damp helps so it’s a great excuse to train after a grit session when skin is thin!

So after that quick training spell I though it would be time to put my new hands to the test. By now there was no more rain left to fall so the rocks had no choice but to dry and come into condition – some of the best I have had on grit i think. 

After warming up on a few highballs and some smaller problems I headed over to seal the deal with one of the best lines around...

Last winter (the day Ryan did it).....

This winter....

Sloper strength 20% better and grin 20% bigger.

Dan is not slacking either. After crushing all the existing problems on the board he is in need of a challenge so is brewing up the next batch of wood and resin based insanity, as well as dispatching a few little grit problems here and there and getting very close to some "bigger" grit problems.

penultimation

Close is an adverb appearing from the depths of our vocabulary as a way of describing how near we are to completion, Come next weekend (30th...ish), things should be getting more lively on the site (more articles etc.) and in the workshop. Its been a long time coming but hopefully it'll prove to have been worth it on both sides of the virtual counter.

Updates to records:
Ned has officially static chinned the 45s with no in swing or cheating tactics, RESPECT! this entailed keeping a bit of sweat on the tips.

I nearly back2'ed the slopey pockets before twinging my finger a tiny bit, and am working on a few new projects on the board.

Rupert Davies has been crushing on his board and no doubt has some impressive feats, he has certainly equalled many of my initial records with ease.

I also teach kids on Sat mornings and 2 of them (one a 7yr old girl) can dead hang the bottom rung crimps! never mind Beastmaker, its going to have to be Uberwadmaker for these future Brit stars. support grass roots talent people, if 7 year olds burn you off with no chalk and trainers lend them some chalk and get inspired.

tomorrow is national punch a traffic warden day, its part of Karma days, a most excellent idea to equal out national karma levels during the CREDIT CRUNCH. (i wish)

a trip to the movies

High production slick climbing movies aren't rare these days but luckily some of us are out there producing low res nitty gritty stuff to really show where its at.

so without further ado i give you
My left foot: a movie about a man with a passion for leg golf who is forced into climbing by his cockney Geeza mate "Gazza" oh and theres a bit of apple dealing too, all in all strung together by the musings of 3 inspired climbers on rest days, a timeless classic...

part 1:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9RopqQ4g0C4&feature=related

Part 2:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZT3fe2LaA0&feature=related

there is also a little montage video here:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BKxBMLqJwdc

there is no part of any of them which should be remotely constrewed as being taken seriously.

Motivation

Aside from a bit of gritstone highballing (and trying desperately to keep up with fatman Dan), I have just got back from a little trip to Paris, where a little team of Brits were entering a big climbing competition.

Before this I wasn’t feeling too psyched, but had kept hammering the training because I wanted to get myself a good result and I knew that to do this I would have to be feeling STRONG.

Fortunately for me, psyche came flooding back at the comp when I walked into a room full of the biggest beasts imaginable. This year the European Championships was a combined event with leading, speed and bouldering (followed by drinking) occurring over the same weekend, so you can imagine the ridiculous amount of talent that was wandering about, veiny armed and skinny legged.

Anyway, I managed to claw my way up a few problems and not do too badly, having a lot of fun in the process. Winner.

Morale of the story =

Motivation can come and go, but it always comes back so bite down and train while you can, because you don’t want to waste that rare moment of psyche + conditions + a good opportunity on trying to get back to strength.

But what about our machine?
Its well on its way to being built. This is a small part of the electronics. As you can see, this isn’t as simple as bolting some mechano together and attaching a motor – hence the delay.