There is no easy bread

I think that's a polish saying, even if it isn't I think it's more resonant if you say it (out loud or otherwise) with an eastern European accent. Basically, I'm trying to motivate myself to work for exams. What I think I've learnt is no matter how many times you say you 'should' do something you're talking shit so shut up and get on with it. 'Should' is the least convincing word. As soon as someone says they should do something, you know they won't or at least they don't want to...

Which brings me on to will power. I tried to give up chocolate for lent, I don't eat loads of chocolate in the first place, so easy peasy self gratification. I had it up till a few days before Easter when i tucked into an Easter egg. Rather than admit failure, I'm blaming the fact that I didn't really care about it... I only gave it up as a joke, so who cares? What I'm trying to say is that is probably more important to do the things you don't care about because if you do care about something you'll probably going to do it anyway. Take blogs, I don't really care about blogs, but I'm trying to do a post here.

So what climbing has been going down since last post? Well, not Terradets. Ticket booking cock up. Just as well, that training plan was a bit crazy.

Found a bad ass boulder problem near upper cave crag. Some people may think bouldering next to amazing sport and trad routes is silly, but they're just short sighted! I'm dead keen to get back there... Put it this way, I know first ascent mongering isn't everything, when you don't have you're trad rack, and the sport wall is occupied, whatcha gonna doo?

Went to the Anvil for the first time with the J-Dawg and Dave Redpath. It's super cool, the cave is mega and the side wall is of excellent quality. I did a 7a, the all the moves on Spitfire but nowhere near linking them together... Had a play on a 8b+ (Bodyspitblowswervefire) and did 2 moves which i thought wasn't a bad effort. Only a couple more then a big jug, followed by an 8a+.... Psyched to go back there as well.

Blog fans will remember the past couple of years I've spent a few days as a budding lamb farmer person and this year was no different. My favourite jobs are catching sheep, using the crook, feeding the orphan pet lambs and bedding pens with straw. My Least favourite jobs are castration of male lambs, anything to do with poo (smelly), disinfecting pens (boring) and feeding sheep the yucky silage. I'm yet to actually properly lamb a sheep, basically because I'm scared of getting my arm stuck or something.

This fine looking lamb was found down a rabbit hole, chilled and nearly dead. I'm pretty sure I single handedly saved it with TLC, the use of the heat box (lamb oven) and some tasty milk. Word is, she's now running around the hills as happy as can be... Not baaad, eh?

I went back to Inverness for Easter and had three days climbing, one at Duntelchaig, one at Glen Nevis and another at Torridon.



At Duntelchaig, the boost and I went up to pinnacle crag where we top roped Sare which used to be E4 but now is harder because holds and pegs have come off. After linking it on a top rope after a while I went for it as a highball boulder problem. There is a small nut to be placed which would great if you thought you'd blow the top move. But it's also great not to bother, but also pretty silly... or is it??


At Glen Nevis, Boost and I, Murdo and Pete enjoyed some excellent sunshine, first at polldudh where Boost and I did some bouldering and then The Fang which was good fun seeing as it was a bit wet. We then power walked up the glen (or my case struggled - an old grannie we passed said something like "go on, you can run up there!" I was like argg I'm pooped... - not to self: remember boulderers can't keep up with winter climbers at walk-ins, it's knackering, humiliating and sweaty. Best to just take an easy pace) and me and Boost went for Cosmopolitan. The top crack is a sandbag, especially when it's wet and we had ran out of chalk. The escape route was sketchy, traversing right across the crag on mossy, loose looking rock.


Rich and I headed out to Torridon to meet Dan, one of those wad types who had come up from the south for some bouldering action. Had a great time on the blocs, Malc's Arete is amazing after the hold broke, maybe even better. I fell off the top move a couple of times and thanks to some sloppy pad positioning from Rich, landed in the bog. On my third go, Rich assured me he had the mat manourvers mastered which must have given me extra confidence because I stuck the top sloper. Super classic.

So this wad from England had been busy putting up loads of hard stuff with a calculated and precise style and it was great to see someone super strong, super psyched to climb here. That day, the action was taking place is a secret cave, near the ship. I'd seen this cave before but though it looked impossibly blank. Suppose you just need a bit of vision (not just by letting you're eyes adjust to the gloom) and some climbing skills and the impossible becomes possible. Dan had managed a 7C and was close to another before needing to leave... nice.


Rich and I were left trying a few things, There was a kinda cool thing we did, cool if you like caving, it basically climbs the roof of a narrow through hole and tops out by a tree. Gonna call it Ha-Ha Haar, it's about 7A. Next we climbed the sad piano. After that, I wanted to try Vapour Trail, a mega highball arete. Got psyched... and I was just about at the top when I bottled it. Ahh the stress! I started getting cramp in my elbow and didn't like the slopers so tried to down climb but fell a bit further than I'd have liked to, narrowly missed a boulder ('good skills' said rich) but still manage to hurt my ankle. I think that put me off and the next couple of times I was getting scared because it was windy or because I didn't get my hand in my chalk bag first time...

Since then I'm back in glasgow, doing good amounts of work for my 8 exams. I think one of the most important things of education is that it forces you into situations where there is no way around it but to work hard. That said, I been bowling on the greens at Kelvingrove park a couple of times and finding an excellent stress relief... For now though, back to the books.