2012 Leading Ladder Final - Reading Climbing Centre

Yesterday was the leading ladder final at Reading Climbing Centre. The routes were set by Tom Randall and Zippy and they ranged from 6a to 8b depending on the group.

I was in group C - elite under 16 female and had to climb 7a, 7b, 7c, 8a, and 8b. I flashed the 7a, b and c and got the bonus hold on the 8a which put me first in my group.

The day was great for onsight practice on competition routes and Reading was a great venue for the final.

GB Regional Team Training - 7th April 2012

On Saturday 7th April Tom Randall and Adam Harrison held regional GB team training in Sheffield. We began at Tom's house where we were assessed on our finger strength. Then on the lattice board we were assessed on our aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity and aerobic power. Everyone had improved their finger strength and we varied on the lattice board but the atmosphere was positive.

After lunch we went to the Edge Climbing Centre (www.sheffieldclimbing.com) to get some comp/onsight practice. We were all feeling positive by the end of the day, as well as rather tired! All in all it was a great training day.

Thank you to Tom and Adam for organising the day!

Trip to Costa Blanca

On the 11th February 2012, me and some friends (most of which are from the British Team) went sport climbing for one week in Costa Blanca. We stayed in a villa in Moraira near the coast. This was a perfect location as it was near to many climbing areas.

Sunday was our first day climbing, and though our minibus said it was 5 degrees, it snowed! We went to 'El cajon de los cuartos' and 'Sector Colp de Cot and Marion' in Sella. I didn't try anything too hard, as it was my first time sport climbing in over a year. I really enjoyed being on proper rock and was ready to try some harder stuff on day two.

On Monday we went to Sierra de Toix on 'Toix Far Oeste' in the morning. None of the routes were very challenging, so, after lunch, we drove to Los Pinos where the routes were generally a lot harder. I onsighted a one star 7a+ called 'Route 3' and redpointed a one star 7b on my second go called 'Paprika'. Though we all wanted to stay longer to tick more hard grades, we had to go back as it was getting late.

For our third climbing day we decided to go to Bernia, however after driving around for one hour to find ourselves on the wrong side of the valley, we changed our mind and went to Murla instead. At Murla there was a wide range of grades depending which sector we were on. 'Sector Empinado' was extremely exposed to the wind and was therefore too cold to climb at. For example I tried to climb a 6c+ yet failed miserably because of numb fingers. Around the other side of the crag - 'Sector Crazy,Crazy' - the wind was far weaker, yet the grades were quite easy. After not that long we had to leave because we were all numb and miserable and it begun to rain.

On Wednesday we went to Wildside. Unfortunately it was in the shade and so we were climbing in our down jackets, however I managed to flash a one star 7a called 'Si te dicen que cai'. I worked two 7b's (in my opinion they were undergraded), one of which had such huge runouts it was almost like doing a solo!

Thursday took us to Gandia, where it was nice and warm as it was exposed to the Sun. We went to 'Sector hidraulics' and 'Sector Potent'. I flashed a three star 7a+ called 'Don Diego' and did some other easier routes, including a 5 called 'Pequeno saltamontes' which went up through a hole in the rock!

On our last day we went back to Gandia and climbed at 'Sector Fundicio'. I did some easier stuff, then tried a 7c called 'Dia de borratxera', where I got to the top section before my skin almost got shredded on a line of four sharp pockets. I didn't do much on the last day because my skin was sore.

Overall the trip was great and I'm really looking forward to the next one wherever and whenever that'll be.

my first EYC

This was my first European Youth Comp and I finished 6th...