Two mediocre afternoons

A busy day at the crag: climbers on Aaros (E1, 5b), Ardus (MVS) and Sin (VS, 4c).

For the past two days I have had to head back to the classroom for a revision class on Monday and then, an exam, for which the revision class was for, on the Tuesday. This obviously did not prove too much of a problem, as can be seen from the pictures, when it came to getting out on the rock.

Approaching the final moves on Ardus (MVS, 4b) whilst a climber approaches the end of Aaros (E1, 5b).

Yesterday I headed to a busy Shepherd's Crag and after climbing Ardus and then ticking Finale (HVS, 5a) I decided that getting on something a little harder would be better. Aaros was the route of choice and I found myself one third of the way up the route, high above my gear with a couple of awkward moves to make, but I was in a comfortable position, with most of my weight being taken by my feet, so I was reluctant to move. I eventually made the first of the awkward moves, placed a bit of gear, and then returned to the comfortable spot. I made the first of the awkward moves time and again, but I was reluctant to push on and instead I kept returning to my little safe haven until I got psyched out by the whole situation. I climbed down to the ground, packed up my kit and headed for home slightly angry with myself.

Approaching Goat Crags in the Borrowdale Valley.

Today I was back in the Borrowdale Valley, but instead of heading to the usual favourites it was decided that we would take in Goat Crags - home of Footless Crow (E5, 6c), which appeared in the classic film, Lakeland Rock in 1997 - but our route was the Hard Rock tick, Praying Mantise (E1-, 5b).

Making the initial moves on Praying Mantis (E1-, 5b).

However, even though we were on a totally different route to yesterday's failure I found myself in a similar situation. My companion for the day set out on the first pitch and backed off at the crux, leaving me to attempt the pitch with the gear already in place. There were a couple of awkward moves above a safe haven and I eventually made the first of the awkward moves, before returning to the comfortable spot. I made the first of the awkward moves time and again, but I was reluctant to push on and instead I kept returning to my little safe haven until I got psyched out by the whole situation. I climbed down to the ground, packed up my kit and headed for home slightly angrier, than the previous day, with myself.

A climber making the moves around the arete of Tumbleweed Connection's (E2, 5c) first pitch.

I have definitely come to a plateau in my trad climbing now. I have certainly improved this year, after the winter's hard training, however my performances on the rock are not befitting for the level of fitness gained through the training. It is certainly a head game that I am now playing with when out on the rock and I'm unsure how to solve the problem. I could get lots of climbs in, at the top end of my comfort range, so that I become more accustomed to the art of trad climbing, but the principles of training are then being contravened: you become what you do. Basically meaning that I'll become a solid HVS climber if I get a lot of climbs in at the top end of my comfort range. This is not what I want, I want to be happier on harder routes and I suppose the only way to do this is to get on more of these routes and accept that at times I am going to have to push it and at times I will fail, but I must not beat myself up when this happens. Hopefully, by the end of the summer these failings will be far outweighed by the successes.

Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff...
Iain