Ive been thinking

Climbing is a funny thing to me. My whole persona becomes totally enveloped within it, yet at the same time I find myself missing so many other things. Recently i have been totally losing myself to climbing. I have come to realise that while i have been focusing on training, preparing, and executing climbing projects, so many of the most important things in my life have been lacking. My Uni work has been slacking, i haven't been working, and in a lot of cases i haven't been having fun, or been fun to be around. Even in climbing i haven't been focusing on what i enjoy-CLIMBING. It has all been about the project, and grade; the pushing my limits...

Although climbing will always be a part of my life, and something that defines who i am; I am beginning to realise that for me to be healthy, i have to focus on the other aspects of my life. I have neglected so many things that mean so much to me because of my obsession.

I am still going to strive to climb as much as i can, but i am now going to focus on what i feel like i have been losing in my life... the enjoyment.

Please don't worry i am sure i will try to send hard climbs here and there, but only if it is fun to do so. I have come to realise climbing is only a part of life, and not life itself.

peace homies
JFM

21:6

So, recently i have been a little inactive on my blog. The main reason for this is my amazing ability to fall of shit all the time. However, as you may have guess, I finally sent something. After a whopping 21 tries I finally sent Built to Last (30 or 5.13c or 8a+). My plight to be the fastest kiwi ascent was crushed by a young sprog named Chase Gatland who sent the route in 6 tries.... well gosh don't i just suck :). All in all i am Happy to have finally finished the route as it was more of a mental battle that i physical one for me. Personally i think this route deserves 30 points, and in my opinion is much harder than some of the 31s in the cave.

In other news, I have to go back to Uni again which is good and bad. Less time to climb is bad, but keeping the mind active is always a good thing. Over the next month or so i plan to stay off the rock and train real hard for the remaining projects I have in the North Island. I going to have another shot at the quarry project, but i am pretty sure Mr v6 is going to nab that one first... well i hope so anyway. He has been toiling away all year on it and is super close. I feel bad for him though. I get to miss of 3 moves making the problem more in the range of soft v11; whereas he has to pull some fucking hard moves which will make it more like v12 we think?

anyway, until next time peace out friends; grip it and rip it!

Built to Last and the Auckland update

As of late I have been doing little climbing, but I have been doing a lot of falling. To be a little more specific, I have been falling off Built To Last! In total, I have had 11 attempts at the route and have still not linked it. This weekend gone I sent it from the first draw through to the top three times. Sadly on every red-point my foot popped off just before the mantle. I hope that this weekend will see the end of my tour of duty on this route.

Much is riding on this send. If I manage to send BTL in less than 15 shots Richard Morgan must buy me booze; actually if I send it in less than 20 goes he still has too!!! To date the fastest kiwi ascent of BTL is around 40 TRYS!!!!. I would like to make my ascent the fastest to date. The reason is basically due to me wanting to hassle the Dark Lord Morgan!

As to the grade of BTL... In the past is has been classified as 29. Also some web sites are posting that it as 29. After talking with the previous senders, and considering my own abilities and routes i have sent, it is clear the route is not 29. At a bare butt minimum it is 30. I personally think it is not as hard as the 30's i have sent, but I think it falls into the middle ground of 30. When comparing this route to that of the 8b's in the shit hole cave like Nos, or Dracula, BTL is harder.

Aside from BTL what have I been doing... not much! I have continued to attempt to repeat the harder problems at Froggatt. Stu's V10 in the back of the beer garden has been very close for me, but my fear of success has stopped me from finishing the problem... ( i think what i mean is my sissy ass is to scared to make the final move!) I have had several sessions on the roof project at Froggatt also to no avail! This route is hard hard!!!

If you can jump through the first 3 moves (I bet Stu can) the problem is around 30. If you are unlucky and can not jump past the first three moves my best guess is the boulder problem start is about v10/11. Both Mr v6 and I believe this to be true.

In other related Auckland climbing news... Chase (The Good Boy) Gatland has been tearing the North Island a new one. This terror has been eating 28's for breakfast; with a second go of Louder (28), a day send of Ikarus (28), and a crushing send of DLJ (28) we are left asking when will The good boy unleash his fury on the N.I's hardest routes, because it is easy to see 28 is nothing for this monster. Along with these sends Chase has also flashed 26 and sent a bunch of easy shit!

Jamie the TOOL BOY has also been having some success recently picking off a nice send of the sandbagged 25 Direct Action. Tool Boy has also been getting really close of Vroom vroom mentality (26) this will be his first of the grade! go TOOL BOY go!

Aside from these masters of stone the rest of Auckland has been doing fuck nothing and needs to harden up, myself included!

"if you can't stand the heat get out the kitchen; if you can't stand the beat it's time to stop your bitchen"

OUT!

THE WORD

Contrary to what some say, there are climbers in Auckland pulling hard. Whispers of a nameless terror ( actually he has a name "Mr V6") unleashing his fury upon a high crimpy face have been spreading.

So the story goes, Mr V6 is but days away from completing the high, hard, and proud problem " Leftism V10". However, the story goes deeper! Mr V6 is selling his soul at the cross-roads and pushing for the F.A of the final quarry project. This is of coarse the same project I have been attempting, and is the direct finish to Leftism.

There are some major difference between Mr V6 attempting this extremely hard problem, and myself attempting it. The most important difference being Mr V6 has the strength, where I do not. While I make this problem look as though Sharma Himself would struggle, Mr V6 easily crushes each crimp into dust. My source says that the only thing holding Mr V6 back is his midget status...

What will be the outcome? Will I managed to sneak another F.A away from one of the stronger more talented Auckland Locals? I guess that all depends on Mr V6's will. Whatever the outcome very soon a new test piece should arise, good luck Mr V6 I'll Meet you at the top!

NI getting me Fat

Since the mighty failed trip to the hill I, the lackey, have been up to a lot of no-good. To much beer and cake has left me fat and lazy. However, I have managed several trip away to the central north island as 'THE LACKEY". Somehow I managed a first shot send of the classic Froggatt 28 Burn. This route is an extension of the untra classic Dour (27). The master of these repeated trips has been Amy.N and she is in fine form. A.N has been sending 23's second go easy as and managed to link all the moves on Dour on her first go! GOOD SHIT!

While Amy has been resting, I have turned my attention to several hard boulders at froggatt. I have been trying to repeat the Steve Con classic Dr Green Thumb. Last week I was one hold from the send, but the devilish pocs were a little to much for my pussy skin and I had to let go. Dr Green Thumb is HARD! very HARD.

After failing DGT I was rewarded with a repeat of a beautiful problem called "seeing the light" (v8/9) also put up by Steve Con. got to say i am taking the extra point and suggesting a UG of this bad boy. Seeing the light is a must do for any froggatt regular!

finally I have continued my maniacal devotion to the final quarry project, and have finally made progress. For the first time I climb the problem clean on a top-rope. This problem has been over looked my several hard men. This is disappointing because it is one the NI's best; proud and hard!

Castle Hill Trip

So, after spending the last eight days in castle hill I can say that I feel like I have been through ten rounds with Mike Tyson, minus the ear biting. Of the eight days I had a solid two days of rain which totally sucked ass, but I was left with six amazing days of climbing. My first focus was to complete many quality problems that i had previously over looked, such as: The air below (V6), Beautiful Edges (V4), Tupi Master (V6), Lime stone Orgasm (V7), Philtrum (V7) and many more boulders V6 and under.

My second focus of the trip was to send some problems that were not my limit but were hard for me; amazingly I actually managed to tick a few of these off: Fidel Castro ( V9), Dr Manhattan (V9), Afterburner (V9)?, Eclipse (V9) although I believe i started a hold in on this one?, Millennium (V9)?, Camp America (V9/10), and finally the super long Che Guerva (V8).

My final focus was to attempt to send something really hard for me, and I found two project that I attempted Interstellar overdrive ( v10/11), and Oren Oshi (v11). Oren was the first of the two I tried. Very quickly I had fired the crux bottom section and was high up on the mantle. Sadly three times I fell off the mantle and finally my spotter ( Amy Nathan) said enough was enough and we needed more than one pad. I never got the chance to return to the problem and thus could not claim the 3rd ascent, Lame.
Interstellar came next and i felt confident as I had tried the route about a year earlier. I quickly found a great sequence and was grabbing the jugish hold at the end of the problem. My only issue on interstellar, which was my ultimate down fall, was that I was super extended when I grabbed the last hold.
It turns out I was so extended on the final moves, my feet would not stop slipping of the heal hooks causing me to swing violently. Over a three hour period, until the sun went down, I managed to fall at this point several time cursing flock hill, god, and anything else I could think of at the time. I ended up packing up felling down and defeated and didn't get to try the problem again, LAME!

Beside the problems I have listed as my projects I also tried several other hard lines, they were as follows: Captain Crush ( V10/11), Monster Society of Evil ( V9/10), When animal attack (V10), and Brutus ( V10). I can tell you all that these problems kick the shit out of me... and I had to walk away with my tail between my legs on all of them! I also tried several V7 mantles at spittle hill and got cock slapped by all of them.

I can also report that Amy had an amazing week also. She climb several days less than I did but still managed to complete a personal best of V6 at Spittle Hill. However that was not the full story... as Amy also managed in one day two V4s, a V5 and her V6... She was super stoked, it was her best bouldering haul in a day ever!

All in all my trip was cool, short but cool. I have to thank Bevan Hadler and Kat for letting Amy and I crash on there couch for the week, and for lending us the car!!! wicked one guys!

I would say though, I think that the CHCH locals, and flock and Wuthering locals should stop grading their problems anything but V6. Basically this is because they seem to continue to down grade every problem that is ever put up for no good reason. I say just grade everything V6 straight away rather than slowly sand bag the shit out of everything.

anyways thanks Flock, Spittle, and Wuthering... you were great
peace!

ALPHA MALE PROJECT now "The Professional"

Although much sending last weekend was done by the one they call Darth Morgan, today's post is self indulgent. I, the lackey, Mr piss weak, or the mouth from the south, completed the Alpha Male project. It's hard to believe that a weakling like myself can do these feats, with titans such as Mr v6, Darth Morgan, and The fury floating around Auckland.

Being the complete pussy i am i top roped the upper section to learn the moves, and send it after. I have changed the name from "ALPHA MALE" to "The Professional". I can't really comment on the grade? it felt easy when i did it? but i know that a lot of people have found it hard, and i also took several days to do it.. I propose that it is either hard v9 or possibly soft v10. But in saying this i could be totally off and it could just be v8. I have only climbed 4-5 proper v10 boulders, but i have done many v9s and a few soft ass pussy v10s which were not really v10. It took longer than most of the v10s i have done but felt easier on the send.

Thus brings an end to the project formally known as ALPHA MALE, now dubbed The Professional v9/10 for now. someone proooooooove me wrong please.

peace out!