Creaking heights 6C, super highball with only 3 pads !!!It has been slightly over a week since i return from South Africa and i have been pondering on what to write. It has been really hard to update priodically in Rocklands. Somehow, trying to get online can sometimes be even harder than climbing V12s. The only WiFi connection is within the campsite and some of the cottages. On top of that, the connection fluctuates so much so that i gave up on uploading any videos whilst i was there.
me on Pinotage 7C+, another amazing rocklands classic
This bouldering trip has been an eye opener and a great learning experience for me. Even though i spent 2 weeks in Fontainbleau 5 years ago, most of the boulders i did and tried were 7C and below which barely scratched the suface of what font had to offer. As such i do not even consider that 2 weeks as a valid bouldering trip.
flashing The Rhino 7B+It was initially very hard to climb very little during each climbing day. On a road trip doing sport climbing, i'm used to climbing the whole day, 2-3 days in a row. It is almost impossible to do that in bouldering especially when you are working on projects. As a result of over climbing with too little rests, my body simply broke down after 2 weeks and i was burnt out. On top of that i took a bad fall, injured my neck which also contributed to my lower back injury. Thank goodness the doctor back home diagnose it as a bad strain and should recover. Anyhow, here's a list of things i would like to talk about before it slips my mind....
Taking 5 on Black Shadow 8B1. You climb very little and rest alot
Unlike in sport climbing where you feel the lactic acid building up in your forearms, bouldering consists of much fewer moves that are pure, requiring your maximal effort and hence no build up of lactic acid. This gives the false impression that you are still fresh and can jump back onto the boulder without a proper rest. Thus a bouldering session for me is typically short, between 3-4 hrs a day. I have to force myself to take a rest of at least 20 minutes between each redpoint burn. It is EXTREMELY difficult to just sit around and do nothing especially if no one else is working the boulder with you. On top of that i usually have up to 4 good attempts before each subsequent attempt gets worse than the last.
RESTDAYS: I can't remember the last time i took so many 2 days off in a row on a climbing trip. This time around, for sure i had much more rest days than climbing.
2. Skin is a precious commodity
You learn how to take really good care of your skin. Applying oil, cream or other ointments at the end of the day to promote the growth of your fingertips so that you can crank again soon. Skin wears out much much faster in bouldering than on a sport route. It is common to have really thin and raw tips after just 4 attempts on a boulder.
3. The importance of good temperatures, low humidity and of course..... BRUSHING
When the weather is cold(10-15degrees), dry with a slight breeze, everyone gets on the send train. When its warm, climbing is a chore. Crimping feels impossible and your skin wears out way faster. It has been a weird winter according to the locals. We've had many 26 degree days which was virtually impossible to get onto anything hard as you would just grease off the rock. I've come to appreciate and enjoy climbing in the cold whereby you don't perspire much and leave wet patches on the rock with your fingers.
2. Skin is a precious commodity
You learn how to take really good care of your skin. Applying oil, cream or other ointments at the end of the day to promote the growth of your fingertips so that you can crank again soon. Skin wears out much much faster in bouldering than on a sport route. It is common to have really thin and raw tips after just 4 attempts on a boulder.
3. The importance of good temperatures, low humidity and of course..... BRUSHING
When the weather is cold(10-15degrees), dry with a slight breeze, everyone gets on the send train. When its warm, climbing is a chore. Crimping feels impossible and your skin wears out way faster. It has been a weird winter according to the locals. We've had many 26 degree days which was virtually impossible to get onto anything hard as you would just grease off the rock. I've come to appreciate and enjoy climbing in the cold whereby you don't perspire much and leave wet patches on the rock with your fingers.
I've resorted to climbing at night with a headlamp on certain days to escape the afternoon heat.
Bouldering with people of different nationalities for 2 continuous months have lead me to conclude that Singapore boulderers in general are extremely inconsiderate when it comes to the brushing of holds. It is common to see different groups of people working on the same boulder spending a few minutes just to meticulously brush each handhold for one another. Perhaps we are so used to climbing on holds that are so caked up in chalk that we don't even bother. Perhaps we are just plain lazy. Whatever the case is, this practice obviously has to CHANGE. The condition of the handhold be it on plastic or rock can make the difference between whether one sends the route or not.
4. Grades are WAYYY more subjective in bouldering than in sport climbing
It is important to remember that every climber is different, be it their height or arm span etc. In addition, every climber is unique with regards to their own capabilities. Having said that, a route with small holds and far moves can be very easy for a taller person as compared to a shorter one. A climber who specialises in compression moves will find such boulders a lot easier than one with primarily crimps. Take for example Tea with Elmarie and Nutsa, both V12. It took me just 2 goes to send TWE which consists of lock offs on bad crimps and many tries on Nutsa(compression moves at the start with a long move right at the end) which i was still falling off the last move on my last day. According to 8a.nu, many people find Nutsa 'soft' and not TWE. I on the other hand felt the opposite is true. Needless to say i did relatively well on boulders with crimps at RockLands.
4. Grades are WAYYY more subjective in bouldering than in sport climbing
It is important to remember that every climber is different, be it their height or arm span etc. In addition, every climber is unique with regards to their own capabilities. Having said that, a route with small holds and far moves can be very easy for a taller person as compared to a shorter one. A climber who specialises in compression moves will find such boulders a lot easier than one with primarily crimps. Take for example Tea with Elmarie and Nutsa, both V12. It took me just 2 goes to send TWE which consists of lock offs on bad crimps and many tries on Nutsa(compression moves at the start with a long move right at the end) which i was still falling off the last move on my last day. According to 8a.nu, many people find Nutsa 'soft' and not TWE. I on the other hand felt the opposite is true. Needless to say i did relatively well on boulders with crimps at RockLands.
It was a good idea to list down what boulders to check out prior to the trip. This enabled me to plan and decide which problems i would like to work on. There were lines which looked rad on video but turned out to be far less than appealing in real life. Some were simply way too hard with the limited amount of time i have there. I would rather spend my time finishing many climbs in the v10-12 range as compared to working on only one v13 or 14 for a couple of weeks.
5. I need more PADS !!!
this one needs no explanations...
It would have been a sweet ending to the trip if i had sent Green Mamba and Nutsa, both 8a+/V12 on my last day. Sadly i fell of the last moves on both of them before fatique and the lack of skin told me my trip was all but over. I was also close on another 8b, Armed Response which i did not have a chance to get onto during the later part of the trip because there was just too many classics to try. Nonetheless i had great fun and took plenty of videos. Am still in the midst of compiling them. In the meantime here's some snippets of our climbs which Peter has put up.
I will definitely head back to RockLands, thats for sure. Meanwhile stay tuned for the full video coming soon!!!!
