Pex Killer.

This post is a confessional, an admission of guilt, a cleansing of the soul.  I have done a bad thing-  something reprehensible, something I just can't undo.  It's a simple case of murder, murder most horrid and I am the perpetrator.  I will not make excuses: I am guilty, I just need to share this burden before they send me away to dwell with others who are guilty of crimes against climbing.

It was the last Thursday of term, the hour had sprung forward and there was enough daylight to climb after work.  I was due to train, however the fine grain of the wood I was about to work repetitively did not appeal.  I needed to feel fine granules of rock under my tips.  Time was short, darkness was approaching, an hour at Pex was all I was going to get; however an hour on Pisa Wall in my world is the equivalent of a full-blown session anywhere else.  I jumped into the car and disappeared into the gathering gloom.

As I drove eastwards, showers plagued the Cheshire plain and a strange half-light dulled the edges of reality; everything felt dark, an edgy atmosphere gripped my car.  Nevertheless, when I arrived at the quarry I was relieved to find everything dry; though the feeling of unease lingered.  Pex had escaped the showers and the rock was good and grippy.  The feeling of friction transmitted through my fingers lulled me into a false sense of positivity, whilst everything around me warned that evil was near. Happily trapped in my dynamic bubble, bouncing between holds, I did not notice the skies darkening and remained blissfully unaware of the horror  that inched its way towards me. The deeper into the circuit I got, the more vulnerable I became.  My own enthusiasm made me greedy for more problems, milking the light for every last move it could facilitate.  In my rabid state I was unaware of my own gradual slide into darkness, little did I know that I could be capable of dastardly deeds, that I would be the villain of this piece.

I decided that one more sit-start would be possible.  It started to spit with rain, the wind grew in strength and the light had all but disappeared.  The omens were bad but I was propelled by a demonic energy, a need to consume climbing!  I sat down and threw for a hold that I have used a thousand times, a hold that has been used by legions; a hold that has borne the weight and expectations of the entire Merseyside climbing scene at some point. I pulled up and was sent into a violent spin.  The hold exploded from the wall releasing such energy that it banished the evil climbing spirit from the quarry that had possessed me.  I sat sat there on my mat, dizzy.  I could not comprehend what had happened: I was on the floor, bruised and covered in sand.  I looked up and saw the massive rock scar that was now superimposed on Pisa's red, chalky patina.  I moved from a state of incomprehension to realisation to remorse in a blink of an eye and wailed to the winds "What have I done?''

So, I admit it was me; I pulled the hold off Pisa at Pex.  I disproved the prevailing theory that this wall was made of unbreakable sandstone that could stand up to the elements and all that could be thrown at it for all eternity  I will take my punishment, hanging my head in shame.  I am a killer full of remorse.  I mourn the myriad of eliminates that have now been lost to the world and can only hope that in time I will be forgiven; it is more than I deserve.

Thanks to Fatneck for collecting the evidence in the photograph above.

A Festive Frodsham Fix.

I have finally bucked the winter trend of warming up and getting chased back to the car by horizontal precipitation.  For the first time in four outings I have managed to get a full and satisfying session on a silica-rich, natural climbing medium. Where did I find a location that would be kind and cater for my complex climbing needs? Well, Frodsham of course; a feast of dry holds in the festive season.

I always seem to climb at Frodsham between Christmas and New Year. A session on the familiar holds that decorate Frodsham's buttresses can be a therapeutic experience, helping a climber to work through the angst developed at dinner in the festive season. Once all those chocolates have been digested and a spare tyre deposited, desperation and disappointment kicks in. You ask yourself how this could have happened, knowing full well that basic gluttony was the root cause. You feel heavy, slow, ambitions blunted by the thought that you will have to try twice as hard to lift all that lard up the project you had previously been training for. This is where Frodsham soothes. Working your way along its crimps and slopers helps to convince that all is not lost, you can still pull down, send the problems you did before gluttony blinded you, and even aspire to great things in the year to come. Convinced that the worst of the seasonal excesses are behind you, the walk down the hill from Frodsham's self-help circuit can be a positive affair! But don't worry New Year's Eve will knock that out of you.





Frodsham, like other venues in Merseyside, lends itself well to eliminate climbing, enabling the climber to progressively work their way up the difficulty scale, building confidence in a time of physical excess and mental frailty. If you want to find out more about Frodsham and what it has to offer then read my previous post on its majestic buttresses here. 

Thanks again to Sam for the video!

Pex Problem of the Week #9.

Sam throwing shapes on Pisa Wall.

Not seen one of these for a while have you? (If you've never seen one before, the links to the previous Pex Problems of the Week can be seen below).  It's been some time, so why now I hear you say. Pex Problem of the Week was meant to help prepare you for the grit season, get you ready for the crimps and slopers that sit there just waiting for attention up on the moors. Well it is grit season and we did try to get out on the moors, however it's November and we live in Britain which means the best intentions often lead to naught. The forecast was set fair and the rock was dry but the mist and drizzle rolled menacingly up the Calder valley leaving Pex the only outdoor option on a short winter's day. Pex, and more specifically Pisa Wall at Pex, is a perfect quick hit in the winter; it never gets wet and there is plenty to get on with if you are happy to be creative. This problem of the week is something I came up with to spice up a session that should have been on grit.

Idiotic Man V7.

Remember you will need to refer to pages 178 and 179 of the Cheshire and Merseyside Sandstone guide and the eliminates diagram therein for the holds used in this problem. Essentially this is a stretchy sit into a harder version of Silly Boys Direct. Contrived difficulty? Well yes - it is an eliminate after all, and it will get you strong! Start sitting with both hands on hold number 2, left foot in a deep, low pock mark and right foot on a smeary dink. Drop your left knee and reach up with your left to hold 7. Now move your feet and body weight up and left, flick the right hand up, nestle a three finger stack in hold 21 (the top of the Vitalite constellation of holds) and hold it like a gaston. Move your left foot up to hold 1, lean back, make space and swap feet, bury your left foot into hold 6 and start to rock over. This move will feel like an attempt at contortion (your left knee will feel like it is wrapped around your left ear) however, as you move up and left with you weight being held up by the tension created between you right hand and left foot, it will start to make sense. All that is left to do is go for that bucket in the break with your left hand, match, and victory is yours! Pex saves you yet again from those drizzle-infested moors.

The video shows two problems: the first is the Idiotic Man, the second is Small Snick Sit Down which was Pex Problem of the week #5.



Thanks to Sam from downstairs for the video!!!!

If you are up for following the nine step path of Pisa wall power then the links to the first eight problems can be found below:

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8

The Alchemist

Fatneck on the hunt for quality at Parbold

We have been on a quest.  We have purged ourselves of the familiar, forsaken the bouldering fleshpots littered with test pieces that can build a reputation or crush an ego with one slip of a foot.  We have journeyed both west and east from our fair, maritime city on the Mersey, followed sedimentary seams through sand and grit in search of something, something so rare that even to speak its name would make it disappear.  Our merry band have forsaken the luxuries of guides, descriptions, cleaned lines and stars and replaced them with a twilight world. The realm we now move through was once created by the hand of man, but is no longer part of his ambition; instead it has been reclaimed by the elements, earth, air, fire and water. The chemistry of nature dominates these spaces. Holes cut deep in the ground by the desires of industry- now kingdoms of moss and mud.  Lichens keep watch over these rippled quarried walls, and keep us from what we seek.



The Heath, Runcorn

We are not alone in these forgotten spaces, we share them with spectral beings, the youth that loom large in the twilight gloom.  Disenfranchised by daylight, diminished by darkness, their rituals and rights of initiation seek to harness the elements for their own fulfilment   They leap from the quarry walls during the summer months, draw power from the air and are reborn in the watery depths below- emboldened, indestructible heroes of a generation taught not to care.  Fire is the element prized above all else, it illuminates their lives, and destroys our desires with effortless ease!  The blackened, brittle walls demonstrate that we will never be alone - soot and sorrow will always blight our adventures through this twilight world. Our inquisitive eyes scan these walls in the hope we will find that rarefied thing that we seek, more often than not lamenting what could have been.

Andy Jones demonstrating Fatneck's finest creation 

What do we seek?  What could be so precious that it leads grown men to the margins, to a dappled world filled with broken glass and beings decorated with three stripes.  Like Ancient alchemists we seek perfection amongst the elemental forces, our spiritual and physical journey is one of discovery, to unearth the impossible: new amongst the old, quality in crap, first ascents in the subtextural landscapes created by a guide just written. The Alchemists attempted to turn base metals into the perfect, precious metals of gold and silver; in the same way we have attempted to find the aesthetic amongst the ugly, sport amongst the solidified silts.  Our dialectical journey has had us tread a knife edge, teetering along the margins of good and evil.  Some say you cannot polish a turd, it will simply smear in your hands, others know that a carbon rich material subjected to the intense forces of heat and pressure can create diamonds.   The proto chemists of the past did not achieve their aim of a life everlasting, or the extraordinary transformation of mundane materials, could we, however, discover a diamond in the rough??

Alec the Alchemist climbing the Arete that now bares his name (V7 sds V8)

Parbold and Runcorn both sport quarried hills that entertain the shady and the shy, shielding them  from the the glare of society.  Both quarries have built towns, neither have built reputations that might lure the boulderer to their muddied walls and yet, magnetised by their mystery, we have been drawn like moths by their shadowy light.  We have poured scorn on what they have offered, rock has turned to dust by the action of our eager limbs, our desires have been smeared by disappointment, and yet our quest continued, redoubled and intensified until out of the sand,lichen and slime gems began to crystallise and gleam in the gloom. One amongst us has taken on the the mantle of creator he has brought to life lines of movement that transcend what surrounds them.  He has turned the base elements of nature into something that will live on in the future pages of guides and the limitless landscapes of the information age.  For now he is the alchemist.

Jay Dog crimping hard on the Heath.

So our journey seemed to have come to an end.  Some have been bruised, battered by the experience. Blood has been shed and the twilight worlds through which we tiptoed have been tamed, claimed back for now from those who seek to destroy it through ignorance.  However it is naïve to think that we can ever stop travelling on this journey of discovery- the achievements of The Alchemist are just a way marker in the sandstone pointing to what can be created  through the intense scrutiny of our finite local resources.  A message from the man who looked like Marx and answers to the name 'Pop' has shown us the way to what comes next.  There is still sandstone in the suburbs, there are still gems to be found, we all have the ability to turn lead into gold, we can all be Alchemists if we journey long enough along the sedimentary seam of our desires.

 

Portrait of a punter!!

 

Lists and That.

There is some bouldering in those hills.

Lists and order seem to be an integral part of the western cultural cannon. We crave order. Categories are created and the intangible is indexed in an attempt to understand the fuzzy complexity of a reality that constantly evolves around us. This process of comparmentalising the unquantifiable seems to be a necesssary action, something we do to passify ourselves so that we may get on with our lives. Many groups round the world use different devices to do this: mysticism, myth and even magic, our obsession with 'measurement' to map reality robs us of the wonder of looking at the world in different ways. There is a large part of me that feels this is a shame, but then again befuddlement is my default state.

Lists play an important role in Bouldering: tick lists in guides, lists of personal projects, lists of grades and grading systems, lists of problems completed so far this season etc etc. Lists give climbing a faint wiff of competitive conformity; grades and the aroma of quantification open the door to the influence of Sports Science, training regimes, resistance, reps and rests. It's an intoxicating scent; one that promotes motivation, knuckling down and progress. Steps up the ladder of your grading system of choice can be hastened by applying a little logic. There's no magic here, the equation is simple:

                                 Perspiration = Gratification (if grade-based progress is what you seek)
                                                                           Time

Lists have played an important role in my efforts to scratch a path up steeper and steeper sweeps of rock over the years. Lists have informed my training. Wish lists have been written and re-written in an attempt to motivate; lists of desert island climbs or boulders I would like to have in my garden have been seriously discussed, at length, deep into the early hours, thus rendering the chance of climbing a problem that features on a list in the cold morning light next to impossible.  Lists have also been used to entertain.  My favourite climbing lists were the ones that Showtime Farley would create on the twilight drives back from The Peak in autumns past.  On these long drives the excitement of the day would fade to browns, oranges and yellows as our overworked adrenal glands stemmed their flow, the car's collective blood sugar bottomed out and strange shadows were cast by Tom "Fat-hand" Sugden lolling deep in slumber, held up by the tension of his seatbelt alone.  A hush would descend despite the million decibels of bass shaking  the fatigued bones of those incarcerated in the car. At this point Ben would banish the twilight chill of early winter by demanding the 'Best' from us all: best problem, best move, best hold.  Excitment, enthusiasm, and in Tom's case basic motor functions, would return.  In the pantheon of climbing lists, "Best" lists are definitely the best.

Why does climbing seem better when there's snow on the horizon

How can we quantify 'best'?  Well that's the beauty of the concept, you can't, it's just something you like the most at a fixed point we will call 'now'. As the sands of time inevitably shift it will change to something completely different.  Just like the grading systems we use to measure our progress in climbing, 'best' is subjectively constructed around the experience of the individual.  I can't really tell what 'best' is in the same way I can't definitively define what 7b+ is. What I can do though is tell you what my 'bests' have been so far this year: best problem, best move, best venue, best area.  Yes this is a futile exercise and yes these 'bests' will probably change as soon as I experience something else, however, as proved by Showtime Farley in the car on the way back from a kaleidoscope of venues, best lists are a good game. Best gets the adrenalin flowing, Best enlivens leaden limbs and injects colour into the climbing experience washed out by seemingly endless, wet winter.  So let's play Best, get your answers ready, and be ready to shout at mine.

Best Move - above Pwllglass near Ruthin sits Butterfly Buttress.  The steep front-face of this crag is adorned with a myriad of positive holds that make this an ideal link-up venue.  One link moves from left to right through the steepness, it's called "Lead Rain" and my best move sits halfway along its sinuous path.  The move involves kicking up a high heel onto a shelf in front of you allowing you to bump from a tiny hold to a thank-god sidepull.  This slight of heel gets you through the steepest part of the problem efficiently saving energy for the brutal moves ahead.

Best Problem - I had been to Rhiw Coch before and done a circuit of easy problems.  I had a look at Poppy's Move and the other problems in that particular cluster and discounted them as being too hard for my skinny arms. I went back this year with the test pages of the new North Wales Bouldering Guide, and I noticed the problem Moria. A 7b with two stars, I gave it a go and the rewards were exponentially greater than the grade given to the problem.  The line may not be the most asthetic but the moves are stellar- you just can't quantify this quality; go try this problem it really is magic.

Moria in all of its glory

Best Venue - seriously just go with this one.  My best venue so far this year is Pex Hill!!  Yes this hole in the ground, steeped in dog muck and decorated with broken glass is my favourite venue at the moment.  Climbing here this winter, doing eliminates on Pisa Wall, writing about them and spreading the love has saved my climbing from the monotony of training and the inevitable injuries that being serious and scientific brings.  I have visited Pex a lot this year and every time I have left with a smile on my face; if we could grade enjoyment Pex for me would be cutting-edge.

Best Area - without doubt it's North Wales. Words can not capture the feeling of moving across rough, dolerite slopers with a chill in the air and a dusting of snow on the mountains. It feels such a privilege to be climbing in this environment when the conditions are good and the sky is powder blue. When you're high up on the pass, away from the sound of the traffic, looking across at Dinas Cromlech, clouds casting shadows on the valley bottom as they drift lazily by, you feel like you're sitting in an alternate reality, a simpler one, one that makes sense, one that's almost - well mystical.

Moves like these help to generate Bests for everyones lists.

Well there's my Bests, how did yours measure up?  We could negotiate our various Bests, and come  up with a consensus. We could make our Bests definitive, fix them in time and share them with others! To be honest what would be the point, we would simply kill fun.  Sometimes it is better to relax, sit back and enjoy the randomness of things.  I have no idea why I chose Moria as my favourite problem of the year, or why I think Bouldering is better when framed by snowy mountains.  I do know that in a culture obsessed with quantification, and a sport that is quickly being seduced by science, that the game of Bests doesn't really have a place.  For me though that's the point; we should stop trying to quantify fun- let the game of Bests take over, let excitement and enthusiasm flood into climbing. Have your best-ever training session, campus because it puts a smile on your face, give into the magic, get out there and experience more! I reckon that would probably be best for everyone.

Pex Problem of the Week #8

All good things come to an end and this is the last Pex Problem of the Week.  The purpose of this series was to motivate people, get them out and on rock; particularly at a time of year when most people feel that the coffee and cosy confines of the indoor wall is the only option.  I was hoping to show the utility of eliminate bouldering in terms of training and to open eyes in terms of the quality that Pisa Wall has to offer.  Pisa is dry most of the time and the motivated can use it to get stong at any time of the year.  However there are limits: the sun is shining, the birds are singing, other venues are dry and realistically speaking, those skills and strengths built up on the slopey, scalloped holds of Pisa Wall need to be exploited elsewhere.  The key to progression as a boulderer is variety; go out try every rock type, visit every venue- come back to Pisa in the winter, try the problems again and see how far you have come.

Vitalite Lighter - V7.

This problem may have less holds than it parent but, believe me, it's not lacking in flavour.  This is a robust little number that needs all its ingredients sklillfully combined for its true essence to be savoured.  This really is a case of less is more, and we're not just talking about grades here. Remember you will need the Cheshire and Merseyside Sandstone Guide- go to pages 178 and 179. Right start matched on hold three, place your right foot in a low pock mark, put your left foot high on hold 1.  Flick your left to hold 16, as you move up you will need to dip your right shoulder and this will help you transfer weight through the three finger stack that should now desperately cling to the grains on the surface of hold 16's slopeyness.- you will now need to flag left with the right foot, thus allowing 16 to be locked and the right hand moved to hold 21. So far so good, just like Vitalite, you've been here before, or have you?  At this point things change; you will need to lean back so far it almost feels like your sitting down, milk those stacks for all they are worth, when in balance swap feet on hold 1, get your left foot into hold 6, set it square to the wall. Rock over, and over and over, rock a long way, at the last moment pop to the break and match. Jump off and plan where next week's trip will be.  If you have been following "Pex Problem of the Week" you've trained effectivly for the greater ranges of Frodsham, Helsby and  Parbold! Go on, get out there and conquer them!


Vitalite Lighter from Owen McShane on Vimeo.

Pex Problem of the Week #7.

This week's problem strips the climbing experience down to its bare bones- its essence! This problem is very much like a three chord Ramones tune: clean, efficient, minimal, in your face, aggressive and purposeful. If climbing could be boiled down, reduced to one move, this move is the one I would choose; it is punchy and delicate in equal measure, fustrating when close, amazing when sent. No other problem on Pisa wall demands dynamism of this quality. The Seven foot dyno might be bigger, but this problem is definitly better; it requires the would-be ascentionist to float rather than fly!

The Pex Dyno V7.

I could be minimal in my description of this problem, it is a one move dyno or deadpoint after all,  however this would rob you of the essential beta which drags this problem into the realm of reality. Firstly locate hold 18 - it is a long shallow crimp. The surface of this hold is rather uniform save for a small rough dimple found slightly left of centre, the pad of the index finger on you left hand needs to nestle in this depression. Once orientated, both hands need to crimp hold 18; don't expect to generate a lot of power from your hands on this problem- body position is key. Now that your hands are set, put your left foot in a lowish dimple directly below your hands. The right foot is placed square to the wall on a prominent dimple up and right. Now it is time for flight; movement will be initiated from the left foot, this will swing your centre of gravity up and over your right foot, this allows you to spring off the right foot and float up to the break. Match and enjoy. This move is all about timing; it works like a rock over, it looks like a dyno, but if you get it right, it feels like magic!


Pex Dyno V7 from Owen McShane on Vimeo.

Pex Problem of the Week #6

Last week we went off-page and explored one of the pisa problems dredged up from the murky mires of my mind. This week our normal service resumes. There are individuals who have been waiting for this week's problem for some time; I make no apologies if I gush slightly in my description as it is one of the best problems I have done anywhere at any time. So turn to pages 178 and 179 of the Cheshire and Merseyside Sandstone guide and we will begin:

Vitalite - V6

Vitalite is the jewel in Pisa's crown; yes there are harder problems and yes it is an eliminate, however climbing with three finger stacks does not get better than this. The quality of movement on this problem means that as an entity it transcends its location, environment, and the circumstances of its creation. If it were pure this problem would have stars- lots of them (and I would still want to give it more)!  Subtle and frustrating, delicate and powerful, Vitalite has it all. This problem deserves special attention; it should stand proud, pure, the only problem on a huge boulder sitting majestically in an unspoilt landscape. Unfortunately Vitalite calls Pex its home but remains undiminished by that fact.

First you will want to go and fetch a brush from your bag, one with very soft bristles that will clean rather than scrape chalk from the surface of this sandstone. Next find holds 16, 21, and 22 (there is no point committing to this endeavour if it is sullied by excess stale chalk- you won't appreciate the true feel of the rock and upward progress will be hard to achieve). Finally, before you begin to climb, step back, breathe in and know that you are about to try one of the best.

Start by matching hold 3, your right foot should be buried in a low pock mark, your left should be high on hold 1 firmly set square to the wall. Now reach up high with the left to hold 16 (to do this you will need to drop your right shoulder to such an extent that it feels like you're looking at the floor). Hold 16 is a very marginal three finger stack, to lock it you will need to take your right foot out of its low resting place, kick it to a deep flag out to the left, find the point of balance and reach with your right to hold 21. Breathe! You should be holding 21 with a stack and it should feel like a gaston (your right elbow should be high), rock up onto your left foot and hit hold 22 as an opposition stack. Squeeze! Swap feet on hold 1, bury your left foot deep into hold six, again with your heel sitting square to the wall start to rock over. At this point you'll appreciate all the cleaning you have done- you've been holding hold 21 for a long time and now you have to shoulder press off it. Press off the right hand, rock onto the left foot until you reach the break. Match, stop, think... Take some time to savour the moment. Jump down, pack up your things and go home, you won't climb anything better this session!


Vitalite V6 from Owen McShane on Vimeo.

Pex Problem of the Week #5

This week we will deviate from the norm into a world where aspirant ascentionists prowl along the base of Pisa Wall  lobster-like, fingers frozen into three finger stacks ready to claw at the wall. The problem described in this post involves a different species of hold which is also commonly found in this habitat; the small crimp.

Small Snick Sit down V5.

This particular problem does not feature in the Pex eliminate section of the Cheshire and Merseyside Sandstone guide (remember you will need the topo on pages 178 and 179) however, whilst off page, this problem is one of the best! Balance, strong fingers and a bit of technique are needed to breathe life into this (at first glance anyway) unlikely creation.

Start sitting with both hands on hold.number 2. The left foot should be in a pock mark down and left, the right on a clean ripple out to the right.  Pull up off the floor and move your weight over your left foot. Flick the left hand to hold 13 and take it as a gaston and pull the hold into your shoulder. Next put the right foot into a good high pock mark just down and left of hold 2.  Now you're set! Shoulder press off the left hand, rock over onto the right foot, finger press with the right hand to gain height and keep in balance. The right hand needs to get to the mono / small crimp which is hold 38; the only way to get there is to stretch and get over that right foot, the left hand and shoulder need to be strong and they need to press it out.  Once you get your right to hold 38 get the left foot up and left onto a good hold and reach up left to the break. Match and jump off with burning fingertips and well worked lats.


Small Snick sit down start V5 from Owen McShane on Vimeo.

Never Forget Frodsham.

Views to the Mersey from Woodhouse Hill.

The southern side of the Mersey Estuary is dominated by a series of high bluffs that bound the river from Runcorn to Helsby. These steep banks have in previous epochs repelled the spread of the river, hemmed it in, corralled its waters and directed them to their destination. In recent times they have stood watch over the march of human progress. On the plain below, mans industrial ambitions have ebbed and flowed with the estuarys' tides. Salt, chemicals and fuel have shaped the shadows cast by these hills and towns; trade and transport have also played their part in this evolution. As the landscape shifted and shaped, the hills looked on impassively, crowned by sandstone crags that burnt red, orange and umber in the fading light of a future that was to be built in smoke, sweat and progress.

Alec climbing through the steepness.

Cheshire's estuarine hills have served as an antidote to its industrial ills for centuries. The crags that populate this ridge have fascinated and frustrated many generations of Merseysiders, providing a welcome distraction from the man-made and mundane. Helsby's crag towers above the valley; its ramparts and flutings mimic those found in the land of castles to the west. This was once a forcing ground for climbing standards, however things are quiet now. Frogsmouth Quarry on Runcorn Heath is the place for Merseysiders to be seen now that its walls have been decorated with shiny bolts and pigtails but, despite being in vogue with its new look, Frogsmouth still doesn't pull in climbing's top models. One other venue far more suited to the tastes of the boulderer sits on the ridge;  yet, overshadowed by the reputation and accessibility of its neighbours, it has become a quiet place. However if you live near the heartlands of North West Sandstone Bouldering you would be crazy to forget Frodsham.

Frodsham's crags sit on the crest of Woodhouse Hill to the west of town. A steep, wooded path leads you up to a series of buttresses that stretch the length of the bluff. In terms of height these red and ochre sandstone outcrops range from three to eight metres, or in other terms, from bouldering to highballing to suicidal stupidity. The common thread that binds all of Frodshams' buttresses is that they are steep- they overhang, majestically shading those who play here from the worst of the Mersey's weather.

Ochre rock and hard eliminates up on the hill.

 Frodsham is a peaceful place, a tapestry of trees, rock and traditions, developed by Banner, Boysen, and Crew. Frodsham sits proud in both its natural and historical landscapes. Climbing a pure line here is like breathing life back into greatness, playing on lines that heroes forged back in the sixties. Each line has a character of its own, super steep and juggy, technical and thin; all personality types are represented. Super hard, pure lines may be hard to find (the majority of the climbs found here are in the sub V5 category) however you'll be glad that the holds are big when you're stretched out, fully horizontal, ten feet above the ground with a heel toe engaged. Those who want their grades big and their fingers tested to destruction should not turn away from the rock on Woodhouse hill; there are plenty of hard eliminates up there on the brow- however I'll talk about them another time.

Frodsham's heyday is far behind it now and, like shipping on the Mersey, the volume of human traffic on the hill has wained. The watery tributary that washes the hills feet once attracted the heavyweights of the shipping world: Blue Funnel, White Star, and Cunard - but these great vessels are long gone, forgotten. The present titans of climbing no longer follow that wooded path up to the buttresses on Woodhouse Hill; however the heroes who developed it can still be seen on a summer's evening swinging through the steepness. Tom Leppert and Martin Boyson are rarely wrong! Frodsham has been good enough for these legends for fifty years now, believe me its good enough for you.

Pex problem of the week #4.

This week's adventures through the numbered holds on pages 178 and 179 of the Cheshire and Merseyside Sandstone guide illustrates that different approaches can lead to the same result when ordering from the eliminate menu.

Silly Boy Direct V5 (Done two ways).

This problem is essentially a harder version of Silly Boy V4, however it is amazing how removing one key ingredient can change the flavour and overall feel of a problem: in this case removing hold 38 (a small crimpy mono) turns Silly Boy into a far more robust dish.

Two main methods can be used on this problem; these methods will appeal to very different palates.  The first is the way I originally climbed Silly Boy- it is a brash, flash-fried affair, fleeting, fresh and bursting with big flavours. The second is a slower, more controlled dish that allows flavour to mingle, develop and yet still allows a bit a spice to come through at the end. This second method is my preferred preparation for this problem; it is subtle, delivering a more rounded, fuller experience of the Pex eliminate!

Method 1 - The Dyno.
Start matched on hold 7 with feet in low pock marks, move the right hand up to a three finger stack in hold 21, put the left foot up on hold 1 for balance and move the left hand to a stack in hold 20. Now place the right food high on the ledge next to hold 3, lean your body weight to the right so it almost feels like you're laybacking the hand holds, dip down once and dyno to the break.


Boy Direct V5 (method 1) from Owen McShane on Vimeo.

Method 2 - The Rock Over.
As for method 1 however, once you've gained the stacks in holds 20 and 21, swap feet on hold 1, lean to the right and place your left foot deep into hold 6 making sure it is square to the wall.  Now slowly move your weight over to the left until you have gained as much height as you can. You'll end up short but a small pop to the jug in the break will release the complex flavours you've been seeking.


Silly Boy Direct V5 (method 2) from Owen McShane on Vimeo.

So there you have it, slow cooked and complex, or flash fried and fresh! When it comes to Pex eliminates you really can indulge yourself with the dishes that suit your particular tastes.

Pex Problem of the week #3

Remember the Pex eliminate topo which nestles inside the New Cheshire and Merseyside Sandstone guide is needed to make sense of this post

                                   

Red Flash - V5.

For me this is one of the quintessential problems of Pisa wall; it is what slightly overhanging walls with big holds were invented for - flight (dynos to you and me!).  Red Flash is used as a staging post for many on their journey along the sinuous path that leads to the Seven Foot Dyno which also inhabits this section of wall, however it can stand on its own as a dyno of merit and quality.
                            
This week's problem gained its name from a legendary vehicle that taxied Liverpool's bouldering scene around the motorways of the UK in the mid naughties.  Red was a feisty 1.4 Astra that  could accommodate five willing (or at times unwilling) passengers, their pads, their kit and their psyche! This vehicle was a veritable tardis whose mystical qualities extended to its acoustic abilities; if you wound the front windows down an inch and cranked the Jungle up, it metamorphosised into a living, breathing bass cannon; an organic speaker unit of which you were an integral component.  Flash would often be spotted undertaking in the slow lane at breakneck speeds, those interred on the back seat holding up handwritten notes for other motorists. "Help me I've been Kidnapped" would regularly be read by those who actually adhere to the highway code.  Flash blew up twice whilst out on duty serving the climbing needs of Merseyside's bouldering lieutenants.  He is missed by many- brave in the face of adversity, decorated for deeds beyond the means of his motorised peers.  I will apologise now if this eulogy has opened old wounds for some- Flash is gone, but not forgotten!

Right, back to the problem. This one is obviously hard to describe but I will try my utmost to get you through its complex technical moves as efficiently as I can. Take hold 6 with the left hand and hold 7 with the right, put your left foot in a pock mark and put you right foot high on hold 1.  From this position sway down once and leap to the next break with the right, on the way up stay close to the wall, then it's a matter of latch, match, and dispatch.



Red Flash V5 from Owen McShane on Vimeo.

Pex Problem of the week # 2

The pathway to eliminate heaven.

Remember you will need to refer to pages 178 and 179 of the new Cheshire and Merseyside Sandstone guide for this adventure into the world of elimination to make sense!

Week 2 - Stretch V4.

I must admit I had not done this problem before starting the filming of this series. I had done all the individual moves in other eliminates, but not strung them together in this choreographed way. This problem is a Farley guidebook special, a shining example of what brilliance and balance can produce! Needless to say this feels hard for its grade and is a definite step up from Silly Boy.

A playground of possibilities?

Three elements will lead an aspiring ascentionist along the pathway to success on this problem:
1. Use the power of the three finger stack. Excluding the start hold, all holds on this problem were made for stacking, this problem embodies all that is good in a world defined by this strange art.
2. Clean the holds. It's amazing what a soft bristled brush can do to the frictional properties of these dish like holds! Removing the layer of chalk and grime that inevitably builds up on them over time can turn a marginal, frictionless mess into a skin rasping lockable hold.
3. Use those feet to gain height; your biceps won't help you here. Pisa wall is all about foot work. Dance your feet along its pockets and ledges and victory will be yours- pull too hard on those dishes and all that will be left on the wall will be your hard earned skin.

The problem starts sitting matched on hold 2. Move your weight to the left and reach up with your left hand to the first three finger stack in hold 11. Kick your right leg through to the left to create a funky flag and reach up over the top with the right to stack number two in hold 20. Now the magic starts; move your bodyweight way over to the left by dancing across the dimples lurking at the bottom of the wall. With your left foot high and right hand securely locked onto hold 20, reach up with the left to hold 27, keep reaching, reach some more and when you think you've extended to your limit reach that little bit extra into the hold. At this point you will wish that you had spent some time cleaning: the dish (27) which forces the third successive stack on this problem is good but feels terrible if overly chalky. Once latched use your feet to gain the necessary height and go for the break like you mean it!

Stretch embodies all of the subtle elements that make Pisa Bouldering such an addictive activity; its balancey, technical, reachy and involves stacks! This is a must do problem for the aspiring Pex hill Warrior!


Stretch V4 from Owen McShane on Vimeo.

Pex Hill - problem of the week!

This post will be the first of many written for Merseysiders, and those interested in Pisa Wall eliminates specifically. The purpose of this series is to show how the eliminates on Pisa are climbed, and to help to sustain people's interest in Merseyside Bouldering; the more people get to our venues and make their presence felt the thinner the carpets of glass at the base of the crags will become. The recent publication of the Cheshire and Merseyside Sandstone guide has introduced many to a local resource and has revealed the potential that still remains to others. For me a lot of the quality problems on Merseyside are eliminates, hated by many but cherished by the devotee. These short snippets of prescribed rule-based movement may not stand up to the equivalent problem in Font, but my word they will get you strong, they will make you think, and they'll keep you coming back for more!

To truly understand the information given here you will need the new Cheshire guide; you can purchase it from here:

http://www.thebmc.co.uk/kop-a-load-of-the-new-bmc-cheshire--merseyside-sandstone-guide.

You will need to refer to the Pisa Wall Eliminate Bouldering section written by Ben Farley, page 174 to 179 (more specifically pages 178 and 179) where Ben has produced an excellent photo topo with all the holds on Pisa wall numbered.

The bible of Pisa Wall eliminates.

Week 1 - This week's problem is probably the most popular on the wall and, by my reckoning, soft at the grade; so get on it.

Silly Boy - V4.

Start matched on hold 7, reach up with the right hand to hold 21, move your left foot up to stabilise yourself, bring your left to hold 20, move your feet to bring your body weight over to the right, lock up to the small crimp/pocket with the right hand, get a left foot up and pop to the break with either hand.


Silly Boy V4 from Owen McShane on Vimeo.

Top Tip

Using a three finger stack in the rounded dishes (holds 20 and 21), will make things a lot easier.

The Seven Foot Dyno Pex Hill

 

Wow it's been a depressing winter so far. No powder blue sky, no friction, and virtually no outdoor action.

The new Cheshire and Merseyside Sandstone guide came out Mid October, creating a maelstrom of phyche in my mind, focusing my efforts on all things local. I have visited all the crags in the guide in the last few weeks, called in on some familiar friends, and sought out crags I have never seen before; all done under a thick blanket of gloom covering every inch of rock with a sheen of moisture frustrating all my efforts to put the guide out of date. Yes believe it or not even a crag like Helsby, climbed on since before the beginning of time, history and memory has bouldering potential as yet unrealised. In fact Cheshire and Merseyside still has unclimbed crags which are very good, however there will be more to come on that subject when the deluge abates and the water table allows us to walk rather than wade to crags.

Climbing has been an indoor activity of late, and training for the greater ranges (Font) has been the order of the day. Whilst working hard at the Climbing Hanger Liverpool on inflaming old injuries and creating new ones to share with family and friends, I struck up a conversation with someone regarding the the Seven Foot Dyno at Pex Hill. This is a problem I put up many moons ago when my tendons were elastic and I climbed like a coiled spring full of snap and potential energy. The Seven Footer did not make the Pex eliminate topo in the new guide, and it seems that there still a little confusion on where this baby goes from, so I though I would clear things up once and for all.

The Seven Foot dyno is essentially a harder version of the break to break dyno or "Red Flash" (an affectionate name given to an old car of mine) as it now known on Pisa Wall at Pex Hill. Red flash is a V5 and is clearly and correctly marked on the eliminate topo in the new guide, it goes from holds 6 and 7 to the break. The Seven Foot Dyno is a V8 (font 7B), and it goes from two side pull holds around seven or eight inches below the break where Red Flash starts, on the eliminate topo this would be holds 4 and 5.  Obviously this means you need to buy the guide to get your definitive description, however that's a good as the guide is a thing of beauty.

If you don't want to buy the guide here is the now infamous video of the Seven Foot Dyno created by the legendary Oz Fry the man who put the bag into baggy! Enjoy

Are You Ready for the Breck???

The Breck is an urban quarry in the middle of Wallasey on Merseyside, the other side of the river to Liverpool. It has a rich history and used to be the training ground of past heroes such as Phil Davison, the man who first soloed Right Wall in Llanberis. In recent times the Breck has fallen out of favour. No one really climbs there anymore, and it has become a refuge for those who feel the National Curriculum for Science and Geography is best replaced by a GCSE in litter, broken glass and scrounged cigarettes.

Imagine an old man, overlooked in favour of his more interesting neighbours. After a while someone will break into his home to find him stinking of piss and at death's door. This is the best way to describe the Breck. Some of us in Liverpool, like some form of Help the Aged or Meals on Wheels, are trying to assist this ailing quarry back to health.

The Breck encapsulates all that is good and bad about urban climbing. The floor of the quarry resembles some kind of art installation. If you could remove the dog poo, there’s an arts council grant to be won by anyone who can claim to have arranged the rubbish themselves. The quarry holds a lot of eliminates, out of fashion now, but good moves none the less. Apparently some of these problems were used back in the day to train for Gogarth! Being a boulderer I have no idea what that means, but it sounds good. The Breck also holds many good true or pure lines, as good as anything else on Merseyside and possibly beyond.

The Climbing.

The bouldering can be found on four separate walls of bullet hard sandstone, which at times resembles the grit found in the Lancashire quarries. The climbing generally involves pockets and crimps up walls of increasing steepness.

Granny’s Rock.

This is an isolated pinnacle of rock in the middle of the quarry. It is the first piece of rock to dry in Merseyside and is great to warm up on. Granny’s is the home of the Breck eliminate, with problems going up to V9. The only problem with this pinnacle is its colourful decoration, and in- situ carpet of glass.

Bluebell Wall.
A steep undercut wall / slab with slightly highball technical climbing. Problems range from British 5b to 6b (old money grading I know, but they do work). The climbing here is similar to, and as good as, Pex Hill and for many this is the main action in the quarry.

The Who Wall, and the Back Wall.

Si "Fatneck" Huthwaite bouldering out of the fireplace on the Back wall of the Breck.

The Who wall is limited but it is worth a mention, as it has a meaty high 6a up the middle of its front face. Just down the hill from the Who wall is the Back or Overhanging wall. Put simply this is one of the most impressive sweeps of sandstone on Merseyside. Originally developed as a top roping venue with in situ belay bolts and a route of French 8a, this sector has recently been exploited once again as a bouldering spot. An ascent of the Haston dyno (very highball V10) and Britain’s’ first confirmed British tech 7a move has turned tongues and heads Breckwards. The back wall at the Breck is steep and powerful. Problems follow the lines of the top rope routes and can finish at two thirds height in breaks or large pockets, but this could be seen as a cop out as the lines were originally soloed to the top. When you climb lines on this back wall they don’t seem high, however the amount of air time clocked when jumping off tells you a different story, even from the breaks. Opportunities may still exist for new lines on this wall if you take a boulderer’s perspective, but believe me the problems will be mingingly hard.

Why Bother.

Many people who read this post may wonder what the point is. The Breck on the face of it is a scabby urban quarry with eliminates, it doesn’t sound worth visiting. The point is this; we need to get in there before the old man goes terminal, before he is lost to dog shit, rubbish, kids, fire, and vegetation. Instead of flying off to EASYBOULDER every time there is a cheap flight advertised, let's try and keep our venues going. The Breck, like many other quarry venues across Yorkshire and Lancashire, has a rich history and lots of good climbing. It is worth the small amount of effort visiting these venues to give them a viable future. It only takes a regular show of visitors picking up the odd bit of rubbish, deterring vandalism by just being there, to turn these places around. If we don’t do this we will lose “The Knowledge” held in these places for ever.

Here's a Video of Mike sending the Haston Dyno, ground up with a crux high off the deck, bouldering as nature intended.


Cheers Owen