I'm Back!
I know what you're thinking...I haven't blogged since November! It isn't that I haven't had things to talk about, I just haven't had time to write them down!
Anyway back at the start of May I had a serious go at Dan Varian's fantastic Ark Royal at Queens. I got through the crux bottom section but fell near the top.
Since then i haven't really climbed for various reasons (not least a head cold that has lasted 2 weeks!) but today I returned and grabbed the 3rd ascent of this stunning line and the 1st ground up. The ground up bit is only significant in that it meant I had to do the bottom several times before success on the top moves which are heavily dependant on body position meaning they have a bit of a knack to them. Indeeed before success today I fell off even higher, hitting the edge of the mat and was probably lucky to only stub my toe!
I should probably mention that I did the 'Andy Earl sequence' to the problem, slightly more sane that Dan's crazy double dyno! Just to clear a couple of things up, contrary to what has been reported in some places the sequence on the starting crux section is identical to Dan's, a low probability snatch for a 2 finger pocket off a very high heel. At the top however it does differ, getting the pocket around the arete on it's right side allows a rockover to just right of Dan's finish. Although finishing Dan's way would have been great, the new finish certainly seems logical from a ground up perspective and removes any chance of the problem being labelled an eliminate which would be a shame for what is a stunning line.
I look forward to seeing the sitter done (not by me!) which will arguably complete the finest piece of hard climbing in the UK.







