I started climbing almost a year ago … my log book says, Cornergrot - D, Traveller’s Rest - VD, and Central Route - VD, all at Symond’s Yat on the 4th August 2007. That first days climbing seems a world away now. Since then myself and my good mate Neil Ronketti have been driving (if you want to rock climb in the Fen’s you need to drive somewhere unless 1M climbs on your neighbours wall are your thing) to Cambridge, Stowmarket, and Hatfield climbing wall’s, and have made several trips to the Peak District. It seemed to make sense a couple of months back, to reflect and think how we might improve our climbing. So a plan was hatched, and we contacted Adrian Berry, who offers a day coaching package in the Peaks for two people.

Adrian makes some bold claims on his website including:

 “I have yet to meet a climber who could not climb a grade or two harder than they think they can! Using what I call the positive approach I will quickly work out your strengths and weaknesses, and then focus on each in turn to make immediate, and dramatic improvements. The methods I use have been developed entirely separately from those used by traditionally trained climbing instructors, and they have been refined over years of coaching literally hundreds of climbers. The effectiveness of my coaching methods is guaranteed. “

So with a maximum outdoor grade of a HS 4b under my belt, high expectation for a fun day, and a flurry of emails back and forth to Adrian the night before as weather threatened to spoil our fun, Neil and I travelled to meet Adrian in Hathersage.

He’s a very laid back, quietly spoken chap when you first meet him. There’s a definate sense that his questions are aimed at extracting some understanding of your standard, and as we drank tea in Outdoors at Hathersage, it became very apparent that Adrian would not be your normal type coach. I got the distinct impression that he would be a catalyst only, and in hindsight, his questions about our rack, shoes, experience, and understanding, were all designed to gather information about our strengths and weaknesses, so we could hit the rock at Stanage with some exercises to quickly home in on areas we hadn’t previously considered.

Arriving at the boulders in Stanage plantation, Adrian was swift to get us warming up:

The first exercise on a slab was entirely footwork driven - Neil who had taken Adrian’s advice to throw out his Scarpa beginners shoes and get something a little more technical (Five-Ten Verde IIRC), had the added difficultly of feeling his way on some new shoes, but quickly got the hang of placing his feet, weighting them, and using smaller steps. I felt completely confident on the slab, and in spite of the dampness got a feel for the way Adrian described our shoes worked, compressing and shaping to the rock face. It all made obvious sense, but certainly something we’d not considered before. 

In the second problem, Adrian had us look at a piece of rock and work out the easiest route up it. Neil was on first, and after two moves he declined and stepped back off. I’d already spotted a foot placement out to the left, and sure enough it made the climb easy. The lesson proved that you tend to look at rock with your hands in mind, and this particular boulder suckers you into a straight up climb where hands are too marginal for nobbers like Neil and I. However, look at the route with your feet in mind, and the route becomes easy, and you climb without the need for strong hand placements. 

Next we were on another boulder, with two marginal foot placements starting the problem. A moments hesitation, or incorrect weighting of your feet and this one had you off. It required weight transition, and a bit of commitment and belief in your feet, and again in hindsight the exercise was perfectly tailored to us, and was designed to build our confidence in footwork as the basis for climbing, questioning our belief that climbing was all leading with your arms!

Stanage crag proved to be too wet, so we jumped into the car and headed over to Burbage North. There was a constant very light drizzle as we arrived, but the strong breeze had the majority of the face dry, with pockets still damp to the touch,  and seepage all over the place. These conditions would normally have Neil and I heading for the security of a climbing wall, but Adrian’s confidence in the conditions, and our desire to actually get on a proper piece of rock had us putting on our harnesses and tieing in under “Knight’s Move”. 

After some practical advice about how to place equipment, read the route, rack up, I was left some quiet time to contemplate the route, and any obvious placements, positions, rests, that would help. “Right, let’s go then!”, I walked up to the face rather more ready than I’d normally be heading into an onsite - an initial confidence built from the preparation I guess. With Adrian on a jumar, I started the lead.

Once again Adrian proved to be a coach with a difference. Rather than point and recommend, he chooses to watch, and when he does speak it’s either to gee you up into making a decision, congratulate you on a good choice, or question. For instance, “How’s that look Sol?”, ”Are you happy with that?”, “Good choice, now you need to get going, come on!”, all designed to trigger self lead responses, and never coming from the negative. The overriding impression you have is that the climb is entirely in your own hands, and you are in control of your own decisions.

I had a little doubt creep in as I reached a point in the climb where I felt exposed about half way up. The realisation dawned that I was mid-route on a climb somewhat harder technically than I’ve done before. After a moments reflection, the doubt passed, and I just got on with it, pushed through the exposure and topped out.

I knew it was a harder grade than I had ever climbed outside, and as I abseiled down, not wanting to freak Neil out, I bit my lip and quelled my desire to know the grade. It was Neil’s turn next … and I quietly watched and belayed as Neil went through hell, desperately wanting to back off, but determined to fight thorugh. A few choice “fekkity fecks” is always a sign Neil is hitting brick walls and wants to back off, but this time the excuses didn’t flow, and he stuck in there and topped the route. A marvelous achievement to watch, and great to see him break through to make the climb. As Adrian abseiled back down and Neil prepared to descend, I asked Adrian what grade the route was … an HVS 5a. Bloody Hell! Well that’s the target for this year blown on the first climb!  I was no more worried on that climb than I’ve been on an HS 4b. If my confidence was growing after the climb, it suddenly was positively brimming over when Adrian quite simply commented “Well, you fair breezed up that one Sol, I reckon we need to find something to challenge you next”. As Neil touched down, and unclipped, I told him the news, “I know I remember it from the guidebook. There are times I wish I didn’t read bloody guidebooks!”. Bloody well done, I thought! It’s one thing to climb a route two or three grades higher than your previous best, it’s completely another to know you are climbing on a route so far above your previous believed capability. Well done Neil! In my case, I was quite glad I had the bliss from ignorance on my side!  

Next route was to be along the crag a bit and as we walked the top, Adrian suddenly stopped and looked down the face of “Long Tall Sally”.  He invited us foward and as I looked down the apparently featureless top of the climb, Adrian said, “What do you think?” … I smiled, and said something like, “One of these days Adrian”. 15 minutes later I was tied in and looking up at the same climb!

As we looked over the climb and I made some mental notes about potential foot holds, Adrian pre-empted the obvious worry about the seepage all over the bottom of the climb - “You’ll be fine on that, you’ll just have to battle through the wet patches lower down”. At this point I figured the climb looked OK, a definate possible, and I had no idea of the grade. I didn’t allow the thought that the climb may be harder than the last, I just assumed it would be a more technical HVS!

I fair whisteled through the opening moves and arrived, 3/4 height on the lower part. Placement of a peice of gear came easily and another move up and I was head height with the bulge. I reached for a nut, placed it, and Adrian questioned whether I might like to place something else! I reached for a cam, and got that placed and got the normal, “Are you happy with that Sol?” I weighted it, and it felt fine .. besides there was nut below it, and a nut down below that! “Yup .. seems fine”!  “Are you sure! Need another piece?”. Not sure what Adrian was getting at, I reached for a third piece .. placed that above the cam, and started to move!

“Wait on a sec Sol” .. Adrian swung over and took a good look. “You sure you are happy with that cam?” What was he getting at! So I weighted it again, and sure enough the cam ripped! Took me quite by suprise, and I barn doored round but managed to flag back into balance! “Mmmm .. maybe wasn’t quite as good as I thought”, I said with a nervous laugh.

With the cam rectified it was time to move up, I’d spent a long time in the same position and my calf muscles were burning. I palmed the left face, moved my foot up, and pushed. The face was blank, but I managed to move up my right foot which then gave me a pocket on the left. At this point Adrian suggested more gear, and with the bulge at waist height, we discussed the potential placements. With Adrian asking if I could spot the obvious bomber, I found it after trial and error, seeing the placement high up at full reach. I grabbed a nut, ”It’s going to be a bit of a reach”. Adrian laughed, as I stretched and my nut found the placement first try. “You jammy git! Guess you are happy with that!” - I was indeed, and desperately wanted to move up, so I pushed against my tired legs, looking for the relative security of a right foot above the bulge. I started to layback, against fingers jammed into the crack, and just as I placed my left foot up on the left wall my right foot pinged off. My first lead fall.

As I hung head height with the bulge, and after some f-ing and blinding, I noticed that the rope had managed to unclip from the nut placement above the cam! “Just as well we sorted that cam!”, I thought to myself.

The second attempt had me up above the bulge, in a very precarious balancing act, with an inviting pocket you need to work toward high up on the right.  As I moved up again my left foot came off the left wall and I was down again! This time level with the bluge. With a bruised shin for my troubles.

So for a third time I battled the hard crux move onto the upper face, and began to rest. At this point the drizzle was turning to rain. “Come on Sol .. time to move! You have about a minute to clear this route or you’ll miss the opportunity”. I simply gritted my teeth and for the last time that day I put the worry behind me, and began to move up again, this time with some hinting from Adrian I found feet further into the crack line a little more secure, and in spite of a slip that had my hair standing on end and me shouting “take!”, I pushed through and made a very technical and balancey move up to find the pocket, and after a quick foot rejig I found the top with my left hand. Bloody Hell I did it! I can’t remember ever being so elated after a climb.

Neil considered the climb on my pre-placed protection, as I walked back, but the weather was worsening still more, and the opening moves just wouldn’t come. It was getting late, so we decided to call it a day! I asked Neil what grade the route was as we packed up - he didn’t know, so when Adrian confirmed it was an E1 5c (the grade book considers it a E1 5b)  I couldn’t believe my ears! I just looked up at the rock again, and actually it made perfect sense! An E1 .. I’d bloody climbed (albeit with two falls and a slip) an E1!

Forget the huge improvements we made on the day for now, I can’t remember a day outside I enjoyed more.

Neil and I arrived home after the 2 hour drive, during which we did nothing but talk about the day. What I find quite remarkable is how “up” for anything Adrian threw at me I was - I didn’t give either climb a second thought once I was tied in, and I can honestly say that the normal voice in my head suggesting I should back off just didn’t emerge in either climb - I so wanted to make both climbs.

Well Mr. Berry does advertise himself as “positive climbing” I guess - and what’s great about it is that it feels like all drive comes from within, or rather, it didn’t feel like a one off, spurred only from having a coach suggesting things. The successes we had are definitely takeaway, and I know repeatable away from his gentle persuasion.   

What a day - My first HVS (on which I felt pretty comfortable ); my first E1; my first climb in the drizzle; my first lead fall! Equally pleasurable, was watching Neil top out the HVS after his the normal battle with himself - only this time he won through!

It will be a long time before I have another day with so many firsts - I do however expect that with so many more choices to go at there will be a few more HVS and E1 climbs hitting my log book in the near future!

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 20th, 2008 at 10:11 am and is filed under Climbing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.