Salvador Dale

Haven't posted for a while and it's not because I've been painting the house. Bouldering wise; flashed a 7a+ of Cato's at Kvammen, that's the hardest grade problem I've flashed. Also have been developing a new boulder at Raudbua, I saw this one for the first time about 6 years ago but never bothered to develop it. Now I've started brushing and digging I have unearthed another classic boulder to add to the Haugland circuit. So far I've done one problem I've called it Salvador Dale, grade 7a+ of course. Reason for the name; the boulder looks like something from a salvador Dali painting. All other problems will take their names from his works. I used to have a poster of "Metamorphosis of narcicus" on my wall at university, I used to spend hours staring at it. Lat weekend was Are Morten and Ranghilds wedding. First time to a Norwegian wedding although this wasn't typical. Weekend before was Are's utdrikningslag (stag night) we went cruising round the fjord in his 175HP rigid hull inflatable. Lots of drinking although I was quite sensible copared to some of the others. Still don't know the story with the results, quite depressing when you work harder than normal and get worse results, awaiting the inquiry. Hilary and the kids are in London, I'm staying at home to look after Ben, didn't fancy going to London to be honest although I'll miss out on some good meals, English Beer, Billy Elliot, curry........ I blew it.

Drygolin Extreme

So much for the exploding powerhouse, Knut did quite a few of the hardest problems without too much difficulty, he's a lot taller than me though (he says with bottom lip stuck out). He also tried a project at Iglekjøn, got quite close but Cato got closer. I got nowhere, I'm blaming lack of hieght and that's that.
Today went to Raudbua, Are Morten held my rope whist I worked the moves on Vesla Daniel. Got all the moves but haven't tried to link them all. It's going to be a brutal but classic 8a. Very powerful undercut moves on a very steep wall with little in the way of footholds.
Have been doing some painting on the house. Bought a high pressure hose which I used to blast off the old paint (as instucted by man in harware shop), went to the paint shop and got told off for using a high pressure hose, it'll push too much water into the wood. So who do I believe. I'm sure I've seen loads of people using these hoses to clean walls before painting. Then got taken for the idiot that I am (when painting is concerned) and got sold the most expensive paint in the world, 1400 Kroner for 10 ltr. I think it was the name that did it for me it's called Drygolin Extreme, couldn't resist it. I mean where do I think we live, In a light house or something?

Exploding powerhouse

Weather cleared up for the weekend so went climbing. Was so keen to climb that I over did it a bit and now have very sore toes due to wearing my shoes too long and clipping my nails too short. Saturday got a text from Anders and met him at Myggen. He had two projects to clear out of the way, he did both and I repeated both. I think they were around the 6c to 7a mark. I also tried to onsight a route of his from last year Høvding dogfoot 7b. I couldn't work out the last move so I got the beta and had to settle for a flash. Was pleased to get it on flash since the last move wasn't easy.
When I got home had a message from Knut who was staying in Dale. He has had a very good year climbing many hard problems around the world including a couple of 8a's so I was keen to see how he foung the Haugland boulders. Well he is very strong and managed to flash slope JP and repeated the crown, he also had a look at sit down to macoun but thought it might be impossible. Watching Knut boulder I was most impressed by his explosive power on dynamic moves rather than his static strength. He could propel himself off slopers with great speed. This is how he did JP, barely touching the slopers on the way past. I think this is what I will work on next winter, explosive power. After all I was once famously described as "an exploding power house in the modern gymnastic style" so there we go.

Surfing

Got back from the surfing trip yesterday. The waves were small but perfect for Rowan to learn. He managed to stand and even turn the board. I was pleased that I could still do it and by the end of the second day was catching everything, the muscles used in climbing are the same as those used in surfing so i had no problem paddling the board. The only problem is that my body isn't used to all the continual effort, by the time I came home i was pretty drained. I think we'll go again next week, it's a long drive but if the wave is there it's worth it. I think I might get back into surfing, maybe take some students next term, could combine it with a surf kayak trip. I used to surf alot in Wales, almost everyday some weeks. Sometimes had my board outside the classroom so I could run down to the beach after class, we could see the surf from the computer room, this is where John L used to work so we (me and another teacher called Chris) would often pop in to check out the break. I miss that.

Rain in Flekke

It's been raining here for the past two days and when it stops the mosquitos come out. Decided to go surfing tomorrow, there is a beach about 4 hours north of here (see pic), going to take Rowan to see if he takes to it. Having surfed mavericks on the Kelly Slater game on his X box he should have some idea of what to do. We've got strawberries in our garden, it's great the way they ripen at different times so that every day you can go and pick enough for a bowl full. Just bought Ben a new tick collar, he had one early in the summer but it seems to have worn off. Everyday we pick loads of big ticks out of his hair, yuck. There seem to be two different type of tick, the one that stays black and hard and the one that is light, soft and big, or are they both the same thing. Luckily the big ones don't seem to attach to humans. Rowan has a nightmare about his face being covered by ticks, I think I may have written that before. I'm now getting to the stage of not being able to remember what I've already written. Used Skype for the first time today, talked with Thomas. Felt strange talking without a phone in my hand.

Computer Noises

My computer is making funny noises, quickly backed up a couple of things before it blows. Exam results have just come out, hmm. Have finished drilling at Raudbua, the result: 6 routes. 2 very hard possibly harder than 8a. Would be good to have an 8b project on the doorstep. Hilary and the kids have gone to Olso for the weekend, Ben and I are staying here. Not sure what we will do, probably not much, if the weather is OK I'll replace all the anchors on the Haugland cliff. At least the internet connection seems stable now. Rowan has been having a hard time playing wow with a dodgy connection, he keeps emerging from his room everytime it goes down, adds a new dimension of frustration. I asked Rowan if he ever meets with his guild to have a picnic or something, it seems not. Well the computer is still buzzing, maybe I should shut it down for a while.

Raudbua Path

Still developing the cliff at Raudbua, have been many times now and have started my own stone carrying project. Got a comment from Jelena about the path, hope I wasn't stepping on anyones toes. What has been done so far is great and the path is already much better than it would be so the SerEn people have done a good job. It's not finished though and since I now have a renewed interest in Raudbua thought it would be a good idea to use my enthusiasm in a positive way. Hopefully we can get a lot done in intro week and get some people interested enough to continue. Jelena makes the point about flat stones sinking, the only problem with big stones is they are heavy. Will watch the stones over the next month to assess rate of sinking.