I had a project, my best project it was called Ludwig, it was next to a neighbour called Amadeus, it was my best project, I'am kinda getting used to the idea that I will never do it! Well it was, or is at least 9a+, but you know it fit me man, it and me we were made for each other. I might have to come back again as a ruthless serious climber type, in my next life that is, this life was more about exploring failure and going snow boarding, and dancing rather badly while being inebriated.
My project this year is to be very fit, and have slightly less silly fun, but more serious success. Day five, I bolted a route, I don't want to bolt routes any more, and I bolted a route. There's no support for climbing here, and this is at a time when touristic climbing in the Med is at a bit of sticking point because of corrosion and failure of bolts in a few locations, and yet climbing is fundamentally important on my island as a sport for locals and touristic money.
Today was complicated, and then suddenly it's simple, the wind, cold today -clean-brisk-urgent, the rock steep-interesting-demanding, me I was covered in dust, went to chum my old partner Inigo, training at the gym. Climbing is important to him, photos are important to him, life is important to me, him, our mates, and the world is overhanging us with it's shit, Putin legislates for Omg labelling, and another big empire actively protects poisoners.
Have you drunk this stuff? Kefir is really good for you, give it a try! Ask your grocer or supermarket to stock some, if you like it.
This is a bit of tree resin, it makes climbing a bit easier, lots of people use it but they don't tell anybody. It's a beautiful thing, when it hardens into rock it's a gem called amber, sometimes complete with recognisable ants, and such, all visible, all wonderful.
This is a little mini landscape, wind eroded, a window into the past, the sea bed eons ago, sometimes I'ave pulled up on these shells, the crux of an arete way above the sea, a v9 sequence is pulling up on a small bit of a fossilised sea urchin. Tomorrow, 1000 pull ups, 500 of them with a 10 kg belt, a good intention, will it happen. Will a small island get a sport that its inhabitants have been doing for millennium, the fishermen and fowlers here have been climbing grade 5 for thousands of years and we have trouble today getting it recognised as a sport! Well, welcome to the modern diabetic, overweight world of people.