USA Outdoor Stars, by Stevie Haston.

 the Burka is being banned but not the diving hoody!

In the background is a big new cliff, I,ll do some routes when I get back and invite some stars to do them. Iam getting too old and feeble for the sustained stuff.

 a couple of Stars big Chris and big Stephan, climbing legends not a leg end like me.

 Krieg chalk bags thumbs up!

 Steve Petros fat mits compared with Stevie Haston's fat mitts.

 a chalk bag with a difference!

the Tau carabiner, an interesting beautiful thing.

Lots of great gear, lots of wonderful people, a Trade fair but still a gathering of the tribe.

Out door show by Stevie Indoor Haston

 by Smith , Burr and Phillips.

Thanks to all the people who are making my visit to the States a good one. Grivels Importer in the USA is Liberty Mountain who are a great set of guys. They deserve some business, check them out, huge range of gear, really good stuff.

 some grivel new biners to look at and play with.

 some cool shots on the left, one of me, but the Zion one underneath is really good

Our trail running gear is dare I say it brill, the three different sizes and weights of running pack are super good and do the job. The yellow one is my favourite because its the lightest, you might have different needs , check them out.

So I will be at the Liberty Mountain booth out the front and I will answer any sensible or non sensible question. Strictly no politics! Like I said check things out at the Liberty Mountain booth, the staf for Liberty are very know legible and real friendly. It looks like a good show for lots of people. Good luck to every body, live long and prosper.

On a Jet Pane, by Stevie Haston

Going to America, Salt Lake Out door show here I come. Left my brain somewhere in the Middle sea,  what is it with check in auto machines that I can't work.  Passing through Italy what is it with their need to wear really strange obtrusive sun glasses, if Italians have a fault surely it must be this! But they do have the Dolomites and this excuses every thing!

 I need a bunch of new cams.

My body is battered, I been upside down again in the vice like grip of ceiling cracks and my body is bashed beaten, not good. 18 hours on a plane might sort it out-will probably take medicinal quantities of booze.

 the view on coming up, not bad, down below a Grouper in a cave, above sunbathers groping each other in the sun!

On the last day I went diving twice, two different spots, one for depth, and one for cruising with fishes.

 I can feel a trip coming on , diving and climbing, where to go-Madagasca!

I love comparing sports, but comparing diving to climbing is weird, the progression is distantly strange. In climbing, a harder grade is not so much to get, a months work or so. And if you get strong fingers many many things are possible, but diving is about your ears and maintaining a really neutral brain.
Its frustrating.
 

Good bye Gozo.

Cracks, I was dreaming about cracks, the bed clothes where sweaty and tied in knots. I hate dreaming about cracks, knurly,, bruising cracks, when I dream of the sea or powder its smooth and about gliding, dreamy grace. Cracks, I don't think I like them, only on Wingate Sandstone.

Training for training, by Stevie the train Haston.

Training, the everlasting need to train, if you don't train you will not do. I am off for 10 days travelling and working and I will need to fit some in. I won't have my sea to swim and dive in, so I will hold my breath and walk between connections for short distances. I'll do Yoga in the morning and at night.

Pull ups, always do a few pull ups

 I will need to do two work outs, for my fingers and arms. In fact I must, as I am getting weaker. Yoga, flexibility, breathing and inner calm have all taken precedent over pull ups and finger boarding. It was necessary as I had lost a great deal, well I got it back now its time to get the fundamentals of strength back.

 grrr, wrist training.

It's hard to train for cracks when you have a real lack of them! I love doing Planks, and I like doing the odd push up. Sooooooo. In different fighting styles they tell you to punch with different knuckles. But …. are any of these the correct ones? A long time ago an old gnarly man told me to to use them all, so from time to time I do. If you rock from back to front knuckles you get strong hands, if you go a bit further you get strong wrists. Useful for crack climbing? Yes a bit, better than nuffing!

 pressups on different sets of knuckles

 Old standards can be good tests.

 Training to repent my sins-training.

 placing cams, falling on them, breaking them-training.

Training should be as specific as you can make it. Really it has to be. But if you can't climb the rope to get back in place to do the specific move you are not gonna be specific. So you should be able to climb a rope, in this case its a skinny one, good cramp inducer.

 working moves along way from home-training!

Climbing different angles is very necessary if you want to climb different angles, Core muscles start to be the big dictator when things get steep.

home training.

Always alternate front core, and back core. Watch your back, train in control. Do not get injured, the first and most fundamental rule of training is don't get injured. Iam sure you know the second and third rule of training-thats right don't get injured.

Make America Great again,Titties and beer. By Stevie Haston.

fff

I am off to America for the Salt Lake show. With apologies to Frank Zapper, I'am possibly wrong, correct me, always liked his lyrics, I do not like Trumps lyrics. Please god of what ever faith, make it not so. Do not let America fall into the same trap that has just befallen the UK. Anyway looking foreword to a great time, meeting old friends and doing some work. 

 The odd week of being a vegan does not seemed to have turned me into a long haired hippy, or a liberal without a backbone.

Last year the guys at Liberty Mountain took me into the best Canyon I'ave ever done, this year I'll get a day at City of the Rocks, perfect grant, in a mellow setting, with Red Kites circling.

 the new sector, Titties and Beer.

 This is the left hand section, lovely ledge to belay from. its good rock steep with fossils.

 the ledge.

 I bow to the great one.

My Yoga is going well, I wish I had been more diligent in my poxy life, I have gone backwards so many times in my life. I would love to move on to further good climbs. The cliff I have found is very inspiring, but might need very high levels of stamina. Anyway we will see. I have promised to start my book properly if I can get deeper than 35 meters, and its suddenly looking possible, which is a bit of a shock as I didn't want to write my book!

the Grivel Thor hammer, a very good hammer, on a very practical leash, I have no trouble saying this is a great little set up.

When I come back from the states I have a few weeks work, but am very much looking forward to climbing and equipping my new cliff. Since I did my last route called Bernd, the biggest roof crack I'ave so far done, inspiration has been absent. Bernd was just too good. Well there are a few more songs in the old fiddle yet I think.

Equalisation, by Stevie unbalanced Haston.

ff

To be stuck in your training is a bit sad, but I am stuck. The answer is to get pro advice, but it costs money, and I aint got any! Whats he talking about, I hear you ask.

 It's to do with water, and gases, and pressure. It's do do with Eustachian tube and equalisation of pressure as I go down into the depths, it's difficult to master. Masters are all ways good to consult when you are trying to master something.  I was thinking about Ian Vickers the great UK climber, comp climber, and master on sight climber yesterday. He still climbs really well, and what his body doesn't know, isn't much. A Master.

 am I the only person who does some yoga in new shoes, and whisper to them what I want them to do for me?

Years of training, and I know some things, and not others. The records keep tumbling, and surely knowledge must be growing. Well no, knowledge isn't really growing, not in the esoteric sports like climbing, and Free diving, its more that people aren't doing the bad things, and they are so much more consistent. 

 When I started climbing no one warmed up and no one stretched!

Not many people are very flexible, but lots of the successful girl sport climbers are. Why don't the boys bother? Too busy doing macho Campusing?

At the moment Iam doing a lot of Yoga stretching. An hours breathing a day and maintaining my climbing, but Iam going to have to vamp it up.

I tried a route called Realisation years ago, before it had a serious attempt, and it was like looking into the future, or looking down into the infinite depths. I thought I was 6 or so months away from that sort of level. I may have been wrong or right, but I won't have been out by much. If I had the courage and the money to have pulled my finger out, it would have been very interesting, ahead of its time. The chance disappeared, it disappeared for many, it will continue to disappear. The path to righteousness is full of broken promises. Do your training! Iam doing some really strange things at the moment, as I said. I do not want to not do, what I want to do! So I will Equalise. I will optimise my training, make the effort, continue to make the effort.  

New cliff of the millennium, by Stevie Haston.

I found a great cliff the other day and was full of joy. But on the return, swimming back, my joy turned to sadness, and then pissed offness. Loud disco music, rubbish, humans, booze, cigarettes, shit, as in shit you know real human poop near sun bathers!

 Abseil class, Diana takes her first ginger steps.

 A roof of almost perfect proportions, the Gina Lollobrigida of cliffs.

I have to thank Simon Peck and cousin Paul for helping me with gear and support this last month thanks guys. I think this cliff my warrant some urgent attention.

 the planet from the right side, no stupid humans down here!

 limpid water.

 going through a little sump or dive thru, into the murk of a over used bay, I surfaced into tourist and boat carnage.

Generally the visibility goes over 25 meters, exceptionally to 45 meters in the sea here. But with boat traffic, tourist rubbish, Tuna farms (if your unlucky enough  to have one near you) the viz can be disappointing. Humans are generally disappointing in my estimation, don't you think? The sea is so good, it's life, its actually breath. Bottom trawling, acidification of the water, pesticides, pollution are killing life. One of the worst causes is sun tan oil, a small amount is very destructive to sea life.

a charcoal and rubbish bin meters away ignored by bad people.

I found a great cliff, I hope after I put up routes never to see climber rubbish there. The degree of rubbish is growing. Beer cans are favourite, wet wipes and toilet paper, plastic bottles and suntan oil, its horrible. I am sadly used to it, but every now and then I fume. The bays and busy places need water sweepers and rubbish collectors. All the fuss thats made over Everest when its only wealthy people who go, here we have an island, a resource for locals and visitors alike who's cleanliness leaves a little to be desired.