1st June 2012
St Loy
Ivy Incorporated – V Diff – Second
Harmony – HVS 5b – Lead (dnf)
Monochrome Men – E1 5b – Second
Supercruise – HVS 4c – Lead
I returned to St Loy for one specific reason on this day and as with my attempt before with Joe, Harmony gave me a good seeing to.
Once again things just did not flow on this HVS. I thought I new what I was going to do, but its easy to forget how akward the climb is and how pumpy it is too. Add to this my sweaty hands and I had a recipe for disaster which I duly served up to myself.
I have resolved now to return on a cool evening and remember the lessons I have learnt so far.
- Dont place pro on the high crucial hold on the first niche. Otherwise you just make it even harder.
- Wait until my hands are not as sweaty so I can get the jam working on the second niche.
- Do this climb at the end of a session, otherwise the bitter taste of defeat stays with you.
At least this time I didnt spit my dummy out…..just.
Otherwise this was a great session, mixed with Chris adding to his E1 tally and Dave tackling a stiff V Diff. And we had the company of Dolphins, which always brings a smile to your face.
Ivy Incorporated is not a straight forward V Diff. The bottom section is steep and unusually for a climb of this grade you place gear in a not very relaxed position.
But it is a fine climb, leading to a high top out above the main face. Dave managed to find the biggest pro placement I’ve ever seen looping a sling around a three ton boulder. Its what you might call ‘bomber’.
Chris had great fun on Monochrome Men, a demanding E1 but well protected. It really should get four stars it’s that good. As some passing climbers said, if MM was up country there would be people on it all day and I could see why. A committing swing on to the face leads to good holds and pro.
But as you get higher the holds and foot placements start to get thin culminating in a desperate move for the thank god holds at the top. Just brilliant.
My final climb of the day was Supercruise, a soft HVS given 4c, but really more 4b in my opinion. I think it gets the HVS for the bold moves high up where you leave your pro a way behind.
Having said that, its a good climb, if a little taxing on the toes. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it is a good candidate for a warm up if your going to tackle the other more demanding E numbers at St Loy.
And with that we walked out a lot quieter than we had arrived. Exhausted but happy.
…. as Larry
