With the GROWL circuit still up, a Northern University Boulder Series comp circuit, and a new Red Circuit, Rock Over Climbing has around 100 new routes!

And if that wasn't enough, we are setting a new Blue circuit (v2-3) this Tuesday!

 

So come on down and give them all a go!

Tom L

Today saw the NUBS at Rock Over Climbing. 30 problems, v0-8+ to climb. The circuit has stayed up which means anyone can come down and give it a go!

 

Tom L

Rock Over Climbing Newsletter

As usual we are super busy here at Rock Over, the weather is rubbish o its training time!

Here is a quick rundown of what we have been up to and what we have to look forward to in the coming weeks:

Bring a New User

As Rock Over climbing is grateful for every new friend you introduce to Rock Over Climbing we will give you ½ price entry every time you bring a new user for the 1^st time. (Please note this can only be redeemed once per new user and only redeemable at time of entry with the new user.)

Final round of the GROWL

The fourth and final round of the GROWL is being held on Saturday 11^th February and it is shaping up to be an awesome event.  All of the categories are very closely fought and it looks like the last round will be the decider. 

Just a quick reminder that there will be prizes for both the final round and the overall league winners so even if you have not been to any of the other rounds then you are still in with a chance to win! 

The overall league scores will be based on your best 3 scores out of the 4 rounds so even if you have only been to 2 rounds so far then you are still in with a chance to win the overall league prizes!

Overall prizes are as follows:

• Male and Female Open: 1^st - £200, 2^nd - £100, 3^rd - £50
• Male and Female DMM Beginners league: Bouldering mats, Bags, boulder buckets.
• Male and Female Juniors: Bouldering mats, climbing shoes and much more!
• Male and Female Veterans: Climbing shoes
• Male and Female Dry Tooling:  Climbing shoes, passes and more.

As well as these great prizes, we also have a whole bunch of other stuff to give away including:

• Climbing shoes , Beanies, Chalkbags ,Posters, Dinner for two, Hotel bed and breakfast
• Comedy club tickets, Helly Hansen thermals, Cakes, Rock Over T-shirts and hoodies
• And much, much more!

Many thanks to all of our sponsors:

• Boreal, Dmm, Metolius, Evolv, Prana
• Cotswold Outdoor, Helly Hansen, Park Inn, Propermaid
• Frog and Bucket, Love 2 Eat, Manchester Wheel, Printworks Odeon

Jordan and Naomi Buys Coaching

Thursday 2^nd February once again we have Jordan and Naomi Buys in coaching for the evening, places are limited for the 1.5hr coaching session and at a bargain price of just £15 they are booking up fast!  Give us a call on 0161 288 1218 to reserve your space.  

We are now Fully license to serve you a refreshing beer after climbing!

We now have a full drinks licence and are stocking a good range of lager, ale and cider as well as wine at some of the best prices in the city centre!  The bar is open from 6-10 weekdays and 5-8 on weekends.

Evolv boot demo

Monday 13^th February from 18:00 we are holding an Evolv boot demo with sponsored climber Nick Moulden on hand to offer his expert advice.  For those of you who have not been to a boot demo before, this is an opportunity to try on and climb in the very latest Evolv boots, including the new SHAMEN, free of charge, essentially you can ‘try before you buy’

Boreal boot demo

We will be holding a Boreal boot demo in the near future, dates are yet to be confirmed so watch this space!  This will be a perfect opportunity to try the latest technical offerings from Boreal including the new Lynx and Kintaro which feature the new Zenith rubber, possibly the stickiest rubber ever used on a rock boot!

New routes

As always we have been busy setting a whole array of fantastic new routes for you, our latest offerings include a brilliant red, blue and purple circuit.  Simon has just reset the traverse wall with routes from f4-f7b and he will be adding a new brown V3-6 circuit on Thursday.  Come on down and enjoy!

Physio  /Massage

As always, Clive, our resident Physiotherapist and Tim and Lynne our sports therapists are always on hand to answer any questions or to fix any injuries you may have whether thy are climbing related or not.

cliverileyphysio@gmail.com

contact@globaltherapies.com

The fourth and final round of the GROWL is being held on Saturday 11^th February and it is shaping up to be an awesome event.  All of the categories are very closely fought and it looks like the last round will be the decider. 

Just a quick reminder that there will be prizes for both the final round and the overall league winners so even if you have not been to any of the other rounds then you are still in with a chance to win! 

The overall league scores will be based on your best 3 scores out of the 4 rounds so even if you have only been to 2 rounds so far then you are still in with a chance to win the overall league prizes!

Overall prizes are as follows:

• Male and Female Open: 1^st - £200, 2^nd - £100, 3^rd - £50
• Male and Female DMM Beginners league: Bouldering mats, Bags, boulder buckets.
• Male and Female Juniors: Bouldering mats, climbing shoes and much more!
• Male and Female Veterans: Climbing shoes
• Male and Female Dry Tooling:  Climbing shoes, passes and more.

As well as these great prizes, we also have a whole bunch of other stuff to give away including:

• Climbing shoes
• Beanies
• Chalkbags
• Posters
• Dinner for two
• Hotel bed and breakfast
• Comedy club tickets
• Helly Hansen thermals
• Cakes
• Rock Over T-shirts and hoodies
• And much, much more!

Many thanks to all of our sponsors:

• Boreal – http://www.e-boreal.com/
• Dmm – http://www.dmmclimbing.com/
• Metolius – http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/
• Evolv – http://www.evolvesports.com/
• Prana – http://www.prana.com/
• Cotswold Outdoor – http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/
• Helly Hansen – http://www.hellyhansen.com/
• Park Inn – http://www.parkinn.co.uk/
• Propermaid – http://www.propermaid.co.uk/
• Frog and Bucket – http://www.frogandbucket.com/
• Love 2 Eat – http://www.love-2eat.com/
• Manchester Wheel – http://www.greatcityattractions.com/

Rock Over Climbing

January Update

 

Hello!

 

Sat 11^th February Party Time!

Come and join the fun at Rock Over on February 11^th, with the next, and last round of the GROWL. Guaranteed to be a great day, with some amazing prizes, loads of new routes, great music, fantastic food, and a raffle! You don’t have to compete on the day, just come and join the event! But if you want to enter the raffle all you have to do is put your name on a scorecard and hand it in!

Also don’t forget to stick around for the Dry Tooling comp in the evening starting at 17:00, remember the highest combined score for bouldering and Dry Tooling over the league will be crowned the KING OF THE GROWL and will win an ANNUAL PASS!

Check out the Round 3 Round-up here

Bring a friend deal

 

Registered members have a chance to benefit from half price entry prices! All you need to do is bring a new climber to the wall, and get them to register with us. Only one half reduction per visit, and existing user must be a member.

 

150 new routes in the centre!

 

With the new Lilac (V0), Orange (V0-2), Blue (V2-3), Purple (V3-4), and Red (V5-6) circuits going up recently, plus the GROWL Round 3 routes, there are LOADS of new problems to try! Plus, next week we’ll see the White circuit (V4-5) get changed too!

 

Prana Clearance Clothing

 

Check out our eBay shop, or come down to the centre, and you’ll see we have a bunch of reduced prAna clothes in stock. As much as 50% off RRP for trousers and hoodies!

 

New Stock Arriving Soon

 

We have a load of new stock arriving soon, including Niall Grimes new guidebook, Boulder Britain, covering bouldering across the country, from Cornwall to Scotland and Ireland. Watch this space!

 

New purple circuit set and tested by Simon Chevis, at v3-4. Come on down and give them a go!
 

Plus, the Blue circuit has been slightly tweaked due to customer comments, so come down and try the new versions!

 

White V4-5 circuit will be changed next week too, so you don't have long to tick any projects!

 

 

Tom L

On Saturday Rock Over Climbing hosted the 3^rd round of the Great Rock Over Winter League (GROWL), with over 100 people competing, and over 120 through our doors just joining in with the day’s festivities!

The GROWL is a great event, open to any age and any ability, and our competitors list was a great display of that! Competitors ranged from age 4, to over 60, from British elite, to complete novices, and everywhere in between.

42 Problems were set by Jamie Cassidy, Simon Chevis, and Tom Lloyd, with difficulty ranging from V0- to V8+ - easily enough of each grade to satisfy any ability!

The speed climb-off was a great spectacle, and had Rock Over’s own Brett Chapman (just) making it in! Michael Hopkins easily campused half the route, finishing in 1^st place in the 11-15 Males, and ROC Academy climber Ellissa Bryant narrowly missed the last hold, but easily gained 1^st position. In the adults we saw top coach, and top climber, Jordan Buys finish the route with ease, and well within the time required to take first place, Craig Bailey (who is currently 1^st on overall points)hot on his heels. Top female coach, and climber Naomi Buys just missed out on 1^st place, dropping the route a few holds from the top, and an on-form Charlotte Garden cruised the route to the top, taking 1^st place, and leaving us in no doubt as to who will be taking home the league prize!

And it wasn’t just in the Adult Open and 11-15 categories that people were battling it out, as we saw a great field of Vets and Beginners, some scoring very high!

After the main competition, the party continued with the Dry Tooling league, which this time included a one-handed dyno to a tyre! The field was, again, strong, and every problem was completed except the last move on one boulder traverse. Free inductions to Dry Tooling were being provided by Tom S, and all ages participated, from 5-10 Female winner, Pippa Watkin, to Vets competitor Jill Harris.

Rock Over Climbing is now fully licensed to sell/serve alcoholic drinks on the premises, and Tom and Leann cooked a huge batch of meat, and veg, chilli, so we ensured everyone was well fed and watered with giant jacked potatoes, and large bottles of Ale!

All in all, it was a great event, with a fantastic turnout and a large range of climbers, and here at Rock Over Climbing we’re all looking forward to the next (and last this season) one! – Saturday 11^th February.

Full results can be found @ RESULTS

Loads of routing been going on this week:

We have new reds set by Tom at V5/6

New lilac & Spots set by Ryan and Brett V0

Orange circuit going at V1/2 set by Simon

And today tom is etting the Blues at V2/3

So since Friday 10th January we have set over 120 new routes, plus we have new drytooling routes!!!!

It's never dull at Rock Over Climbing

 

On Saturday Rock Over Climbing hosted the 3^rd round of the Great Rock Over Winter League (GROWL), with over 100 people competing, and over 120 through our doors just joining in with the day’s festivities!

The GROWL is a great event, open to any age and any ability, and our competitors list was a great display of that! Competitors ranged from age 4, to over 60, from British elite, to complete novices, and everywhere in between.

42 Problems were set by Jamie Cassidy, Simon Chevis, and Tom Lloyd, with difficulty ranging from V0- to V8+ - easily enough of each grade to satisfy any ability!

The speed climb-off was a great spectacle, and had Rock Over’s own Brett Chapman (just) making it in! Michael Hopkins easily campused half the route, finishing in 1^st place in the 11-15 Males, and ROC Academy climber Ellissa Bryant narrowly missed the last hold, but easily gained 1^st position. In the adults we saw top coach, and top climber, Jordan Buys finish the route with ease, and well within the time required to take first place, Craig Bailey (who is currently 1^st on overall points)hot on his heels. Top female coach, and climber Naomi Buys just missed out on 1^st place, dropping the route a few holds from the top, and an on-form Charlotte Garden cruised the route to the top, taking 1^st place, and leaving us in no doubt as to who will be taking home the league prize!

And it wasn’t just in the Adult Open and 11-15 categories that people were battling it out, as we saw a great field of Vets and Beginners, some scoring very high!

After the main competition, the party continued with the Dry Tooling league, which this time included a one-handed dyno to a tyre! The field was, again, strong, and every problem was completed except the last move on one boulder traverse. Free inductions to Dry Tooling were being provided by Tom S, and all ages participated, from 5-10 Female winner, Pippa Watkin, to Vets competitor Jill Harris.

Rock Over Climbing is now fully licensed to sell/serve alcoholic drinks on the premises, and Tom and Leann cooked a huge batch of meat, and veg, chilli, so we ensured everyone was well fed and watered with giant jacked potatoes, and large bottles of Ale!

All in all, it was a great event, with a fantastic turnout and a large range of climbers, and here at Rock Over Climbing we’re all looking forward to the next (and last this season) one! – Saturday 11^th February.

Full results can be found here

Tom L

 

The 3rd round of the GROWL is this Saturday 7th January!

 

Registration opens at 10:00 with climbing from 11:00 - 15:00.

 

EVERYONE WELCOME!  With different routes set for each of the categories, Open, Junior (6-10), Junior (11-15), Veteran and Beginner.

 

Everyone can come along and have a great time, no need to compete, the centre is open as usual!

 

Dont forget to stick around for the Dry Tooling in the evening starting at 17:00.

 

 

GROWL ROUND 3 only 1 Week Away!!!

Just one week (and a day) until the 3rd round of our Great Rock Over Winter League. Come down for great music, delicious food, fun & friendly atmosphere, and world-class route-setting.

40 New routes for all ages and abilities, from V0 for age 4+, to V8+ for the beasts among you!
...
Setting by Ian Vickers, Simon Chevis and Tom Lloyd

Dry Tooling will follow the main event, from 5pm, again anyone welcome.

So come on down and join the Party!!!!

Tom L

GROWL Round 2

On Saturday 3^rd December Rock Over Climbing held the second round of the GROWL!  Was a great turnout and with over 100 competitors competing in 10 different categories!

With 42 fantastic problems set by Ian Vickers, Simon Chevis and Tom Lloyd (each category attempting 30) everyone had their work cut out and people were soon getting their teeth stuck in.  The infamous ‘Death Star’ once again made an appearance and provided a huge amount of swinging amusement, it was surprisingly easy to use however finishing the problem was a different matter altogether!

The scores across the categories this round were really close with Craig Bailey and Jack Rotherham tying for 1^st place in the Male Open with a whole bunch of climbers hot on their heels it was down to the speed final to decide the overall winner for the round.

The top climbers from the open and 11-15 yr old junior categories went through to our speed final to decide the winners of the round.  The competitors were allowed to view the route before they each got one attempt at climbing it against the clock.  The route meandered across our new steep wall before transferring over onto the comp wall; it started easy and then increased in difficulty to a super hard move right at the very end.  Despite some valliant attempts, particularly Yin (who seemed to forget the idea was speed!) nobody managed to complete the route and so the winners were decided on time:

Male Open – Jack Rotherham

Female Open – Jen Wood

Male 11-15 – Connor Byrne

Female 11-15 – Ellissa Bryant

Full results and league scores can be found on our website:

http://www.rockoverclimbing.co.uk/news/growl-round-2-scores/

Gallery

We also have 2 cash prize problems at each round, the male and female problem each have a prize pot of £50 to be split between whoever can get up them.  Despite the male problem looking super hard, Jack Rotherham quickly dispatched it second go and the money looked safely his right up until the last minute when strong junior Connor Byrne also managed to top the problem leaving them with £25 a piece.  The female problem also looked tough however it was no match for Charlotte Garden who walked away with the full £50.

 

As part of the GROWL we are also holding the BOREAL improvers league with the most improved Adult, Junior and Beginner from each round, winning a pair of BOREAL rock boots.

Adult – Karen Mpetha

Beginner – Luke Donnelly

Junior – Michelle Murray

After the finals had finished it was time to start the Dry Tooling competition, this consisted of 5 routes set by Simon, 2 long boulder traverses which started easy and progressively got harder and harder, and 3 top rope routes.  There was a huge variety in the routes with some being long and pumpy whilst others were super technical and tenuous and others were just great fun! 

We had a good turnout but we are keen to get more people to have a go, remember it doesn’t matter if you don’t have any kit or if you have never even held an ice axe before, we have the equipment you can use and we can show you how to use it!

There was a wide range of abilities in the Dry Tooling comp from complete beginners, super strong boulderers (who have never used an axe before!), seasoned winter climbers and even one of Britains top winter climbers Andy Turner, all competing and having a laugh alongside each other.

Andy managed to pretty casually flash all five of the routes and so at the end of the comp it all came down to latecomer Ben Humphris.  Ben had managed to flash 4 out of the 5 routes and so the pressure was on as he started the last long boulder traverse, despite some incredibly sketchy moments on the final tenuous moves he managed to pull it out of the bag and got the flash making it a joint 1^st place.

The next round of the GROWL is being held on Saturday 7^th January and we guarantee that it will be even better than before with fantastic routes and prizes  and a great fun atmosphere!

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE! J

Last Thursday, 8^th December, saw the second Jordan & Naomi Buys coaching night take place. The 12 spaces filled up fast, with a 50:50 split giving an instructor ratio of 1:6. The night was a great success, with all the students gaining a lot of coaching both on the night, and to take away with them to work on! At the end of the session we were already being asked when the next one is (late January).

A great session, by two fantastic coaches!

Tom L

Rock Over Climbing Christmas offers 2011!

 

We have a great range of products on offer for you to choose from, ranging from coaching & inductions to Hoodies and Climbing shoes!!!

 

All offer are only valid until 23^rd December 2011

 

Improver Bouldering Course Was £60 Now only £50

 

Consists of three[3] 1hour coaching sessions, designed to help the beginner/ intermediate learn and develop new climbing skills and techniques.  It is delivered one to one, so the student and instructor can maximise the learning outcomes. 

 

Intro to bouldering package Normally £45.80, Now only £25

(1 induction, 1 years membership, 2 free climbs, kit hire included)

 

This makes an amazing gift for the Christmas/ New Year, allowing you a full taste of climbing. The induction teaches you the basics of bouldering, how to use the wall safely and how to get the most out of your climbing sessions. You then get 1years membership, which means after your 2 free entries, you get discounted entry any other time you climb at Rock Over Climbing.

On completion of the induction adults are able to use the centre unsupervised and can also sign in up to 2 other climbers or supervise 2 child climbers.

 

Family Induction Normally £45, Now only £35

Family Induction £45 2 Adults & 2 Children

 

Looking for a great treat for the family this winter? Then this is the one for you!

This session is for Adults and Children with no experience of bouldering. The aim is to teach you the basics of bouldering, how to use the wall safely and how to get the most out of your climbing sessions. You will be taught by one of our experienced instructors. The course is one hour long, and after the session you can stay on climbing for as long as you wish, which can make a great day out.

 

T-Shirt & Hoodie combo Normally £24 Now £20

 

All our T-Shirts & Hoodies are hand-printed, each with a bespoke design. Have a look on our website or pop in and see what we have. They make brilliant stocking fillers, and each one is a unique piece of Art!!!!

 

Climbing Shoes & Chalk Bag starter pack £70

 

Just started climbing? Want to get your own shoes and chalk bag? Well this is for you. Choose from our Evolv Defy & Elektra, Boreal Joker and Scarpa Vantage shoes and any chalk bag (including chalk ball) for only £70!! The shoes RRP at £72.50, chalk bags £15 & chalk £2.50, making a saving of £20!

 

Performance Shoes 15% off

 

Stepping up a grade? Want more performance from your shoes? Want to replace your old ones? Well this is for you, choose from our Evolv Optimus Prime & Pontas, Boreal Crux and Scarpa Vapour shoes and get 15% off.

 

Last Saturday saw over 100 Rock Over Climbing climbers enter the GROWL, 'Great Rock Over Winter Bouldering League'. The youngest was 3 years old and she scored points!!!!!!! It was an amazing day, with everyone contributing to a fun, relaxed atmosphere.

A full report and pics will follow shortly.

Scores can be found at /news/growl-round-2-scores/

Remeber that anyone can join in the fun and win prizes. You do not have to compete, but there are over 40 new problems to go at some come join the fun. The next round is Saturday 7th January.

Beat the rain tomorrow and head down to Rock Over Climbing for our GROWL round 2. Ian Vickers and Simon are currently setting new routes for the comp, plus we have raffles, food, beer and a whole new Comp Wall set to get stuck in to!

 

Tom L

Tom llloyd is back from a climbing trip to spain and has set a great new orange circuit graded V1-V2

SAT 3^rd December Big Party at Rock Over, the weather looks ‘PANTS for the coming weekend so come and join the fun at Rock Over this coming Saturday is the next round of the GROWL so come on down and have a great day and win some amazing prizes, problems will be set by  Ian Vickers, Simon Chevis & Tom lloyd. Everyone welcome and if you don’t fancy competing that’s fine just try out the 40 odd new routes from V0 upwards. But if you want to enter the raffle all you have to do is put your name on a scorecard and hand it in!!!!!!!!

Also don’t forget to stick around for the Dry Tooling comp in the evening starting at 17:00, remember the highest combined score for bouldering and Dry Tooling over the leaue will be crowned the KING OF THE GROWL and will win an ANNUAL PASS!

The Beastmaker board has moved upstairs, we have used a very similar hold configuration as before but now it is at a less steep angle so that more people will be able to train on it, problems so far range from around V5 - V9ish?

The new circuit board upstairs has had a whole bunch of extra holds added to it so you can make up your own circuits.

Local superhero JASON PICKLES has added 10 new problems to the main centre ranging from soft V7 upwards, he had refused to grade them claiming purely that each one is a masterpiece!

On Monday Simon  reset the Red V5/6 circuit

Thursday 8th December we have JORDAN AND NAOMI BUYS running coaching sessions from 19:00-20:30 at just £15, we still have a few places left so call us on 0161 288 1218 to reserve your space!

Our T-Shirts and Hoodies have dropped in price!!!!!!! YYYEEEAAAAHHH I hear you say, just in time for your Christmas shopping!!! Now you can get a T-shirt @ £9 and a Hoodie @ £15. Go on....... Treat a loved one this christmas or yourself. Just ask next time your in or give us a call to place your order.

 

We have been very busy over the last week or so, here are a few bits and bobs that we have been up to:

 

 - Beastmaker board has moved upstairs, we have used a very similar hold configuration as before but now it is at a less steep angle so that more people will be able to train on it, problems so far range from around V5 - V9ish?

 

 - The circuit board upstairs has had a whole bunch of extra holds added to it so you can make up your own circuits.

 

 - Local superhero JASON PICKLES has added 10 new problems to the main centre ranging from soft V7 upwards, he had refused to grade them claiming purely that each one is a masterpiece!

 

 - The upstairs seating area had had a lick of paint and has generally been spruced up to create a nice quiet WARM chillout lounge for you to sit and chat and drink tea and eat cake!

 

 - On Monday Simon will be resetting the Red V5/6 circuit, this should be ready to go for around 18:00.

 

 - Thursday 8th December we have JORDAN AND NAOMI BUYS running coaching sessions from 19:00-20:30 at just £15, we still have a few places left so call us on 0161 288 1218 to reserve your space!

 

Dont forget that next Saturday 3rd December is the next round of the GROWL so come on down and have a great day and win some amazing prizes, problems will be set by Simon Chevis and Ian Vickers.  Also dont forget to stick around for the Dry Tooling comp in the evening starting at 17:00, remember the highest combined score for bouldering and Dry Tooling over the leaue will be crowned the KING OF THE GROWL and will win an ANNUAL PASS!

New set of Lilac V0s, now with black spots instead of tags! Set by Brett and Tom L. Come on down and get involved! Also pretty new (14th Nov) whites v4-5, set by Simon, to get on. All look great!

 

Tom L

Round 1

Great Rock Over Climbing Winter League

‘GROWL’

Last Saturday saw the first round of the GROWL and what a fantastic start to the winter.

Results

Bouldering & Drytooling Gallery

We had a great turnout in all categories with climbers of all ages and abilities taking part, our junior categories starting at age 5! The standard of climbing was very high in all categories, which included complete beginners (some only started climbing last week) right up to world cup competition climbers, such as Alex Puccio, Shauna Coxsey and James Garden.

Besides the standard winter league format in which points are accumulated each month, every round has a final speed climb-off in the junior and adult open categories to decide the winner of that round. There are also prizes for the winner of each category including the beginners  and for the person who most improves with each round.

Shauna Coxsey and James Garden won the league round for Female and Male Open respectively. Alex Puccio came a close second to Shauna (only 3 points in it – one more go!). Then Nathan Phillips; Craig Bailey and Anthony Edwards battled it out in the men’s final, and Charlotte Garden; Jennifer Wood; Rachel Slater and Rock Over’s very own Emily Ward fought for the women’s prize.

In the Junior 11-15 final, we saw Rock Over’s Academy shine, with two of our students, Ellissa Bryant, and Samantha Roberts both competing, as well as Michelle Murray. The Junior male final was no less tense, with Charlie Mpetha; Conor Byrne; Jake Oughton and Luke Thomas all fighting for the title!

In the Adult male category Nathan Phillips and Craig Bailey both topped the route, but with Craig doing it in 9 seconds less, he took home the prize. For the Adult female final, Charlotte Garden was the only competitor to top, and so pocketed the prize, with Rachel Slater hot on her heels at hold no. 16!

For the Junior male final, Conor Byrne was the only person to top the route, Charlie Mpetha coming a close second, reaching hold 15 a cool 14 seconds faster than 3^rd place Jake Oughton. In the Junior female final, Ellissa Bryant, the current Youth C British Lead Climbing Champion, showed us exactly how she earned her title, breezing to the top of the route. Fellow ROC Academy climber Samantha Roberts put up a good fight though, storming through the start of the route, to drop it just at the 15^th hold!

A big thanks must goto the enthusiastic crowd who really got behind all the finalist and cheered them on, with at times a deafening roar making for an exciting final.

Later in the day saw the start of our dry tooling league which again had great turnout from seasoned axe swingers to complete beginners. We held dry tooling inductions for anybody that wanted to give it a try and had no shortage of takers allowing all abilities to get involved. The winner of this round was Mike Adams, taking away a crate of beer.

Next month we will be joined by Lyon Equipment for the dry tooling league, who will be bringing a load of demo equipment down.

We would like to thank everyone that involved including all our sponsors: Boreal; DMM; Evolv; Metolius; Helly Hansen; Frog and Bucket; Great City Attractions; Proper Maid; Park Inn; The Northern Quarter Restaurant & Bar; Pump Volumes; Lammars, and everyone that took part.

Huge thanks must go as always to our chief judge Steve Li for all his help and guidance also another big thanks to Jamie Cassidy for being there when we need him!

Come on down to the next round on December 3^rd for a great day of climbing, dry tooling, great music, great food and a great atmosphere.

New Blue V2-3 circuit and some extra Lilac+Tags set today! Come on down and try them out! Purple V3-4 coming down Sunday, and being re-set Monday, with Brown V3-5 coming down *Wednesday*, and being re-set *Thursday*!  Tom L

As you may already know, next Saturday the 29th October is the first ever round of our GROWL (Great Rock Over Winter League).

 

A full day of climbing, eating, drinking and partying! With our new sound system the tunes are guaranteed to be pumping out! The league is open to anyone, of any age, size and ability; don’t worry, we’ve ensured EVERYONE will have a great time. For more information visit the web page.

 

The doors will open at 10am, with climbing beginning at 11am. After the competition we’ll also be hosting the start of the Winter  Dry Tooling Series, you’ll need to bring your own tools to enter. (You’ll also require basic safety equipment, click here DRYTOOLING

 

The centre will still be open for business as usual, so even if you don’t want to compete, come on down for a climb, the great atmosphere, food or just a beer!

 

Dry Tooling will then continue on a weekly basis (actual night to be finalised), with the routes changing for each round of the GROWL.

 

So why not come on down this coming weekend and join in the party. You’ll even get a chance at winning something, with raffles and spot prizes being thrown around all day.

 

 

Last chance to climb the Red circuit on Saturday, as Sunday they will be stripped and cleaned, ready for Simon to set them on Monday.

 

Tom L

Ellissa Bryant, member of the Rock Over Climbing Academy, has won the BLCC's for Female Youth C! What a fantastic result!

We're very proud of her here at Rock Over Climbing, and hope to continue helping her to achieve the best she can!

 

Tom L

 

On Thursday and Friday I headed off in search of some limestone, with the forecast looking roasting hot Malham was out of the window and apparently Kilnsey is currently disgusting so I decided to check out another Yorkshire sport venue, Trollers Gill.

 

It turned out to be an awesome venue, beautiful, remote, quiet, takes no seepage and steep ebnough to stay dry in the rain!  There are a few easier bits and bobs but the main routes really start at about f6cish. 

After a pumpy warmup onsighting a 6c+ I was keen to try something a bit harder, I had a go at a 7a+ but got really pumped figuring out the crux sequence as it was really technical and pretty hard to onsight.  I must remember to get a good nights sleep the night before sport climbing, without enough sleep I still feel strong but have no stamina whatsoever!  After a couple more lame attempts on the route I realised that it wasnt going to happen so we set our sights a bit lower.  'Dry Tooling' Tom led a fairly horrible 6b+ simply because of it name 'Korean Canine Kebab!' then we did a pretty nice 6c and by this point we were both shattered so headed home.

 

The following day I headed back with Addy, I decided to warm up with a redpoint attempt on the 7a+ from the day before, it went perfectly up to the crux sequence where I missed a foothold and got pumped trying to power through regardless, I got to within half a move of the final jug then lobbed...... I may have swore slightly! (oops).  Addy went next and he managed to flash the route using my beta, a fine effort!  After a short rest I went again and cruised the route, everything went perfectly, it felt easy!

The next route we tried was a 7b+ called Haslam, its an awesome route, really technical and it just gets harder and harder the higher you get with the crux move right at the top!  We spent a while working the moves and soon got them all figured out but linking the route was going to be hard.  The first 4 clips are pretty steady, steep but on good holds, then you get an ok(ish) rest, then you just have to keep on pulling all the way to the top!  I managed to make all the moves and could do the route with 2 falls but I felt quite a way off linking it, you need a really strong left bicep for the 2 crux moves and this is probably my main weakness!

Addy got pretty close to ticking the route, falling from just below the last hard move but by this time it was getting dark so we had to head back, by the time we reached the car it was pitch black.

Im really keen to get back there next week before I head to Spain, there are a few more routers at 7a/+ that I want to tick and I want to get back on Haslam and hopefully make some more progress on it!

 

Simon

We now have Jacket Potatoes available!

Just let us know when you come in if you want one - preparation time is approximately 1 hour (that's right, freshly cooked just for you!)

Or even phone us up before you come down, and have it waiting for you when you arrive!

At only £2.40 for one filling, £2.60 for two, or £2.80 for three, these are a tasty bargain!

 

Winter is coming and Rock Over Climbing as always is not sitting still!!!! Having listened to our customers we are starting some quite major building works next week, Monday 3rd October.

We are starting on the downstairs and will be working on the back of the far island and then moving to the orange wall to the left of the blue overhangs. Please note that some area will be out of action for a few days but this will not affect you too much and is all aimed at improving your Climbing Wall.

The work will go ahead in a few stages:

1) downstairs on rear of Islands and rear wall

2) upstairs on balcony, moving kids slide and then new wall being built

3) bits and pieces downstairs

I am staying a bit vague as it is always good to have a surprise, I can say we are adding more tall walls, some steep and tall, and also extending our training facilities!!!!!!!

 

We have just bought a new circuit of holds, these are very different to anything we have got currently, nice and slopey!  Simon will be setting a new V3-6 circuit with them very soon :)

 

Massive thank you to all of our customers who have raised £76.71 for Oldham Mountain Rescue

I have been a busy little bee recently, trying to get out sport climbing as much as possible and really concentrating on training stamina when indoors.

 

Recent destinations have been Raven Tor, Malham, The Embankment, Two Tier Butress, The Cornice, Horseshoe Quarry and even headed up to Stanage for a days trad climbing!

I have ticked a whole bunch or routes around the 7a/7a+ mark, one or two 7b/+'s and have worked a few 7c/+'s which I have not ticked........  yet!

I have just booked a weeks sport climbing trip in Spain for Kate and myself, this will give me something to try and focus my training towards.  I think that all of my stamina training is great however I have noticed that I am struggling with crux moves and that my bouldering has really suffered...  time to start hitting the bouldering again!

 

I am off out again this week on Thurs and Fri so fingers crossed the weather will hold out and I'll be able to get a few more good ticks!

 

Cheers

 

Simon

I've had a bit of time off climbing recent for a holiday down in Newquay, part of which was spent at Boardmasters Surf & Music Festival.

However, I did manage to climb once, out of three attempts! After getting lost trying to find the boulders at Tintagel, and then visiting Godrevy at totally the wrong time, I managed to get a day at Roche Rock. I didn't climb much there, but did manage to spot a fantastic line. After doing it from the obvious start I decided the foot-block felt wrong, and decided that if I was going to use it, I should start from it.

After a while I managed to start the problem from a super-low-start, into the existing climb. After checking UKC to see if it was a recorded climb, I found out it was new. I uploaded it and discovered that the climb above has been done, but not the start. The grade is around V6 and is very much a short-mans climb. See a video here (unfortunately my camera-woman messed about with the phone, and missed the first move!)

 

Once home from my holiday (and having climbed twice in 3 weeks!) I decided I needed to get outside. Weather hasn't been great but I have managed to get out on some limestone, and even a spot of easy grit bouldering.

I'm in the process of building a training area in my new garage, with the hope of achieving font 7B before 2012!

Fingers crossed! (But mostly hanging from my Beastmaker!)

Tom L

New routes going up today. Simon is setting some new V6 & V7 routes plus a few on comp wall. Steve Lee is turning his hand at a V3-V5 set in grey. Looking like nice little routes!!! We also have a new set of routes on the traverse wall.

We are open as per usual today, we were not caught up in any of the conflict last night. Also machester is open for business. So come down, get out of the rain and get stuck into our new blue and purple circuits.

 

Conditions at Chee Dale Two Tier and Embankment yesterday were great.  I was feeling pretty good and so decided to go for an onsight attempt at Quality Control (7a), the start was quite bouldery up to a pretty good rest then easier but fairly sustained to the top.  I got through the start ok but by the time I got to the rest I was well and truely flash pumped!  Thankfully one of the main things that I have been training at the moment is recovery and shaking out on small holds, after a few minute at the rest I felt strong again and cruised up the upper wall to the chains!

After this I tried a pretty tough 7b+ I managed all the moves apart from the hard bouldery crux.  The crux should go in slightly cooler conditions as a few of the holds were pretty slopey, after the start I managed to link the route to the top.

Am super psyched to keen on training and to start ticking some bigger numbers!

 

Simon

Due to unrest in the city centre we will be closing Rock Over Climbing early tonight at 8pm. There are no problems in our surrounding area, but there have been problems in the city centre, which the police are dealing with. We will be open as usual tomorrow from 12-10pm.

Yesterday saw a great day of activities at Burrs Country Park, with Rock Over Climbing instructors Paul and Ryan, and our newest recruit Stuart, taking out a group of excited young people for Abseiling; Orienteering; Canoeing and Raft Building.

 

Everyone had a fantastic day, despite the mixed weather, some of the highlights include:

Ryan being sunk by everyone, while still in his boat (see gallery)

The raft unexpectedly coming apart, depositing everyone neatly in the lake!

Sychronised swimming (Check out our Video)

Abseiling in the rain!

 

We are running these days throughout the Summer Holidays, so just call up to book!

 

Tom L

 

Last night after the last customers had left I seized the opportunity for a quick half hour stamina session upstairs on the campus board.

 

With feet on the wooden strips at the bottom, I climbed around the campus board using the 3 small sets of rungs, avoiding the biggest ones, making a series of long, slow movements, pausing, shaking out etc.  I climbed for a minute then rested for a minute and repeated this for 25 minutes.

 

This is a great way to improve stamina for UK sport climbing where the holds are small but the walls are generally not too steep, I have been doing this for the past fortnight and have gone from being able to shake out and recover on the big rungs to pretty much being able to recover on the medium sized rungs.  My aim is to be able to shake out and recover on the smallest rungs within a month.

 

I am off out to Chee Dale again on Thursday so lets hope all this training will start to pay off!

 

Simon

 

 

We are running a new

 

SHOE OF THE WEEK 

 

Boreal Joker Velcro

 

now just £60!

 

After a good day at Two Tier the day before, I was feeling a bit tired and skin levels were low so I didnt have high hopes for my climbing, however Addy (crazy spaniard) was psyched so we headed to Raven Tor.

 

I started by putting the clips in Sardine (7b+) going bolt to bolt trying to remember the moves and cleaning the holds as I went.  The crux sequence involves a really poor slopey left hand pinch, the footholds are massive but it is really easy to ping off the hold just as you are reaching for the next one, especially if it is at all warm (which it was!!)

 

I had a quick top rope and climbed up to mid crux before falling then managed to climb from just beneath the crux to the top, a good link but I was pretty certain that with a little luck and a well brushed hold, I would be able to link the route in one!

 

I had a good long rest while Addy worked the moves.

 

When it was my go I was feeling strong and just managed to battle my way through the crux to a pretty good shakeout, I made sure I used the rests well and managed to fight my way to the top clean :)

 

I rested again whilst Addy managed to lead the route, when it was my go again the sun had fully come out and I was still feeling a bit pumped so rather than going for a redpoint I decided to just have another top rope as I was not feeling at all confident........  I linked it clean again!

 

By this point I was feeling ruined and was seriously lacking skin so we decided to try 'Tin Of' Addy put in the clips and we each had a top rope of the route, it shares the start with Sardine so this part was fine but the crux sequence of 5 hand movements on tiny slopey crimps felt desperate, partly due to the hot sweaty conditions and party because I was shattered!

 

Need to get back to the Tor asap to finish Sardine and Tin Of properly and then maybe have a go at Body Machine Direct (7c+)

 

Simon

 

Today I headed to Two Tier at Chee Dale with Dan, I had not been here before so was excited to try some new routes.  After putting the clips in Countdown (7a+) and checking and cleaning the holds I had a quick top rope of the route, it was fairly straight forward apart from a stopper move below half height.  After spending a bit of time figuring out the move and practicing it a few times I lowered to the ground for a rest.  On my first redpoint attempt I climbed the bouldery starting moves up to the crux fine but my fingers were a bit cold still so were slightly numb on a tiny left hand crimp which is the key to the crux, i went for it anyway but failed to latch the good hold above so lowered straight to the ground.  After a quick shakeout on the ground my fingers were feeling fully warmed up so I jumped straight back on, blasted through the crux and  climbed on to the top :)

 

After this we tried a 7a to the right called Darl, this had a cool bouldery start into a runout juggy groove, however I got stuck at the top of the groove, I was pretty tired and kept falling off this move, i'm sure I was doing it wrong as it felt nails, by this point though we were both nackered so left the crag in search of a beer garden!

 

Im really psyched to get back to Two Tier, there are a few more routes there 7a-7c which I fancy a go at soon :)

 

Simon

 

Over the past few weeks I have been getting out and about exploring the excellent limestone venues in the area, Chee Dale Cornice and Raven Tor to name a few.

 

I have currently been focussing my training purely on stamina rather than power (this does mean that I am getting shut down indoors!)  However I am noticing a significant improvement in my sport climbing, being able to shake out and recover on ever smaller holds.

 

I have found a few routes at around f7b+ that should go pretty soon, the technical, unreadable nature of the limestone does not lend itself very well to onsighting however once you know the moves the routes instantly become much easier!

 

I had another training session this morning before work, the plan is to rest for the rest of today and tomorrow then hopefully get out on thurs and fri, fingers crossed for good conditions!

 

Simon

One of our customers is heading to Fontainbleau at the beginning of August, he has 2 spare seats in his van and is offering people a lift to give him some company and reduce transport costs.

For more info contact:

 

Andrew

 

kirkio@hotmail.com

 

 

 

After a hard day's work at Rock Over Climbing, Jake and I headed out to Higgar Tor last night for a bit of night bouldering. With fading light we managed to get warmed up and both ticked Dirty Higgar, a great low prow from a lying down start! After messing about on a few eliminates on the prow, we moved over to Quintessential Higgarisms, a great Font 7a blunt arete. After much frustration I managed to tick it, leading us to the classic Arete, at Font 7a+. This requires precise climbing and timing in order to stick the slap up to the finish. Unfortunately due to my height, gaining the finishing jug is very hard, so I was slapping the sloper below. After one slap which almost stuck, I begun to get worse, and we decided to call it a night! Hopefully I'll manage it next time!

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night in my opinion!

 

Tom L

Simon and Tom have really pulled out all the stops if you want to get your teeth stuck into a few harder routes. Feedback has been right up and there and the guys are loving them

 

Simon - Yellow V6 - 8

Tom - Green V6 - 7

We also have new routes at the lower end in the Purple with Tags V0 for those warming up or just starting out.

 

After a load of sport climbing a month ago in a successful bid to tick my project before I headed out to the alps, I have been a bit slack for the past month, lots of eating and drinking have left me feeling heavy, unfit and weak!

 

I have decided that its now time to shape up, get fit and start cranking on the limestone again!

 

I headed to the Cornice at Chee Dale with Addy (crazy spaniard), the Cornice is a pretty steep limestone crag in the Peak District, its a great venue but the warmups start at 7a so it was a pretty stiff introduction to the place.

We had a great day but didnt climb too well, only flashing one route out of the 4 we tried, this was mainly due to the really technical, hard to read nature of the rock, moves that at first seemed impossible, were actually pretty easy after you figure them out!

I'm really psyched to get out as much as possible now, desperate to get fitter and start ticking some hard routes again!

I've been very fortunate with my shift patterns lately, managing to get outside 3 weekends in a row! I've been focusing on building experience with trad climbing, testing gear, and even took a few falls!

Unfortunately the weather has been far too hot for any hard gritstone climbing, but with two members of the "Team" with finger injuries, pulling on limestone was out. The hardest part of any day out was then to be the venue choice; somewhere away from the crowds (some mad people are actually brought out by hot days!!), shaded, and with a good selection of routes.

So it usually ended up with us visiting one of two fantastic venues: the quiet walls of Curbar, with a lovely short walk-in, a huge range of brilliant routes, and even some top class bouldering for the end of the day! And Stanage High Neb/Marble Wall, with a longer walk in, but fantastic routes all the same, giving nothing away. (I'm not a keen walker - so when Kinder was suggested I felt I had to decline... for now!)

We even walked along from High Neb to the bouldering at Microbe, in the new Peak District Bouldering Guide, and did the classic Font 6a, Love Handles. Photographer Nadir Khan was there with some guys on Old Salt, with a direct finish! He took some photos of me on the fantastic Font 5+, Microbe, which you can see for yourself!

I also managed to get out to Parisellas Cave for the first time ever, and had a play on a few problems. Very polished but good all the same! I managed one 7A, and fell off Left Wall Traverse (7A start) right at the end! I'll have to go back for that!

Highlights of the month include:

Getting stuck on the slab of High Neb Edge, after flashing the crux! (After a rope was thrown down to me I proceded to cruise the moves! Damn my poor headgame!)

Being defeated on 3 (3!!) separate days attempting to climb Terrazza Crack clean, with LPP, which included my first ever trad fall!

Fallen Archangel (Font 6C) at High Neb, a fantastic boulder problem up a great block.

Flashing Jeepers Creepers (Next to Fallen Archangel) - This was especially a good feeling as the finish is airy and exposed.

Climbing above gear on bouldery moves on Left Hand Tower, a massive sandbag at VS 4c, but a fantastic route all the same!

Taking multiple falls on Saddy (E2 5c) at Curbar, on to a tested cam that half slipped out! Upon inspection only 2 of the 4 lobes were in the crack, but holding well! After a while I finally managed to top out, and this is definitely one I'd like to go back and get clean!

Getting Mermaid (Font 7A) at Burbage Bridge, in the dark after a day at work.

And finally visiting Gradbach Hill, a venue covered in the new Peak District Bouldering Guide, and getting every problem on the boulder there, including The Green Streak (Font 7A) - my first ever 7A climbed in a single session, with no previous knowledge.

Bring on the winter for some hard Grit bouldering!!!

Tom L

 

We have added some route cards to reception, beneath where the cakes are, these cards act as a guide to the circuits.  They explain which are the easier and harder climbs within each grade boundary. :)

Very sadly I have not got out this week as I have been delivering flyers to schools and working on the Abraham Moss sessions. However I have been working on my running and managed 2 x 4 miles and a 3 mile run.

Then at the wall I have been working Simon's Blues and Tom L's Purples and getting a real education in technique and footwork, especially toe and heel hooks and route reading before you commit.

Next I have been using Ian Vickers' new comp wall set for some power work doing laps on the V2, V3 and V4 routes and then going around again down climbing and wearing the weight vest. Pretty tough and hot work but feel good for it.

Look out  for the new routes cards under the cakes, they really help you get a feel for the grades on each circuit and we now have 11 circuits up!!!! If you look carefully and climb in the V0-V3 range their are over 75 routes for you, look for:

Purple and tags = V0

Orange = V0-1

Little Tom routes all indivudually taged and about 10 up to V3

Last comp routes green and yellow about 15 up to V3

Blues = V2 - V3

If you can't find them ask the staff, they will always happily come and help you find routes or even offer some advice to help you work them out.

Tom S

Rock Over Climbing had a brilliant session this morning with Abraham Moss. They brought along 35 students and spent 3 hours working on their slackline, bouldering, belaying and roped climbing skills.

It was a really fun a session and as the students performed well, they got to pick the tunes to play as we climbed. Quite educational for some of us older instuctors, I think Biggy Smalls was their favourite.

They are coming back on Friday for another 3 hour session from 10-1300 and this time they are competing in their groups against each other with their new found climbing and slack lining skills.

 

We are currently selling the Evolv Defy as our shoe of the week for the bargain price of just £55!!

 

This offer will last for one week only!

 

Dont miss out, come on down and try a pair today!

Well I learnt a harsh lesson last week about doing to much too soon and not gently easing my way into training. I need to remember I have been out of action for 12 months so as I used to do with Rugby and Cricket with pre season training ease in gently!!!!!

Had a few days off and then a gentle run with sit ups, press ups and dips, then yesterday another longer run at about 4 miles followed by same core/arms session.

Looking forward to my next outdoor day on Tuesday, trying to plan where to go and looking for a venue I have not been to. Shining Clough on Bleaklow looks good, requires warm and sunny weather. High up and remote with hour walk in, not often climbed on. However it has a great spread of HVS / E1 routes. Plan for next few weeks is to get lots of routes under my belt, cranking up mileage and working on confidence.

Last couple weeks the guys have been very busy as usual setting you quality routes:

Between Simon and Big Tom another 8 Lilac with tags V0 have been set

Simon added 3 orange V3's to comp wall

Simon also put up a new Blue Circuit of about 27 routes V2-3

Tom L then set to work on a new purple set of 30 odd routes at V3-4

Feedback has been great and routes going down well. If you have any comments on our routes please let us know we really valua our customer opinions and feedback,

 

Simon has finished setting 29 new Blue V2/3 problems, come on down and give them a go!

Other than one day's bouldering and one day guiding today was monumentus, I go outside trad climbing for the first time in 12 months!!!! Probably should not have done the little circuit and campus / rings session last night, but hey you learn!

Had brilliant day, trying a couple HVS's an E2 and E1 at Marble Wall and High Neb. Should probably have eased myself in a bit more, had a battle with Ourang- Outang and Jeepers creepers, E2 5c and E1 respectively but managed them. little Tom did some coaching work on my footwork which was great.

Can't wait until next day out next week, now desperate to keep the momentum up and work my way to better confidence/style and quality route.

Lesson learned is to have a rest before a big day outside, and definatley keep off the campus board.

Absolutely knackered today, so went swimming with Sarah and our youngest Alex (5 weeks). Great way to unwind, just spent the whole time in pool floating about and stretching.

Going to having a little routes and core session at wall this afternoon, then off to the Peak for a good outdoor day on Tuesday, can't wait.

Well the weather was pants, windy & wet. However the guys were amazing:

Paul, Mark, Matt, Lisa, Rob, Jennie, Clyde, Craig, David, Ria and Bailey (18mnth brown labrador). They really got stuck in at Windgather.

We warmed up exploring the crag, scrambling, traversing, bouldering and honing our outdoor climbing skills / techniques.

We they worked our way up and down the crag, workign on ropework and belaying techniques, progressivley climbing harder routes and pushing our new found skills.

Despite the weather, we climbed loads of routes, became very proffiecient in our ropework and route reading.

Really was a great day and we finished with an exstremely well earned pint in the cosy Swann Inn.

Well done guys, Deana and I had a great day and really enjoyed working with you.

Last climbing session of the week, another mileage hour, followed by rings,core and beastmaker finger boards.

More importantly I have been thinking about my goals for the next few month, which will help me plan my training. Having done years of traning I have eventually learnt that a bit of structure ans quality over quantity leads to the best results.

Trad climb, controlling fear, trusting gear and being prepared to take fall.

In Alps in August / September climb a couple classic multi pitch 6b sport routes

Can't remeber the names but there are a couple E2's on Dow Crag in Lakes I want to climb

This coming winter get back into the scottished mixed and ice routes which is where my heart lies and what I really miss.

 

 

 

 

Another wall day today working on routes and general fitness. Testing little toms routes in the process. Tough routes but very well set. Really work your ability to read routes and footwork. If it seems to hard then you are probably missing the drop knee? I also have put new rings up next go campus board. They are brilliant really work your core. Mixed 1m 20 on beastmaker with leg raises on rings. One aim I have decided on is to work on my trade head. Be happy to trust and fall on gear. Pushed the route. If I can work on my route. Confidence then without getting any stronger I should be able to push my grade. Having not lead a route in a long while this is very important.

Decided to rest arms today but not legs. Ran home carrying work back. Tried to avoid deansgate and got lost adding an extra mile last mile was very tough and legs felt it. 1 hour and home but exhausted!!!

Tired today and hard day in office. Very difficult to get motivated as brain a bit foggy with work. Trip to Alps for 2 weddings in August and opportunity for some quick rock hits is motivation to get arsenic in gear. Warm up and stretch for 25 mins. Work traverse wall then quality sets on comp wall with good rests and finish with rings. Have added to goals with quality routes in Alps, improve trad head and very phsyced for some quality quickly hits next winter in Scotland and also some remote Scottish mountain dragging next year.

Tired today and hard day in office. Very difficult to get motivated as brain a bit foggy with work. Trip to Alps for 2 weddings in August and opportunity for some quick rock hits is motivation to get arsenic in gear. Warm up and stretch for 25 mins. Work traverse wall then quality sets on comp wall with good rests and finish with rings. Have added to goals with quality routes in Alps, improve trad head and very phsyced for some quality quickly hits next winter in Scotland and also some remote Scottish mountain dragging next year.

After ankle surgey in January, and tendonitis post op in my ankle I took a gentle foray into running on Sunday. 25 mins to test everything out a little stiff but okay. Pushed it a bit more with 4 miles on Monday, and could feel it in the legs. Strapping ankle to protect it, and have an appointment for new orthotics next month. Have to say thoughy just buying new running shoes has made huge difference!!! Well recomend if you are suffering, but also using dog eraed running shoes, quick remedy is new shoes!!!

Thought about running from child minders to work on Tuesday but the boss, reminded me how I should not over do it, wise words. So had little session at Rock Over, testing out the guys problems and trying the new bit of wall we built before the ROC Fest. Finished with little Beastmaker session and then just died!!!!

Currently sat in Climbing Hanagar in Liverpool checking out their facility, good place. Done some circuits, then worked on core with Little Tom's core plan and rings / bars. then onto Beastmaker board for 3 off / 7 on 1min 20 sesions working the different finger positions.

Going to think about my goals now, as need clear goals to then work trianing around and devise plan?

 

Tom s

 

For those of you who have not been down since our competition, the Summer ROCFEST, we have built a new section of wall which was unveiled at the comp, this section is at the far end of the comp wall and adds space for a further 8 new problems through a series of super steep stepped roofs!

 

We have been really busy setting new routes at the moment; here is a list of whats new in the last 2 weeks;

 

60 ROCFEST competition problems, these create a circuit graded V0 - V8+ the problems were set by Ian Vickers, Jamie Cassidy and Simon Chevis, this is a fantastic varied circuit :)

 

Little Tom has been busy adding a circuit of around 25 problems graded V1 - V5, these are to fill in the gaps left by the competition.  He has also reset a new Red V5 - V6 circuit and also repopulated the comp wall with a further 20 problems!

 

Simon will be resetting the White V4/5 circuit on Monday, this will add a further 25-30 new problems to go at!

As i'm sure a lot of you will know, Simon and Ryan have had a fortnight off work to go off on a European adventure!

The plan was to complete a few fairly major routes in the Swiss alps, however due to poor conditions and a lack of a stable weather window, we were unable to even attempt our main objectives which was quite frustrating but thats just how it goes in the alps sometimes!

We did manage to virtually complete the Super Sudgrat of the Salbitschijen, a 20 odd pitch monster route on a fantastic granite ridge.  We had to take a slighty different variation on the final 3 pitches of the route as, after starting the route in shorts and t-shirts, we had to climb these in the driving snow!

Due to the poor weather we decided to leave the Swiss Alps and try the French Alps instead however once we got to Chamonix it was pretty clear that we would not be abe to get much climbing done there either and so spent 2 days there relaxing and doing a bit of bouldering in the valley.

We finally decided to leave the Alps completely and head to the Verdon Gorge in the south of France, this is a spectacular gorge with 1000ft high vertical walls of perfect limestone, we spent a few days doing some amazing multipitch routes here, we also had a slight epic attempting an incredibly runout 13 pitch route which ended in mild terror, a hasty retreat and a 20km hike back to the car!

After all of this we decided to head to Font for our last 2 days climbing, despite it being pretty hot and sweaty, we still got some good climbing done and had a great time.

All in all it was quite a frustrating trip due to the conditions, however we made the most of it, had a great time, got some amazing climbing done and got to check out some awesome new venues!

If anyone wants to hear any more specific details of our epic adventures then just pop in for a climb and have a chat!

Simon has set an excellent mini circuit of 10 problems graded V3/4, these are aimed at bridging the gap between the current Blue and Purple circuits.  The problems are avvariety of different colours but are all tagged up and graded so should be easily recognisable.

 

Let us know what you think!

 

Guys,

Just a quick email to give some feedback on the Leah Crane coaching night
last Wednesday.  I thought the session was a great success.  I particularly
got a lot out of the session and would definitely want to attend another one
and would recommend it to other people.  As far as Leah herself is concerned
I thought her delivery of the session was excellent.  She was very
personable and approachable and she was particular skilled at evaluating
individuals needs and giving feedback.  She delivered confidently and her
knowledge and skill of climbing was evident and very engaging.  I would
appreciate you passing these comments on.
 

I know this isn't exactly climbing but I thought I'd fill you in on my
weekend away.
 

I've just got back from a surf contest with my cousin Mark in sunny
Saltburn by the sea on the North East Coast. There wasn't any surf on
Saturday so we went in search of somewhere to set up a slackline. At low
tide we set the line up below saltburn pier, which we were pleasantly
surprised to find was floodlit at night so we could even set up after dark.

 

After a few quick goes Mark was off to a great start, walking the line
and even going for jump starts!
I managed to nail a sitting start moving to a balanced standing position
which Me and Lloydy have been practicing in the wall and I even got a
couple of small arial 180's, all of this with the stunning North Sea as
backdrop!

 

You may have noticed us using a slackline in the wall. We will be
starting a regular slackline night soon so keep an eye on the website.
The lines we use are from Maverick Slacklines and are real easy to set
up using a ratchet system to get the tension required and are fantastic
for training core stability and balance.

 

 

Congratulations to Tom and Leann with the birth of their second child, baby Alexander, i'm sure he will making an appearance at the wall very soon!

After a somewhat unsuccessful session at Rubicon on Tuesday I was keen to get back to Llanddulas Cave to take care of some unfinished business.

After a quick warm up on a 6a we jumped straight on Pump Action (7a/7b+ depending which guide you look at!) Craig went up first, putting in the clips and ticking the crucial hidden hold.  It had just started spiting with rain but I decided to have a go anyway despite being pretty cold still, the steep bouldery starting moves felt desperate and I could barely feel my hands so at the third clip I bailed and sheltered in the cave as the rain started to get heavier.  Five minutes of arm swinging and jumping around wearing my hat and coat and I was feeling much warmer and the rain had subsided so, despite the top being wet still, I went for it.  The starting moves felt easy this time and I cruised up to the semi rest ledge at half height, the holds all felt amazing and I even missed out a good jug rest and shook out on a crimp instead, pretty soon I was clipping the chains!

Craig went next, the rain was still coming down and on his first go his foot slipped on a wet hold so he lowered off and jumped straight back on, this time he made no mistakes and cruised all the way to the final sketchy mantle which was soaking by this point, a little frantic chalking and he too was also clipping the chains!

As the heavens opened, we headed to the upper tier to shelter in the big cave, we noticed a 7b that was still dry as it was steep, El Tigre, I dogged my way up, putting the clips in and checking out the holds, it looked all there so I lowered for a rest.  I gave Craig all the beta and he went for it, he crushed the hard boulder problem start and pretty soon was shaking out at the halfway jugs, he launched up the upper headwall and cruised to the chains, a fine flash!

I decided to get straight on it whilst it was fresh in my mind, I sketched my way up the hard boulder start (maybe working at a bouldering centre has paid off!) and lunged for the halfway jugs, after a good long shake out I headed up the upper wall.  I suddenly found that I had completely forgotten where all the footholds were that I had spotted earlier and was getting really pumped but after a bit of scrabbling around and a very sketchy clip, I too was clipping the top, my first 7b, get in!

After a quick Tunnocks Tea Cake break we decided to take a look at Mudjekeewis (7b+/7c) this proved to be much harder than the other routes with a hard technical crux sequence then a really pumpy steep upper section, we both managed to make all of the moves using different sequences, this is an awesome route and I’ll definitely be back soon to give it some more work! 

 

A big thank you to Leah Crane for yesterdays route setting and coaching.

 

Leah set a brilliant circuit of problems graded V3 - V8 and also a long orange stamina circuit linking the 45 degree board all the way to the far side of the cave! 

 

Leah then followed this with 3 group coaching sessions in the evening.  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the coaching sessions and we got a huge amount of positive feedback, hopefully this will be the start of some more regular coaching and setting from Leah at Rock Over Climbing!

 

After a whole bunch of sport climbing recently, mostly concentrating on a high volume of relatively easy climbing, I had decided that it was time to try something a bit harder..... and so Craig and I (Simon) found ourselves at the picturesque crag of Rubicon near Water-Cum-Jolly in the Peak District.

After a non-existant warmup I soon found myself putting the clips in a particularly crimpy and tough 8a, The Sissy.  As I was dogging my way up the route I had somehow managed to convinced myself that I could see a sequence and that the holds did not seem too bad and so as I was lowering to the ground,  I was quite eager to give it a go!  Oh dear! Could my judgement have been any worse? It turns out that the route is utterly desperate and both Craig and myself got utterly shut down and just ended up losing a fair bit of skin to the super sharp crimps!

We decided to sack off the 8a and Craig quickly onsighted the classic roof climb Rubicon (7a+), I followed him but had to rest as I was shattered.  We had had enough of ropes for the day!

After a very brief bouldering session on Kudos Wall where it turns out every problem is nails, we decided to call it a day. 

If I am going to get any decent sport climbing done after I get back from the alps then I am going to need to get some serious training in!

Back to Wales on Friday to take care of some unfinished business!

Rhodri & I headed to stanage the other weekend for a day of guided climbing. Rhodri had done a fair amount of indoor stuff but only a few gentle forasys outside. So we atrted at the popular end and warmed up at the Black Hawk Area, with Black Hawk Cell Crack, S 4a, then Black Hawk Traverse, Diff. Deciding we need to work our muscles a bit, having worked on technique we romped up Black Hawk at HS 4c.

 

Rhodri then picked out a couple of routes and we went for the classic April Crack HS 4c, with confidence high we then got our teeth stuck into Central Trinity at VS 4c.

 

Next up for the day, was the fantastic flake crack of Heaven Crack at V Diff, then for our final horray of the day we for the stiff little challenge of Amazon crack, which bis a bit of a one move wonder at the start, but does finish with some nice lay backing at S 4a. It was then time to head to the Outside for a little brew and some contemplation on what was a great day.

Tom S

A little late on this one, but on the second day of the climbing progression course we ran in April, we headed to Wimbery and treked up to the Indians Head. What an amazing venue, great little meadow at the top to train in then then perfect gritstone to climb on in fantastic location overlooking the Chew Valley.

We started by working on our belay arrangements and then put them into practise on a few little routes. we then looked at routes selection, gear removal and technique. Followed by more practice on setting up of belays, with both Alan and Jason becoming proficient in their ropework.

 

Tom S

As of this weekend we have completely reworked our kids club sessions, splitting the climbers into 3 separate groups, the youngest climbers have an hours fun session from 10-11, then the main kids club at 11:15-12:45 working towards our new ROSCA award, Tom has just finished coaching the 14:00-15:30 which is for the more experienced climbers who are looking to really push themselves.

All of the 3 sessions today went really well, the kids were all super keen and climbed really well. 

 

Another great day back in the Welsh mountains!

I had planned a big climbing/scrambling link-up of Lliwedd, Snowdon and Crib Goch however by the time we arrived at Pen Y Pass, it was pretty clear to see that any proper climbing wasa not going to be happening today,  it was hammering it down with rain.... sideways!

We decided to just crack on and have a good mountain day anyway regardless of the weather and so parked at Nant Peris park and ride and caught the shuttle bus up the pass to the youth hostel car park, from here we started up the Pyg Track (one of the most popular ways up Snowdon).  Pretty soon we forked off rightwards and headed up into the clouds that had shrouded the famous scrambling ridge of Crib Goch, this is normally a fairly easy scramble for an experienced climber however in 60mph winds it was a little more interesting.

We followed the exposed knife edge ridgeline which eventually joined the main paths near the summit, by this point we were soaked through but we scampered up to the top regardless.  After a quick Lucozade break we were soon trotting back down the popular Miners Track, by this point the clouds had parted and the rain subsided and we were rewarded with breathtaking views over Llyn Llydaw.

By the time we got back to Pen Y Pass, neither of us was compeltely shattered so we opted to to save ourselves a pound each and walk the 3 miles back to Nant Peris rather than catch the sherpa bus.

 

Slowly starting to feel fitter.........

 

Continuing on our quest to gain more stamina and more time out on the rock before we head to the alps, Ryan and I (Simon) headed back to Llandullas Cave in North Wales.

We got a decent amount of short, steep sport routes done and I was really pleased wih how I was climbing..... then the rain came........ I finished the last route (6b+) in the rain, we chilled out in the cave for a while waiting for the rain to stop but unfortunately it was pretty obvious that it would not be stopping any time soon.  We had a quick look at a 7a and a 7b and eyed up the moves, i'm pretty keen to get back and have a bash at them soon!

just before we started building the wall I went on a little trip to teh Western Kokshall Too, to make the first ascent of the sort after North ridge of Kyzyl Asker, now known as the Stewart / Gladwin Ridge on Sculptures Peak ED3

Here is a little article I wrote about the trip and presented at the Kendal Film Festival 'Road to Sculptures Peak'/

 

Another day off work, another day walking, scrambling and climbing in the mountains in preparation for the alps!

Our plan was simple, to link up a whole bunch of scrambles, do a load of miles and generally get nackered.

We parked just above Coniston and started to follow the main path up to the pudding stone beneath low water beck, half way along the path I spotted a pair of climbers scampering up a pleasant looking arete way of to the right, a quick check revealed that this was a grade 1 scramble and was roughly going in the right direction, it would clearly be more fun than plodding up the tourist path, so off we went!  This scramble lead to the Pudding Stone (a large distinctive boulder) at the base of Low Water Beck, a classic grade 3 waterfall scramble, after getting over excited and going a little off route we were soon at the top of the waterfall and staring at Low Water and admiring the peaceful blue colour of the water.  We skirted around the lake and began the next scramle, a Grade 2 slab climb which took us to the top of Brim Fell.

After a quick drink, we started to follow the ridge north, taking in a few summits before bearing west then taking a direct route (super steep!!) back to the col between Dow Crag and the Old Man of Coniston.  We crossed the col and skirted a scree slope to the base of Dow Crag, another grade 3 scramble took us to the summit, we then followed the ridge back down to the col then up the other side to finally top out on the summit of Coniston Old Man (the highest peak there).  Shattered, we wearily made our way back down to the car (painful knees!) and then to the pub for a well deserved pint.

Another good long training day!!

North Wales again on Saturday!

With the recent (and very long) spell of hot weather, I've spent a lot of time outside at night! I haven't been out in a few weeks, but recently I spent a whole weekend in the Peak District for Emily's (a ROC employee) birthday. Memorable events include highballing a stunning line at Froggatt, and sending Breakfast at Burbage West.

Unfortunately, as is usually the case, after ticking one project I managed to find a new line to inspire me. This time it was The Traverse at Burbage West, next to The Nose. This is a very low slopey traverse, and is absolutely brilliant! I found the line at around midnight and worked it for an hour or so. But, being the end of a 14 hour day on grit I was very tired, and will have to return to link it!

I also managed to get painfully close to Gorilla Warfare at Curbar, and will hopefully send this soon!

Other night ascents include Beachball at Secret Garden, a thoroughly enjoyable problem with a fantastic slapping top-out!

As well as this, I recently had a day out to Gardoms South, a venue I've not visited before, with some friends from Amersham Climb. Suavito looks amazing, but the landing is pretty severe! Definitely one to return to try! We managed a few problems, including a brilliant 6C on the Suavito boulder, and the classic 6B+ of G-Thang (without the arete). The sit-start eluded me, and felt utterly desperate!

All-in-all its been a fairly good month, and I hope to get some more ticked off soon!

Check out the photos, one of Gardoms South, one of Gorilla Warfare sporting a ROC Vest and one of Beachball night ascent, in a ROC Hoody.

Tom L

Leah Crane, the 2 time British bouldering champion and winner of the first ever ROC Fest, is coming to Rock Over Climbing on May 11th, to set us a new green and yellow circuit and then in the evening to run 2, 1.5 hour coaching sessions.

Leah knows a thing or two about competition climbing, sport climbing, bouldering and general training, this is a great opportunity for you to get some coaching from the UK's best female boulderer.

The sessions are from 1830 - 2000 and 2000 - 2130, the first session is aimed at those climbing in the V0 - V4 bracket and then the second session for those climbing V5 upwards. Spaces are limited to 10 per session and will cost £10pp, (this includes your normal entry)

To book a spot just call us on 0161 2881218 or email us on info@rockoverclimbing.com. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us.

http://www.berghaus.com/en/athletes/athlete_profile_910.html 

Last week saw the Rock Over climbing Easter school heading out for 3 days. On Wednesday morning we worked at the centre on our climbing techniques and skills, we also practised our rope work, belaying and roped climbing. Then in the afternoon we headed north to Brownstones where we spent the afternon bouldering in the sun. It was a great start to the course.

Thursday was spent at Cadshaw Castle Rocks, where we worked on our belaying, route selection, learnt how the ropes were set up and climbed loads. We worked our way up through the grades, from Moderate upto E2! It was another beautiful day and loads of climbing done in a great location.

Friday saw the team head to Denham, where we warmed up on some easy climbs, then climbed up and over the cliff, to then absiel back down again. We then headed to the great roof area, where we tackled three routes 2 classic HS 4a, and then a whopping E3 6a, with only the heat and a bit of vegetation stopping Aiden just near the top. I think there is a bit of a rematch to be planned there.

Over the 3 days everyone learnt new skills, we climbed loads at 3 great venues and generally had a great time making new friends.

Continuing with our training for the alps, I headed to North Wales again, this time to the mountains!  I was keen to get a good long mountain day done, refresh myself with fast, slick ropework and try to break in my new (embarassingly orange) mountain boots!

We parked at the Ogwen Cottage and hiked up to the base of the Idwal Slabs, I was keen to make sure that we travelled fast and light with minimal faffing in order to get myself in the alpine mindset.  We quickly scampered up the Original Route of the slabs, fairly straight forward climbing but quite exposed and polished, I also decided to take a cheeky variation finish on the last pitch just to spice things up a little!  We then scrambled (in a brief rain shower) up a series of small steps and rock walls and up into Cwm Cneifion, we crossed the Cwm and scampered uo to the base of the Cneifion Arete.  This arete has a steep 40 metre pitch on massive jug holds to start, followed by another hundred metre or so of fantastic exposed arete climbing on enormous holds and flakes.

It was an amazing day with brilliant weather, even the couple of brief showers semed to arrive just at the right times when we were getting too hot, they cooled us down nicely.  I was really happy that after a winter of bouldering, I can still rememeber how to stay safe but still move fast over tricky mountain terrain and my ropework was all fast, simple and effective..... perfect!

 

With around 6 weeks left until we head out to the alps, we suddenly realised that all of our bouldering power gained over the winter, will not do us a great deal of good when we are at well over 4000 metres attempting to make a traverse ascent of the Matterhorn! 

We also hope to head to the Salbischijen (in the Swiss Alps) and summit the mountain via the South Ridge and then potentially make an ascent of the West ridge.  The West Ridge of the Salbitschijen is over 1000 metres in length and features sustained technical climbing for around 36 pitches, finishing on a spectacular summit needle!

 

If we are to stand any chance of success, we seriously need to shape up and massively increase our stamina and general fitness as well as getting super slick and fast with our ropework and getting back on to Limestone and mountain rock..

 

We decided to start gently with a days sport climbing at Llandullas Cave on the A55 near LLandudno on the North Wales coast.  Our aim was to get a whole bunch of routes done, nothing too hard, just getting used to climbing routes again and onsighting.  It was a glorious day and we got some fantastic routes done however this is just the beginning, we both realised quite how unfit we have become, let the training commence.............................

On day one Alan, Jason and myself headed to Bamford edge, where we looked at anchor poits, anchor selection, setting of belays, placement of protection. We then had a look at some typical gritstone climbing and techniques such as finger, hand and fist jamming and smearing. We also learnt about crag and route selection with the guys setting up their own ropes and climbing various routes including Browns Crack at HS 4b. Beautiful day, in amazing classic peak location.

 

Gallery

As the pics and gallery show, everyone rweally got stuck in. The covered technique, spotting, safe bouldering, and as much climbing as the guys could squeeze in. Bridestones is a lovely spot above Todmorden and great for all abilities.

We are running these days each month and it is a great way to improve your skills, meet other climbers and explore new venues.

See gallery

We have been super busy setting over the last week,  fridays competition saw Simon and Ian set 42 problems at V0-V8+.  Tom lloyd reset the White Circuit on Monday, thats another 28, V4-V5 problems.  Ian then came back in this afternoon to set even more problems with a completely new comp wall set as well as adding 3 super duper mega hard problems to the islands and the 45 degree board, anyone fancy their chances? There is a free brew going to anyone who can get up them!!

Bit late on this, but we have now had two intro to outdoor climbing days, this year.

The first was a full house held at Windagether and the second was another full house, and we managed two venues Windgather and Castle Naze.

On Saturday the ladies and gents worked really hard on routes varying from V-Diff to HVS 5a. We covered lots of ground from route selection, crag safety to climbing technique, visualisation, belaying, rope work and loads of climbing.

Both have a been great, and all the climbers really pushed themselves.

Jordan and Paul,

Took 7 of our Rock Over Climbing pose on Sunday to Bridestones and this is what they had to say!

"I just wanted to say a really big thanks to Jordan and the team at Rockover for making the bouldering day at Bridestones happen yesterday!

It was a brilliant day, lots of fun and great to have Jordan's coaching and expertise (even in flip flops) to try to emulate. We were all a bit bruised, scraped and sore at the end but absolutely fired up for more!" (Bryony Harris)

Pictures coming asap.

 

 

Just finished an amazing 3 days with Edmund, Etinnen and Jeevan. They guys spent their first day at the centre, perfecting their climbing, bouldering, belaying, and rope work skills. Also on the first day they looked at all the equipment they would need on the 2 outdoor days and went through the guide book looking at the venues and routes they might climb. Lastly they sorted out all the ropes, harnesses and other equipment they would need.

Day 2 dawn with a wet and cloudy start, but this did not deter our budding mountaineers, who hit Windagther Rocks with a vengence, picking progressivley harder and longer routes to climb. They also learnt how to set up the ropes and then finished off the day in the quarry bouldering.

Day 3 was glorious, and the guys decided to spent the day at Brownstones, where they showed the locals how it was done.then finished the course at Rock Over, joining in our end of thw inter party, climbing and slacklining with their families.

All in all a great few days, lots of climbing done, many new skills learnt. big thanks to our climbers and Ryan and Simon the instructors.

have a look at the gallery

The final round of our joint winter league, Boulder Manchester, took place on Friday 8th April and, despite the scorching weather, we saw an excellent turnout from people of all different abilities, for many people this was their first ever competition.

In order to make the event as inclusive as possible, we actually ran 2 separate competitions side by side.  One was the standard 30 problem V0-V8+ competition that has been running all winter, the other was a 'Beginners Competition.'  The Beginners Competition was aimed at people who have never competed before and the idea was to have our coaches guide the competitors round the problems, offering advice and support as they tried to climb the 20, V0-V5 competition problems.  The problems were set by Simon Chevis and Ian Vickers.

As well as all of this we had a Male and Female cash prize problem, each problem had a £50 prize pot which was split between whoever could get to the top.  Despite repeated agonisingly close attempts by Naomi Buys, it was Shauna Coxsey who walked away with the full £50.  The mens problem saw 5 ascents from James Garden, Jordan Buys, Craig Bailey, Chris Whiteman and Nathan Phillips, they each got £10 for their efforts!

As well as the climbing we also had superstar DJ extrodinaire Simon Williams providing the tunes, Chopper Harris had rigged a pair of slacklines on the upper balcony, Big Tom was manning the bar providing curry and beers, we had a whole bunch of raffle prizes and it was all followed by an awesome night of dancing at Mojo's in town, for those hardcore few that could hack the pace!!

Congratulations to all the winners:  James Garden, Shauna Coxsey, Michael Hopkins, Jen Wood, Hank Pasquill, Joanna Goorney, Steven Ladley and Sara Williams.

Full results can be found at: http://www.rockoverclimbing.co.uk/news/boulder-manchester-final-results/

Big thanks to everyone who everyone who came along throughout the league and helped to make it a success.

 

This Friday 8th April we are holding the final round of the Boulder Manchester winter bouldering league and we decided to have a PARTY!

As well as the usual 30 competition problems, we will be running a small, beginners competition, aimed at theose who have never competed before, (dont worry the problems wont be too hard but they will be fun!) This beginners competition will be guided by one of our coaches and we wil help you out and explain how everything works.

We will alkso be having a fun Slacklining competition (sort of tightrope walking), mens and womens cash prize boulder problems, loads of prizes, DJ, Curry, Beer and a whole lot more.

For those of you who fancy it afterwards, we are all heading to Mojo's Bar in town for a few (or a lot?!) beverages and a night of fun and dancing!

Registration for the competition starts at 17:30 and climbing starts at 18:00.

EVERYONE IS WELOME!

 

Finally I was looking forward to a rest day at last, but no, at the last minute, Craig managed to pursuade me (some sort of lie about the weather I think) that it would be a great idea to check out Simons Seat up on the Yorkshire Moors.  I agreed and after another long steep slog up a huge hill, we got our first glimpse of the remote moorland crag.

The rock up there is a funny pale grey colour gritstone, its really coarse and not very skin friendly but it offers amazing friction and has some bizzare formations with some giant chicken heads and lumps and pimples!

After a few hours, my skin was really suffering but, giving in to peer pressure, Craig and Luke kept pursuading me to try more problems, some of the best included Galaxy (F7A) and a super highball F6C (E3 6a) which I cant remember the name of, hats off to Craig for onsighting this problem/route which at 9 metres above a couple of skinny pads was a good effort!

 

Simon on Galaxy (F7A).

 

The first view of Simons Seat from the path.

 

After a relatively hectic weekend (Ryans 30th birthday bash) I was looking forward to a relaxing days rest however following a quick phone call from an over excited Dan, I soon found myself treking up the (enormous) hill up to Wimberry crag.  I had been assured that we were going to try one of the most amazing boulder problems in the world, as well as chucking a top rope down a few hard scary slabs.

As always Dans plan did not disappoint and we had a great afternoon and evenings climbing.  We decided to have a crack at a few routes first so, as Dan rigged a top rope, I decided to have a crack at soloing the route first, it was an E1 slab so should be pretty easy.  I got up to a couple of moves from the top but, as is often the case at Wimberry, the crux holds were covered in dry flaky green lichen so I decided to retreat and opted for a top rope instead (probably a good idea).  We scampered up the E1 pretty easily then tried the adjacent route, an old Johnny Dawes route, Northern Ballet (claimed to be the scariest E3 on grit!)  The plan was to have a quick top rope then solo it, but after struggling and barely getting up the route clean, we decided the sensible thing to do was to go bouldering!!

The problem that Dan was so excited about was a F7A+ called Rail Trail, this is a traverse round a square cut prow and is a fantastic line, the start was a bit green and minging still so we opted to climb the last section of it which probably warranted F6C itself.  It went pretty easily as its very much my style of climbing and im really keen to get back up there to finish the whole problem when its a bit drier.

 

Simon on the last section of Rail Trail.

 

As part of Ryans 30th birthday bonanza weekend, Ryan, Simon, Marge and Jo headed up to Lancaster to check out Thorn Crag.  This is a natural gritstone crag up on remote moorland with the added bonus of a sea view!  The climbing up there is quite varied on really pale grey, fine grained gritstone, it is a bit of a hike to get up there (about 40minute uphill slog) but it is worth it!

We had a great day bouldering in the sun and ticked loads of the classic routes, we even got a bit sunburnt!  The highlight had to be the fantastic 'Elemental' at Font 6C, this follows an amazing natural feature and is worth the walk up for that route alone!

 

Ryan actually using his heels on Elemental (6C)

 

 

Marge and Simon joined forces with Craig and Sara from Warrington and headed out to Shipley Glen in Yorkshire for a days bouldering in the glorious sunshine.  The conditions were not great as it was really hot and sweaty so we couldnt climb very hard but it was an awesome day out none the less!

Another day off with glorious weather so we decided to try out a venue new to the both of us, we headed to Yorkshire and, after getting a little lost, turned up at Widdop.

We had an awesome bouldering session and each ticked around 20 problems, highlights included Splashdown (6B) The Pool Traverse (6B+) Ryan ticking his first Font 7A and Simon losing all of his skin!

Simon on The Pool Traverse

 

Simon crimping up a lovely warm up problem

 

Ryan crimping up an easy warmup problem

 

Ryan gurning hard on a super bunched sit start

 

Simon has just finished setting and testing a small yellow circuit of world cup style V6-V8+ problems!

 

 

Simon and Craig have been exploring the sandstone delights of Pex Hill, we started off with a potter around on Pisa wall, playing on a whole bunch of nice eliminates (short for routes but intrestingly tall for boulder problems!)  We discovered that Pex has its very own grading system where V2 is tough and V3 can be desperate!  After this we decided to put on our harnesses, Craig cruised up his first E3 making it look like a walk in the path and I followed, making it look somewhat more difficult! 

We then decided to throw a rope down the striking E4 arete 'The Knife' it was a bit damp and green in places so I was cleaning and chalking holds as I climbed, I had to sit on the rope a few times to dry out a couple of particularly soggy pockets.

After lowering off having cleaned the route, we both managed to climb the route pretty easily, its a fantastic route and could make for a pretty exciting solo.............. 

 

Simon has just finished setting and texting an excellent and varied purple V3/4 circuit.

 

Congratulations to Grant (one of our clinbing coaches) for leading his first E7, Kaluza Klein at Robin Hoods Stride, good effort!!

 

Simon has been off adventuring in the Gower in South Wales and managed to get 2 great days climbing.

Saturday was at Fall Bay in the Gower, some fantastic limestone trad sea cliffs with the highlight being the guidebook cover route, the fantastic VS 'Osiris'.

Sunday was a bit more relaxing, sport climbing in the sunshine at Mount Pleasant, a small but perfectly formed sandstone quarry just north of Cardiff.

 

Tom Lloyd has just finished setting and testing a small circuit of Green V6-V7 problems,  they look good and pretty technical!

Ian vickers has re set the comp wall, with over 25 problems from V2 - V8+

Also Tom Lloyd has set a great white circuit at V4-V5

Both the whites and the comp wall getting rave reviews.

The Dyrtooling will come to an end as of tonight for this year. The routes have not been changed for this week, but you can have one last go. Drytooling will still be available for groups and schools.

 

Marge, Craig and Ste took advantage of a day off work and some cold clear conditions and headed back to Gardoms North.

Marge ticked 6B and made progress on Marks Roof LH (7A).

Craig successfully ticked the classic 7B, Marks Roof.

 

Today was our 3rd coaching session with the Manchester Uni bouldering team.  Today we briefly looked at the use of volumes and aretes when bouldering, how these can be of use through toe hooks, heel hooks and a variety of other methods.

After this the team split into smaller groups and had to complete an entire circuit, concentrating on planning each problem before leaving the ground and aiming to flash every route.

A core workout followed this focussing on the plank but doing half the repetitions as last week with half the rest time.

They are off to a comp this wednesday, good luck guys!

 

After a savage beating at the CWIF qualifyers, we decided that taking advantage of the glorious weather and heading outdoors was definitely the right thing to do!

Marge, Craig, Sam, Dan and I headed to Gardoms North boulders and had a fantastic afternoons bouldering in the sun, its a great circuit there with a wide variety of problems, I even climbed quite well, retro flashing Marks roof left hand (7A) and getting the left hand variant (7A+) 2nd go, good effort to Sam and Craig for both ticking Bens Bulge (7B but scary) and to Dan for finally ticking Marks roof LH.  A good day had by all!

 

Dan Peers on Marks Roof LH (7A)

 

We sent 2 teams to compete at the CWIF (a big international bouldering competition in Sheffield), one team comprised of our staff members and one made up of some of our regular climbers.  We all had a great time and got well and truely beasted by a very hard competition!  Well done to Sam and Craig for scoring well and Marge for competing in her first competition :)

 

 

My final day off work so Ryan and I decided to check out a new venue that neither of us have been to before.  We had heard about Nesscliffe before and after chatting with Jason (Pickles) we decided that it would be worth the visit.

After a late and a rather long winding journey (Ryan was navigating!) we arrived at the village of Nesscliffe, neither of us had a guidebook but I had looked at a few pictures of routes the night before so after a while tramping aroun the woods we managed to find the crag.  Jason had told us that the place was pretty awe inspiring, he was no wrong!  The crag appears out of nowhere and rises straight up vertically up to nearly 50 metres at its highest point.  At first glance the clean cut corners and aretes and blank walls look uttery desperate but, on closer inspection, you can start to pick out hundreds of small features, pockets and edges.

The general ethic here is headpointing with very few routes being onsighted, so we decided to pick a line that I recognised from a photo, this was also pretty much the only route that had any chalk on it and it looked relatively clean so Ryan rigged up a top rope and quickly abbed down the line giving it a gentle brush to remove any loose sand.

 

The route we had chosen was Yukan II (E7 6b) it follows an immaculate narrowing corner and the climbing is fantastic.  We decided to just jump straight on the route without a warm up as we were short of time (I dont recommend this!)  Ryan went first and managed to climb the route with a few falls, working out the technical sequences as he went.  I followed, I was having an absolute shocker on the very starting moves, I just couldnt get my fingers warm and couldnt properly feel the small crimps and pockets.  After soon discovering that Ryans beta was utterly useless to me (he is strong but short, i'm weak and lanky!) I too managed to drag myself up the route with a few falls.

The climbing on this sandstone is highly technical and the moves that at first seem virtually impossible can often be relatively straight forward once you learn the correct sequences.

We only had time for one go each on this route but we are both super psyched to return (with a guidebook) and get it finished, then check out the other routes at the crag.

 

 

 Another glorious day out in the peak, I went to Stanage Popular end again, scampered up another 20-25 or so routes, helped to rescue a poor lad who had got himself stuck then headed to millstone carpark to meet Dan.

Our plan was to head to the Secret Garden above Millstone, I think I have been here once before but we got attacked by giant midges as soon as we arrived, so I dont really remember it!

We got there just as it was getting dark so we donned our head torches and started to look for enticing problems to play on, we settled with 'Beach Ball' Font 7A.  It was getting really cold with all the stars out and frost forming on the pads so it was really tough to warm up, we decided to just jump straight on it. 

It is a really physical problem starting under a roof on a big jug, you reach out to the lip then engage a solid heel toe cam witht he right foot.  Then reach out to and match a good hold on the lip, psyche yourself up then throw for a fat sloper, stick this, engage a heel hook at the lip, match the sloper then fight your way up and over the 'beach ball'!  After a few goes I had the sequence wired and it was time for a proper go.............  I got so close but was robbed, slipping off the very last move!  This last effort had stripped the skin from my forearms and chest (even through my top)  I was nackered.

A great evening, I will be back!

 

 

 

After 9 days work in a row and its time for a few days off!

The sun was shining but I had nobody to play with, it was time to head to Stanage for a soloing session.  I rocked up to popular end, feeling a little rusty, I've not soloed in ages, so i decided to start off at the Manchester Butress area, I know these routes well and pretty soon I was back in the swing of things ticking most of the classic HS - HVS routes in that area.

After scampering up about 15 routes I decided to pop my trainers on and mooch over to another favourite area of mine, April Crack.  I started with a quick scamper up narrow butress (fantastic jug at the top!) then decided to go for Queersville (HVS) I have soloed this before but only once or twice, I always make sure im going well before getting on it as it always feels quite committing but today it went without a hitch.  I continued ticking most of the routes up to E2 in this area, all of them classics and all well travelled.  The weather was glorious and I even had my top off for a while (apologies to anyone who witnessed my pastey white back!).

After another 15 or so routes I decided to call it a day but on the drive back I stopped at the High Neb car park, a friend of mine has recommended a good E5 (Goosey Goosey Gander) so I thought I would mooch up and check it out..... it looks amazing!

I ran back down to the car and all I can think about now is waiting for the route to dry out properly then going for the on sight!

Happy days :)

 

We have just finished the 2nd session with Manchester Uni bouldering team, this week we went right back to the very basics and looked at different holds and grip types and how the same hold can be used in a variety of different ways and deciding which is best.

After this, the team split into smaller groups and aimed to complete an entire circuit, the aim was to be able to climb every problem within 3 goes yet still feeling shattered by the end.  The focus of this session was on route planning before leaving the ground, the groups would decide how to do each problem before they started, then discuss how eachproblem went afterwards.

Once the circuit was completed, it was time for a core session, we focussed on the plank, working on a minute on then a minute off for 10 sets.

The team members were then each given their individual training programs for this week.

It was a great session tonight an everyone seemed really keen, lets hope they can keep it up!

Good work guys!

 

 

We now have an AALA license, this allows us to take children and young people climbing outdoors without the need for their parents to attend.

We are running a series of outdoors days and climbing sessions throughout the Easter holidays, for more information or to book on to these then just call the centre on 0161 288 1218. 

Also if you are interested in climbing outdoors then we can arrange bespoke courses to suit your needs.

 

 

Heres a new exercise to try out, its perfect for working your core.

 

SUPER CRUNCHES!

 

Lie flat on your back with your arms streched out above your head, keeping your legs straight and ankles together, really slowly raise your legs to about 50 degrees then do a qhick abdominal crunch to try to touch your toes.  Then really slowly lower your legs and arms/shoulders back to almost touching the ground.

Repeat this 20 times without your legs or shoulders touching the ground.

 

Ouch!

 

Dont forget folks, tonight is ladies night, come on down for a good laugh and a friendly free coaching session.

 

Then why not stay a little later for a curry and a beer/wine for just £4.50.

 

Tonights choices are -

 

SWEET CHICKEN AND APRICOT CURRY

VEGETARIAN CHICK PEA CURRY

 

Simon hasjust put the finishing touches to new red V5-6 circuit, there should be something for everyone, technical masters, sloper campussing beasts, steely fingered balance monsters and roof climbing heroes !!!!!

 

Come on down and try it out for yourselves :)

 

Rock Over Climbing are now sponsoring the Manchester Univeristy Bouldering Team.

We are providing the team with an intensive 12 week individual training program, headed by Grant Bateman with assistance from our in house staff.  This climbing team will be competing at a variety of competitions throughout the year and our aim is to improve their performance and provide a structured training plan and offer advice and support to the team.

So far we have questioned the team members to find out all about their current training and performance, we then observed them climbing and made our own notes about their various strengths and weaknesses.  We are currently in the process of creating them each an individual training program.

Watch this space for updates on the team and their training!

 

 We have been super busy route setting recently!

 

Simon and Ian set the manchester bouldering league on friday, 30 fantastic routes at V0-V8.

 

Today Simon has reset the traverse wall with a variety of routes and grades including a particularly sustained crimpy f7b, also today Ryan has been busy resetting the grey V2/3 circuit.   Tomorrowto

 

Tomorrow morning Simon and James will be setting yet another competition circuit for the North West University bouldering league final, another 30 problems at V0-V8.

 

Come on down and have a play!

 

 

We are sponsoring 2 teams to enter the CWIF, one made up of staff members: Simon, Ryan, Little Tom and Marge and the other team made up of some of our regular customers.

 

Let the training commence!

 

I would post some more in depth details...... but i'm off to do some pullups!!

 

 

Tom has just finished setting a new blue V3/4 circuit, 27 problems to come and have a crack at!

 

Enjoy!

 

ITS OFFICIAL, ON SATURDAY 4TH JUNE WE WILL BE CELEBRATING OUR 1ST BIRTHDAY WITH THE NEXT SUMMER ROCKFEST!

This will be an even bigger competition than ever before with more categories than before to ensure even more people can win some FANTASTIC prizes, over £2000 cash prize fund along with loads of other amazing prizes!

As this is our birthday we will also be having a big after party which EVERYONE is invited to!

More details to follow but for now, put this date in your diary!! 

If you get hungry try out our new pizza we sell at reception, really hits the spot!

We have been very hard had work this week at Rock Over Climbing. New routes have gone up all over the place with over 80 in total.

 

New V0-1 circuit with over 36 problems

New V0 added to the old circuit

An extra 15 Lime / Purple's for new V3-5, Set by guest setter James Garden

Jamie Cassidy, world renowned route setter, who sets for the word cup, re set our comp wall.

Tom Lloyd added an endurance circuit to the 45/30 degree board, plus two routes to the comp wall

Tom Stewart re set the drytooling travers and set 6 new drytooling lines.

 

So all in all a busy week route setting and Simon is re setting the whites on Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He will also bale to tell all about his recent trip to the alps ice climbing.

 

Rock Boot Demo and Masterclass with

Ben Bransby

Rock Over Bouldering Wall

Tuesday 8^th February

6pm – 10pm

Masterclass will run at 7pm, 8pm and 9pm, please sign up in advance- ask reception for details.

Evolvshoes are available from the Rock Over Shop.

New routes today and this week to come!

Oranges were set today by Tom Stewart, a great V0-1 circuit.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) Jamie Cassidy will be coming down to set our Competition Wall.

And on Wednesday James Garden will be in setting a V4-5 circuit as well as some special problems with a range of grades.

An exciting week for Rock Over!

During the Easter break we will be hosting two Open Days. Falling on the 14th and 21st of February (Monday), the Open Days feature Induction sessions for new members, or coaching sessions for existing members, at only £4 per head.

Limited spaces available so please book in advance.

We have another set of new routes at Rock Over Climbing:

 

Circuit of traverses 6a,6a+,6b,6b+,6c and 7a. these routes can be linked into pairs and even into a monmster stamina fest. Jason linked the 6c,7a,6b+ and 6b together going at aboput 7b and was pumped!!!!

Also new reds at V5-6 and new greens at V7 ish by our guest setter Jason Pickles.

We tried out the new vegatble soup today on the customers and feedback was that it was great. So massive thanks goes out to our chef Leann, helped by Sarah.

We have added some new roped lines to the dry tooling and will try nd get some more up before next Wednesday.

We have Meat and Vegetarian Lasagne on offer tonight, and don't forget the Coaching for Ladies 1900-2100.

This Thursday a long with ladies night you can also get a tasty meat or veg chilli after to fill those hungry boots. These are proving popular so make sure you get your order in when you arrive at the centre.

We are also going to tweak the drytooling for this coming wednesday and change the route. 8-10pm on wednesday, see our news item for full details.

Well, we have very busy at Rock Over Climbing.

Simon has set a new White Circuit at V4-5, last week. Today a new V2-3 circuit went up and tomorrow a new V3-4 circuit goes up, so that is 90 new problems to get your teeth stuck into.

We have also adapted the comp wall, with a few oranges that alows you to do a monster set up laps on the comp wall. Up blue, down orange, and so on. Watched a lot of peole get really happily boxed on there.

We have also set two traverse in the back by the 45 and into the cave that are 6C and 7A seperately and then 7A+ togther. Another two traverses go up tomorrow at 6B & 6B+ wich can also be linked and then linked into the 6C and 7A!!!!!!!!!!

Come and have a go!

Last wednesday saw our first Dry Tooling event go by with great success! 15 people showed up, with only a handful booking in advance. The evening was hosted by our instructors, and included roped drytooling and bouldering. We even had hanging volumes, logs and chains to swing around on. We will be having a dry tooling session every wednesday, from 8:30pm to 10pm. These will be supervised by our instructors, but you'll need to be experienced with an ice axe already! Full details can be found in the News section of our website.

With only 20 places per session you'll need to book your spot to be sure to have a chance at drytooling!

Check out our gallery for more photos!

We have added a few night and days for drytooling over the next 2 weeks.

Wednesday 22/12 - 2000 - 2200

Thursday 23/12 - 2000 - 2200

Friday 24/12 1100 - 1800

Mon 27th 16:00 - 18:00
Wed 29th 20:00 - 22:00
Fri 31st 14:00 - 16:00

Round 2 starts tomorrow and Ian Vickers and Si will be hard at work setting the routes in the morning. As well as comp routes, there will also be spot prize routes, via raffle and also some good grub to be had after to help you refuel. Also don't forget that Owen the Massure is on Hand to sort out those achy muscles!!!!

 

Registration is at 1730, climbing from 1800 - 2100.#

 

Any questions call us on 01612881218

Rock Over Climbing, is hosting round 2 of boulder manchester next Friday 17th December. Registration is at 1730 and climbing from 1800 - 2100.

There will be spot prizes on the night and Owen the Masseur will be at hand if you fancy a rub down. (full details of the massage on our news pages)

Check out our newspages for all that is happening.

Drytooling

Shop Sale

Christmas offers

Winter Pass - 3 months £110

Ladies night

Beer and & Grub nght

And loads more

Check out our news pages for details of  our beer and grub nights

Check out our news pages for the full details of our ladies night next week.

We have over 60 new routes in the grade V0-v1/2 range up last week and also a new V4-6 circuit.

On Wednesday the NW Universities Bouldering Lague comes to Rock Over Climbing. Starting at 3pm. After this the comp routes et will stay up for us all to try. V0-V8.

Little Tom has been busy this week, setting two new circuits. There are now a new V0 and V0-V1 circuit with over 50 new problems for us all to try. Also we have two great heaters, working well keeping everyone at just the right temp.

Watch this space as we are just finalizing our dry tooling nights soon to be held at Rock Over Climbing. So if you want to get your axes out and get training, come to Rock Over.

We have two sets of new routes for you all to go at.

Simon set a small comp set for Manchester Uni, so they could select their climbing team. Ask at reception for a route car and then try the 15 problems, that go at V0-V8.

Also Tom ste a new set of V0 routes today and even ventured the Vo routes onto the bigger island walls so beware!!!

With all this cold and snow about, don't forget if you are cold and hungry then ask the staff to make you a toastie, or have one of the great hot pies we have on sale at Rock Over Climbing. If you like the cake (everyone does) then you will like the toasties and pies.

We have some new weekly events on their way.

 

We are soon to allowing at selected times you to hone your drytooling skills. We will have specific routes et and selected areas, so you can use your axes.

Also we are going to get into the festive spirit and start having a beer / curry, chilli etc... Nights, where after the climbing to can unwind with a beer and refuel with some excellent food. Anyone at last Saturdays Stag Party, or who have the Curry / Chilli at the Autumn Roc Fest will know exactly how good the food is.

Keep an eye on the webiste, facebook and twitter for full details of these events.

Ryan and Simon have worked together today on a new V3-V4 circuit. This time instead of Grey it is purple. Not seen them yet, but wil have a crack at them tomorrow.

Little Tom and I had a lead climbing session today, working on our stamina. Due to the cold, had to make sure we warmed up thoroughly, to avoid injury.

We worked on hard continous sets.

F5, F6a, F6a+, F6b, F7a

F5+, F6a, F6a+, F6b, F6b+, F6c

F6a, F7a+

Bearing in  mind I have not tied into a rope for over 10 months, I was prertty chuffed with my efforts. Can feel in now and got well pumped.

Will try and motivate myself to do a core session, based around my bar, finger board and sit ups at home.

Si set a new white circuit yesterday, ranging from V4-V5, nice interesting routes, which test all of your skill set.

So this week week we have a new set on the comp wall, some guest problems from Stu Watson and a new White Circuit.

So come on down and try them out.

Suffering a bit today as quite a big session yesterday. Started by warming up, with stretching, easy routes and use of a thera band. Then did a circuit of the new White routes V4-V5, rested then worked on the campus and finger boards.

Later when home had a run, and then worked the core with sit ups, and leg raises, did a load of press up's and dips!

Today, if I can will just have a gentle stretch, and then a few routes.

All Hallows secondary school have been comming to us for six weeks and today have had a inter school climbing comp to finsih with.

They have beren set 15 routes to climb with varying levcels of difficul;ty. They get three goes and points depending on how many goes it takes.  Then the top six go through to a quick final route on the comp wall.

Just started and they are all getting stuck in!

James Garden has been in today re-setting the Competition Wall. Stu Watson has joined him, and set a few blocs too. The problems are powerful and great fun. Why not come on down and try them out? Check out the gallery section for some photos.

Bev, Rachel, Sam, Lisa, Zack and Tom all braved the cold to head out with us on Sunday to Windgather. It proved a great day, with everyone climbing lots of routes, pushing themselves in the process. We also covered alot of learning and picked up loads of new skills. Route selection, guide books, climbing techique, safety at the crag, rope work, rigging skills, correct use of harness and other equipment.

Watch out as we are due to demand going to run more course throughout the winter, and also different types.

 

The nights are getting darker and the weather is getting worse, this can only mean two things, it’s time to start heading indoors to get strong over the winter and pray for those perfect frosty gritstone conditions.  It is also the start of the festive season, to celebrate this we are holding the:

‘Rock Over Climbing Christmas Sale!’

In our new climbing shop most items, including all shoes and clothing, will be heavily discounted so come on down and grab yourself a bargain! Whether it’s that perfect Christmas gift for a loved one or just a cheeky present for yourself, with our wide range of climbing shoes, clothes, guidebooks and training kit we are sure to have something for everyone!

To check out our great Christmas offers just pop in to the centre for a combined climbing and shopping session!

 

We still have 2 places still available for our outdoor day at Windgather (Peak District) now at a reduced price of £30 for a full days climbing.  For more details and to book your place call us at the centre on:0161 288 1218 

Well,

Did not manage the cycle to work or mrning session, however made up for it with. A run this evenig followedby stretching session, then warm up with press ups and sit ups, followed by circuits on m celar board.

Once fully warmed up, went for two sets of the set 1min 20 I did yesterday. Then big rest and two sets of assisted one armer's using a sling, held at various points to alter assistance levels.

Not quite what I set out for but a good comprimise.

Also went to the antenatal Clinic with my wife, as she is due our second baby in May. When the Doc asked if there was anything else or if I had any questions I asked if I could use their scales! Weight in at 81kg or 12st 7 right now. So reckon with good diet and exercise should get down to a fighting weight of just under 12st.

Need to stay of the Rock Over cakes and pies, no matter how good and tempting they are.

Busy day at the centre today. Harry 'Prince' Pennells, finished setting awesome new Green and Yellow circuits, and the Rock Over boys were straight at them, getting stuck in and could only say god things.

Also little Tom has set us a few delights on the traverse wall. Again look good, I am going to test them out tomorrow morning.

Wow, this may soudn both sad and amazing, but today was the first day I have had outside climbing since last March!!!!! Considering for the 2 years previous I had been climbing or training about 4 times a week, thats insane.

Anyway it was great and the weather was perfect. Started a bit chilly and touch of damp, but sun came out and friction got better and better.

Little tom will have to update with rouest done, but a good range of boulder problems from 4-6c+, and one massive lob by Little Tom, which required good matt movement ans spotting by Big Tom.

Both of us are now training and my aim is to now get out more and not leave it another 9 months before I get. Having seen the training diary that Little Tom is writing and following I am now inspired to do the same.

So we are both going to blogg about our training, to maybe give you guys some ideas.

Of todays trip I will get some route info and pics asap.

So maybe I am getting a bit excited, but I need to catch up with the lads at the wall, whilst not getting an injury. So session two of the day has just been completed and hot bath run!

After a warm up or press ups and sit ups, and stretching of all the body in between. I set up to the cellar, where the first rock Over climbing wall was built. Onto the fingerboard and off with the 1min 20 of 3 secs off 7secs on deadhangs, varying in the grip and hold. Then rest for 5 mins and repeat and rest again and repeat.

Can feel total burn.

Rest again for 5min

The onto the bar for leg raises and leg holds x 3

Rest again

Sit ups and press ups

Now totally knackered.

Always Always warm up and down!!

Tomorrow I plan to cycle to work, and do a 1 hour sessons at the start of the day and then another 1.5 hours at the end and cycle home. Not sure on what the session will entail, have just reasd about periodisation, so need to do a bit of planning. Set goals, set plan and keep diary.

 

There are still a few places availble on our intro to outdoor rock on 14th Novembver, if you fancy learning outdoor climbing skills and getting a taste of outdoor climbing this is ideal for you. For full details have a look at our outdoor courses page.

Ryan has been busy putting our schools development package together and we now have All Hallows school bringing three groups a week. Top work by Ryan, as they have a  week course, which takes them from beginners through to their own inter school climing comptetion at the end. They will have learnt:

How to boulder safely

How to use the centre

Climbing technique

Route finding and reading

Training skills

Teamwork and spotting

Understanding of their own movement and balance

It is a great course and can be run for school, club and for anyone who wants to develop. For more information email Ryan at ryan.buckley@rockoverclimbing.com.

 

This month, we have Harry Pennells and James Garden coming in to set some new routes for us. This will give all somehtin to get stuck into, I have just got some new shoes from the Rock Over Shop and can't wait to try them out on the new routes.

Simon has been busy lately setting a new red circuit V4-V6, now th nights are long, come down and see what you think.

We had a new oragne circuit go up this week, V0-1, good little routes, with interesting moves at the lower grades. Also on Monday a new red circuit is going up V4-6.

We have some new bean bags coming and plan to turn the cafe into a really cool lounge. Tom is going to provide some graffiti, Marj some new colour and I have got some new books for youall to read. We aim to great a really chilled and cosy space where you can relax, re-charge and while away the hours.

On Monday the 25th October we are opening early at 10am and hosting with Salford Uni and the Manchester Science Festival, the 'Science of Climbing'. It will be a great day where the uni have put together a load of experiments that you can get stuck into, based around climbing. Also every hour from 10 -3pm we are holding 40 minute coaching sessions aimed at beginners to intermediates, those climbing between V0 – V5/6. If you fancy some coaching then just call us to book, so as to not be disapointed and the cost is your entry.

Some of the things you can have a go at are:

 

·        Measure your grip strength and compare to one of our centre staff

·        Try and hang onto the rotating climbing wall, and have the sensors measure the forces you exert whilst hanging on!

·        Test your luck on the balance beams or slack line; see how you can improve your balance.

·        See how different types of climbing ropes work and much, much more

·        Make a protective helmet for an egg, and see if it survives the egg drop. If yours survives you could win a free entry to Rock Over Climbing

It is with great pleasure that we can confirm that we have joined forces with the Manchester Climbing Centre to run the:

 

Boulder Manchester Winter Bouldering League

 

 

Boulder Manchester

Ian and Jamie set too today on the comp wall, seting the mans and ladies finals routes.  They look really good as always. Will make fore a great comp and give everyone something to get the teeth stuck into for following weks after the comp.

Also please note that the Mancuian way is closed on the 8th & 9th which is a pain. Use the Find Us part of the website to help plan your route to the wall.

The British Bouldering Team have been in today with their first training session at Rock Over Climbing, a couple of them having never been here. Its great to see them on our Blocs, climbing alongside the rest of us! Check out some of our photos, more to come on the Gallery pages soon.

Now, the nights are dark and days wet, why not get working on the Beastmaker boards and finger boards. Start bulding that strength. We have built a new campus board, which has 5 sets of rungs on it, ranging from jugs to crimps.

If you're not into the training kit, then just work the circuits, we have some great routes out there set by Simon, Ryan, Tom and Ian.

After the comp next weekend, there will be new routes to go for on the comp wall.

Only a few Helly Hansen shirts left so hurry and snap up the last few. Just call in or phone us and book your place. Looks like it is going to be a great day with a full house, of climbers from the local area and further afield.

Sunday 26th September, Rock Over Climbing headed outside with some clients to give them their very first experience of climbing outside. The weather was fantastic, and so was the climbing, with ages 5 - 55 climbing vDiff and upwards!

Ryan and Paul from the Rock Over Climbing Team ran the day, involving top-roping, bottom-roping and also a spot of bouldering.

The weather is booked for the next session, and the midges have promised not to be around, so why not book onto the next session?

For some more photos, check out the Cadshaw link on the Gallery page.

Hi everyone, please note that the centre will be closed on Friday 8th October so we can prepare for the Autumn Roc Fest on the 9th.  Also we will be closing the comp wall on the 7th so we can get all the finals route set.  However this still leaves over 250 great routes to go for.

Tom L is setting a great new mini circuit of V3's for us all to try.  15 problems, yellow with blue tags.  Also we are going to try out a new route card system on the greys.  We are going to number the routes, then have a card listing the circuit and listing each problem and whether it is easier, average or harder for the the grade.  Feedback on new routes and route card system would be great.

Manchester Central fire Service were in Yesterday uing the centre for some training. Working their way through all the nooks and crannies we have, they navigated their way through, searching for their hidden targets. It turned out to be a fantastic day for both. Check ot the phots below:

More photos will be put up on the gallery soon 

Excitingly, phase 3 was almost completed in a single night! Simon, Ryan, Paul and Tom worked hard through last night in order to ensure the new (and recycled) traverse wall is in place and ready to use.

The wall is currently awaiting some finishing touches, a lick of paint, and a few holds. Then it will be ready for everyone to come down and test it out. Take a look at the photos to the left.

Phase 3 has begun! The traversing block upstairs has been dismantled, and is being moved to the other side of the upstairs area, taking the space currently occupied by the lockers.

With the traversing block out of the way, work can begin on the Training Area. Simon has carefully planned this out, and it looks to be a great place to train for rock or plastic!

Keep an eye on the Blog for further updates.

Today saw our most successful kids club yet, with children as young as 4 participating in a structured levels system. Our kids club suits all ages, and all abilities, so come on down on Saturday mornings, 10 - 11:30am, and join in! It costs just £8 per session, and includes equipment hire. Check out the photos on the left.

The long-awaited re-designed membership cards are almost here! Check out the pictures to see the various colours.

Wednesday saw the start of Stage 2 on the Rock Over Climbing plan! The wall skirting the Balcony upstairs is being taken down, and replaced with some railings. This allows light through to the SkyLight Cafe, and lets people look down on climbers! See the difference for yourself with the pictures, taken by our very own Chopper Harris.

Or even pop in and have a look around! Stay for a climb, or a cake and a drink, and see the difference the new additions make!

Looks like thuirsday is going to be a nice day, so why not come and join us at Brownstones quarry for a bit of outdoor bouldering? Please call the centre to book a space, £10 per head.  We will provide the coaching / tuition and bouldering mats etc...  Meet at 1830, finish at 2100.

Yesterday Rock Over Climbing opened its new Abseil Tower. Unfortunately, the Anti-Bouldering League conspired against us, and planted two explosive devices in the building. One went off, disabling our stairs, and destroying the sewage line, leaving us with toxic waste all over the place! Luckily, local staff from Strangeways were close at hand to solve the problem, and navigated around the centre avoiding the waste! Collecting items as they went, they managed to gather enough tools to defuse the bomb, and abseil to safety.

We rewarded them with quality cakes and pies up in our SkyLight Cafe, one of the sections unaffected by the sabotage.

All in all it was an exciting day, and a great way for the Strangeways staff to bond as a team!

We are heading outside!  Starting on Thursday July 8th, we are running weekly weekday outdoor climbing sessions.  We start at Brownstones, then the following week head to Hobson Moor.

We are starting with Bouldering, but will bring in roped climbing, and also weekend day trips so keep an eye out.

Look under outdoor courses on the website for full details.

Today Tom Stewart had a little play on the Blue Routes. Unfortunately he fell off halfway through the cave route! Unlucky Tom.

Hopefully he'll manage some more time on the wall that he's built!

We would like to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who came along and helped to make our opening competition a success!

Summer Rock Fest - Bouldering Comp Details

 

The opening day competition will comprise of a qualifying round of 30 problems set at V0-V9 (very very easy to very very hard!) followed by an adult final, junior winners will be decided based on qualifying points.  The juniors will compete on 25 of the adult problems plus 5 easier problems.

Categories are as follows:

• Adult (16+) Male

• Adult (16+) Female

• Junior Male

• Junior Female

All competitors are required to register online in advance as there are limited competition places.  On the day, signing in starts at 09:00 and climbing starts at 10:00, all route cards must be handed in to reception by 14:30. It maybe possible to beg extremely hard for a place on the day?

 

Scoring for the qualifying round is based on trust; competitors are required to judge each other, each competitor may try a problem a maximum of 3 times, scoring either 10 points for a flash ascent, 7 points for second go or 3 points for third go, each problem will have a bonus hold which will score 1 point.  The top 6 scores in each adult category will go through to the final.

 

Alongside this competition there will also be various sponsored boulder problems, anyone who completes one of these problems will be entered into a prize draw to win one of many fantastic prizes, these will be running throughout the day for competitors to attempt at their leisure.  There will also be:

• Evolve boot demo.

• Shop courtesy of Beyond Hope.

• BBQ with a free beer!

• Much, much more!

The cost for the whole event is just your standard entry fee, £6.70 for adult members or £7.70 for non-members and £5.70 for member concessions.

 

 09:00 – Registration opens.

10:00 – Climbing begins.

14:30 - Qualifying round ends, all scorecards to be handed to reception.

15:00 – Junior winners announced and prize giving whilst adult finals are set.

16:00 – Adult finals begin

19:30 – Adult finals finish and prize giving.

20:00 – Party time!

It has been another eventful day here at the wall, we now have 5 circuits up, the majority of the matting down and we now have a staircase.

We also now have an amazing looking Beastmaker board, Dan and Ned spent the day creating an absolute monster of a board, check the gallery for more pictures.

Everything is looking on track ready for the opening comp on Sat 5th June, Ian and Jason are starting to set the comp problems next week so dont forget to register online for a competition space!

The wall build is now finished, and we start route setting tomorrow.  Ian Vickers is going to get he teeth stuck into some route setting for us tomorrow. Today was spent wrestling with a bit of matting and Jamie making volumes. Mark also got the tunes going and rigged up some more speakers, good work fella!

Hayden worked his socks off today cutting foam.  Andy and the gang have made great kids features. Chris got lost in the traverse boulder and Euan, Mark and Sandy painted away.

Big day today, Euan and Sandy arrived and boosted the team.  Paint job nearly finished, matting arrived in monster truck.  Also our online registration for the comp has now gone live.

Well its business as usual here at the wall/building site, loads more work is being done and the boys are showing no sign of slowing down, as long as the coffee is flowing and jam on toast is in abundance. 

We are getting alot more painting done and doing a lot of experimenting with different tester pots (there is a fine balance between funky and disgusting - lets hope we get it right!)

Jamie is still working away in the big cave, playing with different angles and features and generally making it look really cool, whilst the rest of the guys are making some super steep training boards to be coated in Beastmaker holds.

We should be receiving our first batch of holds from Entreprise tomorrow so we are looking forward to unwrapping them (its a bit like christmas!)

Keep a look out for special opening offers which will be coming very soon!

Be quick and get your one of our Giveaway Annual Pases for £160!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Go to our news page for more details on how to get your pass etc.....

Lots has been happening, the DJ booth has gone in preperation for the new staircase.  Entre Prise Comp Wall is now painted.  The cave area is complete, and we are now heading upstairs.

The back alley is finished, now we move on to the EP Competition Wall.

Sorry everyone for slow updates recently.  Painting has started and Georgia has picked some great colours.   The rear cave is now under way and looking mental.  Thanks to everyone for the massive T-Nutting session on Tuesday.  Also thanks to Mark for big push over the weekend, and early start on Monday to let everyon in.

Did a bit of tidying today.  Have to say Andy, Jason, Gavi, Jamie, Rob and Chris are doing an oustanding job building our wall.  They just keep pulling out the hat new suprises.  Cheers lads, can't praise you enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The scaffolders have built two massive islands, and these are now been turned into awesome bouldering features.  Also some new scaffold has gone up to make the cave.  Mark, Helen and Issac did a great job prepping the back alley for painting which will start on Tuesday.

Today was another epic, but made all the more special by having a whole gerneration of the Harris family helping at the wall.  Nanna, Mum, Son, Dad, and two daughters!!!!!!!!!!!  It amazes me what we get done each day.  Roof is fixed, the frame of the islands has been built, holes in the floor filled in and much more.  It really exciting and looks better every day.  It is also incredible how fast the lads are going with building the wall.  They seem to be setting the tempo and everyone is folllwoing suit.

The Comp Wall is really taking shape and is pretty massive!  So much wall has gone up we are going to have to start painting soon.  If you want to join our mailing list for updates on the opening event, the 'Summer rock Fest' and promotional offers on passes etc..  The please email us at info@rockoverclimbing.com, or send a request via the comments box.

What a Day? Probably the most mental of my life!!!!!  All sorts happened, changing rooms were getting built, demolition was going on and the Wall was going up.  It was a none stop day, hats off to everyone.

Well, we all made into day two.  More wood, more T-Nutting, but now everything is ready for the wall building to start in earnest on Monday.  We also have the fit out contractors and roofers starting on Monday.  Massive thanks to all those who helped over the weekend and special thanks to my wife and daughter who kept us well stocked with butties and food.  Bring on Monday!

Rock Over Climbing proudly annouces, Entre Prises as a Rock Over Climbing sponsor. Manufacturers of the climbing wall holds... See Entre Prises website

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