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Life Enhancement Program (Vimeo)
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Dans la Forêt (Vimeo)
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Touchstone Wall, Zion National Park
Quick test of sharing a video from Vimeo to my WordPress blog via mobile phone.
Touchstone Wall, Zion National Park
The Scene at Tyneside Cinema
Looking forward to seeing The Scene at the Tyneside Cinema, on Wednesday 16th November. Booked tickets over the phone, thus avoiding the online booking fee, because of course – booking via computer must be so much more complex and expensive than speaking to a fellow human… It works out £8 per ticket if you do it this way.
Still plenty of seats available when I spoke to them, and I think definitely worth checking out. See trailer below.
Training “Core” Muscles for Climbing
At various times in the past, as I’ve been involved in different sports, I’ve tried to incorporate a few specific exercises into my gym routine. Football added some obvious leg work, Aikido some wrist/forearm exercises and an interesting regime of stretching.
Now that I’m developing an interest in climbing, I’ve altered my leg work, kept up with the wrist curls and related exercises, and started to include far more pull-ups. But increasingly I’m thinking I should direct some attention towards core stability. My new training plan is still very much a work in progress, but in researching this, I found an excellent resource in the YouTube channel of Ridgeline Fitness (Adam Ford) which includes 27 exercises on the Swiss Ball.
He doesn’t seem to mention climbing in any of his videos, but you can’t fail to spot the quick bit of bouldering and the Metolius Rock Rings in his introductory video! I’ve embedded the intro video below, followed by a list of the exercises; all linked to the relevant clips on YouTube. Also worth checking out the couple of articles below, from bodybuilding.com and climbing.com.
Core Strength that Counts (climbing.com)
Strength, Endurance, Balance and Flexibility for Climbing (bodybuilding.com)
1.) Introduction
2.) Swiss Ball Crunch
3.) Straight Leg Bridge
4.) Side Crunch
5.) Torso Twist
6.) Back Extension
7.) Roll Out
8.) Alternating Superman
9.) Knee Tuck
10.) Spinal Twist
11.) Ball Sizing
12.) Pelvic Tilt
13.) Hamstring Curl
14.) Quad Extension
15.) Push Up
16.) Lateral Pull
17.) Bicep Curl
18.) Tricep Extension
19.) Calf Raise
20.) Leg Lifts
21.) Reverse Crunch
22.) Reverse Extension
23.) Bent Knee Bridge
24.) Pike Press
25.) Prone Torso Twist
26.) Supine Lateral Roll
27.) Ab Stretch
Sunderland Wall & Newburn Wall
Had a couple of good sessions so far this week; at the Sunderland Wall and Newburn Wall. First was a top-rope induction and the second was a regular training session.
Sunderland Wall (23m) and Newburn Wall (13m)
On Saturday, met up with Steven Horner in Sunderland and we did part one of their three session top-rope induction course. It was very informative, starting with explanations of essential equipment, harnesses, types of belay plates, and how to check your gear. Then it moved onto knots, tying in to your harness, and how to belay your partner. We had time for a couple of climbs on their 6m and 10m walls, and they gave us some off-cuts from a dead rope to practice figure-of-8 knots. Looking forward to part two later this week. Click here for more info on their courses. In summary, the course consists of three 90 minute sessions, at £15 per session. The lead climbing course follows the same structure.
Then today, I enjoyed my first visit to the Newburn Wall since the routes were reset last week. Insofar as I’m qualified to judge, it looks good. There were a couple of very easy routes in the old setup (green on panel 1, purple on panel 5, for example) and I think the new easiest routes might be a just bit harder than that, but overall it tended to feel like the majority of other routes were slightly easier than before. Time will tell, and I only tried the half dozen panels with auto-belays; about 15 routes, or thereabouts.
Maybe it’s familiarity, but I do like the ‘real rock’ surface at Newburn. It felt odd placing feet on the smooth surface at Sunderland. I’m sure each has its merits.
Like Sunderland, Newburn run a 3 session “Learn the Ropes” course, which chatting to Phil earlier (hi, if you’re reading this!) sounds like it might cover some additional topics, including use of ground anchors. The Newburn Wall also features a wide ledge, 6 metres up, which has multiple anchor points, and I guess can be used for practising a multi-pitch climb, or to practice belaying your second from above. Not sure if this is part of their Learn the Ropes course, or if it’s a separate course. Either way, sounds like it’s worth looking into.
Lynn Hill and Katie Brown on the Leaning Tower, Yosemite
In the summer of 2005 Lynn Hill and Katie Brown made the first female “free” ascent of the West Face (V 5.13b/c A0), Leaning Tower, Yosemite. An inspirational film to watch, and very interesting to hear a little of their thought process and rapport in the “to camera” segments of the video.
Runs approx 10 minutes, nicely produced by Lynn Hill and Patagonia; via YouTube.
Sunny bouldering at Whickham Thorns
As someone new to climbing, I was delighted to discover the Whickham Thorns Bouldering Park virtually on my doorstep. It is reputed to have been the first man-made bouldering park in the UK. Access is free of charge, and at the times I’ve visited (generally late on a Saturday afternoon) there is plenty of parking. I’ve also been lucky with the weather, as you can see below!
You can view a more detailed description and route list here on UKClimbing.com or download a PDF with routes from this link at ClimbOnline.co.uk. I also added a few pictures from Saturday afternoon into my LifeOnTheLedge Picasa gallery.
I’m new to this, and Font 3 or 4 is about my limit at present, but I found plenty of routes to keep me occupied for a couple of hours, without too much frustration setting in. There are some much harder looking routes there too, up to a Font 7c+ according to the mini guide.
Whilst I can’t comment on the more challenging routes, I can definitely recommend this to anyone in a similar position to myself. In just a couple of visits I’m feeling like it’s improving my climbing, and while this is pretty unscientific, I get the impression the additional practice has helped me on a couple of indoor routes I’d been struggling with down at the Newburn Wall.
Map and a snapshot of the entrance from Google Street View
As a final although slightly unrelated “top tip”, combine your visit to Whickham Thorns with a coffee at Pumphreys in Blaydon. I’d recommend picking up some Ethiopian Mocha, but it’s all down to personal preference, and if you visit – you’ll be spoilt for choice! 
Film: Petzl Roctrip Zillertal 2008 – Sport climbing in Austria (26min)
Inspiring stuff from some very passionate international climbers in this film by Guillaume Broust. The Zillertal valley is in the Tyrol region of Austria, about 30 miles north-east of Innsbruck. The photography is nice, coupled with some cool tunes! Features a mix of sport climbs and bouldering.
The soundtrack is mostly in English, but have a look at the comments on YouTube for any additional translations. Enjoy!
Welcome to Life on the Ledge
Welcome to Life on the Ledge, a companion blog to my personal site, jonathancraddock.com. While the focus of my other site is hiking and Wainwright bagging, here I’ll post on my climbing interests. And, since I don’t do enough climbing to make it particularly interesting, I’ll also post to other climbing content that I find interesting or inspirational.
There’s a danger that I will now be running two out-of-date blogs instead of one, but when you’re living life on the ledge, that’s the kind of risk you’ll be willing to take!