New Problem

Managed to link two problems together today at the Pec Boulder. Taking the start of the sit start problem it dives off left after the first big move to finish up the arete.

This is the first accent as far as I'm aware and I also managed to beat Chris to it. A bit of competition definitely helps to raise standards!

Limits

After my defeat on "the Arms Race" I realised to move up the grades I'd first have to go back down them in order to get my confidence back. Severe and a few Hard Servers proved to be short of the challenge I needed so I decided to skip VS and move straight onto HVS. "Breathless" had big powerful moves at the start with a mantelshelf onto a ledge being the crux. I quickly found that this was near my limit, not my climbing limit but rather my psychological limit. This was probably due to the gear being adequate but not bomber.

I suppose the real challenge is getting this psychological limit up to where my physical limit is...

I lost the arms race!

After seeing Chris waltz up an E2 I thought it was time to up my own game. Consulting the guide book I found an E1 5b called Arms Race. It looked very doable with plenty of gear and an overhang which would have to be tackled direct, this would be the crux I told myself. Right from the start I realized I'd underestimated it. I hadn't even reached the over hang when, pumped and concerned about taking a fall on my gear, I told Chris to lower me down.

This was a big shot to my confidence but decided to give it another go. This time I made it to just below the over hang where a big jug meant I could shack out. I took a few moments to compose myself, looked at the overhang then...... bottled it completely and got lowered down for the second and last time.

Chris pulled the ropes through then led it with no real problems. The whole thing felt so much easier seconding it, just need to get my head in the right space!