Matt Norgrove

Moonshadow

2012-02-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

A big thanks to Simon Carter for snapping a few shots recently(and also thanks to Monique for the belay). Here are a couple of pics on Moonshadow(33) @ Centennial Glen. Check out Simons Web page www.onsight.com.au or click the link to the right.

Larger Than Life

2012-02-21T20:20:00.000-08:00

So it would appear that this week I have altered my training schedule just a little. I managed to sneak out in between thunderstorms and do a bit of climbing at the Glen with a friend Jonas. Not sure if this was wise but, I really enjoyed it! Despite the wet humid conditions, we had fun and hopefully it helped maintain a bit of route fitness. I have been obsessed with my fingerboard sessions lately, so much to the point I have been waking up in the middle of the night with aching fingers. So I thought that laying off the training for a week wouldn't hurt. I have been having an early morning boulder for a couple of hours than hitting the crag after 4pm. I tried a route called Larger than Life(31) and Jonas nailed Brutal and Wrong Movements(27) quite quickly, so the pressure was on for me to send this route. Larger than Life is an incredible line, I remember almost 3 years ago when I first visited the glen, standing underneath this route in amazement. It basically climbs a 40 metre traverse and finishes out 2 roofs. This style of climbing is pretty rare in the mountains, the only accept ion being the Amphitheatre at Diamond Falls. The first 2 days I tried the route, a lot of the important holds were quite damp and some were even wet. Fortunately when I returned on the third day(i'm not quite sure how) the holds were slightly better, making it sendable. Even though the final jug is a monstrous hoofer, I nearly came off clipping the anchor due to the huge amount of rope drag and the rock was slick and damp. Luckily I held on! Such an awesome route, just remember to pack long slings and roller biners(unlike me):-)

Day Dreamer

2012-02-11T02:35:00.000-08:00

A nice day at fort rock, Blackheath.

This definitely is not my most exciting post I have ever submitted, but to be entirely honest I haven't really done anything worth blogging about. So I'll keep it short and sweet! Since Christmas I have been trying to be a little more disciplined and actually try and do some slightly more "structured" training. Prior to New Year I was spending a bit of time at the Underworld with Benjamin, keen for an awesome line called Hashish(32). It Basically links the crux of two awesome routes into one, via a really cool roof traverse. Pumpy with a technical crux. I was pretty psyched until I injured my knee trying a little too hard on one of the moves, this is not good considering the route has 5 heel toe moves leading up to the crux. In the end there was no question about it, any heel toe position was excruciating. Unfortunately I wont be climbing this route for a while. Quite frustrating, but it will heal and hopefully by then I will be strong enough to climb the route with ease.
This little set back also gave me the opportunity to get back to a route called Mechanical Animals(33) at Boronia Pt. No heel toes in this sucker, so I didn't have any excuses! Despite conditions being rather average, I think I managed some pretty good progress on this line. It took me probably 3 days of work before I could do the crux sequence, and then I overlapped the route on a couple of occasions. It went from feeling totally impossible to very doable, in a short period which is exciting. Since then we have had 3 weeks of crazy weather, pretty well rain on most days.

Rogue Echidna joining the action at Boronia

Anyway for the past 3 or 4 weeks I have just been training quite a lot at the BBC, and hang boarding at home. It has worked out rather well, because it allows me to work more and train harder. I think a solid block of training over summer is not a bad thing, especially when the conditions are terrible. I really enjoy running at the moment especially in the mountains(when its not raining). I did a lot of cross country running as a kid and then gave it away for probably 8 years. I seem to have forgotten how good running makes me feel, its awesome.

Unfortunately Larger than life is larger than my quickdraw collection!

This time of year is once again very frustrating. Do I persevere with the bad conditions and risk not getting anywhere on a project....or just cut my loses and train solid for the remainder of summer. I made the mistake last year of throwing myself at routes that were at my limit in 99% humidity and although it was fun, I think a lot of it was a big waste of time and could have been better spent training. I keep on dreaming of rocking up to the cliff on a beautiful cold autumn day with a new level of strength. Crushing that crux that demoralised me last season and sending that project in 3 shots instead of 3 months. I think it is probably this thought alone that drives me to train harder. I Can't wait to climb these routes!!

Jammin with Danny & Ben at Waragil

That pretty briefly sums up the past month. I look forward to posting some slightly more exciting blogs very soon. This year is going to be awesome! Thanks for reading my blog :-)

Cold December......Bonus

2011-12-21T01:36:00.000-08:00

So, I guess this is the sequel to my previous post. The reason being, once I had completed Search & Destroy I wanted to climb Moonshadow. A route that links the crux of Levitation(29) into S&D via a long (juggy) traverse. What an unreal piece of climbing! I thought I was being slightly optimistic in my approach to sending this route, but I guess it's not a bad way to be. Before I tried the route I decided I would replace a dodgy looking crux bolt on Levitation(potentially a back breaker) and as it turns out that was probably a wise decision. I wont go into details, but the bolting was shyte!

Levitation RAD!!!

Search & Destroy Wall......sorry! snapped this after I took the draws off!

Cool, so Rockclimbing is awesome!

Anyway over the past couple of weeks I have had a lot of trouble with my skin:-( and it sucks! I think it is just reacting to the liquid chalk that I have been using, which is a real bummer because I think liquid chalk serves it's purpose really well, but maybe a little too well. Even climb on was having trouble healing these cuts. far out life is tough:-P. So imagine two thick paper cuts running across your index and middle finger........sounds like I'm being a winger, but when your trying to crank on a pocket with two fingers taped it's farked! This caused a few issues in the house.......... but anyway I should be thankful I am not badly injured or starving!
Back to my story, the crux move on Moonshadow involves cranking on a 2 finger pocket(about 1 and a quarter digits) and then a drive by huck to an edge. The feet are quite bad as you enter the sequence. Unfortunately there was no way I could hold the pocket with tape on both fingers, I had to give the route a rest until my skin healed. It ended up working out quite well, I needed to tie up some loose ends and fetch some draws I had left hanging at Bardens. My house mate Allie was keen on a day out climbing, so off to Bardens we went....i was psyched but had no real intention of actually climbing, I was on a draw retrieval mission! Back in early October I tried a route called Brain Haemorrhage in the cave, purely only tried it because it was dumping down with rain and there was nowhere else to climb. Anyway, did the moves but found the final sequence quite hard, even after another days work. I thought the route was kinda cool but it is pretty heavily manufactured and there are a lot of better routes to be climbed. So yeah, I totally forgot about the route for probably 6 or 7 weeks until I ripped through my cupboard looking for quick draws before finally realising, I had left them on that route:-( back to ole el Bardens it was.
I thought I would have a few warm-up laps on the way of all flesh to see where I was at, because I had been just bouldering for a month prior. I felt as pumped as a parrot on my first lap. But then the next couple felt good. Radness, time to get some draws back......well I was going to have to get to the top anyway so I might as well harden up and give it a crack!
Anyway, I won't bore you with the details, but, long story short I ticked Brain Haemorrhage and was reunited with my beloved Quickdraws.....a good meat pie went down well after. As for the grade, well 31 or maybe even hard 30 I reckon. The route did not feel at all like 32, I think if you tried to clip the quickdraw in the roof(desperate), than it very well maybe. But I skipped it, so it probably made the crux sequence a lot more straight forward.

Random shot of the BBC, best gym in the country:-)

A few days later my skin had healed enough to start trying Moonshadow again, I still had to tape up, but on a redpoint attempt I could remove the tape with my teeth before I got to the crux. It was really awesome to spend a few days trying this route with some awesome friends. And I think laughing at the crag is almost as enjoyable as climbing routes. It was pretty cool to work this route with Ben, I haven't really worked a climb with anyone before, so it was a different experience. But far out, I think it is the most effective way to send a project! I spent a few days trying the route and at the end of the second day Ben sent the route packing. On that day I fell off after the crux section, which I was pretty annoyed about. So, skinless and a bit bummed I gave it 2 rest days and chilled for a while.
I forgot to mention that Wiz Kid Fineron is back in town, we both decided we would head to the Glen...actually I decided we would head to the Glen, sorry wiz but unfinished business had to be attended to. Arrived at the crag with some pretty shit house conditions, that is until the 3pm breeze hit the crag and then the down jackets were on. Sweet as, all I needed was a couple of hours of decent conditions. My first attempt was bad, hitting close to a low point. I pulled onto the route again thinking I would cruise to the top....nope fell exiting the crux move. Man, conditions weren't the best but I should be able to climb the route with one sit at least. Anyway i came down off the route pretty demoralised and thought this would be the beginning of an epic journey.
Wiz jumped on Tsunami and gave it a good bash on Wave Wall for an hour or so, and then we headed back to the route..... I noticed that the draws on the route were swaying in the wind, which was a pretty rare sight. I tied in, put my shoes on and before I knew it, i was latching the crux hold of the route. Making noises that i am not at all proud of, I wrapped my bumbly thumbs over my fingers and made sure I didn't make the same mistake again. Sweet, in the bag!
As for the difficulty of this climb, I have spent a lot of time thinking about it. When a route is at your limit it is difficult to make a clear judgement especially when I have not climbed grade 33 before. I can only make a comparison to the other routes of that level which I have tried briefly. Yes, it is the hardest route I have climbed but I think it is pretty borderline. maybe I will re access my decision when I have climbed 33s all around the world. For the moment following a consensus 33 is a good option. Anyhow it was a pretty nice way to finish an unreal year:-)

I got down to the glen briefly today and climbed a route called Inertia(30) 2nd shot. I am quite psyched on trying Alpha leather but the conditions were really bad today, I think I have been lucky enough with the weather in December so I am not complaining. Time to train! Can't wait for next year!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thankyou for reading my blog. Climb Safe:-)

Search & Destroy

2011-12-13T01:33:00.000-08:00

Blowin Chunks on Search & Destroy(32) Centennial Glen ALL PHOTOS: BEN COSSEY

Well, things have been pretty slow over the past month since my return from Getu. I think it has been a great learning curve for me and has opened my eyes to a lot of things. Most importantly it has made me realise how I need to get so much stronger! which is great because It means I am now training my arse off :-)
Its so easy to fall into your own little world and think your doing so well, until somebody comes along and flashes your project or onsights that route that took you 2 days. Demoralising yes, but on the other hand so incredibly inspiring!
So for the past 4 weeks I have spent most of my time training at the BBC.
Im not sure if I'm using my time super efficiently, but I definitely feel 100% stronger.
Every few or so days I have been getting out to my local crag the glen and gone on a few expeditions to the underworld(which is bloody unreal). About 2 months ago I tried a route called Search & Destroy(32) at centennial glen. It was always the route that I would stop and stare at as I made my way around to Wave Wall, but always passed it off as too hard or too bouldery for me. Anyway, I built up the courage to jump on it and got spanked.
After a couple of weeks in China I felt super fit but returned a little weak, so with my psyche levels through the roof, I just trained hard and got stuck into some plastic boulders. It's so nice to have such a great bouldering facility right near home. I have never been this psyched to train bouldering EVER! which is funny because it is a crucial part of becoming a good rock climber but, It just bored me in other gyms.

So anyway with a fresh mind and body, I decided to give S&D another crack, only this time I pulled off all of the moves without too much trouble. After another 3 days work it was in the bag! Such good rock climbing and so nice to see that training pay off :-) A big thanks to Ben and Danny for snapping off some pics! Rock climbing is awesome:-):-) thank you for reading my blog

CHECK OUT VIMEO!!

2011-11-16T04:05:00.000-08:00

Temptation Video *CLICK HERE*

I finally got a bit of an editing program up and running, so you can check out my flicks at Vimeo.com(the link above). This is my first attempt at using an editing program so my cuts have room for improvement. Check it out, the videos are only going to get better!! I climbed Temptation back in July and it is probably my favourite at the grade. I just haven't got around to posting it....ooopse! Enjoy :-)

Getu take 2!

2011-11-16T03:53:00.000-08:00

Drill Team 7c+ Great Arch Getu Photo: Logan Barber

These are a few pics Dan and Logan snapped off for us over the trip. Hopefully they can give you a bit of an idea of what the inside of the arch was like:-) it was a bit of an epic trying to get photos during the trip as the crags were so crowded! So thanks very much guys for making it happen.

This would have been a lovely photo if steve was looking in the same direction;-) anyway great colour contrast!

Wiz getting some air time in the Getu

The Arch Getu Valley Photo: Logan Barber

CHECK OUT VIMEO!!!!!!

2011-11-16T03:06:00.000-08:00

Temptation Video *CLICK HERE*

Getu Valley Happy Snaps

2011-11-16T02:10:00.000-08:00

Going with Buddha(7c+) Getu Valley Photo: Daniel Lee

16 year old Wiz Fineron sizes up the crux of KiDi Buzz(8a) Photo: Logan Barber

Petzl RocTrip 2011 China

2011-11-14T18:09:00.000-08:00

Due to lack of internet access in the Getu Valley I was unable to post a blog, so Im making up for about 3 blog reports in one here. Hahaha this could be my longest blog yet, I'll do my best to not get side tracked and begin talking nonsense, but there are no promises!

The Great Arch on Sunset Getu Valley China

I should probably fill you in a month prior to my departure for China, as I made a few cool changes in my life. I started with a permanent move to Blackheath, Im lucky enough to be about 10 mins walk from Centennial Glen, 5mins from the shops and about 15mins walk from the Blackheath Bouldering Club which I joined before I left(PERFECT)! The BBC is an awesome training facility and It think will help improve my climbing a lot especially over the summer and has got me psyched to train.
I had no idea what to expect for this trip so I guess it was kinda difficult to really have a game plan but I figure everyone would be in the same boat, I definately did not train specifcally for anything on this trip but thought it was obviously going to be handy to have good indurance for the longer routes, so I just climbed alot and tried to avoid injury.
Ben and I spent a few days at Boronia Pt and made the most of some of the good conditions we had. Ben has been trying his mega project that starts up Big Wednesday breaks left through a gnarley desperate roof section and finishes up Tripe. One of the most inspiring looking lines in the mountains, thats for sure! I climbed a route called Don't Believe the Hype(31) pretty quickly once I figured out the crux move, just a kinda strange body contortional position for me but otherwise just a pumper. Then got pretty psyched on a route called Mechanical Animals(33) which gave me alot of trouble putting the crux sequence together initially, I havent really had a good crack with skin on my fingers but just didnt get one move, cant wait to go back!

The Legendary Wiz Fineron

A week before we left for China a good friend Wiz Fineron from NewZealand came and stayed with me before we left, we spent most of that time climbing at the Glen and Bardens Wiz was just getting a feel for rock again after a few injuries saw him miss out on a bit of climbing through out the year. I climbed Point Break(31) which is quite sharp but climbs really nicely. It is probably closer to grade 30. I also climbed my nemisis August 1914(29)......I LOVE this climb! I have never actually projected it but just tried it every now and then and always found the lower boulder quite hard, but nailed it on that day. Also got to work on a route called Search and Destroy(32). As you can imagine our skin was in top form for our departure..............

Lovely hands after Point Break

So, on Sunday the 23rd of October, skinless as Christmas turkeys we left our little home in the Blue Mountains and flew into Guangzhou the Capital of Guizhou(the poorest province in China). From there we took a short domestic flight to a small city called Guiyang, as it turns out this small city is about twice the size of Sydney! That blew any plans of us getting anywhere by foot. Unfortunately our flight was delayed meaning we did not arrive at Guiyang until about 2 am.....fortunately spelean booked us in at the Novatel that night which was sweet! Yes....king size buffet breakfast!(little did I know this would be my last good meal for two weeks). The next day Petzl organised a bus to take team America, us and a few others to the Getu Valley where our awesome climbing adventures would begin. Getu is about a 5 hour bus ride from Guiyang where the road winds and roles through some incredible countryside. Limestone peaks appearing from every angle, I was just amazed at the amount of rock we had seen before we had arrived at our destination. The roads are just madness, but somehow seem to make sense at the same time.

Ethan, Andrew, John, Sasha, Emily, Marcos, Me, Joe.

Hotel Reception in Getu

On monday afternoon after a long bus trip, we finally arrived at the Getu Valley, a small isolated cute little town surrounded by Limestone cliffs that are just incredible. It is hard to explain in writing just how much rock there is in this area. After checking in at our hotel room we were invited to dinner and we all got to know each other. I must say the beer here is cheap 90cents a bottle! You can buy a main course meal for a little under $4 aus it gives you an idea of how cheap it is in china.

Cody Roth, Lyn Hill, Me,Gabriel Moroni, Wiz Fineron

The following week involved a lot of climbing in the great arch above Getu and at a separate crag called Banyangs cave. Both cliffs were around about 40mins walk from the village, if we were lucky we could hitch a ride which would shorten our trip quite a lot, however this was rare!
The arch is an incredible landmark with so much rock to see, Petzl have done an awesome job preparing not only this area but the half a dozen other crags that surround Getu. Slopey Limestone pockets and tufas covered the vertical walls of the cave, while the roof consisted of endless stalactites and phenomenal multi-pitch routes. A very interesting style to say the least, the slippery limestone had many puzzled including myself for the first few days. This didn't stop Steve Mclure on sighting an 8c on his second day climbing in the valley.......impressive! Petzl athletes were attempting the 9a project on the main wall in the arch throughout the trip, Gabriel Moroni from Italy sent the project on his last day of the trip.
Banyangs Cave was quite different having one end of the crag steep and overhanging, while the right hand side was about 10-15 degrees overhanging on small edges, tufas and pockets.....COOL! Wiz and I spent the majority of our time at this crag.

Banyangs Cave Getu Valley

I was in the Getu Valley for less than 24 hours before disaster struck and my bowels turned upside down! After chowing down a Getu Village main meal i was given the urgent 2 minute warning which involved sprinting to the hotel room and dropping the kids off at the pool. Only to find that our quality toilet did not flush:-? yeah um yep ahh yeah um ye........sorry wiz.
So this routine continued over the next 6 days. I think my body had a lot of trouble adapting to the food, Noodles and pig fat for breakfast....rice and pork for dinner, very little in the way of good nutrition available made it hard for me to perform at my peak. So loaded up with Imodium and pepdo and my favourite custard egg puffs we made our way to the crags most days to do a spot of rock climbing.
My tick list for the trip was not all that impressive but when I wasn't pooing myself I was on the wall pulling as hard as I could.

Treblinka Pour Diego(8b/31) 4th shot
Ki Di Buzz(8a/29)
Autochtono(7c+/28)
Drill Team(7c+/28)
Going with Buddha(7c+/28)
Loco de Noodles(7c+/28)
Calf(7c/27) flash

It was so amazing and I felt so privileged to be able to climb along side some of the worlds best. I think the roc trip for me was more about soaking up the atmosphere and just meeting new people and enjoying such a great event.
During the roc trip Petzl had movies and short films playing in the evening with presentations from Dani Andrada, Chris Sharma, Daila Ojeda and many more. The vibe just felt really cool, climbers from all around the world, all in one spot for the same thing!

Wiz Fineron, Dave Graham, Liana Morgans, Me, Logan Barber at the closing ceremony.

During our second week we hung hung with team Five Ten for the stowaway tour, and did some more climbing, chilling and you guessed it POOing! The second week was a little more productive for a lot of the climbers, with Dave Graham and John Cardwell sending an 8c+. I think one of the highlights of the trip for me was spending time at the cliff with Ethan Pringle and Dave Graham. Inspirational to say the least.
Anyway, whilst the team was out crushing I had other things on my mind, in a desperate attempt to have my first rest day of the trip. I decided a nice warm(although it was cold) shower was definitely in need. As you do, I pulled the the door shut behind me completed my shower, brushed my teeth and went to open the door handle, only to find the door handle was some how stuck in the locked position! Holy shit, thats ok its just a bathroom, it cant be that hard to escape. Turns out I was wrong...no windows, solid brick walls a very solid door and wiz had gone on a day long exhibition to another town......F@*K! So after trying to remain calm and open the door with such grace, I began to panic after 5 minutes and after 10 I had exhausted every possible evacuation procedure that I had learnt from Bear Grylls. I had to resort to some form of aggression......

This was the door handle after I tried to fix it! This was by far the crux of my trip!

So basically I resorted to pulling as hard as I could on this poor little door handle until it exploded and then this shot was taken after I attempted to repair it.......Looks like new ;-)

Kevin from Five Ten did an excellent job organising our accommodation, transport and photos for the stowaway tour and without him it probably would have been a nightmare. So a big thank you to Kevin and Beau!

For me it was totally a bit of a culture shock, and just such an eye opening experience. Putting all of the climbing aside, these people live in what we would consider an extremely poor lifestyle. Although they have their different ways of living, the many encounters I had with the locals were most pleasant, although we could not really understand each other they went far out of their way to accommodate us in many ways. It also makes me realize how lucky we are to live in our small climbing community with clean non-polluted crags. Although the climbing in Getu was great I was shocked at the amount of trash on the side of the roads and also at the crags. I was disappointed to think that foreigners who had arrived and participated in this event couldn't care less and just dropped their rubbish on the ground!
Anyway on a more positive note, I thought overall the event was excellent! Well done to Erwan and Petzl for organising such a top event and opening such an incredible climbing area for the world to explore! The roc trip is to be held in Argentina next year and I can Imagine it will be unreal also!
Thanks to my sponsors Spelean and Climb On! for helping me out on this trip, with out them this would not have happened:-)

As for me, well back in Blackheath more psyched than ever ready to train super hard in the summer:-).
Ooooohhhh and I also have 640 climbing photos to sort through so I can put some action shots on this blog, the photos that have been displayed are just randoms I snapped off with my p&s.
Because I over budgeted for my China trip, I was able to by a laptop with an awesome movie editing program, which means finally I can put some short clips together........it only took a year!
So stay tuned and I hope you enjoyed reading my blog :-) Norry:-)

Petzl RocTrip 2011

2011-09-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

After Seeing this photo I decided I should probably start doing a little bit more cardio training if I am going to slog my arse up 1477 steps and stand any chance of actually climbing well.

So, thanks to Spelean and Climb On our flights have been booked to China for the Petzl Roctrip. I'll be teaming up with Wiz Fineron from NZ and Dan Lee from Spelean. If all goes according to plan(my visa gets approved) we should arrive in the Getu Valley on the 25th of October, In time for the beggining of the event :-) I'm not sure about the other guys but I can't speak a word of Chinese so im sure there will be lots of funny stories to tell upon my return.

This is quite the chunk of rock! The Arch in the Getu Valley.

The past fortnight has been spent training indoors and occasionally hitting some outdoor boulders(getting smashed). I lost a lot of strength after my illness a few weeks back and just starting to feel good now. Hopefully I will be fighting fit for China, looking forward to some different climbing! Check out petzl.com.au

Rain & Coffee Overdose

2011-09-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

Sooooo......slack once again! I have a lot of catching up to do. To be honest the past couple of months have gone so fast I havn't even thought about this blog! Not sure where to start really.............but anyway ill do my best! in early July(just before my last post) I was fortunate enough to have a temporary studio flat in Mt Victoria for 6 weeks, and as it turns out prime location for ticking some cool routes :-) and which happened to be underneath Zac and Elmars place and is therefore equipped with a radical woody for all ages!

So yeah, I decided that this 6 weeks would be a bit a bit of a test and ultimately decide weather I was going to actually bite the bullet and move to the mountains permanantley, considering the amount of petrol I actually saved, it meant that I could comfortably drop a shift at the gym and still come out on top at the end of the week!Not a very wealthy chap, but awesome lifestyle......climb,climb and climb.
I think the statistics were like 5 out of the 7 weeks were pissing precipitaion and one of the weeks was actually like climbing on a summers day......rank, cant win.
I climbed alot with a friend Evan, and although the condtions weren't always great we made the most of what we had. Without a doubt we spent most of our time at Wave Wall.......(the place I hate to love) and ticked off a couple of the classics that I have wanted to do for a while. Bleeding from both hands, I sent a route called Staring at the Sea(31), after working the moves it only took me 3 attempts to redpoint. I was pretty stoked, over the past 2 years I have seen numerous strong climbers get punished on this route, hence why it has taken me so long to try it. In saying this, I think the conditions were imacculate on this particular day and I think that every route on Wave is totally conditions dependent! A few days later I climbed Birthday Salmon(30) 2nd shot, pretty much a harder start to Tsunami(29) the start move felt hard at the time but in reality once it is dialled it is maybe easier than the Tsunami start, just a bit more intense on the skin and you have to bone down a bit harder.

yep ahh yep um yeah, this wasn't the aftermath of Staring but is probably a slightly milder version. (unfortunately I forgot to snap a shot after)

Along with all of the shitty weather we had at least one good "Teaser'' week. Blue skies light wind, 17 degrees yeah rad.....it was even too hot in the sun! I think Teaser should be a Blue Mountains weather term. For every 8 weeks of bad weather there is at least one good one where I go WOW how good is this! im gunna send this route tomorrow! and then it is pisses down for another 5 weeks. Anyway back to my story, spent this particular week with Zac and Jarmila at Diamond Falls. Now I had a couple of goes on Tuckered Out(30) and a slight wardrobe malfunction killed my redpoint attempt on that one, my shoe somehow slid off my heel doing the last moves through the roof..........yeah I had excessively sweaty feet that day. Anyway not to worry, climbed a route called Super Duper Goo(29) and got to work on a route Tucker Time(33) which to my suprise felt doable for me, just need some time and good weather and maybe a few intense hangboard sessions. Zacs Beta also was a big help.
I think we spent a day at Bowens creek the following week which perhaps was a rookie error on my behalf. Red raw finger tips after 6 routes and I couldn't climb anything for the week.......i really enjoyed the routes out here but my skin just can't cope. I onsighted a lot of 26's and flashed Lloyd(27). I also tried Full Cream(30) a really Inspiring line which cranks through the centre of the Main Wall, pulls a rad boulder through the roof and has a couple of gnarley moves on the headwall. Im sad I didnt spend more time on the route, I had two shots at the crux and split a tip, spat the dummy and stripped the draws.
I spent the rest of that week training, drinking far too much coffee and trying to play guitar. Which turned out good because the weather was shit anyhow. I had to lay off my coffee consumption because I was getting bad chest pains. Its a trap because what else do you do when you can't climb and your in Blackheath? Finally I grew some skin and went back to the ole Wave Wall and after a few sessions with Kristine and Evan I ticked a climb called Tugboat(31). Now, this route I thought was really awesome and has a cool crux move before truckin through the roof to finish at the Tsunami anchors. The route was given(32) originally by a few ascentionists and im not sure what to think. To me it definately felt harder that Staring at the sea but didn't feel at the same level as other 32s. Id say probly 31.
So that pretty much among a few other things wrapped up my 6 weeks in the mountains, hopefully spring has some better weather in store for us!
Since then I have done very little climbing, a crazy gastro bug had me in bed for the best part of five days! yep it's difficult to train when a toilet needs to be within a 2 metre radius at all times!
So all of this week has been spent training to get back to the level I was at two weeks ago .........
thank yall for reading my blog

K-Towns Finest Cliff

2011-07-12T04:55:00.000-07:00

Diamond Falls Photo: Aaron Doull

Mr Line

2011-07-12T04:47:00.000-07:00

After last weeks 150 kilometer winds and the bad streak of weather in the mountains over the past month, I started to doubt whether all the time I had spent in the mountains (Diamond Falls in Particular) was really worth it? Is it worth freezing your arse off on the side of a cliff being blasted by an Icy westerly wind to proof something to no one but yourself?.............TOTALLY. Although this climb took me a lot longer than it should have to send, it is all worth it in the end.
I jumped on Mr Line(32) at Diamond Falls for the first time 2 months ago, this was great, sorted the climb out and thought it would go quite quickly. Unfortunately it became difficult to tick due to the bad weather, meaning I was only able to get to the crag once a fortnight max. So spread out over 2 months it took about 6 days......this was frustrating being so close but having to wait up to 2 weeks for another attempt. It felt like after that period of time my body just forgot how to pull certain moves! grrrrr. Fortunately today the stars alligned and with the help of Nave Samej Slew I sent the route 2nd go of the day. I love this style of route and look forward to climbing at DF in the spring, but for the moment I might choose a slightly warmer crag!
But then again I might get Psyched and be out there next week;-)

Temptation

2011-07-03T22:39:00.000-07:00

Temptation(30) Blue Mountains Photo: Aaron Doull

Winter Bluies

2011-07-03T22:36:00.000-07:00

Finger Injuries, bad weather and cold temperatures have been regular occurances over the past month. I had a mild strain in my ring finger early in June, probably due to overuse and repetative movement. It has not stopped me from climbing at all, it is just quite annoying as I tend to hesitate frequently with the thought of doing further damage. I have been training quite alot indoors and working routes at Diamond Falls when the weather is acceptable. At the moment one day a fortnight does not cut it and makes sending hard!
I climbed Temptation(30) and Tutu Sullied Flesh(29) quickly at Centennial Glen. The glen has been pretty well sheltered from the crazy westerly winds and there is a lot of Harder routes to climb. I should mention I thought Temptation was an awesome climb and is probably my favourite 30/8a+ to date. Really cool, Get on it! Aaron Doull and Dan X did a great Job of some photos and filming the other day...thanks guys! In other news Im trying to save a bit of extra cash. Thanks to my sponsors Spelean(Petzl) & ClimbOn! It looks like I will be heading to the Petzl Roc Trip in China at the end of October....this is quite exciting and I can't wait!

Five Ten Team

2011-05-22T05:56:00.000-07:00

Awesome shoe, fits like a glove!

Thought I would throw this in for good measure, the Villawood boys lead by Crusher Sean Powell

Wing Cave

2011-05-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

Bit of sloper action Lock tight V9/10 Wing Cave( I hate slash grades too but that is what the guide says)

Another day in Paradise

2011-05-22T05:41:00.000-07:00

Wow! it has been a month since my last post! I do apologise for being a bit slack with updating my page....I have been quite busy climbing and working. Quite an eventful month, so I will do my best to recall it as it happened. Its been a bit of a slap in the face the past few weeks, trying to adapt to climbing in Nowra has been harder than I thought....for the past three months I have been climbing long pumpy routes in the mountains and have been quite successful, this suits my style and is where I feel most comfortable. Unfortunately from time to time we have to throw ourselves outside of our comfort zone to progress in other areas,( in my case becoming a better rockclimber). Nowra Generally has far shorter routes that require alot more power and boulder strength. Perfect!! I have great indurance at the moment but my Power levels are somewhat comparable to a kitten :-p....Anyway back on track, I climbed a route called Cheese Dairy Monster(31/8b) at Cheesedale, this is quite the pumper so it did not take me too long to redpoint. The route links the hardest parts of two 30's together and produces a stella line on brilliant rock. A short while after I sent Pete tosens classic Metamorphis(29/8a) this is really cool rock climbing, two rad boulder problems separated by jugs.(the route was originally graded 30, not sure could still be).
I decided to kickstart my power levels with a good boulder day with the Villawood crew. We headed to the Wing cave at Sutherland and I got the guided tour from Scotty and Sean. After a slow start I managed to climb various problems ranging from V5 through to V10. this was a bit of a confidence booster considering I have not bouldered outdoors in 4 months.
I got psyched and decided it was time to head back to Attack Mode(32) at PC, as I mentioned previously I had done the moves and was feeling confident I could send or at least get good linkage on this unreal little piece of sandstone. To my suprise I got shutdown again and again and again! I could not even do moves I had worked out and done two weeks earlier...WTF! dunno perhaps I was tired or something, shut down!
In the meantime Carlie and Sean both ticked their first 30 Cheesemonster! Awesome!
Pete and I both spent a bit of time at South Central, Pete had a feel of Scum(Classic Nowra 25 often considered desperate!). I tried Physical Graffiti(31), awesome piece of Power indurance came very close but no Cigar on that day anyway :-(. I'll be back!
The weather was unreal In the mountains, so I decided to hit up Diamond Falls again! Even though I swore I would not return after a string of bad weather gave me the shits. Pretty Inspiring on a nice day! Monique sent Tuckered out (30) first aussie mum to climb grade 30, This was really cool to watch. A sandstone crusher by the name of Lawry Dermody was trying Fantastic Mr Fox(33) and coming very close too. Pete tried Hairline(28) and later on in the week I sent Lightyears(31/8b) in the Ampitheatre, not to mention it was bloody freezing, kinda difficult when you can't feel your fingeys. I think that covers the majority of the month anyway....

Scotty cranking on the Groove Terminator V11 Wing Cave

Thanks guys Norry

Nowra Season Begins

2011-04-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

Just a brief rundown on what has been happening ove the past month. Pete webster and I spent a few weeks climbing in the Blue Mountains mainly at Bardens Lookout and Diamond Falls. A liitle bit frustrating of late as the weather is quite unpredictable. So I have decided to start my Nowra season a little prematurely doing some rock climbing at Cheesedale and PC. I climbed Some kind of Bliss(31/8b), Cheesemonster(30/8a+) and Julians new route at Bardens Booby Trap(29/30). These are all classics and I especially wanted to do Bliss before I headed to Nowra. I have been a little unfortunate however, I did have my heart set on spending some quality time at Diamond Falls. I would have liked to have done Mr tickle(32) and maybe even tried Tucker Time(33). My right hand middle finger has not been liking me much lately and trying Mr tickle reminded me of that! So for a change I think I will listen to my body and Mr T will have to wait.
Having said that, I still want to climb hard, just have to change the style of route! I spent 2 days on Attack Mode at PC and despite being eaten alive by mosquitos I think the conditions were quite good and made some acceptable progress:-) I felt like a fish out of water on this one, as it is not really my style and I have not bouldered hard for a while....but I think this is exactly why I am so attracted to this route.
Day one was a bit of a demoriliser getting shut down on 70% of the route, however by the end of the second day I had the underclings sorted and felt as if I could see myself sending the climb. Time will tell I guess. Pete climbed well sending Trigger Nigger(25) second shot, good way to start his Nowra season.
Got some good conditions yeterday and headed to Cheesedale with Carlie, Rob, Loesje and Lindsay.
Carlie has been working Cheesemonster(30) and is looking strong on it, while Loesje and Lindsay both climbed their first Cheesedale (22) Uncertainty Pleasure. Awesome! Zac was trying Cheesy Afro Box(33), coming ever so close falling off on the last move(this line looks bloody unreal). I was trying a route called Non-Dairy Cheese Monster(31) this line is awesome, it links the crux of Cheecemonster(30) and Non-Dairy(30) together and makes a solid pumper to the anchor, of course in true style I fell off the final hard move to the anchor again!
Anyway thought I would take the chance on a rest day to write this up....Back to Nowra tomorrow for a couple of days to of crushing!
Also some lil Nowra punks have been stealing stuff around South Central so do not leave your climbing pack unattended especially in school Holidays!!!
I have also been fortunate enough to pick up Climb On! as a sponsor. Climb On! supply a range of products which target rapid skin repair for Climbers, Chefs, tradesmen etc. Check out the link at the top of my page for more info.
Thankyou for taking the time to read this :-) Norry

Sitting on a rope somewhere in Nowra Scott Pritchard

Another day of bad conditions at DF

Five Ten Arrowhead

2011-04-02T03:21:00.000-07:00

Like the look of these??? Anasazi with a slightly downturned toe! Check out www.fiveten.com

Bloodline goes down

2011-03-24T05:56:00.000-07:00

Sweet! Those long awaited conditions have finally arrived! After 8 days of terrible weather and heavy rain, anything I wanted to climb at Diamond Falls was not worth thinking about.....slightly un motivated and a little pissed off that mother nature would do such a thing I decided to head back to my Nemisis Bloodline(32) at Bardens Lookout in the Blue Mountains. Teamed up with a couple of dudes Pete and German Thomas aka Hommace and decided that the cave at Bardens was gunna be our shelter for 5 days while it poured down around us. While Pete and Hommace crushed there way along and came very close to ticking WOAF(28/26) I thought it would be a good time to familiarise myself with the moves on Bloodline and to my suprise it came quite naturally, getting awesome linkage even in the terrible conditions. I returned a couple of days later to seeping holds at the crux and lost my psych as it made it very difficult, towards the end of the day I managed to link all the way to the top of the route within an arms reach of the glory jug and fell...spewing!
Anyway I returned today with Pete, after a little bit of a rough start I warmed up and sent Bloodline Very Happy!! I have spent a lot of time on this route and have found it significantly harder than anything else I have done....It has had few ascentionists therefore the grade seems to vary on who you talk to....dont care really! awesome line! awesome people! Thanks Pete and Thomas and whoever caught me on this one..Video will be up soon Psyched!

Five Ten Blackwings

2011-03-20T04:12:00.000-07:00

I recieved a package from Spelean last week which included Five Tens latest Blackwing velcro shoe. Over the past week I have been wearing them in the Bluies. Although it has been a while since I have climbed in a downturned shoe I have adapted quite well and love them! The heel is quite different to the Anasazi which initially took me a while to get use to. The shoe is basically a velcro version of the Dragon (for those of you who are familiar). Check out the new shoe range @ fiveten.com

Boronia

2011-03-08T01:38:00.000-08:00

While choking on red dust and churning up a pretty hectic petrol bill for those late afternoon sessions at Boronia, the pre-season has been looking pretty good.
After finding a good gap in the weather and heading to the crag I sent a route called Big Wednesday(31), I tried this route about 6 months ago, but there was a move pre-crux that really aggravated my already injured shoulder, I decided it wasnt worth the risk and left it for another day!
As it turns out I just had a really shitty sequence for that section of the climb. After rectifying that, I sent the route quite easily about 5 shots. Personally Tripe(30) felt alot harder!
Dan X also made a quick ascent of Grape Hour(25) on the same day.
This day was good..... meaninig I could eat pizza and not feel bad!

Pulling the lip on Big Wednesday(30/31) Dan Cross

New Petzl Quickdraw

2011-03-01T02:13:00.000-08:00

Spelean have recently supplied me the latest Petzl quickdraw with Ultralight Ange carabiners.
The product comes in a small and large carabiner size.
In my opinion the Quickdraw is perfect for sport climbing, light, durable and easy to clip!
The Ange S (small) would make a great biner for your trad rack(very light).(I dont actually climb much trad but very very light and small)
Check out more info @ www.Petzl.com/

Thompsons Pt

2011-02-22T03:59:00.000-08:00

Scotty havin a lash at Beef Cake(27) Thompsons Pt Nowra Carlie Lebreton

Summer days

2011-02-22T03:50:00.000-08:00

I have decided I am over summer, and psyched for the cooler months to arrive! The only thing is as soon as June arrives (or even May).....Everyone will be complaining their fingers are too cold and that climbing in the mountains is rediculous!(harder to find belay partners) :-o This will more than likely result in migrating down south to a little piece of paradise called Nowra....I enjoy the climbing here very much and look forward to sending some hard routes.
The past month has been quite interesting for me, having to put in quite a lot of effort for only small gains on rock. However I still find this beneficial to my training and my overall development as a climber. I managed to send a route called Tsunami(29) on Wave Wall and also Tripe(30) at Boronia Pt....these routes are both test pieces and are quite solid at the grade. Although I didn't find these routes extremely difficult I spent more time on them than I should have, meaning there is room for improvement. It would be a frustrating time of year for all climbers I would imagine......But I am a sweat monster and the humidity kills me!
Evan and I have spent a fair amount of time at Boronia Pt lately, If it gets a good easterly wind it can be quite pleasant on a summer afternoon. I have a few more routes that I would like to send at this crag over the next month or two.

Couldnt find any rad pics so this will do! Sending food
Thanks Loesje

Scotty doesn't know whats goin on!

That HD video Camera is still coming :-)

South Central & PC

2011-02-05T03:48:00.000-08:00

Dungeon Master(31) South Central Nowra Scott Pritchard

Dude Food(29) PC Nowra Scott Pritchard

Nowra

2011-02-05T03:25:00.001-08:00

Scotty has been snapping off some pics lately, made a brief trip to PC, South Central and Rosies to get some shots and check out the summer conditions....apart from being eaten alive by mosquitos the conditions were actually unreal! Can't wait for winter and the new Nowra guide!

Raining means training

2011-01-19T04:23:00.000-08:00

Unforunately the past month has not been that great on the tickage side of things, the crappy weather in the mountains has not exactly been helping the situation either! After a brief New Years break it was back to Bell( a relatively new crag in the mountains) to finish a bit of unsettled buisness. Although Dan X and I got absolutely saturated on the approach to the cliff, it ended up being worthwhile as I sent Steve Grkovic's (30) in the Devils Circus cave. Although I felt quite strong on the route the conditions were quite bad, with humidity in the high 90s. Over the past 10 days I have tried persevering with bad Conditions in Blackheath before coming to the conclusion that maybe it will be more beneficial to myself and my climbing if I just simply TRAIN! As depressing as it can be, I am totally psyched! After watching a few Dani Andrada youtube clips Im back on the campus board....and hangin for Nowra :-) I have also been doin lots of laps in the Hood (villawood) to stay fit......I did forget to mention that a HD video camera is on its way so I can get some cool videos of random routes on this page, and hopefully make it a bit more exciting for you guys! So if I do look a little skinny it is probably because I am starving myself to buy this puppy. :-P

Steepness Dan cross

Scotty Pritchard has been busy with his new SLR camera so there will be some rad picks up next week!!! In the meantime train hard 1-5-9 :-)

New Gri Gri

2011-01-19T03:23:00.000-08:00

I am Excited! New Petzl Gri Gri..... I can't wait to get my hands on this puppy, Get your orders in now, our ship is on it's way! :-) Yay

Rockin 2010

2011-01-04T04:09:00.000-08:00

These are a few shots taken throughout the year at various locations.
Tassie, Victoria & NSW

2011-01-04T04:05:00.000-08:00

Chasin the Shadow (27) The Gallery Grampians Photo Byron Glover

2011-01-04T03:58:00.000-08:00

Non-Dairy Cheese-Like Substitute (30) Nowra 2010 Photo Dwayne Tosen

2011-01-04T03:50:00.000-08:00

Paradiso Tasmaina Photo Jake Bresnehan

2010 Wrap up!

2011-01-04T03:44:00.000-08:00

All in all 2010 wasn't a bad year for me, after a Short climbing trip to Tasmania in January my psych levels were through the roof! Training was high on the priority list for the remainder of summer as it was difficult to hit the crag because of work. However I managed to climb most weekends, ticking several routes ranging from 27-30.   In June I quit my full time job with Arctic Airconditioning to help build SICG Villawood, where I now work as a casual staff member.
The winter months were spent hanging out at Nowra with the likes of Local Will Watkins, South Australian (Beta king) Mick Wells, Rob & Carlie Lebreton, Matt & Bryson and (of course) Gav Phillips aka GAVATRON. In late June I ruptured an A2 pulley in my left ring finger, which slowed my progress drastically throughout the season. Fortunately the pulley didn't tear completely, so after 2 weeks rest and a bit of TLC i taped it as hard as I could and returned to the shoalhaven to send Dude Food(29) and a couple of weeks later Non Dairy(30) & Dungeon Master(31) fortunately all of these routes have big slopey holds!

In October/November I spent time trying to improve my onsighting abilities(as this is a weakness of mine), targeting lots of routes around the 26 to 28 grade. This was a good learning curve, onsighting is a totally different ball game! And something I need to work on! Also spent a bit of time at Bardens on Bloodline (31/32) thanks Amanda and Mitch. I got quite frustrated on this route(only managing to tick the 29/30 variant), but I am certain It will go when i return.
In late November we spent some time doing some photos, (thanks Scotty Pritchard & Dan X) that was fun! A lot more effort goes into this than I thought! In fact I think it is actually more intense than trying to redpoint  a hard route.
In December I was very fortunate to become sponsored by Spelean (Five-ten, Petzl & Blue Water).
In my opinion the equipment I have been supplied with is second to none. Im very happy with the products.
What better way to end 2010 than a trip to the Grampians!
On the 13th of December Myself, Gav "Gavatron" Phillips & Byron Glover aka Mountain Goat or just MG. Headed down south to the Wimmera in search of some hard red sandstone. This was my first time at the Gramps so I guess you could say I was PSYCHED! Unfortunately we did not tick anything awesome, as we were very limited for time and had our fair share of casualties along the way. (Gavatron nearly cut his pinky off with a leatherman, I blew a tip on the first day & MG was sick for half the trip).
MG and I are planning on spending a long period of time down there in March/April :-)
So in a nutshell that was pretty much 2010!

Welcome to my Blog

2011-01-04T00:29:00.000-08:00

Over the past 12 months I have come to the conclusion that if I don't begin documenting my adventures and experiences I will forget almost all of it! For this reason, (with help from a friend Dom) I have decided to start blogging the day to day stuff that occurs in my life. Although I consider myself totally computer illiterate, I think I am slowly getting my head around how this computer works and look forward to writing future diary entries:-) Read on, And hope you enjoy!!