matt segal

After a great trip in Wales we headed to Northumberland, an amazing little sandstone area. The climbing is similar to the grit stone in the Peak District except instead of being slopey friction climbing its crimpy gymnastic pulling! I was pretty psyched since this is more my style of climbing…

The goal was to repeat Transcendence E8 6c, a Malcolm Smith head point that only has seen one other head point repeat. After scoping the line I thought it would be cool to climb ground up. I was pretty psyched! The climbing looked like my style and the route didn’t seem that dangerous…

Unfortunately I only gave it three goes before I heard this loud POP coming from my left hand… No Bueno! I immediately knew I did something wrong. I hung there for a little in awe of the noise that came from my ring finger; I’d heard people pop pulleys before but never on my own hand. Immediately negative thoughts flooded my head since I knew it meant the trip was over and I was going to need some time off.

I was super bummed! I had just gotten psyched on training and was planning on competing in a world cup bouldering comp not mention I was super psyched to get on some local projects I’ve had my eye on for a while… Oh well, shit happens and I’m sure it will heal.

On the bright side, some time off will be good for me. I haven’t taken much time off in the last 2 years so a month or two will be good for my mind and body. I’m actually excited to climb some easy long routes in the mountains since that wont bother my finger… Could be good…

Photos by Caroline Harvey

It’s been a while… after an amazing time in Pembroke I headed to North Wales and based out of a little town called Llanberis, headquarters to North Wales climbing. It’s an amazing place with a lot of different styles of climbing… maybe most famous for its quarried slate climbing just outside of town.
Most of my time was spent on the slate with climbing legend Jonny Dawes and Hazel Findlay. Pretty fun crew!

Jonny Dawes

Jonny trying Gin Palace 7c

Gin Palace was an amazing route… Imagine a 5.10 chimney in Yosemite except with zero texture and that’s Gin Palace 5.12+. It was like stemming on a marble wall, extremely physical!

Hazel trying Gin Palace with Paul filming.

Climbing images from Adrian Trendall

Fighting jetlag is always a challenge, especially when the weather is perfect and you know its not going to last. I spent the last few days battling my jetlag at one of the most inspiring climbing destinations I’ve ever been to: the sea cliffs of Pembroke in South Wales. Its breath taking, absolutely amazing limestone located right over the crashing sea.

The climbing is tricky and bold, face climbing with funky gear. The exposure can be similar to climbing 1000 feet off the ground except you’re above rough water. There’s something about having moving water below you that makes you feel exposed and vulnerable. Luckily when you top out, you escape the chaotic sea and climbing to a calm grassy field, a great place to unwind after an epic pitch.

Unfortunately I only had two days of climbing before the classic British weather came and spoiled our good times. But those two days were loads of fun. It was the first time I’d ever used double ropes, which was a huge mess. I fully crossed my ropes on my first climb and by the time I got to the top I had horrible rope drag, but it was pretty easy so I didn’t have much of an issue….

I only climbed a couple routes in the E3 and E4 range but was able to learn a lot about climbing in Pembroke and my personal climbing style. The most obvious being that I’m really weak at on sighting and have a lot of work to do in that realm of climbing. I was also amazed at how much passive gear I used in Pembroke, I think I placed more stoppers on one pitch then I did on all of El Capitan, super funny!

Climbing those two days in Pembroke was like finally learning how to traditional climb! I feel I have so much to learn as a climber and realized I’ve ignored it in the pursuit of projecting harder routes. I’ve dedicated so much time to establishing difficult single pitch gear lines and haven’t spent any time on sighting or learning how to place tricky gear on the fly. BUT the time is now and I’m super psyched to explore this forgotten discipline of on-sight traditional climbing.

I hope to make it back to Pembroke before this trip is over.

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve sat down to write, I’ve just been psyched on other things. BUT the time has come and I’m back on the road! I somehow managed to escape the bubble of Boulder and after 17 hours of travel, I’m sipping tea in Bristol, England… Whooopie! SO psyched to be back in the UK. Not sure what the plan is for the next month, climbing obviously… I’m hoping to sample the UK trad scene, first area on the list is Pembroke. After that who knows, maybe North Whales or Scotland, I’m simply following the sunshine and I’m sure it will bring me to some amazing places…
So… stay tuned for more updates!