Bouldering Comp Wall closure reminder: 12th Sept

Just a wee reminder everyone that the Bouldering wall will be closed on Saturday 12th for the Winter Warm Up comp. We'll also be stripping it late on Friday evening so there might be some disruption but hopefully not too much.

The bouldering area will only be open to those that are in to climb in the competition from 15:30 on the Saturday. It doesn't cost any extra to enter so why not get involved?!

Cheers

Transition Winter Bouldering league 2009/10

Its that time already! No sooner have i posted info about an end of summer comp am i quizzed about the Winter League. I'm glad folks are keen and raring to go as we're as keen if not more so!

The comps run on five dates:

Oct 2nd, Nov 6th, Dec 11th, 15th Jan, 5th Feb.

All abilities are welcome as there are fun categories too and raffles as well as giveaways each night. The main league prizes will be awarded after the final fifth night. First place for the competing categories will also get a wee goodie at each comp to encourage you hardened few.

Categories as usual:

14 - 17 Juniors (may split into boys and girls), Male Elite, Female Elite, Male Fun, Female Fun and Veterans (45yrs and over).

They prove to be popular as ever and promise to offer exciting problems to both climb and watch; so even if you're not climbing come along!

Registration is at 18:00 each comp night and it costs £3 to register as well as normal entry fees (memberships and session cards can be used for entry fee). The comp runs from 18:30 to 21:30 and prize giving will be at 21:45.

The Roped walls on each day will be closed from 15:00 whilst the bouldering wall is closed all day.

Give me an email if you have any questions about the comp:

duncan-paterson@transition-extreme.com

See you there!

Sunday 20th September

Please note that on Sunday 20th September the centre will be closing at 6pm. Its time again for the Transition team to be plugged into the charger and recharged.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Full Time Duty Instructor Required

Circa 37 hours per week on a shift basis to cover centre opening hours.

The applicant will have a strong background in climbing both indoors and out. Climbing Wall Award (Training or Assessment) or Single Pitch Awards are highly desirable although not essential.

The successful candidate will be dependable, able to work under pressure and have the ability to use their own initiative. Forming the lead instructor role you must lead by example and be able to supervise and motivate a small team and have a proven track record in working face to face with customers.

Duties include:
Instructing and coaching various groups and classes,
Maintaining a safe environment for staff and customers,
Route setting and wall maintenance,
Organising and running events and competitions,
Having an active role in developing all aspects of the centre and climbing wall,
Assisting in staff training and development,
General housekeeping.


Transition Extreme Sports Limited is an innovative community sport and recreation facility providing year round, adrenalin packed activities for the people of Aberdeen City and Shire. The centre combines world class facilities for skateboarding, BMX and Rollerblading with a regionally accredited climbing centre, “2 on 2” basketball court, Simbiosis café, Creative arts zone, Band Practice Room, meeting facilities and a sports retail unit.

Please send application forms (available form the website), for the attention of Duncan Paterson using the postal address below or email: duncan-paterson@transition-extreme.com.

Closing date 18th September.

Transition Extreme Sports Limited
Links Road
Aberdeen
AB24 5NN
Recognised by the Inland Revenue as a Scottish Charity NO. SC 036358

He's not talking about holds again is he?

To most it must seem like i have a fetish for holds; especially new ones. Well can you blame me? They do make the world a happier place (well the indoor climbing world anyway).

So, to the point of this post:

We have just got some new holds of the spotty nature. Most of the 'Granite' range from Core Climbing. You'll see them dotted about the place pretty easy as they're nice and brightly coloured (bright green with black spots or 'radioactive cow').

There's plenty to go around so we'll get some easy and harder routes on the main walls in the coming weeks with them.

'It's my precious!'

Keep an eye out for three new volumes we should receive in September too!

Winter Warm Up Comp 12th Sept 09

It's nearly Winter again!!! Well Autumn anyway...


But before we say good bye to summer we're running a fun Bouldering comp on Saturday 12th September.



The bouldering wall will be closed all day for it so you've been warned.
The comp is open to everyone 14yrs and up with categories including; Junior (14 to 17yrs), Male and Female.


Normal entry prices apply but there's no cost to register for the comp! So you have no excuse!


Scorecards available from reception on the day. The top 5 in each category will be in the final. The qualifying round will include 1 hour to complete 10 problems. Details of the final will be given on the day.


Comp format includes:


Registration @ 15:00
Qualifiers @ 15:30
Finals @ 17:30



Make sure you hang about to watch the final as it proves to be a cracker and with the offer of food and comfy couches to enjoy a drink or two you'll be in fine spirit to enjoy a sociable evening.

Food & Drinks @ 19:00 with talks and slide shows from the past summer from local climbers.


BYOB!

Yet more holds: Big Yuns!

HOLDZ

Holdz Sloperz! Good condition with plenty of friction (Large £2.50)

ENTREPRISES

A mix of Entreprise Riglos and Bloc holds (Large £2.50 each)

A mix of Entreprise Riglos and Bloc holds (Medium £2 each)

A mix of Entreprise Riglos and Bloc holds (Small £1.25 each)

Some have chips etc. on edges but grip surface holding up well. There's plenty of hanging about to be done on these bad boys. There's a good mix of Jugs and Pockets with a 'Bum' and nasty sloper for good measure (top pic).

MORE Holds for sale

I've put some more holds up for sale tonight.

They include:

Rockworks; foot holds/small, mediums and larges. From 50p to £2

Entreprise; small and mediums. From £2 to £2.50

There's a full set of 20 Entreprise Tech Slopers for £35 (RRP £57.50) They're still in good condition and brilliant as hard hand or good feet. There are also singles of these holds at £2 each.

There will be some more on the go soon once i get time to see what we want rid of; so keep an eye on the blog.

There are also bolts for sale for 10 pence a piece. We only have the smaller 50mm length for sale at the moment.

Kirrie Hill

Last weekend Myself, Rach, Stu (new to the transition team) and Caroline (a regular at the wall) headed down the road to try some sport climbing down at Kirrie Hill. We drove down and after battling our way through some nettles we arrived at the Sleepy Hollow area.












We had a look at the routes trying to figure out what was what. This proved a bit hard due to the fact that we didn't have a guide. We looked for a fairly easy route to warm up on. Rach jumped on the sharp end first and lead Sombre Reptiles a 5+, finding this fairly easy we then tried a route that Stu and Caroline had just tried called Spirits Drifting (a 6a+). I led it and then Rach gave it a go. After doing about 3 climbs Gary (another Transition regular) appeared along with a guide book! Now we knew what the routes we were trying. I attempted Thorny Issue, a 6b+ with an interesting wee crux with bad sandy footholds. This route also seemed a bit like it was squeezed in between the adjacent routes (but this is something that I had noticed about Kirrie). After Rach seconded the route clean we both decided to try something harder. We looked at Gary’s guide and decided to try All Chalk, No Traction (6c) I led it on some fairly suspect rock and then Rach seconded again, this time not as successfully but after a rest or two, she did it.

With the rope up, Gary now decided to warm up on Thorny Issue after not climbing for about a month. He decided it wasn't a good idea and so came back down. After a recommendation from Stu and Caroline, I tried Bon the Edge which is a really nice boulder problem with 3 bolts in it, after that it just turns to choss and lost its appeal.



We did a couple of other routes in this section and then decided we should probably check out the rest of the venue. Stu and Caroline were getting tired and hungry so they decided to go and get some food while we explored the other sections.

Feeling happy with onsighting the 6c quite comfortably, I looked through the guide for the hardest climb while Gary and Rach did some other routes. The route was called Slim Pickins and was graded 7a+. When Rach was finished she came over and gave me a belay on it. After climbing about 9 routes already I was getting tired, but as I was climbing I started thinking that it was nowhere near 7a+ and it felt about 6c. I managed to get all the way to the last move but this is where my energy finally ran out and I fell going for the last move. Even though I didn't do it clean I would say the route still wasn't 7a+, maybe 6c+/7a I was just feeling too tired and that’s when we decided to call it a day and go home.

All in all I think if you’re looking for a sport venue where you can just hang out and relax in the sun then Kirrie Hill is a good venue with lots of routes, although as I said earlier the routes do feel quite squeezed in. My main concern is that the rock is very suspect in places and caution should be taken when pulling on some holds, and a helmet is highly recommended for your belayer. If you fancy something a bit harder (in difficulty and rock type) I would try somewhere else. I’m planning to go to the Arbroath sea cliffs or Legaston this weekend so I will let you know what it’s like if I get out.

Words and pictures by Ash

Bye Bye Gibbon

After working for transition since the doors opened unfortunatly it's time for Andrew to leave and go back to Canada. But before he left Al and myself decided to go out climbing one last time in Scotland with him. He set his sights on climbing an E4 before he went so i recomended we went to the Long Slough as this was the place where i did my first E4. Bob's Overhang E4 6a (Tim thinks it should be 6b maybe cos he has tiny arms.)

We decided to warm up on Brain Death a cheeky wee one move wonder that was slightly wet. Gibbon lead it in the same style as when Al did it (by campusing up it). Al and I then followed.



Feeling happy with the last route Gibbon decided to jump on Bob's overhang. After a we chat about where the route went he jumped on the sharp end cruising up to the top of the flake. After shaking he went into the crux and again just ran up it and topping out with a huge smile on his face as he had just flashed E4! Al followed felling abit anxious as he hadn't been able to do it last time but he made progress and managed to get all the gear out and make it to the crux this time.

After watching Gibbon climb I was psyched to try Double Dyno or Die E5 6b. I got to my previous high point but still couldn't do the crux. Its Hard!!! Failing it I topped out of Bobs so Al could have another go at it. This time he made it to the lip but aparently the rope was in the way. You know what that means Al you have try it on lead!


After finding Bobs overhang 'easy' he tryed Double Dyno. But unfortunatly getting spat off at the same point as me. He did however get on again and did the move after a couple of tries and topped out. Well done Gibbon.

We were now tired and hungry so Al had a quick blast at it and luckily managed to get the gear out so we didn't have to have an epic to get it by abseil. With all the gear packed away we decided to go to Mikes for a beer and a bbq.

Good Bye Gibbon we will all miss you.

Words and pictures by Ashley Dean
Edited by Rachel and Caroline!