On our little euro-tour, Nat hit her goal of climbing F7a in Rodellar. TBH I think it was the first she actually tried and it went without any redpointing to speak of. First go was on a toprope at which she failed about 5cm from the belay. Second go, well it was done.
Later on in the tour with light fading above L'ermitage in Margalerf I lowered off the last route of the day (F7a+) only for Nat to demand that she wanted a go. I sighed deeply thinking that I'd be doing the route in question 30 mins later but this time with the added fun of being the dark. I was wrong; she promptly flashed it.
But then again, holiday ticks feel just like that (with the exception of 'Old Skool' venues such as Buoux or the 'jura where ticks really ARE ticks) and she was vocal about ticking some F7a routes in the UK.
I've been trying to make the point that really it was well within reach on our return and certainly last season however I was largely ignored up until around a fortnight ago (lingering memories from Kilnsey were getting in the way I feel). Nat conceded the point and finally pulled onto Clarion Call. With her tendency to crimp anything small it seemed like the perfect route and at the end of the first session all of the moves were in the bag (and much skin was lost). Second session a few false starts made way for the inevitable tick and much happiness (despite much use of tape), possibly due to the curry and beer that followed.
Since then I was sucked into WCJ Cornice and obviously knowing I was about to spend a fair amount of time there she jumped onto 'Incapacity benefit' (F7a+), this took a bit longer down to poor (or inexperienced) redpoint tactics but its done and didn't take long (certainly less time than me).
Tonights route 'Quality Control' was another victim of poor tactics, we were there on Sunday and it was hotter than the sun (really I should complain more when the plan is suggested rather than sulking whislt there!. Unsurprisingly tonight (which was... overcast), a quick bolt to bolt was followed by yet another successful tick (I'm glad too as Two Tier is far from ideal for an after work destination).
A discussion sat at the bottom of WCJ (after she'd had a quick bolt-to-bolt of Brachiation Dance [a little too powerful in places but still a taste of whats to come]) we mused how she'd joined me at the various Cornices years before and hadn't ever thought that ticking a route on either, let alone both would be a reality. From my point of view this is brilliant news, UK sport climbing (of quality) starts at F7a and weekend trips to Yorkshire (mainly Malham as I've done very little there) are now completely feasible. On the trip it wasn't 'too' much of an issue as Euro crags generally offer a good spread of quality throughout the grades, even places like the 'jura allow you to visit a number of outcrops in a day and fill your veritable boots. Britain does not and sub-seven climbers are relegated to the wings, often near the 'toilet' area.
Trad, bouldering and easier multi-pitch climbing allow us to climb together quite a lot already, throw in Sport, the best of the lot and I'm psyched. I have to say that I'm almost regretting our choice of holiday this year; 3 weeks in the Verdon late Sept/Early Oct as it requires a completely different skillset to that of which we are both currently implementing. Onsighting consistently at a grade for 350m with an airy feel is very different to yarding on undercuts in roofs, even if you are skipping a couple of clips. Gulp.
