Bouldering at The Roaches: Spring Boulders

Today seems to be the only day this week that it's likely that The Roaches will get no rain, so we decided on another trip out. This time, we kept it exclusively at Spring Boulders. Most of the green/green circuit problems have been ticked off now, and I managed to bag my first orange problem - a V0+, to boot!

There was only one other climber who was working on a hard boulder a little further away, so we had free run of everything.

Notable ascents for me were:

Runnel Arete which we both struggled with last time before Alex realised today that it's easier to start on the left side and swap to the right than to keep trying to struggle up the left side with no apparent holds for the left side of the body!

Bog Slab, which was my first V0 (Alex's was Left Slab which he did last time), achieved by the technique Alex did to conquer it - just run up it as fast and hard as you can. My right hand found a little pebble sticking up that did actually help!

Gentle Slab on the Gentle Slab Boulder was achieved by running up it again! Peak Bouldering says to "smear up the right-hand side of the slab" and I later found that "smearing" is a technique where you place your whole foot on the rock to gain a foothold where there isn't any. We tried again but couldn't finesse it. Hey, an ascent is an ascent, if I brute forced it, I count it as a send!

Wavy Slab on the Gentle Slab Boulder: apparently "smear" on this too but I managed to get my hands into a high horizontal groove and pulled myself up to the apex from there. My first orange problem, though it's also on the green circuit. Alex struggled with this one but he'd already sliced his hand open again by this point. Hopefully next time... and hopefully I can bag Left Slab on Blister Slab next too, to even things out...

Spring Boulders

Bog Boulder: Bog Arete Left (VB) - Both, Bog Slab (V0) - Both, Runnel Arete (VB) - Both

Little Boulder: Blunt Arete (V0) - Both

Gentle Slab Boulder: Gentle Slab (V0-) - Both, Wavy Slab (V0+) - Me

Alex up Bog Arete Left (VB)

Alex having ran straight up Bog Slab (V0)