Mike Adams talks about his “Getting back into trad” autumn sends
- Thursday 26th December 2024
Renowned boulderer Mike Adams has recently swopped his bouldering pad for harness, double ropes and wires/cams and has been hammering the trad classics in the Peak District, South Yorkshire and Cheshire big time!
Anyone that is familiar with the magnesium limestone bouldering in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire will know that Mike Adam’s name is synonymous with hard blocs. Typically climbing with long-term partner 'Polish Dave', Mike has added numerous first ascents up to Font 8C east of the M1. For example, when Mike did the first ascent of Bordello (Font 8C) at Maltby’s Impossible Roof back in 2017, it was his third of the grade.
Fast forward to this autumn, Mike has switched his attention to hard grit routes. After a few days “warming up”, Mike repeated Meshuga (E9 6c). “Climbing this mega classic line is a dream come true, climbing it in a session even more so.” Mike said after doing Seb Grieve’s Black Rock classic.
His tick list over a two-month period is pretty special:
Oct 23rd – Rivelin Edge: Brush Off (E4 5c), Great Conjunction (E7 6b), Spark Charmer (E6 6c), Jumper Wooller (E6 6c)
Oct 26th - Curbar Edge: End of the Affair (E8 6c)
Nov 1st - Robin Hood’s Stride: Kaluza Klein (E7 6c)
Nov 3rd - Bank Quarry: The Power of the Dark Side (E7 6b)
Nov 6th – Wharncliffe: Desolation Angel (E6 6b), Journey Into Freedom (E7 6b)
Nov 11th – Black Rocks: Curving Arete (E5 6b), Meshuga (E9 6c)
Nov 12th – Burbage South: Nosferatu (E6 6b), Simba’s Pride (E8 6b)
Nov 17th – Froggatt: Oz Bound (E9 7a)
Nov 18th – Bank Quarry: Return of the Jedi (E8 7a)
Nov 22nd – Froggatt: Circus (E7 6b)
Nov 25th – Stanage: Unfamiliar (E7 6c)
Nov 28th – Burbage North: Living in Oxford (E7 7a)
Dec 3rd – Burbage North: The Promise (E8? 7a)
Dec 1st - Helsby: Yuppies Arete (E7 6c)
Dec 11th - Helsby: Time Regained (E8 6c)
Dec 16th – Gardom’s Edge: Homeless (E8 6c)
Given that Mike had climbed so many classic testpieces almost back-to-back we figured it would be great to get his take on the routes and especially how he’d been able to switch from hard bouldering to hard routes so effectively.
A short Q&A with Mike follows – We hope you enjoy it:
Can you tell us a little about how your trad revival came about this autumn?
I started out as a trad climber as a young kid climbing with my father and his friends, I then kept my hand in by working as an outdoor instructor and doing the odd day out. I did have a bit of a break for a few years and those ‘early’ days getting back into trad were mainly to help a colleague who wanted to prepare for a Rock Climbing Instructor Award. I was training and it was a nice thing to do on active rest days and I just wanted to get out and get back into things.
You’d already ticked some of the classics routes during the early Autumn at Rivelin – Auto de Fey (E4 6a) for example – but your second visit was much more poignant in terms of what was to come when you did The Brush Off (E4 5c), Great Conjunction (E7 6b), Spark Charmer (E6 6c), Jumper Wooller (E6 6c). How did it feel to switch it up with some bold trad?
Having climbed Auto de Fey, I suddenly started seeing harder lines I just really wanted to do. I decided that day I really wanted to go back and try them. I just needed someone up for it too. I got in touch with Nick Wylie who I thought would be up for it and we headed back there.
That second day doing trad at Rivelin was one of the best and most enjoyable climbing days I’ve had. We just seemed to get a lot of things done and lines just seemed to go down very easily. I realised I had a good head for staying focused when facing a ground fall and my bouldering background helped me feel secure on the moves. What’s more my experience of managing the safety in more dangerous bouldering, really complimented Nick’s experience of more mountain-based trad. It was obvious we could combine these skills and learn and develop to both start to push what we could do with outcrop climbing. This felt really exciting, and I suddenly was very motivated to try all of the great-looking lines around the Peak District.
Your next day out at Curbar was “full bore” and you repeated the classic Dawes frightener - End of the Affair (E8 6c). That’s quite a step up the hard grit ladder - you must have been very confident it was in the bag before you set off.
So, one of the main nice-looking lines I decided I had to do was End of the Affair. That day was a funny one, I’d been working that morning at the Foundry and belaying my son Jack while he trained. It was a nice day outside and I just really wanted to get out. After we’d done I made him repay the favour of belaying him, by top rope belaying me on End of the Affair.
The idea was to go and see if I could do the moves then go back with a more experienced belayer. When I tried the moves, they just didn’t feel that bad and I top-roped it clean twice. It totally felt like my style of climbing and I felt very confident I could 100% do it every time. I asked Jack if he’d mind belaying me on the lead, he seemed nervous but said okay. So, I just went for it and did it. I was much more in a solo mindset. I realised that if I know I can do something I don’t have much of an issue with the element of risk. It’s just another thing to manage mentally. That was a nice moment I got to share with my son and Jack was really happy he got an E8 belay tick.
During early November you hoovered up more testpieces – routes like Kaluza Klein (E7 6c), Power of the Dark Side (E7 6b), Desolation Angel (E6 6b) and Journey Into Freedom (E7 6b) – all pretty tough but not quite in the same league as End of The Affair. Was it good to build a base for sending routes quickly and getting into the flow of hard grit?
During this period I was suddenly really keen. If I’m honest I’d been slowly getting less motivated with bouldering for a few years. It was like a whole world of new lines and experiences had suddenly opened on my doorstep. I just wanted to get out and try stuff, but the weather wasn’t very good. This month was just about going out and getting on what was dry, rather than intentionally gaining experience. It turns out it prepared me well for getting on harder lines. Power of the Dark Side is almost in the same league as End of the Affair, in terms of seriousness and beauty of the line. It’s just not as hard with the crux being low down rather than high up. I was on my own that day and so I needed something I could realistically solo, that was a memorable day.
Then you repeated Meshuga (E9 6c); how did you feel pushing the numbers even higher and how did your ascent go?
I was heavily influenced by the film Hard Grit as a younger climber and this is obviously a big deal at the end of the film. I knew I wanted to try it. I talked Nick into a trip to Black Rock to see if it was dry and luckily that day it was. I threw a rope down it to brush it and started to work the moves. It was a bit of a pain as its overhanging so self-lining was tricky. However, the moves did seem to come together okay, but the thought of leading it was a bit daunting. Nick helped with the tactics on it and I did it clean – dragging up twin ropes - a few times. Suddenly a switch flicked in my head and I became confident I could lead it. I realised as a boulderer I really like understanding movement and executing a sequence flawlessly. This was what I had to do here. It was just a case of once again managing the fear and completely focusing on the climbing and getting in that flow state. When I led it, every move went perfectly and it felt like I was almost in a dream, the same as a hard boulder. The first time I came back into my own head was on hitting the good hold high up and placing the first bit of gear. I suddenly had a rush of emotions, from relief, disbelief to excitement. It was then just pure joy to do the final moves and top out. Climbing and getting this done in a session is something I’m personally very proud of and is a moment I will always remember in my climbing.
Simba’s Pride E8 6b), Oz Bound (E9 7a) and Return of the Jedi (E8 7a) followed. Now we're seeing the tech grade increase. Oz Bound was a second ascent and it was the first of these routes that took you more than one session so props to you on that. Firstly, how much harder are these technically and how were you finding climbing the technically harder routes yet still in dangerous situations?
I think the jump in difficulty from British tech 6c to 7a is an odd one. I’m still trying to understand the British trad grading system. Sprinkle in some past politics, and it can make for a confusing time. Oz Bound was the hardest thing I had tried by far up to this point. What made it tricky was I had no idea of the moves or the exact line. I had to clean it and work it out. I found the crux transition onto the slot pinch and the sloper beside it, really insecure when trying to link it into the moves up to the flake. This felt fine if I just pulled on them, but hard to move into and do. At the end of that session, I did it clean on top rope, but it felt far from secure and the light was going. I knew I needed to leave it and come back. I think I learnt that day that whilst it’s nice to get things done fast, with the technically harder climbs you might have to wait and come back and that’s okay.
Return of the Jedi was very different, this day I was climbing well, the moves suited me, the rock was clean and the conditions good. I felt confident, so I got that done in a session. It’s all about managing expectations and being realistic and honest with yourself and only going when you personally feel it’s right.
Circus (E7 6b), Unfamiliar (E7 6c) and Living in Oxford (E7 7a) finished your efforts for November. You’re over a month into your hard grit campaign by this stage and not really slowing down. Firstly, how were you picking your routes and secondly now that you’d built a pretty solid base of hard grit routes were you just “turning up and getting the done” without too much stress?
Once again, the weather continued to be bad, this time we had snow. So, again it was about getting on what we could. With Circus, I managed to clean the snow off the top and it was nice to reclimb this after the rock fall, it has great moves in a fantastic position. With Unfamiliar I had a tougher time. I cleaned the snow off this, waited for it to dry and then worked the moves. This took a lot of effort. I found the moves hard, especially for tech 6c. I put this down to the small pockets and my big fingers. I got all the moves but it got very cold and I was shivering and not feeling it at all. Frustratingly I knew I had to leave it and come back.
I came straight back two days later and top roped this first go and led it straight after. Once again, a lesson in waiting for the right time. With Living in Oxford, I only had a short time, and it was a damp day. I needed a fast-drying block. I wanted to look at the lines on this block and I started with the one I thought looked the easiest for me. It went down with no stress especially for a tech 7a, although I’m sure my reach helped.
December started with The Promise (E8? 7a). Leaving aside of the past notoriety of the route you found a new side-runner that enable you to lead the route rather than high-ball it. How did that come about and do you think that will become the new method for the route?
I had seen a well-known climber trying the route, but he was not quite linking it. So, I wasn’t very confident, and I went just with the idea to try it. It turned out that its crux move needs a certain reach. This felt like Oz Bound in that it felt like a step up in difficulty, but I could do the moves and did it clean self-lining.
So I started to think about how I could make it as safe as possible to go for it. It looked like the slider placement was blown out and I experimented with a few micro wires, none of which would hold. I was just about resigned to having to come back with as many pads as I could muster, when I noticed the side runner. I placed the wire and it was bomber. This gave me the confidence to go for it on that day. I did fall on that side runner, pinging off the pebble, and I skimmed the boulder sand slammed into the side wall. So it seemed pretty similar to the slider, except that you could be more confident in the placement. I think you would hit the boulder if falling off the crux, fortunately I didn’t test that. I was initially apprehensive about the approach I used, but now I think it’s nice as it feels like it makes The Promise the route it was rather than a highball. I thought the ‘7c’ boulder grade for this didn’t reflect the difficulty, approach or experience well at all and I hope more people will now be keen to try this, it’s really is a great climb.
You then travelled over the Chester Sandstone for Yuppies Arete (E7 6c) and Time Regained (E8 6c); both at Helsby. Any issues switching to sandstone?
I went to University in Liverpool and I’ve always had a love for Cheshire sandstone. I suppose it’s an acquired taste. During that time I trad climbed at Helsby, but could never access the really hard grades. Since then I’ve explored the area developing the bouldering, so I know the rock well. Pete Chadwick and Andy Pop were two climbers I looked up to from those days. So when I got better at harder trad I knew I wanted to try their routes. It felt important to me.
So when the weather looked bad in the Peak but with a North Westerly blowing onto Helsby I headed over. I didn’t find any issues with switching in terms of the movement, but the gear is very different. The rock is not as strong as grit and it’s harder to be confident in any gear placements. The sandstone when it is good is solid, however, there are bands that are softer and this can make your feet dirty, which is something extra you have to manage.
Yuppies suited me as a boulderer and has moves which I think are a joy to make. Time Regained was a different story with very small and frictional holds. This wasn’t my style at all and was the first time I felt I had to manage how hot my skin was getting before going for it. I’d not had to do that on the grit so far, but something I’ve had to do when bouldering. Fortunately, I got it all sorted and was able to lead it in that session.
Your last route to date was Homeless (E8 6c) at Gardom’s. Did that feel a bit like going back to bouldering?
Well, there is some debate as to whether I actually truly did Homeless. The route goes up using the seam groove and the vague arête on the left-hand side. I came into the groove high up from a hold on the right. Miles Gibson, who is an absolute legend and did the first ascent, made a move up the groove before using holds on the vague arete. He is a lot shorter than me, so I can reach a lot further and higher. I’ll leave people to make up their own minds about it. Having this kind of debate seemed very much like bouldering rather than route climbing. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue on a route if you followed the concept line. The position of the crux on the climb feels very serious. There is a slopy ledge, that if you fell off would make the fall very unpredictable, something I didn’t want to test. It’s certainly not a position I want to put myself in again and I’m personally content with what I did. I think this is certainly where highball bouldering and routes overlap. It’s hard to say but personally, I feel that routes like this are better reflected with a trad grade and approached as such.
Having had a pretty intense two months hoovering up lots of hard grit how do you reflect on that experience? How does “doing loads of routes” compare with projecting very specific hard boulders and does the difference between them “satisfy” you?
Reflecting on my experience it has been really enjoyable. I’m more motivated on climbing than I have been in the last 10 years. It’s great to develop in a new area and apply the years of experience gained from bouldering in a different way. I’ve found this extremely satisfying and it’s been great to be excited about climbing again and thinking all the time about routes I want to do. Something I had lost in bouldering in recent years. Doing these routes has felt very similar to my recent bouldering in that I’ve tried to find ‘new to me’ things that I could do in a session or two. They are just bigger I suppose. Over the years I have become experienced at working out a sequence on a boulder problem and managing the factors to be able to climb it well enough to get it done. This is very similar to the routes I’ve been on. The only difference has been the extra mental challenges of the ropework and gear, as well as the big one of managing the fear element. I have found I enjoy this and seem to be fairly good at it. It certainly has me wanting to do more and see where it takes me.
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When he's not outside crushing Mike runs the instruction side of the business down at The Foundry and is supported by BetaOutdoorsSports.