Quick update, the boulder is now totally open

OK, this is not exactly timely news, but the fences around the shoreditch boulder have been removed about two weeks ago. The grass has grown in very nicely around the base, and in spite of the cold weather the climbing on the rock is still excellent. I managed to get down last weekend for about half an hour.

I'll upload some new pics in the new year when I get my hands on an iPhone!

Shoreditch_Boulder

Shoreditch_Boulder, originally uploaded by nagore.

Nagore has taken the time to mark up another problem on the shoreditch boulder. That's really great!

The problem tackles the right hand arete. An interesting variation on this problem is to traverse in from the right using the rail. Left hand and left foot on the left hand arete, right hand to the middle of the rail, match, traverse, finish up the right hand arete!

Dates for bouldering comp announced for next weekend

Sadly I will be away on holiday, but it looks like it might be a lot
of fun, and there is some real cash prizes to be had.

If anyone posts pics on flickr can you let me know at
ian@shoreditchbouldering.com or just tag the pics
#shoreditchbouldering and I'll find em.

New competition dates

John Frankland / BOULDER

12pm, Saturday 13th September in Mabley Green (Homerton Road, London E9)

12pm, Sunday 14th September in Shoreditch Park (New North Road, London N1)

First prizes for the men's and women's catagories of £250 cash, with
second and third prizes in climbing equipment vouchers valued at £150
and £50.

Register on the day. Competitions are subject to good weather.

For further information, contact Mile End Climbing Wall on 020 8980 0289.

For further information about the Boulder project contact Takako Jin
or Ingrid Swenson on 020 7739 8080 or info@peeruk.org

Quick break from the sunny UK

Well, the Shoreditch boulder is back under construction, and has been for about the past week. They are going to landscape it and hide the concrete base. It looks like the work could drag on through September.

The Mabley boulder ~should be open now, but I've not had a chance to get up there, been snowed under with work :/

I'm off to the content for three weeks from next Monday, so I'll be saying farewell to the rocks for a little while. On the bright side my break will include 5 days in Fontainebleau!

Best Holds, north face

Best Holds, north face, originally uploaded by Ian Mulvany.

I've tagged up another picture. If you go to flickr you can look at the large version and the names come up nicely.

The two obvious problems are climbing the face, with and without the right arete.

With the arete it's about V2, maybe soft V2 if you know where to go, hard V2 otherwise.

Not using the arete, well, there are a host of options. The easiest is also V2 and the hardest that I've seen done to date is about font 6c, or V4-V5, at least that's what the guy's who did it said, and I'm not about to argue with em.

V2/V3?

V2/V3?, originally uploaded by Ian Mulvany.

I've been thinking about playing with the picnik toolkit for marking up the problems on the boulders, but I'm not too happy with it right now. Here is an example of the kind of view you get on the boulder, but it seems a bt, I guess, legoland. I think I'll just go and browse through my library of bouldering guides to get some inspiration.

Plenty of problems on the shoreditchboulder now

Work has been keeping me busy, but there has been loads of climbing going on at the shoreditch boulder over the past week.

There is a discussion going on on the UKC forum and someone, slintank, has made a claim for some first ascents:


inner city pressure v2
up the right hand arete on the north face of the boulder

shoreditch tw*t v3
the southeast corner topping out on the east face with a sit start.

the highgate shake v5
straight up the slab on the west face. no arete, no drill holes.

Whether they are firsts or not, those are definitely some nice problems on the rock. I've updated some pictures on my flicker set and I may get around to annotating the pics later today.

That said, looking at his description of the highgate shake, I'd probably disagree. If you move in to the centre of the west face from the right avoiding the boreholes, then it's not harder than V3. It's posibly V2. I think getting establish face on might be half a grade harder, but I've not done it yet so I can't say what I think for certain.

Standing Proud

Because it's there, originally uploaded by Ian Mulvany.

This is the shoreditch boulder finally in place. They rolled out the grass yesterday morning, but they have not quite finished covering the concrete base that the boulder is secured to. You can see the square at the bottom of the rock. As a result someone, I'm not sure who, but definitely not the artists, decided that it was best not to start bouldering on the rock yet. It was a bit disappointing not to get on and have a go at some of the more challenging lines, but the disappointment was made up for thanks to a very nice wine and nibbles reception laid on by the waterhouse restaruant.

Great Weather, but two days too early for climbing!

Well, in my excitement I anticipated that the climbing on the boulder would begin today, but I was a bit hasty! They are going to start bouldering sessions on the work on Saturday. Today is just the venisage. I passed by on my way home, the grass is down, the sun is out, they have some wine and nibbles, and the rock looks magnificent in the sun (pics to follow).

I've also discovered that the post code for Mabley Green, the location of the other boulder, is E9, I kid you not!

The weather toys with us

8.44 am and the sky is a healthy baby blue. The boulder is scheduled to be opened later today, and on my way past the park this morning the last rolls of grass were being laid. Over the last four days the weather has been schizophrenic. Patches of warm sunshine interspersed with torrential rain. Forecast for this evening is high density spots of rain marauding over London, so it will probably be a game of dodge the showers, but I'm optimistic and looking forward to trying some of the obvious lines.

Official Opening will be on Thursday the 14th at 5.30

The PeerUk.org site has just updated with information on the opening of the boulder. The official opening is going to be on Thursday the 14th at 5.30pm in Shoreditch park. There will be busses between Shoreditch park and Mabley green and there will be a mini bouldering comp.

You can get info and maps at the project Web site.

East Face

08/08/2008, originally uploaded by Ian Mulvany.

The holes on the face are from the boring during the quarrying, This is quite reminiscent of features in many climbing areas located in quarries, and in particular the place that I cut my teeth climbing, Dalkey Quarry.

upright

08/08/2008, originally uploaded by Ian Mulvany.

Thursday night and the boulder is installed and upright. Later that evening the trucks all drove away. They installed the boulder in Mabley park on Thursday morning, but I didn't get around to look at it, I hope to get a chance to go there later today.

I must admit, on the way home from the pub later on Thursday I was quite tempted to nip over the fence and have a go at one or two of the easier lines, but there is also something quite nice about waiting to share exploring the new boulder with some other climbers.

Meet the artist

Meet the artist, originally uploaded by Ian Mulvany.

Ingrid, on the left, is the director of the art gallery that this work is associated with, and the bloke on the left if John Frankland, the artist responsible for all of these shennanigans. It was a pleasure to meet him this morning, and it seems pretty clear that he is fairly into his climbing.

Showing the base

Showing the base, originally uploaded by Ian Mulvany.

The red steel structure on the right hand side is going to be the base of the boulder.

In repose

In repose, originally uploaded by Ian Mulvany.

The boulder has landed

The boulder has landed
Originally uploaded by Ian Mulvany

This morning I cycled past the park, and was very excited to see a big crane, the boulder actually arrived. Talking to Joost, I found out that the boulder is actually 85 tonnes. In this picture it has just been taken off the truck, but later it is going to be hoisted up on one side.

Waiting for a boulder

Waiting for a boulder
Originally uploaded by Ian Mulvany

This is Shoreditch park this morning. A lot of work going on, no boulder yet.

What's this Shoreditch Bouldering all about then?

In two weeks there is going to be a festival in Shoreditch park, and a key part of that is going to be the installation of a large boulder in the park, this is the John Franland Boulder Project. Now I'm a climber and I live right next to the park, and I'm mad excited, so I've created http://www.shoreditchbouldering.com/ as a site for making a topo of routes and problems on the boulder, when it gets here, and for posting some other bit's and pieces about the boulder.
This is going to be the blog for the site, that's all. I'm going to document the preparation of the park, the boulder installed, and the boulder climbed on.