Welcome to The Foundry Blog....

Opening its doors back in 1991, The Foundry has been at the heart of the Sheffield and UK climbing scenes ever since. Almost two decades on, the centre continues to provide a world class environment for climbers, whether you're new to the sport or about to tick your first Font 8b!

The blog will keep you up to date with the activity and achievements that are going on in and around The Foundry.

Hope to see you soon! - Neil Bentley (Centre Manager)

Monday 21 December 2009

9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes?

Dave MacLeod's new training book is now available at CragX. With section heading like 'I'm young, spoon feed me' 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes tells it straight. It might not be an easy read but after a quick look I'm already thinking I ought to get myself a copy. Price is £15
http://cragxclimbing.com/index.php?p=product&products_id=4588

Thursday 17 December 2009

Between The Trees DVD at CragX

We have had a delivery of Between Trees from the lovely Unclesomebody. The film is getting rave reviews and looks set to be the cult classic of this year. We are not selling it on the interweb so pop in to get your copy.

Vertical wall reset


Rob and Dan are re setting the vertical wall. This involves maintenance work on the volumes before they can be put back in place. We have created a classic layback up the side where it meets the livingstone wall pillar - this can alse be jammed up with thin hands or off hands if you dont! Plus a wide chimney/bridging feature on the right.

Wednesday 9 December 2009

Boreal Boot Demo

Last night was the change to try a pair of Boreal Rockshoes for free. A few years ago it was at a demo that I found the "perfect" pair of rockshoes, so I can testify that this is a great opportunity to actually try new shoes out before you make the decision to part with your hard earnt cash.


Unfortunatly due to their poplularity the Storm have been so sought after by retailers that they haven't yet made it into the demo collection. However there was still a good range of shoes, including the ever popular Joker Lace and Luna and for the higher end climbers the Crux and Falcon.

Monday 7 December 2009

Livingstone wall reset

The Livingstone wall is now reset with 23 new routes from 3+ to 6B+ set by Rob Napier and Tim Hill.

Tuesday 1 December 2009

Foundry Christmas opening times.

I know it's only the first day of advent but Christmas will soon be upon us.
As normal the Foundry will only be closed for three days over the holiday period, we will however be closing early on some evenings.

Christmas Eve - open 10am-6pm
Christmas Day - CLOSED

Boxing day - CLOSED

Sunday 27th -
open 10am-6pm
Monday 28th - open 10am-8pm
Tuesday 29th - open 10am-10pm
Wednesday 30th - open 10am-10pm
New Years Eve - open 10am-6pm

New Years Day - CLOSED

2nd January - 10am-6pm

3rd January - 10am-6pm
4th January - back to normal

CragX will be closed 25th/26th/27th December and 1st January.
CragX will close at 6pm on 24th/28th and 31st December.

Monday 30 November 2009

BMC Leading Ladder - Results

Well done to everyone who entered the BMC Leading Ladder, here are the results from the Foundry's round.

Elite Category
L Tilley (M) - 200
P Whittaker (M) - 160
R Hall (F) - 160
T Bonnert (jnr M) - 160
A Waterhouse (jnr F) - 155

Recreational Category
J Nightingale (M) - 160
J leighton (M) - 160
T Hayes (jnr F) - 140
W Smith (jnr M) - 140
I Bennett (M) - 131
B Ridal (jnr M) - 128
F McKay (jnr M) - 120
M Bean (M) - 120
S Pashley (jnr F) - 115
O Grounsell (jnr M) - 100
B Martin (jnr M) - 100
H Murray (jnr F) - 95

Improver Category
A Clarke (F) - 100
J Waterhouse (jnr M) - 100
S Tilley (M) - 100
J Beech (jnr M) - 100
F Santos (F) - 100
M Hilton (M) - 100
D Rennie (M) - 95
N Phillips (M) - 80
A Hall (jnr M) - 80
A Murray (M) - 80
O Baker (M) - 80
F Tilley (jnr F) - 55

(result scores still to be confirmed by The BMC)

Thursday 26 November 2009

BMC leading Ladder


For those who haven't yet entered, you have untill Sunday (29th Nov) evening to attempt the routes and enter your score card.

This can be viewed as a one off competition. Or for keen climbers, you need to enter at least three rounds (at a choice of 35 walls around the country) for the chance to qualify for the National Finals.

For more information visit The BMC.

Monday 23 November 2009

Bouldering circuit re-sets

Following on from the comp on Friday there are now 67 new problems within the circuits level 1, 2 , 3 and elite from font 5 to 7c+.

Foundry Bouldering Competition - Round 2

The round 2 comp was set at a slightly easier standard than round 1 seeing a few competitors flash all the problems in their chosen category. Three under 13's got full marks including James Waterhouse who then went on to get a respectable score in the recreational category.
As usual the problems set by Rob assisted by Matt,Tim, and Dan. The comp is sponsored by DMM who provided lots of kit which was handed out during the comp to those lucky 9 competitors who had their name pulled out of the chalk bag. Also given away were 2 pairs of Boreal boots and a CragX climbing shop voucher.
There is one more round to come on January 22nd. Again there will be lots of prizes to be won on the night.
Overall prizes for best 2 out of 3 scores are for 1st (3 month free entry voucher to The Foundry) and 2nd placed male/female ( 1 month free entry voucher to The Foundry) in each category.

Foundry Bouldering League Results - round 2

A report from the evening will follow

Elite Category
D Merrick (F) - 105
C Chung-Hsien - 79
E Morris (M) - 76
M Coia (jnr M) - 62
T Millinkovic (F) - 40

Recreational Category
L Jones (m) - 200
N Phillips (jnr M) - 197
E Hartley (m) - 194
G Whittles (M) - 179
T Dixon (M) - 169
T Greenhall (M) - 168
R Lloyd (jnr M) - 167
N Jones (M) - 162
T Bonnert (jnr M) - 154
M Roper - 151
I Bennett (M) - 151
B Hall (F) - 144
I Stewart (jnr M) - 142
P Jeffrey (M) - 140
A Partnell (M) - 134
J Powell (M) - 131
J Broadhead ( jnr M) - 127
J Shaw (jnr M) - 126
J Beach (jnr M) - 115
T Waterhouse (M) - 114
H Murray (jnr F) - 110
J Hickson (M) - 110
C Lockyer (M) - 104
P Daniel (M) - 92
C Tingle (M) - 88
R Snowden (F) - 87
T Duncan (M) - 87
S Holland (M) - 86
J Forde (jnr M) - 85
K Dorset - 81
C Evans (M) - 73
J Waterhouse (jnr M) - 64
L Ward - 24

Kids (under 13) Category
J Waterhouse (M) - 100
M Aspinall (M) - 100
A Hall - 100
M Clerkin (F) - 94
P Tai (F) - 92
B Hoyland (F) - 92
D Windle (F) - 63
M Alkins-Tooth (M) - 58
B Jennings (F) - 47
A Rivett (F) - 40
P Watkin (F) - 25

Event Sponsors:

Sunday 22 November 2009

The Beast has Cometh....


For those of you after a Beatmaker 1000 or 2000 CragX now have them in stock! Avaliable from CragXclimbing.com or instore at the CragX shop in The Foundry.

There selling quick so get a move on if you want one!

Beastmaker 1000 and 2000 £70.

Friday 13 November 2009

Foundry Bouldering League

Friday 20th November, from 5pm

Round two of the Bouldering League will have 2 pairs of Boreal climbing shoes and CragX vouchers up for grabs in the raffle. Plus DMM will be here on the night with more raffle prizes.

The whole bouldering wall will be re-set prior to the event and new exciting volumes will be added to the main wall for added interest

The league has three levels: U13's, Recreational and Elite.
Each round acts as a stand alone event but those who compete in all three rounds will be entered into the league and be in with a chance of winning even more prizes.

Watch the round one video

Event Sponsors:

Training at The Foundry

Last weekend saw some of the countries top climbers training at The Foundry, as part of the British Bouldering Team.
















Above: Helen Shilleto
Right: Ned Fehally

Thursday 12 November 2009

BMC Leading Ladder

14th - 29th November @ The Foundry

The BMC Leading Ladder is a series of fun informal competitions that start in October and run at 24 walls, with 35 rounds right through until the end of March. Each round will have 10 routes ranging from F5+ to F8a, with three ability categories -
• The Improver category is aimed at climbers whose on-sight limit is F6B/6B+.
• The Recreational category is aimed at climb
ers whose on-sight limit is F7A/7B.
• The Elite category is aimed at climbers whose on-sight limit is F7C/8A.

Each category will then be split into male/female and junior/adult.
If you want to enter you can buy a scorecard from Foundry Reception for just £1
Or visit The BMC for more information on the event.

Monday 9 November 2009

BMC Leading Ladder

Starting 14th to 29th November. Collect your score sheet from reception for £1 and spend up to 2 weeks trying the 10 routes ground up. Three categories of Improver, Recreational and Elite. Route grades of F5+, F6A, F6A+, F6b, F6b+, F6c, F7a, F7b, F7c and F8a.

Thursday 29 October 2009

Try before you buy!


As the credit crunch bites you don't want to waste those hard earned pennies, so take advantage of the chance to "try before you buy".



Evolv sponsored climber Ben Bransby will be on hand tonight to give you the chance to try Evolv climbing shoes for free.



Evolv Boot demo - Thu 29th Oct from 5pm

Monday 26 October 2009

The Foundry Bouldering League is back...



Rob, Tim and Matt produced forty problems for the night. Everything from easy kids to challenging the strong. As usual it was good to see the smiling faces and enjoy the supportive atmosphere as experienced and capable climbers desparately tried to avoid being outscored by the youngsters. The Foundry Academy was present in strength and they pretty much packed out the junior section.




Spot prize winners were
Joe Broadhead / Ben Edwards - Boreal shoes
Glen Chappel - CragX voucher

A big thankyou to our sponsors: Boreal, DMM, The Clinic and CragX

Foundry Bouldering League - Results

A report from the evening will follow

Elite Category
P Smitton (M) - 150
J Cook (M) - 129
E Morris (M) - 96
C Chung-Hsien - 59
H Baresford (F) - 51
T Millinkovic (F) - 44

Recreational Category
D Cheetham (M) - 200
L Jones (M) - 191
R Lloyd (jnr M) - 176
E Hartley (M) - 173
T Bonnert (jnr M) - 170
A Waterhouse (jnr F) - 148
I Bennett (M) - 147
B Hall (F) - 138
B Clough (M) - 126
B Edwards (M) - 124
J Broadhead (jnr M) - 113
I Stewart (jnr M) - 92
S Allen (M) - 89
P Daniel (M) - 87
T Waterhouse (M) - 80
T Rivett - 76
H Chi-Yu - 75
K Fowler - 73
D Brown (M) - 63
M Holmes (M) - 63
H Murray (jnr F) - 60
J Beach (jnr M) - 60
J Shaw (jnr M) - 58
J Forde (jnr M) - 50
B Scott (M) - 47
R Cole (M) - 44
K Dorset - 42
J Parker (M) - 41
J Hickson (M) - 36
M Roper - 22

Kids (under 13) Category
P Tai (F) - 91
J Waterhouse (M) - 88
A Hall - 87
M Clerkin (F) - 85
M Aspinall (M) - 82
B Hoyland (F) - 81
G Hoyland (F)- 75
A Rivett (F) - 56
D Windle (F) - 51
P Watkin (F) - 43
B Jenkins (F) - 40

Wednesday 21 October 2009

The Team 5.10 is here now

FiveTen were unusually efficient and we got the Team last night, the very day that we were told they were finally coming. We only have limited numbers of some sizes so get here quickly to avoid disappointment.

Monday 19 October 2009

Evolv Rock Boot Demo

Thursday 29th October 5-9.30pm
Meet Evolv sponsored climber Ben Bransby and try out a pair of Evolv shoes for free - just pay your normal Foundry entrance fee.

Evolv shoes are available from CragX, following a fitting from our experienced staff.

Wednesday 7 October 2009

Foundry Bouldering League

There will be three levels - kids, recreational and elite

Dates for your diary are
Friday 23rd October
Friday 20th November
Friday 22nd January

The event is sponsored by


Wednesday 30 September 2009

It's winter @ The Foundry


Well OK it's not snowy, but as the nights draw in you can take advantage of an extra 4 hours climbing each weekend.

The centre is now open till 8pm at Weekends.
Monday-Friday 10am-10pm
Weekends 10am-8pm

Remember after 4pm at weekends you can boulder for just £4.50.

Wednesday 23 September 2009

Save fighting with the traffic,

the Foundry Cafe will be fully open from Tuesday 29th September.
Come down straight from work and take advantage of free Wi-Fi access whilst you enjoy a latte. Or get a panini to stave off those after work hunger pangs, whilst you're waiting for your climbing partners to arrive

Opening Times will be:
12-7.45pm, Mon-Thu
12-5.45pm Friday
10-5.30 Weekends

As usual we will be offering a range of hot/cold sandwiches, burgers, homade specials and the all important chip buttie.

Tuesday 22 September 2009

Student Special Offers

Start of Term Special Offers, valid untill 23rd October:
Annual Student Membership - £220
30day Student Membership - £20 (normally £35)

Both the above memberships give you an unlimited number of visits, for the duration of your membership. Working out at less than £4.25/week the Annual Membership is a wise choice for anyone wanting to train more than once a week.

These are only available to full time students, on production of valid student ID.

Circuit-tastic!





Well, all the bouldering down at the Foundry has been completely reset now, and its circuit time!




Pick up a circuit topo at reception and get ticking!




There are five circuits with problems located right round the centre:

Kids circuit - Font 3a - 5a
Level 1 - Font 3a - 5b
Level 2 - Font 5b - 6c
Level 3 - Font 6c - 7b+
Elite circuit - Individually graded....







- Mark Armitage working through the level 2 circuit

- Tom



Wednesday 16 September 2009

Experienced climber wanted!

Are you an experienced(sport and trad) climber? Have you ever considered instructing/coaching? Call Mark on 07818043915 or email mark@greatadventures.co.uk (Foundry Mountain Activities) to discuss details.

Tuesday 15 September 2009

Bouldering Circuits

The lads have completely stripped the Wave and Bleaustone Wall of holds, added new volumes to the Bleaustone Wall and are now beginning the process of setting new problems. The plan is to include a number of circuits, which will help give climbers a more structured session.








For those unfamiliar with circuits, basically you pick a grade range (circuit) and can then work to complete all the problems on that circuit. We are planning 5 circuits with grades from 3a to 8a, these will be spread over the centre on the Wave/Bleaustone Walls, Corridor and Furnace boards.

Tuesday 8 September 2009

Yet more new routes




With our busy winter season rapidly approaching Rob and Dan are working hard to give you new routes.


Their next project is to completely re-set the prow of the Five Ten wall, this includes adding new volumes to give further interest to the routes.

Thursday 27 August 2009

... And now for something completely different.....

Elsewhere in the centre this week, the yellow slab has had a complete reset..........




..... that means there's more new routes on the top rope lines than you can shake a stick at!




Countdown!








More holds have gone onto the traverse corridor this week..............






Numbers 1 - 10, and all the letters of
alphabet can now be found about the corridor.




These bright, juggy holds will make climbing in the traverse corridor far more engaging for the youngsters.






Moreover, there is now a dedicated kid's section in the traverse corridor, with lots of easy traverses with friendly juggy holds. There are also removable foam obstacles in place to make the climbing that little bit more challenging!


The Foundry sees more and more young climbers coming through its doors each day, and we hope that such enhancements to the centre will help to encourage even more kids to take up the sport!




Saturday 22 August 2009

El Corridor de la Muerte!

That's right folks, the traverse corridor is now complete!



There's still more stuff to go on, but the fresh new paintjob is done, and new holds, volumes and some challenging features only traverses are up.








The Features only traverse on the left hand side has been significiantly improved, but the main action is on the right hand side, where you will find a pockets traverse (around font 6b+) and an edges traverse (at font 6c+), with endless eliminate possibilities.



The far end of the corridor is going to be set with younger climbers in mind, so watch this space over the next couple of weeks as more traverses are added!



- Tom

Friday 21 August 2009

Moon Landing!

The Livingstone Wall is now sponsored by Moon Climbing (click here to go to Moonclimbing.com)!


As well as a new logo we have added extra placements for holds to allow for more creative routesetting.


After Dan and Tim had finished all the paintwork, the wall has also had a complete reset by Rob.



So, along with the traverse corridor, furnace reset and
the new routes on the main wall, the Livingstone wall reset means there's plenty of new stuff to get on at the Foundry.










Sunday 16 August 2009

A Storm Brewing on the Wave!......

Are you feeling that its too warm in the current heat & humidity to hit the crags? Thinking of retreating indoors to train?


Well you will now find two large electric fans located around the Wave & Bleaustone bouldering walls to help keep you cool while climbing at the Foundry........