Bouldering League

This Friday, from 5pm

Work has already begun to prepare the Wave for this Friday's competition and you can look forward to all new problems.

As always, even if you haven't entered any of the previous rounds you are still in with a chance to win one of the spot prizes. Plus the top two male and female scores in each level will win Foundry memberships.

Event Sponsors:

Dry Tooling Beta

For those of you new to dry tooling and looking forward to your first ever go at the sport, watch these videos of Ian Parnell demonstrating a range of axe placements on two of our routes.

Ian Parnell Dry Tooling at the Foundry Climbing Centre (M7+) from Foundry Climbing Centre on Vimeo.

Ian Parnell on Foundry Dry Tool Route (M4) from Foundry Climbing Centre on Vimeo.

Ian Parnell checks out our dry tooling routes

The routes have now been checked out by Ian Parnell who has provided some 'M' grades (as used for mixed route grades outdoors). The five routes range form M4 to M7+. Ian was very positive about the routes and got very pumped doing them. See what he thinks by going to his blog at http://ianparnellphotography.blogspot.com/2010/01/sheffield-winter-training-facility.html

Here's some more piccies of the routes being climbed. If you want to have a go we advise to book yourself in to guarantee equipment otherwise turn up on the nights. Its £10/2 hours inc. gear. If you are already climbing down here on the night and decide you would like to give it a try you will be charged the difference between your initial entry fee and £10 for the gear. You will have to fill in a bit of paper work and must be 18.
Friday 8-10pm, weekends 6-8pm, Mondays 8-10pm.













TOP - Rob Napier on an M7+
ABOVE LEFT -Neil Bentley on an M5
ABOVE CENTRE - Neil Bentley on an M7+
ABOVE RIGHT - Ian Parnell on an M5/6

Dry Tooling First Night - Friday 15th, 8-10pm

This Friday the 15th between 8-10pm will be the first evening of dry tooling. There are 5 routes of varying difficulty with variations on axe holds and footholds allowing you to make the routes easier or harder. To have a go we advise you to book by calling us on 0114 2796331 or in person at reception, or if there are spaces available you can just turn up on the day. Its £10/person for 2 hours which includes the gear but bring your own gloves. Theres a bit of paperwork to complete on your first visit.
Dry tooling evening sessions are Mondays and Fridays 8-10pm and weekends 6-8pm. You must book in advance to have ago and be 18 or over.

Dry Tooling is here!

We have just finished setting the dry tooling routes in the Furnace and on the tiered roof of the Main wall. If you want to give it a go we will be having our first official evening probably next Friday evening. Watch the blog for further . It will cost £10 for 2 hours including the axes and helmets with visors.

Snow update....

If you are thinking of coming down to The Foundry I am glad to say that Mowbray Street is gritted and clear of snow/ice, as are most of the major roads in Sheffield. Cars have compacted the snow in our carpark but it's drivable with care, or you can park on the road outside (urban clearway restrictions apply 4.30-6.30pm).

For those (like me) still unable to get their cars out of residential side roads, public transport appears to be running OK. If you're unfamiliar with public transport the 53 bus route runs right past our courtyard entrance, or we are just a 10-15 min walk from the city centre (see our website for directions).

Yet more snow....

Despite the snow The Foundy is open.

We intend to open as normal despite the weather but if you're in doubt about the conditions please call us (0114 2796331) to check before travelling, as the snow may have other ideas.

Bouldering League Final Round

Friday 22nd January, from 5pm

For those of you wanting to burn off the Christmas excess, the next round of the Bouldering league is the perfect focus for your new year exercise routine.

As always, even if you haven't entered any of the previous rounds you are still in with a chance to win one of the spot prizes.

Event Sponsors:

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

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.

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.

Livingstone wall reset

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

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.

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)

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.

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:

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.