We were on holiday in North Wales last week, and Wales lived up to it's reputation with very changeable weather. It was often blustery and on the day we decided to visit Llanberis, we had to go bouldering in between the showers.As we had not bouldered outside before we had to be very careful, especially as rocks with lichen on could be very slippery. Also it's not too nice to grab a hold and find it full of water. We did however learn to valuable lessons. The first one was scale. Thirty or forty foot high boulders look small when you are surrounded by mountains but you don't want to be climbing that high without a rope. The other is that next time we'll take a piece of plastic to put under the bouldering mat. Carrying it on your back when it's wet and muddy and smeared with sheep and rabbit poo is not much fun!
Undercover Rock in Bristol hosted their Youth Summer Boulder Competition yesterday (Saturday 11th July). 
We love competitions at Undercover Rock, as we can stay overnight with relatives living near Bristol. Both competitions we have attended have been great fun, having a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere, which is a nice change from the tension of the Bryccs.Dom entered the 7-9yo category. The competition consisted of 5 boulder problems, with each one getting more difficult. The 4th problem was quite a reachy overhanging problem requiring rock-overs to complete it and the 5th was very hard, being small screw-ons with a difficult reach at the end. Dom managed to complete all five first time and so took first place.There were certificates and nice prizes for the winners, but what is really nice at Undercover Rock is that each competitor receives a certificate for taking part, plus handfulls of Freddo chocolate bars, chalk balls and posters were thrown to the assembled kids - so everyone got something. In fact the scramble for goodies is probably one of the best parts of the day!
We went to Creation Climbing Centre last night to enter their monthly bouldering comp. There were adult and U16 categories.
There were 25 problems which started easy and got much harder. As it was under 16 we didn't think Dom (who's 9) stood much chance and so were very pleased when he won 3rd place. As it was a cash prize Dom was really happy!
Tom Bonnert from the Peak District won 1st prize and Will Smith from the Midlands took 2nd. Leah Crane was also there and won the women's competition.
At last it's all over, and with a sigh of relief we can relax for a while. The Youth Climbing Series 2009 is over and the results are in.
It was a great weekend, the Midlands Team all stayed at the same inn which made for a good atmosphere and the kids had fun playing together.
The final was held at Westway Climbing Centre in London. There we split up according to category.
The 8-10 boys were divided in half, two groups of 16. Dom and George Morris were in the same group, but Oli Lawson, also in the Midlands Team, was with the others.
After the first route and two boulder problems, Dom, George and a few other climbers had perfect scores. The second route separated them however, George got fairly high, Dom topped it, and Jack Graham did a dyno for the last hold but missed it. That put Dom in the lead.
George on 1st Route
The final boulder problem changed the situation. None of the climbers managed to complete it, but Jack Graham managed to touch the last hold. Dom eventually managed to touch the second to last hold, which put him in second place to Jack, by just one point. George also did better than most.
Dom on 2nd Boulder ProblemIt all came down to the final route. Dom was shocked to discover that he was the first climber and he got three quarters of the way up a difficult and reachy climb before coming off. Jack managed to top the route and raised his fist in triumph, knowing he'd won the competition.George was last to climb. He struggled past the point Dom had reached but the climb became more and more difficult. He clearly wanted to give up and was shaking his head, but the crowd urged him on. Climbing out of his skin, he almost managed to reach the top before losing his grip.
Then we waited on tender hooks, not knowing what the final result was because we weren't sure how well the sixteen climbers in the other group had done. And then came the announcement, Dom was 3rd, George 2nd and Jack 1st.
Dom and George had done fantastically well, the Midlands Climbing Team have not had anyone on the winners podium since 2005, but this year they had two. And congratulations to Jack Graham, who finally won after coming so close so many times.
And so, after a decent rest, we'll start preparing for next year's competition. Jack, George and many of the other climbers will move up into the next age category but Dom, who's only 9, will stay in the 8-10 boys group.
So next year..... Well let's not tempt fate!
Team Wolf did really well in the BMC Youth Climbing series. In the regionals, out of the 18 members of the Midlands Climbing Team, 7 were from Wolf Mountain.
Girls 8-10 
Imogen Porter 2ndBoys 8 -10Dominic Vincent 1st George Morris 2nd Boys 11 -13Duncan Fisher 1st Zack Porter 2nd Jack Dyer 3rd Girls 14- 16Libby Dodd 3rd
