1. Rock Boots – Following much discussion we have decided to allow rock shoes to be used while also allowing use of Outdoor boots (big boots) and fruit boots the choice is yours. The route setters guideline have been updated and they will now be able to set the routes including technical footwork!
The new rule is as follows:
VI. Routes are set and graded for the use of standard rock climbing shoes. Competitors can choose to use one of the following types of footwear: 1. Rock Shoes 2. Stiff Soled Mountain Boots , rated by the manufacturer at 4 seasons or B2 as a minimum 3. Competition specific ‘Fruit Boots’ with Crampons removed. Competitors will also need stiff soled mountain boots, rated by the manufacturer at 4 seasons or B2 as a minimum, for use on certain routes internal ice routes and external routes, along with appropriate crampons (see section 4 below). Participants wearing unsuitable footwear will be asked to change them or may be asked to stop climbing and take no further part in the event.
2.Tight Roping – we strive to discourage any form of cheating and have added the following:
XXII. If a belayer is found to be providing a tight rope, either wilfully or not, they will be deducted ten (10) points from their overall competition score.
The evolution of the STS rules is intended to ensure a fair and enjoyable experience for all involved. If you have any specific questions or suggestions for the future please address them to pete@scottishtoolingseries.co.uk or neil@scottishtoolingseries.co.uk
Early season conditions are what the Scottish Tooling Series is all about and this year the Scottish Tooling Series in association with Big Tree Campervans have come up with a unique and exciting event.
The event for the prizewinners and selected runners up and will give the opportunity for climbing at the top level with access to top and experienced climbers from the Scottish Mixed climbing scene.
What’s involved
The STS Adult winners and selected runners up will be based at the CIC hut on the nights of the 2nd and 3rd of December.
Hosted by the STS team headed up by young mixed superstar Greg Boswell who will climb with a team of STS winners each day.
The aim of the weekend will be to attempt to climb new mixed routes or repeats that will challenge each person’s abilities.
The north face of Ben Nevis holds an amazing array of routes of all grades and this prize is an incredible opportunity for our winners to make their mark on the Scottish Mixed stage and put to use any equipment prizes they have gained throughout the series.
Update: 16.11.11
With the Series now completed the following people were awarded a special invite at the STS prizegiving in Glasgow to attend the STS on the Ben.
Jim Higgins
Karen Mcintyre
Megan Beaumont
They will join the Prizewinners:
Steve Johnstone
Thomas Buggy
Fiona Murray
along with Team STS in the CIC on the 3rd and 4th of December
We at STS towers had a big meeting earlier on this evening and got into the heated topic of boot Rules!
When Pete and I took on the organisation last year we wrote the rules down for the first time and put a lot of though into them to try and get them right. One rule that was taken from the ‘how we have always done it’ drawer is the boot rule below.
VI. Stiff soled mountain boots are to be used by all adult competitors, and they must be rated by the manufacturer at 4 seasons or B2 as a minimum. Flexible soled boots, hybrids or crampon-less fruit-boots cannot be used. Participants wearing unsuitable boots will be asked to change them or may be asked to stop climbing and take no further part in the event.
Following the use by some competitors of cramponless fruit boots in past years it was decided to dis-allow these as they gave a huge advantage over the heavier mountain boots.
Scott Muir amongst others brought the topic up for debate last year: (i’m sure he wont mind me quoting him below)
‘They should be allowed as they are an integral part of sport mixed and competition climbing. Quite simply if other competitors want to be disadvantaged by clumsy footwear then that’s their choice. It’s a tooling competition and by virtue of this alone gaining advantages is part of the game. Fruit boots are an integral part of the sport and you can climb ice in them as you know so they are clearly rigid enough to pass the test.’
The huge advantage gained by fruitboots over mountain boots leads to the question of why are we using heavy mountain boots to climb technical complex problems and are they the nearest we can get to reality with the limitations of an indoor wall?
Although difficult to compare, the technical difficulty of routes at the STS relate to a mixed Scottish winter grade of tech 5 upwards and continental grade of M4 either of these grades requires the delicate use of crampons.
The reasoning behind banning fruit boots was to make sure that ‘as near as possible’ all competitors are playing off an even playing field. The huge advantage of fruit boots to a competitor compared to heavy winter boots means that having these as the only two options seems unfair to many. The advent of super light B3 winter boots also means that even with “big boots” those who spend the money can have an advantage if only in weight and this will always be the way be it in axe technology or indeed if we were to move to rock shoes as more technical rock shoes inevitably cost more money!
So we thought we would open this up to you the community. Please give us your thoughts by commenting on this post and voting on the STS facebook page.
Option A : Stick with the status quo : Stiff Mountain boots as defined above
Option B : A Step Change : Rock Shoes allowed including fruit boots
The Adult Male Category of the Scottish tooling series is really coming down to the wire this year with four contenders still in with a real chance of picking up the top prize a fantastic Big Tree Campervan Holiday!
The Series top table (after round four):
Name Series Points
Pete Rhodes 55
Jim Higgins 53
Dom Scott 44
The series rules require that you must compete in three events to qualify for the series. The best three scores combine to give your series score.
However the two competitors below are both sitting well and both competing at Ratho this Saturday.
Name Series Points
Steve Johnstone 40
Ash Dean 39
Peter Rhodes
Peter Rhodes sits in first spot for now! Pete is new to the Scottish Tooling Series this year and I think it’s safe to say he has had a great time! Training in advance with fig fours to compliment his strength gained creating his notable CV of big wall climbing around the world. Consistency is the name of the game in the STS and Pete has been in the finals at every round this year. Pete has to be a favourite going into Saturday but may need a win to seal the deal!
Jim Higgins
Jim Higgins from Inverness has not been as consistent as Peter but with a 3rd a 2nd and a 5th he only sits 2 series points behind our leader. Jim will need to score high and hope that others cannot improve on their standing to finish on top but wither way Jim is definitely in the frame for a high series placing.
Steve Johnston
Steve Johnston is the current reigning Scottish Tooling Series Champion and can’t be ruled out for a hatrick of event wins this year making him untouchable at the top for the second year running. Steve has been training hard packing Christmas trees for the last month and will be relieved to get back climbing. Even a third place finish on Saturday would be enough to win the series overall. With Peter Rhodes the closest rival.
Ash Dean
Ash has had a good showing so far this series and only sits one series point away from Steve with a spectacular win at Glenmore and 2nd at his home venue Transition Extreme. Ash is sure to be a strong contender in the final round and will be sure to be in the mix.
Others to watch:
Malcolm Kent winner of the last round at Kinlochleven Malcolm is sure to be in the placings after qualification which means he can get in amonst the contenders during the final and make precious points harder to come by!
We have a great line-up of musical entertainment for the final round of the Scottish Tooling Series this coming Saturday at EICA Ratho.
12pm -2pm – Ali Mac aka Monkey
2pm-4pm – Chris Hall – Adventure Sound
4pm-6pm – Trilogy
Trilogy will be joined byRobbie Phillips who will provide the commentary for the Finals.
Trilogy
Trilogy started djing at the young age of 14, back in the early 90’s in Northern Ireland, his hunger for dance and electronica began after hearing Aphex Twins, Selected Ambient Works which inspired him to indulge in the likes of Future Sound of London and a bit later Leftfield’ ‘Leftism’ to name a few. Being firmly hooked on buying vinyl he continued to spin records at clubs around Northern Ireland, many house parties, and an abundance of secret outdoor raves.
Moving to Edinburgh in 1998, Trilogy (formerly B.Sides) gave up djing and had been hiding in the background of the Edinburgh music seen for a long time. Being involved in the re-vamp of The Venue Nightclub (RIP) and host to a ridiculous amount of guests, ended up promoting for years at venues across the city whilst regaining his love for spinning tunes.
The hunger for djing was back and in 2003 he gained support slots with the likes of Q-bert, Mr Thing and Phi Life Cypher but in 2006 he joined forces with friend and dj ‘The Bandit’ to form a duo on 4 decks. B.Sides and the Bandit with a mash-up style secured their residency at Utah Saints’ legendary night Sugarbeat Club, not only having the opportunity to play alongside the Utah Saints but an incredible selection of the worlds finest Dj’s. Guests such as Erol Alkan, Felix da Housecat, Wolfgang Gartner, Krafty Kuts, Herve, Alex Metric, Foamo, Riton, Fake Blood, Hot Chip, Boy 8 Bit, Dj Yoda, A skillz, Stanton Warriors basically all the amazing artists shaping today’s amazing dance and electronic scene.
Trilogy is now deep in the studio writing music with a very open mind and intends to release his first single early in 2011, with rumours of a release on The Beatvandal’ label Bombstrikes, watch this space. He can still be found playing Sugarbeat Club at The Cabaret Voltaire on the last Friday of every month, and various guest slots at clubs such as Split, Trade Union and Coalition. Also 6 years on and still going strong, Stir Fried, his weekly Friday night mash-up at The Outhouse Bar.
As a climber it is big motivation for me playing for a climbing competition like this! Climbing and music is my thing!
Chris has been involved in cresting the sound tracks on the last five Hot Aches films with paul Diffley including the highley acclaimed “The Pinnacle” (recently reviewed on this site) and winning awards at both Edinburgh and Kendal!
Ali Macleod is a legend in his own DJ booth having come through the ranks of the Edinburgh DJ Scene under the guidance of the trio of John , Neil and Iain at Masters@Play. Playing exclusive party sets for celebs and entertainment royalty along with regular club nights at venues across Edinburgh. He only now DJ’s on rare occasions and his brief returns to the decks are not to be missed!
We’ve been working hard over the past week to get all the component parts in place, and all the timings fitting together to make the final round of the STS a fantastic event.
The route-setters Greg Boswell and Euan Whittaker have also been hanging about on the walls in Ratho to prepare the routes for this final round.
Registration
It all kicks off at 9.30am with registration, then the qualifying events run in the main climbing arena from 10.00am until 3.00pm. As well as of course being able to grab a bite to eat at the fab café in Ratho, we’ve organised for tea, coffee and the occasional sticky cake to be available in the climbing arena all through the qualifying events so you can keep your strength (and caffeine levels) up!
Coffee Break!
We’ll then have a quick break (more coffee?!) between 3pm and 4pm while we organise the finals, and then it’s into the nail-biting, awe-inspiring STS Round 5 finals…..
Straight after the finals we’ll be into the pretty special prize-giving, which will of course be for both the Round 5 and the overall Series Competition.
This should all be wrapped up by about 6.00pm, and then the lovely folk at Ratho are keeping the café open until 7.00pm so you can buy some tasty hot food… and maybe another coffee… or even a beer or two!
Then we’re straight upstairs for Ian Parnell’s lecture which kicks off at 7.00pm, and promises to be a real jaw-dropper and inspiring trip through Ian’s recent Scottish winter adventures.
We need to be all wrapped up by 9.00pm, but we hope you’ll be able to join us after Ian’s lecture for a dram on us to celebrate the end of a successful Scottish Tooling Series 2010.
Confirmation of some great deals in place for competitors of the Scottish Tooling Series at Tiso Ratho this weekend.
Grivel Sharpening Machine
Free icescrew sharpening
for every competitor (max 4 screws per person)
10% off pairs of 2011 ice tools New Quarks, New Fusions, New Ergos
Free Grivel Crampon Safe with every pair of G20s and G14s
Free Candela with purchases of Grivel Speedy icescrews
Deal prices on Grivel Helix icescrews.
Tiso Ratho is open all day on Saturday the 27th right up until the Ian Parnell Lecture at 7pm.
Grivel deals are in association with the Mountain Boot Company who with the Grivel and Scarpa brands are the main event sponsor of this final round of the STS.
Fruitboot’s in use STS 2009
Book all four STS rounds in one go and receive a £10 booking discount!
