I haven't written anything for a while, i've been feeling pretty bummed out about my shoulder. But i'm going in for surgery tomorrow morning so i'll be on the road to recovery very soon.

Looks like i won't be climbing for another 6 months, but depends how my rehab goes. I'm not looking forward to the surgery tomorrow, but i know it has to happen if i want to get back climbing again.
The doctor has told me i can't lift anything over 2kgs for at least a 6 month period, so it's gonna be interesting.
Even the simple things, like dropping the kids off to the pool, gotta learn to do a one handed wipe...with the left.

On another note, i been doing a lot of road riding lately, i rode 360kms this week! So i'm feeling pretty fit, hopefully that'll help me recover from the surgery quicker. I've been enjoying the riding a lot, yesterday i went on a 100km ride then got home and watched the Paris-Roubaix which is a gnarley race in France. Lots of crashes and top riding.
Not sure there is enough time in my life to become a competitive rider and climb.

So i've now settled back in to Sydney life, and can't wait for the next few months to be over. Can't wait to get climbing again...I'm sure a V0 is going to feel amazing!

I've thought about not having the surgery but my shoulder is still not feeling any better since the day i did it. Even riding my bike hurts, so i deffinitely know this is the right decision.
But another crap thing about this shoulder situation is i did not have health insurance here in Australia, so now i have to pay a lot of money for this surgery out of my own pocket. All our saved travelling money is now gone! So after my surgery, once i can use my arm again i have to return to work and start saving for the next climbing adventure.

So will leave it at that for now...i'm off for surgery in about 8 hours time. Will let you all know how it goes - fingers crossed!

The first bouldering World Cup of the year was held on the weekend in Japan.
Final results where:

MEN ---- WOMEN
1st Stephane Julian ---- Akiyo Noguchi
2nd Tatsuva Muraoka ---- Jain Kim
3rd Rustam Gelmanov ---- Anna Stöhr

The only two Aussies in the field where Marc Edwards and Samantha Berry.
With Marc just missing out on the semi-finals by one place. Samantha made it to the semi-finals but unfortunately missed out on getting to the finals.

Marc and Sam are going to participate in a few more world cups before they return home to Oz so good luck to them.

Good times again, I feel pretty darn low at the moment.
I’m back in Sydney now and I went straight to Dr Julian Saunders who is a mate of mine and a very good Osteo, he did some work on my arm and tried to help me out as best he could but he still recommended that I see an Orthopedic Surgeon, so I booked an appointment with Dr Jerome Goldberg and got into see him pretty quick.
Dr Goldberg told me that I have a tear in the Labrum in the back, which I already knew, but he told me I also had a tear in the front of the Labrum. I thought that there was something going on in the front of my shoulder cause most of the pain I feel is in the front of the shoulder. So I have decided the best decision for me is to have surgery, even though I don’t want it I think it’s the best option. I have looked into other options and talked to many professionals about my situation and the best option for me I believe is surgery L Surgery is not an easy quick fix, after surgery I’ll be in a sling for 4-6 weeks, after that, an exercise program is commenced and physiotherapy may be required for 6 months. Sport and heavy lifting must be avoided for 4 to 6 months. So it looks like I’m done climbing for 6 months and probably another 6 months to get back to feeling strong.

For some reason since the day I did my shoulder deep down I thought I would need surgery and it turns out my gut feeling was not just an oversize brown friend it was actually good at predicting my future so when I went bike shopping the other day and bought a really expensive bike I could not help to listen to my gut and buy it J yes that’s rite you herd me, I bought a bike. It’s a BMC road bike and I’m really happy with it. I have always wanted an excuse to wear spandex in public and now I have that excuse J NO on a serious note having a nice bike to ride will keep me fit while I can’t climb and it will take my mind off of having this surgery. So now my plan is to have the surgery get my shoulder better and come back even stronger. Stay tuned for some updates on my shoulder and my newfound bike riding adventures.

Ben Cossey has been climbing really well of late snatching up two projects. The first was a project at Diamond Falls in the Blue Mountains called Mr Pink, Ben graded the route 34 and I’m sure it will stand the test of time as Ben is climbing really well at the moment. Ben also cleaned up another project, this time in the Grampians, an extension to Groovy and he graded it 33, bloody nice work mate.

Ok so it’s been 4 weeks since I dislocated my shoulder and i think there should have been some improvement with it but it just feels the same since the week I did it.
The swelling has gone down so I have more movement than in the first week but as far as pain, feeling, range of motion and being able to put any weight on my arm it's just no better. If my shoulder feels like it is not making any improvements and its been 4 weeks then how long is it going to take to heal?
I can’t even think about hanging on a chin-up bar yet, even when I walk it hurts. I think my climbing is over - ok so I know it’s not really over it’s just I have had no one tell me what I need to do to get it better and no one can figure out what’s wrong with it, once again I know there is a tear in the labrum but i have been told there is something else going on in my shoulder more than just a tear in the labrum.
Why the fuck do these people have all these qualifications and they cant tell me what’s wrong with me and what I need to do?!?!

I’m still in San Fran and I’m trying to stay happy cause I don’t want to make other peoples time shit but I feel like I’m about to smack another Physio Massage therapist, Orthopedic Surgeon or some one who is meant to know about this shoulder stuff if they tell me they don’t know what’s going on, if they don’t know what’s going on then go back to school and fucking study cause they are very happy to take my money this is how my visit to a therapist has usually gone
Chris - Hi my shoulder is fucked (I do go into more details but for the sake of typing, the word FUCKED should be enough)
DR - um???? I’m not sure what you have exactly I think it could be this or I think it could be that and maybe you just need to rest Chris
Chris - ok thanks how much do I owe you?
DR - $100 should be fine thanks
Well there is more detail involved but that’s how the general conversation goes.

Ok so I’m being a little extreme but I’m frustrated with this whole situation. I’m still none the wiser about my shoulder and the extent of the injury and if or what other problems there are. I have spent allot of money and its been 4 weeks and still no one can tell me what I need to do.

Good times.

Im sure things could be worse???????

This is some funny stuff I just read on the local news site from channel 9 news, Canberra is the place where I grew up.


Not a bird, or a plane, but a kangaroo has crashed through the bedroom window of a Canberra family's home before terrorising its unsuspecting occupants.

The family, from the suburb of Garran in Canberra's south, were awoken in the early hours of Sunday when their pet dog began barking from the garden.

Moments later, a kangaroo burst through a three metre high window of the house's master bedroom and onto the bed where Beat Ettlin, his partner Verity Beman and their nine-year-old daughter Beatrix lay.

"My initial thought when I was half awake was: it's a lunatic ninja coming through the window," Mr Ettlin told The Associated Press.

"It seems about as likely as a kangaroo breaking in."

While the family took refuge under the blankets, the injured animal proceeded to jump on top of them, gouging holes in the furniture and smearing blood all over the walls.

The next thing Mr Ettlin heard was his 10-year-old son Leighton screaming from his bed: "There's a 'roo in my room!'"

"I thought, this can be really dangerous for the whole family now," the 42-year-old said.

A chef, originally from the Swiss city of Stans, Mr Ettlin followed the thrashing and bleeding two metre tall marsupial and wrestled it into a headlock before dragging it down the hallway and out the front door.

Left wearing just his shredded underpants and with scratch marks on his leg and buttocks, Mr Ettlin described himself as "lucky".

"I had just my Bonds undies on. I felt vulnerable," he said.

As quickly as it had come, the kangaroo vanished into a nearby reserve and the family reported the intrusion to police and wildlife authorities.

Ms Beman praised her husband's courage and said she didn't know many men who would go head-to-head with a kangaroo.

"I think he's a hero, a hero in Bonds undies," she said.