MountainInstructors.co.uk News

Rock climbing on mountain crags in Cumbria - April 2011

2011-05-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

We've been making the most of the dry spell to get to some of the remoter mountain crags in Cumbria;

High Crag, Buttermere

Borrowdale - Shepherd's Crag - 3 routes including 'Kransic Crack Direct' (5a)

Ennerdale - Boat Howe - remote, fantastic rough rock, limited protection, and beware the grades!

Buttermere - High Crag - a fantastic crag. 2 routes including 'Foul Play' (5b) a superb route.

Wasdale - Buckbarrow - 2 routes including 'The Mysteron' (5b)

Langdale - White Ghyl - another 2 routes, including 'Do Not Direct' (5b)

and a quick trip to Trowbarrow - Assagai Wall (5a?)

High Crag, sheltering from strong winds!

The rain arrived yesterday which meant it's time to do some paperwork.

Recce routes on Ben Nevis

2011-02-28T21:28:00.000-08:00

Headed up Ben Nevis with Bryn from MLTA to check out climbing routes and areas.

Whilst sitting eating a late lunch, contemplating the great views and planning a casual walk down to the car we heard "Help. Hey can you rescue us" Two guys had got stuck on some slabby rock without any protection so Bryn and I headed over to help them down to safety. I climbed across to one of them, put a rope over him, hammered a medium hex in and then decended out of the way whilst he was roped down.

My Hex is just above him, if you find it I'd be pleased to get the Krab & Hex back

Glover's Chimney IV, Ben Nevis

2011-02-27T22:03:00.000-08:00

Today Ian had a quiet day whilst Ann and I headed up Ben Nevis to climb Glover's Chimney IV

Number 3 buttress, Glover's climbs the dark, steep area on the middle/right

Pitch 1 of Thompson's

This great route climbs the buttress to join No 3 Gully buttress for the last pitch. I feel the direct finish is the best finish.

Final direct pitch, after joinign No. 3 Gully Buttress

Whilst sitting on the summit, taking in the rope for Ann, a helicopter came in and collected a climber who'd fallen on North Gully and broken his ankle. Chatting later over food it turned out another instructor, Dan Robinson, who I was eating with had witnessed the fall and arranged the rescue.

Aonach Mor - the Web and other excitement

2011-02-26T21:50:00.000-08:00

Today I was working for Alan Kimber and took Ann and her son Ian climbing at Aonach Mor.

There's been lots of snow blowing around so we headef off to The Web (Grade III) and did the first pitch before heading off to the main area where the wind had been moving more snow around.

Soon we saw worring snow "sloughs" coming from the cornices above and down the gullys.
Take care tomorrow folks, we saw 4 small avalanches and heard a few "crumps" before we decided to exercise caution and take a safe route out.

Leading in winter - Aonach Mor

2011-02-20T19:39:00.000-08:00

Today it was blowing hard, but we went out to climb and explore the area near Golden Oldie, a route Kai would like to lead someday soon.

The winds got stronger and we reverted to plan B, and practiced winter skills and shelters.

In the Gondola going down

The descent in the Gondola was the windy-est, most swaying I've ever experienced.

Leading in Winter - Curved Ridge

2011-02-18T21:32:00.000-08:00

Today Kai and Claudia climbed Curved Ridge on the 'Buchail.

We topped out in poor visibility and practiced using a Satmap navigation system for the walk off. Very impressed.

Practicing leading in winter - The Nid

2011-02-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

signpost on Aonach Mor

Today I was out with Alan Kimber of West Coast Mountain Guides and 2 clients, Kai and Claudia.

I've never seen so much Arcteryx kit on one person - if they make underpants, boots and socks maybe Kai would've been 100% Arcteryx-man.

This was Claudia (Kai's girlfriend)'s first experience of Scottish winter and she's a fast learner.

We headed off to the Nid area to practice basic winter skills and to ascend up the gently mixed groud, learning techniques.

We did a stacked abseiled into Easy Gully and climbed up out from the rocky buttress.

in Easy Gully

On the walk out we met some Dutch climbers who were using their Lowe Carry-On bag as their winter packs.

Alan Kimber with the new Alpine Attach pack from Lowe

Technique practice

2011-02-13T22:28:00.000-08:00

Ian making the moves on steep ice

Yesterday was a long day for Ian, Paul was ill, and today the weather wasn't loking good, so we headed to the indoor ice to practice footwork, using 2-tools, and other steeper climbing techniques.

Vomiting and Boomerang Gully

2011-02-12T23:15:00.000-08:00

We were up early this morning and headed off aiming to be the first on Dorsal Arete in SCNL. On the way there we sought out toilets in Ballachulish but the smell of fried potatoes was just too much for Paul, so we detoured back to Roy Bridge.
After this Ian and I arived at the crag later and I have NEVER seem such a crowded route, so we diverted to Boomerang Gully, a very pleasant route itself.

Ian high up on Boomerang Gully

Golden Oldie

2011-02-11T07:44:00.000-08:00

Today I joined a Plas y Brenin group led by Dave Evans and Dave Rudkin on the West Face of Aonach Mor

I went up the superd "Golden Oldie" alongside Dave E, Mike and his son.

Dave E & Mike

Mike & his son

Dave Rudkin took a party up the ridge alongside.

Dave Rudkin & party

Guided Climbing on Ben Nevis & Aonach Mor

2011-01-31T23:30:00.000-08:00

Working for Adam Hughes this weekend.
Callum hasn't done much winter climbing for many years but he's a very experienced fell runner so confident on his feet and keen.

On Saturday we headed up Ben Nevis in a whiteout and climbed Number 2 Gully Buttress, a great route.

Sunday saw us on Aonach Mor along with Adam and his other instructors (Kenny, Campbell, and Adam). The forecast was for strong winds so we were all concerned that the gondola might shut early but Callum and I climbed Tunnel Vision and Left Twin, and were in the cafe enjoying cake and coffee before catching the last gondola down.

Climber ahead of us on Tunnel Vision

Winter Mountaineering - Day 5

2011-01-14T22:28:00.000-08:00

A poor weather forecast, but we went to Stob Coire nan Lochan and had a fantastic mountain day using skills learned this week.
The weather was wet as we stepped out of the minibus and headed up the path, but it was kind to us with breaks in the cloud as we got higher, and gave us a wonderful challenge with 35 mph wind and hail on the summit.

The North East ridge was wonderful with the chance to use many of the skills we'd practiced.

asending the Nort East ridge

On the summit we experienced the wind, and hail.

Adam felt some hail sting through his Goretex and fleece as we moved on and down.

A swift adjustment of the rope before navigating around the corrie rim and down the ridge to the West and North.

A great Scottish mountaineering day, with the challenge of the weather adding to the day.

A mug of tea and detailed chat about the day and week before we said gooodbye, maybe to meet in a few weeks on a winter Climbing course.

TOP TIP - don't let your clothes get too wet under your goretex jacket.

You'll feel cold even in the Instructor's warm belay jacket (and he may be quietly frustrated if you damage his expensive inner down vest).

Winter Skills - Day 4

2011-01-13T23:16:00.000-08:00

Weather was terrible today and outside the rain hammered loud on the roof and windows.

We headed off to the local ice climbing wall where we practiced rope techniquest, climbed indoor rock roues, and then kitted up and went into the massive freezer box to climb with one and two ice tools.

Winter Skills - Day 3

2011-01-12T20:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was glorious and we ascended the Zig-Zags in Glencoe, where the student saw the use of a rope over short steps.
Today we explained some of the detail and headed into Glencoe to practice bucket seats, buried ice axes, snow bollards, and snow shelters.

The freezing level has moved above the summits today but it didn't stop us from having a great day.

Winter Skills - day 2

2011-01-11T23:50:00.000-08:00

Scotland, 11th January 2011

Today's weather was FANTASTIC and much better than expected as we headed into Glencoe to ascend the Zig-Zags (grade 1) to put into practice the footwork skills introduced yesterday;

We also used a rope on short steps.

Roped support on the Zig Zags

Asending into the sun

Across the tops

camera didn't "stitch" the panorama so well this time

Winter Skills - day 1

2011-01-11T21:52:00.000-08:00

Monday's weather was not good but we got a good day practicing basic skill, walking both with and without crampons, and doing ice axe arrests.

Ropes on the Nid

2011-01-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

Today we got the ropes out on the Nid area, Scotland

Recent Photos of winteer

2011-01-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

Aonach Mor, Scotland - Mark from Lowe on a Grade 3 on the East Face

Blea Water, Lake Distict - fantastic route, frozen tarn

Cautley Spout, Yorkshire - 6am, done before going to the office at 9.10

Dollywaggon Gully, Lake District - the crux, dry

Dollywagon Gully, Lake District - approach

View from Great End, Cumbria - 20 December 2010

Great End, Cumbria - the 3rd route of the day

Helveyn, Cumbria - December 2010

Sunset from the summit, Lake Distririct - December 2010

practicing Emeregency shelters - December 2010

Sunset - Cumbria

Aonach Mor - East Face 2011

Prayer Flags; Hot Chocolate; but a Sad Day

2010-10-17T05:33:00.000-07:00

We met at Esquires Coffee shop (opens at 8.00 so a great meeting place) before heading into the Langdale valleys.
Richard and Pav didn't want to do anything too hard so it was OK to bring Pip, hill & home companion since 2001 in Colorado, for a the walk.

Pip - a companion from Colorado 2001

We headed up Stickle Ghyl and on the way climbed a few short waterfalls - beware, they're greener and slippyer than I've ever seen them. And carried on up the stream bed, rock hopping like the children we are inside.

We stopped for lunch on top of Pavey Ark before heading over to Pike O Stickle where to our surprise there are some Prayer Flags.

It's nice having this splash of colour on a Lakeland summit but I hope it's temporary and not the start of a trend. I hope whoever put them up has taken them down to save them for another time in the future.

And so back down for some brief "retail therapy" before returning to the start at Esquires.

A very sad end to the day. Later in the evening whilst I was sitting at the computer with Pip sleeping nearby, this friend, companion and confidant awoke suddenly and died. I think of a heart atttack.

I miss her.

Pip - 2001 to 17.10.10 - Rip

Scrambling in Wales

2010-10-10T04:41:00.000-07:00

OK - I admit to being "computer challenged" and that I'd rather be outside than working on a keyboard or website. But Dan found me via my website and got a group of friends together for a fun 2-days scrambling in Wales.

We met Friday night at the Bryn Tyrch - fantastic food, so good that I think there are now 6 blokes from London way who recon there's nowhere else worth eating in Snowdonia.

I'll have to get them to Petes Eats another time

Although Dan had only booked me they sounded an adventurous bunch and would benefit from a ratio of 3:1, so Andy T joined me.

On Tryfan's Adam (or is it Eve?)

Day 1 - Tryfan East Face. We navigated up Heather Terrace before selecting a route from the scrambles guide book. After practicing with ropes we headed up the scramble to join Tryfan's North Ridge near the summit. The teams learned fast and were soon ascending steep ground, in some cases up to Grade 3 / Diff. Then we headed over the top, past Adam & Eve, before heading down, and another meal at the Bryn Tyrch!

Day 2 - after a long discussion the night before in the Bryn Tyrch we headed off to Idwal Slabs and Ordinary Route (Diff). The teams led themselves, with Andy and I soloing alongside placing protection and building the belays.

Tiny yellow & orange dots are my team taking the steep route

A gread "lads weekend" and an extreemly impressive result from 6 novice scrambler/climbers.

Cotswold Outdoors - Staff activities

2010-10-08T04:15:00.000-07:00

In my "other life" I'm a gear person, previously for Petzl's UK company, and now for Lowe Alpine.
Imagine having a job where you can indulge your gear-freak tendancies and learn the intimate ins and outs of a product? And even sometimes test to destruction (yup, a hammer is often involved). Yipee.

This week I've been in Snowdonia scrambling, breaking kit, tugging ropes, demonstrating the use of technical climbing kit, and informing a load of shop staff on the intricasies of Lowe Alpine backpacks.

The retail shop Cotswold have been expanding across the UK and now have 50+ stores. This week they brought together a person from almost every store to do some on-the-hill activities, as well as indoors close and detailed training.

Katie & Roger on The Cannon

Scrambling on Tryfan North ridge

We were asked, for the second year, to do special backpack training and also provide a day of scrambling. To get the groups to a more manageable size there were 3 of us; Andy Cave; Andy Turner; and me.

Roger - stepping across Adam & Eve - mega drop!

Fantastic days, great people, and well done Cotswold for their staff training.

First Aid course

2010-10-03T04:05:00.000-07:00

Damp weather in Wales for a REC Mountain First Aid course which included;

tying a casualties boots together before asking him to hop off the mountain

Wrapping a casualty in baco foil before considering whether gas mark 5 is the same as 190 degrees in a fan oven.

4x4 Off Road in the National Parks

2010-09-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

OFF-road enthusiasts claim they are being persecuted and forced off the hills after a landmark High Court ruling. An appeal in London has decreed that 4x4s should be banned from an iconic Lakeland route after a legal battle which has rumbled on for five years.

There's a survey being done on the access for 4x4 off-road vehicles in the Lakes District, and currently 79% of people say off-road vehicles should be allowed on green lanes in national parks.

I'm in favour of everyone enjoying their activities in a responsible way, but if the 4x4 lobby appear to have overwhelming (eg 79%) approval for this type of access then there is potential for this to be used as a stick by irresponsible users claiming they have general acceptance of this type of use.

Organized activities and responsible use is good, but indescriminate careless abuse is not. Please get voting.

Trowbarrow - Learning to Lead

2010-09-06T13:36:00.000-07:00

Laura wanted to lead something a bit harder today so she rigged up a 3-point abseil with a retrievable rope and we placed nuts and cams on abseil.

She then led Coral Sea - VS 4c. A rather polished mid-grade limestone route in the wonderful sun-catching Trowbarrow quarry.

Scrambling with Berghaus staff

2010-08-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

The gear company Berghaus give their staff a chance to regularly get out on outdoor activities.

Today Richard I were working for John White and took 7 Berghaus staff scrambling.

Across on Helvellyn another (sizable) group went up Striding Edge and down Swirral Edge.

The Berghaus staff came from everywhere; including head office, Customer Services, marketing, and from the London shop where 2 of them work in the Covent Garden store.

They were very competent and quick

Lead Climbing on Mountain Routes

2010-08-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

Richard is back for his 4th summer in the Lakes with his family. Whilst here he takes the opportunity, after a week, to have some "personal time" to climb with me. We've climbed for a total of 5~6 weekends and explored a lot of different places.
This weekend we visited 5 crags, climbed 22-pitches on routes from Diff to Hard Severe; gathered 17 'quality stars'; did 2 abseils; 'ticked' Classic Rock; had some very nice walking; and it was sunny!

Crossing Ash Tree Ledge

Saturday 14th - we climbed Middlefell Buttress Diff 75m 3-stars on Raven Crag. This route makes a very pleasant warm up ascent towards Gimmer Crag. Whilst it might not be as fast as the plod up the paths it is much more fun.

Richard and Steve Stoat at the bottom of A,B,E etc routes

At Gimmer we climbed Ash Tree Slabs VD+ 48m 3-stars, a lovely route that's in "Classic Rock". Next we headed over to "A" Route HS 75m 3-stars, a climb which finished by the block and chain at the top. A long abseil took us withing inches of Richard's pack on Ash Tree Ledge. We kept out harnesses on for the next short abseil down to the South East face of Gimmer to continue across to the walking path and on down to the car at Old Dungeon Ghyl pub.

Total for the day; 11-pitches of climbing, 9-stars, and 2 abseils

Sunday 15th - after a lot of thought we settled on a mountain day with the minimum of driving/walking time before starting climbing. Our first crag was Upper Scout - Route 1 VD+ 50m 3-stars.

Upper Scout - Richard & lady from Leeds Alpine Club,

Next we headed uphill and across into White Ghyll and The Slabs Route 1 Sev 69m 3-stars. It was so sunny and warm we were glad the route was still in the shade, but we topped out to strong sunlight and a storm of flying ants so thick we soon had them all over us (note to self - shorts aren't great when the insects are flying).

Richard leading on White Ghyll

A dash from the top of White Ghyll and a nice walk took us over to Pavey Ark aiming for Crescent Slabs but we decided the dripping dampness and grass wasn't as appealing as Stoat's Crack HS 112m 2-stars. I climbed SC a few weeks ago and it was wonderfully clean and pleasant, but in the meantime we've had a lot of rain; it was still damp and the soil and vegitation has increased, and to add to that a swarm of midges came out (note about shorts again!). Wildlife should be supported, but I'd prefer they didn't feed off my blood! We dashed for the top where a breeze got rid of the midges and had a very pleasant walk back down to the New Dungeon Ghyll pub.
Total for the day; 11-pitches of climbing, 8-stars, and a nice walk.

Family Mountain Days

2010-08-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

Sue is back for the 3rd adventure.... first it was "Scotland in Winter" with her husband & friends who have been clients for many years; then a "Girls fun day" this spring; and now a 2 day "family fun" trip with Ian and their 17 and 20 year old sons.

Ian & Sue climbing at Kendal Wall

We started the night before at Kendal Climbing wall so Sue's son Andrew could chat with my daughter (who's at Welbeck DSFC) about similar career ideas they have.

Thursday 12th - The forecast for Thursday wasn't great but we made a dash for Pinnacle Ridge with Andrew practicing his map reading, leading us up Grisedale and navigating us to St Sunday Crag. We scrambled in waterproofs, ready for rain, but it held off until we summitted on The Cape (841). When we took our waterproofs off it seemed to be a signal for a very heavy downpor that made us scramble for jackets - a great fashion collection with Event; TriplePoint; GoreTex and Paramo jackets.

Matt and Andrew on the pinnacles

Sue, above the steep bit

Friday 13th - we drove round to Borrowdale and walked up the beautiful valley of Langstrath to scramble up Cam Crag Ridge and cross the ridge up to Glaramara to drop down into Combe Gill.

Before hitting the valley bottom we visited Dovenest Crag, where we did a wonderfully adventurous scramble through one of the large cracks. Reading the guidebook afterwards I was surprised to see it's a Grade 2 Scramble - I felt it warranted a "3" along with a seriousness warning - a mistake on the top part could have serious consequences.

Ummm not sure what Matt's doing, is it a student thing?

We then walked down the valley, passing Glaciated Slabs (with a Grade 2 Scramble and some easy climbs I've not visited yet) on a nice gentle path to finish back at the cars. A great day out with an adventurous family, with a couple of scrambles and a walk taking in 2 valleys.

Family Scrambling - Lakes

2010-08-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

Great day scrambling with Steve, Jacqueline and their 2 children.

squeezing throught the dog-flap!

It's been raining recently so the ghylls are fuller than normal at this time of year, even if the reservoirs aren't full enough to lift the hozepipe ban in Cumbria. We scrambled up a Ghyll with some (roped) climbs up waterfalls, which felt like a rainy day.

Video - How a karabina is made

2010-07-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

Have a look at how DMM makes Karabinas and you’ll be amazed they’re so cheap in the shops!

http://vimeo.com/1794697 from Dave Gill on Vimeo.
Krabs Carabinas Inspecting climbing equipment; making carabinas, scramble alloys,

Catching up with myself!

2010-07-31T05:42:00.000-07:00

Time has flewn past, even with the intermittently wet weather we've still had loads of great days out.

Kransic Crack, VS 4c

Laura's been developing her lead climbing at Shepherd's Crag - Fisher's Folly and Kransic Krack (Borrowdale rock); at Trowbarrow - Jean Jeanie and Coral Sea (Limestone); I should mention that whilst JJ is a fantastic classic it will fall down one day, just make sure you're not there when it does!; and at Castle Rock.

Trowbarrow - Coral Sea

Shepherds Crag - Fisher's Folly VS 4c, 4c

She's learning fast and, additional to the above, we've climbed together in Langdale and on Idwal Slabs in Snowdonia.

And I've managed to get out and climb more classic routes in between everything.

Castle Rock - North Crag Eliminate E1 4b,5a,5b

........stand on the tip of the tree, don't imagine how you'd be impaled if you slipped whilst you stretch above the overhang, 40 metres above the ground, then swing rightwards in space before moving up

Inspecting Climbing Gear

2010-07-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

Want to check your climbing kit - see videos from petzl: http://bit.ly/dsWVsh

It includes video about Inspecting Ropes, Helmets etc etc. haven't managed to look at it myself yet because of slow internet access here at a stiflingly hot German OutDoor trade show.
I'm at a trade show, not open to the public, where everything Outdoor (Bikes to Bogey Boards; Bicycles to Bivy Bags; Fleece jackets to Family tents) is presented to European retailers and promote their products for 2011.
When I get a quiet moment I'll be heading around this massive show to see what new wonderful climbing / scrambling / mountain gear might be coming out next year.

Mountain Day - Wet but Fun

2010-07-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

Today I took a group of 10 "executives" on a long mountain day walking over Lingmoor, through the "squeeze" on Side Pike, and to the top of Pike of Blisco before returning to the valley. We were in dense clouds on the final summit which necessitated compass bearing and altitute work to ensure we stood on the correct top (many people stand on a subsidiary thinking it's the summit)

A great group, it rained all day but nothing dampened their enthusiasm.

Pike of Blisco

Lingmoor Fell

Decending Pike of Blisco The "squeeze" on Side Pike

Lower Scout Crag - Learning to Lead

2010-07-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

Today we headed to Lower Scout in Langdale.
We started with movement skills and body positioning on the lower boulders. Next we placed 'nuts and 'cams and built a belay. Then L used the retrievable abseil technique we practiced yesterday (with a prussick for safety) to abseil down a route, stopping to place gear and extenders.

I then abseiled down, checking the gear and advising on positioning before L led the route on the gear they'd pre-placed.

So from starting with a 'Diff' on Monday L is now leading Severe + and self-protecting on abseil.

A fast learner (forgot my camera again!)

Learning Abseiling skills

2010-07-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

Today L practice, and did, a retrievable abseil, including the use of a prussick for self protection. Due to rain we went to Kendal Wall and climbed indoors, this included a 22 metre lead up a steep wall (French 5+ grade) by L.
With the (secretive) backup support of another instructor I took an opportunity to make a surprise fall from an overhanging wall so she could experience (and hold!) a falling lead climber. Apparently the fall was spectacular.

Raven Crag, Rock Climbing Course

2010-07-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

Headed to Langdale to practice leading rock climbs. This was L's first lead climbing.

Laura practicing leading on Raven Crag.

A day with no Mountains! or rock

2010-07-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

Went to my daughters Annual General Inspection. They did extreemly well, the weather was perfect and the aircraft fly-past was superb. (Few photos because there are under 18's included).

A great day.

Borrowdale - Shepherds Crag, 10-stars

2010-06-29T23:16:00.000-07:00

Climbed this evening with Kendal Mountaineering Club at Shepherds
No photos as I forgot my camera but climber but climbed

Fisher's Folly VS 4c 3*

Creeping Jesus HVS 5a 2*

but not The Grasp E1 5b 2*

Adam VS 4c, 5a 3*

Failed on The Grasp, with a fall and the top gear pinging out. Fortunatelly tyhat part of the route is steep so I didn't touch rock on the fall.

Helvellyn by Striding Edge

2010-06-27T23:38:00.000-07:00

Striding Edge on Helvellyn is a 3-star Grade 1 scramble which concludes near this popular summit. A good combination is to link it with a descent of Swirral Edge.

The weather was good, and England was playing today in theWorld Cup (don't mention the result!) so today it was nice and quiet , there was even enough space to sit in the shelter to eat sandwiches.

The awkward step (see the man on the Right for a good decent) Walking along the ridge

Scafell Pike

2010-06-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

Wow! Thousands of people on Scafell today - being one of the longer days in the year the 3-Peak challenge (Ben Nevis, Scafell, Snowdon) groups were out in force, the roads were packed with minibuses, and a long line of peole was heading up and down the paths.

Central Buttress 122m E1 4b,5b,4c,5a 3*

Botterill's Slab 87m VS 4b, 4c 3*

Black Crag, Rhino's

2010-06-24T23:15:00.000-07:00

Went to Black Crag this evening.

This single pitch crag dries fast and is easily accessed from the 3-Shires Stones area where there's parking for a handful of cars.
Good is; access, reduced "midge" (due to breezes), high friction rock, and cool when the weather's too hot.
Avoid it when it's windy, when clouds are low, and when it's cold. Great for a summer's evening.

Evening Climbing on Gimmer (12 * stars)

2010-06-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

Dashed around to Old Dungeon Ghyl and Gimmer this evening to climb 4 three-star routes. ;

Whit's End Direct E1 5B

We walked up to Raven Crag to scramble up our first route to get us high before traversing around to Gimmer.

Middlefell Buttress 75m Diff 3*

Bracket & Slab (direct start) 97m 4b (1st pitch) 3*

Whit's End Direct 43m E1 5b 3*

"F" Route 40m VS 4c 3*

Abseiling down to Ash Tree Ledge Days end

More swift climbing

2010-06-20T21:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a fantastic weekend of looking at moving efficiently on rock.

The total for our weekend of climbing Diff to VS routes

25 pitches 5 crags

23 "stars" 8 routes

4 abseils

not bad for leasurely starts and being back in the pub before 5pm!

We climbed on Scout Crags; Gimmer; White Ghyll; Pavey Ark and Raven Crag

The list reads like a navigation through the Langdale routes of Classic Rock Climbing in Langdale

The Slabs, Route 1 - 3-stars Stoat's Crack - 2-stars

Route 1 (Scout Crag) - 3-star Middlefell Buttress - 3-star

"D" Route - 3-star Ash Tree Slabs- 3-star

North West Arete- 3-star Bracket & Slab- 3-star

So I'm off for an early night and back on the rock on Tuesday - the weather looks excellent for the Lakes this week.

Swift Climbing - Langdale

2010-06-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

Today I was out with Nick & Jon, and Chris Ensoll in Langdale where we practiced climbing swiftly and efficiently.

Our first route was a 2-pitch climb, we arrived at the crag to gear up and 50 minutes later were siting at the top with the ropes packed, munching sandwiches.

We then walked to White Ghyll where Jon led Nick & I on a 4-pitch route, completed very efficiently.... we were moving well.

After a leisurely start, leaving the car park around 10am, we'd been to 2 different crags, climbed 2 routes (total 6-pitches) as a rope of 3, and it was nearly time for lunch before heading off to Pavey Ark

Stoat's Crack is a nice 5 pitche route and it was my turn to lead - Great! Warm rough rock, and soon our rope of 3 was at the top , so we headed up to Pavey's summit, down Jack's Rake and had another lunch sandwich before decending to the pub for an afternoon drink.

Summary - a late morning start and afternoon finish, 11 pitches, 3 crags, a rope of 3, and lots of breaks to chat and eat.

What a fantastic way to enjoy a sunny day!

Lakes Scrambles

2010-06-12T00:03:00.000-07:00

Four linked scrambles today, checking them out for future adventures.

I started with a wonderful exploration of a deep ghyl at Grade 1;

then onto the open fell and an outstanding Grade 3 on rough rock, finishing near a sumit before walking across and down a scree shute - where I was very surprised to find a very square cave, fantastic place for a lunch break on a damp day. Then I followes a sheep track to what i thought would be a remote and hard to find scramble. As i stepped over teh final heather to the start of the rocky ridge I almost stepped on a sleeping scrambler - the first I'd seen on rock today, and the most remote place too!

He suggested another route in the same area so after summiytting I was off for the 4th scramble of the day. A wonderfull link-up of routes

Grade 1 - ghyl

Grade 2/3 - open rock face to summit

Grade 3+ to another summit

Grade 3

Then down for a pint!

On the way I saw loads of our carniverous plants - shown are Sundew and Liverwort - plants that "catch" and digest insects.

Climbing Improvers - Snowdonia

2010-05-31T23:14:00.000-07:00

Matt and Neil have completed Scrambling, Climbing, and Winter Skills courses with me in the past but only Matt could make it for a 2-day "improvers" climbing session. The aim was to get maximum climbing in different venues, to improve Matt's confidence, gear placement, and ability to lead.

So, 2-days to get lots of climbing done......

We started at Idwal Slabs on Hope - V. Diff. This enabled Matt to get his head and body "warmed up" to climbing, and experience longer routes.

Next we were in the Moelwyns, above Blaenau Ffestiniog with beautiful views and the whistle of the narrow guage steam train passing below. Matt got used to the very different rock, and gear placements on Asahel - Severe. Then he led all 3 pitches of Africa Rib - V Diff.

Matt on the sharp end

Next was Milestone Buttress and Direct Route - V Diff (WARNING - not easy, very polished, and more akin to many Hard Severe routes). Matt led the fine cracks on pitch 1 and, higher up, the challenging corner chimney.

Then we were off to Dinas Cromlech, the spectacular location of Cenotaph Corner in Llanberis pass, where we alternated leads on Spiral Stairs - V Diff; and Flying Buttress - V Diff.

Climb all these routes and you'll "bag" lots of stars and many routes from the book Classic Rock.

We managed to climb loads of areas and crags, with Matt experiencing a great variety of routes & developing his confidence and leading to much higher level that ever before.

He and Neil will be back in late July for another week-end of climbing.

Scrambling Expedition

2010-05-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

Back out today with Dave & Nigel, we headed up to Borrowdale (after finding the early morning cafe in Keswick) with the intentio of getting maximum scrambling variety and distance; increasing the practice of yesterdays skills.

Dovesnest Crag is vey atmospheric and a place with lots of variety. But read the guidebook carefully, it is not a place to go wrong on.
Our first ascent took us through steep climbing ground by an intricate route, next we headed up the side and then on and over the grassy ridge to drop down to the base on Cam Crag Ridge in the next valley. This is a wonderful ridge with a variety of grades up it. We headed up and then followed the hillocky ridge back down past a group climbing on Glaciated Slabs. A long but very full day.

Grade 3 Scrambling on St Sunday Crag

2010-05-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

We headed up Pinnacle Ridge today, it's a fantastic scramble. Dave & Nigel practiced finding the route in the guide book and we did some brief revision of scrambling rope work before heading up the route. As predicted the weather changed in teh early afternoon and it snowed! There was sufficient grauple for it to build up on backpacks but everyone enjoyed the day, with me stepping into the lead whenever concerns were raised.

I've been late with blogs but will try to add photos and more later.

Day out with European Media writers

2010-04-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

Today I joined with Andy Cave to take a group of media writers up Stickyle Ghyl and towards Pavey Ark. They were visiting the Lakes to write about environmental issues and the Lake district.
Weather was typically "Lakes" whilst they were here and immediatelly returned to clear skies when they left!

We scrambled up the ghyl and admired the views.

Cumbria & Lakes conditions 1-3 May holiday

2010-04-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

Saturday 1st - expect it to be wet and cool
Sunday 2nd - a better day as high pressure moves in, winds may be coming from the North - expect a dry, cool day with gentle winds - a good day to get out
Monday 3rd - probably similar to Sunday

Hope you have a great long-weekend.
I'll be working Sat & Sun on an advanced scrambling course.

I've been out climbing in NE Cumbria and also with media people today - but more later when I can download the pictures.

Kings M

2010-04-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not giving too much information for this wonderful isolated crag.
It's nice limestone, overlooking the river and with a nearby pub for refreshments.
The sandstone base makes for an unusual start to the climbs and scramble back a short distance at the top for tree belays.

We ascended Marik; Steph; Double Jeopardy; and Ivy Crack.

Enjoy it if you find it, navigate to avoid the small nettle patch though!

Single Pitch Rock Climbing, Lake District

2010-04-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

Headed off to Long Crag to enjoy the rest of the sun.

Jane - her first abseil ever.

Paula - she won the "Unusual Noises Award". We wondered if there was going to be a new baby born on the crag.

I should mention in fairness that Paula is "height challenged" and fought very well and completed the climb.

Jane, setting off up a climb, with Nicole checking her knee for grazes.

Rock Climbing on Pavey Ark

2010-04-25T03:45:00.000-07:00

The recent dry weather meant Pavey came into condition and many routes were climbed.
Unfortunatelly this morning's rain has probably made the crag damp again.

Photos are of the Stoat's Crak / Rake End Wall area.

Scrambling in South Lakes

2010-04-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

Glorious day out with Paula, Sue, Jane, Nicole and Sarah. We started the day scrambling up a ghyl near to where they camped overnight. The riverbed was dryer than I've seen it before which allowed us to ascend water shutes and explore areas I've not been to before.

A bit of ropework for extra confidence & security allowed everyone to climb some challenging ground.

Next we headed off to Jack's Rake, a fantastic (and popular) scramble up and across the large face of Pavey Ark

On the way back down to the Sticklebarn pub for a well earned drink we slid through a dog-gate (well, almost all of us!). For a laugh(?)

Cumbria and Lakes conditions 22~25 April

2010-04-21T23:53:00.000-07:00

Frost on the car and blue skies today.

Weather looks good for Thu, Fri, Sat with cool nights and dry days across Cumbria & Snowdonia.

Warmer at the weekend. If you're planning to get out in the Lakes or Wales this weekend then Saturday should be the better day as rain might arrive on Sunday morning.

I'm busy on Saturday - Paula has booked another fun trip. It's wonderful when clients either progress through their climbing/scrambling/navigation, or try different areas and actvities. Over the past 2 years with Paula's family and friends I've;

Taken her husband & friends scrambling & wild camping weekend including Scafell Pike.

Family weekend with their 2 children scrambling & rock climbing, including Crib Goch and Snowdon.

4-day winter skills trip for 5 friends, enjoying winter conditions in the Cairngorms, Aonach Mor, and summitting Ben Nevis.

Supported their charity walk of the Yorkshire 3 Peaks (Ingleborough, Pen y Ghent, Whernside).

Saturday will be another day of adventure with 5 ladies (they've promised to behave.... a little bit) we've planned a ghyl trip followed by a scramble and some short rock climbs. Suncream, water, rock, and great laughs.

I'm Available for Climbing, Scrambling, or Navigation on Sunday

Raven Crag, Langdale the Lake District

2010-04-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

A nice dry day today in the Lakes. It was 5 degrees early this morning as I took the dog out for a jog, and 4 degrees at 9pm. Although sunny it remained cool throughout the day; expect a light frost under clear skies tonight .

On Crinkle Crags and Bowfell there are still patches of snow in the gulleys

Made the most of the light and climbed a route above the Old Dungeon Ghyll pub; Odin (VS 4c, 4b), is a pleasantly challenging route located just left of Evening Wall, a classic Severe.

It started to turn chilly at 7pm and an hour later, as we headed down in the decending darkness, we called up to a party on Pluto, a fantastic HVS 5a (but not a route to climb in the dark!) and saw another party on Middlefell Buttress, a Diff with lots of big stances which make it a great route for instructing, learning to lead, practicing route navigation, and placing climbing protection.

There's a strong half-moon tonight and the climbers should all be in the pub cuddling a beer by now.

Looking towards Ambleside and over the fells

Climbing & Scrambling conditions - LAKES

2010-04-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

This is a guide only, please use your own judgement when selecting places to go and routes to do.
Should be some good rock climbing this week.
PAST; cold winter will have opened up some cracks, beware loose rock especially early season. Some climbs are still a bit dusty/dirty from past water run-offs.
RECENT; weather has been good for a while now so most of the rock is dry.
PREDICTION; expecting a dry week, with nice temperatures mid-day and little wind. Temperatures will drop noticeably in the evening. It's dark at 8.30pm
LOCATIONS;
NORTH / CENTRAL Multi Pitch - Castle Rock of Triermain good afternoon crag. Easy routes on South Crag can be tricky to arrange protection.
SOUTH Single Pitch - Trowbarrow is an evening sun-trap with great climbs. It's becoming polished, BEWARE as section "Main Wall" may have loosened in the cold winter. Views from the cliff-top are superb.

Hope you get to visit these places & have a great season. If you want instruction (Lakes, Snowdonia, Scotland) please get in touch. Courses & dates are tailor made for you.
Roger C

Borrowdale - Black Crag - The Shroud (VS) & something dirty & green!

2010-04-18T05:21:00.000-07:00

Troutdale Pinnacle

A dry but but chilly forecast, following some dry & warm days in the Lakes, means drainage lines should be dry, but head for low down crags until it gets warmer again.

We arrived at Black Crag before 9.00 to find a party high up on the crag and another pair at the bottom who shouted "Hey is that Roger"... It was Henry who'd been in Tien Shan with me a couple of years ago (see old Blog).

AVOID - Gleaned Grooves(VS) on the right of the crag (and Holly Tree Corner) as it's very mucky. We were forced to join the crowds on Troutdale Pinnicle by the incredible amount of moss and dirt - a route for plant enthusiasts.
Next I led Steve up The Shroud - a recommended route.

Henry - belayed on the penultimate stance - Troutdale Pinnacle

Tom about to step across & up - Troutdale Pinnacle

RECOMMENDED ROUTES

1. The Shroud, VS 4b, 4c, 4c is very good, the upper 2 pitches haven't seen a lot of ascents but you can string pitches together into 2 long ones (bring lots of extenders).

2. Troutdale Pinnacle, S (but not recommended as a first Severe lead, it needs an awareness of protecting traverses and has some invigorating moves).

Cumbria and Lakes conditions 16~18 April

2010-04-15T22:53:00.000-07:00

Weather looks excellent on Friday, clear dry and sunny.
Saturday - another very fine day.
Sunday - looks like there could be some rain in mid/late morning, which will also bring a reduction in temperatures.

Conditions look excellent for Rock Climbing and Scrambling, especially on ridges. Cliffs with a lot of moss and drainage might still be damp but remember to take suncream and a warm jacket for a great day out.

Evening Rock Climbing in the Lakes

2010-04-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

If you've been driving on the M6 Junction 36 (South Lakes turning) and wondered what the craggy hill is just to the East, it's Farlton Fell, a popular place for Paraponting (that's a scary sport!), Mountain Biking, short Walks, and Rock Climbing.

The steep and obvious "nose" in the col, and visible from the car, contains "Rose Amongst Thorns" VS 4b and Avoidance HS 4a - these were our routes tonight.

If you're on Farlton it's well worth walking to the top and a few hundred meters North for spectacular views down onto the roads, across to the Lakes, across the sea and Morecambe Bay to Barrow and to the Yorkshire National Park peaks of Ingleborough etc, fantastic!

Lowe Alpine - an attack of the fluffy microphone

2010-04-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Martyn has set off with Andy Cave for some filming in Scotland. But before leaving he scoured South Lakes and other parts of Cumbria for a microphone that would work in windy conditions.

Unfortunatelly the only one he could find was ill tempered and tried to attack him. I calmed it with a piece of chocolate which, for anyone knowing my chocolate addiction knows that was a huge sacrifice!

Climbing on Gimmer in Langdale

2010-04-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

Fantastic weather in the Lakes, the snow & ice climbing has gone from Cumbria and the rock climbing season has arrived, but there are still patches of snow in the gullys making for fantastic views.

Steve and I headed up to Gimmer to climb multi pitch routes to the left of the Cracks (mentioned in Classic Rock), followed by Ash Tree Slabs Direct, a nice VS 4b taking a direct route up the slab.

We met up with Mark, an instructor from Scotland, who climbed 3 classic Gimmer routes with a client from Climb 365 .

The weather looks good for the rest of the week, possibly turning cooler but staying dry. Maybe an opportunity to climb winter routes on Ben Nevis and rock routes in the valleys?

Snowdonia Rock Climbing - Tremadog

2010-04-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Above the climber is on and E4 to the right of Merlin, a superb HVS climb. We were heading rightwards on the slabs to experince a sunny Severe with nice friendly belay stances!

Tremadog is a superb and easily accessable climbing venue. There's a cafe and car park within 2 minutes of the crag where non-climbers (and relaxing climbers) can enjoy a snack or meal.

There are a huge number of climbs here, almost all of them enjoy fantastic views out over the fields to the sea, and Tremadog is well known for often being dry and sunny when it's wet and cold everywhere else.

There is also a hidden "Upper Tier" - a good beginners and group climbing venue.

Idwal Slabs - Ordinary Route

2010-04-06T19:39:00.000-07:00

Back at Idwal Slabs on Ordinary Route learning to lead.

Snowdonia Rock Climbing (?) Idwal Slabs

2010-04-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

The views driving up into Ogwen Valley, Snowdonia, were almost Alpine.

It was much warmer than it looked and we headed up to Idwal Slabs where we practiced placing rock climbing leading gear and retreavable abseil retreats.

Yes, there was snow at the bottom of the route and it snowed whilst we were climbing but Laura was warm and comfortable. She almost seemed dissapointed at the suggestion to "retire" for a warm drink and cake.

Cumbria & Lakes conditions 20/21 March

2010-03-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry no photos today!

It's turned warm here and winter climbing & mountaineering conditions are disappearing.

I think if you get out early Saturday morning there should be a 'window' of nice weather, but get down for coffee and cakes early before a band of rain hits.
Sunday should be good later in the day so a lay in bed could be on the cards.

I've not been booked (yet) for any scrambling, climbing or mountain navigation work so am considering climbing some Classic Rock routes on Saturday morning, maybe followed by a scramble. Then Sunday morning at the indoor climbing wall before working on overdue paperwork.

Hope you get out and have fun.

Updates for March

2010-03-14T16:19:00.001-07:00

Just updated the Blogs from 1st March with photos.

Sorry for the delay.

Hope everyone's having a great time - I'm hoping for another 4~6 weeks of winter, but I have got the Scrambling kit and Rock Climbing equipment out ready.

What a fantastic year we are having!

Rock Climbing in the Lakes

2010-03-13T23:08:00.000-08:00

Great weather in the Lakes, with plenty of blue skies in the morning, blankets of snowdrops at low levels, and snow on the tops.

Picture is of Crinkle Crags in Greater Langdale.

Perfect weather for (early morning) Ice Climbing followed by some Scrambling, and then Rock Climbing in the early afternoon sun.

Laura is including Rock Climbing in her selection of sports for PE A-level & AS exams so we headed out to develop and practice climbing techniques, and climb a route in Langdale

A well earned rest .

Lakes Mountain Conditions - Helvellyn & Climbing

2010-03-12T05:57:00.000-08:00

Helvellyn above Red Tarn

It looks green in the Cumbrian valleys but if you head upwards you'll find a good amount of snow and ice.

Photos are of Helvellyn above Red Tarn at 7.00 this morning. Number 2 gulley, V-corner etc look like they could be fun tomorrow morning - but I'd advise starting esarly for the best conditions and no crowds. It gets light around 06.30. The weather forecast is for a clear and cold night which should see a nice freeze.

Number 2 gully

On the tops the snow has blown across and the ground is well frozen so I'd expect great winter conditions with nice views for early risers. Don't forget your crampons though.

If you're looking for some "flat ice" to practice winter skills and especially crampon use (but possibly step cutting too) then I found some good sheets of ice above the path whilst walking. I was dashing down but if you are map reading or practicing your navigation I think you'll find it around Grid 355 158. But beware - always look at the ground below where you do any practicing and consider "what if" you trip or slip.

Striding Edge 12/3/10

I'm available for Winter Skills classes as well as Navigation, Scrambling, and Rock Climbing - but not this weekend. I can be contacted at info@MountainInstructors.co.uk

I'll be going rock climbing in the Lake District. Developing a climber who wants to progress to severe climbs, do retrievable abseiling ,and top ropeing. We'll also do some navigation, route finding, and although it will be chilly I expect to see a fair amount of sun.

Have a great weekend.

Winter Skills Day 3 - Aonach Mor

2010-03-07T23:31:00.000-08:00

An early start to catch the early gondola with the chairlift staff. Ian was disapointed that there was to be no early morning cafe stop today but we also caught the 4-seat chairlift, which surprisingly stopped, leaving us sitting there tantilizingly close to the drop-off point. We were soon walking up with the early ice climbers.

Conditions today were very serious on the top as we approached our latest Munro summit - Aonach Mor 1221mtrs 4006ft, 8th highest.

Total whiteouts are very unnerving, you can see literally nothing but white, you can't see an edge or horizon and could walk off a cliff. Paul, Ian and Martin took it in turns to navigate; walking on compass bearings and measuring distances by pacing. This is especiallt important when there are steep cliffs to either side of you. I ensured everything went well and we tried different techniquest to help in these tough condtions.

Ice formed on Paul and Martyn. The moderatelly strong winds were so cold and laden with moisture that ice formed on the wind-side of jackets etc. But we were cosy in our modern jackets and clothing.

On the way down we tried emergency winter shelters, and found some reasonably flat ice to practice step cutting wiht ice axes, a technique used if you come across a short patch of slippery ground where putting on/off crampons might not be considered.

Winter Skills Day 2 - Cairngorms

2010-03-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

ok you can turn the picture on it's side.

Day 2 - Armed with Ice Axes, Crampons etc. we headed off to the Cairngorms, 90 minutes away.
We arrived at 8.30 but the top car park was already full - an excellent bus service whisked us up the hill rapidly. I discovered none of the group had any breakfast and our exploration of mountain cafe's continued. We don't want to run out of energy, especially in winter, so Bacon Sarnies and hot drinks were ordered.

We up the snowy slopes into the clouds to spot height 1141, did crampon practice, hopped like frogs (you had to be there) and got giddy with games and got used to wearing crampons. Visibility during the ascent was very poor, but we were on snow just yards from the bus.

We navigated over to the summit of Cairngorm, in the top 10 highest peaks in the UK, where the visibility lifted giving momentary views of distant white summits.

Walking down from the summit we found our highest cafe (this was becoming a tour of mountain cafe's and cakes, but everyone was enjoying themselves). Then with beautiful clear skies we headed down to the cars.

A day of navigating in poor visibility, moving on snow slopes, using crampons and ice axes.

Winter Skills Day 1 - Nevis Range

2010-03-05T23:02:00.000-08:00

An organized group of 7 has arrived from the depths of South West Britiain. An EasyJet flight and hire car saw them arrive last night at a cosy cottage near Roy Bridge. The accents are an interesting contrast to the Scots, and the talk of surfboards has me confused.

This morning we sorted hire boots, crampons, ice axes, helmets, snow shovels, first aid kits etc. before heading up the convenient Nevis Range gondola. This also started our tour of Scottish mountain cafes - nice coffee and cakes!

We walked up to the high point, getting used to our axes and moving on snow whilst avoiding skiers who were coming down as we went up. At the top it was breezy and we stopped above Easy Gully to "enjoy" the delight of my 8-person group-shelter whilst grabbing a quick bite to eat and donning fresh gloves.

Beinn Udlaidh, Doctor's Dilemma

2010-03-04T20:57:00.000-08:00

There's still a lot of snow around and we wanted a short day that avoided any avalanche risk so have been back to Ben Udlaidh. Warning - avoid the left side and routes like Quartzvein Scoop,they are very full of snow and banked out. I suggest AVOIDING the left side of the clifff from Sunshine Gully.

The popular route today was Doctor's Dilemma IV.4 180mtrs.

We set off behind 2 very efficient pairs so no hold ups, and were soon joined by Bruce who was guiding 2 climbers for West Coast Mountain Guides / Alan Kimber so I snapped some pictures and dropped them off with Alan Kimber later.

The ice formation at the top included some spectacular overhanging "umbrellas" of ice

Yup, another sunny day.

Beinn Dearg, North Scotland - a missed opportunty

2010-03-03T22:39:00.000-08:00

We headed further north hoping to climb Emerald Gully IV.4 but I woosed out. A blister is coming and I have winter clients arriving in 2 days so need to be careful, also we heard warnings of gullys full of snow and the recent news of avalanches. So we walked in optimistically but I felt in need of a rest and we turned around.

We had great views of a very white An Teallach, but this is a picture of todays objective, Beinn Dearg (not reached... this time)

We headed back south, breaking the journey for a nice lunch at the Mountain Cafe Aviemore

There's loads of snow around and a few days ago Aviemore was snowed in with Tesco's running out of some foods.

More blue sky!

Applecross, NW Scotland - March Hare's Gully

2010-03-02T15:08:00.000-08:00

We headed North (after climbing Eas Anie) on wonderfully narrow roads to stop at the Jacobites Mountaineering Club hut at Inver. A wonderfully remote and cared for hut. Despite being away from the road the members have carried in an Ikea kitchen, large gas bottles and a solar system for lighting - extreemly impressive.

The sleeping is on wooden platforms (needing a thermarest and very warm bag) and after a late supper and long day we were off to do some heavy-duty snoring before getting up (slightly too late) and heading off.

Beinn Bhan has a series of cliffs and this picture is the very impressive Coire Na Poite. The ice in the left/middle is Silver Tear V.5 350m, the most popular route today. We headed for March Hare's Gully IV.4 300mtrs where I grabbed the crux first pitch - wonderful and well protected with hexes and ice screws.

We stretched the pitches and got onto the ridge and summit in time for photos and to decend just as it got dark. We'd summitted ahead of other teams that started ahead of us on other routes and hope the decent in the dark was ok.

Yet another sunny day - we are getting tanned (when out of the gulleys)!

Beinn Chuirn - EAS ANIE

2010-03-01T23:33:00.000-08:00

Eas Annie 150m IV.4 (left variation). This is in the Tyndrum area so reasonably "south" and also very convenient for the The Real Food Cafe great food, fast service, and free water!

We hitched a lit down the (extreemly) snowy long track with the geologist who's trying to open a gold mine (yes there's gold in these hills!).

Wow - more blue skies! We started fairly low so we could get 3 pitches in.
The couple behind us caught up and we realised we'd been sharing routes on previous days.

Above you'll see the IV.4 variation going straight up, and the III which goes more rightwards.

Look carefully to see the yellow helmet at the bottom of the ice. This route took all our 10 ice screws - if you have a few more they might be useful.

Above the steep sheet the fun continues with more steep ice in amazing formations.

Buachaille Etive Mor, Glencoe

2010-02-21T23:02:00.000-08:00

On the summit of Stob Dearg (part of the Buckle) 1022m

the summit ridge walk off

Fantastic weather on the Buckle, we walked in early with other parties heading for the poular routes of Crowberry Gully, Curved Ridge. Another pair had a "slip" on Raven's Gully V.6 (they were ok if a little shaken and limping).

Heading over to the first pitch of North Buttress IV.4

We climbed North Buttress IV.4 which is an obvious route linking a series of chimneys on the big buttress. Navigating to the route is fairly simple (especially with blue skies). Follow the well trodden path until you cross the prominent stream, then scramble up towards the 2 large boulders silhoueted on the ridge. When you're on the ridge head upwards to the obvious chimneys and the start of the route.

Plenty of rock on this route

Conditions were good, but a little more freeze/thaw will increase the number of ice axe placements. It is a mixed route so be prepared for conditions as shown in the picture above (especially on the crux moves).

Looking down at a sihouete if the mountain cast over the Glencoe road

No need for ice screws but got some great Nut and Hex placements. It's got some great wee cracks to hook your tools into.

Ben Nevis from Buchaille's North East summit at 1022m

The snow was stable so we decended down the gully of Coire na Tullach, with a bit of glissading (bum slides) to loose height swiftly. BEWARE - this is not an appropriate decent if avalanche conditions are poor.
Back to the car and off for an early and well earned fish & chip supper.

Ben Nevis climbing

2010-02-20T23:59:00.000-08:00

A great day's climbing on The Ben. It was cold last night and minus 8.5c when I met Dan (from Real Adventure) and Bridget, my "clients" for guiding today. We used a key to the forest gate and drove up in my Golf (more instructors seem to have VW's and La Sportiva winter boots than any other brands). I have winter tyres and chains - couldn't have got up the track without them.

North Face of the Ben whilst walking in.

It was an interesting day apart from the climbing - we saw a fell runner in his shorts on the summit (wow!), people scrambling just above the start of Tower Ridge at 4pm (wow - have a headtorch and/or be sleeping out the night) and somebody using ice axes to make an ascent of the shelter on the Ben's summit!

My instructor plan was to guide Harrison's Climb Direct, a IV.4 four-star on Carn Dearg Buttress, but it looked thin of ice from the track so we headed up towards Italian Climb, but it also loked thin, so we kept ascending to climb Glover's Chimney III.4 which meets the ridge at Tower Gap, then follows Tower Ridge to the top.

People on the summit of Ben Nevis

Glover's Chimney is in the book 'Cold Climbs' but we had it ot ourselves. The initial ice is good, then it's a long easier plod up steep snow before the final rocky chimney, a rock climbing conclusion before it meeets Tower Ridge at at knife edge point of the ridge but you can clip the in-situ rope before scrambling on up out of Tower Gap and heading on to the summit.

Looking back down Tower Ridge from above Tower Gap

Navigation was a doddle today - superb views and tracks in the snow to follow. Though one lady did walk over to us at the top of Tower Ridge to ask if it was the decent gully.

Walking down to the decent at Number 4 gully.

The cornice on No 4 gulley had been cut through so the decent was ok and the snow was soft enough for some swift glissading.

Climbing Conditions - plenty of low down ice; higher up it's not been warm enough for water or snow to consolidate so lots of fluffy white stuff but it's not good for whacking pic's into. The icefalls bewlow the CiC look good, The Curtain isn't in codition. Italian Climb looked like the snow was unconsolidated; Italian Right-Hand looked thin; and Vanishing Gully looked like it might be OK. Ridges look great though.

Icefalls below CiC hut

Lowe Alpine - family climbing day

2010-02-14T16:52:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day, and time for a a fun indoor climbing day with people from Lowe Alpine.

For many month I've offered to take Rob and Tanya's family climbing at Kendal Climbing Wall. Rob and Tanta are the Lowe Alpine Technicians who ensure the design information is transfered accuratelly to the production staff.

After a few fun warm-up games they were soon bouldering and scrambling in the bouldering chambers before going into the main area and climbing up the steep walls.

Outside it was cold and ice had formed overnight on car windscreen..

Next weekend I'll be off to Scotland for some winter climbing and mountaineering, possibly on Ben Nevis.

The weather (winds and new snow) mean it may be routes on ridges, possibly Towere Ridge, to avoid cornices and avalanches.

The South Shiel Ridge

2010-02-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

A later entry, did this a couple of weeks ago - A BIG winter day out, 24 km and 7 Munros.

We parked at Cluanie Inn and walked up the tarmaced access road in the dark.

Navigation didn't start well as we couldn't find (by headtorch) the small track that climbs upwards to Loch a Mhaol Dhisnich and we lost 20 minutes seeking it out.

Once found it's a very good footpath up to the Loch, where we took the navigation decision to scramble up to Druim Shionnach (987m) for our first munro. The winter wind was biting on the top and we donned warm clothing and crampons, then armed with ice axes headed over to Creag a Mhaim (947m) before returning back and onwards to Aonach air Chrith (1021m)

The long ridge winds on to Maol Chinn-dearg (981m) and Sgurr an Doire Leathain (110m) - phew, 5 munros so far - but a fantastic winter day. There are only a few places to easily drop down off this long ridge but once you've climbed all the way up you want to make the most of it. Map reading is very easy (unlesss the mist drops when you'll need compass skills and micro navigation on the broader parts of the ridge)

We crunched on over the snow to Sgurr an Lochain (1004m) and felt the final summit of Creag nan Damh (918m) was within reach. It feels a long way to it, your legs are tired and you seem to drop height too far whilst the mountain summit never gets closer - it's getting late in the day and the winter sun is dropping. We summitted and started the decent and were in the woods close to the road as the sun finaly dissapeared.

Note - we had 2 cars which helped enormously. Also we found a second track up to the col between the first 2 summits. Finding tracks first time and knowing the short cut would probably save 45 minutes. It's probably best to avoid a 24km 7 munro route during the shortest days - but a fantastic adventure.

Forcan Ridge & The Saddle & Sgurr na Sgine

2010-02-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

Late Entry - Paul and I did this a couple of weeks ago

A great day mountaineering with Paul in Glenshiel.

Just past a small bridge on the Glen Shiel road we parked and climbed uphill to the Forcan Ridge where Paul put his crampons on. We scrambled along the ridge, ice axe in hand, snow and ice on the rocks, to the Munro summit of The Saddle 1010m.

Paul led on, practicing his navigation across the snowy ground, and we climbed up to Sgur na Sgine 946 for our second Munro of the day. We walked down to collect the cars and stopped the night in the bothy bunkhouse by Kintail Lodge hotel - wonderfully welcoming and warm after a winter skills mountain day.

A cold winter day in the Lakes

2010-02-01T21:30:00.000-08:00

Monday was a wintery morning in the Lakes with frosty pinpricks and a solid veneer if ice on the car. Winter climbing looked good for the evening.

The day was nice and a bit of lower level navigation practicing map reading skills was very enjoyable, scrambling up through woods and looking over to High Street; a wonderful long ridge walk across a whaleback of a mountain.

Adventures were shortened today as Dan and I decided not to ice climb at night but opted for mugs of tea and talking about rock climbing, instructor and mountain leader skills, whilst outside it drizzled.

Ground Frost in Cumbria

2010-01-31T14:36:00.000-08:00

Another wonderfully cold day in the Lake District. Clear blue skies and hard snow - mountain walking today and forgot to takephotos until late, but I'll ask Tom if he has any photos I can use.

The air has been cold, but the ground has been (slightly) warmer and air has been rising up through the soil. When the warmer air reaches the surface the moisture in it freezes, just behind another bit of frozen moisture, and these tiny columns if ice appear like magic to grow out of the ground.

The forecast is for continuing cold so crossed fingers - maybe some ice climbing by torchlight this week!

Climbing in the Lake District

2010-01-30T21:00:00.000-08:00

It's turned colder again - yipee! A late change in schedule saw me able to cram in some personal climbing so I was up at 4.30 to drive to Patterdale for an early walk-in to Red Tarn on Helvellyn.

We arrived as the sun rose and were alone on the mountain, which gave us the pick of the routes. We climbed V Corner III - I added a bit of early "spice" too it by climbing a semi free-standing 3 meter icicle to gain a runnel near the crest - brilliant. I had to kick my crampons in carefully so what I was standing on didn't fall away. The V-Corner towards the top was excellent.

The first of the masses started ariving at 9.00 and we summitted as the walkers started gathering on the summit.

From the top we could see the cornices undercutting beside the trig point.

Striding Edge was starting to look busy (later it had a continuous line of people all along it).

We decended Swirral Edge, grabbed a warm drink, and then climber Gully I Buttress II as it was one of the few available lines.

Conditions look good for the start of the week but be early to avoid the masses.

My plans for the coming week include some night climbing before heading abroad for a few days.

Lowe Alpine work

2010-01-28T20:41:00.000-08:00

"Just hanging around the Lowe Alpine office" and "This hot desking thing won't catch on"
Today I was in the Lowe Alpine office and a member of the public had written regarding the strength of the haul-loop, so we decided to test it......

PS - don't try this at home kids, it could hurt as no rucksacks are actually supposed to be suspended in!

Aonach Mor - Roaring Fourties

2010-01-24T23:00:00.000-08:00

Today was to be a shorter day so we took the early uplift on the Aonach Mor Gondola. Weather's been cold and the avalanche forecast is fair.

The carpark was packed at 7.30 and we were worried... until we saw some familiar faces and SARDA dogs - it was a host of Mountain Rescue Teams out training with the dogs. Al, an instructor I know from Glenmore Lodge, jumped into our cabin and we caught up on gossip.

We took the 4-chair lift onward and walked up to the top with 2 other pairs. The cornice is big enought into the decent gully to make an abseil off a snow bollard a wise move.

We enjoyed dropping down Easy Gully (grade I) in the soft snow and headed off to Roaring Fourties IV,4 140m. There's snow covering most features so be ready to do some digging for gear, and the resulting hot-aches that this can bring.

The first pitch was open, with thin ice hidden under the snow. Pitch 2 could also do with a bit more ice, and might be more straight forward later in the season, I got an early short screw in and was soon seeking another placement before committing into the steep corner when I found a wire and screw gate, looks like sombody else had a problem here and bailed out but I silently thanked them, clipped it and moved on up. It isn't a one-move mission and the interest continues through pitch 2 into the 3rd pitch. A great route but not a soft touch, maybe some more ice will ease the difficulties?

We got to the top just as the sun came out with some fantastic light and silhouettes, and bumped into a team from Deep-Cut Chimney yesterday.

Deep-Cut Chimney, a Very Long Way

2010-01-23T21:00:00.000-08:00

I thought it'd be colder towards the east in the Cairngorms today, but discovered the car covered in frost so we headed west to Glencoe. There was a line of 9 headtorches up the vally ahead of us at 7am. We passed Aonach Dubh as it got light (the Screen looks good) and walked on up to Stob Coire Nam Beith.

North West Gully looks in good condition but we moved left to join the parties on the 450 metre Deep-Cut Chimney, a IV.4 **** yes a 4-star route! And very long - don't arrive late!

Conditions are ok, a bit thin and we placed mainly rock gear and a peg.

Above the obvious difficulties is some old abseil tat. We continued on up and went right at the big buttress and kept right for 2 pitches.

Another party who went left seemed to have a more straight forward time. It's a long journey above the difficulties to the summit and we met another party at the summit just before it got dark. The decent was good, but we did see lights at the summit an hour later and think it was one of the other 2 parties who started way behind us. Great route, but get there very early!

Cautley Spout

2010-01-13T23:30:00.000-08:00

Making the most of the cold weather Dan, Simon and Gareth and I headed off to Cautley Spout tonight.

Cautley is in the Yorkshire Howgills and is a 250 metre grade III icefall that takes a lot of cold weather before it's climbable.

Tonight there was a fair amount of runing water, but there's still plenty of ice. Beware though as the ice is "thin" on the first 2 pitches with poor protection.

After 2 pitches we decided to solo, so then the ice got firmer but we just kept moving on. Another excellent outing.

I thought my Petzl Myo RXP was very bright.... but when Dan and Simon switched on the bike lights they'd mounted on their helmets it got seriously bright (Dan's bikelight is off in this photo).

Now I'll need to save up for one of those Ultra bright Petzl headlamps!

Sunshine Gully

2010-01-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

Ali and I could only manage a short day today. We waited behind a pair on Green Eyes but then moved over to Sunshine Gully, and can thoroughly recommend it.

Sunshine Gully follows the ice up and left in the above photo. It's given grade III but the party we passed and both of us felt it more a IV today.

The winds were strong with plenty of spindrift causing problems on some of the routes to our left but it was ok on S.G.

We caught up with another party roping up at the botom of S.G. and they kindly allowed us to climb alongside them and, as we were moving well, we were soon ahead and out of their way.

The route has a nice bulge on pitch one that we all felt deserved IV, and above it is a magnificent "thread" where you could go caveing behind a great thick column of ice, creating a natural runner (I didn't, not a caver). I got a good belay on the ridge on the right of the gully using nuts and threads. Ali led through to summit out on pitch 2.

Beware - you probably won't be able to hear the leader as they top out, and don't expect any obvious belays on the gently sloping summit.

Green Eyes

2010-01-10T19:00:00.000-08:00

Green Eyes on Ben Udlaidh is the line going up and rightwards on the ice in the middle of the photo below - it's nice and fat, but it was windy today with steady streams of spindrift hiding ropes and climbers.

We went to climb this (IV.4*) but a leasurely start, and a party ahead of us, resulted in a change of routes but here are the pictures for anyone wanting info on this fantastic route.

Tebay Night Climbing

2010-01-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

Tonight was sooo cold - the car thermometer said minus 12 and the air was freezing in our nostrils. So we had to go out with our head torches, didn't we?

Literally a step (or 3) from the car saw us tying on and attacking the brittle ice. This "crag" gives a number of lines approximatelly 13 meters high. The ice was thin and brittle ice with sparse protection - beware! So after Dan led the first route we were into top ropeing and having some quick fun.

Steall Falls in conditions

2010-01-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

2nd January 2010

News was that Steall Falls was in condition thanks to the cold weather we've been having.

So Ali, Al, John and I made an early start and arrived ahead of Dan and his group of 6 but a headtorch start had Dan overtaking us. Later we were joined by Alan Halewood with 2 clients who had this superb route as their second ever ice climb!

The falls were wide enough to accommodate us all so everyone enjoyed a great climb, unfortunatelly thawing slightly as we climbed it.

No 6 Gully Aonach Dubh

2010-01-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

What an amazing route! Park where the Clachaig Inn road meets the A82 and look South at the big West Face of Aonach Dubh. Today it had limited snow on the face it but in the gullys is some fantastic ice.

Number 6 gully (IV.4 ***) is 240 meters with great climbing throughout.

Following a late start (Oops! But that's another story) we passed other groups and arrived with just one pair ahead of us. It seems we managed to avoid the crowds again.

We placed loads of screws, a peg and small wire and found a few bits of in-situ bits of gear.

Swinging leads and a bit of moving together we made great progress, stopping to chat and disagree about whether the crux was the iced corner, or the the long ice pitch with the peg in the left wall.

We topped out, grabbed out kit and helped another party with their ropes before decending in the gathering dark.

Another wonderful day with great company on a fantastic route.

Beinn Udlaidh - Quartzvein Scoop

2009-12-31T20:00:00.000-08:00

Today Simon and I joined the crowds at Quartzvein Scoop IV.4 and it's a superb route well worth (a bit) of queing. We had a late start, planning to be behind the crowds and saw 5 parties ahead of us, some already topping out, as we walked in.

The conditions are great and timing was perfect with us missing the busiest period and getting back to the car as it got dark.

Smoking the White Owl

2009-12-30T21:30:00.000-08:00

With a forecast of strong winds and a slight rise in temperature Alan Halewood and I went off to explore Sgurr Finnisg-aig and to fing StWO (grade III.4). To get there park at the Aonach Mor chairlift and follow the track behind the building, after 45 minutes and a few twists and turns the crag appears on the right up the hillside. A bit of trail breaking gets you to the route.

The ice was substantial enough for good ice screws, but water was running in places.

There were some fantastic iceshapes for hooking and holding, and evidence of lots of icicles having fallen down.

The wind picked up and we topped out with a blast of snow in the face.

The route finishes about level with the top gondola station so we made a dash for it. The cabins were running but it was too windy to let us on board and it took 50 minutes to dash down the track, my son Tom (mad downhill mountain biker) does it in 7 minutes!

Aonach Mor - Web Buttress

2009-12-29T19:00:00.000-08:00

The Gondola is open so Simon and I headed up, taking the addittional "soft" option of the chair lift to get us even higher. There were parties walking on ahead of us but a steady walk got us to the top of Easy Gully (Grade 1) with the leading parties. The cornice cap to the gully is BIG so we created a Snow Bollard and abseilled over the lip to walk down the gully to easier ground.
I'd not been to Web Buttress before so we climbed The Web III, sorry but not great in current conditions as gear placements are scarce and hard to find. I suggest waiting until later in the season and after some freeze/thaw action.

Very cold and a healthy cornice at the top.

Further along the crag John climbed Left Twin and placed loads of gear!

Expedition to Tien Shan

2008-08-04T14:44:00.000-07:00

Old or young - try following your heart occasionally and live life; do something you want to do; the opportunity may never come around again....

I've just returned from the very remote Tien Shan mountains - a fantastic and place of high mountains. We landed in Kazakstan (a country the size of west Europe) and were whisked from the airport for the long drive to Karakol in Kyrgystan. The countryside is amazing; people live in summer yurts in the high mountains with herds of sheep, horses and cattle. Some take trailers loaded up with beehives into the mountains for the pollen in the high alpine meadows. At Karakol we organized food lists and 11 clients, without any local language skills, bought 400 chocolate bars (I have a sweet tooth but that's crazy!) hundreds of loaves, eggs, cheese etc to sustain us for the coming weeks. Meanwhile Sean and I arranged camp kit, transport and accommodation. After checking stoves and packing we loaded up the truck for the next part of the journey, driving over passes up to almost 4,000 meters, to an ex-Soviet helicopter base. The helicopter deposited us rapidly onto the glacier at 3,800 meters. With the nearest people 3 days walk away we rapidly erected our tents and cook tent and got settled in. After acclimatization and practicing on local ice cliffs we made an ascent of a peak (unclimbed?) at almost 5,000mtrs. Over the next week attempts were made on other peaks but deep snow and avalanches thwarted us. The helicopter flew in 2 hours early and it was a mad rush to get the last tent down and load up whilst being battered by the rotors’ downdraft but we were quickly in the air and heading for Khan Tengri base camp where Sean and 8 clients were going to make an attempt on that peak (thwarted again by bad weather) whilst I returned to UK with 3 clients.
A fantastic country, weather was too warm with the coldest night in my tent being -4 degrees (boiling in my altitude sleeping bag). The weather was a problem and we could literally see the glacier melting away from under our tents. We varied from a truck driver to an investment banker, a doctor to a construction manager, and from 19 to 50 years old. A wonderful team with broad experience, sadly the weather was too warm (or good?) for what we wanted to achieve this time. Maybe another time, who knows?

Scrambling in North Wales

2008-05-12T07:16:00.000-07:00

Summer arrived in the UK (just after I returned from Asia) and after a few days climbing in the Lakes I was off to Snowdonia with Matt & Neil.

On Saturday we practiced a "recoverable abseil" using an Italian hitch, and then ascended a grade III scramble up the steep East face of Tryfan and Matt jumped the gap between the 2 pinnicles of Adam & Eve, all in fantastic sunny weather.

Sunday started bright and we were the first on Idwal Slabs and climbed Ordinary Route, then scrambled up Seniors Ridge until we could cross Nameless Cwm to climb Cneifion Arete.

We were 50mtrs up Cneifion when the sky darkened, thunder was heard and soon we were in a hail shower. Neil and Matt are set on scrambling on the Cuillins this year and a better introduction to the changeable weather of Skye could not have been arranged!

A superb couple of days full of laughs and experiences, and we were dry by the time we got back to the car.

Ben Nevis Ice

2008-03-23T05:51:00.000-07:00

A superb few days personal climbing on Ben Nevis, sleeping in the CIC hut. Great weather, great partners, and so much good food (carried in) that we were giving passing climbers warm garlic bread, and feeding nearby campers with haggis or fresh pasta to help use it up.
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We climbed loads of great routes including;
Castle Ridge III; Central Gulley III 4;
Number III Gully Buttress; Quickstep;
Green Gulley IV.3; Indicator Wall V.4;
Italian Right Hand IV.4; Combe Gulley IV.4;

Sadly there were lots of rescues going on around us with the RAF helicopter flying in every day looking for lost walkers, and slow or overdue climbers.

Whilst on Ben Nevis, next to the Trig Point, we were asked by another group to help with the working of a GPS which they'd programmed the night before. We explained that we were on the summit of Ben Nevis. Fortunatelly the visibilty lifted and the journey down into the valley was made more straight forward.

Tower Ridge in Winter

2008-02-16T14:49:00.000-08:00

Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis is a wonderful scramble in summer but a greater undertaking in winter. Paul, Pat and I left the car park in the dark at 6am aiming to be at the start of the ridge as the sun rose but still there were head torches from another party flashing ahead of us.

Conditions were fantastic, if a bit lean, and the temperature inversion with the cloud below us was fantastic.

It was one of those all days when you wish you'd remembered your sunglasses.

Tower Ridge (summer) - Ben Nevis

2007-09-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

Tower Ridge - probably the best long scramble in the UK (Cuilin Ridge on Skye excluded) and a route that catches parties out every year resulting in an unplanned night out. It finishes near the summit of Ben Nevis and, if you want to add some "spice", can be started via the massive Douglas Boulder which takes the grade up from scramble 3 to climb D~VD. Always start very early.

I planned to climb this route whilst my son hurtled down the Mountain Biking downhill course nearby and just days before we left I got a call asking if I'd guide clients on this. Years ago when training for my Mountain Instructor Award I was told that you'd know if you were ready if you could instruct anywhere in the UK, even if you'd not been there before so, after researching the route and weather, I was happy to take clients there.

Sadly a last minute change saw me revert to plan A of soloing the route alone but during the walk in I met 2 experienced mountaineers planning to do the same route. I soloed up the Douglas Boulder (D~VD) as the other 2 climber roped-up below me. They weren't happy with the damp nature of the rock and so I dropped an end of the rope to help out and soon we were roped together.

This turned out to be very fortunate as their rope was a few metres too short for the abseil down the back of this tall 'Boulder'. After that we were on the long main ridge and everyone was happy to move unroped so I went ahead up the ridge. A superb day and I met some nice guy's.

The descent down to the Lochan and then on to the North face car park was wonderful and leg stretching - the new path is a great improvement.