Too busy climbing to be blogging...

Awesome weather, all the crags are bone dry, its warm and sunny and its set to continue!!! Bring it on! Doing the welsh 15 peaks over the next 3 days - lets hope we don't pass out from heat exhaustion. Here a few pics to show a bit of action from the past week.


Rory hanging out on the Bluebottle traverse, Gogarth


The guidebook description for Lubyanka


Choo on the exposed top pitch of Lubyanka


The top of Cyrn Las with Crib Goch and the Parsons Nose in the background

Tremadog Sunshine

After recovering from my sailing adventures I have spent the past two days climbing climbing in the Tremadog area. With a NW wind the mountains have been a bit clagged in but down south in the 'rain shadow' the Tremadog cliffs have been basking in the sunshine. Yesterday I climbed with Jim at Craig Bwlch y Moch and we started on the classic E4 Cream which takes an awesome line up the Vector Buttress, culminating in a super exposed pitch up the headwall.


A photo stolen from the internet of the top pitch of Cream

We then abbed back down and I attempted the last pitch of Void - also E4 - but I found it considerably harder and bailed off it at the crux and let Jim finish it off. I love the climbing at Tremdog - its one of those places where climbing ability and technical performance is more important that just being fit and strong. The climbing is always so involved and the rock is just a joy to climb on.


Unknown climber on the classic Cristmas Curry

With slightly tired arms we headed round to Neb - which has a delightful first pitch of about E1. The real meat of the route is provided by the direct finish which is a bit of a sandbag at E3 and a nemesis of mine and Jim's. It was not to be and after a few tries we bailed of the original finish and headed home via a cold pint in Beddgelert


Jen treadind carelfully on the crux of Hardd

Today I me and Jen climbed at Carreg Hylldrem - a ridiculously overhanging crag with some fierce routes. We climbed and really enjoyed the classic Hardd but we were disappointed that the overhanging nature of the crag meant we didn't get any sun so we decided to have a picnic in the sun rather than climbing another route!


The veiw from the top to Cnict and the Moelwynns

Sailing Adventures

I got an email from my cousin James last Sunday entitled Urgent:Sailing. On opening it I discovered he needed a hand in sailing his yacht (a hunter Sonata) from Beaumaris to somewhere on the West coast of Scotland so how could I say no. Now my sailing experience is limited to a couple of hours on a lake in a topper and reading Swallows and Amazons when I was younger. I didn't really know what to expect.


Gi Gi at anchor in the Menai Straights

So when we set off from Beaumaris at 4am I thought we would have a nice sunny sail up the Irish Sea and arrive at the Isle of Man in time for a hearty fish pie and a pint of ale. All was going swimming for a few hours - sunny, calm sea, light winds - when James showed me our position on the chart and I realised just how far we had to go and how we desperately needed some more wind. After a close encounter with an oil tanker we decided to crank on the small outboard for a few hours. Unfortunately our slow progress meant that we missed the tide to get round the bottom of the Isle of man and had to battle against 3 knots... which considering the lack of the wind was a big problem. With darkness falling and little progress we started to worry that we wouldn't make it. We were thankfully saved by a warm breeze off the land which allowed us to speed up to 6 knots and we managed to find our way blindly into Port Erin well after 11pm!


Heading to Puffin Island and the Irish Sea

After a lie in and a trip to land for breakfast we sorted the boat and headed up the coast to Peel. Our jumping off point for Scotland. This was more my idea of fun - a steady wind and more importantly in to harbour for a pint and a curry at a reasonable time!


Skipper James

An early start the next morning found us once again in light winds combined with thick fog. We were also not receiving any calls on the VHF - so no forecasts, warnings etc. Thankfully the wind picked up and as we passed the Mull of Galloway the fog cleared but again we had missed the favourable tide so a long battle ensued to get to Port Patrick. We rewarded ourselves with Guinness and sea bass while struggling slightly with the now swaying land!


A slightly more impressive ship!

The last leg of our tip was round to Stranraer - only 7 miles by road but nearly 20 by sea! Finally we had a good NW wind and a favourable tide. These however combined to give a pretty big swell and we had 5 hours of hard tacking to get round into Loch Ryan. We had a minor emergency on the way when we almost lost our rudder to the sea as a nut had worked loose. Thankfully a bit of quick thinking from James allowed us to jury rig it with a ' g' clamp and saved us from being blown on to the rocky cliffs!

It was a great adventure... not sure I'll be rushing to get back on a boat unless it involves a short but vigorous sail followed by a cold beer!

After work Pass action

On Tuesday evening I headed up to Dinas Bach in the Llanberis crag with friends choo and Jim. I had never visited this crag before and it is one of the quieter crags in the area - it is however fantastic. It has good set of routes at all grades, including a short E5 called Felony, which was our objective for the evening. I won the game of rock, paper, scissors so I quested up first for the onsight attempt, put the gear in and fell off the crux. After Choo had made a successfully ascent and Jim had fallen off I got back on it and climbed the route second go.


Attempting Prison Break

Our eyes were however drawn to a line to the left which according to the guidebook was waiting a first ascent. We had a few plays on it and with darkness approaching and Choo taking a couple of 25 foot falls we decided to return for a re-match on Thursday. Unfortunately I only managed one attempt, which resulted in airborne retreat before rain stopped play. Jim and Choo then managed to get it done last night whilst I was camping in the Moelwyns and named it Prison Break E6 6b - a fine addition to hard climbing in the Llanberis pass. Effort lads!!!

Learn to Lead Course

On Tuesday and Wednesday I ran a learn to lead course for my good friend Sylvia of The Rock Climbing Company. Lucy and Matt were on there honeymoon and keen to transfer there indoor leading skills to the crags of North Wales. On Tuesday we visited the upper Tier of Tremadog and topped up our tans whilst looking at seconding routes, using a guidebook, placing natural gear, setting up top and bottom ropes and looked at movement skills on rock.

The nest day we headed back to Tremadog and we climbed Rio in 2 pitches to give Matt and Lucy their first multipitch climb. In the afternoon it was time for them to get on the sharp end of the rope and they climbed Boo Boo with me providing guidance and advice from an abseil rope next to them. Its always a buzz seeing someone complete their first lead climb and it always makes me think of my own first leading experiences many years ago... Well done team!


Lucy leading the first pitch of Boo Boo


On the belay ledge


Matt spotting a gear placement on the second pitch

Devon And Cornwall Holiday

Last week Jen and I headed down to the west country for a bit of a mini road trip. We had plans to hit the Granite and Killas sea crags of West Penwith before heading up the North Coast for some big adventures. The weather at the start of the week was cold but we managed to get some good routes done at Sennen, Chair Ladder, Bosigran and Carn Kenidjack - including a very fine E2 called Bishops Rib. Its great to sample a different climbing area and different rock. The granite on many of the West Penwith crags is immaculate and a real joy to climb on - where technique and confidence are more important than being strong!


Jen showing off on Saxon at Carn Kenidjack

The weather then turned bad so we headed to the drier climes of Jen's parents in Exeter before heading up to the Culm coast. The sea cliffs here are generally pretty bad ass, loose, dangerous and commiting.


The Culm Coast

But there are some exceptions. We climbed a fine little traverse called The Wine Dark Sea at Damehole Point which I would recommend and had a couple of sessions at Lower Sharpnose Point between beach and ice cream action!


Damehole Point


Scrambling to the start of The Wine Dark Sea


Jen on Pitch 2

Evening Slate

Just back from a quick hit with Jen and Lou to the slate to find out we have a new Prime Minister! What a beautiful evening - though it is chilly in the wind still. Jen and Lou climbed a nice 6a slab while I took a few photos.


Lou and Jen walking into the quarries with Crib Goch in the Background


Jen loving some slab action

Scrambling and more Scrambling

Just finished up four days of fantastic scrambling for Seren Ventures, sat at home having a cold beer and listening to Andrew Marr talk about politics! On Thursday and Friday I took out Mike and Ben, a Father Son combo that I introduced to roped scrambling last year. They had not manged to get out on the hills much since last year so we decided on tackling Bristly Ridge - a tricky grade 1 - a route they have always wanted to do but have not yet had the confidence to try by themselves. We ascended in the swirling mist which made for an atmospheric scramble and provided a good test of Mike and Ben's route finding skills. On the way we looked at the different ways a rope can be used to safeguard short tricky steps. We descended by the Gribin Ridge - a short grade 1 - and had a go at abseiling with out the use of a harness or belay plate - the South African Abseil.


Bristly Ridge and the Glyders from Tryfan

On Friday we did a grade 3 on Tryfan Bach in the morning and a grade 3 on the Milestone Buttress in the Afternoon where we focused on building belays. belaying from above and below and movement over harder ground. It was fantastic to see Mike and Ben again and they will be back for more action in the summer.


Shayne on the tricky start of Nor' Nor' Buttress

For the past 2 days I have been out with Shayne of Nantwich, scrambling all over the Glyders. Saturday saw us taking on the challenge of Seniors Ridge Direct Start and then the ultra classic grade 3, Cneifion Arete. Thankfully the forecast 60 mph winds did not appear, which we were thankful for given the exposed nature of the terrain! Today Shayne fulfilled an ambition to climb Tryfan. I don't think he thought his first ascent of this peak would have been by a grade 3 scramble on its East face. We had an amazing day under bright sunshine and light winds and enjoyed the challenge of Nor' Nor' Buttress. I was continually impressed with Shayne's ability to deal with tricky and exposed ground on only his second day of hard scrambling.


Shayne, Adam and Eve. Tryfan summit.

Gogarth Main Cliff

Seconding pitch 2 of The Assassin

After a very bust few weeks I've had a couple of days off. Yesterday I had a fine day in the slate quarries with Bryn, managing to make the most out of the sun by sheltering from the cold north wind. Today Gaz and I ventured down to the Main Cliff of Gogarth - one of my favourite places to hang out. Again it was slightly chilly in the wind but we managed to enjoy 2 great E3's - The Assassin and Hyena. Off to Clwyd limestone tomorrow with Jim for some sport climbing action.

Carneddau Solitude

I had a great day out in the Northern Carneddau on Saturday with my most special client - my Mum! The weather was beautiful and it was warm enough for us to be in t shirts for most of the day. We parked up at the top car park, above the Aber Falls car park and walked up on to Drum and Foel Fras - we probably saw only 3 or 4 people before lunch! We then descended via Garnedd Uchaf and Drosgl before heading back down to Aber Falls - a great circuit especially if you want a bit of peace and quiet. Unfortunately I left my camera somewhere up in the hills - so no photos until I sort out getting a replacement!

On Friday I managed to complete a long standing boulder problem project on the Cromlech boulders. I finally managed to link the last 2 moves of the Full Roadside Traverse to get the V9 or Fr8a tick.

Busy working, busy playing....

... although sometimes its hard to separate! The awesome dry and sunny weather rolls on and I've had an awesome few days. I've been guiding scrambles over Tryfan, the Glyders and Crib Goch, had a great day ticking a load of classic HVS and E1s at Tremadog, bouldering in the Llanberis pass in the evenings so I'm having a bit of a day off today as I'm starting to ache and I need to grow some more skin on my fingers! Unfortunately I cant post any photos as my camera is in a friends rucsac!

For those of you looking to come up to Snowdonia to climb on our fantastic mountain crags now is the time - even Cloggy is dry (if still a bit chilly) and the forecast looks good for the next few days. I've got a couple of days of work then I'm headed down to Pembroke with a friend for some climbing on the amazing limestone sea cliffs found there.

Sunny Spring Continues

Just back from a quick hit in the slate quarries. Oli and I climbed Zzzooming the Tube - an E3 left of the classic HVS looning the tube. I've not climbed much on slate recently and so it felt pretty unnatural to be standing on tiny edges again!

On Monday and Tuesday I was working for my friend Bryn of Dragon Mountain Skills. I had two awesome days out in the sun with Daniel and Katie who were on their honeymoon! On the first day we scrambled up the Gribin Ridge onto Glyder Fawr - their first grade 1 scramble. Tuesday saw us wandering through the Moelwynns and concentrating on navigation skills.


Topping out on the Gribin Ridge

The weather is set fair for awhile (maybe a blip on Sunday) so get down to Snowdonia and enjoy the hills and some warm, dry rock before the monsoon hits!

The Hilltop Hussies

Today I was a very privileged man... I got to go out for a day with the Hilltops Hussies - an elite selection of walking women! Jen and I took them for a stroll in the Moelwynns and looked at their navigation skills. They all proved to be excellent students all though at times there ability to converse could be slightly distracting. The weather was excellent - sun tans all round and a great day was had out by everyone!


The Hussies and a Hunk


Shameless posers!

Max's first climbing adventure

Max Mousley, aged 6, took his first steps to becoming a fully fledged rock climber today. Jen and I took Max, his mum and dad to the Beacon Climbing Centre today and Max enjoyed it so much we had to drag him away! Watch this space!!

New Dragon Cams from DMM

DMM have recently brought out the Dragon Cam - a nice looking piece of kit that has been designed to be lightweight, strong and have a big range. Now I'm a big fan of DMM gear - it is always very well made, well designed, looks damm good and most importantly when I'm on a big runout - trustworthy!

Check out this video clip that clearly illustrates the strength of the new Dragon Cams

WGL and Fresh Snow

I woke this morning to sound of snow avalanching off my roof! About 4 inches of snow came down last night and it has been snowing sporadically through the day; this combined with near gale force winds has made it pretty grim to be up high! The forecast is to remain cold so take care if you are out and about in the hills - my advice would be to go for a coffee insted at the moment!

For the past few days I have been instructing on a WGL - Walking Group Leader training course based at Blue Peris Mountain Centre. This is an award for those who want to lead walking groups in non mountainous but remote upland and moorland terrain. You can find out more information on the award by visiting the MLTUK website.

Navigation Refresher Day

I had a great day out today with Jo and Dean who I took up Tryfan back in February. They wanted to go over some navigation techniques and skills so we headed up to Gelli Iago to see if I could get them lost. We had a fantastic stroll up to the top of Cnict and round to Llyn yr Adar covering contour interpretation, identifying features on the ground and relating them to the map, pacing and compass work. It is a great area to do this as the paths are generally pretty vague and it is easy to get off the paths and make your own way through the wilderness. It also has the added benefit of being quite and very beautiful.

I beleive that the key to good navigation is being observant of all the features of the landscape around you and the ground under your feet. So do do this you need to get into the habit of looking around, getting all the clues from the land and then looking at the map, rather than just burying your head in the map!


Jo and Dean with Cnict in the background


Dean, Chris, Jo, Garry and myself on Tryfan

I then finished off the day with a hours bouldering at the Cromlech in the Llanberis Pass. With the clocks going forward tonight the time for evening climbing missions is now upon us - just bring on the sun!!

Spring sport climbing on the Orme

I'm typing this report up with slightly sore tips after a good days cragging at the Great Orme, Llandudno. It felt properly spring like down by the sea, with the sun out and music drifting over from the amusement pier. After a quick warm up I decided to try Mean Mother a fingery 7b, however I think my enthusiasm got the better of me and after 3 good goes I had to admit defeat for the time being. Need to get some fitness and grow some skin!


Jim post crux on Mean Mother 7b

Alone on the wall

Last night I watched 24mins of the most gob smacking, awe inspiring climbing footage ever - Alex Honnold free soloing Moonlight Buttress in Zion and the NW Face of Half Dome, Yosemite. Now if this doesn't mean much to you let me elaborate. These routes are 400m and 700m respectively and on the UK grading scale would come in at E5/E6 and to climb them free solo means no rope, no partner, no protection no second chances. Now I have done a few free solos in my time but they have been short routes and well within my grade. To have the mental capacity to solo these hard and long routes is just mind blowing.

The camera work is stunning and watching Alex climb up these shear walls really gives me the hebhejebbies. One slip and he will have plenty of time to consider his landing! This guy is really pushing the limits of climbing and this feat is probably the most impressive feat of rock climbing since Lynn Hill free climbed The Nose of El Capitan.

Follow this link for a sneaky preview!

Skiing!!

I'm just back from a week of fantastic skiing in the Three Valleys with Yorsten Lodge School. My Mum is a teacher at the school and for the past 2 years Jen and myself have joined the trip as extra staff members. Snow conditions were really good at the start of the week although it all got a bit slushy on Friday and Saturday. I've been really inspired by the off piste skiing we did and I'm going to have to start doing some ski mountaineering soon.



Showing Off!


Jen and David off-piste


About to descend to Courcheval

The Somme - best day of the winter yet?

The Somme is one of those routes with a bit of a reputation! So when friends Jamie and Jamie suggested getting on it I thought OK - but your lead guys! We walked in early to find great conditions and amazing weather. I fired off the first ice pitch a gentle grade 3 and a good warm up for what was to come. The Jamies had a hard pitch each - the first of these was steep and technical using a variety of techniques on ice, turf and rock. The second gives the meat of the route - 40 m of sustained but steady thin ice which is very bold - I was nervous just watching Jamie climb it. He definitely deserved his beer that evening. It was a good route to break in my new Black Diamond Cyborg crampons on! Topping out we were greeted with warm sunshine and amazing views across North Wales and beyond. We really have been spoiled this winter... lets hope next year is just as good.


Rory on the initial grade 3 ice pitch


Jamie high on the bold 3rd pitch - amazing ice but scarily bold!


Fully psyched after seconding the 3rd pitch


The Glyders and Snowdon from the top


Walking off over Carnedd Dafydd

Crib Goch - another amazing day

With a lot of fresh snow lying around I thought I would head onto Crib Goch instead of wading up a powder filled gully. I parked in the Llanberis pass and enjoyed blissful solitude as I stomped up to Cwm Glas and the start of the north ridge. This gave a good airy stroll with a couple of exciting steps to reach the east ridge - which was busy. My late start meant that a nice trail had been made along the crest to the pinnacles so it all felt pretty straight forward today - just a tricky and exposed move or two to gain the last pinnacle. From there I carried on along Crib y Ddysgyl to the top of Carnedd Ugain, all on amazing snow. After rescuing someone from the top of Parsley fern gully I ran and bumslid my way down it in a couple of minutes before ambling back to the van.

I cant believe how many amazing winter days out I have had this year is North Wales - its just been stunning - and there's no end in sight at the moment!

A great week of work and play

I've had a brilliant last week of work and play and sitting at home with a brew in hand I have that slightly smug feeling of knowing that I'm lucky to live in such an awesome place. This winter keeps rolling on and long may it continue! Bryn and I made an ascent of the classic Sinister Gully III, 4 in upper Cwm Glas today. Its a good route although the difficulties are a little short lived. The crux icefall was in great shape but care was needed on some of the snow slopes. (More fresh snow falling now so watch out for avalanches!)







On Tuesday I took out Rob, Rowen, Ian and Luke for a Mountain Leader refresher day to prepare them for an upcoming assessment. We spent the morning near Nant Peris looking at ropework before spending the afternoon in the Moelwyns brushing up on navigation strategies and techniques. There was 3 - 4 inches of fresh snow and when the sun came out it was simply stunning!
Good luck for the assessment boys!





At the weekend I had two days at Tremdog rock climbing in the sun (apart from Sunday afternoon) with Davie and Rob - we manage to climb Boo Boo, Oberon, Poor Mans Peutery, Rio and Yogi - not bad for a first weekend of multipitch climbing - we even had time to do a few abseils as well.

Friday - had a great day out up the North ridge of Tryfan with Dean and co. on his 40th Birthday (he doesn't look it so dont tell anyone how old he really is). It was an exciting ascent with a few wintery sections at the top.

Thursday - see photos below