Avoiding the rain

We headed to Anglesey today and managed to eek a good days cragging out of the weather window before the rain arrived. We climbed several Severes with Paul leading a couple of pitches and The Bruvvers HVS 5a before the arrival of the warm front and its associated drizzle!

In the sunshine on the Orme

We decided to abandon the classic rock agenda today with heavy rain in the mountains and head for the sunshine of the North Coast. We climbed at Crinkle Crag and did 6 routes from V Diff to HVS 5a and enjoyed fine weather all day and the company of a couple of seals!

Gashed Crag, Tryfan

This fine multi pitch route climbs the South Peak of Tryfan on the East Face over 5 pitches at V Diff. We had thunder and lightening and heavy showers today so the thrutchy chimney pitches were a challenge!

5 day Classic Rock Course

I have been joined for the week by Paul and Mark for a week ticking off some of the classic routes in North Wales. This course celebrates the 2007 publication of the book Classic Rock which has updated descriptions and 200 new colour photos and is a 5 day rock climbing holiday. Today we had great weather and visited the Llanberis Pass and ticked off Wrinkle ( V Diff) Crackstone Rib (Severe), and Skylon (HS).

Rock Improvers Course

It was a beautiful hot and sunny day on Anglesey and we had a great day topping up tans and doing some good climbing. We covered lots of new skills and enjoyed an ice cream at the end of the day!

Rock Improvers Course

This weekend I have been joined by Steve & Rob who have travelled up from Kent to invest in new some new skills to improve their rock climbing. Both have done some top roping outdoors and at the local climbing wall and wanted to take it further. We climbed Faith (V Diff) on the Idwal Slabs before looking at some roped scrambling and an abseil. It has been a gorgeous warm day, much better than forecast with no rain.

Rock Improvers - Llanberis Pass

Rachel had to finish at lunch time today so we headed to the Llanberis Pass to tick off some of the skills that she wanted to refresh. These included assisting a stuck second and injured second and escaping the system. We climbed Brant Direct (HVS 5a) and finished off on Brant (VS 4c) before abseiling down. We used our abseil ropes to look at ascending a rope to finish us off!

Rock Improvers Course - Gogarth

Its been a cracking day today. I have been joined by returning client Rachel for a two day rock improvers course. Rachel is happy leading Hard Severe and so today the target was to push her grade and comfort zone, so we went to Gogarth. We climbed Lighthouse Arete, VS 4c in 3 pitches, Pel, VS 4c, two pitches and Blanco, HVS 5a in 2 pitches. The sun was shining all day and we saw the resident seal!

Wen, Gogarth

Andy and I had the morning free this morning so managed a quick early morning dash to Gogarth on Anglesey to climb Wen, HVS 5a. The tide was in so we could dot climb the first pitch but really enjoyed the top two pitches after abseiling in. The route follows a natural crack line and then a traverse off to the left at the top of the route and we had the crag to ourselves. The lighthouse was flashing at us to start with but the morning got better and we celebrated back at the car with ice creams! You can see all of the photos on my gallery, follow the link on the right.

Cragging on the North Coast

I have got a couple of days off now which have unfortunately coincided with some rather wet weather! A friend of mine Andy came round at lunch time and we headed off to the Orme. After a spot of bouldering at Parisellas Cave we went and had a look at Lower Pen Trwyn and Crinkle Crag and then some bolt clipping at Caste Inn Quarry. As you can see that really is roadside cragging!

Little & North Gullies, Tryfan

We had a very pleasant day today on the East face of Tryfan on day 2 of our intro to scrambling course. The weather stayed fine until we reached the car at the end of the day and we had the East face to ourselves.

Intro to scrambling course

I have been joined by Andy, Marie & Simon today for two days of grade 1 scrambles in Snowdonia. We headed up the Gribin Ridge and across the top of the Glyders in thick cloud and had a great day out looking at how to look after ourselves on the steep ground, movement skills and risk assessment.

Y Garn & Foel Goch

We have had a beautiful day of sunshine today and some fantastic views on our hill skills and navigation course. We headed into Cwm Idwal, up the back of Twyll Du (The Devils Kitchen) and up Y Garn and then across to Foel Goch. Steve & Roddy navigated all day with me throwing in some extra tips and strategies to build on yesterdays new skills. I was assisted today by Sally my 10 year old Jack Russel who enjoyed the walk!

Mountain Navigation & Hill Skills Course in Snowdonia

This weekend I have been joined by Roddy & Steve for a mountain navigation and hill skills course. The course covers:
- Two full days of practical navigation in the mountains of Snowdonia
- Introduction to different map scales
- How to set the map
- How to interpret contours
- How to interpret key symbols ie how to find a footpath, fence, stream etc
- How to plan and follow a route using paths and other key features
- How to plan and follow a route across featureless terrain
- How to estimate distance using pacing and timing
- How to navigate in poor or limited visibility
- How to use the compass
- How to re-orientate yourself if you do get lost
- Training and Assessment to Silver NNAS standard (optional - if you want to attend the course for your own benefit and do not require the certificate and cloth badge then you do not need to be assessed)
- Certificate and badge for successful candidates assessed to Silver level
- Movement over steep gound (this is not a scrambling course but will give a gentle introduction)
- Mountain weather - how the weather affects our route planning and choice during the day
- Emergency procedures in case of an incident
- Choice and use of equipment

Today we headed up onto Moel Berfedd behind the PYG Hotel and had a mixture of sunshine and showers. It looks set to be brighter tomorrow so fingers crossed!

Tremadog

For the last day of our 5 day learn to lead course we headed to Tremadog to try and avoid the heavy rain that was hanging over the mountains today. We had a mixture of sunshine and showers and Kirsty and Ruth lead Boo Boo and Oberon in good style!

The sun always shines on Anglesey

Yesterday was pretty wet here in Wales. We headed up the Idwal slabs and climbed Hope with Kirsty leading the first two pitches in the dry and then I took over as the rain set in. We looked at self protecting an abseil off the top and then squelched back to the car.
Today we headed to Holyhead Mountain on Anglesey and enjoyed a day of bright sunshine and a good breeze to dry the ropes out from yesterday. Kirsty and Ruth both lead all day and we were climbing Severe grade climbs.

Llanberis Pass - Flying Buttress

We headed into the Llanberis Pass today and enjoyed a dry day climbing Flying Buttress. This is a 6 pitch V Diff that climbs the right hand side of Dinas Cromlech and although it is polished it is a cracking line in a superb position. We then headed over the other side of the pass to look at abseiling and to summarise the work that we had been doing on building belays.

5 day learn to lead rock climbing course

I have been joined for the week by Ruth & Kirsty for a 5 day learn to lead climbing course. We headed to Tremadog today and got very wet this morning but dried off in the afternoon sunshine. We climbed Poor Mans Peutrey in 4 pitches and then headed back to the RAC boulders for a spot of bouldering to finish the day off with some movement coaching. I'm afraid the camera stayed in the rucksack so no photos today. Have a look at the course details here: http://www.expeditionguide.com/5daycourse.htm

Rock Climbing on Anglesey

We headed over the Menai Straits to Anglesey today to go climbing at Holyhead Mountain and escape the rain that was falling over the mountains. We had a great day with lots of sunshine and no rain at all and climbed a variety of routes from V Diff to Very Severe including my favorite route name of New Boots & Panties.

Intro to Climbing Course

It has been another showery day in Snowdonia but better than forecast and we have had a good day of rock climbing at the Upper Tier, Tremadog. We managed to avoid the showers by ducking under the trees and Matthew, Alice and David had their first taste of rock climbing and abseiling with some lovely views over Porthmadog.

Advanced Scrambling Course

Steve & Paul took it in turns on the sharp end of the rope this morning on the Direct Approach to Seniors Ridge. This is a grade 2 scramble up the side of the Idwal slabs. This gave them the chance to look at building belays, both direct and indirect and placing runners to protect the leader and to learn how to take coils. After lunch I took us up the Cneifion Arete before a spot of sunbathing at the top. A beautiful day with no rain at all!

Advanced Scrambling Course

I headed up onto the East Face of Tryfan today with Steve & Paul on an advanced scrambling course. We climbed Bastow Buttress Variant - a grade 2/3 scramble and then headed up the North Ridge for a quick blast to the summit. It was pretty damp today and some very atmospheric clouds were swirling around us.

Intro to Navigation

Having moved house this weekend it was very nice to get out into the mountains today. I was joined by Dawn and Gillian and assisted by my oldest son Josh! We headed up towards Y Foel Goch from Capel Curig and had a mixture of sunshine and some heavy showers which looks set to be the weather pattern for the next few days.

Hill Skills & Navigation Course

I have been joined this weekend by Sean, Clare & Chris for a weekend of navigation and hill skills. We have had lovely blues skies all weekend with a fresh NW wind today and some cloud cover. Yesterday we headed up the back of Pen Y Pass Youth Hostel looking at micro navigation and use of the compass, mountain weather and emergency procedures. Today we went up Pen Yr Ole Wen and Carnedd Dafydd to out all of the skills into the context of a mountain journey.

Snowdonia Mountain Challenge with Barry McGuigan

I was joined for the last two days by returning clients Monica and Jane along with Monicas brother Liam and retired world champion boxer Barry McGuigan. Our aim was to complete the Snowdonia Mountain Challenge to raise money for the Rod Kesson Benefit Fund http://www.rkbf.org/

The Snowdonia Mountain Challenge is a tough and grueling attempt to climb all of the mountaineering peaks over 3000 ft in the Snowdon and Glyderau ranges of the Snowdonia National Park over 2 days. The first day involved a 7:00am start up the Miners track on Snowdon. We were greeted by the entertaining sight of the Llanberis mountain rescue team installing a piano near the summit for a recital by Bryn Terfel later in the day. Barry entertained the workers to the delight of the assembled photographers before we headed over Garnedd Ugain and along Crib Goch. This was Barrys first taste of scrambling but the other 3 were all experienced and we enjoyed having the ridge almost to ourselves.
We dropped down to the Llanberis Pass before starting a long and arduous climb back up the other side to the summit of Elidir Fawr. We were climbing in the heat of the midday sun and starting to feel the pain! Blisters were also starting to make their presence felt in the team.
Our journey then took us up to the summit of Y Garn completing over 7000 feet of ascent before we dropped down to the Ogwen Valley via Cwm Idwal for a pick up 13 hours after we had started.

The following morning we climbed the Gribin Ridge, a grade 1 scramble that leads to the summit plateau of the Glyders. Barry and I engaged in a chin up competition on the Cantilever Stone much to the dismay of the ladies! We bagged our last two summits of the challenge, Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach before descending back to the Ogwen Valley for tea and medals!
You can view the photos at my gallery and donate to the appeal here: www.justgiving.com/barrymcguigan

Rock Improvers - Day 2

We headed to Holyhead Mountain today where the sun always shines - and it did! Tim & Sophie lead all day with me alongside them and pushed their grade up to Severe on New Boots & Panties, Mrs Murdoch and Steps. We revisited skills from yesterday including how to self protect an abseil and building good belays. A great couple of days.

Rock Improvers Course

This weekend I have been joined by Tim and Sophie for a rcok improvers course. Both have been climbing for 3 years and want some feedback on belays, abseiling and tips on pushing their grade. We climbed Charity on the Idwal Slabs today. It was overcast this morning but has developed into a beautiful day.

Rock Improvers Course

I spent the last two days with Jason and Tom on a rock improvers course. Both had done some climbing before and wanted to improve their existing skills and build confidence on the sharp end. On Tuesday we climbed Hope and Lazarus and the first couple of pitches of Ordinary Route on the Idwal Slabs whilst yesterday we headed to Holyhead Mountain and climbed a range of routes with both guys leading. We had fantastic sunshine both days again!

South Stack - Isle of Skye

We fancied a bit of an adventure today so decided to climb the sea stack that is pictured on the back of the guidebook for Skye. South Stack is situated off the very North tip of Skye at Rubha Hunish. We climbed the route Willie Hunish (VS) and used two tyrolean traverses to get to the base of the route without Simon and Paul getting wet - of course I had to swim the ropes across. A beautiful day to end a cracking week.

Pinnacle Ridge, Sgur nan Gillean

We had an overcast and slightly damp start to the day today but it has brightened up nicely as the day has gone on. We decided to do Pinnacle Ridge which is a great mountain route described by the guidebook as one of the finest rock courses in Britain (whatever a rock course is!). There we a couple of other guided parties doing the same thing and the clouds swirled around us atmospherically giving the impression of voices in the mist. The route includes a good abseil off the 3rd pinnacle as shown in the photo and we enjoyed a dip in the mountain pools to cool off at the end of the day. Simon & Paul refused to sign the consent form for swimwear shots so just me I'm afraid!

Sea Cliff Climbing at Elgol

We headed over to Elgol today to do some sea cliff climbing. A short walk along the top of the cliffs provided us with some beautiful views of the Cuillin and the smaller islands of Eigg and Rum out to sea. We abseiled down our first route, accompanied by a few midges who were sheltering from the Easterly wind. Jamie Jampot (VS 4c) was dispatched pretty quickly to escape the blighters. We then scrambled down the side of the cliffs and did a fun sea level traverse to the foot of Fertility Right (Severe) which Simon lead in good style. By now the midges were too much so after a bite to eat we headed to the Schoolhouse Buttress and climbed Schoolhouse Rock (VS 4c) as it started to rain. We then escaped the rain in the café for tea and scones!

Jack of Diamonds - Hard Severe

It has been another gorgeous day here on Skye, like May always used to be. I have been coming to Skye every year since a teenager and it never disappoints. The combination of lochs, sea and mountains together with perfect gabro rock (so grippy it wears your fingers out rapidly) means that any trip here feels special.
Today we headed back up to Sron na Ciche. This crag is divided into 3 parts, The East Buttress, Cioch Buttress and Western Buttress. Whilst we were on the Cioch yesterday in the shade we looked enviously on at people climbing Eastern Buttress in the sunshine so today that’s where we went. We had our eyes on Shangri-La a classic VS but we were beaten to it so climbed Jack of Diamonds instead. This is a 100m Hard Severe that leads to the top pitches of Direct Route (Mild Severe). This gave us about 7 pitches of climbing in all and took us to the top of Sron na Ciche. We got some great views across to the Cioch which is shown in the photo

Isle of Skye - Rock Climbing Course - Cioch Direct, Slab Corner, Trophy Crack & Integrity

Regular readers of this BLOG will recognise Simon and Paul who are regular clients and friends. We have all headed up to Skye this week to do as much climbing as the weather allows and some mountaineering if it gets wet.
Today the weather has been fantastic with bright blue skies, sunshine all day and enough of a breeze to keep the midges at bay.
We headed up towards the Cioch, scene of the famous sword fight in the film Highlander, and climbed Cioch Direct, 150 m Severe. We enjoyed lunch on the Cioch itself and then climbed Tropy Crack, E1, 5b, 4b and then Integrity, Mild Very Severe.
Ice creams were enjoyed back at the beach at Glenbrittle!

Shorn Cliff - No Musketeers

Yesterday evening I headed down to Shorn Cliff with a friend of mine, Terry. I haven't climbed at all of the Wye Valley crags, there are a lot of them tucked away deep in the Forest of Dean, but of the ones that I have climbed at this is my favourite.
The climbing tends to be technical in nature with the rock being a slab rather than the usual brutish steep climbing you get on Limestone. The rock is also not as polished as in many places and the 30 minute walk in means that it is normally quiet.
All of the routes are single pitch but are about 25m long. This one is HVS 5a but I decided to do the direct alternative which puts a direct finish up thin cracks over a bulge to a grade of E1 5c. The way I climbed it the last move involved pulling up on one finger with my right hand into a dyno for a hold for the left. I didn't catch the hold and took a whipper which was a bit of a nuisance. My last piece of gear was only a meter or so below me and held (it was a micro wire!). So there we go, no onsight for me! Terry then climbed One For All, a lovely Hard Severe before we headed home.