Atmospheric climbing

The day started off atmospherically at Castell Helen with a good sea mist and a strong breeze making the abseil into Lighthouse Arete (Vs 4c) a little more exciting than normal. I have been joined by regular clients and friends Martin and Gez and the roar of the sea was accompanied by the crying of the birds and moaning of the Lighthouse but the skies gradually cleared to give a beautiful day. We headed to Rhoscolyn this afternoon and climbed Truant (VS 4c), again with the waves crashing at our feet and a stunning blue sky. A lovely day.  

Mountain Rescue Training

I have been on a course with North Wales Police all weekend looking at dealing with fatal incidents in a Mountain Rescue context. The course was very useful and interesting and combined team members from several Rescue Teams with serving Police Officers, Coastguard, the Fire Brigade and the Coroners Office. I hope not to need the skills soon! 

Advanced Scrambling

I have been joined by repeat client Danny today for a day of scrambling on grade 2 and 3 ground. The weather has been pretty grim with continual rain and high winds but we still had a good day and climbed North West Face Route and the Cneifion Arête giving a nice progression through the grades. No photos I'm sorry, I didn't want to drown the camera!


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Clogwyn Y Person Arete & Crib Goch

Dave, Mark and I have been up the Clogwyn Y Person Arete today. We were expecting some heavy rain but actually enjoyed a dry day with some nice sunshine. The boys took over the sharp end of the rope and lead the upper section and we then headed across Crib Goch and down its North Ridge to complete a great day out. 

Advanced Scrambling

I have been joined for two days by Dave & Mark for an advanced scrambling course. Today the boys wanted to get on some grade 2 ground to see what the grade was like and to look at some ropework for looking after less experienced seconds on grade 1 ground. We climbed North West Face Route (2) in Cwm Idwal and then cut across the top of the Idwal Slabs to gain the bottom of Seniors Gully (1) via a short abseil. We then used the gully to look at use of the rope alone to protect the second. It was a little bit drizzly this morning but generally pretty good. A nice day! 

Climbing by the sea in the sunshine - again!

It has been another stunning day here in Snowdonia. This morning Will, Paul and I headed to Rhoscolyn where we climbed Truant (Vs 4c) which is a great non-tidal sea cliff route in the sunshine. We then headed to Castell Helen and climbed Lighthouse Arete (Vs 4c) in 3 pitches. I will let the photos say the rest! 

Climbing in the sunshine

I have been joined for a couple of days by friends and regular clients Will and Paul for a Rock Improvers Course. It has been a lovely day and we have made the most of the sunshine climbing by the sea on Anglesey. We went to Holyhead Mountain and Paul lead New Boots & Panties (S), Teaser (VS 4c) and Bruvvers (HVS 5a). The latter was Pauls first HVS and he did really well, climbing smoothly and in control the whole time. On each route we worked on refreshing skills for Will who has previously lead V Diff with me. Will then lead Black Owen (V Diff) after a couple of years away from climbing which was brilliant. A really nice day with great company and lovely weather - perfect!  

Helicopter Training with the Dogs at RAF Valley

I have had a great weekend with SARDA Wales at RAF Valley for our annual helicopter training with the dogs. I have put some photos and details of what we got upto on Skyes Dog Blog for those that are interested. 

ML Ropework Day

I have been working for Blue Peris Mountain Centre today on a Mountain Leader training course. Today was focused on the emergency use of the rope and we based ourselves in Cwm Idwal. It has been largely dry and bright with just the odd shower. 

The Foxes Path, Clogwyn Y Person Arete and Crib Goch

Will and I parked at Pen Y Pass this morning and took the Foxes Path round into Cwm Glas. We then climbed the Clogwyn Y Person Arete (3) before heading along Crib Goch in a light snow shower! No strange encounters today after yesterday but I was back up on Snowdon by tea time with the Llanberis Team. 

Three scrambles, a group of Irish singers and a toy.

I have been out with Will today who is a regular client and friend who has recently moved to Capel Curig. We kicked the day off with an ascent of Tryfan Bach (3) to spring board us up towards the Heather Terrace on Tryfan. From their we climbed Nor Nor Buttress (3) including the squeeze on the upper section that necessitates removing your rucksack and is always fun! We then did the upper section of the North Ridge (1), enjoying the warm dry rock and lovely views before topping out to listen to a group of Irish walkers singing what can only have been traditional Irish songs on the summit! A great day which was made all the funnier by the discovery of a black, shall we say "adult toy" attached to the fence by the A5. (Of course I only knew what it was because Will told me!!)

Seniors Ridge, The Glyders

Today the ladies and I headed into Cwm Idwal for the second day of scrambling skills. We made our way up Seniors Gully and onto Seniors Ridge, across the top of Glyder Fawr and down the Devils Kitchen. It has stayed dry and bright all day in spite of a fairly poor forecast. It has also been a bit cooler than the last couple of days which has made for a more comfortable day. We built on the skills that we covered yesterday and I had another lovely day in the mountains with some great company. 

North Ridge of Tryfan

I have been joined for the weekend by Sara, Naomi, Gail and Amelia to do some grade 1 scrambling. They have all got lots of experience of walking in the mountains and wanted to move onto enjoying grade 1 ridges and gullies. The weather has been gorgeous and we headed up the North Ridge of Tryfan looking at movement skills, risk management, route finding and general hill skills in ascent and descent. There were lots of other people out enjoying the sunshine and a light NE breeze kept the temperatures manageable. A lovely day. 

Cneifion Arete

I have been joined for a couple of days by Gary and Adrian who want to progress from grade 1 scrambles onto grade 2 and 3. We walked into Cwm Idwal this morning in the cloud and scrambled up Seniors Gully (1) into Cwm Cneifion and onto our chosen route, the Cneifion Arete. The boys had been eyeing up the route for a while so we decided to jump in at the deep end. We took our time doing lots of talking along the way, still in the cloud. We then descended the lower part of the Gribin Ridge and looked at retreating off routes once we broke into the beautiful sunshine. 

A few days of playing

I have had the last few days off and have enjoyed a nice mixture of time at home with the family and playing in the mountains with friends. I have done a bit of Search Dog training with Skye, a few rescues with the Llanberis Team, been climbing at Tremadog with Bryn and out on the mountain bikes with my oldest son. (Bryn and I headed to Moel Y Gest as neither of us had climbed their before. We climbed Fflat Huw Puw VS 5a, Mynd i Forio VS 5a and Das Boot E1 5c). What a great place North Wales is to live!