Wild Camping

I have been running a Mountain Leader Assessment this week. My friend and fellow instructor Paul took the helm for the first two days whilst I was away and I have taken over as the weather changed for the expedition element! We have had 3 days and 2 nights of wild camping where the candidates skills on navigation, steep ground, environmental knowledge, water hazards and campcraft were truly put to the test in heavy rain, 70 mph winds and thick hill fog. Our kit took a bit of a pasting too! Still a lot of fun nonetheless and a pleasure to be out in the hills with motivated and keen people.

Climbing in the Alps

Alec and I enjoyed a great weekend of climbing in the Alps this weekend, whilst the UK was enjoying the best sunshine of the year so far! We arrived to thunderstorms but the weather cleared on Friday night so on Saturday morning after a quick shop for food and gas we caught the Auguille de Midi Cable Car and jumped out at close to 3800m. With a slight shortness of breath we walked downhill in 20cm of fresh powder on snowshoes as the skiers whooped past us on the Valley Blanche. A local guide stopped us to ask what we were heading for and didn't seem impressed at my response that we were extreme snowshoers!

We made our way to the East Face of Pointe Lachenal and climbed the Pellissier Gully. This gave a great route, graded as TD or III, M5 with sections of snow, rock and ice. The ice itself was a little cruddy but a good winter in Scotland meant we were well prepared for that. The crux was a grade 5 mixed pitch that gave a couple of moves reminiscent of Arch Gully that I climbed this winter with Huw on Glyder Fach. They were fun and well protected if physical and slightly overhanging at altitude. We rapped the route and then headed for the winter hut at the Cosmiques. It was locked and we were too tight (and scared of the guardian because we hand't booked) to pay for the main Cosmiques hut so we bivvied under the stars. Sounds romantic but it was pretty chilly!

After shivering the night away we had to defrost in the sun before our bodies would operate in anything like a normal fashion. We headed round to the Three Points Pillar of Mont Blanc du Tacul and climbed the Albinoni-Gabarrou Couloir (TD). The route is 550m long and we soloed the first 250m which allowed us to catch and then overtake another party on the route. The upper pitches are given Scottish Grade 4 but the very top pitch was thin and felt harder as is often the case! As soon as the sun hit the upper face we were bombarded by ice and stonefall so I would recommend an early start.

The ice was in much better nick than we had found on the Pellissier although the snow was soft and cruddy for most of the route. It was a beautiful line in some fantastic surroundings and having completed the route the weather turned which made it easier to head home.

Off to the Alps

I am away in the Alps now until Tuesday for a quick hit climbing weekend. Apologies for the delay in getting back to any enquiries. 

Stunning Snowdonia

It has been another stunning day here in Snowdonia. I was joined by Adam, Dave, Rob, John and Richard for a navigation and hill skills course and we spent the day looking at use of a map and compass, micro navigation skills and tactics and what to do when the proverbial hits the fan. We headed up the Watkin Path on Snowdon before enjoying some off the path navigation in Cwm Llan and Cwm Tregalan - an absolutely beautiful day.

Evening cragging in the sunshine

Wow, what a beautiful couple of days. Bryn and I headed to Penmaenhead this evening and enjoyed some bolt clipping in the sunshine by the sea - perfect!

Climbing in the Costa Blanca

I have spent the weekend in Spain climbing on the Costa Blanca. I was joined by regular clients Martin, Gez, Jude and Sue and by fellow instructor and friend Alec. We had a great few days clipping bolts and getting strong ready for the UK summer! It was good training in many ways as it was surprisingly wet for Spain in April, nevertheless we saw a bit of T Shirt action and had some good laughs along the way, sticking mainly to the coastal crags to avoid the wet weather in the mountains. Thanks all for a great weekend.

Intro to Scrambling

I have been into Cwm Idwal today with Mike and Andy for an intro to scrambling course here in Snowdonia. The day started off overcast but quickly brightened and we enjoyed a good day heading up Seniors Gully and then Seniors Ridge to the summit of Glyder Fawr before descending the Devils Kitchen. Along the way we coached movement skills, route finding and risk assessments before looking at how to use the rope to protect a nervous second and retreat off a difficult step.
I am off the Spain for the weekend now on our Costa Blanca Rock Climbing course, roll on the sun!

Navigation on the Carneddau

For the second day of our navigation course we drove round to the Northern end of the Carneddau and headed into Cwm Eigiau. We journeyed over the tops and put into place the skills we had learnt yesterday, polishing and honing strategy and methods of navigation in a mountain context. It was a much nicer day and we had some stunning views across the coast and the Conwy valley. Beautiful.