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Winter in Scotland 2011

Wed, 2 Mar 2011 01:05:09 +0000

Blogging starts again - I have a new laptop! It’s been a very busy winter so far, and plenty of it left yet to come. This week I’m working on another Winter Mountain Leadership course in the Eastern Highland for Glenmore Lodge near Aviemore, and next week I’ll be working on an ice climbing course for Jagged Globe back over in Glencoe. Large chunks of my time have been taken up by working for these guys, with some private work generated from this website to fill in the gaps.

Such a busy year last year. I worked in five continents over the twelve month period; perhaps I should’ve stuck some Antarctica and Australasia work in for good measure!

I took the photo above from Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis, which I guided the other day with pro photographer Alex Ekins, so hope to get some great new shots on this site soon! I have some free weekends later this month and into April, if anyone is interested - often the best time to catch Ben Nevis ice climbing in the best condition :-) Get in touch!

Dow Crag

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:13:26 +0100

Eliminate A - an absolute classic route up on Dow Crag. It’s sustained at its VS grade for almost all or its 110 metres and 6 pitches. Surely a contender for the best VS in the country? This was the finale of Paul’s and my two days climbing together.

Multi-pitch problem solving

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 23:37:06 +0100

If venturing onto bigger climbs, especially those in more remote locations, it becomes increasingly important to bear in mind how to deal with coping when things don’t go to plan. This was a two day course to help with this. This picture shows practicing one of those skills: to abseil past a knot in the rope - perhaps necessary when linking ropes for a 100 metre abseil descent, or bypassing a damaged section of rope.

Escaping from the anchor system to get to a climbing partner in need of assistance; hoisting up a struggling climbing partner; lowering a climber multiple rope lengths past knots are other skills are other skills worth learning.

St Bees re-bolting - Cumbria Bolt Fund

Sun, 4 Apr 2010 00:16:31 +0100

This is one of the new lower-off bolts at the top of the Apiery Wall area of St Bees. It’s a fantastic location for both sport climbing and bouldering, but many bolts need replacing. Fortunately we have the Cumbria Bolt Fund - the bolts themselves are paid for by donations from several organisations including the BMC and the Fell and Rock Club. The drilling is being done by volunteers.

737challenge

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:45:18 +0000

Something a bit different this time: a rare trip from the Cairngorms over to the West Highlands to work for one of my most long standing work contacts: Jagged Globe. to spend three days with Richard Parks and Steve Williams. Richard is a former Welsh International rugby player, and Steve the double Olympic Champion in the coxless fours. I knew fitness was probably not going to be an issue here! Richard is training for a challenge he will start later this year: to climb the highest mountains on each continent and visit both the South and North Poles, in seven months. Steve will travel with him to the North Pole and to the summit of Everest. One of Richard’s main motivations is to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care

The brief: to pass on as many relevant mountaineering skills as I can. Day one on Aonach Mor set the scene: solid movement skills on snow and ice, and ropework. Day two began with an ascent of NC Gully on Stob Coire Nan Lochan, followed by Richard and Steve’s first summit together: Stob Coire Nan Lochan - in a white out. Our descent of Broad Gully went extremely well, except that a passer by showed us what can happen if crampon and axe technique is done badly: he slid past us from the top of the gully to the base. Fortunately he chose a good soft snow day and was totally unhurt. Day three was Ledge Route on Ben Nevis. I was assured by my two time Everest summiting colleague - Adele, that this route was perfect for Everest preparation. This went very smoothly. Richard has a good amount of previous experience on steep ground, but it was new to Steve and he impressed me a lot with how quickly he took to operating in this environment and using the necessary skills. Good luck both of you!