New Climber Course 7-11 June

Mike from Corsham had done a little indoor climbing, but wanted to learn how to do it properly! He booked 5 days with me and despite day one being wet, he said he had "a great, life changing time"! To show him what to do, I took Mike to Halldrine Cove, Roche Rock, Hawks Tor, Pordenack Point, Gurnards Head and Bosigran. By the end of the week, Mike had led a couple of Severes and had successfully followed a couple of VSs, including the very steep Mexican Pete at Pordenack. Highlights of the week were climbing Right Angle in the evening gloom, finishing at 9.55pm, the beer in the Tinners Arms afterwards and Mike leading the whole of Bosigran Ridge (including the Armchair pitch).

The Lovely Lizard - 4th June

Climbing on the Lizard today with a doctor from Gloucester! Fab weather again. Nice easy routes, including Sirius (HS), followed by much steeper stuff on Hollywood Walls (Silent Movie VS). It has been a long time since I ventured this far South and it has been a pleasant change. Reckon I'll be back soon.

Big Waves 2/3 June

Surf Coaching for EBO Adventure at Penhale corner. A BIG swell made for difficult conditions, with rips and mountains of white water. The guys did well, though, with most people getting to their feet and riding to the beach. Good to see the nudists out too!

Boys Weekend - Bank Holiday

Went to Gower, South Wales with my eldest, Sam, for some camping, climbing and surfing. It rained on Saturday, so we walked over the low tide causeway to Worms Head to look for fossils after some lovely fish and chips. Sunday was lovely and sunny, so we went climbing in Three Cliffs Bay. Sam (12) did really well, following me on the two classics VS route, Arch Slab and Scavenger. We also climbed the East Ridge of Great Tor. Monday we scored 3-4foot Llangennith. Yes, it was busy in the morning, but as time went on, the crowds thinned out and it turned into a great afternoon session. Sam managed to get out back 3 times under his own steam - nice one kid!

Respect

Have been working with a group Armed Forces guys through EBO Adventure. Some of the guys are undergoing rehab for various ailments, but a couple of them are amputees from the Afghanistan conflict. Despite their situations, to see these extraorinary guys put on their artificial limbs and go kayaking and mountain biking is nothing short of inspiring.

Duchy Dynamos 20-21 May

A small expedition down the River Dart to Lukey Tor for some climbing and abseiling with a group of Public Services students from Duchy College. The weather was great and conditions on the crag, perfect. The students built their own shelters for the night, then did some climbing on top ropes. The next morning, those who wanted to were given the opportunity to abseil from the top of the cliff before we walked back to Dartmeet.

A morning with CHICKS 17th May

Had a great morning looking after young people from CHICKS at Vitalise Churchtown. These guys come from Inner City areas and are blown away by the sights and sounds of the Cornish countryside. Running a climbing wall session and seeing these guys achieve their goals is just great.

BMC International Sea Cliff Climbing Meet Final Day

Its the last day of a fantastic week. Everyone has been saying how good it has been and how great the climbing is in Cornwall. Marco and I headed over to finish the week by climbing Right Angle (HS), then heading back to Bosigran Main Cliff to climb Autumn Flakes (HS) and Paragon (HVS) before food and beers over at the Tinners Arms in Zennor. Full reports of the Meet willbe published by the BMC over the coming weeks.

BMC International Sea Cliff Climbing Meet Day 5

Another day, another climbing partner. This time it was Marcos from Croatia. Unfortunately, it was wet in the morning so I took him on a cultural visit to St Ives. Not tempted by art gallerys and pasties, we drank double expressos (not strong enough, according to Marco) and ate ice creams. By the afternoon, it had dried up enough for us to venture onto the rock. It was lovely in the late afternoon sun down near the start of Bosigran Ridge. Marco led Variety Show (HVS) then the immaculate Gallipoli (E1) before we soloed up the Ridge in the evening sun.

BMC International Sea Cliff Climbing Meet 4

It was sunny today, Yippee! With the tides being favourable, a big crowd of us went over to Pordenack Point near Lands End. Christos was still happy to climb easier routes, such as Economists Climb, but soon we were hauling ourselves up the steep and juggy "Friends", a toughly graded VS. Christos did well by leading the top pitch. Then it was off to do battle with Lands End Long Climb. Again, I let Christos lead it all. Fish and Chips had been organised for everyone, so once we had got to the top, we headed off to St Just for tea.

BMC International Sea Cliff Climbing Meet 3

I know its taken a while to to get round to updating this blog, but here goes! Day 3 of the Meet and it's all change! Not only has the weather taken a turn for the worse (its got colder), but we have swapped partners. I am now climbing with Christos from Cyprus. His experience of trad climbing is limited as climbing on Cyprus is sport related, so we spent the day on the main cliff of Bosigran, just climbing easy classic routes such as Alison Rib, Big Top etc so Christos could concentrate on placing gear and building belays then, just to finish, Christos stormed the superb Little Brown Jug (VS).

BMC International Sea Cliff Climbing Meet Day 2

A quieter day today (thankfully). Loads of people headed over to Chair Ladder because to tides were favourable. I am still climbing with Nimrod, which is great. we have similar outlooks to life etc. Again, I let him lead the first two routes, Diocese and the Hard Rock Route, Bishops Rib. After a quick bite to eat, we head back down where I led Bishops Arete, a route which covers little new ground (includes bits of Diocese, Bishops Rib and The Mitre), but was fun, nonetheless. Thankfully, Nimrod says he needs a rest, so its off to introduce him to the delights of a Cornish Cream Tea!

BMC International Sea Cliff Meet Day 1

Phew! What a day! I have been paired with Nimrod Nachmias from Israel. With the weather on the North coast looking iffy, we headed South to sunny St Loy, where I handed the ropes over to Nimrod. As he has climbed extensively in Wadi Rum in Jordan, he is used to 'trad' climbing and made short work of Cress Cendo, Chlorophyl Cluster and Monochrome Men. He then decided to have a look at Finesse, a very bold E4. Lets just say he did ok (a full body smear on the upper slab helped him over the crux!). We then headed over to Bosigran for the afternoon/evening and climbed Thin Wall Special and Bow Wall as the sun was setting. This has been the most extensive amount of hard climbing I have done in 10 years. 6 routes, 9 'E' points and sore arms! Everyone (60 climbers in all) said that it had been a fab day, with many of Cornwall's classic routes being done, from Diffs to E6. Bring on tomorrow.

BMC FUNdamentals etc

Just spent the last two days up in Bristol at the Undercover Rock climbing centre indulging in a little CPD. The British Mountaineering Council ran a couple of coaching courses, so I thought it would be a good idea to learn about what the latest ideas were on this subject. I learnt loads and will be putting it into practise next week on the BMC International Sea-cliff Climbing Meet, down in West Penwith. Thanks to Neil Johnson of Peak Mountain Training for facilitating the course. Right, must go and get packed....now where did I leave that Kyrgyzstani phrasebook??

Aussie Rules

Had a fab day yesterday down in Penwith with Gerard Healey, a visiting Australian on a whistlestop business tour of the world looking at green architecture. Having sent a day at the Eden Project, he wanted to sample the delights of Cornish Granite so we headed off to Bosigran. Despite rain the night before, the crag was dry and after nipping up the delightful Doorpost, Gerard led Little Brown Jug. "What a great place and super friction", he said. Gerard's stomping ground is Mt Arapilies in Victoria which is mostly a 'trad climbing' area, so he adapted well to our style of climbing here in Cornwall. Next it was off to Chair Ladder where we swung leads on Diocese before I handed the rope to Gerard, who ran up the classic South Face Direct. He's now off to Ireland, then Canada and the US. I hope he gets the chance to go to Yosemite on his 3 day visit to San Francisco. The granite there is good, but not as good as Cornish Granite!! Thanks to Si and Matt at Cornish Rock Tors for the booking.

Surfs Up!

Just had a fab day out surfing around Newquay. After a 2 week flat spell, it was great to see the waves again. Even the sun has been shining. Met up with a mate this morning and surfed 2 foot Whipsiderry, then Watergate for high tide this afternoon. It was just like a summers day, but without the crowds and ticker neoprene! Kayaking tomorrow on the South Coast.

Lovely, lovely St Loy

Had a fab day down at St Loy yesterday with Mossee and Hannah. I managed to get up a couple of E1s and follow Mossee up an E4 without falling off. Not a bad effort since I haven't climbed for ages! I then went over to Porthgwarra and soloed Hellava Slab and one of Mr Kirkus' routes in the evening sun. Just perfect!

Raiding Party

I went up to N Devon yesterday to help Mark Garland develop a new cliff that he'd spied on one of his many forays in his backyard. With the fab weather helping this along, it was great to get out on the rock. The rock on the Culm Coast does lead a lot to be desired, but you do get used to it! The climbs were short, steep but on fabulous holds, making for great climbing. Belays not too great though. Climbing new routes is very thrilling and satisfying as you never know what the outcome is going to be until you get to the top!! I've been sworn to secrecy as to where the crag is, so you'll have to wait until Mark decides to let the cat out of the bag!

All sorts

Many apologies for not updating the blog for nearly 3 weeks now. It has partly been due to dashing around the country doing stuff. I had a fab week in the Peak District with Duchy College. The weather was cold but dry and we spent 4 magnificent days on the Grit at Birchens, Stanage, The Roaches and Froggatt. Since then, its been climbing on Bodmin Moor, kayaking at Fowey, coasteering and surfing in Newquay and some down time to catch up on the admin! It was very cold in Cornwall today. In fact the weather put paid to kayaking plans today. Strong westerlies, coupled with spring tides meant a day checking climbing equipment. I'm off to the Lake District next week with the Air Cadets. Lets hope the weather improves!

ML Training - Day 3

This run of dry, cold weather is unbelievable! When will it end? We've been out in the northern part of the Moelwyns, polishing navigation and leadership skills. The hills still look fab. Security on steep ground and technical rope work tomorrow.

ML Training - Day 2

Guess what? Yeap, its another stunning day in Snowdonia! We've spent the day micro-navigating around the Moelwyns and making an ascent of Cnicht. Views from the summit were some of the best I've ever had in 25 years of mountaineering in Wales! All the way out to the Lleyn and around Cardigan Bay. Snowdon and the other peaks looking majestic, almost alpine like. On our way around the humps and bumps, the guys and girls discovered Robbie Williams hiding in a natural shelter. (See photo). We are all hoping that these conditions last until the weekend. More hills tomorrow - Yippee!

ML Training - Day 1

Conditions in Wales couldn't be better. Blue skies and light winds, along with snowy tops meant that the views of Snowdon are spectacular. I have been helping run a Summer Mountain Leader Training course with Rick Abbott MIC. Day one today, and the candidates have had a gentle start to the course, gaining insight into the mountain environment and navigation.

Wales Part 2

Yeap, I'm in North Wales again. Working for Duchy College on their Advanced Instructor Training Programme. Had an easy drive up, but it was a long one. Thats the trouble with speed limited minibuses! Someone should hurry up and invent the teleport, just like in Star Trek.

Fun on the White Stuff

Mark Garland and I managed to sneak in a half days winter climbing in Cwm Idwal on Saturday. The weather was fabulous, with blue skies and virtually no wind. However, the same couldnt be said for the ice etc. After much wandering about, we decided to climb Idwal Stream (grade II). Unfortunately, it wasn't fully frozen so we had to skirt around the main pitches to avoid getting wet!! I am now back in Cornwall for the rest of the week. Hopefully I'll get a surf in.

Cold Camping

I've just got back from a cold night's camping in the Moelwyns. Theres plenty of snow about and it keeps coming! We made life a little easy for the students by allowing them to follow a fence/boundary line for most of the day, before pitching camp. For many of them, this was their first winter camping experience - it was a fast learning curve!

Welsh Winter Continues..

I am up in Snowdonia for the week with the Advanced Instructor Training Programme students from Duchy College. We've been out and about at the southern end of the Ogwen valley, working on their navigation and mountaineering skills. The weather has been fabulous, giving great views of the higher peaks., but there has been the odd snow shower passing through. It was good to get out and stretch the legs after a long drive from Cornwall.

Mega Days

The last two weeks have been fabulous down in the South West, if a little cold. Both Will and Jez have progressed well and are now leading climbs graded Severe, which, considering they had never climbed anything 3 weeks ago, is fab news. Our final full day was at Trewavas Head which was warm enough to be climbing in t-shirts (as long as you kept in the sun and out the wind!). The boys now have a weeks break before heading up to Plas Y Brenin in North Wales to undergo Single Pitch Award training. Good luck guys!

Dry Rock on Dartmoor

Had a fab day at Sheeps Tor on Dartmoor yesterday. Sunny, warm and dry! No-one else their either. Bonus. Spent the day showing the guys how to rig the crag for group work, then did a bit of climbing. Jason was showing off his proud collection of new wires he bought at the weekend. They look ok now, now that they have a few scratches on them! Off to Bodmin Moor today, followed by another few days down in West Penwith. Weather forecast looks ok too.

Busy,busy,busy

Many apologies, but I know its been a while since my last post. I had to dash up to Cumbria to give lectures to the pupils of Sedbergh School before heading back to Cornwall to work with students from Duchy College. Last week I spent 5 days instructing a couple of guys in preparation for their SPA Training. Wasn't it cold last week? Still, we managed to get some good, if easy climbs done at Halldrine Cove, Bosigran and Trewavas Head. Going to keep it short and just post some piccys as iI need to get things sorted for next week. More Climbing for me!

Found - a semi dry crag in Wales

Its another wet day in Snowdonia, so my mates, Chris and the Mincer, and I headed out to the coast to check out some of our old haunts from 15 years ago. This little crag is nicely situated in a pub carpark and the routes were orginally climbed by Andy Pollit ages ago. It now sports several bolted routes, which given the very wet and compact rock, were a God send. Nice to know I can still climb E1 5b (or F6a for you sporty types) in the wet.

We also checked out a recently developed crag not far from Colwyn Bay. The lines looked good, but unfortunately it was dripping wet. Reckon it would be a nice place to climb in the evening after work

Wet Wet Wales

Well, I got all excited about ice climbing in Wales, especially with the recent wintery conditions, but, having driven up the road for 7 hours, I arrived at the start of a major thaw - bummer! A few lucky souls had managed to get up the Devil's Appendix in Cwm Idwal before the freezing level shot up above the summits. So rapid was the thaw that there was a full depth avalanche on the western slopes of Y Garn. It has got warmer (and wetter) throughout the day, accompanied by strong southerly winds. Certainly not the right conditions to go ice climbing. I shall be meeting some friends over the weekend, so maybe I'll go climbing at Gogarth instead.

Dartmoor Wanderings

Had a great day wandering around the Sourton area with some guys practising their navigation skills. The temperature rose gently throughout the day, but there is stil plenty of snow, and if you believe the weathermen, there's more on the way tomorrow!

Possibilities

Yet another cold day with a raw north easterly wind down here in Cornwall. Many of the minor roads are still covered with ice, making travelling by car a slow process. I ventured out to see if I could get down to Watergate Bay, access for which is down one of 3 steepish roads. Fortunately, all roads were clear of ice and I was able to nip into the surf for an hour or so. (2-3 foot and a bit bumpy due to a northerly wind and poor sandbanks). I also checked out some of the icefalls that had formed on cliffs at the back of the bay. If this weather continues, I'll have to get my axes out!

Constantine Icebreaker

Well I managed to get over to Constantine Bay, despite the icy roads, for a surf this afternoon. It was 3-4 foot on a dropping tide, with the occasional bigger set. It was a little bumpy as there was some north to the wind, but it was fun! A handful of other hardy souls joined me out on the Point, including local soul man, Nelly Erskine, who was shredding. Boobies looked good too.

The Ice Box

Brrrrrr! It was minus 8 here last night, the coldest its been in years. Fortunately there has been no more fresh snow over night. I am going to wait until later before I attempt to go surfing. Its 3-4 feet and cleanish and the sun is shining! Thank God for 5mm neoprene!

Here we snow again

Well, its day 3 of snow here in Cornwall. Many schools and businesses are closed and the council is running out of grit for the roads. The snow showers are fairly localised, so even though it may be clear where you are, just down the road could be 2-3 inches worth! I managed to get across Bodmin Moor to Duchy College and back on Tuesday and Wednesday without too much hastle. (That must have been due to my 3 years living in the Highlands!) I am stuck at home with the kids at the moment, so no climbing for me - not that there's much winter climbing to be had down this way. The temperature needs to be well below freezing at sea level for any of the coastal waterfalls to freeze. Still, the charts are looking good for surf tomorrow. Let's hope the wind doesn't swing too far round to the North.

Stay safe out there