I have arrived in Scotland, but where is the winter? 23rd Nov

Its great to be back up North. I have been busy getting settled in at a mates house and hunting for work. I can't believe how warm it is. Not even a hint of a snowflake. It was 2 foot deep in Aviemore last year. What a contrast!

The Morning After the Day Before! (19 Nov)

Well, I don't have a sore head, but it was a great night. Good food and great company. I haven't seen some of the people at the dinner for 10 years or more. It was great to catch up with friends and climbing partners and hear about climbing trips to far flung corners of the globe. Now off to Scotland

November

Just a few days working for Duchy College, a couple of days surfing, then it's off to Scotland I go! The plan is to spend the winter reinforcing my knowledge and expanding my experience of winter mountaineering so that I will sail through my Winter Mountain Leader assessment at the end of March! I'm looking forward to some winter climbing too, and have dusted down my ice axes and crampons, once I found them! On the way north, I shall be stopping off in the Lake District for my mountaineering club's Annual Dinner - the social event of the year!

October

A busy month for me, work-wise. I had two great weeks at the beginning of the month working for EBO Adventure, who were hosting Physical Training Instructors from the Royal Omani Air Force. The guys were over here to learn 'the ropes' and give them more experience on supervising rock climbing sessions for their subordinates back in Oman. Despite the language and cultural differences, we all had a great time and the guys were fun to work with and keen to learn. Assisting me was Karen from Salt Air Adventures, and together, we visited many of our favourite local crags to give the guys plenty of opportunity to learn and practise their climbing/belaying/ropework skills. Fortunately the weather was good (although the Omanis kept saying how cold it was) and we discovered that Crantock Bakeries produce halal pasties! This was a good thing, as sourcing food to meet the Omani's religious diet laws provded to be a challenge in this part of the world!

Next up was a week in the Lake District working with Infantry recruits. Four days of navigation, climbing and paddling in a variety of weather conditions. I'm glad I packed my waterproofs! Despite not having done many of the activities, the troops were full of enthusiasm and enjoyed a more, relaxing time than they usually get back at barracks. In 3 months time, most of them will be out in Afghanistan, most of them are under 25. Stay safe guys and keep your heads down.

September

Oooooooo! More climbing this month and not just in Cornwall! I had a few trips north of the border to climb at The Dewerstsone (Devon), Subluminal (Dorset), Three Cliffs Bay (The Gower) and Wintours Leap (Wye Valley) as well as the usual forays to West Penwith. September is a great month to be in Cornwall as most holiday makers have gone home, the kids are back at school, the sea is nice and warm and the sun usually shines all day. This made both the climbing and the coasteering I did for Extreme Coasteering very pleasant. There was some great surf at the end of the month and I had a couple of fab sessions at Llangennith (as well as some great climbing). I had some superb company too. Special mention must go to Simon, Emma and Sue (you know who you are). All great people and great company.

August

August - lots of climbing with lots of different people in lots of different places! Some of it work and some of it, pleasure. Had a fun day out at Bosigran with 3 guys from The Lizard, cuminating in a mass ascent of Bosigran Ridge. Took one of the mature students at Duchy College out to the Dewerstone to do some multipitch climbing for her Logbook - it was grey, damp and windy but the crag was dry. Took my boys to Roche Rock for an afternoon of bouldering. Did some coasteering in Devon and Cornwall for Salt Air Adventures and Outposts, all good clean fun! I also led the whole of Beowulf (E2) at Bosigran, which has been on my 'hit list' for a long time. Great climbing, on perfect rock, with just about enough gear. That said, it's best to have a steady head for the middle pitch!

Who's Been a Naughty Boy Then?

Well, I guess I have, seeing as I haven't got round to updating this Blog since the beginning of August! But, to be fair, I have been rather busy! It's been a very active second half of the year with lots of climbing, coasteering, surfing, mountaineering, kayaking AND even some Mountain Biking, phew! So I think the best thing I can do to get up to date would be to post a months worth of photos and comments, rather than individual days....(yes, I know it's lazy, but Christmas is coming)

Been busy

Well it's been nearly 2 months since I wrote anything on here, but in my defense, I have been very busy, I spent most of July working in the Lake District. Lots of scrambling, navigation training, paddling on Windermere, climbing and abseiling. I even managed to get out for some personal climbing with friends at the Roaches (Staffordshire), Slipstones (Yorkshire) and in the Lakes too. I did manage to get up to Scafell Crag for the first time and solo the classic Botterill's Slab (VS). I'm now back in Cornwall and one of the first things I did was to go and jump in the ocean for a surf! Have been Coasteering today for Salt Air Adventures. Had a great time swimming, scrambling along/up cliffs and then jumping back into the sea from various heights. Summer is nice down this way, but the surf is generally weak/small. Went climbing too. Just a couple of hours at Roche Rock, which is a great little crag to stop off at if you are passing through. Unusal as there the remains of a chapel on top!

Evenings soloing

Nipped out in the sunshine this evening to try and find some of the climbs up at Butterhole, near Padstow. I've been searching for this crag, on and off, for a couple of years and tonight I hit the jackpot! A seam of pillow lava, just southwest of the entrance to the Camel Estuary sports some fab looking lines and some solid rock (almost unheard of in this part of Cornwall)! As time was getting on, I soloed up 'Little Robert', an absolutely brilliant VS, worth of 2 stars, at least! I'll be going back there soon to do some more!

More Crowd Control 7-9 June

Back at Adventure Okehampton for 3 days of kayaking and high roping. The kids loved it and many overcame their fear of water and heights. Also tried to get up to Blackchurch in North Devon one evening to do some personal climbing but it was raining hard when we pulled up in the car park. Oh well, maybe next time!

Out with the Girls 06 June

Had a fun day out with Fay and Karen of Salt Air Adventures, down at Carn Barra and Hella Point. The sun shone, tea was drunk and climbs were climbed! It wasn't work, just some mates hanging out and having a fun time, just how climbing should be!

Lizard Kings 05 June

Was invited by Dave Hope to help him with the Lizard section of the new climbing guide to West Cornwall. Dave's been doing lots of research and spending a lot of time down from his hometown of Bath to ensure he gets everything right. Its a complex area and very interesting geologically. His mate, Dave Issitt, came along too and before the end of the day, we had climbed 11 new routes graded Diff to E1! You'll have to wait for the guide to come out to get the details, and no, I'm not going to let on where the crag is, no matter how much you try and bribe me!

Early Morning Perfection 04 June

Up at 5 to surf at Crantock. Couldn't believe how sunny and warm it was at that time of day. Just me and my mate Jez catching glassy 2-3 footers. The wind had calmed down from the night before, making it a joy to surf. My arms were aching after the session the evening before and I missed the 'wave of the day' because of it. Doh! Note to self - get in the water more!

Surfs Up (again) 03 June

Jumped in the sea at Watergate Bay in the evening. There was a good swell creating 4-5 foot waves, but the wind was strong cross-shore making it lumpy. Still the sun was out, I was in a summer wetsuit, without booties and the after surf drinks at The Phoenix pub were great!

Crowd Control 23-27 May

A week of fun and games with young people at Adventure Okehampton. Based on the edge of Dartmoor, this YHA centre is perfectly placed allow youngsters to experience the fun of the outdoors - even if it's raining! I helped out with climbing, high ropes and a day's walking on the moor, including an ascent of Yes Tor and High Whillays, the 2 highest points in the southwest.
I managed to get a couple of evening's of personal climbing, firstly at Hay Tor Low Man where I led the classic Aviation and again at Compass Point, Bude where I managed to climb Crymtyphon before it chucked it down with rain. Well done Ross for hanging on in there!

Namaste! Lake District 17-10 May

Went up to the Lake District to put some Gurkhas through some Adventurous Training. It's been 10 years since I was last in Nepal and it was great to be around these wonderful people again, as they are so polite and proud. I taught them climbing, abseiling, kayaking and navigation. They taught me some Nepali, most of which can't be repeated on a family friendly site such as this blog! They all thought the views from Kentmere Pike were beautiful and reminded them of home. Thanks for your company guys. Stay safe.

Namaste!

EBO Internship 03-15 June 2011

Well, I've been busy,busy,busy! That's why I haven't updated the Blog for a while. I now have a couple of hours to catch up on everything (bills/emails/car maintenance etc), so here's the abridged version!!!



At the beginning of May I had two weeks teaching trainee outdoor instructors how to be climbers, to prepare them for their Single Pitch Award. We had 10 days of good weather and visited many of the super crags around Cornwall, including Bosigran, Sennen, Hawks Tor and Cheesewring Quarry. I worked with Jenny (mad) and Quintin (hole digger) for the whole period and it was great to see their confidence grow and their love of climbing develop. On the last weekend, they underwent SPA training with fellow MIA, Phill Matthews. It was smiles all round as both Jenny and Quintin coped well with the course. Keep climbing guys. It won't be long before you are ready for SPA Assessment!




Jenny and Quintin were on the Internship provided by EBO Training.

Two days of cragging (25/26th April)

I can't believe this weather! It's been sunny and warm for what seems like months. I managed to get 2 more days of climbing down in West Penwith with various friends. Firstly a day out with fellow Climbers Club member Andy March. Initial plans of climbing in Freedom Zawn near Bottallack had to be abandoned due to quite a strong swell that was swamping the ledges at the bottom of the zawn, even at low tide! We decided to head east and climb on the cliffs at Zennor, which are above the sea. Here the rock is killas, rather than granite and is very angular, producing sharp incut holds. We did several routes, including the classic Rosebud in June, on which we were joined by the first ascentionist, Toni Carver, who had popped down from St Ives for the day. It was nearly 38 years to the day Toni first led the route and to have this local legend on the end of my rope was a great moment for me.

The following day I met up with friends Michele and Vic who were down here on holiday. Michele graciously agreed to let Vic off the leash for the day and we shot off to Carn Barra before she changed her mind! Here the climbs are short and steep, but start well above the sea. Most are of excellent quality and we very quickly got up 3 routes, before deciding that the tide was low enough to venture onto Fox Promontory. Here, the North Face catches the late afternoon/evening sun and is a great venue for the middle grade climber, as there are several quality VS/HVS climbs. The best of the bunch is The Curtain Raiser. Graded VS, its more like HVS as the climbing is sustained, absorbing and protection hard to find. I must admit it was good to see Vic going for it on the routes he led, especially as he doesn't get out much these days.

Playground of the Ancients

Finally some climbing! With the winds going northerly and "onshore" on the North coast, making for poor surf conditions, I headed down to West Penwith with my friend Jez, to climb Rosemergy Ridge. Hidden away to the west of Bosigran, this tiny esoteric outing was first climbed in 1906 by Arthur Andrews and his younger sister, Elsie, during their discovery and development of West Penwith as a climbers playground. Although short, it has lots of character, including some good, old fashioned chimneying and a small abseil/lower. On the front of the ridge is the steep Monolith Slab which as a handful of harder, but enjoyable pitches. The crag faces west and catches the late afternoon/evening sun and is a delightful place to climb, away from the crowds at Bosigran, a mere stones throw away. I'm sure I will be visiting it again in the future.

Surf, Surf, Surf.......

Well, it's been an incredible run of surf down here in the South West and it's been accompanied by sunny skies and very warm temperatures. I've been in for at least 3 hours every day. My arms are like jelly and need a break, but hey, guess what? Yeap, it's good waves and sun again today so I guess I'll be needing an arm transplant over the weekend.

Surfing again

Just got out of the sea at Watergate Bay after the second disappointing surf of the day :-( The charts and the internet were promising epic conditions today, but it didn't work out that way. A morning session at Tolcarne Bay, Newquay started well with clean conditions and head high waves but it then went flat for ages and the sets that did come through were backing off then closing out. After lunch I went round to a cross-shore and lumpy Watergate Bay. Paddleout a mission. Wave count poor. Oh well, at least it was better than being stuck in an office or fixing helicopters!

Back in the Water

It's been nearly 2 months since I was in the surfing so I didn't expect much from this afternoon's session. The winds were light onshores, but there was still size and shape to the waves. The sun and blue skies made up for the less than perfect conditions and it felt good to be back in the water.

Sunny Rock for Simon 06-10 April

This week I've been working with Simon from Bath, who was wanting to get back into climbing and sample some Cornish classics as well as work on his technique and gear placement, belays etc. Blessed with fab weather and good tides, we ventured onto cliffs such as Bosigran, Carn Barra, Chair Ladder and Trewavas Head, climbing routes, such as Peel Crack, William's Chimney and the Classic Rock routes Terrier's Tooth, Bosigran Ridge and, what must be the best Hard Severe in the country, Doorpost. All was going well until we ventured onto Hella Point. Here the sharp crystals in the rock proved too sharp for Simon's skin and, with blood pouring from a slice in his hand, we had to nip into Penzance A&E to get it stitched (but only after we climbed Helluva Slab). I also had a nice evening's soloing at Goldsworthy Buttress at Trewellard. This little crag is situated in the mining heartland and is surrounded by the detritus of hundreds of years of tin and copper mining, which is definitely worth exploring.

Winter Mountain Leader Training 27 March - 02 April

A bit of Continued Professional Development for me this week. I'm up at Glenmore Lodge doing a ML Winter training course, something I should have done years ago. This winter season has been a long one, with plenty of snow early on but the temperature is rising and the snow is melting fast! Fortunately the snowpack is well-bonded and there's plenty of opportunity to practise ice axe arresting, cramponing techniques and snowholing! I even managed to get some bouldering/climbing in at Cummingston (up on the Moray Firth coast) before I headed back south. Now need to get up North more often to be ready for assessment.

Duchy AITP Climbing in the Peak 14-18 March

For the students, it 5 days of concentrated climbing in preparation for SPA training and, for some, SPA Assessment. Having been 'let loose' on crags, such as Stanage, Burbage North, Birchens and Froggatt, the guys were on it! Ok, so the weather wasn't always good (sometimes damp and misty, sometimes beautiful), but the routes fell thick and fast! I made sure that they were safe and gave suggestions as to which routes they might attempt, then nipped round the corner to solo a few routes! Life is good.

Bamford Edge, Peak District 13 March

A day on the grit. It's been a while since I climbed in the Peak. Climbing on gritstone is like climbing on sandpaper. The rock is very rough and, given the right conditions, the friction is excellent. The crags are subject to erosion from the wind and rain, and this produces a lot of rounded and sloping holds, making the climbing precarious. Technique and confidence will pay dividends for those wanting to succeed on their chosen route. Bamford Edge is somewhere I have never climbed before, as there has been access problems but since the CRoW Act, access has been guaranteed for the future. It's a beautiful crag, made up of a number of buttresses and there are routes of great quality. The sun was shining and being situated high above the valley, it was a delight to be cruising the Grit!

Sharp Edge, Blencathra, Lake District 08 March

The Duchy AITP roadtrip rolls into the Lake District to take advantage of some great scrambles, ridges and mountain biking. On one of the days, a small group of us ventured onto the classic Sharp Edge ridge on Blencathra. Not a particularly long ridge, but knife edge, with big drops on both sides! You have to be careful though, as the rock is slate and when wet it's incredibly slippery - the accident statistics aren't great reading and it's rumoured that the Keswick Mountain Rescue Team know exactly where unfortunate souls end up in the corrie below. Luckily for us, conditions were good.

Climbing at Gogarth 04 March

A chance to climb on, what was, my local crag, Craig Gogarth with a couple of 'young hotshots' from the RAF Mountain Rescue Service. It was great to be back on home turf. I even managed to climb a route I hadn't done before (I've climbed over 200 routes at Gogarth and South Stack) and lead an E2!

Duchy AITP Mountain Leader Summer Training 26 Feb- 03 Mar

6 days (and one night!) of training for the students, under the directorship of Rick Abbott and Andy Newton (both MICs), with assistance from myself and other staff from the college. Fortunately the weather and conditions were kind to us and it meant that the guys and girls could concentrate on learning the skills and techniques required to become Mountain Leaders. This includes mountain navigation (day and night), security on steep ground, the mountain environment (incl. weather, flora and forna), mountain hazards, river crossings, emergency procedures and camp craft. They also learnt that when one is getting 'burnt off' by younger, fitter mountaineers, it's a good idea to find something interesting to talk about ("hey, have you seen this interesting plant....") so you can get your breath back!

Some Personal Climbing at Last

Finally managed to sneak out for half a day of climbing in the Dinorwig Slate Quarries. I used to climb here a lot when I first started climbing 25 years ago and the quarries are still very special to me. I'm not sure whether the 'sports' routes that have appeared in the quarries in recent years have enhanced the place, as I haven't climbed a decent one yet. We stuck to a couple of Slate classics, Seamstress and Seams the Same - both first climbed by a young Steve Haston in about 1982. I've climbed both previously, several times but it was nice to do them again after about 6 years.

Duchy AITP Wales 23/24 Feb

Two days out in the Moelwyns. The mist was down and it rained lots. Most of the guys and their kit got wet. We bumped into a large group of RAF trainees, who camped near us last night, then saw 3 guys out running (mad fools!) My group managed an ascent of Moel Siabod, despite 20m visibility, strong winds and lots of rain - well done guys! Rest day tomorrow, before ML Training next week - yippee!

Duchy AITP Wales 22 Feb

Back on Snowdon after a long time away. Couldn't see much as the mist was in and it was a wee bit chilly. Wet, sugary snow on the summit, along with the usual collection of tourists wearing inappropriate clothing and footwear for the conditions. Helped a couple of guys out who couldn't find the path ("our gps says we are only 40m from the summit"). The PYG track is not the best descent from the mountain due to footpath repair work. Going camping tomorrow.