Sun at last

With the mixed bag of weather of late it was great to have some rays out on the sea.   Jon and Pete,  being local, had always promised each other they would have to get out on the sea one day.

So with a gap in the weather it was all go.

As I Working for Summit to Sea I met the guys at the Summit to Sea Kayak shop ( located at Valley on Angelsey ) . Here we sorted all the kit and boats out and carried out some basic, weather, map, tidal and chart work before heading off. No need to travel far today, going just 10 minutes to Trearddur bay

We got on the water on the left hand side of the bay and spent time adjusting to the kayaks learning and building on a variety of skills and taking the sun in. This area is a fantastic, with little coves, zawns, buoys and boats all providing a great learning environment.

After lunch we headed out and down towards Rhoscolyn arches and then back and over to  the other side of the Bay. Here we were able to play in the swell which was pushing through on the in coming tide.

By now the guys were feeling quite tied and content so we headed back in.

For beginners the guys performed very well and we were able to cover quite a lot  ground.

If you fancy an introduction the sea kayaking or an improver day contact Pete at Summit to Sea. He will also supply boat, kit and clothing, so you have nothing to worry about all at a small cost.

MIA Training Skills

Recently,  I had the pleasure of working on a AMI (Association of Mountaineering Instructors) trainee members’ workshop.

The students attending the courses are in prep for their MIA award (Mountaineering Instructors Award). This award is the UK’s professional and industry standard for teaching rock climbing within the UK.

The day was focused on improvised rescue skills and avoiding problems on multi pitch climbs. With rain forecast, we headed to Tremadog, giving us quick access to the routes and a variety at VS 4C.  The day based around the guys climbing pitches, with me throwing in problems for them to solve. 

Using routes such as Grim Wall, The Brothers, Meshach and Hail Babe gave us plenty of situations to practice what ended up being a long list of problems. These ranged from

• Student cannot undo Krab on belay plate when leader is safe.
• Student falls off and gets finger caught in crack. 

Up-to more demanding problems

• Students gets knocked out by a rock ( dislodged by a sheep ) whilst seconding and is left hanging upside down. The instructor is approx 20 m,s away belaying and has tied into anchors with the rope and these anchors are out of reach. In addition to this, the context is, they are 3 pitches up on Cloggy  with another 2 pitches above and they are the only climbers on the crag !

The eagled eyed of you, may spot minor things which may have been done better. But they are minor and at the end of the day it is about sorting the problem out safely and as quick as possible.

The day was topped off with a visit the Eric’s as always, for once the boys could relax without the fear of what was going to happen next. 

The AMI has trainee workshops running from April until October each year. They prove a very valuable resource where trainees can share knowledge, practice skills with like mined people and gain some first hand advice. 

With all aspects of AMI,  the sponsorship from Mountain Equipment and DMM is very valuable to the association and it is great to see students supporting both these companies within their equipment purchase. Some nice new looking kit last weekend.

Finally

Twid Turner has been back to  one of his favourite haunts in Alaska with yet another new route to his CV. Mind you,  seems like this time it was hard work, check out link for full details. Also,  with Bullock out in the range things look like another good haul for the Brits out in Alaska. 

Day at the seaside

Saturday,  I ran a combined rock and water workshop for the Mountain Leader Training Association ( MLTA ).   The workshop looked at both sea level traversing and coasteering.  It introduced both these activities and looked in detail of all the areas required to run a safe session. This included; spotting, group management, clip lines, tyrolean’s, jumping in, swimming, site risk assessments, current good practice and technical advisors for these activities.

The workshop was full with 8 delegates and we used the SW coast of Anglesey.  There was a really good atmosphere with all candidates firing questions off and taking to a chilly sea with enthusiasm.

Providing technical advise for these 2 activities is something that I offer as my professional outdoor services.  So please get in touch if you would like to discuss this further.


Finally Caff has been at it again, this time knocking out some wild trad climbing in the pass, follow the link for full details. 

Training for the AMI

Last weekend, not only were the crags dry, but I had the pleasure of working on two AMI (Association of Mountaineering Instructors) trainee members’ workshops. 

The students attending the courses are in prep for their MIA award (Mountaineering Instructors Award). This award is the UK’s professional and industry standard for teaching rock climbing within the UK.

The weekend was focused on teaching multi-pitch climbing and moving efficiently with clients.

Day one we visited the Milestone Buttress. The day was focused on teaching stance organisation, progression of teaching, matching clients’ ability to opportunities available on the crag, descending, teaching students descending skills and traversing easy ground.

The students never let up with their questioning and I think it is fair to say the day ended with everyone having many questions answered.

Day two we visited Tremadog,  giving easy access to routes in order to get more climbing achieved. The plan for the day was to use VS 4C ground in view of taking clients climbing, still introducing certain teaching skills, but with the emphasis on moving as quick and efficient as possible. 

Routes such as the Brothers gave the trainee members some thought provoking stances to arrange. The day also encompassed descending skills again and looking at the often forgotten skill of looking after clients on path/scramble descents.

The weekend was topped off with a visit the Eric’s as always.

The AMI has trainee workshops running from April until October each year. They prove a very valuable resource where trainees can share knowledge, practice skills with like mined people and gain some first hand advice. 

With all aspects of AMI,  the sponsorship from Mountain Equipment and DMM is very valuable to the association and it is great to see students supporting both these companies within their equipment purchase. Some nice new looking kit last weekend.


Finally, every now and then I have to take a peep. I just never know what to expect. It is not just the fact there is a DMM link here, it is the fact the chap is, talented, passionate, dead keen, bold and down to earth. It really pi!!!!! me off,  always a great read and some bloody great tick somewhere.

Click here to check out the latest plan and keep scrolling down for the Canada action. 

Hacked Off

Welcome back.

I am very sorry for the lack of posts over the last 2 months. It was due to the blog being hacked and not being able to get the password re-set.

Finally,  I have managed to sort the issue out which means I can access the blog again.

When I last posted winter was over. Well that is what I thought. Then the end of March we had a large dump of snow, biggest dump all winter.

There was enough snow to ski from Bethesda up onto the tops and back again. No climbing to note but snow around for a week or so.

You would think it would all be summer summer here we come ? but today another thin layer of snow above 800m and it is the middle of May. A real mixed bag the last 4 months.

So the winter here in North Wales seemed a disappointment for most. I thought the 6 days I had booked into the CIC hut at the end of March would give me a great time up North. The fact I never even went tells you, if your were not aware already,  that by that time winter was well and truly over.

My Welsh winter season was not all bad. I managed 4 days out and in that time I managed 5 winter ascents of rock routes which had not seen a winter ascent and added 2 more new mixed routes in the Carneddau. I also got to check out Andy Turner's new bright blue Mountain Equipment gortex trousers. In such high demand,  these sold out very quickly. They are the new black.

There were more days that I could have climbed this winter but those days never tied in with my time off. Belive it or not Cascade had an ascent.

Finally I leave you with Ray's great invention

Every considered how strong those DMM cams are ?

Worried about those cams failing once you fall ?

Never fallen on a cam?

Fear not, check this link out and let the peace be with you.

Gone

Sorry to say but short and sweet  post

Any signs or thoughts of snow or winter has disappeared.

Grab in whilst you can

Today the snow level rose to around 700ms

Not sure how much depth there is, but I do know that Golden Girl Ali got climbed today under good snow conditions.

The freezing level is on the up, 900ms over next few days, but hey great to be out on tops with snow lying on the ground.

Get on those rocky ridges, huh up and have some fun

Just when you thought ???

Just when you thought all signs of winter had gone, with temps of plus 16 last week here in Wales and the feeling of Spring, overnight that all changed.

The hills look  and are very white today. This morning snow was down to 200ms and by this afternoon it had only risen to 400ms.

However, it has not been cold before this covering of snow and I would be really surprised it any ground was frozen before hand.

With this in mind, then climbing would be best on snow covered ridges and graded scrambles. These will give good sport and they would be in winter nick. In view of actual routes, here in North Wales we are not blessed with lots of rock routes which are game with a covering of snow.

Golden Girl Ali would be fine in Nameless Cwm as this requires no turf, just rock and is one suggestion.

We will have to see how things develop over the next few days. I am taking no notice of forecasts, as in terms of freezing level, they have not been that reliable this winter.

Is it your year to come out

I mean,  is it the year to admit your a secret Lycra clad road biker. Here in North Wales there has been a boom of mountaineers and climbers taking up road biking in recent years. However, not ever one has turned to Lycra but give them time and I am sure they will. With the recent weather, most folk have forgot about winter and are spring mode.

Road racing, road events, time trialing and track cycling are all facets of UK cycling on a huge rise. 2011 has to be  one of the best years in the history of UK cycling.  We took the green jersey at the Tour De France, we won the World Road Race Championships, came 2nd and 3rd at the Tour of Spain ( 3rd biggest tour in the world ) won the Critérium du Dauphiné the pre tour warm up event and the King of the mountains in the Tour of Britain.

This combined with all the track success of team GB of recent years means the UK has now become a force to be reckoned with. Team GB SKY are now going into their third year and after their 2011 effort they could be onto a fantastic year, one can only hope.

£100,000 worth of bikes, let alone the cars and the coach.

The Tour of Britain last year, reached record crowds, fantastic racing and lots of drama along the way, with a Brit- Jonathan Tierman Locke, Rapha Condor Sharp, Winner of the Skoda King of the Mountains Jersey. 

It is not as if the UK has never had any good road cyclists, we have. Tony Simspon, Robert Miller,  Sean Kelly and my own favourite Dave Millar to name a few. However,  we now have a crop of top cyclists who rank with the best in the world. The likes of Geraint Thomas, Mark Cavendish, Brad Wigans, Ben Swift, and Dave Millar are right up there.

Mark Cavendish has certainly helped put UK cycling higher up the agenda in 2011, having won sports personality of the year. Mark is a sprinter and is actually the fastest man in the world on a bike. Take for example his 78kph sprint finish on one stage win on the flat, that is 49mph !!. Ok he had a lead out train but that is going some.

In addition to this, he won the world championships road race this year. To do so, he needed the help of a team to get him to the final sprint finish. Team GB did an amazing job of taking control of the race and dominating it all the way to the line against the best cyclists in the world. Mark also won another 4 stages of the Tour de France in 2011, taking his tally to 20 stage wins in the Tour De France.

Fastest Man ( Cav in yellow )  and Fastest lead out Man ( Renshaw in blue )

In recent years Team GB track team, Chris Hoy ring any bells ?  have really kicked some butt and the woman's cycling team have also been up there. Their aces such as Victoria Pendleton, Lizzie Armitstead and Nicole Cooke all helping to put cycling on the map.

Drugs I hear some of you say. Cycling has been shrouded by its association with doping, but this has really changed in the last 5 years. It is worth noting that many pro cyclist are tested many times throughout the year unlike another sports players.  I am not playing this down, but a fact is a fact. Worth noting, many riders spend "10% of their salary to the fight against doping, but athletes in other sports do not." and remember even the great Maradona was found guilty of doping.

So a  slight diversion from climbing, but with no conditions in Wales for climbing, bikes be -longing to local climbers are clocking up more miles than usual for this time of year.

Finally try and get hold of Dave Millar's new book if your into your cycling. A great read and insight to one cyclists personal view of cycling, winning, loosing, being the best and doping.

Short Glimmer of Hope

Firstly, I must apologise for the lack of updates. I have been in Rujkan in Norway enjoying fine weather a great ice.

If you have never been there then I suggest you look into a trip there. With the average walk in 15 mins !! and access to loads of routes from UK 3 ( WI 2 ) then it is one of those climbers can call paradise.

Norway is expensive, but if your careful and go as a team of four then it is well worth it. In addition to this, it was so quite most days having the crags to ourselves.

A few pics of Norway

A quick route on the way back to base , this is road side and the picture was taken form the car

The team after a hard day  out

So much fun !!

North Wales -  A short glimmer of hope 

In view of the weather closer to home, then the forecast has given a glimmer of hope. The hills were white down to 600m but this afternoon temps were plus 8 at 200ms.

I have no idea what the temps or ground has been like,  as I arrived home this morning. However, the forecast from today is very warm, so that means no winter climbing in Wales for the moment.