Autumn 2007 |
23 November 2007
Bouldering at Hutton Roof (4 miles from Junc.36 on the M6) on a clear and crisp day is an excellent way to relax. A limestone escarpment with provides over 300m of traversing at various heights, as well as numerous routes to the top. This dry period however isn't likely to last as Saturday and Sunday are to be windy and wet. |
21 November 2007
A gloomy and wet day north of Coniston. The green slate of this area doesn't provide much in the way of friction unless extreme dryness is present, so today...
The whole of the district is soaking wet and it looks pretty much the same for tomorrow. For paddlers it's good news as the rivers are up ! |
20 November 2007
 
A cold, windy day on Ill Bell above the District's Eastern Kentmere valley. A calm and quiet location which receives far less visitor numbers than its neighbouring valleys, Kentmere has wonderful views of far hills and a mosaic of field boundaries in its valley bottom. An excellent starting area for hill days up Ill Bell, Kentmere Pike, Stony Cove Pike and the wonderful High Street. |
10 and 11 November 2007
This weekend over 100 Mountaineering Instructors met up at Plas y Brenin for the A.M.I. A.G.M. (what do you call a gathering of instructors? A gaggle? A herd? What?). On the Saturday a number of hardened associates and I participated in the gorge scrambling workshop (looking at best practices and the role of the technical advisor) and due to the cancellation of the coasteering workshop, listened to a very interesting seminar on altitude medicine the following day. A long and enjoyable weekend of C.P.D. and the exchanging of ideas and best practices.... oh and of course drinking (name drop of Andy Kirkpatrick here). |
6 November 2007
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Not an overly warm day but certainly a dry one at Twistleton Scar with recruits to the Yorkshire and Rifles regiments (this week I am working for TQ Mitre). Sound belay practices, climbing techniques and anchor choice and construction were covered in detail. For the rest of the week ... well the winds are to move down from the NW / N and to increase in strength. A high wind chill will make for cold and exposed walking in possible snow showers high up. Excellent for practicing navigation techniques and skills that's for sure ! |
28 October 2007
 
What a great half day scramble up Pinnacle Ridge (Grade 3) on St. Sunday Crag. Lovely rock and ever so slightly inclement weather, but the rest of the week bodes well. |
26 October 2007
Another week with the Army and TQ Mitre. Visits were made to the Howgill Fells, abseiling at Sedbergh viaduct, rock climbing at Hutton Roof and kayaking on the River Rothay and Lake Windermere. Will I ever get out and play for myself? Well this weekend should see me right, although the forcast is for persistant rain, so some classic scrambling routes could be on the cards. |
18 October 2007
  
Twistleton Scar + sun + limestone = a great location for a days climbing, abseiling, building belays and general rock climbing instruction. |
17 October 2007
Langdale and in-particular the Stickle's area of this beautiful valley, provide wonderful views and opportunities for adventure/play (you can choose which). This week I am working with recruits to the Parachute Regiment (through TQ Mitre Training) who romped up Stickle Ghyll, Pavey and Harrisons in a short few hours. Boy do you have to be fit in this job ! |
14 October 2007
In the upper section of Church Beck, Coniston this afternoon with Tom, Sam and James on a Ghyll Scrambling Course. A lovely foray into this short but atmospheric Ghyll which has a couple of jumps, lowers and slab slide, as well as a lower section which is very popular with outdoor centres etc. |
12 October 2007
A mornings kayaking on Lake Windermere and then a new route on Crag 'X'. This spot is under-development by a local authority centre (undertaken with care and with land owners permission !) as a bottom roping site. Need to inform the FRCC for inclusion in their new guidebook for the area?... I do not think so for this 9 metre bouldering route (because of very poor pro) taking the slab in between two broken lines - 'An unnecessary climb' V minus 2 ! |
11 October 2007
 
Another week in Borrowdale undertaking tyroleans, abseils, climbing and sunning it up on limestone. A number of locations were visited including Head End quarry, a 10 metre limestone quarry which caught the sun on Wednesday. This great little spot provided warm climbing, bouldering and gear placement tuition in the middle of a slightly damp week. |
5 October 2007
  
A very fine week spent climbing, abseiling and setting up tyroleans with Leeds Met University freshers in Borrowdale. Crags visited include Glaciated Slab, Seathwaite Slabs, Brown Slabs (picking up a theme here?), Woden's Face, Jackdaw Ridge area and for half a day, Keswick climbing wall. Apart from showers yesterday, the rock has and will continue to be as dry right through to the beginning of next week. Excellent opportunities are to be had on low and high crags including clear views later on during the day. Perfect.
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29 September 2007
Out on the Coniston Slate today, namely Tilberthwaite Quarry. Some good short routes (and some not so good due to the flakey nature of the holds) and with good weather to match. Only two short showers with the rock drying very quickly afterwards. Fine climbing to be had in the Lakes currently, so there is no excuse for not being out here or pretty much anywhere in the UK.
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26 September 2007
A beautiful day the the lakes. Strong N winds and unusually cold for September but this has enabled many of the crags to dry out (apart from the usual seepage as there was a hell of a lot of rain on Monday). Lower and non-northerly crags are obviously at the top of the bill, as are some large warm clothes for those belays!
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21 September 2007
A pretty miserable day on the hill with rain, low cloud and muggy temperatures. Walked in double time up Harrison Stickle, Pavey Ark and down Stickle Ghyll in Langdale with recruits from Halton Army Training Camp (this week I have been working for Matrix). Even with the rain and short timescale, we looked at route choice, equipment, navigation techniques and classic abseils. Some of these guys will be in Afghanistan in a few months with bigger hills and terrain to operate in, so you try to pack in as much mountain info. as they can take. |
19 September 2007
The first of my news and conditions reports. Well we all have to start somewhere! |
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