Clear communication between climbers is a vital part of climbing safely. When two climbers are far apart, out of sight of each other or the wind is strong, then shouting is the usual way to communicate climbing commands and it usually works. However, for those occasions when it doesn’t, I would recommend having walkie-talkies to hand. Continue reading There’s no need to shout: using walkie-talkies when rock climbing
My wonderful and talented fiancee has made rock climbing toppers for our wedding cake. There is a little me belaying from the top of the cake while a topper of my fiancee climbs up. The toppers are made of different colours of FIMO modelling clay worked around a wire frame, baked in the oven and then varnished. My fiancee is amazing. Continue reading Rock climbing wedding cake toppers
Pinnacle Ridge is a two-pitch, Severe graded rock climb at Polldubh crags in Glen Nevis in the Scottish Highlands. It’s a lovely and interesting climb and it feels justified that the guidebook (Scottish Rock, Volume 1, South by Gary Latter) gives it two out of four stars. The route pretty much follows the crest of the buttress and so I thought route finding would be easy. However, I was trying to judge the exact positions of rock features by refer to trees. Continue reading What they don’t tell you in the guidebook – Pinnacle Ridge, Polldubh crags
To make it easier to find the best information on via ferrata on the internet, I have started a useful links page. This includes the most useful sites for planning a trip and the most authoritative sites for safety and technical information. This page is a resource that I would like to build and so will be adding to it. Continue reading Via ferrata – useful links
In the past I’ve found it quite hard to find much out about campsites in the Italian Dolomites that are convenient for via ferrata. This is why I have written reviews of the campsites I have used in the Dolomites and put them online here. I will add further reviews to this page when I can. Continue reading Campsites for via ferrata in the Dolomites
I came across the following definitions by accident when I was researching rock climbing in Spain on the website www.andalucia.com. These definitions made me smile and so I thought I should share them. Continue reading A definition of rock climbing
Rock climbing guide books are an invaluable resource and are essential to ensure that you don’t end up climbing the wrong route or no route at all (both of which can be scary and/or dangerous). Unfortunately, the features of the routes that guide books describe do sometimes change. The route descriptions in the books also need to be quite brief and this lack of detail can sometimes lead to you being surprised by some aspect of a route. For these reasons, I am starting a regular series of posts on “what they don’t tell you in the guide book.” Continue reading What they don’t tell you in the guidebook – Craig yr Aderyn
the Severe climber 