September 2016 – the Severe climber

Bouldering in Fontainebleau with a Toddler

The woods around Fontainebleau have a reputation as one of the best places in the world to boulder. Thousands of sandstone boulders, with tens of thousands of boulder problems, scattered about a pretty forest that covers some 300 square kilometres. Fontainebleau also has a reputation as being a great place to take kids. That’s a … Read more Bouldering in Fontainebleau with a Toddler

Climbing a Cathedral and Ringing the Bell on the Klettersteig Pfeilspitzwand

A little over half way up the Klettersteig Pfeilspitzwand there is a brass bell hanging from the rock. If you want to ring the bell, then you need to take a detour that traverses the face of the buttress above a sheer drop. There’s a slightly tricky step to negotiate, before you stand on a … Read more Climbing a Cathedral and Ringing the Bell on the Klettersteig Pfeilspitzwand

A Little Bit of the Eiger – the Rotstock Via Ferrata

“All the Grindelwald via ferrata are closed.” The woman at the tourist information office said these words in a firm, brisk tone that indicated that she didn’t realise that I would find them disappointing. I knew that there was a risk that the long, cold winter might mean that some mountain routes would still be … Read more A Little Bit of the Eiger – the Rotstock Via Ferrata

(Re)learning Self-Rescue

(Re)learning Self-Rescue

September 26, 2016the Severe climber

My self-rescue skills became rusty because I never got into the sort of trouble where they would be needed. That’s definitely a good thing. My self-rescue skills also became rusty because I never practiced them and didn’t get refresher training as often as I should have. That’s definitely a bad thing. The self-rescue course I did at the weekend highlighted for me just how risky it had been leaving it so long to get a refresher. There were so many aspects of the rope work that I had forgotten and other aspects that I wasn’t particularly confident on. The instructors were great at talking me through the steps of a variety of techniques and putting them to use in different scenarios on the rock. I feel more confident about self-rescue now and determined to practice it more often (although, only in pretend situations).

Me practising tying off a belay.

Me practising tying off a belay.

A view of Hathersage from Lawrencefield, where I did the first day of the self-rescue course.

A view of Hathersage from Lawrencefield, where I did the first day of the self-rescue course.

Me prussiking up a rope (badly).

Me prussiking up a rope (badly).

Me learning how to do a hoist

Me learning how to do a hoist

Sam abseiling (rappelling) past a knot.

Sam abseiling (rappelling) past a knot.

Burbage, where I did the second day of the self-rescue course.

Burbage, where I did the second day of the self-rescue course.

Me abseiling down to check on my climbing partner after having removed myself from the system.

Me abseiling down to check on my climbing partner after having removed myself from the system.

Practising rescue techniques.

Practising rescue techniques.