the Severe climber

Back to Climbing (Concrete)

September 2, 2020September 2, 2020the Severe climber

It was really good to get back to climbing after so long. My weekends away climbing, and weekend visits to the climbing wall all stopped with the pandemic lockdown. I’ve missed it in so many ways. Over the long weekend I took the chance to go climbing on the concrete boulders at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park, and it was brilliant. The best bit was taking my son climbing again, and seeing him climb really well.

Leo climbing up The Arches boulder at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende.

Leo climbing The Trunk Route on the Dumbo the Elephant boulder at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende

Me climbing on the Dumbo the Elephant boulder at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende

Leo climbing up a Font 2 problem on the back of the Dumbo the Elephant boulder. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende

Climbing on The Arches boulder at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende

The Petit Block at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende.

Climbing in a Covid-19 world took a little getting used to. Using liquid chalk (with 70% plus ethanol) for the first time, putting on far too much, and managing to get it over a lot more than just my hands. Read more →

Joshua Tree Climbing Salve Review

June 14, 2020June 15, 2020the Severe climber

Quite a few people responded to my earlier reviews of hand balms for climbers by raving about Joshua Tree Climbing Salve, and suggesting I give it a go. Unfortunately, it wasn’t sold in the UK. Relatively recently a few places have started stocking it. Over the last year I’ve been using Joshua Tree Climbing Salve to look after my hands after climbing indoors and outdoors, as well as after lots of handwashing. While it’s a good balm that I keep coming back to, I’ve found that Joshua Tree Climbing Salve doesn’t quite live up to all the great things I’ve heard about it. Read more →

My Climbing 2019 in Pictures

December 30, 2019December 28, 2019the Severe climber

Walking up Grindsbrook Clough to get onto a windy Kinder Scout.

Thomason Foss near Beck Hole, North Yorkshire.

Climbing the problem Tweedle Dum (VB 4a) at Stanage Far Right.

Me climbing the problem Steps at Stanage Far Right.

With the weather completely changed, I went back to Stanage Far Right. Here I’m climbing Steps (VB 4a).

Trying to climb Gribble Nipple (V1 5b) at Stanage Far Right.

Climbing Fishy (V0 4c) in the Little Quarry at Curbar Edge.

Climbing the fun Pooh Bear (V0 4c) at Froggart Edge.

The gritstone top of one of the two summits of Crook Hill in the Peak District, with the other summit in the distance.

Climbing an unnamed problem on Boulder 9 at Boulder Valley, below the Old Man of Coniston.

Climbing an unnamed problem on the Jacko Boulder at Settle Earth Boulders, in Longsleddale.

Climbing the problem The Black Cross (3) on the Jacko Boulder, at Settle Earth Boulders.

Climbing an unnamed boulder problem on the Bottom Block at the Langdale Boulders.

Lud’s Church. It was used as a secret place of worship by the Lollards in the early 15th Century. The Lollards were followers of John Wycliffe, an early church reformer.

Me climbing Easy Groove (VB) inside The Cellar area of The Roaches.

Trying again (and failing again) to climb the problem Right Whale (V0 4c) on The Whale boulder at Burbage South Valley.

A fantastic view of Stanage Edge from near Green’s House, north of Hathersage.

Trying Again and a Little Bit of History

December 14, 2019the Severe climber

A little over a year ago I returned to climbing outside after surgery on my knee. It felt absolutely great to be climbing again, but I knew I still had a way to get my strength and technique back to what they were. I did a lot better that weekend than I thought I might, but I did feel disappointed to not get up some problems. So last weekend I returned to Burbage to try those problems again.

The Burbage Valley, with Carl Wark and Higgar Tor in the distance. The Kidney boulder is in the middle distance.

Climbing on the That Little Piglet boulder at Burbage South Valley.

Trying again (and failing again) to climb the problem Right Whale (V0 4c) on The Whale boulder at Burbage South Valley.

Climbing the very fun traversing problem Walking the Dog, on The Dog boulder at Burbage South Valley.

Climbing Kidney Wall (V0+ 5a) on The Kidney boulder at Burbage South Valley.

I’d particularly wanted to climb the problems on the That Little Piglet boulder. I’m usually good at climbing slabs, but I’d been baffled by how to get up two low grade, slab problems on this boulder the last time I was there. Read more →

Roaches – along and high

November 3, 2019the Severe climber

Sometimes rain on a climbing trip can be good thing. A couple of weeks ago, rain forced me to give up on climbing at The Roaches and instead go for a walk in the surrounding countryside. It turned out to be a great walk, going to places I had never been and seeing some fantastic sights. I hiked over Hen Cloud, past The Roaches, through the chasm of Lud’s Church, along the pretty River Dane, under The Hanging Stone, and back along the whole length of the Roaches ridge. The best bit was the amazing, clear views from The Roaches once the rain and cloud had cleared.

Hen Cloud just visible through the cloud and light rain.

The Roaches enveloped in cloud.

The Upper Tier at the Roaches – pretty, but not good for climbing on that day.

Lud’s Church. It was used as a secret place of worship by the Lollards in the early 15th Century. The Lollards were followers of John Wycliffe, an early church reformer.

We walked along the River Dane from Gradbach to Danebridge.

The Hanging Stone, which sits at one end of the Roaches ridge, near Danebridge. It has two plaques on it – one in memory of the local squire’s dog (buried under the stone) and the other in memory of Lt Col Courtney Brocklehurst, whose family used to own the Roaches estate.

Looking back the way we had come, with the Hanging Stone just visible in the distance.

Tittesworth Reservoir seen from the top of the Roaches.

The Roaches and Hen Cloud.

The next day was bright and clear, and so I got my chance to go climbing. I went bouldering for the first time at The Attic and The Cellar. Read more →

Langdale Bouldering

September 21, 2019the Severe climber

Climbing an unnamed boulder problem on the Top Block at the Langdale Boulders.

I’ve been wanting to climb on the Langdale Boulders for years. Ever since I moved from mostly climbing trad to mostly bouldering, they have been on my list of places to climb. Famous, iconic and right in the heart of one of the Lake District’s most beautiful valleys. The Langdale Boulders are one of those places I’d seen pictured in climbing magazines, in guidebooks, and on the wall of the café in one of my local bouldering walls. My climbing trip to the Lakes gave me the perfect opportunity to go. A weather forecast of intermittent showers on my last day of the trip also meant that climbing at a venue with a two-minute walk-in seemed like a sensible idea.

Bouldering in Longsleddale

September 15, 2019January 5, 2020the Severe climber

Longsleddale was the one place I really wanted to go on my bouldering trip to the Lake District. Some people might think it a bit strange to prioritise the Settle Earth Boulders in Longsleddale over destination bouldering venues in the Lakes like St Bees or Langdale. But I wanted to go as I knew that Longsleddale is beautiful and tranquil, and, after reading the new Lake District Bouldering guide, I’d learned that it also has a great lower-grade bouldering circuit.

I’ve been to the Lake District many, many times, but didn’t know about Longsleddale until a few years ago. Read more →

Bouldering Below The Old Man

September 7, 2019September 7, 2019the Severe climber

The cloud beginning to lift, revealing the Old Man of Coniston and Boulder Valley.

I couldn’t actually find the boulders. I walked back and forth along the same stretch of grassy ridge looking at the boulders scattered around me, trying to find one that matched the photos in my new guidebook. If I could find the Ridge Stone boulder, then I could orientate myself and get on the right track. But in the mist it wasn’t easy to work out which rock was which. I felt certain I’d missed the path to Boulder Valley shown in the guidebook, and so had ended up walking too far up the ridge. The Ridge Stone was shown in the guidebook’s map as being after the start of the path I wanted. I reasoned that if I found the Ridge Stone, I would know for sure I had gone too far. I looked again at a tall boulder sitting just to the side of the path, trying to work out if its shape matched that of the boulder shown in my book. The whole situation felt ridiculous. I felt ridiculous. I was walking about in the mist, on the first day of a bouldering trip to the Lake District, unable to find the boulders I’d come all this way to climb. Read more →

Falling off a lot

August 6, 2019August 4, 2019the Severe climber

The other weekend I fell off more than usual. I’ll have a go at harder problems every time I go bouldering as a way of trying to improve my climbing. About a third of the time I complete the problem, another third of the time I fall off every time, and the remaining third I’m just baffled about how to actually do the climb. However, this time, I fell just off again and again. Read more →

A Lovely Hill

August 3, 2019August 3, 2019the Severe climber

The other weekend I got reminded that a great walk doesn’t have to be up the highest peak, or to a famous summit that everyone wants to tick off their list. I had a brilliant time walking up a hill that’s just lovely for being in a great location, a bit different, and with an interesting character.

Crook Hill is in the High Peak area of the Peak District. It sits at the bottom of the two arms of the Y-shaped Ladybower Reservoir, where the Woodlands Valley splits off from the Derwent Valley. It’s a commanding location that makes it easy to imagine that Crook Hill was the once the site of a hill fort (although I’m not aware that it ever was). Read more →

Between the Rain

June 3, 2019the Severe climber

I climbed around the rain this weekend. Rain often either forces me to not go climbing at all, or forces me to finish climbing before I’m ready. This weekend looked like it was going to go that way again when it started raining after I had only done two problems at Stanage Far Right. It was particularly annoying as rain (and snow) had stopped me climbing in North Yorkshire a couple of months ago, and for some time I’d been wanting to go back to Stanage Far Right to see if I could finish the green circuit.

Me climbing Snout Groove at Stanage Far Right.

Climbing Snout Groove (VB 4a) at Stanage Far Right. This was my first climb of the day, and I got rained off after completing my second.

With the weather completely changed, I went back to Stanage Far Right. Here I’m climbing Steps (VB 4a).

Me climbing Front Flake at Stanage Far Right.

Climbing the fun Front Flake (V0+ 5a) at Stanage Far Right.

Climbing Pert Bloke at Stanage Far Right

Pert Bloke (V0+ 5a) is a really interesting, fun problem (I didn’t even mind the sit start).

Climbing the Gripple One problem at Stanage Far Right

Me climbing the problem Gripple One at Stanage Far Right.

The far right hand end of Stanage is a brilliant place for easier bouldering. The problems are varied, interesting and (usually) above good landings. The views are brilliant. It’s also only a ten minute walk from the car parking (which is a definite plus when there’s a chance you might get rained off). Read more →

Highlights of my North York Moors trip

March 16, 2019the Severe climber

On my trip to the North York Moors last weekend I saw snow, rain, high winds and bright sunshine. I was disappointed that the snow and the rain meant I couldn’t go bouldering, but I still had a great time walking along the coast, in wooded valleys and over the moors. Here are the highlights of my trip –

The beautiful view of Robin Hood’s Bay from Ravenscar.

I was amazed to find a lizard hiding from the cold on a standing stone on Howdale Moor. The cold was probably the reason he stayed very still.

I always really like visiting waterfalls on rainy days. This is Mallyan Spout, in the valley below Goathland.

Mallyan Spout and West Beck.

The stone row (AKA stone alignment) on Simon Howe Rigg in the snow.

Simon Howe – a round barrow (burial mound) on Simon Howe Rigg. Round barrows such as this date from the Late Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age.

Thomason Foss near Beck Hole, North Yorkshire.

Windy Kinder

January 19, 2019the Severe climber

Windy, wet and grey – last weekend had a lot in common with other weekends I’ve spent in the Peak District at this time of year. It was still fun though, particularly as I set out to go to bits of the Peak District I’d not been to before. This meant heading around the edge of the moors to the East of Kinder Scout on Saturday.

My route up Grindsbrook Clough.

Walking up Grindsbrook Clough to get onto a windy Kinder Scout.

Looking down Grindsbrook Clough.

One of the many fords I crossed when walking around the edge of Kinder.

Looking across to Grindsbrook Clough from the edge of the moor.

Look towards Jaggers Clough, with Ladybower Reservoir just visible in the distance, from Crookstone Out Moor. I didn’t get much further than this before I got the full force of the wind and decided to turn around.

By Sunday the wind had become so strong that walking around the tops looked impractical (and certainly like a lot of hard work). Read more →

My Climbing 2018 in Pictures

December 28, 2018December 26, 2018the Severe climber

With a knee injury (and resultant surgery) I didn’t get out as much as I would have liked in 2018. But I still had some great days climbing and walking. These photos give a sense of days.