the Severe climber

Helmets for Big Heads 2

October 14, 2016the Severe climber

Whether it’s due to excess brains or empty space, I have a larger than average head. This makes it hard to find headwear that fits. Anything marked “one size fits all” does not include me in the definition of “all”. This might be only an annoyance if I were not a rock climber. I need a helmet to protect my head from falling rocks, dropped bits of gear, smacking my head into a cliff when falling off and banging my head against overhangs (which is a habit of mine). If a helmet is to protect my head properly, then it has to fit properly. Unfortunately, there is only a small selection of helmets that will fit my big head.

Me climbing at Stanage in the Salewa Vega helmet.

My head is a bit over 62cm in circumference but most climbing helmets on the market only go up to a circumference of 61cm. I don’t think I’m the only climber whose head is bigger than 61cm in circumference and so I have written the following helmet guide for climbers with generous heads. Read more →

(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.

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

Me prussiking up a rope (badly).

Me learning how to do a hoist

Sam abseiling (rappelling) past a knot.

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.

Practising rescue techniques.

Beachside Bouldering on Anglesey

August 23, 2016the Severe climber

Delightful cottage with all mod cons, less than five minutes walk from the beach and a short walk from bouldering in a rocky cove.

OK, the advert for the holiday cottage I rented for my family holiday on Anglesey didn’t read like this. Perhaps the ad should have. It was great being able to do a little bouldering on the beach and an added selling point for staying in that part of Anglesey.

Warming up with some easy traversing on Lon Isallt Bay.

Bouldering above the beach of Lon Isallt Bay.

Lon Isallt Bay (AKA Porth y Corwgl?).

Bouldering above the beach of Lon Isallt Bay.

Bouldering on the black rock of Lon Isallt Bay

Bouldering on the little crag above Lon Isallt Bay.

Lon Isallt Bay (AKA Porth y Corwgl?).

It was actually a happy coincidence that I happened to be staying close to a small bouldering venue. It was only after I’d booked the cottage that I found out about the bouldering at Lon Isallt Bay when I was researching the bouldering on Anglesey on UKClimbing.

Lon Isallt Bay is a small, pretty and sheltered cove on the Holy Island part of Anglesey between Porth Dafarch and Trearddur Bay. Read more →

Peak Weekend

July 25, 2016the Severe climber

What a great weekend of climbing in the Peak District. I did a selection of varied and interesting climbs, the sun shone (mostly), it wasn’t raining (mostly) and there was enough of a breeze to keep the midges at bay.

Me seconding Ash Tree Crack (VDiff) at Burbage.

Leading Wall Corner (HVD, 4a) at Burbage.

Me at the start of my lead of Ring Climb (Severe, 4a) at Burbage

Stanage Edge

The Grand Hotel bouldering area and the Goliath’s Groove area of Stanage Edge

Me leading Hollybush Gully Right Direct (Severe, 4a) at Stanage.

Got Giddy – a review of Giddy balms

July 19, 2016June 8, 2017the Severe climber

Giddy produces brilliant balms that manage to pull off the trick of moisturising hands while not weakening calluses.

My son loves opening the mail. It’s probably because there is something intrinsically fun in ripping open envelopes and pulling apart parcels to discover what’s inside. Sometimes he discovers something fun, although mostly he finds a bill for me or yet another request to switch broadband provider. Recently he enjoyed opening a parcel from North Carolina to find shiny tins of balm from Giddy. Each time we opened up a tin my son would say “that’s lovely!” at the fresh and zinging smell of the balm. Read more →

Finding Somewhere New

June 18, 2016August 22, 2016the Severe climber

I really enjoy exploring new climbing venues. They’re not new in the sense that they are untouched (I don’t climb that far off the beaten track). They’re just new to me and that makes them intriguing. That is part of why I enjoyed bouldering at the RAC Boulders in Snowdonia for the first time last weekend. It really felt like a discovery because I’d driven past the RAC Boulders fifty or more times before and never realised they were there.

The Marsh Boulder and the Frontside Boulder at the RAC Boulders.

Me bouldering on the Marsh Boulder at the RAC Boulders.

Bouldering on the Marsh Boulder at the RAC Boulders.

Me on the problem named Scoops (F4) on the Marsh Boulder at the RAC Boulders.

What I found was that the RAC Boulders are brilliant fun. There’s interesting and varied climbing on a couple of boulders with a good selection of lower to middle grade routes (which suits me). It’s also, conveniently, only a few minutes from the road while being surprisingly quiet and tranquil. Read more →

Spring Climbing

May 19, 2016May 19, 2016the Severe climber

My climbing trips this Spring have had cold winds, some bright sun and (thankfully) no rain. This has given me the chance to really get back into climbing on rock and to do some great climbs. It feels like I’ve warmed up for the rest of my climbing year.

My first trad lead of 2016 on Recess Crack (VDiff) at Bamford Edge.

Climbing the absolutely brilliant Gargoyle Flake (VS, 4c) at Bamford Edge.

Climbing the boulder problem Big Slab Right (V0+, 5a) on a wonderfully sunny day at Higgar Tor.

Hound Tor and Haytor

The Dewerstone

Me on the top of the pinnacle on Pinnacle Buttress at Dewerstone (thanks to Peter for the photo).

A busy Spring day at Stanage Popular end.

The BMC Guidebook describes this climb (Mantlepiece RIght, HVD) as a “bit steep and scary.” The scary bit probably comes from how hard it is to get a second piece of gear in, but I finally managed it.

Climbing the fun Monkey Crack (VDiff) at Stanage.

Climbing Monkey Crack (VDiff) at Stanage.

Exmoor Cold and Pretty

February 15, 2016February 15, 2016the Severe climber

I paid the price for going, but going was worth it.

For days in advance of the trip to Exmoor I had been hoping that the rotten cold I had for two weeks would go away. When it didn’t, I decided to go anyway. I wanted to see Exmoor again and not miss one of my limited opportunities to do walking that was more adventurous than a London pavement. But I paid the price in aches, snot and coughing. The grottiness was worth it though for the pretty walking through wooded combes, along rocky headlands and over freezing moor.

Gnarled and bent trees in Worthy Wood near Porlock.

Walking through Worthy Wood.

Porlock Quay

An old groyne on Bossington Beach.

Walking towards Bossington Hill along Bossington Beach.

Dead trees sticking out of the march behind Bossington Beach.

The old coast guard lookout at Hurlstone Point on Bossington Hill.

Bossington Beach seen from Hurlstone Point.

Little Rowbarrow (on the left) with Dunkery Beacon in the distance.

Marcus playing his ukulele on top of Dunkery Beacon.

The Winter Mountaineer

January 19, 2016January 21, 2016the Severe climber

In 2007 I went on a course that gave me the confidence and knowledge I needed to start exploring mountains in winter conditions. Years later, I decided I wanted to advance my skills and learn how to move over more difficult winter terrain. That’s why, last week, I went back to Glenmore Lodge, the Scottish National Outdoor Training Centre, to do a winter mountaineering course.

Me in Coire na Ciste on my first day of the course.

Bill the instructor walking across Coire na Ciste.

Descending a ridge above Coire na Ciste at the end of the first day.

Me digging a bucket seat for belaying.

The group walking up Aonach an Nid.

The Anoach Mor ski area.

Bill teaching Sam and Conor movement skills on the slopes of Aonach an Nid.

Bill giving Conor tips on digging a bucket seat.

I never thought I would deliberately stand on a cornice, but here I’m knocking a cornice down so that I can practice descending the edge.

Having kicked a lump of cornice off, I’m now descending the edge while being belayed by Bill.

Bill and Conor walking up Fiacaill Coire an t’Sneachda.

Me practising abseiling off a snow bollard I had made.

Me abseiling down a section of Fiacaill Coire an t’Sneachda.

Me in a bucket seat that I had dug and attached to a buried axe.

This course gave me an improved understanding of how to read the mountain environment and so make better judgments on the safest route. I’ve looked at avalanche and weather forecasts in the past before going out in winter, but the instructors gave these more depth and meaning by teaching how they related to the landscape I was going through. They emphasised being attentive and pointed out how to spot clues in the snow conditions under foot and in how the snow changed with the terrain. Read more →

My Climbing 2015 in Pictures

December 31, 2015August 22, 2016the Severe climber

Alice coaching me on how to climb using the open hand technique.

Me starting a problem on Badger Rock.

Longsleddale.

Autumn colours on the fell on Goat Crag in the Lake District.

Me climbing back along the traverse that leads to the bell on the Klettersteig Pfeilspitzwand.

Me climbing a ladder of stemples on the Klettersteig Knorren.

Valerie and me on the summit of the Knorren.

The Zillertal seen from the descent from the Klettersteig Huterlaner.

Me climbing the Klettersteig Huterlaner.

Me climbing Crack 1 on Tryfan Bach.

Me climbing JT (V0- 4b) at Robin Hood’s Stride.

Me climbing Pink Arete (V0- 4b) at Cratcliffe.

Climbing in the rain at Stanage.

Still getting rained on.

The summit of Mam Tor.

Climbing at Buthiers Piscine, Fontainebleau.

Me climbing problem number 6 on the orange circuit at Buthiers Piscine.

Me climbing problem yellow 28 at Buthiers Piscine.

Me climbing boulder problem 26 on the yellow circuit at Rocher des Potets.

This is how I found my knee when I unwrapped the bandages 48 hours after the operation.

Open Handed

December 19, 2015the Severe climber

Injuries have forced me to examine how I climb and to start thinking about how to change my climbing technique so that I reduce the chance of injury. It was a knee injury that originally got me thinking, but recently problems with my hands have jolted me into really looking at the grips I use. I’ve realised that I rely too much on crimping and that I need to use an open-hand grip more if I want to be minimise hand injuries. However, I’ve been struggling to get this grip right and it was only a coaching session a few weeks ago that helped me understand that using an open-hand grip is about much more than what you do with your hands. Read more →

A Cut Above – Arc’teryx Straibo Hoody Review

December 5, 2015July 25, 2016the Severe climber

The Straibo Hoody from Arc’teryx has the style to work well as a casual hoody and the technical features to perform brilliantly as a hoody for bouldering.

Bouldering at Fontainebleau in the Straibo Hoody

When I bought the Straibo Hoody early in 2015, Arc’teryx was selling it as part of their Whiteline collection for skiing and snowboarding. Their sales pitch was that the Straibo Hoody combined “contemporary looks with performance fabrics and design” to provide a jacket that “travels from a day on the mountain to a relaxed evening in town.” In other words, Arc’teryx had crossed an urban-style hoody with a technical, mid-layer fleece to produce something that was practical without looking geeky. Since then Arc’teryx seem to have stepped back a bit from promoting the practical, mountain applications of the Straibo Hoody and are now selling it as part of their 24 lifestyle (i.e. urban) range of clothing. All of this makes me think that Arc’teryx’s marketing department hasn’t realised what the Straibo Hoody really is. It might be good snowboarding wear and it certainly looks pretty good as casual wear around town, but what the Straibo Hoody really excels at is being a bouldering hoody. Read more →

A Good Turn? Review of Mammut’s Tec Step Bionic Turn 2 via ferrata set

November 18, 2015July 25, 2016the Severe climber

The Tec Step Bionic Turn 2 is Mammut’s top-end via ferrata set. It’s robust, handles well and has some brilliant features, but a swivel joint that doesn’t swivel enough and a couple of simple design issues mean that it isn’t perfect.

Me climbing the Klettersteig Pfeilspitzwand using the Mammut Tec Step Bionic Turn 2.

Two things persuaded me to buy the Tec Step Bionic Turn 2. The first were the strong safety claims made about it by Mammut. The second was the swivel joint designed to eliminate that annoying problem of your lanyards getting twisted during a climb.

Safety

Mammut states that that the Tec Step Bionic Turn 2 “incorporates the most recent findings from safety research” and that:

the lanyards are of “an extremely strong and robust construction”;
that the shock absorber that has been optimised to “brake falls even more gently and thus better protect the body”;
that the maximum impact force of a fall has been reduced; and
that it will still safely hold a fall “in the case of a 180 degree misuse” i.e. a fall when only one carabiner is attached to the cable.

Climbing a Wet Badger

October 31, 2015the Severe climber

Me climbing Badger Rock in Kentmere in the Lake District.

Badger Rock is a famous boulder that I’d been eager to climb for years. Its reputation is built on providing great climbing, across a range of grades, in a picturesque, quiet Lake District valley. If that wasn’t enough to make it popular, Badger Rock is also only about ten minutes walk from a car park. I’ve been waiting for a chance to climbing on Badger Rock since I first saw it three years ago when walking the classic Kentmere Horseshoe. Last weekend looked like it might finally be my chance to climb on the Badger, but all of my hopes of climbing rested on it staying dry. Read more →