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
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
“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
I love rock climbing. I’ve been climbing since I was a teenager (with the odd, injury-related break) and want to keep going until I’m 90. Severe is the hardest UK trad grade that I can currently lead. I’m trying to improve my climbing technique and this will hopefully help me climb at a higher grade. … Read more Rock Climbing
A via ferrata is essentially a way of enabling access to mountainous areas that would normally only be accessible to experienced mountaineers or rock climbers. It’s a metal cable that’s pinned at intervals to a mountain or rock face and to which a climber attaches themselves using special equipment that’s designed to work with … Read more Via ferrata
This is a gallery of a selection of my best photos of my rock climbing, hiking and via ferreta adventures. I update it regularly with new photos, but keep a few of my favourite photos in the gallery too.
My hands dry out really easily after climbing and in cold weather (two things that often go together in the UK). This means that I’m always interested in hand care products for climbers. When I came across adverts for KletterRetter hand cream, I decided to give it a go.
KletterRetter hand cream for climbers.
KletterRetter is German made and has been selling there since 2013. It relatively recently started being sold in the UK. The name apparently roughly translates into English as “climbing saver.” Read more →
Sometimes the day works out better than you expect. The forecast last weekend was for low clouds and showers. That’s certainly how the day started out, but by the time I’d walked up to the edges and tors above the Derwent Valley a low autumn sun had broken through to create one of the best days I’ve had in the Peak District. Read more →
Rock climbers are advised to work on their weaknesses in order to get better. The trouble is, since my injury, I’ve had quite a few weaknesses.
Me climbing the problem Wall End Slab Direct Start (V0 4c) at Stanage Plantation.
A piece of advice that I’ve read in lots of different places is that you should work at getting better at the things you are weak at if you want to become a better rock climber. The thinking behind this is that people tend to avoid the things they’re not very good at. A lack of practice means that you don’t get better at the thing they’re shunning and so continue to avoid it. In rock climbing, you could be avoiding something because you find it’s too physically hard and/or you cannot master the technique. For the first few years after I started climbing my particular weakness was smearing. It felt insecure, unnatural and unsafe. So, I tried to climb routes using as little smearing as possible. This was a bit of a challenge as I was doing a lot of gritstone climbing at the time. However, somewhere along the way I did enough smearing to get the hang of it. It went from being unnerving, to being another useful way of getting up a climb, to being fun. I now really enjoy smearing up a featureless gritstone slab. Read more →
It’s been a year since I climbed on real rock and six months since the accident. After lots of physio exercises, surgery and weekly sessions at climbing walls to remind my body how to climb, last weekend I finally got back to climbing outside. It brought a smile to my face and reminded me of why I love to climb.
My first outdoor climb in a year – Bore-hole Wall (V0 4b) at Curbar Field.
The accident was stupid. One of those seemingly minor things that have surprisingly big consequences. Read more →
A view of the Dragon’s Back ridge from the ruins of Castell Dinas.
Winter was ending by the time I turned up. The weather system nicknamed The Beast from the East by the media had combined with Storm Emma to bring freezing conditions, blizzards and strong winds to the UK. This late season storm had been the last blast of winter. It had been gone a week when I visited the Black Mountains in the Brecon Beacons, but I could see the remnants of this wild weather. Read more →
A rainbow above Nant y Geauallt, near Capel Curig.
Forecasts of 45mph winds, with gusts up to 65mph, meant that it didn’t seem like a good idea to climb a mountain in Snowdonia last weekend. So I decided to do some fairly low level walks. On the Saturday I walked from Capel Curig to the pass near Crimpiau, and down to Llyn Crafnant. I then walked around the western shore of the lake, before heading over the ridge to Llyn Geirionydd. From there I walked through the woods back to Capel Curig. Every so often bright sunshine broke through to create more rainbows than I have ever seen on a hike. Read more →
Me climbing Bones (V0 4c) at the Cioch Top Boulders at Curbar Edge.
Snow falling on the tops above the Vale of Edale in the Peak District.
Climbing problem number 12 on the yellow circuit at Canche aux Merciers.
Me trying to do the crimping and smearing start of problem 7 on the orange circuit at Roche aux Sabots. This photo was taken by my 3 year old son.
Climbing Eeny (VB 4a) at Stanage Far Right.
Me climbing at the Stronghold Climbing Centre.
Me trying to climb Easy Groove (V0 4c) on The Grooves boulder at the Roaches. Seconds after this photo was taken my left foot slipped and I flew off the rock.
Climbing Joe’s Portholes (V0+ 5a) on Joe’s Boulder at the Roaches.
Me climbing Clammy Wall (V0 4c) on the Clammy Hands boulder at Newstones.
Me climbing an unnamed 4C problem on the Wavelength Boulder in Llanberis Pass, while Katrina spots me.
The Llanberis Pass, with the Wavelength, Pieshop and Utopia bouldering areas on the mountain side.
Me climbing Tiny Slab Left (V1 5b) on The Tiny Slab at Burbage North.
An icy Corn Du in the Brecon Beacons.
Me on the summit of an icy Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons.
Sgwd yr Eira (a beautiful waterfall that you can walk behind).
I had a fun weekend of contrasts in the Brecon Beacons, with snow and ice on the tops and waterfalls and rain in the valleys.
The views and the snow got better and better as I walked up Corn Du from the Storey Arms car park. This is a view of Fan Fawr and (in the distance) The Black Mountain.
From the NW ridge of Corn Du you had an amazing view of Llyn Cwm Llwch and the countryside beyond.
Heading up a snowy and icy ridge to the summit of Corn Du.
There was a great view of Pen y Fan from the summit of Corn Du. It lasts for another two minutes after this before the cloud (and a snow flurry) came down.
Me enjoying the snow, ice and trying out my new ski goggles on the way up Cribyn.
Sgwd Clun-Gwyn in the Waterfall Country of the Brecon Beacons.
Sgwd yr Eira (a beautiful waterfall that you can walk behind).
Me standing behind Sgwd yr Eira. I got a lot wetter than the last time I stood here because of the rain and the melting snow on the tops.
Why does the best weather always seem to happen the weekend before I go on a climbing trip? Sunshine, clear skies and low winds bless the destinations of my long-planned climbing trips on the weekends before I try to go climbing. The weather forecasters often refer to “unseasonably good weather” when talking about those weekends, before going on to say “but the weather will change mid-week.” This means that by the time I try to go climbing the weather is rainy, unsettled, changeable or in some other way not really ideal for rock climbing. That preceding weekend feels like a teaser of what might have been. It makes not being able to climb because it’s raining that little bit more annoying.
Me climbing Route 3 (VB 4a) on The Chant section of Burbage North.
This is what happened last weekend. A weekend of good weather in the Peak District was followed by an intermittently rainy weekend. After a couple of abortive attempts, Read more →
It was a fantastic coincidence. I was due to go on a weekend climbing trip to North Wales and on the Monday before my trip the new North Wales Bouldering guidebook was published. I’d been waiting a long time for this book.
Me climbing an unnamed 4C problem on the Wavelength Boulder in Llanberis Pass, while Katrina spots me.
The first edition had been out of print for years and it seemed that only the quick and lucky (and possibly wealthy) could buy a 2nd hand copy. From reading the periodic UKClimbing threads asking when the next edition would be published, I had the tantalising impression that the reason the second edition was still not available was because the author, Simon Panton, just kept finding more and more bouldering delights in North Wales that he could not leave out. Read more →
I’ve been climbing at the Roaches many times and never bothered to look at the other climbing venues just next door. The Roaches is just so big and has so much great climbing that I never felt the need. I did some brilliant bouldering there on Saturday, climbing problems I had wanted to do for a while and pushing my grade a little. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for Sunday morning showed that it would begin and end with showers (plus “the chance of thunder”). I therefore looked through my guidebook for a bouldering venue with a very short walk-in so that I could walk-out quickly if need be and I found Newstones. It’s a small series of boulders and little buttresses a few miles from the Roaches. The rock has great friction and some strange veins running through it that I’ve never seen before on gritstone and which made for sharp edges and flakes. This helped make the bouldering interesting, varied and fun. Despite the great climbing and a pleasant location, Max and I had the place to ourselves the whole time we were there.
This weekend showed me that the big climbing venues are brilliant, but that I need to flick through the pages of my guidebooks more.
Me trying to climb Easy Groove (V0 4c) on The Grooves boulder at the Roaches. Seconds after this photo was taken my left foot slipped and I flew off the rock.
Climbing Joe’s Portholes (V0+ 5a) on Joe’s Boulder at the Roaches.
Me climbing the fun problem Slab Dancer (V0+ 5a) on the Upper Tier of the Roaches. The problems along here involve stopping and coming back down again before the climb turns from being a boulder problem into a solo rock climb.
The Upper Tier of the Roaches.
Me reaching the top of the Arch (V0+ 5a) problem on Pine Tree Slab on the Lower Tier of the Roaches.
Climbing Easy Slab Right-hand (VB) on the Top Block boulder at Newstones.
This is me trying to work out the best way of getting from the good footholds I’m standing on to the good hand holds at the top. The problem is Nutmeg (V0 4c) on the Hazel Barn boulder at Newstones.
Newstones crag in Staffordshire.
Me climbing Clammy Wall (V0 4c) on the Clammy Hands boulder at Newstones.
The Stonghold Climbing Centre has a cool name and describes itself as London’s largest indoor bouldering space. But is it any good?
Me climbing at the Stronghold Climbing Centre.
London’s newest climbing wall is hidden away down a quiet street a few minutes walk from Tottenham Hale station. The Stronghold Climbing Centre is housed in an old warehouse that had previously been home to a charity recycling and reusing domestic furniture and appliances. These workshops have been replaced with a big, open and light climbing space and a range of good facilities. Read more →
Giddy Joint, Tendon and Muscle Balm aims to help sooth the pain and tenderness you can get from climbing hard. It’s made with natural ingredients and has a kick of menthol. I’ve been trying it out to see if it keeps my hands in good shape.
Giddy Joint and Tendon Balm at Fontainebleau.
The idea is that applying Giddy Joint, Tendon and Muscle Balm relieves pain, stiffness or tenderness in muscles, joints and tendons affected by overuse and/or injury. A combination of natural (and nearly all organic) ingredients is meant to sink into the skin to help sooth and heal. Read more →
I love bouldering at Fontainebleau. There are so many wonderful things about it. All those boulders scattered through a pretty wood. A stunning amount of climbing, in a wide variety of forms and often on boulders that weird, beautiful or both. The different characters of the climbing areas. The feeling of community among the climbers. The inland beaches that make for good landings and nice places to have a picnic. That it’s a giant, wooded playground for kids (more about that in my next post).
Fontainebleau’s not somewhere I get the chance to go very often and I always leave wanting to go back.
Me climbing problem 2 (Second Classe) on the orange circuit at Roche aux Sabots.
The Roche aux Sabots sector in the Trois Pignons area of Fontainebleau forest.
Me getting some chalk while climbing the pocket-filled orange 13 problem at Roche aux Sabots.
Me trying to do the crimping and smearing start of problem 7 on the orange circuit at Roche aux Sabots. This photo was taken by my 3 year old son.
The Canche aux Merciers area of Fontainebleau forest.
Traversing on problem 9 on the yellow circuit at Canche aux Merciers.
Climbing problem number 12 on the yellow circuit at Canche aux Merciers.
A creepy looking boulder in the Canche aux Merciers area of the Fontainebleau forest.