Spring Climbing
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. Continue reading Spring Climbing
Exmoor Cold and Pretty
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 … Continue reading Exmoor Cold and Pretty
The Winter Mountaineer
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. Continue reading “The Winter Mountaineer”
My Climbing 2015 in Pictures
The best photos of my climbing and hiking adventures in 2015. Continue reading My Climbing 2015 in Pictures
Open Handed
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. Continue reading Open Handed
A Cut Above – Arc’teryx Straibo Hoody Review
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. Continue reading A Cut Above – Arc’teryx Straibo Hoody Review
A Good Turn? Review of Mammut’s Tec Step Bionic Turn 2 via ferrata set
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. Continue reading A Good Turn? Review of Mammut’s Tec Step Bionic Turn 2 via ferrata set
Climbing a Wet Badger
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. Continue reading Climbing a Wet Badger
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 very small ledge, hang off the cable with one hand and clatter the clanger in the bell with the other. It’s a bit surreal and a bit silly, but fun. Ringing that bell feels like you’re declaring to anyone who can hear that you’ve managed to climb this far. Continue reading “Climbing a Cathedral and Ringing the Bell on the Klettersteig Pfeilspitzwand”
Small and Perfectly Formed – the Klettersteig Knorren
The Knorren is a broken mass of yellow, cream, grey and ochre rock that rises out of the side of its parent mountain, the Penken. One side is made up of steep stone faces, pinnacles and buttresses above a field of boulders and bushes. The other side, facing the valley below, is covered in trees and vegetation. A via ferrata (klettersteig in German) ascends the rock faces of the Knorren by alternating between sometimes strenuous vertical climbing and easier traverses. Continue reading Small and Perfectly Formed – the Klettersteig Knorren
A Climb in the Woods on the Klettersteig Huterlaner
I did my first Austrian via ferrata last week, introducing my brother-in-law Nick and his son Ben to climbing with cables. The Klettersteig Huterlaner was a fun and varied climb with some good views down the Zillertal and of the town of Mayrhofen. As it starts only two minutes walk uphill from the base of the valley and is in the woods, it had a different feel to the mountainous via ferrate I’ve done elsewhere. Continue reading A Climb in the Woods on the Klettersteig Huterlaner
crossFIXE for Climbers
The crossFIXE range of products is meant to sooth, moisturise and provide maintenance for your skin before and after training. It’s made using all natural, food-grade ingredients by the same people who make the ClimbOn range of skincare products for rock climbers. I was curious to see if the crossFIXE range was as good as ClimbOn and whether it does anything different or better that would encourage me to use it instead of ClimbOn. Continue reading crossFIXE for Climbers
A Trad Day
I finally got a chance last weekend to do my first trad leading since my injury and surgery. After getting frustratingly rained off Stanage a few weeks ago, it was great climb in sunshine on Tryfan Bach. A day of climbing on Tryfan Bach’s beautiful slab, its with well-protected, low-grade climbs, was just what I needed to get reacquainted with leading trad and to clear … Continue reading A Trad Day
In his Stride
I didn’t know how Leo was going to feel about his first camping trip last weekend. He’s not yet two years old and being taken away from his home and routine to spend a long weekend camped in a field at night and bouldering in the day might have been a bit too much for him. My main concern was that he would be nervous of the tent. Continue reading In his Stride
the Severe climber 