Pod, Tor and Bude
In the year and a bit since Valerie and I became parents we’ve been slowly and carefully been working out how our young family can spend time climbing and walking. We started with visits to the climbing wall before moving on to bouldering and walking trips in which we stayed in hotels and hostels. Last weekend we took the big step of taking Leo camping for the first time. Although, to be honest, it might be more accurate to say that we took the baby step of taking him glamping for the first time. Continue reading Pod, Tor and Bude
Burbage Bouldering
Somehow I’d never seen the rolling hills of the Peak District turn purple before this week. I’ve walked and climbed in the Peaks numerous times, but somehow my timing meant that I had never been there when the heather was in bloom. It was a stunning sight. The smell of honey as Valerie, Leo and I walked along the edge of the Burbage valley and through fields of purple was sweet and warming. It was a great start to a couple of days of bouldering in the Peaks, but the trip didn’t go entirely to plan. Continue reading Burbage Bouldering
Via Ferrata Accidents – what you don’t know might hurt you
If someone asked me what causes accidents on via ferrate, I would only be able to make a few informed guesses. This is because there is surprisingly little readily accessible information on why accidents happen on vie ferrate. This concerns me because understanding why the cause of accidents is essential to preventing them. I’d like there to start a conversation about the causes and prevalence of these accidents as a way of improving understanding and helping people safely enjoy vie ferrate. Continue reading Via Ferrata Accidents – what you don’t know might hurt you
Getting Out in Rab’s MeCo 120 Boxer Shorts
There are some items of outdoor gear that you don’t often see reviewed in the outdoor magazines and websites. Jackets, tents, rucksacks, baselayers, softshells, fleeces and boots all get regularly tested and reviewed in detail, but outdoor underwear doesn’t get reviewed much and, if it does, the reviews tend to be a bit cursory. Continue reading Getting Out in Rab’s MeCo 120 Boxer Shorts
Walking by Pavements, Erratics and Holes
Walking and climbing in the mountains gives me an opportunity to see some amazing and beautiful rock formations. I sometimes regret that I don’t know enough about geology to always fully appreciate what I see, but what little I do know makes what I see and climb a little more amazing. It’s great that I don’t have to be somewhere with soaring peaks to experience amazing rock forms. My trip last weekend to the Yorkshire Dales was full of stunning rock in the area around Ingleborough, from limestone pavements, to scars, potholes and Norber Erratics. Continue reading Walking by Pavements, Erratics and Holes
First Peak
My son, Leo, got to the top of his first peak today. Snuggly wrapped on his mummy’s back, he got to the top of Craig Wen in Snowdonia. Summiting a 608m peak is pretty impressive when you are eight months old, can’t walk yet and have to battle cold winds and rain. I’m proud of how well he did. Continue reading First Peak
Fontainebaby
An Easter break to the woods of Fontainebleau to climb on its famous sandstone boulders was our first real test as rock climbing parents. We had been taking our baby son, Leo, to the climbing wall on a regular basis and to some artificial boulders not far from where we live in London. He’d enjoyed the trips and we had managed to get a good amount of climbing done. But several days of outdoors climbing in a foreign country, with a teething seven-month old baby, felt like more of a challenge. Continue reading Fontainebaby
Font First Timer
Sometimes places live up to the hype and Fontainebleau is one of those. The thousands of boulders in the vast woods are legendary among rock climbers. Fontainebleau is regularly described as a magical place, with the purest, most engaging climbing. Now that I’ve been there for the first time, I agree how brilliant and fun bouldering at Font can be. Continue reading Font First Timer
Climbing Concrete
A brightly shining sun and unseasonably warm weather last weekend meant that Valerie, baby Leo and I could swap our weekend climbing wall trip for Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. These are nine boulders of sprayed and carved concrete almost hidden in the trees by a lake in East London. Continue reading Climbing Concrete
There and Back Again – Countisbury to Heddon’s Mouth and back
After probably the wettest winter on record in the UK I thought I might have another walk sealed in my waterproofs as gusts of wind made me zig-zag like a drunkard as I walked over the hills. Instead, the sun shone on my visit to Exmoor and I wore a T-shirt most of the time. I walked along stunning coastline and through beautiful woods of ghostly trees yet to come into bud. Continue reading There and Back Again – Countisbury to Heddon’s Mouth and back
A Better Balm – review of hand balms for rock climbers
A rock climber’s hands can get some rough treatment. Pushed and twisted into cracks, grazed on course rock, cut and ripped on edges, worn down until the finger tips split and dried out by chalk and the elements. The results of this harsh treatment can be irritating and painful as well as impairing climbing performance. To help climbers keep their hands in working condition manufacturers from major companies to people working out of their kitchen have produced balms for climbers’ hands that aim to moisturise, revitalise and help skin heal. Continue reading “A Better Balm – review of hand balms for rock climbers”
Woolly Hats for Big Heads
One size does not always fit all. My larger than average head means that I have quite a bit of trouble finding any hats that fit. This can be a problem as a woolly hat is essential for keeping my head warm on cold, windy mountains (particularly as I increasingly have less hair to do this job). I don’t think that I’m the only person in this situation as people keep coming to an earlier post of mine via Google searches for climbing helmets for people with bigger or extra large heads. So, for those of us blessed with a generous cranium and a love of the mountains, here are my reviews of some of the woolly hats for hiking and climbing that I’ve found fit my head. Continue reading Woolly Hats for Big Heads
Ropes into Rugs and Other Ways to Recycle and Reuse Outdoor Gear
Lurking under my bed, buried in a drawer, shut in a box or in the dark in my wardrobe. These are the places where my unused outdoor gear lives. These are the bits of hiking and climbing gear, clothing and equipment that have been superseded when I upgraded to new, better kit, no longer work as well as they should, never really fitted me that well or were retired because they too old to be safe any more. Now they take up space in my small London flat and provide a home for dust bunnies. I’ve decided that they need to go. Continue reading Ropes into Rugs and Other Ways to Recycle and Reuse Outdoor Gear
My Climbing 2013 in Pictures
My best photos from my climbing and hiking adventures in 2013. Continue reading My Climbing 2013 in Pictures
the Severe climber 