Tag: Hiking

Hiking, Rock climbing

Finding Somewhere New

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. Continue reading “Finding Somewhere New”

the Severe climber4 Comments
Hiking, Rock climbing

Hopeful Climbing

You need a lot of hope if you want to rock climb in the UK. Hope that it won’t rain on your weekend climbing trip. Hope that the rain will stop by the afternoon so that you can go climbing. Hope that the rock will dry out quickly from the last lot of rain because you’ve been sitting in the café far too long. Hope that the rain will hold off until you have finished your climb. Hope that the water slowly trickling down your sleeves as you climb is just a quick shower. Continue reading Hopeful Climbing

the Severe climber5 Comments
Gear, Hiking, Mountaineering, Rock climbing

’tis the season of competitions

Christmas is the season for giving. It is also the season for lots of really good competitions for outdoor clothing and equipment. Just as the shops put out their Christmas wears come December, so a range of shops, magazines and forums put on generous competitions for the sorts of goodies that outdoor enthusiasts would love to have in their Christmas stockings. It’s a fairly blatant attempt to boast sales during a peak buying period, but I don’t care, as I like entering competitions so much. Continue reading ’tis the season of competitions

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Gear, Hiking, Mountaineering, Rock climbing

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

the Severe climber4 Comments
Hiking

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

the Severe climber3 Comments
Hiking

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

the Severe climber3 Comments