North Wales – the Severe climber

My Climbing 2018 in Pictures

December 28, 2018December 26, 2018the Severe climber

With a knee injury (and resultant surgery) I didn’t get out as much as I would have liked in 2018. But I still had some great days climbing and walking. These photos give a sense of days.

Abandoned Grit

A view of the Derwent Valley from Derwent Edge.

The trig point on Back Tor with Derwent Edge in the distance.

Ladybower Reservoir.

Trying unsuccessfully to do a dyno on the problem Steep Side (V0+ 5a) on the Lone Boulder at Stanage Plantation.

Me trying to climb Centre Whale (V1 5b) on The Whale boulder at Burbage South Valley, and not getting much higher than I am in this picture.

Climbing Peasy Flake (VB) on The Useful Boulder at Burbage South Valley.

My first outdoor climb in a year – Bore-hole Wall (V0 4b) at Curbar Field.

Snow covering the path up Waun Fach.

Aber Falls in North Wales.

A rainbow above Nant y Geaullt, near Capel Curig.

Rainbows and Waterfalls in Snowdonia

February 17, 2018the Severe climber

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 →

My Climbing 2017 in Pictures

December 30, 2017December 28, 2017the Severe climber

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).

Trying out the new North Wales Bouldering guidebook

August 18, 2017August 23, 2017the Severe climber

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.

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 →