Month: October 2014

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Peak District Trad Leading Course

It has been really enjoyable to get back to the Peak District and onto the gritstone this weekend. It was also great to meet two new and friendly clients! Colm and Lisa drove up from London and I drove down from the Lake District. We aimed for the Peak District as the weather forecast for the Lakes was looking so wet.

Stanage was rather damp on Saturday so we went to Froggatt and enjoyed 4 good leads on Trapeze Direct, Sickle Buttress Direct, Diamond Crack and Sunset Crack. Colm and Lisa have plenty of sport climbing experience so they were well set to jump in at the deep end and tackle the Very Severe grade for their first leads on grit.

Lisa belaying Colm as he tackles the crux of Trapeze Direct.
Lisa belaying Colm as he grapples with the crux of Trapeze Direct.
Colm pulling smoothly through the crux.
Colm smoothly pulling through the crux.

Sunday brought more sunshine so we went to Stanage for a wild and windy morning on Heather Wall and Black Hawk Traverse. Plenty of learning was had by Colm on Heather Wall in the pumpy first few metres, where it’s necessary to hang on the arms a little whilst arranging protection. Hanging on the gear for a rest was good for building confidence in the trad placements.

After some chilly hands and two very windy belays at the top of the crag, we retreated back to its base and spent some time practising different belay set ups: two, three and four anchors in reach, two and three anchors out of reach, linking two and three anchors with a sling, tying in with a clove hitch and tying in with a figure of 8.

A full rainbow over a wild and windy Stanage.
A full rainbow over a wild and windy Stanage.

Since it was trad leading course on gritstone, here are some examples of good gear placements on grit:

Horizontal Nut.
Horizontal Nut.
Vertical Hex.
Vertical Hex.
Horizontal Cam.
Horizontal Cam.

Cheers to Colm and Lisa for two very enjoyable days at work!

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Beautiful Nature on Clougha Pike.

I went for a lunchtime walk around the east side of Clougha Pike yesterday. After a few days of marketing and administration time on the laptop, a few hours enjoying the intricacy and beauty of nature was just what I needed for a re-charge. I took my camera with me and had some fun with the macro function. Here are a few shots. There are a few more on our Facebook page too: click here.

RIMG0047 RIMG0041 RIMG0057 RIMG0073

 

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Uplifting Magic of Mountains

Yoga on top of a hill under a bright full moon, an all night thunder and lightning show, the company of good friends, a wet and windy scramble up the north ridge of Tryfan, climbing in the sun on sparkling quartzite, watching the sun turn into a pink ball across the sea, gazing at the stars, a moonlit scramble up the north ridge of Tryfan and another pink sunset, this one above Cwm Idwal and reflected in the still waters of the llyn… now that’s what I call mountain magic!

I went to Wales feeling the pressure of my finances reaching rock bottom. I came back feeling inspired and interested in what life has to offer. Sometimes, amidst the fear of things going wrong, it’s good to leave the troubles behind and connect with what’s most important. A few weeks earlier I was wondering if I would be able to continue with Mountain Magic at all. After some help from friends and family, I was feeling more hopeful but still a bit weighed down. Last week in the mountains lifted me right back up.

Thanks to Rachel, Rafe, James and Mike for your great company and the shared adventures! Here’s one of Mike’s pictures from our spur of the moment, moonlit scramble up Tryfan:

Tryfan at Night