Mountain Magic

Sunset Bouldering at Baines Crag

Mountain Magic — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:22:11 +0000

A clear blue sky over Lancaster and its surrounding moorland was ideal for a return trip to an old favourite bouldering spot. It’s a quiet place that you’re likely to have all to yourself – a small, quarried gritstone outcrop with some fine problems and solos to be found amongst its broken buttresses.

The new van in its element.

Flip flops were falling off on the short walk to the crag and bare feet felt much better. Stepping onto the dry bracken, I could feel each crackle as my feet snapped its brittle stems.

Baines Crag

Cruising around on rough gritstone that sparkled in the sunlight, the friction was superb in the cold, crisp air. After removing the climbing shoes for some barefoot bouldering, I played with the camera before returning to the warmth of the van heater…

A short detour on the way back into town took me to Jubilee Tower for the last of a gorgeous sunset…

Sunset over Morecambe Bay from Jubilee Tower

It’s good to be back in this beautiful place.

Hillwalking and Bouldering on Clougha Pike

Mountain Magic — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:33:12 +0000

Col and I enjoyed a fine walk up Clougha Pike with great weather, gorgeous views and some great gritstone bouldering:

Lone boulder on Clougha Pike.

Barefoot bouldering.

Quiet little crag tucked away out of sight.

Gorgeous sunset.

Night time barefoot running on the streets.

Mountain Magic — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:00:29 +0000

The moon was shining, the sky was clear and running seemed the natural thing to do. I had been wondering what barefoot running around the streets would be like after dark. It was wonderful! So long as I ran through areas with street lights, it was easy to read the pavement and road surfaces for objects, holes and muck. The constant focus on the ground about a body length ahead made for a deeply meditative experience where I was completely in the moment of every stride and breath.

The words ‘soft, smooth, relaxed, flow’ went around with my breathing and rhythm, serving as a declaration of how I wanted the run to feel before filtering through my subconscious and out into the way my body ran. I picked this idea up from Christopher McDougall’s book ‘Born to Run’ and it really seems to work. When my achilles tendons began to feel tight I focused on them and switched the words to ‘soft, stretchy, bouncy, springs’. Not only did my achilles feel better, my body changed it’s running style to suit them and I found myself powering up the hill at double the speed!

Winter Climbing on Lochnagar.

Mountain Magic — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:28:09 +0000

Martin, Martina, Charlie and I were up early and heading from Braemar to Glen Muick, where we could begin the 7km walk into Lochnagar. The morning brought a pink sunrise and cold, crisp air as we walked along the icy path that would lead us to the corrie and our first winter climbing of the season.

The corrie of Lochnagar.

Martin and I took a look at Raeburn’s Gully but the broad opening at its base was such hard going in the deep snow that we chose to climb Central Buttress instead. An easy solo up a gully took us to some wonderful frozen turf that gave a satisfying thud with each swing of our ice tools.

Martin at the top of the first pitch of Central Buttress.

Reaching the rocky crest of the buttress, the climbing was varied and challenging with some great positions. Feeling the effects of our marathon journey the previous night as a strong blizzard engulfed the mountain, we decided to abseil back into the corrie and begin the long walk back.

Martin on the airy pinnacles as the blizzard took hold.

Taking photos was the furthest thing from my mind as the storm blew hard into our faces and stung our eyes. In the fading light we reached the col above the corrie and followed a compass bearing into the misty darkness to reach the main path back to the car.

The falling snow had mercifully covered the extensive patches of ice along the trail and we finished tired but satisfied with a good return to the Scottish winter.

Mountain Magic is Moving to The Lakes!

Mountain Magic — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:49:12 +0000

Just been watching this video and looking forward to moving back to the mountains I love:

http://vimeo.com/33124490

A body of research on the benefits of nature for children.

Mountain Magic — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 21:29:39 +0000

This annotated bibliography updates research compiled in volumes one through four of the Children & Nature Network (C&NN) research resources, with an emphasis on research published in 2009-2011 in two primary areas: 1) benefits to children from contact with nature; and 2) children’s experience of nature.

http://www.childrenandnature.org/research/volumes/C106/106

Barefoot Running

Mountain Magic — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 01:53:43 +0000

Here’s some barefoot running wisdom I just picked up:

Mountain Magic Facebook Page

Mountain Magic — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:17:12 +0000

The past year or so has been recorded on the Mountain Magic Facebook page.Visit the link to see what we’ve been up to and we’ll be back to making entries in this blog soon.

Indoor Climbing with Bromley Youth Service

Mountain Magic — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:01:35 +0000

We spent a week teaching some young people from Bromley to climb indoors at The Reach climbing wall in Woolwich. They all enjoyed climbing games as well as learning all the key skills they needed to pass their NICAS Level 1.

Winter Walking in the Scottish Highlands

Mountain Magic — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 16:49:17 +0000

Ida, Luke, Katie and I drove up to Onich for three contrasting days of walking. The first was a windy day around the Ballachullish Horseshoe, complete with a full-on blizzard for an hour or so. Our next day took us up Aonach Beag and into a peaceful whiteout where the air was still and we couldn’t see more than a few metres in any direction. Lastly, we enjoyed a glorious day of bright sunshine, blue sky and sparkling snow on a traverse of the Devil’s Ridge in the Mamores.