The Foundry, Sheffield and Stanage. 20th March 2009

The sun was shining so we decided to climb indoors... nuff said.

The original plan was to get a few more routes bagged for Rach's CWA but on arrival at the Foundry we found that things had changed since Rich's last visit and all the lead routes were monsters...

Still, we had a bit of a play and managed to get some lead routes cracked, a bit of 'jammin' and some climbing on features only.

The jamming slides (the blue runners) were even harder that the real thing and Rich and Rach struggled a wee bit with their dainty feet.

At long last, having size 11's was to my advantage.

We then headed off for an '18 minutes drive Davie, honest...' trip to Stanage that took us an hour.

By the time we got there, and with other commitments, we couldn't really tackle anything, so just used it as a recce trip for a return visit.

Another great day.

Davie

Leeds Wall, 19th March 2009

Rachael and Davie were at Leeds Wall today to get Rach started on her CWA preparation.

We started with a couple or warm up routes, just to shake out the arms a bit.

Next we moved over to the overhang area and set Rach up on a bottom rope, but with an extra rope tied on to practice clipping in.

Managing this with little difficulty, Rach then decided to try her first lead.

We moved over to a straightforward 4 route and this was bagged quite easily.

Flushed with this success, we moved round to a 4a route and again this was dispatched quickly.

Another good day at Leeds - shame we had to get back early.

Davie

Brimham Rocks, 13th March 2008

Davie and Rach had a bit of a recce up to Brimham today to look at some routes for Davie to log for his SPA.

Weather turned cool and damp after a great morning but we still managed to get some bouldering done and found some potential routes for the future - there are 583 to choose from!

We hadn't taken anything other than our stickies so taking on anything big would have been daft.

However, we did have a crack at 'Dancing Bear Variant' a HVD (Hard VDiff) route on a massive boulder called.... yep... Dancing Bear.

You can see from the photos where it gets it's name.

It obviously gets the grade from the initial moves as there was a LOT of jamming required to get to the ledge. From here there are few opportunities to place gear, but it's a straightforward romp to the top.

We'll be back soon no doubt.

On a different note, I managed to get myself through the First Aid Trainer Course this week, was internally verified by ITC and am now in the practical part of my CPD (continuing personal development) with React First.

In 2 weeks I'm delivering part of an Outdoor FA course in Coventry and I'll be responsible for the following topics:

Incident Management

Breathing Problems - choking

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

Hyper and Hypothermia

On the next course after this I'll deliver different subjects until, after about 4 courses, I'll have delivered the entire course. I'll then be signed off and ready to fly solo, marketing and delivering courses in the area.

We're hoping to put together a 2 day Outdoor First Aid course up here in Ripon, to a) get Rich qualified for his ML and b) to give me a local practice venue.

If anyone is interested, please let me know.

Davie

Kinder Scout – Navigation Practice, 10th March

With Mountain Leader training booked for April I thought it about time to practice some navigation and head out to Edale for a couple of hours in the dark on Kinder Plateau. The plan was to climb up to the summit of Kinder Scout and wait for darkness. Then I would visit Kinder Downfall before trying to find my way back to the car avoiding paths where ever possible.

With very favorable weather I parked just outside Upper Booth and head over to Edale on the Pennine Way. This is not the fastest route to the top but I had wanted to visit the crags at Nether Tor and Upper Tor to establish their suitability for a future climb. From Edale it’s a quick climb to Ringing Rodger and over Nether Tor. When I reached the top of the crags I couldn’t see an obvious route to the base of the climbs so a little down climbing was in order.

Once at the crag base, all the routes from the guide book were identified but none would be in any condition to climb as they were very green. From the base, the route back to the top was obvious and an easy scramble led over to the next crag, Upper Tor.

Upper Tor was in much better condition and the routes look very steep but with big holds and grades starting at Hard Servere (HS).

From the crag my first real navigation practice was to start with a walk on a bearing to find the summit, something that was harder than I expected and still in daylight with good visibility. I estimated the time to be about 45 minutes and set off. Withing 5 minutes I decided to adjust my timing! The top of Kinder is a peat bog with water run off channels occuring every few metres, running in various directions and up to 3 metres deep. Some I could cross while maintaining my bearing but many required I walk around them slowing my overall pace and having to adjust my bearing each time.

I arrived at the summit just as the sun was setting and after a short wait set off in darkness for my next target, Kinder Downfall. Crossing the peat bogs now became a real challenge as it was harder to judge if they would support me as I walked and, several times, I was up to my knees in cold wet peat. Finding the waterfall was very easy in the end as the closer I got the louder the sound of the water became. After the difficulty of crossing the plateau I decided to stay closer to the edge and took a bearing so I would short cut the recognised path and meet Jacob’s Ladder at the base of the valley.

Once back at the car I reflected that I was fortunate to have good visibility due to clear skies and a full moon. Much of my route finding and decision making was confirmed using the major features of ridges and peaks. My day would have been much longer in low cloud and I can fully undertand why at least 8 people have had to be rescued already this year due to being lost.

Rich S