Month: May 2009

Well I was going to bore you with my run from Llanberis up the Pass to Craig Ddu, followed by a solo ascent of Rib and Slab before running up to the cromlech boulders firing a few problems and then running home. Unfortunately the wind was a little too strong and the rock still damp in places from last night down pour, so I decided that soloing wasn’t a good idea after the first route.

The reason that i am not going to bore you is that on the way back I had to do a double take, as I saw a massive pile of rubbish in one of the lay-by’s. What really astonished me was that first the people who left it must have had a birthday party by the roadside, and decided that the side of teh road was an appropriate place to dumb bag fulls of rubbish rather than place them in their cars and take their own shite home. It was obviously too much for them to manage.

What really get me even more though, and this is the big gripe i have with some of the National Park Wardens, is that they have driven past this mess on several occasions in works vehicles, both vans, pickups and land rovers. Whilst it might not be their direct responsibility, they could at least be proactive at keep our National Park a pretty place. As far as I can tell the Park Wardens are paid to hang out in an office in Pen Y Pass, Beddgelert or Ogwen, and have as little contact with the general public as humanly possible.

Why aren’t they out in the car park on a busy bank holiday lending the car park attendant a hand in giving people directions to the park and ride in Nant Peris or handing out free advice or even just saying hello welcome to Snowdonia with a smile. Basically being a lot more proactive and approachable than they actually are. Occasionally they walk the horseshoe, however as I pay taxes locally and pay their wages, and I have to admit that in general they are very nice people, but in general they have been in the job too long, and no longer have a thirst for amazing position that they have.

Well I spent last night in Caernarfon Police Station (no not in the cells), with around 15 friends from the Llanberis & Ogwen Mountain Rescue Teams and Ogwen at a debrief following on from John Evans tragic accident last. We relived the time line of the events on that day, each persons filling in a little bit of the story that they knew. It allowed us all to see the whole picture of the events that unfolded so rapidly.

I left convinced that the Team, and everybody at the scene of that incident had done everything possible to give John as bigger chance of survival as possible. I cannot and do not wish to go into the exact details, but suffice to say if ever I had an accident in the mountains I would want exactly the same team of people there looking after me.

As a team we have to deal with fatal incidents more often than you think, I have lost count of the number of deaths this year, but it is somewhere around 5. Some of the team will have been at all five, its is not easy, and we do it as volunteers, I know I have questioned the logic of heading towards such accidents when most people are heading away.

I know how I react know to these traumatic events, and fortunately I wasn’t working the two day after this incident, as I know that for the first two nights my head runs wild with images of the scene, and during the day my mind wanders back to the hillside. I really can’t concentrate, and given that my job is looking after people and teaching them to be safe in the mountains often means that I am just not up to working.

The night seems to have helped me anyway to understand the whole picture.

As i have mentioned before my holiday is very quickly coming upon us. Whilst I am not very sure as to whether I will be able to blog extensively throughout the trip. I am hoping to get a few updates to keep you all informed whilst I am away. Whilst I doubt this will be as inspirational as the TNF road trip across europe (There ain’t going to be no F8a’s climbed here!).

What I hope to offer is a insight into our far more aspirational road trip. Now whilst me and Llion are no slouches when it comes to climbing, neither are we heroic young guns. So what you’ll get is a break down on some of the best climbing in the US desert, as well as a few wild tales of the indigenous people of the desert we meet along the way.

I guess you could see it as a vicarious holiday experience, where we take all the risk and you sit back, relax and look busy as you boss looks over at you. I advise holding the phone to your ear and making it look like you are selling to, buying from or appeasing some customer.

Anyway coverage will start from Wednesday or Thursday next week, and hopefully I be able to post updates as frequently as possible.

Everyday I get up it seems a little closer to the one where I will have to go away on Holiday, last night we booked our train tickets to T5 and hire Car to collect at Denver, we opted for the cheapest mini car we could find, and full collision damage waiver. Although I have been reliably informed that it doesn’t cover off roading!

My aim today is to get a few topos together of the routes we really want to do so we don’t have to drag the hefty guidebook all over the place. So far it looks like we are going to start in Eldorado’s Canyon, we’d love to attempt Naked Edge, however I fear that jet lag will get the better of us, so might get on the easier route to its left T2 or Rosie Crucifiction.

We then high tail back down to the Black Canyon of Gunnison for a Scenic Cruise, before heading to the Moab area to climb the follow tower routes – Ancient Art, Castleton Towers, Primrose Dihedral on Moses and maybe standing rock as well. The plan then is to climb a route or two near Super Crack of the Desert.

We then want to have a bit of an adventure on the moonlight buttress in Zion, maybe climb it slowly over a couple of days. Before heading to Vegas to gamble away Llion’s children’s college funds, and pick up an STD or two. As well as get and extra hit on Epinephrine.

Where we go from there is dependant on time, if the Toaga Pass is open then we might venture to Toulome Meadows and Fairview Dome, or may be drive round to climb Snake dyke or something bigger in Yosemite before heading to the venture valley to bask in our glory and sup some of the regions wine.

Resign.

Made me laugh when I saw it on Have I Got New For You last night.

So I received this picture courtesy of Rob Wilson from V12 outdoors, it was the last photo for my book, and saved me taking a staged picture. The climber is Blair Fyffe, I don’t know the route, it got me thinking, as my editor when I mentioned ‘clip sticks’ considered it cheating! I had to explain that it is a tactic for easy red-pointing! So I offer a couple of ‘alternative’ tactics for climbing harder.

Now as for cheating my favourite technique which I shall no doubt use to great effect in the states is when climbing a jamming crack, place a runner above your head and clip it, where the rope runs down to the belayer use your foot and foot lock the crack, locking the rope against the side of the crack. Lean back and take a sneaky rest, that not even your belayer will be aware of!

On another occasion I turned up at a crag and saw a friend working an E7 on a shunt. His look of disappointment said it all, as did his words, ‘Well you’ve totally blown my on sight now!’. It is of course the lowest form of cheating as blatant lying, although it does show a modicum of creativity and the devious nature of my friends.

Anyway I don’t know any other methods for cheating, honest.

Looking down on a sunnier PYG and Miners!

Well I have to apologise three blogs in one day I know you guys haven’t signed up to Twitter, more like Twatter over here anyway.

This evening after a bit of a beaconeering session earlier, i went for a run with llion, I tried to put him off running up the Pass from Nant Peris due to the high winds and heavy rain. Instead we ran up the Pyg Track and down the Miners from where they both intersect. I thought this would be a long arduous run, however it was pretty pleasant despite the high winds and heavy rain. In fact I thought it was nicer than Moel Elio circuit.

We even thought that next time we would go up to the summit, and down to Llanberis! I got a new sound track for running after my little brother point me towards Trance Around the World podcast that is freely available off iTunes. It was a perfect sound track, with just the right BPM.

I was recently round at one of those friendly dinner parties and was suitably oiled with half a grate of Carlberg’s finest larger, and was putting the world to rights with the assembled crowds. One of which is an excellent chef, so much so he is a joy to be around as he comes up with such sumptuous food ideas. The last time he cooked for me he made an awesome rhubarb and custard souffle, god knows how he made it, but it was simply amazing.

I have had some other less appetising food over the years, I once spent around two hours boiling a royal artichoke in fontainbleau, because it was meant to be a real delicacy. It was like sucking the putrid flesh of a piece of boiled celery, but with less taste. I mean what a pointless food, you end up with more rubbish that you do actual food off the the damn thing. It must be the least energy efficient food in the world, some serious boiling and what account for bugger all real benefit to man or beast. At least it might bulk out your compost heap though.

As well as the down right pointless we also talked about the EU branded items, like only Champagne coming from the Champagne region of France be call Champagne, similarly a Pork Pie shop has cornered the market in pork pies. So anyone worth there salt when it comes to pie eating will known the Milton Mulberry Pork Pie is the daddy of all pork pies. Most of us known that a pie with the words Ginsters on the side means mechanical recovered offal with rotten veg, MSG and god knows what else.

It was interesting that there was a line at what we thought was good to eat and not. So whilst the term free range chicken may sound terribly grand, it just means that they have more than one square foot space in their cage. Of course Barn chickens are the next stage up, but even they seem to enjoy pecking each other to pieces, despite being allowed a bit more space to roam. If you really want a ethical chicken then my friendly chef advised that you search out and try to buy a poulet de bresse the Rolls Royce of chickens each one has a whopping 10 metres square of space and is feed only locally sourced mineral water and organic low fat grain. They cost a mere 50 euros, and there is a waiting list for the little buggers.

A recent UKC news item by Kenton Cool, of Dream Guides highlighted the recent decision and action by what he called ‘Western Guides’ to retro bolt to Yellow band on Everest. Now there are several issues that I think are pertinent here the first is that the report mentioned scrapping away the loose rock, and cut away the old rope that had frozen in place.

The rock the bolts went are described as compact, and not loaning themselves to any other form of gear other than a bolt. I would worry that the ‘loose rock’ may mean the bolts are in rock that is prone to freeze thaw, but my guess is those responsible are aware of any issues like that. Similarly some bolts have failed in Arctic conditions due to becoming brittle, and pegs have worked themselves loose due to large temperature changes in the desert. After all it would horrible to think that the bolts were placed in poor rock, or they were likely to fail due to environmental conditions and actually less reliable than a messy knot of rope frozen to the mountain side. These are just my musings though, as I have no idea as to the exact nature of Everest, but if I had been asked to advise on such actions, they would be the arguments I would like to see addressed.

Now the argument many may level at the idea is that they have sanitised the experience on Everest, whilst I don’t move in the circles of Everest veterans, the fact that Kenton Admits to ‘Pulling for Glory’ over this steps says a lot. In fact it says that it is normal behaviour for ascentionists. Whilst us armchair critics may say that we are succumbing the the nature of commercialism on Everest, I would say that we sold out years ago.

The only people who seem to climb Everest now are investment bankers, although I guess a few less of them will be in the queue for the summit this year, although with their bonuses already in the bank and mass redundancies in the market maybe they are having a bumper year on Everest? The other typical would be summitter is of course the documentary film maker, or D list Celebrity. All I can say is thank the Lord Bear Grylls hasn’t been up their yet.

Everest like Snowdon in my beloved Wales has been lost to mountaineers, and is primarily used by those too incompetent to summit a proper mountain. Where Everest has a Sherpa pushing and a guide pulling you up. Snowdon has the only path that is visible from space, and a queue of people from the car park to the summit on most sunny weekends.

Interestingly fitness is not an issue on either summit, as whilst anybody given the determination can walk up Snowdon, after all The Times rated one of the top twenty walks in the UK. Everest is overcome not by determination but by science, and a rather elaborate cocktail of drugs including diamox, nifedipine, dexamethazone and of course sucking O’z like a cheap Vegas hooker.

Now fair play to Kenton for being able to stomach the work, like him I to ‘pimp’ myself out to the highest bidder and climb numerous easy rock climbs and mountain routes in Wales. If you have read Dark Shadows Falling by Joe Simpson, you will probably understand my vicarious understanding of the at times sickening collapse of a moral compass when it comes to high altitude, commercialism and Everest. If making a route safer will help to reduce incidents where it becomes an everyman for himself and the person footing the bill, then I am all for it.

I do worry that the Western decision to bolt this route may add up the the spiritual rape of of Chomolunga , which to me is an issue as important as safety. After all we are just guests in their land, and whilst whoever pays the piper calls the tune, I would hate to feel that we have eroded what were fantastic spiritual belief’s, although I fear the damages is already done, and is irrecoverable.

Bolts or no bolts, Everest was lost to commercialism years ago, and good effort to those taking responsibility of trying to make it safer for their clients.

Bank Holidays are a mad time in North Wales, the Pen Y Pass car was full by 8am yesterday, and I guess it must be busy up there already despite the rain, which is forcing me to watch Star Trek. Unlike the majority of the population that get to enjoy the bank holidays as they are intended, as a freelance outdoor whore I get to work. This weekend I was refreshing people for their Mountain Leader Award at PYB, by giving them a top up of knowledge between their training and assessment.

Anyway, it is nice to have finished work and be having a lazy Bank Holiday Monday, with only 10 days till I disappear to America, I might spend the day photocopying topo’s, getting other information and of course excited!