Month: June 2009

Well I finally got round to redesign my old Snowdonia Mountain Guides website. I have to say I getr very little work through it mainly because I don’t advertise it and I have very little control over the Search Engine Optimisation with things like key words. I have to try and get key phrase within the text.

Anyway I think it is a lot simpler website, and very clean in terms of detail. Who knows I might get some work through it, but to be honest I much prefer working for larger organisations, as I don’t have the budget to have stores of harnesses, helmets and rock boots. If I do instruct I prefer to do it with people who have made that step to get there own personal equipment.

Anyway I thought I would link to my own site, as it help boost the google rankings shallow I know.

I have a morning Constitution it revolves around porridge, coffee and checking my emails and seeing whats new on UKC. Most days its takes a short time, as I often have no emails and nothing has happened on UKC. This morning was another such morning, no emails, but UKC had the headline Top American Alpinists Killed in China, now I don’t know that many American Alpinists, but over the years I have shared a beer with one or two in various bizarre situations.

My heart sank when I saw Johnny’s name appear, and a tear came to my eye. I had meet Johnny in the Cirque of the Unclimbable and he had been a energy source that seemed to lift the entire meadow. He and his climbing partner at the time Josh were unstoppable, they notch up rapid ascents of the Lotus Flower Tower, and the regular route up Proboscis both in a day. The Proboscis route was very impressive as most people camp at the bottom having made the arduous approach, not Johnny and Josh, they ran there and were back to tell the tale by tea time.

They then went onto free Parrot Beak Peak, via a line that me and my climbing partner Steve were hoping to free. We were at the summit of the Lotus Flower Tower when they trundled a 40ft flake off the last pitch. It took us a while to realise that the screams were of excitement having seen the block strafe the cliff, and disintegrate. Johnny and Josh laughing like hyenas at the top of the climb.

Having met Johnny briefly as he was starting his epic quest for the ultimate alpine route it is a sad day, and one where one of life’s brightest stars has faded. My condolences go out to all that knew johnny, and his two partners that died in this tragedy. My thanks also go to the Chinese climbers who recovered his and Micah body from such a dangerous position, it is never easy work.

For further details visit climbing’s news page.

For any of you who missed it on the Television, there was a program on whilst I was away where Bryn Terfel, fat welsh opera singer. Think pavaroti, with a massive dose of Cymru. Anyway he managed to convince the BBC to get a piano, and a major film crew to near the summit of Snowdon to give a little concert. At the time we weren’t allow to realise the pictures, and as I was there with the Llanberis Moutnain Rescue Team (making sure the piano didn’t take a dive off a cliff). I didn’t publish the pictures on this blog at the time.

It does however show a few of the more light hearted things the rescue team are asked to get involved in. Look out for Barry Mcguigan who was on a sponsored walk who gave us a little tune as he was passing as well. I have omitted the naked pianist photos, however if you want to see them and I get enough requests I will post them. They are some very funny shots, one of them looks like they are making a bizarre porn film on Snowdon!

Loading up a Grand Piano onto the train

Getting the piano from the train to the side of Snowdon, was no easy task!

First lay your own tracks…

…then haul it to the fingerstone on Snowdon…

Brute force helps alot….

To me, to you…

Many hands…

Barry Mcguigan out raising money for charity

The surreal sight for many people toping out on the pyg track on Snowdon!

Barry Mcguigan on Snowdon

At this point I wished I could play ‘moondance‘

Kath twinkling the old ivories

The BBC arrived in force at the finger stone on Snowdon.

Lights, camera, action..

The Big Man – Bryn Terfel

Bryn Again

well I continued setting problems for my study again today, finally finished them all. I then had to climb them all. A hard job but someone had to do it. Although the ultra elite problem, were too difficult for me to climb in one push, but to be honest they might not stop the real men in and around north wales.

Well I spent most of the day at the Beacon setting boulder problems for my MSc thesis study into the delivery of imagery and its effect on bouldering tasks. It was harder than I thought to try and set problems without a crux, as it is part of the study that failure will hopefully occur at different points.

It has been a while but was finally back out working this weekend, went to Tremadog on Saturday teaching lead climbing. We climbed Rio HS, Bobo Diff, Obleron Severe and Finally nipped up Yogi. Not a bad day out and the office was tidier when I was last their. Someone has kindly felled all the trees from the base, allowing me to gain more access to the sun.

The next day we headed to Idwal slabs and my client lead up Hope, before I took over and lead them up Lazarus and Groove Above, now the starting move on groove above is hideous. I forgot how hard it was! I remember doing it in the rain with a large sack on years ago on a kids climbing course. I damn near fell off. Which if the myth and legends I have heard are correct would put me near the same level as the mighty Pat Littlejohn, who is reported to have fallen off that move on his guides test in a large rucksack in the rain but in big boots!

I met up with Llion after work to climb left wall, it was just how I remember it the first time I climbed it many years ago. A long wait behind people who climb very slowly and whose second needed a winch. The first time I went to climb it I gave up because there was one team on the route another in front, and after two hours the first team hadn’t topped out, we climbed cemetry gates and the corner instead, and the second group waiting had started up it yet.

Anyway we waited and waited, got colder and colder. When llion eventually got going I think he had been psyched out by their display of making the route look hard. He got to the just below the crux and a semi rest, and kept trying to commit to the crux, however his arms were spent, and he eventually rested. Whilst there, he got a ring side seat to see Ioan Doyle climb Overlord. which is a fantastic effort.

I belayed him on it a year ago and he was definitely going to do it. He had one other go but was rained off, then yesterday he top roped it once pulled the rope and styled it. Good effort to the young boy! I also saw young Callum strapping it to suicide wall in Ogwen, he tried Mur Y Meirwon (Wall of the Dead) E5, but the holds were damps and he retreated before he got ejected from the route. Good to see some very strong local talent developing!

I went round a friends house for a BBQ last night, my friend had threaten to enter me into the Snowdon Marathon. Noe bearing in mind that the last time these guys got a form in front of me when I was drunk I ended up as part of the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team. So when he disappeared with a mischievous grin I guessed he was printing out the application.

Well, it has been a long time and a very expensive rebuild but the Snowdon Summit Cafe/Station has been officially re-opened today. Now I stick by the comments I have past on how it looks. Other than that I have very little to say on the whole thing, other than 9 million pounds well wasted.

I have to say I barely noticed it a few days ago when I ran up, maybe because I was nearly passing out with exhaustion. Hopefully it means any Snowdon walks will have a coffee stop, I hope they have got a nice expresso machine up there?

I was out climbing with Llion today, our plan to go up to the Cromlech was stopped when it started drizzling at 9.30 this morning, so our emergency back up plan of drink tea and going to the quarries was unleashed. So we headed up to Bus Stop quarry. Not very adventurous, but we did get 7 routes done before lunchtime. Some of which I will never do again.

A few of the new bolted routes up and left of Fools Gold are reasonable climb, as in they are horrible moves, but the bolt is just appalling. Not in a dangerous way just in a putting them in the wrong place. One already sports a permanent extension sling, and others could probably do with it. I know I am not the tallest of people but these are just wrong. I think the first ascentionist bolted Zooming the Tube which has exactly the same issue of bolts past the actual crux.

Ironically the person who equipped the routes thinks that adds spice and character. I would have to disagree, it is a moderate bolt sport route, not the rainbow slab we one about here. Another route I refused to climb as all the first holds were loose to get to the first bolt, which although only a few metres up the climb, didn’t take into account the 30ft scramble up to start the thing. I am sure other people will enjoy them, however they really are not for me.

Whilst we were climbing those and Gnat Attak and Massambula we saw a near endless stream of portacabins heading into the quarries, so we packed up and went to see what was going on. As there is a secret film project that everybody in Llanberis knows about. It looked like they were laying the foundations for half of Hollywood to arrive. So I took a picture, and thirty seconds later a security guard comes up and tells me to delete the shots. (Now I gave him my web address, and I really haven’t got anything against him, he was only doing his job, and I basically wasn’t going to delete these images and he really didn’t want me to leave with them, so the following to me was the comedy of what went on)

‘What are those photos for’
‘my blog’
‘sorry you will have to delete those photos?’
‘why’
‘Data protection’
‘why’
‘You can’t take pictures of me or my security guards’
‘I didn’t take a picture of you’
‘Your have to delete them, or i will call the police’
‘Call then police’
‘I will’
‘Go on then’
‘Have you got any ID on you?’
‘No’
‘Whats your name?’
‘none of your business’
‘whats your blog address’
‘life in the vertical’
‘You can’t take pictures of me’
‘I didn’t’
‘I will call the police’
‘Cool, I will wait by the other security guard at the bus stop, save them driving up the lane!’
‘Can you stop please’
‘No’
‘look can you not use photos with me or my staff in them’
‘I haven’t taken picture of you or your staff’
‘OK, sorry, I didn’t mean to be an arsehole!’

Anyway it was sort of like that, but funnier. If your reading this Mr Security Guard, I hope your about during the actual filming of Clash of the Titans, it felt like a mini clash today. We are bound to meet again, hopefully under better circumstances.

My only thought was that he was also signing on and didn’t want the DHSS to bust him for working for a bit of cash in hand. The rest of the security guards were great, very chatty they didn’t know what all the stuff was for as they had been briefed well to keep the secret that Clash of the titans was going to be filmed in the quarries.

What will be amusing is when they shut the main path through the quarries during the filming. Imagine the fun, when they try and stop climbers accessing the quarries. I really don’t think they realise that there is more than one way into that quarry, and they is sure going to have to learn to move quicker than they do at present.

So it was only belaying the master robins, but still a cover tick! I think I appear inside wasltzing across rainbow slab, on released from treatment.