No 93: heroine

No the route not the drug, if you don’t know where this classic is it on the extreme left hand end of main cliff Gogarth, and is my 93rd route from the 1986 CC guide. 7 more to do before i reach the century.

The route climbs a steep overhanging chimney. Easier that it look, to where the chimney narrows, and gets hard. You then escape up the right wall on good holds, to att wild step back left into a hanging groove. After it steady away to the belay and the top.

After that we headed over to wen zawn so llion could climb quartz icicle. There was a large team from aberdeen who choose to avoid pabbay and head to wales.

Was great to be back in Wen Zawn, the pitch llion lead was easier than my pitch on heroine despite being a grade harder.

I then lead the stunning finale of dream of white horses. Another great day on the rock. Blue skies and strong winds, just like patagonia!

Upcoming Rock Climbing Courses

I have set some dates for some great rock climbing courses over the coming months. These course include all instruction and coaching but not accomodation or food.

How To Climb Harder Course

I am running two and three day courses that take an holistic look at improving your climbing. From coaching movement to tactical and psychological skills.

3 day HTCH course 1:2 ratio 4th to 6th July £300 per person

2 day HTCH course 1:4 ratio 16th to 17th July £150 per person

2 day HTCH course 1:4 ratio 30th to 31th July £150 per person

Rope Rescue for Climbers

In this course we will teach you the basic skills of improvised rescue and problem avoidance. Probably the most important course a climber can do after they have learnt to lead climb as it could save your or your partners life.

2 day Rope Rescue Skills for Climber 9th/10th July £150 pp

Sea Cliff Climbing Course

If you want to get into adventure climbing, but were too nervous to explore sea cliffs then this course will teach you all you need to know, whilst at the same time ticking of a few of the classic sea cliff routes in North Wales.

3 day Sea Cliff Climbing 11th/12th/13th July £300 pp

Guided Snowdonia Classics

If you ever wanted to be guided around some of the classic routes in Snowdonia then this is the course for you. We will explore as many routes on as many crags as possibly. You will ache by the end of the course but be amazed at the amount of classic rock we have covered.

4 day Guided Classic Rock Snowdonia 20th/23rd June $400 pp

4 day Guided Classic Rock Snowdonia 18th- 21st July £400 pp

How to Big Wall Climb Course

On this course we’ll teach you all the skills you need to climb a big wall.

2 day How to Big Wall Course Snowdonia 16th 17th July £150 pp

 

New UKC article

Well I got up this morning, well to be honest it was more like the afternoon, and had an email from Mark G at UKC. He had put up my Slate article on the website. Looks really good and reads quite well  as well. You can read it here.

As well as this article I have been working on an online guide. You can visit it here, at the moment it is approaching being a near comprehensive guide to the Slate Quarries, I have focus particularly on the lower graded routes, and will help you find and climb some of the new routes and old classics.

The guide started as a simple overview of north wales rock, and after I published it Ground Up decided to boot me off the Slate guidebook team. With no contract signed it would have been extremely hard for me to pursue compensation for of all the hard work I put into the GU Slate guide, however I can and have very easily put that hard work into a ‘FREE’ online guide.

The hope is to eventually move this information to become an smart phone application, and as the philosophers would say, as one door closes another one opens. So is true with the slate, and you’ll have to watch this space to see where and in what direction that move is going to be.

Moving Out(side) for the inside Climber

Well I have just spent the day working on a moving out, Outside that it for the indoor climber for Plas Y Brenin. Despite the weather this morning we managed to stay dry by visiting yellow wall near Fachwen and then heading up to Bus Stop before bouldering on the way home.

Great team, I had three of 11 people on the course, and will be back out with them tomorrow. Don’t know where we will go yet but hopefully we can avoid the rain and find some sun again tomorrow!

Quick Hit

Well the weather was sightly better today, although it never really got good. So I eventually got out this evening to Bus Stop Quarry, we tried Raisin Frumpsnot, a rather poor F7b. I remember working it when Adam did the first ascent, I would say that its losts some holds as it felt harder than it did before, and didn’t flow as well. Although this is probably my climbing. In the end Simon dogged up it after I basically failed miserably, that stick clip is dead handy!

I then went on to top rope Forsinain Motspur, a F7c that I have been on many times before. I know my sequence its just a question if getting my body to remember to do it! A rather powerful little route, but great. Really liked it, I might well try and get back on it in a while, might need to do some more sports climbing and come back on a warmer, but not too warm day.

After that it was night three in the Heights, was rammed in there again tomorrow, after all the fourth night is always the charm!

A Slow Day

Well, the rain was in full effect today, so had a lazy day doing some chores. I also notice a few news pieces up on the web, that have been reverbing round twitter for a day or so. The main one was the onsight of Strawberry’s, who has been part of a Marmot rock trip. Also on the trip were Steve McClure and Neil Mawson, who in a no news items failed on The Quarryman, I remember the horror of that groove from following Pete Robbins up it (Belay BunnyBelay Bunny Too), after he repeatedly climbed up and down for the pictures.

Also a news piece on the UKC about the 5th annual Climb Web meeting, which I jumped onto the last day of. As well as the pictures up on UKC (one of which is yours truly) there is thispost from last week where I put on the images from that day up. It was great to meet the folks from around the world.

I also ran into Peter Beal from the US, and found his blog about the week on mountains and water. Was a pleasure to take them round the quarries and fire them up various routes.

The Rain Cometh

Well I managed to get out on the rock briefly, I took Huw on the slate where he climbed a Slabby HVS named after a friend of ours who is back in the country soon. The Mentil Lentil is anything but nowadays. Huw did really well, given that he now has but a few, well two weeks to get fit to climb a route 1 grade harder, albeit on top rope, but way more out there.

After that I planned t go bouldering with Llion this evening, just as we were about to leave the house the rain started and I don’t think it is about to stop. So we had a great session up at the beacon. Better than monday when I had a hangover.

Anyway not looking forward to tomorrow when the misery continues with more rain!

Morning LPT, Afternoon Slate

Matt Smith or Smythe? or Stu Plumb on Night Glu, a classic F7a+ on LPT

After spending the morning at LPT we returned for tea and medals before heading back up the quarries, where I sandbagged Simon into leading the Mau Mau. He did really well, and should have flashed it, however he managed to make his foot slip off a hold the size of a window ledge.

We then flail miserably on the neighbour Dark Destroyer, I would note that the last time I tried this I knock a crucial hold of the start, and thought it would still be climbable. Unfortunately the hold is crucial for the starting crux sequence, so it is either A) much harder than F7c now or B) still F7c if you start it up the Mau Mau and make a move left to gain the hold that was at the end of the dyno, or by the second new resin anchor.

Some piccies of some other chummers from the neighbouring routes. One abseilled in asking where Pull My Daisy is. “Not on this crag!”

Will facing the tricky top on the Mau Mau
Will on the Mau Mau classic E4 thuggery on Rainbow Walls
Steve Perry on German School Girl E2 rainbow walls
Steve Parry on The German School Girl