Month: May 2011

I month or so ago I sent a general email out to a few people who  follow on twitter to see if they would be interested in sending me some gear to test and review for the blog. A new company called Blue Ice took me up on the offer and sent me a new rucsac, which for the last month has been somewhere in teh delivery system, its a long story, but essentially if you are going to get people to send you stuff try to remember your own address!

So first mpression of the 45 litre sack are thats it is very well put together, has a great design and more importantly fits all my trad rack in. I am going to use it for a couple of weeks and then I’ll put up a more indepth review, although I was thinking today as I passed the rainbow slab, whether it would pass the Rainbow Test.

This I have only seen done once by a young Leo Houlding, who on being set a new rucsack that was described as ‘Bombproof’, decided that rather than abseil to the base of the slab with his sack he just chuck it off the top. I thought it did alright as only two seams burst! Not sure I am going to do that to this bag as I like it too much already.

If you’d like to see the bag then visit Blue Ice, I think the only place you can buy them in the UK at present is Lakes Climber.

For the last few days we seemed to have been having a somewhat delayed April showers. Those showers have been pretty short and intense affairs at times. I ended up having to bail out the kitchen the other day because of a cloud burst and a blocked drain.

Anyway this morning didn’t start much better. However it brighten up, although not enough to dry the Cromlech boulders off by 3 this afternoon. I did manage to make it up the quarries this evening, although it was cold and windy, which isn’t the conditions under which I perform the best, as I think I am solar powered!

Anyway warmed up of Horse Latitude then got a spanking on Vermin of the Rediculous, which was tough to say the least, and rather vague in terms of line. The bolts seemed to be put in by a giant as well, as reaching them was the hardest thing about the route, other than the crux.

Anyway, not sure I’d grade it F6c+ more like F7a maybe even a plus?!

I am as many readers of this blog are more than aware, an opinionated person, and I share those opinions with you. This can and does turn round and bite me back. My recent outburst on an incident that happened locally has done just that.

As of Friday, I was kicked off the Rescue Team, which is a shame. I had a short conversation with the team chairman, and I have to say that it did not strike me as either unfair or unexpected. As I have been warned about my writing on incidents, and despite not turning up on the job, using the pager message to alert me to the incident and looking into it through breaking news already online and the companies own website put the team in a very difficult position.

As such I think they have made the right decision, as they like many teams are in a strange position with new media, as many people blog, tweet, facebook or otherwise share their lives with social media. At the present time there is no official policy or protocol, other than guidance to say nothing.

However at times I find that ‘say nothing’ extremely hard indeed, as morally I found myself in a difficult position. As whilst I feel that information about for instance what caused accidents can be important and potentially live saving for others. In much the same way as my industry circulates information about near misses or accidents through either the BMG, AMI, UIAA, MLTA or the Heads of Centres groups. A prime example was when I shared the cause of how a climber became detached from their quickdraw. It is however hard to discern cause from blame in some cases, so the team quite rightly avoids walking through this grey area.

However in case where professional services are offered this becomes even more entreached with difficulties as there are possible police investigations. Anyone who has been on a ML and SPA training with me will no doubt have heard some of the lessons that have been learnt the hard way, some of which come from my time on the team, others from researching previous accidents from a variety of backgrounds. One incident stands out to me and I use it at work to illustrate the five lemons theory of incidents and accidents. At the time I hadn’t been in the team long so I did and said nothing. If I had I would have probably been kicked off the team earlier, but it still bugs that I did nothing.

So I am faced with my own moral voice (A very dangerous thing as who am I to judge?) versus one that only responds to rescues and remains tight lipped on probable cause or effect. Occasionally from the perspective of the rescue team the wrong voice wins and I hit the post button full in the knowledge that I am stepping into dangerous territory.

I know that this upsets some members of the team, but in my mind I am balancing personal beliefs on standards of instruction, safety and risk management that I see in my day to day work at a variety of centres versus what appears to be poor practice that results in tragedy. My ability to maintain a moral apolitical high ground that I am suppose to have as a team member, is sadly something I do not have, whether that is a strength or weakness depends very much on your perspective.

I’ll will miss many of the team, as I doubt we will run into each other in the circles we move in. It has been an honor to work alongside many of them, and I feel that at the very least I have put something back into climbing and mountaineering community that I love, and have certainly helped saved lives and reduce suffering during my time on the team, not to mention helped raise some money when I ran the marathon for team a couple of years back.

I will probably never be able to forget some of the worst rescues but similarly I will also never forget the stories with good outcomes. Most recently that of a climber who miraculously survived a terrible fall where I ended up along with another member of the team being first on scene, where between us we had little more than a first aid kit, a basic first aid knowldege, a radio and a bottle of oxygen, the advanced first aider was thankfully only moments behind us, but as climbers on scene were treating the bleeds we managed to get the casualty on oxygen and secure them and the rescuers to the precarious perch with little more than the gear and the rope she had on her. I like to think that along with everything else that went right for that climber that day, and all the others on the team who played their own much larger parts, that my own small contribution was one of the many pieces that made that miracle happen.

It is a shame that I will no longer have that potential role in someones life but I am who I am and I do what I do. If that is incompatible with the rescue team then its incompatible, at the very least I can say to myself I did what I could for as long as I could.

On the plus side more time for climbing for my own personal climbing, no more going out on the hill after I having spent the day on the hill and no more getting woken up in the middle of the night by a text message.

Not that it is hard to pass a first aid certificate, in fact I would suggest that you have to try extrememly hard to fail some of these things. A great course though, and thorough enjoyable. I can’t recommend Kath Will from Active First Aid enough.

Called in to the CC hut, to see if Huw needed a hand catering at the BMC international meet, hopefully it dries up for them as it is pissing down here at the moment!

As a Mountaineering Instructor I, and everyone else who works in the outdoors or is the registered first aider at work has to undergo a renewal of there first aid certificate every three years. It never seems like three years until you get on the course and everything has invariably changed.

I was lucky enough to get on a course with a local first aider and member of the Llanberis Team Kath Wills. Who runs REC first aid courses. For those that don’t know, or perhaps who are just getting into the industry a REC course is Rescue and Emergency Care, the course was originally designed for ski patrollers, but an off shoot of BASP made REC. What these courses offer are an extremely practical and ‘outdoor’ oriented system for first aid.

It is putting the first aid in context of the mountains, sea or rivers that have made these courses become the most popular choice for outdoor enthusiasts and instructors. As such Kath offers the REC courses through her business Active First Aid.

However Kath’s knowledge doesn’t end with the syllabus, as for a few years now she has been qualified to a higher level of first aid through the team, but also Kath has been writing a book on First Aid in the Outdoors, and particularly mountains. As such she has researched all areas of First Aid extensively, to the extent that some of this research into the importance of various treatments comes from the consultants that she has quizzed that are specialists in their field.

Now to me today was great because not only did I find out the new CPR protocol, but interestingly the training now needs to include the knowledge of an AED, or Automated defibulator. Seeing that they are now commonplace around town and cities, and of note there is one now sat in the summit cafe on Snowdon.

Beyond this Kath has also looked into the area of trauma response, and where esle do you go to see what is current best practice but the US military. So rather than just wound dressing, we were shown a variety of what is the current gold standard for patching up bullet holes, as well as discussed how clotting powder may well a new way to treat the most catastrophic of bleeds.

All in all, and excellent course so far, and one that has certainly developed over the last three years, as Kath knowledge grown through researching her book.

Well after cragging the other day I put together a topo on the Mumbo Jumbo Area, I also put a few pictures up from the last time I was there climbing on this post.

1. Mumbo Jumbo F6a

2. Unknown F6a+

3. Tears for Soveniers F6a+

4. Tears for Fears F6c

Had an awesome day today, after a damp start we decide to head to the Great Ormes and climbed a few easy routes around mumbo jumbo area, before moving round the corner to climb contusion F6c. Its a route I have tried before and failed miserably, as for me it is not a warm up, and on previous attempts it has been freezing. Today it felt OK until the top section, where I had to do something I rarely do in my trad climbing and lay one on for a hold at the top.

I must have had a look of surpirse on my face when after I made the hold I actually stayed on, and managed to cruise to the belay for glory. We headed back after that as I had arranged to meet Llion for some after work (well for him) cragging. So we headed to the railtrack slab and climbed Here today, gone tomorrow a route that was given E4 6a previously. However it has had a couple of extra bolts added a few years back and is now more like a soft touch E3, with maybe 1 move of soft 6a. Its a great line though and well worth climbing alongside Off the Beaten Track.

We also climbed a couple of other new additions to the Railtrack Slab, one was OK the other was a bag of shite if I am totally honest. All good though, the amount of time I am spending on the rock means I am growing in confidence, strength and stamina by the day.

There is more new from today but I will wait till another day, as its late and I am tired! This weekend is time First Aid certificate renewal! Two days in a classroom!

Well, after not climbing yesterday, as I was waiting for a friend to be free today, the weather decided to throw a curve ball right at our heads, and start raining. After a long consultation with various weather reports and even thoughts of driving out to Llangollen to climb at worlds end, we eventually thought it best not to waste the fuel as the forecast wasn’t good or hopefully for anywhere this side of the Peak.

Instead we headed to the beacon for a spot of climbing route. Was great to get pumped as I have been avoiding that for a while. Although I still ache now, after we headed in Bangor to conquor Mt. Latte at Blue Skies, before we headed out seperate ways. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow?! I might drive to the Peak if it looks good there, although I might not mention it to Simon and just kidnap him!

Other than that project washing is still ongoing, as is project drying although project tidy is about there! Now its project TV addict!

Well I spent more of the day tidying, running around the bank and post office, and generally trying to achieve things in life that I usually put off until they are absolutely inperitive that I do them, so hopefull I will have clean clothes by tomorrow, and maybe a clean room!

After this I headed out to Bus Stop Quarry with Llion, to tick a few routes for no doubt a number of times that will show both our age and the amount of time I have wasted in the Slate Quarries. Before I heading up I made a snap decision and went shopping in V12 Outdoors, as there is a route I really wanted to do on the Rippled Slab, but having lead it twoce before making the heart stopping runout up the first 40ft to reach teh first bolt, just after you have made the first and psychological crux of the route.

So in fitting with my age, maturity and real hatred of repeating some of the necky starts to some fantastic routes, I brought me a 12ft Clip stick. In the minute it took me to buy the extendable rod of joy, I was made aware that under no circumstances should I be heavy handed when establishing this 12ft errection. Each section needed to be locked into the extended and hard position by the finger and thumb, and that one should avoid using the whole hand and ‘over doing it’ with teh wrist.

Basically it seemed that to maintain this mighty pole that you had to treat it like any man would treat any extendable object with care, a gentle touch and not getting too heavy handed else it might break! Just don’t be surprised if I don’t let you touch my Beta Stick! You can buy your own from here, they are great.

Well, I have had to take a day off climbing in the nice weather, firstly no one to climb with, and secondly I have run out of clean clothes. So i have to start the long process of washing drying and even tidying my room. Despite the great weather it is still sunny outside, although the wind is howling down the pass. I have also started doing some typing up of some thoughts on chapters for a new book, which isn’t going to be a “How to…” instead it is more tall tails from my life as a climber, mixed into the general theme of the ‘An Idiots guide to Mountaineering, Rock Climbing and Adventure Travel’, me being the idiot.

It looks like I will have some time on my hands to work on this as the coming weeks, if not months are totally blank when it comes to work, which is a bit disappointing. However I hope that the sales from December to June of ‘How to Climb Harder’ might come through before I run out of cash. So if you are thinking of buying a copy, then don’t put it off! It just seems that many of the centres I work for are extremely quiet, as the current economic climate is meaning that no one has any cash to spend on Rock Climbing and Mountaineering Courses.

Although I have noted that at times there are five or more MIA trainees offering free instruction to people in the Rocktalk forum. Which kind of makes it pointless advertising coaching courses on UKC forums when they are allowing people to offer the courses for free without paying for a premiere post. After all whilst they might not be assessed yet and may lack the type of experience that the more establish instructors offer, the courses they offer can’t be anything but value for money!

Anyway, if your about and fancy climbing over the next month I am essentially on a stay-cation in Cwm Y Glo, and keen to get out on the rock whenever possibly.