I have also received the latest news from Steve Golley at theSend about the North Wales Rock App. The next update for the iPhone version is imminent, so if you already have the app lookout for this update, as it adds an additional 60+ routes to the guidebook (The guide has somewhere in the region of 600 routes now!). That same data is also being used for the Andriod version of the app, and I know a lot of people have been eagerly awaiting the release on the Andriod smart phone platform. There are other developments in the pipeline all essentially tweaks to this great platform like some tide tables and intergrated weather reports.

This and my development of a training application that moves my initial performance profiling app on into something more useful is also underway. If anyone has experience of  JQuery/Javascript, JSON and potentially the facebook authentication API in the North Wales areas or beyond and would be keen to help me out with a few things do get in touch as I am keen to make the icoachclimbing site much better than the one that already exists on my Snowdonia Mountain Guides website.

Other than that I am looking forward to the week ahead as the sun is finally out and the temperatures are now in double figures!

Also we are looking for any Andriod phone users who are active bloggers/twitterers to potentially get a free andriod version or iphone version for reviewing purposes.

Over the past year I have been learning PHP and SQL to develop a web based application. I am by no stretch of the imagination a programmer though. In learning this basic language I recently started wondering how we can use computors more in delivering coaching in climbing, but more importantly if and how we can use ICT in places like Outdoor Education through LEA centres.

I am on the waiting list for a device call RaspberryPi. For those that don’t know what it is. The computor was designed by Cambridge University who were disappointed with the level of programming skills that students were turning up with. As such they design a system that would run linux operating system, and a cut down computor specifically aimed at programming. As these devices cost £25, the demand is high, but there is a vacuum in the way that they could be used in school to teach software programming or other cross curicular development.

I saw a post on Facebook about a proposed event in Sheffield this september, they are interested in getting ideas from the front line of teaching, as to what type of projects the system could be used for and what lesons plans are out there already.

I would really like to bring to any teacher or techies attention this conference to see whether it is of interest to you. Saul who seems to be one of the people running with this idea has more details over on his blog, Brain Dump. I don’t know him but his blog seems like it is an interesting read.

I hope it goes well!

Sunset in Llanberis Pass

Had a pleasant week, spent most of it working on the computor producing various new features for the icoach website. Although a few fails along the way, but everyday is a school day for me with PHP. Also a day spent looking at some ways to add to the functionality of the whole thing.

I spent thursday running around getting food prepped for a ML assessment expedition. As well as planning a route that took in the ground we needed to cover. I did managed to squeeze in a nights climbing up the Sunchaser Wall in Vivian Quarry.

Friday saw me and three candidates start up from Llanberis Pass before traversing Lliwedd to camp in Cwn Tregellan. We then did arounf 4 hours night nav before heading down to teh south ridge and up across Snowdon Summit, before heading to Carnedd Ugain and down into Cwm Glas.

We headed back out at 7pm for some more day nav before hanging out to watch the sunset, before embarking on a second night nav exercise to find our tents. The group did really well. We had some good navving conditions (poor vis) on the second day. The group managed really well, and it was good to see them all pass their assessment.

I was working for Peak Mountain Training, so thanks for them for having me assess. As hard as they are for the candidates they are also reasonably hard for the assessors. However we were rewards by a beautiful sunset and some remote areas. I joked to my team that I no longer wild camp for fun, as I often get the chance to do it whilst either training or assessing people on there ML qualifications.

Not to sure if its an early night for me or whether I shall celebrate my friday night tonight!

View from my tent on the last morning. What a glorious morning to wake up in the mountainss

Cryn Las in the morning sun. Can you see the Skull? There are two in the photo to be honest!

Si Lake high up on Cripple Creek, Craig Doris.

I had rather an abortive day ‘climbing’ at porth ysgo. Actually was more just me lying in the sun with a hangover after getting too invovled in the highjinx in the Heights on Friday night. So I resigned myself to team photographer at chief of hogging the crash pads for sleeping purposes.

Llion, Katie and Matt climbed loads though. It was part Matt’s doing my state, although I was in the pub a few hours before him. Really good to see Matt back in the UK for a few weeks holiday. Unfortunately he doesn’t seem to have brought the sun with him!

Then today after looking at the metoffice new site, which to be honest is some ways is better than the old site, however in many more ways it is utterly uselesss. The animations freeze, the data takes much longer to load and a whole host of other bugs including patently wrong weather predictions.

Anyway Si thought Craig Doris was the place to be, and I couldn’t find a reason why we shouldn’t go there so we headed down to the looseness. Si fired up Cripple Creek, a lovely line that I climb a few weeks back. Still nice to get out in the sun. After that it was my turn, and having backed myself into somewhat of a corner at Doris with only hard routes remaining. I ummmmed and errred, before racking up for a ‘look see’.

Now first of all, I had forgotten to bring my rack, which would have help swell our number of cams. Something which many of the routes need down here. Secondly, we only had the Ground Up selcetive guide. Which I have done most of the routes I can do in. Instead I looked at a line with a short steep start and a slabby finish. With absolutely no idea what its called or its grade.

I errred again, this time on the side of caution, and took what I thought to be the easy line. Basically up the left edge of teh slab before move right towards its centre. This is either Corned Dog a Stevie Haston E3 or a variation on it. Although I ran out of gear, and had to belay just below the top, forcing Si to do the top. Great route though.

Llion climbing at Porth Ysgo

Llion Popcorn Party

Matt Perrier aka Ug slaping his way along some slopers.

Matt on the classic Popcorn Party

More Popcorn Party action

Matt Perrier on Jaw Breaker

Me questing round to the headwall on the third pitch of Cream, Tremadog.

I have in my time climbed cream on a couple of occassions, although never believe it or not as a whole climb. I have cherry picked either the amazing 2nd pitch in the rain. As it remains dry. Similarly I have traversed in from Grim Wall to to the top. Today, I headed out with Si Lake who hadn’t climb the route before, so I offered him the harder better pitches, and I did the easy linking pitches.

What struck me today was how good the route is when you do it how the first ascentionist meant it to be climbed as a whole route. As unlike any other route I have climbed at Tremadog, it has a really big feel about it. Whilst at any point you could rap off it, the winding nature of the route, makes it feel like a journey rather than the usual roadside action.

Anyway Si did really well, and he only just failed on the crux headwall. Taking a lob in the ‘usual’ place! I knew his pain when he lobbed, as I faced exactly the same fate when I first tried it. After that we did Grim Wall Direct, as Si had to go back to being a dad.

Si psyching up for the Cream headwall!

On a bum not, after being warned about our behaviour at Tremdog. It seems that some climbers were not interested in being sensible. Deciding to have a fire and a few beers in the Vector Buttress Car Park. All well and good, but they could have tidied up after themselves!!! This mess was not there on thursday.

The Mess some climbers have left at the base of the Vector Buttress.

Si on Daddy Cool

Tremadog was the crag of choice today, headed there with Lakey, who is a new father. So I suggested we climb Daddy Cool, a great route that see’s few ascents. Probably because its goey for E2. He stormed up that, and I climbed the top pitch. On the descent I was reminded of Heartline an E2 on the Oakover Buttress.

I only climbed it at the tail end of last year so I let Simon do that. It was then my turn so again went for a less esoteric, but still not as popular as many route of its grade First Slip. I last climbed this with Tom, when I was at University the first time. Some 15 years ago now. Was a bit of a alzhiemers onsight until I got to the upper groove. Where I remembered the horror.

I opted for the less well protected balancy moves up the right arete, rather than trying to split myself in half by bridging up that blank looking groove! Great day out.

Heartline E2 Oakover Area Tremdog.

Me layback in a noce position on the second pitch of First Slip, Tremdog, Slips Area.

Me on the first pitch of First Slip, just about to gain the upper and harder groove. Tremadog

Graph of grade spreads for one of the areas, covered in North Wales Rock

Well, the North Wales Rock app, has been available on iPhone for around 6 months, and continues to gain momentum as people are paying to download this great new way to access topo and route information. In the back ground the app developer Steve and Laurence have been building the same app for the Andriod Operating System.

All there hard work is hopefully about to pay off, as the Andriod version is going through the last tweaks. So much so that the screenshots have been realised onto theSends facebook page. If like many Andriod users you have been waiting to see what all the fuss is about the wait is coming to an end. Hopefully this can be measure in weeks or days, rather than months.

If you’d like to know more visit the facebook page or theSend.co.uk. In the pipeline is a another app for North Wales Limestone, and Steve in collaboration with others is working on other projects. So if you needed an excuse to get a smartphone then this is it!

The topo with clickable numbers to reveal the route descitions of your chosen route.

To me though it never added up, why would some of the richest people in the world suddenly want to change tack and become ore miners on another planet. It simply doesn’t reflect the type of people these genius’ are. Similarly they probably already puke more money a day then most people make in a year.

Given that most tech companies are trying to become more environmentally friendly, and philantropy is reasonably well established in the industry. Like Bill Gates global fight against milaria. Tearing up the moon for some gold is a somewhat short sighted aim, that most media channels seem to think of as the only reason to mine the moon.

From a reasonably quick search of the internet we have brought back around 300kg from the moon, mainly by the 6 successful NASA apollo missions, although the Russians have also managed to bring back couple of hundred ‘grams’! So to certain extent we know that bringing rock back is possible.

It still doesn’t answer the question of why bring it back at all. If it was gold for instance there is a great fact or urban myth? That ton for ton there is more gold and precious metals in disgarded mobile phones and other electronic equipment that what we can find by digging up the raw ore. So surely refining/recycling these would be a better idea.

However there is one thing that moon rocks have that the earth does not. Protected by our atmosphere, the earth is inpregnable to an isotope of Helium called Helium-3. As such helium-3 is extremely rare on planet earth, but the lack of atmosphere means that many scientists beleive that there is an abundance of this Helium-3 in the surface layer of the moon, due to its build up over billions of years.

Why then are the worlds richest people wanting to get hold of Helium-3? Helium-3 is sort after for the research of nuclear fusion. As such it could be the new energy source. Yeilding much more energy than the nuclear fission we currently use, and potentially having fewer side effects like a legacy of nuclear waste that will haunt us for years to come.

My guess is that these rich guys aren’t trying to get richer, but use their wealth to fund a programme to attempt to make fusion possible. I am sure if it works they’ll also become even richer, but for now the money they are pumping into this embryonic project in a hope that they can help move us on from a reliance on fossil fuels.

In the words of a Ford car executive, ‘The stone age didn’t end because they ran out of stones!’

Oh, and sorry for the geeky nature and the only apparent link to climbing being ‘moon rocks’!

We headed off and focus on a few nav points using bearings before picking on the Llanberis Path, and traversing across to Telegraph Valley, to show Tomny where the path that he’s planning on walking comes down from.

Anyway lovely end to a few days at the grindstone.