Life In The Vertical

This image was taken 10 am on Tuesday morning. The Classic view of Llanberis Pass from the Lakeside Car Park.

Now as well as climb, instruct, rant and rave, I also spend part of my time studying an MSc in Applied Sports Science, in particular I have spent a considerable amount of time looking at Sport Psychology, especially research that looks at climbing. There is one piece of recent research in particular that looked at personality and climbing. The work was by a Bangor University masters student and supervisor Tim Woodman.

Whilst they looked at was whether Narcissism had any effects on performance in a climbing task when comparing leading versus seconding. The argument being that a leading challenge has greater potential for self enhancement in the eyes of others and would therefore have a different effect for climbers higher in Narcissism. If you like it allows for a bigger ego boost than when seconding. One of the interesting interaction that the research has shown is that people higher in the narcissists trait recorded a higher ‘rate of perceived mental exertion’ in the leading task than the seconding task, when compared to people lower in the narcissist trait.

It is important to remember that this research looked at making two groups through median splits of data, so its not say narcissist versus non-narcissist, just a group of people higher in the trait than another group. However, given this research it could possible be argued that a narcissist, making a first ascent in front of a camera where the potential for self enhancement is great would lead to that individual experiencing a higher rate of perceived mental exertion and therefore give a route a higher grade.

Now I have not tested this hypothesis, I am just stretching research that I have seen. It would be a reasonable easy hypothesis to test though, as all you’d need is an ungraded route in a climbing wall, and a selection of climbers to grade it, and then test those individuals for levels of narcissism. It might be an interesting undergraduate research.

I was wondering whether they would pay my next speeding fine or my rent next month?

If you read the last post, then you know that I was called out as part of the Mountain rescue team, what you won’t know was essentially what I was involved in was a body recovery. I have an extremely controversial view point on this type of work that the rescue teams carry out. They certainly don’t represent the official stand point of the rescue team, however it my opinion so i will try and give it to you without upsetting either members of the rescue team or the families of the people we recover, a delicate line to tread.

There are possible three or more types of death that we deal with in the rescue team, natural causes (heart attack, stroke, etc…), Unnatural causes (suicides and Murder) and accidental death (falls and exposure). All require a large team of people, and specially trained MR personnel to deal with these Fatal Incidents Protocol, so that we can collect ‘evidence’ for the police. Last night was no difference, we took a reasonable amount of time filming and noting down what was on scene, as well as photographing everything in detail. Now the last time I was at a fatal incident my experience as a filmmaker, meant I got to film it. However last night I had to take the photos, as my experience a photographer meant I got to be a forensic photographer for the evening.

I have to admit that, on a unfamiliar camera, and shooting on film, meant that the images probably won’t be my best work. Besides the images are property of the North Wales Police (NWP). This is were I bear a bug, in that the police are responsible for maintaining a local resilience forum, that can deal with all type of emergency in any environment, so in north Wales the NWP have a responsibility to provide a mountain rescue solution. However, the NWP or any geographical constabulary are incapable of providing that service, so instead rely on voluntary teams to do the work for them.

Which mean that the NWP basically save themselves a fortune, what I would like to advocate is that we as a rescue team at the very least start invoicing the NWP for the body recovery and evidence gathering service the rescue team provide. If we take last nights incidence as an example, then it would have taken in excess of 44 man hours, which for the physical nature and special skills required of the work would definitely warrant £20 per hour, which would have cost the police £880, and that was before the cost of hiring out the rescue teams two specialist vehicles.

After spending yesterday(Tuesday), firmly out on the side of Meol Siabod in horrendous snow and hail condition, teaching part of a ‘Summer’ ML course. The irony was that the condition at the top of the Hill were more ‘wintery’ than one of the days on my Winter ML training. However in order to achieve the aims of the training course needs must. Today was quite different, as I was route setting inside, with a young lake’s based climber George Ullrich.

I think I had met George before if so, getting off on the wrong foot might be the most diplomatic way of putting it, as I might have approach one of his friends and explained that using the wooden holds on the route they had chosen was, well a. cheating and b. damaging to the holds. George defended his friends, and I defended my stance, with the arrogance of someone who had set the route.

George is a rising star in climbing circles, albeit with apparent reluctance, if the review of the DVD about a year in Ullrich’s climbing life is anything to go by. The next time I met him, he was topping out on the steep section of road as you head up to the beacon climbing centre, he had just ridden from Bangor to set routes. I stopped and offered him a lift the rest of the way, but having done the worst of the cycle George opted to carry on pedalling.

I HAVE TO APOLOGISE HERE, AS I WAS CALLED OUT ON A RESCUE, SO LOST MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT A LITTLE

Anyway having chatted to George about his antics since arriving at Bangor, seems that he has started to attack the *** classics like The Cad and Positron at Gogarth, a good effort given the horrendous weather we’ve had. He has also knocked about the quarries and climbed the bold Scare City in Bus Stop. In my brief meeting with him I got the impression that this quiet design student hides some serious motivation and of course climbing ability.

Whilst I have found films about one climber dull or boring, I am actually looking forward to seeing ‘Call it What You Want’ about young George. As I have heard so much about him yet seen so little. If you are interested in buying a copy of the DVD then may I direct you to V12 Outdoors or Joe Browns, my local retailers, or if you’d like to support the film-maker directly, and help him afford to make more film then Dave Gill will sell you one direct.

In North Wales bouldering Guru, Guidebook producer and all round Mr Nice, has been involved in developing one of the UK premiere training facilities. Dubbed ‘The Mill’ the bouldering facility offers problems from desperate to impossible if you are what might be consider a reasonably good climber. The climbing probably starts at V6 upwards. The concept is based on the ‘School Room’ in Sheffield which had twenty ‘members’ who chipped in for the rent and the cost and time of setting the facility up. I have been invited along a couple of times where I both flailed miserably and took some pictures.

I did manage a problem that the big boys that train there call easy, however it was probably V7! Anyway I hope you enjoy the images.

The only jug on the entire wall!

James Lillie cranking in out.

James King on the Steep Wall

Jemma Powell focuses of the finishing jug!

Jemma Powell

Pete Robin’s who’s put the power of the mill to good use with ascents of Pools of Bethesda V12(?)

Mill Scene

The Man, the Myth, Simon Panton enjoys his vision.

Olly Cain training his front levers, he also showed that training pays off with an ascent of the uber Fontainbleau classic Carnage.

I have been working with the well known instructor Andy Newton today helping him provide a Mountain Leader Training course for well known chain of outdoor centres. Now for some instructors these centres serve as the ‘way into’ the career of instruction, however they often don’t pay that well, and the working conditions are often pushed as far as it is possible to do so and still be legal. The guys that work in this type of centre often only last a year or two before they move onto bigger and better things or exit the industry altogether.

I Work guys like these all the time, on training courses, and it got me thinking about the other ways into our industry which are to either pay for the training and assessment yourself and gain the experience by volenteering, or pay for a ‘Fast Track’ Scheme. Whereby a centre takes thousands of pounds off an individual and basically gets the people through as many qualifications as is suitable in the space of three to six months. Whilst these are enticing on paper, as well as lucrative for centre and even freelance instructor like myself who work on them. The reality of the situation is that despite having ‘paper’ qualifications, those who try and enter instructing this way often find they still have to go and work for one of the well known chain of centres like PGL, Manor, Acorn or Kingswood, and work for very little money to get the experience of working with real groups.

Ironically i have spoken to several centre managers over the years and not one of them would employ someone who had gone through a fast track scheme, as often what you get is an IT consultant that has learnt to jump through hoops to become qualified but who has little related experience in the soft skill of group management. Which begs the question of the validity of a Fast Track to Nowhere versus the apprenticeship of working for a centre that pays you very little but as a consequence does train you up for National Governing Body awards, and get you that hands on experience of with groups as you work.

Olly climbing Slug Club Special, E4 6a whilst being belayed by his dad.

Olly manages a smile in the Artic conditions

Olly climbing Seasmstress, trying to Warm Up!

Well, I can’t say the weather today was as nice as it was yesterday, but I did end up laying in bed with a hangover until midday. It all started with a misunderstand of the date on Facebook event, that is actually next weekend. Which meant I was a week early at the Fricsan in Cwm-Y-Glo, however that meant I was right on time for another great local group Banacabana (sic?), and some wicked afro beats to throw some bad shapes to!

It all ended in too much beer and a long dark walk along the cycle track back to Llanberis. It always gets me that track, basically a straight line from the Fricsan to the Village, yet I only walk it in the pitch dark when i have lost the ability to walk in a straight line or see of that matter. It was a good walk back and I only fell off the the path once, well I have a bruise and a vague recollection of falling.

So my lazy day was justified really. Although I did manage to squeeze in a walk to pick up the van, Pete’s Eat lunch, some photography and a climbing wall session. I hadn’t been out to P’eats for a while and there are a few very nice women serving in there at the moment. One used to brighten my day almost like clockwork when I was living in a house at the top of the Village, when she road past my house in jodpers. I almost lost the ability to talk when she served me today.

Anyway, we eventually headed out to the slate, so Olly could try and climb his hangover off, and so I could try and get some snaps. In my overly self critical nature I actually don’t like any of the images I took today (not olly’s Fault), save for one. It was too dark, and taking photos of an abseil rope in the cold, really increases the camera shake. So they pretty much all came out ‘soft’. You live and you learn.

As I have mentioned relaxing as a strategy to combat anxiety and performance catastrophies, it only seemed appropriate that I gave you a few more pointers, as to how to go about training yourself to be able to relax. Like most skills, relaxation doesn’t neccessarily come naturally, as such you need to practice using it to be able to rely on it when your in those stressful situations.

Firstly it is important to realise that there are numerous ways that you can try to relax, and one will be more effective than others for different people. The more popular ways are controlled breathing, Breathing-mantra, progressive muscle relaxation, transcendental meditation. Whatever relaxation technique you choose, you should aim to practice it at home to start with, and spend 15 to 20 minutes relaxing.

After a few session, once you feel you have started to get the hang of the protocol, try to reduce the length of time it takes to reach a relaxed state, and with it the overall length of the session. What you are trying to eventually achieve through practice is the ability to reach a more relaxed state in a 10 to 20 seconds. Allowing you to relax before leading a route or even when on a route, as your about to embark on the crux section.

There are some more links here:
Progressive Muscle relaxation -MP3 audio
Progressive Muscle relaxation – Video

Well I really can’t talk about climbing all the time, so i thought today I’d offer some light entertainment from my Brother, who is trying to make it as a stand up comic. I went to see him compare a local comedy night in Bournemouth, when I last visited home, however he makes regular journey’s to London and other comedy clubs/nights across the UK. For me though the funniest thing I have heard was his “internet Single Mum”. I think it made it onto Colin Murray’s Black Hole on Radio 1.

If you missed it is here in all its live glory. If you’d like to hear more of his comedy then he has a regular slot of BBC Radio Solent, and his YouTube page is here. PS don’t listen to the Jason Donavan Joke if you easily offended!

Hope it brings a smile!

Well if the weather near you was anything like it was in North Wales today, then the only excuse not to be outside was injury, illness or death. Even I couldn’t fake one of those and despite an 8.30am start I still forced myself out of bed before lunchtime. I don’t know whether it was the company, destination or weather that kept up my enthusiasm for escaping the confines of Llanberis or a mixture of all three, either way the morning found me travelling down to Craig Doris on the Lleyn Peninsular, .

For anyone one who has heard tales of loose rock at Gogarth, then it is generally accepted that the Lleyn makes Gogarth look solid, and parts of Craig Doris make the rest of the Lleyn look like a kids play park. The real question is why would anyone climb there if its that loose. Well to a certain extent it is the ultimate climbing adventure within 10 minutes of you car. Quite often it is a total juxtaposition at the bottom of the cliff, where radiant sunshine and picture perfect sets of waves crashing into boulder beach make for a utopia. Half way up the cliff it is a different story, as the situations you can get yourself into are totally wild, as long and committing pitches mean that as well as a full adventure rack you need to have packed your cahooners.

Some people can’t get enough of the place, although it had taken me over two years of absence to return to the crag. The sheer power of the climbing experiences it offers, often stay with you for a long time and I for one get the feeling that if I play here too often then the odds get shorter and shorter. Its like playing Russian roulette over and over again, every time there is a 1 in 6 chance of carnage, but the fact that you keep rolling the dice means that eventually the gun is going to go bang in your face.

Despite this the climbing is great, if an acquired taste. However like rotting cabbage brie, if you have the taste for it there’s nothing finer. Unfortunately I am still injured (see the top excuses), so was just photographing Sam and Matt today, who eventually got stuck into a dare I say it a classic of the crag Absent Friends. Coincidentally the first ascentionist phoned me just after I got back in, and filled me in with the history of this route. The absentee in question when the route was first climbed was Ed Stone. Who whilst I never knew him, was a strong and much like figure of the Llanberis climbing scene during the rock and dole years of the late eighties onwards. The routes position and quality seemed a fitting tribute to the man.

Sam and Matt had a hard time on the route, but given its been impossible to get out climbing due to the weather, I think they did alright on the aging fixed gear. After Matt got to the first peg and backed off with ‘illness’, Sam then stepped up to the plate and pulled it out the bag by getting higher before his guns gave out. Managing to free the rest of the route between resting and occasionally falling as holds exploded. It made me think about the dirty issue of style of ascent. Now the style police would have said that their ascent was simply not one or given it french free, dogged, yo-yo etc.., as there were rest, falls, and as many ‘tactics’ as we could find (I include myself as part of the ascent, even if it was only as a supporting role) .

Many years ago I visited the Czech republic, and was introduced to a different ethic, whereby an entire team head out, and by hook or by crook an ascent is made. This can include standing on shoulders of other (combined Tactics), resting, aiding, even free climbing is allowed. The main aim of the day appeared to be to laugh at everyone else antics as well as your own. At the end of the day you hoped to have got up a route, but if you hadn’t, as long as you’d been having the most fun was all that was important.

Whilst I sympathise and understand the need for a style of ascent police at the top end of our sport. After all how else are you going to know whether climber A is better than Climber B? For every other Tom, Dick or Harriette at the crag surely they are less concerned with the art of ascent and more interested with whom they are climbing with and enjoyment they have. I remember reading somewhere, maybe even on an Internet forum, “I climb for fun, it is a hobby after all”. Remember “the best climber is the one have the most fun!” (who did say that? Bridwell?)