December's Activites

Well, 2011 is almost at an end now, but what a great year it has been - with plenty of trips abroad climbing, deep water soloing and kayaking, plus a reasonable amount of coaching and leadership courses being run. December was a random month though, starting with a long weekend in Lille visiting some long lost French friends. We had a lovely few days visiting the sights, eating lots of lovely French cuisine, and catching up on old times. The rest of the month was filled with a mixture of coaching on the River Dart, kayaking the Upper Dart for fun, climbing at the climbing wall, and even a few DWS sessions at Berry Head in lovely sunny conditions (including a session on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!). Currently I am in the process of building my own bouldering cave, with the aim of getting super-strong for next year's DWS season. With plenty of new DWS projects and routes on my list, I'm really looking forward to giving them a crack in 2012. Can't wait! I also have a few trips planned for the New Year, so I have plenty to look forward to. For now though, I'm welcoming in the New Year and looking forward to kayaking the Upper Dart on the 1st January. 

Happy New Year to everyone, and all the best for 2012!!! :D

Introduction to White Water Course 2011

Pure Liquid Kayaking ran an introduction to white water course over four consecutive Saturday's through November. Aimed at good BCU 2 Star paddlers who wish to progress onto the the thrill and excitement of paddling white water rivers, the course covers white water skills and techniques, safety and rescue, leadership, and equipment, but most of all it's about having fun on the river. This year we had three very keen and enthusiastic paddlers who were hungry to learn and push their skills, which resulted in us progressing onto the Loop section of the River Dart by week (day) three, and we even ran some of the last few drops of the Upper Dart by the end of the course. It was an absolute pleasure coaching and paddling with Julian Mudge, Steve Moore and Simon Berry, and it was great to see such rapid advancement of their skills over the duration of the course. Well done Guys!

Mallorca DWS

The last week in September saw me flying out to Mallorca for a week of deep water soloing. And what a fantastic week it was! It was hot and sunny every day, with sea temps of around 26 degrees, and perfect pocketed limestone to climb on above beautiful aqua marine water. I spent a lot of the week climbing at the superb 'Cala Barques', as it housed a multitude of quality DWS routes and was quite a popular venue, so there were always other people to climb with. I climbed a bunch of great routes here, including; 'Hercules' 6c, 'Drop Shadow Diseases' 6c+, 'Mecca' 6c+, 'Bisexual' 7a, 'Might of the Stalactite' 7a, and the truly awesome 'Big XXL' 7a. This route covered some seriously steep ground, and travelled along a series of hanging stalactites before moving up into a small cave and a much needed rest. From here you swung steeply out around a roof before climbing the final leaning head wall on superb jugs. What an amazing route, and the best one of the trip for me for sure! Stoked! :) I also climbed some easier routes at the legendary 'Cova del Diablo', and spent my rest day chilling out at the picturesque 'Santanyi' - where Chris Sharma climbed his famous hard DWS route 'Es Pontas' 9b on the stunning natural rock arch there. Mallorca is a DWS paradise, and I'm definitely planning on heading back next year, though probably for two weeks next time so I can hopefully climb at some of the other superb crags on the stunning island too. Can't wait! :D

September DWS Update

Throughout August and September, the majority of my spare time was spent Deep Water Soloing the abundance of quality and varied routes at Berry Head, Devon. Much of my time during September was spent training (beasting myself) on the superb, and very steep, White Rhino Buttress in preparation for my planned trip to Mallorca at the end of September. Mallorca is the premier location for awesome DWS in a warm, sunny country, where the sea temps in September are around 26 degrees! As Autumn sets in and winter approaches, the DWS season is almost at an end here in the UK, so my trip to Mallorca is a treat to myself - to savour the last bit of summer deep water soloing in an amazing place. Can't wait! Flying out tomorrow! Woohoo! :D

Berry Head DWS update

Well, finally Berry Head Deep Water Soloing season has arrived, opening much to my delight, on August the 1st. After several months prior of DWS training over Torquay, I was feeling physically and mentally a lot stronger than last season, so I made a kind of pact with myself to aim high, not hold back - really go for it, and try to send as many of the top routes as possible this year. So, with a real drive from within, firing on all cylinders and guns blazing, I hit the Berry Head DWS climbs with a vengeance. And I was shocked at the results! Having cruised the 450m traverse of Magical Mystery Tour both ways, I went back two days later on a mission to attack some of the harder quality routes. First route of the day was an on-sight ascent of 'The Wave, 6c', followed by 'Cod Tympani, 7a+', and then a flash send of the top quality 'White Rhino Tea, 7a'!!! To say I was stoked to have finally climbed these quality hard routes would be a massive understatement. I was truly ecstatic! Not only had I made the magic 7a grade, I had also really, really enjoyed climbing these amazing pieces of rock in such a beautiful environment. I was buzzing! Over the following week, I kept the ball rolling and continued to drive hard, and as a result I succeeded in on-sighting many more classics, including: 'Pink Roadster, 7a', 'Jose Sandeles, 6c+', 'Cave Woman, 6c', 'Whoomze got der Keys to me Beema, 6c', 'Rainbow Scoop, 6c', 'Aeronautics, 6c', plus the very pleasant 'High Tide Running, 6b', 'The Lost Locals, 6b+', and 'Pink Bus, 6b+', to name but a few. The whole week was like a huge breakthrough for me, and as a result I have become even more psyched on Deep Water Soloing - like totally addicted to DWS more and more, and send more quality routes. For me, Psicobloc is THE purest form of climbing, and I just love it! I'm stoked right now on it! Woohoo!!! :D

Photos, Top to Bottom; Cod Tympani 7a+, White Rhino Tea 7a, Whoomze got der Keys to me Beema 6c, and Pink Roadster 7a.

BCU 3 Star Sea Kayak Training course

Pure Liquid Kayaking ran a BCU 3 Star Sea Kayak training course over the first weekend in August. Luckily, the forecasts leading up to the weekend turned out to be incorrect, and we ended up with some nice breezy and mostly sunny conditions for the duration of the course - ideal. Based from the Brixham IBEX Canoe Club hut, we utilized the stunning Berry Head and surrounding area to paddle in, whilst covering the full BCU 3* Sea Kayak Syllabus. On the Saturday we covered equipment, weather, 3* skills, and navigation, before putting those skills into practice along the rocky coastline around Berry Head. Sunday involved plenty of rescue skills and techniques, plus some towing practice, before heading back to the warmth and dry of the hut for some journey planning exercises, as the heavy rain and wind hit as predicted. A thoroughly enjoyable weekend was had, with a great bunch of keen and enthusiastic paddlers, who running the course for, was a total pleasure. Thanks to: PM, Will, Paul, Simon, Alice and Harriet. :)

All Photos courtesy of Will Lynds

Open Canoe course

Over the weekend of 30/31st July, Pure Liquid Kayaking ran an Open Canoe course for a small group of  kayakers who wanted to obtain their BCU 2* certificate. Weather conditions were very kind to us, with very light winds and sunny skies - perfect! After two 'full-on' days of open boating, where the candidates were put through their paces - covering all the necessary paddling skills, I was happily able to sign them off and issue the relevant BCU 2* pass slips. A great weekend with a nice bunch of people. :)

Deep Water Soloing update

Well, after my successful Scillies crossing, for the majority of July, I turned my attention back to the excitement of Deep Water Soloing. In anticipation of the opening of Berry Head sea cliffs, (following the annual bird ban), in August, I put some mileage in on the sea crags over Torquay, with the Aqua Marina wall being my main training ground. However, there were a couple of routes that I'd wanted to bag before the end of the month, before Berry Head opened. First on the list was a route on London Arch, Torquay, called 'Atheist', an F6b+, which I'd tried last year but failed on. On 16th July conditions came together, with a WNW breeze and a sunny evening combined with a spring tide, so I took the opportunity to give it a go and was rewarded with a relatively easy ascent on my first attempt. Result! Next up, was a route that I wanted to have a go at called 'Arapiles Oh Arapiles', but didn't expect to send it very quickly as it is a F7a/7a+! This route is situated at Long Quarry Point, Torquay, in a very picturesque setting overlooking Anstey's cove, and is about 30 foot high with nice deep water below it. On my first session there I on-sighted the first half of the route up to the crux, and down climbed the last part of the route to figure out the last few moves. On my second visit, on 21st July, and armed with some beta on the crux moves, I discovered a hold I'd missed, and as a result managed to figure out the crux sequence. My first attempt of the day resulted in a splash-down from the crux moves again, but I had at least made it a few moves higher than last time. I knew straight away where I'd gone wrong, so after a rest and a change of shorts etc I gave it another go. I still wasn't expecting to do the route as the crux involves hard moves on very small crimps, but I surprised myself by making it to the first good jug beyond the technical crux with relative ease, and after flowing easily through the final few moves I arrived at the top barely pumped at all. I was amazed; almost stunned! It felt awesome and I'd done it! I was so stoked I let out a massive hoot of elation! I think the nearby fishermen wondered what the hell was going on?! It was by far the most satisfying route I've done to date. I can't really explain why, it just was. :) Really can't wait for Berry Head season now! I'm psyched! :D

All photos: James climbing 'Arapiles Oh Arapiles', F7a/7a+.

Scillies 'Solo' Crossing

After our Isles of Scilly trip last September, I had wanted to join the link by paddling from Sennen Cove over to the Isles themselves; a 28 mile open water crossing. A week after my Alps trip, and conditions were looking perfect for an attempt, with good visibility and virtually no wind and swell. Once prepped and packed, I drove down to sennen the evening before (sleeping in the van) and paddled out from Sennen just after 6am on Friday 1st July in glassy smooth waters. Despite a fully laden kayak and full spring tides the crossing went really well, and after just under 5 hours and 40 minutes from leaving Longships, I arrived at the Scillies outer rocks, having negotiated several ships and tankers en route. I also saw quite a few gannets on the crossing, and was greeted by a couple of puffins that circled me for a bit which was nice. I landed on St. Martins just before 1pm in time for lunch and a celebratory mug of tea. My crossing couldn't have gone better, and with favorable conditions and good planning the tide pushed me in on the last leg of the journey too. Perfect! The following day I made the long paddle out to Bishop Rock lighthouse - the most southwesterly point, in good sea conditions and back to St. Martins again. On Sunday I had a more leisurely day, paddling out through the narrow Men-a-vaur rocks, and then spending the day chilling out on Northwethel Island in the sunshine. Monday I got the ferry back to the mainland after enjoying a superb few days in these stunning and magical islands, feeling re-vitalized. Definitely worth the effort! :) 

French and Italian Alps Kayaking trip - June

Mid-June saw myself and good friends Jack Butcher, Greg Laywood and Jeremy van Riemsdyke taking the long drive down to the French Alps for a week of white water kayaking. A fantastic, and laughter-filled, week was had kayaking some great rivers in the alpine sunshine, including; the Lower Guisane, Briancon Gorge, Durance Slalom course, Ubaye Racecourse, Gyr, Guil, and the absolutely awesome Germanasca in Italy. In fact, the Germanasca was so good we went back on the last day of the trip and ran it again. I would even go as far as to say it was the best river I've ever paddled, involving lots of technical boulder garden paddling and tons of drops, and it suited me perfectly. Loved it! :D It was great to go just go paddling with good friends and run lots of class 4 classics. Superb! :)

May Holidays to Cornwall

Well, you can plan holidays, but you can't plan the weather. Due to strong winds and the forecast of wet weather, our planned sea kayaking trip to Scotland in May had to be abandoned. Instead, we loaded up the van and headed off over Dartmoor towards Cornwall. Fresh from some good local climbing at Churston, where I led a fantastic HVS 5a called 'Merlin Rocket' and an E3 5c called 'Satanic Traversities' along with some old favourites, I was keen to send a few more routes on our trip south. First stop was Sheepstor, where I made an early morning ascent of 'Wind Wall', HVS 5a, before spending the rest of the day at the Dewerstone climbing a few classics, including; 'Leviathan', VS 4c and 'Climber's Club Direct', HVS 5a. We had a superb day climbing in the sunshine. Next stop was Polzeath, via Bodmin Moor, where we found the surf was a bit blown out, so we spent a few days walking the coast path with the dog, before finally getting a nice surf for a few hours the next morning in three foot plus cleanish waves. I had some fun rides on my Longboard, and Elisabeth scored a few on her boogie board too. Stoked! ;) That afternoon we headed down to Rinsey Head in Cornwall where we camped up for the night. The following morning we hiked out to Trewavas Head for some more climbing, and found it to be a superb little single-pitch venue in an idyllic setting with old tin workings and stunning views along the coastline. We climbed a bunch of fantastic VS's and HVS's, but the highlight of the day for me was my on-sight lead of an awesome and wildly overhanging prow called 'West Wing', an E2 5c. The first half of the route was very delicate and balancy, while the upper half was severely overhanging and juggy. Once through the nail-biting lower part of the route, I reveled in the wild overhanging nature of the exposed upper half, and topped out with a massive grin on my face. :D Woohoo! The last day of the trip was spent walking the coast path down at The Lizard with our dog Guinness. We reflected on what a great holiday it had turned out to be, and how lucky we were to have dry and sunny weather all week given what the forecasts had said the week before. It was also agreed that we would be back to visit again soon, and especially to explore some of the other quality climbing venues in the area. Can't wait! :)

On our return from Cornwall the weather continued to be kind to us, allowing for a superb deep water soloing session over Torquay, and a fantastic day of climbing up on the moor where I led the classic 'three star' E1 5b route on Lowman, Haytor, called 'Aviation'. Superb! :)

April Update

Well, what a month April has been - such fantastic hot sunny weather! Earlier on in the month, and fresh from our climbing trip to Spain, I had a good burn on the superb Anstey's Cove F7b sport route 'Empire of the Sun', linking all the crux moves and on-sighting the top half. Awesome! I am hoping to put a few more hours into the route, with the aim of sending it later this year. As the hot weather increased we moved to the shade of Churston Quarries for some sport and esoterica climbing. After an easy ascent of 'Supercalorific', I then led the run-out E3 5b, 'Walking Tall'. This is another fantastic route, but due to the lack of gear in the upper half a slip from the last few moves would result in a ground fall, so you'd better not mess up! Still the sun shone brightly, so I turned my attention to my real climbing passion - Deep Water Soloing (DWS), or Psicobloc. Plenty of superb sessions were had over Torquay climbing the many classic routes on quality rock in amazingly warm and sunny conditions. It was like summer, and I was in my element! Stoked! ;) I also cleaned up, and soloed a great route down on the edge of Brixham Quarry called 'Pigeon Street', an F6a+. It featured steep juggy climbing with an overhanging crux right at the top, which I thoroughly enjoyed. So much so, that I repeated it three times! Love it! :) Now eagerly awaiting my next DWS session! What I love about Psicobloc, is the absolute freedom and pure climbing movement - just you and the rock, and no-one and nothing else. :)

Photo: Elisabeth on 'Watchtower Traverse', F5.

Costa Blanca Climbing Trip

Mid-March, in a bid to escape the cold and wet British winter, we jetted off to the sunny Costa Blanca in Spain for ten days of sport climbing. The first four days were fantastic, with hot and sunny conditions, allowing us to climb in shorts and T-shirts. Awesome! We were based near Pego, North of Alicante, and over the first few days we visited some of the superb local crags, including; Alcalali, L'Ocaive, Gandia, and Pego itself. The rock was excellent, and with climbing to match, we were in heaven! (Well, I was anyway). The climbing at Gandia really suited me, with steep to overhanging routes containing loads of pockets and jugs, and it was here that we met local Dartmoor climbing Legend; Dave Henderson, cruising up a crazy overhanging 7a+ on-sight! Mid-trip we had some wet weather, but that didn't stop us getting out and doing a few mountain walks, despite not getting much of a view due to the low cloud. Once the nice weather returned, we headed off to the coast near Calpe for some more sun drenched sport climbing on some steep slabs, which suited Elisabeth much better. Well, it was her Birthday! ;) The next day we were back at the top sector of Gandia, sweating it out in the scorching hot conditions and climbing some amazing routes. As a break from the full-on sport climbing, we decided to give the Bernia Ridge a crack the following day. This is an all day trek/ scramble/ climb which weaves its way along a stunning rock ridge, and climbs to a height of 1126 meters. It turned out to be an epic nine and a half hour expedition, but the stunning views and mind boggling journey made it all worth while. On the last day of the trip, we headed back to the overhanging sectors at Gandia so I could bag a few harder routes before we flew home. I was well happy with three 6b's and a 6c, especially as they were hard for the grade! :) What with that, and Elisabeth leading some hard routes of her own, it rounded off our fantastic climbing trip a treat. Happy Days! :D We are definitely planning on heading back next year for more of the same, but probably two weeks next time, as there is so much more climbing we'd like to get done on the next trip! :)

February Climbing Update

With the weather being wet for most of February, but not wet enough for much river paddling, most of our climbing took place at 'Dart Rock' this month, featuring lots of routes to build endurance and a clean ascent of a F7a route that I'd been working on for a few weeks. Result! 

On the 24th the sun finally shone, and we wasted no time in heading over to Telegraph Hole, Torquay, to try my luck leading an E3 5c there called 'Flash Dance'. I had previously inspected the route to get the gear sorted for the crux, which was protected by small wires, and also fixed rope soloed it to see if it was possible for me. On the day, I discovered there was seepage on the last. and hardest, section - not ideal. On the first attempt I fell here due to a wet hold, after leading and placing gear up to this point. I was mightily annoyed! On my second attempt, I took a 20 foot fall onto one of my small wires, jamming it tightly into the small crack. Good job it held! I dried the wet hold/s as best I could, and decided to give it one more go. After composing myself, and a short rest, I set off again. This time, I made it smoothly and quickly up to the slight rest point just before the final hard section, clipping the pegs and my stuck wire en route. I took time to visualise the last few hard moves, before setting off strongly for the top. Frustratingly, the hold was wet again due to the seepage, and a superb foothold was also out of bounds as it was also wet. This made the final section much harder, as I not only had to use much smaller holds instead, but I also had to wipe the wet hand-hold off and re chalk it up as I climbed past. However, I was determined to send the route, so I dug deep, focused, and committed myself to make it happen! After a physical and mental battle for a few metres, I finally clipped the last peg, and shortly after that made it happily to the top of the route. Hallelujah!!! 

'Flash Dance' is a very bold climb, with delicate, balancey moves on small holds, and is not my preferred style of climbing, which made my successful ascent much more satisfying for me.

Following a spot of lunch, we moved camp to the main sea cliffs of Daddy Hole, and after abseiling into the base of the cliffs I led a route called 'Good Dog'. Graded E1 5b, I found the route actually much harder due to a good portion of it being wet, and the upper part scarily loose. Anyway, after an almighty struggle I made it to the top of the route, notching up another E1 on-sight in the process. 'Good Dog' actually had some good varied climbing in it, and would have been much better in dryer conditions. 

Photos are of the route: 'Flash Dance', E3 5c.

New Year, New Routes, New Waves

Mid-January saw a sunny and calm period with light winds, if a little on the cold side. That, combined with some decent ground swell, provided some perfect surfing conditions. As a warm up to the North Coast, a cheeky little early morning surf was had down Bantham in 3'+ clean waves, with some super fun waves to be had. Two days later, and I was up at 0430 for the long drive down to Perranporth in Cornwall. I arrived just before 0700 and was over the moon to find the surf forecasts correct, with clean overhead waves in the six foot plus range. I couldn't get changed fast enough, and was soon jumping off the rocks for the paddle out before first light. With fantastic surf, and no one else out, I had an amazing two hour surf to myself - with every wave to choose from, I was like a kid in a candy store! Wave after wave, I surfed the solid powerful waves, and had some insane rides - steep drops, cranking bottom turns, high speed down the line rides and gouging cutbacks. I was in heaven! Stoked for sure! :)

The calm, dry, and sunny conditions were also perfect for a spot of climbing too, and once the surf had gone flat, I wasted no time in heading over to Anstey's Cove in Torquay to get my climbing fix. Having already pre-inspected a route called 'The Lumpy Universe', an E3 5c, I could barely contain myself to actually send it. Without a doubt, this is my new 'favourite route' - with some amazing climbing snaking its way up a huge, fairly blank looking, impressive wall in a kind of massive amphitheatre high above the cove. The whole route was fantastic, providing good hard technical climbing, broken up by some nice rest spots, which was perfect for me. The route was a delight from start to finish, due in part to my very relaxed state of mind (the surfing maybe?), and as a result my climbing flowed really well, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Well, until I'd completed the route and it was over, anyway. ;)

On a couple of other days, I on-sighted an HVS 5a called 'Acheron', and an E1 5b called 'Moonshot'. Both were good routes, but not a patch on 'The Lumpy Universe'! :)