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! :)