Bouldering Cave Progress

Finally, my bouldering cave is finished, much to my relief, after two months of blood, sweat, and hard work! Woohoo! :D After a lick of paint, and the bolting on of some holds, I couldn't wait to get on and give it a go! I soon found out climbing upsidedown is super-strenuous, and after a couple of sessions over a few days my forearms were feeling totally trashed - more than they have been in a long time. But then that's exactly what I wanted, and why I built the thing in the first place - to beast myself loads, with the aim of getting stronger as a result. I still need to buy more holds, but I've got enough for the bread and butter of my training to keep me going for the meantime. Summer DWS; Bring it on!!! Can't wait! :)

Oh, I almost forgot; on one of the recent warm sunny days we took a trip out to Chudleigh Rocks and had a splendid afternoons climbing, where I onsighted a superb E2 5b called 'Saturn Five' that was super-overhanging and suited me a treat - fantastic! Loved it! Then we climbed 'Great Western' VS 5a, which was ok, followed by 'Stalactite Direct' HVS 5a, which was very nice indeed. It was great to get out and do some lead climbing for a change. Thanks Elisabeth! x

Bouldering Cave Update

Due to the lack of water in the river this month, the majority of my time has been spent working on the build of my bouldering cave, with the odd foray out to Berry Head for some Deep Water Soloing and a few bouldering sessions locally - just to maintain some climbing fitness until I can start training on my wall. We also had a very nice paddle from Brixham to Kingswear on a fantastically sunny Sunday. After a lot of hard graft, the bouldering cave is almost finished now, with it just requiring a coat of paint and a few more inserts to be fitted. The mega jugs for the roof have arrived and I should get my hands on the paint this week, so it shouldn't be long before I can start beasting myself in preparation for this year's DWS season - haha - excellent! Can't wait! :D

January Update

Well, January has been an even stranger month than December, what with the mixed and changeable weather we've had, and this meant that the activities we did varied a lot too - from kayaking on the River Dart, to Deep Water Soloing at Berry Head, to climbing at the climbing wall. On one of my DWS days I fell in the sea for the first time since Mallorca, and I can confirm that the water temperature at the moment is pretty damn cold, especially for boardshorts and a rash vest! The other main theme for January has been working on the build of my bouldering cave, which is coming along nicely now. So far, I have the kick board, a 45 degree overhang, a horizontal roof and the arete completed, with just the back walls to finish off. I am hoping to have it fully finished in the next few weeks, including the purchasing of some huge jugs for the roof section, so I can start some training for my DWS projects this summer. Can't wait! Bring it on! Woohoo! :)

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