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'! :)

Might and Main

Mid December saw cool, dry and sunny conditions for about a week, allowing us to eagerly embark on a flurry of climbing activity over at Anstey's Cove, Torquay. 

On the first day there, myself and climbing partner Simon Kitchin found a nice warm up route called 'End of an Era', which is a F6a. After that we placed the quickdraws on an adjacent route called 'Time Bandits', F6c+, and I managed to flash the route on my second attempt (after a small fall on the first metre of climbing on the first attempt). Then it was onto 'Cocytus', E3 6a, (about F6c), which I led ground up on my second attempt. The first attempt didn't go too well, with one fall, and on reaching the second clip I realised I had no quickdraws on my harness, so I had to down-climb and jump, and then be lowered off again. On the successful lead, I found out that you were supposed to place some gear for protection in the upper part. The only problem was; I didn't have any with me, so I had to basically solo the last part of the route - meaning a fall from the last move at 40' would have probably resulted in me hitting the ground. But I didn't worry, because I knew I wasn't going to fall. 

A few days later I returned with my partner Elisabeth, where we had a pleasant afternoon in the sunshine climbing a couple of lovely Trad' routes. During a snack break we chatted to local climbing legend - Ken Palmer, and admired the stunning view from our elevated position, out across the beautiful cove below. 

The next route on my list was 'Might and Main', a 70' F6c+ up the stunning arete between the Empire Wall and the Mitre Buttress. I returned early the following morning with climbing partner Simon, and managed to send the route ground-up on my first proper attempt (after a half-hearted go at the first few moves, followed by a jump off). I really enjoyed this climb, and it seemed to suit my style of climbing; involving lots of steep, powerful, bouldery and technical moves, that were broken up by good rests in between. Perfect! I wouldn't say it was an easy climb, but I led it more easily than I have other's at this grade, and did it smoothly and in good style. It felt good; darn good! Loved it! Woohoo! Happy Days! :) 

Looks like it's onto F7a's next then?!?!?!?!? :O

Photo courtesy of Simon Kitchin. Climber: James Mitchelmore lowering off 'Might and Main'.

November's Activities

Well, the weather in November wasn't the best with some wet weather to start, followed by much colder conditions to finish. We managed to get some white water kayaking in on the River Dart whilst the levels were up, which was nice. Then, on a brief warm and sunny day in the middle of the month, we managed to get to Chudleigh for a bit of lead climbing. I'd wanted to climb a route called 'The Spider', an E1 5b, for some time now, and finally decided to give it a go. The first pitch was great, if a little run-out on the final slab. Pitch two contained an exposed crux near the top of the 100 foot route. When I reached this point, I discovered that there was quite a lot of water seepage - not ideal!  The climbing was hard enough here, being overhanging on small-ish holds, without the rock being all wet! After placing some protection I gave the last portion of the route a go, managing to make it up and over to, and across the delicate slab, to the safety of an old tree stump - though not without a remarkable struggle! It was one hell of a battle, but I finally emerged triumphant onto the top of the crag in glorious sunshine! Yahoo! Fantastic! :) During the latter part of November, much of our climbing activities took place within the warmth and dry of the DartRock Climbing Centre, near Buckfastleigh. This is a superb venue to train in, work on your technique, strength and climbing skills, and bang out some great routes with your friends. And they have nice tea and cakes too! Ideal! :) Can't wait for my next session!

White Water Course October 2010

Pure Liquid Kayaking ran a super-successful white water course this October, based on the River Dart in Devon. I couldn't have asked for a better group of paddlers to coach on the river, with every single one of them super-keen and enthusiastic, hungry for new challenges and to improve their skills, and up for every task I set them. It was a total pleasure paddling with; Rob Tew, Ben Hipwell, Nick Richards and Jon Roberts. The course ran over a series of four Saturdays during October, with week one covering the fundamentals and basic skills on the Lower Dart. Progression was rapid to say the least (excuse the pun), especially for Ben who had never paddled on moving water before, and by week two we were on the Loop in low-ish flows utilizing the abundance of quality features there. A successful trip was had by all; running every section, including boofing 'Washing Machine' and eddy-hopping 'Triple Falls'. Week three saw higher water levels, with it lapping the ledge on the 'Loop put-in', so a perfect progression onto stronger flows - we even ran the last Km or so of the Upper Dart to start the day off with more excitement and the new challenge of running drops. The faster flowing water allowed the students to charge harder into and out of eddies, and further improve their river running skills. Right at the end of the day we did a safety and rescue session involving swimming down rapids and using throwlines for rescues. For the final week of the course the levels were slightly low again, but this didn't mean that we weren't going to have fun and further push our skill levels on the river. First up, we found a great little spot for having a go at flat-spinning our kayaks, before embarking on the main focus of the day - hitting as many eddies as we could on every rapid on the river. The guys discovered eddies they never knew existed before as we eddy-hopped our way down even the more challenging sections of water such as 'Lovers Leap' and 'Triple Falls'. We also found plenty of surf waves to play on, and in between all that we looked at leadership - with everyone having a go at leading the rest of the group down. Some of the more exciting elements of the day included a 'boof-fest' at the 'Washing Machine', (where we discovered Ben was a boof-a-holic), and trying our hand at some super-exhilarating pop-outs in the first drop of 'Triple Falls'. All in all, a fantastic day was had by everyone, and at the take-out we had a super-positive debrief and feed back session. From my point of view; I'd had a great month of paddling with and coaching a superb group of paddlers, and their progression throughout the course was phenomenal - with all of them looking super-comfy on the 'Loop' and paddling really smooth and strongly by the end. Well done Guys! Keep at it! And maybe not long before we get you on the 'Upper Dart' eh?! ;) 

Photos courtesy of Rob Tew.