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+.