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Mountain skills and thrills - Ponoch

23/1/2022

#ponoch-mountaineering-routes-costa-blanca

The massive wall of Ponoch

When wintering in Costa Blanca, which has become pretty standard for us over the last 10 years. We usually manage a few trips up the Ponoch via ferrata as it's a really good workout. A few times over recent years, I've extended this with a scramble all the way up onto the summit plateau, this is 100's of metres higher and adds so much to the day.

A couple of days ago some friends were heading to do the via ferrata and they hadn't experienced the continuation scramble. Kate was still to do this too. So we had a proper mountain day with a mix of steep via ferrata, ridge scrambling, and plateau navigating to reach the summit of Ponoch /Ponotx.

The main face of Ponoch is around 500m high and steep all the way. The via ferrata follows a fine arete for about 250m to finish at a lower plateau. From here a ridge can be joined, initially this overlooks the massive south wall, so exposure is pretty biblical.
With some weaving around, an amenable way can be navigated all the way to the edge of the upper plateau. This is mountaineering terrain though, so care is required as loose rock is in abundance and straying off route would be serious.

From here a couple of choices of descent await. Firstly there's an abseil station about 10 minutes walk/scramble away. This is good if wanting a shorter walk and more technical rope-work. That wasn't on the menu today though, it was high and wild mountain terrain that was needed and this place delivers.
Just keep walking uphill, across rough limestone pavement, occasional cairns aid navigation, slightly! Enjoy the peace and serenity of this wild landscape, don't rush, stay quiet and look out for the Goats and maybe even Ibex.

Eventually the summit is reached and the views open up even more. Puig Campana; Aitana; Xanchet; Bernia; even Ibiza if the air is super clear. Good paths lead back to base from here.

About 10km of ground covered with around 600m of steep, technical terrain mixed in. Along with harness and helmet, we used via ferrata lanyards, 30m of single rope, and a couple of 120cm slings on HMS screwgates. This is a minimum requirement for a roped party. A 60m rope would give the option of taking the abseil descent, or simply making retreat easier.

This route along with many others will feature in our forthcoming book 'Costa Blanca Mountain Adventures' (Cicerone) and this will be available from September 2022 :-)

Thanks for reading
Mark

#mountain-skills-days-ponoch-costa-blanca

Kate nearing the top of the scrambling terrain

#ponoch-summit-mountain-skills-costa-blanca

The vast plateau of Ponoch with the summit in the distance

Mountaineering skills and some fine ridge scrambles

10/1/2022

#bernia-ridge-traverse-costa-blanca-spain

Looking west along the Bernia ridge

Over the last few days I've spent a little more time on the local ridges here in Costa Blanca. The Bernia and Segaria ridges are places I know very well, having traversed both many times. Until this week I hadn't attempted the Bernia as a solo day, so decided to have a go at a quick, solo ascent.
There is a lot to consider before setting out onto a big ridge or any mountaineering environment, especially so if going solo.
Weather, gear, skill set, fitness, daylight hours, escape plan, who knows where I am. Just a few things to be considered.

With all of the above taken into account, I set off for an afternoon ascent of this wonderful ridge. There were a lot of walkers out enjoying the fine weather, I wandered if anyone would be up on the ridge. I moved fast, soon arriving at the tunnel through the base of the ridge and 10 minutes later I was up on the crest enjoying views down to the coast. The weather was perfect, no wind and completely clear. Now on the rocky terrain I slowed the pace so more considered movement could be employed, this is not a place for a slip!
Even with this slowing of pace, as I was solo so all obstacles could be tackled immediately, I covered ground much quicker than I had expected. Soon I was at a small abseil, so sorted the rope and after a thorough check whizzed down it. A few minutes later another abseil station was reached, this one being above a bigger drop and I knew the rope was going to be borderline long enough. The rope length turned out to be perfect. I had knotted the ends of the rope just in case it had been too short.
Lots more straightforward scrambling brought me to the main challenge of the day, a 4+ climb of about 25m. This is very well bolted and I had come prepared to aid the initial moves as the rock is very slippery. A lanyard and 2 quickdraws were enough to keep safety limits acceptable and me moving efficiently over this steep terrain. Clipping in the 'draws to a bolt and pulling on the 'draw gave me a huge advantage. Yes this could have been done without aid (and typically would be when using a rope), but a fall from this section is unthinkable and safety comes first. As the terrain eases once more a high point is reached, I de-harnessed at this point.

With the main difficulties behind me, I felt myself starting to relax a little more. This needed attention as when we loose focus we make mistakes. I switched the brain back on.
Dropping down onto the scree before the main summit of Bernia I now only had an easy scree path to descend before the tourist path would be reached. Until now I hadn't seen another person or animal since joining the ridge. Right in front of me stood a herd of Ibex, every one of them had their gaze fixed on me! I tried to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb them, but it was too late, they were already retreating. But 3 stayed much longer, perfectly still and focusing on my every move. Moments like this are such a privilege.

This had been a brilliant afternoon, with many mountaineering skills practiced.

Yesterday, a last minute change of plan put the nearby Segaria ridge into the picture. It is splittable into 3 sections so can be done in a short space of time. Perfect for an afternoon out.
Yesterday the weather wasn't so calm though. We had clear blue skies, but a strong north-westerly wind. A ridge scramble could be extra exciting. The Segaria isn't high, so I felt it to be a reasonable objective, I also approached with an open mind about turning back (always do this). The wind at Portet Beniarbeig - which is a big notch in the ridge - was pretty high, but to be expected given the terrain and wind direction, so this didn't deter me. But I did take some time to investigate the effects of the wind a little more. The small trees and shrubs up on the ridge were not being blown around, this was good news. Onwards.

Interesting scrambling leads out of the notch and up onto the exposed crest. Once on this it can be followed directly for much of the way. At times the wind was too strong on the very top, so I dropped slightly to the south side and was instantly given shelter. I was noticing an increase in wind speed as I progressed along the ridge. I was slightly concerned by this and adjusted my speed and stance to compensate. Very close to the end of the ridge is a short, exposed and difficult down-climb. This required total focus in order to get the sequence correct. I knew once I had descended this there would be an island of safety in the form of an abseil station. What I hadn't realised was quite how windy it would be at the abseil station!

22m to the ground and a big footpath, but it felt so much further. Even trying to take the rope out of my backpack required all my effort, the wind was that ferocious. Having eventually threaded the rope through the anchor, I began to coil it ready for a throw. Not quite sure why, but I took hand coils and cast them in the hope they may end up on the ground. No chance, I needed to fully engage the brain again and consider how best to get the ropes down. I tried a 'rope bomb' which is something like a big ball of rope. This didn't work either, in fact it made things worse as the rope made slightly more progress than before and just enough to allow it to become tangled. Oh joy.
With the ropes stuck and no amount of tugging would free them, I attached to the abseil rope, double checked everything and set off to fix the problem. Thankfully I was able to do this after only descending a couple of metres so ascending back up was easy.
I took some time to consider a variety of other methods for getting the rope down during extremely windy conditions, but also took time to look around my immediate surroundings. Actually I could abseil southwards rather than north, this would make all the problems go away.
Sometimes a solution is easier and closer than it seems, keep an open mind and a look out for it.

Minutes later I was off the ridge and out of the wind. A fun adventure with a final twist.

Mountaineering is an extremely rewarding pastime, but it does come with quite a helping of danger. Beware of this and be prepared. Build skills over years, and don't rush into things. Training courses and technical books are worth considering. We can arrange skills courses suitable for all levels and these are available from early March through to late November, based in the Lake District.
If looking for a technical book of all things mountaineering, the very best currently available is 'Down' by Andy Kirkpatrick.

Thanks for reading

Mark

#bernia-ridge-traverse-scrambling-skills-course

Looking east along the Bernia - yes there's a safe way down that.

#segaria-ridge-traverse-costa-blanca

Segaria ridge - route finding can be quite challenging on here

Happy New Year - and a little write up about some climbing on a very big sea stack

1/1/2022

#the-peñon-of-calpe-rock-climbing-on-the-north-face

The glorious north face of El Peñon d-Ifach

Happy new year everyone. Thank you all so much for your support, we are super grateful :-)

It has been a year of pretty intense highs and lows, I'm sure that's the same for many folk out there. We'll keep this climbing related though, and that side of things has been ace. Whilst much of the UK suffered a rather wet summer season, the Lake District was much drier than usual, meaning mountain crags were climbable for many days over summer. We did our best to take advantage of this and did manage to climbing on the Esk Buttress and on the East Buttress of Scafell. Both very special places, really hope we can visit them more often.

We enjoyed a very busy summer and all through autumn too, having fun in the canyons and gorges, scrambling, climbing, abseiling, and many guided walks. Again, thank you all so much for joining us.

At the beginning of December, I escaped to Spain and Kate is due to join shortly. For a winter holiday and some personal development. Work here in Spain is on hold for us for now, whilst Brexit continues to unfold. We hope to be able to offer activities here again in the coming years, but for now the winter trips to Spain will be our holiday.

I like to keep busy though, even on holiday. The Cicerone guidebook I've been working on 'Costa Blanca Mountain Adventures' has now been submitted to the publishers so hopefully only a short way to go now before that's available to purchase. With that work complete, it has allowed for more climbing time on routes I may not normally be looking at. More difficult routes in some cases. And this brings me on to our final day of 2021. What to do for New Years eve, hmmmm.
Okay, let's go and climb a really hard (for me) route on The Peñon in Calpe. This venue was chosen as the weather is currently very warm so we needed a north facing crag in order not to melt. Only having climbed 1 route on the north face this seemed a good opportunity to try another. So we opted for 'Verde Esmeralda' an E2 / 6a+ multi-pitch climb.

In a nutshell, this route is fantastic and well worth climbing for anyone operating at HVS / 6b and possessing a high sense of adventure.

Verde Esmeralda - E2 / 6a+ 100m
Start by the small cave just before the tunnel on the main path.
Pitch 1: 30m 4+ Climb just left of the cave, battling though a small tree to reach a wide and impressive groove. Continue up this following a few fixed threads. A stance is reached about 10m below the obvious orange roof. Belay here.
Pitch 2: 10m 4+ Continue towards the big roof, trending right to reach a bolt on the lower lip, move right again and up to the bolted belay. This is a hanging belay, so worth getting as comfortable as possible.
Pitch 3: 20m 6a+ This pitch is fully bolted and the bolts are pretty close together for the hard moves. Make wild moves directly up from the belay (using your belayers shoulder helps), all on big jugs but the terrain is severely steep. Keep going and very soon the angle eases and the climbing becomes more enjoyable. Climb the slab trending slightly left to reach a more comfortable belay with a single large staple bolt.
Pitch 4: 30m 5 Move left from the belay into a bushy corner, climb the corner system above with provides delightful climbing. At a small ledge move right onto a slab with a couple of small red dots, follow this to a small pinnacle then make an awkward move to gain the upper slab. Clip the bolt above then move back down slightly and traverse left a couple of metres before going upward again to reach a comfortable ledge with bolt and peg belay.
Pitch 5: 10m 4 Go rightwards to gain a shallow groove and follow this to the top.

Descent: Ascend slightly then traverse via the easiest line until a rocky scree gully can be seen, descend into this and follow it down to the path.

What an amazing way to round off the year. I hope you've all had a great start to 2022 and your year is filled with joy, positivity, and adventure.
Thanks for reading

Mark :-)

#climbing-course-ambleside-lake-district-multi-pitch

Kim arriving at the hanging stance below the crux pitch

#calpe-coastline-rock-climbing-on-el-penon-d-ifach

Views are every bit as good as the climbing

Ponoch - Big wall climbing

21/12/2021

#ponoch-rock-climbing-costa-blanca

The huge Sector Central face of Ponoch

Today we went for a big adventure on the largest crag in the region of Costa Blanca. Although not quite as high or as well known as neighbouring Puig Campana, this is without doubt the most impressive lump of rock in the region. Some routes are 500m+ and all are demanding undertakings, typically with big run-outs and hard climbing.

Having previously climbed the big classic 'Via Valencianos' E1/6a I was keen for more of what Ponoch has to offer but preferred a sport route to ease route finding. When I say 'sport route' what I mean is there are very sparingly placed bolts and equipped belays. That's to be expected on a crag as big as this.
So it was decided we would climb 'Viaje Espacial' a 6a/E1 with the final pitches having either no or very limited fixed gear. We didn't intend to bother with these pitches, but took a trad rack just in case.

Pitch 1 is the same as Valencianos so I knew this one but hadn't led it. I remember it having an interesting move about half way up. This took some working out but once beyond this it was a breeze to the belay on a massive ledge. A short walk right brought us to the base of the next pitch, also a 6a and fairly long at 45m. It tackled a wall directly and felt quite steady.
Pitch 3 headed rightwards and although was a lower grade pitch (5) it felt just as difficult, in fact all pitches felt pretty equal in terms of difficulty. A small belay ledge was reached and by now I was getting really hot from the exertion. I should have taken some time out for food and drink but for some reason decided not to. That was a mistake.

Pitch 4 was simply magnificent giving some of the best climbing I've done in quite some time. Very steep at times and always super exposed. However, by the time I reached the next belay ledge I was feeling wasted and knew I was becoming dehydrated and needed to act. So after a quick re-fuelling break we took the decision to head back down. We were only 1 pitch short of the top but it would have been foolish to continue. Thankfully I soon started to feel much better (top tip, always carry a Go Gel or similar with you) which was helpful as the abseil descent gave us some problem solving to deal with.

We used 2 guidebooks to get information about the route. Firstly the Rockfax Costa Blanca and this was complimented by the local guide 'Ponotx' by Manuel Bernabeu. If wanting to explore this mountain more, it is the local guide you'll be needing, it offers 100 routes, all are full days out. All will be memorable.

There are a few more routes on here I have my eye on, hopefully another will get ticked on this visit so watch this space. Back to some single pitch sport climbing tomorrow :-)

Thanks for reading and thanks to Kim for coming on this adventure with me.

Mark

#climbing-course-ambleside-lake-district

Pitch 4 - this gave some incredible climbing

#el-frare-ponoch-climbing-costa-blanca

The fin of Agulla del Flare

#rock-climbing-course-lake-district-viaje-espacial-ponoch

Route name scratched at the top of pitch 1

#viaje-espacial-ponoch-topo

Topo of the route from the local guide by Manuel Bernabeu. Image copywright - Manuel Bernabeu

Mollo de la Creu

17/12/2021

#matterhorn-of-gandia-mollo-de-la-creu

The right hand ridge was our chosen route

On Tuesday we went in search of the mini Matterhorn of Gandia, properly known as Mollo de la Creu. A majestic peak rising from the fertile orange groves to stand sentinel over the nearby urban sprawl of Gandia, such a juxtaposition.

I had made one previous visit to the lower section of this crag and thought it to be not worth another visit. However, we later learned of a long and fully equipped route leading up to the summit via a beautiful ridge line. Well that's going to be worth a look for sure. So me, Kim, and Ann set off for an adventure, oh and what an adventure we had. A true adventure should have some uncertainty and an unknown outcome. This place delivered.

The climb is in two parts, the first section is the route I'd already climbed and I knew this wasn't going to be amazing. But the hope was it would lead to much better things. From the top of this section a short scramble brought us to the base of the ridge line. This looked amazing. I think we climbed it in 5 pitches and all were very long, and on two occasions I came close to running out of rope - we were using 60's too!!

The pitches were a nice mix of easier climbing / scrambling and some more testing moves to which kept us engaged. Route finding was mostly straightforward and all the difficult sections were well bolted. The easy sections had big run-outs.

We arrived on the summit at about 3pm and enjoyed a rest, some lunch, and the gorgeous views. The descent walk was due to be around 50 minutes and all looked pretty straightforward. If only! The red blobs of paint we were due to follow didn't materialise and the path we used, which initially seemed correct, was taking us in the wrong direction more and more. As we hadn't seen any other options for a way down, we stuck with this for a while longer, but then realised it would take us into the wrong valley. We had a sweep search for alternatives, but nothing reasonable was found and simply ploughing through vegetation in this part of the world is a really bad idea. It is very very sharp, yes I've learn that the hard way.
So we stuck to the good path heading into the wrong valley, we could see it would get us off the mountain and by now darkness wasn't too far away. As it turned out, the walk back to the car wasn't going to be too far, there was just a short section that may be a little off-piste. Well, about that sharp vegetation.......we had a few hundred metres of it to negotiate and this took an age. Multiple cut and trips later, much cursing, some occasional laughing at ourselves, and we emerged on the other side. Phew. 15 minutes later we were back at the motor. A little tired, full of thorns, but what a fantastic day out with two lovely friends.

It's not about the climbing. It's about the people, the places, and the adventure.

Thanks for reading and thanks to Kim and Ann for joining on this one :-)

Mark

#mollo-de-la-creu-gandia-mountaineering

Ann about to top out on the climb

#climbing-skills-course-ambleside

Kim taking over the belaying for a while to give me a rest :-)

#mountaineering-days-gandia-costa-blanca

Hmmm, I wonder why it's called the Mini Matterhorn

New discoveries - Penyalba

16/12/2021

#multi-pitch-climbing-course-ambleside

The view towards Mundover from Penyalba crag

The exploration continues here on Costa Blanca, with lots of climbing, cycling, canyoning, and mountaineering. All helping to keep the fitness decent and skills sharp.
A few days ago we went for an explore inland from Gandia, to the mountain of Penyalba. Not only is this a shapely peak, it also harbours a wonderful outcrop of limestone that goes by the same name.
I'd known about this venue for some time now but hadn't got around to visiting until now. Wow it was worth the wait. This is a huge crag set high on the mountain, with routes that finish on the summit, and because of the 30+ minute approach walk the place was deserted and probably always is. This is a shame as the place is magnificent and the climbing we sampled lived up to the location.

The best climb of the day was a 3 pitch 6a which offered continually varied climbing including slabs, cracks, a roof, a small traverse, and an open chimney. So lots of techniques required to see us through.

The weather whilst on the climb had been quite benign, but once up on the plateau that all changed. We were constantly buffeted by gale force winds that threatened to blow us back down the crag. At times we needed 4 points of contact to be safe. It was more like a Cairngorm wind than anything associated with Southern Spain.

As far as we are aware there is no guidebook currently covering this crag. However there are online topos available here:

More recently we discovered another newly equipped climb in the Gandia area. A 7 pitch mountaineering route. This deserves its own entry so keep checking back to find out more.

Thanks for reading

Mark

#guided-climbing-days-ambleside-lake-district

Ann on the first pitch

#rock-climbing-course-ambleside-lake-district

Pitch 2 and about to tackle a roof

#penyalba-crag-gandia-costa-blanca-climbing

Penyalba crag, Gandia

Erikindia - new route on the Toix sea cliffs

6/12/2021

#erikindia-sport-climbing-costa-blanca

Looking down on the route on a busy day

A few weeks ago we learnt of a newly bolted climb on the Toix sea cliffs. So it was top of the list to do upon our arrival back in the region. Armed with a topo but no route description, we set off in search of the route. Knowing these cliffs fairly well I already had a good idea of where we would find the abseil anchors, so no time was wasted on this. The anchors have been thoughtfully placed and the abseil in is pretty perfect, as well as extremely dramatic.

When we arrived at the base of the route we couldn't see any bolts and went on a mystery tour leftwards for about 50m before realising this was almost certainly a mistake. Another party of climbers had arrived and I asked them if they could see any bolts, they couldn't either, but suggested if I could see an old wire rope then that was the correct place. I could see the rope so we thought, huh, maybe we were right.
More checking and we found the bolts, they are almost directly back from the abseil landing point, up a sandy gully.

The first pitch felt steep and tricky for a while, I worried a little as this was just the warm up pitch and I was feeling on edge. Thankfully things eased up and the climbing flowed better. The belay station is possibly the most dramatic I have ever been on. Perched on a small ledge and leaning back out over the sea, with waves crashing below. The next pitch gave some trickier climbing, but not as difficult as expected. To start the route goes into a cave then emerges back into the sun for a few steep moves that can easily be bridged. The situation is phenomenal as is the climbing. Yes it's steep, but it is a jug-fest. We ran pitches 2 & 3 together and the final section is much easier but no less dramatic. The finishing moves come through a whole in the top of the cliff and bolts are found on the left.

Whilst on the route a few more parties abseiled in and as we were getting ready to leave, yet more were arriving. This is already a popular route and is set to become a mid-grade classic.

Big thanks to Omar Samper and Vincente Monerris for creating this route and bolting it so well. To read more about their exploits have a look here Erikindia

Erikindia - 6a+
Abseil length = 45m
Pitch 1: 25m 5+ From the sandy gully climb the left wall, soon trending slight right then traversing left. The initial moves are the most difficult and steepest. A hanging belay is reached. Get comfy and enjoy the view.
Pitch 2: 25m 6a+ Go slightly left then enter the cave, bridge up this to emerge in the sun and continue bridging up steep, juggy terrain on the left side of a chimney (cave). This pitch provides the crux which is steep, but very well bolted. As the angle eases a belay is reached on the right.
Pitch 3: 20m 5 Continue more easily towards the big hole, this leads to the top of the cliff.

Thanks for reading and hope you have found this useful.

Mark

#abseiling-in-to-a-sea-cliff-costa-blanca

Abseiling in to the route

#setting-off-on-erikindia-costa-blanca-climbing

Climber on pitch 1 of Erikindia

#rock-climbing-guide-ambleside-erikindia

Final pitch of Erikindia

The freedom of the mountains

24/11/2021

#langdale-pikes-guided-walks-lake-district

The dome of Pike O'Stickle bathing in sunshine

In this post you'll see a series of blue sky, sunny day photos taken during a recent day out mountaineering in the Langdale valley. Well, high above the Langdale valley to be precise.

Being amongst the Lakeland mountains in good company and on a sunny day is pretty hard to beat.
It got me thinking, why is it hard to beat and what do the mountains bring to the party?

Immovable lumps of solid rock are not to everyones taste, but to most of us they bring a sense of scale and help us place ourselves in the world. To a climber, these lumps of rock are our road, the pathway to and of adventure. Touching rock can bring a smile, it always makes me smile that's for sure.

When these lumps are huge slabs forming mountains of grandeur, it's hard not to be impressed by their scale and how they make us feel so small and insignificant. We are by the way.

And for all we give the mountains nothing, how can we. They can bring us so much joy.

Freedom to move over the wild terrain, curling our fingertips over a crimp of rock and feeling the crystals gently pierce our skin as the grip tightens. Pulling up on the hold and moving ever upwards, checking the solidity of the next hold before committing weight and going again, in our skyward quest.

Energy is burned rapidly, our hearts pump life blood around us allowing muscles to be finely controlled, balancing neatly on small footholds whilst our brain computes the next move and plans the route in detail. Of all the sports and activities I do and have done, climbing and mountaineering are the most absorbing. The benefit of this is it allows us to switch off from whatever else is happening in life and the world. This is probably more important than ever in these troubled times.

With this energy of movement comes risk and adrenaline. Mountaineering and climbing are inherently dangerous activities, there's no getting away from that. Whether you are a first timer, super experienced, or choosing to hire a guide. All methods involve risk to some degree. The benefits of hiring a guide are they will have considered carefully the risks and mitigated to help reduce them. But to take away the risk entirely would be to take away the adrenaline, to sanitise the experience, to make it something it isn't.
Remember, it is to the mountains we run to escape conformity, to leave the day to day life behind and breathe fresh air in wide open spaces and to do so without constraint. They are a place to explore, to be free, and to excite us, sometimes to surprise us. As humans we need this to thrive. Keep on exploring........

On Monday I was out in Langdale with Carly. We first met on a Lakes 3000's which Carly flew around in a rapid time even though we chose some very long and complex routes. It was clear from early on the mountains were giving her great happiness and this is always wonderful to see. I suggested some future visits with more rocky terrain as a theme and in the summer we managed to fit in some climbing in the Borrowdale valley. A sunny afternoon allowed us 2 routes on Shepherds crag before the rains came just as we finished. Good timing overall. But the plan for that day had been a longer, mountaineering route, so that came this week. And what a day.

With a northerly airflow cooling the air to a Baltic level, it had to be a sunny venue, so Langdale came up trumps there. We began with Middlefell Buttress. The rock was actually warm and utterly glorious to climb on. The skin looked like it had been painted a vivid blue, it really was quite surreal. We scrambled up the continuation and on towards Thorn crag, turning left here onto the Gimmer path. Sadly it felt too cold for Gimmer, but Loft crag was going to be just fine. We followed a series of buttresses, all of perfectly formed Igneous rock. This led us to the summit crag, a steep wall of around 20m and we followed a groove of immaculate rock. Still the rock was warm to the touch.

A short walk towards Pike O'Stickle brought us to the top of The Great Stone Chute. We descended this as far as the stone axe factory (used as a base during Neolithic times). Our next route started opposite this.
Merlin Slab - this follows a groove up to a wet slab, crosses the wet slab to reach a grass ledge. The wet slab was easy but freezing cold due to its wetness. From the grass ledge we took a direct line up a steep crack, this was very exciting. Above us loomed a flying arete and this looked truly magnificent. It didn't disappoint. The exposure was a delight as to look back down the arete took in the whole of the Langdale valley hundreds of metres below. The rock still felt phenomenal under the skin, although more care was needed as there was no shortage of loose material. Just how mountaineering should be, a bit unpredictable.

The temperature began to dip as the afternoon wore on and we made the call to begin our descent from here rather than trying to squeeze in another route. Walking back into the valley on a big blue sky day having spent so much time on rock brings a big dose of the smiles for me. It is simply unbeatable.

A grand day out on rock, thanks to Carly for joining me and good banter throughout :-)

Winter is now so close and I'll be away for a while, searching for warmer rocks to play on. But spring is nearer than we realise. If wanting a day in the mountains, on rocky terrain on hiking, please do get in touch. We'd be very happy to help

Thanks for reading

Mark

#mountaineering-in-langdale-lake-district

On the upper arete of Merlin Slab

#guided-rock-climbing-near-ambleside

Crossing 'The wet slab' of Merlin Slab

#stone-axe-factory-langdale-guided-walks

Descending The Great Stone Chute

All weather running!

2/11/2021

#fell-running-coniston-lake-district

A thoroughly wild day on Coniston Old Man

This last week or two have been rather damp here in the Lakes, maybe you've seen the news reports of swollen rivers?! Of course this doesn't stop us getting out and having fun. It simply means we adapt our plans accordingly. Gorge and climbing activities were off the cards, but mountain activities were very much a goer.

On Thursday, and after prolonged torrential rain, I set out with Nick for a run over Coniston Old Man. The forecast was for more of the same and a strong breeze to ensure we had a sideways shower too! For mountain running these days are ideal as it's cool and feels like a struggle, it's what running in the mountains is all about. Grit those teeth and go. Nick was very well kitted out and a regular runner, looking to push himself a little further and enjoy day. Setting off at a nice steady pace, we soon warmed up and found a natural rhythm, occasionally pausing to enjoy the scenery and marvel at how much water was all around us. Soon we were standing on the summit of Coniston Old Man, not much of a view but still great to be up there.
It was quite chilly so we didn't stay long, making our way to Goats Hause and on down to Goats Water where we had to wade through the lake at times. Lots of enjoyable running followed all the way back to Coniston and hot mugs of tea. We'd both earned our dinners :-)

Just a few days later I was back out in the running shoes, this time with Kate. Doing a circuit of Loughrigg. This is a regular for us and one of my favourites. We visited Lily Tarn, Loughrigg Tarn, Grasmere, and Rydal Water. Lakes were the theme of the day, although rivers and streams played their part too. The weather couldn't have been more contrasting, with bright blue skies and high pressure.

When sat at home, if it's a sunny day there is an urge to be outdoors. When it's wet and gloomy this urge disappears. Yet it is those wet days that provide the very best running days. Once out and dancing over rough mountain terrain, it is so much better when the rain is lashing at your face horizontally. Remember, no such thing as bad weather.......only poor clothing.

Mark

#fell-running-coniston-and-ambleside-lake-district

Coppermines valley, after our ascent of Coniston Old Man. Brutal conditions made for a brilliant run.

#lake-district-trail-running

Kate enjoying the views from Loughrigg

#trail-running-ambleside-lake-district

Loughrigg tarn and the Langdale Pikes

Autumn is upon us

16/10/2021

#rock-climbing-days-lake-district-half-term-activities

Enjoying the superb rock and magnificent positions Gimmer crag always provides. Route is Bracket and Slab.

Well that's been a crazy summer! Another season of record numbers of visitors to the Lake District, with many discovering this gorgeous place for the first time. It's been a pleasure and privilege to show so many people around our home area and do so many fun activities.

By quite a margin, Gorge Scrambling and Canyoning have been the most popular activities this year. To make this even more enjoyable for our guests, we invested heavily in new 'all-season' wetsuits that really do keep you warm on chilly days. My second homes became The Esk Gorge and Church Beck, and that is pretty awesome. But when not in the water, there has been Rock climbing aplenty as well as many guided walks, some of these have been in support of worldwide tour operator Riviera Travel. I've lost count of how many walks we have provided support for Riviera guests, but it's been a lot. Next week is the final tour of the season, sad that it comes to an end for now, but so happy to have been involved and meeting so many lovely people. A special thanks go to Laura, Andrew, Andrew, and Kay of Riviera Travel. All have been a pleasure to work with. Roll on next year.

We have also continued to support the wonderful Adventure Yogi, this is our seventh year working together now. The most recent of these walks was up to Stickle Tarn for a picnic lunch surrounded by the Langdale Pikes. We enjoyed the added bonus of watching Scottish climbing legend Dave MacLeod on 'Lexicon' E11 7a high on Pavey Ark.
Thanks Michelle (Adventure Yogi), it's always a pleasure.

This year there has been slightly less call for Scafell Pike guides, and to be honest, during the summer it has been so busy up there, a guide has often not been needed. But when the mist rolls in, well that's a different matter. The trips we have done up on Scafell Pike, we have tried to stray off the beaten path, to find peace and solitude. Even on the busiest of days, with some local knowledge it's easy enough to get away from the crowds. Now autumn is upon us, the crowds have mostly gone, the days are shorter, and having a guide starts to make lots of sense.

There are a few more weeks before the weather really starts to interfere with activities, so if you're keen to get out, do give us a call. Autumn days are simply the best.
Then winter will come, and we plan to head south once more. To Costa Blanca, to climb, adventure, recharge, visit friends, and top up on vitamin D. We aren't offering any activities in Spain this year (thanks Brexit), but will be monitoring developments and hope to restart activities out there in the future.

A customer recently said to me, he never receives 'things' as birthday/Christmas presents, instead family and friends treat him to 'experiences'. What a great idea huh. Guess what folks, we offer Gift Vouchers for all occasions and can get them to you very quickly if needed. Worth bering in mind as winter comes along and brings Christmas with it.

Big thanks to all our lovely customers, it's been a pleasure and privilege. Hope to see you again next year :-)

Mark

#rydal-water-trees-autumn

Autumnal colours abound during October

#gorge-scrambling-for-families-half-term-lake-district

Stickle Ghyll - so much fun for families

#activities-for-half-term-canyoning-lake-district

Esk gorge.....for all us big kids!

#guided-walking-and-yoga-lake-district

Guided walk to Stickle Tarn with Adventure Yogi guests

#guided-walking-tours-buttermere-lake-district

Guided walks in Buttermere with Riviera Travel guests

#sunset-over-wastwater-scafell-pike

Waiting to start an evening ascent of Scafell Pike. Supporting a 3 Peaks Challenge team

#esk-gorge-scramble-lake-district-half-term

The Esk Gorge is so photogenic!! It's also loads of fun

#esk-gorge-october-half-term-lake-district

Air time :-)

#canyoning-near-ambleside-october-half-term

Slide time.....be a big kid again, it's so much fun

#classic-rock-climbs-flying-buttress-snowdonia

Mick cruising up 'Flying Buttress' Dinas y Cromlech

#rydal-water-swims-lake-district

Down time with Kate and Don