Category: Guided Climbing - Mountain Journeys - Guided Walks

Eliminate 'A' - Dow Crag

25/4/2019

#eliminate-A-dow-crag-lake-district-climbing

Enjoying the amazing positions of this route

A plan was hatched to spend a rest day climbing up on Dow Crag with Sam. I always prefer being up on the mountain crags and Dow certainly qualifies as one of those. Thankfully Sam is always pretty keen for the higher crags too, so when Dow was mentioned he was well keen. Then Eliminate 'A' was mentioned and it was 'game on'.

Checking the guidebook I couldn't believe it had been 7 years since I had climbed this magnificent route, where does the time go!

Walking up to the crag, it almost felt like we were running, so keen we were to get up there and enjoy the beauty of Dow. As is typical for this crag, the approach walk is hot & sweaty, the crag is chilly and jackets come out of the bags! We hadn't actually packed jackets though, oh dear. But between us we more or less had enough to keep us warm...ish.

As I'd previously led all the pitches, we engineered it for Sam to get all the plum pitches, so an easy ride for me :-)
The easier pitches are no less worthwhile though, in fact, I'd say they're every bit as good as the cruxes. Every pitch, every move really is brilliant. But for me, it's the higher pitches that are the best, the exposure is felt far more and a feeling that a VS really shouldn't be cruising through such wild terrain.

The FRCC guidebook description sums things up rather well: 'One of England's great routes; cunningly conceived, of absorbing interest and with a superb atmosphere'.

There are plenty more routes on Dow crag, from Diff up to the high E grades, with some single pitch routes and lots of long multi-pitch offerings. Many are 3 star classics, so well worth the walk up and the extra clothes required for a high and East facing mountain crag. Views over to Old Man of Coniston and down to Goat's Water are wonderful too. Oh, and then there's the top out. Depending on which route you choose, you may top out to more mind blowing views, this time it's into the Duddon valley and over to the Scafell range.

Top day, cheers Sam.

Great crag, great atmosphere, great climbing. Want some but not sure where to start. Give us a call and let's make a plan.

Mark

Thanks to Mila for help with the photos :-)

#guided-rock-climbing-lake-district

Gunning for the top and sunshine

#mountain-activities-lake-district

Scrambling to the top

Puig Campana - again - oh yeah!

22/1/2019

#puig-campana-climbing

Evening sun lighting up the mighty Puig Campana

It was this time last week we'd been climbing the massive Espolon Central on Puig Campana. That was a big day! And today we're back on this magnificent mountain again, for an equally impressive route that goes at a similar grade.

Aristotles - HS/VS 4b and about 365m gives 6 pitches of good, but wandering climbing in its lower half. These pitches are well worth doing, but it's the upper section that gives this climb its character. Once above the half way ledges a pitch of about VS leads up and across a delicate slab, this provides great climbing throughout the pitch. Above this the route joins an arete, the climbing becomes a little easier again, but the exposure is phenomenal and it is these final pitches that make the route brilliant and memorable.
The climb terminates on top of a huge pinnacle with massive drops on all sides! A number of abseils brings us safely down off the higher ground, but there's plenty of entertaining scrambling before we're off the mountain, and this all adds to the fun of a day on Puig Campana.

This was the first time Joe has climbed on Puig Campana, so it was worth savouring the experience and we took our time, having a leisurely ascent. With perfect conditions, great rock and a great route, with nobody else on the route or even on that part of the mountain, I think it's fair to say Joe was pretty happy with his experience of Puig Campana.

We waiting a while once off the climb in order to enjoy the glorious sunset too. Even if not climbing on this mountain, it is worth the walk up to the base to enjoy the early evening light on the rock.

We climbed 13 pitches and made 3 abseils. The route is doable in 9 or 10 pitches, but rope drag would be more of a problem. It is also possible to make only 2 abseils to reach the scrambling terrain, but 2x60m ropes would be needed for this and we only had 2x50m.

Another brilliant day on the Puig Campana, thanks Joe for joining me on this adventure.

Mark

#puig-campana-trad-is-rad

Selfie from very high on the route

Espolon Central - Puig Campana

15/1/2019

#espolon-central-puig-campana

The massive Puig Campana

It's fair to say I'm feeling a bit tired today, most likely a rest day in fact.
Why? Well, yesterday I joined a couple of friends, George and Rachel, to climb a big route on Puig Campana. This is the massive and iconic mountain passed as you drive along the coast road from Alicante to Calpe and is just inland from Benidorm. It's unmissable and unmistakable. I've climbed on this crag maybe half a dozen times, so not loads, but enough to feel I know my way around reasonable well. For Rachel and George, it was a day for them to familiarise themselves with the mountain and terrain and get a feel for the place. They have even bigger projects in mind!

Our route was to be the super classic 'Espolon Central' a Hard Severe / 4+ of about 440 metres and taking the most striking line on the mountain. Espolon Central translates to 'Central Arete' and that's exactly what this is. Follow the huge arete in the centre of the South face. So you may think route finding will be easy. Not really. Just reaching the arete requires about 100m of climbing. Once on the arete you realise it is actually huge, so a line needs to be chosen, ideally the correct line. George was leading the route today and thankfully his route finding skills are first class, we didn't put a foot wrong anytime.
Me and Rachel we able to simple enjoy seconding the route, enjoying sitting around on the big belay ledges, and chatting away, all whilst George did all the hard work, thanks George. This was a huge help to me as I'm currently doing some research on the route and the mountain.

We climbed the route swiftly, about 5 hours of climbing landed us at the top of the route. So far we had enjoyed continuously interesting climbing on good rock in increasingly spectacular positions. The climbing is never hard, but it is run-out and the length of the route means it's very tiring, exhausting in fact. So not to be under-estimated.

After a nice rest and mini-explore at the top, we began our descent. Once you've done this and know the way, it's pretty straightforward, but first time, it can be daunting and confusing, especially when tired. We discussed what this would be like on a misty day, or worse, in the dark! It doesn't bear thinking about. Thankfully we had bright sunshine, t-shirt weather even at the top of the climb.
Red paint mark the way and there are occasional fixed cables to help protect the trickier sections. The exposure here is similar to that experienced during the climb, so care is required. We soon reached the edge of the huge gully and made our way down into it, from here it's a steep scree run back to base.

A couple of climbers from Madrid followed us up the climb, and we noticed at the top they continued to scramble upwards for maybe 100m. We thought maybe they are continuing all the way to the summit. But then noticed they too began to traverse leftwards as if making a descent to the big gully, only higher up. Still not sure what their plan was or if they found a good way down. But would be interesting to know. The terrain didn't look too friendly. They certainly seemed to know what they were doing though.

8 hours out on the mountain for us yesterday and almost every minute of that we are on the go (George much more so), so all pretty knackered now. Back to bed maybe!!

Thanks to Rachel and George for a fab day out.

Mark

#rock-climbing-costa-blanca

Rachel cruising up the groove on pitch 7

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George leading up pitch 9

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Big views towards the coast from high on the route

#espolon-central-descent-route

More amazing scenery during our descent. This is taken after the traverse with fixed cables, we are about to enter the big gully

More amazing weather here in the Lakes :-)

11/7/2018

#eskgorgelakedistrict

Photos will never do justice to the beauty of Esk gorge. Come and experience it, it's the only way

The blog has been a bit slow of late, mostly due to the incredible weather at the moment, meaning we're out almost constantly, so no time to write!
A major highlight of recent weeks has been a visit to the Esk gorge with friends. We had originally planned a day of climbing on Engineers Slabs, Great Gable. But I heard some friends were heading to the cool waters of the Esk and couldn't resist.
Definitely the right decision. All the pools were warm and clear. Much swimming and jumping into the pools was enjoyed, as well as some scrambling. On a hot day in the Lakes, there is no better place to be. On a hot day in the Lakes, there's no place in the world i'd rather be, that's for sure.

There's been lots of other activity happening too. Abseils, scrambles, gorge scrambles and more.

Also lots of rock climbing on the higher mountain crags. A couple of notable days being Dow and Gimmer:

Along with Kate & Leanne, I headed up to Dow crag in the blazing sun. Every time this crag comes into view my heart rate begins to race and my pace quickens, it's simply magnificent and I love it.
We planned on ticking a couple of routes and started with the super classic 'Murray's Direct'. This gave good value climbing the whole way. Sadly, the wind soon whipped up and it became quite cold (we only had minimal clothing with us). So we bailed out for the day and retreated to the warm shores of Goats Water and a picnic.

A fine day on Gimmer was also enjoyed with Andrew from Dubai. Having climbed at many Lakeland crags but never on Gimmer, Andrew was keen to check the place out and see what all the fuss is about. We climbed 'Ash Tree Slabs', 'Oliverson's crawl and Lyon's variation', and finished with 'Main wall climb' to give a trio of brilliant routes. I say brilliant routes, we could have picked any 3 routes on Gimmer and they would almost certainly be brilliant.

I also enjoyed a day introducing Ed & Becky to trad climbing at Shepherds crag in Borrowdale. We climbed most of the routes on Brown Slabs and finished with Donkey's Ears. Another grand day.

Thanks all. Hope to see you again soon

Mark

#guidedclimbinglakedistrict

Kate cruising up Murray's Direct on Dow crag. Leanne showing that even on Dow crag shorts are a goer

#guidedrockclimbinglakedistrict

Andrew enjoying a long awaited visit to Gimmer crag, Langdale

#guidedclimbingnearkeswick

An introduction to trad climbing at Shepherds crag, Borrowdale

Guided rock climbing - Borrowdale & Langdale

2/6/2018

#guidedclimbinglakedistrict

The magnificent top pitch of Ardus at Shepherds crag

It's been yet another week of fine weather and business here in the Lake District.
Although towards the end of the week and during the weekend, thunderstorms had been predicted, nothing much came of it, just a splash of rain.

We've been busy in the Gorges, on Rock scrambles, Abseils, Guided walks, and Rock climbing days. These have been mostly in the South Lakes area, Langdale, Coniston, and Yewdale valleys.
Monday being an 'Introduction to scrambling' session with Jo & Michelle from Brighton. I think they've gone away wanting more...
Tuesday was more scrambling followed by Gorge scrambling, this time with the Beeden family. It was wonderful to be playing in the cool waters of Stickle Ghyll, Langdale. On such a hot day I can't think of anything better. After all of this, I was out again in the evening, to take a couple of local hoteliers from Rothay Manor for their rock climbing fix. Both seasoned sport climbers, but fairly new to trad. We climbed at Upper Scout crags as the sun came down over the valley, all pretty nice :-)

Wednesday saw a change from technical activities to guided walking. Scafell Pike from Wasdale with the Orchard family. Yet more amazing conditions on the mountain for this one.

We've also had a trip to Borrowdale for a rock climbing day with Steve. Here we climbed 12 pitches at Shepherds crag. That's plenty enough for most folk, and even Steve was ready to call it a day after such a plethora of fine routes.
The following day I was out with the Martin family, enjoying Abseiling at Hodge Close quarry and a Scramble at the nearby Raven crag. The kids certainly seemed to take to the scrambling very well and there were plenty smiles after abseiling too. Meanwhile, our associate instructor Jim, was out with Steve and on another mission to pack a load of top quality climbing into the day. Raven crag in Langdale ticked the boxes and another 4 long routes (with many pitches) were enjoyed. They arrived down at the pub just as the rain hit!!

Back into the Langdale valley today. This time with a grey sky, for a change!! We climbed at Scout crags and had the place to ourselves. Enjoying a few routes and some bouldering. Leaving just in time for the afternoon rain to give us a little shower.

Breakfast duty for us both in the morning at our little B&B in Ambleside, then a couple of days off.

Thanks all

Mark

#rockclimbingborrowdalelakedistrict

A shot of me at Shepherds crag

Guided climbing - dry rock through the showers

4/8/2017

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Shafts of sunlight in Langdale

The grey skies of this week have not dampened our spirits, we've been out enjoying some fine days with lovely people. Firstly with the Kimber family from Dorset on a Family Adventure Day in the Langdale and Little Langdale valleys. Despite it being a pretty damp afternoon, we enjoyed plenty rock climbing in the morning before retreating into the Cathedral caverns of Little Langdale, this is such a fun place to explore, yes we still love walking through the tunnels too.

And today with returning client Stig from Norway, here to sample the historic climbing of the Lake District. On Raven crag we climbed: Middlefell Buttress; Evening Wall; Original Route; and Revelation. The morning was showery but the rock dried quickly in the wind, during the afternoon we enjoyed increasing amounts of blue sky and sunshine, Langdale showing off again ;-)

Thanks everyone for a fab week, we hope to see you all again soon.

Mark

#rock_climbing-instructor_lake_district

Climber on Revelation

#guided_rock_climbing_lake_district

Stig on Evening Wall (Severe)

Troutdale Pinnacle - Classic rock in the Lake District

27/5/2017

Rock climbing instructor near Keswick

Sunbathing on Troutdale Pinnacle

More busy days for us here in the Lake District. And more warm sunshine to add to the enjoyment of being outdoors.

On Thursday I was joined by father & daughter team Michael and Charlotte. I'd met Michael over in Spain last winter, but this was the first time we'd been out in the Lakes together. So what better way to be introduced to Lakeland 'trad' climbing than doing a 'classic rock' route in the beautiful Borrowdale valley.

Troutdale Pinnacle being the route of choice, I was expecting it to be busier, but only one team ahead of us and no one else at the crag, nice one. Quote from the current guidebook about the route 'one of Britain's best Severes'.
Charlotte being a sport climber, we decided to climb using the series system (for climbing as a team of 3) so she could simply enjoy the climbing and positions rather than need to remove all the protection along the way, that was to be her dads job, sorry Michael. But to ensure Charlotte still had plenty to do, she was in charge of most belaying for both me leading and dad following her up each pitch.'

Every pitch gives interesting climbing with good moves and impressive exposure that builds to quite a finale on the pinnacle. Cracks, wall, chimneys, corners, traverses, and aretes are all encountered on this one.

After the climb it was time for a late and well earned lunch in the shade at the base of the crag. And to finish the afternoon we spent some time looking at how to set up 'top ropes' as Michael was keen to learn more about this.

A fab day spent on hot rock. Thanks Michael & Charlotte.

Thinking of visiting the Lakes and want to sample some of the amazing rock here? Give us a call and let's make it happen.

Mark

Guided rock climbs in the Lake District

Enjoying 'hot rock' in Borowdale

Rock climbing course in the Lake District

Final pitch of Troutdale Pinnacle

Derwent Water and Skiddaw seen during a guided rock climbing day

Derwent Water and Skiddaw from Black crag

More Borrowdale rock climbs - Lake District

4/5/2017

Rock-climbing-in-Borrowdale-Lake-District

Top of Black crag, with Derwent Water and Skiddaw in the distance

Well it would be rude not to be making the most of the wall to wall sunshine her in the Lake District at the moment. So we're just back from a day out in Borrowdale.
The morning was spent rock climbing at Black crag with Anna. We did Troutdale ridge, an MVS 4b route with 3 pitches. The middle pitch is the best, but all are worthy, albeit a little mucky.
We finished the morning with some simply rescue scenarios, including abseiling passed a knotted rope.

For the afternoon we headed firstly to the Lodore farm cafe for tea & cakes :-)
Then on to Shepherds crag for more rock climbing. This time with Kate & Leanne. We chose Ardus, a 3 pitch MVS 4b again. Excellent rock and protection throughout, with exciting moves and a thrilling traverse towards the sun to finish.

The crags are all in great condition, perfect for rock climbing. The fells are dry too, so great conditions for hill walking and exploring the Lakeland fells.

If you're planning a visit and would like any help or advice, please let us know anytime.

Thanks to Anna, Kate, and Leanne.

All the best

Mark

Guided-rock-climbing-Lake-District

Ardus at Shepherds crag, Borrowdale

Rock-climbing-instructor-Lake-District

The traverse pitch of Ardus, Shepherds crag

Group activities - Lake District

28/7/2015

Gorge-scrambling-Lake-District

It's been a very busy summer so far and thankfully that seems set to continue. What we've noticed is more group bookings are being taken, sometimes with 20+ people in a party, so plenty to keep us on our toes with logistics and kit!

Over the last week we've had 2 large groups, including the Scottish Fire Service for a couple of days, sunny days too. We rock climbed, abseiled, and gorge scrambled in the Langdale & Coniston areas, loads of fun with so many lovely people.

And yesterday we were back in the gorge, this time with Helen, Sam, Natasha, and Louise from Norfolk. I'd previously taken Helen & Sam rock climbing, and they were now back for more to celebrate a big birthday. The plan was to go to Eskdale and the magical Esk Gorge. However, a burning clutch sadly put a stop to this and a retreat made to Langdale and the faithful Stickle Ghyll, which after heavy rain was very exciting. Loads of swimming and jumping in the plunge pools, I even went in for a swim too!

Corporate-days-out-Lake-District

Last weekend (19th) I was out supporting friend Dave Stewart of Fresh Air Learning. He was delivering a 'trek prep' day for sisters Sally & Sue, as a preparation for their Kilimanjaro attempt in the autumn, good luck.
After a thorough briefing about equipment for the trek as well as what to expect, and lots of do's & don'ts we headed out onto Lingmoor Fell. Taking in the summit during improving conditions, then negotiating 'fat man's squeeze' on Side Pike, we descended to the Langdale valley for the return walk back to Elterwater, the valley now bathed in glorious sunshine.

Rock-climbing-instruction-Lake-District

There's been some time for personal rock climbing too, and the weather has occasionally given us dry rock. An afternoon visit to Borrowdale and the ever popular Shepherds crag saw us climb Donkeys Ears (S) & Ardus (VS) - thanks Erja and Gemma for a really fun climb.

Mixed in with all of this has been many more trips to the Gorges of Lakeland, numerous Rock Scrambles, and some fine walks with so many lovely people.

Thank you all for joining us for adventures in the Lake District.

If you're thinking about visiting the area, or already have plans to do so and would like to try some adventurous activities, why not give us a call. We can arrange activities for individuals and cater for larger groups too. Summer is the time to be out in the great outdoors.

Mark

It's good to be busy....

17/7/2015

Gorge-scrambling

It's been a fabulous couple of weeks here, with so much going on and so many lovely people coming to see us and enjoy the great outdoors here in the Lake District.
Back on the 9th July we arranged a corporate day out for www.storiesbylove.com - and this was a day out for the whole company, so we had plenty to keep us busy, with a team of 5 instructors with us to help.
A really fine afternoon was enjoyed by all in Stickle Ghyll. The sun shone and the day warm. After much playing in the water, jumping, swimming, climbing waterfalls, and boulder hoping, all retreated to the pub for a well earned pint looking out over the beautiful Langdale valley.

Abseiling-Lake-District

We then had the pleasure of welcoming back returning customers Jason & Lyn, who brought along their friends Andy & Sarah. We Rock Scrambled during the morning and all had a go at Abseiling at Hodge Close quarry in the afternoon. For a first go 40 metres is a long way to Abseil, well done all. Thankfully the sun shone yet again today, yippee!

Gorge-walking-Lake-District

And at the weekend it was back to Stickle Ghyll for more Gorge Scrambling fun, this time with Eva & Mario from Madrid.
Whilst the weather was yet again on our side, I think the Mercury was still at least 20C less than Madrid!!!
Lovely to meet you both and practice a little bit of Spanish.

Guided walking has been happening a plenty too. 3 days spent with Ruth from Chicago. We enjoyed walks around Elterwater & Colwith Force, Grasmere & Rydal, and Wansfell & Troutbeck.
Don joined us for the Wansfell walk and of course managed to be super cute throughout, such a charmer that he is.

Multi-pitch rock climbing Lake District

I also ran an introductory rock climbing session at Shepherds crag in Borrowdale. This was for our friends at Lakeland Ascents. We climbed Jackdaw Ridge up to the Belvedere, from where stunning views over the lake can be had.
Afterwards I stayed on at Shepherds crag and climbed the Classic Rock route Little Chamonix with Anna.

There have also been multi-activity days, family climbing sessions, guided walks to Helvellyn, and rock scrambles in the Coniston area all happening this week.

Thanks everyone for making us busy, we love it.

Mark & Kate