Fedwr Fawr Sport Routes

This afternoon I went over to Fedwr Fawr, near Penmon on Anglesey. Myself, Suttie and Steve went to clip bolts and found a range of quality routes from F6a to F7a. They are mostly steep on a mix of limestone and a 'pebble-dash cover' of quartz. A few routes were a little crumbly in certain patches but on the whole they are solid and safe.

Cwmni Da TV Production

On Sunday Dave helped set-up the rope safety for filming with Cwmni Da TV Productions (http://cwmnida.tv/).

The coastguard were being filmed simulating a rescue on the cliffs around Penmon Head. Sea 2 Summit providing the safety cover, enabling the cameraman to position himself for the vital shots.

Llyn Peninsular, Surf and Bouldering

For Sarah's 30th we made it down to the Llyn. In the sun we sampled the bouldering at Porth Ysgo, on the rough and plentiful problems. The surf was also rolling in for a splash in the sea (though my arms quickly tired on the paddle-outs).

Sun, Rock, Sun and more Rock

I have had a few days off so I made sure I didn't let the sunny days go to waste.

On Tuesday I went up to Drws y Gwynt in the Pass to notch up routes like ' Too Hard for Jim Perrin' 'Little Sepulchre' and 'A Touch of Class' amongst other E1 cracks . Surprisingly cold though out of the sun. Yesterday I went bolt clipping and falling (bit of rock broke away to send me plummeting down head first, watching Ian swinging in the opposite direction).

Today Si and I climbed Extraction and Pretzl Logic with also a bit of playing on (the ludicrously hard) Venom. To round things up we also grabbed a quick route in the Pass on the way home.

Good.

D of E Sea Kayaking, Anglesey

Last Thursday until Sunday 12 students from King Edwards School, Birmingham completed there Gold training expedition.

Over 4 days they paddled from Aberffraw around to Benllech, including a circumnavigation of Puffin Island to play with the seals.

Fortunately the headwind on the first day didn't tire them too much. By the last day the sea was like a mill-pond.

Now they need to decide where they are going to do the assessment. Thoughts of Pembroke, Cornwall and even Croatia were mentioned. We will see.

Learning to Roll

Today I had my Dad and Peter going through the necessary skills to enable a successful roll. We used the pool and the lake to perfect both the paddle position and most importantly the hip flick.

Success was attained by Peter with my Dad coming along well demonstrating the skills - the next step being putting it all together with the necessary timing.

Intro to White Water

For the past two days I have been working for PYB on an Introduction to White Water.

Yesterday we used the various tidals flows down the Menai Straits, while today we were on the River Dee at Llangollen.

A varied group, it has kept me on my toes - keeping the coaching relevant for each individual. While John has been 'flat spinning'on waves and pulling cartwheels, Steve and Jim have been developing their existing white water manoeuvres while Andrew has been quickly building confidence on this exciting new medium.

Whith more dry and sunny weather looks like I will be travelling back down the A5 to the River Dee again tomorrow.

As an aside I had a fun evening hit in Gideon Quarries on Monday night abseiling in to join Walker and Colley on Bone People. A surprisingly big feeling route.

The white water duckling that came over to say "hello".

Busy Easter

Sea 2 Summit has been busy over this Easter period with a range of kayaking and climbing courses. Over the last couple of days, while I have been clipping bolts, there has been three different climbing courses running and a white water day yesterday. Tremadog has been a popular venue choice though some courses members went down Llanberis Pass to make the most of the warm weather. Yesterday a taster white water day was down on the River Dee, with the nice weather not being as kind to the local river levels.

I also ran a DofE in the Lakes with James through our AALA licensed company Bryn-y-Mor.

A few more photos from Portland below.

Spain or the UK?

As Sarah was on her Easter holidays we decided to get away for a couple of days. Initial thoughts turned to Spain and cheap flights, fortunately though I realised I was looking at the wrong dates before I purchased. The real prices during the holiday period being a little bit too high for a short hit.

Instead we headed to the limestone, sport climbing haven of Portland and with blue skies and light winds I'm not noticing too much difference (except for the lack of paella).

We have been on a range of routes, though mainly steep walls on everything up to low 7's. Success has been more in the 6's - I need to get my fingers working again for the higher grades and my feet accustomed to soft boots.

Learning to Lead

In storm force winds Hans and Laura showed fine style leading up 2 pitches at Lion Rock this morning. We created an abseil descent and then went to the warmth (? ish) of the Beacon. This was timed nicely with the incoming rain.

Indoors we looked at a variety of climbing techniques and skills. To finish the week off, some uses for the prussic loop were covered for self-rescue, basic hauls and escaping the system.

If anyone enjoys kayaking the rivers are all well up this evening. I'm unfortunately missing the opportunity as I head south to Portland, to clip bolts.

Tremadog again

I was hoping for some action over near Holyhead, but with strong winds forecast all day and large swells coming it was going to be a little wild. Rain in the mountains so we went for the shelter of Tremadog.

This morning Hans was keen to lead so took the reigns on the second pitch of Boo-Boo and in the afternoon the first pitch of Oberon with Laura confidently seconding. Mark and Gemma climbed One Step, Merlin and Striptease on her last day of the course.

Sunny Tremadog

We went down to catch rays in Tremadog, though unfortunately a few other people had a similar idea.

I took Laura and Hans up Christmas Curry playing on Yogi slab this afternoon looking at runners and belays. Mark took Gemma up Christmas Curry too, Grim Wall Direct and Salamander.

It was nice to be back on rock again, in fact Mark and I felt obliged to make best use of the weather and had an after work hit on the slate. An ascent of Comes the Dervish and Last Tango was made, a good reminder of how to use the fingers.

Afon Conwy, Medium Levels

The combination of showers and melting snow brought up a variety of rivers in the area. I decided on the beautiful upper Conwy (III with a drop of IV).

This turned out to be ideal for Aussie Jef and Craig who wanted to improve their fluidity on the river and ability to read rapids - so reducing the number of swims when paddling grade IV.

To finish the roadside cafe at the take out provided bargain priced cake, coffee and burgers (essential after any tiring day on the river).

Dodging the rain, successfully !

Day 1 of a five day rock climbing course. We initially went to Cromlech boulders and then Lion rock, making the most of the dry morning and getting lots of climbing in with Laura, Hans and Gemma.

As forecast the rain drops appeared at 1pm and so we made our way to a packed Caban in Brynrefail. In the afternoon, as it cleared, we looked at some rope work then climbed on the quick drying slate (before more rain after 5pm).

Tomorrow I'm switching for a day to a white water course, so the rain and snow has been handy for the river levels. I just not sure what to wish for!

Rock Climbing and Snow

I was delighted to wake up yesterday to find snow outside my window in Wales, on the first rock climbing course of the year!

Paul and Fran had come to find out why rock climbing is great. Not the ideal day, but we still had fun. In the morning we went indoors to the Beacon to go through belaying, tying-in and climbing techniques. The afternoon brightened, and with the snow line above Lion Rock, we did 3 pitches to the summit on dry(ish) rock.