We keep being asked about our uber cool t-shirts so we are making them available to all discerning Peaksters. Made in fine organic cotton with a large version of the peak logo on the back and a smaller logo on the left chest. The logo is printed with high quality dye sub methods (whatever that means!) and they are available in white or ecru (the natural colour of cotton). We find them kinda generous on sizing and the size medium is perfect for about a 40″ chest. They are made to order (so if you want one for a present please order with a couple of weeks notice) and cost £19 which includes postage to you and a free packet of jelly babies. We know £19 is kinda dear but they are great quality and organic cotton and we are selling them on at the price they cost us. Go on - help us spread the word and look great too! Just email us your order details and we’ll do the rest.
I’ve spent all summer predicting an Indian summer (mainly to make myself feel better about the rubbish normal summer!) and this weekend it arrived. I’ve been climbing with Owen and Jen at Windgather Rocks and it’s been brilliant weather. It was a bit cold this morning but it got better and better as the day went on.
Owen and Jen were climbing for the first time and they were amazing. With the determination of a marathon runner (Jen) and a ’sprinty’ type runner (Owen), they got stuck in with flair and worked their way through a fair chunk of the crags classics including a near on-sight of the notorious Portfolio (HVS 5b). I know Owen will be returning to make a clean ascent! Thanks for a great day Owen and Jen.
I’ve just got back from a great trip to the Picos de Europa in Northern Spain with David and Stephen. After a very exciting landing courtesy of Ryan Air (is it normal to have a fire engine waiting for you!?) we stocked up on mountain food and headed up to Fuente De. This is a great jumping off point for the southern half of the Central Massif and has a great campsite and restaurant.
The final pitch of Aguja de Ostaicoechea
We had a day climbing on Aguja de Ostaicoechea (which gives a great introduction to the climbing in the area) then the next day shouldered heavy packs for the walk over to Naranjo de Bulnes. The walk in from Fuente De follows a spectacular valley with a steady ascent then a great descent down fixed cables back to the valley and eventually on to the ‘Julian Delgado Ubeda’ hut which sits directly under Naranjo de Bulnes. It’s a fair old walk in of about 3-4 hours but the terrain is amazing. In true pioneering style our plan was to camp under Naranjo and we set up our tents in a prime viewing position - for a view we never saw! We went to sleep in freezing temperatures, thick cloud and heavy rain but we were confident about the weather improving as forecast. Errmm, well. We awoke to driving rain, thick cloud and heavy winds (which soon changed to sleet and wind!) and we had to admit defeat this time.
Waking up to a fine view of Naranjo de Bulnes!
We could have tried to sit it out and wait for the weather to change but I was confident we would find better weather out of the central area and the wait could easily have gone on and on.
Pitch 3 on ‘La Rosa’ on Pena Del Fresnidello
So we headed back to Fuente De and on to find some sunshine. the next day we had a great day on ‘La Rosa’ on Pena Del Fresnidello. This is an idyllic venue in a beautiful isolated valley which can be reached in a normal car if you take an ‘adventurous’ approach to your hire car driving.
From there we headed to the majestic ‘Epsolon Sur’ on Cueto Agero before a final sport climbing wind down at El Resquillon.
A sunny sport climbing wind down at El Resquillon
Our final picnic meal sat in the sunshine overlooking the Hermides Gorge was the perfect end to the trip. Apart from Ryan Air doing it again with another heart stopping landing that is! Thanks to Stephen and David for a great adventure. I will get some more photos in the gallery as soon as I get chance.
Cheese, wine, sun…..and a brilliant view - the perfect end to the trip
After the rollercoaster week with the aliens (see previous post) it was good to return to earth and spend some time with humans again.
Jack and Catherine on Monument Gully (VDiff), Birchen Edge
So over the weekend Jack and Catherine joined me from London and Warwick for a learn to lead course. On Saturday we went to Froggatt and spent time looking at belay set ups and gear placements as well as climbing several classics up to severe. Catherine and Jack also did several ‘mock’ leads with a top rope back up so they could practice placing gear and start to give considereation to all those crucial leader issues such as rope drag, route finding and, perhaps most importantly, looking dashingly cool as they tiptoed up the beautiful gritstone slabs to the amazement of passing ramblers! For all those poor folk getting rained on in Scotland (Like my good mates Neil & Natalie) it was great weather too!
After a good meal in Castleton and a solid sleep we hit Birchen Edge for a great day on Sunday. Again it was fine (sorry N&N!) although the wind picked up as the day went on and at one point I remember a lengthy discussion about what the wind strength had to be to blow sheep poo vertically upwards!
By the end of the day the team had been on the sharp end for real and we headed back to civilisation with Jack and Catherine excitedly discussing plans for their future climbing which is always a good sign. To reinforce the plans Jack has emailed me his projected gear shopping list for appraisal so the future clearly is set! Thanks for a great weekend J&C.
The Peak Enterprise has just returned from a mission to the furthest reaches of the District.
But make no mistake. This was a complex and dangerous mission with a high probability of failure. We were sent to accompany a large collection of small aliens (AKA children)who were staying in an isolated centre near the earth village known as Flash (officially the highest village in Britain).
We had been asked to go and assist them with a week long fact finding mission around the area before they returned to their own planet.
In the photo the aliens test the weight bearing strength of the packhorse bridge at Three Shires Head.
We spent time ‘kind of’ getting to know the species and learning what little about life on their own planet that they were willing to share. For example it soon became clear that the aliens needed very little earth sleep and could happily stay awake eating sugary earth snacks such as chocolate until the early hours - but still wake refreshed and full of energy from their micro nap. The aliens also refused any food that had been grown in the ground unless it was deep fried or covered in tomato sauce. Worst of all - they completely refused to wash - it seems that on their planet their is no such thing as soap!
After a rollercoaster week we sent the aliens back to their planet to begin reporting their findings and returned to base for a very early night and a solid 10 hour earth sleep!
Captain’s log over and out.
This weekend I’m doing an introductory climbing course then I’m away on a residential with a local school next week so the ‘in’ tray will have plenty of time to fill up again!
Here’s a bit of Friday inspiration with a brilliant biking You Tube. Have a great weekend.
This is a brilliant video clip celebrating everything that is so great about gritstone. Well done to Beardown Productions. Make sure you stick it out long enough to see the fall off Gaia!
