Peak Mountaineering
The climbing blog of Paul Lewis
Archive for May, 2009
May 31, 2009 at 8:11 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
I’ve spent today in High Wycombe attending a high altitude medicine and cold injuries course run by Dr John Dallimore. The course provided an important recap for my upcoming expedition to Ladakh as well as being vital ongoing CPD. It felt strange to be sitting inside watching slides of snow and avalanches on one of the hottest days of the year…..but the forty other delegates proved I wasn’t the only mad person out there.
Over the course of the day we discussed mountain sickness, acclimatisation strategies, hypothermia, frostbite and avalanche prediction. We also considered medication, emergency treatments for HACE (high altitude cerebral oedema) and HAPE (high altitude pulmonary oedema) including Gamow bags and supplementary oxygen, watched lots of gory frostbite slides and wound up the day by analysing some real life case studies to really put everyting into context.
A very valuable day that should see me more able to cope with situations that may occur…..but more importantly should help me prevent situations occuring in the first place. Thanks to Dr John for the expert input and to the other delegates for the laughs, for sharing their experience and especially to the kind attendees who provided some rather gorgeous home baked cakes - no quality course is complete without them!
May 29, 2009 at 11:20 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
Cwm Idwal really does have it all. Stunning scenery, brilliant climbing, fantastic scrambles and great walking routes. Throw in its easy access and amazing geology and you are starting to get the picture. If you hit it on a day when the sun is shining you really can’t fail to have a classic adventure……….
Today the sun was certainly shining and returning client Andy and I headed up to Idwal Slabs for Andy’s first taste of multipitch rock. He has completed a days single pitch Stanage action with me and understandably caught the bug for all things vertical and rocky! We should also have been joined by returning client Adrian but unfortunately things at work were going rather pear shaped and Adrian was enchained to the office rather than completing an enchainement with us!
We beat the half term week crowds and quickly completed Hope (VDiff). Then, with Andy climbing confidently and fluidly, we moved on to the next tier to complete Lazurus (severe). A spot of lunch and we finshed up The Arete (VDiff) on Continuation Wall before scrambling over easy ground into Cwm Cniefion. We still had time in hand so a blast up Cniefion Arete (grade 3) was the perfect finale to a great day.
The weather was beautiful all day and its a lovely feeling enjoying a well earned rest looking out over Tryfan before strolling down the Gribin in the evening glow of the sun. Other people were still heading up to the slabs for an evenings cragging and others were splashing about in Llyn Idwal as we headed past. A great day in Snowdonia and lovely to see people enjoying themselves.
Andy and Adrian will be out with me for another 3 days over the coming month and, judging by today’s performance, I better plan some fantastic routes if we are going to compete withe the standards set today. Fortunately Snowdonia has a lifetime of quality routes to offer so I shouldn’t struggle too much!
I hope you are having fun and managing to make good use of this amazing weather wherever you are.
Regards,
Paul
May 28, 2009 at 11:13 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
For my last day in the Lakes (for a few weeks at least) we have been out on Helvellyn. It’s a beautiful mountain in any weather but today………….wow!
We headed up from Glenridding to complete one of the finest easy grade scrambles the UK has to offer - Striding Edge. While the edge is never particularly difficult there’s plenty of exposure, a fantastic situation an d some exciting rocky steps to negotiate - its a corker! Once across the summit the descent via Swirral Edge was the obvious option. This fine ridge line offers more easy grade scrambling in a stunning situation. A brilliant mountain circuit.
As well as the scramble loop the team were also looking to complete their NNAS bronze level assessment…..so a busy day meant we weren’t back at the minibus until 6.30pm. No problem, everyone passed with flying colours and after dinner we handed out certificates and did a lot of clapping and back slapping. Hopefully the guys will go on to complete higher levels of the award in the future. A great day and very well done to all the team.
May 27, 2009 at 7:49 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
It’s been all rain today. We awoke to heavy rain, went out in heavy rain, navved in heavy rain, practiced rope skills in heavy rain and its still raining heavily outside! Apart from that little challenge it’s actually been a brilliant day. As usual, once you are wrapped up and out the weather doesn’t seem half as bad and we spent a very productive day covering mountaineering skills around the lower slopes of the Old Man of Coniston. Its a great place to test navigation, and a great place to develop security on steep ground skills.
In addition, Coniston Old Man is also steeped in history. Mining and quarrying has taken place there since shortly after the Norman Conquest and by 1950 it is estimated that over 80% of the population of Coniston was somehow connected to the mining industry. Nowadays the relics of the mining industry litter the slopes and winch gear, building shells and spoil heaps will all be passed en route to the summit. I’m not usually a fan of industrial damage to natural environments but in this case it seems to enhance the climb to the summit rather than detract from it. A walk up the Old Man is like walking back in time.
Tomorrow the forecast is slightly better….and getting much better towards the weekend. Get the shades, shorts and suncream ready again!
Cheers,
Paul
May 26, 2009 at 9:52 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
I’ve had a busy day running mountain bike sessions at Grizedale Forest. It’s quite hard when you are working with clients who are reluctant to push themselves and think mountain biking is too much like hard work………..so its great that todays group were nothing like that!
I worked with 4 groups over the day. As well as completing one of the forest circuits we also spent time looking at some essential skills and running some challenges like log hopping and slow races (a race to get from A to B as slowly as possible without dabbing your feet). Mountain biking is such a great activity and the group whooping their way back to the Grizedale centre down the long hill from the top car park was the perfect icing on the cake of a fine day. My full respect for the enthusiasm and determination of the groups - you made my job very easy.
This evening I went over to see the recently refurbished base of the Langdale and Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team. They are impressively resourced and the 35 team members of our busiest rescue team are clearly totally dedicated to what they do. They’ve had a very busy year so far and I was surprised to hear it costs around £75,000 per year to run the team. Obviously any donations are gratefully received and you can find loads more information on their website at www.lamrt.org.uk.
The weather has stayed fine all day and we only got caught by a heavy shower 5 minutes from the end of our ride. It’s raining tonight and tomorrow is forecast to be very changeable.
Cheers,
Paul
May 25, 2009 at 9:50 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
Its been another beautiful day in the Lake District. We’ve been walking and scrambling around the Langdale Pikes and the team have had a brilliant day developing their navigation, movement and steep ground skills with great enthusiasm. The thunderstorms forecast for late afternoon never materialised and I drove over to meet Tim for a beer in Keswick tonight thinking what a fantastic area the Lake District is in early summer (of course its nice at other times in the year too!).
Reports from the Peak District suggest the weather is on the turn and there has been some rain this evening. Al and Mark were busy with some private guiding clients at Curbar and, with the same clients out tomorrow as well, I hope the weather does the right thing and they get a good days gritstone action.
Take care,
Paul
May 24, 2009 at 9:08 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
I’ve spent the day running some kayaking sessions for air cadets in the Lake District. Its been great fun and the weather has been fantastic. The afternoon sessions ended with a jetty jump and there were many surprised faces as they realised just how cold the water was - the screams were apparently heard as far away as Penrith! We followed the session with a beach barbeque and a very competitive game of football. A top day.
Meanwhile, Ian has reported good weather in the Peak for our 2 day rescue skills course. He’s spent the day hanging around at Burbage with Sally, Al, Maggie and Julian. So the story goes they ended the day with a get out of that style prussicing challenge with the last one to ascend the rope buying the first round! Apparently he’s been dreaming up more ’emergencies’ for them to solve tomorrow…………and people actually pay for this!
I hope you are enjoying this fine weather wherever you are.
Cheers, Paul
May 20, 2009 at 7:49 am · Filed under peak mountaineering
The Ring Ouzel has landed!
Following last weeks posting about the Ring Ouzel restrictions here is the latest info on the situation……
STANAGE
There is a pair of Ring Ouzels nesting in the Anniversary arete area (about halfway between High Neb and The Causeway). This isn’t a popular area so won’t be cordoned off, but if climbers would avoid the six or so routes to the right of Parallel Cracks (a 20yd stretch) that would be much appreciated. A sign will be placed on site.At the popular end, the pair in the Green Crack/ Rusty Wall area are still present and the restriction there remains in force. The chicks on Topaz have successfully fledged so the restriction on the Trinity buttress/ Green Crack/ Rusty Wall area is now lifted.
They are likely to attempt a second brood soon, likely somewhere on the popular end, so please keep an eye on site signage for info.
BURBAGE VALLEY
A pair have fledged young in the Burbage valley.
A reasonable start to the season but, as last year was such a poor one, it remains to be seen whether this is a sign of recovery or just a blip on the general downward trend. UK breeding pair numbers are still estimated at only between 6000-7500 pairs so we need to help the little tweeters!
Here’s a bit of useful info from the RSPB website and the picture at the top should help you identify them…..
Slightly smaller and slimmer than a blackbird - male ring ouzels are particularly distinctive with their black plumage with a pale wing panel and striking white breast band. From the thrush and chat families though they tend to be shyer than other thrushes (although they will often associate with them after the breeding season). Their recent population decline make them a Red List species.
Ring ouzels can be found in upland areas of Scotland, northern England, north west Wales and Dartmoor. When on spring and autumn migration they may be seen away from their breeding areas, often on the east and south coasts of the UK where they favour short grassy areas. Ring ouzels arrive in March and April and leave again in September. Their staple diet is insects and berries.
We’ll keep you posted on their progress and any new restrictions.
Cheers,
Cal
May 19, 2009 at 7:44 am · Filed under peak mountaineering
We’ve joined the revolution and added a Twitter link on our blog (yes, that’s it up there on the top right of the Blog page!). Now all we need are as many fellow tweeters as possible. Its easy to sign up, free and simple to use - so please go to Twitter.com (or follow the link at the bottom of the Twitter bar opposite) and we can all tweet together!
May 18, 2009 at 9:46 am · Filed under peak mountaineering
Marc takes a swim - but expert help is on hand!
I’ve spent the weekend in Mid Wales attending a water safety course with Adventureworks. The course covered the syllabus of the Royal Life Saving Society’s Emergency Responder Activity Supervisor award but our version was tailored to cover the types of environment Expedition Leaders and Mountaineering Instructors work in. As my Ladakh expedition in the summer is likely to involve some demanding rivers this course is an essential part of my continuing professional development.
On Saturday we started the day at Bala Lake before moving to Canolfan Tryweryn (the National Whitewater Centre) for a session on river hazards and river crossing. As with all skills the optimum way to learn is to try things out and we spent most of the day in the water testing old skills and developing new ones. We spent a lot of time looking at throw line rescues and our scenarios got more and more elaborate as time went on. Soon we were rescueing multiple casulaties as they shot down the rapids on the upper part of the river completely out of control! Great fun but with a serious objective. Saturday was a cold and wet day so I was very glad to be layered up in my drysuit!
The final session on Saturday was in the local swimming pool looking at spinal injuries and casualty evacuation using a range of improvised techniques before we all feasted on Pizza in Bala. I slept very well on Saturday night!
On Sunday we moved to Harlech for a session assessing beach hazards, trying some baywatch style casualty rescues in the surf (although cold temperatures meant there were certainly no bikinis or speedos on show today!) and using techniques to cross a wide inlet that had a serious tidal flow to it.
A great day with lots of skills revisted and many new ones learnt too. Thanks to Mike at Adventureworks for inviting me along and thanks to Bill, Paul and Damian for their expert instruction.
While I was away Ian was out in North Wales with returning clients Jane and Jack on a NNAS silver level navigation skills course. The conditions were challenging but reports were that the team smiled in the face of adversity and lots of new skills were mastered and they sailed through their assessment. Luckily Jane never stops smiling regardless of the weather and it was great to catch up with them and share a celebratory beer on my way back from Harlech. Thanks to Ian for running the course and I look forward to catching up with Jane and Jack later in the year when they are returning for their NNAS gold level award training. Keep up the practice team.
Cheers,
Paul
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