Peak Mountaineering
The climbing blog of Paul Lewis
Archive for August, 2009
August 31, 2009 at 4:35 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
This weekend we’ve been running more of our ever popular Essential Climbing and Essential Rescue Skills Courses in the Peak District.
On Saturday I was joined by Andy, Sherelle, Lou, Mark, Liam and Gareth for an ‘Essential Climbing Skills Course’ at Stanage. The group had different experience levels ranging from indoor wall experience to having led a few climbs and we had a great day looking at a range of key skills based around safe gear placements and belay building. The team also managed to climb a bunch of fine Stanage classics ranging from vdiff to hard severe.
We ended the day with a belay building competition that allowed us to put some of the skills into practice and review several areas we had covered. Liam was double winner having built the quickest belay as well as the team giving him the highest scores for belay quality. So the final job of the day was a grand prize giving with Liam being awarded a coveted Peak Mountaineering sticker for his hard work. A great day and thanks to everyone for attending and to Adrian for again giving up his time to assist.
On Sunday Mark, Liam, Andy, Bonnie and Andrew joined me at Burbage North for one of our ‘Essential Rescue Skills Courses’. A full on day of get out of that techniques which finished just as the rain arrived in the Peak. Perfect timing and another really fun day with a great group. Thanks to everyone for attending.
We’ll be running more of our Essential Skills courses in the Spring. Please keep an eye on the blog or check out our adverts on UKClimbing (the best value courses in the land at only £35 per person!).
Today has been a chilled out day of gear sorting and bike maintenance. Tonight I’m off to test a few bike adjustments on the trails around Hayfield but it looks like there was no need to spend all that time cleaning it - the pouring rain outside guarantees it’s going to be another muddy one!
I hope you had a great weekend whatever you did………even better if it involved something sporty or vertical!
Cheers,
Paul
August 28, 2009 at 9:07 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
I’ve just returned from some great climbing and scrambling adventures in Wales with Caroline - probably the most enthusiastic climber ever to live in Leicestershire (or maybe that was my mate Marc before he turned to the dark side and started surfing!). Having only discovered climbing recently she is now rapidly ticking her way through some of the best mountain objectives around. In a couple of weeks she’s heading to the Alps to climb the Eiger and Mont Blanc and this summer Caroline has ticked off the Cuillin Ridge, Old Man of Hoy and enjoyed a bunch of other adventures. A great effort.
I drove home thinking how brilliant it is that climbing has such enthusiasts and I thought back to my friend Dan. Dan was, without question, the most enthusiastic climber ever. One summer he arrived in Chamonix from the 24 hour BMC bus journey (a shuttle service that used to run between London and Chamonix), went straight to the Guides Bureau to check the weather, found it was a good forecast, shopped for food, hiked to the campsite, dragged us out of bed and promptly led Tim and I off for 7 days camping on the Vallee Blanche before we even realised what we were letting ourselves in for. The 7 days that followed turned out to be the most productive week of alpine climbing I have ever completed - and the most exhausting!
Dan regularly finished work on Friday evening, drove up to Scotland through the night, put in a long day on the Ben before driving back late into the night to be back in work on Sunday morning - on his own.
Dan used to run to Stanage carrying his climbing kit, climb all day then run back in the evening. At the time he lived 14 miles from Stanage!
Dan cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats, decided he was disappointed with his time, phoned work to say he would be late back and turned straight around to cycle back. He beat his previous time by 2 days (unfortunately his boss didn’t hold his job for him).
Dan is no longer around but my thanks to Caroline for reminding me about him. We need enthusiasts. Have a great trip to the Alps and thanks for an inspiring time in Wales.
August 26, 2009 at 6:52 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
Ryan, Al, Julie and Mike were due to join us for our Essential skills courses this weekend but work has rather got in the way and instead of adventures on Peak Grit they have an appointment with the inside of their office! But their loss might be your gain as they have kindly declined a refund and asked to us to see if any other climbers want the places instead. If you fancy attending either on Saturday and/or Sunday just give us a call or send an email and the places are yours.
The course content is described below……………..
ESSENTIAL OUTDOOR CLIMBING SKILLS COURSE
A one day course covering key belay building skills, setting up top and bottom rope systems, gear placement and safe practice issues on outdoor crags.
The course covers many skills needed by indoor climbers looking to move outside but please note that lead climbing will not be covered on this course. All specialist equipment can be provided.
Course date: Saturday 29th August
ESSENTIAL RESCUE SKILLS COURSE
A one day course covering many problem solving strategies for situations commonly encountered on outdoor crags such as escaping the system, assisted abseils, ascending the rope, lowering and simple hoists.
This is a condensed version of our 2 day course and won’t cover some of the most complicated scenarios - but it will still give you a ‘toolbox’ of strategies in case the unexpected happens. All specialist equipment can be provided.
Course date: Sunday 30th August
Come and join us. We’ve even booked great weather (maybe!).
Cheers,
Cal
August 24, 2009 at 7:55 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
For the past two days we’ve been joined by Palvi and Ashish who have been on a Learn to Lead course in the Peak District. They have both done plenty of climbing indoors and seconded routes at a variety of outdoor crags so were keen to learn the skills needed to lead outdoor trad routes safely.
On Sunday we went to Froggatt and enjoyed fine weather as we worked through gear placements and belay building. Palvi and Ashish then lead a variety of routes (with a top rope back up) to put their skills into practice.
On Monday we braved early morning midges and lunchtime rain at Windgather Rocks as the team lead several classic routes in fine style. We then set up a number of bottom ropes on some fine classics when the rain made conditions a little ‘challenging’ - Portfolio (HVS) in the rain being a highlight!
Many thanks to Palvi and Ashish. I hope you get a chance to put your skills into practice soon and best wishes with all your exciting travel plans. Thanks also to Adrian for all his help over the 2 days (Adrian is a trainee instructor preparing for assessment later in the year).
August 23, 2009 at 4:33 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
We always try to get a family camping trip in when I get home from expeditions. The trouble is that arriving home often coincides with a really hectic part of our summer season. Luckily Ian and Simon are stars for taking over the bulk of the courses I missed and, as I tell them far too often, some quality time with the family is vital after 6 weeks away!
So we headed for a few days at our favourite campsite on Anglesey this week with more equipment than my whole team took to India squeezed into the car and a forecast that didn’t look too bad at all. The evening we arrived was a peach and after a cycle along the beach we had the first of several BBQ under starry skies. I love Anglesey.
We awoke to the sound of rain on the tent which certainly wasn’t part of the masterplan. Luckily I had a plan B for just such a day. We loaded wetsuits, buoyancy aids and ropes into the car and headed for the Afon Ddu gorge. My logic was if you are going to spend a day swimming your way up a gorge scramble it doesn’t matter if water is also falling from above. I have guided the Afon Ddu many times but this was the boys first gorge adventure. They loved it and with pools to jump into, waterfalls to slide down and boulder chokes to scramble through why wouldn’t they! Even better was that by the time we got back to the car the rain had stopped. Perfect for BBQ number 2 then.
Day 3 dawned with blue skies and a strong breeze. Surfing at Rhosneigr was the order of the day then. A full on day in the water was brilliant but my plans for the evenings BBQ were scuppered when we discovered Fat Face were holding one of their beach events there. Beach, waves, free food and blue skies. A tough day - not really!
Our last day dawned clear and calm so we headed for more beach action. Snorkelling and a good old splash around before the customary ice creams at Treardur Bay marked the end of a fantastic few days.
Many thanks to the team at Peak HQ for holding the fort. Ian was out climbing with the James family and mountain biking with Sally and the girls and Si enjoyed a couple of days in Snowdonia with Ali, Barbara, John and Bruce and took the Bryants for an introductory day climbing at Stanage. I owe you guys.
August 16, 2009 at 8:26 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
Crisp fresh salad, my own bed, vine ripened tomatoes, my trusty Orange P7, chilled Chardonnay, quality Cheddar, football in the garden, the start of the Premier League season, easy access to the climbing media, a new book, my Blackberry, baked potatoes, a much bigger choice of music than my MP3 player can hold, fresh socks everyday, gritstone, limestone, rhyolite and, above all, my two little bouncy smiling boys.
It is always great to go away……….but it’s great to get home too isn’t it!
August 12, 2009 at 4:25 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
As hoped, the Zanskar River was great fun. Some great 3+ sections interspersed with easier rapids - it all made for a great day out. It also marked our last full day in Ladakh (provided the planes are leaving in the morning!). It has been an amazing place to visit…….due in large part to the fantastic Ladakhi people and their friendliness, peaceful nature and welcoming manner. That is, of course, on top of the amazing landscape, brilliant trekking and mountains and the rich cultural history. I feel very heavy hearted to be leaving but at least we have many many happy memories of a brilliant place.
Tomorrow is an early start for our flight to Delhi. Once there we have plans to visit the Red Fort and barter over a few last minute bargains in the bazaar before our London flight leaves the following day. I really can’t wait to get the photos sorted and uploaded so please keep checking the gallery. Of course 6 weeks away from the UK means things have moved on at home. In particular I was very saddened to hear of the death of Riccardo Cassin at the age of 100. What an amazing pioneer - some of his routes are still the level many alpinists aspire to 50 or 60 years after their first ascent.
Take care out there.
Cheers, Paul
August 12, 2009 at 2:53 am · Filed under peak mountaineering
A bit of a break from the mountains today. We are heading for a kayak descent of part of the upper Zanskar River. Fortunately it’s another amazing cloudless Ladakh day so getting wet really isn’t a problem. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Hope you have a great day whatever you’re doing and wherever you are.
Cheers,
Paul
August 10, 2009 at 4:13 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
We’ve eaten great food over the last 5 days at Stok Kangri base camp. The only trouble is that it’s all been on the theme of curry. Today we got back to Leh and one thing was on my mind. Something simple, something tasty, something completely different - PIZZA! So we got back mid afternoon, dived into the shower, dived into some clean clothes, and dived into the nearest pizza restaurant (fortunately they are used to caring for fussy foreigners here!). A mushroom stone baked pizza really hit the spot. Infact, I was tempted to order a second but decided that was probably going a bit far. I suspect that won’t be my last encounter with pizza dough over the next few days though.
Anyway, this is supposed to be a blog about climbing. We’ve just been out for the last 5 days climbing Stok Kangri (6153 metres) and it’s been brilliant fun. A couple of days walking into base camp, an extra acclimatisation day walking up to 5400 metres and we were ready to go. A 1 am start led us up some scree and rubble slopes to the glacier. From here a rising glacier traverse led to steep snow slopes which eventually brought us to the long summit ridge. A long scramble up this and eventually (thankfully!) the summit comes into view.
We arrived on top at 6.45 am and enjoyed the most amazing clear skies and 360 degree views. K2 was clearly visible in Pakistan and we had great visibility over Ladakh and Zanskar. Half an hour an the summit and we reversed the ridge, ploughed straight down the snow, skidded down the scree and soon enough we were enjoying celebratory tea in base camp. By 10.30 am we were fast asleep! Today we made another early start and blasted down the trail to meet the transport in Stok village. A perfect 5 day trip.
Stok was a peak I had wanted to climb personally but the trip was also planned as a recce to assess the mountains suitability for commercial trips. I couldn’t have been more inspired. The mountain is ideal for anyone looking for a first Himalayan climbing adventure and who has a reasonable background in hillwalking and good general fitness. We’ll put an itinerary together in the autumn and make sure its distributed to anyone who feels inspired (and put on the website). Also, once I’m back in the office I’ll also get some of the photos in the gallery to tempt you even further. Celebration post summit pizzas will be on us!
Having now unwound and sorted out the kit our last few days in India are going to be firmly devoted to leisure. Tomorrow we are hitting the souvenir shops for some serious bartering action then for our last day we’ll be swapping ice axes for paddles as we have a day kayaking on the Zanskar river. A group of paddlers are also staying here and they’ve been telling us exciting tales of the 6 days descent they have just finished. It sounds like an adventure!
Finally, it’s all happening here in Leh because the Dalai Lama has dropped into town for a few days. No sign of him yet as he is reportedly devoting some time to rest and meditation - but our fingers are crossed! I did have the radical idea of just going up to his palace and asking if he was available for a chat but I think we need something more. Do you think he likes pizza?!
Take care,
Paul
·
Next entries »
