Spain

John and our hire car

Over the last two weeks I've been in North-East Spain - with a strong team from Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales - trying many different venues. First we visited Terradets, which comprised stacks of amazing tufa climbing. It took a while to adjust to this style of climbing, which provided us all with many challenges. I didn't want to red point any routes. I just wanted to onsight everything I tried. Alas, I was not quite as strong as all the others, so I only managed to flash one 7b (which I was really chuffed with). Every route I did was brilliant.

Terradets - La Bruixes

Ian Small on yet another 7c!
Dave wishes this was his hire car

The second week we went to Margalef, which was a whole new ball game. No tufas to be seen. All pockets. It was fantastic! I found this pocket climbing much more achievable for me and managed to get up all the routes that I tried - not always in the best style but I did get up them.

Callum and Dave at Margalef

It wasn't all climbing. We had to take rest days because our arms began to feel like soggy newspapers after a couple of days. This gave us an opportunity to read, go shopping, drink coffee, beer (coca cola for Calum). I think we played a thousand games of cards when it was raining or to find out who would be doing the washing up. A great holiday - just what I needed before moving back to Scotland.

Hold breaking at the Orme

Today the weather wasn't great but Luke and I grabbed our harnesses, shoes and rope and headed down to the Great Orme. On arrival it was very cold and damp so we didn't risk going into the diamond which was our primary aim. Its a little bit of a risk if its a bit wet as it has a interesting approach which is great fun but wastes some time if the conditions arnt great. Instead we opted for climbing right next to the road. It was great Luke parked right below the climb..... Well it was great till a large palm sized hold broke and landed on top of Luke's car taking away some paint but fortunately just missing his windscreen. We did a few routes but it was a bit of a miserable day so we bailed for some coffee. Tip of the Day - Don't park car directly below a route!

Almscliff

John and I had a chance to climb at Armscliff after I came back down from the Lakes. Unfortunatly we didnt have a guide book so we picked some lines and climbed them. It turned out pretty well, it turns out we did some sweet lines. We climbed 5 routes in a few very cold hours before running away for a coffee and a hot dinner thanks to Johns sister.

Ropework

Today I was running a practical rope work session for the Austrian Alpine Club. Unfortunately there wasn't a massive turn, but this meant I could focus more of my time to each person. The group had various different needs from belay construction to tying coils, to rescue scenarios and gear selection. It was a good practical morning on the ground of Ambleside Youth Hostel. The weather was great so as soon as I finished I met up with John and headed down to Yorkshire for a nice meal with a friend so we could discuss a expedition were planning for next year.

Big walk

Today Plas Y Brenin were running the Big Acoustic Walk so I took a team up Snowdon. I've not much to say about today other then it was absolutely perfect weather, a cloudless sky, wall to wall sunshine and a nice cool breeze. Obviously being a Saturday we weren't alone on the mountain, it seemed like everyone wanted the view we got. The team made it up and down in a great time which meant time for tea and cake in the cafe before heading back for drinks in the bar and live music. Unfortunately I could join in as I have to drive up to Ambleside.

Mountain Leader Training

This week I was working for 4 days on a Mountain Leader Training. On Monday the group and I spent the day mainly inside covering areas of the syllabus which are covered best in a classroom. In the afternoon after the torrential rain had eased, we went outside and we introduced the group to the rope work which they will need to learn for their assessment. We covered the basics on the grounds of the centre so on Tuesday we were able to get cracking on with putting it into context and practicing lots of skills. On Monday Dave and I took the group river crossing on the upper parts of the Nantygwryd. Tuesday we went out and spent most of the day looking at rope work around the Ricks and Rack and came in to get prepared for expedition. Wednesday and Thursday we walked from Ogwen up and over Creigiau Gleision and camped by Llyn Cowlyd Reservoir and walked back to the centre on the final day. Weather was pretty bad all week but cleared up just as we got back to Plas y Brenin! Good effort to all the team who kept on smiling in the worst weather!