19 May 2010
ROPE SOLOING 101 Part 1
WARNING:: This blog is not meant as instructional text, and is simply a description of how I rope solo. Rope soloing is highly dangerous and demands a great deal of experience and good judgment and in many ways is more dangerous than free soloing, due to an increased reliance on ‘systems’. Anyone wishing to rope solo should already have an extensive knowledge of all the systems and equipment needed, as well as a...
05 May 2010
Technique : The old switcheroo
One of the comments from my blog about climbing as a three asked the following question: I seem to climb multipitch trad as three quite a bit. The one lead/two follow at the same time method works pretty well. My question is, is there an efficient way to switch leads in this case? Is untying and retying the best way? One of the fasted, and...
23 April 2010
Technique : Climbing as Three
Historically the Western default number in a climbing team is generally two, a number that allows swift and belayed movement, with group gear (stoves, food, tent) being dived, as well as the number of pitches led. As with all climbing dogma, it’s worth looking at why this is, and if it’s a sound way of doing things, after all in...
01 April 2010
Gear: Jetboil mods
Although a few stoves have come along and looked as if they were going to topple it from the top spot spot (MSR & Edelrid), as yet no one has yet been able to topple the Jetboil from it’s spot as the number one wall stove for climbers. When I say ‘wall stove’, I do so in order to differentiate it from a ‘mountain...
27 March 2010
Gear: Bothy or Bivy bag
Hi, I’m so sorry to bother you about something you’ve probably answered a thousand times already but Im looking to get a lightweight bivy for alpine climbs in Colorado. I’ve looked through most if not all your reviews on bothys and bivys but I’m still just so confused. My main question is how well would a bothy work for...
26 February 2010
Technique : Winter advice
Hi andrew sorry to trouble I am going to ben Nevis this weekend and want to do no 3 or no 4 gully or gardyloo only done grade 2 up to now on Dow crag easy gully in winter can you offer any safety advice due to the weather or just general advice going with my mate who has done mont blanc in the summer regards James Hi James It always seems odd...
23 February 2010
Review: Petzl AZTAREX
I must admit that I’ve never been a real fan of the Petzl AZTAR, finding them a bit old fashioned, which means you can’t use them leashless, a major drawback for any tool. Instead I was a big time Quark user, finding that although they look top end, they worked well on all types of climbing (plus they were leashless). But...
20 January 2010
Technique : Aiding across roofs
Hi Andy just wondering whether you would consider writing a short piece for your website about the technique for aid climbing on a roof or big overhang. We managed to completely fail up at Thor’s Cave yesterday (although admittedly the hangovers, ice, mud and fog may have had something to do with it). It doesn’t seem to be a technique...
15 January 2010
Climbing: The School: No4 Buttress, Coire An Lochain
Lochain is a honey pot for aspiring Scottish mixed climbers, and although detractors will point out that it’s nothing but a road side crag, and tame in comparison to many other full value venues, as a testing ground or lab for mixed climbing there is probably nowhere better. In my mind, if Coire an Sneachda is the Stanage of UK winter...
11 January 2010
Gear: Hagan Nanook appraoch skis
I can remember about ten years ago, when Salamon Snowblades first appeared on the market, telling the UK rep Pete Rostron how great they would be for climbers, if only they had a simple heal lift binding. Every time I saw him I’d tell him the same thing, and every time he laughed, thinking I was joking. I wasn’t. ...
10 January 2010
Gear: Designing stupid
Many moons ago I was working in a climbing shop. One day a certain - rather rotund - hardware manufacturer’s sales rep came in with an idea he wanted to run past us. He explained how the company had been looking into designing a new alpine/winter harness, which was proving taxing, as everyone seemed to buy the BD Bod or DMM...
07 January 2010
Opinion: giving up the drink
What do you think is the best hydrating system for winter climbing? Carrying some water in a camelback, or relying only on the snow and the melting of it on a stove? And how much water do you have to carry, if you need to carry and also you want to go light? Thank you. I’m one of those lucky people who can go all day without drinking or...
05 January 2010
Gear: Broken Axes
A friend of mine recently had a very nasty accident when his Petzl Quark snapped. He was in the process of doing a can opener move, resulting in him spiking himself in the face, breaking his jaw and generally coming off very badly indeed (he’s Scottish and a hardcore winter climber, so his biggest concern was having to stop climbing when...
02 January 2010
Technique : Gut instinct - 5 ideas on how to avoid an avalanche
Over the last few years I’ve got more and more into sea kayaking, both because my partner refuses to walk, and because it’s the nearest thing to having a full on expedition in your back garden (1 hour in a sea kayak is equivalent to 1 day on an expedition). One thing you learn very quickly is that the sea always wins. No matter how...
30 December 2009
Gear: Never had it so good - Ice screws
“Andrew, Do you sharpen your own ice screws? Being a carpenter gives me good skills for using a file and I always keep my ice tools and crampons sharp. I have been using a very small file to tune up my ice screws, but notice that my new BD Express screws go in so much better than the filed ones.” Geoff Its a good question, and...
27 December 2009
Opinion: Fact 14
An 11-year-old’s guide to avalanches: demonstrated via a Factory Records sleeve Over Xmas, my daughter Ella asked me what caused an avalanche, probably because she was worrying that there may be one on her street (it is quite a steep Sheffield street, but all the cars, wheelie bins and dog turds mean it’s pretty safe from avalanches...
21 December 2009
Technique : tip number 4 hook or book
One of the scariest hooks you can have - well when you’re used to real locking hooks - is when you hook a small hold, the type of thing you’d crimp. These kinds of moves become more and more common as you get onto harder routes, and often the crux will be just such a move (or string of them), leading you to something a little more...
17 December 2009
Technique : Tip Number 3: it’s all in the feet
When to see Powell and Pressburger’s magnificent The Red Shoes the other night, a film that would convert even the most jaded of culture trolls into a ballet lover (and I’m not talking old school Boreal rock boots). If it comes to a cinema near you (it’s be remastered and re rereleased) go and see it. One thing that ballet dancers...
17 December 2009
Technique : Tip Number 2: A Tap for Luck
So we’ve covered testing a tool in tip one, but how about a step beyond just testing? Again, imagine you’ve got to make a move off a stance, perhaps a very big move, and you only have one pick hooked into a patch of dirt, or in a patch of soft neve. Maybe your last runners a long way below you and you can’t afford to fall. ...