The Dynamic Duo 'rock' it again

Not always want you want to see at the bottom of a climb 

We were soaring with the Peregrine Falcons yesterday down in the Avon Gorge, watching them play fighting or something in the air while Mike was perched on a route and I may or may not have been focusing on the birds rather than the fact I was belaying whoops good thing it was only a VDiff!

So we set off early as if you've ever watched Mike climb he is slow so a whole day is needed! I love you really, I'm just glad you don't fall off I think I would crap my pants if he did. Well I turned out to be the super slow one after getting stuck on almost every tricky bit of the two difficult climbs we did, I'm not too proud that I can't admit that yes I cried and was lowered off the HVS after I couldn't reach the awesome handhold round an overhang.

So less waffling, what did we do!! An early start got us to the gorge at 8am-ish, we parked up and Mike sure wasn't kidding when he said it was right next to the road with no walk in as we were plagued with traffic noise all day. We dawdled down the road in search of the Main Wall where Mike's main desire (other than me ;) ) lay waiting- Malbogies at HVS. So having followed him up an E1 before I consented and he led on up and standing at the bottom watching his careful movements definitely made me a little apprehensive. However apparently the first pitch is the most difficult so I just had to get up that and we would be fine. Mike set up and I crept up after, now when I say crept I mean, whined, groaned in frustration and heaved my way up. It

definitely was tricky! I'd say I'm a pretty fussy climber I like big hand holds and as little overhanging stuff as possible which of course was not what I got on this climb. However I hung on in there and finally got to Mike after some ungracefulness and huffing and puffing. Now comes the funny part, we swapped over and Mike went off again and got to my nemesis a little overhang that had a great hold just over and up which made it easy to conquer, so he bossed it up that and disappeared up the face. After some the rope was all pulled in and some insistent tugs I figured he was safe so I unclipped his belay and followed him.... well about 5 metres to the overhang where I miserably failed at reaching the jug hold. I swear to god Mike has gorilla arms in comparison to his body and I have stubby ones! I found myself at a loss to find anything else I could reach to get me up, so followed a few minutes of screeching up to Mike that I couldn't reach. I then heard in a lull of the traffic "lower you down" and I started going down. Which was pretty wretched I hate it when I can't do things!!!
On getting to almost the bottom (there's a bit of a scramble up to the main base of the cliff) I freaked Mike out by untying as he was going to reshuffle things and give me more rope but I wanted off that stupid thing I gave up on and marched myself off to the bottom in shame. Mike abseiled down collecting his gear before we walked to the top to collect the rope and admire the view. One silver lining was seeing a peregrine falcon (which were nesting on the face next to us, causing some restrictions on climbing) as I was sulking at the bottom.

Mike however really enjoyed the climb and of course anyone who knows his obsessive nature trotted off to do an easy one, mainly to cheer me up I think, but hey I didn't mind! So it was off to the
Morning Slab and Evening Wall section to do the Arete- VDiff which linked onto Bob's Climb VDiff connected by the very aptly named Lunchtime Ledge. The Arete was a really nice little climb and easy so of course fickle me liked it, we had some biscuits sitting on lunchtime ledge in the sunshine before sidling over to start Bob's Climb. Mike headed out over the slopy ramp and got up a little step and then basically headed right and up a steep little bit to the top. I followed and all was good, definitely a theme for all the routes we did was the annoying amount of polish on the rocks. It definitely is unnerving when you're balancing on your feet and you shoes slips a little, it does not give feelings of complete security in the rock.

I got up the top flopping myself over like a beached whale across Mike's lap as he always likes to sit on the ledge and watch over me but makes things awkward when I tried to top out, so I plopped myself down on the cliff top amid a few bird watchers with enormous cameras!! Obviously watching out for the peregrines which we had seen at the bottom fly up to it's nest and fly around again. The ironic thing was, we seemed to see them as we were climbing but they never appeared when we saw the birdwatchers, devious birds.

So back down we went via the descent route and back along the road probably looking like goons to most people kitted out with helmets, jingly metal things at our waists and harnesses walking along the road. Then I was led onto another classic of the wall Piton Route VS. This route was definitely made harder because of the polish I actually bypassed the crux section by going left and up that way quite deftly if I do say so, then I went on and cheated a little pulling myself up with the rope to get over a lip due to a loss of hand holds that I felt comfortable with, my crimping and pinching skills are most definitely not on par with Mike's. But afraid 'll make his head grow too big I won't praise him too much!
The next pitch was a shorty and Mike whipped up it and I came scrambling after. It was the last I really enjoyed, on seeing Mike go slowly up a steep section at the very beginning (I think mainly due to a lack of protection around it) when it was my turn, I thought I would struggle but surprisingly got up without much fuss. I do surprise myself sometimes, I made Mike laugh by whooping up to him and doing a little dance singing I got over it (he was peering over the edge watching my progress). After that I quite liked it, probably because of the three pitches it has the easiest technical grade at 4b but even so I really enjoyed it.

At the top we discussed whether to do another as it was only half 3ish but then thunder struck, literally it started thundering and weird hail stones starting hammering down. Squishy ones like polystyrene balls but still fell with some force which made me laugh when I saw the bowed head and wincing face of Mike helmetless while they bounced off my beautiful green helmeted head mwahaha

The joke was on me though after I took quite a slip and slides walking down the steep descent path, gripless rubber shoes, hailstones and wet ground make for an entertaining walk. Safely at the bottom we headed back to our damp stuff and packed up. Climbing on wet rock wasn't very desirable for lazy me so we headed back, only to look back at the drying out but I hustled Mike into the car and we drove back. Which was great actually because we turned up in time for dinner and had a good night's sleep, waking up to some brambly scratches and sore muscles or at least on my part, Mike is a climbing machine and is hard as nails. Except when tickled then he's a useless pile of squirming mush, told you I couldn't compliment you too much ;)

We rock ugly faces

Mother Duck's Final Bow Out

Well it's been a while since I got out and did anything adventurous or even remotely interesting, it has mostly been work and university assignments however I made sure that I was out this weekend on the Uclan Mountaineering Club's trip to Wales. For the most part because it is the last one I am able to go on due to my imminent departure from university life and entrance into the real world. Which for me means a few months working with kids on a centre doing some really fun, awesome activities before graduating and spending a month in Malawi so overall not a bad introduction to adult life!

Anyways back to the trip, we were camping this week in the Ogwen Valley with the hopes of conquering things like Tryfan and Little Tryfan however the forecast wasn't quite on our side so we had a soggy first night on the Friday, cooking in the minibus and playing cards until we all escaped to our tents. Never fear the morning brought promise of sun for the day. I got out of my tent and into the fresh morning air to find the sun peaking it's way over the hills shedding light on the fine dusting of snow that had fallen in the night along the tops of the mountains. It reminded me of when you have a cake in the oven too hot and it comes out with the big peak in the middle so you sprinkle icing sugar on it to make it look better, is that giving you a clear enough picture. For clarity there were big brown mountains covered in snow.

We drove off to meet Bear at Tremadog as prearranged and seemed to leave the nice weather behind as it got very wet the nearer we got, even sleeting. So a new plan was hatched, we waited until noon for it to blow over and headed to a little fast drying crag nearish Tremadog next to the coast. Thats the best description you're going to get as I didn't catch the name or even actually remember it, sorry!

So a few routes were set up and the group got their first taste of Welsh rock for the weekend, the weather was fantastic it had completely cleared up and we were basking in the sunshine overlooking the gorgeous coastline. Overall pretty idyllic. So that was our first days climbing some pretty nice routes, nice people and nice weather. Back at the campsite it was dinner time!!!

Afterwards we went on a little jaunt up to little Tryfan which for anyone unaware it is basically a huge rocky mound next to Tryfan one of the most awesome looking mountain in Wales. We all wandered up and soaked up the dusk view before back down with the sun and into our chilly tents for the last night. When I say chilly I mean chilly, in the morning the tents were covered in a thin layer of ice!

Up and at em we were and quite proud I was of everyone's efficiency save a few unnamed individuals but we split from camp really early and even beat Bear to the layby. I remember the name of the place we went to on Sunday and it was... was erm.... Moel Hebog!! A pretty extensive crag in the same area as the Saturday and the weather once again pulled out the stops and gave us a great day. There were some cracking routes set up and we split into little teams to try them all. My cohort blasted through them and we even discovered a crows nest right on the route of the tricky climb which we promptly took down again after getting cawed at by the parents for being around. We started scrambling back through the bracken and brambles and I was collared to second Ben so we went and did a Severe which ended up being quite interesting. Then it was onto de-rigging the set ups and ambling back down the crag to the minibus to start the long sucky drive back north which involved lots of snacking, singing and feeding the driver like a baby bird.

       

It was nice to be on a club trip again and helping people experience the outdoors in a positive social way, it was also nice to have a co-pilot in coordinating the masses, go Cora and Ben! However as I've said it the last club trip I'll be on but I will keep going on adventures and causing havoc in some part of the world, keep your fingers crossed for the Malawi posts they will be good. The blonde takes Africa by storm! And with the promise of further future ramblings I bid thee adieu!

Searching for why

So this weekend I was once again out with Uclan Mountaineering doing my mother duck bit making sure everyone had a good weekend. We have been out in Scotland this time gallivanting in the snow up Ben Nevis rocking it up Number 4 Gully; but what has really made me think this weekend on pondering to myself "why am I putting myself through this?!" why do I actually climb mountains?
I mean because sometimes I truly hate it, my mind struggles to push through the physical demands and comprehend the mental weight of knowing there are sustained hours of it. You must be lying, deluded or simply insane if you don't think at least once in some small measure you've felt similar.

Now a thought occurred whilst scrolling down Facebook out of shear habit while taking absolutely no interest in it that what I crave is a wholeness of self.

I go up into the mountains to feel the simple wholehearted delight of challenging oneself and winning, I ache to free myself and escape from the loneliness of a long-distance relationship, the pressure of 3rd year, the stress of strained house-mate relations and the ultimate horror of leaving the relative comfort of university life. These weights float away in the crisp air leaving barely a ripple on my mind. In hillwalking I become the ultimate escape artist, I escape myself or at least the messy complicated me of real life so all that is left is one governed by the wind cutting through her coat and the melodic rhythm of boots across the rock.

I might slog up like a snail, panting and hating myself for being completely human (we would all like to be Wonder Woman) there are moments that I remind myself why! Normally when I'm sitting down with a cuppa or having a long-awaited shower but some niggly junkie in me says "Yeah that wasn't so bad! When are we going again?"

I challenge whoever bothers to read my waffle, why you bother going out into the cold to seek the thrill of those summits and the adventure? Why do you push yourself physically and mentally because it is hard work; where do you seek your reward?

UMC's Soggy, Squelchy, Stormy Weekend

Another interesting Mountaineering Club weekend, due to the weather mainly which if people have been out and about know that it is currently disgusting!!!!!

The trip down began rather uneventfully, a few new faces which was quite refreshing as new people keep popping up through out the months and keeps me on my toes. We travelled down in a mob of two cars and a van arriving at the White Horse Inn around dinnertime settling into our stable accommodation for the weekend. No I'm not kidding the bunkhouse is converted stables which I thought was quaint and awesome and proved nice and snug.

We settled in and headed down to the pub naturally and began our laugh of a weekend (as I assumed the weather would restrict us activity wise). Bear met us there, fire heated Lake District pub his natural setting and chatted about the weekend. Being an old person I retired early ensuring people knew the time I wanted them up, there was no way I was going around and waking people up again, I felt a bit mean doing it last time.

We went off to bed and prepared for the coming morning and the predicted torrential rain.....


SATURDAY- SCAFELL PIKE
The day began really well everyone was up and raring to go which made me feel better because I hate waiting around for people so it was great we were able to hit the ground running.

We drove through Keswick and traversed Derwent water ending up at Seathwaite Farm to park up and get ready, the rain was hammering so getting out of the car took quite a bit of effort, however once I was out with wet feet (my shoes regrettably have holes) there wasn't much hope of staying dry. We gathered up and set off following Bear along the path up past the falls and up into the hills. The whole time the clouds were down so visibility were poor, and the rain was falling with a vengeance from the skies. The walk itself I felt was really good, a really gradual incline and the few breaks in the cloud we had were excellent views and there was a mix of path and scrambly rocky sections. We followed the corridor route and it really surprised me at one point because we came around a corner and there was a huge gorge in front of us that seemed very steep with water falling down into it which I'm assuming is a relic of the glacier and crevasse dashed history of the Lake District (don't laugh I'm not a geologist).

We tramped in the wind across the plateau to the summit of Scafell Pike and took hasty photos on the top and quickly walked off again as the wind was strong and blowing us over. I think the photo shows wonderfully how water-logged we all are and blasted by the wind.

We scurried away from the summit and down the slopes back to the path, heading back to Seathwaite Farm with an aim of getting back for dinner, this thought burned in my head on the way down as we had been dangerous and began talking about juicy Cumberland sausages and creamy mashed potato with proper gravy mmmmmmm.

The others were weird and opted for generic fish and chips whilst Saffie and I headed to the White Horse for food and showers which were heavenly after a soggy day, the food was everything we hoped (although my mash was slightly lumpy, devil is in the detail). When everyone was back and showered as I'm sure we stank of wet dog we all had a drink in the pub and then it was back to our warm cosy beds.

SUNDAY- POOLEY BRIDGE
Sunday morning and people were noticeably more sluggish getting out of bed which I think had something to with some alcohol consumption, however we got everyone moving and paced and back into the cars. Bear had decided to go up to Pooley Bridge and do a flat walk with a focus on navigation because of the rain, wind and cold temperatures forecast. We got there and off out we went the walk was quite good. We were on a path going through flat boggy ground with great views of the mountains around Ullswater. We walked to several peculiar holes in the ground which looked almost as if a bomb had dropped there; however Bear informed us there were actually primitive house whereby people had dug the holes in pre-neolithic times I think he said placed log beams inside to hold up a roof. I found this interesting but the rest of the group looked quite cold and wet (of course it was still raining) so after a bit more walking around it was back to the cars and back home.

Introducing People to my Outdoor Madness

As Chair of the Uclan Mountaineering Club my job is to organise awesome experiences for people so to kick off the year I started with the Fresher's trip to Snowdonia, involving a day up Snowdon and a day at Tremadog. I managed to get everything booked and sorted and all the places filled up after days of going out collect deposits and money like a dodgy drug dealer.

We all got to the bunkhouse around 8pm to find Bear and Jimbo chilling with wine by the fire typical. So we got the night kicked off with a few drinks and food well unless you're Mike and you casually fry up some heart and stilton cheese don't ask me, I don't even know why.

In the morning I played mum urging everyone to get moving and sorted for the day before we headed off into Llanberis to Pete's Eat's for breakfast, me being me I just sat impatiently dying to get out on
the hill; we eventually got up the Pen Y Pass however parking!! We were unable to park at the bottom of the path so we ended up at a car park and got driven back up to Pen Y Pass by Mike to set off with everyone. Or so we thought......

Having waited for a long time we all set off eagerly, I waited for a girl from the toilets and then wandered off down the path; after a little while the penny started to drop that Jasmine was missing. Me and Rob sprinted back down to find Jasmine walk casually down the path towards us happy as larry while I was panicking. Finally relaxed that we had everyone we could finally start the day properly and we enjoyed a good walk along the lake, up to Lliwedd and along the ridge. I walked at the back the entire way so I assumed everyone was all happy and enjoying themselves up front but we were definitely pretty
happy in our slow walkers gang. To be fair I was pretty impressed as Alyson's hip caused her a lot of jip but she carried on despite the pain which I wouldn't have done, I would have whined a whole lot more.

We all rejoiced when we got to the top as I knew it was the first mountain for a lot of our group so we queued up for the summit. Wait what?! That's what I said, queued! On the highest point of England and Wales us British will queue and wait patiently to go stand on the constructed summit to get a picture what absurd people we are.

Unfortunately there wasn't much of a view as the clouds had came down so we walked almost all the way down in grey haze, something happened that touched my heart on the trudge down. We were about to walk under one of the railway bridges and we heard music and saw people pulling rope and I thought what the hell? Until around the corner a guy in a wheelchair appeared with about 6 people pulling him along. I thought it was awesome as they were already about two thirds of the way up and looking knackered, I wasn't sure what it was for, a charity or something but good on them anyway.

Finally we got the bottom out of the cloud and squeezed into the minibus as Mike was AWOL before heading back and out again for dinner.

Sunday morning and a few people were hanging so it was slightly harder to get people moving and packed, we headed off to the crag early and got some ropes set up and got people climbing when they all arrived; feeling like my job was done for the mean time I escaped for a bit with Mike to the lower tier of Tremadog to do Christmas Curry. We did have to do a different route than intended as some
arseholes made us wait for ages. But we still had a good climb on Merlin Direct which took longer than necessary due to the arseholes, we had to sprint back to the upper tier to get everyone packed up. However by the time we had climbed a few fences, walls and scrambled through trees an bushes to get back everyone had sorted themselves out and chased after them back down the hill to the minibus.

Talking to people they all had a good climb, for many the first time they had ever climbed on rock before which was nice and they all seemed really eager for future trips so I have my work cut out for me. Being able to organise that for people and allow them that space to have these new experiences and introduce them to the amazing world of the outdoors was really rewarding, sharing the way I see the outdoors around me was quite fulfilling and made the hard work organising worth it. I would like the thank the weather for holding out, it was absolutely glorious; I would also recommend Eric's cafe which we visited and met the man himself a rather ordinary looking old man until you know what he's accomplished but he was absolutely lovely!