Another hot day on the grit..

It has been another busy day for rock climbers and outdoor enthusiasts in the Peak District today.

Paul and Kieran were out again today on the Eastern Edges with members of the John Lewis Climbing and Mountain Sports Club. The team were ripping the crags down again, climbing everything in sight apparently.

I was inside at Rockcity Climbing Centre in Hull, doing some training for visiting staff. After leaving I did manage to get some soloing in at Burbage North in the blistering heat.

Unfortunately, the day was not without trouble. Edale Mountain Rescue Team attended a serious climbing accident in Horseshoe Quarry near Stoney Middleton, when a climber fell the height of the crag, while treading his rope through a bolt lower off.

For the first part of the week it looks like the warm weather is set to continue. It might be worth checking out some of the shady north facing venues such as the northern edges of Kinder Scout, Wimberry Rocks, Burbage South, and Staden Quarry to name a few...

Rock climbing at Stanage Edge in the heat..

Peter and I were on Stanage Edge today for a day of guided rock climbing. We started at the 'popular end' and worked our way along to the 'Dovers Wall' area, climbing and coaching as we went.

For Peter today's climbing was provided as part of his prize for raising the most money following Edale Mountain Rescue Team's Nine Edges Endurance Challenge.

You may have noticed that we have been to Stanage Edge a lot in recent days, but it is difficult justifying going to another crag when you have arguably the finest on your doorstep!

With this in mind Kieran and Paul were also out with the John Lewis Partnership Climbing and Mountain Sports Club (CAMS). They climbed on most of the crag with Robert, Sam, Simon, Hanh, Adam, Jane, Faye, Jeiff, and Pandie.

It looks like it's going to be another hot day tomorrow..

Introduction to Outdoor Climbing at Froggatt...

Matt, Dan and I were at Froggatt Edge today for a second day of Intro Rock Climbing. Despite the frequent rain showers we managed to do some classic routes as well as practicing anchor selection and belay construction.

Many of the routes were slightly trickier in the wet, but were all climbed in style by Matt and Dan.

We also bumped into Morgan and Ian who were heading out to Stanage Edge following a good day at Millstone Edge yesterday. Hope you had a good day out guys?

Light showers seem to be the order of the day again tomorrow with an improvement forecast for Tuesday..

Intro Rock Climbing at Stanage..

Matt, Dan and I were out together, at Stanage Edge today, for an Introductory Rock Climbing course.

The conditions were good, being dry and cool for the majority of the day. Although Matt and Dan were new to the 'grit', they are fairly experienced indoor climbers and adapted quickly to the unique gritstone technique of the 'tricky topout!'

During the day we climbed a variety of different routes, as well as looking at anchor, belay selection, belaying from the top and bottom etc. We finished the day by climbing the superb 'Heaven Crack' VD, which was quickly "ticked" with some determined laybacking and jamming..

Stanage Edge..

The weather has been changeable in the Peak District for the last few day with heavy showers and hail storms.

In between these spring showers there has been some good spells, particularly on the quick drying Gritstone. Yesterday Andy, Nic and I managed an outing to Stanage Edge climbing until another hail storm stopped play.

Early forecasts suggest that although it will remain changeable, we might well experience some fine weather over the weekend. Fingers crossed!

Thinking ahead we still have places on a Single Pitch Award Training (SPA) course on the 2/3 August. For more information contact us.

Vallee Blanche..

Another morning of good weather in Chamonix allowed Dave, Cio and I to make a quick descent of the Vallee Blanche from the Aiguille de Midi.

I will shortly be heading back to the UK to start rock climbing courses in the Peak District and North Wales. It looks like there is still good winter climbing, and ski touring conditions in the Scottish Highlands, which makes for a bit of a treat at this time of year.

Here in the alps, Nick Wallis, Jon Morgan, Jon Bracey, Ollie Allen and Al Powell bailed over to Zermatt today to compete in the Patrol de Glacier ski mountaineering race. This 65K epic (Zermatt to Verbier) with 4000m of ascent has quite a reputation, not to mention a need for lycra! For the british team's results check out the Alpine Guides Blog.

Punta Calabre, Italy..

Dave, Cio and I escaped to Italy again yesterday in search of better weather. We opted to ski into the Refugio Benevolo from Pelaud in the Val di Remes. From here we made an ascent of Punta Paletta-sud 3014m before returning to the refuge.


This morning a longer ascent took us to the summit of Punta Calabre 3445m and an even bigger descent to the valley. The snow conditions were generally good despite some high winds and cold temperatures. It felt more like February that late April.

Back in the UK conditions seem to be good for ski touring in the Cairngorms and climbing ice on Ben Nevis..