Archive for the ‘Climbing’ Category
Climbing in the Peaks with ULGMC
Last weekend I went with the University of London Graduate Mountaineering Club to do some traditional outdoor climbing in the Peak District, staying at their Falcliffe hut near Heathersage.
The weekend got off to a cold start arriving at the hut to find the storage heating off and no matches to light a fire. After toying with various fire starting ideas we ended up driving to the nearest shop to get some. Even with a good fire going – I still put full thermals on and didn’t take them off for the rest of the weekend! (I must be going soft) Mark then proceeded to give me the low down on all the climbing gear and at least one rope work related debate ensued.
I should add that I’m far from experienced at this climbing thing – I’ve been climbing for about a year, but only outdoors a couple of times and this was my first time seconding (taking out the gear placements that the leader has put in on the way up). Mark however has been climbing for years and recently got his SPA (climbing instructor qualification) so I was in good hands.
We got in a range of climbing over the weekend – some very succesfull climbing at Stanage, some bouldering at Millstone, some aborted climbing at Froggatt due to a sudden onset of rain and snow (I got 3/4 of the way up a route without being able to feel my hands) and finally some great indoor bouldering at the Works in Sheffield to make sure we totally tired ourselves out!
All in all a great weekend, and I’m looking forward to the next trip with the ULGMC!
Snow Bouldering
Pictures from my day with Mark and Heather in the snow, including building our very own ice bouldering route, penguins and later a castle with an arch!
