Winter Hot Rock Part 3: March Spring Weekends

March arrived, the rain stopped. After what seemed like endless weeks of rain through January and February, the beginning of March bathed the UK in glorious sunshine. We (Dave B, Tom, Tom, Dan, Jenni, Ian) certainly made the most of it, exploring South West Sun Traps.

Brean Down is the 'classic' choice on weekends like this, but sadly it's becoming a victim of it's own success. It's far too crowded on the weekends given the moderate selection of routes - (someone needs to get on and bolt Ocean Wall - a different topic).

Good news is that this allowed us to check out some of the less well known Winter Sun Traps!:

Quieter crags that also get the winter sun.

We started out at Tintern Quarry. The quarry itself is huge, however most of the climbing is - bluntly put - rubbish (very loose). The Red Dust Wall has some great looking routes, gently overhanging on solid rock 6b-7b+ although we avoided it as it doesn't get the winter sun. (kudos to Tom for trying Ashes to Ashes 6c+**).

It is however nicely sheltered, and Thirty Foot Wall (more like 20ft) gets the sun all day and has some worthwhile routes 5-6a+. We had fun:

Tom on ~ Fr5 Thirty Foot Wall

We then moved over to Wyndcliffe Quarry. This place is split in to two teirs, the top having a couple of impressive longer routes, and the lower, although short, has a really good wall of 6c+ test pieces on flowstone. There are also plenty of good routes at around 6a.

Dave on ~ Fr6a Wyndcliffe Quarry Lower Tier

The next weekend came and Jen and I headed up to Tirpentwys. Whilst not huge, it's a great crag, South facing and sheltered, solid sandstone, pleasant spot in local nature reserve, well bolted with some good routes 6a - 7b(+). I went back to finish off some unfishined business, 'Stawberry Jam' which takes a central gently overhanging crack / crimp line at 7b/7b+. Happy to get this, feels like the winter training is paying off!

Finishing off 2013's unfinished business! - Photo Tom Skelhon 2013.

Moving on to Jen's unfinished business we headed up to Cheddar - Pride Evans Cave to get on Sing A Mean Toon, Kid. Which is hard 7b+, perhaps 7c. 20m gently overhanging climbing, no full rest, exposed position, and a stretchy on-off V3 at the end makes this a tricky tick! Jen is looking very close and I am also feeling much closer after a some winter training. Cheddar isn't renowned for it's winter warmth, but this face (and many others) catch the sun. 11:30-3:30pm works here. Thanks for working the camera Ian!

Starting out up Sing a Mean Toon, Kid - 7b+/7c - Photo Ian Cooper

The bottom half is 7a/+ with no real rest - Photo Ian Cooper

Jen setting up for the final tricky, slappy, last move  - Photo Ian Cooper

Hopefully the first couple of many a sunny weekend!

Jon

Costa Blanca 2011 - Part 2: Jokes

The result of a particularly rainy WUCC Spain Tour in 2011.
The one liner joke craze began.
Enjoy.

https://vimeo.com/87501108

Winter Hot Rock Part 2: February (Gandia, Spain)

One great thing about climbing in the UK is that it's claimable pretty much all year round. This year has so far been an exception! Jen and I keep the February blues away with a long weekend Gandia, Spain. We were a little unprepared for just how steep the place is(!), but had a great time and got some 7's ticked. Certainly my favourite crag on the Costa Blanca, we'll be back in October, spaces in the Villa, who's joining?!

The Gandia crag is well known for it's steep, burly and sustained routes, generally ranging from 7a-7c. There are plenty of quality routes in the 6's to get in to the swing of things!

Check out my short video which captures the spirit of the harder routes out here....

https://vimeo.com/86945996

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And some photos....

Jen checks out Pequeno salamontes 5+ - upwards caving!

 In February the locals are out in full force!

Locals Banter: 'Chorro' 'Torro?', no, 'CHorro', 'ToRRo?' no... ahh 'Cho-r-r-o!'

The left-hand edge has some very burly routes, which aren't so high but can be very bouldery.

The strong line of Blaniulus guttalatus 7a / V5(?)

 The right hand edge is home to some brilliant longer power endurance pitches.

Sector Potent and L'os (the elephant)

Winter Hotrock: Part 1 - January (Brean Down)

The result of a cracking day at Brean with Tom Jordan, Patty and Jenni. Took a bit longer than I had anticipated to get this together, but still learning.... more to come, let me know what you think!

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"There's not many places in the UK that offer shorts and t-shirt weather in January, but Brean Down is often the answer. Quite possibly the warmest crag in the country; it faces south, out to sea, and gets all the sun the day has to offer. It's sheltered from the wind due to the large hill above it. The upper, tougher, section isn't immune to seepage but recovers quickly. The routes are gently overhanging, ranging from about 6b - 8a+, many 2 or 3 star... a winter paradise!"

PS. The quality is much better if you click HD and go to vimeo...

Can't see the video? Click here

How to Make a Clipstick for £12.45

Any of you who climb with me will know, I love a clipstick. The problem is that there's not much choice with the BetaStick being the only 'production' stick. While I don't mind the BetaStick I've never been tempted to buy one as they don't hold solidgate quickdraws very well (though later models have improved) and they're a little flimsy for the pricetag (around £35).

The good news is, it's pretty easy to make your own. They tend not to be as portable, but are as sturdy, and in my experience hold QD's more securely than the BetaStick.

 This is number 3 for me after Segwin trod on Prototype 1... I can't remember what happened to #2, perhaps I trod on this one. It's not all bad as it's allowed me to refine the design, and without further ado here's how to DIY:

1) Buy Yourself an Extendable Pole

There are various options avaliable. B&Q are a good bet with poles from 2m - 5m in length. There's a comprimise between size and portability; 2.4m (£9.95) should do you for most fully bolted routes. If you want something a bit flashier you can get a Carp Net Rod for (£12.50 - Go Outdoors), this is really light as it's made from fibreglass, and can be extended with one 'swoosh', but be warned they don't like being stood on(!). Whatever you choose make sure it is sturdy when extended and levered sideways as this is where all clipsticks are weakest.

B&Q Extendable Pole

2) Buy a Beefy Bulldog Clip

The purpose of the bulldog clip is to hold the draw with the gate open on the end of the stick. BetaSticks use a rather more intricate support, and there are certainly other ways to do it... However a bulldog clip is cheap (£2.50 from Staples) and works well with both solid and wiregates.

3) Attach the Bulldog Clip to your Clipstick

This is the hardest bit to get right. Clipsticks get a lot of abuse, so the joint has to be very sturdy. However the bulldog clip is attached it needs to be done in such a way that it can fully open and close. In this example I used and existing slot in one side of the stick and created a matching slot on the other side. I then slid one arm of the bulldog clip through the two slots, providing a sturdy mount. Note it has been deliberately offset from the centre in order to allow the clip to open fully.

Drilling holes to make a slot

The clip then needs to be glued in-place. Use a good glue. Tip: 'Super' Glue is not super. Use something proper like 2-part Araldite. Make sure you're still able to open and close the clip once it's been glued.

Use Decent Glue!

4) Make your Clip Quickdraw Friendly

Clearly a strong bulldog clip squeezing a quickdraw will scratch it up unless it is protected. Cover the jaws of your clip in elephant tape. This also gives it a bit of further grip which will prevent your quickdraw falling out. Also, make sure your QD sling isn't rubbing on any sharp metal edges. Tip: Whilst not essential, if you have access to a grindstone you can take off the top corner of the clip's jaws to give greater clearance for your bolt. This matters more on the Petzl expansion bolts. The black pen mark shows where the QD gate should sit.

Taped Jaws Prevent Scratching and Provide Grip

5) Add a Loop

Add a loop so that you can clip your clipstick to your harness. This is really important if taking it off the ground! As Jenni and I found out last week when she dropped it from 15m! ;-)

6) Add Stickers and Finishing Touches

Clean it up, test it on various hooks around the house, make sure you're happy and - hey presto! You have a very cheap and very capable clip stick. Enjoy!

Working well with solid gates. Rounded jaws provide extra clearance.

Stickered up and ready to go!

Tip: Don't tread on it! ;-)

Costa Blanca 2011 - Part 1

A short video capturing the WUCC climbing tour to Costa Blanca in 2011. Old footage but only recently put together... expect some more recent videos in 2014!