Some thoughts for the day!

The coffee’s hissing and percolating on the gas next to me and the strong aroma fills Andy’s base camp. Looking out the window and up to the Chamonix Aiguilles, you feel connected and inspired as the same time.

You don’t lose that connection with the mountains, it’s always here, ingrained in the woodwork and the whole fabric of the place. Climbing guides and mountaineering books covering every square inch of the globe, painting and art books by the likes of John Ruskin, Sculpting books, AAC Journals, AC Journals, boxes bursting with dog eared maps, sketch drawings and route descriptions/topos just fill every available space. The place is bursting with energy and enthusiasm drawing me into it with a new lease of life and enthusiasm.

Every climbing guide I pick up is well thumbed with corners of pages folded back. I skim over pen written notes Andy’s made, a first solo winter ascent he’d done in say 1980 or a new route idea and a possible new line, penned in on a photo with notes attached. Postcards, photo’s and drawings he’s taken or drawn, slipped into pages of these books all held together by elastic or just wedged in amongst each other. You can’t help but be totally inspired. I sit down in front of the fire and make my own notes and plans for climbs/new routes in the future.

I’m sure Andy’s painting and sculpting feeds from his climbing and time spent in the mountains. As I pull out notebooks with ‘Patagonia’, ‘Nepal’ or some other far flung mountainous place hand written on the spines, I find his diaries. Not a diary written with words and dates, but an account of a trip through drawings. People I guess he’s met, mountains he’s seen or maybe climbed, campsites, tea houses anything along his journey that has maybe inspired him or help tell the story of his trip.

There’s none of life’s clutter here, you don’t need it, just books to read and time to think, write, draw and make plans. If you’re not doing any of that then the stereo’s on full volume or you’re asleep!!

Chatting to Andy about absolutely anything always gets back to some aspect of climbing or maybe a piece he’s sculpting at his studio down the road. His knowledge of climbing and passion about the tiniest aspect and his own personal drive and direction leaves you feeling totally inspired to do and know more.

I say all this because every time I come here I leave understanding more about myself and even more determined about my direction and what’s important about life. Sounds a little mellow dramatic I know but that’s how it is.

It’s like when I’m away in Kyrgyzstan, meeting the local people and climbing in the great wilderness of the Tien Shan, climbing new peaks/routes, exploring new areas and having some  great adventures. Canada, Alaska or coming out to the Alps in winter as I am now and exploring new ice lines maybe only formed for the first time or climbing existing lines which always form differently. The ice constantly changes, temperature affected and the snow hazards around and above the routes make the climbing experience so absorbing and with few people around climbing these frozen waterfalls it’s totally inspiring.

I visited Slovenija before Christmas and had a week mixed climbing in the Julian Alps around Triglav National Park. We had a fantastic time, sure the climbing was hard, climbing mixed routes on big limestone faces but along with the people we met we came home totally inspired and re energised.

Everybody’s good at something and it’s very rewarding for anybody to find out what that something is and be good at it, whatever it may be. But it’s also important to learn new things and be pushed out of your comfort zone a little and it’s then I feel that you’ll find the rewards climbing and the mountains has to offer. It’s not just about sticking your little toe in and feeling the temperature or just ticking a box or mountain, it’s about spending time in the mountains and unearthing what both the mountains and climbing really have to offer and enjoying the riches that brings.

Climbing challenges you in every way, both physically and mentally, allows you to experience new areas, countries, cultures, make new friends and build relationships, find out more about yourself and question what’s important. The very nature of climbing/mountaineering strips back the many layers of onion peel and exposes the real you and gives you life changing experiences like nothing else.

Carving you own furrow is always hard when more often than not, you’re going against societies norm but the life fulfilment at the end of it makes it all the more worthwhile.

Remember that you won’t be remembered for the things you wished you’d have done and nobody remembers all of life’s expensive clutter, they’ll remember you as a person, what inspired you and what you did with your life and all the adventures along the way.

Enjoy!

Ade

Trowbarrow Quarry

I had a great day last week, discovering again the routes at Trowbarrow Quarry.

Trowbarrow is a disused limestone quarry near Silverdale and a few miles north of Carnforth, south of the lakes.

It's in a beautiful part of Lancashire, a mile inland from the coast & situated on a small hillside with great views over Morecambe Bay to the west & Leighton Park RSPB Nature Reserve to the south.

Trowbarrow was acquired by Lancaster City Council in 1997 after a lenghty fund raising appeal by the Arnside & Silverdale Landscape Trust. The Crag is within the Nature Reserve & has a management committee which includes the BMC meeting regularly discussing different issues.

This secured the quarry & the on going management of the area, has allowed us to continue enjoying  the climbing here.

Apart from a great sunny afternoon & evening venue, it's always a good bet when the Lakes is blown out.

Trowbarrow Main Wall

Main Wall Topo -

Orange - Craked Actor E2 5c

Yellow - Aladdinsane - E1 5a

Green - Jean Jeanie - VS 4c

Blue - Harijan VS 4c

Lime green - Touch of Class E2 5c

Black - Major Tom E2 5c

Purple - Hollow Earth HVS 5a

Red - Warspite Direct E2 5b

It's fantastic climbing on the Main Wall, with all the routes feeling long for a single pitch.

The Limestone sedimentry rock on the main wall is just a featured, textured wall of Crinoids (fossils of sea life from when the rock was compressed underwater) which give great small hand holds & features for the feet, even when bigger holds are scarce or hard to find.

Assagi Wall

Assago Topo -

Green - Truffle HS 4c

Orange - Assagi Wall HVS 5a

Yellow - Sleeping Sickness - E2 5c

The classic Assagi Wall, traverses across the exposed face & finishes up some amazing flutings.

Adrian Walter leading the classic Coral Sea VS 4c, Trowbarrow Quarry

Coral Sea is hidden at the back of the Quarry further on than Assagi Wall and some other routes graded VD and HVD on the broken ground in-between.

Halfway across Truffle high on the Assagi Wall, Trowbarrow Quarry

Under the Assagi Wall flutings on Truffle, Assagi Wall, Trowbarrow Quarry

It's been great weather here in the Lakes, sunny & warm and perfect for me to spend some quality time at home, get out on the cross-bike and enjoy some very local, easy access cragging!

Enjoy

Ade  

The Canadian Rockies

I've just arrived home from another great & inspiring trip to the Canadian Rockies.

It was brutally cold when I first arrived with temperatures around -20/-25 & the ice too brittle and hard to climb anything steep let alone keeping yourself warm. Thankfully after the first day on the ice it warmed up considerably & gave for some fantastic conditions.

A climber on the high on the 2nd pitch of Carlsberg Column, Field BC

David seconding the 2nd pitch of Carlsberg Column, Field BC

We spent the most part in Field BC staying in a great little self-catering basement suite at the Mount Stephen Guesthouse. It was a perfect find situated on Kicking Horse Ave, super close to all the classic beer climbs of Field. It had all the essentials of a warm base with compfy sofa's to relax in, a great drying room and a good size kitchen for all our cooking, which in reality was generally some sort of pasta dish!

A Canadian Pacific train passing through Field BC

Field was established in the 1880's as a settlement of shacks & tents to house construction workers for the new Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The CPR greatly influenced the development of the area by building hiking trails, hotels, chalets & guide houses to attract the wealthy tourists who helped fund construction of the railway. To stimulate tourism, Swiss guides were employed to guide clients up some of the previously innaccessible peaks of the area.

Kiernan leading Massey's, Field BC

Me leading Cool Spring, Field BC

The 2nd half of the classic Superbok, Field BC

A view of the Classic Professors Falls low down on the left & the awesome Trophy Wall high on the cliffs up and right, Banff Alberta

Heading through a classic Rockies Montane Ecoregion on the way into Professors Falls, Banff Alberta.

The Montane Ecoregion is the smallest in the Banff National Park making up only 3% of the total area of the Park.

The area is characterized by forests of Douglas Fir, Trembling Aspen & Lodgepole Pines.

 

A climber high on the 4th pitch of Professors Falls, Banff Alberta

The awesome Trophy Wall, Banff Alberta

Left to right - Terminator which isn't fully formed, The skinny pillar of The Replicant in the middle & the classic Sea of Vapours which is formed on the right.

The lovely Snowline in Evan-Thomas Creek down in Kananaskis Alberta

Evan-Thomas Creek down in Kananaskis is a great safe venue after a big snowfall. All the routes are free from Avalanche danger from above and give 3 pitches each, of some fantastic climbing in a real wilderness setting.

David seconding the first pitch of Snowline, Evan-Thomas Creek, Kananaski Alberta

The classic Moonlight in Evan-Thomas Creek down in Kananaskis Alberta

A climber heading up the 1st pitch of the classic Lake Louise Falls, Lake Louise Alberta

High on Lake Louise Falls, looking out over the frozen Lake back towards Chateau Lake Louise & the Lake Louise ski hill behind that.

It's a beautiful place & I'm now really inspired to also climb some peaks in the summer for the first time. Mt Assiniboine looks like an amazing peak 'The Matterhorn of the Rockies' and maybe also then get into the Bugaboos and climb a peak or two which also looks fantastic?

Failing that, it goes without saying that I'll return again next winter!

Safe climbing

Ade



Saule 6+ Breitwanflue, Kandersteg

We climbed Saule last week a steep pillar on the Breitwanflue, high above Kandersteg in Switzerland.
On the way down, I took some photo's of a couple of climbers on Flying Circus a steep, overhanging mixed route that starts in the back of the huge cave Saule forms over. 
Anyway Ramon Marin got in touch after seeing my photo of him on Flying Circus on this blog & after exchanging images he's emailed these great photo's of me on the route - many thanks Ramon

Me high on Saule 6+ Breitwanflue, Kandersteg, Switzerland

Saule 6+ Breitwanflue, Kandersteg, Switzerland

Saule 6+ Breitwanflue, Kandersteg, Switzerland

Good climbing

Ade

Over to Cogne

With the warmer weather in Kandersteg, we headed over to Cogne for the last few days of last week.

Snow fell as we drove over the Grand Saint Bernard, which felt strange after it having been so dry & sunny for so long.
It was still snowing as we parked up in Lillaz at the entrance to the valley of Valeille, a few kilometres up the road from Cogne. We headed a short way into Valeille & took the steep but short track into E Tutto Relativo.
We passed a number of teams on their way down & seemed to have timed it just right as we had plenty of time and the place to ourselves.

Colin leading the 1st pitch of E Tutto Relativo

Colin heading up the 2nd pitch of E Tutto Relativo

The following day we made an early start & headed up into the back of Valnontey to have a look at Repentance Super.

The cloud was down and it was still snowing gently as we left the car. We headed up the valley, making fresh tracks in the new snow as we went. There wasn't a sole around and it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.

Our only view of Repentance Super towering steeply above us

The route looked in great shape, although on closer inspection it was actually very wet & running with water. It had been warm & cloudy the previous day, cloudy again overnight and the ice hadn't re frozen. Routes like this one & Rubezahl over in Kandersteg do take a huge drainage and will often be wet without a good freeze. But on the warmer side of just wet is when you do need to be very careful, as the ice becomes very blue & the sheer weight of the ice saturated by a higher water content can bring these super steep free standing routes down. 

Anyway I headed up and got absolutely drenched working my way up newly formed icicles & fragile chandeliers which had formed over a foot thick, on top of the old ice, making it difficult to get good axe placements & solid screws.

I worked further right & managed to get a belay on the right edge of the flow out of the water and away from all the newly formed fringes of overhanging ice.

Colin seconding the 1st pitch of Repentance Super

Looking back across at Colin, the ice looked very blue & completely saturated with water. The whole icefall looked very heavy right through to it's core.

Colin joined me drenched & wondered if we should bail from this point. Looking up, the ice looked overhanging it was that steep with fringes formed over the top of ice bulges re frozen with more fringes formed over the top of them.

Anyway I thought I could see a drier line up the righthand edge which would go, so I headed off.

Me heading up the 2nd pitch of Repentance Super

The climbing on this route is just fantastic, totally absorbing, steep, strenuous and very athletic in the climbing. As well with that we found the ice very fragile, super hollow making it difficult to get good axe placements and solid screws in, due to the fact the ice we were climbing on was newly formed over the older more solid ice.

Steep sections of bulges and fragile fringes kept pushing us out making the climbing steeper & overhanging in places.

I started up the third pitch on an overhanging bottomless fringes of ice 10m in height before it filled out and joined the main flow. I quietly stepped up onto the thin icicle points free hanging 90m off the deck on hollow axe placements where you could see the axe picks through the other side of the ice. But I was heading for safer ground and half way up the curtain managed to get a solid screw.

I wasn't sure whether the route would go or not, until I pulled over the top - awesome.

Colin pulling over the top of Repentance Super

What a great day, we got back totally knackered by enjoying the glow of having climbed one of the great classics of the area. It's amazing how the ice can change as I've climbed the route before but it's never felt that demanding before & I'm sure another day it'll feel different again.

The following day we headed up and climbed Lillaz Gully. It wasn't a come down after the day before even though the route is a lot easier technically as this is one of the best ice routes of it's grade in the valley with a real mountain route feel about it.

Colin heading up the first pitch of Lillaz Gully

Looking up at the upper pitches of Lillaz Gully

Colin heading up one of the upper pitches of Lillaz Gully

Me pulling through the narrows on Lillaz Gully

The last day we drove down the valley towards Aosta & climbed a great route up the side of and above an avalanche tunnel. Sounds noisey but actually is a superb route and in great condition this year. A steep first pitch grade 4 leading to two easier pitches of 3/3+ above and then a couple of grade 2 pitches above those if you're not to pushed with time. It was great for Colin to finish off the week doing some leading.

We had a great week and an inspiring drive back to Switzerland, already making plans for the summer and next winter again!

It was an even longer drive for me, as I dropped Colin off and then made my way back to the UK, as I'm up in Scotland next week and then over in Canada icefall climbing for 2 weeks after that.

Now I'm enjoying some time at home.

Ade

Blue Magic

We had a great day yesterday climbing up above Kandersteg on a route called Blue Magic.

Blue Magic grade 5+

It was perfect conditions only around minus 2, but it stayed that way for the whole day. Considering the warm weather we've been having, I think we caught it just right with the ice having the feeling of being welded to the rock behind & totally dry, but not brittle.

Me half way up the first pitch on Blue Magic

Me working the second pitch of blue Magic

Colin following the second pitch on Blue Magic

Me heading up the third pitch on Blue Magic

The route is 6 pitches in length, but we linked the bottom 2 pitches together giving us 5 great pitches of steep & technical ice to climb.

Blue Magic clearly stands out as the continuous long streak of ice on the big wall on the right.

It's a fantastic view up the valley to the surrounding peaks, which you can see by taking only a short walk from the centre of town.

Kandersteg's a great steep ice climbing venue & it's amazing how this winter it's been fantastic conditions, then it all fell down & became washed out in the warm weather, but it's since reformed in the recent colder spell, giving superb climbing. However it is starting to look thin again on some of the routes and again a little washed out, but it will be interesting to see how the season continues & what the weather does.

Safe climbing

Ade

Over in Kandersteg

Staying with Herman & Peter Hari at the Hotel Alpina in Kandersteg for the first half of this week.

We had an early start & headed up to the Breitwangflue, which is the huge NW face under the Dundenhorn above Kandersteg.

With the lack of snow here in the Alps, it meant that we had fantastic access to which normally is an arduous walk up to Alp Giesenen & then into the routes.

The rarely well formed steep column of Saule 6+

We headed to the far end of the huge Brietwangflue Wall to climb the steep column of Saule. It rarely forms well & the climbing today was steep & strenuous, with very technical featured ice making it hard to get good solid axe placements and solid ice srews.

A view out of the cave behind the steep pillar of Saule on the right.

Me leading over the lower featured cone that forms the base of Saule & onto the steep pillar.

The lower features that make up the base cone from which the pillar is then formed are like huge cawliflower ears. They form as the water falls & splashes up, freezing as it does so & in this case creating ears over a metre high which were very fragile, hollow and difficult to protect.

The main pillar was very steep, featured and overhanging in places as frozen bosses of water had formed over the top of other bulges over the top of the pillar, making it strenuous & difficult to find good axe placements.

Colin topping out on the Pillar

The view across the valley from the top of the pillar

A team trying what I think is Flying Circus M10

On the way down you pass under the super classic 'Crack Baby' which looks in great condition with a team high up on the route.

Good climbing

Ade