Saturday 10 December 2011

Off To Catch The Sun


Just as soon as things started to look wintry it all disappeared again, this is something I'm quiet glad about as I am about to jet off to India for the next month this evening. I am going to be working for World Challenge Expeditions leading a experiential learning expedition for a Australian school group of 14 students.

The expedition will consist of a number of parts, we are to make a accent of Ranthan Pass in the Himalayas during our 10 days of trekking,  2 day white water rafting trip down the river Gange, undertake a community project in Rajasthan where the team will help construct a much needed wall around a local primary school as well as teaching in the school and to wrap the trip up some time to rest and relax visiting some of the tourist sights of India including Taj Mahal and visiting the pink city of Jaipur.

During this time I will only have limited access to Internet so any enquires may take a little time to respond to. I still have a number of spaces on 2012 Winter Skills Courses www.verticalworlds.com bookings available online or via post. (Please not postal bookings will not receive confirmation until after 15th January unless you email as well)

Looking forwards to returning and starting 2012 Winter Skills season.

Sunday 4 December 2011

What a difference a year can make

This time last year the UK was in a firm grip of the Arctic weather system where the world of winter climbing was at its peak in North Wales, a year ago today I climbed the fantastic Maesglasau Falls where as today the temperature is near touching double figures.
http://nickmortley.blogspot.com/2010/12/maesglasau-falls.html


This being said things are forming up nicely in the Scottish highlands laying down a good base for the upcoming winter season. To be totally honest I feel a little sigh of relief that things are not in top shape in North Wales and not looking likely anytime soon as I am about to jet off to the Indian Himalayas until mid January leading a expedition and couldn't bar the the reports of North Wales winter classics being ticked.

Thursday 1 December 2011

Winter Preperation


With the lack of winter arriving in North Wales as of yet Huw and myself decided to get some pre season training in. Huw excitedly called me (as if to tell me that all of the winter routes on Cadair Idris had formed up without us realising) that he had found a first class dry tooling venue in a slate quarry close by. We both scrambled up over the slate tips to be confronted with a massive retaining wall which looked climbable all over. Huw set off up the wall which was very reminiscent of climbing a busy ice fall as we were showered with peaces of crumbling slate falling from the face being knocked by huw and the ropes. Huw with his new tools made little effort of climbing to the top before my go was up. This felt more intimidating than finding yourself on some unprotected climb on the north face of the Ben to me being showered by peaces of louse slate. Huw unfazed by this got back on to take a harder line until darkness struck. I think I'm going to wait for winter to arrive!!!

Friday 25 November 2011

Denali 2012

Over the past few years I have been talking with a few mates about the possibility of heading out to Alaska to climb Denali 6194m/20320ft (Mount Mckinly), well we have eventually got our acts together and put together a strong team of 7 climbers to make a attempt on the mountain.

Denali is sometimes reffed to as the hardest of the 7 summits of the world to climb due to its extreme northern location making it the Coldest & Stormiest mountain in the world, the team will need to be prepared to endure temperatures as low as -40 degrees C driven on winds of 100mph whilst on the mountain. Due to its extreme northerly location the air is much thinner making it comparable to climbing a 7000m mountain in the Himalayas. We plan to make a attempt on the West Buttress and if all goes well followed by the West Rib.

We will flight to Anchorage in Alaska where we will stock up on a months supply of food before heading up to Talkeetna where we will be taken into the mountains by air and dropped off on the Kahiltna Glacier with all of our supplies weighing around 50kg. We will be traveling around on skis transport this load in a sled and rucksack utilising a back carry method when needed. This basically means carrying half of your kit up high before returning the next day for the second half. Lots of logistical planning at endurance training to come before we head of in May 2012

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Teaching Multi Pitch Climbing

Over the past 4 days I have been out with Kaylegh teaching her multi pitch climbing. With the weather as its been its hard to believe its the beginning of November with the weekend seeing Cristal blue sky's and sun blessed rock well it would have been if we were not on north facing crags. We kicked off on Saturday at Milestone Buttress climbing Rowan Route followed by Direct Route with prity much the crag to ourselves. Sunday saw us heading into Cwm Idwal were we climbed on the slabs up Hope and then Charity where we looked at belay construction, still only one team on the slabs all day despite the fantastic weather. With not such a good forecast on Monday we decided to meet at Tremadog although awaking to a Cristal clear alpine like morning we trusted the forecast and continued with our plans and climbed Hail Bebe, Oberon & Sheer Khan R-hand where you could see the weather had turned in the mountains. With a similar forecast on Tuesday we went to another favorable venue for bad weather being Clogwen Yr Oen in the Moelwynion rounding off the 4 days with Slick, Slack & Kirkus Direct. 4 fantastic days climbing in November without a drop of rain touching us.

Thursday 6 October 2011

2012 Winter Courses

With the first snow already dusting the highlands winter is only just around the corner now  I have updated my range and dates for Scottish winter skills courses. The website has had a complete makeover making it more informative and user friendly. Check out www.verticalworlds.com for my 2012 range of courses.

Friday 23 September 2011

ML Refresher

Today I have been out working on a ML refresher course, the time was spent looking at areas of the syllabus which the pair felt a little un confident with. We kicked off the course with a brief look at ML rope work at Bwlch Oeddrws followed by an evenings night navigation from Tan Y Grisiau

Sunday 18 September 2011

The Boots On The Other Foot!!!

I have changed roles this week from being the Instructor to the instructed. For the past 9 days I have been on a MIA training course Mountaineering Instructors Award training course at Plas Y Brenin National Mountain Centre. The course is the training aspect of gaining your MIA which qualifies you to instruct all aspects of Mountaineering and rock climbing under summer conditions. The course covered teaching the SPA syllabus, Personal climbing, Teaching climbing, climbing problem solving and rescues, teaching mountaineering and scrambling skills including teaching the ML syllabus, Sea level traversing etc. A fantastic course which was incredibly intensive. From this I now have a consolidation period in which I need to go and practice all of these skills prior to returning for assessment hopefully later next year.

Saturday 10 September 2011

Summer ML Training Course

Over the last week I have been working on a summer ML training course. This is a training course for those who wish to lead others in the mountains of the UK professionally and covers all of the skills to do so. Over the 6 days we looked at Navigation, Security on Steep ground roped and un roped, Mountain Weather and hazards, followed by a 2 day expedition in the Moelwens where we looked at navigation in more detail and at night as well as expedition skills. Throughout the course the weather was testing for the team providing good realistic conditions for what they could encounter in the mountains of the uk.

Tuesday 6 September 2011

Lundy 2011

Following our amazing trip last year I returned to Lundy with Pete, Chris & Dan for yet another if not better few days. We had 4 days on the island with each day being near perfect conditions for climbing before the storm set in on our departure day. We all ticked some fantastic routes and all going stronger than last year came away with a feeling of satisfaction.

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Peak District Climbing And Navigation Courses

Over the past few days I have been working over in the peak district for a mate of mine John Bale who had unfortunately had a car accident and was unable to work. The first course over the weekend was an introduction to climbing course where we spent the first day at Birbridge North where we spent our time top roping a number of routes followed by a day on Stanage Edge where the team seconded me up a number of Stanage Classic climbs. The second of the courses I ran was a Bronze NNAS which is a 2 day introduction to navigation award where the team were trained and assessed by myself over the 2 days. The first day was spent looking at introducing the skills needed to navigate a simple section of terrain with the second day putting this into practice with less input from myself. What a fantastic 4 days in the peak blessed with sunshine every day

Saturday 6 August 2011

long Time...

I haven’t posted in a long time, well not since the end of the winter season. During this time I have been ticking of a lot of the north Wales rock routes when I have had a day off in preparation for MIA training course later in the year. I had my first trip to the fantastic Gogarth North stack which I have had my eye on for a long time and finally plucked up the courage to get on.

Friday 4 March 2011

Spring is on the way

With things still warm high up and a spring like feel in the air we decided to head out for abit of rock climbing on Ardverikie Wall HS,4b which clams to be the best rock climb of its grade in Scotland. Not that I have climbed much rock in Scotland but I think I may agree even though it was dripping wet in places it provided 6 fantastic pitches of climbing which was a much better alternative to winter.

Thursday 3 March 2011

Disappointment on the Ben


We walked into the Ben again today with the plan of climbing Nasturtium IV,4 on Trident Buttress. Arriving at CIC things were warm around +8 degrees. We carried on up for a look but on arrival a avalanche had just come down the route. Whilst standing contemplating our options a very large block came down from the ledge Route area followed by several other falls from other areas in the coire. We both agreed very quickly to make a hasty retreat.

Tuesday 1 March 2011

Green Gully


Somehow we found ourselves walking into the Ben again today to climb Green Gully which was in good shape and provided some good climbing. There was a lot of teams on the route today with some moving very slowly causing teams to stack up at the belays.

Monday 28 February 2011

North East Buttress



Back on the Ben today and Johnny and myself climbed the classic North East Buttress IV,4 with the Slingsby’s Chimney start which proved a lot more tricky than expected. Once on the ridge proper we were moving well and arrived at the infamous Man Trap around 4:30. This route was certainly the highlight of my winter so far in a tremendously spectacular position looking down into the abyss

Sunday 27 February 2011

West Highlands Winter Skills


Over the weekend I have been running one of my West Highlands Winter Skills courses. Saturday saw us heading up into Stob Coire Nan Lochan which had been considerably striped of snow since I was up on Tuesday, never the less there was plenty enough to cover all of the required skills to travel safely in the mountains in winter. We then head up the east ridge which was a little icy in places. Sunday saw us heading over to the Mamores and head around the Devils Ridge  and Stob Ban in good sunshine.

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Big thaw sets in!

With heavy rain at all levels,  temperatures of up to +7 at 900m, Winds gusting 70mph and a high avalanche forecast we decided its a day to stay at home and watch the TV. Its forecast to stay warm for the next few days but hopefully turning cold again the weekend and into next week which will hopefully bring things back into good shape for my last week up here.

Tuesday 22 February 2011

Joining in with the crowds

Back up in Stob Coire Nan Lochan we joined the crowds on Dorsal Arete II. We moved together up the entire route which enabled us to move far faster than all of the other teams on the route which was very busy. We passed some 14 people on the route which were stacking up at the bottle necks on the route. Things were all melting rapidly with rain up on the summit.

Monday 21 February 2011

Back on the Ben


We head up onto the North face of Ben Nevis today with the plan of climbing Castle Ridge although on closer inspection it was still looking very black so carried on up higher to Douglas Bolder to climb the South – West Ridge IV,5. The approach proved a little interesting with a lot of wind slab built up on the approach slopes but once on the route it provided some good mixed climbing. Back down at the CIC hut we decided to head up for a look at Right Hand Chimney IV,4 on Moonlight Gully Buttress. This provided far tougher climbing than expected on very dense rock.   

Sunday 20 February 2011

Cairngorm 2 day Winter Mountaineering Course


I have been working over in the Cairngorms over the weekend for GWC school from Edinburgh. Saturday saw us escaping up onto Meall a Bhuachaille as the road to the ski centre was closed and reported 100mph winds down at car park level. We had a day looking at the skills required to travel around safely in winter in preparation for Sunday.
With the winds still high on Sunday and a lot of snow moving around we had no option but to stay low. Arriving in the ski centre car park it was goggles on the second you climbed out of the bus. The lads did well and persevered up into Coire an t-sneachda where we were constantly blasted with spindrift carried on constant 50mph winds before heading back down to the cafe

Thursday 17 February 2011

Scabbard Chimney


With things starting to settle down we head up into Stob Coire Nan Lochan to climb Scabbard Chimney V,6. With a crystal clear morning things were looking good. The route provided some 3 pitches of technical mixed climbing followed by a few pitches of deep snow which could have done with being a little more consolidated.

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Staying low

With the avalanche forecast still high and the going tough in the hills we decided we needed to stay low. We hatched a plan of heading up to Aonach Dubh Far East Buttress to have a look at Eastern Slant III,4. On arrival another team were on the route who also had the same idea although were moving well. We climbed the route which could have done with being a little more frozen although gave a good day out.

Tuesday 15 February 2011

Deep Snow!!!

Following Sundays and last nights dump of snow it is very slow going out in the hills with dangerously loaded slopes as we found out today. Looking at the weather and avalanche forecasts we decided to head out for a look on West Face of Anoach Mor heading up on the first Gondola. Leaving the lift station we were breaking trail taking it in turns with a local guide out front putting a trench in. The strong headwind was blasting us constantly with spindrift which made the going tough. As we started to strike up to our chosen route we found an alarming amount of very unstable snow which was forming due to cross loading. We decided to call it a day at this point and headed back to the Gondola to find it had been closed due to the high winds.    

Saturday 12 February 2011

Another Mixed Day

With it being the weekend we head for a more out of the way crag Beinn An Dothaidh out at the Bridge of Orchy. We climbed Menage a Trois V,6 which was in fantastic condition with bomber turf. The route was three pitches long with pitch 2 providing some very long sustained technical climbing although very well protected.

Friday 11 February 2011

Escaping East

With a poor weather forecast over west today John, Johnny and myself escaped over to the Cairngorms for abit of mixed climbing. Having done very little mixed climbing before I kept tightly below a rope today. We climbed Yukon Jack IV,5 which could have been in better shape. Johnny who took us up the first pitch had a brief lesson in flying although got straight back on and steadily climbed upwards. John then took us up onto the plate to be greeted by horizontal snow which had now cute us up.

Thursday 10 February 2011

Stella Day On The Ben

Another early start today saw Chris and myself trudging up the Ben with the aim of climbing Hadrian’s Wall V,5. On reaching Observatory Gully a few teams were already on route so we continued up to Indicator wall for a look. After a long trudge breaking trial trying our best to avoid the pockets of instability in the snowpack we arrived to find Indicator Wall Right Hand  V,5 in good shape. Chris set of on the first pitch which contained some steep sustained Ice in a stupendous position before running out of rope in a less than perfect position. Fashioning together some sort of a belay I followed up and led on with some amazing snow ice climbing followed by a few pitches to the summit of the Ben where we were greeted by a team of French climbers, sunshine and no wind are we in the alps????

Tuesday 8 February 2011

First Grade 5 Lead

Iv been up on the Ben today with John to have a look at Vanishing Gully V,5 on the Secondary Tower Face. After a long trudge in we arrived at the base of Vanishing Gully to find it in good shape. I set of on the first pitch which was provided very long and sustained climbing throughout which left me wishing for some more arm strength. John made light work of the second pitch which provided more steep ice. From the top of the route it was already equipped for abbing back down to the ground in 2 long 60m rope lengths

Monday 7 February 2011

Cairngorm Winter skills Course

Over the weekend I have been working in the Cairngorms on a 2 day winter skills course with a team of 5 Medical students from Newcastle University. With the weather conditions fairly extreme on Friday with high winds, heavy snow and a high avalanche forecast I though we were in for a tough weekend. Saturday morning saw far better conditions with the avalanche risk disappeared and most of the snow showers disappeared. We head up into the corries for a fairly static day covering all of the requierd skills to travel around in winter followed by a journey up onto the Cairngorm plato on Sunday.

Sunday 9 January 2011

Mountain Rescue Training


Its been my turn today to be a casualty on Mountain Rescue training exercises. I was set the scenario of placing myself on the steep scree under Cyfrwy on Cadair Idris with a broken leg. I was looked after well by the team and recovered effectively down the steep scree. It was intresting for myself being on the receiving end experiencing being in a steep area on a stretchier.

The winter conditions on the hill were a lot better than I expected with a lot of the easy gully's still being filled with good neve although with the forecast set to warm up I would expect this to disappear fairly soon.

Saturday 8 January 2011

Cwm Lloer

Cwm Lloer is still in good shape with the snow still bullet hard. Rob and myself climbed Broad Gully with a Moonlighting variation which provided a good ice pitch before descending down Hourglass Gully where unfortunately a very nasty sad incident had just happened which is a reminder to us all of the risks involved in winter. We then shot up Right Hand Y Gully before heading back to the car to head over to V12 to pick up a new winter guide.



Thursday 6 January 2011

Back on the Ladders



Things are still looking good up on the Black Ladders with plenty of teams out again today including Huw and myself for the second time this week. We kicked of the day with a blast up East Gully III to let the ques on Pyramid Gully IV4 our intended route die down. A fantastic ice pitch was found on this followed by very good snow up the last few pitches. Back to Pyramid gully and unluckily the second team on the route had abandoned due to being hit by a large block of ice from the team above. We got on Pyramid Gully at the second pitch which yet again provided a fantastic ice pitch followed by a few more good snowy pitches.

Monday 3 January 2011

Black Ladders

With everything down in the south of the park completely disappeared Huw and myself head north up to Black Ladders for the day. The snow which survived the thaw is now bullet hard which provides really good climbing. We climbed Central Gully III4 which kinda rambled around but provided some interesting climbing and some near vertical snow sections. We also had a look at Pyramid Gully IV5 which we ended up backing off from.