Eraserhead, Gogarth

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Originally uploaded by SteveMLT

This has been an excellent week for climbing as long as you picked sun or shade according to the temperature. Pete Johnson and I headed over to Gogarth on Wednesday 29th May with the Main Cliff as our objective, with low tide at 11.00. We arrived to find low water but our intended route, Dinosaur was still in the shade and looking decidedly damp. So we decided to tackle Eraserhead, a route that I previously climbed about 15 years ago. At that time it had been graded at E6 so it had seemed like a big challenge at the time. Nowadys the consensus is that E5 is a more fitting grade, albeit "distinctly uphill" throughout. And so it proved; we enjoyed a fantastic climb bathed in sunshine and reached the top in time to attend the BMC Cymru area meeting kindly hosted by the RSPB cafe at South Stack.

British Mountain Guides open day

SteveMLT's photostream on Flickr.

This year's open day was attended by 6 prospective future Guides. I joined them for the afternoon's cragging (after a morning of tree felleing at home!) The weather was decidedly suspect so we drove over to Wales's "rain shadow" where sure enough the rock was dry and almost warm! My partner Rich and I swung leads on the classic E1, "Last Slip" a Joe Brown classic that was previously a real "sandbag" at HVS.

Mr Softy Wen Zawn

Mr Softy Wen Zawn
Originally uploaded by SteveMLT

A panoramic shot giving a hint of the spectacular position of this modern classic "rock" climb - the clue is in the name! I've been wanting to climb this adventurous route since watching a team climb it during the BMC International Climbing Meet several years ago. Yet another amazing day out at Gogarth, interspersed between days in the office and dodgy showers inland. This particular route was the most enjoyable outing, though earlier battles included "Barbarossa" (E6+) and The Cruise (E5).

UIAA Mountaineering Commission meeting

Night out in Novi Sad
Originally uploaded by SteveMLT

The UIAA Mountaineering Commission met in Novi Sad, April 20-21st, hosted by the Serbian Mountaineering Federation. We made good prgress on several issues, notably the regulations for the Training Label, which takes the successful Training Standards to its logical format and introduces a pricing structure for a sustainable operation worldwide.
Another interesting development was clear support worldwide for protecting areas for adventure climbing, i.e.without bolt protection.
The traditional values working party is chaired by the celbrated mountaineer Doug Scott, and there are clear implications for training since the skills of leader placed protection can be taught, thereby empowering climbers to manage their own protection on climbs.
The possibility of setting up a "nut fund" to complement bolt funds was also discussed, as in some countries leader-placed equipment is hard to obtain.

MIA rescue day

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Originally uploaded by SteveMLT

On Friday 13th I helped out on an MIA course at Plas y Brenin. It was a lovely sunny day and it was great to get out again with my old and not-so-old colleagues and some keen young students. I really enjoyed planning a tour through various scenarios on realistic climbing terrain. We climbed Rienetta and the first (traverse) pitch of Meshach.

Via Flickr:
Time Neill and MIA candidates hanging around on an MIA training day

Almost having a winter after all

It must be winter again because the rain has gotten colder. And more continuous. But we've managed to get out for a few days every afternoon over the Easter break: checked out a few lines on the Hornby Crags below te Marine Drive on Pen Trwyn, mostly sports climbs but also a fun adventure on a trad line called "The Enemy" with my son Sion, completed just before the drizzle returned. Today (Easter Monday) took more perseverance though as the rain persisted most of the day and a cold breeze sprang up. Dave Evans introduced me to the delights of bouldering in Parisellas Cave, something I've successfully hitherto avoided. I managed to get both feet off the ground so it was more successful than anticipated.We grabbed 3 routes before the rain returned; long enough also to check out Lower Pen Trwyn where, not surpsisingly, everything was gopping wet.

Coaching Processes workshop

Some video from the Coaching Processes workshop for the FUNdamenatls development team. This event took place on 20th March but this is my first opportunity to make and post a rough edit from one of the sessions. I think that the video above provides an interesting insight into the value of video analysis. I've included side-by-side footage taken from two different angles; I only had one camera so the climber had to repeat the easy boulder problem twice - interestingly enough the pace and movement was very similar each time.

Comparing the two climbers is very interesting as well - we see two very different styles: neither is "right" or "wrong", but we can clearly see one climber who makes more use of upper body strength while the other is more reliant on foot placements and flexibility. The latter style will pay dividends on technical climbs with small holds. Both climbers are very experienced and have climbed at very high technical levels; the first is Ian Dunn  and the second is Katherine Schirrmacher.

Katherine's style may be compared to an ice climber, where the feet are moved high, suspended from straight arms, then the powerful leg muscles are used to project the climber upwards, with the hands used more for balance than pulling. The sideways footage shows how the pelvis moves out from the wall to position the feet then pulled towards the wall, often by dropping a knee, so that the upwards push takes place with the centre of gravity pulled more over the feet. Body rotation is quite evident here as well and became even more obvious when I filmed a further ascent with her wearing a chalk bag - the trajectory taken by the chalk bag provides a clear marker for the pelvis rotation.