Camp Climb and Crag

Pendle Hill Night Walk..

2012-02-01T07:30:00.000Z

Yet again i was up the ominous Pendle Hill tonight...still havent seen any Witches. Quite cold and not much wind until i reached the top where the wind picked up quite a bit making it uncomfortably cold and the air temp at the summit plummeted to slightly less than the pic below -6.7.....The steps were very icy from half way up so the Kahtoola Microspikes were cracked out again and served me well..

Below are some of the night shots i took of Burnley, Nelson and Colne and gives an idea of the amount of light pollution they give off.

An icy moonlit Pendle Hill

Light Pollution from Colne

As you can see in this picture i wasn't the only fool to brave the low temps and icy conditions this evening. Two head torches snaked their way up the steps on the front of Pendle and i also passed two mountain bikers as i walked back down the road to the car....hope they had studded tyres ?

Walkers ascending Pendle Hill at Night

Views On Ingleborough

2012-01-28T19:00:00.000Z

Saturday the 28th of January was a cracking day with a beautiful sunrise and crisp winter frost which took ages to remove from the car. Drove over to Waddington to meet Charlie and his mate Mark at 11.30 and then off towards Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales which at a height of 2372ft is the second highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks.

On the way up Ingleborough

The path was frozen solid with glass like look which meant that we had to walk up the size in the crisp crunchy snow. As we got higher the snow got deeper to a point on the back of the mountain just under the summit where it was between 1.5 to 2 foot deep.

Glistening Snow

Ingleborough from footpath

The view from the the summit was one of the best I have seen for some time with a visibility of over 60 miles. The Lake District fells could be clearly seen in the distance with their snowy white caps as could my old favourite Pendle Hill which was white as a sheet and surrounded by fog. The other two Yorkshire three peaks of Pen Y Ghent and Whernside glistened in the afternoon sun.

View to Ribblehead Viaduct

Nearing the Summit

As we came down from the summit we passed quite a number of people carry huge paragliding sacks which would have been an excellent site to stay and watch. However we still managed to see a couple launch themselves from the summit of Ingleborough only to glide straight back down the ground level due to the lack of thermals ? Bloody hard slog to get up there with such a large pack only to glide down in my opinion....but each to their own....Then back down and to the Old Hill Inn pub for a well earned beer by the fire.......Another good day!

Ingleborough Summit Panorama

Paragliding from the summit of Ingleborough

Coming down, no thermals today

How to Wildcamp....

2012-01-27T18:00:00.000Z

Have a look at this video from the makers of Trail magazine. It provides basic information in relation to wild camping in the united kingdom and some of the do's and dont's.

The best advice i can offer to you is, pack your gear and then repack, but remove all the non essential items that you packed the first time. The less weight you have to drag up that hill the better, making your wildcamping experience all the more enjoyable. Other tips would be to change some of your gear as and when for lighter equipment. You can and you can find some good points of reference online at the following sites -

http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk

http://www.lightweightcampingequipment.co.uk/

http://www.ultralightbackpackingonline.info

Weird Ice Climbing - ICEBERGS ?

2012-01-25T21:18:00.001Z

Wildcamping Subwoofer !

2012-01-18T21:00:00.000Z

Have you ever been in the hills and wanted some subtle music to compliment the amazing British countryside, but that smartphone just wont cut it with the wind outside ?

Well i have the answer for you....

All you need is a standard Jetboil, which has obviously been cleaned and dried (don't be breaking that expensive shiny thing !). Drop (gently) your smartphone into the Jetboil with the speakers pointing to the bottom and hey presto....instant Subwoofer !!!! (this also works with glasses, mugs and a beer can cut in half !)

Take a standard Jetboil

Add a smartphone - instant subwoofer !!

First Wildcamp of 2012 - Pendle Hill

2012-01-13T21:00:00.000Z

Friday night started with fish and chips from local Colne chippy which was bloody good and set us up for the walk up Pendle and subsequent spot of wild camping. Soon enough we were up there, zero wind and a clear clear sky....tent pitched and beers in hand we sat chatting and watching the world of stars spin around our heads remind us of how small and insignificant we are in the scheme of things !

10.30 and a light wind started to turn the -6 air temperature into a chilling -10 unbearable fridge so we retired to the tent for more beer and single malt followed by baileys and coffee fired up in the Jetboil....excellent......then bed....

Bed was amazing, thoroughly warmed by beer, hops and barley and the odd piece of terrys chocolate orange from the ever decreasing Christmas stash.......until around 12pm when the cold really started to kick in......then we felt it, 2am, 4am, 6am and finally time to get up at 7am, freezing cold and numb toes left us thinking it must have been colder then we thought and what my watch had said......

Morning came and a much required warming feeling from the sun. We had a quick brew, broke camp and headed off to the trig point to enjoy the sunrise...........an excellent quick wildcamp on Pendle Hill !

Soggy Settle Trudge

2012-01-08T16:30:00.000Z

Short trek today up out of Settle up constitution hill and into the clag covered hills. Ang had done a run earlier this morning so her dodgy foot was starting to hurt so we took it quite slow.

First off we took a short trip up to Castleberg Crag to check it out for a future climb...found it its bolted all the way up most of the routes which is good and spotted the route in the image on the left which i think is going to be the next dry day climb....

The idea was to get to Victoria cave and have some lunch, however with the combination of the dodgy foot and not really being able to see very much we continued past the old firing range (see metal with shell holes below) and didnt crack out the jetboil until nearing settle again, missing the cave out completely. Very short trek, very wet and claggy, but a good Sunday jaunt to blow out the cobwebs and get ready for another week at work....

Awesome Walls 30th December 2011

2012-01-07T11:56:00.000Z

Last climb of 2011 was our first visit to Awesome Walls in stockport and what a cracking venue to fire off those mince pies and too many sprouts, love it !!!

Whether you are a novice or a couple of years into climbing like us it the place to go for new routes, excellent bouldering walls and a good mix of top roped and lead walls with one of the highest walls ive climbed...Well worth a trip..

Osprey Talon 22 Review

2011-12-30T21:37:00.000Z

Talon 22 Daysack

Latest acquisition is the Osprey Talon 22 which my partner is now using as her main pack. The pack itself is a very lightweight sack with all plastics kept to a minimum on things like straps etc.
The pack has a very convenient water bladder access pouch which can be swapped and removed with great ease directly from the top without the need for unfastening anything at all. The main storage area of the pack is again very well thought through with the main bulk located to the bottom giving very good stability when full.
Other features are an easy access pouch on the rear of the pack for things like gloves and sit mats etc and also two very handy pouches on each side of the rucksack which we have found use for one of these to hold a rainproof cover as the sack doesnt come with one, but this is a minor point.

All in all the pack is the first Osprey equipment we have tried and we have found it excellent value for money, extremely lightweight and my partner loves it.......a cracking multi-use adventure pack ideal for hiking, adventure racing or mountain biking....

Bouldsworth Trudge

2011-12-28T14:06:00.000Z

Today saw a quick trip up nearby Bouldsworth hill otherwise known as Lad Law standing at 1696 feet above sea level.
Very very windy on top with gusts of up to 50mph +. A quick nip of Baileys and a left over Xmas mince pie warmed us right up ready for the increasingly windy trek down.
All in all a very worthwhile trip..

Xmas Climb

2011-12-20T11:45:00.000Z

A quick jaunt up the lakes before Christmas hits fully...Myself and two mates decided that the straight forward Middlefell Buttress would be fun for the day. The weather was dry, but the rock cold and we made good progress up the crag just in time to miss the rain that followed. Then a short scramble onto the top to join the walkers path and down to the Stickle Barn......Unfortunately the pub was shut, but the New Dungeon Gill was thankfully open....
Couldnt believe how quiet the Langdale valley was, only the one pub open and a handfull of tents on the NT site....superb

Ingleborough Sunset

2011-12-18T22:38:00.000Z

What a day to visit one of the the three peaks...Ingleborough was the choice and the plan was to go up mid afternoon and sleep on the summit. One thing led to another and the sleeping bit had to be put off so a brisk hike up the mountain was on. I started at 14.00 passing many people coming down and my thought were of becoming benighted on the summit so i stomped on as fast as i could to get there. Microspikes had to become the order of the day half way up due to shot ice on the main path.
As i got near to the steep section i met a chap who was gingerly making his way down with the biggest pack i have seen.....first i thought he was a wildcamper too but as i got closer it became apparent that he was a paraglider. I stopped to speak to the guy who said he hadnt manged to get up today and i would find out what he meant as i neared the summit...

The sun started to get near to the horizon as i rounded the corner to the summit and i then found out what the paraglider meant.....gusting winds bitterly cold trying to freeze every ounce of sweat or moisture on my face and lips with my watch showing an air temperature of -6.8 so with wind chill it must have been sub -10 Degrees C.....COLD....

BUT, the sight to behold as i rounded the corner was unbelievable and can be seen below -

What an amazing day .....

2011-12-13T20:03:00.001Z

Ice climbing competition in Kandersteg 2010

Pendle Hill December Video

2011-12-11T09:00:00.000Z

Sorry no sound on this video as i keep getting told off by YouTube for using copyrighted songs!!, but it shows a lovely snowy Pendle Hill and the conditions on Saturday..Enjoy

In the Hills Again !

2011-12-10T11:00:00.000Z

Ang's first walk up Pendle since the ligament tear. Not a problem she managed it well using the micro-spikes for extra grip and confidence. We stopped at the top for a while and had a coffee made using a walking / camping percolator coffee bag type thing which i must say was an excellent brew. I made the brew whilst Ang made the snowman.....she named him Shit Eye Stuart after what we used to make his eyes....what do you think ?

First Snowy Walk

2011-12-05T18:17:00.001Z

5.15 and the alarm goes off, doesn't feel like I've been in bed two minutes....but I know there's snow covering my local hill Pendle!!!
So off I trot in the pitch black and freezing cold for some snow filled fun. 6.15 and I'm at the top wind trying to blow me off my feet whipping my face with sharp ice bullets, but so what it's an amazing winter scene.......

2011-12-04T07:56:00.001Z

Have you ever tried ice climbing with one hand ? Well this is me at the Ellis Brigham store on Deansgate in Manchester undertaking such a task. You cant believe the burn on your arm and legs as you have to balance whilst trying to remove the axe from the ice to quickly planting it in again so you don't fall backwards....Have a go its a bit of a bugger !

Preston Wall

2011-12-04T00:17:00.001Z

Today saw a return to the wall at Preston. Niamh loved it and Angela tested her foot to see if the ligament is getting better. Ang managed about four climbs up to grade 5 and Niamh trained repeatedly up and down 5 times on a route. Me? Well I managed a couple of 6a routes and nearly lead a 6a also.....not far from the top an I ran out of steam...

Come on Snow !!!

2011-12-03T23:38:00.001Z

Cant wait for the snow to start falling again.....this is a video of last year using our Kahtoola Microspikes up Pen Y Ghent in the Dales -

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow !!!

Crib Goch Scary Walk

2011-11-09T09:54:00.000Z

This is an picture of a perfect day walking across Crib Goch ridge on our way up to the top of Snowdon.
Click on the image below for a video clip....