Rock Climbing Company

Camino del Rey - El Chorro

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:34:00 +0000

The Camino del Rey is fast becoming the focus for adventurous holidays in southern Spain.

The small Andalucian village of El Chorro lies next to a large lake at the foot of the narrow rocky gorge that contains the Guadalhorce river.

In 1901 the Spanish authorities decided that it would the perfect location for a hydro-electric facility and started work on the project; a key element of this was constructing a floating walkway along the sides of the Gaitanes Gorge (Desfiladero de los Gaitanes) that had been carved out by the Guadalhorce river. This walkway was to allow the plant workers easy access between the village and the pumping station at Gaitanejo Falls at the top of the gorge.

The gorge is over 100m high with vertical side walls and the brick, concrete and iron walkway was bolted onto it over a period of 4 years.

The walkway gained its name - El Camino del Rey/The King's Walkway - when the then King of Spain, Alfonso XIII, officially opened it in 1921.

Over the next 90 years a combination of time, the weather and the occassional man-made event (it was used for the final scenes of Von Ryan's Express - explosions and all) have left it in a poor state. The last 20 years it has deteriorated badly - I remember strolling easily along it to go climbing in the Gorge loaded down with a big sack and ropes - and large sections of it have fallen away into the river far below.

It is now advisable to treat it as a horizontal Via Ferrata route and clip into the safety lines that run along the most exposed sections.

It became famous as the "Most Dangerous Walkway in the World" when there were a spate of accidents at the turn of the century and the local authorities made accessing the start very difficult for non-climbers. Then a couple of years later a UTube video of someone doing it without ropes, very fasy and whilst holding a video camera went viral and it's popularity as a classic adventure was ensured.

I am now regularly asked to guide the route either as a half day or full day adventure using ropes, harnesses and Via Ferrata lanyards to keep everyone safe. Martyn and Bryan Tolcher did the route with me in November of last year and were great; then out of the blue I received a copy of an article Martyn had written for the Guernsey Press and which had been published.

Fame at last!

New Routes in Andalucia

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:44:00 +0000

The high mountain areas of El Torcal. Villanueva del Rosario and Villanueva del TRabuco have seen a lot of attention this summer as the summer heat has made the low lying crags unclimbable.

First off the impressive walls on the left hand side of El Corral at Villanueva del Rosario received attention from Bernabes Fernandez - Bernabes has been injured for some time and was looking for a project to keep him busy.

El Corral had already been breached on it's lower central section with a dozen 35m routes in the grades 7b - 8a and by a couple of multi-pitch routes at 6c level routes that exploit weaknesses and weave their way up the wall, but the left side was a lot blanker.

The upper walls of El Corral (El Paso de Viento) had been bolted last year with 8 routes accessed via a narrow rock gangway a via ferrata safety line. Bernabes used this safety line to as his anchor points to create 6 monster 60m piches between 7b and 7c+. The routes can all be split at a halfway point just before the rock becomes super steep and this gives 6 pitches that are 30m long betwween 6c and 7a+.

Over in Villanueva del Trabuco the local council are keen to improve the area in the eyes of climbers and have provided local climbers with the resources to create both a new via ferrata and new rock routes. The new routes om El Puente del Roca are quite technical on rock that is quite smooth - more details to follow.

The development at El Torcal has continued and the new areas are fantastic - very unlike the "gritstone" type limestone that is found near the summit visitor centre.

Even the Ventana area at Villanueva del Rosario has received more routes.

These high areas have been brilliant this summer - I left the village yesterday thinking that it was too hot, but climbing comnditions at Ventana were perfect - I needed a fleece for belaying, but the friction was amazing.

Via Ferrata at El Torcal

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:32:00 +0000

Via Ferrata routes are being constructed at a fast rate in Andalucia - in addition to the routes at El Torcal a new route has been constructed at Villanueva del Trabuco just 5 miles from our base in Villanueva del Rosario.

Plus we have received news that another 3 via ferrata routes are being built near Ronda just to the north of us.

The via ferrata at Villanueva del Trabuco does not look quite finished - all of the rungs are in, but the safety lines are not installed yet. The route is quite short, but steep and impressive taking a direct line to the summit of the highest rock summit on the Puente Roca.

Via Ferrate has become an increasingly popular choice for clients and last week I took Bastien and Emilie from Seville to Antequera and El Torcal to do the first half of the via ferrata route there.

The route at El Torcal is comprised of two parts; the first tackles a steep pillar that sits on the flank of Camorro de las Siete Mesas . This part of the route kicks off straight away with some vertical climbing to reach a platform. An exposed traverse with a couple of tricky steps then leads to the base of another steep wall and more vertical climbing. A further short physical section gains a steep slab and easier ground. A slightly exposed ridge traverse then leads to the famous tyrolean traverse across the gap that splits the pillar from the Camorro de las Siete Mesas. Pulling acroos this quickly leads to the far side and the last pitch on via ferrata rungs.

A short scramble then leads to a broad shoulder where it is possible to unrope. A lot of people finish here and traverse past the various goat herds back to the starting point. This section takes 3-4 hours depending on how confident the members of the party are in tackling exposed ground.

The second part of the route involves a steep 90 minute walk to gain a group of pillars that guard the summit of the Camorro of the the Torcal Alto - at 1336 m this is the highest point in El Torcal. 3 good pitches of via ferrata including a great traverse lead to the summit. The walk down is long. but overall it makes for a fantastic day out.

Overall the local authorities seem to be recognising that tourism is a key method of getting the Spanish economy back on its feet and are putting a lot of resources into establishing walking routes, via ferratas and new climbing areas. The Villanueva del Trabuco development includes both the via ferrata route, new rock climbing routes and a series of trekking routes that connect into the GR7.

It has been a long time...

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:37:00 +0000

It has been a long time since I updated anything on the web, not least this blog. It has just been too busy....I was worried in January that all the economic doom and gloom would stop people going on climbing courses, but the opposite happened and it has been manic.

I am about to take a couple of weeks off and this will be my first holiday of the year. We are heading south to explore the crags in Portugal armed with a Jingo Wobbly guide.

Many thanks to all the many people who booked courses this year.

I have just updated the site with a few tweaks that include some of the latest "Thank You" mails.

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Hi Silvia!

We just wanted to say once again, thank you for an incredible experience!! The Camino del Rey was all that we expected and so much more and we know it was in large part because we had you as our instructor.

Also, a big, big thank you for arranging our stay in the beautiful town of Villanueva del Rosario. You were right, it was truly worth it to stay. And of course, please pass our thanks along to your friend who so graciously offered us his home. Kaileen and I both couldn't be happier with the entire experience.

If we're ever in Spain or the UK and looking for more courses, we'll be sure to get in touch.

Warmest regards,

KS - Camino del Rey - August 2010

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Dear Silvia,

We returned from Spain this weekend, and wanted to thank you again for our wonderful three days with you. We all really enjoyed your company and are very grateful to you for sharing some of your great skills, knowledge and experience with us. I am sure we will always remember it. Victoria is looking forward to getting back to the climbing club at school, where she will perhaps demonstrate some new-found confidence!!

With thanks and love from us all,

J, S, A and V McB - Climbing /Scrambling in Spain - July 2010

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Hi Silvia,

I just wanted to say hello and thank you again for 4 great days. I got back safely, last week was pretty crazy at work - but I feel still pretty relaxed !
Hope you had a nice Sunday afternoon with alot of climbing with Ale ? And a good week ... even if it was very busy.

I will be thinking about coming back, maybe to El Chorro in Dec or Jan, lets see ...

All the best and have a good week,

BW - Guided Climbing - July 2010

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Dear Silvia,

Just back from our holidays and thought I would let you know what a fantastic day Seb had with you.

Many thanks for making his holiday perfect. He enjoyed both the climbing and bouldering and is busy telling all his friends at climbing all about it.

Many thanks

C F-S Performance Coaching - August 2010

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Hi Silvia

We arrived home yesterday evening. Thanks for arranging our training, Rory was excellent. We met as arranged and Rory showed up spot on time. We all appreciated his friendly, easy going and professional manner. Rory's training methods worked really well for us. I particularly learn well with 'monkey see;monkey do'! We covered all that I hoped to and I am definitely now confident to take my sons out scrambling. We are all looking forward to increasing our experience.

Best regards

AM - Custom Scrambling - August 2010

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Hi Silvia,

I have paid the rest of the money by paypal!
we had a really good time, thanks a lot!

Thanks

FK - Climbing Outside - July 2010

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Dear Silvia,
I hope you are well. Many thanks for a great couple of days climbing instruction. I feel that under your guidance we made a lot of progress from our very basic starting level. Your whole approach was very methodical and clear - as well as a lot of fun!..............

I have spoken with my family and we would like to visit you and do some climbing over the Christmas/New Year period in Spain.............

I look forward to hearing from you.

All the best,

SW - Outdoor Climbing - July 2010

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Hi Simon,

We had a great time despite the weather on Saturday. Cat was an excellent instructor and I think she covered exacly what we wanted. Our intention now is to return to N. Wales and practice what we were taught.

Many thanks,

DH - Learn to Lead - July 2010

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Hi Silvia

Just a quick line to say that we had a fantastic two days climbing with Pete.

I've managed to retain some of your equipment - a small screw-gate karabiner and two prusick cords - which I will post on to you.

Thank you for all your help.

Best Wishes from D and MK - Scrambling/Climbing - July 2010

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Hello Silvia

Some pictures follow once we’ve downloaded them all and chosen the best (you took some really good ones- thank you!) but I wanted to write as soon as possible to thank you very much for two great days.

It was exactly what we needed (even though I had not been sure quite what we needed beforehand) and you struck the perfect balance between making us feel comfortable enough to learn and then pushing us to do things we would not have attempted otherwise. I had not thought that anyone could have convinced me to step backwards off the edge of a bit of rock but you managed it – thank you!

We have been practising our knots and are looking forward to our next day off when we can go in search of some (easy!) crags and try out our new techniques. We are also determined to brave the climbing wall.

M+NR - Climbing Outside - July 2010

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Silvia
I wish to say thank's for a great days climbing. I was really delighted by the cliffs at south stack. Please thank Rory for making (it)such an easy climb(ing day). It was also my first trad climb which has made me feel I would like to try leading myself on a trad route. Who knows maybe I'll be back one day and take a few tips from yourself or Rory.
Thanks again I really had a good time.
Regards

AT - Guided Climbing - July 2010

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Hi Silvia

We had an excellent weekend with Pete, despite the horrible conditions on the Sunday. He’s a very clear teacher, as well as a good guy, and as a result it was a fun and highly constructive couple of days.......

SB - Climbing Outside / Learn to Lead - July 2010

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Simon

Our thanks for excellent climbing - it proved great fun, instructional and hit the nail on the head for difficulty, height exposure etc for our group.
Particular thanks also for your flexibility matching to the weather to hit a lovely sunny day.
Great instruction - we will certainly recommend you to friends - Thank you

with very best

GR - Climbing Taster - July 2010

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Hi Silvia

Hope you like this photo of you and KJ....Thank you so much for a wonderful experience.

Kindest reagrds

RW - Abseiling - July 2010

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Hi Silvia,

I just wanted to thank you so much for the course: it really went above and beyond my expectations, and I shall most certainly be back for more! :-)

Kind regards,

HJ - Climbing Outside - June 2010

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Thanks Simon

All three of us really enjoyed our day with Pete. It was so useful and what a fabulous guy he is. A great assessment of what we needed and delivered in such a great way with his gentle manner. The boys really liked him – and so did I. Definitely worthwhile.

Please pass on our very best to Pete and feel free to use any of this to endorse your services. I will be recommending you to any of my contacts who are contemplating climbing in Wales without any hesitation.

DVS - Climbing Outside - June 2010

Dyneema Slings breaking under direct loads / falls

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 07:59:00 +0000

A couple of months ago there was a long discussion on UKC about how dyneema slings performed when loaded directly. There are a couple of common situations where this could happen:

Clipping directly into a belay with a sling, not keeping it under tension, allowing slack to develop and then slipping or falling onto the belay i.e. on a mutipitch route, clipping into the belay with a sling and then moving around to get comfortable/keep the climber in sight. If you then slip or have to hold an unexpected fall the belay will be shock loaded via the sling.
Working a move on a route whilst on the lead and using a sling to keep yourself in position, then trying the move with the sling still attached to the anchor. If the rope is slack and you fall you will be falling directly onto the sling.

The guys at DMM had been meaning to perform a series of tests to highlight the huge forces that can be generated in these and similar situations, but the poor weather and the fact that the drop tower is outside put the plans on hold.

The arrival of spring allowed DMM to dust off the drop tower and invite Ray Wood along to film a short video article that should appear on the DMM web site fairly shortly.

Dyneema and nylon slings were both tested using a 80 kg mass in a variety of situations that invoved anchors being loaded directly via dynamic force applied to the sling. Slings of different lengths were tested both with and without knots in the system. The force at the anchor point was measured with a load cell.

The nylon slings generally were a lot more forgiving than the equivilent length of dyneema sling because there is more natural stretch in the nylon fibres that can help absorb energy and reduce impact forces (Dyneema slings are a mix of Dyneema and nylon fibres, but the Dyneema fibres tend to characterise their performance).

The loads generated even with relatively little slack in the system were fairly massive. A fall factor 1 using an unknotted 120cm x 11mm dyneema sling registered 25 kN (surprisingly the sling survived, but whether the climber or belay would have is another matter), a fall factor 1 with an unknotted 11mm x 60cm dyneema slings generated 15.5 kN.

Adding a knot into the system severely increased the risk of the sling breaking i.e. a fall factor 1 onto a 11mm x 60cm dyneema sling with a loose overhand knot in it broke at 11.6kN when loaded.

A test was also performed with a 25cm Dyneema QD sling with carabiners attached - in a fall factor 1 fall this generated 12.5kN.

The tests were simplified and there are always parts of the chain that will absorb energy (the climber/the harness), but the forces are still pretty big considering that nuts and cams max out at 12kN and harnesses are tested to 15kN.

There is risk that the tests will be taken the wrong way and people scream "Dyneema- danger!", but it is all about understanding advantages and disadvantages. Dyneema can be used to make lighter, thinner and less bulky slings compared to nylon plus it is very UV resistant and very resistant to being cut, but it does have disadvantages - it has less inherant stretch and melts at relatively low temperatures (plus it tends to be a bit less durable).

It is easier to mess up with Dyneema, but knowing its weaknesses allows you to act accordingly.

You would have to be a bit of a numpty to get into any of the situations that will be outlined in the forthcoming DMM video, but anyone one can be a numpty at times.

Weather Forecast for Climbing in El Chorro, Malaga and Granada

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 12:31:00 +0000

The crazy weather that Spain has seen this winter finally seems to have run its course and days of sun and blue skies seem have returned. The strange weather did mean that it was really important to plan the days carefully and I spent a long time scouring the web looking at weather forecasts - not just checking rain and sun predictions, but looking closely at wind strengths and wind direction.

These are the best sites I found found providing solid information about the weather in Andalucia.

Meteo Blue this has been the most accurate weather forecasting site this winter.

El Mundo Tiempo A good site with a neat map facility that gives you a quick overview of Andalucia if the weather is bad near you

There also a few web cams spread around the coast which can prove really useful when the weather is bad inland and you need to know whether to trek down to the coast for the climbing at Mijas, St Anton or Los Vados.

Web Cam - Mijas

Web Cam - Malaga

Web Cam - Granada

There are not any web cams inland around El Chorro at the moment, which is a shame.

The key thing to remember is that there is lots and lots of climbing between El Chorro, Malaga and Granada and it is very unlikely that you have to lose a day - yo may have to travel for 40 miles / one hour, but at least you will be climbing.

Rock Climbing Articles

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:00:00 +0000

The number of articles I have written for my site seems to continue to grow and so I decided to put a list of them in one place. The articles are normally below the main course information towards the bottom of the page.

Rock Climbing Articles:

1. How to Start Rock Climbing.

A short article that offers information on how to start climbing and lists the best reference sites and books.

2. Choosing Climbing Equipment and building a rack of hardware.

A general overview of what to look for in carabiners, nuts/wires, cams and slings

3. Building a Rack of Climbing Equipment.

A more detailed view of what you need for specific types of climbing and the composition of different climbing racks.

4. Climbing Carabiners

A more detailed of what to look for when choosing rock climbing carabiners

5. Choosing Rock Climbing shoes

A short article on choosing your first pair of climbing shoes with some recommendation.

6. Choosing and Placing Nuts, Wires and Hexes (Hexcentrics) for Climbing ( Part 1)

A look at how to choose and place nuts effectively, especially hexes (Torque Nuts and Rockcentrics)

7. Choosing and Placing Nuts, Wires and Slings for Climbing (Part 2)

A look at how to choose slings and nuts / wires with information on the features to look for.

8. Choosing and Placing Cams / Camming Devices.

A look at how to choose and place cams (Friends, Camalots and 4CUs) with information on the features to look for.

8a. Choosing a Small Camming Unit

Information on the best micro cams on the market - CCH Aliens v Metolius Master Cams v Wild Country Zeros v Black Diamond C3s

9. Choosing a Climbing Helmet

A look at how to choose a climbing helmet with some recommendations.

10. Choosing a Climbing Harness

Information on choosing a climbing harness - different styles, features to look for and getting the best fit,

11. Abseiling and Prusic Loops

A short article on abseiling, protecting the abseil and ascending the rope using prusic loops

12. First Aid Kit - Contents for Climbers

A personal look at the contents of a climbers First Aid Kit

13. Climbing Accidents - common causes for how they happen

An analysis of common accident scenarios at climbing walls

14. Corroded Carabiners - Strength Loss

A quick look at a corroded quickdraw and how it broke when tested.

Mountain Scrambling Articles:

1. Mountain Scrambling Grades .

A short description of the scrambling grades used in the UK and a look at the territory likely to be encountered.

2. Choosing Scrambling Equipment - Ropes & Hardware.

A general overview of what to look when choosing ropes and a rack for scrambling. There is information on choosing helmets on the Advanced Scrambling Course page

3. Constructing Rope Coils

How to make rope coils, short roping and moving together. There is a direct link to the photos on how to build hard locked coils for scrambling here

Latest Courses in Spain

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:47:00 +0000

A great week long course with Steve that covered aspects of climbing needed to be an climbing instructor - rope work, looking after clients, belays and lots of climbing - was followed by a quick trip down to Tarifa for a couple of days bouldering and performance coaching.

The week with Steve was largely spent in the area behind Villanueva del Rosario on El Corral, Los Pinos and Taco del Madera with a couple of trips to Villanueva del Cauche on cooler days to make the most of the sun.

The photo to the side shows the terrain behind our village - karst limestone hills that are typified by the well known crags of El Torcal that are just 15km to the north.

The big blob of rock behind Steve is El Chamizo, the highest peak in the area and the "small" diamond shaped buttress of clean rock to its left is the 250m high El Diamante.

We are actually standing on top of a 300m buttress after completing a multi-pitch trad climb.

After dropping Steve off I headed south to Tarifa and had one day on the Mosaic Walls and one days on the sea side boulders with Andy and Sarah.

The last time I went to Tarifa it was really windy, but conditions this time were perfect and I even managed to sneak in some personal bouldering as the sun went down.

Back tonight to Malaga to pick up India for a coaching course - the weather looks good for the week ahead so we will probably stay in the hill behind the house.

DMM Dragon Cams

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:19:00 +0000

The DMM Dragon cams were on show today at the ISPO trade show in Munich.

The cams on the DMM stand were taken from the first production batches going through the DMM factory and have evolved from the prototypes that were shown at the Friedrichshafen show in July.

The Dragons now feature an anodised 7075 aluminium thumb grip – this patented feature allows the Dragon to use a doubled 8mm dyneema sling to reduce the number of quickdraws that climbers need to carry.

The doubled 8mm dyneema sling can’t be used on a standard wire loop because under load the loop collapses and the dyneema then cuts through the wire at around 10kN (the same does not happen on the DMM 4CUs because the rear spacer stops the wire collapsing.).

The aluminium thumb grip is massively strong and lighter than the steel wire it replaced.

Other features include:

• Cam lobes that are massively strong in all positions not just the positions dictated by the CE test. DMM think that they are probably a bit too strong, but it build in some extra safety and could allow them to
• Cams have a 13.75 degree camming angle
• The cam springs are relavtively strong so the units seat well and resist movement.
• Terminations are very short so that the flexibility of the stem is maximised.
• The stem uses a specially treated zytel nylon cover that is very flexible across a massive range of temperatures and yet is very durable.
• The thumb grip is very strong in all directions and the sling resists over 14kN in any orientation.
• The doubled 8mm dyneema sling extends to form a 25cm long extender and saves a quickdraw.

There are more images below and there is a page on the Rock Climbing Company site that offers info on camming devices in general and building a climbing rack.

Climbing in Spain

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 09:51:00 +0000

A strange week of weather, but it all finished well with a couple of days of sun and blue skies. I had couple of days at El Chorro guiding on the Camino del Rey - this is the slightly ancient walkway that sits 50m above the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes gorge. When I first went to El Chorro in the mid 1980's it was quite normal for climbers to walk freely around the walkway to get to routes in the gorge - sectors Recodo, Africa and Santimonia etc. The walkway has now deterioated to such an extent that it is advertised as "the most dangerous path in the world" - a bit of an exaggeration, but it is certainly good fun and exciting / atmospheric if treated as an extended via ferrata trip.

The later part of the week involved a trad (traditional) climbing course with Stephen. The first couple of days were hampered by showers and coldish winds, but the last days featured the normal sun and blue skies. We headed up to Los Pinos behind Villanueva del Rosario as this strange, pyramid shaped lump of rock has lots of trad routes that are great for learning how to lead climb.

A day off now before two weeks of back to back rock climbing courses and I'm heading to a newly developed crag near Antequera - 40m routes on perfect orange rock. This crag's location is secret at the moment, but if you are looking for new routes then El Torcal is worth a visit. The new lines are on more typical limestone than normally found at El Torcal i.e. crimps rather than slopers.

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Good weather comes back to Andalucia

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:34:00 +0000

The good weather is returning to southern Spain and the long term forecast is for warm dry conditions to stay for a while - hurray!

It is easy to moan, but the varied micro climates around the Malaga have allowed us to find dry crags and a bit of sun despite the odds being against us.

Last week a combination of venues including Villanueva del Cauche, St. Anton de Pinares and Valle de Abdalajis provided sanctuary from the last of the rain.

This weekend I am heading to El Chorro for a course with Justin and Alex and we will stay overnight at the Olive Branch.

The guys are keen to do some multi-pitch leading and the Frontales area is perfect for this.

The climbing season is getting into full swing now and I am fully booked for the next 4 weeks, but have 10 free days in February (14th -24th) and 12 days free in March 15th - 27th.

Back at base Simon has added a booking system to the Rock Climbing Company site with online booking and payment.

Climbing Wall - Villanueva del Rosario

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:52:00 +0000

My climbing wall in Spain is almost finished - all the boards are up, all 300 T-nuts are in place and I just need to do a bit more painting to finish the structure

Then I just need for the holds and mats to arrive.

In typical fashion the weather is improving rapidly despite some torrential rain on Monday night. Renee and Cheryl arrived on Monday for a Learn to Climb Outside / Learn to Lead Climb course and were obviously hoping for some Spanish sun afteer escaping from the artic conditions in the UK. They were defininately looking a bit forlorn when it was still raining on Tuesday morning - but the sun was out on the coast and St. Anton on the outskirts of Malaga was dry and warm.

St. Anton East is a great crag for learning how to lead climb because it is bolted very well, is not intimidating and has a good spread of grades from 4 to 7a.

The rock on most of the local crags has dried remarkedly quickly after the Christmas rain and it is only really the the tufa lines that are still wet - the forecast is for a more typical cold, dry weather system to take over now.

Climbing Wall in Spain

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 19:01:00 +0000

The recent 7 days of horrible weather made the decision to install a large climbing wall in the Spanish house very easy - fortunately a lot of the ground floor is taken by a massive garage.

The useable area in the garage is now smaller and the skelton of a reasonably sized wall is up and ready for the boards to be attached.

The building work was organised by Julio who runs the climbing wall in Torremolinos - his brother is a carpenter and together they have built a lot of home walls and a large part of the Torremolinos wall.

My little wall is 3.5m wide and 3m high with a few different angles built into it from vertical to 35 degrees overhanging - the idea is that it is not just a training wall but a coaching and instructional facility.

Thus I can use it not only for movement coaching, but also for teaching rope skills - threading belays, clipping bolts, resting...lots of things. Plus I am keen to have a small abseil / anchor station built into the wall so that all descent issues can be taught effectively.

Plus it will keep me fit...

It should be finished by Wednesday and I can't wait to play on it properly.

Rock Climbing in Murcia + Almeria

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:04:00 +0000

The bad weather continues in Andalucia ( Malaga /Granada / El Chorro / Loja + Archidona are all totally wet ) and a couple of climbers have asked for more details on the climbing in Murcia.

Mula: The page is in Spanish, but all the info is pretty obvious. The crag is not easy to find and there is a bit of dirt track driving, but the map on the site is pretty good. The topo is OK and will give you enough to go at for a couple of days. The topo outlines the main sector "Ferrari" and the routes range from 6a to 7c (ish).

Cacin: There is less info on the web about Cacin. The link gives access instructions, but you will need to get hold of a copy of an old Desnivel for the topos.

The best weather service I have found for Spain is Meteoblue

Storms in Andalucia

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:57:00 +0000

The long, long indian summer came to an end dramatically with the arrival of some monstrous storms that have battered the whole of Andalucia for 4 days now. There has been widespread flooding throughout the region together with high winds.

The bad weather was supposed to arrive on Saturday and unexpectedly having the weekend off I headed to El Chorro fully expecting to be using the Poema Roca cave as shelter; however the weekend was fine - a bit cold when belaying but great for red pointing.

I returned home wondering how the forecasters could get it so wrong and then bang - the storms hit and carried on for 36 hours - there is a lot of wet rock here now and none of the usual dry spots escaped. This is the first time I have seen this happen.

Normally St. Anton in Malaga and Los Vados near Motril are safe bets, but they were both hit by the rain. John and Becky from the BMC were in Chorro and phoned for advice for where to go - normally I could suggest half a dozen places for them to go, but this time I could only suggest Los Vados as a forlorn hope...Apparently even climbing in Poema Roca was not possible apart from a couple of routes.

The closest dry crags now look to be in Almeria / Murcia - certainly this is where all the Malaga and Granada climbers are heading. The favoured crags seem to be Mula and Cacin - both are brilliant. The crags in Almeria are not well known to UK climbers, but often offer great winter climbing - I did hear a rumour that Rockfax were planning a Murcia guide, although I am fairly sure the locals will not be too pleased about this.

It looks like I will head up this way as well to meet up with some friends for Christmas before coming back down for my next climbing course on the evening of the 28th - fortunately the weather looks like it changes back to sunny conditions in Andalucia on the 27th.

Learn to Lead Course in March in Snowdonia

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 11:02:00 +0000

I am busy in Spain at the moment and it is looking busy well into the new year. I will be coming back to the UK on the 30th March for the summer season in Snowdonia.

I have been fairly lucky with matching people up on courses this season, but am having trouble with one particular course...

Paul would like to do a 4 day combined Climbing Outdoors / Learn to Lead Climb course in Snowdonia / North Wales between the 1st and 4th March. I can't do this course myself as I am already booked up in Spain on those dates, but I can arrange for one of our regular instructors to run the course.

Paul has climbed a fair bit before and wants to use the course to refresh his outdoor skills and learn how to lead on trad gear - if you are interested in sharing this course then please just get in contact with me and I will set it all up.

The cost is £290 for the 4 days and includes the use of all the technical equipment.

There are full details of the courses on the Learn to Lead Climb and Climbing Outdoors pages of my main Rock Climbing Company site.

Choosing a Climbing Harness

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:39:00 +0000

One of the questions I am regularly asked is "What climbing harness should I get? / how do I choose and fit a climbing harness?" Last week I was asked twice for information on climbing harnesses - so I wrote a short piece that is on the Rock Climbing Company site in the complete version.

There are other articles there that cover other aspects of choosing and using climbing equipment.

Climbing Harnesses - Choosing and Fitting.

Background

All climbing harnesses sold in the UK (and EU) are tested to meet certain mandatory standards as set out by the European Union Directive 89/686/CEE on personal protective equipment. The EN standard within this directive that deals with sit harnesses is EN 813 (Full body harnesses are covered by EN 361)This directive sets out the conditions under which products may be brought onto the market, the manner in which they may be used by member states, and their free circulation within the European Community. It also sets out general rules pertaining to design and defines the certification procedure for equipment.

As far as climbers are concerned a key part of the testing requirement is that a force of 15kN (equivalent to a static load of 1500kg) is applied to the harness and it must hold that load for 3 minutes - so don't be worried about falling off in any new harness. It is one of the strongest parts of a climbing system.

A climbing harness is a core piece of kit for any climber so it is worth spending some time choosing one that fits correctly and has the features that you need.

Don't buy your first harness on Ebay or second hand - it is most likely that you won't have the experience to determine if it is safe and it is very unlikely that you will get the best combination of fit and features that you need.

Head down to a good climbing shop that has a wide range of harnesses and shop staff that climb. The shop should have some means of letting you hang in a harness so that you can check that the harness will hold you in the correct position in a fall /during an abseil. This also lets you gauge how the harness spreads the load / how comfortable it is.

Then spend some time choosing the best harness - the article below will look at types of harness, features and fit and should hopefully give you a few ideas about what to look for...

1. Types of Climbing Harness

Thus the first thing to decide is what type of climbing that you will use it for – this may sound silly, but each different climbing discipline is best served by a harness with specific features. The majority of climbers will not have a harness for all the different types of climbing, but knowing what features you will and will not need should mean you don’t make compromises in the wrong areas.

Centre Harnesses: Centres and groups want harnesses with a simple design, great durability and wide size adjustment amongst other things. Thus most popular centre harnesses are constructed from un-padded 44mm nylon webbing with a minimum of gear loops. Many have a high tie-in point because they are often used with children and this feature helps reduce the chances of children inverting (children have under-developed hips and a higher centre of gravity compared to adults). They are perfect for groups, but their limited features means they aren’t perfect for personal use.

Examples: DMM Alpine and DMM Brenin

Mountaineering and Alpine Harnesses: These harnesses need to be light, easy to put on when wearing big boots / crampons, have a wide range of adjustment to go over a multitude of clothing systems and have drop away legs for calls of nature. Ideally I prefer these harnesses to have 4 or more gear loops, although a lot of people use bandoliers in the mountains. They are normally worn over several layers of clothing and so do not need padding for comfort, in addition unpadded belts are lighter and absorb minimal water. There are two main styles – harnesses with fully opening adjustable legs and those that use a nappy design. Nappy designs tend to be most popular because there is only one buckle to do up/carry up the hill.

You will be using this harness with gloves so check that everything can be adjusted with gloves on. Features that are fiddly in the shop will be impossible to use on the hill.

Can you use the harness with your rucksack on? Is it comfortable or will the sack cause the harness to dig in? Stop you accessing your gear loops?

Examples: DMM Super Couloir and BD Bod (not the Alpine Bod which lacks a belay loop).

Rock / Cragging Harness: This is the harness for general summer cragging duties. It is probably the hardest design to get right because of the contradicting demands placed on it – it also (unfairly) increasingly unpopular as climbers have moved/been pushed towards fully adjustable harnesses.

The harness needs to be padded so that it is comfortable on stances and yet be lightweight and unrestrictive, so as not to hinder athletic movements. This is best achieved by using a sculpted waist belt that is wide at the rear and is then cut away at the sides - when designed correctly this should provide support in the small of the back and yet not restrict sideways bending. The quality of the foam padding is also important – there is no point in having padding if it collapses under load. Squeeze the waist and leg loop padding and see how it behaves - if is collapses easily then it is unlikely to provide much comfort..............

This is continued on the Guided Climbing page of the RCC site in the tab under the main text.

Rock Climbing at Loja

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:07:00 +0000

I managed to redpoint the classic 8a at Loja today.

Vibraciones Positiva is a long 35m stamina route that features long reaches on mainly good holds - a couple of the reachs are really long and caused me a few problems - my feet keep cutting loose. See left.

The whole crag is in perfect condition after so much dry weather and its position at 1000m and northerly direction have made it perfect during the recent hot weather.

I have finally taken a week off because Simon came across to visit and it was great to climb together. He has gone back now, but I still have 3 free days before my next clients arrive and so am off to Archidona for more steepness.

It was also good to see Alison B, who came on a course last year and returned to Villanueva del Rosario last week to explore the area some more.

Chris and Ryan arrive on Sunday for a joint climbing course and it looks like the weather is going to hold on being good for them - after that I am fully booked until the 19th December and January is filling up fast.

Chilam Balam Cave - 8b

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:58:00 +0000

Very happy today because I managed my second 8b yesterday.

The route is called Golpe de Calor and is one of many fantastic routes in the Chilam Balam cave on the outskirts of Villanueva del Rosario.

The cave and surrounding area have proved very popular as the prolonged hot, dry season has forced climbers to look for shady, high crags. Chilam Balam cave faces north and lies at 1000m There were about 20 climbers at the crag yesterday - not bad for a crag where the routes start at 7c.

Golpe de Calor was equipped and first climbed by Bernabe Fernandez (Amazing roof climber and driving force behind a lot of hard routes in Andalucia) two years ago. Originally graded 8a+/8b it has settled at 8b - the grades are noticeably harder here than El Chorro.

The route is 30 m long with the the first 15 meters on tufas and crimps on a wall that overhangs 20 degrees, then a desperate roof on undercut tufas and slopey footholds with a gripper clip. The top wall is super technical with minimal footholds and a final insecure runout to the chains.

I found it quite hard because I could not get the kneebar rest below the overhang - I wasted a day trying to get my foot and knee to stick before deciding that I was wasting more energy than saving.

On my first redpoint attempt of the day I got past the top crux but broke a small undercut - I really did not think I would have enough energy left for a second go, but somehow managed to fight to the belay.

This was the 5th ascent after Bernabes, Javier Morales, Carlito from Malaga and Urban.

All in all a great route! Thanks to Carlito, Gonzalo and Urban for all the help and encouragement.

The cave has seen a lot of development recently and the climbing topo for the area is fast becoming out of date.

It has been a good season so far - I was worried that after 7 months of instructing clients on a variety of climbing courses with hardly a day off that I might not be route fit, but the evening sessions on my home finger board have paid off and being on the hill has kept me aerobically fit.

La Rubia looks good...

Dry Weather in Andalucia

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:29:00 +0000

I'm have been over in Spain for a month now and the weather has been amazing for climbing. I have been completely full on with courses and the warm weather has made it especially enjoyable, but the local farmers have a different view - they are desperate for water.

The photo on the left shows the effect that the dry weather is having on the olives. The olives on top are how they should look at this time of year, but a lot are looking like those at the bottom of the picture - underdeveloped and wrinkled.

Olives are a mainstay of the local economy and this is potentially a big problem. The town ajuntamiento has imposed a water ban between 0100 and 0600 to try and save water, but they really need some rain.

The warm weather means that the high crags of Villanueva del Rosario have been really popular with climbers from Malaga and Granada - the shady crags of La Ventana and Chilam Balam have been receiving a lot of attention and the hard routes have been falling fast despite the fact that the routes are quite harshly graded compared to the routes at El Chorro.

The spanish climbing courses are proving really popular and there I only have 10 free days between now and Christmas.

Worn Carabiners

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:04:00 +0000

The carabiner to the left was sent into DMM for testing - I am not quite sure of its history, but the size of the groove that had been worn into the top bar is pretty impressive. DMM see bolt damage to carabiners fairly regularly, but this is exceptional.

The groove had eaten through 27% of the thickness of the bar and the volume of metal that had disappered was even greater.

I fully expected this carabiner to break under 10kN, but it actually acheived 26kN - greater than its rating when new.

It is difficult to explain this especially considering that a much smaller nick in a similar carabiner (see Mamba post below) caused a serious loss in strength. I don't want this post to encourage people to use carabiners in such a bad state, but rather use it as a pointer that there are a lot of variables involved in how and when kit breaks - some obvious and some that obviouslly are not.

DMM customers have asked in the past "how much wear and tear before I should reire equipment" - hopefully the last two posts show that this is a difficult question to answer.

It should be stressed that this carabiner should have been retired a long time before it reached this state.

The second image shows a 30 year old HMS from the days when DMM was called Clog and employed about 10 people. It had a rope groove that had eaten away 6% of the thickness of the bar. It made 24KN.

Old Carabiners + Tapes - Breaking Strengths

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:50:00 +0000

Sports climbing carabiners get a hard life.

They are constantly subjected to short hard falls, clipped into sharp or badly aligned bolt hangers and ground against the rock. The tapes also get a hard life as they get grabbed with chalky hands and suffer harsh abrasion, especially as the run over the carabiners.

DMM recently received a couple of old Mamba quickdraws back that were over 10 years old and which the owner wanted tensile testing.

The quickdraws looked in reasonable condition - there was no bad visible fraying or fading on the quickdraw tape, although the ends had some mild fluffing where the tape had been caught between the rock and the carabiner. The carabiners functioned well and with a little lubrication would have been perfect. The metal was free from corrosion, although there were some sharp bolt marks on on of the straight gate carabiners.

The first Mamba we loaded up included the straight gate carabiner with 3 bolt scars on the inside apex. The tensile test started - at about 8kN it was obvious that something was going to pop early because you could hear the tape fibres starting to snap. This does not normally happen to around 18-20kN normally. The real surprise was when the straight gate carabiner suddenly blew out at just 13.6kN - almost half of its rated strength.

On examination it was obvious that the one of the bolt scars had created a stress multiplier that had then opened out the scar to create a full blown fracture.

The second Mamba blew out the tape at 15.5kN - about 60% of its strength when new. Once again it was obvious it was going to break early because the micro damage to the fibres could be heard starting around 10kN.

In a real world situation both of these Mambas would still have done their job - but they would be far less tolerant of stupidity or misuse i.e. connecting a short sling to the Mamba to hold you in position why you work a move and then slipping/jolting back onto it - this creates massive forces that can break new carabiners let alone half strength ones.

The slings blew early because they were old and some minor damage accelerated quickly to cause a complete failure. The carabiner blowing out early was surprising and probably worthy of further experiments because although the bolt scars were noticeable they did not seem excessive.

There is more information on climbing equipment at Rope Rescue Techniques below the main text and informatio on choosing carabiners on the Rock Climbing Outside pages - again below the main text.

Corrosion in Climbing Carabiners - Corrosion in 7000 series Aluminum Alloys

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:02:00 +0000

Each year DMM receive back a few carabiners where the surface of the carabiner has corroded and exfoliated. Almost invariably these carabiners have been to Thailand (although DMM have seen similar corrosion from carabiners used in Hawaii). They are often asked for the reasons why this corrosion occurs.

Aluminum alloys are widely used in the manufacture of climbing products because these alloys can offer a high strength-to-weight ratio combined with good ductility and toughness.

There are currently 8 families of aluminum alloys and each family group is identifiable by the first number of its name. The families differentiate themselves from each other by their principal alloying elements:

Major Alloying Element	Series Identifier
None (99%+ Aluminum)	1XXX
Copper	2XXX
Manganese	3XXX
Silicon	4XXX
Magnesium	5XXX
Magnesium + Silicon	6XXX
Zinc (Magnesium + Copper)	7XXX
Lithium	8XXX
Unused	9XXX0

These main alloying elements impart specific properties to the alloy. These properties can be further modified both by the addition of extra alloying elements and processing treatments that occur during the production of the finished alloy product.

The vast majority of carabiners used in recreational climbing are made from 7000 series aluminum alloys with aluminum alloy 7075-T6 being the most widely used. 7075 describes the grade and T6 describes the generic heat treatment process used on the metal.

7000 series alloys have zinc as the primary alloying element together with magnesium. The further addition of copper to the aluminum-zinc-magnesium system together with small, but very important amounts of chromium and manganese gives high strength aluminum alloys that, although initially developed in 1943, are still the benchmark for use in climbing carabiners. There are stronger/tougher alloys on the market, but cost and productivity issues often work against them in a commercial environment.

Chemical Composition Limits (Wt. %)
Si	0.4
Fe	0.5
Cu	1.2-2.0
Mn	0.3
Mg	2.1-2.9
Cr	0.18-0.28
Zn	5.1-6.1
Ti	0.2

Aluminium metal is a very active metal that oxidises very quickly. While this would be a weakness for most metals, this quality is actually the key to its ability to resist corrosion. When oxygen is present in the atmosphere or in the environment (in the air, soil, or water), aluminium reacts very quickly to form aluminium oxide. This aluminium oxide layer is chemically bound to the surface and it seals the core aluminium body from any further reaction.

This is different from oxidation (corrosion) in steel, where the metal oxide (rust) exfoliates, and constantly exposes new metal to corrosion. Aluminium’s natural oxide film is tenacious, hard, and instantly self-renewing. It is this combination of fast oxidation and a protective air-formed oxide film that enables most aluminum alloys to offer good resistance to most corrosive environments.

However the very alloying elements that make the 7000 series perfect for building carabiners make the metal more susceptible to corrosion. It particular it has been established that the addition of copper (2000 series alloys) and zinc/copper/magnesium (7000 series alloys) to the aluminum solid decreases the corrosion resistance of the alloy. This is due in part to the fact that the aluminum oxide film is now not consistent over the surface of the metal and contains oxides of copper, magnesium and zinc which can decrease its protective qualities.

In addition any metal ions passing into solution as a result of corrosion can then be deposited on the surface of the alloy and set up galvanic cells on the aluminum surface. This can dramatically increase the rate of corrosion.

However certain other factors often need to be in place to de-stabilise the oxide layer and accelerate the corrosion process, these include:

The oxide is not stable in acidic (pH <> 9) environments

Aggressive ions (chlorides, fluorides) may attack the oxide locally i.e. sea water

Certain elements (Ga, Tl, In, Sn, Pb) may become incorporated in the oxide and destabilise it

Contact with dissimilar metals including pressure treated wood (which contains copper) carbon steel and mild steel.

Heat

Sea salt (mostly sodium chloride) can help destabilise the normally protective oxide film, leading the localized attack (pitting). This happens because it acts as a facilitator for galvanic metal corrosion.

When the two dissimilar metals come into contact an electrical loop is closed, and the natural voltage differential between them causes electrons to flow. One metal becomes the anode (negative) and one will become the cathode (positive). This electrical circuit causes the anode to lose ions and the cathode to gain ions i.e. the more active metal dissolves. The copper is relatively inactive and the other metals in the 7075 alloy, including the aluminium base metal dissolve/change form. These adverse effects are magnified if the copper is out of solution at grain boundaries.

The most common form of corrosion on carabiners is pitting – small localized corrosion on the surface of the metal. Exfoliation corrosion takes longer to happen and is often more serious – it is a severe form of inter-granular corrosion that occurs along aluminum grain boundaries and causes delamination of the surface of the aluminum with white corrosion products forming between the layers.

Anodising can reduce corrosion in aluminum alloys by increasing the thickness and hardness of the protective oxide layer. The standard anodising process used on carabiners uses chromic acid or sulphuric acid; the anodising process causes a chemical transformation of the aluminum material itself to create a thicker than normal aluminum oxide surface layer. This layer is often dyed and then it is sealed by a secondary chemical treatment, normally immersion in boiling water.

Anodising does help a lot in reducing corrosion, but it is not an alternative to looking after your kit – if the surface of the carabiner is nicked or scratched, such as happens when a carabiner is loaded on a steel bolt hanger, then this will allow corrosion to potentially begin.

In this situation there is a galvanic cell between the steel hanger (even if it is stainless) and the carabiner. The situation is worsened by the large cathodic surface of the hanger concentrating the current flow through the small anodic area of the scratched anodize on the carabiner.

Keep you carabiners dry, cool, away from salts and away from acids. If you do climb by the sea wash your gear in clean, cool water and dry it in a warm environment naturally and lubricate when dry if necessary.

There is more information on a corroded quickdraw set on my web site - see Strength of Old Carabiners

Click on the tab below the main , central text.

Crib Goch

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:47:00 +0000

I recently was able to help a client fulfill a long standing desire to climb Snowdon via the Crib Goch ridge.

The weather forecast was fairly horrible with both high winds and rain predicted; the warm-up day was spent at Clogwyn Cyrau near Betws Y Coed rather than Tryfan because of the high winds in the Ogwen Valley. However at least we stayed reasonably dry there and covered all of the rope techniques that we would need on Crib Goch itself.

The following day was looking fairly grim as well, but at least this meant there were parking places in the Pen Y Pass car park.

It was fairly windy on the approach to the ridge itself with lots of low lying clag, but the wind died completely as we hit the ridge itself - perfect timing! The traverse along the famous ridge went very smoothly despite the rock being quite wet and slippery. The Pinnacles at the end of the ridge were climbed successfully before the wind hit us again on the strenuous hike up to the summit.

It was a long day out on the hill and getting late so we opted for the luxury of taking the train back down to Llanberis, where Simon met us for a quick trip back up the Llanberis Pass to the Pen Y Pass.

A perfect example of perseverance and hard work being well rewarded. It would have been all to easy to use the weather as an excuse to not try the ridge, but by taking it one step at a time we stayed safe, in control and were in the right place to make the most of the opportunity when the wind eased. A good day out.

Cross Loading Carabiners

noreply@blogger.com (Silvia Fitzpatrick) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:19:00 +0000

There was a photo of a broken carabiner posted on UKC today via a link to York Climbers. The photo has now been taken down for some reason, but it showed a DMM Phantom wire gate with a buckled gate and the gate misplaced on the outside of the nose.

There was some debate on how this happened and speculation that trust in wire gates may be lowered. Simon at DMM had a quick look at how this may have happened.

"I have not seen a biner look like this outside of a test lab and so spent a bit of time looking at different scenarios for this happening. The gate had obviously been cross loaded in an uneven manner against a hard object and we looked at how this could happen. We tried to replicate the situation using different bolts in different orientations at different angles .

In theory the twisting force needed to damage the carabiner in this manner could be applied with poorly orientated (or loose) bolts if the carabiner at the bolt end of the quickdraw rotates 180 degrees so that the carabiner is upside down with the wire gate levering/pressing against the hanger at right angles. It is then possible if the carabiner is trapped/has restricted movement that the quickdraw sling can apply a levering action onto the top side of the carabiner and hence the wire gate.

I have tried to replicate this in the image above (a/apologies for the ring in the background, I did not have any plain bolts of this type on hand. b/The quickdraw is on the wrong way round- it just was easier to set up the shot with the tadpole holding the draw in place). The critical factor is that the orientation and shape of the bolt of the bolt facilitates the the biner hanging up and being trapped as the load is applied i.e. it happens much more easily in sheet steel bolts with small apartures that have twisted and sit 90 degrees out of position.

It is also possible to achieve this by getting another carabiner nose engaged in between the wires of the gate and a twisting moment then being applied to one of them whilst the other is held firm.

I hope that makes sense"

Personally I use Phantoms as my trad draws (weight), but use Shadows for sports (burly, keylock and fast to clip) - but then I'm lucky enough to have two sets of draws.

There is more information on climbing carabiners on my site in the tabs below the main text.

Plus there is more info on gear at the new Climbing in Spain site.