Welcome to the blog of a young outdoor enthusiast from the North-West of England. Follow me, Iain Robinson, through my University years as I study for a degree in Outdoor Leadership at the University of Cumbria.
... with a couple of pictures of a snow covered Carlisle. Like many places up and down the UK, Carlisle is covered in a blanket of white snow. I've got very little to do today, I am suppose to be finishing an assignment, but I am trying to put that off (it is the holidays for Pete's sake) so to waste some time I went for a walk along the banks of the River Eden to capture Carlisle's winter wonderland.
The Swifts Gold Course, which was closed.
The War Memorial in Rickerby Park.
The River Eden, which was out of it's bank a little over a month ago.
Slipping into a cold pair of climbing shoes beneath the Shelter Stone.
I've just got back from a weekend down south in Preston where I did the Christmas thing and called in on family to deposit presents and general Christmas cheer. On the way south I made use of the cold, crisp Friday afternoon with a quick stop at Trowbarrow for some bouldering delights. I've visited Trowbarrow before, but didn't get a lot done as it was late in the day and it was horribly wet, but on this occasion this was certainly not the case.
Trying the first few moves on the Ramp Traverse (Font 6c+), Shelter Stone.
I started out on the Shelter Stone, but soon gave it up as a bad job; I couldn't work the moves as I had little warmth in my fingers and toes. I moved onto the sheltered Red Wall, where I was able to bring the all important digits back to life and start working a handful of problems at the base of the Limestone wall.
About to rock-over on the Classic Rock-over (Font 4), Red Wall.
The problems on the Red Wall, which I sent, seemed to force you to adopt a slow and controlled climbing style and this meant that moving on the rock felt really nice. I suppose this style was forced somewhat by the frictional qualities of the rock; the hand and foot holds were very polished, but it did mean that I could see the strength and power training of the last few months in action; I was able to lock-off with ease and move between holds statically. This meant that when I walked away from the crag, even though I had only sent five problems, I was extremely happy as the session had been so enjoyable and rewarding.
Getting balanced to make another move on The Crack (Font 5).
We eventually had to give up as the light began to fade around 4pm, and even with the aid of a head torch I couldn't really see the moves required for some of the harder problems at the Red Wall. This meant that we packed up and continued on south to Preston for the weekend.
Trying Nick's Problem (Font 6c), Red Wall with the aid of a head torch as the light begins to fade.
I did attempt to call in on Trowbarrow this morning, on the way back up to Carlisle, to try sending some of the other problems on the Red Wall and I was even considering fixing a rope down some of the lines, so that I could get the Shunt out and get some more climbing in. However, the snow that fell over night put an end to that as the roads around Silverdale were pretty interesting so I limped back to the M6 and Carlisle with my tail between my legs.
Not a common occurrence on here, but here's a video of the session for a change.
A slightly moist, but in the most dry, Sandy Bay Area at Armathwaite.
It seems like my Thursday's have become devoted to scratching around on moist rock in the hope of finding something dry enough to climb. Again, I failed, which is very similar to the Thursday of last week, but I did boulder out the starting moves to The Exorcist (E4, 5c), which I have done on many other visits to Armathwaite's Sandy Bay Area, before dismissing the holds as slightly too moist. I then spent some time fixing a rope down the line of Glenwillie Grooves (HS, 4b) in the hope of using my new toy to solo the route, but again I dismissed this as a lost cause as the crux of the route was one wet, greasy mess of Permian Age, red desert Penrith Sandstone.
Some delicate sandstone features around Ituna (S) and Flasherman (VS, 4b, 5a).
Today's failure was even more demoralising than last week's damp rock at Carrock Fell as I was hoping to get in a long day on the crag 'shunting' up some E1's and E2's and call it training. If this had come off, it would have been the first time that I had trained outside, since starting training back in the middle of October, and would have probably been the most beneficial training session of them all; I would eventually be able to see what E1 and E2 climbing is really like and therefore be better prepared mentally for my project route I aim to send in the summer of 2010.
I'm not that strong yet, but it's an aim (Picture: James Pearson's blog).
All the training I have done to date has focused on stamina, power endurance and limit strength, and yes I have seen an improvement, but there is the other side of training: the tactics and the head game, which I was going to focus on today alongside some limit strength stuff. I am more than confident that my physical skills and attributes are now ready for climbing in the E grades, but it is the two things I previously mentioned, which are now holding me back.
I suppose its back to putting my head in some books to research these points and implement them in the next phase of my training plan, which is scheduled to begin when the second semester of lectures begin in January. However, I think I'll get some limit strength stuff done at home today and try again tomorrow, with training outside, otherwise I might just reside myself to one final wall session, before a weeks rest, and then three weeks of 'performance' climbing to test the rewards reaped from the first phase of training.
Obviously that's all weather dependant!
Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff... Iain
I imagine your all wondering who Ciaran O'Frighil is? Well to be perfectly honest I don't know and neither does that great academic source[!] Wikipedia, but Google tells me he once wrote a poem:
I must admit it seems that his poetic work is rather limited, but don't worry I haven't gone crazy; this poem, and the featured picture, both have a connection and a purpose.
If it was possible to make the picture rewind ten minutes you would be looking at a climber making moves on Faulds (S) at Caldbeck Moor Quarry and they would be about a meter above a piece of protection, with another piece about three meters below that. Fast forward some minutes and you'd see the climber reaching up for a hold near the top of the route. A couple of milliseconds would pass and you'd see the hold breaking off in the climbers hand. A couple more milliseconds would pass and the climber would be in free fall as gravity takes charge. Another millisecond would pass and you'd see the piece of protection, which was a meter below the climber, ripping out of the delicate limestone. A millisecond or so later and you'd see the ropes coming tight on the next piece of protection, about three meters below the piece that had just ripped, just as the climbers feet connect with the grassy mound at the bottom of the route. One or two more milliseconds would pass and you'd see the climber in a crumpled heap as their feet slide out from beneath them.
And now your back at the picture.
The ropes have been pulled through and left in a pile at the bottom of the route; the injured climber and their partner sort out the remaining gear and strip themselves of harnesses and climbing shoes. The ropes are eventually coiled and the pair hobble and walk, respectively, back to the vehicle that transported them to the crag and would now see them safely to the hospital in Penrith.
As you have probably now gathered I went climbing today at Caldbeck Moor Quarry. It was a lovely December morning, but on the first route a loose hold proved problematic for my partner, which resulted in a fall to the ground, and an end to the days climbing. Luckily the hospital diagnosis was soft tissue damage and the prescribed treatment was rest, ice, compression and elevation. Some might view this as a wasted day, but was it? Personally, I'd say no, and for now I'll leave it at that.
Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff... Iain
I am an outdoor enthusiast from the north-west of England who enjoys being in the outdoors. When it's raining I'll be looking to get on the river and when it's not I'll be trying to summit a Lakeland fell or bag another climb. I try to document all my outdoor activities in the Lake District, and further afield, through photographs; another passion of mine.
If your a company or individual looking to sponsor a young kayaker or climber like myself why don't you get in touch by dropping me an email.
Fighting for Access
Have you signed this or maybe even this? If not perhaps you should click yourself over there right now and get it signed. We need a constant flow of signatures to get this petition noticed and then maybe something may be done to improve access to the rivers of this fine country.
Fancy letting the world know about your kayaking habits. How about wearing some mighty fine apparell ranging from hoodies to t-shirts and beanies. Take a look. You know it's the right thing to do.
The Swifts Gold Course, which was closed.
The War Memorial in Rickerby Park.
The River Eden, which was out of it's bank a little over a month ago.
A random sledger in Rickerby Park.
