Blog Posts in Category: Rock Climbing

South Devon Climbing

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing Short Link

Armed with a positive forecast I made the decision to head down to South Devon for 2 days with Tom over the weekend. On Saturday afternoon we headed down to Berry Head where we climbed the classic HVS Moonraker before heading to the Dewerstone on Sunday to climb the classic Central Groove and Gideon. Moonraker is described as “One of the UK’s greatest HVSs” which is quite a statement and was always going to be hard to live up to, it is also a bit of an adventure as to approach the base of the route you have to solo a low tide traverse, which is graded around Severe. This traverse makes the route seem far more committing, as you either have to climb the route or swim out… The route was fantastic with P1 and P3 being the highlight, P1 was very steep and sustained with some fantastic exposure and P3 was an outrageously steep but amenable corner, looking down was very exciting at this point! While we were climbing we had a number of highs thanks to the fantastic climbing and wildlife keeping us company, however we did. Read the full article…

Panorama – Jegihorn

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing, Switzerland Short Link

After having a rest day following our ascent of the North Ridge of the Weissmies, we decided to make the most of a single day of good weather by heading to the Jegihorn to do some multi pitch sport climbing. We climbed a route called ‘Panorama’, which was a 10 pitch f5a. After a quick walk up to the crag we were pleased to find out that no one else was aiming for our route, everyone else was either heading for the classic Alpendurst or the via ferrata. From the route we had a great view of the Weissmies, including the long north ridge, and the Lagginhorn. Multipitch sport climbing with two people is very efficient and we made great time up the route, finishing the 10 pitches in under 2.5 hours. The main delay at belays was having to get our breath back as climbing at altitude is hard work! The climbing was initially fairly easy and broken with lots of easier ground, but the climbing just improved with height as the rock got steeper. There were some surprisingly tricky moves at points, which were made all the more exciting by. Read the full article…

Climbing & Wild Camping on Cloggy

Alastair BegleyNorth Wales, Rock Climbing Short Link

In order to make the most of the brilliant weather we are currently experiencing, myself and Nick took some impromptu holiday and headed up to North Wales for two days of mid week climbing. Online reports were suggesting that the eternally wet Cloggy (Clogwyn Du’r Arddu) was dry, so we decided to head up for two days of wild camping and climbing on Cloggy. We left Llanberis early in the morning with ridiculously heavy rucksacks, it turns out that climbing and wild camping gear combined are pretty heavy and we were both pretty glad to get to where we were going to camp. After relaxing in the sun for a bit while we put the tent up and boiled some water to rehydrate we headed up to the base of the cliff. The first route we climbed was an E2 called Jelly Role, the first pitch of which is always wet and the guidebook description made it sound awful, and it didn’t look any better while we were there. I was supposed to be leading this wide, wet, slimy crack but I couldn’t sum up the courage to leave the. Read the full article…

Pembroke – My home from home…

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing Short Link

After managing a single weekend in Bristol last weekend, a good forecast put an end to my idea of having a cheap month and I headed back to what is becoming a very regular climbing venue for me, Pembroke. Day 1: Grade Pushing & Falling We left Bristol on Saturday morning and headed straight to the classic venue of Mother Carey’s Kitchen. I first visited this crag in April and it felt a world apart today as we walked to the crag in shorts and tshirts baking in the late morning sunshine. After an obligatory amount of kit faff we were soon ready to abseil into the crag in order for me to climb the super classic Brazen Buttress, which is known for being unrelentingly sustained. I decided to climb the route in one pitch and easily dispatched the first pitch which only had one hard move, this left me standing on the optional belay ledge looking up, all of a sudden it all seemed a bit daunting. After a few minutes recovering I set off, and was immediately in the thick of it constantly climbing excellent sequences without any proper. Read the full article…

Another day trip to Pembroke

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing Short Link

This weekend has probably been one of the most successful weekend of climbing I have had so far. Over the weekend I climbed my first two E2s On-Sight and accumulated 10 “E points” of which 7 I gained cleanly on lead. Pembroke On Saturday I headed over to Pembroke with Nick in order to make the most of good tides and the sun. We managed to tick off three super classic routes and I finished some unfinished business from two years ago. I started the day by leading an E1 called Manzoku, which I had a bit of a bad time on two years ago and I didn’t finish the route. My memory of the route was that it involved really technical climbing and was very pumpy, however on Saturday I cruised the route and found the climbing interesting but never too difficult and certainly not really pumpy, it’s amazing how a route can change over two years! It was great to be able to really enjoy a super classic E1 of Pembroke and at the same time close some unfinished business which has been bugging me for a while.. Read the full article…

Classic climbing in the Lake District

Alastair BegleyLake District, Rock Climbing Short Link

Both of the previous bank holiday weekends have involved good weather and very little traffic, both of these rare events had to come to an end at some point. On the journey up, while stationary in yet another traffic jam, I was pondering why I was bothering heading up to the Lakes for the weekend due to the awful forecast. After what seemed like a very long drive we eventually arrived at the campsite, and we arrived in between the showers which was great. Shepherds Crag The first day was supposed to have a weather window in the morning before the rain arrived, so I headed to Shepherds Crag with Rich to get some early climbing in. The first route we jumped on was The Bludgeon, a two pitch E1. Rich headed up the first pitch which has some straightforward but rather bold climbing, which wasn’t helped by the damp rock. Once I arrived at the belay I wasn’t feeling too psyched due to the start of the route being soaking wet litchen covered rock, which means it has no grip. After traversing away from the belay I ended up. Read the full article…

Crazy Day Trips

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing Short Link

When I mention how far I am willing to go for a climbing day trip, most people think I am a little bit crazy. However I think the few that normally understand probably think I am slightly mad due to the trips I have done over the past few days, 10 hours in a car to climb 5 routes. On Friday I took the day off work and headed down to Lower Sharpnose Point in North Cornwall with my Mum and then on Saturday I headed over to Pembroke for another day trip with Rich. Lower Sharpnose Point I have been wanting to climb at Lower Sharpnose for a while now, it is a unique crag with improbable fins sticking out into the North Atlantic. It is also known for being very steep and sustained and having been there I am very glad I wanted until now for the trip! It was a stunning day and after a painless 2.5 hour drive we arrived at the parking spot and started the short walk to the crag. The fins are hidden until you are very close, all of a sudden as you approached. Read the full article…

Classic Climbing in North Wales

Alastair BegleyNorth Wales, Rock Climbing Short Link

I have just returned from an absolutely fantastic weekend in North Wales with the Avon Mountaineering Club. I spent the weekend climbing with Andrew, and we made the most of the dry weather by spending two days climbing in the Pass and one day climbing at Tremadog. Having never climbed in the Pass before, I never quite understood the hype about it, however having climbed there it is an utterly inspiring place, with great lines, on good rock, in a fantastic setting, what more could you want! Over the weekend we successfully climbed 6 routes, of which 5 were Rockfax top 50 lines, and I also got spanked by an E2 at Tremadog. The final ticklist for the weekend was: We woke up on the first morning expecting it to be freezing due to a frost being forecast, however it was surprisingly warm. After a quick breakfast we headed out of the campsite early to ensure we got a parking space at the boulders before all the spaces were pinched by walkers. After a short walk and scramble we were soon at the small ledge at the base of Cenotaph Corner,. Read the full article…