SW & E Ridge of the Douglas Boulder, Ben Nevis

Alastair BegleyScotland, Winter Climbing Short Link

With an excellent forecast George and I planned to go to Ben Nevis with the aim of climbing Observatory Ridge. The walk in was beautiful with a clear sky, views of a snowy mountain and a beautiful view back down into the valley. Unfortunately due to the lack of winter so far this year, while Ben Nevis was covered in snow it was lacking in ice which is what lead us to attempting a ridge route. Unfortunately while we were approaching observatory ridge it became clear that the snow was very unconsolidated with no base at all. I set off on the first pitch and quickly decided that we were going to have a long and unpleasant day if we continued, so made the unpleasant unprotected down climb back to the belay. We then decided to head for plan B which was the classic south west ridge of the Douglas boulder. This provided three pitches of excellent mixed climbing, with good hooks, reasonable snow, excellent protection and enjoyable climbing. George led the first pitch which was the crux of the route with an enjoyable technical traverse, the second pitch was more straightforward. Read the full article…

Lake District Classic Rock

Alastair BegleyLake District, Rock Climbing Short Link

When I booked onto the Avon Mountaineering Club’s winter Lake District trip I was very optimistically hoping for some winter climbing to be in condition, optimistically hoping for some winter walking and just hoping for some good weather. Unfortunately winter had other ideas and there was barely any sign of winter in Scotland, let alone the Lake District. However, what I was not expecting was a forecast which involved a light breeze and a cloudless sky. This forecast led to George persuading Becky and me that we wanted to go rock climbing, on a mountain crag in the Lake District in January. Initially we were unconvinced, however we did eventually relent and agreed to head up to Gimmer to climb two classic rock routes. When we woke up we were presented with a cloudless sky, beautiful sunrise and a frosty ground. We sorted our gear out in the Old Dungeon Ghyll car park, and it did feel a bit strange packing to go rock climbing in the mountains with ice on the ground. We soon warmed up on the walk up to Gimmer before cooling down again when we headed into the. Read the full article…

2016 in 100 Photos

Alastair Begley100 Photos, Alpinism, Mountaineering, Winter Climbing Short Link

It’s safe to say that 2016 was a very mixed year, with the highlights being an excellent start to the year with lots of successful winter climbing trips and a winter sun rock climbing trip. The summer rock climbing never seemed to start properly for me this year, before I injured myself and had to take an enforced break. My alps trips this year was very successful and I had an excellent two weeks in the Ecrins with Becky where we climbed a few peaks and enjoyed lots of sunny bolted multi pitch climbing. Unfortunately shortly after the Alps I received the tragic news that one of my close friends and regular climbing partners died in a climbing accident in the Avon gorge. Following this I was fairly disinterested with climbing for a while which resulted in a relaxed autumn and a chilled out weekend walking around on Lundy. As I was starting to force myself to think about climbing again I headed to south Wales for some sport climbing, and had an enjoyable day out until injured my finger & forearm which put me out of action until Christmas. Winter This year. Read the full article…

Alpine Striding Edge

Alastair BegleyWinter Climbing Short Link

After a brilliant day on Sharp Edge the day before we weren’t sure that we were going to be so lucky today. Thankfully when we were woken up we were treated to another crystal clear sky, although this did have the downside that it was -5 in the valley which had made the van a bit cold… After we had thawed out we started the walk in a little bit later than planned, which was unfortunate as we had planned to set off early to try and avoid meeting any unprepared people on the route. The start of the walk was very cold, but the ascent up Myers Beck soon warmed us up. As we ascended the view along Ullswater just kept getting better with the combination of the frosty valleys, sunlit heather slopes and snowy mountains. After the shady ascent up Myers Beck it was a relief to climb into the sun and see the first view of Helvellyn, and it just looked outstanding with it’s winter coat and the clear blue sky. We were soon on Striding Edge and decided to put our crampons on at the start,. Read the full article…

Alpine Sharp Edge

Alastair BegleyLake District, Winter Climbing Short Link

Last weekend and the start of this week was characterised by heavy rain and cold conditions in Bristol, which meant that in the Lake District the mountains were developing their first significant winter coat of the season. As the week continued a high pressure system started to build, so Becky and I decided to take a day off work and head up to the Lake District for a long weekend. On Friday morning we left Bristol at 6am hoping for a clear run up the M5 and M6 in order to get to the Lake District in time to climb Blencathra via Sharp Edge and descent via Hall’s Fell ridge. Thankfully we made good time, and by 11am we were in a lay by near the start of the walk into Sharp Edge with cold and and crystal clear blue skies. The walk in was beautiful leaving the green sunlit valley and climbing up in the warm sun, we soon arrived at the first col and left the sunlight behind and the temperature plummeted, but we were treated to a fantastic view of Sharp Edge being illuminated by the sun.. Read the full article…

Fissure d’Ailefroide

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing Short Link

You can take a British climber out of Britain, but evidently you cannot take the British ethic out of a British Climber. While staying in Ailefroide over the summer we were surrounded by hundreds of immaculate, sunkissed granite slabs which were well bolted, after a few days on these slabs we decided to return to our routes and climb a very traditional route which was staring down on us from above the campsite. The route we headed for was the Fissure d’Ailefride and was an eight pitch chimney on a north facing wall which only briefly receives the sun in the evening. It was mostly traditionally protected, however there were bolted belays and there was the odd bolt at some of the harder sections. It had been recommended to us not to take a bag, which turned out to be very worthwhile advice! The Fissure can be seen in the above photo splitting the crag up the middle. While walking into the crag we were feeling very British, and were slightly bemused to find a French couple just starting the route ahead of us! It wasn’t long before you had to. Read the full article…

Soleil Trompeur, Sagnette

Alastair BegleyEcrin, France, Rock Climbing Short Link

Having decided not to head over to Chamonix due to the weather we were keen to get to another summit and have another big mountain day out before the end of our holiday. Unfortunately due to the weather this was put back until the day we were leaving. Despite the plan to leave we were both drawn to an amazing looking route at the head of the Ailefroide valley which climbed the Sagnette. The route was 15 pitches long, well bolted and involved about 10 abseils to get back. Due to our desire not to finish in the dark, and to finish early enough to make a good indent into the journey that night we had a very early start. After a hideous alarm call we drove up the valley in the dark and discovered that even if you turn up before dawn you still have to pay the park entry fee! A hasty walk in enabled us to overtake two other parties and arrive at the route without anyone in front of us. The first few pitches were very cold in the shade, however the climbing was excellent. It. Read the full article…

Ailefroide Multipitch

Alastair BegleyEcrin, Rock Climbing Short Link

As the weather has remained excellent in Ailefroide we have stayed here to focus on multi-pitch rock rather than heading off somewhere else to do more alpine climbing. Palavar les Flots, 12 Pitches, 430m, 5c We started with the long but relatively straight forward classic of Palavar les Flots, which is a 12 pitch 5c which climbs the dominant arête above the campsite. The climbing was relatively sustained all the way up at 4b-5a which made for an enjoyable day out, the crux pitch was notably harder than the rest of the route but had an enjoyable sequence up the slab. Despite being stuck behind a slower group of three, we made quick time up the route and we were at the top by lunchtime. After lunch on the top, we made the long abseil back down to the valley. By the time we were back down at the base of the route we were in the full heat of the afternoon sun, so we made a hasty retreat to a hotel in Ailefroide for a beer and some ice cream. Little Palaver, 8 Pitches, 300m, 5c Next to Palavar. Read the full article…