Petite Verte

Alastair BegleyAlpinism, France Short Link

After a long day yesterday and two sleepless nights the thought of an early start in order to catch the first lift of the day wasn’t all that appealing. However, due to only having a brief weather window in the morning before a few stormy days we decided to get up early and head up the Petite Verte. We chose this route due to it being a short day (under 300m ascent!) which would enable us to get high and continue acclimatising before the weather came in. When we arrived at the lift station it became clear that a large number of other people had (unsurprisingly) had the same idea. The weather in the morning was fantastic and upon leaving the lift station we were greeted by fantastic views of the Aiguille d’Argentiere on one side and views towards Mont Blanc on the other side. Thankfully we managed to leave the lift station quickly and were in the initial group of teams heading for the ridge, due to the air temperature being cool the snow was frozen and we were able to make quick progress up to the start of. Read the full article…

Le Buet Traverse

Alastair BegleyAlpinism, France Short Link

After driving through the night to get to Chamonix, we arrived early in the morning to be greeted by heavy rain. Due to the forecast saying that the weather would improve as the evening approached, we headed off on our pre planned acclimatisation route. Our plan was to head up the valley from Le Buet to a few hundred meters above the Refuge de la Pierre a Berard where we were going to wild camp before heading up to Le Buet the following day before descending via Le Cheval Blanc and the Col de la Terrasse. The weather had started to look bright so we headed up the valley, but unfortunately the rain hadn’t finished and we got hit by another heavy shower on the way up. Eventually we reached an excellent bivi spot with flat ground, plenty of access to water and a stunning view. It started raining very heavily just before we headed to bed, and I learnt the hard way that getting into a bivi bag in the rain without getting everything wet is a tad awkward, but I was very pleased to end up in a. 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…