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…

Climbing in Range West

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing Short Link

After a very successful trip to Pembroke last weekend, and some great mid week cragging it was time for a four day weekend for easter. Last year I spent easter doing a winter traverse of the Cuillin Ridge, this year I spent it climbing sea cliffs in the sun. I was supposed to be heading down to Cornwall, however due to lacking a climbing partner for Cornwall I decided to head to Pembroke with my Mum for two days, before having two family days. On the first morning we decided to head to range west which meant we had to head to the Castlemartin camp to attend a briefing, due to the live firing which occurs on this range. We decided to walk to the Fortress, which is about as far from a car park as you can get in Pembroke, being a 70 min walk according to the guide book! Thanks to the great new guide books, we found the crag easily enough and enjoyed a fantastic day climbing on remote sea cliffs hardly seeing another person. The rock in this part of Pembroke is completely different to the. Read the full article…

Rock Climbing at Pembroke

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing Short Link

Last weekend had a good weather forecast with a dominant high pressure system in power, this combined with excellent tide times meant a trip to Pembroke, which is one of my favourite climbing destinations. There were four of us which headed to pembroke, myself along with Rich, Nick R and Steve. It was a very successful weekend where Rich and I climbed 3 E1s, 3HVSs and a HS in good style with no falls or rests, I was very glad to get another 3 E1 leads under my belt and am now starting to feel more confident at the grade. The first day was grey and breezy but dry and not too chilly, we started the day by heading to the legendary Mother Carey’s Kitchen, also known as Mother Scarey’s due to its intimidating nature. I started the morning by leading the classic E1, Rock Idol, which heads up a very distinctive corner and contains some brilliant, very sustained and steep climbing. I was very happy to get the route cleanly, especially due to the slightly greasy morning rock with the odd wet hold. We quickly made our way back. Read the full article…

Spring Climbing at Wintour’s Leap

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing Short Link

Another weekend with a forecast for sun and warm temperatures meant another weekend climbing. Last weekend I headed out sport climbing at Tirpentwys on the Saturday and trad climbing at Wyndcliffe on the Sunday. This weekend after a chilled out Saturday sorting stuff out at home I headed to Wintour’s Leap with Andrew today. We had a brilliant day out in the sun, even in the morning before we were in the sun it wasn’t cold. We started the day by climbing the classic route “The Angel’s Girdle”, due to having already lead the first pitch Andrew got pitches 1&3 and I was lucky enough to get the two main pitches. The route was great with some fantastic exposure, it was just a shame that we were climbing in the shade, however due to it being a traverse across a very popular section of wall it was necessary to start early. It was lucky that we did as there were about 6 other teams at the crag by the time we finished the route. The route was a bit runout in places inbetween pegs, but the climbing was never difficult, apart. Read the full article…

Central Gully on Lurcher’s Crag

Alastair BegleyScotland, Winter Climbing Short Link

Another good weather forecast meant we could get another day out winter climbing, however due to the avalanche risk it was necessary to chose a route carefully. We decided to head to Lurcher’s crag to climb Central Gully as it was west-south-west facing and we knew that it had been climbed recently. After my big day yesterday I was feeling very tired this morning when I woke up and wasn’t feeling too optimistic due to cloud cover and drizzle. However, as we drove over to the Caingorms it began to clear and we had a fantastic walk in with beautiful scenery. Snow conditions under foot were great due to having refrozen, however the route through the Chalamain Gap was awkward with iced up rock and lots of wind and spindrift being funnelled through the gap. The view down the Lairig Ghru as we traversed around to Lurcher’s crag was fantastic as it was lit up in the sunlight, however it was an awkward traverse with more icy rocks. We were expecting to be following others up due to the footprints in front of us but thankfully everyone else headed up. Read the full article…

Ledge Route & Carn Mor Dearg Arete

Alastair BegleyScotland, Winter Climbing Short Link

With a good weather forecast and still not much in condition for climbing due to loaded slopes I decided to have a big day out mountaineering on the Ben. My plan was to head up to the CIC hut and solo Ledge Route before heading up to the summit of Ben Nevis and then descend via the classic Carn Mor Dearg Arete. It became clear on the drive over that the weather wasn’t as nice it was was forecast to be, but I was up and driving so I carried on. On the walk up through the forest it started raining fairly heavily which soon turned to snow once I exited the forest, this made the walk up to the CIC hut a fairly damp affair. I made good time and was at the CIC hut in 1hr20mins despite headwinds and snow below the hut, there were a number of other parties out heading for objectives such as waterfall gully and one party was planning on heading to the Minus Face. I was grateful of the party heading to Waterfall gully as it meant that I could use their footprints. Read the full article…

Golden Oldy

Alastair BegleyScotland, Winter Climbing Short Link

With the snowpack still not stable on north through east facing aspects and a good day of weather forecast we decided to head over to the west face of Aonach Mor to climb Golden Oldy. It became clear in the morning that it wasn’t going to be as nice a day as forecast as the wind was pretty strong at the gondola station and it was snowing. The approach to Golden Oldy was really hard work due to deep snow with a murderous crust. By using the gps and a good set of directions we managed to find the start of Golden Oldy without any difficulty where we were met by three parties behind us and it was good to get some confirmation that we were at the base of the route. I soloed the entire ridge while Richard and David moved together alpine style. The conditions on the ridge were fantastic with mostly helpful snow however the weather was awful with lots of wind, spindrift and hill fog. As we approached the snow aretes towards the top of the ridge there was no exposed rock which made protection hard. Read the full article…