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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…