More Scottish Winter Climbing

Last week I headed up to Fort William with a good friend, Gareth, hoping for some good conditions.  We had one perfect day, in perfect conditions, on a great route, in a week which was sadly filled with tragic accidents in other parts of Scotland.

A leisurely start on Tuesday saw us tramping up towards Curved Ridge on Buchaille Etive Mor.  Sunshine and hard snow, plus 2 great ice pitches, and a detour into a nearby gully to leapfrog a bigger party, made the route so enjoyable, and the airy moves on the ridge with views to Glen Etive were fabulous.  At the top, we stopped to savour the view and those feelings of elation and a sense that the world is a wonderful place, as well as to eat a much needed butty!

After carefully negotiating our way down, we planned for a trip to Ben Nevis the next day to try a route called Green Gully.  We got a great early start (5am!) but when we got to the CIC hut, the wind was howling, with spindrift avalanches cascading down the face, and reports of small slab avalanches up ahead of us.  We decided to leave the mountain alone, and headed back for coffee at Fort William.  A good decision as it snowed for 24 hours solidly, and by the end of the afternoon, the wind was very strong, making conditions very unstable.

Winter Climbing

Last week I headed to Scotland to Cairngorm and then to Glencoe to do some winter climbing.  I thought I was fairly fit, but of course nothing really prepares you for Scottish walk in's with a big pack and winter boots on ....unless you have already spent a couple of weeks doing the same!

This was my first year to try leading some winter routes, and I was pleased to find that my summer skills 'winterised' quite well.  Making do with less than perfect gear, sometimes shifting snow and the weather can make everything feel much more nerve racking.  However, using the techniques that work for me such as breathing into my feet (they seemed to feel quite warm!), staying focused on the task in hand and not letting myself get ahead of....myself (!) worked well.   The latter skill is particularly important - we have a habit of gazing as far ahead as possible, thinking about the end of the route, getting ahead of ourselves, which can really rachet up the anxiety.  Instead, its better to think about the gear you just put in, try to spot the next one, but gaze no further than that, until you get to that next piece of gear.  This way your brain stays on the foot and axe placements you need right now, rather than worrying about the ones you might need on the crux sequence on the next pitch.

I really enjoyed my leads, and am off up again next week for some consolidation hopefully!

Enjoy the pictures :)

A busy couple of weeks

Its been manic here!!  Last week I spent an evening coaching the Beacon's "Next Generation" climbing team, this week I worked with Dave on some of his sticking points, bookings are coming in for the Open Course, and I am trying to finish up all the little niggling bits for the new website and sort out some posters to send out to climbing walls and to have at the upcoming Fort William film festival and LLAMFF (the Llanberis Film Festival).  So its all go! 

In reviewing the last week or so, what themes have come up?

Firstly, there is something for me about being totally honest with yourself.  Working with the teenagers in the Beacon team was great, as, unlike many adults I have worked with, they were pretty honest about their fears, how much they were committing to moves, and how far they were willing to push themselves.  It was also great to work with Dave, where we spent a lot of time thinking about all the sneaky ways we hold ourselves back without even realising.  The brain is great at developing what we call 'safety behaviours' - little mental crutches or strategies we adopt to make us feel safer.  Unfortunately, these safety behaviours become insidious (eg checking our belayer has 'got us' at the top of a climb, fingering a hold but then letting go before you actually try to move up on that hold, getting your partner to let you come down before trying what looks to be a hard move, etc) and serve to reduce our comfort zone.  So its important to have someone help you notice all the little things you do to stop yourself getting to that point of no return, where you are pushing right up against the edge of your comfort zone.  It could just be saying "I'm tired", or only doing routes you know, and so on, its different for everyone.

The second theme (pertinent to me right now given the time of night I am doing this!) is, balance.  Pushing yourself in climbing is all very well provided you have the mental space and energy for it.  But if life is stressful and hard at the moment, back off a bit!!  Take some time out for yourself, climb just for fun, and leave the pushing until things calm down a little.  You are only human!!

You can take a sneaky peak at the new website whilst its under development here but keep checking back as its not finished yet!!  And if you are thinking about booking onto the open workshop, get in touch asap as places are filling up fast.

And on that note - I'm off to relax!!