Archive for June, 2010

Rock climbing training – Toughening and repairing your fingers part 2

Already done the damage? Here is my top tips on repairing your fingers from climbing session induced carnage…

Bouldering: Langdale Boulders, The Lake District

Ali, my housemate, and myself thought we’d get an early start last Sunday seeing as the sun was up and it was relatively warm. By 9.30am we had a lovely drive past Windermere and great views of the Lake and the Langdale Pikes. We drove through the leafy country lanes past Chapel Stile and just past the village we arrived at a layby (on the right) and a gate on the left, which leads to the Langdale Boulders.

Lake District climbing: Troutdale Pinnacle 107m Severe, Borrowdale

My brother David called me late one night to tell me that a mate of his had been waxing lyrical about a certain climbing route in the Lake District. This particular mate knows his onions. He has an extensive climbing portfolio including several trips to the alps. For him to describe this route as one of his all time favourites grabbed our attention. The route? Troutdale Pinnacle.

Rock climbing training – Toughening and repairing your fingers

Aside from the obvious aches and pains, I’m sure that if you ask any regular rock climber, the pain they’re all keen to avoid is damage to the skin on their hands and fingers. Climbing places a great deal of stress on your skin, which can easily lead to painful sores or tears. This week I would like to give you some tips on how to toughen up your skin to prevent such injuries. Next week I’ll tell you how best to heal them quickly if you do happen suffer with them.

Climbing equipment review: Mammut Skywalker climbing helmet

I hate this climbing helmet! Sorry Mammut, please don’t take it personally, I would probably hate any climbing helmet. I am completely committed to the idea of wearing a helmet for climbing, I’ve just never quite got along with actually doing it.
I bought the Mammut Skywalker climbing helmet about a year ago. Brother David and I found ourselves primarily climbing multi-pitch routes where rock-fall is a real possibility, so we thought it high time we invested in helmets.

Climbing equipment review: OMM ‘Classic’ 32L climbing pack

I have a confession to make. Until recently I didn’t have a climbing pack. My kit (and by kit I mean my packed lunch and a drink) has been carried in a cheap drawstring bag, casually cast over one shoulder. My completely inappropriate bag meant that my brother David carried pretty much our entire climbing rack in his pack, which goes some way to explaining my reluctance to splash out out on a proper climbing pack. Eventually my guilt got the better of me and I decided to spend some money. I opted for the OMM ‘Classic’ 31L pack.

Climbing book review: Classic Rock compiled by Ken Wilson

The laminated book of dreams! That’s the title that my brother David and I use to describe this climbing book. It’s not really laminated. We adopted the phrase coined by Bill Bailey, to describe the Argos catalogue, in a stand-up routine. We call it that because we use it like a weekend holiday brochure, to decide where our next mountain route adventure is going to be.

Crags: Yarncliffe Quarry – A small but surprisingly good climbing venue

I’m a little bit hesitant about reviewing Yarncliffe as it is already popular and has already been overused as a learning venue for novices. Abseiling and top roping in inappropriate footwear has caused premature aging to many of the best routes.

SMART Climbing

The other day I gave a talk to a group of business people about how climbing could help their business. Not surprisingly they were a little skeptical at first, especially after I showed them the intro to the Progression DVD – What could this have to do with them?

So what strategies do climbers employ?

It’s finally here… The new look Rock Climbing UK

After a year as my blog, we’ve switched the format of Rock Climbing UK to an online rock climbing magazine.

Content is no longer supplied solely by, me, Gareth Hanson (now Editor-in-Chief!), but by multiple contributors, each with their own experience and perspective.

We’d love you to become a contributor too!