Posted on February 15, 2015
I’ve come to the conclusion that blogging is hard work and the longer you leave it the harder it is to write something! Climbing at Fairhead in glorious sunshine away back in June seems a very distant memory as I write this looking out towards where the Mourne Mountains should be…instead there is only greyness and incessant mizzle.
After the incredible summer of 2013 it was hard to imagine the summer of 2014 being any better, but it was! It just kept on going and going and despite a brief interlude towards rolled on into a generally dry and sunny Autumn and North Wales just kept on giving. Here a few photos that sum up some of what happened in those months.
The high mountain crags once again dried almost completely and so it was off back up to Gallt yr Ogof and an almost obligatory visit to Cloggy to climb a couple of classics, West Buttress Eliminate and Great Wall.
Until a couple of years ago the Lake District was never high on my list of paces to go climbing, that is until I spent an incredible weekend on Scafell Pike climbing dry, high quality mountain rhyolite. This year I made a couple of trips back up including one week of incredible blue skies and hot weather. Climbing on Pavey Ark, Gimmer Crag, Esk Buttress, Dow Crag, Goat Crag, Reecastle and several others just confirmed to me just how great the mountain cragging is in the Lakes!
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Langdale Reflections
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Esk Valley…stunning!
The remainder of the summer was largely taken up with sport climbing as I rediscovered The Diamond on the Little Orme. A lot of redevelopment has taken place here over the years to turn it into a top venue. Unfortunately its only climbable a small part of the year so there were a lot of after work visits to capitalise on the golden evening light and generally good conditions. Some accounts were opened and closed, one other in particular was left open…I’m already looking forward to getting back down there at the start of August!
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The Diamond in golden evening light.
From sea level bolt clipping it was off to the very north of Scotland for some classic sea stacks as part of a work trip. The Old Man of Hoy, Old Man of Stoer and Am Buchaille are three of the most iconic lines in the UK for the adventurous trad climber. I was fortunate to climb both Am Buchaille and The Old Man of Hoy along with a couple of days cragging at Sheigra in exceptional weather for the north of Scotland!
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The Old Man of Hoy standing proud of St. Johns Head
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A Few Dollars More on Old of Hoy
From the seaside it was off to the Alps and a warm up route on the North Face of the Midi set us up for the Schmidt Route on the Matterhorn. Conditions on the face were exceptionally good and made this one of the most enjoyable north faces I’ve climbed! It also completed the big three North Face Trilogy routes for me!
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Alpenglow on the Tournier Spur, NF Aiguille du Midi
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The Matterhorn
The glorious Autumn continued on with a good bit of great autumnal weather that allowed cragging right up to the end of the month. Autumn is definitely a favourite time of mine to climb, the air is crisp and clear, the sunshine more than welcome and the colours give the surroundings a vibrant feel. Climbing in the sun all the way up to the start of my winter provided a fitting finale to what’s been a great year.
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Breezy, sunny days on the Lleyn Peninsula. Path to Rome.
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Cold, friction days on Slate. Tom Livingstone on Poetry Pink.
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Last day of rock climbing for me in amazing sunshine by the sea at the Great Orme, Gritstone Gorilla