EICA Over 18's Outside Climbing

Myself and Martin where at Rosyth Quarry this evening with a small group of adult to do some climbing. The group was of mixed ability, so Martin took 2 and looked at seconding routes whilst teaching about runners and belays etc. I also covered this as well as getting my guys leading. They all did 5 routes in time we had, some led. Overall a good evening with alot covered.

If you are interested in these evenings please call the EICA:Ratho or visit their website.

Blackford Quarry

I was working with a group of 8-12 year old from the EICA:Ratho today. We went to Blackford for the day to do some climbing before walking to the summit. This was the first time climbing outside for these kids, so the good weather was fully appreciated. This is a great venue to introduce this age group to bottom roping outside and further their climbing.

Shepherd's Take 2

We had an excellent day at Shepherd's today. Starting at the brown slabs meant that they all did lots of climbing in the morning before moving along to the Jackdaw ridge area to do lots more. Nick and Peter made a quality ascent of Little Chamonix leading it all in Two pitches.

A brilliant day to finish.

St Bees

Today we headed to the coast to see if we could get some shelter from the bad weather that was forecast. This was a good option. As the thunder storms hit Borrowdale we basked in the sun at the beach. There was enough here to keep a competent group busy for the day. The routes are quite tricky for the grade and a bit sandy. There was some excellent bouldering to be had as well in a great setting.

Shepherd's

I was free from the youth for a day, so I took the old man up a couple of classics at Shepherd's. Despite the polish and the crowds, this is a great place to climb when the weather is good and you want a short walk in.

Int Langdales

After being beat to the crag by the local German centres who had put their towels on Shepherd's today, we headed down into Langdale to Copt Howe. This is a good group crag that is up hill from the first Langdale Boulders and offers a wide range of climbing. All the group seemed to have a productive day, climbing lots of routes. Just over half the group did their first trad lead up a perfect VDiff crackline that had plenty of gear, with interesting climbing.

In the evening we had a short bouldering session on the Honister boulders. The main boulders have some good problems in the V0-V5 range, but you can make up more problems than are in the guide. We also used some of the other boulders around to look at different techniques as well which provided interest for all abilities.