When you think of Harrogate you instantly think ‘Gritstone’! Almscliffe and Brimham Rocks, arguably the most famous grit stone crags in Yorkshire, are less than 15 minutes from the town centre. The stature of these crags make it pretty hard to believe that it has taken this long to get a decent indoor wall in [...]
Author Archive — Tom
Fort William Mountain Festival
This week ‘The Outdoor Capital of the UK’ has announced details of this years Fort William Mountain Festival. Each year this festival has attracted more attention and participation. This year it looks like it is going to be no different.
Andy Kirkpatrick is probably the best known speaker at the Festival. He is going to be [...]
Longest Waterfall Climb In Austria
It is a little late, but at the start of December Albert Leichtfried and his climbing partner Benedikt Purner made the first Ascent of the longest waterfall in Austria. BD, Albert’s main sponsors, have only just reported the ascent.
Moonwalk (WI 6 M7) is a 1000m route, 900m of which is a single continuous runnel of [...]
Ski Mountaineering Equipment: An Overview
When you are on the piste the focus is always on getting the most from your downhill runs. Ski mountaineering, in comparison, is all about using skis to travel efficiently in the mountains. This means that the gear you use is going to be very different to what you might use on the piste.
The [...]
Jump Start Your Rock Climbing Season with a Spring Trip
An article on how a climbing trip in the spring can help jumpstart your rock climbing season.
Ski Mountaineering: Some of the Unique Dangers and Skills
This article, the second in the series on ski mountaineering will discuss the unique challenges that you might come accross whilst mountaineering with skis. It will also suggest ways to safely prepare and overcome them.
An Introduction to Ski Mountaineering in Scotland
This article is an introduction to a series which will hopefully introduce all the basic elements of ski mountaineering in the UK.
Scotland’s Mountain Ridges
Scotland’s Mountain Ridges (2006) Dan Bailey
Scotland does have some of the best ridge architecture in the world. The lines formed by these ridges have inspired climbers for hundreds of years. Today they are one of the most popular reasons for climbers to make the trip up north.
Most of the ridges that are in this book [...]
Continental Water Ice – In Britain?!
Plastic, blue water ice is not something you would usually associate with Scotland. For almost all of us ‘Scottish winter climbing’ will evoke memories of insecure placements in barely frozen snow ice, spindrift down the back of the neck and dubious protection.
