Train, Bike, Swim...

Its been almost 2 weeks now since I returned from my last climbing trip to Portland, time flies eh..?

Training on the college bouldering wall...

Since I have been back I have kept myself busy in preparation for my next climbing trip to the Gower peninsula, which will be going ahead next month.

In order to avoid the same disappointment I had in Portland of climbing very few routes and very easy grades, I have made a conscious effort to get as much time on the bouldering and climbing wall as possible in the last few weeks. I have been training solo on the college bouldering wall as often as possible working on strength endurance by doing circuits on the vertical and overhanging sections of the wall. I have managed to fit in 4 sessions at the college wall lasting roughly an hour and a half each time. As with training on the boulder wall myself and Sean managed to make it to Exeter for a day where we had a full session bouldering and leading at the Quay climbing centre. Whilst there myself and Sean managed to get a good 15 leads in each on the leading routes climbing grades up to 6b+ and roughly V3 - V4ish in the boulder rooms...still have some strength work to do!! Alongside the climbing training I have been on the exercise bike during the days where I have not been on the wall, which has been quite a lot considering I have massed around 60km this week alone!

Quay Climbing Centre...

Myself mid air down at Anstey's...

Alongside the training, I have managed to get out and do some coasteering sessions with some friends. Myself, Adam and Stan enjoyed a good 3 hour session on the weekend down at Anstey's cove with perfect blue skies and a warm air temperature, bliss. Today also marked a long awaited occasion...the last day of Uni for the year!! I handed in my last piece of work this morning and enjoyed another coasteering session at Anstey's with a handful of the 1st and 2nd degree guys. Perfect way to end the academic year!

One more coasteering session on Thursday before I head off to Hoy on Friday for a week of freelancing work. Until then, Adios...

Sportland Climbing Weekend...

Now that University lectures and assignments are tapering to an end for the year, thankfully, I managed to squeeze a weekend of sport climbing in on a recent trip to Portland.

By the time we arrived in Teignmouth on Sunday morning, to pick Briony up, the car and roof box was already packed with climbing kit, food, cider and a tent big enough for the entire camp site. So it was less than comical when we had to attach Briony's boulder mats to the top of the roof box in order for us all to get a comfy enough seat in the car!

Joel and Sean (Notice boulder mats on roof box)

After a fairly short drive we arrived in Dorset and pitched the tent just as the sky was clearing and the sun was shining down on the Isle of Portland, beautiful. After a quick game of ultimate frisbee Myself, Briony, Joel and Sean headed to the West side of the island to ensure that we were climbing in the sun from midday through to the late evening.

The first crag we visited was Blacknor North. A popular crag which has some very interesting climbs on flowstone formations, intricate arêtes and classic crack climbs. As Briony cruised up Slings Shot followed by myself, Joel and Sean were nearby attempting another route named Apfel Strudel. Once we had ticked these routes and a few others we moved further South to the crag of Blacknor Central where my self and Briony had a quick attempt at Monsoon Malabar, a very intricate and photogenic arête climb.

Briony and myself on 'Monsoon Malabar'

Once we had climbed at this crag we noticed that the tide was now going out so we all headed even further South to Blacknor Beach where Joel, Briony and myself quickly ticked off another photogenic climb named Fallen Slab Arête.

Briony cruising 'fallen Slab Arête'

Once we had ticked this route off we picked up another friend, Stan, headed back towards the camp site where we had a quick shower and another game of frisbee before we headed to the pub for our meal reservation and a deserved pint.

The next morning we awoke at the agreed 6am to find that outside the visibility was less than 15 metres in any direction, great! However, after we all crawled out of our pits, sorted equipment and dropped the tent the sun was beginning to shine through and reveal yet another beautiful sunny day, perfect climbing conditions. Once we had a quick bite to eat in the camp site restaurant the 5 of us headed to the East side of the island to grab the morning sun.

Upon arrival at Beeston Cliff we spotted that the abseil ledge was less than 2 metres above the sea which gave the climbs we were intending on doing a very atmospheric feeling. Myself, Briony, Sean and Stan all abseiled down to the ledge and quickly ticked off Etna and Krakatoa before having a quick bite to eat and a discussion about the next route. 

Briony belaying myself on the atmospheric 'Etna' at Beeston Cliff

Next up was Stan's route. A left to right traverse under a huge roof just 2 metres above the sea. Myself and Briony watched on as Stan cruised along Belly Button Traverse and arrived at the belay with little difficulty. Next up was Briony who dropped down from the ledge and got midway along the traverse before peeling off the route and narrowly avoided taking a plunge in to the sea. When Briony got the guns back she made her way along to the belay for a well deserves rest. I then followed the line towards Briony and Stan and managed to reach the belay with only a pumped left arm.

Briony starting the traverse with Stan at the belay in the background

Once we had finished at Beeston Cliff we headed North towards the The Cuttings in order to get some more routes ticked off whilst the sun was still shining.

Between us we managed to tick off Two Fingers, Three fingers and Opus before I had a very interesting time falling off The Sod before I read that it was 'a little tougher for the short' (Rockfax).

Briony eyeing up the last mantel move on 'The Sod'

Now that it was getting late we decided that we would head round to the West side of the island in order to bag a few more routes in the dark with head torches on. When we arrived we descended in to the quarry where Briony unfortunately twisted her ankle and had to be carried back to the car by myself and Joel. A visit to Weymouth A & E ensued where 2 Dr's agreed that Briony had broken her fibula and required an X-Ray at Exeter hospital for confirmation.  A quick drive to Exeter where the X-Ray showed no break but more of a badly twisted ankle, thank god. 6 hours later and we finally arrived back in Torbay in one piece.

Don't worry Briony, you'll be back climbing in no time.

Off to Hoy working at the end of the month and away to South Wales for another climbing eXped so I'm sure there will be more blog posts in the coming weeks,

Richy.

Time Management...

Well the first year of University is nearly out of the way and with coursework assessments becomming increasingly thinner I have had the chance to get back out on the water.

Assessments that have been underway in the last few weeks have consisted of assignments and reports in modules including Adventure Sports, Sports Coaching and Exercise Science.

For the Adventure Sports module I have been writing a personal reflection which has involved myself choosing three personal incidents in an outdoor education context and critically reviewing each incident and analysing why each of the three incidents will benefit myself as an outdoor practitioner.
For the sports coaching module I have been writing an assignment on the moral and social issues in which sport coaches should have an indepth knowledge. Along with this I have included the legal requirements and legislative factors in which sport coaches should adhere to.

For the Exercise Science module I have written a report on the ways in which we can assess human performance. This has included myself taking part in exercise testing and comparing my results with normative data. The report also includes test protocols and ethical issues which coaches must adhere to when testing clients.

Boring coursework talk aside I managed to get out on the weekend with friends and run the river Erme from Harford bridge down through the Erme gorge. Video below...

 

 

Video curtesy of Ben Lomax...

North Wales...

Following on from my last blog post about the Dagger Mamba 7.6 I am pleased to write that I have now used this boat in a few new locations.

During the half term week I headed to North Wales with friends Tori and Sam in order to run some different rivers in a beautiful location. However, and very unfortanetely, there was no rain forecast the whole week, brilliant...

We arrived in Llangollen Monday afternoon and were very surprised to see that the River Dee was running with some good flows and a good level. We instantly got kitted up, paddled along the seemingly endless canal and finally reached the get in. After a few minutes of paddling we reached the 'Serpents Tail' rapid, a class 3/4 wave train leading to a sharp drop in to a winding rapid. After 3 runs on this rapid we carrid on down the river playing on waves and holes before taking the boof line on the class 4 rapid that is 'Town Falls'.

 

 

Me running the 'Serpents Tail' rapid...

 



As there was no rain and the only river that was running was the Dee we decided to have a day of surf kayaking. We haded North towards Anglesey in order to find a beach with a good surf forecast and after speaking to a few local shops we were pointed in the direction of Rhosneiger where broadsand beach had the best surf forecast. 3-5 foot every 12ish seconds. We spent the next few hours in the sunshine carving clean waves in yet another beautiful location.

Broadsand beach, Rhosneiger...

 

 

After a day on the surf we headed back towards Llanberis to have a bite to eat at Petes Eats cafe and discuss our options for the following day. It was just our luck that the following day both the dam released River Tryweryn and Cardiff  White Water Centre were both not releasing any water. We headed towards Llangollen the following morning and had another run on the River Dee, which had a surprisingly good amount of water in it. We nailed the 'Serpents Tail' and 'Town Falls' rapids head on before finishing for the day and heading back down South to Devon.

 

 

 

Petes Eats Cafe, Llanberis... 

 

 



So after a 3 day trip with no rain there is still many positives to be taken away. Paddling on a different river, surf kayaking at a new location and being in a beautiful location...

 

Due to there still being no water once we had returned from North Wales, me and friends Joel and Sam decided to head North once again and enjoyed a very quiet day, but full on, day at Cardiff White Water Centre on a release of 8 cumecs.

 

All in all an enjoyable half term...





Dagger Mamba 7.6 review

Now that I have had the Mamba for over three weeks now I think that its about time that I wrote a review on it...

Well where do I start? The new beefed up 2012 mamba has an increased volume throughout the length of the boat with added volume distribution the mamba now sits better on top of the water. Longer rails along the side towards the hull make this creeker fun to play on and easier to carve on even the biggest of waves. With the rails in mind this makes the mamba a much faster boat.

The Dagger Mamba 7.6...

I have now paddled this boat from grade 2 through to grade 4 on some of the South Wests more notable rivers such as the Dart, Tavy and the Walkham and find that due to the increased volume the mamba surfaces extremely well after drops and slots. It surfs much better than any other creek boat I have ever used and carves extremely well in and out of eddies with help from the longer rails. However I do find it harder than the nomad to roll due to sitting higher up in the mamba above the water, although still easy to roll. I have went for the adjustable seat outfitting as during the summer months the seat can always be moved back to change weight distribution during a day on the surf. At first I was quite hesitant to buy the small 7.6 size for fear of not fitting all my gear in. However I still manage to fit in my boat 2x throw lines  map, compass, 2x torches, tape, first aid kit, glow sticks, food, water, pin kit and in front of the foot plates a group shelter and spare personal thermals and still manage to fit in a set of split paddles down either side of the seat.

MAMBA...

All in all a very good all round boat which surfs as well as Kelly Slater, carves like a manic chef, surfaces just as well as a cat in water and is as quick on the water as Usain Bolt is on land. I look forward to taking this boat to different locations and further testing it out.

Catch you on the river...

Competition Time...

Well its that time of year again, competition time! This year marked the 4th annual National College Climbing Association competition which took place at the Rock & Rapid Climbing Centre in North Devon. After a 90 minute drive from Torbaydos we finally arrived at the wall. We came equipped with two reasonably strong six person teams, tonnes of confidence, Reynolds and his mix tape and most importantly cake.

 After being briefed on all the rules, regulations etc we set off to try and warm the muscles in the extreme sub Arctic conditions! After a bit of warming up we split up in to our two teams and also our categorized teams. The teams were as follows: Team A speed and boulder: Myself, Stan and Andy B. Team A top-rope and circuit: Briony, Ellis and Andy W. Team B speed and boulder: Chelsea, Sam D and Sam F. Team B top-rope and circuit: Craig, Callum and Luke.

Team photo...

 A quick flash from myself Stan and Andy on the first boulder problem ensured that we got off to a great start with maximum points. Whilst Stan flashed the 2nd boulder with ease the rest of the team were off gaining valuable points in both the speed and top roping categories. After a few attempts on the 2nd boulder and watching Stan pull some moves on the 3 boulder problem we went to the main area to compete in the speed climbing category. Roughly 12 metres in height with a slight overhang was the chosen line for this category. After aggressively pulling on big jugs, myself, Stan and Andy recorded some good times with 11 seconds, 11 seconds and 15 seconds respectively. By this time the others in the group were also raking in valuable points on the circuit and bouldering routes. Next up was Ellis on the circuit route, circling it 6 times with ease ensured that maximum points were achieved! Now that the team categories were completed individuals were given the option of competing in a leading competition. Starting at a grade of 7a and then 8a it was not surprising that Ellis took the opportunity to show us all some flair and bagged 1st place in the individual lead competition. Well done mate! 

                   
                                       Ellis on the circuit problem...

                    
                                         Stan on the 7a lead route...

Results
Lead Competition
1st Ellis Butler Barker South Devon College
2nd Matt Parkinson Duchy College
3rd Dave Bryant Bicton College

Team Event
1st Bicton (A)
2nd South Devon (A)
3rd Bicton (B)
4th Duchy (A)
5th Bicton (C)
6th South Devon (B)
7th Petroc (A)
8th Truro (A)
9th Duchy (B)

All in all a great day had by all. Massive thanks to Briony Martin for organising the trip!
All photos courtesy of Briony Martin

Now time to get training and take 1st place next year...

4 Star Open Canoe Training...

Since returning from my climbing trip to Spain the past few weeks have been spent working on Uni assignments and refining my skills on flat and moving water in open canoe. So when a place on a 4 Star training course became available I snapped it up!

The intensive 2 day course was run over the weekend of 17th - 18th November. The course was conducted on both open water on the river dart estuary on Saturday and on moving water on the river dart on Sunday. The course covered all aspects of the BCU 4 Star training syllabus. On the Saturday we were focusing on effective and efficient open water skills, leading and managing a group up to force 4 on open water, a variety of canoe rafts, canoe sailing, navigation and a night time paddle. On the Sunday we were on the river and focused on personal paddling, safety and group awareness, leadership techniques in a moving water environment, equipment, environmental awareness, rescues and traditional skills such as tracking, lining and poling.

The course was run by Gary Peverill of Inspiring Adventure and is a coach I would highly recommend.

Constructing A frames for sailing...

Sailing in the evening...

Night paddle back to base...

River running on the lower dart...

Tracking on the lower dart...

All in all a great training course which has helped me understand effective leadership strategies and techniques which will benefit me when leading groups. A course that I highly recommend.