Ian Parnell Photography

The Big Tick

2012-02-11T13:20:00.009Z

The reason I'd come out to Austria was a superb looking route called The Supervisor, that we'd used a photo of on the front cover of Climb. But with consistently low temperatures, Neil feeling off colour and my body getting more and more battered I wonder whether we'd get on it this trip. I'd really struggled with my left bicep on our last route a surprisingly steep 2 pitch grade 6 charmingly called Wet Dream. It had received a deep bruising whilst cleaning icicles on Gasteinerfall and felt suspiciously like my right bicep did when I snapped it's tendon. Luckily it didn't look like a broken bicep so I tried to put thatout of my mind as we set off for an earlier start than usual heading to the Eisarena at Anlauftal home of Supervisor.This is the top section of the Eisarena with the central line - Mordor (WI5) and our target Supervisor on the rightSupervisor had formed very strangely this year, with huge ice umbrellas and very thin ice low down.

We opted to climb the first pitches of Mordor, which looks like it would make a great outing.

After 60m we traversed onto Supervisor and steeper climbing. This shows Neil nearing the top of the WI5+ pitch (4th pitch in guide and our 3rd) with the madness of the crux lying ahead.

Me finding a sneaky way through on the crux and relieved that my bicep is holding together.

200m or so down to the start of the route with Mordor in the background.Abseiling down Mordor in the night required my alpine 'A game' as the previous team must have had 65m ropes to place their abalakovs. At the end of a long day I had more bruises, some frost nip in my toes (it was -20c or so all day) but most importantly of all a life affirming Big Tick!

Getting up to speed

2012-02-07T20:38:00.004Z

Beginning to get up to speed here in Austria. Yesterday 'got involved' as my friend Timmy would say with this cheeky number. Short bit of scratching followed by a few lock offs to get established on the ice...Luckily leading to a resting ledge then a surprisingly steep finishing 20metres.This was today's mission - Gasteiner Wasserfall, right in the middle of Bad Gastein, viewable from the main street and therefore a potential for much public humiliation! Luckily I managed to excavate my way through the icicles of the first pitch....and neil did the business on the top chandeliery column

Bristol Lecture

2012-02-06T20:38:00.002Z

I've a lecture coming up in just under two weeks at the Climbing Academy in Bristol. 8pm on the 18th Feb - I'm working on a few new things to build into my show, which I've titled Wild at Heart. I want to take a good look at why adventure is so important to us. So there will be new images, stories and videos. For more info and tickets see the TCA website

Holiday Snaps from Austria

2012-02-04T21:05:00.004Z

On my winter hols in Austria, ice climbing with Neil Gresham. Very Cold here, -17c today so lots of ice but a bit brittle. Our first day we visited Thun-Klamm a gorge with an El Chorro like walk way i.e. large parts of it had fallen down. We did a couple of short ice pitches to get our minds warmed upNeil on Relax given WI5 but probably WI4 and bolted too!Me on Kerze WI5 at Thun-Klamm

Today we made it to Gasteinertal - the main valley that had inspired this trip. We drove about 200 yards before we spotted something we wanted to climb:

This is left to right Rock and Roll WI7-, M8+, Wet Dreams WI6 and Ruinenorgel WI5+. We choose the latter as the sensible option but hope to return for West Dreams.

Me on the long first pitch of Ruinenorgel WI5+

We then in search of something for tomorrow and came across this madness right in the middle of the town of Bad Gastein. It's called Gasteiner Wasserfall WI6 although it's twice as thick in the photo in the guide with the big icicles on the left having touched down. Not sure whether we will get brave enough for this, by the end of the week.
Eeek! and yes that is steam from the hot springs

A Proud Delivery

2012-01-14T10:51:00.003Z

My day job - editing a magazine, can be a strange one. You pour your heart into an issue, fret over tiny details, have heated discussion with your fellow editor, scrutinize it again and again for mistakes - then wave it good bye and move on to the next one. Occasionally you might come across the odd comment on internet forums - most reliably when the inevitable error gets noticed. But there's usually silence on the content. Friends pipe up a bit more often - all overwhelmingly positive, but they are your friends after all.

All I really have to go on is the gut feeling each month on how good each issue really is. Well this last month (actually 3 months) labour has produced our first ever photo issue of Climb - and the gut says good, very good. It will be interesting to see if there is any response from our readers and hopefully previously non-readers. We've made a big effort to make it more than just a token extended gallery. We've also tried to offer more than just images, with mini story length captions for many of the shots. The result is something that if you've got out of the habit of buying mags, perhaps with the free content available on the web you might even see magazines as pointless, then give this issue a good look - I strongly feel it does things the web can never match.

The good the bad and ugly

2012-01-01T21:16:00.002Z

Last Friday saw a post Christmas shake-down at 'dry tooling central' aka White Goods. Even 3 moves into my warm up I knew which one I was of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Totally flat and fat! Mr T claimed to feel the same but he still quickly dispatched White Goods and then set about Left Over Goods the very stern roof testpiece at the lefthand side of the main crag. A big effort on multiple figure of fours into fig nines saw both Andy's axes left abandoned near the top of the crag and his forearms turned into this... The Good was undeniably Timmy, who whilst claiming to have eaten too many Christmas pies seemed incapable of getting pumped - here is making Tumble in the Jungle, an M9, look like M7.Someone this good isn't supposed to have this much fun. Tim left us at the end of the afternoon for the Power Pact cliff where he did the lip project - which is supposed to be good training for Spray On.The Ugly was left for Andy's final effort on Left over Goods when he ripped a hook whilst pulling into a fig four - I wasn't sure if the grating was my borrowed axes (his still being in wedged in the route) or his shoulder ripping apart. Luckily it seemed to be sore but not as ugly as it looked. I had a final effort on White Goods huffing up to the roof only to drop my tool in a definitive display of bad climbing. Then hung on forlornly whilst Andy and Tim took it in turns to throw my tool up so that I could demonstrate I was as good at catching as climbing. 1 hang later I managed to clip the chains only for my crampon to come flying off. All in all a typical White Goods day of humiliation and ineptitude, leaving with the usual (but useful) feeling - I must train harder.

First Blood

2011-12-27T15:16:00.005Z

Recently my job as a climbing magazine editor has been particularly frustrating. Despite a rather late start to the winter season it seemed everyone was making up for lost time with a string of very tough sounding new routes and repeats of several of last years hardest routes. Finally just before Christmas I was able to stop reading about everyone else's fun and get some action myself. I hooked up with Greg Boswell and James Dunn hoping for a few days high standard adventure, unfortunately as soon as I arrived temperatures began to soar. We got out early on the first day realising it could be our only chance and managed a fine first winter ascent. I had an inkling the E2 Jumping Jupiter could be promising and so it turned out with a committing and steep start followed by thinner technical climbing with a slightly bold feel. Greg led this first pitch and after both of us had tried the summer second pitch, Greg led through a lefthand detour to finish. I reckon it's worth 2 stars and Greg reckoned VIII,8 (it certainly felt a good grade harder than the neighbouring Time Traveller).

After that rain stopped play apart from a quick visit to Birnam and a chance to do my back in on Fast and Furious, followed by a training session in Greg's cave. Despite the rain it did feel great to give the winter rat a decent tit bit. Here's hoping there's plenty more to come.

The long and winding road ahead

2011-11-30T20:26:00.002Z

Interesting day at White Goods today with Andy Turner - Shock Horror! there were other people at the crag, in fact so busy it felt like the catwalk at Malham on a bank holiday. Well perhaps the only similarity was that everyone was hanging off their respective routes 'sur le chien' so to speak.Learnt a few things today. I've been using my fig fours to traverse round the Edge bouldering wall and with three of the four sides overhanging it's not easy. In fact going by today's routes it is somewhere between M8 and M9. So I wasn't totally and utterly crap - managing to do the moves on an M9 called 'Tumble'. However despite that training I was still fairly crap with the locals Dave, Si (above on an M9/M9+) and non local Andy showing me how far I have to go.

Still whilst I am a long way off the pace I can at least still glimpse the rest of the field and know now how far I have to go.

It's that time again

2011-11-11T16:51:00.002Z

The Foundry are starting their indoor dry tooling routes tonight. They've set 8 routes this year - so I'll report back whats the score. In the mean time here is a vid of me on the first set of routes they put up 2 years ago.

Ian Parnell Dry Tooling at the Foundry Climbing Centre (M7+) from Foundry Climbing Centre on Vimeo.

Adventure Time part 2

2011-10-19T20:40:00.005+01:00

Part 2 of my 'adventure break' was something of mixed success or rather a mixed disaster. Things started well with a return to Ladram Bay with Jon and a mighty new route on the Lost World stack.Realistically it's probably not the best route in the world. In fact it's probably the second worst.It did have a nice finishing mud arete thoughAnd some entertaining gear - this is part of the belay - there was no crack before I placed the warthog.How we laughed...Then after a very long drive we arrived at Beachy Head which amongst the memorials for jumpers is one of the UK's greatest lines - Monster Crack.Having climbed Monster Crack and most of Sunday Sport (Beachy Head's hardest route) I thought I had the hang of the place. But trying to be cautious I thought I'd do the shorter Albino or Vaginof - the two grooves on the far right of this shot (Monster Crack is far left).

After a long time and lots of collapsing brain cells and chalk I failed on both lines - I wasn't happy!

We then failed on the mile long walk out, as the tide was in. To escape we climbed the world's worst route (so bad there are no photos) - 450ft of 70 degree grass topped by 15ft of mud. At least I thought things couldn't possibly get worse...

...unfortunately they could when our planned third day of adventure ended shortly after breakfast when I filled Jon's diesel car up with petrol. It was time to give up before I really got us into trouble.

Adventure Time part 1

2011-10-14T09:31:00.007+01:00

Having managed to get a precious slot of free time I'd hoped to go to the Alps but somehow despite planning 4 months in advance I failed to convince anyone to commit to a climb with me! But never fear there are adventures aplenty within our own shores. So I'm halfway through a two-part 'UK choss-odyssey'.

For Part One I linked up with my fellow Climb editor Dave Pickford. First for a 1000ft plus traverse of Avon Gorge's main wall. The Equator is a 12 pitch historical classic which we managed in 7 pitches.Whilst the choss count was relatively low, it made up for it with some typically 'robust' Avon insitu gear.

A great quest though - finishing with plenty of time left for a slice of Bristol Cafe action.

This is about 3/4 of the route. For those interested in record breaking - a capable team could simul-climb this in an hour/hour and a half I reckon.

The following day we headed south... to the extraordinary lost world of Ladram Bay.This place has half a dozen sea stacks composed of some of the softest 'rock' I've ever encountered.The most famous stack is the Big Picket first scaled by Pete Biven and team in 1971.

We quickly began to realise what we were getting into when on pitch 2 Dave squirmed past insitu 6 inch nails (projecting 4 inches) and then had to take on the crux free move.

This is Dave after his first attempt - holding the crux hold in his hand - his second successful attempt involved a jump to a sloping mud block which he then manteled. Dave rated it the most disgusting move he'd ever done.

The third and final pitch bore little resemblance to the guide description - we presume most of its fallen down or Nick (the guidebook author) meant left instead of right! After a pathetic attempt at free climbing I resorted to aid climbing. Which proved to be very time consuming (1 1/2 hours for 20ft of progress? This culminated in an aid mantel over the summit cornice which at first bounce test promptly collapsed before a final terrifying belly flop in slings. Jim Beyer would have been in heaven.

Happy boys - Dave particular excited about the swim awaiting.

Keswick Lecture

2011-10-02T09:11:00.003+01:00

I'm lecturing in Keswick next Tuesday (4th Oct). I'll be doing a few new things based on beautiful 'failures' plus a fresh look at Annapurna III. All for only £4!

Just to wet the appetite heres a few pics. 7.30 at the Queens Hall at Keswick school more details here www.keswicklecturesociety.co.uk/

Autumnal Bliss

2011-09-28T23:36:00.003+01:00

Today was a perfect blue sky warm autumn day and I had a free day to go ...Yes Climbing! So where did I choose ...Cloggy? Scafell? Gogarth? er, no... the quarried tip-face of White Goods.Rich giving Jazz some beef!Rich lowering off - Jazz having returned the beef with interest

Something to train for.

2011-08-30T20:13:00.005+01:00

I've always needed goals, aims in life, little targets - all very un-zen I know. But I struggle for motivation and get a bit lost without something driving me on. Luckily I've two interesting possibilities on the horizon. The first hopefully a return to Chamonix and the Alps, and a chance to hook up with Jon Bracey, who I climbed the Grand Couloir on the Plan with in the Spring. The ticklist as ever is enormous, it would be great to make it one or two routes shorter.

The other trip is a maybe for January - ice climbing in Japan! Which if it comes off should be very exciting - adventurous as there is little info in the west. Markus Bendler and Albert Leichtfried made a trip a few years back which looked amazing - here's their short film.

As a result of those two goals I've got inspired to start training - and so in the last few days I've had my first White Goods (the Welsh border dry tooling crag) visit and dusted off the 'fig fours' for a spin at the wall. There were a couple of new lines at White Goods - three on the left side of the Apples and Pears area (we did the one just left of the big tree - nice starting moves then horrible - definitely not one to go back for). Much better was the new M8+ in the main area which typically for this crag is 'solid' for the grade. I didn't have the guns or the skills for the roof, but enjoyed working and linking the lower section - which flows superbly on big moves between deep positive hooks - definitely one to go back for.

Talking of getting inspired I'm doing a show at the Covent Garden Snow and Rock Shop on the 14th September. I'm going to be presenting some new images, films and stories - more info here: www.snowandrock.com/pws/UniqueProductKey.ice?ProductID=DUM002000

The Old Magic

2011-08-13T22:15:00.004+01:00

'Lets see some of that old magic' was a phrase Matt Dickinson used to me on one of my first ever expeditions - the first ascent of The Thumbnail, a giant sea cliff in Greenland. I was trying to gather my nerves to lead a bold looking blank wall about 15 pitches above the fjord but despite Matt's encouragement I ended up bottling it and handing over the lead. Matt committed and found surprisingly reasonable climbing opening up the way to the upper headwall of the route.

That was back in '99 and whilst the expeditions went from strength to strength it was in inverse proportion to my rock climbing. The good news is having had most of this year off climbing due to injury and an attempt to be a runner I'm back searching for the magic. Whilst I'd love this blog to be about how I've suddenly remembered how to climb E6 again the reality is its going to be a long process. But just that feeling of heading out and getting scared has reminded me that the magic might not be at the end of a big E number but as likely to be found as you take that big gulp of fresh air at the end of a sweaty run out.

Talking of big E numbers the family camping holiday saw Steve McClure and me sneaking off for a couple of early mornings cragging. He catching my lobs off E2s and me holding his ropes on E8 onsights. Both of us searching for the magic, in our own ways!

The Dawn Patrol

2011-07-29T17:00:00.002+01:00

It's been almost 2 months since I blogged. Shoddy, but I've had little to report but injuries. Fingers, knuckles, palms and most recently bloody knees. The knee has been particularly frustrating as I think it's a small tear on the cartilage in the same knee as my 2 previous key hole operations. I think I've got to the point where I'm going to have to give up running, or at least to the extent that I want to. I'd set my heart on a marathon next year and was thinking I was cautiously laying a good foundation of training this summer before ratcheting up the volume for this winter. It seems however cautious I am my body can't cope with even relatively modest running training.

So rather than sulking I'm hoping to convert that routine I'd got into of training 5 or 6 times a week for running into training for climbing. As well as rejoining the gym and embarking on a 'cyclists rehab' - not very good for Malham cranking but I hope it will be a stepping stone for proper mountain training in 6 weeks or so. The biggest struggle for me with climbing at the moment is time, so I've started the Dawn Patrol - early morning bouldering sessions, Leave the house at 6am ish and back by 8. I've even managed to recruit another keenie - Adge Last, a much better climber than me but also battling injuries - so a handy partner to whinge about my aches and pains.
I'm a real contender for the most inept boulderer in Sheffield, but despite the struggles it's a great feeling to head back for the 'start' of the day at 8 in the morning, with that gritstone glow in your fingertips setting you up nicely for the busy office/nappy changing hours ahead.

Chee Tor Ch'i

2011-06-03T22:10:00.002+01:00

Managed to get out mid week for a cheeky climb. The very wonderful Chee Tor Girdle.I love the slightly lost world atmosphere of Cheedale, you half expect to see a stray Diplodocus wandering down the river.
The route itself is well worth it's 3 stars, in fact it's one of the better VSs I've done
Although the 5 pitches especially the last two might have novice VS leaders (and followers) racks in a twist.

Thanks

2011-05-31T11:24:00.006+01:00

A couple of thanks in this post. Firstly to everyone who sponsored me in the Manchester 10k, I think in total we managed to raise £300 for the Make a Wish Charity (the exact amount I'm not sure yet as some donations got posted direct).

Secondly thanks to everyone who came to see Ranulph Fiennes interviewed by me at Buxton Opera House. This was Ran and my first attempt at this format and we were pleased with how it went. The main reason it was a success was down to the audience who were on fine form - it makes it so much easier up on stage when you know that everyone listening are up for a good night. We are hoping to see if we can tour this show - perhaps next year? I would be interested if anyone reading was there if you have any feedback - what worked and what could be improved. Also if you would like to see the show in your area let me know if you have a big theatre (700 plus seater).

London Lecture

2011-05-18T21:06:00.004+01:00

Next Thursday, the 26th May, I'm doing a show at the Castle Climbing Centre in London. As well as talking about some of my personal adventures in the Himalaya, Scotland and some of the looser cliffs in England, I'll talk a bit about climbing the Eiger with Sir Ranulph Fiennes and El Cap with Major Phil Packer who couldn't use his legs to climb. I'll also be offering a few thoughts and tips on photography in the mountains. Here's a link for more information http://www.castle-climbing.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=297&Itemid=1

Just to wet the appetite here's a few pics:
Annpurna III, Nepal
Storr on SkyeDover Chalk CliffsPatagonia

Rare and wonderful

2011-05-13T22:08:00.003+01:00

Following my route on the Plan almost 2 months ago (?) I developed a nerve pain in my left hand - plunger's palm perhaps? from so much plodding through deep snow on the midi plan traverse. As a result I haven't been able to climb since then. That is until this Wednesday when Jon and I made the lengthy day trip to Lleyn Penninsula to climb the 9 pitch 'mountain by the sea' Avernus. It gets the grade HVS 4c but mild XS might be more appropriate as it's a 50/50 mix of rock and veg, with much of the veg being 80+ degrees. Luckily I like this kind of stuff and it was a fun day out. Although I would caution anyone who might be tempted that it's quite far from your normal HVS. The technically harder climbing has good pro and excellent sound rock but for me the cruxes were the first main pitch (i.e. pitch 2 in North Wales Rock) and the last - both have no technical grade but both it would be easy to have a nasty accident on. still if your heads in gear a fine adventurous outing.Jon approaching the mountain by the seaAvernus takes the skyline buttressPitch 3 4b, the sea campion pitchpitch 4 4c the bluebell pitchdescending down through the quarry in the drizzle to the metropolis of Trefor

The old quarry 'visitors centre'

Why run?

2011-04-26T21:52:00.008+01:00

Since my brief trip to the Alps a month or so ago I've been unable to climb due to nerve pain in my left hand. I think it's been brought on by the battering it got holding the hammer head of my axe for 10 hours across the Midi-Plan Traverse so I'm christening it 'plunger's palm'

In the mean time I've been running even more than ever. Running is one of those activities that divides opinion in a love-hate way, so I thought I'd explain a little of why I'm I love it so much.

The first and main reason for me is that it is that it keeps me sane - running is a guaranteed safety valve for surviving modern life. I'm sure there is a complex physiological reason involving various chemicals being released in the brain as to why it works, but the simple act of heading out for even a short run seems to de-clutter the mind. I suspect the rhythm of running helps and of course the fact that you can concentrate on one thing without having to be distracted by the bleeps and buzzes of the daily grind.
Secondly there's the health benefits - my family has a history of genetic heart disease with many of my relatives dying from heart attacks, so anything I can do to delay that is obviously great. You could argue there are health problems from running too - my knees definitely aren't wild about my return to running and most of my mates have opted for road biking as their middle aged fitness escape route. However biking doesn't have that.......direct connection with the land. There is something magical about moving on foot at 'speed' over the land. I'm sure it's a deep rooted memory of the great travels our ancient ancestors must have undertaken. But (particularly as you get fitter) naturally right about sweeping across interesting terrain. As well as the rhythms and contours of the land there's the simple little discoveries I come across my early morning runs. I'm lucky enough to have my local wood within a couple of minutes from my front door. 6.30 runs have brought the glittering crystals of snow highlighted in my head torch, the echoes of woodpeckers, racing squirrels and Spring's carpets of wild garlic and bluebells.

I think most impotantly running more than any other activity gives me a sense of 'freedom' A sensation of release, limitless possibilities and a reminder of the simple joy of being alive.

More Alps

2011-04-01T14:25:00.004+01:00

A few more pics here from The West face of the Plan. The line of the route.
Me setting off the first pitch - a rather savage crack with some full blown laybacking and minimal feet - luckily its only about 15ft long, nevertheless I spent longer recovering at its top with hot aches than actually climbing it!

Since getting back from Chamonix I've been getting stuck into my running, managing 6 runs this week. I'm never going to be a brilliant runner, but I love the feeling of freedom it gives. At the moment it's much more manageable time-wise than climbing, plus I've got what feels like tendon pain in my left palm from all the plunging into unconsolidated snow heading through the night back to the midi. Still I've a chance to head back to the Alps in a couple of weeks - an even slimmer window this time but fingers crossed I can sneek in another quick route, and the running might pay off and I won't be limping along the snow-plodding bits so much.

West Face Couloir of the Plan

2011-03-26T09:16:00.004Z

I've been able to escape this past 5 days to the Alps and was hoping against hope that somehow I could get a route done to restore a bit of sanity having missed out on Scotland this season. Luck was on my side turning up trumps with the weather - grand beau temps, partners Steve Su and John Bracey, and a generous host in Zoe. The route was one I've been wanting to do ever since Nick Bullock and Andy Houseman repeated it free a few years ago - The West face couloir on the Plan. The only thing that didn't go perfectly was the descent/ascent - revering the Midi-Plan traverse to our sleeping bags stashed at the Midi Station. This ended up taking me about 10 hours through the night - almost as long as the route - arriving at 8am!

Still it was worth it - here's a few pics.

Chamonix from the hut the night before.My partners Steve and Jon.Jon leading one of many entertaining pitches through some amazing architecture.Steve on one of the cruxes, some thin ice, getting thinner as the winter season draws to an end.

Almost at the top, but we now need to get over there to the Midi - easier said than done.

Solihull Lecture & SHAFF Arcteryx Adventure Shot

2011-02-19T11:08:00.006Z

Couple of events coming up. I'll be lecturing on the 3rd March at the Old Edwardians Sport Club in Solihull, you can find more info here http://www.solihullmc.org.uk/I'm also judging at the Arcteryx Photo Comp on Saturday 5th March, part of the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival. This is a superb rowdy event here is a link for more info and further details about the competing photographers http://www.shaff.co.uk/content/16/arc-teryx-photo-comp

Lucky

2011-02-16T14:03:00.003Z

Even though I live in a big city - Sheffield, within 300 yards of my house lies Ecclesall Woods. The more I run in it, the luckier I realise I am to have such a superb resource so close. The stats say its 350 acres of woodland with 15km of public footpaths but I bet this is only the main ones, as there are hundreds of small tracks branching off in every direction. As I discover more of these pathways I'm gradually building up a collection of circuits ranging from 20 minutes to an hour, all through rolling woodland with only a single road that needs to be crossed once out and once back. Terrain ranges from wide even bridleways through to rough sinuous tracks slaloming through the trees.

I've a couple of mates I run with, one who, again luckily, is up for dragging me out at 6.30 most mornings, but I also often head out alone. My last solo jog was accompanied by the echoing rat-tat-tat of woodpeckers throughout the forest. I'm hoping to take my camera out on a few runs over the next week to see if I can post up something that captures the experience of running through this beautiful spot.

Park Run Fun

2011-02-05T13:51:00.003Z

Did my first Park Run this morning - and didn't get injured - yipee!

Park Runs are informal timed 5k running events held at over 50 locations in the UK. It's free to enter and whilst everyone runs together the vibe is more one of racing against yourself than others. Your times are recorded and logged so that the website can track whether you get a pb, etc. I was slow - 21.06 (when I was "fit" at the beginning of 2010 I did the second half of a 10k in about 19.30) but it was great to open up a bit after just over a month of gentle plodding. I'm planning to do one of these Park Runs each month as a way of tracking progress with the hope to get down towards 19 minutes by mid summer. The priority however is slowly-slowly building up to make sure I avoid yet more injuries.

If you do any running at all, from racing to moderate jogging I would highly recommend checking out your local Park Run. At the Sheffield event there were some who finished in the low 17s (low 16s in previous events) but also others closer to an hour, so its the sort of low pressure event open to everyone. More details here http://parkrun.com

What's going on?

2011-01-31T09:06:00.005Z

Having written off this winter due primarily to injury but also imminent arrival of our new baby daughter I told myself I would try not to get too envious of what everyone else might be doing up north. That's been tested this last week with a tidal wave of impressive ascents. InesPapert is back in Scotland with her friend Charly Fritzer and she's quickly amassing a telling ticklist; warming up on Daddy Longlegs VIII,9, following Charly up the second ascent of the very steep To Those Who Wait IX,9, climbing a new route with Dave Macleod on the Ben and heading out yesterday with Greg Boswell to the Shelter Stone (I haven't heard yet what they got up to EDIT Ines and Charly went to the Corries instead managing Happy Tyroleans and Demon Direct one day and a new route - make that THE new route there the following day-Wow!).

Ines on pitch one of Daddy Longlegs pic Pete Macpherson www.macmountaineering.co.ukCharly Fritzer on the second ascent of To Those Who Wait IX,9 photo www.hans-hornberger.com

Not to be left out the locals like Greg Boswell, Pete MacPherson and Guy Robertson have been on fire with numerous big new routes, as well as repeats such as Andy Turner's myth-shattering ground up of The Hurting XI,11. Andy's exciting report is here http://andyturnerclimbing.blogspot.com

The route that impressed me most recently is Guy and Pete's Stone Temple Pilots on the Shelter Stone. To me it sums up how far the best Scottish Winter climbers have come, whilst Guy has a fair amount of knowledge of that cliff it was still ground up, as close to onsight that matters at an exceptionally sustained level; 8 pitches most at tech 8 or 9. Couple this with swooping on the cliff when it was in prime winter nick and you have a real demonstration of mastery with two climbers at the top of their form defining the limits.
Guy Robertson on Stone Temple Pilots IX+,9 www.macmountaineering.co.uk

Tim Emmett on Spray On photo Christian Pondella http://christianpondella.com/blog/

As if all that hadn't made me jealous enough, Tim Emmett returned with Will Gadd to Helmcken Falls in Canada where last year they established a WI10 ice route called Spray On. This trip they added a further 4 pitches through some of the most extraordinary territory on the planet. Envious yes, but at least with their climb at least I knew I wouldn't have a chance of climbing it.

Sheffield Photography Lecture 28th Jan

2011-01-21T12:16:00.003Z

I'm doing something a little different this coming Friday. Rather than lecture about my walking holidays I'm doing a show at The Showroom Cinema about climbing photography. It will be a mix of stories, images, video and tips. More info can be found here: http://shaff.co.uk/content/51/expert-nights

The show is part of 4 expert nights from different outdoor adventure activities over the next month leading up to the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival on the 4th to 6th March

The Mighty Storvegen

2011-01-11T15:06:00.002Z

During a largely social trip to Skye, I had that rare but rewarding experience of finding myself in the right place at the right time. With winter conditions right down to sea level I couldn't resist the draw of one of the best lines in Scotland; Storvegen VI,8Spot the line!A view out to the Cuillin, on the day before our ascent (that day we failed on two lines).Jon celebrating finally getting up something, with the old man poking through the falling snowA very happy three, me, Ben and Jon

Macclesfield Lecture

2011-01-03T12:15:00.003Z

For anyone in the vicinity of Macclesfield, I'm doing a lecture for Camp Four at Macclesfield Rugby Club on Friday 14th Jan. Some details here http://campfour.blogspot.com/2010/11/when-north-wind-blows-ian-parnell.html

I'm working on a new mix of pretty pics...
... tall tales from the Himalaya...
... wonderful adventures from closer to home...... all in all a roller coaster ride through the mountain life.

Hopefully see you there.

New Year Lessons

2010-12-31T09:57:00.004Z

It's often too easy to regret the day to day. Your dream routes, adventures or experiences fading ever further away behind a growing to do list. Whether it's pressure from work, family or injuries, life's little speed bumps can seem mountain-like obstacles. Burdened with a year full of all three, I've been guilty recently of feeling a bit too sorry for myself. I had a wake up call a few weeks ago when I heard that Northumberland legend Andy Earl had collapsed with a brain hemorrhage and was being kept in an induced coma after surgery. Well, it seems like there is the first sign of good news here http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2010/12/30/new-dad-fights-for-life-as-girl-is-born-72703-27908201/

The fact that Andy came out of his deep sleep on Christmas Eve and his daughter was born on Christmas Day really puts things into perspective.

I don't know Andy that well, although I did have the chance to spend a day photographing him and his Dad John up in Northumberland (pics above Crouching Mahogany E4 6b at Callerhues and on his own route Masterclass E7 6c at Rothley). Several things were really evident that day, one Andy is a phenomenal climber (one of the very best), secondly he seems a genuinely fun-loving, life-loving kind of guy, and finally he is obviously part of a very strong family unit (something I am sure will be invaluable during his recovery). So next time your foot slips off on that nth attempt at the crux, or there are wet streaks at the crag, or just that you have to leave the crag early to go do the family supermarket run remember life might not be ideal but you have to make the most of every opportunity no matter how imperfect.

Here's wishing the Earl Clan speedy progress in 2011, and good luck to everyone in the new year.

Winter Wow!

2010-12-09T21:47:00.000Z

...and I thought last season was supposed to be the best ever. It's been an incredible start this time and it's patently obvious that not just one or two individuals but collectively the whole British scene has raised it's game. Just scanning the 'net over the last few days you've a new grade IX on the Brack http://www.scottishwinter.com/?p=843 a new Glen Coe grade IX http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=59260 a repeat of Cathedral X http://andyturnerclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/12/cathedral-x11-2nd-ascent-in-bag.html a repeat of Cracking Up IX http://font8a.blogspot.com/2010/12/rare-view-from-top-out.html and to top it all off God Delusion just got repeated IX http://www.moran-mountain.co.uk/blog/. Now that everyone is warmed up what is the rest of the season going to be like...!

Part of me is massively inspired, part of me is massively jealous, and part of me is also a bit alarmed how much I'll have to get my act together for next season (at the moment I am doing bicep rehab with a 1 1/4 kg weight).

Ratho Lecture this Saturday

2010-11-24T16:49:00.004Z

A reminder that I'll be lecturing at the Climbing Centre at Ratho, Edinburgh as part of the Scottish Tooling Competition series. Amongst other things I'm hoping to have some new footage to show from when Ines Papert was over and we climbed Blood Sweat and Frozen Tears. I'm also excited to see some of the comp, dry tooling events tend to be a little more creative than your typical wall climbing event. For more details of the day see here http://www.scottishtoolingseries.co.uk/2010/10/ian-parnell-blood-sweat-and-frozen-tears/

Me on Dent du Requin - Es Tressider
Me on Bulgy in the Northern Corries
Me loving it
Me hating it?

Will Gadd Lecture for Porters Progress

2010-11-23T10:37:00.003Z

This Thursday, if you live in London well worth catching Will Gadd at the RGS. Will is a true phenomenon, one of the world's most impressive and creative climbers and all-round outdoor athletes/explorers but he is also an outstanding communicator. If you aren't 10% more alive at the end of this show then you are probably fast on your way to clocking out already.

The future of training for ice?

2010-11-14T22:24:00.003Z

The Climbing Academy in Bristol are importing "ice holds' - plastic training holds that you can swing your axe into and actually get a stick very much like real ice. It's bizarre but it works. Here's a vid of feeble ice climber Tim Emmett getting in some much needed training.

Ice Holds Demo with Tim Emmett from Climbing Academy on Vimeo.

For more info see here: http://www.tcaclimbingshop.com/Default.aspx?LoadContent=StoreIceHolds&StoreID=9

Ratho Lecture 27th November

2010-10-15T16:38:00.003+01:00

Really looking forward to this one, a special lecture as part of the final of the Scottish dry tooling competition series. Should be fun to see some of the future stars of Scottish mixed strut their stuff at the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena at Ratho and try and link that madness to some of the games I've been getting up to with tools. Starts 6.30 I think and admission is £5 for competitors and £10 for non-competitors. Here's a link for more info http://www.scottishtoolingseries.co.uk/2010/10/ian-parnell-blood-sweat-and-frozen-tears/

As a contribution to the growing psyche for the upcoming winter here's a few pics. First pitch 1 of Scotch on the Rocks in the Alps.
Pitch 3 of Scotch on the RocksPitch one of Migrant Direct in this case, it can also be used for the Vicar and Nocando CrackAnd a couple from The Secret on the Ben

Lumix LX5 camera first thoughts

2010-10-09T11:00:00.003+01:00

A few weeks ago I bought the Panasonic Lumix LX5 camera. I've been using the Canon G10 as my compact camera but it's not very compact, so much so that I couldn't fit it with a case in my jacket pocket. Partly as a result I managed to scratch the lens. So it was toss up between the predecessor the LX3, the LX5 and the Canon S95. I've not used the LX3 but supposedly the LX5 has a touch more telephoto zoom (not important for me), better video (quite important) and better low light quality with an improved sensor (very important). The following shots are all at 400iso, hand held at 1/15 and 1/13th sec at F2 (very nice to have such as fast lens). I had been disappointed with the low light abilities of the G10, the LX5 seems less noisy. I've adjusted levels but not re-saturated which I would normally do, or sharpened.
Detail of the above is pretty good considering the hand held slow shutter speed fast aperture.Levels adjusted again, no sharpeningReasonable detail again.

So my initial thoughts are decent low light performance, love the 24mm wide angle, nice handling although I have twice knocked the top mode dial and it's a proper compact. It will be interesting to see how it fairs this winter.

Having said all the above I was looking through a bunch of shots taken on a variety of cameras, and it was very obvious which ones were taken on my DSLR with top quality lenses. It does feel that compact cameras is one area that digital hasn't really delivered in compared with film.

Finding the positives

2010-10-03T10:48:00.006+01:00

As you can probably guess, by the fact that my blog posts have slowed to an intermittent crawl over the last few months and that when I do post it tends to be all doom and gloom, I've been struggling a bit this summer. Struggling with what it means to be a climber who doesn't climb. I've had lots of welcome distractions particularly domestically but also with my new job helping edit Climb Magazine (by the way our second issue, Number 69, is now at the printers and it's another notch forward) but selfishly these aren't enough. In past I'd always assumed I'd be climbing for ever; puntering away into my dottage probably still climbing E1s as grade creep keeps up with my ever declining abilities (I imagined celebrating my E1 lead aged 80 due to the 2050 guidebook by future-fax upgrading Stanage's Crack and Corner up to Extreme!). But this summer has seen me begin to doubt that. I could see how many climbers reach my middle-ish age and just let it all go. Constant injuries, declining horizons and abilities and most of all the stress of balancing all the over-flowing plates of life. I almost envisioned myself turning to running or cycling.

Well those thoughts lasted about a week, and then I woke up! Partly because seeing me fat and forty in garish lycra isn't good for anyone's health - but mainly it's just that the mountains are just such compelling places I just can't leave them alone. In every cloud there is ... a new plan! And so for this next season I will mainly be doing...

Ridges!

You rarely have to pull hard, in fact you don't really have to use both arms, you get to see a lot of mountain. And also in recent manic winters I've missed out on pretty much every classic ridge in Scotland. Obviously the reasons for climbing these majestic features is about much more than sheer technical difficulties. But even so there are some pretty tempting challenges beginning to form deep in my psyche. I'm finally getting excited about winter again.

Bit of Bicep Bother

2010-09-08T17:05:00.002+01:00

After two trips out with the axes I finally had an opportunity to head out rock climbing last weekend, the first time for 4 months. The plan was for a gentle day out with mates at Froggatt but after a few careful VS's for a warm up and on my 4th route of the day an attempt on Chequers Crack was literally cut short as I snapped my bicep tendon.That's at least another 3 months out. Operation tomorrow. Perhaps it's time to take up knitting or Golf (with full protective head gear)?

Day trip to Dover

2010-09-03T11:39:00.003+01:00

Second time outside in 4 months and a "day trip" (we actually drove down the night before) to Dover seemed appropriate. Joining up with Jon and Chalk newbie Alex we headed for a characterful sounding grade V called X Files.Jon can just be seen right of the top of the grass slope, heading toward the obvious hole in the cliff. (The corner on the right is Into the Groove which has unfortunately suffered rockfall and has a big barbed wire fence hanging down it)Me on pitch 2 getting pumped and cheating - clipping into my axes to place 3 warthogs on the steepest bit.Jon at the top of the steep bitJon disappearing into the cliff and a series of World war II escape runnels.

Happy, relieved and covered in a fine layer of chalk.

All in all an interesting day out and good to get the mind and body kick started a little.

Start of the summer

2010-08-27T21:34:00.005+01:00

Well quite obviously the summer is nearing it's end but today I finally managed to go climbing outside. The first time in 5 months since my knee injury. So where did I choose - some quality gritstone? a classic mountain crag? er... no the dry tooling hole known as White Goods!

The arrival at the crag was classic White Goods, with a huge rotting carcass dumped by the parking spot. I met up with Rich Simpson best known as a 9a sports climber, but whose interested in turning his considerable abilities to the tools.

The day went about as well as you would imagine having not climbed for 4 months and then visited a ridiculously steep pumpy crag that leaves me broken even when I'm going well. But it was good to finally get out again, and get preparations kicked off for the real season coming up.

The dreams ahead

2010-07-02T05:34:00.006+01:00

Yeah! Even though I'm sitting typing this with a swollen knee that has kept me up most of the night, it's a big relief to have had my knee finally operated on. A further relief (as illustrated in the surgeons pics above) is that there was no arthritis and it was a simple meniscus cartilage tear. Obviously the recuperation required after operating is a big knock-down in terms of fitness but at least I can now get stuck into the process of building back up towards my climbing dreams.

Talking of which, like most climbers I always have dream/fantasy routes in the back of my mind, most of which of course I never end up going anywhere near. For the last few months I've found it too frustrating to think much about climbing but now with the imagination unleashed my latest obsession is a short little route on the other side of the globe.

Photo by Wiktor Skupinski/ http://www.latitudephotography.com/

Victoria's Secret Deviation was the shortest of the five new routes or variations Raphael Slawinski established on the Stanley Headwall in Canada in the winter of 07/08. He graded it M7++, although I think the story goes that the second ascensionist felt M9 closer to the mark. Or perhaps being entirely trad protected Scottish X might be more appropriate? Whatever, the photo above and write up at the time really burnt into the memory, and whether I get a chance to head out to Canada or not this route will be my motivation over the next few months of physio and rehab. (Here's a report on Raphael's adventures at that time http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web07-08w/newswire-slawinski-stanley-headwall )

The other big excitement at the moment is my new job as Associate Editor of Climb Magazine alongside Dave Pickford the new Chief Editor. This has been my first official week in the post but Dave and I have been grafting away over the past month or so putting in the background work. This shot of a "skyped" business meeting while Dave was in Spain (redpointing some amazing sounding 8b+s) is a nice little vignette I think, with Dave's mad hair summing up the creative side that makes him such an inspirational person to work with.

We've got massive plans for the magazine with many changes and a long term ideal where we hope to make each month's Climb as anticipated as much as each issue of Mountain was or Alpinist is today.

Big Sale

2010-06-27T21:34:00.004+01:00

Inspired by my camera gear sale a while back (all sold now) I've decided to sell my house. Well maybe that isn't quite the right story but if anyone is looking for a 3 bed semi in Sheffield (5 minutes drive from Burbage) you couldn't get a better bargain. Here's the Rightmove link http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30177953.html?premiumA=true

We can rebuild...

2010-06-27T20:45:00.003+01:00

Apologies for the gap in blogging. There are a variety of reasons but the main thing is my left knee, which blew up in April and I've been able to do nothing climbing-wise since. After a 10 week wait I finally got it medically examined and the surgeon has booked me in for surgery within a week. It's looking like a tear in the meniscus cartilage something I had surgery on 11 years ago. The good news is that, that time I recovered within 6 weeks to travel out to Alaska on my first trip there and climb an amazing new route on Mount Hunter.

The challenge is obviously going to be the physio afterwards and this pic shows a little of what needs to be done. Even though Ive had perfectly reasonable movement you can see the amount of muscle wastage in my left thigh compared with my right (both are tensed in this pic). Just this morning I read a little sports history piece in the Times which illustrates how battling with injuries is such a large part of so many sports performers lives. It covered the 1992 Olympics of the British 400m runner Derek Redmond. Redmond had had to pull out of the previous Olympics just 90 seconds before the start of his heat due to an Achilles injury. In 1991 Redmond was part of the British team that beat the "unbeatable" Americans in the 4 x 400m relay in the World Championships. A real medal contender in 1992 Redmond was the fastest first round qualifier but in the semi final his hamstring pulled and he dropped to the floor in the back straight. His final 250m where he forced himself to finish with the help of his father is one of those famous moments of Olympic spirit (The film is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-MRoIDXeuY&feature=related ).

What I didn't know was leading up to the 1992 Olympics Redmond had had eight different operations on his various injuries. The mind boggles at the perseverance and dedication to keep getting up from those set-backs and explains why he was so distraught in 1992 when it all fell apart. In my case I'm obviously hoping for a happier ending!

Photo kit for sale

2010-05-01T23:55:00.016+01:00

I'm selling a big bunch of Nikon and Voigtlander photographic gear. All of it is used, some of it more than others. Heres a quick list of the items for sale

Voigtlander Bessa T 35mm Film Rangefinder Camera SOLD
Voigtlander 12mm f5.6 inc viewfinder SOLD
Voigtlander 15mm f4.5 inc viewfinder SOLD
Voigtlander 21mm f4 inc viewfinder SOLD
Nikon 17-35mm AFS f 2.8D SOLD
Nikon 35-70mm f2.8D SOLD
Nikon Nikkor 28-80mm f3.5-5.6D
Nikon Coolpix 8400 digital camera SOLD

Below are detailed descriptions of the items plus plenty of pics (click on them for high res versions to check condition of the items). All the items have a guide price that doesn't include postage (you pay) but I will take offers. Particularly if you are buying more than one item. If you are unsatisfied with the item I will refund your money (excluding any postage costs) if you return it to me (and it isn't damaged) within 10 days.

All enquiries to ianparnellphotography@yahoo.co.uk

Voigtlander Bessa T camera Offers around £100
£200 new (although I think no longer made?) £120 used

Completely manual 35mm film rangefinder camera. If you think that Leica's cost several thousand pounds then this camera is a bargain entry into the Rangefinder world. The Voigtlander set up with the wide angle lenses offered for sale below is still my favourite camera, better in many ways than the Nikon SLRs I use now. Reason for sale is that I now shoot entirely digital.

Condition: Good, minor wear on main body, scratches on flash shoe on top plate and circular wear marks under wind on lever. Comes with front body cap.

Link for spec info http://www.cameraquest.com/VCBT.htm

Voigtlander Bessa T Camera

Voigtlander 12mm f5.6 lens inc viewfinder offers around £250
£710 new £400-500 used (prices www.ffordes.com)
A truly gob smacking lens. 12mm has to be seen to be believed. Includes viewfinder, front and rear lens caps.

Condition: Good, Clear optics, black paint finish is beginning to wear off exposing brass underneath on body and rings. Blob of superglue on front of lens cap from my "bungy cord safety strap".

Voigtlander 12mmVoigtlander 15mm f4.5 lens inc viewfinder Offers around £150
£410 new £270-300 used (prices http://www.ffordes.com/)
Something of a legendary lens, amongst the very best I've ever used. Includes viewfinder, rear cap but NOT front lens cap.

Condition: Good, wear on body but smooth movements and clean optics.

Voigtlander 15mm
Voigtlander 21mm f4 lens inc viewfinder Offers around £150

£370 new £250 used (prices http://www.ffordes.com/

Another beautiful lens. Includes viewfinder and front and rear caps.
Condition: Good, wear on body but smooth movements and clear optics.

Voigtlander 21mm and viewfinderNikon 17-35mm AF-S f2.8D lens Offers around £400
£1500 new £700-900 used

A legendary lens, every Nikon Pro has one. “The 17-35mm is a spectacular lens which outperforms all of Nikon's previous fixed wide angles”. Constant f2.8 aperture, AFS super fast focussing, largely metal body – bombproof. Reason for sale is that I now have to 14-24mm lens and feel like I’m doubling up.

Condition; Good, clean optics, wear on body of lens, scrapes around front filter ring. Lens hood is cracked and a bit battered, includes front (Cosina make – sorry!) and rear lens caps. Review and spec http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/1735.htmNikon 17-35mm f2.8

Nikon 35-70mm f2.8D lens Offers around £75
No longer available new but I think it was about £500, around £300 used

Professional quality autofocus push-pull style mid range zoom. Constant f2.8 aperture, macro focussing at 35mm. Very robustly built. Superb lens used for a lot of my best shots. Reason for sale scratches on front element which whilst not affecting the vast majority of shots (see examples below) does create flare when shooting into the sun. Hence the ridiculously low asking price.

Condition: Scratches on front element, some marks and wear on lens body.
Includes front and rear lens caps.Review and spec

Nikon 35-70mm f2.8Shot to show lack of distortion or marks created by front element scratch, detail below. Detail of above shot (no sharpening)
Whilst not directly into sun, this shot was pointing in that direction, again no distortion.

Nikon Nikkor 28-80mm f3.5-5.6D lens Offers around £30
No longer available but around £60-70 used

Lightweight and compact autofocus mid range zoom famous for the quality of its performance compared with many cheap zooms. To quote Ken Rockwell “…this is the best example I've seen of a lens that stupider people will dismiss without even trying it, whereas in fact it is among the best midrange zooms I've used!” http://www.kenrockwell.com/

Very good condition, Nikon front and rear lens caps.Review and spec http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/2880.htm

Nikon 28-80mm

Nikon Coolpix 8400 digital camera Offers around £120
Including charger, two batteries, lens cap, camera bag and instruction booklet.
24-85mm super wide angle zoom
8 mega-pixels
Shoots in RAW mode
Uses Compact Flash cards.
Many auto modes as well as complete manual control
Macro focussing to 3cm
640x480 30fps video
Swivel out screen – good to avoid sun-glare and for self portraits.
Pop up flash as well as hotshoe

This type of camera used to be called a “prosumer” i.e. halfway between a professional and a consumers model. The wide angle 24-85mm zoom is a big attraction, as is the ability to shoot RAW images. Reason for sale is that I bought it as a backup for my SLR then ended up getting a second SLR, which is now the new backup.

Condition: Excellent, hardly used. Camera Bag is a bit old but I’ve thrown that in anyway.

Only price I can find online is $899 on Amazon, and chatroom’s talking about over $1000!
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Coolpix-8400-Digital-Optical/dp/B00061RXO4 Nikon Coolpix 8400 digital camera

Ship of Fools

2010-03-29T10:02:00.008+01:00

After a month or more of reading about everyone else having fun up in Scotland I finally managed to get up there myself. A great day out with young hotshot Greg Boswell, and nice to end the season on a high note rather than watch the season fade away.

We knew we'd need to head high for conditions, and it doesn't get higher than Indicator Wall. I had my eye on Ship of Fools a route established by Iain Small and Simon Richardson in 2007. Greg starting up Pitch 1

I'd been intrigued by this route ever since I read Simon's exciting account of their first ascent in the new Ben Nevis history book "...his monopoints only half penetrate the ice before they hit rock; his tools barely reach their first notch. There are no gear placements in sight. Iain commits to a meticulous dance. Every placement, each step, has to be perfectly executed the first time;a second kick, or another swing, and the delicate skein of ice will shatter....The ice sheet vibrates as he makes his second placement, but it holds his weight as he manoeuvres himself over the roof and levers his right crampon onto a finger-width, sloping notch. Four moves later and he reaches the foot of a narrow ice ribbon. It is solid, ten centimetres thick... I breathe a sigh of relief. I've just witnessed one of the finest leads in Scottish ice history."

With a write up like that I couldn't wait to find out what Ship of Fools had in store.
Me on pitch 2, contrast with the shot below of Iain on the first ascentIt turned out that the route was in different condition than on the first ascent. Whilst whiter the crucial ice patches were often not weight bearing and so I climbed a little to the right of Iain's line. Not as elegant but still highly exciting. The quality of the white stuff made sure that all 3 of the top pitches needed our full attention. All in all a superb route and great to pull over the top and belay on the summit trig point of the Ben. Finally on ice that didn't fall off as soon as it was touched.
Greg Boswell, a name to watch in future seasons (Greg blogs about his adventures here http://gregboswell.blogspot.com/).

Final Highland Fling

2010-03-24T10:38:00.003Z

This time of year I often feel the onset up schizophrenia. There are so many options it can make the head spin. I was rock climbing on lat week, fell running the weekend just gone and now it looks like I'll be back on the Ben winter climbing this weekend. This will be my last chance of anything wintery this season and i haven't been able to get up for the last month so even though it feels odd beginning to get excited about the cold stuff again. Here's a few pics from Hans Hornberger from my last trip up on Beinn Eighe. Blood sweat and frozen tears pics Hans Hornberger

Skyline Survival

2010-03-21T18:31:00.004Z

With blue sky visibility and no snow this should have been a pleasant introduction to the legendary fell race the Edale Skyline. Veterans will know that there's really no such thing, but my oh my....! What a total nightmare I had today.
At 2 miles I was probably in about 50-60th place and consciously trying to slow down
At about 6 miles I was letting numerous speedy descenders (not my strongest suit) zoom past assuming I would catch them up on the ascents as I have done in shorter races.
At the 12 mile Mam Nick I was pleased with my 2 hour time and beginning to imagine a top 100 placing perhaps around 3.45hrs.
At 12.2 miles having stopped for a big drinks and gel refuel, I began to realise everything wasn't tip top; it felt like someone had left the cap off my fuel tank, and with almost 9 miles to go I suddenly felt dangerously close to the red.
At 15 miles I was well into survival mode, any ideas of a decent time had been dropped and just completing the thing would be a victory.
At 17 miles my right leg refused to work locking up in agonising cramps. At one point I wondered how long I would have to lie there before I was eventually airlifted to the human skip in the sky.
At 19 miles my whole upper body began to go numb with the only feeling one of pins and needles.
At 20 miles the cramps which had been appearing intermittently completely took over both legs.
At 20 1/2 miles I still thought I might not finish and was particularly worried about passing out in front of everyone on the final field.

Well I did finish in 4 hours 13 minutes and 146th place. I was pretty embarrassed by my performance - Ive had difficult times in the mountains before but I've never had the wheels come off so severely before. My guess is that there were two issues, firstly I think I got very dehydrated - despite drinking 3/4 litre it was surprisingly wind free and hot and I overdressed. The main one though was that I was under-prepared, the longest run I'd done was 1hr 50mins and that was on nice trails, what I needed was 3 or 4 3hr bog-missions. All in all it's been a very big learning process and with my second half marathon only 5 weeks away Ive got to knuckle down if I don't want to get punished.

Changing Focus

2010-03-18T10:15:00.003Z

This last week has seen a very noticeable arrival of warmer weather. This is not to say winter is completely over but after having had the snow blinkers on it is something of a shock personally. One of my very slim remaining winter opportunities melted away today and it may turn out that my season will have ended mid February. That's frustrating in the best winter season seen for years but there's no point whinging, it is what it is. The positive way to look at it is that I've woken up my rock climbing from hibernation a little earlier than usual. Always a fairly painful process for me. A cold windy Millstone was a real struggle but yesterday a cosy quiet Chee Tor reminded me of just how enjoyable using your hands rather than sharp pointy things on the rock really can be.

The other activity that rears large this time of year is running. Two races are looming large for me in the next month or two. The first and most daunting is this Sunday and the Edale Skyline, a 21 mile national classic fell run - my goals being to not be disqualified and finish. Then at the end of April the Sheffield Half Marathon, perhaps more my cup of tea, goals - surprise surprise a pb but by how much? Now that would be telling.

The power of the image

2010-03-15T12:25:00.005Z

This Saturday just gone we held the first Arc'teryx Adventure Shot photo comp. Even though I'm biased as I organised it, it was beeping awesome. As a photographer you spend a lot of time and effort getting the best images you can, but have almost zero feedback other than the odd thumbs up or purchase from a photo editor. With the growing number of film festivals and the growing amount of talent getting involved with film it can be tempting to see still photography as an art on the wane. These were two of my biggest driving forces behind the Adventure Shot(a concept nicked from the Squamish Steep Shot event). Thanks to the efforts of the 5 competing photographers Alexander Buisse, Alex Ekins, Adam Long, Richard Seipp and Robbie Shone, MC Grimer, Arc'teryx for the impressive prizes and most importantly a very rowdy audience it felt like an evening when the still image tryely came alive. For me very inspiring. Below is Alex's winning presentation (note you can watch it HD on Vimeo). See you next year?

Why do we climb? from Alexandre Buisse on Vimeo.

Ines's Story

2010-03-13T09:24:00.003Z

Ines Papert has written a nice piece about her trip to Scotland. You can read it here http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=37290#

And here's one of Han's pics of me from the trip on pitch 2 of Blood Sweat and Tears

photo Hans Hornberger

Building Up Motivation Again

2010-03-09T21:40:00.004Z

I'd kind of written off the remainder of the season as I had a pretty packed diary of work and family but I got a good kick up the derriere recently. Rich Simpson, of Action Direct, sub 4 minute mile and 100 one arm pullups on each arm fame, got in contact to see if I fancied a spot of dry tool training at the Foundry. It was great to be dragged out after a couple of weeks of inactivity. A few possibilities have also surfaced in the diary for a return to Scotland with some big plans afoot. So with a reason to get fit again, and inspired by Rich I'm trying to make more of an effort. Running yesterday, the start of circuits with the Alp Kit Fig Fours at the works today and hopefully a run round part of the Edale Skyline tomorrow. Piecing together a training loop on the Works circuit board with the Fig Fours.

13th March Arcteryx Adventure Shot Open

2010-03-06T21:07:00.010Z

Next Saturday as part of the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival the Arc'teryx Adventure Shot competition will be running for the first time. It's an event I've been trying to get off the ground ever since being involved as a judge in the annual steep shot comp which is held as part of the Squamish Mountain Festival. That was held in a brew pub and the combination of beer, North American's natural exuberance and some brilliant images made it a very rowdy and exciting evening.

For our version we're holding it in the cafe bar at The Showroom in Sheffield complete with several barrels of a unique SHAFF beer. The whole do will be hosted by Grimer, who in his own unique way will ensure no-one takes proceedings too seriously. We've got a pub style quiz to kick things off (again with decent prizes) and then the adventure photo shoot out itself.
Five photographers will present a sequence of their images live with the audience and a panel of judges choosing the winner.

I'm hoping with the great prizes 500 quid cash and a full set of Arc'teryx Goretex for the winner that this will become a regular prestigious event. In recent years a lot of our communities creative effort has gone into film with great results. I'd like to think the Adventure Shot event will be a chance to showcase what great talents we have working away with still images and that at it's best photography can capture the essence of adventure in a way other mediums can't

So the five finalists we have are
Adam Long http://www.adamlong.co.uk/ well known for his climbing images but also with a geat feel for landscape and nature work.

Richard Seipp http://www.qwertyphoto.com/ is a Hayfield based photographer specialising in powerful gritty mountain biking, cyclo cross and fell running shots.

Robbie Shone http://www.shonephotography.com/ who amongst many subjects is one of the countries top caving photographers.

Alex Buisse http://www.alexandrebuisse.org/ one of the winners of the UKC open competition. Alex's extraordinary images have a distinctive style all his own.

Alex Ekins http://www.ukclimbing.com/photos/author.html?id=103888 the other winner of the UKC event, Sheffield based Alex has a great eye backed up by spot on timing as a result his work is full of life.

Tickets for the event are only £3 and are limited so worth booking in advance.
http://www.shaff.co.uk/

Things of interest

2010-02-27T15:05:00.005Z

Here's a few things that popped up last week on the web that I thought were interesting. Will Gadd - Candian Winter maestro has blogged about some great time saving tricks for multi-pitch ice climbs, many of which could be of equal use for alpine routes.

http://gravsports.blogspot.com/2010/02/simple-tricks-for-speed-on-multi-pitch.html

In case you've been on holiday or had a power cut, big news of the week, month erm...year is that Dave Macleod has completed his winter project on Ben Nevis - E8 with axes no less

http://davemacleod.blogspot.com/2010/02/anubis-fwa.html

Finally Porters Progress, a charity that does great work providing support for porters in the Himalaya have a fund raising film night on the 16th of March at the RGS. So anyone in London this should be an entertaining night

Hope Valley College Film Festival

2010-02-26T15:55:00.005Z

I'm doing a show tomorrow 7.30 Saturday as part of the Hope Valley Film Festival. John Beatty is introducing me which is something of a privilege as he's a photographer I admire a lot see his work here http://www.wild-vision.com/

Here's a couple more pics from last week to give an idea of what's in store.
Sunrise on the summit plateau of Beinn Eighe

The Northern Corries at Dusk

Chesterfield Lecture Wednesday 24th Feb

2010-02-23T19:08:00.004Z

Just a quick reminder that I'm lecturing at the Winding Wheel Theatre tomorrow night at 7.30. It's only just over a fiver more info here http://www.speakersfromtheedge.com/events/ian-parnell-chesterfield-24th-february-2010

A couple of pics to wet the appetite.

The Fitzroy Peaks, PatagoniaOur Lifesaver bivi Cave day 7 on Annapurna III, Nepal

Further team hotshot pics and new Eighe route info

2010-02-21T10:06:00.005Z

Team hotshot should be queuing for flights about now. They finished off their trip with a classic on the Ben, Ines and Hans on North East Buttress and Audrey and Matt on Minus Three Gully. On Friday, our second day at Beinn Eighe, Audrey, Matt and Simon did Poachers Fall on Liathach. Ines was desperate to do a new route so we set the alarm for 3.20am and dragged ourselves back up and over Beinn Eighe's summit. After how wintery it had been on the West Central Wall I thought the Eastern walls would be more wintery than they were. Checking out three or four of my new route possibilities only yielded bare rock. Then Ines spotted a neat looking line just left of Far East Gully, which had a well "whited" lower section although a little leaner up high. Never the less it proved a fun 2 pitch route perhaps useful for parties who fail early on the Far East wall mega-projects. We called it Little Nipper unless Ines comes up with a better name.

All in all a great week. Ines was talking about how she thinks trad protected mixed climbing could be the future for her winters, while Matt was recognising the possibilities for Scottish style stuff at previously untouched cliffs back in Quebec. I'll probably pull together a full report for Climb Mag and put more photos on Simon's site www.bigtreecampervans.com

In the mean time here's a few more pics and a description of little Nipper
Sunrise on Thursday
Me on pitch 1 of Little Nipper (It starts up the diagonal groove - poor but essential ice)

Ines starting up pitch 2 of little Nipper

Ines on pitch 3 of Blood Sweat and Frozen Tears

Post route celebration for Ines and Audrey
Brocken Spectre on Eighe's summit

Beinn Eighe Far East Wall

Little Nipper 60m VI,8

1. 30m Boldly climb the shallow right facing groove 5m left of Far East Gully to ledges and then the steep crack to belay below a prominent corner with a crack in its left wall.

2. 30m Climb the corner and then cracks trending slightly left to easier ground.

F.a Ian Parnell, Ines Papert 19th February 2010

Scottish Pride

2010-02-20T18:43:00.007Z

Ahhh, Yes! At the moment I just have an overwhelming feeling of pride. Proud that team Arc'teryx had such a great trip, proud that out of their comfort zone they climbed so well and most of all proud that Scotland really pulled out all the stops over the last couple of days. The kind of days that keep you going the rest of the year. Heres a few pics more to follow.

The early start pays off on the summit plateau of EigheThursday's route with Ines - Blood, Sweat and Frozen Tears a 4 star VIII
Ines picking up the Scottish game very quickly on pitch 1 of Blood Sweat...Audrey, Matt and Simon on Central Buttress

Our home for the night courtesy of Simon at www.bigtreecampervans.com

Happy campers Hans, Ines, Audrey and Matt

The Exstatic Fly

2010-02-16T21:12:00.003Z

Team hotshot visited Glen Coe today. Audrey and Matt climbed Central Buttress with Blair, whilst Ines and Iain climbed Unicorn. I suspect Ines's lead is the hardest by a woman in Scotland. She was raving on the phone about how beautiful it all was. So thumbs up from Germany. This is a shot of Guy's from Saturday of me getting very scared trying to climb the crux section of Extasy sans ice. Just one dodgy pecker for pro at this point. Sanity intervened and I lowered off shortly after.

Off up North again tomorrow to pick up two campervans including one from Simon at http://www.bigtreecampervans.com/ for a hopefully fittoing finale to the hotshot tour in the North West.

Welcome to our world

2010-02-15T19:29:00.008Z

So the Arc'teryx hot shots tour of Scotland continued with a visit to Meagie on Saturday, with Audrey and Matt nipping up the super classic Smiths Gully, whilst I met up with Guy Robertson for an attempt on Extasy. Unfortunately this was devoid of what turned out to be crucial ice on pitches 3 and 4. Eventually we ended up climbing the middle section of the Fly before returning to the final pitch of Extasy. The Extastic Fly is probably VII,7 but with quite a lot of pitches worth VII in their own right. Guy on the crux? of The Fly on horrifying junk ice.The steep final pitch of Extasy, which Guy managed a more direct finish. Guy has just reached the first bit of properly decent turf in the pic.
Ines and Hans finally arrived after 2 days of flight delays (Thankyou Easyjet!), so were desperate for some Scotch and made sure their guide didn't have a rest day. We headed up to Aonach Mor for a couple of laps of Stirling Bridge. This gave a nice introduction for Ines with some helpful neve and some good footage for Hans' film.Ines happy to be finally climbingA rather large cornice at the top of Easy Gully
Ines getting hooked on Stirling Bridge.

A taste of Scottish

2010-02-12T20:00:00.003Z

Ironically half my team of visting hotshots was snowbound in Munich. So I headed out today with team Quebec Matt and Audrey to the Northern Corries.They seemed to like what they saw - a very buried Coire an lochanWe dug our way up Fall Out Corner and earned our reward of a round of Fish Suppers .....they liked that too (honest!)

Whats in store over the next few weeks

2010-02-11T12:43:00.002Z

I thought it worth giving a little heads up for some of the events I'm involved with over the next few weeks. I've been watching a lot of adventure films at the moment (Ive got 46 to get through) in my role as judge for the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival which is being held for the 5th year at The Showroom Cinema in Sheffield on March 12th-14th. The standard of films so far has been very good, better than last year from the ones Ive seen. Alongside the films there will be live music, an urban orienteering event and something I'm very excited about on Saturday night the Arc'teryx Adventure Shot Competition and quiz night. I'll blog more about this event in future but it's a giveaway at £3 for tickets and its held in the Cafe bar so promises to be a memorably rowdy affair. More SHAFF info here http://www.shaff.co.uk/

Ive also a few lectures coming up. Firstly at the Winding Wheel Theatre in Chesterfield on Wednesday 24the Feb more info here http://www.speakersfromtheedge.com/events/ian-parnell-chesterfield-24th-february-2010

And then on Saturday 27th as part of the Hope Film Festival, at the Hope Valley College, more info here http://www.hvaff.co.uk/whats-on/lectures.html#parnell

Finally I've a few friends (Mat Audibert, Audrey Gariepy, Hans Hornberer, Ines Papert) coming over from Germany and Quebec for a Scottish winter tour. I'm meeting them tonight and then heading out to the hills over the next few days. Conditions for once are looking good for our visitors and if anyone is familiar with these guys they'll know that some exciting climbing is very likely. I'll try and post as the week progresses.

Faith Healer

2010-01-30T08:53:00.010Z

Iain starting pitch one of Faith Healer and discovering a hidden layer of ice on all the slabby bits out of shot.

This week I had a couple of days that illustrated how tenuous the chase for conditions in Scotland can be. I had spent the last few weeks reading about everyone elses adventures only for thaws to set in on my days off. I was beginning to feel I was training for nothing. Eventually after many many phone calls I lined up 2 sets of partners for a 2 day trip. Day 1 involved a ridiculously early start to walk in to the Northern Corries only to be met by completely black crags dripping with water. We were back out drinking lattes in Aviemore by 9.30am. Day 2 I joined up with Iain Small, someone I hadn't had the pleasure of climbing with and had wanted to hook up with for awhile. The big question was would we find any conditions to climb.

We opted for the banker of Ben Nevis, the mountain that just keeps on giving. And again it didn't disappoint. My heart initially sunk as from the hut you could see Coire na Ciste was pretty black. We headed up Observatory Gully jokingly hoping for a cold pocket hiding conditions. As we gained height we gradually ticked off option 1, 2 and 3 before being pleasantly surprised to find the wall above Echo Wall on the Upper East Flank of Tower Ridge have a light coating of whiteness. We opted for righthand of two prominent leftward slanting slabby groove lines (the lefthand one is the summer route Rolling Stones. Iain's initial pitch revealed a surprisingly and highly helpful coating of inch thick ice over all the ledges and slabs. The Ben was doing its magic once again.

Two highly enjoyable pitches, the first well protected, the second run out led steadily to a big snow ledge. From here we traversed left to a steep groove that had begged to be climbed from below. This proved to be significantly harder than anything below. It reminded me of an iced up Migrant Direct only steeper and bolder but luckily half the length. Never the less there was potential for a 40ft ledge fall from some hard insecure moves. The state of the ice will make a difference here but only whether the moves are 7 or 8. Committing to poor "pulling through snow ice" hooks less than an inch deep with my crampons on quarter inch verglas on the overhanging walls I remember thinking this wasn't a married mans pitch. I was also aware that my arms were luckily in good nick after all the recent training. A few screams were still needed to clear the final bulge. Excitedly I announced to Iain that this was my 9th new route on the Ben, he replied it was his 3rd this week! For me this route had been a real Faith Healer. What a mountain. The two Ians/Iains on the summit plateau The line of Faith Healer.

The crucial top groove marked

Faith Healer VIII,7 * 170m

An absorbing and delicate icy mixed climb based around the striking groove line just to the right of Rolling Stones. Culminating in a superb but savage sting in the tail. Ice on the ledges and slabs was found very useful on the first ascent, but the final corner will always be hard and serious. Avoiding this last pitch by taking easier alternatives to join Tower Ridge would give a worthwhile VI,7.

Follow the ledge of East Wall Route to a belay (insitu) below the start of the Echo Traverse Groove/Chimney.

1. 50m. Climb the groove/fault of Echo Traverse for a few metres before a delicate traverse left around a steep nose gains a prominent ramp which is followed leftwards for 30m. Move up to belay at a sideways pointing spike at the base of the big leftwards slanting corner.

2. 50m. Climb the corner to a large snow ledge.

3. 50m. Follow the snow ledge diagonally up left until below a steep corner on the left of a rock prow. Climb the first section of the corner for 10m on helpful turf to reach a ledge on the left. Follow this leftwards and step down a short corner to belay on insitu threads.

4. 20m. Step back right and climb the steep corner to reach the large snow ledge of The Eastern Traverse of Tower Ridge.

5. 150m+ Follow Tower Ridge to the summit.
First Ascent Iain Small, Ian Parnell 28 Jan 2010

A few more winter work outs

2010-01-19T10:47:00.008Z

I've been using the Fig Fours again, this time trying to climb the main comp wall at the Foundry. I'm still adjusting to what they can do but I really do think they are a great convenient training aid for winter climbers.

It can take a little while to find exactly how slopey a hold you can get away with using, and so particularly when you're onsighting a route it can feel quite realistic to the scatching around you have to do outdoors to fingd the best hook. There's no doubt the pump you get is very different to a traditional summer rock type ache and one much more akin to ice and mixed climbing. Alpkit are bringing out production models within a week or two. More info here http://www.alpkit.com/dryice/

Talking of training I've been down the Foundry for another session on their dry tool routes. This time though I tried the routes with big mountain boots which definitely upped the training effort a fair bit. These dry tool routes have been open for a few days and there has been a fair bit of interest, often from quarters you wouldn't normally associate with winter climbing. I was amused to read Stu Littlefair's self deprecating blog about his session (For those who don't know Stu he's an astro physicist who climbed 8c and pretty much defines the word Beast!) http://thesphericalcow.blogspot.com/2010/01/littlefair-you-tool.html?showComment=1263898544813_AIe9_BFr6tGfqljvYkPcHxzwaXCpEKbgu2EO1T1okdqtvUOz141tqmxbotz7rEockffdhQFWToSCL7C2idwrkLrfu0pyCurmV5fv-5bCf3v1ifCDP5dTZsAFMEaa1Vev48qhv-rYC1g7QqNMsWXDqCMHzzo783xqLJzSKGMySJTYzYbx4gMJH5VjHZz9H5KqLZXgCVPp6zTGvy1fOqdJAWUHv8-pGC2wM2Awy9zVG4BJ0c2eL-Op4gc#c2874574762746045794

Note: you can tell Stu's an astro-physicist by the length of his links!

So why all this fuss about training. Well its mild and thawing and I can't get out. But more importantly I want to do routes like The Crack in Wales, perhaps the most fearsome inspiring single pitch route I've seen. This saw it's second ascent recently from Andy Turner, who is no stranger to the occasional lock off, read his account here http://andyturnerclimbing.blogspot.com/

A good coach

2010-01-16T20:42:00.004Z

Finally the thaw came. Which is a necessary thing, if its quickly followed by the re-freeze then it'll be an excellent thing. Of course its just as likely to go the other way and get even warmer. The knife edge between an amazing and a typical 21st century season.

While its been a rubbish week for climbing for me its been a good one for training.

First The Foundry Centre put up their dry tooling routes (see my previous blog). Theres a couple of films here http://foundryclimbing.blogspot.com/ which whilst not the most riveting clips they do give a better idea of what in store.

Secondly I received a pair of the Alpkit Figfours, the "rubber-bandy-dry-tool-training-axes". I'll post more when I've had more of a chance to train with them.

Thirdly Ive been getting back properly into my running. My friend Matt has been dragging me out (for an hour fifty today!). I think running may well do my climbing more good than any climbing training as it works away at my biggest weakness - my belly!

Finally I tried out a new variation on the 30 minute pull-up challenge. The inspiration came from a chat with Neil Gresham. Neil has that ability that properly good coaches have of being able see through to the heart of an issue without being deflected by seductive options which don't do the job fully. The key thing that Neil pointed out is that you don't fall off winter routes by failing to do a pull up. You almost always lob off because you can't hold onto your axes anymore.
So the new variation for the 30 minute workout which I tried tonight involves much longer sets. Instead of the 10 seconds of pullups and then 50 second rest, I tried 3 minutes on 3 minutes off. During that 3 minutes I concentrated on getting a big pump on but still holding on to my axes. To do this I have to use alot of assistance - all very high-tech - a chair to prop my foot on. Trying to avoid another of the pitfalls of the original pull-up regime with its pure repetition which risks over-use injuries, I put in a variety of exercises. For instance 10 seconds of free hanging pullups, then 20 seconds of alternating one handed deadhangs (foot on chair), then pull up and lock off followed by leg raises, then followed by more pullups but assisted (foot on chair). At the end of three minutes of this routine I was very grateful for my three minute break.

Of course stronger folk than me would need less assistance, and could hang on for longer stints, the key thing is by the end of your 30minutes you should be barely able to hang on anymore. I'm sure others do similar types of training but I think in honour of my perseptive coach I'm going to call this the Gresham!

Sheffield winter training facility

2010-01-13T17:21:00.004Z

This afternoon I managed to check out the new "dry-tooling" routes that have been set at the Foundry Climbing Wall. At the moment there are five routes with many variations possible. While that doesn't sound like a lot it was enough to get hefty pump pretty quickly. The three in the Furnace area have a more "Scottish" feel to them as they are only just overhanging, with grades perhaps ranging from M4 to M6+. Then there are two through the roofs at the side of the comp wall. Here's some pics of me on one which felt M7/M7+

The plan is for these routes to be available Friday to Monday (you have to book in advance at specific times) with the cost £10 for a session. Considering its almost £7 for normal climbing and the Foundry is including all gear hire in the price, it seems pretty reasonable to me. It's certainly felt about time that climbing walls began to cater for us winter climbers. Great to see the Foundry taking the bit between their teeth on this I'd recommend anyone in the area wanting to get their winter guns tuned up to go check it out. Depending on the up take there are plans for more routes, including one up the 15m prow of the main comp wall, now that would be spectacular. More info here http//:foundryclimbing.blogspot.com

Bowfell visit 9th Jan

2010-01-09T20:24:00.005Z

Headed up to the Lakes today. In the back of my mind I had a vain little plan to try to climb an VIII in Wales, Scotland and England within a month. Ben and I headed up to Bowfell North Buttress home to a couple of short intense routes that might fit the bill. Unfortunately in hindsight we probably made the wrong venue choice, as these routes were bare of snow, whereas there were rumours that Scafell and Gable were plastered. But I guess that's part of the learning process of getting to know an area and its winter ways. This would be my first proper winter route in the Lakes so I'm sure I have lots more mistakes to make and learn from.

Luckily a recent addition called Fight or Flight VII,7 was wintery and so we salvaged the day with a fine route.Walking up the Band with Langdale behind.Ben checking out the classic Bowfell Buttress which saw several ascents during the dayThe North Buttress of Bowfell with the line of Flight or Flight marked. The VIIIs take the prominent grooves on the right of the photo.

Ben on the first grade 6 pitch

Me about to step off the starting pinnacle on the final pitch and commit to the crack.

More Magic

2010-01-05T12:47:00.004Z

Heres a couple more pics from Pete Macpherson of our ascent of Hung Drawn and Quartered on Skye.Me leading pitch 2

...and 2 more seconding the third pitch.

Pete is definitely someone to watch at the moment, having had a great start to the season with Martin Moran ticking several grade VIIIs and numerous hard VIIs. He has some good pics of his climbing here http://www.macmountaineering.co.uk/acatalog/Winter_Conditions.html on the website of the family outdoor shop he runs in Inverness http://www.macmountaineering.co.uk/acatalog/index.html

Skye's the limit

2010-01-04T08:22:00.005Z

Just got back from a weekend in Scotland. After driving through the night I arrived in Sheffield just before 7am and managed a full 10 minutes in bed before my daughter woke up. I could of course have sampled more of the excellent conditions in North Wales or the Lakes and had a full nights sleep, so was it worth all the hard work and suffering... Hell Yes!

After a fine day out on Saturday with Dave Macleod in Glen Coe I joined up with Pete Macpherson in search of the very elusive Skye winter conditions. A 2.30am alarm call was rewarded with this dawn over Bhastier Tooth. We set about attempting the second ascent of Nick Carter and Martin Moran's masterpiece Hung Drawn and Quartered (VIII,8) Pitch one warm up through the 20ft cave roof!Man of the moment - winter climbing machine Pete Macpherson
The art of extreme chimneying. The final of three grade 8 pitches. All in all an extraordinary route and an incredible day of pure Scottish winter magic.

Travesty

2009-12-27T12:52:00.001Z

Here's a pic from Rich Cross of me on the crux pitch of Travesty. Rich has written up a wee report on his blog here http://alpine-guides-blog.com/2009/12/26/welsh-winter-climbing/

Clogwyn Du 23rd Dec

2009-12-23T22:43:00.005Z

Just got back from a fine trip to Clogwyn Du in North Wales with Rich, Jon and Eric. Heres a few pics:Welsh alpenglow

After an hour or two trying something new we ran away for the "slabby!!!!" one of Nick Bullock's two routes - Travesty (VIII,8). Meanwhile Andy Turner had just completed the second ascent of the steep Bullock route - Cracking Up, a 1 in 3 overhanging IX,9. I eventually on my third attempt made it across the crux of Travesty, words to describe that pitch include committing, scary, pumpy, marginal, outrageous.

This is Rich polishing off the rest of Travesty to lead us to the top in daylight, just. The crux was still ahead, only just managing to get home across a snow locked Peak District.

Jon and Erik also had a fine day with Jon making a smooth lead of El Mancho (VI,7).

The Ben and Southern Highlands Report 19-20 Dec 09

2009-12-21T09:31:00.008Z

Got back at 2am this morning after a superb weekend in Scotland. Despite an intimidating forecast of blizzards and very high winds Malcolm Bass and I managed to get a couple of fine routes done. First was Sidewinder (VII,8) on the Ben which we luckily had got up early for after only 1 1/2 hours sleep. So the first two pitches (we climbed the summer start - highly recommended and more in keeping with the rest of the route) were climbed in calm weather. During the final corner the snow and winds got up and the spindrift started which was expected but still a little trying. It didn't take the gloss off an excellent well protected climb though.

On Sunday we were joined by Simon Yearsley, Malcolm's long time climbing partner, who has recently started a camper van hire business http://www.bigtreecampervans.com/ This was a novel bonus as we got a full nights sleep in warmth and comfort, tea and bacon for breakfast and the dubious pleasure of a bottle of Slovenian Death Juice. We opted to avoid the forecasted 60 mile an hour winds and lightning! with a visit to Beinn Dorain in the Southern Highlands. We climbed Messiah (VII,7), a great line and a truly mixed climb, lots of ice, frozen turf and snowed up rock. Highlights included the committing crux traverse on the first pitch, half our belay ripping out and one of my front points collapsing at the start of the third pitch.
Creag an Socach with the line of Messiah marked

Simon (with rather fine gaitors) linking turf blobs up the first pitch.
Myself on the final pitch
Simon and Malcolm appreciating the luxury of a post match brew in the van. The Slovenian Death Juice in the foreground isn't standard issue on all rental vehicles.

The weekend should have finished about 11pm Sunday night back home but snows, and lack of grit just north of Glasgow saw us lose 3 hours in traffic meltdown.

Migrant Direct

2009-12-14T09:48:00.002Z

A couple of pics from last weeks ascent of Migrant Direct with Rich Cross.
Rich posts about his and Al Powell's adventures on their company site here http://alpine-guides-blog.com/2009/12/04/scottish-winter-season-arrives/

From one extreme to the other

2009-12-12T20:41:00.011Z

Feeling great after my few days up North I logged on to catch up with news on the web and my heart sunk. Guy Lacelle, the Canadian ice climbing guru, had died in an avalanche at the Bozeman ice climbing Festival.

I bumped into Guy over the years on the festival circuit and had the privilege to share a rope with him for a couple of days ice climbing in the Canmore region. His skills as an ice climber were truly the stuff of legend. Aged 54 he'd racked up an incredible list of first ascents and repeats of seemingly every top ice route. Extraordinarily many of those climbs were done alone, unroped solo. Name a world class ice route and it's quite likely that he had soloed it Hydenfossen, La Pomme D'Or and The French Maid all tough grade 6s for example.

Guy would often work through the summer as tree-planter so that he could climb for 60-80 days each winter. I climbed with him at the beginning of one of his mammoth seasons and it was notable what a calm and cautious approach he took, wanting to build up a base of moderate routes well within his ability, to fine tune his "feel" for the ice. Guy reminded me of both a master craftsman with his deep love and understanding of the medium, and of a high-dan martial artist in his humble respect and dedicated preparation. By mid season this dedication would yield phenomenal results such as his solo enchainement of Terminator, Sea of Vapours and The Replicant in 5 hours.

But Guy will be remembered by those who knew him not just for his climbing but his exceptional qualities as a human being. Softly spoken he would draw you in with his warmth of spirit. During our short time climbing I appreciated his generosity and support as I was feeling my way (i.e. climbing badly) on moderate routes, down playing his own efforts to raise my confidence. Guy made many friends where ever he went on his extensive travels around the world in search of the perfect line. He will be deeply missed by the whole ice climbing community.

N Corries trip report 9-10th December

2009-12-11T11:26:00.005Z

First trip up of the season and it didn't disappoint. Rich Cross and I arrived just before 5am after driving through the night. After a couple of hours kip we walked in to Coire an Lochain and were pleased to see how white everything looked.The view from the loch into Lochain on day two (Thursday 10th) with everything still as white.

With pretty much everything wintery enough it was more a question of which were too buried. We opted for Nocando Crack but after leading the first pitches it became obvious that the route would be a nightmare for gear as it was covered in several inches of ice. Instead we carried on up the overhanging corner of Migrant direct which proved to be superb.The line of Migrant direct (note Rich's cleaning efforts in the corner)

The following day we headed back up a little worried about the MWIS forecast which had the freezing level at 1250m. The reality was closer to the Met Office's projected 700m and if anything the cliffs were even whiter. We headed up Ventricle which turned out to be super sustained, luckily once again Rich was firing on all cylinders and did the bulk of the hard bits. I got the last pitch in the dark which had many "moments" including an off route lob when a block pulled and a particularly terrifying last move.

Rich feeling the steepness on Ventricle.
We got back to Sheffield at 4am, happy satisfied and very tired.

Winter Warning

2009-12-07T08:04:00.006Z

Abusing axes on Sundance, Beinn Eighe (Photo Guy Robertson

A friend of mine had a dramatic reminder that winter climbing gear has its limitations this last week. On the lead his axe suddenly fractured into two pieces halfway down the shaft. The force and momentum causing the handle end of the shaft to stab him in the face. Obviously in many ways he was unlucky, but perhaps he had a bit of good fortune that the jagged shaft didn't hit him in the eye or neck. As it was the outcome was fairly brutal, breaking his jaw with some pretty major flesh wounds.

Now my friends axe was pretty old (I think at least 10 seasons) but such catastrophic failure is still fairly shocking. But perhaps it's not as unusual or as unlikely as we might think. Last season I ripped the handle off two axes in separate incidents. I think it's worth remembering that most axes are designed in Salt Lake City, USA or Milan, Italy with delicate tapping up perfect ice in mind. If the designers really knew what we did to their creations in Scotland I think they'd be horrified. So am I suggesting we stop torquing? or tape two axes together? Well obviously not but perhaps we ought to pay a little more attention to the state of our equipment. While spotting stress fractures can be very difficult, taking a conservative approach to retiring equipment early is almost certainly a prudent idea. After all my friend will end up with a slightly metallic wonky jaw but it could have been a lot worse.

Final 2009 Show - Abergavenny

2009-12-02T10:50:00.005Z

Peregrine Falcon on El Capitan, Yosemite

I'm working away on some new stuff for my final show of 2009. As well as talking about my climb with Major Phil Packer and his spinal injury up El Capitan, I'll have a detailed look at the dramas and motivations behind my new route last season on Beinn Eighe. That took 3 attempts and there were quite a few "incidents" along the way. I'm also putting together some new film clips and photo sequences. Looking forward to it and now I'm finally seeing off my illness of the last few weeks hoping to "give it all I've got".

More details here http://www.boroughtheatreabergavenny.co.uk/event.php?eid=475

Winter finally shaping up??

2009-11-27T18:30:00.011Z

It sounds like winter is close, if not quite there yet in Scotland. I'm still fully booked up with work and family things for a couple of weeks. So it's going to be a bit of a late start for me. Early season (i.e. anything before the new year) always seems to be a lottery, Ive been lucky and had a few isolated memorable days. Thought I'd post this pic as a reminder, to myself if anything, that magic can happen overnight and you can almost out of the blue get conditions and partners to click into place and come away with a start to propel you through the season.This pic was taken by Guy Robertson on the top pitch of The Secret I think just after New Years Day?

Sheffield Show

2009-11-25T14:02:00.004Z

Tomorrow night at the Sheffield Foundry (The University not the wall) Andy Kirkpatrick and I are doing a one off double header. Andy is very good at making people laugh. This pic shows us with Rich Cross sitting out a storm beneath the Gabarrou Silvy. There's also quite a good view up my blood spattered nose although Ive forgotten the story behind that.

Anyway should be a good night. More info here http://www.speakersfromtheedge.com/events/evening-with-andy-kirkpatrick-and-ian-parnell-thurs-26-november-sheffield

A little push

2009-11-19T08:13:00.004Z

The work front has been exceptionally busy of late. With several imminent lectures; Kendal, London, Sheffield and Abergavenny, plus big writing pieces for Climb, Alpinist and the Taxman! my vague training efforts have got even more lax. I've found myself on a few nights looking up from the computer, realising the evening has sailed by and sacking off any grand plans of getting fitter.

But I got a good kick up the posterior yesterday. Andy Kirkpatrick mentioned that some of the Inverness boys had noticed my pull up post and had been training hard. Andy reckoned that Pete MacPherson was doing 270 in half an hour. Which would match Guy but in half the time. Now numbers aren't Andy's strength it could easily be 27 or 2700 but exactly how many isn't that important. What was important was to know that there were others training hard with the hope of big things this winter. I'd also seen in some of Dave MacLeod's recent blog posts http://www.davemacleod.blogspot.com/ that he'd been having to get his training in at around midnight after 12 hours of writing his book.

So last night I had no excuse and was down in my cellar at 10pm. It was incredibly hard work to be honest and I struggled to get through, sometimes yawning, sometimes feeling faint. But with the extra motivation I managed 100 ice axe pullups. For me it's not a competition thing really but more a desire to be part of this wave of enthusiasm. If we actually get any conditions this could be a pretty impressive season. Last year I think about 5 people climbed grade IX (Dave was too busy attempting grade XIIs!), but this season there are at least 20 folk with the potential to get up that grade.

Keeping the dream alive

2009-11-15T18:18:00.003Z

This month is a real nose to the grindstone one for me in terms of work. At times it's hard to see the light ahead, but it actually doesn't need much. Today I escaped the computer for an evening run along the top of Stanage. I've been battling with a piece for Alpinist Magazine. It's a publication you don't get that many opportunities with, so when they come around you really want to raise your game and create something a little special. So not only have I been feeling this pressure but trying to capture some deep but elusive personal thoughts on our strange game we play in the mountains. This was particularly brought home with the death of Tomaz Humar. So it was a great relief to get out the house. Within minutes my spirits were lifted soaking up the magical light and enjoying my body blowing away the cobwebs. Even just this short hour or so moving over the landscape was enough to reconnect. Another 3 or 4 weeks and then I can get to grips with whatever Scotland's got to offer. I can't wait.

Winter training part 2

2009-11-11T18:53:00.004Z

Check these out, they're called Figfours. Designed by Pete Dollman, they're in prototype stage at the moment but Alpkit are doing a series of demos at UK climbing walls see here http://www.alpkit.com/dryice/ I've been lucky enough to have a couple of sessions with them at The Edge in Sheffield and I think they are going to transform my winter training. They manage to hit the parts (particularly your hands and forearms) that standard climbing misses. It's also surprising what relatively marginal holds you can use them on. Ive sticking with top roping with them as you need lanyards for public safety reasons and any falls are likely to leave you dangling by these tools and risk damaging the rubber band. Nevertheless Ive made it up all of the steepest walls at the Edge, so it might be time to get a weight belt out.

Winter Training and UKC Gallery

2009-11-06T08:08:00.008Z

A few posts back a friend of mine, lets call him the Aberdonian Adonis, posted about a winter training session he'd tried influenced by the winter training beast Stevie Haston. Adonis had managed 267 ice axe pull ups in an hour chasing a rumoured 2000 by Stevie. Inspired I tried a little session last night which I think is perfect for those like myself at the moment with very little spare time and adaptable for many levels of fitness.

Rather than an hour I went for 30mins (I didn't want to write off my season before its even started yet). Every minute, "on the hour", do a set amount of pull ups (between 2 and 6). This first session I did 3. Now doing 3 ice axe pull ups seems pathetic on its own right but by the end of the 30 minutes I'd done 90 pull ups, and if you can build up to doing 6 pull ups on the minute that's going to be 180 in 30 mins - a respectable tally for even grade IX monsters. If you find yourself doing more than 6 then you'd probably want to add a weight belt/vest. I think this session works well in that it replicates what you might expect in Scotland where you'll often get a tough physical section for maybe 10ft, followed by a decent rest. Having to do each set on the minute gets surprisingly tough with the last 10 minutes seemingly like a battle against a racing clock.

Also added yesterday is a gallery of winter shots on UKC http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=2235

Vanity, vanity, all is vanity

2009-10-30T19:25:00.007Z

I was hoping to call this post something like the "Power and the Glory" but that obviously wouldn't work, or "Beauty and the Beast" which would be half true. Even though this pic of me finishing my half marathon is a pretty poor vanity post, in that I look like a fat fun runner having a particularly torrid time on the loo, I do look as though I'm actually running. This is a first as every other "running" pic of me makes me look like I'm either power walking or letting out a sly one. Apologies for the obsession with bodily functions here but I've spent most of this week fairly unwell no doubt as a result of over-doing it a bit.On a vaguely related note it's always amazed me that Haile Gebrselassie always seems to be able to keep up a continuous smile even after over 2 hours of sub 3 minute km's. Interestingly so does Triathlon uber-athelete Chrissie Wellington. It may have something to do with them reputably being amongst the most like-able grounded athletes in all sport. If so what does my gurning say about me?

London Lecture

2009-10-28T09:42:00.007Z

Here's the poster for my lecture for the charity Porters' Progress at the RGS in LondonIt's on at 7pm on 24th November and you can get details and tickets at http://www.worldexpeditions.co.uk/index.php?section=adventure_travel_presentations&location or by phoning 02085459030

Leave nothing in the tank

2009-10-25T20:50:00.004Z

"Leave nothing in the tank" was a phrase or something similar used by Bradley Wiggins about his efforts each big day in this years Tour de France. It really captured my imagination. I guess its like the Spanish climbing phrase "A Meurte" which sort of translates as "to the death" and means to give absolute maximum effort.

A week or so ago I was musing on how you gauge success, and for me on all the achievements I'm most proud of it's where "I've emptied the tank". It's that feeling that you just couldn't have done anymore.

Well I had one of those days today when I ran my first half marathon over at Worksop. It was a beautiful sunny day, but quite a challenging course, with some tricky hills (hills as in a road race not a fell race or mountaineering stylee). The Good run guide claimed it was equivalent to running a 13.7 mile race on the flat (so maybe 3 or 4 minutes slower than a super flat course at my pace). Luckily you run down the biggest hill in the last mile and I think this is what pushed me right to my limit. It was a bizarre feeling falling/running as fast as I could but desperate for it to be over. I almost completely blew a gasket and the involuntary noises I made provided plenty of entertainment for onlookers. The result 1.29.44 (chip time) and 112 out of 1509 runners. Well Chuffed!

More winter inspiration

2009-10-23T10:09:00.005+01:00

What do we want? ... we want cold

...we want wilderness
...we want gnarl...we want satisfaction
When do we want it? ....Now!

Special Sheffield Gig

2009-10-21T13:02:00.003+01:00

I'm doing a few lectures in November and December, the first of which is something a little different. A double Header with Andy Kirkpatrick. Andy and I know each other far too well having shared many adventures, so it will be interesting to see how this one goes. Andy is getting more "unstable" in his latter years so I've no idea what exactly he has in store - I doubt he has much idea either, but you can bank on it being side splittingly funny. I'll probably dish the dirt first on our epic attempt to repeat the Lafaille route on the Dru, and then talk a bit about our climb on El Cap with paraplegic Phil Packer which helped him raise a Million quid for Help for Heroes.

The title of the show is Freezing Nuts, its on Thursday 26 Nov at The Foundry (not the climbing wall) at Sheffield University Union. Doors open 7:30pm and tickets are £9 (£6 NUS) and can be got from the Union Box Office 0114 222 8777 as well as the Sheffield City Hall, the Sheffield Arena and most Sheffield Theatres.

Winter Inspiration

2009-10-20T20:18:00.002+01:00

Here's a few pics for anyone who needs a little lift now nights are drawing in. Get those tools sharpened winter is coming. The hard work... struggling into the Cairngorms on an 80 mile an hour day.

The business... getting stuck into the West Buttress of Beinn Eighe

The dreams... looking up the West Central Gully of Beinn Eighe, Fowlers legendary route and probably the hardest "Gully" in Scotland. The Reward... dawn colours close to the summit of the Ben after an early start.

Some interesting running bits on the web

2009-10-19T10:28:00.005+01:00

Here's a few running web links Ive been surfing through and found interesting recently

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?uan=2126
The busy forums of runnersworld make UKC look like small pub chat although much of it is really only relevant to specific races. One archived thread that I thought was fascinating involved Mike Gratton (London winner 2.09 in 1983) who gives detailed feedback over a 6 month period for those trying to up their mileage to 100+ miles. Imagine having someone like Ben Moon giving daily detailed feedback on UKC for 6 months? His proposed training schedule is above and the forum posts are here http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages/mps/dt/4/UTN/50224/
with some of the most pertinent questions summarized here
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages/mps/dt/4/UTN/50224/

http://z12.invisionfree.com/Hunter_Reports/index.php?s=c654c2f1c8bcf67d67c1aa1c323749c0&showforum=38
This is a great list of training resources sourced by Tony Wilson at Glenhuntly, an Australian Athletics Club. Lots of middle and some longer distance stuff by stars such as Coe, Ovett, Snell, Michael Johnson, DeCastella.

http://www.sportsscientists.com/
This is a fascinating site - basically a blog by 2 Sports Scientists one a South African and one an American. Most of their posts analyse research and races and then translate their detailed opinions into plain English that we all can understand. Some great stuff on pacing particularly in the marathon, plus a very interesting look at doping, the forefoot v heel striking debate, Oscar Pistorius' prosthetics, as well as cycling such as the Tour de France.

Defining Success

2009-10-15T19:08:00.005+01:00

I was made to think a little about how we define success recently. Usually you'd think the process is pretty simple; set your goal, make sure its measurable, perform and see if you make the grade or not? Of course life isn't that simple. That was brought home when I was searching through the internet trying to find out what was happening on the Ironman World Champs in Kona over the weekend. I was particularly interested to see how Philip Graves, a 20 year old from York and the youngest male competitor was doing. He'd got a lot of publicity in the build up to race as he's a genuine talent on the bike and some were tipping him as an outside contender.

It turned out that he'd had a fantastic swim (4th out the water) and started the bike like a demon, taking the race lead. But around mile 50 the wheels began to come off metaphorically speaking of course. His eventual bike split was a long way behind the leaders and his finishing time for the whole race well over 9 hours, much slower than many had predicted. From afar it all looked a bit of a disaster and some web pages hinted that he'd been taught a lesson etc....

It was interesting to hear a little post race interview on imtalk with him that put a very different slant on Graves performance. He seemed genuinely up beat, as he said he got to feel what it was like to lead the world champs, he also picked up a prize by Timex for the fastest initial bike split and as he said perhaps in 4 or 5 years time he might be able to get the bike record. Graves of course could have paced better and perhaps come in 30th instead of 50-0dd and been anonymous during the race, instead he got out in front of the world's best and learned an awful lot for future Konas.

On a personal level I've got my first half marathon coming up in just over a week and I've no idea what time I'm going to manage and what should equate to success. I went to the track today on a rainy Sheffield day and again didn't know what to expect. I'd just returned from a weeks holiday in Cyprus staying at a fine hotel with amazing buffets of food every night. I'd managed quite a bit of running and swimming in the sea but my legs felt as heavy as my belly. It was a nice lift therefore to find that I'd made good running progress; repeating a session I did a month ago of 1600m reps and managing each "mile" at an average of 12 seconds faster than last time. Secretly this is what I'd wanted to do, but didn't really want to admit it to myself in case I was setting too high goals. Ive an equally ambitious time in mind for the half marathon and hoping I'm hoping I can surprise myself again. We'll see in just over a week.

Hope Moors and Tors

2009-10-04T19:11:00.007+01:00

Did my second fell race today the Hope Moors and Tors (8.5 miles). Staggering to the top of Mam Tor at about halfway I was surprised to see Mick Ryan taking pics. Seeing Mick it was easy to smile he's such a cheeky chappie; climbing's equivalent to Peers Morgan with his highly effective "agent provocateur" approach to climbing journalism and of course one of the supremos behind UKC. Although it looks like I'm power walking I was actually trying to run, although having just summitted Mam Tor my legs weren't really playing ball.Photo Mick Ryan
At this point it I was probably in about 30th place. Luckily for me all the good runners were doing the long course - 20 miles! - and so they all turned off leaving me in 3rd place. Yipee!

"If I had a hat I'd eat it"

2009-09-27T22:30:00.004+01:00

Had a track session again today so I'm all inspired by running again so....

Is this the greatest track distance run of all time?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnyx06yjhU4&feature=PlayList&p=6FC9CD36D1804342&index=15

Current world marathon world record holder Haile Gebreselassie back in 1998 when he was setting the track alight. Here breaking the 5k record after his pace makers muffed it at half way leaving him 6 laps to go alone and needing to run 3.58 for the final mile! The title of the post is from the commentator who on almost every lap suggest that it's not possible to break the record from the position he's in. Hard to think of a climbing comparison but it would probably be onsighting an E10.

The Secrets of Winter Success

2009-09-22T10:34:00.004+01:00

Some one asked me recently what I did as training for winter climbing. Well I can reveal my top secret high tech underground facility. In fact I did my first set of ice axe pull ups for this season last night. It's easy to forget with the run of great weather we're having that first winter snows are probably only 4 or 5 weeks away. The other training tool I've been using is a pair of Mizuno Wave Harrier Fell running shoes but as they are an embarrassing bright yellow we'll skip a photo of them.

Training for winter is relatively simple, you need plenty of puff for the walk in (hence the running), bags of stamina as your average lead of a hard pitch will take 2 or more hours, controlled strength such as lock offs (hence the axe pullups), a wide range of "traditional" techniques (luckily I'm a born thrutcher) and know how to use yer loaf (both in terms of problem solving and keeping going when things are less than perfect). Perhaps I'll do a proper post on mental training at another time.

Stanage Struggle

2009-09-21T09:46:00.004+01:00

I had a vision of my first fell race of endless bog squelching through mist and rain, with back breaking hills being galloped up gazelle like by impossibly fit old men. Well the latter was definitely true but luckily bogs were almost entirely absent and weather wise it was one of the best mornings of the Autumn so far. The course was a long drag up out of Hathersage through the Plantation and up onto the Edge at which point I was pretty sure I was doing some permanent damage to my spine. Then a mile an a half along the tops past High Neb before a hell for leather descent back to the village. Unfortunately I hadn't counted on the series of mini hills leading up to the church to finish which almost brought me to my knees. The personal point that really summed up how special this race felt was on those finishing inclines when I was doing all I could just to keep going, several of the marshalls started cheering me on. That often happens at most races but they personalised it by shouting out my number, a small thing but it seemed to make a massive difference.

Of course with all races you like to compare where you finished and this one had a high proportion of climbers. I was 62nd out of 286 just behind Al Williams - guidebook design guru, and about 2 1/2 minutes behind Ron Fawcett, who I'd put as a good proper runner, although rumours are that he was recovering from an injury. I was pretty chuffed to beat Neil McAdie by nearly 7 minutes as he'd goaded me into doing the race, but very humbled to be thrashed by a similar amount by Alpine guide Jon Morgan who finished in 3rd place!!

The Struggle's website has results, pics and more info http://www.fbrc.co.uk/

News from around the world

2009-09-17T11:19:00.007+01:00

One of the reasons I keep up a blog is that I've loved being inspired by the adventures of others. Sometimes friends, sometimes famous folk I've seen on tele and sometimes people I've never heard of. That's the wonder of the 'net I guess; access to psyche around the world. So here's a few things that got me going today.

Relatively close to home, Jack Geldard ground up repeated Stevie Haston's new monster of a route at Doris. There's been lots of forum discussions about this route, which I briefly got involved with. These reached a hilarious peak when Stevie declared that both Adam Long and Ben Bransby didn't have enough ground up experience to offer a valid viewpoint! Much more interesting though is that Jack has blogged about his training, to achieve onsighting an E8's worth of Choss and muses on what is required for loose climbing.
http://jackgeldard.com/

Will Gadd is a very astute Canadian who excels at excelling. Doesn't really matter what it is mountains, icefalls, rock faces, thermals or raging rivers Will is top draw material. One of his recent posts on his blog caught my eye, where he contrasts the positive fun approach of a new generation of young adventurers with the doom and gloom negative psyche of his generation. The same generation that shaped my own early days of alpinism. http://gravsports.blogspot.com/2009/08/power-of-youth.html

Spotted this superb effort by Max Turgeon, a softly spoken Quebecois lad now based in Cham who I had the pleasure of climbing with in Scotland last season.
http://themountainworld.blogspot.com/2009/09/across-alps-hard-way.html

And finally a little more running I'm afraid. Seems Al Powell has been up to his usual tricks with some monster endurance races. It's been truly humbling to spend the odd day out in the mountains with the likes of Al, to realise just how unfit I am in comparison, and one of the main motivators for my recent running efforts.
http://alpine-guides-blog.com/2009/09/02/mb-ultratrail-tour-du-ducs-de-savoie-2009/

Memories of the Golden Age

2009-09-15T21:46:00.005+01:00

Yesterdays track session had me recalling that amazing golden era of British Middle Distance running in the late 70s into the 80s. As a 12 year old I think the closest I ever had to a genuine hero was Steve Ovett. I loved his devastating kick off the final bend and of course his style. This video shows him breaking the mile record wearing his trade mark Red Russian athletic vest. Ovett wasn't that big on record breaking he was more of a pure man to man racer but as the commentary by the outstanding David Coleman says "there is no one left to race." What stands out is his incredibly beautiful running action (contrast it with the state of the other elite runners trailing behind him), truly poetry in motion and you'll also notice all the meets athletes cheering Ovett on around the inside of the track.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvQPuTHoLVY&feature=related

Obviously you can't really talk about Ovett without mentioned Sebastian Coe. Here's his phenomenal 800 world record of 1.41.73 from 1981. It took 16 years for his time to be bettered! Again brilliant commentary by David Coleman "And now he's really got to hurt himself"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0e1yaMIM08&feature=related

Apologies climbing readers for my recent running obsession I will actually get out on the crag soon!

The magic of the track

2009-09-15T13:06:00.003+01:00

I'm typing this with leaden legs having had a quick lunch time session at the Don Valley Stadium athletics track here in Sheffield. Supposedly it's normal for the legs to feel more battered than normal if you aren't used to track running, and since its been 25 years since I was last on a track....!

As a nipper I used to run for Swindon athletics club and we'd train on the local cinder track at the Oasis Leisure Centre. I'm sure I've got rose tinted specs on but I used to love that feeling as a 14 year old accelerating into the final bend on our 300m reps. I can just picture now the clouds of moisture from our breath being picked out by the floodlights on a winter's evening. However today I could definitely feel the difference between a 40 year old has been and a lithe teenager. But there was still something of that magic as I walked out onto the track.

One of my most memorable days with the Swindon Club - for mixed reasons, was when our Coach managed to get 4 of us onto a junior race being held as part of a senior meeting at the legendary Crystal Palace in London. I couldn't believe my luck, as while I had no chance of a win (the fastest of our 4, a lad called Andrew Stanley was 2nd or 3rd ranked in the country for his age and I was usually half a lap behind in a mile race) but just the chance to run on the same hallowed tartan as my hero of the day Steve Ovett was a dream come true.

Unfortunately when we arrived we found out that the event had been shifted to another track and so we'd missed the whole meet. Obviously gutted we moped about until our coach managed to get us a chance to at least have a run. So the four of us did a kind of time trial, I think I came last but it's still something I treasure.

Today it was odd to come out to an almost deserted track. There was one sprinter just finishing his session off and then I had the whole stadium to myself. Considering it's the UK's biggest athletics stadium it felt a little bizarre, but I believe it's fairly typical that these facilities get under utilised. If you're into running I'd recommend searching out your own local track, there's a neat site for doing just that http://www.runtrackdir.com/
You'll almost certainly end up with lead legs like me but hopefully come away with that little bit of magic.

Mountains by the sea

2009-09-11T20:43:00.007+01:00

Had a fine day out yesterday with Jon and Alex on the beautiful Lleyn Peninsula. The North Coast near Trefor is like a mini-mountain range falling into the sea. We climbed the classic 7 pitch HVS Fantan B. Which I'd highly recommend to those with an adventurous streak. Having said that it's quite involved for an HVS; long, run out in places and with one or two spots where you have to make a move where falling shouldn't be fatal but would be unpleasant. However the rock on the whole is pretty good so it doesn't warrant MXS. Here's some pics
How everyone imagines the Lleyn - a coastline of fear!The reality? a seaside holiday venueJohn at the top of the "perched block" pitch the third on the routeJohn having reached the belay of pitch 4, great steep guano encrusted jugs.The wonders of an Indian summer Jon on the final technical pitch with sweeping panoramic views.The surprising finale along the crest of the quarry seals the alpine feel of the whole route.

Now thats what I call a photo finish

2009-09-08T21:07:00.003+01:00

Came across this rather fine selection of pics taken at the finish line of the Boise Half Ironman race this summer. With 1 mile left of the run Craig Alexander, the current Hawaii Ironman Champ, was lying in 2nd place nearly a minute behind the leader Chris Lieto. A spectator shouted out the 57sec time split and something (which is unreported) to re-ignite the competitive flame of Alexander. The result was an amazing sprint finish decided a few steps before the line. It would be interesting to find out what words of encouragement that spectator shouted, and then patent them!

Here's the link
http://www.idahostatesman.com/258/gallery/801742-a801788-t2.html