After an introduction to rock climbing at Trevor Quarry yesterday, where the climbs were relatively short, I took the groups from the Ellesmere College Adventure Plus program to Llanymynech. The venue offers a lot of climbing, but most of the routes are bolted sports climbs and not appropriate for group use. Cul-de-Sac Quarry is the only section that is suitable for groups, and it can … Read More »
Category Archives: Climbing
Adventure Plus Rock Climbing at Trevor Quarry
After two days of canoeing with the kids on the Ellesmere College Adventure Plus holiday activities club, it was time for a change. Last Summer I did some indoor bouldering with the groups, which was followed up with a visit to the indoor climbing wall at Plas Madoc at Easter. It seemed like a natural progression to finally head outside to climb on some real … Read More »
Canadian Cadet Climbing Course in North Wales
I've been very privileged to spend the last week working with a group of 6 Canadian Cadets on a rock climbing course in North Wales. They are part of a larger group of cadets that have been selected to come over to the UK for several weeks as part of an exchange. This week, they were based at Capel Curig Training Camp (not far from … Read More »
Mary Webb School at the Adventure Rope Course
A number of Year 10 pupils from Mary Webb School in Shropshire have been coming along to the Adventure Rope Course on a Wednesday afternoon as part of a 6 week series of sessions aiming to give the pupils the chance to learn some of the basic skills associated with rope work. Today's session was predominantly an assessment of their climbing skills. So we were looking … Read More »
Alfie’s First Lead
The eldest of my 2 sons (Alfie - aged 12) has been showing an increasing interest in climbing over recent months. He's done quite a bit of bottom rope climbing, both indoors and out, during the last few years but has started to show an interest in leading. For those that are not familiar with 'leading', this is where the rope is not secured to anything … Read More »
Congratulations Adam!
Just a quick note to say congratulations to Adam for passing his SPA assessment this weekend. Adam has been gearing up to this for quite a while, and I'm delighted that he was able to perform just as well under assessment conditions as he is normally. Well done!
Stiperstones with Adam
Today was another opportunity to give Adam a hand with his preparations for his SPA (Single Pitch Award - rock climbing) assessment. With only a few days to the big weekend, Adam was keen to practise set ups and it's always useful to try this at new venues. Although I hadn't used the crag before, I had heard of a venue at Cranberry Rock on … Read More »
Thrill Seeker Bonanza
Today was definitely full on for me. Three sessions, all as part of the BBC Thrill Seeker campaign, was enough to keep me on my feet. The morning started off with an adult canoe session on The Mere in Ellesmere. Surprisingly there were only 3 takers this time, which was disappointing, but meant that we could take advantage of having more input per person. It also … Read More »
Youth Action Team Activity Day
Today I hosted a visit from the Base 25 Youth Action Team from Wolverhampton. This is a newly formed group of young people who aim to encourage others in and around Wolverhampton to get involved in volunteering. The Youth Action Team is still being put together by Base 25, who do a wide range of work in support of the local youth. Today was intended … Read More »
Climbing with Adam
Adam is a local outdoor instructor who is preparing to do his SPA (Single Pitch Award - Rock Climbing) assessment next month. This will be a 2 day assessment, looking at his personal climbing abilities but, even more importantly, to ensure that he can set up climbs and abseils safely for other people and manage groups appropriately. Adam asked if I could spare him a day … Read More »
