mountaineering

Rock scrambling in Snowdonia. Using an Italian hitch to protect a scrambling pitch

Rock scrambling in Snowdonia. Using an Italian hitch to protect a scrambling pitch


Rock scrambling in Snowdonia on Tryfan. Climbing grade 2/3 scrambling on the east face of Tryfan on Bastow buttress (grade 3) and Nor Nor Groove(grade 2). A great day out practicing rope and scrambling techniques for fast movement on Rock and steep ground. Rock Scrambling with Mountaineering Joe
Rock scrambling in Snowdonia. Reaching the bottom of Nor Nor groove on the east face of Tryfan

Rock scrambling in Snowdonia. Reaching the bottom of Nor Nor groove on the east face of Tryfan

Organising your belays on multi pitch rock climbing routes

Organising your belays on multi pitch rock climbing routes

Multi pitch rock climbing in Snowdonia. A day practising rope and belays techniques on a multi pitch rock climbing route. We covered areas such as stance organisation which is quite important for multi pitch routes with not a lot of belay space so keeping things organised is essential. Organising your belays on multi pitch rock climbing routes with as much rope as you can will reduce the shock loading on the gear making your belay safer. Placing gear on a route while on the lead climbing a multi pitch rock climbing route. It is important to keep in balance while placing gear. Setting up a stacked rope belay we even had a sunny day which is not bad for Snowdonia. Rock climbing with Mountaineering Joe
Multi pitch rock climbing in Snowdonia

Multi pitch rock climbing in Snowdonia

Winter skills descending a ice slope with crampons using the flat foot technique

Winter skills descending a ice slope with crampons using the flat foot technique


Learning winter skills in Scotland 1:1. A Winter skills weekend. A great weekend in Aviemore practicing winter skills. Kicking steps , use of the ice axe while walking, ice axe arresting for when things go wrong, and the use of crampons using front pointing, flat footing and hybrid techniques. We also looked at protecting members of the group up and down snow slopes with snow belays stompers and boot axe belays. A great time with great weather in the Cairngorms Scotland.
Practicing Ice axe arresting at the beginning of the winter seasons keeps all your skills fresh

Practicing Ice axe arresting at the beginning of the winter seasons keeps all your skills fresh

Winter climbing in Scotland The last few pitches of Curved Ridge

Winter climbing in Scotland The last few pitches of Curved Ridge

With the fantastic weather conditions across Scotland we had a great time winter climbing in Glen Coe. We completed Curved Ridge in superb winter conditions.Winter climbing in Glen Coe Looking down into Glen Coe

Winter skills course in Scotland.  Practicing ice axe arresting on a steep slope

Winter skills course in Scotland. Practicing ice axe arresting on a steep slope


Winter skills course with Mountaineering Joe. Different types of cramponing, buckets seats with buried axe belays , body belaying, and ice axe arresting are just some of the skills practiced over the days out. Winter skills are essential in order to cope the different types of winter conditions which may be encountered. Winter skills days with Mountaineering Joe
Winter skills course in Scotland.  Practicing buckets seats on a snow slope

Winter skills course in Scotland. Practicing buckets seats on a snow slope

A great day out in winter in Scotland with Mountaineering Joe

A great day out in winter in Scotland with Mountaineering Joe


Winter skills weekend with Mountaineering Joe. Walking in Scotland in winter requires good navigation skills. With heavy snow falling you can lose the path and the shape of the land so quickly so good compass skills are essential. I picked them up from the station and dropped them back after the weekend. So they didn’t even need a car! Winter skills with Mountaineering Joe
Winter navigation across the cairngorms

Winter navigation across the cairngorms

Winter walking in Snowdonia  Winter walking up towards the Glyders

Winter walking in Snowdonia Winter walking up towards the Glyders


Winter Walking in Cwm Bochlwyd, Ogwen Valley in Snowdonia. Walking in the Ogwen Valley Around the side of Tryfan. A great winter day out with beautiful views across Snowdonia. Mountaineering Joe

Beautiful walking around Capel Curig

Beautiful walking around Capel Curig


Winter navigation. There can be far less features around like walls, fences and streams. Therefore it is much more important to interpret the shape of the land and use your compass more accurately in Winter. Winter navigation with Mountaineering Joe
Identifiying contour features.

Identifiying contour features.

Navigating on complex ground

Navigating on complex ground


Dylan is starting to preparing for the ML training course. He wants to get the most out of his training as it is a preparation for assessment not a basic mountain skills course . Today we looked at the level of navigation expected. Micro navigation in the ML award is a high standard and to reach this takes practice so his ML training will be fine tuning not a shock! Dylan certainly has a natural talent for navigation and he was finding his way around complex steep ground efficiently ! An excellent day with Mountaineering Joe
Beautiful views across the Snowdonia range

Beautiful views across the Snowdonia range

The final steep section of Sinister Gully

The final steep section of Sinister Gully


Winter climbing on Bristly Ridge in Snowdonia. We walked Tryfan Bwlch and Climbed Bristly Ridge via Sinister Gully on the right hand side on the main Bristly Ridge and finished on top of the main Glyders cliff. We were well protected in the gully out of the wind and had a great day! With Mountaineering Joe
Starting up Sinister Gully on Bristly Ridge

Starting up Sinister Gully on Bristly Ridge