Practicing crampon and ice axe skills in Devils Kitchen

Winter skills course: Alps preparation paid off for Kyle this summer

Kyle on the summit of Mont Blanc

Kyle on the summit of Mont Blanc

Kyle spend 2 days with Mountaineering Joe on a Winter Skills course earlier in the year. This certainly paid off for him as he successfully summated Mont Blanc this summer and as he put it ” found it all pretty comfortable! “.

An email from Kyle:

Hi Joe, Just thought I’d drop you an email/pic of me on the summit of Mont Blanc. Spent a week in Chamonix last month, culminating in this summit and several other training peaks! Was a great week, thanks for the winter skills training I was a lot more confident over the ground and found it all pretty comfortable! Looking forward to getting out and doing some more next summer, hopefully we have another cold winter I will be keen to do some ice climb training in Snowdon? Hope your well Regards, Kyle

Don’t go to the Alps with friends unprepared. Make sure you know what you are doing! See our Winter Courses

All stacked up on the Wen Slab ledge

Climbing on the Anglesey Sea Cliffs in Wen Slab Zawn.

, , ,
All stacked up on the Wen Slab ledge

All stacked up on the Wen Slab ledge

A great day out climbing on the sea cliffs of Anglesey in the Wen Slab Zawn area. We got there early just before it got crowded ..After climbing we had lunch on the viewing platform to watch the other climbers. One party climbing the route A Dream of the White Horses and another starting the route Wen. I think there might be congestion soon as the two routes cross each other. The Gear is good but the belays are all semi hanging..not many big ledges! If you have fancied feeling the exposure and excitement of sea cliff climbing then have a look here to see what is on offer … http://mountaineeringjoe.co.uk/rock-climbing-courses-snowdonia/

Ben on a ML Navigation preparation 2 day course

,

Ben is preparing for his Mountain Leader Award (ML) and wanted to check out his current navigation against the award requirements and bring it up to that standard. We walked around Moel Siabol and on the Snowdon Massive. We focused main on 1.25 and 1.50 scales but also discussed the 1.40 scale. He developed a systematic approach to Navigation and good contour interpretation. He was well up to standard by the end of the 2 days. He left feeling confident that he had everything under control! We even added in a bit of rope work to break things up a bit. If you need help with preparation for your ML give me a call or visit http://mountaineeringjoe.co.uk/mountaineering/navigation-courses-snowdonia/

Ben building a story for his next leg ...good procedure for navigation

Ben building a story for his next leg …good procedure for navigation

Luca making this so easy!

Adventure for Father and son at Rock climbing. Single pitch climbing in Snowdonia, North Wales

, , ,
Look at that smile!

Look at that smile!

Nick and his son Luca wanted to try something different so they contacted me about an adventure day. So I arranged some climbing on real rock. I set up a top rope so Luca could play safely around on the rock trying out rock climbing for the first time. Nick got a chance to learn how to look after his son on the rock too. Once Luca started climbing we couldn’t stop him. He had such good time we had to tell him the park was closing in order to get him to stop! See what MountaineeringJoe can do for you ….http://mountaineeringjoe.co.uk/rock-climbing-courses-snowdonia/

Holyhead to Trearddur Bay: The sea slowly carving up the rock

Anglesey Costal Path: Holyhead to Trearddur Bay section which is a truly impressive rugged part of the coastline.

, , ,

Holyhead to Trearddur Bay: The light house at South Stack

Holyhead to Trearddur Bay: The light house at South Stack

Rodney and Olie have been walking the costal path for a while now and wanted to explore a section of the coast which runs above the high cliffs between North and South Stack starting at Porth y felin (the other side of Holyhead). It passes North stack, Holyhead mountain and continues to South Stack and around the coast to Trearddur Bay. Some of the most rugged coast line to be seen on the island. Rodney and Olie described it as the most impressive part of the coastline he had seen! It is truly impressive with views far out to sea and around the coast. See http://mountaineeringjoe.co.uk/anglesey-coastal-path/ for more information of how you can enjoy the coastline with a guided walk with MountaineeringJoe.

That big smile! Says it all

Personal Adventure Holidays in North Wales and Snowdonia

, , ,

Paul and Joe at the first belay

Paul and Joe at the first belay

Father Paul and his son Joe wanted an adventure day out while on Anglesey. So we went climbing on the Anglesey Sea cliffs at Rhoscolyn. Joe really enjoyed the atmosphere and excitement of the those crashing waves below us while we climbed on easy excellent rock. An really great day was aided by the weather of course! For more ideas on what you can do while in North Wales and Snowdonia see http://mountaineeringjoe.co.uk/rock-climbing/ or click here. Call Joe to have a chat about what can be arranged for you!

Bridging out over the crux on mental Block VS 5a

Learning to trad climbing in a single pitch environment on Holyhead Mountain, Anglesey, North Wales

, , ,
Leading on the route Cursing VS 4c..moving around the corner

Leading on the route Cursing VS 4c..moving around the corner

A day spent trad climbing in a Single pitch environment on Holyhead mountain, on Anglesey, North Wales. A day was spent practicing placing gear and setting up belays. Holyhead mountain is an ideal environment to practice this. http://mountaineeringjoe.co.uk/rock-climbing-courses-snowdonia/

Grooved Arête : The final pitch....

Climbing on Grooved Arête on the east face of Tryfan

, , ,

Grooved Arête : Completing the Knight's move on small holds

Grooved Arête : Completing the Knight’s move on small holds

We were climbing in the Ogwen Valley again with excellent weather this week . Paul wanted to do Grooved Arête a 3 star climb which deserves a Severe grading but HVD. The Knights move certainly can catch people out who are pushing their leading grade. The climbing is inspiring and never lets you off the hook. But it’s mountaineering at its best! If you are interested in extending your climbing adventures by trying multi pitch mountaineering routes then try our Intro to Multi-Pitch Climbing course, and make your climbs more adventurous!

Looking at the east side of Senior's Ridge

Grade 2/3 scrambling, Ogwen Valley, in Snowdonia on Direct Approach to Senior’s Ridge and Cneifion Arête

, , , , ,

The top of the chimney on Cneifion Arête

The top of the chimney on Cneifion Arête

We were Scrambling in the Ogwen Valley in excellent weather this week . Paul wanted to do Cneifion Arête an incredible grade 3 scramble but It starts a long way up in the hidden valley, Cwm Cneifion so we added in Direct Approach to Senior’s Ridge a grade 2 scramble to get to it, which really made a good mountaineering day out! If you are interested in extending your walking adventures, trying more ambitious walks then try our introduction to scrambling days, which is scrambling for walkers and make your walks more adventurous!

Sunset coming off the Carneddau- end if the day

The Welsh 3000s Challenge in under 24 hours

, ,

The famous Cantilever stone on the summit of Glyder Fawr

The famous Cantilever stone on the summit of Glyder Fawr

The Welsh 3000s. A Great but very hot day. Kathy took on the challenge and was not put off by the soaring temperatures we have seen over the last few weeks . She was very determined to succeed. We were up by 2am and left the car park at 3am in the morning and was off the mountain at 10.30 at night. She flew over Crib Goch , Carnedd Ugain, and Snowdon at a good pace, down to Nant Peris in the valley to the backup team for refuelling where she started the gruelling walk up out of the valley to Elidir Fawr. From here it was plain sailing crossing the Glyders, flying up Y Garn, Glyder Fawr, Glyder Fach and over to Tryfan and back down into the Ogwen valley. The final big ascent did not put her off as she powered up to Pen Yr Ole Wen in afternoon sun which started to see temperatures in the high 20s. Pretty exhausted now she continued to finish off all the remaining 7 peaks over 3000 feet , including Carnedd Dafydd, Carnedd Llewelyn, dog legged to Yr Elen and then Foel Grach, Garnedd Uchaf finishing on Foel Fras until the sun was dropping fast. An excellent performance under tough conditions! Well done Kathy! It possible to do this challenge over 2 days click here for details