Wall Nuts

They arranged to meet at The Rising Sun at 9.30. Matt and Mike arrived in a flash Audi at 9.45, pronounced they had no money and drove off with the assisstant instructor to visit Tesco’s cash machine. At 10 a.m. Alan arrived with Nick and James, all nursing severe hangovers. They had plenty of water but no food, so they went off to Tescoes to buy some. The Audi boys returned with money, but they had no food either so had to ring Alan with their requirements.

It was as the guys all grouped together to head for the crag that Ali realized James was wearing flip-flops and only one NUT had a rucksack. “You did pass on my email about requirements for the day” Ali inquired. NO came the unanimous reply.

With a bit of organization they all managed to pack gear in the 3 rucksacks and carried the ropes Alpine style. By the time they arrived at the base of North Wall all the easier routes were taken, but Ali set up ropes on the first pitch of Right Hand Route and Neibelheim.

Nick was overcome with the effort it took to get his hungover body to the top of Niebelheim and spent several minutes throwing up in the bushes. Nice!

Scrambled Nuts

The Nuts had a range of ability, but they were all given the opportunity to climb a number of routes with varying degrees of success, but they all completed at least 2 routes. The finale was a scramble up the ‘Easy Way Down’ which got the adrenalin going. The atmosphere of the day was incredible, the banter non stop, the laughter constant AND the weather was beautiful.

‘Our distinct lack of preparation, hangovers, inappropriate clothing, sat nav errors and general poor fitness levels could not diminish what turned out to be a fantastic days climbing. The tuition was pitched just right for five blokes in their late twenties/early thirties who think they know everything – banter by all to match! Ali and Andy’s patience, expertise and sense of humour shone through, and we conquered the rocks and cliffs she laid out for us. Tailored to our specific skill levels (which were varied) and blessed with a cracking day, we’ll not forget it in a long time! Thanks – top drawer!’ Alan Sheppard

Arriving early afternoon at Gillside campsite at the base of Helvellyn in the pouring rain they prayed for better weather. After making tea, the clouds vanished, the sun came out and the tents were erected in dry conditions. After a quick look round Keswick, all the shops except Booths were shut, they headed for a local pub, dinner and an early night ready for the adventures of the following day.

Helvellyn enveloped in sunshine

Up at 6 a.m. the group were ready at 8 and set off up Mires Beck and the long slog up to Helvellyn only 3 miles away – all uphill. Dark clouds billowed above their heads, with glimpses of seductive blue sky, but at the base of Striding Edge the temperature plummeted, the heavens opened and they were deluged with rain, hail and snow. Waterproofs were promptly adorned and the disheartened group with Ali in the lead headed across the valley to Red Tarn. Before long out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain, and incy wincy Donabies climbed Swirrel ridge this time.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

It was hard going as the higher they climbed the more wintery the conditions became. Tracie decided she’d had enough 200m from the summit, so leaving her wrapped up in a kisu with all the gear Ali, Neil and Jay struggled on to the summit at 949m. They could see Tracie from the summit and although several handsome chaps attempted to whisk her away with tempting offers of coffee and sticky buns she remained firm and an hour later they were all reunited. There were several snow ball fights and fisticuffs on route which added to the fun and the weather continued to dash from season to season.

Eye spy kept the group entertained on the long descent, with such gems as dmw -disused mine workings, polrfw – path of least resistance for water! and pls – pedantic little soandso.

The group were rewarded for their efforts back at the campsite with lashings of hot tea and long hot showers followed by dinner in the White Lion in Patterdale.

Tracie demonstrating a waist belay

Sunday was a much gentler day in all respects; walking, weather and distance. The group took a gentle stroll around part of Ullswater and then practiced simple rope work techniques to safeguard tricky scrambling situations using slings, the Italian hitch and waist belays.

It was sad to leave such a beautiful place, and even though the weather was a little cruel at times it just added to the adventure and gave it greater substance. It was a great weekend, full of fun and learning and as Ali remarked ‘not like working at all’.

‘Thanks hun. We love our weekends away with Monsterclimbs. There are well words, I just can’t express what I feel. I don’t want to go to work. I actually wish it was Friday and I could do it all over again. Love you loads.’ Tracie Donabie

Multi-pitch means an early start

Multi-pitch climbs are often associated with trad climbing but in Britain and abroad there are mult-pitch sport climbs too.The beauty of multi-pitch climbing is that you become involved in the adventure of the climb, and as you gain height the feeling of affinity with the rock becomes overwhelming.

And, as you get deeper into the climb, you look ahead and wonder if you can complete it and doubts begin to creep in. A multi-pitch climb can take anything from 4 hours to 4 days plus depending on the climb you choose. You feel committed and often cannot anticipate problems or the level of difficulties, even when you have a guidebook for the route. And then there’s the descent. Will you be able to find the abseil points and/ or the descent path? Will you get benighted and have to do it in the dark? Will the ropes get tangled or caught in a crack? Will the path be obvious?

To succeed on mult-pitch climbs your rope work must be meticulous. Care and time must be taken to make sure everything is right. You don’t need to be fast, even though you have a long way to go, but you need to be methodical. You shouldn’t feel rushed, as this is when mistakes are made, so plan ahead, begin the climb early and enjoy the process. Good route finding is a time saver. Going off route costs time and may lead you into trouble. Taking a copy of the route guide with you is imperative.

Keeping safe - clove hitched to the belay

The best way to enjoy multi-pitch is to share and alternate the leading.This means that at the belay stance the leader brings up the second who strips the gear as he ascends and then once he is at the stance, the rope is already on the top, ready for the second to take over as the lead climber. Both climbers must make themselves safe on the belay before any exchange or rearrangement of gear and the belayer may have to turn the belay plate round depending on the line of the next pitch.

Alternating the lead - meticulous rope work

Arriving at the belay, the leader often has to construct a belay from spikes, threads, nuts and cams, and, if possible he must position himself so that he can see the ascending second. Sometimes, if the route traverses round a corner or surmounts an overhang, this is not possible and it is essential that the belayer and climber communicate clearly with each other. This is where climbing calls are crucial, although if you are climbing above the sea, or a busy road it is often quite difficult to hear one another. The leader ties into the belay via a screw gate karabiner and a clove hitch. If the belay is further from the edge, the leader can either clip into the belay and move to the edge and make himself safe by tying a clove hitch to a screw gate karabiner attached to the rope loop, or by tying a figure of 8 on a bight through the rope loop.

Often on multi-pitch climbs there are no stances to belay from and you have to take a hanging belay. If this is the case the rope has to be lap coiled over the feet or at the waist, where the rope attaches the climber to the belay. The rope is lapped from longer to shorter coils so they feed off smoothly for the lead climber and this system helps to avoid snags if the wind picks up. If the rope is left dangling down the rock face, it can be easily caught on rocks and vegetation and is much harder to pay out as you are pulling up the full weight of the rope.

Rope coils on a hanging stance

If just one climber leads all the pitches, then at every stance the rope must be turned over/flaked/pulled through into a neat pile to ensure the leaders’ rope is on top and there is little likelihood of a tangled rope which could impede the leaders’ progress and even pull him off.

Before you climb you have to anticipate how long the climb will take you, based on your own climbing ability, the description of the route and the weather forecast. For multi-pitch climbs that may take several days you need a window of good weather if you are to be successful. You have to take responsibility for your ascent and limit as much as possible potential risks. How much food and water will you take and spare clothing? Do you need bivvy gear? What about hardware; do you take the bare minimum or everything you own, just in case? It is a fine line as to whether you take too much or too little and you won’t always get it right. In the Alps, for instance, you may get hit by an unpredicted storm in the summer, which brings snow and sub zero temperatures. This has led to many deaths. Multi-pitch climbing is no riskier than single pitch climbing, but because of the time and height involved it can lead to severe fatigue which in turn leads to mistakes especially at the end of a long day when the light begins to fade.

New routing in the Italian Alps

Obviously if you are contemplating progressing to multi-pitch climbing, start small and do climbs within your grade that you know are easy to escape from. And, if in doubt, employ a Mountain Instructor or Guide to teach you. But the best thing about multi-pitch climbing is that it can take you to the most beautiful, remote and unspoilt areas of the World that will blow your mind.

Ali on Diedro Edwards E35c

It was with great excitement that I suddenly found myself off to the Costa Blanca for 9 days with my friend Rich. He was the one who suggested getting away over the Easter holidays then left it literally to the last minute to commit, but managed to book the flights, apartment and hire car over the course of an evening 2 days before we flew.

Arriving in Calpe to warm sunny weather was fantastic and although the forecast was a bit iffy for several of the days it never actually rained, it was never cold and we always seemed to be at the right crag for the best of the sunshine. We timed it perfectly as the weather in the UK was awful whilst we were away.

Rich 1st pitch of Isla de encanta

We mixed sport and trad climbing, single and multi-pitch and visited many of the crags in the area – Toix, The Echo Cliffs, the Penon and Raco del Corv. There is such a mix of climbing, from slabs to overhangs, smooth to sharp rock and technical to pump fests. Some people (me) might say the grades are a little stiff, but there is something for everyone and it’s a great place to learn to sport and trad lead climb as the weather is so reliable.

It was over all too quick, but to be honest my bloody fingers couldn’t take much more of the sharp rock. Awesome.

See the ‘Events’ page to book a place on the Monsterclimbs Costa Blanca climbing holiday in June.

Ali Taylor

Shelagh on her first trad lead climb

Ali picked Shelagh up from Cheltenham Spa train station early Saturday morning and by the time they reached Symonds Yat Ali knew she was in for an interesting weekend.

Shelagh had been in many trad climbing situations but had never really been taught what to do or been given the opportunity to practice. Ali realised that Shelagh was a kinaesthetic learner, but had trouble retaining information, so it was only by giving Shelagh the chance to practice each skill repeatedly and in different situations that things began to click into place.

Shelagh had a lot of questions and the initial morning was spent looking at gear and how to place and extend it. Instructors learn a lot about the way their clients are likely to climb by the way they move on difficult ground, so it was no surprise to Ali that Shelagh moved well on the rock face and was often in a good balanced position to place gear. At the end of the first day Shelagh had led 2 climbs, but since she’d been up since 5 a.m. decided to call it a day at 5 p.m. She’d been on the go for 12 hours.

Shelagh took advantage of the B & B facilities offered by Monsterclimbs, and was driven to Tewkesbury where she stayed in a beautiful double room with ensuite facilities and a view of the Abbey and Victoria Gardens.

Shelagh belaying at the top of the cliff

Sunday began at the top of the cliff, with a detailed explanation and demonstration of setting up and protecting an abseil. Once they had both abseiled to the bottom of the cliff Shelagh led a VD placing all the gear, secured herself at the top of the climb and brought Ali up. Perfect.

Ali then gave Shelagh the opportunity to set up the abseil. It was at this point Shelagh said she didn’t know how to and had no recollection of the abseil we had done earlier. Back to the drawing board. This time Ali not only explained how to set up the abseil but got Shelagh to repeat to herself what we were doing, hoping that the repetition would help her to retain the information.

It was time to change the situation and give Shelagh chance to practice her skills on a multi-pitch route and reinforce all that she had learnt. Ali led the first half of Exchange VS 4b, which Shelagh followed well. She then created a belay using a cam and a thread, which Ali used to belay Shelagh as she led through to the summit where she set up a perfect belay, bringing herself back to the edge so she could see her second.

Shelagh leading in perfect balance

Another abseil and another route and it was time for Shelagh to put everything she had learnt into practice, without any assistance from Ali.

Shelagh led Sentinel, S, 4a, placing good gear. She had to rest on gear half way up – this was her 5th pitch of the day, but she continued to the top on very tired arms, where she set up a belay, brought Ali up and arranged the abseil, all without any input from Ali.

It was a very satisfied Shelagh that Ali dropped off at the station that evening. Everything had fallen into place and it all made sense.

‘What a weekend. Thanks. I learnt so much and so enjoyable. I’m not the easiest person to teach, but found your idea of hands on, no messing about really worked. I’ll definitely stay in touch and will pass the word about climbing the monster way.’ Shelagh Clarke

The Gloucester boys had experience of sport climbing and bouldering, indoors and on rock, so they were quite strong and had good technique which was an excellent start but hadn’t handled trad gear before, although they did have their own nuts! Ali explained how to use spikes, threads, nuts and cams and they were soon building belays and looking at how to belay from above, which they found awkward.

As their confidence in their placements grew, they took the logical step and began to lead for real. The routes were easy angled giving opportunities for good balance and lots of gear. Both Dave and Dean suffered from beginner’s dropsy with nuts and cams disappearing down the slope, all recovered thank goodness.

Dean using a side pull

Dave had a tendency to hold onto the gear whilst clipping it, but once the error of his ways was pointed out and the potential for a serious fall should the gear fail, he made greater progress.

The Gloucester boys put into practice belaying from the top and realized the effectiveness of this awkward technique. It is not often that you find a comfortable position, but it is imperative that the belayer NEVER lets go of the dead rope. They also learnt how to protect an abseil and finished the day with a more challenging climb.

Dave leading on double ropes

The second day brought sunshine but freezing temperatures (Dean was in shorts!), the friction on the rock though was excellent. Dave kicked off leading the 80 foot Golden Fleece on double ropes, made himself safe and brought Dean up. They then managed the ropes to create an abseil. Dean abseiled first protected by a prusik loop, and then ensured Dave’s safe abseil by holding onto the ropes at the bottom. If Dave had let go, all Dean had to do was to hold onto the two ropes to halt Dave’s descent. Cool!

Dean constructing his belay

Dean then led the first pitch of a 2 pitch route, Exchange, built a belay using nuts and brought Dave up who led through to the top and both abseiled off. It was at this point that Dean asked the time. Dave, who is a Doctor of Philosophy replied ‘Well, it’s a lot later than it was earlier.’ Profound!

They moved to the Bowlers Hole area, where the Gloucester boys had the opportunity to lead more routes. But all too soon the course drew to an end and it was time to part.

The Pinnacle, Symonds Yat

They were excellent students who overcame their fears and put everything into the course. They were composed, balanced and placed good gear. Until you learn to trad lead climb you don’t realize how mentally draining it is and they were both decidedly tired by the end of the day but satisfied with their progress.

‘Really enjoyed the course. Felt less fear/more comfortable on the second day. A really valued experience. Lots to think about too.’ Dave Webster

‘Thanks Ali. I enjoyed the course and I’m looking forward to getting out there now!’ Dean Lucas

Atikah spotting Hani

NICAS – the National Indoor Climbing Achievement Scheme was launched in 2008 aimed at young people who wish to learn to climb on indoor climbing structures and administered by the Association of British Climbing Walls. The minimum age is 7, but there is no upper limit and actually anyone can undertake the scheme. There are 5 levels: Foundation, Top Rope, Technical, Lead and Advanced Climber. Ali Taylor is a qualified provider and assessor of NICAS. She Introduced the scheme to the students of Malvern St James 3 years ago and for the first time has coached climbers to Level 4  – Lead Climber.

The 4 Brunei girls: Mari, Atikah, Hani and Bella are small and light and therefore a perfect build for climbing. They took to the scheme immediately and were keen to progress. Their climbing developed swiftly with good movement and footwork skills and with bouldering came the opportunity to perfect techniques and learn how to climb overhangs.

Mari demonstrating good footwork

But it wasn’t until they became lead climbers that they really blossomed. Ali was amazed how quickly they learnt to clip, adjusting their body position to get good balance and how their footwork became more precise. All four girls are very determined and having learnt to belay and take leader falls they are more confident to push through the move rather than sit back on the rope. It is very rare than any of them will give up. All 4 are competently leading 5+, and Hani led her first 6a recently.

Mari was reluctant to take her first leader fall, but discovered when she did, (although she did let out a little scream) it wasn’t as bad as she expected. Ali has really enjoyed teaching the girls and is looking forward to taking them to Symonds Yat and real rock in the summer. She will miss them when they leave in July.

The location for Hannah and Richards first venture outdoors was Tintern Quarry that some describe as a big hole in the ground – which it is. But, and it is a big butt, it does offer an excellent teaching resource in that the 30 foot wall is short and not too taxing with many easy routes of French grade 4. The top is accessible so that when teaching, the instructor can run round to check the rope work of the client and that they are safe at all times.

Hannah practising how to rethread the belay

Hannah and Richard followed their first route – Star Ship Trooper 5+, to give them a feel for limestone and the difference from climbing indoors. It is much harder to see the holds and to read the route. Both did well, although they initially found it difficult to trust their feet on such relatively small holds. By making sure their weight was over their feet, they were able to take most of their weight off their arms and found the climbing much less strenuous.

Before leading their first route, Hannah and Richard needed to learn how to safely thread the belay in order to retrieve their rope, which Ali does on the ground using a handy teaching aid – which weighs a ton (although Ali didn’t carry her rucksack down to Tintern, as Richard, gentleman that he is, insisted on carrying both their rucksacks and the rope!!!!).

Hannah leading demonstrating good balance and footwork

It enables clients to practice making themselves safe, untie, thread the belay and retie as many times as they like without the added stress of being above the ground, and once they lead it is much less daunting as Ali is directly above them ensuring correct technique.

They both led three routes of grade 4. With each route their footwork and balance improved and their confidence grew as a result. Hannah took her first outdoor leader fall and received a lovely bruise on her knee which didn’t faze her at all.

The day concluded with an abseil off the stance of Upper Red Dust Wall as neither Hannah nor Richard had ever abseiled before. Ali ensured they knew what to do with either a single or double ropes and that the abseil was backed up with an extended belay device and prusik attached  to the belay loop.

‘Thanks for teaching us, we had a great time and thanks for taking lots of pictures. We just need to get out practising now.’ Hannah Carter

Racing against the tide

Ali and Tony met the 10 University students at Box Bay north of Cardiff for their first session of trad lead instruction. It was a perfect day, in that it had stopped raining, the sun had come out, the wind was blowing hard and the tide was coming in quicker than expected!

The group was divided into absolute beginners and those with some experience. Box Bay is a perfect venue for teaching beginners as the rock is solid with good friction, with lots of cracks and pockets for placing good protection. It’s also a good crag to visit if you want to blast up some harder routes as they are relatively short and there are good places to set up belays at the top.

Building belays

The tide was against them, but everyone practised placing gear, created a belay and bottom roped a climb before the tide came rushing in and they were all plastered with salty foam – nice!

Fortunately there is a wide ledge with stepped, easy faces above where the students could lead, place good gear under supervision, lead belay, set up belays and bring their second up. All did well; the beginners gained a better understanding of the principles of trad climbing, whilst the more advanced students had the opportunity to practice their skills in a safe and controlled environment.

Leading on single and double ropes

A week later they continued their development at Symonds Yat in the Wye Valley. The beginners learnt how to lead climb using a back up top rope and the more experienced group were guided to  the Waterpipe Bay area, where when given the choice they all opted to lead the routes, placing their own gear. They all led 3 routes, brought up their seconds after building belays and learnt how to abseil safely using both single and double ropes.

At the end of the day, when time was running out – the gates close at 5pm and it was already 5.45, the students wanted a demonstration of how to get off safely from a sport route. An unusual request at a trad climbing venue, but Ali delivered a satisfactory performance and the students were impressed by the simplicity and reliability of the process. By the time they returned to the parking area and the rest of the group the Warden was waiting patiently to lock up and go home. Sorry! 

‘Got a lot of great feedback from the students. Thanks for all your help’. Beth Noyce

Building and using belays

Ali met Kat – a poledance instructor and Andy – an Officer in the Army, on an introduction to outdoor climbing in the Peak District in September 2010. They were both keen to learn more and plans were made, but time and injuries put paid to best laid plans and it wasn’t until early March 2012 that they all met up again.

Initially Kat and Andy were a little timid, they had a selection of new gear, had used it but didn’t know what to do when they got to the top of a route so had previously down climbed. The first task, then was to look at placing gear,building belays and how to belay to bring the second up.

Ali was impressed by how quickly they grasped the concept and were quite ingenious in placing less obvious gear. Both Kat & Andy became more confident in their own gear placements and it was soon time to lead.

Andy using a natural spike

On the first route Ali placed a couple of pieces of  bombproof gear, but this proved to be unnecessary and subsequently they led on their own gear with Ali close by to offer support and encouragement. They had the opportunity to set up abseils in a safe and environmentally sound way and the day finished with them both leading a climb of a harder grade – to inspire them to use their feet and body position more effectively.

Kat and Andy took advantage of the B & B facilities on offer with monsterclimbs - in their own double room with ensuite facilities, which gave them an opportunity to view the pictures of the day and see their footwork, body position and how well they used their legs. Kat, as a pole dancing instructor is incredibly strong with good core muscles but could see that the weight was often on her arms because of her body position, which gave her focus for improvement the following day.

Kat clipping in perfect balance

Kat warmed up on Golden Fleece which she led beautifully, concentrating on all she had learned the previous day. She was calm, balanced and completely centred on the task in hand. She belayed at the tree and because of the difference in weight, Ali showed Kat how to use a guide plate in guide mode, as a direct belay - so if Andy fell, or needed to rest all the weight would go onto the belay.

As Kat and Andy were doing so well, Ali decided it was time to up the anti by putting them into a multi pitch situation where they could combine all their skills. Andy led Exchange VS 4b and built a belay using a cam and nut equalized, with a threaded and jammed nut. He then brought Kat up to the belay, where he made her safe so they could rearrange the gear and Kat could lead through to the top.Once Andy had landed, they traversed the top of the cliff, - to avoid the rope spaghetti created by another climber abseiling off!!!!! ( he’d thrown his ropes down on top of the trio earlier without looking or shouting ‘below’), where they set up a SIMPLE abseil, backed up with an extended belay device and prusik attached to belay loop.

Excellent body position

Their final climb gave them the opportunity to look at hanging stances. Andy led with the sun cheering him on, looking confident and composed. He wasn’t too happy about the hanging stance and was reluctant to trust the belay, and once he did he wasn’t comfortable and found that his legs were going dead – but apart from that he was ecstatic – that’s trad climbing for you!!

‘Thanks so much for this weekend, we really enjoyed it and are looking forward to getting some climbing experience under our belts. We certainly feel a lot more confident!’ Kat Wynn and Andy Johnson.

Check out Kat’s website: www.kwpolefitness.co.uk