Surfing

I have just spent the last two weeks down in Cornwall, Kayak Surfing with the Joint Services of the Military. We had a mix of conditions from real classic surf the first week intermingled with the crowds of school half term! The second week was storm dodging but it meant that the groups visited a variety of breaks to get suitable conditions.

Below is a video clip of a 5 mins grabbed between coaching on a small surf day at Towan, Newquay.

Next week i will be working with the Students from Bangor Uni, North Wales, on their practical for kayaking. Loads of water about at the moment, so we should be in for a good week of river running.

5 star sea kayak weekend

Last weekend was a chance to observe another L5 A5 Sea Kayak Coach running a 5 star sea kayak leader training, this is for my development as a L5 Sea and towards the A5 status.

It was a full three days on Anglesey, with a glorious sunny day on the first day, a cloudy two days to follow. The first day being one of those classic days, autumnal, crisp, clear and sunny combined with a trip out to the Skerries combined with a night paddle back.

The following two days were spent practicing personal skills and rescues in Point Lynas tidal race and then the last day was spent covering the remaining skills in the Straits. Open water navigation was done on all three days to compliment the repertoire of skill development.

I even got a chance to try out the new P&H Cetus MV for 20mins. Nice boat for some one of my skinny stature!

This week and next i am off to Cornwall for two weeks of Kayak Surfing, and the forecast is for a classic couple of days this week. Can't wait!

I also get to take a few Demo boats down with me from DB Exclusive.

Exciting Short Contract

I received confirmation yesterday that i will be the NNAS Gold Course Moderator/Internal Verifier for the Southern half of the UK, following on from an interview earlier this week.

This will mean a little bit of travelling around to see providers running the NNAS Gold assessments. Allowing opportunity to feedback to the Chair and the providers on how the award is being administered and delivered.

With the increase in the uptake of the NNAS awards over the past few years, not just at Gold level, this is an exciting opportunity to be involved with the Verification/Moderation process in one of the first Outdoor Governing Bodies to undertake this process.

Gold is not just about open hill and mountain terrain navigation, it can be undertaken in Forested areas and Moorland, so will certainly provide the chance to see other areas of the UK that i may not have sought out and see how they are used for the awards.

Just booked my Surf Kayak trip to Morocco in December, Tagazhout near Agadir.

Can't wait, chance to surf at Anchors, Panoramas, Hash Point, Mysteries etc. Get that little bit of winter sun hopefully before the cold of the winter alps for ice climbing and then immersion in the dampness of the scottish winter until March!!

LOCO roundup Sea and Surf Kayak Symposium August 2009

Loco Roundup Kayak Symposium USA

I have just spent the past week out at the LOCO Kayak Symposium in Washington State, USA. The symposium is organised by Ginni Callaghan of Columbia River Kayaking and Baja Kayak Adventures.

Tucked up in the North West of the lower forty eight states, Puget Island is seated in the Columbia river, and literally a stone’s throw away from the border of Washington and Oregon States. The area is steeped in exploration and Pioneering history with reminders of the native culture, the huge ecological significance and events such as the Lewis and Clark expedition of the 1800’s. The local indigenous language and peoples, the Chinook, were also adventurous and hardy, travelling many miles to seek out food from different water sheds, even having a Salmon named after them.

On the way to the coast on the south side of the mighty Columbia river is the coastal town of Astoria, home of the US Coastguard Rough Water Training Centre, the Maritime museum and the setting for the famous classic 80’s film, The Goonies. At its widest the Columbia is 8miles across and is a major navigable watercourse allowing cargo ships to make journeys inland to Portland and vice versa as well as being a fantastic fishing venue.

I was privileged enough to be able to surf kayak in some really nice glassy pacific surf at Cannon Beach and Seaside Point, both in Oregon. The highlight of these was definitely surfing 3 foot of glass at Seaside Point with 3 Gray Whales in attendance for the whole day feeding just outside the break line. I also got to paddle Sea Kayak near Cape Disappointment, Washington, amongst other things such as see a Greenland rolling competition for the first time. The weather was great and the people that attended were amazing, brimming with enthusiasm and very welcoming. Thank you all. Unfortunately, I could only stay for a short period of time, and would love to make it back there sometime, as there is more than enough to keep a boater happy for a very long time!

The symposium programme was a very varied one with Ginni organising classes for beginner through to advanced paddlers, single day and multi day programmes and also hosting BCU qualifications and updates for those folks that are part of the BCU North America membership and coaching fraternity. Due to the coaches attending the event to participate and to coach, attendees were able to gain BCU awards from 3 star and four star, sea, surf and canoe to assessor training. A highlight of the symposium in BCU terms was the running of the second UKCC BCU Level 2 course in the USA, providing four new and super keen, trained coaches in the process.

There was a also demonstration of the professional Coastguard services, with the attendance of one of their helicopters, complete with rescue diver, winch-man and a rapid RIB.

Well its been a few months since i last wrote on here, but not through laziness, through having too much of a good time playing and working all over the place!!

After an amazing time in Colorado in January i came back to spend February and March in Scotland searching out the winter climbing season here and doing a bit of work, not too much though, on the weekends for Glenmore Lodge, Sotland's National Mountain Centre.

Then in April i headed out to the Alps for 3 weeks of Ski touring, where there were some really good conditions underfoot and some pretty wild weather days above the ski!!

The beginning of May saw me boarding an Aeroflot plane, bound for Mineralne Vody, and onto seek out some ski mountaineering in the Caucasus, Mount Elbrus primarily. Well, all i can say is that it was a very different adventure!!! But i probably won't be "rushing" back to Russia!

June, i ended doing a little bit of work around North Wales on a Sea Kayak Symposium for the Joint Services and then i headed out to the Alps again, for some Alpine boating with university students - its a bit like hearding cats!!

In July i was lucky enough to be invited out to Peru, it had been in planning a year, but it meant that i could get out to the Cordillera Blanca for some beautiful mountaineering. All i can say is wow, what a place, it is magnificent. There is just so much to do and so much more to go back and do, i look forward to the day i can go back and explore some more.

I am now at home, in damp north wales, for a few days, before heading out to the USA to deliver at a symposium on the North West. Looking forward to meeting the folks out there and making some new paddling friends on the other side of the pond.

I managed to dodge rain showers yesterday and get out for a quick climb on slate, but only in bus stop, because there is filming being done in the main part of the quarries.

Anyway, check out some of the photos form the past few months.

Today is a minging day in Lochaber!!! Wet and windy, appropriately qualifies as a cafe day some would say!

On Monday i spent the day with Helen and Dave on the West of Aonach Mor.

Dave and Me on an icy step.

Dave Barnard packing up at the route end

On Tuesday we headed over to the Cairngorm, where it was a little more wintry, unlike the sunny and calm west coast. However, a good day was had on Hidden Chimney with the Direct Start variation IV,5.

Me on the direct start IV,5

Dave Barnard on the direct start

Helen on the finishing moves of the direct start

Helen and Dave near windy gap

Wednesday i had to go to Edinburgh to pick up my passport from the Russian Embassy, stamped and visa'd ready for a Mt Elbrus Ski Ascent in early May. Can't wait for that one!

Driving in cities is a scary business, especially when you don't know where you are or where you are going!!

Winter Snows have returned - hooray!

After last week was a washou't of meltdown, the snows have returned to create some better conditions in the North again. Some of it a little too deep and powdery at times, but still can't all be perfect hey!

I retired to north wales last weekend to dry out, and do a centre inspection for the Welsh Canoeing Association on Monday. Then returned North to Edinburgh to apply for a Russian Visa for a trip planned later this year. What a major faff that was, visa offoce, embassy, photo booth, internet cafe, photocopy of this that and everything else! Then, i still couldn't collect on the day, have to go back next week instead and collect it!

Anyway, some sanity prevailed when i returned to the Highlands, and managed to beat the closing of the roads due to snow.

On Wednesday i mangaed to get out ski touring with Paul in an area south of Moy cottage on a beautiful powdery day, with blue skies and not a breath of wind. It was amazing as you can see.

Thursday was spent in the company of Cath, Helen and Gareth, who the day before had expended loads of effort by wading waist deep in snow to go up the Sron na Laraing ridge in Glencoe. We headed for Dinnertime buttress in Glencoe, following yet another dump of snow on wednesday night. Luckily we timed it right so that another team were ahead and breaking trail!

We had another beautiful day, making a rapid ascent and hooping over the top into Stob Coire Nan Lochan to see a very keen team having broke trail to attempt Dorsal Arete. Other teams had turned back, stating that it had nearly 4 hours to get anywhere near it! Luckily we were headed down hill in soft and fluffy underfoot cushioning! It was almost pleasant.

As a new member of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors committee, i headed to my first meeting on thursday eve and then drove over to Cairngorm, in readiness to climb on friday with Nate. I awoke to a still morning on the banks of Loch Morlich in Glenmore, not a cloud in the sky and a flat calm lake reflecting the northern corries in her surface. I drove up to meet Nate and we haeded in to climb The Message IV,6. The pics below are of Nate on his pitches 1 and 3.

Wet, wild and very mild!

Just spent the weekend working at Glenmore Lodge on the Student Winter Skills and safety weekend organised by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland.

Some mild weather meant saturday was a little damp underfoot and very blustery winds buffetted the students as they wandered about learning skills in the Northern Cairngorms.

Sunday was a little cooler and the wind was not quite as high as was expected, so some navigation practice to the Cairngorm Summit was the order of the day.

UCLAN Winter Skills Course

Wednesday and Thursday saw me working on a Winter skills course for UCLAN with warm forecast! However, even though there was a lot of melting going on there was still enough snow to use for the course skills.
On the Wednesday we headed for the Creag Meagidh nature reserve and the Window to further develop skills and for the students to see another part of Scotland and this week, somewhere quieter and less busy than the Northern Corries at Half Term!

Students in the 'Salt Mines'

The view back through the window

The Thursday saw a return to the Northern Corries for a mixed day of skills continuation, climbing and navigation. The weather was mixed too, with low cloud, snow flurries, damp spells and the odd buffeting windy period just to make it truly scottish. It was busy as expected, with numerous teams lingering at the mountian rescue box, delaying their ascents into the mist! The UCLAN teams got keen and kitted up and headed off into the cloud for the Fiacall Buttress and the Fluted Buttress - The Runnel and Spiral Gully being achieved here.

The Walk in.

Rob belaying Steve in the Runnel

Steve ascending the final chimney pitch of the Runnel

The mountaineers with Ben Macdui in the view behind

Organised Ropework from Rob!!