Messing around in boats

Spent the past three days grappling with the canoe in preparation for L1 coahing course which is coming up. The BCU has recently changed its award scheme to make L1 and L2 coach courses cover both kayaking and open canoeing which I found quite frustrating being into sea and surf kayaking but not the slightest bit interested in open canoeing, infact quite opposed to the idea of open canoeing. It seems to be the opinion of some influential people that every coach would benefit from teaching both craft and it is certainly the case that most centres round here mainly use canoes to introduce people to paddlesport. I tried to keep these positive messages in my mind through my struggles over the past few days.
Despite still being of the belief that canoes are complete pigs to paddle, learning to paddle them has been a worthwhile enterprise. Firstly the hard technical skills will be really good for teaching taster sessions but its mainly the experience of learning something relativly new. I think new learning experiences are much rarer as we get older and we tend to just do what we can do already and not try too hard at things we find difficult. Trying to control a canoe in the wind for a beginner is very frustrating, the turns and strokes that seemed to work so well in the calm become non functional and furious paddle strokes seem to amount to nothing. Its a lesson in keeping calm and being able to think what you might need to do with your trim, with your edge, with your strokes. There was alot of thinking about how the paddle blade is working in the water and how your sitting position affects the crafts reaction to the wind. There was alot of trying to control frustation and lots of high stress situations which are exacerbated by the painful sitiing position. Taking fairly regular breaks seems to be a good idea where you can regain your composure, unaffected by the wind!
From that to another major frustration of mine at the moment - finding climbing partners. You would think that this might be an easy task at the weekend in north wales but not so it seems. After an exhaustive ring round I still had no luck and had resigned myself to some lonesome bouldering sessions. But the one of the final people I text turned out to be keen so hopefully off to the Orme tomorrow. Just shows that perservering can be worth it sometimes.....

Moongroves

Back on reception in slightly damp baselayers once again and inexplicably removing bits of turf from my nose, after climbing what was possibly Moongrooves on Pen Y Ole Wen.
I unfortunately managed to lacerate my fingers before even leaving the layby which proved somewhat of a messy inconveinience. I didn't feel like I had enough time to go and get a dressing for it and still be back in time for night porter and it was a gloriously clear day. So I called Rob in a panic and asked him for advice. We decided I probably wasn't going to die of a bloody finger so to go and get on with it. Firstly I applied a wad of tissues to the hole then wrapped it in duck tape, put my gloves on and forgot about it....
The dump of fresh snow has given everywhere an alpine feel and I might be correct in saying a layer of surface hoar was making the snowpack sparkle so I felt lucky to be out and have found a partner - Marshy. Its pretty difficult to find people keen for winter and I spent much of yesterday pestering everyone for various trips. Sometimes you just want someone to turn round and invite you on an exciting adventure and not feel like you are not having to persuade people the whole time. Ho hum.....
the route itself had no redeeming features in its current condition. The snow was poor, the rock underneath generally slabby and devoid of positive edges or any protection, the turf was often airy and rippy. Pen Y Ole Wen is not Ben Eighe. On the positive side however, it did give me a heap of practice of leading adventurous easy, run-out pitches as quickly as possible, as is neccessary on longer harder things on say, the Ladders. We also topped out in time to get back for work and I have explored another new climbing location.
I got back to the brenin and my finger had quite alot of flesh poking out of it so was quite hard to stick back together. Rob Spencer did a good job with some steri strip but it might still need a stitch or two if that doesn't do the job. Looking forward to some serious chill out time and some sleep tommorrow to fire myself back up to full energy.

A Long Run

Have been doing some long runs (run/walks) lately and tried out a new route yesterday, running from Capel up Moel Siabod and along the lumpy ridgeline to Cnicht (just visible in the picture) and then down into Beddgelert. Went fairly well (although not as good as the other day) up Siabod reaching the top in about an hour, using my ipod to ease the pain of the ascent and set off with muchos enthusiasm along the ridge.

I am finding that one of my biggest challenges on long runs are motivation lulls where I stop and dither instead of ploughing on. Another challenge is picking the best line terrain-wise, as I always seem to be sinking into bogs, but perhaps this is unavoidable. I was majorly demotivated when I thought I might not have time to finish the run as I had to be in Beddgelert for 4. But I set myself a turning back time limit and gave it a go which paid off as Cnicht was not as far away as it looked and was a really nice gradient to run up. Instead of continueing and running down the other side I doubled back and found the descent by the lake (my navigation is perhaps not as dodgy as I thought). The long descent following my nose through muddy fields, sheep pens and brambles wore me down considerably and it was with great relief that I ended up on the path to Beddgelert.

The whole thing took about 5 hours and I felt for some bits I went rather well. Descending still needs some work and if I could prevent my motivation slumps (maybe with better food or some company) then I think I could do it alot faster. It would also be good to see if descending of the other side of Cnicht is faster than the motivation sapping way down I chose.

Hmmm... writing about running doesn't make for the most exciting reading, does it?

The beginning.....

This is my first blog post, which feels a bit ridiculous as blogs are really for the likes of Michelle Obama, Raphael Nadal or Katie Price and who on earth would give a damn what I've been up to?! Soooo.... This isn't for others to read but for myself, so I can keep myself on track and acheive all that I hope to. And to remind myself when I'm feeling glum what I have acheived in the past and just be able to hang on to happy memories and practise my writing too! If the blog becomes really exciting then I might give others the address.....
So, to set the scene...... I recently finished a Zoology degree at Edinburgh Uni where I was crowned 'The Cleverest Person in Scotland' (Bsc Hons 1st, Ashworth Prize), and perhaps due to a knee-jerk reaction to sitting in a computing lab underground for weeks I started looking for work in Wales (spiritual home of rock climbing). Due to a series of bizarre coincidences I landed a job as bottom of the pile (centre assistant) at Plas Y Brenin (The National Mountain Centre) where I have been striving to improve my rock climbing amongst other things.
I have had some extremely positive experiences so far and have definitely made improvements to some elements, but some lows too. I am hoping that by trying different things and perservering be able to push my limits more and more and this should also improve me as a coach?
So what happened today? Today the sunshine has been glorious, so glorious infact I was grumbling about heat stroke! I went climbing with Tony and we decided on the Moelwyns as he had never been, I had a route in mind, and we could get ice cream on the way back! We started with my objective - an E1 called Condor (see picture) that for some reason I thought was going to be a cruise. However trying to get established on the rock above the boggy starting ledge proved problematic. There were several small positive holds for your hands but it was very blank for your feet and not obvious where to start and to add to the difficulty the start was unprotected. After about 30 mins of me faffing around trying the start in different places, I handed over to the rope gun to go and clip wire no. one so at least we wouldn't fall down the hillside if I fluffed it! With the pro clipped I was away and did the moves (although they still felt hard) and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the route which climbed a suprisingly steep crack and culminated into a tricky pull onto a slopey ledge. I guess I would rate myself 5 out of 10 for style as I did place slightly too much gear and jibbered a bit, but maintained upward momentum.
The descent path takes you through a spooky tunnel lined with the rusting remnants of the slate industry down to the bags and lunch. Instead of the usual Brenin fodder (which is rank!) we dined on oatcakes, brie and apricots courtesy of Stoney Tone which made a nice change. I felt I was suffering a little from the heat and downed all the water that I could.
Next up was Nosferatu for Tony, which is an E4 6a up a steep quartzy wall. I precured a belay out of the sun and sheltered from falling rocks which was nice while he cruised to glory. Whilst my seconding could not be described as glorious (I had to rest) I think I did fairly well, it was a case of finding the largest holds the hanging off them long enough to remove the gear. Perhaps being better hydrated and being able to downclimb to rest en route would have eliminated the need for a rest? Who knows, but it seemed like good training for the route next door, Green Wall, sometime in the near future....
On the walk out there were some very inviting plunge pools and waterfalls that proved too tempting, but must remeber the bathers for next time to have a proper swimming session!!