Autumn weather

A very autumnal feel to the climbing on this week's courses - with cool blustery conditions only giving way to short periods of sunshine - putting me in the mood for some mountaineering ! so I'm off to North Wales next week to get a bit of training in, with big boots and rucsac, preparation needed for a planned trip to the Matterehorn in a couple of weeks !

Steep Rock

More showery weather this week led to a damp start on Saturday, but with a drying breeze and some warm sunshine the rocks soon dried off allowing courses to explore the Wye Valley cliffs and a visit to Tintern Quarry for some sport climbing in the sun - not many teams out considering the time of year, so we've been able to pick and choose routes to best suit the courses - mostly concentrating on the technical aspects of gear placements / ropework / anchors etc. and with some time spent on climbing movement / technique on steep rock. Thanks to Jill, Andy, Chris, Tom, Jen, Kerry and Chris for their company.

Busy courses

It has been a busy week, with 'learn to lead' , 'introduction' and 'outdoor rock' courses managing to dodge the showers - again this week, despite the rain, the rock has been remarkably dry under the tree canopy and combined with a little local knowledge we managed to have some good climbing days without resorting to putting on waterproofs. - sorry that Kieran and Jo couldn't make it ( and hope you get better soon Kieran - kayaking can be dangerous !! ) but glad that Ben, Osian, John, Jenny, Kerry, Jo and Mark did !

Out and about

A bit more settled summer weather this week, with the Wye valley taking on some of the atmosphere of a French limestone gorge. Wintours Leap, Wyndcliffe and Shorncliffe were all visited in surprising solitude, with only a few teams out enjoying the conditions - maybe a lot of people are on holiday - in France perhaps ?