Into the 4th quarter

21 September 2013 and it was time to celebrate moving into the 4th quarter of year 1 as a married couple. 

I thought a romantic weekend away in the British countryside would be perfect. I had been recommended by many the Peak District and a few folk had mention Bakewell as a place to stay. The history, home of the Bakewell Tart, that's as far as my history knowledge goes!

It so happened Bakewell is on the door step to Stanage, home of some gritstone and great climbing. 

I thought some team building was necessary and there's no better way than climbing. Working on trust, communication, belief and achieving success. What a great way to celebrate 9 months. 

We left London around mid day Saturday and made Bakewell in good time. We checked into The Peacock Inn and headed straight to Stanage, where we managed to get 1 climb in before having to get back for a resturant reservation. 

A monster steak, which I cooked on a very hot stone at our table, my first try of warm camembert and crusty bread (delicious), pints of Guinness and a good night sleep, perfect prep for a Sunday session on the grit. 

Sunday morning and by 10am we were strolling up towards the crag, sun blazing, the crag in front of us and it was set to be a great day. 

We set up camp at the bottom of our first route, went through a few bits and we were both ready to climb. 

I will admit, I thought the lower grade routes were pretty bare for gear, but I was confident in the moves, I moved up nicely most of the time, only placing 1 or 2 runners. Setting up good belays and then Natalie moving really nicely up behind. It was lovely to see her big smile at the top of each route, chuffed with the achievement of the climb. My only comment was that she'd make her life a lot easier if she used her feet more, but this will come from practice and improving techniques. For her first time out on rock I thought she did amazingly well.

We moved around finding low grade climbs to try and the wife had to like the look of the route before she would commit to climbing it. 5 routes on a sunny Sunday was perfect. 

Post climb we headed to the pub for dinner and a cold beer, before hitting the M1 and heading back. 

A lovely weekend spent with Natalie, sharing something I love so much.

 

It's time to capture

Prior to my last trip to the himalaya, I made an investment into an SLR. During my time in Nepal I captured some breath taking images and was blown away by the quality. 

I'll be honest, 85% of the shots were caught using the automatic setting not really understanding the use of aperture, shutter speed and ISO. 

It was my 30th birthday back in July and my brother and his family treated me to a Nigel Wilson Photography Workshop. 

Last weekend I spent 2 days with Nigel unfolding the magic behind my SLR and the ability to create depth/feeling and capturing the moment with my camera. 

Wow, I will never use Auto again. The photo quality and enjoyment in taking shots in manual where you are in complete control of everything is just brilliant.

I have already been practicing, and I have a tripod on order. I can't wait to get out and capture the mountains, hills, rock faces with a new light. 

Thank you Andy, Leanne and Bethany for such a great present. It will change the way I approach photography for life ; ) 

North Wales for 2 days with Libby Peters

With the goal to climb around the globe and some of the most famous/iconic routes in the world, I realised it was time to go back to basics. 

I called upon one of the UK's best female climber, Libby Peters, to coach me for 2 days in North Wales. 

I have trad climbed a few times but had no real firm knowledge/experience of this type of climbing. 

Placing gear and setting up bomber belays are essential to the safety of your climbs. Libby went through all this and much more in great detail to get me confident at leading and topping out. 

I found the 2 days extremely valuable and am now looking forward to climbing around the UK in the coming months, before travelling further afield in 2014. 

My rack (wires, cams, Hexs & carabiners) all arrived a day late for my visit to Wales, but I'm sure it won't be long untill they are being used. 

I'm really looking forward to exploring this type of climbing and the places it will take me. 

Getting out on the Mountain Bike

Since building my first mountain bike, the Cotic Soul, I have managed to get out on it twice a week thrashing it around Swinley Forest and The Look Out in Surrey.

It's tweaky, fast, and very responsive.  I'm having loads of fun on two wheels and really glad I took a step into this world.

It's also great for my aerobic fitness which will only help me in the mountains on future expeditions.  

Thought I would share a few pics from the trails. Enjoy.