ITV interview - Emma Welch, Everest Challenge

Please check out the ITV interview covering Emma Welch's Everest Challenge. 

http://www.itv.com/news/west/update/2013-11-25/radstock-girl-scales-the-height-of-everest/

Inspired...

Two and a bit months ago, I received an email from a young girl called Emma Welch, explaining a challenge she was going to embark on. 8848m on an indoor climbing wall... Yep, the height of Mt Everest on a vertical wall. I continued to read to find out she was only 12 years old and suffers from scoliosis of the spine. A mammoth challenge twice a week having to accumulate over 50 laps at each session.

The email also asked if I would attend the final day, where Emma would reach her target height and would I climb with her. What an honour and what an inspiration.

After my reply to Emma accepting the invitation, we stayed in contact and I followed her progress.

My wife Natalie and I, headed to Somerset yesterday and found a lovely little quant B&B in Radstock called 'The Post House'. We were directed to a local pub for some proper home made cooking and tucked into some local Ales. A nice stroll back to the B&B and we were settled in for an early night.

We arrived at the climbing wall this morning, welcomed by Emma's father Tony and immediately saw the support Emma had from friends, family and members of the community, all coming together to support this local heroine.

I was introduced to Emma and her mother, Lesley, who was belaying. We had a little chat and I could tell she was keen to tick off the laps so I let her carry on without much disruption. She then rested and we spoke further and after a little rest I had the privilege of belaying this little superstar, who just shot up and down, relaxed and got in the zone. After each lap we would have a little chat and then she would fly back up to the top of the route. Impressive stuff!

We then got to a point where Emma only had 9 laps to go and way ahead of schedule so another rest was planned. I had packed all my summit kit, boots, down suit, mitts, beanie and goggles and said to Emma about wearing it for her final 9 laps... she loved the idea and climbed in all the kit; she was melting!

It came to the final lap and Emma had packed a Union Jack flag to pin to the belay clip at the top of the route, a nice touch in completing what is an official World Record and an amazing achievement by a inspiring young lady.

We exchanged a high five at the top of the route and I congratulated her on this amazing feat. People cheered and applauded rom below. What a great achievement by a young lady taking herself out of her comfort zone and achieving something remarkable, inspiring many and raising funds for Brain Tumour Research.

So, Emma had completed her challenge and now the media wanted to hear what it felt like. ITV, BBC local radio and magazines were present and I must say she gave interviews and worked the camera like a pro. I had to rely on the latest editing suits to chop and cut and paste together my pieces to camera... Take, um, 5!

What a fun day meeting the local community and sharing this amazing day with Emma and her family.

We headed to the Centriniun for dinner with Emma and her parents and talked Everest, showed her hundreds of photos and answered all her questions she had about the mountain, the history, the environment, the technical side of climbing and the logistics, it was a very proud moment for me to share my summit with such an enthusiastic fan.

So wrapping this up, a big thank you to Emma and her family for inviting me to this event and sharing those last laps with you, it was a great privilege and an honour. I am inspired :)

Belaying Emma

Photo opportunity

Lesley, Me, Emma and Tony

Interview with the ITV

Getting Emma ready for the summit.

Emma abseiling.

Final lap and fully kitted up in summit apparel.

Perfect foot placement needed.

A high five and an amazing achievement.

Flying the Union Jack and descending the final lap.

Job Done, well done Emma.

Emma with a proud Mum and Dad

End of a fantastic day

East Coast MTB Trip

My brother and I headed over to North Carolina on the east coast of the United States to go mountain biking for a long weekend.

Hosted by Arvindh and Scott, two very keen bikers, it was destined to be an epic. 

We headed out from Heathrow T3 and lapped up the executive lounge, flying with big bro as its benefits. After a 7 hour flight we landed at Durham & Reliegh airport, picked up the Chevrolet Suburban and headed to Arvindh's house. 

After a quick chat and bike check, we headed to a cool Mexican joint downtown, to enjoy a few coronas and well needed nachos, I've never been a fan of aeroplane food.

An early night and an early morning had us en route to W.Kerr Scott Dam and Reservouir's trail system, home of 4 epic trails, Warrior Creek, Dark Mountain, Fort Hamby and Over Mountain Victory. 

We arrived at our camp site, set up and headed straight out on our bikes. Following a 3 hour ride on Warrior Creek, we headed back to camp. Arvindh had a fall towards the end of the trail and was suffering with his shoulder to the point where he could not lift his arm!! We lit a fire, got the cooler out and tucked into a Corona or two, followed by a BBQ on an open fire. It doesn't get much better. 

I had a few things to get used to on the US bike, firstly the brakes are on the opposite side!! Nightmare! Few trips over the handlebars and I still kept pulling the left brake! The set up of the gears and suspension also took a bit of time getting used to.

A good nights kip and we were up getting the fire started ready for breakfast. Arvindh could not move his arm so he was out of the days ride. Scott Andy and myself headed to Dark Mountain. After a night of rain and a lot of leaves on the trail it was going to be fun handling the bikes. We gunned it for 3 or so hours and enjoyed a fast, tight and flowing trail with loads of variety. A few falls but a fun day out. More beer, another BBQ and a few more beers finished the evening off. 

Unfortunately due to loads of overnight rain we were unable to get out Sunday morning. We packed up and headed to a micro brewery for a few beers and lunch, before a flight home to the UK... Oh and straight to work. 

Great weekend, great company and great riding. Looking forward to heading out next year, maybe for an extra few days... 

The Trails...

The beast, great car but drunk fuel like you cant imagine.

View from the camp site, the trails where the other side of the lake. 

Smokin!!! somebody stop me

Ready to ride out from the car park.

Enough wood for the evening Arv?? He thinks so!!!

Wood chopping begins!

Fire and thoughts

Andy and I, brothers on tour

It's been a while...

It's been a while since my last post, so apologies!

After getting back from the Himalaya in May, I set myself a goal to lead 7a by the end of the year. 

I was hitting the climbing wall once or twice a week and not really getting anywhere. I made a decision to dedicate more time and effort so I could build the technique and strength to reach this goal. 

My wife Natalie and I, moved to Walton on Thames and discovered a new climbing wall on the doorstep, The White Spider in Surbiton.

This facility has inspired me to train harder and its location allows me to make more visits because of the ease of access; as a result I'm moving much more efficiently, I'm stronger and climbing harder grades. I've also been given a few books to read on climbing, which has changed my thought patterns whilst climbing. 

I'm confidently leading 6b+ and making good attempts at 7a routes, so I'm knocking on the door to reaching my goal with 2 months to go... I'm sure it won't be long and I will crack it. 

I'm looking forward to finding a stint of good weather and getting out on natural rock ASAP and see if the hard work has paid off. I might have to hunt the good weather down though with a trip abroad, which would not be such a bad thing would it Natalie? ; ) 

So if you thought I was being lazy you were wrong... I've been training hard. 

 

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.