WARNING to All Using a 'Backed Up Abseil'

THIS JUST IN!!!!!!

Safety alert on abseiling with prussik on leg loops


Safety alert on abseiling with prussik back up on leg loops

This came to me from Pat Littlejohn in the British Mountain Guides newsletter and makes interesting reading:

Summary - Using a prussik loop back up on your leg loop can open the buckles which are 'cinched' tight (by pulling), now increasingly found on modern harnesses, with dangerous results.

" Last summer on a Technical Alpinism course I taught clients how to protect an abseil with a French prusik clipped into the harness leg loop, a standard technique used almost universally. While using this later abseiling from a gendarme, one client allowed the prussik to bite whereupon the harness leg loop opened and he was left dangling from his waist belt with the prussik jammed against his belay plate. Luckily he was nearly at the end of the abseil and other clients helped him to unweight and free himself.

Wanting to see how this had happened I tried it using his harness and the leg loop undid every time. We then tried other harnesses in the team (which were not identical but similar construction) and again this happened.

All were new harnesses which had leg loops with buckles which 'cinched' tight (by pulling) rather than being back-threaded in the old style (as the leg loop buckles on the harness I was wearing). What happens is that the karabiner of the prussik lodges at the buckle, which then opens because it is being pulled at an angle which 'cinching' buckles won't take, i.e. a force from behind the buckle. This is much easier to demonstrate than to explain!

So many modern harnesses now use 'cinching' buckles on the leg loops, or are in the “Bod” style, that we may have to revert to the method of protecting an abseil with a prussik by clipping the prussik into the belay loop of the harness (usually with a quickdraw or cow’s tail to extend either the prussik or the belay plate), I have always thought this was a safer method anyway, but a bit less convenient and involving more gear.

What worries me is the number of people out there who have been taught to abseil with a French prussik clipped into leg loops with 'cinching' buckles - a lot of people I suspect. "

I've tried to get this to happen on a new Wild Country harness without success - see pictures below. Climbers and instructors should, however, be aware of this possibility.

Give me a shout if you need me to explain this!!!

CWA Training

Another successful course over the last weekend for 8 lucky candidates who joined the Roxcool team at Sunderland Wall (Saturday) and Macmillan Academy (Sunday). 

I was assissted on this course by Andy Reeve from over in the Lakes....a dedicated if not obsessed climber who always brings valuable alternative points of view and his acting skills are second to none!!! :-)

The course covered all the required syllabus set by the MLTE including belaying (bottom roping), movement skills, teaching, problem solving, leading/lead belaying, coaching and games.  There never seems to be enough time on these courses to fit everything in and you always feel like you are chasing your tail.

Suprisingly, this group were very good with their basic belaying skills and I missed out on saying 'WINDMILL' over and over....perhaps the word is getting out that belaying must be of a good standard ;-).

If you are interested in becoming a climbing instructor have a look at this link which will give you all the information you require and the dates of the future courses.  Next training course is not till August as I'm away for the whole of July :-).
http://www.roxcool.co.uk/course_detail.asp?CourseID=3

Ciao for now People :-) and Happy adventures

Cliff

Mountain Leader Refresher!

It was scorching hot, gorgeous sunshine, bright blue skies and a slight breeze over the hills of St John in the Vale, and the mountain Glamara, Seathwaite in the Lake District. Here I was spending two days over the May half term doing an ML refresher course with Cliff from Roxcool before my assessment in June.





It was an exceptionally enjoyable two days practising my navigation skills; from finding those knarly ring contours and tarns to learning valuable tracking skills, bearings, pacings and timings. It was a fantastic opportunity to reinforce what I have learnt as well as a great confidence boost. Just want to say a very big thanks to Cliff, it really helped!

What also really made the course was navigating the way to Blackmoss Pot, a little gorge in the Langstrath valley, and going for a refreshing swim after walking in the heat of the day over Glamara. The water was so clear and warm, and there was a waterfall, that when we swam into it, it felt like a Jacuzzi!

To top it off we finished the course having a wonderful home made fruit pie with ice-cream and cream in Shepherd’s café. I would highly recommend a visit!

Thank you

 Sammi House

 

Rock Monkey's hit Great Wanney Crag - Northumberland

On Sunday 29^th May a group of rock monkeys from Sunderland Wall went out climbing to Great Wanney, a crag near Hexham. Cliff (from Roxcool), Tom and Richy (two instructors from Sunderland Wall) took us climbing. It was raining in the morning and very windy but the rain soon stopped. It stayed very windy throughout the whole day though but at least it dried off the crag.

When we arrived we walked through the forest and towards the crag. It took about 20 minutes and we had to scramble up to the bottom of the crag. Tom and Richy set up the ropes while Cliff took us through all the rocks and plants next to the crag on what can only be described as 'an adventure'. There were quite a few holes – I think everyone fell in at least one!

We then went up to the crag to start climbing the routes. The first two routes that were climbed were “Great Chimney” VD and “Boundary Corner” VD. Later Bethany, Danielle and I attempted “Great Wall (Direct Finish)” E5 6A. “Great Wall has the same start but goes around the corner which is HVS 5B but we tried the direct finish.

 It was very hard but all got very close to the top.

As well as the girls I've mentioned we also had the two Joshua's and Alex keeping us company.

Everyone climbed “Main Wall” MS, “Squeezy Bill” D and “Jacob’s Ladder” VD.  Everybody climbed very well. At the end of the day we did a little bit of bouldering and then drove back to Sunderland Wall.

It was a great day out climbing and everyone enjoyed themselves. I can’t wait for the next day in June. Thank you to the Roxcool team.

Carmel Moran.....Roxcool Sponsored Athlete!!!! 

Leading the way to new heights!

After completing the ‘Learn to Climb’ course with Cliff and Roxcool in October, I, and 3 other liked-minded individuals, decided it was time to take our climbing to new heights (excuse the pun) by learning to lead climb. The aptly named course, ‘Learn to Lead’, was run by Cliff himself and was to take place over 2 days. A truly international contingent of climbers was to be had, each of us from a different corner of the world including Singapore, Sweden, the Falkland Islands and Northern Ireland.

Day 1 began with an introduction into the range of equipment available to climbers. After becoming familiar with all the names, varieties and safety checks it was time to learn the ins and outs of lead climbing. Cliff, very expertly, demonstrated the techniques of tying in using a bowline knot and the clipping in of the rope. Once we got to ‘grips’ with the theory, it was time to put what we just learned into practice (easier for some more so than others, i.e. me!). After much practice it was time to do some lead traversing, allowing us to practice our clipping without having to contend with the height of the wall. Something we discovered at this point and which Cliff failed to mention - much to his amusement - was how much harder lead climbing was compared to top roping! By the end of day 1 we were leading routes and practicing our clipping with the ever comforting safety of the top ropes.

Day 2 began with Cliff showing us examples of damaged ropes and what to look out for along with the range of belay devices that are on offer. We then got straight into some lead traversing after the traditional warm-up – spotty dogs included!! Following this, it was time to learn dynamic belaying. This part worried me but thanks to Cliff’s guidance we took to it like ducks to water – well, sort of! By the end of the day, we were all confident in our ability to keep our partners alive on the wall - a skill I think all climbers should probably have!!

The grand finale was ‘the big fall’ as Cliff thought it a good idea for all of us to experience this, however, a great deal of encouragement was needed for some of us to let go! For me, this was probably the most memorable/frightening/exhilarating part of the course! Pumped with adrenaline after ‘the big fall’ we were let loose on the routes by ourselves to practice a bit more. The day ended with 4 very happy but tired climbers who couldn’t wait to put their new found climbing skills into practice - but only after our arms stopped hurting! Thank you Cliff for making this such an enjoyable course.

Kathy McConnell – Northumbria University (Student)

  

Berryhill: From a Novice Perspective

After a smooth car ride from Northumbria University Sport Central, Berryhill welcomed us with blue skies and dry, warm rocks. There were seven of us heading out on this lovely day: three complete novices to outdoor climbing, including myself, three much more experienced chaps and, of course, Cliff himself!

Whilst the experienced group took on the rock without hesitation, our little novice group took some well-deserved time to get used to the brand new setting, including the helmets on our heads and the (lack of!) bathroom facilities of the forest. The excitement was sky-high from the start and despite that fair share of fear of dying, we were all impatient to put our (very clean) climbing shoes on the real rock for the first time. Luckily, Cliff picked out an easy first route, which broke the ice nicely, and very soon we were starting to feel more confident!

In between climbs, Cliff introduced us to the jungle of equipment – nuts/wires, quickdraws, extensions, slings, multiple ropes of different lengths and a bunch of other things that help keep you alive on the rocks! This particular part of the outdoor climbing experience turned out to be especially tricky for me! (Me: Where is the end of the rope? Cliff: You’re attached to it!; Cliff: Where is the cam? Me: OH, I wasn’t supposed to take that down..?). Clipping, unclipping and removing protection from the rock will definitely take some getting used to! A climbing pub quiz springs to mind as an excellent way of learning the details…!

As our beginners’ group managed to get from top to bottom of a handful of easier routes, the feel of the hard rock started to feel less and less daunting. We were pleasantly surprised that our indoor climbing skills worked pretty well on a trickier route with less obvious holds (thanks for the guidance, Matt!). Slowly but surely we were starting to feel ready for a greater adrenalin rush!

Marcher Lord was the final route of the day. For us novices, it turned out to be difficult, physically demanding, scary and… absolutely amazing!! I can only speak for myself but I cannot recall a better feeling than that of reaching the top – muscles and adrenalin pumping, gasping for air – to soak up the sun and take in the beautiful view! Unbeatable.

At the end of the day it was clear that Berryhill had officially kick started our outdoor climbing story with great success. After a lovely cold drink at a local pub, it was evident that the number of climbers hooked on outdoor climbing in our group had quickly jumped from four to seven! I literally cannot wait until next time.

Jonna Nilsson



Moving Outdoors and Touching Stone with Roxcool.

I had decided to make the move from indoor climbing to the big wide world of outdoor climbing , only problem being was I didn’t really know where to start. A few people had very kindly offered to show me how to go on , but at the end of the day , I didn’t want to be picking up other peoples bad habits ( sorry guys ).After making numerous enquiries amongst the climbing fraternity the same name kept cropping up again and again, that being, Cliff Lowther of a company called Roxcool.

I phoned the said Mr.Lowther ( who I shall refer to as Cliff from now on ) and explained that I wanted to be able to gain the knowledge and confidence to be able to go out climbing wherever and whenever I wanted, knowing that I, and my climbing partner would be safe. After listening patiently to me waffling on for goodness knows how long, Cliff then explained the options open to me and I decided to book a 5 day course with him, after which, he assured me I would have the skills I was after and he would not have to see me again ( maybe that was just wishful thinking on his behalf after listening to me waffling ).

We had arranged to meet on the first day at the coffee shop in Swainby, before heading to the crag at Scugdale. On his arrival, Cliff came across just as he had on the phone i.e. very professional, calm and reassuring. We sat down and he went through the programme for the up and coming week and what to expect in the days ahead. We then set off for my first taste of outdoor climbing and after parking up, Cliff got out his guide book and explained in great detail how these should be used, for which, I for one, was very grateful for, as all abbreviations and figures now started to make sense and after explaining access rights and rights of way we set off for a 10 min walk up to the foot of Scugdale crag. Cliff started to unpack all his gear whilst we decided to have a quick cuppa (there were quite a lot of these over the next 5 days). Cliff then proceeded to explain each piece of equipment, its function, what it does and does not do, what it can and can’t be used for, safety requirements (which was something that was stressed over and over again for the next 5 days). Next, we were shown at ground level the correct way to place and remove gear/protection and set the task of placing this ourselves to be marked on a score out of 5, 5 being good enough “ to hang your granny off “ as Cliff so eloquently put it. Then it was on to the crag to start the climbing. With Cliff leading he explained each and every move with his usual clarity so we knew exactly what he was doing and why. At the end of this first day I felt that I had learnt so much aswell as cliffs constant advice on personal climbing technique it was certainly a great start to the week.

Day 2 saw us heading off to Brimham Rocks near Ripon. Cliff explained that he wanted us to experience all the different types of stone so this next venue was to be gritstone as opposed to the sandstone that we were climbing on yesterday. Brimham Rocks was out of this world, fantastically shaped rock formations all joined together by a labyrinth of paths through this unique landscape. The climbing and techniques required for this type of rock was completely different to yesterday and was certainly an eye opener, as usual, Cliff kept us right with his guidance ,instruction, challenges he would throw at us and forever feeding us with new information. At the end of the day we set off for the Lake District so that we could try yet again, new venues.

Day 3 and after a night of dreaming of new knots, new techniques, new methods and all other info that Cliff had instilled into us up to now we awoke to find Cliff had very kindly made the brew and also prepared us a nice bowl of steaming porridge for breakfast, is there no end to this mans talents ?. After breakfast we headed away from Keswick towards Borrowdale and shepherds crag. Here we are going to attempt our first multi pitch climb, namely, the well known Little Chamonix which is a VD ***,( 2 days ago I wouldn’t even of known what that meant) .This climb is broken down into 4 pitches, the hardest of which I personally found to be the 3rd pitch where you had to mantel onto a block under an overhang, then shuffle along this on your backside, step across, what I thought at the time to be a bottomless void, but obviously wasn’t, if you had asked me 2 days ago if I would do this my reply would have been unprintable, but, with Cliffs coaxing, coaching and guidance everything went smoothly and the sense of achievement after topping out was fantastic.

Day 4: After another night of camping in the bunkhouse and being awoken intermittently by a certain gentleman’s snoring, although he assured us it must have been the wind coming through the open window !!!!!!!!! we awoke to nigh on gale force winds and heavy rain which scuppered the plans for another multi pitch. The ever resourceful Mr. Lowther managed to find us a fairly sheltered crag where we spent the day practicing setting up belay anchors, placing protection gear, more knots and abseiling, all very informative and thoroughly enjoyable. Late afternoon we travelled back home to a real bed and hot water but alas, no Cliff to make the brews and breakfast !.

Day 5. Today we set off for Northumberland or “Gods country” as Cliff so rightly calls it. We arrive at Berryhill Crag which is situated between Wooler and Berwick close to the village of Etal. It is today,that we will be doing our first lead climbs. At first it is a feeling of trepidation and nervousness having to be that first climber and placing those first pieces of protection but everything I had learnt over the last week just seemed to come together and everything just felt so natural. The feeling of elation, achievement and pride after topping out after completing my first lead climb will stay with me forever. The past 5 days have gone so quickly and I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every minute of it, I cannot believe how much we managed to cram in, I would like to thank Cliff for his patience with us and that I will definitely be back in the future for more courses.