Rock & Rope

Finally getting around to pulling my blog together after a great weekend of scrambling and climbing under the watchful eye of Steve Holmes of Vertical Fever who I can firmly recommend to anyone wanting to enjoy the great outdoors in Scotland or anyone who want to step up from walking to a bit of scrambling or climbing.

On Saturday I wanted to refresh my scrambling skills and in particular look at how I can manage friends and peers when they are on a scramble.  Steve took me through a whole range of skills on the Zig Zags (Grade 1) in Glencoe.  We covered skills ranging from spotting to a simple belay using an Italian hitch system as well as covering how to lower someone if they "froze".  It was an excellent day and the weather was not too bad, although we had started the day in rain and wind.

On the Sunday, Steve had decided to get me back onto the end of a rope and to do some climbing routes in Glen Nevis.  I had been here a couple of years earlier but I also knew that my skills had faded a wee bit since then.  No matter Steve quickly ran through the fundamentals and then we where of on the first climb which was Three Pines (VDiff).  I coped with this one well, so Steve took us over to the next buttress which was the Flying Dutchman (Mild Severe).  This was a slabby route and I had a real episode of not wanting to move.  Steve was ever patient with me and got me down to a grass ledge and gave me time to compose myself.  I have to admit it took a bit of "talking to myself" to get me back onto the rock, but I am so pleased I pushed on to nail my very first mild severe route.

We then moved on to Spike Wall (VDiff) which was a two pitch route which included a hanging belay which was all new to me - and was a pretty nervous experience.  We finished the day with a descent of Scimitar Ridge (Grade II).

It was a brilliant weekend and Steve was really encouraging - I always felt safe with him and the wobble was down to my head not Steve.  I'm already booked to go back out with Steve at the end of May and I can't wait.  Also, I will be putting my refreshed scrambling skills to good use this weekend when I take a group up Striding Edge in the Lake District.

An active weekend....

It's been a good active weekend which started after work on Friday with a three hour walk in the Pentland Hills, then another 3+ hours on Saturday afternoon finishing with two training sessions with PT clients this morning.

The longer days mean that it's possible to get out onto the hill after work and that is exactly what I did on Friday.  At the moment I'm carrying my full overnight gear although I've not stayed out yet this year - but I thought it wise to start getting used to the extra weight.  I'm using the new Black Diamond Speed 55 backpack and I have to say that to date it has been excellent (I will put a review up soon).  I had the hills to myself for pretty much the whole walk so it was perfect for popping my iPod on and just relaxing into the walk.  Towards the end of the walk I found a nice sheltered spot and brewed up.  It was great sitting with a hot chocolate and just looking out over pretty much the whole of Edinburgh.  A great start to the weekend.

Saturday was supposed to be a nice easy day doing pretty much nothing but a text message from Caroline asking if I fancied hitting the hills changes all that.  We went back onto the Pentlands but this time went in a different way.  That's something I've discovered about the Pentland Hills - they are huge and you can pretty much walk on them all day and not go over the same ground twice.  We had both layered up because the weather forecast was for rain and wind but we got a really nice afternoon and enjoyed a great walk.  The hills are starting to show there different colours and they look stunning.  We got to the top of Allermuir Hill (493m) and where rewarded with great views over pretty much the whole of Edinburgh - we even spent a bit of time identifying landmark buildings within the city.  The folk of Edinburgh are so lucky to have these fantastic hills right on their doorstep (I can actually walk from my backdoor to the hills).  We dropped down a wee bit and spent some time just sitting and enjoying the environment.

I'm pleased to say that my endurance fitness is starting to build back up after months side lined with injury.  All good news as I have just three weeks before I head to Fort William for a weekend of scrambling and some easy climbing.

Primus ETA Spider Stove....

After swaying between a Primus and a Jetboil, I finally decided to go with the Primus Eta Spider 1 - 2 people trekking stove.  My decision making was helped by the fact that I had used Primus in the past and they had always performed well.  The Spider comes with it's own insulation bag, and it also has a windshield, Piezo igniter and a plastic bowl.  It is lightweight coming in at 599g and will boil 1lt of water in 3 minutes 35 seconds. 

I've used the stove twice now for boiling water to make a brew and I have to say it boils water very fast indeed, especially when you are only using enough water to make a cup of tea.  The stove is very easy to assemble and use and you can have it fired up and working within minutes.  The windshield is very effective and the whole unit is compact and easy to use. 



The igniter is okay and does work, but I would recommend you take a striker or matches because I've found you need to be pretty close the heat source when lighting the stove using the igniter provided and I've singed hand hairs on both occasions!!  The plastic bowl that comes with the stove is unnecessary in my opinion - it resembles a dog bowl and is pretty flimsy.  I've carried it twice but will be leaving it behind next time.


In summary, this is an excellent trekking stove.  I have used it twice and am very happy with it indeed.  It boils water quickly is compact, light and easy to use.