The Mountain Lifestyle Blog

  • Cader Idris (893m)

    It’s a long drive to mid-wales and back for the day, but well worth the effort when the weather is like this. I was working with a group of sixth form students today, who wanted to climb the peak of Cader Idris.  We ascended from the northern side up what is know as the ‘pony Read more

  • A55 Sport Climbing

    Despite the crystal clear blue skies, the temperatures have halved over night and today, despite appearances, it was only just into double figures when I picked up my group of students for some sport climbing.  There is a whole guidebook dedicated to the crags along the A55, which runs along the north coast of Wales. We Read more

  • Classic Welsh 'Hard Severe' Climbs

    What a glorious day to be climbing in North Wales! Not a cloud to be seen! Between various other things, I managed to fit in two classic ‘hard severe’ grade multi-pitch climbs in two different valleys! My foot is still aching, so kept the walking to a minimum and kept the grades at a respectable ‘Hard Severe’. Read more

  • Daytime tourist, evening swimmer.

    I’ve been a North Wales tourist today! A good friend from Africa showed up unexpectedly last night and had the afternoon free today, so we hooked up for a tour of the National Park! Ice creams and Pete’s Eats for sustenance, while touring the sights and shops! A great way to catch up with each Read more

  • Alpine Training on Drum (770m)

    The views weren’t exactly alpine, but the temperatures gave the kind of contrasts that my group and I might experience while hiking in the Alps next month. Today was the last in a series of training days for a team of students who are going to be hiking part of the Tour du Mt Blanc Read more

  • First Dip of the Year

    Well, the water is still cold, but today the temperatures we in the mid-twenties until late into the evening. Fantastic! A light breeze and a bit of cloud cover made for great canoeing conditions for a day on Llyn Padarn. After the session and while my canoe group were off to get changed, I stripped Read more

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