Neils trad

30th May 2012

Day 2 of Neils trad/lead course took place at Symonds Yat in the very leafy Forest of Dean. Neil excelled leading Golden Fleece and Exchange in good style but it was Trundlebum Rex that gave Neil the most trouble. After a false start Neil overcame the lower comitting moves and climbed...

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Neil Bannister

28th May 2012

I had a man called Neil Bannister today for the first day of his trad/lead course and although we had never met I felt as if I had known him for years......spooky, maybe but what a nice day. I chose Wintours Leap in The Wye Valley again and we did loads. Left Hand Route, Right Hand Route,...

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27th May 2012

A great outdoor day with a man called Paul. I decided on Wintours Leap in the Wye Valley for Pauls first ever outdoor day and it did us proud. We started off on an easy climb in the Broadwalk area so Paul could get a feel for real rock before heading over to the North Wall where Paul climbed...

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26th May 2012

Working for Life Changing Activities today abseiling and gorge walking. Michael had a stag party booked and the stag himself arrived wearing a gold, tight one piece thing. It was a fun day and everyone had a go at everything the gorge could throw at them. The photo shows how dramatic the...

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25th May 2012

Another day on GO wall at Wintours Leap in the Wye Valley. Mike and I found it hot and sweaty and struggled with the lower sections that seemed a bit green. I was knackered after just a few pitches and one failure. Pic shows Mike making a long abseil from the chimney of Kangaroo Wall.

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23rd May 2012

What a lovely day. Sal and Reg wanted a day out to learn more about set-ups for top roping, bottom roping, sport lead climbing and abseiling. A mixed bag but using Wintours Leap in The Wye Valley made it possible.

After a good start climbing Moth on Fly Wall we looked at abseiling. We then...

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22nd May 2012

A fun afternoons climbing with big bad Barr. Our first time climbing together for some years. We climbed 3 routes on GO Wall at Wintours Leap in The Wye Valley but most of the day was chat and gossip, great stuff. Pic shows Rob on the sharp end  for 'I used to be a Werewolf'.

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21st May 2012

Friday and Saturday I stayed up in the Peaks for my third trad/lead course for Rock and Sun. The clients this time were the very affable Ben and Martin. They didn't know each other and I didn't know them but after just a couple of hours it was as if we known each other for years and we spent the...

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20th May 2012

Wednesday & Thursday saw me back in the Peaks teaching trad/lead climbing to Gavin & Claire for Rock and Sun. Gavin took to trad/lead climbing like a duck to water but Claire wasn't so sure and needed time to adjust to the differences between indoors and outside. Having said that she did well...

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14th May 2012

A wonderful weekend teaching trad/lead to 2 nice couples in the Peaks. A mixed group. Heidi from The Dolomites in Italy with her partner Victor from Spain. Aimee from Chicago and Dave from Montana. We went to Stanage on Saturday, dry but very chilly. I chose Lawrencefield on Sunday where we did...

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11th May 2012

A great days climbing at Wintours Leap in The Wye Valley with Mike Mitch. Started off with a couple of warm-up routes and then had a go at my latest project. It's just a variation on Liquid Leather and avoids the booming flake in dramatic style. A hard pull on a finger pocket enables a vertical...

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10th May 2012

Work continues to be varied. A very wet day at Symonds Yat in the Forest of Dean showing Neil and Paul from The Warehouse a few Single Pitch Award set-ups to help them with groups they will be running themselves. The 3 of us may have been unhappy with the weather but this little blighter ran...

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7th May 2012

A late but busy blog. Earlier in the week I ran a staff training session for the Warehouse staff on outdoor set-ups and floor-walking. Held a sight specific teach lead climbing assessment for 2 of the staff and had a good climbing session with Alexandra before we retired to the bar for a Q & A...

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