A small cam placed blindly under a roof leaves me anxious about the crux. Instead of committing, I scramble down to a knee bar and try to shake the lactic from my forearms. The cam seems good, but the pieces before it weren’t, and I’m not sure I trust it enough to attempt … Continue reading Summer in N.Wales
Category: Blog
Icons in the darkness
A few weeks ago, I had some of the most intense dreams that I've ever known. I don't usually dream much, but for some reason this week was different. I learned recently that we dream something like six or seven times a night, and that each dream is a more developed repetition of the one … Continue reading Icons in the darkness
That strange feeling
It's strange that feeling you get, at once in your chest and your stomach, sometimes in your throat. It's not quite a gag reflex but something similar, a sickly sort of feeling that makes your whole body tremble imperceptibly; never quite enough to pin it down, but enough to know its there. Your shoulders ache … Continue reading That strange feeling
In memory of a humble farmer
A few weeks ago my grandfather (the french one) passed away. He was the first of my grandparents to go, I'm very lucky that they're so healthy, and his passing, as it is want to do, caused me to reflect a lot on death. As an Alpinist, death is a subject that I cannot hide … Continue reading In memory of a humble farmer
A close call
After a thoroughly dodgy morning, the rain finally closes play and we admit defeat. We wait for the shower to end, and I run to the top to pack the ab rope away whilst Andy walks round. We meet at the top and I throw my sack over the fence, preparing to vault it onto … Continue reading A close call
The Winds of Change
I've lost count of how many times I've refused to do this move. Again, I fail to commit, and step back down to the non-rest I've become stuck at. This pitch is relentless, I think, endless. Every single move is hard, the hooks are less than heroic, the angle and exposure maddening. At least the … Continue reading The Winds of Change
Coming Home
Stood on the third ledge of the day, I pull the drawcords of my hood tight. Snow and ice fall on us from above, wind chills us to the bone. The day started with blue skies and enough promise to get us committed, but it's gone to shit - conditions are now full Scottish. Above … Continue reading Coming Home
The trouble with happiness
“I think it's so foolish for people to want to be happy. Happy is so momentary--you're happy for an instant and then you start thinking again. Interest is the most important thing in life; happiness is temporary, but interest is continuous.” ― Georgia O'Keeffe Tentatively, Pete weights the V-thread he's just made in a … Continue reading The trouble with happiness
Fitzroy
Excerpt from our Patagonia 2014 expedition report
Come with me
There's a man living in my house. I rarely see him; he hides behind the mirror, and whines. The other day I found him and said: "Tell me, does the storm still rage, does the wind still blow?" "No." "Then why are you bent, and bracing and facing away?" "Well..." "What!? I see that you … Continue reading Come with me