Month: August 2015

No comments

Coasteering in Pembrokeshire

  By , ,

After a beautiful start to the week, and a day climbing in South Pembrokeshire at Saddle Head in the sun and a warm afternoon in North Pembrokeshire at a crag near Solva, the rest of the week was spent Coasteering!

Coasteering in Cathedral Caves in North Pembrokeshire

Coasteering in Cathedral Caves in North Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire is renowned for it’s Coasteering, and in a commercial sense it all started here back in the 80’s. There are a phenomenal amount of different places to Coasteer, not all suitable for groups, some being really adventurous Coasteers!

Coasteering in big seas in Pembrokeshire

Coasteering in big seas in Pembrokeshire

I think I’ve spent a total of nearly 20 hours in the water this week, luckily there’s a big element of scrambling and climbing whilst Coasteering in Pembrokeshire…

DWS whilst Coasteering in Pembrokeshire

DWS whilst Coasteering in Pembrokeshire

We not only run many rock climbing courses, but are able to take you on these fantastic and wild Coasteers, come and check out what it’s all about and have an adventurous day Coasteering in Pembrokeshire with us…

Big jump Coasteering in Pembrokeshire

Big jump Coasteering in Pembrokeshire

 

No comments

Ruminahui Ascent

  By , ,

The group had slightly more ambitious plans after their hike on Chimbarazo. An ascent of the technical 4700m peak Ruminahui was the goal. As we were well acclimatised by this point we made swift progress on the easy lower slopes, and were rewarded with spectacular views of a family on Condors floating above us on the mountain.

It was cold and blustery in the way up, with no views of what lay ahead, but it got much steeper the higher we ascended, and soon we were scrambling.

Climbing Ruminahui

We got the rope out to protect the group for the last 20 meters or so, but they all managed to get to the exposed summit, their first bit of proper climbing at 4700m!

We didnt linger too long on top as it was pretty chilly and windy, once back down the rope we were able to move faster and warm up.

Ruminahui

The clouds parted on the decent to give us some spectacular views… Well done on your ascent team… If your in the area, Ruminahui is well worth having a go at climbing, but it’s no pushover!

On Ruminahui

 

 

 

 

 

No comments

Trekking on Chimbarazo…

  By ,

This month I am in Ecuador working, taking a bunch of school kids trekking in the Andes, followed by some time in the Jungle and doing some sight seeing and exploring…

We flew into Quito and took it easy for a few days, as the altitude in Ecuadors capital city is over 3000m. We had a nice day out walking up nearby Ilalo Peak to get great views of the city. Once we transferred to a place called El Chaupi we spent a few days acclimatising by getting out in walks, notably up to 4000m on Cerro El Corazon- the team started feeling the altitude here!

Our main trek was around Chimbarazo, at 6300m it’s summit is famous for being the point furthest from the centre of the Earth, due to Equatorial bulge…. Our high point was planned to be the Whymper Refuge at 5000m.

Chimbarazo

The first night in our tents at 4200m was a wild one! The weather was bad enough to batten down the hatches and stay in the tents for 15 hours… The scenery the next day made up for our rough night though…

The third day was a long one! Trekking  up to the refuge at 4800m took a good 10 hours. The team really pushed hard and we arrived in a flurry of snow to warm drinks and a welcome rest! The views from up here once the cloud cleared in the morning were awesome!

Trekking below Chimbarazo

The final day we headed up to 5000m at a slow steady pace, it was only a short walk up to here and the bright sunshine warned everyone despite the strong winds and cold weather. Our descent was truly awesome. After traversing to a historic cave that has been used for over 500 years for Inca rituals, we had a long sandy descent, reminiscent of running down a sand dune – for a thousand meters!

A great time was had by all, and a big sense of accomplishment for the guys who have done very little of this sort of stuff before. The acclimatisation stood us in good stead for our next ascent….