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REVIEW: NIHIL Incubator Pant by Kevin Avery
13 November 2010, 9:25 am

Described as “a sturdy bouldering pant,” Kevin Avery tests the Incubator Pants from Dutch company, NIHIL… Rating (out of 5)



Performance: *****



Quality: *****



Value For Money: *****

Price: £60.00

NIHIL Incubator Pant NIHIL are a Dutch clothing company (NEWS: NIHIL in the UK) who’s philosophy is built around producing fashionable climbing clothing with optimal performance characteristics. The Men’s Incubator Pant certainly fits in well with this.

So what are they?

The Incubator pant is a trouser aimed at the bouldering market. It is made from a sturdy midweight cotton with a 3% Elastane content to add stretch and ease of movement. The fabric looks and feels tough without feeling too heavy when they’re on.

The Incubator Pants are simply designed but have some nice features which give them a sense of individuality. They are also incredibly practical and look good to boot.

They feature a zip fly with popper, two front pockets and one on the rear (none of which feature a closure) and a straight cut that is loose but not too baggy. Both pocket and fly areas are reinforced at key wear points with contrast double stitching, which is a nice touch.

The waistband is fitted with belt loops so a standard belt is the option if you fail to find the perfect fit.

The Incubator Pants from NIHIL negotiating a tricky topout at Apremont, Fonatinbleau (PHOTO: Jennifer Adair) The hem of the Incubator Pants features a concealed drawcord. This allows you to cinch the hems in to stop them flapping around and  obscuring your boots but at the same time they are hidden so you  actually just see a standard trouser hem. Fashion and function indeed! I found this quite useful as the trousers only come in one leg length for each size and my pair were a little long (I’m usually a regular inside leg length). Obviously you can still roll them up if this is more to your liking.

The crotch is what I’d describe as standard. It doesn’t sit too low and it hasn’t got a diamond insert for extra mobility. To be honest though, the stretch fabric allows more than enough mobility.

What have I used them for and how did they perform?

Okay, so NIHIL describe these as a bouldering pant, so that’s what I did first! The sandstone playground of Fontainebleau to be precise! I found the Incubator Pants to be very comfortable to climb in. They gave great mobility on tricky high steps and the cut is such that they don’t flap around and obscure your feet. The drawcords on the hem help with this as well.

I like the fact that the crotch isn’t too low as this is a gripe I have with many other “trendy” cragging pants I’ve tried in the past, particularly if I’ve worn them with a harness. The stretchy fabric provides more than enough mobility on those eye-watering bridging problems!

Attempting the classic Noir Desir at Cuvier Rempart in a pair of Incubator pants from NIHIL (PHOTO: Jennifer Adair) So all in all this is a stylish, functional and durable pair of trousers easily capable of withstanding Font sandstone, Yorkshire grit and Swiss granite. But what are they like for climbing routes?

Well to be honest, the Incubators get along just as well. And this is primarily down to the cut, particularly in the upper leg and crotch area. As they are not “low crotch” or “low slung” on the waist, the trousers are not hauled up your legs to sit uncomfortably ruffled, as soon as you step into a harness. In fact they hang pretty much the same as when you don’t have a harness on at all. This I like!

Okay, they do have their failings. They are not waterproof or windproof or particularly quick drying, but it’s not the point of them either and they are still perfect for 99% of UK cragging situations.

In Conclusion

All in all the Incubator Pants are a well designed and stylish pair of climbing trousers. They are durable, comfortable, well cut and stretchy. They also look the part. Buy these if you want a top notch pair of trousers for cragging and bouldering. They are quickly becoming my cragging pants of choice!

• Read more about the Incubator Pants and purchase them from the NIHIL online shop and website
• For details of UK stockists or to stock NIHIL in your retail outlet contact: info@theclimbingdepot.com

Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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BLOG: White Magic, Coire an t’Sneachda by Kevin Avery
15 November 2010, 9:13 pm

Just back from the Cairngorms and the first winter route of the 2010/11 season!

Steve Dunning at the top of the Magic Crack on White Magic VII 7, Coire an t'Sneachda, Cairngorms Headed up on Saturday evening with Steve Dunning. We arrived in a damp Aviemore at about 10pm, just in time for beers and live music at the Bridge Inn. The plan was to sleep in the car park at Cairngorm ski area then rise early Sunday morning and make a firm decision as to our objective.

Bed for the night! Kevin and Steve outside the ranger station, Cairngorm ski area Up at 5am we decided to head for Coire an t’Sneachda (see the UKC destination article by Viv Scott) and the mixed test-piece of White Magic VII 7. There was a light snow cover down to the parking area and a reasonable amount on the walk in but fortunately, a decent trail all the way to the Coire floor  gave us the luxury of an easy approach. We arrived just as it was getting light to find the buttress routes all sporting a decent winter coat! I was a little concerned that they may have been black after having read a report on UKC from Saturday, but thankfully we weren’t disappointed.

Steve Dunning setting up belay below the Magic Crack White Magic is a route I’ve wanted to do ever since watching the BBC film of Scottish mixed master, Graham Ettle climbing it over ten years ago. The first 2 pitches are shared with The Genie (pitch 2 of which is actually quite tricky itself!) before stepping right to belay below the Magic Crack. This gives sustained and technical hooking and torquing with poor foot placements. Fortunately the protection is good although the crack was surprisingly iced up for this stage in the season, meaning the nuts didn’t go in quite as easily as I’d have liked!

Kevin Avery arranging gear before the initial tricky corner on pitch 2. This is shared with The Genie V 7. The Magic Crack is visible, running diagonally up and right.

Steve Dunning seconding pitch 2  

Steve Dunning seconding a very wintery White Magic (on the famous Magic Crack pitch) One final tricky pitch (awkward!) and an abseil descent (very continental) was followed by a race back down to the car, celebratory fish and chips in Aviemore and the 6 hour drive back to Yorkshire!

All in all an awesome day, fantastic route and superb start to the winter season!

Gear for the route

• Black Diamond Viper axes
• Petzl Dart crampons
• Grivel Spring Leash
• La Sportiva Trango Evo Extreme boots
• Black Diamond Xenos Harness
• Metolius Inferno Wiregate quickdraws x15
• Wild Country Rocks 1-10
• Black Diamond wired hexes
• Black Diamond Camalots 0.5 to 3
• Black Diamond ATC Guide
• Assortment of slings and screwgates
• Petzl Meteor III helmet

Clothing for the route

• Thorlo Mountaineering socks
• Lowe Alpine Powerstretch Tights
• Icebreaker Merino crew
• Patagonia R1 top
• Arc’teryx Gamma AR pant
• Arc’teryx Venta SV jacket
• RAB Generator Alpine belay jacket
• Black Diamond Impulse gloves (leading) and Specialist gloves (seconding and belaying)
• Patagonia Beanie

Winter Conditions and Weather Links

• Needlesports: A great round up of winter conditions links, blogs, weather and the crucial SAIS forecasts.
• UKClimbing.com: Winter logbooks and forum

Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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GEAR NEWS: The Kendal Mountain Festival 2010 (With Video)
18 November 2010, 6:38 am

The 18th-21st November sees the arrival of the 2010 Kendal Mountain Festival. A wide variety of speakers, whole host of outdoor films and the usual hustle, bustle and partying, are all on offer! Speakers this year include:

• Andy Turner
• Chris Bonnington
• Dave Macleod
• Iker and Eneko Pou
• Steve McClure
• Mike ‘Twid’ Turner
• Stephan Siegrist

Check here for the full line up

Buy tickets for the event online or call 01539 725133

A wide variety of films will also be showcased at the event: Full details can be found on the programme page, however  there is one film that Climbing Gear Reviews UK are particularly excited about…

Here is a taster!

• If you want to find out more about Kendal Mountain Festival 2010 then visit the KMF website.

Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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GEAR NEWS: Boreal Krypto Rockshoe
23 November 2010, 10:28 pm

Boreal are pleased to announce for 2011 the Krypto, a new shoe for top end performance…

The new Boreal Krypto Boreal say: The Krypto offers a ??????precise fit around the foot which delivers performance during any kind of movement, toe, edging and heel. The special toe profile provides excellent precision on marginal holds. ??Perfect for technically difficult, vertical or overhanging routes. Specially designed for extreme moves on small holds.

• Look out for them in late 2010 /2011. For more details and a look at the entire range go to the Boreal website.

Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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BLOG: Kendal Mountain Festival (WITH VIDEO) and Scabbard Chimney by Kevin Avery
24 November 2010, 10:38 pm

Last weekend saw the annual outing to Kendal Mountain Festival.

(Read our pre-KMF news piece here)

So, KMF…a delightful smorgasbord of speakers, films, trade stands and superstars all oggled by the usual ramshackle band of beanie wearing, down jacket donning enthusiasts and armchair critics! (We include ourselves in that description so please don’t be offended!!)

Dave and I attended on Saturday (big thanks to Clive Allen at Ascent Marketing for arranging tickets for us) excited by the possibility of seeing some top notch psyche material, meeting new companies in the marquee and generally enjoying ourselves. One thing I love about KMF is that it always seems to bring out seldom seen friends and this one was no exception. Obligatory chin-wags about latest adventures, happenings and in some cases mis-happenings (!) all add up to a super weekend.

After obligatory morning coffee we headed to the marquee meeting representatives from Patagonia, Custard Climbing Creations, Viewranger Mapping and Clif Bar. We were bowled over by the reception we received, all of the companies being very positive about the site and getting involved with the reviews. Dave managed to set a new record on the Patagonia stand, hammering the nail into the log in a blistering 2.7 seconds using a Chouinard hammer! Legend!

In a blur, Dave nails Patagonia- 2.7 seconds! Following some refreshments we headed to the movies. First up was Al Lee’s award winning The Prophet which captures “Penrith pin-up” Leo Houlding’s realisation of a 10 year El Cap free climbing dream. Alongside Jason Pickles (Britain’s manliest man?!) Leo takes us on a journey up Yosemite’s most sought after granite bastion. Success comes in the end but being pipped at the post by the 5.13d crux crack, Leo and Jason have to return to endure October storms before the full free line is theirs! The hardest route they’ve ever tried is now the hardest route they’ve ever climbed?

The Pinnacle was next and to be honest was not one I expected to enjoy as much as I did. Robin Smith and Jimmy Marshall are legendary in their Ben Nevis new routing prowess! In 1960 they climbed six new winter routes on consecutive days including the sublime but serious ice face of Orion Direct. As if that was not enough, they made the first one day ascent of Point Five Gully as well as setting out on an enormous “rest day walk” to the pub which resulted in them being arrested, all in the name of a set of dominoes!

The Pinnacle follows mixed-master Andy Turner and all-round mutant, Dave MacLeod as they recreate this magical week. Using modern tools and equipment Turner and MacLeod are obviously impressed by what went on half a century ago. It just goes to show the level that Smith and Marshall were operating at that time. Eye opening stuff!



After a couple of false starts, “Swiss Machine” Ueli Steck, finally graced the screen. Now Ueli is someone I hold in high regard. The man is a monster, his speed soloing feats blowing anything previous right out of the water! Fitness and mental control that I can barely comprehend. But super motivating at the same time! The Eiger North Face, Matterhorn North Face and Colton-Macintyre on the Grandes Jorasses, all pretty much sprinted! You don’t run in crampons…well actually this guy does! And he’s sponsored by a bathroom!

So suitably psyched, Saturday ended and Dave and I parted. Off to Glencoe for me and a rendezvous with the Manbeast…

4.30 am and the alarm howls. It feels like the middle of the night but this is Scottish winter climbing and day breaks early. Time to get up! Coffee and muffins for me and a “Bombay Badboy” Pot Noodle for Manbeast and we stomp into Stob Coire Nan Lochan. Arrival at first light and objective A is black, probably climbable in rock shoes with bare hands! Not exactly winter! Manbeast looks relieved so it’s off to objective B…

Black butresses- Stob Coire Nan Lochan, Glencoe  21/11/2010 Scabbard Chimney is a classic V 6 and looked like a suitably wintery target. Three pitches of chimney choked with crud (sugary snow, poorly bonded neve and rimeless rock!) gave superb and interesting climbing, including some technical torquing and bomber turf until a couple of rope lengths of snowy swimming (moving together) plonked us on the top. A stumble down some seemingly unstable slopes (thankfully not too unstable) in Broad Gully followed by a saunter back to the car, meant coffee and cake in the van by 2 pm.

Another superb day but possibly could have had that lie in after all!

Manbeast versus Scabbard Chimney, V 6, Stob Coire Nan Lochan, Glencoe

Manbeast leading on crud, Scabbard Chimney, V 6, Stob Coire Nan Lochan, Glencoe Gear for the route

• Petzl Nomic Axes
• Petzl Dart crampons
• Grivel Spring Leash
• La Sportiva Trango Evo Extreme boots
• Black Diamond Xenos Harness
• Metolius Inferno Wiregate quickdraws x15
• Wild Country Rocks 1-10
• Black Diamond wired hexes
• Black Diamond Camalots 0.5 to 3
• Black Diamond ATC Guide
• Assortment of slings and screwgates
• Petzl Meteor III helmet

Clothing for the route

• Thorlo Mountaineering socks
• Lowe Alpine Powerstretch Tights
• Icebreaker Merino crew
• Patagonia R1 top
• Arc’teryx Gamma AR pant
• Arc’teryx Venta SV jacket
• Arc’teryx Fission SL belay jacket
• Black Diamond Impulse gloves (leading) and Specialist gloves (seconding and belaying)
• Patagonia Beanie

Winter Conditions and Weather Links

• Needlesports: A great round up of winter conditions links, blogs, weather and the crucial SAIS forecasts.
• UKClimbing.com: Winter logbooks and forum

Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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BLOG: Peak Winter Climbing – Back Tor
28 November 2010, 4:34 pm



Back Tor - great mixed climbing with easy access  

Finally, after a few weeks of work and family commitments I was a free man! My mate Chris in Sheffield was under strict orders to monitor conditions as soon as it started to go cold on Wednesday. We were still agonising on Friday having decided that The Downfall wouldn’t be in and I was all for going snowshoeing on the North York Moors, a 7.00am phone call had me repacking the sack for a winter climbing day. Now many of you may have climbed The Downfall, many more will have slogged up the hour or so to find it unclimbable, many may have got to Mam Tor only to find the shale thawed too much, but if you keep walking along the ridge you will be rewarded with some great easy and mid grade mixed climbing that often in condition, all it takes is a few days of North Westerlies to freeze the turf and covering of snow and you can have a good day out with just a gentle ½ hour walk in, with the added bonus of often having the crag to yourself.

Topping out after the final steep section. The crag was sheltered from the biting wind and we started at the left hand side and the chased the shade rightwards, as the sun was stripping the smattering of snow very quickly. There are no named routes as you can climb anywhere on the whole crag with nothing harder than III 4. The routes are 50m and you can make them as easy or as hard as you like as it’s often short steep steps with easier sections. Much of the rock is loose, but sections do offer good rock protection, leave the ice screws at home. So next time you feel that you need an easy day or don’t fancy the crowds at The Downfall then Back Tor may well be your answer. Let’s hope the freeze continues.

Chris sees some sun after a neat rock section. Essential Kit:

Hardware – Black Diamond Viper axes,  Grivel G14 crampons, Black Diamond wired hexes, DMM 4CU cams, Beal Joker 9.1mm single rope

Clothing – Smartwool Midweight Zip (testing), Mountain Equipment G2 Ulimate Mounatin Pants, Patagonia Dimension jacket, Black Diamond Torque gloves



Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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BLOG: Skiing – Grands Montets, Chamonix
29 November 2010, 9:45 pm

Saturday saw the first skiing of the season at Grands Montets in Chamonix and my first skiing for about three seasons (gulp)!  

Chamonix skiing - the opening day at Grands Montets, 27/11/2010 But surely it’s just like riding a bike…?! Well, unfortunately skiing is a bike I never really mastered in the first place! At least I’d be skiing with someone who also didn’t know what they were doing though…

Having arranged to fly out and visit Alison for the weekend, I jetted out to Geneva on Friday night, being lucky enough to get a swift finish from work. A smooth journey (thanks to EasyJet and Mountain Dropoffs) had me in Taconnaz by just after 10pm, greeted by freezing temps and a thick blanket of snow! (Fortunately I didn’t have Steve in tow to suggest we slept in the car park!)

View from the window- a snowy Taconnaz Saturday morning and some stalling tactics (coffee drinking!) had us out on the slopes by 11am. Visibility was poor and the temps were low but good snow cover on the pistes gave a few wobbly runs until I found my legs again! (Oh wait…I said earlier that I never actually had any legs!) Alison kept up…just , although I sensed she was tiring by the end of the day. I on the other hand was just getting warmed up!

One of these people can ski! With daylight fading we took the telepherique back to base and headed home. A detour via Chamonix centre, bookshops and Snell Sports (if I ran a gear shop it would probably be like this!) was followed by a trip to what may be the best cake shop I have ever been to, (obviously I don’t really like coffee or cake, but Alison insisted!) rounding off an awesome day out on the hill.

The best cake shop also has one of the best views... Saturday evening allowed some serious lazing time (for my quads to recover from all that snowploughing) and a viewing of the classic steep skiing documentary, Steep. If you haven’t see this film then I can highly recommend it. Whether you ski or not, it is awe inspiring!



A leisurely Sunday morning of full English breakfast (in France too, tut tut…), a wander in the snow and then another trip to the world’s best cake shop (under duress again, I hasten to add). Unfortunately I had a flight to catch and my hope of a last minute cancellation didn’t come through  so we set off to Geneva mid-afternoon. It was a fantastic weekend though and I certainly can’t wait to go back.

Have a look at the compagniedumontblanc site for up to date info on skiing at Grands Montets.

Addendum

Okay so I may have exaggerated the skiing a little! Alison is actually quite (very!) handy on skis. She even had me improving by the end of the day! If you’d like her to pass on some knowledge to you I’m sure she’d be more than happy to, so have a look at the courses on offer at BASS Chamonix.

Being forced to go to the cake shop is all true…

Clothing

• Lowe Alpine Powerstretch Tights
• Arc’teryx Venta SV jacket
• Black Diamond Specialist gloves
• Arc’teryx Phase AR Top (on test)
• Patagonia R2 Jacket
• Patagonia Winter Guide Pants
•  
  
  

Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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REVIEWS: Winter Climbing Gear by Kevin Avery and Dave Sarkar
30 November 2010, 6:23 pm

Winter is well and truly here… Climbing Gear Reviews UK currently have a number of products on test that are relevant to the winter season. These will begin to appear on the site over the next couple of weeks.

We also have a number of Buyer’s Guides which we will be publishing over the coming months so look out for those!

In the meantime here are some links to reviews that Kevin and Dave  have written and had published, all of which are relevant to the  present season. Enjoy!

Classic Ben Nevis Ridges...Tower Ridge IV 3

Perfect Ice...Stella Artice WI 5, Cogne

Steep Mixed...Engineer's Slabs, Gable Crag, Lake District Click on the links to read our reviews:

• La Sportiva Trango Extreme Evo Boots
• Petzl Nomic Ice Axes
• Petzl Dart Crampons
• Black Diamond Cyborg Pro Crampons
• Black Diamond Xenos Harness
• Wild Country Neon, Astro and Nitro Karabiners
• Haglofs Roc 35 Rucsac
• Deuter Guide Lite 32 Rucsac
• DMM Zodiac and Ultra O Karabiners
• Metolius Ultralight Curve Nuts
• Arc’teryx Atom LT Jacket
• Crux Plasma Down Jacket
• Marmot Pinnacle Down Sleeping Bag

Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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BLOG: Snowshoeing – when second best is better!
5 December 2010, 7:42 pm



Snowshoeing - a great aerobic workout I had to cancel my climbing day as my wife needed some emergency dental treatment and I had to look after the boys. So after lunch I went off with the snowshoes to do some product testing and take photos. I’m not a good skier so I’ve always preferred snowshoes as I can get a great snowy adventure without the misery of winter climbing. I headed off over Ilkley Moor, which is a 30 minute drive from my house, into what felt like a Arctic wilderness.  The beauty of snowshoes is that you can easily get off the beaten track and the combination of deep snow and springy heather provided a great, lungbusting, workout. To be honest, I’d been doing plenty of climbing this week so my arms were pretty blasted and a good aerobic workout was just what the doctor ordered. The weather was awesome, about -2^oC and crystal clear and the last hour in beautiful crystalline darkness was magical.

Essentail Kit

Snowshoes - Inook VXM

Baselayer – Smartwool Midweight zip t (on test).

Jacket -Marmot Tempo

Moutain Equpiment Powerfleece tights.

Poles – Black Diamond Alpine CF

Headtorch - Petzl Tikka XP²



Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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REVIEW: Black Diamond Drop Zone Bouldering Pad by Kevin Avery
6 December 2010, 12:07 pm

Entering the (Black Diamond) Drop Zone… Rating (out of 5)

Performance: ****



Quality: *****



Value For Money: *****

Price: £159.99

The Drop Zone Crashpad from Black Diamond I remember attempting Syrett’s Roof, the classic Almscliff highball, back in the late nineties. Time and again I’d crater from the tricky rock-over onto the lip with only the unforgiving ground to stop me. I’d wonder why my ankles swelled and knees creaked, but that was what you did, anything else would have been regarded as soft, cheating or worse!

So, fast forward a little over ten years and picture this…

Bouldering mats! And not just one, but sometimes as many as ten. Stacked and packed below things that were once felt to be so high, that they required a rope! Times have changed.

Fancy some of this comfort and reassurance? Then read on…

My first bouldering mat was far from thick or enormous, but it felt like a top rope compared with hitting heel bruising blocks. I’ve had a few since then, the most recent which have been the Drop Zone pads from Black Diamond. I had the first generation BD Drop Zone (the one after the original and bombproof Franklin pad) which was a great pad and is still going strong today so I was keen to test Black Diamond’s new (and hopefully) improved offering too.

Kevin Avery heading for the Black Diamond Drop Zone Crashpad off Psycho at Caley (PHOTO: Stuart Littlefair) So how is it? Well, I’ve tested the new Drop Zone for a little over 12 months, padding out boulder problems, highballs and well…proper routes, where the prospect of decking from high up was actually quite real! I’ve also used it as a trusty sofa, propped against the car when camping.

The new generation Drop Zone is similar in many ways to the old one. Dimensions are the same (104 x 122 x 9 cm), foam thickness is the same (25 mm closed-cell PE foam on top, 65 mm high-compression PU foam on bottom), it folds “taco” style to give a continuous landing area (no hidden hinges or creases) and it carries like a rucksack.

The rucksack straps are removable (not fully but they open out) so they  don’t snag when the pad is open and it even has a waist belt for added  comfort and stability on long carries.

But in other ways it is different. The closure system has changed and on first impression I thought this was for the worse, but having used it for a while I’ve changed my mind. The flimsy looking stretchy nylon mesh is actually very tough. In fact after 12 months of use it still looks new. Whereas the hypalon on my old pad has snapped so it doesn’t close properly any more. The new pad closes securely and allows gear to be stashed inside without falling out. A smallish day pack (say 30 litre or so) fits inside no problem as do the trendy modern courier style bags such as Black Diamond’s Pavement bag. It also features a small zipped stash pocket for storing smaller items and valuables on the approach (just make sure you take them out when you actually start climbing)!

One other thing I like is the fact that the pad features 2 suitcase style carrying handles. These were present on the original but as soon as you engaged the closure flap they were hidden and could no longer be used. It’s little improvements like this that actually make a new version worthwhile.

Steve Dunning using the Black Diamond Dropzone Crashpad whilst enjoying a pleasant circuit at Caley The outer fabric on top (1000d PU coated nylon) is also pretty tough, I certainly haven’t put a hole it in yet despite using it on many jagged and uneven landing platforms. But it is the base that has impressed me the most. On this new version Black Diamond have opted for an anti-slide and waterproof EPO coating (CFC free) over a nylon carrier fabric. This has proved to work brilliantly! First of all you don’t get a wet or muddy back on the carry in and out as it doesn’t absorb like conventional nylon.

Secondly it actually helps the pad to stay where you have placed it, particularly if it’s on rocky ground where the rubber coating can really grip. This system is proving to be so durable that the whole outer is still looking as good as new!

But all of these features (whilst obviously very good) are kind of missing the point. Is it any good to fall onto? That is the real question!

James Foley drop testing the Black Diamond Dropzone Crashpad at Bas Cuvier, Fontainebleau Okay, well as I said earlier I’ve used this pad for all kinds of things. Being of what I would probably call “medium” ground coverage it benefits from being perfect to carry round as a stand alone pad when doing problem circuits and is comforting to fall on if you don’t have a spotter. Basically it’s big enough so that you feel that you’re actually going to hit it but it’s not too much of a pain to lug it round from problem to problem either.

As things get higher then you’re going to want to use more than one. But as there is no hidden hinge to twist your ankle in and it has a non-slip base, this can be done with ease. Obviously I’m thinking your mates might also have one, not that you buy half a dozen, although I’m sure Black Diamond won’t complain! I’ve used these pads stacked (with other Drop Zones as well as pads by other brands) and they produce a pretty comforting landing zone. Great for protecting grit highballs and protectionless headpoints, although I definitely still admit to quivering a bit when I’m way above the ground. It’s not a toprope!

So this is a very good pad and defines the standard in mid-sized bouldering pads as far as I’m concerned.

But I do have a gripe… The foam in this new version just doesn’t seem to be as good as my old pad. It’s 2 layer, 25mm closed-cell PE foam on top and 65 mm high-compression PU foam on the bottom. The idea of this is that the top layer is firmer and absorbs the initial impact. It also stops you bottoming out which is very important. The bottom layer is thicker but less dense, thus softer and this provides the meat of the cushioning. I have used other pads which actually have third layer which is the same as the top layer (25mm high density) and personally this would be my preferred choice, but I presume it is more costly to produce pads in this way? I suppose it depends how highly you value your bones!

It’s a real shame but it just doesn’t seem as good to land on as my old Drop Zone. Not even when it was new. It just feels too soft (this could just be my personal preference though). Slightly firmer foam would definitely make this pad top of it’s class as well.

In Conclusion The Drop Zone is almost the perfect bouldering pad. It is well designed, has a high quality outer and gives good coverage on the ground. It is a perfect pad to go to if you are just going to buy one and will fit in the boot of most medium sized hatchbacks (although not my 1 series which may as well have only 2 seats)! The only thing that lets it down is the foam which I feel is a little too soft if you are hitting it from any great distance.

The non slip base is definitely one of my favorite features. Good work Black Diamond!

If you want a smaller pad then why not try the Satellite or if you want a monster then go big and go for the Mondo!

• Find out more about Black Diamond crashpads and bouldering gear at the Black Diamond Website.
• Stockists: Find out who stocks this pad in the UK by contacting First Ascent.

Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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£60 for a pair of trousers good value for money? has the world gone mad.

like the photo of axle falling off marie rose. I wonder if he's done it yet?

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BLOG: Lakeland Mixed Climbing Part 1 – Snickersnack, Gable Crag
7 December 2010, 7:09 pm

Winter has started early this year, a prolonged freeze and decent dump of snow has brought many of the UK winter hot (cold?) spots into perfect condition. Kevin Avery lost in the scale of Snickersnack, Gable Crag, Lake District (PHOTO: Mike Whiteside) Early last week Manbeast (Chris Reid) and I made a plan to head for the mixed routes of Number 3 Gully Buttress on Ben Nevis, but on Friday that plan had to change. Wintery weather meant Chris was facing the distinct possibility of being stuck in Richmond, the A66 being closed until Monday and the A69 being closed until 5pm on Friday, and even then it was only just passable.

So, in the face of some hazardous driving conditions in the West we changed our plans and headed for the Lake District. Friday night gave treacherous roads but in the end we made it up to the top end of Borrowdale.

Gable Crag is regarded by many as one of the best and most reliable winter climbing venues in the Lakes. Now by winter climbing I’m not talking about fat cascades of ice and gullies choked with neve. I’m talking mixed climbing, snowed-up rock, frozen turf and icy cracks. For this realm, Gable Crag is as good as any and on Saturday conditions there were the best I’ve ever seen!

Gable Crag in full winter garb So Snickersnack  follows the line of the summer E3. Snickersnack is an awesome pitch in summer as is its neighbour, Dream Twister, in fact this pair of routes were my first E3 leads on rock well over 10 years ago. In 2006 Steve Ashworth and Stuart Wood (of the Ambleside gear emporium, The Epicentre – check their excellent Lakes conditions blog too) realised a dream by climbing Snickersnack as a winter mixed climb, naming it Snickersnap due to Ashworth having snapped the head off an ice axe on an initial attempt! Their ascent caused outrage amongst the local climbing community and led to Steve being physically assaulted by some numpty in Keswick who obviously thought that assault was a far more acceptable practice than winter mixed climbing!

However this did not put others off and the very next day, talented alpinist and winter climber, Nick Bullock repeated the route on-sight. The route and Steve and Woody’s ascent continued to hog the headlines for weeks afterwards though with people thrusting their aggressions (only verbally now!) towards the offending partnership.

Kevin Avery high on Snickersnap, Gable Crag (PHOTO: Chris Reid)Since the first ascent things have calmed down and to me what happened then was kind of a milestone for Lakes winter climbing as it opened it up and brought it in line with the standards of more modern climbs in Scotland, where winter ascents of summer rock routes have been going on for years. Well actually, they had in the Lakes too. Just look at Bowfell Buttress and Engineer’s Slabs, both classic summer rock routes that receive plenty of ascents in winter too and have managed to survive in both realms without anyone getting a beating! Another more recent case is Dave Birkett’s ascent of the classic Gimmer VS, The Crack. It’s quite obvious nobody was going to punch Dave (he’s the Godfather of Lakes rock climbing) and it’s also quite obvious that whilst this route isn’t often in winter condition, it certainly was then.

Anyway that is all a bit of background and whether you agree with ascents like these or not (I’m sure we could discuss the pros and cons, justifications and potential altercations, ad infinitum) what Steve and Woody did captured my imagination and made me want to climb a route that I’d done previously in summer, in winter.

And to cut a long story short, on Saturday Chris Reid and I walked up to Gable Crag from Borrowdale, wading through knee deep powder on the way up to Windy Gap where we were greeted by a crag in full winter garb. It was most definitely in condition! Now I’d like to tell you I pissed up it but I didn’t. I didn’t fall off either but it was a time consuming business, the climbing being technical, sustained and placements needed to be excavated for tools, crampons and protection. The latter was generally bombproof (thank God!) and the hooks were superb, but foot placements were poor and a few times my feet shot off leaving me dangling from my axes convinced I should’ve really fallen.

The higher I got the more nervous I got which is weird as I always said that setting off on these things was the most difficult part mentally. I think I didn’t want to blow it and this added to my nerves. The thin crack section between the two overlaps is where I thought the crux would lie but this actually felt like one of the most straight forward parts and it was when exiting the top overlap that the crux came. The awesome hooks in the thin crack had to be abandoned and some precarious moves executed to gain a standing position where the upper crack widened. I hung in there, up, down, up, down…trying to find something secure to hook in the corner. Sometimes my pick ripped straight through and sometimes I eyeballed it as it wobbled, convincing myself  it was just not enough.

Kevin Avery approaching the crux on Snickersnap (PHOTO: Chris Reid)After some fighting I found a directional hook for my right axe on a small edge on the right of the slim corner. Eyeballing it I stood up, a couple of delicate foot moves enabling me to exit the steepness and stand in the base of the wider crack to my left. I exhaled with relief. A bomber hook behind a flake, some gear then a romp, comparably anyway…it was all a blur.

Walking back down to Borrowdale we joked about heading into Keswick to see if I’d get punched too. Thankfully I didn’t! But more thanks to Chris for being an awesome and supportive belayer, any less of a Manbeast would have probably frozen to death. Difficult mixed climbing can be a time consuming business and it helps to have a partner who understands that. When he suggested leaving his belay jacket and headtorch at the bottom of Gimmer Crag the next day, I reminded him of his belay stint and he quickly clipped them both to the back of his harness!

Gear for the route

• Black Diamond Viper axes
• Petzl Dart crampons
• Grivel Spring Leash
• La Sportiva Trango Evo Extreme boots
• Black Diamond Xenos Harness
• Metolius Inferno Wiregate quickdraws x18
• Wild Country Rocks 1-10x 2 sets
  
  
• Black Diamond wired hexes
• Black Diamond Camalots 0.5 to 3
• Black Diamond ATC Guide
• Assortment of slings and screwgates
• Petzl Meteor III helmet
• Beal 8.5mm x 60m ropes – dry treated

Clothing for the route

• Teko Heavyweight Socks
• Lowe Alpine Powerstretch Tights
• Arc’teryx Phase AR Zip (on test)
• Smartwool NTS Zip (on test)
• Arc’teryx Gamma AR pant
• Arc’teryx Venta SV jacket
• RAB Generator Alpine belay jacket
• Black Diamond Impulse gloves (leading) and Specialist gloves (seconding and belaying)
• Powerstretch Balaclava

Winter Conditions and Weather Links

• For Lakes conditions check out The Epicentre Blog
• For a range of reports and conditions links try TheFrontPoint
• Needlesports: A great round up of winter conditions links, blogs, weather and the crucial SAIS forecasts.
• UKClimbing.com: Winter logbooks and forum

Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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Can I get a re-post?

Something's gone awry with SMF pulling in this blog/RSS feed, same post now here three times.

[dontfollowme]

Or just do away with the compiler section 

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BLOG: Lakeland Mixed Climbing Part 2 – The Crack Direct, Gimmer Crag by Kevin Avery
8 December 2010, 10:29 pm

So, having climbed Snickersnack on Saturday (see BLOG: Lakeland Mixed Climbing Part 1) and conditions being nothing short of gobsmackingly good, the question was “What would Sunday’s objective be?”… Kevin Avery seconding pitch 1, The Crack Direct, Gimmer Crag Fortunately the answer turned out to be a simple one. The Crack Direct on Gimmer Crag. Now Gimmer Crag is not the first place that springs to mind when you think of Lakeland winter climbing venues. It is relatively low lying, catches the sun and holds very little snow and ice in an average winter. In fact I’m sure I heard a rumor (which may be just that) saying  that first ascentionist, Dave Birkett had waited nearly thirty years to see this crag in winter condition. True or not it gives you an idea of the fickle nature of winter conditions at Gimmer.

Gimmer Crag, 5/12/2010 Dave climbed The Crack in winter back in 2006 along with Mark “Ed” Edwards and described it as: “absolutely mega” and “the best route I have ever done.” (See the UKC news report here)

I remember asking Dave, who was climbing behind Owen and I when we did Bowfell Buttress last winter, if he thought The Crack might have come into condition that week and he told me he doubted it, pointing out that it pretty much needed a cloudy day, heavy snow and hurricane like winds to plaster the crag and bring it into condition. At that time I thought it was a one in a million, right place, right time type route, but I guess I was wrong. Or maybe we were just lucky.

Like I said in the Snickersnack post, winter has started early this year and with a bang! And on Thursday 2nd of December Steve Ashworth (of the Epicentre – see their excellent conditions blog), Paddy Cave and Mike Thomas made a winter ascent of The Crack.

A Winter Ascent of The Crack, VII 8, Gimmer Crag, Langdale (from Mixedmaster TV)





With this in mind Manbeast and I decided to go for a look. So after a chilly night in the ODG carpark (the van heater decided to stop working) we flogged up the hill from Mickleden (awful!) and found the route to be in condition! In fact other steeper routes were looking plastered too and we quickly spotted evidence of an ascent of North West Arete which actually turned out to be Steve and Woody (Epicentre dream team!) the previous day. The route going at VII 7 with a crux at the top – see the blog recounting the first ascent.

Now I’ve done many classic mixed climbs both in the Lakes and Scotland but I’d have to say that The Crack ranks as one of the best anywhere, giving 3 awesome sustained and technical pitches with some funky turf thrown in for good measure.The climbing is superbly varied, at times insecure, at times strenuous but always high quality.

Chris seconding pitch 2 of The Crack Direct, Gimmer Crag. Having just completed the initial crux corner and turf-blob traverse. Hilights include ‘can-openers’ up the initial crack on pitch 1, turf blobs on pitch 2 (after the tenuous, strenous  and footholdless diagonal crack) and the awesome long finishing pitch (good effort Chris!) with its tricky half height overhang and thrutchy finish – well, it was dark by then!

Chris nearing the top of pitch 2 of The Crack Direct, Gimmer Crag Descending via abseil (once we’d found the stations!) we packed our sacks and stumbled back down the snow capped scree towards Mickleden, tired and weary but beaming too, happy in the knowledge that we’d had another top day out and a simply awesome weekend!

Gear for the route

• Black Diamond Viper axes
• Petzl Dart crampons
• Grivel Spring Leash
• La Sportiva Trango Evo Extreme boots
• Black Diamond Xenos Harness
• Metolius Inferno Wiregate quickdraws x18
• Wild Country Rocks 1-10x 2 sets
  
  
• Black Diamond wired hexes
• Black Diamond Camalots 0.5 to 3
• Black Diamond ATC Guide
• Assortment of slings and screwgates
• Petzl Meteor III helmet
• Beal 8.5mm x 60m ropes – dry treated

Clothing for the route

• Teko Heavyweight Socks
• Lowe Alpine Powerstretch Tights
• Arc’teryx Phase AR Zip (on test)
• Smartwool NTS Zip (on test)
• Arc’teryx Gamma AR pant
• Arc’teryx Venta SV jacket
• RAB Generator Alpine belay jacket
• Black Diamond Impulse gloves (leading) and Specialist gloves (seconding and belaying)
• Powerstretch Balaclava

Winter Conditions and Weather Links

• For Lakes conditions check out The Epicentre Blog
• For a range of reports and conditions links try TheFrontPoint
• Needlesports: A great round up of winter conditions links, blogs, weather and the crucial SAIS forecasts.
• UKClimbing.com: Winter logbooks and forum

Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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Packs for Winter Climbing – a CGR UK Buyer’s Guide
11 December 2010, 5:48 am

Click to view slideshow. Imagine that you could winter climb in complete freedom, always have complete vision of the way ahead, easily find and deploy gear and feel as free as if you were sport climbing in Spain… For most of us the reality is somewhat different, slings get stuck, we fumble to find the exact piece of gear, stuff is swaying around our necks and getting in the way. The culprit? Quite often it’s your pack, there’s no denying that a pack can be a real pain when winter climbing, gloves, gear and the need for survival kit all impact on type of pack you need and how well you can be climbing. Kev prefers to climb with a tiny pack that he carries in his normal pack, with the second carrying it. I prefer a midsized, streamlined pack that compresses flat, it keeps my back warmer.

Hopefully by the end of the following guide, you will be better informed about what to look for and we will also offer some packs to make your research more informed.

Importantly, I would remind you of the maxim – ‘buy in haste, repent at leisure’. Your pack should perform in all the winter sports you engage in from climbing to winter walking. It’s definitely worth going to a specialist retailer and trying on many different packs. Take your climbing kit and clothing with you and load the pack with it; if not then use the shops stuff, they should have plenty!

Do not try it on empty or just full of clothing, the pack will not perform in the same way. And whatever you do, do not compromise just because a pack is on sale, if it’s not the perfect pack for you, have a rethink. I can’t tell you how many poorly performing packs I’ve bought just because they’re cheaper than the one I want and I want one now!

Choose your pack wisely and it will perform for all your winter activities. Back Size

Firstly, let’s look at what you would look for in more detail: firstly and most importantly the pack will have to fit your back size, I’ve bought and reviewed many packs. Many manufacturers will offer technical packs in 2 or three back sizes, as well as women’s versions. You really should read the fitting guide (if there is one) and pay close attention to how far up your back it fits, too high and you’ll be putting too much load onto your shoulders, too low and the pack will move around and begin to rub your shoulders. So how the pack fit’s your back is crucial, the pack should sit neatly into your lumbar hollow and the weight be evenly distributed between the shoulders and hips. It should also feel ‘wrapped’ around you.

Back Support System

The back support system is another important feature, if a pack has one it should be removable. You may want that extra support for a multiday expedition, but for a day on the mountain it’s not worth the weight, an HDPE insert should be sufficient. If the support isn’t removable, check it doesn’t raise the pack too high. Wear a helmet and look up a lot with you arms raised, if the helmet is being tilted forward obstructing your view, it’s too high. Next look at the straps, they should have sufficient padding but not an excessive amount or the straps will roll over when you try to put the pack on again. Remember you are only carrying weight in it for short periods of your day and not backpacking!

A good sternum strap can take a lot of load off your shoulders. Sternum Straps

A good, strong sternum strap is also helpful – the sternum strap helps to ease the load off the shoulders. It should be adjustable up and down and most modern ones come with a whistle. One neat little feature I look for on the sternum strap is the ability to secure my watch to it. I often climb with my watch on the strap otherwise it’s difficult to see under gloves.

Hip belts are very important and ice clipper slots allow a flexible way to carry extra kit.  Hip Belt The hip belt is more important than you think, you definitely don’t want any major padding and it should be removable or have space to tuck away. At a push you can clip the belt around the back of the pack but this isn’t ideal, as it can catch when you are chimneying. Some belts have gear loops on them, this is fine if you’re crossing a glacier or ski touring, but can be a nuisance when technical climbing as it can interfere with your normal racking, ice clipper slots are better. What Size Should I Go For?

The pack size is also a significant issue. If you are a beginner you may feel 45L is plenty, intermediate climbers should be OK with 40L and elite climbers could get away with 35L. Why? Well the elite climbers will have been climbing longer, will be fitter and will finish their day much earlier than a beginner. They will also know their limits and what they can get away without using and willing to take that risk.

The Lid

The lid is an often overlooked part of a pack, ideally it wants to be removable so that you can lighten and streamline the pack, it should also have a well sized pocket for several pairs of gloves, some food, a strong key clipper and oversized zip pulls. If the lid isn’t removable then it can always be tucked into the main body and the pack cinched up, this will streamline the pack. I often walk into the CIC Hut with the pack loaded, then strip it for the days that I’m climbing.

Kev showing why a duffle bag is no substitute for a quality winter pack, oh how we laughed! Walking into The CIC Hut to enjoy the awesome conditions on Ben Nevis, April 2010 Other Straps and Features Lastly straps, anyone who’s been in a raging gale on the top of The Ben will testify how lethal loose straps can become, once you’ve been whipped in the face for 2 hours you’ll be reaching for the knife! Look for innovative ways of reducing waste strapping, it will be the sign of other well thought out features. Compression straps and haul loop should be easy to locate and operate. Buckles should also be very strong but minimal in design. Then there’s axe security, sleeve or loop? Either way it needs to be beefy as do the elastic lashes as you don’t want to lose your £450 axes on the walk in. Oh, and call me old school, but I do like wand pockets, so that I can stow the poles for my tired old legs! So, a lot to think about and try out, the following packs are some we feel fit the bill for a winter’s day out.

We’ve taken six of the major players and asked them what packs in this seasons range would be ideal for winter climbers. Lowe Alpine Mountain Attack Pro 35+10L Lowe Alpine Mountain Attack Pro A durable, no-nonsense pack designed for alpine climbing, ski mountaineering and general mountain use. The alloy Load Locker buckle is designed to be tough and lightweight, easy to use with mitts and gloves, while the Web Catcher system on the side offers 2 positions for carrying skis – upright or raked forward.

• RRP on the Mountain Attack Pro 35+10 is £110.
• There is more detail on Lowe Alpine packs on the link:

Osprey Mutant 38L   Osprey Mutant 38   A clean, lightweight and highly functional pack for all aspects of mountain use. It has a stowable hip-belt with racking system for quick and easy access to gear, an easy insert/remove bivi pad, and removable floating lid with spindrift collar. With a stripped weight of 0.95kg, the Mutant is a highly versatile and lightweight climbing pack. Target User – Year round Rock and Alpine Climbers looking for simple lightweight, minimalist design that uses modern tough construction and has useful climbing specific features.

• RRP for the Osprey Mutant 38L is £90.00
• Great video review here: 

Haglofs Roc Ice   Haglofs Roc Ice  Roc Ice is a winter pack ideal for mountaineering and ice climbing. It is large enough to hold extra equipment required for winter climbing and ice axes and crampons can be stowed easily accessible on the outside of the pack.

Features – Thermoformed back pad, removable hip belt, expandable crampon pouch on front panel, ice axe attatchment, floating/detachable lid with water repellent zip opening, double pockets and key holder, rope carrying under lid.

• RRP for the Haglofs Roc Ice is £110

Arc’teryx Cierzo 35     Arc’teryx Cierzo 35   Designed as a lightweight summit pack, the Cierzo 35 is a highly packable bag that compresses small and stores in its own lid. Compact and nearly weightless, this pack is ideal as a secondary pack on alpine expeditions, backcountry treks, or kayaking adventures.   Technical Features: lightweight (580g), highly compressible, removable foam back pad, removable sternum strap, ultra-light shoulder straps, stows in top lid, removable front compression sling with four straps, one removable ice axe keeper, two ice axe loops.

• RRP for the Arc’teryx Cierzo 35 is  £70.00

The North Face Spire 40L   TNR Spire 40   A removable 6061 custom-extended aluminium stay; very light, yet burly automobile airbag fabric; welded abrasion-resistant fabric reinforcements; padded, removable, tuckable hipbelt; Reinforced three-point haul loops; Moulded E-VAP back panel; zippered front side stash pocket; beefy elastic ice axe lash points; reinforced side ski loops for A-frame carry; reinforced tool loops on hipbelt.

• RRP for The North Face Spire 40L is £109.00

Black Diamond Sphynx 32L   Black Diamond Sphynx 32   A ready-for-anything top-loader with a low-profile design and clean lines, the Sphynx has plenty of room for your winter mountain gear yet is versatile enough for all-season use. It has: a removable 20 mm aluminum stay and framesheet; dual-density shoulder straps and hipbelt; top-load access; ice tool PickPockets™; ice clipper slots;  crampon patch and 3-point haul system; side compression straps and ski slots and is hydration compatible.

• RRP for the BD Sphynx is £109
• For a sneak preview of next seasons Black Diamond packs click here: http://www.activeformdesign.com/

Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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GEAR NEWS – Totem Cams, a new camming concept from Spain.
16 December 2010, 7:11 pm





 

The Totem Cam is a new, innovative camming device from The Basque Country in Spain. It represents a step forward in cam performance, with more than 8 years of research, prototypes, getting feedback from many climbers, and improving the first ideas, we have developed a camming device that introduces new features and capabilities. The new patented Direct Loading Camming Device System (US patent 7,014,156) applies a perfectly equalized load directly onto each lobe, minimizing the risk of inactive lobes and therefore any outbalanced forces that might compromise cam placement stability. When the crack is not deep enough and only two/three lobes contact the rock, Totem Cam offers the possibility to load only two lobes, to exploit shallow or flared cracks where one or two outer lobes cannot establish rock contact. Placements involving only half of the lobes can help to support body weight in aid climbing situations, but they cannot be used to protect against a fall. Once you have a Totem Cam in your hands, you can realize their flexibility, good expansion range (1.64:1) and high quality.

Watch out for a full CGR UK review of these great looking cams in 2011

You can view more details at www.totemcams.com

More technical details can be found in this video:





Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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GEAR NEWS: Voluntary Recall Announced For Limited Portion of 2010 Black Diamond AvaLung Packs
20 December 2010, 12:08 pm

Voluntary Recall Announced For Limited Portion of 2010 Black Diamond AvaLung Packs  



Black Diamond Equipment, a leading global climbing and freeride ski brand, is making a voluntarily announced recall of a limited portion of 2010 Black Diamond AvaLung Packs because of a possibility that the intake tubing may crack under cold temperatures. “While we have not experienced a single safety issue related to this recall, we are aggressively pursuing the return of all potentially affected units,” explains Christian Jaeggi, Managing Director Black Diamond Equipment AG. “The AvaLung has saved multiple lives over the years and we cannot accept a hint of doubt in its ability to perform when needed.”

The recall pertains to a limited manufacturing run of Black Diamond AvaLung Packs sold in 2010, which can be identified by a PO number and model combination presented on the following website: www.BlackDiamondEquipment.com/AvaLungRecall. Any AvaLung Pack that falls within the announced criteria is potentially part of the recall and should be immediately returned to Black Diamond Equipment for inspection and/or replacement. Not all AvaLung Packs from these PO numbers have a faulty AvaLung unit, but this determination must be made in-house.

• Instructions to identify AvaLung Pack PO numbers are available at www.BlackDiamondEquipment.com/AvaLungRecall.

After determining that a 2010 AvaLung Pack has one of these PO numbers, Black Diamond requests that consumers:

a) Print out the required return form from www.BlackDiamondEquipment.com/AvaLungRecall

b) Remove the AvaLung unit from your pack and return it to Black Diamond for inspection (see site for detailed video explanation)

c) Or, if do not wish to remove the AvaLung unit yourself, return the entire pack to Black Diamond to have the AvaLung unit inspected.

“We at Black Diamond apologize both for the inconvenience of this recall,” says Nathan Kuder, Black Diamond’s Softgoods Category Director. “The mere possibility that the AvaLung could potentially fail makes this an easy decision for us. Because the AvaLung plays an important role in avalanche protocol we want this recall effort to be 100% successful.”

For help identifying potentially affected AvaLung Packs, return instructions or questions on the status of a replacement, please contact Black Diamond at 0041 (0)61 564 33 33 or email recall@blackdiamond.eu.



Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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Lake District Winter Climbing – a week in the sun!
24 December 2010, 9:07 am

Brrrr. Perfect for ice climbing. Valley temperature in Borrowdale. The Lakes are in fine form this week, so I thought I’d post a quick update on conditions. It’s been absolutely Baltic every morning this week with Tuesday’s valley temperature -13^oC, strangely though there was still some running water. We went to have a look at Honister icefalls on Monday and they where still running and detached from the rock in places. We ran away to Gable which was looking in great shape, very wintry with all the routes in condition. There wasn’t much ice though and the snow was fairly unconsolidated until quite high up. The turf was not as solid as we thought it would be, but Rich who was in Central Gully said it was more reasonable in there. It was great to be the only teams on the crag that day, it was very cold. The road up from Seatoller was clear, although we saw a car in the beck and two more abandoned on the Buttermere side.

Great End looking in fine form. Tuesday saw us on a Great End which was in great winter shape and the best I’ve seen it for years. The old snow has become consolidated and the ice very fat with all the ice fall pitches complete, take your ice screws. We did Central Gully and Window Gully Upper Fall – which has a great steep curtain to start and super fat ice after. Again, weirdly the snow in Cust’s Gully, on the descent, was very powdery and made the descent slower than we would have liked. Extra excitement was in order on Tuesday night after being woken up at 11.30 by an earthquake! Measuring 3.6 on the Richter Scale, I’ve never got out of bed so fast!

Enjoying the fat mountain ice on Central Gully, Great End. You could empty your screw rack into that pitch! More glorious weather and with our legs shot we opted for some valley ice on Wednesday, Sour Milk Gill was fully formed and gave great, fun soloing. The top was steep, cruddy and running but a way though could be found on the left. We then went to Taylor Gill Force, which again was fully formed but had a lot of water gushing out of a hole which was unavoidable, unless you were brave enough to go straight up the bubbly crud. A quick traverse around and a thorough soaking and the ice improved to give some great, fat ice. All very continental, nice warm and sunny all morning.

Yesterday we climbed Little Stranger Gill, which is in the woods out of Stonethwaite, after a truly thigh busting approach we found the best icefall all week: nice, steep, grade IV climbing with tricky moves and sketchy gear. The top curtain was awesome for a few moves, hollow but good placements – you could have been in Italy! Protected by a good screw and spike we pulled onto fat, solid ice. We descended by 2 short abseils from trees as you look up and left, we decided 2 short abs as it was easier to retrieve the ropes from the undergrowth. Well worth seeking out.

Lost in a sea of ice. Sour Milk Gill - 5 mins walk from the car. So if the weather continues cold there’s plenty of great winter climbing to be had everywhere, low or mountain. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the team at Climbing Gear Reviews UK.

Chris and Richie enjoy the fat ice on Sour Milk Gill.



Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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BLOG: Lake District Winter Climbing – a week in the sun!
24 December 2010, 9:07 am

  Brrrr… a little chilly but perfect for ice climbing. Valley temperature in Borrowdale.   The Lakes are in fine form this week, so I thought I’d post a quick update on conditions. It’s been absolutely Baltic every morning this week with Tuesday’s valley temperature -13^oC, strangely though there was still some running water. We went to have a look at Honister icefalls on Monday and they where still running and detached from the rock in places. We ran away to Gable which was looking in great shape, very wintry with all the routes in condition. There wasn’t much ice though and the snow was fairly unconsolidated until quite high up. The turf was not as solid as we thought it would be, but Rich who was in Central Gully said it was more reasonable in there. It was great to be the only teams on the crag that day, it was very cold. The road up from Seatoller was clear, although we saw a car in the beck and two more abandoned on the Buttermere side.

Great End looking in fine form. Tuesday saw us on a Great End which was in great winter shape and the best I’ve seen it for years. The old snow has become consolidated and the ice very fat with all the ice fall pitches complete, take your ice screws. We did Central Gully and Window Gully Upper Fall – which has a great steep curtain to start and super fat ice after. Again, weirdly the snow in Cust’s Gully, on the descent, was very powdery and made the descent slower than we would have liked. Extra excitement was in order on Tuesday night after being woken up at 11.30 by an earthquake! Measuring 3.6 on the Richter Scale, I’ve never got out of bed so fast!

Enjoying the fat mountain ice on Central Gully, Great End. You could empty your screw rack into that pitch! More glorious weather and with our legs shot we opted for some valley ice on Wednesday, Sour Milk Gill was fully formed and gave great, fun soloing. The top was steep, cruddy and running but a way though could be found on the left. We then went to Taylor Gill Force, which again was fully formed but had a lot of water gushing out of a hole which was unavoidable, unless you were brave enough to go straight up the bubbly crud. A quick traverse around and a thorough soaking and the ice improved to give some great, fat ice. All very continental, nice warm and sunny all morning.

Yesterday we climbed Little Stranger Gill, which is in the woods out of Stonethwaite, after a truly thigh busting approach we found the best icefall all week: nice, steep, grade IV climbing with tricky moves and sketchy gear. The top curtain was awesome for a few moves, hollow but good placements – you could have been in Italy! Protected by a good screw and spike we pulled onto fat, solid ice. We descended by 2 short abseils from trees as you look up and left, we decided 2 short abs as it was easier to retrieve the ropes from the undergrowth. Well worth seeking out.

Lost in a sea of ice. Sour Milk Gill - 5 mins walk from the car. So if the weather continues cold there’s plenty of great winter climbing to be had everywhere, low or mountain. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the team at Climbing Gear Reviews UK.

Chris and Richie enjoy the fat ice on Sour Milk Gill.



Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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GEAR NEWS: Mammut’s waterproof jackets – longer cut makes them perfect for UK.
28 December 2010, 6:50 am



 

Mammut Kiruna men's jacket- it's longer cut makes it ideal for UK conditions. Mammut’s Mava jacket [for women] and Kiruna jacket [for men] feature design tweaks to make them perfect for wearing in the UK.  With a longer cut, Gore-Tex fabric and adjustable hood with reinforced shield.

 Retailing for around £225, these new longer line jackets are designed to offer reliable protection in windy and damp terrain, perfect for typical UK winter conditions.

 Weighing in at 660g these are sturdy jackets, features include stowable hood [it can be rolled into collar], underarm ventilation, shoulder and waist reinforcements, one hand adjustable drawcord hem, pre shaped sleeves with Velcro cuffs and two front pockets with bonded, watertight zippers.

 Use for: backpacking, mountain hiking, winter hiking snow shoeing and in the UK!

 Stockist info:  Mammut UK: 01625 508218; http://www.mammut.ch/



Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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GEAR NEWS: Aclima’s HotWool – a cut above the rest…
6 January 2011, 5:24 pm



Aclima’s HotWool: a cut above the rest…



Aclima believes in taking a  different approach to using wool in their layering garments – different  mixes for different jobs. Aclima HotWool is a mixture of a minimum of  65% Merino Wool blended with at least 30% technical fibres making a  thicker and more durable midlayer, which is also versatile enough to be  used as a base layer. The Merino Wool helps regulate your body  temperature, resists body odour and will keep you warm even when wet.  Available in two weights: 400g [which is extremely warm] and 230g, the  Aclima HotWool range is suitable for a large range of sports and outdoor  activities.

Aclima Men’s 400g HotWool Jacket with Hood

Aclima HotWool can be machine washed  at 60°C unlike most wool being washed at 30°C or less. The terry loops  on the inside of Aclima’s HotWool products trap body heat, thus helping  to maintain a steady body temperature and comfort for the wearer. The  garments are warm, durable and naturally flame retardant, and are widely  used by the Norwegian and Swedish armies.

Garments available include:

• Aclima Men’s 400g HotWool Jacket with Hood: sizes S-XXL; price £106
  
  
• Aclima Unisex 230g HotWool Polo with Zip: sizes S-XXL; price £56
  
  
• Aclima Unisex 230g HotWool Longjohn: sizes S-XXL: price £50
  
  
• Aclima Unisex 230g HotWool Balaclava: price £24

Stockist information: Nordic Outdoor – 0131 552 3000 – www.nordicoutdoor.co.uk  



Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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Are these guys paying UKB to pick up on their blog? just seems to be blatant advertising! Fair enough for the blog writers as I suspect they get a load of free kit to try!! but...

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BLOG: Creag Meagaidh Ice and Scottish Skiing
10 January 2011, 7:48 pm

Sometimes things turn out to be much better than you’d have expected… Scottish skiing really can be this good! Nevis Range 9/1/2011 Returning home last week from an excellent two week Chamonix trip (I’ll  post some photo hi-lights this week) it was straight back to teaching on  Wednesday with barely enough time to unpack. But, with a reasonable  forecast and unable to sit still for more than about a minute, I  arranged to head North on Friday with rock veteran (but pretty much ice  virgin!) Rich Kirby.

Rich Kirby enjoying excellent ice on The Pumpkin, Creag Meagaidh The plan was for some classic Scottish ice on Saturday and some skiing Sunday. We arrived at the Meagaidh parking area to find it pretty much deserted and the clag was firmly down. After sorting kit and negotiating a get up time, we finally crashed out in the van at midnight with Rich more than once asking the question, “So alarm for 5 yeah…?” I think he thought I was joking but I persuaded him we were better beating the crowds and returning in daylight (actually there weren’t any crowds but we did get back in daylight, just!)

Team Avery/Kirby back at the ranch Leaving the comfort of the van heating behind and fired up on pastries and Lavazza, we enjoyed a dark but leisurely stroll into the Coire. Arriving at first light the crags were deserted but certainly not short of ice! The Post Face was in great shape with fat ice on Last Post and South Post Direct. We opted for the Inner Coire and the Cold Climbs classic, The Pumkin. The ice was in good nick if a little brittle and the weather was pretty much perfect with only intermittent clouds and pretty much zero wind. The route gave 3 excellent ice pitches at the bottom (and an eye watering hotaches experience for Rich) followed by some easier mixed ground at the top. There was a minimal cornice on the exit but this seemed pretty stable and well scoured.

After spending some time admiring the views we descended via the window, enjoying a superb view of a team climbing The Wand, another route which looked to be in belting condition. Hopefully this week’s predicted thaw won’t strip things too much!

 

The Wand, Creag Meagaidh, 8/1/2011 The Pumpkin, Creag Meagaidh, 8/1/2011 After having spent two weeks skiing in and around Chamonix I was preparing myself to be more than a little underwhelmed by Scottish skiing on Sunday. But I couldn’t have been more wrong! Nevis Range was awesome offering us some fresh powder to ski in the morning and great views in the afternoon. I even started to feel semi competent on the planks…well, kind of!

• Check out the Nevis Range site for up to date piste conditions

Rich Kirby tearing up the Nevis Range powder! Kev Avery skiing in Nevis Range sunshine! Returning South last night we both agreed that despite our initial reservations (Rich regarding ice and mine regarding the snow) the weekend really couldn’t have been better. Bring on the next one!!

Winter Conditions and Weather Links

• For Lakes conditions check out The Epicentre Blog
• For a range of reports and conditions links try TheFrontPoint
• Needlesports: A great round up of winter conditions links, blogs, weather and the crucial SAIS forecasts.
• UKClimbing.com: Winter logbooks and forum

Climbing Kit

• Black Diamond Fusion axes
• Petzl Dart crampons
• La Sportiva Trango Evo Extreme boots
• Black Diamond Xenos Harness
• Metolius Inferno Wiregate quickdraws x18
• Wild Country Rocks 1-10x 2 sets
  
  
• Black Diamond wired hexes
• Black Diamond Turbo Express Ice Screw
• Black Diamond ATC Guide
• Assortment of slings and screwgates
• Petzl Meteor III helmet
• Beal 8.5mm x 60m ropes – dry treated

Skiing Kit

• K2 Backlash Skis
• Diamir Fritschi Freeride Pro Bindings
• Black Diamond Pure Carbon Poles (on test)
• Black Diamond Method Ski Boots (on test)

Clothing On Test

• Arc’teryx Phase AR Zip (on test)
• Smartwool NTS Zip (on test)
• Black Diamond Glissade Gloves

Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK

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ARTICLE: Packs for Winter Climbing – a CGR UK Buyer’s Guide
11 December 2010, 5:48 am

Click to view slideshow. Imagine that you could winter climb in complete freedom, always have complete vision of the way ahead, easily find and deploy gear and feel as free as if you were sport climbing in Spain… For most of us the reality is somewhat different, slings get stuck, we fumble to find the exact piece of gear, stuff is swaying around our necks and getting in the way. The culprit? Quite often it’s your pack, there’s no denying that a pack can be a real pain when winter climbing, gloves, gear and the need for survival kit all impact on type of pack you need and how well you can be climbing. Kev prefers to climb with a tiny pack that he carries in his normal pack, with the second carrying it. I prefer a midsized, streamlined pack that compresses flat, it keeps my back warmer.

Hopefully by the end of the following guide, you will be better informed about what to look for and we will also offer some packs to make your research more informed.

Importantly, I would remind you of the maxim – ‘buy in haste, repent at leisure’. Your pack should perform in all the winter sports you engage in from climbing to winter walking. It’s definitely worth going to a specialist retailer and trying on many different packs. Take your climbing kit and clothing with you and load the pack with it; if not then use the shops stuff, they should have plenty!

Do not try it on empty or just full of clothing, the pack will not perform in the same way. And whatever you do, do not compromise just because a pack is on sale, if it’s not the perfect pack for you, have a rethink. I can’t tell you how many poorly performing packs I’ve bought just because they’re cheaper than the one I want and I want one now!

Choose your pack wisely and it will perform for all your winter activities. Back Size

Firstly, let’s look at what you would look for in more detail: firstly and most importantly the pack will have to fit your back size, I’ve bought and reviewed many packs. Many manufacturers will offer technical packs in 2 or three back sizes, as well as women’s versions. You really should read the fitting guide (if there is one) and pay close attention to how far up your back it fits, too high and you’ll be putting too much load onto your shoulders, too low and the pack will move around and begin to rub your shoulders. So how the pack fit’s your back is crucial, the pack should sit neatly into your lumbar hollow and the weight be evenly distributed between the shoulders and hips. It should also feel ‘wrapped’ around you.

Back Support System

The back support system is another important feature, if a pack has one it should be removable. You may want that extra support for a multiday expedition, but for a day on the mountain it’s not worth the weight, an HDPE insert should be sufficient. If the support isn’t removable, check it doesn’t raise the pack too high. Wear a helmet and look up a lot with you arms raised, if the helmet is being tilted forward obstructing your view, it’s too high. Next look at the straps, they should have sufficient padding but not an excessive amount or the straps will roll over when you try to put the pack on again. Remember you are only carrying weight in it for short periods of your day and not backpacking!

A good sternum strap can take a lot of load off your shoulders. Sternum Straps

A good, strong sternum strap is also helpful – the sternum strap helps to ease the load off the shoulders. It should be adjustable up and down and most modern ones come with a whistle. One neat little feature I look for on the sternum strap is the ability to secure my watch to it. I often climb with my watch on the strap otherwise it’s difficult to see under gloves.

Hip belts are very important and ice clipper slots allow a flexible way to carry extra kit.  Hip Belt The hip belt is more important than you think, you definitely don’t want any major padding and it should be removable or have space to tuck away. At a push you can clip the belt around the back of the pack but this isn’t ideal, as it can catch when you are chimneying. Some belts have gear loops on them, this is fine if you’re crossing a glacier or ski touring, but can be a nuisance when technical climbing as it can interfere with your normal racking, ice clipper slots are better. What Size Should I Go For?

The pack size is also a significant issue. If you are a beginner you may feel 45L is plenty, intermediate climbers should be OK with 40L and elite climbers could get away with 35L. Why? Well the elite climbers will have been climbing longer, will be fitter and will finish their day much earlier than a beginner. They will also know their limits and what they can get away without using and willing to take that risk.

The Lid

The lid is an often overlooked part of a pack, ideally it wants to be removable so that you can lighten and streamline the pack, it should also have a well sized pocket for several pairs of gloves, some food, a strong key clipper and oversized zip pulls. If the lid isn’t removable then it can always be tucked into the main body and the pack cinched up, this will streamline the pack. I often walk into the CIC Hut with the pack loaded, then strip it for the days that I’m climbing.

Kev showing why a duffle bag is no substitute for a quality winter pack, oh how we laughed! Walking into The CIC Hut to enjoy the awesome conditions on Ben Nevis, April 2010 Other Straps and Features Lastly straps, anyone who’s been in a raging gale on the top of The Ben will testify how lethal loose straps can become, once you’ve been whipped in the face for 2 hours you’ll be reaching for the knife! Look for innovative ways of reducing waste strapping, it will be the sign of other well thought out features. Compression straps and haul loop should be easy to locate and operate. Buckles should also be very strong but minimal in design. Then there’s axe security, sleeve or loop? Either way it needs to be beefy as do the elastic lashes as you don’t want to lose your £450 axes on the walk in. Oh, and call me old school, but I do like wand pockets, so that I can stow the poles for my tired old legs! So, a lot to think about and try out, the following packs are some we feel fit the bill for a winter’s day out.

We’ve taken six of the major players and asked them what packs in this seasons range would be ideal for winter climbers. Lowe Alpine Mountain Attack Pro 35+10L Lowe Alpine Mountain Attack Pro A durable, no-nonsense pack designed for alpine climbing, ski mountaineering and general mountain use. The alloy Load Locker buckle is designed to be tough and lightweight, easy to use with mitts and gloves, while the Web Catcher system on the side offers 2 positions for carrying skis – upright or raked forward.

• RRP on the Mountain Attack Pro 35+10 is £110.
• There is more detail on Lowe Alpine packs on the link:

Osprey Mutant 38L   Osprey Mutant 38   A clean, lightweight and highly functional pack for all aspects of mountain use. It has a stowable hip-belt with racking system for quick and easy access to gear, an easy insert/remove bivi pad, and removable floating lid with spindrift collar. With a stripped weight of 0.95kg, the Mutant is a highly versatile and lightweight climbing pack. Target User – Year round Rock and Alpine Climbers looking for simple lightweight, minimalist design that uses modern tough construction and has useful climbing specific features.

• RRP for the Osprey Mutant 38L is £90.00
• Great video review here: 

Haglofs Roc Ice   Haglofs Roc Ice  Roc Ice is a winter pack ideal for mountaineering and ice climbing. It is large enough to hold extra equipment required for winter climbing and ice axes and crampons can be stowed easily accessible on the outside of the pack.

Features – Thermoformed back pad, removable hip belt, expandable crampon pouch on front panel, ice axe attatchment, floating/detachable lid with water repellent zip opening, double pockets and key holder, rope carrying under lid.

• RRP for the Haglofs Roc Ice is £110

Arc’teryx Cierzo 35     Arc’teryx Cierzo 35   Designed as a lightweight summit pack, the Cierzo 35 is a highly packable bag that compresses small and stores in its own lid. Compact and nearly weightless, this pack is ideal as a secondary pack on alpine expeditions, backcountry treks, or kayaking adventures.   Technical Features: lightweight (580g), highly compressible, removable foam back pad, removable sternum strap, ultra-light shoulder straps, stows in top lid, removable front compression sling with four straps, one removable ice axe keeper, two ice axe loops.

• RRP for the Arc’teryx Cierzo 35 is  £70.00

The North Face Spire 40L   TNR Spire 40   A removable 6061 custom-extended aluminium stay; very light, yet burly automobile airbag fabric; welded abrasion-resistant fabric reinforcements; padded, removable, tuckable hipbelt; Reinforced three-point haul loops; Moulded E-VAP back panel; zippered front side stash pocket; beefy elastic ice axe lash points; reinforced side ski loops for A-frame carry; reinforced tool loops on hipbelt.

• RRP for The North Face Spire 40L is £109.00

Black Diamond Sphynx 32L   Black Diamond Sphynx 32   A ready-for-anything top-loader with a low-profile design and clean lines, the Sphynx has plenty of room for your winter mountain gear yet is versatile enough for all-season use. It has: a removable 20 mm aluminum stay and framesheet; dual-density shoulder straps and hipbelt; top-load access; ice tool PickPockets™; ice clipper slots;  crampon patch and 3-point haul system; side compression straps and ski slots and is hydration compatible.

• RRP for the BD Sphynx is £109
• For a sneak preview of next seasons Black Diamond packs click here: http://www.activeformdesign.com/

Source: Climbing Gear Reviews UK