Petestack Blog

Today I passed my SPA (Single Pitch Award) Assessment at Glenmore Lodge after working at Cummingston (yesterday) and Kingussie (today) in glorious May sunshine that arrived just when most needed. Need to keep this short (and have to be careful about what I say here), but very, very happy to report that my assessor said some nice things at the closing interview and is strongly encouraging me in my ‘medium term’ goal of going for MIA (Mountaineering Instructor Award). :-)

PS Sorry (adding this half an hour later), but I really meant to say thanks to Ice Factor staff (especially Jamie B and Chuck), Al Halewood, David Hooper, Outward Bound Loch Eil and others for help and encouragement along the way.

Today I was up at Polldubh assisting Outward Bound Loch Eil with climbing and abseiling sessions for our own first year pupils from Kinlochleven High School. So the May weather still wasn’t great (alternating sunny spells and heavy showers), but I set up this morning’s abseil and ran the bottom rope for our climbers on SW Buttress, then set up another abseil at the same venue and ran that this afternoon. I was working with Alex and Hannah this morning, and Alan and John this afternoon (hope I’ve spelled everyone’s names right!). All very useful practice with the SPA Assessment now just days away, and a nice chance for the pupils and me to work together outside our normal classroom environment.

Not long after I got home from work this afternoon (and was just starting to think about making use of a fine evening to mow the grass), Daniel rang to ask if I fancied going climbing. So I quickly realised that the grass didn’t really need doing after all and ten minutes later was heading up the road to Polldubh, where we climbed Pandora and Bullet (both Severe). (more…)

So perhaps I regard myself as a solid VS leader these days, but occasionally (currently just twice in eighteen years!) one bites back and last night it was Crybaby… (more…)

Having posted a pre-SPA Assessment appeal on the UKC Forums for work experience opportunities within reasonable travelling distance (quote ‘would certainly consider anywhere in Scotland and possibly northern England’), I was fortunate to get the offer of an interesting day working a charity abseil from Carlisle’s 41 metre Civic Centre with well-known MIA David Hooper. (more…)

Ask anyone familiar with Polldubh to list its VS classics and you’d expect to see Phantom Slab and The Old Wall high up alongside Damnation and Resurrection. So, having done the first pair just once each and not been on either since 1991, I was keen to revisit them and teamed up with Jim at last night’s breezily sunny Polldubh Club meet to climb them again. (more…)

It’s been an uncharacteristically miserable start to May, but things are looking better with what appears to be a drier spell starting yesterday… (more…)