CLIMBING NEWS

Climbing News Archive

02/07/2010Moel Y Gest Quarry Sport Routes

Terry Taylor and Martin Crook have been busy adding a number of bolt protected routes to Moel y Gest Quarry near Tremadog.

26/06/2010Nick Bullock's Shockwave E6 6a

Nick Bullock adds a new E6 to the unfrequented Afterburner Wall that neigbours the Mission Impossible cliff in North Wales' Ogwen Valley. Sitting in a fine exposed position just below the top of Gallt yr Ogof (763 m), these steep crags have an impressive concentration of good quality hard routes.

24/06/2010Chris Doyle's Temple of Gloom

Chris Doyle is drawn towards the light to complete his new F8b, The Temple of Gloom, in Llanddulas Cave, North Wales.

23/06/2010Why Mt. Abi has Few Ascents

One of DMM's product design team, Graham 'Streaky' Desroy, recently returned from Nepal where his plans of climbing what was billed as a straight-forward 6097 metre trekking peak turned out to be a very different proposition.

20/06/2010More Big Numbers for Robins at LPT

Pete Robins continues his run of good form at Lower Pen Trwyn with what is probably the second ascent of Neil carson's Infanticide (8c) from 1996.

02/06/2010Arctic Monkeys Success on Baffin

The British trio of Mike 'Twid' Turner, Stu McAleese, Mark Thomas have climbed a new big wall on an unclimbed summit in the remote Sail Peaks, Stewart Valley, Baffin Island. They've named the route Arctic Monkeys and graded the 1400 m line VI A4 V+.

04/05/2010Baffin Big Walls Expedition Lifts-Off

The Baffin Big Walls Expedition 2010 heads out today for Baffin Island, Nunavut Territories, Canada. The team's aim is to make the first ascent of a 'monster wall' in the Stewart Valley.

03/05/2010DMM's Germany Roadshow

A chance to try out DMM's latest products at a nearby crag in the Pfalz and Frankenjura, and see our entire 'Made in Wales' product range. See how strong a karabiner really is with our tensile testing machine.

03/05/2010Oslo Climbing Festival

Norsk Fjellsport and the Norwegian climbing magazine Klatring promise a warm welcome to climbers at this years Oslo Climbing Festival over the weekend of 8th/9th May. DMM's Brand Manager, Chris Rowlands will be on hand and DMM Climbing Team members, Jude Spancken and Leo Houlding, will also be in attendance.

28/04/2010SE Ridge Annapurna III Expedition Thwarted

The British team attempting the unclimbed south-east ridge of Annapurna III (7555 metres) have returned to Kathmandu unable to reach base camp. Nick Bullock writes on the expedition blog: "It's a pretty big bill for a 5 day reccy that told us nothing apart from you can't get in the original way due to a glacier that no longer exists."

20/04/2010Volcano Disrupts Annapurna III Attempt

The British Annapurna III Expedition 2010 is underway but the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud has meant one of the climbing team is still stuck in the UK. Nick Bullock, Matt Helliker and Pete Benson hope to make the first ascent of the spectacular 2300 metre southeast ridge.

01/04/2010Austrian E9/10 Repeat

The 22 year old Austrian, Alex Luger, made the second ascent of Prinzip Hoffnung (E9/10, 8b/+) towards the end of December 2009. A DMM climbing team member, we put some questions to him. Prinzip Hoffnung has an unusual history.

08/03/2010Mega Long Welsh Winter FA

Chris Parkin and Geoff Bennett's 12 hour adventure on Ysgolion Duon resulted in the first ascent of The Maginot Line VI 7, a 16 pitch winter girdle of this huge cliff.

08/03/2010New Welsh IX 9

Pete Harrison and Miles Perkin have added a new IX 9 to Clogwyn Du with Travesty Direct.

03/03/2010The Outdoors Show 2010: 26-28 March

DMM will again be exhibiting at the Outdoors Show at the NEC. As usual we will have plenty to do and see over the three days of the show.

26/02/2010Ice Climbing without Hands or Feet

How does someone with no hands or feet climb the classic ice-fall, The Grey Mares Tail. Jamie Andrew gives us a personal account of how he went about it.

23/02/2010Welsh Winter Super VIIIs

Eight has been the magic number of late in North Wales with two new VIII's and an on-sight third ascent of Travesty VIII 8.

07/02/2010Moel Y Gest Quarry Sport Routes

Terry Taylor and Martin Crook have been busy developing Moel Y Gest Quarry near Tremadog, adding a number of bolt protected routes.

01/02/2010Left Bank Action

Chamonix's resident Brit Pack have been banishing any sense of homesickness by recreating a little bit of Scotland on the Rive Gauche of the Argentiere Glacier with six new routes in January.

29/01/2010Brits Gear Up for Arctic Yosemite

British climbers, Mike 'Twid' Turner, Stu McAleese and Mark Thomas are readying themselves for their May big wall trip to the Stewart Valley, Baffin Island. Many of the granite faces in this area, are over a kilometre tall and include some of the world's great unclimbed walls.

15/01/2010Central Icefall: A Personal Account

A personal account from Mark 'Baggy' Richards of his ascent of Central Icefall Direct (VI) on Craig y Rhaeadr in the Llanberis Pass.

05/01/2010Winter Fever … First Ascents and Repeats!

Winter climbing is at fever pitch in North Wales at the moment and conditions show no sign of deteriorating. There has been first ascents and repeats galore.

29/12/2009Major New Route on Black Ladders

Adam Wainwright and Dave Hesleden have added a major new line to the Black Ladders (Ysgolion Duon): Birdsong, VI 6, 300 m.

23/12/2009Wales' Hardest Winter Route

Andy Turner makes the first no-falls ascent of probably Wales' hardest winter climb.

21/12/2009Winter Conditions and Dry Tooling [vid]

A couple of links for winter conditions in North Wales and a video of some dry tooling in the Dinorwig slate quarry.

17/12/2009LLAMFF - Not to be Missed

The Llanberis Mountain Film Festival, a.k.a. LLAMFF, takes place over the weekend of 5th - 7th March 2010. Don't miss this festival in the heart of Snowdonia.

27/11/2009Kendal Film Festival

Although there wasn’t the customary DMM Evening at the Festival this year, there was a healthy involvement of DMM Climbers in some of the headlining films.

23/11/2009New Website to Bookmark

Calm and Fearless is a new website that is a cross between a blogazine and a literary review for lovers of the outdoors and adventure.

12/11/2009Nick Bullock Chang Himal Report

A personal account of Nick Bullock's and Andy Houseman's recent success on the previously unclimbed North Face of Chang Himal near Kanchenjunga in Nepal.

05/11/2009'Great Unclimbed' Success

Nick Bullock and Andy Houseman succeed on 'great unclimbed face' with ascent of Chang Himal's (a.k.a. Wedge Peak) 1500 m north face.

04/11/2009Silvia Overcomes Heat Wave F8b

Silvia Fitzpatrick has climbed her second F8b. This was the fifth ascent of Golpe de Calor (Heat Wave in Spanish), Chilam Balam Cave, Andalucia.

25/10/2009Unclimbed Challenge Alpine Style

Nick Bullock and Andy Houseman left the UK three weeks ago to make an attempt on the unclimbed north face of Chang Himal (6750 m). It's an objective that was recognised by a 2003 Alpinist magazine article as being in keeping with the spirit of exploratory alpinism. If everything is going to plan they should be getting to grips with the face around now.

26/09/2009Bam Bam Repeat for McHaffie

James McHaffie makes it the second repeat within three weeks, of Stevie Haston establishing his E8 mega-route, Bam Bam, on Craig Dorys, Lleyn Peninsula.

17/09/2009Age No Barrier to Climbing 9a

From trad to sport success. Following on from climbing a new E7 and E8 on the Lleyn, Stevie Haston climbs 9a at 52 years young!

11/09/2009Lucy Creamer Joins DMM

DMM welcomes Lucy Creamer to their team of sponsored climbers. As probably Britain's most technically accomplished and best known all-round female rock climber, her feedback from product testing, will be highly valued.

02/09/2009Skin of Teeth Asgard Success

Despite facing tough conditions on Baffin Island, The Asgard Project has reached a successful outcome. DMM provided all the hardware for the expedition that was also sponsored by Berghaus and Nokia.

19/08/2009Climbing and Trekking Expedition Symposium

Expedition Symposium at Plas y Brenin (November 7th-8th), for anyone interested in organising their own expedition involving either major treks, distant summits or first ascents.

12/08/2009Hard Alpine Rock Repeat by Brits

James McHaffie and Ben Bransby have made a free repeat of Voie Petit on the Grand Capucin in the Mont Blanc range: 450m with an 8b crux.

05/07/2009'World's Softest Route' Repeated

Rubble E7 6a, described as the "softest route in the world" and the "most obvious line at Gogarth" is repeated by James McHaffie and Nick Bullock.

29/06/2009New Bouldering Venue Unveiled

Local climber, Dave Noden, has been busy of late developing the dolerite blocks at the base of the right-hand side of Moel y Gest Quarries (Porthmadog) with a succession of high quality boulder problems.

26/06/2009Another Anglesey E6

Another visit to Anglesey's Equestrian Walls (Bull Bay) for Nick Bullock and another new E6 6b. Cities of the Plain climbs the space between Captain Mark Phillips and Three Day Event. The quality of the sustained climbing is reckoned to be worth a few stars.

09/06/2009New Anglesey E6 from Bullock

Nick Bullock adds All the Pretty Horses E6 6b to the Equestrian Walls near Bull Bay, straightening out The Crossing, a route he'd made the first ascent of last September.

31/05/2009McHaffie Achieves a Mission Impossible

James McHaffie repeats Neil Carson's test-piece from the mid-nineties, Mission Impossible. Originally graded E9 7a you'll find it on Gallt yr Ogof's airy Skyline Buttress in the Ogwen Valley.

28/05/2009Powerful Mina Sends Jerry's

Mina Leslie-Wujastyk cruises the powerful Jerry's Roof (V9) in the Llanberis Pass to make what is believed to be the first female ascent of this stellar problem.

26/05/2009Alaskan Roll

Matt Helliker and Jon Bracey made the most of exceptionally stable weather in Alaska's Ruth Gorge to climb two new 1000m+ routes. After these successes and with rising temperatures, they decided to head home early: job done.

22/01/2009Stevie Haston is back

Stevie Haston has been climbing for thirty-seven years and aged 52 he recently redpointed an 8c+ where he now lives in the French Pyrenees. Internationally known as a true all-rounder, he also earned a reputation as the enfant terrible of climbing.

From hard Gogarth first ascents to establishing mixed desperates such as The Empire Strikes Back (M10+/11), Stevie has never been short of an opinion. DMM was the first company to sponsor the super talented Stevie and we're pleased he's back; joining our Climbing Team. Here is a short piece he sent us - enjoy.

22/01/2009DMM starts Twittering

We are joining Twitter to make it even easier to stay in touch.

14/01/2009Good times on Les Droites North Face

Matt Helliker and Jon Bracey have one of those great day's out where it all goes according to plan. Climbing the North Face of the Droites in a day they are back in Chamonix well before closing time.

14/01/2009Bullock & Emmett climb legendary route

Nick Bullock and Tim Emmett climb The Lyre (VI WI 7). Described in the guidebook as legendary, ice routes don't come much harder or more serious. The four deaths in the Cirque since their ascent highlights the objective dangers.

06/01/2009Slate Ice

Climbing a sustained 25 metre ice pitch only a few yards from the road, with bolts for protection and a lower-off, isn't your everyday Welsh winter outing.

17/12/2008Nik Royale's Everest

A moving but ultimately uplifting short film and personal account, of one man's challenge to literally rise above a worsening condition that at times leaves him wheelchair bound: a tender testa

15/12/2008Who Needs Sex, We get Hotaches

Nick Bullock and Neil Brodie clearly enjoyed their new ice line so much, including the hotaches, at the icicle-draped Mont Saxonnex, that they named the route 'Who needs Sex, We get Hotaches'

13/12/2008Gogarth Guide has Arrived!

It was Xmas come early yesterday evening, if you were excited about the imminent arrival of the Gogarth North guidebook.

04/12/2008Lakes Winter First Ascents

Rich Cross, clearly fired up after his recent climbing on the Ben (see previous story) has sent in this report of more winter action but this time in the Lake District.

02/12/2008First Winter Ascent on 'The Ben'

Rich Cross' first Scottish trip of the winter season couldn't have got things off to a much better start. Together with Andy Benson the pair warmed-up on Sioux Wall (VIII 8), high up on Ben Nevis.

13/11/2008Robbery and Soloing in the Himalaya

Imagine returning to your Himalayan Base Camp at 5000m to find EVERYTHING has been stolen, meaning returning to Kathmandu where your partner has to fly home because he's run out of time.

27/10/2008North Face Action

On a quick trip to the Alps, Stu McAleese and Rich Cross, climbed two north face routes showing you shouldn't always go by what you read on the web.

19/10/2008Hola Eneko and Iker

DMM welcome the Basque climbers, Eneko and Iker Pou, to their Climbing Team. DMM's Spanish distributor brought the brothers on to the stand at this summer's Friedrichshafen trade show.

09/10/2008Downing Street Summit for British Climbing

At the invite of the Prime Minister, around 120 climbers converged on 10 Downing Street.

28/09/2008Monkey Magic from Robins and Bransby

Ben Bransby and Pete Robins complete long-standing three-star Pembroke project - this time Ben takes no chances by wearing contact lenses.

12/09/2008Joe Brown Interview

Here's the Joe Brown trailer we promised you last week, with a further appetiser for the forthcoming double feature DVD.

03/09/2008UpsideDown Wales, Joe Brown, Outtakes

The highly acclaimed UpsideDown Wales film is now bigger and better.

01/09/2008Nic Sellers Slays Pembroke Vampire

Nic Sellers gives us an account of his recent repeat of Ben Bransby's Chupacabra at Pembroke. Originally graded an intimidating E9 6c and first climbed in 1998.

25/08/2008Gogarth Repeat - Like The Cad on Acid

With our damp squib of a summer rapidly drawing to an end, all Nick Bullock wanted to do was go climbing.

18/08/2008Trango 08 - The Free Dream

In a few days Gaz Parry will be heading off to the Karakoram as part of a small international team with the aim of free climbing 'Eternal Flame' on Trango Tower.

08/08/2008Summer Ball and On-Line Fund Raiser

All for a good cause - to raise money for alternative cancer therapy treatment for well known local climber and guide, Al George.

14/07/2008Honorary Fellowship for 'Anarchic Rock-Jock'

'Anarchic rock-jock', Jim Perrin, has an Honorary Fellowship conferred on him by Bangor University in recognition of his services to mountaineering - and to writing.

24/06/2008Question the Hype

How an important repeat in Wales became "the most difficult multipitch E7 route ever climbed ground up and onsight (sic) in Britain"....or at least reported as such for nearly two weeks.

23/06/2008New DMM Climbing Team Member

Stu McAleese is the latest addition to the DMM Team roster.

31/05/2008Return of the Belgians

The Belgian dynamic duo, Nicolas Favresse and Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll, were particularly impressive on their first visit to Wales during the recent BMC International Meet.

14/05/2008Alaska First Ascent for Bracey and Helliker

DMM Team climbers Jon Bracey and Matt Helliker have just enjoyed a fruitful trip to Alaska.

11/05/2008BMC International Meet Underway

Don't be surprised if you are out cragging in North Wales this week and come across a F8b Eastern European sport climber puzzling over how to set up a belay at the top of a trad cliff.

07/03/2008DMM and the NEC Outdoors Show

DMM will be attending the Outdoors Show at the NEC on March 14th -16th 2008. The DMM stand is opposite the Sky Masters competition wall and promises to be the focal centre of the climbing area because this year we have more than ever going on.

22/02/2008UpsideDown Wales Film Premiere

A 50-minute film that is not so much an off-the-wall as an under-the-roof look at one man's obsession with climbing overhanging rock in North Wales. George Smith's UpsideDown Wales will get it's premiere showing at LLAMFF. DMM who have provided kit for George Smith's exploits over the years had a chat with the man to get some background to the project.

18/02/2008Hot Times on Fitzroy

Adam Wainwright in the company of Boardman Tasker prize winning author, Andy Cave, has sent us a report on their successful ascent of Fitzroy, one of the world's most magnificent peaks, by the Franco-Argentine route.

16/02/200810 Year Old Opens New Slate Sector

Talented youngster, Josie Ball, has completed the last of her bolted projects as part of her development of The Sidings in the Dinorwig Quarries.

06/02/2008The Carabiner that came in from the cold

The eagle eyed among you may have noticed a Boa securing an intrepid photographer to a mast on a double spread in the Sunday times a few weeks back. This is the story behind the picture.

21/01/2008Nick Bullock Adventures

The latest in the continuing adventures of full-time climber Nick Bullock, with details of a possible new winter start to the Cecchinel-Jager on the Pointe Lachenal.

01/01/2008DWS, Surf and Sharks

Deflated from too many damp and chilly days at the crag? Thoughts of sun-soaked rock can help keep those winter blues at bay. Here's a report by Adam Wainwright on a world-class deep water soloing venue that we've been saving for just such a moment.

19/12/2007Twid's new route in Alaska

Biff Bash Bosh! 900m ED Scottish VII E1 19 Pitches,Twid and Simon

Kitchatna Sprires, Alaska.

17/12/2007Press update!

The new 30 ton press gets positioned an inch at a time!

07/12/2007Alpine guides update

It’s been a great year for Alpine Guides.

06/12/2007The Art of Bouldering Book

The new book, Stone Play - The Art of Bouldering, is the ultimate antidote for any boulderer or climber for that matter, finding themselves seasonally affected by the recent unremitting rain and gales. It is the light at the end of the tunnel. A book that oozes passion and as welcome as a breath of fresh air in a stale centrally heated semi; the words and pictures come from the heart. Put it on your Xmas list.

27/11/2007DMM's new hot forging press arrives

DMM have just purchased a new hot forging press to help both help increase output and also to allow us to make larger, more complicated forgings.

22/11/2007Nick Bullock On-Line

Nick Bullock embraces Web 2.0 and has set up a "blog that isn't really a blog" but a good place to find pieces of his writing, expedition reports, photos etc with the occasional traditional blog posting.

15/11/2007Big Hole Filled

The next stage in installing our press !

13/11/2007Have Your Say

Don't forget that the Saturday after the Kendal Film Fest' is the opportunity for all Wales based climbers and hill walkers to come along to the BMC Cymru open meeting and AGM. It is a chance to have your say and help decide BMC Cymru's prorities for 2008. Pencil 'BMC Cymru meeting, Plas y Brenin, starting at 6 p.m.' down in your diary for November 24th.

25/10/2007Tomb Raider in Dinorwig Quarry

Vetran climber Colin Goodey along with his wife Sue, adds another route to the slate quarries in his "testimonial year", but this one is a bit different.

19/10/2007New Forging Press to arrive soon

The latest addition to our Manufacturing Plant to arrive soon.....

16/10/2007Big cats!

Last year we gave these guys some biners......

09/10/2007DMM Friday Evening at Kendal

DMM to host Friday Evening at Kendal

28/09/2007British First on Grandes Jorasses

Jon Bracey's enthusiasm knows no bounds and with two major routes on the Grandes Jorasses in a week, including a first British repeat, he had one of the best week's of his life.

24/09/2007Ben's new film nearly finished.

Ben Bransby has been hard at work...

18/09/2007Kyrgyztan Summer

You were unlikely to have sighted one of Graham Desroy's bright shirts on the Welsh crags this summer. That's because he was away climbing in Kyrgyzstan. Of course he took plenty of Hawaiian shirts with him. But he's now back and looking forward to evenings at the Beacon climbing wall.

25/08/2007Gaz's Broken Heart

Gaz Parry adds two more problems and repeats a V12 in the powerhouse "Cave of Justice" more commonly known as Parisella's.

24/08/2007Kenton and Nick attempt new route in India.

As I write this piece Nick Bullock and Kenton Cool are on the way to the Garhwal region of India attempting an alpine style ascent of a new route on the North Face of Kalanka.

14/08/2007The Ultimate Tick Ticked

At least for Rich Mayfield...but Mark Stevenson isn't far behind. Completing Dwm on Castell Cidwm yesterday as part of The Hard Rock Challenge meant he has become the third person known to have climbed every route in Ken Wilson's 1974 'Hard Rock' book.

03/08/2007Gogarth Writing Competition

New competition looking for inspiring writing about some of the finest sea-cliffs in Britain.

02/08/2007Gogarth Festival Latest

Latest details on Gogarth Festival. Who, what, when and where.....

20/07/2007Two Weeks to Gogarth Festival

A celebration of the unique Gogarth climbing experience and awesome grooves of another kind all rolled into one great weekend.

18/07/2007Sue Harwood moves on to Pastures new...

Sue has decided that her new pub the Fricsan in Cwm Y Glo needs her full attention and thus is leaving DMM after 13 years of dedicated service.

11/07/2007Gaz wins at Nissan Outdoor Games

Just to let you know Gaz won the Nissan Outdoor Games at Interlaken in Switzerland last weekend.

04/07/2007Bolting Workshop

A workshop organised by the North Wales Bolt Fund (NWBF) covering correct bolting methods and guidelines on placing fixed protection and anchors.

03/07/2007Of Bolts and Wikis

Climbing area wikis in North Wales will make it easier to keep track of which routes have had old dodgy fixed protection replaced with shiny new BMC donated bolts (clearly we are talking about slate and North Wales limestone here).

02/07/2007Join Leo Houlding on TV

Leo has barely had time to catch his breath after free climbing The Second Step en route to Everest's summit before his name is popping up again on the wider media radar.

26/06/2007Geldard Punches Hard with New Pass E8

Hard on the heels of his new route ‘Spinal Crack’ (E8 6c) in Cwm Idwal back in April, Jack made another significant first ascent in North Wales with his new route 'Rocky' (E8 6C).

14/06/2007Leo Tops Out on Everest

Leo Houlding and Conrad Anker free Everest's Second Step en route to the summit.

11/06/2007Action Packed North Wales

So much has been going on of late in North wales that it's difficult to keep track of it all but here's a bit of an overview of what's been happening. At least what we've heard about!

28/05/2007Wales Book of the Year?

Jim Perrin follows up the success of his biography of Don Whillans, The Villain, with his most recent book, The Climbing Essays, being shortlisted for the English language 2007 Wales Book of the Year.

28/05/2007Houlding on Big 'E'

Leo Houlding drops DMM an email from Everest Advanced Base Camp (21,300ft) to update us on the progress of the unique Altitude Everest 2007 Expedtion.

21/05/2007New E8 at Bosigran

Pickford climbs Bosigran’s last great problem.

21/05/2007Hunter Success for Bracey & Houseman

Jon Bracey and Andrew Houseman make the second ascent of The French Route on the formidable North Buttress (a.k.a. Moonflower Buttress) of Mount Hunter.

16/05/2007Postcard from Gaz Parry

06/05/2007Wainwright Slate 7b

What's a Raisin Frumpsnoot? A new 7b sport-line in Bus Stop Quarry climbed by Adam Wainwright pictured here about to make a clip on the first ascent (© Ray Wood). Perhaps the ideal evening project you've been looking for, with it being so close to the road?

04/05/2007Pickford New E9 6c

Dave Pickford completed a major new line to the right of War and Peace on the huge west wall of St Govan’s Head in Pembroke on Sunday April 29th; the same day that James Pearson made the second ascent of Trauma in the Llanberis Pass and a few days before Pete Robins made a quick second ascent of Jack Geldard’s new E8 Spinal Crack in Cwm Idwal and Dave Birkett climbed the huge wall beyond Loch Coruisk on Skye. The exceptional spring weather in the UK has obviously spurred on some significant events in British climbing.

02/05/2007Spinal Crack Repeated

There were a few contenders vying for repeating Spinal Crack but it was Pete Robins (left) who wasted little time in tying on to the sharp end confirming a grade of E8 and the high quality.

23/04/2007Hugh Banner Dies

It was with great sadness this morning that we heard of the death of Hugh Banner, founder of HB Climbing.

21/04/2007Idwal Project Cracked

Long Standing Cwm Idwal project is cracked by Jack Geldard giving Spinal Crack E8/9 6c. In the photo Jack is on the first ascent hurriedly going for the crucial 4CU placement (Photo © Ray Wood).