Lurking under my bed, buried in a drawer, shut in a box or in the dark in my wardrobe.  These are the places where my unused outdoor gear lives.   These are the bits of hiking and climbing gear, clothing and equipment that have been superseded when I upgraded to new, better kit, no longer work as well as they should, never really fitted me that well or were retired because they too old to be safe any more.  Now they take up space in my small London flat and provide a home for dust bunnies.  I’ve decided that they need to go.  I’ve also decided when they do go I want them to be put to good use rather than rotting or rusting away in a landfill.

A few of my unused bits of gear are still perfectly functional and someone could use them if I can get them to a new owner by selling or donating them.  However, there are some things that couldn’t have this second life with someone else.   For example, climbing ropes, slings and harnesses all degrade over time and past a certain age they have to be permanently retired because there is a risk that they will break in a fall.  However, this doesn’t mean I couldn’t reuse my old climbing rope by turning it into a rug (see SummitPost for some instructions on how to do this yourself).   The plastics and metal in my old gear could also be recycled and made into something else.

If I can in some way reuse or recycle my unused outdoor stuff then I can help the environment by making less use of the planet’s resources and reducing the amount of waste I throw away.  I might also be able to make a little bit of money by selling my old stuff and create a bit more space in my flat.

Unfortunately, trying to reuse or recycle this gear hasn’t been as easy as I hoped and some of my old gear may be living under my bed for a while longer.  The limited number of  recycling services can be restricted to particular areas and/or limited in what old gear they will take.  Some manufacturers offer a recycling and reuse service, but this can be limited to the gear they have made and seem to be more prevalent in North America.  There are a small number of websites that allow people to sell, buy, swap and donate used outdoor gear, but these are only really as effective as the quantity and quality of what people choose to offer through them and the demand that exists for buying this second-hand gear.

Using and publicising the available services is probably the best way to create a virtuous circle that gets more old gear being put to use.  It shows manufacturers that there is demand for recycling and reusing and so encourages them to either keep going with their existing services or set up one.  It also increases the long-term viability of other recycling and reuse services and encourages social entrepreneurs and non-profits to start ones to fill gaps in the market.

With this in mind, here are the recycling, up-cycling and reuse services that I have been able to find.  I’d be really interested to hear about other services you know of.

Recycle climbing gear.

UNITED KINGDOM

ROG – Recycle Outdoor Gear

ROG allows you to post an ad to sell or swap for outdoor clothing or equipment.  It also allows schools, youth groups and other organisations to post ads seeking gear.  ROG was set up by Sara Howcroft, who was one of the founders of the outdoor gear company Rohan, and is endorsed by the UK’s Outdoor Industries Association

In addition to this service, in 2012 and 2013, ROG partnered with Rohan for the Gift Your Gear Initiative in which unwanted, useable outdoor trousers, jackets and fleeces could be taken to a Rohan shop for money off a new purchase.  Interestingly, the gear could be made by any brand, not just Rohan.  The donated gear was given to local community organisations, youth groups and charities to enable their beneficiaries to use it to get experiences in the outdoors.

I’ve been pretty impressed with ROG.  Once you have created an account, it’s quick and straightforward to put together an ad and there is a dashboard that lets you see your ads and know how many people have viewed them.  Any replies are forwarded to your own email account.  I would like it if ROG didn’t limit you to one photo per ad (and only 1MB or less file size for the photo at that), but it’s not a big issue.

A challenge with buying and selling sites like ROG is in writing ads that actually get people wanting to buy what you are selling, including selecting a price that balances what is a fair price with the possibility that people may not be willing to pay too much for something second hand.  Of the three ads I’ve put up, I’ve only managed to sell one item so far and I may need to rethink how I’ve written the other two ads.

The other challenge with these sites is in ensuring a smooth transaction and not getting defrauded by someone who doesn’t pay up or sends something that was not as described.  Obviously, this is a common challenge on the internet and ROG recommends using PayPal to give both buyer and seller some security.

Green Peak Gear

Green Peak Gear is a pilot project with the support of the BMC (British Mountaineering Council) that’s trying to see if a viable, self-supporting and long-term business reusing and recycling climbing gear in the UK might be possible.  It collects used climbing gear and remakes and sells it as new products such as rope rugs, dog leads, dog toys, skipping ropes and jewellery.  Anything not turned into a new product is recycled or given to other organisations with a strong community commitment.

It can reuse or recycle ropes, harnesses, helmets, slings, nuts and karabiners.  However, it currently only operates in the Northwest of England (where it has collection bins at participating climbing walls) and so doesn’t help me with finding a good use for my old climbing gear.

Green Peak Gear is a social enterprise that donates its profits to the Access and Conservation Trust (ACT) – the charitable arm of the BMC – that funds projects to protect cliffs and mountains and promote sustainable access to them.

UK Climbing

This popular climbers website has a For Sale/Wanted Forum that allows you to advertise used clothing and gear for sale.  A standard ad is just text.  For an item, or group of items, being sold for £100 or more, UK Climbing requires that you pay for a Premier For Sale Post.  These ads get enhanced positioning on the For Sale/Wanted Forum and a photo or YouTube movie can be added.  This enhanced positioning comes at a weekly rate of £6.

Registration with the site is required to use the service.

Glove Love

Pretty much anyone who spends a lot of time in the mountains has managed to lose one of a pair of gloves, whether its whipped out of their hands by the wind or left in a hut or café.  They may also have come across a single, lost (usually sodden) glove while out on the mountain.  For people wondering what to do with these solitary gloves, Glove Love might be the answer.

Glove Love is run by UK charity Do the Green Thing and describes itself as “a matchmaking service for single gloves who have become separated from their partners.”  Single gloves are donated to Glove Love and then matched with other single gloves, given some glove TLC, and then sold on to new owners.  Each new pair of gloves is sold for just £5 through the Glove Love website.

As well as taking donations from the public, Glove Love receives donations from companies that presumably have large lost and found collections.  This includes the Ambassadors Theatre Group, Transport for London and London’s Natural History Museum.

I didn’t see any mountaineering, hiking or skiing gloves when looking through the current range of gloves for sale, but I think that’s just another good reason to make a donation.

NORTH AMERICA

Green Guru

This company based in Boulder, Colorado, will up-cycle climbing ropes, tent and rain flys, bike inner tubes and neoprene wetsuits into new products that they then sell.  A lot of their (very cool) backpacks, panniers, messenger bags and wallet seem to be mostly made from inner tubes.  Climbing ropes get turned into key rings and bracelets.

Green Guru collects from shops, manufacturers and recycling centres in locations across the USA.

GearTrade

GearTrade is an online marketplace based in Utah.  It provides a place where used and closeout (clearance sale in UK English) outdoor gear can be advertised for sale and bought.  It’s different to some of the other sites that do this by being open not only to individuals but to retailers and manufacturers as well.

MEC GearSwap

MEC (formerly known as Mountain Equipment Coop) is a Canada chain of outdoor gear shops.  The GearSwap section of its website allows people to buy, sell or swap used outdoor gear for free.  There’s an extensive range of things for sale.  The climbing selection including ice axes, crampons, quick draws, cams, harnesses and climbing shoes, while there are also tents, sleeping bags, skis, snow shoes, rucksacks, waterproofs, softshells and many other things.

Patagonia’s Common Threads Partnership

All Patagonia products can be returned to Patagonia for recycling by depositing them at a Patagonia store or mailing them (to an address in Reno, Nevada).  The products are recycled into the materials that make more products.

In addition, selected Patagonia stores buy back used Patagonia shells, fleece, down and synthetic insulation, and ski and alpine trousers that are in good condition.  These stores then sell on these used clothes.

Used Patagonia clothing can also be bought and sold on a dedicated section of Ebay.

The North Face’s Clothes The Loop initiative

Participating North Face stores in the USA will give $10 off your next purchase for a donation of used North Face footwear or clothing.  This old gear is either reused or recycled into raw materials that are used in things like insulation, carpet padding, stuffing for toys and new clothing.  Proceeds go to The Conservation Alliance, which funds community-based campaigns to protect wilderness and recreation areas.

Sterling Rope’s Rope Recycling Initiative

Sterling Ropes will take any dynamic rope, from any manufacturer and turn it into a dog leash, rug or hammock.  Any ropes not reused are recycled so that the nylon can be used in such things as carpets, telephones and coat hangers.  Ropes can be posted to Sterling Ropes or deposited at climbing events where Sterling Ropes are taking donations.

Retied Rope Rugs

This California company sells rugs, dog leashes, horse leads, dog toys, cat toys and key chains made out of old climbing ropes.  They even sell a kit to help you make your own rope rug.  If you prefer, you can post them your old rope and they will make it into a rug for you.

Me on a windy day in the Brecon Beacons wearing the Mammut Eisberg Beanie.

One size does not always fit all.  My larger than average head means that I have quite a bit of trouble finding any hats that fit.  This can be a problem as a woolly hat is essential for keeping my head warm on cold, windy mountains (particularly as I increasingly have less hair to do this job).  I don’t think that I’m the only person in this situation as people keep coming to an earlier post of mine via Google searches for climbing helmets for people with bigger or extra large heads.  So, for those of us blessed with a generous cranium and a love of the mountains, here are my reviews of some of the woolly hats for hiking and climbing that I’ve found fit my head.

Mountain Hardwear Dome Perignon

The Dome Perignon is a thick, windproof hat that has kept my head toasty warm on cold, snowy Scottish mountains.  Older versions of this hat were made of a combination of Polartec Thermal Pro with a Gore Windstopper liner and a Windstopper ear band.  The materials have now changed to Mountain Hardwear’s equivalent own fabrics of Jacquard Sweater Fleece with an Airshield Fleece liner and an Airshield Fleece ear band.

In deep snow (and wearing the Dome Perignon) descending from Chno Dearg.

The Dome Perignon comes in sizes small to extra large, with the extra large billed as fitting a head with a 64cm circumference.  There is even a bit of stretchy fleece at the back of the ear band to help with the fit.

This is a comfortable hat that provides really good insulation, but it can be too warm and I only ever use it on freezing winter days.  The Dome Perignon is also fairly bulky and a slightly odd shape, with an unnecessary excess of fabric rising to a crest above the crown.  This means that I find it’s a hat that is better used for hiking rather than for wearing under a climbing helmet.

A hat with plenty of room to grow in to.

Mammut Eisberg Beanie

The Eisberg Beanie is part of Mammut’s top-end Eiger Extreme range aimed at serious mountaineers and alpinists.  I don’t exactly fit that description, but I do like how well designed this hat is.

The Eisberg Beanie.

The Eisberg Beanie is only available in one size, but its fit is snug and comfortable rather than tight.  It’s cut to give a fairly close fit and to be without excess fabric.  The cut also drops down to cover the ears and curves up at the forehead to stop the hat riding low over the eyes and at the nape of the neck to prevent fabric bunching up as you move your head.  This close fit and cut make the Eisberg Beanie good for wearing under a helmet.  However, it does leave the  neck more exposed to cold winds than some hats.

It’s a knit of 50% wool and 50% acrylic with a lining made from Polartec Powerstretch to help it dry faster.  The Eisberg Beanie is a medium weight and warmth (not as warm as the Dome Perignon, for example).  It’s also wind-resistant rather than windproof.

This is a Goldilocks hat for me – not too hot, not too cold and useful in a wide range of situations.  But the mountaineering focus of its design may mean it’s not to everyone’s taste.  The price, like the rest of the Eiger Extreme range, is also pretty high (£40).

Other options

There seem to be a few other options on the market for those with a good-sized head, although I’ve not tried them out.

The OR Peruvian Hat is a lightly insulated hat made of Gore Windstopper fleece and with long earflaps that can be held in place with a chinstrap.  It’s available in small, medium and large sizes.  Although Windstopper fabric doesn’t really stretch, the large size seems to have a cut that is generous enough to cover a larger head.

Although Mountain Equipment’s Committed Hat and Branded Beanie only come in one size, this size is just enough to snuggly fit my head when I tried them on in a shop.  The Committed Hat is merino wool while the Branded Beanie is 50% wool and 50% acrylic.

I’d be interested to know if anyone else has found another type of extra large woolly mountain hat that works.

Keep a warm head.

A rock climber’s hands can get some rough treatment.  Pushed and twisted into cracks, grazed on course rock, cut and ripped on edges, worn down until the finger tips split and dried out by chalk and the elements.  The results of this harsh treatment can be irritating and painful as well as impairing climbing performance.  To help climbers keep their hands in working condition manufacturers from major companies to people working out of their kitchen have produced balms for climbers’ hands that aim to moisturise, revitalise and help skin heal.

Because climbers are worth it

I’ve been sceptical about the merits of these balms in the past.  Standard moisturiser from a chemist seemed ok and cheaper.  Plus, using these balms looked more like treating a pair of leather walking boots than hand care.  I shunned them despite my hands getting so dry that in winter the skin could split into painful little cuts if I didn’t keep working in the moisturiser.  What persuaded me that I should give one of these balms a try was a day of gritstone climbing on a cold October day that left my hands as dry and cracked as a salt lake and covered in grazes red-rimmed with mild infection.  I used a balm after another gritstone session and was converted by how good it made my hands feel and how my hands seemed to heal more quickly.  I’ve been using balms ever since, even on days when I don’t climb.

Bloody fingerprints on a climbing wall (not my fingerprints) demonstrate the damage climbers can do to themselves.

Now for the science part…

The big difference between most of the rock climbing balms I’ve since tried and the moisturiser I had been using was that these balms are based on natural ingredients rather than petrochemicals.  In particular, many of the rock climbing balms on the market have beeswax as their primary ingredient.  This isn’t really surprising as beeswax has some amazing properties.

Beeswax works as a moisturiser as it’s a humectant.  This means that when applied to the skin it attracts moisture in the air, draws it into the skin and locks it in there so as to both treat dry skin and prevent skin drying out.  At the same time, beeswax is said to help wound healing by being anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-allergenic as well as being a germicidal antioxidant.  Beeswax is also meant to be a source of Vitamin A and so good for cell development.  Beeswax is even said to create a coating that protects the skin from the elements and irritants while not blocking pores.

It does soften the skin and this may make beeswax a mixed blessing for climbers who could be trying to develop calluses that are hard enough to protect their hands, or keep their calluses under control so that they don’t loose sensitivity in their hands and run the risk of a sharp edge ripping a callus off in a chunk.

To beeswax, these balms add a variety of ingredients to try to increase their effectiveness and make them smell good.   These include such things as -

• Cocoa butter – a fat made from the beans of the cocoa tree.  As well as being used to make chocolate, cocoa butter is an effective moisturizer and skin softener that contains antioxidants and Vitamin E.
• Shea butter – a fat made from a nut that moisturizes and softens the skin and which contains Vitamin A.
• Vitamin E – an antioxidant that helps to maintain cell structure by maintaining the membrane of cells.
• Lavender – as an essential oil, it certainly has a nice smell and some people say that it has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties.
• Almond oil – is quickly absorbed into the skin and is non-greasy.  It moisturizes by trapping moisture in the skin and contains Vitamins A, D and E.  Some people use it to treat and sooth skin allergies.

Tested on me, not on animals

In thinking about how to test the effectiveness of some of the balms on the market, my wife suggested an approach that reminded me of the research of Donald Unger.  Unger won the Ig Noble award for medicine in 2009 for his research examining whether his mother was right when she warned him that cracking his knuckles would cause arthritis.  This warning prompted Unger to crack the knuckles on his left hand twice a day but to not crack the knuckles of his right hand.  He did this for sixty years and never suffered arthritis in either of his hands.

My scientifically trained wife’s take on this approach was to suggest that I bash-up both of my hands, but only apply the balm to one.  The other hand would be the control – left to dry into an infected prune in order to allow me to accurately judge the balm’s effectiveness.  While I appreciated the rationalism of this suggestion, I didn’t follow the advice.

The balms I tried

I tried a variety of different balms both after climbing and winter hiking as well as during a normal (climbing-less) day.  In doing so, I considered several different measures of the effectiveness of each balm and gave each a score out of ten (with 1 being poor and 10 being fantastic) against each measure.

• Application – how easy the balm is to apply to the hands.
• Absorbency – strictly speaking, beeswax isn’t absorbed into the skin, but some of these products are better than others at leaving your hands feeling oily and this is what this measure is about.
• Longevity – this is about how long the balm will keep your hands feeling nice and not dried out as you go about your day.  Things like washing your hands does limit how long these balms seem to work for, but some seem to keep working better than others.
• Smell – this is my estimation of how pleasant, or not, the balm smells.  It’s a pretty subjective measure, as you and I may have very different ideas of what smell nice, but it’s important to consider as it’s your hands that will smell this way once you put the balm on.

Here are the results.

Climb On Lotion Bar

Application:   7
Absorbency:  8
Longevity:      10
Smell:              8
Score:             33

Ingredients: unrefined yellow beeswax, apricot kernel oil, lavender, grapeseed oil, virgin wheat germ oil, essential oils of lemon, neroli and vitamin E.

Climb On is easily the most widely available balm on the market and it deserves this market position as it works very well.  As a puck, Climb On is easy to apply by rolling and rubbing around your hands.  Although initially a little bit oily, this oiliness goes entirely after about five to ten minutes to leave hands feeling soft and fully moisturised.  The smell is unobtrusive and gentle and neither obviously feminine or masculine (although Climb On have felt the need to bring out a version for those climbers who want their hands to smell more masculine).  I can also put it on in the morning and still be reasonably confident that my hands will be in a good condition by the end of the day.

Metolius Climber’s Hand Repair Balm

Application:   3
Absorbency:  2
Longevity:      6
Smell:             9
Score:           20

Ingredients: beeswax, almond oil, apricot oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, mango butter, St John’s Wart, calendula, chamomile, chickweed, plantain, comfrey leaf, olive oil, aloe vera, jojoba, wheat germ and a blend of tea tree and lavender essential oils.

This balm is particularly oily and I wouldn’t recommend trying to use a smartphone after applying it.  Strangely, despite this oiliness, I’ve found that it is fairly poor at stopping my hands from drying out later in the day.

The Metolius balm doesn’t come as a puck like Climb On, ProBalm or the Castle Balm, but is in a tin.  I found this harder to use than a puck as I had to use my rub my fingertips on this balm and then use my fingertips to apply the balm to my hands.  The small tin (0.5oz) that I picked up was particularly fiddly in this respect and, if you were buying some, I’d recommend getting the larger size.

On the positive side, the Metolius balm has a lovely, subtle smell that is easily the best smell of the balms I’ve tried.

ProBalm

Application:   9
Absorbency:  8
Longevity:      8
Smell:             1
Score:          26

Ingredients: beeswax, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, comfrey infused almond oil, petitgrain essential oil, patchouli essential oil, tangerine essential oil, black pepper essential oil, cypress essential oil, benzoin essential oil, mixed tocopherols (Vitamin E).

The most striking thing about ProBalm is its strong, pungent and medicinal smell.  This smell hits you as soon as you open the tub and it both travels and lingers after it’s on your hands, so much so that my wife doesn’t want to come near me when I’ve put it on.  In fact, this smell lingers so much that I’ve found that just one wash of my hands with soap and water isn’t enough to get rid of it.

However, if you (and those around you) don’t mind the smell, then ProBalm works very well.  This is the least oily of the beeswax pucks I tried and any oiliness is gone after a few minutes.  It also kept my hands in great shape and feeling very nice for the rest of the day.

Tip Juice

Application:   4
Absorbency:  9
Longevity:      7
Smell:             6
Score:          26

Ingredients: cannabis sativa seed oil; garcinia indica seed butter; cannabis sativa wax; d-alpha tocopherol (vitamin E); extracts of calendula officinalis flower, helichrysum arenarium flower, althaea officinalis leaf arctium lappa leaf; and essential oils of lavandula angustifolia, pinus palustris, zingiber officinale, eucalyptus globulus, comiphora myrrha and styrax benzoin.

Tip Juice is made by hand in pots and pans in a kitchen in Scotland and this homebrew is really effective.  It’s easily absorbed into the skin, with little oiliness and gives hands a lovely, smooth feel.  Tip Juice has a sharp, citrus smell that isn’t overpowering, but may or may not be your taste (I quite like it, but my wife doesn’t).

Tip Juice lives up to its name in that it is really only possible to apply to and/or with your fingertips.  It comes in a small pot and, like the Metolious balm, this makes application more time consuming.  Using your fingernail to scrape some up and then applying this to the hands speeds up application.  I really wish that Tip Juice was available as a puck and would give it a higher score for application if that were the case.

Tip Juice isn’t a beeswax balm, but uses garcinia indica seed butter, a fat that is said to have properties similar to cocoa butter and to be both an antioxidant and source of Vitamin E.

Some of the other ingredients might attract some people’s attention, but this balm isn’t going to take you higher than your climbing abilities allow.  Cannabis sativa seed oil and cannabis sativa wax are derived from hemp and so are typically from plants that do not contain significant amount of THC.  They are high in omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids (which are meant to be good for your skin) and protein as well as containing lots of vitamins and minerals.

Sypeland Climber’s Hand Balm

Application:   9
Absorbency:  9
Longevity:      5
Smell:             6
Score:          29

Ingredients: water, coconut oil, almond oil, cocoa butter, sunflower oil, St John’s Wort oil, comfrey oil, marigold oil, essential oils of clove, tea tree, lavender, myrrh, sterol alcohol, emulsifying wax, tween, parabens and vitamin E.

Sypeland’s is made in Yorkshire and developed with climbing sessions on the area’s rough gritstone.  With that background, it’s not surprising that it works very well.

Sypeland’s is quite different to the other balms I tested.  Its ingredients (particularly the primary ones of water, coconut oil, almond oil and cocoa butter) and the fact that it’s a cream means that this balm is more like a traditional moisturiser than the other balms on test.  It also doesn’t have beeswax as a primary ingredient.

The cream reminds me of a mousse in being light and almost whipped in consistency.  It’s quick and easy to apply and works well even on very dry hands.  You also need surprisingly little of this cream for it to be effective at moisturising your hands and giving them a pleasant feel.  It’s important to get the amount you use right as you can find your hands being oily for quite some time if you use too much.

Sypeland’s has quite a complex and strong smell that some people like and slightly more people do like.  The smell of cloves is prominent and this meant that when I used it in December people described the smell as Christmassy.

Castle Grown Beeswax Bloc Balm

Application:    8
Absorbency:   6
Longevity:       7
Smell:              3
Score:            24

Ingredients: beeswax, marigold petals, plantain leaf, comfrey leaf and root, infused in organic sunflower oil plus essential oil of cedarwood.

The Castle Climbing Centre in London makes this balm in its kitchen using beeswax from its hives and herbs from its garden.  I particularly like that I know the origins of this balm and that it’s so straightforward (its list of natural ingredients is pretty short).

This balm is slightly oily, but this actually helps with applying it and the oiliness goes after about five to ten minutes.  It’s also a solid performer in terms of making hands feel good and keeping them in good condition throughout the day.

It’s available in two types – a cedarwood balm and a rose, geranium and lavender bloc balm.  I tried the cedarwood balm and found the smell a bit too strong and not really to my taste, although my wife likes the smell.

The Castle balm comes with a wick so that it can be used as an emergency candle.  I’m not convinced by this idea. I can’t think of when I’ve ever needed an emergency candle (I use a torch) and the buried end of the wick is a little bit scratchy once it becomes exposed after using the balm for a while.  Strangely, the end of the wick that you would light hasn’t bothered me in the same way.

This balm is only available from the Castle’s own shop in North London, but this just provides another reason to visit this great climbing wall.

Further information

There are useful articles on how to a rock climber should care for their hands on the UK Climbing  and Climber websites.

If you are interested in making your beeswax balm, then there are instructions on the Humblebee and Me blog.

A brightly shining sun and unseasonably warm weather last weekend meant that Valerie, baby Leo and I could swap our weekend climbing wall trip for Fairlop Waters Boulder Park.  These are nine boulders of sprayed and carved concrete almost hidden in the trees by a lake in East London.

Valerie climbing on The Arches boulder at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park in London.

Valerie and I first visited the boulder park not long after it had opened in the summer of 2010.  Some of the boulders had already been a bit damaged and I wondered how long they would survive heavy use and vandalism.  So it was a nice surprise to find the boulders still in good condition and the polish limited to the easy routes used by kids and by climbers for getting down after topping out.

Seasoned climbers with their bouldering mats, chalk and focus on pushing themselves up overhangs mixed with kids running around and scrambling up anything they could.  The sometimes weirdly shaped boulders made for a fascinating playground where bouldering problems from the very easy through to the determinedly tough meant anyone could find some way up a lump of concrete.  For me it was great to have my first climb of the year on something that wasn’t plastic and, with its roughly finished slopers, cracks and (very positive) crimps, made me feel like I was climbing rock again.

We bouldered and picnicked and had a fun time on what was our first outdoor climbing trip as a family and a practice run for our trip upcoming trip to the bouldering heaven of Fontainebleau.

Further Information

The boulder park is in Fairlop Waters Country Park in the London Borough of Redbridge.  To get to there you can either get the Central Line to Fairlop Station and then walk for about ten minutes walk or drive (the post code is IG6 3HN for those with a sat nav).

A guide to the Fairlop Waters Boulder Park, including photos and descriptions of a selection of problems, is available for free online.

UKClimbing describes a wider collection of problems than are in the guide, but doesn’t include any photos or diagrams.

In addition to the boulders, the Country Park provides opportunities for walking, sailing and golf.  It even has a clubhouse with a bar and toilets (including baby change) which is about ten minutes walk around the lake from the boulder park.

Valerie climbing problem number 1 on the orange circuit at Rocher des Potets.

Sometimes places live up to the hype and Fontainebleau is one of those. The thousands of boulders in the vast woods are legendary among rock climbers. Fontainebleau is regularly described as a magical place, with the purest, most engaging climbing. Now that I’ve been there for the first time, I agree how brilliant and fun bouldering at Font can be.

Fontainebleau is only about 50 to 60km south of Paris and so it’s a relatively straightforward big name destination for an English climber like me to get to. I’d not considered going before because I’m usually a trad climber, but having a baby has recently necessitated my wife and I rethinking our climbing. With bouldering looking like it might be the easier option for us when we have a baby to care for, and the club we are members of running a trip to Fontainebleau, we decided to head to this world centre of bouldering for our Easter break.

Although managing the logistics of climbing and a baby in a foreign country was a bit daunting, it was turned out to a good choice and we an great time. I learnt a few useful things about being a first timer boulderer in Fontainebleau.

Massif Canard at Buthiers.

Fontainebleau is beautiful

The stunning forest around Fontainebleau covers some 300km². Woods of silver birch, pine, beech and oak are strewn with sandstone boulders that are warped and eroded into weird forms. In some places the sand of the forest floor is hidden under forest debris, in other places there are inland beaches just begging for a few deckchairs to relax in between climbs. Surrounding the woods is pretty farmland and attractive villages. Fontainebleau is so lovely that it’s enjoyable being there even if you don’t boulder.

Me climbing yellow problem number 5 at Le Cul de Chien.

Lots and lots of brilliant climbing

My trip made me realize what a vast amount of incredible bouldering exists in Fontainebleau. I’ve read that there are an estimated 30,000 problems in the woods and I could believe that was a conservative estimate. It’s just a massive playground for anyone, of any age, who likes scrambling up stuff.

I also learned that my ok trad climbing amounts to being a not particularly good boulderer at Fontainebleau. Fontainebleau bouldering can be really hard. I limited myself to the (relatively) easier yellow and orange circuits and was still severely challenged by some problems. There were a few oranges I gave up on, but there were also a few testing ones where, with a lot of thought and care, I could happily get to the top of the boulder.

Valerie climbing orange problem number 4 at Mont Aigu.

This challenge is enough to make the problems interesting and testing without being frustrating. It helps that the there is a lot of variety in the problems, with an amazing variety of different holds (slopers, crimps, smearing, undercuts) and different climbing techniques required. This means that if I couldn’t do one problem, I could do the next one. Together with some nice, soft, sandy landings, these things make Fontainebleau a great place to climb.

Look for the signs

I had heard before I visited that finding your way around the woods, and then to the first boulder you want to climb, could be a bit of challenge. I learned that this is true to an extent. However, finding your way around is made much easier by the main footpaths having names (e.g Route des Gorges de Franchard), the footpath junctions having names (e.g. Carrefour de l’Emerillon) and these names being both on the map and on signs nailed to trees. In addition, the forest is divided into parcels, with each parcel having a number and these numbers also appearing on the map and on signs nailed to trees. This fantastic bit of organization means that finding the right area is a bit like navigating in a city, where you look for cross-streets and house numbers.

Me having some trouble topping out on an orange problem at Rocher des Potets.

Toping out

The problems at Fontainebleau aren’t considered done until you are standing on top of the boulder. I learned that this can be much easier said than done because the top of many boulders don’t have positive handholds and slope. Getting up them requires intelligent footwork, a gruff mantelshelf move or inelegant squirming on your belly. On one problem with a sit start, I got utterly and embarrassingly stuck just off the ground, with my hands on the top of the boulder and unable to push, step or wiggle up. After several, long, pathetic minutes, I gave up before I fell on my butt.

Climbing down from problem yellow 43 at Rocher des Potets.

Getting down

I learnt that getting back down safely from the top of a boulder can be a worrying (and slightly scary) experience.   After being pleased with myself for getting up the bold number 11 orange problem at Massif Canard, I then had to nervously go down the steeply sloping side of the boulder, trying to get some grip on a polished, quartz-filled rock covered in pine needles. The final inelegant couple of steps involved hugging a tree for welcome support.

Have more than one guidebook

With so many problems at Fontainebleau, the guidebooks are simply selections of some of the best problems and circuits. Although there is overlap in content, there are also some circuits that will be covered in one book and not another. I learned that having two different guidebooks gives more insight into what is available and where to go. There’s a good review of the various guidebooks on offer on the Rock and Run website.

Me climbing a yellow route at Mont Aigu.

Mix it up a bit

I learned about the beautiful simplicity and fun of following the painted arrows and numbers that indicate the circuits of problems. It’s a giant game that it’s great to play with friends.

I also learned that finishing the game when circuits have 20 to 35 or so problems can be pretty difficult in one day.  Doing what you can, and in the order that makes sense on the day, can sometimes be better than doing a circuit in order.  I’ve also heard that, as most people don’t have the time to finish a circuit and start at 1 before moving through the numbers in sequence, that the problems at the end of a circuit get less traffic and so tend to be less polished. I don’t know if this is true, but I plan to find out. I’ll be going back to Font to put what I’ve learned to use.

My next post is going to be what my wife and I learned about bouldering at Fontainebleau when you are as a family from our experience of visiting with our teething seven-month old baby.

Valerie climbing at Mont Aigu.

Further information

A good place for the first time visitor to start reading up on Fontainebleau bouldering is the useful, comprehensive article on the UK Climbing.

The next place to go is the Alpkit website for a very informative, in-depth blog post about the practicalities and experience of Fontainebleau bouldering. It’s particularly useful for the inexperienced boulderer as it provides general information about bouldering equipment and safety as well as how to improve climbing performance.

If that’s not enough, there’s a good article on the PlanetFear website on the practicalities on climbing at Fontainebleau if you are not a superstar climber (i.e. you’re normal). It includes recommendations for where to find enjoyable, easier circuits.

However, the encyclopedia of information on Fontainebleau bouldering is the bleau.info website. It combines news features and a forum with information on the different areas and circuits. In fact, there is almost too much information on here for the first time visitor to get their head around.

Lastly, for the personal perspective, there’s an enjoyable and informative post from The Climber’s Wife about her first trip to Fontainebleau.

UPDATE: I’ve written a post describing how my wife and I managed to go bouldering at Fontainebleau with our teething seven-month old son.

An Easter break to the woods of Fontainebleau to climb on its famous sandstone boulders was our first real test as rock climbing parents. We had been taking our baby son, Leo, to the climbing wall on a regular basis and to some artificial boulders not far from where we live in London. He’d enjoyed the trips and we had managed to get a good amount of climbing done. But several days of outdoors climbing in a foreign country, with a teething seven-month old baby, felt like more of a challenge. By the end of the trip we had enjoyed some great climbing, been tested as parents and learnt a lot about taking a baby climbing at Fontainebleau.

Me climbing problem number 8 on the yellow circuit at Le Cul de Chien.

Climbing

Fontainebleau is a great place for children. Huge woods, full of boulders and with inland beaches make Fontainebleau a dream for running about, playing games, scrambling and making dens. I saw lots of families climbing and picnicking with kids of all ages clearly having a blast just messing about and bouldering.  Although the bouldering tends to be on the hard side, with a massive range of boulders there will be something a child can scramble up. There are also several areas with flat, sandy landings. In addition, Fontainebleau has 20 dedicated bouldering circuits for children that are specifically designed for complete beginners.  Fontainebleau Climbs; the finest bouldering and circuits by Jo and Francoise Montchausse and Jacky Godoffe includes a map of the locations of these children’s circuits (see page 197 of the 2012 edition). This great little guidebook says of these circuits:

“Perhaps more than anywhere else in the forest, the white trails have been methodically thought out, often by experienced educationalists. Essentially, the main stumbling block is the distance between the holds which nature has dispersed in a somewhat random manner. To progress to a higher grade … could prove to be a problem, as when the circuits were created, it never occurred to anyone that children might really get into bouldering. As a result, they will have to wait a while, and grow a little, to make the most of the joys of climbing at Fontainebleau.”
Montchausse, J., Montchausse, F. and Godoffe, J. (2012) Fontainebleau Climbs; the finest bouldering and circuits, London: Baton Wicks.

Going to Fontainebleau with children big enough to run around and do some bouldering must be fantastic. I’m looking forward to introducing Leo to bouldering there when he is old enough. However, going to Fontainebleau with a baby, as we did, is a different undertaking and bouldering while keeping our son safe and content was difficult.

Valerie and Leo at Rocher des Potets.

Valerie and I took turns looking after Leo while the other climbed. This worked well, but meant that we couldn’t spot one another. Climbing as part of a wider group worked really well as we could rely on friends to act as spotters. However, when we were apart from the group, we had to take the risk of bouldering without a spotter and just hope that we didn’t have a bad fall.

We also found that it was better if Valerie climbed more in the morning. This was because Leo was more rested and in better mood. By the afternoon, he was tired and wanted to snuggle with his mum. My best attempts to take care of Leo in the afternoon usually resulted in a screaming, inconsolable baby and we found it was better if I left and got some climbing in.

Me, Valerie and Leo loaded up for a day of bouldering in the woods.

Moving

One of the brilliant things about Fontainebleau is how accessible the bouldering can be. Some areas we went to were a 10-20 minute walk in, while one had us parking our car almost next to the starting boulder for the orange circuit. Plus the broad, level tracks that run through the forest allow parents to use buggies to transport their kids (and the luggage that’s necessary for taking care of them) to where they want to climb. This buggy accessibility is limited once off the track and among the boulders. The terrain is far from terrible, but it can be uneven, rocky, sloping and/or have undergrowth (it is a wood after all), while some of the boulders can be too close together to fit a buggy through. In addition, parts of the woods are particularly sandy. I saw one dad struggling to drag a buggy behind him through the deep, wide sands of Le Cul de Chien while the mum carried a toddler in her arms.

Parents push their toddlers through Les Trois Pignons.

Valerie and I didn’t have any of these sorts of problems with terrain as Valerie carried Leo in a wrap. This allowed her to walk through gaps between boulders and have both hands free.

Eating

The sandy base of the woods of Fontainebleau means that it’s a bit like having a picnic at the beach, with added wood chips and leaf litter. This meant that a picnic blanket was really useful. It was a place to put Leo down where he was less likely to grab bits of twig and put them in his mouth as well as a somewhere to have lunch. The one downside was that we would have to move the blanket every time we completed the problems in the immediate vicinity and needed to move to the next boulders in the circuit.

Valerie and Leo having lunch at Mont Aigu, Fontainebleau.

At seven months, Leo was being introduced to solids as part of the weaning process while still drinking quite a bit of milk. The milk was certainly the easy bit! As we were staying in a hotel, we didn’t have any means of cooking or refrigerating and so had to rely on commercially produced baby food. Leo definitely didn’t like this in comparison to the homemade delicacies he usually gets and we had difficulty interesting him in eating at times. Thankfully, we discovered that Leo likes French baguettes and he would happily sit there mulching a bit while we ate our sandwiches.

Lots of zip-lock bags were also a big help as they allowed us to keep separate things that were wet or dry, dirty or clean.

Sleeping

One of the biggest challenges in taking a baby climbing was finding ways to allow him to get the sleep he needed to stay happy and content. We don’t seem to be the only climbing parents who have this problem and Crag Mama has written a useful article for brand new parents providing tips for how to make sure a baby going on a climbing trip gets enough opportunities for naps.

Valerie found that the picnic blanket worked well as somewhere to curl up with Leo for a nap. However, wrapping Leo was better for making him feel secure and allowed him to sleep while Valerie watched the climbing.

Leo sleeping in a wrap on Valerie’s back.

On one day we drove back to our hotel in the middle of the afternoon so Leo could nap in bed. I then drove back to the woods to try bouldering a bit more. He certainly got a better quality of rest, but most people had finished their climbing for the day and were leaving by the time I got back to the boulders. This made for a quiet evening of bouldering, but it wasn’t the same without the two of them.

Changing

The woods and car parks of Fontainebleau don’t seem to have public toilets. Any boulderers with a baby need to pack in and pack out all used nappies, wipes, etc. and so taking a few rubbish bags with you can be a very good idea. We used old supermarket bags and clipped them to the outside of our rucksacks to cut down on bad smells building up in sunbaked bags.

Valerie changing Leo on a bouldering pad.

We also found that a bouldering pad is pretty good as a changing station if you lay something over it to stop the pad (and the baby) getting dirty. We used Valerie’s wrap as a sheet, but we could equally have used a disposable changing mat.

Teething

Leo’s second tooth was busy cutting its way through his gum during our trip and he cried and fussed a lot as a result. All we could do was to give him as much Calpol as was safe to do so, hug him lots and try to distract him with whatever we could find. As Leo’s mouth hurt so much, all he really wanted was to comfort feed, especially later in the day. As he cried, all his mummy’s instincts were to go to him and give him a hug, which distracted her from climbing. To give Valerie the peace and quiet to focus on bouldering sometimes required me to take a crying Leo off for short walks involving big hugs and showing him interesting trees and rocks.

Valerie just about to top out on problem number 9 on the orange circuit at Rocher des Potets.

I felt awkward and a little embarrassed for disturbing other people’s climbing with the sound of my howling baby. I therefore tried to steer clear of other climbers when walking him. I’m sure that there are plenty of people, particularly non-parents, who don’t know what it’s like to try to comfort a teething baby. Some of them may have quietly cursed me for bringing a baby out to the place they were bouldering and questioned my parenting competence for not being able to instantly sooth my child.

I feel slightly conflicted in these sorts of situations. I want to be considerate of others and so not disturb them, however, I also feel that those who I may annoy cannot be showing me consideration because my family and I have just as much right to boulder as them, and babies, by their nature, cry sometimes. I should note however that neither my wife or I received any negative comments or looks (that we were aware of) from other climbers, and those also in family groups would give knowing smiles and say “that sounds like a teething baby” and chat about their own experiences.

Staying

We had decided against staying in one of the campsites around Fontainebleau because Leo was a bit young and we weren’t quite sure what we would get. Gites and B&Bs were either booked, not suitable or not willing to take us just for the Easter holiday. This is why we settled on staying in a hotel.

The hotel we stayed in was perfect. The attractive Hotel de l’Ecu de France in Malesherbes was a family-run place with a bistro and a good restaurant plus some fish and a parrot that Leo enjoyed looking at. The room was big, well equipped and, thankfully, positioned so that any noise wouldn’t disturb other guests. There was also an en suite bathroom and the huge bed was very comfy. The staff were also helpful and forgiving of my very bad French. It was a quiet place to let us all relax. The big disadvantage was having nowhere to prepare and store food. This meant we had to make daily bakery and supermarket trips.

Valerie and Leo in Malesherbes, with the Hotel de l’Ecu de France behind them.

We really like Malesherbes. It is a quiet, small town and didn’t seem to attract many boulderers, despite there being climbing a few minutes down the road at Buthiers. It has a couple of patisseries, a butchers and a supermarket on the edge of town. There are a few pizza places and these were useful for takeaways when we felt that eating in our hotel room would be easier than managing a tired out baby in a restaurant. We also went to the Indian restaurant Le Rajasthan (74, Rue de la Republique) whose lovely, chatty owner had once been a receptionist in a hotel in Abergavenny. He helpfully plied us with drinks while we waited for our takeaway order and put on a laser light show to keep Leo entertained.

Me climbing problem number 32 on the orange circuit at Rocher des Potets.

Warning

Climbing is obviously a hazardous activity and I’m very conscious whenever I take Leo to any climbing location about the need to keep him safe. I keep him away from where a climber or rocks may fall on him as well as away from places where he might fall. Before going to Fontainebleau I also got mildly concerned by the following paragraph from Fontainebleau Magique by David Atchison-Jones (Jingo Wobbly Toto-Guides, 2009, pg. 11).

“The biggest danger to climbers are hornets (Frelons), which often nest in holes that are just bigger than your hand, and look inviting when you running out of strength…It is well known that poisonous viper snakes inhabit most parts of the forest, but they are usually deep in the undergrowth…Wild boar live in the forest, but are usually scared off by the thwack of the crash pad onto the ground…The forest is full of wild mushrooms, but you need to know your stuff since some are lethal.”

As a parent it is now my right to get overly worried about hazards my child might face. Coming from an island with unusually few hazardous, wild creatures and plants, I might also feel particularly perturbed by the presence of things that it is not uncommon to find in woods all over the world. I didn’t see any of these things on my trip to Fontainebleau, but I could just have been lucky. I only mention these hazards so any parent reading this is aware as this allows them to make choices. Climbing is all about managing risk and these hazards are just further ones to manage.

My family and I found Fontainebleau to be brilliant and it’s somewhere we hope to go back to again. One day I want to be introducing Leo to those white circuits.

Further information

I’ve come across a couple of interesting articles in which people talk about their experiences of going climbing outdoors with babies. Crag Mama has written about this topic for Outside magazine and there is a post on the Rock Climber’s Training Manual blog.

Boxer shorts from Rab made out of 120 weight MeCo fabric.

There are some items of outdoor gear that you don’t often see reviewed in the outdoor magazines and websites. Jackets, tents, rucksacks, baselayers, softshells, fleeces and boots all get regularly tested and reviewed in detail, but outdoor underwear doesn’t get reviewed much and, if it does, the reviews tend to be a bit cursory. Maybe it’s because it’s a little hard to review briefs, boxer shorts and so on without descriptions getting too graphic or crude and using photos that give the review an adult rating. That’s a bit of a shame because good underwear can make days in the mountains more comfortable. So, to redress the balance and point out the virtues of good mountain undies, this is my review of the Rab’s MeCo 120 Boxer. Just to be clear before we start, there are no photos of me testing this underwear (there’s no telling where they may end up if I post them online), but there might be some graphic details.

I never used to wear any of the hi-tech underwear that some mountaineering manufacturers make. On a mountain I’d be dressed in expensive, sophisticated waterproofs, softshells, fleeces and baselayers, but under it all were the standard cotton underwear I’d have on in London. It certainly worked well enough, but it’s good to slip into something more comfortable and there are reasons why underwear made to the same standards as my other mountain clothing have been an improvement.

The main reason is that the fabric performs better than basic cotton. The MeCo 120 Boxer is made up of a very lightweight, comfortable and breathable fabric called MeCo. This is a blend of merino wool and Cocona. The benefits of merino wool are pretty well known– it’s soft, naturally antimicrobial (which means merino clothing is less likely to get smelly), breathable, warm and stretchy. However, like all wool it does hold water a bit and so takes longer to dry. Combining it with Cocona is meant to address this issue and generally improve the resulting fabric’s performance. Cocona is a synthetic fabric that uses the coconut husk waste from the food, medical, cosmetic and filtration industries to make activated carbon. This activated carbon has a large pore structure that increases the surface area of the yarns so that the fabric can better wick away moisture, so helping drying and breathability. Cocona also apparently prevents smells as the activated carbon is supposed to hold on to the odour molecules until they are washed out the next time the fabric is cleaned. With most MeCo baselayers, those smells are likely to simply be sweat. With MeCo underwear there may be other smells involved, but my standard of personal hygiene is too high to allow me to test this aspect of the fabric.

I’ve found that the MeCo 120 Boxer breathes well and dries quickly. This quick drying time and high breathability are the big advantages of underwear designed for mountain sports as it reduces the chance of the moisture build-up around a gentleman’s family jewels and associated areas that can cause uncomfortable chaffing. I haven’t pushed my testing of the MeCo 120 Boxer that far, but they are so comfortable that I haven’t had to think about them and they have never made things too warm or too cool. The other advantage of the quick drying time is that they are much better than cotton underwear for longer trips when you may need to wash underwear in a campsite or hostel.

This use of this fabric also means that the MeCo 120 Boxer weigh a lot less than my normal underwear and takes up a lot less space in my luggage. With the strong focus in mountain sports on cutting grams from gear to enable people to go further and faster, underwear can be one additional way of shaving weight. Considering the size of the clothing, it’s surprising how many grams you can save if you switch from a pair of standard men’s cotton boxers. If you want to save even more weight, then you could just go commando.

The cut is quite close and this makes them supportive and easy to wear under other clothing (which is certainly how I wear them most of the time). The broad elastic waistband also holds well without being too tight and the seams are low bulk to further increase comfort.

The MeCo 120 Boxer do ride up sometimes, but thankfully this only occasionally gives rise to a wedgy and this seems to happen more with the stepping up movements you get in rock climbing. This may simply be a matter of how the sizing works out on me, as being tall and skinny can make it difficult to get the right balance between waist size and length in leg wear. Normally, I would suggest trying before you buy to make sure you get the right size, but that’s not always possible with underwear and so you may just have to take a chance with sizing.

The view of the rear.

A great feature of the MeCo 120 Boxer is that they don’t use buttons but an open fly covered by part of the fabric. This design means that it’s relatively quick and convenient for the temporary release of a gentleman’s member when there is a need to answer the call of nature (sorry, but this was the best set of euphemisms I could come up with). As any mountain climbing gentleman will know, fumbling with gloved hands to return your member to the safe, warm sanctuary of your trousers while cold wind and rain lash you is not a fun experience.

A slightly strange feature of the MeCo 120 Boxer is that the MeCo logo on them is reflective. I’m guessing that this may help to prevent me getting hit by a car if I ever decide to run around at night in my underwear.

In summary, I’ve found the Rab’s MeCo 120 Boxer have been useful, comfortable and an improvement on my everyday underwear.

Filed under: Gear, Hiking, Mountaineering, Rock climbing Tagged: Boxer shorts, Gear, Hiking, Mountaineering, Rab, Reviews, Rock climbing, Underwear

Valerie climbing Bog Standard Slab on The Sentry boulder at Burbage South Valley.

Somehow I’d never seen the rolling hills of the Peak District turn purple before this week. I’ve walked and climbed in the Peaks numerous times, but somehow my timing meant that I had never been there when the heather was in bloom. It was a stunning sight. The smell of honey as Valerie, Leo and I walked along the edge of the Burbage valley and through fields of purple was sweet and warming. It was a great start to a couple of days of bouldering in the Peaks, but the trip didn’t go entirely to plan.

Flowering heather on the edge of the Burbage Valley

Another aspect of the timing of this visit to the Peaks was that I’d never had to deal with quite so many midges before. We’d started bouldering at The Fat Cobra and The Pock Block boulders in a light breeze, but as this breeze died, swarms of midges came to life. It’s hard to climb when you are using one hand, and sometimes two, to wave away ferocious midges that are crawling and biting their way over your face, through your hair and into your ears. It’s probably because I’d never had it this bad in the Peaks before that I forgotten to bring any insect repellent. My usual climbing experience in the Peaks involves trying to wrap-up against, or shelter from, the wind. I remember once climbing at Froggatt Edge when it was so windy that whenever I tried to throw a rope down from the top, the wind blew it back. Now I was cursing how still the air was and wishing for gusts to blow these tiny, flying demons away.

Me climbing Wall Past Slot on The Pock Block boulder at Burbage South Valley.

The worst thing was that Leo was getting quite distressed. At 11 months old, he couldn’t understand what was happening and our best efforts weren’t keeping all the midges off him. Valerie took Leo for a walk along the valley edge in the hope that the higher ground would be windier and so midge-free. I tried to tough it out and get some bouldering done. However, we only managed a short time before deciding that it wasn’t going to get windier and the situation was unsustainable. We retreated to Hathersage to look in gear shops and have a coffee. After a bit of a walk around a delightfully windy Higgar Tor, we went back to the hotel. Examining the damage in the mirror that evening, I concluded that I looked like someone with Chicken Pox.

The next day was much more successful. The rain held off and the wind blew and blew. So much so that we had to shelter behind boulders when we wanted a break. It was strange to find windy weather a relief. Valerie and I worked our way through a selection of the brilliant lower grade problems at Burbage South Valley and finished the day feeling tired and satisfied.

Me climbing Groove on the Perched Block at Hound Tor.

In the year and a bit since Valerie and I became parents we’ve been slowly and carefully been working out how our young family can spend time climbing and walking. We started with visits to the climbing wall before moving on to bouldering and walking trips in which we stayed in hotels and hostels. Last weekend we took the big step of taking Leo camping for the first time. Although, to be honest, it might be more accurate to say that we took the baby step of taking him glamping for the first time.

We stayed in a camping pod at the brilliant Dunsdon Farm in Devon . Our camping pod was basically an insulated wooden hut with carpeting, a porch, an electric heater, electric lamp and a cool box. Using a camping pod meant we didn’t have to worry about pitching a tent in the rain and had a lot more space for Leo to play in than he would have had in our tent. A real plus was that each camping pod had its own, lockable, tiled bathroom with a power shower in the nearby wash block. We also really liked there being a “rainy day room” (basically a lounge with sofas) and widescreen TVs that showed a live link to the inside of a Barn Owl’s nest. It was a world away from my usual camping experiences and a good way for Valerie and I to gently get our head around the practicalities of taking Leo away camping of camping with a toddler.

The down side to our trip to the West Country was a cold virus that took the energy out of us. However, we still managed to do things we enjoyed. Leo discovered that he really likes Cornish pasty. I had fun bouldering on the beautiful and friction-full rocks of Hound Tor (where a bouldering mat is as much about stopping you landing in sheep droppings as hurting yourself in a fall). We all enjoyed walking along the beach at Bude, although Leo hated that we made him wear a hat and gloves (which came off pretty fast after Leo discovered he could reach them with his teeth).

One of the things I like about bouldering is that it’s great when all you want to do is pootle. That’s all I wanted to do last weekend at The Roaches. I had a creeping cold that was developing a cough. The gritstone was green, wet and strong, blustery winds made sitting belaying at the top of a crag look a bit unappealing. So I spent my time wandering around the boulders, doing low-grade routes that looked interesting and weren’t so slimy and wet that my feet would skate off them. Moving at a gentle pace and just focusing on how to move on the rock really cleared my head and relaxed me.

To make the weekend even better, I got to see the inside of the Don Whillans Memorial Hut. I’ve been past that iconic oddity tucked into the rocks at the bottom of The Roaches so many times and wondered what it looks like inside. With some friends staying there, I got to see and it is an amazing building (particularly the kitchen).

In the end, the tiredness caused by my cold and the limited number of boulders sheltered enough that the crash pads wouldn’t blow away brought an end to my climbing on Sunday. I didn’t mind. I finished my lovely pootle by ambling off to the nearby tearooms.

Climbers at Froggatt Edge

People who like rock climbing are apparently more likely to enjoy eating gruel and poppy seed rolls, live in Wales, be middle class and describe themselves as analytical and practical, but occasionally neurotic. This is according to YouGov Profiler, a new, free app that allows you to look at survey data from polling company YouGov. It’s designed as a taster for the much more in-depth, paid-for YouGov Profiles that is YouGov’s segmentation and media-planning tool for PR agencies and brands.  It’s quite fun to input random things into YouGov Profiler to see what it can tell you about people and their interests. However, looking through the occasionally quirky results from this app made me wonder if some people are admitting things in surveys that they aren’t sharing with their friends at the crag or if YouGov might need to talk to a few more climbers.

Some of the YouGov Profiler results for people who like rock climbing are potentially quite useful from a marketing point of view, but a little dull. Rock climbers are more likely to be aged 25-39, social grades ABC1 (i.e. middle class and in a managerial or professional occupation) and work in Research / R&D. However, some of the results tell me things I would not have guessed. Apparently one of rock climbers’ favourite celebrities is Gwyneth Paltrow. I’m guessing that this is because of her performances in the Iron Man films and her dedication to leading a healthy lifestyle. Rock climbers also apparently like the band Earth, Wind and Fire and the film The Virgin Spring. I can’t think of a reason why rock climbers would particularly like them other than the names might represent, respectively, a really bad day climbing and a really good day climbing. The most surprising finding is that rock climbers like eating gruel. It’s a food that I associate with workhouses and which has such negative connotations I didn’t think anyone would choose to eat it. Maybe it’s because rock climbers have, according to YouGov Profiler, little disposable income and so can’t afford enough oats to make a decent porridge.

To test YouGov Profiler a bit more, I then entered “mountaineering.”  Again I found a mix of the relatively predictable and the odd. I can understand that people who like mountaineering may be more likely to live in Wales or the Midlands as it’s in easy reach of outdoor activity opportunities. As they might need a robust and practical vehicle to get to the next mountain, their preference for driving Land Rovers is also understandable. That mountaineers are more likely to work in the military and defence industry or as a consultant I might not have guessed, but seems to make sense. I don’t understand why mountaineers are more likely to have Tournedos Rossini as their favourite dish. To be honest, I had to look this dish up – it’s basically filet mignon, pan-fried in butter and served on a crouton with foie gras and garnished with black truffle and a Madeira demi-glace sauce. It sounds quite posh and probably impossible to cook on a camp stove.

I’m also intrigued that mountaineers are more likely to describe themselves as well educated, but occasionally nerdy, taciturn and a pushover. I wonder too why they have Dr Feelgood as a favourite band and to have recently watched Family Guy or Frasier. Added together, these features don’t quite fit with the mountaineers I know. It is possible that people are just a bit weird and aren’t always completely truthful about what like, but another explanation for some of YouGov Profiler’s odder results may be the methodology behind it.

YouGov states that the data in the YouGov Profiles (which YouGov Profiler takes its results from) draws on a “connected data vault which holds over 120,000 data points, collected from over 200,000 UK YouGov members.” Despite this only 66 of these members expressed an interest in rock climbing and only 92 liked mountaineering. I admit that rock climbing and mountaineering are niche activities, but I find it hard to believe that they are that niche. I would have thought that in a sample of 200,000 you would have to deliberately exclude scores of people to only find 66 people who liked rock climbing. Have I just massively over-estimated the popularity of my pastime or are YouGov members just less likely to go rock climbing?

Rock climbers at the bottom of Froggatt Edge.

Such small sample sizes inevitably lead to questions about the accuracy of the results. YouGov admits that the larger the sample size the more confident it is to be about correlations, but states that even a small sample size can give results that still show a lot about a particular group.

YouGov is careful to explain that the app doesn’t show an average fan or customer, but shows the quintessential member of a group. This group is compared against their “natural comparison set.” YouGov give the example of fans of Downton Abbey being compared against everyone who has rated any TV shows. This means that if YouGov Profiler shows that a particular group is more likely to have a particular characteristic, it is only more likely in relation to the comparison group (not, for example, the whole UK population). It also doesn’t mean that the whole group shares this particular characteristic. YouGov Profiler gives a score for the size of the difference with the comparison set and most of the characteristics in the results for rock climbing and mountaineering only had a medium level of difference. The big difficulty I have when trying to interpret the results of any YouGov Profiler search is that it doesn’t tell you who the comparison set are and I don’t know what questions people were asked.   So the results I’ve found could show that there are a few secret gruel-eating rock climbers out there or that rock climbers just eat more gruel than, for example, other people who participate in sport. That’s still a bit weird, but not as weird  as it might be.

To see if I could get potentially more robust results through a higher sample size, I put into YouGov Profiler the equipment mega-brand The North Face and got a much more impressive sample of 669. YouGov Profiler told me that people who like The North Face are much more likely to:

• Be aged 40-59
• Be ABC1
• Live in Northern or Central Scotland
• Work in IT or finance and have quite a lot of disposable income
• Enjoy eating Roquefort quiche
• Shop at Marks and Spencers
• Drive a Land Rover
• Have Muppets Most Wanted as their favourite movie

This makes sense. Although serious climbers do buy North Face clothing and gear, the company also seems to have lots of customers who have never done anything more adventurous in their North Face down jacket than walk the dog and take their Land Rover on the school run. Liking The Muppets is a little unexpected, but then The Muppets are cool and so it’s understandable that The North Face customers like them.

Placing gear on Pillar Arete (VD*) on a hot June day at Stanage Edge.

I then discovered how much fun it is to enter random things into YouGov Profiler and see the unexpected results that come up. I was amazed to find that 1,772 YouGov members like alpacas. I have nothing against alpacas. They are cute and furry plus their wool makes really nice scarves. But 1,772 YouGov members like alpacas and only 66 like rock climbing? How is it that a popular sport that tests mental and physical prowess in beautiful natural settings is less popular among YouGov members than furry South American camelids?

According to YouGov Profiler, people who like alpacas are apparently more likely to be ABC1, work in Research / R&D or Healthcare and Medicine and have pad woo sen as one of their favourite dishes. They also have looking after their pets as a pastime and Babe: Pig in the City as one of their favourite films (this doesn’t feel particularly surprising). People who like alpacas are more likely to describe themselves as original and sensitive, but occasionally withdrawn and depressed (maybe alpacas are not good at returning affection?).

Through my searches of YouGov Profiler I also found out that people who like Kendal Mint Cake are much more likely to enjoy eating prawn nigiri sushi and have Paths of Glory as a favourite film. I discovered that the 3,930 YouGov members who read Terry Pratchett are more likely to have mettwurst as one of their favourite dishes, own a cat and read New Scientist. The 248 British YouGov members with a special interest in North Korea are more likely to describe themselves as clever and imaginative, but occasionally apathetic, big-headed and cruel. They are also more likely to read Viz comic and have video games as a pastime.

I’m not totally convinced by the accuracy of some of the results given to me by YouGov Profiler and doubt that I would use it for working out a marketing plan aimed at rock climbers. I would probably use instead Sport England’s participation in sport survey and it’s associated Active People Interactive app.  However, to be fair, YouGov Profiles is a generally well-designed app that makes easily available a lot of information and which probably works well when the samples are of a reasonable size. It’s also a free taster of a bigger piece of software that probably does a lot more. YouGov Profiler is fun, illuminating and puzzling, but I’m not sure it really tell me who the quintessential climber is.

A page from the January 2015 edition of Trail magazine and some tinsel.

Christmas is the season for giving. It is also the season for lots of really good competitions for outdoor clothing and equipment. Just as the shops put out their Christmas wears come December, so a range of shops, magazines and forums put on generous competitions for the sorts of goodies that outdoor enthusiasts would love to have in their Christmas stockings. It’s a fairly blatant attempt to boast sales during a peak buying period, but I don’t care, as I like entering competitions so much. Here is my run-down of the competitions I will be entering religiously over the next couple of weeks.

Advent calendar competitions

This is nice idea – online advent calendars with a new, one-day only competition to enter behind each virtual door.

The best such competition is run by the Outdoor Magic forum.  This involves 24, often quite expensive, prizes over as many days. The prizes in the competitions are varied and so far this year have included an Elliott Brown watch, a Rab down jacket and a personalised OS map.

The advent calendar competition run by the shop Ellis Brigham is less generous but still includes some really good prizes. Competitions are only run on some of the days in December, with a few of the windows having nothing behind them but an advert. On those days it’s a bit like opening your advent calendar window and finding that someone has already eaten the chocolate and left you a note telling you where you can buy another one.

Ellis Brigham’s Christmas 2014 advent calendar competition.

Climbing equipment DMM also runs an advent calendar competition. The prizes being some of their great equipment they make, such as nuts, an ice axe and quickdraws. If you share the link to a competition after you’ve entered it, you get an extra entry into the competition for each friend who enters from your referral.

Lastly, the Hathersage based Outside shop has an advent calendar competition in which the prizes have so far included a guidebook, hat, headtorch and rucksack.

The disadvantage of these competitions is that if you don’t know about them on the 1^st December, then you may miss out on entering some of the competitions. I admit that I haven’t helped in this because I’m not posting this on 1^st December. Sorry, but I’ve been busy.

Big give-aways

These are the competitions that have as prizes either one high value item or else lots of items that are won by one lucky participant. The annual king of these competitions is the Win Your Ultimate Christmas competition run by Country Walking magazine and Trail magazine. This year’s prize has a total value of £2,600 and includes a pair of Salewa Firetail Evo Mid GTX shoes, a Leatherman Style PS, Mammut wash bag, Helinox Chair One, Jetboil Zip, Leki poles, Mountain Hardwear Hueco Hooded Jacket and lots of other things.

A Christmas tree bauble.

The Rab game

Rab ran its first online Christmas game three years ago with a prize of a complete outfit of Rab clothing. It was a memory game that involved clicking on tiles to reveal a photo of an item of Rab gear that you then had to match with the same photo by clicking on the appropriate tile. The more quickly you completed the game, the higher the score. It was fun, but challenging and, after a certain point, seemingly impossible to get above a certain score.

Rab easily surpassed this competition the following year when it introduced its Ridge Runner game. This was essentially a basic platform game in which a mountaineer ran along a snowy ridge. Your task was to hit the space bar at the right times so that the mountaineer would jump over gaps in the ridge and not fall to his death. If your mountaineer ran into a snowman, tree, marmot or owl he would slow down, if he ran into a bird he would speed up. The score was essentially a representation of how many metres the mountaineer had supposedly run with the highest score by Christmas winning a Rab outfit. It was amazingly addictive and I’ve probably spent far too much of my Decembers over the last couple of years glued to my laptop tapping the space bar. My chances of winning were pretty slight as whoever was getting the top scores must have spent so much time playing video games that I wonder how much they actually got up mountains.

The second year of the Ridge Runner competition felt like it had been downgraded a bit. It only had a down jacket as a prize (a good prize, but less than a full outfit) and was launched relatively late in December. I’m now waiting for the third year of Ridge Runner to start and am looking hopefully each day at the Rab website. I’ll update this post when it begins.

This is the best time of the year for outdoor gear competitions. So season’s greetings and happy competition entering!

UPDATE: 25 December 2014

Well, I haven’t won anything, but it was fun trying.  It’s a shame that Rab didn’t bring back it’s Ridge Runner game this year.  Here’s hoping that things will be different next year.

Merry Christmas.

Rock climbing isn’t kind to hands. Thankfully, there are quite a few balms available that aim to revitalise, repair and moisturise the cracked, parched and cut mess a climber’s hands can become if they are not shown some loving care. I reviewed some of these balms a while ago and gave the highest score to Climb On balm. Now I’ve come across another balm that is right up there with it.

Beta Balm is made by Simplici from Chattanooga in Tennessee. Simplici describes Beta Balm as “a powerful herbal moisturizer formulated to naturally rejuvenate dry, cracked, sore and irritated skin.”

What’s in it?

Like a lot of other balms out there Beta Balm is made of natural ingredients such as butters, waxes, oils and herbs.

The primary ingredient of most climbing balms is beeswax as it’s a natural humectant, acting to draw moisture from the air into the skin and locking it there. Beeswax is also said to be anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-allergenic as well as being a germicidal antioxidant and source of Vitamin A (which is good for cell development).

Beta Balm contains beeswax, although, interestingly, it’s the third ingredient and it’s mango butter that comes first. Mango butter is made from the kernels of the mango tree. It’s meant to be similar to shea or cocoa butter in terms of moisturising and softening the skin, but lighter. Mango butter also apparently contains high amounts of anti-oxidants and vitamins A, C and E – which are all good for the skin.

The next ingredient on the back of Beta Balm’s tin is babassu oil. This comes from the babassu palm and moisturises and softens the skin as well as forming a protective coat on it.

The other ingredients are:

Kokum butter, carnauba wax, walnut oil, shea nut oil, meadowfoam seed oil, lanolin, Vitamin E, myrrh, chickweed, burdock root, plantain, self-heal, white willow bark, Echinacea, calendula, fenugreek, confrey, thyme, rosemary, garlic and essential oils.

There’s a helpful summary of how these other ingredients are meant to help the skin on Simplici’s blog.

What’s it like?

Beta Balm comes in a generously sized puck that’s moulded on one side into a fun, target shape and that sits well in the palm of your hand. It spreads very easily and you need surprisingly little for it to be effective. A quick, short rub of the puck over the back and front of each hand is all you need before working the balm in.

It initially leaves your hands with an oily shine and the first time I used Beta Balm I thought I’d be leaving oily fingerprints around for quite some time. However, somewhat strangely, although the shine remains for a while after application, my hands don’t feel oily to the touch after about five minutes. This is relatively good for a climbing balm. Crucially, Beta Balm works impressively well at moisturising hands and leaving them feeling nice for a good period of time.

Beta Balm has a fairly strong smell when it’s first applied, but this fades quickly. The smell is distinctive, slightly sharp and complex. Simplici describe the smell as woodsy and herbal. My wife agrees with this, but I wouldn’t describe the smell as woodsy. To me Beta Balm smells of herbs, spices and citrus. It’s a smell I like and other people I’ve shared the balm with find the smell intriguing and certainly don’t dislike it. However, it’s a smell with personality and I suspect that a small number of people might not like it.

How does it compare against the competition?

Of all the balms I’ve tried in the past, it’s Climb On and Sypeland Climber’s Hand Balm that I’ve found most effective and that I’ve kept using myself. In my earlier review I gave Climb On a score of 33 and Sypeland a score of 29. On the same scoring system I give Beta Balm:

Application:   9
Absorbency:  9
Longevity:      9
Smell:            6
Score:           33

There are definite differences between these three balms.  Climb On has more of a waxy feel to it than Beta Balm, which feels slightly oilier.  This might be why Beta Balm beats Climb On for ease of application and absorbency, but that’s just a guess on my part.  Beta Balm ties with Sypeland in terms of application and absorbency, which surprised me a little considering that Sypeland is a light cream and so easy to put on.

Beta Balm also works as well as Climb On and Sypeland’s at moisturising. Although I’m not convinced that Beta Balm works for quite as long as Climb On as a moisturiser, it’s not far behind.

Climb On has a notably gentler, less distinctive smell than Beta Balm and Sypeland and this might be a deciding factor for some people when deciding which to buy. However, deciding which smells better is pretty subjective.

Overall, Beta Balm is excellent and it’s something I’m going to keep using to keep my hands in good shape.

Declaration: Simplici gave me a free sample specifically for me to review. This hasn’t influenced my opinion.

My hands dry out and can crack like the bed of a river in a drought when the weather is cold or wet and when I’ve had my hands in climbing chalk.   This means I’ve taken an interest in the balms and moisturisers designed to keep a rock climber’s hands in good condition and reviewed a few of them before. Recently I’ve been trying out the Climb On Adventure Bar and Climb On Crème Lite, made by SKINourishment of Texas using natural and food grade ingredients.

Climb On Adventure Bar (AKA Climb On Bar, Men)

Application:   8
Absorbency:  8
Longevity:      10
Smell:             8
Score:            34

Ingredients: Cera alba (unrefined yellow beeswax), prunus armeniaca (apricot kernel oil), vitis vinifera (grapeseed oil), triticum vulgare (wheatgerm oil), essential oils of commiphora myrrha (myrrh), cedrus atlantica (cedarwood), citrus aurantifolia (lime), boswellia carterii (frankincense) and tocopherol (Vitamin E).

The Climb On Bar, Original has been one of my favourite hand balms and I gave it the top score in my original comparison of hand balms for rock climbers. I like it because it works well at moisturising and rejuvenating my hands and keeps my hands in good condition for the day. The Climb On Adventure Bar (called the Climb On Bar, Men in North America) does the same job, but slightly better.

Like the Climb On, Original, SKINourishment state that the Adventure Bar is a multi-purpose product that can be used for any skin issue that needs deep moisturising and nourishing. It was apparently made in response to a request for a Climb On bar with a more manly smell. I can’t say that I’ve ever found Climb On, Original to have a non-masculine smell and I’m not sure I’d describe Adventure Bar as smelling masculine as such. It’s got a fairly subtle smell and smells mild when compared to Climb On, Original.

The ingredients of the Adventure Bar are not too dissimilar to those of the Climb On, Original. The Adventure Bar is, like Climb On, Original, based on beeswax. Beeswax is a humectant, which means that when applied to the skin it attracts moisture in the air, draws it into the skin and locks it in there so as to both treat dry skin and prevent skin drying out. It’s also said to be anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-allergenic as well as being a germicidal antioxidant. Plus, beeswax is a source of Vitamin A, which is meant to be good for cell development.

Climb On Adventure Bar

The differences are that the Adventure Bar contains lime and essential oils of myrrh, frankincense and cedarwood, but not the essential oils of lemon and lavender that are in Climb On, Original.

Adventure Bar feels smoother in consistency and more solid than Climb On, Original. It still spreads easily and the waxy shine balms often leave goes quickly (possibly slightly more quickly than the Climb On, Original).

It’s a good balm and certainly one of the best hand balms I’ve tried.

Climb On Crème Lite

Application:   7
Absorbency:  7
Longevity:      4
Smell:             8
Score:            26

Ingredients: organic, unrefined butryospermum parkii (shea butter), prunus armeniaca (apricot kernel oil), vitis vinifera (grape seed oil), essential oils of citrus lemon (lemon), citrus aurantium L. (neroli), lavendula angustifolia (lavender) and non-GMO tocopherol (Vitamin E).

Crème Lite is meant to sit somewhere better the Climb On, Original bar and the Climb On Crème. The idea is that by cutting out the beeswax and aloe vera gel you get a crème that is lighter than its sister products but easily absorbed and just as effective. The primary ingredient of Crème Lite is shea butter, a fat derived from nuts that is used fairly extensively for its ability to moisturise and soften the skin. Shea butter also contains Vitamin A.

Crème Lite is set in a flat tin. It’s milky white and at first glance looks fairly solid. However, it readily melts under when you rub your fingertips over it and can then be very easily spread. Crème Lite does initially leave a shine when first applied, but this disappears quickly. Its smell is gentle and subtle.

As it is a set in a tin, Crème Lite is slightly more labour intensive to apply to the hands than the balms that come in puck form like the Adventure Bar. However, as the name suggests, it’s lighter than beeswax-based balms and this probably accounts for why it spreads so easily. It also means Crème Lite works better as a general-purpose moisturiser. I’ve used it on my hands, legs, feet and face and found that Crème Lite has done a good job of soothing and moisturising skin. It does linger on my face for a while in a way that a dedicated facial moisturiser is unlikely to, but not in a way that is clammy or cloying. Facial skin also varies so widely between people that someone else might find Crème Lite behaves differently for them.

Climb On Creme Lite.

Although it initially works well at moisturising my hands, Crème Lite didn’t keep my hands moisturised through the course of the day as well as many of the hand balms I’ve tried. This means that it probably wouldn’t be my first choice for a hand care product to take with me on a day Gritstone climbing on a cold October day or for a long session at the climbing wall. I’d be far more likely to put the Adventure Bar in my rucksack in those circumstances. However, Crème Lite might well be my first choice if I wanted to take just one moisturiser with me on a weekend or longer trip. This is because it feels a bit more versatile as a skincare product than a dedicated hand balm. Years ago, on an overseas trip, I opened my rucksack to find that over-stuffing and a change of altitude had led a bottle of sunscreen to explode over my clothes. Since then I’ve been careful about how I pack bottles of sunscreen and moisturiser. Being lighter, smaller and more robust than a bottle or tube of moisturiser means that Crème Lite might be a much better (and potentially less messy) travel companion.

Declaration: SKINourishment gave me a free sample of the Crème Lite and the Adventure Bar specifically for me to review. This hasn’t influenced my opinion.

I’ve taken my first steps back into climbing following surgery on my injured knee.  They’re just small steps at my local climbing wall, because I worry that anything else will see me injure myself again or at least slow down my recovery.  My physio was clear about how to not hurt myself – avoid jumping down or falling off from boulder problems until my legs have regained the strength needed to cushion the impact.  The only way to follow that advice was to carefully climb easy problems and down climb everything. 

This was limiting and could have been a bit irritating, but I decided the best thing to do was to accept climbing this way and ended by enjoying my session.  It’s sometimes fun to just focus on moving well during a climb and to forget about pushing yourself to climb harder.  I think that I’ve been guilty in the past of getting so caught up in things like the next gear placement, the fall below me, reducing rope drag or how to complete the next move that I just forget to enjoy moving on the rock (or on plastic).  My injury has been frustrating, but it is getting me to think differently and to think more about how I move, how I balance and how I can just relax into climbing.  If I can change my focus in this way then may I can  enjoy the climbing I can do more and build up the fundamentals of good climbing technique so that I can be a better climber in future.  Maybe I can also not get frustrated about how rusty my technique is right now and how much strength I’ve lost. 

My climbing wall session was the start of all this.  I’ve got quite a way to go yet to return to my previous climbing standard, but I’m happy to be back climbing.

Me climbing problem orange 12 at Buthiers Piscine in the forests of Fontainebleau.

If it were not for bad customer service, I wouldn’t have been bouldering at Fontainebleau this week. On my first trip to Fontainebleau a year ago I tore the meniscus in my right knee while pulling hard on a heel hook. Since surgery on the knee, I’ve been trying to get back into climbing in a way that is slow, gentle and careful enough to avoid injury. Bouldering outside on boulders that often have sloping holds and rounded top-outs wasn’t necessarily what I would have picked as my reintroduction to climbing on real rock. However, I’d really enjoyed bouldering at Fontainebleau and I had a free Channel Tunnel ticket that expired at the end of June. This ticket was by way of apology from Eurotunnel for a four-hour delay to the train taking me to France on that first Fontainebleau trip and for failing to even reply to my initial complaints. That ticket was a good excuse to go.

My plan was to minimise the risk of injury by focusing on building up strength, stamina and technique by climbing a lot of easy problems. I also planned not to fall off any boulders, as the impact could be bad for my knee. There would be no testing myself on anything hard and I was going to back off a problem if I felt uncomfortable. All I was going to climb were yellows.

Me climbing problem number 18 on the yellow circuit at Rocher des Potets.

The problems of Fontainebleau are famously indicated on the boulders in paint. Different colours of paint denote different grades, while painted arrows show the direction of the problems and painted numbers indicate where the problems come in a circuit (i.e. sequence) of problems. The yellow problems are the easiest and so were what I planned to climb.

I had great fun following this yellow plan. There was no pressure and no desperate, flailing attempts to top-out. It was just moving, balancing and reacquainting myself with the feel of climbing on rock. Some of the problems were so easy that it felt like I was doing an extended warm-up session before moving on to the hard stuff. With other problems I was sufficiently out of practice at climbing that I could enjoy being a bit challenged and get a nice sense of achievement from getting to the top.

Me climbing boulder problem 26 on the yellow circuit at Rocher des Potets.

On the last day I felt confident enough to stray off my plan and do a few orange problems (orange being the next level up) at Buthiers Piscine. Some were just too tempting – with interesting shapes and features in the rock and puzzling sequences of moves to solve. However, I avoided any orange problem that looked too risky and from which a fall would certainly do my knee some damage. These often turned out to be similar grades to some of the more challenging yellow problems at Rocher des Potets, where I’d been a couple of days before. However, there were a few I completed that felt like solid oranges and which gave me feel satisfied with myself.

Me climbing problem number 6 on the orange circuit at Buthiers Piscine.

Other things combined to make the trip even better. Apart from one freak hailstorm and a rain shower, the weather was good. My twenty-month-old son loved running around the forest and between the boulders as well as digging in the sand, scrambling up rocks and munching baguettes. The areas we visited were also so quiet that there were often periods when Valerie, Leo and I were the only people there.

It was a great trip and a brilliant outcome from some (initially) bad customer service. Bouldering at Fontainebleau made me feel much more like a proper rock climber again.

Alice coaching me on how to climb in a more fluid way.

My main priority in my return to rock climbing is to build up my strength and develop my climbing technique in a way that reduces the chance of injuring myself again.  To do this I need to reassess how I climb.   My hope is that if I do this now, I can stop slipping back into any bad habits as well as stop new bad habits developing.  I decided that the best way to do this was to get an expert to assess my climbing and coach me on what to do to improve it.  So, I booked a climbing injury prevention session with Alice Turner, a qualified mountain instructor (MIA) and physiotherapist.  What I learned has really got me thinking about how I can climb in a smarter way by changing some of the fundamentals of how I move.

The session started by Alice and I talking about my experiences of climbing, my injury, my recovery after the operation and about what I’m now trying to do.  Alice followed this by looked at how I move and how my knees are behaving (they’re mostly misbehaving at the moment).  She then showed me a few exercises that I can do to engage and strengthen the muscles that control my posture and so the stability of my knees.

Alice showing me exercises in the garden of the climbing wall.

Next it was on to the climbing wall, where Alice talked me through how I can change my technique to make my climbing more fluid and reduce the chance of injury. There were three key things that I learned.

The first thing was the need to really engage my “rear wheel drive.” In a way, I knew this already.   Probably the most common piece of advice given to someone beginning climbing is to use your legs to climb and not drag yourself up the face with your arms. However, it was only with Alice’s coaching that I realized how often I don’t fully climb with my legs. I often just stand on and put weight on my legs, but I don’t continuously, actively push with them. This means that my default climbing style has been to not weight my feet sufficiently to avoid a foot slipping off. Actively pushing all the time with my legs does feel more secure, although it’s also pretty tiring.

The next thing Alice and I worked on during the session was to place my feet on the outside edge of holds. Normally I try to put my feet as much on the holds as possible and so often have the sides of my feet completely against the face. By moving my feet further out on holds I learned that I could get the space to pivot feet on holds as I shifted my weight or direction during the climb. This avoided forcibly twisting my knees and improved my balance by moving me further away from the rock. This was a complete revelation to me.

Alice demonstrating footwork.

It was also a revelation to be told to move my hips in fluid motions as a means of making my moves more dynamic and so involving less effort. I used to think that I was pretty good at shifting my weight when I climbed. I can now see that while what I did worked in a way, it was a bit stop-start and so involved more energy.

The session with Alice has got me to think differently about my climbing and to try ways of moving that I would not have done otherwise.  It made me realize that I have been set in a particular way of climbing and that there are fundamental changes I can make to my climbing technique to make me a better climber. The challenge I have now is that these ways of moving are not intuitive to me and I have to concentrate on every move to put them into practice. Alice’s coaching has helped me to reassess my climbing and given me a new direction to take. What I’ve learned is a good foundation for my efforts to climb smarter and to climb in a way that is less prone to injury.

Hoping the rain will stop while belaying at Stanage.

You need a lot of hope if you want to rock climb in the UK. Hope that it won’t rain on your weekend climbing trip. Hope that the rain will stop by the afternoon so that you can go climbing. Hope that the rock will dry out quickly from the last lot of rain because you’ve been sitting in the café far too long. Hope that the rain will hold off until you have finished your climb. Hope that the water slowly trickling down your sleeves as you climb is just a quick shower. Even hope that the patch of lighter cloud you can see in the distance is the “possibly clearing later” that the weather forecast mentioned. You need that hope, particularly if you are a London-based climber like me and every trip to a climbing venue is an investment of time and effort. It’s that hope that gets you in your car to drive to the Peak District or North Wales and it’s what gets you out of your tent when rain is pattering on it first thing in the morning.

It was probably a bit ironic then that on my trip to the Peak District last weekend I stayed just outside the village of Hope. I hoped hard, but the rain didn’t stop and so I gave up on the idea of climbing on Saturday and went for a walk instead. It was a great walk along the Mam Tor ridge and down into Castleton.

On Sunday morning, the sun shone a bit and my hope rose. I drove to Stanage and was belaying on my first climb of the day when it began to rain. I got to the top despite my feet skidding off the smooth, wet footholds at the start of the climb. Then I stood around at the foot of the crag with other climbers hoping that the rain would stop. It didn’t, so I went to a coffee shop and then went home.

Hopefully it will be drier on my next trip.

Leo climbing a boulder at Rocher des Potets, Fontainebleau.

As first-time parents, Valerie and I have had to work out as we go along how to continue to rock climb while also being Mum and Dad to Leo. Last year we had a fun and successful trip to the legendary bouldering venue of Fontainebleau with a teething baby. This year we went back with an energetic (and teething) toddler. Here’s what we learned the hard way so you don’t have to.

Moving about

Bouldering at Fontainebleau can be really accessible. The two sectors we climbed at on this trip – Buthiers Piscine and Rocher des Potets – were only 3 minutes and 10-15 minutes walk from a car park respectively. Leo was perfectly happy doing a lot of this walking (slowly) himself as both sectors are reached by broad tracks. For the times when Leo was tired or wanted to be carried, we used an ErgoBaby (a soft structure carrier, suitable from about 9 months for back carries). This is because using a buggy on sand or boulder-strewn woodland is a bad idea.

Take a bucket and spade

Some parts of Fontainebleau are so sandy that there are inland beaches among the boulders that are a great place to set up camp for the day if you have a toddler. We would throw a picnic blanket down under some trees next to one of these sandy clearings and Leo would contentedly play in the sand with a bucket and spade.

Running about

When playing in the sand stopped keeping his attention, Leo loved running around among the boulders and trees. Fontainebleau is a great natural playground for kids and I imagine that in a few years Leo will be making dens, scrambling around on boulders, playing tag and having stick sword fights. It was possibly the most relaxed and happy we’ve ever seen him, although as one of us had to follow him around to make sure he didn’t fall off anything or stand underneath a climber, it wasn’t stress free for us.

Leo enjoying jumping off our bouldering mat.

Bouldering

The big downside to taking turns looking after Leo was that there was no one spotting us when we were climbing. Ideally, we would have been part of a larger group so that there were several people climbing and available for spotter duty. As it was, we had to be careful in how we climbed and try not to fall off.

Leo was the one climber in our little group who did always climb with an attentive spotter. He has always been interested in climbing the furniture and he definitely enjoyed trying to climb up rocks. I’m hoping that if we go next year he will be big enough for the dedicated children’s bouldering circuits. The children’s circuit at Buthiers Piscine looked lovely – a tight collection of small boulders on the top of a gentle, wooded ridge.

Leo enjoying a snack on the picnic mat at Buthiers Piscine.

Napping

All this climbing, running about and digging in the sand meant that Leo’s lunchtime nap was even more essential if he wasn’t to become overly tired and get unhappy. Working out how to take a toddler to a bouldering venue for most of the day and find an opportunity for him to have his afternoon nap is challenging. Valerie curling up with Leo on the picnic blanket so that he can have his nap worked on the one day we that did it, but I think that was only successful because there weren’t many people about. A better alternative was to put Leo in the ErgoBaby and walk gently around with him until he fell asleep. This meant that someone had to wear Leo until he awoke from his nap, but we approached this like a long turn of taking care of Leo and followed it up with a long turn climbing.

Leo napping in his ErgoBaby

Changing

Changing nappies was straightforward. Using the picnic blanket or bouldering mat as a changing station meant that we avoided sand getting in places it shouldn’t and kept Leo comfortable. We put waste nappies in bags and carried them until we reached the nearest bin or got back to the hotel.

Staying

Staying in a hotel just felt like less effort than trying to camp with a toddler and even staying in self-catering accommodation. Although we lost the freedom to choosing how and when to prepare our own meals, we gained the freedom of not having to prepare anything other than a packed lunch.  Breakfast was provided and dinner was either a takeaway pizza or eating in the hotel’s bistro. I think that in later years we might try camping or self-catering, but a hotel has worked well so far.

We stayed at the same hotel on this trip as on our previous trip – the Hotel de l’Ecu de France. It’s a good, friendly, quiet, family-run hotel in Malesherbes. If you are with a toddler it’s worth knowing that it has a couple of dogs, fish and a parrot. Leo was fascinated by them, but also gets a scared if the dogs get too close.

Last year was our first foreign trip with Leo and it was daunting and challenging. This year was our second foreign trip and it was still challenging, but more rewarding now that Leo could really have fun playing in the woods. I’m really looking forward to going back to Fonatinebleau next year.