Mountains & More

Working on the world's tallest jack up rig has definitely been an interesting job.

It seems like a late August heat wave is unlikely, along with lovely days like these.

Where this may seem like a downer, we at Mountains & More see it as a great positive. These long heat waves & exessive periods of rain are not a stable weather system, especially here in sunny Cumbria. It can cause large amounts of environmental damage in the form of drought, wildfires, & landslides (especially when they happen right next to your house!).

So when the rain comes in, let's simply Don our waterproofs, hoods up, and admire the beauty that every season holds.

Do this and more on a guided walk.

Link in Bio for details

Cloud inversions are a beautiful sight, often enjoyed by the early risers.

Try catch one yourself on a guided mountain day!

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Okay! So we are almost there Belayers! Now it's time to take in the slack and get going!

We break this down into an easy to remember rhyme, V to Knee 1 2 3. Now let's go through it.

V, 📷 2, this is the action of pulling down with our upper hand and raising our upper hand to put the rope into a V position. This is a critical position as our break hand is lifted up, meaning the belay device will not catch a fall, so spend as little time in the V position as possible.

Knee, 📷 3, this is the action of bringing that break hand back down to a safe position, as stated earlier it's best to get here quick, but don't rush, steady and controlled is always safer.

1, 📷 4, this is the action of bringing the high hand down to hold the break rope above your break hand, sounds odd but it will make sense soon enough.

2, 📷 5, this is the action of bringing your break hand up and holding the break rope in a comfortable position, by doing the action on 1 & 2 we have help the break rope at all times, always keeping our partner safe incase of an unexpected fall.

3, 📷 6, this is the action of bringing our high hand back onto the rope above the belay device, resetting ourselves to go through this all over again.

V to Knee 1 2 3, simple as and perfectly safe 👌🏻

Being ready is important in belaying, so having your feet positioned ready to absorb force is key!

Our head instructor likes to encourage a "fighting stance", this is something that comes naturally to us as humans, and it's always easier to do what feels right. So having your feet shoulder width apart with whatever foot forward that feels comfortable, ready for whatever may come.

Hand position is critical in belaying, its what makes the system work.

Most importantly the break hand (📷 2), it is positioned low, keeping that belay system working, you only lift that hand up to take in slack, otherwise it stays low.

The top hand (📷 3), is positioned up the rope, ready to take in any slack and aid the belay movement (this will be covered in due time), this isn't a safety critical position, but slickness of technique will make us safer.

Let's go through this head to toe, so our apologies to as this photo is gonna come up alot..

She is looking up, concentrating on her partner, aware and prepared for anything that may happen.

If you are belaying your partner, watch what they are doing.

Belaying is a crucial aspect of Rock Climbing, it is the part that keeps us safe.

Over this week we will be breaking down the important bits when it comes to belay technique, so stay tuned!

Scafell was lit up beautifully last night, with a gorgeous red horizon.

These views are always better in person, see for yourself on a Guided Walk.

Link in Bio for details

HOT HOT HOT!!!

With a high UV index and temps upto 24"c here in Eskdale, according to its very important to look after yourself.

Plenty of these two will see you through, remembering to reapply the cream de la sun regularly as our gwar head instructor knows all too well.

You will get this and loads more useful knowledge from any of our available activities!

Link in Bio for details

Wasdale Valley is our Head Instructors favourite place to be, easily accessed from the West Coast of Cumbria. Which has lovely B & B's like who provide an amazing service to their visitors.

A beautiful day for some personal climbing. Today our head instructor and his friend Jon took themselves up Copper Dragon E1 5b on Great How.

You could start your own journey to great days out like this with an Intro to Rock Climbing Day.

Link in Bio for details.