September 2015 - Vertical Frontiers Mountain Guides

Month: September 2015

Dartmoor granite – the finest granite of all!

Posted by Matt Knapp | Sep 30, 2015 | Guiding/Instruction, News, Rock Climbing, Uncategorised |

This weekend I was joined on Dartmoor by an old VF client, Tommi and his new climbing partner Jamie, both from over the boarder in Cornwall and both ready for a couple of hard days climbing. We met at the Dewerstone, an impressive wall of granite found in an ancient wooded valley. Tommi was keen to be self reliant and able to lead confidently by the end of the weekend and Jamie was up for the challenge! We kicked off with a couple of classics; ‘Mucky Gully’ and ‘Central Groove’ then it was time for Tommi to get on...

Endurance thoughts – CCC Race report

Posted by Ben Bradford | Sep 5, 2015 | Alps, Ben's Climbs, Endurance, France, Italy, Switzerland, Uncategorised |

It still amazes me how things fade from memory so quickly. Specifically, how discomfort and pain seems to be forgotten and you only focus on the positive feelings and satisfaction from a job well done. So it is for most endurance activities, mountaineering, trail running or whatever. For this most recent race, I think I was already analyzing my race and deciding what I would do differently next time when I was still stood next to the finish line. Not that I voiced these thoughts aloud, mainly because my partner Emma would have probably thrown some heavy object at...

Saas Grund wanderings

Posted by Ben Bradford | Sep 3, 2015 | Alpine Climbing, Alps, News, Switzerland, Uncategorised |

Had some great photos from Stephan who has been climbing in the Saas Grund area with Heike, guided by by a good friend of mine, Gavin Pike. Stephan and I have climbed together a few times now, first meeting on an Aconcagua trip I was leading many years ago. I was at home with my feet up after the last Ultra Marathon, so Gavin was in charge on the hill. They had great weather and conditions, and so traversed the Wesimeiss and climbed the Lagginhorn, the two major 4000m peaks of the...

Attempting to dodge the weather on the Moine

Posted by Ben Bradford | Sep 1, 2015 | Alpine Climbing, Alps, France, Guiding/Instruction, News, Uncategorised |

Sarah was in Chamonix for a long weekend. We wanted some Matterhorn practice, and preferably some quiet mountains. There was fresh snow up high, covering the rock routes so we aimed for the Aiguille du Moine in the heart of the Mont Blanc range. We had a busy first day, starting off at the climbing area at Les Gaillands practicing some multi-pitch climbing and abseiling before catching the train up to Montenvers and up to the Courvecle refuge. It’s quite a long approach, with some stunning scenery on the glacier lower down, before climbing the steep and exposed ladders...

Month: September 2015

Dartmoor granite – the finest granite of all!

Endurance thoughts – CCC Race report

Saas Grund wanderings

Attempting to dodge the weather on the Moine

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