Kendal Mountaineering Services. In the run up to Christmas 2015.

Once again, its been a while since we've posted anything, however, there are a number of reasons for that.

The first and main one concerns the first photo showing the River Kent in Kendal on Saturday December 5th. Taken from near Stramongate Bridge, the river had inundated the flat grass field known as Gooseholme next to the river. This was taken at around mind-day on the Saturday during the height of "Storm Desmond".

Water levels continued to rise until around 10:30 pm that night. A number of areas around town which had never been flooded before were inundated including our area; and our home.

You can read a report on Facebook showing many more photos taken by us. The flooding wreaked havoc on our property and it has taken  a long time to get back to some sort of normality, but it will be many months before our home is restored to its original condition.

However, we are still open for business!

Immediately after the flood we found ourselves clearing up. Much of the outdoor equipment stored at our premises was soaked by dirty water and covered by a fine layer of silt. All of this had to be removed and cleaned before removal  to nearby storage where it could be dried. This task took up much of the following week.

Next Friday, Iain made his way to the 2015 Jagged Globe Leaders forum - run this time from the YHA's premises at Losehill Hall near Castleton in Derbyshire (photo two).  As in last year, this was another great opportunity to "network"with outdoor professionals from all over the country. Saturday started with Jagged Globe's Managing Director Simon Lowe discussing how the 2015 Nepal Earthquake had impacted the business and what had subsequently been done to repatriate clients who were trekking or climbing with the company in Nepal at the time. There were also presentations by a number of expedition leaders who were working in country at the time - sobering stuff. As always, Jagged Globe had put the well-being of their clients first & foremost and had acted with absolute professionalism and sound judgement.

After the presentations surrounding the earthquake, three separate workshops had been set up for attendees. The first one for Iain's group was an opportunity to discuss any aspects of expedition medicine with Doctor David Hillebrand and other doctors associated with Jagged Globe.

Lots of topics were discussed in an hour. Aspects of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) how to deal with clients suffering emotional & behavioral difficulties as a result of AMS and the success rate of CPR in the mountains were amongst the topics. Very interesting indeed!

After lunch, our next session was spent with BMG member and IFMGA Guide Alun Richardson who talked about aspects of glacier travel and crevasse rescue.

Alun showed us the system he uses when working on glaciers with clients in order to help him conduct rescues where required. Photo three shows Alun demonstrating rescue techniques - clearly on non glaciated terrain in "the Morton Room", but very informative; and very interesting all the same. Thanks Alun.

After our Crevasse Rescue Session, we went outside briefly for a GPS Training Session run by Max Hunter. The weather outside during Saturday was wet & windy and pretty lousy at the time of our session. Put it this way - we didn't stay outside for very long at all!

The latter part of the afternoon was designated an open forum where any topic one wished to broach could be discussed. In our earlier first aid session, Iain had noticed a Hyperbaric Bag which is what is used to aid recovery from AMS and had asked if it could be demonstrated at the open forum later.

The doctor who had the bag readily agreed to demonstrate its setup and use of the bag in the open forum and in photo four it has been set up complete with a "victim" inside the bag and the bag is now being inflated up to it's operating pressure of 2 psi.

What impressed Iain is how one of these devices work. He assumed that someone suffering from AMS was sealed inside one of these bags and then pure oxygen was then pumped on from a cylinder. This is not the case at all!

By inflating the bag 2 psi one actually increases the atmospheric pressure around the casualty artificially, in effect, lowering the altitude. The atmospheric pressure decreases at altitude and there is less oxygen in the air. By increasing the atmospheric pressure (artificially in this case), the amount of oxygen available to the casualty is increased and often the casualty will make a good recovery.However, as soon as a casualty is removed from the bag then they will start to deteriorate. Anyone suffering AMS to the extent that a Hyperbaric Bag is needed, should be removed as soon as possible to a lower altitude where they can make a normal recovery. Read about the particular type of Hyperbaric Bag seen in the photo here. It makes interesting reading!

The open forum finished  at around 5:30 and the Christmas Dinner started around 7pm. A great evening ensued - an evening of great frivolity and fun. On Sunday Morning, all that remained to do was to return home. The Sunday was markedly different to the Saturday in so much as there was a frost at Losehill Hall first thing; and on his return to Cumbria, Iain noticed that the Lake District Fells were fairly well covered in snow - bring on the Winter!

Thank you to Jagged Globe for another great forum  and thanks to the staff at Losehill Hall for looking after us.

Give a loved one, family member or friend a Gift Certificate for a Christmas Present with a difference this Christmas!

Christmas 2015 is literally three weeks away!

Are you still trying to decide what you want to buy that loved one, family friend or family member for Christmas? At Kendal Mountaineering Services, we can help!

If any of your family are into the great outdoors, like trying adventurous activities; or have already been introduced to a particular sport such as Mountain Walking, Rock Climbing, Scrambling, Canoeing, Kayaking or Caving and would like to learn the  skills to go off and do these sports for themselves - then you can help them experience these activities or learn those skills by buying them Kendal Mountaineering Services Gift Certificate for Christmas!

Our Gift Certificates are designed to be flexible. You can check out the different activities and Skill Training Courses we offer by visiting our website and by visiting our Prices page. You do not have to make the full payment for any activity you see if you do not wish to - making a part payment towards someone's Activity Session or Skills Training Course is absolutely fine!

Buying a gift certificate is easy! Having decided what you would like to buy, simply contact us to pay for; and arrange your Christmas Gift Certificate.

Details we will require are who the gift certificate is for so that we can print their name on to it and also which Activity Session or Skills Training Course  you are paying for/towards the cost of. The value of the purchase can  also be entered on to the voucher if required.

Payment for Christmas Gift Certificates can be done either by Cheque made out to Mr I Gallagher and posted to our business address (details on the Contact us page) or by Bank Transfer in which you'll need to contact us to be given the sort code & account number. Ideally, we also need an email address so that we can confirm receipt of your payment and then email you your Christmas Gift Certificate for you to print off and present.

We do also offer a printing & posting service for those on you wishing to have the Christmas Gift certificate sent direct to the recipient. This costs an additional £1.50 per certificate and we will need a postal address if you require this service.

So what are you waiting for? Contact us today to arrange that special gift with a difference for a loved one, friend; or family member this Christmas. They won't be disappointed!

And since the Mountain Festival? Late November/early December 2015 with Kendal Mountaineering Services.

The latter part of Autumn/early winter has been quiet for us - let's face it, the weather hasn't exactly been conducive to getting out and enjoying the outdoors as the UK has been battered by one low pressure system after another leading to heavy rain & strong winds - surely soon the winter will kick in and the weather will calm down!

We have still been out on a few occasions though. Last Saturday, Iain was out with returning client Darren Willis and Emma Kershaw - both of whom were wanting to improve their Navigation and Map Reading Skills Ability in the mountains.

The MWIS Forecast for the weekend was not good but we decided to get out and see what could be done on Saturday at least. Photo one shows Darren & Emma having just successfully completed their first leg between two grid references walking on a bearing; and in the conditions - well done!!

We had met at 9 am at Wilfs and then headed on to Staveley Head Fell starting off with the usual orientation of the map followed by measuring distance on the map and then pacing it on the ground.  We followed "tick off features" along Hall Land to Park House and beyond to the sheepfold on the "Bridleway Open To All Traffic".

By this point, we were all very wet and it was extremely cold - even with gloves on. We took some respite behind a barn to get out of the wind & rain and learned about Grid References whilst under the cover of Iain's Group Shelter. During this time we discovered it had ceased to be waterproof.

Venturing back out once again, the weather appeared to have warmed up slightly and this was enough to allow us to keep going until we left the hill early to go and finish the day doing further consolidation of skills learnt during the afternoon in the comparative comfort of Wilfs Cafe.

Photo two sees Darren who had resorted to using his own group shelter during our second brew stop. He'd even grown a big bushy beard for the occasion! Good plan.

We didn't go out on Sunday because the forecast was even worse but we do hope to run Darren & Emma's second Navigation Skills Training Day this coming Saturday. Hopefully the weather  will allow!

This was meant to be the last of our 2015 Navigation Skills Training Weekends. Dates are now up for all of our 2016 Navigation Skills Training Weekends and are priced the usual £80 per person for the two day course.

Book your place now or buy a space with one of our Gift Certificates - a great way to give someone a Christmas Gift with a difference this coming festive season!

Yesterday (December 1st) saw Iain meeting  up once again with Sheetal Bedi and husband Adeem who, along with their 16th month old son, were visiting The Lake District from Birmingham for a four day break staying in Ambleside.

Iain had been asked to provide them with a half day of guided walking; although the weather hadn't really improved any from the weekend. He was somewhat surprised when he arrived to find Adeem ready & keen to go out; along with his son packed into a baby carrier and well wrapped up!

The three of us headed out of the back of Ambleside straight on to Wansfell. Wansfell is a relatively straightforward walk going for a short distance straight in to the Stock Ghyll Valley before going straight up to the summit.

The total height gain from Ambleside is no more than 370 metres (1214 feet) and the distance - a mere 2 kilometres. It took us no time at all to get to the summit and Iain took two good photos along the way - one showing just how wet the conditions were underfoot and another of Adeem & his son who was well wrapped up and comfortable despite the wet conditions.

We had only set off at 9 pm and Adeem wasn't looking for a long walk wishing to get the little chap  back indoors for no later than 11:45.

We retraced our steps as far the footpath junction leading to Stock Ghyll Lane - paying a visit to the waterfall of the same name en route to provide a point of interest!

The weather has been exceptionally wet here in The Lake District of late - however, it is worth remembering that in such conditions many Lake District Waterfalls do become awesome and spectacular sights!

Our half day guided walks in The Lake District start at just £37.50 per person and are conducted by a Mountaineering Instructor with considerable knowledge of the area and it's local history. Interested in going to a particular part of The Lake District, learning about it's local history and taking in a point of interest? Then contact us to book your guided walking experience - you won't be disappointed!

The Kendal Mountain Festival. November 18th - 22nd 2015.

A few weeks ago, we saw the annual coming together of outdoor enthusiasts and outdoor professionals for the Kendal Mountain Festival, 2015.

Since 2009, we have usually been joined at this event by a few past clients who have become friends. On  this occasion, Chris was able to make it but not Adam. On the day the festival started, Chris & Iain took a trip out west to Wastwater in order that Chris could get a few more Wainwrights under his belt and a few of these were actually new to Iain too. Photo one was taken from the saddle between Seatallan and Haycock looking towards Yewbarrow and Wastwater, with the Scafells in the cloud beyond. The day started off very wet and cloudy, but improved markedly whilst we were out.

Friday saw us venture into the Mountain Festival around mid-day. There was the usual big "Base-camp" tent erected outside in the Brewery Arts Centre Car Park. This time, it was a pleasant surprise to find it full of stalls and displays for all manner of business and manufacturers associated with outdoor sports rather than being half occupied by racks of cut price outdoor clothing! A big improvement.

Our first lecture of the weekend found us in the base-camp tent later that afternoon enjoying a short lecture by local climbing legend James McHaffie about his rock climbing career (photo two).

The Kendal Mountain Festival is a fantastic social occasion for all of us working in the outdoors. You can guarantee to spend a fair amount of time socialising, chatting and catching up with past acquaintances and old work colleagues. In photo three, Chris chats with Neil Mackay a recently qualified IFMGA Mountain Guide and long standing friend of ours. Neil is just one of many people that we caught up with; and shared a beer with during the course of the Mountain Festival. The last time we saw Neil was during Iain, Chris & Adam's visit to The Alps  in July when we spent quite a lot of time with him - climbing some great Alpine routes in the run up to his final guides test - top stuff!

Later on Friday evening, we went to see the premiere of the film Transition produced by Hot Aches Productions. The film (photo four) follows the course of Natalie Berry - UK Competition climber, as she makes the transition from indoors climbing to outdoors "trad" in Summer & Winter with leading UK Climber Dave McLeod as her mentor. As a Mountaineering Instructor often working with clients as a mentor facilitating this exact same transition, Iain was keen to see how this leading outdoor professional developed Natalie's skills although as it turned out, there was very little coaching presented throughout the film. We still enjoyed it though!

For Saturday, Chris & Iain had obtained some film passes for the festival which at £30 each, were expensive - particularly if you only wanted to see one or two films mixed in with some lectures. The KMF used to do a "Weekend Film Pass" which was very good value. On this occasion, the value factor seemed to have disappeared from the event sadly and in the evening Chris was quite annoyed when he discovered that one of the films he had paid the film pass fee for (Tom) was being shown free in Ruskin's Bar in the town centre!

We spent the latter part of the evening socialising with friends in both The Brewery and then later, in Ruskin's before leaving others to party through the night. As our Sunday lecture started at 09:00 in the morning, 02:30 was a late enough time to be out drinking we felt; and in any case, upon rising at 07:30, yes, it certainly felt like the morning after the KMF Saturday night out!

We made our way in to The Brewery to see the "Best of Kendal Breakfast" film presentation and funnily enough, the last film of the presentation was...Tom! On discovering this, Chris decided to leave early to make the long drive back up north. As always, it had been great to spend time with him.

Iain spent the afternoon at Andy Kirkpatrick's Lecture followed by Leo Houlding's outstanding lecture about his recent ascent of "Mirror Wall" in East Greenland. This was, in our view, the best lecture of the whole event! After this, Iain was, quite frankly, "Festivalled out" and was happy to return home for a quiet night in.

Thoughts on the Kendal Mountain festival on this occasion, well somehow, it just didn't feel as good as years gone by.  As mentioned, daily film passes were expensive making the combination of seeing films & lectures prohibitive on the same day unless you wanted to spend a fortune and then it was most annoying to find films you'd paid paid for repeated elsewhere...there seemed to be an awful lot of duplication - particularly with regards to films.

Hopefully next year will be better!!

Guided Scrambling Days in The Lake District. November 14th 2015.

On Returning from holiday in Myanmar, Iain had a few bits of work to look forward to, however, the weather here in the UK has been somewhat stormy, wet and cold since his return.

In Iain's ideal world, we would jump straight from a warm, dry, sunny Summer, straight into a cold, snowy, frozen and sunny winter! We can definitely do without this wet & windy transition period that is Autumn, but whilst it discourages most people from going out - some others are still really keen!

Andy Stephenson proved to be one such person. We have met Andy before in a recent post about a half day of Guided Rock Climbing in The Lake District. Andy enjoyed this session with Iain so much that he booked  a full day out of Guided Scrambling  in The Lake District with us and we got out and ran this last Saturday.

Photo one sees Andy at the foot of Low Water Beck, a popular grade 3 scramble  in the Coniston area of The Lake District.

Photo two sees Andy enjoying the rather wet first pitch of Low Water Beck. Originally, Iain wouldn't have considered going here given the MWIS forecast for the day - winds 30 - 50 mph with gusts of 70! Low cloud, snow above 600 metres, rain becoming torrential by dusk! It sounded pretty grim really!

However, upon our meeting of Saturday morning it was apparent that the forecast hadn't materialized; and water levels in the streams were actually quite low!

Because of this, Iain decided to take Andy over to the Coniston area where there were a number of scrambles at low level - just in case the wind did pick up; and as conditions appeared to be much better then forecast, he though that Andy might as well be started on a grade 3 route which he was sure would be well within his capabilities!

Andy certainly enjoyed Low Water Beck. The route was challenging in the wet and every section had to be pitched. As a leader, Iain avoided the exposed rib on pitch three which is poorly protected in terms of "runner" placements for a climbing leader. Whilst that wouldn't normally matter for a competent scrambler such as Iain, today the rib was covered in slime. Iain felt it would, however, be fine for Dave to attempt it with the security of a top rope and he managed it without difficulty!

The first part of Low Water Beck goes up steeply and very close to the water, the second part is less steep, but in places, almost as wet. The scramble continues right behind Dave in photo three; and on the right hand side of the water-slide before continuing up a giant slab - basically an island in the watercourse. Then, the final wall is surmounted to the left of the stream by a choice of two routes - if conditions are dry!

We were finished this route by around mid day and the weather had remained better than forecast - to this point at least!

After a bit of lunch we headed back down into the valley and across to "The Bell". This "mini mountain" has a fine rock rib rising from its southern side which is given grade 2 in the Cicerone guide - Scrambles in The Lake District South. Dave can be seen halfway up the second pitch on this route in photo four.

By 14:30, we had also put The Bell behind us and although the cloud had come down somewhat and the drizzle had started, we still had time for one last scrambling route before darkness set in around 16:30.

We walked back to the car at Walna Scar Car Park and then drove down through Coniston and up Coppermines Lane to park next to Church Beck (our main Canyoning venue) to get on to another grade 2  scrambling route - Mouldry Bank.

We scrambled up here and then continued on up the fine rocky nose of Rascal How  (a recommended continuation) descending in the gathering dusk and arriving back at the car at around 16:15.

Dave thoroughly enjoyed his Guided Scrambling Day in The Lake District with Iain - just as well considering he had driven all the way over from Hull and then camped in Langdale for a night either side of his day out! Dave would go on to have something of an epic getting out of The Lake District the next morning as the area was fairly well flooded after a night of heavy rain. If you want to see some photos from the flooding in South Lakes then visit the Kendal Mountaineering Services Facebook Page to view Iain's report about an excursion in the floodwaters the next day!

Dave paid £160 for his Guided Scrambling Course in The Lake District with Iain. The price is the same for 1 or 2 persons and includes  the provision of helmets, harnesses and guiding by a Mountaineering Instructor. If you enjoyed reading about this great day out and fancy trying scrambling for yourself then contact us here - you won't be disappointed!

Multi-activity Days in The Lake District. Sunday 18th October 2015.

After working with Dave Stephenson on a Guided Rock Climbing half day in The Lake District on Saturday, Iain set about getting ready for Sunday; and Andy Craggs booking for a full day of Introductory  Rock Climbing and Kayaking in The Lake District.

Photo one sees  Andy and his mates - Sean & Phil on Sunday morning as the lads enjoyed an introductory Climbing Session at Sticklebarn Crag in Langdale. Sean is climbing whilst Phil belays and Andy holds the "dead rope".

We chose to use Sticklebarn Crag today as it is less popular than the other nearby venue - Lower Scout Crag which can sometimes have groups of up to thirty people climbing there attending introductory Rock Climbing Sessions. Iain wanted the lads to have a crag to themselves and he made sure this what was they got!

So what is an introductory Rock Climbing Session? Well, it involves people rock climbing: and very often, for the first time out of doors. Many people begin by climbing indoors at a climbing wall and then make the transition to single pitch rock climbing outdoors using the "top rope - bottom belay system".

In such a  scenario, the climber climbs up from the ground attached to a rope which is anchored at the top of the rock pitch (crag). As the climber climbs up, the rope is kept  tight by the belayer who is also on the ground an is attached to the rope by means of a harness and belay plate.

The belayer learns how to keep the rope tight and is often assisted by a "tailer" who has a hold of the "dead" rope (the slack rope beyond the belayer). The "live" rope is that portion of tight rope between the climber & the belayer.  The belayer
must NEVER let go of the dead rope whilst a climber is on the live rope! Anyway, for the climber, a tight rope anchored at the top of the crag means that if they slip - they won't fall. However, once at the top of the rock pitch, the climber must be lowered by the belayer back to the ground; and in photo two you can see Phil lowering Sean back down to the bottom of the climb.

Introductory Rock Climbing is a great way to learn new rock climbing & belaying skills and work together as part of a team. It is good for improving trust between friends and a great team-building  activity!

We finished our Introductory Rock Climbing Session at around 12:30 and returned to our vehicles in the Sticklebarn Car Park for Lunch before driving the six miles to nearby Coniston Water for the groups afternoon Kayaking Session in The Lake District.

We parked on the East Shore of Coniston Water - (one of the few places where free parking is still to be found in The Lake District!) and got kitted out in wetsuits, cagoules and buoyancy aids  before heading out on to the lake to learn some skills and do some journeying.

The final photo from this post  about a multi-activity day in The Lake District sees Andy & Sean "steaming ahead" on Coniston Water. The Lake is famous for its peace & tranquility and it's watersports, the steam Gondola and of course  Donald Campbell's waterspeed attempt in the Bluebird that ended in tragedy on January 4th 1967.

Andy, Sean and Phil all enjoyed their multi-activity day in The Lake District with  Iain and they have left a few comments on our Facebook page.

The lads paid just £75  each for a full eight hour day out with us enjoying two great activities in two different locations of The Lake District. Their fee included instruction and all of the equipment required to run the activities in safety and comfort.

Contact us if you are interested in arranging one of our Lake District Multi-activity days for yourself, your family, friends or a Stag or Hen Party! Discounts apply for group bookings and you could get a full day out for as little as £50 per person -amazing value for money!

Half day Rock Climbing Sessions in The Lake District. Saturday 17th October 2015.

After two busy weeks with Prince's Trust Residentials, Iain had but two days before heading off to Myanmar for three weeks with his partner. On both days, he would find himself busy working.

On Saturday, Iain was joined by Dave Stephenson  from Hull.  Dave and his family regularly visit the Lake District and enjoy outdoor sports. Dave was keen to try outdoor rock climbing and had booked a half day of Guided Rock Climbing in The Lake District  with Iain. Photo one sees Dave on the second stance of Route 1, Upper Scout Crag in Langdale.

We have been really lucky with the weather so far this Autumn which has been settled, warm and dry - a real Indian Summer as the saying goes!

It has been ideal for anyone wishing to do anything in the outdoors and  we have continued to be busy throughout the season.

Photo two is a view up Langdale from the foot of Upper Scout Crag and today, it was very warm in the little bay  to be found at the foot of routes 1 and 2. Absolutely  ideal for rock climbing!!

Dave turned up on his own to climb, so the plan  had to be guided  rock climbing. However, as we progressed up Route 1, Iain made a point of telling Dave about everything that  he was doing; and why!

We discussed the merits of good anchor placements and the importance for extending well away from these when placing "running belays". Why two anchors are needed at stances and how to bring these together to a central attachment point using either slings or the climbing rope.

Where possible, Iain allowed Dave the opportunity to practice skills for himself - such as in photo three, where Dave was able to practice using the rope to "tie in" to two anchor points.

We completed Route 1 in a couple of hours which left time to partially climb Route 2 - again, with Iain doing the leading.

At the top of the second pitch of Route 2 there is an Oak tree - a very handy place to discuss and arrange an abseil retreat. This  is something that all rock climbers should be familiar with as sometimes, retreating from a rock climb is unavoidable.

At the stance, we both attached to the anchor using a "cows-tail" (a sling) and screw-gate karabiner each. These cows-tails were attached to us using a larks-foot knot tied through our harness abseil loops. An overhand knot was tied mid way along the sling and our belay plates were attached between this knot and the larks-foot knot.

At this point we were both now ready and safe to untie from the climbing rope which was threaded around the anchor at the mid  point of the rope. Both ends were then knotted (but NOT together) before being thrown down the crag accompanied first by the loud cry of "BELOW!"

We both then attached our belay plates to both ropes and then unclipped from the anchor in readiness to abseil.

Photo four shows the setup used for an abseil retreat and if you want to learn these skills or enjoy a day of half day of guided Rock climbing in The Lake District then please contact us here. Prices start at just £45 per per person for introductory climbing or £50 per person for a half day of guided climbing (minimum charge of £90) or £160 for a full day of guided climbing or Rock Climbing Skills Training. Please note that if you wish to do a rock climbing course on your own then you will undertake a introductory rock climbing or guided Rock Climbing Course - unless we can partner you up with another person to allow the instructor to coach you rather than guide.

All of our multi-pitch rock climbing courses are delivered  by experienced Mountaineering Instructors and ropes, climbing rack, helmets & harnesses are provided as part of your fee.