All day Caving Sessions in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Friday 28th August 2015.

Last Friday saw returning client Steven Finkill return again with his nephew Nathan to do another caving day with  us.

The pair had been out the previous day with one of our associate instructors Rock Climbing at both Lower & Upper Scout Crags in Langdale where they had enjoyed a quality day out!

Steven first joined us in 2012 for a Caving Day with girlfriend Sally and again in 2013 when he returned bringing Nathan with him for the first time; and also a friend of Nathan's to try out one of our Church Beck Ghyll Scrambling & Canyoning half days.

Today, for Nathan's first experience of caving; and so that Steven got to go somewhere different in part - to last time, Iain took the pair to Great Douk Cave (photo one)

Great Douk is an excellent introductory caving trip at the level one grade. Photo one sees Steven & Nathan at the entrance to the cave after we had climbed down into the tree filled "pot" where in the past, the cavern had gotten so big that the roof collapsed leaving a gaping hole.

After climbing up the entrance waterfall, the cave winds it's way onwards. We pass daylight again at Little Douk Pot and then continue upwards through a number of cascades to a point where the way on lowers to a crawl with the water. We had made it to this point the previous week with Nick & Freya Sutcliffe but there was too much water to continue onwards then. However, today, the water was low so we did the 75 metre "flat out crawl" to the hole in the roof - beyond which the now "dry" passage quickly gets higher until one emerges amongst the limestone pavement at Middle Washfold. (Photo two)

Returning to the vehicles saw the time at around mid-day already, so, we had our lunch and then set off for Long Churns again (Iain had been there with the Hickey family only two days before).

Steven had been here with Sally in 2012, but didn't mind going back; and it is a great system for introductory caving and ideal really, for Nathan.

Photo three sees the pair enjoying some exploration in a low fossil passageway just downstream of Middle Entrance in Long Churns.

We did the usual introductory Caving circuit in Long Churns. In via Middle Entrance, downstream to Double Shuffle & Plank Pools and The Slot, before both Nathan & Steven succeeded in The Cheese Press.

We returned to the surface at Diccan Pot and then went back down Middle Entrance again to visit Cross Passage before emerging in Upper Long Churns, returning to Middle Entrance to climb the entrance waterfall. We then headed all the way upstream to Doctor Bannister's Washbasin where both crawled behind the waterfall (photo four), however, today there was more water coming down the fall and Iain considered it risky to attempt it with Nathan, who, by now, was getting a bit chilly anyway!

So, we went back to Middle Entrance a fourth time - this time to head out back to the vehicles to get dry and changed. Photo five sees Nathan & Steven satisfied after yet another great day out with us and the best was yet to come!

Hot Chocolate & Cake in Inglesport!

What better way to finish a fantastic Caving Day in the Yorkshire Dales National Park!

Currently, that's us up to date with the Kendal Mountaineering Services Blog; although, by tomorrow afternoon, it will need updating again! Its been a really busy August - busy because we are good at what we do; and people see this.

We provide value for money bespoke Outdoor Activity Sessions and Skills Training Courses in The Lake District, Wales and Scotland throughout the year and we hope that the Autumn & Winter will continue to be busy - so do get in touch to enquire about the great courses & fun, adventure days we can run for you in the coming months - we look forward to working with you!

Canyoning Sessions in The Lake District. Church Beck 27th August 2015.

Lat Thursday saw the Hickey family undertake their last half day Outdoor Activity Session with us.

The family had enjoyed a session kayaking on Windermere and also, a caving trip to the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For their final session, it was to be a toss up between Abseiling or Canyoning. Iain felt they would get more out of the latter, so photo one sees Elliott, Marcus & Mick kitted up and ready to go Canyoning at Church Beck near Coniston.

So what is Canyoning? Canyoning is descending a mountain stream abseiling or being lowered down waterfalls; or jumping down waterfalls in to deep pools.

We issue the same equipment for canyoning as we do for all our Ghyll Scrambling Sessions although whilst we may not always need to use a harness when Ghyll Scrambling - you'll definitely need to use one when being lowered down a waterfall just like Mick is - in photo two!

Photo three was taken some time after we had started the Canyoning Session in Church Beck. Iain had lowered Mick, Marcus & Elliott down the waterfall seen in photo two. We had then taken a short jump down beside a waterfall in to another pool and then walked under Miners Bridge to arrive at the fall in photo three.

Iain had then lowered the trio down this fall before we headed on to the narrow ravine downstream where the "Top Jumps" are to be found.

Photo Four sees Mick about to join Iain at his stance above the "Top Jump". Many groups jump off from the boulder where Marcus is currently sat although this is in to a very narrow slot and we have seen countless people bash elbows & ankles against the walls on either side as they have plummeted into the pool below. Not good, we feel!

Your safety is foremost in our minds at all times so we do not permit this jump - instead, we rope you across to the stance from where this photo was taken and then lower you 6 feet to a point where you can safely jump into the pool below.

Below that point, there is another fall that we climb down to avoid the big rock in the bottom - swimming the pool beyond to enjoy the "Chock stone Slide" beyond that. Downstream of that, there are a waterfall that can be climbed in ascent; and a "climbing traverse" around the back of a deep pool where failure to stay on the rock results in a soaking. And lastly, we climb out of the bed of the gorge to do a high jump into the pool above the Chock stone Slide allowing us to attempt that slide one more time.

Canyoning is great exhilarating fun and costs just £45 per person for a half day (four hour) session for a minimum of two persons. You can view two previous posts to give you a flavour of what this great activity is all about here and here. Contact us here to book your canyoning experience, we look forward to working with you!

Introductory Caving Sessions in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Wednesday 26th August 2015.

Today was the second Outdoor Activity Session booked by Mick Hickey & his family who had been on an Introductory Kayaking Session In the Lake District with Iain the previous afternoon.

The family were in the area for a week long holiday and amongst other things, fancied trying out some "proper caving"- non of this show cave stuff! So, Iain took them to Long Churns in the Yorkshire Dales National Park for their Introductory Caving Session.

Photo one sees the family kitted out and ready to go in Long Churns Lane.

Long Churns is a great place to go for your first caving experience. There are over 3 kilometres of underground passageway to explore and there are all sorts of things to see and places to go.

There are a number of challenges that can be offered to people visiting this fantastic cave system; and probably, the most famous of these is "The Cheese Press". How it got it's name is anyone's guess, but basically it is a tight "flat out" crawl done only over a distance of four metres (but when you are in it - it feels like a lot longer!!) Photo two sees Elliott giving it a go; and succeeding as he emerges at the other end - well done!

We have a well "tried and tested" circuit that we do in Long Churns with novice cavers. We enter via Middle Entrance and head down stream passing Double Shuffle Pool, Plank Pool & The Slot before arriving at The Cheese Press after which we visit the head of the Dolly Tubs Pitch in Alum Pot where one can observe daylight entering from that great shaft.

We head back out to daylight via a different exit - Diccan Pot; and then if people are feeling up for it - re-enter the cave system via  the wet & low upstream entrance from Diccan Entrance to undertake further exploration of the cave system.

That further exploration includes a visit to the well decorated Cross Passage with it's infamous pool (photo three) known as "The Font". Cross Passage is also known as Baptistery Crawl and we can only guess that this name arose from explorers getting "baptized" as they were forced to duck under the flow-stone formation above The Font" although this has now been eroded by the passage of thousands of bodies passing under it - meaning that ducking is no longer necessary!

Photo four sees the family emerging from a fossil passageway in Long Churns that avoids getting excessively wet in a deep pool just to the right of Elliott's Wellies .

Within Long Churns, there are many passageways - wet ones taking the flow of Alum Pot Beck; and dry (fossil) passages where the water used to flow 15'000 years ago when the caves in the area were brimming with glacial melt-water.

The great  thing about Long Churns is that there are way around most of the difficult, wet or tight sections and that there are passageways of all sizes - so there is something for everyone to be found in this cave system. Also, there are some fantastic formations to be seen underground too - it really is well worth a visit; and a true adventure too!

Photo Five sees Robyn tackling another challenge that we offer to our clients on our Introductory Caving Sessions in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and that is the opportunity to crawl around behind the waterfall at Doctor Bannister's Washbasin.

Whoever Doctor Bannister was - he must have been a big chap as the pool that bears his name is 8 metres in diameter!

Anyway, the last challenge we generally offer people on our Long Churns Circuit is the opportunity to climb up that jet of water to get back into the sunshine on the surface - only a short distance above!

Photo six sees the Hickey Family back on the surface with Penyghent - one of the Yorkshire "3 peaks" behind. The family had all thoroughly enjoyed their caving experience underground in the Yorkshire Dales National Park - in fact, at the end of their three days with Iain, they would still be saying that caving was the best activity they tried!

Caving is great fun and we enjoy doing it as much as our clients - so you can expect us to pass that enthusiasm along to you! Caving can be done at any time of year including the Autumn & Winter - so if you want a real adventure in the coming months then contact us and book a caving session. Prices start at just £45 per person for a four hour session with all equipment you see this group wearing, included in the fee!

Introductory Kayaking Sessions in the Lake District, Tuesday 25th August 2015.

After spending the morning climbing in Langdale with Peter & Cerys McDonald, Iain had to drive to the store to pick up some kayaks before he joined Mick Hickey and his family at Fell Foot Country Park for their afternoon Introductory Kayaking Session in The Lake District.

Photo one sees the family - left to right, Robyn, Marcus, Mick & Elliott, rafted up on Windermere's southern end. We had been on the water for a couple of hours at this point, had done a short journey; and Iain had gone through all of the basic kayaking strokes with the family - most of whom had actually kayaked in the past anyway!

This was a shorter than usual Introductory Kayaking Session in The Lake District due to the time that Iain had taken to get from Langdale to Fell Foot, but we had a good time until around 5pm when the forecast rain started and the family decided that they wanted to call a close to the session.

Iain offered to make the time up during the family's subsequent caving session the next day and they were happy with that offer - we do our best to please!

Mick paid just £40 each for this Introductory Kayaking Session in The Lake District, we applied a discount due to the booking over three days for three separate half days sessions. We thought this only fair as we known how expensive it can be when having to pay for activities for the whole family out of your own pocket!

Fancy trying Kayaking? The group were provided with all of the equipment you see in photo two as part of their fee and this included tuition from a qualified Kayaking Coach too. Contact us to book your half day Outdoor Activity Session in the Lake District here. We look forward to working with you!

Introductory Rock Climbing Sessions in The Lake District, Tuesday 25th August 2015.

Last Tuesday morning Iain met newly weds Peter & Cerys McDonald who were on honeymoon in The Lake District and who fancied trying an Introductory Rock Climbing Session out of doors.

Iain met them in Langdale and we went to Lower Scout Crag for their session. Photo one sees the pair about to start climbing after Iain had set up a top rope system down the line of "Cubs Wall" in the middle of the crag.

The pair had done a small amount of rock climbing at an indoor wall previously, where the same sort of climbing systems exist - namely, a rope anchored at the top of the wall with the climber attached to one side; and the belayer attached to the other. When the climber climbs up - the belayer takes the rope in (known as "top rope - bottom belaying); and when the climber gets to the top of the route, the belayer lowers them back to the ground!

The pair were able to climb 3 different routes from our top anchor in the middle of Lower Scout Crag although whilst "Cubs Wall" & "Cubs Groove" were within their capabilities "Cubs Crack" was not as this route is very steep, polished; and nowadays, virtually hold-less! Anyway, they enjoyed climbing the other two routes whilst getting used to the feeling of exposure and how the rope would protect them if they fell off.

Around about an hour after we had started climbing, we were joined by a Cadet group who wished to abseil from the crag and who set up ropes on either side of us. Both Peter & Cerys wished to try out abseiling as well, so Iain had to convert his top anchor system into an "abseiling station" so the pair could have a go at this exhilarating & challenging experience.

Photo two sees Cerys as she starts abseiling from the top of Cubs Crack. Both had at least two goes and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Photo three sees both Cerys and Peter on a different & slightly easier section of the crag. Cerys is belaying Peter who has climbed the route to the top anchors and is now being lowered  back down to the foot of the route.

Cerys & Peter thoroughly enjoyed their morning Introductory Rock Climbing and abseiling session in The Lake District with Iain and were very satisfied with what we got done in the time.

Cerys even said we should charge more!

The pair paid just £90:00 or £45 each for their four hour Rock Climbing & Abseiling Session with us and that fee included the provision of helmets & harnesses as well as tuition by an experienced Mountaineering Instructor.

£45 is our standard starting price for any half day Outdoor Activity Session which we will run for a minimum of two persons but discounts are applied as your group size increases in multiples of five. All our half day activity sessions do represent good value for money so contact us to get a quite for any activity you find one our website that you would like to try - you won't be disappointed!

A Caving Adventure Day in the Yorkshire Dales National Park 20th August 2015.

After two days of truly fantastic Rock Climbing in The Lake District with Nick & Freya, there remained but one day to be done; and that was the pairs Caving Day in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Last year, Iain had taken the pair on a foray around the Yorkshire Dales best known Introductory Caving Venue - Long Churns. Obviously, it was not appropriate to return there again so Iain came up with a plan to visit some other level one caves instead.

Firstly, as arranged last time, we met up at Inglesport in Ingleton for a "cavers breakfast" in the cafe. This classic Inglesport fry-up will set you up well for any caving day; and if any equipment is required - then Inglesport has everything for the caver and climber!

Photo one sees Freya having an explore around one of the side passages in our first cave of the day - Great Douk. Great Douk is a great little cave system which can be done as a "through trip" meaning starting at one end and finishing at another. However, after the overnight rain, the stream flowing through here was a bit on the large side; and Iain felt it would be foolish to attempt the through trip which ends in an "arduous" flat out crawl with the water!

As there was quite a bit of water around; and the weather, showery, Iain felt it prudent to keep away from caves that respond significantly to rainfall when the ground is saturated.

There are a couple of good introductory caves at nearby Ribblehead which are used by a lot of school groups. These are called Runscar & Thistle.

Iain started off by taking the pair into Thistle Cave where the water level was low; and here, there were plenty of opportunities for the pair to try squeezing through some smaller, tighter fossil passageways. Freya rose to this challenge well - unlike Nick, who, at over six feet tall was understandably reluctant to follow a relatively short Freya through such places - it looks, in photo three, (taken in Thistle Cave) as if Nick was only the same height as Freya - but don't be fooled, he is crouching down!

We traversed Thistle Cave starting at one of its downstream entrances (the cave has three different sections) and went upstream as far as we could to a big underground collapse.

Back out on the surface, we cut across to the upstream entrance of Runscar Cave and commenced to head downstream.

Runscar Cave carries a much bigger stream than that seen in Thistle Cave making it a much more "lively" place to be. On the route downstream, one emerges back into the open air twice before entering the final section, which, at it's downstream end, lowers to a crawl in the water and a tight squeeze (well - it was in Nick's case!) to get out.

In photo three, Nick is recovering from having just  completed that tight squeeze and Freya is emerging from the same place - behind him. All good challenging fun!

It was only around about 1pm and we had already put three different cave systems behind us, but, there was still time to do a few more!

Photo four sees Freya & Nick at the entrance to Yordas Cave in Kingsdale around 45 minutes later, after we had driven over from Ribblehead.

Yordas Cave is an amazingly large cavern that would hold (by Iain's reckoning) probably around 20 double decker buses. Whilst it was only a short walk around this cavern, the waterfall in a separate chamber at the uphill end of Yordas was worth a visit, as with the amount of water coming down it - it sounded & looked truly awesome!

We finished off with yet another introductory cave in Kingsdale - that being Valley Entrance (photo five).

Probably the most exciting thing about this cave is entering through a lid in the side of the hill. Today, there was quite a strong, cold breeze blowing out of the entrance. Iain surmised that it was probably due to the amount of water entering the system as Valley Entrance leads to the "main drain" into which all of the "active" caves on this western side of Kingsdale empty in to!

And today, Valley Entrance was a very wet place too! After only 50m the stooping height passageway degenerates to a small wet crawl through a canal, so we were all wet pretty quickly! Further on, we found the middle section of the cave unusually flooded to a depth of 1 metre over a distance of around 200 metres which caused Iain a little concern, but at the far end of the passage we found the usual 7 metre pitch into the Master Cave not flooded & backed up to our level; although in very wet weather - it can & does back up all the way out to the lid!

We turned around and headed out. Arriving back in the warm sunshine (and relatively "tropical" temperature compared with that underground!) it was still only 3:30pm, but Nick & Freya were happy to call it a day and head back to Inglesport for a well earned brew and slice of cake.

It had been three days of excellent adventures for this pair; and they had both thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Next year, we are talking about doing a level 2 caving trip, maybe the Esk Gorge and possibly some more Rock Climbing.

If these reports about Nick & Freya's adventures in the Lake District inspire you - then give us a call. Our adventurous activities start at just £45 per person for a half day (four hour) session and just £80 per person for a full day out. All technical equipment required for any activity is included as part of the fee and you will be looked after by our qualified and experienced staff team so you can be assured you are in safe hands! Book now! - we look forward to working with you!

Guiding a Lake District Classic Rock Climb. August 19th 2015.

This is a report about Nick & Freya's second day of Guided Rock Climbing with Iain. It has also been described on our business Facebook Page as "bagging a classic before the rain set in".

The pair had climbed so well the previous day that Iain thought the idea of a further progression - that being one of climbing a famous high mountain multi-pitch Rock Climb, was in order. Nick, at least, was keen to accept the challenge - having already heard of Bowfell Buttress.

The only thing with "high mountain classics" is that they often involve a long walk in. In photo one, Nick & Freya are on the "Climbers Traverse" path approaching the foot of our intended rock climb. It had taken us almost two hours to walk in to here covering a distance of  three & a half kilometres and this included a height gain of almost 700m! Ideally, Iain had wanted to be starting the climb at around 11am; and he hoped that we would be just about finished when the forecast rain arrived at around 3pm!

So, after that couple of hours of hard graft putting the previously mentioned "walk in" behind us, we did indeed, start on the route at around 11am. Also, on the walk in, the weather had improved in so much as the cloud had risen and we could now see the whole of our route and great views all around. Fab!

A couple of hours later and we were already halfway up the climb. Photo two was taken by Iain at the top of the crux of the climb the "slippery crack" just over halfway up the route. Again, Freya found this hard but Nick seemed to manage it with ease - good effort!

Photo three was taken by Iain an hour later at the top of "pitch six" looking down on Nick & Freya on the stance above "pitch five" (the start of which was the slippery crack).

So far, the weather had held off and the route had remained mostly dry (important when guiding on a multi-pitch mountain route of "Hard Severe" in standard!). There is little point in climbing on Lake District rock when it is wet as with the lichen and slime which tends to grow on the rock in the mountains; once wetted, the rock becomes very slippery indeed; and makes rock climbing a dangerous proposition!

Above this stance, there remained only one pitch; and that was a well vegetated, but relatively straightforward chimney. As Iain set off up this, it began to feel more like the forecast rain was approaching as sporadic bursts of light rain were increasing in frequency & volume. It looked like we had got our timings spot on!

The final photo from this post about guiding Rock Climbing on a high mountain Lake District classic rock climb finds Nick & Freya ensconced on a safe grassy area about 20 metres above the top of the climb and pulling in the ropes as Iain scrambled up the grass towards them.

At this point we took off our helmets & harnesses and untied from the ropes, the time was around 3pm.

As we got to the top of the buttress and started the walk across to Bowfell summit, the rain started to lash down, so, as previously mentioned, our timings couldn't have been better! The pair were extremely satisfied with what had been a demanding day both physically - in terms of the sheer graft required to get to the foot of the route; and the technical ability required to climb the hardest bits of it. We were off and back at our vehicles at the Old Dungeon Ghyll by 5pm.

This was a technically demanding guided Rock Climbing Day organised by an experienced Mountaineering Instructor; and the cost was £80 per person (minimum of two persons) for this full day out. If you would like to experience the thrill of climbing a high mountain Lake District Classic Rock Climb then contact Iain here to arrange your day out. We look forward to working with you!!