Alps Training...

Some of you who visit the shop fairly frequently will probably know by now that I'm off to the alps in July with the intention of climbing the Matterhorn via the Italian Ridge (as well as bagging some other peaks and doing some via ferrata in between).

I have started to train for what I'm confident will be an exhausting but exhilarating trip.  The first weekend of training, 3 of us decided to go and get a solid mountain day out on the hills in Wales.  We set off after finishing work on Saturday evening, stopped for some food en-route and then headed straight to the pub for a couple of beers before retiring the the Hut where we planned our route for the next morning.

Our dry weather plan was to do as much scrambling as possible. I had put forward a fairly challenging route which would start in the Ogwen Valley, then head up to a route called Sub Cniefion Rib (V diff rock climb), up Cniefion Arete (grade 3 scramble) onto Glyder Fawr, from there we would walk to Tryfan and scramble back down the North Ridge (grade 1) to the car.  We decided the wet weather plan would be to do a route route called 'Snakes, Ladders and Tunnels'.  This is in the Dinorwic Slate Quarry and follows a route that the old miners would have done all those years ago when the quarry was open.

In the morning we were up, fed and in the car by 8.30am on our way to the Ogwen Valley.  The sun was shining...until we pulled up into one of the laybys below Tryfan.  The Sun promptly vanished and was replaced by a large snow cloud - quickly followed by a fairly heavy blizzard!

We quickly pulled on our waterproofs and boots, and set off to do what we had all secretly wanted to do - 'Snakes, Ladders and Tunnels'. We decided to head up the North Ridge of Tryfan and then drop back down Heather Terrace and back to the car as quickly as possible, the North Ridge was icy in places so it gave a couple of us the opportunity to rope up and get used to moving together as we will be paired up when we are in the Alps. The ridge was pretty straight forward and we just had to be a little bit more careful not to slip on the snow covered rock.

It took us about an hour to get to the summit so we stopped and had a quick bite to eat before making a speedy decent back to the car - all in all it took no more than 2 and a half hours up and down which we were fairly pleased with as the height gain is similar to that we will encounter on the Matterhorn from the Carrel Hut to the summit - which is expected to take 4 hours up and 5 back down!

We piled back in the car and then headed for Dinorwic Quarry.

I had originally written a blow by blow account of our route, but have decided not to include that.  It's not a recommended route due to safety issues and if you are crazy enough to attempt it, you would do better to get some beta before you head out and then enjoy the challenges and views as they present themselves.



We figured fixed chains and ladders would be pretty good training for the fixed ropes we would encounter on the Matterhorn, although the fixed ropes on the Matterhorn will hopefully be safer and more secure than the dodgy rusty chain!



Suffice to say, many large rusty chains, dodgy looking ladders with rungs missing and exposed sections later, we all had grins on our faces as we set off back to Macclesfield.

Walking back to the car, it felt like we had crammed two days worth of activity into one, and Monday morning my whole body ached A LOT!  More training required......

Bring on the next adventures!

Jon - Shop Manager



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(Jon doesn't know we're sneaking this picture in...he really was shattered though! hahaha)

Staff Review: Suunto Core

I was lent a Suunto Core watch with the positive face and red bezel to test over the Easter holiday weekend. After admiring the watch briefly it then occurred to me that I would have to work out how to use it, which appeared to be a rather daunting task faced with 5 buttons whereas my current watch only has one! So with no instruction manual (don’t worry – when you buy them they do come with one!) and because I'm too impatient to log on to the internet and download one, I set about pressing all the buttons in all manner of sequences to find out what does what.  You will be pleased to know that it is actually relatively simple to navigate around the different functions and access the menu screen to select what functions you would like displayed.

On the subject of the display, the bezel is about 50mm wide so is by no means huge, even on my fairly thin wrists.  I find the Suunto Core perfectly comfortable to wear and it doesn’t feel bulky either.

The display screen is approx 40mm in diameter and is made from a mineral crystal which is highly scratch resistant and can be found on many high-end watches! The large clear display is means that the watch is easy to read and you are able to have up to 3 features on the screen at once. 

The Suunto Core is waterproof up to 30m and the language can be displayed in English, French, German or Spanish.

So what are the main functions?

• Time
• Four language menu (English, French, Spanish, DE)
• Altimeter
• Barometer
• Compass
• Altitude difference measurement
• Temperature
• Depth meter
• Automatic Altitude/Barometer switch
• Storm alarm
• Sunrise/Sunset times
• User replaceable battery

As you can determine from the list above, the Core provides the wearer with a very powerful and useful set of features and are easy to understand when you’re out on the hill.

If you wear the core everyday (assuming you are not out in the hills everyday!) having the date and time clearly displayed will probably be what you look at most of the time - but when it comes to the weekends, the compass, barometer and altimeter offer you the most valuable information. I have found the barometer to be surprisingly accurate (having never used such a technical watch I was a little sceptical of its acclaimed capabilities).  Having initially set the 'Storm Alarm' feature I got a clear warning when there was a sudden drop in pressure (it usually went off on my way home; just as I got over the Cat and Fiddle and start dropping into Buxton, where it is usually raining!) but sure enough you could see clouds darkening in the sky and 80% of the time (and to my amazement) it rained shortly after the storm alarm warning went off.
For mountaineers and alpine climbers, I would seriously recommend this watch as a valuable companion, as forecasts are not always accurate and this little device can help you make the decision to carry on or turn back to avoid getting caught out in unexpected afternoon storms that are all too common in the Alps and other mountain regions.

The altimeter again is another useful hill feature and provided that you calibrate it as often as possible to obtain accurate readings (best to do it whenever you are at a location with known elevations such as summits or sea level). I decided to use a weekend trip to North Wales (training trip for my Alps trip later this Summer) to test out the Suunto Core. I did forget to calibrate the altimeter and got some a very strange reading at the top of Tryfan, but once calibrated, it was all fine.

 The last of the main navigational functions is the compass. For those of you that have ever been out on the side of a mountain and been caught out in a sudden fog the compass can enable you to set a bearing and follow it, however if you do end up wanting to cross reference with a map the altimeter will give you your height and providing you knew where you were before you got lost you can identify your position with relative ease.  The compass was accurate and easy to read.



Overall I have been thoroughly impressed by the watch, I am planning on getting one for my trip to the alps later on this year as the barometer could prove invaluable! Both the Core and Vector are excellent watches, however I have found the Core to be slightly more straightforward to use out of the box.

Jon - Shop Manager