Scottish Dry Tooling Climbing Competition 2009

(Image Courtesy of Tim Glasby)

The Scottish dry tooling series is back for its second year running!

The Scottish dry tooling series is back for its second year running! Last year the competition was a huge success and we promise that this year will be even better.
In addition to the five venues we had last year Inverness Leisure are joining us. The format of each event will be unique to the host venue but scoring will be standardised across the whole series.

Each venue will host a final on the day and at the last event the overall series winners will be announced.

Routes are set to provide a challenge for experienced climbers as well as those looking to try out tooling for the first time.

Booking in advance is recommended as there are a limited number of spaces available at each venue. Some venues will accept booking on the day but you will not be guaranteed a place and will have to pay an extra £5.

For further details check out Glenmore Lodge's webiste:

http://www.glenmorelodge.org.uk/tooling.asp

Marmot athlete Gavin Pike putting mixed climbing skills to excellent use in Chamonix

Steve McClure repeats Hubble 8c+

Steve McClure has just confirmed with us that he has completed his long time objective to climb The Raven Tor test Piece Hubble which is graded F8c+.

A huge congratulations to Steve for this extremely impressive repeat.

Marmot signs up new UK athlete

Steve McClure, one of the UK’s highest profile and most influential rock climbers, has become the newest addition to Marmot’s pro climbing and mountaineering team.
Steve reputation has been well earned over the last decade through his constant pushing of standards and ground breaking ascents.

Steve was the first Britain to onsight F8b and then F8b+; climbed the first F9a in England in 2000 (Northern Lights), F9a+ in 2007 (Overshadow) and has been British Indoor Champion four times. Steve has also onsighted more than 100 routes graded F8a or harder within 12 months; climbed over 500 sport routes at F8a and above, established a ground-up F8b+ deep water solo, climbed 8c+ very fast and climbed E11 trad in 2008 (Rhapsody).

Climbers of Steve’s ability are very rare, and we are delighted that he has chosen to work with us. His plans of continued landmark ascents and endorsement of our products will give us exceptional brand exposure. We believe our range of clothing and equipment will play a pivotal role for Steve as he undertakes all his climbing in the future.

About working with Marmot Steve said:

“I'm extremely pleased. I'm lucky to be supported by the best equipment companies in the world (Petzl, Beal and 5.10) and Marmot fits perfectly alongside these. I used Marmot equipment exclusively in Greenland a few years ago where performance was paramount and was impressed. I couldn't think of a better company to forge a relationship with. Within a day of getting some new clothes I was wearing them at a high elevation crag in Wales. A long sweaty walk in, followed by hard climbing in cold windy weather needed high performance stuff. I'm used to typical cotton clothing, but the difference in performance under testing conditions, and thus my overall climbing performance was massive!”

In addition to his role as Marmot’s newest athlete, Steve will also be working closely with us on our new retailer support strategy. He, and our other athletes, will visit our key retail partners to meet shop staff, communicate real world product use, and deliver inspirational presentations.

Katy Whittaker on sights two 7c sport routes in one day

Katy Whittaker has been on excellent form over the last couple of days and the news just in is that on Tuesday the 7th of July she onsighted two 7c sport routes.

Only a handful of women in the UK have onsighted 7c and Katie’s on sight of two 7c routes in one day certainly mean that she is a force to watch over the next couple of years ahead.

The two 7c routes that Katy climbed were Dominatrix 7C and Biological Need 7C which are both found on Kilnsey Crag in Yorkshire.

In addition to this Katy also repointed a 7c+ last Sunday at Lower Pen Trywn in North Wales.

Keep up the great work Katy!

Awesome Mawson: 3 8b’s in one week

Neil has been on a serious sport climbing mission recently having recently climbed 3 8b sport routes here I the UK.

The routes include: Melancholy 8b, Full Tilt 8b and Steal the Show 8b.

There is a reason why he is called Awesome Mawson.

A brief view into the life of Marmot athlete Will Sim

Our UK athletes are always keeping t busy with various projects and expeditions. Every so often it’s nice to sit them down for just five minutes and gain a better understand of whom they are ad what they do.

We recently fired across number of mountain orientated questions to Will Sim our Marmot UK alpine athlete and Chamonix resident.

Here’s what Will had to say for himself:


How did you get into climbing?

I guess from living in the Lake District and seeing mountains all the time I wanted to do something which involved them. For a few years before I knew anyone who climbed I read FRCC guidebooks endlessly and aspired to do every route in them.

Who are your climbing hero’s?

Colin Haley for being so motivated and having the balls to ignore weather forecasts, and Jude Spanken for not knowing the meaning of forearm pump.

What is your favorite UK route?

Probably either Astral Highway on the Ben, or Saxon on Scafell.

What is your favorite Alpine route?

For elegance and position something really easy like the Kuffner would be hard to beat.

Do you ever get scared on lead?

I'm usually always scared on lead...

What routes do you aspire to climb in the future?

I'd like to do some big Alaskan lines which can be done in long pushes. Other than that the Brenva, Freney and Brouillard faces of Mont Blanc really interest me.

You’re stuck in an alpine hut during a storm. What three luxuries would you like to have?

Three sleeping pills.

What advice would you give to climbers coming out to the Alps for the first time?

Climbing in the Alps is so far removed from climbing in the UK. So although it’s much more fun and rewarding to throw yourself in at the deep end you have no base of experience to shape the judgments you make, and in climbing judgment is everything. You can skip years of the learning curve by spending time with an experienced alpinist or even just observing how things are done out here.

When the student is ready, the master will appear.

We love hearing from Marmot customers who have been out using their clothing and equipment deep in the heart of the UK’s mountain ranges.

Dr Simon Beames from the University of Edinburgh Outdoor Education Section can be seen above teaching students how to create snow bollards on top of the Cairngorm plateau.

Simon has selected a perfect choice of clothing system for the spring conditions which consists of Marmot’s Genesis Jacket, Tour Pro pants and Work Gloves.

For more information about the outdoor education course offered by the University of Edinburgh click on: http://www.education.ed.ac.uk/outdoored/