Layed back day in the Alps

With temperatures remaining relatively high the Mont Blanc range is a good month behind where it was this time last year. Goulottes aren't quite consolidated and icefields are still looking very black.

After getting prematurely excited and scratching around on out of condition mixed routes last week i decided to suck it up and head for the Dru.


The "American Direct" is on the left hand side of the west face and was fairly unaffected by the huge rock falls which have taken out the majority of the face over the years. Climbing as a three with spanish friend Oscar Lopez and Mark Stevenson of "Hard Rock" fame made for a very layed back day and we were on the crux diedre just after mid day. The quality of climbing on the route is exceptional with the 45 metre lay back (about E2 free) and the 90 metre diedre (about E4 if freed) particularly standing out.

Some good weather and drop in temps forcasted so lets see what happens....



A big thanks to Oscar Lopez for allowing us to use these images.

Hot Chocolate anybody ???

Will Sim and Jon Griffith have recently been getting some acclimatization in on Mont Blanc Du Tacul with an ascent of what they hope was the line of ‘Hot Chocolate’.

The line was found to be very mixed with limited ice and hard dry tooling moves required to complete the line.

A big thanks to Jon Griffith for allows us to use these images of Will in action.
Be sure to check out Jon’s great website: http://www.alpineexposures.com/blogs/chamonix-conditions for additional photo’s and reports on current Chamonix conditions.

The Walker Spur with Will Sim

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At long last things are starting to look autumnal in the Alps, the month and a half long dry spell which saw que's on summer classics such as the Freney and Dru has come to an end. I spent most of that month trying to snatch routes in on Scafell and Gogarth between periods of rain!



By the time I arrived back in the valley the top half of the Jorasse was starting to look rather white which made for an interesting ascent of the Walker Spur? Half of the route was climbed in big boots and crampons- which ultimately made for a more interesting ascent.


A brilliant but windy bivi on the top of the face gave me a good opportunity to try out the excellent new Alpinist Bivi Bag and the surprisingly robust Ellsworth jacket. The next day provided a torturously long descent in to Italy, tiptoeing underneath the 40000 ton serac which is predicted to release in the next few days.



It was nice to climb this classic summer route, and i'm now left full of excitement for the next few months, bring on the winter!

A big thank you to OSCAR LOPEZ for allowing Marmot use of these images.

Extreme locations for photgraphic needs.

Recently we put a call into our very own sponsored photographer Tim Glasby requesting action images of Marmot sleeping bags being used in extreme locations.

Tim did us proud by shooting an excellent image of Lucy Creamer poised on a ledge in North Wales.

Grab yourself a copy of Cotswold’s new winter catalogue to see the final action shot by Tim.

A big thanks to Tim Glasby for all his hard work on this project and another big thanks to Craig Hiller wfor the shot of Tim in action.

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.