So recently ive not been doing alot other than climbing, reading and going to the gym. A few soloing sessions in the Peak, first problem on the blue circuit, (7a-7c+), at the Climbing Works and my first E4! First though last week I read Alex Honnold's Alone on the Wall cover to cover in 5 days, which is alot of reading for me, below are some of my thoughts.

​Alone On The Wall, Alex Honnold with David Roberts
Alex has been one of my favourite climbers and role models ever since I saw his free solo of El Sendero Luminoso a few years ago, he takes risks, yes, but always manages them, saying that he intends to grow old and be around a long time. His book helps you see into the mind of Alex, and what drives him to do what he loves day to day. Covering stuff such as his free solo ascents, big wall speed link ups and alpine experiences. 
Alone On The Wall also covers stuff outside of climbing such as the Honnold Foundation, which helps by supporting projects around the world focusing on bringing power to remote areas and hoping to improve peoples lives in doing so. Alex's nomadic lifestyle allows him to donate alot of  the money that he makes to his foundation.
From the Free Solo that made him Famous, (Moonlight Butress), through to insight into his childhood and epic alpine adventures such as the Fitzroy traverse, Alone on the Wall is a most read, deffiently recommend it! May he have many more adventures and inspire more people.

What I've Been Up To...
Secret Stanage Severe Circuit
​I've been building some endurance up for a project that i've got planned for next year, and what better way to do this than have a afternoon out soloing on grit, and mix in doing all the Severes at Secret Stanage in one go too! There's about 15 severes in the area, most arent in the best condition as the whole area is usually just walked past, this is probaly because most of the routes are a bit long for boulder problems, but too short for a good lead, most with non existant gear. Some are quite nice though, such as Shuffle. I started from one end and worked back towards High Nebb. After finishing the circuit, i sat looking at an arete that looked really nice. Checked in the book to find it was Blockhead Direct E1 5b. Awesome little problem, would be made soo much better if it was another 20metres longer!

The Roaches
Harrison a friend from 'down south' had come up to see me for the day and get out on some grit, so i met him at the Roaches, an hour and a bit drive away for me. With harrison having not trad climbed in a while we started off easily on a Vdiff, then a S. Before I decided that I liked the look of an E2 called Ruby Tuesday, a two pitch route. The start is a blankish face with the first piece of reasonable gear under a ledge, which involved a high rock over to pass. Interesting with a full trad rack and shoes attached to your harness!

The second pitch was alot easier than the first, finishing up an airy buttress.
Next Harrison wanted to show me his project, Wings of Unreason E4 6a. Admittedly we set a top rope up on it, with me stood at the bottom saying its impossible. Although when i was on it soon figured out the sequence and awkward final move. With one peice of gear at half height was more like a boulder problem than a route.
After id cruised up it Harrison had a go, bailing on the final move, which required a bit more of a dynamic move than me due to hieght differneces! You'll Get it next time!
​Video to Follow!.....

I met Andy a couple of years ago on a first aid course not realising who he was until recently, which encouraged me to find out more, ever since his book has sat in my must read list. Winning the Boardman Tasker Award and the Adventure Travel Award at the Banff Festival I knew before I started reading the book it would be good. Learning To Breathe starts with an introduction from Joe Simpson where he tells of how he first met Andy and the expedition they went on in 1987, how he became known as 'rickets' and with Joe wishing him all the best with his writing in the future.
The book is well written, starting by telling the reader about his younger life, growing up in Barnsley, hating school and ending up working in the pit. From which Andy explains how a friend introduced him to the Barnsley Mountaineering Club and how his love for climbing led to him leaving his job in the pit after a long and tedious time there and on strike to pursue his passion for the mountains and climbing.
After many years doing various jobs around saving up for his exciting adventurers and slowly working towards his British Mountain Guide, putting the same amount of effort into his outdoor life as he did into his study of English Language at university. In the book Andy talks about his first trips to the grit crags, early trips to Scotland in the winter and rock climbing in Wales. Using the time off that he had while on strike from the coal mines, living on the small wage that he received Andy spent a lot of time climbing, most of the time having to borrow kit from friends.
Later Andy went on the climb classic hard lines in the Alps such as Divine Providence, almost climb Gasherbrum IV, (weather prevented a summit push), and a rare at the time ascent of Changabang around working as a British Mountain Guide.
Though out the book Andy’s language helps keep the reader interested, with small quotes at the beginning of every chapter and breathtaking pictures near the middle of the book of him and his friends climbing various routes. Andy Cave’s Learning to Breathe is an excellent book that explains some of a life time of climbing talking about successful expeditions and some sad expeditions, such as Changabang with the loss of his climbing partner Brandon during an avalanche on the decent. Throughout the language used is compelling and dedicative, his other book Thin White Line will defiantly be on my bedside table soon!

Excellent book, well worth a read for anyone, even people who aren’t climbers!

So i’m a couple of books through my whirl wind tour of big named climbing autobiographies. This weekend I finished one that I’ve been wanting to read for a while, Joe Brown’s 'The Hard Years’. Having climbed a few of his routes in the past and usually felt like they where graded a bit optimistically, it was nice to get to know a little more about the person behind the name in the guide books and the legend that is Joe Brown.
The book book is full of stories about Wales, (mostly snowdonia, and Cloggy), the Alps and further afield. The book also describes some of the archeological work that he did in Petra and Persia. The book, as you can imagine is written mostly for climbers, with little or no description of what phrases mean, which is nice for a change! For a climber’s autobiography it is also surprisingly well written. Following a nice sequence making it easy to put down and pick back up again, if you can put it down.
It was interesting to find out about his help with an archeological dig in Persia in the ancient Assassin city of Alamut, where they where hoping to find treasure in previously unexplored caves. Due to their inaccessible position owning to overhanging rock it was Joe’s job to climb up and set up ladders and safety lines for access.
On the other hand reading this book will defiantly motivate you to get out and go climbing! I know Clogwyn is defiantly on my list of places to visit when I’m next around that area now.
Another good point is that it does not solely focus on one area of Joe’s climbing/career, but talk about a mixture of things, and how he evolved as a climber through a period when many things where changing, along with the introduction of vibram climbing shoes, moving away from the nail boots which where common place before.
Reading this book will also make you wonder how these climbers managed to climb such hard routes in either socks. tennis shoes or nail boots. Joe Brown has had a life full of adventure and this book talks about such a small portion of it. I would recommend this to friends to read, so go out and get reading when the weather is rubbish or dark!

For the last few days I have been popping in and out of Andy Kirkpatrick’s 1001 Climbing tips and I plan on writing a blog post of that maybe in a weeks’ time, (really excellent so far). However I also have 'Space Below My Feet' coming as really want to learn more about Gwen Moffat after seeing Operation Moffat on the BMC website over the winter.

The short answer is yes! Everything seems really well made, sits snuggly in cracks and racks up pretty well. Their gear is just as good as competitors and with the lower price tag, makes climbing that ever so slightly more affordable for the person that has multiple hobbies or just wanting to build their selection of cams for grit.

Kouba Climbing Uk Website Link: http://www.koubaclimbing.co.uk