UKC

Hi guys,

I was wondering where to practise dry tooling or ice climbing in London. I've done couple of sessions of ice climbing in EB Covent Garden but it's quite busy there and the timings clash with my work . Any ideas?

Cheers!
J.

In reply to Jake80:

I think Swiss Cottage allowed dry tooling last year (or maybe it was just a competition). The Castle and the Westway both allowed use of Fig Fours, which was a start, but no proper facilities for real axes.

I can't imagine the owners of any buildings would allow it, even though some might be ideal. You could always avoid disappointment by not asking...

In reply to nufkin:

I was thinking about some wooden structures or abandoned buildings etc.

In reply to Jake80:
theres always the chalk stuff on the south coast

In reply to Jake80: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=NGcBS4TajGY

Most importantly, get your accessories right. I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure alpaca hats are out this season - anyone confirm?

In reply to Jake80:
Swiss Cottage are going indoor dry-tooling (schmoolz and real axes) againthis year, 0845 363 11 44 or climb.london@high-sports.co.uk for more info.

In reply to Jake80:

Mile End set up it's 5m wall in the Secret Garden for Fig Fours and Schmoolz last winter. If there's sufficient demand we'll do it again.

In reply to Jake80:

Phoned Swiss Cottage a few weeks ago about the dry tooling as noticed it wasn't being promoted to such an extent on the website. Staff answering the phone didn't seem to have a definate idea for when dry tooling would start. Was told too warm at moment and would start once winter arrived but no definate date.

In reply to Jake80:
Given the miles of train track there must be quite a few old bridges around where you could give it a blast (ie under the arches)

In reply to Jake80: dry tooling is now available at swiss cottage. I called in yesterday to check it out. Some bouldering, a couple of routes and they're putting more up. Im heading up there next week to try it all out and give my new toys a run out.

Climb up Big Ben. Bet you would'nt get arrested.

In reply to Removed User:

Andy - I'd be very interested in dry tooling at Mile End. I don't suppose MECW would consider setting routes for real axes, similar to Swiss Cottage and this link:

http://www.drytoolinguk.com/faqs_and_information_for_climbing_walls.html

In reply to Rick Ashton:

I'm doing some dry-tool route setting at Swiss next Tuesday, adding to the 8 or so routes that are already there. I'll post some photos later next week.

In reply to Jake80:
West way will allow you to use schmoolz if you speak to them in advance.

They can be vague on the phone though. When I phoned them about it they informed me it was cool just to rock up and use them. After being stopped by the DM it turns out you have to get an area coned off.

In reply to alan1234:
Alan,

Looking forward to trying out your new routes
Is there any chance of setting a few for the autobelay?

In reply to davidhw:

At the moment we have three people who have expressed interest; but we do need more than this. Last winter, initially there were similar threads on UKC and we set up the 5m wall in the Secret Garden as a dedicated area for Schmoolz / Fig 4's. It was used half a dozen times. We're just too busy to have people using them on the main walls; as having someone swing about with a two foot stick on the end of each arm is asking for trouble.

It's the same with axes. The small quiet Walls can dedicate surfaces but it's far harder and disruptive for the latger ones. I'd push to make Swiss Cottage 'the' venue in London helping them to create a niche market.

How many people on UKC schmool'd / Fig4'd on London walls last winter and how many times?

Andy

In reply to Removed User:

Also; proof read BEFORE posting

In reply to davidhw:

Done. I haven't had a chance to grade the new routes yet but I suspect it is on the harder side of routes there, with a stein-pull and fig-4 necessary.

See http://www.flickr.com/photos/30731707@N02/sets/72157628218758259/with/64305... for photos.

On the smaller wall, my routes are the orange/yellow under the first rope to the left, the red under the second rope which will have a hanging block of wood for the final move on Tuesday nights (both probably M6-7), and the orange/yellow under the third rope (easy M8).

Have fun and let me know what you think!
Alan

In reply to alan1234:

Good job on the route setting. Those are the best routes going. Some re-jigging of the boulder wall would be good also. There needs to be some carpeted holds immediately above the low overhang roof at the back with which to hang from and practice fig 4 moves. Cheers.

In reply to Mr. Lee:

Thanks! And I may well add some boulder problems later.