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Sunday 22 February 2015

2 Star Training

I spent yesterday working alongside Will Kilner of Adventures With Will on a 2 star kayak training day for two clients. One of the things I enjoy the most about freelancing here in the South Wales borders is the variety of work I get to do, and yesterday was a perfect example of that.

Forwards
Both clients had some prior experience of kayaking, but little in the way of formal tuition, so we began with a look at forwards paddling. With keen students, it's so rewarding to see a really quick progression from a little swaying and meandering to really solid forwards paddling. The venue we used - the River Wye at Glasbury even enabled us to introduce a few 3 star skills as we ferry-glided across the flow, experimenting with different angles to hit different points on the opposite bank.

The Wye really is a river with something for (almost) everyone. This section is a great introduction to moving water at low levels, but lies just a few miles downstream of the Builth Wells to Boughrood section that I careered down in November.

Sideways
Safely in the shelter of a slow moving tributary, Will led a session on moving sideways and blade awareness, encouraging our students to experiment with using their paddle blades at differing angles to manoeuvre their boats. By directing their focus onto the three key elements of Body, Boat and Blade, the students began to take responsibility for their own learning, applying earlier key points to new paddle strokes with considerable success.

Upside Down!
Some close quarter boat handling after lunch was followed by the wet bits! The best part of any cold February paddlesport training is surely the rescues, and our students reacted with the requisite amount of joy when we introduced support strokes followed by self rescue and rescue of a fellow kayaker. We didn't just sit back and watch our students shiver though, we were generous enough to act as mock paddlers in distress for some of the rescues, sitting in the flow awaiting rescue. Never mind the fact that we both had drysuits on; I think that was a pretty big sacrifice to make!

Until Next Time
It's been a while since I've had the opportunity for some real developmental coaching, and I thoroughly enjoyed the day. I'm running a 2 star course for Monmouth Canoe Club in April and May though, so hopefully will have just as great a time.

Wednesday 18 February 2015

Caving In

I'd been looking forward to my Local Cave Leader course in South Wales for a few months and it lived up to my expectations, right down to the frozen feet and aches and pains across my shoulders. I got into caving a couple of years ago and had long thought about doing cave leader training, but now on a chilly couple of winter days, the course finally came around at Trewern Outdoor Education Centre.

Floods of Information
The first morning consisted of a lot of discussion around personal and group equipment, as well as some close study of ordnance survey mapping to determine the catchment area of different caves. This information, along with knowledge of the rock type, vegetation cover and steepness of the ground helped us to gain a better understanding of the likelihood of flooding in different caves. More discussion followed on risk assessment and the responsibilities of a leader before it was time to hit the cave.

Going Underground
Leaving Trewern we started out on the 'hour long' drive (more like 2 hours) to Llygad Llywchwr cave on the western edge of the Brecon Beacons, not far from where I recently paddled the River Towy. The cave has some beautiful calcite formations, including some amazing curtains high above the underground river that flows through it. We worked on underground navigation and a little technical ropework before emerging from the dark into, er... more dark at 7PM. Heading for home I was shattered, but had enjoyed a fun and informative day.

Deeper Underground
The second day of the course began with some sobering presentations on the dangers of cave flooding including real life scenarios, one of which ended with a fatality. Although many of the caves in South Wales are dry, or do not flood to a significant extent, there are several extremely serious caves where a fanatical level of attention to detail is required in order to stay safe.

We headed out to Bridge Cave, so called because of the bizarre Indiana-Jones style 'bridges' formed by wedged boulders at high level above the Nedd Fechan river within the cave. The far side of the 'bridges' contains some very vulnerable areas of the cave, and given the hazardous approach required to reach the far side, it would be surprising if many people took the risk. We were happy to admire the cave without needing to take undue risks in an already hazardous environment.

More ropework was followed by a couple of emergency scenarios, which served to highlight the extreme difficulties that would be involved in evacuating a casualty from a cave, even if they were relatively close to the entrance. The main lesson I will be taking away from this is the need for high levels of preparation and vigilance in any cave trip.

A Year of Caving?
With an awful lot of further experience needed before my assessment, it seems as though much of the year will be spent underground, just as the paddling season begins to wind down! A great way to keep busy if nothing else.

Thursday 5 February 2015

Blowy Brecon Beacons

An odd day off kicking my heels in Brecon could really only end one way: a trip up into the hills. With poor weather forecast for the morning though I left it a while and took on a short route up Pen y Fan, the high point of the Brecon Beacons.

The unspeakable 
…in pursuit of the inedible in the famous words of Oscar Wilde, were out in force, with a hunting party dispersing from the car park, horns blaring, as I arrived. Chasing small animals on horseback with a pack of dogs isn’t my idea of fun, but then each to their own. By the time I reached the small plateau at Twyn Cil-rhew the sound of barking and antique bugles had faded into the distance and I was left to enjoy the setting in peace. The wind had picked up by now and I staggered against gale force gusts that stung my uncovered face. In the midst of the climb the sun appeared briefly, casting a yellow-green glow on the hills beneath me and illuminating Brecon at the foot of the range.

Snowy ridge 
Thick patches of snow remained on the Cefn Cwm Llwych ridge, but a combination of wind and a warm couple of days had done away with most of the recent fall that I had enjoyed on the Cat’s Back. The wind grew stronger as I climbed on, and I decided against taking the hidden track on the nose of Pen y Fan. Contouring round instead, I climbed the final steep grassy slope, emerging onto the worn-smooth top of Pen y Fan in the strongest winds yet. I had been alone for most of my walk, but on reaching the top I found a few other walkers with more to be seen further around the Neuadd Horseshoe.

A crisp topping of frost and ice decorated the ground, seeming to declare that winter is here and has no intention of leaving any time soon. The distant hills all had their own white glaze, lending an eerie aspect to the entire scene.

The track down from Pen y Fan towards Cribyn was icy and precarious, but at least the wind had dropped now that I was in the lee of Pen Y Fan. With more wind threatening as I neared the foot of Cribyn though, I opted to bypass the top and head down the track above Cwm Cynwyn instead, where the sun finally made an extended appearance. If it weren’t for the bitter chill, the scene appeared the same as a summer’s day in the Beacons. After dropping down from the hills I made my way back through a boggy morass of fields to the warmth of the car and the warm glow of a fine winter walk.