Page 95 - WishStream Year of 2023

Exercise DEADPOINT CADET
Ex DEADPOINT CADET was a rock climbing expedition to Anglesey, North Wales. The aim was to familiarise the group of unexperienced
OCdts to single-pitch routes to earn their founda- tion qualification. For the first day, the group learnt the basic skills required at a nearby indoor climb- ing centre, focusing on climbing techniques, tying in, belaying, and kit care. The group quickly pro- gressed from basic bouldering to top rope climbing.
The next day, we started at Lion rocks, spending the morning practising the more technical skills of climbing. We were taught about the placement of nuts and clips so we could later in the week build an anchor. In the afternoon, we travelled to Dinor- wic Slate Quarry to the sidings where we did three hours of sport climbing up the slates. It became quite apparent that it was significantly more physi- cally and mentally challenging than the day before with very limited holdings for your hands and feet. It taught us valuable lessons and enabled us to prac- tise some of the prior day’s climbing techniques.
On Monday, we woke to the joys of horrendous Welsh weather, taking a leisurely start to the morning in the hopes it would blow over. We then headed to the indoor centre to practice some of the anchoring techniques we had learnt. We expanded on these, experimenting with different anchoring points and also learnt how to lock off when belay- ing, should anything go wrong with the climber coming up from below. With all good intention, we headed to Holyhead in the afternoon. The poor weather returned, and the instructor
called it too hazardous to continue
OCdt Brandon
on. All in all, it was a day of making the best of it and the group were looking forward to a longer day on the rocks tomorrow.
The next day, we went to Tremadog Pant to prac- tise our anchoring placements and descending from them. A very mentally challenging day for the group for many of the rocks protruded, blocking the view of what was potentially underneath and thus evoking more trust in the climber’s belayer to lower them down safely. We finished the afternoon with our first self-abseil to the bottom of the rocks which the group thoroughly enjoyed.
We spent our final day on what was definitely the most beautiful spot of the trip. The weather was back on our side with sunshine and warm tem- peratures, so we headed to the spectacular cliff side spot of Penmaenbach Quarry. The group set- tled in for the day and attempted a number of trad/ sport climbs ranging in difficulty from F4 to F7A+ to allow the group the chance to practise what we had learnt throughout the week and the chance to challenge our newly honed skills. The broad and high rock face gave us seven options for people to attempt, challenging the different skill levels within the group. This epic spot was a fantastic way to end the week with all members successfully com- pleting the Rock Climbing Single Pitch Foundation as well as solidifying our newfound passion for climbing - something we will all be continuing to pursue in future.
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