George Cave

Königsjodler

There are few routes I've looked forward to climbing as much as the Königsjodler Klettersteig. It proved to be everything that’s great about via ferratas for climbers - super exposed terrain, moving fast with small packs and covering much more ground than you’d manage on a rope. We had incredible views to the south all day across the Grossglockner, Großvenediger and many others. A night in the hut for spagbol and chess completed a perfect adventure weekend.

Doriweg

DaveO landed at 10:30am and we were on the approach hike within 30 minutes. After a heavy night's leaving drinks in London, he asked for an easier day out, so I figured 7 hours of hiking/climbing should be quite manageable. We climbed Doriweg beneath the summit of Berchtesgadener Hochthron - a lovely shaded rock with amazing rock and wonderful views over the Salzburg valley.

Windgather Girdle Traverse

Don’t confine yourself to thinking in the vertical! 10m high cliffs can offer 100m+ routes if you go sideways. After the fun I had last year on Herford's Girdle Traverse at Castle Naze, a New Year's trip to the Peak gave me and Dave a great chance to try another classic horizontal adventure. Several hours later, our very long, windy & cold girdle traverse was complete.

In the shadow of Triglav

CatO and DaveO joined Erinna and I for a long weekend snow-shoeing adventure around the Triglav National Park. Starting from the base of the Slap Savica waterfall, we hiked in to Koča pri Triglavskih jezerih and then on to Zasavska koča na Prehodavcih to the west of Triglav itself. There was a bit too much snow to attempt the summit, so instead we did a long circular hike on snowshoes, returning to the car after three nights of huts.

Little Chamonix

No matter what the weather, there's always time for one more classic rock, especially on New Year's Eve. This was Dave's third outdoor trad route, and his third Classic Rock tick. If you want to beat the queues at Shepherd's then this is the time to go!

Dave enjoyed it so much that we followed it up with Chamonix, breaking his 100% record but discovering a very lovely climb in the process. Happy New Year!

Will 'o the Wisp

Proclaimed in the guidebook as "one of the all-time Mid Wales classic routes", we found the crag at Craig Cywarch in a rather damp, vegetated condition. Undeterred, and hoping never to need return to this Classic Rock destination, we set off of a team ascent and were pleased to see the route improve considerably after the first, dripping pitch. Overall it was a rather cold day, clearly illustrated by the chilling temperature inversion in the valley below.