Welcome to the Dynamic Rock Blog!

This is the place to find out all the latest info, news and events at Dynamic Rock. Our old news page can be found by clicking this NEWS link. If you register as a member of the blog you will be given permission to comment on articles - and this will include articles on new routes! There are also galleries, which will contain our pics and yours (simply email any photos to info@dynamicrock.co.uk or bring in a CD!). Also keep an eye out for some special limited time offers that will give you special discounts at Dynamic Rock.

We look forward to your feedback, so let us know what you think by posting a comment now

Thanks for everyones support in making Dynamic Rock a success, and here's to another great year!

Up and coming Event!!!

As mentioned on a previous post it is soon our 4th Birthday and we shall be having a bit of a get together to celebrate. You are all invited to come and have a giggle with loads going on at the centre. There shall be some new and unusual activities to get involved with. The evening shall be starting around 7.30 and we have 2 guest speakers plus a live band to keep us entertained in the cafe area.

In the climbing area there will be High lining (Slack lining up high) plus a Dry Tooling workshop/Comp.

Dry Tooling is a relatively new discipline to climbing and is a mixture of ice climbing and rock climbing. As there is the need for ice this sport is normally undertaken in winter when the rock is too cold for hands, so axes are used to climb the rock to get to the ice. This sport has been growing and growing for many years now and has its own world cup and indeed many climbers pursue this form of climbing above all others.

Performance Coach Simon - Dry tooling in Switzerland

 On the day we shall be running hourly sessions where you can have a go at some routes set at the centre. You will need no previous experience or specialist equipment as this will be provided. You will need to book this in advance as spaces are limited and I already know this will be very popular. The cost is included with in the ticket price of £10 for the evening. There will then be the added bonus of a select few going on to compete that night in the ultimate final!!!!

Equipment will be supplied - you can bring your own as long as it is suitable (ask me if you're unsure)

There is also going to be a quiz on the night in a pub quiz style with some prizes for the winning team!

happy Climbing

Simon

4th Birthday Party

On Feb 13th we shall have been open 4 years and to celebrate we are having a Party!

The first news for the party is that we shall be having two guest speakers on the night.

first off we shall hear from a local legend - Gwyn Evans who apart from climbing just about every were in the country and putting up first ascents all along the way (just look in your guide book) has recently returned from a great adventure, that of climbing 'the old man of Hoy' This famous sea stack is a proper adventure that is harder and harder to find these days and Gwyn shall be showing us some pics and recounting his experience from his trip.

Adventure ahead!

Next up is another South West based climber - Chris Savage. Chris has been climbing for many years now and has excelled at many aspects of climbing from becoming British Champion to recently climbing F8C+ whilst on a road trip to Spain. Chris has also cut his teeth on the trad and has on-sighted many hard routes around the UK.

Chris Savage climbing 'Bristol's got Talent F8C' photographer Rob Linsey

Other activities planned for the evening include Live Music and a buffet, Slack Lining and Dry Tooling.

The cost for the evening is £10. Tickets available at reception. £1 from each ticket sold will go to The Prostate Cancer Charity and further donations will be welcome on the night!

Sunny Weekend

Such is the weather this January that no quicker than I have packed my ice axes away I have found myself back outside cragging as if spring is already here. This weekend I headed out to the idyllic Rhossili on the Gower - from here the choice for climbing is massive with no end of crags dotted around the many hidden bays.

 Sundays agenda was a quick fix and for this my favorite crag is 'Trial Wall' as it has a 2 minute walk in and is non tidal, it also benefits from lack of seapage and being a proper little sun trap! I should at this point let you know that the routes here are hard and really start at E2 and although there are bolts this crag is not a sport venue and you will need a trad rack. There is a checkered history to this crag that has settled down a little in recent years and hopefully there will be no more drilling bolts in or out in the future as the scars are there for all to see.

The crag is small but has a few great routes that are three star outings - 'The Adulteress E2' is the left edge of the crag and its stunning position was the former south wales guide cover shot and is a must for any trad climber in the area. next along is 'Black mans pinch E4' brilliant climbing leads to the upper crack of Adulteress. Don't let the bolts completely fool you on this route you will still need some wires there are only two bolts in its 20m !

Next up are the two routes that set the crag apart 'Skull Attack' and 'Crime and Punishment' 7B+ and E4 6a respectively, these two lines just ooze class and this weekend saw many ascents.

'Crime & Punishment'

On a more indoor note this Saturday many of South Wales youngsters took on the Leading Ladder routes at Dynamic Rock. Last year was a great year for south wales in this event with Donna winning her categories and many of the juniors making the final! so there is a lot of hope (which also brings a little pressure!) for this year.Again as with so many of these event there has been some terrific climbing with loads of great ground up action. many juniors have been reaching for personal bests and really giving it a go - it was also a great practice ready for next weekend which is the first round of this years BMC YCS at Boulders in Cardiff for which I wish all those participating the best of luck!

anyhow hope to see you all soon,

keep an eye out for some exciting news regarding our 4th birthday party in a few weeks.

happy climbing

Simon

2010

So the new year is well and truly started with a flourish of snow, in fact as i write this there is yet more snow falling in our car park! For good and bad the winter weather has had a fantastic effect on our local hills not only does it look like we live in the some alpine region but many climbers have been acting the part also with activities such as skiing, snowboarding and closer to my heart, ice climbing taking place in the hills of south wales!

A cold start for 2010 

 This weekend myself and a few friend headed up to Craig y Llyn (in the neath valley) only to find that we were not alone and there were 20 or more climbers tackling the various ice lines that were found across the steep escarpment.

Whilst we were enjoying the ice in South Wales a former Swansea based climber was tackling some very impressive mixed terrain in Scotland - Leanne Callaghan who is no stranger to hard routes in all disciplines of climbing and mountaineering climbed a famous mixed line in Glen Coe called 'Neanderthal'  graded VII,7 and in doing so became the first known female to lead a climb of this grade, click here for the full story.

 Enough of all the cold stories whilst this was going on the weather on the Gower was glorious and a Myself, Dan and a few fellow climbers got in some bouldering down at Rotherslade, near Caswell.

Donna watches on as Dan climbs high

The Bouldering near Caswell is Fantastic and is a great place to spend the day exploring and trying out new challenges just watch out for the tides, there is an on line guide for this area click here for more info.

Also whilst we were all enjoying the festive period one of South wales premier sport climbing destinations has collapsed. you may of read in the papers that Oxwich has suffered a major landslide and this has destroyed much of the crag. With most of the crag now on the beach the bouldering has improved no end. Unfortunately this has meant the loss of some of South Wales hardest Routes put up by Adrian Berry some years back.

The devastation left at Oxwich

On a more indoor note myself and Adam recently got back from London after completing a Coaching course with Neil Gresham who is one of the UK's top climbing coach's - so look out for some new coaching courses starting at the centre soon!

Coaching courses soon available to help you reach your goals

 The BMC leading Ladder is back this weekend with 10 new routes from 5+ to 8a for you all to try plus we have a new set of bouldering problems to tackle so hope to see you all soon.

Also we are in the middle of revising all of our on line stuff from website to blog and as part of this I have taken all older articles away from the front page and into the Archive section of the Blog.

happy climbing

Simon

Winter Skills / Winter Mounteering Course 2010