Windspit is one of my faveroute places to climb. it has a large variety of climbs, and is a great place to start and progress in sport climbing. unlike it’s neighbouring spots like dancing ledge and hedbury quarry, windspit has a large number of climbs varying from 3’s, 4’s, 5’s and 6’s that people can learn to lead but at the same time experiance the exposure of climbing outdoors. dancing ledge and hedbury have 4 or 5 basic level climbs, but because they are quite od now and many people have climbed them, they are very polished and there is not much availibility to put up newer routes in these places. where as at windspit people are still finding areas to put up new climbs. also there is never one climb, that may be the same grade as another, that is the same. for example, there are loads of 6a standard climbs that may be flat and fingury, or over hanging and juggy. you will always find climbs that suit your style of climbing, but at the same time its a great spot to build confidence and to develop your weaknesses.

 i now visit windspit at least once every two weeks, if not every week. its a special place to me as there is a certain root that i led when i first started getting into climbing that then gave me confedence to climb more of that grade, and so therefore build my strength to do harder climbs and to climb that grade in other spots. this climb i am talking about is ’idiot village’. a great big juggy climb with a few over hanging sections. the tricky bit being at the start, in a spot that if you fall, you swing into the cave rather than getting hurt. after the first two bolts, its just a combination of big hand holds and big, bold, powerful moves rather than nitty gritty technical sections, ‘idiot village’ allows roomn for error, which is what you want to gain confidence and take you to the next level. up at the top thee is a big step you can stand on, so tying off the top rope after leading the climbs isn’t too scary or awkward for a new climber. which when you knackered and all your adrenilin has gone through making the top, thats just what you need.   

last weekend i took a trip down to dancing ledge to try out some of the original sport climbs that were put up. within the range of grade 5’s to 6’s. i found them a lot more harder than any other grade 5 routes i’d done before. The routes were extremely pollished, so much so that you never quite knew that what you had your foot on or what you were holding on to was quite steady enough to make the next move. also some routes had a long distance between the bolts so with small fingury, polished hand holds, there was a big fear of a big drop below. the last minor problem was that all of the ‘easier’ routes had a lot of the difficult sections at the top of the climb, making it extremely exposed and definately got the adreniline pumping round my system.

i am extremely glad i had climbed in other areas and gained a little strength and experiance before climbing at dancing ledge, because it would have really ruined the experiance had one of those climbs been my first lead! i personally did not enjoy any of the climbs i attempted down , there and even the sense of acheivement wasn’t there because the climbs were rated, in my opinion, a lot lower than they actually were.

my dad said that when he began sport climbing thats all they had, so i am extremely glad that there are other spots locally for me now adays to learn and progress on, before attempting climbs that are like the ones at dancing ledge. otherwise i don’t think i would have got into climbing and therefore not have experiance the buzz i have had of getting into a sport like this were there is such a high level and feeling of self achievement.

however, dancing ledge is such a beautiful place in dorset and i did have a wicked day out and enjoyed my experiance at dancing ledge although may not have enjoyed the climbing there. 

I began climbing at a very young age. I think my dad bought my first harness when i was about 2 years old which lasted me until i was 15!! however it was alway a hobbie i may have tried once or twice a year going along with my dad and his mates just for a fun day out. they climbed along a standard of 6a to 6c sport climbs and then dragged me up on a top rope up a 4 or a 5. it was always a fun day out but i was never hooked on climbing until now at the age of 20 years old. most of the reason for this was because i was always doing other sports including anything you can imagine if it was there, i did it! but bowever my main sport and now still is, was trampolining.

i always did a little gymnastics, which i suppose built up a bit of strength from a young age, but i was representing great britain in trampolining from the age of 11, and so it was a full time commitment for me as well as school. therefore i never had time to get into climbing. but however at the age of 19 years old i was in full time training with a part time job and had an injury due to my main sport. this gave me 9 weeks out which obviously felt like a million years to someone as hungry as me to do something. so i turned to climbing in april 2009. some of my dads old climbing mates had started going to bournemouth and QE climbing clubs again for a laugh so i, mr. misery guts with an injured ankle went along. now stronger and fitter from ever before through training full time i found it a lot easier, and therefore enjoyed climbing a lot more than i used to. i was hooked and now going when i can i’m training on the trampoline 5 to 6 hours a day then climbing twice a week on top of that. once out doors and once indoors, because that is the only time i have availible around work.

come my 20th birthday, i was back representing great britain on the trampoline free of injury and climbing in any spare time i have. in just 12 weeks of climbing i progressed from struggling to lead a 4 in sport climbs, to now regularly leading 6a’s to 6b’s as often as i can. i can’t get enough of it i have bought all my own gear, instead of using my dads and have found myself a climbing partner who is progressing along side me. with summer approaching i can’t wait for those long weekends out in the sun at windspit, portland, dancing ledge and hedbury quarry to go cliff jumping and climb all day. if u see a mad dude chucking a double or a triple sommersault of the top of the conger it might well be me. catch you all out there, hope you had fun reading my first entry i’m off. Until next time ……