Mark Pretty, international competition routesetter, is back to set some new circuits on thursday and friday 5th and 6th of January.

We're open as usual, so come and enjoy the new problems. We also have just reset a new blue and yellow circuit, and will be putting up an endurance circuit and probably a new mega-traverse too.

permalink

We have been so busy over the period between Christmas and New Year that we have decided to open on January 2nd! An ideal time to put those new years resolutions into effect, hope to see everyone soon.

permalink

The results of the midlands bouldering league are below- well done to everyone who competed. Scores are all correct, but as some people didn't put down which category they were in, one or two people may need to be moved. Julian at Wolf Mountain is doing this, but in the meantime you can refer to the list below:

download/files/Copy_of_midlands_bouldering_league_rd_3_dec11.pdf

Results with everyone placed in correct category will be available soon at:   www.midlandsboulderingleague.co.uk/

permalink

We are open as normal during the holidays, except:

Saturday 24th- Tuesday 27th December- CLOSED

New Years Eve   9.30-4pm

NEW YEARS DAY      CLOSED

We are now opening on 2nd January! So busy over Xmas/New Year break that we will open for an extra day.

2nd January 2-10pm as normal

To all our customers, have a good christmas and new year!

permalink

We're holding our christmas party at the centre on Wednesday 7th December, from 7pm onwards. All invited!

permalink

CWA (Climbing Wall Award) TRAINING December.
We are planning on running this at the centre, over 3 evenings - same day each week spread over 3 sessions, 4 hours per session. The cost is £110, and you will need to register with MLT. To get an idea of the prerequisites, have a look here- they aren't too demanding. 

permalink

We've just taken delivery of some Lapis rollyballs and a rollybar. This is a fun bit of kit with lots of training potential:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXFpDHoWX9U

We're also getting some new holds in, a mix of bright colours for kids circuits and harder crimp problems.

permalink

We are due to change over several circuits, and have put out a message on facebook to ask for suggestions. So far, we've had requests for a dedicated childrens circuit, dynos, another long traverse etc.... If you have any specific requests let us know either via e-mail or facebook and we'll see what we can do!

permalink

We are part of BT Openzone, which means you are welcome to come and access the internet via your laptop, tablet or mobile.

permalink

We will be running our popular childrens clubs each weeekday throughout the holidays- just turn up, no need to book! We'll also be setting the slackline up for you to have a go at on most days. The cost of the club session remains the same at £10 per person. Session runs 2-3.30 pm each weekday.

permalink

The campus board is now up and running- 10 rungs of small and medium metolius wood grips, so easy on the skin.

Chris Plant is due in on Thursday 26th to finish off the routesetting, so everything will have been changed from the old set. 

permalink

We are running a whole week of outdoor courses in Anglesey over the half term week (Tuesday 31st May- Sunday 5th June). Days, half days and evening sessions to suit everyone from beginners to multi-pitch adventure. We will be based at the Youth Hostel near Holyhead, a few hundred metres froma lovely beach, so if you are interested in attending, please contact us for further details and to book.

permalink

We will be running our usual full programme of junior activities throughout the Easter holidays- every weekday childrens club 2-3.30 pm. No need to book, just turn up!

Weekend childrens clubs- running as usual. 9.30-11 Saturday, 9.30-11 and 11-12.30 Sunday (2 clubs)

In addition, Josh will be running an outdoor bouldering day at Churnet Valley (right next to Alton Towers) on Thursday 21st April.  Contact us for further details!

permalink

We are planning to run a CWA training course , probably early in May or late April. If you are interested, please contact us   It's a 12-hour course, and we will run this at the weekend.

permalink

Mark Pretty, UK Climbing Team coach, is planning to hold a training masterclass here at the centre in the near future. If you are interested, let us know by contacting us. Dates, prices etc to be confirmed. Mark is quite specific about this NOT being just for good climbers- "anyone can get strong" he says. So sign up for some really good advice on how to get better quickly. Places will be limited.

For more information, check out Mark's website

permalink

There are still places left on our next SPA Assessment course, which is running on the weekend of 25th-27th MARCH. Contact us if you are interested in attending.

permalink

We're running our holiday childrens clubs over half term again- 2-4pm weekdays, £10 per person. No need to book, just turn up. Weekend childrens clubs will be running at the usual times.

permalink

Congratulations to young climbers from the centre, who managed a first, second and ninth placing in the second round of the BRYCS series. Hopefully we should have a good presence in the National Final in June this year.

permalink

Mark Pretty and Chris Plant have finished their circuits, and we now have:

yellow/Pink - up to V0

Green (in progress)  V1-V2

Blue V2-V4

Red V3-V5

Yellow V4-V6

Black V6-V10

Also, traverses:

Orange/Green mega traverse Fr 6b+

Yellow/Pink  Fr 4+

White  Fr 7b

Still to come- campus board,  rest of green circuit, more of the above colours, purple circuit, one or two more volumes.....

permalink

Happy New Year to all our customers. In response to several requests, we are now offering one-month passes in addition to our 3,6, and 12 month passes. These are good value- just ask us at reception if you are interested, or check out our prices page of the website.

permalink

Rather than wait until the new year, grab a bargain in our pre-Christmas sale:

At least 15% of all stock

Metolius Stomp mats rrp £145 selling for £105

Adult Mammut harness rrp £60 now £45

Childs Koala harness rrp £50 now £40

lots of other items- call us to pay by card and reserve your item.

permalink

We are open as normal until:

Christmas Eve 24th    2-6 pm

Xmas Day  CLOSED

Boxing Day  CLOSED

Monday 27th  CLOSED

Tuesday 28th 12-6

Wednesday 29th 2-10 pm

Thursday 30th 2-10 pm

NEW YEARS EVE  CLOSED

NEW YEARS DAY CLOSED

Sunday 2nd January 9.30-7 pm

Monday 3rd January onwards- 2-10 pm

permalink

We've opened the room off reception, and even in this weather, it's toasty! It still needs a bit of decorating and general finishing off, but given the weather we thought we'd open it up anyway. Smokers will still, unfortunately, have to go outside with their coffees, but everyone else can sit in the warmth and read the climbing mags.

permalink

We are getting busier now that winter is approaching, but the lunchtime weekday period is still quiet. From now on, we are reverting to our SUMMER opening hours. All year round, we will now be open:

Weekdays 2-10 pm (pre-booked groups from 9.30 am)

Weekends 10-7 pm (childrens clubs from 9.30 am)

The change in times will make it clearer for customers, with opening times now being the same winter and summer.

It will also give us more time for routesetting.

permalink

We'll be having a reset of some of the easier circuits over the next week or two- we'll put up a post again as soon as the new circuits are up!

permalink

We will be running our popular half term sessions for children- as in previous holidays these are 2-4pm, each weekday. There is no need to book, just turn up on the day. Cost £10 per child

permalink

We've got a new SPA Assessment running on 4th-5th December 2010. Price is the same as previous assessments- £140 (compared to £200 some places are charging); if you are interested in attending please contact us as places are limited.

permalink

Our SPA course was very successful this weekend, with a full complement of 8 students.

We are planning to announce firm dates shortly for forthcoming SPA and CWA training and assessment courses, but are planning an SPA assessment course for the end of September 10. Please contact us for further details or to book.

permalink

We've just taken delivery of some new metolius mats, including the new Colossus crash pad. This is a double-size mat (big enough to sleep on!) that folds neatly, so easier to transport than a taco-style mat. Anyone who prints off this blog page will qualifiy for a discount on one!Read more here  This pad is recognised as one of the best boudering pads on the market, along with its normal-sized sister, the Stomp pad. We also have these in stock in a range of colours.

Location: New bouldering mats in stock
permalink

From June through to September inclusive, we will nowbe opening at 2pm during the week. All other times stay the same, so our opening times are now:

Mon-Fri 2-10pm

Sat, Sun 9.30-7pm.

School holiday childrens clubs are now 2-4pm

We continue to open outisde of these hours for pre-booked groups.

permalink

We now have some very smart Mammut Koala harnesses in stock- these are ideal for smaller children who won't fit the normal sit harnesses on sale. Click here to read more about the harness

permalink

We're having a complete reset on Thursday 6th May- we should be finished by about 4 pm, so come and try the new problems after that! We'll also be running an aggregate again; no prizes, just for personal satisfaction.

permalink

We are due to have a full reset soon, so we have started the ball rolling with a new easy Yellow/Pink circuit. We'll also be having another aggregate, as lots of people have been asking us.

permalink

The Saturday 8th may outdoor day is now full. We are running another outdoor day on Sunday 16th May- to book, contact us.

 We still have places left on our Welsh Classics weekend on 3rd-4th July, again, please contact us for further information and to book.

permalink

We are open normal opening hours over Easter:

Good Friday, Easter Monday 12-10 pm

Easter Saturday, Sunday 9.30-7 pm.

Throughout the easter holidays we will be running extra childrens clubs each weekday (inc. Good Friday, Easter Monday) from 1-3 pm. Cost £10 per session

permalink

We are running an outdoor day on Saturday 3rd April for those who want to transfer from indoor to real rock. To sign up, contact us to book  a place- places are limited! Likely venue will be either Llanymynech or Llangollen area.

permalink

We've finished the complete re-set, and have been getting very positive feedback on the new problems.

Full details will be uploaded shortly on the circuits page, but briefly:

Red circuit V0- V2

Orange/Green V1-V3

Green V2-V3

Yellow V3-V6

Black V5- V7/8

plus a couple of traverses- Blue Fr 6b+, yellow/pink Fr 7b+, and a power endurance loop on the 30 degree wall- Fr 7b?

Let us know what you think as you try them.

"The new problems are brilliant- really interesting, not just pulling on crimps but lots of varied open handed moves as well"  Steph Shepherd

permalink

We're changing all the problems again in m id-Feb, so now is the last chance to tick those projects! We'll leave the purple problems up as these have only just been set, but everything else is going. E-mail us your requests for the new circuits!

permalink

Andy has just about finished the Moon Board on the mezzanine, we're just waiting for Ben to bring over his Moon holds and we will have an exciting new training facility. Pictures will be appearing on the website in due course.

permalink

Half term activities

We will be running our usual extra childrens club courses every weekday throughout half term. These run from 1-3pm, cost £10 per child. Just turn up on the day!

permalink

Our first aid course this weekend  (23rd, 24th Jan 2010) is nearly full, bu there are a couple of spare places. Contact                      First Aid Academy direct to book! £120 + VAT, satisfies all major NGB requirements

permalink

Drytooling UK

DrytoolingUk, the leading providers of drytooling events in the Uk, are running a wekend event here at Shropshire Cimbing Centre from Friday 5th- Saturday 6th February.

For those of you who don't know what drytooling is, it involves using ice axes on holds rather than hands. It's a lot of fun, good training if you plan to do winter routes, but a great sport in its own right. Anyone can have a go, we'll be running taster sessions throughout the weekend, as well as a comp.

Full details on drytooling can be found on the organisers' website: www.drytoolinguk.com

We have sponsors lined up who are giving some good prizes for the comp, and the planned format is:

Friday 5th Feb- Come-and-try-it session all evening plus a workshop from 19.00-21.00.

Saturday 6th Feb- Come and try it sessions all day, plus a comp to run from 12.00 to 16.00

SATURDAY lunchtime BARBEQUE- ALL WELCOME

Don't worry if you haven't got the right gear- all necessary equipment will be provided!

Click here for further information on the event

permalink

Just in time for Christmas, we have received our latest items form Prana and Metolius. Theres a lot to choose from, but new items include:

Metolius bouldering pads                        

Prana hemp chalkbags

Liquid Chalk

Power Putty

Fingerboards

Evolv rockshoes including the very popular Pontas range

Don't forget you can now buy gift vouchers from us too! 

permalink

Christmas Eve 24th: 12- 5pm

CHRISTMAS DAY     CLOSED

BOXING DAY             CLOSED

Sunday 27th Dec   12-6 pm

Monday 28th Dec   12-10 (normal opening hours)

Tuesday 29th Dec 12-10

Wednesday 30th    12-10

NEW YEARS EVE   12- 6pm

NEW YEARS DAY   CLOSED

Saturday 2nd Jan- 9.30-7 pm (normal opening hours)

We are running childrens clubs each day through the holidays when open- 1-3pm

permalink

Round 1 of our Winter Bouldering League was held on Friday, with some great performances put in across the board.

The next round will be held on 11th Dec so get training to improve on those scores!

Winter Bouldering League - Round 1

Junior

Hannah Davies           79

Callum Edwards         76

Emily Williams            50

Laura Dean                 49

Duncan Gladwin        20

Kyle Gladwin               17

Senior

Angus Kille                 129

Tom Fenwick             125

Steph Shepherd          93

Rich Ball                       74

Josh Dawson              58

Chris Williams            13

permalink

We will be running a first aid course at the centre over the weekend of 23rd and 24th of January.

The course will satisfy the requirements of most NGB qualifications e.g. BCU, ML, SPA, MIA etc. Free climbing will also be offered over the weekend to all participants!

Courses start 9am each day

COST: £120 + VAT

To book- either contact us or direct via providerswww.firstaidacademy.co.uk

:

permalink

The first of our four Winter Bouldering League comps is taking place Friday 20th November,; climbing starts from 6.30 pm onwards (don't worry if you can't get there for 6.30, as there is all evening to try the problems) and we plan to finish at 9.30 pm and announce the results of round 1 that evening. We look forward to seeing you there!

Dates are:

Friday 20th November

Friday December 11th

Friday January 22nd

Friday March 5th

Winner is the person with highest scores from best 3 of 4 competitions; there will also be spot prizes.

permalink

The Autumn aggregate competition is now on until 4th December. There are 60 problems currently, but part-way through this will be changing, with new problems at both ends of the difficulty spectrum being added. This means that you get extra value for money. If it sounds complicated, it isn't when you see the score sheet.

permalink

The re-fit is complete and we have lots of new problems to go at!

New circuits are:

Blue V0-V1

Yellow/Pink V1-V3

Pink V3-V5

Red V3-V5

Yellow V4-V6

Black V5 upwards

Mega- traverse: Green Fr 7b+

Stamina circuit 30deg wall (blue/white) Fr 6b+

Lots to go at, and we will be starting an Autumn aggregate soon- watch the news page to find out further details

permalink

Now that the results are in, we can look forward to the next competitions!

Scroll down the page for individual category results

Seniors

Juniors

Elite:

Rich Cannell

Tom Fenwick

Ed Booth/ Angus Kille joint 3rd.

Vets:

Geoff Hibbs

Chris Grant

Chris Jones

Standard:

Josh Dawson

Jim Rowley

Jake Forrest/Mark Harrison joint 3rd.

Junior to yr 11:

boys

Dante Quartermain

Anthony McMellon

Ben Cooper

Girls

Abigail Smith

Hannah Davies

Gina Phizacklea

juniors to yr 6:

boys

Adam Phizacklea/ James Harrison joint 1st.

Charlie Good

girls

Laura Dean

Lucy Asson

Hollie Williamson

permalink

For students who are'nt here during the summer and don't need a full 12-month ticket, we are offering a season ticket valid until the end of the summer term (end June 2010) for only £240

This can be paid for in 3 instalments at the start of each term.

permalink

We've just taken a delivery of Sabrina's homemade cakes today. Stocks are going down (I've eaten quite a few already) so try them and give us your feedback. As they are all handmade and use only freerange eggs they cost a bit more than bog-standard flapjacks etc., but we think they are well worth the little extra.

permalink

In answer to the numerous phone calls, yes we are open today until 10 pm! Hope to see you there.

permalink

EvolvUK are holding a demo event at the centre on Thursday 1st October from 5pm onwards. There will be the chance to try out the latest models from the Evolv range, so we hope to see you there. In the meantime, you can check out the product range by visiting the Evolv website here.

permalink

Junior Summer activities

Summer activities for children

We are running several childrens activities over the summer. In addition to our normal childrens clubs, we are running an extended junior session every weekday from 1pm to 3pm. Bring your child along and leave them for a couple of hours. We've extended the session to make it easier or parents to drop off and collect, and there is a break part-way through the session for the children to have a drink and rest. Cost for each session is £10 per person (discounts for season ticket holders apply).

permalink

Due to the success of the spring aggregate, we thought we'd run another one over hte summer! A few more categories this time, so us mere mortals stand a chance of winning something. The aggregate will run until Friday 11th September, then we'll have our 6-month opening party on the 12th.

permalink

We are now running the NICAS awards scheme up to and including level 3. Logbooks are in the post, and this promises to be a great scheme for younger climbers to progress through a recognised training programme. NICAS stands for National Indoor CLimbing Achievement Scheme, and is the first nationally recognised scheme. More setails can be found at www.nicas.co.uk

permalink

Dates:

One-day introduction to Outdoor climbing £60 p.p. (£40 accompanied under-18s)

Saturday 23rd May; Saturday 6th June; Saturday 13th June

Evening outdoor climbing session £32 p.p (£24 accompanied under-18s)

Wednesday 13th, 20th May; Wednesday 10th June

Climbing weekend £120 p.p. (£85 accompanied under-18s)

Saturday + Sunday 27th + 28th June

About the courses:

Each course is designed for people who have climbed indoors and want to experience the real thing. We will look at a range of techniques required to operate safely in the outdoors, and try to get as much done as possible. Locations will vary, depending on the weather and what suits the participants.

Evening sessions offer a taster; the full day session looks at climbing outdoors in more depth. The weekend session will give you the chance to try trad climbing, leading and getting to grips with a wider range of climbing variety.

Group sizes are limited, so contact us to book and for further details.

permalink

To minimise our negative impact on the environment, we try to encourage our visitors to use more sustainable modes of transport to reach us.

To do this, we offer

• Secure cycle parking
• Car-sharing parking slots
• Free cup of tea to anyone who cycles to the centre, or uses public transport

Public transport routes- see "where we are" page for details.

PDF of bus stops to download

permalink

We run childrens clubs for all ages and levels of ability. Depending on group size, your child can join a group most suited to their age and level of confidence. All sessions are supervised, and the emphasis is on fun and progression.

Those who wish can also enrol on the National Indoor Climbing Wall Awards scheme- registration and logbooks are available at the centre. This is entirely optional.

Categories are: Age 6-10;  Age 11+; advanced boulderers (any age, some experience)

Childrens Clubs run on:

Saturday 9.30-11

Sunday 9.30- 11

Tuesday 4.30-6 term time only.

Thursday 4.30-6 term time only.

If you have a group of friends who would like a bespoke session, please contact us to arrange a time.

 

We also run courses for children through the holidays, so if your children are normally bored during half-term, bring them along to have fun and gain healthy exercise.

permalink

For those who are new to climbing, or returning after a period away from climbing, we offer an induction course.

We want our visitors to be able to operate safely and would encourage anyone who is uncertain about any aspect of wall climbing wall usage to sign up for one of the induction sessions.

Each session will last 1 -1.5 hours, and will look at safe practice in bouldering and roped climbing: warm-ups, spotting, safe descent, belaying and how to get the most from your visit.

Contact us to book a session at a time to suit you, or turn up to one of the regular induction sessions:

Tuesday 4pm, 6pm

Wednesday 4pm, 6pm, 8pm

Saturday  11am, 2pm

Sunday 11am

permalink