Mountain Club meet, November

Last Sunday we had our second Mountain Club meet. Eleven pupils, Iain and I set off to Ratho - the biggest indoor wall in Europe and the site of many international climbing competitions.... It's also a quarry with a lid on!

Hannah boldly sets off on a warm-up lead climb.

I can't say it enough times: Ratho is enormous - the routes are much longer than other indoor venues. Some people find it quite intimidating to start with. This didn't seem to hold Hannah back.

Fresh from winning second place at the Climb Scotland Finals, Jack eyes up his next route. Hannah can be seen in the background - yup, that green dot - on the furthest left wall.

Jack leads on the 'comp' wall (climber in black clothing on the right). This wall is articulated - the top half can be tilted even further over to make it steeper still.

Blythe practises her lead belaying on Jack.

Blythe gets ready for a rematch!

Very recently, Blythe attempted this route and was spat off on the top, steepest section. 

It's hard to get your head around how steep this route is.

Blythe makes it to the top hold! Meanwhile, Jack, Elliot and Marcus are trying their hands at 'speed climbing'. Two identical routes are set side-by-side with a clock on them both. This is a whole different style of climbing - huge, dynamic moves which look fluid and monkey-like.

It's hard to get a photo of Alix. She always seems to be moving fast, and usually laughing a lot!

Iain, Findlay, Ruaraidh and Jamie (a brand new one to our club and climbing) attempt a traverse challenge beneath the huge, corner overhangs.

Jack attempts an arrete route.

This boy has power!

It's essential to 'demo' (well, it's hard not to surrounded by all these lovely routes)! Okay, I just wanted a little go.

Climbing is serious!

 Jack progressing well on his arrete route.

Aisha boshing out a steep route after a sleepy start. This girl can! This also marks the completion of Aisha's Nicas Level 4. The NICAS and NIBAS Awards can be undertaken by any of our climbers. For more details, look here.

This is the tallest wall at Ratho - the routes are thirty metres or so. At the top, looking down, your belayer looks so small.

This gives a little perspective, and she's not even at the top.

Hannah and Elliot have fun on the central boulders.

Elliot is another one who is hard to get a focused photo of!

 One...

 Two...

 Three...

 Three!

Alix, Hannah and Elliot cruise on the mega overhang.

Bouldering is most definitely a sociable activity.

The launch of our Mountain Club

This year we created two Outdoor Education clubs: The Mountain Club and The Paddlesport Club. They do what they say on the tin! Each club meets once a month on a Sunday (third and first Sunday of the month, respectively) and is open to all S1 to S6 pupils. The cost to pupils is a mere £3. Yes, that is amazing.

The first Mountain Club trip was in September. The forecast wasn't great, in fact, it wasn't good; but in the great outdoors you have to make the best of what you get and without the wild weather that we most certainly get we wouldn't have the beautiful landscape that we do on our doorstep. So, donning warm togs and waterproofs, off we set for Glencoe.

Kenneth and Elliot climbed the North Ridge of Buachaille Etive Mor with me. This is no small undertaking. Elliot wanted a multipitch climb, which is a challenging undertaking with the rain we were forecast. So, North Ridge it was - one of the easiest but longest routes around.

This was Kenneth's second day out on real rock (his first was at Auchinstary Quarry a week or so before). He fared extremely well, with the help of Elliot who has had a fair deal of experience in the mountains and on rock with his family. 

Summit shot, before a brisk decent. 

The larger part of our group walked through Lairig Eilda to the west of Buachaille Etive Beag with our instructor, Tim. 

The boys did so well and a few lessons were learned by all - the boys had a long and wet day. They were really lucky too to see the Skyline competitors racing down off the mountain - the Skyline Race takes an incredible route through the Highlands. 

Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Practice expeditions

For so many young people across the country, the 'DofE' expeditions are a rite of passage. As a school with one of the highest levels of participation in Scotland, our pupils' school years are marked by those journeys in wild places with a small group of peers, inching their way through the landscape, with every step, pedal or stroke under their own steam. Nearly a third of our pupils will leave The Glasgow Academy having completed all three levels of the Award.

I run the Gold expeditions, or rather, support pupils to plan and undertake their own four-day journey by foot, canoe, sea kayak or bike. As the time draws closer to the Qualifying expedition pupils are grappling with the final throes of their final exams and reaching the brink of a whole new stage in their lives when they leave home and start university. The final expedition is one of their last trips with their school friends before they all disperse for this next stage, and it echoes back down through all the DofE expeditions and the struggles and challenges that are invariably a part of that during their previous Awards. These are poignant times!

Every autumn the Gold Practice expeditions train pupils in their chosen activity. This October was no exception, although the clear, cold weather forecast was a little out of the ordinary. We had a group cycle from Crianlarich back to Glasgow. This group was impressively stoic, cycling long days through varied terrain. Our two walking groups did a loop through the mountains in the Tayside area, encountering steep ground and covering many miles. The two canoe groups paddled from loch Tay and down a section of the river Tay, getting to grips with the challenges of moving water and forgetting kit!

These are a selection of the photos taken by one of the canoe instructors, Adam. Enjoy!

After the drive from Glasgow, the team set off along Loch Tay.

The groups enjoy a very beautiful evening.

After camping on a tiny island, the group wake to another beautiful day...

 ...And start off down the river Tay.

The group learns how to tether their canoes, 'read the water' and inspect rapids.

Adam gets to use his shiny, freshly-out-of-the-wrapper canoe.

Perthshire is so beautiful in the autumn.

 Steam rising off the river.

The group gets to grips with moving water.

Rainbow!

 Approaching Aberfeldy bridge.

The Climbing Clubs

This year we have a fantastic bunch of climbers. We have different groups on a Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evening. Photos have been sparse, while motivation to climb has been consistently unrelenting. It's been such a pleasure to climb with them all and rather unsurprisingly, their climbing ability is coming on in leaps and bounds.

The photos aren't great this time - these fellas just don't keep still!

 Marcus' enjoyment of climbing seems unlimited. I think he would climb every day if he could!

Hannah has been climbing with our after-school clubs for several years now, and it shows. Her technique is neat and precise, and my goodness, she is getting strong! It's going to be exciting to see her progress.

Cameron, Hannah, Mairi, Anna, Ruaraidh and Alix playing games!

Ruaraidh.... just hanging about.