Going tubeless

I've been running tubeless tyres on my CX wheels from the start - they just make sense to me. No risk of pinch-flats at low pressures (I sometimes take them down as low as 20 psi with no issues) and with Stan's sealant inside, they self-seal most punctures with minimal pressure loss. For the same reason, most MTB riders now run tubeless, and have been for years.

But tubeless hasn't really caught on with roadies. High pressures made it hard to get tyres to stay on the rim, and I guess the benefits aren't as pressing. But the people who are running road tubeless setups generally proclaim it to be "revolutionary" and "the future of road tyres" so after writing off my trusty open tubulars yesterday, I thought I'd take the plunge and fit my tubeless-ready Ultegra road wheels with Hutchinson Fusion 3s and half a bottle of Stan's in each.

The promises:

• A smooth ride, like a tubular setup but without the mess and fuss of glue or tubular tape
• Run at lower pressures for better grip and more efficiency with no risk of pinch flats
• Self-sealing of most punctures without having to, well, mess around

Sounds perfect for Britain's wet, rough, thorny roads...

Hopefully I'll be putting 130 km on these on Wednesday, so that should break them in nicely. From riding around town, though, impressions are excellent so far - they feel REALLY fast, and comfortable to boot.

More soon, once I get some real mileage on them...

It's aliiiiiive!

And by 'it', I mean 'me'.



Nice little ride this morning, up one of my favourite short, steep climbs in the area - it looked like it might rain so this was the obvious choice of early morning route.

Especially interesting, though, was what I was wearing on my wrist - a Polar RC3GPS watch - or perhaps more acurately, what I was wearing around my chest: a Polar Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) strap. I have the unit on 'loan' to test, although I'm hoping I get to keep it. As it stands, I am seriously impressed.

In a nutshell:

1) It has GPS, so I am no longer a slave to my iPhone's battery when I want to record my rides (and it's far more accurate).

2) I've never used HRM before, but being able to see your heart rate and which zone you are in, in real time, makes you more aware of how much you're pushing and how sustainable that is.

3) You can get all kinds of amazing details out of it after a ride, of which I am sure I'm just scratching the surface.

4) Unlike a Garmin bike computer (I've been looking at the Edge 500 recently), it works both for cycling and other activities (running, hiking, etc). I'm looking forward to taking it on hikes, without the HRM strap.

5) It really is exceptionally orange.

Polar's data export system is a bit wonky so you have to merge two files (.gpx and .hrm) together before you can upload to Strava, but that's a minor hiccup. It's a very impressive bit of kit, being no larger than a regular digital watch.

I wasn't kidding about the 'orange' thing.

Altitude (grey) and heart rate (red) data, plus zone analysis, for this morning's ride.

There are some big rides coming up and I'm hoping that using this I can start training more efficiently within specific HR zones, which should give me a big improvement in riding fitness. Time will tell!

Are your ice tools right for you?

While sharpening things for my next trip (Sounkyo, hopefully) I was suddenly surprised at how far my ice tools had come from their 'out of the box' appearance.

So here's a simple question: are your ice tools exactly right for you?


If they're not, and I'd wager that's the case, then here's the answer: make them right!


A lot of people seem to baby their tools. Unless you're being paid to model for the latest Black Diamond catalogue, this is the wrong approach. The sooner you get the 'shiny new toy' phase over with, the quicker you can get on with viewing them for what they really are: TOOLS!

I climb with (2011-) Petzl Quarks. They're superb axes (and hey, Petzl didn't screw them up like the new Nomics!) but out of the box, for my tastes, they could be improved. I'd bet that's the same for anyone, whether you climb on hand-me-down DMM Flys or the latest Grivel carbon competiton tools. So don't be scared - make your tools yours and get the most out of them. They'll almost certainly still climb harder than you!

And hell, if all else fails, just think how gnarly they'll look...

Shiny new Quarks!

My Quarks!
(About two weeks' worth of  total climbing days on these so far)

How my Quarks evolved:

1. Removed triggers from Trigrests. I found I didn't move only my index finger up much, but I did match on the tools quite a lot. Now I can fix the Trigrests overall lower, making for more stable matching, without the triggers in the way of the standard grip. I don't miss the ability to move them.
2. Added 6mm cord loops (tied with double fisherman's) to provide more flexible umbilical attachment points.
3. Added tennis racket grip tape to the shafts for grip and insulation when matching and daggering - gaffer tape low down is both to hold the end flat and to pad out the Trigrests a little.
4. Removed adze from one tool, kept one hammer. One hammer is enough (why carry the weight of both?) and adzes are more of a liability when on pure ice routes. The balance is slightly different between tools, but not enough to fuss about.
5. Added pick weights - for a better swing and more reliable first-time sticks on pure ice.
6. Added thin foam to upper shaft for insulation when daggering up high for long periods.

I'd be lying if I said any of the above tweaks were my own original idea - I've borrowed ideas from all over - but the resulting tools are perfect for me, right now, doing what I am doing. Can't ask for more than that.

Crampons and boots - open your mind!

"Monopoint crampons are only for hard mixed and drytooling"


"Double boots are overkill for Scottish winter"

Blah blah!

There's so much crap out there about what goes on your feet for winter climbing, both directly (boots) and what you strap to them (crampons). It's honestly getting quite annoying seeing yet another person spout off about monopoints only being for hardcore Dave MacLeod mixed types and double boots only being worth it in the depths of alpine winter or at high altitude. Rubbish, on both counts.

The answer is this: look at what your needs are and use the right kit to deal with them best.

Double boots are awesome at high altitude or in seriously cold temperatures, sure. They have a ton of insulation. But what says they're overkill for less extreme conditions, like say winter in the Japan Alps or the Cairngorms? Nothing.

Are you out and back in a day or staying in a heated lodge? Are you young and fit and with good circulation? Is it above maybe -15 C? Then use singles - you can get away with it.

Are you bivvying out, where frozen boots are an issue? Do you have circulatory problems, perhaps from past cold damage? Is it just really f***ing cold? Then use doubles and screw anyone who tells you it's overkill.

Traditional wisdom says that dual points are best for ice and monos are best for mixed (less leverage, etc). Well again, what do YOU want to climb in? What do the conditions dictate that you climb in?

Are you climbing neve or poor-quality ice? Do you want more support? Then climb with dual front points.

Are you climbing delicate ice? Are you climbing mixed? Is the ice bullet hard due to low temperatures? Then you go ahead and throw monos on your boots and enjoy nimble footwork and less ice shattering.

Left: Scarpa Phantom Guide (lightweight single boot) with Petzl Dartwins (dual front points)
Right: La Sportiva Spantik (lightweight high-tech double boot) with Black Diamond Stinger (monopoint)

During the Kaikoma trip I lived in Spantiks. They're 'big, clunky' double boots. I climbed in Stingers. They're 'nimble, mixed-specific' mono crampons. What on earth was I thinking? Well, I was thinking I wanted the easy bivvy logistics of a double boot and the better climbing performance of a mono crampon. I'm sure to some people such a combination is ridiculous, but you know what? I felt more capable of hard climbing in them than Phantom Guides and Dartwins - the combo I used at Yatsu in December.

This isn't meant to be a run-down of the pros and cons of each, more of a plea to not blindly follow so-called 'advice'. So go ahead and ignore all the know-it-alls who will tell you that something is overkill for your needs, or that you're not extreme enough for a certain piece of kit. Use whatever you need to get the job done and be happy.

Oh, incidentally the new BD Stingers are really, really awesome crampons and I'll probably write a bit more on them specifically sometime. If you can find them, I highly recommend them!

Kaikoma prep (1) - Layers

As I'm currently prepping for my next trip - a 5-day excursion to the rather remote Kaikomagatake in the southern Japan Alps (Minami Alps) - I thought it might be interested to post a few snippets of what I'm doing and how I'm thinking.

I'll start off with clothing - one of the most important aspects to get right and also one of the hardest!

Climbing clothing, especially in the winter, has to do a lot. It has to keep you warm... or rather, comfortable, but I'll get to that in a minute. It has to keep you dry (or at least comfortable when wet, which is perhaps more likely). It has to be light and packable so that you can carry it all, but also robust enough to stand up to the rigours of climbing - if conditions get really gnarly you may end up climbing in EVERYTHING you brought along. That said, you don't want to be TOO warm. If you sweat too much (especially on the walk in) and wet out your baselayer, you're then going to be very cold as it dries off. So really you want to be just on the edge of feeling chilly, which is incredibly hard to accomplish and maintain...

Additionally, on multi-day trips, your gear has to do all that day-in, day-out for days on end. Stuff will get damp, stuff will freeze. You have to take great care to minimize this, but it's a battle and one you can't always be 100% perfect at, especially as you get more fatigued. So your gear has to cope.

Conditions at Kaikoma will hopefully be somewhere just below freezing during the day, dropping potentially to -20 Celcius or more (less?) at night. Conditions should be good (no precipitation, low winds), but you can't rely on the forecast, so it pays to be prepared for anything (realistically).

On my upper body I subscribe mainly to Mark Twight's idea of an 'action suit'. Essentially that is a baselayer and a softshell type jacket, which you do everything in. You regulate your temperature with zips and hoods to make it work for you. Then, when you stop (i.e. at belays or bivvies), you throw a big fat layer of insulation over the top to retain all that warmth before it seeps away and you get cold.

Kaikoma gear - left to right: R1 Hoody, R1 Vest, Ultimate Hoody, Nano Puff, Barrier Hood 

Yatsugatake gear - left to right: As above, but with Microlight Alpine in place of Barrier Hood

I start off with a Patagonia R1 Hoody, sized a little small for a snug fit. I love this thing - it's nigh-on perfect. Really breathable, wicks great and has a huge zip for venting. Good hood for under (or over, at a push) a helmet and the thumbloops stop the sleeves from going anywhere when climbing or adding more layers. 

Over that on this trip (as I did at Yatsugatake in December) I'll wear a Paragonia R1 Vest. I find the doubling-up of R1 retains a lot of breathability while upping core warmth substantially and cutting wind just a little. This combination works well for the walk-in, which can often get sweaty, and goes well under anything else for climbing. You can sleep in both, too. I will likely not remove either of these layers for the whole trip.

Topping off the 'action suit' on this trip is the Mammut Ultimate Hoody. I used to consider GORE Windstopper the fabric of the devil - not breathable enough due to the membrane, mainly. It's still not that great compared to Powershield and the like (let alone the newest generation of 'breathable' fabrics like Polartec NeoShell) but Mammut have a trump card to play with this particular jacket. It has HUGE side vents, running from the bottom hem to about the elbow on each side. They even zip both ways. The system is very similar to my beloved Montane Resolute Smock (a beefed-up Extreme - a well-tried design) and it allows incredible temperature regulation. If you seal yourself into it, you can be very warm, but if you really start to overheat you can throw those zips open and you get an enormous throughput of fresh air, blowing out any moisture and excess heat. Brilliant system.

The Ultimate Hoody isn't a perfect design - the hood peak is floppy and the handwarmer pockets are too low to work with a pack or harness - but the ventilation system makes it a great piece of kit (just in need of some refinement in the next generation!).

I prefer to divide my insulation layer into two thinner layers. I feel this allows for more mixing and matching to cover a wider spectrum of conditions for not much extra weight or bulk. My first layer is a Patagonia Nano Puff Pullover - this basically never leaves my pack no matter what the trip. It's seriously light and packable but provides incredible warmth. It's pretty robust, too, and of course being synthetic it'll not lose so much performance if it gets wet. I've heard this usage of the Nano Puff described as a 'belay sweater' and I think that's pretty apt - you can belay just in this if you want, or add an extra layer over it if it's really cold or nasty.

The final layer depends on the trip. Up at Yatsugatake I picked the Rab Microlight Alpine - a lightweight down jacket. It's really, really light and packs down tiny. Being down it offers much better warmth to weight than any synthetic piece. Again it's not perfect (what is?) - the hood is too small, for one - but I really like it nonetheless. However, down doesn't play well with moisture, and a 5-day trip makes it hard to keep things dry. It was ok at Yatsugatake because you could duck into the lodge and use their heaters to dry gear, but Kaikoma will be unsupported. Therefore I'm swaying towards the Haglofs Barrier Hood (a purebred 'belay jacket') this time - synthetic, a bit bulkier and heavier than the Rab downie but a lot less hassle. You really don't want your insulation to shit the bed mid-trip so I think this is a worthwhile trade-off.

On my lower half I'll be using what I used last time...

Left to right: Wicking boxer shorts, lightweight merino leggings, Aenergy Pants

Underwear will be a pair of Haglofs wicking boxers should keep things comfortable, with a pair of lightweight Cintamani (an Icelandic brand) merino wool longjohns to keep my legs warm even when standing around. I really, really wish both of these layers had a fly of some sort - lord knows it's hard enough when you're wearing a harness and gloves and doesn't need any more complications!. Maybe I'll modify them in the near future (or just buy some with...).

The top layer is a pair of Mammut's oddly-named Aenergy Pants, which are softshell pants really designed for ski-touring but are awesome to climb in. Really stretchy, protective enough and with breathable panels where you need them most (crotch region, back of calves). They have big zippered side vents too - essential for sweaty walks in. The integrated snow gaiter is something I'm never really sold on, especially with boots with integrated gaiters like my Scarpa Phantom Guides, but they don't do any harm on their loosest setting. I do wish they had grommets for a loop of cord under my boot - I'll probably stitch some loops on sometime although I've done some real snow slogs with no problems so far, so maybe they're not that essential.

Last time around I packed in a pair of synthetic insulated overpants for nighttime, but I never needed them. I think I might skip them this time - one less thing to carry!

Footwear is a whole other deal and I'll maybe make another post about that sometime soon. Likewise gloves, etc.

Obviously layering is a really subjective thing and what works for me may not work for you and vice versa. That's before you even consider where you're climbing, what the conditions will be, how long you'll be climbing for, etc. But hopefully this gives you an idea of one system - one that works for me in these conditions - and it might give you some ideas.