Rachael Crewesmith - Mountain Biking, Mountaineering and Other Outdoor Stuff

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Some Welsh sunshine today, scrambling in Cwm Idwal

Some Welsh sunshine today, scrambling in Cwm Idwal working for @allbutessentialtravel. Amazing resilience from my wee team of explorer scouts, scrambling up waterfalls and jumping over streams that had become rivers. We stayed warm by keeping moving and were rewarded by hot chocolate with enormous swirls of whipped cream from @moel_siabod_cafe. They even said it was a 10/10 day. I’ll take that!

It’s definitely autumn now 🍂bring your big coat. (Mine is a Rab Muztag and it has the best hood, even for women!)

#wearerab #moveyourworld #themountainpeople #wales #scrambling #rain #tenoutoften #amiprofessionals

Bouldering. The new Bouldering guide for North Wal

Bouldering. The new Bouldering guide for North Wales is enormous and I haven’t bought it because I always feel like bouldering around here isn’t for me. The people I know who are ‘boulderers’ are working 8a problems which I am round the back of the boulder projecting the down climb…

BUT it turns out there is stuff here for everyone. Lou and Guy were on a rapid tour of the UK (lucky us to make it onto the itinerary) and we spent such a happy afternoon tinkering around, pulling hard and occasionally blaming the rain last week. @dave_rudkin_guiding just LOVES cleaning up problems and I have aspirations to be his apprentice after this session. Bouldering really is for me and it can be for you too. Get yourself that massive book, a toothbrush and some pals and get out there this autumn 🍂

📸 @lou.reynolds
🔫 @guystevenguide
🥳 @dave_rudkin_guiding

#yass #joy #bouldering #northwalesbouldering #friends #themountainpeople #wearerab #moveyourworld #climbing #climbing_pictures_of_instagram #outside #thisgirlcan #shesends #girlcrush #gunshow #slab

Not many more of these evenings left in 2021 so we

Not many more of these evenings left in 2021 so we made the most of the Sherpa bus service on this beautiful day up to Pen y Pass and ran home. The only downside was that I had to eat my emergency Cliff Bar because my house was totally devoid of snacks. Banana and peanut butter. Disgusting.

Thanks @thomasprebble for excellent company.

#hillrunning #mountains #wearerab #skyrunning #themountainpeople #moveyourworld #snowdon #cribgoch #llanberispath #visitwales #sunset #cloudnews #wanderlust #threehands

That’s a wrap on the @teambmc Women’s Ready to

That’s a wrap on the @teambmc Women’s Ready to Rock courses for 2021. It was chilly but it didn’t matter and these women placed all the gear, built loads of belays and are ready to take their first steps independently. I’ve loved delivering these courses on behalf of @ami_professionals and they have been the most successful BMC courses this year. Thanks to @lowe.alpine for the fleet of demo packs from their climbing range and for the little gifts for each participant. Collaborations like theirs make these courses really accessible as well as showcasing some excellent gear. 2022 dates coming soon!

#thisgirlcan #lookforthelogo #getoutside #tradisrad #tradclimbing #themountainpeople #moveyourworld #climbing #amiprofessionals #learnfromexperience #wearerab #themountainsarecalling #learnsomethingnew #adventurephotography #wales #liveclimbrepeat #timetoclimb #climbing #naturegram #mountainscape #mountainadventures #adventureisoutthere #mountainlife #mountainphotography

Out with the exec team from @britishcycling as the

Out with the exec team from @britishcycling as they visited us @plasybreninofficial for their senior leaders meeting. Showing them around the best bits of the Gwidyr whilst they ripped my weedy climbing legs off on the climbs. It felt great to be back on my bike and I’m looking forward to an autumn of slithering around in the local mud.

📸 @bruton.james
#rideyourbike #mtb #visitwales #mtbleadership

“You are the average of the people you spend the

“You are the average of the people you spend the most time with.”

Thanks to these wonderful people for enriching my soul, raising me up and brightening up my life this week.

#friendslikethese #home #strongertogether

Last weekend at the @arcteryxacademy Climb Lake Di

Last weekend at the @arcteryxacademy Climb Lake District. What a privilege to be part of the @ismclimb team delivering a series of half day workshops to such a great bunch of people. Developing trad skills, talking about slings and carabiners and ropes and angles, laughing a lot and not really noticing the rain. There was climbing, bouldering, swimming, environmental workshops. Kudos to @katy_whittaker for her vision and for fostering such a great atmosphere at the event. It’s certainly a calendar highlight for me and I’m stoked it went ahead. I also got to work with cool people like @runandrockguiding, @dave_a_heaton, @gillymcarthur and @mountain_ambition which I always love: so many snippets of information and ways to coach!

#climbing #arcteryxacademy #learnfromexperience #tradisrad #getoutside #thisgirlcan #thisgirlcanclimb #wanderlust #lakeland

A weekend up in Northumberland at @the_dirty_reive

A weekend up in Northumberland at @the_dirty_reiver gravel event working with @komoot. It was awesome meeting all the participants, getting geeky about kit, parts and nutrition with the rest of the event team and eating too many chips. @riderrachy and I managed to sneak away for a spin whilst everyone was out and I did some esoteric swimming to keep my quota topped up. The midges though…

It was bad news for the continuing saga of the broken Diverge after it turns out I got some bad beta from a Specialized shop and I bought an incompatible mech. Back to the expensive shopping for me. I have great friends though: @hnorbbles leant me her perfect Diverge for the weekend (thank you) and Rach let me have a go on her incredible @julianabicycles Wilder. It’s the flashiest bike I’ve ever ridden and now I feel sad that I will never have something like that in my garage!

All in all a top weekend. Lucky me.

#komoot #adventurewithkomoot #gravel #keilder #event #wearerab #moveyourworld #themountainpeople

Sea Cliff Essentials for @pinnacleclubuk Women’s

Sea Cliff Essentials for @pinnacleclubuk Women’s Trad 100 at beautiful Rhoscolyn. Alex and Helen are already accomplished climbers so I loved giving them some cool tricks and tips, some different ways to tie knots and making them belay right above the water. Knowing how to ascend a rope when you have over cooked it and can’t climb out is imperative and we found a shady place to practice this. I took an umbrella but we didn’t need it because the clouds meant I didn’t totally melt.

Thanks to @adl_dangerlover and Helen for their great company and to the Pinnacle Club for employing so many @ami_professionals women to assist them with their centenary meet. The future is bright and it is trad.

#tradisrad #moveyourworld #thisgirlcan #rockclimbing #seacliffs #seacliffclimbing #womenstrad100 #wearerab #learnsomethingnew #adventurephotography #wales #liveclimbrepeat #timetoclimb

@pinnacleclubuk Women’s Trad 100 centenary meet.

@pinnacleclubuk Women’s Trad 100 centenary meet. Multi Pitch Improver day 2 and I was back at the Milestone Buttress for some adventurous trad with friendly moves. Daniela and Lydia are well on their way to independence and it was great to just hang around taking photos whilst they did their thing. There are over 80 women on this meet, it’s a pretty special thing. Now get me an 🍦!

#womeninspiringwomen #womenstrad100 #womenriseup #themountainpeople #getoutside #thisgirlcan #climbing #amiprofessionals #learnfromexperience #wearerab #themountainsarecalling #moveyourworld #learnsomethingnew #wales #timetoclimb #tradisrad #climbing #mountainadventures #mountainlife #mountainphotography

@pinnacleclubuk Womens Trad 100 anniversary meet k

@pinnacleclubuk Womens Trad 100 anniversary meet kicked off this weekend in beautiful, boiling hot Snowdonia. I was out with Lydia and Daniela brushing up their multi-pitch trad skills preparing them for independence. We started in the Moelwyns with the brilliant and airy Kirkus Direct. Just the right level of exposure, weird gear and bold slabs. We finished off with an ‘emergency retreat’ due to rain/lightening/ benightment/baboons/sharks etc…

#womenstrad100 #thisgirlcan #climbing #amiprofessionals #learnfromexperience #wearerab #themountainsarecalling #themountainpeople #moveyourworld #learnsomethingnew #adventurephotography #wales #liveclimbrepeat #timetoclimb #tradisrad #climbing #mountainscape #mountainadventures #adventureisoutthere #mountainlife #mountainphotography

On Friday I was out with Wigs and Becky tidying up

On Friday I was out with Wigs and Becky tidying up their multipitch climbing and abseiling. It was really chilly at the Milestone and I was grateful for my @rab.equipment Kaon (favourite ‘in the bag’ layer). This pair were such good learners, they looked like pros by the end of the day. Mega.

Thanks to @snowdoniawalkingclimbing for the photo at a very busy crag today.

#thisgirlcan #climbing #amiprofessionals #learnfromexperience #wearerab #themountainsarecalling #themountainpeople #moveyourworld #learnsomethingnew #adventurephotography #wales #liveclimbrepeat #timetoclimb #tradisrad #climbing #naturegram #mountainscape #mountainadventures #adventureisoutthere #mountainlife #mountainphotography

Oooosh it was cold on Wednesday night! Those north

Oooosh it was cold on Wednesday night! Those north-easterly winds brought low temperatures and some of the worst visibility I have ever experienced without snow on the ground. Bonkers! The Mountain Leader training team from @mountainindependence took it all in their stride: great learning, tricky nav, tactics and some surprise water (or was it a cliff?!). Wish I’d taken my big sleeping bag though. 🥶

#futureleaders #mountaintraining #hillwalking #mountainleader #wales #mountains #wearerab #themountainsarecalling #moveyourworld

“Keen for DWS, Rach?”
It would have been easy

“Keen for DWS, Rach?”
It would have been easy for me to say no. To make an excuse. I only had one pair of shoes. One chalk bag. I wanted to go climbing at Flimston Slabs. I’m not as good a climber as the rest of the team… but the truth was, I was curious to know what it might feel like. How I might react. I’ve spent a lot of time in water these past two years, would that make me braver? I said yes.

DWS stands for deep water soloing. It’s really popular in places like Majorca where the sea is warm and the sangria delicious but there are some great spots in the UK that, when caught on a good day with big spring tides, can feel as good as any Mediterranean destination.

The first day I felt pretty intimidated by the no-fall traverses with rocky reefs just below the surface of the water so I mostly swam about below the team, which they generously said made them feel better that there was someone there ‘as safety’. I had a nice day but it felt unattainable to me. Day 2 and with the encouragement of the same, psyched crew, my first proper DWS left me buzzing and excited for more. The joy of finding that ‘flow state’ on relatively easy climbing, with great support and the crystal sea below was a drug I can’t wait to taste again.

Having some serious post-Pembroke lows this week and already scheming for a DWS holiday.

🎥 @johnnyboysie 💙

#climbing #dws #deepwatersoloing #rockclimbing #new #wales #pembroke #sayyes #sunshine #thisgirlcanclimb #themountainpeople #wearerab #moveyourworld #outside #ukclimbing

More Pembroke 🏖 scenes. Including @johnnyboysie

More Pembroke 🏖 scenes. Including @johnnyboysie and @mkmckenna89 on The Perfect Pitch, @danbaileyukh scrambling out of Saddle Head, belay scenes in the cooker, Napoli pizza and the @ukclimbing send train in Mother Carey’s Kitchen.

#wales

A week of r&r in sunny (too sunny?) Pembroke with

A week of r&r in sunny (too sunny?) Pembroke with the crew from @ukclimbing and @rockfax was just the tonic after this mad, mad summer. I arrived at 10pm and was greeted by a beer and a readily put up tent, these are my people! Having barely put my feet in rock shoes for eight weeks, I was never going to whip out a big send train but it was great to be hanging (literally) with my pal @rob_greenwood for the first couple of days. He had forgotten that I still hate big traverses (cue the “panic straws” of tunnel vision) but his encyclopaedic knowledge of guidebooks meant we found some pretty special things to climb. We also did some danger-paddle boarding, some slow running and stopped a lot to look at butterflies. Perfect!

📸 @andyyovens
#rockclimbing #rockfax #thesearemypeople #friends #wales

This week is #nationalallotmentweek and so we had

This week is #nationalallotmentweek and so we had a get together yesterday evening. I only took on my plot in April and it was just virgin bracken and nettles. It was a lot of hard work digging up all those rhizomes but I had some great help from friends and neighbours and I feel very proud to have produced what I have in quite small window around working and life. I’ve always grown stuff since I was a child and so it is exciting to have a bigger plot of my own to work on. I’ve got a great sequence of before and after shots to share but for now, put your sound on and enjoy the ambiance brought to you by Angharad, Tim, Klaire and Teg.

#allotment #growyourown #friends #neighbours #summer #feelslikesummer

Neil got in touch about a refresher day for his tr

Neil got in touch about a refresher day for his trad climbing. He hadn’t really climbed trad for 15 years but before that he was active and climbing some quite hard grades. He and brother-in-law @stewartlightfoot climb regularly indoors so Stew wanted to feel competent and safe as a second. It was clear that Neil had a good climbing background so it was fun to refresh things with him, iron out some little bad habits that had crept in and get them working efficiently and safely as a team. @endurobiker and I know each other from bikes and he has helped me out more than once when something mechanical has flummoxed me so it was nice to repay the favour with the shoe on the other foot. The Milestone Buttress was the perfect classroom yesterday and it was nice to see other @ami_professionals out on the crag hiding from the strong south westerlies. We were treated to an air show too from a Typhoon, a chinook which hung around for ages, a lynx and an osprey (the plane/chopper, not the bird!). The trouble with choppers is that nobody concentrates when they pass by!

That’s the last day in my big chunk of work in what has proved a very busy six weeks. I’m looking forward to a bit of recovery time and some riding and climbing in the Lake District next week. Yassss!

#outside #climbing #goclimbarock #tradisrad #tradclimbing #skills #wearerab #moveyourworld #themountainpeople #adventureisoutthere #climbingpicturesofinstagram #rockclimbing

Day 2 of Izzy’s Adventure saw us joined by Sam f

Day 2 of Izzy’s Adventure saw us joined by Sam for a day of bikes. Wheelies, manuals and purposeful shoving of the bike was the order of the day. We topped it off with a cheeky swim in some wild winds, Izzy and me in swimming costumes and the boys getting FOMO and taking off their wetsuits half way through! These dudes are so hardy.

#adventure #thisgirlcan #smithoptics #sheshreds #girlswhoridebikes #mtb #wildswim

When Jonny got in touch in June, he wanted his dau

When Jonny got in touch in June, he wanted his daughter Izzy to see a woman doing the same job as the various instructors he has been out with before. “We want to go climbing, scrambling, mountain biking and wild swimming,” he said. Well I am his woman! We had a brilliant day ticking off three of the list with a slimy shuffle up Ordinary Route on the Idwal Slabs, a scramble to the top and a gnarly abseil back down (Izzy’s first!). We capped it all off with a swim in some wild wind. All that warm water has washed off down the river now and we had pretty chilly feet.

In the wake of the ground breaking @womenstradfestival , it feels exciting and so relevant to be out with Jonny and Izzy, even if pulling the ropes through the belay plate felt like sludge today! Tomorrow we are off to ride our bikes, I can’t wait!

#gladihadmymagicplate #wearerab #themountainpeople #moveyourworld #getoutside #thisgirlcan #thisgirlcanclimb #snowdoniagram #wildwales #wildswimming #swimming #adventurephotography

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