Meet the Community: Huw
What is your name? Huw
How did you get introduced to climbing? Technically first started climbing when I was 12 going to the Welsh International Climbing Centre (now summit centre) for roughly a year. But after a seven-year hiatus I re-started the sport after joining the Cardiff University Mountaineering Club where I essentially learned everything I know about climbing while meeting some of the most amazing people along the way!
Where is your favourite place to climb? Fontainebleau - France Even during a very wet week in January Fontainebleau still managed to keep me entertained!
Describe your best climbing experience! Where was it, when was it, with whom and why? One night in the pub (as all good stories start), my mate David was telling me about this "Absolutely amazing" undeveloped cave in Cornwall that we had to go and do. A few beers later and I'd agreed to the trip.
After a 4-hour drive, leaving sunny Cardiff for cramped car-camping in the torrential rain, sharing a bottle of whiskey at Porth Nanven in Cornwall, our spirits were dampened.
H: "Did we remember to bring the trad rack for the cleaning?"
D: "Errr..."
We woke to find glorious sunshine, and dry ground. Psyche renewed, we ate, and went for a reccy to find the cave; it was fully submersed by the sea. H: "This is becoming a theme"
Low tide came at 1 PM, giving us 3 hours before and after to clean (dry) this cave and to establish some lines, which, to be fair, were pretty amazing! The whole experience of a weekend developing unclimbed boulders, setting up questionable abseils (hint, always bring a decent trad rack when developing boulders just in case) was an unforgettable experience.
But in case my sub par storytelling hasn't sold the experience, we made a video to document it! https://vimeo.com/173416238
What's your favourite piece of climbing kit and why? Black Diamond Magnetron Carabiner - That 0.5 seconds of inconvenience of locking screwgates on my belay is now a thing of the past!
Why do you climb? For the adventure and to keep fit and active!
What would your advice be to someone thinking about trying climbing for the first time? Once you've got the basics down get outside as soon as possible, so much more to climbing than the indoor walls! Definitely worth asking on South Wales climbing Facebook pages for a hand in getting started on outdoor climbing as the community is always on hand to get people into the sport!
What's your favourite food? Chinese/ Thai food
What’s your #1 most played song? ‘Dashboard’ by Modest Mouse
What is the last book you read? ‘Overcoming Gravity’ by Steven Low. Hoping to improve my climbing with use of some bodyweight strength training!
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? Patagonia - It looks out of this world with the features like the Fitzroy ridge on the horizon. I would have to make sure I was fit enough to make the most of the trip but it would all be worth it for an expedition like that!
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why? If I could hang out at the pub with the members of Billy Talent, that would be amazing. They were the first CD I bought and I still love them to this day!
What would be your perfect day? If there was a way to go climbing, running, surfing and snowboarding in one day... that would be pretty amazing. I'm sure you can do that in New Zealand or Canada somewhere. But until then, it would probably be catching a few waves at Llangennith, then heading out to the cliffs around Gower (Rhossili beach) for some climbing and then enjoying the sunset with a BBQ on the dunes at Llangennith.
Fun Fact about you? For a brief moment I was the youngest CASI qualified ski instructor in the world.