Krooked Krew Vs Hi::def Sound System

The next night in the Versus Hi::def Sound System Series sees us teaming up with the Krooked Krew. The night is taking place on Tuesday 27th December 2011, upstairs in Rascals. For more info on the the Sound System see the Facebook Page.

December so far.

Normally December means slowing down but I seem to be busy so far. Thus far life has included some work instructing a family gorge scrambling and abseiling, a couple of days taking friends kayaking, lots of time out with Santa for Round Table and a night out with the Sound System.

Family group in the Afon Ddu Gorge. Abseiling in Vivian Quarry.
Quick swim for Ben and Kitty on the Llugwy.

Contemplating the jump.
Caernarfon Round Table on the road with Santa.

Kev following me down a rapid at Llangollen.

Flyer for the latest night.

The night in full swing.

ES18 BPH Build Continues.

The latest build project from the Hi::def workshop is now moving along well. A couple more sessions in the workshop should see them making some noise.

FREEDOM/Hi::def Linkup.

The FREEDOM/Hi::def Sound System linkup from Saturday's Party.

Allen & Heath Xone 62 for sale.

Allen and Heath Xone 62 (Grey) for sale £225 posted.
Working but not perfectly.
Faults include: some crackly gain/eq pots, one of the cue buttons does not illuminate but works otherwise, screw missing for channel meter as plastic under is cracked but still operates and is secure in place, a bit grubby and well used.
I do not know if it is normal but when routing a channel through the cross fader the volume level is slightly lower than when bypassed never caused me a problem but worth being aware of, I assume this is normal.Have still been using this mixer out up to this weekend (was just used at Johnny Dawes book launch night) so is functional but needs a service. Most of the channel faders and cross fader are quite new with little usage, less than six months. After getting use to the Xone 92 this is getting less use and would prefer a mixer with a more adjustable cross fade curve.

This is quite a flattering picture does not show up the scratches that well.

No damaged connectors.

Very scuffed underside.

Afon Ddu and Pont Cyfyng.

I managed to escape the office for my second gorge session of this week which makes for a nice change. Today I only had 4 clients all of whom were very able which means we made it up the Afon Ddu really quickly which left us time to stop of for some bigger jumps on the way home. Again a nice change as we do not normally get to visit the big jumps with clients due to time constraints.

In the gorge for a change.

Amongst a quiet week otherwise only broken by a trip to Liverpool the day came to life today with a trip to the Afon Ddu with a group of family friends which included one of my old school teachers from when I was eight. I don’t remember much of her, more worrying is she seems to remember me, recounting that I use to sit at the front! Anyway the group kept me on my toes with varying needs as you would expect from a group that ranged from 7 or 8 to late sixties.

Group control of three excitable young ones.Thankfully small enough to move around by harness tails.
Scrambling towards the last climb.

And Breathe.

Wow, what a busy couple of months, it seems as though my feet have not touched the ground. Since my last post it has been nonstop work with September full of Princes Trust, School groups and team building weekends. A busy October has seen big weekend groups of charity walkers, adventure weekends and some more training work with PDS and Totem. The raft in the picture below is the culmination of one of the team exercises on the lake. Now looking forward to a more relaxed half term week and then onto Snowdon Marathon weekend which again will pick up the pace of work.

Coasteering with Alpkit

On bank holiday Monday Claire and I had a great day out at Porth Dafarch with the Alpkit, staff, family and friends. They were even nice enough to buy me lunch after, what a good day.

Me briefing my gang.

Me waiting for my group to come and join me.

Ty Coch Music Night.

Last night was spent on the beach at Porth Dinllaen for another of the Ty Coch summer music nights. Hi::def Sound System was out in support of the FREEDOM Vs ::definition Sound Clash.

Callum on the decks. Chillin' on the beach.
Getting set up.

The view for the first beer.

Nefyn Coasteering.

I was lucky enough to escape the office again today to find a beautiful sunny day at Porth Dinllaen. The day was then spent coasteering with Simon and Mandi before returning to Llanberis.

Simon in a classic jumping pose.

The climb out at the end.

Cubo 18 Build

This evening has been spent in the workshop making a Cubo 18 for Greg. I have not made one of these before and am looking forward to hearing it.

Pete and Nicky Visit

As Pete and Nicky were visiting this weekend I decided to take off my first weekend in months, I had definitely forgotten how nice it is. We managed to fit plenty in amongst a good few pints. Friday evening was spent messing about on Padarn Lake once I had finished the days kayak sessions. After eventually surfacing after a heavy night we managed to venture out onto Y Garn and the Glyders for Saturday afternoon for what must have been my first mountain walking day in four or five years. The weather was pretty grim but good to be out with mates.

Me playing about on Llyn Padarn.

Pete and Nicky happy to be on the water.

Pete and Kelv route finding.
The gang refuelling.

Nicky hiding from the rain on the Gribin Ridge.

Baystock Festival 2011

This Friday I was DJing alongside Dan as part of the ::definition crew at Baystock. Baystock was a festival organised in memory of the of a friend of the organisers and as a fund raiser for Help the Heroes. We had a really good night if a little weird and disjointed. It all started off with the drive there, the site was farmland along single track road but someone had rolled their car blocking this so we had to wait for the road to be cleared. After being set back by the accident we had to get set up quickly, easier said than done because by now the wind and rain had picked up. We ended up spending the whole night trying to keep the gear dry. I remember at its worst I was having to wipe the rain of records while they played. The trip home was no easier as we had to pick our way home around the back roads of Anglesey to avoid another accident on the way home. In the end made it home for 2am in time for sleep before getting the guest breakfast ready.

The view from a soggy and windy main stage at Baystock.

Dan (V.E.N.O.M) hiding behind our tarp.
Ebony trying to protect the laptop.

The crowd at Baystock 2011.

Sunday Soundboy Swim

Last Sunday managed to get out coasteering at Porth Dafarch with a load of my DJ and Sound System friends which was good to be doing some outdoor stuff with people I usually only spend nights out with.

Ebony pondering one of the jumps.

Callum taking a leap.
The gang heading home.

Llyn Padarn Sunset.

Last night gave us a lovely sunset over Llyn Padarn.

Busy Times.

May and June seem to have been super busy months and work has been the focus of my life. So much so that I was having a think of about what adventures I have had and it seems as though it has only been one bike ride over Telegraph Valley.

Kelv of his bike in the ditch after a peddle malfunction.

Back on his feet again with Llanberis in the background.

New website gone live.

We have been working on the new activities website http://www.adventuresinwales.co.uk/ for a while now but yesterday it went live. Thanks very much to Pete at http://chargingarc.com/ for the design of the site and Chris at http://www.freerangedevelopers.co.uk/ for making it work.

Busy Easter Holidays.

Not really a holiday as I have been working but we are now coming out of a busy set of Bank Holidays. We have had loads of guests staying with us at Boulder Adventures which has been nice. Not run as many activities as I would have hoped but this does mean I have had time to get out and have some fun of my own. After a day’s kayaking with a group of air cadets managed an evening climb in the Llanberis Pass with Will. Also managed a trip out mountain biking over Betws way with Simon from the Dol peris, Pete from V12 and Sue from Joe Brown. We had an early off which meant the ride was cut short, regardless of this it was worth it to get out with a good gang. This Sunday just gone the Boulder staff decided we were bored in the office so went out for a coaster at the range the pictures are below.

Me at the Range

Claire at the Range
Kelly at the Range

Claire again

Soundcraft - Spares or Repair.

One Soundcraft Spirit E8 for spares or repair, cover the postage cost and I will send it out or it goes in the skip.

Boulder Adventures Goes Canoeing.

The following pictures are of one of our groups out on the lake today.