WAVE is a charity run by volunteers who are passionate about the outdoors and introducing people to healthy new outdoors pursuits. WAVE organises events for individuals or groups of all ages and abilities. WAVE will take you kayaking across Lancashire’s dramatic landscape, or up it through climbing challenges, where you can enjoy the stunning views the North West has to offer. They do lots of other stuff too, my involvement has largely been taking groups climbing and walking over the years.
I first came in to contact with WAVE several years ago as I was pursuing my climbing qualifications. Graham, the founder, had posted on the UK Climbing Forums he was seeking experienced climbers to help run climbing sessions for his groups and would welcome voluntary assistance with this in return for that time being able to go in a log book – the essential tool for proving experience and competence prior to any assessment being undertaken as part of a Mountain Training Qualification. Rather than a “chat” and a coffee, we decided the best way to get the measure of each other was to go climbing. So one spring morning we met in Tesco’s at Glossop before embarking on a great days climbing at Stanage Edge. Skip forward to a few weeks ago and Graham asked if I would be available to supervise the mobile climbing wall they were borrowing from Bolton Council as part of a family fun day they were putting on as a result of some funding they had won. It being a January weekend, I was only too happy to get involved.
So I pitched up ready to get stuck in to find just about all the graft had been done! So with brew in hand and a catch up with some of the regular WAVE volunteers we awaited the arrival of the Climbing Wall.
So with Tower erected, we had four routes, two on auto belays, two on human belay. the wall came with a willing helper – Geoff and with the WAVE belay team – Helen and Aidy we braved the sub zero temperatures (yes that is ice on the picture) to give about 40 people, mostly children a bash at climbing. On the whole they all loved it!
The day was considered a success by Graham and team at WAVE, who were delighted with the turn out on what was a bitterly cold day.
A link to a write up in the Bolton News – with more pictures.