Kevin Shields (UK)

Kevin Shields may not actually climb the 'hardest' grades or be the 'worlds best climber' but he has an amazing ability to crank at a very impressive level across a range of disciplines and for sure has one of the most indomitable spirits in climbing.

And it's this spirit of 'gung ho' go for it which embodies many of the qualities of the true spirit of climbing that means Wild Country are proud to add him to their roster and help him with gear. Featured in Committed - an amazing climbing movie by Hot Aches - Kevin has one or two disadvantages which mean that his achievments belie almost any grade - as he nonchalently says himself: "I was born in 1978 in Ayrshire, Scotland and wasted 30 years there before recently escaping to the bright lights of Fort William and living the dream - working in Nevisport (which is a necessary evil). Oh and most of my left hand is missing and I’m epileptic."

Kev Shields shows the epitome of committment soloing E6 in Glen Nevis....

Kev tells us more about his life and climbing below...

When did you first get into climbing?

My Father got me into the outdoors on routine Sunday morning forced marches as a kid which , retrospectively, were great. After years of just hillwalking with my Dad I got into doing munroes with one of his mates then one day we went up Curved Ridge on BuachailleEtiveMor and my whole life changed that day in the sense that climbing became possible. Then I became epileptic just before I was 21 which put me out for around a year after that I went back to the mountains of Arran on my own and ever since that day I’ve become more and more obsessed with climbing and the outdoors in general.

Which styles of climbing do you prefer and why?

I prefer soloing or scary trad and winter climbing. The soloing as its purely cathartic, scary trad because I just like the feeling of pushing myself and winter as its masochistic and I guess I must be a bit twisted.

How do you prepare physically for the climbs you attempt?

Physically I only train hard for winter with a little bouldering on the side and plenty of hill days, running, cycling, stretching and some weights.

How do you prepare mentally for climbing dangerous tradroutes?

Preparing mentally for dangerous routes is the most interesting part of climbing for me. Everyone has different reasons for climbing but for myself I like to keep the depression I get as a side effect of my epilepsy bottled up then use it to get the dark motivation I need for a lot of my routes then once I’m at the top all that negativity is gone, it’s a great way of dealing with it. There’s so many ways to turn disadvantage to advantage.

What would you say are your most memorable moments in climbing to date on the rock, in the gym and in competition?

On the rock I’d say (so far) soloing E6, in the gym I get a buzz every time I reach a new level of endurance or complete a new problem. In competition it’d be either winning the Mixed Masters or being first disabled athlete to enter the Ice World Cup

Top ten route / climbs / boulders in the UK?

  • Curved Ridge , Glencoe
  • North Buttress , Glencoe
  • Smiths Route , Ben Nevis
  • Benny Hill Show, Largs
  • The Dark Side, Largs
  • Fatal Kiss, Largs
  • Browns Eliminate, Froggat
  • Fast & Furious, Newtyle
  • Something in the Water, Chalk Cliffs
  • Precious Cargo, Glen Nevis

Are there any other sports or activities that you make time for outside of climbing? At this moment in time nothing much else matters to me except climbing so I tend not to bother much with anything else. What goals do you have for the next year and in the future?In the next year I want to climb E7/8 , Scottish X1/11. as for the future I’d love to eventually get into alpinism in the Greater Ranges.

You can read more about Kev on his Blog....

http://kevshieldsclimbing.blogspot.com/

18th May 2012 Kev Shields - Blog Update - A mixed year but a hard project..

In January of this year I had an operation to try fix my arthritic ankle after a bad fall 2 years previous, the operation failed. 12 weeks after the op I was getting back on my feet enough to get out on the hills but the pain required another visit to the hospital, I was told I now needed an ankle fusion and they could do it in 3 months but I’d be unable to walk for around 9 months. I left in a bit of a daze but quickly decided to sack off the operation as long as I can so I can climb again and hopefully complete some unfinished business from before the surgery.  had been staying back in Ayrshire after the op but moved back to Fort William in late April and got straight back into climbing. Winter was still hanging in there so we got some quality mountain days in on Ben Nevis including Carn Mor Dearg and Tower Ridge so I could start work on my fitness.

Kev enjoying a 'Bru' out in the hills -  On Carn Mor Dearg with the North Face of Ben Nevis behind and

On the Eastern Traverse, Tower Ridge. Pics from Dave & Glenda Anderson

 After that it was time to find a route to work on, I did an E5 a few years ago out past Glenfinnan and it was crying out for a direct finish. So a few weeks ago a team of us headed out with no real expectations but what we found was a real gem of a route. I tried it on top rope and the climbing was amazing, it got tougher the higher you went and just as I thought I had cracked it the last section was like a car bonnet at an almost vertical angle. I could’ve slapped out to the right on the other side of a crack but I would’ve cheapened the route doing that, I lowered off to give my ankle a rest and have a think. After a wee while I got restless and went back on getting to the same high point and tried to find a weakness in the blankness, then I spotted it. There was a tiny sloping edge above me, I just managed to force 3 fingernails onto it, press down with my left ‘thumb’ and right toe on a crappy smear and I pulled. The route suddenly became possible. There is room for 2 small bits of gear at half height, the first would rip in the event of a fall but the second is a good No4 wire so if the belayer is fast I’ll be okay if I fall on lead.

The lead is coming soon, the forecast is good for next week. I just need to get my head back in the game for bold climbing which shouldn’t be too hard. After that I’ll be checking out other projects in Scotland and hope to hit the Peak and go back to Northern Ireland again and the utterly amazing Mourne Mountains with the aim of climbing E8 before the big operation. If I get time before the arthritis pain becomes too intense I’ll get out for a winter season too, so much to do and never enough time/good weather. I’m really psyched about the coming season so to avoid putting too much pressure on myself I’ve made up a ticklist of all the routes I want to do before going into hospital which helps with focus, this list goes from mountain scrambles to E8 to winter mixed and classic ice so it’s extremely varied and stops me getting bored.

Kev trying the new route, well past where the pro is. Pic-Glenda Anderson

 

..

 

 

22nd Feb 2012 Wild Country UK Climbing Team 2012 Unveiled

Wild Country are proud to unveil their 2012 UK climbing team - a group of reckless and hardy individuals who help us test and promote our gear whatever the danger and cost to themselves...! Well, it’s not exactly like that, but, led by James Pearson, the Wild Country climbing team is peopled with climbers that we feel help represent the values and ideals of Wild Country across the spectrum of the sport.

So, leading the way with a slew of hard ascents in 2011, from almost flashing E10 to multi-pitch monstrosities like Joy Division and flashing 8b+ is James Pearson, now living in France but originally a Buxton lad and working with Wild Country since 2004. There’s a superb video of James in action on his E10 flash attempt here - http://vimeo.com/25140891.

James Pearson seen here on his flash attempt on Muy Caliente E10

Hot on his heels are the incredibly talented ‘Wideboyz’ team of Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker, who as well as tackling the worlds hardest offwidths – and the first ascent of Century Crack E9 (as you may just have heard about) have produced a load of awesome grit routes in the past few years filling some very cool gaps on the Peak District edges – you can see some Century Crack footage here - http://vimeo.com/35270800.  Sheffield based there’s also Ben Heason who’s been working with Wild Country for years and is still sending 8b+ and E8, and the enigmatic Miles Gibson – the quiet man of the legendary super-desperates ‘Superstition’ and Superbloc’ on the gritstone. Also Peak based the youthful Hamer brothers have both been performing superbly in 2011: Ed probably outdoing his brother Sam with his fantastic results in the youth world cup climbing comps with a  couple of 2nd places – but Sam showing he’s no slouch winding his neck out with few E8’s on the grit to even the scales – see the Hamers’ in action here - http://vimeo.com/26593785.
Last, but not least, long term teamer, Katherine Schirrmacher is hoping to build on her hard trad and grit E7 ascents after a year out to have a baby and build a very successful guiding business and will be starring in and sharing her technical knowledge in Wild Country’s ‘how to’ video series later this year.

 

Then up in Lancs the super psyched Jordan Buys is joined this year by his wife and partner Naomi to make an all action team. Both are multi discipline masters, mixing bouldering, trad climbing and sports climbing to a very high standard Jordan to 8c and E9 and Naomi to 8a+ and E7.  See Jordan in action here: http://vimeo.com/34862987

Over in Yorkshire, Jenny Woodward, has an incredible resume and after a bit of a stop start year last year after having a baby and suffering a few injuries and only sending up to 8A+(!!!) has some even harder projects on the go...watch this space!

Further north, in the Lake District, Dave Birkett and Adam Hocking are both climbing at the highest level and still doing stunning new trad lines and bouldering at the highest level – there’s a great video of Adam on a new E8 here – http://vimeo.com/25808567

 

New team member Naomi Buys in action on Snap Decision E7 6C Ilkley...

Meanwhile in Scotland the evergreen Malcolm Smith of has been relentless on rock with a recent new 8c+ Blood Diamond, while the fearless Kev Shields simply sets new standards for his bold soloing and some great winter ascents. And across the ‘pond’ in Ireland Andy Marshall has been representing Wild Country and has also sent some pretty rad lines including E8 2nd ascents and plenty more.

Our boulder team (thought that terms a bit restrictive as they’re more than that) is headed up by the amazing Ned Fehally who seems to be taking bouldering up a notch as well as blurring the lines between highball and routes making some very hard ascents in 2011 including Samson E8 7a, and the Prow E9 7a both solo. See Ned in action here: http://vimeo.com/33103583. Nigel Callender also manages to continually impress, sending 8b+ - http://vimeo.com/20435941 - while studying to be a doctor in Newcastle and taking advantage of the awesome sandstone of Northumberland. Then in the south east the strong Ben Read is helping  establish a new wave of sandstone desperates as well as writing guidebooks and promoting the excellent climbing around there. Joining these guys this year is year is Stewart Watson, a very strong climber who’s been competing internationally in boulder comps for a number of years and is adding 8c ascents to his pretty awesome bouldering CV.

 

We also have some young climbers doing well and with Tara Hayes we have one the most up and coming of the UK junior competition climbers who in her first year managed to grab an overall 6th place in the European Youth B standings.

So a big thanks to all those I’ve mentioned and anyone else who’s been flying the Wild Country flag - and you can see more about all Wild Country’s UK team at our website here:

And to get any news from the team first and fastest you can follow Wild Country on:
Twitter - @wildcountryuk
On our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wild-Country/97486098594
Or to watch all our videos our Vimeo page is here: http://vimeo.com/wildcountry/videos

 

Here's young gun Ed Hamer doing what he does best - climbing very very well on something that's very very steep!!!!!!

Ed Hamer