Monday 7 May 2012

Hopefully getting more people climbing via CBBC show

I was given the challenge with Molly of teaching Richard Wisker from CBBC's Friday Download how to climb for his show. Filming at the Westway with him and his team was an amazing experience. Friday Download gets young celebs (Richard was in Tracy Beaker Returns and The Bill) trying new things and Richard hadn't done any climbing at all. He was pretty nervous to start.

We showed him how to tie in and pull on and some basic moves. We got him to make sure he used his feet, which he seemed to be a natural at. We explained how belaying works and how to use all the gear. Richard managed to top rope one of the steeper walls using poor slopers and crimps. He had to do it several times for the cameras, which was a really good effort.

Then Molly and I did some climbing using a helmet camera, which was much harder than expected. They said ‘do some jumps’ so we did some cool dynos. (It's not exactly Hard Grit!) Then we had to film some interviews. It was a long and tiring day, but a load of fun and the CBBC people were cool. I hope to do something like this again.

No idea when it goes out - soon, I think. I will post the date when I know it. Be great if it gets people to try climbing.

If you haven't heard of Richard, here he is http://richardwiskerofficial.co.uk/site/






Me, Richard and Molly




Learning to use a headcam