BMC Coaching Day

By Kenny Stocker

Participating in a BMC coaching day, honing skills and embracing the spirit of improvement.

I was lucky enough to have my name put forward for the BMC National Academy training days. I went to the first training day at The Edge at Sheffield. We were put into six groups, each group had 4 or 5 climbers and their own Coach. I was put in a group with fellow team mate Georgia Hoyland. We started with bouldering, our Coach observed us climbing and offered handy tips on how to improve our climbing. He set us climbs which especially included certain moves we could improve, such as; rockovers, bridging and twisting.

After lunch our group moved onto roped climbing, and the coach introduced training tools to us, whilst still observing and offering advice. The session was rounded off with a one to one chat between the Coach my Dad and myself. The Coach explained where my climbing was weak and how to set about improving these areas. They gave me a BMC Coaching Training Diary which I have to fill in with details of all the training I do and I have to take it to the next session which is in January.

The only other thing was my Dad went to a session in the morning whilst I was bouldering, that he said was really good. It was all about training and training methods and how to keep it interesting.
The coaches were all really friendly and it was a great day out. I can’t wait till January.

Joe Czubkowski

Bouldering Mats

  • Email when available

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Phud

Taco bouldering mat for your local circuit, 100 x 100 x 8cm
$169.99 $199.99

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Origin

Large taco bouldering pad for frequent boulderers, 134 x 100 x 11cm
$209.99 $259.99

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Mujo

Hinge style pad ideal for frequent boulderers, 100 x 132 x 11cm
$259.99 $379.99

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Waffa

Small bouldering pad for sit starts and up-close impacts, 80 x 50 x 6cm
$59.99 $64.99

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Boulder Bucket

Self-standing bucket with roll top, large pocket and webbing loops
$39.99 $49.99

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Chalk Bag

Cordura® chalk bag with waist strap for sport, trad or bouldering
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ProBalm Fodder

Moisturising skin creme to keep active skin hydrated
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DMM Crushed Chalk Bag

250g of loose climbing chalk for boulder buckets
$0.00
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ProBalm Lips

Minty lip balm containing all natural ingredients
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Slack Kit

Complete slackline with everything you need to get you started
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Head in Gear

It feels that finally I’ve got my head in gear to do stuff, despite not at the level I expected due to many factors. Still, I’m having loads of fun...
February 17, 2011
Searching for ice on the Ben

Searching for ice on the Ben

So on Thursday evening me and the Captain (Alex Dalton) set off to beautiful rainy and warm Scotland for a smudging of ice climbing. Problem i...
February 09, 2011
New trad route in Oeschinensee, Kandersteg

New trad route in Oeschinensee, Kandersteg

On Monday we went up to have another look at the unclimbed line we spotted after our retreat from “Buch Dich”. The good thing about the line is tha...
February 08, 2011
Looking up and Mixing it up

Looking up and Mixing it up

It took a while to recover from the 3 pitch lead “Rise and Shine”, and not being able to finish the route left a sour after-taste. Trying to find w...
February 01, 2011
Kelsey Kerridge Reunited

Kelsey Kerridge Reunited

We were a pretty close bunch of climbers and we liked to get our climbing fix on a regular basis. The Kelsey Kerridge wall in Cambridge was our hom...
January 30, 2011
First Impression in Kandersteg

First Impression in Kandersteg

It’s proving a slow start with the climbing here at Kandersteg. To start with the conditions are not brilliant, but there’s stuff about to do. When...
January 28, 2011
Alpkit team at the Ice Climbing World Cup

Alpkit team at the Ice Climbing World Cup

Ice climbing competitions are a funny thing, a whole lot of people get together to test against each other, but they all do it for different reason...
January 27, 2011
Cairngorm Lonelies

Cairngorm Lonelies

Before xmas I walked in to Corie an t’Sneachda to try and rope solo a route. It was raining and whiteout then and by the time I got to the base of ...
January 14, 2011
Wakhan Dream

Wakhan Dream

Alan Halewood - freelance Mountaineering Instructor (MIC) won a PipeDream 800 sleeping bag in our Sweet Dreams competition last year. His dream was...
October 04, 2010
Albarracin bouldering and ash clouds

Albarracin bouldering and ash clouds

Albarracin is situated in Spain between Valencia and Zaragoza and offers an excellent bouldering venue. Grades are definitely holiday grades so a g...
May 14, 2010
Bouldering Team Crush at Font

Bouldering Team Crush at Font

Becki Hall, Hannah Beresford, Gracie Martin, Luke Tilley, Edd Mowbray, Billy Rydal and Tom Bonnert were part of the team that accompanied me on my ...
March 01, 2010
Ice 2010 in Pictures

Ice 2010 in Pictures

We travelled out to the ICE climbing festival in France with mountain biker Paul Errington so that he could train for the Arrowhead mountain b...
January 21, 2010
ICE 2010 - Testing Times

ICE 2010 - Testing Times

Less than a month to go till I will be lining up with 135 miles of the bitterly cold Arrowhead Trail ahead of me, i have spent hour after hour traw...
January 14, 2010

Majorca DWS trip

Well with summer coming to an end and not getting much sun it was a time for a trip away, the plan was a deep water soloing trip to Majorca for 7 d...
October 07, 2009
The training starts here

The training starts here

It was something like 18 years ago when I was first drawn into the giddy world of climbing. Early trips to the Peak District with Andy Simpson and ...
June 03, 2009

Bouldering at MelloBlocco

We arrived Friday afternoon and hiked over to the car hire booth. I hadn’t even had the chance to stutter a word of Italian before our Panda was up...
May 13, 2009
El Chorro

El Chorro

If you have never been or never even heard of El Chorro then this is definitely a venue worth checking out! It’s set in the south of Spain around 7...
April 29, 2009
Alps Massif Ice climbing trip

Alps Massif Ice climbing trip

Well this was to be one of the most action packed weekend I’ve had without falling off or injuring myself. Despite having a 20 hour drive at the st...
February 06, 2009
Alpine Adventure

Alpine Adventure

The adventure in the Alps with Alpkit was an amazing experience. I got the chance to try many new things in a relatively small period of time. Thus...
February 05, 2009
Social Ice Climbing

Social Ice Climbing

When I casually mentioned to friends and family that Alpkit were taking me to the Ice Festival in January and that it would involve a bivvy at arou...
January 19, 2009
ICE Fest - 2009 Ice cliimbing festival

ICE Fest - 2009 Ice cliimbing festival

This trip was a true team bonding experience, while also giving my Supersofts a chance to come out of retirement for another shot at the big league...
January 16, 2009
Fingers against Pessimism

Fingers against Pessimism

Last sunday was a fingers up against pessimism day. I was desperate to go climbing this weekend. The weather report on Friday made Saturday look li...
October 08, 2008
Waiting to climb in Yosemite

Waiting to climb in Yosemite

The weather is pretty tasty in Yosemite National Park right now, there is no way I am going to start complaining about clear blue skies and tempera...
September 10, 2008
Climbing in Val di Mello - Italy

Climbing in Val di Mello - Italy

So the Monday after the BBC’s we were all packed up and off on the 21-hour journey to the well dreamt of Val di Mello. My Dad and Karl drove throug...
September 09, 2008
Driving to the Mountains

Driving to the Mountains

Moggy at the cattery, CHECK. Fridge defrosted, CHECK. Passport in top pocket, CHECK. Car full of ‘essential’ gear, CHECK. August is holiday time fo...
August 05, 2008
Training for the World Cup

Training for the World Cup

I’ve been out in the Alps now for 5 weeks and the time is flying past so quickly. We are currently at Bremgarten near Zurich getting some training ...
July 21, 2008
Fitness Test at South Cerney

Fitness Test at South Cerney

Time to test the fitness – my first Olympic Distance race of the season (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run) was the South Cerney Classic organised by...
June 29, 2008
Where to climb in Kalymnos - a climbers paradise

Where to climb in Kalymnos - a climbers paradise

I took advantage of a week off school by jetting off to sunny and extremely hot (around 30 degrees feels extremely hot when you live in England) Ka...
June 24, 2008
The Perfect Combination

The Perfect Combination

The British weather has been typically grim recently; this is beautifully demonstrated by the heavy shower outside my window right now. However...
May 29, 2008
Ignoring the bank holiday forecast

Ignoring the bank holiday forecast

If the forecast was to be believed we would have been better staying at home doing DIY, however it had been a busy week and we just needed some out...
May 07, 2008
Ice ice baby

Ice ice baby

Well the annual Ice fest was on in L’Argentière la Bessée in the Ecrin. After last year’s antics I was keen to attempt to get down a ski slope main...
March 22, 2008
Summer in February!?

Summer in February!?

Blue skies and sunshine; it seemed too perfect. The first time out for ages and we were off to Beeston. Upon late arrival we quickly mounted the co...
March 05, 2008
The Alpkit Bouldering League 07/08

The Alpkit Bouldering League 07/08

Well the Alpkit Bouldering League has come to an end for another year and we’ve been more than happy to give some support again. Thanks to Derek an...
February 12, 2008
37 degrees and 53 problems

37 degrees and 53 problems

“53 problems?! You have got to be kidding me! I don’t usually move at 37 degrees let alone climb!” So, there we were in sunny Ailfroide for Tout a ...
August 01, 2007
Mello Blocco Air and Energy

Mello Blocco Air and Energy

Hmm, my first impressions on seeing the valley. Well, since I had never been to a large mountain range before, the excitement of seeing such an ove...
May 30, 2006
Travelling Monks - Kalymnos

Travelling Monks - Kalymnos

This must be paradise. We had even travelled through purgatory with a cramped flight next to the toilet queue and a cold night on the beach chairs ...
November 10, 2005
Beth in Beijing

Beth in Beijing

If you hear a group of climbers discussing Great Wall, you assume they will be talking about that classic rock climb on Cloggy scene of many an epi...
September 08, 2005
Travelling Monks - Arco

Travelling Monks - Arco

The rock climbing in Arco is similar in that you can; boulder, attempt short sport routes of every angle and style, “Trad” climb on long routes or ...
August 20, 2005
Competition climbing in the UK

Competition climbing in the UK

With Beth placing highly in international competition we take a peek behind the scenes of the British Junior Climbing Team to see what’s going down...
August 01, 2005
Alpine Dreaming in Imst with the British Team

Alpine Dreaming in Imst with the British Team

Why didn’t I hold it? I felt my fingers over the top hold, then the sensation of air rushing past at speed, as I spun downwards. This put me in...
June 23, 2005

Five Ben Nevis Ridges in a Day

Ben Nevis is well known as the highest point in the UK and is highly revered among climbers due to the limitless potential of winter and summer obj...
June 13, 2019

Bouldering in Brione

One of the most peaceful and beautiful places I have ever visited. Ticino, a region of Switzerland, is an area of outstanding natural beauty with b...
May 30, 2019

Climbing in Santa Luzia Walls

Thanks to our wonderful friends and Alpkiteers, Daniela and Paulo, who sent us this story of climbing in Santa Luzia Walls. It was the year…well, I...
November 24, 2022

Eagle Crag Rescue

With our celebration of Mountain Rescue Teams we highlight some of the recent incidents our local-to-store MR teams have attended recently, to get ...
May 21, 2021

Winter 8000 - Climbing the world’s highest mountains in the coldest season by Bernadette McDonald

Read an exclusive extract from the book 'Winter 8000, Climbing the world's highest mountains in the coldest season' by Bernadette McDonald.
August 06, 2020

Developing through climbing

Getting through school and developing the skills needed to succeed and develop life skills can be hard enough as it is, but with special needs it c...
July 12, 2019

Climbing With The Pivot Academy

Climbing can be a great escape. Heading down to the local wall with a group of friends, followed by a swift pint at the pub is a regular occurance ...
June 08, 2018

Paul and Alison take on the Dam Wall

I am one of them team working here in Alpkit's UK factory making bike luggage, bouldering pads, duffles and more. I put my passion for the outdoors...
September 08, 2015

Euro Training Camp

I've never spent a single Christmas in the UK, it's always a good chance to either get some winter sun in Spain or some early ice or skiing in the ...
January 09, 2015

So summer, so good

So I went over and led the thing, no big fuss. I moved efficiently despite being a tad nervous. I took my time, no need to rush, I savoured the gor...
August 20, 2014

Wake up, Rack up, Man up

As if I needed reminding, that's what I read on Justin's van, written on the plywood panel, whilst sipping my cup of tea. Wake up. Rack up. Man up....
July 01, 2014
Alps 4000ers - weeks 1 and 2

Alps 4000ers - weeks 1 and 2

Introducing Anna Wells. We love the Alps and for Anna Wells it will be true Alpine Dreamin' at its best as she heads out this summer on a quest to...
June 17, 2013

Three 8's

My plan is to climb all three in one year. Back in April I spent two weeks in Kalymnos knowing this would be a good time to kick start the challeng...
June 07, 2013
A short tale of adventures in Wales

A short tale of adventures in Wales

Easter break means one thing for climbers that pretend to be students, not overdue dissertation work not revision for fast approaching exams and de...
July 13, 2012
Training with Shauna Coxsey and James Garden

Training with Shauna Coxsey and James Garden

In the last two weeks we have been honoured to have been coached by two inspiringly strong people: James Garden and Shauna Coxsey. I unfortunately ...
May 16, 2012
The Nuts and Bolts

The Nuts and Bolts

The sport has kicked off surprisingly well, still running on arms of capacity. No training; just been climbing recently and had some pretty good da...
April 30, 2012
MIC training at the Brenin

MIC training at the Brenin

It has been a pretty unsuccessful winter for many, but lucky for me mine has been very productive! I managed to get my Winter Mountain Leader finis...
March 20, 2012
Greenland - a dirtbag expedition

Greenland - a dirtbag expedition

“we just want to go and climb big and make a statement for the everyday dirtbag climber” Fed up with reading the same old stories of the proclaimed...
April 14, 2011
Scottish Indoor Dry Tooling Competition

Scottish Indoor Dry Tooling Competition

Saturday 9th saw the opening round of the 2010 Scottish Tooling Series get underway and we were lucky enough to get Pete Rhodes kindly donning a Al...
October 12, 2010
Juniors at Font

Juniors at Font

A couple of weeks ago a few members of the junior climbing team made it out to Font. The team experienced sun, snow, rain and sub zero temperatures...
March 03, 2010
Fontainebleau Dispatch

Fontainebleau Dispatch

We arrived at the gîte at three in the morning. The door was unlocked but Ken thought it best that we spent at least one night dirtbag style. Drivi...
February 28, 2010
Alpkit and the FigFour hit TAB

Alpkit and the FigFour hit TAB

Kenny and Pete have been away sunning themselves in L’Argentière la Bessée in the Pays des Ecrins region of France for this years Tout A Blocs boul...
August 04, 2009
A summer in the Alps

A summer in the Alps

This was started with the Tout a Bloc climbing fest, a fest that was amazing not just for the competitor but for the spectator as well, with so man...
August 26, 2008
La Fiaccolata

La Fiaccolata

T’was the last Sunday before Christmas. The moon was full and inviting, some nocturnal activity was on the cards and there I was ready to get after...
December 24, 2007
A Monks Life

A Monks Life

To support our small article on the British Youth Climbing Team we invited Alan and Beth Monks to tell us what life in the team is like for a fathe...
November 28, 2005

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