Mixed Picks

The Cove

2012-01-08T20:59:00.000Z

Tyneside has very little to offer for dry tooling, but an area which is suitable is the Cove at South Shields. It has two good areas; one being the cove itself, and just a few hundred metres north is what we call the Burl Cave. The rock is limestone with lots of pockets and is ideal for hooking. Just remember to check the tide times, otherwise you'll get wet feet!

It'll never be comparable to Newtyle, but it is in a good setting!

Here's a few pics and a video from this morning.

The Vicar

2012-01-03T19:59:00.001Z

With Steve Roberts, John Glendinning and Steve Wilkinson we headed into a windy Coire an Lochain yesterday morning. Me and Steve Roberts decided on The Vicar VII,8 whilst John and Steve headed for Andromeda IV,4

Like most grade VII+ climbing it can be time-consuming finding hooks and good protection. But the major crux of the day was the weather. High winds, heavy snow and unbearable spindrift made for difficult upward progress!

Steve made it part way up the cracked wall on the 3rd pitch, but we decided to rappel. Time was pushing on and we had both left our head torches in our sacks!!

Lesson learnt... Don't climb something so hard in such harsh conditions.

John and Steve had a good time on Andromeda, but topped out into ferocious winds.

Another difficult drive home due to heavy snow and a incident on the A9.

Me on first pitch

Steve

Steve Wilkinson topping out

Nice gloves Steve..

Prore Direct

2011-12-30T23:45:00.000Z

None of the Tyneside crew were able to climb today, but I managed to hook up with Pete MacPherson and Murdoch Jamieson for a look into Coire An Lochain.

Prore Direct VII,8 was the route choice for the day.

I fancied leading this route a few weeks back, but having followed Pete up it today, I'm happy with being on the second. It's never desperate, just a few to many sketchy hooks here and there.

Very busy with over 15 teams out. No surprise with the fantastic conditions.

Top day out.

The Citadel

2011-12-19T18:54:00.000Z

We got it wrong on the East vs West last weekend, with higher than forecast temps stripping the snow and ice from our intended route at Beinn Dorain. So roll on another weekend and I was heading up to meet Paul Prentice for a look into Shelterstone.

We left the car at about 06:30 and started the long trail break (mainly by Paul) up through Coire an t-Sneachda over to Hells Lum and descend down into Loch Avon basin. By about 09:30 Paul had started up first pitch of The Citadel VII,8 on Shelterstone. Generally the gear was hard won, and it didn't help with the turf being insulated and the ice was also pretty cruddy.
After a few hrs of climbing it was time for Paul to dispense with the first Crux pitch.
Balancy, boulder type moves get you up onto the slab before moving up into the excellent sustained crack above. All taken very well by Mr Prentice.

Another excellent pitch above leads to the outstanding stance next to the upper Crux and Flake.

By now it was Dusk and I felt under pressure with the failing light to get on and UP the final crux pitch.
I dispensed with the flake and traverse easy, but it was the short crack above that foxed me. Whilst trying to pull into the crack an Axe popped, and down the wall I went. Thankfully I managed to get a good rock 10 placement which held the fall.

Paul suggested we retreat, but I was now full of Psyche and nothing was going to stop me getting up this route. After about 40m I eventually found foot prints which led to a large open book corner. This turned out to be the wrong way and is the Moonlight Finish. The foot prints were from the previous day. James Higgins and Neil Adams (their blog account can be found Here).

The corner above was all that was stopping us standing on the top of Shelterstone. Paul was starting to feel the strain, but made a sterling effort Stein Pulling his way to the top.

We eventually got back to the Cairngorm Car park at 23:00

We drove back to Paul's in South Lanarkshire and from there I headed down to Tyneside. I stopped for fuel at one of the service stations (I fell asleep at one of the Pumps before getting my Diesel). I was awoken by someone banging on my bonnet checking I was ok!

Shelterstone in winter is a rather big day out..

There's been lots of action on shelterstone over the past few weeks.
Other than Jims Blog I've highlighted above, Greg Boswell had a awesome repeat of Stone Temple Pilots X,9 Blog Here. Martin Moran had a interesting day on the Needle Blog Here

Paul Starting up The Citadel

Paul second pitch

Start of the first crux pitch

High on the crux

Me starting the second long crux

Paul psyching up for the Moonlight finish.

Getting there..,

Chamonix Oct

2011-11-07T16:01:00.002Z

With a fully loaded car (thanks Paul, MBC) Paul Prentice, Lindsay Yule, Paul Smith and myself set off for Chamonix on Friday 21st. By the Saturday morning we had arrived and were readying ourselves for the following day.
Sunday morning dawned and we were on the first Telepherique up the Aiguille du Midi.

                                    Paul Smith trying to recover from the night before!!

After about 8 rappels we reached the foot of the Burnier Vogler Gully.

On the calf destroying easier terrain.

Lindsay 1 pitch from the Cosmiques ridge.

After this great little climb, we descended the Cosmiques Ridge to the Abri Simond Bivy Hut.

We had hoped to climb the following morning on the East Face of the Tacul. But me and Paul Smith felt like shit due to poor acclimatisation.

So back up the Arete des Cosmiques for us.

Following day was overcast and windy, so we decided to give any climbing a miss.

With a promising forecast on the Wednesday, we set of from the Les Grand Montets car park for The Ginat route on Les Droites.

5.5hrs later and we were on the Argentiere Glacier looking for a decent bivi spot.

Looking over to the Colton-Brooks.

Only 5 more pitches to go!

On the walk in I felt incredibly weak and sick. Thinking I'd be better in the morning, I decided to stay the night at the bivi site.
We set off at 04:30 for the start of the Ginat. But after a couple of hrs I realised I wasn't well enough to continue. Painful decision, but it was the right one.

First light on my walk out!!!

Couple of days later and I was feeling much better.
Not wanting to lose what little acclimatisation I had gained, I headed for the first lift up the Aiguille Du Midi.
First person down the ridge and across to the Triangle. I climbed 4 pitches of the Chere Couloir.

The 6 other teams I met on my rappel.

Rapped off using mega light Tag line.

It was then a quick blast up the Cosmiques Ridge.

Met up with the Guys early afternoon for a spot of shopping. Gels and energy bars by the dozen were bought.

Following morning we got the train up to Montenvers.

Grand Jorasses.

Crossing the Bergshrund late afternoon on the Croz Spur.

Lindsay and Paul at our bivi for the night.

The Man that snored for 5 hrs!!!

The next morning

Lindsay happy on the Croz.

4 pitches to go!

We finally topped out and started to abseil down towards the Glacier. Now dark, and with little knowledge of the descent, we decided to bivi near to the Rocher du Reposoir.

Following morning was stunning.

Well earned rest at the Refuge Boccalate.

Looking back up towards the Grand Jorasses

Courmayeur, food and beer this way...

Following day was spent dry tooling at La Fayet.

Till the next time..

Chamonix Sept

2011-09-14T21:24:00.001+01:00

I've not blogged much this season, but hopefully with a good winter ahead of us I'll try to have a photographic account of our travels.

I'd bought and converted a VW Transporter in to a campervan during the summer.

So me and John Glendinning made good use of it and headed off to France during September.
First port of call was Fontainebleau for some Bouldering action.

It was then a toss up between the Verdon or Chamonix.

8hrs later we were in Chamonix.

To get acclimatised we headed up the Aiguille du Midi for the classic Rebuffat route on the SE Pillar.

The following morning was windy and the Midi was closed.

So we decided to drive over to La Fouly and climb the Amone Slab on the Dalle de L'Amone.

John damaged both his big toes on the previous 2 routes!! For him, wearing rock shoes was unbearable, so I climbed with a guy from the camp site we were staying at.

Me and Bradley headed up for a day on Envers Slab for Les Vertiges De L'automne

To finish off our few days in Cham, me and John had a blast up the Petite Verte.

Top Week

Pass and Gogarth

2011-06-06T19:30:00.006+01:00

Me and John Glendinning headed for the sunniest part of the UK last Saturday. Llanberis being the place to be!
We had a great afternoon climbing on the sun drenched walls of Dinas Cromlech.
Ticking the classics of Cenotapth Corner E1,5c and Left Wall E2,5c and finishing off with a spot of bouldering.

Tent up, Bar meal, then too much to drink...

Sunday we had a slow start due to rain in the Llanberis Pass. So down with the tent and we headed for Anglesey.
Only one place for me on Anglesey - Gogarth.

We missed our chance of getting along the base of Main Wall for the Big Groove due to a rising tide and settled for the excellent Resolution Direct E2,5b

Great routes and weekend.

Starting up Cenotaph

John just before crux on Cenotaph

Busy on Left Wall

Bouldering in the Pass

Me on the approach to Main Wall

Starting up Resolution Direct

Riglos

2011-05-25T19:36:00.014+01:00

Just had 4 great days climbing in Riglos with Graeme Read.
From Barcelona Airport we took our hire car on the 4hr drive to Riglos.
We stayed at the Refugio de Riglos in the centre of town which is clean and cheap as chips At 15euros a night.

From here you could walk to any one of the main climbing area's in about 20 min's
We did take the car one day to the bird of prey centre, which leaves you with a easy walk to the likes of La Aguja Roja.
The Guide book for the area Riglos, Aguero y Foz de Escalete can be bought from the Refugio ,or up the road at Bar El Puro.

We did 11 routes in 4 days of climbing. Only touching the surface really. Another couple of trips should see us through most of the classics.

Start of Fiesta De Los Biceps

Sun just starting to kiss the Wall

I fell off leading this pitch. A hold broke!. Not a pleasant feeling when your 250m above the ground, and trying to swing back onto the rock.

AIR

Look close!? I Captured this guy mid base Jump.

Sleepy Riglos

Another Base Jumper came buzzing past us.

10PM

Bolt theft must be a problem!

Graeme Cruising up Mosquitos

The Awesome Fire

Catalogue image on Pecho Lobo

Pecho Lobo

High up on Visera. Thanks to Belen

Me mid route on Visera.

Awesome April

2011-05-04T18:25:00.002+01:00

Winter now seems such a long time ago.
It's not been my most active winter climbing season, but I have learned to ski which is a bonus.
It all seemed to finish a little too early. It was April 23rd last year when I climbed my last route of the season Kellett's Route VI,6 on the Ben in fantastic conditions, and routes were still in nick through the early part of May.

This past month has been great, with trips to :-
Great Wanney
Great End Crag
Quayfoot Buttress
Pavey Ark
Scafell (twice)
East Woodburn
Buachaille Etive Mor (Slime Wall)
Glen Lednock

Ticking 2 of the best E2's in the Country. Shibboleth E2,5c **** and Saxon E2,5c *** which normally take a long time to dry out has been my highlight this month.

Banzai Pipeline E1,5b ***

The Go Between E2,5c ***

Eclipse E4,6a ***

Eclipse E4,6a **

The Bracken Clock E2,5c **

Chartreuse E1,5b **

Dyad E3,6a **

Slab and Groove Route VS,4c **

Shibboleth E2,5b ****

The Bendy

Black September E4,6a **

The Centaur HVS,5a ***

Saxon E2,5c ****

Saxon E2,5c ***

Ben Nevis 6th March

2011-03-06T23:10:00.004Z

Today me and Paul Smith were back up the Ben.
Snow and bad weather are needed to bring the mixed climbing back into condition but with Spring like conditions, the snow and ice routes are starting to become very good.

We couldnt see much in the cloud after our slog up Observatory Gully, so we opted for Indicator Wall V,4*** which was in great condition.

Paul unimpressed with the walk in!


Indicator and Gardyloo Buttress

After decending Tower Gully we returned to the foot of Indicator Wall and the start of Pychedelic Wall VI,5***
Paul made short work of the first pitch on good ice. Second slab pitch was very thin but climbable. Think I managed to get a couple of screws in the 3"- 4" ice slab. Good belay with rock gear at the top of this pitch.

Paul on the first pitch

Me on Second

Paul seconding the 2nd pitch

Paul then took over for the final pitch. Another excellent pitch, very much in contrast to the 2nd one with a short chimney and steep corner exit.

Happy on the 3rd pitch

This was another one of those stonking good routes the Ben can offer at this time of year.

Forecast looks good to build on conditions this coming week. So it'll be another 10hrs of driving next weekend hopefully.

SCNL 13th Feb

2011-02-14T21:18:00.000Z

Wet start for me and Paul Smith this morning. The rain soon turned to heavy snow above 500m, but thankfully the forecasted wind didn't materialize.
A careful approach to Central Buttress on Stob Coire Nan Lochan was needed in waist deep snow, I was relieved to reach the foot of our intended route Central Grooves VII,7***
I could barely look up the first pitch with so much fresh snow and sluff coming down, but I battled on up the first pitch. Clearing cracks was almost impossible at times as they refilled instantly with a constant stream of sluff.

After bringing up Paul, the snow had eased a little, making it that little bit more bearable.

Paul was happy for me to do all the pitches, so off I went up the excellent sustained but well protected 2nd pitch. Pitch 3 had the most awkward move at the start, having to mantle onto a small shelf and reach high for a small crack which allowed you to stand up.It probably was still easier than the previous 2 pitches at about VI,7 perhaps some good ice or neve makes the move a little easier.

Pitch 4 was a easy romp to the top.

I was a bit concerned about descending Broad Gully with so much fresh snow about, but fortunately there was a guided team (guinea pigs) testing it out in front of us. Awesome bum slide back to our sacks.

Only one photo today.

Top day out.

Ben Nevis 24th - 25th

2011-01-25T23:10:00.002Z

After a quick meal in Fort William on Sunday evening with Steve, Paul and Lindsey, we headed up to the CIC hut for a couple of nights.

Monday morning was grim with rain, mist and light winds. Temps were above freezing. Not a great day for standing around on belays so we decided to do Zero Gully V,4** The ice was very good to climb on, but rubbish for screws. Vast amounts of spindrift were also coming down off the windy summit, making it an even grimmer experience. In 300m of climbing I think we placed 9 pieces of pro. Just a typical day on Zero really.


This is the only photo of our day on Zero. Sums it up really.

On our way back to the CIC we dropped down No 3 gully and noticed that the buttresses were pretty white with Hoar. So the plan was set for Darth Vader VII,7*** or Sioux Wall VIII,8*** on Tuesday morning. During monday night it rained pretty hard, so it was no surprise that when we reached No 3 the following morning, the buttress was black. Guy Steven had a look at a black Cornucopia VII,8* and salvaged his day on Thompson's Route IV,4***

We salvaged ours by starting up Gremlins VI,6 then finished up Thomson's ourselves.

Start Of Gremlins

The Grivel Masters and their masters :-/

Still beats going to work, whatever the weather.

Christophe Profit

2011-01-15T21:59:00.001Z

Jeff Lowe's Metanoia

2011-01-15T21:49:00.000Z

Stob Coire nan Lochan 8th Jan

2011-01-09T19:22:00.003Z

Heavy snow on Friday night added 1.5hrs to my usual 4hr drive to Glencoe, only just making last orders at the Clachaig. Phew... close one!
Alarm was set for 04:30, in readiness to meet Greg Boswell at 05:00, for our slog into Stob Coire nan Lochan.
Greg had his eye on The Duel IX,9 ** so at first light I was off up the first and belayed high on the left hand side which greatly reduces the fall potential, whilst Greg clipped the first runner on pitch 2. A lot of hoar had built up, so it was time consuming for Greg to clear the walls looking for the tiny front point edges and at times even smaller hooks. I'm sure at times he levitated.. We were both surprised at how few good sinkers there are.
There is one hard mantle onto a small jutting block, and then it's into the hanging corner, again with some sketchy hooks and ledges, which lead to an easy ramp and the top of pitch 2.
Greg brought me up what I can only describe as the hardest technical, sketchy ground I've climbed. I was happy and relieved to reach the belay rest or fall free.
With the light fading we decided it was best for Greg to finish the top pitch.

Since I received the new Grivel Jedi axes a few weeks back, I'd only used them predominantly on ice, which felt very good indeed. Having them out on some seriously steep ground today was just awesome. From smashing them into tiny cracks to full body weight mantles and torques, these axes felt much better than previous technical tools I've used on mixed routes.

Awesome day.

Photo courtesy of Ken Applegate

Photo Courtesy of Ken Applegate

Jedi

Langdale 2nd Jan

2011-01-02T21:49:00.003Z

The Langdales where black as coal this morning, so with John and Steve we decided to climb Bowfell Buttress in our big boots. Done in two pitches with very little wind but it was -5°c
We then had a walk over to Angle Tarn Crag, and was surprised to see a fair amount of ice. Steve climbed a steep line on the right hand side of corrie at about IV and I climbed a similar graded route on the left.
The ice was hard and brittle, which made it feel precarious with out any ice screws!!

28th / 29th/ 30th Dec

2010-12-30T22:12:00.004Z

Me and Nathan visited Creag Dubh and we climbed Oui Oui II/III *** Golden Shower looked impressive but was thawing rapidly.
Then it was over to Aviemore in the afternoon for our first ski tour. We did a wee tour up Meall a' Bhuachaille, enjoyable skinning up, but having never skied before it was interesting getting back down in one piece.

Wednesday we did a tour from the lower car park, up over Cairngorm and back down via the Ski area.

After getting my hands on some Skitrab Ski's and Scarpa Boots me and John decided to have a blast up the Cheviot in Northumberland today. These amazingly light Ski's and boots are going to see some action this season. I'm addicted already.

Lakes 26th Dec

2010-12-26T20:12:00.005Z

One day of festive activities is enough for me.
So after a few phone calls last night, it was back to the lakes this morning with John, Nathan and Steve for an enjoyable Boxing Day on Black Crag Icefall IV,5***
Plenty of fat ice to try out the new Jedi axes. Can't wait to use these awesome tools on some hard mixed routes later this week.

Lakes Ice 23rd Dec

2010-12-23T20:56:00.004Z

The steep crags aren't holding any hoar frost at present, so me and Paul had a fun day running around the northern lakes looking for icefalls.
Launchy Gill III *** is complete, as is Right Fork III ***
Shoulthwaite Gill V,4** was in sound condition, and we managed to beat the hordes of people that turned up. Across to the right is a couple of excellent un-named lines that go at V or maybe VI.
Then it was off to Honister to check out the Gantry Crag Ice Falls, but on approaching the mine we were stopped and told we were not allowed to climb there, which is bull shit. I'll be back there soon, but the car will be parked in a different area.
To salvage our day we climbed the brilliant Quarry Fall V,5

Back out tomorrow hopefully.

Ben Nevis 19th Dec

2010-12-19T23:41:00.001Z

It was a moon-lit walk in to the CIC hut last was night, with head torches being optional. Arriving at 22:00 to meet Paul Prentice and the gang.
Sunday morning, me and Paul Smith headed for Cutlass VI,7** on the Douglas boulder, but looking very black we decided to head up into Coire na Ciste. On the first pitch of Darth Vader VII,8*** I decided it wasn't going to happen due to extreme wind chill,and screaming barfies.. ahhhhh.
So me and Paul fled to south trident buttress. Having already lost a lot of time we got onto The Clanger IV,5** Paul led the excellent first pitch leaving me with the squeeze pitch. Struggling to fit through and with darkness falling we decided to bail and abbed off.

Paul Prentice opted for a easier day, having also failed on Darth Vader VII,8*** the previous day, due to the high winds. They did Thompson's Route IV,4***.

Camera finally died today so not many pics.

Hope to be out again later this week.

Paul Smith starting up The Clanger

Paul Prentice at the start of Thompson's

Darth Vader and Cornucopia

Gable 5th Dec

2010-12-05T18:36:00.002Z

The morning started badly after I got the car stuck picking up Paul. After 20mins we managed to dig and push it out of TGI's car park!!
Picked up Steve - we had a trouble free run until Honister pass!! With only inches to go up the steepest part of the Pass, the car decided to run out of diesel!!
Doh.. Not having any brakes, we decided it was safer to fit the snow chains and roll back down the hill on the ice. After getting the car turned around, the engine now had enough diesel to start up and return to Keswick for fuel.

Having now added 1hr to our journey, we decided to stick to plan A and headed back along the Borrowdale Valley and up onto Honister Pass. Success; we made it to the Mine car park.

Fortunately, there was a team ahead of us blazing the trail to gable in (at times), knee deep snow (not realising they were after our choice of route for the day). Bugger!! Five times now I've been into Gable to do Engineers Slabs VI,7 and this time we were beaten to it. I blame the car...

So we decided on Engineers Chimney V,4 ***, which is a fantastic route (even if it is a sandbag). V,6 is a more realistic grade.

Great day (in the end)

Gable summit from steve lynch on Vimeo.

Ben Nevis 26th Nov

2010-11-28T20:59:00.006Z

With snow on the hills I thought I'd get back into the habit of updating my blog.
Hopefully the next 5 months will see regular blogs of winter climbs here in the UK and Europe.

Good conditions on Carn Dearg (Friday) saw me and Paul on Route II direct VI 6 *** reportedly one of the best mixed route on the Ben. Well we enjoyed it anyway. we managed to finish with just enough natural light left.

Fantastic start to the season.

Shelterstone 4th Sept

2010-09-04T23:44:00.000+01:00

Me and Graeme were the first team onto Shelterstone this morning, Just beating others onto Steeple E2,5c ****
Bit damp on the crux pitch made for some exciting moves, but overall the route was in good condition for a mountain crag.

Got to be a contender for one of the best E2's in Britain.

At least 12 other teams were out today.

Aug Bank Holiday weekend

2010-08-30T23:15:00.000+01:00

Me John, Karl and Charlotte spent the weekend in North Wales.
Few hrs on the Slate Saturday afternoon, then onto Pete's Eats for dinner.

Sunday we headed to Tremadog which started with passing showers, but by midday the Sun was shinning.
Me and John did Meshach VS 5a ** and Vector E2 5c ***
Karl and Charlotte did a few routes, one being Cream E4 6a ***

After a few beers we headed back to the Achille Ratti Hut.

Monday me and John headed for Gogarth on Anglesey and surprisingly the only people in the Wen Zawn climbing A Dream of White Horses HVS 4c *** then onto Britomartis HVS 4c ***

Karl and Charlotte were back onto the Llanberis Slate.

Top weekend Climbing.

Heron Crag 22nd Aug

2010-08-22T22:21:00.000+01:00

Me and John headed up to Heron today, for the Hard Rock classic of Gormenghast E1,5a ***
The main part of the crag is very clean, but some of the right hand routes could do with a serious clean up. The likes of Lago E3,6a and Mean Feat E3,5c both require a clean.
We also did Side Track VS,4c **

Another great Hard Rock tick to the Logbook.

Dow Crag 15th Aug

2010-08-17T22:05:00.004+01:00

Excellent weather in the Lakes (for a change) this weekend, with about a dozen teams on numerous routes.

Me and Graeme had a steady day climbing

Nimrod E1 5c ***
Tarkus E1 5b **
Murray's Super Direct E2 5b **

John and a hungover Steve climbed

Murry's Direct VS 4c ***
Eliminate 'A' VS 4c ***

Few beers in Coniston to finish the day off.

Scotland 28th-31st July

2010-08-01T20:44:00.006+01:00

After much Deliberating. Me, Graeme, Nathan and Scott decided the weather would be better in Scotland for a few days Climbing.

Our first day was spent at the Pass of Ballater.

Silent Spring E1 5a **
Original Route VS 5a *
Peel's Wall E4 6a ***
Smith's Arete E5 6a ***
Little Cenotaph HVS 5b **
Black Custard E1 5b ***
Cold Rage E4 6a **
Anger and Lust E2 5c ****
Giant Flake route VS 4c **
Blutered E1 5a **

Following day we headed for Red Craigs - Glen Clova, yet another fine venue.

The Red Wall E1 5b ***
Wandered HVS 5a **
Proud Corner VS 4b ***
Empire of the Sun E4 6a***
Witches Tooth E1 5b*

Time lapse of Graeme on Empire.

Glen Clova Red Craigs from steve lynch on Vimeo.

On Saturday we climbed at North Berwick Law. Ticking 8 routes.

Fantastic few days away. Good climbing,food,beer and crack.

Raven's Scar and Wainstones 25th July

2010-07-25T20:58:00.001+01:00

First visit to both these crags with plenty to go back for.

Between the 4 of us we managed.

Wainstones

Concave Wall HVS 5b **
Ali Baba E2 5c ***
Sphinx Nose Traverse S ***
West Sphinx Climb E2 5b **
Little Bo-Peep VS 4c **

Raven's Scar

Fever Pitch E2 5b ***
Harlot's Groove VS 4c ***
Forest Face HS 4b ***
Satchmo E1 5c ***
Grooves-ology VS 5a ***
Hooker E2 5 c *

Me,Graeme,John and Scott.

Ravensheugh 18th July

2010-07-18T20:17:00.002+01:00

Plan was to Climb in the Peak today, but the forecast this morning suggested rain.
So Me John and Steve headed up to Ravensheugh which was dry if a little dirty on some of the routes. Must take a brush next time.

Pendulum VS 4c ***
Crescent Wall VS 4b **
Wild West Show HVS 5a ***
Little Learner VS 5a **

Plus some bouldering.

Great Crag suffering from lack of traffic.

Brimham 11th July

2010-07-11T19:08:00.000+01:00

Good turn out at Brimham today.

Me Graeme and Karl did

Stone Wall HVS 5b **
Beatnik E3 5c *
Black Chipper E2 5b ***
Enigma E1 5b *
Pathos E3 6a *
Lithos HVS 5b *

John and Steve did

Rough Wall VS 5a ***
Maloja VS 4c **
Right Wall VS 4c **
Birch Tree Wall VS 4c ***
Allan's Crack VS 4c***

Also good to see Andy and Ali out bouldering.

Pavey Ark 26th June

2010-06-26T19:05:00.000+01:00

Very busy at Pavey today.

Me John and Steve had a good day on

Arcturus E1 5b ***
Golden Slipper HVS 5a ***
Red Groove E1 5a*

Finished with a few beers in the Stickle Barn.

Goat Crag 20th June

2010-06-20T23:16:00.002+01:00

Me and Graeme got warmed up on D.D.T HVS *** today.

Then we got onto The Voyage E3 5c *** which was going brilliant until on pitch 3 I pulled a hold off, big lob, just missing Graeme on the way down. The Hold which was about a foot long landed at his feet. Lucky.
Ropes then got jammed on the abseil...

Epic.

Nice easy walk in today.

Esk Buttress 18th June

2010-06-18T22:02:00.001+01:00

Stayed at Langdale Campsite last night, ready for a early march to Esk. No real rain since Nov and I still managed to get my feet wet on the approach.
Early cloud soon burnt off to leave a stunning day.

Me and Graeme did Hydra E2 5c* and a attempt on Esk Ape E5 6a **

Easier day on Sunday Hopefully.

High Crag 12th June

2010-06-12T21:28:00.003+01:00

Met up with Scott at Keswick this morning, before driving over to Buttermere and heading up to High Crag.
Once again we had a crag to ourselves, which is strange considering great weather and bone dry crags for now.

The Philistine E1 ***
Lost Colonies E2 **
Gethsemane E1 ***
Dry Trim E1 **

Finished the day with a 10k run.

Scafell 5th June

2010-06-05T22:22:00.001+01:00

Scafell's East buttress was our choice today.

We climbed at both ends of the spectrum.

Shere Khan E5 6a *** is brilliant, but out of my depth... scary.

Short of time, so we had a run up Great Eastern Route VS 4c ***. Turned out to be very enjoyable with lots of exposure.

Lots of rain on the way.

Hardknott Crag 30th May

2010-05-30T20:28:00.001+01:00

Me and Graeme had Hardknott Crag to ourselves today. Not many folk around for a Bank holiday weekend.
I got some air time on Copenhagen (twice) and then my Camera decided to launch itself off the crag. I came off a bit better than the camera... Hence no Photo's today.

Copenhagen E2,5c **
Powerglide E4,6a **
Intrusion HVS,5a **

Well worth a visit.

Scafell 23rd May

2010-05-23T11:39:00.003+01:00

Perfect weather on Scafell today. Most routes are almost bone dry.
Me and Graeme got started with Roaring Silence E3 5c *** and finished off with Edge of Eriador E4 5c ***

Both fantastic routes.

Great Wanney 21st May

2010-05-21T23:01:00.000+01:00

Busy again at the Wanneys. Great to watch lots of folk on all the hard routes.

We cleaned a number of routes, including some of the rarely climbed ones.

Northumberland Wall E2 5c ***
Enery's Ammer E2 5b *
East Buttress Direct E3 5c ***
Idiot Wind E4 5c **
Great Wall (Direct Finish) E5 6a * (attempt)

White Ghyll 16 May

2010-05-16T21:13:00.004+01:00

Due to a damp start this morning, we decided to checked out the new routes at Yew Crag en route to Langdale. Pretty lose rock in places, but a bit of traffic would sort it out.

Headed up to White Ghyll which was surprisingly dry and clean.

Feet of Clay E1,5b **
Paladin E3,6a ***
The Palestinians E1,5b **

Not a bad day for your Birthday.

Great Wanney 15th May

2010-05-15T22:42:00.001+01:00

Afternoon at the Wanneys.

Me Nathan and Lucie had the place to ourselves. bit blustery but good friction.

Raven's Nest VD **
Broken Wing E3,5c **
Rake's Crack E1,5b **
East Buttress Direct E3,5c **

Failed on EBD, but will clean it this week before next attempt.

Great Wanney 12th May

2010-05-12T08:40:00.004+01:00

Met up with Graeme and Scott at the Wanneys tonight. It's nice and dry up there for now. After soloing a few routes we did the following.

Broken Wing E3 5c
Thin Ice E4 6a ***
Endless Flight E5 6a ***

Great night.

Iron Crag 9th May

2010-05-09T21:08:00.002+01:00

It's been a busy weekend for me, climbing comp Friday, Dry Tooling Saturday and then Iron Crag today was the icing on the cake.

Me and Graeme climbed.

Solidarity E1 5b
Marble Staircase E4 5c
Hiddenite E2 5c

Great day.

Tooling 8th May

2010-05-08T21:49:00.004+01:00

Me Alan and Nathan had a good tooling session this afternoon.

Think a drill and a bag of Bolts is on the cards for this venue.

Hodge Close 3rd May

2010-05-03T22:42:00.000+01:00

Sunshine and showers at Hodge today.

Scott got started on Joie De Vivre F6b+ a great line right of the once Side Show.
Graeme then had a go on First Night Nerves E5 6b
Other routes we were on.

Mad Alice E3 5c
Malice in Wonderland E4 5c
Through The Looking Glass E3 5c

Karl and Graham did

Mad Alice E3 5c
Joie De Vivre F6b+
Carpe Diem F7a+
Big Gym HVS 5b
Amphibian E3 6a

Great Day.

Ben Nevis 23rd April

2010-04-23T23:13:00.001+01:00

Grim on the Ben today.

Poor visibility, constant snow, spin drift avalanches and hot aches to top if off. Me and Liam were on Kellett's Route VI,6 *** today

Fantastic Steep route but made much harder by the conditions today.

Last day on the hill for me this winter season.

Got to be one of the best seasons I've had.

Line of Kellett's on a good day

Ben Nevis 18th April

2010-04-18T22:07:00.006+01:00

Me and Steve had a later than planned start, due to heavy rain at 04:30 this morning.
Fresh snow had fallen over night down to the CIC. But the sun was shining by about 10:00 when we got to the base of our route.
Steve had his eye on Point 5 V,5 **** so he got the ball rolling on the first pitch.
It's in great shape right now with bomber neve and some great ice, making the Rouge Pitch very easy.
Topped out into fantastic sunshine at 13:00 for a spot of sun bathing.

Great Alpine conditions.

Cluster F*%k.......Why we love it.

2010-04-13T16:47:00.001+01:00

Phew, nearly there, phew, just a bit more. Slack, SLACK! Clip that peg. Thank f*ck. Right, gear in, where? Ahhh, hotaches f*ck, f*ck, fuuuuckk, shit, I think I’m gonna be sick, f*ck, come on you bastards ahhhh god that hurts ahhh come onnnnn! Got to get some gear in. Try this crack. Nope. Ah this looks like a good one, just dig the ice out. Bastard, flared. Try this one, blind. Kick a better stance……there. Right, try this…..yessss. Bomber! Clove hitch on that, clove hitch on the peg, SAFE! Three bits of gear my arse. Two tugs on the rope. Come on. What did he say? He must be off belay now. Take in. Wish I could see him. Wish I could hear him. Ah slack rope. Take in, take in, take in, take in. Where the f*ck am I going to put all this? Sure I climbed farther than that. Tight rope. On belay, climb when ready…………. ON BELAY CLIMB WHEN READY……………. ON F*CKING BELAY…..did he say climbing? Just take in. Yes he’s coming. Ahhh, I can see him. Lets see how he copes with this…... Oh well he is seconding. Here he comes. Nowhere to stand, I’ll just tie him off. Hand the sling over. Any more gear? Nope…. Oh yes just this, sorry. It’s just up there, looks pretty straightforward, on you go. Wait……. WAIT! If you go over this rope and under that one. Oh FFS. Over this one and under that one! Right. Off you go. Watch those crampons, nearly took me eye out! Go on. What is he mincing about at? Hope he gets some gear in soon. Spindrift. Bastard. Straight down me neck. Get this hood up. What the f*ck? Ah. Slings in the way. Just lift them over me head. Oh ffs. Packs in the way. Look at those bastard clouds coming in, hope he hurries up. Think I need a dump. Thwack! F*ck me that hurt, Thwack, if he knocks one more bit of ice down I’m gonna ram this ice axe up his arse! Thwack! BASTARD! Need to swap legs, nope that won’t work, I’ll just turn around, f*cking pack’s in the way again, f*ck it, I’ll just take the pain. WHAT IS HE F*CKIN DOING? He’s stopped now, must be there, oh, moving again, Christ it’s just a stroll, get the f*ck on with it! Hands are getting cold now. Toes are getting cold. Those clouds are moving in. Wonder what time it is? Was that SAFE? WHAT? Can’t see him. Was that two tugs? He must be there by now. I’ll start stripping the belay….. SAFE! Oh well, I heard it that time. OFF BELAY! Wait, WAIT! F*CKIN WAIT WILL YA! SLACK! Ok, get this nut out. Come ooonnnnn yooooo baaaastaaard! There. Take in, TAKE IN, TAKE F*CKIN IN!
CLIMBING! ……………………………….Christ, this is hard.

Ben Nevis 3rd April

2010-04-03T22:27:00.002+01:00

Busy at the CIC last night.
Awoke this morning to poor visibility and snow.
Rubicon Wall was are planned route, but we were beat to it.
So we decided on Left Edge Route V,5***
Great route if a little time consuming!

Top couple of days on the Ben.

Teams in Point 5

Ben Nevis 2nd April

2010-04-02T21:23:00.001+01:00

It was 02:30 this morning when we arrived at the CIC Hut.
Blow out on the A82, beer with Paul and Lindsay, and then a 1h 25m walk in with 2 full rucksacks took it's toll on Me and Nathan.

After 4hrs sleep and numerous cups of tea we headed for Observatory Buttress V,5***
Liam joined us having stayed in his Motor home last night.

Perfect neve and ice made for a easy and enjoyable ascent of Observatory. Topping out with fantastic views right over to Skye.

As we descended No4 Gully, Liam noticed that the not often in condition Diana V,5** looked climbable.
So with some carefull avalanche avoidance, we got to the base of Diana.
A excellent steep ice chimney-gully leads to the thin ice slabs. One of the best grade V's I've done on the Ben.

Paul and Lindsay had climbed Riders on the Storm VI,5***

Back to the CIC for some needed food, wine and sleep.

Scottish winter at it's best.

2010-03-29T10:14:00.001+01:00

Scottish Icetrip - English from Petzl-sport on Vimeo.

Ben Nevis 28th March

2010-03-28T22:35:00.005+01:00

Busy day on Indicator wall. teams on most of the popular routes. Also teams on Smiths, Tower Ridge, Tower Scoop and many more.
Me Paul and Steve climbed Albatross VI,5 ****
Fantastic thin face ice climbing. It was hard to wipe the smile off my face, even with spindrift pouring down the face on the last pitch.
Heavy snow and white out conditions on top.

What a day.

Scafell 7th March

2010-03-07T22:29:00.006Z

Another stunning day in the Lakes.
Very cold this morning with bullet proof Neve, made for a easy walk-in.

Me and Nathan were the 3rd team on Botterill's Slab VI,7 *** this morning.

One of the best routes I've ever climbed.

Chamonix next week.

Photo courtsey of Nick

Dove Crag (Grasmoor) 28th Feb

2010-02-28T21:27:00.005Z

Busy on Dove Crag today. 3 teams were waiting at the base of Dove Crag Gully IV/V,4***
So Me Andy and Steve missed the first pitch and climbed easier ground to the second one. The main ice pitch was in great condition, then another 2 easier ones had us on the top.
We dropped back down and did the chimney start to Dove Crag Gully which leads to a open basin. From here we did Chicken out V,5 ***

Nathan and Steve also did these routes.

Great Weekend

Is it Friday yet......

Dove Crag 27th Feb

2010-02-27T19:05:00.005Z

The base of Inaccessible Gully V,5 *** was thawing fast in the Sun this morning.
Having visited the foot of this climb on previous occasions over the years, a little running water wasn't going to put me off.
I climbed with Steve, whilst Nathan and Andy followed close behind.
The ice was detached where you climb into the hanging gully, so it was pretty exciting stuff.
Up to the huge chockstone and some excellent tooling moves over this then onto easier ground.

Brilliant route and weather.

Aonach Dubh West Face 19th Feb

2010-02-19T23:02:00.005Z

Another fantastic day with views right across to Isle of Skye and beyond from the west face of Aonach Dubh.
Late start this morning for a easy day in No.6 Gully IV,4 ***
First pitch is missing but we mixed climbed are way up it, then traversed into the second pitch where the ice was much thicker. Top pitches were in great condition.
Great easy accessible route, only 1 hr walk in.

Lakes action on Sunday hopefully.

Liathach 18th Feb

2010-02-18T21:59:00.006Z

Arrived in Kinlochewe 15 Min's to late last night! last bar meal serving was 8 pm
Only available food was at the very lavish and outrageously priced TORRIDON Me and scott didn't feel very comfortable sitting in this exclusive restaurant with are climbing togs and hoodies on. Cracking food mind.

Set of walking at 05:30 this morning. 3hrs later and we were the first team into the stunning Coireag Dubh Mor on Liathach.
Poacher's Fall V,5*** was our aim and what a route it is. 85 deg ice and steep unprotectable chimney made for exciting climbing. I found this by far the hardest grade 5 I've done, but loved every minute of it.
Standing on the top of Liathach with fantastic views was amazing.

We were back to the car for 17:30 then we drove to Fort William for Chips and Beer.

What a day.

Creag Meagaidh 14th Feb

2010-02-14T21:21:00.002Z

Me and Nathan had a soggy walk up to the inner coire this morning.
But by the time we had geared up the rain/snow had stopped, and we were flogging our way to the base of The Pumpkin V,4 ****
I got the ball rolling on the first pitch by climbing 63m on our 60m ropes!
By stretching out each pitch we topped out with 5 brilliant pitches done.

Another 4 star route ticked this season.

Roll on Wednesday, for some more Scottish action.

Helvellyn 7th Feb

2010-02-07T22:41:00.001Z

We had a look at Brown Cove Crags this morning, but it was looking pretty black.
So up Central gully 1 and over to Red Tarn Cove area.
The 4 of us followed each other about all day. (Me and Steve. Karl and Graham) We got started on Blade Runner IV then Viking Buttress left hand IV,5 and finished with a solo of V corner III.

Top day out.

Scafell 31st Jan

2010-01-31T21:35:00.002Z

Early start this morning. Me and Scott drove to the end of Wast Water and met up with Liam.
Plenty of people climbing on Scafell Crag today. Sunny, no wind and -4 deg
We had to wait a while on Pisgah Buttress Direct V,5 *** with two other teams above us.
But it was well worth the wait for this excellent route.

Top day out.

Creag Meagaidh 24th Jan

2010-01-24T23:00:00.000Z

With reports of Creag Meagaidh being busy during Saturday, we set our alarms for an un-welcome 04:30 start this morning! As it turned out, me and Liam were the first people on the hill.

Light snow and no wind -3 at 900M.

Having visited the foot of Smith's Gully V,5 **** on two previous occasions, I was determined we'd get up it today! The first pitch looked in good nic, but it turned out to be very cruddy.

Pitches 2 + 3 weren't any better, and we had a real fight with some of the cruddy, un-protectable sections.

The 4th pitch (crux) turned out to be the easiest of them all.

Got to be the best Scottish Gully I have ever done.

Brilliant Day.

Weardale Boarding 10th Jan

2010-01-10T20:31:00.003Z

Me and John had another great day at Swinhope. Weather was nice and clear, but the winds were pretty stiff.

Lifts were busy, so after a few runs we hiked our way in search of some steep, off-piste gullys in the distance; nice lines but the wind was a killer. Due to the high winds, the access road got covered in snow drifts, so it took me 2hr 50 mins to get home, normally a journey of 45 mins!!

Karl and Graham report having a good but windy day in the lakes. Staying low, they Climbed Launchy Gill III *** then moved onto Shoulthwaite Gill V 4 **
Apparently Graham fell through the Ice into the stream, chest deep!! Brrrrrr. I wish I'd been there to witness it Graham (snigger)

Devils Kitchen (Cwm Idwal) 09 Jan

2010-01-09T22:32:00.004Z

What goes up must come down, that included people, ice axes, screws and even a leaders rope!! It was Manic at Devils Kitchen today. There must have been 100+ people climbing today.
Me and Steve got started with South Gully IV,5 *** nice route and entertaining watching people F@%K up in every manner.
John and Glenn did the Nameless stream III
We then got onto the excellent Devils Kitchen IV,5/6 ***

On our way out, I witnessed a guy soloing between 4 teams on The Ramp III * He fell off and some how ended up entangled in another teams rope after falling about 15M. Lucky guy!
Heading back there soon, but it will be a week day.

Beinn Udlaidh 3rd Jan

2010-01-03T22:04:00.002Z

-13°C at Crianlarich this morning... Electronic handbrakes are gash !! especially in these low temps.
After freeing frozen brakes, we drove to Bridge of Orchy, then headed down the single track to Glen Orchy.
The west doesn't have much snow for now, so our walk into Beinn Udlaidh was easy going. Excellent sunrise.

Me John and Scott did 3 excellent routes with good ice.

Quartzvein Scoop IV 4 ***
Peter Pan Direct V 5 **
South Gully of The Black Wall IV 4 **

Nathan and Steve did :-

Peter Pan Direct V 5 **
Quartzvein Scoop IV 4 ***

Finished our last route with a great sunset.

Another fantastic day to remember.

Swinhope Boarding 31st Dec

2009-12-31T18:43:00.005Z

More fresh powder at Swinhope today. Excellent off piste, and almost had the place to ourselves, with only about 20 people there.
Road had just been cleared of snow when I drove over the top of Edmondbyers Moor.

Bowfell 29th Dec

2009-12-29T23:20:00.000Z

We had a walk up to the Bowfell area this morning. The weather started good, but it soon deteriorated with gale force winds.
So finished off with a walk down to Hell Gill.. but no ice.

Raven Crag 28th Dec

2009-12-28T23:44:00.000Z

Lots of snow in the lakes, but surprisingly very little to climb.
6 of us walked into Raven Crag for a look at Raven Crag Gully III ***
With just enough rotten ice and unconsolidated snow we all managed to get up.

Stunning views made it worth being out, what ever we did.

Stopped at John's Cottage to round off a top day out.

Weardale Boarding 26th Dec

2009-12-26T17:48:00.003Z

Joined the Weardale club today, and its been worth every penny (£35) for a season pass - Bargain.
The button tows are a bit exciting, but they have some excellent varied terrain. Pisted runs, gullys and a few natural kickers etc.

How it looks on a sunny day!

John having a lazy boxing day!

The Club House

View - top of the first button lift

John off a kicker

John - top of 2nd lift

View - up first lift

Gorms 24th Dec

2009-12-24T21:30:00.003Z

Dashed up to Aviemore last night, in the hope of some fresh powder.

Very cold night. -12°C south of Drumochter on the drive up, but warmer at the Cairngorm car park -6°C

On the slopes at 08:30 this morning. From the top I could see into Coire an t'Sneachda and everything looks buried in snow. Think any good climbing will be out west for now.
After a number of runs on the White Lady, M1 and Traverse I started to get bored, so spent the rest of the day off piste in excellent powder down the M2 and east wall.

-9°C south of Aviemore at 15:00 on the way home.

Lets hope for some fat Creag Meagaidh and Nevis Ice.

Gable Crag 20th Dec

2009-12-20T22:57:00.000Z

With heavy snow in the east on Saturday afternoon, our trip over to Borrowdale took (3hrs) twice as long as usual.
After a few beers in the Scafell Hotel we headed up Honister pass in icy conditions, and parked at the mine for the night.

Sunday morning started clear and cold. But by 8am the snow and wind had started.
By the time we reached Gable a couple of inches of snow had fallen.
We decided to give Engineers Slab VI 7 *** a go. Nathan taking the first pitch, but with worsening weather and spin drift covering every crack and ledge he cleared, we decided to call it a day.
At least 4/5 inches of snow had fallen in the few hrs we were up there, with drifting on the way out of 2/3 ft.

The Crux of the day was getting the car back down Honister Pass. Fortunately we had the snow chains, but it was still scary on the steep bits, with a deep ravine to our right.

Top day out. Back out later this week.

Borrowdale 13th Dec

2009-12-13T18:51:00.004Z

Coffee and mince pies at the Borrowdale Hotel this morning, before heading up to a dry Shepherd's Crag.
Had the crag to ourselves until late afternoon. Me and Graham got started on Black Icicle E1 Karl and John started on Monolith Crack HVS.

Routes climbed :-

Black Icicle E1 **
Monolith Crack HVS **
Thin Air HVS *
Black Sheep E2 **

Excellent day

Ben Nevis 7th Dec

2009-12-07T22:55:00.000Z

The walk up the Allt a' Mhuilinn was hard this morning, due to drinking way to much beer after Saturdays comp. I felt sick and Steve actually was.
Upon reaching the CIC hut, neither of us felt much better, so hopes of a hard route went out of the window.
We headed for Ledge Route and it turned out to be in good nick.

Great day.

STS Comp 6th Dec

2009-12-06T19:31:00.000Z

7 of us travelled to Kinlochleven on Friday night, for the last round of the tooling series.
It was a great day with some good problems.
I finished 2nd on the day and 2nd overall in the vets series.
Nathan finished 2nd overall in the adults series.

Roll on the 2010 series.

STS Comp 21st Nov

2009-11-21T23:10:00.000Z

Me Steve and Nathan traveled to Aviemore for the 4th round of the tooling comp.
Our time slot was 13:30 but no sooner had we started, than the rain began...
Great set of problems were set on the two granite towers at the lodge.
Nathan made the final and finished a excellent 2nd.
I was informed after that an error had been made, and I too should have been in the finals. I was awarded 3rd place. Pretty annoyed I had made a 550 mile round trip for someone to make a mistake with my score.

STS Comp 7th Nov

2009-11-07T23:18:00.001Z

Aviemore was our destination this weekend, for the 3rd round of the tooling comp.
Me Nathan and Steve had a excellent time on the wild problems set by the guys at ED.
I made it into the final and finished 3rd.

More training needed.

Roll on to the next round.

New Toy

2009-10-31T23:11:00.004Z

Being used to the manual settings on my Canon G series, hasn't helped me much with my new DSLR. Think it'll take me a while...

Stanage 30th Oct

2009-10-30T22:37:00.001Z

Great afternoon at Stanage with Steve.

Crack and Corner HVD 4b ***
Innominate / Harding's Super Direct HVS 5a ***
The Mississippi Buttress Direct VS 4c ***
The Right Unconquerable HVS 5a ***

STS Comp 24th Oct

2009-10-24T21:39:00.001+01:00

My first visit to Ratho for the second round of the Scottish tooling series.
Some great, but hard routes. Nathan narrowly missed the final, finishing in 4th place and I was 2nd in Qualifying.
I finished 2nd in the Final.
Steve had a good but tough time in his first tooling event, managing to slice open his finger on razor sharp Nomics!

Excellent day.

STS Comp 03 Oct

2009-10-03T22:03:00.001+01:00

Entered the tooling comp at Dundee today.
Enjoyable day with some good problems.
Nathan had a great day, finishing 1st in the qualifying and 3rd in the final.
I was a poor 4th in the Seniors

Next round at Ratho Edinburgh on the 24th

Raven Crag Thirlmere 27th Sept

2009-09-27T19:44:00.000+01:00

Me and John climbed at Raven Crag today. Damp start, but improved after a hour or so.

4 other teams there.

Totalitarian E1 5c ***

Brilliant route and Crag.

Esk Buttress (Dow Crag) 26th Sept

2009-09-26T12:13:00.001+01:00

Me and John climbed on Esk Buttress today.
Boggy approach, but fantastic weather and Climbing.

The Red Edge HVS 5a ***
Central Pillar E2 5b ***

Excellent day out.

Giggleswick South 25th Sept

2009-09-25T12:04:00.001+01:00

Me John and Steve climbed 6 routes at the Sector Swan area today.
Cool but dry...Just!

Good day.

High Crag 20th Sept

2009-09-20T21:36:00.008+01:00

Me Karl and Steve Climbed 5 routes at High Crag today.

The Filistine E1 5b ***
Samson HVS 5a **
Foul Play HVS 5b **
Executioners Song E3 6a ***
Indecent Obsession E3 6a ***

Glenn and Sian climbed

Artefact MVS **

Excellent Day.

Moss and Yew crags 13th Sept

2009-09-13T21:38:00.007+01:00

Today was spent in Honister Pass.
Me Charlotte and Karl climbed 2 routes at Moss Crag.
Flake Out E1 ***
Arrest Arete E2 **

Then we visited the sunny side of the valley, and did 2 routes at Yew Crags.
Backlash E1 *
Hearth Direct E2 ***

Excellent day.

Souter Sea Stack 11th Sept

2009-09-11T21:40:00.004+01:00

Fast Castle was excellent today.

Me and Steve climbed Souter Ordinary Route HVS 5a ** and what I believe to be Wallnut E3 5c ***
I must purchase a guide book before returning!