...but it does mean we have a good excuse to do some steep bolted limestone redpointing.
Off to Rubicon Wall in Water-Cum-Jolly dale, we drove, i had already had one day working on the route 'Rubicon' (f7A+), i arrived, started clipsticking up it, when i look down, and think back if you will, to the day i had at Stanage in the snow (earlier in the blog), I met a guy on the train and walked to the crag with him, we there he was. what a fluke, totally by chance, Luke Holmes had come to the same crag on the same day, to to the same 'effin' route as me, what are the chances?
So anyway, i topropes it a few times, to make sure i could still do the moves, and it was dry and clean. Luckily, it overhangs, and has trees which keep the top section dry, as it was rain quite heavily at times. All was good.
Quickdraws in place, and sequence memorised, i set off on the lead. quickly climbing the 6A+ wall at the base. Undercut fingerlock with left hand, reach round the quickraw with my right, i slapped up with my left, and then matched. clipped the next 'draw. the next move was hard, but not the crux. cross-over to a crimp with my right hand, throw my right heel up, level with my chest, left hand level with my right, and pop again to a thin pocket, bounce, and throw for a flat hold with my right. with my feet swinging off, it feel great, again i clip. take a rest, then reach out to a tiny intermediate crimp, before deadpointing rightwards, now, the crux, a lock-off on the crimp, and reach to a juggy side-pull. i have done it i thought to my self, pumped out of my face, i launch up for the jug on the lip, without a thought of footwork, and i fall, i turn round after a 3metre fall to see proberbly 15 of the dreaded ramblers, stood, hands over eyes, thinking i was dead...
the next time all went smoothly and i had lead my first f7A+.
Monday, 13 July 2009
The start of summer...kind of.
Me and my dad headed out to Stanage Popular end for the day on 11th April, and as we set off the cloud came over, but we were at the carpark by that time. so we wandered up, hopefully to Robin Hood Right Hand Buttress. between the showers we managed a good selection of three star routes, including: Hargreaves Original Route (VS 4c), Robin Hood's Right-hand Buttress Direct (HS 4a) the splitter crack line of the popular end, easily definable from the road, and Bishops Route (S 4a). Just as we started packing up, we hear and then see the Mountain Rescue helicopter, which was worrying abut interesting, on arrival of the carpark, the hilicopter is parked (or landed...) in the field nextdoor, near this sign:
It turns out a climber had his abseil anchors come out whilst he was just going over the edge of Mississippi Butress.That was the first day of a week aff school, so on that wednesday i arranged to get a lift to Hathersage with my mum and pick Ellie Boylan up and drop us both off at the bolt clipping crag, Horseshoe Quarry. But not after a stop in Outside for bags of chalk, one for me and one for Liam Copley, the owner of www.red-tips.com, who was going to come and give Ellie her red tips shirt on his way to Rubicon. Whilst he went somewhere (proberbly to look at a pebble, or as he calls them boulders) we hid his mat halfway up the cliff.
Me and Ellie had a very sucessful day, in between the showers of heavy rain.
A few wednesdays later, 'the Wednesday Gang' decided a trip to Windgather Rocks was in order. Although there isnt much i can push myself on, there is an awful lot of solo-able short routes. so i did that. and only led one route all night, 'Portfolio' (HVS 5b), my hardest onsight to date.
BMC Leading Ladder Final
So then, on the 6th April 2009 was the national finals of the BMC Leading Ladder, a competiton that had been happening all winter, i had qualified for the finals in 6th out of 10 places.
It was held at 'The Foundry Climbing Centre' and they did a good job of hosting it too, a big thumbs up to them, due to the massive number of people there, and the awesome route setting.
I onsighted all the routes upto the f6C which i fell off twice then gave up as it was just too steep and hard, at the end of an already long day.
I came 4th in the end. Not bad.
It was held at 'The Foundry Climbing Centre' and they did a good job of hosting it too, a big thumbs up to them, due to the massive number of people there, and the awesome route setting.
I onsighted all the routes upto the f6C which i fell off twice then gave up as it was just too steep and hard, at the end of an already long day.
I came 4th in the end. Not bad.
From Bowderstone to April...
F*ck me, I've not been on here for ages.
Since getting back from the lakes, i have been to: Froggatt with Ellie Boylan; went bouldering at Stanage Plantation with Jonny Davis; went exploring new problems on Cown Edge Rocks with Adam Bridges and had an evening at Hobson Moor Quarry with the Wednesday gang (DanDan, Hugh, Gareth, Lindsey and occasionally Dave, Ben and Caroline aswell).
Firstly, my trip to Froggatt with Ellie. It started at Chinley train station (as most of my trips do) at 9:12AM this time, for the train to Hathersage, where I met Ellie Boylan for the first time on the train. I had arranged to meet her through www.red-tips.com, we decided she would get on at Hathersage, and find me on the train, where we would both depard at the next stop, Bamford. That all worked a treat, so up the hill we went, with rucksacks on our backs, through the trees, and finally over the road to the crag. We started off with me leading 'Trapeze' (VDiff), and whilst sat on top, belaying Ellie up, i decided that i we would do no more leading as it was just too cold and windy up the top. So i dropped a top rope down 'Long John's Slab' which goes at E3 5c, i, much to my surprise, flashed that, after hearing a shout from the next route: "is the your blood on this wire?" this knocked my confidence a little as it was a route that needed to be soloed as there was no gear. Next we walked down to the infamous 'Three Pebble Slab' (HVS/E0/E1 depending on who you listen to)which Ellie had her eye on, so up the toprope went, and just as we were de-rigging that, i nice guy, called Mark decided he would lead it, so i fiddled with the set up slightly, and got on abseil, with camera in hand. Here's the result. Later, we sat at the bottom of the crag, eating lunch, as you do, when a woman, who would have fitted in the film 'The Omen' perfectly stood maybe 1/2 a mile away,at the top of Curbar Edge, waved, so we waved back to her, totally un aware who she was. anyway, 10 mins later, Ellie says, "SHIT, there's that woman we waved to...", oh, how we tried so hard not to laugh...! After lunch we toproped another route called 'Slab Recess Direct' (HS 4c). Finally Ellie decided it was time for her first ever trad lead, which went swimmingly. Video here. The route was, 'Nursery Slab' (Mod). By this time we were getting cold, so we trooped back of down the hill, and got to the train station 30 mins before the train arrived...ahh, well, it was a good day.
Two weekends later (22nd March) i decided i wanted to go and boulder at Stanage Plantation, so of i went, all on my ownsome, from Hathersage train station nice and early as usual. I got my shoes on, did a few problems, looked up, to see Jonny Davis, one of James Oswald's friends thst works at Awesome Walls Climbing Centre, i had talked to him a few times, so we agree at do a bit of bouldering together, one of the more notable problems i sent was Delivarete sit start (V4), a classic arete to the right of the even more classic dyno problem, Deliverance (V8/9). And that was the end of that day.
So then, i finish school at 2:25PM on Fridays, so said to Adam Bridges, a friend from school who climbs a little bit, "D'ya wanna go check out this new bouldering crag i found?", of couse he did. so 2:25 came round, we speed walk to my house, dive inside, get changed, grab the bouldering mat, and dissapear up the 35mins aproach from my house. when we arrive, it bloody windy, so climb whilst wearing gore-tex's we did, working along the edge made about 25 first ascents of problems for VB-V4.
Finally, we managed to get to Hobson Moor Quarry on a Wednesday, with Dan, Gareth and Hugh. I repeated stuff i had done before, and onsighted 'Gideonite' a HVS 5a coner crack.
Since getting back from the lakes, i have been to: Froggatt with Ellie Boylan; went bouldering at Stanage Plantation with Jonny Davis; went exploring new problems on Cown Edge Rocks with Adam Bridges and had an evening at Hobson Moor Quarry with the Wednesday gang (DanDan, Hugh, Gareth, Lindsey and occasionally Dave, Ben and Caroline aswell).
Firstly, my trip to Froggatt with Ellie. It started at Chinley train station (as most of my trips do) at 9:12AM this time, for the train to Hathersage, where I met Ellie Boylan for the first time on the train. I had arranged to meet her through www.red-tips.com, we decided she would get on at Hathersage, and find me on the train, where we would both depard at the next stop, Bamford. That all worked a treat, so up the hill we went, with rucksacks on our backs, through the trees, and finally over the road to the crag. We started off with me leading 'Trapeze' (VDiff), and whilst sat on top, belaying Ellie up, i decided that i we would do no more leading as it was just too cold and windy up the top. So i dropped a top rope down 'Long John's Slab' which goes at E3 5c, i, much to my surprise, flashed that, after hearing a shout from the next route: "is the your blood on this wire?" this knocked my confidence a little as it was a route that needed to be soloed as there was no gear. Next we walked down to the infamous 'Three Pebble Slab' (HVS/E0/E1 depending on who you listen to)which Ellie had her eye on, so up the toprope went, and just as we were de-rigging that, i nice guy, called Mark decided he would lead it, so i fiddled with the set up slightly, and got on abseil, with camera in hand. Here's the result. Later, we sat at the bottom of the crag, eating lunch, as you do, when a woman, who would have fitted in the film 'The Omen' perfectly stood maybe 1/2 a mile away,at the top of Curbar Edge, waved, so we waved back to her, totally un aware who she was. anyway, 10 mins later, Ellie says, "SHIT, there's that woman we waved to...", oh, how we tried so hard not to laugh...! After lunch we toproped another route called 'Slab Recess Direct' (HS 4c). Finally Ellie decided it was time for her first ever trad lead, which went swimmingly. Video here. The route was, 'Nursery Slab' (Mod). By this time we were getting cold, so we trooped back of down the hill, and got to the train station 30 mins before the train arrived...ahh, well, it was a good day.
Two weekends later (22nd March) i decided i wanted to go and boulder at Stanage Plantation, so of i went, all on my ownsome, from Hathersage train station nice and early as usual. I got my shoes on, did a few problems, looked up, to see Jonny Davis, one of James Oswald's friends thst works at Awesome Walls Climbing Centre, i had talked to him a few times, so we agree at do a bit of bouldering together, one of the more notable problems i sent was Delivarete sit start (V4), a classic arete to the right of the even more classic dyno problem, Deliverance (V8/9). And that was the end of that day.
So then, i finish school at 2:25PM on Fridays, so said to Adam Bridges, a friend from school who climbs a little bit, "D'ya wanna go check out this new bouldering crag i found?", of couse he did. so 2:25 came round, we speed walk to my house, dive inside, get changed, grab the bouldering mat, and dissapear up the 35mins aproach from my house. when we arrive, it bloody windy, so climb whilst wearing gore-tex's we did, working along the edge made about 25 first ascents of problems for VB-V4.
Finally, we managed to get to Hobson Moor Quarry on a Wednesday, with Dan, Gareth and Hugh. I repeated stuff i had done before, and onsighted 'Gideonite' a HVS 5a coner crack.
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