Spring Comes Early.

(For a day!) The weather had been exceptionally windy, which was a blessing in disguise because although there had been damage to property and roads closed due to falling debris and toppled lorries, the crags were bone dry. Come sunday, even the wind had subsided, so we decided to travel to the Wainstones, which we found were in perfect condition.

I had some gremlins to settle, mostly the boulder problems i had not paid enough attention to, namely Pebble Climb V3. Got the sequence in a couple of goes and finished it, i was happy. Then decided to go after another V3, with Redhead's Roof however, this is somewhat more difficult but perhaps i just didn't get the sequence, i reckon probably V4.

Staring up at the Crag, i realised that it wasn't Park Nab and that these routes were more serious, lines such as Sesame and East Sphinx Variant, that i had thought about on the drive, as being "Easy ticks" were not going to fall today, due to a lack of "high" climbing over the winter period.

Franco, nails the Sphinx Direct E3 6a.
Indeed, i did very little for such a great day, because besides the boulder problems and a good tick of 'North Route' up the Needle (something i had wanted for a year!) that was it for my climbing, the rest of the time i spent watching Ian violate the Sphinx as i took photos...

Ian, makes the crux move ofWest Sphinx Direct E3 5b.

However, it was good to revisit the crag and know that there is A LOT for me there yet, something i thought could probably be wrapped up in a couple of trips.

Really looking forward to all that the spring brings, especially the longer nights! Should mean the smaller crags around us that cannot supply a full days climbing, should be used to aid the progression and the routes that we have been unable to do, such as the E3 Waves Within at Camp Hill, should probably be climbed. Bring on Spring and the day the clocks change!