I haven't blogged this year. Mainly due to the fact I haven't done a lot that I figured was worth blogging about. After a bit of headpointing to get going, I've been mainly climbing for myself - onsight and as i'm a poor onsighter this doesn't really stand out from the crowd... No significant Moor's FA's this time around and with maybe only a couple of noteworthy repeats.
However, I'm going to start blogging again I think. I've always tried to broadcast what i'm up to - as I know folks like to see what other people are up to and I usually get a video or two of interesting routes in the North of England. I like to get inspired by what others do, so this is giving back to the same community.
I'll attack the year chronologically which started with a Spring visit to Eavestone to have a 'look' at what was there and if there were any obvious gaps. I think there are. I filled one with a direct start to Dragonslayer (E5 6a **) which ramps the tech grade up to 6c, or Font 7a. The route doesn't really need a direct start, indeed it is far more sustained and 'traddy' to climb it in from the left - however the direct start was just asking to be climbed and fortunately there is an obvious jug from which to jump off, or decide to carry on. I headpoint soloed it in terms of style.
https://www.facebook.com/david.warburton.946/videos/vb.878555388/10155560541645389/?type=3&theater - Dragonslayer Direct boulder problem
Another quick headpoint was Mark Rankines addition to Danby Crag, back home on the Moors. Repeating a route (or highball) at Danby, put up by someone not from the Moors, was a strange and wierd experience. The enticing slab that Matt and Sam had originally cleaned but subsequently never got around to climbing was bone dry in the early summer and went at E5 6c/Font 7a+ **. Hopefully it retains some sort of condition as it adds to the plethora of perfect boulder problems, highballs and routes at Danby which would be happy anywhere.
I've climbed a lot with a new partner this year. Katie. This has seen some great trips to crags and areas i'd wanted to get to but not bothered with. The highlight was a 3 day trip north of the border to Reiff, Sheigra and the Old Man of Stoer. We travelled up to the Lochinver Climbing Festival - which was a great little festival which i'm hopeful will grow year on year. Katie giving a talk about geology, I was there to share the driving and do some climbing. I'd always fancied Reiff and Sheigra. They look incredible. 3 days was just enough to get a few routes in, which probably all end up in my top 20 routes i've done. Crack of Desire (True Finish) E4 6a ***, Swirls E4 6a *** and the Old Man of Stoer VS 5a will all survive in my memory for a long time yet, for different reasons. CoD was totally wet, I thought it was just a bit of coastal ming at the start but it just kept going and I just kept fighting and somehow topped out.
Katie also took me to her stomping ground in Lancashire. Again, i'd always fancied nipping across to Wilton/Anglezarke etc etc but never got the psyche or partners. A day ticking off the classics at Wilton was a highlight for me, The Swine E3 6a**, Wilton Wall E3 5c *** and Max E3 5c ** was enough to leave me wanting to get back for more - with a better guide which actually has some of the starred 'mid E grade' lines which looked very good. I'm also pretty interested in giving Pigs on the Wing E5 6b *** a bosh as it looked 'do-able' ground up to me and is meant to be a good one.
Back to the Yorkshire Scene. A summer headpoint ascent of Sutty's E6 * Stonequest at Chevin and a 're-discovery' of an arete also at Chevin were both notable. I say rediscovery, apparently its been climbed before but I'm somewhat mystified as the climbing on both sides of the arete is good - well worth inclusion in a guidebook and much better than some of the shite that makes its way into them - and also the fact the top had a soil, rock and grass cornice which makes me think it was never topped out. Anywho, I'll only be annoyed if it gets forgotten about as its a beautiful short solo feature.
Chevin Arete from Dave Warburton on Vimeo.
With Franco living in Newcastle and spending all of his free time working on his Key Heugh project, It was nice to meet up back on the Moors to a foggy, damp and disappointing day at Cringle Crag. The day was a success however with a headpoint FA of the pocketed prow which forms the right arete of Up From the Sky's. A tricky one to grade - 6a/b climbing far above the ground but with a potential swing into the wall below and with a 0.125 or whatever the smallest tricam is, i'm not convinced its any easier than E4... We gave it a low in the grade E5 as it felt pretty tricky - though climbing green rock in thick mist was probably a poor idea in retrospect.
Cringle Crag E5 6b from Dave Warburton on Vimeo.
Katie and I squeezed in a 6 day trip to Kalymnos as well, which was great. Better than I expected. The highlight of the trip was Katie fighting up a flash of the tufa-blob-perfection that is KalyNikla 6b *** which was brilliant. I did a lot of onsight 7a-7b which was I very happy with but I really need to start redpointing sport routes in the 7c and above sort of grade range....
The Late Summer and then Autumn approached but with no real 'big ticks' - just pleasant experiences on nice routes in the Lakes, Yorkshire and the Peak. Armalite E4 6a**, Porcupine E3 6a*, Deep Pre-Meditated Lines E4 6b*, The Lady E4 6c **, Deathly Silence E4/5 6b, Arrie's Ook E4 6a **, Mighty Oak E3 6a **, Scar Wall E5 6a *, Autumn Wall E4 6a **.
Scar Wall E5 6b*, Baildon Bank from Dave Warburton on Vimeo.
My next blog should be more focussed. I'm considering what I want to do, what I want to achieve and what I feel I 'need' to do on the Moors for reasons beyond just my own climbing enjoyment.
However, I'm going to start blogging again I think. I've always tried to broadcast what i'm up to - as I know folks like to see what other people are up to and I usually get a video or two of interesting routes in the North of England. I like to get inspired by what others do, so this is giving back to the same community.
I'll attack the year chronologically which started with a Spring visit to Eavestone to have a 'look' at what was there and if there were any obvious gaps. I think there are. I filled one with a direct start to Dragonslayer (E5 6a **) which ramps the tech grade up to 6c, or Font 7a. The route doesn't really need a direct start, indeed it is far more sustained and 'traddy' to climb it in from the left - however the direct start was just asking to be climbed and fortunately there is an obvious jug from which to jump off, or decide to carry on. I headpoint soloed it in terms of style.
https://www.facebook.com/david.warburton.946/videos/vb.878555388/10155560541645389/?type=3&theater - Dragonslayer Direct boulder problem
Another quick headpoint was Mark Rankines addition to Danby Crag, back home on the Moors. Repeating a route (or highball) at Danby, put up by someone not from the Moors, was a strange and wierd experience. The enticing slab that Matt and Sam had originally cleaned but subsequently never got around to climbing was bone dry in the early summer and went at E5 6c/Font 7a+ **. Hopefully it retains some sort of condition as it adds to the plethora of perfect boulder problems, highballs and routes at Danby which would be happy anywhere.
I've climbed a lot with a new partner this year. Katie. This has seen some great trips to crags and areas i'd wanted to get to but not bothered with. The highlight was a 3 day trip north of the border to Reiff, Sheigra and the Old Man of Stoer. We travelled up to the Lochinver Climbing Festival - which was a great little festival which i'm hopeful will grow year on year. Katie giving a talk about geology, I was there to share the driving and do some climbing. I'd always fancied Reiff and Sheigra. They look incredible. 3 days was just enough to get a few routes in, which probably all end up in my top 20 routes i've done. Crack of Desire (True Finish) E4 6a ***, Swirls E4 6a *** and the Old Man of Stoer VS 5a will all survive in my memory for a long time yet, for different reasons. CoD was totally wet, I thought it was just a bit of coastal ming at the start but it just kept going and I just kept fighting and somehow topped out.
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| Stoer |
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| Katie the swimmer! |
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| A proper Scottish day out |
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| A great place to practice your first Tyrolean... |
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| Crack of Desire |
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| Swirl |
Katie also took me to her stomping ground in Lancashire. Again, i'd always fancied nipping across to Wilton/Anglezarke etc etc but never got the psyche or partners. A day ticking off the classics at Wilton was a highlight for me, The Swine E3 6a**, Wilton Wall E3 5c *** and Max E3 5c ** was enough to leave me wanting to get back for more - with a better guide which actually has some of the starred 'mid E grade' lines which looked very good. I'm also pretty interested in giving Pigs on the Wing E5 6b *** a bosh as it looked 'do-able' ground up to me and is meant to be a good one.
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| Wilton Wall |
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| The Swine |
With Franco living in Newcastle and spending all of his free time working on his Key Heugh project, It was nice to meet up back on the Moors to a foggy, damp and disappointing day at Cringle Crag. The day was a success however with a headpoint FA of the pocketed prow which forms the right arete of Up From the Sky's. A tricky one to grade - 6a/b climbing far above the ground but with a potential swing into the wall below and with a 0.125 or whatever the smallest tricam is, i'm not convinced its any easier than E4... We gave it a low in the grade E5 as it felt pretty tricky - though climbing green rock in thick mist was probably a poor idea in retrospect.
Cringle Crag E5 6b from Dave Warburton on Vimeo.
Katie and I squeezed in a 6 day trip to Kalymnos as well, which was great. Better than I expected. The highlight of the trip was Katie fighting up a flash of the tufa-blob-perfection that is KalyNikla 6b *** which was brilliant. I did a lot of onsight 7a-7b which was I very happy with but I really need to start redpointing sport routes in the 7c and above sort of grade range....
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| Katie walking a great 6b |
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| KalyNikla - tufa perfection |
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| 7a |
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| lowering off a 7a |
The Late Summer and then Autumn approached but with no real 'big ticks' - just pleasant experiences on nice routes in the Lakes, Yorkshire and the Peak. Armalite E4 6a**, Porcupine E3 6a*, Deep Pre-Meditated Lines E4 6b*, The Lady E4 6c **, Deathly Silence E4/5 6b, Arrie's Ook E4 6a **, Mighty Oak E3 6a **, Scar Wall E5 6a *, Autumn Wall E4 6a **.
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| Moorland bouldering |
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| Moorland bouldering x2 |
Scar Wall E5 6b*, Baildon Bank from Dave Warburton on Vimeo.
My next blog should be more focussed. I'm considering what I want to do, what I want to achieve and what I feel I 'need' to do on the Moors for reasons beyond just my own climbing enjoyment.
