Old Haunts

Franco and I returned to Captain Cook crags, to visit the areas we had previously not paid attention to, such as the 'greener' end of Cooks Quarry and also it would be my first visit to Cockshaw hill, reputed to have the worst rock quality of any crag in the guide/the Moors.

We climbed for a good 2 hours on 'The Nose' which has a good concentration of harder routes which are bold in character, being a bit too big to solo but with no gear meaning a lead is out of the question really. We managed to gibber up 'The Nose - E2 5b' but decided to leave and seekout Cockshaw Hill, before we left the crag.

We arrived at Cockshaw with about 40-50 minutes before our pickup, so i raced around trying to climb all the routes i could, starting with the nice HVS solos at the left end of the crag and then a gibbering solo up 'Cut and Run - E1 5c'. I then got to work on the 3 E2's that are all in the same place! the best line being 'Morning Wall - E2 5c' which takes a flake crack set in a small corner, the crux is low, and i luckily got it without much problem, i couldn't however, repeat this feat.

Franco then turned his attention to 'Mind Release - E2 6a' a line he had previously thought 'abit mad' but we dispatched the line after a couple of goes each, the rock quality is questionable on the middle section but the climbing is good, reachy and strenuous, after this we enjoyed the sunset and then walked back to the car park.

This was a much more productive day than the last time we journeyed to 'Esoterica'. A few weeks back we went to Esklets and the strong wind, light rain and overall 'inability' to climb, so this is what we do when were bored at crags.

Wainstones - Unfinished Buisness and a first E3

The Wainstones has some amazing rock climbs, in a great location with a great deal of history and it is for good reason, one of the better known crags in North Yorkshire; but for some reason when it comes to climbing, i can never reach my full potential at the place.
We walked up in great conditions to the crag, the sun was shining and there was a light breeze, the rock was dry and the temperature just right, myself and Franco both had routes we wanted to do.
For me, my first E3 was on the cards, West Sphinx Direct was the main goal of the day whereas Franco, (who had climbed the route before with Luke Hunt) wanted to bag Ali Baba another classic low grade Extreme. We started off however, with me climbing another route i was yet to do, Sesame. It takes an awkward unprotected groove in the Garfit buttress, then traverses right to finish up an awkward wide crack. At E1, this bold climb had put me off but it was the start to Ali Baba so i needed doing and i wanted the tick so i did it, but not without managing to become stuck in the exit crack!

I then wandered off and climbed Jackdaw Wall, another route on my list which was easier than expected but a decent line all the same.
Franco at this point was gearing up for Ali Baba, however the only gear he took was a sling and a quickdraw to sling the Chockstone. He climbed the groove with grace and then found the next section to be 'Jug Hauling' a bit of hold testing and ideas from me belaying resulted in Franco unlocking the Top out Sequence and a 'Woooo' was 'bellowed' around the 'Stones.
Franco came down and declaired the climbing easy, so i geared up and set off. The Intial bulge was easy this time and then the jug hauling excellent, in a great exposed position but with the safety of gear. The topout was awkward but exhilarating, im glad we decided to give this one a go! It is probably a low 5c but i think giving it 5b would be dangerous.

We then sauntered over for a bit of a boulder on 'The Bulge Super Direct'. At E1 5b i decided it would be bold 5b climbing, as i couldn't see any gear. In actual fact it was seriously bold outing, which had me thinking i was definitely off! Luckily my crimp stuck and i was able to finish the route... a route which was more frightening and more difficult than Ali Baba in my opinion! And probably deserves E2 5c?

We then walked to the Sphinx, a towering piece of rock which is of course shaped like a Sphinx! The main line that always grabbed my attention was 'West Sphinx Direct' this was my target for the day and at E3 it would be my first major extreme. I set off, the first moves i knew were bold and awkward but they went ok. I was at the break, time to fill it with gear! This however was not the case. I found the gear was quite poor as i had forgotten to double the rope over i was on a single so gear was placed to one side of me and ignoring Franco's Beta to place a cam in the good hand hold i made my first reach to the Pocket. No chance.
I bimbled around replacing gear and looking for new stuff, but i ended up with a size 3 nut which was badly placed and a bomber micro wire. I got my feet up and made the move. Piss.
I had the jug, i don't know why it felt easy this time but i still shouted a swear word as i knew the gear wouldn't hold!

I topped out on my first E3 and decided my previous faliures no Telli and Acme Wall were worth it, im glad my first E3 was in the Moors and im glad it was on the Sphinx at the Wainstones.
Will i climb it again? I don't think so, unless my opposing wire placements improve!
What a day and i finally feel i've climbed at my best at the Wainstones, i wish days like these lasted for ever.

Scotland, Ben Nevis & Polldubh

A 4 day trip to Scotland, which was going to be Franco and I's first winter trip ended up being pretty eventful and a good experience.
We drove up in IanJacksons car, with all the problems that can create, such as getting lost (temporarily in Glasgow) then having to follow a Gritter (and a line of 4 or 5 cars that were unwilling to overtake), until it was safe to overtake being some of the things we will look back on!

We arrived at the North Face Car Park and set up a bivvy. Franco and Ian were sleeping in the Car and I was outside. Before this however, the beginning of what was to later going to be a topic of 'serious' debate - Food... Ian had opted for the full works, stove, pans and warm food. Me and Fran had got 1 stove a kettle (for brews) and cold food. This didn't fit with Ian's Philosophy on Food and kept referring to 'not being able to suvive in Chamonix if we couldn't cook!' as his way of justifing warm food.

The first night was eventful, as i got very warm and had to cool off which was very annoying as the superheating of my sleeping bag had woken me up, this however was not a major issue the next time i woke up was far worse. I woke up numb. About an inch of snow had collected on my sleeping bag and face and i was extremely cold indeed, so i brushed off the snow and curled up and went back to sleep.

'CHUGGER CHUGGER CHUGGER....COUGH COUGH COUGH GASP... Fuckin' 'ell! The time was 6am and Ian had turned the car engine on to 'hotbox' the car, however at the time my head had been facing the Exhaust so i got a good face full of CO and god knows what else...

We wandered up the track to the North Face, it wasn't as impressive as people had made out, but it was still a good looking piece of rock. We made for the CIC and then up towards Green Gully (IV 4***) a fine route to have as your first winter line and i thoughly looked forward to the experience. On the way however, Franco managed to trigger a Windslab slip, which sent us all back down the slope, pretty darn quickly! I however, managed to get a decent arrest in and ended up quite a way above Ian and Franco. Franco, had unfortunately lost his axes in the slide so he set off discruntled and disappointed back to the Car, leaving me and Ian to climb Green Gully.The climb itself was pretty straight forward, Ian leading the first 3 pitches, however we ran it out so quite often we were moving together which was pretty quick paced and made the climbing more enjoyable as there were very few cold belays. I led the last pitch over the Cornice, using a 'rockover' technique to conquer my first Winter route.

After the successes of the first day, the next was a bit of a disappointment as heavy snow made us decide to give the Ben a miss. This was a good idea as it let Ian have a rest day which allowed him to take Franco up Point 5 gully the day after which was the Tuesday.

Wednesday came and it was our day for returning to North Yorkshire, but myself and Ian wanted to get another route done, so we raced up to Smith's route and set out up the route to the left - Kellet's Route (VI 6***), which was tough but Ian climbed it well and seconding up i was fully aware of his abilities. We then managed to switch position in the Belay Cave and Ian Led off up Smith's Route (V 5***) which he dispatched with Ease.

I then set off up after him, the ice was somewhat poor going out of the cave and i had an awkward few moments as i took out an Ice screw and an Ice thread. Then i set off up the impressive bulging Ice face toward the next screw. I reached this and tentitavely removed the Ice screw, aware i didn't have very good Ice Axe placements. I then smashed on, until i decided one of my placements wasn't very good, but it was awkward to get back out and when i finally did i was much more tired and eventually much to my annoyance, i fell off...

I did more than just rest on the rope though, as after the inital safety of the rope was felt i then began to plummit, everything had happened so fast that i wasn't aware of why what was happening was happening, all i did know what that the two climbers in red which at one point were below me, were now about level with me and the two blue coated climbed below were fast becoming much more focused. I hit the face several times, and the snow below was fast approaching, but i wasn't hurt... Everything hadn't gone black. THUD. BOUNCE. Scrape.... i hit the snow below and shot off down towards the CIC. The rope then came tight...I knew at this point that Ian wasn't 'following me down' as i had feared.

I loitered around unhurt at the base of the climb talking to the second of the other party who explaned a few of the minor details of the fall such as; How far i had fallen, to which he responded 40+ metres, which was about right as i fell to the end of the 60m rope. He also told me that mainly my Rucksack (stuffed with a spare rope and a SIGG took most of the impact from the wall and this was certainly true when i found my HEAVILY dented SIGG!!! - A momento to the event.

At this point i was totally unaware of Ian's Injury. I was curious to how i had ended up down at the base of the cliff but just couldn't think of a reason. Anyway, about an hour passed and i learned like Ian had broken my fall and in the process had broken 2 fingers.

We were helped out by 4 climbers on the Ben that day, unfortuately the only names i can remember are Philip (the second) and Duncan (Just climbed Point 5) These chaps certainly made things alot easier and we were quickly down to the CIC and then back to Fort William.

The Epic was by no means over.

Ian spent the night in the Belford so me and Franco searched for cheap accomodation. We found many of the 'hostels' on the maps were actually just shabby B&B's that charged high prices, so we decided we may as well make for Glen Nevis Youth Hostel, which was extortionate as well. We returned to the car, tired at 1 am.

The next day Ian showed us a hostel he knew of and it was cheaper (not by much) so he stayed in there, but me and Franco opted to the car, using the washing facilities availible to us in Fort William and Glen Nevis... Food was bought at the local Lidl and left a lot to be desired, bread being a luxury.

On the friday, keen to do something with our fast running out holiday and for me to see if i had 'lost my head' we ventured to Polldubh to do some climbing. I hadn't brought my guide and luckily Franco had brought his Anasazi's so i set about laying to rest the ghost of 'Clapham Junction' (HVS 5a) which i had backed off on a previous visit thinking it was 'only' VS and not worth the effort! (Lazy)

Did some other good routes, including 'Above Us Only Sky' (E3 6b?) but i dogged it, falling trying to make the crux move. A good day though and the fall (something i haven't done a lot of in my climbing year, but it felt pretty megre in comparison!)

We returned to Fort William and slept in the Car again, until the arrival of Ian's Parents allowed us to spend 1 night in the hostel. Luckily, that night in the bar 'Jeff' was playing which didn't seem very special, however, it was like i had plugged my Ipod into a speaker as he was playing a tremendous array of very cool songs which kept me going all the way back to Yorkshire.

We climbing the morning after we arrived home and it was good to be back! Albeit it rained to it was only a brief bit of climbing.

Lucky trip, but i certainly enjoyed it!

Local Cragging - Park Nab

(Bouldering Zero Route & below Bouldering on Lion King)

We stopped doing this for quite a while, but recently the lifts have been hard to come by and the weather windows small, so Camp Hill and Park Nab have been looked upon favourably once more. Today a trip to Park Nab was arranged and we managed a few routes before the rain began to downpour and the wind began to rage.
Did alot of routes i'd done before, climbing for milage rather than "grades" and this was good fun and took me back to where it all began. We got some good photos on some Park Nab classics as well.

(The Superb Chairmans Climb)
The best route of the day was the superb 'Hara Kiri' a route i wish to solo ever since i lead it back in October, but never really saw it as very important. In actual fact i soloed it twice for good measure. Long Bow as well, probably contributing to the polish, but a superb route non the less. Decided i wanted to do Chairman's Climb as well, as this is "high" and exposed which was good practice in the howling wind. A decent day until we went to NOS and climbed the V4 6a traverse and it started to rain. Bollox

(The great reach of Hara Kiri)

Dogs

My dogs, often used as Boulder Mats...

TamFlynn

Evening Cragging - Camp Hill

The time has come, the nights are pulling out and the clocks are about to go forward, so everything is ready to start a full on assault of the local crags after College. Indeed, the first Cleveland MC meet is on the next Tuesday at Park Nab.

Wednesday night was used to test this evening cragging theory, and although the clock issue would greatly improve daylight, but there was enough to get a few routes nailed, including the project to the left of Cling Wrap finishing as for the direct, a route we called 'Cling Wrap - Tin Foil Variation' and was a good test of balance and nerve, the top moves being unprotected and reachy, with a balancy pocket manoeuvre to gain the headwall.

Unfortunately an attempt at the E3 'Waves Within' was looked on as 'impossible' until we consulted the guidebook back at home, where we found the start was not direct! but actually gained the flake from the right! Ah well, that leaves Jester HVS, Ace of Winds HVS and Waves Within E3 to be climbed.

The evening was a success however, as i reclimbed Franco's tough traverse at a sustained 5c, and also the delicate 'Mad Axeman' HVS as well as Cling Wrap Direct and the F.A, E1 and E1/2. I was particularly happy with these, as i certainly found the top out bold and reachy off crimps and tiny edges for your feet. I didn't fancy the fall, which was only about 6/7 metres, but still.

Unfortunately blurred, but this is the pocket section on the F.A (Quite Artistic i thought!)

Cragging whatever the Weather

The Saturday saw Franco, Lewis and Matthew (Mini) Cooper, journey to Ingleby Incline for some photos of the Classic 'Cosy Corner' for Franco's Article on Moors climbing. I however, elected to go to the match, which we won 1-0.

The snow had been forecast and it was delivering, snowing quite considerably for many hours a day, usually in showers.
Franco, Lewis and Mini managed to get some good shots at the crag and returned home, which left one more crag on the hitlist for the weekend; the imposing, north facing Highcliffe Nab above Guisborough.

We travelled there in the snow and when we got there, the light covering of snow made the crag seem quite pleasant, indeed it seemed to make it look somewhat smaller. I geared up and tackled Scarecrow Crack, so Franco could get some pictures of this Moors Classic and then i tried the start of Stargazer, a summer project of mine.Franco, then wanted a photo of the other Highcliffe classic, 'Highcliffe Crack' but only really succeeded in getting freezing hands, climbing as he was on the Verglassed Northerly Face.
We returned home, in glorious sunshine just before the fresh wave of snow showers struck, a good day actually.

CAMP HILL - MONDAY
On the Monday, due to the bank holiday we decided to give climbing a miss and i helped my dad with some fence building in the field. However, the day was cold and crisp and Franco arranged to go with Ian Jackson and Luke Hunt to Scugdale to have a spot of bouldering. However, the snow rolled in and we decided that somewhere closer to home would be better. Initially, NOS boulder was the venue but somewhere between putting the phone down and picking me up the decision had been made to go to Camp Hill, somewhere i hadn't been for sometime. No ropes or gear were brought so i couldn't try 'Ace of Winds' so we just bouldered around for an hour or so, inbetween snow showers. Franco's Traverse fell which was good, as it has some good moves on sloping crimps and mono pockets and then finished up the superb 'Cling Wrap', we then tried a slight variation to Cling Wrap direct, but it wasn't the right conditions, something for the future perhaps. All in all another good day, something i never thought would happen with all the pessimistic talk of 'terrible' weather on the forecasts, i think im going to stop listening to them!