Wales - Slate, Slate, Slate.

Franco and I travelled down to Wales, with Franco's parent's who were going to visit a friend in the area. We looked at the climbing around Llanberis and obviously knew there was PLENTY to do. We decided to try and divide our time between 'the Pass' and the Welsh Slate Quarries, Franco had his eye on a few hard lines. However, during the 4 days the weather was VERY changeable and we never did get up 'the Pass', still a good time was had around the Quarries climbing some very nice lines!

Bus Stop Quarry

We got to Wales on Saturday around mid afternoon and ventured up to 'Bus Stop Quarry' which my guidebook had 3 routes in, we decided that people would probably be there with a guide. There were and our first route on Slate was 'Equinox' - VS 4c. We climbed the route Solo, finish right, which is actually the line of the HVS, but it looked easier and more likely to be the route at the time. We then got the ropes out and climbed a Sport route (a first for me) called 'Whizz Bang' which we didn't know the grade of, it was hard work; crimpy and reachy and i rested and it turned out to be F6c.

Me on Equinox At this point, i knew i didn't really like Slate my shoes weren't sticking as well on the edges as well as Franco's Shoes, so when we left 'Bus Stop' to 'Dali's Hole' i just belayed Franco on a couple of routes, namely 'Launching Pad' - E1 5b, however Franco was unaware that a siderunner could be put in the crack to the right, so his ascent probably deserves E2.

The Bizzare Lake, at Dali's Hole

We then wandered over to Serengeti and bivvyed. It was quite chilly with a gusty wind blowing around and the noise of the Hydroelectric Plant kept me awake for sometime. Next thing it was about 5.30am and it was cold. We got up and Franco climbed 'Seamstress' - VS and 'Seams the Same' - E1/2 in good style and then he soloed the VS twice more before i had to drop a rope down for him when he tried to climb it Barefoot!

Serengeti Slab - Seamstress
We then wandered back to Dali's Hole and Franco climbed 'Holy, Holy, Holy' - E2 and i decided to second him and then lead it the next day, but i did get myself on 'Lauching Pad' - E1 as it looked ok today so far i hadn't really climbing anything so i was feeling abit shit. Then we wandered over, again to Bus Stop Quarry as we needed to find people with a guide! Franco and I soloed 'Equinox' - VS again and then Franco Led 'Scarlet Runner' - E3/4 which was quite annoying, as i had no chance; it's his kind of climbing though - Crimps and rockovers on small edges!

Anthony on 'Holy, Holy, Holy'
Tonight we slept in a old building, but the wind was knocking slates down and Rat faeces forced us to set my tent up; it didn't rain so i didn't have to dry it which i was happy about. We got up reasonably early and set off to Bus Stop, Franco climbed Equinox again and i talked myself out of a lead of 'Fool's Gold' - E1 i just didn't like the line it took! So we went back to Dali's Hole Again! and i climbed 'Holy, Holy, Holy' - E2 as i had promised myself. We also messed around on a few Sport climbs and then Franco Dogged the E4 called 'The Chiselling' which was a bloody good effort as i couldn't do the first crux so i handed my second to a good climber who was watching with interest, a bloke called Anthony who had just climbed 'Holy...' he enjoyed the route and did well. I was glad i didn't dog my way up on second.
We then searched for a place to bivvy, and once found decided a good meal at Pete's Eat's was in order, so we walked down and got LOADS of food and PINT'S of tea! - Great stuff!
We bivvyied in a small three sided roofed building, that night the rain began quite heavily and it was the stormiest night so far, the structure was good but it couldn't keep out the storm we got quite wet and cold. Ah... the joys of Bivvying!

We got up, cold and tired and walked down to Pete's for tea! a good warm up and the weather now retreating we headed to Vivian Quarry, reckoning that it would be quiet up there seeing as the weather had been miserable. It was quiet so we jumped on 'Comes The Dervish' Franco took a while on it but climbed it Clean and i was highly impressed. I not liking slate was left to decide whether or not to 'lose my Onsight' or try it on lead, which i'd have probably fallen off! I decided i'd rather Second Franco clean than Dog my way up on lead. I did second him cleanly and thoroughly enjoyed it, i don;t think i would have if i'd dogged my way up or backed off!

Comes the Dervish - Vivian Quarry
I made sure though, that before we left Wales, i did one thing. We walked over to Bus Stop and i got on 'Fools Gold' straight away, the crux is VERY well protected and i ended up running it out to the top after placing a cam from the creaky ledge. I very nice route and i felt i'd given Slate a good go, even if i don't like climbing on it!
Tonight was our best nights sleep, we slept under a good roof with a clean floor and even though it rained it was warm and dry. We went home feeling tired but having done alot of good climbing, Franco however wasn't finished, he was meeting Jack from Harrogate to climb at Brimham before heading to the Peak for a week, i was left to go home to study for Chemistry and Environmental Science A levels, ah well....

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!)