Myths, Legends and Grit - 25-8-12

Anyone who knows Goldie will have heard of a multitude of his friends, the names of which mean nothing to the uninitiated.  Some may even have started to believe that they did not exist and in fact only occur in myths and legends.  This was a weekend when I at last met Greggor, Hauke, et al. and it turned out that yes these people were as friendly as Goldie had always made out.  It started, as all great trips to the Peak should, in the Three Stags Heads and with one or two too many pints of Black Lurcher (possibly one of the mistakes that Dave MacLeod suggests 9 out of 10 climbers make).


So, with hangovers charged and in a swarm of midges the like of which you might expect in the NW Highlands of Scotland we trundled down to Burbage.  After as much faff as I could manage......in part in tribute to the imminent departure of Goldie and in part as an effort to allow the hangover to subside it was time to take the plunge and try to add to my summer of E1's (ok, well, this would be my second).  And so it was I was stood a the bottom of a seeping Long Tall Sally. 

 After slipping off the first few moves which were still wet I managed on the second attempt to get established.  So well established in fact that I made little progress! But eventually with consternation over every move, checking of gear, cursing that I had placed the gear in the holds, and when all else failed just manning TF up I made progress.  After what seemed like an age and a lot of sweating I rolled exhausted on to the top after an intense 12m of climbing with faint memories of a cry of 'long tall sissy' drifting up from below.

Zeb then dutifully made me feel better about my climbing by struggling his way up behind me.  This set a bit of a trend for the day and put me in mind of a suitable subtitle for Zebulon 'top roper' Levine.  After a few more routes at Burbage the call went out that only means one thing - find those reserve cans of MTFU, open them up and head across to Higgar Tor.  For me this meant seconding one route (my MTFU was all used up) but those more talented among us ticked the Rasp, the File and a few more classics.

Goldie saying farewell to Grit and a fair amount of skin on the File

A bit more Arctic - Lofoten 14 to 22/8/12

Approaching Moskenes

The previous evening the ragged skyline, raised across the sea and framed by silhouetted islands and skerries which guard the coastline around Bodo, had been glowing in the late night sun as it dipped below the horizon.  Now the ferry was approaching Moskeness in the south of the Lofoten Islands and the mountains were sweeping up from the sea in vast slabs of granite which cut deep in to the crisp blue arctic sky.  This was where we were to be climbing for  the coming week and yet I was intimidated already by the sublime beauty of these apparently uncompromising mountains.

On the way back down from Bare Blabaer with climbers still on the well defined groove and crack line of Bare Blabaer

The road snaked north from Moskeness, rising over inlets and dipping down through tunnels.  We were aiming for Hennigsvaer which was going to be our base for the week.  Lofoten is known for it's rain, but this was not what we were to be treated too.  Five days of continuous climbing saw us climb from classic to classic whether it was seaside crags or day long mountaineering routes.  The list went on: Bare Blabaer, Pianohandler Lund's Rute, two forays to Paradisset (with Butter Fingers and Dashboard Light providing the highlights), Gandalf, Golum and the Nordryggen of Vagakallen.  Now I just need to head back with a few more grades in hand as I think that E2 would be the grade to start oppening up even more of the classics and it would be worth a return visit if just for Vestpillaren on Presten.

 Bare Blabaer and Gandalf

  Paradise at Paradisset

 Pyramidal Saxifraige

 Storepillaren and Butter Fingers at Paradisset

 On the way up Vagekallen's Nord Ryggen

 Within Vagakallen's granite architecture

The final obstacle before a scramble to the summit of Vagekallen