Sunshine on Shining Clough

Shining Clough presenting an intimidating outlook which it would live up to.  East Buttress to the left, Pisa Buttress in the centre and the pinnacle in the bay on the right.

To make the most of the day and to avoid the worst of the forcast heat we headed north the night before.  North facing and at 400 m Shining Clough was the plan, in an effort to escape the rising temperatures of East Anglia.  This was a new crag to both Rich, visiting from Canada, and myself and it was not to disappoint with hard, steep, uncompromising gritstone classics.

East Buttress with Atherton Brothers up the left, Phoenix Climb up the central crack and the most amazing severe of Via Principia up the right hand crack then arete/face.

Despite setting off from the van at 7:00 the walk up was still hot and sweaty and as we approached East Buttress I decided that Via Principia may be the better warm up over the soaring crack line of Phoenix Climb with is odd half height pocket.  As it turned out Via Principia packed a fair amount of climbing in to its 24 metres, first heading up a wide crack before following an exposed arete on to a wall which seemed to further ramp up the exposure.  A great warm up climb but left us wondering as to how tough the grades might be on this remote moorland crag. With this in mind I offered the classic Phoenix Climb to Rich and he started up smoothly but was soon cursing the absence of the crucial cam and climbing back down.  I decided to head up and take a look and placing some more trust in the hex which Rich had left and placing a further poor cam I jammed my arm in to the crack, raised my foot in to the odd half height pocket and pushed upwards reaching for the safety of the ledge above.  The crux move was made but the gear below me was starting to look even more shaky and there were more moves until I would be safe so I made the decision to back off and was happy to return to the odd shaped pocket where I realised that a crossed double arm bar could allow a decent rest but it was more than physical strength that I required so I continued on, downclimbing to the ground.  Ah, well, always good to leave a classic to come back to (with the right sized cams!).

Rich giving Pheonix Climb a go before being prudent over the protection available.

To try to regain some confidence we moved on to Atherton Brothers on the left side of the buttress which offered a much more traditional severe with some fun but awkward moves.  The sun was now high in the sky and dispite our altitude and aspect the temperature was starting to rise so it was time to find a more shady climb.  Stable Cracks is on the NW side of Pisa Buttress and although providing a bit of an adventure, once more tough at the grade, this time I was armed with an appropriate cam to provide an increased dose of confidence for the crux off-width crack.  After a baking belay and some debate over who deserved the next lead it was Rich who set off up Pisa Superdirect. 

Atop the pinnacle after taking the pretty bold Pinnacle Face. Pisa Superdirect heads up the arete and then upper crack of the buttress behind (Rich's lead) and Stable Cracks head up the obvious cracks to the right (my lead)

Taking the arete to start, as the thin cracks to the right offered little in the way of handholds and less for the feet, Rich made good progress up the sweeping crack which required a rather unexpected jamming lay away before the ledge to the right of the leaning tower and below the overhang was reached.  After placing most of the rest of our rack and having a couple of looks Rich made it up and through the overhang and quickly to the top of he climb for which I felt huge relief in that I would not have to head up and try to lead it.  On second none of the exposure was lost and the onslaught of tricky move after tricky move again made the route feel high in the grade but fortunately at the crux overhang a better fitting jam and a wider bridge eased my progress and hopefully it won't be long before I come back to lead this one.  With the humidity increasing we decided on just one more so I went for the Pinnacle Face which led to the top of a small stack standing proud of the main crag.  A fun route during which there was plenty to think about.  As we made the abseil descent the first spots of rain started to fall and it was proved a good decision to be heading back down the hill to a hot drive back to the flat lands. 


Rich had had his grit shot on his visit back to his climbing homeland and we had both been shown a thing or two about steep grit routes but it had been another great day exploring new rock from which the scars will soon heal.

Solstice weekend at the Lakes

The rainy forecast did not deter the dedicated team that made our way up to the Lake District on Friday night to celebrate the sunny summer solstice.  Finally getting around the A14 traffic crux, Djuke and Jess and I arrived at Alan and Amanda's house in Kendal to find beers already poured for us.

At the crack of noon on Saturday we parked the car in a boggy field in Borrowdale and trekked for an hour through the rain to Raven's Crag, where we could still spot a few orange helmets on the rock through the mist.  Our project for the day:  an 8-pitch 3(?)-star route called Corvus, come rain or shine or anything else.  The rain picked up as we put on harnesses and Djuke cheerfully bounced up the first slabby pitch.

When Jess and I arrived at her belay in a waterfall, we were already soaking and cold.  I barely stopped to sort out gear and headed up the next pitch, which began directly up the waterfall for a couple of meters.  Grimacing--but a happy grimace, if that's possible--as water rushed down the sleeve of my waterproof while I felt around for the holds, I soon stepped out into a slimy v-crack and got a bomber blue hex in at about shoulder-height which gave me the confidence to finish the pitch up to a flat belay ledge.

The next pitch belonged to Jess, who had climbed this route several years ago and promised us that the views down to Borrowdale were lovely on a clear day.  We could only wipe the water out of our eyes and nod as she led off into the cloud, traversing on blocks and then heading up a rib and into a chimney.  If my camera had not been buried safely in my rucksack, I could have got a very nice silhouette shot of her perched outside the chimney.

When I reached her at the next belay--a full ledge with a mixture of mud and stone-- I stood around long enough for my numb feet to sink into the mud before shaking out my now-purple fingers and getting moving up the next pitch which was dripping with water.  Another soaking belay later, Jess led the hand traverse which would have been delightful on a dry day but in the current conditions was quite the accomplishment as the foot-holds left something to be desired.

We finally topped out at 8pm, celebrated a solid Type 2 Fun day with Jamaican ginger cake (thanks Jess!), and took the long way around to get back to the car by 9pm yet still in relative daylight.  At least, it would have been daylight if the clouds had cleared.

We triumphantly made our way back to Kendal to find dinner and good banter waiting for us, and spent the rest of the evening rehydrating with cider and Monkey Whisky after a solid mountain day.

Thus Sunday was a bit of a slow start but along with Amanda, Alan, Tubbs, and Rob we headed for Gouther crag at Swindale, which Amanda promised had the best chance of dry weather anywhere in the Lakes.  Fortunately she was right, and we spent a delightful afternoon on Kennel Slab, Left Edge, and some horrible "classic" chimney into which Tubbs disappeared for a decent length of time.

An excellent weekend out, two full days' climbing and good company, what more could you ask for?

Back to Gardom’s for some unfinished business……..which, sadly, remains unfinished

Unfinished millstone below Apple Buttress

A month ago a trip to Gardom’s Edge, and in particular Moyer’s Buttress, had inspired me to think that E1 climbing might be a good idea.  However, deep down knowledge was telling me that E numbers were still actually bad for you.   After a couple of good weekends climbing it was time; illness on Friday and rowing on Saturday provided the……..preparation (yep, not perfect).  Taking this lack of energy, belief, skill and strength I sneaked up the opening and easy cracks of Moyer’s Buttress, not allowing the climb to recognise my deficiencies.  I tussled with the wobbling block rounding the corner, and leaving most of the strength I had there, made to stand up in to the good holds but promptly came back down rather more quickly than I had planned as my numbed hands failed to take hold.  I had missed the obvious holds, and gear out to the right and messed up my chances of success.  Lessons leaned: warm up on easier ground?, possibly; learn to relax, definitely; get better, for sure.  Oh well, on with the day of fun climbs without the E1 worry.

So it was across to the beautifully rounded Elliot's Buttress for the direct route to gather what nerves where left before taking in the trilogy of Garden Buttresses offerings - Crack, Direct (direct) and Indirect, which were all enjoyable climbs and offered an opportunity for Marco to practice some leading.  The weather was now turning out perfect with a midge clearing breeze and a patchwork sky so we headed over to Apple Buttress. 

Apple Buttress with Apple Arete, Apple Crack and Cider Apple waiting to be climbed

 Apple Arete was looking too good not to climb so I balanced up again on fantastic friction to the top out flutings which come as a pleasant surprise.  Marco had some further leading practice on Apple Crack and Giant's Staircase and I had the enjoyment of the exposure offered by Cider Apple and guaranteed by the lack of protection it offered.

Another great day in the Peak District if not the grade break through I was hoping for.  Fun routes and good company are however, in my opinion far more important.

A bit of dampness at Birchen

Always take the BBC (and MWIS and Met Office and Met Check) forecast with a large grain of salt.

Five of us headed up to the Peak District on Sunday morning, anticipating a day of sunshine until showers forecast to begin in the late afternoon.  Those showers began a bit earlier than anticipated, but we still got a few routes done before packing up to heat to the indoor wall in Sheffield.

After starting with a VDiff that was effectively a boulder problem and then a walk, I climbed Fo'c'sle Crack with John for his first ever outdoor climbing trip (CUMC converts boulderers, one at a time) as it began to rain.  Sarah and Ben climbed Mast Gully Wall and Mast Gully Crack next to us while Howie and Joe climbed the classic Sail Chimney.

After this we couldn't deny that there was some extreme dampness occurring, so put on waterproofs and messed around with some topropes.  Meanwhile Howie was sliding around on a soaking wet amalgamation of Porthole Direct and Porthole Buttress, whilst Joe belayed and learned about trad leading.  One more attempt by me to lead a dripping chimney was soon abandoned and we headed to the Robin Hood for tea.

A pleasant afternoon was then spent at the Foundry Wall in Sheffield, however, and Joe and John also did their first indoor leads.

One of those rare (ahem) occasions on which it rained in the Peak District, but still it was a fun day out!