Steve’s sister Jules and her husband Michael have come over from ole Blighty to look after him for a bit on his road to recovery. So seeing Jules has dabbled in bit of climbing herself Howsie and took the them out to Moses Rocks yesterday. As suspected Steve tried to smuggle in an extra rope and a bunch of his gear, which was completely unnecessary as Howsie and I already had two racks and ropes. So the first task of the day was unpacking Steve’s bag to ensure he didn’t smuggle in any unnecessary weight:
Michael is not really into climbing like Jules, so when she got up at 4am he politely accepted the offer to join us and then rolled over and went back to sleep. Howsie and I were not really aware of all this until too late so we had packed as if there would be two parties climbing, but with only the four of us we really didn’t need to Sherpa in as much gear as we did. Importantly Steve and the jet lagged Jules were able to travel light and dawdle behind us at their own relaxed pace as we made our way along the well beaten track:
We had intended to climb on Saturday so Glen could join us, but the forecast of fresh westerlies and a 5m swell suggested that the rock would be somewhat greasy. Today was forecast for gentle westerlies and a 2-3m swell so Howsie and I were still expecting a degree of greasiness. However, even on arrival the rock felt good. Dry, good friction and no salty residue in sight. With that I thought I’d warm up the proceedings with the worse crack to protect, the rounded and flared crack of Hands Up is even scary to lead with tricams:
Jules followed second, and we had no idea what to expect. But she jumped on the line and was soon skiting her way up, with a pause at one location until I shouted to chicken wing it. This threw her as it was a technique that she had not heard of before, but once she sussed it out she was off again and soon she was at the top with me with a big grin on her face. Howsie only has the one rope, a 60m single which we thought was complete overkill for here but as things turned out it was great when you need to get four people up one route:
He was keen to jump on a few lines that he hadn’t been on before, or at least couldn’t remember climbing before. So he set off up Many Hands, but instead of using all the crack systems up this line he stuck to the right. The last time I came we Steve we worked out that the line in the guide is best spilt into two routes, each with their own distinct style and they can be kept completely independent. As before we all trouped up after him like sheep, and there is good reason why we climbed in this fashion:
Steve is now in his second bout of chemo, with fortnightly treatment that will last for ten sessions. On Saturday the pump came out after the first round of chemo, and understandably it was making him feel pretty crappy. So he was not going to be leading and we did um and ah about whether he should climb at all. But these were lines he had done many times before and not too hard so with a rope above him we allowed him to indulge in the first two climbs. The smile on his face was gold, and that in itself is a magic medicine to keep spirits up:
While Jules has climbed before she has not been doing much outdoor stuff and certainly not much traditional leading. So she was keen to start things off slowly and follow us up a few lines. However, as with most climbers who start their career in Blighty it is impossible not to want to get on the sharp end when there are trad lines to be bagged. So with that and to get a flavour for the rock and what it offers for gear she tackled Kiddies Corner. After the successful lead Steve decided to sit this one out, a sign he was tiring:
Now before Michael and Jules had come out, it was pretty clear that we would end up taking them out to some climbing haunts. So Steve suggested that Jules bring her favourite piece of gear and make sure it gets used. So we took her No.11 hex when we were leading and tried to use it on every route. For those familiar with Moses and the type of protection it offers you may laugh and say it was a fool’s game. However, we did eight climbs that day and we placed it on route for five of them and for the other three it was used for a belay anchor:
I was up next and seeing the rope was already there at the foot of Cornish Nasty I thought why not. The bottom was fine, cruising past the crux using a knee bar, but then I got to the top wall. I started yoyo’ing on the rounded holds of the steep finish, and for my last attempt I slowly and steadily crept further and further left escaping the elephant’s arse finale. It would have been disappointing if it had not been so comical how it played out. Howsie and then Jules did not however cheat with the sneaky left exit, instead powering over the top of the crag:
We had not intended to hit the more awkward and harder lines, it just seemed to be playing out that way. So Howsie eyed up Fat Slags another nervous climb because the first third, which is thin and balancy, is protected by a single cam that just never seems to look right. We do know it holds as we have tested it ourselves, but that doesn’t help when you set off. Howsie managed to put all that to the back of his mind and steadily made his way up this fine line. Just by watching Jules thought it was not one for her:
Steve however, who had now sat out on two lines liked the look of this one and promptly said he really should try this one. I guess after laying down for two routes he was somewhat recuperated and energised. He managed to follow up but did take a few rests on the rope, which thankfully didn’t cause him any issues. Each time he refocused and set off on the battle again, claiming that the rock felt greasy and that was why he slipped off. Following up last I can safely say he was talking hogwash, despite the forecast and last few days the rock was perfect:
Jules was up next and she was keen to try the line I had pointed out to her when we first arrived. Wheely Thing wheely must be climbed, not only is it brilliant but it will gobble up an entire rack if you so choose. I won’t lie, and as she worked her way higher all three of us fell silent. It was a little scary as she placed a few pieces less than we were expecting. I guess that I’ve forgotten how hard and fearless the true trad climbers are, and this time Steve sat out while Howsie and I enjoyed the crag classic:
It was after this line that Howsie spotted a whale, which promptly disappeared. We got back to our bags and Steve had suggested that he really should do a lead so he too could place the No.11 hex. With much conflict we managed to find a short easy line that looked a safe and possible. Before we moved all the gear over the whale popped up again, in fact there was more than one and there could have been three. They provided us a great show of tail splashes, fin raises and some mini breaches, so we stood and watched them for quite a while:
Then a pod of probably 20 plus dolphins came along and cruised along the waves occasionally surfing in towards the rocks before heading back out. With dolphins in the foreground and whales in the back drop the three of us stood in tranche, having forgotten that Steve had already wandered off. I’m pleased to say that when we had eventually grabbed our gear and caught up with him he had a change of heart and decided that leading probably wasn’t the best idea. We all wished we could have recorded that statement, a rare sensible moment:
So instead Howsie was up again and looking for something new, and I pointed him to Pickup a feisty crack followed by a traverse on small feet and somewhat insecure handholds. He was looking good as I leaned over to take some snaps. But it was clear that he was tiring and at one point I could see his fingers slowly but surely uncurl and slowly lose all possibility of holding on. How he managed to snatch with the other hand and get a better hold above I’ll never know and by the look on his face I don’t think he does either:
It was too much for Jules so she bailed and I scooted up after Howsie before making the obvious statement that while we were all pretty gassed that was only seven in the bag. Steve was keen to get back and so Jules and he started to walk back. I then quickly romped up No Balls, a route you won’t find written up anywhere but one Craig and I did in June last year when we did eight lines and all FAs but we never wrote them up. It didn’t take up long to both get up this short but sweet line before packing up:
We scampered over the rocks, everything was still bone dry and perfect even the boulders along the water’s edge. Ahead Steve and Jules could be seen as dots on the beach, slowly wandering along in the soft sand. Despite taking a bit of a scenic route back along the water’s edge Howsie and I were soon feeling out legs as we walked over the dune and back to the carpark. They had only just got back before us and hadn’t loaded the bags in the car, so we hoofed it all in the boot so we could get Steve out of the sun:
The AC went on and we were soon on the sealed roads, at which point the seat went back and Steve was soon snoring his way home. I think it is fair to say that Jules loved her first trip out on rock in our patch, and is looking forward to another trip. Steve too had a marvellous time and all that fresh sea air (with copious amounts of sun screen to avoid getting sunburnt) was just the tonic after the first round of chemo. Next weekend he’ll have had a week off the chemo and will no doubt be chomping at the bit for the next trip out:
I do have to apologies to Steve, as he had wanted to me to make use of his images of me climbing. Unfortunately he didn’t get the images to me in time, so I got away with it once more…
Sandbagged 