Fresh from my week long trip down south I was busting to hit the local crags, and in response to my call out Glen, Jamie and Ash all stuck their hands up for a bit of adventure. I knew immediately it wouldn’t be a trip of bagging lot so routes, nor anything necessarily hard. But as those that have climbed with me will know, it isn’t about the grades but the whole experience and just getting out there. Those same people would also say that I have a tendency to want to squeeze in route after route, so you may have thought that a prospect of a limited number of climbs may weigh on my mind:
However, it is all about setting your goals based on the situation and knowing what is realistic to expect. Glen who was first to say “yes please” has not done much climbing and very, very little leading since his dramatic self-rescue after breaking his foot on lead at Cosy Corner in January 2019. He was keen to get a lead or two in today to get back on the horse, aiming for a few easy lines. Jamie has yet to lead anything, being only her second time out with us and not having had a great deal of climbing experience. Even I wouldn’t have been mean enough to push her into leading anything… yet:
Then there is Ash who has had some less than pleasant belayer experiences, while on lead, many years back. This has resulted him in becoming a ground dwelling pebble pincher. But today he was keen to play with the ropes, with a goal to get back into it. So with this mottle crew of three, well two to start with as Ash turned up late due to his alarm clock not being loud enough or was it his hearing having been dulled from the biggish night he had reputedly had, we commenced the morning. We started gently, on Glory:
I picked it as I felt it would put Jamie a bit out of her comfort zone, to make her slow down and think about technique. It worked and while the roof didn’t really present too many problems, I could hear her grumble just a bit as she got over it. Glen managed no problem but confessed, as his head popped up, that he now realised just how climbing unfit he had become. This was not only due to the time off from the broken foot, but also the recent knee operation. Ash arrived too late to partake in the splendours of Glory. However, when we got back down we got two lines running:
Glen went off to lead First Climb, above. Any aptly named route considering it is his first lead climb in a very long time. Meanwhile I had plans to get Ash to jump on the pointy end, so I romped up the first pitch of Sirius. This would allow me to see how his head was going, as being a traverse the person coming up second is at risk of taking just as much of a fall as the leader. Before we started he was hinting at nervousness and being unsure about the prospect. Then as he followed me I could hear statements about his arms pumping out, while his face showed complete and intense concentration:
Needless to say, decision made. It would take a bit more seconding before he would feel comfortable back on the high rocks on lead. As such I offered to take the second pitch, which was always intended to be the classy Unclaimed. A delightful steep face climb up immaculate rock, and fully bolted. Ash did well to hold it together belaying half way up the crag and trusting the rope work once more. On second he managed the climb and it looked like he even enjoyed himself, but again the very focused look of concentration hammered home that more time on rock was needed before he was read to take on the floppy end:
A key difference between pebble pinching and lead climbing, being the required stamina. Ash is a strong climber and he has pulled off some impressive problems on my boulder wall, ones I can’t. Short powerful bursts are the trait of a boulderer, but leading climbing requires more moves and as such more time on rock, which is made even longer by having to hang about to find and place gear. Add to that the need to rid himself of the demons from past experiences and it is easy to see why it would take Ash a bit longer to get back into it. As we finished Jaime had also topped out, after following Glen up, and they came over:
I suggested that Glen would be a fool to have a bash at the steeper line with his recovering knee, and he agreed. The old Glen would have brushed that fact aside, gone for it and then regretted it. Resulting in setting his recovery back. But this is the new slightly more sensible Glen. Jamie however had no choice and I lowered her down so she could test herself, and she did remarkably well. Pulling through all the thin moves low down with relative ease, but then misreading the route and rushing into a position where she closed herself in, pumped out and fell:
Still only one slip on the whole route and hopefully a lesson learnt, to slow down and take her time. Back down on the deck Glen was keen for more, I heard that he was not at all comfortable on his first lead and had scared his way up First Climb. But in good Glen tradition his gear was bomber, so he was at least safe. This time he plumped for Dunlop Special Alternate Start, with Ash holding his rope. Jamie and I walked between two routes, Verbosity and Golden Buttress. She struggled to decide which one she would like to follow up, but ended up going with Golden Buttress:
Her thinking being that Verbosity was more her style and she would love and romp up it. Needless to say I know that there are climbers out there for which this climb strikes fear into their hearts, despite them being able to climb at a much higher grade. So it will be interesting to see whether, when she does climb it if, she will still hold that view. I didn’t mind either route I love them equally, as they both offer great traditional three dimensional style climbing. As I slowly pulled the rope from above all could hear was Jaime grumbling down below, and eventually I saw her swing round the rib into open space. A look of determination on her face:
It transpired that the traverse at the start had unnerved her, and she had subsequently over gripped the whole way and pumped herself out. Rather than take her time, rest up and shake out the pump; she had doggedly climbed on until her arms were all jelly like. It seems that the lesson that should have been learnt on the last route on Steel Wall had not fully sunk in. As she flailed up the penultimate section, up the undercut arête with nothing below her but air, I looked across and Ash was casually finishing up while Glen was basking in the sun:
They packed up and wandered over to meet us and then continued to sit and look out to sea soaking up the sun, which was starting to get a bite to it. Jaime pleaded below for a bit of help working up the last few moves, but it wasn’t forth coming. No tight rope was yielded and it would only come if she fell, so she had to dig deep and whimpered up the final few moves with a bit of assistance with me pointing out where the best hand and foot holds were, and how best to use them. Finally she almost belly flopped over the edge with limp arms unable, or unprepared, to respond to any command her brain sent them:
There was a deadline of leaving the crag at 11am today, in order to get Glen back in time for work. He said he had really enjoyed the second lead but was done for the day. His knee was telling him to wrap up, and sensible Glen responded appropriately. It looked like Ash had also gone as hard as he wanted to today, and Jaime wasn’t sounding too keen for any more either. Decision made and we wandered back down to pack up, the place was by now humming with top ropes everywhere including Inner Space Wall, Fat Chance Area, One for the Road Area and Steel Wall. There were no big groups, just lots and lots of climbers… nearly all top roping:
On our walk back to the bags Jaime stopped us and pointed out a Racehorse Monitor, which was lazing just off the track. As we approached it we have expected it to bolt out of the start gate and race off into the undergrowth, but it instead lazily sauntered off into the bush. Only just far enough so it’s head was hidden, so we walked past soft footed to try not to disturb it any further. With packs on our backs it was time to head out, but Glen was going sensibly slowly and we had to wait form him atop the crag. This did however give us a chance to watch the only other person lead climbing, as they ascended Acid Didj. Henry made short work of this impressive line, with top ropes draping down on either side of him:
Sandbagged 