Bouldering...?

Well depending on how you look at it I either had a weekend of bodily damage (namely my hands and my liver) and got wet in the rain, or I had a couple of good nights out with friends, pushing it too far on the bouldering wall and went aid climbing because it was raining?

I think I prefere the second viewpoint of the weekend. It was Kendal this weekend. Why did I go? well I went last year but I saw it as a couple of days climbing in the Lakes, not a trip to a film festival. Its not that I dislike it, but it doesn't exactly hold with my idea of climbing and mountaineering. Anyway I said I'd also help Tim with his dissertation. I heard that Kendal was great fun and that I would have really enjoyed the lectures if I went to them. Maybe I'll go next year, then again maybe I'll just go climbing.

So liver damage first up. Student nights out are going to continue being fun when while there is 2 for 1 on drinks, free entry and good mates to go out with. Unfortunatly we were politly asked to leave on account of one the the good mates taken too much adventage of the 2 for 1 offer. Didn't put a downer on the evening just meant that me, Andy and Matt ran for car to car carrying imaginery weapons like soliders acting out a scene from Black Hawk Down. Obviousley we were drunk.

Drunkenness lead to a envitable hangover in the morning but it did encourage a massive fry-up in an attempt to cue it. After what seemed like an ocean of tea, some "call of duty" and ice cream we headed off in an attempt to go climbing in the Peak District. I didn't really expect us to get out doors and pretty much headed straight for the works anyway and had a massive session in there. I think we all went at it a little too hard and fast because even though we tried to take a break about half way through the damage had already been done. We all ended up burning ourselves out and I torn another massive flapper. I've also exacerbated the pulled tendon in my middle finger. I'm seriously thinking of taking time out from climbing till its better.

Another lazy night out at the pub after chinese lead to more soldiering on the journey home. In fact Andy house mate ended up coming downstairs as I carried Andy in the house in a firemans lift. He'd been shot in the femoral artery and sadly bleed out. What a way to end a night!

Sunday had promised us good weather. Apparently you shouldn't make any such promises with sunday because it breaks them. It rained. Tim had to get his dissertation done anyway so we headed out to Aldery Cliff, a small partially quarried crag in the Peak. Its a nice little crag, but a really bad walk off. There is alot of loose rock all over the place and a large area down the one end of seiously unstable rock. I'm pretty sure that bats also live there but I need to check this out as it would probably affect access. Its all well sign posted and we call donned out helmets, bar Toaf of course. His helmet is still "uncool" enough not to wear.

Tim and Toaf set about going to set up abseils for Tim to do his research. Sounds like quite an interesting dissertation he doing looking at the effect climber have on thier environment. While he did that, me and Andy moved the car to the base of the crag so he could sit in the boot and belay and I grabbed my aiders, daisys, pretty much all my gear and headed off a likely looking crack line.

Initially the start was horrible. I'd forgotten anything I'd learned last time I went aiding. It all felt so scary, so odd, so alien. Standing in aiders on gear that I know should hold me prefectly seemed so unnatural. This was a nice slabby crackline that would probably get A1, or C1 seeing as I didn't use any pitons. I started my route with a multidirectional anchor as Andy was belaying from the car, not wanting to stand in the rain. I'm been reading about top stepping (treading on the top step or your aiders so standing higher than your gear). I decided that I would try it so I walked up in my aiders holing my grab loop and eventually got my foot in the top step. My god I felt scared. My only gear was the directional anchor so if that blew I'm deck out. I was sure it was bomber but self doubt always seems creep in. I reached for some small wires on my rack and placed a piece at the tip of my reach. Quickly I clipped in my second daisy/aider and gave it a sharp tug. I stood my foot in the aider and bounced it as much as I dared then visually checked it. It looked good. I stood up on it.

Bugger me! I breathed a sigh of relief and leant down to to unclip my lower gear and attached it to a rope with a quickdraw. It was over. I guess the first move is the hardest sometimes. From here I ran up my aider, top stepped with a little more ease and realised I needed to be that little bit higher. It was still raining, but it didn't matter I was completely focused on this next piece of gear. I needed a little bit more so I clipped my daisy in short, and forced my foot into my grab loop. It gave me that precious 4 inches and I sank in another bomber wire.

I went through the same nervousness as the last time bounce testing my piece of gear. I yarded hard on it and then shifted my weight over. It was getting easier each time. I reached down and unclipped my other aider and clipped the piece into the rope. I was back into the swing of it. Run up my aider, reach up place a piece of gear, clipped it, test and the shift onto it then do all the same again. Even when it came to placing the skyhook I wasn't worried. I made an effort to keep my weight on it so it wouldn't fall off.

Eventually I topped out and rigged my abseil to strip out the route. It seemed like about of effort to go to just to then removed all the gear, but I'd had a great time and got the practise another skill. Hell I thought it was a good use of a wet day.

Eventually Tim finished and we threw all the now wet gear into the boot. On our drive home we stopped off at the highest village shop in england and had a late but well deserved breakfast. Its now been named our cafe of the peak and where we'll always stop on our way through.

So much for a damp weekend in the peak district. In the end I had a good time and I think everyone else did, I hope so anyway!