It rained this weekend...

I'm sitting at work, battered and bruised. My fingers hurt alot and I'm limping but seriously... wow what a weekend! After thinking of taking it easy because I had not gone to Tremadog Festival we opted for a couple of days out in the Peak district. What started as 4 of us going to Stanage went to 14 of us over all on the Saturday! Stanage being so big lent itself well to our big group and we wondered up and down the crag all day. I can't really comment on what everyone else did so I'll just stick with my highlights of the day.

I guess it starts with friday night. Work was bad so I went bouldering at Redpoint. Now I don't normally head down to go bouldering on my own, but I did tonight. I go to Redpoint enough that I know quite a few people there now and even if I've no-one to boulder with, there's plenty of problems to keep me amused. Either way I manged to kill 4 hours pretty much without realising it leaving me tired, happy and with sore fingers. The upside was I got some moisturiser that actaully seems to work!

O630 my alarm went off, and I rolled over and killed it for another 10 minutes. I skipped breakfast to dive straight into the car for an early start and was on my way for 0645. In stoke I fuelled up, grabbed a sandwich and headed to Andy's for the first pick up, then Ceara's only to find out we had another car full joining us for the day. We set off at 0816 (not bad by our standards) and got over to the Stanage car park for 0945, where I was surprised to find there was still spaces. We bumbled in towards the unconquerables area. I fancied doing The Left Unconquerable as I'd done right last time I was here. It's graded E1 5b but all the people I've spoken to said they found it easier than Right. I Actually found right alright for it's grade, it was a little pumpy, but then again I took an almost hands off rest at half height to was resonably umpumped for the crux.

I pretty much dived straight on it. I'd geared up with a few cams and small wires after a quick inspection. I was expexting a pumpfest worse than Right Unconquerable, but it didn't happen. I climbed it pretty quickly because I was worried about it and dispatched the crux with relative ease. Then I hung around on the final jug arranging some protection because I thought the finish might have a sting in the tail. It actually didn't and I topped out well, untied and walked back down to get a jacket. For a beautifel hot sunny day, it was pretty cold in the wind. Andy came up first and stripped out the route, getting a little pumped out at some points. He agreed that it was an awesome route with some great moves. Ceara then seconded it and found it pumpy as well, but she raved on about how good the climbing was! It really was a good route!

Back at the ground I checked the grade of the Arete to the right on Right unconquerable. It was called Monday Blue at E2 5b. I haven't climbed many arete's before, unless it's been a few boulder problems but I liked the challenge. Knowing it was a little run out I racked up with some more cams, but as I was to find out, I didn't get a good enough look at the route. The start was probably the best moved till you gained the first break, then it ran out a little (risking a crater) till the next bit of gear. I did try and get something in a small break and had some cam thrown up to me. Actually they where thrown at me hitting me in the balls. More amsuing than it sounds. When I eventually caught them they didn't fit anyway. Gaining the next break I figured a size 4 would go in well, another cam I didn't have. After about 10 attempts to throw it up to me, I gave up trying to catch it and placed my 3.5 and backed it up with 2.5. I prayed they'd hold. The finish was up the top of right unconquerable which I did less stylishly than last time, salmoning my way over. This time Andy, Ceara and Prescott seconed (or top-roped) it, all with varying degrees of success.

After some baiting from Prescott about the first time I did Telli (E3 6a) when there good depth of snow. There was enough snow that if I fell off the crux I'd have ended up in it. Prescott arguement was that this has made the route safer. Either way I did actually want to do the route again as I'de enjoyed it so much last time. I nailed it again this time, and Ceara & Prescott seconded. Actually Prescott did it twice because he slipped seconding it the first time.

I bumbled over to Archangel to have a look at it. In the end I decided it was too hot to consider a serious attempt on it, which was pretty much a great excuse for not having enough balls to do the route. It's up to a 20ft ground fall if you mess up, not something I was fully confident about. We'd actually gone to do Tower Face Direct, but the buttress is closed as there are ring ouzels nesting there. Not climbing somewhere because of a bird band doesn't bother me in the slighest, to route will always be there later in the year.

I headed back to find everyone still around unconquerables area. I actually attempted Curving Buttress next. It was E2 5b and I say was because it'll need regrading. What basically happened was that I messed up the route, climbed slightly off and feel off it. I torn out all my protection, and the skyhook I had on what I thought was a bomber ledge was actaully a hollow flake. It blew off, well it exploded I guess littering the are with bits of flake. I crumpled into the floor, missing the pad and any spotters apart from Lou who got knocked backward and banged her head. All in all it wasn't a good experience, but one that I'll learn from. It's caused me to rethink using my skyhook as a piece of trad protection. I'm also pretty annoyed that I ruined a route.

I went off to belay Andy on a route he wanted to do, but there was someone on it and I ended back on the lead up and E1 5b called Milson's Minion. It was a pretty awesome route, as it had slightly run out start, but then gained a great break with some pro available. Then it took a slabby finish. I was climbing ona single rope, something I almost never do and it really threw me climbing on it. In the end Claire seconded the route. I did another climb on this buttress called Pot Black (E2 5b). Again another excellent route, but it only had like 2 pieces of decent gear on it. It was definatly worth the E2 grade, but the climbing was excellent. Claire seconded this too.

And that was pretty much the end our day on Stanage. It was about 2030 before we finally left and had to race to the Banbury to find a fish and chip shop. This did some seriously good food, and we had a couple of beers back in Stoke. All in all a good day out.

Because we where all pretty much trashed from our day out a lazy day for the sunday was planned. We'd meet at 1000 outside the pub, leaving me and Andy time to cook a masisve fried breakfast we figured we'd earned. We nipped up to the Roaches. I only got a couple of route's done, both one's I'd done before. Firstly it was Via Dolorosa (VS 4c). It can be done in between 1 and 3 pitches, but me Laura and Andy chose to do it in 2. I took the first 2, giving Andy the money pitch. It was a route he wanted to do anyway. I enjoyed it, including the semi hanging belay you can build. As for it being the best VS on grit I don't know, but it is pretty damn good.

Then I did Eugene's Axe (E2 5c). I've done it before, but I slipped down climbing it last time so I wanted to get a ground up ascent of it. The top section is pretty easy for it's grade I think. Laura actually seconded me up it, something I didn't actually think she'd get up. We could see the weather coming in quite quickly. It had actually started to rain as I coiled up the ropes. I knew Scott was doing Raven Rock Gully (Diff). Although this is only a diff it's a journey into the esotertic and traditional. It takes a gully of flakes up to a chimney building up an excellent crecendo... a squeeze though a "boulder choke" at the top! I think it's excellent and well worth doing, but in the wet I wasn't too sure how Scott would fair. Thankfully it stays pretty dry for a while and we all yelled up hellpful suggestions as for how he should go about finishing the route. In the end I realised that he was stuck and couldn't complete it I went up to give him a hand. A quick italien hitch and he was out of that hole, smiling to be back in the real world again... and then the weather hit us. Two serious thunderstorms hammered us so I sent Scott down to find a waterproof and some warm clothes. Susie eventually decided that seconding it wasn't really going to happen so I abseiled back down the chimeny squeeze. Getting through a squeeze on abseil was a pretty cool but weird thing to do. Then I was at the top of the route listening to the thunder overhead and watching the hail lash down on us. I was pretty much soaked to the skin but grinning like mad. I managed to strip out the route and we bailed to the pub for a well earn pint.

Just before we bailed I found Andy and Stu, sheltered under a rock bone dry while I was dripping wet, life makes you laugh sometimes.