Red Sky and all that...

A late January morning sky over Carlisle.

Red sky at night; shepherds/sailors/climbers (delete as applicable) delight,
Red sky in the morning; shepherds/sailors/climbers (delete as applicable) warning.

-Weather Folklore

Awoke this morning to a lovely red sky over Carlisle and headed into university for a day of climbing as part of my Practical Outdoor Activities module. According to the ever so popular weather folklore, cited above, a red sky in the morning is a warning sign and it certainly was. On the 19 mile drive into university I went from a dry, rather nice Carlisle into a wet Penrith. The executive decision was made by our instructor for the day that by heading east, into Yorkshire, we may just be able to avoid the weather system that had moved into blanket the Lake District and get some ascents on the limestone at Twistleton Scar.

Climbing Twistleton Scar.

It was certainly drier over in Yorkshire, however the limestone was wet and a nice strong, buffeting wind howled across the face making the going quite tough. Eventually the weather closed in and rain was looking like it could make a cheeky appearance. We packed up, turned tail and sped back to Penrith to finish the day off, like the previous week, on the climbing wall.

On the climbing wall.

I'm not so sure what the weekend entails. I think I'll stay away from the rivers as there isn't that much going apart from the normal Kent and Leven options. I may head out walking one day and just blast through some university work on expeditions on the other one.

Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff...
Iain