Two more routes...
I've just had two days of trad climbing and in that time I only got two routes in, but man, were they routes? Yesterday's route was Overhanging Bastion on the Castle Rock of Triermain, in St. John's in the Vale, and today we were up on Scafell Crag checking out Moss Ghyll Grooves.
Castle Rock of Triermain's North Buttress.
Overhanging Bastion was a pleasant experience and it was a route I have wanted to do for some time. In fact I have wanted to climb on the crag for some time because it is probably one of the better multipitch crags, which is easily accessible from the road, and close to Carlisle. However, Scafell Crag was a complete juxtaposition; it could never be described as easily accessible from the road and it is, in no way, close to Carlisle. It is an excellent crag though; it must be up there with the best in the Lake District, or even the UK for that matter. It was just a shame that we didn't really catch it at the right time.
Scafell Crag: a sign of things to come.
Scafell Pike trying to make an appearance.
On the second pitch (4c) of Moss Ghyll Grooves (MVS).
To be honest the set of pictures doesn't really do the day justice. Yes, the crag was covered in a blanket of cloud for the majority of the climb, but it didn't rain and it wasn't really cold. However, I do say "for the majority of the climb" because by the time we reached the top it had changed for the worse. The cloud had started to deposit wet, cold hail and the wind had picked up. I suppose it could have resulted in one big hypothermic disaster, but we managed to keep it together and get off the crag as quickly as possible.
Making a quick exit after finishing the route in the hail, rain and wind.
However, this was only achieved by fixing two ropes down the length of the crag, abseiling off and jogging back down to the car at Wasdale Head. I know you are probably thinking: "why leave the ropes behind?" but they have a purpose, which does not best serve us, but it does serve a handful of student's on the BA (Hons) Adventure and Media degree course at the university who will be filming on the crag tomorrow.
More pictures of the past three day's trad action can be found here.
Castle Rock of Triermain's North Buttress.Overhanging Bastion was a pleasant experience and it was a route I have wanted to do for some time. In fact I have wanted to climb on the crag for some time because it is probably one of the better multipitch crags, which is easily accessible from the road, and close to Carlisle. However, Scafell Crag was a complete juxtaposition; it could never be described as easily accessible from the road and it is, in no way, close to Carlisle. It is an excellent crag though; it must be up there with the best in the Lake District, or even the UK for that matter. It was just a shame that we didn't really catch it at the right time.
Scafell Crag: a sign of things to come.Scafell Pike trying to make an appearance.On the second pitch (4c) of Moss Ghyll Grooves (MVS).To be honest the set of pictures doesn't really do the day justice. Yes, the crag was covered in a blanket of cloud for the majority of the climb, but it didn't rain and it wasn't really cold. However, I do say "for the majority of the climb" because by the time we reached the top it had changed for the worse. The cloud had started to deposit wet, cold hail and the wind had picked up. I suppose it could have resulted in one big hypothermic disaster, but we managed to keep it together and get off the crag as quickly as possible.
Making a quick exit after finishing the route in the hail, rain and wind.However, this was only achieved by fixing two ropes down the length of the crag, abseiling off and jogging back down to the car at Wasdale Head. I know you are probably thinking: "why leave the ropes behind?" but they have a purpose, which does not best serve us, but it does serve a handful of student's on the BA (Hons) Adventure and Media degree course at the university who will be filming on the crag tomorrow.
More pictures of the past three day's trad action can be found here.
Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff...
Iain
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