A bit of exercise...

I've just been down to Armathwaite for a quick boulder. I ticked off the usual three problems - Exorcist Start (V2), Problem 3 (V3) and Problem 4 (V4) - before tackling Problem 5 (V4). I'm not sure why I've never tried this problem before; it's a four move traverse into Problem 3, but those four extra moves, even though they are pretty straight forward, gave my left forearm a slight pump so it took a few goes before I stuck the moves off the diagonal rail, up to the big ledge and the awaiting finishing hold.

Taking in Armathwaite's Sandy Bay.

I spent the rest of the session trying to get Problem 7 (V6), which I have been trying on most of my recent visits to the Sandy Bay, but I just don't seem to have the strength (or more likely the confidence) to make the big move to the bad looking sidepull/pinch, which is just two moves from the finish. Today, my attempts were a mirror image of all my other attempts and the confidence thing was even more of an issue. If I came off, slightly out of control, I would probably have landed in the River Eden, which was fairly high and this meant that the two other problems, I can usually tick, were out over the water and were therefore out of bounds for the session.

After my bouldering I headed back to the car, swapped gear and headed off for a run around Coombs Wood. I managed 2.8 miles in 29 minutes, which isn't too bad when you consider that apart from yesterday - where I got out for 13 minutes and managed 1.64 miles - I've not been for a proper run since I left high school in 2005.

My new thing: running at night.

You may wonder why I have started running; I've decided to improve my general fitness so that I can walk into high mountain crags quicker and arrive in better shape for the climbs, but I also get to play with my new head torch if I head out at night for a run, which adds an extra element to the monotony of it all.

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

Into the Mountains...

I've just got back from a day out in the mountains. The objective was a couple of routes on The Napes, Great Gable, however the conditions had other ideas. There wasn't any rain, but there was snow up high, and the rock was greasy and wet in places from the rain we've had over the previous few days.

Looking up Styhead Gill to the Scafell Range.

This did mean that we were limited to the routes we could climb, but we set out for Needle Ridge (VD) instead, which is a Classic Rock tick, so the quality of the climb was not lessened by the poor conditions; it just made it slightly harder. We climbed the route in walking boots, with our bags on our back, so some of the moves were extremely difficult at times because of the greasy rock. However, this just added to the adventurous nature of the endeavour.

The top of the Napes Needle with Wasdale below.

The route gave us excellent views down over Wasdale and across The Napes. We were also able to watch the clouds roll in off the Irish Sea, but luckily these didn't dump any precipitation as we climbed, but they did limit our visibility as we ascended.

Sphinx Rock.

Once we had topped out we scrambling along the top of The Napes to the ridge that connects it with Westmorland's Crag and the rest of Great Gable. We hopped along this and then made our way to the summit of Great Gable.

Scrambling off The Napes on the way to Great Gable's summit.

From the summit we descended down to Windy Gap and then, with time still on our side, we hurried to the summit of Green Gable and back down into the Gillercombe hanging valley before descending down the side of Sourmilk Gill back to the car at Seathwaite.

Looking down into Ennerdale from Windy Gap.

More pictures can be found here.

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

February Sunshine...

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

Getting a quick session in...

I haven't posted much this year and that is because of one main reason: University. I am coming to the end of my three years at the University of Cumbria, where I've been studying for a BA (Hons) in Outdoor Leadership, and as a result I've been spending an unnatural amount of time in front of my laptop, in the library, or with my nose in a book in one last effort to get all my assignments done so I can focus on my dissertation. This has meant that outdoor activities have taken a back seat, which is not good, but today I managed to grab a quick session down at the Bowderstone in between weather fronts, which have been bombarding Cumbria with a hell of a lot of precipitation of late.

It was a productive session; I repeated the usual suspects and set to work on Move Man (Font 7a+) and Statstick (Font 7a). Unfortunately I didn't send either of them, but I'm only one move off Move Man. It's just a shame that it's one really big move off one of the smallest, and most polished crimps I've ever tried to pull on. Statstick is still a long way coming, but I feel like it will go at some point soon. I've just got to pray that I can keep my strength up whilst not actually getting much climbing under my belt.

I suppose it will all be over, that is University, soon.

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