Have you noticed...

one of the quotes that always appears at the bottom of the page:

"I have no sympathy with the ever increasing number who look on the tramp to the foot of the crags as a 'beastly grind.' It will be disastrous to the sport of climbing if its devotees cease to love the mountains as a whole, as the older men did, and wish only for the crags."

Traversing the screes of Birkness Combe on the approach to Grey Crag.

I first read those few short sentences written by Lehmann J. Oppenheimer in his 1908 book, The Heart of Lakeland, in the introduction to the Fell and Rock Climbing Club's guide to Buttermere and St Bees and they mirrored my original rationale for climbing. However, it is only of late that I have returned to this rationale; instead of chasing the grades I have started to explore the mountains once again and it is by climbing on the high mountain crags that I am achieving this.

An unknown climber heading up Slabs Ordinary (VD-).

Take today for example, we parked at the base of Honister Pass, just uphill from Gatesgarth Farm, and walked around the shore of Buttermere before striking uphill into Birkness Combe. Once in the combe, which is the traditional home of climbing in the Buttermere Valley, we made our way to the base of Grey Crag's Harrow Buttress, where we soloed the route, which shares the same name. From here we made our way to the next, slightly higher buttress, known as the Chockstone Buttress, to climb Slabs West Route (HS). This brought us out at the base of the Oxford and Cambridge Buttress where we climbed both Dexter Wall (VS+) and Oxford and Cambridge Direct Route (MS).

Great Gable, Scarfell Pike and Scarfell from High Crag.

This brought us out at the summit of High Stile and from here we were rewarded with some of the finest views on offer in the whole of the Lake District. We tracked east along the ridge that runs from Red Pike in the west to Hay Stacks in the east, and just before we reached Seat we dropped down to Scarth Gap Pass so that we could return to the valley floor and the awaiting van.

Looking up Warnscale Beck with Hay Stacks to the right and Fleetwith Pike to the left.

This must have been what Lehmann J. Oppenheimer was on about. The 'beastly grind' to the crag may have been hard work in the humid conditions experienced today, but it makes the experience that bit more rewarding. However, without that 'beastly grind' the mountains could not truly be appreciated for what they are. The activity of climbing was just a way in which one travels through these beautiful, majestic and omnipotent environments.

More pictures of today, along with the evening at Quayfoot Buttress and the day at Dow Crag, can be found here.

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

William Wordsworth...

once said:

"in the combinations which they [mountains] make, towering above each other, or lifting themselves in ridges like the waves of a tumultuous sea, and in the beauty and variety of their surfaces and colours, they are surpassed by none."

Looking across Goat's Water to Goat's Hawse and The Old Man of Coniston.

He certainly got it right. Today I was down in the South Lakes climbing on Dow Crag, which is high up above Goat's Water behind The Old Man of Coniston. The day didn't start out that great with cloud swirling around the base of the crag, but it eventually lifted, leaving us with views of Coniston and beyond, and when we left the crag it was setting itself up for a beautiful evening.

Soloing past some blue bells on Giant's Crawl (D).

Unknown climbers on Pink Panther (E2, 5c).

Looking out from The Amphitheatre, in Easter Gully, down to Goat's Water.

Making moves across the slab on the first pitch of Murray's Route (S).

It was a fantastic day, and hopefully I'll be heading out tomorrow, for a day that will be just as spectacular. The Lake District is certainly the place to be during this amazing spell of weather we've been having; it shows it at its best.

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

Saturday Shenanigans

Looking out across Borrowdale, towards Keswick, from the base of Quayfoot Buttress.

Back in work this weekend and after a quite day on Saturday and an early finish (4pm) it was a mad dash into the Borrowdale Valley in the hope of getting two routes in, in just two hours, before heading out for the night in Keswick town.

Pulling over the overhang on Irony (HVS-).

The crag of choice was Quayfoot Buttress because of it's close proximity to the road. I have visited the crag on one previous occasion and was impressed by not only the routes, but also the quality of the rock and the setting of the buttress.

High up on The Go Between (E2).

The two routes for the two hour challenge were the three pitch classic Irony (HVS-) and The Go Between (E2), a two pitch route up some spectacular rock and in order to cut down on time we eliminated the belays at the ends of each pitch, and instead, climbed on through to the top. This meant that some thought had to be paid to the ropes and the placing of gear to eliminate the dreaded rope drag, but we managed it on both occasions, and we also nearly managed to get both of the routes done in two hours.

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

A couple of days in Scotland

I've just spent a couple of days, north of the border, visiting family and friends and during this time I managed to get out climbing. Two days were spent exploring the Red Craigs in Glen Clova and then on the way south I managed to get a session in at Dumbarton.

Glen Clova from the top of Central Crack (HS, 4b).

Scouting out another route on the lower north-west crag.

Trying to get it back on Cauldron Crack (HVS, 5a).

The first day of my Red Craigs exploration was spent on a rope ticking off some of the classic lower grade routes and then the following day, I was back, with pads on my back, to check out the circuit documented in the Bouldering in Scotland book.

Heading, once again, for the Red Craigs for a bouldering session.

Looking out of the cave at Weems Arete (Font 6a+) at the Hole of Weems boulders.

Glen Clova: Bouldering Sessions.

I managed to get 50% of the circuit completed before the weather began to turn, but motivation was also starting to dwindle and the energy levels were starting to fade so the session came to an undignified end.

Central Slab Direct (Font 5) on Dumbarton's Eagle Boulder.

Setting out on Erewhon (Font 5) on Dumbarton's Sea Boulder.

Fighting to stay on The Railings (Font 6a+) as my feet cut loose on the Sucker's Boulder.

After resting over night and wanting to make use of the excellent weather, but also at the same time making in-roads on our journey south, we planned on visiting the historic boulder's of Dumbarton. It was a brief sessions, but still enjoyable to say the least, however what was not enjoyable was the rush hour traffic in Glasgow as we made our way back to the M74 and Carlisle.

More pictures of the short break can be found here.

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

Iain