Winter is truly here we are 37 day's into 2018 I have been out climbing a grand total of 5 days. Its getting a little depressing but luckily I've got a new job to take my mind off it. It feels like its been raining all year. I'm so fed up with the persistent bad weather I'm trying my hand at fell running. Well when I say trying I've been out once it was hard and I suck at running up hills. I'm tired of the rain, I just want to climb all the time, when I'm not working the weather doesn't play ball and I don't have easy access to a wall to train in. I need climbing, I need to be out, I need it to be dry. Oh the woes of a perma psyched climber.
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| Hopelessly Optimistic |
My last trip to the moors seems like a lifetime ago, having moved away from the area to sit in the rain somewhere else. The last crag I visited before I moved was Ingelby Boulders the day was dry-ish, the humidity was impressive, the cold ever present and the clouds thick grey and uninviting. Theoretically finding them should be easy just use the map in the guidebook. Unfortunately the forestry commission has ruined the map by chopping and planting a lot of trees. Walking along the old railway path we almost reached the top of the path but still no boulders so we walked back along the top of the tree line hoping to find something. We found a boulder that was in the guide it was a little rubbish but it was something. Embarking up an easy arete I felt the wind increase with height buffeted I pulled over the top it was grim. We headed into the woods to find some shelter. We found some boulders these were also in the guide both were wet. Eventually after 2 hours of walking we found a dry wind free problem did it and moved on to the next boulder this was even better. Tramping up the hill through the thorn bushes its the perfect height and has a perfect view. Easy enough climbing lead to one move that required unusual threading of the legs. It was stunning a real sequence that falls at your feet as soon as you unlock it. That day we did 4 problems 1 terrible 2 okay and 1 stunning. We had walked 6 miles through trees thorns and bracken. But that is Moors climbing and I'm sure I'll be missing it soon.
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| Slightly Damp Stanage |
I'm back in the Peak and I utilised one of the dry days to head back up to Stanage and reacquaint myself with the boulders there. It was an okay day but I was surprisingly unmotivated and failed to climb anything worth mentioning. Its hard when you are at the mercy of the weather if you are not feeling strong and psyched on the only dry days you feel like you've wasted a weeks worth of climbing. On one of the few sunny days I decided to go scrambling up Winnats Pass this alpine like stretch of road feels out of place in the peak with towering piles of limestone choss flanking both sides of the road. A couple of the crumbling pillars form brilliant easy ridges and can be done as a horseshoe to fully utilise the time out. Almost running up the first ridge I was bathed in sun and embraced the warmth and released myself from the constraints of the fleece that's almost become a permanent fixture over winter. Scrambling down the easier ridge and utilising a special bum shuffling method for moving down wet grass I was asked by a passer by if I was stuck, I thought it was nice of them to think about me but I was fine even if I looked like a helpless tourist. Back on the ground I was swimming in endorphins and running down the pass. Easy climbing in the sun before work it was perfect. My best day so far was when I finally got to Mother Cap and got round to doing Conan The Librarian which has to be one of the best names on grit. Another boulder of perfect height and simple yet surprisingly tricky moves its proper old school like a crimp ladder. But the sun was shining the snow was intermittent and the psyche was high. Conditions were good but far from perfect as the air was laced with moisture. That slight dip in friction which definitely showed up as we flung ourselves onto the slopey horror show that is Pet Cemetery. Swinging through jugs to the dirty mantle top out, hopeless throwing a hand onto nothing and hoping it sticks. It never did so its one to come back for.
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| Winnats Pass |
As its February its almost time for lent for most people it comes around the time when you have already failed to keep up a new years resolution, so its another arbitrary time to set an irrelevant goal. To set a goal is natural to fail to achieve it is all the more common. They say you need a specific goal in order to achieve it. But I'm not ready for specifics. I'm ready to explore some new areas and try really hard. I'm sure I'll meet some new people climb some new routes and visit some new places. But I'm more than sure I'll end up waiting for the rain to stop.
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