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Mike 1, Gritstone 1: Score draw
Sep. 10th, 2007 12:03 pmI had an excellent weekend out in the peak district with the climbing club. On Saturday we went to Froggat Edge, then to Birchen Edge on the Sunday.
I managed to climb a few routes that I've had my eye on for ages but never had the bottle to do.
Of course, this being gritstone, this victory is accompanied by a lot of missing skin and an interesting selection of bruises and scrapes.
The main struggle was on Powder Monkey Parade at Birchen. This is a brilliant climb since its got three totally contrasting sections. The first bit is notorious. You have to get on top of a jammed boulder in a wide crack but its out of reach unless you are 6'5. The usual method is to wedge yourself into the crack and try to wiggle upwards until a hand can reach the stone, then try to shuffle up on top of it. I eventually managed this on about the 5th attempt, after which I belly flopped on top of the boulder in a scene which a passing zoologist described as "like an elephant seal flopping up a beach".
After a bit of a rest and licking of wounds, the next section is a scary traverse. You leave the safety of the crack, and lean out over the face. Once you get round the corner the holds are good and you can place protection to stop yourself from taking too big a swing if you fall - but to get there you still have to make the move on nasty rounded holds. It wasn't *too* bad for me as I'm tall enough to stand on the bigger of 2 ledges (big meaning a few cm wide) while still reaching the horizontal break which provides the handholds. Chris on the other hand had to teeter along tiny pockets and creases in the rock when she followed me up.
The top section is a slab of gritstone - no handholds as such but the rock is very rough so you can stand on the friction of your climbing shoes. By this point there was so much drag from the rope that I had to pull up enough slack to make each move before stepping up....
Great sense of achievement at the top :) :)
Fairly quiet week coming up - taken a half day today, then off to Oxford for Thurs/Fri.
I managed to climb a few routes that I've had my eye on for ages but never had the bottle to do.
Of course, this being gritstone, this victory is accompanied by a lot of missing skin and an interesting selection of bruises and scrapes.
The main struggle was on Powder Monkey Parade at Birchen. This is a brilliant climb since its got three totally contrasting sections. The first bit is notorious. You have to get on top of a jammed boulder in a wide crack but its out of reach unless you are 6'5. The usual method is to wedge yourself into the crack and try to wiggle upwards until a hand can reach the stone, then try to shuffle up on top of it. I eventually managed this on about the 5th attempt, after which I belly flopped on top of the boulder in a scene which a passing zoologist described as "like an elephant seal flopping up a beach".
After a bit of a rest and licking of wounds, the next section is a scary traverse. You leave the safety of the crack, and lean out over the face. Once you get round the corner the holds are good and you can place protection to stop yourself from taking too big a swing if you fall - but to get there you still have to make the move on nasty rounded holds. It wasn't *too* bad for me as I'm tall enough to stand on the bigger of 2 ledges (big meaning a few cm wide) while still reaching the horizontal break which provides the handholds. Chris on the other hand had to teeter along tiny pockets and creases in the rock when she followed me up.
The top section is a slab of gritstone - no handholds as such but the rock is very rough so you can stand on the friction of your climbing shoes. By this point there was so much drag from the rope that I had to pull up enough slack to make each move before stepping up....
Great sense of achievement at the top :) :)
Fairly quiet week coming up - taken a half day today, then off to Oxford for Thurs/Fri.
