Dodging Showers at Castle Rock South Crag
Out for a quick blast away from the rectangular screen this afternoon, and for once we just timed it right. Walking up to the South Crag in the drizzle didn’t exactly feel like getting it right, but once we were at the base of the routes the wetness quietly vanished leaving us to a deserted, drying crag. I was with Ben and Kath Daines who were sticking their necks back into the climbing game again after a long absence. So some easy reintroductions were the order of the day. Slab climb, Wall Climb and Gangway were dispatched quickly with the seconds climbing more or less together. Then Ben decided he fancied a bit of leading on something easy, so we got him pointed up that easy ground further right where Noname goes. Don’t know how many times...
Scotch Mist and Scramble in Sandbed Ghyll
As the summer holidays approached, it was obvious the monsoons were about to kick in. The steady drizzle of scotch mist on the windscreen as we headed down St. John’s in the Vale confirmed that the day’s options were indeed the wet wander or the even wetter scramble up a ghyll. What I couldn’t believe was that for a couple of the day’s gang the concept of the “Ghyll Scramble” was a completely untested idea. We set off in pretty crappy conditions with much chuntering going on and Martin upping the ante with tales of upgrading and “… it’s a 5 now!” “Never fear!”, replied I. I’d been there before, I well recalled its November, pre annual dinner, pushover nature!! Thing was though,...