The wonderful high pressure recently has led to some summery temperatures. Last week the crags were dry, bone dry! I heard even Chee Dale was doable; bizarre for this time of year.
Drew on Right Unconquerable HVSThursday and Friday last week were interesting. Drew and I headed to the Plantation as I had a route in mind. Quickly we realised it was too hot for any hard climbing. The grit was greasy and piping hot: this is March, right? We still had a cracking day. Ticking classics such as Left (E1) and Right Unconquerable (HVS), Namelos (E1), and Calvary (E4) alongside the overlooked Vanquished (E5 6B) and a few other very gritty unpopular affairs.
The next day I headed back to the crag as the temperature had dropped and I got straight on my main objective, Defying Destiny (E6, 6b) with a belay from Tom Ripley. The route had a bold write up in the guide with poor flared cams being the only protection for the crux. My friend Dan had done it the week before and fallen, proving that they hold!
I had to try, but took the decision to ab the route first to check the cams. Deciding they should be fine I went straight for the lead. I took my time and thought safety in numbers was key and placed 5 or 6 cams to be sure, but the Totem cams are so good in flared cracks I was happy. In the end they weren’t needed and all went well. Happy man! This would be a totally different ball game for the short.
We carried on ticking more classics but the wind chill made it feel about 20 degrees different from the day before and we ended earlier than normal. A great couple of days and let’s hope a good omen for a dry summer!