Stanage – the Severe climber

My Climbing 2016 in Pictures

December 31, 2016the Severe climber

Me in Coire na Ciste on my first day of the course.

Me in a bucket seat that I had dug and attached to a buried axe.

Walking through Worthy Wood.

Climbing the absolutely brilliant Gargoyle Flake (VS, 4c) at Bamford Edge.

Climbing the boulder problem Big Slab Right (V0+, 5a) on a wonderfully sunny day at Higgar Tor.

Me on the top of the pinnacle on Pinnacle Buttress at Dewerstone (thanks to Peter for the photo).

Climbing Monkey Crack (VDiff) at Stanage.

Bouldering on the Marsh Boulder at the RAC Boulders.

Me on the summit ridge of Eldir Fawr.

Leading Wall Corner (HVD, 4a) at Burbage.

Me leading Hollybush Gully Right Direct (Severe, 4a) at Stanage.

Bouldering above the beach of Lon Isallt Bay.

Me learning how to do a hoist

Me climbing on The Cube boulder at Bonehill.

Me climbing The Runnel problem at Hound Tor.

Walking on The Black Mountain.

What a great weekend of climbing in the Peak District. I did a selection of varied and interesting climbs, the sun shone (mostly), it wasn’t raining (mostly) and there was enough of a breeze to keep the midges at bay.

Me seconding Ash Tree Crack (VDiff) at Burbage.

Leading Wall Corner (HVD, 4a) at Burbage.

Me at the start of my lead of Ring Climb (Severe, 4a) at Burbage

Stanage Edge

The Grand Hotel bouldering area and the Goliath’s Groove area of Stanage Edge

Me leading Hollybush Gully Right Direct (Severe, 4a) at Stanage.

Spring Climbing

May 19, 2016May 19, 2016the Severe climber

My climbing trips this Spring have had cold winds, some bright sun and (thankfully) no rain. This has given me the chance to really get back into climbing on rock and to do some great climbs. It feels like I’ve warmed up for the rest of my climbing year.

My first trad lead of 2016 on Recess Crack (VDiff) at Bamford Edge.

Climbing the absolutely brilliant Gargoyle Flake (VS, 4c) at Bamford Edge.

Climbing the boulder problem Big Slab Right (V0+, 5a) on a wonderfully sunny day at Higgar Tor.

Hound Tor and Haytor

The Dewerstone

Me on the top of the pinnacle on Pinnacle Buttress at Dewerstone (thanks to Peter for the photo).

A busy Spring day at Stanage Popular end.

The BMC Guidebook describes this climb (Mantlepiece RIght, HVD) as a “bit steep and scary.” The scary bit probably comes from how hard it is to get a second piece of gear in, but I finally managed it.

Climbing the fun Monkey Crack (VDiff) at Stanage.

Climbing Monkey Crack (VDiff) at Stanage.

My Climbing 2015 in Pictures

December 31, 2015August 22, 2016the Severe climber

Alice coaching me on how to climb using the open hand technique.

Me starting a problem on Badger Rock.

Longsleddale.

Autumn colours on the fell on Goat Crag in the Lake District.

Me climbing back along the traverse that leads to the bell on the Klettersteig Pfeilspitzwand.

Me climbing a ladder of stemples on the Klettersteig Knorren.

Valerie and me on the summit of the Knorren.

The Zillertal seen from the descent from the Klettersteig Huterlaner.

Me climbing the Klettersteig Huterlaner.

Me climbing Crack 1 on Tryfan Bach.

Me climbing JT (V0- 4b) at Robin Hood’s Stride.

Me climbing Pink Arete (V0- 4b) at Cratcliffe.

Climbing in the rain at Stanage.

Still getting rained on.

The summit of Mam Tor.

Climbing at Buthiers Piscine, Fontainebleau.

Me climbing problem number 6 on the orange circuit at Buthiers Piscine.

Me climbing problem yellow 28 at Buthiers Piscine.

Me climbing boulder problem 26 on the yellow circuit at Rocher des Potets.

This is how I found my knee when I unwrapped the bandages 48 hours after the operation.

Hopeful Climbing

June 15, 2015the Severe climber

Hoping the rain will stop while belaying at Stanage.

You need a lot of hope if you want to rock climb in the UK. Hope that it won’t rain on your weekend climbing trip. Hope that the rain will stop by the afternoon so that you can go climbing. Hope that the rock will dry out quickly from the last lot of rain because you’ve been sitting in the café far too long. Hope that the rain will hold off until you have finished your climb. Hope that the water slowly trickling down your sleeves as you climb is just a quick shower. Even hope that the patch of lighter cloud you can see in the distance is the “possibly clearing later” that the weather forecast mentioned. You need that hope, particularly if you are a London-based climber like me and every trip to a climbing venue is an investment of time and effort. It’s that hope that gets you in your car to drive to the Peak District or North Wales and it’s what gets you out of your tent when rain is pattering on it first thing in the morning. Read more →