Trowbarrow

Sunday afternoon, after some getting some work done in the morning I couldn't resist the urge to head back out for some more climbing in the afternoon so after lunch myself, Gaz, Claire and Ben headed up to Trowbarrow for a few hours. My goal for the day was do Harijan VS 4c as its the only route of the grade I've not done at Trowbarrow. We jumped straight on it and I lead off, the move round the corner from under the overhang is pretty scary but well protected with cams in the break. After this theres 25-30m of fantastic vertical climbing up the crack system. It is steep and is is sustained but the holds are all there and you can get reasonable rests from time to time. Its also well protected throughout. Only one slightly worrying moment where my sunglasses steamed up and I couldn't see for a few moments... I was pretty pumped when I got to the top, built the belay and then Gaz followed in good time.

We went down and eyed up Hollow Earth, which is just to the right of Harijan but HVS and looks really good but is supposed to be quite hard for the grade so decided to leave it for a little later in the season when we're a bit stronger. We then rested for a while, filming and photographing Claire on her first VS lead, Coral Sea which she did an excellent job on. Gaz put the above video together, watch it in higher quality on facebook. A few laps of soloing Barrier Reef S 4a next to it and we were done for the day, back to to Lancaster for fajitas and beer.

Lake District Cragging: Raven & Wallowbarrow

Friday the forecast was promising for the afternoon, so myself and Stu took a leisurely morning leaving late and then doing some shopping in Ambleside. It looked to have dried out so we headed over to Raven Crag above the ODG in Langdale. The rock was damp when we first arrived so we started off with The Original Route S 4a ***, its given 4 pitches in the guidebook but in usual fashion we managed to halve this running one + two and three + four together without any real issues. The final two pitches have some really nice face climbing on them on big holds, its certainly a route worth doing if its at your grade or on a wet day.

Myself leading Revelation.

Next up we did Revelation HS * which I led in one long pitch of 43m, excellent steep juggy climbing all the way. We topped out and were briefly tempted by Muscle Crack E1 5c/6a even thought it was a bit wet. I got halfway up it but coulden't get my jams to stick in the greasy crack so reversed it and came down, I'd be keen to go back for a crack on a dry day though. For our last route we did Bilberry Buttress VS+ 4c which was excellent, especially the two crux pitches at the start. That evening we drove over to the Duddon Valley to hook up with Ash, and unexpectedly Stubbs and Rachael.

The Plough at Wallowbarrow.

Wallowbarrow was Sunday destination, and in our slightly hungover states we started easy with Nameless S 3c doing it in two pitches. Next we did Malediction Direct VS 4c ** with Stu doing the approach pitch and me leading the 4c one, which was excellent steep climbing. Highly recommended. We then swapped roles and did the same approach pitch but this time Ash lead off up The Plumb VS 4c which again was great. I ambitiously (being lazy) seconded it in my trainers and due to complacency popped off the greasy polished holds below the chimney! We then moved over to the far buttress where Ash lead off up The Plough HVS 5b which is a excellent route, technical face climbing before a jamming crack finish - and much better protected then it initially looked. I then did Paradise VS 4c next to it which gives a long pitch of climbing with interesting sections but is certainly a soft touch at 4c.

Jade Jauquet Photography

My friend Jade Jauquet from the States came out climbing with us at Trowbarrow a few weeks ago, he's a really talented photography and took some really good photos some of which I thought I'd share below:

Bec placing gear before the crux of Jomo.

Belaying at the top of Assagai.

Climber at the top of Jomo.

Bec leading Coral Sea.

Jade following on Coral Sea.

Black Diamond catalog?

Myself at the top of Assagai, as the sun set.
(Hard to believe this was Lancashire in March, two days before I went ice-climbing on the Ben!)

The above aren't in anywhere near enough high enough resolution for you appreciate them so I urge you to take a look at them, and the many others on his Flikr Photostream.

Islay

For the last week I've been on Islay in the Hebrides, on geological field course as part of my degree. We were studying metamorphic rock in particular and using the exposures across the island to tell the story of opening and closing of the Iapetus Ocean which existed between 600 and 400 Ma, bounded by the separation of the paleocontinents Laurentia and Baltica and the Caledonian orogeny and the creation of Laurussia. In addition to the outcrops pertaining to the above event we also viewed rocks on the western side of Islay which are some of the oldest in the world dating back to 1.8 billion years ago.

Lossit Bay, on the west coast of Islay, one of the sites of our field work.

The topography of Islay is relatively flat, and there is little to now climbing so apart from a little bouldering on the beach in between geological mapping I didn't clock any vertical mileage. The place however is beautiful, and like the rest of the Hebrides feels a very long way urban centers of mainland Britain. We also visited the Laphroaig distillery that was very interesting, as well as us being supplied with a lot of free samples.

Ben Nevis: CIC Hut

Last weekend I spent an excellent 3 days up at the CIC at the base of Tower Ridge, below the north face of Ben Nevis, the only true alpine style hut in the UK.

The walk-in.

Day 1 - Friday

After a laborious walk in with big packs we reached the hut mid-morning and made ourselves at home before setting out to do a few routes. Tom, Mark, Chris, Julie and Martin headed up to do Tower Scoop while myself and Stubbs headed up to scope out conditions in Corrie na Ciste. We were a little skeptical of conditions with the warm temperatures (I'd been rock climbing with my shirt of all day a few days before) but once we were a few hundred meters above the hut the snow turned to neve and quite a few of the ice lines looked to be in good nick.

We decided on Green Gully IV 4 ****, a Cold Climbs classic. It was in excellent nick with the three steep ice pitches being fat and plastic and with styrofoam like neve in between. Conditions were so good infact that we never got the rope out and simul-soloed the whole route in just over 30 minutes! It felt excellent just to be moving really fast and un-encumbered up some reasonably technical terrain, Stubbs needed some encouraging words to do the crux but did an excellent job despite claiming to be slightly out of his comfort zone in retrospect.

Hut life - Jagermeister and curry.

After topping out we descended No 3 Gully I, with a small abseil over the slumping cornice. On the way down as it was still early we did the East-West Traverse I of the Douglas Boulder, and just about resited the urge to get on Tower Ridge!

Day 2 - Saturday

Up into the Ciste with Chris today, we went straight for Comb Gully IV 4 ***, another classic ice route. We soloed up the approach slopes and did the route in two main pitches, a shorter first one. Ice was nice and plastic again.

I was quite keen to get on something a bit harder so once we'd done the No3 Gully descent we headed back round and underneath our previous route and up towards the Cascade V 5. It looked a little thin, and very steep but there was what looked like a ramp of neve at just over half height which would give a rest before the top section. The route is about 40m in total. I started up the first section, which was initially a little hollow sounding but then got onto some great plastic steep ice, vertical in places. Four screws and about 25m later this changed as I hit the neve band, which unfortunately wasn't neve - it was unconsolidated ice, almost as if somebody had just poured crushed ice onto it. With poor pick and foot placements and no immediate screws, and even though it wasn't steep I was un-confident of my ability to climb it safely so decided retreat was perhaps a better option and started digging. I got through the layers of crud and found some better ice below and got a screw in to protect we while I built the abalkov. I built one, but wasn't confident in it strength so dug a little deeper and built another. I threaded this one, and put a mallion on it so I could lower off unclipping and unscrewing my runners I went, just to increase my safety margin if it did go. Before I took the screw out I tested and waited the thread and it didn't fail so cautiously committed to it. Chris lowered me and I got the first two screw out, as I was reaching the third though the thread blew and I fell 15m hitting the snow below, bouncing and sliding stopping as the load came onto the next runner. Thankfully I was ok, I checked myself and nothing felt broken. A small cut on my nose, stiff neck and 3 small punctures in the left thigh from my crampons (but no holes in my trousers!?) were the only injuries.

After having a moment I re-climbed the lower section of the route to get my screws back. Its been annoying me ever since as to why the thread failed. My first thought was that maybe the cord broke, or I just tied it incorrectly in haste but on inspection afterwards it was correct. I knew the ice was poor but I did test it and it didn't fail, and why didn't it fail when I first weighted it on the abseil and not halfway down? AT the point the thread failed the angle of pull on the tread changed slightely from being straight down to towards one side, perhaps this was the reason.

Anyhow the fact that it blew justifies in my mind the decision to back off rather than push on up the crap ice. It also makes we think I certainly did the right thing in leaving the runners clipped as apose to abseiling straight off the thread, in which case I very well may of slid off down the mountain when it had gone. Thanks to Chris for holding me, and staying calm. I did ask him if he wanted a go but he gracefully declined.

Day 3 - Sunday

Ice pitch at the start of Glovers Chimney.

Final day up in the Ciste, myself and Martin headed to do Glovers Chimney III 4 on the side of Tower Ridge. The first pitch gave an awesome 20m of steep ice, certainly at the top end of III. We then moved together for around 150m up the snow slope and small ice steps to the base of the crux mixed chimney. I led this and it was excellent technical mixed climbing, feeling tricky as it was quite thin but well protected. Theres three pegs, each by the hard moves, in addition to this I think I only placed a sling and nut. You top out right in the middle of Tower Gap which is awesome.

Final mixed pitch of Glovers.

We finished up the upper section of Tower Ridge to the summit plateau before descending and walking out. A session in th Clachiage followed.