A Cracking Day!

When Barrie, one of the members of The Flashers climbing social group and who I'd never climbed with (or met for that matter!), posted a Facebook message looking for folk to join him on a crack practice mission to Burbage North, I jumped right in!

Grit is my favourite rock and although I prefer technical slabby routes, I'm not averse to getting battered and bloodied occasionally and that's certainly what happened here.

I recruited Nathan (who also didn't need much persuading!) and we met Barrie down at the crag where we decided to base ourselves initially beneath Long Tall Sally Buttress. More of this route later!

Lester 'guarding' Long Tall Sally buttress me belaying Barrie on his gnarly off width!

Nathan was first up and lead............ HS 4b which Barrie then seconded and I followed up after, all without any dramas. It's a nice route although it's very difficult to climb as a pure crack, the plentiful holds being just too tempting to ignore. Why put yourself through pain right?! In fact I don't remember using a single jam on it. I enjoyed it!

Next up was my lead and I chose Green Crack VS 4b on the same buttress. Don't let the name put you off, it was bone dry. The green stain gives testament to the fact that it isn't always so but it was for us and it's a super little route. I actually did use a jam or 3 on this route, especially low down, which is quite steep and pretty holdless. Higher up, on the slab section, there are holds but not necessarily usable so it takes a bit of figuring out. Indeed I fell (hardly a fall really and not far) from the top move. I'd latched the top with my right hand but too hastily, a lunge, summit fever and my feet were never in position. I had a shake out ~(head mainly!) and then finished it off as I should have done first time round. A nice route, disappointed not to have got it clean but also really pleased for quickly giving my head a wobble and getting back on it.

 

loving the gritstone jamming!

 

So, onto Barrie's lead and he chose Obscenity VS 4c, a nasty looking off width which there was absolutely no chance of me following. I loathe off widths! I subscribe to Pamela Shanti Packs Twitter and Facebook pages. All she climbs pretty much are gnarly off widths. I watch with a mixture of deep admiration and the question 'is this woman all there?'! My stock quote on off widths is 'if I wanted to crawl inside stuff I'd have been a caver'!

So I watched with great delight as first Barrie and then Nathan, squirmed their way up the horrible thing. they claimed to have had fun, I still think they are lying! At one point, Nathan pretty much disappeared inside the thing. I doubted he'd make it back out again, I was already deciding which bits of his gear I was having if I never saw him again! Re appear he did though and to be fair, they both climbed it with about as much style as you're ever going to be able to muster on an off width.

Nathan 'immersing' himself into off width hell!

So onto route No 4 and Nathans lead again. He chose Long Tall Sally E1 5b, I knew he would, in fact the only surprise was he didn't go for this one first, he normally does! It looked hard. I remarked that even getting off the ground would be difficult with a couple of steep moves on sloping crimps which also happened to be soaking wet! Indeed it proved to be the case with Nathan taking time to work out the sequence and get established on the first slab. The climbing is thin from here on in. Too shallow finger jams and smears for feet and gear fiddly to place and sometimes not as good as you'd like! The bulge sequence is the crux, getting established on the upper slab and then the following move up to the first decent holds. Nathan worked it out and once over the crux, summited easily. Barrie followed and in some style, although he did confess to having done the route a couple of times previously. My turn and I struggled from the off! Both the guys had used a foothold high up in a shallow crack which my little legs just couldn't get high enough up to for it to be of any real use. I eventually spotted a tiny pocket low down to my left which I dried furiously with a towel. Getting my left foot on this first gave me just enough extra height to then make use of the crack hold and get established. The next section was all good and now I was at the bulge.......which I just could not for the life of me work out. I had plenty of attempts, in all sorts of ways, but I just couldn't seem to find a sequence that worked for me. It was nothing to do with trying hard, simply that my problem solving skills were obviously not up to scratch this day!

walk like an Egyptian!

So I was keen to jump on lead again, best antidote for a failure is a success no?! I opted for ............ only S 4a but it was about the route not the grade. It looked varied with a steep crack for the lower section up to a break, a traverse along this and then a finish up a slabby groove/flake system. It was good, although the huge mid height ledge spoils it a little, it would be 3 * but for this I think. At S 4a, it would a be a good route for a new ish leader with some care needed in ropework.

And that was us done. A great day and another new climbing buddy met! Burbage is a cracking little venue. Not huge, either in the number of routes or it's stature but there is plenty of quality here in grades form Moderate to E8! When we climbed, we had the place to ourselves, even though round the corner, Stanage popular was, well, popular! If you're visiting in midge season, do take repellent, vicious little critters here!