Seaside cragging in the Lakes

Climbing at the 'Scabby Backs' area

This was a new one for me, I knew St Bees crags where there but had never been down for a look. I nipped down and met Rob and his family and bagged a few routes. Its all bolted sport climbing on red sandstone, some of the best bouldering in the country is down here. Right by the sea, looking out to the Isle of Man its a pretty cool place to climb.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A word of caution though, as with any sea cliff its prone to drastic change, the bolts we found where all in good nick but I removed a number of really dodgy bits of old tat from the crag. The climbing is pretty much like Gritstone, a mix of powerful steep moves in cracks and delicate slabs, great for training and hanging about by the sea. 

 

Rotten Dodgy gear!

 

 



 

Heatwave

Derwent Water from Black Crag

Its been well into the high 20s and low 30s all week up in the Lakes, even high on the fells. Its a really demanding environment and has taken a bit of extra thought for me to be able to perform properly and look after my clients.

 

First off dehydration can be a real problem, I drink 2l before leaving, carry 3l in my bag for the day and drink another 2l when I get back down. The old Polar explorers manta of "ration sweat not water" goes a long way to helping make it last the day. Setting a realistic pace is super important if my clients are to enjoy the day, pounding uphill at Naismiths 5kph is not going to do anyone any good, a steady "Sherpa pace" is what's needed, breath in on one step and out on the other. Choosing shady approaches to crags help and climbing corners or chimney routes prevent the feet cooking in rock boots and avoid sunburn. Making sure folk eat too, its tempting not too but it wont help in the long run with the salts lost through exercise.

 

Its the longest warm spell I can remember in the Lakes, long may it continue but 5 degrees cooler would be nice. 

South Ridge Direct, Cir Mhor, Arran

I've been up on Arran over the weekend with Andy, with aspirations of being a Mountain Instructor this type of climbing was a great test of his skills and a chance to pick up some new ones. We climbed the classic South Ridge Direct on Cir Mhor, a 330m route with a 3 hour approach, in 12 pitches. And the weather was perfect.

Huge sweeps of blank granite split by cracks gave a great variety of climbing. We looked at a number of ways to improve efficiency at belays and changeovers, an important factor on long routes. A 5 minute time saving on every belay makes a big difference on routes like this and can be the difference between becoming benighted or not. 

 

With nowhere to hide from the sun its worth keeping covered up.

 

 

But the river provided the ideal place to cool off afterwards!

 

A week of fantastic dry weather in the Lakes, in fact it has been a case of looking for the shaded crags to avoid cooking the feet. Down at Seathwaite Buttress in the Duddon it felt like a continental crag, but without the bolts. Its a good time to get them routes done that are often damp or on the high crags where its normally cold, like the Scafell crags. I'm heading off to Arran for a look at the Rosa Pinnacle direct at the weekend, hopefully the weather will hold out, its looking ok.......

New Start

Well, my previous blog seems to have vanished. Hopefully it will turn up again somewhere, there was a lot of good stuff on there from the last few years. Nevermind, here's my new one, soon to be filled with cool stuff about the Mountains, check back soon. Al.