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Friday, 28 May 2021

Return to Rhyolite

 Thursday May 27th

After over 22 months absence, the time was finally right for a return to Lakeland.  NB takes break from house moving business and free to roam.  Despite demanding quite a long distance solo drive for both, the temptation to get back amongst the much missed destinations out west trumped all other considerations.    NB suggested a great venue to kick us off;

Upper  Scout Crag - Langdale

From Darlington about 1 hour 50 via Red Bank, about ten minutes less via the M6 from Clitheroe way. 


NB assembling gear for the start of  Route 2, which starts up the stepped buttress in the left background.




 Moving smoothly up the crux of the second pitch.




AT on P2

Pic from 2016

The gear is good but even better if all quickdraws are clipped......

Not to mention the advantages of keeping pockets all zipped up.



Good belays are hard to find up top but NB got some bomber gear in on the upper ledge.



Doggo takes a break after a bit of soloing




After a spot of bait AT sets about Route 1 first pitch.  Often suffers seepage in the first few metres, today particularly soppy.



Opted for a roomy lower belay from a good block backed up with a large cam.


Better than the bigger block higher up.


NB gains the fine arete of Pitch 2.

Superb position in a fabulous setting

(excuse the superlatives but 21 months is a long while)


The second of the following pair reaches the same point.


AT climbed the corner a few metres left of the climber



The grassy descent path is v exposed.  

Spot the yellow dot - the next target.







Libations de rigeur as usual.






Wednesday, 26 May 2021

2021 Lions Limited

 May 25th

The Birmingham gang have come up north again, so another opportunity to have a meet up and invent some nonsense with the crew.  A one day wonder so the EK troops not in range.  RL came up with a wonderplan so we were all set.


The day dawned well......


Arrived at Skelton all present and correct for an alfresco coffee and cakes, then set out on the mission, weather dictated plenty of fluidity in options, but a walk to the fish and chip fleshpots of Saltburn sounded good.



Early bearing check.  We are at position A.


Where is that then?


This option seemed too adventurous to ignore.....




Not surprisingly it was the wrong way....


Returned over the raging torrent and found our way to Saltburn.


.



We rented three of these for 20 minutes and scoffed fish and chips in the dry


Team Surf show their moves


Weather picking up, looks like stage 2 of the plan is GO!

AT confirms that there will be a bus back.  Offers a lame excuse about some past timetable mishaps.




The walk along the cliff top is exposed in places, leads to Cattersty Sands at Skinningrove.







A steep path lands everyone on the beach


Bus back to Skelton caught in good order.




An excellent meet blessed by the weather Gods, the chippie,  the on-time bus, and great company.



12km
500m ascent












Thursday, 20 May 2021

Almscliff Antics

 Wednesday 19th May

The unpredictable weather spell drags on in a rather cool autumnal rut.  So short notice planning is the name of the game, 10am till 2pm looked like a worthwhile slot at the all too accessible;

Almscliff!

CB follows AT's lead on Stewpot.  Belay up top and additional friend for the top out thanks to BP

AT not exactly cooking on gas on this top-end VDiff.!


CB followed this with fun and games (?) on the Square Chimney and Whisky Crack combo.


The Chimney only succumbs to traditional tactics.


Otherwise known as desperate.



Not used to watching CB have to work so hard for so little height gain.




BP emerges intact after an epic struggle.



AT finally makes progress with the help of some useful tips from BP (the right arm behind was the key, except it nearly went out of joint) and a very tight rope from CB.





BP jams the way to the finishing jugs.

All pretty exhausting at a mere 4b.




Pinnacle Flake offers more amenable movements after a rather tricky lower third.





CB back to cruising settings.




AT makes the most of the jamming hands on Kiernan's Traverse and Rough Crack


CB and BP managed to follow before the weather gave up and rain stopped play at about 13.30.  Just as planned.


Three hours of excellent sport well worth the trip.





Out West Again

Tuesday 18 May

Eight months since we made it over to the Lakes, finally took a chance on avoiding any showers and headed out to Keswick.  Usual circuit below Catbells and down to the Lakeside.  Return to Keswick for a spot of late lunch - takeaway pasties, and a Booths raid.  Then off to the H&F to collect the set.  On-line ordering a right pain!


















Thursday, 13 May 2021

Peter McGarry

 Peter McGarry.  January 1945 - May 2nd 2021




More pictures here



 It was September 29th 2002.


We'd made a plan of sorts for that Sunday. I think it might have been hatched in the week before at the after-work climbing session at Aycliffe Wall.  It must have been the Thursday before because somehow Colin and Katy got entangled in the loop.  Anyhow the fix was in, the die was cast, and there was no going back.  Tophet Wall.

I don't recall the journey to the Lakes, mind and body were ill prepared and in a sorry state.  Something to do with that second bottle of red we'd opened the night before. I’d slept well but woke up badly. 

Memory of that morning starts somewhere past Seathwaite farm. The headache was fading and Peter and I were going reasonably well along the horizontal bit up to Stockley Bridge. I was even beginning to feel keen. The G-Man declared himself to be "Champion!". That always made me feel better. Knowing my partner was in tip top shape filled me with hope that a similar level of well being was possible, merely by sticking close to him.

So we crossed Stockley Bridge and headed on up the wrong path. When we got to the top of Grains Gill it was obvious we were above Styhead Tarn and way out of wack.  So we descended westwards.  In due course a voice drifted over on the wind. "What are you doing up there?".  It was Colin.   Katy and he were parked up serenely by the rescue box near the tarn. It was good of them to wait, but by then they'd had enough and set off up towards the Napes. 


We caught them up eventually somewhere in Hell Gate Gully and exchanged notes. I had thought they would be joining us on the route. That was my recollection of the Thursday chat anyway.  Memory had failed me again as they had other plans that didn't involve shepherding us up the hulking frown of a crag that loomed above.  But it was bathed in sun and full of potential. 

Colin helpfully lead the way along the base of the crag and showed us the start of the route.  We'd already revealed our route finding limitations.  He probably thought that it would be better to see us right rather than abseiling down "The Vikings" later on to scrape us out of some off route fandango.  After a spot of lunch he and Katy set off up the screes up to the summit of Gable. By this time the sun was long gone from the crag.   Now it looked full of threat.  Our detour had cost us over an hour and it must have been about half past one before we got going. 




The first pitch turned out to be mine. Straight away there was trouble. Small holds. Off balance. There was plenty of gear but it all was five metres higher up. I got across to the crack and waved a few wires at it until one of them wobbled in.  
The G-Man murmured something approving.



I had a few cams back then but they weren’t really part of my routine. It would have saved a lot of bother if they were.  A couple more moves up then a long reach landed a hand round a big spike, a sling and salvation.  Diagonal trending up a steady staircase led to a belay off to the right on a narrow ledge. 


The small block was a bit wobbly but a couple of wires tightened things up.  It felt solid with the sling.  The G-Man followed up with alacrity, and said the climbing was Champion.

He was soon with it and headed up the steep wall quite quickly on half decent holds. There was no point faffing about because there was nothing to faff with.   The block belay was now out of the line and beginning to feel a bit sub-optimal.  "Any gear up there youth?"  No reply.  Seven metres up and a shout came. There is gear, a God, and his name is surely McGarry!




"I'll keep going" said the man.  A bit later came the “Climb When Ready!” so I followed on. There was no gear on that wall.  Bold climbing buddy.













My lead again. The classic traverse pitch. Although the moves were steady and the gear was good the crag is undercut there so the exposure is big.  It was sensational but all more straight forward than its reputation. 


A solid belay was the business.   All around looked formidable. Up left was overhanging and impossible.  Further right disappeared into Hellgate Gully. Between, a stack of steepening corner cracks called out "We are the way"! Time had of course long flown and it was later than we would like.

We swapped gear quietly.  We felt good.

Peter set off. The pitch started out up two pinnacles, one leaning above the other. The first went quite easily. The second was something else. 



Our intrepid leader perched below the headwall as the wind came whipping round the arête. Trousers were flapping wildly, audio contact lost in the maelstrom up there.  The stance was sheltered though and I looked on with an odd sense of detachment.   Above the pinnacle the wall looked proper steep. 


The G-Man committed.  Head, hands, feet followed each other and HE WAS UP!  A little while passed and suddenly the ropes snaked away.  Was that a call?  I waited a bit then the ropes stayed tight on as I shuffled over to start the first pinnacle.

Since Colin and Katy had left we'd been all alone in the high fells.   Looking down now there were a couple of guys running the first two pitches into one. Blimey they were really moving!   Maybe two at most three runners in the whole thirty-odd metres. 

Peter had got the cracks sewn up though.  Those last moves were out there, everywhere else was down there.  Except up there was the G-Man glowing with the rush of redemption.

The belay was back a bit along a good ledge above a plunging drop down to the red screes of Hell Gate.  Whilst we were sorting our gear a climber arrived from the top of the route.  Already!  How can that be?  He looked about fifty something,  greyish streaky beard and tussled hair, craggy features, wire rims.  Not Doug Scott surely?

It wasn’t.  But even so I knew his face from somewhere.

A quick how-do and he moved away from the edge and dropped in some bomber gear before our belay station.  Then clipped in with a screwgate and clove.   Some fancy handiwork with the hitch gave him slack to walk back and take up position above the gulping void.  Some pulls on the slack rope, a quick tug on the anchor rope, take in and all was tight and CLIMB WHEN READY!  It took less than a minute. So that's how it's done!  By then me and the G-Man were into our fourth hour. 


The descent was no gimme, climbing down at about diff into Hell Gate Gully.  Feet were pinching badly now round the scree to the sacks.  Stash the gear, down and away past the Napes, Styhead Tarn, Taylor Force, Stockley Bridge, Seathwaite and thank God for the car. 19.30 and the light is lost.

Home.  What a day.  Peter still had a half hour back to base and a nice bath.

Monday came and after work at the wall, Nick was there. 

Good weekend Andy?  I said yeah. What did you get up to then, big fellah?  I said me and the G-Man popped up Tophet Wall.  TOP MAN!! he exclaimed, grabbing my shoulder and offering his hand.  We shook on it and it felt champion.

Post script; 

On the way home his name came to me.
Was it Rab Carrington? I looked up his picture and it sure looked like Mr RAB himself. 
Pity that I was wearing a Berghaus/Prana combo, no wonder he wasn’t very chatty. 





Tophet Wall

HS 

P1 20m AT

P2 17m PM

P3 18m AT

P4 20m PM

Peter McGarry.  January 1945 - May 2nd 2021