How Green was my Stanage?

It's Monday - so it must be another late season trip to Stanage.  BP with a mission to tick off some more star stuff so right hand end again... weather much milder and the crag is in full bloom. Physiology, (BP) Anatomy, (AT) Crack and Corner (AT), Cakestand (BP)  all done.  Square Chimney and Mantlepiece Crack, Black Hell Hell Crack (BP) and Black Hawk Traverse Right (AT - traditional)

All in all another great day of miscellaneousness. Eight character building routes done - who needs Kalymnos when you can stay in Derbyshire and save the planet?

Who let the dogs out?

It looked like a full working week except for Monday, fortunately the rest of the pack were up for a day out and the weather turned up too.  After a very cold start (felt like we must be barking mad) at Stanage High Neb the sun burnt it all off.  NB going incommunicado (pic).

Three routes there and then a short drive to the far right hand end for some off the beaten track climbing.  BP please to add five new routes to the 17,653 he's already done, some BIG MOVES needed.  Four more routes there with WingCo Thompson in flying form.

Who let the dogs out?

Raven bonkers

After Tuesdays downpour Wednesday 7/10 turned out great as forecast, so a crack team rendezed themselves at Greta Bridge - objective to re-take Raven Crag.  Some short but steep routes on East Raven were despatched, then me and Norm headed over to explore the mysteries of Evening Wall while Bruce stole P1 and P3 of Centipede from Mark at the other end.  That FRCC guide is USELESS, I finished up a 4b line - think the route traversed several metres left although that wasn't clear, how come a 2 star route isn't shown on the topo?  Earlier on the guide had us guessing on "Speckled Band".

South bound again

Travelled to Hove for a break with Vikki and Pete.  Called in at Profeet for boot upgrade for Her Luminescence, progress made but will need another visit.  Great weather, dazzling white light white heat flat sea hard to beat anywhere.  Shopped, scoffed and quaffed for three days straight - new venue "Bills" interesting eaterie in a converted bus depot, and a meal out with Rog and Sue at the Ginger Pig -  plus great home cooking by the Vikk - fishtastic..!

Trenchtown rock

Tuesday came.  The idea was to head to Borrowdale and revisit The Pinnacle of Troutdale - but the weather forecast was 30:70.  In the face of those odds PLAN B was invoked - N Yorks - Peak Scar.  We went, we found it.  We let it be.  Norms words of wisdom along the lines of "let's f@&k off to the Wainstones.  Couldn't fault the reasoning, given the airborne fret, damp rock, and the prevailing Tolkien vibe of the place.  So we drove up Bilsdale and commenced PLAN C.

Walked in from Hasty Bank, Ravenscar option thwarted by a new and serious fence.  Uber classics looked green anyway.
On to Wainstones for a sporty afternoon. Ling here, Sphinx there, Christopher to finish, nice catching Norm.

Stone ground

Back in the loop with team Binks on Sunday - on a Millstone mission.  Several other notables present, C Craggs (Mr Peak) Steve Cunnington, Dave Spence, Graham ? Dave Vincent inter alia.

The Pinnacle Club were also out in force, showing how it's done (well Bond St certainly isn't a one way street!),   Me and MB joined on a rope and played Monopoly with the routes. It's no place for the faint hearted, but there's no way would we let it grind us down,  http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/showlog.html?id=12428&sort=e
Pretty windy on top but an excellent day out.  The Mall (VS4c) pictured ((c) Madking thanks to UKC) and also CB smearing his jams all over Bond Street

Life's a beach

Friday was a day for us, so we packed a picnic and headed out to find the sun. Original plan was N York Moors, maybe Rievaux Abbey, but it looked dull that way so we peeled off to the seaside. 

A windy walk down the stupendous Saltburn strand, so much space across the sand , sea, and sky - vertiginous in a horizontal kind of way