Cool for Older Cats

There and back again - the journey home was the usual nightmare, we abandoned the stationary traffic on the M1 and weaved back via Matlock.

Monday on Stennis Head was great, another perfect Pembroke day, blue skies, booming seas and the odd shower. We did five routes and the old chestnut of grades reared its head:

Current Guide/Graded List
Quickstep VS 4b
Limbo VS 4c
World War III Blues HVS 5b
Manzoku E1 5b
Cool for Cats E1 5b

Our Thoughts
Quickstep HS 4b
Limbo HVS 5a
Cool For Cats E1 5b (soft)
World War III Blues E1 5b (standard)
Manzoku E1 5b (stiff)

Either way, they are a great set of routes, I was especially impressed with Cool for Cats, long, sustained and on great holds - perfection!

Prime Pembroke

We decided to head back to Pembroke to test drive the new guide - the journey down was steady, despite reports on the radio of some horrendous traffic jams up and down the country. After five hours on the road and some impressive rain storms we stopped briefly at the Thorne Chapel Bunkhouse for a brew and drop the gear off, then scooted out to St Govan's. Conditions were glorious, a low tide, big waves, wheeling gulls and a fresh wind. We zipped down the abseil and did Front Line (HVS 5a) and The Arrow (E1 5b). Both routes are a bit more polished than the last time we did them, but are still as glorious as ever, The Arrow in particular is a magnificent climb - well deserved of all its plaudits.
Saturday was cooler and bit on the grey side, but still dry. Whilst wailing for the tide to drop (a really low spring tide) we popped into the Leap and did Shape Up (E1 5b) - the start was a touch greasy but the rest was great. Then it was onto Saddle Head. The extra-low tide got us to Eavesdripper, a great first pitch, though the upper one felt more like a bold E1 5b than the given HVS 4c. Next a hop and skip over to Bosherston Head, for a trip up Baker's Door (E1 5b), fine fingery climbing on great rock. As we topped out Gary Gibson stuck his head over the cliff top - prospecting for the new CC guide due out by next Whit - or so the story goes!

Grit Bimbling

Its summer, its hot and sweaty, its midgy - its NOT the grit season! So where do we go - Roaches, Stanage, Brimham - what the Hell! Brimham was especially interesting, I haven't been there in summer for donkeys' years - it was absolutely heaving. We ticked the old classics (left Mark Binney on Birch Tree Wall - which I first led c1967), working our way round to Allen's Crack - things were a touch green and greasy, but despite that many of the routes appear to be getting a bit battered which is sad really.

The new Pembroke guide has arrived - it looks gorgeous, so that is next week sorted out then!

Photo: Busy weekend at Brimham

Back to Front

The month in Switzerland and Belgium was good, especially being back on the granite, but Sunday on Stanage was fine too - and very sociable. I hunted out one more route I hadn't done before (1021) - Colin, Bruce and Tony were down from North Yorkshire and the usual suspects were out from Sheffield.
I suggested to Colin that a couple of weeks at Handegg in September might be nice and to my surprise he agreed. I phoned Sherri on the mobo and 30 mins later she phoned back - East Midlands to Geneva, £43 return including a bag - that will do nicely!

Belgium Reprised

A hot wind (29C) blowing down from the Grimsel Pass battered the tent and our nerves as it blustered all night long - so early next morning we upped sticks and headed north - to Belgium. I can't remember how many years it was since we were last there (could be 15) and my memory of the camp-site and the cliffs was a bit hazy! We got established at Villatoille (near Dinant) - the site was really busy but soon quietened down after 10:00 - very civilised.
We visited the crags at Dave - which Sherri described very accurately as a Belgium Stoney Middleton - the climbing was good, though very polished and I was shocked at how far apart the bolts were - must be getting old! One easy route I look Sherri up had 3 bolts in each of its two 30m pitches - I was glad I had plenty in reserve!
Sunday we called in at Marche les Dames and it was busy with weekend climbers, mostly Dutch and Belgian, with the odd German(!) and us. Another place that I had fogotten about; the climbing was good (though poished again) but the routes proved to be long, steep, pumpy pitches with spaced bolts - and some rather suspect grades - take me back to Kalymnos!

Swiss Pleasure - Indeed

Ten days here now, the weather has been a bit mixed, though mostly good, (witheringly hot at times too; 29C at midnight one day last week) but it has been great to be back. The beauty of the area is that to escape the heat it is simply a matter of driving uphill for 20 minutes or so to reach an area with the required temperature. The pain from the tooth (and the bill) have gone, and we have already pencilled in a possible return in September when things have cooled down a bit and the crowds have gone home.
The climbing has been tremendous, even better than I remember, I wonder how a Swiss Select in the good old RockFax style might go down - now there's a thought!

Swiss Granite - Yummy

Back to Handegg, it has been a while (seven years) and despite the showery weather, it is great to be back. Visits to both the Susten Pass and the Grimsel Pass to sample the climbing have been great - there is still a lot of snow about and many wet streaks on the big slabs, but there is still plenty to go at. Hikes into Eldorado and through the Aarschluct Gorge were also grand, the visit to a dentist in Meiringen for a root-canal filling less so. Not that it was especially painful, I just haven't had the bill yet! (Finally got the bill 635 Swiss Francs - now that really did hurt!)