Pennine Lines w/c 27 March 2023
|| Staying cool, for now || Lengthening evenings ||
|| Behind The Scenes ||
Unused image from the Grit Blocs cutting room floor
It’s rare in life to be able to pinpoint the exact moment something begins, except in retrospect. But here we are, at the very beginning of Pennine Lines. Everyone reading this; you were here from day one - thanks! So for this first email we’re taking it right back to another beginning of sorts.
When the I started bouldering in the Peak at the tail end of the 1990s most of the problems I tried, and often failed on, were only afforded a grade. No names, because it was ‘only bouldering’. It wasn’t proper climbing, it wasn’t valued. Looking back, Cleo’s Edge was the first problem I managed to climb which warranted a name.
It’s interesting to look on bouldering’s transition from ‘not proper climbing’ to its current status over the last twenty-odd years. Maybe it’s because bouldering was mainly treated as training for routes, for climbers to push technical standards on in relative safety, that most lower grade problems were left unnamed, if not entirely unrecorded. It’s likely that it took the strongest lower grade lines, the ones which demanded attention and could not be ignored, to get a foot in the door of legitimacy. They then paved the way for more lower grade lines to be named and properly recorded. Cleo’s Edge is just such a problem, a standard bearer for the many great lower grade lines on gritstone, and it’s probably why it’s such a favourite for many. That, and the fact it’s just a bloody good problem.
The image above is one of the author’s favourites from the pile of shots that were missed from the pages of Grit Blocs. Sometimes images were bumped for no reason other than not fitting in a design layout alongside other shots. Sometimes an image would be cut because it was a vertical where only a horizontal would work, or vice versa. Or a big image needed to run across the gutter, leaving no room for a second or third image. This was one of those unlucky shots. At least I have an excuse to talk about it now.
Finally, for the photo geeks out there this is one which also marks another beginning; late 2000s, having gone out and bought a big medium format film camera right at the point when film was supposed to be dying off. But it's not a decision I regret. This was the first ‘keeper’ on that very first roll of film. A spring evening, dark sky, potent clouds, with the low sun raking across. Probably one of the first after-work sessions at around this time of year. Burbage really is great for those. So Burbage, Cleo’s Edge, an image on film; this feels like the right place to begin.
A Bigger Splash Direct || Climber: Rachel Briggs
|| Focus on.... ||
Seasons
Right now we’re at that point of transition. It’s still quite cool, but those April showers are building, frosty mornings are a thing of the past, and the damp limestone dales are starting to be carpeted with wild garlic filling the air with an unmistakable aroma. Gritstone will be in fine fettle for a while yet. But on those blustery showery days, like it or not, the prospect of sitting out the showers at a limestone crag, sheltered from the buffeting winds, will become a viable prospect.
Limestone isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but it completes the rock type double-act so well, with such a contrast. The Peak's climbing wouldn't quite be the same without limestone, it wouldn't have the same year-round potential. And if you partake of both rock types then that shift in emphasis from one to the other really marks the seasons.
Wrapped in a waterproof jacket on Stanage huddled in a cave sitting out another shower, or basking in tee-shirt weather at Rubicon? You can’t say you’re not tempted. It’s been a long winter.
|| Recently through the lens ||
The last of the winter days at Secret Garden and Stanage
|| Fresh Prints ||
To mark the launch of the Pennine Lines Print Shop here's a few favourites available for the first time - click the images to jump into the store. And as a thanks to you absolute legends who were here from the start take 20% off any landscape or grit print until Sunday - use the code LEGENDS20 at checkout.
