Pennine Lines w/c 19 June 2023
|| Damp, humid, cooler || Proper British summer ||
Heely Selassie || Climber: Shauna Coxsey
|| Focus On ||
new Horizons
When you've lived in the same place for a long time it's easy to fall into complacency and routine. Now, I'm not saying routine in climbing is necessarily wrong, and in fact I'm a strong believer that building a relationship with a place, with a crag or venue, can be a very a positive thing. Generally speaking it's got a lot going for it instead of the fashionable but consumerist approach of just flitting around picking off low hanging fruit. However, I am as guilty as anyone of falling to the trap of frequenting the same places each year almost by default.
Summer is an especially bad time for this in the Peak if you're not careful. Temperatures now regularly rise to way in excess of what we're used to and what I can personally deal with. Not being a sun worshipper this means trying to find shade, which reduces the scope a little, as the Peak does have a lot of south and/or west facing crags. Add into that an obsession for weather forecast checking, conditions juggling, a dislike for spending all day in the car, and I find myself operating to a fairly limited set of venues. Which seems ridiculous given the amount of climbing in the Peak, but it's all too easy for me to find excuses to not try new place. Logic dictates if there's somewhere I've not yet been to it MUST be because it's not any good, or I'm not good enough, or the drive is too long, or the walk too far, etc etc. There's nothing worse than being disappointed with a place,...... so maybe next summer. Excuses excuses.
With this in mind, it's actually an utter delight to take a gamble on somewhere new and have it pay off. Even better, to go somewhere new AND feel like you're climbing alright, enjoying it and find relatively decent conditions, good rock and a good 'crack', well that's a rare and beautiful thing.
Rastavarian || Climber: Dom Bridgwood
Right now, for me, that crag is the Boardwalk Cave in Dovedale. Just on the edge of Staffordshire, Dovedale is something of an iconic venue for Peak limestone trad climbing, with some spectacular rock architecture on display and some famous classic routes across the grade spectrum, like Eye Of The Tiger, Final Round, George, and John Peel. And in days gone by it was even famed for being one of the only places you could go aid climbing, if hanging in etriers in caves fielding confused questions from tourists is your thing.
Luckily, getting odd looks and funny questions from the general public is now more accessible than ever due to Dovedale's genesis as a valuable bouldering venue. Esoteric spots like The Tube have been known about and documented for years, but as the Boardwalk cave reached maturity over the last decade with a concerted development effort by keen Peak locals, we're left with a genuinely great collection of problems, albeit with little on offer below Font 7c. It's even found video fame with attention from Aidan Roberts and Will Bosi. But as you walk into the dale carrying a huge pad just be careful not to plough tourists off the path into the river, because they're not used to this yet.
Anyway, Boardwalk cave is was exactly the sort of place I'd always found a good reason not to bother checking out. Didn't take the risk, played it safe. But recently a combination of factors - not least encouragement from the perennially keen Rob Smith - seemed to align to allow the long walk and the hot weather to not really get in the way any more. And for our efforts we have been duly rewarded with some enjoyable climbing, and the kid-in-a-sweetshop experience of a entirely new (to me) limestone bouldering venue.
I'm sure the honeymoon period will wear off at some point, leaving just the long drawn-out Peak limestone soul-destroying process of trying to put that last project to bed before psyche fails, conditions turn and interests wander. Or maybe the heatwave kicks back in and we retreat to the deckchair and the freezer drawer full of those little Aldi fake Magnum ice creams you can get now. Or maybe we'll just get an old-school British summer; damp, humid, uninspiring, with the limestone never truly drying out. Until that point arrives, let the good times roll. New problems, finding new challenges, meeting new people.
Moral of the story, if there is one: take a punt on a new place this summer.
Levi Roofs || Climber: Ned Feehally
|| Grit Blocs Giveaway ||
As mentioned last week, this Vertebrate promotion is still running - they are giving away a 10-problem Grit Blocs download for free and 25% off a copy of the book with signups to their newsletter
|| SUPPORTED BY ||
|| Recently through the lens ||
More Boardwalk action with Jim, Cheehan and Omar. Non-Dovedale content to be resumed next week I promise, bear with me.
|| New Feature ||
Over the next few weeks I'll be adding some new Destination pages on the site - these will give a short overview and a few key pointers for a range of venues, and shortcuts to relevant articles/posts and images from the email archive to make it a little easier for readers to refer back to the bank of content and signpost it to newcomers.
In the spirit of tackling the easy wins first we have Stanage up initially to get the ball rolling. More will follow, so watch this space....
