Pennine Lines w/c 17 April 2023
|| Strong easterlies || Chose your crags wisely ||
One Redeeming Feature / Total Redemption || Climber: Jon Fullwood
|| Burden of venue choice ||
Firstly, an admission, one which I hope will chime with a few people; I am not one of those people who can just ‘go climbing’. Someone who decides weeks in advance where they are heading and just goes there and has a good time? Not me. Those people do exist though, I hate them and envy them in equal measure. Instead, for some reason, the run-up to most trips out for me is a process fraught with indecision, conditions-watching, skin management, and let’s not forget juggling availability of climbing partners and the varying demands of domesticity. Even those rare days where you could go pretty much anywhere and it would be fine conditions-wise are problematic due to paralysis of choice.
But before we get the tiny violins out, sometimes the British weather does do us obsessive forecast-watchers a favour. This week, for example, the wind is forecast to be blowing in from the east, which is the opposite of the prevailing winds the UK gets from the Gulf Stream. In fact the majority of the gritstone edges in the Peak, and plenty in Yorkshire too, are pretty much designed to catch the westerlies, and be sheltered from the easterlies. So straight away Indecisive Dave here can cross off the list most west-facing crags if he’s looking for nice cool breezy grippy gritstone conditions. So what we’re left with is comparatively slim pickings for the conditions-obsessive, but there’s still some great east-facing crags out there.
The walk up to the boulder through a carpet of spring bluebells
Higgar East, although limited in scope, is a classic Sheffield local hit for easterlies, particularly good for an easyish circuit on warm summer evenings. Over in Staffs the crags on the Newstones/Baldstones ridge and Ramshaw are the obvious choices. South Peak you’re looking at Stanton Moor and crags like Bradley and Turningstone in the Amber Valley. But another great choice for this time of year lies further north, the until recently overlooked Bitholmes Wood - which is incidentally the current residence of the legendary Dragon Of Wantley, slain by being kicked up the arse.
Granted this is a niche venue even for fans of regional dragon mythology, and not one that’s likely to mature into a good circuit crag for climbers. But in Total Redemption it does sport one of the best 8a problems of recent years in the Peak, which is enough to secure at least some traffic. The problem, and the crucial landing balcony, came about as a sort of collective long-term team effort over the years by Sam Cattell, Jon Fullwood and Ned Feehally. I’ve previously described it as a “solid block perched on a tottering hillside of choss”. A fair description. But as far as hillsides of choss go this one is a pretty nice spot on a spring day. And all I’m saying is if you can catch it on a dry breezy week of easterlies then this particular chunk of grit is going to be at its best, or at least better than a kick up the arse.
Will Bosi on Mutation || Oct 2021
|| Focus on.... ||
BOSI
A lot of online chatter over the last few days has been about Will Bosi’s repeat of Burden Of Dreams in Finland. In recent years it can seem like the activities of those at the cutting edge of climbing can appear to be increasingly removed from the reality of climbing that the rest of us experience. Not least because there’s very few problems or routes in the UK at the moment that are actually at the cutting edge any more. And I suppose taking a several-week-long trip to try a single boulder problem that you’ve trained on a replica of, and live-streaming your attempts, does seem quite far removed from ‘normal’ climbing.
However, Will’s trip has managed to spark a bit of excitement that seems to set it apart. Aside from the media coverage we must assume the legendary status of the problem itself plays a part. Certainly BoD seemed like one of those lines, away from the established hard climbing centres of Switzerland, Fontainebleau or the US, that many thought might be unrepeatable. Or at least conditions and sharp holds stacked the odds heavily against any non-resident suitor. With this in mind it’s frankly mind-boggling that Will managed it on a single trip, in less time than it took him to repeat Steve McClure’s Mutation at Raven Tor. In fact Mutation is exactly that sort of route with an aura of invincibility around it. A kind of outlier of legendary status - something we do particularly well in British climbing, and perhaps makes the whole saga more relatable. Repeating a route of such status was likely decent psychological preparation for Burden. It would be easy to be overwhelmed by the task, the enormity of the route or problem’s reputation, the pressure, and crumble under it. After all any idiot can get strong (as a quick scroll through Fingerboarding Instagram will confirm) but putting that to effective use is another thing entirely.
Speaking of tactics and application, another factor making Will’s Finnish trip so relatable was the whole I-think-I’ve-found-a-good-heelhook-to-make-this-easy thing. We’ve all been there, on a climbing trip, watching a mate almost cruise a problem using the established beta then instead of sticking to the plan they spend hours of valuable skin and power circling the plughole of the untested heelhook that definitely won’t work well on the link. Luckily Will didn’t quite get dragged beyond the duff-beta event horizon on this occasion but it was a narrow escape. It was a tense moment for us watching online, with a lot of shouting at screens going on. He could have been on the flight home now empty handed with only battered skin and a suitcase full of nearly-new left foot Five Tens with torn heels to show for it.
The other side of the Burden coin is that it will hopefully have been good training for Peak limestone. Having spent a month slumming it on that low-quality sharp Scandinavian granite Will is bound to be psyched out of his mind to get back where he belongs - Raven Tor - and open up some kinda of savage linkup on grim pockets, undercuts and thin glued crimps. We could be in for a vintage year.
Will Bosi on Fat Lip || Dec 2021
|| HUGE Print ||
Today is the day the Big Depot reopens in Leeds. This is the wall formerly known as the Leeds Wall, originally opened in 1996, and it has to be say with this modern reboot it's looking pretty good indeed. The front of the centre now sports a huge 4m wide banner print of Molly Thompson-Smith shot specially for the reopening, and is by far the biggest thing I've ever had printed. Check the banner and the newly rebuilt facility if you're in the area - they also have copies of Grit Blocs in stock. And finally, if you're after a print of something a little smaller than 4m wide for your front room wall check out the Pennine Lines Print Shop.
Big Depot || Photo: © Will Napper
