Pennine Lines w/c 4 December 2023
|| Wet and warmer || Classic December ||
Sean's Arete || Climber: Rob Napier
|| Focus On... ||
A Frosty Reception
As we steadily wove up through the steep frosty sweep of tarmac typical of Sheffield’s western suburbs, swinging out to pass parked cars, I will admit that the sudden appearance of the Royal Mail van speeding down the hill unable to brake caught me a little off guard. Already deep in conversation, enough survival instinct remained for me to lurch to the left into a driveway and, hats off to the Postman, he elected to hit the parked car opposite instead of smashing into me, so all was well and we were on our way again, conversation resumed.
The above encounter was the sum total of the travel jeopardy that the recent cold snap brought, and I can live with this. Early season snow and frosty conditions seem a little easier to shrug off compared to later in winter, as cold weather fatigue hasn’t really set in yet, and the transformative nature of snow across the Peak still holds considerable novelty value. An admittedly light dusting of snow falling onto dry roads and crags seems to shed easily, and with temps staying cool in the immediate aftermath nothing really melted. No digging problems out, no melting cornices atop boulders dripping relentlessly onto your pads. Good times. I fully expect in a couple of months to just be dying to be able to climb in a t-shirt again and in only one layer of leg wear, but for the minute the cold snap was one to savour and enjoy, especially as the freezing knife of a cold wind cutting into any exposed skin was largely absent this week just gone.
Nevertheless, even a hint of snow demands some thought when it comes to choosing your venues. Crags at a lower elevation are generally favoured, as they usually get less snow to begin with. If the crags offer some problem-at-the-base-of-a-trad-crag type action, not topping out and protected from above, then all the better when it’s snowy. On this side of the Peak that usually means the lower lying crags around Stanton and Cratcliffe are preferred, similarly the Amber Valley is at a lower elevation, along with Rivelin - often a winter sun trap - and Wharncliffe. Even opting for, say, Curbar over Stanage in heavy snow can be a winner, especially as such classics as Sean’s Arete and Walk On By are, barring dripping from above, completely snow proof.
Walk On By || Climber: Rob Greenwood
The other thing you’re going to need to be prepared for at this time of year is navigating the gulf in understanding between climbers and non-climbing public (who for the purposes of this we’ll call ‘normal’ people). Basically the whole climbing in winter thing. I don’t even mean Winter Climbing here, I’m not even talking about snow and ice climbing, mountains, axes and crampons. I’m simply talking about rock climbing. To normal people, going out climbing when it’s freezing cold in winter seems ludicrous. Nipping out for a nice frosty walk at Longshaw or Chevin for an hour in the sun then back to the cafe/pub is relatable, but standing around repeatedly trying to climb the same couple of moves on a four meter tall piece of rock isn’t.
“I don’t expect you’ve been going out climbing while it’s this cold” - yes I have actually.
“Can’t you wear gloves when you’re climbing?” - not whilst actually climbing, that doesn’t really work.
“Don’t your hands get cold then?” - well, yes and no.
“So do you do that free soloing without a rope like what him off that film does?” - well, sort of but really you need to understand the difference between……
“Well you must be crackers going climbing in this weather anyway” - whereas sitting watching a TV show of C-list celebrities being dragged around a dance floor week after week is perfectly sane?
The 87 Bus to Casu at Wharncliffe || Climber: Ben Bransby
It’s such a big us-and-them signifier that it’s something of a badge of honour for the contrarian. And a badge proudly worn despite the fact that I increasingly feel the cold a lot more than I did 20 years ago, I have to wear twice as much clothing as before, and the novelty of getting very cold wears off a lot sooner than it used to (will be tired of it by this time next week). To them it doesn’t make any sense, yet it makes perfect sense to us, and those two positions aren’t reconcilable. The best you can do is smile and nod politely.
The notion of climbing (or as it’s often known “climbing outdoors”) as rebellion against the norm, or as any sort of anti-establishment gesture, is of course increasingly being lost, as climbing gets sucked both indoors, into the Youtube algorithm, and hence into the mainstream. You could be reading this from your phone at the wall having quite reasonably abandoned all thoughts of climbing outside entirely from November to April. It’s understandable to just want to be warm and comfortable, never straying too far from a freshly pulled espresso and stone-baked pizza, fair enough. Don’t hate the player, hate the game etc. But there’s still some appeal in channeling a bit of “ahh well that’s exactly what they EXPECT us to do” indignation and just going out anyway. That’s part of why climbing is good - precisely because it’s daft, it doesn’t make any sense, it’s not Strictly and box sets. “Well you must be crackers” - YES!
|| Vertebrate Discount ||
A reminder that our friends at Vertebrate have kindly shared with us a 30% discount code in the run up to Christmas. The code is valid until the 21st December, and should work on everything on their site including Grit Blocs, and all the other good books they produce, which is a lot!
The code is:
VPSUBS30
|| SUPPORTED BY ||
|| Recently Through the lens ||
Cold scenes in the Peak, and the old reliable backwater of Wharncliffe.
|| Fresh Prints ||
Once again this is your reminder that in advance of Christmas there's a discount code to help you sort out a few presents for family and friends. Valid on ALL prints. The last order date for prints is looking to be about the 11th Dec, so to give you an encouragement to get orders placed in good time the code is valid until midnight on the 11th, i.e. next Monday.
The code is:
GRASSYKNOLL20
Huge thanks to those who've already ordered prints! It means a lot to know these are going to be enjoyed in people's homes and offices. So once again after this cold week we're going with some more frosty Peak prints from the Print Shop.
