Pennine Lines w/c 18 November 2024
|| Cold, for now || Dodge the snow ||
Westworld || Climber: Adam Long
|| Focus On... ||
Peak Snow 101
Well, the snow is here again, only a week or so after parts of Scotland were having temps in the upper teens. I’m sure this is nothing to worry about. Anyway, although I’ve touched on this before I thought it might be a useful time to talk about the best places to go in the Peak for bouldering when it’s recently snowed.
To an extent the headaches that snow presents depend largely on how cold it has been (in our case today; not very), and whether or not it’s staying cold or all immediately going to melt. In our case it’s likely to warm up and rain on Saturday which should see it all away, but until then we’re left with the main two issues; actually getting to the crags, and what will be dry/snow-free.
Last night’s snow fell on gritted dry roads, with recent high ground temps, and hence there shouldn’t be be much problem getting out today. However, it’s always worth remembering that the main roads and the bus routes are your safest bets. So from Sheffield the A57 out of Crosspool towards Rivelin is a reliable route, as is the main A6187 Hathersage Road out to the Peak via Fox House - this is a busy wide road with regular buses so is always well gritted and it takes a lot of snow to make this one impassable, meaning you can often access crags like Burbage South, Millstone, Lawrencefield, Mother Cap and Secret Garden OK, and with a bit of a walk the rest of the Burbage Valley too.
The same principle goes for the A621 road out of Totley to Baslow and the south via Owler Bar, giving access to Gardoms, and also Curbar and Baslow via the back road over the moor (often easier to drive on this moderate gradient straight road when under compacted snow cover than the steep windy road up from Curbar village below). This gives you access to the South Peak too, where normally the snow isn't as bad to begin with. Or heading north from Sheffield the A6102 out of Hillsborough towards Deepcar gives you reliable access to Wharncliffe - or the back road via Grenoside is often fine too. And crucially Wharncliffe, like Rivelin, sits at a lower elevation than the Peak so is rarely as snowy, and the fine textured black rock tends to shed snow well.
Sean's Arete || Climber: Rob Napier
Sadly the Ringinglow Road to Stanage and Burbage North is typically only gritted as far as the county boundary as this isn’t a bus route these days, meaning it’s an exciting drive onwards to Burbage, and one which catches a lot of people out so be warned. Verges hereabouts are regularly decorated with various jauntily-angled cars failing to stay on the road and abandoned. It’s worth noting that in the same way that Burbage is accessible from the Fox House road, similarly all of Stanage is accessible over the back from Redmires via Stanage Pole - a longer but spectacular walk, well worth doing to have the Plantation to yourself.
I can’t offer any specifics on the roads of Yorkshire or Staffs grit areas, but the same principles apply; look for crags accessible from main bus routes. In snow I suspect the likes of Caley and Ilkley and Ramshaw are safer bets for clear roads than, say, Widdop or Brandreth etc.
So what about which crags actually offer climbable problems in snow? The main issue is often topouts being covered in snow, and/or meltwater off the tops running everywhere, so unless the snow has stuck around for a few sunny days, clearing the tops, it’s often best to stick to crag-based boulder problems, ideally with overhangs, or at the very least a tall crag hanging above, and problems which don’t top out.
From the Fox House road there’s a few things at Burbage South which fit the bill, like the problems on the bottom of the Cioch (Leotard Legend and Echo Chamber for instance), and problems at the base of Millstone Edge can be a winner too, not least the traverse under Keyhole Cave, an often overlooked old-school classic. If that doesn’t get your fingers warm then nothing will. On Mother Cap the classic Conan The Librarian if climbed just as far as the upper break (jump off if the rightwards escape is snowy) can also be a photogenic winner. Secret Garden however is usually worth avoiding until the snow up top has fully gone as it takes a lot of meltwater drainage unless the temps stay very low. At Burbage North/West the first part of West Side Story is an obvious snow-proof option, as is the Remergence buttress, although the latter can get quite drippy.
Walk On By || Climber: John Coefield
Further south a couple of reliable snow options are Sean’s Arete and Walk On By at Curbar, fairing a lot better than the neighbouring boulder field below the crag by virtue of their protective top sections. In fact Walk On By is almost always clear of snow, if you don’t mind your pads being dripped on. Having said that, if the sun comes out it’ll feel as impossible as ever. Also in this neck of the woods there’s some problems to look out for at Gardoms. Perfect Day Direct Start can be a winner in snow, as can the lower section of 2020 Vision, and Afro (one of the best of its grade). Down at Birchens there’s often some similar things to pick out under the various roofs and steep bulges that characterise the lower part of the crag. And don’t forget there’s plenty to try at Cratcliffe (Hueco Wall and the problems around the Hermit’s Cave) and the Amber Valley crags have a lot of steeper crag-based options too. Just be careful with snow, in that snow counts as “wet”, and hence snowy holds and snow-filled top jugs are just as likely to be damaged as any wet rock, so be careful.
As always keep a eye on the wind direction for an idea of which sides of crags and boulders will have been plastered with wind-driven snow, and which sides might have snowdrifts to flatten landings, if there’s been a heavy enough dump of snow.
As well as the usual mountain weather forecasts by the Met Office and MWIS, there’s the incomparable buxtonweather.co.uk and few webcams which can give you a good idea of general snow levels and the state of the roads; the classic Flash Bar Stores webcam in Staffs, but there’s also handy ones in Wirksworth and Buxton here.
|| 2025 Calendar - Progress Update ||
As you might be aware, the window for ordering the calendars has now closed, which means the calendars will be going off to print this week. In addition to the calendars you guys have ordered I’ve also been working these last couple of weeks on a set of branded calendars for a commercial partner - these came back from print looking great, so I’m psyched to be able to get your calendars off to print now too. I’m fortunate to be working with a great printing firm who have really done us proud.
So what happens next?
Once the calendars are back from print - likely the week after next - I’ll set about distributing them to you guys. Those of you who opted for UK postage; you can just sit back and wait for them to arrive - you’ll get an order fulfilment email when they are posted, hopefully with a tracking number on.
Those of you who opted for local pickup in Sheffield; I’ll be in touch with you separately by email with details of the logistics of pickup location/days/times etc, so watch out for that email landing in your inbox in a week or two’s time.
Again a huge thanks to everyone who’s ordered a calendar - I am now edging closer to being able to afford a pair of Scarpa rockshoes. You’ve got to have a dream, right?
|| Recently Through The Lens ||
Some pre-snow action from Owler and Bradley.
|| Fresh Prints ||
Last order date for Christmas prints
Heads-up for anyone looking at ordering prints in the run up to Christmas - if you’re thinking of placing an order you have until 11th December, which is the last ordering date for Christmas delivery for prints via the Print Shop. As always, if you’re after something different that you can’t see on the website or something bespoke, or a print of any of my images you’ve seen on instagram or on these emails then drop me a message. I’m always happy to do one-off prints, especially in the run up to Christmas.
I’m hoping to get a few new images from 5x4” film on the Print Shop in the next week or so in time for Christmas ordering…watch this space. For the time being, here’s a couple of winter warmers already online.
