Pennine Lines w/c 25 December 2023
There’s a saying or rather a sentiment expressed in climbing which we hear time and time again, offering comfort to anyone who’s just failed on their project, or fallen off something, other otherwise taken an ego-bruising; “Never mind, just come back on another day, it’ll still be here next time”. This works great, until we hit one of the rare instances where something isn’t there next time.
Pennine Lines w/c 11 December 2023
I had been regaled with tales of amazing tors of premium grit dotting the fell, and the brilliant days climbing on them as enjoyed by various friends over the years. I had avoided going up there in summer as I wanted to experience the place in cooler temps and to see it at its best, and I wanted to go with a small team for the ‘crack’ as much as pad/spotter prudence. But being a bit of a longer drive from Sheffield, and a long walk-in, and limited winter daylight, things had never quite lined up before. At some point that December I realised though that it was now or never, there was a book to be written, so I was going to have to just head up there myself.
Pennine Lines w/c 18 September 2023
Grades are one of the things about climbing that we can’t live with, but we can’t live without. They are inevitable to some extent, but we often use them badly, we ask too much of them, and we use them inappropriately. Granted, at best they are a noble attempt to form part of a theoretically democratic dialogue, to convey information usefully, and can give people some form of inspiration and maybe much need validation, provide a lot of talking points over post-climbing drinks in pubs and online.
Pennine Lines w/c 24 April 2023
The woods at the north end of Froggatt were for too long overlooked, but in recent years have seen some new development attention and produced some really great lines. Despite relatively easy access and offering some chance of shade on a warm day it’s rarely anything other than very quiet there.