On my drive home from the office, there is a little outcrop on the ridge line above the Don valley. This teases me every time I drive down the opposite side of the valley. So today how could I resist!
I had to pick my way through brambles and gorse bushes in my sandals but after one false start I had a very enjoyable session in the sunshine. I even got my phone to cooperate on self timer for a photo.
I hope everyones out enjoying the weather before we start thinking of snow and ice!
Andy
A frustrating summer of illness has seen me rather silent on the ME blog, climbing trips have been limited by various combinations of fatigue, nausea and symptoms that I’ll spare you the details of. A few semi-successful trips to the wall and odd low intensity sessions on the bike in recent weeks had however done wonders for my confidence so, with some time off from my ME marketing responsibilities due, it was time to get out regardless. Having tried endless sleep, random pills, a lot of fruit and a colonoscopy that caused more questions from friends than any route I’ve ever done, could it be that sunny sea cliffs were actually the remedy? There was only one way to find out.
After a late arrival at a sodden campsite we awoke to more dampness, a lot of grey clouds and very strong winds. At least the crags would dry quickly and despite the constant buffeting of the tent this was apparently less serious than it got ‘down South’. Some dozing and procrastinating over cups of tea later it was decided that we should at least approach the crag for a look. St. Govan’s seemed the least threatening option with the unhelpful tides and military firing and Soupy duly disappeared over the edge with the abseil rope making frequent attempts at escaping back over the top of the cliff. Climbing conditions were definitely sub-optimal as was proved further by a rapid and bracing ascent of Army Dreamers, a normally benign classic enlivened considerably by the almost Patagonian conditions. A retreat to the Café was required where we pooled our extensive collective experience and made the spectacularly poor decision to try Mowing Word where, if anything, it was windier. Some efficient, and briefly horizontal, jumaring above an impressively boiling sea later and we found ourselves at the rather less exciting Stennis Head. I led a final route with even less style than normal to finish an unproductive day.
The following days were spent feeling less than well but just going climbing again made it all seem worthwhile. With a good winter in prospect it’s time to finally sort things out and get back to a normal diet of training and climbing, hopefully I will be blogging about some proper climbing adventures soon!
