[mark s]

cant imagine it being long till the snowballing we saw a few winters ago starts again.
i saw drifts up to 8 or 9 foot yesterday around the edges of leek.so up on the tops its going to far worse.
any body been out yest preping their landings?

[masonwoods101]

Setting off to burbage north in an hour or 2 so shall post up when back...

[Johnny Brown]

I think the key is good drifting conditions; i.e. steady NE wind, and staying cold enough that the snow will drift. Certainly looks promising, the M1 at Nottingham last night was like Siberia, was glad I was in a quattro. Its always amazing how fast a spring snowfall melts though.

[Drew]

I saw some FB pictures showing quite a decent drift under Burb South

[Moo]

FFS last time I missed the snowballing due to buggered shoulder, this time I'm in f***king trinidad

[Will Hunt]

Is there anyone keen in Yorkshire? Even in the sheltered Shipley Glen theres enough snoew to make modest platforms if desired.

Pistol Whip?

[andyd]

Is there anyone keen in Yorkshire? Even in the sheltered Shipley Glen theres enough snoew to make modest platforms if desired.

Pistol Whip?

Exactly what I was thinking this morning. Just not sure what access up to the cliff will be like. What's your go- cart like in the snow?

[andyd]

Maybe desperate dan at ilkley too...

[Will Hunt]

Is there anyone keen in Yorkshire? Even in the sheltered Shipley Glen theres enough snoew to make modest platforms if desired.

Pistol Whip?

Exactly what I was thinking this morning. Just not sure what access up to the cliff will be like. What's your go- cart like in the snow?

Not bad but not great. Happy to get to Huby and then leave it there if the road up isn't clear. Can provide psyche but have no shovel. One evening this week? I wonder how quickly this will all melt?

[andyd]

Maybe. Looks warmer next weekend. Think I'm unemployed this week so will pop up in the day to check things out at some point.

[Drew]

So is anyone out in Eastern Peak with a shovel? I was thinking about having a wander along from Burbage South, as far as Stanage (flatten out Shine On?) to see what's worth the effort of improving. Kinaesthetic Barrier?

[Gritlad]

I'm going to be heading out today tomorrow and maybe wednesday with a shovel and a pad.
Was thinking of Froggatt as the winds wont be so horrendous there.

[Will Hunt]

Andyd, Dunc MacNeil and I put in some labour tonight as there was no snow under Pistol Whip to start. Moved a modest sized drift into the gully and got it well platformed. Now much more falloffable with only a modest number of pads.
Will post pics tomorrow. Get to it quick before it melts or walkers tunnel through it!
 

[Drew]

Went out yesterday and flattened the landing under 3 Blind Mice. I may not have done as good as job as whoever did it 3 years ago, but it's flat, it's just as high, and I even filled in the 'bergschrund' a little. Be warned though, it's still there, not completely filled, and will definitely eat any foot or leg offered to it.



The platform should be big enough for a couple of pads side by side.

Oh, and I also got on top (that was a right mission!) and knocked off the cornice so the dampness on the rock should slowly improve. It certainly wasn't climbable yesterday when I left.

In fact, I've just looked on the other channel, and the drift might even be higher this time around

As for Ai No Corrida (?) I wasn't sure where it went, so tried flattening it a bit, but may've got the wrong side of the arete? Anyway, there's plenty more snow, so with a couple of people an even better platform could be created.

[tj]

Andyd, Dunc MacNeil and I put in some labour tonight as there was no snow under Pistol Whip to start. Moved a modest sized drift into the gully and got it well platformed. Now much more falloffable with only a modest number of pads.
Will post pics tomorrow. Get to it quick before it melts or walkers tunnel through it!
 

Good work. What's the road up from Huby like? Cheers.

[andyd]

It's fine. Make sure you go and jump in the drifts in the field by the stile.

[Will Hunt]

Pistol Whip Platform by Hunta_998, on Flickr

[Johnny Brown]

Hah! Call that a drift?

After going up yesterday, I reckon the next couple of weeks could be something of a revolution on the eastern edges. The drifts are bigger than 2010, and this time folk are prepared...

[Stubbs]

The problem with the cliff, and particularly Pistol Whip in it's carefully crafted tunnel is that the horrible NE wind seems to be set in at least for the next few days.

[dave]

Although the forecast I've seen says its gonna warm up a fair bit after the next few days so you'd better get those drifts packed down pretty solid.

[Will Hunt]

In Yorkshire, where men are men, shovels are shitty £2 jobs from B&M, and there are no drifts at the bottom of the crag that ain't bad. We packed a fair old whack of snow into that hole!

Adam, I've got a couple of days to be spent climbing this weekend. Where should I be going to get in on the snowball action? 3 Blind Mice and...? There's a lot of melt going on, get it packed down hard!

[andyd]

Hah! Call that a drift?

No. It was a drift. We had to move it 8-10 metres.

It's pretty compact. I'd say we moved a few cubic metres of compact snow (maybe 10 or 12 pads worth piled high with loose snow). With the wind and the nature of the hollow I think it'll be useful for the next week or so.

[andy_e]

I predict queues on Three Blind Mice...

[lagerstarfish]

anyone had a look at the landing under The Knock?

obviously the top will need digging/brushing and adding to the landing platform, but it'd be nice to do it as a moderate boulder problem for us punters rather than as a route over a pointy boulder

[Johnny Brown]

Its hard to get across how much snow there is up there, I think some routes are actually going to need digging out. With the temperatures forecast we should get some daytime thaw and nighttime freezing, which should consolidate the drifts nicely. Last time we had drifts this size they lasted over three months. Obviously we are later in the year, so they will thaw quicker, but the issue over Easter will be too much snow. I'm guessing the Marble wall stuff might need a while to settle down - the cornices need to come down first.

Having only looked at Burbage north the usual suspects will all be in. What's gong to be interesting this time is what else might be possible. Bearing in mind in 2010 stuff like Shirley's was buried and unclimbable for three months, I can imagine there are some big surprises waiting out there...