Be keen to try again...
Forecast was looking good for Sunday and I had an offer of belay/support from semi-retired slab legend Jon Coe, so went for it. Slept in the van close by so I didn’t have to wake any earlier than needed, got to Suzzanne at 7:15 (opted to leave the two at Apparent North till last, so I could get through the Popular end quickly before the crowd turned up and so Jon didn’t have to turn up early to belay as I planned to solo the first 28 on the list, with the exception of the route Apparent North). Finished the last route at 19:45 with not much light to spare. Conditions were pretty good, got a bit hot in the middle but a good breeze all day kept sweat levels down and midges away. Crowds got a bit problematic from High Neb onwards with nine routes having to be picked off on the way back along the edge. Soloed or led all the routes listed, plus accidentally did an extra one on the popular end I thought was on the list but wasn’t. The E4 which I was undecided all day whether I’d try or not went ok in the end. The Vice nearly proved a heartbreaker though, as 66th route of the day and not having been on it before I struggled. It took an hour, a fall, some dogging, too much skin and a good deal of swearing before I got my tired bones up it. The remaining nine routes were all fairly gruelling after this with tired crampy arms. Great day out, well worth the effort. Beer in the Norfolk with Jon and Parry went down very well indeed.Ten hours was too optimistic and generally reflects the fact that the mission as a whole was a bit harder than I’d guessed at. Having never done more than about twenty routes in a day before I didn’t realise how full body tired you get after treble that number, even if none of it is especially desperate. That said I didn’t race round and stopped to chat with folk, had to zigzag about a fair bit due to crowds, sat down and ate proper foot, led some I would have otherwise soloed ( so Jon had a fun day too) and did one that wasn’t on the list. Had I done it on a quiet weekday, started at Apparent North , pre-practiced The Vice, soloed everything I was happy to and not done an extra one I think I’d have done it in about ten hours.Reckon that’s my lot for multi route marathons this year but already thinking about good ones for next year. Fancy doing the VS version of this mission as a full solo, the E1 (mostly lead), anyone done the E2s, a hundred E point day, classic HVS’s along Froggatt-Curbar-Baslow, the Staffs Nose, the possibilities are endless…
Having never done more than about twenty routes in a day before I didn’t realise how full body tired you get after treble that number, even if none of it is especially desperate.
Im excited for when you bring all this training to bear in the greater ranges
...at which point you have to walk to the A57 The Strines then attempt to hitch back to your car for food and beer, . The Gritstone Cuillin.
Quote from: dave on September 11, 2012, 01:21:36 pm...at which point you have to walk to the A57 The Strines then attempt to hitch back to your car for food and beer, . The Gritstone Cuillin. and a nice midgey camp in the woods and you'll have the full Cuillin experience
You didn't look nearly ruined enough for my liking. Clearly wasn't hard enough. I mean you didn't even doze off in the pub for fucks sake!I reckon a good one would be to park at rowsley, walk to chatsworth edge then head north doing any starred route up to VDiff finishing at stanage north, at which point you have to walk to the A57 then attempt to hitch back to your car. The Gritstone Cuillin.
I think there's already an organised race along those lines isn't there?
