M Emerald Forest. Sunny. Not sure of the rationale for us going here as I’ve steered clear of the protracted destination discussions.
Turns out it was pretty esoteric despite being close to the road. If in the Peak it would have 200+ routes but it had 18 of which the 8 sport routes were all put up in the early 90’s. Took some time to locate the Flying Monkeys wall which was a pleasant vert wall which reminded me of B Team buttress at Pembroke. Did 4 of the 5 routes. Then went further along for Yellow Brick Road at 11b given 5 stars which was off vertical and looked quarried. Didn’t think it was that great but Keith did. Started questing further along to get to the next crag (Global Village) passing under a gnarly looking old skool vert 12a. The path ran out so retraced steps and Keith had a look at the 12a. After dogging the boulder problem crux at the start he climbed through to the top. I had sore tips so wasn’t looking forward to it but surprised myself by flashing it.
Running out of daylight so went to start of crag for the five star 11c No Place Like Home up an exposed arête which lived up to its billing.
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W Muir Valley. Warm. Warmed up at Great Wall on 3 decent routes then moved to the other side of the gorge to the highly recommended Solarium. It was unpleasantly rammed. We all did Air Equipped Ride 11a. Keith then managed to get on Delicatessen 12a which had shut down Chris. He had a similar experience to Chris so I gave it a miss. Options were limited so moved round the corner to join Chris and Sam at The Arsenal which was much quieter and more pleasant. Finished with three good steepish routes.
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F Drive By. Baltic. Too cold for Chris and Sam as they gave up early. Good place. Quality warm ups. Chris did Hakuna Matata 12a followed by Keith then me. Just the ticket. Mega Brit style wall route on crimpers. Was anxious not to fuck it up. Then for a bit of move-fast steep - Check Your Grip 12a. Both did it fine. Finished off on the outstanding Spirit Fingers 11c. Good day though a struggle to stay warmish.
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S. PMRP. Sunny. Shady Grove. Did two steep warm ups but our target route was occupied by a couple then joined by their noisier friends who also wanted a go. Time to move on. Crossed to other side of gorge to North 40 where both target routes were occupied. Filled a bit of time on a 10c then Samurai 12b came free. A steep right slanting seam leading to a steep wall. Not characteristic of the Red. My lead and I put in a big effort but spat off the crux at 15foot. Dogged it but couldn’t unlock it. Keith went up and had a similar experience. I put in another big effort and almost got thru with a powerful move. Then spent a while working and came up with an unlikely sequence which made it static. Decided to strip it as I was tired and the classic 11b Amarillo Sunset came free. Both did it. Great looking line but long reaches and few foot options between polished holds wasn’t my cuppa.
Been hard to recall what we’ve been up to as it all seems a blur looking back.
Had a good day yesterday Snowing today and then 4 degrees tomorrow so might be forced to take 2 rest days.
In other news Paul at his gaffe has embraced the local lifestyle driving in a massive 5.7litre pick up, drinking moonshine, eating pork brains, firing guns and fishing for catfish.