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Rainy Days, The Psychological Game!
04 November 2011
So the weather wasn't great last weekend if you were in the west of the country. The Met Office and other metrological websites had already prepared thei forecasts for a 'wet weekend', but the hut was booked, people had made the arrangements and we had nothing better to do!
Saturday rained. A lot. I mean complete washout. It's hard work getting out in this (I always find) but it usually pays off. We drove around a few different mountain crags, the ones with the most shelter in the guidebooks.. but nothing was dry. Could we have found a damp roof to boulder on for the day? Probably.. but we wanted routes! Long, complex, detailed climbing with run outs and big falls. So we went to Kendal Wall instead.
It's been a while since I last visited Kendal Wall but if you're out and about in the area and get washed out like we did I can completely recommend it. They've really used the size of the centre to the full advantage and invested a lot more cash into making, what I would really consider, a world class venue.
First off, you've got the main wall. All 24.5 meters of it. This thing is huge, about as big as you'll ever need at a climbing wall and well set, good problems all the way to the top. Really impressive stuff.
If that's a bit 'full on' then there's always the King Kong wall and The Chamber, shorter walls (around 18 meters) with easier stuff from F3 to F6c.. plenty to keep you busy.
Anyway we had a great session there, a full day climbing and bouldering and despite the weather it never felt too busy. It's so massive that I think it would take hundreds of people before it got to that stage. There's over 250 routes, so even after a full day you could easily go back the next day and have a completely different day.
On the way back to the hut the weather started to improve. Well it stopped raining. That was a big improvement, still very damp but a warm wind was brewing up from the south.
We woke up on Sunday and looked outside, not exactly 'bright' weather.. still cloudy, but the wind had stuck around drying the rock for us overnight.
Most places were still suffering from the lakes 'damp' effect, the moss and foliage dripping down onto the easier routes.
Sam had the idea to check out Chapel Head Scar, the greatest limestone crag in Cumbria? Probably.
We 'warmed up' on Strongbow (6b+) which is described as "An extremely intense bit of climbing which is unfortunately only three bolts long".
This is all very true.. a really tough route for 6b+, all typical undercuts and side-pulls with polished feet. I'm not selling it I realise but this really was a great route and deserves at least the star in the book.
Next up.. Gully Wall Variation (6a). A better warm up then? Well no, sorry, this was probably harder than Strongbow.. 6c? Again.. not an easy start and all over after 3-4 clips but unless you motor through it, you'll be hanging around pumped out of your mind!
What next then? Well as with most 'ard crags if the warm ups are sandbags.. get on the harder stuff. War Hero clocks in at 6c+ in the guidebook, various comments on websites suggest it's probably at least 7a. Then again, if you expect the climbing to be hard, what's the harm?
This is a really cracking route and was practically dry the whole way up, laybacks, crimps, sidepulls - it's got the lot. Well recommended on a drying wind day if it's been lashing it down the day before
So moral of the story? If you want to get outside, get outside and search.. don't wait for that 'perfect weather day' it's Britain.. we only have a few days of that a year, if your keen, invest the time and get outdoors then something will always come your way!
Saturday rained. A lot. I mean complete washout. It's hard work getting out in this (I always find) but it usually pays off. We drove around a few different mountain crags, the ones with the most shelter in the guidebooks.. but nothing was dry. Could we have found a damp roof to boulder on for the day? Probably.. but we wanted routes! Long, complex, detailed climbing with run outs and big falls. So we went to Kendal Wall instead.
It's been a while since I last visited Kendal Wall but if you're out and about in the area and get washed out like we did I can completely recommend it. They've really used the size of the centre to the full advantage and invested a lot more cash into making, what I would really consider, a world class venue.
First off, you've got the main wall. All 24.5 meters of it. This thing is huge, about as big as you'll ever need at a climbing wall and well set, good problems all the way to the top. Really impressive stuff.
If that's a bit 'full on' then there's always the King Kong wall and The Chamber, shorter walls (around 18 meters) with easier stuff from F3 to F6c.. plenty to keep you busy.
Anyway we had a great session there, a full day climbing and bouldering and despite the weather it never felt too busy. It's so massive that I think it would take hundreds of people before it got to that stage. There's over 250 routes, so even after a full day you could easily go back the next day and have a completely different day.
On the way back to the hut the weather started to improve. Well it stopped raining. That was a big improvement, still very damp but a warm wind was brewing up from the south.
We woke up on Sunday and looked outside, not exactly 'bright' weather.. still cloudy, but the wind had stuck around drying the rock for us overnight.
Most places were still suffering from the lakes 'damp' effect, the moss and foliage dripping down onto the easier routes.
Sam had the idea to check out Chapel Head Scar, the greatest limestone crag in Cumbria? Probably.
We 'warmed up' on Strongbow (6b+) which is described as "An extremely intense bit of climbing which is unfortunately only three bolts long".
This is all very true.. a really tough route for 6b+, all typical undercuts and side-pulls with polished feet. I'm not selling it I realise but this really was a great route and deserves at least the star in the book.
Next up.. Gully Wall Variation (6a). A better warm up then? Well no, sorry, this was probably harder than Strongbow.. 6c? Again.. not an easy start and all over after 3-4 clips but unless you motor through it, you'll be hanging around pumped out of your mind!
What next then? Well as with most 'ard crags if the warm ups are sandbags.. get on the harder stuff. War Hero clocks in at 6c+ in the guidebook, various comments on websites suggest it's probably at least 7a. Then again, if you expect the climbing to be hard, what's the harm?
This is a really cracking route and was practically dry the whole way up, laybacks, crimps, sidepulls - it's got the lot. Well recommended on a drying wind day if it's been lashing it down the day before
So moral of the story? If you want to get outside, get outside and search.. don't wait for that 'perfect weather day' it's Britain.. we only have a few days of that a year, if your keen, invest the time and get outdoors then something will always come your way!
