Back to Grit

After two months it was back to beloved gritstone to tick some long term projects. Three routes at Froggatt have been on the wish list for some time. Chequer's Buttress HVS, Tody's Wall HVS and Brown's Eliminate at E2. We started out on Chequer's Buttress to warm up!

I thought that would be the easiest tick of the day...however, the reachy moves around the corner to establish yourself on the arete took a while to committ to. After much debate and trying out a few possible moves I kept retreating back down to a rest - desperate to climb it cleanly I was determined not to rest on my gear. I was soon sweating as I realised I had climbed past the point of no return and couldn't downclimb. I was committed to making the moves or taking a big fall round the corner onto my 'bomber?' nut. Breathe slowly, concentrate and reach up up up for the good hold. Fantastic!! I was super nervous and almost lost it but held it together for the most rewarding tick. Well worth the wait.


Tody's wall was a breeze in comparison - one big move followed by easy slab and crack climbing above.

By this time I had already talked myself out of the biggest tick of the day - Brown's Eliminate. It was quite windy and I didn't fancy being blown off route onto dodgy gear at less than half height. It will wait for me...but I need to get the timing and my confidence right first.

So what next? I decided on CMC slab at HVS which was pretty terrifying with two pieces of dodgy protection behind a small flake that moved as I seated the gear. The moves weren't too bad but the gear was purely psychological.

By this time I wanted to test my nerve even further and chose Motorcade at E1. I had seen other climbers back off this route and knew that gear wouldn't be too good but it looked so tempting. At least I knew I could retreat to safety if I needed to. With our pals watching on, one lashed to a tree to take good pictures - the pressure was on. Needless to say it was another 'you don't want to fall off from there' type of route. Absolutely loved it. Got plenty of gear in a break way beneath me and then went for it. The final move was committing but felt great and having a friend nearby for encouragement helped me nail it quickly.

Chris and Heidi both ended the perfect day leading Three Pebble Slab - E1 that might as well be a solo for all the protection it offers. The beer tasted sweet after a great day out. SOOO pleased to be back on grit.