Wasdale: May Bank Holiday Monday
Anna Blackburn
Could it really be a bank holiday weekend? As I put my head out of the tent on
Saturday at six am to blue skies and bright sunshine instead of the traditional rain
and wind I thought I must have got the date wrong! I grabbed the Trangia and started
to brew a morning cuppa without further delay, because the first route on the hit list
was a classic climb (in fact, a "Classic Rock" climb, number 29, page 136 for those
who own the volume): TOPHET WALL (7 pitches of HS **) and therefore likely to be a
popular one, necessitating an early start to beat the rush.
My early start had actually begun on Friday at 11 am as, taking advantage of the
absence of the boss and his boss, I attempted to sneak out of the office - only
to be caught by the big boss. Smiling confidently and nonchalantly (I hope), I
sidled by and legged it to Waterloo en route via Sunbury for Wasdale Head; the
first time I'd been there in years and it didn't disappoint. Still the same mountain
panorama: steep screes, blue water and bright golden gorse, not forgetting the pub
serving several brands of worthwhile real ale. The Wasdale Head Inn's campsite may
have no bathroom facilities but it couldn't be more convenient for the beer or the
fells, and what's a bit of good clean grime between friends? Ian and I had planned
a rendezvous with the MUHC (see article elsewhere in this organ for explanation of
the acronym) but when we couldn't locate them we had a beer or two, planned our
route, and retired under canvas.
In spite of rising early to begin the climb up Great Gable - a very pleasant stroll
in the morning sun which we didn't rush - we were still only the second pair at Tophet
Wall. Another pair were gearing up as we arrived, which proved a pity, as they
turned out to be rather slow. Before we got started a queue had formed with two
other parties looking impatient. Ian led the first pitch, which in due course meant
that he got to lead the hand traverse pitch, but as I got the pinnacle and crack
later on we both had some enjoyable leading. It was nice not to freeze at each belay,
the first time this season! A quality route with exposure and some interesting moves,
though not at all difficult (i.e., scary).
Literally round the corner from Tophet Wall is NAPES NEEDLE and although only graded
Hard V Duff it's one of those classics I'd always wanted to try. So off we went.
The most intimidating thing about the Needle is that it is well placed for spectators,
there seemed to be dozens of people around including a hiking group lined up on a
comfy ledge and dawdling over their sandwiches. "A perfect opportunity to show off",
I might have thought as I sped up the first section. I didn't though, honest! Just as
well because, having reached the final obelisk in record time, placing only one piece
of gear (Ian suggested not using any but it took a few metres to convince me this was
in fact possible), I came to a sudden halt. Hard V Diff, huh? Mostly not even Diff but
this one move felt about 6 grades higher as I made several attempts to mantel onto a
small and extremely shiny shelf, and failed. Sandbagged! I used to wonder what that
meant, now I know.
Giving in was not an option before an audience, so resisting the temptation to belay
and send Ian up the obelisk as a second pitch, I took a deep breath, pretended I had
a reasonable hand jam, and "dynoed for the bar" - actually a moderate protrusion on
my left which turned out to be a jug once I reached it. Replace the left hand with
the left foot, stand on the latter and, ... there's a nice shiny slab with a couple
of ripples and no protection. "Bugger there's no gear!"
"Oh well, who needs gear?" I thought, as I slithered on to the top. "Who needs a belay?"
I thought next as I surveyed the featureless polished block upon which I sat. That's
an interesting problem which I shall leave it to my readers to solve for themselves;
suffice it to say that after some rather ineffectual twiddling of the rope I told Ian
to make sure he didn't fall off on his way up. Naturally, he didn't.
We descended the long scree slope to find the MUHC camp and scrounge some of their beer
before we all adjourned to the pub to get in some serious training for the next day.
This time the party headed for Scafell Pikes. Our chosen location, Pikes Crag, was in
shadow and although all the views were bathed in sunlight we found ourselves in sub-zero
temperatures and unsupplied with adequate clothing. Alastair even got out a bivi bag
which was a bit excessive, but he and Ian seemed to be having some fun in there. Clare
and I kept our distance from them and joined the others in silly word games, perched
on a buttress. Eventually some of us got around to climbing and even after I had
hurled Ian's guide book off the crag we still managed to polish off GROOVED ARETE
and WALL AND CRACK CLIMB (both V Diff). (Yes, I did get the book back.)
Monday dawned with low cloud and there was no point in going up the fells. Instead
we packed up and set off for the M6. We'd hoped to stop off at Trowbarrow Quarry
on our way north but the traffic had made us too late; now we had a chance to have
a go at JEAN JEANIE, VS 4c, a hundred foot crack straight up a vertical face. A pair
were on it and whilst we waited our turn we passed the time of day with another
climber who was next in the queue. She sounded well hard. The pair who'd just finished
dropped a top rope (great, that would make her quicker than leading) and off she went
- only to have a complete nightmare and back off halfway up. "Gulp! It must be even
more vertical than it looks!", we thought, but we roped up and Ian led off without
delay. The route gave him no problems of course, but by the time he got to the top
three more pairs had arrived to try the route so I couldn't hang around. I found the
crack generally too wide for proper jamming and the holds extremely polished and
occasionally felt a little precarious for that reason; I was glad I wasn't leading!
My pleasure was slightly marred by the next climber who started to follow me up much
too soon and made me nervous about dropping gear or stones on his head - no, he wasn't
wearing a helmet. Rather bad manners, apart from anything else.
There are several routes adjacent to Jean Jeanie which look interesting, and when
the Lakes weather is poor I'd definitely suggest this quarry as worth a look,
moreover, it belies its name as a quarry since it has been transformed into a
country park and is really quite pretty with trees, flowers and general landscaping,
and is quite extensive so doesn't feel crowded. There's not much parking though
so I'm afraid an early start is to be recommended here as well!