Dreaming of Clouds

Dreaming of Clouds
Originally uploaded by jacurutu.

We'd planned on going to Caley Crags for a boldering session last Tuesday, figuring we'd get a bit more time on the rock given that I had to be back in York for 20.00. However, it turned out Jenny was not at band practice, but actually had a gig on, so I didn't need to be back until 21.30. With the extra time, me Ed and Gordon decided it was worth a trip to Almscliffe instead.

And what a fantastic evening it was too! We headed straight to Low Man (because I've climbed there before and vaguely know my way around it) and enjoyed glorious sunshine, only slightly spoilt by the breeze on top of Low Man (Ed got a touch cold belaying Gordon and myself up Pinnacle Flake Climb). We only got in 3 routes (so slightly better than the last trip to Caley), but I thouroughly enjoyed them, had no dramas with gear falling out (although putting longer runners on the top break of Pinnacle Direct would have made the rope drag much more manageable...). Plus Ed lead his first climb outdoors, which is great news because hopefully it means we won't be reliant upon me to lead stuff all the time (and maybe I can take more photos!).

Everyone brought cameras, so there's a reasonable selection out there. Ed's are in his climbing set on Flickr, and Gordon's are currently on his machine at home until he pulls his finger out and edits them for upload onto Flickr as well. Saying that, the silhouette of Ed is the only shot I've processed so far - the rest will make their way onto the photo albums on here and onto my Flickr account in due course.

We still only managed 3 climbs, but as I said above, they were very enjoyable:

  • Pinnacle Direct (Almscliff Crag #6, HVD P1) - lead
  • Fluted Columns (Almscliff Crag #8, VD P1) - lead
  • Pinnacle Flake Climb (Almscliff Crag #7, S 4a P1) - seconded (Ed lead)

Route numbers and grades are from the 1998 edition of Yorkshire Gritstone, compiled, revised and edited by Dave Musgrove.

We're off again to Almscliff on Friday, this time with Gordon, Mike and possibly Steve (who's fresh back from the Alps), but no Ed this time.