Left work at 4pm. Arrived at Hayfield 7pm. Waited for Will until 8pm. Hiked through the snow until 10pm. Found the waterfall a bit wet for our liking. Back to the carpark midnight. Back home 3am. A great mid-week snow adventure with psyche levels running high, just a shame we mis-timed the trip!
Both days began misty and dreary but soon cleared to give fantastic weather for some gritstone action. We managed to tick a number of the classic routes at both the Roaches and Bamford, including the photogenic Gargoyle Route, and my first E1 on Wrinkled Wall.
The UBES AGM, traditionally held around a campsite on the edge of Windermere, gave us two great days of scrambling and climbing in the Lake District. Ran Chockstone Ridge and Harrow Buttress together on the Saturday, and then ticked a couple of routes at Castle Rock on the Sunday.
Some pretty incredible conditions up in the Lake District over the weekend. Extensive snowfall and clear sunshine had left the hills covered in great powdery drifts. Totally out of condition for climbing mind, although it didn't stop Will & Harry from backing off of a route or two.
Another intense winter day ended in adventurous fashion when I wandered off route on Pitch 3 of Milky Way in Coire an Lochain (Cairngorm) up something decidedly more challenging. Much fear, swearing and flailing later and I was on the top, but the gear retrieval on abseil and epic descent nav pushed the finish well into the darkness.
