CHRIS MCMORRIS: GWC Climbing Club Trip 2009

Sunday, July 5, 2009

GWC Climbing Club Trip 2009 - The Lakes

I had been looking forward to this trip for as long as I care to remember and now it was finally here! We met at school on Monday morning and loaded up the vans with kids and kit and headed South down the M6. Our destination was The Lakes; Buttermere Hostel to be precise. However, before we could get very far, we suddenly realised that we hadn't packed the reel of rigging rope. A quick stop, some chat and a quick u-turn later; Richard T and I headed back to GWC. The remainder of the group headed onto Keswick for lunch. In the end, as it turned out, we made good time and weren't too far behind. We had soon left the M6 at the Penrith junction and were heading towards Keswick on the A66. The sun was shining and we were treated to a splendid view of Blencathra. As this was my first trip to The Lakes, I was amazed by the scenery and knew that I would be back to take in some of the many hills.

Richard T sealing the lengths of rigging rope, Langdale

Chapel Stile from Raven Crag, Langdale

Our first climbing venue was Dalt Quarry and our instructors for the week were Adam and Mhari. It was only a short walk in to the Quarry and the top ropes were up in no time at all. The group had a range of experience and aged from 12 to 18 years old. Some had climbed a little on outside rock, while others had not. A quick survey soon revealed that none of them had ever climbed on slate before - and neither had I so I was really looking forward to giving it a try. It was a great intro venue that Adam had chosen; with lots of easy routes to practice (not) smearing on the slate. The kids really enjoyed it and it was the perfect start to the trip. The heat was relentless however, so we didn't stay too late and we heard that the weather-men were predicting a heat wave for the rest of the week! Hungry and thursty, we headed for the hostel to get settled in.

In the morning, Adam took us to Raven Crag near Chapel Stile in Langdale. This was a high crag close to the road that gave the kids the opportunity to try some longer and harder routes. We happened to have a massive 70m rope that Adam used to bottom rope one of the longer classics in the middle of the crag - much to our amusement. Before this however, Richard T and I were tasked with cutting the rigging rope to length. This was quite difficult due to the lack of space on the tiny country lane and we had to resort to laying the rope out on the road whilst checking for approaching traffic! Job done, we were keen to get on some of the classics at the crag. The climbing was excellent; but some of the younger ones were a bit intimidated by the height of the climbs. After lunch, we had a play on the Chapel Stile Boulders. The kids jumped on everything and showed great spirit, while Adam and Mhari tried a tricky looking traverse problem that was waaay out of our league but great to watch. The day was capped off with ice cream in Ambleside.

Raven Crag, Langdale

Wednesday was our 'rest' day from climbing and Richard T had canoeing planned for us. As this was the hottest day so far, we were glad we weren't climbing in the heat. It gave the kids a chance to blow off a little steam and try something different and they seemed to get a lot out of the day. That evening, Adam, Mhari and Richard T took the 4 older lads to Moss Crags in the Honister Pass so that they could have a go at seconding on some trad routes. The lads had showed Adam that they were super keen and quite sensible so he was more than willing to help them progress with their climbing skills. Richard G and I took the remainder of the group down to the lakeside at Buttermere for some Ultimate Frisbee - awesome!

Buttermere at dusk

Buttermere

The next morning we headed to Shepherds Crag, via the cafe... of course! I was rather excited about this particular crag because I had heard and read so much about it and it certainly lived up to all the hype. Adam and Mhari quickly rigged a bunch of bottom ropes in the Brown Slabs area and the kids were straight on the routes and tearing them to shreds. Then it was our turn and I have to say: the quality of the climbing was excellent and highly enjoyable; as expected. Adam and Mhari took some of the older kids to learn how to second a trad route and then we moved the bottom ropes to the Jackdaw Ridge area - also highly enjoyable. Adam then took two of the older lads to have a go at their first trad lead on Little Chamonix - an incredible opportunity for them. Later we called in to the cafe again and topped off an amazing day with a refreshing dip in the cool waters of Buttermere. A truly memorable day of adventure.

The forecast for Friday was for it to be a wet one. Adam's plan was to take us to Headend Quarry, as he said we could get lots done in the morning; even with the threat of rain. Sure enough, the clouds gathered but the rain held off for quite a while and Adam and Mhari had a bunch of bottom ropes set up in no time. The kids jumped on and quickly set about dispatching everything in sight. Adam then pre-placed some runners for the older lads to have a go at clipping them on lead; which they really enjoyed. Meanwhile, I had my own mission in mind; my first trad lead. Adam suggested that Richard G could lead something easy, then I could second him up but leave his runners in place. Then I could lead it and place my own gear but also clip into his runners for extra safety - a sensible plan I thought! A few days ago we had made a quick visit to the excellent Needle Sports in Keswick and I had purchased a set of Wild Country Classic Rocks. This was the first piece of trad gear I had ever owned and the plan was to build on that and add to it. Obviously I was very keen to put them to use and it was a great opportunity with Adam and Mhari around to keep an eye on things. Richard had picked out Soap Gut (Severe). Adam laughed and said that it was probably the dirtiest line at the crag but that it would be fine. Rich was soon at the top of the route and had placed 4 nuts on the way up. I swiftly followed, un-clipping as I went; it was rather dirty! Happy with that, I hopped to the bottom of the crag, tied in and I was off. My tactics were to clip Rich's runner before placing any nuts of my own. I soon discovered, however, that Rich had certainly picked the best of the placements and I struggled to get more than two of my own rocks in. I was soon at the top and Adam had already prepared anchors for me. Rich soon followed after me and grinned all the way at the poorness of my nut placements! Still chuffed with my first trad lead though; that was me grinning for the rest of the day! It was just then that the heavens opened and we packed up and made a dash for the vans. Late afternoon was spent wandering in Keswick and a trip to the cinema with the group later that evening... another fantastic day.

We only had the morning for some climbing before we headed home on the Saturday afternoon so Adam suggested that we cram in some final bouldering with the kids. Our first stop was at Honister Boulders, just up the road. The sun was out and everyone had great fun trying a number of problems. Once again, Adam and Mhari stole the show by completing one of the harder traverses. We then made a stop at The Bowderstone (more for historical reasons!). It was soon pretty clear that none of us would be able to climb anything on this massive boulder so we decided to have lunch instead; while Mhari got stuck into a problem that she had her eye on. But it was great that we were able to show the kids and give them a bit of climbing history chat. After lunch it was time for the long drive back to Edinburgh and time to reflect on a fantastic week in The Lakes.