'But can we still claim them?'

So said Grimer to me yesterday, with a kind of glazed glee in his eyes. He was drunk, drunk on being handed access to rock normally out of reach, and so were we. In a few, crucial places the snow has redrawn the landscape and, as far as certain climbs are concerned, all of history has become but a footnote. Forty-foot walls have become bouldering height, boulder-choked gullies have become soft, flat platforms. As I've said before, I'm all about getting the best out of the weather, and if there's one thing I'll avoid its contrived behaviour. With the crags finally dry and the roads clear, on thursday I was out to a crag transformed. Alternating digging and ticking was a great way to keep warm, and by sunset we even had platforms to come back to.

Nige Kershaw on No More Excuses, High Neb

So can we claim them? Who cares? I just want to enjoy them while I can. These local crags hold few surprises by now, but suddenly its like having whole new buttresses unveiled. A stout spade is handy, as most of the drifts have a ridges top that needs taking off, just enough to make a pad platform, and there's usually a crevasse down the back which can accomodate the extra. In some places, the top half of the crag becomes a bouldering venue. In others, its more a case of a poor landing becoming more acceptable.

Three Blind Mice is a good example. Normally a bold E7 popular with would-be hard grit headpointers, presently its a ideal bouldering spot with three problems, crossing the bulge at different points and getting harder right to left. The interesting thing is how arbitrary the crux of the route is. Cross the bulge as per the classic shot of Dave Pegg, and its a great move, but move only slightly right, and its easier but not as good, and fast becoming a bad sequence on a much easier line of holds. Bouldering encourages you to do all the variations and not worry which earns a tick. The left-hand line is entirely independent but a good bit harder and less secure. Whether it becomes a route when the snow goes remains to be seen, but for now its a great 7b that Dan Varian managed first and christened Snowblind Mice.

Matt Pickles, Shine On, BAWs crawl area

After a busy saturday at The Plantation, we headed up to High Neb on sunday, and enjoyed a wonderful day on a great circuit meeting no other climbers. More digging enabled me to sneak in a potential new line - a direct start to Old Friends - dubbed 'Friends like these' at around 7b, though likely easier for the tall. Currently it has a nice landing which will also make Old Friends feel a good bit friendlier too. Second ascent still up for grabs,...

Matt Pickles, Shine On, BAWs crawl area

Here's a list of this week's essential ticks, north to south.
*Snowball ratings: 3*** = landing revolutionised, have no fear, 2** = landing significantly improved, now highball, 1* = landing slightly improved, pack your balls. NB assuming a modicum of topping out skills, no lowballs here...

Stanage

Pig's ear/ Crew Pegs Diffs/ No more excuses - all ***
Wolf Solent  ***
Kelly's Overhang **
Friends like These ***, Old Friends **

(Daydreamer might be worth a look. Shirley's looks totally buried)

Weather Report ***
Silk ***
Don *, Ulysses *, White Wand * (someone should dig out Fairy Groove, potentially***)
Big Air * and going fast...

Grace & Danger ***
Boys will be boys * (dug but not tested)
Cemetery Waits ***, Shine On *, Golden Path ***

Burbage
Puck ***, Superstition * (tested!)
Long Tall Sally, Three Blind Mice, Ai No Corrida - all ***

Nige Kershaw, Shine On, BAWs crawl area

Lots more to go at too, I'm working this week but looking forward to a world of platforms by friday, over to you...

edit - just had some reports of Nectar (first pitch) *** and Goosey Goosey Gander **

Snow fun

One of the things I try to do is not fight the weather. In fact its more than that, on any given day I obsess about how to get the most out of it. Despite having well over half the days in the year at my disposal, it never seems like there is enough time. Climbing and photography have different requirements, so the first decision is which to prioritise, though both sets of gear usually make it into the car boot. Both pursuits have plenty of sub-disciplines with their own requirements, so with really good local knowledge there's usually plenty of choice. At this time of year though, bad weather can really be a challenge for climbing, along with an almost desperate urge to make the most of any sunlight going.

White Edge, a couple of days before the snow really hit

The last couple of weeks have been no exception.Although a select few bouldering venues remain snow free, there's much more to be gained by embracing the snow. I've had a few days out winter climbing which have proved a little frustrating due to the short days, long drives and crowds. Twice we ended up on obscure routes to avoid queues, only to get lost and have to retreat by abseil to avoid benightment.

Barson lost on the frozen wastes of Ysgolion Duon

Having spent a frustrating last week indoors whilst the clear skies froze the country, it was no surprise to find with the weekend came the cloud, and I remain sceptical of the big freeze lasting much longer. Snow in the eastern Peak isn't unusual, but it is twelve years or so since we had anything comparable and whilst it has of course raised questions about just how climate change will affect our little maritime bubble, on my first day off I was pretty desperate to make the most of it. This is what we came up with.


Mam Tor clips from Adam Long on Vimeo.

Nine out of ten

I work alternate weeks at the mo, and the way I like to think about it is this: five days on, nine days off. Throw in a lucky early finish on friday, and that week off makes for ten chances to get out climbing. Last 'week' was great - I only missed one.


Sunday

 Nige Kershaw on Narcissus, E6 6b. Pads help, but the hard bit is at the top...

At the base of Froggatt's Downhill Racer is a grassy hollow in the boulders. The crag is generally a better suntrap than most, and this one of the best spots, on a windy day trapping one of those pockets of stillness that often form right against the base of a crag. By mid-morning I was tucked in it, pad forming a comfy sofa, watching the wind and sun dry the rock and the land come bright again. The signs of the last six weeks' deluge were still around; long streaks down Great Slab, the brook a leaping torrent braiding through the trees. I go through the normal drill - slow start, a couple of problems on Joe's, then Long John's, Downhill, Heartless, Artless. By the end I'm flowing nicely, the freshly dried rock giving great friction. Downhill again, this time direct, then again in my trainers. Nige does Narcissus, I don't, we move onto Toy Boy and fail into the darkness. A magical autumn day. Finally.


Tuesday

Despite a slow start, its still damp when we get to the crag. Despite the conditions, Bransby does The Joker with his mum spotting, then skips off back to Hathersage. We sit and chat, drink from our flasks, as more folk arrive and the day brightens.

Later, we're up at Shirley's again. Still a grey sky, but cold and now dry. I expect I'll lose the gift to climb this slab well before I tire of doing so. Today I get to induct another five folk into its secrets; a good haul. The start is guarded by an unpleasantly sharp pebble - the trick not to pull, but to push. Understand that, and it should stand you in good stead for the rest of the route too.


Thursday

Dan Varian on Careless Torque, highball font 8a

I don't believe in routes having auras that prevent ascents, but I do believe that at some point the little bubble of collective knowledge about a piece of rock reaches a critical mass and explodes into the consciousnesses of the many. Today that happened with Careless Torque. It was clear, bright, and for me far too warm for those starting slopers. But not for the others; Dan falls off the top, then gets his tick, Caff works out a new sequence for the short, and gets to the top move, whilst Mike and Ned run laps on increasingly ludicrous font-style links. Mike almost manages to make it look easy, and the others certainly don't make it look hard. What has changed? Well not much, but there is now a choice of well-established sequences to start, and a list of ascensionists of increasingly varied height. And often the most powerful beta is simply knowing someone who has done it. Ben's effort on The Joker is a good example - despite previously thinking himself perhaps too short or too static, he also that knows on crimps, he can burn me off anytime. Once I'd done it, it was just a matter of time.


Friday

 Mike Adams on Toy Boy E6 7a/ highball font 7c

The valley is grey. Mist fills the floor, and above it hides the edges too. Between, a layer of clear air. The vapours build, meet and part, flow softly west. The woodland drips. At Froggatt the rock is dry, almost, the lichen glowing green. Despite drier options we stay, and try Toy Boy. Folk come and go, but no one really gets anywhere, save for Mike, who can reach past the crux. After Sunday I thought it would be a formality, but I don't mind failing.


Saturday

I wander round the Plantation with a hangover, do a few problems, take a few photos. Nothing remarkable, but the beauty of the place on this crisp winter day is intoxicating, and surrounds us on our circuit.

At dusk I throw my pad under Careless torque, try the start alone in the fading light, and feel at home. I wonder if I can draw myself into the previous week's momentum and get myself up it. But no. Its been a few years since I was doing the start regularly, and I need everything to be perfect. Today they aren't quite, but I don't let that impact this lovely evening.

It would be nice to climb it. But, it would be nice too never to climb it, and just fail forever. What's important is just to be here and feel the wonder of just being alive. There are many doors to perception, but for me, for now, this one works about the best.

Peak appeal

Mountaineer Andy Cave has just finished his 2009 lecture tour. After his life-changing trip to Changabang, Andy returned home bewildered and unsure about his continuing motivation for climbing. Ultimately the gentle beauty of his home landscape drew him back in, and he found some catharsis through the simple joy of movement on the boulders.

To try and illustrate this in his slideshow, Andy got in touch with me to put a selection of images together. Andy Kirkpatrick added some suitable music and some nifty fades, and the result is what you see below. There aren't any captions, but if you want to know more about any of the photos drop me an email. I think it works well - great places, great times.

Peak slideshow from Adam Long on Vimeo.

With the weather finally taking a turn for the better this week, the above also seems a pretty good advert for the charms of The Peak right now. I've been out six days out of the last seven, and whilst there's been a certain amount of searching out dry rock, the rewards have been rich. The scene seems very healthy and with an amazing amount of talent about, things really feel to be moving forward. I'll write a bit more next week when the dust has settled, but suffice to say that whilst today was a fair milestone in the history of the Grand Hotel, it only felt like a warm-up.

Our Lot

I'll not dwell on the past few weeks, suffice to say the weather in the Peak has been as bad as I can remember - wet, dull, windy.

That's My Lot - originally E8 7a, now 7c+/ 8a?

Nige took his weather frustration out on lichen. One route in particular - That's My Lot at Rivelin quarries. A perfect twenty-five foot quarried edge, slabby on the right but leaning out on the left. A few footholds to get started, then nothing, just the square edge and smooth iron-plated smears. No repeats in ten years, since Nik Jennings' visionary scamper immortalized in A film by some climbers. After doing the sequence once on a top-rope Nige set to work improving the landing - a fallen tree across a rocky slope. With the stump tidied and the holes filled, things looked a lot more encouraging.

another good go from Ryan - even hitting the hold wasn't enough

And so yesterday, at last, the rain stopped, and the team assembled. Crisp sunlight filtered through the woods, a fresh breeze dried the air, and life was good again. I'm not sure I've ever been at the crag with such a strong team - Varian, Feehally, Pasquill, McHaffie just to name the big guns. A pretty good selection of folk currently pushing the Peak highball scene, and a good vibe. After a brief warm-up on the deceptive Sex Drive, it was on to the main event. The start was fine, getting established okay, then it was shut down time. Teeter, creep, lean, off. To cut a long story short, after three hours no one had done it and it was going dark. Testament to the quality though, was that nobody gave up. Only Nige and Ryan were making serious inroads, both tickling the jug. For a second it was over - Ry stuck the jug only to swing straight into a solid bridge across the corner, feet on a huge ledge. Cheers turned straight to laughter and hoots of derision. A perfect illustration of how arbitrary these problems can be, but it wasn't diminished, and the challenge remained. Next go there were no mistakes - Ry sucked in, extended like a leech, and snagged the break static.

Could Nige come any closer? Maybe if he wasn't wondering if he'd left the cooker on...

Even with our foam pit, nobody entertained Nik's original running scamper method. Chapeau!

Font video

Char has put his film of our trip to font up on vimeo. There's a fair bit of me climbing in it, and although I get up a few problems I look rather petulant. All down to Char's editing, amazing what they can do eh? I was made up really...

Some Mid-Grade Classics from alexander char on Vimeo.

Lookout - egg chefs!

I spent last week in Fontainebleau with a few friends and the weather was perfect, too good in fact. A full day's bouldering can be hard on body and skin - five in a row is debilitating. The first two days were spent at rather open crags enjoying the warmth of the sunshine, doing the kid-in-a-sweetshop thing which is hard to resist. With conditions on the fine-grained sandstone are less temperature and more humidity dependent than on grit, it was plenty grippy enough to get on some fairly hard problems. 

Back when I was an impressionable twenty-year old, I went to Glastonbury festival. Despite the rain and the mud, it was better than I could ever have hoped. Even so, I remember at some point feeling I was missing something, and left my mates and the big-name acts to go off alone in search of 'the vibe'. Font is a lot like that. Its very easy to get blinkered into only paying attention to the headline acts, despite my best memories always coming from seeking out the sideshows.

But day two saw me wasting rather too much energy failing on Rubis sur l'ongle, for which I'll use Daniel Woods' excuse of it being 'my anti-style'. The it was onto Hotline, which should have been better suited, but by the time I'd exhausted the other options and resigned myself to the only hard move being a disgusting pull on a tiny crimp, I was goosed. Consequently there were few beans left in the bank come colder weather at the end of the week... after climbing poorly at Isatis and Bas Cuvier, I got my mojo back at Cuvier est by finishing a 7a+ arete I'd tried last year, and then flashing Watchtower up at Rempart.

On the last day I finally got to climb at a couple of the best venues - Rocher Greau and Buthiers. Had a great day doing some superb highball aretes, pretty much all second go; frustrating to miss out on the flash though. Attention Chef d'oeuvre was one that got a team tick, though no one could translate the name - I've used one suggestion as the post title. On the ferry home I happened to be reading a review by Will Self, he of the giant vocabulary, where he happened to use the phrase chef d'oeuvre and the context made the meaning clear. Oeuvre doesn't seem to have an english translation - we tend to use the french - but I guess the closest would be genre, but as applied to an individual or group's body of work. Chef is simply chief, so the chef d'oeuvre is the chief of the genre - the one masterpiece that embodies everything about the genre. Applied to the boulder problem - a true classic of the forest - it makes perfect sense. I doubt I'll be lucky enough to find a new problem in the Peak worthy of the equivalent name - Uber classic alert maybe? I can imagine some dirty block in a woodland near Birchover becoming Lookout, egg chefs! though...