In attendance Dave Eaton (Member), Mark Evans (Member), Ben Beasley (Non-Member)
After weeks of rain and low temperatures, the sun gods were finally smiling on the three club members who had made the journey south to attend the meet and sample some of the delights the Lake District has to offer.
Following heavy rain throughout Friday and into the night, combined with a lack of recent rock mileage, the classic route Corvus on Raven Crag (Borrowdale) was chosen, given its reputation as a route for all weathers. After dispatching this Raven Crag buttress classic, another easy three-star route was selected. Unfortunately, the guidebook failed to mention the need for a strimmer. If wet, slimy, vegetated climbing is your bag, then this is the route for you. If that’s the Lakeland climber’s idea of a three-star classic, they really need to spend more time climbing in Scotland.
Sunday dawned as a blue-sky scorcher, so it was time to seek out some dry, clean rock. Given the soaring temperatures, it made sense to head for one of the highest crags in the Lakes. It seemed like a great idea when we arrived, but choosing a heather- and scree-bashing approach was perhaps less sensible. However, the quality of the rock and climbing on Grey Crag (Buttermere) did not disappoint, and we successfully completed two Lakeland classic Severes: Oxford and Cambridge Direct and Suaviter.
The first pitch of Corvus
The Classic traverse pitch on Corvus
The last pitch on Corvus
Fine climbing on the second pitch of Suaviter
Oxford and Cambridge Direct