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| Joshua padding up a slab at Down Tor... |
Over the course of the weekend the South West was blessed with
glorious weather. A real rarity for Dartmoor at this time of year.
On Saturday (31st October 2015) I headed
to Down tor with Joshua to make the most of the weather for the day. Armed with
chalk, shoes and my new bouldering pad we wandered through the jumble of
boulders. This allowed me to tick off a few problems, such as
6b
Arete (f6a) and potentially a new first ascent on the pyramid
block,
Right wall sit direct f5. Having done a handful of problems
and watched Joshua scrambling around on the rocks we made for the summit
of
Down Tor before heading back to the car park to meet
Aj.
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| Myself on the classic 'Hanging Flakes' V4 6b... |
The following day (Sunday 1st November) I headed out on a solo mission to
Cuckoo Rock and Combeshead Tor. A venue I had not visited before so I was keen to try out some of the classics in the area...
During my 4 hour stint among the boulder strewn slopes I managed to tick off no less than 13 problems. Of these, the two that stand out were
Problem 87 V4 6b and the classic
Hanging Flakes V4 6b. By this point I was topless as the sun was out in full glory. A perfect November day! Towards the end of my session I was keen to tick of
Proof of Concept, V5 6b. A classic f6c (maybe even f7a..?) but it was not to be. The lack of skin left on my fingertips was a hint that it was time to go. Such is the nature of Dartmoor Granite. Would you have it any other way..?
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Cuckoo Rock with the sun setting behind. Fabulous Dartmoor...
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On Sunday (November 2nd) I awoke to a glorious blue sky and sunlight shining through my bedroom window like a cars headlights at full beam. How ironic is it that friends Jack and Henry are currently holed up indoors in Costa Blanca, Spain, whilst the rain batters the limestone crags outside. Could this be another day for Dartmoor?
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| Joshua high-balling at Bonehill... |
Myself, Aj and Joshua wolfed down several homemade pancakes before racing up the A38 towards
Bonehill Rocks. Hold on, something isn't right! The sunshine is now behind us and we are heading towards grey skies and advection fog! By the time we reach the car park we can barely see the crag which is less than 30 metres in front of us. Is this Karma for having a joke about Jack and Henry's current predicament in little Britain. Aww well, here now so may as well make the most of it.
The ground is wet but the rock is cold allowing for better conditions than expected. Myself and Joshua spend a few hours wandering around with me doing (attempting) the odd problem whilst Joshua eats more babybels whilst scrambling and weaseling.
I manage to make a repeat ascent of
Llama Farmer V4 6b first go and also make a quick flash of
P25 f6a. We wander around some more before I make a quick ascent of
P86 f6c above a very precarious landing. A sharp spiked rock and Joshua directly below!
We hear a group of 15+ kids turn up in two minibus' and decide to make ourselves scarce. We jump in the car as the raindrops start to hit the windows. Impeccable timing.
A truly fantastic week spent in one of my favourite places. Unfortunately this will be the last session on Dartmoor for the foreseeable future as we move to Bonnie Scotland on the weekend. Time to get strong over the winter for the sessions at the one and only Dumby! Time to chase that illustrious 7a...
