After thursday's debacle I think we were all a bit wary of another cragward dash in defiance of the weather forecast. But as the afternoon went on with no sign of cloud a last minute decision got more and more tempting. Simon and Carmen headed off to Scugdale, while my pals Dave and Roman summoned me to Almscliff. A quick email round the club also scooped up Rob so off we headed. Managed to arrive still in good weather – surely this was too good to be true. We consulted on goals and decided that Rob would tick Pigotts Stride (VS 4c) then I would have another bash at The Traditional Climb (VS 4c). Rob got up the stride in fine style, no problems at all, although he did whinge a bit about having to jam up Whiskey Crack to finish.
Then I headed off for my Traditional Humiliation at the hands of Traditional Climb . Must have been a good day because it all went smoothly and I finally got to tick it. So far so good, and its Robs turn to lead the last route of the day. "Your choice, Rob". What does he pick? Pothole direct VS 5a. Oh deep joy. Up he shimmies, and I prepare to follow, but can I do it this time? Can I hell. half a dozen tries, twenty minutes, and a set of bleeding knuckles later I concede "OK, you'll have to haul" and ascend with all the dignity of a sack of potatoes hanging on the rope. As we prepared to go (me muttering darkly about the swollen lumps on my wrists) Dave and Roman finally appeared to finish off their bouldering session so we hung around in the deepening twilight (by 9.30pm! oh no!) to heckle before dragging them off for a pint.