Will, Luke and I met Roy (prospective Oaklands regular) at the car park and wandered up towards the rocks just as Peter disappeared over the top and walked off to solo all the 16 routes at Stoney Wicks about a mile to the right.
With a few mats we all soloed all of the easy routes at the right hand end, some many times, and talked Roy and Luke through a few techniques, mantleshelves and lay aways and balancy things. They impressed with controlled solos of the long routes Razor Rib and variations.
It was all going so well. Will wanted to conquer The Mantleshelf, long masquerading as a Diff/Vdiff now given 4b and I have always thought reckon 4c. We dropped a rope on it I didn't want to take any falls onto my ankle and with some effort Luke, Roy and I made it. Will then soloed it in fine style with a bag full of beta weighing his conscience down. In the distance a faint calling could heard as Peri got out of her car, and Peter joined.
We moved the rope around onto another face for Roy and Luke to try some variations on Holly Tree Wall practising top outs and Will tickled Pingers (5a) – so that was his two objectives done. Peri Clare and Ian arrived just in time to contemplate a route before the heavens opened and we took cover.
Scugdale is badly affected by the rain, soft rock is friable and prone to damage – didn't stop some others.
In a break between showers Roy made a run for it, the rest of us giving up during the next downpour and heading for a pint in the Blacksmiths Arms (home of the steak on a stone!)
No photos from me.
Tags: rain
'contemplate' a route? the three of us (me, clare, new recruit ian), each got six quick solos in before the rain started, then another one in the brief window when the rock dried off between the first and second rains.
planning a return on sunday on a mission to solo all the remaining easy routes if the weather holds!