After an obligatory detour to Outside in Hathersage to acquire a very essential clipstick, Peri, Rob and myself arrived at Stanage Popular as it began to rain; we decided it must be time for a picnic 'a la car' (this nearly involved the challenge of eating couscous without a fork / spoon by one group member but was luckily avoided). The rain didn't last too long fortunately and as it stopped Sean arrived to join us. Off up to the crag we went.
In between dodging further rain showers, Peri encouraged me to do a few easier routes to get myself back into leading: Physiology and Small Crack (both starred routes – YAY!), whilst Peri herself completed a nice handjammy route with ease: Castle Crack.
Rob and Sean climbed a good number of routes during this time including Gargoyle Variant and Gargoyle Buttress, then, after being joined by Martin, Lancashire Wall, Heather Wall, Chimps Corner and Grotto Slab. Finally as members of the group started to leave (babies, social commitments etc) Rob and Martin had grand finales on Prudence, a thin and fingery HVS crack, and Eliminator, an impressive looking HVS arete/wall combo, after which the remaining three legged it on the grounds of it being %^^$ing freezing.
couple of photos here (plus one on the way to wharncliffe the day before) think they should be visible to everyone
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=235820&id=613321239