Worth the Wait!

Have finally finished work prior to Christmas and a perusal of the usual suspect web forums showed that Cautley Spout was close to being fully formed. It looked like conditions would only get better through the week provided that the hordes didn't hack things to bits.

I'd wanted to do the Spout ever since I lived in the Lakes but it only comes in to complete condition very infrequently, though it was done last year in the big freeze, fifteen years seems to be about the periodicity. A week (well several actually!!) of sub-zero temperatures and if it wasn't in now then it would never be.

I'd arranged with Steve to head over today (Thursday) but had mentioned to Mike that we intended to do it so he'd taken another day off work as it was on his hit list as well. Another fifteen years and we'd be drawing our pensions!

By the time we got to the car park at the only pub in England that doesn't serve alcohol there were already half a dozen cars parked there. Looked like it was going to be busy so no use racing in to the route - we could take our time.

The first pitch is a 30m fall that is the last to form. Now however it was complete, wide enough for a team to take either side and avoid the thin crust over the main flow. A team of four was starting on the left so we'd go to the right. Steve and Mike had both said "Bob can lead the first pitch then we'll do some of the upper ones". Suited me. At least I didn't have to argue my case!

A team on the left and myself on the right on the first pitch.

 An easy apron lead to a steepening of slightly brittle ice so in with an ice-screw then sidestep the steep bit and up. It continued like this: steep ice avoided by side steps and moving up to a rest to the final couple of metres where it was easiest to climb the crust over the main flow and so to the belay. Mike and Steve followed together (thus managing to overtake the team of four).

A climber leading at about the same point as I am in the first shot.

Steve and Mike lead the next easy pitch together then we put the ropes away and headed up the gill. After a left turn, the upper falls are revealed. As ever ice when viewed front-on appears much steeper than it really is and so it proved, with the general angle being 45 degrees or so.

Steve on the upper falls.

The main flow was visible here so you had to choose between left or right and stick to it. Soon we were at the top having caught up some of the earlier teams.  Gear away and we headed back to the car, the whole route having taken about an hour and a half. The quarter of a century wait had been worth it.

More photos on my website

Good to be Back!

Well, having got itchy fingers for getting out climbing before Christmas I finally managed to get out!

The cold weather that put paid to getting on the rock continued and as we are all aware is basically still with us nearly four weeks later. This meant that climbing meant winter climbing - yeehah! So the first day out was going to be heading up to Brown Cove Crags on the west side of Helvellyn. However we ended up on Tarn Crag on Dollywagon Pike, it wasn't that our navigation wasn't up to much, rather Steve didn't want to take his new car over a possibly icy Dunmail Raise so a change of venue ensued.

Unfortunately Steve parked at the bottom of Dunmail not at the top so we had a couple of extra miles and around 800ft extra climbing to do. This wouldn't have been so bad if the snow was in decent nick but everything was unconsolidated so post-holing was the order of the day. Very hard work. We had intended to head over to Jogebar Gully on Nethermost Pike but we'd have taken hours to get there so settled on one of the easy gullies on Tarn Crag. To save time (there were three of us) since the wind was quite strong and blowing a lot of spindrift around we settled on climbing on a single rope. Everything was deep unconsolidated snow so any steps that were already there tended to collapse when you stood on them. Four months of not climbing meant that sizing gear (such as there was) took time and the placements weren't that good anyway. Pete (the third man) and Steve tied into the middle and end of the rope so we just moved together with poorish gear about every 30 metres. The cornice was "interesting" as the spindrift meant I couldn't open my eyes! Eventually I was on the top trying to hide from the wind.

After a short attempt to walk up to the summit we decided that we'd better head back. Our footprints from the morning were filled in so it was more hard work. Just before the col between Fairfield and Seat Sandal I went through a snow bridge into waist deep bog! After getting pulled out by the others it was just a case of carrying on - it was no place to stop and change socks. I use the Paramo system rather than Goretex and within ten minutes I was warm and dry. Eventually we got back to the car - Steve had carried skis most of the way up so got a jump on us on the way back. All in all a hard day out, showing just how hard winter climbing can be and that there are different types of hill fitness.

The following Friday Steve and I decided to get a night climb in - Low Water Beck above Coniston. It had been getting ascents through the week and should be in condition plus we'd avoid the crowds. A slight delay in setting off meant that we weren't ready to leave the car until 9:20pm. Also I seemed to have lost one of my axes the previous weekend - to make things worse it was the newest of the pair! Mind you it was still 23 years old! I was thus using one of my wife's axes. An hour or so later and we are gearing up at the foot of the falls. There's still quite a bit of water running and some big holes in the ice but it's climbable.

Steve heads off, he's not done much winter climbing so this will be a decent step up. Plenty of gear, some odd line choices and he's up. Following the pitch his line choices don't seem too strange, mostly to avoid spray from the running water. There's a step or two of Grade IV but mostly it's kicked out. Just above the belay there's an awkward chockstone to get round then some gear up and right before a delicate pull onto the base of the final ice slab. There's nothing to belay to at the top so a ice-axe-T belay is needed. Then it's a wander up easy ground to Low Water and off back to the car. There's more cars parked up now (2am) with sleeping occupants so it's quietly away. It's 4am by the time we get home. Someone posted on UKC that they got to the foot of the route at 8am to find 8 climbers on it already!!

We reckoned that with the long freeze the waterfall beneath Hellifield Crag (Crookstones) would be frozen so four of us headed up there to check it out on Sunday afternoon. I'd been into Skipton and splashed the cash on a pair of new ice axes (DMM Rebels) so was keen to try them out. Deep snow meant slow progress, only to find that there was very little ice there! I reckoned that I could get a line up the edge of the fall where the ice looked solid. Rope around my waist - modern climbers eh? - I set off and removed most of what was there with one tap! It was powder snow  covered with frozen spray. What was left was about 30cm wide and maybe 20cm thick at the thickest part. 10m later I'm on top. I drop the rope so Steve can lead it and the others follow as seconds. We think it's a possible first ascent but can't be sure.

Steve on thin ice

Unfortunately the thaw has now set in so I might have to wait a bit to do more ice climbing but it's good to know that I can do some climbing. With all the snow and ice I haven't done any running for over a week so might start getting more done now that things aren't quite so bad.