Despite the Meet Leaders optimism, it appears that some people were put off by something called ”rain”? However, he and fiancée [!!] duly arrived at 10am to find prospective member Risa waiting for us. We set out for the crag in dry weather, heading for some modest climbs as Risa had never climbed before. As Vanda set out on the first route, Hugh arrived. Despite very slippery trainers our new recruit soon ascended the starred slab. Time for introduction to gritstone jamming which we all subsequently polished [!!!] off, thanks to Hugh’s lead and Vanda’s intro to belaying lecture.
So far, we’d stayed dry, so our oldest female leader was pointed at a lovely off-width polished crack. Despite overcoming the crux and placing all the gear, she then nobly handed over to Hugh to grab the glory.
At this juncture, the heavens opened but after a slight wobble, the top was achieved, leaving the meet leader to second in a deluge to retrieve the gear. Risa was obviously enjoying herself so much she borrowed Vanda’s rock boots and followed.
After 3 routes, the Meet Leader was discovered not to have led anything, so despite the gentle drizzle we made our way to a chimney, green in parts, wet all over but plenty of gear where all had fun transferring green to clothing, the winner being our new recruit.
To avoid any pre-marital stress, it was now decided, at 2pm, that route 5 was to be ‘Pub Direct’ where 2 soups, 1 beer, 1 hot chocolate and 2 chip butties were enjoyed.
Thanks to those who came and had their characters built even further, it was fun to be out in less than perfect weather for a change.
Pictures on Facebook as soon as my phone’s dried out enough to work [hopefully].
Cheers
Paul and Vanda
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