Cornwall Climbing Meet

Members:  Roger Dyke, Lucie Crouch, Mark Pilling, Gareth Williams, James Williams, Dave Wylie.  Also in attendance for part of the meet (though staying elsewhere): Sean Kelly.

Guests:  Mary Crosby, Tony Crosby.

 

Saturday June 14
The meet began with teams setting off in four vehicles, from a variety of start points. Mary and Tony were first off the mark with an early start (more on these later) from Nottingham. More civilised departures saw the other three cars leave Manchester within a couple of hours of each other.  Lucie and Gareth reached the luxury accommodation of The Three Chimneys first, so getting first attack at the cream tea which had been left to welcome us. Next to arrive were Mark and James, closely followed by Roger and Dave.  Last but not least, Mary and Tony who'd stopped en-route to visit friends.  Tony pulled out his iPad in the hope of connecting to a hotspot.  Not a chance, one of the attractive features of The Three Chimneys is the remoteness and solitude.

The sun was shining, and several members went out for short walks / runs to and along the coast, looking forward to a week's climbing ahead.

 

Sunday June 15
After the tiring journey, Tony had a long lie in until 7am.  He and Mary then decided to take in the local area with a trip to church followed by Morrisons, the latter reported as something of a "struggle".  Meanwhile, the sun was shining, and the KMC set off for a day out a Fox Promontory.

Very careful plans had been made for the abseil descent. Roger's guidebook had a pencil note indicating the precise location of a thread for an anchor.  The guidebook also indicated routes of length ~25m, well within the expected constraints of James's 30m static rope.  Morale was high until we neared the end of the promontory, which was guarded by a nesting seagull and its two chicks.  We can't reach the thread, but not to worry, we'll rig an anchor just here.  Hmm, it's a bit further back from the edge, but can't have used a whole five metres of rope, should be fine.  "Rope below" was shouted, but the rope didn't go very far below, only about half way down the crag in fact.  The final conclusion drawn was that the 30m rope was actually an 18m rope.  Not to worry, we've got a spare half-rope with us for some reason, let's use that as an ab-rope instead.  Soon Mark and James are on ledges at the base, their climbing ropes left useless atop the cliff! But help is at hand in the form of Roger, and soon all are at sea-level with all the required kit, raring to go.

James and Mark climbed Reveille (HS), Sunshine Cracks (HS) and Whisker (VS), progress up the latter being impeded by a nesting cormorant.  James, leading, was forced to divert and forged a new line, "Cormorant Corner".  Lucie, Dave and Gareth explored Zawn Face Climb (Diff) before Gareth wobbled his way up The Muzzle Direct (HVS 5b). Wobbling caused the belayers some concern, apparently Gareth never wobbles, either climbs it smoothly or falls off in control but never wobbles.  Well, that's one misconception corrected!  Dave followed via the original start, but Lucie decided not to risk a wobble, and instead waited for a partner to return and repeat Zawn Face Climb.

Meanwhile, Mary and Tony arrived, iPad out, taking photos and videos.  Still no wifi to send any urgent emails.  Back at base dinner took the form of a BBQ, with Dave being charged with charring the veggie food.

 

Monday June 16
Recovered from the journey, Tony was up at 5am and off walking and scrambling before others rose.  Was he in training for the Alps?  The team decided upon Bosigran for the day, with Mary and Tony deciding upon walking along the coastal paths around Porthgwarra.

The heat was on at Bosigran, with bright sunshine and blue skies.  James and Mark climbed Zig Zag (VS) and Little Brown Jug (VS).  Roger and Gareth climbed Alison Rib (D) whilst Dave and Lucie climbed Inbetween (VD), Dave critiquing Lucie's gear placements, all but one of which were certified as solid.  In the afternoon, Dave Roger and Gareth teamed up to tackle Dong (S 4b), leading a pitch each.  Gareth drew the short straw and got to lead the top pitch – an unbelievably abrasive V chimney.  Roger made a fine job of the ‘interesting’ mantleshelf move above it, and Dave has produced an excellent flick-book illustration of his efforts.

Back at base, Tony and Mary had had so much fun they decided they were going to stay the full week.  This meant Tony had to pull out of a meeting in Nottingham, and needed to send approximately 68 emails to achieve this.  Luckily he had his iPad, though still no hotspot to connect to.  James made us some top-notch coffee, but Mary preferred tea. How strong? Oh, really weak -- just wave the tea bag at the cup!

 

Tuesday June 17
Still training for the Alps, Tony was up at 5am again.  The team settled on Sennen Cove, Gareth with high hopes of a rematch with Samson Arete (E2 6a).  Once again it was very hot and things got off to a good start.  Once again the Royal Marine Commandos had got there first, but fewer of them this year and very civilised.

James and Mark teamed up again to climb Africa Route (VS), Vertical Crack (VS) Demo Route (HS), Banana Flake (VD) and Staircase (D).  Tony and Dave knocked off Corner Climb (VD) and No Name (VD) together.  Lucie followed Gareth up No Name (VD), after which Gareth felt a little under the weather.  So Samson Arete survives for another year! 

Lucie teamed up with Roger, following him up Staircase (D) and then followed Dave up the two pitches of Black Slab (VD) in one.

Having lost his second to Dave, Roger approached the Commando officer, to see if he could borrow a marine – there seemed to be several spare.  They donated ex-marine Rich and his 12 year old son Harry, and Roger took them up Main Face Climb (D) – after explaining that as he was leading on a single 9mm, a Figure 8 was not a suitable belay device.  On the first pitch, Harry demonstrated that he was a much more fluid climber than his Dad!  Rich earned his keep though when Roger was half way up the second pitch.  We heard "Roger, are you going to put any gear in or shall I not both belaying?”, and Roger’s reply "Sorry – the climbing’s so superb I’d forgotten about gear".

At the end of the day, Roger found himself at sea-level, all on his own.

Mark kindly abbed down, picked up Roger’s sack and rope, and led him out up Banana Flake (VD) – carrying his sack all the way.  Nice to have friends!

Tony had now found two wifi hotspots: one at the fish-and-chip shop, and the other at the pub in Sennen.  Just as he was sending the final few emails, the battery went flat and he didn't have the charger with him.  Sounds like an excuse to return to the pub... as if one is needed!

The evening's fun was provided in two parts: first a game of "smite", which is similar to skittles.  Dave was crowned the eventual champion.  Meantime, Mark had been desperate to demonstrate his ascending techniques.  But where to dangle a rope? Probably best not to reveal the details here, but a rope was indeed dangled, and everyone had a go with Mark’s jumars.  Some interesting techniques were revealed, the conclusions being that:

A    It is essential to use the RIGHT leg.
B    It’s a lot easier when you know how.

Work was also undertaken on Lucie’s car: the exhaust’s heat-shielding had worked loose. A team-spirited repair involving Dave’s amazing pocket toolkit, a jam-jar lid and a bit of ingenuity was performed, and all was well.

 

Wednesday June 18
Yet another scorching day.  Tony, now in full stride, was up at 4am (yes, 4am!) and walked to Porthcurno for a swim before breakfast.  He enjoyed Porthcurno so much that he took Mary there for the morning.  The Submarine Telegraphy Museum at Porthcurno was officially closed for reorganisation, but Tony’s charm got them invited in regardless.  Then back to Porthgwarra for the afternoon and another swim (the sea was still freezing).

Lucie took a day off climbing, visiting Penzance in the morning, and Porthgwarra in the afternoon, for a successful bit of seal-spotting and sunbathing.  Roger pottered off along the Coastal Path for the day, finishing at Porthgwarra just in time to get a lift back to the house from a well-toasted Lucie.

Dave, James, Mark and Gareth headed off to the Gurnard's Head area.  First was Sensible Shoes (VS 4c) at Robin's Rocks, climbed as two pairs.  A short route with an interesting move onto a sloping ledge.  Walking back along the cliff tops, we met Sean who'd been looking for us for some hours.  Dave and James set off for Right Angle (HS 4b) at Gurnard's Head itself: Dave had had his sights on this route for some years, and reported it was the route of the week for him - absolutely superb.

In the meantime, Mark, Sean and Gareth opted for Astral Stroll (E1 5b) at Carn Gloose. Astral Stroll is something of a classic -- *** and a Rockfax Top 50 route, and would be in the SMC's **** genre of routes if it were at that end of the country.  It traverses out, then down, to the mouth of an enormous cave, then traverses the lip to the apex and finishes up the headwall.  No single move is especially hard, but it's very sustained with stunningly exposed positions.  Mark led P1, out of sight round the corner.  Assembling a safe hanging belay (we later read on UKClimbing that the original stance here has collapsed) took ages, in which time a couple of snorkelers passed by, kindly taking Gareth's t-shirt down to the water and bringing it back soaking wet.  Who needs air conditioning?

Sean followed Mark, but upon sight of the belay, decided there wasn't space for a team of 3 and retreated.  Pitch 2 involved a down-climb of about 10 feet, followed by a wild, overhanging traverse on (mainly) jugs -- some of them wet.  Just like Hobby Moor, except with the ocean a few feet below.  The pitch had a distinctly mountaineering feel about it, requiring a back-rope to protect the second on the down-climb, though we were both glad we weren't in big boots!  The third and crux pitch follows the lip of the cave, with roofs above and space dropping away into the ocean below.  Superb climbing with good protection, but as ever with a traverse, the second needs to be competent at the grade. The final headwall pitch was again good climbing, this time with steady moves on square-cut flatties.

We were a bit late back to base, but thankfully the others had organised the evening meal. Tony had even managed to find a working wifi hotspot with a charged device, and so send the last few emails he needed!

 

Thursday June 19
Everyone seemed to want a bit of an easy day today, even Tony stayed in bed until a quarter to six!  Gareth's parents were in the area so he, Lucie, Tony and Mary spent the day with them, having an easy cliff-top walk before a dip in the sea at Porthgwarra.

Those who did climb had a relaxed start, heading to Chair Ladder after lunch. Sean, Dave and Mark climbed Terrier's Tooth (S), confirming that the new first pitch (courtesy of the winter storms) is about Severe or Hard Severe in standard.  Roger played rope-boy, porter, photographer and clown, somehow managing to appear at the top of the first pitch without actually climbing.  We got our own back by sending him down Ashcan Gulley to fetch the ab rope back up.

Mark set up a slackline in the evening, an ingenious arangement involving a gatepost, a rock, a wheelie bin and the 18/30m static rope.  Most people had a go – some were more successful than others.  Roger was particularly taken with this activity, despite his total lack of success – see afternote!

 

Friday June 20
The last day was again a sunny one, and the climbing team headed back to Sennen Cove, Tony having already been up since 5am.  Gareth, again feeling less than 100%, had a rest day.  Lucie and Mary went walking together on the cliff tops.

Meanwhile, at the cliffs, Roger led Corner Climb (D), followed by Sean and Tony.  Tony and Sean went on to climb Demo Route (HS).  Dave soloed Main Face Climb (D) before leading Sean up Intermediate Route (VD) and Roger up Left Banana Flake (D).  Mark and James teamed up again to climb Double Overhang (VS 4c), Dextrose (HVS 5a) and Dolphin Cracks (HVS 5a).  These two are a strong team!

A final meal together in the evening was finished off with Lucie's homemade apricot and apple crumble for pudding, followed by more slacklining antics.

 

Saturday June 21
Mary and Tony had packed last night for an early getaway!  They were long-gone before anyone else was up – all that alpine training paid off in the end!  Other parties set off in slightly slower time, heading back to their various homes.  Except Gareth & Lucie, who headed direct to the Dinorwic quarries…

 

Afternote
Thank you to the weatherman, and to everyone who came along to make this another successful climbing meet, especially to guests Mary and Tony, whom we hope will join us again in future.

The slacklining obviously made an impact on Roger, who bought one the first day home and has it permanently rigged in the back garden at Goostrey.  We expect great things next year Roger!

 

Gareth Williams