Members: Dan O’Brien, Andy Stratford, Mark Pilling, James Williams, Jim Symon (rumoured)

Guests: Rob Mills

A promising forecast quickly deteriorated in the afternoon.  Andy arrived early at a dry Hobson Moor, phoning Jim to tell him that the weather was good.  In the short time it took Jim to arrive the weather had turned and made climbing an uninviting prospect.  Jim headed for home and Andy to Stockport Wall.  Mark and James arrived in the quarry shortly after.  Being made of sturdier stuff they opted for traversing along the back wall (a long pumpy V4).  As Rob and Dan arrived the rain had thoroughly soaked the main crag and a decision was made to join Andy for an impromptu wall session.

Andy had already climbed 12 routes on the auto-belays so was keen to hold Dan’s ropes when he arrived.  Rob, Mark and James teamed up and after a few laps of the top-roping walls for a warm-up headed off for stepper ground on the leading walls.  Dan was humbled by a red 6a+ whilst Andy (that Cat) danced up the central pumpy section.  James, Rob and Mark cranked the grades up with a reachy 6c.  James reckoned that it seemed like a successful session as he was "falling off hard stuff”.  Dan and Andy moved onto slab by territory where an increasingly shirtless Andy made an ascent of a 6b+ which “eased off a bit too much towards the top”.  The next route (a 6a+) more than made up for it with a tricky reach section at the last overlap.

Over tea and fizzy pop on the mezzanine, the venue for next week was discussed with New Mills Torrs being a clear favourite as it will be possible to climb there even if it is wet and dark.

Andy and Dan gave up shortly afterwards leaving Rob, Mark and James wondering if we were only part timers as they roped up for another route…