The 'Half a dozen is company, seven is a crowd' Improve Your Leading Meet. 

• Gowry Sisupalan (M)
• Dave Wylie  (M)
• Nils Elgar (M)
• James Meakin (M)
• Annie Nye (G)
• Emily Pitts (Meet Leader)

This meet, originally intended to take place in Wales, was moved closer to home - the time of year, back to school blues, shorter days and other factors came together resulting in low take up, so Harborough rocks was chosen to provide an alternative to our usual gritstone outings. The merry band of six all gathered just after ten in the warm autumn sunshine, finding a few other groups at the crag already.  We thought they might prevent us from getting on the good routes, but the opposite transpired. We all enjoyed some great climbing, in a relaxed atmosphere, finished off with, yes, you guessed it: a nice bit of cake. 

Prospective member Annie led Bow Arête (diff) and seconded many routes with partner in crime James Meakin. James joined the 'Severe 4b extraordinaire club' with his outing up Overhanging Wall, followed by Overhanging Chimney Direct (S 4a) and Steep Ridge (Vdiff). 

Gowry led with style Little Gully (diff), Adderley's Route (diff) and Bow Arête (Diff), followed up on all by Emily. 

Dave led Steep Ridge (Vdiff), Overhanging Wall Variant (vdiff) and Overhanging Chimney indirect (HVD). 

Nils put us all to shame by soloing no fewer than 5 routes before we even arrived! Steeple Arête (vdiff), Concave Wall (HVD 4a), Little Arête (diff), Bow Ridge (vdiff), Bow Arête (diff). he then proceeded to sashay up Crinkle Crack HS (4b), Thin Air (VS 4b) and Pedestal Crack (S 4a) with Dave on the end of the rope. 

Infringed by a flurry of rain at 2, we realised it was a clear sign that cake time was overdue. As we finished cake and packed up, the rain came again. James, Gowry and Annie pushed the boat out and stayed a little longer to finish with Trident Arête and Trident Groove. A good day out. 

***UPDATE***

Due to low expressions of interest for next weekend's Improve Your Leading meet, planned to take place at Ty Powdwr in Wales (16-17 September), the meet is being moved to a more local crag, with a view to getting either one or two days of climbing closer to home, depending on the weather.

Harborough Rocks is our main destination. Why? It's a great crag for beginners, with something different from our standard Peak grit. The rock is dolomitic limestone with some glorious jugs. It's a fantastic crag and I hope you'll come along and get your leading head on, as we speed towards winter. More info here: https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=111

The Plan...

The plan is as follows: if the weather forecast is good for Saturday, we will meet at 10am at Harborough Rocks.

If the weather remains good we will spend the Sunday at Stanage.

However, if Saturday is inclement, we will just spend Sunday at Harborough Rocks. Same time - 10am.

As always at this time of year, please keep an eye on the scribble, as I may move the meet to a different location closer to the time, if it looks like the weather will be poor at Harborough, but nice elsewhere.

Any questions, probably best to send me a text.

See you next weekend for some glorious sunshine, tea and cake.

The second of 2017's meets designed for members and prospective members who:

Have lost confidence leading

Have just started leading and want to build confidence 

Haven't done outdoor leading for ages and want to do more 

Usually let a partner lead, as it seems easier

Want to lead more but doesn't have much opportunity 

This meet is for you.  If you want to get back into leading or to give your confidence a boost, then join us on this meet where you will be able to lead at your own pace with the support of other club members.  Often people say that they feel they are a burden and that they don't want to lead, because they are too slow or don't have the confidence.  This meet is about giving new lead climbers or older lead climbers who've lost touch with leading, a day where they are encouraged to lead in a friendly and positive environment.  

If you want to dust off your leading head, then come along.  Experienced members will have gear, if you need to borrow some on the day.  

Whilst this isn't a taught session and shouldn't be treated as such, I hope that experienced members will come along and support inexperienced or unconfident leaders to get some mileage on the fantastic plethora of single pitch, multi pitch and slate sports routes close to the club hut in North Wales 

Where:  crags to be decided dependent on who attends 

Time:  meet leader will be arriving Friday night and climbing Saturday and Sunday. If the weather is bad, the Beacon is the wet weather option. 

Non-members are welcome at this meet, but please email me prior to attending, as keys and logistics need organising for accommodation.

Members and non-members who plan to attend, please 'add me' on the website, so I have an idea of numbers.