Alderman Rocks 1^st Sept 2021

Members: Dave Wylie, Jim Symon, Andy Stratford, Rory Marsden

Prospective Members: Holly Warder, Ed Courtnell, Daniel Arrowsmith

The sun broke through in the afternoon and the forecast hinted at a pleasant if chillier evening. In fact, it was just on the right side of chilly and a stiff breeze kept the midges away at this, one of the best views you can get on our midweek crag circuit. Four members of the Ruscac club were also recorded as present on the first occasion this season when we have crossed venues on a midweek.

Ed, on his first KMC Meet and first time at Alderman led Dave up Rib and Face (HVD 4a), The Great Gatsby (VS 4c) and F route (VD 3c).

With a variety of finishes on offer it is difficult to really take full notes of what we all did – often climbing pitches on the second tier that bore no relation to the parent route lower down so what follows is a bit of an approximation!

Jim and Andy, Great Slab Arete (S 3c) with a finish up an off-width chimney, followed by The Great Slab (VS 4c) with Jim unusually taking the slab on P1 and Andy jamming the overhanging crack on P2. This was followed by Andy leading up Great Slab Right (HVS 5a) then an upper pitch (the Face), for these two they were joined by late arrival Rory.

Meanwhile, Daniel and Holly teamed up to dispatch Pygmy Wall (S 3c), Golden Wonder (E1 5b or Highball V1), the Face pitch and both pitches of The Great Slab.   

We left as darkness was falling around 8pm and headed down to The Clarence for a beer and a natter – just like old times pre-Covid…. Maybe things are starting to get back to normal after all….

Alderman Rocks is an atmospheric crag perched on top of Alderman hill in the Chew valley area overlooking Dovestones reservoir. It has some of the best sunset views in the area and despite being above the road, it feels remote and somehow exposed. The crag is home to a small number of easier routes with a couple being best done in two pitches. Details can be found here:  

 https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=1280

The usual parking is Binn Green where a short stiff jaunt uphill gets you to the crag in 15-20 mins. The meet will begin at 4pm at the crag, although some of the locals may be there a touch earlier. Keep an eye on scribble for updates. Please bring a warm layer, bug spray and a headtorch just in case. Its traditional to pop to the Clarence pub at the bottom of the road (Greenfield) after this one so figure that into your return timing!