Another one off the list

I was originally supposed to be getting in on some trad action this weekend up at Dow, bearing in mind the weather has been so good, but Taffa has done his shoulder in. Looks like he'll be out of action for a while.
So that trip had to be cancelled, leaving Sunday morning free to climb wherever. As I've been preoccupied with Choomle-berghamstead recently I've been neglecting the list somewhat.
Therefore the decision had to be Widdop.
I had one main problem I wanted to do today, Pickpocket crack 6a+.
I arrived at the crag by about 10ish, and it was already 26 degrees. I was fast thinking that going for grit today was not the best idea - everything was likely to be greasy and slippy, especially on the polish. The problem itself takes a great line up a triangular slab. I remembered from last year that it tends to stay in the shade in the morning. The rock was pretty cool to the touch when I got there, so I was in luck.
As warming up is for poofs I decided to jump straight on the target of the day. Last year I tried this problem a couple of times: the first time I injured my middle finger on the left hand mono, straining the tendon, then when I went back a few weeks later I did exactly the same thing. After that I didn't bother as I wasn't keen to be injured a third time! This time was to be different.

After a couple of mis-fires it was crushed. Third go of the day, great!
I went to have a look at splashback, also a good problem, but the full sun was on the arete hold, and I kept slipping off. This one needs cool conditions I reckon, but I think I'll keep it in mind for a revisit. After that I decided to potter around on various easy and enjoyable problems before it got almost unbearably hot.
Anyway, another problem off the list, and it felt fairly straight forward. All the better!

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