2008 Climbing Diary

This table is little more than an electronic version of a notebook that I keep each year about the climbs that I do. Note that I have only ever recorded those routes in the extreme grades. It may be elitist but in its own peculiar way it forces me to attempt routes that are close to my limit in order to keep the average grade up.

There are links to any trip reports or photos in the notes column.

Note that bolted routes are included in this list and are given French Gradings indicated by F before the grade.

Date	Route	Grade	Led	Notes
6 Jan	Stoney Middleton
	St Peter	E1	y	The year gets off to a flying start - took a fall from just above the crux.
	Om	E1		Not as damp as last time we did it.
16 Feb	Malham
	Friday the 13th	E3		Struggled as I’ve not climbed for ages and it was the last route of the day.
16 Mar	Giggleswick South
	A Good Walk Ruined	F6b+	y	Felt very easy.
	Four Iron	F6c		Didn’t feel that hard - in fact easier than the next.
	Par Three	F6b+		A couple of really hard moves.
	In The Rough	F6b	y	A bit of a one move wonder.
	Slap and Giggle	E1		Quite poor. Didn’t lead any of the rest as I was getting weary after the long run yesterday.
	Prime Cut	E2		Really pleasant and surprisingly unpolished.
	The Arches	E1		Back to one move wonders!
22 Mar	Malham
	Begosi ...	F6a+	y	Yep, the usual warm up.
	Hyperspace	F6b+	y	Perhaps I hadn’t warmed up - got really pumped on the top wall.
	Frankenstein.	F7a+		Not as bad on this as I usually am.
	Sychophants	F7a		Again didn’t feel as bad as last year.
30 Mar	Malham
	Bella Lugosi ...	F6a+	y	This is getting boring...
	Rose Coronary	F7a		Did as well on this as I’ve ever done. Then my knee gave way so didn’t get much else done.
6 Apr	Giggleswick South
	The Ice Hose	F6a	y	Felt very easy.
	The White Spider	F6a+	y	Again, easy with just one move that you need to think about.
	The Second Icefield	F6a+	y	Tricky start then pleasant.
	The Constant Gardener	F6a	y	Not done this one before. Began to snow as I was starting it. Everything was wet by the time I got to the top!
13 Apr	Giggleswick South
	Two for One	F6a	y	Felt very easy.
	Adjusted Hours	F6a+	y	Again, easy with just a couple of tricky moves.
	Yorkshire Brambler	F6b	y	Quite awkward to half height.
	Nutbush	F6a+	y	A bit over bolted!
	Suburban Sprawl	F6b	y	Did the long move statically this time.
	Uptown Girl	F6b+	y	Very cruxy - the top rib was wet.
	Tusk	F6b		Failed to lead.
	Thin Blue Line	F6a	y	Felt as hard as any of the F6bs we had done earlier.
19 Apr	Giggleswick South
	Road Block	F6c	y	There’s an F6a way and an F6c way - we chose the latter.
	Freeway	F6b	y	Quite nice but spoilt by the midway ledges.
	Slip Road	F6b+	y	A nice technical lower wall and a lunge at the top.
	Fallen Heroes	F6a+	y	Felt hard and was a bit creaky on the lower wall.
	Amical Rivalite	F6a+		Had got really cold belaying Mike so failed to lead!
25 Apr	Los Frontales, El Chorro
	Puitferio	F6a	y	Supposedly only F5+ but at least as hard as the following and a very long pitch compared to what I’ve been doing so far this year.
	La Chica Pelirroja	F6a	y	Another long route.
	Er Vuelo de los Puelos	F6b+	y	Supposedly F6a+ but at least a grade harder.
	Superpotencia	F6b+		Another sandbag at F6a. Fell off just seconding.
26 Apr	Desplomilandia, El Chorro
	Menasastruel	F6a+	y	A bit too early - we were still in the sun.
	Rantamplan	F6a	y	This and the next route were more British in nature.
	Duplo	F6a+	y	At least they were graded correctly.
	Efecto Secundario	F6a	y	Some really nice climbing up a red wall and roofs on jugs.
	Vaya Pieza	F6b	y	Sustained and really good climbing.
	Las Cosas de Mike	F6a+	y	Graunchy start then some totally blank slabs.
	Deberocuerpos	F6a+	y	Another long route with some good wall climbing.
27 Apr	Los Frontales, El Chorro
	Verdes Venones	F6b+		A 37m pitch which made lowering off interesting. Good climbing on tufa like rock.
	Unamed crackline	F6b	y	I think this is the warm up line for the Poema de Roca cave routes.
	Frente Popular de Judea	F6b+	y	A long pitch on Verdonesque type limestone. Some excellent climbing with some long, long moves at the top.
30 Apr	Malham
	Begosi ...	F6a+	y	Yawn.
	Puddlejumper	F7a		A bit more working of this (after a year’s break).
11 May	Rainbow Slab area, Llanberis slate quarries
	Bella Lugosi is dead	E2		Got rained off Cloggy. A bit awkward in non-edging shoes.
	Horse Latitudes	F6b		Reasonable climbing.
17 May	Robin Proctor’s Scar
	Wheels on Fire	F6a+	y	Pleasant as ever. A bit of cragging on the way back from the Fairfield race.
	Tombstone Blues	F6a	y	Easy
	Subterranean Homesick Blues	F6a+	y	A good bit harder than Wheels on Fire.
	Central Buttress	F6b	y	Not done this before - quite good and sustained.
18 May	Pot Scar
	L.S.D.	E1	y	Just part of an easy team afternoon at the crag.
21 May	Dib Scar
	Old Dog New Tricks	F6a	y	The start which is on a HVS is the hardest part!
	Nettle Whine	F6a+	y	Nice long moves between good holds
	Left to Roam	F6b	y	The start is really contrived, the rest isn’t much better!
	Revived Forty Five	F6c	y	Quite sustained.
	Britvic Fifty Five	F6c		Just starting to tire.
24 May	Trow Gill
	Starter For Ten	F6b	y	Tricky for the grade, but still a poor route
	Tex’s Midnight Runners	F6a+	y	Another poor route
	Freak Out	F6b+	y	Brilliant! One of the best routes I have done this year.
	Sunday Best	F6a+	y	Apart from one long reach, quite easy
	Alick	F6b+	y	Nice sustained climbing
	Boogie Wonderland	F6a	y	Easy and a bit wandering.
	The Wastelands	F6b	y	Just a couple of awkward moves.
8 June	Two Tier Buttress, Cheedale
	Machineries of Joy	E1	y	Felt really nervous - we’d failed on lots of other things.
17 Aug	Robin Proctor’s Scar
	Tombstone Blues	F6a	y	Easy. Took the safe option in trying to get some climbing done.
	Subterranean Homesick Blues	F6a+	y	A bit damp.
	Wheels on Fire	F6a+	y	Still good.
	The Inertia Syndrome (Revisited)	F6a+	y	Starting to feel tired - not surprising given how little climbing I’ve been doing. Then started to rain.
27 Sep	Trow Gill
	Blackout in the Big Apple	F6a	y	A short tricky section round the bulge but a poor route.
	Sunday Best	F6a+	y	Felt easy.
	Alick	F6b+		Glad I didn’t lead it as I was beginning to feel tired.
	Boogie Wonderland	F6a	y	Managed to fall off!
	Off the Wagon	F6b		Just to tire ourselves out.