Climber - Mar/Apr 23

CLIMBER  |  MAR/APR 23  

UNEXPECTED FINDS
What seems like a lifetime ago, I first visited north Devon’s Screda
Point (the scene of this issue’s Easy Climbs article) in 1996 with a
couple of old friends, Steve and Tony. Having climbed a few of the
existing routes, I eyed up a trio of pretty obvious, and as far as I was
aware, unclimbed gaps. At the time I was (and still am) on the lookout
for new lines, so not one for missing out on such things, I led the lads
up the lines and would fi nd out later if they had been done before. It
turned out they hadn’t and were indeed new. It just goes to show that
you can grab the most unlikely of fi rst ascents. What really surprised
us the most was the grades – all going at HS.
It’s totally unexpected to fi nd new routes at this grade on a crag in full
view of the car park, you just need to open your eyes. It took 26 years
before I climbed at Screda Point again, this time with my wife last year.
The routes were still as good – slabby adventurous climbing at its finest
and a pint afterwards, what’s not to like? Remarkably, I also spotted other
potential new lines but the incoming tide meant they will have to wait.
So what else is in this issue? Lancashire’s Liitleborough area has a
delightful trio of grit quarries containing a plethora of routes that, although they may not have the grandeur of, say, the Wilton quarries, offer some little crackers. Whilst I’ve not climbed (yet) at Cow’s Mouth I’ve had a couple of trips to Warland and Summit. One of these was on a far too hot day – not ideal conditions for grit and especially when you choose to climb a bold slabby E2, it was memorable to say the least. Personally I try to climbon grit in temperatures around 10–12 degrees when the grit is at its optimum friction. Sometimes though when your climbing partners decide to visit a grit crag when you should be in a shaded dale or mountain crag, you just have to get on with it…
Until next time, be safe.
David