UKC

Just sayin.....
Went for a walk there yesterday and most routes looked climbable

In reply to malx:

As is Pillar Rock - was climbing there yesterday and it's bone dry - stunning day too, albeit a bit windy.

In reply to malx:

And the high crags on Bowfell were perfect at the weekend!

In reply to malx:

Noooooo.....don't post this sot of thing.

It's a red rag to the weather gods

In reply to all:

It's great to see people out on the mountain crags! Very jealous my knee won't let me walk that far!

In reply to Stephen Reid - Needle Sports:

Out of interest, do you bike it in from ennerdale? We did on Saturday night, bivvy up near the crag... Relieved at how straightforward (downhill) the return journey was!

In reply to sea_lene:

I have done so, numerous times. I've also walked in from Buttermere and from Wasdale. In recent years though, as FRCC guidebook writer for Pillar and Ennerdale, the Forestry have been kind enough to grant me a permit to drive up the track from Bowness Knot. This is a good thing from the guidebook writing point of view as it means that I can entice people to the crag to climb the more obscure routes that wouldn't otherwise get repeated and checked - if I had to walk/bike in every time I'd only find partners who wanted to do the three star classics. As a result, and thanks to good climbing friends like Chris King, I've done at least 80% to 90% of the routes on Pillar and elsewhere in Ennerdale over the last 12 or 13 years. Of the remainder, about half are too grubby to bother with and half of the rest are too hard for me to get up even on a very tight rope. I'm still trying to work my way through the rest. On Pillar for instance I reckon that I only have the following worthwhile routes left to do: Kipper's Chimney (S), West Jordan Gully (S) and Sentinel (E1). I'd also like someone to tow me up Tapestry (E4)!

Of course the permit makes the day a lot easier for me too, though it's still quite a struggle up to the likes of Black Crag. Without a permit, camping is a great option given a good forecast and allows you to get several good long days in, as you'll have discovered. There's a superb grassy ridge that forms the left edge of Pillar Cove as you head up from Ennerdale: it's just above the gill. It has some good camp sites that have the benefit of getting the morning and the evening sun, and is close to the water supply.

Every time I go to Pillar I'm amazed at what a brilliant crag it is - almost alpine in scale and complexity. Standing on its summit seems to be a very special moment. And the rock is just tremendous, though the north side can be a bit lichenous (very lichenous on a few routes)

What did you climb?

In reply to Stephen Reid - Needle Sports:

Fab privilege to be able to drive in. It took us three hours to walk in with the tent and gear!
We visited in summer 2011 and went up, I think, Thanatos and then attempted Odin. Have you done this recently, Stephen? It was covered in thick black lichen and was completely unclimbable when we tried it. The first few metres off the belay were pure mud and, as my partner and I went up and down, the footholds which were made of pure mud started to creep down the crag and disintegrate. Needless to say, we bailed onto a neighbouring route, which my partner pulled great lumps of mud out of as he climbed it.
Needless to say we were pretty miffed and almost left the crag entirely, but I did persuade my partner to stay another day and do the classics round the south side, which were very good.
Sitting at the tent the next morning it became apparent that Odin doesn't really get any sun at all which might explain its dirtiness.
I do wonder if the FRCC would consider the careful application of hollow stars in the future?

In reply to Will Hunt:

Yes I climbed Odin in 2005 with Chris King. I note that he led pitches 2 (the crux) and 5 and I led the rest. It didn't get any stars in the previous guide and we thought it worth two, so we must have enjoyed it. I think though, conditions are everything for these lichenous north-facing routes. It doesn't just need to be dry on the day, it needs to have been dry, really dry and warm for about a fortnight. 2005 and 2006, when I was checking a lot of Pillar routes, were particularly long hot summers. In those conditions, lichen and moss just brush off the rock and the climbing is pretty good. It also helps if it's later in the summer as the Shamrock does actually catch the sun but early in the morning. The North Face routes on Pillar are generally dirty unless they are classics that get repeated regularly, like Thanatos/Electron, North Climb, Megaton and North-West Climb - these are all pretty clean.

It sounds like the moss, lichen and grass sods had not dried out fully when you tried it so it's no wonder it wasn't much fun. The routes on the West Face are much cleaner as a rule, and on fantastic rock, and this is where to head to if the North Face routes are at all damp.

In reply to Will Hunt:

PS Yes it is a "fab privilege" but there is also a slight downside to all this route checking in that one can easily spend a day checking truly like Shamrock Gully (very loose, almost killed ourselves), Positron (that really is overgrown!) or The Crumb (dirty throughout). However, the good days definitely outweigh the bad days, and making sense of a huge complex crag like Pillar and gradually getting all those lines in the right places on the photo diagrams, has indeed been a tremendous privilege.

In reply to Stephen Reid - Needle Sports:

Hi Stephen, a tremendous effort - really appreciated.

Graham

In reply to malx: Was also there yesterday and four climbers on face,approx 16.30, without warning substantial rockfall anyone any news of this. Luckily no one appeared to be underneath, Lords Rake etc, the sheep at Hallow Stones were seen running!

In reply to Stephen Reid - Needle Sports:

North west climb - out foxed by the second to last pitch. I traversed wayyy too far left in search of a nose (went left of the e2!) up and then back right ready to go up the oppenheimers finish (so lichenous I doubted it could be the right place on a classic!) which was excellent and indeed tricky to start!

In reply to hillsarealive:
The rockfall came from high in Slingsby's Chimney and we were underneath. We were at the bottom of Slingsby's Chimney, after having just climbed Jones's Route Direct., and fortunately all of the large rocks bounced over us and we were just showered with gravel sized stones. All over within a few seconds, serious stuff but no one hurt and not even any damage to our ropes. Probably another of the nine lives lost though. Lucky.

In reply to sea_lene:

Goodness, I hope that wasn't my guidebook writing lack of skill that misled you - you must have seen the block on Block Ledge surely?! Pillar is difficult though, especially if you've not been there much. Oppenheimer's is a bit grubby I grant you, but the holds are so big it doesn't really matter - hell of a lead for 1906!

In reply to LesArcs63: Thanks for info and details of area, it was difficult to make out which route from Mickledore angle, glad all survived, still a shaky moment for you guys.

In reply to Graham Hoey:

Thank you Mr Hoey (it takes another guidebook writer to realise the amount of work involved)- just been reading your excellent review of the new Pembroke guide as it happens!

Hi, does anyone have any knowledge on where will be good to climb this bank holiday weekend?

Looks like there's been some rain midweek - we're arriving to climb on Friday so I imagine somewhere quick drying for Friday.

Looking for HVS-e5. cheers!

In reply to theomoore:
If you mean the LD, everything is pretty dry but it is v cold and breezy, warming up a bit but generally cool.
DC

In reply to Dave Cumberland:

I did mean the Lake District. Thanks Dave.

In reply to theomoore:
Baltic yesterday, 8 degrees this am, rain has passed through from the east.
Improving now for a few days but still 5-10 degrees below normal.
DC