A couple of weeks ago I went onto social media and saw something that inspired me - a series of photographs by George Foster of his wife, Esther, and Callum Coldwell-Storry completing all the Langdale Extreme Rock routes within 24hrs. Having completed most, but not all of the routes before, I had a vague comprehension of how difficult they were, but that was doing them without a time limit. Linking them together, back-to-back, would be a different proposition entirely. 

We got in touch with Esther and Callum to find out how the idea came around, how the day unfolded, and what else they've been up to throughout this vintage spring weather that we've been having.

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Who's idea was it to complete the challenge?

Esther Foster: Cal mentioned it to me last year, but the weather and time constraints didn't add up. I'd not climbed R 'n' S Special (E6 6a), Fine Time (E5 6b) or Fallen Angel (E4 6a) at that point, and have always felt a bit intimidated by those routes, but the thought of climbing them all in a day got me really motivated and gave me a lot more psyche to get on them. 

Callum Coldwell-Storry: Pretty sure I mentioned it to Esther a year or so ago, and I've been threatening to do it for a while. Due to extreme laziness the last couple summers we hadn't got round to it, but with the weather being incredible this spring, excuses were exhausted.

What order did you decide to do the routes in, and why?

EF: The harder routes on Raven were always going to come first to get them out of the way and climb them in the cooler part of the day (it was still bloody hot though!). We did Trilogy first, as that's the easier of the three, then R&S, then Fine Time. We went to Gimmer Crag next as it's a slightly shorter walk than to Pavey Ark, and finished with Fallen Angel and Cruel Sister (E3 5c) which were then in the shade. 

CCS: There was minimal planning apart from the fact that I certainly did not fancy wobbling up R 'n' S last route of the day…or Fallen Angel for that matter. After Raven we were actually going to Pavey but then decided on Gimmer which was probably a good idea as the wind was cold up there and it gave Pavey chance to cool off in the shade.

How did you decide who led what?

EF: I figured this wasn't the time to be trying to onsight a scary E6, so delegated that lead to Cal - who thankfully has a fair few grades in the bank. I'd had a go at Fine Time the week before so was really keen to lead that clean, and although I'd led Fallen Angel recently, I was a bit unsure how solid or slick I would be as it was a right touch and go ascent! So, all-in-all I lead Trilogy, Fine Time, Equus and Cruel Sister, and Cal led R&S, Eastern Hammer, and Fallen Angel. 
 

CCS: I left that up to Esther really, I thought I could probably grovel my way up most of them and she was keen for Trilogy and Fine Time, and then sand-bagged me with Fallen Angel ;) 

Had you both climbed the routes before or were there some you hadn't done?

EF: The only route I hadn't done was R&S, so it's on my list to go back and lead this summer! Cal had about 10 minutes on a rope to refresh the sequence the week before, so it was pretty cool seeing him push through on that climb as the moves are pretty tenuous and the gear is… marginal! Equus and Eastern Hammer we were both pretty rusty on, so we definitely lost some time there. 

CCS: I've done them all before. I think Trilogy was my first E5 onsight in 2007, and then I terrified myself onsighting R 'n' S in 2009, dropping wires, leaving cams unclipped, full melt down! My footwork back then was seriously lacking.

The trio of routes at Raven Crag - R'n'S Special, Fine Time and Trilogy -  present a really tough, and quite bold start to the day. How did you get on with them all?

EF: These actually ended up being the quickest and most straightforward, as we took less gear and could move quickly between the routes! Trilogy is a pumpy warm up, but once you know the moves it's pretty quick. Fine Time has a super burly and knacky crux, and I was really thankful I had practised those moves. It was cool feeling like we moved pretty slick and fast on these three, and good to get them out of the way early when we were fresh. 

CCS: They really are good routes, in three very different styles. Fine time is a tough little boulder, Trilogy more pumpy, and R 'n' S techy and bold.  Even at 8am the sun was cooking that face, which makes the rock on Raven pretty slimy. We were reasonable quick and took about two hours including between route faff.

After that, you walked up the hillside to Gimmer. Given how warm it was, how did the walking add to the fatigue levels?!

EF: Cal has been walking up to Scafell lots this year, so I wasnt quite on par with the hill legs! In hindsight we could have taken less gear, but our planning was a bit haphazard. It's a bit of a slog above Raven, especially in the heat. My plan to fill up my water bottle on the way to Pavey didn't quite work, out so I ran out of water for the last two routes which was a shame. 

CCS: It's not that far, however it is a bit of steep slog - especially in the heat. After the last six weeks of walking to crags my legs have developed some moderate muscle mass, so it wasn't really a factor in making the climbing harder.

Whilst the routes at Gimmer - Equus and Eastern Hammer - are easier, they're still very far from easy. How did you get on with those?

EF: We were pretty rusty with the route finding, moves, and gear for these routes, and despite them being easier, they are both long routes and hard to climb fast… I think we spent about a couple of hours at Gimmer in total. I'd forgotten how hard Eastern Hammer is!

CCS: I think because it had been some time since either of us had done these routes we definitely slowed down a bit, figuring out where they went again, and taking 5kg too much rack, but it was nice and cool thankfully. 

After that you headed over to Pavey Ark, where you had Fallen Angel and Cruel Sister to climb. How did those feel after the day you'd already had?!

EF: Cal put in a great effort on Fallen Angel... I don't think that route would ever feel easy! It holds a lot of seepage in the winter, so unfortunately the rock feels a bit dirty. I'm still picking lichen out of my eyes. We tried to clean it a little, and put in a new ab station at the top, so it would be great to see it climbed more this summer!

Feet and bodies were tired by the end of the day, but it's actually a really good link up in that it's fun and tiring, but not too much of a mega mission. 

CCS: Yea Pavey to finish, my feet were on fire on Fallen Angel… I really need to stop using my bouldering shoes for long trad days! It's not really the route you want at the end of a big day but, I'm not too bad at sort of shimmying and thrutching up weird routes… and what a pitch it is! Esther flew up Cruel Sister in one long pitch and then we trotted to the ODG for a pint! Obligatory!

It felt like a good solid Lakeland trad day, not too hectic but no messing either. Classic routes with some filth in the eyes and grass pulling thrown in for good measure. 

Given how good the weather has been, what other highlights have you had in the Lakeland fells throughout the spring?

EF: I've been doing a mix of enjoyable, easy routes in the mountains, as well as chipping away at a few harder things like this Langdale round. My rock climbing work is busy this time of year, so whilst I haven't always had lots of personal climbing time, it's been totally amazing having the pick of all the crags for work and play. 

CCS: I was chatting to a farmer yesterday saying I bet you're desperate for some rain, (classic 'I don't know what to say' farmer chat) but, selfishly, it's been one of the best springs in a long, long time. I've fully chinned work off and have been charging about trying to do as much as possible. Getting more tired and weaker every passing day, but you just can't stop when it's like this!  

Had some great days up on East Buttress cleaning routes and doing Return of the King (E9 6c). 

Great seeing James (Jimmy Paige) Turnbull and Adam Jackson up there on East Buttress ticking through routes. Goat crags been cleaned and seen a lot of action, Hock's making a comeback! 

Because the Lakes is so spread out and we all live scattered across it, the scene sometimes feels a bit slow or disjointed, but with this sustained weather it has felt really busy with more people motivated for higher crags and crags that have a reputation for staying dirty, so that's been really nice.

If the good weather continues (which I hope it will) are there any particular routes you'd like to get on in the Lakes?

EF: I'd like to climb more at Raven Crag, Threshthwaite Cove once the bird ban is lifted, and maybe I'll be fit enough for some routes at Dove Crag if the weather comes good again!

I'd also like to finish off a few harder routes up at Hells Wall in Borrowdale, and now I definitely need to go and lead R&S special so that I can have the satisfaction of having led all the Langdale extreme rock routes. 

CCS: It's raining next week Rob! I've concluded (maybe temporarily) that I should try harder routes and stop just going for volume and doing easy routes quickly, so If I actually follow through (debatable) I'd better start hunting down more D. Birkett routes I suppose.

Or perhaps the classic rock BASE round… now that would be a weather dependent nightmare!