UKC

Massonfest dry tooling festival is happening over the weekend  of 15th 16th October 2022.

we are extremely grateful and proud to have Petzl sponsoring the event along with amazing support from outside Hathersage, dark ventures and the scottish dry tooling club. As well as all the usual tooling fun there will be competition,  sweet treats available at the crag and an evening event in the Duke William pub, starkhomes,  matlock. This will include the fun climbing/tooling pub quiz and the highlight of the evening is an auction with goodies supplied by petzl, outside ,dark ventures,  black diamond and some other items as well. Petzl will also be providing axes for people to try out, so no gear,  no problem,  just turn up and get involved. There is also membership to Scottish dry tooling club and 2 passes to their events up for grabs at the auction, along with some committee members attending. Follow the link to sign up. The event is open to everyone from complete novices to seasoned pro's,  with intro to tooling workshops run by team gb athlete .there will be gear to use for those who don't have their own. All funds raised will be used to replace existing worn out insitu gear to ensure the future of routes and the crag are there for all to enjoy. Any questions just ask!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/masson-fest-2022-tickets-427083928527

Masson Lees Quarry

With Neil's FA of The Glass Ceiling (D10) yesterday there are now 44 established tooling routes at The Cave of Dreams ranging from D2 to D12.  Hoping to make it 45 in time for Masson Fest.  There's plenty of easy top-roping for those new to mixed climbing, several 'natural feeling routes' for those who want to get some winter training in, and for the Dry-Tooling Demons amongst you , there are a least a dozen new link-ups in the D9-D12 range looking for first ascents. So be sure to register and come join the fun... https://www.eventbrite.com/e/masson-fest-2022-tickets-427083928527

And don't forget the amazing prizes available and fantastic kit up for grabs at the auction including rucksacks,  winter boots, tension board , rhino skin packsge, tooling picks, whisky and more ! So grab yourselves a mega bargain! 

Any parking info for this? Reason I ask is one of the locals was having a moan in the Kings Head the other night about people parking in the passing places on the lane...By locals I mean the lad who owns the farm..

Yep.  There'll be reminders going out to those who register. In the meantime, For those unfamiliar wit the Crag...  On-road and layby parking for around 10 cars can be found at the end of the approach track. DO NOT PARK ON THE APPROACH TRACK OR IN AWAY THAT AFFECTS ACCESS. Access is needed by Tractors & HGVs, and inconsiderate parking has caused issues in the past. Please consider car sharing options (even if only from Matlock), so we don’t cause access issues with the current or future owners. 

Anyone wanting food in the Pub better get their skates on... there's only two spaces left: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/masson-fest-2022-tickets-427083928527 

Getting the training in early, in the hopes of hooking one of the great prizes on offer https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RUu1z0xRiTE

It's what the beta stick was invented for

How many attendees are you expecting?

Enough, that we're running a 'park and ride' scheme up the hill.

What an amazing festival, to everyone who came and supported it, a massive thank you!

Absolutely Amazing weekend! Fantastic Psyche and vibe at the crag both days, and loads of hard work and kind donations from the supporters, sponsors and crag regulars. Massive thank you to everyone who cooked, brewed, carried, coached, belayed, bantered, took photos and ran the 'Masson shuttle.'  Loads of Newbies getting hooked on their first routes and mot making short work of D5 by the end of each day, and some very strong efforts by the more seasoned pros. If you've got any photos, video or drone footage, give me a shout, as I'll be putting a video together as soon as I've got some sleep.

Yes in summer parking is horrendous, so many car up there for sport climbing with no regard for the farmer (or locals). For tooling in winter it's just a nominal fraction of cars, and for the festival we shuttled people from the sainsburys down the road so there was no cluster of cars up there. 

Gutted to have missed this. Right in my doorstep too. 
Bloody covid  

Give me a shout when you want to go out there,  I'm always there! And of course there will be next year!