UKC Forums - Gritstone season

Gritstone season

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DreadyCraig 14 Nov 2013

http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=68503
"The Gritstone Season Has Arrived"

Excuse my ignorance but whats that then?? Having not yet climbed on proper grit I have no idea about such things

Why is the gritstone season now when the weather has turned cold and wet and not in summer when the rock is warm and the weather is dry?

Coel Hellier 14 Nov 2013

In reply to DreadyCraig:

The best gritstone weather is cold and dry, when the friction is best; gritstone is very friction dependent, particularly at the highest grades. Summer can be sweaty and humid. It's a bit like granite in this respect, which from your profile you've climbed on.

Jon Stewart 14 Nov 2013

In reply to DreadyCraig:

> http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=68503

> Why is the gritstone season now when the weather has turned cold and wet and not in summer when the rock is warm and the weather is dry?

You'd be amazed how much difference the cold makes. I went out at the weekend and scary problems with essentially no holds felt easy.

I would never even try these problems in summer because they'd be impossible.

jimjimjim 14 Nov 2013

In reply to DreadyCraig: it's only just started for the elite, for everyone else that's been climbing on it all year nothing has changed except it's now cold and wet.

Rob Parsons 14 Nov 2013

In reply to DreadyCraig:

The 'Winter gritstone season' is a modern invention. Don't get too worked up about it.

Jon Stewart 14 Nov 2013

In reply to jimjimjim:

Nah it's not just the elite. On a lovely cool dry in October I went along Stanage Popular and climbed HS-E1s that I'd been climbing all summer and they felt grades easier.

Jonny2vests 15 Nov 2013

In reply to Jon Stewart:

> (In reply to jimjimjim)
>
> Nah it's not just the elite. On a lovely cool dry in October I went along Stanage Popular and climbed HS-E1s that I'd been climbing all summer and they felt grades easier.

Yeah agree, but if the difference in difficulty is marginal for me, then I'd rather have harder and warm over easier and freezing.

And I'm basically a crack addict, cracks are never easier in winter.

hoodmonkey 15 Nov 2013

In reply to DreadyCraig:

The answer is problem-dependent! If a problem has slopers or marginal holds, cold and dry weather makes climbing it easier. Simple.

This is not just for harder grades. A V4 sloper problem, for example, may still prove very difficult, or impossible in warm conditions.

Sam Beaton 15 Nov 2013

In reply to DreadyCraig: towards the end of my first year at Uni I did several E1s in the Lakes. When I went home for the summer my old mates didn't believe me because I failed on VS after VS at Caley and Brimham on hot sweaty summer evenings. Even when I was frequently able to lead E2 on the grit in the cooler months I was still incapable of VS on hot humid days.

jon 15 Nov 2013

In reply to Jonny2vests:

> (In reply to Jon Stewart)

> And I'm basically a crack addict, cracks are never easier in winter.

They're not necessarily easier in summer either... have a look at my caption here: http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.php?id=116685 and then look at Neil's face. Says it all.

Cake 15 Nov 2013

In reply to DreadyCraig:
It doesn't have to be that dry either. I mean, a slab can be dry in just two hours after rain.

Bulls Crack 15 Nov 2013

In reply to Cake:

> (In reply to DreadyCraig)
> It doesn't have to be that dry either. I mean, a slab can be dry in just two hours after rain.

Ahhh.. sticky damp..n'est pas?

Jonny2vests 15 Nov 2013

In reply to jon:

> (In reply to Jonny2vests)
> [...]
>
> [...]
>
> They're not necessarily easier in summer either... have a look at my caption here: http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.php?id=116685 and then look at Neil's face. Says it all.

How did it go? I think I also tried it in ill advised conditions, got to what looks like the end from the bottom, and pumped out of mind, laid one on for the 'bound to be a jug' hold. Oh dear.