UKC

What are peoples thoughts on Pillar this weekend, never been before so not sure it would be a good idea of not! 

Plan would be to try the classics such as North West, South West, Megatron, Electron, Thanos, etc. 

Lashing down in the Lakes today and generally very wet. There's a good forecast but likely damp up there for a while. Still very cold up in the hills with patches of snow.

So might be okay for the very hardy/determined, but better to head for south facing crags a bit lower down for now and save Pillar for warmer weather.

Forecast 10 degrees at 750m so in the sun shouldn't be too unpleasant! More concerned if its dry enough., not sure how the routes I've mentioned take to dry with today's rain. 

Give it a week or two to dry out. The start of Electron/Thanos IIRC is E5 mud and grass at the best of times, of course my memory could be wrong

The West face of low man and the west face of high man dry much faster than the north face of low man. I'd expect things like Rib and Slab to dry out but grooves may be a bit damp still. South West climb is another I would guess at being dry. I reckon things like North-West Climb and Megaton will be wet/damp still come the weekend and also cold too. Try emailing Steven Reid at Needlesports - he wrote the last guide and might be able to help.

Would love to be optimistic but the weather is wet wet wet, and not too warm predicted temperatures. You would need two weeks of drought and much warmer weather to make it worth the walk. Good Luck.

DC

If you have a fairly open mind about grade and just want to climb on Pillar you'll probably find something dry (or at least dry enough) but I'd give it a couple of weeks of dry and warm if your heart is set on a specific objective.

In that case I may leave it and go for some lower altitude crags! 

Yes, definitely save Pillar for a fine day after a dry spell. ... It's a long walk ...

I visited in June 2011 so this advice is probably ancient history now. We started off by trying to climb on the Shamrock (which doesn't get much sunlight). We got up Thanatos which was a bit grubby (won't be dry this weekend I wouldn't have thought) and tried to finish up Odin which was in an unclimable state. We had to finish up Shamrock Tower and I can remember my partner throwing down great lumps of mud. Crap.

We then ventured over to the right of the crag (facing in) and climbed on clean rock in the sunshine. I would expect those routes on the right that we did (South-West, New West, Rib and Slab) to be dry. They're on very clean rock, they're exposed, they get plenty of sun. Unless there's any drainage lines that I wouldn't know about I don't think there's any reason to think that they wouldn't dry fast if the sun and wind are on them. It's the stuff that stays out of the sun that you have to watch out for at Pillar, I think.

Looking at your logbook, you're clearly good enough to get up these easy routes even if there's the odd wet patch. Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

Another reason for delaying it is the length of day. It's ideally suited to a long day, mid summer. Last time I went there we got back to the Wasdale Head at five minutes to closing time.

Judging by the rain today, I think a lot of routes would still be wet by the weekend. Also, Pillar doesn't see a lot of sun this time of year.  And the forecast for Sunday is rain.

Routes on the Shamrock are generally only worth dong in a long dry spell. Megaton and rightwards are fairly quick to dry as are most things on the West Face, but even they take a few days.

Thanks I think I'll postpone then, stick to borrowdale and langdale I think!