UKC

And was it raining when you started them?

My list includes:

Bramble Buttress VD (Tremadog area) with James Rowe. It wasn't raining when we started, I led the first pitch, then the heavens opened and the strong winds blew. It's not the most suitable first pitch to ab off, so we continued with James leading (getting blown up/off) the next two pitches, and me making up songs to keep myself sane.

Some sport route at the Cuttings. It was raining when we started, and in fact all weekend, but I'd driven all the way to Portland and I was damn well gonna climb, and the rest of the group all had the same idea. I slipped my way up a 2+ or something, one of the polished horrorshows. My reasoning was I was never going to lead that route in the dry so it didn't matter if I blew the onsight, and that polish wouldn't be noticeable in the wet - oh how naive! Felt more like a 5+ (I think that's the common consensus even in the dry tho)! Eventually reached the top though, and enjoyed it too.

Ant’s Crack S at Yarncliffe. Once again it was raining when I started, but not much. This was the most recent, around Christmas. It was perfectly doable as the ledges are big and flat enough not to spip off, and stangely still lots of fun.

In reply to cider nut: Many of the routes on Little Tryfan (can't remember how many we climbed that day), it was raining when we started, infact it rained the whole 7 hours we were climbing.

In reply to cider nut:

Loads. Makes easier route smore sporting. King Kong (dry so doesn't count), got soaked on the ramp of Yellow Edge, The Corpse. Friend did Earl of PErth in full drizzle. It's surprising what you can still do if its not getting the rock too wet and not making you cold. Sods law says the sun comes out only when your second is climbing

In reply to Paz:

I did Ampitheatre Buttress when it was wet. It wasn't raining, but had been, lots, and all the pockets on the first pitch were full of water. Made it more sporting, as you say.

In reply to cider nut:

Gillercombe Buttress (S) - started raining after the first pitch. My first multipitch and I ended up leading the lot

Heaven Crack (VDiff) - water cascading down as I struggled up

Tower Face (HS - Wharncliffe) - was raining when I started but didn't want to leave

Creagh Du Wall (HS) - Abbed off after leading first pitch when the thunder rolled in and the heavens opened

Black Hawk Traverse (Vdiff) - not rain, horizontal sleet

I think that's about it. Rain is not climbing weather, I've decided

In reply to Caralynr:

Oh, and Corvus (Diff) of course. But that's a classic wet weather option so not a hardship in the rain.

In reply to Caralynr:

You just prompted me to remember Central Rib S at Wintour's, although we abbed off after the second pitch, so it doesn't really count (maybe that's why I didn't think of it!)

There were four of us in a group (started with 3 and a fourth joined), which made it quite a party on the abseil!

In reply to Kate: Thinking about it, most of the routes I have climbed in North Wales I have been rained on at some point.

In reply to cider nut:

Did my first lead climb (Nautical Crack) in the rain.

Was raining when we left Rugby, raining when we got to Birchen, raining when I started up it - and still raining when I got that 6 metres to the top!

In reply to cider nut:

I had a wee spate of climbing in the (sometimes pissing) rain with big boots and a pack, mainly due to my mate who was a nutter and traing to get in the marines. We did easy classics in the coe such as N. face route, Agags, Crowberry Ridge, Quiver rib etc, and by far the worst of all, Clachaig Gully. Good character building stuff, I wouldn't repeat any of it.

In reply to cider nut:

Did Anne of Cleaves at Baildon Bank in the pouring rain. That's probably the hardest one, though done LOADS of other routes in the rain.

In reply to cider nut:

Scratch at Tremadog. Started raining on first stance. Was pissing it down by the time I came to second the 2nd pitch.

Also the Devils Staircase in Twll Du in Idwal. Was raining all day.

In reply to cider nut:

Went through a bit of a phase of rain climbing.

One rainy day went to Stanage and lead Heather Wall, Central Trinity, Green Crack and Via Media.
Technical grade hikes a bit,
but the gear's all bomber and you know exactly where it is.

Novelty wore off, water ran down my sleeves etc.

In reply to cider nut:
I did Agags Groove in a total down pour.

We did spartan slabs on showery day when other parties were abbing off, but I must admit to waiting for the dry breaks between the showers before leading my pitches!

In reply to cider nut:
PS I hate climbing wet rock, it's not that I can't I just don't beleive I can! It's a real effort!

In reply to cider nut:

The Direct, Milestone - polished v diff - lashing it down, great fun
Some HS on Raven Crag, Lakes - only 2nd'ed - complete 'mare
Heaven Wall VS - Stanage - not a good idea
Scratch Arete HVS - Trem - that was "fun"...
Grim Wall Direct E1 - Trem - drizzling - nice..
The Direct, Mirroir d'Argentine - well, offwidths are best in the rain aren't they

My climbing partner is mad and I just agree to do these things cos it's easiest to go with the flow ...

In reply to cider nut:
Wettest ever was Gymnic at Ravensdale,it was almost a waterfall with water going down my neck and out my sleeves and ankles

In reply to JimR: eek big respect I did that in the dry a few years ago and had a slippery epic in those conditions

In reply to cider nut:
Nimbus at Tremadog didn't even realise it was raining until I belayed. My second arrived a bit damp & then we got drenched abbing from the Vector cave. Apparently it started heaving it down soon after I'd started.

In reply to cider nut:
Sergeant Crag Gully (S) in a rainstorm = waterfall. Leave the runner in the stream for your second to lift out
Audacity (HVS) on Corby's - brilliant friction but probably considered reprehensible to climb on sandstone in the rain now
Bowfell Buttress (VD) - the slab/ramp after the hard crack felt lethal in big boots
Overhanging Bastion (VS) - the ramp went ok but the pitch before was interesting
Failed on Merlin Direct one move from the top
Central Route (S) on Carnedd y Ffiliast's Red Slab - the rain turned the rock into mini ball bearings.

In reply to telemark:

Interesting hearing which got more friction from the rain and which less!

In reply to cider nut:
memorable were..Pebbledash Roaches...freezing water down the sleeves and out the trouser legs job....horrid..
and Massambula Bus Stop Quarry.....Started about the first bolt and tipped it down. Think there may have been more wet out the trouser leg than running down the arm!

In reply to cider nut: Good lord. You want a list? How much time do you have?

One notable highlight was Troutdale pinnacle. In heavy rain, as you go up the wall after the traverse, water finds its inevitable way into your sleeve. In the conditions in which I climbed it for the first time, it was raining enough to find its way straight out of my trouser leg too.

There have been many others!

T.

In reply to cider nut: did pretzel logic E2 5c at tremadog in a totall wash out! the jamming roof at the top pitch was very interesting! soaking fist jamming and my mate shouting at me to top out as fast as i could!

classic north wales

Wall Chimney, Burbage South - A bloody caving trip!

In reply to Removed User:

Gymnic

>eek big respect I did that in the dry a few years ago and had a slippery epic in those conditions

Never did it, as you found, too slippery and dusty in dry conditions and couln't be arsed having an epic on it.

Done hundreds of others in the rain, grit, lakes, Wales, Scotland, limestone after it stopped raining, best friction just before it is completely dry, same as grit.

Best time to have a epic in the rain, water running down your sleeves and out over your stomach, hands numbed with the cold rain in winter, lichens that are impossible to stand on, even on ledges, the stuff of tales for the pub.

In reply to cider nut:
"Scabbard" VS on Creag an Coire Etchachan stands out as my favourite "wet" onsight. The route has so much character, fingerlocking and smearing/skidding on the crux pitch!
Well I thought it was good fun, my climbing partner thought otherwise...(sorry Matt)!

In reply to cider nut:

Climbed the second pitch of Greta at Wintour's Leap in the rain. Had been dry for the first pitch but just as I stepped off to start the second pitch it started raining. By the end of the pitch the rock was properly wet - got up onto the belay ledge looked down and saw a rather white puddle where my chelked hand had gone. Abbed off a tree (sapling in the guide book) rather than finish the route - the same tree we abbed off on Zelda when it started to rain (although I don't think that counts as climbing in the rain). I'll have to go back some day and get past that tree!

Also some route in the Avon Gorge (can't remember what). Leader led up it only for it to pelt it down why he was setting up the belay. Queue about 10 attempts to get over the initial bulge before I finally managed it - wet limestone doesn't exactly ahve a lot of friction!

Finally (taht I can remember) two routes on the Gower at Three Cliffs (one severe, one vdiff). We'd driven over from Bristol for a day trip so was going to get something done. Showed me how much my climbinghad improved since uni since I found them quite easy on lead in the rain when I'd have struggled up them on second in the dry at uni. Thankfully the sun then came out, dried things off and we had a good day.

In reply to cider nut: The best rainy day route is Bowfell Buttress, its far more atmospheric with the cloud down and swirling around.

In reply to Al Evans:

Why climb any in the rain - other than getting caught out?

In reply to nz Cragrat: You dont live in England do you

In reply to cider nut: some severe or other at laddow and lots at the likes of raven tor, kilnsey, malham, etc but i guess they don't count

In reply to Al Evans:

It does rain somewhat here too Al - roaring 40's and all that stuff, one of our better climbing areas is graced with about 4m of rain a year.

In reply to nz Cragrat:

Put it another way: you want to go climbing, it's raining, so what? You can still have a laugh in the rain. One of the most fun days I've had was sitting in a waterfall on the Idwal Slabs with the water rushing straight down my neck and out the bottom of my 'waterproof' pants. Check out the story of Brown and Whillans on (I think) the Black Cleft on Cloggy. What's wrong with getting a bit wet?

In reply to Steve Parker: Anything on Lliwedd is ... character forming ... in the wet. It is so dirty (and in this context, that's not good.)

Other than that, hardest part about climbing in the wet is persuading others to get out!

In reply to cider nut:

Behind The Lines, HVS: Quarried slate in Hodge Close Quarry. It wasn't raining when I started, it just sudddenly started to downpour as I approach the crux.

Slate + Rain = A classic example of a bad idea!

In reply to cider nut: I can't say I enjoyed Pinnacle Face (VD) on West Face of Aonach Dubh in the rain. On SPA trg and pissing down all day but wanted to climb, so went out in the evening with another guy on the course. I dropped a couple of grade for the wetness and he SAID he would be happy on a V Diff.
Started at 6 in the evening in October got calculations wrong on how long it takes to walk in, got to crag in about an hour and couldn't look up because the rain was coming down that hard! Started anyway, did first pitch, partner said did I want to do two? Oh yes! after the second, more difficult pitch he again offered me the lead, keen as I am, I was getting worked up and kindly offered it back, to be met by "I'm not really comfortable with leading this." After some questioning on experience, I realised that the person who had done multipitch routes before had to go on. One pitch was a nightmare, a corner with a crack at the back of it, good chockstone runner but nae friction on the rock whatsoever. Tried the arete on the right and the wall on the left but they wouldn't go, an abseil would mean leaving gear behind!!! (Never!) The corner went on the third attempt at it, I hauled myself over the chockstone at the top, knackered, to see another wall in front of me. Had a little "moment," curled up in a ball, before manning the f**k up and hauling partner up, whose words on seeing the wall were "how are you going to get up that?" Did I say partner, I meant sightseer.
Wasn't as bad as it looked, finished the route and the "other person," even managed to mess up the photo on top of the pinnacle! Still the route down was good, a sitting glissade (sliding on yer bum,) back to the car, arriving in darkness at 11pm, as the first person pulled up to see where we were. Need to do the route again in good weather to get that photo (and see if the corner really was that bad!)

In reply to cider nut:

last pitch of Bonbogies HVS 5a Avon Gorge Main wall.
My partner had attempted the first pitch of the Bogyman E2 5c but was baffled by the crux overhange/bulge and gave up when it started spitting rain. He traversed off to the left and belayed there, it was starting to get dark by now becuase of the ammount of time he'd spent trying to figure out the moves, I seconded the first pitch as the rain started to come down and headed off up the last pitch as the heavens opened and water was running of the rock in rivers!

I also climbed right route at the roaches after a rainstorm, all the holds which if you've climbed the route are bucket like in shape and bucket like that day becuase they were full of water.

Route 3 at burbage north in the rain, my housemate Andy's friend Jude had come down to stay with us from the Lakes and she was determined to go climbing despite the weather so I led the route feet skidding of the holds but secured to the wall by the jugs and fantastic hand jams

In reply to cider nut: lol! I remember that, the water was running down the abseil rope and i got soaked, i was so glad i was dressed for a summers day in shorts and a t-shirt..

In reply to nz Cragrat:

You have heard of Mad Dogs and English men going out in the Mid Day sun, well, it is similar, Black Slugs and Englishmen/women come out in the rain.

I go to the pub when it is wet.

In reply to Jon Greengrass:

I've had three trips to Wintour's now and each has been about as much success as that one (on the second trip we got lost on the easy way out, and on the second I hadn't climbed on limestone for so long I failed to get up Zelda). I've woved never to go back! (Well, apart from to do a through route there off my list)

In reply to cider nut:

Black Streak (Diabaig) and West Flank Route (Arran) are the highlights. The first has gneiss rough rock and good finger slots and the second is mainly a granite chimney.

In reply to cider nut:
The blue route, the red route, the swirly route......

In reply to cider nut:

Most recent & memorable would have to be Ridge Route on Lliwedd in February on a miserable day.Great fun!

In reply to Chris the Tall:

lol

In reply to cider nut:

The most memorable ones have been Eagle Ridge on Lochnagar, Tower Ridge on the Ben & and Holly Tree Corner at Dunkeld. Done plenty at the local crags when its been p!ssin down tho!

In reply to ellis:

WFR mainly a granite chimney? The first two pitches are chimneys (well, V grooves); then there are two big slab pitches, separated by an overhang (the second the crux); then another overhang, then another long, very easy slab pitch.

In reply to cider nut:

Moss Ghyll Grooves, Scafell. In a torrential rain and hail storm, in the summer.

Horrendous, had to keep brushing off the piles of hail and ice forming on the holds. Graded MVS if I recall, felt like E1.


No.

So we started the route in rock boots, t-shirts and light fleeces. During the couple of hours the storm lasted, I regretted (now and again) not bringing a waterproof.

In reply to cider nut: i try not to climb in the rain because i worry that i'll damage the rock.... I'm not sure how true this is but its a rule ive made for myself.

so if you can count this as climbing as such, but i've been caught out half way accross a few scrambles in the rain. thats it really

boulderings short so i always stop when its raining.
don't do trad anymore
no sports stuff in the rain yet.

In reply to cider nut:

Hardest technically - MGC E2 at Shepherd's in rain.

Most exciting probably Grey Slabs VS in Cwm Idwal in waterfall conditions - felt a bit bold.

Stupidest - Tippler Direct E3 at Stanage. On a rainy day we retreated under the roof and went for the lead, slowly improving on each other's efforts and placing more gear (all cleanly) until we reached the lip of the hanging slab, whereupon we realised that powerful 6a moves in the rain with water running over the holds was a waste of time for us. Still, it wasted a good couple of hours pleasurably enough!

In reply to match:

Sifta's Quid outside route HS at the Roaches also deserves a special mention, for the way my trainer-wearing second repeatedly slid off the crux to wedge in the niche, whilst I sat in a puddle and slowly got hypothermia.

In reply to cider nut:
Until a forthnight ago at Lawrencefield & Millstone - everything since October last year. I am a weather albatross.

In reply to cider nut:

Spartan Slabs with waterfalls coming over the overlaps was memorable.

Soloing Clachaig Gully as far as the great cave pitch on a wet Saturday afternoon after leaving the pub at shutting time (before 12 hour opening) and geting back down in time for opening time at 5.00.

Middelfeld Buttress after 4 pints of OP in the ODG on another wet Saturday afternoon.

In reply to cider nut:

I used to love climbing in the rain. You get the crag to yourself. Cemetery Gates in rain & hail in January was the highlight, probably, but that was free from aid/falls/epics. Better on that front were soaking winter hill days out on Giant's Crawl, Main Wall, Ampitheatre Buttress, Corvus, Gillercoombe Buttress, Flying Buttress....all days when we had the crag to ourselves in what we called The Other Summer. Doing Chee Tor Girdle when it was plastered in sheet ice was an adventure too....but it didn't rain so I guess that doesn't count.

In reply to cider nut:

Tower Face at Wharncliffe - it started about half way up the route - Caralynr led it later on in far worse conditions.

Nova at Lawrencefield - thankfully only seconding as it was running with water by the time I tried unsuccessfully to climb it climbingpixie did a good job of leading it in the persistent drizzle though.

Ant's Crack was my first ever trad lead BTW - really should go back and do it again sometime.

bluebrad

In reply to cider nut:

Hey - you climbed Lockwood's Chimney in the rain (albeit indirect rain I'll give you) with us on 30/12/05 - how quickly we forget

In reply to cider nut:

Oh and in response to your question, Slab Climb on Clogwyn y Tarw.

In reply to cider nut: Central Groove (HS) at The Dewerstone, cats & dogs when we started, cats & dogs when we finished.

In reply to nz Cragrat: Climbing in the rain stuss
Ok, it was pissing it down and we (Dave Parker and myself) had gone to Castle Rock because we (quite rightly) had decided we could probably get up Overhanging Bastion. We did but then we got down and saw this very young lad on The Ghost, I shouted up to him that the flake had been pulled off by Chris(Bonnington) a week or so before.
"It'll be arreet youth"
as he made the moves across the section Bonno had declared "probably impossible now" I then shouted up and warned him that the upper rib was in the rain and would be very hard in the wet, as he strolled up it.
I think Ron was 14 at the time.
The next weekend he came down to Stoney Middleton to climb with me, he was very impressed by Tom Proctors routes at the time and wouldn’t lead, so I lead Boat Pushers Wall and he followed it so easily I knew I had to do something to alert him to his potential.
I took him on to Windy Ledge, I pointed him at Our Father (only done twice at that time, and I had witnessed both ascents) told him it was a steady climb (it was possibly the hardest route in the UK at the time) and he flashed it flawlessly.
I got in touch with Ken Wilson that night and told him I had seen the future of British climbing, Ken said " I've seen em come and I've seen em go Al"


Was once climbing in Wales with Ron Fawcett and it had pissed it down solidly for a week. We decided that the route to go and do was Black Cleft on Cloggy, reasoning that as its always wet anyhow and got its XS grade for that state it would make no difference.

After nearly killing ourselves soloing to the bottom of the thing, Ron set off up the first pitch (after eyeing up a 'new line' on the right wall, now done) and proceeded to gain height as I gradually disappeared under a mass of dislodged grass sods and various other botanical and entomological specimens. Just as I was about to be buried alive in this onslaught of mud and detritus I felt a tug on the rope and realised Ron wanted me to follow the pitch. The water pouring down both from the sky and on the rock cleaned me off a treat and I set off on the pitch which was now a good few feet shorter than when Ron did it, I haven’t got a clue what grade the pitch would be in the dry but it was absolutely desperate. In some cases so much debris had been washed down and lodged back into the crack that I literally had to dig into it to find the nut placements so I could remove them.
When I got to the stance, Ron was pissing himself at the state of me, handed over the remaining rack and said "Off you go then".
Right you bastard I'll see how you like it. Less than 15ft up the crack and Ron was already virtually covered head to foot in the disgusting smelling gunge. I was hanging from a nut trying to dislodge a particularly stubborn grass overhang, and Ron said "what do you reckon we go down?"
" Yeh, I really am having fun but at this rate it'll be dark before we get to the top, there’s nobody else on the crag, we've as good as done it (there was about a 100ft to go at least)".
I lowered off leaving the nut and we abbed down and ran straight into Llyn Arddu with all our clothes on and just washed the mud and slime off it was strangely warm, like monsoon rain, or maybe by now we were delirious.
In the pub that night “Yeh great route, you wanna go and do it, but do it in the rain, it’s graded for being wet anyhow" :-0)
The next 12 days it was perfect weather.

In reply to Hugh Janus: Hey thats fab, I also did Central Groove in the pissing rain

In reply to TRNovice:

I didn't forget, I just didn't it because you HAVE to climb it in the rain. It's the law

In reply to cider nut:

OK fair point

In reply to cider nut:

Ooh that takes me back

Corvus -- obligatory to have done it at least once in the wet
Brown Crag Wall on Shepherds- which I'm glad I didn't lead - and that was after three pints at lunchtime, during which time the rain did not let up.

One of the Woden's Face routes - climbed in big boots!

A couple of esoteric horrors include being dragged up Deer Bield Chimney - the top pitch was banked out with snow and we had no axes - thank f*ck it's fallen down so that no-one else has to suffer it, The Trough on Carrock Fell is interesting - climbing vertical vegetation in stocking feet.

One Easter it was p155ing down in the 'Coe, (now there's a surprise) so went to do the Great Ridge on Garbh Beinn - couldn't find the start of it - the mist was so low, and ended up being the slowest of a party of 3 who soloed what we believe was Winters Buttress. It was basically find the most climbable bits of wet rock between heather covered ledges, that went on for ever. (We had ropes and all our gear inthe sacks but never got them out)

My first visit to the Buchaille was also wet, so decided to do Curved Ridge - couldn't see it in the mist and did D Gully Buttress instead (just followed the crampon scratches) then descending Curved Ridge.

I even managed to get rained off a couple of routes in the Emirates, and finally finished one route in the pouring rain. It was then a race to get out of the Wadi before the inevitable flash flood!

In reply to cider nut:
Planned climbing in the rain: diffs at Tryfan Fach one wet October day. It poured with rain all day, so we donned waterproofs and got on with it until it was pub time. It's the only time I've enjoyed climbing in the rain! The next day we went to Tremadog, where it was glorious sunshine.
Billy Goat Cracks VDiff at Goat Crag - I was seconding up when the rain began to pour and the wind to bluster. The climbing was fine, but we decided to scarper after we finished the route.

In reply to cider nut:

Not climbed much successfully in the rain but I've tried. First time was a severe at Windgather - got halfway up then all my gear got stuck in various cracks as I climbed past them, my feet kept slipping and I decided to just give up, lower off and ab down for the gear. I led Nova at Lawrencefield with Bluebrad in the drizzle. It wasn't too bad when I started but it was running by the time I topped out. The only other wet stuff was at Tremadog. Led a VS and seconded one that were running with water, the hardest climbing in adverse conditions I've done.

All but Nifl Heim were started in the rain, with the hope of getting some climbing in and not wasting a day out. If I've travelled for a couple of hours then I want to get at least one route in, even if it's something ridiculously easy in a deluge.

In reply to cider nut:

Just realised that everything but Faith on the Idwal slabs I have done in the rain, Tennis Shoe, Hope, Ordinary route, Charity, Geography, Piton Route, Lazarus, Javelin Buttress or Blade, not sure which.

I must have the record for doing Overhanging Bastion in the largest selection of footwear, Kletterschue, PAs, Vibram mountain boots, nailed boots.

Both time I did Cenotaph it has been either raining or just after rain, second time I followed it in big boots, wonder how many people have done that?

Went to do Great Eastern but the lad I was with faffed about that much the photographer stood taking pictures said he was going down as he was so wet and cold, so we bailed. It was ten years before I did it later.

The epic on Lleac Mor is posted elsewhere on here, a very long and wet day.

In reply to climbingpixie: Grrr
Windgather in the rain is truly miserable, climbing in the rain is ok, but at Windgather, Naaa!

In reply to Al Evans:

Rubbish, spent many wet days there when doing VI at Whitehall.
People are soft now in the main, think they will shrink with exposure to water.

HANG ON, I have shrunk 2", must stop getting wet.

In reply to Al Evans:

Yeah, it was pretty grim that day but I was so determined to at least attempt to lead something. And between you showing me how to abseil and Mita making roast dinner it wasn't a complete write-off.

In reply to climbingpixie:
1st ascent of Raindoctor E5 6b on Upper Wall at Avon was pretty memorable. I'd cleaned and worked it several weeks beforehand but was going mental because I couldn't get dry weather or a partner to hold my ropes.
I finally persuaded Barry Durston to leave the comfort of the Bristol Wall. I abseiled in and top-roped it once to get warmed up and rewire the moves. I was sitting at the bottom waiting for a huge flash pump to go down, when it started to rain. In desperation I dashed upwards. Every move seemed twice as hard with my pumped forearms. I pushed on above the (as yet untested) peg runner, knowing that if it pulled I'd come close the ground. Just one move from a good crack, my strength was shot, my hands sliding off now soaking holds. Knowing I had no chance of retreat I threw myself upwards and by some quirk of fate latched the crack. Hyperventilating worse than a chain-smoking asthmatic being chased by a tiger I crawled to the top.
A few weeks later I conned my much better friend Ben Bransby into attempting the 2nd ascent without a warm up. He got to the same point, missed the lunge and proved that the peg was good.

In reply to cider nut:

i've done scratch arete in the light rain. Very enjoyable actually.

I tend not to bother climbing in the wet though, that's what the pub is for.

In reply to John Alcock:

Well written anecdote there

In reply to cider nut:

One trip to Joshua Tree me and mate arrived to rain.

Rather than go home we did the bolt ladder on Leaning Tower.
Once at the top I set the timer on my Canon AE1 plopped it down and......click a lovely photo. Another I took of my mate as he rapped the route.
Both aint bad and I'll include them in my photo album later.

In reply to JimR:

We always used to climb in the rain; usually getting the crag to ourselves. I have managed a number of VS leads in the wet (in fact I remember reading somewhere that the mark of a real leader is the ability to do so)?

But Gymnic? Respect.

More often we would drop a couple of grades and enjoy the peace & quiet. On one occasion at Stanage popular, a Peak ranger expressed disbelief that anyone would be climbing in such vile weather. They may have been, visibility was about 12 feet.

I have led Crack & Corner (Stanage) in a blizzard and also in p*ssing rain; its not good for your ego but you don't have to wait.

In reply to cider nut: Doorway & Doorpost at Bosigran; it's usually windy at the top there as well!

In reply to cider nut: Christmas Curry. I even led one pitch in the pouring rain (not the last one tho, needless to say, that was led by soemone far braver than me!) I've climbed at the Roaches in the rain too, with liz in Sheffield leading. When I realised how hard everything had become without friction I wwas full of admiration for her, but never again.

In reply to Removed User: I soloed The Rasp in a blizard, with Paul Nunn.
Have to admit there was a bergshcrund over half the height of the route though, we kicked steps up the snow then leaned across the 'crevasse' and shinned up the top 20ft.

In reply to cider nut: Brown slabs in winter boots (not roller skates), Idwal slabs ordinary route again in winter boots, so much rain there were salmon running it, Hope of Faith Hope and Charity, though it was more drizzle

In reply to Al Evans:

Are you winding me up?? Where did you park- with that much snow it must have been well nigh impossible to get anywhere near Higgar.

If not- much respect, but Gymnic in the wet is equally awesome, must have felt like ice climbing without crampons.