UKC

Hey folks,

Making my first trip to Harrison's rocks this weekend. I have climbed outside a bit before but this is my first time on sandstone.

Having read up on the BMC page and some forums here I am aware of all the special measures you need to take to protect the rock and know that you shouldn't climb on it when damp...but... before turning out on a 3 hour round trip it would be good to know what the chance is of a bit of dry rock.

How do you decide before you turn out? Saturday (when we hope to climb) looks dry but there was 1mm of rain on Thursday and there is due to be another 0.4mm on Friday - does that sound climbable?

Cheers,

Kian

In reply to rft:
It drizzled a bit on my first visit to Harrison's a few weeks ago, but our group's instructor still had us climbing, and the rock was completely dry by the next day. It was very warm and dry there two days ago, so as long as it doesn't rain too much today it should be OK by tomorrow. Maybe.

I'm a noob and I've only been there a few times though, so take this advice with a pinch of salt.

Apparently Bowles dries out quicker than the other crags in the area, as it's a bit more exposed to sun and wind, so if Harrison's is too damp you could try there instead.

In reply to rft:

It rained all night last night and the rock got a soaking. It is quite windy now, so provided it doesn't rain tonight and the wind doesn't drop, the chances are that the rock will be dry tomorrow. If it rains tonight, then forget it. Bowles tends to dry quicker than Harrisons, so maybe ring them in the morning with a view to going there instead if they are dry?

Thanks guys, really useful. I think we might delay until Sunday as Sunday itself looks okay and Saturday should give it chance to dry up a bit.

In reply to rft:

Looking to be some more rain Sat night/early hours Sunday. However I reckon that there's a good chance of it drying out ok both afternoons this weekend, I wouldn't bother either day until about 1pm or later, however it is light until gone 8 so should be plenty of time for a session. Saturday maybe better then Sunday.

In reply to rft:

Off there today, will prob stay over til tomorrow? too. Have they sorted the car park/campsite payment system yet?

In reply to Dell:

Can't speak for the campsite, but the car park payment system was fine today (as long as you carry pockets of pound coins around).