UKC

.... until October. The midges seem to have started.

Curbar was deserted on Sunday, except for a chap undergoing a rather cathartic experience on Peapod. Did I overlook some sporting event which was emptying the crags?

The customary pint of beer to any E1 leader succeeding on Fidget, by the way. 6a?!? I don’t think so. And I didn’t even get to the hard bit.

In reply to John Cox: the little bighting bas***** were out in force in North Wales as well.

In reply to sloper:

Non at Stanage or Burb west!

Eagle tor was rife tho last weekend ;0(

In reply to John Cox:

There weren't any at Apparent North area or Burbage yesterday.

In reply to Simon:

You're fast as lightning you are.

In reply to John Cox:


Scotland v Trinidad & Tobago I expect.

A rare triumph.

In reply to Li'l Zé:

two in a row, two in a row... bring 'em on!

In reply to John Cox:

Stanage was midge free yesterday; at least until we left about 5.30.

G

In reply to Graham:

No midges (or people) at all Burbage West/ North yesterday until 8pm. Absolute bliss in the sunshine.

In reply to Jus:

I'm trying my best not to scratch the lumps that have changed the shape of my forearms. In fact it's pretty hard to type with two hands at the moment.

In reply to John Cox:

There were midges on the summit of Cruach Ardrain yesterday too.

In reply to John Cox:
Stanage may have been midge-free on Monday, but it certainly wasn't on Sunday. Have about 30 bites on my legs.... But Monday was drier, and breezier, so not surprising it was better. Burbage N was great.

In reply to John Cox:

According to the today prog this morning, bird fanciers reckon that insect populations are dwindling...

...BS...

...I've never seen so many midges so early as this year. Bitten to sh1t this weekend, and got 10 ticks too...

jc

In reply to John Cox:

No midges at Gogarth or Rhoscolyn on Sat/Sun. Nor at Stanage on Monday.

Lots of luvverly sunshine, though

In reply to John Cox: I'm itching now, got a particularly nasty bite on my ankle. Thanks for reminding me - I need to add insect repellent to my shopping list!

In reply to Graham:


They came out in force about 7 ish. Very nasty when the breeze died down.

In reply to John Cox:

anyone know if the dead sheep near Goliaths has been removed ? It was stinking the place out a couple of weeks ago.

In reply to darkinbad:

you lucky barsteward - I am jealous indeed.

won't you care to pass comment on Fidget, oh E4 leader, or have you got back to E5 yet?

In reply to John Cox:

There were no midges at Roaches Skyline on Sunday (we left at 7.30)

In reply to John Cox: there were midges at stanage in the last few days, I'm nursing some irrating bites now, what's the best thing for them?

there's always not getting bitten in the first place, know of effective non-chemical repellents?

In reply to baby-sitting in florence park:

Fidget? Oh yes, I missed that bit. By that reading I haven't even got back to E1 yet.

Some grade comparisons based on this weekend's efforts:

Warpath at Rhoscolyn - marginally harder than Orang-Outang on Marble Wall (had to rest on the former, narrowly avoided doing so on the latter)
Sun at Rhoscolyn - steep, strenuous, well-protected and satisfying. Comparable to The Vice.
Katana on Holyhead Mountain. Less physical than Orang-Outang. Less baffling than Kelly's Overhang. Less mentally taxing than High Neb Buttress.

I trust the authors of the forthcoming Gogarth guide have/will be rectifying these anomalies.

In reply to richard turkington:

>there were midges at stanage in the last few days, I'm nursing some irrating bites now, what's the best thing for them?

Winter. Or Gogarth.

Darkinbad: OK, so that's Warpath E2, The Sun HVS and Katana say E1? I will see that representations are made in the proper quarters.

Can I interest you in joining the Campaign For Real Grades, by the way?!

In reply to stonewall:

No sheep carcass around that I saw, though my carcass nearly got left there instead. A mighty desperate struggle. (Yes, miserable failure, nursing wounds now).

No midges though.

John; cheer up, we had midges AND rain on Sunday at Stanage.

A.

In reply to Alastair Hudson:

I found the lower section very desperate initially, but after I stuck my left thigh in and torqued it, back pressed against the left wall (I think !), it was a lot easier. Not pretty, but effective.

In reply to stonewall:

I believe one of you is speaking of Goliath's Groove and the other of Goliath. Always good for a laugh, but I have to leave now so I couldn't stop to see how it panned out anyway.

Midges AND rain, Al? That is bad. Alternately at least, I trust.

In reply to Alastair Hudson:

sorry I meant GG not Goliaths - where were you ?

In reply to stonewall:
Goliath... Burbage North on Monday.
GG is far nicer, and you can even do that first section facing out.

We didn't get much done on Stanage on the Sunday... too wet... though I did manage to embarass myself on Lookout Flake topping out in the wet. Amazingly friends walked along past High Neb and came back to tell us it had been dry and sunny. Grrrrr....

There's going to be a rematch planned for Goliath, but I'll need a good elbow pad for the left arm.

A.

In reply to Alastair Hudson:

Yeah, I had midges and rain at Birchens on Sunday. Stanage on Saturday, and Curbar on Monday were midge free, though. (although Stanage was a little bit damp on Saturday).

CCW

In reply to John Cox:
Gogarth...curiously, there were midges at Castell Helen on Monday evening, even right down at sea level. As it gently rained, they gently bit.

However, on Tuesday, there were no raindrops, no midges and no people bar ourselves as the sun beat down on the Main Cliff. A total dream of a day - I could almost agree with you that stars are simply not necessary. In fact I'm sold. Further, might I suggest that you omit photos and publish in a brown paper cover, in the hope that the hordes continue to go elsewhere??

In reply to richard turkington:

Has anyone tried one of these?
http://www.planetfear.com/shop/product.html?id=7420

Any good or another useless toy?