The love affair with High Tor continues although the honeymoon period will soon pass as the majority of challenges that remain are outside my comfort zone and if truth be told, my skill set. There's a handful of routes I'd like to finish off, and a couple of the fully bolted offerings should offer some respite to my perma-pumped calf muscles. However, I have to say I've been disappointed by a few of the last routes ticked. Many have big reputations and are firmly set in history yet I've found the climbing of average interest with seemingly less quality available than at the humble level of E2/3 and surprisingly, in parts, a greater degree of polish!

Yet, I shouldn't complain too much. I'm happy to be progressing at a steady pace (one much more rapid than I could reasonably expect from any other discipline), even if in reality my target might have been viewed by some as a reasonable starting point.

In between the showers we salvaged another day by climbing on the newly (ish) bolted right wing. Some of it is in typical style; bolted when realistically it should have been left to fall down, yet between these routes are a few hidden gems. A fingery 7a, an E5 with the worst lower off I've seen (tiny tree, loose block in front, sling around both), and another 7a prow. These are worth bearing in mind for an easy day or for somewhere likely to be shielded from showers elsewhere in the Peak. It should be noted that there appear to be nesting birds on a number of routes, anything with a large crack to be precise. Rock quality is generally poor surrounding the 1st bolts, beyond this things firm up.

It seems the summer is fast approaching and I'm looking forward to venturing further afield on my ticklist (Matlock Bath only retains interest for a short period). First up will undoubtedly be Gogarth where T-Rex and Flytrap eagerly await my flounderings (cam sizes for the first much appreciated?). Beyond that the Axe must feature highly; searching Google for photos last night I came across a few stunning pictures (one graces the cover of Ground Ups North Wales Select) which left be both nervous and inspired.

I made a rash decision with camera's this week but I'll make sure to get some worthy shots before revealing too much.