A few visits to High Tor since the last post (a couple with, one without boots/chalk/harness and even a dynamic rope!) have finished off my aspirations. Thats not to say I've exhausted the crag, nor finished off everything I'd 'like' to do. However the remaining ticks of interest require a few things I don't have (as well as the obvious). During the warm spell we were literally baked alive seeking the easiest way up the crag and back into the shade. The visit wasn't a complete waste mind you as someone lost a few brand new wires and didn't bother to try and retrieve them.



So, for the first time this season I was left with a bit of a dilemna; where to go? With the rise in temperatures Staden seemed the obvious choice (until I was informed of the current access restriction). So where next? Beeston looked intriguing but Pear-wielding-goose-meister-joy reminded me I might as well apply oil, wrap myself in tin foil and pop up to Malham instead. In the end we settled for a late start at Chee Tor (after an exploratory walk the night of forgetting the rope).



The whole evening was interesting, from seeing a Mojo piloted Type R trying to overtake (not noticing the three letters after Fabia) and the ensuing 'drive' that followed. To the walk-in through the newly opened tunnels (much quicker but far more deadly what with all of the idiots on bikes, take your clipstick a.k.a. Spokestick with you on this one!). Far too much chat at the cornice and a quick wade across the river and we were at the base of what looks like a fairly vegetated, distinctly average piece of limestone. Boy oh boy it'd be wrong to judge this book by its cover. What followed were some of the highest quality low-mid grade routes I've ever done on some frankly stunning rock. It was pointed out to me that bolted this crag would offer some mediocre 6's, but the abundance of perfect wire slots, threads and other pro elevate it to a fantastic crag. As per the general game plan, I've started from the bottom and I'm aiming for the middle ground. Most of the lower graded routes are suprisingly clean and the loweroffs thus far have been fairly good however some of the harder lines look (not unsurprisngly) like they attract less traffic.



It finally began to rain on Sunday evening and I retired to the cornice to fully finish off the arms upon the routes I spent a while getting fit last year. Thankfully this went fairly well, hours and hours moving slowly (no, much slower) on trad has lifted my fitness levels greatly but I've got a nagging suspicion that my strength and maybe even power endurance will be at an all time low. I wonder how much longevity there is in the current trad plan? Its hard to look beyond the current state of affairs and see that this isn't in fact a regression but progression, making up for the mis-alignment of strength and technique over the years. Summer crags within the range of a standard evening session aren't that numerous (recommendations are VERY welcome here) and on Sunday I found myself looking longingly at Cornice routes which I well know are currently way out of range.



It was interesting to see that on both Wed and Sat there were roughly double the number of climbers at Chee Tor than the Cornice (which is drier and heading towards being cleaner than last year). Is it the opening of the tunnels? It seems to me that climbing in general is ever increasing in popularity but since the fantastic rebolting efforts of Kristian, Jon Clark and others the Peak crags are looking darn good.