I spent a lovely day out yesterday at Milestone, coaching Shaun and Sarah in some lead climb coaching. I had previously taught them to lead climb, but it was the first time this season that they were going out, and what they really wanted was for someone to watch them climb, and give them a few tips, but at the end of it say, yes you are doing everything right.
The interesting thing was they were doing everything right, and whist at times it may have taken them a few minutes to tie into a belay, all there gear was great, and they could do everything without me say that much. Hopefully it will kickstart there climbing again this year, and hopefully they will alway get that weather when they are climbing.
After work I then headed up to the Crouchan for a spot of climbing with a few friends, I ran up Phantom Rib, a route that doesn’t get much better at VS. A real combination of pitches with different styles of climbing, make it great, and the Rib for which it gets its name is nothing if not impressive and exposed.
Even at 7 in the evening the rock was baking, and chalk was definitely needed up there. Although as we abseil off the mountains did was they have managed to do for years and surprise me. In the cloud formations that were billowing over Crib Coch were like a layer of smoke caught in a thermal ceiling, and bent and contorted by updrafting air. Very surreal, but very unsurprising the early warnings of the rain that was to follow shortly after.
Everyone thought I was joking at the start of the route when I warned that it might rain, despite