Cullodon't

A quick tale from the Tor for you. Its all about mornings at the moment. The sun gets round onto the tor by noon, and to be honest - the heat is so great, and so prolonged, that there's little point going of an evening as even after the sun goes, it doesnt cool down enough before it goes dark. And dispense with the idea of lamping - you need to be an hour or so after dark for condensation to have gone (even then it might not have done), and the expense and size of an effective setup must surely be prohibitive. Anyway, given all this advice, I went last night anyway with Nick Brown, and lo - it was good...

Yes, it would have been too hot on Mecca, and yes, that which wasnt at the right hand side was sweltercon factor 20, but it was quite climbable in the leafy right hand side, and in fact I think it felt pretty reasonable. Funnels the wind you see the right hand side bit, and I think it felt like it was ok. Nick hadnt done Powerband, and I havent done it twice (the proper way), so we got involved in that in the guise of a warm up. The part of this tale which is pertinent is that previously on the ascent which suceeded, I employed the feet straight on at the end beta, and have never been able to make it work since. Ned and I talked about this last week, as he does egyptian. Nick and I tried it last night and went from getting the hand on the mound to getting it in the cleft (snick). Interesting. Tried from the start, and wilted getting left foot across, but got renewed interest in Stamina band, which must surely be good training for Mecca? Athough, as I think Rae once said, powerband is only good for doing powerband!

The point of the expedition was to ascend to the summit of the climb 'Culloden'. So after argubly exhausting ourselves flailing along a polished traverse at a different crag, we headed to our objective. From the ground I placed the first three clips, and with the rope dangling safely overhead, I scuttled onto the ledge. Moving the murder weapons out of the way, I teetered upwards. To my delight, the jugs were dry, and I was able to swing gayly between them like a hippo galloping into burger king. Up to the crimp I went - ooh, it felt hard and physical (again, in the words of the Cowie - theres no hiding from it), and take said I.

After a moments respite to collect ones thoughts and allow the lactate to drain, I pulled on at the crimp. What a few weeks ago felt like a rat crimp felt like a boner, and I casually stabbed in to the tooth. Levered up to the jam and looked impotently at my feet - erm, nothing looks right. Hmm. Back on the rope. I put the next draw in and suddenly a helpful smear appears just above the third bolt. Hmm, the move is about 3a. I go back to the jugs, and climb through to the end. Hmm.

Nick has a go, makes good progress - does all the moves, but feels cold after winching my bulk for the last 20 minutes and comes back down. I have another go, this time climbing through the hard bit, but being too scared to commit to the last move. I know I am being a wimp, and before I give up I hold the position for a few seconds and try to talk myself into it, but it doesnt happen and I slump off the route.

So, the problem is that physically I can do the route, but I need to embrace falling off first. The problem is that I need to thread my foot behind the rope just above the bolt, and its you are without your edge as you are at the top. Man up Morton!