A brilliant end to the school summer holidays, with some welcome sunshine and warmer conditions here in the Lake District.
We welcomed back the Hewitts and friends for a spot of Canyoning in Church Beck. Water levels were high making this a really fun descent through the gorge. After drying off, we spent the evening rock climbing at Tilberthwaite quarry.

And the following day, we had planned a climbing day but the rain slowed that down and instead we spent some time rigging abseils and of course doing some abseiling too.
The afternoon brought drier conditions so we headed into Langdale and Scout crags (almost always dry rock here). A top effort by both Edd & Lauren, between them leading the brutal 'Cubs crack' (Hard Severe). A few more routes were climbed on top ropes before tired muscles brought the day to a close.

Sam was also out today, running a rock climbing course for us over in Eskdale. They had some very damp conditions to deal with, but still lots of useful learning and of course plenty of time on rock.

Sunday the 22nd brought another full day of rock climbing. This time with Tricia and her 2 lads. I forget how many climbs we did that day, but it was a lot. We met up later with some of their friends who had been multi-pitch climbing at Upper Scout crags. They then made a rare ascent of the split crack in the large boulder below Scout crags.

Tuesday 25th I was out with the Lack family. We have enjoyed many days out together, mostly rock scrambling, but sometimes gorge scrambling and climbing too. Today our objective was the classic Langdale scramble of Jack's Rake on Pavey Ark. This is graded as a relatively straightforward scramble, but should not be under-estimated, for there is much exposure and some challenging moves. Without doubt this is one of the very best days out to be had in the Lake District, and one I always look forward to.
We thankfully enjoyed splendid weather for the whole day, so enjoyed far reaching views as well as dry rock!

On Thursday 27th Kate was out leading a guided walk for a party from Bahrain. Elterwater and Colwith Force provided just the perfect scenery all were looking for and a grand day enjoyed by all.

The following day (Friday) we had a team day out on Dow crag. A friend had managed to leave some climbing gear behind on one of the long multi-pitch routes so we decided to go see if we could retrieve it for him. Unfortunately for us a heavy downpour soaked the crag just as we arrived so the initial climbing definitely felt tenuous. Dow crag is well known for its 'slippery-when-wet' rock and this stuff felt like ice! The wind did a grand job of drying the upper pitches, so it wasn't long before we were able to enjoy dry and grippy rock, and all in an amazing setting looking over to Coniston Old Man.
The gear we had come in search of had already been removed, however, we still had a blast, always enjoy a visit to Dow.

I was back in Stickle ghyll the following morning with a family group of 11. Plenty of water and warm conditions all helped us have a fab time in here yet again.

Sunday 30th saw us out with Andzelika & Eugene who we've been out with quite a few times now. They like the Lakes so much they moved up here recently. This time their friend Nicky came along too. As the weather forecast was very good I took a chance on the Pike O' Blisco crags.
Starting on Long Scar, we climbed 4 routes from about 'Diff' to 'Hard Severe' we then moved up to Black Crag and climbed 4 more routes, this time up to E2! 

Below are a few photos from the days.

Thanks everyone, so nice to see you all and we hope it's not long until you're back in the Lakes again.

Mark

The beautiful spring weather continues here in the Lake District. The photo above is taken from the Low Wood Hotel looking over Windermere towards the Langdale Pikes, our objective for today.

Heidi & Rocco have recently acquired the walking 'bug' and today were to be introduced to the world of Rock Scrambling. We took a traditional route from valley to summit. Starting at the Stickle Barn area in Langdale, we scrambled in Stickle Ghyll, then made our way to Tarn crag for some much steeper rock and a grade 3 climb.

Once at the top of Tarn crag, we were able to see the full scale of Jack's Rake, that's next! It was a busy day on Pavey Ark, but with some weaving we soon had a clear route ahead of us in Jack's Rake. This long scramble is engaging for the whole ascent, with mounting exposure and excitement. We had the summit of Pavey Ark to ourselves and were able to enjoy far reaching views even of Scafell Pike.

A really good day out, thanks Heidi & Rocco. Hope to see you both soon for more adventures on rock.

Photos below are:
Pavey Ark & Stickle tarn
Busy times on Jake's Rake

Thursday (today) we had a Mountain Journeys team afternoon at the crag. Me, Kate, and Don went to Wallowbarrow crag in the Duddon valley. This is a real favourite of ours, so peaceful, beautiful views, lovely rock and one of the first places we climbed together.

We climbed:
Bryanston (VS) - 3 pitches, each more difficult than the last, with the final pitch being impressively steep.
Digitation (VS) -  2 pitches. We originally climbed this years ago thinking it was a Vdiff!!!! A delightful slab climb with a tricky overlap on the first pitch. For me this is the best climb at the crag.
Trinity Slabs (Vdiff) - 4 pitches but doable in just 2, this offers more amenable climbing, still on very good rock and good moves throughout.
Thomas (Severe) - Another 3 pitch route but doable in 2. If this was on a mountain crag it'd likely make 'classic' status for it is a real gem.

And whilst all this Rock Climbing was going on, Don enjoyed a leisurely afternoon in the sun with his sheep friends never far away.

On our way home we witnessed a fairly extensive fire on the hillside. A pretty rare sight indeed.

Thanks Kate.