Anchor building at the top of Wallowbarrow Crag - Trad Climbing Course Lake District
Trad Climbing Course Lake District
A while back we were contacted by Sofia from the nearby town of Kendal. Having climbed both indoors and outdoors for years, but often with more experienced partners, she was now keen to increase her skill set so she could take out less experienced climbing partners.
The brief was to help Sofia simplify belay changeovers and improve the efficiency of these. Otherwise known as getting slicker.
When taking out less experienced partners, it’s really important to have some knowledge of what to do if things don’t work out as planned. So we incorporated a number of self-rescue skills into the course.
Day one - we spent this at Raven Crag in Langdale, just behind the ODG. On the ever popular beginners route of Middlefell Buttress. Yes it’s an easy route, but still great fun.
Before we set off climbing, we discussed anchor selection and looked at ways to equalise 2 and 3 anchor points. Sofia was well used to doing this using only the climbing rope, which is of course fine. But when taking out a less experienced climber it is likely for one person to be ‘block leading’ all the pitches and to make this slick and efficient it is better not to use the rope as part of the anchor system. So we didn’t.
I then led pitch 1 of Middlefell and set up a multi-point anchor equalised with a sling to create a master-point. Then led again to link with the base of pitch 2 to show another belay method.
We then discussed the options for moving forward and Sofia was ready to go on the sharp end and indeed led the rest of the route in 4 more pitches. We deliberately kept the pitches short in order to aid communication. This is always worth bearing in mind.
Upon reaching the big ledge at the top we saw there was a small queue for the abseil station, so relaxed in the sun for a while. Then we were invited to jump the queue so we set about arranging a stacked abseil. Again, we discussed the various options for safely getting a less experienced climber back to the base of the cliff and elected on a stack abseil for this scenario.
There was time for some further climbing after this and Sofia was happy to take it easy now and second a route. We climbed a couple of pitches of Original Route (S) and looked at more escape options and belay stances along the way.
Day two - we headed to the gorgeous Duddon Valley and the popular venue of Wallowbarrow Crag. Sofia was excited to put new skills into practice and keen to lead a complete route, including dealing with route navigating and guidebook interpretation. We worked on crag navigating on our approach walk and sure enough found ourselves at the base of Trinity Slabs (VD) a 4 pitch route with nice, spacious belay ledges all the way.
A very solid lead by Sofia despite having a slight wobble on pitch 3, composure was never lost. Each belay required a different approach and I was able to give useful feedback on each. At the top of the route we re-introduced the rope back into the belay system but still kept the belay direct as this helps reduce any problems should a second be finding the climb tricky.
Back down at the base of the crag we discussed options for the afternoon and decided on a switch to me leading a VS and a route that would be a re-visit for Sofia. 2 fine pitches of cruising on VS terrain and 4 pitches of comfortable leading and the smiles said it all. Pretty sure we both wanted more climbing, but it was already mid-afternoon, there was rain marching up the valley and a rainstorm in the forecast. So we called it a day.
And today, we’ve been to Dow Crag. So a proper mountain crag with all that entails. Cold, wind, cloud, constant threat of rain, as well as route navigating and generally more wobbly rock.
As it always seems to manage, Dow delivered an adventure. We alternate led a V’Diff route called C Ordinary. This is a Classic Rock route, meaning it’s popular, although not today.
We blasted up to the crag from Torver in about an hour and 12 mins, AKA lung-bustlingly quick! The place was empty. The rock was dry and no rain was falling, so all good. We did notice quite a breeze blowing though and this was to become a significant factor for us.
By the time I’d reached the top of pitch 2 my hands were numb, turns out it was the same for Sofia. Despite us being well wrapped up (almost for a winter day), the wind was biting into us, making everything feel much more difficult. Thankfully the route isn’t difficult, so there wasn’t anything to be concerned about.
We continued to alternate lead all the way to Easy Terrace where the route terminates. Here it is possible to follow a scramble descent back to the base of the crag. But we choose to continue the adventure and head up scrambling terrain to the summit of the mountain. It’s been a few years since I did this scramble and I’d forgotten how serious the ground is up there. We remained roped and did a mix of short-roping and short-pitching to reach easy ground at the top.
The wind subsided, I think we even dared to comment that it felt almost ‘warm’!
Now just for a pleasant walk back along the ridge to Walna Scar and down to Torver while chatting about what a brilliant adventure we’d just had.
Dow Crag never fails to give adventure.
If you'd like to find out more about what we can offer, please check out our activities page here
Mark
Enjoying the views - Trad Climbing Course Lake District
And now for a proper mountain adventure - Trad Climbing Course Lake District
The mighty Dow Crag - Trad Climbing Course Lake District
4 point belay - Trad Climbing Course Lake District