Deathwatch

I was hoping to meet up and climb with a fella from York today, but unfortunately he was tied up with work. So I went over to Ilkley to have a look at a route called Deathwatch. I had seen some footage of Lucinda Hughes climbing this on the Hard XS DVD a while ago and thought it might suit me. Having not done much in the way of headpointing, having no partner and the fact the route is only a solo really, it seemed to make sense.

The DVD footage through me off. I could not touch the crux move the way I had seen it in the film. So after a few attempts I worked out a better way for me. After getting it clean 3 times in a row (and belaying myself with a gri gri), I gave it a bash. It all went well, but it is the most gripped I think I have been. First E7, and I don't think it has ever been onsighted, so I'm happy with the style I did it in.

The picture below is as I'm about to enter the crux. The timer was slightly out to get me mid crux, and there was no way I was doing it again.