Western and Saddleworth Grit

I picked Pete up from Halifax train station at 9:30 with the view of heading to Chew Valley and the Ravenstones.  Unfortunately, overnight rain put a dampner on things.  We had both been looking through the new Over the Moors guide and thought that Hobson Moor Quarry would give us agood range of routes to go at.  45 mins later, we where stood underneath a dry and pretty good looking range of routes.

Pete started us off cruising the outstanding Parker's Eliminate HVS 5a***.  a perfect 14m crack that has holds and edges everywhere.  Pete then started up Dragon's Route E3 5c*, but could not commit.  I led the route, which did have a committing big move.  This did not stop Pete on his next go up.

Pete getting stuck into Dragon's Route

Pretty psyched now, I onsighted the bold Scale the Dragon E5 6a**.  Committing moves up the lower wall lead to good cams in the break at half height.  The crux upper wall is protected by a single RP 3, but I was glad to have it as a few of the hold were dirty and damp.

Pete working hard on Drizzle

Pete then continued with his E3 theme and led Drizzle E3 6a*.  This had a tricky crux through the overlap, but good gear where it mattered.  My psyche was still high, so I onsighted Sunshine Superglue E4 6a**.  The new guide describes the hardest version of this route, Which has a couple of easier starts.  Despite being  in need of a good clean.  I managed to get through the hard start and to the gear (which is pretty high), before launching into the upper wall.  A good route, but would benefit from a brush.  This could be said for a few of the routes on Black Wall and Scythe areas.

With one new crag visited, we opted to go and look at another.  Running Hill Pits was on the way back, and somewhere we both want to go to.  A short walk in and stood beneath Calamity Crack, my arms suddenly felt too tired to do it justice.  Instead we went into the 2nd quarry and I led the super classic Spanner Wall E2 5b***.  Surprisingly physical and bold climbing all added up to a fantastic root.  We both walked away, vowing to return soon for the some of the awesome looking crack lines.