Chew Mixed and New Route

Elliot and I went back to Dovestones Quarry early yesterday to take advantage of the new snow and overnight/early morning cold.  Again the steeper things that I fancy trying were not white, so we opted for a run up Initiation Groove V,6***.  This follows the summer E1 line up an obvious feature and would be a truly horrible overgrown route.  In winter however, it makes for good sport.  There is a bold section in the middle, but the crux is well protected if you hang around long enough to dig it all out.  Steep, committed pulls on turf is the name of the game for this one.

Elliot enjoying Initiation Groove

Still Early we fancied another.  I had spotted an obvious set of cracks that came out of the grassy terrace near the start of Brass Monkey and Garn.  The route descriptions for some of the routes here are tricky to follow, so I'm not sure if what I climbed is a summer line or not, but with the amount of vegetation on it, I'd hope not.  Description below:

Pinnicel Cracks, VI,6*.60m, 2 pitches. Gain the grassy terrace by any easy way or other route. From the grassy terrace a set of twin cracks lead directly to the final corner of Mike's Meander. These cracks are gained via steep turf and climbed using torques and hooks. More steep turf is then followed to join Mike's Meander. Finish up this.
Adam Hughes & Elliot France 27/Mar/2013