August Bank Holiday - Cornwall

A good trip down, large numbers of EG around on site, and Oxted club half elsewhere. I was climbing with Alistair, a tall young lad who apparently floated between various clubs and climbed quite hard. We headed as a team of four down to Great Zawn, possibly Cornwall's premier climbing spot. Eddie and Egan chose "Xanadu" (E25b5b), a Littlejohn route which I knew would give them plenty of entertainment and hard won points. We abbed down onto the wave-cut platform that leads to the "crevasse" that bars the way to the main face. This involves a jump (6' across, 5' down) across a 25' deep chasm onto a sloping shelf of hard perfect granite, with the sea swelling around the bottom. I'd done this 10 years before and knew it involved getting roped up, paying out sufficient slack and a big leap. This time, it would be easier, as I spotted a situ krab in the roof above the crevasse. Huh, I thought, some people probably lower down and swing. " '***kin' puffs", I declared, jumping is traditional, so hold this rope Alistair, and observe an old hand at work.

I leapt, landed hard, very hard, on that hard perfect granite. Made it, but, oh ***k and oh no, I'm going backwards.…a Buster Keaton special, as my arms flailed and I slid arse first seawards. Another pair of climbers watched aghast, and I reflected later that I could have sold tickets for this spectacular - I would certainly have paid good money to see some other poor sod do it!

Er, well held Alistair, who noted that my landing had been hardly catlike. He was clearly beginning to worry about his choice of partner, but things got better after this somewhat inauspicious start to the weekends climbing. The route itself (Green Cormorant Face E25a5c) went OK, as did Variety Show, the classic HVS hereabouts, and a good introduction to the Zawn that doesn't involve the jump/swing!

A character building (and very nearly destroying) day. Sunday I declared a rest (not for religious reasons!) as I hobbled the coastal path, but Monday was a fantastic, clear and warm day spent at Carn Barra - plenty of delightful climbing, crag to ourselves, seals and bags of E points. This is what climbing is really about….

Rupert

Foul Weather Rapid Responce Team

Winters coming, the nights are longer and it's getting cold. This can only mean one thing: Trevor is getting excited about winter climbing and is scouring the weather forecasts for foul weather. If you would like to join him in the fruitless sseach for English winter conditions and would like to join the Foul Weather Rapid Responce Team then contact Trev and stand by those phones