Central Groove – HS 4b – Alt lead Silken Thread/Imperialist – HSV 5a – Lead
The Dewerstone is a long haul from Newquay but its worth it and on a day of repeats like these your time and money are well spent.
Central Groove is undeniably one of the best HS’s around and Dave got his chance to lead P1 which is just awesome. There were a few other climbers around on this day, but dont get me wrong, it wasnt busy. I still get a real feeling of being in place that was created from a novel like LOTR. Twisted trees, thick lichen, bird song and the sound of the river all add to the impression.
Climbing up through the canopy is always fun and sat on the belay ledge while Dave brought up Tom, I got the chance to just savour the whole experience. I dont think there is anywhere better to be in the world when you get days like this.
I knew Silken Thread/Imperialist would get my blood flowing. It feels bold to start and the entire first pitch seems off balance. Its a good route though and the second pitch exposed my lack of strength training this year. Time to beef up a bit me thinks.
A nice snooze on the way back made the trip quick. Tom’s new car is too comfortable, thats the problem.
Sundog – E1 5b – Second (dogged) Shambhalla – E1 5b – Lead
The coast towards St Just
It has been a while since Joe and I have climbed together, so it was really good to get back to old ways again. I had forgot Joe’s habit of looking at the hardest route on a crag and then going for it. But this time it paid dividends.
Through the tough bits
I’ve been on a few of the faces at Trewellard but Joe’s abseil dropped us straight onto the main face and a couple of really top routes. The first, led by Joe was Sundog.
Joe pre crux on Sundog
Even from below the crux looked tough, going through a slightly overhanging bulge of rock with little pro and small finger holds. It was a top effort by Joe who pulled through the section after getting in some high gear. Unfortunately I wasnt so fortunate. The small crimps beat me and with only inches to go I peeled off. Its a shame because the rest of the climb was tricky but manageable. Clearly Joe’s efforts on the training walls we have scattered at our various houses has paid off and I think I might be following him up some even harder routes this year.
Bart leading on the West Face
Meanwhile Bart and Tom were gradually working thier way through the routes on the West Face which was basking in warm sunshine. I always found these to be bold for their grade, but quality climbing. Both Tom and Bart were leading building up their confidence no doubt for Sardinia.
Dave and Chris on Goldsworthy Buttress
Speaking of which, this was the first occasion the full island crew were together as Dave and Chris were have an exciting time on Return of the Lemming a bold VS on Goldsworthy Buttress. So this is what we can look forward to??
Me on Shambhalla
My lead was on Shambhalla, an HVS in the book but an E1 on UKC. I think it was probably somewhere in the middle. A hard HVS or an easy E1. Although I didnt find the crux and mid section easy, struggling again to get my head into gear. I did it though and that is great and a real confidence booster. Definitely not as hard as Joe’s E1.
The balancy section
Bart, Tom and I succumbed to ‘lightweightedness’ a left a bit earlier as the temperature dropped quickly. The sun was still shining on the other three as they grabbed a final Severe on the Main Face. I’m looking forward to climbing with Joe a bit more this year. It pushes my grades and adds a bit of excitment and fun to events.!!!
Luke Skywalker – Severe 4a – Lead Stone – VS 4c – Lead
The theory was that being early in the year we wouldnt get ourselves completely skagged trying to get into Tregiffian. That was the theory anyway. But it turned out Boscawen was the real villan in this piece and Alex who had joined us found this out when he became trapped in amoungst a dense patch of gorse and brambles.
Thorn Trouble
I’ve been to Boscawen twice before but could I remember the descent route? We ended up going way too left and having to track through some viscous thorn and gorse before finally finding the arch. This always marked the way in to me so we dropped our bags here and abbed into the main face.
Alex abbing into Boscawen
Boscawen clearly isnt getting much traffic at the moment. The cracks are very vegetated and placing pro is a bit of a mare. Luke Skywalker is strange for a Severe. A straight forward easy first two thirds followed by a very committing final section which feels very thin.
Alex on Luke Skywalker
Mind you, the hardest part for me was finding my way back up. I managed to get myself stuck in a corner and had to aid my way out. Not sure that was the correct way???
Tom on Leuc Lively
The walk to Tregiffian was stunning at this time of year. Its as if the cliff has burst into life shoing off its colours and plantlife. At times you could have thought it was planned but its just nature making the most of things.
Like a garden but actually the coast path.
Then it was on to tregiffian where we discovered my tide predictions were also lacking in judgement. With a bit of swell running and a pushing tide the main face was no longer an option. Dave and Tom set up for Exit which is out of reach of the tide for a while.
Group gathering
Alex and I went scouting around Union Star Cove and came across a real gem of a climb. It took some finding requiring a short abseil and some scrambling but Stone is a really step and exciting VS. Good pro but some tough moves and quite strenuous with only one real rest spot.
Alex starting on Stone
It made for a great climb and Alex who hasnt been for a while did really well cleaning this one. After my first selfie it was pack up for the long hard walk back out to Boskenna Cross. There are two more routes on the Stone face that I will return to. They both look brilliant and this spot is a real find.
Union Star Cove
Group gathering
Selfie!!!
Alex working hard.
Alex starting on Stone
Like a garden but actually the coast path.
Trophy Shot
Alex solo’s the Arch
Rope coiling skills???
Alex on Luke Skywalker
Tom on Leuc Lively
Sanguine Dave
Two way ab
Down the cost towards St Loy
Alex abbing into Boscawen
Thorn Trouble
Why it never rains on a Friday!
Cookie Consent
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to cookies.
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
_gac_
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
Jetpack's built-in visitor analytics. It records page views, referring sites, search terms, and outbound link clicks, and also carries the shared visitor-tracking library used by Jetpack Instant Search and WooCommerce Analytics.
