Climbing - Scugdale

Sunday, 23 October 2016

Shortly after my first outdoor climbing experience, I had the opportunity to practice even more under the eye of the same experienced friend. He proposed Scugdale as this location wasn't too far from where he lives, it was also suitable for me and I am always eager to discover new places.

The drive from Barnsley was no more than 1.5h. There are only a few parking spaces in muddy lay-bys near the crags. Straight away I knew that this was a quiet place, opposite to busy Stanage Popular. This day was special for Radek as he was celebrating his birthday. There were four people interested in climbing on that day and a few of Radek's friends who would come over later to join this unusual birthday party.

On our way to Scugdale

We met at 11am. There was plenty of showers during the day and I was glad that Radek brought a tarp shelter with him. This simple thing saved the day as we could protect all our kit from the rain and attempt to climb between outbursts of rain.

Magda and I practised setting up and equalizing anchors at the bottom of the crag. Later we also abseiled from the top of the 10 m wall. All very valuable exercises. If anybody is afraid of stepping over the edge of the crag when getting ready to abseil, heavy rain certainly is going to help!

Magda still has a lot to learn

There was only one actual climb Magda and I did. We set up top rope anchor at Blaeberry Crack (Diff) and despite top-roping, I needed two goes at it.

Ready for climbing. Need to remember to use rope protector next time

What's important though is that I gained confidence that I would be able to rig a top rope on my own.

Scugdale and our top rope anchor setup

Thanks to the good company and preparation (shelter) this was a great day despite the weather playing tricks. We are also glad we discovered Scugdale. It is a really beautiful valley and the place seems quiet which is a big bonus for me as I don't feel comfortable with others watching what I am doing just yet. It is also less likely we would be upsetting people by blocking routes if there is simply not many climbers around.