Sterling Adventures

How did we get persuaded to hike for 1 hour 15 mins up to green gable crag last Monday evening??? On the way up to Honister, the weather looked dodgy for climbing in Borrowdale. It was certainly much windier higher up, and this is August!!!!!

My foot was still playing up; I bet Wayne Rooney and David Beckham don’t hike up a hill with a swollen toe, but nevertheless I managed to keep up with Pete and Steve across to the crag.

Why were we here? Well Steve had been looking for a photo of 2 climbers on Green Gable crag to fill a half page in the new guide. In the bad weather he’d been struggling to find a couple of gullible wanna-bees. Then we walked into Needlesports…..

It was certainly cold. Belaying Pete on Alpha, the wind whipped the rope across the rock, and Pete came in and out of view in the cloud. It was like a scene from Harry Potter with the mist encircling the towers above me. Where Steve had gone I wasn’t sure: he was like the invisible man.

Eventually Pete made the top and I followed up. After a couple of minutes I couldn’t feel my hands, but struggled to hold a pose while Steve snapped away.

We raced back down to the cars, and typically for this summer the weather improved as we entertained thoughts of the pub. Too late to go back we hoped Steve could make something of the photos and were glad to make it to the Scafell bar in Rosthwaite. At least it had been an evening out even if it hadn’t quite matched up to the BBC Big Climb!