Well this last weekend has been shocking weather wise, Saturday it just constantly rained and rained, meaning that most of the rocks and boulders would be pretty much soaked. So we wasn’t able to get out climbing on the sunday either, even though it was ‘dry’ ish and had stopped raining, and I still wouldn’t have minded going to check something out but we didn’t in the end.

Hoping to get out this weekend somewhere and maybe work on a few projects i have in mind or have a play around on some boulder problems. After christmas I am really looking forward to getting out on the grit with my new shoes, the new Five Ten Anasazi V2. They are a awesome looking boot with amazing edging ability. So yeah really excited about getting out and sending some projects with them and hard trad routes. 

Im feeling really pysched to go try ‘The Promise’ up at Burbage North. Originally given E10 7a by James Pearson but after a number of recent repeats and accents, by both the super strong American team and contingent of hardcore English climbers, the grade seems to have settled at around E7/8 7a, Font 7b+. Making it still a super hard route but now it has had these accents I would very much like to get on this test piece and give it a try for myself.

There is much debate within the climbing community about ‘grades’ at the moment and everyone has a different opinion on what is ethical for climbing and what isn’t.  Personally I think that it is pretty pathetic people who constantly try to mess with the grading system and suggest rediculous ideas of what would be a better system. People should just climb how they feel and not how so called ‘ethics’ say it should be done. Grades are not everything and people should learn to see this.

Anyway I hope to give this route a try sometime in the near future after Christmas and will very much look forward to trying the moves on a beautiful gritstone arete. The gear is apparently now deemed ‘bomber’ to quote but a few people that have done the route now. It consists of a Camp 1 ball nut, which can be slid into a tiny horizontal break below the start of the crux. Pearson claimed it wasn’t at all safe but others have taken big falls onto it and its held fine. Thus one of the reasons for the dramatic drop in the grading of this route. One guy did however somehow manage to kick it out as he was making his way through the crux, possible first solo accent? Who knows, but what is for diffinate is that its an amazing line and an amazing achievement for all the guys who have sent it.

Will post on my progress with this route soon.

Signing out.