Climbing Symonds Yat

Today we took a trip out to Symonds Yat to stick a few scratch on the climbing rack I've put together over the last couple of weeks.  Thanks big discount outdoor retail shop by the way.  We stopped in at Cotswold to get our grubby little hands on a guidebook and then it was off up the A417 to the Forest of Dean.  The weather looked gloomy but the rain held off.  You could almost have called it warm today.

I haven't done a lot of lead climbing for a while so it was getting back into the old routine.  We climbed down to the Intro crag and got cracking.  With only 4 hours of daylight we moved quick, kitted up and sorted out the rope.  We started on 'Stumper', a 12m VD.  It was a pretty straight forward climb but the rock was pretty polished. 

The limestone was really nice to get hold of and the surroundings in the forest were idyllic.  With little wind and nobody around we had the place to ourselves to chill out.  Rigging up at the top I was surrounded by busy little squirrels running and jumping around my rope.  The River Wye looked beautiful, lying below in the valley through the trees.  What a great was to spend a sleepy Saturday.


Once I remembered how to rig up we got cracking and climbed Cave Wall (14m VD), Jackal's Gully (15m D), Victor Crack (15m S 4a), and Hi Ena! Arete (15m HVS).  Flexed the muscles a bit, 60m of climbing, not bad!  Might get back out tomorrow and move on to the Hollow Rock area.  Unless it rains and we have to go kayaking!

Peace,

Dan