Hot Hot Hot on Gimmer

It was midweek so Jon and I had an early start and sweated our way up to Gimmer Crag. Jon had a route in mind, and so did I; so it was on my route Kipling Groove that we warmed up. Actually it was out of the sun, so we never did warm up. In fact it was freezing.

Jon decided I should lead both pitches, which seemed like a good idea………….. if only I’d known.


Ian on the first pitch of Kipling Groove

The first pitch was ok, as was the first half of the second pitch, but it was the crux where it all went pear-shaped. I was up and down the crux holds at least 6 times, looking for a way to gain the obvious big hold. My gear was only a 3/4 wire and a micro-cam so I wasn’t too keen on coming off. Finally, and at this stage pretty pumped (lack of fitness) I worked it out and got the jug with both hands. Feet were sketchy, but I thought I was ok. I moved up to a pinch hold and went for what appeared to be a good hold higher up. (Only later did Jon tell me I should have kept going rightwards!) At this stage my feet came off and I attempted a Sly Stallone grab at the jug as I went back down past it. Needless to say only Sly can pull that off and I was back 10 feet below the crux.


Back on the belay after falling off

Jon shot up the pitch, and on a second go I realised how wrong I had gone by not continuing right….
oh well Jon’s turn next, and he’d chosen Eastern Hammer …………

Jon was pretty smooth up the first 3/4 of the pitch, but obviously found the top crux moves a bit tricky. I think even Jon was pumped as he pulled through the final bulge……….. but success! A good day out, only slightly spoilt when the cafe at Chapel Stile was closed, so no cake pic for the blog.


Jon on the first overhang on Eastern Hammer


Higher up Eastern Hammer

6 thoughts on “Hot Hot Hot on Gimmer”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *