I’ve had my eye on leading Botterill’s slab for many, many years, but we don’t go up to Scafell very often. In fact, I think it’s only been twice in the last ten years, and one of those times it rained!
The crag was busy with teams all over the popular routes. We joined the queue for Botterill’s Slab. We had a bit of a wait, but there was no way we were going to not climb the slab today.
The wait was worth it. What a fantastic pitch of perfect slab climbing. Just enough holds and edges, and just enough protection. The only way it could be more perfect is if it was just a bit longer. It was all over far too quickly.
And now I’ve climbed it I’ve got to set my sights on a new dream slab…
In the mean time, here’s a nice flower at the bottom of the route.
Which side of Scarfell was the climb on?
Botterill’s is on the North-West face. So we made the obvious choice of climbing there in the morning when still in the shade (and, at times, cold damp clouds!) before moving to the East face in the afternoon after the sun had gone round to the West. :freeze: Doh!