Peaks 2025: Stanage and Froggatt

Another bank holiday, another Saturday in the Peaks. D and I drove up, and met E in the cafe, she having trained down from Durham. Per immemorial tradition^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} we started at Stanage; then back for lunch and after to Froggatt. In a certain sense it would have been better the other way round, as the afternoon was sunnier and warmer; but never mind. Since the Peaks are now - happily - becoming quite standard I didn't take too many pix; see here. I only traced Froggatt: GPS. We came up the way we should have gone down, for Sunset Slab. There's a drone video of D on Wright's Route, and the Edge in general. My logbook has our routes.

Anyway, to Stanage Popular. Opening the back of the car the children naturally ask where their harnesses and helmets are; I realise that like an idiot I have just thrown my "going climbing" stuff in the car, but that dates from Cornwall. So we do have two harnesses (but a long sling suffices for seconding), but only one helmet. D doesn't really care and E only wants a hat so she gets my purple Roku one; this is fair enough, in the Peaks. We went a fraction further left than before. I lead Flake Chimney HVD which was nice, even if I did go in and grovel in the crack. E followed "inside"; D then did the "outside" S variant (by me pulling the rope up and over the chock). Then D top-roped Hybrid E1 5b (HVS in the old guidebook). And then led Wright's Route VS 4c, which involves a harder-than-it-looks-from-the-ground move right at half height. During that, I flew the drone, then seconded it (as did E, with some effort).

At lunch, E bought a chalk bag and D thought it finally time for a harness, so for the afternoon we conveniently have three. After lunch, to Froggatt. Just like last time the weather and the light was lovely.

We started off at Tody's Wall area. I lead Silver Crack HS 4c but I think we all found that grade a touch ungenerous if you're not used to jamming your body into cracks; even D was forced to put in some effort and E distinctly more.; but it is a great route. There isn't a lot of gear, and the two bomber chockstones are quite hard to reach and use. There's plenty of time to look out at the steepening of the top wall of Todycade as you slowly thrutch up. Rockfax says "The crack on the right-hand side of the slab is a widening thrash, recommended for those who feel like a punch-up" which seems entirely fair.

Then D top-roped Todycade E1 5a (which is the direct version of Tody's Wall HVS; the top above the hard move has no gear just vague pockets; Tody's Wall instead gets you a crack to use). The "step up" is quite hard; D is straining to reach and he is on tip-toe. The top is steeper than it looks from here. He didn't quite fancy leading it; that was perhaps fair as he isn't that used to placing gear, and the step-up is quite dramatic.

Then we moved over left fifty metres or so to Sunset Slab area, because E wanted a D to do her first lead on; so that was Slab and Crack, which is a nice little protectable Diff, that I seconded. Oh, and then there was the amusing descent under the chockstone.

And so we finished, all feeling well used, at about quarter to seven I think. And drove to Mother's.