UKH

My mate and I might go for some sport this Saturday as the weather looks good and his ankle isn't up to bouldering. Trouble is, I've never been sport climbing in the winter before.

So what will be dry and and warm enough? Friday looks fairly dry, a bit of drizzle. Saturday looks still and cold, maybe around 6 degrees. I've got projects at Hidden Quarry (Fuji (7a+), will it be wet at the top?) and Goddard's, so if they will be okay, let me know, but actually, somewhere a bit more extensive would be great as I don't have loads more to do at those. Would Matlock area be good? Preferably not Horseshoe. 

I guess we need some 6bs or 6cs and I'd like some 7a to 7b. Sheffield based.

Thanks,

Cake

If you're in Sheffield it's hardly a big ask to suck it and see. Even if you don't have a car get a bus to Stoney then you can just walk up the dale and see what's what. Because lots of the quarried faces have cracks at the top (don't look if you don't want to know!) they take very little drainage, so dry quickly. At the grades you ask about, you can probably avoid sticking your hands in slimy cracks too! Start at Goddard's, the upper tier is quick drying and gets morning sun IIRC. I've climbed there mid winter and after driven home over Froggatt hill and Big Moor in a blizzard. It's a cool footpath from the top of Goddards down past the Balcony (best ignored at this time of year) into Darlton where the little wall is quick to dry and catches morning sun. Then you've got Stoney West just over the road and not far up to Hidden, Horse-thief and Horseshoe. 

Forecast looks even nicer for Matlock/Wirksworth on Saturday. The crag in the pub carpark  Lime Kiln Quarry (Wirksworth) gets morning sun. We climbed there end of November on a frost day.

worth remembering that Hidden quarry is normally bird banned from 1st march so might be your the last chance to get in there until after the birds have finished if it is dry. 

Played on Fuji last Friday for a few hours, in between showers. The face was mostly dry but the breaks are all full of wet paste. And the start of the ledge system in the middle was puddles. Oh and the sidepull out left at the top was in a huge wet patch. So you can forget about trying for the send unless there's been some miraculous desiccation.

Sorry, forgot to to answer your second question...

Probably not. We looked round quite a few places and basically everything central was absolutely pissing last weekend. 

Thanks all. It looks like a good bet will be to walk around some of the quarries in Stoney Middleton valley (whatever that valley is called) as something will likely be dry. If we end up at horseshoe, so be it. 

Actually, here's a thought. What about trad at Stoney. Any classic E2s which will be dry?

Last weekend it was looking appealing until we got up close. Then it really wasn't.
Try the grit.

Definitely not Masson Lees unless you want to go dry tooling in the cave - the steep wall is 100% wet atm

Yeah, I imagine steep lime will be wet

Even the bits of Raven Tor that are never wet are wet.

High Tor right wing is a possible option.

Oh yeah, thanks