I've just been bouldering on the Cracoe Memorial Boulders at Rylstone the past few days (great fun, complete solitude - grades are a bit stiff though!? ). The surface of the boulders is very rough and crystalline, but also very loose. Even carefully placing a foot on a hold is guaranteed to convert some of it to sand. I've not properly fondled any of the boulders there, but probably quite similar to the Woolpacks?
When this loose surface layer is eroded (by hands, feet, brushing, however), will it eventually leave a more solid surface in its place, more akin to what you might find at say Stanage, or will it continue to expose more loose, scrittly rock and erode away quickly with the passage of hands and feet?