In days gone by earlier generations of alpinists would meet at these Southern Sandstone crags either on their way to or on their return from the alps and may be some alpine forays, or even an alpine epic.
Decades on, later generations of alpinists met on Sunday 2nd June 2019 for the second of a series of mini meets at the Southern Sandstone crags. On a warm day the shady Eridge Rocks were the perfect venue. Of all the sandstone crags (with the exception of High Rocks which is unfortunately closed to climbers), Eridge provides some of the more challenging climbs in a lovely setting, and is less busy than some of the other spots.
A dozen members attended, including three new aspirant members who are planning to attend the Patterdale and Saas meets this summer. The day was spent tackling a number of routes of up to 6a. For those who don’t have the chance to frequent the sandstone, Neil’s expert and encouraging tips were most helpful, and we were reminded of the need to balance, jam, bridge, smear and lay-away up routes which certainly do not succumb to a thuggish approach. There seemed to be a classical theme at the start: Hadrian’s Wall, Remus, Asterix and Roman nose were all besieged. Had we planned more carefully, perhaps AC togas would have been provided. Then we moved to Eridge Tower and climbed various routes, including Barbican Buttress and Portcullis. Afterwards we retired to the local pub for refreshments.
The next meet will be on the 7 July 2019 at Harrisons Rocks. If you are interested in attending contact Nick Smith via the Alpine Club Website.
The Alpine Club is looking for members to kick-start similar one-day local cragging days near you. It is an excellent way to meet local climbers, and also get to know our new members. Please contact Nicholas Smith via the Alpine Club website meets pages.
Interested in organising a meet? It's easy! Just CLICK HERE
