It was the CMC’s Yorkshire club meet yesterday and the venue was Rylstone. Joy and I have often climbed there but not for quite a few years. I remember it fondly for the tremendous views and beautiful scenery on a warm sunny day, though also for the cold and winds on less than kindly days.
The view south-west from Rylstone crag.
Unusually the crag was quite crowded and naturally most people were climbing the popular three star classics. This left us with the very unpopular no-star well named route Sandy Buttress. The book suggests doing it in two pitches but really it’s a single pitch route that’s broken in the middle by a big grassy area. Very delicate, especially in it’s fairly lichenous state, and not a lot of gear. Getting down from the top is “interesting”.
We managed a better route next, Forgotten. Only Diff, but a nice line, nice moves and nice rock.
Finally, the crag was quieter and it was our turn on the classic easy route of the area, President’s Slab. We’ve done this several times before, though as I said not for some years. It well deserves its three stars with a great line, increasingly exposed as you slant up and right, with perfect rock and great gear to reassure you all the way.