During the post travelling obligatory family round, we couldn't help feeling the lure of the still (to us) mysterious Wintours Leap on the Wales/Gloucestershire board.
Our last venture to the 100m limestone cliffs was back at uni, where even with a guide book we wandered through the trees in search for the 3 star serve 'Central Rib I'. We never found it. Two times I've gone in search for the classic route, but to no avail.
So when we decided to give it a third chance, this time without a guide. I was a little unsure as to how the day would pan out.
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| Lucy seconding the crux corner |
Wandering along the bottom of the crag without the guide, meant I spent less time rereading the approach lines in the book and more time looking up. Within 5 minutes of getting to the bottom, our noses had found us the bottom of Zelda, a classic Hard Serve and the bottom of our route, winner!
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| View of the river Wye |
Geared up and following the polish, the four short pitches slowly lead up the beautiful positioned cliff. Not even the few drops of rain could spoil the views of the Wye river with the start of the Forest of Dean filling the sides of the valley.
Having not climbed in a few months, the polished limestone felt like a slick, fiction resistant slab of rock, pulled straight from a climbers nightmare. However after the crux 15 metre corner, the mind games settled down and the climbing seemed to feel a bit more fluid.
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| Figuring out the wobbly handhold |
After months of little climbing, it feels good to be back on British rock. Bring on the summer.
