Lee Harrison Climbing

The nerves started to fray as early as the second pitch. The bulging section of rock only a short distance right of the belay was clammy. I moved onto the leaning rock, my feet undercutting my hands. Immediately the tips of my fingers were damp. I grasped the shallow holds that were filled with sandy moistness, my fingers seemingly slipping with each adjustment. Anxiously I retreated back left to safety in a corner. I leaned out rightwards and placed a cam at full reach in order to better protect the moves but my subsequent second attempt ended with the same outcome. Sweat was rolling down my brow. I wiped my forehead and arms, then chalked my fingers. It was time to wipe my brow again... I studied the rock. The moves looked moderate in principle so why was I struggling to execute? How much were the conditions playing a part and how much was the jaw-dropping exposure to blame? Worryingly for me the pitch was only 4b and technically moderate compared to those forthcoming. There could be...

Anna had looked pretty comfortable on the VSs that we had climbed on the Upper Cliff yesterday. That was of course with the exception of The Rift for which it was impossible to be comfortable. It was time to head to Wen Zen and ‘see what happens’. Anna was still clocking mileage at VS and was yet to lead HVS but there were some ‘straight-up’ routes that would be safe for the second. Maybe the option for THAT route if things were going well. Ab'ing into Wen Zawn The seas were looking high and a little wild so we abseiled only as far as the ledge rather than to sea level. I watched the belayer of another team get lashed by a wave at the base of the cliff, which reassured me that we had made the right decision. It was a beautiful day and the rock was bone dry. Wen seemed the obvious route to start with as it went ‘straight-up’ for the large part and was supposed to be low in the grade for HVS. Anna led the pitch above the ledge, which felt sustained 4c but with plenty of gear a...

The mouth of the cleft repelled my attempts to enter her bowels. My pelvis wedged between the opposing walls but wouldn't pass. There was little room to adjust. I squirmed higher and found a slightly wider space to enter the confines of ‘The Rift’. The rope led up and left into the darkness. Virtually no gear separated me from my belayer but the chances of pendulum'ing within such a narrow cleft seemed almost impossible. The space was only marginally wider than my girth. I spread my hips full width and flexed my knees like a frog. Wedging the inners of my knees against the rock I dropped the palms of my hands down to hip height and slowly shuffled myself higher as though climbing with four legs. My helmet clattered against the rock each time I surveyed my position. After ten minutes of fighting and I had moved a matter of metres. This was ‘traditional climbing’ in all its glory. I looked down at the rocks and saw blood. Was it my blood? How could I tell given that my visibili...

I started up the steep corner lay-backing and bridging off thin holds. The footholds soon gave way to smooth granite at half height needing a powerful crimp to overcome. At first attempt I backed-off and quickly retreated down to my bridged stance below. I felt at my limit but with twenty-three pitches to follow I simply had to dispatch the initial steep 6a crux pitch. I tried again, this time improving my footwork to aid my upward thrust. Above the difficult moves I stopped to control my heavy breathing and let my pumped arms recover. Easier slabby ground rose left towards my belay with some minor seepage to cross. I clipped onto the belay above the tree line with relief. With the crux dispatched I felt halfway to the summit already. View down the first pitch crux corner The second pitch continued in the steep vein up an arête that formed the edge of a slab but the rock was now juggier and technically easier to climb. By the thir...

I have been keen to take a look at the cliffs at Hastings for a while now. So when my girlfriend said she wanted to visit the seaside I was quick to suggest the destination. The cliffs at Hastings consist of a mixture of soft sandstone interspersed with steep mud and clay - serious esoteric climbing. So much so that I couldn't bare to bring a climbing partner here until I had properly reconnoitred the cliffs first. There's some trad routes at the Western end of the cliffs but what interested me was the more Easterly 'mixed' routes. Phil Thornhill climbed a spate of routes here in the 1980s. I wasn't aware of anybody climbing here since. The CC Southern Sandstone guide didn't fill me with confidence with cautionary advice that 'if the clay is wet it is like paste and if it is dry it just falls apart'. Despite this, any venue with a recorded 1250m high traverse was worth a look. First up, there is a Peregrine Falcon in the area. I am not sure where on th...

Plans for Scotland this weekend were binned again due to the high winds forecast. I made a day trip with Murilo to Dover instead. We parked the car at St Margaret's Bay at 8am shortly after sunrise and one hour after low tide. Clear skies greeted us. A welcome break from the sometimes unrelenting rains of late. After examining a number of unclimbed lines we eventually opted for The Tube. I climbed this fifteenth months ago - largely in the dark, due to a slightly bonkers 8pm start, and with no head torch. I was happy to climb it again in order to appreciate the daylight experience. St Margaret's Bay at Dawn  (Dry Ice, III pictured left) Murilo beneath the Tube The start of the first pitch was harder than recollection. The short-lived overhung wall was well hooked but my fluency was compromised by a number of the pockets being worn down to a bed of flint rendering them unreliable. The going was soft today and I could sometimes feel movement in my foot...

I pulled the plug on plans for Scotland this weekend at about 7pm on Friday. The Northern Coires were full of wind slab and category 4 avalanche risk. The situation was the same on Ben Nevis. I considered Lochnagar for a bit as it sounded as though less snow had fallen there. Snow and wind was forecast throughout the night so maybe Lochnagar would also be a problem by the morning? Then there were the road conditions to consider. Would we reach the car park? If I lived in Scotland I would "take a look". Travelling from London to "take a look" seemed unjustifiable. I would have to make do with chalk although nobody was available for climbing. Low-level traversing is always good for strength and stamina though. Low tide on Sunday was the ghastly time of 7am. I managed to park the car at Saltdean for 8am. A record early start for me on chalk. Some of the regulars had been at the cliffs since 6am and so put my efforts to sham...