A now fully dry Malham has been baking recently. Wednesday this last week was a typical day; silly hot until the middle of the afternoon when temps (and chains...) started dropping. The Catwalk was pretty quite but Sheffield-based Rob Napier and Dan Walker were on joint pole position and took full advance of the (by then) great conditions to send Unjustified and The Groove respectively.
Their ascents, which came just a week after Paul Reeve also dispatched Unjustified, show how important it is be in the right place at the right time. Work the routes in sub-prime conditions and then be ready to rock when the flag goes down and the lights go green. It’s not pretty, nor nice working routes when they’re wet, but it can pays dividends.
So I make it that Unjustified has now had four ascents in recent months (Stuart Littlefair did it late last year and Dan sent it earlier in March) making it the Pennine F8c of choice at the moment. However, if you fancy your chances now, there’s the no small matter of rising temps to contend with which isn’t going to help.
Interestingly, and if it’s not being too partisan, all four climb/train at the Foundry in
Rob Napier – demoing the crucial section of Unjustified (F8c) whilst working it over Easter holiday when it was wet. His send of Unjustified came a couple of weeks after he also ticked
Rob again on the upper wall of Unjustified
Dan Walker boasting his score-card with a quick ascent of the Malham classic showing that he’s still in The Groove (F8a+) after his earlier ascent of Unjustified
Malham and the Moon – it’s hard not to be impressed by Malham, perhaps the
Malham Beck taken from the Catwalk as the sun sets
