Monday 16^th January, a.k.a. Red Monday, was supposed to be the worst day of the year but I’ll wager that climbers who were out in the Peak over the weekend don’t hold to that theory...

Both Saturday 14^th and Sunday 15^th were awesome days; stiff overnight frosts producing crystal clear, minty conditions on the grit. I must admit that for a brief moment I did toy with an early season Malham session but my roots got the better of me and I plumped for the first grit trip of the year.

Rowtor Rocks is a tad different to your average grit boulder spot perched, as it is, on top a hillock amidst the south east Dark Peak. A relatively dense covering of trees prevent what might otherwise be an awesome 360 deg panorama. That said, Rowtor has a great selection of blocs to pitch at so its well worth stopping by and sampling the delights. Fair enough Rowtor doesn’t have anything in the 8^th (Font) grade but it does have a great span between 6a and 7c, perhaps more than many crags, so it does have broad appeal to many.

So Red Monday be gone – I for one was happy to get back behind my desk whilst my skin grew back! Herewith a couple of snaps of some of Rowtor’s delights. By the way, shooting within a tree covered area is usually a no-no but at this time of the year it can produce some interesting shadows…