Hi Everyone!

After being in England for almost 7 weeks, I am finally home. It has been quite the journey in this time, experiencing everything the Grit could throw at us: success, failure, ground falls, injuries, good weather, horrible weather, awesome locals, generous hosts, and way more climbing than we could hope to cover in the time we had.

I wanted to take a moment to share with you some of the highlights of the trip. This trip to the Grit served a dual purpose. First and foremost, to have a blast climbing in a new area. Secondly, to train myself mentally and physically for future projects. Now that I am home, I can say that I did both with equal passion and success.

I did not want to land in England only to have my nose in a guidebook, wandering aimlessly around the crag. What makes the Grit so unique is the history of the routes, the personalities of the first ascentionists, the attention to style of ascents, the temperamental weather, and the tightknit climbing community that is Sheffield, England. From the moment we landed, we were taken under the wing of local Grit hardman, Jason Pickles. For the first two weeks, he gave us a roof over our heads and the best mix of guided tour meets “jump in feet first” attitude.

When we moved to Sheffield, none other than Sam Whittaker, veteran hard grit climber and part owner of The Climbing Works gym, took care of us in more than ways than one. From free admission to the gym and endless coffees, to the endless good energy and psyche that Sam is known for, we saw the best the Peak District had to offer.

While we did not get to meet any of the legendary Grit climbers like John Dunne and Johnny Dawes, we did have a field day experiencing their routes. I had the opportunity to repeat two of John Dunne’s routes, Parthian Shot and The New Statesman. Both are physically burly and bold, just like his character (so I hear). I also was able to repeat two of Johnny Dawes’ routes, the amazing Gaia and End of the Affair. Both are characterized by subtle movement, precise footwork, and are a testament to the mysterious character of Dawes. Climbing these routes was like going back in time. Parthian Shot was first climbed in 1987. The New Statesman, Gaia and End of the Affair were all done in 1986. Not to be stuck in the past, we looked forward to some of the more modern routes as well, such as those recently established by James Pearson. Namely, The Promise and The Groove. Both were amazing routes and stand proudly next to the routes of the past.

Alone, each of the routes we climbed were of world class quality. However, it was the stories behind each, the realities and myths of their danger that had to be discovered first hand, that made this trip so unique.

If you didn’t follow along on my blog during the trip, feel free to check out the log of trip reports I wrote during my stay here: www.kevinjorgeson.com/Travels.pdf

Thanks for the support and following along!
kj