Warton Conditions

Warton wasn't too bad today, the starting slot of E-Fix was wet as was Sugarfix. If only the rain would stop for a few days and it would be in good nick.

As an aside I found that the finger jug on Poison had lost its wobbly bit. It's now better at the left end and the move to it on Poison is a tad easier, as is the match for the next move. I suspect it's still 7c but certainly a little easier than before.

A picture of the hold that will make no sense unless you know it well!!

Warton and Trowbarrow

Most of Warton Plumb Buttress was dry, although the melting snow dripping from the trees proved annoying. The left hand starting slot on E-Fix was wet, and there were some streaks on Hoodoo People but conditions should be OK if it doesn't rain.

The Pit face of the Shelterstone is in pretty good nick. There's some dampness on the rest of the boulder, but generally not too bad.

New Guides 2010

Seen as the new site is now up and running, I thought I'd give you a bit of an update of what the plans are for new/updated guides for 2010.

First job is to get around to doing a new guide for St. Bees Head - North, which has been in the offing for a while, however the complex topography of the layout has had me scratching my head as to how to display sector/boulder locations, in the most time-efficient manner. I finally came up with the idea of using shots of the crag taken from the sea, however as I have neither a boat nor the disposable funds to hire one, I opted to ask the FRCC if I could use the images they (Paul Jennings) took for their recent Buttermere & St. Bees guide. They (Stephen Reid) kindly gave me the permission to use the images, and they've already sent me the blank originals. So once I get back from a forthcoming trip, I shall crack on with putting something together. I will be ably assisted by local sandstone devotee Dan Varian, so between us we shouldn't miss out anything too glaring.

The second port of call, in terms of places needing a well deserved guide overhaul is Woodwell. Hopefully this will also get done sometime later in the year - by mid summer hopefully.

Finally, as you may have noticed we are looking for a site sponsor/advertising partner. If you are in a position where this may be of interest, don't hesitate to get in touch, as this will help massively in terms of how much the site/guides get updated and improved over the coming months and years.

More details - http://lakesbloc.com/advertise-on-lakesbloc

More Site Updates

I have added some much more inspirational (well I hope you think so) images to the Sampson's Stones gallery, updated the Graded Lists and also made a few tweaks, additions and amendments to both the St. Bees Head - South and Sampson's Stones guides.

The most notable grade tweaks are to Supposition Test, which has been dropped from 7c to 7b - the difference between holding the blunt arete in winter compared to summer is so substantial that the crux went from being a low percentage throw to a high percentage static lock - and Doctor Manhattan, which goes from 7c to 7b+, thanks to some more efficient toe/heel beta.

Finally, I have also added St Bees Head North and South video page's.