I’ve never been very good at completing climbing projects. The most time I’ve spent on any route I’ve tried is about four sessions and even then it’s probably been a case of the weather being against me, not the difficulty of the climb. But at the moment I’ve got a project and I’m in it for the long run! I first checked it out two years ago with Johnny Dawes. We were both keen for it but neither of us got our acts together to complete it. I tried it again late last year but it was a little too late in the year to return.

This year however I’ve decided to get my teeth into it and I’m going to keep trying it until I complete it. I’ve been getting really close too. I’ve fallen off the last hard move on lead, only two moves from the top but it’s been wearing me down. You’ve got to wait for good weather to try it, find a keen belayer and be fit and fresh to try it. I’ve been finding it surprisingly difficult to combine these requisites! I’ve also been missing out on the nice weather to climb elsewhere which has been frustrating me more than anything else.

Over the bank holiday weekend however I got a quick break and a fantastic trip to Pembroke which surely has the highest quantity of superb single pitch trad climbing in the UK. A good team was assembled in the campground in Bosherston which made for a fun and sociable few days as well as a lot of climbing getting done. Although feeling a distinct lack of stamina I scraped my way up a few classic routes such as the brilliant ‘Orange Robe Burning’, ‘White Heat’ and perhaps the best route of the bunch was ‘Rock Idol’ (the best E1 in the UK?).

I now feel reinvigorated to keep up a sustained assault on my project. I feel like I am as likely to do it now as I am likely to fall off it- maybe I just need a bit of luck….