Just had the following report from Matt, who’s been up at Portland working with Alex on a learn to lead course.
Summers Haze in Portland
We have had some mixed weather over the last few weeks in the southwest, but the May bank holiday did not disappoint, blue skies and sunshine all around, so perfect conditions for Alex to head out for his first ever outdoor rock trip.
Saturday Portland West
We started the day with a tour of Blacknor South a few easy routes to warm up on and then over to the best arête at Blacknor Central Pregnant Pause 6a+ not bad for your first big route, we then dropped down to the Diamond Slabs area so Alex could try his hand on the sharp-end, and he dispatched all of the 5 Diamond routes with ease. A great first day on real rock.
Sunday Portland East
New surroundings in the form of The Cuttings a quick warm up in the form of Consomme 6A+ and then Alex was back on point. Starting at the Sod area quickly dispatching these easy routes and on the quest for something harder we moved down to tackle Opus. This became the mission of the day with Alex red pointing the route in fine style. All in all a great bank holiday weekend.
