Grey Crag, High Stile, Buttermere

It's been 27 weeks and 3 days since I last climbed.
Finally though, as BIH recedes I know I've reached the point where the original injuries that have kept me from the crags must be tested. The wrist held up fine and the ankle only really hurt on the last of the oh so steep and long way down, and whilst I'm far from 100%, after the last six months that feels like a win.

We headed for Grey Crag, it's one of the finest mountain days that Lakeland has to offer. From Buttermere there's a 600m climb up into Burtness Comb, an ascent that just keeps getting steeper and ends on some 'challenging' scree slopes. From there we took 3 classic routes climbing our way up the  buttresses that make up Grey Crag. Non were hard but all were very very good value, offering views that just got better and better. We started with Harrow Buttress, but I was half way up West Slabs when I saw these fingers to my right and knew that despite all the other views in every direction, I'd found today's blip. We finished on Oxford & Cambridge Direct, climbed as one 40m pitch it must be a contender for the best climb in the valley.