Waiting for snow

Things have been a bit grey recently. The slow transition from autumn to winter is nearly complete. Now that the temperature is nice for cragging thoughts are turning to skiing. But still there are some of us 'committed to the core' and not satisfied to wait around for the inevitable snow rush.

Some cheering weather persuading myself, Dick and Lorenzo out to the Torrette. Already there was Claudio, a strong climber I recognised from the scene in Milan. Lorenzo knew him well having started climbing at the same time. He was normally seen with a camera hanging from his neck, but today he was hanging from a rope.

After some chat, and not to be upstaged to much we selected a testing route. Thaj Trip, short and severe it was well known to be a bit sharp. It was really a long boulder problem, continuous with little respite. The initial slab led to a problematic bulge. To climb it one has to lunge out right to a layback, transfer feet and left hand to rock over right. In this position I am at full stretch, I can't see my feet so have no idea what they are doing, and without input from the brain they do not know what to do. Damn it I'm off. Despite many efforts I didn't find the key to this sequence.

After a valiant attempt by Lorenzo in which he faired somewhat better than me we offered the route to Claudio for his warm down. Obviously he had done the route before, his memory of routes and moves seemed to be the equal of Lorenzo. Climbing smoothly and without error he revealed the sequence leaving us to ponder how we could follow.