Trout could av swum up it.

Planned all week to climb troutdale pinnacle, counted the minutes go by. Text message arrives, what u fancy, lakes. Ok.

21:10 u fancy stayin over, ok.

Sounds ace, two days climbing and a camp over. 22:35 can't stay over , oops I've gone to bed, oops big mistake, always answer your text messages. Anyway, 05:45 Wakey wakey I am up, kettles on checking text messages. Bad news, looks like it's off, back to bed, booh hoo.

Send text, wats appnin, r we goin. Nothin erd.

06:30, ping wat u fancy, goin lakes, ok.

Up, dressed in car drivin deans house. Ok let's cut out the travel bit. Arrive Keswick, ahhhhhh home.

Ku ching, money in pay and display, sat down sipping coffee. Life's good bet we r on for a great day.

£4.95 alls well in the world. Booths @keswick we love U

Deans in the que for eggs benadict.

Fully fuelled and we are off down the road for adventure.

No issue parking, must be something to do with the rain.

Kit sorted, oh not forgetting the Battle Oates. Have a little chunk before I head off.

Troutdale pinnacle is the target, dean climbed this route last year and came back with super stories of how good the route was. I've been looking forward to trying this route ever since, so the time is nigh.

We sort out the gear, it's raining heavy by now oh well alls good. Heading up Troutdale, Black crag comes into view, looks amazing shining in the mist un rain, yep rain rain rain. I think I can see trout leaping up it,it's so wet.

We arrive at the base of the crag and sort the gear out.

What ever you do your just dodgin rain, gears wet already. I gear up, first pitch is mine. I've been waiting for this all week, year. Really slippy on the rock, feet,hands,feet,concentrate. Makes you think when it's wet. First piece of kits a sling round an old tree stump, up and over and along the first traverse. Moving up round the corner and up into the first belay position above the oak tree. Safe, I shout down to dean. Deans next to me in no time, moves on past to take pitch two. Safe, I sort myself out. Then comes the shout, goin to move higher, ok. Dean decides to miss out a pitch and head straight for the start of Church roof. This will allow me to bag the roof and take the next pitch below the pinnacle, pitch 5. Great desicion by dean here, I arrive at his stance and move past to take up position at the start of church roof. The belay block looks inviting but so does the run out along the roof. I shout back to dean, I am goin to run it in one pitch, ok. I move on, on good foot holds but slippy un wet. The view from here is amazing, straight down. I see why they call it church roof. Snaky time, out comes a chunk of battle Oates, yum yum.

Looking out from the right hand side of Church roof.

Dean arrives at my stance, passes on by after a chat and a discussion about my shit cam placement which I thought for some stupid reason he would miss to see, bad idea. MUST PUT EXTENDER ON Totem cam, doooohhhhh. Ok a bit of drags good, no it's not.

That's my boy.

Deans movin now, not goin 2 ride the pinnacle, way to wet. I arrive at the pinnacle, wow wat a fuckin drop. Oops, bullucks, you would swear with joy if u wur ther.

Ok, dean makes a great move up the last pitch, I've got the rucksack. Oh yeh, forgot to say. We took a rucksack with flask and deffo needed ascent shoes for the exit down the fell. Dean dropped it off at the base of pitch 6, I picked it up for the last run. Yeh, tricky due to the bookcase exit with a sak on ya bak.

Dean belays me to the top section and I run it out to the top. A body belay bring dean up and into the open.