Gimmer climbing

Crag: Gimmer Crag, Lake District
Routes: Bracket and Slab Direct Start (VS 4b:led), Bracket and Slab (S:led p,3), South East Gully (M:des), Asterisk (VS 4b:sec), D Route (S+:led)
Gimmer is not just one of the best crags in the Lakes, it is one of the best in the UK, with superbly varied climbs of all grades. Puzzling, therefore, that I've only visited once before, with Tim in the 1990s to do the famous crack and a few other routes. This morning, an early start from home saw Vic and I walking in from Stickle Barn before 10am on yet another glorious morning, the grass scorched yellow throughout Langdale as the heatwave continues. It's a long walk-in from here, but gentler than the other approaches, and it exposes the main south-east face brilliantly, with the upper reaches of Langdale below. The walk from this side leads neatly into the routes around Gimmer Chimney, so we started with Bracket and Slab, which features in Classic Rock but was, I think, new to me. I took the direct start, which takes a thin crack up a clean slab and gives a lovely pitch at a mild VS, with some delicate moves and precise footwork: a great start, merging with the second pitch. Vic then led the 'bracket', which traverses an awkward flake to gain a left-slanting groove. I suspect I went slightly off route on the next pitch, traversing right to a long, tricky step to gain a crack leading up to twin chimneys. Vic then led a long final pitch up the easy right hand chimney to gain delightful sun-drenched slabs which led to the top, before an absorbing descent down the South East Gully. This requires some thought and care, a series of rock steps, descending facing in, to an exposed traverse and more tricky downclimbing. After lunch, we moved round to the steeper west face, where Vic led Asterisk. This is a superb pitch: move after move of great climbing on jugs, absorbing and enjoyable throughout. After a recess, the route briefly joins the arete before ploughing directly up on great holds in a great position to a brief crux right at the top. From Ash Tree ledge, the next routes take a bit of working out, but I eventually opted for D Route, which was - to say the least - a good choice. It is delicate initially, with a tricky step left on undercut holds, but this gains the wonderful 'forked lightning crack', which - although rather hidden from below - is one of the lines of the crag. It is simple but brilliant throughout, with abundant protection, up flakes and little pinnacles, all the way to a belay just below the top of the crag: a fantastic three-star combination of routes. We abbed off a big chain to Ash Tree ledge, then traversed across to the top of Asterisk, where an awkward abseil led back to the starting point in the shallow gully. We descended straight down to Mickleden, steep but direct, and walked back along the scorched valley to Stickle Barn. That night, we camped outside the YHA in Grasmere.