Will showed me several gnarly but nice climbs over the weekend - but I’ll never forgive him for taking me up The Fame Game, E4 (for a man with fists the size of breeze blocks maybe). This crack was the foulest experience in offwidthing I’d ever contemplated. Thankfully I was on the blunt end of the rope. I say contemplated as after 20 minutes of thrusting, bending and torquing various parts of my anatomy into a vicious ten foot slot near the top I declined to suffer any more and pulled on a runner. I moped frustratedly up a flake to the top. Maybe this was what Calvin meant by E whatever you’re havin yerself? The hole in my ego was at least partially stitched up when I found out that Will (a seasoned slot squirmer) had also resorted to the Camalot 3 hold.

>> Dave and his Irish host Will on Wall of Prey E5, 6b, 5c See larger pic

Later we moved round to more familiar and altogether more pleasurable territory - an overhanging wall. The Wall of Prey is one of the crag’s most eye catching lines and is a Calvin Torrans testpiece. The route used to be an E4 until the huge "fangs" of rock hanging from the crux roof dropped out leaving a smooth maxilla. Rather than blunt the route’s fierceness, this event actually sharpened its bite to a cutting E5 6b. Much more at home with crimps in my hands than stacked jams and clumps of lichen, I took it steady and savoured every move.

All around, echoed grunts and jangles came from other parties (probably the most Fairhead has seen in some years) and were the sound of a great few days climbing for all and a success for the hosts. A serious accident involving one of the Irish climbers on the first day was the only negative event and certainly served to keep the gloomy and foreboding nature of the place at the forefront our minds.