I have wanted to do this for ages. Stanage has a lovely collection of arêtes ranging from pretty easy to pretty hard, and are all climbable above a few pads. I have done Careless Torque before, but had never tried the others as I was saving them for this day.

The day after the CWIF a team of us headed out with tattered skin and sore arms to do a spot of sunbathing and maybe a little climbing.

After a slow and shaky start Ulysses was in the bag (the Slovenians were very impressive – running up it in the blazing sun, mocking us for getting the fear). Then onto White Wand – much less scary but still packing a punch. The Don took a few wobbly attempts before I eventually committed, then Crescent Arête felt like a tiny walk in the park in comparison. Now for the big one. I’ve done Careless Torque a few times, but never in the state I was in. Everything hurt, but this had been a little goal of mine for ages and I wasn’t going to let it slip through my tired sweaty fingers just yet.

I waited for the sun to go down and the temps to drop. Eventually it felt slightly better and I managed to battle my way past the little sweaty crimps to the top, as pleased as I was pumped. A great day out.