A couple of weeks ago on Saturday I was invited to my friend Wil’s 30th birthday trip. He had sent himself the ambitious target of climbing 30 routes with a grade of E1 or higher in a single day at Stanage. E stands for extreme…

I went along to offer support, take some photos and do a little climbing.

Wil had chosen a particularly bright birthday outfit but this really helps with the photos as he stands out well. Rachel also had some bright attire.

A highlight of the day watching John 78 years young sprightly climb up Millsom’s Minion (E1 5b ***) after Wil.

It was fun day but we had to keep packing up and moving on to keep up with Wil. He had selected routes along the entire length of the outcrop, from Stanage End to Stanage Popular. However we did have time to climb and I really enjoyed Amazon Crack (S 4a **) and Mississippi Buttress Direct (VS 4c ***), I especially like that style of climbing.

In the end he did not quite make his target of 30 routes but he did complete an impressive 24 routes and collect 33 E points.

Around 5 pm Wils parents arrived bearing bottles of fizz for a toast; afterwards we went to a pub in Sheffield.