This evening I couldn’t stop thinking about the route. I simply couldn’t leave Swanage without photographing it. We managed to convince a local friend, Ben Corbey, to join us next time for a photoshoot. As the wall doesn’t come into shade until late afternoon, we decided to start the day with some deep water soloing. Ben had unfinished business with the route called The Vanishing which, until that day, he’d never found dry. The route is graded at a 7a+ but it is said to be anything between 6c and 7c, depending on conditions and your ability to climb upside down.
Ben and Tom disappeared into the depths of the cave while I aimlessly spun left and right, free-hanging on the rope unable to steady myself. ‘I should have set up an extra rope’ I thought, waving my arms and legs with full trust in my anchor, hoping to face the action for at least a few seconds. The route looked like nothing else I’ve seen. Starting deep inside the cave it welcomed the climbers with a tricky boulder problem, followed by a technical arete. After gaining some significant height, it then traversed through a bizarre chimney like formations towards the light in the opening. It was a close fight, but both Ben and Tom managed to send it, celebrating the battle with a compulsory jump from the top.
Until recently, I didn’t believe there was much more to Swanage than Dancing Ledge. Being able to experience and photograph routes like The Surge Control, The Roaring Boys and The Vanishing proved that even local places, which you have visited multiple times before, can have a lot more to offer. It draws me to the conclusion that adventure is less dependent on the location and more on the character, psyche and good company. So rather than asking ‘where?’, perhaps the questions should be ‘who with?’