Katy Whittaker and Michele Caminati, English gritstone repeats

Evidently the friction is just right in the British Peak District, and confirmation for this comes from young Katy Whittaker who has made the first female ascent of the famous The Angel's Share (E8 7a) at Black Rocks. Freed by Johnny Dawes, this hanging slab is a delicate test of balance and unsurprisingly in our interview Dawes explained "... if you're looking for a route with technical precision in a dangerous situation, for me it would have to be The Angel's Share on Black Rocks... If you're taller than I am this route is probably E8, but for me it was definitely E9. Imagine a Font 8A boulder problem, 25 feet off the deck. And at the time we had no bouldering mats of course. "

For the 2007 British Bouldering Champion (and sister of Pete Whittaker) this recent ascent is another important stepping stone in her climbing career and comes in the wake of numerous other class climbs, such as Braille Trail (E7 6c), Master's Edge (E7 6b) and Kaluza Klein (E7 6c).

While talking about friction and gritsone: Italian Michele Caminati celebrated his birthday on the 25th of February by sending Careless Torque, the arête to the left of the famous Not to be taken away at Stanage. Freed by Ron Fawcett in 1987, this 8A boulder problem still has only a handful of repeats. "Luckily I figured out the starting move... last year I'd tried it loads but never even managed to get started" Caminati told planetmountain, adding "It was really windy... and I fell off the top four times!"

	INTERVIEW JOHNNY DAWES

Katy Whittaker climbing Kaluza Klein, E7 6c. Robin Hood Stride