Neverfall nights

I was going to call it night digging, and then I googled it..

So when you have 3 boys under the age of six the bedtime routine can be a little rowdy. Logan (5) likes to avoid the whole scenario by creative use of the word "no", Dylan (3) claims his legs don't work and glues himself to the floor, and Ethan (also 3) turns all Drop Bear. Last night got a little on top of me, so I was directed to the door to destress myself.

So I did what any sensible person (who can't climb at the moment) would do, which is pack my fork and head to the quarries. More Phil Harding than Grendel, I thought I'd make use of a dry evening, rather than today's drizzle.

I paused above the monkey bar area to get a better picture of the rockfall on patellaectomy.

I doesn't look that good, you can see the fractures go right to the top, and the cracks above the bars appear to have opened up slightly. I reckon it'll strip to the top before it stabilizes, but at least there will be a climbable version left afterwards, if not at E1.

I had a great time at Neverfall, some how a chair and yellow sign has appeared at the bottom, but I was to engrossed in levering  blocks to investigate, so they're a bit buried now. Its starting to take shape at the top now, I even cleared the top out jugs with my fork. Promptly buried them again of course, but its getting there. I've excavated some substantial masonry at the top which may have been a retaining wall (very Time Team) which has molded my plans somewhat.

Originally I envisaged a flop ledge and a walk off ramp. These blocks are a tad too substantial to trundle, and therefore I started thinking of a combination of flop ledge and an easy, straightforward and above all Stationary set of steps. However, this poses more issues regarding the ergonomics of the flop ledge.

If you are going to flop (or elegantly mantle) into a space and not feel like you are going to wobble and die, how large should that space be? a waist to head length to allow gibbering whaling? or ankle to knee to allow prayer?
I think the end result will hopefully be somewhere in the middle. This is due to the aforementioned blocks being less than two meters from the edge, and the edge being slightly more that a meter below the bottom edge of the lowest block so far uncovered.
A stepped concavity is the best I can produce I think, but I am aiming for at least half a meter of clear flat ledge.

Lots of soil now to clear in the lower regions, so a Trowel will be packed next visit.

Its getting a little to close to being ready now, at some point we're going to have to try to climb it!

Returned home very relaxed, if a little dirty.