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[Responsible Parenting][E7(?) 6c][Summit Quarry] (Read 10129 times)

nik at work

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Climb the obvious line of bolt holes 3 metres or so right of Jaggernath, gear at the break then finish more easily over the right hand side of the small roof.

F.A. Nik Jennings 11/3/13

And if you're bored at work here's a bit more waffle...
I first spotted this line last November when I first visited Summit Quarry. I didn't try the line, but I did spend quite a long time looking at the holds from various angles and trying to work out a sequence. I also knew I'd need to get a lot stronger on mono's. So after three months of thinking about the sequence, training mono's, being ill (a couple of times) and a quick 8b ascent in Spain i was feeling pretty much ready for an attempt. A cheeky bit of rapid weight loss and I headed up to Summit last Wednesday with a plan. I wanted to on-sight (hopefully cruise) Jaggernath, an E4 to the left. Then try and ground up the project line. And finally try and ground up a route that goes between the project and Jaggernath which doesn't have a name as far as I know but was possibly climbed by a guy called Jim. Details about this route have been a bit sketchy to say the least, all I knew was that a guy on UKC called Ian had tried it on a top-rope after flashing Jaggernath on a top-rope and got pretty much completely shut down, not that much info...
Anyway back to last Wednesday and there is a serious amount of mist everywhere, some people would call it drizzle or even rain but I'm sticking with mist (in droplet form perhaps...). After grumbling about the weather I roped up and on-sighted Jaggernath (fuck it, I cruised it to be honest) but then I realised that conditions were not conducive to pushing the boat out on a couple of potentially hard routes so I binned it and went for cake (weight straight back on...).
The next opportunity to get up there was today (after starving myself yesterday, weight back off), which has been mint, if a little snowy (and cold). Andy led Jaggernath and then I warmed up with a quick couple of toppies on it. Then I moved on to the project line with a view to ground upping it and...
...fuck me I on-sighted it. Straight up with a few power screams and a little "oh fuck" moment. Shocked isn't the word. I started to think it was easy then luckily Andy tried the first couple of moves and made not much headway, phew! I think E7 6c, but with a bunch of pads it would become a highball. It's pretty hard climbing though I reckon. So an on-sight which took four months, it's the first time I've ever tried to specifically train for something which is only a guesstimate of what I need to train and it worked out pretty well. Well pleased.
Just to complete the story I then onsighted* "Jim's Route" which is probably E6 6c and is really good. And again a bunch of mats would highball-ise it.

* it was on-sight but it shares a handhold with Responsible Parenting. A hold you get with your left on RP you get with your right, in a completely different orientation on "Jim's Route". So maybe the purists would like to have a lengthy debate about the on-sightedness of it all...

Anyway I'm very chuffed. Oh and got video of Responsible Parenting, I'll stick it on Vimeo soon (tried to get video of Jim's Route but only got 40 seconds of me taking off my coat and such like before the battery died and the camera nose-dived into the snow).

Finally massive thanks to Rachel and Andy for willingly trudging up there in freezing conditions and cheering me on.

Grubes

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well done Nik!
Good prep for your "work" trip to spain

r-man

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Nice one Nik! Looking forward to seeing the video.

Intrigued by highball potential. When you say a bunch of mats, are you thinking of flowers or grapes?

Wood FT

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 Good effort and in a great style to boot, chapeau

rginns

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Effort Nik!
Good work laddo :)

GCW

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Better let Les know so you can get your name in the new guide.

andy popp

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Good effort Nik!

Duncan Disorderly

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Effort Nik!

Stubbs

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Good work Nik! I'll wait for the vid to judge, but the fact that you felt the need to go and train for a few months before trying it makes the grade sound a bit low!  Any ideas on a font grade comparison?

nik at work

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Here's the video, it's currently only in SD as the HD version is still encoding on the Vimeo servers or something :shrug:. Anyway I assume it will automatically change to the HD version when it becomes available??

It would seem I've been watching too many Ondra videos of late...


Stubbs I think E7 is probably fair, it felt like a bouldery 7c/+ sport route maybe?? Font 7b/+ crux "bit"??? Dunno it's all a bit guesswork-ey TBH. I think grading on-sights is hard. By comparison the adjacent E6 felt like a 7b sport route I think. I'd be interested to hear the opinions of a few other people though...

R-man, look at the vid and see what you think, but I had in mind a Dan and Ned style highball rather than a "couple of mats" highball, if that makes sense.

flyguy

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Not bad

SA Chris

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Nice work, smooth and strong. That doesn't look like someone onsighting (well not me anyway). Is the e6 to the left?

nik at work

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Yeah the E6 is just to the left.
Bear in mind I'd spent four months thinking (obsessing) about what my sequence was going to be, and I just went for that sequence. Also I'd been training a very specific strength so I knew exactly how hard I could pull on the variety of mono's that I met en-route. With the exception of one bit where I thought I was in trouble it went as I thought. It's not a "stop and hang around thinking what to do" type of route (or it isn't for me) more a "get the fuck on with what you think you're going to do or you'll be off" :)
It was "onsight" in the sense that I'd not been on it before, but in terms of mental investment it was probably one of the most considered ascent I've done.

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Good arrows.

SA Chris

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You know the history of the bolt holes? Quarrying type, old aid or old sport?

Tom de Gay

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Good effort – especially for finding some spotters

nik at work

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Re: The bolts
Short answer, no idea.

I'd guess they'd be old aid bolts, not sport (it's grit 'innit). There is actually still a couple of bolts in it, one just below the break where I placed the gear and one above the break. They look old and rusty but pretty chunky, probably pretty solid?? I didn't clip them though so am awash with ethical purity...

Cheers Tom. Spotters and a belayer, get me!

moose

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So after three months of thinking about the sequence, training mono's, being ill (a couple of times) and a quick 8b ascent in Spain i was feeling pretty much ready for an attempt.

Was this route already in mind during the trip I went on? I remember you trying a disgusting looking F8 at Leyva that involved dead points into mono's.  I just assumed you were a filthy pervert, not suspecting there might be a larger goal! 

By the way - good luck in Catalunya (and to Grubes and Simon too).  I hope you get some decent weather - please let me know if you plan another trip abroad  (providing, of course, you feel my money outweighs the "delights" of my company!)

nik at work

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I wasn't plannign that far ahead Moose!! How organised do you think I am? You have met me right??

Anyway it sadly looks like I'm going to be retro'd on this one  :( details to follow...

SA Chris

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Gutted. Still, E7 onsight!

Bonjoy

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I've split this thread as the retro-claiming discussion is well off topic and a thread in itself really.

So back on topic. Good effort Nik!

Petey

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Great to see this line climbed. I used to climb a bit at summit in my teens in the mid 1990s and remember spotting this line and thinking it looked a really pure and hard climb.

 

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