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[Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey] (Read 25773 times)

nik at work

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[Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 10, 2013, 08:52:18 pm
Climb Warlord Direct to the thread then instead of moving right into the groove/corner of Warlord continue direct up the bulging face to finish as for Smarter Martyr/Massala Martyr.
F.A. Nik Jennings 10/5/2013

And the extra stuff...
I'm made up with this one, it's taken me six sessions and is really good (I think). I've got video of the ascent, and numerous lobs (I'll edit something up and stick it on Vimeo, link to follow). The grade is pretty hefty and to be honest I'm a bit wary of it, I've not done much trad on limestone and certainly nothing anywhere near this hard. I can only base the grade on my experience of the route, and to me it felt harder than any E7 I've ever done (and probably harder than any of the E8's). To try and put some more numbers to it I felt it was around Fr8a+ but a very bouldery one. It's basically a highball boulder problem start to a rest and good gear, then another significantly harder boulder problem to a not so good rest at a spicy height above the first gear where there is another piece of gear which is very directional (I REALLY didn't want to fall on it, if it failed you'd be decking out I think) then a relatively easy "stiff pull" or two (if that makes sense) in the deck out zone (Assuming the gear fails) to a very good rest and a reasonable wire before the final couple of steady moves to get the lower off. I've kind of lost perspective on how hard the first boulder problem is because I've done it so many times, but a friend did it while I was trying the route and thought it was Font 7b. If it is Font 7b then the second boulder problem would be comfortably Font 7c/+ territory, it's much harder than the start. Anyway I don't know if those numbers and details add up to E8 :shrug:. I guess at the end of the day the start gets E6 in it's own right (as Warlord Direct) and I can walk up that every time without feeling even slightly gassed (look at me :)), whereas I can (and did) drop the second half more than twenty times on the sharp end over six days. So if the start is E6 then the whole thing has to be not just harder, but significantly harder, hence E8 rather than E7. Oh gawd I dunno :shrug:
And now a bit of ethical nonsense. The gear. The first bit of gear is a thread, just above this there is a good nut. I have placed both of these bits on lead from the ground then downclimbed back down to the ground. On subsequent attempts the gear has been left in-situ but the rope was pulled. The third piece of gear (after the crux second boulder problem) was left in-situ for attempts. This is because this bit of gear had to be clipped to allow me to brush the holds (as the lower off is away to the left). I did think of lowering down, brushing the line, then yarding back up the rope, un-clipping the gear, stripping the gear after every brush but frankly lifes too short and it would have been a ball ache. The gear is not hard to place, you place it from a pretty stable position and I genuinely don't think having it placed made any difference. But if some ethical weenies want to get their knickers in a twist there's the opportunity. The other thing about this bit of gear is it is very directional which means it is ideally suited for holding the rope over to the right of the lower off for cleaning as the leftward pull on the gear pulls it into the placement. However a fall would pull downwards (and possibly slightly right with a bit of a swing) and it could easily pull the gear out. I certainly wasn't wanting to test it! Especially as yiou could well be decking out if it rips...
Anyway enough of my warbling, it just remains for me say a massive thanks to my very patient belayers (I landed on the heads of a couple of them...) Biscuit (of this parish), Gar, Tappa and the lucky belayer extrordinaire Rachel.
Oh and as ever here's a little topo for you:

Exodus by Nik Jennings, on Flickr
Blue - Exodus (E8 6c)
Red - Warlord (E2 5c) - use aid to reach the first thread
Dotted Red - Warlord Direct (E6 6c)
Purple - Smarter Martyr (Fr8b)
Dotted Purple - Massala Martyr (finish as for Smarter Martyr) (Fr8a+/b)

Video to follow...

Kingy

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#1 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 10, 2013, 09:33:25 pm
Glad to see it went down, looks nails! Looking forward to the vid

andy_e

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#2 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 10, 2013, 09:39:41 pm
Effort Jennings! Terrifying death lime! Can I bolt it now and get the second ascent?  :worms:

masonwoods101

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#3 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 10, 2013, 09:50:49 pm
I enjoyed the write up... Well done... Sounds nails

Nike Air

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#4 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 10, 2013, 09:51:52 pm
good skills Nik
what is the top piece, a wire?

Does this stay pretty dry in the rain you reckon?

GCW

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#5 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 10, 2013, 10:05:28 pm
I feel a rapid repeat coming on!

Nice one Nik. When you run out of projects, I'll buy some wood.

nik at work

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#6 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 10, 2013, 10:07:16 pm
There was a lot of run off down Smarter/Massala Martyr, the (single bolt) lower off I clipped at the top was in the wet streak, but the climb is all to the right of that and currently dry. I'm sure if the rain continues it will get wet eventually but probably a pretty good bet for staying dry, certainly amongst the trad routes as it doesn't follow a crack or corner or anything like that.
The gear is:
1) The obvious old manky thread at about 6 metres (could do with re-threading maybe?)
2) A rock four thread through a natural thread in the rock up and left of the first thread. You poke the wire end of the rock through the hole from the left then clip the quickdraw onto it. I could have put a thread in here but it would get in the way of the handholds for the rest on Smarter?massala Martyr so the wire seemed like the sensible option.
3) A rock two, above the crux at a break/line of pockety things. It's a bit directional and I wasn't very keen on falling on it.
4) A rock three, that is placed after all of the tricky climbing. It goes behind the HUGE double hand jug hold that you could rest forever on before making the final easy step up to reach across left to the lower off. Almost nto worth placing but I wanted it in for that bit of security.

You'll crush it quick sticks I'm sure Jordan, I look forward to the humiliating downgrade... ;D

nik at work

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#7 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 10, 2013, 10:20:51 pm
Oh and also a while back I placed a bolt for the direct finish of Smarter Martyr (instead of moving off right to the finishing groove of Exodus) and subsequently weather conditions/real life have meant that I haven't had the chance to give it a proper go. I have now placed a hanger on the bolt but the line remains unclimbed. I'd be grateful if people could avoid the temptation to get on it for a bit to give me a go at climbing it. I'm moving to the Isle of Man in August so if I haven't managed to haul my carcass up it by then I'll happily hand it over as an open project, but I would appreciate a bit of a run at it first. Just saying like...

Nike Air

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#8 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 10, 2013, 11:34:01 pm
It sounds pretty full on. Nice to see you took it on as a trad project. Generally seems a thing of the past on lime nowadays
Inspiring stuff

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#9 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 10, 2013, 11:39:01 pm
Nice one short hairy beast  :2thumbsup:

Jordan I presume Rainshadow was training for a quick second ascent of this?  :)

Nike Air

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#10 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 10, 2013, 11:41:29 pm
Sounds hard!  I ve probably forgot how to climb on anything other the middle bit of malham.

nik at work

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#11 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 10, 2013, 11:51:08 pm
Naw, you'll path it I'm sure. I'm probably way out with all my numbers and letters and guesstimates, I seriously haven't got a clue for this type of thing. Also looking back at the video footage (just uploading now) I think you'd be unlucky to fully crater if the directional bit of gear ripped, although it certainly felt a possibility on the sharp end! Maybe some weird foreshortening effect with the video camera :shrug:

Anyway it's finished uploading while I typed this so here you go, it's just the successful ascent, when I can be bothered to leave my computer for hours to process the numerous different clips I might put together a compilation of whippers. I think it will be proccessing for a bit on Vimeo servers but should work soonish...


rginns

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#12 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 10, 2013, 11:56:39 pm
Brilliant. Inspirational stuff Nik, good work!

AlistairB

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#13 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 11, 2013, 12:14:25 am
Saw you taking some pretty mental falls off this last Sunday, great effort getting it done. Outrageous terrain for trad!

nik at work

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#14 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 11, 2013, 07:09:44 am
Cheers guys  :)

andy popp

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#15 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 11, 2013, 08:26:05 am
Fantastic stuff. I feel like such a has been/never was.

moose

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#16 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 11, 2013, 09:06:23 am
Bloody Hell! Now I understand why you seemed a bit distracted, and looked like a man-on-a mission over the Bank Holiday weekend.  Good Work fella! 

Just as an aside, does anyone else find hard limestone routes just look so much more serious and well... hard.... than their grit counterparts? I look at the big trad lines at, say, Gordale and cannot imagine ever being fit and brave enough to do them (whereas I can kid myself into thinking that, given a lot of headpoint practice, I could momentarily put fear aside and boulder my way up a comparatively graded grit route).

nik at work

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#17 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 11, 2013, 09:28:23 am
Ha-ha cheers Moose, sorry if I seemed a bit grumpy/self-absorbed. I promise I'll be back to my usual cheery wittering self when we next meet  :)

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#18 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 11, 2013, 09:53:38 am
You were not grumpy at all - good humored but obviously rather focused - and with good reason!  Frankly in your situation, I'd have insisted on being carried along the crag on a palanquin; borne above the belaying hordes, free to serenely meditate on the task ahead!

Doylo

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#19 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 11, 2013, 11:33:43 am
Effort! Doesn't spicey 8a+ on trad normally equate to E9?

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#20 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 11, 2013, 11:42:40 am
Good effort Nik, looks great.

If it is Font 7b then the second boulder problem would be comfortably Font 7c/+ territory, it's much harder than the start. Anyway I don't know if those numbers and details add up to E8 :shrug:. I guess at the end of the day the start gets E6 in it's own right (as Warlord Direct) and I can walk up that every time without feeling even slightly gassed (look at me :)), whereas I can (and did) drop the second half more than twenty times on the sharp end over six days. So if the start is E6 then the whole thing has to be not just harder, but significantly harder, hence E8 rather than E7. Oh gawd I dunno :shrug:

Ah the beauty of our grading system, how about just Fr8a+ X?

nik at work

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#21 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 11, 2013, 12:35:21 pm
Cheers Stubbs, grades huh?? :)

Geez Doyle, I thought E8 was a big number and you come crashing in with that suggestion :o :)
I don't know if it is 8a+, it's very bouldery and it "felt" as hard as an 8a+ to me, but it might not be. And it might not be that spicy, maybe that bit of gear after the crux is good in someone elses eyes, and the moves above it aren't really that hard, maybe they're not hard at all, maybe I'm a wimp. And maybe the bottom isn't Font 7B, so maybe the upper crux isn't 7C/+, it's all just built on a house of cards... The only thing I know is that the whole route is significantly harder than the start alone, and that gets E6. So I think it must be harder than E7.
But honestly I have no idea, it would be good if someone with a clue got on it.
Sorry, I've warbled on again haven't I?
Anyway cheers Doylo, now go out and climb/get pissed it's your birthday

Doylo

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#22 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 11, 2013, 12:41:40 pm
Ha I only said it cos it's lime and I was thinking of the Pembroke standard where 8a tends to be E8 and 8a+ E9. Like all new routes it needs a repeat or two to comfirm the grade!

Johnny Brown

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#23 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 12, 2013, 10:04:26 am
It was harder than Doug right?

nik at work

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#24 Re: [Exodus][E8 6c][Kilnsey]
May 12, 2013, 10:54:03 am
I'm looking at all the smileys and wondering which one to pick...
 :)

I'm not entitrely sure what you're asking? Obviously it's physically much harder than Doug. Doug is what Fr7a+/7b at a complete guess? Mentally it's a completely different proposition. Exodus was a bit spicy feeling and I didn't want to drop the top because I didn't have massive faith in the gear at that point but compared to the exposure and commitment on Doug it's "easier". Also the style of approach was different so to an extent your comparing apples and oranges. For me I'm pretty sure it's the most effort I've put into any trad ascent, so by that metric it is the "most difficult" whatever that means. Doug is still in my mind my best climb, and probably always will be. However this is up there in the top handful. Is that an answer to your question?

 

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