[GazM]

I appreciate that getting Scottish bouldering beta is like trying to get blood from a stone, but here goes:
Anyone done Retroclaim on the Rankin boulder in Galloway?   Is it eliminate?  I managed a sunny evening after work yesterday and surprised myself by doing it in a few goes. It's down as 7A+ on RodMa's blog and Ive only ever done a few of them after a siege. Then I watched his and Fiend's videos and they seem to miss out an obvious right hand hold (common with neighbouring problem but obviously in the line) in favour of a beefy looking cross-through to a big pinch.  Seems blinkered to me.
Cracking boulder though.

[Fiend]

I don't do blinkered problems! God knows there's enough of them in Scotland whilst king lines get neglected cos they're not at Dumby / Porty.

The way I did it felt the natural way to climb the arete/rib, it didn't feel like missing anything out although maybe if you've got more reach it might?

I think the trick is that it's 7A not 7A+....

[GazM]

Ha! I'm not having a dig, just wondering if there was something I was supposed to know about it. Classic Scottish vagueness.

[rodma]

Classic Scottish vagueness ya cheeky fuck. I even went to the bother of drawing vague lines on the topo.

I think only you and fiend have bothered visiting it since I posted about it.

I've only got little arms and I was trying to climb the arete.

imagine being a plus grade out on a retro claimed ascent

If you thought it was contrived you should have gone on bohemian rhapsody. I couldn't reach the left arete so if you can it'll probably feel piss

Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk

[rodma]

Since i am now at a proper keyboard, i thought i might elaborate a little.

On teh day i did the problems I walked in with my pad, a big crowbar, little crowbar, claw hammer, car jack, wire brushes, food, water, shoes chalk etc.

I started out by cleaning and climbing the easier right hand lines.

I then moved on to the arete. it was covered in jugs and as such was a really appealing line, but they were all creaky and moved a lot, so i took most off with my hands and a couple with the mini-bar and then gave it all a really good brush. there appeared to be enough left so that i could still climb it and lo and behold i was right, so i gave it my best grade approximation. had i been weaker then maybe i would have found another sequence. if this had been the last line on the boulder, perhaps i would have investigated other sequences, but it wasn't and there was still the tall line left to try, so i moved on.

Bohemian rhapsody was initially going to be a directed line and was named as such, being in the same part of the country as the "Queens" way and not being allowed the left hand arete, much like Rhapsody. the bottom of this line took a lot of cleaning, using the car jack to trundle boulders away from the bottom of the rock and fill up holes in the ground. when i finally managed the start i was horrified to find that i couldn't reach the left arete (you can almost see the horror in thevideo), since i felt a little high up and was no longer likely to hit my pad if i fell and i really wanted to bail. i could only reach the left arete when i was holding the top. the top wasn't hard anyway and it was graded for the start.

The above exercise took about 6 hours of cleaning and 6minutes of climbing, so didn't leave much scope for refinement.

As for grades, if you found an easier sequence, or think the problem is easier, that's great, nothing was meant to be contrived on that rock. You should contact John Watson and let him know the grades so they can be more accurate in the next guide.

Grades are funny, the crossthrough didn't feel beefy to me, so i managed it first try and graded it as best i could. if it is 6c or 6c+ or 7a or whatever, that's cool.

Weak people find better sequences...FACT, not shit people though, cos they don't use their brains If people had never struggled on Brad Pit it seems unlikely that an easier sequence would have be found, the same goes for sooo many problems and I'm much happier when people contradict a grade, rather than just take the grade when in their hearts they know it to be inaccurate.

[Fiend]

Good info. So the conclusion is:

RC is 7A with the beefy/non-beefy crossover move.
It's probably 6C/6C+ with the obvious right hand hold.
Gaz is weak but not shit.

Is that right? 

[rodma]

Good info. So the conclusion is:

RC is 7A with the beefy/non-beefy crossover move.
It's probably 6C/6C+ with the obvious right hand hold.
Gaz is weak but not shit.

Is that right? 

 

you nailed it, except i have no idea about the grade using a different sequence

[SA Chris]

Using wire brushes how terrible

[rodma]

Hehe, if it wasn't such solid granite I'd agree (the brushes almost dissolved when they came into contact with solid rock)

Really useful for getting rid of the layer of scrittley stuff behind the (removed) loose holds. none of the pre-exposed holds needed anything other than a lapis brushing, nothing grows on that boulder.

[SA Chris]

I'm joking. Was referencing use of crowbars and car jack (neither of which I have a problem with btw).

I've got an arsenal of brushes and other "tools" for clearing new probs on granite boulders. Never thought of a car jack, although for my latest discovery jaws of life might be better suited!

[rodma]

I'm joking. Was referencing use of crowbars and car jack (neither of which I have a problem with btw).

I've got an arsenal of brushes and other "tools" for clearing new probs on granite boulders. Never thought of a car jack, although for my latest discovery jaws of life might be better suited!

 

knew you were kidding, but i don't think the thread thus far had mentioned granite, so thought i'd take the opportunity in case anyone thought it was something softer

car jack is amazing for setting boulders trundling away. either end of the boulder had a cluster of 0.5metre ish diameter boulders that had rolled into place and gotten stuck. really satisfying trundling them away, which opened up the left-hand and right handmost lines. small to medium crushing risk if it goes wrong though. i stole the car jack idea from someone else

[Fiend]

Large crushing risk if they were actually supporting the rankin boulder!

[SA Chris]

I've heard of pulley systems and static rope with complcated lever systems being deployed too.

[rodma]

Large crushing risk if they were actually supporting the rankin boulder!

it did cross my mind at the time, but that rock isn't going anywhere in a hurry.

I've heard of pulley systems and static rope with complcated lever systems being deployed too.

I'd love to see footage of that, i just used the car jack, then the bar to allow the jack to be repositioned and repeated until success, wouldn't work with a deep hole right enough.

[SA Chris]

We just wait for storms. If you've ever been to Boltsheugh, one of the boulders on the right hand side got removed last year, must weight about half a tonne and is about 10m above sea level. Amazing.

[GazM]

Classic Scottish vagueness ya cheeky fuck.

Ha ha! I'm not dissing.  I love the exploratory scottish vibe.
 
That sounds like a hell of an effort to clean up the boulder, and you did a cracking job cos there's no sign of damage or scars.  I thought you were joking when you mentioned crowbars and jacks!

So yeah, I'm weak and shit.  For what I did I'd say 6C/6C+ is more realistic (but I'll admit my grading is probably a bit whack.)  I ended up bumping left hand to the hold you both crossed your right to with my right hand on an edge common with the 6B to the right, then crossed right hand up to the sloping shelf and matched it.

Regardless, quality problem, quality boulder, top effort to rodma.  I'll be back for more next time I'm working down there (and it's not raining, which it seems to do most times I'm there).

[rodma]

Hehe

I, like you, have questioned other first ascensionists methods when I have repeated (and downgraded)  using a more efficient (easier) method,  but that's because they were stronger than me and did the problem the way they saw it.

It's interesting to be on the other side of that.

I'm glad you enjoyed the boulder, it's just a shame there aren't more around it off the same magnitude.

No,  you're definitely not shit or you would have stuck with a wack sequence

Edit: changed if for of