[lagerstarfish]

Cindy Crawford at Ilkley. With the amount of pads around nowadays this should be a must-do for anyone bouldering around the grade. It's brilliant!

[SA Chris]

has it had more than a couple of accents in the last decade?

No, it's always sounded dead Yorkshire like.

[fatneck]

Worth checking out Owen's instagram feed for an idea of the areas he's involved with developing... 

@owensum

[owensum]

Alright had a chance to thoroughly read the YMC's new AMAZING yorkshire gritstone volumes. Holy shit! Best guidebooks Ive ever seen.

Anyways, don't know if anyone gives a rat's arse, but I put together a tick list for my trip. I realize that if I get through 50% of this I'll be doing well, but that's fine. Spent a few hours trying to memorize the layout of Brimham - Ive been there several times before which helps, but still heeding the advice that there are gems worth sniffing out.

Crookrise really does look worth a visit. Jason's Roof will probably be too stout for me, but it looks fun to fall off.

Zoo York
Caley, United Kingdom
V11
Jason's Roof
Crookrise,
V10
Ben's Groove SDS
Caley, United Kingdom
V10
Brad Pitt
Peak District, United Kingdom
V9
The Keel
Almscliff, United Kingdom
V9
Blockbuster
Caley, United Kingdom
V9
Razor
Crookrise,
V9
The Storm
Peak District, United Kingdom
V8
Sloping Beauty
Earl Crag, United Kingdom
V8
Crystal Method
Caley, United Kingdom
V8
Pixie Tits
Crookrise,
V8
Titfield Thunderbolt
Brimham, United Kingdom
V8
Layby Arete
Slipstones,
V8
Deliverance
Peak District, United Kingdom
V8
Holeshot
Slipstones,
V8
Ben's Groove
Caley, United Kingdom
V7
Crimpy Roof
Brimham, United Kingdom
V7
Help The Young
Peak District, United Kingdom
V7
The Flakes
Earl Crag, United Kingdom
V7
Take A Bough
Brimham, United Kingdom
V7
Desert Island Arete
Earl Crag, United Kingdom
V7
Andy Brown's Wall
Earl Crag, United Kingdom
V7
Demon wall roof
Almscliff, United Kingdom
V7
Fantasy League
Brimham, United Kingdom
V6
Rachel's Box
Brimham, United Kingdom
V6
Black Chipper Arete
Brimham, United Kingdom
V6
The Virgin
Almscliff, United Kingdom
V6
New Jerusalem
Caley, United Kingdom
V6
Longbow
Brimham, United Kingdom
V5
The Lady
Almscliff, United Kingdom
V5
Whiskey Galore
Brimham, United Kingdom
V5
Pair In A Cubicle
Brimham, United Kingdom
V5
Pommel
Brimham, United Kingdom
V5
Not To Be Taken Away
Peak District, United Kingdom
V4
Flying Arete
Almscliff, United Kingdom
V4
Sadcoc's Wall
Crookrise,
V4
Pebble arete
Peak District, United Kingdom
V3
John Dunne Slap
Earl Crag, United Kingdom
V3
Rons Arete
Earl Crag, United Kingdom
V3
Cowboy Daze
Brimham, United Kingdom
V3
Diet Pepsi
Crookrise,
V2
Crescent Arete
Peak District, United Kingdom
V2
The Crucifix
Almscliff, United Kingdom
V0

[SA Chris]

An impressive ambition. Be aware that a lot of those probably won't suit your preferred style and you might get spanked.

We're coming into bracken and midge season, so be prepared for wading through ferns at Caley, and maybe getting eaten.

Unless you are really focussed on those problems you will probably end up like a kid in a candy shop and want to do everything you see.

Crookrise is a fair old hike!

http://peakbouldering.info/

is a good source of beta for the Peak and a number of the larger Yorkshire sites, there are tons of videos online to get you psyched even more.



edit: whistle.

[tomtom]

http://peakbouldering.info/

is a good source of beta for the Peak, there are tons of videos online to get you psyched even more.

It also has a number of the larger Yorkshire bouldering sites on too...

[owensum]

An impressive ambition. Be aware that a lot of those probably won't suit your preferred style and you might get spanked.

We're coming into bracken and midge season, so be prepared for wading through ferns at Caley, and maybe getting eaten.

Unless you are really focussed on those problems you will probably end up like a kid in a candy shop and want to do everything you see.

Crookrise is a fair old hike!

http://peakbouldering.info/

is a good source of beta for the Peak and a number of the larger Yorkshire sites, there are tons of videos online to get you psyched even more.

Totally. Right now the only single problem I am focused on is Deliverance. This list is compiled from praise in the YMC book - or online - and whether it appeals to me based on pics and vids I have. I expect to be distracted, and problems quickly dropped or added to the list as I see them in the flesh. Mantelling is a total weakness for me, and the grit will punish me justly for it - so Im sure there will be some V3/4 moderates that will school me on this. But its an opportunity to improve a weakness.

TBH, wading through bracken sounds kinda fun to me.. memories of my youth spent on the moors... here in NM we have to similarly bushwhack, except through giant spiky things whilst watching for cactus and rattlesnakes, no shit. Bushwhacking through giant soft greenery sounds pretty pleasant. BUT, the midges I do take seriously - any recommendations for crags with fewer midges?

Good to know on the Crookrise hike, though thats definitely part of the fun. We'll have quite a bit of time on our hands.

Will try and do some more research on the peak next, though probably going to focus on Yorkshire, 'cept for Stanage.

Dan's video is awesome! Seen it a while back and watched it several times now. Have been looking at other vids, but theyre a bit spotty for Yorkshire at least.

In the middle of a bunch of training right now, nothing like a trip to get you motivated! Probably strongest Ive felt in my life, super psyched!

[Coops_13]

BUT, the midges I do take seriously - any recommendations for crags with fewer midges?

Almscliff when the wind's blowing... (which is always)

[tim palmer]

Ron's crack 2 at crookrise is a good one to do when you are up there

[dave]

Watch out for ticks if you plan on going bollock deep in the bracken.

[andyd]

 

Watch out for ticks if you plan on going bollock deep in the bracken.

To be clear, when Dave says bracken, he means sheep.

[SA Chris]

BUT, the midges I do take seriously - any recommendations for crags with fewer midges?

+1 on Almscliff. In fact fact anywhere exposed to a breeze or bright sunshine. They are tiny so can't fly if it's too windy, don't like bright sunshine and if the humidity is low (dry warm air) they can't fly well. As soon as the sun goes down, it clouds over, or just after rain, they can be lethal. Be aware of crags on edges facing away from the wind too, go for exposed freestanding boulders if this is the case.

[fatneck]

Earl Crag is a good bet if midge death is to be avoided...

[SA Chris]

One i had in mind when I mentioned sheltered edges! We went there once in summer as it is shady and there was a bit of a wind. Trouble is it was a southerly wind and as soon as you dropped down over the edge they were like a plague.

[owensum]

Well thanks for the midge beta, I will pray for a bit of wind and just take the rough with the smooth. Or just end up at Kilnsey... we shall see. Cheers

[andyd]

I wouldn't get too worried about insects. This ain't the Congo

[owensum]

Alright, thought I'd post a bit of a trip report now Im back in the US after 2 weeks in Yorkshire. Thanks a lot for the suggestions and advice, it was all useful.

We had plenty of fun on the grit, but the weather sucked.. only one completely dry day in 2 weeks. Got rained out 3 or 4 times, and had to bail on a few planned climbing days too.

We visited Caley, Brimham, Crookrise, Simon's Seat, Stanage, Burbage and Curbar. Caley and Stanage Plantation were the best, and I would put them on a par with any quality bouldering venue anywhere, with the main downside being that they are both small areas.... but with enough hard lines to keep you coming back to I imagine. Stanage was an amazing day out, so awesome to be walking in history and see famous lines like Deliverance, Brad Pit, Careless Torque etc. I did not send Deliverance, disappointingly, but it was a real pleasure to work. The high foot for the dyno was very hard to keep stuck. Made more progress on BP than I expected though which was cool - what a crazy problem! Rock quality on green traverse is world class.

I also warmed to Brimham, which I wasnt impressed by on my previous trip, mainly by doing the circuits described in the YMC guidebook. I saw that the quality of brimham is in the volume, and quality of movement - there isn't any real "destination" problem out there, at any grade, in my opinion. Circuiting got me to ignore the high number of dropoffs and contrivances, also. Definitely still a locals area, but a good one. Shame the parking's 7 quid!!

Crookrise was soaking, unfortunately, and could only climb on sadcoc's wall. It was also massively overgrown with ferns, and the combination of not knowing my way around, the soaking jungle of ferns obscuring the trails, and the massive rocky holes that seem to be everywhere, made it a pain to explore. Ron's crack at the hovis area looked awesome - though it looked like people havent climbed there for a while, there was a fern growing out of the start hold of it! Footprints arete also looked cool. Put that one down as an area I would like to return to. The hike and view made the trip worthwhile at least.

Simon's seat was pretty surreal - the rock seemed more like granite than grit. WTF is the deal with the chipped holds on Galaxy?! That was ridiculous!

Burbage (north) was disappointing. Worst area we visited, especially given how much Grimes raves about it in Boulder Britain. I loved the ascetics of the standalone blocks at Stanage - working overlaps at the base of small cliffs at Burbage on the other hand was much less inspiring, it kind of makes you ashamed to be a boulderer. Could see how it'd be a good locals area though. It was rad to see Voyager though - what a line!! Those pebbles look a bit heinous though...

Curbar was pure fun. Trackside and gorilla warfare, thumbs up. Awesome rock quality.

When we could climb, conditions weren't too bad - from my perspective at least - apart from the day at Caley, which felt super greasy. I didnt stand a chance on Ben's Groove. The thuggier problems like Blockbuster were do-able for me though! Zoo York and High Fidelity looked really amazing. Otley Wall was one of the standout moderates of the trip for me.

No midges or mozzies, at any area. Ferns were crazy dense but didnt stop us doing anything!

Grades, as usual, were pretty confusing. I fought my way up several 5+/6- slabs, topping out in total desperation after giving it my all. But I was still able to climb mid 7s on the steeps. Pretty much my experience whenever I climb in Yosemite too. Footwork seemed pretty integral to virtually every climb on grit which was cool. Worked on my mantel skills...

Didnt do any sport climbing, but the trad at Stanage looked amazing and Im tempted to come back next time with a rack.

Til the next trip home! Definitely would like to check out St Bees and Northumberland next time. What time of year would you recommend for a grit trip? The weather's changed quite a bit since I lived in yorkshire, plus the crags seem to get different weather. Seems like it'd be a gamble for the weather in the autumn and wintertime when most of you guys get out?

Back to NM climbing now. If you guys are ever thinking of heading out to Hueco Tanks for a winter trip, I highly recommend tagging on a trip up to northern NM also. Roy is a mostly unknown world class sandstone area, just incredible.

[Will Hunt]

Best chance of stable weather with reasonable connies is probably May or September.

[Mumra]

I think UKB could have predicted this outcome yonks ago. Glad you had a good time despite our fickle weather 

[Offwidth]

Thanks for the report back... not bad going for such (worse than usual) UK weather...also nice to hear you really enjoyed the YMC guides... many of us are inspired to give a big lump of our lives for free to produce such works and when 'close in' its hard to judge just how good they are for people using them for the first time.

[andyd]

Best chance of stable weather with reasonable connies is probably May or September.

March is statistically the driest month here

That's a detailed report above. It reads like a Google review of a disgruntled customer.

[dave]

Burbage (north) was disappointing. Worst area we visited, especially given how much Grimes raves about it in Boulder Britain.

I think we can confidently take from this that you're wrong and Grimer is right. 

I loved the ascetics of the standalone blocks at Stanage

Did the ascetic in question have blonde hair and glasses? Could have been UKB's own Dave Thomas.

[owensum]

March is statistically the driest month here

That's a detailed report above. It reads like a Google review of a disgruntled customer.

March eh. Thanks! Haha well I don't feel like a disgruntled customer... I guess I didn't word it emphatically enough, I had lots of fun! in between the downpours! Just wanted to throw in my perspective as it's a little different, and given all the advice I got from you all - which Im very grateful for - I thought you'd be interested in hearing about my trip. Didnt mean to be negatively critical... just trying to voice my thoughts on how the grit stacks up against other international destination areas. Wrong audience maybe...

I think we can confidently take from this that you're wrong and Grimer is right. 

I dont know, has he been there more than one day? Doubtful.

Did the ascetic in question have blonde hair and glasses? Could have been UKB's own Dave Thomas.

Yes thats the guy. He had great aesthetics also.

[slackline]

I think we can confidently take from this that you're wrong and Grimer is right. 

I dont know, has he been there more than one day? Doubtful.

I expect so, he lives in Sheffield and its about half an hours drive away.  Like you say though, it is a much loved locals venue.

[owensum]

Thanks for the report back... not bad going for such (worse than usual) UK weather...also nice to hear you really enjoyed the YMC guides... many of us are inspired to give a big lump of our lives for free to produce such works and when 'close in' its hard to judge just how good they are for people using them for the first time.

Yeah, it seemed worse than usual, right? Its been ten years since I lived in the UK, and 14 since I spent any real time in Yorkshire, but I dont have very many memories of it raining that much in the summertime. Could've just gone to the gym, but was determined to get out and stick to the plan...

I think the YMC guidebooks are quite possibly the best guidebooks I have ever seen - such great descriptions,maps, photos, interviews, organization. I had no problem whatsoever orienting myself with the information for first time visits. The lack of stars on the boulder problems was curious, but wasn't an issue because the descriptions were so good you got an idea if it was a climb worth going out of your way for or not.  And the circuits were the best! It was particularly useful to have a little map next to the circuit list. Thanks for helping put together such an inspiring piece of work. The passion for climbing by the authors just radiates from every page.

EDIT: Also, on that note, Grimes' book was also pretty amazing. There's absolutely no parallels to it here in the states.