[uptown]

Jon mentions two versions on the list - what's the deal between the 7a+ and the starred 7b? Quality problem the way I did it though.

[dave]

basically the easier way to climb that bit of rock is by gastonning up the flakes on the right wall. using the arete is the harder version.

[uptown]

Or is it depending on whether you finish by going for the good hold on the arete first or righthand to the good rail?

[dave]

nah i recon its what i said above.

[Andy B]

What Dave said.

[Bonjoy]

Three ways to do it. Layback up the flake on the right at less than 7a, start left and finish right using opposing gastons at about 7a/+ or direct up the left rib at a tough 7b.

[uptown]

Three ways to do it. Layback up the flake on the right at less than 7a, start left and finish right using opposing gastons at about 7a/+ or direct up the left rib at a tough 7b.

Cheers Jon,
Make that four then. We started right hand pinch, then used the two diagonal edges to get a righthand undercut, thence left arete and jug, thence right hand rail.
I remember watching Richie doing the 2nd ascent by gastoning - which is why Dave and Andy's beta(?) wasn't quite what I was asking for.
It does show you why the rulebooks are necessary though. IMHO the way we did it seemed the best and easiest direct sequence, which means you don't touch the arete until the last moves. 7a+*?
My eleven year itch didn't need the left rib direct to scratch it, so I'd argue against the star allocation Jon, even if it's there for a historical blinkers reasoning.

[Bonjoy]

That sounds very similar to the rib sequence except I think we missed the undercut.
The prob as a whole maybe doesn't merit a star on the basis that the line is very indistinct, some ways are much better than others (I have done it the double gaston way which is rather unpleasant) but the variations aren't very distinct or easily devisable. Difficulty wise it seems possible to do variations ranging fron 6c-7b so it obviously didn't make sense to put it on the list under one number without any rules.

[uptown]

I think rule wise you could stipulate no flake near auto nor the gaston hold above the flake. No way to cheat up it then and a much better problem as a consequence. If I had a photo I'd shade off that area with a big NO! caption.

[Bonjoy]

Good plan. I'll do that when I get round to updating said list.