[Will Hunt]

Chris, I spent a pleasant quarter of an hour or so being laughed at by school children as I tried to get more than one move off the floor. I think the cam I had in was putting me off but we didn't have any pads that day so didn't want to risk anything. Came away with the most mauled hands I've ever had. The starting footholds are now like glass covered in fairy liquid.

[niall mcnair]

Surely, one of the problems with grading cracks is the size of your fingers/hand relative to the crack.  Am thinking of Lynn Hill on The Nose and Beth Rodden on The Optimist- is it not true that cos they have teeny lasses' hands and fingers they can utilise the small cracks much more effectively.

Works the other way round too.  I was able to downgrade Pongo direct (dumbarton) from fb8a to 7b simply cos my knuckles were the right size for a particular jam...

Morpho indeed.

[Adam Lincoln]

surely giggling crack has to be up there too...?

I am told it's easier wearing a wetsuit......

[Will Hunt]

 

Although some are inherently heinous like Ray's Roof and Gigglin' Crack.
I know a girl who can get her whole hand into a perfect jam on Ilkley's Tufted Crack 

[TobyD]

Surely, one of the problems with grading cracks is the size of your fingers/hand relative to the crack.  Am thinking of Lynn Hill on The Nose and Beth Rodden on The Optimist- is it not true that cos they have teeny lasses' hands and fingers they can utilise the small cracks much more effectively.

In the case of the nose, i have been told that this was mainly used as a lame excuse by people who thought it would be easier / didn't want to get spanked on a route FAd by a lass. Generally, i would agree though - on a pure crack grades are even more subjective than they normally are.

[Tommy]

surely giggling crack has to be up there too...?

I seriously doubt that the hardest crack in the UK is an offwidth. I should add that I haven't tried giggling crack yet, at this point.
But we (ie brits) are essentially shite at them, and i don't think (again, this is currently specualtion since i haven't tried it yet) that Jardine's original grade for Ray's Roof was taking the piss that much. 

Good point young creamtime beast. I couldn't get my arse up Generator Crack could I? So these Brit things can't be that hard 

Elder Crack is about 5.8 in the Valley and Right Eliminate 5.9. Those Yanks know how to cruise the wide, that's for sure.

[grimer]

I imagine the standard of crack climbing has gone up very little in Britain in the last 30 years or so. Remember, Joe Brown basically soloed Right Eliminate, as, I imagine, did most of those who repeated it, until the chock was inserted. Steve Bancroft said that when he was young, Goliath was no big deal, just the next one up from doing The Rasp. There really haven't been all that many pure cracks added in recent decades, has there?

[Will Hunt]

I guess the thing about a lot of cracks is that, in the terms you're speaking of there, they were the obvious lines of the time. Without sticky rubber the slabs that people are drawn to today are feasible in a way that they wouldn't have been back in Brown's day. And then there's the fact that most advances in climbing ability have come in the foot department while crack climbing is often very much in the arms, something which, unless training hard, hasn't really improved much since we are still the same homo sapien. Dare I say something like Goliath might be easier in big boots? Isn't there a picture of someone doing Ray's Roof in roller skates?! Have I just made that up?
Still major props to those doing these routes in the time before cams and the like.

How many good quality pure crack climbs that are unclimbed are there in England?

[cofe]

i wonder also what the hardest crack is that's been climbed while bubbling crack?

[SA Chris]

How many good quality pure crack climbs that are unclimbed are there in England?

Loads on Scotland. One notable (unrepeated) Scottish one is Noth West Eliminate up at Sheigra. Given E4 6a and FAed by Martin Boysen. Offwidth and just about protectable with massive cams.See the FA list in the back of Northern Highlands North, where Boysen is quoted as saying "That will ladder their fancy fucking tights". Class.

Also Burning Desire at Ardmair is amazing. crack is not the crux though.

[jwi]

I imagine the standard of crack climbing has gone up very little in Britain in the last 30 years or so. Remember, Joe Brown basically soloed Right Eliminate, as, I imagine, did most of those who repeated it, until the chock was inserted. Steve Bancroft said that when he was young, Goliath was no big deal, just the next one up from doing The Rasp. There really haven't been all that many pure cracks added in recent decades, has there?

Also, some wide cracks are definitely easier to climb in approach shoes than in modern climbing shoes.  Especially pure cracks in sizes from baggy camalot #4 up to #6.

[TobyD]

while crack climbing is often very much in the arms,

this belief may explain the extent of your difficulty with it. 

[AndiT]

There really haven't been all that many pure cracks added in recent decades, has there?

True. But there aren't many left in my opinion. Even Ramshaw Crack Right seems to be more fridge hugging than true crack climbing.

The last one I remember was probably The Obscene Cleft, but as far as I'm aware it's not really off widthing at all. The only true display I've seen in recent times would be Tom's Melvin Bragg at Ramshaw, which requires a wide array of techniques. It's atleast the only problem or route i've ever been on that truly requires stacking or anything beyond fist jamming or narrow chimneying style techniques.

[mini]

Nice photo's Andi, especially the bottom two

[Johnny Brown]

Its a strange place for a pirate to end up, thats for sure.

[Tommy]

Ha! Brilliant! Nice photos Andi - the bottom one sums it all up pretty well. Got it done yet? 

After you've finished that one, I've found another which climbs just like Ray's - wrong side of the Peak mind you!   

[AndiT]

The bottom two pics are Martin 'Mini' Dearden's. This was the weekend after you guys did it, we still didn't manage it, next time!

Keen to see your new project, sounds interesting.

[SA Chris]

Its a strange place for a pirate to end up, thats for sure.

Do you think he always goes Ooaaaar when getting a double fist in the crack.

[soapy]

..ooh, i know i do sweetheart