[JamesD]

Anyone fancy a spot of bouldering with me and the missus?
We are both at around V1/V2 level, and this is our first time on real rock, coming all the way from the big smoke to have some fun in Yorkshire, will have a moon Saturn pad with us too, hoping to maybe nail my first V3 whilst up there.
We will be out Friday daytime, Saturday day time, and probably Sunday too, until early afternoon, assuming the weather is ok.
Would be cool to meet some of you and soak in some of your local knowledge 

[webbo]

given your level of experience and not having climbed on rock before your skin might not last past the first day.

[JamesD]

Oh you're probably right, I guess i'll just stay at home and give up any hope of ever being able to boulder outdoors, or indeed ever touching actual boulders.

 

Or not.

Thanks for the unfriendly dose of pessimism, have a smile on me:

 

[dontfollowme]

Skin preservation is an issue for climbers of all levels. Webbo does have a point. It might be worth having a backup plan for the final day e.g. a nice walk and pub lunch.

[tomtom]

Webbo being pessimist - never! 

I suspect much would depend on the forecast - if all three days look great- then just pace yourself - boulder gently for 2-3 hours then go and chill for a bit - do a bit every day.

Its more likely however that the weather will crap out at least one day - so if its looking like that then go for it. Or use a crap weather day to do a tour and check out the local crags and get syked for when the weather is better!

If you're staying in/around Leeds then the Depot and Citibloc are both great bouldering walls..

Loads of great countryside too - esp if you head west out towards Skipton then up into the Dales... loads of great places to walk etc..

[JamesD]

Skin preservation is an issue for climbers of all levels. Webbo does have a point. It might be worth having a backup plan for the final day e.g. a nice walk and pub lunch.

I know he has a point, and the aim is to hopefully get in 3 good laid back days of bouldering, but if weather/skin causes problems then some walking and a good pub lunch will definitely be on the cards

Who am I kidding, it'll probably be pub lunches every day :p

After bouldering of course 

Tom Tom, thanks for that mate, all useful info, obviously we realise its a risk with the weather and we are *hoping* to get more than one day's worth of bouldering in, but if that is all we manage then i'm sure we'll be happy enough, i'm mostly looking forward to getting away from London and seeing some lovely countryside, so even if we only get a 1-2 days worth of bouldering in i'll still be happy as larry, which i'm guessing is happier than Webbo is?

[flyguy]

soak it up but be prepared to get climbing on grit is alot different to climbing indoors. My first time at caley i barely got up owt and i was climbing alot harder in doors and i couldn't understand why i couldn't get up v0's (sorry for using that grading system) once you get the feel for it though its awesome so much more rewarding. good luck!

[Jim]

also earl is pretty hardcore. prepare for a spanking 
Its a top class venue tho

[SA Chris]

Glad to hear you are planning some "real rock" James, but why you heading all the way to Caley? Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic spot, but unless you have another reason to be in the area, it's at least another hour further than anything in the Peak District, plus you have to negotiate Leeds, which can be tricky on first acquaintance. Otherwise, other's advice is good - skin management is key, and expect to get spanked (by the rock that is, no idea what your evening plans are).

[rich d]

If you're off to caley I'd definately start off at the playground, great flat friendly easy starting place. Guessing you've looked at yorkshiregrit.com essential viewing.  If I was just starting out I'd give earl a miss, and although it's a bit further out I'd head to widdop. Great setting and loads of fab sub v3s with very friendly landings. Hope the weather holds for you mate.

[JamesD]

Glad to hear you are planning some "real rock" James, but why you heading all the way to Caley? Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic spot, but unless you have another reason to be in the area, it's at least another hour further than anything in the Peak District, plus you have to negotiate Leeds, which can be tricky on first acquaintance. Otherwise, other's advice is good - skin management is key, and expect to get spanked (by the rock that is, no idea what your evening plans are).

It seems like a really good selection of stuff around our ability level, nothings set in stone though (so to speak), plus that yorkshire grit website really sold it to me, looks awesome!
Where you would you recommend in the peak that has ample stuff around V0-V3?

[Jim]

cratcliff tor, burbage south

[SA Chris]

What Jim said. Burb South is where many cut their first teeth. Small area, easy to navigate, lots of easy stuff to get you started on. Caley has masses of good stuff, but is spread out through a wood, and on first acquaintance you may wander around a bit unless you can collar a friendly local.

[webbo]

i suppose i could have said going to caley for your first day out on real rock.if you manage to get up problem in the play ground you might spend the rest of your trip trying to get down.but hell i was trying to offer postive advice.
the issue with going from inside to out is that due to indoors usually being steep its mainly on postive holds in the easier grades.most easier grit problems tend to be slabby with few postive holds. caleys easier problems can seem desperate in poor conditions and therefore you can go through all your skin on one problem.
as others have said burbage south and cratcliffe are a bit more beginer friendly also there will be less grumpy yorkshiremen around.

[mrjonathanr]

On a chipper note, Caley is a good and varied venue, the Hunter's (direction of Almscliff ) used to be great for a pint and the first time I went to Font my tips were bleeding about day 5. I stayed (and climbed) 3 more days. And it was ace.
Enjoy.

[JamesD]

Cheers for all the useful advice guys, after searching around and doing a lot of reading it seems like burbage south looks like a really good bet, if not maybe a bit better for my first time, so looks like we will be heading there, booking up a place in the morning, cheapest I managed to find was £65 a night for me and the missus, any recommendations for cheap places to stay in the area, or in Buxton?
If thats kinda the going rate think i'll just book up in the morning, thanks again everyone

[mrjonathanr]

http://www.laterooms.com/en/p1301/pv00005w/r11389_hotels-in-derbyshire.aspx
Google search is your friend (Cratcliffe is special BTW)

[webbo]

you might even be better off going to wales.trying places like the rac or the cromlech boulders.the holds tend to be a lot more positive than on grit.

[Johnny Brown]

I don't think there's much argument that Caley is the best bouldering venue in these isles. It does have its drawbacks though, and few beginners problems is one. (The others are being wet/green/midge-ridden 9 months of the year, and a general urban-fringe ambience complete with busy road and thieves).

Burbage South is nice, and better or starting. There's also far more choice should the weather dictate a change, being but one venue within the biggest concentration of bouldering in these isles.

[JamesD]

Accomodation is booked in Buxton which looks like a really beautiful village, South Burbage here we come 

[SA Chris]

Nice one! From Buxton you can easily get to the Roaches too - not far from Upper Hulme on the A53 to Leek. Upper and Lower Tiers have a good concentrations of moderately graded problems, and a lovely place to go for a walk once you run out of skin. You could go back via the M6 if you did it on the day when you were heading home. Just don't leave it too late though, parking can be a bitch, esp on a bank holiday weekend.

[Johnny Brown]

Buxton ain't no village - its a sizeable market/ spa town. As Chris said, a better base for The Roaches but you should get around if you're up all weekend.

[rich d]

also be worth going to cratcliffe and robinhoods stride, the top boulders at cratcliffe are a fantastic starting out area.

[JamesD]

Cool, if my some miracle we still have enough skin on our hands, and manage to tick off everything in Burbage South over two days, then we might pay The Roaches/other areas a visit, if not we'll probably be sticking around there I guess.
Looking forward to Buxton, looks like it'll be a welcome change of scenery from "The Urban Jungle"  AKA Central London down here.

[Johnny Brown]

From Buxton I would definitely scrub the idea of Burbage as your main venue, and visit The Roaches first. Incredible place, and where I first went bouldering. As Rich says, Cratcliffe is also close by and a fantastic low-grade venue. All three in a weekend would be fantastic.

Anyway, best leaving it to the weather. Burbage and The Roaches are at opposite corners of The Peak so get quite different weather. Cratcliffe is in the middle and at a lower altitude so will be the best bet if its iffy.

[SA Chris]

True. Roaches seem to get worse weather. Take decent rain gear regardless James. Even if it is pissing down you can go for a walk and recon mission to check out spots for future reference.

[JamesD]

Weather forecast still looking kinda crap

Might get a little bit of bouldering in on Friday if we're lucky 

[lagerstarfish]

Looks like it will be windy too. Burbage South boulders dry off pretty quick in a decent wind.

[SA Chris]

So you got some bouldering done then? Psyched?

[JamesD]

So you got some bouldering done then? Psyched?

Mega psyched  Just wish I had more time out there before the weather turned shit, especially at The Roaches, got like 1 and a half problems done before it started chucking it down

Did a few at Burbage though which was great, but not as many as I liked, it seems to take a lot longer to figure out problems outdoors what with the lack of coloured holds an all 
But yeah, I am mega psyched for the next session, now me and the missus just need to get over this horrible flu/cold shit we seem to have got and we'll be back on it.
I think we are going to pay The Southern Sandstone a visit next seeing as it is less than an hour away, strangely we never ended up visiting Caley, ah well!
But it was worth it just to check out The Roaches, that place is flipping awesome, and we will definitely be back!

[JamesD]

Might as well post this here as well:

Wow what a weekend, we went straight to The Roaches in the end, went up the wrong hill by accident, had a nice hike but lost 2 hours in between this, finding out we went the wrong way, and then having to go back the right way.
So we got there and it was amazing, including the weather.....for all of an hour, then it rained dammit!
Was really gutted as the place looked amazing, the problems looked amazing, it was absolutely stunning, so we had a good walk around, and checked out the boulders for future reference, definitely going to go back for another visit, this time hopefully in better weather.
Then today we went to Burbage South boulders, not quite as impressed with the quality of the problems, or the scenery, it was ok....but if I was going to go back anywhere it would be The Roaches, now that place is awesome!
It went quite well, however we got rained off after a couple of hours  so then went to the climbing works in Sheffield, also amazing! So all in all a great weekend despite shitty weather in parts, thanks for all the advice everyone.

I should also add, that my missus did her first decent looking overhang on a V1, and her first Dyno, I was so proud 
Plus we both did a shitload of the blue problems at the works (after Burbage got rained off) which was great, these felt around V1/V2 from our experience, but I stand corrected if I am wrong?

[SA Chris]

Good Stuff. The SS has some good bits, just be prepared for general sandiness of holds, and it not being as god as grit. Worth making a day trip of it though. Being based in the SE, it's no distance to Font for you though!! Either take a ferry or http://www.boulderbus.co.uk/

[i.munro]

.... and it not being as god as grit.

matter of opinion there!

More seriously, I would say that there's not much I would recommend to anyone  on SS below about uk5c simply because the good easier stuff has been trashed by careless climbers not cleaning their feet, climbing when it's damp  etc.
There's currently some excellent stuff at & beyond this grade but you better hurry I don't think it's going to last.

NB on Mon  Bowles was soaking! I've never seen it in such bad condition even in mid-winter.

[Plattsy]

Glad you enjoyed your first venture outdoors James.

Then today we went to Burbage South boulders, not quite as impressed with the quality of the problems, or the scenery, it was ok....

Sorry to hear this. I would suggest giving it another go especially if you base yourself in Sheffield for forthcoming trips. Some good problems there with good landings.

Plus we both did a shitload of the blue problems at the works (after Burbage got rained off) which was great, these felt around V1/V2 from our experience, but I stand corrected if I am wrong?

You wanna be looking at the Black circuit for that sort of grade.

[JamesD]

Grading wise from easiest to hardest does it go:

Green
Blue
Black
Green & Purple
?

[lagerstarfish]

The colours and grades of the circuits at The Works change. At the moment they are like this.
God knows what these V1/V2 things are that you mention? Some sort of flying bomb from 1945?

[JamesD]

Ah ha, no wonder we managed to do loads of those blue ones!
I did one black one, my right elbow wasn't feeling too great afterwards though, in a way I am glad I have the flu/cold/manflu (whatever it is) this week as its forcing me to take a much needed week-week and half off, hopefully that'll be enough for my slightly tweaked elbow to sort itself out, seeing as its been irritating me for nearly a month now.

[i.munro]

God knows what these V1/V2 things are that you mention? Some sort of flying bomb from 1945?

So that's why this grading system is used in London (& nowhere else or so Jas assures me) it's a tribute to the spirit of the Blitz.

[webbo]

God knows what these V1/V2 things are that you mention? Some sort of flying bomb from 1945?

So that's why this grading system is used in London (& nowhere else or so Jas assures me) it's a tribute to the spirit of the Blitz.

its generally used in areas of cultrural excellance such as leeds and hull.

[i.munro]

FWIW  Doodlebug 1/2 in London does indeed feel to me round about Fb3-4.

[JamesD]

Yeah I think you are right, we went by this guide: http://www.rockfax.com/publications/bgrades.html

Some of the Outdoor stuff that was "supposedly" within the same kind of grades we had been doing indoors felt a lot harder than it should have done, but that may well also have been because it was our first time on Rock.
Either way, I think I want to be doing Doodlebug 3's and 4's In London before I go outdoors again, just so I don't look like a total muppet next time, I think it's doable for the summer

[i.munro]

I've seen that table as well.
Trouble is I can't tell you whether the table's wrong or the system is being wrongly implemented in London because I don't climb anywhere on rock that uses this system.


Converting in my head from  ArchV to Fb goes vaguely like this

V0-3 , 3-4
V4    . 5 - 5+
V5    , 6a -c+
V6    , 7a
V7    , 7a+ - ?
V8-11   too hard

[lagerstarfish]

I like "Doodlebug" as a name for a grading system 

[tomtom]

Some of the Outdoor stuff that was "supposedly" within the same kind of grades we had been doing indoors felt a lot harder than it should have done, but that may well also have been because it was our first time on Rock.

Another explanation is that many problems on grit are quite knacky... in that there is a certain way which makes it quite a bit easier than how you may do it first time... the grade is for the way once you know how to do it!

One of the biggest differences between wall bouldering and grit (IMHO) is that there is no obvious (ish) way of doing a problem (e.g. a line of pink holds) so often at first its a bit befuddling how to do a problem. Thats one of the parts I really like - figuring out how it can be done - and with grit theres often many different (often subtly different) ways of doing it.

[Paul B]

Easier grit problems = slabs with non holds
Easy indoor problems = buckets ahoy

Completely different.

[SA Chris]

Either way, I think I want to be doing Doodlebug 3's and 4's In London before I go outdoors again, just so I don't look like a total muppet next time, I think it's doable for the summer

Even if you are doing 3s and 4s it may not make doing problems on rock any easier. The most effective way (IMO) to get better on rock is mileage on rock. Plus I don't think you should concern yourself with looking like a muppet, that's more down to attitude than ability, and you seem to have the attitiude right.

[Plattsy]

@JamesD
After the next week or so until mid June I'll have a load of time free so if you're up Sheffield way in that time I'd be happy to show you round Burbizzle South boulders or meet up somewhere else and both look like Muppets with attitude. 

NSFW  :

[webbo]

Yeah I think you are right, we went by this guide: http://www.rockfax.com/publications/bgrades.html

Some of the Outdoor stuff that was "supposedly" within the same kind of grades we had been doing indoors felt a lot harder than it should have done, but that may well also have been because it was our first time on Rock.
Either way, I think I want to be doing Doodlebug 3's and 4's In London before I go outdoors again, just so I don't look like a total muppet next time, I think it's doable for the summer

you weren't the guy at burbage south with bleeding fingers by any chance.

[JamesD]

@JamesD
After the next week or so until mid June I'll have a load of time free so if you're up Sheffield way in that time I'd be happy to show you round Burbizzle South boulders or meet up somewhere else and both look like Muppets with attitude. 

NSFW  :

Sounds good mate, I think given that this Flu has really thrown me out this week I doubt i'll be up for another all day outdoor session until near the end of the month/early May, if the weather is good I think The Roaches seems to be a more appealing option, but Burbage seems to dry out really easily, either way I don't mind too much, will be well up for it then, muppets with attitude, now that'd make a great t-shirt...hell yeah 

P.S.
 
Webbo, that wasn't me, unless you count one pathetically small cut on one of my knuckles as bleeding fingers, I was around on Saturday with the missus, big guy, big red bouldering mat, you can't miss me!

[webbo]

i wasn't there but a mate was mentioned bumping in to a guy who was on his first outside session with a big mat and lots of blood.