[SiWitcher]

AFAIK this is a new line - shout up if you know different.

A direct line with a finely-positioned crux that breaches the grooved headwall between Big Jim and King Bee Crack. Start up the thin crack between Big Jim and KBC and climb the golden streaked wall direct to a thinner move to gain the break. Pull on to the headwall via the short L-facing flake (gear) and commit to a fingery sequence up and leftwards to hopefully gain the ledge and a precarious exit.

Clean, solid rock and a safe fall zone. I tr'd the crux once before leading it, so the first on-sight is waiting there on a plate.

[Pantontino]

Good work Simon, as far as I know it's definitely a new route.

I've put a topo up on the V12 news site:

http://news.v12outdoor.com/2011/06/07/hot-lips-e5-6b-holyhead-mountain/

[JohnM]

Did you forget to put Snake Bite wall on Simon?

[Stabbsy]

Where does this go in relation to Mirrored in the Cleft? Is that the other side of Big Jim? (Sorry, I'm in work, so no Gogarth guide to hand)

[Pantontino]

Did you forget to put Snake Bite wall on Simon?

It's not meant to be a definitive topo, only to show the line of the new route relative to its neighbours - you can see a definitive version on page 47 of the Gogarth North guide.

[Pantontino]

Where does this go in relation to Mirrored in the Cleft? Is that the other side of Big Jim? (Sorry, I'm in work, so no Gogarth guide to hand)

Mirrored in the Cleft is between Big Jim and Bran Flake.

[petejh]

Si (W) - A tall birdy told me you also did a new route to the right of Fiendish, on Notice Board crag, any good?

[SiWitcher]

I should add that Chris Barnes spied the gap on Yellow Wall and after trying it on a shunt, and with limited climbing time available for himself, he generously tipped me off.

Si (W) - A tall birdy told me you also did a new route to the right of Fiendish, on Notice Board crag, any good?

Hi Pete, there's a line of weakness just to the R of Fiendish, which has good trad gear and goes at E2/E3 ish, finishing up a short L-trending jam crack, and then to the lower-off of Fiendish. Unfortunately the start of the line is either up Fiendish for 2 bolts, or up a serious and grotty-looking wall to the right, which looks a lot less fun than the upper section. Also, the line is too close to the bolts of Fiendish to be truly independent - worth doing if you're there with a rack though.

[Tommy]

Hi Simon, I'm afraid Pete Whittaker and I have already done that route - we did it about a year ago on a Gogarth trip. I'd agree with your grade (although high in the grade) and I like your name.

Sorry we didn't report it - thought it wasn't significant enough to have done anything about it (not in a bad way taking away from your ascent - more like we were considering ourselves being silly trying to get a new route in when we're so obsessive about them!).

[Tommy]

Shit....! We did another new route - have looked more closely at your topo. Fuck, sorry to get that wrong.

We went up rightwards from Katana up a thin headwall. Not worth reporting though, so no worries.

[SiWitcher]

No worries Tom!

[Pantontino]

Shit....! We did another new route - have looked more closely at your topo. Fuck, sorry to get that wrong.

We went up rightwards from Katana up a thin headwall. Not worth reporting though, so no worries.

Sounds like you need to get an up to date guidebook Tommy! Katana is actually called Penny nowadays and the line you describe up the thin headwall was done by Tim Neill and Toby Keep in 2003: Trouser Snake E4/5 6a.

[SA Chris]

Katana is actually called Penny nowadays

Did it have a sex change? Why the new name?

[Tommy]

Shit....! We did another new route - have looked more closely at your topo. Fuck, sorry to get that wrong.

We went up rightwards from Katana up a thin headwall. Not worth reporting though, so no worries.

Sounds like you need to get an up to date guidebook Tommy! Katana is actually called Penny nowadays and the line you describe up the thin headwall was done by Tim Neill and Toby Keep in 2003: Trouser Snake E4/5 6a.

Ha ha! whoops! 

[Pantontino]

Katana is actually called Penny nowadays

Did it have a sex change? Why the new name?

The original claim for the line from JR and Keith Robertson caused confusion because they said it was only E2. Consequently the name Penny was ascribed to a line further right and a later claim by another team (who named the line Katana) went in the last guide.

When we were making Gogarth North Keith explained the situation to me - he reckoned him and JR were climbing really well at the time (1982) and that the crack (which is now graded E4) felt a lot easier than the other things they were trying/doing: thus the suggestion of E2. Or, more likely they are a couple of sandbaggers!