[moose]

Does anyone have some crafty beta for the crux of this? 

From the starting undercut I gain a decent rail to the LHS.  Then there's a slopey crimp, a tiny razor crimp and a few poor RH sidepulls.   Using these to gain the big undercuts at the base of the overlap felt damn near impossible. 

I was mainly trying to go direct - pulling on the razor crimp with my RH whilst attempting to get my feet high (razor as a quasi-sidepull, trying to get LF's outside edge ontop of a high bulge?).  And okay it was a sweaty day, but pulling on that razor felt unjustifiable for the grade. 

So, is direct the way to go? Should I just wait for a cooler day and man-up for tendon damage?!.  Or, is there a method that involve the small spikey crimps out to the RHS?  Those holds looked potentially useful, but I couldn't find a way to traverse to them from the LHS rail (the sidepulls and tiny crimp seemed no better for this than they were for going up!)

Help appreciated - I rather liked the upper, gastony sequence to get to the pocket and don't want to feel my time was wasted!

[Andy F]

Crafty Beta: walk away and do a nicer route. Bongo is possibly the most unpleasant route of its grade at the Cove.

[TobyD]

Crafty Beta: walk away and do a nicer route. Bongo is possibly the most unpleasant route of its grade at the Cove.

that's a tad uncharitable Andy, i think it's ok....

Moose: yeah that's pretty much what i remember doing, small crimp, high rockover - Malham is all amazingly condtions dependant: go back on a good day and you will probably path it!

[J_duds]

i used the small sharp crimp, i cant remember if i pulled through or went again to the undercut, but i think my RF was up high!
hope that helps.

cheers
John

[Stabbsy]

If you've not been put off by Andy's advice and you want to try again, I don't think I went direct. From memory, you get the RHS of the decent rail with your left, move your right foot way right to a small positive foothold and rock right to a sharp crozzly thing for your right hand (two fingers and a thumb). I think you get an intermediate for your left hand and get your left foot high (it goes on the decent rail eventually, but can't remember if it's that high straight away) and rock back left for the undercuts/sidepulls (which I got as a backhand).

Definitely easier on a colder day as the RH crimp/crozzle is sharp.

[Andy F]

Crafty Beta: walk away and do a nicer route. Bongo is possibly the most unpleasant route of its grade at the Cove.

that's a tad uncharitable Andy, i think it's ok....

Name me a nastier 7b at the Cove. If you like minging sharp crimps it might be ok, personally it's one to do when you've done the rest.

[Serpico]

Name me a nastier 7b at the Cove.

Toad of Beck Hall?

I think it's a good route - I certainly enjoyed it. I know what Andy's problem with it is - it's high in the grade, even now he's locked in a fierce internal struggle as he fights the urge to type "worth 7b+"...
As for the sequence; you can climb direct but I think the more common method is to climb to the right.

[Andy F]

Toad of Beck Hall is a) 7b+ and b) much, much nicer than BF

[Serpico]

It's 7b in the guide, are you at it again?

[Andy F]

7b+ in the Rockfax.

[moose]

... From memory, you get the RHS of the decent rail with your left, move your right foot way right to a small positive foothold and rock right to a sharp crozzly thing for your right hand (two fingers and a thumb). I think you get an intermediate for your left hand and get your left foot high (it goes on the decent rail eventually, but can't remember if it's that high straight away) and rock back left for the undercuts/sidepulls (which I got as a backhand).
Definitely easier on a colder day as the RH crimp/crozzle is sharp.

Ah... so that's why those hold to the RHS were chalked....

So is the razor used with the RH for the rock over to the RHS? Going again with the RH from the razor to the "sharp crozzly thing" (a little pinchy spike?) to the far RHS .  Maybe using a slopey crimp or one of the duff sidepulls as a LH intermediate?  That said, I had a brief try at something very much like that and it didn't feel anymore feasible.  Still, that and the "just pull hard on a colder day" beta keeps the dream alive!

As for the choice of route, I appreciate that there's probably much better on offer.  It was only my second time bolt clipping at Malham and I'm starting at the bottom of the graded list - so with my toal lack of aptitude it might be a while before the rematch anyway.  But, Bongo' was dry whilst Something Stupid and Taking the Space were wet, and having a rainproof 7b struck me as useful.

[TobyD]

If you like minging sharp crimps it might be ok,

If you didn't would you be at Malham?