[ian h]

southern sandstone of course. great place to visit

you can shoot me down now if you like

 :sniper:

[Tim Heaton]

I agree actually. I was always a bit dubious of going as I`d not heard great things about it. I`ve been to Eridge but only did a couple of problems and also to High Rocks which although you have to pay £2 (go into the pub to get yourself a ticket) to use was really worth it. It`s in a beautiful pub garden and has what looks like some really nice problems and highballs.

I would recommend trying to go with someone who knows the area and can point out the better climbs but when I was there it was quite busy and people were pretty friendly so you can always ask around once there.

The problems I liked were a sit start to a big arete, might be called Brenva? Big dyno on the way in - Chez`s dyno? - didn`t manage to do this and a dyno to the middle break slightly to it`s right. Not sure of any of the grades of these, there`s lots of supposedly easy stuff too which are generally nails and serve to batter your ego    

Which other areas are worth visiting and which problems would people recommend?

[unclesomebody]

hey ian, I'm heading down on friday (16th) and leaving monday night.  As great as the bouldering is I want to do some roped routes.  I want to try Cool Bananas (needs a solo) and try Chimeara.  We'll soon find out if the crux is really 7B.  I just wanted to know what conditions these routes are in... dry/clean/etc.... thanks.

[ian h]

Hi keith. We have had pretty mank weather down hear recently so the rock is not in the best condition. I have not looked at cool bananas recently but i suspect it will be damp. For what its worth i think it is rated at around 7c + sport grade. Chimera should be dry up through the groove but the top out will need cleaning down. I should be around on sat or sun afternoon if the weather sorts itself out.

[Fiend]

I must confess I really enjoy Nicotine Alley though...

[ian h]

tim :
you are correct the tall arete is brenva and goes from the sit at around font 7a+ but prob feels about 7b till you have it wired. and chez dyno goes anything from font 7a - 7c depending on which method / how tall you are.

fiend :

i rekon you could do with an update of all the new boulder probs in the area that have cropped in the last few years. i know you used to climb sandstone and dont rate it. but it is true there are now some serious quality for the font 6c - 7c+ boulderer. very little of which is documented, so you are probably unaware of most of the new wave of bouldering.

seriously there are new problems that will piss all over nicotine alley in terms of quality.

you never know you might change your opinion, open your mind

[Fiend]

I think you're right actually - I think as a bouldering/highballing venue it's a lot more respectable. That would be a pretty cool future for it, fuck the top-ropes and scary sandy solos and invest in some serious American-style double bed mat business...

But if it's mostly...

serious quality for the font 6c - 7c+ boulderer.

...I'm unlikely to get the most out of it  :wink:



P.S.  :blow:

[Carnage]

Hi Ian,

How you doing?

Was down High Rocks on Saturday for a couple hours before it started pissing down. Is it you guys responsible for cleaning that slab up to the right of Honeycomb? If it was, did you do it?

[ian h]

Hi Ian,

How you doing?

Was down High Rocks on Saturday for a couple hours before it started pissing down. Is it you guys responsible for cleaning that slab up to the right of Honeycomb? If it was, did you do it?

the slab is whiff waff, tim skinner cleaned it up last tuesday and was trying to rope it. its english 6b and needs a solo. so maybe tomorrow if it is dry enough. looks totally classic and is really just a high ball.

also eyed up a few new lines with ian on sunday evening, most of em will need a brush. was looking at maybe trying a direct start to unforgetable direct up the arete from the floor.

[Carnage]

Aaaah. It was funny Ches stuck a bit of chalk on it and then all of a sudden its all scrubbed up. Just makes makes you think- stick a bit of chalk on something and it gets cleaned for free

[unclesomebody]

just heard about some project at Eridge... can any of you locals give me some more information?  All i know is that it's past the main section of the crag, apparently there's a cave or something and that Ian S. has been trying it for a while...  

 I'll be on a coach to london at 6am and hopefully on the sandstone tomorrow, sat, sun, and mon if the weather holds out.  
peace.

[Carnage]

Keith,

Do you think you're gonna get the nod on Ians's project?    No chance!

[ian h]

just heard about some project at Eridge... can any of you locals give me some more information?  All i know is that it's past the main section of the crag, apparently there's a cave or something and that Ian S. has been trying it for a while...  

 I'll be on a coach to london at 6am and hopefully on the sandstone tomorrow, sat, sun, and mon if the weather holds out.  
peace.

i will be down at high rocks late on sunday if your around

i cant tell you where ians project is he would never forgive me, but you may wanna try some of the unrepeated existing problems such as nightfall which takes a sit start to ken clean air system at least 7c+ or yankee affair which starts from the back of the cave below parisian affiar without the sidewall, grade ?

[unclesomebody]

wicked.  ok, had a good chilled day at high rocks day... did brenva ss for the video (fancy hosting it bubba?) and did chez's dyno which felt good!  I'll be at high rocks tomorrow (hopefully on chimeara).  I walked down the whole of eridge and found nothing!  must be well hidden or really shit looking!   :shock:  :  no offence chaps.  Hopefully see some of you tomorrow...

[Bubba]

brenva ss for the video (fancy hosting it bubba?)

If it's nice qualidy then yes - send it over  

[ian h]

I'll be at high rocks tomorrow (hopefully on chimeara).  I walked down the whole of eridge and found nothing!  must be well hidden or really shit looking!   :shock:  :  no offence chaps.  Hopefully see some of you tomorrow...

i should be down about 4:30. weather permitting.

must be well hidden then cos it is on rock which is in great condition . anyway judging by your post above whoever you have been speaking to, is way off the mark with the info they have given you. :wink:

[unclesomebody]

where is this ken clean air system?  having today off due to excess partying in london... btu will be down tomorrow too, then back to sheffield.  Also, who did Yankee Affair, and is the cave right at the start of eridge? If it is, from what i can see you just go from the decent handholds to that little pocket, then foot by your hand and a huge press into parisian affair... is that right?  Going to head down tomorrow, btu want to find ken clean air system... so any info is appreciated.  

Cheers.

[ian h]

where is this ken clean air system?  having today off due to excess partying in london... btu will be down tomorrow too, then back to sheffield.  Also, who did Yankee Affair, and is the cave right at the start of eridge? If it is, from what i can see you just go from the decent handholds to that little pocket, then foot by your hand and a huge press into parisian affair... is that right?  Going to head down tomorrow, btu want to find ken clean air system... so any info is appreciated.  

Cheers.

pete z did the first and only ascent of both the above problems. yes yankee affair is in the cave at the start of the crag. i think pete did it footless but i not sure. i suppose you could put your foot up by your hand just not on the left side wall.

ken clean air system is a bit difficult to describe the location of but it takes an arete from a sit start and is down in the second half of the crag around 20 meters before a steep boulder wave is reached this wave features the routes steel mill etc and is likely to be chalked at the base. with a bit of luck there may be some chalk on a few of the holds although i dont think anyone is trying it recently. in my opinion it is stupendously hard and vastly under graded at font 7c+

i did not make it down sunday as weather was not good but should be at high rocks tomorrow evening.

[unclesomebody]

weather was good on sunday!  did chez's dyno again for teh video, but it was so rushed because the battery was dying it came out really crap.  This footless method of yankee affair looks incredibly difficult.  However, we will be there from 10am tomorrow so will try it.  Who knows...

so i'm looking for an arete with ss before the wave... OH!  I think i might know what you're talking about... it's got what looks like a slopy topout and it's on a block of it's own (I think i am thinking of the right thing).  You would slap your right hand up the arete (from what i could see) and then slap the very slopey looking top... Eridge was quite scary the other day because there were about a million spiders under all the bracken.  they were running all over our feet and our stuff...

[ian h]

Think the arete problem you describe on the block on its own sounds like the mini merville and is about font 6c+ / 7a nice little problem though . Yankee affair is rock hard hence no repeat yet

[ian h]

unklesomebody

wondered how you got on other weekend any joy finding nightfall or on yankee affair. also did you make it onto chimera.

are the videos still gonna go on here. would like to see em.

[unclesomebody]

well, yankee affair was in shit cnodition.  The break you start on was totally green, damp, and sandy as hell.  Also, it looked nigh on impossible.  The span between the starting holds and the holds on parisian affair is something like 6ft so I have no idea how you would do that!  As for that other arete, i didn't bother seeking it out, it was so hot that all we did was sit around and solo some easy (but very sandy!) routes.  

I need to edit the videos, but they are really shitty.  The battery was about to die, so I just dumped the camera on teh floor at an angle that would get chez's dyno in the frame and did it.  But, I'll see what it looks like on the computer and shizzle then consider putting it up.  It just doesn't look hard or far enough in the video!!!  

Chimeara was dirty as hell.  I abbed down it, to have a close look.  It seems ot be there is one short sequence that would be really hard, but the rest of it might be ok.  As always, it's hard to say  until you've tried it, but it was dirty and slightly damp.  It really needs to see some traffic, as with most stuff down there.  It's a real shame, cause I think there are some amazing lines on the sandstone, but they are just never in condition.  oh well...

[MrBlue]

It's a real shame, cause I think there are some amazing lines on the sandstone, but they are just never in condition.  oh well...

definitely...sandstone has some real hidden gems; i quite like its reputation as being shite because it means that the really good stuff doesn't get climbed on that much :D

[ian h]

yesterday jim wardle climbed a new problem "the fonz" this problem basically cosists or doing "happy days" minus the two thumb placements dynoing from the starting holds to the normal holds of happy days. grade ? but harder than happy days.

also yesterday jim, andy o conner and, chez all climbed the slab of whiff waff, this was completed as a high ball boulder problem and therfore jumped at the top break, instead of climbing up into the undergrowth. grade for this is thought to be around high ball font 7a.

 :  :  :  :  :

[unclesomebody]

the fonz sounds like an interesting problem.  The ground where you put your feet seems to be getting lower and lower!  Be good to see a video or pics of this, because it sounds like you crouch, then just lunge straight out!!