[JamieG]

Chew valley aficionados, does anyone have any tips for this? I got pretty high on it last night, i'm pulling hard on two large pebbles. A high left pebble and a lower right one. Feet are still in the obvious ripples. But i can't work out where to go. There is not much more for my feet apart from a few pebbles and hopeless looking smears. Maybe a very high left foot and a very tough rockup to reach the high little slot and presumably then the top. Feels hard. Thoughts?

[JamieG]

Went back to try this again fairly recently. Got a little further but still no joy.



The Over the Moors guidebook description seems like a joke. "The fine pebbly scoop by a series of hard dynamic moves"  Couldn't be further from the truth. Delicate pebble pulling, undercuts and smears seem to be the order of the day.

[mark20]

Vid recently on Mike Adams Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/CESZM3xjiwL/?igshid=9seayg19zrns
Looks good !

[JamieG]

Amazing! Cheers for that mark20. I'll check out the palm beta. Although I know how strong Mike is, so I'm taking how casual he made that look with a massive pinch of salt.

[tomtom]

Amazing! Cheers for that mark20. I'll check out the palm beta. Although I know how strong Mike is, so I'm taking how casual he made that look with a massive pinch of salt.

And tall... though it was in summer - and in the sun!

[JamieG]

Definitely. The high little slot for the left hand is no jug. I've reached it before and couldn't hold it. Although the high right hand is a fairly decent looking big pebble/cluster thing (as long as it doesn't break). Definitely keen to go back and try it again, now I know its actually climbable.

[Fiend]

Ballpark estimate for the real grade JamieG? I walked up for a recce when my knee was b0rked and thought it looked amazing but at those grades a + or so can make the possible / impossible difference for me....

[JamieG]

Ooof. Hard to tell. The way I was trying it definitely felt way harder than the V6/7a that it gets in the Over the Moors guide and UKC. Comparing it to other things I've climbed recently it definitely felt harder than hurricane (7a/7a+) and at least as hard as fight on black (7b) both at Widdop. But, massive caveat, I clearly didn't have ideal beta and those kind of slabby things can feel nails until you work out some decent beta. Maybe this palm beta really makes the top not too bad. But even still I wouldn't be surprised if it is still going to at least 7a+, since it still felt quite hard to get to the height of the palm move. Definitely a really cool line though. Hopefully I can get back up before Christmas and will report back. Let me know if you go for a look. Unfortunately not a huge amount of other things to climb up there. If you fancy a walk Mr Monster at Pots and Pans is also pretty cool (although I haven't climbed that either and it involves pulling really hard on a one finger mono/crimp type thing.)

[tomtom]

I’d be up for a trip there Jamie - weather/childcare etc.. depending.

[JamieG]

That would be great Tomtom. But as you say childcare/work/weather/early dusk is such a difficult juggle at the moment. I basically get a chance every couple of weeks to rush out for a couple hours and jump on something before rushing home again. I haven't even managed to climb with my brother since  a one-off in June/July time despite him living just in Manchester.  Can't complain though at least it is only a 10 minute drive for me to most of these places. Then you start the walk in . . . .

But let me know if you're heading out and I'll see if I can escape.

[Fiend]

Unfortunately not a huge amount of other things to climb up there.

Well there's that 7A fridge-hug prow over to the left where if you fall off you'll end up at Dovestones Reservoir   

I've also recced Mr Monster too and that looks ace too.

Thanks for the knowledge, given the grades of some of these "off-circuit" things can vary ± 2 full grades, it's useful to have a ballpark idea.

[JamieG]

Yeah I've looked at that before and decided I like my legs just the way they are. Impressive line though. There is also a thing called Little Big Problem over there that is about 6b+ which is worth a look. Also there is a little boulder to the left of Ditch Diggin with a nice arete on it called Render. Can start either side with the left start being a bit harder. There are supposed to be a couple slab problems on it, but i've never been able to work out quite where they go and my mat tends to just slide off down the hill so I don't find them that inspiring to try. But nevertheless you can have a decent little session up there for sure.

I've had a little scope around to see if there are any other good looking lines but haven't spotted much to be honest.

[JamieG]

I managed to get out for a quick trip to Alderman this afternoon and went to try this again with the new beta. I had quite an eventful trip . . .

Started trying the new Mike Adams beta and could get into the position for the palm press move with the high left foot. Felt possible but quite hard and worse than that scary, since if that palm pops it could be quite a nasty fall especially on your own. Had quite a few goes and could start the press up into, but was struggling to fully commit to it. Definitely didn't feel easy to me.

So I went back to my original beta and was doing better than last time. Managed to get my right hand the the high right pebble stack but felt quite stretched. So tried going right hand to high slot also managed to do that. It is not a particularly good hold. Only really two fingers and quite slopey. But I was managing to engage it a little and wondering what to do next. Then disaster, the high left hand pebble broke. Totally gutted. Sorry everyone!

That basically totally nullifies my beta and I was worried that it would ruin Mike's beta too. So I started trying to work out a new sequence to get back to the palm press. In the meantime, whilst climbing up the side to look for alternative pebbles, I managed to head butt a sharp point of rock. Almost knocked myself out and put a hole in my head that bled a lot!

Carried on working Mike's beta. Managed to find an alternative sequence of pebble pulls (which is a bit more faffy and ticky) to get back to the palm press. Still feels hard (and scary) but definitely plausible. Definitely feels harder that 7a to me. Probably at least 7a+, maybe 7b. Especially now the high left pebble has come off.

[Fiend]

LOL  ! I did wonder about some of those pebbles...

7A+ is still in the realms of sieging possibility for me, especially with a palm move that's less likely to rip my golfer's elbow apart. Can you pull off a couple more things so it's even harder and I don't have to slog up that hill at all??

[JamieG]

Moorland grit isn't it. Bit 'gritty' and snappy at the best of times. Here's a little clip of the new pebble beta to get to the palm press again, if anyone is thinking of heading up to it. Not my best attempt, was a bit knackered by then hence trying to give my fingers a little break and slipping off. But its the only one I managed to film with the new sequence.



Also here is some mild gore from my head cut if you like that kind of thing.

NSFW  :