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Cutting Edge Cornwall. (Read 10570 times)

Fiend

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Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 14, 2015, 07:31:29 pm
I went back down there recently. It's very nice. Since I was revising the guides (definitive plus supplement) most nights and every loo visit, I was struck by the sheer number of "hard" routes down there, mostly very highly starred, mostly unrepeated, and mostly the work of one man. In fact it looks a bit like this:

Mark Edwards:
Rewind E10 7a ***, Carn Vellan
Academia E10 7a ***, Boscawen Point
Human Skewer Direct E9/10 6c ***, Zawn Rinny
Wall Of Attrition E9 7a ***, Pellitras Point
Adrenaline Tide E9 6c/7a ***, Pellitras Zawn
Mark Of My Beast E9 6c, Hella Point
The Human Skewer E9 6c ***, Zawn Rinny
Hooker's Heaven E8/9 6c **, Carn Barra
Anorexic Android E8 7a **, Pellitras Point
Heart E8 6c/7a ***, Sennen
The Edwards Edge E8 6c ***, Land's End
Titanic E8 6c, Land's End
Directissima, E8 6c ***, Carn Cheer
Redemption E8 6c ***, Folly Cove
Son Of Satan E8 6c, Hella Point
Frogs In A Frenzy E8 6c **, Levan's Wall (f.a. at E7)
Question Mark E8 6c **, Cribba Head (repeated -  Palmer (with inflatable shark), was E9)
Pre-Marital Tension Right Hand E8 6c, Cribba Head
Lucid Orchestra E7/8 6c, Basher's Harbour
Finesse Super Direct E7/8 6b ***, St Loy (f.a. onsight)
Reverberating In The Silence E7 7a ***, Folly Cove
Placa del Edwards E7 6c/7a, Sennen
Off The Mark E7 6c ***, Robin's Rocks
The Marksman E7 6c *, Bosigran (repeated - Scholz)
Amazonia E7 6c ***, Sennen (repeated?)
Rainbow Warrior E7 6c ***, Sennen
Hell Hath No Fear E7 6c **, Sennen (repeated - Ohly)
The First And Last Wall E7 6c, Land's End (repeated - Sellars, was E8)
The Great Green Wave E7 6c, Land's End
Diamond Life E7 6c ***, Land's End
Pop! E7 6c, Pordenack Point
Howling At The Moon E7 6c ***, Carn Les Boel
Eye Of The Crystal E7 6c, Carn Barra
Prayer For The Raven E7 6c, Porthgwarra
The Elegant Universe E7 6c **, Pellitras Point
Watermark E7 6c ***, Pellitras Zawn
September Sessions E7 6c ***, Penberth
Headbirth E7 6c ***, Penberth
Hot Wire Fire E7 6b/c, Carn Barra
Pixie Dust Corner E7 6b/c ***, Zawn Rinny
Bridge Of Sighs E7 6b ***, Carn Vellan
Tears Of A Clown E7 6b **, Sennen (repeated - Nakajima, Perry, etc)
The Paragon Returns E7 6b, Sennen
Kingdom Of The Deep E7 6b, Land's End
Cathedral Of The Sea, E7 6b ***, Carn Boel
Just Another Inquisition E7 6b, Carn Barra
Fox E7 6b **, Fox Promontory
Insularism E7 6b, Chair Ladder
The Scent Of Ecstasy E7 6b **, Pellitras Point
Fire In The Souls E7 6b ***, Basher's Harbour

Other climbers:
Teahupoo E8 7a ***, Bosigran (Dave Pickford)
29 Palms E8 6c/7a ***, Sennen (Toru Nakajima w/out pegs)
Tears Of A Clown Direct E8 6c ***, Sennen (Alexis Perry)
Crash Bang Boom E8 6c, Chair Ladder (Shane Ohly)
Pre-Marital Tension E8 6c ***, Cribba Head (??? without high side-runner, f.a. with Nick Dixon, repeated)
Helluva Roof E7 7a, Hella Point (Madaleine Sorkin)
7:27.13 E7 6c ***, Carn Vellan (Alexis Perry)
Rubber Dinghy Rapids E7 6c **, Land's End (Ken Palmer)
Audacity E7 6c, Carn Barra (Shane Ohly)
Phobia E7 6c, Logan Rock (Shane Ohly)
14 Lives, 13 Souls E7 6c, Tregiffian (Shane Ohly, pre-placed gear)
Obseam E7 6c *, Vellan Head (Martin Crocker)
Kagutsuchi E7 6b ***, Bosigran (Dave Pickford)
Blade Runner E7 6b **, Land's End (Rowland Edwards)
The Grassman E7 6b, Logan Rock (Shane Ohly)
Wet Dreams E7 6b, Logan Rock (Shane Ohly)
Skyfall E7 6b, St Loy (Tom Bum)
Seal E7 6b *, The Lizard (Owen Hayward)

...all of which looks quite spectacular, especially since this area is a relative backwater, has various obstacles with tides and conditions, and had few local training facilities and little developed bouldering at the time most of these routes were done.

This got me thinking a bit. Why are so few of these routes repeated (apart from a tiny cluster at Sennen)? With various strong climbers from visiting machines like Crocker and Littlejohn to then-rising-stars like Ohly and local veterans like Palmer, surely these routes would get more attention? Even in recent years people have been queuing for Walk Of Life... Why is such a mass of highly graded and highly starred routes ignored? Is it likely that people think they aren't worth their grades/stars? Or are such routes in general tainted by the bolting/chipping controversies which AFAIK has only applied to a very few routes?

andy popp

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#1 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 14, 2015, 08:57:30 pm
Because, perhaps, rightly or wrongly (and I genuinely have no stance at all on that), people feel they don't know if they can trust/believe Mark Edwards? It may have no basis but I sense that has long been the perception.

Also, its bloody miles from anywhere.

Fiend

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#2 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 14, 2015, 09:18:37 pm
Yeah it is bloody miles, but then again so are Skye Fairhead Hoy Glenfinnan etc. And the weather and infrastructure are far better in Cornwall.

I don't know how far the Edwards controversy extends....the bolting / chipping / chipping accusations are fairly obvious, but only on a few routes. As for the other routes, even a bit of doubt about them could be a good motivator for someone to try to sort them out??

andy popp

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#3 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 14, 2015, 09:24:48 pm
I think the perceived lack of clarity/certainty could be pretty demotivating.

Also, his route names are truly terrible. That's a bit tongue in cheek; but, semi-seriously, I think it has an effect.

Fiend

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#4 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 14, 2015, 09:31:43 pm
Yeah that's true. Some of the repeats are definitely the more obvious / reliable routes, with back-up plans nearby etc. Obviously the Sennen ones are trade routes, but out of the others I saw this trip:

Rewind - looks amazing, very good line, hard to work (would require aiding / static rigging), damp in mornings. But as the steepest E10 in the country, surely some lure?

Bridge Of Sighs - great line, easier to work than RW.

Question Mark - no wonder this got repeated, stonking line.

PMTRH - just as good a line.

Frogs In A Frenzy - nice bit of rock, easy to work, looks blank as fuck.

Finesse Direct - short hard section but on a par with those Mournes smearfests I reckon.

shurt

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#5 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 14, 2015, 10:59:48 pm
I've climbed a fair bit down there and have often leaved through the guide looking at the harder routes. There looks like a lot of good hard stuff down there but as Andy says I think Mark has just got a serious lack of credibility for a variety of reasons. Maybe as lots of the routes are unknown quantities people aren't willing to go and check them out? Especially as its such a long way to go (I live in Somerset btw and still think its a long way!).
Seems a shame though as the guy has obviously put a lot of work into all the routes. I'd love to know if they are all classics or a load of bullshit...

kingholmesy

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#6 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 14, 2015, 11:15:09 pm

Skyfall E7 6b, St Loy (Tom Bum)


Tom Bunn will love being called that.   :lol:

I don't know why the hard routes down here don't get that many repeats.  I guess there's a small number of local climbers, and it's a long way/not really on the radar for visitors.


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#7 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 14, 2015, 11:24:41 pm
Hmmm... Not sure the reputation is at all deserved ( M.E.), I often felt there was much undeserved disdain from some vocal critics that seemed far more along the lines of " back in your place Yokel" than balanced judgement.
At least that's how it felt BITD.


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Fiend

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#8 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 15, 2015, 10:23:07 am
Skyfall E7 6b, St Loy (Tom Bum)
Yes sorry, my mistake, apparently the FA of Skyfall was by Martin Cathrow, and Tom repeated it shortly after.

kingholmesy

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#9 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 15, 2015, 02:39:46 pm
Skyfall E7 6b, St Loy (Tom Bum)
Yes sorry, my mistake, apparently the FA of Skyfall was by Martin Cathrow, and Tom repeated it shortly after.

I think you're right.  Tom did however make the FA of Hunter's Moon E7 6b/c, which certainly looks good from the photos:

http://www.rustypeg.co.uk/local-news-tom-bunn-with-cornish-e7-fa/


andy popp

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#10 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 15, 2015, 02:48:45 pm
Hmmm... Not sure the reputation is at all deserved ( M.E.), I often felt there was much undeserved disdain from some vocal critics that seemed far more along the lines of " back in your place Yokel" than balanced judgement.
At least that's how it felt BITD.

No, exactly my point, I'm not sure the reputation has been deserved ... but I that that is the reputation.

I'm not sure it was all 'metropolitan' disdain for the provincial yokel though, some of the most vocal critics were very much Cornwall based if I remember.

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#11 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 15, 2015, 03:02:39 pm
Skyfall E7 6b, St Loy (Tom Bum)
Yes sorry, my mistake, apparently the FA of Skyfall was by Martin Cathrow, and Tom repeated it shortly after.

I think you're right.  Tom did however make the FA of Hunter's Moon E7 6b/c, which certainly looks good from the photos:

http://www.rustypeg.co.uk/local-news-tom-bunn-with-cornish-e7-fa/

This looks incredible, had seen it before but forgotten. Anyone know where exactly it is, rather then just somewhere near Tintagel bouldering? Presumably getting to the first break is ok (as Alex Moore mentions down-climbing the first bit in a blog) so if the gear is also good then this might be a decent onsight or ground-up proposition for someone of sufficient calibre?

SA Chris

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#12 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 15, 2015, 03:06:23 pm
Looks like a great piece of rock, and some amazing climbing.

A Jooser

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#13 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 15, 2015, 04:38:00 pm
I wouldn't be surprised if there have been more repeats of the harder routes down here than you think, they just tend to happen a bit off the radar.

I know Shane repeated Son of Satan back in the day and I think Ian Vickers came down in the mid '90s and climbed Amazonia (on-sight if I remember rightly). More recently Andy Steinberg has done Hell Hath No Fear and Pickford's Kajawhatsit... Kajathingy... Kajagoogoo... whatever it's called. This has also been repeated by Dave Henderson I think. I bet Steinberg's done more, he's a bit of a local dark horse, talking of which did I mention Chris Hall repeated Prayer for the Raven (about 2003). Alexis Perry and Cherry Bedford have also both done Off the Mark (2011/2012).

But it is remarkable how little action the harder routes see, however, this isn't just a trad thing. The harder boulder problems down here don't see much attention - there are quite a few unrepeated in the 7B to 7C+/8A range (particularly in the far west). It's the same with the sport climbing - I bet Psychokiller is the only F7c to have had more than ten ascents even though the other F7cs all seem very worthwhile, to me at least.

Too many climbs, too few climbers I guess...

T_B

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#14 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 15, 2015, 04:59:42 pm
Basically this kind of bollox:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=56420

The guy's a fantasist. Climbing seems to attract them for some bizarre reason.

granticus

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#15 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 15, 2015, 05:03:57 pm
Quote
This looks incredible, had seen it before but forgotten. Anyone know where exactly it is, rather then just somewhere near Tintagel bouldering? Presumably getting to the first break is ok (as Alex Moore mentions down-climbing the first bit in a blog) so if the gear is also good then this might be a decent onsight or ground-up proposition for someone of sufficient calibre?

It is to the left (looking out to sea)/west of the bouldering platform (there is an obvious square zawn between the two areas).  Pretty simple to find and I believe Tom whacked in a stake or two above the route.  Looks utterly classic (is utterly classic by all accounts) and would indeed be a good one for someone of sufficient calibre to take on ground up.  Sure that Mr Bum :lol: wouldn't mind being tapped up via his website for further information.



Fiend

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#16 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
July 15, 2015, 05:28:55 pm
Good knowledge Juicer.

TB I know there is some bollox flying around, but it only seems to be about a few routes?? And the ones listed as repeated often seem to be fairly normal - i.e. the routes exist and were repeated at close to the given grade?

Edit: found this, lots of strong views: http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,15391.0.html , surely that can be mitigated by the sheer productivity of hard routeS?
« Last Edit: July 15, 2015, 05:57:59 pm by Fiend »

Fiend

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#17 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
August 20, 2018, 08:38:32 pm
Bump for Kingy, and also:

Academia E10 7a *** / E8/9 6c ** (repeated by Franco Cookson "basically in the rain")

kingholmesy

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#18 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
August 24, 2018, 11:35:36 pm
Franco also repeated 14 Lives, 13 Souls and confirmed it as E7.

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#19 Re: Cutting Edge Cornwall.
August 28, 2018, 11:54:48 pm
Alex Moore has repeated Academia above pads. Reckoned low E6 with pads, high E7 without, tech 6b/c.  :popcorn:

 

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