[gollum]

I’ve been browsing through the new Lake District Bouldering Guide, which I think is a superb edition and very comprehensive, although the text shows me just how tired my eyes are getting these days.

I’ve been looking at the Bowderstone section and as far as I can tell, it doesn’t look like the ladder face has been completed as a traverse, which just looks like a plum line.

I haven’t been up there in a long time but I do know that 12-15 years ago it would have been doable and would have been worth doing.

I managed it in three sections all those years ago but worked it on my own a lot and never got up there when it was all dry (especially the bum scraping sections) and had someone to move the mats along………plus I was never known for my stamina, so linking it may have actually just been beyond me anyway.

From what I recall the first section started on the Hold A in the old guide where Spring Chicken starts and reversed Coming Up for Air, under Inaudible and then up the Left Hand Sit Start to Picnic Sarcastic, getting established on that. The second section went across what is now Phantom of the Opera or maybe the Ramp, although I don’t remember it being called either of those things, via some razor sharp crimps and then drifted across the ever changing holds of GO and into the top (ish) of IO. The final section reversed Power Pinch which was surprisingly straightforward and then reversing the Low Traverse into and Lateral Gruntings, which was a bit easier as the angle had eased and the foot hooks helped a lot.

I appreciate that many holds will have changed but at the time each section felt somewhere in the region of 8A plus or minus a bit and someone more capable than I am could have done it fairly quickly.

I remember having a conversation that it could be started further round in The Bowels, but this seemed like the next step again.

It does seem like a logical conclusion and would benefit from someone younger and stronger turning their hand to it as it is a pretty cool thing…..in my opinion.

Feels unfinished.

If someone has done it, my apologies and well done.

[teestub]

*Bowderstone fans only post alert*

I think what probably makes most sense for a L>R would be climbing through Rising Damp from the start you note, this is probably about 8B on its own, then you have a difficult section to get from the Opera holds into low traverse rail, then a pumpy but pretty straightforwards finish along the low traverse. If you went up Phantom i think you'd have to downclimb Grand to get into powerpinch - not sure there's a way across at a higher level.

I think the L>R does not have a natural line to follow as R>L does (Lateral>low trav>Final Curtain) which may be why it hasn't been done. I'm not sure if the R>L link has been repeated since hold X fell off and the holds at the start of the Low Traverse got worse?

[User deactivated]

What teestub said.

Staying low all the way would be the one in my opinion, the thing you describe Gollum going up and down sounds like it wouldn't flow great to me

It also sounds pretty meaty 3 8A ish things back to back. I'm not sure it'd even be least line of resistance If that's the breakdown.

The R>L that Turner did as it was originally done is a great line for a traverse in my eyes. Rising steadily all the way, since the demise of the X hold it seems a bit of a stiffer proposition and now as Stubbs says it's easier to stay low and go up where the opera stands start, rather than going through where the X hold used to be, unfortunately it doesn't feel like great climbing that way.

You could climb this R>L way staying low all the way reversing Rising Damp and finishing up say picnic or hot air or whatever offer easiest access to the crack or topping out. I suspect this has been done from the grand sitter. 

[turnipturned]

It’s defo doable. I think the most obvious place to start is from the crack. When I was younger, I was always told Gaskins had done it from the Shield?!? Pretty hard but with enough time I am certain some one could do it. I was kinda put off by the fact you would literally just  traverse off the right of the boulder..... bit of an anticlimax

I have done lateral into grand since hold X broke. You get what’s left with LH then go into an undercut Rh (how people used to to impropa RH) and the reach across!

[teestub]

I guess you could do Move Man to finish? Not quite Final Curtain (compared to going the other way) though!

[User deactivated]

Yeah definitely doable, not bad by any means but not a cherry in my eyes. I think like you say stepping off at ground level after all that would be a big anticlimax.

Yeah I've done the moves through that section but didn't do any of the links that way. It's easier in my opinion to go low rather than trending upwards through the X hold. Never did 'The Link' but would have liked to, wasted time on some way worse but easier links.

Tried the new hard thing on the back?

I guess you could do Move Man to finish? Not quite Final Curtain (compared to going the other way) though!

Yeah or turn back round and get all Raven Tor about it.

[gollum]

Can’t disagree with any of that.

Original plan was to go from one end to the other and I wasn’t good enough to do the mid section on that direction.

Can see the end being an anti-climax but maybe no more than lots of stuff at the bottom of crags when you jump off from the jug.

Maybe I should pull my finger out, improve massively and get back on it.