[Andy B]

This might get confusing...

On the same hillside as The Arch is an arch.
The easiest approach for both is to park as for Blue John Cavern.
East of the buildings is a gate. Go through this and follow the broad path East and slightly downhill to another gate.
Once through this there is a choice of paths. The horizontal one leads directly to The Arch (the old one, not the new one) For Opencast Arch, follow the one leading diagonally up the hill for fifty metres then cut off it leftwards and traverse the hillside to find a horizontal sheep track that traverses above The Arch (the old one, not the new one). Continue along the track to a large sycamore. The arch is hidden under this. The easiest way down is at the far side of the hole.

That sounds complex but is actually quite an easy 5-10 minutes or so approach. It is also a better approach to The Arch (the old one, not the new one) than questing up the hill from Treak Cliff Cavern.

Given it’s proximity to the show cave, keeping a low profile would seem prudent. On the approach you will be easily observed, and it’s worth being careful not to kick anything down the hill, but once in the arch you are almost completely hidden from view.

The front face of the arch is composed of very shattered rock but the back face is much better and forms a hidden amphitheater.

All the climbs except Stogarth are described facing the back side.

The climbing at Opencast Arch essentially consists of several starts and finishes, plus a few outliers, which have been joined in various combinations to make up all the problems and link ups. The best, most logical problems have been named and described below. I have also included a list of some link ups, but to avoid confusion I haven’t listed everything  as this would involve a lot of repetition, and most people won’t be interested in going over and over the same ground.

Good rests, at either side of the arch mean that longer link ups don’t keep getting significantly harder.

I’ve starred the problems that I think are the best.

Chartist, 5
Sit Start at the left side of the arch. Work up and right on jugs, top out rightwards.

Orgreave, 7a
Sit start at the left side of the arch. Traverse the lip rightwards. Pull up to a small sidepull and a Gaston, and up again to backhand the base of the groove at left of centre above the arch. Continue up then step right to top out.

No Surprises, 7a+ ✴️
Sit start matched in a large hole at the extreme bottom left side of the arch. Move up left into the cracked scoop running across the centre of the underside of the arch. Follow this to the hanging ramp under the centre of the arch, then out to finish up the central prow feature.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/u7sklcprcy7emea/IMG_5623.PNG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xgb70qncjxk3qdy/IMG_5622.PNG?dl=0

Luddite, 6a
From the start of No Surprises straight into Chartist. Poor and dabby, but a useful connection for some of the more circuitous link ups.

Grenfell, 6b ✴️
Sit Start matched in the large break under the extreme bottom right side of the arch. Climb straight out the roof, on the hill side, to finish up a crack leading to the right side of the tree to top out.

Ye Are Many, 7a+ ✴️
Start as for Grenfell but head up left to follow the lip and finish up the central prow.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3s0snp4an0azt0e/IMG_4391.PNG?dl=0

I Think The Answer’s Yes, 7b ✴️
Link Ye Are Many into Orgreave along the lip

Windrush, 7a+
Ye Are Many into Chartist along the lip

Peterloo, 7b ✴️
Sit Start matched in the large break at the extreme bottom right of the arch. Good compression moves lead along the belly of the arch to the central hanging ramp then finish up Ye Are Many.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wvsoc790zpsz1b1/IMG_5619.PNG?dl=0

The cracked depression running across the underside of the arch parallel to Peterloo has been climbed and linked into other problems but it is on very poor, shattered rock and not recommended.

Eton Rifles, 7b+
Link Peterloo into  I Think The Answer’s Yes, via the ramp and lip

What is Freedom?, 6c ✴️
High on the right wing of the amphitheater is a right leaning prow feature.
Sit start at a diagonal jug and follow the prow up rightwards. The rocks to the right are out at this grade.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mw0o6ypgw726ipk/IMG_4401.PNG?dl=0

They Are Few, 7a+ ✴️
Link Orgreave into What is Freedom? Effectively the full traverse of the back face.

Tianenmen Square, 6c+
Link Grenfell into What is Freedom?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pdrbvf3bktdqnmo/IMG_4396.PNG?dl=0

Tolpuddle Martyr, 6c+
Sit start on a low slopey break in a cave half way up the right slope. Move out to a large flatty, then right to finish up What is Freedom?

Salem, 7a+
Link No Surprises in to the end of Grenfell

Government Walls, 7b ✴️
Link No Surprises in to They Are Few.

Pentrich Rising, 7a
Link Orgreave into Ye Are Many

First Pride, 7a
Link Ogreave along the lip into the end of Grenfell
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0ryabfymuo8a22y/IMG_4393.PNG?dl=0

WSPU, 7b+
Link Peterloo into the reverse of No Surprises then finish up Luddite.

A good rest at the base of No Surprises means that the other finishes from here don’t accumulate grades, but staying in the roof and leaving the reverse of No Surprises before it begins to drop down (at a slopey crystally rail, facing the valley , with a two finger incut at its right end) and reaching round to the juggy slot just after the start of Orgreave is better and keeps the pump going. All the following link ups follow this route.

Public Enemy Number 10, 7c ✴️
Link Peterloo into the reverse of the roof section of  No Surprises as far as the crystally rail that faces the valley then directly out to the jug slot to finish up Orgreave. The hardest of the logical lines.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lbowuk0ue0j85b0/IMG_5621.PNG?dl=0
(Left hand in the pic is on the slopey crystally rail).

Stogarth, 6c
Almost good but unfortunately crosses the band of poor rock across the outer edge of the arch.
sit start at the far end of the large break running along the outer face of the left side (looking in) of the arch. Follow the break to pull round to the start of Grenfell and Peterloo. Finish up Grenfell.

Stogarth has been linked into other finishes via Peterloo, Ye Are Many and Tianenmen Square etc. But good rests around the start of Grenfell mean it adds no real difficulty to any of them. It can also extended via easy climbing left of its start, but it’s rubbish and a hands off rest at the start of Stogarth renders it pointless.

A selection of Silly links and loops:

Link No Surprises to the hanging ramp into the end of  I Think The Answer’s Yes. 7b

Peterloo into Grenfell, 7b+
Pointlessly link Peterloo into the end of Grenfell via a big U turn at the ramp.

Peterloo into They Are Few, 7b+
Pointlessly link Peterloo into They Are Few via a big U turn at the ramp.

Peterloo into No Surprises reversed into Pentrich Rising, 7b+

Killing In The Name, 7c
Peterloo into No Surprises reversed into First Pride

Guns of Brixton, 7c
Peterloo into No Surprises reversed into They Are Few.

V for Vendetta, 7c
Stogarth into Guns of Brixton. This massive V is the longest of the possible link ups, without going round in circles.

....I did say it might get confusing.

Here are some (very) rough topos to try and help clarify the main problems (a bit)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2qpioytgwg4fgyf/Photo%2029-08-2022%2C%205%2047%2057%20pm.jpg?dl=0
Red: Chartist
Blue: Orgreave
Turquoise: No Surprises
Green: Ye Are Many
Yellow: Grenfell
Orange: Peterloo
Purple: Tianenmen Square

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cwqzbiwgwgxpkfy/Photo%2029-08-2022%2C%205%2048%2022%20pm.jpg?dl=0
Purple: Tianenmen Square
Blue: Tolpuddle Martyr
Red: What Is Freedom

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7ipmbamcbvmkiou/Photo%2029-08-2022%2C%205%2048%2037%20pm.jpg?dl=0
Red: Chartist
Blue: Orgreave

https://www.dropbox.com/s/u0b2q1oc96c0ag3/Photo%2029-08-2022%2C%205%2048%2058%20pm.jpg?dl=0
Green: Ye Are Many
Orange: Peterloo

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f4e06k8mrkx9qdc/Photo%2029-08-2022%2C%205%2049%2021%20pm.jpg?dl=0
Green: Ye Are Many
Yellow: Grenfell

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p2tg73sdhe8otew/Photo%2029-08-2022%2C%205%2050%2008%20pm.jpg?dl=0
Orange: Peterloo
Black: Stogarth
White: No Surprises

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ncy3ruu4nehat9n/Photo%2029-08-2022%2C%205%2050%2037%20pm.jpg?dl=0
White: No Surprises
Lime: Exit of No Surprises Reverse (slopey rail circled)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e5glsyqdtphkxhe/Photo%2029-08-2022%2C%205%2051%2011%20pm.jpg?dl=0
Black: Stogarth

[remus]

Looks like a fun spot, nice work Andy. Psyched to check it out.

Looks like some pretty serious earth works required to get it prepped?

[Bonjoy]

Nice one Andy. Keen to check these out. Had seen these rocks a while back while checking out fossil spots (this hillside is the Peak's premier asbian reef site, but collecting is illegal), but never good round to revisiting. Remember there looking to be some good steep fun.

[Stabbsy]

Looks good. What’s the pad situation? Looks like you’ve got quite a few pads in various pics, but could you get away with two pads for most things? Also any idea on how it resists the rain (I appreciate that’s maybe a tricky question to answer this year!)?

[Andy B]

Thanks everyone.
Pad wise, you could certainly do some stuff with one or two pads, and even some longer stuff will be ok if you don’t mind a muddy boot or bum, but the stuff that starts or moves through the roof (anything including Peterloo or No Surprises) will be nicer with more. We did some pad dragging on the longer links.
I didn’t bother padding the stuff that finishes up the right wing cos it’s not high and the pads tend to slide anyway.
Hope that’s helpful. Let me know if you’ve got your eye on anything specific and I’ll tell you the pads I used for it.

[mrjonathanr]

Looks good, let down somewhat by a distinct lack of political balance. Couldn’t the right side have hosted some appropriately named problems? Supply side, voodoo economics, frack for victory, that sort of thing?

[Andy B]

Looks good, let down somewhat by a distinct lack of political balance. Couldn’t the right side have hosted some appropriately named problems? Supply side, voodoo economics, frack for victory, that sort of thing?

No.

[Andy B]

An update on access here.
My wife an Mrs Sausage were approached by a representative from the show cave beneath while climbing there yesterday. He told them that they were happy for people to climb here, but was very concerned about theft of the mineral for which that area is famous (I’ve deliberately not named it.) They will challenge and call the police on anyone they suspect of stealing, and mentioned pretty hefty fines. He also said that they periodically set cameras up there. So if you see any nice rocks on the floor while climbing there don’t be tempted to pocket them. Also, although when in the crag you’re nigh on invisible, except when topping out, the man said he’d come up because he’d heard them yesterday, (apparently noise travels well there), so needless to say, like all crags, best behaviour, and no speakers or shouting seems wise.

[Bonjoy]

Nice one Andy. Do you think it would be a good move for me to add the crag with this access beta to the RAD?

[205Chris]

Good knowledge Andy and good work on the development.

I've enjoyed a few sessions here recently, some good problems and a nice change of scene from ratty crimps.

Really enjoyed Peterloo - good compression climbing which you don't often get on Peak limestone.

[Andy B]

Thanks Chris, I’m glad you’re enjoying it.

Yes Jon, that makes sense.

The gentleman also said that it would be good to know if climbers were up there to save him traipsing up the hill to check they’re not crystal thieves, but I’m not sure of the best way to go about that as I don’t think approaching from below is a good idea. I thought I’d give him a bell and have a chat. It’s possibly also worth pointing out that having climbers present will act as a good deterrent to Crystal thieves as well.