[Bradders]

I managed to see off my project at Ilkley this afternoon. I've mentioned this a few times on here so thought I should post up about it.

It's essentially a low left start to Bernie the Bolt, linking the problem Awkward Classic straight into the bulk of BtB. The climbing is superb, very sustained and varied, with a burly 6 move intro on undercuts followed immediately by a shouldery 4 move sequence on gastons and high feet, with the crux being very near the top, albeit you finish with a lovely few easier moves on good holds at a good height. I know it's a link up but it's a great highball line in my opinion, climbing the faint groove beneath the obvious flakes at which BtB and Three More Reps converge. Genuine 3 stars.

I know BtB has been done from a sitter before, at least by Jon Freeman, and although he said he can't remember what he did he reckoned it didn't add too much to BtB, so I believe he'll have gone from the obvious right hand sitter on two big undercuts (I.e. where Classic Calf starts).

Does anyone know if this version has been done before? Although I can find no reference to it anywhere, and have asked around a fair bit, it could easily have been done back in the day by JD in-between bicep curls whilst on his circuit.

If it hasn't, and tbh even if it has really, it needs a name so I'd like to propose "The Golden Shot", I.e. the game show which featured the phrase "Bernie, the Bolt please!".

Grade wise I think it might be 8A but it's hard to know. I had 5 sessions in February and was getting near the top, but didn't have the shoulders for the crux. I then picked up a wrist injury which put me back quite a bit, but once that was fixed I've spent the last 3 months training for it specifically, and having made some nice gains I managed to get it done quickly now (for me.... 2nd go, 2nd session this season).

Fun bit of trivia, assuming the UKC grade of 7C for BtB is correct (which I think it is personally) it was one of the very first in the UK when it was done by Rob Gawthorpe in c. 1985, obviously pre-pads. Pretty impressive given how high the crux is!

I've been dead keen on the Calf this year, it offers some fantastic climbing. Yes you have to put up with tourists staring at you, and I arrived once to find a full primary school year group stood under it shouting at goodness knows what, but these things are perfectly tolerable for such an immense boulder. Deserves more attention if you ask me.

Lastly, why on earth is it known as the back of the Calf? It's clearly the front!

[teestub]

Nice dude! 

[andy popp]

Fun bit of trivia, assuming the UKC grade of 7C for BtB is correct (which I think it is personally) it was one of the very first in the UK when it was done by Rob Gawthorpe in c. 1985, obviously pre-pads. Pretty impressive given how high the crux is!

And Rob also did Walk on By (7C+) in 1980.

Congrats on the send, of course.

[cheque]

Lastly, why on earth is it known as the back of the Calf? It's clearly the front!

Named when bouldering was a mere subset of climbing and no-one did it exclusively I imagine. It’s the back when you’re looking at it from the crag.

[User deactivated.]

Let's see the video then!

Well done again, can't wait to try this thing soon, or perhaps go right up Cindy instead of left!

On the regular BtB sitter, I'm surprised he said it didn't add much. I've not put it all together yet so I'm speculating, but unless I had a duff sequence, the sit moves are around 7A to where they join the juggy flake  and I'd expect that to add a grade on, or at least go from low to high in the grade. More importantly it does add quality. As you say, it's a highly underrated boulder!

[Fiend]

Nice one Bradders.

[SA Chris]

I think the name predates bouldering;

https://www.visitbradford.com/things-to-do/cow-and-calf-rocks-p1622581

https://megalithix.wordpress.com/2008/12/29/cow-calf-rocks-ilkley-moor/

I think they have been a popular tourist attraction since Victorian Times.

Good effort btw, sounds burly and undergraded.

[cheque]

I think the name predates bouldering;

He’s talking about why the steep side is referred to as the back, not why it’s called the Calf.

[Bradders]

I think the name predates bouldering;

He’s talking about why the steep side is referred to as the back, not why it’s called the Calf.

Indeed. Although I had no idea there was once a Bull too!

[SA Chris]

I think the name predates bouldering;

He’s talking about why the steep side is referred to as the back, not why it’s called the Calf.

Ah Ok. guess it's all relative, if the calf is facing the cow.

[SA Chris]

Although I had no idea there was once a Bull too!

Me neither, lost to the quarriers. Although they did give back with the whole quarry.

[Bradders]

Cheers all!

Two things I meant to mention and forgot.

Firstly the rock quality is brilliant. Bullet hard grit. I love this kind of gritstone. No scrittle at all.

Second it's not an eliminate. Although it starts in the same place as the low start to Three More Reps it's just a case of one going slightly left and up, the other going slightly right and up.

[edshakey]

Second it's not an eliminate. Although it starts in the same place ...

I was going to suggest you watch out for the inevitable debate on whether climbing an 8A from the start holds of a 7B+ makes it necessarily eliminate but no need to worry - it's not in Yarncliffe woods

[Wellsy]

Nice work, sounds nails.

[36chambers]

Let's see the video then!

+1

Nice one Bradders, although I am annoyed that I might end up having to consider to do that top out again

[Will Hunt]

Good work, Nick.

Second it's not an eliminate.

One question. Is Awkward Classic an eliminate? Looking at it in Cameron-Duff, would you want to use hold 11 or would that make things harder? I'm not really familiar with this wall.

[Bradders]

Cheers. Yeah good question. For me using hold 11 would add 1 or 2 tricky / powerful moves (basically the crux of Almost Pleasant), so I didn't use it. It's still hard, but more direct and fewer moves, to use a different sequence to avoid it.

You may need to if you have less reach though, not sure, it's a fairly decent span from 13 to 17. This will mean nothing to anyone without a copy of the ACD guide 

I think this is also why for me it feels so independent to Three More Reps; I.e. if you go to 11 then you are immediately into position to go up Three More Reps, so going rightwards from there into BtB might feel a bit more contrived.

[spidermonkey09]

Good effort Nick! I'll be up for some more Calf action after Christmas when I've remembered how to boulder. Have you done all the straight ups now?

[User deactivated.]

Good effort Nick! I'll be up for some more Calf action after Christmas when I've remembered how to boulder. Have you done all the straight ups now?

I'm keen for everything on the Calf if you need a few more pads throwing down.

While we're on topic, has the direct finish to Cindy Crawford been attempted before? If there are any holds up there, I'd be interested in giving it a try.

[Bradders]

Good effort Nick! I'll be up for some more Calf action after Christmas when I've remembered how to boulder. Have you done all the straight ups now?

I've not done Cindy. Would like to though, will probably go back with Liam soon. And maybe link Awkward Classic into Cindy too which might be exciting!

I just don't think there are any holds through the middle that would allow you to top out at the apex of the face. Certainly none that I can see from the ground anyway. Tbh even if there were, by the time you got that high the ground also drops away, so the fall gets exponentially bigger!!

[SA Chris]

This will mean nothing to anyone without a copy of the ACD guide

I reached for mine, then realised...

[andy_e]

OT, but a pal of mine recently found a mint copy of the Steve Rhodes OTE guide on a charity table in Otley Sainsbury's. It was given to "Tim" by his mum and dad in 1994. Stubbs? Palmer? Lowe? Shillito? Or some unknown Tim... Intriguing.

[SA Chris]

Clifford? Sat on their shelf for 20 years, and he's not rushing back!

[Bradders]

Let's see the video then!

+1

Nice one Bradders, although I am annoyed that I might end up having to consider to do that top out again

This will mean nothing to anyone without a copy of the ACD guide

I reached for mine, then realised...

Haha, thank you again, you certainly helped invigorate my Calf psyche this year!

I'm going to do an updated topo for it, as it's all a bit of a mess on UKC and it doesn't seem fair to have the info only available in a very old guide that just a handful of people have access to.

[spidermonkey09]

I'm going to do an updated topo for it, as it's all a bit of a mess on UKC and it doesn't seem fair to have the info only available in a very old guide that just a handful of people have access to.

Keen for this. Given the age of it, it might even be possible to scan the existing one.