[User deactivated.]

Hawkcliffe has always been an excellent trad venue, but now it's very good for bouldering too. Me and a mate have spent the last couple of months uncovering around 30 new problems, some being genuine 3 star affairs. Rather than list everything out here, I've put together a PDF guide which can be downloaded from this google drive link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PP9kYjpN4G-FpxfQnYBimPs9sWcjs-Yv/view?fbclid=IwAR2epQg6kcRFBWZydacW4fQK1T3C4u8NmlkbG67mCtGcU36UK3tJ9VFWJOo

As stated in the intro, we've purposely left some of the new blocks unclimbed to lure more traffic here. Some of these look quite good too!

If you spot any errors in the guide (or add any new problems yourself) let me know and i'll update the PDF.

[remus]

Mega effort, well done!

Mirror of the topo in case the above link stops working for some reason https://climbing-history.org/file/5b425af7-224b-5b40-8ffd-e9e885e7b174/hawkcliffe%20bouldering%20guide.pdf

[Fiend]

Good effort especially listing and topo-ing a bunch of unclimbed stuff to give people new things to do 

[Will Hunt]

Good work, Liam. Can we put that on Unknown Stones?

When you do an update, is there any need to list Rumble as 7C? I don't think anybody has done it with the original sequence since Olly did it?

[moose]

That's a really nice, thoughtful piece of work. Admittedly, I've not put it to the test, but it's at least trying to address my bugbears of ambiguous / incomplete walk-in details and warnings re landings. This is writing as someone who has spent many days in the last few years (and this week) slogging for ages up hills, getting a bit lost, and on eventually finding the boulders, realising that all the "tick list" problems have unconscionable landings for the sole, 2-pad boulderer. 

That said, I will be applying a Liam H conversion factor for pads required, as he seems very confident in his ability to climb without falling and/or to bounce unharmed on very sloping landings!

[User deactivated.]

Thanks all, I hope some people actually go! If anyone wants a tour guide, I'm still going up one day on most weekends.

Good work, Liam. Can we put that on Unknown Stones?

When you do an update, is there any need to list Rumble as 7C? I don't think anybody has done it with the original sequence since Olly did it?

Sure, feel free to host it. Olly and I spoke about this actually and he said he didn't have the span for the new way. I decided to give the split grade so people know the history but can't take 7C in good conscious doing it the new way.

That's a really nice, thoughtful piece of work. Admittedly, I've not put it to the test, but it's at least trying to address my bugbears of ambiguous / incomplete walk-in details and warnings re landings. This is writing as someone who has spent many days in the last few years (and this week) slogging for ages up hills, getting a bit lost, and on eventually finding the boulders, realising that all the "tick list" problems have unconscionable landings for the sole, 2-pad boulderer. 

That said, I will be applying a Liam H conversion factor for pads required, as he seems very confident in his ability to climb without falling and/or to bounce unharmed on very sloping landings!

The boulders were hard enough to find before the bracken came up, so now it's a bit of a nightmare if you don't know your way around. I've tested various approaches and, if you stick to the map and directions given, that's the safest bet (although not foolproof). At least it's only 10 minutes to walk in! Re pads, I did try to think 'how many would others want', well aware that I'm often a bit dumb when it comes to protecting the landing!

[Br0mley]

Went with a friend to have a reccy yesterday. Top effort on developing all the blocs, I thought Crisis looked especially good. It would be raved about if it was the cliff or Caley.

Managed to get up 29 on your topo next to Dhrenkrom. We thought it would be about 6b+ proposed name Abromination.
We also had a look at 5a and 5b. Couldn't manage 5a from the matched undercut start and it felt a little eliminate as there's a decent crimp for your RH on the face so did it with LH undercut, RH small crimp. Climbed well enough, 6a+ maybe, proposed name Scouting for Rocks. Also did 5b but from hanging slopers on the face with a high foot rockover to get established. 5+ max this way, no thoughts on a name for this one.

The sit to 5a/5b would be savage, like high 7s. Huge amount of body tension required. We're planning to head back soon to clean up 31 & 32 from the topo and have a look at the problems down the far upper end 8-20 in the topo.

Cheers again for the hard work on the development and the topo. It's a shame it's so massively overgrown, but this does make it quite unique aspect-wise.

[User deactivated.]

Cheers for the feedback. Seems the map must have been at least a bit useful then?

I'll make a note of your additions for the next update. 31 and 32 actually look pretty good to me and I would anticipate in the 7's but never actually pulled on. I'd be keen to hear how it goes.

I think the far upper area (8-20) is probably the best bit for a mid 7's boulderer. There's quite a few quality lines all fairly close to one another; The Throne, Bladerunner, Two of Spades and Africa Wall are all good, and Rumble in the Jungle isn't far away either. Some of the unclimbed stuff up there looks to be in the 6's too.

I forgot that I had a video of some of the problems. I put this together before I had names for them all, and the first one is no longer 'Sibudu' it's now 'Sibudu Stand Start' as the sit is now the main line (don't get put off by my idiocy falling from the top above no pads, the right hand exit is much safer too).

[Br0mley]

No worries, I'll DM you on insta with names for the ascents. The map was class yeah, we'd have got nowhere without it.

Agreed on 31 & 32 likely being in the 7s, I think 31 will clean up really well as it's quite a distinct looking line.

Cheers for uploading the video, good to have some more idea of what the problems down the far end look like and they look class. Will check it out next week hopefully.

[User deactivated.]

In addition to the updates from Bromley above, a few more from myself:

No. 10 in the guide has now been climbed at 6B+. The compression prow climbed from a stand start. Put your blinkers on and exclude anything right of the crack, including at the top where the crux lies.

I also came across more new blocks yesterday and I probably won't get around to climbing them myself. From the Sibudu area, keep going right (if you were facing the crag) for a few minutes across steep overgrown ground, and the blocks are up near the top. There's a big prow/arete thing which looks mid 6's, or a a bit harder from a sit start matched on a ramp to the left. On the back side of that block there's a good looking line that sit starts towards the left side of the wall and follows a crimp line diagonally up and is probably high 6's/low 7 maybe. Just further up there's another wall with a line in the middle of it off a poor crimp seem, pull on and power up to a slopey rail. Probably low 7 by the looks of it. The holds mostly seemed clean but a wire brush would help get the remaining moss off.

It's worth noting that everything was dry by mid day even after a night of torrential rain.

[Will Hunt]

Had a thrash around tonight. Did Scouting for Rocks while playing on the sit. Then off to look at 31 and 32 which were a bust as I hadn't brought a rope. It's a move or two of 6th grade stuff to get established on the wall which is very Glen-esque. Couldn't go up that without cleaning it to find which of the ripples are holds.
Went to do Gargoyle which was OK but very overgraded. 6A+ or thereabouts. Played on a variation eliminating the ramp but it felt like you'd end up basically climbing Crisis from a RH start.
Did Dhrenkrom and Abromination. Both nice and worth a star. Agree with Abromination at 6B+; Dhrenkrom probably low 6B+.

[User deactivated.]

Cheers for the feedback, I hope the map was of some use.

I haven't actually climbed anything you went on except for Gargoyle. I did it first try but since I don't climb enough 6's to feel qualified on the grade, I left it unchanged in the guide from the UKC grade.

I'd be keen to see how others get on with the area up at the top with The Throne, Bladerunner, Africa Wall and Two of Spades all very close to one another. All very good too!

[Will Hunt]

Was at a loose end this evening so popped in to do line 31. Pull onto the slab and climb up. About 6A+ or 6B, a little right of where the topo line currently sits. Jack the Rippler. Nice couple of moves up the slab but certainly not worth more than a star.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvIs_eiMlz1/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==