[dobbin]

Routes are brilliant. Fucking Brilliant in fact. If like me you put a rope on for the first time in years this summer, then routes are what we should all be doing during the too hot for friction months.

I can speak with almost no beta of other areas in the country re routes as I haven't been (excepting Pex), but for the averagely strong boulderer there are some peaches to be had at Raven Tor and Rubicon. Here's some of my favorites (I haven't done them all) :

Raven Tor
Rattle and hump - this is just brilliant. bouldery bouldery, hard move, steady away to the belay - 8a (just)
Out of my tree - bouldery bouldery - path. Great fun again. 8a
Chimes - bimble, burl, crimp slap clip lower off - ace - 8a.
In Brine - bimble, crimp, bimble clip - pumpy - 8a
Indecent exposure - fack me its awesome! reet long and in a great position with some mint climbing - 7b+ (completely not anything bouldery mind)
Pump up the power - benchmark. Look and learn - you are that weak  :wink:  8a+.

Rubicon
Salar - the ultimate in boulder problem routes, great fun dyno slap thing at the top, bimble, crimp, slap clip - 8a
Rubicon - jug hauling through the steep bit of the roof on resin bolts you could hang a lorry off - fantastic - jump from top for head training. 7a.
caviar - genius. absolute genius. Boulder, bouldery crimp bimble top - 8a+.

I love climbing.

Suggest other beauties from wherever you like, then if you plan to visit somewhere hopefully there will be some suggestions as to whats good. Innit?

[Ru]

In Brine - bimble, crimp, bimble clip - pumpy - 8a

Ha ha. Just got back from a few weeks in france - Ceuse etc.

Pumpy.

Ho ho.

[dave]

At some more accessable grades:

Beginners Wall 7b+ is excellent.

Wild In Me 7c is a flava one anall.

Super High Intensity Bodybuilding 7a suprisingly good given the high first bolt and 40ft runout at the top through grass ledges.

Max A Million 7b - another good un, bouldery if you don't fuck the start up.

You could be mistaken for thinking this was a very thinly veiled attempt to list all the sport routes i've done this summer.......you'd be right.

[Bonjoy]

Entree - Two Tier - Hard fingery boulder problem, 8a

Magnetic Fields - Malham - Hard brilliant burly slappy problem, bimble, top, 8b!

Weedkiller (the route) - Raven Tor - Knarly old school boulder problem up a hanging groove, very short, 7c+

This is the Sea - Cornice, Chee Dale - Fingery and dynamic boulder problem into easy plodding up a shallow groove, 7c+

Theoria - The Nook, Chee Dale - Short steep power endurance boulder problem route, slappy on fair sized holds, allegedly like a cellar problem, 8a+

[Fiend]

I quite like Legal Action @ Horseshoe as far as peak limestone sport routes go and they're all pretty gash anyway to be honest

In fact the Main Wall at Horseshoe really isn't bad for mid-grade sport climbing, blow up the rest of the quarry, turf the base and import some cows a la Staden and it would be a great venue  :wink:

[Bonjoy]

as far as peak limestone sport routes go and they're all pretty gash anyway to be honest

 Fair comment for all things below 7a generally, because all the better routes were done pre sport climbing as trad routes.
 Whilst peak sport climbs are pretty shit in international terms, some of the harder stuff is still very good. Routes like Body Machine, Chimes of Freedom, Revelations, Albatrocity, Arch Enemies etc, are superb.

[squeek]

Bouldery routes I've done:

Smooth torquer (7b), Kilnsey, short problem which invloves a V4 crimpy boulder problem into jugs to the top.  Although some muppet still managed to fall off one of the massive jugs clipping the third bolt and ended up on the floor..  wonder who that was  

Wheels of Fire (6c), Robin Proctors scar, ledges to a balancy V3 into big jugs.

Heavenly Whispers (6c+), Gigg South, short crimpy boulder problem half way up the wall.

[Fiend]

Fair point Joy, if some of the classic peak lime low extremes were bolted up as low-mid F6s they'd be pretty damn good. Hmmmm....

[webbo]

would it be cricket to mention/discuss the sport routes i did 10+ years ago.
a quick reply before my alzheimers gets any worse would help.

[dave]

bubba can we have some kinds filter on that automatically removes posts containing the word "horseshoe"?

we tried weedkiller the other week lovejoy, found it very mucky, and not very enjoyable.

also avoid middle age spread at beginners wall, its horrible.

[cofe]

if some of the classic peak lime low extremes were bolted up as low-mid F6s they'd be pretty damn good. Hmmmm....

wash your mouth out sunshine. coming from you of all people too. tut tut.

[Bubba]

I could change it to horseshite if that helps?

Super High Intensity... was my first E4 - ooh, i'm getting dewey eyed! I thought Beginners Wall used to get 7a?

[dave]

if some of the classic peak lime low extremes were bolted up as low-mid F6s they'd be pretty damn good. Hmmmm....

wash your mouth out sunshine. coming from you of all people too. tut tut.

lets not forget they'd quick'y become pollished as fuck.

I'd rather see less lowgrade sports routes being developed. mainly cos most of the retrobolted quarry stuff in the peak is mainly shit if we're honest, so its then an incentive to get good enough to enjoy some of the better harder routes.

[dave]

beginners wall 7a? they must have been on crack. i think it used to be E6.

[dobbin]

Its a fun little route that. whats that thing called that breaks back left from the top of the pod thing (where you go right on BW)? is it 7c?

France is significantly pumpier than any climbing at the tor I'd wager.

[webbo]

beginners wall is solid 7b+.it took me 3 or 4 visits to r/p it.the slap for the pocket with your l/h seemed along way to me.in fact it might have taken me three visits to do the move.

[Bubba]

Must just be my fucked memory failing me.

[dave]

the thing which goes left from BW is the 7c version of lets get physical, which is also 8a+ if you go straight up from the start of fossil wall. looks alright but maybe a bit squeezed in. someone should write a guide.

incidentally has anyone been on that love of money is the root of all evil thing left of fossil wall?

[webbo]

and i thought i was the one with early onset alzheimer's

[dobbin]

incidentally has anyone been on that love of money is the root of all evil thing left of fossil wall?

Ru and I looked at it about 2 years ago, its horrible, scratchy and hard.

[Doylo]

as far as peak limestone sport routes go and they're all pretty gash anyway to be honest

 Fair comment for all things below 7a generally, because all the better routes were done pre sport climbing as trad routes.
 Whilst peak sport climbs are pretty shit in international terms, some of the harder stuff is still very good. Routes like Body Machine, Chimes of Freedom, Revelations, Albatrocity, Arch Enemies etc, are superb.

yeah i can second arch enemies, fantastic route, harder than 7c though

[dobbin]

Revelations looks fcuking brilliant. Remember Ru wobbling up the arse emptying run out of doom and that has stopped play until now. Is it 8b then?

[Ru]

nah, it's 8a+. There's one hard move at the beginning that's about font 7c that means lots of people that have done 8b can't do it, hence 8b, but it certainly doesn't feel 8b to redpoint.

Get on it Dobbin, if you can do the move you can do the route. The run out at the top is easy, don't let my faffing put you off.

Anyone at the tor tonight???

[Bonjoy]

I'm off to Thor's Cave in a minute to try and re-bolt Thormen's Moth! Wish me luck.

[dobbin]

good luck. Fooking hell, that might be an epic. I still have your Mallorca cockfax BTW. Will arrange to pick it up soon.

Would love to go torwards tonight. wonder if sardine is possible with one (left) leg?