[Pantontino]

I got hold of the new CC guide recently; looks like an interesting place, possibly reminiscent of the Churnet?

Has anybody climbed or bouldered there?

[account_inactive]

Someone asked me the same thing at the weekend.  My standard reply was 'it look like poo stuck together'
Especially if this is anything to go by http://www.learn2climb.com/adventures/view/_20031023100043/

On the other hand the stuff here http://www.climbers-club.co.uk/guidebooks/forestofdean.html which has a PDF download looks like it could be ok

[Jim]

that looks really bad.
need a steaming pile smilie

[Lostboy]

was looking at the guide at work the other day, it could be said to look a bit like the Churnet, but a more accurate description would be 'crap'

[dave]

Paz has been there - i believe he may even be pictured in the new guide.

[fatboySlimfast]

Have been on the sandstone above symonds yat and some of the areas near by and can confirm its a steaming pile of poo! Way loose with pebbles that are stuck in with sand and some rock that resembles shredded wheat!

[Pantontino]

There are a few pictures of Paz in the guide.

I thought Huntsham crag looked like it could be worth a visit - hopefully Paz will come along soon and explain what the deal is.

[fatboySlimfast]

Yeah Huntshams the fella above Symonds yat, me and Bubbs are ex locals and we used to wander all over looking at the shiz when it was raining. Still cant believe its worth it, all the stuff we found was crap

[Bubba]

I agree - there were some sweet looking lines but the stuff is just choss and like fatters said, we spent a lot of time exploring down there.

Still, it looks like somebody has found something...but I suspect that 90% of it shit.

[fatneck]

I got hold of the new CC guide recently

Is it widely available yet or did you get a preview copy?

[Pantontino]

I think it has just been released.

[fatneck]

Cheers

[Bowie]

being a cheltenham lad my first climbing exploits were in the forest of dean.. duelling banjos in the background etc
Its v v poor quality sandstone, don't even think about going.

[account_inactive]

being a cheltenham lad my first climbing exploits were in the forest of dean.. duelling banjos in the background etc
Its v v poor quality sandstone, don't even think about going.

That deserves a wad tick Andy.  Looks can often be deceiving............but not in this case

[chris cleave]

In reply to your queries about boulding in the Forest of Dean, if you don't live too far away, Hunshams is definately worth a visit. Sure it's not Stanage or the Roaches or where ever, but to say there is nothing there worth looking at, well I just don't get that. To say it's all too easy, or too hard or too High, yeah that's fine, but don't say there's nothing there. There are approx 70 routes listed in the guide book and maybe another 30 or so that have also been done. You can see some better pictures of the boulders with most of the  routes marked at www.bigrocks.info It's just a little Blog run with my mates where we share pictures and write a lot of jibberish that'll obviously mean nothing to you, but it'll give you some idea. I don't know you guys at all and I'm sure you all probably boulder way harder than I do, but I bet you you would find some stuff there to challenge you and I don't mean because it's too high (topping out can be really heart stopping), or because a crucial pebble pings off mid climb (and yes sometimes that has happened) but because some of it is proper hard. Try "Ames high" or "Ames low"  or the traverse "The rise and fall of the spasher". None of these have been repeated. It would be really good to see some new faces out there.(and I don't mean faeces,and if you try topping out on some of the higher boulders you'll know exactly what I mean.)   
   Chris.

[account_inactive]

Welcome 

Its awful when people bad talk your local area.  Just ask Andi-e. 
I'm sure there is loads to do in the Forest, but it does seem like a bit of a local venue for local people.  Its also a bit of a pain to get to for most of us.  I live in London and can be in the Peak in 2.5 hours and by the looks of it 3 hours to get to the forest of dean.  For that reason alone its a non starter.

Do you have any photos of the boulder problems as I can't seem to find any on your site.  Maybe post a few to get people interested

[chris cleave]

In reply to Dylan.
   Thanks for your comments. Yes you're right, of course the peaks are a far, far better choice to visit, but for us over in west country it's the best we've got. But if you're in the area climbing in the Wye valley it's worth taking a look. A really good day can be had at Huntshams.
   The only info on the site about the boulders, are the route names, grades (in English tech) and approx boulder heights. As it's only a simple blog, unfortunately there's little room for further info. But I'm sure the pictures of the boulders and some of the bouldering photos will give you some idea.
   Chris. 

[Fiend]

Paz, chris cleave, and everyone who climbs there or lives near it have a lot to answer for!!

I went to the PREMIER crag Huntsham recently....hmmm right. It makes the Churnet look like Stanage.

Firstly the ground beneath the crag is a bitter wasteland of tree-felling debris....not the leafy dappled woodland vibe I thought from the guide photos.

Secondly the routes look generally hideously dangerous i.e. lots of loose pebbles and little protection. It must be said that some of the harder routes do look very impressive and also very impressively serious.

Thirdly I led the classic VS 5a *** and it was fairly shit and scary and even on that bits of pebble kept coming off. E1 5a * more like and that's from someone who likes esoterica.

Basically it is not a very appealing climbing area.

HOWEVER.

There is one "however".

For some reason, Shadowlands looks surprisingly excellent. I don't know why, but having dismissed almost the whole crag, I took one look at that green, dangerous, protectionless pebbly wall, and thought "WOW". It doesn't make sense to me, but it just has "something". Something I will go back for, and risk my limbs for even. Which kinda brings me to one question: Is it (Shadowlands) on reasonably solid rock?? Is it worth the risk??

[SA Chris]

I hope you are talking to another Chris, I never went near the place.

[nic mullin]

Shadowlands is meant to be very good, though i've not done it. In amongst all the choss there are a few other great routes - "who do you say i am" at Knackers Hole (fantastic line and good rock) and "lamentable behaviour" at Coppet (rock looks crap but is surprisingly solid and has good moves) both spring to mind.

Watch out for the grades in the book though - they bear very little resemblance to grades anywhere else (see the start of the guide for their interpretation of the E-grades)  - many routes would have been better served by a bloc grade, but as everything gets trad grades its often difficult to know what you're going to get. The grades for bouldery routes also seem to be rather on the soft side - if you're a boulderer in need of an ego boost you can get a healthy brace of hard-sounding ground ups by picking your routes carefully and bouldering font 6b-7a for an evening. 

If you're stuck in the area for reasons beyond your control and don't want to climb the trad limestone routes in the Wye valley you can find some entertainment in the forest, but the quality is very spread out and takes some finding.

[Fiend]

Thanks for the reply nic.

I actually agree with their stance on E-grades, i.e. actually taking into account the danger, as a contrast to this bollox on gritstone where a 5m fall onto hard ground gets a lower grade than a 10m clean fall into space, despite the former being clearly objectively more dangerous. To be honest it looked like the grades in the Dean were undergraded given the nature of the terrain if anything....but then again the guidebook is pretty unclear whether they are onsight grades or headpoint grades. I agree a bouldering mentality - with a lot of pads - could be more suitable.

WDYSIA looks great in the photo, thankfully it is far too hard for me. I suspect LB is the same!

The only other thing that sounded vaguely interesting was Stormrunner at East Dean. Again it's the rock solidity I'm most worried about...

[kays]

Shadowlands is an excellent and scary highball, the pebbles are solid (enough). It gets the heart pumping when soloed, as you couldn't afford to fall off, it's like a cheese grater.

[andy popp]

I had a great day at Huntshams in the week - did some really good routes, nice ambience (much of the effects of tree clearance probably having settled down) and some inspiring looking routes. I'm keen to get back. But then again, I think Helsby is one of the best crags in the whold country. Re: grades, the guidebook makes it pretty clear these are basically headpoint grades as that, almost of necessity, is the prevailing style in the region, something that makes sense when you climb there.

[b3n99]

Huntsham is my local bouldering crag and ive had a lot of good days there
Check out the bouldering topo on esotericbouldering.com as well as the guidebook as it gives font grades for all the prolems in the guide and more. There are some brilliant problems and short routes and i would reccomend the flakes and ames low on sliced slug as this boulder holds some of the best rock i have seen not only locally but anywhere. There is a lot of choss but pick between it and you will find some gems. Definetly worthwhile for a day or two out.

[TomP]

Being born and raised in Cheltenhamshire this was my local for years. The slug boulder is excellent and there are some real classics, as well as some hard stuff. There was a Stone Circles article about Huntsham's not too long ago. In the early days lots of stuff wasn't documented but I think it is getting there now. Looking at esotericbouldering there is quite a bit of wrong information and problems missed out (it's not their fault, it was just never publicised).

It's well worth a visit if you live not too far away or are visiting the area. The best person to contact is Chris Cleeve if you need more info. A few hard projects left there too!