[Fiend]

Thought I'd start a seperate thread for routes information around the country, the other thread has tended towards Peak routes which is fine and useful as many of us climb there, but I think it would be useful to have a more general thread and keep the other for Peak stuff.

So. Same as before, post requests, useful information, discussions etc etc related to routes around the country i.e. South Coast, Devon, Cornwall, Culm, Bristol area, South Wales, Pembroke, North Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire Lakes, Northumberland, Lakes, Scotland, Ireland, etc.

I have a little bit to say about the Torbay area, had an exploratory visit down there recently:

Information:

Black Ice E3 5c,5b *** @ Long Quarry Point is excellent - steady climbing, lots of interest, lots of variety, feels long. Has good pegs where needed. Go to it.

Hazard Quarry has a bird restriction until August.

Berry Head Quarry has nesting seagulls at the start of many routes.

Errr that's all for now...

[abarro81]

Anyone on here done/know much about fortune cookie at trevallen? basically is it E7 for deathness or crankness, ie. is it the sort of thing you could 'have a go on' onsight... guide doesnt metion it being bold but then its only 6b so its either gonna have to be proper sustained or pretty serious (or both of course).

[Paz]

I would've thought the untidal Ghost Train's normally the standard choice for your first Pembroke E7.  I've 2nd'd the E1 to the left of FC so I'm guessing it's on the shiny grey Pembroke rock which personally isn't my favourite, but it was well nice and sharp on the E3 to the left.  That area's still well worth a look though, some awesome routes even though it's super tidal.

Fiend - isn't Hazard still proper banned after a climber sued the ladnowner for a bolt snapping? I really fancy that `full on hairy chested celebration of the pump' route (Garth) and an E2 Coxy laid down as a challenge on RT ages ago.

[Sloper]

In search of the true esoteric pilce of tottering choss I'd have to say that Armathwaite was disappointing onthe choss fron but otherwise a lovely crag, Time and Motion Man being good value at Vdiff or E0 or somewhere imbetween.

Found some superb choss with mixed bits of good rock around bude.

Oh and there's apparently some white rock in the peak somewhere which is supposed to be proper choss.

[Fiend]

Have been to Armathwaite, keen to go back. It's really quite nice there - location and climbing.

Time and Motion Man was a solid E1, the start is well butch.


And on a similar sandstone related tip:

Pex - good for leading on many of the longer routes. Coel did The Web and Crack And Up and Cobweb Crack. I did The Witch, The Warlock, Cobweb Crack, Dateline, Zigger Zagger and Hart's Arete. All really good as leads with bomber protection - sometimes spaced but definitely useful.

[thekettle]

In the 'dubious esoterica' category I can confirm the mighty Cowrake Quarry has been cleaned up, and sports a range of problems in the V1-3 category. Just think of it as the Bell Hagg of Eden Valley, and you'll be on the right track. Also cleaned and of _slight interest is the Gelt Boulder, the pinnacle of obscureness no less. I'll post a photo shortly, if I can figure out how.

[thekettle]

Behold. The Gelt Boulder in all its pointy glory

[thekettle]

Anyone been to Beckfoot Quarry (Eskdale) in the last decade? I walked past it today on an immense tour of the hillside searching for Bell Stand amongst the bracken  , and wondered wether it warrant an investigation..

[Fiend]

No I haven't (and it's a rare thing for me to not go to an esoteric quarry tucked away in an otherwise classic mountain area!!), but from the definitive guide it sounds, well, a bit short and not over-starred. Given the weather the Lakes gets I'm a bit wary of esoteric venues there.

I've been to Bell Stand (park just East of the grotty roadside quarry at a tiny space below the railway, cross the railway and up through the woods into ferny territory, sidle along a wall on the right for a bit, cross the wall and then keep going up the hillside), and that was nice enough. That E2 corner is rather good, if fiddly to start.

[thekettle]

Yes I got to Bell Stand eventually after finding it from above  , but having already had a climb at Hare Crag and spent an hour searching for the damn thing I'll have to return for the corner you speak of, as I ran out of time! It was all clean and lovely though, a fine destination. Anyone else been to Beckfoot Quarry?

[Fiend]

Info and questions again. Some of you p1mps must know this shit - Paz, JB? Someone?

Info:

Berry Head Quarry - fuck that for a laugh. Had a look before and was inspired by Equipoise which is an inspiring line, but....

Desparete - attempted, very grubby, dirty start. Got puked at by a seagull and lowered off.

Equipoise - attempted, okay start, good wall in lower 3rd, crap line in middle. Got part way up upper wall, some dodgy rock, lots of lichen, huge runouts between rusty pegs. 5c rope-drag rockover to gain a peg with 10m total fall onto a small cam in a thin flake with rusty peg 5m below that and nut in loose block 5m below that. I abbed off.

Verdict: Ab and wirebrush, or avoid.

Now, questions, same area:

Sanctuary Wall:

Call To Arms - looks amazing and very steep. Is it okay gear / rockwise?

False Gods - looks good and ridiculously steep. Ditto for the rock / gear scenario?

Long Quarry Point:

Renegade - good? Sensible? I did Black Ice earlier in the year and found it okay and very good, if this is more of the same then I'll be keen...

Cheers for any advice.

[Fiend]

Come on someone must know, I know there's some string-danglers on here...

[webbo]

the last time i climbed in torbay was about 1974.i think it was the year pat littlejohn was invented.
all i can remember is cracks filled with cabbages and lots of bird shit.also i think climbing was illegal in that part of devon at the time.
thats possibly why i've not rushed back.

[AndyR]

the last time i climbed in torbay was about 1974.i think it was the year pat littlejohn was invented.
all i can remember is cracks filled with cabbages and lots of bird shit.also i think climbing was illegal in that part of devon at the time.
thats possibly why i've not rushed back.

Very wise.

Sanctuary wall always looked like a loosely stacked deck of cards to me. Surely best left to crocker & seagulls.......?

[Johnny Brown]

Not really climbed in the SW, sorry. Enough birdshit and crumbling ledges to go at in N Wales first.

[saltbeef]

mate did call to arms a few years back. about 7b he recvkoned, not too loose, pulled a hold off mind. they both fell off and neither died/got oinjured make of that what you will.

[Fiend]

Cheers guys, that's something at least.

[andy popp]

Is False Gods the E4/5 on Sanctuary? If so its OK, a bit pumpy (obviously) but generally good holds. Madness is fab, no one pitch is horrendous but it all adds up to a good adventure.

[Fiend]

False Gods is the shorter E4 6a on the right hand side of Sanctuary wall, pretty much beneat the start of Incubus.

Basically I got this idea in my mind that doing Call To Arms would be really cool. Then I abbed down to have a look at the wall properly and my response was:  do trad routes really go up something that steep?? I realised I had to go away and have a long think about it and get fitter and stronger. Still don't know whether I am enough but I'm still inspired!!

[andy popp]

That's the one - it got E5 initially but always soft. The wall is very steep but there are a LOT of VERY good hold, incuts everywhere. You won't need to be any stronger, just able to hang in there. In the same very steep trad vein, anyone who has doesn't done Lean Machine (Swanage) just has to. Have you done any of the trad in Ansteys; Devonshire Cream, Blonde Bombshell, the E5 next to it and the ones left of Cocytus? They're all good.

[saltbeef]

do some bouldering and some roptpunkting fiemnd. the guy wo fell off did 8a prety regular and i believe has onsighted 7c....

[Fiend]

mate did call to arms a few years back. about 7b he recvkoned, not too loose, pulled a hold off mind. they both fell off and neither died/got oinjured make of that what you will.

Hmmm so what's the science here?? 7b is more like E6 6b right?? So has something come off and/or the grade is completely wrong, or is there more to this tale than meets the eye??

Hmmm actually I might email Bendy.

[Fiend]

Well I went to have a good long hard look again at Call To Arms and False Gods. They look more awesome the more I look at them but I've decided to leave them as long term ambitions, just too wild and steep for me to feel confident right now. I still don't get that nonsense about your mate reckoning CTA is F7b, BUT I do concur that more roptpunkting would be the way forward.

On the other hand and indeed the opposite angle i.e. slabs, I did Renegade on the big Long Quarry Point slab. Big and good although not as great as Black Ice. Mostly pretty steady (much more so that the rather heavy guidebook description) apart from the committing crux traverse which could result in proper airmiles if the bendy peg goes, some great climbing on it. Recommended again.

Oh, and Dreadnought at Berry Head. Obviously a polished trade route but one useful tip is to go really low starting the traverse, I spent ages trying to find a wrong way across higher until this was pointed out. Beta, see

[pete D]

Hi Fiend

Have done a fair bit around Torbay. Good effort on renegade. I've always fancied this and black ice but not got around to doing either.  I climbed Call to Arms a few years ago.  Failed on the first pitch about ten feet below the belay (utterly pumped!).  Lowered off and gave the lead to the Devon legend that is Chudleigh Si.  He got up it but had to try pretty hard.  It's excellent and the rock is much more solid than appearances suggest.  I would say that as a clip up it would be easy 7a but with the hanging around on steep ground that's required to place trad gear you can get a proper f7b pump going on!  You just need to be able to hang on. There's decent gear, so even if you do run out of steam you're not going to come a cropper.  The top pitch is easier.  I believe there is an epic account of Dave Thomas's solo of this route back in the day.  I think he got really pumped and called for a rope to be thrown down.  He hung around for about half an hour until a rope was thrown but it ended up hanging 20 feet out from the cliff, so he finished the route!

[Fiend]

Was reading that account in an old Climber mag just the other day!!

Does sound like CTA is undergraded then. E4 5c should equivalate to easy F6c not easy F7a and that's without the gear issue!

Will still do it, now in the life-time ambition category.

[pete D]

I could be off with the French grades.  That's just how it felt to me having got very pumped!  It's definately high in the grade though at E4.

[shark]

mate did call to arms a few years back. about 7b he recvkoned, not too loose, pulled a hold off mind. they both fell off and neither died/got oinjured make of that what you will.

Sounds like you are confusing CTA with Carribean Blue (or possibly Free the Spirit) which is/was a stainless steel peg clip up. Call to Arms is no harder than E4.

[Fiend]

Information:

Went to Clogwyn Yr Eyfr, in the Crafnant Valley just north of Betwys, inspired once again by Pantontonious' "Yes the cover is going to fall off but otherwise I masturbate over this guide" North Wales Rock.

As sensible punters would predict, the walk-in, whilst short, is a bit of a thrash up boulders and narrow hillside paths, and the base of the crag is not the place for a creche. Thus much is obvious and confirmed.

It's also rather imposing, unless you find very steep jagged black overhangs and blank undercut grooves to be aesthetically soothing. Again pretty much how it looks in the guide. Some of the main face routes look pretty harsh. The top crack of Snowdrop E4 6a looks amazing and like a little slice of the Cromlech. I may return for this.

The one route we did was Oriole E3 5c, a very meaty pitch indeed. It contains the same desperate battle of a start that forms an E2 that blatantly isn't E2, this is a horror but above the climbing gets better and better. You get a roof, a steep hollow wall, a delicate traverse and an exposed romp to finish. Very doable in one pitch, very good overall. After this we went home rather tired!

So now you know. A good bank holiday escape for the E3-5 leader.

[Fiend]

mate did call to arms a few years back. about 7b he recvkoned, not too loose, pulled a hold off mind. they both fell off and neither died/got oinjured make of that what you will.

Sounds like you are confusing CTA with Carribean Blue (or possibly Free the Spirit) which is/was a stainless steel peg clip up. Call to Arms is no harder than E4.

Well that would be nice . You sure about that given the comments above? Still on the lifetime ambition list!

Been back to this area recently*... any slab climbing afficiandos who have been rained off the North Devon Coast, and already ticked the LQP classics, get thyselves to Telegraph Hole. Flash Dance and Blinding Flash both excellent, very proper slab climbing. Take lots of micro shit and patience to protect the crux of the latter.

* incidentally I am really rating the Torbay area. Aside from the always-pleasing combination of seaside resort quaintness and character building adventure, the amount of variety this manages to cram into one area is quite shocking. From gentle accessible slabs to typical quarried rubble, from dainty sea-level traverses to loose multipitch horrors, from the most ridiculously steep trad to some mightly good slabs, it's sure got a lot of phlava for a single climbing area...