UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => chuffing => Topic started by: mark20 on November 18, 2021, 10:26:04 am
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Something a little more lighthearted...
Favourite descent routes
For me it's the little polished bum slide by Flying Buttress at Stanage
Show offs who name graded routes will be puntered, and no talk of lowering off please :whip:
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The chimney/flake descent on the right/east side of the Robin Hood's cave bit of Stanage.
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The route by which an otherwise sensible and worthwhile debate descends into an absolute shitshow of back-and-forth repetitive arguments :smartass:
P.S. Anything involving downclimbing a tree.
P.P.S. The descent from the Lone Boulder at Stanage in which you scuttle down, facing out, the easy rib left of the lone slab until you can pretty much step off onto the next boulder, all the time pondering why it's easier to smear down that than smear up it.
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Not that i have first hand experience but the tree to get off dreamtime block in Swizzy must be pretty cool.
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Surely the jump off Horror arête at Bridestones has to be up there!
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I always enjoy the sequence descending the chimney from the Demon Wall Roof break. The downclimb of Ruthven has some fantastic jugs too.
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I always enjoy the sequence descending the chimney from the Demon Wall Roof break.
Any good eliminates?
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The little gully between The Sole and Craven Buttress at Crookrise.
Getting off the Cubic Block at Brimham isn't graded but sees many near misses and dirtied trousers (you have to slide down this little chute towards a yawning gully but hop over the gully without falling to your death). Disproportionately travelled by VDiff climbers as that is who the Block is most popular with.
Getting off The Fort at Eavestone used to involve straddling a fallen tree trunk and shuffling over to the mainland. It snapped on Robin Nicholson when he was researching the definitive and deposited him at the bottom.
Sorry, but some of the best descent routes are graded climbs:
The Jolly Pleasant Scramble at Crookrise (famous for being climbed in the wet on a BMC meet, attracting the ire of ignorant internet hooligans) makes a good descent on a crag with few convenient descents.
Reversing Cannon Route (Diff) is the easiest way off Cannon Rock at Brimham and is great.
Also at Brimham is Castle Corner which is a lovely little adventure and makes a good descent that isn't much harder than the normal way down (which is often wet or covered in snow/ice/cragfast children).
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I always enjoy the sequence descending the chimney from the Demon Wall Roof break.
Any good eliminates?
Yeah, you have to do a hands-free stand on the little polished nubbin at the base of the other side of the chimney
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Broad stand on Scafell can be pretty exciting sometimes. Is that graded?
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The simultaneous counterbalance abseil off the summit of Big Picket Rock at Ladram Bay. A characterful descent from a characterful route. It has big, flat, and earthy summit so the amount of friction in the system makes it less hazardous than you might imagine. Good communication between both parties is still desirable.
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Surely the jump off Horror arête at Bridestones has to be up there!
+1
if you could simply walk off the back, the climb itself wouldn't be half as intimidating.
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I know a lot of people hate it (and I know abseil stations have come and gone, no idea if there's one now), but getting off the top of the Idwal Slabs adds a certain spice.
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The best downclimb I have done was on one of the domes in Joshua Tree in the Hidden Valley. I cannot remember exactly which, Intersection Rock maybe? I was just following two elderly free soloist down a maze of chimneys, sloping ledges, a jump and a short section of a hand crack. One of the few routes I have done that is trivial as a down climb but probably close to impossible in the other direction. I would never have found the way down myself.
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The worst descent route is surely the downclimb from Vågakallen on Lofoten. I am not the only one who thinks so (https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/vagakallen-8877/storpillaren-92516)
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Getting down to Main Cliff and traversing into your route.
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Getting down to Main Cliff and traversing into your route.
And then getting back to the bags in climbing shoes!
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Getting down to Main Cliff and traversing into your route.
And then getting back to the bags in climbing shoes!
And the dilemma of where to change shoes - there's no ideal choice.
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Getting off the Joker / Marie Rose block at Cuvier is always a bit more spicy than you want it to be, similarly the way down from the La Statique etc block at Isatis isn't a nice one!
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The descent off Jebel Rum was better than the route up it for me! Made a little more interesting in darkness without a head torch! Like real life snakes and ladders.
The East ledges can be fun in its own right, especially if you have it dialled.
Closer to home another vote for horror arête
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Getting off the Joker / Marie Rose block at Cuvier is always a bit more spicy than you want it to be, similarly the way down from the La Statique etc block at Isatis isn't a nice one!
So true!
I don't know if this counts, but I love the descent into Chair Ladder in Cornwall. The little path around the zawn seems improbable, then hopping down something that looks like a cliff but is easily descended, down huge lichen-covered blocks of granite to the sea.
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The downclimb on the Promontory at Sheigra and the descent into the Land of the Giants {also Sheigra} is worth a mention mainly due to its remoteness, definitely adds a little spice.
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I did a multipitch descent in the dolomites (falzerego pass?) down a series of trenches and tunnels from the war. Proper good. Think you might have done it too Will, the crag name escapes me.
Questing down a first ascent in Morocco. Topped out a ridge with no idea what the descent would be, cruising along the easier finish ridge, we spy a house on the ridge. A lovely path wound down through a spread out peaceful village with dappled shade, depositing us close to the base. Amazing luck.
The dwr descent is a local favourite.
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The descent into the Old Redoubt? Dark, wet, short tidal window... whats not to love? First time I did it I got wet, second time was a little more successful, third time I did it as part of MMT.
Another vote for Horror Arete @ Bridestones - :2thumbsup:
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Nice to see some love for the Demon Wall chimney; it always seems very elegant. Is it Best Forgotten Art that has footage of Arthur Dolphin speed-downclimbing it, or have I dreamt it?
@jwi - I think that does sound like Intersection rock, which is a great descent! I enjoyed it more than the ski tracks, which provided an "only blasphemy" type experience that wasn't pleasant. If you liked that, you should try the Demon wall chimney some day.
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I did a multipitch descent in the dolomites (falzerego pass?) down a series of trenches and tunnels from the war. Proper good. Think you might have done it too Will, the crag name escapes me.
Good call. That's the descent from Sass de Stria (aka Hexenstein). Sitting in little machine gun nests on the way.
The downclimb to access Might of the Stalactite at Cala Barques is an exciting adventure.
Nice to see some love for the Demon Wall chimney; it always seems very elegant. Is it Best Forgotten Art that has footage of Arthur Dolphin speed-downclimbing it, or have I dreamt it?
Three Chockstones Chimney. Not seen BFA but the footage is on the DVD that you get with Memories of Dolphin. He basically just jumps off the top of the crag and bounces on the chockstones on the way down. Also old footage of him climbing Kipling Groove etc.
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The descent from Lembert Dome in Tuolomne is an improbable and slippy walk/scramble/ab, fairly exciting, gets its own topo on MP - https://cdn2.apstatic.com/photos/climb/106464174_medium_1494111336.jpg.
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@jwi - I think that does sound like Intersection rock, which is a great descent! I enjoyed it more than the ski tracks, which provided an "only blasphemy" type experience that wasn't pleasant. If you liked that, you should try the Demon wall chimney some day.
I would love to.
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P.P.S. The descent from the Lone Boulder at Stanage in which you scuttle down, facing out, the easy rib left of the lone slab until you can pretty much step off onto the next boulder, all the time pondering why it's easier to smear down that than smear up it.
this :agree:
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The one off Craig y Wrysgan in the Moelwyns where there's a handy tunnel from an old quarry incline to follow.
Least favourite - Dib Scar before it got sanitised with lower-offs, wading back through a sea of nettles.
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Coming down the cables on Half Dome after doing Snake Dike was about as scary as the climbing! Bet you get 10x as many questions if you’ve just popped up off the Regular Route.
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Three Chockstones Chimney. Not seen BFA but the footage is on the DVD that you get with Memories of Dolphin.
It’s the same footage. 00:58 onwards:
https://vimeo.com/30912951
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Coming down the cables on Half Dome after doing Snake Dike was about as scary as the climbing! Bet you get 10x as many questions if you’ve just popped up off the Regular Route.
Quite! I think I opted to wrap a sling around the cables (or perhaps got told to by Nat).
I have to say I really like the end of the SD topo with the arrow and note "slabs forever" which is quite apt.
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I have to say I really like the end of the SD topo with the arrow and note "slabs forever" which is quite apt.
Totally, I still remember the weird realisation that the angle had eased sufficiently that I could just stand up and walk rather than padding with hands and feet!
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This is my weird realisation that archetypal boulderer Stubbs has done Snake Dike.
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This is my weird realisation that archetypal boulderer Stubbs has done Snake Dike.
If it helps I’ve also done Red Wall at Gogarth, although that was entirely as a second so not sure it counts!
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Finishing up the slabs above snake dike gave me the Herbie jeebies, I found going down the cables ok, but imagine being a non climber on there. I'd brick it!
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This is my weird realisation that archetypal boulderer Stubbs has done Snake Dike.
If it helps I’ve also done Red Wall at Gogarth, although that was entirely as a second so not sure it counts!
Is that what led you to boulder exclusively.
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This is my weird realisation that archetypal boulderer Stubbs has done Snake Dike.
If it helps I’ve also done Red Wall at Gogarth, although that was entirely as a second so not sure it counts!
#traddad!
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Coming off Esk Buttress for the first time in the dark wearing moccasyms, down the rocky streambed. Same day I placed an RP on the ungraded approach pitch :)
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Is that what led you to boulder exclusively.
Come to think of it, purely coincidentally, that may have been my last trad route!
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My favourite is walking down the long black slab at Taipan Wall. Descending back to the car park.
Technically a hike/trail.
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My favourite is walking down the long black slab at Taipan Wall. Descending back to the car park.
Technically a hike/trail.
Lovely walk down, bit of a slog walking up. I used to like walking in from Camp Sandy where you could look at the crag the whole way.
In the same vein, I enjoyed the walk/scramble off Californian Arete, via bad step and tunnels to emerge at Serengeti.
Also surely the chains down from the Bluffs at Arapiles!
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The descent from the top of the main south face of chudleigh is a favourite of mine, well polished and interesting down climbing tree roots. Doing it a couple of times last year bought back good memories!
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Broad stand on Scafell can be pretty exciting sometimes. Is that graded?
Think it’s about Diff. Always used to love the sense of adventure coming down from routes like Pluto, Savernake and Bilberry Buttress as a kid.
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Villanova de Meia (skier's left) when icy is a bit :o
We followed a Spanish pair down this. One of them had taken a fall on their route and broken their arm (it was in a thin dyneema sling). Every now and again he'd let out a scream after falling onto it :sick:.
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Getting off the Joker / Marie Rose block at Cuvier is always a bit more spicy than you want it to be, similarly the way down from the La Statique etc block at Isatis isn't a nice one!
Same for getting off the L'Elephant block at Elephant and the big central block at 91.1 (which has a big chain to 'help'). More scary than getting up.
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Walking down the ramp on the Pebble. No hand grips so even the clunky can get to feel a bit like dawes and you get back to your pad with clean, dry shoes ready to flick up the next warm up.....and then walk down the ramp again, bit faster this time.
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The way off the left hand side of gingerbread slab in Lawrencefield. Down the ledges that are now sadly very overgrown. I used to be able to flow down it almost with my eyes shut.
Similarly for the descent down to the right of Rusty Wall at Stanage.
(oddly the bum shuffle off the RHS of Flying Buttress was the first thing that entered my head when I read the first post).
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The simultaneous counterbalance abseil off the summit of Big Picket Rock at Ladram Bay. A characterful descent from a characterful route.
I’ve not climbed Big Picket, but simi-abbing off after the second pitch of The Parson was in a similar vein - after my usually stoic partner pleaded with me to retreat from the disintegrating third pitch.
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What about the leap across the zawn to the start of Dream Liberator in Great Zawn? A terrifying jump to a small sloping shelf above the sea, known to have claimed at least one broken ankle.
Great to have done it - but not sure I’ll be rushing back to repeat it.
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Cool thread Mark. :)
no talk of lowering off please
Fine by me.
The way off the left hand side of gingerbread slab in Lawrencefield. Down the ledges that are now sadly very overgrown. I used to be able to flow down it almost with my eyes shut.
One of the things I miss most about soloing is doing loads of routes at the same bit of a grit crag and scrambling down routes and descents with increasing fluency. There’s nothing like a big impressive cliff but I just love how a grit crag can become a scrambly adventure playground.
The chimney/flake descent on the right/east side of the Robin Hood's cave bit of Stanage.
This was the first that came to mind for me. Such cool moves and a Stanage rite of passage. A bonus of spending any time in that bit of the crag is watching/ encouraging beginners and old timers for whom it’s possibly the sketchiest thing they’ll do all day. I’ve never seen any myself but I imagine there have been some accidents on it!
I have seen a little kid break his arm on the Flying Buttress descent (not the bum-slide bit but higher up) and had to help him down the rest of the way and find his Dad. Tying in with a post higher up this thread I made the poor lad a sling from a dyneema, erm, sling and the little fucker immediately took it off and gave it back to me! His Dad was clearly so mortified at the imminent loss of his childcare/ climbing privileges that he barely thanked me either ::).
Brimham must be the epicentre of cool descent routes, at least for grit (Font must surely have thousands but my memory of my only visit is very hazy) some have that all-important “this is going to be nails” factor before you commit to them too.
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The descent from the top of the main south face of chudleigh is a favourite of mine, well polished and interesting down climbing tree roots. Doing it a couple of times last year bought back good memories!
I was going to post some bullshit about my favourite being hobbling off the summit of El Capitan with a haul bag or something but how could I have considered it?
The tree root descent route at Chudleigh is the only choice. Good call.
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What about the leap across the zawn to the start of Dream Liberator in Great Zawn? A terrifying jump to a small sloping shelf above the sea, known to have claimed at least one broken ankle.
Great to have done it - but not sure I’ll be rushing back to repeat it.
I broke the heel of my foot on that jump... so thats at least 2 injuries.
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Three Chockstones Chimney. Not seen BFA but the footage is on the DVD that you get with Memories of Dolphin.
It’s the same footage. 00:58 onwards:
https://vimeo.com/30912951
Love this footage. When I was an Almscliffe local I discovered this descent myself and got it completely wired. I reckon I was quite a bit faster than Dolphin as I can remember the sequence, which was both more refined and dynamic, and had I sticky rubber trainers. Basically a very controlled fall, I could do it in under 2 seconds and regret never filming it. Had some amazing looks from people checking I'd topped out so they could start the roof, only to turn round to chalk up and find I was already stood there.
I must have seen the footage before but not knowing the crag it had meant nothing. Years later saw it again and was delighted, a real bond to a legend of the past.
Coming down the cables on Half Dome after doing Snake Dike was about as scary as the climbing! Bet you get 10x as many questions if you’ve just popped up off the Regular Route.
Was in Yosemite not long after the above and was really getting quite competent in tennies. Towards the end of the trip a group of us soloed Snake dike on a beautiful October day, just tennies, a chalkbag and a tiny rucksac with snacks and water. There was a slightly thought-provoking move on the second pitch but the rest was just a delight, especially the descent. I jogged in complete confidence down the outside of the cables with my left hand lightly resting on the handrail, to the appalled stares of exhausted yanks dragging themselves up the steps inside the cables.
Similarly, though not technical in any way, jogging down the steep path back of The Chief after the Grand Wall. I may well have been barefoot, but just perfectly tuned in, fluid movement, beautiful natural gorge, great route behind us, ears popping with the rapid altitude loss, beers waiting below.
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I can't agree on the Chief; far too many people coming the other way being overly congratulatory.
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I was at Smugglers terrace a few years ago, Franco turned up at the top of the crag and ran/fell down a very steep grassy gully. It was later cleaned and climbed at HVS ! Really quite impressive. A similar line just to the left (I think) appears in his new film.
Is it true the old grit climbers used to practise running down Hargreaves Originals route at Stanage from ever increasing heights? :bow:
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I must be a bit of a fanny as I'm not personally a fan of these awkward semi-downclimbing long-winded a bit sketchy descent sort of things including the ones listed. Bollox to the Desperation descent and Main Cliff too for that matter.
If it's not going to involve genuinely fun novelty, i'd generally like scenic ones, maybe with a decent wee trail, and a bit of sense of wonder when you pop out somewhere. I'm struggling to think of my favs tho!!
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I must be a bit of a fanny as I'm not personally a fan of these awkward semi-downclimbing long-winded a bit sketchy descent sort of things including the ones listed. Bollox to the Desperation descent and Main Cliff too for that matter.
If it's not going to involve genuinely fun novelty, i'd generally like scenic ones, maybe with a decent wee trail, and a bit of sense of wonder when you pop out somewhere. I'm struggling to think of my favs tho!!
If you ever end up close to Gap you should do a route on Petit Rocher at Devoluy. You top out on a flat plateau and take a winding trail down incredibly scenic alpine meadows, then trough a forest and end up in a beautiful hamlet.
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I must be a bit of a fanny as I'm not personally a fan of these awkward semi-downclimbing long-winded a bit sketchy descent sort of things including the ones listed. Bollox to the Desperation descent and Main Cliff too for that matter.
If it's not going to involve genuinely fun novelty, i'd generally like scenic ones, maybe with a decent wee trail, and a bit of sense of wonder when you pop out somewhere. I'm struggling to think of my favs tho!!
If you ever end up close to Gap you should do a route on Petit Rocher at Devoluy. You top out on a flat plateau and take a winding trail down incredibly scenic alpine meadows, then trough a forest and end up in a beautiful hamlet.
Wonderful
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Is it true the old grit climbers used to practise running down Hargreaves Originals route at Stanage from ever increasing heights? :bow:
Yes - Alf Bridge and his development of the art of "controlled falling" down Hargreaves and the like (jumping more than running). I love the 30s, absolutely my favourite period in British climbing history.
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I wonder if these snow shoes would make the walk down from Cairngorm much much cooler? Just hope on the ski slope and wahey :lol: https://www.snowfeetstore.com/pages/shop (https://www.snowfeetstore.com/pages/shop)
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I did a multipitch descent in the dolomites (falzerego pass?) down a series of trenches and tunnels from the war. Proper good. Think you might have done it too Will, the crag name escapes me.
Done that!
Had a very memorable one also in the Dollies where my partner, who was much better as descending in trainers than me flew off at a rate of knots due to impending thunder. A few hundred metres of descent later #, I'm getting soaked through above a steep downclimb. He's standing at the bottom, wondering what's taking me so long as he's shivering madly in the cold. He had the rope, and, well, for me it was one slip and death. Was Not Happy.
One of my favourites is the downlimb off the back of the Home Rule Boulder at Dumby. I would not be the first to have got up home rule, before it slowly dawned on my that the descent is a steep, blind 4c! Now I have it wired it's a delight, but it's a bit harrowing 5m up, not knowing where to go.
Skiing pow back down to the midi mid station after, popping jumps off little bumps and rolls after doing the rebuffat terrey on the pelerins was probably more fun than the route :-)
Bum-slide trenches in La Grave.
I've suffered through many years of hating soling, especially in trainers...so most of my descents were of the less pleasant type, or at least I didn't enjoy them!