[Steve R]

Saw this great looking butress for the first time yesterday whilst trying English Voodoo (which was great if a little warm.)  I was a little surprised to find out later that Charlotte Rampling seems to go direct up to the ramp on the left of the butress before exiting right.  I haven't got a definitive covering Gardoms so was just wondering what the other lines here abouts are.  'The' line for me looked (from the ground) to be up the ramp then finishing direct past a horizontal line of 3 little pockets.  The stuff on the left of the butress looked almost safely paddable?  Are the routes good?
cheers

[205Chris]

There's a sample chapter from the forthcoming definitive guidebook covering Gardoms available on the BMC website here

[Steve R]

ah cheers, sounds disappointing to climb but a nice feature to look at then, oh well.  guide looks good though!

[Bonjoy]

CR starts by using the ramp for hands for a bit then travs left a bit, then goes straight up. The top move is roughly the same difficulty if you use the arete or make a move right as suggested by the guide. The other logical line on the wall is to get feet established on the ramp the exit direct via undercuts and a cluster of tiny pockets. This line has been toproped clean by at least three different folk but hasn’t yet been soloed (there’s no gear and the landing is poor).
Last year, as something to do on a miserable drizzly afternoon, I cleaned CR on abseil and re-arranged the boulders under it to make it more highball/groundup friendly. I mentioned this on another thread at the time. My justification for this (and I’m sure plenty will disagree with me) was that the route was done originally as a headpoint and has only been (very rarely) headpointed since. Rumour has it Dawes climbed it above a cat’s cradle of crisscrossed ropes and bags filled with straw! Without padding the landing was an horrendous jumble of (easily moveable)boulders and the holds tend towards green scrittlyness, making it a poor candidate for anything other than headpointing and as suggested by the guide, not great as one of those due to escapability  at the point of maximum danger. Much like the reasoning behind sorting the landing out on The Art of White Hat Wearing. If anyone is about to hit me with the thin end of the wedge argument, it’s worth remembering that there are a vanishingly tiny number of routes where this sort of thing could be done or would have any appreciable affect.
Escapability aside, when clean the climbing is fantastic. As a highball boulder problem the escapability does not detract from the quality anything like as much because the consequences of a fall are not so severe and because boulder problems tend not to be spoiled by having to don blinkers for a move or two, in the same way that routes do. As a boulder problem the line feels pretty pure infact.
CR is now a ground-uppable E6 or highball (7b?) if well padded. I did tell Grimer that the bad write up in the new guide was now unjustified, I don’t know if he had time or inclination to change it though.
This all reminds me I need to go back and climb the thing.

[grimer]

Yes, that download is not the lastest version. It now says " A weaving line based on the slanting ramp that would potentially make a good highball. Gain the ramp and follow it leftwards, almost to the arête, before moving upwards. A little escapable in the bold upper sections. "

I'm all for sorting stuff like that out, good on you.

[205Chris]

A few of us went to look at this today and while I'm not after any beta what's kosher for the top?

Getting up to the eye was fine before rocking up and rightwards to the scoop but I'm assuming the arete is out for the left hand?

Seems a bit eliminate this way but the 1985 guide says finish rightwards from an obvious eye into a rounded scoop which implies matching into the scoop rather than getting the arete and jibbing off left.

Anyone know how it was originally done?

[Steve R]

Following this thread, I went back and did the route/problem.  Didn't use the arete, it is contrived and escapable around the eye thing there though (as per Bonjoy's post really) as you can get the arete and bail into the gully.  Don't think I matched the sloper/scoop thing incidentally....  Great bit of climbing. 
Not that I'm an authority but the direct finish must be one of the best unclimbed things on Eastern grit?
Nathan Lee and his dad did an impressive double ground up the same day I did it - if you want to see a vid of it, it's on his vimeo page.

[dave]

Aye, its crying out for a direct finish.

[205Chris]

Hi Steve, thanks for that but I think you maybe misunderstood my question slightly.

I watched Nathan's vid before posting and he seems to move left at the top (Nathan if you're reading this I'm not knocking your ascent) although I wondered if this is how it was first done as like I said above the '85 guide says to finish rightwards.

There seemed to be a big difference in getting the scoop with your right hand and exiting left (which takes you back on to the arete) versus getting the scoop with your right, matching and then exiting rightwards which is sort of what the guide suggests (and would completely avoid the arete), hence why I was curious about how it was originally done.

[Johnny Brown]

Yeah, if you do use the arete your left foot is then waving right next to a massive ledge, the whole thing becomes a bit arbitrary. I forget the sequence going up, its bold but not desperate. I wouldn't say you really exit right, just straight up.

I've seen the direct finish done on a rope over ten years back now. With pads it wouldn't quite be death either.

[Steve R]

Right, yeah sorry too much leffe brun.  With the benefit of having just practiced the move on ab..... I just rocked up off right hand on scoop  and got the top of crag straight off  with the left hand rather than lashing back left first (potentially harder anyway) a la Nate dog.  My take on it from what I can remember is that once you rock up and right to the scoop you're committed to the line again and any sequence which gets you to the top from there must be kosher.  Matching the scoop sounds cool but makes the route contrived in two places rather than just one?

[205Chris]

Yeah, that makes sense. Cheers folks.

[Bonjoy]

When I cleaned this on a rope (it was filthy at the time) I had a try of all the topout options. Using the arete is not actually the easiest way, though it might feel the least committing due to escapability. I think the steadiest way is to rock up for the scoop, then turn left hand into a very positive sidepull (do some foot adjustment) and go again with RH to a jug. It’s more a straight up rather than RH finish, but from what I recall it does make the top mantel easier if you shuffle right a bit once you’ve got the top.
I’m surprised the project is still unclimbed. Could be highballable with a patio extension or a lot of pads.

[Johnny Brown]

I wouldn't call it 'highballable', 'snowballable' maybe, though aren't they all. The crux is dynoing to the top, I doubt you would get more than one go even with ten pads.

[Bonjoy]

It's no higher than some other stuff that folk like Dan V lob off. With a prepared landing I think it's within range. I've seen folk fall off with hands on top of CR and suffer no harm (much the same fall as from the proj crux). It's not reputed to be that hard so I doubt your average tall wad would need to fall off it many times anyway.

[205Chris]

The crux is dynoing to the top

I doubt your average tall wad would need to fall off it many times anyway.

Will?! Are you out there Will?

[tomtom]

The crux is dynoing to the top

I doubt your average tall wad would need to fall off it many times anyway.

Will?! Are you out there Will?

Ha ha I was going to post the same

[Bonjoy]

There's supposed to be a harder static way too which might better suit highballing

[Johnny Brown]

Pat King is as tall as anyone alive or dead.

[willackers]

Top roped the direct finish clean this evening, I was on my own with no pads, I was very tempted to go for it, but I held back. I reckon it'll go at about E7/8 6c-ish? You really wouldn't want to deck from the last move. Going to try and get out there tomorrow afternoon and give it a go. I just hope the weather is ok. If anyone is up for CR then get involved. I'll be there about 3 hopefully.

[Fiend]

Go Will!

[Gritlad]

Hey, I might be keen, could do with finishing off CR.
Will PM you.
If anyone else is keen and is going through Grindleford on their travels I would be more than happy to donate some petrol money

[willackers]

Too late!

I'm sat on my mat having just sent it.

 

[Gritlad]

Oops, didn't see the yesterday bit!
Great effort! Name?

[Duma]

Sous le Sable?

nice one will.