It’s about time I did a roundup of stuff I’ve done, seen, or heard about which hasn’t been reported on here yet, so here one is. The first lot is new stuff I’ve done, the rest is stuff I’ve been around to see or heard about that hasn’t been mentioned on here. Loads of really good ones among them, especially the two harder roof lines at Crich Tors and Ned’s hard stuff obvs.
Gardoms Woods - Repetionista - 6B
Left (100m west) of Sauvito and down the hill a bit is a 6m wall above a bit of a pit. This is home to a fairly well known about LGP (see below). Repetionista climbs the blunt rib to the left of the steep wall with a crux move at the top. A decent highball to add to the circuit. Old money E2 6a/b
Kinder, Upper Tor - Blocksmith - 7A
Seems like yonks ago I did this. It’s on the steep downhill face of the biggest boulder below the main bit of crag. Probably the best none-highball prob at the crag
Froggatt - Hot Toddy LH - 7A+
Moved a boulder so I could try climbing this from a LH sitter. It didn’t really work from the low holds but did manage to climb from a reachy SS pull on a few holds further. One tricky slap and a bit of foot jiggery pokery to get into the normal really.
Froggatt - Georgie Porgie - 7A+
This is on one of Haydn’s vids from a while back. It is on the same block as Roman Orgy, which is beside the descent route between Tody’s and 3 Pebbles. From a sit start on the flake climb the left arête without using holds on the right. Only feels eliminate for the first move of the sit. 7A from standing. The landing slopes a bit and I tied the pads off to a runner of some sort, but you’d get away without this if you have someone to spot the pads.
Black Garden - T-Bonier - 7A+
An extension start to T Bone Wilson. SS matched on the ramp out right, make a couple of trickyish moves into the original, which then feels a bit harder.
Black Garden - Milky Joe - 6C
This is on one of Emlyn’s recent vids. It on the block directly above T Bone. Climb the right arête on its right. Great jump move. Emlyn rinsed the direct start off face holds and said 7A but it felt heinous to me, I think lank helps.
Black garden - Solo Polo Vision - 7A
Above Milky Joe is a scooped wall. Climb the right arête dynamically.
Wind Hill Farm Outcrop – Wind Power - 7A+
This is another super obscure venue with an offputting write up in the guide. To be fair there isn’t loads there but it is close to the NW of the city and the new thing is good and could be combined with a trip to Smallfield or Hurkling. Grid ref SK24259855. Obvious parking on road to the south, 5min walk in. The main block is full of passages/caves and looks to be a well used local youth hangout.
Climb the bulge left of the central flake crack (which is out for hands and feet obvs). There’s five or six easier lines which have no doubt been climbed before and make decent warm ups.
Curbar – Back Slab SS - 7A+
On the block above the one with Veale Thing on. The guide has a stand start prob called Back Slab going up the vague left arête of the slabby side. The sit start is quite slappy and a bit dabby.
Burbage South – Mudbugs - 7A+
About 100m right of The Alliance and 20m downslope from the edge not far from Notorious BLG and Midge is a leaning pinnacle boulder. From a sit start (low slab is out for feet) climb the leaning wall via pocket and flake then exit via the left shoulder. A direct dyno to the apex would be worthwhile 7B/C but you’d want a enough pads (4 would probably do it) to level the step in the landing.
Blackwell Dale – Bog Standard – 6C+
Keep following the stream down past B&D buttress for maybe 500m, until you get to a vertical wall on the right bank (looking downstream), the left side of which is actually above the water. This is Streamside buttress in the BMC guide and has a couple of E2s on it, one up a flake at the water’s edge, one up the left arching groove where the ivy starts, both finish at an insitu rope sling, This and the next problem climb the nice blank wall between these on Chee Tor quality water featured holds. Bog Standard climbs a vague shallow groove the break. The name applies to the ground underneath not the quality of the climbing. I kept my pad dry by resting it on some dead branches.
Blackwell Dale – Petrified Snails – 6C+
Just left of Bog Standard. Hug up between the BS groove and the vague slopey arête to its left until the big flatty on BS can be reached and hence the break. Nice mono.
Crich Tors
This place traditionally gets a poor write up in guides which probably explains why the roof hasn’t been developed before. Anyway the roof bit is perfect highball height and has a very good landing. The slab was super mossy prior to cleaning and could still do with some more sweeping, so it’s worth bringing a short rope to ab clean the lip holds which are likely to have loose strands of moss on them. Access is fine but you are in eye/ear shot of local back gardens so please don’t be shouting/swearing etc and dogs are likely to set the local dogs off barking so are probably best left at home. We did have a chat with a couple of fellas from the houses and after some initial wariness they were very friendly in the end. The RH section of the crag, past a fence has some interesting looking slab routes from back in the day but appears to be officially or unofficially part of someone’s garden, so is best left alone. I’ve just listed the new things on the main roof, but Bolehillbilly has done some other things left of this, I think these are documented on the UKC database.
Crich Tors – Elephant Hawk Moth - 7A
This problem is a solid gold classic and climbs the wide righthand side of the roof into a tricky direct exit roll onto the slab, you then have some HVS 5a type solo territory to the top.
Crich Tors - Caterpillar - 6C
Start up the right arête to gain the lip of the roof, follow this left past the exit of EHM to an easier topout a bit further left using the obvious crack/flake hold. Finish up the slabby crack.
Crich Tors – Highrider - 7B+
The hardest and best prob here, the roof about 2m right of the obvious roof crack. Took me a while to figure the sequence, good toe-hooking shoes are useful. The lip turn is easier and not as high as that on EHM making it feel a lot less of a ballsy problem.
Left again the roof crack has been cleaned and climbed above pads is a great 6B+. The guide grade of E1 5c seems a bit harsh
Crich Tors – <TBC> - 6B
A good head warmup for the main roof. Start up the groove left of the roof then gain the arete and holds on the front. The easiest exit is up the top crack of The Roof. FA Marc Bellinghall
Burbage South – Thick End of the Wedge - 7C+
This is a sit start to Home Cooking and a bit of a stunner. We had to move a fair sized block to make this work. The lower section of the prow is steep and bar one crimp is pure fridge squeezing. FA Ned Feehally
Curbar – Jamie and his Magic Torch SS – 7B+
The sitter adds quite a bit more balancy technical climbing. Seemed pretty good when I tried it with Kershaw a while back. FA Jamie Lilleman
Stanage Marble Wall area – You Fink I’m Freaky – 7B/+
This is a left curving prowy arête just down and right (looking uphill) of the ‘green room’. Haven’t tried but I hear it’s good. FA Jamie Lilleman
Ramshaw – Scratches – 7C+
Right of Old Fogey buttress is an undercut slab with an obscure 7A up its right arete called Ae Line. Sit start on the right and climb the rising exceedingly slopey lip leftward to an exit at a thin crack by the left arête. Well good. FA Ned Feehally
Rowtor - Thalidomide Thumb Wars – 7C+
An extension start to the rarely climbed Kim’s Slap (reachy 7B+/C), starting matched on the flake on the right. FA Ned Feehally
Robin Hood Stride – Path of the Righteous Man direct start – 7A+
Stand start direct to jug, drop off. FA Ned Feehally
Robin Hood Stride – Path of the Righteous Man RH start – 7B
Start in the flake crack on the right and make a hard step across the wall into said jug, drop off. FA Ned Feehally
Mother’s Pet – Mother’s Ruin – 7B
Some way left of the main block (100m?) is a slabby ‘ball’. The obvious desperate ball maul. FA Ned Feehally
Secret Garden – Savage Garden – 7C
Climb the prow forming the left side of Hulley Pulley from sitting. Quality squeeze monging. FA Ned Feehally
Gardoms Woods – Pit Fighter – 7B+
AKA the Pit project/ Welford’s project. The low start LGP is still to be done but the upper half swinging in off the block on the right is a fantastic highball in itself and a friendlier prospect now the landing has been sorted out a bit. Gain the central flake and some slopey crimps then exit left via the niche. For location see Repetionista description above. FA Ned Feehally
Burbage South – Heavy Skies – 8A+
Talking of LGPs he’s only gone and climbed the sit start to Intense! Thereby turning a scrappy height dependant eliminate into a hard quality test piece. Haven't got any more detail than that am afraid. FA Ned Feehally
Blackwell Dale – Black, Sack & Crack – 7B
Continuing down dale from Black & Decker Buttress, after passing a vertical buttress you get to a bulge capped roof with a weird tufa pillar at its base. This starts in the break under the roof then crosses it at its widest and punches up slopey crimps to the obvious hanging jug rail. As good if not better than Ovine. FA Ned Feehally
Consider the beans spilled. Enough for a new guide yet Cofe?