[Duncan campbell]

Hi UKBers,

I'm heading to Lundy in a few weeks and so despite being already frothing with psyche I'm looking to feed it to higher levels of fever with route recommendations and general tales of great experiences on the island.

Routes up to E5 I guess is the order of the day though if you know of any fantastic safe and soft E6s it doesn't hurt knowing about them!!

Hoping JB can provide some of the bulk of this thread 

[Will Hunt]

general tales of great experiences on the island.

You are going to get the shits.

[SamT]

Where to start...

off the top of my head..

Widespread Ocean of Fear.  Bold bottom pitch, 2nd pitch is just uber good on an amazing piece of rock.
Controlled Burning, though its all changed since I did it, not sure how it climbs in its current state.
Milky Way - Brilliant atmospheric climbing, safe but pumpy, take lots of gear, and about 400 quick draws.
Quatermass and Anti Worlds..

I could go on and on...

[Johnny Brown]

I did spend half of Tuesday expounding to Rob on this, but I've only been twice and the first time we got thrown off for catching norovirus. I thought the grades were on the soft side but we did have good conditions and were chalking everything up for each other. With neither you might disagree.

Antiworlds, E5. Even with a dirty first pitch, simply one of the best routes I've done anywhere, ever. Best zawn I've seen on the island, neighbouring routes look to be good too.

A Widespread Ocean of Fear, E5. For me the biggest tick on the island for the mortals (i.e. non-E6 climbers). Lived up to the expectation and no easy ride with no chalk and wet streaks. Bold to start. Would advise doing in the afternoon/ evening when it comes into the sun, twas a bit damp and foreboding in the morning.

Cullinan, E5. Roaches E3 and maybe the best looking bit of rock on the island. If it's good weather on the day you arrive, warm up on Supercharged (similarly E3 pretending to be E5) then do this and you'll feel like a god.

The Dog's Bollocks, E6. I'm not an E6 leader and I got up, so worth a go. Amazing line, good gear plus enough pegs to tempt you on, and totally safe fall zone. Also did Ark of the Covenant to the left which is mostly E4ish ground but has a much harder and very heightist crux.

Exorcist, E3. Not the adventure it was since rockfall filled the hole, but a fun chop pitch with a unique abseil anchor.

The Promised Line, E3. Not done it but top of my list as the big adventure route on the island (due to tides we ended up on the neighbouring Spacewalk only to find the top had fallen down and topped out via an E4 4a pitch). Stone Tape, E3 in Deep zawn also looks like a contender and I think got a big clean last year.

Milky Way, E4. Not the 4* route that is claimed but a mega E3 plus an often wet starting crux.

Eye of the Needle, E3. Fun way up to the best summit on the island, well worth the approach.

Cithaeron, E4. Actually seconded Too precious to the left but this and an E4 further left (pic of Sellars in guide?) look to be ones for mortals on a very nice bit of rock. NB we ended up here because Starship zawn has fallen down.

[Johnny Brown]

Also... we did Olympica down by the Limekiln. It crosses some fantastic rock on the 2nd pitch but a tad lineless and not up to the quality of the other 3* routes on the island with a scrappy first pitch (due to moved block) and rambling finish. Comments on UKC for Golden Gate are similar, Wild Country looked to be maybe the best line although only gets 2 stars.

Make sure you do the Devil's slide obvs. Either solo it or do one of the harder routes, all mega.

[SamT]

Oh yeah - +1 for Citharon.

The start to Promised Land was quite serious for the first 30 or 40 feet and we had a very near uber serious accident and bailed.

Aways fancied Olympica/Golden Gate/Wild Country but never got round to them.

Jetset and Bender if your into steep and pumpy jamming.

Wolfman Jack and Scorched Earth.

[Duncan campbell]

Legends!!

Unsurprisingly you have thrown up many routes I already had my beady little eyes on but a bit of knowledge on them + a few extras have started ramping psyche levels further!!

Really keen for AWOoF, Antiworlds, Cullinan and Olympica. (really keen for olympica as I love vert wall climbing)

Milky Way, Cithaeron and Mal de Mer (think is the route to the left you refer to JB) are very high on the list will look into the others especially like the idea of eye of the needle - a great suggestion!!

Obvs gonna try and do as many of the Extreme Rock ticks as possible.

Keep 'em coming folks!

Also what sort of general climbing style are we talking on Lundy? Is it very crack intensive with fewer micro features or am I going to be able to crimp my way out of/into trouble?

[Johnny Brown]

No, the rock is pretty featured as a rule, very little pure crack. Slabs are mostly edges, albeit often rounded.

[Johnny Brown]

Also, there's some DWS at the north end if you get the weather - I think Dark Power is the classic. Sounds ace in any style, we walked up there but were rained off.

The best pudding in the pub was the Chocolate pot.

[T_B]

I've only been once (25 years ago... really need to go back!) and did some of the classics, including Wolfman Jack, Controlled and Widespread Ocean. Stuff like Widespread is delicate face climbing. You should get on whatever is dry as my understanding is a lot of routes are sometimes wet, whereas stuff like Cullinan is v quick drying. When we were there is rained early on in the week so a lot of the zawns were soaked. Hope you get the weather.

[Neil F]

I think Antiworlds is the best 'Extreme Rock route that isn't actually in Extreme Rock' I've ever done....

Neil

[SA Chris]

Obvs gonna try and do as many of the Extreme Rock ticks as possible.

Except Controlled Burning Obvs

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=34471

I only seconded Wolfman Jack, great climbing, but need a low tide to reduce faff.

We found late starts to avoid greasiness and climbing until last food orders the best way to maximise time.

[cheque]

Allow plenty of time for route location- there's a massive rounded slope between the top of the island and the tops of the cliffs so much scrambling up and down to work out where you need to be is involved. Adds to the vibe when you're on the routes though.
 

Slabs are mostly edges, albeit often rounded.

I'd only been climbing for a year when I went and had never climbed on granite before. Thinking it would be smeary I only took my worn in, oversized green Anasazis  and had an absolute battle on every slab I tried.

I wasn't climbing anywhere near E2 let alone E5 so not much help on the route recommendation front. Double Diamond's good though Top of my list for my trip was Formula One but I bottled it. It's since fallen down 

[SA Chris]

Definitely good advice regarding ropes and route finding. Take a long ab rope along if you don't mind carrying it about.

Glad we grabbed Formula 1 when we did, started absolutely tipping down just as I topped out seconding it.

[dave]

Allow plenty of time for route location- there's a massive rounded slope between the top of the island and the tops of the cliffs so much scrambling up and down to work out where you need to be is involved. Adds to the vibe when you're on the routes though.

I still have nightmares of walking down rapidly steepening wet convex grass slopes on Lundy looking for ab anchors (sometimes a 2-inch long bit of metal sticking out the floor, buried in grass) whilst absolutely shitting myself.

[Johnny Brown]

there's a massive rounded slope between the top of the island and the tops of the cliffs so much scrambling up and down to work out where you need to be is involved

Good point - the first afternoon I went we walked up to the Slide and back. If it's not stellar connies it'd be well worth doing this with a guidebook, light sack and binos and checking out everything on the way there and back. Would save a lot of time later on the week.

If the team has more than one ab rope it's worth stashing one up at deep zawn or beyond.

[SA Chris]

both good calls JB. Wish we'd done both.

Or go for a walk and check stuff out on marginal weather days, rather than starting drinking early in the pub and finishing up polishing off a bottle of single malt at about 2 am.

[Duncan campbell]

Lots of good chat here - seems like we have a few 100m statics and another 80m static plus I and Im sure others will have the standard old sport ropes. (Static rope has to be the least exciting bit of kit you can buy)

Think I'll be climbing with someone who has been before a couple of times so hopefully he will have vague ideas of where we are going.

I may have been a little premature in posting this as all I want to now is drive down to Ilfracombe and go to Lundy!!!

Fingers crossed I'll be on form and the weather will be good! 

[SA Chris]

Unless the weather is flat calm and you have a really good stomach, don't have a massive fry up before getting on the boat, it'a real stomach churner of a crossing.

[SamT]

+1 for Dark Power..  Only E1 but increadible.

We did on a sunny day, but with a massive swell running.  We must have watched the belay ledge, which was about a meter above the sea, for 45 mins and it didn't get wet once, so we went for it.

What happened the moment we were both on the ledge.   
Luckily (sensibly) we were both tied to the bottom of the 100m static Ab rope and not washed into the maelstrom and drowned.   
It was only one freak wave, and it didn't happen again the whole time I was leading the route, much to the relief of my second.  (Luckyjez!)

We belayed to the ab rope on a few routes so another reason for taking a 100m static.

Was very very exciting though, with big waves booming about the place.

Ahhh - I want to go back now..!!!! 

Re = Mal De Mare - the first move is desp / impossible if your short and its not meant to be that good a route anyhow. 

Gutted about Starship Zawn too, didn't know about that.  Aracaria was top of my to do list for years.   

[Duncan campbell]

Re = Mal De Mare - the first move is desp / impossible if your short and its not meant to be that good a route anyhow. 

Is the desperate first move on Mal de Mer from experience or anecdotal from someone else? I'd heard its supposed to be really good... How short is short? (I'm about 5'7)

Will defo check out Dark Power!

[SamT]

Experience. 
You have to sort of lean out across a gully/corner above the water.
IIRC (it was  long time ago) there was no gear until you'd committed to swing across but I couldn't span across. I'm just shy of 5'6.
We were going reasonably well I think.  Its just stuck in my mind as such. Maybe wrong, or was missing a trick or something.

[Duncan campbell]

Good knowledge. Will check it out anyway - Cithaeron is on that crag too isn't it? Would love to do both so will defo head down. Cheers for the heads up!

[Alex-the-Alex]

Redspeed is the best E2 ive done (not that ive done many), and you can finish up Shark (E1) which is good furry fun in its own right and gives a really good angle on the slide. Another vote for Dark Power too. Though we also got hit by a freak wave which broke the camera for the week...

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Duncan,
I'm envious! Not been over for years.

Two safe and soft E6s for you..

Ex Cathedra on the.Parthenos is very well protected pseudo crack climbing right up the centre. Fantastic route, but may need a quick clean. Worth it. Er.. one of mine.. for overall difficulty, about the same as Painted Rumour at The Roaches.

Also, Cithaeron - a blast, and Mal de Mer, latter possibly a great DWS.

Arc of the Covenant on Two Legged Buttress is a great intro to the bigger routes on the crag. Right up the centre. Again, one of mine, but the easiest entry at the grade. I gave it E5 6b. Don't remember it being reachy. Reasonably well protected if you're ok with small wires. Excellent RP 2 above you for the crux; only placed the peg as a morale booster. Give it a crack! The Grail Trail (E4) is a non-tidal option that gives you a good view.

In Deep Zawn, Supernova has one superb E5 pitch. Play Genetics is also a wonderful piece of climbing which again may require a clean. When I did it, that took about 15 minutes with a nut key. Low E4.There are probably many routes that would benefit from a quick clean, and it's of course a great gesture 

On the Diamond, you have Diamond Life and Ace of Diamonds as good intro routes (E4 & E5) for the superlative Widespread..

By the way, I found The Culinan quite tricky, and not a push over, when compared with other routes of the grade. Allow for some technical deficiency on my part 

Lower grade must dos are Wolfman Jack, and Venus Flytrap (both E2?) are glorious. Go and do Formula One (HVS) and Indy 500 (E1). I really enjoyed some of the long easier routes like Satan's Slip and The Ocean - both E1.

There you go, some of my recommendations. Have a mega time