[reeve]

You're complaining that NorN is awkward as hell yet pointing the poor chap at The Fin?! That's a right bloody battle that is! I agree that NorN is a bit funny getting round the right hand side of the arete but is pretty pleasant thereafter. You done Boney Moroney in that area per chance Fiend? Always appealed.

[Fiend]

Ha!

Is your condemnation of The Fin anything to do with it requiring jamming? Let's be sensible though, if one can do something useful one's limbs in a crack, then it is reasonably steady.

Conversely I (and most people I know) found the top arete of NON to be the particularly unwieldy bit...

Boney Moroney, short and somewhat encroached upon by the gully, but nice moves. Evening Wall (is it?) at Ash Tree is another decent route.

Although, being realistic, Burbizzle Nizzle is not really where it's at....

[reeve]

Nah I'm a reasonable jammer, just the thrutchyness being involved in the dark depths of that slit which did it for me! Makes for a rewarding battle but not something I'd rush to do again.
How about wharncliffe? Any suggestions for stuff worth trying there beyond the usual routes which get done? Had a quick evening there this week but keen for a full day at next opportunity.

[Fiend]

Hmmmm let's see.

You are the Reeve I'm thinking of aren't you??

Do Autumn Wall, it's actually E3 5c and is brilliant wall crimping. October Arete to the left looks real nice too. There's some good E1s in the middle bit. Don't do the E2 LEFT of Great Buttress Arete, it's flange. Do GBA of course. You've got the Mizzlestizzle Burbizzle and Beyizzle guide I assume?

[mark]

More on thread, who has climbed Starlight and Storm on the Aguilette on the right all the way, I've never made head nor tail of this, although my smearing skills have never been upto much, for it's grade it surely has me stumped. Seems a lot more sensible/straight forward on it's left side, coming back right to finish above the break. 'Simon's Slab' to the right is, in my opinion much more ameanable the S&S which doesn't really make much sense.

I failed on this several times, each occasion being at the end of a session at the Roaches. Finally decided to make it my first stop one day and got it done. Involved tenuous smearing up the little edges on the arete and a big slap for the break. Surely Simon's Slab to the right is way harder?

[Johnny Brown]

Agreed. Starlight and Storm is great on either side, the right has a bit more meat to it. Simon's slab is way harder. I think the crux for both is getting started though.

[reeve]

IRT Fiend: Aye I'll be the reeve you are thinking of. Another tangential crag question: Agden Roche? Another place I suspect you may have some knowledge about. (Yes I do have BM&Beyond btw, but would appreciate your personal appraisal in addition to the guide book.)

[Fiend]

Agden Rocher is class. It's as close as you'll get to the South Wales sandstone quarries without actually venturing into the festering impoverished shithole that is South Wales. I'm surprised Paz doesn't make the pilgrimage up here to climb at Agden more often.

Seriously though, it is good. Crimpy routes, good from S to E4, lots around E1-ish level. Can be a bit flakey in some places but it's not a problem on the main routes.

[Fiend]

Tactical Weapon @ Ina's Rock, Churnizzle ma shizzle, is good. That is all.

Edit: Could some kind moderator change the title to "Peak route info / beta thread" or "Grit route info / beta thread", whichever fits best. Cheers.

[Fiend]

QUESTION.

For the Manc massive. Dense you should know this

Hobson Moor Quarry - back left wall - Great Expectations E3 5c **.

Where the hell is the line supposed to go at the top, after the break??

The lower line is obvious - the crack past the block jug to the break.

From there, there is an easy blocky groove above, capped by some heather. There is also a steep face to the right of this with a single peg low down (not two pegs).

The Rockfax guide says to move up then rightwards to finish past two pegs, implying it takes the wall (apart from the missing peg). The Rockfax topo line shows the route going up the easy blocky groove then trending right beneath the heather.The Kinder guide says to move up on blocky holds then move right (with two pegs) to a crux to finish - i.e. the same line as the Rockfax topo.

So where the bollox does the route go??

[Jerry Morefat]

Agden Rocher is class. It's as close as you'll get to the South Wales sandstone quarries without actually venturing into the festering impoverished shithole that is South Wales.

  easy, pipe down there fiend face, some of us come from said festering impoverished shithole. Any more such talk and I shall send several malnourished valley boys your way.

[AndiT]

Tactical Weapon @ Ina's Rock, Churnizzle ma shizzle, is good. That is all.

Have you done this recently? Good effort if so.

[Fiend]

Yeah, did it at Cider Nutter's churnet picnic last week (where were the Leek massive eh ). It was in good condition. I had a bit of a wobbler finishing the top crack  .

[Paz]

Re Agden.  There was always too much to do at Wharncliffe to be bothered with Agden, though I want to do Dangerous and Warren's curry routes (`Chicken Silly Hot' etc. ) to tick the names.

[Fiend]

Kipling Arete for me next.

And done. Was a cool route, not too hard but quite committing. A little bit lichenous but fine at the moment being bone dry.

The surprise was the arete to the left, Moss Side Story. Abbed down and scrubbed a bit of moss off, the underlying rock is clean, very solid, and nicely featured with some excellent veins. In it's current state it's a great two star E1, steady but tastily bold to finish.

[AndiT]

Electric Savage E3 5c,5b Ramshaw Rocks.

The second pitch on this is nails. I couldn't touch the top out, it is quite honestly the stuff of nightmares. Shaz shouts up: 'come on Turner, let's have a look', I lower down. He is spanked too, barely able to let his right hand off the good hold.

Next day we bump into Boyson at Newstones, I mention this route and he hurls a series of expletives in respect to this pitch. He too had the same experience, barely being able to top rope it after failing the lead. This has to be the biggest sandbag I've yet to come across....5B!

[AndiT]

If this pitch goes from 5b to 6c will it be the biggest upgrade in known history???????

[webbo]

maybe it needs an ascent.presumably the first.

[Hydraulic Man]

The first pitch is a joke at 5B as well.....

[AndiT]

Thought the first pitch ok, at least realistic at somewhere in the vicinity 5c, if a bit grim. But yeah a bit of a joke. I like the fact that the guidebook writer has still managed to get a comment in there along the lines of 'not as bad as the name suggests'... I actually love stuff like this in guidebooks: I can remember feeling special when I was younger because I'd found good gear on Millwheel Wall at Burbage South and then found the gear fine to place on Zeus and managed to belay close to the edge, in complete contradiction to what the book said.

It does remind you that guides are simply that. Judgement and a good eye being far more important tools, and the guide simply shows you names.

[SA Chris]

I can remember feeling special when I was younger because I'd found good gear on Millwheel Wall

I remember soloing that and having a (brief) look at the placements on they way and thinking if I fell off having missed the opportunity for good gear I would be most unhappy.

[AndiT]

Yup, nothing worse than soloing past the perfect placement for focussing the mind! I suppose it's very easy to become complacent and put too much trust in what guides say, when all is said and done, it's your judgement that matters. Quote "It's only meant to be 5BBBBBBBBbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb" I doubt very much that every guidebook writer checks every single route on the sharp end, which is why electric savage is such a sand bag, it may have never been done, it certainly 'looks' 5b and has mascaraded as such for a very long time!

[webbo]

quote "we didn't do all those routes we claimed.it was my brother ****** who pushed it"

this isn't an exact quote but you get the idea.

[AndiT]

Could I presume/assume that the hidden 'word' is of two syllables, one which is the most common connective in English and one which is the abbreviated name for a common grey or red marsupial?

I think this may be one of those 'not done' routes, perhaps....

[Somebody's Fool]

I think this may be one of those 'not done' routes, perhaps....

You mean a ballpoint?