My First New Route!

Well lawks, crivens, and possibly gadzooks aswell - turns out that Not-Holly-Bush-Gully is indeed a hitherto unrecorded route! In our complete inexperience and inability to make sense of the definitive Stanage guidebook, we stumbled across possibly the only square-inch of Stanage that hasn't been climbed and recorded decades ago.

See full discussion on UKClimbing.com

So now I get to give it a grade - I'd say it's VDiff 4b as the finishing move to get onto the top plateau is a bit hairy, because the only bit of protection is quite low down, and there's nothing to grab, so it requires a flat-palming friction move - and most importantly, give it a name.

I'd previously said that the first new route I put down would be called Too Much Rock For One Hand but it somehow just doesn't seem appropriate here - the climb is quite short, if a little hairy.

Suggestions so far include:

• "Als Brown Pants"


• "Wu Tang Clan"


• "Golly Hush Bully"
  because it's not Holly Bush Gully after all


• "Bob Hoskins"
  because it's quite short but surprisingly hairy


• "Chastity Belt"
  because there's only bit of protection, but it's crucially quite low down

All suggestions gratefully received :)

I'll Name That Climb In...

Not "Holly Bush Gully"
Originally uploaded by Dr Snooks.

Can anyone tell me what this route is called?
We thought it was "Holly Bush Gully" at the time, but having got back and looked around the photos on UKClimbing.com, it's quite obvious that it wasn't Holly Bush Gully at all. In fact, I've scoured the definitive Stanage guidebook again and again, and I can't figure out which route it is...

Picture and notes here

If you stand looking at the obvious large slabby traverse of "Fairy Steps" ( from here ) then it's literally just round the other side of the buttress to your right. From the top plateau of it, we could see the whole of "Fairy Steps"

So can anyone tell me the correct name for this route, and let me correct my logbook? Or have I done the unthinkable and unwittingly put down a new route on Stanage on my very first climb outside? Surely not...!

Any help appreciated

Ten Things We Learned From Climbing At Stanage

1. Gritstone climbing is very different to gym climbing
   Inside at the climbing wall, it tends to be all about finger tips - hooking your fingers over smaller and smaller holds, clinging on for dear life to steeper and steeper overhangs - whereas on gritstone, it's mostly rounded edges. There's often not much to hold onto, and it requires a lot more attention to balance and body position, and a lot more friction moves and flat palming.


2. Northern grades are hard!
   Of *course* they're hard - they're Northern! :)
   We led routes classed as "Severe" and "Very Severe" in Wales without too much of a problem, but the Stanage routes seem to be at least one, if not two, grades harder.
   For instance, a route like "Right Twin Crack" at Stanage, classed as VS, was just terrifying. I tried to lead it, and got as far as the overhang but ran out of holds and places for protection. I tried to traverse over to the left crack, which is apparently just a VDiff, but couldn't get a hold and couldn't get any more protection in. Stuck there, balancing on one foot jammed into the crack but not actually standing on anything, cleaving desperately to the rock with a left-handed fist jam while I tried in vain to get a wallnut into a crack that was just out of reach, with my muscles running out of strength and my nerves screaming "YOU'RE GOING TO FALL AND GO SMACK INTO THAT WALL" at me, I had to admit defeat. Lise then tried to complete the climb, and although she's certainly a better and braver climber than me, she couldn't get any further, and returned back to the ground saying "That's just NASTY....".
   
   Scouting around the UKClimbing.com logbooks for this route yields the following comment :
   

   "Absolutely Horrible one of the Hardest VSs I've done."

   Nuff said.


3. Falling outside is much more scary than inside
   At the indoor climbing wall, every route is either bottom-roped, or if it's a lead route, it's already bolted. Consequently, you KNOW that if you fall, as long as your belayer is paying attention, you're going to be OK. Outside, however, if you're "trad" climbing (i.e. placing your own protection), you're completely dependent on the resilience of that protection. I've heard enough horror stories of falling climbers ripping 1, 2, 3 or more bits of protection out before finally coming to a halt, and consequently even on short routes like Holly Bush Gully, if you can only get one bit of protection in, it really makes you think hard before making that big lunge over that overhanging capstone.


4. Two half-ropes makes a lot of sense for zig-zaggy routes
   Climbing with two half-ropes rather than one full rope is a good way of minimising rope drag when your route zigzags, or involves a traverse. Needs a little bit more focus on rope management, but it works.


5. The guidebook will give you subtle hints
   ...and they'll usually be very understated. For instance, the v-shaped groove on "Tier Climb" is described as "troublesome" - it's not bloody kidding!


6. ALWAYS pay attention when belaying!
   Belaying can get a bit tedious, when everyone is nervous and making extra sure of every hold before moving on - but there's no excuse for not paying attention. Your climber could fall at any point, with no warning - especially on the mostly-jugless gritstone of Stanage - and short routes in conjuction with scant protection opportunities could mean that a fraction of a second of your reaction time is all that keeps your climber from a painful reunion with the ground.


7. Practise your rope techniques
   It's easy to get rusty between outdoor climbs on key skills like making a safe anchor, tying good knots and rope management. We took a couple of hours in the evenings before Stanage to practise these techniques, just tying into the kitchen table or even hooking slings around our fingers, and practising the calls - and it helped a lot. When you get to the top of a route, it's not the best time to be thinking "so, how do I do this again...?".


8. Always put a name on your climbing calls
   On a busy crag with lots of people around, there are a lot of "Safe!" calls flying around - if you can't see your climber, how can you be sure it's them? Just putting your partner's name on the end of every call (e.g. "Safe, AL" "OK, you're off belay LISE") can help avoid a lot of misunderstanding, and hopefully avoid the dreaded "You're off belay" when you're still attacking that overhanging capstone


9. The Old Hall Inn in Hope does the best steak pie ever
   see? ...and the cottage pie is pretty damn good too.


10. Hardhurst Farm on-site cafe does a perfect climbers breakfast
    It's one of those cafes that doesn't have a menu - you just order what you want, on the understanding that it's going to consist of the traditional English breakfast staples - bacon, sausage, egg, and burnt crunchy bits :) And you can have the whole thing in a sandwich.

Stanage Photos Are On Flickr!

Al escapes the groove on "Flying Buttress"
Originally uploaded by Dr Snooks.

We had a great weekend climbing on Stanage Edge, and we've finally got all the photos up on Flickr, in the Stanage Grit group.

More to come on this later

Couple of videos from Stanage

I took a couple of quick videos at Stanage, and stuck them on YouTube here

Campsites for Stanage

We found an alternative campsite for our trip to the Peak District : Hardhurst Farm

Showers, a nearby pub, a cafe on site for breakfasts - luxury!

I did try to book into Stocking Farm campsite, which looked to be nice and close to Froggatt Edge, but the nice old lady who answered the phone said (and I quote) :

"So who'll be occupyin' these tents then? Are yer married couples or what? Cause this is a Christian site, an' I don't take gentlemen and ladies sharin' unless they's married!"

So Hardhurst Farm it is :)

Nice Rack

It was Lisa's birthday on Wednesday, and I bought her as full a rack as I could afford. I set myself a budget, and got the best I could within that budget - and I'm pretty pleased with the resulting list:

• A set of nuts, sizes 1-10


• 5 screwgate karabiners


• 5 quickdraws


• 3 slings, 1 x 30cm, 1 x 60cm, 1 x 120cm

In conjuction with her friend buying her a set of hexcentrics, sizes 3-9, I think that's a pretty good starter rack. We could maybe do with some longer slings, for setting up belays, and we'll need helmets - but then you have to go and try helmets on before you find the one that's right for your head.

We're now itching to try these out in the Peak District at Stanage Edge, where we're going next weekend..... but North Lees campsite is already full. Anyone have any recommendations for a good climbers campsite, near to the crag?

Post-Mountain Improvement

At the climbing wall on Friday night, I noticed a marked improvement in my lead climbing since Toubkal. I don't know if it's down to confidence, technique or fitness, but it was quite noticeable. My usual nerves were almost absent, and easily conquered - I was leading 4c routes without any real trouble, and when I did get stuck, I just calmly stood there and worked it out, without getting knackered while I did so.

I think it's more down to confidence than anything else - having got through our unsuccessful summit attempt when we ended on the wrong route, and had to solo climb our way out of it feeling very exposed, even on a not-too-steep face, then a 20m wall with a rope didn't seem like a big deal at all, however much more steep it may have been.

I've also seen several other people around t'intarweb report increased aerobic fitness after spending time at altitude then returning to normal oxygen levels, but apparently it returns back to normal after about ten days, unfortunately. Bugger....

Toubkal Videos on You Tube

Just a quickie - I've uploaded some videos from the Toubkal summit day to YouTube.

There's a couple of clips of the best way to descend icefields, a summit panorama, and an intense electrical storm over Marrakesh.