24th May 2016

Kellan Head (Upper Buttress)

Un-Named – HVS 5a – Lead
Mach 3 – HVS 5a – Lead
Ink and Ointment – E1 – Second

The upper buttress is a brilliant evening location. Fairly easy to walk into, non tidal and relatively close to Newquay (relatively…).

The rock though is not the best and the climbs are fairly short. That said, this particular venture was perfect and we successfully got three good climbs in.

What I would say is that the climbs as a whole are over-graded. Take one technical grade off for a more realistic indication. The severity part is probably not too far off on Un-Named because of the poor rock quality, but again for the other two, they are well protected so maybe one grade lower here too.

That said, they are still worthwhile climbs. Un-Named heads up the crack and face of the main slab and although not hard, is insecure and requires care. Both the others are one move wonders, but they are good moves that require a bit of thought. Tom’s E1 was tricky to start and probably the most technical of the three, but again, once through the hard part it finished quickly. Mach 3 actually looks harder than it is. Get your body shape right and its a breeze…

I’ve nearly climbed this venue out in two visits. There are still three more routes to grab, so no doubt this will be another visit when the tides are all wrong.