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Climbing

The Guano Glacier

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18th May 2012
Fox Promontory

Reveille – HS 4b – Second
The Muzzle – HVS 4c – Lead

I dont know how many times I looked at the photo of The Muzzle in the Rockfax guide and thought that I’d like to try it.

Looking back up the promontory

So with cracking weather and the right tide plus no swell, the opportunity presented itself. Chris, Tom and Dave accompanied me on what was my first visit to the crag. I’ve walked past it plenty of times and it always looked spectacular. The north face is dark, but once you’re down there it looses some of it’s menace. The lines are obvious and there are plenty of the them.

Dave and Tom on Vixens Crack
Belay at the top of Vixen's Crack

With Tom and Dave getting on the steep and exposed Vixen’s Crack, Chris and I set up for Reveille. This climb rises leftwards across the main face to finish up a steep narrow slab next to a crack.  There are a couple of tricky sections; the start is quite bold and needs thought on protection and then comes the best part, a very balancy traverse at about mid height. It’s great, but you need to keep your nerve when there are few holds. Brilliant fun and a top climb.

Chris just after the tricky traverse on Reveille

Unfortunately the tide pushed up fairly quickly so we had to abandon the attempt on The Curtain Raiser, what looked like a top route following a vein of crystals. So it was onto the nose to have a go at the two classic routes there. Or so we thought.

Ian at the base of The Mussle

There was one fly in the ointment. The Whisker, the VS on the right of the promontory facing in, turned out to be in the hands of the guls and cormorants. The slab round the arete looking like a snow field with the amount of guano on it.

Chris and Dave after completing The Mussle

So we all had a go at the Muzzle with Chris clocking up his second HVS lead. The Muzzle is as good as it looks. The crack is strenuous but has positive holds and plenty of pro. The move out under the overhang is a bit more scary. It’s a case of move out and keep going into open fresh air. The holds are there but you have to look and keeping your feet on the rock is interesting. At one point I managed to leaver off my only grip just snatching another hold before I did some air time.

Chris finishing off The Mussle

The day added up to another brilliant adventure on Cornish Rock, with Dave and Tom recording another route together. We spent a while snoozing in the sunshine before sauntering off back to the van. We will be back at FP shortly I am sure.

Chilling after tide finished our session at Fox Promontory

 

 

 

Climbing

Moor please

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30-31st March 2012

Hawks Tor and Trewortha Tor

West Chimney – V Diff 4a – Lead
Crack,n,up – V Diff 4b – Lead
Cat Nap – Severe 4b – Lead

This trip came about because of a discussion on camping out on the moor. We had been thinking about doing this later in the year, but with the warm spring it was a case of striking while the iron was hot.

Tony getting ready to take care of those pesky Squirrels!
Our backyard for the night

Hawks Tor is a stunning location. Bodmin moor is bigger than you may think and the collection of Kilmar, Trewortha and Hawks Tor’s are isolated and give a remote feeling you would not expect. We found a perfect spot, flat ground and sheltered from the cold northerly. Fire bucket in tow and Jagermeister stowed in the hip flask we were destined to have a great night.

Bed pal. Courtesy of by Jane

Those pesky Squirrels were back, this time hiding in my sleeping bag, but I made short work of this one; taming it by the morning. Whilst Tony fry’d up his three course breakfast, to complement his steak from the night before  and as an appetiser for his sausages at lunch, I eye’d up the climbs. Tom wanted to do some leading so we concentrated on the South end of the Tor.

Tony negotiating the hard start on Cat NapDave on Cat Nap

The two V Diffs I lead were both good climbs. West chimney was slightly better, but both had challenging finishes. I would say that for a V Diff West Chimney is bold. Straight forward climbing but little gear. The final move can be protected by a carefully placed cam, but your last gear is a long way below and it is an awkward move.

Cat Nap….. Welcome to the ultimate sandbag of the Tor. Graded Severe, but knocking on top end Very Severe. It’s more friendly with a bouldering mat under you, but placing gear is challenging (it is there though) and there are a series of slopers and jams to negotiate, and blood to leave.

Mats heading for Trewortha

Tony, Dave and Tom made it up with varying degrees of style and success. Nick showed us how it should be done. Shame I hadnt given the same example of technique as I fell off the opening moves about a half dozen times! I finally worked out that it was better to undercling than go for the slopers.

We wandered over to Trewortha were I was thoroughly defeated by Just Good Friends, a climb I cruised through the last time I was here. Still, it happens. The best thing about Trewortha is the bouldering. There is loads, and lots of it very hard. We found an 8 inch offwidth on a curved boulder. Laybacking all the way, but suprisingly the hard parft is when the lopes eases. You end up in a quandry as to continue laybacking or get your foot on the face. We all bellyflopped the top which as Nick said, could be the best way to finish it. The whole team negotiated this one which was a great end to a fantastic couple of days on the moor.

Ian's Atlas impression
Climbing

Squirrel!

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16th March 2012
Dewerstone Woods – Main Face

Climbers Club Ordinary – VS 4b – Lead
Central Groove – HS 4b – Lead

The wind pushed us into choosing The Dewerstone over The Cheesewring. It turned out to be a top decision. With both Chris and myself there, we split into two pairs, Tom teaming up with Chris.

The Dewerstone wove its magic on the walk in, putting us all in a good mood. So when we reached the main face we were ready to go. My original intention was to climb on Raven buttress, but I had a look at CCO and thought it looked OK. So Dave and I geared up and I set off upand across the traverse. CCO is bold in it’s early stages. There is some gear, but you have to look for it and be inventive.

Dave on CCO
Dave on the second overhang on Climbers Club Ordinary

The flakes which at first seem to be a godsend, turned out to be more scary than safe. I got the feeling that if you managed to dislodge one of them, you’d bring down half the cliff face. So I used my feet and tried not to think about the flakes too much.

Chris going directly through the overhang on Climbers Club Ordinary

The overhang below the first belay ledge also adds some excitment. I went straight up it, strictly part of Climbers Club Direct, but wild and fun. Gets the adrenaline flowing.  When Chris led CCO later on he too went direct so we all made the most of it.

The spooky traverse at the top of Pitch 2 CCO

Pitch two we all agreed had another unnerving traverse, different from the first, in that there was pro, but  probably a bit more exposed. By this time you are high up on the face with the woods stretching out below. It’s quite surreal and very beautiful.

Tom concentrating on the second pitch of CCO

The only spoiler for me was the pesky woodland critter (Squirrel) that ate through my pack, then my fleece and managed to steal my crisps and sandwich. Even my strategically lobbed Krab missed it, hit a rock and bounced into the river. There’s no justice. (Tom did retrieve it for me though)

Squirrel!!!!

Our second climb on Central Groove was equally as good and finished up the same top groove meaning that all of us ended up meeting at the end of a brilliant day.

Dave on the upper slab of Central Groove Pitch 1

Two top climbs.

 

Climbing

The sound of thunder

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9th March 2012

Carn Barra
Niche Wall – Hard Severe 4b – Lead

The bloody BBC weather site has been shocking recently. I dont know whats going on, but they used to be pretty accurate and now they are way off the mark. Today was meant to be bright, with light Westerly winds. Drizzly with gusty Southerly winds is what we got.

Abseil ledge above the Southern Platform

To be fair the drizzle didnt last long, but the wind direction meant another abortive attempt on Fox Promontory. Carn Barra was a lot more sheltered and Niche Wall was an obvious choice for me.

Tom negotiating the tough groove on Niche Wall

For a Hard Severe, Niche Wall is quite intimidating. I didnt help that the 8ft swell had soaked the lower section, which was not easy to protect. The guide book seemed to suggest tracking rightwards, where the holds seemed better, but they also seemed wetter.

Me on Niche Wall

I trended left and found pro tricky to place and not as re assuring as it could have been. That said, as soon as I hit the ledge the rock became drier and the whole nature of the climb changed. From here on it was great varied climbing, with a little sting in the tail if you finished more directly, which I did.

Rope Management?????

Top climb really and Pete and Tom seemed to concur, even if Pete managed to leave one of my cams in place so that I could have another go at climbing it.

Clearing the hard lower cracks on Dialectic
Pete digging into his energy reserves

We moved back to the gearing up ledge tyo the sound of thumping waves. With the tide pushing hard, only the Dialectic platform was out of range so Tom and Pete had a go at Dialectic. This had the desired effect as it raised the difficulty level substantially and introduced them to the steeper elements of Carn Barra.

Pete pushing on Dialectic
Tom on Dialectic

Both made it up, Tom cleaning it first attempt. Pete had the added thrill of exploding surf which was sending spray up to the height of his head. Considering he was over half way up the climb this was impressive!

Pete thanks Tom for his encouragement

The rugged and intimidating atmosphere of the Cornish coast made this a memorable day and reminded me of the power of the ocean. The many faces of Cornish sea cliffs had shown us another mood. Brilliant.

 

Climbing

Politically incorrect climbing

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16th January 2012

Bosigran
Gollywog’s Cakewalk – HS 4b – Lead
Oread – V Diff – Lead

I love Bosi, the atmosphere and the beauty of the place, so what better venue to get onto when the sun pops out and you are sheltered from a cold wind. For Tom it was his first outing there so I wanted to start off on something reasonable.

Gearing up ledge below Gollywog's Cakewalk

The last time I tried to lead GC, I ended up way off route. Admittedly it was when I had first started leading and the first pitch scared the pants off me. So I went left and ended up on Red Slab(ish). This time it felt a lot more comfortable, although the traverse across the slab is still fairly run out. A high runner in the left crack helps out a lot and the slab itself is a great bit of climbing.

Following this the climb fragments a bit following a black ‘quartzy’ type vein to the top. Still some tricky climbing on weird rock, but too much greenery in amoungst it for my liking. Climbing shoes and grass dont mix!.

Oread is another of those climbs I’ve passed loads of times but never thought about climbing. I think its easy to get drawn into the main cliff and the big routes. On this occasion it made abundant sense to give it a go as it was on the way out and with time getting shorter it was nearer to the car.

Me leading Oread first pitch
Tom finishing off Oread in the sunshine

The climbing is better than I thought, adequate gear and a number of variations possible. I tried to mix it up a bit and picked a line which saw me at the top of Alison’s Rib. Tom made short work of it to cap off a good day out. I am thinking that this spring could mean a shot at Suicide Wall. It’s about time I had a go at one of Bosi’s E’s

Climbing

Scared to Life

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23rd September 2011

The Lizard – Coastguard Cliffs – Hollywood Walls

The Goldrush – HVS 5a – Lead

Silent Movie – VS 4B – Second

Quasimodo – E1 5b – Lead

Mae West – HVS 5a – Second

There are good days in climbing and then there is the 23rd of September. This turned out to be a cracker. I’d wanted to get back to Coastguard cliff since climbing Limelight and Chris and I headed off with the intention of tackling some of the other starred climbs. As it happened we ticked all of the routes we had looked at.

Climbing here is guarenteed to put a smile on your face. Sometimes a very nervous smile, but nevertheless you end up smiling. The venue is pretty intimidating and on this day with a good swell running and a moderate southerly breeze the whole atmosphere was quite overwhelming.

Descent Route!
Descent Route!

We kicked off on The Goldrush, an amazing climb with a tough start and nervy traverse. It then opens out onto the face and technical edges and small slits for your fingers. Not as hard as Limelight, but harder to protect on the more difficult moves.

Chris then lucked into Silent Movie, a stunning VS. Again challenging because of the pumpy start it once again takes you onto the main wall and some brilliant moves up to the descent gulley. It looks very unlikely at VS from the bottom, but after the initial pumpy overhang it eases and just gets better and better.

Silent Movie
Silent Movie

It was strange that Quasimodo, an excellent climb did not quite seem to match the others on the day. At E1 it was the hardest and the central black slab proved very tricky, but it did not give the atmosphere of the other climbs. On another day I would have been raving about this one, but on this day the competition was stiff. Anyway, it still took me a while to pluck up the courage to commit to the crux moves having backed off on my first attempt. Second try proved successful as I tackled it with a bit more finess and less grunt.

Chris finished on his first HVS Lead, Mae West. This has a complication in that rope management becomes an issue as it zig zags across the massive overhang abouve the belay ramp at the bottom. It is super atmospheric and the pro on the left hand side is a bit sparce. However there are two monster threads (Chris had run out of slings for the second so an improvised Chock had to make do) to give you confidence. Still, as a first HVS it was a great climb and although it definitely made Chris nervous it also put a huge smile on his face for the journey home.

Mae West
Mae West belay ledge

A very scary day all in all and one which helps you put everything into perspective. Sometimes you need to be a bit scared!

Climbing

Last of the Forties

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16th September 2011

Sennen

Civvy Route – HS 4b – Second

Gillian – E3 5c – Top Rope

This was to be my last climbing session in my forties, not that the thought crossed my mind at the time. Still its strange to think that another milestone has passed. Hopefully I will continue to improve as a climber. For certain in most other sports I am heading the other way so its great to have a really positive challenge.

This was Tom’s first outing with Chris and myself. After a few days at Plas he seems to have caught the bug so should be a regular participant in our adventures.

We knew the weather could be a problem and as it turned out rain stopped play in terms of leading. I’ve never liked granite in the rain. It takes on a peculiar quality. What was previously grippy and reliable suddenly becomes slimy and unpleasant to climb on. This is particularly the case when you get the black mould growing on it. This should be kept well clear of in damp conditions, which is what we did in the end.

Civvy route is one of those climbs that is always on the agenda but never actually gets dealt with. So we were straight on it as an opener and a challenging return to leading for Chris. At HS it is good value. Sometimes climbed as two pitches, we did it in one, which makes much more sense as long as your on double ropes. The first section moves up a tricky groove providing testing moves, but it is the top part which provides the surprise. Leaning out in an exposed position it definitely gets the adrenaline going. My feeling is that it gets a bit overshadowed by Demo Route but is actually a top climb.

Tom had climbed before, but this was a tough starter. Particularly the top where height and atmosphere have a telling impact. Tom loved it though and this can be chalked up as his first climb on Cornish granite.

Gillian - Sennen
Gillian - Sennen

The rain then put paid to any more leading for a while and so we decided to go play on an E3 called Gillian. In hindsight this was a bit unfair on Tom but having said that it does give an indication on how the grades vary. Gillian is a fantastic climb requiring strength, technique and if you were leading a steady head. We did it on a top rope, with bot Chris and myself getting to the hight underclings before pumping out. I made it on a further attempt having gained a bit of beta from watching Chris. I can only aspire to lead something of this difficulty but maybe one day it will be within sight.

Vertical Crack - Sennen
Vertical Crack - Sennen

Tom and Chris climbed out on Vertical Crack, another gem of Sennon and at the end of a mixed day where the weather did its best to mess everything up I reckoned we were very lucky to get such a good days climbing in.

 

 

Climbing

A hidden gem

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5th August 2011
Carn Gowla – Coastguard Cliff 
Supernatural – VS 4b – Lead

For some strange reason the guidebook gives Supernatural 1 star…… How wrong could they be. This is a 3 star climb with bells on!

Carn Gowla is a scary place and as you drop down the grassy slope towards Coastguard Cliff and the sea, there is a feeling that you’re going to just go of the edge. Add to this the sudden holes and Joe’s pre occupation with snakes in the grass and the whole experience becomes nervy. You havnt a clue what is coming up. You start to hear things before you see them.

Supernatural

The two belay spikes mark the spot and Joe and I set to work rigging the ab rope for what is a tricky descent to a hanging belay. We decided to set up above the new ledge. The old one has broken off from what i have been told. By setting up higher you can get gear in the crack which means your not just hanging on the ab rope. It makes for some interesting rope work in a dramatic and atmospheric setting with the sea crashing just below. There was a good swell running on this day and the entire experience was one of excitment.

SupernaturalSupernatural

If you wanted an example of a perfect crack climb Supernatural would be it. Its like a lightning strike down the entire height of the cliff. Well protected, it makes you work hard from beginning to end. There are a couple of sections I would give 4c and the location and seriousness of the climb I reckon probably adds a grade to it. However its one of the best I’ve ever done. The whole package adds up to a great experience and one Joe and I found brilliant. The climbing just brings the best out of you with a combination of small edges, laybacks and jams.

Supernatural

Trying to keep the smiles off our faces we headed for the Triple Butress area for a play on the E grades their (on a top rope I might add). We had intended on Journey to Ixtlan, but this will have to wait for another day. The star of the show however was Supernatural. A hidden gem on the North Coast.

This creature did its best to steal a bit of the limelight. Some amazing colours to be found on the cliffs!

Carn Gowla

 

Climbing

The wrong way down

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30th June 2011
Coastguard Cliffs – Tower Buttress
Sirius – HS 4b – Lead

Coastguard Cliffs

It was one of those days when each decision Chris and I made seemed to go slightly awry. I had been reading through the new Rockfax book on the South West and the climbs listed for the Coastguard Cliffs area looked good. The aim was to do a few climbs but as it happened we ended up doing just one but including a bit of adventure on the way.

Coastguard Cliffs

Having picked the wrong route down to the coast we tracked back towards the most southerly point admiring the stunning views in what was turning out to be a cracking day. The buttress with Sirius on is not easy to find. The best way is to use the bench above Holywood Walls as a marker which is 100m East of Tower Buttress. Make sure you stay on the East side for the descent unlike Chris and I. We set our abseil on a loose, steep corner above a narrow gulley.

Coastguard Cliffs

The scariest part of the day was lowering off with stones and bits of cliff breaking off on the way down. On reaching the bottom I scrambled for cover on a narrow outcrop while Chris dropped down. 15 minutes of head scratching later we realised we were on the wrong side of a very steep slippy inlet. The only way across was to climb. Trying 5a moves on rock covered with wet green slime is not easy and we used the ab rope as back up. It didnt help when we had to release and jump for the final edge. The stretch meant we skimmed the surface of the water before making undignified landings in the opposite side.

Coastguard CliffsSirius

Finally we found the start of Sirius which proved to be a great climb although easier than the gulley! You traverse across, before pulling up onto a ramp which goes up to a good belay. The rock looks like its going to be brittle and unreliable, but this is not the case. I found it fine and there are some good substantial holds even though the ground is steep.

Sirius

The guide book makes a comment that pro is not as good as it could be, but again I’m not sure this is right. I found plenty and good placements. The upper pitch is a little sparcer in fact but all in all, a good climb in a great exposed position.

The fact that it was a hot and sunny day helped and once again Cornwall delivered the views. We’ll be back for Holywood walls which looks great and has a good selection of HVS’s.

 

Climbing

Now what was the name of that climb?

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Hawk’s Tor
19 th May 2011

The Cat’s ‘ere – Severe 4b – Lead
Recollection – HS 4b – Lead
Black Beastie – VS 4c – Lead

The stroll up to the tor through the fern and bracken  brought about another deer sighting. Every time I’ve been to the North Hill area I have seen deer. This one broke cover, sprinting back towards the trees having been stood right in our path. Dominic’s keen eyesight picking it up.

Hawks-Tor_May11-001

Once again this was a day when we saw no one. A bit windy and unsettled, we made the most of the changing conditions trying to climb in the lee of the tor. This was the first time Dominic and I had climbed as buddies and it was a good chance to test out his progress. So the aim was to increase a grade on each climb.

The Cat’s ‘ere was first up. I had seen a couple of climbers struggling on the top move of this one last time I was at the tor, so I thought it could be tricky.

It’s really a one move wonder of a climb, well protected, but favouring the taller person. Get your body shape right and its OK, otherwise I thinkit requires a strenuous pull up. A good warm up for what was to come.

Hawks-Tor_May11-002

I spent all day forgetting the name of the second climb we did, which is ironic cos its called ‘Recollection’ Duhhh!! This was completely different, requiring bridging and a finishing with a nervy top out. Again well protected if you have Cam’s for the horizontal breaks. The 4b move was not as difficult on this as TCE imo, but I suppose different moves suit different climbers. Dominic also found this one easier, but it does feel a little more exposed.

Hawks-Tor_May11-004Hawks-Tor_May11-003

We saved the best until last though. I’d eye’d up Black Beastie last time I was here but ran out of time. No excuse this time, so we geared up. The start is really interesting. It can be done two ways. As a step over from the opposing boulder or straight up. Have faffed around on the step over for a few minutes I climbed it direct which improved my balance no end.. The Rowan tree is a pain, but offers good pro. I tried not to use it as a hold, which made the move into the crack awkward. Still it adds character to the climb.

Hawks-Tor_May11-006

At this point my common sense deserted me; why bother using two ropes on a meandering climb when you can thread them as a single and generate huge amounts of rope drag. Which is precisely what I did meaning I made the precarious and balancy top move with about 4 ft of slack in the system for fear of being pulled off. It would have made for a fine ‘whipper’. The route though is great, with lots of slopers, jams and pinches. Gear is there when you need it, although the top move is protected by a lonely cam in a fairly shallow placement. Its enough and I’m posative it would hold.

Well worth climbing is my feeling. Maybe the sunshine and drop in wind helped make it seem better but I would give it stars.
We finished off with a bouldering session, working our way around the tor. Having met Sean Hawkin last week at Gold Digging quarry I’m looking forward to his revised data on bouldering routes here and on Kilmar Tor across the valley. There seems to be loads of it around.