Sundance is by no means the best HS at Gowla, but the ab down to the ledge at the bottom of Rainbow Games is one to set the pulse going. It’s been a while since I climbed here. I think the last time was when a group of us top roped the two E2’s here and that must be going back to 2012!
Looking at Rainbow Games I still get the urge to have a crack on the lead. I think realistically this will have to be after I’ve had my hip done, but it’s there and calling….
Sundance is as described. Pleasant. I think it falls nearer Severe than HS. Possibly the pro might up the severity rating, but the climbing is straight forward. Mike and I cruised this one. We split the climb just above the rib and Mike led the final section. First lead in a long time I think and Gowla at that.
We were cheated out of our usual amazing sunset by a cloud bank. And boy are the evenings drawing in fast now. It wont be long before the evening sessions will have to wait for spring. I would add that for anyone thinking of climbing this buttress the walk in and out is steep. I must do something about how heavy my climbing pack is. Probably sneeking it into Mikes might be a good bet 🙂
Some climbs were created to put a smile on your face and make you very content with life. Obviously this sometimes comes after you’ve been through the whole gambit of emotions…. fear, relief, uncertainty, bravado… beforehand
Hunting out the stakes. Make sure to use both of them.
Supernatural can do that. It is truly an adventure. Finding it can be tricky, despite the fact it is reasonably close to the car park; getting to the starting belay ledge is a mission in its own right; and then launching up 50m of amazing crack climbing (without running out of appropriately sized gear) to a loose finish.
Moving up from the belay
Dropping over the edge on the ab rope feels like leaving the world behind. Mike, on only his second visit to Gowla was loving it. After what had been a few years away from climbing, the two of us are racking up some memorable routes. This one though is in a different league.
Stood on the belay ledge
Beta – Some advice for the route. It takes a lot of medium sized gear. By that I mean Camelot Size 1 or larger (the red one) and medium Hex’s are useful. It is longer than you might expect. Also we flaked our twin ropes into a rope bag before descending and hung it of the ab rope once we got down there. This keeps everything a bit more tidy. And finally, watch the belay station at the top. Anything you knock off heads down straight towards your second.
It is steep
As far as the climbing goes, it’s amazing. I’m sure it felt harder than the first time I climbed it, but I am a few years older now. The crux was tricky, but that could be because I didnt sort my feet out very well. Mike did fantasticaly well and didnt seem overawed bythe route at all. In fact he had ‘the smile’ on when he hit the top.
A long single pitch route
What a buzz! And as usual we were accompanied by an amazing sunset to finish off with. What a year this is turning out to be.
For me, this was a bit of affirmation that I can still climb at VS with reasonable comfort. My hip is causing me to adapt my climbing style and technique regularly to avoid over bridging or high steps. Mind you it’s amazing what adrenalin will do for you at certain moments haha.
A great venue to pick after you’ve had a hard workout on your quads is Carn Gowla…. not. Despite knowing that walking down to and out of most of the crags on Gowla equals pain, Mike and I decided that this was cliff for us. There’s nothing like that end of session slog back up to the coast path to make you reflect of life choices.
Looking across to C Buttress
That said, I couldnt resist returning to this little gem of a climb on Indian Buttress. Easy to get to (for Gowla) and amazing positions at a really amenable grade. I missed out the bottom part of the climb up the arete because of the sea state, but to be fair it is the top wall that is the money shot.
Loads of positive holds and foot placements, grippy fresh rock and pleasant belays adds up to great climbing. It’s the gear that probably justifies the grade, although this is good if you take your time to find it. I’ve done a lot harder VS’s but few that are in such an awesome postion with maginificent exposure. The waves and light made for a great addition to the whole feeling on this evening. I could tell by Mikes smile that he was loving it.
Fantastic Atmosphere
Carn Gowla is not everyones cup of tea, but you cant deny that for adventure and a fairly unique experince in Cornwall it has it all. Once again you cant help but pat yourself on the back for being so lucky to live in this climbing paradise.
Not a bad belay
We had checked out Supernatural which was our original target, but the waves and wind drove us off from there. It was good to know that there are at least two good belay stakes still there. However I think I’ll take my portable stake with me when we go in the next few weeks just for added comfort … haha
A beer and some food helped make this a memorable eveneing as we watched the sun go down. A common occurance in this year of drought and clear skies.
Bulls on Parade – Severe 4a – Lead Goofy – Severe 4b – T/R
First time for Rauf who joined Mike and me on one of our climbing outings. I needed somewhere reasonably close and with acceptable routes and The Rumps did it. You do need to lead to get up to the large ledge, but once there it’s possible to set up a bottom rope for all the climbs. Coming down does involve some back and fronting down a narrow v gulley, but it’s not too bad
The climbs here are all a bit harder than they look. From below they look like a waltz, but you need to treat them with respect. For Rauf it was an eye opener back to his youth which I think was the last time he climbed. He did really well and more importantly loved it, so I can see a few more little ventures out coming our way in the near future.
I think the thing that most amazed him is that feeling of remoteness you get when you get on the sea cliffs here. Once you move down to the crag you rarely see anybody. This is one of the elements of climbing in Cornwall I love. I fell out of love with surfing to a certain extent because I lost the solitude of being able to surf with just your mate. This was when you could find a peak to yourselves if you timed the tide and venue right. Now it is next to impossible to do, especially with surfline feeding everyone with hourly forecasts and pointing people to the best spots.
Climbing fortunately still hasnt reached that point (I hope it never does). I realise it’s getting more popular, but for the most part there are enough crags to give you lots of space. Otherwise I’m going to have to find another f~*king sport haha.
My favorite bit of the evening was when Rauf suddenly announced we had cake. Cant beat cake to finish of a great outing.
You can always rely on a climbing guide to send you all over the cliff looking for a venue. It’s not always just a case of identifying the climb. Sometimes you cant even find the friggin crag!
The line of the elusive Silverfish HS 4b
This was the thrid time I’d looked for Silverfish and Mike and me were not giving up this time. Even when we found the climb we didnt realise it. It’s described as 90ft in the ook, but in reality it’s much more akin to 50ft. We could, of course , have done the common place mistake of mistakenly identifying the climb. So maybe we didnt even do Silverfish. Who knows? As a whole it fit the bill. It was on the front of the buttress and had a top slab. Tick.
An infrequent rest spot.
To be fair, our exploring took us to a beautiful grassy platform, far away from the coast path and with amazing views of the coastline and eventual sunset. Not a bad place to spend an evening.
Mike making it to the top vegetated slab
The climb itself proves harder than it looks. It is full 3d climbing and constantly tries to send you off balance. Good holds, and good foot placements, just not at the same time. The result is that it is more strenuous then expected. Pro is good though, but be careful of rope drag as it’s easy to get the rope jamming in the cracks.
Margaritas
Mike, not having climbing much recently, had a muscle re-awakening, the result of which was a full on pump. But to his credit he made it after some serious puffing.
Then it was time for Margherita’s on the lawn while watch a spectacular sunset. Thanks once again Cornwall.
That bloody ab rope. Mike and I have issues with this rope. It always ends up depositing us about 15-20ft above where we need to be. Hence the need for a bit of nervy soloing to get to the starting slab of Stone Table. We’re using a 40m rope, but next time I’ll bring the 60m.
This time we abbed down mucky gulley (yet another way down) using the same stake as for C Land Super. Quite a bit of crumbly stuff at the top of the ab, but the climb is on good rock for the most part.
The start of Stone Table
It’s a tale of two crux’s, with fairly straight for ward climbing at about Diff in between. The first is an energetic layback with great holds as long as you dont ruin them with clever gear placement haha. The second a mantelshelf onto a short wall, which is exposed, but not too difficult (although you need to hunt out the gear placements).
Cligga really is an adventure climbing paradice. For somewhere that is just round the corner from Perranporth, it has a remote, wild feeling to it. Probably because of the commitment to get in. But also becasue you never see anyone here, except the odd kayaker and seal.
So glad we’ve returned to this venue and for evening hits it’s brilliant. The sunsets arnt bad either, especially when you can wash it down with a warm can of Tribute.
Mike and me are making a habit of these evening climbs. They are encouraging us to do a bit more local exploration, which I have to be honest and say should have been the case anyway.
Redwalls Crag – Pentire
This evening saw a return to Pentire Head and the Redwall area. Really easy access from the Pentire Farm car park. Just follow the main track to the coast and drop down right of the bench. It looks like you should go left, but the right gulley allows you to arc around to the face. It’s also out the wind when it’s South Westerly.
I’d previously done a couple of climbs on this wall, but had missed the HS, so me and Mike set up for what we thought would be a straight forward route. It was in a way, but the opening steep and awkward corner catches you out, meaning it’s easy to get pumped. We split it into two pitches which seemed sensible. The second up the tall corner is well protected and has good holds. The rock appears more fragile, but I had no breakages, although some holds you wouldnt want to yard on. Both of us were pretty knackered by time we finished. I still dont feel quite climbing fit. More work needed on endurance.
Top section of Joseph Bell HS 4b
The belay at the top is awkward. There’s a very old stake which is decidedly dubious, but would probably hold. You can find placements in the little rock crowns scattered behind, but I’d advise using multiple anchors.
The weather wasnt the bright sunshine of our previous outings. Much more forbidding, but the light created a bit of a Jurrasic Park feel to the area. Still amazingly beautiful.
Having missed out last year through a combination of bad time management and poor weather, it was good to get our annual ‘New Years on the Ridge’ going again.
With a tentative theme of ‘Pattern Disruptive Material’ (Camo to you and me) we set of for what was to be a great day on Commando Ridge. We lucked the weather with sunshine for most of a chilly but bearable day.
Two new recruits in Chris D and Ian T joined us with a few of the regulars missing because of various ageing complaints. We did have Chris S and his new pet Cougar. Not that we could see Mike with his stunning cat like camouflage. We also managed the crossing to the normal start, with no ‘Dave’ factor to take into account.
Being a chilly day it was noticeable that hanging around on the belays was tough work. In hindsight, I probably should have let Chris and Mike lead off as they would have been faster, but having to share a rack meant we needed to stay together anyway, so I’m not sure it would have made too much difference.
It was good to actually be out on the rock again. The Ridge is never really hard, but you do need to stay focused. Chris and Ian were loving it and it helped that the light was amazing, lighting up the main face and bringing out all the colours.
Hopefully next year will see an even larger team event. We may have to have start times haha.
Should’ve gone to specsavers – VS 4b – Alt Lead Ghan Fishing – V Diff – Second The Womb Tomb – V Diff – Second Pilot’s Song – VS 4c – Lead
Herding frog’s! Our Via Ferrata team is proving a bit tricky to co-ordinate atm. This was meant to be a test run for the camping with a bit of climbing thrown in. In the end it was really a climbing trip which suits me and turned out to be great fun.
Friday was a return to Predannack. I was determined to find out where the bloody Intermediate area was. Turns out it was staring me in the face all along. The guidebook description is fairy poor really. It references a Zawn, but in truth it’s just the face at the bottom of the ramp in beginners area. Add to that, the fact the route descriptions are pretty sketchy as well, accounts for why there have been so few recorded ascents here. If I’m honest though, sometimes having to work hard to find a climb is all part of the fun of exploring a crag. I sometimes you come across a gem by accident as a result.
Should’ve gone to Specsavers is an ok route, but really the entire climb boils down to breaking through the overhang. This is exciting and exposed, but is over very quickly once you commit. It took me a while to pluck up courage to go, but once you do its fine. Dave and Chris came through with out any dawdling. The route is a bit ‘unsatisfying’, but the other two on this face look quite tasty as well, so I’ll give these a go next time.
A fairly long hike over to Tasmania Zawn let us on Gawn Fishing, a climb I’ve done before but one which is always enjoyable. Described as an adventurous V Diff like a mountain route it runs diagonally across the wall, finishing up a shute of sorts. I know Dave loved it, especially as he got a chance to lead. It was a good finish to the day, before retiring to Henry’s Campsite.
And that is a strange, eclectic place. A warren of hedges, plants and drives which makes up what amounts to a secret garden. It is a bit ‘hippy’ but really enjoable. I would recommend it to anyone camping down that way.
Day 2 was Pen Olver, with Mike joining me and Chris. It was a trip down memory lane in a way. Been a while since I was here, and I’ve done a fair few of the routes. But I got a chance to bag a new one. One that I’m surprised I’d not done, because it is the obvious line up the pinnacle. Pilots song is reasonably straight forward for a VS with the crux being well protected and obvious. Its getting off that can be fluttery. Especially if you are the last to downclimb with no rope. Just take it steady and watch your feet.
Of course we had to do Womb Tomb for Mike’s benefit. What a bizarre but fun climb. Dieting helps in getting to the start. From there its head up into the gloom and be prepared to twist a bit. Climbing gives us so many moments of fun and entertainment. When you come across a route like this, it will send you away with the biggest smile on your face. One of those routes you never forget. Unless you’re Chris of course.
So another beautiful evening at Butter Hole and this one included an epic. Chris’ words to Mike, “Its always an epic with Ian!” rang truer than usual with an outing to a part of the cliff which can only be described as fluid.
As a start we backed up the pretty rusty in situ belay stakes with a couple of our own. Good job really as the abseil went straight over the cave and we all had a bit of air time. I should have know that the upper sections would be loose when a couple of large blocks detached as I gingerly abbed off the grassy ledge.
The hidden amphitheatre, as it is called, is actually very impressive. On a sunny evening like we had with no swell it was idylic. It probably warranted a swim, but we underestimated how long I would faff on the fairly tough 4b crux of MTP. My head is definitely not quite there yet. I feel good in my climbing, but cant combine the two at the moment. It will come.
The crux is through an overhang, into a groove. Good pro for the move into the groove, but the holds run out just above and so does the gear for a bit. Add a desire to not trust the rock and you have the perfect head game.
It seemed a bit unfair on Mike. Only his second outing in a while and we all ended up on a belay at mid height. It turned out to be the right move as everything above moved, fell off or was grass. The size of some of the boulders Chris was moving around as he threaded his way to the ab rope was definitely disturbing.
But, we all made it out alive which is a bonus. In review, a good lower section and a suicidal upper one. No stars this time, but for drama what more could you ask for. The mist at the end added to this as we all left fairly content with our achievements.
As for the fly I inhaled and which got stuck in my throat on the way in. Well, its the first meat I’ve eaten in 30 years.
Why it never rains on a Friday!
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