23rd April 2021
Hound Tor

Prowler – HVS 5a – Lead
It goes at about VDiff – V Diff – Lead
Paddy – Moderate – Solo

Every time I go to Hound Tor its either freezing, wet, windy or all three. So how good was it that it was sunny and dry. A cold wind but not unbearable and it was possible to bask in sunshine if you were in the lee of the rocks.

I always find Dartmoor tough for the grade. I think its because it requires a different style of climbing to that needed on Penwith Granite. Slopers and friction for your feet are the order of the day and protection always seems to be spaced, but good.

Tom and I opened up on a V Diff with an appropriate name. A series of rock pancakes with some neat little moves. It definitely introduced us to the spirit of climbing at Hound Tor.

Climb 2 was a bit tougher. Actually HVS which surprised me. Not because it was soft at the grade, but because I got up it! Prowler has a hard start and remains fairly strenuous until you hit the first break. Then there’s a chance to recoup before blasting away again at the top crack. I was more pleased with this because it was strenuous and I found my strength and stamina equal to it.

Tom used Paddy as a means of getting his eye in on a lead (After we retrieved my guide book from the instructor who had mistakenly picked it up), although its a nice climb in its own right. Just watch the incredibly large moving boulders found at the top. And by the way the descent isn’t a push over. This would be something to keep in mind if a novice was topping out.

We finished off with a mooch to Greater Rocks. Looks like some good routes here and a fun little ridge traverse across the two stacks. Great fun.

So the drive in had been down narrow lanes coming in from the A30 north of Oakhampton. So we tried the Widecombe way. Guess what? Still narrow lanes. I think any cross Dartmoor route is likely to end up down little lanes so the A38 Newton Abbot journey is the fastest and least tortuous of all of them.