UKC

plan on giving it ago tommorow.

just wondered if any one thought it was a bit undergraded or anything. goign for the onsight tommorow and only ever lead one hvs 5a before so . . . ???? any tips??

many thanks spence

In reply to spencer01:
its piss just a bit pumpy

In reply to spencer01:

never done it

but almscliff is famous for the grading underestimting the difficulty

GW is on my wish list, but i'd want a bit more mileage at HVS than a single tick before i got on it...

let us know how you get on with it,

cheers
gregor

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

Its not undergraded you just need to get good at grit to realy enjoy it. Get on the climb give it a go. There are two finishes the right is harder but worth the effort.
Cheers Dave B

In reply to 184Dave: cool i'l give it a go maybe if its not busy i'l top rope it once or twice then,

not done much grit climbing either so..... but i can always come back down cant i

In reply to 184Dave:

that'll be the Five Star Finish.... when i do get round to it, its definitely the way i'm going to go

unless that is i'm pumped and gibbering when i get there, in which case any old way will do just fine...!



gregor

In reply to spencer01:

Well it WAS undergraded at VS (in late 60s/early 70s, but of course people climbed harder then ...)

In reply to spencer01:

oops. you've done it now...

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

i know but i dont care really.

buti like my legs the way they are

dont want to drop on em

In reply to spencer01:

That route is a classic that cries out to be led on sight. If you toprope it you'll destroy that possibility for yourself for ever. All you'll be left with is a vague, but deeply unsatisfying, memory.

In reply to spencer01:

I'd do Overhanging Groove first. If that goes without a hitch then you should be able to do GW - although not necessarily without a fair amount of effort.

The route itself is pretty steep so it pays to be fast placing gear and good at spotting rests - being a competent jammer is definately helpful on the top section. The traverse left is probably the most intimidating bit but the holds are good. Definately don't bother top roping it - not only is this remarkably cowardly on such a safe route, you'll also wear yourself out and falling off would result in a pretty exciting swing out into space.

In reply to spencer01: its probably the equivilent of E15b in the peak district. Hell its almost an HVS for the second on the traverse.

In reply to spencer01:

dont want to hijack youe thread into yet another toproping boreathon

but as per my thread earlier today, polish on grit is a serious problem thats slowly destroying the classics as far as i can see

GW is probably the 'most' classic route on yorkshire grit. it doesnt need people who arent ready for it TRing it

quite aside from gordons point: why rob yourself of the onsight of a five star classic?

itll still be there next time you come, with the mileage to do it in a more satisfying fashion, and hopefully not buff up the polish to a new level of gleam...

if you';re going to almscliff, birds nest crack, parsons chimney, franklands green crack are all classics in the HS/VS range, get them under your belt first, then think about GW

cheers
gregor

In reply to Andy Hobson: oh right maybe it sounds like i wont be onsighting it tommorow then. i am also terrible at jamming.

theres just a sever lack of it in the north york moores i think ive done it once. and not very well. might give it a miss. maybe when im more confident at hvs 5a

In reply to spencer01:

At the end of the leftwards traverse you make a long blind reach up and left to a very large ear-shaped incut pocket.

Get the position of this hold well established in your mind before you start.

This isn't really beta, as you can see it clearly enough from the ground. ..

.. and go for the long reach, don't try to use smaller intermediate holds..

Good luck.

CJ.

Don't toprope it you tw*t !!

CJ.

In reply to spencer01:

Tip: the traverse is dead easy, so don't worry about placing gear halfway along unless you're worried about your second coming off. After the traverse, of course, there's that hidden, er, maybe I shouldn't say...

And the righthand finish is much better than the standard one.

In reply to Steve Parker:

Ooops, I think I just did ..

CJ.

In reply to Anonymous: lol

i'l just send my mate up first haha :-b

In reply to spencer01:

Eek... don't go on GW. You'll be pumped shitless by the top of the crack. And launching out left will have but one conclusion.

Why not go to Almscliffe and ('just for one day' as the song says) forget about grades. Do Birds Nest Crack with yummy jams. Then do Traditional Route with the odd more testing jam. Then do Pothole Direct with one crucial jam. Then do Birds Nest again and marvel at the improvement.

Then (another day?) Overhanging Groove, as Andy suggests. Wonderful! When you grasp those jugs you will feel like God!

And then flushed with jamming ability and success, launch boldly up Great Western...

Good luck,

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward: that sounds like a PLAN!

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Well, we had to.

I have an interesting memory from the early 1970s of launching out across the hand traverse and being heckled by the Leeds mob, who had just arrived. (I do hope you weren't among them, Gordon.) Now I don't mind the odd bit of banter but this had, shall we say, a distinct edge to it? And these boys had picked the wrong victim.

Stopped in the middle of the hand traverse. Hung one-handed. Looked down. Noted the eight faces leering up at me. Told 'em, "I'm lowering off. Anybody around when I reach the ground gets it." Reversed to the corner. Lowered off. Emptiness. All eight of 'em had f*cked off - doubtless in search of another victim. W*nkers!!!

Mick

In reply to spencer01:

I specialise in 'em. Some even work!

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:
>Anybody around when I reach the ground gets it." Reversed to the corner. Lowered off. Emptiness. All eight of 'em had f*cked off

Ooh, ya hard bastard! Hahahaha! Hilarious story, Mick! Good on yer!

Of course, Boggy would have jumped it and charged em!

In reply to spencer01:

No need for any jamming on the initial crack. I've done GW loads of times, and never yet jammed anything in anywhere.

In reply to Steve Parker:


He probably would have. Sadly, I lacked his much vaunted quality of 'natural leadership'.

Mick

In reply to spencer01: what mick ward said. also central climb for slightly off balance hand jams all the way to the top- feels a bit relentless. Whisky Crack on Low Man for fist jams. In fact you are overwhelmed with choice for jams at almscliff.

In reply to spencer01:

Tip - don't waste your strength on the traverse - its easy and well protected. The route is spot on at HVS 5a.

In reply to GrahamD:

Well said, he who hesitates struggles to finish it, though they do.

If OP wants beta and where to place runners count the placements on here, and see the holds you are going for.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/photos/search.html?text=great+western&x=0&...

In reply to spencer01: having had a beating on GW and then gone away trained and had one of the most natural and pleasant climbin experiences on it where every move flowed, three piece of advise.

a.) don't hang around on the traverse.. place your pro and go. don't stop until your in the niche

b.) do the 5* finish i've done both now and the original is way inferior

c.) don't TR this route, i was gutted to fall off it 1st time, but what was worst was the abseil to retrieve gear, if you TR and fall off it you'll end up swinging way out from the face as it's capped by a roof.

good luck but i'd save it if i was you

Matt

In reply to spencer01:

Don't. Save it for your onsight. I visited Almscliff weekly (and weakly) for two years before deciding to get on it. I wanted to make damn sure I was going to be OK on it by the time I led it. I just wanted to make damn sure I enjoyed it and was going to be successful when i got on it. Some routes are worth waiting for; GW is one of them. Plenty of VS and easier to get on with, don't shoot yer load prematurely on your first visit.

In reply to Chris F: Also in agreement. I live in York and visit Almscliff often. I have done all but 2 of the VS 4c climbs and some of the VS 5a. When I go on Great Western I will have at least done Overhanging Groove first. Last week I finally felt confident enough to launch onto Z climb (VS 4c). It turned out to be OK, but like a lot of the climbs at Almscliff, you need a confident and somewhat forceful approach. Keep at it. Crofty.

In reply to Crofty:

if you can do Z climb you can do OH groove and GW.
I think Z is a bit of a bugger myself, and you are
spot on with the forceful.