UKC

At the start of last year, I set our club members, the following light hearted challenge which at 1st glance looks pretty easy.

"The challenge is to climb 26 routes each beginning with a different letter, in alphabetical order. I’m not suggesting you only climb these routes but you can only add them to your list in order.

This is not a race; the important criteria are quality and imagination; so if you start your list with Annapurna South Face and finish it with Zukator you’ll be in with a good chance of impressing the judges.

If however anyone is motivated to go to Stanage and complete it in one day it’s quite possible at a reasonable grade, albeit with a couple of tricky ones.

Guide Lines & Rules

1. 26 routes beginning with a different letter.
2. Submitted routes climbed in alphabetical order.
3. If you want to replace a route on your list; you must restart from that point in the alphabet."

I did devise a scoring method with points for each route, each different crag, starred routes & different partners, grade didn't matter. In the event this wasn't needed; only 2 people finished, as nobody went at it with blinkers on and did any old rubbish just to tick a letter.

Just thought some others may be interested in giving it a go.

This is a stupid and pointless challenge that represents all that's wrong with modern climbing.

I'm totally doing it.

God. Imagine all the guidebook reading I'd have to do.

In fact there must be enough routes that begin with a number (or at least a numeral) that this could be open-ended (or at least add 10 to the length of the challenge).

Wait so is "zero gully" a zed or a nought oh god this is hard

In reply to Hat Dude:

nice

In reply to NickD: Can you please inform me of the correct position for One Step Beyond asap.

In reply to Removed User: It's an 'O' route. Or wait or it might be a '1' route. Okay no definitely wait no oh god I don't even

In reply to Removed User:

Skanking wildly?

In reply to Hat Dude: One of the guys here suggested climbing all the routes done locally the year you were born as a challenge. If nothing was done in your year then you have to add/subtract decades until you find one that works.

In reply to Hat Dude: i might try and give it a whirl other the summer once im back at my centre in the lakes. i might have to climb just because of the name rather than quality though

In reply to Toerag: on your birthday climb one route for every year of your age. As you will have spotted, it gets harder as you get older!

In reply to Toerag:

If you live anywhere half way decent and are a child of the 80s, thats likely to be some ask! Admittedly Cheddar isn't my nearest crag, but its somewhere I climb pretty often, and the year of my birth contains 13 routes. Unfortunately, on a quick inspection I count a 6c+ (which I've done - 1/13), a 7a+, a 7b+ and several E5s and (I think) E6s.

In reply to Hat Dude:

Is it possible to do this climbing routes at VS or under do you think?

In reply to Hat Dude:

Get up to Gimmer for a flying start. A Route, B Route, C Route...up to F Route, then Gimmer Crack (or String), Herdwick Butress, Intern, Kipling Groove, and er..that's enough for one day but already almost halfway there and 24 stars. Phew.

In reply to Wiley Coyote: You missed out J but Joas is next to Intern. Have to be Gimmer String because "Gimmer Crack" is actually The Crack. Then there are a couple of "L"s - Lichen Groove at HS 4b or Langdale Cowboys at E4 5c (take your pick , then Main Wall Climb and North West Arete, Outside Tokyo, Poacher. Stuck on "Q" I'm afraid.

So (besides Stanage), is there a crag out there that has all 26?

In reply to Michael Hood:

Whoops! Is J a letter still? I thought it had gone in The Cuts. Sorry

In reply to NickD:

Z. Just like Point Five's a P and Number Three, Four and Five are all Ns (no kidding)!

In reply to Hat Dude: Think I'm tempted by Stanage in a day seeing how low a grade it can be done at (has to be at least HS 4b for X-Ray) - but not until it's a bit warmer.

In reply to Hat Dude:

Surely you need a rule that stops new routers giving their creations favourable names?

In reply to Michael Hood:
Stuck on "Q" I'm afraid.
Off to Dow for Quest,Raven Route (Rough would be better but too hard for me), Sirius and Tarkus. Day 3. Crinkle Crags for Uncle George,and V -Chimney and Wide Boy. Day 4. Another big walk to Scafell for Xerxes, the ndex of the Scafell guide '84 says theres a route called Ysptty but it's not described and then the big finish on Zeus.
That would make a pretty good long weekend!

In reply to thedatastream:

I'm certain it is, though not in a day at Stanage, I'm pretty sure that you'd have to do a couple of routes at VS
or above

In reply to Hat Dude:

Calling Nick Smith UKC .........

list of all Qs and Xs please

select * from routes where .....

In reply to lithos:

There's always Quietus

I should have mentioned that the definite and indefinite article are ignored

In reply to Hat Dude:

I know but im looking elsewhere- in fact very specifically somewhere !




really leaving out The As (see what i did there) is not cheating ?

In reply to Hat Dude:

Have fun but I think I'd get to about B before I lost interest and just picked an available route!

In reply to Hat Dude:

....if you start your list with Annapurna South Face and finish it with Zukator you’ll be in with a good chance of impressing the judges.


and me.

In reply to Wiley Coyote:
almost halfway there and 24 stars. Phew.

counting stars...thats where the real fun is.

In reply to Bulls Crack:

Sea Walls in Avon Gorge is only missing an x. There's a no stars E3 6C at Main Wall for the 'x' though.

In reply to Hat Dude:

You could realistically do exclusively 2/3* routes at Stanage in a day, apart from X which only has X-ray - 1* and is at the opposite end of Stanage to the 3* Y and 2* Z. Gona be a long and very tiring run from end to end and back after all the other routes. If you were committed enough to doing only 2/3* routes you could nip over to Millstone for Xanadu perhaps...

Keen for this next time I'm in the peak!

In reply to Mike Goldthorp:

I worked out a plan for Stanage last year but didn't get around to it.

Realistically I think you'd need to do it mid-week so you didn't get held up & also have a number of alternatives.
26 routes doesn't seem a lot, but with all the to-ing and fro-ing I reckon the average climber would do well to manage 1/2 an hour per route, giving a 13 hour day with no hanging about.

In reply to Hat Dude:

I think I would solo a lot of them, up to hvs and maybe some of the bolder E1s. But I'm sure its still gona be a long day, and will have to drag some poor soul to belay you all day.
Might be worth leavin an ab rope or two somewhere handy, much quicker and safer when your in a hurry. Gona get pumped shoulders from all the rope coiling too.

In reply to Hat Dude: Too much brainpower needed here. What about just 100 routes in the day. You can do three sets at Stanage I think.

In reply to unclesamsauntibess:

A good 100 I had a stab at at Stanage years ago was 100 of the VSs in the (original) Eastern Grit selected guide. There aren't that many more than 100 so you can't miss too many out if you don't fancy them. It would be easier if you allowed yourself to stray up to some of the quicker or easier HVSs but that would be cheating. I gave up at 85 due to simultaneous fading of daylight and fingers and extremely sore toes. Shame because I had left all the familiar favourites at the Popular End till last and there were no personal problem ones left.