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I'm sorry to say that there is now no exit from the top of the North Wall at Wintour's Leap. The owners of the house above the cliff have decided that they do not want climbers to exit through their garden as previously; it's a pity to lose a satisfying way of getting to the top of the cliff, but it is their garden (and within full sight of the house) and exit through it was always a privilege, not a right.

Climbing up to the Great Ledge (i.e. the vast majority of the good climbing) is unaffected, but please abseil off from here, from the bolted abseil stations above The Tap or Joe’s Route - these are both fairly popular routes so please check before you chuck! I've placed a few temporary signs at the foot of the cliff. We hope to place abseil stations above some of the routes on the Upper Tier shortly and I'll then replace the signs with updated ones. It's possible that they won't see much traffic now they've lost their raison d'etre as ways off, but the option will be there.

Thanks

Rick Sewards
BMC Wye Valley Access Rep

In reply to Rick Sewards: Thanks for the heads up and thank you ahead of time for the lower offs.

In reply to Rick Sewards:

That's a shame. I know there was some hope of keeping the access when that house was sold - but who can blame them for not wanting people to exit that way really ?

Shame also that the top section on the right has been lost - that was a worthwhile pitch.

In reply to GrahamD: You mean the 4th pitch of Right Hand Route? You can do this and abseil back to the Great Ledge: new ring and sling in place (but watch for the knot).

In reply to Removed UserJohn Willson:

Probably that one - it tends to get used as the top pitch of Nibbleheim as well and is certainly a nice little pitch. Good to know it isn't lost.

In reply to Rick Sewards:

An update - John Willson and I have just put in abseil points (rope sling around tree with metal ring) above the top pitch of Right Hand Route/Nibelheim (as John mentioned above), and above the finishing belay ledge shared between Bacchanalian, the final section of Exodus and Finishing Under a Blood Red Sky. These 4 can now be done safely without topping out into the garden (both abseil points are just below the level of the garden). Please note that the top pitch of Left-Hand Route doesn’t have an abseil station (there’s no conveniently placed tree) so can’t be done – if you’re doing Left-Hand Route and want to carry on from the Great Ledge at the same standard, do Bacchanalian (which is better than the upper pitches of LHR anyway).

Thanks

Rick

In reply to Rick Sewards:

Thanks for the info. Funnily enough I was at WL with a friend on Saturday pm - we were looking at routes and are keen to come back for Left-Hand Route (amongst others). I've only climbed on Fly Wall so am not familiar with North Wall.

From the guide book it appears there is just about option to abseil from the Great Ledge using my 50m half ropes. Is that correct - would I need to move towards the right hand end of the ledge?

Thanks.

David

In reply to DaveMinsh:

Yes there is a pair of good abseil bolts in the centre of the back wall of the Great Ledge, from which you can ab to the ground with double 50m ropes. You need to walk right a little from the top of pitch 2 of Left Hand Route to just past the large sitting boulder.

With all these abseils (the long established ones and the new ones Rick has described), you need double ropes and you do need to be careful not to get the knots jammed. You also need to take care not to throw ropes or knock debris onto climbers below!

Incidentally, at the shared belay at the top that Rick has described, there is a second sling (without ring) to tie into while rigging the abseil.

In reply to DaveMinsh:

Hi Dave

From the abseil bolts in the middle of the Great Ledge (above The Tap) 50m ropes usually just reach the ground (on rope stretch at least). It's not as committing/worrying as it sounds though, as you can abseil down to the smaller ledge below the middle tier ("the Main Ledge") and check from there whether your ropes will make it - if not, there is a further pair of abseil bolts above the Main Ledge a little to the right of the line you've just abbed down.

Otherwise there is an abseil station just below the far right hand end (go round the corner and continue till you can't go any further) of the Great Ledge, above Joe's Route (easy but exposed downclimb - if unsure, you can take a belay from a tree above). It's about a 45m ab to the ground from here.

Rick

In reply to DaveMinsh:

Sorry - double reply - John beat me to it!

Rick

Thanks to John and Rick for the helpful replies.

David