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granite - what is it like to climb?

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Hi.

What is granite like to climb?

Is it rough, smooth etc?

Is it easy to climb?

What is the friction like?

Bye

Savvas
 seankenny 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way...

Yes, that's what climbing granite is like.

(Can't believe I bit.)
1
 Trangia 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

what is it like to climb?

Pure bliss
 jkarran 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

Water worn granite with small crystals can be bullet hard and as smooth as glass. Generally it's slippery.

Rough mountain and tor granite with big crystals can be solid, it can be rotten and crumbly. It can be extremely grippy or surprisingly slippery. The crystals are sharp and can be painful to climb on.

Easy routes are easy, hard routes are hard. It's not systematically easier or harder graded than any other rock type.

There's lots of different types of granite all over the world playing host to some amazing routes.

Did you get to Portland at the weekend?
jk
 Kemics 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

it's essentially a manlier version of grit.


Jamming Dodger 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit: Ive bouldered on granite and it cuts your fingers with razor sharp pointy bits; look like paper cuts.
I didnt like it much... When its not sharp, it's slippery.
 d_b 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

Forget about granite. I want to know what it's like to climb graphite.
 Bouldering Ben 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

Surely you should know this already if you are a "professional mountaineer, climber and polar explorer" working for multiple companies as a mountain guide as you claim on your Facebook profile?

Do you also really speak 8 languages? Nepali, Tibetan and Urdu is impressive alongside English, Greek, Spanish, Italian and French! When do you find the time to climb?

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/SavvasI1/info

Ben



 Jonny2vests 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

It comes in many varieties. Generally speaking, friction is better than Limestone, worse than Sandstones (especially hard ones). It can be very rough, rip your clothes rough, jam your rope rough (South Dakota Needles is an extreme example). UK Granite is not too rough and usually bombproof for gear placements.

Is it easy to climb? I like it, I climb above average on it. My wife doesn't, goes better on Limestone.
 Jonny2vests 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Bouldering Ben:

Shhh.
 ripper 13 Nov 2012
In reply to jonny2vests:
> (In reply to Bouldering Ben)
>
> Shhh.

here we go again!
 seankenny 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Bouldering Ben:

He's a kind of pagan. It comes naturally to him.
In reply to jkarran:

Hey jk.

Thanks for the beta.

What is alpine granite like eg in chamonix and courmayeur?

I did not go to Portland as I rather have some instruction first in sport climbing!

Bye

Savvas
 Jonny2vests 13 Nov 2012
In reply to ripper:
> (In reply to jonny2vests)
> [...]
>
> here we go again!

Is that directed at me? I'd prefer it didn't go again.
In reply to Bouldering Ben:

Hiya Ben.

I want to be a pro and speak all those languages.

I am trying to arrange an expedition to the Arctic.

I never said I was a fully qualified guide.

I wish I was though!

Bye
 Skyfall 13 Nov 2012
omfg
 Jonny2vests 13 Nov 2012
In reply to JonC:
> omfg

Did you trip over the keyboard or something?
In reply to davidbeynon: You're behind the times there. These days all the bright young things are bridging up nanotubes and climbing new lines on graphene.

T.
 DaveHK 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

Climbing granite is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman.
 ripper 13 Nov 2012
In reply to DaveHK:
> (In reply to Mountain Spirit)
>
> Climbing granite is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman.

she can be hard and unyielding, even painful, but when your gear slots home so securely it's magical..
Removed User 13 Nov 2012
In reply to DaveHK:
> (In reply to Mountain Spirit)
>
> Climbing granite is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman.

I've never ended up with skinned knuckles after making love to a beautiful woman.

 DaveHK 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Removed User:
> (In reply to Removed UserDave Kerr)
> [...]
>
> I've never ended up with skinned knuckles after making love to a beautiful woman.

You need to work on your jamming technique.
 Goucho 13 Nov 2012
In reply to DaveHK: Don't forget to pack a box of Belgian Chocolates and a fine wine
 ripper 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Removed User: skinning your knuckles is a lot like making love to a beatiful woman - but the scabs usually drop off after a week or so
 cuppatea 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Kemics:

*Grins*
 Fat Bumbly2 13 Nov 2012
In reply to cuppatea: Horrible - when kaolinised it is like a holdless roof tile covered in ball bearings. Anyway you would not want to do it. Granny Nite has told me that the next eejit trying to climb is getting an ice axe - big end first.
 alooker 13 Nov 2012
In reply to davidbeynon: it's a shade easier with rubber on your soles...
 alooker 13 Nov 2012
In reply to DaveHK: you both need to work on yer love making
 Lukem6 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit: It is like sandpaper at one location and like a cheese grater at another, it can be hollow, echoing and solid all at the same time.

God went all out on Granite, especially after his mistakes from grit.

Or maybe it was the devil, because It can HURT!!. I nearly lost a knuckle to some of that great coastal white granite.
 Albert Tatlock 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

Has the friction of donkey stones.
 Skip 13 Nov 2012
In reply to lm610:
It definitely hurts, i rarely leave a granite crag without cuts, grazes, scrapes and bruises.
 Bouldering Ben 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

> (In reply to jkarran)
>
> I did not go to Portland as I rather have some instruction first in sport climbing!
>

I thought that was what was on offer? For free. You could have top roped the climbs, you wouldn't have been expected to lead them on your first outdoor trip if you've never done any leading before!


 coinneach 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

You are DJ Viper and I claim my Five pounds.


In reply to Bouldering Ben:

Hi BB.

He said I should have some instruction before I do my first trip!

As I do not know him I was not sure to trust him or not as a belayer.

You are right, I could have toproped!

I do not think he was offering me free training!
 geordiepie 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Bouldering Ben:

hahahahahahhaha

"I am a pro mountaineer and climber"

Class

I hope this is all an elaborate hoax
 Brass Nipples 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

It's like making love to your mother. So you should ask her.
 jon 13 Nov 2012
In reply to seankenny:
> (In reply to Mountain Spirit)
>
> It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way...

... we were 106 miles from Chicago. We've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.
 Oceanrower 13 Nov 2012
In reply to jon: Ohh,Ohh, my turn!

You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives...You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. You need me on that wall.
We use words like honor, code, loyalty...we use these words as the backbone to a life spent defending something. You use 'em as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it! I'd rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!
 Albert Tatlock 13 Nov 2012
we were 106 miles from Chicago. We've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.

Right on Elwood.
In reply to jon: Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Has it been five years? Six? It seems like a lifetime, the kind of peak that never comes again. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. But no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time in the world. Whatever it meant.

T.
In reply to Pursued by a bear: Alternatively...

We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... Also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can. The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge, and I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon.

Granite, man. You've got to try it.

T.

 Ramblin dave 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:
> (In reply to jkarran)
>
> Hey jk.
>
> Thanks for the beta.
>
> What is alpine granite like eg in chamonix and courmayeur?

Not sure alpine granite in Chamonix is the best place to cut your teeth, to be honest. Maybe head to Yosemite first for a gentler introduction?
 Bruce Hooker 13 Nov 2012
 Skyfall 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Pursued by a bear:

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to go climb some granite, or die.
 Albert Tatlock 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

Like my friend, Mr Walrus told me " Its like masturbating using coarse grain sandpaper,rough but nice"
 CurlyStevo 13 Nov 2012
In reply to geordiepie:
> (In reply to Bouldering Ben)
>
> hahahahahahhaha
>
> "I am a pro mountaineer and climber"
>
> Class
>
> I hope this is all an elaborate hoax

even when your sure its not im pretty sure you wont want to believe it.
 Tom Last 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

Granite.

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.
In reply to Ramblin dave:

Hey Ramblin.

I actually want to and climb in Yosemite - head there before The Alps.

Nice big walls there.

Bye

Savvas
 John Ww 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

You know Sawas, you're in this mess because you're in this mess. I didn't put you in this mess. You understand?
In reply to Bruce Hooker:

Hi Bruce.

I have got a friend in Cornwall!

I can go and climb with her!

Bye

Savvas
 Bruce Hooker 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

> I can go and climb with her!

Sounds like the best move yet.
 seankenny 13 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

Sawas - be careful! I know you're not a native English speaker, so you should perhaps know that "a friend in Cornwall" has a slang meaning quite different to the meaning you intended.

A friend in Cornwall eh? I wouldn't go blurting something like *that* out on a public forum.
needvert 13 Nov 2012
Coarse granite was evidently created by the gods to remind me how girly soft my fingertips are.
In reply to Bruce Hooker:

She is a friend from a local climbing wall who moved down there a few years ago!
In reply to seankenny:

Hey Sean

What does it mean in slang?

She has a boyfriend!
In reply to DaveHK:
> (In reply to Mountain Spirit)
>
> Climbing granite is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman.

It's liable to chuck you off before you are finished.

abseil 14 Nov 2012
In reply to Oceanrower:
> (In reply to jon) Ohh,Ohh, my turn!
>
> You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls....

Nice one... I really like your post.
 alooker 14 Nov 2012
In reply to tom_in_edinburgh: haha!
In reply to John Ww:

Hi John.

I do not your post!

What are you saying exactly?

Bye
 Dave Garnett 14 Nov 2012
In reply to JonC:
> (In reply to Pursued by a bear)
>
> I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to go climb some granite, or die.

You had to go and bring the tone down, didn't you?!
 John Ww 14 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

Go figure.
 Reach>Talent 14 Nov 2012
In reply to Bruce Hooker:
Chamonix granite is exactly the same,
so you can train in Cornwall
then go to Chamonix.


Glad I'm not the only one that finds moderate altitude and early starts feel exactly like several pints of rough Cornish cider.


In reply to John Ww:

What do you mean by this mess?
 Owen W-G 14 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

I always associate granite with doing a fist jam in a crack that has a dice-sized bullet-hard crystal digging into my hand.
 Toerag 14 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit: It all depends on the crystal size. I prefer finer grained stuff like we have here to the stuff on Dartmoor.
 Nick Alcock 14 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I've watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain. Time to die.
 Steve John B 14 Nov 2012
In reply to Nick Alcock: Is there an echo in here?
 Skyfall 14 Nov 2012
In reply to Nick Alcock:

oi - I saw the bloomin' attack ships first matey.
In reply to Mountain Spirit: Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. He is the hero, he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honour, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world.

And a good rack of friends also helps.

T.
 Steve John B 14 Nov 2012
In reply to Pursued by a bear: Astrodome? You can't grow a good hot dog indoors. Yankee Stadium. September. The hot dogs have been boiling since opening day in April. Now that's a hot dog.
 Nick Alcock 14 Nov 2012
In reply to JonC:

Sorry skwyer...
There seem to be lots of the blighters.
 ripper 14 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:
Whenever climbing on granite I try to stick to two important rules:
1. Leave the gun.
2. Take the cannoli.
abseil 14 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit:
> What is granite like to climb? ... Is it rough, smooth etc? ... Is it easy to climb? ... What is the friction like?

Strange you don't know the answers, as you listed the following climbs on your Facebook page:

"North Face of The Piz Badile - Cassin Route (TD), Central Pillar of Freney (ED1, VIII, F6b+, A2/A3, F7a free, ice, rock and mixed), Peutery Ridge Integral (ED1, grade IV/V, F5a+)"

Have you climbed them? If not why did you list them there?

http://www.facebook.com/SavvasI1/info

I'm not challenging you, just asking for clarity about what you posted on-line.
 Jonny2vests 14 Nov 2012
In reply to abseil:

Give it a rest FFS.
In reply to abseil: Continuing a theme...

From 30 feet away his facebook page looked like a lot of class. From 10 feet away it looked like something made up to be seen from 30 feet away.


T.
 ripper 14 Nov 2012
In reply to Pursued by a bear:
> (In reply to abseil) Continuing a theme...
>
> From 30 feet away his facebook page looked like a lot of class. From 10 feet away it looked like something made up to be seen from 30 feet away.
>
>

Sounds a lot like some of the 'beautiful women' I've made love to...

 Steve John B 14 Nov 2012
In reply to ripper: "From 30 feet away she looked like a lotta class..." - I'm pretty sure that's a line in an obscure Bogart movie (and if it's not it should be!)
 ripper 14 Nov 2012
In reply to Steve John B: It is - a line from Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe. There's more Chandler above too (down these streets a man must go...etc) - it was a bit of a theme earlier in the thread, as were movie quotes in general and also Swiss Toni's habit of asserting that everything in life is 'very much like making love to a beautiful woman'. I was just trying to flog two dead horses with one stone, so to speak...
Another favourite Chandlerism: "she gave me a look i could feel in my hip pocket".
In reply to Steve John B: Raymond Chandler, whom I have been quoting a lot today, is the source. Two more of his:

She gave me a smile I could feel in my hip pocket.

and

Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.

Class writer, that chap.

T.
In reply to ripper: Ah, snap. One smile, two hip pockets affected.

T.
 Nick Alcock 14 Nov 2012
In reply to Steve John B:

The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak becomes a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong..

Aye.
In reply to Mountain Spirit:

Sometimes those who love granite say bad things of her but they are always said as though she were a woman. Some of the younger climbers spoke of her as a contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favours, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them.
 Nick Alcock 14 Nov 2012
In reply to tom_in_edinburgh:

I hate you Generator Crack. The days I spent thrashing. vomiting. failing. good for humility.
In reply to abseil:

Hi Abseil.

Those routes are routes I plan to do not have done ie future projects once I have trained for them in the Uk!
In reply to Pursued by a bear:

Hi.

A lot of people don't take facebook seriously and say it is a bit of fun!

I hardly use it much!
In reply to tom_in_edinburgh: Ah yes, the old man and the rock. A noble read too.

T.
 Steve John B 15 Nov 2012
In reply to Mountain Spirit: Hey dude, someone's offering free instruction:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?n=527504

Worth a look eh?

Cheers

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