UKC

I am now at the point where I feel I should be able to get up any E1. This may or may not be the case, but in order to prove it to myself, I need to get up the vice, cinturato, Acheron and unprintable at Stanage, l'horla at Curbar and perhaps Embankment 1 at millstone. I need to get back to the plum at Tremadog too.

Would anyone like to contribute to my list?

Ta,
Cake

In reply to Cake:

Hangover on the Grochan
First Slip at Tremadog
Left Wall (only joking! )

In reply to Cake:

The Toy at Curbar.

Mwahaha, mwahahahaha...!

In reply to Bob:


Three Pebble Slab, obviously!

In reply to Cake:

Blimey. Well, Cinturato is nowhere near being a hard E1.

Most of the hard E1s on gritstone are HVS in my book. Still, if one comes to mind I'll let you know. You've done Centaur, presumably?

jcm

In reply to Cake:

the fin at burbage n and the one at millstone that's top or 2nd in the e1 list in burbage millstone and beyond - name escapes me and i don't have it to hand

In reply to Tom Last:

Bugge**d my shoulder on that stupid problem years ago. I'm in no rush to try again

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

No, I haven't done centaur. That is on the list though. Thanks for the heads up about cinturato. I seconded it years ago and all I remember is that it felt scary and sketchy.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:


Hmm, unprotected, sketchy climbing where one could fall all the way down an E6. Fate is a similar one, and is fairly ludicrous at E1 without side runners.

In reply to Alex@home:

Brimstone, I presume. Yeah, that needs to be done this year. I was totally psyched to do it last year when it started to rain. The fin looks amusing too. A battle, I imagine.

In reply to Cake:

Eye of Faith, right-hand start.

In reply to Cake:
Tufted Crack, Ilkley.

HVS* when I first thrashed my way to the top, very well protected and technical.

*That's Yorkshire HVS, so probably worth E2 in the peak

In reply to Cake:

The Vice is given E1 isn't it ?

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Well it does get voted as Easy E2 pretty consistently. http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=10090


God what does that make the HVS's?

In reply to CurlyStevo:
So it does. Well, what do I know?

Centaur, on the other hand, has about one-quarter the number of loggings, and virtually no clean ascents.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=10088

That's usually a more realistic guide than the voting.

jcm

In reply to Cake:


Do you mean any E1, anywhere? Or any gritstone E1?

In reply to Cake:

Foord's Folly is a fair test for the E1 leader who can get up anything.

In reply to bpmclimb:

Anywhere in theory, but I'm not going to go to Scotland just to see if I can conquer some sandbag E1. I'm quite keen for some limestone if anybody knows of some. Dead banana crack is meant to be hard isn't it?

In reply to GrahamD:

yes, it's in the original post

In reply to Cake:

I thought it was hard when I fell from the top of the crag down to the belay in 1984 or so. I imagine it's harder now. Though when I returned the other day for the first time for many years I couldn't quite reconcile what I saw with my memories.

jcm

In reply to Cake:

I'll give you one - Seahorse, on Sennen. A specialist's pitch.

jcm

In reply to Cake:

It has a reasonably hard (but well protected) move at the bottom and is fairly sustained (and well protected) to the top. Great route.

In reply to Cake:


But it is the acid test.

Mick

In reply to ChrisBrooke:


What does?

In reply to Cake:

Sorry, forgot to copy original text. Dead Banana.

In reply to Cake: cabaret, Goredale

In reply to mugglewump:

Or indeed Death, or whatever it's called. (Light, maybe? Or Darkness?) Anyway, the black spot E1 also at Gordale.

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Another vote for Centaur being one of the hardest E1s around.

In reply to Cake:

Aardvark, Pavey Ark

Silent Spring, Pass of Ballater?

In reply to Cake:

Tippler stanage
Hangover llanberis
Great peter lawrencfield
The toy curbar

Might be easier to do a few e2's and 3's though

In reply to Cake:

Tippler is tough!

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:


HVS I'm afraid.

In reply to Cake:

Are you talking single or multi pitch E1s. You could try Gogarth at Gogarth

In reply to Anoetic:

Is Gogarth hard for E1? I remember doing the top of Devotee by mistake because I thought it wasn't hard enough.

In reply to rurp:

I didn't think 'Great Peter' was that hard?

In reply to Andy2:

And I was going to say Golva but apparently that's E2 now.

In reply to jon_gill1:

Tried great peter when it was too hot. Everything seemed sandy, sloping the wrong way and slippery. Bottled it and climbed back down, not been keen to go back which usually says something!
Given that cake has done loads of much harder stuff I suspect he/she will cruise the list!

In reply to Dave Garnett:
Because you thought it wasn't hard enough or because the guidebook misled you?

The latter applied in my case. Moreover, in my day Gogarth was HVS.

In reply to Cake:

Try snails of the unexpected. E1 6a

In reply to John2:

Yes, a bit of both. It seemed to be pretty straightforward even at HVS and the groove of Devotee didn't look too bad and fitted the description. It can't be that hard for E1 done the conventional way.

In reply to CurlyStevo:

Yeah, but is hard E1 always easier than easy E2?

In reply to Cake:
Whilst you are in the area for the tick list in your OP pop over to Froggat and try Scarper's triangle.

In reply to Anoetic:

Its an unholy romp. As well as shite of course.

In reply to Dave Garnett:

The Ground Up guide to Gogarth is worth its purchase price if for nothing else for properly describing the top pitch of Gogarth. I went the wrong way myself the first time I climbed it. I once saw someone take a 70 footer off the Devotee variation.

In reply to Cake:

Astral Stroll
Merchant Man
Nightride
Falcon

Plum is only E1 if you do the direct start and do it one long pitch. Two pitches and cheating be climbing in from the right and it is Hard VS.

In reply to Cake:

this may be only because i tried it as a warm up on a hot day but i thought shake at chee tor was tough for the grade. my second agreed.
the chances of ever finding it clean are pretty remote mind

In reply to Cake:

Don't you know you're only meant to ask for easy safe E1's!

Anyway....looking through my log.....try Barbarian at Tremadog as a single pitch ideally. Maybe Superdirect and the corner would be other hardish north wales ones. The corner was my first E1 but it always felt very solid at the grade years later when i was climbing harder.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

When I was a youth, Barbarian was HVS.

In reply to Cake:

Moyers buttress (not to hard but scary)
The Vice
The Unprintable
The Toy
Nicotine stain (just plain hard)

In reply to rurp:






I've done quite a lot of E2s, some E3s and an E4. I've done the Tippler and Great Peter since it got harder and thought they were fine. I guess these are the reasons I'm making bold assertions such as 'I can do any E1'.

I suppose I will have to do the toy then...

In reply to Cake:

Quite a few I've never heard of here. Some interest in north Wales by the looks of things. Thanks all. Any in Yorkshire? I haven't even been to almscliffe, but I'm told everything's hard. And any more Western grit?

In reply to Cake:


Yeah, but did they tell you how hard? It's not called Armscliffe for nothing!

Mick

In reply to Cake:

I think if you can pop up the toy, l'horla and the vice on Saturday then pop over to wales and bag hangover, falcon and Superdirect on Sunday you deserve a beer and are safe in the knowledge that e1 is not ee-nuff!

In reply to Cake:

Medusa at Stoney. Utterly horrific.

In reply to Cake:

First Amendment at Clogwyn y Grochan gets my vote.
Nexus is quite pushy. Fell off the top pitch of Superdirect
Almost fell off the Corner
Falcon felt pretty stiff, as did First Slip
Surprise Attack at Mewsford felt hard at E1

In reply to Cake:I am sure you can find much easier E2's than these.

Frensis Direct at Brimham,
Smoke ont water at Curbar,
Diadic at Tremadog. Might have gone up to E2 now though?

Have you done Cransic Crack at Froggatt? HVS but a good test anyway!

In reply to rurp:

CORONATION STREET t'is quite 'ard...

In reply to Cake:

Do the triptych in the pass (got a feeling it's spelt tryptych actually) on clogwyn llo, and if you do king bee crack on Holyhead mountain with a hangover it feels like hard e1.

In reply to Cake:

Some crackers on this thread.

Smoke ont' watter is a good companion to The Toy, being an absolute horror at E1.

In Pembroke, Be Clever (Barcud) is blatantly E2, and a brilliant route.
Baker's Door is quite tough, so is Kinvig. Not staggeringly hard like the grit suggestions, just quite hard for E1 in a place where most E1s are pretty easy.

The Lakes has to be a good place to go for tough E1. As well Aardvark (killer route, and blatantly E2) I found Catacomb hard (and brilliant), and the Castle Rock E1s hard, like all the routes there - the crux of Harlot Face is tough and it's not over after that. Bludgeon's a bit of a sandbag. Flat Iron Wall seemed similar to Fastburn, but without the gear!

In reply to Phill Mitch:
Cransic???

My advice to the OP would be look at the top of the graded list in the grit guides (especially inThe Roaches guide) or Cheshire or Northumberland. Some famous brutal ones at Stage to go with Centaur would be the pair Tower Crack and Chimney. Dover and Ellis doesnt get much traffic. Brimham has some fine offwidths in a list in the new guide.

In reply to Cake:

Charming crack at Brimham gets E1 in some guides, god knows why i have done easier E3's !
If your going to Tremadog anyhow try the barbarian and see what you think of that.

In reply to Cake:

And while you are down in Tremadog try `Meirionydd` at the Upper Tier !

In reply to Cake:

There's one at Castle Naze where the guidebook says, IIRC, "horrifically undergraded".

In reply to Dave Garnett:


Jeezus - I remember that one!

In reply to Jon Stewart:

I might be the only person on here to say it, but I found
Philistine to be very bold for E1.

Still the best pitch in my limited Lakes career.

In reply to Cake:

Once it drys out and its so hot you need somewhere cool. Head to the far l end of 1 millstone. Various steep cracks await. If fitness isn't your thing a chasteing experience awaits.

Che tor as well

In reply to Sam Beaton:


Yeah, especially when you consider how soft many of the E2s are.

In reply to Cake:

Surprised no one has mentioned Great Cleft at Wildcat Crags (unless they have and I missed it)

In reply to tommack:

I'm willing to bet that not many would agree with that.

In reply to jon_gill1:


I second that, an easy E1 since the advent of small wires.

In reply to Al Evans:

Got to agree with this too Al. I was expecting it to be nasty but tbh it felt fine. Nice and safe too.
There was a crux (where the hold had fallen off?) which would have been hard to try and rest beforehand but if you just got on with it it's fine.
Pushy maybe, but hard, no.

In reply to Cake:

Brown's Crack at Ramshaw is a good, safe horrific one to do. That's all I can think of!

In reply to Tom Valentine:

The bold bit is about 4c though; there's a wire by your face on the crux!

In reply to deacondeacon:



That's a surprise. I read that Great Peter had become harder after the hold fell off, though I've only done it in the original state - good and quite hard for E1 then. I must get back on it if I can keep fit enough.

Hardest E1 for me in the last couple of years was Wurlitzer at Wintours. Quite well protected but desperate move near the top.

Martin

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:


Agreed on two pitching it, but coming in from the right is the actual route; not cheating. Going direct is an E2 variation.

In reply to John_Hat:


Would that be Pod Crack? Yes, that would definitely be one for the list. It looks pretty innocuous and short but is surprisingly insecure and strenuous.

In reply to Cake:

Roof Route at Back Bowden. Been E1 for years and is utterly desperate.

In reply to Jon Stewart:


Was given E2 in the guidebook I had in the early 90s iirc

In reply:

Another vote for Light at Gordale. Just plain hard.

Centaur and The Vice at Stanage and Charming Crack at Brimham make a nice trio.

I think Brimstone at Millstone and Curbar's The Toy are also toughies of the same genre.

In reply to Andy2:


Oh, really! Excellent. Proper grading. I thought it had been upgraded somehow.

jcm

In reply to Phill Mitch:

>Have you done Cransic Crack at Froggatt?

Rivelin, no?

jcm

In reply to jas wood:

>Charming crack at Brimham gets E1 in some guides, god knows why

Because it's reasonably straightforward jamming

>i have done easier E3's

Because you can't jam, presumably.

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:



Sennen?? WFT am I talking about? That's the Sennen at Chair Ladder, btw.

jcm

In reply to TonyM:

If you're heading to the plantation to do centaur you might as well have a go at the mangler at the same time. similar in many respects

In reply to Dave Garnett:


totally agree have done E4s that seemed easier

In reply to John2:


I was going well when I led Barbarian at HVS, and was gobsmacked how hard it was. Another one was MGC "E1" on Shepherd's. I see now correctly graded E2 5c.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Kransic Crack is an OKish route on Shepherd's. I think Phill is probably thinking of Chequer's Crack ...

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

I think MGC is overgraded at E2 5c - seems fair enough at E1 5b

In reply to Cake:

Light at Gordale Scar was one of the hardest E1's I've done.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Oh yeah - I'm thinking of Kremlin Crack.

jcm

In reply to steve taylor:



shivers....ghastly route

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Isn't the point about Charming Crack that it's got fantastically painful crystals in it, and that you have to be totally brilliant at jamming not to draw (a lot of) blood? Or have I got the wrong route? I haven't done it, but I seem to remember my brother talking about it.

In reply to Cake:
Desperation - Stanage

And another vote for The Fin.

In reply to Cake:

Barbarian
Gideon at Dewerstone
Tippler
Dead Banana Crack
Anything at Swanage

In reply to Cake:

When the weather cheers up Galileo on Shining Clough should keep you happy

In reply to Dave Garnett:

Its not that the climbing is technically hard at all, however if you have only done single pitch on grit, then the Gogarth factor will make the climbing seem alot harder

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Be Brave is a good E1, instead of the equally good Be Clever

Aaros E1 at Shepherds I found more taxing than MGC. Spent ages on it. Good route, top end IMO, bold to start, tech to finish, lots of climbing involved.

Dunno if it is out of your radar but Lotus down in N Cornwall is decent and hard at E1.

In reply to Cake:

I didn't think Acheron was particularly tricky for E1... I found Mississippi Variant Direct much harder on the same day...

Another shout for Tufted Crack at Ilkley and Be Clever at Barcud, and I'm told by friends who did it, that Beyond the Azimuth at Barcud is also quite hard for E1.

I found Patellaectomy on the slate to be very hard (and also quite weird) for the grade, and it seems UKC agrees too: http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=5800 As well as Psycho at High Crag in the Lakes, though I think it's just plainly misgraded!!

I'm sure there's plenty more in Northumberland, though I'm having a mind block as to what exactly...

In reply to kyaizawa:


Both those are pretty soft I reckon. Acheron is one 5b move with decent footholds but a dodgy fall potential, and MVD is similar - standard fare for grit. The tough, classic E1s at Stan Pop are Desperation, Dark Continent and Tippler. Not classic, but hard, is Punklet, a tempting solo which is inadvisable unless you've got a fair bit in reserve as it doesn't get easier the way you'd like it to.

For grit toughies, I think Now or Never is really tough move, Hartley's Route on Kinder felt about E3 5c to me, Unprintable (must have been mentioned) I refuse to go near, and then there are the hilarious Stanage E1 5c boulder problem start routes. These include Ice Boat, Phlegethoa and Nightmare Slab, and the theme is a 5c start that goes on for way too long above an abysmal landing. The effect for an E1 leader is that before you've got a good hold or any gear, you're already totally committed, shitting yourself, and about to fall off. Nasty.

While we're on Stanage, there's a corking tough E1 that not many people do up the blank slab in the Black Hawk Bay (Providence?). This gets E1 5c and climbs on tiny weenie little crimps, carrying on until you're above your gear (making it feel rather like an E2 5c). A poor man's Elegy perhaps, but a crimpy slab with gear is a good find on grit!

Count's Buttress rightly got an upgrade in the BMC guide, that was well'ard at E1. And further over still is a funny little route Seranata which has never been given the right grade of E1 6a. The start's nails, the rest isn't too bad, and I didn't reckon it was quite worth E2.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Great. Done them. Punklet and Now or Never perhaps the hardest.

Unprintable
is one I do actually want to go back to.

>Ice Boat, Phlegethoa and Nightmare Slab, and the theme is a 5c start that goes on for way too long above an abysmal landing. The effect for an E1 leader is that before you've got a good hold or any gear, you're already totally committed, shitting yourself, and about to fall off. Nasty.

Quite tempting, actually.


Think I've done it. I didn't think it was that bad and I think my mate fell off the crux three times. Perhaps it was the hvs next doorm


Done Count's and I thought it was fine at E1. The arête was easier than I thought it would be. I'll check out Seranata, it sounds good.

In reply to Cake:


NS I thought was fine, and the 5c bit not so much a start as a bit of a highball. Phthlegethoa OTH is 20 feet above a jumble of boulders and I don't think I've ever managed to pluck up the courage; it used to be particularly sporting at HVS.

jcm

In reply to Cake:
I reversed the crux on Nightmare slab and then stopped being scared and did it, you'd be fine on it

In reply to Cake:

Kelly's Overhang (although I think it was graded HVS when I did it)

In reply to Anoetic:

Ah yes. Completely agree. I started off doing multipitch on grit. Then Wales, Lakes, Cornwall... then Gogarth!

In reply to Cake:

Sunset Creek ...
Steve

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:


Except that the landing is not much flatter than the route! I remember it being 5c to start above the death landing, then 5b up to the break. Scary E2 IMO.

In reply to Cake:



Yes, they're good routes. Speaking of death landings, another superb Stanage obscurity is Headbanger, E1 5c. I've never plucked up the courage to swing round onto the front of this double-arete-cum-prow thing, but it makes a brilliant highball V4 climbed more sensibly on its right. If you're on a hard E1 Stanage trip and manage this one, let me know how terrifying it was.

In reply to Cake:

Barbarian on a sweaty hot day felt desperate.

In reply to Dave Garnett:

>I started off doing multipitch on grit

Must have limited you a bit, surely?

I wonder when anyone last did The Lamia, say, or (shudder) the girdle of Dovestones Quarry.

jcm

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Yes, I don't think I've ever managed Headbanger either; it's certainly repelled a couple of casual attempts.

I remember the NS landing as being OK, but I was bouncier then. Not that I actually tried it out, either.

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

No shortage of vertical grit multipitch round here: the Pedestal Routes, Right Route, Via Dolorosa, K2, Central Climb...

I think Right Route, done in two pitches, was literally my second ever route. No big deal, obviously. I was mildly bridling at the modern assumption that anything with more than one pitch was a step only slightly short of the Greater Ranges.

I like the idea of a go at some epic grit girdle. Bullybones and I put up (across?) the Perp but that's only really one pitch, so it doesn't count.

In reply to Cake:
I suppose I should make this into a ticklist. Not sure anyone will sign up...

In reply to Dave Garnett:

Right Route as in the right side of the slab under Sloth? How do you do that in two pitches?

Does the Roaches have a girdle? There's some ultimate slab girdle of the lower tier, isn't there?

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Right Route traditionally has a belay on the big ledge above the roof, before moving left for the crack at the top. Quite a good idea for nervous seconds or incompetent leaders who might die barndooring off the balancy move left on the top bit.

There are several girdles of the right side of lower tier and I haven't done any of them. The Super Girdle looks especially terrifying since it includes the Swan, continuing onto Smear Test, and traversing the slab of Elegy. Maybe Andi, Justin or Mark S can comment.

In reply to Dave Garnett:

Oh, OK. I didn't know there was a crack at the top. I've always stopped when I reached the ground!

jcm

In reply to cem:


Yes....another tricky one.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

+ 1 for Bludgeon at Shepherds Crag.

Harlot Face is steady away E1 at Castle Rock, but Thirlmere Elimate at the same crag is hard E1. That top pitch bridging groove sees quite a few retreats. Probably not a good option now with the instability at the top of the crag.

In reply to shantaram:

Thought they were about the same - I got more stuck on Harlot Face, but I guess the top pitch of TE with its crucial slippy wire was objectively harder.

Next time I went back to the crag I took a big whipper off the brilliant Rigor Mortis, trying to go the wrong way. It's not fair when the holds aren't chalked.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

I soloed Centaur,as I reckon that's what Whillans did.No mats.
Rather a battle.Thought it was about E3.Harder than Sentinel...

In reply to Cake:


In that case, sounds like it's time to move on to E2.

In reply to paul mitchell:

And did you put your foot above your head, as in the famous photo? Although I see that Jim Perrin say that's not how it's done in the Villain.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:


That's the one Gordon, sorry folks getting my routes mixed up!

In reply to Dave Garnett:

That's Esso Extra, Dave. Harder in a flat 'at, I would imagine.

I too soloed Centaur. It's rather hard to get people to belay/follow you on this route. It probably is harder than Sentinel Crack, in the sense that the crux is harder.

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Ah yes, so it is. I had to check where Centaur was, I don't think I've ever even looked at it. A bit of Stanage I've rather neglected apart from Fina.