UKC

Just thought i'd post it up, Stained Steel (E7 6c/7a) done by Crusher Holds on Saturday. It takes the line of Karma Mechanic, without using the bolt and then continues off up the headwall where Karma breaks right.
vimeo.com/100059350

In reply to nick bamber:

Good video and a great effort.

Will it get written up as finishing at that horizontal break rather than looking like people will have to do the top out?

In light of the recent discussions over bolted lower offs in the quarries, one advantage of them would be to give clarity of where the route finishes; a rope over the top begs the question of how low down you can hang it.

In reply to nick bamber:

Great skills there, and fantastic to see the hanging rope rather than placing the bolts that some of the locals are looking to place.

Phil

In reply to tmawer: Interesting point.

Shame about the soundtrack, but well done on the route to Mr Holds. Is he called Nigel or something?

As for the finish of the route, either you top out or you own up to clipping a lower off. As it stands it finishes once you reach the final break.

The traditionalists would probably say that if you're clipping a rope three feet from the top of a crag you haven't done the route...but they'd also say that you can't have a bolted lower off, because that would ruin the experience, destroy the history of climbing and dumb climbing down to the lowest level etc etc etc, which is clearly rubbish. It wouldn't make any difference to the climbing.

I hope this gets more than a couple of repeats before returning to nature, as seems likely, as lots of effort has gone into it and it looks good.

In reply to Frank the Husky:

New Jerusalem E4 6a


14m. Follow the thin slanting crack rightwards to to a juggy ledge and the chance to breathe again. Better holds lead powerfully to a bolt lower-off on the rim. © ROCKFAX
FA. Mark Liptrot 1988

Here is a 2 star route, on the coal measure crag, that even with a bolted lower off, has had only one UKC logged ascent.

In reply to nick bamber:

Looks a good pitch. Out of interest, is there anything to stop you digging that grass bank away at the top? (So that you can top-out) Or indeed placing a permanent lower-off?

When the Cheedale classic Monumental Armblaster was first done you were supposed to clip the last bolt then climb to the top and, as there was no lower-off, you had to jump off and come down off the last bolt. Of course this didn't work and people then treated the last bolt as a belay and didn't climb above it. Not quite the same, I'd agree, but at least a fixed lower-off removes any doubt as where the top of the route is (as does topping out, I suppose).

In reply to jon:

The top is made of shale so the top out is another 20ft/30ft of shale climbing.

Originally a steel wire was placed which you could clip and walk along, but still nearly kill yourself doing...

This is an area of the Zarke that desperately needs bolt lower offs renewing & replacing.

In reply to nick bamber:

Yeah the rope lower off was beyond a pain in the arse, continually getting rained down on by the shale having disturbed it, abbing through it, also there's about 15m of rope out so with the stretch it was impossible to protect the rope over the edge. Thus whilst working the route, its completely shagged my rope. I'm one for adventure but I agree new lower offs here would be a help massively.

In reply to nick bamber:

For those of you who don't know there are a succesion of bolt lower offs along this section of crag all in varying states, there isnt one where this route is as there was no route previously. However the rope was tied off level with the lower off to its left as a backup so you would be able to clip it from the higher break without having the need to risk killing yourself climbing 80 degree shale, therefore in keeping with the historical ethics of the crag.

In reply to nick bamber:

It looks like a really good piece of climbing; however I wonder if people will go to the same lengths to make a second, or other future ascent, if they have to potentially trash a rope working it, or be good enough to on sight it. Without a clear, probably bolted, lower off, my guess is this will be destined to be another fine but unclimbed route.

In reply to tmawer:

Yep, your probably right, it does deserve a second ascent but there only seems to be a very limited number of people who are active in the local quarries and hence the point that no bolts where added as to climb this it actually takes quite a bit of time and effort! Which I don't think placing bolts up the route would mitigate, the addition of a lower off and replacement of those in the area may help increase traffic but it seems that climbing walls serve just too tasty a latte now a days....