UKC

Hi there,

I'm heading up to Caldbeck in a few weeks time and want to do a bit of climbing. However, I don't have any trad gear, so that's off the list.

I've been looking around but it's hard to tell: are there any 5+ to 6c sport/topo routes in the lakes? When looking on the UKC logbooks it doesn't say whether a certain route is sport or trad, and I can't see anything that says whether the top is accessable to create a pitch.

I'm definitely going to be heading to Carrock Fell for a day or two though! It looks truly amazing.

Cheers,

-Rory

In reply to Jragon:

'Topo route'? Do you mean trad?

(the grades on the logbook / database should tell you if a crag is sport or trad)

In reply to Jragon:

You might have to travel a bit to get sport climbs. St. Bees might be a good option at the grades you're looking for but locals may have better suggestions.

There are some great problems at Carrock Fell but the constant shade can make it cold and it's often very damp under foot which detracts a bit from the experience.

In reply to Fraser:

Sorry for my ignorance! I thought topo meant top ropes. Just looked it up. Topo guides would be extremely useful too.

So if a grade is 6a it's a sport, whereas if it's HS it is a trad route?

Cheers,

-Rory

In reply to Jragon:

>"So if a grade is 6a it's a sport, whereas if it's HS it is a trad route?"

Yip.

Sport = 6a (on this site but more frequently it's prefixed with a capital "F", for French, i.e. F6a (note: lower case "a" rather than upper case, most frequently used for sport)


Trad = HS 4a (HS = Hard Severe, 4a = British technical difficulty)

Bouldering = f6A (on this site but more frequently it's prefixed with "font" (for fontainebleu) rather than just the lower case "f" ie, font6A (note: upper case A rather than lower case, often used for bouldering)


V2, V3 etc. is also bouldering

See St.Bees for an example of a crag with all four grading systems in use...

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=769

In reply to JLS:

Thanks JLS!

Looks like Dalt Quarry'll do! All I wanted was some easy sport routes that I could lead and let people second. The bouldering is what I'm really looking forward to!

As a complete outdoor novice (I've been stuck on the plastics for the last year, I can just about lead a 6c+ indoors) do you have any tips to get the best out of my experience.

One quick question, what's the best method of getting your draws back? Is there a permanent carabiner at the top of most climbs, so you can just lower off on that and snatch your draws on the way down? If not what should I do?

Cheers,

-Rory

In reply to Jragon:

If there isn't an in-situ krab at the top of the route then it's likely that you'll have to thread your rope through whatever metalwork is in place. There's various walk-throughs on how to do this on-line and it's in most books on sport climbing (pretty sure it's in the RockFax one). Practice at ground level if you can - it's straightforward but also straightforward to mess it up, if that makes sense.

In reply to Jragon:

If you're staying at Caldbeck you're only a couple of miles away from Head End Quarry which has a range of routes up to E1 5b - though most are in the VD - VS grades (up to 4c). The rock is limestone and generally very sound and not too polished. The low level girdle provides a decent workout if you're on your own. You can drive right in to the quarry and there are good grassy areas at the base of the crag. There are plenty of stake belays so rigging up a top rope should be no problem -- though you will want some long slings to hang a krab over the edge. It catches any afternoon sun that's going, and has great views over the Solway - though it is exposed to any wind that's going!

In reply to Jragon:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=265