UKC

In the colder weather we have sometimes experienced since 2009, many classic routes that hadn't formed for many years have formed well, for example in the Lakes the Honister icefalls, Great Gully Right Hand on the Screes, Chock Gully and Force Crag have all been in good nick on some occasions, having not been in condition since 1997 in most cases.


However, are people aware of any routes that have not formed at all since 2009? These must be some of the rarest winter routes in the UK in that case!

Has anyone climbed Aber Falls in the last few years? Fisher Gill in the Lakes? Mome Rath route in Glencoe?

In reply to LakesWinter:
Moonlight Flit on the Lleyn Peninsula has been deleted from the latest guide book. I assume because its never climable. Last summer I went back to have a look for the first time since we did the 1st ascent in early '86. Just a wet streak.
Did any one else ever do it?

In reply to LakesWinter:

Dalness Chasm in Glen Etive (near Glen Coe) was climbed during the record cold spell in Jan 1982 and not since. Notable for us because it was south facing and a full moon. So we didn't take torches. There was a full eclipse of the moon! Unlucky we thought.

In reply to Andy Nisbet:

Cool story Lucky it didn't cloud over too.

In reply to LakesWinter:

Is Kinder in yet?

In reply to Andy Nisbet:

Good story! I'd love it if that froze again.

In reply to Andy Nisbet:

I take it that would need to be done in Dec or Jan if it is south facing..

In reply to LakesWinter:

Done in early January.

In reply to LakesWinter:

How about the ice route in Bus Stop Quarry, up the line of Virgin on the Ridiculous on the Rippled Slab?? Can't imagine that comes into condition too often...

In reply to LakesWinter:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=237692
has to be a contender

In reply to LakesWinter:

Blue Ribband- all the way to the AE ridge. Most of the recent ascents (20 years) have just been the bottom 2 pitches missing out the 2nd crux high up.

In reply to LakesWinter:

Lumberjack Falls on the other side of the Pass of Brander. I did this one winter by canoeing across Loch Awe. First climbed by Vaughn Hammond and party. I haven't met anyone else who has done this route.

In reply to Andy Nisbet:

Climbed the Dalness chasm in the cold snap of '96, can't remember which branch though, possibly the right.

In reply to LakesWinter:

Is there a case that since the re-opening? of the Honister mine the ice falls don't tend to form as the water no longer runs down the cliff? I remember going to climb there about 15 years ago, (the ice was there too thin to climb at the time) and have not seen any if at all since.

In reply to petegunn:

I did the right hand gantry curtain in Dec 2010, the left was in too and I think the 2 streaks on the front would have been ok then too. The ones on the Upper Left Gantry crag hadn't formed and I think apart from Tunnel Vision they don't form any more.

In reply to LakesWinter: I heard there had been winter routes done on Thieveley Edge on the Todmorden - Burnley Rd near Cliviger.

In reply to estivoautumnal:

Not sure that's quite rare enough? I've done the whole thing, and though the higher pitch was marginal (not my lead thank god) we weren't the only party on the day. 2010 i think

In reply to LakesWinter:

Fubarbundy (VIII,7), Liathach. Essentially, still awaiting a first ascent.

In reply to LakesWinter:

Edinburgh Castle Rock? http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=162319

In reply to Tom Knowles:


It was in good nick (better than the original ascent) for a few days midweek in one year around 1993. But I was with beginners and it thawed before the weekend.

In reply to Andy Clarke1965:


I didn't know that, apologies.

In reply to LakesWinter:

What about Breach of the Piece (III) on Edinburgh Castle Rock? The LO book indicates that the first ascenders were 'charged accordingly', and I can imagine that there haven't been many subsequent ascents regardless of conditions.

In reply to LakesWinter:

The Brack - Great Central Groove R/Hand (Muir/Paul)

Creag Tharsuinn - Terminator

Creag an Soccach - Promised Land

Stuart

In reply to LakesWinter:

Embankment at Millstone Edge.

In reply to LakesWinter:
I recall, around the late 70's or early 80's reading something in the then Climber & Rambler about somone either trying to attempt or actually climbing a route down a london building which was basically a frozen water smear caused by leaky plumbing.

In reply to Dave Perry:

That was Mick Fowler and I doubt it has been repeated

In reply to Tom Knowles:

Intrigued by this, why still awaiting a first ascent?

In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:


Ahh. I was abroad that year. Great that it's had some action to the top. When I climbed it a few other parties just did the first 2 pitches and abseiled off. The high crux, although avoidable was the hardest pitch by far. I seconded it but guess it was VI/VII 6 at the time. Frozen moss. Mid to late 90's.


I also did some new routes in the Pass of Brander that year in what we dubbed the Loch Awe ice park. All close to the road and between 1 and 3 pitches. None recorded but generally grade II-V. The only exception being a single pitch route on the opposite side that we had been eyeing up for years. Steep crumbly ice, grade VI, and again in my anti SMC (relative)youth, not reported, grade VI ish. I should dig out the pics and post.

In reply to estivoautumnal:

Frozen moss. Sounds familiar. Shudder.

In reply to LakesWinter:


I remember reading about an icefall route on the Devon coastline done in the 80's.

In reply to estivoautumnal:
Lumberjack Falls -I've done it too...in the cold winter of 2010 or 2011.

In reply to Blunderbuss:

I wonder when the last time was that anyone did the Wabe or Mome Rath route in Glencoe?

In reply to Turfty:


A first free ascent. From what I remember, a lack of ice forced a tension traverse low down on the original attempt/ascent.

In reply to Tom Knowles:


Yes, that sounds familiar. I've never found out what the name means either - there was a short lived Scottish clothing brand around at the time called Fubar, but isn't the route spelt Foobaar Bundee or something along those lines? FUBAR is obviously reasonably well known an acronym!

In reply to TobyA:

Aira force?

In reply to LakesWinter:

Elliot's Downfall, West Face of Aonach Dubh, Glencoe surely has to be one of the least formed, prized lines in the country. It's come close in recent years but only just touched down and has had no ascents that I know.

In reply to TobyA:


The route spelling is Fubarbundy, which supposedly is medical emergency slang for "F***ed up beyond all recognition but unfortunately not dead yet". Climbed by Chris Cartwright and Dave Heselden, Feb 1994.

In reply to Bob:

I wasn't too sure but your memory is obviously better than mine Bob.

In reply to jonintights:

That's been done a few times in recent years, although it's one of the few lower level lakes ice routes I've not done yet

In reply to Tom Knowles:

I think the spelling was messed up in a guidebook at some point then, because I knew "Fubar", but glad to learn the BUNDY acronym!

I remember the winter when they climbed it, and the pictures - pant filling would be the best description. Heselden is one of those interesting black horses of UK climbing - done loads but obviously never needed/wanted to court media attention.

In reply to jack_eadie:


Surely you mean 2nd ascents! Cubby would be slightly pissed off at the above comment.

In reply to Tom Knowles:

Isn't it a reference to Ted Bundy? FUBAR and then BUNDY.

In reply to jack_eadie:

Elliots Downfall came in really fat during the mini ice age of 86', numerous ascents including a naked second by a visiting american, this was the year I really started winter climbing, so missed out, but luckily I did manage a repeat in march 94, it had barely touched down, a few days later it was gone.

In reply to LakesWinter:

I was aware of all these ascents I was meaning an ascent in recent years, ie this century. In terms of rarely formed ice lines it's got to be up there.

In reply to TobyA: Dave Heselden

train enough at stoney adn you'll bump into him lapping the e6 to the left of the electric quarry. There's a truly classic HVS corner there for when cheedale wets out.

he looks like his picture in the latest millstone guide.

and at least it makes a change from being burnt of by pensioners...

In reply to LakesWinter:

I did two routes on The north facing side of Ben Hope. One was a mixed gulley in good conditions and we did it in about 2001 or 2002. Jim Hall was the lead and I think it was very nearly my first winter route in Scotland.

The following year I did another on Ben Hope with the Caithness Mountain and Ski club. It was straightforward enough but myself and Tom Kelly (RIP) did a variation which included two pitches of some of the best pure ice I have ever climbed in Scotland.

I'm sure they were never back in condition while I was still in Scotland (left in 2008) but they may have been in since then. But I'm betting they are still a couple of the rare ones.

In reply to LakesWinter:

I seem to recall that during the 85 to 86 winter Gary Gibson did some ice routes on the North Wales sea cliffs. Local legend had it that there was plenty of red tape floating about in the sea once it warmed up.

In reply to LakesWinter:

I believe that Chris Bonnington and Doug Scott climbed Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfalls sometime in the 60/70s and that there's some old cine film footage knocking about of their adventure. The locals tell me it's never been climbed since.

I'd love to see the original footage if anyone has a copy.

In reply to smuffy:

Locals are wrong. Several times

In reply to LakesWinter:

How about the Cantonteign falls on Dartmoor?

In reply to LakesWinter:

I'm pretty sure we will never see High Force looking like this again. From 1929.

http://highforcehotel.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/H.F.PICTURES-023.jpg

The reservoir at Cow Green ensures that there is a good flow all year now, and the water coming out of the bottom is too warm.

In reply to mattsccm:

We went to do this a couple of weeks after you but it looked decidedly unstable so we beat a hasty retreat. I had seen it nearly formed on a number of occasions and was a bit miffed not to do it as it seemd a really good looking route. I did a lot of work on the outlying areas for the '87 guide but was keen to minimise the number of "once in a lifetime" routes and include more detail on variations in places like the Trinity face as this seemed to be more valuable to more climbers in the long term. However, Malcolm (Campbell)pointed out that Aber Falls had received ascents in each of the previous three years which meant that some routes were omitted, often to be claimed as new routes in the recent guide. The new guide seems only to concentrate on routes around Ogwen and Llanberis which is where most of the recent new routes have been done. However, the many good little routes on Craig Cwm Beudy Mawr in the 1970s have been omitted despite being in condition fairly often. and there are several examples of earlier routes being claimed as first ascents (for example, a grade 3 climbed in 1995 on Castell y Gwynt was claimed as a new route in the late noughties and whilst the Curver on Foel goch was climbed prior to 1982. It would appear that the best way to get your routes in the guidebook would be to make frequent contributions to the new routes book in Petes Eats!

In reply to nigel n:

Bugger me. The only other person I have come across who even knows where it is. We didn't know how stable it was as it was dark.
We had gone down as the female of the party knew the locals better than we did and reckoned that they would be sniffing about.. We were all at Bangor Normal College. It was mid afternoon when we went I think, found it was in condition so legged it back to Pentir for our kit. The urgency was the because siting of a car at the top that the female of the party thought belonged to Mick Poynton.spelling?) No idea if it was. Brilliant night out, finished at midnight in a full moon I think.

In reply to Bob:

...and the building was St. Pancras station:
"The days when Mick Fowler – Britain’s greatest mountaineering tax inspector – could get arrested for climbing the 20-metre frozen overflow from an upstairs toilet on the side of St Pancras station (as he did in the freeze of 1986) may be gone forever".

In reply to LakesWinter:

The Fowler/Saunders pair from Feb 86 of Icicle Factory and White Wedding remain unrepeated to my knowledge. After the Smear last year (2nd ascent, FA 1979) Andy & I could have gone onto IF but everything was falling down around us & thought better of it.
Ice will always be rare in the Black Cuillin. By contrast many modern mixed routes have been getting repeats.

In reply to Andy Nisbet:

Clachaig Gully doesn't see a lot of traffic

In reply to rogerwebb:

My dad tried the first winter ascent of Clachaig Gully around 1940. He had never climbed but someone came into the youth hostel asking for a climbing partner, and he said yes. Fortunately the guy failed on the first pitch.

In reply to Andy Nisbet:

Graeme Ettle, and a few of his teenage mates climbed the rarely forming icicle on Craig Rennet, in Corrie Fee many moons ago . Have you ever heard of a repeat ascent, I think it's called G Force?

In reply to Andy Nisbet:

Andy - has Eas a’Chaul Aluinn up at Unapool seen a repeat?

Ian

In reply to LakesWinter:

Surgeon's Gully

In reply to Andy Nisbet:

That's a great story . Did your dad carry on climbing?

In reply to mattsccm:

Did you get permission from the waterfall nymphs at Pistyll Rhaeadr? I hear they're easily offended

In reply to dek:


Pretty sure i heard a team from the Dundee wall did it in recent years.

In reply to graeme gatherer:


Cheers Graeme! I'll have to ask around for more info.

In reply to mattsccm:

I used to work at an LEA outdoor centre in North Wales and regularly camped with groups on the foreshore near the concrete ruins in the winter!