UKC

The whole upper section of rock above Wally 1 and Blue Rinse sways a few inches in both directions under the weight of a small child on a top rope. Don't want to be alarmist and I have no idea if this is 'normal' but I wouldn't go back on it until I knew more. Be circumspect about these two routes.

In reply to Valaisan:

When was this? Partner led Blue Rinse last week and we didn't find anything to cause concern. Do you have any pics to indicate where the loose bit is?

In reply to Valaisan:

Do you mean the block with the belay bolts in?

In reply to JamieSparkes and Fiona Reid:

Hi Sorry it took a while, I was away. I don't have pics. When I climbed it I didn't feel any instability either. It was when I was standing on the small ledge at the top of Wally 1 just below the belay bolts and was clipped in. I was taking pictures of a 9 year boy climbing on a top rope. Every time the rope came under tension the whole top section of the crag/face would sway a few inches. It was very unnerving. It was NOT like standing on a wobbly chock stone or stone plinth that is just laying on its pivotal point; it was the whole top section of the face. It didn't rock from side to side, it swayed. Totally different sensation, probably, at a guess it was moving from where I was standing down to the first big horizontal crack, maybe 5 meters below. Given the reverse side of this face, near the Ratho building where they keep their maintenance vehicles and two containers, has fallen down in the last year or two and has had a Geological Survey conducted that concluded it was unsafe in that zone, it is perhaps not unreasonable to assume that the other side of this spur of rock that juts out from the main wall, is also unstable. Hope that helps.

In reply to Valaisan:

Interesting, had you taken a semi-hanging stance?

here's a picture if it helps:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zFSaE4lZ50Q/UlLqMm3i1LI/AAAAAAAAAeE/TLbKnECig3Q/s...

In reply to JamieSparkes: That's helpful Jamie. So about 3m down from the top of the route is a horizontal crack. It may be the block above that which is rocking or swaying when weighted on one side. I didn't take a semi-hanging stance. I was standing on a ledge, tied in nonetheless.

In reply to Valaisan:

hmm, do you think it would have been alleviated had you belayed from the other bolts (well over the back, perhaps 3-4m away from the edge) and sat on the top rather than on the ones on the top of the promontory?

I did remove one of the bolts last year, as the block it was in was a tad wobbly, but it might be time these ones came out as well.

In reply to JamieSparkes: I set a top rope for the mini-squad kids. I used the 3 bolts at the top (2 above Wally 1 and 1 above Blue Rinse) to fix a 3 point vector from, so I can't really say if 1 or more were on an unstable block. I did see the bolt on the other side but didn't use it. The worry, in my opinion, was that it was just a rocking block it was the entire upper section that swayed. It may be safe, I don't know. Just putting the concern out there.

In reply to Valaisan:

Wouldn't mind another look then given what you have to belay & abb off. Can you scramble up round the side without having to do one of the routes?

In reply to Mike_Watson_99:

Yes, you can scramble up the back left corner of the bay and walk along the top.

In reply to Mike_Watson_99:

Aye, the usual descent is to just walk down the old fire exit to the left of the east bay.